Paying the Lady

Keilnei hooked the long golden chain around her neck, letting it hang loosely into her cleavage. The whores necklace sparkled, and for a moment Keilnei's eyes glowed a faint pink. She looked at Gil, waiting for an explanation.

"In return for me allowing my subordinate to assist you in this way, you will come with me and serve as my concubine and companion for no less than a month. For that duration, you will in effect be my wife, though I will not be your husband and will have no obligation or intention to be exclusive with you." Gil said. "You will aid me in any way that a dutiful wife would be expected to among your people, including sexual relief. Any time I happen to encounter your people, I will aid them within reason, using whatever resources I can spare. I will take your opinion into account when determining what is reasonable, but I have the final say."

One month seemed like a good starting point. After that, he'd probably either not need her anymore or have deeper hooks in her. He could also just make another deal. Adding another month any time that he returned to this place, for example, or agreeing to something a bit more impressive in return for a more permanent arrangement. What he definitely didn't want was a single permanent deal that would have him on the hook before he even really knew her well.

"Yeah, maybe." Keilnei said, checking her nails. Her whole demeanor changed as her eyes shifted to that vibrant hot pink. "You want some arm candy and a bit of fun in the sack, sure. Anything else it'll be up to the other girl to decide. I'm not a merc, but you can get all this that you want. Deal, hotshot?"

She lewdly rubbed her hands along her body, from her thighs to her breasts, smiling seductively.

"Deal." Gil said.

Keilnei abruptly shifted her posture back to a more formal stance, her eyes returning to a gentle blue.

"I'm glad we could come to an agreement." She said, blushing a deep purple. "A temporary marriage is a novel arrangement to be sure, but if it is your custom… of course. I hope you won't be offended if I don't… well, consummate? I don't really know you well."

"Don't worry about it." Gil said. "I don't think it'll be an issue. Care to seal the deal with a kiss, though?"

"Hey, no freebies." She drawled, her eyes sparking pink, "you pay first, then you'll see I'm good for it. Very good."

Keilnei winked, then smiled shyly and looked away as her eyes returned to normal. She slipped between the two personas easily, whenever the subject of sex came up. Gil couldn't help but wonder where this might lead him.

The two of them watched as a handful of volunteers equipped Ireena with a set of tools to retrieve the crystal. Mostly just a huge lasso that the strongest of the refugees could haul on, large lead lined aprons that she draped across as much of her body as she could manage, and a layer of neutralizing agent smeared across every inch of her. Much of the neutralizing agent would wash off in the water, but in doing so it would be dispersed into the environment to absorb the radiation from the water, so it might as well start off on Ireena.

The whole operation was actually quite simple: Ireena assumed her Cow Lady form, becoming nearly 11 feet tall and brawny enough to seem proportionate. She waded out into the deep water, and secured the ropes around the middle of the crystal. After that, she hauled on the crystal with brute strength, slowly dislodging it from the muddy bottom of the lake. Meanwhile, burly eight foot tall blue men hauled on the rope, dragging it out of the silt. In only half an hour, Ireena had severe radiation burns but the crystal was safely out of the lake. Two large Draenei men rushed up and showered her with golden light, which seemed to work wonders.

"We can heal the damage and destroy the corrupted blood and flesh, but her body will need to process and disperse it independently." He explained. "Without healing, radiation can remain in the body for years, even decades. Sometimes generations, in extreme cases. The rapid tissue destruction and regrowth allows for the effects to disperse harmlessly."

"How long will that take?" Gil asked. He checked his tablet. He only had two hours left before he needed to get through the portal, unless he wanted another penalty.

"With constant oversight and routine healing?"

Magelon stroked the strange tendrils that grew from his jowls.

"Perhaps a week before she's up and moving again. A few months at most before she can cease treatments."

Gil looked at Ireena, surrounded by a team of concerned healers, frowning. He needed to decide what to do.

••••••••••

Sell prices:

Candress sell price T4 minor name

4 credits, Mana Analysis perk

Mana Analysis: you can detect if any of your magic systems would or would not function in a given world before entering, or if they would function imperfectly. Visible on the portal menu.

Zena Flamewing: T2 no name, Gacha roll

Silky: T1 no name, lesser Gacha roll

Keilnei: T4 minor name, 2 credits + Beastmaster Sphere.

••••••••••

New binding unlocks

Stamp:

Symbolic Tattoos (25): you may place a magically empowered tattoo upon each Marked member of your retinue. This will add a single tag (which can be a defense) of your choice to them, which the tattoo will reference in some way. Note that this will not alter their tier, it will at most expand their portfolio to include different abilities appropriate to their new tag. Some tags, such as resurrection, deity, or Leveling, are restricted by tier or world of origin. You may also remove a tag by applying an incongruent (though not necessarily incompatible) one in its place (male replaced with female, or evil replaced with angel, for example). This may only be done once, and while the tattoo can be reworked (making it small and unobtrusive, for example) the tag it grants can not be altered unless the target undergoes a power swap.

Beastmaster Sphere

Nuzlocke Rules (10): upon arriving in a new world, you will receive a free Beastmaster Sphere. This Sphere may only be used to capture the first valid target you interact with, becoming inert should the target be killed.

Beast mode (10): you may use a sphere to capture someone or something that is only sometimes bestial as long as it's current form qualifies. For example, you could capture a berserk werewolf (but not a fully cognizant one) on the night of the full moon and they would remain captured even when they return to their human form. Hostile transformations originating from your retinue do not count.