Corvayne had only a moment to keep his balance before Hari's body pressed her mouth to his and kissed him, and he started kissing back a moment before he pulled his head away and pried a confused Hari-Wick off him to hold her at arms length. She, for what it was worth, was beaming and blushing.

“We did it! Nearly perfectly stable!” She flexed an arm and gave him a happy yet predatory look, and Corvayne indeed felt only a faint speck of discord in her. Something he couldn't say about his own feelings, as he felt conflicted by a barrage of thoughts and feelings, the primary one being intense frustration at her suddenly return and the idea she could just drop in and say 'I fixed the problem alright lets just pretend nothing happened!' after dragging him through relationship hell.

On the other hand, she was the reason he had progressed through anything that had happened to him. She was his first love... well, aside from Cascadia, whom might as well be dead she was so far in the past. Asking where she was, the compass started to spin slowly. Lost? Dead?

He snapped back to the present. “It's good to see you, though... I think we have things to discuss.”

She nodded, elf ears flapping a little. “Of course, lead me on to Bell and Spears! I'll handle this negotiation.”

Princess Bellithca would, by Corvayne's estimation of how annoyed she was at the slow insertion of a third woman into his life, would likely start a fight. Probably firing a rocket at her. Spears was gung ho about him having lots of suitors, but she also had seen him reeling after what had happened.

Hari and Wick picked up on his hesitation and there was discord that snapped back into place when she grinned. “Cmon, you know I have momentum! Let's just plow through this, like old times sake.” She dragged him along the road, and Corvayne could only look back and wave with his free hand to Nyxion whom watched him go with a smirk.

Corvayne used his legs to get standing, finding that Hari-Wick probably had three or four times as much strength. Moving to hold hands rather then be pulled, he guided her down the right branch of the road into town.

“We have a lot to catch up on.” He started with, trying to sort out his own feelings. Too late.

“Plenty of time later.” She said. “I have TONS of new mysteries and cryptids I've seen! Ufos! Mysterious beings! Places that should not exist!” She squeezed his hand.

Corvayne's heart dropped as he looked at a face that seemed to combine both his first girlfriends, and the reverse of what had been the status quo for Wick, in which he had loved her far more than she loved him. The old him would have tried to see what was going to happen, let hope take root they could get back together, and then let it blossom into a fight.

“Hari, Wick, stop.”

“Hmm?”

“We have got to stop. This...” A spear moves forward. Even if it's hard. “I am glad to see you, but this isn't right. I can't just pretend I didn't spend months getting better after we split. I have concerns about Spears and Bell and our future. I'm starting to think I have a family, a sort of stable one, and I know your-”

She laughed. “Corvayne, it's okay, I'm practically a different person.”

He pushed his hand away from hers. “I can't do this to them. I keep doing it, and I feel it. Spears never was anything but supportive but how many times do I need to add someone else? I have a lot of people I love but in different ways. And Belle, she DOES take it personally. Not to mention Rio, who I don't even know how to handle, I'm like a rebound or something with her. And Lady Blood Claw. There's something going on between us, and I owe her and Prishe something too.”

“Yeah, she's your baby momma.” Hari disagreed and he felt a pull in her.

“Fine. Call it that. Hari, Wick – I would have done anything when I was alone to just have a bunch of girlfriends who love me and go on adventures and switch girls every night. But I'm already stressed by Rio-”

“Who the fuck is Rio?”

“She's an evil looking woman cowboy cultivator ex-sect leader with black and red demonic looking eyes. She kidnapped us but is actually a sort of nice shy country girl who had a crush on my brother that he doesn't return because she's his pupil and he thinks of her more as a daughter.”

Hari looks at him, thought he feels like Wick's doing the talking. “Why would you even consider dating her?”

“I think [[Unity]] has a backflow, I also work well with her and she's a good sparring partner.” He found himself thinking of Rio's rear end and tried to not let it show on his face or through the [[Unity]] bond which actually wasn't that hard.

“Any girl who can wave a stick, eh?”

“I have a type. Also there's a girl named Cascadia who shows up in my memories.”

Corvayne started walking, not wanting to let Nyx catch up.

“Isn't that the person who went crazy in the tower? We saw graffiti from her.” Wick asked, now distracted from trying to get him to kiss her back.

“That the city we met at is named after her... If the city has parts intact like the underground library I really want to know who picked that name. It's not the original name, right?”

“Cascade Landing. Might just be a co-incidence.”

“Two leads – one we have a map of the pilgrimage. Two is going back to try and find who named the city.”

“It really might be named after the location on mud. So two would be getting back to that tower instance we were at and trying to find more places she scrawled stuff. Maybe we can pull it out if we loop again.” She didn't sound enthusiastic about dying again, at least.

“I'm not going anywhere until I fix another curse.” He felt he was getting pulled along into her flow.

“Of course of course. We'll figure it out!”

“There's no we, you dumped me. Both of you. We can be team mates, party members, fellow Spear Bearers, but... you deeply hurt me and I'm not ready to throw away the good things I have for you. Do you understand?”

“Sure. Yeah.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Corvayne felt his temper rise. “I need you to be serious. Look me in the eyes!” He turned and faced her, and he could feel defiance. “You hurt me really badly, and I can't do it again. You pushed me away, and I had to get better and get over you. I did.” Mostly.

Hari gave him a thumbs up. “Okay.”

He turned and walked away, but Hari-Wick's stats were enough that she could keep pace with him easily, boots and all. He stormed into the hotel a few minutes later and she followed him to the ballroom, where Bell and Spears were setting tables. The smell of roasting meat filled the room but Corvayne's focus was on how the two girls moved together to form a wall between him and Hari.

“What are you doing?” Spears halfway shouted, more heat in her voice than Corvayne could remember since her words had been untwisted.

“I'm back! You guys did a great job taking care of him, he looks better than he did before.”

Bell took a step forward. “Absolutely no thanks to you. I know that look, Corvayne you KNOW better!”

She turned on him for a moment but Spears-Like-Water elbowed her and the princess turned back to Hari, who kept up a smile like it was okay. Bell grabbed her wrist when she tried to walk around.

“I need you to say your going to leave him alone.”

Wick flicked her hand free. “I'll do what I want!” Corvayne felt her bond starting to fray, Hari desiring harmony and Wick ready to start a fight. “What about you? One of you hated his guts, fought him, the other trash talked him for most of his life-”

Spears looked outraged. “The Magus twisted things!”

Corvayne took a deep breath. In a moment he'd have to break his two month streak of not using powers, but before he made that choice a fourth (fifth?) woman stepped into the conversation. Corvayne felt his mouth moving.

“This is, indeed, the Madness of the Magus.”

Covayne bit his lip. The Bride in his mindscape had wiggled up to speak. He felt her presence blossom then wane, like someone who could do one jumping jack before collapsing on a gym mat.

Spears grabbed Corvayne's arm. “What did you say?”

The Bride couldn't speak through him, but he collected the thoughts she was floating up.

“We need a meeting. You, Rio, Diamond, even Lady Blood Claw.”

Hari blinked. “The whole Harem? Is Seru included?”

Corvayne wasn't sure. “I thought she liked Nyxion?”

“She has a thing for you still.” Wick answered. Hari elbowed herself. “Not now!”

Corvayne nodded. “Fine. Her too. Upstairs ballroom.”

Hari clapped. “Impressive. Two ball rooms!”

Corvayne lead the way up, letting the other girls figure out how to contact anyone that wasn't tied into unity. Rio he had a close bond with and started coming as soon as he thought about asking her, and Diamonds-in-Passing sent a small probe that Corvayne opened a window for. The tables were in a U shape already, so he took a seat, his thoughts swirling. He stood back up and started doing his spear exercises in the far corner, needing a moment to center himself.

He thought about exile.

Spears came in with Lepin, whom he didn't expect to be on the list as he had thought she was trying to insert herself into Little-Wing's relationship, as well as one of the blonde haired prison guards from the sect. She, respectfully, took a seat down near the end of the table. Spears sat next to where Corvayne's seat was, and Lady Blood Claw took the other seat besides him. Bell oddly put herself further down the table, putting Rio and another seat between her and LBC. There was a message there, and Corvayne hoped he could fix it.

A random girl from the sect whom he guessed was also a stable hand took a seat, and a Three Kings operative he worked with on some volunteer work for local parks sat down near the end of the table. There were a few girls he didn't know, one he suspected was a hotel front desk girl out of uniform.

Seru was one of the last to arrive, and looked annoyed and tired. She took a seat as distant as she could get, pulling a chair to the end of a prong of the U arrangement of tables, but Hari-Wick picked her up and moved her closer, then took the chair left behind and moved it to the inside of the U facing him. Corvayne tried not to glare at her. This was, in some way, noone here's fault. If anyone, it was his own.

“I'm being told that everyone in this room, myself included, may be under the effect of a mind-altering ability. I have some sort of connection to the Magus. In addition to the curses he dumped on me.”

Corvayne looked at the women in his life. Some of them, ones who self sorted to the far end, looked very concerned. Rio tugged [[Unity]] and gave him a little nod, beaming a little support and reassurance to him.

“The Magus has a compulsive aura about him. Women near him are bent to fall in love with him, even without any action for him. I think... he applied the same effect to me.”

Some of the women looked incredulous. Bell looked furious. Seru was just nodding. Lady Blood Claw, he could see, was thinking deeply, skin a gray color that suggested she was clamping down on what she was thinking. Hari-Wick scoffed.

“You are crazy, a whole room full of girls who like you and you jump to mind control.”

Corvayne wanted really badly for her to just stop talking. “First...” he was an inch from 'active' [[Unity]] use with the emphasis he put on cutting the conversation off.

“I'm going to look at how to block it-”

“You're just hot bro.” The dragon lady offered. “Don't overthink it.”

“And I'm going to keep working on my own... problems... that I think have been feeding this compulsion.”

Spears looked concerned, tugging his sleeve. “Corvayne, it's good to be selfless, but you have to consider that some of these people like you because you are inherently like able. I love you because of who you are, that you strive to be a hero, and I loved you before the Magus messed with you.”

Seru pointed at Corvayne. “Hah! I knew there was a reason I kept looking for your approval!”

Wick turned around. “That's your own insecurity there, Seru.”

“Tch, you're still holding it against me that I was the third.”

Lady Blood Claw cleared her throat. “Whom are you getting this information from? That you are doing the same thing.”

“A former bride named Bombay Hill whom I absorbed. Or is her name Bombshell? Anyway, when I destroyed her soul imprisonment I ended up reversing it.”

Seru started snapping her fingers. “So your like, an astral devourer!”

Everyone was quiet.

Seru looked around. “The DnD monster! With a little guy in it's chest, high level undead?”

Gylwin, whom had been leaning unseen at the back of the room, raised one of her four hands. “I got the reference. It's just that's pretty much what she was.”

Wick pointed. “I didn't invite her, is she-”

Corvayne tried to recall. “I think she's my great-great-grandmother or something, Father's side. Anyway, what I'm saying is I will look for a way to break off the compulsion and-”

Lepin slapped the table. “You had better!”

On the other side, Spears glared. “Don't call it a compulsion! You are not the same as him.”

Lady Blood Claw snapped her fingers and silence blanketed the room. She stood up, her own noises unaffected. She spoke quietly.

“On a pure physical level, ignoring how he makes you feel, do you find Corvayne attractive? Raise your hands.”

Corvayne didn't dare look back to see if Lady Blood Claw also raised her own hand, not until he felt a mental tug to look. Everyone in the room had their hand up, except Seru and Gylwin. Gylwin kicked Seru, and Seru raised her hand.

“Whom in this room, without taking their feelings into account, consider Corvayne's actions to be consistent with 'goodness', 'selfless', 'chivalry', 'justice', or 'family'.”

Most hands went up. Seru waved her hand a little. “I kinda thought it was hot that he was mean to me.” Corvayne felt a little bit warmer towards her. She was a familiar flavor in a room that he felt increasingly uncomfortable in. He felt lots of eyes were on him.

“Whom here thinks Corvanye is strong and given his high power at low levels, would produce strong kids?”

Bell's hand was the first up, Corvayne was pretty sure. Spears sheepishly raised her hand too. Could they even have kids? She wasn't a humanoid. She would make a good mother, probably better than Bell, which was a rude thing to think as he liked Bell's kid.

Haru and Wick were laughing, both hands up for everything. Lady Blood Claw was waiting for Corvayne to turn around and look at her, so he kept his gaze forward. They were friends. Good friends. Family.

“Whom here thinks Corvayne is rich?”

Everyone hands went up. “He bleeds money!” one of the sect girls cried out. A Three Kings member who was a low level enforcer and whom had joined late whistled. “I'd date a guy who only bled blue crystals.”

Seru put her hand down. “I wonder if you could suck one out of-”

Lady Blood Claw cleared her throat. “Who here thinks Corvayne is too hard on himself, and that he'd be worth it even if there's no an addictive reinforcement effect that is thousands of times less potent than the Magus's?”

The women who didn't know him very well abstained, but Lady Blood Claw had her hand up. Spears, Bell, Hari and Wick of course, but aside from Seru who had her arms folded and was pouting, more than a few women agreed. Diamond outside had grown a hand out, forming a moon-sized vote. Rio laughed with her hand up. “He is so moody, it is wonderful!”

Lady Blood Claw clapped. “Corvayne, some of us are now your family, due to joint custody. Some are friends, some acquaintances who want to be friends, some of us are ex's whom need to sort their own feelings out. Some of us are family via joint custody.”

Corvayne closed his eyes. “I'm going to try to sort things out, with everyone. Figure out what you want, what I want, and to fix it if you are stuck. I don't want to take away anyone's freedom the way mine was pulled from me.”

Gylwin stepped forward. “Alright if you've had enough fueling young Corvayne's ego, dinner is almost ready, so we'll feast. But, my last thought: In the curses the Magus has accidentally, it seems, given Corvayne a tool that makes him stronger. In the same way, I think those of you who have common cause to fight this wizard should consider carefully if you should break out from his harem.”

Corvayne held up a finger. “I don't think my relationship is a harem.”

Spears and Seru and Bell spoke as one but with different emotions. “It's definitely a harem!”