Nicholas ushered a fast apology, before leaving and following the woman's directions. She was very pretty, but this wasn't an opportune time yet. At the very least, it did get something of an idea forming in his head. He was definitely going to come back and get another chance with her, one day. On the plus side, a minor goal of somewhere to be had formed and he wandered over to the guest room before opening it. In his head, he was aware that taking too long being here would end badly, but if anything he had gotten more stubborn to at least find something for all the time he had spent getting and exploring this place.
The man snatches up the coins and leaves a key in its place quickly as if he was a starving man and the coins were the last remaining morsels of food in the places. Now that you're a paying customer, the man does warm up a little. Even though his greasy voice bothers you. "Is there anything else I can do for you? 'sir' ". "Sorry Miss...uh, I mean Vi'lea. We're trained to be as polite as possible." she bows apologetically. "Right this way." Meryl leads you up two flights of stairs to your room. You get a better look at the massive inn along the trip. It looks like it was once an old mansion that has been refurbished to be nothing but rooms. The owner of the place must be quite wealthy. Still, the trek is fairly short and it isn't long before you're standing outside of room 5 on floor 3. "Here is your room. I hope you find it accommodating." You enter the room and find it just as empty as when you arrived. However, you no sooner than close the door when you hear the voice of the lady you peeked on in the bath walk down the hall towards the stairwell. She's muttering to herself irritably. "Honestly, if father was going to have guests over. He should have told me so I could have locked my door..." You suspect that she may be heading downstairs to scold her father for the intrusion. No doubt she will learn of your trespassing.
"Yes, there is." He places a few more coppers down on the counter. "I want some beer, and I want it brought over to a table." He waits long enough to make sure the innkeeper has taken the order, and then heads to an empty table.
Nicholas knew there wasn't much time left, and still had little idea what he was up against. It seemed like the time, to raise one of his hands and invoke a prayer of magic defense. "Noy'ia, bro. Kind of would be nice if you helped." Nicholas didn't invoke his patron with the most mystical of phrases, but it was still effective and he could feel the power run through his body. Opening back the door, he made a fast dash to intercept the woman on the stairway. Even if things couldn't be found right away, putting them on alert would ruin plans of coming back. "Hey, I still don't know where I'm going." He said it without trying to be loud while moving partway down the staircase. While part of him did mean it, he still padded for where his dagger was. There was no way he'd be able to kill every armored guard so if need be, drastic measures would have to be done on the defenseless and unarmored important people. Still, he only made sure he was ready instead of jumping to hostage taking, trying to gauge what her reaction would be.
“I'm sure it will be.” Vi'lea smiles at the young woman. “Let's go inside. I want to ask you something, but I don't want to stand in the corridor while we talk. Plus I want to make sure everything's in order with my bath. After you.” She smiles at Meryl and waits for her to enter before following her inside the room.
The innkeeper takes your order just fine and you sit at a nearby empty table. Other than the noisy men in the corner, the rest of the inn is mostly quiet and only the crackling fire pierces the gloom during the brief moments that the vagabonds aren't drunkenly laughing at something. The serving lady drops your drink off a few minutes later without much ceremony before going back to her duties. She has changed into a thick bathrobe to head downstairs when you intercept her. Despite this, her cleavage is quite visible down the front of her robe and her hair lays wetly around her shoulders. She crosses her arms. The movement hefting her breasts up a little as she purses her lips irritably. "It's not that complicated. Come on." The young noble lady opens the door to the guest room and motions inside. "There. See?" before turning to head back downstairs again. (OOC:For some reason I'm not happy with this description, but it gets the point across so /shrug) She walks into the bedroom ahead of you. It's a pretty nice room. The far half of the room is raised up a step and is entirely carpeted with a double bed and dresser. Meanwhile, the closer half of the room is mostly bare wooden floor to accommodate your bath and dining table. The tub itself is wooden, but seems to be in good condition and is nearly full of water. A faint hint of steam rises up from the water. Meryl turns and looks at you as you enter behind her. An anxious look on her face. "It's not really appropriate for us to be in the room for long."
Vi'lea closes the door, then takes a quick look at the room and makes a mental note that it is very nice. Then she unclasps her cloak and lets it fall down on the floor in a pile, leaving her wearing just her dress. The elf focuses all of her attention on the anxious girl and moves closer to her, giving her a reassuring smile in an attempt to make her relax. “It's not? Why not? And what if it is by the request of a guest?” She decides to be direct; she takes Meryl's right hand in her own, brings it to her lips, and lightly kisses it. “I'll be honest, my beautiful Meryl. I was hoping that you'd join me and that we'd take a bath together. I figure you must be tired after a long and busy night. I'm sure you could use a nice, relaxing bath, and I could use the company... I won't even make you do anything... naughty... that you do not want to – no matter how tempting it might be...” For a moment she imagines a naked and wet Meryl standing in front of her, and even that is enough to make Vi'lea's pussy slightly wet... then she manages to banish the images and instead focuses on Meryl, waiting for her reaction.
"You know, you've been really rude so far and it's not cute at all. Who even are you that makes you so special?" Nicholas knew he'd have to say something to get her attention and since she did stop for a moment to listen, it was at least effective. "Your what? Your father's daughter right? But it's not like you do anything important. I mean...I don't wanna sound like a jerk but....do they even trust you with doing anything?" Nicholas let his eyes widen as if just thinking about something. "Now that I think about it, one of those guys said something like Marie. Were they talking about you? Cause if he was....well, no. I don't start rumors. But boy, does he hate you."
Meryl's expression turns a cute shade of crimson as you kiss her hand. "w-we're not allowed to consort with customers when on duty..." The woman's expression hardens the more you needle her. "What exactly are you trying to do? Irritate me? Well, let me tell you sir, when my father hears of your rudeness. He'll certainly have you thrown out!" She turns and starts irritably stomping off.
Somewhere in his mind, Nicholas got the impression that he might be overstaying his welcome with these people. Not being on to break good etiquette, he went to the guest room and shut it behind him. It followed that he place a chair in front of the door to jam it, for whatever time that would give him. His adventure wasn't going great, but he determined he would at least steal something light and expensive looking before leaving the same way he came.
Looking around for a moment. It doesn't take you long to realize that this is the empty guest room. There isn't really much in the way of anything you can really lift here unless you want to steal the knobs of the dresser or something.
Thritch shrugs, drinks his beer, and heads back out onto the streets. It's dark, but he's used to the dark, and he doesn't want to go to bed tonight without some sort of sexual satisfaction, following his week on the road.
“You really are cute when you're blushing...” Vi'lea comments absentmindedly as she sees Meryl's reaction, still holding the girl's hand. “'Consort with customers', you say. You make it sound like we'd be doing something bad, when that is not the case at all. I always have trouble washing my back, and asking for your help with it is only natural. And it is also perfectly normal for me to show my appreciation by returning the favor and washing yours in return – as a number of women back home can confirm.” She gives the girl a reassuring smile. Admittedly, usually it was just an excuse to have sex with a pretty girl behind the back of an overprotective parent, or some such – but there's no need for you to know that, my sweet. She adds in her mind, before Meryl's words give her a vague idea. “Also, what about the time when you are not on duty? Would it be alright then? When are you going to be off-duty?” She gazes in Meryl's pale eyes, trying to look as friendly and charming as she can.
Almost on cue, you hear the sound of shattering glass in the corner followed by a feminine shout "Hey! Let go!" Turning to look at the rowdy hooligans in the corner, you see that one of them has pulled the waitress onto his lap and is groping her roughly. One of his hands feels up her breasts through her dress while the other hand pushes between her legs. The movements pull her dress more tightly against her body and gives you a slightly better view of her figure. He speaks lustfully as he gropes her. "come on girl, you know you want to have some fun with us." His comrades laugh and out of the corner of your eye, you see the shifty barkeep disappear into the back room and away from the action. Complimenting her blushing only makes her blush more as she squirms cutely under your gaze. "Um...I-I work for another hour Vi'lea. It would probably be okay then...but your bath would be cold by then."
I should have asked a bit more about her and when she finishes work. Vi'lea chides herself in her own mind after hearing Meryl's answer. Then she considers her options and quickly makes a decision. “If it is just an hour or so, then I can wait for you. Due to having to occasionally sleep under the open sky – thankfully that's not a frequent occurrence – I know a little trick to keep myself warm at night. It should work on the bath tub as well and keep it warm... mostly, at least. The water might get a bit colder than it is now, but it should be still warm enough for a pleasant bath.” She pauses and smiles at the young girl before continuing. “However, this sort of thing can be exhausting, and I already have a day of travel behind me, so I'd rather not waste my energy just because I can. Can you promise me that if I wait you will come back once you are done with work for tonight, my pretty?” She gives Meryl a look that is hopeful and just a little bit pleading.
Not wanting to overstay his welcome, Nicholas made for the window and gradually made a careful climb down. So, today wasn't really going his way. It didn't bother him. In the end, it always does.
"If it's just to help with the bath...Then y-yeah. I'll come up when i'm done working." She shuffles anxiously as you give her a hopeful look. You can tell that she's a bit unsure of herself...Although it's difficult to tell whether it's because of a lack of experience in general, or a lack of experience with women. Your feet just touch the floor when you hear some shouting from above. No doubt the noble's bodyguards are going to start searching every nook and crannie for your presence. Just as a general note: Once your character has finished for the day(AKA: go to sleep), there will be a bit of a break for you until I get everyone caught up to the same point.
“Then I will be waiting.” Vi'lea says as she finally lets go of Meryl's hand and pulls away from her. The elf opens the door and allows the anxious girl to leave the room, then closes the door behind her and focuses her attention on the large bath tub full of hot water. The tub is bigger than I am, so it will take a bit more effort, but it should work the same way. She decides as she moves close to the tub and carefully touches the water's surface with one finger. Satisfied with the warmth, she takes a step back and focuses, calling upon her mastery over shadows. Slowly shadows rise and start to envelope the tub. It takes a bit more effort than she would have liked, though she is not sure if it is because the tub is bigger than she is, or because the dirty part of her mind keeps 'helpfully' supplying ideas what might happen when Meryl comes back. Finally the shadows fully wrap around the tub, trapping the heat inside the magical barrier. Satisfied, Vi'lea turns her attention to the door, waiting for a knock or some other sign of Meryl's return. While she waits Vi'lea checks the tub every five or so minutes, each time carefully pushing one finger through the blanket of shadows, and is pleased to note that, as she hoped, the water temperature barely changes. This is working out even better than expected! Then again, usually it is just by body heat that gets trapped by the blanket. The water temperature is much higher – that probably has something to do with it. She nods to herself. I probably won't be able to keep the spell active for more than a few hours, but I won't need it for that long anyway. Vi'lea keeps looking at the door and waiting for Meryl's return, a small paranoid part of her mind also making sure that she would be ready if someone else other than the pretty waitress walks through the door.
Thritch pauses for a moment, watching, before deciding to step in. Seeing that no one else is watching, he decides to use a little bit of magic. He draws his sword, muttering the casting-words until the blade starts to drip black fluid, and then starts towards the thugs. He's not going to run them through, he will just nick them and let the paralytic poison do the rest.
You wait roughly an hour before you hear some tentative knocks on the door. After giving the person permission to enter, Meryl meekly steps into the room and closes the door behind her, clutching anxiously at her dress. "Um...I'm done for the night..." His drunken comrades mostly ignore you while the man himself keeps groping her until he notices your approach. He eyes you a bit confusedly and you can tell that the man is very drunk. "What do you want rat? Why don't you fuck off, mind your own business, and go crawling back into the sewer with the rest of your kind."
