The stark raving mad woman’s kisses at his neck warmed his cold, dead skin to his core. Another moment and she would be past his belt and then, there would be no barriers left between them. His pants would drop off and, by long, she would have his way with him- not that he minded, not in his current state.

“No, Lady Neda- I would not!” Bartholomew’s voice cut through the haze clouding Asrael’s mind. The door swung open and slammed into the wall to reveal a puzzled, disbelieving, finely clad Neda. She seemed about as confused as Asrael was at what was going on atop the bed, when in truth; she was pained by the sight. It stung her chest, but for the life of her, she could not understand why- no more than she could understand why she could not remove her eyes from the scene. Lita looked over towards the door to grin at the wildling and in the brief moment of clarity; Asrael pushed her aside and leapt from the bed.

Neda had never seen him so flustered- so... scared. He quickly began buttoning his shirt back up, only to feel something soft thud against the back of his head. A loud, piercing shriek followed the thud; “You asshole!” As confused as he was at what had come over him, he was far more confused as to why his savior would pelt him with what was likely the most lethal plant known to man- and for that matter; how she had gotten a hold of it. Before he could turn to look at his simple companion, she had already bolted off back down the stairs, leaving him alone with the naked-… He paused. She was not, in fact, naked. He blinked several times and racked his memories- he was certain she had been. He had felt her breasts and her genitals, touched her round, soft posterior, but there she was- seated on the bed- grinning up at him, fully clad and covered in the white hood.

Before she could wrestle him back under her spell, Asrael turned to follow after the simpleton- down the stairs and away from the terrifying woman. Bartholomew stood in the middle of the tavern- gritting his teeth awkwardly while staring at the scene of the fleeing necromancer as he bolted off into the kitchen and disappeared into the basement- leaving the wayward Sargerrei in the company of the tavernkeeper. Asrael slammed the cellar trap door shut in his wake and leapt down the stairs, where he grabbed the knife, only to realize... he hadn’t the faintest idea what to do with it. This enemy- this creature that could rape his mind and take control of his body was, after all, controlling his body. He could not sprint back up and slice her throat, if he tried; he would only miss due to the nature of her gift.

She had used his male urges against him- his testosterone. He was sure of it- there could be no other explanation. A mind such as his could easily suppress the desires of the flesh- he had done so for twenty or so years without fault. But this white-haired harlot- this seducer and manipulator had undone his defenses with naught but a glance... what was this insanity she was spouting? He shook his head. Above all else he needed to protect himself from suffering such a fate again. He unbuckled his pants and sat down on his knees to grab his scrotum and set the knife just above his testicles, where the cool metal rested against his skin.

“What the-” A teary-eyed wildling spoke from the distant corner of the cellar as she saw his plan. He reared his head as he realized his mistake and turned around to reestablish his grip. “Goodness, woman! Does your perversion know no end!? Voyeurism!?” He shouted over his shoulder- hoping his infuriation would give him the determination needed to castrate himself... no... looking at her only made him dreadfully thankful she had arrived when she had. A moment longer and-…

“You. Come here- I need you to cut my testicles off. Quickly!” Her mouth fell agape upon hearing his request.

“W-what!?” It was odd. A moment ago, she felt as if she would want nothing more than to do exactly that... but now that he was offering her, all she could feel was the genuine confusion of why. As for confusion, she was still confused as to why she had felt so distraught- so panicked at the sight of him with that white-haired whore. They were not romantically entangled- she was not his Pa'namph, nor could she say she was particularly interested in being his. Why, then?

He furrowed his brow and demanded; “Damnit, girl! Quick! Before she comes down- I need you to rid me of this plague- this hold she has on me!” Again... she dropped her jaw. She’d have thought him pathetic, had it not been for him insisting she’d come over there and likely do the most painful act known to man... was this his form of repentance? Was this his way of saying he understood her emotions and that he was sorry for it? She had heard of men doing insane, dumb things over love, but this... even she saw the insanity in this. She wiped away her tears and shook her head.

“You don’t have to do that, Asrael... I’m sorry. I don’t know why I reacted that way, it’s just-… I used to get like this whenever Rallo made a new friend or-… I think... I think I’m just scared you’ll find some new magus, y’know?” This time; he dropped his jaw in shock. Could the girl not look past her nose and focus on the real issue at hand? Deciding that, at that moment, a softer touch was needed- especially if she was to mutilate him.

“I insist you come over here and castrate me- you never know when a seductress comes to take me away! Oh, I could feel her push herself between us-” Neda raised her flat palm and shook her head dismissively. “But you still didn’t... and now; you’re willing to cut your nuts off for me. M-maybe... maybe it’d do some good if we spent some time apart, y’know? I don’t think this is good for either of us- what's that word... we’re too... dependent on each other?”

“Goodness gracious girl, I am depending on you for one thing and one thing only- come and castrate me this instant!” She wiped her tears away and forced her lips into a smile.

She nearly choked on the words; “I-I... I’m not your Pa'namph and I never will be, y’know. So, it’s stupid of me to act this way, so I think maybe I’ll take Gerathar up on that offer, at least until I can calm down.” He was left stumped as she smiled at him and waved at him like some bumbling idiot, only to depart from the cellar with a light step and several sniffles more. What followed were roars and screams of protest that could be heard across the entire cities- shouted and screamed from the lungs of nine undead- all displeased with the state of Asrael’s intact testicles.