The Hero Became a Succubus, and the Only Way to Level is to… What?!
Chapter 392 – Web of Intrigue

A death knight tossed Sofisa and Grahib to the ground at Odika's feet. Both were still unconscious, wrists and ankles bound tightly with rope. They had large bumps on their heads, since Petyr knocked them out as the two were coming to consciousness on the way back. The edirashok, Rasheena, and their guards stared in shock.

That put two Dervishes and a Talon of the Harpy King in captivity. A huge blow to Elusis' strength for sure.

"I… I can't believe it. Are they really the Dancing Dervish and Unbreakable Dervish?" Odika asked nervously.

"Without a doubt," Rasheena confirmed. "I'd recognize these bastards anywhere. It doesn't surprise me that they would try to deprive gwarms their feed. There's no better way to cripple an edirashem. Doing so nearly destroyed an entire ecosystem." She inched closer to them, looking like she wanted to stomp on their heads. "Throw them in separate cells. Staff our most capable guards. Keep them sedated with sleeping potions, too."

"Wait, I can Enthrall them! They won't be a problem anymore, and we could use them against the Harpy King, Ortesians, and the cultists. If we don't, we risk them breaking out. And I don't doubt that they can," Kanae reasoned.

Edirashem guards paused and turned to their leaders.

"Kanae, you have done us a great service taking out the Harpy King's closests. We may be allies with a common goal, but you must understand something from our point of view: giving a succubus such powerful pawns that will obey her unquestioningly… well… Surely, you can see that problem in that," Rasheena explained and motioned for the guards to carry them away.

Renya, who stood beside Kanae, had an 'I told you so' look on her face. Although Rasheena had a point, they had been actively risking their lives to help the resistance. She and the members of Amethyst Hall should have already earned their trust and then some.

However, not wanting to sour the relationship they already have, Kanae deferred to the resistance leader. Guards carted away the two Dervishes. She could only hope that the edirashem's forces really did have what it took to keep them imprisoned.

The caravan was on the move again. After softening the resin blockage, Petyr created an opening by bludgeoning it. Underground nectar gushed out and spilled into the canyons, quickly drying up due to the intense Saviran heat. The edirashem paused in the narrow paths to let the burden beasts to eat and drink their fill. While stopped, some people had descended to scoop the liquid into buckets. Even Tio asked for Kanae and Petyr's help in collecting the nectar for alchemical purposes.

"What even is this?" Kanae asked, hoisting another full bucket into the cart.

"I'm not sure." Tio shrugged. "But the resin is edible. The nectar is drinkable. It's extremely nutritious! Some people think it's the gods' gift to Savir. Others, an underground wellspring mixed with white sediments."

"Your people could have called it something else…" Petyr grumbled.

Breastmilk Canyon. It was entirely possible the stuff really was breastmilk. Kanae sniffed the liquid, but there wasn't much of a scent. She dipped a finger in and tasted the nectar. Earthy, grainy from sand and sediments, and… surprisingly refreshing.

They pushed the carts packed full of sloshing nectar back to Tio's potion shop. The young elven alchemist got right to work, making use of it as ingredients. He added them into existing recipes as extra reagents. Standard healing and mana potions were among the first that he brewed, and they came out cloudier than their counterparts. Probably from all the debris in the nectar. Next, to drink it themselves and figure out their effectiveness.

"I don't want to drink this," Petyr said, holding a mana potion pinched between two fingers. "Kanae, you drink it."

"I'm constantly full of mana because of how many Cursemarks of Horniness I have on prisoners. That won't do anything for me!" Kanae exclaimed.

"Then I'll hit you, and we can test the effects of a healing potion instead," she suggested.

"You're always looking for an excuse to hurt me…"

"No, it's alright! I'm the alchemist. I should take responsibility for testing my potions. I'll just… I'll…" Tio grabbed a knife and was about to stab himself until Kanae and Petyr jumped into action.

They snatched the knife from the elf's hands.

"Tio, for fuck's sake!" Petyr cried.

"And I thought Rosaline was crazy…" Kanae sighed.

"Alchemists testing on themselves is completely normal though!" Tio exclaimed in exasperation.

Petyr sighed. Without hesitating, she stabbed through her left hand. Kanae winced as blood pooled to the ground. The paladin drank the basic healing potion first. Her wound closed, but not completely. The bleeding, however, slowed to a trickle. A traumatic wound like a blade going through flesh would take more than a single potion to heal.

From what little Kanae had learned from Rosaline, Mikki, and Aisha, potions varied from alchemist to alchemist, as well as depended on the quality of their ingredients and equipment. As a result, a healing potion could range from being an absolute dud and healing nothing to restoring life-threatening injuries.

The first healing potion Petyr drank was made without the nectar. She stabbed herself again, then drank the next healing potion. This one was made with the nectar. The injury vanished, and the bleeding stopped immediately. There wasn't even a scar to show for it.

"The taste leaves much to be desired, but I'm thoroughly impressed. With just an addition of a reagent, the potency of the potion increased drastically. I could smite endlessly with half a dozen mana potions brewed this way," Petyr said.

"Of course, you would just smite more." Kanae rolled her eyes. "Tio, can you make us a batch of these healing and mana potions? We'll pay you handsomely."

"I can't possibly take your money! You've helped me gather all this nectar. The least I can do is make you some for free," Tio insisted.

"Or maybe, you just want me to give you something else in exchange~" She sidled up close until Petyr possessively yanked him away.

Tio eventually brewed the high quality potions free of charge. Kanae and her group would be well-stocked for a little while now, and anyone trying to fight them better be ready to throw down for more than one round.

After the gwarms had eaten to their limits, the edirashem continued through Breastmilk Canyon. Next stop, Sultan's Wake, the port that the Ortesian high elves were desperate to complete construction on. According to Odika and Rasheena, it used to be a fishing village. Past sultans of Savir would make a pilgrimage there every few years to give thanks to the rising sun. Ever since the desert country split into three nations, that tradition had stopped.

Even if Savir were to unite again, the sultan to make that pilgrimage wouldn't be traveling to the same fishing village again. It probably looked a lot different now.

Kanae wandered the bazaar, looking for souvenirs to bring back home with her. Something nice for Arenade and the kids maybe. Maybe wine would be fine for the wife. She walked up to a stall and the merchant for a bottle of their finest. When he turned around to grab it, however, someone tapped Kanae on her back and pulled her into an alley.

"Alicia?" Kanae gasped.

"Sh." Alicia emerged from stealth with a finger to her lips. "Odika and Rasheena have gone to the backmost wagon to check on the warehouses. I've found something that might be of interest. Come with me." She wreathed them both in Magical Stealth and led the way.

They snuck into Odika's palace, passing by unsuspecting guards stationed outside and inside. Alicia paused at a three-way fork in the hallway. She seemed to study each path before finally heading down east. The two came to a stop at an unassuming door. When Alicia knocked on it, the large minotaur man Durok answered it.

"Hello?" Durok glanced up and down the corridor in confusion.

Alicia casted Charm on him, and his eyes glazed over with the shine of obedience.

"What are we doing?" Kanae whispered.

"See this earring?" Alicia pointed to a silver piercing on Durok's lower right ear lobe. "The inaccessible parts of the palace can only be traversed if you're wearing this. Otherwise, you take excruciating pain. That seems to be their way of warding off intruders. Only a select few wear these. As you can guess, Rasheena and Odika being among them. The piercing creates an aura around them that reflects the ward."

Talk about a security system. But if Kanae remembered right, the Grand Eye had something similar in the Basilica of Saint Rue. They each sat on Durok's shoulders as he chauffeured them to the top of the palace. It was mostly empty on the upper floor, and the only ones around also wore an ear piercing. They must be the most trusted, which were surprisingly few.

At the end of the hall, three heavily-equipped guards wielding halberds guarded a beautiful ornate door. A golden mask covered the upper half of their faces. They cocked their heads as soon as they saw Durok coming.

"Forewagon Conductor? What brings you up here?" the head of the guard, distinguished by a red cape, stepped forward and asked.

"Edirashok Odika left something in his room. Told me to fetch it for him. You know how he is. Old man is getting older," Durok casually replied.

"You're telling us. Somehow, he still keeps his dick up! We have to stand here listening to him get freaky with women all night. Anyway, hope you find what he's looking for." He incanted a spell that unlocked the door.

Durok entered and closed it shut behind him. The hard part was over. Kanae and Alicia heaved a sigh. Odika's room was fit for a king. It spanned the stretch of the floor, furnished with a private dining room, marble bath, wine closet, and rooms containing artifacts and jewelry behind glass display cabinets. He even had a cat in here! The little critter was hairless, like a sphynx cat. Its ears were loppy like a bunny's, but the rest of the body was feline.

The room right through the foyer was Odika's bedchamber. It contained a bed large enough to accommodate orgies. Potted plants were a common sight. He certainly loved greenery. There was a terrace overlooking the courtyard and bazaar of the forewagon.

"How did you get here the first time?" Kanae asked.

"Odika asked Durok to give a report on the forewagon. It seems to be a regular occurrence with him and the other conductors. I snooped around while they were having a meeting, and found this." Alicia beckoned her over to a rather short desk, suitable to someone of Odika's size.

There laid a book bound in leather, simple in make and completely unassuming. A lock sealed the contents within. At least for now. Alicia pulled out a lockpicking kit and opened it in a matter of seconds.

The first few pages didn't make a lick of sense. They were just full of numbers and letters. Alicia explained that it was enchanted to be scrambled on purpose. Although the enchantment could be dispelled, doing so would only tip off the owner of the journal. In which case, Alicia had to decipher it. And she had already done so beforehand.

"Explaining to you how to decipher the code will take too long. I'll tell you what the pages are hiding instead: it's a ledger," Alicia explained.

"Like the ones a bookkeeper would have for a shop?" Kanae asked.

She nodded and continued, "Usually, an invoice details two parties, the goods exchanged, and cost. However, only two details are included in each line. Full names, associated with a large sum of money. It made no sense to me until I saw a familiar name. Do you remember Vevass?"

Kanae thought for a few seconds. Vevass. The name tickled the back of her mind. Then it hit her. Vevass was the human merchant Sadul had tried to meet in The Diamond. The merchant who Romira had killed when he refused to conduct trade with Avanesse.

"Does this journal have something to do with Romira's Stalkers?" Kanae gulped.

"It seems so. I'm willing to bet the names are assassination targets. The number is how much had been paid to kill them. If that's not suspicious enough… Sultan Cerberus' name is the latest entry, but fortunately a price has not been inked," Alicia said.

"But… This belongs to Odika, doesn't it? He swore loyalty to Sultan Cerberus. He lied to us," she muttered aloud.

Alicia squeezed Kanae's shoulder.

"Do you recall that magical darkness that fell over the carriage when we were leaving the association's banquet? I thought it felt familiar when we later encountered Elaine. It was her. She was the one who saved Romira. I just know it," Alicia glowered.

"I don't get it. Odika and Rasheena are aligned against Ortesia and the cult. They hired Romira, who's been working with Elaine and Jhene… then hired Romira again to assassinate Sultan Cerberus?" Kanae couldn't make sense of it.

Exactly who was on who's side in Avanesse?

"Sultan's Wake ahead! Sultan's Wake ahead!" harpy criers shouted up and down the forewagon outside.

They left Odika's manor and sent Durok, who was none the wiser, back to his room to sleep. Alicia's succubus magic made sure he didn't recall their invasion into his master's bedchamber.

Kanae and Alicia joined the crowds at the edge of the wagon. The vast blues of the sea and sky extended into the horizon. How long had it been since they saw such a large body of water? Sultan's Wake, the giant port city, stretched across the coast with beautiful whitestone buildings and gulls flying overhead. A lighthouse on the cliff's edge beamed a bright laser of light across the ocean.

A very bitter feeling welled up in Kanae's chest as she laid eyes on the familiar Ortesian warships sailing into port. It reminded her of what she saw at Shard Coast. She gripped the unwound Lust resting on her waist. Finding out the true loyalty of their hosts could wait. For now, they had a common enemy to face.