The Feast

by Rowan Bree

  You ask him, “Did I do well?”

  Vale lifts a gloved hand to your cheek. “You did perfectly, kitten.”

  His touch makes you weak, as does his praise.

  “He’ll make a perfect sacrifice.”

  Vale shouts something in Dorian and the guests clear to the edges of the room, revealing a large circular symbol carved into the center of the stone floor. The king shoes away the woman sucking his cock and tucks himself back into his robes.

  Vale stands in the center of the circle. “Dear guests, it’s time for the main event.”

  Two mages escort the duke from his seat to the center of the circle. He looks like he’s been drugged. There must have been something in the wine Vale gave him. The mages force him to kneel before Vale.

  “As a gift of good faith from Doria to Tyven, I have offered the king that which he most desires in this world. I will give him his wife, the very queen who sadly passed away years ago.”

  There are a few murmurs in the crowd, but not nearly as many as you would have expected. It seems the people of Tyven have come to accept the existence of dark magic ever since the creatures were let loose on their city. It is just as Vale planned.

  “She will return to life as if she never left. She will not remember the suffering of death, only a long and peaceful sleep. The laws of magic are strict, however, and for every life we bring back we must sacrifice another.”

  Vale removes a long dagger from the folds of his robe. He holds it out to you. The jewels on the pommel shine as if alive.

  “Go on,” he says. “Let his blood flow free. Give Tyven back its queen.”

  Sacrifice the duke.

  Refuse the dagger.

  “Come with me,” you say, feeling your words imbued with magic as you speak them.

  Hawke turns back to you. “You know, I was just thinking I might.”

  He takes your arm and walks with you out of the hall. You can feel the jealous women staring daggers into your back as you go.

  Though Vale didn’t tell you exactly where the private party was being held, you seem to instinctively know where to go. You take the sea chief up into the higher reaches of the castle, into the quiet and secluded corridors that only those intimate with the castle would know.

  You pass through a stone archway draped with black curtains. Beyond is a room filled with Order members and guests from the feast. Red candles are placed on different surfaces and in sconces, and an open space has been cleared in the middle of the room. A circular symbol is carved into the stone floor.

  Vale emerges from another doorway and greets your guest. “Please, make yourself comfortable,” he says, guiding Hawke to sit on a plush lounge chair and putting a drink in his hand. He then moves you away to talk in private.

  “Did you know he was a chief when you chose him?” Vale looks sideways at the well-built man. You suspect he might be jealous.

  “I thought he might be important,” you reply. “Did I do well?”

  Vale lifts a gloved hand to your cheek. “You did perfectly, kitten.”

  His touch makes you weak, as does his praise.

  “He’ll make a perfect sacrifice.”

  Vale shouts something in Dorian and the guests clear to the edges of the room, revealing a large circular symbol carved into the center of the stone floor. The king shoes away the woman sucking his cock and tucks himself back into his robes.

  Vale stands in the center of the circle. “Dear guests, it’s time for the main event.”

  Two mages escort Hawke from his seat to the center of the circle. He looks like he’s been drugged. There must have been something in the wine Vale gave him. The mages force the sea chief to kneel before Vale.

  “As a gift of good faith from Doria to Tyven, I have offered the king that which he most desires in this world. I will give him his wife, the very queen who sadly passed away years ago.”

  There are a few murmurs in the crowd, but not nearly as many as you would have expected. It seems the people of Tyven have come to accept the existence of dark magic ever since the creatures were let loose on their city. It is just as Vale planned.

  “She will return to life as if she never left. She will not remember the suffering of death, only a long and peaceful sleep. The laws of magic are strict, however, and for every life we bring back we must sacrifice another.”

  Vale removes a long dagger from the folds of his robe. He holds it out to you. The jewels on the pommel shine as if alive.

  “Go on,” he says. “Let his blood flow free. Give Tyven back its queen.”

  Sacrifice Hawke.

  Refuse the dagger.

  You decide to let the sea chief go, not fully trusting your power. As you watch him leave, you hear a the bell tolling the hour. Is it really that time already? It doesn’t seem possible. You feel a bit dizzy, disassociated from reality. You were only talking with Hawke for a few minutes. Something seems wrong, like time itself is being manipulated by some higher power. Is it the Old Ones, or something else?

  In any case, Vale will be expecting you upstairs now. You had better go.

  You leave the great hall for the castle’s main entrance. To your left is the staircase leading up into the castle and to your right the locked castle gates. They are manned by a pair of guards to keep the beasts out, the beasts that you and Vale called into this world. You start up the stairs.

  Something comes skittering down the stairs at you at an alarming speed. It’s the spider-goblin. You turn to run but your legs get twisted in your long dress and stumble down the stairs as the thing lands on your back. It’s muggy warmth makes your skin crawl as it humps against you, its unholy appendage bumping against the bare skin of your back and making you wish your dress had a much more modest cut.

  The guards run to help you, grabbing you by the arms and helping you towards the gate. They try to beat back the creature’s many limbs but the thing only clings tighter. A high chittering sound comes from its mouth every time the guards strike it. One of the guards gets the gates open while the other tries to pry the thing from your back. But no matter how hard you fight, you can’t get it off.

  “Sorry,” the guard says, pushing you towards the gate.

  Panic sets in as you realize he plans to throw you out with the creature. You kick and fight, sounding just like the woman from earlier tonight as you plead for them to spare you.

  The guard shoves you out past the gates and closes them quickly. You hear the wooden draw bar thud into place, destroying any hope you had of making it back inside.

  The creature screeches, humping furiously at you. Your back is sticky and your body aching from all the limbs grabbing at you. You fall to your knees trying desperately to pry away from its grip. One of the creature’s claws catches on your necklace chain, threatening to choke you. You grasp the heavy stone with both hands, and as soon as your fingers touch it you feel a bolt of energy and a sudden weightlessness. The goblin creature is gone.

  You shakily get to your feet. The necklace has a faint red glow to it that dies back down after a few moments. Aside from your utter disgust, you seem otherwise unharmed. The only problem is that you are now locked out of the castle. You’ll need to find a way back in.

  As the main gates are barred shut, you look for an alternate route. In your search you find a trapdoor that seems to lead into the castle basement. Lit torches line the passage telling you the route must be regularly used. You follow it until you come to a fork, on the right-hand side a narrow staircase spiraling downwards and lit by torches and on the left a cobweb-covered passage illuminated only by pale moonlight.

  Take the spiral staircase downwards.

  Follow the cobwebbed passage.

  You decide to let the sea chief go, not fully trusting your power. As you watch him leave, you hear a the bell tolling the hour. Is it really that time already? It doesn’t seem possible. You feel a bit dizzy, disassociated from reality. You were only talking with Hawk
e for a few minutes. Something seems wrong, like time itself is being manipulated by some higher power. Is it the Old Ones, or something else?

  In any case, Vale will be expecting you upstairs now. You had better go.

  You leave the great hall for the castle’s main entrance. To your left is the staircase leading up into the castle and to your right the locked castle gates. They are manned by a pair of guards to keep the beasts out, the beasts that you and Vale called into this world. You start up the stairs.

  Something comes skittering down the stairs at you at an alarming speed. It’s the spider-goblin. You turn to run but your legs get twisted in your long dress and stumble down the stairs as the thing lands on your back. It’s muggy warmth makes your skin crawl as it humps against you, its unholy appendage bumping against the bare skin of your back and making you wish your dress had a much more modest cut.

  The guards run to help you, grabbing you by the arms and helping you towards the gate. They try to beat back the creature’s many limbs but the thing only clings tighter. A high chittering sound comes from its mouth every time the guards strike it. One of the guards gets the gates open while the other tries to pry the thing from your back. But no matter how hard you fight, you can’t get it off.

  “Sorry,” the guard says, pushing you towards the gate.

  Panic sets in as you realize he plans to throw you out with the creature. You kick and fight, sounding just like the woman from earlier tonight as you plead for them to spare you.

  The guard shoves you out past the gates and closes them quickly. You hear the wooden draw bar thud into place, destroying any hope you had of making it back inside.

  The creature screeches, humping furiously at you. Your back is sticky and your body aching from all the limbs grabbing at you. You fall to your knees trying desperately to pry away from its grip. One of the creature’s claws catches on your necklace chain, threatening to choke you. You grasp the heavy stone with both hands, and as soon as your fingers touch it you feel a bolt of energy and a sudden weightlessness. The goblin creature is gone.

  You shakily get to your feet. The necklace has a faint red glow to it that dies back down after a few moments. Aside from your utter disgust, you seem otherwise unharmed. The only problem is that you are now locked out of the castle. You’ll need to find a way back in.

  “Lost, are we?”

  The Old One from the gazebo is standing there. He looks amused.

  “Have you learned to wield your power yet?”

  If you had, you probably wouldn’t be stuck outside the castle now.

  He beckons you with a finger. “Come, my dear. I’ll help you.”

  You follow him across the castle courtyard and behind the guard barracks. Caged there is a man, or at least it seems to be a man until he transforms into the shape of a tall, lean hound. As you watch he transforms back and forth a few times, finally resolving into his human form.

  “What is this?” you ask the Old One.

  “A test,” he says. “To see if I should help you or not. You see, I’m quite disappointed with your lack of progress and the night is drawing to a close. Soon it will be time to bring this world to heel and I want to know if you are worth having by my side.”

  You ask what the test is.

  “I caught this shifter stalking the dark passages of the castle. He isn’t one of mine, but he isn’t exactly pure either. It seems he has been having trouble controlling his inner beast ever since the portal opened.

  “I’ll give you the key to his cage and the choice to decide his fate. Destroy him, release him, I don’t really care. The important thing is that you make the choice freely.”

  Destroy the shifter.

  Release the shifter.

  Enter the cage.

  You call on your new power.

  “I think you should come with me,” you say. You think you can feel the magic working through your words.

  The duke looks at you, his eyes glazing over for a moment. He shakes his head.

  “No. You won’t enchant me woman. I’m not so simple. Now go.” He waves you away with a fat hand, the stones in his rings glittering in the candlelight.

  You get up and leave feeling a bit lightheaded. Maybe you should have gone easy on the wine. You stumble through the hall thinking you might need a bit of a lie down. A man catches you by the elbow as you bump past him.

  “Are you okay?”

  It’s the handsome man who had all the women swooning over him. Up close he looks even better. You feel your cheeks redden.

  “My dear, let’s get you some fresh air,” he says loudly pulling you towards the exit. You are too woozy to stop him until you are standing outside the hall.

  “Who are you?” you ask him, reclaiming your elbow.

  “I’m so sorry,” he says. “But I had to get out of there. Those women were going to eat me alive.”

  You recall the swarm of single noblewomen around the man’s table. You don’t doubt they would resort to any means to get what they want.

  The man introduces himself as Hawke, chief of the sea tribes. “I usually avoid these kinds of affairs, but I was told the king had a big announcement to make tonight and I don’t like hearing news secondhand.”

  A chief, you think. Vale would no doubt be pleased to exert his influence over the sea tribes.

  “Do you want to go somewhere until then?” you ask.

  He chuckles shyly. “I think I’ve taken too much advantage of a drunk woman already.”

  You reassure him that you’re fine and just needed some fresh air. You tell him about the party upstairs and invite him along.

  He accepts.

  He takes you by the arm and you lead him up the main staircase into the upper reaches of the castle. Though Vale didn’t tell you exactly where the private party was being held, you seem to instinctively know where to go. You lead the sea chief through the quiet and secluded corridors that only those intimate with the castle would know.

  You pass through a stone archway draped with black curtains. Beyond is a room filled with Order members and guests from the feast. Red candles are placed on different surfaces and in sconces, and an open space has been cleared in the middle of the room. A circular symbol is carved into the stone floor.

  Vale emerges from another doorway and greets your guest. “Please, make yourself comfortable,” he says, guiding Hawke to sit on a plush lounge chair and putting a drink in his hand. He then moves you away to talk in private.

  “Did you know he was a chief when you chose him?” Vale looks sideways at the well-built man. You suspect he might be jealous.

  “I thought he might be important,” you reply. “Did I do well?”

  Vale lifts a gloved hand to your cheek. “You did perfectly.”

  His touch makes you weak, as does his praise.

  “He’ll make a perfect sacrifice.”

  Vale shouts something in Dorian and the guests clear to the edges of the room, revealing a large circular symbol carved into the center of the stone floor. The king shoes away the woman sucking his cock and tucks himself back into his robes.

  Vale stands in the center of the circle. “Dear guests, it’s time for the main event.”

  Two mages escort Hawke from his seat to the center of the circle. He looks like he’s been drugged. There must have been something in the wine Vale gave him. The mages force the sea chief to kneel before Vale.

  “As a gift of good faith from Doria to Tyven, I have offered the king that which he most desires in this world. I will give him his wife, the very queen who sadly passed away years ago.”

  There are a few murmurs in the crowd, but not nearly as many as you would have expected. It seems the people of Tyven have come to accept the existence of dark magic ever since the creatures were let loose on their city. It is just as Vale planned.

  “She will return to life as if she never left. She will not remember the suffering of death, only a long and peacefu
l sleep. The laws of magic are strict, however, and for every life we bring back we must sacrifice another.”

  Vale removes a long dagger from the folds of his robe. He holds it out to you. The jewels on the pommel shine as if alive.

  “Go on,” he says. “Let his blood flow free. Give Tyven back its queen.”

  Sacrifice Hawke.

  Refuse the dagger.

  You call on your new power.

  “I think you should come with me,” you say. You can feel the magic working through your words.

  The duke looks at you, his eyes glazing over. “I think I shall.”

  You take him by the arm and lead him out of the hall, enduring his talk about your tight pussy and what he plans to do with you later.

  Though Vale didn’t tell you exactly where the private party was being held, you seem to instinctively know where to go. You lead the duke into the upper reaches of the castle, through the quiet and secluded corridors that only those intimate with the castle would know.

  You pass through a stone archway draped with black curtains. Beyond is a room filled with Order members and guests from the feast. Red candles are placed on different surfaces and in sconces, and an open space has been cleared in the middle of the room. A circular symbol is carved into the stone floor.

  Vale emerges from another doorway and greets your guest. “Please, make yourself comfortable,” he says, guiding the duke to sit on a plush lounge chair and putting a drink in his hand. He beckons over a scantily clad woman with a chain around her neck to sit on the duke’s lap, then moves you away to talk in private.

  “I trust he wasn’t too unruly,” Vale looks sideways at the duke who is already pawing eagerly at his new playtoy. You think Vale might slit the man’s throat if you say otherwise.