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Meanwhile, Alaris trudges west across the city, lugging their heavy load back to the temple of Vida. Wherever they can find shelter, beggars huddle in clusters along the edges of the streets, and the sky looks like it might soon snow. It's not long before the paladin arrives at the temple, and Anatoly looks up with a smile to greet them.

"Alaris, mój książe! Back so soon? You look tired. Hard work?"

Alaris lays down the heavy leather sack of silver gear by the quartermaster's desk. "Yes," they sigh, taking a moment to stretch and flex the ache out of their shoulder, then rubs their neck where the fleder drew blood and life from them. "Yes, harder than you might imagine."

They go on to recount the story of hunting through the sewers, the fight in the catacombs... the baby fleder... the mezzoloth bursting from the corpse of the giant fleder...  the viscous and hairy pouches on the walls... the battle in the sanctuary... "I had to pop wings." Alaris pauses, breathing heavily after demonstrating a couple of their finishing moves. Then they continue, somewhat more somberly. "Someone with access to both the Lower Planes and transfiguring arcane power developed a way to make infants into baby fleder and set that daemon to oversee the operation." 

The sack hits the counter with a resounding clank, and Anatoly goes about unpacking the equipment, sorting it as Alaris talks.

"You sound very sure of that," he observes, polishing the silver a little as he listens. "It sounds almost unbelievable. Is there no other explanation?"

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"We've got everything we need right here!" Ling replies, cutting straight across the room to the table with the wine. She opens the bottle and pours a glass for everyone, even Astrid, but the biggest for herself. Lifting her wine, she cheers: "To living another day! Unlike those bat bastards!" Without pausing, she drinks half the glass, staining her lips a dark wine red. 

Picking up a glass, Shiva raises it triumphantly with Ling "To living another day!" , before downing the entire glass and going in to pour herself another.

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The sack hits the counter with a resounding clank, and Anatoly goes about unpacking the equipment the sorting it as Alaris talks.

"You sound very sure of that," he observes, polishing the silver a little as he listens. "It sounds almost unbelievable. Is there no other explanation?"

"You know I'm not much for the imagining, Tolik... Not very good at thinking around corners. That's what the thinker among my companions says, though. Should I warn the commander that we've seen a daemon operating in the city? What do you think?"

Anatoly rocks his head left and right as though literally weighing the prospect.

"Bronislaw is a practical man. He will want to know, but he also won't want the whole temple to know until there's something to be done about it."

The Ruslan weapon master shrugs as he goes about stowing the returned gear.

"If you tell him in good faith, he will remember it. Just don't forget that few who enter that office leave it without a new task to complete." Anatoly adds with a smirk.

Ling sits down on the edge of the red sofa, sipping her wine and slowly pulling off her boot. The tiredness after the fight has settled in and her toes feel close to frozen. She takes moment to look around the room, having rarely been around such luxury. Elegant furniture, soft cushions, gilded decor. Everything looked very clean, very well-kept and very expensive. Lying back with a sigh of comfort, she holds out her glass to Shiva for a refill. Hooking her toe into the top of her other boot, she slowly pushes it off, wriggling until until it comes loose. It ends up flying a short distance across the room, eliciting a laugh from her. Between the heat of the fire and the wine, she is beginning to feel warm and alive again.

When her glass is refilled, she takes another sip and starts walking around the room in her stockings, picking up a few things here and there, inspecting them. Perhaps debating whether it would be worth the risk to steal one or two. Would they miss them? She stands at the window for a moment, watching the street below in uncharacteristic silence. Then, suddenly, an idea seems to seize her and she finishes her second glass of wine, leaving it on the table by the bottle.  Ling crosses the room and pushes open the big door leading to the next room. Disappearing from view, she lets out a squeal of delight and flings herself onto the huge four-poster bed in the adjacent bedroom. "You have to come see this, this is the softest thing, it's like a cloud!" It sounds like she is rolling around in the sheets, fluffing pillows on her thrown of softness. "And bring that bottle!"

    "Uh... something other than wine. Maybe something dwarven brewed" Astrid asks with some hesitation before Alicja steps out the door. "Wine isn't my preference."

    She still takes the offered wine that Ling pours for her. "I have you to thank for living another day," she says to the group staring into her glass of wine. "Like it or not, you will have me hanging around more, helping as I can." She raises her glass and takes a sip. She chokes down the wine with a sour face. "I think I will be waiting on that ale." The dwarf takes a seat, sinking into the plush chair, and sets the glass aside. She lets out a deep sign, finally allowing herself to relax some after the events at the church.

Pouring Ling another glass, Shiva begins to get comfortable herself, removing her own boots along with the spiked bracers wrapped around her forearms. 

"And we have you to thank as well, Astrid. We wouldn't have had the strength to make it out of there without your blessing. I'm glad that you're deciding to stick around, hopefully our special brand of insanity will grow on you." Smiling, Shiva walks over and places a hand on Astrid's shoulder. "And if you don't have a taste for it, I'll take that off your hands." Shiva quickly grabs up the glass and guzzles it in a matter of seconds.

Thinking of something funny, she twirls around "Hey Li-" stopping mid sentence, she notices the introspective look on Ling's face as she stares out of the window, before seeming to come back to herself and bounding into the next room. Before following,  Shiva pours a half glass of wine, then leans out into the hallway "Pardon, could  we get another bottle of wine, please?

Following Ling into the room, she sits on the large bed and holds the glass out to her "Here hun, they should be bringing us another bottle. Thought we should leave a bit for the others. Whew, I'm starting to feel this."  Falling into the soft sheets beside Ling, she closes her eyes and allows the warmth to wash over her.

Caio is silent as he follows his friends into their luxurious lodgings, handing over his own massive sword and longbow without a word. His jet eyes do linger on Alicia for a long moment as they climb the stairs, but his face remains stoic until the group is alone. “To living another day.” He echoes the toast and drinks the majority of his own glass as well.

He nods to Shiva’s response to Astrid. “You are quite capable, and a welcome addition.” He grins over to Ling sprawled on the bed. “It would seem the Trio Infernale are now matched in number by a Divine Trifecta.”

Overhearing, Ling yells: "You're not even that bad for a short person! Leave all the wine to me, we may even become friends!"  She turns over and quickly drinks the wine that Shiva brought. "One glass? I wanted a bottle. come ooon. There's still seven out there, that's plenty. Astrid doesn't even want any." She giggles, then gets a devious look. "Already feeling it, my little lightweight? So then..." she trails a finger down Shiva's arm, until she reaches the bracelet. "You're still wearing her bracelet. Are you going to see her again?"

Shiva chuckles at Ling's exclamations, then regards her bracelet, "I hope I do, I get the sense that she prefers long-term arrangements. Which I would be comfortable with, given that my freedom isn't restricted. Though..." She stares up at the ceiling for a moment as she thinks "....I don't think it's a coincidence to meet an influential vampire the day before we're sent to kill vampire science projects gone wrong. Hopefully she may know who's responsible, worst case senario..." Her voice trailing off, she quickly sits up and sighs loudly, "I still don't understand how you're able to drink so much. Anyway, be right back." Smiling to herself, she pops up and heads into the next room to select one of the bottles that she had previously missed.

With all the strange events of the day, Nikolai takes a glass of wine from and sits near the fire, sipping his wine and thinking back to the strange events in the church... the things they discovered and the odd sack sitting in his backpack. While he absently sips the glass of wine, his eyes stare off looking very disinterested while his mouth twists now and again, almost as if twitching with his thoughts as he bares his fang-like canines now and again... After several moments he laughs and chuckles before taking a seat upon the floor, crossed legged before removing his Tarock deck and shuffles the deck. He sets it aside and lights some incense, takes a large drink of wine, wipes his lips clean, and as he begins his ritual of speaking to his patron, seeking its wisdom...

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Anatoly rocks his head left and right as though literally weighing the prospect.

"Bronislaw is a practical man. He will want to know, but he also won't want the whole temple to know until there's something to be done about it."

The Ruslan weapon master shrugs as he goes about stowing the returned gear.

"If you tell him in good faith, he will remember it. Just don't forget that few who enter that office leave it without a new task to complete." Anatoly adds with a smirk.

"That's what I have heard. I've only met him briefly, so this will be a first for me. Wish me luck - and take your last dance with Hope's Edge -- I will be back for her on my way out!"

Alaris heads upstairs, stopping along the way to ask a page or docent for directions to Commander Bronislaw's offices.

Comfortable, hm? Ling grins. When Shiva leaves, she says, to no one in particular: "It's my devil-given ability! Or curse, if you want!" Even after three glasses, Ling still only feels mildly buzzed - much less than she would like. She lies back, staring up at the canopy of the bed. I need to talk to Nik about these visions and voices... Tomorrow. Tomorrow will do. Stretching out her arms, she enjoy the feeling of relative safety and most of all, luxury. If only I could take this bed with me.

NIkolai shuffles his tarock deck and conducts his ritual, listening for the subtle whispers of his patron that guide the cards. He lays three out in front of him, face down. Then, one by one, he flips them over.

The moon, inverted, the empress and the magician.

Meanwhile, a quiet knock is heard from the door, and scantily-clad brunette half-elf slips inside and sets a jug of ale on the table in the middle of the living area.

"Your baths will be ready soon, can I get you anything else?" She asks, peering around the corner of the open door to where Ling is lounging on the bed.

Commander Bronislaw's office is easy to find, and sits at the rear of the temple quad, overlooking the courtyard on the first floor. The door creaks a little when Alaris knocks and a strong voice calls out "come!"

Inside, an imposingly built man in his late 40s sits behind a desk, working his way through a pile of parchment.

"Forien," he notes, recognising Alaris. "I'd heard that you and your little team of vagabonds were in town. What can I do for you?"

Alaris swallows a bit nervously and pushes into the office where the grizzled veteran officer sits. Taking a deep breath, they begin their report -- speaking in a clear firm voice with a steady pacing.

"Good afternoon, Commander. I have developments to report concerning the east end of Petrowsky district - in the old temple to The Warrior. We heard rumors of a bloodsucking fleder infestation, and since we had just dealt with the wererats, we went ahead and investigated. Entered through the catacombs and dispatched three or four of them before we were swarmed by several small, juvenile-appearing fleder and a massive fleder, maybe twice the size of normal. When we defeated the big one, a mezzoloth class daemon burst forth from its corpse. I drove it off with the help of The Lady. We searched the catacombs and found some viscous and hairy pouches on the walls that might have served as some sort of incubation system. We pressed forward, making our way up and into the sanctuary, where half a dozen more fleder awaited us. My team fought valiantly and slew them, along with another of the larger fleder. When it fell, its hide began to twist and undulate and then a thick tarry smoke burst forth from it and fled. One of my team hit it with a magical burst, but did not destroy it."

The paladin takes another deep breath and nods, to signify that that was the end of their report. They wait, standing at ease with hands clasped behind them while the commander processes the report.

When she hears the knock, Ling jumps up and leans on the door frame, watching the half-elf. Walking back into the room with the others, she sits on the table with the wine and folds up her legs, grabbing her glass from Shiva as she passes. As she pours herself her fourth glass of red wine, she asks the servant, without looking up: "How about someone?"

Smiling to herself, she takes a sip and asks Nikolai: "What do your cards say? I think they say: It will be a great night under the moonlight, the empress, which is obviously me," she looks around for approval, but seems to get none, "and the magician, which is you, will have a great time!" She gaves him a wide grin and then indicates Shiva with a nod of her head: "Shivala is having a good time already."

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"And we have you to thank as well, Astrid. We wouldn't have had the strength to make it out of there without your blessing. I'm glad that you're deciding to stick around, hopefully our special brand of insanity will grow on you." Smiling, Shiva walks over and places a hand on Astrid's shoulder. "And if you don't have a taste for it, I'll take that off your hands." Shiva quickly grabs up the glass and guzzles it in a matter of seconds.

     Astrid chuckles lightly. "Yes. I'm sure that is still going to take some getting used to," she says - mostly herself - as Shivala steps away to deliver more wine to Ling. While the others are unwinding in their own way, the dwarf removes a small pouch from her robe and pulls out a few small tools. She removes the watch from around her neck and begins to tinker - making various adjustments to the inner workings. While continuing to work on the device and without addressing anyone particular, she asks, "Where did Alaris have to go to return all those weapons? You all must have some good friends around here that can supply that little arsenal."

    When the elf enters with the pitcher of ale, Astrid sets her tinkering down and eagerly jumps up to retrieve a drink for herself. She pours a mug and downs half its contents. "Ahh. Much thanks," she says to the servant. The dwarf's nose wrinkle in confusing at Ling's request, then she looks back at the elf, finally noticing the lack of clothing. "Oh... Uh... Right. Nothing needed," she says blushing realizing what kind of establishment they have stepped into. "And nothing... uh, extra needed with the bath please," she adds, not meeting the elf's eyes.

Nikolai screws up his mouth as he examines his cards... inverted Moon, Empress, Magician... He frowns... 'What are you trying to tell me?' He thinks back to the specifics of his question in regards to the reading... The Empress suggests letting patience take precedence and allowing things to develop on their own and hints at nuturing... while the inverted Moon suggests deception and letting go of fears... while the Magician suggests clarity, confidence, and suggests an idea will come to him, but he must be prepared to see what the Magician highlights. His thoughts cannot let go of the sack and the Empress... What is in there? Should he let the sack grow and birth? That..---

He rocks back slightly as Ling's face suddenly appears in his vision. "Ah! Ling... I... well, this is a complicated reading. I think patience is needed for this conundrum. For now I think...." his voice trails off slightly as he spots the attractive half-elf. "My dear," he says as he stands. "Is your company in the bath available to us? I could enjoy a night with one such as yourself. Perhaps something stronger than the wine to share between us?" He flashes his sharp teeth as he licks his lips, tail twitching behind him flashily.

Ling laughs about Astrid so hard that she nearly spills her wine. "Why, no hot dwarven boy for you, hm? Have someone waiting back home?"

Having walked over to peer at Nikolai's cards, she rolls her eyes when he explains that it is complicated. After several years, she is very used to him doing things she doesn't understand, although she would never admit how much she would like to. When he asks about the half-elf, she turns back and glares daggers at the girl. Making sure to catch her eye, she almost imperceptibly shakes her head, whispering in her head: Tell him no, you're not available. Taking another drink from her glass, she inclines her head and holds the other girl's gaze, as if to dare her. Out loud, she says: "What drink do you have in mind, Nikolai? I could do with something stronger too."