Fetch Hannah and offer Irene an alternative she won't like

"Alright then," you say, clasping your hands beneficently. "I am not some heartless harpy, I understand and sympathize with your request, my dear. Marzena?"

Your witch-liason tilts the brim of her floppy hat back and clicks her heels together twice by way of acknowledgement.

"Go and fetch Hannah from the tower. She has a nervous disposition, so be sure that you impress upon her that she isn't in any kind of trouble. In fact, go on and tell her that her friend Irene is here to see her."

As Marzena walked off, swaying her hips playfully, Irene regarded you with suspicion. She was the very picture of a freckled ingenue; probably only a couple of years younger than you, but so naive... the special kind of naive that made her think she was worldly. "Might we have a meeting place that isn't currently being used as a whorehouse, difficult a request though that might be in this town?"

"What, you're demanding free accommodations from me, now?" you asked snidely. "I ought to charge you for the show. I'd bet a prince's ransom that you will be telling this story to your friends back in Vismark... in an indignant tone, perhaps, but they won't be able to resist asking for details any more than you can resist telling them."

There was a moment of relative silence, filled in by the soft slap of Harad's muscular hand against Brigid's hips and breasts. The latter, who was not at all used to being mounted in public (and only moderately experienced with it in private) was hiding her face in her hands... but the juice that was matting her scraggly blond pubes and the soft grunts she gave in time with each of the man's gentle, unhurried thrusts told a different story. Even if the loutish Captain Harad wasn't really trying to give her pleasure, in the process of savoring his own 'bribe' for as long as possible he was helping Brigid work out many months of unaddressed sexual need.

"Ahhh... my life-giving fountain is nearly here... In all the pleasure domes I have ever seen yet not been allowed to enter, I have never seen a sweet thing quite as scrumptious as you..." he breathed heavily into Brigid's face. It seemed there was a tiny spark of a romantic buried somewhere within that foreign brute, you thought.

Irene didn't appreciate it though, and made a disgusted sound, averting her gaze again. You crossed the room and demanded her attention.

"Tell me Irene, are you still a virgin?" you asked in as nonchalant a tone as if you were asking if her dress was satin or muslin.

"How rude!" she frowned at you. "Yes, of course I am! I hardly expect YOU, Countess, to appreciate the virtues of a chaste life, so let's not discuss it any further."

"Hmm... How would I know, in any case? I do not accuse you of lying," you prefaced, smirking, "but you could easily play the virtuous daughter during the day while engaging in the most scandalous liasons at night, with none ever being the wiser. Perhaps that is an even more pragmatic path than the bluntness that us ladies of Undrek take pride in."

"Believe what you like." Irene replied, breaking eye contact with a dismissive sweep of her head. "I think I would rather please whomever my future husband is than you. I know I am still a maiden, and that is enough."

"And yet," you say wryly, "if you've been riding horses all over the kingdom I suspect that your very physical 'maidenhood' is no longer intact. Perhaps that was a reliable indicator in dark days past when daughters were kept locked up in the tops of towers and kept pale and frail... but it is not an uncommon sight to see young ladies accompanying their fathers on campaign or to distant courts, now. If you weren't virginal, out traveling under minimal escort like this, then you are the only one who would ever know."

She looks a bit shocked, so you continue. "Yes, perhaps you realize that visiting here could be an excellent opportunity for you to gain some experience?"

"How horrid!" is her only response.

"Natural, more like." Captain Aeson chimes in. "I am a learned elf, mi'lady, who knows much of the healer's arts by necessity. And one of the seldom-mentioned facts I know of that most humans do not is that sexual activity is an important factor in the health of women... it is truly not healthy to go for a lady's entire adulthood and only occasionally, joylessly submitting to her husband. It makes the whole experience unpleasant for all involved and can cause difficulty or even **** when delivering children. Can't you tell that plump little blonde getting railed on the table needed it?"

"Mmm," you agree. "Perhaps we could help her? You don't need to ask my permission, I needn't arrange things for you or anything like that, Irene. Just spend a little time in the right drinking establishments... wait long enough for whatever escorts your father sent along with you to get lured off by other ladies... you'll find it quite easy to find a handsome, accommodating man who will show you a good time. Or a girl, if that's your preference. Go on. Don't you think you deserve a reward, going to such trouble to save your dear witch friend from being pimped out by the likes of me?"

Irene wordlessly turned away from you, cringing with indignation but apparently deciding that any response would only encourage you. Since she was determined to be uninteresting, you returned to Harad and Brigid's side with a swish of your skirts. Harad had changed positions, rolling the dwarf lass onto her side so he could hold one of her thighs up against his chest and squeeze her there while he penetrated her.

"Just a minute more if you please, Captain... I want to make sure that my treasurer is treated well, you know." you say, giving Brigid's braided blonde head a tender pat as she bounces back and forth against the hips of her 'lover', if he could be called that.

"Oh clanfather... forgive me..." Brigid muttered finally dropping her hands to her sides and giving the kind of sustained, echoing wail that might end an opera. Harad bared his teeth and chuckled with self-satsifaction as he started thrusting faster into her, actually scooting her pale ass-cheeks a few feet forward as he threw himself into her with greater and greater ****. At last he buried his desert scimitar in her up to the hilt, and you saw his hips twitch as he filled Brigid's cunt. The dwarf gave another yelp at the feeling of his seed pouring into her; in fact, it excited her so much that she grabbed his hands almost tenderly and pulled him onto her, leaving the two of them joined. They clearly weren't going to be getting up anytime soon.

Since Irene was proving to be a tough nut to crack, as soon as you finished appreciating the happy tableaux of pleasure (and making a mental note to call the maid in here as soon as they left so that tonight's supper didn't smell of sweat and cum), you started planning your next move. Granted, she wasn't of great importance in and of herself... but she was pretty, and had a forceful personality. She could make a lot of trouble for you if she really wanted, and it was likely she'd marry up rather than down. A Duke or a foreign prince was an enemy you could do without.

Marzena at last reappeared, leading Hannah, who was unable to restrain herself from running over to clasp Irene's hands with joy. "Oh Irie! I thought I'd never see you again!" The two women embraced tearfully. "But... but please, I don't want you to get in trouble for trying to free me," Hannah said in between emotional sighs and kisses on the cheek. "It's true what they said about me, I don't deserve to be up there with you in Vismark anymore..."

"Don't speak of such things," Irene said, holding her friend's face. "The important thing is that I've come here to make sure that you are able to live a virtuous life of repentance, and treated with the delicacy you still deserve. I had a word with the... gracious Countess. I've ensured that you won't be used in such a way. Some day, one can hope that all of your fellow accused maleficar can be released from such ugly treatment and allowed to live in dignity as well..."

"Oh," you said, butting in and holding up your index finger, "but that may be sooner than you think, my dear friend. Not only is Hannah being released to perform an alternate form of service, but every woman of the Crooked Tower is as well."

Irene looked at you, agape. "You... you are?"

Your smile was, perhaps, allowing a little too much of your malign intent to show through, but it was too delicious to help yourself. "Indeed - though you should be sure to give her as much affection now, while you still can. She will be marching out with the militia tomorrow, you see."

"What?" Hannah went pale and froze in place like a statue. Irene stared, uncomprehending. "What?" she gasped. "You can't mean..."

"The charter of this town states that the prisoners of the Crooked Tower are to make themselves useful to the citizens in whatever way their talents dictate, at the discretion of the reigning Countess." you say with a saucy sway of your head.

"But that's madness! You can't expect a delicate girl like Hannah to go out onto what could be a battlefield!"

"If I'm there in person," you explain patiently, "She, and any other witch, may have her manacles removed and perform magic under the direct supervision of myself and a magistrate. Doesn't that sound like fun, Hannah dear? Going out and killing people?" you say in an insultingly cheerful voice.

"You..." Irene balled her fists in anger and raised her fist as if to strike you in the chest with an awkward downward swing. You giggled and stepped back, as her girlish face grew almost as red as her hair. "You're going to threaten her with such horror in the hopes that I desist? Her and dozens of others? Hannah! Please! Help me plead your case," she falls to her knees, "I beg you for mercy for her sake, Countess! Do not **** me to chose such a thing! She's miserable here like this, she must be! Please, Hannah, tell her!"

Marzena spoke up. "You're in luck, Lady Irene! It is, as a matter of fact, Hannah's choice. Is she correct, my darling? How do you like your present existence in the Crooked Tower? Want to go traipsing about? I must say, I'm tempted to take Countess Zoe up on her offer myself if it's genuine."

Hannah, sweat beading on her forehead, looked frantically back and forth between you and Irene, clearly being the kind of woman who doesn't relish saying no to anyone or ever challenging anyone directly.

"Of course there is another option, Irene." you said after a good long time - pausing only to give Captain Harad a slap on the bottom as he leisurely got himself dressed again. "You could spend a few nights working for me on the streets of Undrek. That would be enough to justify giving Hannah, at least, a permanent reprieve from any 'duties' at the Crooked Tower. What do you think?"

Irene seemed like she didn't know how to respond. That was fine; you'd wait patiently for her answer.