The Booming Business(and Bust) of Vendra Loaggri
 
 
The dark smoke filled the sky over the city of Korvosa, as bodies burned. Quarantines were in place, plague running rampant, and the guard stretched thin. Not the best time to be a merchant most would think. Most people didn’t have the business sense of Vendra Loaggri. Sure, that incident with the offer of free imps was a bit of a poor gamble in the grand scheme of things, but Vendra had quickly moved on from that. This crisis, despite or perhaps because of its horrifying nature, was an opportunity. The people wanted a cure. Well...she would be happy to sell them one. Her tagline for the product was sound, and the effects and taste was reasonable enough for her purposes. “Lavenders Luxuriant Liniment- either you’ve got it, or you’ve had it”. The list of benefits was easy to lose track of, and the price… 2 gold was easily worth far less than a life. Over 50 people a day were flocking to her store, filling her pockets with over 100gold per day. Her employees however knew the truth. This ‘cure’ cost barely a fraction to make. Sugar, river water, and cheap perfume. Sure...she was peddling what could be considered snake oil, but as long as she could keep the coin flowing, her business was going to keep on chugging at full speed. As the shop closed up, the blinds closed and the con artist prepared herself for an evening in, she looked to her staff. Each stripped down before her while she inspected them. The 2 thugs were clean, but one of the girls showed signs of a distinctive red rash. One of the customers must have had the infection. Whipping out a wand, Vendra quickly said the words, watching as the rash faded. “You take care now. If any of you catch Blood veil, you come to me before the shift, or after. Not during. I would prefer to not do some sleight of hand unless I have to.”
 
 
Night rolled on. The moon still cast its light, but in the private back rooms of Lavender, vendra was making sure her calculations were correct. She was down to 47 charges on her wand, and going by the number of customers, that would still give her still plenty of time to make more than enough money to take her business from this plague riddled city and travel either magnimar, or charter a boat to taldor or riddleport. Not Cheliax, where the more hardened law would more than likely identify her business strategy as illegitimate and have her fined, imprisoned, or worse. As was usual for her, she was busy brewing the next day's batch of liniment. A couple of her thugs handled the main mixing, while she ensured the appropriate quality using her array of less popular perfumes to help give an authentic hue, scent, and flavour for an elixir. A sudden noise broke the quiet stillness of the night, forcing Vendra to turn away from her current task. Someone was trying to break in. Grabbing a knife, she gestured to her 2 guards to hide in the dark corners as their uninvited guest ripped away at the boards holding the door shut. Vendra dimmed the lantern and waited, her heart pounding in her chest. As the boards gave way, the light of lanterns cast long shadows as the four intruders entered the lab. They were a strange looking group to be breaking in. Kovosan Watch badges pinned to their clothes, one a dark skinned lady, clad in a sturdy breastplate adorned with the sigil of iomedae, longsword at her side, shield strapped on her back. Another followed behind, a woman holding a holy symbol, dressed in non-traditional garb, scimitar also brandished. The third figure was harder to see in the dark, but she could catch the points of a pair of ears, and the assorted small blades that adorned her frame. And following in the rear, a varisian woman, body adorned with tattoos that surged with energy. Why they were here didn’t matter to her, only that they couldn’t be allowed to figure out what she was doing. Her thugs gave her a look, and readied their saps. “Looks like miss vendra has been busy. I guess now we know what makes the snake oil.” The lady, who Vendra could now see was elven, joked with her companions. 1 laughed, their leader didn’t. She strode forward raising her lantern, narrowly missing Vendra hiding her body. “Dammit…” Vendra thought. “They are going to ruin everything. Unless…” Vendra noticed something in the dark of the lab. While she had been brewing Liniment for the last week or so, and the perfumes quite some time before that, she had a spare from a special commision she had been requested a few months back. A special perfume that when exposed to air, created fumes that would induce a form of unconsciousness. The commision had fallen through in the end, but she had managed to make enough for one dose. It was risky, but it would either work, or she would more than likely die, considering these people did not seem the type to take prisoners. Holding her breath and signalling for her guards to do the same, Vendra grabbed the flask and tossed it into the group of intruders.
 
 
The fight ended quickly. While the cleric and paladin were able to remain conscious, their backs exposed with their more powerful comrades failing to resist the toxic fumes. The swift surprise attack of the thugs that followed, and some careful strikes from herself left the pair battered and crumpled in a heap. Wasting no time, Vendra quickly signaled the thugs to reset the door, while she stripped the intruders. Her eyes shone as she took in the magical items they had. Enchanted blades, wands of healing magic, potions, scrolls, and even a few wondrous items. The coin purses also were fairly sizable, with platinum and gold easily worth a fortune. The only thing of negligible value was a single Harrow deck, which Vendra would find easy to pawn off. The issue that now remained was dealing with the intruders themselves. They might be unconscious for now, but eventually they would awaken, and the tattoo lady would more than likely cause issues if she did. A hungry growl that resounded from her stomach suddenly planted a way to kill two birds with one stone in her mind. Sizing up her meal, and taking the ankles of the tattooed one in both hands, Vendra slid the feet into her mouth. A wild and intoxicating flavour rushed against her tongue, flooding her senses with a state of ecstasy, as her jaw unhinged, and her hands pulled the tattooed lady in deeper. With weighty swallows, her neck bulged, as Vendra’s moans were muffled by the size of her meal, her stomach bulging out as more was fed into her gut though her gullet. When the last streaks of blonde hair disappeared inside the business woman’s maw, Vendra let out a near orgasmic sigh, followed swiftly by a sudden belch. Covering her mouth with her hand out of reflex, Vendra soon began to laugh to herself. “Oh Calistria’s thighs. Had I known this would be this good, I would have done it years ago.” Rubbing her bulge in a manner similar to a mother, she turned her gaze to the remaining 3, then her thugs. “Are we clear for now?” She asked, then smiled as they gave the affirmative. Gesturing to the remaining intruders as she pulled herself back into standing. “Bind them and bring them to my room, then finish mixing the batch. I think I can handle the rest.” The thugs nodded and obeyed, dragging the women from the room as Vendra picked up their gear. Not like their owners were going to need it where she was sending them. Her stomach grumbled in the affirmative.
 
 
The moonlight pierced the windows, illuminating the space partially, but giving way to the warm candlelight as Vendra stripped down to her undergarments before her bed, her captives bound and gagged, all equally naked, their individual curves on display for their soon to be consumer. Vendra smirked, walking past them as she sized them up with her gaze, her belly gurgling loudly around the sorceress. They were certainly possessing a certain beauty. The dark skin of the knightly one, the more olive skin of the more religious themed one, and the long lithe limbs and slender features of the elven one. It almost felt like a shame to eat them like this, but...even hiding them at her place would be too much, if the guard sent those armoured gray maidens to her door. And releasing them was definitely not an option, especially given what they knew. So bracing herself, she set to work. Vendra’s mouth widened as she drew in the dark skinned lady first. The lady's strongly defined muscles soon we're assailed and slathered by vendra' tongue. Pacing herself, she took strong careful swallows, savoring the woman's flavour as it rolled over her tongue. Clean, washed, and of a noble bearing, definitely some virtuous knightly type, though now the only service she would be providing would be as nourishment. When the legs finally disappeared from the outside world, Vedra sighed and grabbed the elf lady by her legs. The lithe limbs flowed so elegantly along her taste buds, though it was clear this elf had certainly enjoyed the company of others. The fragrant honey that flowed from her snatch came at the most delicate caress, adding to the elf’s own distinctive flavour. As she worked her way up the elf’s body, the silhouette of the elf’s rear viably stretched Vendra’s gullet, followed by the silhouette of her breasts, and finally the elf's face, as the silver locks were slurped up like spaghetti. The ever increasing bulge of Vendra's stomach was stretched near its limits, the organ loudly gurgling as it accepted the 2 new wenches adding to the sorceress within. The bloated business woman let out a belch, causing some of the nearby candles to flicker in the rush of air. Smacking her lips, Vendra’s gaze turned to the last member of the little troupe. The cleric’s gaze was fixed on the merchants bulging midriff. “I would ask if you had any final words, but I am not the sort to take those kinds of risks. Well my succulent morsel, I think it’s time you join your companions.” The cleric closed her eyes in acceptance, as Vendra’s maw descended upon her head, flooding the merchant's mouth with her taste. Dragging herself over her, vendra took weighty swallow after swallow. As the last of the cleric was sealed in her gastric tomb, along with her compatriots, Vendra let out a monsterous belch. Covering her lips and heaving herself onto the bed, Vendra sighed and let sleep take her, her remaining energy dedicated to the total digestion of her massive meal, the gurgles of her churning gut acting as a lullaby.
 
 
“Quite the valuable selection you have there, Miss Loaggri.” The small squat gnome noted, his hair near white with a mixture of age and a lack of sensations, back hunched as he looked over the enchanted sword with a Keen methodical eye. Vendra crossed her arms as she watched the gnome work, a little impatient at having needed to let the pawnbroker discern value. “How much are we talking here?” The gnome takes his eye off the sword to look at Vendra. The perfume seller certainly was blooming a lot since he last saw her. Her huge chest barely restrained within the tight confines of her bodice, her hips had a sizable curve to them now, and the combination would certainly be enough to bring a twinge of envy to even the most liberally gifted of Calistrians. “For you my dear, you might be looking at a total with all you have given me around 64,000 gold.” Vendra starred a little in shock. That much...who the heck had she eaten. Not that she could go ask them, given their current posting being on her hips, bust and ass. Regaining her composure, she focused on the gnome. “You absolutely sure?” “As sure as those tits are big, darling. Of course, we can handle the full sum in 1 big go, but...given the fact you're coming to me and all, I believe you should be patient for a while. I would say…8 instalments. That way your not making so big a splash you become the talk of the town.” Vendra nodded, the numbers still whirling in her head. 64,000 was more than enough to get a big business enterprise in magnimar going. Even in 8 instalments, she was going to need to be careful with each. While she could trust her staff to perform the con, she knew they could be lose with information, and given what rumblings she had heard from old korvosa...likely they would be less than pleasant in asking for their share. No. This needed to be handled carefully.
 
 
The emporium was attracting quite the crowd again, the few investments to expand the shop had certainly payed off. Annabelle and Jezelda both smiled up a storm, earning the eye of a few of the young lads in the crowd, but Vendra and her newly improved luxuriant lineament were the star of the show. Her low cut top exposed her bountifully expanded chest to her audience, while the recipe was largely unaltered save for a minor adjustment in ingredients. The newfound benefits of this elixir boasted not only that it would help ward off the scourge of blood veil, but it would also improve your health, ease aches and pains, and also improve your physical beauty. As part of the demonstration of this, she and her main girl would drink what appeared to be a stronger version of the lineament and let the crowd watch as their chests seemed to expand before their eyes. The actual effect brought on by a minorly magical tonic acquired for the purpose. It wouldn’t last long, but most people barely payed attention, drawn in to the illusion. This was certainly paying off. Business was booming. The thud of the crossbow shot that narrowly missed her head prompted a shriek from the crowd as a wretch of a person staggered into the shop, a crimson red rash covering his body, a hunting crossbow shaking in his weak hands. Vendra felt her heart pounding in her chest, even as she recovered quickly. “Sir, please don’t discharge your weapon in my shop. Were it not for your sorry condition, I would assume you did it on purpose. It’s lucky you missed.” The figure staggered into the shop, a shaky hand reaching for the dagger on his hip. “That stronger stuff. Give me some. Else I will be messing this place up really badly.” A knife holding diseased wretch. Vendra looked at the situation in a glance. Too many people between the guards and the man, and even as shaky as this thug was, he did nearly hit her. Plus calling the guards was hardly an option. They might look into it carefully. Only one option left. Vendra smiled with a hint of concern. “I see. Well unfortunately I used up the demonstration one, but if you follow me, I will give you some. I will even let you go out of the back.” The crowd gasped, her attendants looked concerned, but the man nodded. Opening a door that led to her basement stockroom, she led the man down. A crate with bottles of the new lineament in thick dark wine bottles as her ‘stronger’ version was sitting nearby. Pushing her way past her in a rush the man grabbed one of the larger bottles and started downing it with both hands. Moving silently, Vendra drew her wand and focused. The man finished drinking and looked at his affliction clearing, the rash fading from his skin. In joy he turned towards Vendra... Only to see her mouth engulf his vision. The man was not especially tasty, compared to her previous meals of this nature, but still gave her a rush. The feeling of her neck stretching to accommodate her larger meal, along with her stomach bloating out was starting to become addictive. Rubbing her stomach, she let out a wet belch, one she was able to muffle with her hand. Something came up. A pouch of part soaked in her stomach juices, it’s contents of a around 30gold still intact. Smiling a little, she gathered the man's gear into a small bag, it’s arcane Magic’s ensuring they would all be stowed for later sale, before adjusting the straps on her corset, her bloated stomach vanishing from view. The few instalments had enabled her to Acquire some nice magical gear. Striding back upstairs, her hidden morsel melting away slowly in her guts, she returned to the store front. Money had to still be made, and she needed every coin.
 
 
The moon hung over the city streets, as Vendra staggered towards her home In the evening. 4 instalments left, and with the rush of coin flowing from her business, she could afford to splurge a little on some good ale. They had enjoyed a men and ladies from the local brothel, most the normal way, though vendra had managed to acquire a tasty buxom lass for herself. She would have felt guilty, were she not already indulging her appetite more regularly. With the city growing more desperate, she had taken to allowing patrons who wanted to leave the city to use her personal secret passage. Of course, only she had the key, and she would only take people one at a time, or in small manageable groups. Of course, once they were out of sight and sound, into her maw and belly they would go. Were her corset not enchanted, she was certain her bust would have reached a size well beyond her best claims. Humming a little tune, a sudden elven whistle resounded from the dark. Lyrical, but there was something about it Vendra found unnerving. She turned towards it, seeing nothing, followed by her body suddenly tensing, a lithe set of fingers caressing her neck. “Hello, dear lady. you the one with the perfume shop, yes?” Vendra swallowed nervously as the voice, lyrical like bells but tinged with a crazed undercurrent that made her feel like a knife was at her throat. “Yes, I am Vendra Loaggri…” a giggle resounded from the lady, who with almost the motions of a dance spun her around. The elven ladies hair was blond, but it certainly wasn’t her most striking feature. The jester like garb would be appropriate for an entertainer, were it not adorned with the clear accoutrements of a skilled killer. Daggers adorned the bandoleer, a hand crossbow in her holster, but what made vendra concerned was the bulge adorning her middle. While it was smaller, there was no doubt this was not the sign of pregnancy, but more the unfortunate end of some poor sod in her guts. The elf smiled and pressed Vendra’s head against the bulge. “Just came from a little job see. Long stay, gobbling up some noble sods, middle of a big party, a real treat. Course the other part of it was getting this kid for them doctors. You know anything about them?” Vendra nodded, trying her best to not focus on the chorus of gurgles emanating from the lady's stomach. “The queens doctors. They work at the hospice under some royal doctor. Apparently the are working on a cure.” The elf patted her head like a puppy. “Yeah that’s what they told you anyway. Of course my dear rolth must have been ensorcelled by the bitch there, hence why he never picked me up, see?” Vendra wondered if she should pry deeply, but decided against it. She nodded. “Well, I can show you where it is but...I warn you. There is lots of gray maidens guarding the place. If they catch you…” the hand gripping her head tightened, pulling her up to eye level. “It's okay we are friends, yes?. You don’t think I haven’t got into places tougher than a hospital before? I could find it on my own if I need to...but i have you as a friend yes? And friends don’t eat other friends.” The last part seemed nonsensical, but vendra clearly understood the tone. It was underlaid with a threat. Vendra took a breath and showed her to the hospice, her focus on the goal. As the jester smiled and thanked her before moving into the shadows, vendra hoped that she got the last instalment in time. The sooner she left this place...the better.
 
 
“Sansa...how are the customers doing.” Vendra asked one of the female staff members during one of the few breaks they had. “Oh...well enough...just getting a little concerned with how their families are doing. The other girls were also getting anxious about when we might be heading out.” Vendra sighed. “We head out in another week. We go too soon and we will not have all the supplies for the journey. And as tempting as it might be to ‘relieve’ some of the less helpful girls of their positions., i will be needing your help with getting the business set up in Magnimar.” a mercurial smile came to her face. Magnimar. Now there was a city with some actual content. Actual nobility going back generations, and merchants from the distant lands of druma and taldor, and more importantly their coin. “Ah speaking of this, a lady who seemed quite the expecting type came to the shop looking for you while you were in the basement. She apparently wanted to talk to you about something but rather than stay she simply handed over some a big basin filled with platinum coins. Something about ‘helping do the pale princess’s work’ or something. Naturally you told me not to pry so I brought it over.” the girl brought out an elaborate box. Its decorations were certainly not the type to appeal to most folks. Lots of carvings of dancing skeletons and the latch was in the form of a beautiful lady...whose lower half cleaved away into a skeletal set of remains. A scythe held gracefully in her palm.” Vendra narrowed her eyes. “What did this lady look like again? Elven features? Anything like that?” Sansa shook her head “no. dark hair, Huge tits, dark robes but i know a human when i see one. Certainly was a little freaky. Said something about how I might be quite the delectable dish.” Vendra breathed a sigh before opening the box. Her relief was caught short by a couple of factors. “Sansa...did you take any of these coins before you came to me with this?” Sansa, turned away a bit, concerned. “Only about 20 plat each among the other girls and the bouncers of course. There still plenty left.” Vendra carefully reached under the coins, pulling a small slip of paper written in an unusual script, the contents of the letter was not what had her most concerned. It was the little scraps of fabric at the bottom. Little bits of coloured fabric in a familiar pattern. And the vision of the elf’s smiling face surfaced from the depths of her mind like a jigsaw shark from below the dock’s murky waters. “You...okay miss vendra?” Sansa's voice pulled her back to her senses. “Plans are being shifted slightly. We keep going as normal but you tell the staff to get supplies as soon as they can. If not enough to get us to magnimar, then at least enough to get to Kaer Maga. We can find a guide and work our way from there. Are we clear?” Vendra’s lyrical tone was nowhere to be found, her warm voice now replaced with the undercurrent of dread. Sansa nodded, just as concerned about what was to happen as her mistress. As she left, she couldn’t help but itch her arm, as her skin slowly shifted to a crimson hue beneath her dress.
 
Vendra struggled to load up the last of the belongings onto the cart. She gritted her teeth as she cursed Sansa’s sudden infection. The latest infection had proven to swiftly burn through the remaining charges of her wand, leaving her with just a single charge. Beneath her corset, Her stomach sloshed as the remnants of her staff and customers churned within. She felt a twinge of guilt for needing to do this, but as vendra rationalised, she needed to get them out somehow, and honestly it was for the best. Now their funds belonged to her, giving her plenty to work with in setting up that business in the city of monuments, and their nourishment would sustain her for most of the journey there. She was a little tense as she drove the wagon through the korvosa city gates, leaving the dying city to its almost inevitable fate,and towards the city of Kaer Maga. as despicable as that place was, she could use a guide to help pass through the deadly cinderlands. The majority of her journey passed without incident. The buxom shop keeper smiled and cupped her breasts. How many had fattened out her body over the few weeks. 200...maybe 400 people. Her train of thought was interrupted by a woman who gave her a smile. “Need help getting through the cinderlands?” Vendra was curious, but nodded. “Yes. I am needing to get to magnimar, you know the way?” The woman smiled and pulled back her hood. Golden blond with a radiant smile. Vendra recognised her, but said nothing. “Ah yes. I have some experience there. I know the best route there, right through Sandpoint, since it’s always a good spot to get something to eat and some rest.” The lyric tones were clear as still water. Vendra knew this woman. The infamous fugitive trinia sabor. The woman who had killed the king of korvosa. The woman who had quite the bounty on her head. Vendra’s mind raced, gears turning. She could easily drug her and turn around, dragging her back to korvosa for the queen's generous reward, but… no reward was worth her rushing into plague, especially with no backup plan in case there was an angry desperate mob waiting for her. Ruling that out still left her options however. And one was working through her mind. She would go as far as she could manage with Trinia as her guide, then...once the time was right...send the little fugitive to join the rest of her staff, as part of the one woman business of the great vendra loaggri. Hell she had heard some things about sandpoint, especially some of the women there. Surely some would volunteer themselves soon enough. Smiling as she listened to the blond former artist chatter, her belly gurgling beneath her corset, she measured up her meal to come. Indeed this was to be a new chapter for the Booming Business of Vendra Loaggri, and her Bust.