"I do have the whole world to go other than your ship, but I rather choose the somewhat easy and fast way to get where I will be safer, than count on chance and withstand what is not to my liking for a longer time... Tell me about the unusual conditions, and I will see if it would still worth it for me. I could offer ten gold for every day of the five days trip, paid full when we leave the city's premises. If it takes longer, I can't promise more, but if I get there, in one piece, I will look for some extra to pay you, depending on the trip..." Zeona was sure that the offered money would be enough, if it was enough in the best inns as she previously travelled with her guard and handmaidens. She could withstand some discomfort for five days, if it would get her to a more friendly big city with some opportunities for her...
"Fifty gold!" The captain's bushy eyebrows shoot upward and he almost drops his pipe. After a moment, he regains his composure enough to grab it and inhale deeply, letting the smoke linger in his mouth for several seconds before releasing it.
"I suppose I can mange that, yes," he says. "Fifty gold for the trip. Well. As I said, conditions will be unusual, but I am a professional. I'll offer you my quarters for the trip, so long as you leave everything as I left it. And I'll need access to it during the daylight hours, of course."
He frowns as something occurs to him. "One thing, though. You can't stay here tonight. You smell like contraband, and I can't have you found on my ship. I'm sure you don't want to be found either. Come back tomorrow, 'round noon, and you can hop on just before we leave."
Zeona's passive Insight is more than enough to tell this is a far better price than the captain was expecting. He probably wasn't planning to offer you his cabin, either.
"That is enough money to have clean linen and better food for the trip. I can promise not to take anything out if your cabin, but if I get bored, I will be snooping around... And unless I have to stay put and hide from the crew too, I rather stay in the cabin... if anyone tries to check, I can look like a harlot, or even try hiding or disguising like someone who could be there..." Zeona had walked enough, and rather not try her luck in the city again, so she was trying to get to stay, without being toodesperate. "But of course I can go to an inn, and pay them for whatever they ask for for the night and spend my coins there until noon, leaving me with less for you, dear captain..."
"If they find you on my ship, I'm out a lot more than fifty gold!" the captain snaps. "They're liable to take my whole damn ship, and that's if I'm lucky!"
He scowls and sticks the pipe in his mouth. He takes a long drag and holds it for several seconds before releasing it as a long, steady jet of smoke. By the time he's done, he's calmer - and more diplomatic. "You probably don't want to be found here either. It's an obvious place to look, isn't it? Don't worry, come noon, we'll be waiting for you. And once you're on, we'll be off like lightning.
"Now, you ought to be off. I figure it ain't long before they check these docks, mm-hm?"
Zeona turned away scornfully. "And here went ten of those golds... Pray, that nobody steals the other fourty, or you wouldn't get coins this easily ever again." she left in a hurry, as the magical disguise was running out. But at least nobody would find him by the captain's description... She had to find an inn for the night, but first she would have to sneak around in the dark a little to get behind the possible guards searching for her. Thankfully with her darkvision, she had some forewarning, but other than her childhood games of hide and seek, she had no experience. Not knowing the city did not helped either.
Later she would never tell a soul, but she did felt her eyes filling with tears in desperation, as she missed her comforts and handmaidens fiercely.
"Good luck, then, and I mean that," the captain says to Zeona's back.
No one else on the docks seems to notice Zeona as she leaves, and thankfully so. By now, the assembly at the town square seems to have ended, and the citizens of Ossimar are returning to their evening work. Around her, Zeona can hear whispers as townspeople fill in whoever didn't make it to the assembly or gossip about the murders. Again and again, she hears her name - Zeona Alsevir - on the voices of strangers. Strangely, it is not always or even usually spoken with hate - but it's still enough to be concerning.
The orange light of sunset is transitioning to dusk, the colours bleeding out of shadows as Zeona's darkvision takes over. She is not familiar with Ossimar, but she must find somewhere safe to hide for the night.
There should be an inn or something of a halfway house near the docks, or maybe she could remember from her wandering around where to go. If nothing else, Zeona is curious enough to try a house of ill repute, and pay for the night. A bed is a bed, and if she could find some good company, that would be a bonus. She just takes great care not to have her few gold coins stolen, thus she spreads them around her body and clothes and tries to safely tuck them away without being too obvious. She would pay for the night beforehand anywhere she finds shelter, and would try getting food and a bath with it too. She plans to sleeping in anyway.
An empty house would be her last resort, as Zeona is not fond of sneaking and breaking in - possibly not skilled enough to do it right anyway. But hiding in plain sight, she could try that. Just have to memorize a new name to react to, and act nonchalantly if someone mentions hers.
There are no inns near the docks - at least, none that Zeona can recognize as such. There are plenty of pubs and restaurants - dirty, loud establishments full of dirty, loud sailors - and some of those may provide rooms, but Zeona lacks the experience to recognize them by sight. Furthermore, she sees teams of the city's watchmen storming into one pub after another, no doubt looking for her. Zeona infers that if they are checking everywhere that serves food and drink, they are likely to check every inn as well.
The brothel, however, appears to have been overlooked. Zeona has about as much experience with brothels as she does with rowdy dockside common houses, but the brothel makes itself obvious: the front face of the building is painted with feminine silhouettes alongside the establishments name - Braving the Depths - and the windows and front door are shrouded in lustfully red curtains.
Through the curtains, the brothel's twilit lobby is decorated with chairs and couches and has three lounging woman - all young, pretty, and barely dressed - and one very embarrassed man who is clearly waiting for something. Soon after Zeona enters, another woman exits from a back room. She is human, middle-aged, and performs every action with breathy sensuality.
"I don't know you, girl," she says when she sees Zeona. Despite that, she steps into Zeona's personal space and runs her hand down the curve of her side. "Hmm. You're looking for a job?"
"Can't a woman look for a good time to spend the night? Is it just for the men? I am tired of human males and the inticacies of courtship, jet I do not give myself freely to just get the delights from any of them. I find myself without worthwhile companionship for the time being, and hope to spend the night more interesting than just sleeping away the time until very late morning without getting happily tired in the evening... And I do hope to find something better than just getting slightly drunk while chatting." Zeona blables a little but she is far from being embarrassed. She would have been beforehand from being in a house of ill repute like this, but that was before she got naked and oiled up to be in the presence of an otherwordly creature. The demoness gave her powers, but also gave her some of that lust and made her prouder of her body too. "So, in overall, it depends on the things I can do for you, as it does sound good to not leave too much coins if I can do things in exchange. I do not think that it would be that good or worthy of time to consider it a 'job', but you can try showing me otherwise..."
"Oh, is that right?" The woman retracts her hand from Zeona's said and grasps her chin theatrically. "Well, I didn't expect that. Not that we never have women looking for a good time, girl. It's only that someone as pretty as you is usually selling these sorts of services...not buying them."
She tilts her head to the side. "There's a funny sound in your voice, girl. You're not from here, are you? That explains it, doesn't it? The seas are so dreary. Of course you want someone after some time on a creaky, ugly ship."
She crosses her arms under her breasts, pulling them upward. While she is dressed more modestly than the younger women in the lobby, the movement makes her cleavage distractingly prominent. "Now, you said something very interesting. You were interested in doing things for me, but not quite a job. What do have in mind, then?"
"Not the best time to arrive by ship, it seems like. And I would have to ship out tomorrow noon again! ... So you can imagine that having a good time and a good rest after it would worth it to me to .. try some of the things you are up to here? Not really looking for men to spend the time with, but I have nothing against having fun with girls, and some living or replicated male members. But... if you rather have me explore and serve your own pleasures, I can give it a try, but I am not experienced at all. Also, thank you calling me pretty. Maybe there would be others who would be happy to get their eyes and maybe hands on someone pretty? I wouldn't mind being worshipped." Zeona winks at the woman. "But I would need to get out of my travelling clothes and help, to show my natural beauty."
"Oh, I see," the madame purrs. "You want a companion for the night, but they should be grateful to serve you? I'm not surprised you'd want to be worshiped."
She smiles at Zeona, then turns to one of the prostitutes. She points at one - a curvy, dusky-skinned woman with painted lips and long, messy hair - and snaps her fingers. The younger woman approaches, and without hesitation or a single word, the madame places two fingers in the prostitute's mouth. Obediently, the younger woman sucks on the fingers as the madame turns her head back to Zeona.
"I absolutely adore your confidence, girl, but if I want to enjoy a pretty woman, I have my own." The madame reaches out and yanks down the prostitute's top, exposing breasts that had barely been concealed in the first place. With her eyes still on Zeona, she reaches out and grabs one breast. The prostitute squeaks around one finger, but does not resist. "As you can see, they're very obedient. And they have too much work to do to serve you for free.
"Of course...if you compensate them for your time, they would be happy to worship you any way you wish."
Zeona stares, without it being obvius that she stares at what was happening - or the bared breasts, as she can't stop to compare to hers. Thankfully she can stop herself from commenting anything. With a sigh, she shrugs. "Oh well, I was thinking more about being served pleasure, maybe even being an obedient student, as there are things I am not experienced with. But of course I thought about compensating you for the time and place, including all the hedonistic delights - which should include food, drink, and a bath, by the way - by at least five gold beforehand."
"Five gold?" The madame runs her thumb over one brown, stiffening nipple, eliciting another squeak from the prostitute. "Yes, we can give you all that for five gold. And a room, of course, though I usually rent them by the hour.
"The real question is, of course, who will be your companion through these pleasures," she continues. Her fingers leave the prostitute's mouth, but only go far enough to clutch her jaw and turn her head towards Zeona. "What are you looking for, girl? One like you, maybe? Human? Elf?"
She smirks at Zeona, but as she looks at her, something shifts in the madame's eyes. After a moment, she adds, "Maybe something more devilish?"
"Whoever is free, maybe? I wouldn't mind more girls showing me, teaching me what feels good, and what to do... Being in charge sometimes gets ... boring." Zeona tried to turn on her own charms, by slowly moving into a different pose and putting some twinkling in her eyes. Possibly even trying a lip-moistening half smile with tongue in cheek... One thing was for sure, she did not gave down from looking noble, even if she was definitely inexperienced.
She also did not wanted to get on their bad side by using magic on them - at least magic they could later realise as a bad influence.
"Really?" The madame studies Zeona for a moment and smirks wider. "You're quite new at this, aren't you, girl? I hadn't realized. Well, then."
Releasing the prostitute, the woman puts two fingertips to her lips and blasts a sharp whistle, then leans towards the back room. "Gehenna!" she calls.
Several seconds later, a tiefling steps out of the back room. She is more dressed than the prostitutes already waiting there, but her clothes barely hang off her body, giving the impression they could be torn away in an instant. Unlike many tieflings, her skin is that of a human colour, but her eyes are a distinctly inhuman purple in a sea of black sclera. Her long, thin tail lashes around her legs as she regards Zeona curiously.
"Yes, mistress?" the tiefling asks, though she keeps her eyes on Zeona.
"This is Gehenna," the madame tells Zeona. "She's a sweet thing, loves to teach people how to enjoy themselves...and others. And she'll teach women as well as men, won't she, Gehenna?"
"Oh, yes, mistress," the tiefling nods. With her head bowed, her eyes peek up at Zeona from under her horns, her expression mixing shyness with desire. "If she'll have me."
"She definitely looks like an experience..." Zeona murmured mostly for herself, but wasn't hiding her words from the others. "... You will do. For later, we will see..." the half-elf lifted the tiefling's head by her palm under her chin. "Come, show and tell time, lets have fun."
Zeona let Gehenna to show the way, not only to a room, but whatever - and whoever - would come after that.
Gehenna smiles shyly as Zeona lifts her chin, maintaining eye contact all the while. Once Zeona gives her the lead, Gehenna takes both of the half-elf's hands in her own and begins to step backward, gently pulling her towards the rear of the establishment.
"Come," she says breathily, her voice barely above a whisper. "I have so much to show you..."
"Ah." The madame doesn't move, but Gehenna stops dead in her tracks. She gives the madame a nervous look, and the older woman turns to face her and Zeona. "Don't be presumptuous. Our guest also requested food, drink, and a bath. Perhaps she'd enjoy that first."
"Yes, mistress. I'm sorry, mistress." Gehenna bows her head quickly, looking guiltily at the madame before resuming eye contact with Zeona. "Which - which did you want to enjoy first? We serve food and drink, and have baths. I'll take you wherever you wish. And of course, you may enjoy me whenever and however it suits you."
Taking her hands back for a moment, Zeona smiled at Gehenna. Then pulling out a fistful of the separate coins from a roll of her dress, she counted out five local gold pieces into the hands of the madam, but replied to the Tiefling. "I would enjoy any and all of them, just like the other fun, if they are worth it. It is not like I went more than a day without any of them... So, however it is convenient, my temptress."
The madame takes the gold with a satisfied smile, then gives Gehenna a nod. The tiefling takes Zeona's hands again.
"Thank you," Gehenna says, then brings Zeona's right hand to her lips and kisses it softly with her eyes closed. Her lips are soft and warm and her lipstick slightly sticky. "I'm flattered you chose me."
She opens her eyes and lowers Zeona's hands, though she doesn't release them. "My mistress keeps a restaurant. I suggest we start there. A good meal will give you energy and the drink will gift you confidence. And because the mistress so values your free expression, you may engage your temptations there, if you wish. Please, come with me."
Gehenna leads Zeona through the door in the rear of the lobby. Here, Zeona can clearly hear the sounds of sex through the walls, but Gehenna immediately opens a side door to a staircase that leads down to a basement. Like the storage room Zeona saw in a different building earlier in the day, this room looks like it was once on the ground floor, but was gradually buried as the city built up on top of itself. Gehenna opens a door to a crude tunnel with exposed beams, a low ceiling and a dirt floor. The tunnel jackknifes once before opening to another room, this one larger and bustling with people.
Despite Gehenna's description, this place is clearly more bar than restaurant. The air is hazy with tobacco and more exotic smoke and one wall is domainated by a bar and rows of drinks. The tables are small, sized for two or three people with a drink apiece, but some guests have fit simple meals into the limited space. This room is a basement as well, with windows mostly boarded up except for a narrow strip at their tops which appear to be at ground level. Glass oil lamps hang from the ceiling and are set into wall sconces, but only provide dim lighting for the room - though Zeona has no trouble seeing with her elven darkvision.
Most of the guests are couples: one patron and one prostitute. At one table, a man leans back in his chair and drinks a mug of ale as a woman kneels under the table, her buried in his lap. Gehenna seems unconcerned as she picks the next table over. As she pulls out a seat for Zeona, the bartender - a young man with a sort of boyish handsomeness that benefits from his casual, slightly unkempt look - perks up.
"Hey, welcome," the bartender calls, his voice friendly but apathetic.
"Our guest has paid for a drink and a meal," Gehenna tells the bartender, then looks at Zeona. "Do you have any preferences?"
Zeona's hand tingles with the kiss, and she almost blushes at the tiefling's attention. Jet, hazily remembering the Succubus' touches, there is a growing tingling in her loins. Following her towards temptation, the half-elf grows more alert as they take their way to the basement. She is lightly trembling with a different kind of arousal, her not so long ago kidnapping and imprisonment still heavy on her thoughts. Thankfully it is just a den of debauchery, a place she never got to visit before, and now just can't stop staring and drinking in every sight, sound smell, and her stomach growling for taste...
Nodding towards the young man and stroking Gehenna's hair with her free hand, Zeona replies, looking at the bartender "Whatever you consider the specialty of the house, and whatever Gehenna here considers her favorite. Possibly a little taste of everything else?" she is free in her order, not caring if it would be more food than enough only for the two of them. After all, Zeona rarely have to finish everything in front of her, and there is always someone who would gladly finish off her leftovers - even if she does not see or hear any dogs here.
"House speciality, huh?" The bartender chuckles. "We make some mean pasta here. Noodles, tomato sauce, cheese, and bread on the side. And the best part is, not one bit of it comes from the sea. Every sailor I've met loves it."
"It's just lovely with red wine!" Gehenna says enthusiastically. "But don't have too much, or it'll make you sleepy!"
She sidles up close to Zeona, pressing their bodies together. She turns her head to whisper gently into Zeona's ear."But if you're nervous, it will help you relax. It's alright if you want that. I can take care of everything for you."
The man at one table releases a long grunt that fades into a sigh. He takes a long swig of his drink and leans back in his chair as the woman under the table lifts her head from his lap, wipes off her lips, and stands up. She leans over and whispers in his ear as he reaches around to blatantly grab her ass, but she doesn't seem to mind.
"If it makes me sleepy, it will make you sleepy too. I will share everything, my dear Gehenna... but wouldn't say no to you taking care of me tonight... It seems that others are having fun too." Zeona muses a little amused, but seemingly very alert to every new sensation around her. And that means slightly pushing against the tieflings body with growing arousal. While it is not the same as her otherwordly Mistress - dream or not - the demonic bloodline and similar job of the girl next to her is way more enticing than anything she had in the last ... well, almost ever.
"I do not want to sleep." she purrs, licking Gehenna's ear playfully, and if the girl turns her head, finishing it with a kiss.
"You don't need to share with me," Gehenna whispers softly. She turns to face Zeona, but is directly in her space, their noses almost touching. Their breasts brush against each other, and Gehenna puts one foot beside Zeona's, their thighs rubbing through their respective coverings. "You've already been so generous just choosing me for the evening. It makes me feel special..."
Gehenna gently takes Zeona's hands and guides them to her hips. "...but I'll share if you wish. Half a serving of pasta and wine will give you energy and make things easier, without putting you to sleep."
"Noodles with red, coming right up," the bartender says. Gehenna guides Zeona to a table and, before long, the bartender comes over with a plate of long yellow noodles, curling around each other in a tomato sauce topped with flakes of grated cheese. On the side of the plate balance slices of buttered bread. Next are two wine glasses placed on the table, each with a modest serving of red wine. "One serving of wine, in two parts. Let me know if you need anything."
Neither the food nor the wine are high quality - certainly, not up to Zeona's usual standards, and probably not even by common standards - but they are edible. They're even enjoyable, in an unsophisticated, utilitarian sort of way. True to her word, Gehenna shares the meal with Zeona, following the pace Zeona sets and taking portions carefully in a way that makes it appear as though she's taking less than she actually does. Zeona notices the tiefling eats the noodles cleanly, without spilling the sloppy sauce, with a skill that suggests she's had this meal many times before.
The man and woman at the next table over also share a meal - and a chair. The woman sits in the man's lap as he devours his food and drink, his other hand switching arbitrarily between squeezing one of her breasts from behind and slipping between her legs. Whenever he is not eating or drinking, he plants his lips on her next, leaving wet smears. The woman rocks in his lap - gradually at first, but with increasing intensity as the meal wears on.
For reference, what is Zeona's current appearance? Is she in disguise, and if so, using what methods?
"Half would be enough." Zeona nodded, curiously eyeing Gehenna, and moving her hands tostroke the other woman's form. The half elf is curious about the horns and the tail, but do not want to intrude too much, so she only moves her hand under the table. Then as the food and vine arrive, she turns her interest towards it. "Lets dig in!" sheoffers a slice of bread with her left hand to the tiefling, while trying to get some of the pasta up on the utensil with the other to offer that too.
Zeona trie to eat just as cleanly, but she is more in for the tasting and enjoying of the food. Just like she plans to explore the possibilities with the eager staff of the house. She is trying to watch what is happening at the next table secretly, just to sate her curiosity.
While it was mostly magic that had her features changed, she did wear clothes differently, and have on some makeup to hide her real outlook - or mostly just the sight that people would have seen when she arrived for the ball. Really, that was a differently made entrance into the great hall, exaggeratng her youthful appearance, and this is how she tried to play a city dwelling commoner - if only by the looks.
Deception to Disguise : just 8, if someone knew her from before, but she did hear the description of her supposed outlook, so she looks nothing like that. (I would use the first roll, so it is a 19 overall.)
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