Saved by a Promise

There were no words to the Harpy’s song, only feelings and an exotic, strange melody. Zachary felt safety and happiness in her song, even as his still rational mind felt a spike of fear. All it would take to continue feeling happy was a few steps forward. But that was exactly what he shouldn’t do. His mind felt like it had been split, part yearning and part warning. He took a step forwards. Then wished that he could just make up his mind, without this overwhelming influence.

In a moment, the feelings dimmed. His mind reforming as the song lost its luster. It was still beautiful, but that bewitching quality was gone. He stopped and blinked, frozen in what suddenly felt like a much more precarious position. After a few seconds of inaction, the harpy noticed his apparently non-bewitched state. The song petered out a moment later, returning the hillside to near silence.

She took a step forward and peered at him through slitted eyes, assessing him like a hawk might assess a porcupine. “I had him,” she muttered, “then something freed him.” Another cautious step forward. “What could a city man have to best my song?”

Knowing he had to act quickly to keep his skin on the rest of him, he thought of what he could offer to her that would be worth more than his own ****. Shuddering at the image his own overactive imagination conjured up, he had an inspiration. He could offer her something, but he would need a way to make a harpy keep her end of the bargain. Wishing again, he braced himself for what might be the most difficult sale of his life.

“Hello.” He began, the word almost caught in his throat. “I have an offer for you that I think you won’t want to miss.” He felt a slight draw on his mana as he said this, indicating his fool’s scheme might actually work. “I can make things, almost anything you might want.”

She stopped advancing, now only 15 feet away, probably on the edge of pouncing range. “Hmmmm, perhaps.” She mused, her voice smooth and sweet. “I do find myself without a nest.” She paused for a few moments. He felt another mana draw as her face twisted into a predatory smile. “And companions.”

His own facade faltered a bit a that, but whatever magic gave him the confidence to start this helped him continue as well. “I can make you a nest and help you out as long as I get final say on what’s allowed between us.” He could feel the drain increase, but his mana could sustain this for at least a couple minutes.

The harpy’s smile grew at first, before pinching up at the mention of him having final say. “Oh really? Fine, I’ve already got enough meat for today.” She gave him one last look, sizing him up.

Now that she seemed less intent on attacking him or otherwise causing him harm, he had the chance to size her up better as well. The harpy had an hourglass figure, with very strong legs leading to raptor like talons instead of feet. Her arms seemed thin and weak in comparison, an obvious concession to flight. Her sand colored wings were comparatively huge, each one almost twice her height and folded a third of the way out from her shoulders. The musculature for her wings seemed to wrap around her chest amplifying her already large breasts and utilizing every bit of the space on her upper back.

Her anatomy was so similar to that of a normal human that from the front she looked normal if not for the wings behind her. One part that was both intriguing and strange was how her uncovered lower lips looked puffed up and aroused seemingly regardless of what she was doing. She was built for temptation, and that aroused and frightened him in unequal measure. He would have to be extremely careful with her.

“I’ll see you latter, then we can discuss this nest.” Her words dripped with seduction now that direct confrontation was off the table.

Staring after her as she took off with the rabbit in her talons he realized they hadn’t even exchanged names. He also saw her backside, and it was as well sculpted as her chest if he could ignore the weird slant to her back approaching her wings.

A few moments after she dipped around a hill and out of sight, the potential repercussions of using his curse of knowledge twice in a row caught up to him. What exactly had he lost and gained through it’s use?

Zachary, Level 10 Tailor
Stats:
Health - 70
Stamina - 25
Mana - 30
Nutrition - 28
Attributes:
Endurance - 7
Strength - 6
Coordination - 16
Focus - 8
Intelligence - 13
Traits:
Curse of Knowledge - Can acquire any trait, skill, or spell at will. The curse erases 2 random traits, skills, or spells when activated (excluding this curse).
Dexterous Hands - Can execute precise, minimally taxing actions unusually quickly.
Skills:
Tailoring - Create and customize cloth items.
Persuasion - Convince others to act in a way closer to how you want them to act.
Spells:
Oath Bind (sustained) - **** another entity to obey rules and agreements they make, turning their words into binding oaths. Requires continuous mana if they would otherwise bend or break these rules beyond the limits of the castor’s interpretation.

He had apparently gained the spell Oath Bind, which must be the spell to thank for him surviving that encounter. He had wanted something to make dealing with her easier and to keep him safe from treachery. This definitely worked for both of those points, although it seemed to indicate that she was actually okay with the arrangement on some level. The thought was reassuring and worrying at the same time. He could probably get someone to obey their own words, but only if the situation stayed similar enough and they agreed in the first place.

Persuasion seemed a happy coincidence then, that the gods’ system had recognized his successful attempt and given the skill as evidence of that. He would have to use it to keep it, but that gave him hope that the curse wouldn’t totally drain him of his abilities.

As for what he was missing now, whatever had given him resistance to the harpy’s song was obviously missing. He couldn’t quite recall what was missing beyond that, and the thought worried him just a bit.