Note: Part 3 of the fantasy setting series. I was going to put the Druchii part before, but realized I wasn't actually feeling very inspired for that or the other races I had in mind. Maybe I'll feel differently later. For now, this is essentially done and I won't be coming back to it.
*****
Going back to Vixens for the third time in as many days, I decided I'd use that days visit to tug on the thread Mordridd had presented; demons. It might not have sounded that appealing to other guys, what with demons typically invoking imagery of flaming, antediluvian terrors. But I was sure Simone would send me in the direction of the more attractive types like succubi.
I found the Balthazaar in his typical spot on the upper levels of the club where the working girls lounged. His uncanny nature and appearance wasn't any less disturbing despite repeated exposure but it was an easy thing to suppress. Instead of letting it show, I flashed him a smile and asked "So Balt, what do you know about demons? The pleasant kind I mean."
His eyes grew glassy and narrowed for an instant before dilating again. He didn't seem to like the shortening of his name any more than Semith did but the prospect of profit kept him from voicing a complaint.
"Ah, yes, demons. I presume you're interested in succubi and daemonettes rather than nurglings?"
"I want to have fun, not get every STI in existence."
"What's an STI?" he asked cocking his head.
"Nothing, don't worry about it. You were saying?"
"Right... Yes, well, I know a thing or two. We used to employ a few succubi right here after all but it that didn't last long."
"Demons a bit too much trouble?"
Balthazaar flustered and he quivered heavily like he'd tasted something too sour. "Worse! The damn she-devils kept giving out freebies to the patrons. They didn't care a wit for gold, only for satisfying their hunger. I thought that'd make them the perfect workers. They happily agreed to the deal I laid out and I wouldn't have to pay them at all."
I'd clearly touched a nerve as Balthazaar continued working himself up.
"They were taking work away from the other girls before the other owners and I had to ask them to leave. Oh what a mistake that was..."
I expected Balthazaar to continue but he just stayed sullen instead. "Why's that?" I prodded him to get the backstory moving along.
Balthazaar continued to sulk. "The succubi decided they liked things too much to go back to seducing the occasional farmer for a measly meal or two. Better to have the food come to them. With help-" he spat the word out with disgust "-from rather many investors in the city, they set up their own Coven right here, Second Circle. If it weren't for that blasted place we'd have more than twice as much business. Gods damn Hellspawn."
I couldn't help it. "Second Circle eh, how do I get there?"
Balthazaar snapped up to look and me and... Vibrated? His body shook all over, visible even through his overflowing robes. Instead of his usual manner of speech, his voice took on a slithering quality and something indistinct but obviously insulting came out of his mouth. He made a heel turn and glided rather than walked across the floor away from me.
I shrugged and went off to find another guide to lead me to Second Circle.
~
Asking around got me the same reaction I'd gotten when asking for Vixens but with the addition of one man waving some kind of religious icon at me and calling me a blaspheming heretic that would burn for my impurity. I wonder what it says about me that that only made me want to find Second Circle even more.
Throwing around some money sped things up and I soon managed to find my way to what was supposedly Second Circle. The place was apparently underground. The entrance was a gothic mausoleum with stairs that receded deep into the earth.
Well, it's not like I can be hurt here I thought to myself as I started down.
Torchlight lit the way as I made my way deeper and deeper. Eventually the silence was broken by the sounds of sensuous joy and revelry to put it lightly. There was a lot of screaming coming from down there, the good kind though.
"Hello there," a voice said suddenly at my side making me jump.
I whipped around on the sound and standing right behind me was a succubus I thought. Having never seen one I couldn't be sure but she sure looked the part if a bit young; if she were human, she wouldn't have been older than 20. She was small, surprisingly tiny actually and barely came up to my chest. Her perfectly smooth, unblemished skin was a blood red with mesmerizing patterning that moved and shifted constantly. Leathery wings sprouted from her back and heavy, curling horns crowned her head. She had pointed ears like an elf and for the most part was built like one too, delicate features with an unnatural, too perfect beauty.
"Hello," I said taking in the rest of her, the heavy nipple piercings she had taking up much of my attention. "You scared me." She didn't wear any clothing at all, at least none that covered her appreciably; a collar, a corset that cupped her breasts, stockings and metal 'armor' that looked like it uncomfortably pressed into her soft skin.
She tittered. "I know, I can never resist doing that to new bloods."
Movement from behind her caught my attention and I finally noticed the tail swishing behind her playfully. I bet that could be fun. "How do you know I'm new?"
"Because of the way you're looking at me human."
She stepped closer and her scent hit me. Like Semith it was numbingly pleasant but I don't think it fogged up the mind like Semith's spores. It just seemed to sharpen everything into focus and heighten the senses, not to mention giving me a raging hardon and very many dirty thoughts. But as long as it didn't affect my thinking, this was the kind of non-consensual drugging I could approve of I think.
"How do things work here?" I asked softly.
