Drow's Dilemma Ep. 114: Diplomacy

Author's Note:

A Drow's Dilemma began as a one-on-one roleplaying project and has been converted into a chapter-by-chapter format for weekly posting with the permission and assistance from my partner. It will contain a considerable amount of sexual themes such as femdom, lesbian, straight, 'reverse' rape, BDSM, group sex, romance, and other themes. The main goal of the story, however, is to tell an epic tale of adventures, gods and goddesses, fae, and nymphomaniacs. This episode and every episode to come will be available for free on Literotica for the foreseeable future. All characters that engage in sexual or suggestive situations are mentally and sexually mature: the human equivalent of 18 for their race.

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Episode 114: Diplomacy

There was not all that much time for Caleldir and House Duskhaven to enjoy their honeymoon before business came in and asserted itself full-force. That business was in the form of a diplomatic delegation from the Sorceress Queen of Clachleom.

House Blackdawn scouts reported that the conflict between the Sorceress Queen Iseabal Griffonheart and the Dragon Princess Deirdriu Scionlost had escalated into a cold civil war, with minor skirmishes being constant and several battles and sieges having already taken place. The upshot of the conflict was that the old king of Clachleom had been targeted by a dragon who had shapeshifted herself into the form of his wife and slept with him. The Dragoness Vithantiel then revealed that she had conceived a half-dragon daughter, Deirdriu and left her daughter with her father the king, who grudgingly acknowledged her. So, the Dragon Princess was presumed to be the heir to the throne for ten years, until the king finally gave his until-then-assumed-infertile wife a child, Iseabal. Once little Iseabal had been born, she was declared the legal heir and Deirdriu was exiled to live with the dragon cultist clansmen on the frontier.

Two years ago, the old king disappeared - suspected murder by demons - and the High Council of the Clans crowned Iseabal as queen in her missing father's stead. The Dragon Princess objected to this strongly and immediately began building a coalition to declare herself the queen instead of her younger half-sister.

And that was where things stood now.

To further complicate things, there was a huge gathering of Drow, Aelsunites, and Eilistraaens gathering on their northern borders. Ashyr's old friend, who had been sent by Queen Iseabal to report on what was going on, had since left New Duskhaven to do just that. Now, Alycyrl was back with an official diplomat.

The diplomat in question was an extraordinarily beautiful young woman with striking golden hair and dark blue eyes. She was pale like most of the people of Clachleom and dressed much less modestly than nobles of that land typically did. The Blackdawns had reported that the Sorceress Queen surrounded herself mostly with beautiful young women and that since she had come to power her court had taken on an overly sexualized and nearly exhibitionist character that had disgusted many of the more traditional clans, who had gone over to the Dragon Princess's faction as a result.

As Ashyr had no intention of letting her people threaten a land that was already filled with living, non-cursed people, she was happy to accept the diplomat into their encampment and temporarily set her up in a guest section of Duskhaven Manor to refresh before their negotiations were set to begin.

Selene protested, but not very insistently. Her only objection was that they didn't know this diplomat and what ulterior motives she might have. Ashyr assured her that it was silly to worry about one person in a house full of very powerful people. She had heard the reports of the turmoil that the bordering country was suffering from. They would be insane to also pick a fight with a gathering army at their borders. Besides, they were expected. Aly warned Ashyr that they would come. Selene conceded the point begrudgingly, though mentioned that they needed an embassy in more neutral territory if they were going to continue to receive diplomats.

The meeting was set to be two hours after the diplomat made herself known; they had to give time for the couple of hired servants and Fucking to prepare the meeting hall with a table and refreshments. That, and the necessary people needed to be sent for. Runners were immediately sent out to the Church of Eilistraee and to the Blackdawn encampment in order to summon Lord Sendath Blackdawn, the Matron of Blackdawn's husband and public face, and High Priestess Hadlyn. The rest of the council was small. Ashyr called for only her closest companions: Selene, Caleldir, and Althaia. Althaia, of course, was also there in her position as de-facto leader of the Aelsunites. Dahlia insisted that she also be present, though as a silent bodyguard by Caleldir's side. As she couldn't be dissuaded, she secured her place in the room by the appointed time. High Priestess Hadlyn also made her prompt appearance.

"Alright, Now that everyone is here, we can begin!" Ashyr said as a rather informal beginning to the formal meeting. There was a reason why she brought Selene. Like Lord Sendath, Selene was Ashyr's public face. But unlike the Matron of Blackdawn who remained underground preparing their forces for the invasion, Ashyr was present and readily available so she had to be in attendance.

"Indeed," Selene agreed, looking to her father, who had agreed to act as scribe for the meeting. It was as simple as a spell for him; with a wave of his hand, a ghostly pen began to run across the paper in front of him. "The meeting has begun. Welcome, Lady Sorcha Morganach of Clachleom, to our temporary encampment. Duskhaven and her allies are interested in maintaining good relations with our neighbors. I understand both of us have better matters to attend to than fighting each other. What message do you have from your queen?"

The Clachleomite diplomat curtsied a bit. "It is simple, your worships. I am here to ascertain your intentions. Such a large gathering of military force is often a cause for worries, would you not say? We want to make sure that you are not intending an invasion, and also, to see as to your true intentions."

As she spoke, her own scribe, another lovely, improbably young, provocatively dressed noblewoman, also jotted down the notes.

Caleldir narrowed his eyes at the two. The scribe seemed... well, touched, as if she was more than she was pretending to be, but not even close to as much as the diplomat, who in addition to giving him odd, self-conscious glances, had an aura that was downright inhuman. Like... hmm... He glanced over at Dahlia in her Light-Elven disguise. Yeah. Like that. Dahlia met his eyes, and there was something of a quiet confirmation. But she put her finger to her lips, then covered the action by pretending to scratch an itch on her face.

"We are here to reconquer Deusterra," Lord Blackdawn said quietly. "My House has lived underneath the cursed realm since before the time of the curse, and we called in allied to assist with its final conquest and purification."

The diplomat nodded. "Oh? So I had heard, but I needed to confirm officially. Well, my Queen cannot possibly have any objections to that on its face. But, how can we be certain as to your intentions? This seems like a rather eclectic collection of allies for an Ellistraeen Dark Elf House to have."

"This is true; just a couple months ago we would have considered this situation a very strange one indeed," Hadlyn agreed with a stately bow. "But it seems that the Goddesses - Eilistraee and Aelsuna - have a plan, and what are we mere mortals to do when deities become ambitious?"

"Beyond being moved by the goddesses, I'm afraid we can not provide any absolute proof that we have no interest in attacking Clachleom," Selene said apologetically. "Our future actions will have to be the proof, along with people we consider allies. Here we have people who wish to see their homeland finally free of a curse. We have refugees from another part of the world who want to start our lives fresh without being burdened by the customs and people of another established country. And, finally, we have Good aligned fey like Lady Althaia Duskhaven here who want to make something more of themselves in a place where they have room to grow."

The diplomat narrowed her eyes, though she kept her sunny expression. For a moment, her gaze darted over to Caleldir again, and to Dahlia next to him. Only a very careful observer would have been able to tell, but nonetheless it was unmistakable to those who knew what to look for. She turned back to the group as a whole. "Your words are wise, and they will have to be accepted. Especially with so many clerics and paladins of Aelsuna and Ellistraee, who are known for trustworthiness. For our parts, I can assure you that my queen only asks that you not get involved in the struggle between her and the usurper. Trade is acceptable with either party, but anything too substantive will be seen as aggression. I hope this is acceptable?"

"I am glad that you made the allowance for trade," Lord Blackdawn nodded. "Since we may need food supplies. But we do not intend to take sides in any Clachleomite internal matters."

The diplomat nodded, pleased. "Then that is all that my queen needs. With the numbers you have here and your stated intentions, we can treat you as a State Actor, right? Then signing a non-aggression pact will be appropriate?"

"I have no objections," Lord Blackdawn said.

"Hmm..." Althaia said, giving the woman an odd look. "I would have to read over the terms."

"We would all read over the terms before signing anything," Selene agreed with Althaia. Though her suspicion was more of the kind common to her race and disposition, and not out of any specific distrust of the diplomat. "If the terms are truly simple non-aggression, then...?" She looked toward Ashyr. It was the Matron, after all, who had the final say in things.

"Then I will happily sign it," Ashyr confirmed.

"I approve of a non-aggression pact once we take the due cautions with the forms," High Priestess Hadlyn added. "I must apologize if we seem too suspicious; our way of life weeds out the too careless among us. We would ill-like discovering that we have unknowingly allied ourselves with one faction or another, or signed away a bit of our lands."

"We would be more comfortable if we can draw out our own draft of those forms together, but if your queen already has something prepared, we would like to look at that now," Selene said once everyone approved.

Lady Sorcha's eyes darted around the room, taking in each of the speakers' mannerisms. "I have a preliminary document for such a thing, but it will need to be adjusted and customized. Both your scribe and mine can draw up duplicate copies, and we will exchange them." And so, the negotiations began.

It did not take all that long. Both sides were mostly determined to avoid conflict, and neither were in any position to be all that aggressive anyway. The terms ended up being fairly standard, and even Althaia, who had been looking at Lady Sorcha with deep suspicion, agreed.

Once it was all over, Ashyr seemed pleased with the result. She clapped her hands together once and stood - causing the rest of the meeting to stand alongside her. "Alright. Now that that's settled... Lady Sorcha! The day is late and I offer you the room for the night if you would rather wait until morning to head back to your homeland." All the important things were inside Risa's domain anyway; the diplomat would not be physically able to do anything untoward, which, for the sake of the non-aggression treaty, would be unwise anyway. "Should that be your wish, the servants will attend to you. As for my family and me, we have some matters to attend to. Care to join us, Lady Althaia?"

"I would be honored to stay the night." Lady Sorcha said pleasantly. "I will contact my mistress by Message to let her know what transpired here."

And so, Sorcha and her scribe retired to the chambers they were assigned, while her small cadre of Clachleomite knights stayed nearby.

Meanwhile, Dahlia put a hand on Caleldir's shoulder. -Can we stay back a bit?- She asked mentally. -I would like to have a private word with this Sorcha woman.- Not that she needed his permission to speak to her alone. She simply felt it would be better to have her demi-god master at her back for appearance's sake.

-I will go with you.- Caleldir responded to his familiar.

When Dahlia and Caleldir entered Lady Sorcha's quarters, the diplomat turned and gave Dahlia a long look. She sighed and addressed her scribe. "Well, Lachina, I suppose that there is no sense in hiding. These two will know who I am." The diplomat shrugged out of her clothes, stepping out of the puddle of her garments completely nude. As she did, her skin took on an inhuman, silvery sheen, and she grew horns, wings, and a spade-tipped tail. Her eyes turned to solid blue, glowing orbs. "Greetings, sister," she purred sensuously. "We have much to talk about."

"Yes," Dahlia agreed. Politely, she, too, stepped out of her scant clothing and, as the light garments fell, so did her disguise. Her whole body was more red-tinged than Sorcha's, but she had very similar horns, wings, and tail. "I was wondering when I would meet your Domination. Imagine my surprise when I discover how neatly you've taken over a whole country! Well. Half." She smirked in brief amusement.

"I am Dahlia, the Mistress of the Bouquet Seduction." She gave the other succubus a shallow bow. "My sisters and I recently moved here, and claim these lands and people as our own. I do hope that that won't be a problem." Dahlia's tone was mild and even friendly. Perhaps a bit too much so.

Caleldir merely twitched a bit when Sorcha let her clothes and disguise fall, since he had been expecting that, but Dahlia's congratulations on them taking over half a country did get a start out of him. "Wait, your Domination is ruling over Clachleom? But... how? This is on a far larger scale than Ashyr let on!"

"The Sorceress Queen is a Cambion," Sorcha explained with a gleeful tone. "That took three generations to arrange, but arrange it we did. The old king is being turned into an Incubus even now. Our Domination's Matriarch is a visionary. Speaking of..." The succubus sighed. "Claiming these people is not a problem, but these lands... well, my Domination had plans to try to recapture and purify Deusterra once we have succubized all of Clachleom. My grandmother - The Domination's Matriarch - was born as a Cambion in old Deusterra before the curse, after all."

This got another reaction from Caleldir. "Wait... do you mean Rubella Silverwisp?"

"How do you know that..." Sorcha asked, surprised.

The succubus blinked that out. "No matter. So, Dahlia of Bouquet, I think that our groups can come to an agreement as to Deusterra. We definitely do not mind you hunting there. But we do not want to fully relinquish our rights to move in later. My Grandmother would not like being barred from her homeland. Is this acceptable for the short term, pending further negotiations?"

"I would not bar any of you from immigrating once things are settled. Moving in and then taking over... That would be a matter for negotiation," Dahlia said with a jealous glint in her eye. "For now, I am content with a similar non-aggression treaty that was settled between the countries." Caleldir could sense a growing feeling of arousal from his familiar as she said this.

"An agreement to not attack each other and to let the other party know when we hunt in each other's lands," Sorcha said sweetly. "Just good manners. We do not need anything signed for such a standard agreement." Indeed, such an agreement was the rule between large groups of succubi. The succubus race was not one prone to violence against itself, as a whole, since they tended to be catty and passive-aggressive rather than directly confrontational, preferring violence as the last resolution to problems. (Rape was not violence, of course, just forcible persuasion.)

That was a simple enough agreement for the present and one that they didn't need papers for. Dahlia might push for more formal agreements later, when the neighboring domination was actually in a position to threaten her territory. Of course, by the time they actually got to that stage... "Agreed. The standard terms will suffice. So, shall we share a meal? I assume you still hold to the traditional methods?"

Sorcha motioned Lachina over to her. The scribe, blushing, walked over to the succubus, who sat down on the large bed, and pulled the human over to her. "Indeed. We should exchange meals. I offer my most precious pet and future Seduction member, Lachina." The succubus undressed the woman, showing off her pure, pale, richly curved, almost succubus-like body. "Isn't she gorgeous? An earl's heir, she is, a noble of excellent bloodline." Sorcha lovingly grasped at Lachima's breast, eliciting a squeak from the young woman. "Of course, if such a delicious dish as this is not to your taste, then I can grab one of my knights."

Caleldir was not aware of the intricacies of succubus politics or social behavior but had a suspicion that this sort of thing involved sex. That suspicion was reinforced when Sorcha undressed Lachina. Somehow, her being a human and a noblewoman made it a bit more scandalous than just having Sorcha the Succubus naked, and he had looked away.

"I hope I am to your taste," Lachina said with equal parts shyness and deep, hungry lust. If her blush was modest, her eyes were anything but, showing almost inhuman levels of shameless desire. "I would love to be able to feel your body all over my own."

Dahlia watched Lachina with unveiled lust in her pure black eyes. The human was a fine offering with a fine pedigree. She licked her lips and looked towards Caleldir. As fine as the human was, however, Caleldir was by far the better prize. Such inequality would work in Dahlia's favor; Sorcha would come home with tales of the best meal of her life and the strength of the Bouquet Seduction's leader. That was, if she could convince her master to participate without annoying him too much. She needed to stay on his good side.

Smiling sweetly, she turned to him and pressed her nude form against his clothed body. -Caleldir- She thought to him with the most affectionate feelings she could muster in the situation. -I need to offer you to Lady Sorcha for a meal as she did with her human. It's extremely important for the relations between their Domination and my Seduction. We really don't need them causing troubles when we have our own to deal with. Especially considering their numbers- She batted her long, demonically beautiful eyelashes at him. -Will you accept?-

Internally, he was torn. On one hand, yeah, having sex with Sorcha would not be unpleasant. On the other hand, he was Duskhaven Consort now. -I am Duskhaven Consort- He said to her uneasily. -I am not supposed to be having sex without Ashyr's permission.- He thought for a beat. -Also, I am trying to stop with the eternal expansion of my sexual partner count.-

-Succubi don't count, Caleldir. And you need only have sex with Sorcha- though it was very likely that the other succubus would trick him into having sex with the human. But Dahlia didn't have to tell him that. -I have not been bound to Duskhaven in that ceremony, and I can still couple with you. Really, it's more about breeding rights than strictly sexual and you know you can't get Sorcha pregnant.- Dahlia argued sweetly as she began to run caressing hands across his body, teasing at but not quite hitting that rune that would render him naked.

As Dahlia was seducing Caleldir, Sorcha watched intently and with increasing desire the longer Caleldir resisted. Her hands dipped down to begin playing with Lachina's clit. She whispered into her human pet's ear. "That man right there is the perfect - the more than perfect - candidate to father your Cambion. If you get pregnant off of him, we will turn you into one of us."