Quote from stormchaser6 >>

 "Oh! Hello," the librarian greets Alaris, clearly caught off guard by both their presence and the request. "A scholar? Um, I can offer you a book on the region? Or would you prefer to make an appointment with Master Gul?"

"Umm...Hi... Hello... Greetings!" Alaris stammers as the young woman appears. The paladin is equally caught off guard by the cherubic librarian. "Your name is Alar - oh good grief..." the knight blushes and begins again. "MY name is Alaris... What's yours? I'd... I'd... I'd love a book on Paragon... But I probably need to talk to the Master as well, if they have an opening available within the next two days..."

Goddess in glory she thinks I'm an idiot Alaris cringes inwardly as they wait for the librarian to respond.

"Lena" Ling repeats, now looking at her. "Yes, I very much need that bath now." Getting up a little too quickly for her state, she leans on Lena for a moment, giggling as the room sways. "Huh. Now that will be fun in the bath. Would you pull me out if I drown, Nik? Don't take offense Lena, but you obviously wouldn't. Easier to steal from a dead patron, am I right?" Ling laughs about her own joke and leaves in the same direction that Shiva did, leaving Lena to scramble after her, despite the fact that she doesn't actually know where she's going.

Nikolai grins wickedly at the forked tongue and grabs the young tiefling around her ass, pulling her close enough to whisper to her. "I'd love to see what you can do, darling. Shall we retire to the bath for the rest of this? Get away from the audience?"

Caio’s eyes flit back and forth between the three couples with a look of mild annoyance. “Lena, is there perhaps a more private bath? I’ve no interest in... whatever these dynamics are.” He waves a hand around the room gesturing to everyone except Astrid. “I’ve a need for some peace and quiet.” His friends immediately recognize his tone and his need for solitude, as it’s not an uncommon mood for him. Based on past experience, they also know that to push him when in this state would likely cause the gloomy elf to snap back quite callously.

Shiva's companion holds eye contact with the tiefling, searching their inky-black depths as she takes the powerfully built girl by the hand and helps her into the bath. A wave of steam wafts up from the water as Shiva sinks into the tub, and through the mist she can see the copper-haired woman disrobing herself.

Back in the suite, Lena nods meekly to Caio.

"There's two bathrooms prepared for you. You could take the one opposite-" she begins to explain, before rising quickly to hurry after Ling. Grasping for the pale tiefling's hand, Lena guides her along the same corridor to the bathroom where Shiva has been taken.

Nikolai's companion nods with an enticing grin and takes Nikolai by the arm, leaning into his chest as they follow the exodus at a more sedate pace.

"Um, oh! I'm Hanna," the girl replies happily, seemingly unused to being asked her name. "I'm sure that somewhere here I have a book on Littlewood..."

She's about to turn to the bookshelves when Alaris mentions seeing the Master within two days.

"That's very short notice..." Hanna remarks, consulting a ledger on her desk. "I could maybe squeeze you in on Saturnsday? If you come early?"

Quote from stormchaser6 >>

Shiva's companion holds eye contact with the tiefling, searching their inky-black depths as she takes the powerfully built girl by the hand and helps her into the bath. A wave of steam wafts up from the water as Shiva sinks into the tub, and through the mist she can see the copper-haired woman disrobing herself.

 

Shiva winces slightly at the hot water, then lets out a deep sigh as she lowers herself into the bath. The warmth envelops her curves, relaxing her and making her feel even more inebriated. Leaning back in the tub, she watches keenly as the shapely woman undresses and extends a hand out towards her when she approaches the tub. "What's your name?"

Quote from stormchaser6 >>

 

"Um, oh! I'm Hanna," the girl replies happily, seemingly unused to being asked her name. "I'm sure that somewhere here I have a book on Littlewood..."

She's about to turn to the bookshelves when Alaris mentions seeing the Master within two days.

"That's very short notice..." Hanna remarks, consulting a ledger on her desk. "I could maybe squeeze you in on Friggsday? If you come early?"

"Thank you!" Alaris answers, a wide smile crossing their tanned features. "I can definitely be back that morning. I know this is terribly irregular, and I apologize, but my studious friend will have a lot of questions before we leave on our mission." The paladin gazes at Hanna's button nose and red hair and sighs a little as she jots in the ledger. She'll love Nikolai - he'll show off his big brain and ridiculous vocabulary and that'll put paid to it.

When Hanna looks back up, Alaris coughs a little and looks over her shoulder towards the bookshelves. Trying to recover, they muse, "So many books... it's like something out of a dream."

"Sonya," Shivala's companion replies as she settles into the water. Taking a sponge from an adjacent side table, the girl reaches for one of the tiefling's long blue legs.

"May I wash you?"

Hanna nods and takes a quill to dip in a nearby pot of ink, before scratching a note in the ledger.

"A mission?" She asks, her eyes alight with curiosity. "Where are you going?"

A moment later, the librarian's face falls as she realises what a silly question this is.

"Ah! Yes! Of course... Paragon..." she stutters, turning away and blushing in embarrassment. However, when Alaris marvels at the extensive collection of books Hanna lights back up with excitement.

"Let's find you one!" She declares, turning to the stacks and beckoning to the knight to follow. It's not long before the girl has fished a weighty leather-bound tomb from a high shelf, and she lays it on the table with a thump.

"MacNeill is a little dry, but he's very thorough," she tells Alaris, as though that explains everything.

       Having overheard Lena's answer to Caio, Astrid grabs her pitcher of ale and proceeds out the door. "I'll leave you two to your fun. I think I'm ready for my own sort of relaxation," she says to Nikolai. She quickly follows after Lena, allowing her to lead the way toward the baths. 

"Sonya.....so beautiful..." Shiva's tone is dreamy as her voice trails off. Shifting downward, she feels a flutter pass through her hips as she raises one muscular leg out of the water. 

"Please clean me." The words float gently off her tongue, her longing evident and unabashed.

As Lena leads Ling into the bathroom on the left, she points Astrid and Caio to the door on the opposite side of the corridor.

Meanwhile, Sonya begins to sponge down Shiva's right leg. Starting with the tiefling's toes and foot, she slowly works her way up, until the sponge just barely teases the top of the thigh... and then she starts again on the other side.

Shiva’s pulse quickens as the sponge reaches towards the top of her thigh, then exhales as Sonya lifts her other leg and begins sponging. When it is time to clean Shiva’s upper body, Sonya draws her in close and kisses her. Pulling away, she lifts her hand from the water and makes a spinning motion with her finger, and Shiva turns herself around as she giggles. Sonya then slowly cleans Shiva’s back, laying small kisses on her shoulders and the nape of her neck. Once she has finished, she wraps her arms around Shiva’s waist and whispers into her ear, “You’re all clean, baby. Would you like to go rest in one of our rooms?" 

“Yes, please.” Shiva whispers back. The two then leave the tub and, wrapped in towels, Sonya leads Shiva to a bedroom located several hallways further into the establishment.

Quote from stormchaser6 >>

Hanna nods and takes a quill to dip in a nearby pot of ink, before scratching a note in the ledger.

"A mission?" She asks, her eyes alight with curiosity. "Where are you going?"

A moment later, the librarian's face falls as she realises what a silly question this is.

"Ah! Yes! Of course... Paragon..." she stutters, turning away and blushing in embarrassment. However, when Alaris marvels at the extensive collection of books Hanna lights back up with excitement.

"Let's find you one!" She declares, turning to the stacks and beckoning to the knight to follow. It's not long before the girl has fished a weighty leather-bound tomb from a high shelf, and she lays it on the table with a thump.

"MacNeill is a little dry, but he's very thorough," she tells Alaris, as though that explains everything.

Alaris follows Hanna into the stacks, running a hand over the visible spines of the books, as well as the shelves -- enjoying and finding a sense of calm from the tactile engagement with the surroundings. The knight moves to help with the thick tome, but Hanna handles it without difficulty. Alaris moves a little closer, peering over the smaller librarian's shoulder at the book.

"My friend Nikolai likes dry and thorough - it's almost our Nikname for him..." they say with an inner groan.

Nikolai follows behind Ling, Lena, and the others down the hallway with his arm around the tiefling girl's shoulders. "So, tell me... how did you end up here? Are you well taken care of by the establishment?" He puts his arm around her shoulders and lets his hand slide slowly, sensually down the front of her chest to come to a rest just at the swell of her breasts just as his tail curls up the back of her thigh as they walk along to caress the spot where her thighs met her firm buttocks.

The duo watches Shiva and her escort come strolling out of the bathrooms with a very satisfied smile upon her face. "Well, it would seem that my good friend Shivala enjoyed herself quite a bit. I do hope you're up to the challenge, dear, I have had a trying day. I keep a lot of stress in my inner thighs, perhaps you could--" He suddenly stops short as they come into the room and he spots the half-elf, Jonathan, in one of the tubs chatting away with Ling. "What the **** are you doing here?" He snarls as he bares his sharp fangs, his tail rapidly uncoiling from around the escort's thigh and twitching irritably behind him.

The tiefling escort, quite skilled in dealing with folks, feels Nikolai's muscles tense and flex as he starts to take a step towards Jonathan's bathtub and she skillfully places herself between them. "How about that bath, now? I can finally show you what my tongue is good for, sir... Please, before the waters cool too much and you aren't able to relax?"

Nikolai huffs angrily, but allows himself to be guided into the bathtub, enjoying the steaming, hot water as he settles down into it and his pores immediately begin to open up and release the tension in his muscles. He pointedly ignores the other two as the escort gently begins to rub his temples and jaw to work some of the tension from his head first... Without opening his eyes, Nikolai says loudly enough for the others to hear. "Tell me, darling, what is your name? I have a petname that I like for my special tiefling women, perhaps you might enjoy it as well? It's 'Ling'. Helps you take back your heritage from those who would use it against you."

Allowing Lena to take her by the hand, Ling is led into the luxurious bathroom where Shiva has already claimed one of the tubs. Shrugging off her clothes and letting them fall to the floor where she stands, Ling steps into the steaming hot water. She rests her head on the edge of the tub and exhales. Without prompting, Lena begins washing her hair and massaging her scalp. It feels nice at first and in her inebriated state, Ling isn't thinking about much. The warm water releases all the tension and makes her feel slightly dizzy, in a good way.

The girl's fingers move over her scalp, massaging it and inevitably, she brushes over Ling's horns. Like a splash of cold water, Ling's opens her eyes and jerks upright, sloshing water over the edge of the tub. She turns around to snarl at the girl when she hears: "Now now, Ling, don't bite the poor girl's head off."When she looks over towards the source of the voice, Ling can see a familiar silhouette lounging in the steaming tub to her right. The gauzy curtain makes his face hard to make out, but telltale silver of Jonathan's hair gleams even in the dim candlelight. "Jonathan? What are you doing here?" she asks. "Enjoying a relaxing bath," he teases. "What does it look like?" Ling rolls her eyes and grins at him, even though he cannot see her face through the curtain. She lays back again: "It looks pretty nice from where I'm sitting. But why here? I'd say 'do you come here often?' but I think we already did the chatting up part. About that Francesc guy..." Ling is interrupted when Shiva gets up and leaves with her girl, giggling and leaving wet footprints as she does. Smiling at her friend, Ling wriggles her eyebrows at her before turning back to talk to Jonathan. Not a moment later, they are interrupted again, this time, by Nikolai.

Ling tries to play it cool when Nikolai walks in, but fails miserably when he immediately addresses Jonathan. She opens her mouth to say something, but her head is still spinning and what would she say anyway? Forgetting all about Jonathan for the moment, her eyes follow Nikolai and his escort as she intervenes and guides him to the bath, disappearing behind the curtain. Ling is staring daggers at her silhouette, shrugging Lena off roughly when she tries to continue washing her. Then Nikolai talks about a petname. 'Ling'. Her name. The name he gave her when she first ran away from home. She sees red.

Rising from the water, Ling extends her hand towards the girl and whispers. Water is dripping down her hair and running over her naked body, but she pays no attention to it. Whispering words that come out as hissed curses, Ling conjures up a feeling of dread, of being hunted, chased, naked and afraid. Running through the catacombs, your pursuers hot on your heels. Knowing they'll find you, knowing what they'll do to you, any second now they will grab you - the tiefling girl lets out a hoarse, barely audible cry and rushes out of the room.

In her haze, Ling stares at the door through which the girl just left until she suddenly feels a stinging pain in her face. She sucks in a sharp breath and looks up wide-eyed, staring straight at Nikolai who just slapped her across the cheek. She hides her hand in her face and bursts into tears.

 "Ling?! Was that you?!" When there is no response, Nikolai climbs out of the bathtub and rips the curtains back, shooting daggers at Jonathan. "You! Get the **** out of here now before I kill you!" Still naked he rips back the curtain to Ling's bathtub with a roar of anger. "Ling, wake up!" He slaps her across the cheek, just hard enough to hurt and cut through the primal rage coursing through her veins. 'Patience! She's a child, a hurt child! Slow your anger, Nikolai! Save it for those who deserve it!' His neck cranes to outside as he tries to shut out the irritatingly calm voice, gritting his teeth in anger and frustration, but... his heart slows and his breathing calms from the angry hissing between his teeth. The sudden tears from Ling is like cold bath and his anger disappears, he grabs her head and pulls her into his chest. "Be still, Ling. I---I'm sorry. That was uncalled for, I did not mean to hurt you, but... I am... so angry..." He strokes her hair and shushes her, ignoring anything else around him. "Be still..."

Hanna giggles briefly at the pun, before reestablishing her composure as she points out some basic details in the book.

"See, it says here that the Republic of Littlewood was founded almost two-hundred and fifty years ago, when the free cities of Five Towers, Paragon and Eastfarthing united under the leadership of Littlewood's first Patrician, Duncan O'Brian."

Jonathan seems unimpressed by Nikolai's hostility.

"Why does everyone keep asking me that? I'm bathing, if it wasn't obvious, and I don't intend to stop. I made all of you an offer, and I'd like to hear if you're going to take me up on it."

     Astrid slips through the curtains into one of the empty tubs. She begins to disrobe but is soon reminded of their encounter in the church as all of her muscles begin to ache when she removes her robe and underarmor. She takes care to fold her items placing them neatly next to her boots. Without hesitation, she steps into the tub and allows the soreness melt away. She submerges herself completely beneath the water, drowning out all senses. Holding as long as she can to enjoy to the brief moment of peace. Emerging her keen senses catch the muffled shouts from across the hall. One good thing it seems. They're fighters. All of them. Not afraid to fight for what they want... Even if it is over the attention of some working girls. She smiles and goes under again.

Lings slings her arms around Nikolai's neck and holds on for dear life. She is trembling and swaying; cold, wet and drunk. His words don't fully reach her, but she hears that he's angry, she knows that he's angry. "Don't be angry, please, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I couldn't stand seeing you with her, I just couldn't. I'm sorry, don't be angry, please, don't go away." She stills for a moment, then steps out of the bath and rests her head against his chest.

Like Astrid, Caio finds his own solitary bath. He slips into the warm water all the way up to his nose, then tilts his head back so that his ears are submerged as well. There is something meditative about it; all the sounds are distorted and otherworldly. The noise of his rowdier friends  down the hall filters through but Caio is a thousand miles away. He's back in Necorath, in a natural spring warmed by molten earth. She's there of course, pressed against him. His fingers toy with her curls, and she turns to plant a kiss on his pale chest. "Where would we go?"

She giggles and shifts to lay on top of him, propping her arms on his torso and staring into his eyes with a grin. "Everywhere of course! We could start in Sarameia. It's beautiful and warm, and Beschcadik is like nothing you've ever seen! You can find people and wares and food from all over the world, oh how I miss the cuisine, the nightlife." she says wistfully. "I almost envy you, Caio. You've seen so little of the world, when you finally get the chance to explore, everything will be brand new, so much wonder you'll have."

He cocks his head and returns the smile. "From anyone else, that would almost be a bit patronizing." both of his hands stretch down her delicate back. "So when do we depart on this grand adventure?"

She pulls away and slips lower into the steaming water. "I still have work to do here, but we're close to a breakthrough. Once we're finished, me and you will be on the first ship north, away from this frozen wasteland. I promise."

Caio smiles and his gaze drops to the water's surface. What he sees snaps him out of his memories. His pale, tattooed, shadar-kai face has been replaced with that of a human's. Tan skin, full lips, a similar mop of dark curls... Caio had no recollection of this stranger who is staring back at him but somehow he is oddly familiar. "Did you need anything, sir?" Caio nearly bolts out of the tub at the sudden interruption. He looks up to see another of the scantily glad serving girls peeking her head around the curtain. He glances back down into the tub and his own elven face glances back. "Uhm I... yes. More wine, please."