Chapter 16: Chapter 16: Esther

Jace was mesmerized by the sway of Esther’s hips as she ascended the stairs before him.  The thin layers of her skirt fluttered gently from the air moving about her, flying up and away from her legs as easily as they hung down.  They were as translucent as the black stockings she wore, yet, gathered together at her hips, they created a shadowed view of what lay beneath.  The high heels on her black boots were as impractical as horns on a chicken, but they sure looked nice.

He knew he shouldn’t be trying to look up the woman’s skirt, but his body and mind were as engrossed with following this woman as if he had told Snowy to follow the trail of a dozen elves.  He couldn’t speak.  He couldn’t move except to follow this woman, and he couldn’t think of anything other than the rhythm of her legs.

Gracie helped him out.

{Wow, dude.  You have it bad.  You are officially enthralled.  And I mean that literally.  Esther is a vampire; once they charm an individual, they can cast Enthrall on them.  I’m more familiar with the spell Command, which is a typical mage spell for those that like to play the control game, but Enthrall works the same way, except it combos with a vampire’s natural abilities, especially if they have the proper Charm feats.  And as the game’s most infamous working girl, she has some extreme occupational talent.  Players have been trying to decipher her character sheet for a long while, and I think they have it mostly worked out.}

Jace tried to focus on Gracie’s voice, but his mind wouldn’t let him give her his full attention.  He just hoped he remembered what she was telling him later.

{She got three critical successes when she turned you into her Thrall.  This means you are her slave for the next 15 rounds.  You aren’t in combat mode now, so these rounds are closer to six minutes, but they should move faster than that, as most of the activities she will be having you do will take a full round.  But if she just wants to sit around and chat, you are hers for the next 90 minutes or so.  If she asks you to do something you would typically not have a problem doing by the game’s estimation, you will do it.  If you have any resistance to the action, she will have to spend a critical.  She may need two if you are highly opposed to the action.  Already, following her upstairs to her room is something a Traditional character would not want to do, so she is down to two crits.}

Jace couldn’t turn his head from side to side, but once they made it to the second floor and had a level walkway, he could see over Esther’s shoulder.  They avoided the balcony that overlooked the dining hall and moved down an interior hallway.  They passed the woman Jace had seen earlier dressed in the form-hugging silver dress.  He thought Esther greeted her as Tami, but he wasn’t sure.  The other woman gave Jace a thorough looking-over, whispered something to Esther, and they both laughed.  Four rooms were lined up on the western side of the hall, and the vampire’s was at the end.  Esther stepped past it and turned around.

From the front, she was even more intoxicatingly beautiful, and Jace had an impossible time not staring.  “Eyes up here, big boy,” she teased.  “There will be time for that later.  Please open my door.  One can never be too careful.”

This was a task Jace might have questioned if sober-minded, but since she cleverly sold it as a chivalrous act instead of entering the quarters of a prostitute, it didn’t cost her anything.  The room was dark, with heavy curtains pulled across the two western-facing windows.  Jace guessed that the visible coastline would have been a selling point of these upstairs rooms, but, as a vampire, Esther might not appreciate the sunset as much as others.  Only the orc’s ability to see in the dark allowed Jace to make out the room’s contents.

Several lounge chairs sat about the room of various shapes and sizes.  A four-paneled changing partition with a floral pattern stood in one corner, and Jace saw a wash basin next to it.  A dresser and closet stood along one wall, and a giant bed dominated another.  If any assassins were lying in wait, they stayed hidden.

“Clear?” Esther asked.  Jace didn’t answer but moved further into the room to give her access.  The vampire strode in behind him, and with a wave of her hand, half a dozen candles placed strategically around the room popped into flame.  Jace didn’t have to squint now and stood in the middle of the floor next to a pillar supporting the vaulted ceiling.  There was a third floor to this building, but it was smaller and in the center.  Esther’s room was on the southwestern corner of the Gilded Swan, and nothing was above her.  Jace could see a skylight fifteen feet above him on the eastern slope of the ceiling, but the shade was pulled.

“Now, my big friend, what were you doing in the basement?” She moved past him, spun around so her skirt flared out, and then sat on the corner of the bed, giving a brief flash of what lay beneath before the layers of fabric settled beside her like giant black snowflakes.

Jace was awestruck by her grace and beauty and felt compelled to answer.  Since he was Honest, it once again cost her nothing.  There were prompts below, and Jace saw bluff and lying options, but they were grayed out.  Trying to say them felt like standing in an open field and attempting to fly.  He just couldn’t do it.  “I am here looking for a man.  His name is Henry Tornsend.”

Esther cocked her head.  “Describe him to me?”

“Tall and large, with a black beard.  He would have been here three days ago.”

Esther seemed to contemplate this.  “Yes, I think I remember him.  He had some incredible strength.  Would you like to know what we did together?”

“No, I wouldn’t,” Jace answered, surprising himself with his own honesty.  “I only want to know what happened to him.”

“I played with him for a while,” she said, licking her red lips, “and then I sent him upstairs.  He was a lot like you.  Reluctant at first.  He took a bit of prodding.  I needed something to loosen him up.  Are you thirsty?”  She popped up from the bed and turned toward a desk along the wall next to the dresser where a few bottles stood.

Unfortunately, Jace was quite thirsty.  “Yes.”

Esther poured two glasses half full of red wine and walked back toward the orc, standing motionless in the middle of the room.  She offered him one, which he felt obligated to take.  She drank first, rolling the wine around in her mouth before swallowing.  It didn’t mean it wasn’t poisoned.  If she was undead, she might be immune to many poisons.  And if the drink lowered magical immunity, what did she care?  Jace was in no position to cast a spell on her.

He took a drink.  It was the first time he had tried to drink anything in the game, and his tusks got in the way.  He ended up dribbling most of it down his chin and chest.  He was lucky he didn’t accidentally break the fragile glass on his tusks.  She laughed at him, drained the last of her wine, and then tossed the glass toward the bed.  It landed gently on the down-filled comforter, and she walked over to him.

“You’re nervous, aren’t you?  When was the last time you were alone with a woman?”

Jace swallowed hard as Esther closed in on him and began wiping up the spilled drink off his chest with her fingers, slowly sucking them clean.  He knew Gracie was listening but was compelled to answer.  “Almost three years.”

“That is a long time.  You need to relax.  Let me help you remove your armor.”

Jace would hardly consider his character’s leather arm protectors armor, but her script was probably limited.  So far, their conversation had been easy enough for her programming to handle.  As long as he was enthralled, he likely wouldn’t be able to test her.  She wasn’t asking him to do anything other than stand still, which the spell required of him anyway, so he did nothing as she leaned into him and deftly removed the few pieces of leather that adorned his upper body.  She also unbuckled his empty sheath and took his wine glass.

“Much better,” she said when he was bare to the waist.  She spent a few moments tracing the high-definition muscles that contoured his chest and stomach, sending a shiver down his spine.  With his Elements turned down and this not being a VR-enabled module, he only felt pressure without the tickle. Still, the visual of the enchanting woman paying him this type of intimate attention sent his mind into another realm.

“Now you can help me,” she said softly, turning around and lifting her hair over her shoulder to reveal a wide “V” down the back of her dress, laced tightly with a knot at the top.  Jace didn’t move for a moment, his mind fighting with itself.

“Come on,” she chided.  “Help a girl out.  You know I can’t reach it.”

Her ploy to make the action of undressing her seem noble and accommodating lessened his resistance, but Jace fought hard.  “Very well,” she said.  Her body pulsed with energy, and Jace felt her hold on him grow slightly weaker.

{She had to spend one of her two remaining criticals on that request,} Gracie needlessly informed him.  He knew she was watching but likely only looking at a stream of data, not the TV screen showing an unfiltered version of what was to come.  Jace was willing to bet the Germans were paying close attention to this part.

Regardless, he was compelled to act, and his clumsy fingers attacked the top of the dress.  It was tied together with a long black handkerchief, giving Jace’s orc digits a fighting chance, but the game didn’t require exact dexterity from him.  He unknowingly engaged the Open action, which would untie any simple knot or bow.  Within a second, the “V” tripled in width, revealing most of her bare torso down to a gentle curve below the small of her back.

She let him soak in that view for a few seconds before turning around slowly, clutching the dress to her chest with her forearms.  Her fingers expertly maneuvered it off her shoulders, and without any more teasing, she uncrossed her arms, and a pool of black fabric fell at her feet.

Jace was sure he heard celebratory cheers coming through Gracie’s headset.  He would have to trust the Germans’ appraisal, for while he could see she was breathtakingly beautiful, most of her body was heavily pixilated due to his filters.  She still wore her boots, stockings, and a lacy thong, which didn’t look too authentic to the medieval period, but this was supposed to be fantasy.  She smiled at him as she held up her hand and snapped her finger.  Those three items disappeared, and Jace was rewarded with even more pixelation.

She was just a blur as she sauntered up to him, and he could no longer follow the sway of her hips or bounce of her chest.  Instead, all he could see was her face.  She wore a smile, but it seemed fake.  As she pressed her body into his, caressing his massive arms and chest, he looked into her eyes.  They had been deep and inviting before but now looked hollow and empty.  As if she was simply an automaton, going through the actions without feeling anything.  And Jace realized that was precisely what she was.

She broke off after a few minutes and made her way to the bed.  After removing the hazardous glass from the middle, she stretched herself out on her side in an inviting pose.  “Please join me.  Don’t leave me here alone.”

Any attempt to trick him into obeying of his own free will wouldn’t work.  Jace wondered if even her initial three critical successes would have done the job.  She tried the one she had, and when it failed, Jace’s whole body relaxed and was set free.  “Get dressed and take me to your mistress,” he said.  “I am done playing games.”

Esther’s face changed slightly, not willing to give up yet.  She had dealt with unwilling participants before and had always gotten them to break.  She just needed to find the right motivation.  She playfully rolled off the bed and walked alluringly over to her alcohol again, unaware that her antics were lost on the orc with his filters activated.  She grabbed the entire bottle and took a deep draw from it, allowing most of it to dribble down her body.

“Are you sure you don’t see anything you like?”

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Conversation prompts still appeared at the bottom of his vision, and they were all segues toward a sexual encounter, but he ignored them.  With his senses back, he wanted to test the system.  “I would like to leave here, find your mistress, and discover the fate of Henry Tornsend.”

A flash of anger crossed her face.  “You care nothing for this man you speak of.  You and I both know he is dead.  You will only have bad news to bring back to his wife.  No good can come from this.  Unless . . .”

Jace didn’t bite and just stared at her face.  He could see a scowl start to form on her lips, but her composure was excellent.  “I will take you to her, but she will know what happened here.  She will not make herself vulnerable to someone untested.  She can tell when I am lying.  Let me taste you, and then I can bring her to you.”

Jace looked puzzled at first, but Esther smiled at him, and he saw her vampire teeth extended for the first time.  Red wine still dribbled from her chin like blood.  “I won’t kill you, and I won’t do anything you don’t allow.  But I need a taste to bring you upstairs.”

{Jace, don’t let her.  If she bites you, she has the Level Drain ability.  Right now, she is low on mana after the Charm and Enthrall spells.  She hasn’t generated enough yet.  But if she level drains you, each Hit Point is worth five mana.  She’ll get about 90 per level and will be able to Charm and Enthrall you again.  With you already in her room, she will be strong enough to make you do anything.}

“I understand,” Jace said.

“Good.” {Good.}  Both women said simultaneously.

“I wasn’t talking to you,” Jace replied, staring into Esther’s face.  “Stay where you are.”

“As you wish,” she replied and then vanished.

Jace flinched and stepped back, coming up hard against the stone pillar.  He kept the barrier at his back and scanned the room.

{She had enough mana for a burst invisibility spell,} Gracie replied.  {It gives her a one-round bonus to hide in the shadows.  You need to find her before she attacks.  Just like the elf after you got the crystal, if she Sneak Attacks you, you have no chance.  Snowy isn’t here to save you.  She will grapple you and suck your life away.  She won’t kill you, but you will be her toy for at least an hour before she takes you upstairs.  You have to find her.}

Jace actively searched the room, and soon numbers began hovering over various spaces in the dim light.  Spots on the floor directly below the candles were single digits.  She obviously wasn’t there.  He needed to find the 20 hidden somewhere around the room.  He was sure her stealth skill was far higher than his perception, and nothing less than a 20 would find her, but he couldn’t spot it.

Despite her claim to stand still, she was clearly moving into position for a strike, and the numbers kept shifting.  If she stayed behind him, that would be where the 20 was, and he would never see it.  A 19 suddenly appeared beneath the bed, but he didn’t take the bait.  She was toying with him, and he refused to play the game.

Instead, an idea hit him, and he stood tall and straight against the stone pillar, ready to take what she would throw at him.

{Jace?  Jace, what are you doing?  You can’t be serious?  You need to find her.  That stupid feat of yours won’t work.}

“Dexmachi,” Jace said as solemnly as he could.  “I need your help.”

{Are you $%&*#$% praying to a made-up god?  Jace, come on.  You need to-}

Esther struck from his left.

Time seemed to slow down as the woman, fully transformed into her demonic visage, flew toward him.  Her red fingernails were claws now, her fangs almost as long as his.  What beauty her face had possessed was now flushed away into a veil of hatred and hunger, veins standing proud on her temples and neck.  Black wings had sprouted from her back, not flapping to aid her flight but intensifying her ferocity.  Jace worked hard not to flinch in the face of this terror.  He only stood stock still, his bare back firmly pressed against the stone pillar, finding the link to his Spirit Armor Totem 25 feet below in the basement.

It gave him just the boost he needed.

Her mouth came within a hair’s breadth of his neck, but she flew past him and crumpled to the floor.

[Critical miss.  Convicted.]

{Holy $%#@!  What just happened?  How did she miss?  What did . . . You got a 48-point bonus to your AC!}

Jace knew that was his intimidation score times eight.  It had been a gamble, but it had worked.  “The code is mightier than the sword.”

{Whatever.  She rolled a three in the attack!  You couldn’t have predicted that.}

“Divine intervention,” he said.

{But how did you know her alignment?}

“She was an undead hooker.  What other alignment would she be?”

{What the $*#@ is that supposed to mean?  She has practically the same alignment I did.  I suppose you think I am a #&@-sucking, $#@*-licking, whore who will &#$% any Tom, #$%@, or Harietta I meet.  You judgmental prick.  No wonder your wife left you.}

It stung, but Jace let it slide off his back.  Gandhi had told him this would happen, and he would try to be patient with Gracie.  Her profanity-laced tirade continued for several more seconds before he heard what he assumed was her headset slamming against the keyboard and then silence.  It was for the best; he needed to focus on the other woman in need.

Time seemed to have frozen in the room.  Jace didn’t think Dexmachi would give him much more than a round to enact his ability, but this was the first time he would be doing it himself, and hopefully, he would be given some leniency.  Esther lay at his feet, convicted by her inner turmoil, bare to Jace more so than when she had stood naked before him.  Now she was stripped to her soul, and Jace had to peer inside.

Her character sheet came up before him, but not like he was used to seeing.  There were settings he knew, like alignment and class, but he had no intention of touching those.  As he had predicted, she was Guile, Chaotic, and Progressive.  But who was he to tell her she couldn’t be those things?  Then he would be the judgmental prick Gracie had just accused him of.  No, that wasn’t what tortured this woman.  He looked further.

[Classification: NPC]
[Sex: Female]
[Temperament: Neutral]
[Type: Demonic]
[Nature: Undead]
[Kind: Vampire]
[Size: Medium Humanoid]
[Potential Party Member: No]

She had missed him, and it had been a critical miss.  That gave him two successes.  He felt he should be able to change two things.  Jace sensed an internal timer in his mind and knew he had to decide quickly.  He focused on the Type first and saw several options, but only one fit the woman at his feet.  He switched it from Demonic to Angelic.  Then he raced to the last item on the list and changed the “No” to a “Yes.”

When he had finished.  The screen sped away from him, but not before he saw one last prompt at the bottom:

[Gandhi now loading . . .]

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