In The Cards

The succubus is a form of ta'anari, beautiful, seductive and extremely dangerous. Needless to say, it is a very bad idea to trust her. And yet, she may prove very helpful if she thinks it is in her own interest, as she is less primitive than some of her cousins and appreciates deviousness.

Excerpt from 'Ruminations Of A Master Bard'

The top floor of Durlag's Tower turned out to be more luxurious than the ones the adventurers had seen so far. In the central chamber was a heavily ornate fireplace with a few soft and comfortable armchairs in front of it, thankfully not dwarf sized. A pretty blue couch stood near the southern entrance, along with a pair of chairs, and a very special piece of furniture indeed.

"A chesstable!" Edwin exclaimed, looking like a small child who has suddenly found himself in a candy store where the proprietor has gone to lunch. "And such a beauty too…" The chesstable certainly was pretty, made from ebony and ivory, with gold and silver chesspieces. Edwin scrutinized them carefully. To Zaerini's surprise he didn't seem to care about the value of the gold, being completely intent on the game in progress. "Yes," the wizard muttered to himself. "Not bad. Not bad at all. But White really ought to watch the queen better. And that black knight is very precariously placed, right in the middle of enemy territory…"

"Er…Edwin?" The bard waved a hand in front of the Red Wizard's face, trying to get his attention. "Are you still with us here?"

"Hmmm?" Edwin said, his eyes still a bit unfocused. "What? Yes, yes. I'll be down for dinner soon, mother. I just want to finish this game first… (This time I'll win. I'm sure of it. I will. It has to happen sooner or later.)"

"Edwin!"

The wizard started violently and then he looked more than a little annoyed. "There's no need to shout," he said. "If you burst my eardrums, then how am I supposed to use my mysterious and magical energies in order to keep you alive?"

"You weren't paying attention."

"Yes I was!" Edwin's face took on an extremely haughty expression. "I heard everything you said. Unlike some people I have a schooled mind, powerful enough that I can concentrate on more than one thing at a time."

"Really?" Rini's golden eyes sparkled mischievously and she lowered her voice into a purr. "Then I'm sure you won't mind repeating the tale I just told you about how I've come to the conclusion that Elminster the Sage is the love of my life."

"WHAT?!"

"Oh yes. That long white beard is so virile, you know."

"Virile…"

"And the sound of his patronizing voice makes me go all gooey inside."

"Gooey…"

"And don't get me started on the pointy hat. You can't beat a pointy hat. It just makes my legs tremble. I so understand Mystra. Think she'd mind sharing him?"

"Sharing…"

Very nice, kitten, Softpaws said, her voice sounding amused. I bet that got him thinking. Now go for the kill.

Count on it. "Mind you," the bard said in a thoughtful voice, "Elminster being so perfect and all, I doubt there's a single female in existence who wouldn't fall for his charms. Wrinkles and knobby knees are the thing. I hear he's a wonderful dancer too. And I bet in 2000 years he's gathered lots of interesting…experiences." She could barely keep from howling with laughter as she saw the look on Edwin's face at this comment. The wizard's mouth was working soundlessly and his eyes looked as if they were about to pop out of his skull. "Oh Eddie," Rini chuckled as she cuffed the wizard playfully on the arm. "You can be so gullible at times, do you know that? As if I'd ever want to touch that old fart for any other reason than to give him a wedgie."

For a moment she worried that she might have gone too far as Edwin's stunned expression was replaced with one of serious annoyance. Then the corners of his mouth quirked upwards in an amused grin. "Of course you wouldn't," he said. "You do possess some rudimentary taste. After all, you knew enough to employ the most skilled mage in all the Realms. (That would be me, in case you are too slow to catch the hint.) And I knew you were lying all the time."

"Sure you did, Eddie. Sure you did." She suddenly found herself standing really close to the wizard, craning her neck backwards to be able to look him in the face. I sometimes forget just how tall he really is. And just how…well…handsome. She felt her breathing quicken, this causing all sorts of interesting things to happen to the upper portion of her body. Judging from the look on Edwin's face, he'd noticed. He kept trying to look unperturbed, but a slow flush was creeping into his cheeks and there was a very strange look in his dark eyes, eager and desperate at the same time. Tall, dark and handsome. Now there's a future I could live with. She shook her head a little, trying to clear her thoughts. Where did that come from?

No idea, kitten.

Softy! Don't plant thoughts in my head!

Wasn't me, kitten. They're all yours. Some of them, the ones you keep buried, are really exotic.

"What is it?" Edwin asked, his voice a trifle husky. "Is something wrong?"

"Yes! I mean no! I mean…I don't know what I mean. I…I just wanted to say that Elminster is a stupid old coot. What would I want him for, seeing that I've already got the most skilled mage in all the Realms to service me?" The bard immediately clasped a hand across her mouth as she realized what she'd said, feeling her cheeks turn hot. The petrified look on Edwin's face made her want to sink through the floor. Gods, what must he think of me?! "To serve me!" she squeaked. "That's what I meant. To serve me."

Jaheira chose that particular moment to peer around the corner of one of the open doors, and both the bard and the wizard were startled to find that they'd somehow managed to get left behind by the rest of the party. "Are you done here yet, children?" the druid asked. "We are all waiting for you."

"Oh!" Zaerini gasped. "Yes, we're…we're coming. Right away. We were just…talking about chess. Weren't we, Edwin?" For an instant she wanted to wring the druid's neck for interrupting. Now what's wrong with me? Where did that come from?

The Red Wizard still looked like he'd just been struck by lightning. "What?" he said. "Oh. Right! Chess. That's right. Perhaps we will be able to play a little later? I…I could teach you all the moves."

Bet you'd like that, kitten.

Softy, just leave it alone. I just made a complete fool of myself. I don't need you rubbing it in.

No, I bet you'd prefer getting rubbed by somebody else.

It was only with a supreme effort of willpower that Zaerini managed to tune the voice of her familiar out. "Sure," she told Edwin, feeling strangely shy. So utterly unlike herself. "I think I'd like that."

The party followed yet another circling corridor for a few minutes, and eventually they emerged into another room. This room was very different from the ones they'd seen so far. There was an elegant bathtub on the floor, and the floor itself was a beautiful mosaic portraying frolicking nymphs. An old picture hung on the wall, quite a pretty one too. It depicted a wondrously lovely young woman with long golden hair and a shapely body, and it was the exact image of the woman currently sitting in the bathtub, down to every single attractive curve of her body. The one slightly odd thing about her was the fact that her eyes were a uniform blue, with no visible pupils at all.

"Oh my!" Khalid breathed, earning himself a sharp look from his wife.

"Aye!" Yeslick nodded, clearly feeling this said everything that needed to be said. Edwin was eyeing the beautiful woman suspiciously however, something that made Rini feel oddly grateful. Then the strange woman turned that unnerving blue gaze upon her and spoke in a melodious, sweet voice.

"A female?" she said, languidly soaping her slender throat. "After all this time, and I am found by a female? I cannot afford to waste my charms on you. I'll just have to kill you, I suppose. Still, if you find you want to help a fellow vixen escape the chains that some fool man imposed on her, perhaps we could talk further."

"You don't look particularly chained to me," the bard said. "Who are you anyway, that you'd be calmly taking a bath in the middle of Durlag's Tower?"

"Not 'who'," Edwin breathed. "Say rather 'what' is she. She's a succubus, a lesser form of demon. Very dangerous."

Annoyance flashed through the clear blue eyes of the succubus. "Not 'lesser' compared to your kind, mortal," she said. "But you are correct. I am, as you say, a succubus. My name is Kirinhale, and you will do me a service."

"Wait a minute," Zaerini said. "Let me guess. You'll want us to do something incredibly dangerous and probably painful, and if we don't agree you'll try to kill us. Correct?"

The succubus pouted prettily. "Maybe," she said. "Yes, probably. If you won't serve, I have no use for you."

"You really need to work on your people skills, you know."

"Here's what I want you to do. That damned Durlag trapped me here, over a disagreement, he took my wings and caged me with powerful spells and wards, some three hundred years ago. Have you any idea how bored I am by now? What an indignity it is for one of my kind to be trapped by lowly mortals?"

"Careful now," Jaheira said. "You do want us 'lowly mortals' to do you a favor, after all."

Blue fire sparked in Kirinhale's eyes. "I cannot escape the geas on my own," she said. "But I can get another to take my place for the remaining four hundred years, assuming they do so willingly."

"Four hundred years?" Imoen said, sounding incredulous. "Who'd want to stay here for four hundred years?"

"Want? What do I care about 'want'? I care only about my freedom. You will give it to me, or you will die." She reached up and plucked a few strands of golden hair from her head, then handed them to Zaerini. They tickled the half-elf's hand, feeling almost alive. "There," Kirinhale said. "Take this lock of my hair, and find someone near this place. Tell them it is a lock of nymph's hair. If you can pass it to a mortal male and they accept it, they will be accepting part of me. That will free me and imprison him here for the rest of his life. They must be within the tower for the enchantment to work. Such an act will undoubtedly reflect in your karma as the magics of this place are powerful indeed, but I will be oh sooo grateful. You'll like me when I'm grateful. Will you do this for me? Will you? So what if some fool starves to death here?"

"And if I refuse?"

"Why then," the succubus said with a sweet smile, "then I will kill you all, same as I've killed all other adventurers who have dared intrude on me without wanting to help me. Perhaps you need some more incitement." She waved her hand and Imoen, Khalid, Yeslick and Jaheira froze, suddenly held immobile by the power of her spell. "If you fail, or seek to betray me, then they die. If you succeed I will reward you, and you will not be disappointed. The choice should be an easy one."

There wasn't much of a choice, of course. Zaerini didn't dare risk her friends' lives in a fight, at least not when it was only her and Edwin up against a powerful demon. She suddenly recalled the chess pieces outside. I should have known. All that gold and silver, still here after so many years. I should have known there had to be something really dangerous here to keep them from getting stolen. "Very well," she said reluctantly. "I will do as you ask."

"You are being very quiet," Edwin said as the two adventurers started off towards the stairs again. "Don't worry, this shouldn't be too difficult an assignment." They hadn't even needed to discuss just who their target was going to me, there was really only one possible choice.

"I know. It's just that the thought of doing this sort of thing to somebody, even somebody as annoying as that Riggolo person, it bothers me."

"We had no choice but to agree though. (And he deserves whatever he gets for his previous insults.)"

"Oh, I know. Our friends would be dead otherwise. But I still don't really like it. Perhaps we can find some way around it."

It was then that Riggolo himself jumped out from between one of the large couches, still waving that enormous crossbow about. "Ha!" he cried out triumphantly. "I heard you, don't think I didn't! Try to trick me, would you? Trying to steal my treasure? Well, you won't get away with it. I've studied Miss Bust's every move, from the Random Swing to the Pointless Kick, I can fight anything, and I've even got some extra-mega-super-shrapnel ammo for my crossbow! So you'd better give me all you've got." He drew out a small picture and gave it a doting kiss. Rini could just make out a strangely shaped brunette in the picture, with a wasp-like waist that made her look like she was about to break in two at any moment. She also was quite enormous in the chest area, making her look like she had two huge pillows stuffed into the green and very brief tunic that she was wearing. She carried a large crossbow in either hand, and was smiling a predatory smile. "Go ahead, give it to me and I may not kill you in the name of Largest Bust. Maybe."

"All right," the bard said. "If you're sure." She handed Riggolo the lock of succubus hair. "This is incredibly valuable, it's real nymph hair." Serve him right too, for trying to rob us. And for calling me ugly and flat, before. "There's more of it over that way." She pointed in the direction of Kirinhale's chambers.

"Really?" Riggolo said, giving the blonde hairs a greedy look. "Then you will come along and show me. That sort of thing could make me rich enough to buy the new tales of 'Miss Bust's Tomb Excavating Adventures'. The unofficial ones, the ones modified by fans to show her…to show her…n-n-naaaaked…" A thin string of drool emerged from his mouth.

"Oh, certainly," Edwin said. "It will be our pleasure." There was a sharp edge to his smile as he watched Riggolo. "In fact, it's such a lovely sight that you may never want to leave."

Kirinhale had finished her bath by the time they returned, and was now dressed in a gauzy white dress. "You are back!" she exclaimed. "And you have brought me a male, just as you promised. Such a clever, tricksy little mortal you are! I will be free! Free at last! After all these years…I will finally have my wings again!" Leathery, bat-like wings were sprouting from her back even as she spoke, and she flapped them tentatively. "Yesssss….soon I will fly again…" Her blue eyes were blazing by now, her golden locks writhing like maddened snakes against her white shoulders, twisting slowly in the air. Riggolo stared transfixed at her, and then slumped to the ground, unconscious, while Rini's friends were released from the spell holding them. "I leave you your lives in payment for your service," the succubus laughed.

"What of Riggolo? Is he really stuck here for four hundred years now?"

"Yes," Kirinhale said with a malicious smile. "Though I modified the spell a bit. He's in an enchanted sleep that will last all that time, unless he gets a kiss from his One True Love in the meantime, one that will bond their souls forever. I have a feeling he's in for a long nap."

Rini thought about Largest Bust. She felt inclined to agree.

"And one more thing," Kirinhale added, "a hint to make the game you play a trifle easier. I can smell the dark blood in you, little female, and I know what you are now. It amuses me to aid you, Child of Murder. The one who has taken this tower waits below, far below, and there lies your own means of escape as well. You must face him or perish, and I would see him destroyed rather than you. So listen to me, Child of Murder, and listen well. Beware the mirror!"

The air ripped and tore behind Kirinhale, forming a swirling blue portal. Rini could just glimpse a dark and twisted landscape, filled with amorphous horrors her mind couldn't readily comprehend. The Abyss. It has to be. I'm looking into the Abyss itself. Then the succubus leaped through the portal, after tossing Zaerini yet another of those dwarven wardstones, shrieking with laughter, soaring high on strong bat-wings. The portal closed behind her, and she was gone.

"Perhaps," Edwin said, "we ought to save the chess lesson for some later occasion." He nudged the sleeping Riggolo with his toes, none too gently. "Those abysmal snores of his would make it far too difficult to concentrate."