Drow's Dilemma Ep. 100: Fallout

Author's Note:

A Drow's Dilemma began as a one-on-one roleplaying project and has been converted into a chapter-by-chapter format for weekly posting with the permission and assistance from my partner. It will contain a considerable amount of sexual themes such as femdom, lesbian, straight, 'reverse' rape, BDSM, group sex, romance, and other themes. The main goal of the story, however, is to tell an epic tale of adventures, gods and goddesses, fae, and nymphomaniacs. This episode and every episode to come will be available for free on Literotica for the foreseeable future. All characters that engage in sexual or suggestive situations are mentally and sexually mature: the human equivalent of 18 for their race.

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Episode 100: Fallout

Now alone in the pocket dimension, Caleldir turned to Risa. "So... I just contracted with a succubus. I hope you are happy."

Risa looked guilty. "I... I am sorry, Caleldir," she said softly. "I did not intend for this to happen." She sighed. "This could have gone much, much worse than it did, and I see that now."

Caleldir found it impossible to be too angry at the contrite woman. He gave her a forgiving smile. "Hopefully Dahlia will be unambiguously on our side, now? At the very least I can exert some control over her."

"To a certain extent," Risa said neutrally. "But... umm... not all succubi know this, but when they contract with someone, they grow... increasingly attracted to them."

"What else is new," Caleldir said dryly. "Now, let us find Selene."

Selene was in her father's library. Riia was there as well. Both were inhabiting the same lounge chair, with the younger drow's head rested on the older's breast. While Caleldir was gone, their relationship had taken a... complex turn. Complex by surface standards, anyway. Less so by Selene's own drowish sensibilities. They had become incredibly close, with Selene taking the role of mother, sister, and protector. And lover. Risa would be personally aware of this, as they had requested her in their bed every night that Caleldir was away (and it wasn't so they could all sleep).

Selene looked up at the two who entered. Joy washed over her expression initially, but that positive expression was overtaken by a conflicted number of negative ones.

Caleldir met Selene with an apologetic smile. "I no longer have a thieving succubus attached to my nethers," he said. "But I seem to have acquired a succubus familiar. So... please do not murder her. She will not die, and I will be injured. Feel free to be extremely angry with her, though. She does deserve it."

"I see you've finally deigned to grace us with your presence," she said, seeming to ignore his words. Finally, a mulish expression washed over her features and she stared back down at the book she had been reading. She couldn't actually read the words past the relief and anger that blurred her vision. A succubus? Bound to him permanently? She didn't know what to say. Abyss, she didn't know what to feel.

Caleldir winced. She was a bit snippy and annoyed. That... that was to be expected.

Sidhriia, however, remained unabashedly overjoyed to see Caleldir back again. She got up from her lounged position and ran on her bare feet to embrace her consort, her diaphanous lilac dress billowing behind her for the moment that she was in motion. Her arms grasped tighter, and she buried her face into his shoulder.

At least Sidhriia was happy to see him. He gave the girl a tight hug. "Glad to see you again," he whispered to her.

Turning his attention back to Selene, he shrugged helplessly. "I am sorry, Selene. There was not much I could do. Unless I tried to murder a powerful entity currently attached to me, I was at her mercy." Well, mostly. He could survive death and she could not. No sense mentioning that.

Risa grinned sheepishly. Somehow, inexplicably, she had been able to escape blame for this situation. How, she was not sure. Probably because she had not volunteered the information that she had intended for this to happen. Well, not this exactly, but something similar. "You are entitled to a bit of annoyance and anger, Selene," she said guiltily. "But Caleldir and Dahlia do not have to be bound forever. There is a way of transferring her contract from Caleldir to me. She will have to be the one to decide that, though."

Caleldir nodded. "Indeed. But, at the very least, Dahlia is no longer a danger to us. We can trust her much more now. The Familiar contract gives her a bit of wiggle room to plot things we do not like, but she is bound to follow most of my orders. For example, I can prevent her from killing, injuring, or transforming those she sleeps with. And I can order her to find Ashyr and bring her back safely. Which I hope she does before her Seduction does. Since Risa made a bargain with the Seduction..."

Risa grinned self-consciously. "Well, we have Sornamal's army of succubi now. And mostly I told Dahlia to tell them the truth: that Ashyr would be grateful if they rescued her, enough so to give them a day of Caleldir and her own time."

Caleldir grimaced. "That seems in-character for the Ashyr that summoned one of those same succubi to alleviate boredom once upon a time. At least one of the succubi has had direct dealings with Ashyr in the past. If Ashyr is in one of the Fiendish realms, they will find her."

Selene frowned hard as her hand strayed to her stomach out of habit. Intellectually, she knew that it wasn't really Caleldir's fault and things worked out in the end so that they could put more trust in Dahlia. But... well, she was deeply, impotently jealous. She put down her book to finally look at Caleldir. "Make her decide to transfer, then." Her tone was soft, but otherwise, it sounded very much like a demand. "I don't like you having a familiar." For that woman was permanently closer and more connected to him than Selene would ever be (barring the times when she melded their consciousness - but that was a temporary thing.)

"I will try to convince her to transfer," Caleldir replied. his tone was mostly conciliatory, but slightly peeved as well. Selene did not like him having a familiar, hmm? Well, he was not keen on a succubus familiar himself, but he did like the idea of having a familiar. But of what sort...

"That is going to be a bit more difficult than you are giving the situation credit for," Risa said dubiously. "I am a strictly sub-optimal choice of Mistress compared to Caleldir. Mostly because I am too succubized to feed her energy properly. There are a number of other reasons, but that is the big one. She will want to stick with Caleldir, I fear. At least for the near future."

"It will be something that I will work on," Caleldir said shortly.

A sigh came from Sidhriia, who until that point had steadfastly refused to let Caleldir go. After Selene's demand and the others' answer, though - which Sidhriia seemed to have understood - the young albino pulled away and looked between both of them.

"No, Riia. Everything can't be solved with sex," the older sister told the younger. Then Selene let out a sigh and slumped slowly as the air left her lungs. "He's likely tired of sex for now anyway."

Riia frowned, but it was a thoughtful expression rather than an overtly disappointed one. -Do you need anything else? A bath? Food? A nap? You must be exhausted- she asked as the expression on her features turned gentle and compassionate.

He sighed and gave the albino girl a fond smile. "Sex is not really something I am feeling up to at this point," he said and signed. "But a good wash, some food, and a good night's sleep would be useful. As it turned out, being constantly drained by a succubus is draining."

"With how much she drained from you in her effort to gain enough power to break the bond before it became permanent, I am not surprised that you are exhausted," Risa observed. "That much would have killed almost anyone."

A deep sigh from Caleldir. "I may feel up for something with you after I sleep, Sidhriia. Until then... well, I will not say no to your assistance." He turned to Selene. "I am sorry, again. I will try to get Dahlia to transfer as soon as I can."

Selene made a sound that was suspiciously like a grunt. With her nose crinkled, she turned back to her book and settled down to give everyone there the great Cold Shoulder. Because why should she bother getting close to anyone again? Caleldir will be stolen away by the next selfish cunt who came along, Ashyr will disappear to not even goddesses knew where, daughters would be murdered, and family would be obliterated...

With that thought, Selene's expression went disturbingly passive. Then she got up from her spot and left the realm. "I will be studying with my father," she explained as she left. "Do not disturb me unless there is important news."

Selene's reaction to events was not unexpected. On the contrary, it was quite understandable and predictable. Caleldir sighed and shook his head. Normally, he would try to go after her, to plead, to assuage, to convince, to explain... but right now, he was exhausted. Mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually drained. It was killing his drive to do things. He felt a bit of what Dahlia was talking about when she had told him that incubi seemed to be a tired, unmotivated sort.

Riia blinked at her older sister. -that...- The pale drow grimaced -was not very kind of her- She blinked her large colorless pink eyes up at Caleldir. -But I have been in her mind recently. She will come back to you. How could she not?- The young woman kissed him lightly on the cheek. -Now... if it's really okay, can I help you get comfortable?-

He smiled slightly when Sidhriia began signing to him. -Perhaps it is not nice, but she is rather justified in her annoyance. And Selene has never been nice. I know she will be back, though.-

The pale drow really did want to help, that much was clear. So she helped him as much as Caleldir let her - and not 'helped,' either. When she touched him, it was with affection, not seduction. There were a couple of brilliant blushes when he stripped down and she first put her hands on his naked body, but other than that it was with complete innocence and politeness that she saw to his needs. Not much articulate conversation could be had between them; Selene had not given them a link before she excused herself. Riia seemed to be perfectly comfortable with that. Enough communication could be had with a gentle caress, a soft smile, and a soulful gaze into his eyes.

When he was finally ready to go to sleep for his first good rest in the past couple of days, Riia bedded down with him. Still not to do anything sexual, but to simply do what she could to send him off into restful sleep. And with a mind to ward away to overeager succubus should she try to interrupt - which she did not. They did have a visitor, though. As Sidhriia said, her older sister slunk into the bedroom a few moments after he settled down. Wordlessly, she curled up next to him and clung as if her life depended on it. Selene quickly dropped off to sleep that way - midday or not. Riia, however, stayed awake and watched over the pair fondly.

Despite expectations, Dahlia did not teleport into his bed. Instead, he woke to find Selene and Sidhriia with him. Stretching out languidly, enjoying his newly returned vitality, Caleldir yawned and woke the other two.

Sidhriia had slipped into the light, trance-like doze one falls under when deep in thought. She snapped out of it when she felt him move. Selene, however, was never one to miss an afternoon nap. She had to be woken. Both of them were more than happy to 'reconnect' with Caleldir after everyone was properly awake. They were in a quiet, affectionate mood - which was, of course, more apparent in Sidhriia than it was in her older sister. Everyone seemed quite a bit happier when the intimacy was over.

After making up to them physically for lost time, as at once an apology, a thanks, and a celebration, Caleldir cleaned himself off once more and dressed. "So, for now, we are merely waiting for the succubi to find Ashyr. We have some time to simply wait. But now that I have both of you here, we should do some more investigating as to the nature of this curse, both on you, Sidhriia, and potentially on our daughter, Selene. So if the two of you will work with Risa and me in the lab, I think that she was tinkering on trying to recreate as much of the Geneforge as we can do." Which was not much, but was helpful for investigating this curse.

They - Selene, Caleldir, Sornamal, Sidhriia, and Risa - then all put their heads together to figure out how they could solve Riia's problems. The eyesight was actually somewhat fixable. With a pair of enchanted glasses made of thick glass. That had been something Sornamal had been toying with ever since he first encountered his daughter (but was unable to give them to her, as contact with her was cut off). The hearing... that was still an issue that stubbornly resisted healing. In the end, it was temporarily addressed with another item. Riia was given a circlet of permanent mental communication so that she could hear anything anyone was purposefully trying to communicate.

Caleldir was increasingly of the opinion that the curse was something that they would not be able to properly identify until they managed to identify the rebel's mysterious 'Patron'. Because he was reasonably certain that the curse was related either to Lolth or to the fiendish patron.

Risa was not quite as sure but did not have any other better ideas. All she could say was that their cobbled-together version of a knock-off Geneforge was insufficient to diagnose the issue. She recommended that they make it a point to travel back to the Monastery and get another look at the real thing.

All told, the experimentation lasted a week. During that time, Dahlia came back to feed on her master four times. Caleldir was a bit afraid that Selene would remain annoyed and jealous about that, but at least Dahlia was not feeding on Sidhriia, so Sornamal was happy. Each time Dahlia came, she did so when he was away from the drow women. They were all avoiding that awkward encounter as long as they could. The past couple of days, however, there was excitement and anticipation in the Seduction that kept Dahlia away from Caleldir. The last dozen or so hours, though... it was as if Dahlia was extremely far away - even on the edges of Caleldir's senses.

... and then she burst into Risa's library from a panicked portal of flame. She had been running full-speed, apparently. Momentum carried her in a direct collision with Caleldir, on whose lap she collapsed. "I'm here... I'm finally here. I'm so sorry I've been gone for so long," she panted desperately. Her whole body trembled with the weakness of not having fed for weeks. Or with a staggering amount of mana being spent.

Caleldir caught the succubus and tried to help her to her feet. But she was too weak to stand, so he settled with just holding her. With a kiss to the forehead, he put just a tiny bit of energy into her. "Calm down, Dahlia. You are safe here now. Now, could you report what happened to you?"

Her shivering body did relax once she was more firmly in her master's arms. Ever since they were bound, she felt a closeness to him that she had felt with no other creature in over a thousand years. Even if that creature had sent her on a journey of potential destruction. She took a deep breath, and let it out in a shuddering sigh.

"My seduction - they're trapped we have to -" No, she needed to go back further. Caleldir didn't care as much about her sisters. She cleared her throat and backtracked just as Selene opened her mouth to likely demand more information but before she could voice that demand. "About a week and a half ago, Lily found an anomaly. She reported it, then entered - she was always the most powerful, and had been growing reckless - then we didn't hear from her. After a couple of days of this, all of us dropped the search to go get her back."

She took a moment to take a deep breath, for she had been talking as rapidly as she could manage. "That was a mistake. The place we went to... it made hell look like a paradise." She shuddered. "We were fine for the first couple of days. We stayed low and quiet. Then He found us. But He didn't kill us - oh no, that would have been a kindness -" she cut off again, clenching her teeth against the memory. "She's there, though, Caleldir. I saw her. Ashyr. I saw her, then I tried to teleport back to you. His priests have some sort enchanted manacles which stopped me." She laughed a humorless laugh. "I've had quite a bit of experience with manacles. I ran to you as soon as I could get away."

Despite what Dahlia thought about Caleldir's apathy or interest in her sisters, Caleldir was concerned about them at least inasmuch as he could not help but be concerned about the same people as Dahlia herself was concerned about. Fortunately, she did offer the information he needed without. "He. So, our suspicions are likely correct. The one who has Ashyr is the Patron of the rebels." Caleldir took a deep breath, and stood up, holding Dahlia as he did so.

"A week and a half," Selene accused, clearly calling Dahlia a liar.

The succubus, however, looked confused at the question. "Yes! Weren't you counting the days?"

"You were gone for three days," Selene responded. The drow tried to make her voice flat, but there was an edge of fear seeping in.

Dahlia looked wide-eyed at Caleldir. "Three days? Only three days? Oh gods..."

"Selene, you should know that time in the Nether and Faerie Realms - including Hell - is flexible and not always consistent with that in this world. This subdimension is clearly on accelerated time."

"Accelerated time?" Dahlia asked. "That is- well, I've never encountered that before." Once a succubus found her boudoir, she rarely went out to explore Hell. Hell had huge, unsexy things that could eat a little succubus like her. Materia, though, had a feast of people she could overpower and bang to her heart's content.

Selene gritted and bared her teeth. "I just - I mean, I know about differences in - Dahlia, are you sure?" Selene asked with noticeable desperation in her tone.

"Yes, of course I'm sure," The succubus responded, powering past her terror and exhaustion to sound annoyed.

"It is not common in this part of the universe," Caleldir replied. "Although some Dimension Lords are fond of it."

"I have considered manipulating the time in my dimension," Risa added, "but that is not relevant right now. We need to launch a rescue immediately."

Caleldir nodded. "We are invading a domain of Hell. We need paladins. Risa? How goes the discussion with Althaia?"

Risa looked grim. "I alerted her back when we started searching Hell for Ashyr, that we might need her sooner rather than later. Last I heard from her, she had put Port Afron under the control of a lieutenant and was traveling towards us. I will have to contact her to see where she is now. She has to be getting pretty close."

"It would be absolutely invaluable to have at least one Paladin with us," Caleldir replied. "Even if we have to spend a day or so meeting up with her. Hopefully, you can hide us from the realm's ruler."

Risa shrugged. "I do not know. While a Paladin of Althaia's power may slice through a demon or diabolic horde with stunning power, she is not a match for as many devils as would swarm her if her presence was known. So, depending on how much sight this Archdevil has over his own dimension, we may not be able to bring Althaia at all, and I might be even more of a target. I can hide my presence to a certain extent, but I am highly visible."

"We will have to scout the place a bit before launching our rescue mission, then," Caleldir summarized.