New Paths

Time slowed down. It took a moment for Kevin to realize that the effect wasn’t the result of his mind racing through the possible answers to Blue’s question, but some hidden aspect of House Rule taking effect. A moment after that, he realized that the effect wasn’t speeding him up, it was literally slowing down the entire world—or at least, whatever pocket dimension he was in—so that he had time to think, without excluding the audience.

Each of the three choices Blue presented offered a variety of different paths the harpy might take. Not significant enough to completely re-write her personality, they would instead emphasize some traits while suppressing others. And while he could see the tags that each path represented, he could feel yet more information buried beneath the surface of each.

The [Way of Earth] is designed to push her to provoke me until I punish her, then reward both of us when I do so. [Way of Fire] is going to turn her into some kind of sexually aggressive top, and [Way of Water] focuses on the hedonistic sheltered side of her.

All three have their appeal. Water feels closer to the Blue I know—as much as I can say that I know her, at least. Nothing she’d done has ever felt malicious, just curious and quick to act. I wouldn’t have thought to call her bratty, but her outlook does include a measure of disregard for others, so Earth isn’t entirely out of the question. That, and—the thought of her needling me until I put her in her place is actually kind of hot. I don’t like the sadistic tag on Fire, but the way she was this morning—all needy and insistent—was also hard to turn down.

For a moment, Kevin thought that he’d found his answer. While the [Way of Fire] and the [Way of Earth] both appealed to different parts of him, [Way of Water] just felt like a more natural fit.

Except—picking that is just playing into Lily’s hand, isn’t it?

The DM’s eyes turned briefly towards Kyle, only to realize that while the Hierophant hadn’t spoken, he didn’t appear to be affected by the slowed passage of time any more than Kevin himself. The other man quirked an eyebrow at him, but said nothing.

This is what he meant. He knew that Blue would wind up going to the Monk trainer. I can send back my answer, but unless she asks another question I can’t follow up and clarify anything. There’s no way I’d be able to find the Monk room in time to stop her from taking whichever option I pick. The only way to have a meaningful impact here is to take initiative—to write my own answer instead of picking from the list that Lily gave.

Kevin tapped into the power that House Rule granted him, and the four Monk paths appeared in the air in front of him.

[Way of Air]: [Bimbo][Placid][Slutty]

[Way of Earth]: [Bratty][Stubborn][Masochistic]

[Way of Fire]: [Insatiable][Challenging][Sadistic]

[Way of Water]: [Curious][Flexible][Quick]

He pushed at the power and felt it flex and thrum, ready to be used.

I don’t want any of them—not exactly. I still have to give an honest answer, but that doesn’t mean that what I pick has to be one of the things Lilith offered.

Kevin tugged at the options with House Rule, and felt them begin to unravel. He plucked strands from Water first, then Earth, weaving them together into something new. The work was imperfect, the forces more abstract than the words suggested. They resisted the change at first, the elements refusing to cohere into a whole until he pulled in yet another thread to bind them all together.

He examined his work.

[Way of the Feywild]: [Playful][Teasing][Masochistic]

The [Playful] tag was a fusion of [Curious] and [Flexible], while the [Teasing] tag is both [Bratty] and [Challenging]. I didn’t mean to include the [Masochistic] tag at all. Was that my subconscious at work, or chance? Or something of Lilith still in play?

The answer didn’t seem to be forthcoming, and his attention was swiftly pulled away as Kevin felt time resume its normal pace in a rush. His lips moved of their own volition as he answered Blue’s question.

“The [Way of the Feywild].”

“Good.” Kyle favored Kevin with an amused smile. “You have taken your first step.”

Favored Soul (Class Ability) House Rule - DM Path [Upgraded]

(Passive) Your senses extend into the realm of magic and divinity, allowing you to directly perceive the forces acting upon your environment. (2) You can see the written descriptions of any rules in effect by focusing on them.

(Active) Make one modification or change to the rules of an effect, as long as that change has been performed before at least once in Harem Hotel history. (2) Certain rules will have keywords that you can change from a preselected list. [Upgrade]: Three times per round, you can make a permanent modification to one of your party’s abilities.

Penny’s back hit the wall and her breath left her in a rush.

She’s insatiable.

Once, the thought might have frightened Penny, but as Hwa’s lips devoured her own all she could muster in objection was a whimper which—even to her own ears—sounded much more like a moan.

The kumiho had all but dragged her up the stairs to a bedroom which was far nicer and cleaner than she would have expected above the dive bar on the ground floor. While the decor wasn’t exactly fancy, the bed was clean, the room uncluttered, and the golden glow of sunlight which filtered through the dark red curtains illuminated only the faintest hints of dust in the air.

She’d scarcely had time to take in the room’s appearance before Hwa’s hands had wrapped around her head to pull her back into a kiss. A moment after that, she found her tongue buried in the kumiho’s mouth as she returned it with a passion that surprised her.

How did I never notice how fucking sexy she is? Her face, those lips—those tits! She could feel the mammoth mounds pressing into her, and without thinking about it raised her own hands up until they trailed along the fox-spirit’s ribs. Hwa’s tails rose up and brushed along her skin, but the kumiho made no move to stop her as Penny’s touch wandered and explored its way over the other woman’s body.

She became dimly aware of a gradual loosening of pressure on her own chest, but didn’t realize that Hwa was unlacing the back of her corset top until the rise and fall of her own breasts caused the black fabric to slip free.

“I—I don’t—like women like—”

“Shh. You need this.”

Penny wasn’t prepared to argue the point—every nerve in her body felt like it was on fire, and the only thing that seemed able to soothe them was the ruby red lips of her fellow party member. She lost herself in them, lost track of time, lost track of who it was that she was kissing, lost track of everything but the sweet taste of Hwa’s mouth.

The pair half-stumbled across the room, **** to break their kiss for long enough even to look at what they were doing. They nearly toppled over entirely when Penny’s vision went black as her corset was slipped over her head. Her skirt followed a moment later, and before she knew what was happening, the siren found the back of her bare thighs pressed against the edge of the mattress, trapped once again.

Only then did Hwa pause. The Korean woman seemed to drink in Penny’s nude form, her eyes wandering over the blonde woman’s heavy breasts and wide hips. Rather than making her feel self-conscious, the siren reveled in the attention, felt her slick and swollen sex throb with a **** hunger.

Penny half expected Hwa to push her to her knees. In that moment, she wasn’t sure that she would have resisted if the kumiho demanded to be serviced. Absent the other woman’s mouth, her lips seemed to pulse in time with the beating of her heart.

To her surprise, Hwa stepped back instead. With a deliberate grace, she raised her hands up, swept aside the curtain of silky black hair which fell about her shoulders and reached behind her neck. A moment later, the top of her dress slipped free, revealing the massive tits Lily had inflicted on her only the day before. While they were no larger than Hazel’s, on the kumiho’s more slender frame they looked absolutely enormous. The woman’s defiance seemed to extend to gravity, because despite their size, her breasts remained pornographically perky with upturned pink nipples which were themselves impossible to ignore.

The dress slipped off a moment later as Hwa’s hands caressed their way down her own hips and pushed it free. She wore nothing beneath, leaving her as naked as the siren. To Penny, her own nudity felt like an invitation—a plea to the world to look upon her and lavish her with attention, but when the fox spirit began to stalk forward, Hwa’s nakedness felt almost like a challenge: Look upon me, if you dare.

Penny couldn’t have taken her eyes off of her if she’d wanted to. Hwa’s hand—so slender and delicate—felt like an inexorable **** as it pressed itself against the top of her chest and pushed her back onto the bed. She couldn’t resist—didn’t need to, didn’t want to, even as she felt her thighs part.

The hungry sound which escaped Hwa’s lips a moment later was like ambrosia. For a moment Penny knew what the sailors her ancestors had lured to their doom had experienced. She needed that sound, reveled in it, in the knowledge that she was wanted.

A moment later, Hwa’s tongue brushed against Penny’s pussy, and even that trace of conscious thought was gone, its position usurped by ecstasy and need.

By the time Kevin caught up to Blue, she was in the lobby with Elsie. At first glance he thought that nothing had changed about either the brownie or the harpy, but on closer examination the DM realized he was wrong on both counts. The change was subtle in each case, but unmistakable once he noticed them.

In Elsie, the change was simple: her light brown eyes now glowed from within. Outside, he doubted he’d be able to see the difference, but in the somewhat dim hall the magical effect was obvious enough.

For Blue, the change became apparent the moment the three stepped outside. While the harpy’s feathers were still the same brilliant blue, both on her head and along her arms, the sunlight revealed an iridescent shimmer when they caught the sun.

From Blue’s perspective, events in the Monk room hadn’t been particularly unusual. She wasn’t sure why Kevin’s answer wasn’t one of the options Xen gave her, but the man hadn’t hesitated or seemed confused when she relayed it. In her case, the change came in the form of an entirely separate ability, rather than an upgrade.

Monk - Path of the Feywild - BDSM

(Passive) Learn to follow the ways of the chaotic Feywild. Improves cognition and resistance to compulsion effects. Increases enjoyment of games, challenges, and competitions, with a corresponding increase in competitive spirit. Will see sexual outcomes of competitions as being natural and desirable.

(Active) When Blue makes a wager, the challenged party must name fitting stakes. As long as the terms are equitable all involved parties must fulfill them.

The result was not as bad as Kevin expected. While he knew that it had impacted her personality to an extent, she seemed perfectly happy with the result and it could have been much, much worse.

The trio set off towards their next destination—one that Blue had picked out deliberately, rather than the next closest. They talked along the way, with Kevin sharing his version of events with the other two. Where Kyle had challenged him, but not really given him any options, both Blue and Elsie were given the opportunity to learn a new class ability or upgrade one of their own. Kevin hadn’t been charged for Kyle’s services, but Elsie was down nearly half of her GP.

Elsie: 232 GP - 100 GP = 132 GP

Blue was down more than that, but seemed unconcerned. “I’ll find a way to get more. Penny has a bunch from her job, right? Maybe she’d like to make a wager…”

Blue: 374 GP – 200 GP = 174 GP

They arrived at the second Place of Power without further upheaval. Like the last location, this one had its origin in Kevin’s worldbuilding, but had likewise undergone some significant alterations at Lily’s hand.

“Wait, is this—this is the bathhouse?” It took Kevin a few moments to recognize the structure, changed as it was. His original description of the building had been inspired by Roman baths—a massive open-air chamber surrounded by pillars where spring-fed waters were heated from beneath by magic. The new version included the same open mixed bathing facilities—but also a secluded ‘adventurers only’ section that the bathhouse attendant led them to without being asked.

The interior there looked more akin to a Japanese onsen, with a small wooden antechamber with shelves for their clothes that opened onto a gorgeously appointed pool surrounded by smoothly polished rocks and carefully shaped hedges. The attendant left them a moment later, but only after making sure to point out the sign on the wall.

The Springs of Renewed Vigor

Kevin eyed the words suspiciously, but where he hesitated, Blue did not.

“Last one in has to wash the others backs!” The harpy stripped without a trace of self-consciousness or modesty, peeling off the skin-tight new outfit and tossing it in a ball onto one of the shelves. Elsie pulled the clothes back out a moment later, folded them neatly without being asked, and replaced them, then turned to Kevin. “No—no point in modesty now, right?”

The brownie hadn’t gone into much detail about her own experiences within her hall, apart from mentioning that she’d gone inside the Erudite chamber. She seemed a little distracted now, but Elsie had earned enough trust and good will by now that Kevin didn’t feel the need to press. Instead, he said, “If you’re comfortable with it. I know you said you were going to try to embrace being here, but that doesn’t mean you have to get involved with everything.”

She shook her head quickly. “No, I know. I—when it’s our night together, let’s talk then. Until then, just—just let me figure things out. You’ve got six other women who also need you, remember?”

Kevin laughed ruefully. “Seven—don’t forget Abby is here full time too.” He shook his head as he began to strip. “Well—I don’t have anything you both haven’t already seen.”

A minute later, Kevin waded into the slightly more than waist-deep water of the bath. seated on a bench beneath the surface of the water as wisps of steam rose up around him. Blue gave him an appraising look, but rather than resume her **** from that morning, she continued her exploration of the waters.

At first, the temperature seemed just shy of uncomfortable, but as Kevin started to get used to the heat, he felt knots unravel in places he hadn’t even known that he had them. Elsie joined him a moment later, her face flush with a combination of the heat and obvious lingering doubts about her semi-public nudity. The English girl’s arms kept moving as though to cover herself, only to stop a moment later when she realized that she was doing it.

“If you want to grab a towel, I’m sure it’s fine—you don’t need to impress anyone, Elsie.” Kevin called out quietly in what he hoped was a reassuring tone.

Elsie gave him a nervous smile. “I’m OK. It’s—it’s not like there aren’t who knows how many million people who watched the two of us… you know.”

“Watched the two of you what?” Blue chimed in curiously, as she started to make her way across the water towards them. A small bow wave rose ahead of her as she joined the other two, then broke against Kevin as he sank onto a stone seat beneath the surface.

“Have sex.” Kevin said the words with a quiet sigh as he allowed the waters of the spring to relax him. He’d been concerned about aphrodisiac effects in the water—akin to those he’d experienced when the party had been transported to chase after Blue a few days before—but so far all he felt was better. “No point trying to hide it. I—look, Blue, can we just have a talk? While we’re all here in the bath?”

Blue’s lips quirked into a playful smile. “Nothing hidden here.” She glanced down at their exposed bodies, concealed only by translucent water and wisps of steam. “But sure, I can slow down long enough for you to catch up.”

Kevin snorted. “That’d be a change, but that’s not what I wanted to talk about. Well—it is, it’s important, but it’s not the only thing. The first week—I barely got to talk to you. Your day was the last one of the week, and then instead of getting to spend any real time with you, we all got kidnapped by a Babylonian goddess instead and wound up—”

“Fucking each other’s brains out for hours?”

The words were accompanied by a deliberate motion of Blue’s eyes down towards the water and a slightly lascivious smile that brought a chuckle to Kevin’s lips. “Yeah. Which—I can’t say it wasn’t a good time, but that’s not enough. You can’t build a lasting relationship on nothing but sex.”

Blue smirked. Kevin was surprised at the change in the harpy, even after having had a hand in crafting it himself—while he could still recognize her personality, the changes were significant enough to be immediately recognizable. She was as quick as she’d been before, but some of that speed had been turned not to introspection, but to a deeper analysis and understanding that he hadn’t seen before. “Obviously, you’d wear yourselves out. Although maybe not with this bath, we only just got here and I’m already feeling pretty great!”

It was only when Blue mentioned the water that Kevin realized he didn’t have to guess about any potential effects—House Rule would tell him outright.

The Springs of Renewed Vigor: Immersion in the baths applies an effect eliminating refractory period for the remainder of the round and provides a +25% ongoing stamina recovery effect until dawn of the following day.

“Oh, you’re right—about the spring, that is, not the relationship thing. I—”

“Wanna bet?”

Blue interrupted almost immediately, but the smile on her face showed that she was joking.

Probably.

“I’m sure there are plenty of relationships out there built on nothing but sex. Maybe even lasting ones, but—that’s not what I want. I’m pretty sure the reason Lily—Lilith—gave us the introduction that she did when she brought us here is that she knew I’d rebel harder if she told us that all of you were brought here just to sleep with me.” When Blue arched an eyebrow in response, Kevin stared at her for a moment. Then he started, and quickly added, “Oh, that’s right—I haven’t had the chance to talk to you about the other seasons of Harem Hotel, have I?”

Elsie spoke up at that point to add, “Blue and I were roommates the first week, so I told her some of it.”

Blue nodded. “A whole show where a bunch of women or men are brought on so they can get turned into sex toys for some guy, right? Most of the time, at least.”

Kevin let out a dissatisfied grunt. “I mean—basically, yeah. I didn’t ask for this. None of us did, and I’m still trying to figure out a way to navigate through it safely. That’s the gist of what Kyle was trying to tell me, I think. When I got here, I knew that I didn’t want to watch as a bunch of innocent women and Hwa got turned into sex toys.”

That got a giggle from Elsie and an unreserved burst of laughter from Blue. “What I didn’t know was what I did want. Each of you is incredible in her own ways, but without getting to know you I can’t find a way for us to fit together. Until I can figure that out, Lilith is just going to keep changing you.”

To Kevin’s relief, Blue actually seemed to take his words seriously. The harpy was silent for a few moments, then leaned back into the water until she was half-floating with her head and shoulders above the water. “I know that the thing Lily did yesterday changed us, changed our history, but it still feels real. Do you remember what you promised me, when we first met?”

The clashing memories took Kevin a moment to sort through—a process made worse by the fact that while the harpy was apparently far older than she appeared, he’d been a child at the time. He had to think carefully through his scattered recollections before he tentatively asked, “That I was going to show you the city?”

“The world. You promised you were going to take me back with you so that I could see somewhere other than the mountains where I was born.” Blue’s tone was wistful, and while her lips remained curled in a smile, her eyes stared off into the cloudless sky above. She was quiet for a few moments longer as Kevin digested the promise he’d apparently made—one that hadn’t been part of his life a week ago, but had suddenly been in his history for years.

“This wasn’t what you had in mind, but it’s still progress. I want to see things, Kevin. My flock was—harpies aren’t complicated creatures. We squabble and we steal, we fuck and we eat. For most of my sisters, that’s enough—it’s the way the world is, it’s the way the world will always be. Sometimes I felt like the only one who remembered the stories that were passed down—that once upon a time, we flew over the sea, moved from island to island as whim took us. Men feared us, the gods—well, they didn’t respect us, exactly, but at least they didn’t treat us like mortals.”

Kevin and Elsie shared a glance, then looked back at Blue. The harpy’s new face and body looked like that of a woman in her mid to early twenties. Both knew she was older than that, but the way she was talking, caused the DM to ask, “Blue, how long do harpies normally live?”

“Hmm? Oh, I dunno. Five hundred years or so? I’m not young anymore, but most of the flock was a lot older. The times the stories were talking about were a few generations ago, if that’s what you mean.” Both Kevin and Elsie reeled at the information—a fact which went apparently unnoticed by Blue as she continued staring into the sky. “If you want to figure out what kind of relationship we’re going to have, that’s fine. I’ve already been changed, but—I think most of them have been for the better. For me, at least. It was hard, before. Thinking. Remembering. Focusing. It’s a lot easier now, and it’s easier still when I’m around you. That’s probably the effects of the first day’s transformation at work. When you tell me things, I have to listen. It gives me an anchor point to work with. That… helps.”

The harpy suddenly raised her arms, water splashing off of them and then spraying down as she pushed herself to her feet once more. “I think my point is—the reason I haven’t been seeking you out as much is that I’m happy with the way things have been going so far. I’m smarter now. Talking is easier. I can tell by the way you look at me that you think I’m more attractive. You’re going to keep your promise now, right? Take me to see the world?”

Kevin couldn’t help but nod in response. “I—yes. Somehow.”

“Good. You’d better. Now, it’s time to get up—we’ve got one more place to get to, we can’t afford to laze around in the pool all day while you stare at my tits.” When Kevin sputtered at the accusation, Blue let out a laugh. Then she began to push through the water towards the steps leading out, leaving a slightly confused and overwhelmed Dungeon Master and brownie in her wake.