((CW: lesbian ritual sex))
"I'll participate in your ritual," you say to Leah, narrowing your eyes through the smoke in the room.
Immediately, something in the air shifts. You sense more than see the smoke gathering around Leah, cloaking her like a mantle. The sea inside you gathers like a wave, but finds no purchase in the Vansaga-dedicated room; you feel it falling back, seemingly defeated.
Leah takes her shirt off, and throws it on the floor. She points at the bed in the corner of the room, a circle inscribed around it. "There," she says. "Strip nude and get on the bed."
You follow her instructions, slipping off your gown and sitting at the bedside. She takes off her pants as well, standing nude amid the incense-smoke, and a thrill of anticipation rolls down your spine as she approaches.
"So," she says. "This is a ritual of contest. My skill versus your skill, and the winner's god claims the territory. You'll lose. Just enjoy it, and try to keep your wits about you while you do."
You smile, and find a hint of challenge in it that you hadn't expected to. "Alright."
Leah comes over to you, and sits on the bedside beside you. She leans in, and you share a kiss, water touching fire, and you can practically feel the steam. She kisses your lips, your cheek, your chin, and then she starts nosing into your neck.
Retreating further onto the bed with a little crab-scuttle seems to be the thing to do, but Leah follows you, gentle but insistent, taking kiss after kiss from you and giving nothing in return. It feels as if your entire body is shrouded in steam, all hot and sweaty and wet, and something in you surrenders. Leah comes down, and kisses at your breast, and fire catches in your heart and you ignite.
"Please," you moan. "Please, I need it…"
Leah smiles at you, and slowly caresses your skin, and you realize that you've been utterly backed into a corner. Everything is up to Leah now.
She presses you down into the covers, and kisses you again. Her hands roam down your belly, across your breasts. She smirks.
"I win," she says. "Now to savour it."
You pull her in closer as she starts to tease at your sex, sitting up in the bed to meet her, little gasps leaping from your mouth to tumble into the bedsheets. You crave her, you need her, and you dig your hands into her hair and you half-remember a throw and suddenly you're atop her, rolled over completely with her pinned between your straddled legs. Your whole body is thrumming with a drumbeat of arousal, a flame of wantdesiretakeworship, and some distant, detached part of your mind notes that you're tapping Vansaga power. Flame, like starlight. You tangle Leah up in the bedsheets, then come in to gently but inexorably kiss her on the nose. Your hands stray down to near her sex.
"Need I do more?" you pant.
"Fuck, I want you to do more."
"Then let's. Together."
"Together."
You free her arms, to let her touch you as you touch her, and you work together, water and fire, sweat standing out on your bodies as if you were in a sauna, feeling each other down to the last detail. Her fingers work inside you as yours thrust into her; you kiss firmly, bodies pressed close, and she works you closer even as you work her closer. Your breaths come heavy, panting. You call her name, and she yours, and you can feel her clench even as you clench around her fingers. It's as if the two of you are reflections of each other; and just as each kiss, caress, and motion of your hips is echoed, so too does your orgasm roll through the both of you at once.
Afterwards, you cuddle up together in bed, and soon sleep. Both of you are too exhausted to talk, and your voices are raw from shouting each other's names anyway.
Analysis will have to happen another time. But you did something that ought to have been impossible.
??? Unknown Effect
7/25 Broken Fang Way
"Holly, how did the silk installation go? Is our second VIP room up and running?"
He nods. "Everything went according to plan, and the second VIP room is getting similar traffic to the first."
"Edie, what about the planter boxes outside the store?"
"They were easy to fix up. All I needed was a few strong hands and a gardener, and we have plenty of both of those."
"Varielle, how did the cellar go?"
"Quite smoothly. Your Libertine friends were both quick and discreet."
"Leah, what about the Cauducite priest?"
"Been and gone, and left their blessing right in the middle of the restaurant where everyone can see it," Leah grouses. "I fon't know who recommended him but he was an annoying little toad. I was happy to get rid of him."
"Someone's grumpy today."
"Yeah, yeah. We'll talk about it later, alright?"
"Alright. Filia, we have another lesson, arr you ready?"
"Yep!" Filia smiles. "Last one this month, right?"
You nod.
After basic interviews with all your staff, you've compiled
This Spreadsheet regarding them.
Upgrades:
Tier 3 Wards
Tier 2 Warded Strongboxes
Tier 2 Signage
Tier 2 Escort Beauty
Tier 1 Silken Wonderland
Tier 1 Landscaping
Tier 1 Renovated
Tier 1 Exclusive
Treasury:
7 Discretion
240 Clean Æther
340 Dirty Æther
1 Vansaga Blessing
1 Unfanged Blessing
1 Caducite Blessing
3 House Galero Favours
1 Contract Magic Favour
6 Ostmarkian Tea
5 Blackroot Tea
5 Blackroot Coffee
4 Silk Bolts
Current Monthly Income:
30 Clean Æther from Tea
200 Dirty Æther from Sex
5 Clean Æther from Cooked Books
5 Clean Æther from Fine Cuisine
20 Clean Æther from Harbour Laundry
10 Clean Æther from Ostmarkian Tea
10 Clean Æther from Hostelry
25 Clean Æther from The Band
5 Clean Æther from Blackroot Tea
10 Clean Æther from Blackroot Coffee
60 Dirty Æther from VIP
20 Clean Æther from VIP
Current Monthly Expenses:
-15 Clean Æther Maid Service
-5 Clean Æther Weekly Checkups
-5 Dirty Æther Cooked Books
-10 Clean Æther Bouncers
-20 Dirty Æther Harbour Laundry
-20 Dirty Æther Gang Sponsorship
-10 Clean Æther Chef
-15 Clean Æther Gardeners
-1 Ostmarkian Tea (Served)
-1 Blackroot Tea (Served)
-1 Blackroot Coffee (Served)
-10 Clean Æther Exclusivity
-10 Dirty Æther Exclusivity
-5 Clean Aether Cosmetics
Current Monthly Net:
60 Clean Aether
205 Dirty Aether
-1 Ostmarkian Tea
-1 Blackroot Tea
-1 Blackroot Coffee
Control under
Holly:
[ ] Build another back of house room, at a cost of 75 Clean Æther.
[ ] Call in a favour with the Libertines and have a room built on the cheap. Cost: 30 Clean Æ, 1 Libertine Favour
[ ] Call in a few favours with the Ceverra and get a room built for the price of materials. Cost: 10 Clean Æ, 2 Ceverra Favours
[ ] Search for more contacts who sell goods & services under the table. (IE, that you can pay in dirty money.)
[ ] Install silk in a business room to make it a VIP room. 3 Bolts Silk, 30 Clean Æ.
[-]
Renovate the entire back of house into a silken wonderland. 14 Bolts Silk, 140 Clean Æ.
Charm under Edie:
[ ] Search for contacts among the Ceverra.
[ ] Search for contacts in the city.
[ ] Start targeting and looking for noble clients.
[ ] Upgrade the landscaped courtyard with a water feature, like a pond or a stream. 250 Clean Æther.
[-]
Buy out the fishmarket next door so you have room to expand and the smell of fish won't disturb the customers. 1000 Clean Ether.
[ ] Make a public donation to charity to improve the business' good name. 100 Clean Æther.
Intrigue under
You & Filia:
[ ] Continue Filia's education in Markish and Tradecraft.
[ ] You've grown accustomed to the underworld here, but more contacts are always a good thing. Cultivate more criminal contacts.
[ ] Continue cultivating contacts along the local waterfront. Surely there's something more interesting than the fish market next door?
[ ] The Succubus Liberation Front claims that the succubi are badly mischaracterized. Attend a monthly meeting and keep your ear to the ground.
[ ] Try to find a printer willing to print revolutionary materials for you. Didn't Innumerable Aspect have one…?
[ ] Make an anonymous donation to charity. 100 Dirty Æther.
[ ] Make an under-the-table donation to the cause. 100 Dirty Æ becomes 1 Libertine Favour.
[ ] Make a major under-the-table donation to the cause. 500 Dirty Æ becomes 5 Libertine Favours.
[ ] Make a further "donation" to the struggling House Galero. 250 Dirty Æ becomes one House Galero favour.
[-]
Have a Writ of Patronage written naming your business. Costs five House Galero favours and requires that the premises be "of fine quality" beforehand. You would say your premises are of reasonably fine quality.
[-]
Ask that you be introduced to Court. Costs 10 House Galero favours and requires that you both have appropriate attire for Court and know the proper etiquette.
Lore under
Varielle:
[ ] Expand the front of house to add storefront for a magic shop. 250 clean Æ.
[ ] Having witches and wizards on your side can only ever help. Try to make more contacts in the magical community.
[ ] Innumerable Aspect seeks to promote freedom of Orbite, encouraging the unbanning of proscribed Aspects. Go to their monthly meeting and keep an ear to the ground.
[ ] Set up a hidden lab in the cellar to make the research of proscribed technologies and magics possible. It'll cost 50 Clean Æ.
[-]
Purchase a smuggled load of succubus artifacts in order to research them. 100 Dirty Æther, success has a chance at unique items. Requires a hidden lab.
[ ] Go make contact with the contract magicians & their Succubus Contracted.
[ ] Turn the contract magicians in to the authorities for a major bounty. +300 Clean Æther.
Faith under
Leah:
[ ] Send Leah to attend this month's meeting of All Faiths Harmonious and keep her ear to the ground.
[ ] Reach out and try to connect with the local preachers, temples and shrines.
[ ] Idols, Magical Girls, and the radio broadcasters who make them famous can all be found here in Gradentine. Try to get closer to that brilliant glamour.
[ ] Build an outdoor stage for your house band to perform on. 25 Clean Æ.
[ ] Try to find your band a drummer.
[ ] Do extra band practices in preparation for the spring festival.
[ ] Debrief with Leah about what happened during the ritual.
Personal:
[ ] Take more time alone to cultivate your Aura and Orbite.
[ ] Take some time to get to know one of the staff. (Write in a name.)
[ ] Spend some time relaxing and unwinding in the gardens.
[ ] Experiencing your own business from time to time can generate real insights. Take tea at Harbour Tea.
[ ] Take Edie aside and try to talk her out of succubus liberation. It's just a bad move.
[ ] Go to the local jeweller's and see if they have anything that strikes your fancy. (Opens jewellery store event; likely to cost a few hundred Clean Æ.)
[ ] Go to the local magic shop and see what trinkets and doodads they have on sale. (Opens magic store event; likely to cost a few hundred Clean Æ.)
[ ] Go to the proscribed apothecary and haggle over lines on spices, teas, medicines and potions. (Opens apothecary event; likely to cost a few hundred dirty Æ)
[ ] Try to find somebody selling silk, so that you can renovate the back rooms with it as well. (Opens silk merchant event; likely to cost a few hundred clean Æ)
[ ] Go down to the docks and purchase "lost" or confiscated cargoes from the Port Authority on the sly.