Thanara gasps in horror at the scene displayed. ”A-Aldern…what…what happened to you?”
”He’s too far gone! Don’t try to reason with him!” Lisavet shouts. ”For the fire and the flame!” Invoking Sarenrae’s guidance, she lets fly a searing beam of light!
Snow doesn't waste time with conversation, she lets out a mighty roar and suddenly Aldern's way to Thanara is blocked by a seven foot long wolf with the teeth to match!
Tears now trickling down her cheeks uninhibited, Thanara stammers ”I’m so sorry, Aldern. Forgive me…”
Aldern narrowly avoids Thanara’s beam, but Lisa’s scorches his flesh. He grits his teeth in pain, but then he grins widely. ”I wonder how your deaths shall affect your friends. What things might you have done that will go unfinished? What will those broken promises spawn? How will your murders shape the world?”
He dashes at Snow and slashes the big wolf!
”NO!” Thanara wails! But her eyes full of tears causes her next beam to miss as well…had she not wiped them last minute and focused her heart and soul into protecting her friends!
The white wolf's muzzle is stained with red but it doesn't stop the huge jaws descending with a mighty crunch on the ghoul's arm!
Lisa holds Thanara’s hand as she fires another beam of searing light into Aldern!
Snow eviscerates the ghoulish Aldern, then Lisa and Thanara strike him with twin beams of light, scouring away his impure flesh! The fallen nobleman crumples to the floor, smoke rising from his corpse. He will trouble you, and Snadpoint, no longer.
Snow lets out a howl of triumph which echos unpleasantly loudly in the confined space and then proceeds to rend Aldern's body into several pieces. With that done she turns around and gives Thanara and Lisa large celebratory licks!
By the time the two women have recovered from the experience Snow is back in human form and seems to be working out how best to set fire to the former nobleman.
"Burn him. Make sure gone." She says firmly. "Burn it all."
Thanara leaned on the table holding her belongings, finally having a moment to take them in. Some of them were her unmentionables, which she took and balled up and tucked away numbly into her gown.
Without looking up, she muttered. ”Yes. All of it. The manor too. The Misgivings will be no more by the time I’m through,” her tone becoming more of a growl as small arcs of lightning danced along her skin and onto the surface of the table.
__________
Thanara stood, panting over the pile of undead bodies Snow had created in the foyer of the manor. She had used almost all of her magic to attend to this place and its evils.
Almost.
Once the others are clear, she channeled everything she had left into a vicious torrent of electricity over the bodies and the accompanying kindling. At first, it didn’t seem enough to ignite, but slowly a flame took hold, which grew and grew.
Thanara refused to turn away until the whole pile was a roaring blaze, and the fire started to spread to the room itself. She then turned her back to the manor and faced the other two women as she said ”There. Let’s go home.”
Recognizing the odd patch of humanoid fungus as the focus for all of the hostile spirits trapped within Foxglove Manor, Lisavet spends a long time praying and calling on Sarenrae's intercession to consecrate the area. Golden light suffuses the fungus, causing it to suddenly animate and tear free from the wall. The thing howls in a sloshy, barely human voice, then crumbles to dust—the haunt of Foxglove Manor is thus exorcised, and while the building retains its unwelcoming aura, it is no longer haunted.
A small silver key ring sits on the table amid the rotten meat, with two keys on the ring. The larger of these two is a tarnished iron key set with a round opal. The smaller key is made of bronze and has an unusually long tang ending in a set of three notched blades. The head of this key resembles a roaring lion. Neither key opens anything in the manor.
Also on the table, besides Thanara's stolen possessions, are a stack of erotic charcoal drawings on water-damaged parchment depicting Thanara, drawn by Aldern’s hand. Mixed in with these drawings is a letter written in a graceful hand, addressed to Aldern at his Magnimar townhouse address.
Aldern,
You have served us quite well. The delivery you harvested from the caverns far exceeds what I had hoped for. You may consider your debt to the Brothers paid in full. Yet I still have need of you, and when you awaken from your death, you should find your mind clear and able to understand this task more than in the state you lie in as I write this.
You shall remember the workings of the Sihedron ritual, I trust. You seemed quite lucid at the time, but if you find after your rebirth that you have forgotten, return to your townhouse in Magnimar. My agents shall contact you there soon—no need for you to bother the Brothers further. I will provide the list of proper victims for the Sihedron ritual in two days’ time. Commit that list to memory and then destroy it before you begin your work. The ones I have selected must be marked before they die; otherwise they do my master no good and the greed in their souls will go to waste.
If others get in your way, though, you may do with them as you please. Eat them, savage them, or turn them into pawns—it matters not to me.
—Xanesha, Mistress of the Seven
***
With the Misgivings burning behind you, you ride back to Sandpoint. It is late in the evening by the time you arrive, laden with knowledge and the treasures you managed to recover from the manor. You feel stronger and more prepared for the challenges yet to come.
As they approach the town Snow leans over to Thanara.
"Sorry. About earlier." She says. "Just teasing. Know you have... someone. Joking around. Not stealing you. Or anything."
Apparently building her flair for the dramatic Snow drops from the saddle and transforms into her wolf form just as you reach the gates, meaning that the group re-enters Sandpoint escorted by a wolf the same size as the horses! When Snow transforms back shortly afterwards she looks pointedly around the street, catching the eye of as many by-standers as possible.
The awed mutterings and shocked looks she gets suggests that her message is being well understood!
”It…It’s okay,” Thanara mutters in reply, embarrassed. She lets out a breath and says ”I’ll…talk to you later…” she adds.
Deciding to seize on the opportunity Snow has created with her display of lupine might, Lisa sits tall in her saddle and addresses the crowd. "Citizens of Sandpoint! We know you have been ill at ease these past few days with the grisly murders of two of our own. We have just returned from dispatching the heinous villain who perpetrated these crimes. You are safe now. You may rest easy knowing the killer is gone. May Sarenrae bless your days!"
Both her friends putting on bold displays as they enter town leaves Thanara feeling muted. Not in a bad way. But then being so bold, and so beautiful in their own ways…
Damnit Savah!
"Good speech." Snow says in approval. "Tell Sheriff now?"
----------------------------
Once the group has reported in to Sheriff Hemlock Snow turns to Thanara, easily reading the sorceresses continued discomfort. "Shouldn't be alone. Come with me? Or someone else?"
After reporting to the Sheriff, Thanara had split off to go check on Ryn. She had purposely taken to backroads and alleys to avoid being seen, but Snow’s voice close behind her causes her to jump!
Her mind already locked in need of carnal release courtesy of Ms. Savah, Thanara heard the words of Snow’s question all wrong. ”S-Snow…I…I dunno,” she asks, her back pressing against the wall as her skin flushes.
Lisa makes her way to Das Korvut's forge before the smith closes shop for the night. She purchases a rune of armor potency and leaves her armor with him so that he can work on inscribing the rune onto the breastplate over the next couple of days. Then she seeks out Orik at Scarnetti Manor as the man's shift is coming to an end to tell him about what happened at the Misgivings.
Snow growls and runs a rough hand through her hair, a gesture that Thanara is learning to read as frustration.
"No! Not mating. Just... today. Must be hard. Don't be alone. Need a friend, when it hits." She says. "Wanted to check. That you knew. Could find someone. Will leave you alone."
Thanara suddenly realizes that Snow was just trying to comfort her! Embarrassed, she reaches out and takes her hand. ”Hey, hey. I’m sorry. I misunderstood. It’s my fault. I’m…I’m a mess…”
She sighs and looks around thoroughly to make sure nobody is around that could overhear before whispering ”So…the person I’ve been seeing? Well, I upset them, and to get back at me, they haven’t let me…well…you know…have any relief for days, even though we’ve still been intimate. It’s…left me a total…well…mess!” unable to come up with another word to describe her current state.
Lisavet learns from the maid that Orik has been assigned to security at the Mill, given the circumstances.
She finds him there in his armor, and a Scarnetti tabard displaying the sigil of twin axes crossed in an X behind a tree. His armor has bits of gore and blood on it in places, and he seems tired. But as Lisavet approaches, he smiles and seems reinvigorated. ”Priestess Ambra! A pleasure to see you, as always!” he calls out with a sly grin.
Lisa hesitates when she sees Orik's bloodied armor. "Are you alright? I hope that's not your blood. Do you need healing?" she asks.
Orik shakes his head. ”Naw. Lord Scarnetti has me stationed here and also tasked me with helping get the mess cleaned up to get the Mill back up and running. It’s not the prettiest of sights in there,” he replies. And the way he said “Lord” did not give a sense of respect.
He listens to Lisavet’s retelling of the Misgivings and shakes his head. ”Wow…that’s…intense. You three women are truly amazing, you know that?” he asks complimentarily.
"That's kind of you to say," Lisa says, smiling. "We make a good team, but we are strongest when we are together. I don't think I could have been able to make it through that house of horrors without Snow and Thanara by my side."
The cleric brushes a few strands of blonde hair back out of her face. "Is your shift done? We could get cleaned up and go somewhere more comfortable."
Orik smirks. ”We could. My new job has left me enough coin to rent a small house here now. It’s nothing fancy…but it’s not the Feedbag!”
He leads Lisavet through town to his humble abode, a small one bedroom townhouse. Inside it is sparsely furnished, with a shared kitchen and living area containing a fireplace, and an adjoining bedroom with a was tub.
Once inside, he says coyly ”Make yourself at home, and I’ll heat up some water so we can get cleaned up, like you asked.”
She sighs and looks around thoroughly to make sure nobody is around that could overhear before whispering ”So…the person I’ve been seeing? Well, I upset them, and to get back at me, they haven’t let me…well…you know…have any relief for days, even though we’ve still been intimate. It’s…left me a total…well…mess!” unable to come up with another word to describe her current state.
Snow narrows her eyes and then suddenly her face splits into a wide smile. "That's why!" She exclaims, as though Thanara has given her the key to a complicated puzzle. "Wondered. Did not think liked Aldern that much! Very alpha. Must remember."
She grins a little longer before the mirth fades. "Look, want to help. As friend. As pack. Can leave if helps. You go see Sa-," The shifter cuts herself off. "Them. Or come with me? Go home. Tell stories. Drink? Or walk? Don't mind."
Then the mischievous glint reappears in her eye. "Play tag?"
"It's lovely, Orik," Lisa says as she looks around the house. She takes her shoes off and sits by the fire as Orik warms the water.
Snow’s very kind offer of a sincere friend hits home, and the sorceress nearly starts crying then and there. ”L-lets…go to your place. Drink a bottle of this wine Aldern had hidden away.”
Orik washes his hands before coming to join in idle small talk as the water heats. He eventually reaches down and takes up one of Lisavet’s feet as they talk, his strong hands pressing firmly into the soles and giving them a massage as they wait.
"Mmm, that feels good," Lisa sighs as Orik massages her feet. "I'm still getting used to the weight of my new armor. Maybe one day I'll be strong enough to wear it without it slowing me down."
"Ok." The shifter says simply and leads the way back to Mvashti manor. She enters without knocking and Thanara gets the entertaining sight of Snow fighting with her new boots before a voice calls from down the hall.
"Snow dear, is that you?"
Snow lets out a yip of agreement and then, finally shoe-less, leads Thanara down the corridor and into a small, cozy sitting room.
"Baba Niska," She says with a smile. "Thanara Scarnetti. In my pack. Staying here tonight."
Niska, a wrinkled old lady who looks every one of her reputed hundred years offers Thanara bright smile. "Lady Scarnetti, how nice to see you. I'd get up but these old bones don't bend easily any more. Snow has said a lot of good things about you, I'm glad to see you growing into your own woman. Your mother would be proud of you."
Her eyes twinkle, and it is easy to see where Snow learned the expression, "Feel free to borrow one of my blankets if you get cold. I don't imagine that keeps you very warm."
Snow barks a laugh and Niska can only keep a straight face for a moment. "Off you go girls, and have fun. It's a pleasure to meet you Lady Scarnetti. Any friend of Snow's is always welcome in my house." There's a brief flash of sadness behind Niska's eyes. "Do drop in and say goodbye before you leave. I don't sleep much these days so don't worry about waking me."
Thus dismissed Snow takes Thanara's hand and leads her further along the corridor. "Kitchen." She says. "Mugs. For wine. Stay here? Or upstairs?"
Orik smiles at the priestesses response to his foot rub. He continues as he replies ”All in time. But damn you make it look good though,” with a grin. His hands slowly transition to her calves, squeezing and kneeling the muscles there.
Lisa laughs. "You're too good to me, Orik! You always know just what to say!" She relaxes more into the chair as he works on her leg muscles.
”A-a pleasure, Ma’am,” Thanara answers the elder. At mention of her mother, she pauses. She knew my mother?
She nods in parting as Snow drags her off. At the question, she answers ”Upstairs, please,”
_________
Orik smirks and his hands start to continue higher before he turns and looks at the cauldron of water. ”Better get this to the tub…” he says before stopping to stand and take the big metal pot off the fire with a set of gloves. The burden would be more than Lisavet could handle, but Orik manages with only some show of strain as he hefts the water to the tub in the bedroom over the course of a few minutes. By the time he has it in there, he is out of breath, and the boiling water had cooled to a now tolerable, but still steaming, temperature.
Lisa puts a hand in the water to test the temperature. "It's perfect. You may bathe first, Orik. Unless you think there is room for both of us?" She quirks an eyebrow.
Orik grins unsettlingly. ”Probably not, but that’s half the point,” he says as his hands reach to start untying the priestesses robes. Looking to the tub, Lisavet is able to gauge that he added a pretty fair amount of water to the tub that the two could both slip inside and it not spill. Almost as if it wasn’t his first time doing such things.
"I see," Lisa says, allowing Orik to disrobe her. Before they get in the tub, though, the priestess puts a hand on his chest. "Orik... I think it's clear that you've had more experience with, uh, these sorts of things than I have. I did enjoy the last time we were together, very much, but I hadn't considered that what we are doing together... Well, it's possible that it could leave me with child. Should we be more careful?"
Orik pauses. ”Uh. I mean, how you suppose we do that?” he asks pointedly. It’s clear he wasn’t prepared for such a deep question and that the concept had never occurred to him.
Snow nods and leads Thanara up onto the manor's second floor.
"Koya," She says pointing to the first door. "Privvy. Niska. Empty. Nursery. Me." Her door is at the end of the hall and opens into a compact room that smells strongly of Snow. There is no bed, whose function seems to be taken by a wooden square extending from one wall that is filled with a mish-mash of blankets and colourful pillows.
A wardrobe takes up much of the opposite wall, along with a small table beneath the shuttered window. Inside the wardrobe Thanara can see a number of obviously new outfits hanging and some mis-matched piles that are presumably shirts and other items of clothing. The quality is easily recognisable - only Rynshinn does that kind of work in Sandpoint.
"So..." Snow says, and Thanara quickly realises that the shifter is nervous. "My room. Ok? No chairs but room for two." She points to the bed-box, which probably has enough room for three or four people if they knew each other well.
Lisa bites her lip. "I don't know. I was hoping you might."
She lowers her eyes. "I'm sorry. I know we've only been together for a short amount of time. I am just wondering what you would do if something like that happened. Would you stay with me?"
Thanara initially is shocked at the lack of furnishings. But hides it well, as usual. ”It’s alright,” she replies as she steps over to the “bed”, trying to ignore the smell. She slumps down to her knees, resting her hands on her thighs, in almost a reflex. She holds this position briefly before suddenly shifting her legs out to the side. She says a command word, and her boots fade away, leaving her legs and feet bare as she stretches her toes out.
Orik runs a hand through his hair, in both frustration at the predicament and confusion. ”Uh…I…I dunno. It’s never come up before. That I’m aware of, that is.”
He places his hands on the smooth skin of Lisavet’s waist and steps closer. ”We need to worry about that now? I mean? I clearly like ya. Got a job for the biggest ass in town just to stick around!”
Realizing she's making Orik uncomfortable, Lisa relents. "Okay. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you upset." She leans her head against his chest and breathes deeply of his musk. "Let's get in the tub."
Snow is perceptive enough to catch Thanara's nose wrinkling and moves to the window, throwing open both shutters to the cool night air before tackling the wine bottle. She pulls the cork out with her teeth and makes a face at the taste before pouring two mugs and bringing them over to the bedding pile.
"Here." She says, offering one to Thanara. "Not had much wine. This good?" She seems uncertain about the smell and waits for Thanara to drink before doing the same.
"So... like outfit?" She asks, "Wanted to be seen. For me. Niska and -" She cuts off suddenly, "Said clothes important. Thought about you. Use clothes. Like weapons. So people see you. Like you want. No magic though." She adds with a smile. "So went to Vernah's. Spent gold. Lots of gold. Like though. Make feel good!"
Orik doesn’t waste much time when Lisavet acquiesces. He joins her in the tub, where he proceeds to climb on top of her and enjoying himself. Before he finishes, though, he brings Lisavet up out of the water and leans her over the tub edge, resuming his activities from behind, taking a handful of her golden hair with one hand and the other sliding up her back and over her butt. He eventually has his thrill, and the pair end up sliding back into the still warm but rapidly cooling water.
In the post-coital glow, he holds Lisavet from behind, his hands now massaging her wet neck and shoulders. ”So, what brought all that on?” he asked.
_________
Thanara looked to the wardrobe at Snow’s inquiry. ”I thought that work looked familiar! I’ve never seen you wear any of that. They look nice!”
Thanara takes a drink of the wine, though from a mug seemed strange. Even so, the taste was spectacular and the age had easily strengthened the potency. She nods and hands a mug to Snow.
Lisa's cries of passion echo off the walls of the small house as Orik takes his pleasure with her. Afterwards, she leans against him in the tub as he continues to massage her.
"I don't know. Thanara made a comment the other day, and it got me thinking about poor Nualia. Her lover abandoned her when he learned that she was pregnant, and her father turned his back on her as well. It's part of the reason that she fell so far down a dark path. If I were to become with child, I would hope that my fate would be a happier one."
Orik’s hands pause at the mention of Thanara’s comment. He grumbles something totally incomprehensible under his breath.
”Don’t fret over that girl talk b$~&%*$$,” he replies. ”Just have fun. Enjoy the moment like it could be your last, right?”
Lisa nods. "Alright. You're right. I'm probably worrying too much."
Orik grins to himself. ”Yeah, don’t you worry your pretty little ass about it. Just do what feels good,” he adds as his hand slides down Lisavet’s stomach and slips back between her legs. She can feel his own arousal rising again against her back as he begins stimulating the priestess once again.