A Relaxing Bath & Spent Favour

Krvavy’s fingers wrap around the simple knob, gently turning it. The water raining down from above comes to a stop.

Dripping wet, she steps out of the shower alcove and turns to the one right next to it. “Feel clean enough for the hot spring?”

Khalia immediately turns off the water and turns around. Her soaked tail wags back and forth like that of a soggy dog. “Yes~!” She grabs onto the Drakling’s arm, hugging it up against her green-skinned breasts.

“Great.” Krvavy tiredly sighs out, letting her shoulders slump down. Her whole body is sore. Carrying an entire car-sized boar through rocky and uneven terrain wasn’t easy, even with Khalia helping out.

“Mm.” Inanna greets the barbarian and Were-Beast with a hum the moment that the step out of the bathroom. “I see you had a successful hunt.”

“Yes~!” Khalia joyfully nuzzles her face into Krvavy’s shoulder. “Mate and me kill big piggy together~!”

“I saw.” The Dwarf states, smiling ever so slightly as she responds to the Orc. “It is visible from our bedroom. Thea pointed it out to me.” She adds, nodding her head toward the brat in question who is already lounging in the hot spring.

“Yeah... We didn’t really have the energy to bring it all the way up here.”

“Understandable. It is quite the large specimen.” Inanna steps aside, letting Krvavy and Khalia head straight towards the large pool. After a moment, she follows, sitting down at the edge with just her legs dangling into the warm and steamy water.

“Ugh...” Thea groans, trying to mask her obvious concern with annoyance. “Did either of you get injured fighting that thing?”

“Just a little. Nothing serious though.” Krvavy’s smile grows as her blushing brat refuses to make eye contact. “Mostly just some bruises. Khalia did get a big cut, but we healed it up.”

“Mm... Impressive. Was it easier to fight than expected?”

“No, not at all.” The Drakling leans back into the comfortably hot water, wrapping an arm around her precious puppy’s waist and pulling the Were-Beast half into her lap. “We just didn’t fight it head on.”

“Really?” Thea skeptically asks, raising a single blonde eyebrow. “Did the two of you really not just charge in and attack?”

“Not at first, no.” Krvavy easily returns, unbothered by her beautiful brat’s barb. “We trapped and isolated it with magic, pelted it with a few javelins, and then ran in.”

“Rrgh.” Khalia nods her head in support of her Mate, before leaning forwards and resting it atop the barbarian’s pale breasts. “Fight was quick. Not exciting.”

“It wasn’t boring though, was it? Not like the slimes?” The Drakling slowly trails her fingers down her precious puppy’s spine.

Khalia doesn’t immediately answer, waiting a couple seconds before grunting back a “no.”

“And was that enough for you to level up, or do you still need to slay some more slimes?” Inanna inquires, leaning forwards and unintentionally squishing her massive breasts into her thick thighs.

“I did level up.” Krvavy replies, idly rubbing her cuddly Orc’s back. “Though I probably should still try for another level...”

“So what does your last milestone trait do?” Thea can’t quite keep the curious tone out of her voice as she asks that question.

“Dunno.” The barbarian shrugs her shoulders, much to the bratty girl’s chagrin. “I haven’t dealt with the stat points yet. Guess I’ll do that now...”

Ignoring the silver-blonde noble girl’s exasperated groan, Krvavy brings up her stat sheet and quickly allocates the six points that she has been sitting on for the past few hours. One goes into Willpower, because her new Class is encouraging her to increase that, and the rest go into Guile to finally get it up to twenty-five.

+25 Divine Favour, for achieving a base value of twenty-five in all attributes.

“Oh.” Krvavy blinks at the notification that suddenly appeared in front of her eyes.

“What?” Thea glares across the steamy hot spring.

“I just got some favour for, well, getting all my stats to twenty-five.”

“Mm. That isn’t much of a surprise. You get Divine Favour for fulfilling your desires, and you have been working towards that goal for quite some time now.” Inanna calmly comments, meeting the Drakling’s gaze with her mildly curious copper-orange eyes. “How much ‘favour’ did you get for that?”

“Twenty-five.” The barbarian blandly returns.

“Really?!” Thea perks up, going so far as to scoot closer to Krvavy. “So you can finally buy that communication thing?”

“I mean, yeah?” Krvavy raises an eyebrow and glances over at her fiancée. “I could have anyway. I only needed one more point, remember? And I got two from levelling up. Which is hopefully the new normal...”

“Whatever. Are you going to get it or not?”

“Well...” Krvavy slowly looks back and forth between her three girls.

“Beryl is otherwise occupied at the moment.” Inanna answers the unasked question. “I am not sure what exactly she is doing, but it is keeping both her and Adeline busy.”

“We do not need those two here just to make this decision.” The bratty girl’s arms cross beneath her breasts, pressing them up above the waters surface as she sternly glares at the Drakling. “Especially not the mouse, as she would likely not even say a single word.”

“At the very least, we could look over the options. Yes?”

Krvavy shrugs and relents to her Dwarf’s diplomatic suggestion. “Sure. I still don’t have enough for the good ones... But there are plenty that cost just ten points.” The shop window pops up in front of her, its many options quickly getting narrowed down with just a few thoughts. “And most of them just seem to be variations of the same thing: a box of jewellery that, when worn, will let us mentally communicate with each other. Do we want all rings? Necklaces? Bracelets? Anklets? Earrings? Piercings? Circlets? Hair pins? Brooches?”

Inanna’s thick brow furrows slightly. “How many are in each box? And do all the options only contain a single type?”

“It doesn’t say.” A sigh accompanies that answer and the next. “The only one which isn’t all copies of the same thing just says that it is ‘assorted’. But, unlike the Ore Seeds, it doesn’t mention being random. So it probably has at least one of each.”

“Mm. Does it mention how the individual pieces of jewellery function? Are they enchanted?”

“Again. I have no idea. The descriptions are all pretty basic.” Krvavy grumbles out. “It says that they’re magic, but doesn’t mention any enchantments. I don’t know if that really means anything though.”

The Dwarf slowly shakes her head. “Hopefully they function perfectly well for you, my Ushumgal. Otherwise they will be considerably less useful.”

“So are you getting this ‘assorted’ box or not?” A hint of impatience fills Thea’s voice as she speaks up.

“I guess...?” Krvavy looks toward Inanna, who nods noncommittally, and then down at Khalia, who is barely even paying attention to the conversation. “Alright, sure.”

The Were-Beast grumbles unhappily as her Mate’s petting hand pulls away.

Krvavy takes a deep breath and makes the purchase.

A big, rectangular wooden box suddenly pops into existence, balancing atop the barbarian’s hands. She quickly turns and places it at the hot springs edge, setting the surprisingly large and decorated chest down onto its four little legs. The dark polished lacquer glistens in the steamy air as Krvavy prods at the obvious metallic clasp, popping open its flat top.

Thea’s knee bumps into the barbarian’s body as she invades Krvavy’s personal space.

“Mm...” Inanna, likewise, does the same on Krvavy’s other side.

Even Khalia lifts her head up to peer inside the wide but shallow case.

Nestled neatly in place amongst a bed of red silken fabric are dozens of pieces of simple jewellery composed of a silvery metal and dull black gems.

“I expected there to be a fair amount considering how much it cost compared to the Ore Seeds and Thea’s eyeglasses, but even this is more than I thought.” Inanna admits, curiously raking her gaze across the numerous magical ornaments.

Some of the smaller pieces, like the rings, have upwards of a dozen copies while the larger ones, such as the circlets, have only a few.

Krvavy focuses on a random ring, using Inspect on it.

Ring of Far-Speaking: A magical ring which allows for communication between the holders of other bound Far-Speaking items regardless of the distance between them. Automatically adjusts its size to fit its wearer. Appears as nothing more than a simple, mundane ring to all forms of scrying when outside of its origin case.

“Interesting.” The Dwarf voices Krvavy’s thoughts. “Mm...” She plucks a simple, stud earring from its padded home. Her thick brow pulls together as her copper-orange eyes focus on the small piece of jewellery. “This is remarkably well disguised. Even knowing that this earring is more that it appears to be, I cannot detect even the slightest amount of magic within it. Scrying yields only a claim that it is composed of silver and onyx, which I have reasons to doubt.”

“How are these even supposed to work?” Thea scowls at the many options in front of her. A faint blush fills her cheeks as she snatches up a ring. “This... This does not mean anything!” The bratty girl bashfully blurts out, her face growing an even deeper shade of red. “I still need an actual ring from you, Krvavy!”

The Drakling raises and eyebrow as her lips slowly spread into a smirked grin. “You see a bunch of jewellery and that is your first thought~?”

“Sh-shut up!”

Unbothered by Thea’s flustered attitude, Inanna reaches out and purposefully taps her earring into the bratty girl’s ring. A faint spark of light flashes between them. “Mm.” She hums and nods her head.

“What did you just do?” The silver-blonde noble girl narrows her soft-blue eyes and glares suspiciously at the Dwarf.

Both the round black gem on the small earring and the smooth crystalline band that encircles the simple ring pulse at the exact same time.

“Huh?!” Thea nearly drops her ring in surprise. “Oh.” She blinks and hastily slips it onto her left hand, shooting Krvavy a glare as she does so. “So I just...?” The blushing brat idly rubs the nondescript ring as it nestles comfortably into place, resting where a different kind of ring should be.

The Dwarf grabs another ring and taps it against the piercing still held between her fingers, drawing out another dull spark. She wordlessly pushes it into Krvavy’s hands, smiling enigmatically. <Here,> her lips remain completely still as she ‘speaks’, <focus your thoughts into this and then towards me.>

The Drakling gently bites the inside of her cheek. <Like this?>

<Yes, my Ushumgal.> A tinge of pride fills the grey-skinned shortstack’s voice as it echoes directly into Krvavy’s mind. <Now, if you would, send Thea a message.>

Excitement wells up within the barbarian, feeling like a kid with a new toy. Her emerald eyes lock onto her fiancée’s soft-blue pair. <Hey there~.> She casually whispers into the beautiful brat’s mind.

Thea’s eyes narrow slightly, but she otherwise doesn’t react at all.

Krvavy’s smug smile falters slightly. <Theeaaa~. Hello, my fiancée~.> She pours her heart into those cooing words.

And gets absolutely no response back.

“Mm...” Inanna glances between the barbarian and brat, watching their expressions closely. Without a word, or a transmitted thought, she gently grabs onto Krvavy’s wrist and pulls the bigger woman’s arm towards Thea’s hand, bumping the two rings together. “Try again.”

<I love you I love you I love you I love you~!>

“Ahh!” An intense blush fills Thea’s face as she ducks down and hastily presses her palms over her ears, trying in vain to silence those embarrassing words. “Sh-shut up!”

“I see...” Inanna thoughtfully nods her head. <Thea, Krvavy. Can both of you hear this?>

“Yup.” Krvavy casually responds, smiling innocently as she pointedly ignores her little princess’ heated glare.

“I... heard you as well.” The silver-blonde noble girl grumbles out, crossing her arms in an adorably indignant pout.

“Either of you, try to contact me now.”

“Okay.” The barbarian gives her precious puppy a pat on the head as she meets Inanna’s eyes. <Hello. Do you hear me? Hello?>

The earring held in Inanna’s fingers begins to pulse. The Dwarf gently pokes the polished black gem, her trimmed nail passing through the heartbeat mirage and taps into the static gemstone.

It continues to pulse right up until Krvavy stops focusing her thoughts towards the shortstack.

Inanna reaches out and returns the small piece of jewellery back into the open case, leaving it there for just a second before taking it back. “Try again.”

Krvavy raises an eyebrow. <Okay. Here. One, two, three. Hello.>

The earring remains utterly still and seemingly mundane.

“Mm... How interesting.” The Dwarf nods once. “I believe that we have done enough test for the time being. I have a general idea on how to use these.”

“Oh? Do you now?” Thea can’t help but let a slightly condescending tone enter her voice, still a little miffed over Krvavy telepathically lovebombing her.

“Yes.” Inanna plainly states, tapping her earring into the rings held by both barbarian and brat. “To begin with the most obvious, each individual piece of ‘Far-Speaking’ jewellery must be bound to all others that we wish to communicate with. There is no shared network that one can join by binding to a piece already bound with the rest. Whether this is a limitation in function or a security feature is uncertain.”

Krvavy idly rolls her ring between her fingers. “That is... a little inconvenient. And it’ll only get more annoying down the line...”

The grey-skinned shortstack slightly shrugs her shoulders. “Perhaps. But, regardless of the reason, it still functions as a layer of security. We do not need to worry about our method of communication being compromised in the future. At least not via the theft of a single piece of jewellery.”

“Yeah, I suppose that’s a good way to look at it.” The Drakling glances towards the large open case. “And unbinding one of these is as simple as putting it back in there, yeah?”

“It appears so.”

“Is it possible to... block... someone using these?” Thea asks, still giving Krvavy a bit of side eye. “I do not want this degenerate’s voice popping into my head at random points in the day!” The bratty girl’s cheeks flush slightly as she justifies herself.

“Communicating via these pieces of ‘Far-Speaking’ jewellery seems to require intent and consent. Earlier you were expecting to hear Krvavy’s voice in your mind, thus she was immediately let in. But if you were not expecting it, or were purposefully ignoring her, then your ring would have simply pulsed and given you the impression of you was attempting to contact you.”

“Good.” The noble girl turns her chin up, trying to look proud and dignified. The fact that she is completely naked and dripping wet doesn’t give her any help. “That is far easier than having to take off my ring whenever I want privacy.”

“I still would have liked if it was more than just voice,” Krvavy admits with a slight sigh, “but, all in all, these aren’t too bad.”

“Mhm.” Inanna hums in agreement. “We do still need to see how well they function over a great distance though. Is there a limit on how far away they can be? Will there be a loss of quality or a delay as the distance grows? Will Touch of the Ancients exacerbate those issues? All questions which would be good to know but we are unable to answer at this moment.”

“Ugh...” Thea groans as the Dwarf drones on and on. “Are you going to put that on or what?” She asks, staring intently towards the Drakling.

Krvavy blinks and glances down at her ring. With hardly a thought, she decides to slip it onto her lower right horn. The silvery metal and black gemstone band bends as it magically conforms to the more triangular shape of her horn, growing rather snug and secure as it reaches the bend.

She completely misses the faint frown that finds its way onto her fiancée’s face.

“Hey,” the barbarian prods her lazily lounging Were-Beast. “You should pick one of these as well.”

“Rrrgh...” Khalia growls lightly as she reluctantly raises her head from Krvavy’s chest. Her amber-gold eyes rake over the various pieces of jewellery. She does not look particularly impressed with the wide selection. After a few long seconds, she pokes a clawed finger into a fairly simple looking brooch. “Collar.” She grunts and drops her head back down onto the barbarian’s breasts.

“Mm. Are you sure that you do not want something that would be more present?” Inanna asks, earning herself a rumbling growl. “You would need to wear your collar more often if we were to clip this onto the same ring that your name tag is on.”

Khalia’s wags back and forth beneath the surface of the hot spring, causing the steamy water to swish back and forth.

“We can give it a try.” The Drakling gently shakes her head, taking the brooch that her precious puppy pointed to before clicking the case shut. “If it is too inconvenient, then we can get her something else.”

“Should we have even opened that here?” Thea abruptly asks, pointedly staring at the beads of condensation dripping down the lacquered wooden jewellery case.

“Mm... The various pieces of jewellery will almost certainly be fine. But the padding may need to be aired out beside the fire to ensure that it remains dry.”

Krvavy frowns slightly, placing the Were-Beast’s brooch atop that flat chest and slowly pushing the whole thing further away from the waters edge.

“My Ushumgal, you should still have a fair amount of Divine Favour, yes?” Inanna idly asks, quickly getting a grunt and a nod in response. “Is there anything else that you would like to purchase, and which you could afford?”

“Yeah, but I...”

Naturists Blessing IV: 24 Divine Favour. Upgrade Naturists Blessing III to gain increased True Defence from Physical Attributes, increases the base amount of True Defence to 25%, and increases Base Armour to 60. Upgradable.

“I have enough to upgrade Naturists Blessing. And... it’d probably be best to just do that now. Beryl would kill me if I skipped out on it again.” Krvavy dramatically sighs out, even as a smile plays at her lips. “So unless anyone really objects with that...”

Rather predictably, no one says a word.

“Alright. Aaaaand... there.”

Naturists Blessing IV: Blessed by a divine power, you endure all that comes your way. Gain True Defence in proportion to how little you are wearing, the amount of which increases with the quality of what is worn, and this protection extends to anything you wear. True Defence increases in proportion with physical attributes. Additional benefits, attributes, & resistances are derived from what is worn. Provides 60 Base Armour and a minimum 25% True Defence.

The Drakling gently shakes her head as she reads over her blessings increasingly long description. “Oh.” She blinks in surprise, turning her attention towards a certain trait that she forgot to even look at earlier.

Guts & Guile I: Increases Guile by 2.5%, strengthens its effect on Total Stamina & Total Mana, and it now slightly affects Total Health. Associated attribute = Guile.

“We got a bit carried away with these things,” Krvavy flicks the ring clinging snugly onto her horn, “and completely forgot about my new milestone trait. But, uh, it really isn’t anything special.”

“Mhm.” Inanna nods as if that is exactly what she expected. “If that is all, then I will take the case of ‘Far-Speaking’ jewellery off your hands and leave you to your relaxation.”

“Hey, just going to get up and leave like that~?”

The Dwarf’s copper-orange eyes stare straight into the Drakling’s emerald pair. A faint smile plays at her lips as she leans in and gives Krvavy a gentle kiss. “There, my Ushumgal, now I will be on my way.”