Dungeons and Dalliances

7.37 – Second Stake I

After collecting themselves, ensuring they hadn't left anything behind, and making sure they were clean and presentable, they exited the Arena. The gate in the back led them onto the city streets, and they needed to walk around the building and re-enter the Arena from the front.

Before throwing themselves into the fray a second time, Natalie approached a blonde girl sitting on a bench at the side of the reception area. She was leaning back and observing the other citygoers, perhaps waiting for someone. Their eyes met as Natalie finished crossing the room.

She made quick introductions, then got to the point. "Just had a quick question, if you don't mind. We're new here. Trying to get a feel for how things work."

"Sure?" The blonde girl—Annabelle—said, straightening up.

"How many tokens is it normal to have enchanted, after an Arena run? The receptionist," she gestured at the automaton, "was vague."

"Depends on how far you get, and the stake."

"I know that. I meant—can I ask you how many tokens you got, your last run?"

The blonde girl tilted her head. "Six. Then two. Then one. You get less with each series. Diminishing returns."

Natalie blinked. Six enchanted tokens for her first run? She and Vanetta had gotten nineteen. Had they done that much better? She didn't recognize this woman from Tenet, so she might be an independent delver or someone from a less-known academy. So it wasn't implausible she was—well, not as competent. Still, only one-third?

"Did you, ah, fulfill a stake? No need for the details, I'm not trying to be nosy. Like I said, just trying to get a feel for the system."

Annabelle's lips twitched. "Yeah, you two are definitely new. There's no need to tiptoe around it. But yes. I paid out a three-hearts stake."

Same as them. "What round did you get to?"

"Sixteenth."

"Sixteenth? Oh. Wow."

"The rounds aren't consistent in strength," Annabelle said, accurately guessing why she'd been surprised. "Some series get stronger faster. Some drag out. It's not that easy to benchmark the Token system. People have tried, but everything varies too much."

"Ah." That was useful information to have, if disappointing. It would make estimating how much time and effort would be needed when it came to purchasing something expensive. "I see. That's all we needed. Thanks for the help."

"No problem."

She and Vanetta stepped aside.

"Good to know, I guess. Wonder if that means the next series will be harder? So we could get even more enchantments? Though there'll be that fifty-percent debuff." And the third series, if they chose to pursue it, would be a seventy-five percent debuff. And so on.

"We can hope. You ready?"

Natalie nodded.

They headed in for their second Arena series. The sounds coming from the reception area faded as they entered the personalized pocket world. The arena hadn't changed from ten minutes ago: simple construction and plain dirt. Walking further in, the gates closed behind them and three short pillars holding stone tablets appeared.

The stakes.

Natalie admitted she was interested. What would it be this time?

Her heart jumped seeing the engraved minimalist drawings. The left-most one, she saw, had three hearts carved at the bottom. If the trend she'd noticed continued, that meant their easiest task was a three-hearts stake. And that'd been the hardest of their last set. Indeed, a glance showed that the second choice was four hearts, and the third five.

Swallowing, she inspected the first tablet.

Mutual Stroking. There was an image of two women, one stroking the other's cock, the other rubbing between her partner's legs. Befitting their particular arrangement. Both participants will bring each other to climax using their hands.

Unsurprisingly, the three-heart rated stake was roughly similar to the previous. Just, both actors needed to perform, rather than one using a toy on the other. Less lewd in some ways—more in others.

A sideways glance showed Vanetta's cheeks were red, and her eyes had already moved to the second tablet. They would read all three and discuss them afterward, then.

The second read: Oral. The image was of a woman with her face buried between the other's legs. One participant will bring the other to climax using her mouth.

Straightforward. Natalie's heart beat faster in her chest.

Finally, the five-heart task.

Missionary Sex. The two participants will engage in unprotected missionary sex. Climax must occur during penetration.

"That's, ah, blunt," Natalie said, equally amused and embarrassed. The picture associated with the last stake was the most explicit she'd seen yet. Reasonably.  

"Why'd they jump in rating so much?" Vanetta asked faintly. "The lowest is the highest of the last series."

"Maybe because we picked the hardest, last time?" She shrugged. "The point of the City is to work us into more and more—lewd things. So since we did that last time, it gave us the next tiers up."

"… Logical, I guess." Vanetta seemed to be struggling to keep her voice steady. "But these are too much."

"We don't have to do any of them," Natalie reminded her.

"That's a waste," she disagreed. "But," she bit her lip and met Natalie's eyes. "Well, what do you think?"

Emboldened by previous events, Natalie grinned. "I vote for the five-heart stake."

Vanetta's eyes widened, and, flustered, she faced away. "Don't be ridiculous. You just said if we pick the hardest, the dungeon will make that the new default. Besides, it's … too much."

"I guess I'll settle for getting my fingers inside you, then," Natalie said. "Or my tongue? Like I said, it's up to you. Or rather, I'm okay with anything."

Vanetta ignored her. Or at least the teasing tone of her voice. "I think another three-heart is acceptable. Besides, we can always retreat."

Natalie had heard that reasoning once before. The excuse wasn't nearly so convincing the second time around. She had to fight the smirk on her face.

"Three hearts it is," Natalie said. Then, she winced and rolled her shoulders. She'd temporarily forgotten she would be fighting to the death a second time. "Let's see how far we can get."

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