Drow's Dilemma Ep. 109: Vacation

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 109: Vacation

It was around midday break, so Selene was in Risa's dimension with Ashyr and Ylene. All three of them had managed to make it outside the main mansion and had gathered in a small clearing filled with soft grass and the dull glow of the dimension's moon and stars. The drow were both sitting cross-legged on a large blanket, eating a light lunch of cold cuts, cheese, and various pickled vegetables. Ylene was a few feet away at Uriel's portable cot and was having some semblance of a conversation with the use of nonsensical coos and other babblings. Bard was there too, though he was heard rather than seen crashing through the brush after some of the small wildlife that populated the forest.

Selene looked up when she felt Caleldir approaching them. She turned towards him as he got close enough to see. "Caleldir. Come join us; we were just having a bit of- you look very serious. What is wrong?"

Caleldir did indeed look more than a little shaken. As good as he could be at bluffing and hiding, he was at his acting limit now. He was depressed, and not really up to hiding it.

He did cheer up a little upon seeing the pleasant domestic scene, but only a little. He sat down heavily next to, but a little bit away from, Selene and Ashyr. "I have bad news about Hael'yss. I was careless, and let her poison me. She... well, she paralyzed me and..." he sighed, and continued gloomily. "You know how these things usually go. Anyway, Dahlia felt something was wrong, ported in, and stopped Hael'yss. She then laid a claim to her, so I am afraid that Hael'yss is out of your hands now, Selene. The Seduction has claimed her."

"That stupid cunt," Selene growled. "Why did she think she would get away with that?! I had thought that she was smart enough to-" she cut off her words with a frustrated scoff. Clearly, she thought wrong. Hael'yss was stupid and desperate enough to do anything. She should have gotten to the real torture when she had the chance.

"The boudoir seems like a good place for her," Ashyr said in her usual soft tone. "I am glad she will not be in the house anymore."

"If she is that idiotic, then yes, this is probably for the best," Selene responded, still annoyed. "It just would have been so satisfying to punish her myself."

Caleldir drew another deep breath. "Also, Hael'yss is pregnant. With my child."

"Wait, pregnant? Damn..." Perhaps it was a good thing she decided to begin so slowly with her prisoner. Selene hated the woman, but any offspring of Caleldir's was precious (even if there were likely to be hundreds of them in the near future.)

"Simply put, she knew that we could not do too much to her as long as she was carrying my child," Caleldir explained, most likely redundantly. "And yes, I think that the succubi can control her better than we can." He sighed, then grinned ruefully. "I think that her being succubized can only improve her personality, actually. Which is quite an accomplishment. And I do not mind a Cambion daughter at all. Or a Cambion son, for that matter."

Selene blew out a long breath. "Yes. I think she may very well be improved. The succubi are less evil than she was."

"Caleldir... are you okay?" Ashyr asked as she shifted in her spot so that she was just a bit closer to him.

Ashyr's words drew Selene's attention as well. "Here. Eat something. Maybe the poison hasn't quite worn off yet." She shifted the plate more towards him. "Or are you thirsty?" She offered him an empty cup and gestured to the juice that was within his reach.

Caleldir shook his head. "Perhaps there is still poison present, but it is more the stress of the situation. Hael'yss... knows exactly what to say to someone to really tear them down."

He looked down at the food, then decided that he should probably eat. At least eat a little. He took a few small bites and a drink, but not really much. His manner was similar to Ashyr's, actually.

"Being in our house for those few days, I'm not surprised that Hael'yss could find quite a bit with which to tear you down, Caleldir. We have had our... issues recently." She began to fidget with her robes unhappily. This was not something that she had any experience in dealing with. Drow Did Not talk through their problems.

Drow did not talk through problems, and Caleldir was bad at complaining about his own issues. He would listen to other people's problems if permitted but had an almost cowardly disinclination towards prying. "Yes. Issues."

"You... know what would be nice, just for a day or two?" Ashyr said slowly. She looked to both of her partners uncertainly. "Selene, are things. You know. Manageable by our people for a little while? Can you be away?"

The younger drow's lips thinned in thought. "Y-yes. Probably. My father knows the administration; he has been helping out here and there. He, Risa, and Tsabdrin can temporarily manage things. Why?"

"Ah- well, I know technically it isn't really getting away, but... that cabin on the edge of the dimension... Maybe we should go there for a couple of days? Take a small vacation?" Since Selene gave that little frown and shrug that suggested she didn't mind, Ashyr looked toward Caleldir for his reaction.

Caleldir perked up a bit. "That sounds like an excellent idea," he said in a happier tone. "Some time away from it all could be good for all of us. I can give my engineers a few days off."

It was then that Risa Prime popped in. "I have a proposition for all of you," she said simply. "Every day that Uriel ages, it is more difficult to reengineer him with the Geneforge. Old Birchborn could still do it, I know, but it will be increasingly risky. I think that we should start putting Uriel in stasis so that time freezes for him until we can awaken the Archmage and use the Geneforge. The safe window is only two more weeks and we potentially have months before we can purify the country." She blinked, looking at everyone. "Is this a bad time?"

"Put him... in stasis..." Ashyr repeated slowly. She stood and walked the short distance where Uriel was situated. Ylene quickly scooted to the side to allow the mother to pick up her child and hold him close to her breast. "But... if we do that, my milk will dry. He will still need to be fed when we're ready to take him out!"

Selene looked sad and a little bit grim. She saw the logic in Risa's words. "We have things that will make a woman lactate even if she's never given birth; not all of the drow noble women have the time or inclination to breastfeed. As you should well know, Ashyr."

Tears began to slip across the older drow's cheeks. "Right," she said in a tone strained from being slightly upset. "I will... get to visit him, right? And he won't know that he's been in stasis for so long?" Her eyes were almost pleading.

"Well... by my estimation, we can safely let him age and grow one more week without any greater risk than we have right now?" Risa said, looking rather guilty. "We can stagger out those seven days, but once they are over, the risk will steadily increase. But it will not reach a critical level of risk until the three-week mark..." She sighed. "I know you want to be with your son, but it is risky if we want to change his father. Besides, from his perspective, no time will have passed."

Caleldir glanced from Risa to Ashyr and back. He cleared his throat. "I am sorry, I should have been doing my own calculations to supplement Risa's. But I have been distracted. I will say that her words make sense."

Ashyr took a deep breath to attempt to calm herself and think rationally. It was marginally successful. "If so, then I will consent. I know the geneforge will give him a better life."

Risa nodded. "Just let me know when you are ready."

"So, you said a week in total..." Ashyr mused. Then sighed. "I wish we could have at least extended that time by putting him in stasis while I slept." She kissed her son's forehead delicately. "At least you won't notice anything is wrong, my love," Ashyr told Uriel, who had grabbed her finger and was staring up at her in wonder. "Well, if I visit him an hour or so every day, then that shouldn't push the time past comfortable levels. If... if we stasis him now."

"We were occupied with other things," Selene responded regretfully. "I am sorry that we did not think of this sooner."

Risa looked apologetic. "We have all been too busy. But... yeah, you can be with him for an hour a day. Though he will spend many of those hours sleeping. I do have the stasis set to be unnoticeable by an infant."

The A.I. looked around the group, then her ears perked up. "So... it seems that you were talking about a cabin getaway, just the three of you? I can get the cabin restored fairly easily. Burnt up some of that area to carry Duskhaven, but I am recovering the energy to build it again."

"Excellent. Get to that, then - after you put Uriel in stasis." The mage got to her feet and stretched. "Do you want us with you when you do it, Ashyr?"

"N-no. No, it's okay. I'll have Risa," Ashyr responded. Initially, her expression was uncertain. Then she smiled at Risa and relaxed as much as she could relax these days. "You two have some people to talk to; we can meet back up at the main hall then go to the cabin once Risa is done fixing it back up."

Selene contemplated for a moment whether she really should be present for Ashyr. Her cousin really did seem to be comfortable enough with Risa, though. "Alright. I'll go talk to my father and brother. Come, Ylene."

"Let Tsabdrin know what's going on with Phanuel. He would want to know." Ashyr insisted before Selene left.

Selene nodded. "I will do so."

Caleldir looked around at everyone leaving. "Well, I suppose I should go tell the Engineering Guild that I will be away for a few days."

And so, for a time, everyone went their separate ways.

--

It took Caleldir a few hours to talk to the Engineering Guild and make arrangements for him to be gone a few days. But arrangements were made without that much hassle and he soon made his way back to the entry hall of the main house in Risa's dimension.

Selene likewise had quite a bit to do outside the dimension. She was gone for a couple of hours talking to her father and brother (and various other assistants) about what needed to be done. A good deal of that time wasn't strictly necessary, but Selene wanted to make sure that everything would be run correctly. In the end, she practically had to be kicked out of her own office so that the secondary people could begin their work.

Ashyr did not take quite as long as either of her partners, but there was a good deal of time spent saying 'goodbye' to her son. She felt a bit silly about it, really; he wasn't going anywhere and she would still be able to see him. Yet still, she felt keenly the knowledge that he wouldn't be around like she was used to. And so, Ashyr arrived at the meeting place first, followed by Caleldir and, shortly after, Selene and Ylene. Bard was, of course, going to come as well. He sat next to Ashyr and waited in excited anticipation for the 'new' place that they were going to visit. They all assumed that Dahlia would port to Caleldir sooner or later despite her busy schedule (and despite her not being invited, strictly speaking), so they did not wait for her.

"Alright, I suppose we're ready to go, then. Risa? Would you rather guide us to the cabin, or just port us there? I, myself, wouldn't mind a relaxing walk through the forest," Selene said aloud, trusting that Risa would hear her.

"A walk would be nice," Ashyr agreed softly as she wiped another tear out of her eye. Other than the occasional leakiness, the ranger did seem to be in slightly better spirits. She looked forward to their 'vacation.'

Risa ported in to talk directly. Or one of her Avatars did, actually. [I can port you there if you like, but I also have a very nice trail for you to travel,] she said serenely. [I have been adding a few more animals and plants to the ecosystem. Trying to go for a magical conifer forest theme. All I need now is some pixies. Maybe some dryads...]

"I think that we can stand a walk," Caleldir said simply. He drew a deep breath. "Well, shall we be off?"

R.I.S.A. clapped. I have everything ready! A walk through the woods along a river, up to some beautiful caves to the other side of the mountain, a walk above a pristine lake... I have really been working on my design!

Both drow smiled. To them, it sounded absolutely perfect. So, hand-in-hand, they set off on their tour through the new paths that Risa had created. They chatted with each other and with Caleldir as they walked.

Ylene was quiet for most of the walk. She hadn't quite gotten to the point where she was perfectly comfortable with Ashyr and Caleldir. The catgirl also didn't know what to think of Bard, who continued to be almost as friendly and exuberant as he was as a puppy. Now, of course, he was fully grown and about twice the weight of the small catgirl. And he smelled funny to her. And wagged his tail far too much (which was supposed to be a friendly action?). And didn't have much of a sense of personal space.

The main topic the drow were interested in, of course, was Uriel, his stasis, and how they would manage his early years after visiting the gene forge. He had a bright future ahead of him despite his dark and horrifying past. Talking about that bright future (made possible by the stasis) seemed to comfort Ashyr a great deal.

Caleldir was more quiet than not. He would occasionally put forth a thought on possible Geneforge based modifications and upgrades, but for the most part, he simply observed the scenery.

Which was quite gorgeous. Risa had really been flexing her artistic muscles these last few weeks since she let Duskhaven City go. A lot more flowering plants, occasional benches, small gardens in nooks, statues, bridges, and small way-houses of one or two rooms dotted the long, winding path. Some of the installations were only partly finished, though. One of the R.I.S.A.s would inevitably be present near a partly-finished decoration and apologize for the mess.

Caleldir actually spent more time in psychic conversation with R.I.S.A. on matters relating to her goals for the dimension, though what those were he did not really volunteer to the others just yet except in the form of brief, out-of-context questions as to preferences.

The women were understanding of the in-progress status of aspects of the dimension. Their conversation would break off whenever something interesting came into view. Ylene and Bard took turns exploring various things, though their mistresses stayed on the path and observed from there. Ylene was as cautious as ever, though she really did seem to be enchanted by the forest she finally was able to explore. Bard was, well, Bard. Near the end of the walk, however, he began to follow Ashyr more closely.

After the short, pleasant walk, they arrived at their destination. It tired Ashyr out a little, which was apparent to Selene and Caleldir. The drow ranger had gotten frustratingly out of shape either stuck in that cell or mostly confined to her bed. She was glad to see signs of the building, though she refused any help offered to her. It was good for her to exert herself.

The 'cabin' was larger and more refined than the last time they had been there, with more artistic installations around it. Also, less of the magnificent view was illusory.

Ashyr gladly entered the fancy 'cabin' (which looked more like an upper-class hunting lodge) and took a seat on the first couch she could find. She let out a long sigh as she looked around at the decorations. "This is wonderful Risa; thank you for doing all this."

"Yes, thank you, Risa," Selene said with a bit more light-heartedness. "You seem to be enjoying this project," she further observed. "Yes, Ylene; go explore as much as you would like," the younger drow said with a bigger smile before her catgirl even asked the question. Then she watched the timid woman wander off with a hint of fondness in her expression.

[Oh! You are very welcome!] R.I.S.A.'s voice came in cheerily as one of her lesser avatars popped into the room. [I am definitely enjoying this project. I plan on building... Well, that is a surprise. But once we get a place for me to anchor my dimension permanently, then I can really expand. Build a small country in here!]

"Once we get Deusterra purified, we will have several good locations for an anchoring point," Caleldir said quietly.

[Indeed.] R.I.S.A. nodded. [Anyway, if you need me, I am only a word away. My main body may get in a visit in a day or two, but first I think that you three will want to be alone.]

Curious excitement was clear on both Ashyr and Selene's faces. Selene looked sorely tempted to question Risa further but controlled herself enough to resist the temptation.

Then it was just the three of them since Bard preferred to stay outside and explore more now that he knew his mistress was resting again. Selene turned to Caleldir and pulled him onto the couch with herself and Ashyr, which he found it impossible to be upset about. "So. What should we do with our vacation?"

"Well, sleep, for one thing," he yawned. "Take long baths, maybe work on some of the less stressful spellwork..."

Selene's smile grew. Those plans seemed so... mundane after all they had gone through. She slipped onto his lap, straddling him and kissing his jaw. "That sounds almost perfect. There is one thing that is missing off of that list..."

Despite his attempt to keep his expression relatively neutral, Caleldir could not help but break out in a broad grin. "Well, I am not going to argue with that order of business," he said in as serious of a tone as he could muster. He wrapped his arms around Selene's waist.

The scene unfolding beside her caused Ashyr to sit up and watch with interest. Normally, this would be when she cleared out of the way. Recently the idea of sex... well, it brought up other, much worse thoughts. But this time - in addition to the slight discomfort she felt - there was also a warmth that radiated through her core and spread throughout her body. It had felt so long since she truly enjoyed the comfort of her partners...

Caleldir noted Ashyr's reaction. Selene he had never really stopped having sex with (though less frequently these days), but Ashyr had been too traumatized to do much sexual ever since they rescued her too late. That was why he had not really suggested sex on that list.

But Ashyr seemed to be interested. He met her eyes with a questioning gaze.

Selene noticed the shift in Caleldir's attention and looked over to Ashyr as well. The interest she saw in her cousin's eyes made Selene smile softly. "Perhaps we should move to the bedroom for now? There's a lot of space to... spread out." And have threesomes if Ashyr felt comfortable enough to join in on the fray. That said, Selene stood and took Caleldir by the hand to where Ylene mentally told Selene where the bedroom was.

Caleldir's face brimmed with the sort of mischief that Ashyr used to be known for. "Yes, spread out. Sounds like a good idea."