Yes, but not quite to the results she is expecting

Excited at the prospect of being able to bring Tally another recruit, Mi nodded discreetly to let Brim know that she understood. The guard was standing at attention, waiting for Mi to pass her by and go through the gate, and that’s what it looked like Mi was going to do… until the last second, where Mi grabbed hold of the guard’s forearm and stopped walking.

“Huh?” The guard reacted to her arm being snatched. “What did I… oohhh…” her eyelids began to flutter.

“Keep holding on,” Brim instructed, “it works much faster that way.” And so Mi did, maintaining a firm grip on the guard’s forearm as she began to writhe in pleasure. One loud moan later, the guard had sunken to her knees, crotch soaked, panting. “It’s finished,” Brim said, “it’s safe to let go now.”

Mi knelt down on one knee to get town to the guard’s level. “Come with me,” she said warmly, moving hair out of the guard’s face, “I’ll take you our new favorite person.”

“Mistress…” the guard slurred, face split ear to ear with a woozy grin. Mi hurriedly stood up and backed away as if she’d seen a spider. “What? No, no, you’ve got the right idea, but it’s not me…”

“Mistress,” the guard repeated, seemingly too distracted gazing lovingly up at Mi’s face to take in anything she was saying. “Brim,” Mi said, “You did the magic wrong, you were supposed to make her love Tally.”

“Yeah, sorry, that’s just how this works,” Brim said, leaning against the side of the doorframe with his arms folded. “The subject is bound to whoever administered the spell.”

“That won’t do at all!” Mi worried, “she’s supposed to be Tally’s!”

“Well, she kind of is,” Brim said, “through you. I’ll be able to customize her mind however we like once she’s had a chance to simmer down a bit, so don’t worry. Unless, I mean… I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to keep her,” Brim smirked, as the guard clawed at Mi’s boots.

“But I don’t even know her name!” Mi protested.

“I’m Ance, Mistress,” came a voice from the groveling huddle at her feet.

“How long until she’s… sober?” Mi asked Brim.

“Oh, a few minutes, probably,” Brim estimated. “You don’t need to wait, we can go right now, and she’ll follow you around like a puppy.”

“Uh… okay…” Mi said uncertainly. “Ance… I want you to come with me.”

“Yes, Mistress,” Ance said, rising to her feet, “lead the way.”

Mi ordered Ance to close the gate, but keep the key- just in case Tally needed back in there. Mi then followed the tantalizing ghostly image of Tally off of the side of the main path and into some untended fields, towards where Brim promised the real Tally would be waiting.

While they were walking, Mi finally broke down and snuck a couple glances at Brim. What she saw was exciting enough that she couldn’t stop herself from asking about it. “Brim,” she mumbled, “I have a question. I’ve haven’t seen Tally naked… Is this form you’re taking accurate to the real thing? Or is it just how I imagine him?”

Brim looked down. “Why? Too good to be true?”

“I’d just like to know if what I’m seeing right now is what he really looks like under that armor, or if it’s just… wishful thinking.”

Brim raised an eyebrow. “Only one way to find out, Mi. I’m not going to spoil the surprise.” Brim did, however, perform a precisely attuned waggle of the waist which caused a bit of a helicopter effect to happen, which nearly caused Mi to burst out laughing. To stop herself, she clapped a hand over her mouth and looked away.

“Why do you keep talking to yourself, Mistress?” Asked Ance, who had been quietly observing Mi’s conversation with Brim from behind. Mi looked around sheepishly.

“No need to get embarrassed,” Brim smiled, “You don’t have to answer to her. She’s yours, remember? Go on, order her not to question you.”

“The person we’re going to see will be able to explain,” Mi said, in defiance of Brim’s temptation. Brim pouted in disappointment.

Tally and Prennel were sitting across from each other in front of the fire Prennel had started using a flint she kept in a little utility pouch on her belt. The two of them were playing twenty-questions in an attempt to pass the time while waiting for Brim to return. Tally had not told Prennel about Brim, nor what they were sitting waiting around for, but Prennel didn’t seem to need any justification. She was perfectly content just being with Tally doing whatever: if that meant sitting on her ass in prickly tall grass, trying to stay warm by a crude fire even with the comforts of civilization still within walking distance, then that was the thing to do.

“You hear that?” Tally hissed suddenly, crouching down to hide in the grass. Prennel looked around and grabbed her axe up off the gound. Tally waited while she stood up and scanned the horizon.

“Well?”

“It’s the general,” Prennel said, “The one who was going to use you for target practice. You get away, I’ll hold her off.”

“Wait, no!” Tally leapt up in front of Prennel to block her advance, as she prepared to fight to the **** for his protection. “She’s alright, she’s with me. The whole ‘prisoner’ thing was just an act.” Once Prennel lowered her weapon, Tally turned around too, to see Mi waving merrily as she approached. She had another guard following at her heels, Tally noticed with some concern.

“She’s alright,” Mi called over to Tally, “your ghost friend Brim did his magic on her. Her name’s Ance.” As she spoke, Mi felt Brim’s presence leaving her body, and watched Tally nearly lose his balance as Brim settled back down inside him instead.

“We brought another recruit,” Brim chirped happily, as she re-appeared in Tally’s peripheral vision. Mi and Ance were getting quite close now, and Mi opened her arms in welcome. Tally walked forward to meet her embrace, which nearly cracked his ribs- it seemed Mi didn’t know her own strength. “I’m so sorry for leaving you behind,” Mi apologized, “but I see you’ve done alright without me. It’s Prennel, isn’t it?” She asked, looking over Tally’s shoulder.

“That’s right, general,” Prennel replied, with a quick bow.

“Ance,” Mi beckoned, “come over here, I want to introduce you to Tally: Our new leader. From now on, we all work for him, got it?”

Prennel threw her arms up in enthusiastic agreement. Ance, on the other hand, looked at Tally, and was visibly unimpressed. “I’d rather work for you, Mistress,” she said frankly, after a moment’s consideration.

“Mistress?” Tally repeated, and looked to Mi for explanation.

“Uh, sorry about that, it was the closest I could get to recruiting her for you. Brim says he can fix it; talk to him.”

“It’s true, I can,” Brim said. “…But I kind of don’t want to. At least, not yet. I think it will be fun, only being able to order her around through Mi Iau.” Without waiting for a possible response from Tally, Brim promptly vanished.

Tally took a moment to absorb the situation around him. Behind him stood Prennel, tough and capable but a tad dim, completely oblivious to the fact that she’s just been brainwashed. In front of him was Mi Iau, strong-willed leader, acutely aware of her own position and eager to help. And behind Mi stood Ance, who had no loyalty to Tally whatsoever, but had an unconditional obedience towards Mi, which Mi would undoubtably use to Tally’s benefit. One way or another, each of the three of them was now firmly planted on Tally’s side, turned against their own people in favor of helping Tally to vanquish them. The question was, now that he had these three warriors at his disposal, how would he make good use of them?