Your party falls for the charmer's trick

Without much of a plan beyond "I'm pretty sure my saintesses wouldn't kiss another guy in front of me," and some vague belief that Geod wouldn't let you humiliate yourself that way in front of a big audience, you took a seat parallel to Chautery's. Your saintess took a spot across from him, while Lydia smiled and curled her fingers playfully about her cheek.

"You are fairly cute. Perhaps you're going to talk me into a kiss?" the magician's wife taunted, lowering her eyebrows. You thought that she might be asking you to bribe her-- perhaps part of this racket was managing to get free stuff out of competitors. You didn't think it would improve your chances...

"Now, in mere moments, I will bend the will of this chosen woman of Geod and make her into my willing servant! If you blink, you may miss the moment. Unless I decide to drag it out, hm hm hm..." Chautery guffawed. If your saintess did kiss him, it would be pretty good proof of his power, because there was little chance they'd be compelled towards romance with such a braggadocious windbag otherwise. "Let's have the saintesses, then. Each can take their turn, one after the other. Unless you get Lydia first, that is."{if Helmid = True}

Helmid took her spot across from Chautery, crossing her legs one over the other and wearing a genial smile. All of the eyes in the audience were upon her, as countless men put themselves in either your shoes or the shoes of the man about to woo your wife. "Fret not, my squire. A challenge like this is nothing compared to what else I have overcome during my time in the field. Even if he employs magic or trickery, our Geod-granted bond will hold strong," she reassured you, leaning to hold one hand over yours and wearing a warm smile.

She might have been right in the broader sense that your bond as squire and saintess would continue on undisturbed, but in the moment, events got pretty embarrassing pretty quickly. There was no time to think about how to get Lydia to kiss you when Helmid so quickly fell under the spell, presumably cast by the husband. In a matter of seconds, Helmid had forgotten herself, leaning forward with her palms flat upon the table to passionately kiss the exposed lower half of the helmeted man's face.

As Lydia silently smiled, you felt your annoyance bubbling, until eventually you told Chautery to cut it out. The contest was well over and lost.

"She's a very practiced kisser! I barely needed to nudge her on the technique. Ah, but given your relative ages, I imagine you're her second marriage?" Chautery laughed, as on the money as a professional fortune-teller. "You're a lucky man, squire!"

Helmid blinked in confusion as she kissed empty air for a bit, wearing a vapid expression, then slowly settled back into her seat. "Oh dear... Weren't we supposed to be playing a game? Did we win?"

You helped Helmid up and sighed, shaking your head. This had probably done more to publicize the magician than it had you. At least the laughing crowd sounded pleased with the spectacle.{endif}{if Belit = True}

Belit took the seat, raising one eyebrow skeptically and crossing her arms across her modest chest. "This is some kind of a trick, ain't it? You stage magicians usually have one. As a great thief, I've got a pretty good eye for tricks, y'know! Sure you want me near it? I might expose you to all your adoring fans, heh heh," she taunted, putting on nonchalant body language.

You'd been around her enough to know when she was bluffing. She'd had her chance to get close to him and Lydia now and still hadn't put together anything that'd prove he was a charlatan, which could only mean one thing: his psychic control was the real deal. Now all she had left to fall back on was verbal jousting.

Chautery grinned a shit-eating grin-- either he could read her mind or he was simply that confident in his own powers. "You've got a rude mouth on you? Now let's put it onto me...!"

Belit's eyebrows quivered in a show of waning concentration as she attempted to hold her body in place, but it was no use. While you were still trying to figure out a strategy against Lydia, she leaned across the table and gingerly began exchanging a kiss with Chautery, mouth-to-mouth. It didn't go on for too long-- just enough to get the audience laughing and Belit recoiling in disgust.

"Ha ha ha! Stolen from the great thief herself!" he guffawed once more as he shooed her off the stage. "Next?"{endif}{if Rosary = True}

Rosary had been eager to see the man proven wrong, but she didn't seem so eager to be the one to do it. A mixture of natural stage fright and dislike for the man she was on a crash course towards kissing made her especially hesitant to take her seat. "I-If it is Geod's will, then... Then I will be the one to defeat this magic of yours!" she steeled herself, wiggling her very wide bottom uncomfortably upon the seat as she straightened her costume beneath her with both hands.

"Hm hm hm! And what if you fail? Suppose that was Geod's will too, then?"

Rosary pressed one finger to her lip thoughtfully. "Yes, actually. I-I believe so, truly."

"Hmph! That Geod is a real glory-hog," Chautery scoffed, then grinned. "If he's going to take credit for my work, then I'll have to take something nice of his, too!"

Sure enough, Lydia was smiling and unaffected as Rosary struggled to hold herself back.

A moment too late, the clergywoman thought to activate her Geodshield to some degree, but it was also too late. Still wearing a sour expression with her eyes squeezed shut, she nonetheless leaned across the desk, allowing Chautery to place one hand beneath her chin. He caught her plump, red-painted lips in his own and kissed more deeply than was kosher. For her part, she looked more kissed than kissing, but it was certainly enough reciprocation to count as his victory.

He left her panting and heaving over the desk, then turned his cocky grin back to you. "That felt like it was practically her first kiss, my good fellow! Was it?"

Withholding an answer for Rosary's sake, you helped her away from the pedestal. Unfortunately, she'd probably been right: Geod loved to see his faithful make sexual displays of themselves, even at the cost of their own humility.{endif}{if Liens = True}

Liens lowered her eyebrows and remained at the foot of the stage. She waved you off with one hand. "I told you. Not taking part. Didn't come prepared. No resistance. He's got real magic. I'm not going to make a fool out of myself. Nope."

"Is that a surrender I hear?" Chautery guffawed, raising both hands to indicate that the crowd should join him in mean-spirited laughter.

"Sure. I give up. Your victory. Don't want to kiss you. Under any circumstances. Repulsive."

"Hmph, well, you're no prize yourself," he shrugged, turning his attention away from her. It seemed a plump and pale elf wasn't really to his tastes-- no real surprise, granted his chosen wife was very slender and tan.

The crowd all booed Liens, who seemed to be getting the wrong type of attention. Specifically, the type of attention that might make Mympho keep his distance.{endif}

...

With your saintesses all unfortunately and soundly defeated, Chautery gave another hearty guffaw, then bowed to the audience. "Well well, thus ends our little competition! Ladies and gentlemen, squire and saintesses, thank you all for attending the Charmer's Challenge! Lydia and I will enjoy a brief respite and then we shall return to dazzle you further with more amazing magic!"

In the end, Chautery was the one who got all the attention from this detour... And you couldn't stand to be around him any more to use him as a lure!