Tales of Faerun

[Deleted6317247User]

Shalena didn't bother to reply to Tannin's remarks, instead focusing her attention on her drink, but then Llhunarra spoke about treasure and seemed very interested in it, no less the piratess chuckled. "Good to see someone else appreciating treasure as much as I do."

 

"Well, I can't complain about it, though more wouldn't hurt," Shalena said, "besides occasional pickpocketing, we do stumble upon dragon hoards, and as I'm sure you know, dragons hoard a lot of treasure so not only we get to pick a lot, we sadly have to leave just as much behind."

[josh900]

"Surprisingly very little." Tannin said, copying Shalena's remark. "We seem to have been hit with a curse of near poverty as us late. Most of what we make goes to supplies and the like. It's not divided out amongst the group either. We're allowed to take some but we don't really get a cut of the whole. I believe we may have to fix that little issue soon." He chuckled.

 

After a few moments and a bit of scrubbing, Tannin eventually rose up out of the pool. "Well my fair ladies it has grown late, and I have some possibly unpleasant business to attend to, if all goes well it could be very pleasant, though I'm preparing for the worst." He said as he stepped out and picked the grey robe up off the floor and put it back on.

 

"I've enjoyed your company and must now bid you both goodnight." He said with a bow before turning to the other room where his clothes were waiting. He certainly wasn't looking forward to what was coming, but he knew that [putting it off any longer would just make things worse.

 

Putting on his now somehow clean clothes on, he made his way outside of the building, and looked to the one that housed the bedrooms. "If only the climb were the unpleasant bit." He muttered to himself, truly dreading the coming conversation.

[Deleted6317247User]

After leaving the baths, Tannin decided that it was time to have a talk with Nawen. He hoped that in a more relaxed environment, and the time that had past will have cooled her off some.

 

Not knowing exactly which room she had taken however he opted to find out the hard way and climbed from the balcony of one of the free private bedrooms, around the building until he spotted which one she was staying in. He dropped down onto the balcony and knocked on the glass window to get her attention.

 

The sound of somebody knocking on the glass woke her up. Her hand reached for knife under her pillow before sitting up. She glanced at the balcony to see Tannin standing outside. Sighing, she put the blade back under the pillow, got out of bed and approached the window.

 

"Isn't it too late to be climbing on the walls?" She asked as she opened the window.

 

"Nah." He said with a smile. "Climbing up buildings and knocking on the windows of beautiful women well after dark is a favorite past time of Rogues back in Waterdeep." He said as he leaned against the window frame. "Actually I wanted to talk to you if that's okay. Hopefully I didn't disturb your sleep, would have much rather waited till morning but... well chances are we won't have a moment of peace tomorrow so I figured that now would be the best time for it. That is.. if you'll let me."

 

She did not respond to his compliment, as she was unsure what to say but to his others words she responded with a simple: "Very well." She said as she walked over to the balcony door and unlocked them, letting him inside.

 

"Thank you." He said as she let him him. He walked in and took a few steps before turning to her. "Sorry I haven't really said anything before this, Been busy with something. But uhh.. I wanted to say that I think you and me, need to have a nice long discussion with each other for this to be all smoothed out. And believe me, I want it to be smoothed out okay? You're certainly not someone I'd get a kick out of for a few days then leave behind the next day." He said before putting his hands in his pockets.

 

"I'm actually surprisingly bad at these sorta talks, most women I've been with haven't really reacted this way to me before. Might sound a bit odd but... It's a nice change of pace I think. But anyways." He said, shaking his head. "I need to fix what little of.. us there ever was, so..." He walked over to a nearby chair and sat down in it.

"What do I need to do, to keep our fighting to a minimum?"

 

She closed the balcony door while she listened to what Tannin said. She's been wondering if he thought about their fight at all, because there was little else she's been thinking of, wondering what to do next or if there's even possible to do something. She had so many conflicting thoughts in her mind and had no idea which to listen to.

 

"Nice change of pace?" She repeated those words with a light frown on her face as she turned to look at him.

 

His next words, however were met with a momentary silence. A few times she opened her mouth as she was about to say something before deciding against it before finally saying. "Could you," she paused, "could you stay in a monogamous relationship? Would I, alone, be enough for you?"

 

Tannin looked at her for a moment until he finally spoke. "I believe there may have been some misunderstanding when I spoke of an open relationship. I have no intention of being caught up in what I would hope to be a long term relationship with anyone else but you." He said, looking her straight in the eyes. "You see, my thoughts on sexuality and the like were largely influenced by where I spent four of some of the most important years of life, as well as my worshiping of Sharess in the years later. While some consider what happens in and sometimes out of the bedroom as sacred and only meant for the love of your life, to me it's really just a good bit of fun." He said with a shrug.

 

"While yes, that type of intimacy can be very important in a relationship, but for me, I put value over other things over bedroom antics. Mostly when the clothes are all still on you see." He said with a small laugh.

 

"So you see, were I to go out and roll around with another woman, it's not a you're not good enough or just you isn't enough for me sort of thing. It's really just sort of.. mindless fun. Just because I want to get them out of their clothes doesn't mean I want to spend a quiet afternoon with them, I can't really think of anyone else I'd rather do that with other than you. And to me... that's what's important in these sorta things."

 

"But then.. I can understand if it's not to you liking, I am a bit of an acquired taste after all. I can completely understand if you'd rather that I never even speak to another woman again. But like it or not, I'm just not that type of person. I could lie to you and say that I am, that I'd never even think of spending a few nude moments with another woman for you. But that would just be setting up a disaster down the road somewhere." He shrugged.

 

"So there's my answer, or.. explanation more like. I'd be more than willing to set rules and limits and the like to it all but to stop completely? As the line goes, old habits die hard unfortunately."

 

Nawen listened intently to his words, nearly each word making her more upset. For most of the day she's been making up different scenarios in her head, but all were slightly more optimistic. "But it is important to me," she said quietly. She wanted to explain how different her view on the subject was, how that kind of intimacy was far from important to her but it is not something she viewed so lightly like he did.

 

"I tried to understand the sort of relationship you want, tried to accept it," she said, "but when you-" she paused, "regardless what your intentions towards Rhaine were, I see that you're not against the idea of involving yourself with the other women of our group should they be willing to do so as well." She then turned to look at him. "Do my feelings mean so little to you?" She asked. "Didn't you think I'd like to be friends with them? How do you think I'd look them in the eyes if you did that?"

 

She could feel the turmoil of emotions that she tried to suppress: sadness, disappointment, anger... and all of them were threatening to burst out. "I... I... I deserve better than this!" She suddenly exclaimed. "I refuse to cry myself to sleep because a man I care about is looking 'for mindless fun' in the arms of other women," her body was shaking from anger, and though her eyes were dry she felt as she was on the verge of tears, "I refuse to grow bitter and cold and push away those who do care for me just to keep you happy!" She realized she was speaking loudly, almost yelling but at this very moment she didn't care.

 

"You said you care about me, but you didn't even consider to at least try... you don't care how I feel, you just want to sweet-talk me into doing things your way." And just as unexpectedly as she lashed out she grew quiet again.

 

"Perhaps I'm asking too much from you, I don't know," she said, her voice quieter, "you said it yourself, you're not that type of person, but I'm too tired to be the kind of person who sacrifices what little happiness I have for someone who isn't even willing to try and make me feel happier," she said, "you could compliment me all you like but your actions will always prove otherwise. Rules and limits won't make a difference here."

 

Tannin listened to Nawen's yelling, sitting silently until she was finished. He looked to the side for a moment before exhaling loudly. "If I was going to run off and sleep with any of the other women in our group, don't you think I would have done that already? I've had plenty of chances, never took them. Thought about it yes, but never took them. Because I knew... that it would upset you greatly. Despite popular opinion, I don't try and get into bed with any and every woman that shows interest. I can in fact control such urges when I want to. I'd just rather avoid a giant screaming mess of "you cheated on me" should the occasion arise if I do find myself in such a situation." He said, rising from his seat.

 

"I would never... do something with the intention of hurting or upsetting you. I am capable of caring enough about a person not to do something like that." He said softly.

 

She stood there, still slightly shaking from her angry outburst. She listened to what he said, she didn't want to argue anymore but with her outburst she said everything that she thought, everything she kept inside. "You don't have to worry about upsetting me anymore," Nawen said as she looked away from him, she couldn't stand looking at him but it wasn't because of anger, "you can sleep with whoever you want," she said as she turned her head to look at him, "I... I have to do this now..." she paused and sighed heavily. It was so much more difficult than she thought it could be, but then she never even considered to be in a situation such as this, "before it got too painful. For both of us. I'm sorry."

 

She looked away from him again and headed towards the door. For a brief moment she stood there with her hand on the handle before finally opening them. "Please, leave."

 

Though he wanted to try and convince her still, he knew that it was pointless to try now. "Okay." He said in a small voice. "Goodnight then." He said with a small bow before turning and walking away, shutting her door behind him.

 

Nawen turned away from the door and stared blankly at the the room before suddenly bursting out into tears. She slid against the door to a sitting position, covering her mouth with her hands to silence the sobs that threatened to escape her lips. She convinced herself it was for the best, for both of them, that if she allowed this relationship to last longer both would have been hurt much more but why did she feel so bad? Why did it hurt if it was the right choice?

 

She wept silently by the door until she could no longer keep her eyes open and fell asleep right there on the floor.

 

[AurianaValoria1]

By the grace of the gods, Rhaine's sleep was indeed dreamless. As a result, she woke long after dawn, happily refreshed and feeling better than she had in days - she even managed to forget Arland's stupidity for a few hours. The Doomguide was in no hurry to get anywhere, for once, and so she spent quite a bit of time polishing and cleaning her armor and weapons. Once satisfied with their condition, she donned her green dragonscale garb, belted her sword to her side, put everything else in her pack and made her way downstairs to the common room of the guest quarters.

 

Menarses was waiting on them, sitting with his legs propped up on a table, enjoying a bowl of what appeared to be bright yellow fruit that had been drizzled with honey. The merchant prince offered her a wide grin as she made her way down the stairs, and he held his arms out wide in greeting, "Ahhhh, there is our beautiful deva, no?"

 

"Your flattery falls on deaf ears, goodsir," Rhaine replied flatly with one brow raised.

 

He ignored her response and continued, "Imhiros told me all about your mission last night, dear lady. He has departed for Skuld in order to gather information, and he will not return for several days...which leads me to wonder what you shall do here while you wait..." he trailed, a flicker of mischief crossing his countenance.

 

Rhaine put her pack on both shoulders and crossed her arms, "I'm sure you have something planned if I don't."

 

Menarses's immediate answer was merely a wider grin as he chewed a piece of fruit thoughtfully. His eyes sparkled, and the Doomguide could only guess what the merchant was thinking...

 

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Conall, who had chosen the room across from Nawen's, thought he heard the drow shouting angrily during the night. As he lay on his bed, hands behind his head, he had thought about getting up and checking on her. He did not wish to disturb her if she was asleep. Yet, the long silence that followed the shouting worried him; it was likely simply something to do with Tannin...but what if it wasn't?

 

The paladin thought about it all night, straining his ears to hear if anything else happened. But nothing did. When dawn finally broke and filled his room with a rosy tint, he got up and donned his casual clothing, then carefully made his way across the hall and rapped gently on Nawen's door.

 

"Nawen? It's me, Conall. Are you awake?"

 

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Zorica found herself still on the divan the next morning, the empty wine goblet having fallen from her hand and onto the floor. The completely drained bottle lay beside her, and Sir Meowsalot was beside that, intently licking its opening for any remaining drops of wine.

 

The half-drow sat up fully and groaned, her body horribly stiff and her head pounding.

 

Note to self, never do that again....

 

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Argyros, meanwhile, was far above them, circling the estate on silver wings. The warm updrafts were strong this day, and he was taking advantage of them, getting a bird's-eye view of the estate and the surrounding land. He had watched Imhiros depart before dawn, until his tiny figure had disappeared on the horizon to the north. The dragon wished the paladin luck on his journey, and he hoped that whatever information he gleaned would be useful to them.

[Llhunara]

Having no idea what Tannin’s words meant Llhunarra raises her drink to him as he takes his leave. For a moment her eyes trace the multiple scars on his body before shrugging some, such markings lead to dark thoughts, best to focus on the positive. With that she questions Shalena further about these supposed dragon hoards. In most cases the red head wouldn’t have believed such things, the idea of actually coming across actual dragons and their hordes not exactly the usual tales at your local tavern. (At least not ones with any truth behind them.) The more she heard though and the more she thought about it, the more she believed them. The fact a dragon was traveling with alongside them also gave credibility to the group as well.

 

Eventually though, as her drinking did not stop until her flask ran dry, the red head found herself growing more relaxed than one should in a body of water. When she stumbles and takes in a mouth full of water in the process she luckily has enough sense to realize her time in the bath should come to an end. Making her way out, probably with Shalena’s help, the rogue put back on her robe and gathered the rest of her belongs before finding a room for the night. The details of how she ended up in the room she awoke in a bit foggy, but that is what she assumed had happened. Blinking some as she lifts her head from the soft pillow she realized she was still just in her borrowed robe.

 

Glancing around the lavishly furnished room she was glad to be alone, the way she was sprawled out in the robe not exactly a flattering position to be seen in. Rolling over and managing to get herself off of the bed she looks to her armor piled on the floor with her other belongings. With a sigh she shrugs off the loose robe to quickly replace it with a pair of trousers and a tunic. Rubbing her hands along her face once, then opening the door and heading into the hallway. Looking left and seeing the end of the hall several doors down she makes her way to the right. Rounding the first corner she notices one of the males in the party…Conall was it? The human standing near a door as if waiting for someone to open it she gives him a half hearted wave while walking past.

 

Finding stairs she descends, eventually making her way into the common room. Bare feet slapping against the stone she pauses as she enters, noticing Menarses and…what was her name… Not able to recall it at the moment as trying to remember only made her head hurt more she simply plays it off with a small smile.

 

“Good morning you two…is there anywhere I might get a glass of milk?” The second part of course directed at the merchant. Yawning quietly Llhunarra stretches before moving to take a seat, her left hand reaching up to rub gently at her temple.

Edited November 15, 2014 by Llhunara

[Deleted6317247User]

Shalena stayed in the bath after Llhunarra left, staying in the warm water for a few more minutes before getting out as well. She then spent some time walking around the hallways and looking for anything valuable to steal, but after finding none that she could easily hide, empty handed the piratess made her way to the room she picked. On her way, she met a lovely servant girl and talked with her briefly before going to her room.

 

When the morning came, the piratess woke up feeling fresh and well rested. She got dressed in whatever clean clothes she find in her pack and made her way to the common room. Some of their group were already there. "Morning," she greeted them before seating herself at the table. She managed to overhear something about doing something while they wait for someone, and judging from the merchant's grin he had something in mind. The piratess was curious to hear what he had in mind. "We'd all love to hear what you have in mind, good sir." She said.

 

Nawen was woken up by someone knocking on her door. Realizing she fell asleep on the floor, she sighed heavily before getting up. The drow was relieved to hear it was Conall. She shot a quick glance to the mirror to see if she didn't look like she was crying for most of the night hoping that even if she did, she could pass it as simply not feeling very well.

 

She opened the door and looked at Conall. "Good morning, Conall," she greeted him, "I just woke up," she said only now realizing it was rather late, for her anyway, "did something happen? Are we leaving?" She asked.

[AurianaValoria1]

Conall shook his head, "No, I was just about to head downstairs to see if Rhaine had anything for us, today." He leaned a bit closer and whispered, "I thought I heard you yelling last night...I would have checked on you before now, but I feared I would have disturbed your rest. Are you all right?"

 

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Meanwhile, Menarses clapped his hands and spoke rapidly to a male servant in Mulhorandi; they nodded, departed, and swiftly returned with a pitcher of milk and a goblet for Llhunarra.

 

The merchant then returned his attention to Rhaine, leaning back in his seat, "You see, I am hosting a festival in a tendays' time, to honor our gods for our recent victories over the Untherites. I am in need of assistance in this, as I am dreadfully short of staff."

 

Rhaine shifted her weight from one leg to the other, "And what kind of assistance are we talking about, here?"

 

"Well," Menarses paused, taking another bite of fruit and swallowing before continuing, "For one thing, I need guards. The many men with you seem competent enough...perhaps they would be interested in keeping the masses under control?"

 

The Doomguide mused over this suggestion for a few moments, then replied, "I shall speak with them and see what they say. Anything else?"

 

The merchant smiled, "I am also in need of dancers for a very special performance I have in mind. Unfortunately, most of the ones I had in my employ quit not long before you arrived...for unknown reasons, so do not bother asking me," he waved his hand in the air, "Something trivial, no doubt. Regardless, I will need at least four...one to represent each of our goddesses: Isis, Hathor, Nephthys, and Bast...whom you likely know better as Sharess." He removed his feet from the table and leaned forward, smiling broadly at the Doomguide, "And my lovely feathered friend...I already have my eyes on you for the part of Nephthys."

 

Rhaine backed up a step and shook her head, "I'm sorry, but I am no danc-"

 

"Oh?" Menarses's grin widened, and he leveled his gaze at her, "But you see, the only reason you are here is because of Imhiros's influence with me. And Imhiros suggested that I put you all to good use since you would be staying in my rooms and eating my food without charge. Do you not think that it is fair of me to ask this of you, since I allow you free reign of my estate for an unlimited time?"

 

The Doomguide's irritation was obvious, "It is not a matter of fairness, it is a matter of my own inability to do as you ask."

 

Menarses chuckled, "I shall have a teacher instruct you for the next few days, my sweet deva. And I have confidence you have the ability to learn. Think of it as an opportunity to add another skill to your repertoire."

 

Rhaine huffed in exasperation, "Surely you can find-"

 

"No," was the merchant's simple answer, "I want you for this part, and no other. And you," he turned to Shalena, looking the piratess up and down, "I do think you would do well in Sharess's shoes..."

[josh900]

Azuris had woken up and made his way to the common room just in time to hear their host's demands. "We're being blackmailed here?" He said irritably. "Can't say that's in your best interest Menarus." He warned, butchering his name. "We can be a rather unfriendly bunch when we want to be." He growled.

Edited November 15, 2014 by josh900

[Deleted6317247User]

"Oh... that," Nawen said thinking how to explain this. Last night she was so overwhelmed with emotions that she didn't care she was yelling but now... she didn't want to burden anyone with her troubles anymore, "I'm not feeling very well, thank you for asking," she said to Conall, "but it's nothing serious." She added.

 

Shalena listened to the exchange with a smile on her face. Unlike Rhaine, she liked the idea very much. "Oh, you bet," the piratess said once the merchant prince addressed her, "I'm in. I know a few things about dancing. I had... a friend who was a dancer."

Edited November 15, 2014 by Guest

[Llhunara]

The loud clap had the rogue wincing. Thankfully it did result with her getting not just a glass of milk, but her own pitcher of it. Smiling at the servant that delivers it she takes both from her, filling the glass with the creamy white substance before taking a long drink. Delicious. Soon enough she would be rid of this hangover, then she could go about exploring the rest of the compound like she had wanted to the night before.

 

When the merchant spoke of the upcoming festival Llhunarra was instantly interested. Even as he continued to basically blackmail them into working for him in order to pay for their supposed free stay, the rogue couldn’t help but smile a little. While she had no intentions of dancing before anyone or any crowd, she could appreciate the tactic. Nothing in this world was free.

 

“I can assist the men with keeping the riff raff under control if you wish; I would be far more useful to you there than on any stage I can assure you.” The half-elf sitting back in her chair and crossing one leg over the other as she sips at her milk. “And thank you for the milk, it is much appreciated.” Hopefully her forwardness was enough to get her out of such an act, let Shalena and the not so excited red head take care of frolicking around on stage.