"Nothing really kept you from coming here before," Ember said to Samantha, who sat on the ridge of the roof. "Even if you couldn't fathom letting anyone see you in your cock-need state, it's not like anyone in this city would care even if they did catch a glimpse of yet another pair fucking on the roof."
"The fact that they're sick enough to not care does not mean that I wouldn't," Samantha said quietly with her back still facing Ember.
Ember looked at Beatrice who stood next to Samantha. Beatrice's and Ember's eyes met, and Ember saw that Beatrice was less than happy for some reason. What also did not escape Ember's notice was that Beatrice had a much-improved, brown woven cloak covering her body. Even though it looked to be as generic as possible by design to avoid attracting attention, the quality was unmistakable to those that knew what to look for.
Ember approached the edge of the roof, skipping from one spot to another, avoiding blatant holes as well as particularly suspect tiles and boards that looked like they might slide off or cave in if so much as a pigeon landed on them. "This roof probably won't survive another winter."
"Just like the rest of the city then?" Samantha asked as she kept staring into the distance. "All the more reason to enjoy the view while it lasts."
"Damn, I thought you'd be celebrating or something now that you're able to just sit here without your staple craving!" Ember frowned and crossed her arms. "How did you manage to become so despondent? Was your time with Beatrice so magical that you confessed your love to Beatrice only to get rejected?"
Samantha glanced at Ember with somber anger but did not give a response.
"Oh, not you too!" Ember rolled her eyes in frustration that Samantha did not even attempt a comeback. "You were more fun when you rode cocks all day long! Even if your mind no longer craves for them, they're still readily available in all amounts, shapes, and sizes that you could desire!
"Look, I even brought two sample cocks for you to try out! I know they don't look all that impressive, and they'll probably pale in comparison to Beatrice, but it's the best that was available on such short notice.
"What the—" one of the shirtless men behind Ember started to protest.
"Oh, shut up!" Ember quickly put her second-rate offering in its place.
"How much time do you think I still have left?" Samantha asked Beatrice.
Beatrice checked the remaining cooldown of her [Taint Cleansing] Spell and—after doing simple math—answered, "Nineteen minutes."
"I see," Samantha sighed. "Go."
"Hey, when you say 'time left'…" Ember's tone and expression changed to a quieter, weary intonation.
"I'm not dying or anything, okay!?" Samantha snapped for a moment before returning to her quieter tone. "Your friend's 'magic' is only temporary. Soon enough I'll be back to 'cock riding', as you would say. So, you can leave those boy-toys down by the ladder before you leave for your Games."
"What are you talking about?" the shirtless man asked.
"Something that does not concern you!" Ember said. "Didn't you hear? Go down at once and wait for Samantha at the ladder to the roof!"
The two shirtless men looked at each other, confused and displeased about the way they were treated, but they knew better than to disobey Ember and went back to the hatch, and down below.
As soon as both men were gone, Ember switched her gaze to Beatrice and asked, "So, you actually are already able to manage the Taint, even if temporarily?"
"Yes, but it in an extremely limited capacity," Beatrice answered. "I can't do anything more for her right now."
Although the [Taint Cleaning] decreased the severity of the Taint by thirty percent, that would most likely just lead to Samantha returning to her pre-Gregor level or "cock addiction". And the double-whammy of twenty-four-hour cooldown combined with the no recast on the same person meant that Beatrice couldn't spam-cleanse anyone even if she wanted to.
The succubus had even checked out what the enhancement for [Taint Cleansing] looked like and it was nothing even remotely close to what would allow her to cure Samantha. And even that enhancement required level twenty. Which meant it would take even more leveling to get to the potential (+2) enhancement, that could hopefully bring relief to Samantha. This meant that in the meantime Samantha would have no choice but to return to her hiding as she was so uncomfortable to be in the public with her condition.
"But that's still great news!" Ember cheered. "Don't you get it, Sam!? Beatrice will keep getting stronger, and even if not today or tomorrow, she'll be able to cure you permanently!"
"LEAVE!!" Samantha screamed
"Sam—"
"Can't I even have these few minutes of peace without talking or thinking about dicks!?" Samantha shouted at Ember and turned to her friend, revealing a tearful face. "I asked you to go! I don't need any more false hope! Neither of you knows for sure that you'll be able to cure me! You don't even know if either of you will be alive tomorrow! Just go have fun in the Forge! Please! I gave Beatrice what she needs!"
Beatrice stepped away from Samantha, placed her hand on Ember's shoulder, and said, "We should go."
Beatrice had decided to respect Samantha's wishes, something that Ember struggle to do. But after a few seconds of hesitation, Ember followed Beatrice off the roof, leaving Samantha alone as the sun disappeared behind the city walls.
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