Session 17

October 31st

An already quiet party has an especially somber morning packing up their camp. Della wakes early and suspeciously well rested—so they take the opportunity to go early morning foarging. Upon returning they brew ginger tea for the rest of the party. They continue getting ready to leave slowly when Iban asks Della about how they're feeling, to which the answer is...sore, but better. Della in turn asks Iban about how he caused all of the plants to grow around them. His answer is math—equations and manipulating numbers in the world as he sees fit with formulas. As the conversation petered out they hear footsteps approaching from the front of the mineshaft

With an air of nonchalance, a gnome approaches the river, asking if they lived through the night. The party doesn't recognize him but Eden guesses he's from the wolfpack. Iban asks if all of the wolfpack is so surly, which Eden and Della both confirm is more or less true.

Once their business is done, they cross the river and start back to town. Outside the morning air is crisp and carries birdsong. Iban quickly scurries back to the inn once they arrive back, and the group makes their way towards the east wall. The plan that forms is to find a good look out spot and come back at night to try catching the Bag Lady in the act. Della can't catch the scent amidst the smog of the city, Ophelia is too distracted by her dream to make headway on the rooftops, and Eden finds a place to look for possible targets. A strange inn named the Prince's Pillow. Ophelia seems skeptical of bringing her companions into the "inn" but they both are too oblivious to engage with her concerns.

The interior of the ""inn"" is both run down and lavish. Wallpaper is peeling, faded portraits line the walls, smoke hangs in the air. The scent is a mix of pleasant herbs and tabacoo, and on the far wall a fire crackles. When the three of them come in they're met by a BUSSSSSTY dwarven woman who welcomes them in, she offers them drinks and directs them to a human woman who could help them if they'd like 'company'. After taking in the scene Eden understands that this is a brothel. Ophelia bursts into laughter.

A lovely gnome woman with her whole tits out approaches Ophelia and propositions her, which she accepts, taking the woman off for drinks. After lingering awkwawrdly near the front of the brothel, Eden and Della go off to the bar to grab wine. Ophelia and the gnome get comfortable in a booth together. The woman is wearing a sheer top, loose, silk pants and slippers, with burgundy hair falling over her shoulders in waves. She introduces herself as Duroline, though she's at times Lady Duroline. They flirt together, Duroline asking about Ophelia and their travels so far. The conversation eventually shifts as Ophelia asks about Duroline's job, casually inquiring if any clients have ever given her problems.

It takes some teasing but Ophelia coaxes Duroline to describe her problem clients in greater detail, including a name: Reikhar. Once she has that in tow, Ophelia lets the conversation drift into more lighthearted topics. And, eventually, the pair go upstairs to finish what they started.

While Ophelia gets information her way, Eden is wandering around the bottom floor of the brothel still, drink in hand. He meets the eye of a dreamer lounging on a bench, skin tinged a pale violet. His upper body is dressed only in body paint that shimmers red and black depending on the way the light catches in it. When their connection is clear the man stands to approach Eden. They begin speaking, the dreamer coming up with a usual shpeal to try and flirt with him. Eden is a little too forward though and scares the man off. Eden's ego is admittedly a little bruised.

Della is less confident in this place but eventually slinks off to a booth. They drink there alone for a while before a leather-clad dwarven woman with long, braided hair. The woman is straightforward cooing at Della and asking what a poor thing like them is doing in there sooooo alone. Della sputters out a response but the woman firmly grabs their thigh and tells them they should relax! Della gets so horny its kind of scary. They just kind of sputter out a response to this woman and she takes that as an affirmative, assuring Della they can bark when they get to the room.

Eden, for his part, resigns himself to a booth. To his surprise the bar maid comes and sits across from him with her own drink. She tries asking what Eden had done to run off the dreamer, which he admits he isn't keen to respond so straightforwardly. They eventually get to the topic of the disappearances, to which Eden admits he's not sure he's opposed to this strange form of justice being dealt to the vagrants. She's hesitant to agree with that stance and while observing the interactions in the room, asks what brings him to be looking into something like that. He says they've been asked by a third party to look into the matter. Thinking for a moment. She gives him a name: Reikhar Ingothorn. Eden thanks her for the information, and she offers to set Eden up with one of her boys, a human man with an undercut on both sides, long hair slicked back over his head. He's a bit more dressed, but the clothes still are tight and sheer in places. His nipples ARE pierced. She introduces him as Kazin.

Eden and Kazen make some slightly awkward smalltalk, but he's trying, god help Eden he's really trying okay. I had to make a wisdom saving through when they went upstairs hello

Ophelia came back down to ask the bartender where her un-horny friends had gone off to, and discovers to her shock they both went upstairs as well. The bartender describes how the dwarven woman, Daz, leashed Della for lack of a better way of putting it, and that Eden went upstairs with Kazen a bit after them. She sits to talk with the bartender, Giselle, and she mentions her conversation with Eden about the disappearances around the area. A few minutes later, Della stumbles downstairs, clearly dazed and unaware of their surrounding. Eden comes down not too long after, only slightly disheveled compared to how he usually is.