Adykon felt the familiar presence of the archmage in his head.
"What now?" He thought. "I've gone through enough for tonight. Please, just let me be."
He blinked his eyes, and when he opened them again, he had seen that the world around him had changed to a room complete with a bed, rose petals on said bed, incense, scented candles, and a beautiful female all "dressed" for the occasion. Another vision of her's. Another illusion magically projected into his head. Normally, he would have been overjoyed. Tales of sorceresses coming into males in dreams were legendary. Adykon had heard stories of this before, which usually ended with the protagonist discovering that the girl of his dreams was real after all, and in the end, the act would be repeated, only in real life. This time, however;
"Do we have to do this? I have a lot on my mind. We only met once before." the warrior sighed, looking down. Since she was in control of the illusion, she had imagined him in "skyclad" gear as well. He had experienced this in real life as well, when Asthia used him for her own... designs.
"I know Adykon, I know."
"Isn't the mysterious voice in my head supposed to be a bit more... objective? That's how it works, doesn't it? An objective, omniscient presence that acts as a conscience tell the hero how to act and what to do. Here, you do that one minute, and the next, you are trying to get me into a fantasy bed."
"Dememoras killed my husband, remember? Actually, I don't recall if I told you that or not."
"His forces are besieging your home, ladt I heard, but your defenses were keeping them out. How are they holding up?"
"Better than I had expected. It's as if they've stopped trying to attack."
"That's good to hear."
"No, it's bad. It means they are pulling back to regroup and think of something else. What that 'something else' is, I don't know, and what they know and I don't is dangerous."
"Right. I wish I could help with that. So, what does this have to do with the attempt to bed me?"
"I'm a female locked in a tower with no male around. I've been cooped up for who knows how long. I'm bored, stressed, and frankly, I like you. Why do you think I'm interested in doing this consequence-free action? You can't get me pregnant, and neither of us can catch anything from this."
"Right, right." Adykon knew that neither of those things stopped Dracons from doing it in reality, especially with the widespread availability of cures for the latter.
"So, tell me, are you going to do this, or not?" She said, as she lay down on her back and spread her legs wide. It was quite a thing to see, even if Adykon knew it was just an illusion, a dream, an astral projection, a thing with all of the sensations and sights that would accompany such an act, but none of it was real.
"We can do it soon. I need to ask you a few things. Did you see all of that conversation?"
"I managed to worm my way past the anti-scrying wards in this palace. Had it been in Tallon or the King's residences, I couldn't contact you in this manner."
"I see. So, you think I did well?"
"Yes, very well. But that's not why I'm here?"
"You're not here to congratulate me on my coming clean with the lies of my past?"
"Well... you did do well, but I'm not here for that."
"You aren't here to warn me of some impending danger, too?"
"No. I already told you why I am here" she replied, pointing at her reddish femalehood.
"Let me ask, will this cause a real-life, physical reaction in you?"
"Come to think of it, it will, although I rarely consider that."
"It won't affect me?"
"Not this spell. I'm the one who is casting it, so the effects mostly filter back to my brain, nerves, and... you know..." she said, pointing at that area again.
"Right. Can you make things appear in this virtual setting? I know you made a citadel appear and made the landscape change."
"Yes, I can make things appear."
"Can you make some lotion appe-" a bottle of it appear in his hands. Well, his 'virtual' hands. "I suppose I should virtually rub it into you. As he did so, he realized that he was playing into her fantasy... literally. The archmage was no goddess, nor oracle, nor philosopher. "Gods, this feels so real, and yet... so wrong. How is this different from Asthia?"
"What?" She said, opening her real-life eyes, yet maintaining the illusion.
"Asthia kidnapped me and brought me to her tower, where she would have 'fun' with me on her own terms. Aren't you doing the same to me?"
The illusion of the archmage got up off the bed and replaced it with a pool of warm water large enough for both of them in the blink of an eye, as if it had been 'programmed' away.
"What she did was real. This is fake, and harmless. Your body is asleep in a chair. You are perfectly safe. I wouldn't attempt this on you in the middle of a fight, you know. Besides, I am perfectly willing to accommodate your wishes. You don't want do 'it'? Fine. But maybe you'll change your mind after I show you how harmless this is."
Was it harmless? Did this constitute something? Did distance between their two bodies count, or were words enough to make it so. Climbing into the 'water', Adykon told her his decision;
"I'll accommodate you this once, but don't ask me to do it again. I know how most of those stories end; the male and female share a fake hook-up in a vision, maybe even enjoy it. But even if the male was the mage, or both of them were mages, it very rarely turns into something real. I'll have to meet you in person for it to work. Arranging a real-life meeting by a virtual medium is one thing, but a virtual relationship... I cannot do it. There was a time when I would have been naive enough to swallow such stories, but no longer. If you want to meet me, I'll go to you in person and free you from your tower! Or house. Or palace, compound, domicile, lair, or whatever it is you are trapped in."
She thought about it.
"Alright Adykon. You win. I'll contact you in a few days to tell you where I am. I know that you are fighting Dememoras, as I am. We are allies, after all. We fought together against Arcantas, and we will win against his master, too! And you are right... I'm no conscience. I am a long-winded rich girl with magic powers and no husband who wants to steer you in what I think is the right direction. Now, let's save that for later, shall we?"
She got her way with him. It only lasted five minutes in the real world, but it went on for hours in their minds. When all was said and done, she felt much better, but Adykon was left with a sense of unease. So much controversy in one night, then a wedding, then a war. It was discomforting to say the least. Getting up from the chair, Adykon went to get some sleep for real. It would be a big day tomorrow.
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