Rikki watched Olgar fall asleep after all the splinters were removed, his lips latched on a teacup as this transpired. A glowing hand and small hymn later and all the wounds from the splinters were healed up. He cocked his head to his companion and gave a sly grin, "So, now that my boss is asleep, we can talk about the actual interesting facts?"
She took a long draw on her hookah and nodded, expelling a cloud of dark, cryptic symbols, "Of course we can, Panda Man. Do you have any oddities from your adventures? Things you may have noticed?"
"I cannot say I have come across anyone like you, no. Nothing you have described from your world either. I have heard odd rumors though, and myths. Perhaps some of the gods and spirits from your world?" He would go on to describe the limericks and tales and bawdy renditions he had heard, along with actual evidence and concrete advice, "That is what I have, my friend."
"Interesting. It sometimes sounds like it might be from my realm, but mostly just oddities from this, or another, world. It is odd, I am not used to Gods having such power, even with my time in this place. Sure, I was only a foot soldier on my plane of existence, but it was grand knowing that. The Gods cowered at our heels, begged for forgiveness, and came to OUR summons. Not vice versa. Here? Well, you've lived here. You see what happens. Shameful, really. And such a lack of creativity in most people. I have not seen such stagnation in my life before I came here. It is appalling."
Rikki nodded, his eyes staring at his tea, "I won't lie and say I have met the smartest people ever. The stories you tell me are tough to believe, but it is a mighty fine vision. I think I would indeed enjoy finding your realm, even if I was to be trampled underneath the feet of it's heroes."
She chuckled and took a glass of tea, sipping it slowly, "Perhaps, Panda Man. Perhaps. Shall we trade actual information now? I have enough social intrigue to write a million primers on deceit and selfishness. Perhaps the Pamphlet on Betrayal and Egoism. Does that sound like a good title to you?" She tilted her head, her eyes actually seeming to be filled with a little sorrow.
"Yes, it does. Maybe even Signature Social Maneuvers and Techniques of the Ages?"
"That is a good one, Panda Man. I will admit, the Gods may be more powerful here, but they are also much more arrogant. They have never been put in their place. It will be their downfall, of course. That is why you never hear of struggling Gods here, the ones trying to make ends meet. It is always the powerful, the dead, and the forgotten. Never anything more."
Rikki chortled and listened to what she said, telling her his own stories. Together they traded enough information to may Iggwilv wet her panties and lubricate herself enough to take a mountain into her crevices. They spoke of demons of all realms, Gods of some, elemental planes, plans from monarchs come and gone, dirty secrets of some important peasants, the ramblings of the mad and demented, everything else in between as well.
It was a secret few knew, that the proprietor of this establishment traded knowledge as a commodity. People loved to imagine they were safe, that their drug addled ramblings and silly crushes fueling the seepage of knowledge and secrets would never leave this place. It rarely did, as Whore didn't see much need in staying the hand of fate from those who were not actively deciding hers. Yet, sometimes she grew bored, and sometimes people knew things she didn't. Then, there was always that fit of pique that just had her spill a tiny fragment of knowledge to tempt someone. Still, few knew this. Fewer still heard anything from her lips either.
As the night passed on the lady looked at Olgar and gave a rather smug look his way, "He is nervous to call me Whore. Most of his kind revel in a lady asking to be called that. He's...different."
Rikki looked at Olgar and nodded, rubbing some of his hair out of the ogre's face, "That he is, my dear companion. That he is. I believe, if I wanted to, I could carve an epic about this man into the minds of a generation. He would go down with Xagyg and Iggwilv, perhaps even the Gods themselves."
There was a slight trill of laughter and the lady lifted her leg up to scratch at her nethers with perfectly lacquered nails, "He has done so much, then?"
Rikki paid her one slow glance and shrugged, "I know not. Not all the best stories are perfectly true you know. Some embellishment would be necessary. I was touting my own skills, not his bravery."
The green and purple eyes of the elder lady showed that she knew better than that, but let it slide, "I see, Panda Man. Tell him, when he wakes, he may refer to me as The Madame of the Rivers. It should suit one of his temperament better. Perhaps that way he might actually look upon me with a smattering of desire instead of confusion."
Rikki nodded, downing the last of his tea. It burned a sweet, flowery taste down his throat and he gave a light sigh as it finished. His black eyes turned back to Whore and he undid his hair, "You never told me you were setting up shop here, Whore."
"You never asked, Panda Man. You asked for a consort for the night, but nothing else beyond that. Assuming I would stay in one place is rather naive, you know," she replied, her breasts rising with a breath.
"Yes, it most likely was. It was nice seeing you again. I believe I should take my boss and let him rest in a proper bed," Rikki stood and bowed to his host, very grateful.
"We have beds here. We also have consorts. Your information is worth more than the paltry scrip of this world. You can have what you like," came the reply, a sultry 'I know something' tone in her voice.
"Your eyes belie your deception, Whore. Spit out what you would say as you should have been when your father impregnated your mother."
"Your companion. He was ready to defend you, you know?"
Rikki looked unperturbed by this, "Of course, he needs me for the current mission."
There was no laughter, which made Rikki uncomfortable. This lady was one of the few who could make him feel like an uneducated, retarded child with but her motions, "No, Panda Man. Beyond that. He was willing to throw himself in front of something he knew nothing about. He knew not my power, my lineage, my abilities, my purpose. He knew I had assaulted you because you called me out. His muscles were tense, his jaw was set, and he eyes beheld...anger. He was mad at me, of course, but they held another type. Directed at you. He may not admit it. He may not know it. Yet, he was mad at you for seeking to place yourself in what he believed mortal danger. You know why that is? It is not because of some deplorable mission any flailing wretch who can dog paddle would be of use to, it is because he would have been hurt had you left this plane."
Rikki looked in disbelief, his eyes scouring her for any hint of a joke, "Your tongue is aged and your mind decrepit, wench. I believe I would know if he cared for me in that way."
"I doubt it, as you don't even know you yourself pine for him. Look at your posture. You are antsy, perturbed. You smell of recent sex but your body shows no recent satisfaction. You slept with someone outside of him, did you not? You awoke to find it had mildly quenched your needs, like a bucket of water upon an inferno makes a dent. Yet, was that fire out? I highly doubt it. It was because your bed, and your body, was not shared with him. I cannot say this is true love, the one you spout like some verbal carcinogen that you cannot control, but it is an affection. One I believe that could bloom into something rather puissant. Your life is a leaf, my friend. You are in the spring time of your life and you have the opportunity to have something that people my age have never had the luxury of feeling. Would you deny this, or cultivate it?"
Rikki was floored. It was something he was glad Olgar hadn't seen, for no one had seen Rikki like this since he was a whelp. He stammered and then clenched his jaw, "The prattling of a dried up old husk does not amuse me. You are wrong, this time. Your assumptions for nothing. Thank you for the information and your hospitality, but I believe I will leave now."
She nodded, "Forgive a grimalkin her hobbies. My business is messing with others. Here, consider this an apology," a clap of her hand summoned a great Ettin who grasped Olgar and lifted him up with ease, "Chaldros, Nuane, take this man to where Panda Man desires. Leave him there and then return, okay? If you do this the rest of the night is yours how you see it."
The Ettin nodded both heads, a male and female voice coming out of it in unison, "Yes, Madame." Whore had the most rare of breeds, a male and female ettin in one body was a special treasure of her collection. Rikki turned and bowed, taking Olgar to the hotel with the guests.
Whore watched them leave and sighed, "Children. He will learn, perhaps. If only he wasn't so...ah, perhaps he is right. I may be old."
"Madame!" a voice chimed from behind a secret wall, "That centaur suitor you flirted with has come back. He has the fetish barding somehow."
Whore smiled and placed the hookah pipe down, "Perhaps this night will be eventful indeed. Thank you, Rosalinda. I shall be with him shortly. Arrange for rubber sheeting, the lily flavored lubricant, and a ball gag please. The rest he should have."
Rikki contemplated what his contact had said as he walked with the double-gendered ettin. At the hotel he had Olgar lowered down and folded up the clothes that he had brought with him. The ettin was dismissed and Rikki disrobed, his body pressing against his sleeping ogre. He sighed and closed his eyes, trying to drown out what she had said. Yet, this felt so comfortable, so safe. Was she right?
All thought on the subject ended as he slid into sleep, his arms coiled around a muscular ogre arm.
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