5/2 Evening
It'd been a hell of a day, that's for sure. Keryn hadn't expected to see the fish again for a while, if ever, but here Darcell was demanding training and waving around a magic necklace. To her own surprise, Keryn was ready to give it now. She wanted that necklace, it was meant to be around her neck.
Once she had it on, she took Darcell with her into the field. Of course she'd need to make an actual field camp, but if the fish wanted training, it was going to be on the job training. The gnolls weren't going to be doing anything they weren't doing two days ago, she was fairly certain, but she intended to keep an eye on them.
The fish was a good student; she hung on every word out of Keryn's mouth, but she wasn't gifted. Just eager. It took a while to get her to properly learn how to use Stealth, instead of relying on mundane sneaking, but that was no big deal. Plenty of people didn't know the difference, but you don't vanish in an open field without just a hint of magic. She had a good feel for the rhythm of combat, but was sloppy. Just a bit too eager to go in swinging whenever she saw an opportunity, wasn't used to making her own openings. That could get her killed.
Far more important was what Darcell had to teach her in return. Keryn had a new employer apparently, one that didn't take no for an answer, but also one that had big plans. She'd looked at the guys to do list, somehow hidden in her amulet, and it included killing Hogger. Seeing that giggling freak dead might be worth the price of admission alone. The rest made her a bit nervous; especially the one where he was supposed to betray the alliance to the Scarlet Crusade.
The one about her though? That concerned her. SI:7 was her life; she didn't have family anymore, she had SI:7. What the hell was a tantric rod anyway? He could do without it, couldn't he? She kept trying to think up arguments against it right up to the point where he arrived.
He was big; that was the first thing Keryn noticed consciously. He seemed cocky, which made sense if he literally owned both of the women he was talking to. What she hadn't really been expecting was a sense of magesty seeming to radiate off this man. When she saw him, it was like falling in love for the first time. Literally; she'd never found a guy who was simultaneously able to keep up with her, single, and decent. This one though, she instantly knew he could be trusted. He was her new boss, and at least his ultimate goals seemed on the up and up. Hopefully he'd be reasonable.
"Agent Keryn Sylvius, reporting for duty," came from her mouth almost automatically. She was ready to find out what was coming in this new part of her life.
••••••••••
I looked Keryn over. She wasn't bad looking, and she was obviously quite skilled, but I didn't think I'd be keeping her with me. For one, the whole point of secret agents was that you send them out on missions. For another, I already had a hot black haired woman with an athletic build, and Drusilla got here first. Better chest, too.
"So. What do you know?"
"Everything Darcell knows, I think. She was very chatty when we met up."
"Good. Do you know that you have to make a sacrifice for me? It's the main reason why you were captured at all."
"I'd really rather not. Wouldn't you rather have an active agent than one who has to go into hiding?"
"Not really. That said, if you can get a necklace onto anyone in your organization who can be my man inside, I'd appreciate it. You, on the other hand, need to lose your job. Even setting aside the reward, I can't afford to be too picky. It's too much of a pain in the ass to get rid of the ones I don't intend to do. So, any ideas on how you might manage it without completely burning bridges?"
She thought about it, then grudgingly started. "If I start ignoring my orders and go a little rogue on a few assignments, that might be enough. I doubt anyone will be too broken up if I kill a few scumbags I was supposed to be watching, but that's not the kind of thing Shaw lets slide for long."
I smiled. "Now you're getting it. I don't want to destroy your life, even if I'm giving you a new one. Clear the ones you kill with me first, though. I don't want you messing with people I'm interested in. Who is up first for this plan?"
"Hogger. He's on your list anyway, right?"
Nice. I gave her a big smile. "That should work out just fine, if you can pull it off. I'm glad you're already maximizing your efforts. Be careful, I'm pretty sure he's tough. While you're doing that, see what you can do about training Darcell unless you think she'd be too much of a liability. She's excited to get up to speed. Honestly, taking care of her is the top thing for you to be doing now. You can both teleport away if you can focus for ten seconds, have her explain that to you if she hasn't yet. I bet that'll come in handy. Let me know if you need anything, I'll try to provide if I can."
I walked over and gave Darcell a nice, long kiss. "You're going good, Darcy. I'll check in sometimes. Feel free to come back if you need to. If you need some attention, for example." She blushed a bit at the PDA in front of her teacher, but I wasn't worried. I smiled at her fondly then flippantly added, "that applies to you too Keryn. I'm a busy man but if you need to get laid I'd be happy to oblige." After dropping that bomb I started teleporting away. I walked into the woods for effect, of course.
••••••••••
I arrived back at Raven Hill to find everything was in place. The perfume bottle, now about half empty, had been reapplied to the doors and windows, and the room was dark. We could hear shuffling outside, ghastly creatures separated from us by nothing except a scent and a relatively thin wooden wall. I considered risking a pleasant evening interlude with Drusilla, but decided that it would be better to stay quiet. I pulled the warlock aside, however, instructing Lividia to quietly watch for trouble and wake us up if it seemed like there was anything trying to get in. She was a dragon; I knew she had better night vision from my own experience, and she could probably fight better than most of my retinue, no matter how small she was.
I brought out the memory rod, and tapped my necklace. She went into the discord and we confirmed we were both looking at the same page.
*so, any ideas how this thing works? I know you aren't an enchanter, but you are the closest I have. Anything you can figure out would be great.*
*I will try, but I can promise nothing.*
*Watch the bright bit. I think that it operates by touching someone with that.* She gave me a slightly disdainful look.
*Just trust me to not do the unfathomably stupid, please.* I threw up my hand in apology. She proceeded to examine it carefully, turning it over in her hand repeatedly while chanting almost inaudibly. She dropped a note every few minutes into the discord.
*Definitely a touch with the glowing bit is the trigger.*
*It will replace about half an hour of memory, and change other things to make it fit.*
*The user might be able to influence how the memory is changed, but it's not clear how much. They can definitely decide which memory though.*
*I don't think I will get anything else. A shame we only have one.*
Good enough. I can work with that. I was tired. *It's time to sleep. Come on, I think you earned a reward.* I cleaned a rag with the light and shoved it into her mouth, and she bit down on it. I pulled her against my chest in the bed, and whispered into her ear. "Good slave," she started writhing, but her moan was muffled. She was wet enough to slide right in after that. I fucked her silly, and when I was ready to cum, I whispered into her ear again. "Get ready slave, I'm cumming." It wasn't quite as nice as finishing together organically, but if you get an opportunity to try it, I heartily suggest installing an orgasm trigger in your lovers.