Pt. 14

"Oh, snap! Things just got real." Silus could barely control his enthusiasm.

"This is why you never split the party, y'all," Sebastian fretted.

"Sorry, everyone. I fucked up," Yuna said. "Walked right into a trap I probably should have seen coming from a mile away."

"Naw, babe. You couldn't have known," Emma consoled her. "You were being brave. You went in there and did your best."

"Yup. And got captured," Yuna replied with a lopsided grin.

"Which means..." Silus trailed off. The others all looked at Yuna, who started to go a little pink in the cheeks.

"Oh damn, babe!" Emma exclaimed, realization suddenly dawning. "You're gonna get tied up!" Yuna blushed hard now and looked at the floor.

"Only if you want to, Yuna," Ingrid said with a smile. "It's always consensual at this table."

Yuna looked over at Silus, who gave her a look that clearly said, "If you don't do this it'll be the biggest double standard of the century." But he said nothing. Yuna then glanced over at her girlfriend, who was watching her carefully with a look that was half worried, half coy.

"Ok, I'll do it," she caved at last. "You can tie me up."

Silus barked a laugh. "Oh, how the turn tables." Yuna made a face at him.

"You're a good sport, Yuna," Ingrid said, still smiling. "I know you're usually the one doing the tying. Speaking of which, who do you want to do the honors?"

Yuna paused, unsure. She looked at Ingrid, then over to Emma, then to Reya seated next to Sebastian. "I know lots of you know how," Yuna began. "And I trust all of you. But if you don't mind, would you like to tie me, Reya?"

Reya raised both eyebrows in surprise. "Me?" Yuna nodded. "Oh, well of course. I'm flattered."

Reya got up, reached in her backpack for a few coils of jute and walked over to Yuna who was now standing in the center of the room. Reya smiled at her, then looked her over. Yuna was wearing a frilly white blouse and black short shorts. She smiled back shyly and put her arms behind her back, waiting.

"Umm..." Reya began, searching for the right words. "That's a really nice blouse."

"Oh," Yuna said, looking down at it. "Thanks. I got it at a thrift store recently."

"Wow. Nice find," Reya replied. "Umm... do you want me to tie over it? It's really quite cute. I would hate to see it damaged."

"Oh. I mean..." She looked at the floor a moment, then grabbed it at the hem and pulled it over her head, revealing a skinny torso and a black bra. Emma reached over and took the blouse from her before she had even thought where to put it. Now shirtless, Yuna crossed her arms over her chest and bit her lip.

Reya smiled at her and giggled as she stepped around behind her and dropped her rope bundles to the floor. Sensing her rope bottom's nerves and embarrassment, Reya began by placing both hands on Yuna's bare shoulders. She left them there for several seconds, letting the warmth of her skin calm Yuna. Then she slowly slid her hands down Yuna's arms, maintaining a gentle pressure as she went.

As Yuna felt the warmth of Reya's soft hands slide slowly down her arms, pinning them to her side, she felt her mind instinctively surrendering to her rope top. This wasn't a space Yuna dropped into easily, or often, but Reya was a natural. When she reached the point just below Yuna's elbows, Reya paused for a moment then pulled both arms gently toward each other behind her back, folding the forearms against each other parallel to the floor.

"There," Reya whispered in Yuna's ear. "Hold that position for me." She then grabbed a length of rope and began tying Yuna's wrists together. She drew the rope slowly across Yuna's skin whenever she had the opportunity, the sliding feeling becoming hypnotic to Yuna as the process unfurled. An adept rope top herself, Yuna knew intellectually what Reya was doing. But having learned a lot about the experience of bottoming from Emma, she knew to turn that part of herself off and let herself sink into the rope space Reya was building for her.

Once the wrist tie was secured, Reya pulled the leading end up to a point between Yuna's shoulder blades. Holding it there with one hand, she led the rope around Yuna's small body, wrapping her upper arms to her chest, all the way around to the point she held behind her back. She passed the leading end under it, then wrapped the rope back around Yuna's torso again in the other direction. Reya continued this pattern, at times going above her breasts, at times under them; at times going over her shoulders and under the horizontal wraps in front, at times wrapping around her upper arms. Once, Reya paused to extend her rope by attaching a new length to the end of the old.

Once finished, Reya tied off the tension and stepped back around to survey her prize from the front. Yuna's small breasts, still cupped in her black bra, were surrounded by rope above and below as well as rope descending between her cleavage from over her shoulders. Her arms, meanwhile, were pinned to her sides and her wrists bound together above the small of her back.

"What do you think?" Reya asked.

"You look really cute, babe," Emma jumped in, standing up to touch her girlfriend's bare skin in places. Yuna looked at Emma and grinned, but didn't say anything.

"I think it's really brave to be tied, as a top," Reya said. "And for what it's worth, you

do

look cute."

Yuna laughed out loud, a laugh of self-deprecation and relief.

"You know, I never thought I'd live to see this girl tied up," said Silus. "Now I can die a happy man."

"Oh, shut up Silus," Yuna retorted goodnaturedly.

"Helpless little Yuna," Silus teased. "Whatever is she going to do? Emma might touch her in all kinds of naughty ways."

Sebastian barked a laugh, but Emma gave Silus a knowing look and continued her soft, slow exploration of Yuna's bare skin.

"Can we get back to the game now, please?" Yuna asked, trying not to reveal how much she was loving Emma's soft explorations.

****************************

Not too far away, Sixto sauntered beside Remus along an avenue in the lazy morning sunlight. Or rather, Remus sauntered and Sixto pretended to saunter. He wasn't really in the mood to perambulate.

Not that he was much of a flaneur even on the most relaxing of days. And this was not the most relaxing of days.

"Well, I have to say we're all glad to have you back, Sixto," Remus said jovially.

"Are you so sure?" Sixto asked. "Does anyone even know I'm back other than you?"

"Well not yet, exactly," Remus clarified, sounding defensive. "But they will be, you'll see."

"You're practically apologizing for my presence, Remus," Sixto replied. "It doesn't make me feel better, you know."

"Oh, I know," Remus said, indeed sounding apologetic. "I just don't want you thinking they're all going to be wondering why you're coming back now or why you left in the first place. I want it to be like old times."

Si: Is this what Sixto remembers to be normal behavior for Remus? Is he acting funny?

I: Make an insight check if you want.

Si: I sure do. [Rolls]. Damn, the good luck continues (for me at least). That's a 23.

I: Damn! You had to beat a 22.

Sb: What?!

I: Remus is a good liar, you know. He's as practiced as Six.

Si: So he's lying, then?

I: With that roll you are definitely picking up on some serious internal anxiety within your old friend. He's conflicted about something, and it has to do with you 'coming back into the fold.'

Si: Shit.

"I don't know if 'old times' is possible anymore, Remus," Sixto replied, his voice sad and comforting. "That ship sailed a long time ago." Sixto placed a hand on his shorter friend's shoulder. "I don't want you to feel like it's your job to bring those days back."

Remus looked up into Sixto's handsome face with a wry, sad smile of his own. "Aw, shucks, partner," he said with exaggerated affect. "I guess I just miss those days. An old man can reminisce, can't he?"

Six heaved a sigh. "Time only goes forward, my friend. Time only goes forward. We'll just have to do the best we can with the day that's before us."

"Wise words," Remus intoned, nodding soberly. "Wise words."

They passed the rest of the journey in silence and before long arrived at the familiar white stucco and dark wood structure. Sixto gazed at it as they slowly approached. He recalled what it had invoked in him when he had first walked inside years ago: raw imposing power, sinister mystery, and wild ambition. Even now it didn't fail to invoke intense emotions, but they were different.

So very different.

Instead of approaching one of the discrete entrances down the alley, Remus led them to one of the sets of large, open double doors facing the main avenue.

"Really? The front doors?"

Remus looked back at his friend and winked as they approached.

"Damn. Moving up in the world, huh?"

"What other direction is there?" Remus replied, easy as the summer breeze in their hair.

Sixto could think of a few, but kept them to himself. As he walked through the imposing doors into the massive compound, his eye flicked to his left. Andy was indeed there a hundred paces back.

Maybe they'll prove useful after all,

Sixto thought.

Or maybe they'll get us all killed

.

Sixto followed Remus through a long, arched entryway into a central courtyard with a fountain and tall palm trees. Armed guards flanking the archway as they entered the courtyard nodded to Remus as he passed but gave Sixto long, suspicious looks.

Remus cut his way across the courtyard while Sixto trailed behind him admiring the massive proportions of this edifice. The interior walkways that ringed the central space were made of the same dark wood as the rest of the building's woodwork and doubled as balconies where guards stood watch and members of the syndicate lounged when not busy. Even this early in the morning Six could see several on various floors looking out over the courtyard.

How many people work for the syndicate these days?

Sixto wondered to himself. It had certainly grown in the years since he knew it, and he had never known it that well.

I was never more than a grunt

, Sixto thought bitterly.

No one here ever cared about me. I was just a tool to get a dirty job done.

Remus began climbing a flight of stairs.

A flight of stairs?

Sixto thought.

Debt collection was never given upper floor real estate when I was here

. Sixto's worries grew as Remus turned on the second floor landing and continued to climb.

"Whoa, Remus!" Sixto called. "There's moving up in the world, and then there's

moving up in the world

. What's going on? You're not taking me to the Dragon Head's suite, are you?" He had meant it as pure sarcasm, the most ridiculous of jokes, yet as he studied Remus' reaction he saw a sudden twist of fear where mirth should have been.

"Haha! Good one, Sixto. You still haven't lost your sense of humor. I like it."

It was their usual playful banter, but somehow Remus' words had fallen flat, as if they were forced or brittle. When Remus turned at the third floor landing and led them still farther up the stairs, Sixto made a decision. Halfway up to the fourth floor he set his feet, grabbed his friend by the collar of his silk shirt, and slammed him against the wall.

"Grrlk!" Remus cried out in shock as the breath was knocked out of him. Sixto wasted no time in slamming his knee into the halfling's gut, doubling him over and preventing him from crying out. Before he could recover, Six seized his throat and pushed him against the wall, pinning him there. As Remus gasped and struggled for breath, Six casually drew a dagger from his belt and pressed the tip to the base of Remus' throat.

"Alright... friend," Sixto breathed, his face inches from the halfling's. "You're going to tell me what's going on, or this is your last day." He could see the terror swirling in Remus' eyes—the fear of not getting enough air, of watching all your blood spill down your front, of this being the end. It was a terror he had seen before in more sets of eyes than he cared to admit. Sixto had always been good at putting the fear of god in people. In fact, that's what they had called him. He winced to remember that he had once been proud of it, too.

But proud or not, today he needed it. Ilya's life depended on him. Ash was relying on him. So was Kit. Hell, even that queer halfling Andy was counting on him today, though Sixto wagered they could take care of themselves.

And then there was his own life. He felt shameful admitting it, but when push came to shove he had always put his own skin first.

Maybe I'll find a cause worth dying for one day

, Sixto mused as the dapper gentleman enforcer squirmed and gasped in his grasp.

But that day sure as hell isn't today.

"Hmm?" He asked. "I didn't catch that." Remus gurgled an incoherent reply and Sixto eased up the pressure on his windpipe a bit.

"Fuck!" Remus took a ragged breath and croaked out in a quiet rasp—all he could manage under the circumstances. "I'll gut you, Sixto, I swear by all the gods I...."

Sixto increased the pressure on Remus' throat, cutting off his curses. "No, you won't... friend. Because I'll hang you from this wall by my blade first. Now tell me what's going on or our friendship is about to be.

Cut. Short

." He let Remus gurgle incoherently for a moment before once again easing the pressure on his windpipe.

When he did, the first thing to come out was a chortle.

"Nice pun, Six. Good one. Though short jokes are always low hanging fruit."

"I love you too, Remus," Sixto growled. "But if you think you're going to charm your way out of this without telling me what's up you're gravely mistaken."

"You'd never kill me," Remus breathed, looking Sixto straight in the eye. The terror was still there, but it was mingled with something else, a devil-may-care gleam that chilled Sixto to the bone. "That's why you left all those years ago. You weren't willing to actually do it." Remus paused to draw a ragged breath, his hands grasping Sixto's wrist still clamped like a vice over his throat. "All bravado and bluster," he whispered, the devilish gleam glowing brighter and brighter, "but no substance."

"If that's your

substance

, Remus," Sixto spat, "then I'll feel no remorse ending you. I'd be doing the rest of us a favor. Now tell me what's going on. Otherwise you have three seconds left to live."

I: Make an intimidation check.

E: I hate to play back seat DM, Ingrid, but I feel like that performance deserves advantage on the roll.

Y: Amen! I'm so loving this.

R: Seriously! As a domme, I am so loving this whole scene.

I: You know, I agree with you all. Roll with advantage, Silus.

Si: Here we go! [Rolls twice]. Oh, thank the goddess—that first roll was a natural one. The second one, though—that's a 25!

I: Holy shit. Sixto means business!

Devil-may-care or no, Sixto could see the calculus happening behind Remus' eyes. He clearly knew how incredibly dangerous it would be to double-cross his boss. Should things go sideways and this all came back to him, he'd have to run from some very powerful, very ruthless people for the rest of his life. But if he said nothing his life might simply end right here. What was the point in that?

If

he believed Sixto intended to kill him.

Remus looked into his frenemy's eyes and saw nothing to warrant a gamble.

"Alright, alright. I'm throwing away a lifetime of work and achievement here, you know."

"You disgust me. Shut up and spill the beans."

"Fine. The Dragon Head was expecting people to try and infiltrate the organization. Don't ask me how or why. All I know is when I came to her with news you wanted to join up again, she told me to bring you straight to her, no intermediaries and no questions asked. I don't know what you've gotten yourself into, but she's onto it. You can't fool her." A fear crossed his eyes again, but a different fear this time: the constant, ever-present dread of a person you can never trust and who holds your life in their hand.

Sixto cursed, glancing down at the floor as he collected his thoughts. She was onto them. Their plan was already spoiled. Which meant Ash was in grave danger.

"Whatever it is you think you're doing," Remus wheezed, "abandon it and get the hell out. Anything else is suicide."

Sixto looked his former friend in the eyes again, anger and sadness competing in his heart. "As if you ever cared about me, then or now."

A hurt expression softened Remus' handsome face. "I did care about you, Sixto. I really did." A pregnant pause hung between them for a long moment. "I still do," Remus whispered at last.

In a swift, ruthless motion Sixto brought the hilt of his dagger down hard on the crown of the halfling's head. He watched Remus' eyes glaze over then felt the weight of his body slump against his arm pinning him to the wall. Slowly, he let Remus' unconscious form sag to the floor, wondering whether anything his old comrade had said was true.

I'll probably never know

, he muttered under his breath.

But now there are only a few cards left to play

.

***************************

Ilya knelt on her Mistress' bed, knees spread apart by ropes tied to opposite posts of the elaborate four-poster. Her arms were tied above her head to its canopy, leaving her torso exposed. In what had now become routine, she was practically naked, having been permitted by Mistress to wear only a small black leather thong this morning. Being tied to the bed wasn't new, either. In the days since Ilya's capture, Mistress had enjoyed Ilya in more ways than one. Her eyes wandered to the hook embedded in the ceiling not far from the bed where only yesterday Mistress had suspended her naked in the air.

Not that Ilya had known much about sex prior to this, much less the kinky sort that Mistress seemed interested in. Not from experience, anyway, and she had certainly never been had by a girl before. Which, it turned out, was actually way better than doing it with a guy.

So, yeah. She had learned a thing or two.

"Hey, do you mind if we pause here for a bit?"

Ingrid looked over at Silus. "Of course. What is it, Sy?"

"I don't want to ruin the moment or anything, but since this is a bit nonconsensual, I just want to make sure everyone's ok." Silus looked around the room at his fellow players. Some, he noticed, looked a bit uncomfortable, particularly Sebastian who looked down at the floor. But everyone was giving him their undivided attention.

"I think that's a good idea, Silus," Ingrid concurred. "Ilya's not really a consenting partner here. How is everyone feeling?"

Silus canvassed the room with his eyes. "I'm fine with it and think it's really hot, mostly because I realize it's a fantasy world and because I think we're all kind of exploring our kinky fantasies here. Which is something I strongly support us all in doing. But I just want to make sure this isn't triggering anyone who might feel differently about it."

Ingrid smiled and nodded at her wise, emotionally intelligent friend. "That's a great point. Not everyone reacts to this sort of thing in the same way. I'm glad you brought it up, and I think it's as good a time as any for a vibe check." Ingrid looked around and made eye contact with each person in the room in turn. "How are we feeling?"

A long silence ensued, heavy with meaning, but no one felt obligated to break it right away. Finally, Yuna spoke up. "I'm ok so long as Sebastian is. It's his character, after all. And like Silus said, I'm excited for him—and all the rest of you, too—to explore your wonderful, kinky-as-fuck selves here as we play D&D together."