"Welcome to Acheron, miss." The black armored guard said politely as Celeste approached the gates of the demon city. It was a man judging by the voice and figure, but the busty mage couldn't see his face through the helm of shaped black steel covering his head. His hands were visible, however, and the thin layer of green scales coating them were proof enough that the man beneath the armor wasn't human. That he showed such without worry confirmed that he was telling the truth. She had arrived at the demon city.
"Are you here on business or pleasure?" The demonic guard continued, maintaining his polite tone. The other guards present did much the same, unofficially processing all who passed by the gates of Acheron, and as it was early afternoon there were plenty of those. The area within was even more crowded, and anyone who walked in alone seemed to be immediately approached by a small crowd of people, each of whom began vying for attention. She heard the words "guide" and "dangerous" a lot in what little she could glean from the noisy mass ahead, and it was just that noisy mass that she was about to step into as she entered the city.
Celeste had made the journey to Acheron alone, having been selected somewhat late for the research journey, and the Dean, ever the opportunist, had decided to make some use of her newfound talent for persuasion. She was to open diplomatic ties between Acheron and the Academy, and possibly acquire aid in the ongoing wars against the orcs and the alien invaders. The first person she had been instructed to try and see was the Queen of Acheron herself, if that was possible, but before that she had to get into contact with the research team that had supposedly already arrived.
Talents: Exceptional x3 (+24 stat points) Quick: Increase the character's Speed stat by 8. Natural Succubus: Succubus Magic Experienced Caster: The character can cast up to 3rd level spells in any Element. Evoker: Whenever the character casts a spell that deals damage, increase the effective spell level of that spell by 1 for the purpose of determining how much damage the spell does. This has no effect if the character casts a spell that can either heal or do damage and the character chooses to heal. Concentration: The character gets +8 to their Casting stat. Focus in Water: Cast up to 5th level Water spells, +10 casting checks, +2 damage per spell level, Buffs increase the chosen stat by an additional +1 per spell level, and creatures summoned gain a +2 bonus to their Body stat and a +1 bonus to AV per spell level. Superior Succubus: Enthrall: A creature made to orgasm by the character must win a Resistance check against them or gain the Charmed status, except that the status lasts for 24 hours. Every orgasm beyond the 1st within the same 24 hours gives the character a +4 bonus to this check and resets the duration as if they had used Charm on their partner. Inherent Succubus: Energetic Foreplay Manifested Succubus: Deny Release
Flaws: Oblivious: The character takes a -8 penalty to their Perception stat. Infertile: The character cannot, for any reason, become pregnant. Nor can they cause anything to become pregnant. Fragile: Whenever the character’s HP falls below ½ of its maximum value, the character gains an instance of the Weakened status. Mutated: (Pheromones, Multi-Orgasmic, Sadist) Fetish (Foreplay): The character has a particular kink or preference that sets them off in bed. Whenever treated to their favored fetish, they take +8 PP damage.
Mutations: Pheromones: The character takes a -2 penalty to Stealth checks and friendly characters are more interested in sex with them. Multi-Orgasmic: The character is able to orgasm more rapidly. Whenever they orgasm, their PP rests to ½ of its maximum value rather than full. Sadist: The character takes 1d4+1 PP damage each time she inflicts health damage to something. This PP damage is not affected by Resistance. Night Eyes – Your character can see very well in the dark. They no longer take penalties to Perception for being in darkened areas. Soul Eater - The character must feed off of the souls of others in order to survive. They cannot regenerate EP beyond 1, and whenever they are at 1 EP they must actively seek to feed regardless of any possible consequences. Whenever they deal pleasure to a creature, they drain 1/2 as much EP from that creature as they cause PP damage. This draining is doubled if the drained creature orgasms. So long as the character is not at 1 EP they can willingly suppress this effect.
Base Casting: 28 (20 + 8)
Favored Elements: Water
Magic Feats: Maximize Spell (Activated) – The character may pay 2 EP in order to cause the damage dice for any spell to be treated as if they’d rolled the maximum possible result. Quicken Spell (Activated) – The character may pay 4 EP and take a -10 penalty to casting for their round in order to cast an additional spell per round. Other activated metamagic feats cannot be used in the same turn as this metamagic feat. Borealcaster (Water) – Spells that deal damage of the Cold type deal an additional +2 damage per spell level, and those spells that have a check to cause their targets to become Weakened gain a +8 bonus to their checks. Requires Focus in Water.
Succubus Powers: Dazzling Beauty (Passive) : The character is perpetually the center of attention, and will always be looked upon with lust. All creatures able to see the character take a -10 penalty to their Perception stat when trying to perceive creatures other than the character, and whenever they deal Pleasure damage to a creature it is increased by +6. Lead from the Bottom (Passive) : The character only takes 1d4 damage when resisting pleasure, and gains a +10 bonus to Resistance when determining how much PP damage is negated. In addition, as long as the character isn't unconscious or otherwise helpless they can prevent themselves from receiving pregnancy rolls when a creature penetrating them orgasms. Charm: The character pays 6 EP and chooses one target creature within 20 feet of them. That creature must win a Resistance check against the character or gain the Charmed status. Deny Release: The character can deny their partner orgasm by winning a Resistance check against them. For every round that the subject of this power would take pleasure damage that would reduce their PP to 0 or less, they are drained as if they did orgasm, but are denied their actual climax effectively leaving their PP at 0. For every turn in which they maintain this effect, they can drain an additional 4 EP from their partner. This effect is cumulative but is not multiplied by orgasm unless the character ceases using this power. Energetic Foreplay: While causing pleasure to a creature in a way that does not result in the character taking pleasure themselves, the character may pay X EP in order to deal an additional 2X Pleasure. The maximum value of X is 10; when performing foreplay the maximum value is increased by 1 for every partner brought to orgasm or each time deny release is activated but resets if this character goes more than 3 rounds without performing foreplay on another character.
Inventory:
37 denarii
Skimpy Dress (Clothes: AV = 1, EV = 0, TP = 25, DU = 2)
Dagger: 2d6 + 7
Unarmed: 2d4 + 3
Description:
Standing 5'10", Celeste would be imposing, if not for her generally pleasant demeanor and reputation for ditziness. Her long blonde hair falls to her waist, and frames her curvy hourglass figure perfectly. Her large breasts, shapely legs, and round butt always draws eyes. Her blue eyes sparkle with mischief and her lips often curve into a smirk. She prefers to wear revealing dresses, kept immaculately clean at all times, in addition to high black stockings.
Bio:
Impatient, impulsive, and gullible. All words that describe Celeste, but none which should describe a mage. Especially one talented enough to garner special attention at the Croalian Academy. After all, she had been there almost her whole life and still hadn't managed to shake off these most unbecoming of traits. In fact, these traits have become synonymous with her name, almost as much as her proclivity towards the magical arts are. So much so, that she was rather often the victim of pranks, both naughty and mean, yet she never managed to learn her lesson, always trusting people she shouldn't. It was this overly trusting nature that changed her life, after nearly ending it.
A group of young mage apprentices in the Academy, some of the most disreputable in the school, approached Celeste one afternoon and asked for her help with a ritual. When asked what it was, they told her it was to summon and bind a succubus, one of the types of demons who had recently invaded Badaria. Interested in seeing such a dangerous creature, as well as what the boys intended to do with it, Celeste agreed and followed immediately. The preparation was intriguing to the young sorceress, and she spent so much time inspecting the various magical sundries involved, she didn't notice the dirty leers and comments directed at her, nor the locking of the doors and windows. When the ritual began, the boys asked Celeste to stand in the middle of the circle they had formed, for the summoning of the succubus required the presence of a young, attractive woman, such as herself. Grinning at the compliments, she knelt in the center and waited while they began to chant and focus their magics. It wasn't until the boys stood and approached her, hands furiously working their hard members which they pointed at her, that she realized something was wrong. The ritual was never meant to summon a succubus, but to change Celeste into one! She panicked, and released a burst of energy, but rather than harm the boys surrounding her, it interacted with the ritual's magic and succeeded in summoning a succubus, which appeared in Celeste's lap.
Although this was the first time any of the young mages had ever seen an actual succubus, they all realized right away that the being before them was one of the demonkind. Besides being extraordinarily beautiful, she had the long spade-ended tail, curled demonic horns, and bat-like wings common to her kind, but a number of other less common features as well. Her silver hair was ear-length, but she had three long purple locks falling down past her shoulders, one at the part in her bangs, and the others just before each of her pointed ears. A small tattoo graced her bottom, a crescent moon with small stars inside of it, purple like the distinctive locks of hair. Likewise were her eyes purple, but they seemed to shimmer and glow slightly, as though a hidden power was barely being held within.
The succubus, surprised by her sudden appearance in the room just as much as everyone else, gaped around for a second until one of the stunned boys lost control and released himself, his seed landing on the demoness' face. Grinning at the scene before her, she immediately leaped up and began attacking the boys, draining their spiritual energy in the way demons do. Some tried to resist, others to flee, but they all collapsed finally, under her assault. Once done with the boys, the succubus approached Celeste again, who had still not moved from her position in the center of the ritual circle. "These boys weren't going to be nice to you, so I wasn't nice to them," she said with a smirk. "Would you be nice enough to send me back? I really don't want to be stuck here. I'll even give you a portion of my essence in thanks." At first terrified of the demon, Celeste quickly began to ponder what exactly it would mean to have a portion of the succubus' essence, and agreed, sending the demon back from whence it came. When they were found, Celeste told the Academy's superiors that the boys had summoned the succubus purposefully and then fallen to her wiles, while she alone had managed to fend off the demon and destroy it. None of the boys spoke against her story, too afraid of the consequences of revealing the truth.
At first she felt no different, but after some time, she began to notice some things. While before she had sometimes caught a student eying her body up appreciatively, it was becoming more and more frequent, and even the teachers and townsfolk had taken to staring. Likewise, the naughty pranks increased in frequency, as well as severity. She had found the pranks amusing before, but they were beginning to get out of hand. Her words seemed to carry more weight than ever, and she seemed able to convince people of things they otherwise would never agree to. While not an undesirable effect, it did make her wonder just what else the succubus' essence may have changed about her. She began to study what she could about the demonesses, but could find no concrete answer, only that the succubus she had encountered was not an ordinary example of their kind. Frustrated, she began to look for other sources of information. It wasn't until she heard rumors about the demon invaders taking control of the destroyed Badarian city of Artmirst and making it their own that she began to form a plan.
As luck would have it, the Academy had decided to send a research team to Artmirst, now called Acheron, to learn of why the demon town had managed to remain safe from attack by the alien invaders that had wrought so much havoc in Crolia. Using her reputation as a prodigious mage, as well as her new found ability to sweet talk, Celeste managed to have herself nominated as a researcher. Eager to learn more about her condition, as well perhaps how to control it better, she quickly begins packing her things and preparing for the journey. It would be a long and difficult trip to Acheron, passing through the currently orc controlled areas of Crolia, then into the alien infested Badaria, before finally reaching the demon city.
It had been a long journey from the Academy, and the road wasn't kind, though Celeste doubted it ever had been. Roaming bands of orc marauders in Crolia, strange alien things hunting what was left of Badaria, and the closer she came to Acheron, the more people she came across. "People" being polite, after all, since she could no longer be sure what was human out here anymore. Thankfully she had managed to make it this far without incident, though the journey had definitely taken it's toll on the young woman. Her feet hurt, her legs hurt, her back hurt, and it was still early in the day! If it wasn't for her affinity for water magic, she'd probably be stinking to high heaven from all the dirt and mud she's had to trudge through on her way here. Still, a quick spritz with a cleansing spell was nothing like a warm bath and a comfy bed. Hopefully the demons who had rebuilt the city had done the same for the inns.
She gave a sigh at the strange armored 'man' blocking her entry and shifted on her feet, causing her light dress to sway and give just the barest of glimpse more of her thighs than it already did. "Thank you," she replied with a brief smile in her soft voice. Even as exhausted as she was, it would be rude to ignore his greeting, the young mage not doubting the man's sincerity for a moment. His question brought a quick smile to her lips and a twinkle to her eye, though, as she quickly responded, "A little of both, I'm sure." She didn't mean it, of course. She had come here to learn about succubi, and maybe do what the Academy had asked of her, but she couldn't resist the urge to tease just a little.
Stretching up to stand on her toes, Celeste strained to see more of the city beyond the throng of people gathered at the gate. It certainly seemed lively. Much more so than she would have believed from the stories of how utterly the town had been destroyed after the demon invasion. Coming here she had thought it would be fairly easy to locate the research team. She had assumed a group of human magi would stick out in a destroyed city crawling with demons like a sore thumb, but now she wasn't so sure. Settling back down onto her feet she turned her attention back to the guard before her and gave her sweetest smile. "Actually, I'm looking for some people who probably showed up recently," she said, tilting her head slightly to try and get a look into the steel helmet. "Do you get many humans here?"
"Heh. Good answer, miss." The guard seemed genuinely amused by Celeste's answer regarding her purpose in Acheron, but his tone went back to being merely polite as the mage issued her inquiry. Nodding, he said; "Quite a few actually, you'll have to be specific. Did you mean a trade caravan? The season's coming to an end soon so there are plenty of those about. We've had a mercenary company come in recently as well, and a group of northern mages too. Do any of those match the description of the people you're looking for?" As she attempted to peer past the man's helmet, all that Celeste could see were a few hints of pale skin and his eyes, which were bright red.
The crowd had a fair number of people taller than Celeste, so her view from here wasn't perfect, but the area just past the gate seemed to be a market of some kind. Stalls were set up with an assortment of colorful banners hanging over them, all of which glowed with magic, and some of them even possessed animated parts! She couldn't quite make out any details from this far away, but some of the designs over the stalls appeared quite lewd in nature, and some of the people that she could see in the crowd were barely wearing anything at all despite the cool autumn breeze.
The sight of all the magical banners and 'interesting' designs sent a wave of excitement through the young mage. Her trips into the city outside the Academy had never bore such wondrous spectacles. She couldn't wait to see just what kind of strange new things would exist in this otherworldly place. And the people seemed so free, to be dressed so provocatively outdoors, quite unlike the stuffy and conservative nature of the Academy. Maybe this trip would be just as fun as she had told the guard she intended to have. Realizing she was being a bit impolite, she quickly settled herself down and turned her attention back to the man before her.
The guard's amused tone caused Celeste's smile to widen just a bit, she always loved it when people appreciated her humor. As he began his response to her question, Celeste squinted slightly to see more of the details of his face behind his helmet. She breathed in slightly at the sight of the glowing red eyes that further marked him as being demonic, but it became a gasp of happiness at his mention of mages. "Oh, yes!" she cried happily, clapping her hands together before her and bobbing slightly up and down, unaware of any attention this might attract. "Mages! That's who I'm here to meet!" It was clear she had no concept of subtlety, or that she might not want the random passersby to know who she was or what she wanted. "They should be expecting me, in fact," she continued, grinning from ear to ear, "Do you know where they might be now?"
Celeste did get a decent bit of attention following her excited bounce, and had he not had his helmet on she might have seen the guard's eyes following her bouncing breasts, though his gaze returned to her face once the motion had ceased. Perhaps surprisingly, there was little reaction to her asking after the mages even though she wasn't being secretive in the slightest, her words drawing a few glances from those passing by, but that was more because of her excited tone than what she had said.
"I'm not sure where they are precisely right now, but I do know that they paid Ingvar the Bleak to guide them somewhere. He's the dour fellow in the ratty armor, you'll probably see him among the guides just inside the gate if he hasn't found another customer yet. If he's not there, the two that know him best are Sevilla, that's the redhead with the next best thing to nothing on and the bull's horns, and Novarg the goblin, him you'd just have to ask after among the other guards. If you can't find any of them three, you can try asking around among the guides and the other guards about your friends the mages, they might have seen something. I'm sorry I can't be more immediate help, good luck miss!" He finished with a smile, though there was no finality in his tone, suggesting that she could continue to question him if she so desired.
"Oh, no!," Celeste said with a smile, "You've been a great help! Thanks so much!" Although the demon guard had been nice enough in answering her questions, Celeste was eager to get into the city itself. She gave the red eyed soldier a wink and her cutest smile before brushing past him. With a spring in her step and a smile on her face, she headed through the gates and towards the noisy mass milling about just inside the walls.
As soon as she neared the multitudes of people inside the gate, Celeste began looking around eagerly for those the demon had described. After a few moments however she began to realize that finding them among the assembled horde might be quite difficult, even keeping in mind the brief descriptions given. Taken a bit aback, Celeste drew her lower lip into her mouth, biting it slightly as she wondered how to find one of the potential guides.
Ingvar the Bleak, a dour man in ratty armor. There seemed to be quite a few serious looking folks with worn armor on, perhaps some of the mercenaries the guard had mentioned. As for Sevilla, horns seemed to be a rather common feature inside the city, in addition to near nudity. And though she had never seen a goblin before, Celeste knew they were shorter than most other people, which would make finding this Novarg rather difficult in the swarm before her. Still, they were her only leads, and she would need to find one of them if she had any hope of finding the other mages in Acheron. She would look for as long as she could.
Since Celeste was not known for patience, however, as long as she could wouldn't be very long. With all the people before her milling about, moving in and out of crowds, with more walking past her from the gates all the time to join them, it would only be a few minutes before the young sorceress' eyes began to swim. If none of the three guides revealed themselves soon, she would just have to do as the guard said and ask his fellows about the goblin. Hopefully they would be as nice and helpful as the one at the gate.
"Have a good day, miss," the guard offered as Celeste thanked him for his help, and then the mage was on her way. Thankfully for Celeste's limited attention span, one of the three she was looking for was present, and in fact was one of the first to approach her as she entered the crowd looking to enter Acheron. A violet skinned woman wearing nothing but a pair of very short shorts that didn't even cover her thighs on her bottom, and a bra to cover her shapely breasts. She had horns like those of a bull, and smiled sweetly as Celeste came toward the gate.
"Oh, aren't you a sweet little thing! How can Sevilla be of service?" The woman purred, and the half dozen or so others who had been coming toward Celeste backed off immediately. "Come now, don't be shy. I can show you.... Anything you could possibly imagine!"
"Sevilla?" Celeste replied incredulously before shifting back into her usual gleeful tone, "Oh, wonderful! I was just looking for you!" She smiled as she looked over the rather skimpily dressed demon, noting the coloration of her skin and the shape of her horns. While Celeste had expected to see creatures in Acheron unlike others that had come through the Academy, she wasn't quite prepared for the wide variety the city seemed to offer. The looks turned into an inspection as she started to circle the demoness while poring over the details of her body. After only a few moments, however, Celeste realized that she must be acting exceedingly rude to the woman.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she quickly said while blushing slightly. "I'm rather new to Acheron and have just never seen so many interesting things as I have in just the few minutes since I've arrived!" Once again, the naive young girl seemed not to understand when she was saying too much. "It's quite nice to meet you, I am Celeste. I'm here to find some associates of mine and I was told that you might be of assistance in helping me find them. I would very appreciative for whatever help you might be willing to give, Ms Sevilla." She stopped and smiled at the demoness then continued, confident that her new friend would be quite eager to help her. "The rather polite, red-eyed guard at the gate said you might know where I might find a group of northern mages, or the guide they hired to take them through the city. A Mr. Ingvar was hired to take them somewhere in this marvelous city, and I was told either you or your friend Novarg might be able to show me to one or the other."
The purple skinned demoness adopted a bemused look following Celeste's admittance to searching her out, "Oh? My sterling reputation precedes me, no doubt!" Her bemused look only grew as Celeste walked circles around her as if she were examining an object rather than a person, but she didn't interrupt the mage's inspection. She found that the demoness's impressive figure was a package deal, her rounded bottom just barely contained by her tight shorts, and a log, sinuous tail curled downwards and ended at just above her knee in a short, spaded tip.
"Oh, it's quite alright dear! I hope what you saw was to your liking." Sevilla replied after Celesta had apologized. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Celeste! I'd be happy to help you find your associates, to whatever extent that I can at least. And please, just call me Sevilla!" The demon before her smiled in return, and she did seem quite eager to help Celeste.
Sevilla thought for a moment, and then said; "I remember old Ing telling me about them over drinks last night. A polite bunch, so he didn't say much, but I do know where they are, or at least where he took them. I'd be happy to take you too them, and lead you around all of the less friendly sections of Acheron to.... For a price~!"
"Oh, yes, I do quite like looking at interesting things, and you are quite interesting," Celeste replied to Sevilla, clearly missing the innuendo. "Demons in general are of interest to me, in fact, and succubi in particular. I do hope to meet many different kinds of... well, your kind while I'm in Acheron." Once again, Celeste looked over Sevilla, before she asked, "Are you a succubus? I must admit you look different than from my own experience with one so far, but my readings say they are quite attractive and openly display themselves to others. And, well, you certainly seem to meet those descriptions." The last was said with a twinkle in the mage's eyes, as if to say that she either didn't mean, or wasn't aware of, any insult that her comparison of Sevilla to a succubus might carry.
As the demoness spoke about her associates, Celeste bounced on her heels again and brought her hands together in a silent clap. "Oh, wonderful!" she cried again when Sevillla confirmed that she could guide the young mage to her destination. "Price?" Celeste asked, a momentary look of confusion crossing her face before she smiled again. "Oh, money, of course!" she said happily before reaching down to grab the coin purse on her belt. Shaking it a bit and causing the coins within to jingle slightly, she said, "I was given a nice little allowance to make finding my associates easier, and would be happy to hire your services."
"Mmmmm..... Yes, I am a succubus, dear," Sevilla said, and she didn't seem to take offense to anything that Celeste had said, at least not judging by the pleased purr that she had started her reply off with. "You know, Celeste, you are quite the beauty yourself. If you like, I'd be quite happy to tell you all about my kind, and even introduce you to a few of my friends who'd be happy to help you as well!" She sounded genuine in her offer, but she had certainly not missed the twinkle in Celeste's eye given the slightly predatory look that followed.
As she jiggled her coin purse, however, Sevilla looked alarmed for a second before gently grabbing her wrist, forcing her to stop the motion. Once Celeste had, the succubus released her and quietly explained; "I'd advise against any displays of wealth like that while you're in Acheron, my friend. Some of the residents are quite willing to cause you harm if they think you have valuables, and even if you can handle such ruffians it's probably not worth the trouble." Sevilla smiled again as she continued; "Besides, I have plenty of money.... I think I'd much prefer a meal with a friend. What do you say, hrm?" The demoness tilted her head and smirked, letting a hint of the innuendo slide into her pose as her hips shifted slightly to the opposite side.
Sevilla's apparent willingness to both answer her questions and introduce Celeste to other succubi cause the young mage to bounce on her heels happily again. The bounces stopped abruptly, though, when her wrist was grabbed by the demoness. "Ah ha, yes," she replied weakly to the warning, embarrassed over her faux pas. She looked around meekly while returning her coin purse back to it's spot on her belt, then added, "I've spent so much time within the Academy that I often forget about the dangers that the common folk must endure." Once again, this was said without any hint of understanding of any insult that might be derived.
"A meal?" Celeste asked, confused. "Truthfully, I had eaten before arriving in Acheron," she replied, an apologetic look on her face, "Though I suppose a bite to eat wouldn't be unwelcome." She began to look around for food stalls or restaurants in the area, wondering just what kind of cuisine demonkind enjoyed, when suddenly a look of shock and understanding flashed through her eyes.
Celeste turned back to the succubus, a slightly accusatory look in her eyes, while asking slyly, "Am I to believe that you would turn down your fee for a simple meal, Sevilla?" Her mouth twisted into a crooked smile and her arms crossed under her breasts as she looked somewhat condescendingly upon the demoness before her. "You're trying to trick me, aren't you?" she asked, "You're not doing me any favor by settling for a meal rather than coin, are you?" With a self-aggrandizing air, she tilted her head slightly the side and back, literally looking down her nose at the demoness. "How much do meals go for in Acheron? Ten? twenty times the cost of a guide through the city?" She laughed, putting a hand to her mouth in a way that somehow gave the impression that she was patting herself on the back. "I may be new to Acheron, but I am not some simple country girl who will be swindled. No, no, I WILL pay you in coin for your services, and it WILL be an amount commensurate with those provided."
Turning away from the demoness, the young mage walked a few paces away, her heeled boots clacking on the old stone roadway. Suddenly Celeste turned back, a triumphant smile on her face as she nearly yells to her potential guide, "I will pay you FIVE denarii for you to lead me to my associates, and not a pfennig more!" A pfennig, of course, being an ancient form of currency the magical prodigy had read about in the Academy's enormous library. The particular Badarian history book she had read it from was woefully out of date, however, and failed to have even been appended with information about the country's Lich King. Thoroughly impressed with her economic acumen, Celeste delivers her ultimatum to Sevilla, "What say you, Sevilla? Shall we agree to those terms, and be on our way? Or shall I find another guide?"
When Celeste spun about with an accusatory look, she found Sevilla grinning triumphantly, at least at first. When the mage accused her of attempting to deceive her, however, the demoness looked confused and then concerned. She didn't get a chance to respond to the accusation until after Celeste had spun about once more, but when she did Sevilla began with a hearty laugh and seemed amused more than anything else as she said; "I suppose those terms are agreeable enough, though that would more than pay for a decent meal in Acheron. Shall we be off then, Celeste? It shouldn't take us very long to get where you need to go."
Celeste's smile widens to levels that would normally seem impossible when Sevilla agreed to her terms, though it evened out a bit at the information about the pricing of meals. Still, meals at the Academy weren't generally paid for by students, so the naive girl had no real preconceived notions about proper pricing. Rather than try to haggle more, she simply shrugged and skipped happily towards Sevilla, while happily saying, "Let's go!" She was eager to get her adventure in the demon city started, and wasn't about to let something silly like money stop her.
Sevilla spun on her heel and beckoned for Celeste to follow her immediately, and the two set off through the streets of Acheron. The main street that they traveled on was crowded and lined with many interesting buildings, brothels, curio shops, taverns, traders, smithies, magic shops, and even a pet shop, but Sevilla only passed by them. The demoness talked as they walked, pointing out things that they passed and describing them, and also pointing out several streets along the way, some of which she advised Celeste not to go down. They passed guards at regular intervals, some of whom offered Celeste and Sevilla polite nods as they passed, but otherwise they were largely ignored save for wandering eyes, of which there were plenty.
Her guide turned down another wide street, but went quiet as she saw a patrol of guards standing up ahead, having cordoned off a section of the street. "Keep close, don't get separated from me," she said under her breath, and walked around the scene. Celeste couldn't see much past the barrier that the guards had set up, but she did see something that looked like a prone, human shaped figure lying on the street. Sevilla seemed likely to continue on without comment on the situation, and a small crowd had already formed around the scene, mostly curious people looking for something to gawk at. Celeste was free to do as she pleased, however, and she could easily lose Sevilla in the crowd if she wanted to, or perhaps simply ask the demoness to stop so that she could figure out what was going on. Of course, she could simply continue on with the succubus, either asking about the scene... Or not. the choice was hers.
Though she was eager to be on her way to meet her fellow wizards and hopefully partake in a nice bath and nap at whatever luxurious inn the young woman was sure they had taken up in, she found the sights of the city too irresistible to simply walk by without inspection. Celeste slowed down at every shop she and her guide passed, curious as to the wares inside, though Sevilla's brisk pace only afforded the mage a moment to look before she was forced to quickly run after the succubus. The various things the demoness pointed out and described brought about a number of 'hmm's and 'ahh's from Celeste, and though she frequently started to ask follow up questions, the succubus never slowed long enough for her to finish. Rather than ask the demoness to stop, the young mage would simply smile and wave at whoever's wandering eye she happened to catch before hurriedly quickening her pace to match Sevilla's.
By the time the two turned onto the wide street with the guards cordoning off the area, Celeste was becoming quite flustered with her guide's performance. The sight of a prone body on the ground brought about a wave of curiosity too strong to contain within the mage as her mind filled with questions. 'Is that a dead body?' she thought to herself, 'I've never seen one in real life. Well not a human body, just those poor animals they bring in for us to study. I wonder what happened.' Just as she was beginning to step towards the crowd, her demoness quide cautioned her not to wander off. "What? Why?" she asked just before the succubus took off down the street quietly. "Wait! Sevilla, wait!" she called to the succubus, though by now she was willing to let the demoness disappear ahead, too curious about the scene unfolding to hurry up after her.
Entranced by what the naive young woman would consider a rare and astonishing sight, Celeste headed straight towards the gathering crowd, gathering right along into it. "What's happened? Is that a dead body? Is that common here?" she asked to no one in particular as she approached the scene. Trying to get as clear of a view as she could, the inquisitive young woman tried standing on her tip toes and edging past the assemble onlookers, even ducking to look under them like a small child. At this point, she was simply far too interested in whatever had happened to worry about what she must look like to others.
Sevilla paused as Celeste spoke her name, and glanced over her shoulder at the mage as she replied; "You don't want to get lost in a crowd, I might never find you!" Sevilla continued on after that, and Celeste quickly lost sight of her as she turned to push through the crowd in order to get a better view of the corpse. As she jostled her way into the crowd, however, Celeste received a number of angry glares from the assorted demons around her.
One man with small but sharp horns pointing up from his head turned to her as she bumped into his back and said; "Yeah, it's a dead body. And yeah, they're pretty common in Acheron. You're likely to become one if you don't stop pushing!" Without further comment he turned back around to view the scene, ignoring Celeste unless she encroached upon him further. The crowd was growing thicker, and it was growing more and more difficult for her to move, and as such she couldn't quite get to the front of the crowd. People began to lock in place, making movement more difficult, and Sevilla was nowhere to be found.
"Oh, Sevilla," Celeste called over her shoulder condescendingly, "If I'm in the crowd then you'll know exactly where I am!" Laughing at the demonesses' preposterously surprising lack of logic, the young mage continues attempting to work her way through the crowd. It wasn't long before her struggles with the assembled onlookers pushed the succubus' warnings out of her mind completely.
The horned man's angry tone took the young woman aback, causing her to shrink away from him as much as she could. Unfortunately for her, the jostling of the crowd prevented her from getting very far. With the angry man in front of her and the crowd pushing her from behind, Celeste did what she could to stay away from the man while still trying to get a clear view of the scene ahead. Since moving forward didn't seem to be an option any more, she tried something that sometimes helped in similar situations back at the Academy: jumping. Doing her best to jump without hitting anyone around, Celeste bounced up and down, anxious to get even a glimpse of what was going on at the center of the crowd. "How did he die?" she asked, still curious despite being threatened by the demon in front of her.
Celeste earned quite a few more stares from those around her as she started jumping up and down, though now they were less hostile and more... Appreciative. The horned man in front of her was fairly tall, and she could barely even see the guards even at the apex of her hops, but she could sense him growing agitated as she continued to bounce up and down. Finally, he spun around and grabbed Celeste by the ass, reaching under her skirt and pulling her forward while wearing a firm scowl. When she was situated in front of him, he pulled his hand out from under her dress and said; "There. Now you can see. Please stop jumping up and down."
He once more began to ignore her, staring right over her head, but Celeste had a relatively unobstructed view of the scene now. A dozen guards surrounded the scene and kept people from getting near while another four investigated the scene, including a woman who had removed her helmet and let out a mane of long, flowing, silky black hair. She wore different armor than the other guards as well, heavier and more durable plate compared to the other guard's simple leathers. The officer's back was to Celeste as she knelt over the decapitated body of what was most likely a woman, at least as far as Celeste could tell. There was blood all over the cobblestones, and the head of the corpse was nowhere to be found.
"Are you sure that there wasn't any sort of trail? Nothing that someone could follow to find out where the head was taken, or where whoever did this might be?" The kneeling armored woman said, looking up at a helmeted male guard, who evenly responded; "No ma'am, nothing of the sort was found. The only leads we've got are the names of her alleged business associates, and even those are as sketchy as any secondhand information is in Acheron." The woman sighed in response and rose to her feet, staring down at the corpse for a moment longer before saying; "Alright, do what you can and keep me appraised. If you find any information, anything at all, you contact me immediately, understood?" The guardsman nodded, and the woman turned around to leave.
In the process, her vibrant violet eyes met Celeste's, and she paused briefly before stepping directly toward the mage. "Citizen, do you know anything about this woman? Or how she was killed? It's a long shot, but at the moment any information that you might be able to provide could be vital to stopping whoever did this before they kill someone else."
As engrossed as she was in the scene she was so desperately bouncing up and down to see, Celeste didn't even notice that she was rapidly become the center of attention for some of the nearby onlookers. Of course, it was hard not to notice the irritable man in front of her when he suddenly turned around, grabbed her by her bottom, and hoisted her overhead and then down in front of him. She gasped as his hands first made contact against her fleshy rump, the surprising action immediately silencing her questions, then tensed and stared at all the people grinning up at her as they were given a free show courtesy of the horned man. When she was finally placed down in front of him and his hands slipped out from under her dress, she shyly brought her hands down to smooth out the fabric while muttering a quiet, "I... th-thank you," to the man before turning her attention back to what had originally drawn her into the situation.
With the gory scene before her, all thoughts of the embarrassment she had just suffered fled from Celeste's mind. "Oh my," she remarked breathlessly at the sight of headless corpse, her eyes swimming over the blood-soaked cobblestones as one dainty hand came to cover her mouth as a sudden pang of nausea hit her. "This is most definitely not like the poor animals we studied at the Academy," she said quietly, suddenly regretting her earlier eagerness to see a corpse. With some effort she tore her eyes away from the grisly cadaver and turned her attention to the guards surrounding it.
Perhaps owing to her own vanity, Celeste immediately focused on the female officer, her first thought was how the woman managed to keep her long hair looking so smooth and silky while wearing a helmet as part of her uniform. Her second thought was how the woman's bulky metal armor did little to accentuate whatever figure she must have. As soon as the woman turned around and looked at her, though, Celeste was immediately struck by her bright purple eyes. 'Just like hers!' she thought, thinking back to the succubus she had accidentally summoned back at the Academy. So surprised was she that Celeste almost missed what the officer had asked her. "Ah! Me? No miss, I only just arrived in Acheron!" Celeste answered, nervously attempting to hide her fascination with the woman's eyes.
The young mage fell silent after answering the woman. Though her answer was more or less what the officer would have expected, Celeste couldn't help but notice the slight look of disappointment on her face. "Well, actually miss," Celeste offered, smiling nervously as the woman's gaze came back to her again, "I am a rather accomplished wizard." The last was said with an increasing amount of hubris evident in her voice. "I may be of some assistance in finding this poor woman's head, if you would like me to try," she offered, bringing her hands to rest on her hips. As much as the officer's question to Celeste was a long-shot, so too was Celeste's interest in the woman's eyes, and what relation she might have to the succubus she was seeking.
If the officer agrees to Celeste's offer, then she asks to touch the body and casts Find (Arcane, level 3)
Find (Utility) [Similar to Locate, only this spell goes around and through objects, effectively leading the caster along the shortest path to their target. If a path seems too dangerous, the caster can instead choose to redirect the path, and the spell will try to find another one if it is available.]
Base casting: 28
