Results 241 to 270 of 919
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2019-10-05, 09:42 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Feb 2016
- Gender
Re: (IC) Festival of Heroes 5 - Thrymskvida - Main
Qetesh leaned her head back and spread her arms in a wide shrug. "I am satisfied with my innuendo skills," she said with a wink. "Hand-eye coordination sounds like the same thing I already said I'd like to improve," she added with a chuckle.
"I'm pretty sure my clients would generally dislike if I could shuck bondage ropes on a whim. That does kind of defeat the point. And between my fees for such things and the clout of the Guild, no client has ever dared violate safe words," she explained, a hard edge to her tone at the end, her sharp-toothed smile a reminder that she didn't have to be a fighter to be dangerous.
"Fluid Form is an entertaining idea, though. Otherwise, I have every spell relevant to my work that exists. I suppose there are a few polymorphs I could learn that I don't have, but bear in mind, I refuse to turn into an animal. There are lines even I won't cross," she said with a wry chuckle.
The blue-skinned goblinoid paused at Umbear's shift in tone, her gaze sliding away from him.
"Well, if you must..."
"Hey!" a familiar kitsune called out, interrupting. "Aha, perfect! This will make things easier. I didn't realize this was his time slot, ha!" Ra said jovially.
He halted near the couple and leaned against a nearby wall and crossed his ankles, grinning.
"So, Ogre, I heard you were interested in becoming our favorite little beauty's patron? I have time now to negotiate terms of the contract, if you'd like! I can't promise I won't be too busy later," he warned.
The green-haired gnome looked steadily at the towering shobhad, and glanced briefly at the gold-scaled human next to him, a shadow briefly crossing her face as she looked down.
"I had hoped you would come to me about this alone, honey. But what's done is done," she said. She sighed and waddled to her desk and flumped the giant stack of files onto it. She climbed into her chair and steepled her hands and looked up at Gorrun with a serious expression. She flicked a hand and the door behind them slammed shut, the lock clicking.
"What I am about to say does not leave this room," she said sharply.
"I did not see or hear anything about how Cedric escaped," the old gnome said evenly. "The guards overheard Sir Aurix and Her Highness' conversation about the tunnel they found and mentioned it to me in passing. I do not know why the Princess did not know about that tunnel. Her father showed her. Every castle worth its bricks has one. It's the Royal Family's escape tunnel out of the castle in case of a breach during a siege. Only the Royal Family and select trusted servants are permitted to know of it. I know of it because I was Lady Hervir and Her Highness' governess in my youth. So I had to know of it so I could get the girls out if something happened. Had I known she was unaware, I would have shown the Princess that tunnel myself! Perhaps she simply does not remember the couple of practice drills we ran when she was a wee girl, I don't know. That was a long time ago," she admitted.
She sighed and adjusted her glasses, leaning back.
"I know Cedric did not escape by that tunnel because only the former Prince, his wife, his General, and I, plus the girls, knew that it existed. Of those people, only Princess Geiravor and I still live. The tunnel is warded against accidental discovery. Only the Princess' presence with you when you searched down there enabled the tunnel to be found. Anyone with blood of the Royal Family can find the tunnel by 'accident'. Otherwise, you must have the tunnel shown to you by a member of the Royal Family in order to find it."
"If Cedric had inside help to escape, there would be no reason not to simply let him out the door to the street, as the help would have to come from someone who knows the gaps in the guard schedule, or had enough clout to adjust the schedule to suit their needs."Last edited by Wolfykins; 2019-10-05 at 09:47 PM.
Spoiler: Aurora
Spoiler: Inaemehkiwak (Ina)
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2019-10-06, 10:10 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2013
- Location
- North Carolina
- Gender
Re: (IC) Festival of Heroes 5 - Thrymskvida - Main
Aurix frowns, tweaked by Viridessa's open distrust of him. After she finishes speaking, Aurix gives Gorrun a look and nods. Then he turns to Viridessa. "Look...surely you know by now that Geiravor and I are courting. And that's going well right now, despite everything going on. Warrick and Gorrun have both said that right now, I'm in the best position to protect the Princess. We do suspect somebody in the castle helped Cedric escape, and we needed to make sure that person wasn't you. And so far, I believe it isn't. But there's also a lot more to you than I realized; I should have known that as the seneschal, of course you would have eyes and ears around the castle."
Aurix sighs, searching for words. "I guess what I'm saying is that if we wanna protect the Princess, we should try to trust each other, the three of us. We've already flushed out the demonic infiltrators, but I'm sure there are cultists around as well."Festival of Heroes: Aurix Kornari- 6' Human with golden scales on his skin, blond hair, green Draconic eyes, carrying a halberd, meets people with a warm smile.
Spoiler: If you speak DraconicAurix Kornari means "Gold Heart"
DM of Twinborn
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2019-10-06, 08:18 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Feb 2017
Re: (IC) Festival of Heroes 5 - Thrymskvida - Main
Jaylyn let out a hearty laugh "That's what i want to hear." Jaylyn said with her own dose of confidence, before taking on a more serious tone. "Just be careful that you don't get OVER-confident, that's what cost me my match against Umbear. I got a big head after my win vs Droktoktor and thought most of the people here was like him and well... you see where that got me." Jaylyn said simply shrugging before continuing, "Although I do have to thank the big lug, if it wasn't for him knocking my ego back in check, I wouldn't be as focused on the enchantment school as I am now."
Jaylyn noticed the hairs that fell from Nameless as she shook her head, she softly rubbed the back of Nameless head, where the dragon's hair was, managing to hold on to some of the loose hair. Jaylyn held out the hair in her hand and showed it to Nameless, "This is why I wanted to get you a bath too, we can't have you shedding... loosing hair... all over the castle. I'd rather not have to make Gieravor's maids have to clean up dragon hair." Jaylyn said jokingly with a giggle. "Afterwards if you'd like I could even braid it, if it's long enough, kinda like this..." Jaylyn paused grabbing her own hair, and doing a quick over-under braid, when she finished she simply shook her hair back out letting fall behind her.
Jaylyn looked back over at Nameless, reached into her bag and spoke in Draconic, "Personal Journal, Ink Pen." grabbing each item as she did. "Alright you know you better then anybody, and since we need to get you at your peak as quickly as possible. you tell me what kinda gear you need and I'll make sure to get it made for you." Jaylyn said opening her book to a blank pages and took the pen in her left hand ready to begin taking notes as soon as Nameless began.Festival of Heroes: Jaylyn a 5 foot Kitsune with golden brown fur, black ears, and golden eyes. She's an average build leaning on the smaller size. When in human form her hair is golden blonde, but retains her golden eyes. her build is still average but a bit bigger then in Kitsune form.
No matter which from she is in, she always seen in her white halter-top dress, carrying a 5 foot staff with a sapphire on top, and a jeweled necklace around her neck.
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2019-10-06, 08:20 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2014
Re: (IC) Festival of Heroes 5 - Thrymskvida - Main
Umbears eyebrow lept up hearing the kitsune. he turns with a huge smile on his face reaching out he pulls the kitsune off the wall and into a hug.
"RA!"
He takes a moment to hold him in a 3 mississippi hug before letting him down, he makes sure not to squeeze him tight enough to hurt him.
"Ra, my friend, I am so happy to see you ok.... it seems to be dangerous to be my friend as of late and im glad to see you have had no harm come to you."
"But yes, I was just about to talk to qetesh about something of similar proportions. "
He turns back to qetesh to gauge her reaction to umbear glomping ra (1d20+26)[36] Sense Motive
"Qetesh, I like you, I like watching you work in court, I love watching your grace, your tactful words, and enjoy watching you stalk your prey, you are the perfect hunter in the environment you have chosen, and it makes my heart stutter just to watch you work, and that before you even turn your attentions toward me."
He glances back to ra, to see that hes ok (1d20+26)[43] Sense Motive
"But, I know in your profession... confessions are a copper a dozen. Im interested in learning more about you, and sharing more of myself with you, I have no intentions of influencing your profession beyond what youd like. A beautiful bird does not need a guilded cage, when an open roost will do. Id like to offer a roost, even if your not interested, either way, Id like to be a patron."
He exhales.
"Hey... look.... a bumbling ogre... he sounds like an idiot..."Last edited by Darius Vibrtrar; 2019-10-06 at 08:24 PM.
Festival of Heroes:
Umbear: 14 ft tall Ogre, Odd assortment of Clothing and Armor. Greenish/Grey Skin. Tusks.
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2019-10-06, 10:46 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Feb 2016
- Gender
Re: (IC) Festival of Heroes 5 - Thrymskvida - Main
Viridessa shook her head and gave Aurix a motherly, disapproving frown.
"It's not about trust, honey, it's about protocol, and obligation. The General should know about the tunnel, as that has always been part of the General's duty: to flee with the Royal Family, as a protector and guide. And frankly, to strong-arm them if necessary... The Princess is not the most stubborn member of her line!" the gnome said with a dry chuckle. She leaned forward in her chair and held her hand over her chin.
"Until the day you either sire an heir or are coronated, whichever comes first, there are things I cannot divulge to you. The only reason I say anything about the tunnel in front of you now, is because you already saw it! Honey, as long as that barrier is in place, that escape tunnel is largely pointless, because there's only so far you could go."
Viridessa rubbed her bottom lip for a moment and sighed, straightening.
"Very little happens in this castle that I don't find out about. Most of the time, if I don't know something, it's because it's Unwin's business. He doesn't like me sticking my nose in his business. He sees me as a competitor, even though he was chosen for his role and cannot easily be turned out due to the secrets he knows. The Head of Intelligence must be above reproach and completely trusted, considering the harm state and personal secrets could do to the Royal Family and the nobility... if that wasn't blindingly obvious."
The old witch's eyes narrowed on the pair in front of her and she leaned back in her chair, head tipping forward so she was looking up at them from under her green bangs, her eyes in shadow.
"If you suspected me, am I to take that you also suspected Unwin? You made such a point to call us both out together this afternoon. I dislike that... insect... but it is... concerning... to hear there might be real cause to suspect he is a traitor. For Geiravor's sake, I hope you are wrong. And you must tread carefully if you are going to confront him about it. If you are wrong, he will only be angry. But if you are right..." she shook her head.
"Ah, well, the seasons recently changed, you know? Between that and the molt, it's only natural I'd shed. I'm not sure how much difference a bath would really make with that," Nameless remarked.
"I don't really know that much about magic equipment," Nameless admitted. "I never learned how to make anything of any kind, and engineering is what I have the least knowledge of. More than the average human, probably, but it's still my weakest subject. And honestly, engineering is pretty useless for magic crafting."
The young dragon considered for a moment, absently fluffing her mane.
"I definitely need decent armor if I'm to go into combat, especially if I'm to shield you. A ring of evasion and some improvement in reflexes is probably also helpful to that effect."
"Ah, hmm, there's an amulet of natural armor, and an amulet of natural attack... Both would be helpful, but only one could be an amulet," she added.
Ra tried and failed to back away from the ogre, seeing as how there was a wall behind him. He yipped and stiffened in surprise, hands going up in front of him as he desperately pushed against the ogre's strength to maintain distance. When Umbear set him down, his fur was mussed and his tail bushy and sticking straight out behind him.
Qetesh doubled over with laughter, every ounce of effort going into keeping her from collapsing into the street to literally roll with laughter.
Ra shot a withering glare at his wheezing subordinate as he straightened and attempted to recover some dignity by smoothing out his clothes and ruffled fur.
"Ahem... um, er, you see..." he harrumphed.
Qetesh wiped tears from her eyes and took a few measured breaths as she looked at Umbear, laughter still in her eyes.
"Oh, you're quite eloquent, especially for an ogre."
"True enough. Shall we go somewhere more private to discuss business? I'd rather not end the day in a dungeon cell with Qetesh, no matter how pleasant the company may be," Ra said dryly.
The blue goblinoid woman coughed and flushed a bit.
"True, true, I have tried very hard not to land myself in a filthy cell. Frankly, it's one of the reasons I left the brothel... they get raided periodically and not everyone escapes. Tis the nature of things. The lawmakers of Juvelnord do not see fit to allow such activities to be legal, on the grounds that their 'robust job placement system' means there's always an alternative job, and therefore no one ever need 'sully themselves' with such 'imoral' enterprises," she said with bitter sarcasm, sounding very much like she was quoting words spoken to her personally.
"Well, come with me," she said, abruptly changing the subject. "One of my rendezvous apartments is just a couple blocks from here," she said, pointing ahead as she began to stroll that way.
"Unless you prefer elsewhere?" she asked, pausing to look over her shoulder at Umbear.Spoiler: Aurora
Spoiler: Inaemehkiwak (Ina)
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2019-10-06, 11:00 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2014
Re: (IC) Festival of Heroes 5 - Thrymskvida - Main
Umbear beams a big dumb smile.
"Lead the way, I trust the two of you implicitly."
He gives ra a wink as he begins to follow qetesh.
"Honestly earlier today, I was looking at spending the rest of my days in a jail cell, hoping to see your smile once again, and ra's floofy tail"Festival of Heroes:
Umbear: 14 ft tall Ogre, Odd assortment of Clothing and Armor. Greenish/Grey Skin. Tusks.
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2019-10-06, 11:12 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2013
- Location
- North Carolina
- Gender
Re: (IC) Festival of Heroes 5 - Thrymskvida - Main
Viridessa, you wound me. If her majesty had forgotten about the tunnel, how might she have shown me? My tenior here is but a moment to her. As for our suspicions, it is less that we find you a suspect and more that everyone is suspect until we find the culprit. Though the fact that Lord Unwin has places where even your eyes and ears don't reach certainly does him not favors.
To all things there is an end. With every end, a new beginning.
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2019-10-06, 11:27 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Feb 2016
- Gender
Re: (IC) Festival of Heroes 5 - Thrymskvida - Main
Viridessa shook her head at the General.
"Don't be silly, honey, if I'd known she'd forgotten I would have corrected that, and made sure she showed you. It's not a slight or failing on your part. And of course Lord Unwin and his spies are largely out of my reach. He is Head of Intelligence, not I. I'd be more concerned if his security was so lax that I could get past it. What would that say about the chances of actual counter-intelligence?"
Qetesh blinked at Umbear and glanced at Ra, then back at the ogre.
"I mean... it's fine to trust me, my job does require a certain amount of trust or else there cannot be intimacy. But don't be foolish enough to trust Ra!" she said with a snort, resuming walking.
"Hey!" Ra exclaimed, hunching his shoulders in offense.
"I mean, fair, but still, you don't say that to a client!" the kitsune said indignantly.
Qetesh laughed and waved her hand behind her dismissively.
She led the way to a modest, but nice-quality and well-kept boarding house. It was four stories, and each floor had three apartments, save the ground floor, which sacrificed two apartments in order to have a kitchen and dining area, with a small lobby in a foyer where the manager could deal with tenants.
"Sorry, Umbear," she said as she stopped in the doorway, "but this place isn't really meant for large boarders, so, you'll have to shrink," she said, taking out her wand of Reduce Person and waving it, offering to cast on him as she had before.Last edited by Wolfykins; 2019-10-06 at 11:29 PM.
Spoiler: Aurora
Spoiler: Inaemehkiwak (Ina)
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2019-10-06, 11:39 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2014
Re: (IC) Festival of Heroes 5 - Thrymskvida - Main
Umbear smiled as qetesh made a tease at ra's expense.
"I already had a discussion with ra about trust and betrayal when we first met. Hes a good lad, hes good at what he does, and knows who to keep in good Grace's. The only thing better was if this was an ambush by bast to stab me over the tournament."
He chuckles as he allows qetesh to shrink him to a medium size.Festival of Heroes:
Umbear: 14 ft tall Ogre, Odd assortment of Clothing and Armor. Greenish/Grey Skin. Tusks.
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2019-10-06, 11:39 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2013
- Location
- North Carolina
- Gender
Re: (IC) Festival of Heroes 5 - Thrymskvida - Main
Aurix puts up a hand to admit the point. "Okay, I can respect propriety. I get that I'm not royal, and I'm still learning the rules and boundaries of this whole thing. As for this afternoon, yeah, I needed to make sure that the two of you weren't shapeshifters or something, and gauge your reactions. Unwin...well, he's on our list. Anything beyond that is a conversation to have elsewhere. We don't plan to be as straightforward with him. The only reason we're being this direct with you is because one, you seem above board and two, because someone who has eyes and ears around the castle would be real handy for finding threats to the Princess. You've watched over her this long...I assume we can count on you?"
Festival of Heroes: Aurix Kornari- 6' Human with golden scales on his skin, blond hair, green Draconic eyes, carrying a halberd, meets people with a warm smile.
Spoiler: If you speak DraconicAurix Kornari means "Gold Heart"
DM of Twinborn
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2019-10-07, 04:54 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Feb 2016
- Gender
Re: (IC) Festival of Heroes 5 - Thrymskvida - Main
Qetesh raised an eyebrow at Umbear and glanced at Ra, who shrugged. With a slight shake of her head, the courtesan turned and led the way up to her second floor apartment.
It was a modest, but comfortable three-room flat. The floor was nice wood panels, and the walls were actually papered in a subtle sky blue with a faded sort of watercolor bluebird pattern. The main area was a seating area comprised of a down-stuffed, embroidered sofa and two matching armchairs arranged around a round coffee table sporting a large, leather-bound book opened to a random page. The book was clearly all prints of nude etches.
Over by the window was a small dining table and seating for two. Behind the sofa was a doorway leading into a bedroom with a very nice four-poster bed and a thick, down comforter that was white with an elaborate, brown embroidery in the pattern of briers with purple accent flowers. On each side of the bed was an end table, each with a small porcelain chamber pot on the lowest shelf. Under the window was a vanity; a wardrobe hugged the wall on the opposite side of the room. The bedroom was carpeted with a plush, brown woolen carpet, and the walls paneled with warm oak.
To the left of that was a small room with green and yellow floor tiles and the walls were simple painted masonry, as neither wood panels nor paper would hold up to the steam of a hot bath. A large porcelain tub took up most of the space in the room, though there was also a sink, taking advantage of the swanky water pipes, visible on the wall and ceiling. Their presence raised the implied cost of the apartment considerably. Under the sink was a large porcelain chamber pot, partially concealed by a curtain hanging from a bar under the sink's edge.
The apartment was perfectly neat and spotless, with very little in the way of personal touch, besides, perhaps, colors and patterns. It was a comfortable, but largely impersonal space. A functional business area, not a home.
Qetesh directed Umbear and Ra to sit where they liked in the sitting area.
"I will send for tea," she said, stepping outside to request tea service from the boarding house's kitchen staff.
"Amusing, my ears make me taller than you right now," Ra remarked, moving his hand back and forth over his ears and Umbear's head a few times. Then, with a flick of his tail, he turned and moved to sit in one of the armchairs.
"So, Umbear, how much do you actually know about how courtesans operate, compared to, say, street whores or brothel girls?" he asked.
"Of course I'll be here, honey," Viridessa said as if that were both obvious and natural.
"I don't have any delusions that the Princess might see me as a motherly figure, but I certainly love her like my own daughter."
Torilee sneezed, and looked surprised. She rubbed her nose and sniffed.
Tired. Itchy. Embarrassed.
"Hehe, excuse me, hey," she muttered sheepishly.Spoiler: Aurora
Spoiler: Inaemehkiwak (Ina)
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2019-10-07, 06:12 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2014
Re: (IC) Festival of Heroes 5 - Thrymskvida - Main
Umbear looks around with interest. His eyes keep darting back to the bedroom. He waits for qetesh to go get tea, as he puts a finger to his lips toward ra, and slips to the bedroom, and sneaks a pillow, bringing it back out and sits where he was intended to.
"Actually, Im ignorant of the whole thing."
Umbear hugs the pillow to his chest as he speaks with ra. His eyes dart towards ra's ears.
"I met a wonderful tiny fox yesterday named horofray. They might only be 3 feet tall, but their ears are twice as big as yours, and their tail.... the fluffiest. "
Umbear smiled for a moment, just taking things in for a moment.
"Tell me how this works."Festival of Heroes:
Umbear: 14 ft tall Ogre, Odd assortment of Clothing and Armor. Greenish/Grey Skin. Tusks.
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2019-10-07, 08:12 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2013
- Location
- North Carolina
- Gender
Re: (IC) Festival of Heroes 5 - Thrymskvida - Main
Concern, Affection. Aurix puts his hand to Torilee's head to feel for fever. "You doing okay? I know we've had a long day. Thanks for hanging in there."
Festival of Heroes: Aurix Kornari- 6' Human with golden scales on his skin, blond hair, green Draconic eyes, carrying a halberd, meets people with a warm smile.
Spoiler: If you speak DraconicAurix Kornari means "Gold Heart"
DM of Twinborn
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2019-10-07, 08:30 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Feb 2017
Re: (IC) Festival of Heroes 5 - Thrymskvida - Main
Jaylyn, realizing that getting Nameless to take a bath was becoming a hopeless task, choose to drop it. Instead she focused on the items list that the dragon rattled off. "Ring of evasion is good, add reflexability to it as well. Strong armor... Simple enough. Amulet of natural armor combined with natural attack, if not shift one to another item. Shouldn't be much of an issue." Jaylyn said writing all that down, she gave the journal a few moments for the ink to dry before closing the book.
Jaylyn then looked over at Nameless, "If you don't wanna take a bath, I won't force ya, but I'm dirty after the day I've had. If you want to, you can go ahead to Lady Geiravor. I'll catch up in a little bit." Jaylyn said stretching her shoulders trying to get the kinks out. "And afterwards I'll head to see about getting these items made for ya." Jaylyn finished tapping her hand against the book.Festival of Heroes: Jaylyn a 5 foot Kitsune with golden brown fur, black ears, and golden eyes. She's an average build leaning on the smaller size. When in human form her hair is golden blonde, but retains her golden eyes. her build is still average but a bit bigger then in Kitsune form.
No matter which from she is in, she always seen in her white halter-top dress, carrying a 5 foot staff with a sapphire on top, and a jeweled necklace around her neck.
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2019-10-07, 09:07 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Feb 2016
- Gender
Re: (IC) Festival of Heroes 5 - Thrymskvida - Main
Ra nodded and leaned back in his chair, ignoring Umbear's antics with the pillow. At this point, little the ogre did surprised him.
"Well, street whores are the lowest tier, serving the poorest or least picky clientele. They're mostly on their own, and the Guild only protects them from other criminals. Often times, they don't even work for us, though we do try to recruit them, at least to take a cut of their earnings," he said with a shrug. "Their exposure to the public makes it risky on all fronts. It's risky for us, because if they get busted, we can't do much for them besides pay fines, which only works for a few offenses. So they could end up costing us instead of earning for us. It's risky for them, because clients can hurt them and they have no recourse unless their assailant is a member of the Guild. They can't easily report their attacker without outing themselves. And, it's risky for their clients, because they don't get paid enough to cover sufficient medical care and frequently spread disease. That aspect is part of how the Crown justifies refusing to decriminalize it."
"We don't really like having street whores around because they attract too much of the wrong kind of attention, aren't very good earners, don't typically last very long, and steal business from more profitable venues. So we try to round them up and get them into the brothels, which are the middle tier, serving a variety of clientele depending on the quality of the house. There's at least one brothel in each housing district in the city. They often shift houses to avoid detection."
"Brothels are headed by a madame: typically a matron who is a bit past the prime earning age for such endeavors and will typically run the bawdy house well into their seniority. The madame is an agent of the Guild, but her girls may or may not work for the Guild themselves. The madams may employ toughs to protect the house and expel unruly patrons. She manages the finances for the house, setting prices for each girl, paying them a small salary, providing their clothes and meals, and the rest is split between herself and the Guild. How fair the divide of gold is varies between madams."
"And though I say 'she', not all those who run brothels are women. Most are. Partly because there are more women who enter this profession and age out of it than men, and partly because it has been the Guild's experience that the position tends to attract... the wrong kind of men. But that's not particularly relevant to the discussion right now."
"Anyway... Courtesans are the highest tier. They serve wealthy clientele exclusively. And they receive special training. They serve a variety of needs to the upper- and noble-class citizens, and not all of it is physical. A courtesan is a plus one at a fancy soire, an elegant lady to make your intended jealous, someone you're not ashamed to take on a public date or take to a state dinner. So she has to be able to dance, possibly sing or recite poetry. She has to engage in conversation without seeming too dull, ignorant or out of place, and have the wits to trade barbs with hawkish courtiers and noble ladies of the court. Many courtesans are courtiers, usually ones without any form of inheritance and need a way to be self-made ladies without resorting to taking a job like a commoner!" Ra chuckled and shook his head.
"For all the shame people attach to women 'selling their bodies', as the self-righteous call it, apparently there is less shame in that than an honest day's labor, if you're a noble. Oh, and seeing as how I'm not the self-righteous type, if you asked me, I'd say they sell a service, not their bodies. How is it different than paying someone to dance on stage, other than it being private, am I right? You would think the idea of a body being a commodity would've disappeared when they decided slavery was bad. But what do I know, eh? I'm just a charlatan," the red kitsune said with a wink.
"Anyway, got off topic there again. 'Professor Ra's' lecture is almost over," he laughed.
"The main aim of a courtesan is to become a mistress. Not in the extra-marital affair sense, though that can overlap, but more like... hmm, how could I put it? More like a wife? Except temporary? Uh, oh, hahahaha, I know! Like a rental wife. You get most of the privileges of havin' a wife and she gets most of the privileges of bein' a wife, but it ends up costin' more and doesn't last as long, ahahahahaha!" the kitsune slapped his knee at his own humor.
"But seriously... you sign a contract with terms you're both amenable to, you pay a fee everyone agrees on, which is usually however much the courtesan expects to make in the time frame of the contract, and if you decide you wanna make things more... permanent... then it's easier to get married. See, most civilized places require a public courtship for a minimum amount of time before they let ya get hitched... unless you have good reason to get married sooner and convince a magistrate to sign off on you buying a special marriage license, of course. But aside from that, if the courtship time required is, say, six months, and you have a contract for a year, if when the year is up you like your mistress so much you wanna marry her, the magistrate will count the time on the contract towards that six months even if you weren't public about your relationship with your mistress. A lot of times, that's used to remarry quickly after a death or divorce, but hey. Oh, and mistress contracts aren't just used by courtesans. It's a way for couples to have a sort of proxy marriage before fully committing. Basically, when young nobles wanna bone without anyone losing virtue, they might enter into this kind of contract so they can part ways without getting married without incurring any shame," Ra explained. "It also reduces the number of divorces."
"Now, if you're thinking, 'gosh Ra, aren't you northerners kind of fine with premarital sex, and divorce is easy, doesn't really cost anything, and doesn't automatically incur shame? How does this make sense for here?' I would say, you are correct! This is a more southern custom brought north. A large portion of our nobility here is of southern blood. In some cases, they were absorbed by the nobility here after their lands were conquered, because it's easier to keep existing rulers in charge in an area if the locals are happy with them. And in other cases, they are co-mingled lines from alliance marriages. In either case, the southerners brought a lot of their customs with them, naturally. Now it's just something that isn't thought too hard about," he said with a shrug.
At some point during Ra's lecture, Qetesh returned with a tea set. She set the tray on the table and knelt down before it. With practiced grace, she poured a very sweet, floral-smelling pink tea into three cups, tucked a sugar wafer onto each saucer, and stood fluidly with one in each hand and passed them to the two men. Before taking her own, she noticed Umbear's pillow and frowned. With an eyeroll and a half-playful scolding look, she tugged the pillow out of his grasp and returned it to the bedroom.
She returned and sipped her tea while waiting for Ra to finish. When he did, she set down her cup and moved to sit on Umbear's lap. She smiled coyly at him.
"I had to wait or else you'd be too distracted to listen!" she declared, smirking.
"So, let's talk terms," Ra said, sipping his tea. "We've done this before. Standard contract is one year's time. Standard expectations are that you buy whatever clothes, jewelry, food and care she requires to maintain appearances as a respectable courtier on top of paying Qetesh for three hundred and sixty-five days of labor. In exchange, she caters to your needs exclusively, whenever and wherever, and whatever you want so long as it, one, doesn't compromise her public reputation as a courtier, and two, does not include something explicitly disallowed in the specific terms of the contract, and three, does not leave scars anywhere on her body, not just where visible. Though, truthfully, since she typically dresses in dancer's clothes, there's not a lot of places that aren't visible," the fox smirked.
"You are allowed to call her your mistress and take her with you publicly. She would not, typically, take charge of your household as a wife might. And, if it were possible, which in this case, it would not be without magical aid, you would not be allowed to sire a child by her. Wouldn't be fair to a kid, you know?"
"Y-yeah, I'm fine, hey. I can't get sick anymore... remember?" Torilee whispered, touching the token around her neck.
"...Right?" she asked, suddenly hesitant.
Anxiety. Uncertainty.
"Oh, I'll go with you, it's fine," Nameless said, shrugging. "We've been walking a bit as it is anyway, so no sense going back early. How much further is it?"Last edited by Wolfykins; 2019-10-07 at 09:08 PM.
Spoiler: Aurora
Spoiler: Inaemehkiwak (Ina)
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2019-10-07, 09:47 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2014
Re: (IC) Festival of Heroes 5 - Thrymskvida - Main
Umbear had been absentmindedly petting the pillow until qetesh stole it back and crawled in his lap, he wrapped his arms around her and smiled to her and he looked back to ra.
"That, was alot of information. Im gonna be awesome... I think my brain may have shunted the information on middle and lower class workers so that I could focus on upper class and information for this event. "
His arms playfully squeezed qetesh.
"Well, I guess that comes down to particulars of what qetesh wants. Ive.... made my intentions public at this point. What about you qetesh?"Festival of Heroes:
Umbear: 14 ft tall Ogre, Odd assortment of Clothing and Armor. Greenish/Grey Skin. Tusks.
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2019-10-08, 08:05 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2013
- Location
- North Carolina
- Gender
Re: (IC) Festival of Heroes 5 - Thrymskvida - Main
There is no being straightforward with Unwin. He always has an angle, an agenda, he is the master of secrets after all. Too many things point to him. He's either involved or an intended mark. Those are the only two possible explanations for some of the evidence. If you hear anything out of the ordinary from the castle staff, please let me know. I'm counting on you. Good evening, Madam Senechal. Gorrun turns to give Aurix and the fae a glance to make sure no-one has anything further to say. His body language reading that he was ready to proceed to the next destination.
(1d20+28)[46] SM on Viradessa
(1d20+28)[40] SM on Aurix
(1d20+28)[38] SM on Torilee
(1d20+28)[45] SM on Mclaughlin
Spoiler: DMViridessa's distrust of Aurix should theoretically extend to the small folk as well, but she didn't ask them to leave, which raises the proverbial eyebrow. So Gorrun is subtly trying to get a read on them as well.To all things there is an end. With every end, a new beginning.
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2019-10-08, 09:37 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Feb 2016
- Gender
Re: (IC) Festival of Heroes 5 - Thrymskvida - Main
"Have you?" Ra asked, arching an eyebrow.
"That's sweet of your Umbear, but it's not about me. What I get out of this is gold and less walking," she joked.
"Maybe you told Qetesh what you want, but we haven't established any official expectations for the purpose of the contract. Speaking of..." Ra pulled a leather folder out of his bag and unwound the string. He pulled out a few sheets of parchment with a lot of writing on them and a number of underlined blank spaces.
"Well, earlier Umbear said he liked me and loved watching me work. I'm not sure that really tells me much about what he actually wants though. Well, he did say he wants to get to know me better?" Qetesh said with a measure of uncertainty, tapping her chin.
The kitsune pulled out an additional sheet and handed it to Umbear along with a quill pen and a small ink well.
"There's a list of, um... the stuff that courtesans and brothel girls typically charge extra for, if you know what I mean? There's a term and a short description of what it means, since not everyone knows what to call... things... Anyway, there's space on the contract where you can put in things you specifically expect from Qetesh, and/or she can put in things she expressly refuses to do."
"Well, like I said before, pretty much the only thing I refuse to do is polymorph into an animal," the blue-skinned courtesan said.
"Mmmhmm," Ra wrote that on both copies of the contract with an extra pen.
"You can also leave that section blank or write in that section that you'll discuss that with her on a case-by-case basis and abide by her decision to indulge you or not," Ra said. "Sometimes that's easier, especially for those who might not want their... special interests... on paper."
Ra pointed to the next section of blanks.
"In here is where you can write down expectations of a more public variety. Like whether she is to accompany you to a certain number of events each week or month or whatever."
"The contract already outlines the standard expectations we discussed earlier, but this is for more specific ones. For example, since you said you want to get to know her better, you could put in that section that you want to take one private meal with her a week wherein you have conversation without small talk, just as an example."
"And of course, we need to talk time and cost. The standard contract is for a year, but you could adjust that time to less, or more. Once you decide how long you want this contract to be for, then we can discuss the best part... the price," the kitsune said with a long, toothy grin.
Viridessa nodded at Gorrun.
"Of course, you'll see Cheddar if anything important comes up."
The green and blue parrot abruptly squawked loudly from his perch.Last edited by Wolfykins; 2019-10-08 at 09:37 PM.
Spoiler: Aurora
Spoiler: Inaemehkiwak (Ina)
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2019-10-08, 09:39 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2013
- Location
- North Carolina
- Gender
Re: (IC) Festival of Heroes 5 - Thrymskvida - Main
Aurix looks at the pendant and blinks. "Oh yeaaahh," he says densely. "I forgot all about that. You're right, I suppose, but that doesn't make you immune to being tired. Do you need a rest?"
Festival of Heroes: Aurix Kornari- 6' Human with golden scales on his skin, blond hair, green Draconic eyes, carrying a halberd, meets people with a warm smile.
Spoiler: If you speak DraconicAurix Kornari means "Gold Heart"
DM of Twinborn
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2019-10-08, 09:57 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Feb 2016
- Gender
Re: (IC) Festival of Heroes 5 - Thrymskvida - Main
"Maybe... but I can wait. I'm not really sleepy, hey," the brownie replied. Relief. Trace of anxious doubt.
When they arrived at the bath house, Nameless looked around, bewildered.
"Pools of water? Where's the sand? Where's the dust? How am I supposed to clean my scales? I can't take a dust bath here! When you said bath, I thought you meant like what Ma--Fraener used to take me to do, to roll in sand and splash dust on myself to get rid of parasites and loose scales... What good is water? Is it for fishing?"
The young sovereign dragon poked her head over the nearest privacy wall to look into the water, oblivious to the fact that it was the men's bath.
"There's no fish in there! Wait, I see one... NO WAIT, that's not a fish..." the dragon's tail lashed back and forth, her ears drooping in disappointment and snout wrinkling in annoyance. Then suddenly she reared back and dropped to the floor, a damp towel flung across her nose.
"HEY!" she exclaimed, outraged. She shook her head violently until the towel was flung off. She flumped down on her haunches and huffed.Spoiler: Aurora
Spoiler: Inaemehkiwak (Ina)
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2019-10-08, 10:01 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2013
- Location
- North Carolina
- Gender
Re: (IC) Festival of Heroes 5 - Thrymskvida - Main
Aurix bows slightly to Viridessa. "Thank you for your time and help," Aurix says. He leaves along with Gorrun and heads back to the den where Geiravor is.
Festival of Heroes: Aurix Kornari- 6' Human with golden scales on his skin, blond hair, green Draconic eyes, carrying a halberd, meets people with a warm smile.
Spoiler: If you speak DraconicAurix Kornari means "Gold Heart"
DM of Twinborn
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2019-10-08, 10:02 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2014
Re: (IC) Festival of Heroes 5 - Thrymskvida - Main
Umbear smiles down to qetesh.
"Well, I love watching you work.You look so strong and powerful when you are working. If you feel up to it, Im ok with you continuing to work through this contract, let you moonlight, if you want to work, beyond what we will have, but i suppose we need to define what we will have."
Umbear reads over the paper, doing his best to understand the language.
"A Year with Qetesh sounds amazing, weekly to bi weekly meals to have small chats, sounds divine, When it comes to carnal desires, Qetesh knows Im a simple ogre, not wanting anything beyond basic things. But if shes interested in something out of the ordinary, Id be interested in trying to accomodate her, no charge."
Umbear gives her a wink before marking down some basic marital acts. then adds at the bottom, anything additional is up to qetesh being up to it. He adds he would like a 1-2 a week dinner with qetesh with small talk, Qetesh as a date as social events such as weddings and parties, with at least 3 days notice to her. He looks up to Ra and raises an eyebrow.
"So, How much is the most prized courtisan on the continent worth to you ra?"Festival of Heroes:
Umbear: 14 ft tall Ogre, Odd assortment of Clothing and Armor. Greenish/Grey Skin. Tusks.
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2019-10-08, 10:14 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Feb 2016
- Gender
Re: (IC) Festival of Heroes 5 - Thrymskvida - Main
"You're such a bad liar!" Qetesh laughed.
"It's nice of you to let her moonlight, but that's disallowed. We have had issues in the past with people trying to renege on payment in such situations, saying the courtesan continued to get paid, so why should they pay the full salary? Among other problems I won't bore you with. The point of the mistress contract is exclusivity," Ra explained.
"Don't worry, Umbear," Qetesh said, "if you want to see me 'work', I can still do the hunting part. Instead of flirting my way into their beds, I can flirt them into ours," the courtesan winked.
At Umbear's last question, Ra went quiet and looked down, at the papers in his hands.
Then he looked up and smiled.
"Well, the better question is, how much is she worth to you? How about... a million gold?" he asked slyly.
Qetesh stiffened momentarily and then relaxed again. She looked like she wanted to ask Ra something, but refrained, and instead lifted her gaze to Umbear's face and smiled questioningly at him.Last edited by Wolfykins; 2019-10-08 at 10:15 PM.
Spoiler: Aurora
Spoiler: Inaemehkiwak (Ina)
-
2019-10-08, 10:45 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Feb 2017
Re: (IC) Festival of Heroes 5 - Thrymskvida - Main
Jaylyn watched the scene play out, then busted out laughing when Nameless got hit with the towel. Jaylyn then walked over to the dragon, stripping off her gear as she did. After she clean her clothes she put them in her bag. "There is a saying back home that goes like this 'when in fairyland do as the fairies do' basically this place is where humans come to clean off. If you ever need to pass as a human or humanoid, such as a Kitsune or the like. You'll need to learn this stuff too." Jaylyn said putting her hand on Nameless' shoulder before reaching down and grabbing the towel and throwing it back over the wall.
Jaylyn walked over to where people put their stuff and grabbed a bar of soap and walked over to one of the empty pools of water and stepped off into it, going completely under before coming back up flipping her hair over head and onto her back, then shivered a bit. "Oh this water is just a tad bit cold for my liking, one moment..." Jaylyn said stoking her fire and letting out a little stream of fire into the water, not enough to evaporate the pool, just warm it up a bit. "There perfect, okay Nameless lesson one, this is soap, it's made out of animal fat... no you don't eat it... unless you want one heck of a surprise and be blowing bubble for a while." Jaylyn said with a giggle at the end, showing Nameless how the soap was used.
Jaylyn then proceeded to show Nameless how she normally bathed. explaining anything the dragon asked, before getting back out of the water and grabbed a towel. and proceeded to dry off. Jaylyn then looked over at Nameless and asked. "Would you like to give it a go? Or would you rather we go to Lady Gieravor, then afterwards outside so you can bathe?" Jaylyn said putting her gear back on.Festival of Heroes: Jaylyn a 5 foot Kitsune with golden brown fur, black ears, and golden eyes. She's an average build leaning on the smaller size. When in human form her hair is golden blonde, but retains her golden eyes. her build is still average but a bit bigger then in Kitsune form.
No matter which from she is in, she always seen in her white halter-top dress, carrying a 5 foot staff with a sapphire on top, and a jeweled necklace around her neck.
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2019-10-09, 10:10 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2014
Re: (IC) Festival of Heroes 5 - Thrymskvida - Main
Umbear smiles to qetesh.
"I have no interest in her, but to see who lure Jaylyn to our bed, only to have her realize im in it, and storm off, worth everything. "
Umbear watched ra, the changes in subtle face muscles, the adjustment in tone. Then Qeteshes reaction in his arms.
"Were qetesh to tell me, that is the official amount, Id pay it in a heartbeat....but Ra, is Bast not paying you enough? Is bast short changing you?"
Umbear smiled to Ra.
"Or are you trying to recover what I cost the guild the tournament? How much of that million would go to your coffers? Like, what is your cut, as the officiator of this deal?"
Umbear, adjusted his arms, getting more comfortable. A finger on her shoulder blade, gently tapped 3 times. Then 6 times, then 5 times. Before drawing 3 circles.Festival of Heroes:
Umbear: 14 ft tall Ogre, Odd assortment of Clothing and Armor. Greenish/Grey Skin. Tusks.
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2019-10-09, 10:47 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Feb 2016
- Gender
Re: (IC) Festival of Heroes 5 - Thrymskvida - Main
Nameless shrugged. "It's fine, we can just go to the Princess. We don't have to go outside later. I just molted, so I don't really have any loose scales or parasites or anything like that. It's not like dragons sweat and get smelly," she chuckled. "As long as my mane doesn't smell funny, which a dust bath wouldn't help with, it's not something to really be worried about, short of getting all muddy or something."
The two flew to the castle and went to find the Princess.
Ra smiled. "You weren't that much of a high roller at the betting tables, my friend. If you don't like my price, let's hear your counter-offer. You don't haggle by insulting the other person until they lower the price," the kitsune laughed.Spoiler: Aurora
Spoiler: Inaemehkiwak (Ina)
-
2019-10-09, 11:06 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2014
Re: (IC) Festival of Heroes 5 - Thrymskvida - Main
Umbear smirked.
"Nor will dodging the question, you are looking a little thin. Have you been eating? I know the Demon invasion might be taxing your ability to get food, I dont want you getting sick." His words are honest, as a man talking to a friend.
"Counter offer, 1000 gold a day, weither I see her or not, for a year long contract."Festival of Heroes:
Umbear: 14 ft tall Ogre, Odd assortment of Clothing and Armor. Greenish/Grey Skin. Tusks.
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2019-10-09, 11:20 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Feb 2016
- Gender
Re: (IC) Festival of Heroes 5 - Thrymskvida - Main
Ra chuckled. "I don't have to answer questions about my commission in order to haggle, Umbear. I had already made an offer. So your counter-offer is, for a year, three hundred and sixty-five thousand?" The fox clucked his tongue. "About a third of my initial price? You wound me, dropping so low, Umbear! But we are friends, so I'll do you a solid. How about I take a third off my first offer. My second offer is six hundred and fifty thousand gold."
Spoiler: Aurora
Spoiler: Inaemehkiwak (Ina)
-
2019-10-09, 11:30 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2014
Re: (IC) Festival of Heroes 5 - Thrymskvida - Main
"A Friend cant ask how a friend is doing? Im concerned. I want to make sure you are fairing well in our current economical political situation so that you not only survive, but thrive. "
Umbear gently bounced qetesh on his lap with his legs for a a few moments as he thought.
"You are certainly a strong haggler, and qetesh is a jewel without equal. What say we meet.... halfway between the two offers? Half a Million?"Festival of Heroes:
Umbear: 14 ft tall Ogre, Odd assortment of Clothing and Armor. Greenish/Grey Skin. Tusks.
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2019-10-09, 11:43 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Feb 2016
- Gender
Re: (IC) Festival of Heroes 5 - Thrymskvida - Main
Ra's ears bounced as he lifted a hand over his heart.
"Your concern warms me, my friend, but you needn't worry yourself. I have every confidence that you and your hero friends will bring a swift end to these lean times," he said. He lowered his head, ears drooping. "Though naturally, every extra coin we can scrape together will strengthen the safety net should things continue to worsen. I heard your friends had to un-curse a farm last week! How much will such things impact us, come harvest season, I wonder?"
His head and ears snapped up as he looked at Umbear with a sharp smile. "Six hundred thousand."Spoiler: Aurora
Spoiler: Inaemehkiwak (Ina)