Some things can be sweet

Sirens were natural manipulators of minds. The magic Penny wove through her song was usually quite light—a subtle touch worked better when you wanted to keep a crowd coming back, where a heavier helping of magic might confuse and overwhelm them when they got home.

Of course, her mother and sisters didn’t share that opinion, and were perfectly happy to leave their various husbands and lovers as fog-brained drooling wrecks. The venue might have changed, but the results weren’t too far from the savage behavior of sirens past. Only the lack of an actual body count allowed them to slip through the currents of society without being caught out as the outsiders that they were.

As she and Kevin had strolled through the streets of the city towards the castle, though, Penny’s experience had allowed her to finally recognize the subtle tug of Lily’s magic on her mind. It was a delicate thing—more subtle than anything she’d ever managed herself—but pervasive, and buried deep.

Penny couldn’t actually tell where Lily’s magic ended and her own mind began. It was as though rather than an enchantment woven over her, her new abilities were the result of the hostess’ power reshaping a part of her mind to become magic itself.

The thought should have been chilling. In a way, it was, except—it could have been so much worse. The influence was there, pushing her to perform, but it was little more than a nudge. Still, Penny had to wonder how much worse it would get, especially if she refused to play along.

Kevin and Penny made it back to the master’s suite with a comfortable margin of time before Lily’s magic kicked in to **** them there. Once she arrived, she could feel the subtle pressure at the back of her head pushing her to throw herself at the man, to perform for him.

She resisted. Instead, the siren wandered through the room with her arms outstretched so that her fingers could brush along each object she passed to take in their texture as well as their appearance. It was a habit she’d developed when she was young and she’d never seen any reason to try to break it. So many people focused exclusively on their sense of sight, when they were equipped with several other perfectly good senses that they all but ignored.

Sure, her hearing was probably the most important of her senses, but there was something about the way the polished wood of the arm of the overstuffed chair glided beneath her fingertips, about the way the plush blankets which covered the massive bed embraced her hand, which spoke to her on a deep and inviting level.

“Swanky digs.”

“Yeah. I still feel like someone’s going to show up and tell me that I need to leave—that there’s been a mix-up somewhere. I was never someone who stayed in the penthouse suite, so this–” Kevin gestured around the vast open space of the master’s quarters. The main bedroom alone could have encompassed Penny’s entire apartment, with room to spare. “–feels like a bit much. I was thinking about ordering dinner. Have any preferences? So far, the kitchen staff here has been able to come up with basically anything I can think of.”

“I want to clean up before I eat.” The door to the bathroom was open, and Penny turned to head in that direction as she added, “But maybe gumbo?”

“Man, I should have thought about that. I haven’t had Cajun food in years. There was this incredible place down the street, but it closed down. I’ll ask the staff to bring food in—is an hour enough? I don’t want to rush you.”

“An hour should be fine.” Penny walked through the door into the expansive bathroom and paused, then added, “This time, at least. Holy shit, I may come back here and use your tub. We’ve got these little wash basin things in our rooms at the inn, but this is–”

“Yeah, no doubt that’s all on purpose, to give you all yet another reason to come join me in my bedroom.”

“It’s working. I’m going to wash up, I’ll be out in a bit.”

Hwa slipped down the street like a fox through brush, her expression troubled.

She should have been, if not happy, at least satisfied that she had actions available to her. The papers that Blue had found were already bearing fruit—after this evening’s mission, Hwa was in position to take her first solid step into building a base of power for herself in the city.

A small step, perhaps, but Hwa could be patient. The day had started off with little more than probing explorations of the criminal enterprises and contacts she had learned of through the thieves’ guild’s surprisingly detailed records. Not only was most of the information still accurate and relevant, the guild itself didn’t seem to have realized what was missing.

Perhaps the office that Blue burgled belonged to someone who should not have kept the records in the first place, and they were working to cover up their absence. Perhaps the guild was simply slower and less efficient than Hwa herself. It mattered little in the end—she now knew which alchemist had allowed the experimental aphrodisiac **** to be ‘stolen’, which fence would have made the exchange to the city’s merchant elite, as well as where the ingredients which would have become the next batch of the substance were to be delivered in six day’s time.

All of that should have been cause for celebration.

Instead, as the kumiho made her way back to The Long Rest, it was all she could do to keep her mind on the streets around her, let alone make plans. If she stopped, if she allowed her mind to wander, the nightmare witch’s accursed dreams slipped back in.

Hwa would not be defeated by such—such heavy handed methods as that. She was more than the simpering creature Lily’s dream visions had implied. No matter how her body had reacted.

Continued to react.

Hwa snarled as a hulking stone-skinned male cut her off. He was not even looking her way, didn’t even seem to realize the insult he had given her. Only when he heard the fox-spirit hiss did he turn to look, to mumble, “S’ry.” Far too little. A taloned hand shot out with lightning speed, wrapped around the man’s wrist, and she pulled.

Lily’s ‘gifts’ might have been insults, but Hwa was not so arrogant that she was unwilling to use every tool available, even those which came from reprehensible sources.

The man had not started his life as an elemental spirit. As Hwa’s fingers closed on his skin, she could feel the magic which had transformed him, could feel the dark power coursing through his body. She pulled at it, swiftly overwhelmed his consciousness when he tried to fight back, and then pulled. The magic came free—sluggishly at first, then in a larger chunk. The man’s body did not revert—the dregs of Lily’s power which had given the man his physical body were too firmly attached for Dark Rewards to loose—but his eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed to the ground in a heap.

His arm pulled free of Hwa’s grip as he fell, and she managed to curl her lips into a faint smile. The magic was dark, yes, and tainted—but it was hers, now. She pulled it to herself, added it to the rest already nestled against her soul, and darted off down the street before anyone could realize what just happened and call for the city’s guards.

Tonight would be better. The effects of the tainted mushroom Hwa had foolishly tasted would have worn off. She could sleep—real sleep, not nightmare-witch crafted dreams in an endless loop thanks to Lily. Not hours of torment, her sex aflame with desire at the hands of that, that–

Hwa shook herself. She would not succumb to the succubus’ schemes. Not now. Not ever.

Behind her, she could hear the sounds of alarm as the half-dead man was discovered. With a quick burst of speed, Hwa rounded the corner and darted deeper into the crowd.

“Did you find the place?” Elsie had to work to tamp down the excitement in her voice. She hadn’t had the chance to really explore the merchant’s district when she’d been there with Penny the day before, and today had been spent first taking care of the last quest Blue had picked up, and then dealing with her own that she’d been assigned that morning.

“Yes, it was as you described.” Stheno’s transformation hadn’t yet worn off, and her new outfit suited her human form quite well. Unlike the green scaled armor she’d worn before, the new suit was formed from a few large metal plates that covered strategic areas of her body—her shoulders, breasts, groin, and thighs, specifically.

Connecting them was a thin mesh of metal wires, through which the gorgon’s olive skin was clearly visible.

Half-Plate Armor (Outfit)

Equal protection for half the weight!

This armor provides every bit as much protection against piercing, slashing, and bludgeoning attacks as full plate armor despite its appearance. Continues to provide full protection as long as one piece of it remains equipped.

“The armor they sell was interesting, but a little out of both our price ranges for the—and this is a quote from the shopkeeper—‘good stuff.’”

Tess had switched from metal plates to a lightweight coat of chain mail which clung to her athletic form suspiciously tightly. If Elsie hadn’t already known there was magic involved, the fact that the suit of silver rings hugged the selkie like a second skin would’ve made it clear.

Shifter’s Suit (Outfit)

No matter the shape the wearer takes, there’s no reason not to look good.

This outfit fully shifts to adapt to its wearer’s circumstances.

“How much were those?”

“One hundred GP each. There were other outfits which cost five hundred, or even a thousand each, but we couldn’t even try them on to see what they did. I got this one because—well–” Elsie watched Tess’ face go through a complicated series of emotions. “–I haven’t shown you my new form that Lily gave me. It’s—bigger. I didn’t want to find out that whatever I was getting out of the outfit didn’t work because the armor didn’t fit right.”

“No, that’s fair. I would—would you mind–” Elsie had to work hard to suppress the quiver that tried to creep into her voice. She could feel Tess’ need as the other woman spoke of her other form. She wanted to, needed to, but was resisting for some reason.

“I–”

To Elsie’s surprise, it was Stheno who spoke next. The woman had been largely taciturn unless directly addressed, lost instead in whatever was going on in her own head. “You should not hold back. Seize control of what you have been given.” The gorgon’s green eyes were intense as they locked onto Tess’ face and she added, “Or be seized by fate and suffer its whims.”

Tess froze, and for just a moment Elsie wondered if some of Stheno’s curse had crept through. Then the selkie flushed, and pushed her chair back as she stood. “I—no, I–”

She fled, her steps loud as she all but ran across the common room of The Long Rest to reach the door which would take her to her private room. Curiously, Elsie noted that her needs grew stronger at Stheno’s challenge, not weaker. She was tempted for a moment to pursue, but realized that she had an opportunity now that she’d been waiting for.

“So, Stheno–” The gorgon’s eyes narrowed as they turned towards Elsie, but the brownie refused to flinch back. “–about your time with Kevin…”

“So, Kevin–”

Penny’s abrupt change of tone caught Kevin off-guard. After she’d emerged from her bath, the two had feasted on a surprisingly spicy repast of blackened fish, rice, and thick soup. The castle kitchens must have either operated through some kind of magic, or been shockingly well prepared, because he remembered hearing that it took days to get a good roux prepared, but they had delivered the food within minutes of his request.

“Yes…?” Kevin tried his best to keep the sudden spike of apprehension out of his voice. He had felt like the evening had been going well, and had a sudden flashback to the last AlrightEros date he’d had. It had also seemed to be going well, and then he’d been ghosted and never heard from her again.

For the last couple hours, he and Penny had just talked. It had been—honestly, it had been surprisingly welcome. After days of madness since he’d been summoned by Lily, it felt like the first hint of normalcy Kevin had really encountered. His first night had been spent poring over a collection of sexually charged horror stories. While he certainly had no complaints about the night he’d shared with Elsie, nor the one spent with Stheno, they were both far outside of his normal scope of experience.

Dinner with Penny had felt like an actual date. They’d shared stories—both of them had lived in a number of different states across their lives, though none of them overlapped. While Penny had focused on her singing career, she’d worked enough odd office jobs to pay the bills that they held a shared disdain for corporate culture, and while she preferred different movies, they had seen enough of the same comedies to be able to compare notes.

Now, though, her tone was serious—though not somber. “My quest for the day wants me to perform for you. It was—I had fun earlier today, but I feel like that’s not enough. This is one of the quests the audience is going to judge, right?”

Kevin nodded immediately, then quickly scrambled to add, “But you don’t have to do anything you aren’t comfortable with! I’m sure you’ll be fine, right?”

Thinking back on how some of the seasons of the show he’d read about had gone, he wasn’t actually entirely sure that was accurate, but neither was he willing to push the woman into anything. To his relief, the siren offered him a smile. “I know. I was actually going to suggest that I sing to you. I know we don’t have the best setup for it here, but would you be interested?”

“I’d love it.” The words were out of Kevin’s lips almost before Penny could finish asking the question. He could still remember the sound of Penny’s voice from when Lily had first summoned her. Even if she hadn’t been both gorgeous and surprisingly easy to talk to, the magic of her voice alone would have endeared her to him.

“Do you have any requests?”

This time, Kevin’s response was much slower to arrive. For a moment, his mind went blank as he temporarily lost his knowledge of every single song he’d ever heard. Then they gradually began to trickle back in, but none of the pop music or instrumentals that sprang to mind seemed right for the incredible vocals of the curvaceous blonde woman.

When he finally thought of a song that fit her, he almost couldn’t bring himself to say it. “Do you know, um—are you familiar with any musicals?”

“I’ve listened to a few. Broadway was never the destination I had in mind, but what singer doesn’t imagine it from time to time?”

“There’s—a song that I think I’d like. Do you know Jesus Christ Superstar?”

Penny laughed. “Yeah, but that wasn’t exactly what I expected.” She thought for a moment, then asked, “Mary’s song? The one about loving him?”

Kevin managed a somewhat unsteady smile. “I know you can’t do the full thing, but—could you do the first part of ‘Everything’s Alright?’”

To his relief, Penny’s smile turned wider and warmer. “Yeah. I think I can do that for you. Actually, this gives me a chance to try something.”

The siren rose slowly, and walked over to an empty space in the room, then focused. As Kevin watched, light seemed to ripple around her. The vaguely pirate-themed outfit she wore seemed to flow like water as it transformed into a loose orange dress, complete with a checkered brown shawl and belt.

A moment later, he sat bolt upright as quiet music seemed to swell around the bard as her lips parted in song.

Try not to get worried, try not to turn onto

Problems that upset you

Don't you know

Everything's alright, yes, everything's fine

And we want you to sleep well tonight

Let the world turn without you tonight

As the tones washed over him, Kevin felt his eyes half-shut, but even as the words soothed him, he was unwilling to take his eyes away from their singer. She swayed gently as she sang, and for a moment, he felt like he could actually believe her.

Maybe everything really was going to be alright.

“Hazel.”

“Yes, Stheno?”

“Why are there four women in our inn room?”

“I couldn’t just tell them to sleep on the street, could I?”

Stheno’s eyes swept across the room. The four women in question were, admittedly, all clustered into a loose pile that did not take up much space. That did not mean they took up no space, though, and the feel of their eyes on her was uncomfortably familiar.

They were afraid.

Hazel, in contrast, was as sanguine as ever. Stheno studied the woman intently. “You could have, you chose not to.”

“I like helping people. They’re good girls, too. Aren’t you, girls?”

Three of the four nodded, while the white-haired one looked away. Stheno studied them more closely. They were all wearing some variety of plants as clothing—akin to Hazel herself, though somewhat more concealing.

They would make good fodder and concubines for her lord. Stheno nodded slowly. “We will need to introduce them to the rest of the group… cautiously.”