While Dalroc called a meeting with his generals and advisors, we left to visit the brothel. It was time to establish contact with Lilith. The place Sandra led us to was called Exotic Pleasures. It was a rather fancy place. The building was made from marble and I could see golden trims along the windows. They had a dwarven bouncer outside the door. He studied us as we approached.

“Lady Sandra, welcome back.”

“Thank you.” She said with a smile.

“Are you a frequent customer?” I wondered.

“Yes. It was always a nice distraction from my situation. I could not escape the runes, but at least I could forget them, for a while.” Sandra answered.

We entered a nice lounge. There were plush chairs and couches with small tables next to them. Of course, they had a bar. It was manned by an elf in a suit who smiled at us. Sandra walked towards the reception area. Behind it was a catkin woman dressed in a pink maid outfit.

“Sandra! And you brought friends! Do you want them to join you?” The enthusiastic woman asked.

“Hello Kathy! I was hoping to talk to the madam.” Sandra said.

“For you, sure! You know the way to her office, go ahead. She should be available.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Are you some sort of VIP customer?” I asked.

“Um. The merchant business paid well. And… I don’t know. Somehow the madam here took a liking to me.” She shrugged. “You know, I have received a lot of preferential treatment here…”

Sandra led us to the office and knocked.

“Come in!” A voice said.

The madam was a beautiful night elf. She had snow white hair and flawless obsidian skin. She smiled at us.

“Sandra, what a pleasure!” Then she spotted Lucy and myself. Her eyes grew wide.

“Oh? Do you recognize us?” I asked.

“No, but your beauty caught me off guard.” She responded. It only took her a second to get her face under control. “I am Erin, welcome to my establishment! What can I do for you?”

“She is a succubus, my lady.” Lily said. “Probably a high succubus.”

Erin sighed. “I have heard about you. I guess we can skip my denial. Eshantri had some interesting things to say. I was waiting for orders to contact you.”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Your admission does make things simpler.” I said.

“Is there a way to speak with Lilith directly?” Lucy asked.

I looked at her. “What? Why waste time with her minions. Let’s just get it over with.” She reasoned.

“You make a good point.” I admitted.

“You… you want to talk with Lilith? Directly?” Erin stared at us. Then she looked at Nira, who was currently in her dwarven form but looked rather panicked.

“Who is she? One of ours?” Erin asked.

“How do succubi recognize each other? Don’t you have pretty undetectable shapeshifting?” I wondered.

“For the most part, yes. But succubi often employ mind magic that can be detected. Especially those with less experience might do it unconsciously. There is also the mannerism and sometimes the form they take. A lot of them shapeshift into bodies that are slightly too perfect. While magic might do similar things to a normal humanoid, succubi often just take a step too far. Look at Erin. Anyone with enhanced eyesight, who looks at her skin, will realise something is off. It could be an illusion but those can be countered.” Lily explained.

“So, if you can see through normal magic and something still looks too perfect it’s likely a shapeshifter.” I concluded.

“It is a strong indication, yes.” She confirmed. “Or at least a magical being of some kind.”

Erin studied Lily. “You know way too much. Who are you really?”

“Go ahead.” I told her. Maybe it was time to stop hiding her. At least from Lilith, if we wanted to work with her.

Lily transformed into a succubus. Not just that. She had only been wearing the maid outfit part but now she deployed her plate underneath.

“Lilastheria…” Erin said. “And… that armour… it is demonic!”

Nira had transformed as well. Erin paid her no mind though. She stood up and approached our maid knight. Once she stood before her, she turned into a succubus as well. Her skin was ash grey and her horns were black, as was her hair. Erin’s eyes were golden. And she had wings.

“Erinastha.” Lily said with a nod.

“You know each other?” I asked.

“We worked together in the past.” Lily confirmed.

“So, she is a high succubus?” Lucy asked, while pointing at the wings.

“Yes, and she is stronger than Eshantri.” Lily said.

“How strong?” I asked.

Lily smirked. “I could spank her, if she misbehaves.”

Erin frowned. “Really? You think you have grown that much? You know, Lilith was quite concerned that you suddenly disappeared. How was your bond broken?”

Lily snorted. “Yeah, that is likely the only part that concerned Lilith.”

“You were kept out of the loop ever since the Inquisition started using you! We did not stop caring!” Erin protested. “You know how it is, you have been around long enough!”

“I was likely just bait, right? You hoped the inquisition would experiment on me at some point? And that you could use me as a beacon to find their researchers?” Lily asked.

“After we noticed succubi disappearing, we kept a closer look on the remaining ones…” Erin said.

“Really? And nobody noticed us capturing her?” I wondered.

“Well…” Erin looked a bit embarrassed now. “Iron Rock was complicated. Mantus' appearance and defeat were a bit of a surprise. Our information about the event was limited, but it pointed towards the Dominion. Lilastheria did not seem to be in any immediate danger and we focused on others…”

“So someone classified her as being at low risk and not in the most useful position, then she was abandoned.” I concluded.

“Not abandoned! It was simply decided that we had to focus our resources elsewhere…” Erin protested.

“Let me guess, the decision was from Arianasthera?” Lily said.

“I guess you never got along…” Erin admitted.

“Succubi politics are fascinating.” Lucy said. “You never really told us much about your life, Lily.”

“Apologies, my lady. I had no intention of hiding anything. I just did not consider it relevant. I was not that important. I was just a disposable tool. One of many.” Lily said.

“You were much more than that!” Erin said. “You had a lot of potential! Despite not being a high succubus!”

“Most did not see it that way.” Lily countered.

“We really need to have a longer conversation about this. But first, I assume you are aware that Sandra is controlled?” Erin said.

“Was. I freed her.” I said.

Sandra gasped. “YOU KNEW?” She shouted.

“Of course. That is why I seduced you personally. And offered discounts. I wanted to study the runes. When we captured mind controlled people in the past it never ended well. I tried a new approach.” Erin explained.