As Catherine started tending to the man, she realized quickly, that the medicine available is a common one, but more importantly, the barely moving man was in his last stage of illness. There wasn't really much she could do.
Zilfar looked at the Orc and smiled - her smile strangely bigger than normally. "Got your wet nose beat up, eh, greenhorn." She wiggled her eyebrows. "Sorry, if you want a drink, go to the inn. We had enough people trashing the place in a drunken rage. After one drunk bounty hunter started dancing and demolishing the place, we closed the bar... but I must say, dancing trolls are sight to see!"
Two things had occurred to her. How bad it would be if he went and died and she was the last person to enter his house, and the fact that even if Camila barged in with some alleged miracle cure, odds were, it would take too long to work. There was nothing that could be done for him now...except...she stepped closer to get a proper look at his face. This wasn't really her business...but, just leaving him like this seemed cold. So she had to ask the question, curious if he could even still hear her right now. "Would you rather I just end it?"
It took him some time, but the goblin finally found the place to clean his cloak - a lake. As Gih started cleaning his cloak, a string of water suddenly hit his face. As he looked up, he noticed the head of a smiling woman, disappearing in the water.
“Well, since I finished my first job I get a free room at the sleeping quarters here. Zilfar said that mine is room five.” Celine showed the key she had received from the dark elf. “How about we go check it out? It would be nice to see what we get for completing a job, and in addition we should be able to speak undisturbed there.” The elf suggested to the redhead.
As she asked the question, only hallowed breathing was her answer. The man was in no state to answer, affected by the fever... Catherine doubted she would have any coherent answer from the man.
@moonblack @unisol_gr44 The room was rather small with a single-window, a shelf, a single bed, and nightstand right next to the bed... at least it was clean.
'Oh, that's convenient,' Alyndra smiled at the elf, 'Sure, maybe I get one too once we've done a mission.' She walked up to the elf, 'Lead the way, Raven.'
For a brief moment, Catherine did seriously consider just stabbing him in the heart, but without a clear answer, she wasn't about too. Camila hadn't showed up for whatever reason. The story was true. But she hadn't showed up...this was definitely a problem. Tracking down this stupid thief was proving to be quite the nuisance...there was only one other thing she could think of. Maybe, if she couldn't get to Camila, there was a way to make her seek Catherine out instead? She did the next thing her own thief instincts told her to do in an empty house without any witnesses to stop you. Looking for anything important or valuable to take. Namely, she didn't just want something expensive. She needed something that looked like it would have a lot of sentimental value. The kind of thing that would deliberately piss this girl off well enough to try seeking the thief out even if she wanted to lay low.
“I'm sure you will.” Celine reassured her new friend, then led them up the stairs, looking for her room. Finding the right place was easy. The room turned out to be largely what she had expected, only not as dirty as she had feared. “Well, it may be small but at least it's clean.” The elf noted as she sat down on the bed and looked at the redhead. “I know it's not much, but please make yourself comfortable. You can sit down wherever, or remain standing, if you want.” She waited a bit for Alyndra to get ready before asking “Now tell me: What are your thoughts about the different bounties? And about the ones posted by priestess Juanita and High Priestess Carina, in particular?”
Alyndra followed Celine to her room, looking around the small bedroom, 'Not bad, I've seen worse rooms in inns. Can't ask for much more.' She nodded, as Celine offered to make herself comfortable, 'Thank you.' The redhead sat down on the bed, not too close to Celine but not stand-offish either. She tapped her chin, 'Well, the way I see it, I don't want to help thugs just because they put up a bounty. Like that brothel owner, I'm not going to help a gang to make her sell her business.' She thought a moment about those two bounties, 'If I recall correctly, priestress Juanita wants to investigate the High Priestress? If she truly has lost her way, that would be a good thing to get to the bottom of. And Carina wants to find that witch... maybe the two bounties are connected? Possibly Carina is a bit too zealous with her faith for Juanita? Who knows what she does to the witches and heretics once she has captured them or a bounty hunter catches them for her.'
“Yes, exactly. Sooner or later someone will take care of the brothel owner bounty, but it doesn't have to be us.” Celine agreed as she looked at the redhead. “As for the two bounties I asked you about, what I think is this: Getting Verena, the witch, to the High Priestess would be a good way to earn not only some money, but also Carina's trust. Perhaps she would be willing to let us see how she will deal with the witch? This might help us find the evidence we need before we bring the High Priestess to Juanita. If there is any evidence, that is – it is possible that Carina has not really lost her way and priestess Juanita is wrong – or just looking for an excuse to get rid of her.” Celine paused, giving the redhead a bit of time to consider her words before continuing. “What we could do is this: First talk to Zilfar and see what she can tell us about the two bounties. She has... an odd way of speaking, but I think we can count on her to provide reliable information – if she has any, that is. After that it might be best to speak with Juanita and find out what she can tell us about Carina, since she likely knows the High Priestess quite well. We also need to know what sort of evidence she would accept – the last thing we want is to deliver Carina to her only to get told 'your evidence is not good enough, so I am not paying you'. Then we should visit Carina and find out what she knows about the witch. And then, finally, go to Verena and convince her to come with us to the High Priestess – after all, the bounty says only that we are to deliver the witch, but does not specify how. Making her go willingly should count, right? Of course, if necessary we could use force to capture the witch...” Celine made another pause as she looked at Alyndra. “What do you think? Sound good?”
Alyndra listened intently to Celine's plans, finding herself nodding along with her logic, 'When did you find time to come up with such an elobrate plan?' She chuckled, 'It does sound like a good one. Checking in with Zilfar and Juanita first would probably be the best course of action, I agree. If we are lucky we may get through this one without anyone getting hurt.'
“Well, let's just say that I had a bit of free time while working to complete my previous job...” Celine chuckled as well. “Anyway, I'm glad you agree. I too would prefer to do it without any violence, if possible.” She was about to ask if they should go speak with Zilfar right away when a thought occurred to her and she changed her mind. “Before we get to it, however, how about a small test for you? Since this is going to be your first job and we can't be sure what challenges we will face during it, especially when dealing with the witch...” The elf paused and looked at the redhead while choosing her next words. “As for what sort of test, exactly... How about a little bit of roleplay? I'll pretend to be someone else and make a demand of you, and you are to complete that demand to the best of your ability. This is the kind of thing that could help you in various situations, such as avoiding unwanted trouble, getting important information, or even getting your target...” The elf explained and made another brief pause. “For this test we'll pretend that I'm Verena and you're trying to convince me that you have no ill intentions towards me. Give me just a moment to focus...” Celine took a deep breath, cleared her throat, and focused, trying to get into her role. Then she gave Alyndra a doubtful look and began speaking in a different voice, trying to sound like an older woman. “I don't know, girl, you sound honest, but I am not sure I can trust you... Perhaps you could do something to convince me that you are serious and that I have nothing to fear from you... Hmm... How about... you show me your butt? That shouldn't be a problem if you are sincere...” The elf asked, curious to see the redhead's reaction.
'Hmm,' Alyndra mused, 'Gaining somebody's trust by doing what they want? I can't say I like deception and all that... but if it helps me stay out of trouble...' She thought for a second and then stood up from the bed to face Celine, 'Ah, what's the harm, right? Just a little roleplay. Go ahead.' She smiled and chuckled, when Celine pretended to be Verena, 'Is that what you imagine she sounds like?' Before catching herself, 'Oh, sorry.' Being more serious to fit her role, she listened to the demand, 'You don't trust me? That's... understandable, I suppose. Can't be too careful these days.' She blushed a little, 'M-my butt? Why is something wrong with it?' She turned around and looked over her shoulder, showing her butt in her tight leather pants to Celine, suggesting there was a nice butt beneath, but appearance might be deceiving, most butts look good in tight pants. She raised an eyebrow, 'How can my butt tell you that I am trustworthy?'
“Well, you're not acting like a slut desperate to earn my trust. That's a good start...” Celine, still in her role, said, then frowned as she looked at Alyndra's behind. “However, as nice as the view is, I asked to see your butt, not your pants...” She pointed out as she looked up at the redhead's face.
Alyndra laughed, blushing, 'Well, it's beneath the pants, you never said you wanted to see it without barriers. You want to see it without the pants?' She debated the situation in her head for a moment, 'Huh, fine. It's just us girls here, right?' Her hands went to her belt and opened it, pulling down her leather pants a litte, and revealed her butt in her white panties, which covered most of her asscheeks. Alyndra's bum had a nice heart-shape to it and had a smattering of freckles on the exposed parts Celine could see, 'Now you're going to tell me you didn't ask me to see it in my panties, right?' She giggled.
“Nice, you have very cute panties...” Celine commented, not breaking character even as she felt her body growing a little warm at the sight. “But, as you seem to realize yourself, I asked to see your butt, not your panties. That shouldn't be a problem, since it's just us girls here... right? Or do you have something to hide? Perhaps an embarrassing tattoo? Or maybe... something more serious, such as a tattoo that marks you as a criminal, the kind some crime syndicates are known to give to their members... Is that why you are hesitant to show me your butt, hmm?” Celine, still in her role of the fake Verena, wondered aloud and gave Alyndra a questioning look.
'Oh, uhm, thank you? They're just plain panties really,' Alyndra chuckled at Celine's compliment. She shook her head, 'No, I'm certainly no criminal and I don't have any embarrassing tattoos.' She pulled down her panties to prove her point. The skin beneath the panties was a slight shade paler than the rest, suggesting she had been sunbathing in her underwear at some point. It was again adorned with dusting of freckles. Her butt flared out smoothly form her back, becoming more voluminous at the bottom. She gestured around her butt, 'There, no embarrassing or criminal tattoos.' She giggled, kind of enjoying the roleplay. She hadn't had the opportunity to goof around with someone for a very long time, making her a bit nostalgic for her childhood.
“Oh, my, beautiful, simply beautiful...” Celine barely managed to avoid breaking character as she felt herself getting aroused at the sight. She couldn't resist placing a quick kiss on the redhead's left ass cheek, though. “I didn't think you would be able to do it, girl... but I am glad I was wrong. You have a gorgeous ass.... I get wet just looking at it...” She complimented Alyndra's behind before kissing her other cheek too. “In fact, I am so pleased with how... cooperative you have been that you can ask me to do something for you in return... within reasonable limits, of course. It's the least I could do after you gave me such a great view...” She placed her hands on the redhead's butt and squeezed lightly to emphasize her point. “Oh, no need to get dressed – it's just us girls here...” She added as an afterthought. Things were going a bit beyond what Celine had originally planned, but Alyndra was so tempting that the elf could not help but try and prolong their little game.
