Dark Fate

  Book 26 – Baba Yaga

  Prologue – Trade Chat

  (North American System Information Exchange Forum, formerly Community Building and Civil Defense Chat)

  abby_gail, bento, RainyDayze, GringottsGoblin, DoritoMan, D.VaLuvr69, Carion, RadicalEdward, FusionGal, NotACop, Scholar, RamblingWreck, Anonymous4, Anonymous6, RedShift, SevenNationArmy, DarkLord, BagOTrix, White_Queen, Faraday, BackpageGal, FullServiceMassage, daytrader, LinaLuv, Skippy, shadow_clone23, THE_MERCHANT, jenny8675309, Rabbit, Angelus and Tracker are in the chat.

  BagOTrix: Man, Ceres has really had a good month.

  Carion: No kidding! Their fleet comes back from kicking all kinds of alien butt, the Empire expands to cover most of Central and South America, and now they have a colony on Ganymede!

  DarkLord: Don’t forget that the military and R&D base we built on Vesta in the Asteroid Belt. Oh, wait, we haven’t mentioned that publicly yet.

  RedShift: Wait, what? Why are you putting a base on Vesta?

  DarkLord: Second-largest rock in the belt. Thought it would be a great place for Third Fleet to make its home port, especially as the Home Fleet is starting to shape up. Ganymede Prime has its first colonists, and plans are underway for testing a terraforming device on Titan. Eventually, I plan to have facilities on every moon and dwarf planet in the outer solar system, all the way into the Kuiper Belt. But we’re still a long way off from that.

  NotACop: You’re enjoying this a little too much.

  DarkLord: Things are progressing far better than I had hoped. Of course I am enjoying it! By this time in the first time loop, I was leading a band of rag-tag survivors in a makeshift warband as we fought to take out the alien warlord ruling Atlanta. This? Even with idiots testing my patience every now and then, this is far better to what I remember.

  BagOTrix: Geez. You’re really planning that far out? How are you going to get the people for all those colonies?

  DarkLord: Well, when a man and a woman love each other very much, they share a ‘special hug’…

  FullServiceMassage: *snort*

  SevenNationArmy: Kinda walked into that one, Baggy.

  BagOTrix: Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up.

  RamblingWreck: *points and laughs*

  abby_gail: Going back to the situation on Earth, it looks like the Ceresan Empire has become an instant superpower.

  DoritoMan: Weren’t they already?

  abby_gail: No, before, they were like a nuclear-armed state, but with the caveat that they could hit people and no one could effectively hit them back. With so much of Central and South America under their control, the economic implications are huge. Their territorial waters basically mean that anyone who pisses them off has to go skimming Antarctic ice if they want to get from the Atlantic to the Pacific, or go the long way around, past Africa.

  daytrader: One need only look and see how Russia’s economy is faltering after only a few months of the Panama Canal being closed to them, in order to see how bad things could be. And the expanded territory means that they are even worse off.

  abby_gail: Exactly. Ceres now has the economic and military might to have substantial political sway, without even counting their off-world capabilities. The Empire can pretty much dictate terms to any country on Earth.

  DarkLord: Perhaps, but it is bad policy to go around abusing people just because you can. That kind of thing always ends up in rebellion. I should know, I led one of those rebellions in a previous timeline. When the Ceresan Empire strikes, it is always with purpose. My Empire will not simply destroy cities for the fun of it, or wreck economies for the laughs.

  jenny8675309: So, your actions in what used to be Israel and against Russia?

  DarkLord: As Tolkien wrote in the Lord of the Rings, “he that strikes the first blow, if he strikes it hard enough, may need to strike no more.” Those actions were examples to the world, in the hope that people would look at what happened to them, and then think long and hard about whether they wanted to risk having the same thing happen to them if they attacked the Empire. I would be quite content if I never had to make an example like that again.

  White_Queen: How merciful.

  DarkLord: Since Russia still exists? Yes, it is. And you’re still breathing, despite your actions in previous timelines, so I wouldn’t go questioning my merciful nature.

  THE_MERCHANT: On the bright side, I managed to tack on a permanent 10% ‘because I said so’ surcharge on all purchases Queenie and her Knight make in the System shop.

  Scholar: Wait, you can do that?

  THE_MERCHANT: Yes. Though only because of time-warping ‘fun’. There’s a lot of paperwork if I want to do it to anyone else.

  bento: Thank all the gods that paperwork is horrible, no matter where you go. That means you have to really fuck up for the System Shop to screw with you.

  BabaYaga has entered the chat.

  Scholar: That… is a somewhat ominous name.

  RainyDayze: Why? I mean, it doesn’t seem as bad as the guy a few months back who called himself DemonHunter.

  BackpageGal: DemonHunter quickly found out that religious zeal is no substitute for armor and weapons. The imps in the demon-themed dungeon in South Carolina quickly had him spit roasted and turning over the fire. According to observers, he was still alive when he went over the flames. Nasty way to go out, but at least he didn’t take anyone else down with him. No one else in the dungeon town was willing to go along with his brand of crazy.

  Scholar: In Russian folklore, Baba Yaga is a witch who lives in the woods, in a house that walks on chicken legs. Nothing good ever comes from angering Baba Yaga.

  BabaYaga: Well, it is nice to see that some people still remember old tales. And, before anyone asks, I am not the ‘original’. I found a cursed item in the woods, that changed my name and class.

  DarkLord: Ah, so you’re the one who took up the Mantle of Baba Yaga this time through? Are you in Russia?

  BabaYaga: Yes, and you are the reason I’m on this forum, DarkLord.

  Scholar: Back up. ‘Mantle of Baba Yaga’?

  White_Queen: A Mantle is the term for a singularly powerful ‘role’. The Mantle does not make someone unbeatable, but they are significantly more powerful in some way than other individuals of the same level.

  DarkLord: Mantles that were confirmed in previous timelines included the Black Knight, the Baba Yaga, the Hero, the Fool, and the Slayer. There are probably more, but global communication was spotty, given the alien invasion and all.

  THE_MERCHANT: So far, I have only been able to find reference to the Black Knight, the Slayer, and, just now, Baba Yaga.

  DarkLord: Where is the Slayer, if you can say?

  THE_MERCHANT: All I can say is that the last System Shop they entered was in Yulara.

  White_Queen: Australia? Figures. Plenty for the Slayer to cut their teeth on, there.

  DarkLord: But anyway, BabaYaga, you said you came to the forum to seek me out? What for?

  BabaYaga: If you check the ‘Compliance List’ website, you’ll find 100% Compliance.

  Skippy: Wait, you mean the website tracking how many of the Russian elites either got enslaved or got knocked up by a demon?

  Anonymous6: Last I checked, it was sitting at only 22.4% Compliance.

  Anonymous6: Wait, just checked, and it really is at 100%! Looks like it went from 22.4% to 100% in the course of an hour!

  Rabbit: How did you do that?

  BabaYaga: The Yagishna have grown many.

  DarkLord: Ah, the Daughters of Yaga. You recruited the wives and daughters of the people on the list, adopted them as your foster daughters, and coordinated with them to fill out the list?

  BabaYaga: Indeed. The patriarchy needs humbling, and so the Yagsihna will ensure that change comes to Russia, one way or the other.

  DarkLord: Excellent. I’ll have my people double-check everything, and once they have confirmation, the sanctions against Russian shipping will be withdrawn.

  BabaYaga: So quickly?

  DarkLord: The Mantle of Baba Yaga will not let one say a task is complete when it is not. But, as Emperor, I must at least be seen doing my due diligence.

  Scholar: Are all Mantles like that?

  White_Queen: No. The Mantle of Baba Yaga allows lies and deceptions, as a rule, but once a task is complete, the Mantle demands compliance. The Black Knight is focused solely on combat, sweeping up forces to strike down their enemies, and uncaring of anything else. The Slayer cares about nothing but seeking out the strongest monster they can find, and testing themselves against it. The Hero is honest to a fault, and seeks to lead and inspire the people against overwhelming odds. The Fool is incapable of speaking lies, except when he’s telling the truth, especially when he is telling the truth.

  DarkLord: BabaYaga, when the sanctions are withdrawn, I invite you to visit Ceres, with any of your Yagishna you wish to bring, under rules of hospitality. As one who once bore a Mantle, I have some insight on how it affects you.

  BabaYaga: I shall consider it.

  Chapter 251 – Rewards and Stories

  “Oh, MASTER!” Talia moaned as I bottomed out in her pussy, fucking her from behind. We were having a bit of a reward party for her and some of the other girls. They had made it to Level 25 in Tier 2, which was an impressive milestone, since they didn’t have access to most of the dungeons or high-level monsters that could help boost them. Of course, that was also why they were all still alive, instead of getting turned into pas
te along the way, as usually happened to those who overestimated their current abilities, so I was doubly proud of them.

  Naturally, the way a demon of the Incubus line shows appreciation to the women under his collar is by giving them a series of orgasms so intense that their minds switch off temporarily. As one might expect, Talia and the others were more than happy to receive such congratulations. Well, aside from Ashala, the High Knelfi Spellshot Assassin, who preferred Hibari’s touch to mine, but she still arched her back for her Master like a good girl.

  The girls had come together, and decided on the perfect gift they wanted for this milestone. They were the only ones out of my personal harem of pets who had not gotten pregnant, yet, and they wanted me to change that. However, they also wanted me to breed them all, together, so that their pregnancies would be synched, and they could take less time off from training and improving their skills.

  Ashala, Shalaevar, Rachel, and Hibari were all collapsed on the bed, unable to move after getting thoroughly fucked as only a Tier 3 Greater Apocalypse Incubus could do. All four of them already hit with [Progenitor], ensuring that they would get pregnant, and [Boosted Seed] and [Fruitful Kingdom] making certain that their children would be powerful. Talia, my first pet in this timeline, had the honor of going last, as I took her from behind, just like the first time I enjoyed her. She had tried to fight, to resist, that first time, of course, before the System came online, but now she arched back into my thrusts, moaning happily as I filled her with my seed.

  Talia collapsed face-first onto the bed, body sated and mind fuzzy with post-coital bliss. Ashala was starting to move, now, and she looked up at me with heat in her eyes. “Thank you, Master. You buying us was the best thing that could have happened after we were enslaved.”

  That much was true. Talia, Hibari, and Rachel had been mine since the beginning. The first two I had put the [Slave Brand] on personally, and Rachel had become mine once I killed her worthless boyfriend turned Master. Ashala and Shalaevar, however, had been enslaved in the wider galaxy, along with Harahel, the Greater Angel I’d picked up at the same slave emporium. Harahel had been betrayed by a party member who had turned away from some holy mission, but had not yet become a Greater Fallen Angel, and had been sold through a couple masters before she had ended up at Ivaran’s Exotic Emporium, but I had never gotten the story of how the other two ended up there. Either way, finding oneself the property of a ruler who wasn’t the type to routinely ‘break’ their toys was pretty much the best-case scenario for anyone who was enslaved, sometimes even better than being free.

  Looking over at the two knelfi girls, I decided I might as well find out the truth. “Speaking of which, how did you two end up in that slave market, anyways? I assume there must be a story, there, as Ivaran wouldn’t carry simply ‘normal’ stock.”

  Shalaevar blushed slightly. “Well, that was definitely not what I had planned, when I set off to start my career as an adventurer. I had actually managed to work with different teams of adventurers, working my way up through the Guild as a healer, primarily. I’d gotten up into the 40s of Tier 1 when I, well, I screwed up.”

  I nodded slowly. “Trusted the wrong person? Or didn’t read a contract carefully enough?”

  “Both, actually. My team at the time needed some extra coin to get the gear we needed to take on a dungeon that would have pushed us into Tier 2. Gear at that level is expensive, even if you supply your own materials. There is no such thing as ‘generic’ gear for Tier 2s, after all. So, we took out a loan.”

  The Dark Forest Healer sighed. “We were so sure of ourselves, we didn’t bother with reading the fine print. Should have known better. We went into the dungeon, all sure of ourselves. Unfortunately, the drops were bad. Most of what we were able to pick up were just materials. Useful, and they would sell, but they wouldn’t cover our debts. Then, we found a treasure chest, with a sword. [Felkar’s Blade of Cursed Decapitation]. Very rare weapon, very valuable.

  “Unfortunately, that was when cracks in our party started. Or maybe they were always there, and I was too naïve to notice them. But Tolith, our warrior, wanted the sword. Thought it would be a good upgrade to his current kit. Didn’t care that it was the only thing that could keep us from getting sold off to the merchant who gave us the loan.

  “He fought us. Five on one. Even if he was our tank, there was no winning that. But he still took out four before he died, and the cursed blade made resurrection magic impossible. Gathering the belongings of our friends before the dungeon claimed them helped, but we could not access their inventories, only the equipment they were wearing, what was in their bags, and what the System awarded as ‘drops’.”

  She shook her head. “It wasn’t enough to cover what we owed. Almost, but not quite. When we got back to town, Aymer, our Mind Sorcerer, and the only member of the party left, said he would try and have a ‘chat’ with the merchant, see if they couldn’t work a deal. Told me to rest in our rented room. I was tired from using so much mana, so I didn’t even stop to think about it.

  “When I woke up, I was naked, in chains, the [Slave Brand] on my body. Turned out the merchant was also a Slave Master, and Aymer had worked a deal after all. Only, he added me to the goods he sold to the merchant, which cleared enough of the debt to save his own hide. From there, I was trained in the [Carnal Arts] skill, and the [Beastly Carnal Arts], so that I could ‘perform’ while using my abilities to turn into different animal forms, after which, my first Master sold me to Ivaran, who bought me for just over one hundred thousand gold pieces.”

  I had to laugh at that. “Sounds like the govlin cheated your old master pretty heavily, or he did a good deal of work on you, between when he bought you and selling you to me. The System had your value at just under three hundred thousand.”

  “Hah!” Shalaevar laughed. “Good, the slimy little Knelfi bastard not only had his way with me, but made me ‘service’ his guard dog, in both human and beast forms. Got off on watching girls with animals more than he did actually fucking them himself. I hope he lost everything, and ended up a slave, himself.”

  “And what about this Aymer?”

  Shalaevar shook her head. “I don’t care about him, anymore. Once, I would have begged for the chance to kill him if I found him. Now? I can’t blame him too much, for doing what he had to in order to survive, and my life has improved considerably since becoming your property, Master.”

  Ahshala smiled sadly. “Honestly, that is better, and worse, than my story. There weren’t any problems with my party of adventurers, or anything like that. But my family were minor nobles, so some loyalty was always pretty much ensured. Unfortunately, my family ran afoul of political intrigue, which caused problems for the whole family.”

  “What kind of problems?”

  The Spellshot Assassin chuckled darkly. “Not anything that matters anymore, Master. The normal political games between noble families. There were words said at a party, and things went beyond normal ‘decorum’. Suffice to say, there was a great deal of fallout from the whole affair, and my parents were forced to sell me in order to secure the family holdings. They did manage to save my older brother, their heir, and my little sisters, so it wasn’t the worst case scenario.

  “As for the other family involved? That would be the House Orileth. Old house, very wealthy. Very conservative. Very much convinced of their own moral superiority. All of them pains in the asses, on a good day.”

  I frowned at that. “Orileth? I believe they made a nuisance of themselves at the party I attended on Quel’thalas. The daughter of the house was rude, or something like that, which led to the duel, and my rising in tier.”

  Ahshala smiled at him. “Yes, hearing about that on the news was the best thing I’d heard all week, up until I found out who was buying me. Actually, Master, the Orileth girl you won for Princess Lilith was the one who sparked the ‘issues’ between my house and hers, so seeing her on the ship on our way back, with the humiliation of the [Slave Brand] being put on her forehead? Even if I wasn’t your property, I would have gladly carried your child for that alone!”

  I had to smile at that. I was an evil Demon Lord, sure, but keeping my people happy and loyal was important. Too many people in power never thought about that, and that’s how you ended up having revolts, civil wars, and revolutions. Which is why I worked to keep my pets happy. Finding out I did something to earn loyalty without ever knowing about it? Nice bonus.