One step; one final step was all that was left. For over a year now, Natsumi had been plotting, moving in the shadows and building up a foundation that she might finally use to take down the greatest thorn in her side. Roderick, the man who had blacklisted her, had grown fat and complacent since taking over the Department of Magical Artifacts at Wyllmochvar University. He had tried to extend his influence to Tarishtar and Adeluna, but failed both times thanks to Natsumi's interference. Now, desperate for a better financial performance of his department, he was open for a more direct assault on his character.
On that point, it is useful to understand the place of a peculiar institution at the time. Slavery was officially rare in Revaliir around then. It was outlawed in many countries, and only areas like the Vilpamolan Coast had open slave trading anymore. To be associated with the practice was scandalous, even if a great many nobles still partook in it. It was especially lucrative for slavers, as customers had to pay tooth and nail in order to get what they wanted in a discreet manner.
Unfortunately, that foul practice had recently begun to afflict the mage city of Wyllmochvar, and there was circumstantial evidence suggesting Roderick's involvement. There was growing proof of mass disappearances on the city streets. Those who hung around the lower echelons of wealth, especially men of working age or young women without families, were disappearing. They would be seen leaving an establishment one night only to never be seen again, and, because they were often overlooked by the well-off, no one but truly noble guardsmen went looking for them.
Natsumi had pursued this line of disappearances in secret, scoping out the situation and trying to find the slaver in question. Her inquiries led her to find one of the abductors on a cloudless night. He was a burly man dressed in dark clothing, trying to accost a beauty of a woman half his size when Natsumi found him. The raven haired goddess had drawn the druid's gaze by crying out for help, and was thankful to see her descend to render aid.
The Ice Queen's intent during that moment had been to ask a few questions of the would-be kidnapper rather than immediately kill him, but, instead of being cooperative, he tried to capture her in addition to his initial quarry. He did not survive that choice, instead finding a pair of cat claws in his throat when he tried to grab the winged fox. A brief search of his corpse following that event revealed the possibility of his connection to Roderick.
In the dead kidnapper's coat pocket hid a partially burned letter detailing a slaver operation being run by someone whose name began with "R" and who worked in the University. The heavily singed seal of the establishment was still present enough to judge that, and so Natsumi was about to continue on her quest to nail Roderick to the wall until the woman she saved spoke up.
"Wait!" the emerald eyed lass shouted while rushing in front of the angelic Natsumi. "Please, there must be some way I can thank you. At least tell me your name so I can find a way to repay you later."
The Ice Queen realized that the young girl probably meant monetary compensation, but she had her mind on other things. Being the habitual voyeur that she was, she had already begun examining the woman's immaculate body through her clothes, taking note of her pleasing personality as she paid special attention to her intimate areas. The vixen's eyes were almost hypnotizing with natural beauty, and Natsumi could feel herself falling under a spell. She hadn't satisfied herself in quite some time, but that was about to change when she gave into lust.
"Be careful what you wish for, mademoiselle." Grabbing the woman with her tail, Natsumi pulled her closer. Her skin was already secreting the chemicals of a love potion as she wrapped her arms and wings around this fair creature, constricting tightly to prevent escape.
"I, uh," she stuttered as she felt the embrace. It was obvious from her expression that she lingered on the threshold between "yes" and "no." She looked at Natsumi with desire, but the culture of many in the Wyllmochvar area was not accepting of homosexuality. Her brain was afraid, fearful of what people might think if she were caught even if there was a spark. "But we're two women. It just wouldn't work."
That was before Natsumi suddenly kissed her. She struggled rather meekly until the aphrodisiac took control, enhancing the pre-existing feelings and overpowering the cultural fear that she held. She willingly reciprocated the embrace after that, and allowed herself to be whisked away to a more private location even as a jewelry shopkeeper spotted her from the alley entrance.
For the next few hours, Natsumi and her beautiful guest embraced each other in passionate love-making, until the woman finally awoke from her lustful dreams. By then, Natsumi was already gone from the bed they shared; having left no trace of her presence except for a few strands of white hair in her lover's naked bosom. She left the nude creature with her clothes, some silver for jewelry, and fond memories, all before returning to her hunt with far less, pent up desire.
It wasn't until the next night that Natsumi came across yet another incident of abduction. A foreigner who smelled awfully familiar had caught Natsumi's interest during the day, and she had been watching him through the roof of the inn he visited for the entirety of his stay. She wasn't surprised when she saw him get kicked out for drunken behavior, but she was intrigued when she witnessed another burly man drag his disoriented ass down the street.
Obviously, the Angel followed after the pair when that happened, taking care not to be seen in the cloudy midnight. Eventually, they all arrived at an unassuming house, but that was not the final destination for the unlucky drunkard. After Wilhelm, the captive, passed out in his first cell. He was moved at least two other times. Only on the second time did they finally place him in a true, underground cell and chain him to the wall. They left him there with a female prisoner in the cell to his left and a few male guards closer to the entrance.
That was when Natsumi finally made her move. Using her optics to spot out an opportune entry point, she melded with the earth and flowed into the cell with the bound woman. She touched that sobbing creature on the shoulder, bringing her finger quickly to her lips to silence any objections.
"Shh," she whispered as the would-be slave looked up in surprise. "I'm going to get you out of here." Taking out her lockpicks from her pants pocket, Natsumi moved to open up the shackles. She was barely able to take the last one off before being hugged tightly by the blonde woman, though, and she struggled to maintain her balance during the embrace. "Now's not a good time to get clingy," she choked out while lifting the clingy female up with her to go unlock the gate door. It wouldn't be long before she was out in front of Wilhelm's pen, looking in on him with a half-naked woman still draped around her neck.
"I thought I recognized your smell," she said as she noticed him stirring. "You're a Silverstein. No doubt about it. From the smell on your face, I can also tell you struck out with the woman I slept with last night. Her perfume was unmistakable. The question is, what are you doing in such a place when your sister is out an about. Had a bit of a falling out with her, perhaps?"
