Chapter 246

"Ah, shit." I anxiously scratched the back of my head as Tenna's eyes scrutinized me. I looked at the crowd again before looking back at her. "How much of that did you hear?"

The smith shrugged. "I've been watching pretty much from the start. It's hard not to when a crowd of people start staring at someone undressing in the middle of them." Her eyes trailed up and down my body. "You don't feel strong enough for that kind of healing so it must be something else going on. You said something about Succubi, but I've never heard of anything with that name before. Is this some kind of cult thing?"

Kino, her apprentice, gasped and turned to Tenna. "Master Tenna, please don't antagonize the people who are escorting us to another city."

Tenna scoffed and pushed Kino a step away from her. "Relax and get that tail out from between your legs." She turned to me again. "So, do I get that explanation I was promised?"

I scratched the base of my horn and looked around at the crowd of people who were watching our exchange. It might be good to get this kind of explanation out of the way for everyone. Me and my inner circle were the strongest ones here so it's not like we needed to be worried about explaining to them. Worst case scenario, some of them tell people about us and my origin status gets out. If I was going to explain myself, it would be easier if I was explaining to the entire crowd rather than doing it repeatedly.

"Fine." I let out a sigh and sat down on a crate that had been pulled out for camp. "I am a succubus, a recent origin species that so far repopulate by transforming others into becoming succubi. Because some of our inherent racial traits remind people of demons so much, we've mostly kept it quiet even after the threat of someone subverting our new race has mostly passed now that our number has grown. What I'm offering isn't exactly healing, it's transformation into a succubus, it just has the convenient side effect of restoring and altering people's bodies. The trade-off is that you become only able to feed off of mana, specifically the lust-aspected mana that is created through sex, and apparently there can only be female succubi," I said motioning toward...

"Uh, I haven't thought of a name yet. Give me a little time..." the new succubus said in reply to my gesture.

Tenna raised her eyebrow. "You're an origin? As in the original succubus of this brand new race?"

I nodded. "Yes."

She looked around. "And your whole group are succubi?" she asked.

"Not everyone. Morrigan, Torien, and Lorriene aren't succubi. It's not like I require everyone to become one to work with me, the transformation is voluntary. The recipient has to agree and I have to offer it."

Tenna pursed her lips. "And why the oath?"

I shrugged. "The oath is a remnant of an ability that the current one is derived from. It has evolved a few times now. It's a... softer requirement than the previous ones. I feel as though it's fairly tame as it requires both knowledge of my plans to know what they would be interfering with and all it compels someone to do is not make things harder for me or actively impede my goals."

"Well... what's stopping you from just turning all of us to succubi right now?" she asked.

I looked around the crowd. Most of the people who had been watching were now talking with each other more. This conversation seemed to be relieving the concerns some of them may have been having.

"Being a succubus isn't for everyone and the people here... have been through a lot. The first two that I transformed were the worst off, the two that I think needed the transformation the most. We have the road to Goldenhearth ahead of us still and I want people to have some time to think about it. What the oath means and what the transformation means for them and if they are willing to subsist on sex from here on out. I view everyone that becomes a succubus to be part of my family, it's not something I would force on anyone."

"Well, what about me?" Tenna asked.

"Master Tenna! Please think about this! Aren't you being a little hasty?" Kino pleaded.

"Shut up, Kino. I'm old. I want to stay young enough to keep working and my time is limited. Part of this move to Traehall is to fall back on something that will be easier on my old body, but if I don't have to give up smithing, I would rather take this opportunity instead." The smith sighed and looked back at me. "So, what about me?" she asked again.

I frowned and scratched the base of my horn. "I am not against transforming you, I think that would be fine. The issue I have is that... don't you kind of need Meena and Twill to recognize you once we get back to Traehall? The thing you're planning to help them with is important, isn't it?"

"Hmm... That's true. Would it be against the rules to fill them in after the fact?" she asked.

"Lilith can cast Zone of Truth. That should help convince others," Kal'daeryn said.

Tenna raised an eyebrow at that so I nodded. "It's true, it's a challenging spell to cast but I can cast it. It was a gift from Sorsette, a version of the spell I can cast using normal magic."

Both Tenna's eyes raised in surprise. "You are a follower of Sorsette?"

"I am," I replied. "I think she gave me the spell because I kept swearing on her name that I wasn't actually a demon. It's usually the first thing I say every time I throw the ability up," I said with a laugh.

Tenna crossed her arms and tilted her head down in thought. A long quiet moment passed between us before she looked back up. "Would you be willing to relieve a few of my concerns in a Zone of Truth before I commit to transforming? I know that I am already asking for a lot."

I looked around at the former slaves watching the conversation. It would be a good opportunity to alleviate some concerns for everyone. I nodded. "That will be fine. I don't think we intend to do a lot today so I should be free to use my mana for this." I motioned for a few of the former slaves to step closer to us. "I can't cast the spell large enough for everyone, so I hope you three can tell the others that I'm being truthful as well." One of the hyena sisters and two of the ones that had been crying when we found them stepped into the area where I was planning to cast the spell.

With some effort the [Zone of Truth] popped into place. "I have cast [Zone of Truth] to alleviate any concerns." A pulse of truth pushed through the five people standing inside the spell with me.

"Are you a demon?" Tenna asked immediately.

"No," I responded. "I was a demon when I was first reincarnated here but I rejected them and the succubi are now a race that is its own, unrelated to demons." There were several gasps and chatter at my admission and even Kal'daeryn raised an eyebrow at that tidbit of information.

Once the waves in the [Zone of Truth] settled, Tenna frowned. "I didn't intend to ask this but... are you a world traveler as well?"

"I am," I replied.

"Do I need to worry about you stabbing me in the back for the Mithril mine?" Tenna asked.

I was surprised, the idea hadn't even crossed my mind. "No. I was planning on returning you to Traehall safely as we agreed." I waited for the waves of truth to settle before continuing. "I like Meena and Twill and they helped us out when we were there. I don't intend to double-cross you." Tenna smiled and nodded and even Kino seemed to relax at the news.

"Do you work for the elves?" the hyenakin asked.

I turned toward her, unsurprised that this might be a question of concern for them. "No. The elves offered us the job and helped us enter the slaver's guild, but we took the job because our primary goal was to free slaves."

Her eyes narrowed at my answer. "I heard the Order of Lilith was a group that fights against the Tamin church. Was all of this a ploy to recruit people into your crusade?"

I had to think about this one for a moment. "We had a lot of goals in freeing people there. Truthfully, recruitment for the Order of Lilith wasn't a priority for me. I don't actually know that much about them yet. Someone else formed the group and the fact that my name is the same as their order is a coincidence." Waves of falsehood suddenly filled the spell and suddenly everyone inside stiffened. I rushed to correct myself. "Uh, let me amend that statement. The group named themselves after me, but I wasn't the one to form it and I'm not the one in control of it." Soothing waves of truth settled the rough waves of falsehood.

"Why would they name themselves after you?" the hyenakin asked in confusion.

I sighed. "There is a prophecy that the Tamin church, the elves, the Order of Lilith, and even the gods have about me. I apparently will be the catalyst for a lot of future instability. I can say that Sorsette is on my side though, for better and for worse." This piece of information had everyone talking in confusion, wonder, and fear.

"Would... becoming succubi require us to quarrel with the gods?" The hyenakin asked. She looked a lot less fierce when asking this question.

"No. That's not why I'm offering the transformation to anyone. But I also can't promise that people won't have an issue with Succubi in the future. We're a young race and most people don't know about us yet. I'm not sure how some of our relations will go, considering a lot of the innate powers we have as succubi, including transformation, are associated with demons." I held up a hand and demonstrated by transforming my arm into one that resembled the hyenakin's arm down to the fur pattern.

"I can see why people would be wary of succubi being demons," Tenna said flatly.

I panted. The exertion from using the [Zone of Truth] for this long while being fatigued from yesterday was starting to catch up with me. "Are there any other questions? I am having trouble holding the spell."

"Are you trying to help us?" One of the former slaves asked, a rabbitkin girl.

I nodded. "Yes. My goal this entire time was to help all of you. Most of the slaves we freed ran to the elven embassy but I thought your group was more vulnerable and several of you would benefit from the succubi transformation. I have friends in Goldenhearth who should be willing to help all of you, especially if you become succubi."

There was a pause long enough that I felt confident most of the important questions were answered so I dropped the spell. I shook off the weariness and stood up. "I'll be around for any more questions and... there will probably be a lot of sexual activity going on later tonight. All of you are free to join as long as whoever you would be playing with agrees to play with you. I know that not all of you will be interested or willing, so please talk to Silva over there about having your tent set up on the opposite side of the carriage away from the rest of us if you would like. The offer to join my family and become a succubus is open to all of you until we get to Goldenhearth. I hope everyone considers the offer carefully. Don't rush into it if you can't handle needing to have sex to survive."

A lot of chatter and buzzing went around as the crowd dispersed into groups and discussed everything I told them. The three that I had included in the [Zone of Truth] were being surrounded by others, asking them to verify what they had heard while standing in the spell.

I walked over to Tenna. "Are you satisfied?" I asked.

She laughed and nodded. "I am. The offer is... definitely something I'll have to think about before committing to."

"It's a big decision. But for you, the offer will remain open until after we've arrived in Traehall. It might be better to see your niece and nephew before transforming."

She sighed. "I guess I'll just have to deal with these aches and pains for a bit longer. One way or the other."

Kino cleared his throat. "You said earlier... that this transforms you into a woman?"

I raised an eyebrow and nodded. "For better or worse, it does. It's a bit hard to explain why that's the case, but yes. All succubi are feminine, regardless of what sex they have between their legs."

"R-right," he said. I wasn't sure if I was reading things correctly, but Kino might be interested in the transformation as well.

I stood up. "I need to go back to helping set up camp. It's going to be a long night... and you're welcome to join too, you know."

Tenna laughed. "As if. I'm too old to enjoy that properly. That's part of why the idea of your transformation sounds so appealing. Maybe Kino will join though!" She laughed and pushed the blushing wolfboy forward.

I chuckled and walked off to continue setting things up and answer any questions anyone might have.