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Old 04-16-2021, 09:02 AM   #161
coronatiger
 
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Trondheim, Norway
Default Session 49 (2021-04-14)

Outside, the woman shouted “Malik!” many times, very loudly. She came inside, fervor glowing in her eyes, just as Yana and I climbed up from the cellar. The woman said she had seen the Malik, and was going to the capital to serve in Mitra’s temple. I’m not very familiar with the details of Mitra’s lore, but I believed the Malik to be some kind of divine messenger; it might be another name for the Mhalak. The woman thanked me, saying it was right to pray. I asked if she thought her husband could control himself among people, for I feared he was incurably infected with Yori’s rage. She said he wasn’t her problem anymore.

The woman undressed, for Mitra should shine his holy light on all of her, she said. She pressed a copper coin into my hands, and another into Yana’s, and said the next time we met, that would be gold. “Take anything you want! I have no more need of it,” she said, tossing her pouch to the floor. She ran out the door and out of sight. “Do you think we’ll meet her again in Byblos?” Yana asked timidly. “Perhaps,” I replied, “if Ashtar wills it.” I gathered up the coins she had tossed aside. One silver piece and a handful of coppers, she hadn’t had much, but it would cover the cost of the bandages I had spent.

Wolfram came inside, crossbow raised. He asked if we should run after her and get her to put some clothes on. The sun could be merciless, even though we were approaching the coldest part of the year. I said we should let her go and be burned by the sun since that was her desire.

Xipil came and asked about the “important people” that had lured the couple to the cannibal village. I said I didn’t think those people were particularly important, just someone who offered food in the famine. Xipil went outside again.

I untied the unconscious man and proposed we left, but Yana made me aware of a man dressed immaculately in white and gold running after the woman. He was quicker than he looked capable of and would overtake the woman shortly. Wolfram said it was probably just Xipil who had learned a new magic spell. That was far more likely than a Mitra priest suddenly appearing out of nowhere, and while I wouldn’t have thought of that possibility myself, I agreed that Wolfram’s explanation was the most likely one. Xipil was nowhere to be seen, but that in itself wasn’t evidence of anything; he had a tendency to melt into the background when he didn’t actively want anyone to observe him.

Since we’d have to wait for Xipil’s return, Yana and I went back inside to search the place. I wasn’t sure what I expected to find, but if something more sinister was afoot, we might find a clue. I saw nothing out of the ordinary, but Yana pulled a backpack from under the bed and took out a waterskin which she asked me to check out, grimacing. It was half-full, and I recognized the contents as human blood. I kept my face plain, as if this was of no import, and stuffed it back under the bed without a word.

Wolfram had sat down to rest and reported that the apparent Mitra priest had caught up with the woman. He asked again if we should bring her clothes, and added that she would need food as well. I told him there was no point. We should just let her go; there was no point arguing with religious fanatics. Coming outside with Yana, I told Wolfram that I did leave enough food for one day for the man, and he had a wineskin, so he wouldn’t thirst. The wine appeared old and sour, I said, but he didn’t need our water. I hoped my casual dismissal of the “wine” tricked Yana out of her first impression of it. She had clearly thought it was blood. However, she is a clever woman, and I wasn’t confident my ruse was going to work.

When everyone gathered at the cart, Xipil informed us that he had redirected the woman towards Sam. I couldn’t fathom why. Sure, it’s a nice place and it’s my home, but Byblos has qualities, too. Xipil asked why there was human blood in a waterskin at the farm. I insisted that it was bad wine, but nobody believed me. My companions have an uncanny ability to see through my fibs. It isn’t there all the time, but when it is, everyone has it. It’s like there’s a voice only I can’t hear, that says, “Nuur-Karif is lying; this is the truth…” Of course, I shouldn’t lie to my friends, but I felt I had good reason this time.

We got moving again. Xipil scouted ahead, and Wolfram slept on the cart. Yana calculated that if we were going to stop every time we met someone, we’d never reach Byblos. I informed her that we stopped this time because the people were acting suspiciously, but conceded that she had a point.

In the afternoon, Xipil reported seeing people working the fields. They’d see us if we continued along the road. I thought being spotted wouldn’t cause trouble, but accepted that it was better to be safe than sorry. We went around.

We came upon a village in the evening, and skirted that too. On the other side, we found an orchard where we could hide for the night. We woke Wolfram, and he was feeling a lot better after using the healing needle for most of the day. The needle had made it so he wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight, so we volunteered him to keep watch during the night. Xipil climbed a tree, as he is wont to do. Yana and I erected our tent.

After a quick evening meal, we prepared for bed. I took extra care while brushing my teeth and did some flexing exercises, shooting out and retracting my fangs. That soothed the itch in them that I hadn’t realized was building up. I think it began when I fought that man. While he was quite big and strong, he wasn’t very skilled, but there had been times during the brawl when I thought I might need to resort to lethal force. However, I didn’t want to draw blood in front of Yana, not without a direct order.

Alone in our tent, I whispered an apology in Yana’s ear. She sighed that it wasn’t always easy being around fanatics. She really disliked me being violent, but she appreciated the apology. I knew she would have loved to hear me say I wouldn’t do anything like it again, but that would have been a promise I couldn’t keep, and Yana valued my promises – at least those made to her – so highly that she’d rather have me break a nose than my word. And I feared I was going to do far worse than breaking noses.

O Ashtar! We surrender our lives to Your coils. Take us while we sleep, or grant us another day in Your service, as You will.
__________________
You don't need to spend 100 CP on Status 5 [25] and Multimillionaire [75] to feel like a princess, when Delusion [-10] will do.

Character sheet: Google Drive link (See this thread for details.)

Campaign logs: Chaotic Pioneering / Confessions of a Forked Tongue
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Old 04-23-2021, 08:48 AM   #162
coronatiger
 
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Trondheim, Norway
Default Session 50 (2021-04-21)

11th of Ratanu, year 412

O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession!

I woke when Wolfram began to tell Xipil about how his eyes had glowed all through the night. He must have stayed up to meditate again. The lizard man was sitting on the ground, shivering, when I emerged from the tent. I asked if he was sick. Xipil replied that he thought he’d had a powerful vision, but he couldn’t remember it, which frustrated him no end.

Wolfram said he wanted to use a spell to trace the lingering magic on Xipil. That didn’t interest me at all, so Yana and I went to prepare breakfast. Xipil wanted an hour or two to analyze what had happened to him, and nobody objected, for we were in no hurry to reach Byblos.

Yana and I walked to the edge of the orchard to keep an eye on the village, in case someone decided to check on the fruit trees. I didn’t think it likely, for all the fruits had been harvested already, but I have to admit I know next to nothing about tending orchards, so there could conceivably be some reason why the villagers would show up. They wouldn’t be pleased to find visitors, so keeping watch seemed like a good idea. We sat down and rested our backs against tree trunks. We planned how to disguise me as an elven man, and admittedly, watched each other more than the villagers. They didn’t seem to approach the orchard, anyway.

Xipil came to notify us that we were leaving. He was staggering, and looked exhausted, probably due to lack of sleep and excessive spellcasting. However, it was Wolfram who lay down to sleep on the cart when we took off.

Xipil asked if we should try to avoid people, but I didn’t think it necessary, so we stayed on the road. I smiled and nodded to the people we passed, and they smiled back, even though they clearly wondered about our strange party.

We reached a village by lunchtime, and I said we should eat there, mingle with the locals and listen to their stories. We woke Wolfram before entering the village, as we thought it might look suspect to have a huge warrior lying on the cart, as still as if he was dead. He took one glance at the “crowd” and declared that he preferred to sleep. He also said that it would be bad if we revealed our real names, so I quipped that it might be best if he went back to sleep. He didn’t, though.

As soon as Yana had looked over Xipil’s disguise, we walked into the village. While his makeup and false beard looked fine, Xipil gave the impression that he was going to fall over, asleep, at any time. There was a small marketplace and an equally small inn. Next to the inn stood a wagon in a shed. I noticed barrels and sacks on the wagon, and two soldiers guarded it, probably the king’s men. Byblos had sent supplies to the famine-stricken communities, then.

Xipil suggested that the others continued through the village; there wouldn’t be much food for sale here. Yana and I stayed to listen to rumors. While walking out of the village, Wolfram held the edge of the cart in a death grip and Xipil had to calm him down, so he didn’t do anything stupid in a fit of panic. What companions You have given to me, O Ashtar! Half of them aren’t suited for polite company, the other half, well, polite company isn’t suited for them. Except Yana, of course. She’s perfect. Did You saddle us with these recluses so we could help them navigate the maze of social interaction?

The inside of the inn was packed with diners having soup and bread. The innkeeper was busy, but welcoming. There was room for Yana and me at the end of a long table, and we sat down and ordered food. The innkeeper apologized that the price was doubled, but we told him we understood completely. It didn’t take much to get him to forget his work and open up about what was happening in the area.

The guard patrols had pulled back for a while, but they had returned now with promise of food for everyone, which made people stop fleeing. The authorities in Arland doesn’t look kindly on people moving around without valid reason, and something as trivial as a deadly famine shouldn’t make the peasantry seek their fortunes elsewhere. The situation in the capital wasn’t quite as it should, but the innkeeper didn’t know much about that, except that the king was dead.

Having drained the innkeeper of information, Yana and I turned towards the other patrons. The general mood in the room was cautious optimism. There was some unhappiness about the drought and the lack of income, but the villagers didn’t speak so loudly about it. Things were starting to look better now.

Yana and I thanked the locals for the nice chat and went outside to follow our friends. They waited just out of sight from the village, and had eaten travel rations for lunch. Xipil asked eagerly what we had found out, and we filled him and the others in while they packed up. Wolfram returned to his bed on the cart.

The people on the road, while returning pleasantries, kept their distance from the strangers. In the afternoon, however, an effervescent young woman engaged Yana and me in conversation. She was maybe a year or two older than me, and absolutely fascinated about us travelling with a troll. Trolls weren’t common around here at all. I told her a couple of tall tales and totally made her day. When we moved on, her companion berated her for talking to strangers. I noted that he hadn’t interrupted my stories to drag her away.

We reached another village well before sunset, and stopped to discuss whether to take the night here, or push on. I proposed that we – that is Yana and I – went to the inn to hear if there was room for us. Xipil wanted to move on, but he didn’t want to give the impression that we were planning to stay outside after dark either. We agreed that I should find out if there was another inn further on that we could reach before the sun went down.

The inn here wasn’t very large, and there were no rooms to be had, but the innkeeper offered “beds” on the common room floor for Yana and me. He retracted the offer when I explained that we had several friends outside. There wasn’t enough space for us all. I asked if there was another inn that we might reach in the direction we were going; I waved my hand approximately westward. There was a village with an inn where we could try our luck, the innkeeper said. We should reach it before dark on horseback. I told him we had a wagon, so we would be fine, indicating that it was more than a simple cart and that we had horses to pull it.

On our way out of the village, a soldier looked about to question us, but his companion put a hand on his shoulder. Grogg and Wolfram could be quite intimidating, even when they didn’t try to be.
__________________
You don't need to spend 100 CP on Status 5 [25] and Multimillionaire [75] to feel like a princess, when Delusion [-10] will do.

Character sheet: Google Drive link (See this thread for details.)

Campaign logs: Chaotic Pioneering / Confessions of a Forked Tongue
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Old 04-23-2021, 09:07 AM   #163
coronatiger
 
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Trondheim, Norway
Default Session 50 (2021-04-21)

The road forked, and we took the road leading towards the north-west. Xipil had to take Wolfram’s place on the cart, for he was so tired, he was slowing us down. The people on the road now looked in a hurry to get home. We hurried as well, and arrived at the next village just as the sun was dipping below the horizon.

There was an inn by the road, but the village itself was pulled back a bit. Three supply wagons were parked next to the inn, indicating that there would be soldiers here. Wolfram tried to listen at the door, but I just walked straight in, trailed by Yana.

Inside were indeed ten soldiers, eating, drinking and talking. There were three other patrons seated around a small table. I failed to get a good read on them. They could be from anywhere. Yana and I walked up to the bar and addressed the man standing behind it. He only had one room left, but we could get all six of us packed inside if we didn’t mind it being crowded. I paid for the room and sent Yana outside to fetch the others while I interrogated the innkeeper. Nothing was happening here that we didn’t already know.

Xipil came inside with Yana, saying, “Black and Knarr don’t want to stay here.” I told him the villagers would frown on anyone staying out at night, but Yana interjected that it should be acceptable to live in tents, even though we made it look like we were poor. I suggested that Yana and I took the room, but Xipil preferred to sleep indoors. I asked the innkeeper about setting up tents, and he said we should do it on the other side of the horse corral. Yana went outside to inform Grogg, Hylda and Wolfram.

I waited for food to arrive, and brought soup and bread out to the trio who wouldn’t come inside. Yana, Xipil and I ate in the common room. Xipil was on the verge of bringing his food upstairs, but the soldiers retreated for the night, and that lessened his anxiety. The other three patrons were still there. I learned that they were merchants on the way to Byblos. They had come here to see what they could supply the countryside with, that didn’t interfere with the official aid. They didn’t stay much longer than the soldiers, and wished us a good night.

Xipil said he wanted to study the starry sky before we came to Byblos, for he thought it might be difficult to do it unseen once we got to the capital. I didn’t know any places with private roof access there, as I had in Sam.
We didn’t stay to talk after finishing the meal, for it’s considered indecent around these parts not to go to bed when the sun goes down. Xipil opened the window and looked outside. He noticed someone watching the night a few rooms over. I supposed it was a soldier keeping an eye on their horses, so I said nothing. Yana and I went to bed, and didn’t pester Xipil. He could sit at the window for as long as he desired.

I woke when Xipil shook my shoulders. He intoned, with a deeper voice than usual, “The animals each lead their own horde”. His eyes were glowing, but they returned to normal when I poked him on the nose with my finger. If he had disturbed Yana’s sleep, I would poke him with something sharper. He apologized for going to the wrong bed, and I told him it was fine, but he had forgotten to close the window hatch. He returned to the window and just stared outside. “Close it before you fall asleep!” I admonished. He babbled about new stars and climbed out to get up on the roof. I threatened to close the window behind him, but I didn’t go through with it. If I climbed out of bed, it would surely wake Yana, and besides, I was too comfortable where I was, holding her.

O Ashtar! We surrender our lives to Your coils. Take us while we sleep, or grant us another day in Your service, as You will.


12th of Ratanu, year 412

O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession!

Xipil was in his bed when I woke up. Yana and I made sure not to wake him. He needed to catch up on his sleep. There was a woman behind the bar now, who took our breakfast order. While we were talking to her, eight of the soldiers came downstairs to eat. They didn’t seem in a hurry. Perhaps they were staying here today?

When we had eaten, I asked Yana if she thought we could acquire a disguise for me here. Considering the small size of this village, Yana believed we’d have better luck in Byblos. We remained at the table, chatting and watching the other patrons. The merchants came for breakfast and took it outside with them. The weather was warm enough for it. The soldiers split up; some went outside, others returned to their rooms, leaving Yana and me alone with the woman at the bar.

Not much later, the soldiers that had gone upstairs came back down. They were leaving. As soon as it was safe, Wolfram came inside to ask when we planned to go and how far it was to Byblos. I told him we’d get there tomorrow. We didn’t have to hurry to get going. Wolfram asked if there was a temple of Tsovin and Vagan somewhere outside the capital. I couldn’t think of any, and Yana said that their nearest temple was inside Byblos.

Wolfram left, and Yana and I returned to talk of clothes, makeup and disguises. Wolfram came back after a couple of minutes, and asked which room was ours; he wanted to speak to Xipil. We gave him directions, but he came down quickly and went out to Grogg and Hylda. I supposed Xipil was still asleep. I asked if Yana wanted to pull a prank on the lizard man. “Only if we do it together,” she replied.

We sneaked back upstairs and inside our room. Xipil was still sleeping. We quietly gathered up our backpacks and sneaked out. We sat down at our table in the common room again, and picked up the discussion where we had left it. I considered asking Grogg, Hylda and Wolfram to pack up and come inside with us, for they would be visible if Xipil looked out the window. I decided not to. I much preferred to talk to Yana alone and uninterrupted.

Yana really loved talking about clothes and makeup, and that had rubbed off on me. We could discuss a single white shirt for hours and it would still be interesting. With my newfound insight, I thought it wouldn’t be as interesting to listen to anyone else going on and on about clothes, but Yana was special. Talking about clothes made her happy, and when she was happy, I was happy.

As it turned out, it took almost two more hours before Xipil came downstairs. I asked if he was ready to leave, and he said he was, so we went outside. Grogg had removed almost all his clothes and replaced them with oil, and was now receiving a massage from Hylda. He and Wolfram, who was watching the massage with an eerie interest, looked like they’d been exercising. Hylda asked him if he wanted to watch tonight as well, but got no reply.

Our friends began to pack up while Xipil and Wolfram discussed guiding stars. Their discussion continued when we began to walk. Apparently, two stars have split up, and this concerned Xipil greatly. He asked if Yana or I knew what could be found north-west of Arland. That was orc country and wilderness, we said, and that was the extent of our knowledge, so he stopped bothering us and asked Hylda instead, her being an orc and all.

Xipil apologized for waking me last night, and it became clear that Yana had been woken, too. She recalled him saying something strange, and that his eyes were glowing. Xipil asked what he had said, and I replied that he had raved about hordes of animals. Xipil insisted that what he said was important, and made me dig in my memory for his exact wordings. I think I got it right. Xipil pondered what he had said, and launched a spiel about star signs, guiding stars, and of all things, Lord Mir’s spear. Then he asked Grogg if it was all right if he went to sleep on the cart. Grogg didn’t mind; he wasn’t near as heavy as Wolfram. I thought sleep would be good for Xipil. He wasn’t making much sense.

Traffic seemed remarkably normal here, as did the activity on the fields. The landscape wasn’t covered in ash anymore either, and we found a nice spot a short distance from the road, to stop for lunch.
__________________
You don't need to spend 100 CP on Status 5 [25] and Multimillionaire [75] to feel like a princess, when Delusion [-10] will do.

Character sheet: Google Drive link (See this thread for details.)

Campaign logs: Chaotic Pioneering / Confessions of a Forked Tongue
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Old 05-02-2021, 05:45 AM   #164
coronatiger
 
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Trondheim, Norway
Default Session 51 (2021-04-28)

12th of Ratanu, year 412 (continued)

We watched the passersby on the road while we ate. Apart from peasants, there was a group of soldiers, and as we were wrapping up the meal, those three merchants from the inn. They recognized Yana and me, and waved, so we waved back, smiling politely. The merchants were on foot, and didn’t carry with them much more than what could fit in small backpacks. I assumed they were planning to return with bigger loads now that they had discovered what the locals needed. Or they could not be merchants at all, and were up to no good, but I found that less likely.

When we began to walk, Xipil confronted me about what happened last night. He was upset that I hadn’t planned to tell him about what he’d said to me while he was having his vision. I told him he shouldn’t focus so much on the stars in the sky. He should instead devote his attention to You. Xipil claimed that You told him to watch the stars. I found that hard to believe; it goes against everything You have taught us. It was a strange claim, but then again, Xipil was a strange person, and I got the impression that I should pay some attention to the sky myself. You have tasked me with being Your eyes in those places which are not of Your domain. I can’t say I enjoyed the feeling that I should go against my beliefs, but it was clear that You were the source of this feeling, so that made it all right.

Wolfram asked about the military situation in Byblos. Had Larma occupied the city? I told him and the others that the king had a decorative guard called the Loyalist Guard. I didn’t know much about them, but their name made me think Larma might have some influence over them. The king also had a more secretive, personal body guard. Of course, he was dead now, but his successor should gain their service. I didn’t know of any troops directly under Larma command in Byblos. I warned my friends that I didn’t have the latest information about the military. It had been a few months since I visited Byblos.

Xipil wondered how densely packed the city would be. I said I didn’t think Wolfram would enjoy himself very much there. Almost all of Byblos was crammed inside the city walls, except for the harbor district. Byblos was one of the most populous cities in the country, along with Sulla. Wolfram asked if we had to remain long there. “A while,” I said. We planned to depart for our rendezvous with Pak and Groman in about two and a half weeks. Until then, we had to stay in Byblos, in case our acquaintances from the Evening Fort sent a reply.

We caught up with the three merchants, for we were walking faster than them, and stopped discussing our plans while they could hear. They grinned at the sight of Wolfram pulling the cart. I think they held the opinion that the troll should do it, while the apparent sell-sword should see to our safety.

Xipil asked what to do if there was a check point at the city gates. I replied that I thought we should sell the cart before we reached Byblos. Grogg said we should just leave the cart somewhere, and asked if I needed money. I said I didn’t, but I wasn’t so rich I could just throw money around, either.

Xipil also asked where to go once we got to the capital. I said I had an idea, but Grogg wouldn’t like it. I don’t understand what he has against You, but the distrust is definitely there, so I didn’t actually propose finding a chapel, even though I would feel most at home there. Instead, I suggested the bounty hunter guild near the caravan market in the southern part of Byblos. A company like ours would blend in among the adventurers and mercenaries that frequented the guild.

Wolfram had some misconceptions about what being a bounty hunter entails, so I corrected him and explained. Despite what he believed, it’s a perfectly legal occupation. Of course, you can’t go around harming innocents, any more than a baker is allowed to poison his customers. If a client needs someone found and returned to them, the bounty hunters can get the job done. As an example, I mentioned an escaped convict. The local authorities may not have the expertise required to track them down, so they pay us to do it. I left out the part about some contracts allowing or even demanding the death of the target. That would only upset Yana and the others. But those were the only contracts I ever touched.

As we walked, I caught Grogg glancing at me from time to time. He mumbled that five gold might be too little. Was he planning to sell me out? Put a bounty on me? I wasn’t sure that would even work. I have something of a reputation in the community, at least among Your followers. I wouldn’t like to be in Grogg’s shoes if he accidentally tried to pay an Ashtarite to have me killed.

We passed a couple of villages throughout the day. We practically had to hold Wolfram’s hand, going through them. His fear of crowds has reached new levels of late. In the evening, we stopped before another village. If you’re not afraid of conversation, you can find out the most remarkable things. Yana and I had already discovered that there were two inns in this village, and I told Wolfram he should be happy. Now we could select the one that was the least crowded. He didn’t want to go through the village more times than he had to, though, so Yana and I went ahead to check out the inns.

There was one inn on either side of the village. The closest one had room for us all, but fifteen or so people in the common room might make it hard to sell to Wolfram. Yana and I crossed the village. There was less of a crowd in the second inn, but they had no more room for visitors, for the place wasn’t very big. That made the choice for us, and we returned to tell the others what we had learned.

“And then she had a box of salt, and buried in the salt was a human head,” Grogg was saying to Xipil, Wolfram and Hylda when Yana and I got back. Grogg shut up when he noticed us coming. I didn’t want Yana to think that Grogg’s tale had anything to do with me, so I just informed everyone that we were going to this closest inn. I warned Wolfram that he had to steel himself for the crossing of the common room.

I had told them – Grogg, Xipil and Lunari – that I had a perfectly legitimate reason to carry around a severed head. I had even explained who he was and why he had to die. They had no reason to go through my stuff in the first place. Considering their reaction, I was right to try to conceal my cargo from them. They had seemed to come around, though. Xipil even joined the faith. Lunari always looked at me like he wanted to bed me, so I had assumed we were cool. He never actually put the moves on, so perhaps the discovery of the head made him fear what I’d do to him if he made a pass at me. I suspect that Grogg only accepted me because Lunari didn’t tell him to do something drastic. Now that Lunari is dead, Grogg has begun to try to think for himself, and he’s failing miserably. He needs another “elf daddy”. With Hylda in the picture, that might prove difficult to accomplish. Of course, he’d never accept me to that role, but I think Yana would be a good influence on him. Grogg is an avid sewer, and quite skilled despite having only one functioning arm. Maybe the path to Grogg’s heart is embroidered along the edges?
__________________
You don't need to spend 100 CP on Status 5 [25] and Multimillionaire [75] to feel like a princess, when Delusion [-10] will do.

Character sheet: Google Drive link (See this thread for details.)

Campaign logs: Chaotic Pioneering / Confessions of a Forked Tongue
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Old 05-02-2021, 06:01 AM   #165
coronatiger
 
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Trondheim, Norway
Default Session 51 (2021-04-28)

Wolfram waited outside the inn while the rest of us checked in. The innkeeper wanted one gold piece for the three rooms. I looked at Grogg and told him that since he was so rich, he could pay for our rooms. Grogg began to count out coins on the bar, two gold and one copper. Hadn’t he heard the innkeeper’s price? I gave him back the copper piece and slid one gold over to the innkeeper. I palmed the third coin.

The innkeeper berated Grogg for not showing the proper respect for the king and for Mitra. I told him that my friend was a troll, and trolls can’t count. That wasn’t precisely the problem, though. Mitra worshippers have some strange fixations about gold, but I didn’t care enough about their weak god to bother learning the details about how it should be treated.

I received three keys and gave one to Xipil and the other to Hylda, along with the gold coin and a whispered warning that she should tell Grogg to pay closer attention to his belongings. Someone not as honest as me might take advantage of him. Hylda exclaimed so loudly that everyone in the room turned to look, “Did you steal Grogg’s gold coin!?” She went right over to Grogg and began making a scene, and the innkeeper said we should take our food with us and go up to our rooms.

Xipil fetched Wolfram, and Yana and I helped get him through the common room. Then we went upstairs. I had put Xipil and Wolfram in the middle room. It might be selfish, as they probably needed their sleep more than Yana and me, but I didn’t want to listen to Grogg and Hylda going at it if I didn’t have to.

A servant brought our food, as well as water for washing and for drinking. He said the two of us were welcome to come back downstairs for something better to drink. The way he phrased it, it was clear the innkeeper didn’t want the rest of our party in the common room. I looked questioningly at Yana. Water was fine with me, but perhaps she preferred something else. Yana said she’d appreciate a glass of something sweet, so we followed the servant downstairs.

We each got a glass of the local wine, and Yana asked if we should stay or if we should go back to our room. I was about to say that both options were fine, but then Grogg stomped down the stairs and headed for the bar. Perhaps we’d have a better time in the privacy of our room. So, we picked up our plates again, and our glasses, and headed up.

When we had eaten, Yana asked if thought we could sleep, of if there was something else I wanted to do. I had enjoyed our private meal greatly, and said I’d love to continue talking. Yana asked if I wanted more wine. I could tell she was thirsty herself, so I said yes. She went out and returned with two whole bottles.

I’m not much of a drinker of alcohol. Due to Your gifts, it takes a considerable amount to get me to feel the buzz, and I’ve always considered that trying to get drunk would be tantamount to blasphemy. Therefore, I usually stick to water or other non-alcoholic beverages. If my cover requires it, or it would be impolite to refuse, I can drink a glass or two, but I don’t enjoy it like some infidels do. Yana poured for both of us, so I sipped at the glass to keep her company while we talked. She drained her glass before mine was noticeably diminished, and looked accusingly at me. It was so uncomfortable that I emptied the glass in one large swig. She immediately filled our glasses again and set aside the empty bottle.

Again, Yana drained her glass rather quickly. I looked at her with concern. Had she been bigger, and male, she might be trying to get me drunk so she could take advantage of me. Her body, though, was just as petite as mine, so it might not have worked even had I not had Your blessing. And I had told her about that, hadn’t I? I suddenly became uncertain about that. “Hold on!” I said, suddenly remembering that I needed to shed the “if Yana had been a man” thinking. “Are you trying to get me drunk?!”

“What are you talking about? Of course I’m not,” Yana claimed, slurring slightly from the wine. That was the biggest lie she had ever told me. She was going to get me drunk, then she was going to get me naked, and then she was going to get me. I drained my glass, hoping it would calm my nerves, even though I knew it wouldn’t. Yana immediately popped the second bottle and refilled my glass. “Sit back, relax. Have another drink. I’ll sing for you and I’ll give you a massage,” she said. This seemed truthful enough, and enjoyable, so I did as she told me.

Yana did as she had promised. She stood behind me, singing softly while rubbing my neck and shoulders. She only took short breaks to get a drink, but she seemed hellbent on emptying the second bottle, too. Worried that another bottle all to herself might be too much for her to handle, I drank as well.

“Thish ishn’t working,” Yana declared. “The chair’s in the way. You need to … need to … lie down on the bed sho I can massage your back. And take off your dressh. It’sh in the way, too.” I stood and faced her. It was obvious where she was going with this. I wondered which of us I was trying to steady when I took her hands. The butterflies in my stomach were blowing up a hurricane. “Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked, for she could barely stand up straight. Despite my gut-wrenching fear of being intimate with her, and the guilt I knew I’d feel if she did something in her intoxicated state that she regretted later, I desperately wanted her not to say no. “Yesh, yesh! Now, strip!” she commanded impatiently.

My dress fell to the floor. Yana admired my figure for a minute, then took off her own dress. I raised an eyebrow. “Why do you need to undress if I’m the one getting the massage?” I asked coyly. Yana’s reply was priceless. “What? You’re hot!”

I lay down on my stomach, and Yana straddled me and commenced the promised backrub. She went lower and lower, and after playing a bit with my buttocks, Yana lay down on top of me and squirmed. I thought about how her breasts felt nice against my back, but then I realized she had stopped moving.

After a brief moment of panic and imagining assassins, I understood Yana had fallen asleep. She didn’t wake when I slid out from under her and got out of bed. I extinguished the light and tidied up the room, folding our dresses carefully. Then I brushed my teeth and returned to bed. That woke her.

“What happened?” Yana asked drowsily. “Why is it so dark?” “Nothing happened,” I explained. “You fell asleep, so I blew out the lights and brushed my teeth. You know, you don’t have to fill me up with wine to get me to sleep with you. If you remember, I gave you a promise. In the bedroom, my lady, your word is law!” “In that case,” Yana said with a peculiar strain in her voice, “I command you to get the chamber pot.”

I held Yana’s hair while she purged herself of wine. Then I got her some water to rinse her mouth, and some herbs to chew so she’d forget the taste of bile. I put away the chamber pot once I was certain Yana wasn’t going to need it again, and then sat down next to her on the side of the bed, and put my arm around her. She leaned into me and rested her head on my chest. “Why don’t we go to sleep now, Yana? You can seduce me tomorrow.” She murmured in reply, “We have to pray first!”

O Ashtar! We surrender our lives to Your coils. Take us while we sleep, or grant us another day in Your service, as You will.
__________________
You don't need to spend 100 CP on Status 5 [25] and Multimillionaire [75] to feel like a princess, when Delusion [-10] will do.

Character sheet: Google Drive link (See this thread for details.)

Campaign logs: Chaotic Pioneering / Confessions of a Forked Tongue
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Old 05-18-2021, 09:07 AM   #166
coronatiger
 
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Trondheim, Norway
Default Session 52 (2021-05-05)

13th of Ratanu, year 412

O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession!

I had a peculiar dream last night, and I told Yana about it as soon as she began to stir. We had gone to Byblos, and she had made me a dress from a fabric so holy, so sublime, only the virtuous could see it. Why I would ever wear something like that in a world where so many people are wicked, I didn’t know. To them, I would appear naked. It had to be a thing of the dream. Anyway, wherever we went, people were awestruck by the splendor of the garment, until a young girl pulled her mother’s sleeve and pointed at me. “Mama, why is that girl naked?” I looked down and saw that the dress was gone. That’s when I had woken up.

“Interesting dream…” Yana said, and I could hear the gears turning in her head. I frowned at that, for I imagined she was visualizing me naked in public, but she made me a promise. “Someday, I will make you a dress so splendid that poets will write about it. For now … I’d rather stay in bed a while longer if I can. I have a blinding headache.”

I rolled around, about to get up and start the day, but Yana’s arm darted out like a striking viper and seized my waist. She snuggled up to my back and held me close, purring contentedly. Feeling her naked skin against mine got my juices flowing, but I remained as stiff as a corpse. Yana wasn’t being amorous; she just needed the comfort of my presence.

Yana’s arm relaxed, and I understood she had dozed off. Still, I dared not move. I wasn’t sure I could trust my body at the moment. So, I just lay there, listening to her breath and to the faint noises from elsewhere around the inn. After about an hour, Yana began to wake, and her hand started moving. When it grabbed my breast, I was out of the bed faster than a red-striped rattler. “I don’t think we should,” I babbled. “I’ll go get us something to eat.” I put on my dress and hurried out before Yana could formulate a protest.

Downstairs, while ordering food, I asked if any of my companions had been here to get breakfast already. Hylda had been down a little while ago, it turned out, but the innkeeper was more interested in complaining about the troll slave who didn’t know how to behave. I promised I’d have words for him. Chattering away with the innkeeper, I gave Yana plenty of time to wake up. She was up and about when I returned to our room, but still bleary-eyed and it was obvious her head was still pounding.

Xipil came knocking while we were still eating. Yana winced, even though he didn’t make that much noise. I got up and opened the door. Xipil asked if we had taken inspiration from Grogg and Hylda. “No. Why do you ask?” He didn’t answer my question, instead making a comment about the room reeking of “apeoid vomit”. I explained that we had a bit too much to drink last night.

Xipil hadn’t put on his makeup and false beard yet, and asked if I could get breakfast for him. He added Wolfram as an afterthought. I told him I’d deliver it to their room. Wolfram was still sleeping when I brought the food, so it could take some time before we got moving. I returned to Yana to finish my own meal. In low voices, so as not to rattle Yana’s fragile skull, we assured each other that while what happened last night was an embarrassing mistake, there were no bad feelings between us.

We got another visit from Xipil once he was done eating. He asked if he should let Wolfram sleep on. I reminded him that we’d had a late start yesterday, so if we wanted to reach Byblos today, we shouldn’t dally. Yana added that getting into Byblos would be easier if we got there before sunset. She estimated that we needed to leave within the hour.

So, Xipil went to wake Wolfram and to inform Grogg and Hylda that we were leaving. Yana and I packed up and waited outside, by the cart. The sun was shining, but the air carried a chill, so it would be good to begin walking. The others arrived before we really began to feel the cold, and we loaded up the cart and hit the road.

It took us about two hours to reach the next village. Meeting people on the road, in pairs or small groups, was no hindrance to Wolfram, but he balked at the prospect of crossing an entire village. He looked around for a path around the village and when he realized it would be inconvenient to keep the cart going off the road, he suggested that the rest of us went through the village and waited for him on the other side.

While we were waiting for Wolfram, Xipil asked if we should go around Byblos to the southern gate instead of entering from the east, so it would be as short as possible from the gate to the place of the “hired killers”. The correct term was “bounty hunters,” I told him. But he might be right about choosing the shortest path through the crowds for Wolfram. If memory served, there would be less of a crowd in the eastern part of the city, but I assumed it would still be too packed for Wolfram to pass comfortably.

Yana mentioned that towards the end of Ratanu’s month, there would be an influx in bounties, leading up to the Day of Judgment. She believed there could be more people at the bounty hunter guild than I might have thought. There are usually many frivolous bounties before the Day of Judgment, just so the priests of Ratanu can appease their god and release the people who haven’t really done anything wrong. I despise this practice. It’s an abomination and a mockery of the sacred duty You have given us. I understand the need for someone who can track down small-time lowlifes, whose crimes warrant no more than a figurative slap on the wrist. I don’t bother with such cases, but I see that there is a market for handling them. Catching someone only to let them go, though, makes me seethe.

Xipil wondered if my plan to impersonate a member of the Larma family was so clever after all. What if we ran into someone who knew them? I said I didn’t plan to actually tell people that my name was Larma. I just wanted to create a persona that could believably claim to be one of them if the need arose. I explained that since posing as a noble at a mercenary hangout could be financially demanding, I would rather go to the guild first, then put on my disguise when I needed to go out.

Wolfram arrived, and we started walking again. Xipil asked if there were good hiding places just inside the walls where Wolfram could wait for nightfall and less packed roads. I replied that it shouldn’t prove difficult to find a hideout for this purpose in a city. For example, he could check in to an inn; there would be many to choose from as soon as we passed the gate.

By the time we stopped for lunch, I was quite sure that Yana’s head wasn’t bothering her anymore, but I still asked her about it. She said she was fine, and for some reason, that made a weight fall off my shoulders. I guess I felt guilty about indulging her drinking last night. I smiled and hugged her. I had made sure she had plenty of water this morning, and the fresh air of the countryside probably helped, too.

The road got better once we started walking again, and the traffic increased. I glanced worriedly at Wolfram now and again, but he seemed all right. The groups we passed on the road still weren’t large enough to cause him to panic.

We reached the last village before Byblos late in the afternoon. I reminded everyone that we should sell the cart here, so we wouldn’t be taxed unnecessarily at the city gate. Wolfram asked if we should hang on to it for later, but Xipil said we could buy another one if we had to.

Yana and I pulled the empty cart into the village while Xipil, Grogg and Hylda escorted Wolfram around. There was a market in the middle of the village, and we asked around if there was someone who could be so kind as to relieve us of the cart we didn’t need anymore. We found a farmer who bought it off us for twenty-five silver. He asked how long we’d had it and looked it over before offering the price, and had enough glances for Yana and me that his parting comment about thinking about us when he used the cart made me suspect that he’d fantasize about us at other times too. His words and his tone of voice were respectful enough, and he didn’t leer openly at us, so I let it slide.

A crowd was waiting to be admitted at the eastern gate of Byblos. Wolfram paled more and more when we got closer, but the ring road around the city was a hundred meters away from the wall and the gate, and he relaxed when he realized we didn’t have to go through the crowd.

Of course, there was a crowd at the southern gate too, and Wolfram broke out in cold sweat again. He proposed camping outside the wall. Xipil told him the city guards would probably take offense if we did that. Yana just stared at him with disbelief. I reminded Wolfram that we were here in case Pak and Groman sent a reply to our message, and we couldn’t check on that from outside.

Our coaxing got Wolfram moving again, but twenty meters from the crowd, he stopped and refused to go any further. Grogg stuck the needle in his neck, quite stealthily in fact, but Wolfram was so focused on the crowd that stealth was unnecessary. The magic needle failed to overcome Wolfram’s panic, and he remained awake. He did yelp at the sudden pain, but then he realized what had happened and just pulled out the needle. “It’s a bad idea if I pass out here,” he said. I agreed. The commotion we were making was starting to attract attention.
__________________
You don't need to spend 100 CP on Status 5 [25] and Multimillionaire [75] to feel like a princess, when Delusion [-10] will do.

Character sheet: Google Drive link (See this thread for details.)

Campaign logs: Chaotic Pioneering / Confessions of a Forked Tongue
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Old 05-18-2021, 09:22 AM   #167
coronatiger
 
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Trondheim, Norway
Default Session 52 (2021-05-05)

Xipil asked if Grogg had anything left of Lunari’s drugs. He prodded the troll about the various substances Lunari had used, but Grogg zoned out and invoked Lunari’s name, asking for help as if the dead elf was a god! Obviously, it didn’t work. Wolfram just shook his head at the whole thing, and I was tempted to do the same, but I didn’t want to provoke Grogg.

Thinking about Lunari and his proclivities made Grogg forget the entire situation, and he stared lustily at Hylda. I tried to entice Wolfram with the prospects of a nice room in the city where he could be as alone as he could ever wish. I even promised to bring food up to him so he didn’t have to step outside. Xipil tried to persuade him by saying we needed his help if we encountered anyone from Tivito. None of our efforts convinced him to come voluntarily. Yana commented that if he was going to camp outside the city, he should pick a spot where he wouldn’t be seen. I shot her a frustrated look. She wasn’t helping!

Fortunately, Wolfram understood that he needed to come with us. The needle was the only way, and Grogg had to carry him. “Don’t pull it out before I’m safe, even if it’s a matter of life and death!” He looked around, leaned against Grogg and poked himself with the needle. Grogg asked Xipil to douse Wolfram in liquor. Xipil retrieved a bottle from Grogg’s sack and emptied the entire bottle. A lot splashed onto Grogg, who also got a sip.

Grogg heaved Wolfram’s giant body onto his shoulder, and we went to stand in line to get inside the city. We didn’t have to wait long until it was our turn. I stood in front of our party, smiling winsomely at the guards, but one of them cleared his throat and asked if I took responsibility for “that”. He pointed at Grogg and Wolfram. I said I did, and the guard opined that clearly, the troll couldn’t be responsible for anything. Insulted, Grogg walked up to him and turned so rapidly that Wolfram’s legs swung out and grazed him. The guard got angry and demanded I show him that we were decent people. I pulled out a gold coin and claimed we were devout Mitra worshippers who wanted no trouble. Grogg laughed out loud at my statement, but the guard accepted my coin with a warning to behave ourselves in the city. It was well that we met him on a good day, the guard said when he admitted us.

Grogg said he wanted the finest bed in all of Byblos. That would probably be in the palace, and while I could probably finagle a way for myself into that bed with some time and effort, getting Grogg and Hylda permission to sleep there might be beyond even me. “I’ll get you the best bed available,” I promised instead.

Yana indicated that we should leave the main street for one less traveled. I thought that was a good idea. The more people observed Grogg and Wolfram, the more likely it was that someone would ask awkward questions. Yana sighed into my ear that passing the gate could have gone smoother. Having a short-tempered troll with us in a city where people look down on trolls could cause difficulties in the future as well, and Yana thought we should warn Grogg that being a troll in Byblos might not be pleasant. While I had practiced my diplomacy skills, I believed it would be best if she talked to Grogg instead. He’d react more favorably to anything she suggested than if it came from me.

While Yana was more acquainted with Byblos than me in general, she wasn’t familiar around the mercenary district, so I led the way there. Grogg insisted that Yana showed him the best inn in Byblos, but we managed to convince him to follow us; at least, he could drop off Wolfram.

Your signs were obvious on the buildings if one knows what to look for. Fortunately, Grogg doesn’t, and unlike Yana and Xipil, he didn’t notice the proclamation. We walked up to the bar and I asked for rooms, giving Your signal to the bartender. He replied with the same gesture and asked what we needed. Grogg said he wanted silk sheets on his bed. I said we needed three rooms, two with two single beds and one with a double-sized one – no, quadruple-sized – for the troll and his companion. We needed the rooms for a week, and possibly longer. I paid one gold coin for the first week.

I looked around. There was less of a crowd here than Yana had suspected. I guessed the bounty hunters were all out working to bring in people for the Day of Judgment. Xipil spoke up and said he wanted a room with a north-facing window, and I addressed the bartender again, adding that the two smaller rooms didn’t have to be next to the troll’s room. These new rooms were on the third floor, but they had double beds. Hiding a thrill, I told him that we girls could manage and looked at Xipil. He said it was fine, too.

The bartender asked Grogg for his name, and I tried to give Grogg’s cover name, but he spoke his real one, loud and clear: “Grogg, Bane of Gromgar!” I sighed with disappointment. The bartender said they needed a little time to prepare his room, but offered a beer once Grogg had put down his load.

After putting away our own luggage, I pulled Yana with me to see Xipil. I knocked and entered, only to discover Wolfram standing in his underwear. The giant human was flustered and tried to cover himself, so I just said “Chapel?” to Xipil and went back outside. Xipil said he wanted to wash first, but I reminded him that he could wash at the chapel, too.

I showed the way downstairs. To get to the chapel, we had to go through a meeting room and then descend to the cellar. Two men, one young and one old, were sitting in the meeting room eating apples. They looked up at us and we all greeted each other with Your sign.

There were wash basins once we reached the cellar level. I sighed with relief. I had washed at the inns where we had stayed the last nights, but there was something special about doing the cleansing ritual at a chapel or a temple, and I had so looked forward to it. I undressed and cleaned every part of me in the prescribed order. Yana watched me carefully, but she blushed when I noticed and claimed that she didn’t want to make any mistakes. I explained to her and Xipil why we do this ritual. I’ve explained it before, but I needed some way to rebuke Yana without embarrassing her in front of Xipil.

When we had finished the ritual, we dressed again and proceeded through a winding corridor before reaching the chapel room. There were a few people there already, but the Meet hadn’t started yet. Xipil sat down in the darkest corner. Yana clung to my hand; she was still afraid of snakes. She flinched when I picked one of them up and coiled it around my neck. It was a midnight asp, not a constrictor, so I failed to see why she should be so concerned. Not that any of the snakes would harm either of us. Maybe it was just the proximity to the object of her terror. I felt so blessed with the snake wrapped around my neck, I barely had any regrets about Yana not daring to rest her head on my shoulder. I had never thought about it before, but I suddenly realized there should be a temple somewhere in Byblos. This was definitely not it. While nice, this place didn’t have the same sanctified feeling as a temple would.

The two men from the meeting room arrived and found seats. I noticed that most people were sitting in pairs, and that there was little to no conversation except within the pairs. It might be a sign that something wasn’t quite as it should be, but it was too early to tell.

An elderly man named Lero led the Meet. There was little mingling afterwards, but he made the rounds, talking to each person, each pair. He soon came to Yana and me and gave Your sign, which we returned. He smiled grandfatherly at my asp scarf and asked if we were passing through the city. I admitted as much.

The old priest said there were enough jobs here to be had, and I asked him to elaborate. Apparently, much was happening in Sam these days; many people passed through Byblos on their way there from the north. I felt a twinge of worry at the need for so many bounty hunters in my beloved city, but it turned out the reason was the Aldera family building an army of professional soldiers. I revealed that we came from the east, not the north, and that we were on a holy mission, and wouldn’t be going to Sam to sign on as soldiers.

The priest asked how he could help us in our quest, and I told him current information about Byblos was what we needed the most, at least for now. The nobles were still debating who should be the next king, and the latest rumors had Lord Mir’s entourage on the way upriver, to arrive tomorrow or the day after. I said to the priest that since we were staying in Byblos for a few days with nothing much to do, it might be the case that we could assist him instead. We agreed to pick up this conversation tomorrow.

Since the others didn’t seem inclined to mingle very much, I took it upon myself – and Yana – to socialize across groupings. We spent some time making small talk until it was time to go. I told Yana loudly enough for Xipil to hear from his corner, that we should go to bed. I just remembered to unwrap the snake from around my neck, give it a kiss and put it down, before we left.

On the way up to our room, Yana said it might be best not to get wine. She was uncharacteristically timid when she offered to try to do better than last night. On the floor below ours, we could clearly hear what Grogg and Hylda were up to. They weren’t shy at all!
__________________
You don't need to spend 100 CP on Status 5 [25] and Multimillionaire [75] to feel like a princess, when Delusion [-10] will do.

Character sheet: Google Drive link (See this thread for details.)

Campaign logs: Chaotic Pioneering / Confessions of a Forked Tongue
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Old 05-18-2021, 09:35 AM   #168
coronatiger
 
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Trondheim, Norway
Default Session 52 (2021-05-05)

Yana and I brushed our teeth and prepared for bed. Usually, when she climbs into bed, she turns her back towards me in an invitation to slither up to her and hold her close. Tonight, she faced the other way and watched me approach, although I wasn’t sure how much she could actually see in the dark. I paused to appreciate her glorious globes, for she had only pulled the blanket up to her waist. The night air was making her perk up, and I felt myself respond in kind. “Are you coming? I promise I won’t bite,” she voiced huskily.

My feet seemed like they were glued to the floor. “You know you want this,” I told myself. “You’ve longed for it. Look at Yana, how beautiful she is. Don’t keep her waiting!” As if she could hear my inner monologue, Yana’s tongue came out and wet her lips enticingly. “Well!?” she exclaimed impatiently when I failed to come any closer. “C-can we just talk for a while?” “Fine, just get over here! I’m catching a chill!”

“You’d better turn your back,” Yana said when I finally dragged my feet over to the bed and got in. “My eyes are adjusting to the darkness and if I see those luscious lips of yours, I’m going to kiss them!” I trembled under Yana’s threat, but I did as she ordered. One of her arms slithered under my neck, the other over my chest. Yana squeezed herself against my back and I shivered again. “Pull up the blanket if you’re cold,” Yana instructed. “Now, what did you want to discuss?”

Never in my whole life had it been so difficult to find the right words. “I’ve never done this before, you know,” I began. “I don’t mean sex; I’ve slept with lots of guys before. But it has always been a calculated affair. I’ve always had a plan, an objective. Maybe I wanted information, or maybe I just wanted to get them vulnerable and defenseless before I struck. Even when I wasn’t aiming to kill, I rehearsed in my head how to take out my partner if things got out of hand. With you, it’s completely different. I don’t want it to be a crass trade, and I have to keep my head so I don’t accidentally kill you.” “Are there other parts of you I need to beware, besides your fangs?” Yana asked, and I replied that there weren’t. “Then everything will be fine. I want your lips and your tongue, but I don’t need your teeth.”

We lay in silence while Yana caressed my shoulder. “Have you never had sex just for pleasure? Really?” she asked incredulously. “No,” I replied. “Maybe if I had enjoyed it, I would have sought it out in situations where I wasn’t just doing my duty. That’s why it was so confusing what happened at the Evening Fort. I may not have been in control of my own body at the time, but I certainly felt what happened to it. At first, I thought it was the demon Gritt that influenced my mind. Then, I believed you were a witch. Eventually, I realized that you had given me true pleasure.”

Yana’s caress had turned into a vise-like grip. I twisted out of it and turned to face her. “Are you crying?” I asked, shocked. “Listen to yourself,” Yana wailed. “Ashtar made you submit to rape! Not once, not twice, but repeatedly!” “No, no, no! It isn’t like that. Ashtar has blessed me with good looks, and she has given me tasks to complete, that’s true. But it has always been my choice how to complete the missions that I’m given. I don’t have to sleep with someone in order to kill them. But I can, if I want to. I weigh the benefits against the discomfort, and if I conclude that it’s the best way to go, I’ll offer sex. It’s always my idea, and it’s always voluntary. The only time I felt violated was in our Gritt encounter, and Ashtar had nothing to do with that.”

Relief flooded Yana’s face, and we hugged. Then someone knocked on our door. “Who is it?” I called. “It’s me,” Xipil replied. “Just a moment,” I said, slipping into my dress. I opened the door slightly and peeked out. Xipil told me that one of the snakes had spoken to him, and he needed me to translate. I turned to Yana and told her I had to follow Xipil to the chapel. It seemed urgent.

Xipil informed me that he had been meditating, and then one of the snakes came up to him and hissed. When we reached the chapel, I immediately looked over the snakes. None of them seemed agitated, or in an unexpected mood, so I needed Xipil to identify which of them had tried to speak to him. He pointed at one, saying it looked like those in “the holy land”.

I knelt by the snake and asked in Shamara if there was anything it wanted to tell us, but it just seemed confused. Had Xipil imagined the whole thing? I asked him to meditate again. Perhaps that would trigger some response. It did. The snake told me that Xipil was thinking about portals. I asked Xipil to confirm this. He had meditated on Vaxo, guardian of the portal to the Underworld and the Realm of Death. Xipil wasn’t quite clear if Vaxo guarded the portal, or if the portal was Vaxo.

I hissed a blessing over the snakes, and as Your presence grew, the snakes hissed Your name in recognition. Xipil asked how the snake could know what he was thinking. I told him that snakes are wonderful creatures, and in a holy place like this, they could perceive things that were hidden to us. Xipil wanted to learn from the snake, and enlisted my help to interrogate it. We discovered that it had come from a place with a volcano, but this volcano was not Vaxo’s volcano.

On our way back upstairs, Xipil expressed concern that Wolfram could have barricaded the door while he was out, so I waited in the hallway to see if he got inside all right. The door opened easily, so we said good night to each other.

“Has your little crisis of faith passed?” Yana asked flatly when I entered our room, frost coating her words. I explained about Xipil’s snake, but that didn’t thaw her up. “I’m sorry I ran out on you,” I apologized when I climbed into the bed, “but I can’t ignore when Ashtar calls.” I kissed the back of her neck and put my arm around her. It was strange how warm her body was, when her voice was so cold. “It’s getting late,” I said. “Really?” Yana interjected, dripping of sarcasm. “Can we pick it up tomorrow?” Yana took her time answering. She turned and said, “No. I don’t think I should go to sleep angry. Can we talk about something light? Like clothes?”

“Of course, we can!” I said, and Yana smiled so prettily, I just had to peck her cheek. But Yana seized my head between her hands and guided my mouth to hers. Waves of heat surged through my body as our lips touched. Soon, Yana’s tongue came out to play. Afraid that she would stick it inside my mouth and cut herself on my fangs, I forced her tongue back with my own. Battle ensued. Yana ducked and weaved, seeking a weakness in my defense, but my forked tongue gave me an advantage. I could trap her, but only for a moment, until she pulled back to begin another assault. The ferocity of her attacks allowed her hand to seek another battlefront uncontested. When I realized where she was going, I panicked and rolled away. Yana’s hand moved up again and pulled at my shoulder, pushing my back into the mattress. She climbed on top of me and resumed the kissing battle, gently at first, as if asking permission, and when I responded favorably, she increased the intensity.

We were both panting heavily by the time Yana slid off me, sighing delightfully. My lips and tongue felt tender, and my jaw hurt, but I was contented.

O Ashtar! We surrender our lives to Your coils. Take us while we sleep, or grant us another day in Your service, as You will.
__________________
You don't need to spend 100 CP on Status 5 [25] and Multimillionaire [75] to feel like a princess, when Delusion [-10] will do.

Character sheet: Google Drive link (See this thread for details.)

Campaign logs: Chaotic Pioneering / Confessions of a Forked Tongue
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Old 05-18-2021, 09:49 AM   #169
coronatiger
 
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Trondheim, Norway
Default Session 52 (2021-05-05)

14th of Ratanu, year 412

O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession!

I yawned and stretched and sat up with a big smile on my face. Yana beamed back at me. Yesterday’s elation still hadn’t worn off for either of us. “Let’s go shopping today,” I exclaimed excitedly. “What kind of shopping?” Yana wanted to know. “Clothes!” I replied, and Yana’s smile widened even further.

I expected to roam the marketplaces of Byblos for most of the day, and told Yana we needed a hearty breakfast before venturing out. Xipil joined us while we were eating. I told him we were going shopping for clothes, hoping he’d leave us to it. I wanted to spend the day with Yana, not babysitting Xipil or any of the others.

Xipil said he wanted warm clothes for the trip to the mountains. That could be hard to find in this climate, even in a metropolis like Byblos. We’d be better off buying fabric; Yana could make whatever he needed. Xipil also wanted her to make him cloth armor. That, she had never done before, but Yana was confident she’d figure it out.

When it came to keeping Xipil warm, we realized he needed an external heat source. As a cold-blooded lizard man, he couldn’t depend on his own body providing the heat he needed. We discussed making some kind of harness which would allow Grogg to carry Xipil on his back, under his clothes. Yana thought we should ask Grogg before she actually started sewing.

Xipil asked us to keep an eye out for a book about stars when we were on the marketplace. I promised we’d buy it for him if we stumbled across it, but didn’t think it likely we’d find his book. Shops and stalls that purvey clothes and fabrics don’t usually carry books.

Yana and I trawled the markets of Byblos, trying to find the perfect disguise for me. Since we were looking at male apparel, our prepared excuse was that we were looking for a gift for my twin brother, for his upcoming birthday. When we explained what we needed to shopkeepers, they inevitably congratulated me on our birthday-to-be, and became even friendlier than before. We bought one garment here and another there, so we wouldn’t arouse suspicion. Light blue trousers and jacket, big white shirt and silver waistcoat – that was obviously Larma colors. We could have cooked up another excuse for why two human girls, nicely dressed but clearly not nobly born, would buy a Larma suit that fit me, but going from stall to stall, from shop to shop, trying on clothes and showing them off to Yana was too much fun.

When I say that we were clearly not nobly born, my Lady, that speaks to our appearance and our demeanor. Yana, as You know, is an Amrosh bastard, grown up with all the duties but with none of the privileges of noble birth. No wonder she was grateful to Lord Lunas for taking her in at the Evening Fort. As for myself, only You know whether my parents were peasants or royalty, or if they are still alive. Do they miss me sorely or did they throw me to the wolves? Even though I still dream occasionally of a happy reunion, I am content in Your service.

The silver waistcoat had buttons in front, but tightened in the back with straps. I would wear it loose when using it as a disguise, but Yana showed me how I could cinch the lower straps, leaving the upper loose. That would make it sort of like a corset, and accentuate what forms I possessed. I’m not very curvy, but wearing the waistcoat like that would remove all doubt that I’m a woman. Yana wanted me to try it, at least in private, and I countered that she should wear my red dress. “Deal!” she declared.

Yana felt that she had neglected her sewing since we left the Evening Fort, and bought fabrics and threads for her own projects, all over town. She never bought in bulk, just a little bit here and there, but it added up. It was mostly green, of every shade and largely silk, but she bought linen and cotton, too, and a variety of bright colors of different fabrics. The only common factor was quality. Everything she purchased could be used to dress a noblewoman. She hunted for bargains, though, and generally got them.

Once, Yana had a coughing fit while we were in a high-end store. The proprietress summoned a servant with water, but Yana demanded fruit juice, so I went to the next-door restaurant to get it for her. This all reeked of deception, but I still left the premises. I trusted Yana had a plan, and surmised that it included me leaving for a while.

When I got back, Yana had stopped coughing, and was putting away a rather large parcel that she had just paid for. It was much bigger than any she had bought already, but I didn’t ask about it until we had left, so I wouldn’t inadvertently unravel her scheme in front of the proprietress.

“What is it? Did your ruse work?” I asked when we had gotten away. “It’s just silk,” Yana explained. “But what ruse are you talking about?” she asked too innocuously. I just fixed her with my eyes. “Yeah, it worked all right,” Yana admitted, looking at the ground, “but I don’t want to talk about that. Rest assured I didn’t break any laws, so we won’t get in trouble for this.” Yana did a mental inventory of what we had bought so far. “We have everything for your Larma suit, but I still need some black embroidery thread. Let’s check out that shop over there!”

It was nearly time for dinner when we returned to the bounty hunter guild. I told Yana I had to talk to Lero. He needed help with something, and I wanted to hear the details so I could decide if I might be able to render aid. I didn’t want to go off on my own, so it had to be something I could convince the others to assist with. Yana had mixed feelings about this, I could tell. She feared this might lead to me being violent, but at the same time, she was relieved that I wasn’t going upstairs with her to unpack. She had been rather possessive about what we had purchased during the day, and hadn’t allowed me to help her carry any of it. I was beginning to suspect she had bought a present for me at that shop, so I didn’t pry. That would only ruin the “surprise”.

I washed my feet and hands and entered the chapel. Lero and a woman was there, praying separately at the altar. The woman had been present at the Meet last night, but I thought I recognized her from before that. Maybe I had seen her on an earlier visit to Byblos. Lero nodded to her, and she retreated from the altar to give us a bit of privacy.

Lero signed that he was a Night Stalker, and I replied with my own rank of Slitherer. I gave him my name, too, but warned him that I was traveling incognito, and explained that I was going to use the name Biskutello while I was in Byblos. I repeated what I had indicated yesterday, that I might be able to help with whatever issues he had. Lero felt that I was too important to run errands. This went beyond mere rank; he sensed something “true” or “pure” about me, and he believed this would protect me from the evils of Byblos.

The old priest was rather vague about what he wanted me to do. By investigating this issue for him, I could be pulled into the power struggle that plagued the city, and even my traveling companions could become targets. Lero was concerned that this power struggle could set Ashtarites against each other, for he believed that some of us were already involved, probably on several sides. He had personal reasons why he couldn’t deal with this matter himself, and he thought that me being an outsider to Byblos might give me an advantage. Having non-Ashtarite companions was a boon as well, but Lero warned me that I should get everyone’s approval before risking their lives.

While my taking on this task would free the locals to focus on the multitude of minor jobs that were demanding attention, Lero made it clear that I would know best if my quest prevented me from doing this for him.

Lero gave me two possible angles to attack the problem. I could go to the north gate of the temple district and cause a fuss, or I could begin to look upstairs, here at the guildhall. He said very little about what I could accomplish by doing these things. Maybe he didn’t know.

Since the Day of Judgment was looming, Lero wanted me to exercise caution, and refrain from using more violence than You demanded. It wouldn’t do to leave judgment in other hands than Yours. He also said I should keep the cards close to my chest. He didn’t want to know my plans, and I shouldn’t discuss them in this chapel at all. He had another calling, and he thanked me for helping him realize that.

I knelt at the altar and prayed, allowing the snakes to slither all over me. There was no point discussing it with my friends if You didn’t want me to undertake the mission. A sense of calm suffused the chapel, but I got no indication about what to do.

I left the chapel, and saw that the two guardians had taken position in the meeting room above, again. I thought I had heard them settle there while I was washing to get in. The old man was busy cleaning his nails with a knife and didn’t acknowledge me at all, and the younger just nodded slightly as I passed them.

I didn’t see my friends, walking through the guildhall, so I supposed they were in their rooms. Grogg and Hylda could have gone out, but they were probably taking advantage of the silk sheets, although I couldn’t hear them at the moment. I doubted Xipil or Wolfram would leave the compound. I wondered if any of them would like to get involved in the big politics and the affairs of nobles. I wasn’t so sure, myself, but I thought I would let You speak through my friends, before I accepted or declined this mission. I decided to talk to Wolfram and Xipil before revealing anything to Grogg. But first, Yana!
__________________
You don't need to spend 100 CP on Status 5 [25] and Multimillionaire [75] to feel like a princess, when Delusion [-10] will do.

Character sheet: Google Drive link (See this thread for details.)

Campaign logs: Chaotic Pioneering / Confessions of a Forked Tongue

Last edited by coronatiger; 05-19-2021 at 08:37 AM. Reason: Misunderstood why Lero couldn't do the investigation himself.
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Old 05-21-2021, 08:51 AM   #170
coronatiger
 
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Trondheim, Norway
Default Session 53 (2021-05-19)

14th of Ratanu, year 412 (continued)

Yana looked up from her sewing when I entered our room, and held out her hand. “Look at this!” “It’s a leaf…?” I concluded, uncertain why she would bring it inside. “Look closer,” she said eagerly. I took the leaf from her hand, and realization dawned on me. “You made this!” I exclaimed. I had to look very closely to see that this wasn’t a real leaf. “It’s pretty, and an amazing piece of work, but why would you make something like this?” I asked. “Oh, just to see if I could,” was the reply.

I gave Yana a footrub while she sewed, and I explained to her about Lero’s mission. Yana thought it sounded vague, but exciting. She particularly liked the part about withholding unwarranted violence. I had feared that she might not want to get involved in the intrigue, but she actually looked forward to it. She promised to back me up when I tried to convince the others to help.

Since Yana was on board, we went to discuss the mission with Xipil and Wolfram. Wolfram was understandably skeptical about a mission that required us to speak with strangers, but neither he nor Xipil was completely opposed to it, so we decided it was time to inform Grogg and Hylda, too.

Grogg sensed the possibility of a fight and said he was in. Wolfram asked about a reward for doing this, but I said that we would be doing it as a favor to Lero. Wolfram didn’t like that at all, but Yana pointed out that this mission would display our capabilities to the nobles, and then the jobs and the money would come flooding. Everyone agreed that we had little information to go on, and Wolfram asked if I was holding back, even though I had told the others everything Lero had told me – at least the relevant bits.

The old priest had indicated that the lead at the temple district’s northern gate was the most promising, but I thought it might be less risky to talk to people at the guildhall. Xipil wanted to go and scout out the gate. We agreed he should be back two hours after sunset, at the latest. Unlike the others, Yana and I hadn’t had dinner yet, and we could eat and socialize, and hopefully learn something while Xipil was out.

Wolfram said he was going to polish his armor, but he followed Yana and me downstairs. Three mercenaries sat at the other side of the room, few enough for Wolfram to sit down with Yana and me when we ordered food. The meal came along with the latest news; Lord Mir had been observed on the horizon and would be docking soon. The man who brought the food was not the one who had checked us in last night, and I hadn’t made my allegiance known to him. He recommended that we went to the old harbor to watch as Lord Mir sailed in, thinking we might be tourists. Yana and I certainly didn’t look like mercenaries.

Wolfram turned the talk to politics, expressing concern about the unrest in Arland. As long as Wolfram kept the man talking, I was content to listen. The serving man didn’t think the situation was as bad as Wolfram made it sound. Wolfram mentioned the unrest in Sam, the strikes, and our host spoke disparagingly about my beloved hometown while being optimistic that such things wouldn’t spread here. I kept my face smooth and focused on my food. Wolfram brought up the slave uprising in the north country, and the serving man agreed that there was some unrest up there, but it was nothing to worry about.

When Wolfram changed topics again, and begun discussion weapons, I decided to leave. Yana was so sensitive about violence that I imagined she was itching to get away. We had finished eating, anyway. I caught Yana’s eye and tilted my head towards the mercenaries across the room. She nodded, we said thank you for the meal, and slipped away.

We sat down with the mercenaries. Two of them teased the third about his tendency to spend all his money on drinks for the pretty ladies. That gave me an idea and I challenged him to a drinking contest. If I could get the alcohol flowing, that might loosen their tongues. I ordered beer, using the mercenary’s silver. Yana just sipped at her own mug, but the contest was between the mercenary and me. His companions shouted encouragement for us both. “Drink, drink, drink!”

Three more mercenaries came in and joined us, including the leader of their little outfit. He bragged and said that the boys would run around aimlessly like headless chickens if it wasn’t for him. Grogg and Hylda came downstairs too, and fortunately kept their distance, sitting down at the table Wolfram vacated when the common room became too crowded for his taste. They ordered drinks too, the strongest available.

I faked a drunken drawl and asked the mercenaries about their business. They told a story about saving a wagon from “raiders” and tried to convince us about how heroic they were. A couple of Ashtarites I recognized from yesterday crossed the room and headed for the chapel. I felt a little guilty for not going to tonight’s Meet, but I had a job to do.

More recently, the mercenaries had brought prisoners from a village north of here. They were currently out of work, but the host promised them something, without offering specifics, when they raised their voices and asked.

I leaned into Yana and giggled, then whispered in her ear. I asked her to find an excuse to leave; the mercenaries might talk more freely if I “fell asleep” and she wasn’t there. Yana waited for a minute, then declared she was going to “see to nature” and admonished the men to look after me while she was gone. Not long after, I pretended to pass out and slumped into the lap of my drinking companion.

One of the mercenaries said they should wake me, or at least alert my friend to my condition, but the one I was using as a pillow said to let me sleep. One was concerned that someone should take advantage of me while I was out of it, but the others assured him that they wouldn’t let anything happen to me. Other than that, they were just bragging and trash talking each other, so I decided to “wake up” since I didn’t think they’d reveal anything interesting.

I sat up and asked drowsily if I’d won. The mercenaries laughed companionably. “No, he did,” one said, pointing at my competition. Another declared, “The drinking princess is awake!” I asked where my friend was, and they told me she had gone to answer the call of nature, twenty minutes ago. One of them thought she had to be menstruating, taking so long. I just said I had to go check on her.

I stood carefully and swayed across the room. The older chapel guard peeked out from the meeting room, like he had done several times during my drinking contest, one hand on his knife, ready to draw, but he didn’t acknowledge me as I passed on my way to the stairs.
__________________
You don't need to spend 100 CP on Status 5 [25] and Multimillionaire [75] to feel like a princess, when Delusion [-10] will do.

Character sheet: Google Drive link (See this thread for details.)

Campaign logs: Chaotic Pioneering / Confessions of a Forked Tongue
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