Chapter 2

The next day, Ariel worked on a quest offered by a mercenary company hired by the lord of Berg’s Keep. She didn’t think she actually wanted to join the company, but their recruiting quest provided excellent opportunities for sparring against higher-level opponents. At her level even making a good showing was enough to get significant experience. She expected to raise her skill at Small Blades to Beginner 2, but was surprised to also level up Clubs.

As supper time approached, her stomach turned to butterflies. What was she thinking? She had gotten completely carried away getting turned on by the idea of being filthy and nasty. Yes, it had been intense, but in the light of day, it seemed out of control.

As for Hulda’s challenge, she still didn’t know what Hulda meant by a public performance, but it almost had to be humiliating. Why was she paying for that? Why was she wasting good time on virtual wanking? If she wanted to have a character that wasn’t so much about combat, she could focus on politics. There were a lot of quests about helping various communities negotiate or about infiltration and spying.

Even so, as supper time drew near, she found herself outside the Pig. The crazy thing was that she didn’t want to let Hulda down. Hulda had offered her this quest even though Hulda didn’t enjoy being that open in front of an immortal. Hulda was trying hard to offer her something she wanted. Ariel would feel guilty if she walked away.

Ariel realized that her reasoning was entirely flawed. Hulda was an NPC AI in a game for fuck’s sake. In one sense, Hulda had emotions as deep and as powerful as any human. Hulda could get hurt. But time and perception were different for NPCs. Hulda might not even remember or think about Ariel ever again unless her circumstances required it. Obviously if Ariel interacted with Hulda or someone asked her about Ariel (or even the girl last night), then she would experience all her Ariel-related thoughts. The developers called it “state resolution,” on the game wiki. Although for all Ariel knew, the next time an immortal experienced Hulda in messy mode, her Ariel-related state would come crashing down into one big resolution of the girl who never showed up again. But ultimately, Hulda was an NPC; her purpose, her very existence was so that people could play this game. And sometimes that was grim and dark for the NPCs.

But this was all ridiculous on another level. Hulda was a whore. She had Ariel wrapped around her finger, paying more than twice her normal rate for a so-called special experience. What an amazing marketing coup she had pulled off to get Ariel to feel special when Hulda was just doing her job. Although last night, Ariel really had felt special, and that was what a good whore offered. With a chill, Ariel wondered whether Hulda had been faking her enjoyment last night. She hoped not: to have an experience that intimate be fake? that might be more than she could handle. Yet Hulda was a whore, and whores at least in the real world...

She had been standing outside the Pig long enough. She might as well go in. She could always decide not to go through with the night’s plan.

Once again, Ariel made her way through the stuck door into the raucous cheer of the Roasted Pig’s common room. This time of night, immortals outnumbered ephemeral NPCs more than two to one. Ariel couldn’t see space at any of the benches.

She spied a stool free at the bar and began making her way toward it. As she slowly made her way through the crowd, she saw Hulda serving drinks. Hulda caught her eye and began moving toward her.

“I’ll serve these an be back with ya right quick,” Hulda said as she scurried past. She cleared her tray and returned.

“Let’s have a quiet chat first up,” she said. She led Ariel to a nook near the hearth.

“How ya feeling?” Hulda wrapped Ariel into a hug. Ariel inhaled deeply, noticing Hulda’s spicy scent.

“I don’t know. I think I might have gotten kind of carried away last night.” She paused to consider. “It was hot as a fantasy, but to actually spend all this time getting off in such a dirty, humiliating way?...”

Hulda briefly hugged her tighter and patted her back. “Second thoughts’re natural after a sexy time like that.”

Hulda continued, “So it’d still turn ya on, but you’re not sure you want to?”

Ariel pondered. “Yes. I would be wasting time. Besides, if people knew, they would think I’m perverted and sex-crazed.”

“Why’s it wasting time if ya enjoy it?”

“I enjoy masturbation. I am not going to do that all day.”

Hulda laughed. “A might less enjoyable after ya rub yourself raw. But say you’d enjoy it all day. What’d be wrong with that?”

“O, come on! I want to gain skills and level, not spend all my pleasure time playing with myself.”

“I know ya don’t want to frig yourself all day. But stay with me a minute. I’m working up to somethin.

“Frigging yourself now and then’s good, right?”

“Yeah of course.” Ariel rubbed her thighs together. She still hadn’t gotten around to playing with her female character’s body. Even if she didn’t hire Hulda tonight, she needed to find some place private.

“Part of it is whether it’s going to take ya somewhere you want to go, long term?”

Ariel took a moment to think. “I guess that is a lot of it.”

“So, enjoying yourself and growing might be good. Are ya happier being bold enough to come up to a whore an say what ya want? Was last night worth it?”

“Yes! Absolutely.” Ariel was surprised at the strength of her agreement.

“I want ya to grow tonight too. Question is whether you want to be Ariel all proper or Ariel ever bolder, confident in her desires.”

“How do you see me growing tonight?”

“Ya talked about what other people thought about your getting dirty an nasty. I hope ya say fuck them. I want ya to be bold enough to get eaten out in front of the whole tavern.”

“You want me to—” Ariel was speechless.

“Ariel, why the fuck should it matter to anyone what ya find hot?”

“It does! It matters so much I rolled up Ariel just so I could explore my fantasies where it mattered less.”

“But do you want it to?”

“I—”

Hulda interrupted, “Wait! Ya built a whole new life to try your desires?”

“Yeah, I guess you’d think of a character as a new life.”

“I were given a new life to live my dreams, an I’d honor that. Turning aside from that’d be right sad.” Hulda’s gaze was intense. “Don’t ya want to be bold enough no one can stand in your way?”

“Like you?”

“Ya think I’m bold?”

“Fuck yeah! Who were you planning on having eat me out in front of the tavern?”

“Me.”

Ariel smiled at Hulda, face alight, eyes crinkled. She waited.

Hulda laughed. “Been a whore so long, hard to see that as bold.”

“It is! Ever since I saw you, I’ve wanted to be like that!” Ariel’s face fell. “You’re not going to laugh at me for letting go and being dirty and perverted?”

“Girl no! I’ll be proud of ya.”

“And if someone mocks me or calls me a slut or something?”

“They call ya a slut like they admire you an I’ll tell them how right they are. They call ya slut or dirty like it’s something bad ... you know what I do when some immortal disrespects me as a whore?”

“You an half the bar throw them out on their ass. I’ve seen it. Talk about playing with myself until I was raw. That was hot and bold.”

“They pull that shit with my client, someone I’m helping! Someone who ain’t even put themselves out there as a whore! You ain’t seen nothing on how mad I’d be.”

“Even for me?”

“Even? I ain’t putting together a night like this for just anyone. I think ya can take it and grow bold.”

“And what if I don’t want to? Let’s say I just want to be all nasty with you in private?”

“Then ya save a fair bit o’money,” Hulda said, “and you lose a chance to be bold and flaunt your desires.”

“But you’d still? ... Even though you wouldn’t get paid as much?”

“Ariel, it’s not about the money. I mean yeah, you’re paying for what ya take. But I’m a professional. I care about doing good, treating ya right.”

“Whores in this world are much different than the immortal home.”

“Most everything there sounds fucked up. Figures whoring’d be all confused too.”

Ariel relaxed as care-free laughter filled her body. “Not half wrong, I guess. It’s interesting to see our home viewed from the outside.

“So if I am doing this, how’s it working?” Ariel asked.

“We find ya a place at one of the center tables like. Open you wide up, an I eat ya good. Ya come hard as ya can.

“I spend the night getting nasty for ya.

“Ya spend the night frigging yourself thinking about what I’m a doing.

“About the time ya’s drifting off tired, I crawl into your bed an show ya every bit of a filthy whore.”

“Couldn’t we just drop the really embarrassing part in front of everyone at the beginning?”

“Yeah. Two things though. I have a special reward for a bold Ariel who faces down fear.”

“What?”

“Ya earn it, ya find out.”

“And the second point?”

Hulda shuffled and looked down. “I ain’t kidding when I say this is a might humiliating.

“I’ll give ya your money’s worth for sure. But ya put yourself out there too, an we’ll be partners like in this. My heart’ll be more in it.”

“Humiliating even for a whore?”

Now it was Hulda’s turn to laugh. “Girl, some time ya got to tell me what whoring’s like in your world.”

“If ya tell me what it is like here.” Ariel shivered in excitement thinking to learn all about being a whore—all about what it was like to be Hulda.

“Deal,” Hulda said.

Hulda looked around. “Spots opened on the bench there. Roast’s mighty good tonight. Want I should get ya some and a mug of your dark while you give it a think?”

Ariel grinned. “Yes, thank you!”

Ariel paid for the food. She wandered to the bench. Hulda made her way behind the bar.