Startup 28: Community Facing Role

Arodus 15

5am, 26 women

I can see why cam girls don’t actually sleep with their fans. It’s obvious when you think about it, but it had never really been relevant to me until I needed to get off dozens of women in quick succession. When I’d had Autopilot, the grind had been mostly boring and occasionally pleasant. Without, it was grueling. After only an hour and a half, my jaw was tired and my fingers were pruning.

Autopilot could still help a little, but not with anything physical. Detecting sexuality to give me a prompt, providing advice on technique with knowledge checks, though? It was like having a very weird and specific YouTube tutorial channel. I tried to get cute and take a breather when one of them had a thing for being watched during sex, but as it turns out the shadow puppet doesn’t count as me for the sake of the achievement. I lost a solid ten minutes to that fuckup, but then again I really did need to catch my breath.

Clearly I am the primary beneficiary of the fact that women can orgasm multiple times in a relatively short period.

Far worse was the fourth girl, a chitin covered insect girl who didn’t even have human lips, apparently some kind of unusual variant of tiefling, who wanted straightforward vanilla sex without any reminders of her appearance. I felt bad for her, but that didn’t do anything to help me get it up any quicker. I needed to ask Olga for one of those stimulants she’d been pushing on me, even knowing that it would have compounding side effects. So far I’d managed to send away every girl happy, and I needed positive word of mouth.

Dawn can’t come soon enough. Sandara, if you pick up a single spell that can’t be used as a sexual aid I’m going to kill you.

As my penis grew painfully erect, I returned to the room and smiled gently at the young lady who had been tragically born with the appearance of a light blue preying mantis.

The internet prepared me for the concept of monster girls, but not the reality. Ok Curtis, whatever you do, don't think about her eating your head.

••••••••••

6am, 29 women

“What do when Bonefist here?” Rowe asked idly, leaning against a pillar.

Rosie inhaled, accidentally sucking in some of her coffee. If it were still hot, she would have certainly burnt herself.

I guess even lukewarm coffee has its upsides when you’re friends with Rowe.

The duo were in the entryway to the temple, watching as the second wave of customers arrived. After the fiasco with that Bekyar bitch, Syl had brought in everyone that could contribute to security without ruining the mood since they obviously couldn’t rely on the temple. Jape and Ratts could kill a lady’s passions at one hundred paces unless they took a bath in the last hour, and someone needed to guard the ship, so Rosie and Rowe had been pulled out of bed a few hours early to watch a bunch of horny women congregate.

Cave Mother was doing most of the work, honestly. She was much better at picking out bad actors and fake tickets. Rosie was mostly here to be the muscle if something came up that wasn’t bad enough to need a gun. That left a lot of time for chatting.

“Why the hell would Kerdak bloody Bonefist show up here?” Rosie asked, dabbing at the small spill with her kerchief.

“Ooh, Bloody Bonefist? Good title.” Rowe said appreciatively. “Captain making challenge, right? Taking all of Bonefist’s women as mates? Very bold.”

How. How is she so smart, yet so dumb? Is that a common thing with goblins? Am I the asshole here?

Rosie squinted at Rowe for a long moment, entirely unsure if she was joking. She decided to assume no; it usually worked out best if she just leaned into whatever Rowe was on about. Better to be laughed at than frustrate the other girl.

“It’s not a challenge.” She explained. “Most of these women couldn’t get into Bonefist’s bed if they tried. He has a new floozy on his arm practically every time he appears in public, and no one knows where any of them come from. I doubt he’ll even notice this whole event unless his daughter shows up.”

“He’d certainly notice if she did.” A lay priestess of Shelyn chimed in, continuing to clean the altar. “She’s notoriously atheistic, and fancies women. There is no way in hell Astrid would come within a mile of something like this.”

The elderly Halfling woman was decorated with dozens of intricate tattoos, tastefully woven across her skin and revealed by a backless dress. Rosie spotted a brand just beneath her left shoulder, common to former Chelish slaves.

“You’re his employees, no? Can you tell me why he is doing this?” She asked conversationally, “There is such a thing as too much pleasure. I know it’s not for the money; I saw him drop a hundred gold as an offering yesterday. He’s obviously not hard up.”

“Some kind of ritual, harvesting sex energy or something.” Rosie said with a shrug. “I don’t really get all that magic stuff. You’re wrong about the money, though. He is in pretty deep debt.”

“Better to repay debt with bullet.” Rowe grumbled, “Bet is stupid.”

“I don’t think that’s his style.” Rosie said, sighing. “He’s good people. Hopefully it doesn’t get him killed.”

“Not a common trait among tall folk.” The priestess said, switching to Halfling cant. “Lots of them like to have that reputation, but not many back it up. Be careful of that sort; sometimes they’re worse than the honest monsters.”

She spoke gently, with the demeanor of one who was imparting hard won wisdom. Rowe had somehow figured out how to speak the Halfling tongue in the last few weeks, though she was even worse with it than she was with common. Of course, the priestess had no way of knowing that.

“He repays his debts, for one.” Rosie declared, frowning at the old biddy. “Most would have pretended to forget a debt to a goddess that no one around here worships. Hell, I hear your goddess is supposed to be kind; would she have even punished him for not spending a hundred gold when he’s tens of thousands in debt?”

“The ways of gods are complex.” The priestess said, defensive. “A wise man, even a wicked one, wouldn’t risk the wrath of a goddess. It could have been a pragmatic decision.”

“This wasn’t.” Rosie held up her green arm, which was slowly reshaping itself to match its mate. “He repays his debts. I wasn’t in any state to get back at him after I lost the old one, and I wouldn’t have if I could. He did this because he wanted to, or he thought he had to. I’m telling you, he’s good people. Almost as good as family.

The old priestess met Rosie’s gaze for a few moments, then studied the arm. Rosie could see the thoughts creeping through her mind, step by step. Even the cheapest grafts in the Shackles went for ten or more gold pieces, usually requiring a loan for any day laborer or swab who wanted one. An actual flesh and blood arm wasn’t even in the cards for most.

“I suppose you would know.” The priestess admitted. “What is your name, girl?”

“Cusswell Rosie.” Rosie answered, crossing her arms.

“A cusswell, eh?” The priestess said, “Hardworth Lila.”

Lila walked away, thoughtful.

••••••••••

6:12 am, 32 women

“I can leave if you’re not up for it.” The tall blue woman said, picking up her dress. “I think you bit off more than you can chew, mate.”

She gestured at my crotch, sighing with disappointment. I hadn’t been able to pop a boner since the stimulant wore off, but this undine lady, descended from aquatic genies, was the first to notice. I wasn’t sure if she was just unusually perceptive, or if I’d gotten worse at hiding it as I wore myself down.

The worst part was that she wasn’t even bad looking. She had a little more visible muscle definition than I tend to like in a girl, but her eyes sparkled blue-green in the candlelight. She was giving me a rueful smile that made me want to buy her a drink and ask about what she did on a normal day, and if things ended up horizontal I’d have been fine with that. Unfortunately, the little guy was not cooperating and she wasn’t impressed with the idea of me fingering her to completion.

“Damn it all.” I said, sitting up, “look, I’m sorry. Some bitch spiked my drink a couple hours back and I’ve been off my game since. I have a healer coming by any minute to help me get back to fighting trim, if you’re willing to wait.”

“I’ve got work soon, mate.” She said, “I was thinking about leaving when they called my number. I appreciate the offer, you know, but…”

“Oh well that’s a shame.” Sandara said, brazenly sweeping into the room. “I went to all the effort and you’re not able to stick around? Ah well, can’t be helped.”

Despite Sandara’s words and her own, the undine stuck around. She craned her neck to look as my own personal cleric of Besmara chanted a few abbreviated shanties over me. Energy rushed into my extremities, including the most relevant one. Blood followed it quickly as Sandara chose to wrap her lips around my cock and swirl her tongue for a few moments. Her restorative spell was able to substitute for a night of sleep, and she seemed insistent that should include morning wood.

“You two need a minute alone?” The undine asked, a crooked smile spreading across her face.

“Nope.” Sandara said, abruptly leaving my newly restored cock unattended. “This guy has work to do. Trust me, he’s worth every copper you paid.”

“Actually one of my friends paid for this one.” The undine admitted. “Said he was some fancy courtesan?”

“Every. Copper.” Sandara said, then flashed me a sly smile and left the room.

“You can leave if you’d like, but I’d appreciate if you could help me with this.” I said, gesturing downward, “I was as disappointed as you, honestly.” (Diplomacy based Seduction 19+9=28)

••••••••••

8:40 am 43 women

“Oi! I’m telling you, I paid good money for this!” The large, scarred man bellowed, “I ain’t taking no for an answer!”

Syl’s hand crept down towards her belt. Killing an uncooperative customer was a terrible idea, but it did usually fix the initial problem. That was the thinking that landed her in the Shackles, though, so she didn’t actually rest her hand on the handles of her blades.

“He’s into the ladies, sir.” Syl growled, “I don’t know who sold you the ticket, but they should have known better. I suggest you take it up with them.”

“It was one’a your people!” He insisted, “That kitsune girl! She told me it would be fine!”

In all likelihood it was one of the scalpers selling tickets at double the price. I hear they did a brisk business in the Knotworks. I figured more sales would be better, but I didn’t consider this possibility.

The man was particularly large, particularly hairy everywhere but the top of his head, had the flat face of a man with ogres in his bloodline, and most importantly he was holding up the line. He’d showed up late, **** his way to the front of the line, brandished a ticket with a number they’d passed by two hours ago, and demanded service. The temple guards, for once, seemed ready to step in.

“Look, if you fuck off I’m willing to offer you a refund.” Syl said, fishing in her purse, “We sold the tickets at this tier for five silver each.”

“Bullshit! I paid ten gold!” He roared, “You know what, I’ve been treated so badly this whole experience that I want double time. Half an hour with the Captain.”

Syl could feel her heartbeat in her ears. She looked at his neck, could see precisely where to strike. One quick flick of the wrist and the carotid artery would sever easily. Would that even seriously cause problems in a town like this? The prissy merchant girls all went first, right?

“Young man.” A woman’s musical voice echoed through the room. “You will stop this foolishness at once and leave.”

Syl couldn’t help herself; her eyes slid directly off of the ugly man and locked onto a gorgeous Halfling woman covered in intricate tattoos. As she spoke, every eye in the room locked onto the vision of indescribable beauty. The man twitched, shook his head, and left without a fight.

As he walked past her, the radiance seemed to fade from the old priestess. Syl was staring at her the whole time. She knew damn well that nothing about her appearance really changed. Instead, it was as if Syl had only just now noticed the wrinkles, the stringy hair, the faded nature of her tattoos. Given that that accounted for most of her visible appearance, it was hard to remember what had been so pretty about her while she spoke.

“If there are any more gentlemen in the line,” the old priestess said, “please come speak to me after I finish discussing things with the lady at the desk.”

“Cave Mother?” Syl said, “Can you handle things here?”

“I have been doing so all morning.” Cave Mother said, “Go. Make arrangements with the daughter of The Beautiful One.”

The two met in a small alcove behind the shrine to Shelyn.

“Thanks for that.” Syl said, “I don’t know what I’d have…”

“You’d have killed a man in broad daylight.” The priestess snapped. “I stopped things while he was still the one in the wrong, but I did so to stop you, longshanks.”

“Oh.” Syl said, taken aback. “Well, thank you for that regardless. You said something about handling any other men?”

“Is your captain opposed to men spiritually or is he repulsed by the male form?” The priestess asked.

“I… he’s only ever expressed interest in women, and only really knows how to work with them in that way.” Syl answered honestly, “I don’t think his personal preferences are as important to him today as they would be normally.”

“This ritual, yes.” The priestess said, “Rosie told me. What exactly is he trying to do with this ritual? Don’t try to lie to me.”

“He’s trying to get stronger so he can buy his way out of slavery.” Syl explained. “He’s got a large debt, and he needs every edge he can get.”

The old priestess nodded.

“Very well. If you think your captain will accept it, tell any men that come by to talk to old Lila.” The priestess said, pointing at herself. “If they agree, I’ll turn them into ladies for long enough to have a good time. I’d offer to do the same for your captain, but that seems like it wouldn’t solve the problem.”

A smile grew across Syl’s face. That would allow them to access two additional demographics. Only the most open minded slices of them, of course, but it had tremendous potential. They needed almost a hundred and fifty more people, ideally.

“Don’t count yourself out.” Syl said. “I’ll talk to him about it before his next client. This might be a great help. If it’s not too much trouble… would you mind asking around to see if any of them would like to see him in groups? We really need to get these numbers up.”

The old priestess wrinkled her nose.

“Maybe when the others come in for the day shift they’ll be willing.” She said, “I’ll ask them.”

••••••••••

11:47am 52 women

The day dragged on, with the small window letting in progressively more sunlight. I dimly noted the staccato pounding of rain on the temple rooftop and cursed the gods.

More rain means less foot traffic. I wonder if Gozreh is petty enough to pull something like that just to spite me?

As the day went on, sex felt less and less like sex and more like something I just needed to get through. A glamorous elven woman stepped in, dressed like she was heading to an award ceremony, and I barely registered her as a person. I certainly didn’t think of her as a gorgeous woman I’d have killed to get in bed with a few months prior. From her outfit she was probably loaded, but I was too fried to even try to make a connection.

Bisexual with a degradation and slavery kink? Alright. Is she racist against drow?

Most likely. If she isn’t, she’s at least aware of the stereotypes. Most likely our species will add a certain spice.

And she likes… having her cock in a cage? What the hell?

I was worried about the apparent misfire on Detect Sexuality, especially since there was no dick in sight when she was stripped naked, but I really didn’t have time to worry about that. Autopilot got very into the consensual ****.

“Foolish surface elf.” I purred, “you fell right into my trap. You will be a perfect gift for the mistress once I break you.”

I cursed her, then pulled out some rope I’d noticed in the closet earlier while her muscles spasmed uncontrollably. (Bluff- unlikely 10+12+5-10=17)

I’d never gotten into rope play and I didn’t get the impression Emrys had tied up a lot of ladies before I showed up, but he did an adequate job of binding her wrists and ankles. She broke down quickly under a barrage of insults, barely needing any stimulation by the time Autopilot actually touched her anywhere sensitive. In and out in ten minutes, and I didn’t think of her again.

Sending in groups had largely proven to be a bust, basically net neutral. On the one hand more people meant I could see more in rapid succession, but on the other hand it introduced unpredictable dynamics that slowed the process down.

When someone walked in and all I needed to do was help them get off as quickly as possible, I could hone in on their weaknesses. If one girl walked in and liked getting it up the ass, I could order autopilot to fuck her ass and he’d do it pretty well most of the time. If he made a misstep, I’d take over and do my best to copy what he’d been up to.

When two people were there, they tended to have something in mind. Maybe they were competitive, and wasted time posturing at one another. Maybe they were a couple that wanted to set their own pace, seeing me as nothing but an aid to spice up their sex life.

Come on ladies! We have a schedule!

Sometimes Syl let in a man alongside a woman, which was somehow less disruptive than two women a lot of the time. He would take the front and I’d take the back, sometimes I’d bring in the shadow puppet for a proper gang bang, and everyone would walk away happy. I didn’t touch him so he wouldn’t count against the achievement, but I figured it didn’t hurt.

Damn. I should be annoyed with Syl over boundaries but I just can’t bring myself to give a shit right now.

••••••••••

4:00 pm 76 women

They were behind.

They were BEHIND.

Had this been the wrong time? Should they have waited to implement this strategy? Syl ran her fingers through her hair, running through the numbers again. The plan required 91 girls before 10:00 pm, with a potential grace period of 13 minutes if the timer started when the first client reached orgasm. At the optimal calculated rate of 4 every hour, they would only reach 90 by ten. Emrys needed to pick up the pace, and Syl needed to do her part as well.

No more gaps.

“Rosie, Rowe.” She said, walking over to the two girls. “Would you be willing to sleep with the Captain if there’s another gap in the schedule? If you don’t, we are going to need to hire temple trainees. That will get expensive, fast.”

“Sure.” Rosie said immediately, “It shouldn’t be a problem.”

Rowe grimaced.

“Him?” She complained, “He so skinny! Can priestess maybe make him less gross first?”

“I think your beauty would intimidate him regardless, Rowe. Maybe try it as a halfling.” A light voice joined the conversation, followed quickly by its owner. Dierdre flickered into existence. “Nendra is getting back to town soon. Sosima and Lubo are swimming back. All three should be here in the area within an hour, you might be able to borrow the earrings.”

“We might need more people.” Syl said, her eyes blazing. “I command you to go to them, and the rest of the crew. Ask if they’d be willing to sleep with the captain for one gold, to be paid off in the future. Hell, if any of them can bring along friends, then they can have a one silver bounty for each. I’ll pay them myself.”

“Huh. Alright, Mistress.” Dierdre agreed, nodding. She flitted off immediately.

Syl and Emrys had agreed to have her openly order any summons he called for the next few days. It was a paper-thin ruse, but if the drow could be convinced she was the one calling fey from across the borders of reality he might have at least a short period of grace. Anything for an edge.

“Alright everyone.” She turned, speaking to the two women still in line. “I want you next to the door when we call your number. If someone else wants in and you’re not there first, you’ll have to wait!”

Syl took a deep breath, and ran the numbers. The two in the lobby, Rosie, Rowe. Maybe Naomi and Lubo. The priestesses of Shelyn seemed at least vaguely open to helping, at least enough to help with logistics. Unfortunately, even with all of them accounted for, Emrys needed more.

“About two hours until he needs another.” She said to herself. “I need to find and convince sixteen girls in the next five or so hours.”

“Fifteen.” Varossa said, entering the temple with her lackeys. “I’m up for it.”

“No.” Syl snapped absently. “You might not count. I’d appreciate it if you went out and found a few, though.”

Varossa raised one eyebrow, then smiled.

“Of course he knows.” She said, “Fine. Just be aware that I’m getting irritated with all these antics. Hinson, I’ve seen you sneak off with more than one gentleman. Talk to the halfling.”

••••••••••

6:12 pm, 85 women

The fifth lesser restoration of the day didn’t have the same impact as the first two. The plumbing sprang back to life just fine, but I was starting to suspect that my ability to power through status effects was a double edged sword. I could ignore Emrys’s fatigue, but restoration spells didn’t really touch my mind.

I’d been actively working for twenty hours, both physically and mentally engaged for most of it. I was just tired. Autopilot couldn’t be trusted; natural ones could be utter disasters if I didn’t watch him like a hawk. I sat back and monitored my body, barely thinking beyond the next action.

When a very sheepish Conchobar came in with his rockstar dad and five women, I only vaguely listened to the pleasantries coming out of my mouth.

“Hey man,” Conchobar Sr. said with a crooked smile, “I heard you had a party going here all day. My boy thought this might be a good time.”

His voice was surprisingly rough, completely unlike his son’s light tenor. I noted that a few streaks of white had appeared in Conchobar’s navy blue hair, odd enough to distract me for just a moment.

I’d have expected stress hairs to have come with the ghoul thing. Why’s he going white back at home?

I shook his outstretched hand heartily, establishing myself as his equal and friend in the eyes of his groupies. I smiled and nodded at Conchobar Junior, acknowledging our companionship in as efficient a way as possible.

“What can I say,” I answered, deepening my voice slightly to mirror the bard’s, “I just can’t get enough of the ladies.”

Two halflings, one gnome, one dwarf, one human, two guys. Halflings can’t take my cock without lube; prioritize manual stimulation. Get my hands on each of them at least briefly so it counts. Prioritize anyone the other two are neglecting so that as many can reach climax in as short a time frame as possible.

••••••••••

9:40 pm, 90 girls

“I’m ready, put me in.” Narwhal said, arms crossed before his barrel chest. “Turn me into a lass.”

“Mate, are you even attracted to men?” Ratts asked, cocking his head to the side.

“No, but for the captain, I’ll do it.”

“You’re willing to suck a dick for the captain.” Jape asked, deadpan. “Seriously?”

“He saved me life!” Narwhal insisted, “this way I can pay off that debt without taking a literal bullet!”

He nodded, marching up to the shrine of Shelyn to wait for the magic to happen. The room was fairly empty, and the captain couldn’t afford to wait another moment.

“You could just pay someone for him.” Ratts pointed out, “I’m pretty sure that a walk in appointment with one of the ladies here is only around five gold.”

“What do I look like, a noble?” Narwhal demanded, “I hear some guys can get really into getting it up the bum. Do the magic and give me a double dose of the good stuff to get me in the mood!”

••••••••••

10:03, 91 girls

“That should be the last one.” Syl called through the door. “Check.”

I collapsed next to the dwarven girl. She’d been extremely sensitive to touch for some reason; maybe Syl pumped her full of **** to make sure she finished. I couldn’t really bring myself to care. Only one thing would keep me from sleep. My menu. I needed to know this was all worth it.

Layer of a thousand women

Sleep with 1/2/5/10/20/50/100/200/500/1000 sexual partners

Progress: 100 partners

Perk associated with sex or romance at each breakpoint

Premium perk unlocked: Total Stud.

Race changed from Drow to Drow Noble.

Dexterity bonus increased from +2 to +4

Intelligence Bonus +2

Wisdom Bonus +2

Spell Resistance increased from 10 to 15

Dancing Lights, Deeper Darkness, Faerie Fire, Charm Person, Feather Fall, and Levitate are now at-will

Detect Magic is now a passive ability

Divine Favor, Dispel Magic, and Suggestion spell like abilities now available 1/day

+5 on all Charisma based checks related to seduction of bloodline-conscious drow.

4 perk bonus: Gestalt Aristocrat; gain stats and abilities of the NPC class Aristocrat, as appropriate to your level

Related Mission detected

Without directly addressing it, convince Syl Lonegan to explicitly indulge in her greatest unexamined kink.

Reward: 1 Exp, 1 sexual reward.

5 perk bonus: Aristocrat Class upgraded to Phantom Thief Class

“We got it, Syl.” I said, laughing deliriously. “Even better than we expected.”

“Good.” She said, her voice strained. “I hope it’s enough. She’s here waiting.”

“Huh?” I asked, my head feeling full of wool, “Who?”

“Dovnu.” Syl told me, “She said that the moment your business in town was done, she wanted to set sail. I told her you were sleeping, but I’m not sure if she bought it.”

Contractual Obligation will save 18+6=24 Success!

Resist compulsion?

Yes. I need to sleep first.

As I passed out, I saw a set of numbers scroll across my vision.

Geas Resisted, 2 strength damage

Geas Resisted, 3 dexterity damage

Geas Resisted, 1 constitution damage

Geas Resisted, 2 intelligence damage

Geas Resisted, 3 wisdom damage

Geas Resisted, 3 charisma damage

Immune to Contractual Obligation for 24 hours