"Oh, that's what you call it?" Victrix tilts her head and chuckles. "Back home, we called it the 'get out or get weird' rule."
Antona laughs. "I like that one better!"
After a few minutes, Gary comes back downstairs. "I have unpacked," he declares.
Victrix turns her head towards Gary. "Good timing. Have a seat." She pats the couch cushion next to her--Antona on one side, Gary on the other.
"We've been having a chat about how things'll work during your stay here." She continues once Gary has taken a seat. "First, when the curtains are drawn--" She nods at the two sets of curtains around the common room. "--you may take whatever form you feel the most comfortable with, but if guests are over you'll need to be, well, presentable."
"Also, any feeding done in this home is only to be done with consent." She puts a hand on Antona's, quietly encouraging her to keep rubbing her feet.
"And one more thing. Antona?"
Antona continues to rub Victrix's feet as she answers. "If you see a sock hanging on the door, that means the two of us are doing something private and you should come back later. Understand?"
Gary nods. "Yes. Your rules are amenable. I will comply."
"Wonderful." Victrix sighs.
"Now, as to feeding..." She dips a hand into her pocket and pulls out a thin wooden wand with images of deer heads etched into it. "...this right here is a wand that'll do the same thing those oils did."
"Courtesy of a generous donation to the temple of Erastil." She sets it on the coffee table before them. "So that's sorted out."
"I am glad," Gary says, managing a small smile. "I am satiated at the moment but will require some blood later tonight."
Victrix nods and gently pulls her feet away from Antona before pulling her lover's feet into her lap and returning the favour.
"Now, Father Eamon told me that in order for that wand to work, you need to touch it to the person and say 'Hearth and Home'. It should be good for fifty uses."
Antona sighs and relaxes at her lover's touch.
"Hearth and Home. Easy to remember."
Victrix gives Antona a warm smile and keeps massaging her feet before looking over at Gary. "So, how's your day been so far? Anything come up?"
Victrix reaches behind her and loosens the clasps of her smallclothes while she waits for Gary's reply.
"It has been adequate. It does not seem the other colonists suspect the truth of my identity. I am adapting to my life here. It is...quiet. I enjoy it," Gary says.
"That's good to hear." The aasimar finishes rubbing Antona's feet and shrugs off her smallclothes, going topless on the couch. "Did you have any questions about how things are going here?"
Victrix leans back on the couch, feeling more comfortable.
Seeming more at ease with Victrix's nonchalance, Antona strips down as well and snuggles with the aasimar. Gary's gaze remains impassive.
"No, I believe I understand how things are intended to proceed. I would like to thank you again for giving me the opportunity to prove that I have changed from my savage beginnings."
Victrix looks over at Gary and nods. "Again, you're welcome."
Noticing his impassive gaze as Antona snuggles up to her, she puts her arm around Antona. "We're not making you uncomfortable, are we?"
Gary shakes his head. "Not at all. My people do not perform mating rituals for reasons other than procreation, but when we alter or forms, we can still experience pleasure like you do, so I understand why you choose to engage in such activities." He manages a sly smile. "Please, do not stop on my account."
Antona frowns. "Okay, that's just a little creepy..."
Victrix shrugs. "Hey, as long as you don't try to join in without an invitation, I've got no problem with it."
When they returned to town Ema made her way towards her tower. She'd been working on it for quite a while now and she knew it should be completed before too much longer. She'd gotten all of her resources, she'd begun construction, but she hadn't finished it before she left to help[ hunt down the whisak. Fortunately for her Baeldwin was here now and the old man had been working people to the bone to get the tower done for her before she had to leave yet again.
When she approached Ema was shocked to find her tower had been completed in her absence. She stood there with her mouth open in shock as she stared at it in surprise.
"If you don't close yer mouth ya daft cow the flies are gonna git in and people'll think yer a fool or something," a gruff voice said from behind her along with Medrinnah and Perrell.
Medrinnah grins at Ema's shocked expression. "Not too shabby, is it? Plenty of room to practice magic without hurting anybody walking by."
Ema smiled and said, "Yes, you're right of course Medrinnah." She looked between the three and there were actually tears in her eyes as she said, "Thank you for getting it finished for me, it's..."[/b[] Ema wiped at her eyes and then continued in a choked voice, [b]"I haven't had a home in long time, someplace that is uniquely mine, and it means a lot."
Emalliandra approached the three people standing before her, her Master, her Apprentice, and one of her Lovers, and embraced and kissed each in turn. Baeldwyn actually blushed a bit at the affection she showed the dirty old man and said, "Well, i-i-it was nothin Emmie."
Ema laughed at the dwarf then and said, "I can't believe you're speechless you disgusting old goat, I think this is the first time I've ever seen you at a loss for words!" She hugged him again anyway and then said to the group, "Why don't you show me around my tower."
Ema's three friends take her through the tower, showing off its various facilities and amenities.
Ema let the group lead her through her newly finished tower and looked around in delight as they did. The entryway led into an open area with plenty of workspace for tinkering with constructs. There was a collapsible hoist of to one side that Baeldwyn had installed and workbenches along the sides while a large area in the center had a cover that could be lifted out of the floor to show an inset summoning circle an inch below the floor to use in summoning and making pacts with outsiders.
A circular staircase ran around the inside of the tower and up to the second floor. There she found an area dedicated to enchanting different items as well as the studying and development of new spells. There were several, mostly bare, shelves for spellbooks and other research materials.
Then they went to the third floor and Ema stared in delight. The third floor had a large, soft bed, a wardrobe, and somehow Baeldwyn had come up with a way to work in running water and an actual bath to it all. Ema's eyes filled with tears then, the happiness she felt at having such a place of her own, even if she wouldn't be using it much any time soon, was overwhelming. She turned to the three and said, "Thank you, thank you so very much."
At last, the time comes once again to depart Talmandor's Bounty. You say your farewells before boarding the Azlanti submersible. You make your way underwater to the southeast leaving Ancorato and the small chain of islands around it behind as you head out towards open ocean.
The first day of the journey is uneventful, and after finding a spot to surface the submersible, you rest overnight before continuing the next day.
You are about an hour or so away from Talasantri when you spot something through the submersible's viewports. You can see a band of sahuagin have surrounded something in a field of rocks and coral and are jabbing at it with their tridents. There are four sahuagin, one of which is a hulking mutant with four beefy arms! They are about sixty feet away and haven't noticed your approach yet.
Already feeling pangs of homesickness and worry, Victrix only really starts paying attention when Simon mentions sahuagin.
"Oh... go right ahead."
As you emerge from the submersible and move to attack, the sahuagin turn and raise their tridents angrily!
Victrix swims up to the nearest sahuagin and swings her axe!
Deciding to stay in the submersible for now, Valentin murmurs a prayer and a shimmering starknife appears, stabbing at the sahuagin that Victrix is attacking.
While Valentin's spell fails to hit, Victrix's axe slices into the sahuagin's body, wounding him. Snarling, it retaliates, and the other two move to surround the aasimar. She takes numerous hits, but fortunately she is made of stern stuff and takes significantly less damage than anybody else would have.
The four-armed mutant hangs back, casting a spell and conjuring a shield of force in front of it.
Ema took the opportunity to call forth her orca again when Simon dove through the hatch, indicating it should attack the four armed sahuagin, and then her eyes flashed as she absorbed the power of a spell to recharge her reservoir. The orca charged the fourarmed sahuagin and chomped at it viciously.
Any feelings of homesickness are drowned out by a surge of pain and rage as Victrix starts hacking at the sahuagin she wounded...
Valentin swims forward part way while drawing his wand of Bless, then activates it while the starknife continues attacking.
The sahuagin prove resilient, dodging your blows or absorbing them with their armor. None of your attacks land!
The four-armed mutant swims back a few feet and casts another defensive spell. Ema recognizes it as protection from good, which may prevent her summoned orca from touching the sahuagin!
The other three sahuagin continue to assault Victrix. Her celestial blood fills the water around her as they score numerous hits!
Victrix promptly withdraws, retreating from the sahuagin and swimming behind the polymorphed Simon.
Putting away the Bless wand, Valentin flicks his wrist to produce the new wand of CSW, touching Victrix.
The starknife continues attacking.
Cursing in frustration at the sight of her orca bouncing off of the sahuagin Ema dropped down into the water and cast a spell. The magic lashed out and attempted to dispell the protection granted by whatever the sahuagin had just cast, her eyes flashing as she amplified her power.
The orca tried to tear into the four armed sahuagin again with it's teeth.
Ema dispels the sahuagin's protection spell, but her orca still is unable to find a gap in its other defenses. Simon takes Victrix's place as she retreats to Valentin's side, and the cleric heals the aasimar while his spiritual weapon misses again.
The four-armed foe assaults the orca with her greatsword, claws, and teeth. The other sahuagin swim to surround Simon, dodging his claw as they jab at him with their tridents.
Victrix swims towards the sahuagin she wounded, flanks it, and swings her axe!
Ema cursed when she realized that damned freakish sahuagin had better defenses than she thought and knew it needed ti be brought down a bit. She chanted, gestured, and sent a beam of dark black energy at it to lance it's strength right before the orca attacked it again after swimming a short distance up to attack from above.
Swimming above Simon, Valentin touches him with the wand
The starknife continues attacking.
Simon unleashes his fury on the wounded sahuagin, and while it manages to block one of his claws, the others rip and tear into the sea devil, the final hit taking it down! Victrix swims up to attack the next sahuagin, landing a powerful blow with her axe. Valentin's spiritual weapon misses again as the cleric heals Simon.
Ema misses with her enervation ray, but her orca manages to bite the four-armed mutant, getting past the shield spell protecting her. The mutant roars and attacks the whale again. She scores a critical hit wit her greatsword, following up with another brutal strike. She then rips into the orca with teeth and claws, and the wounded whale disappears, banished back to the Upper Planes. Meanwhile, the two remaining raiders try to take down Simon, scoring several hits.
Victrix keeps up her attack on her target!
Valentin tries to keep Simon in the fight while adjusting the ineffective spiritual weapon to the large sahuagin.