Contrasts of travel

"You're going to tell me. Maybe not now, or tomorrow morning, but I'm going to wring it out of you." Sarah Gailem said to Alexander Mimez, laying on the deck of the cruise ship, enjoying the warmth of the fading sun and the general atmosphere of the tropics.

"You aren't. No until you get back home and try it for yourself, that is." Her boyfriend replied, laughing. "Besides, aren't you always talking about hating spoilers?"

"This is one spoiler I want. Tell me what would've happened if I met Argathus." She said, staring at him in annoyance. It'd been a back forth after the general good feelings of the vacation had wore off; she'd been wondering the answer to the question frequently. Without a setup, she could do little more then beg and plead for an answer.

"My lips, Ms. Gailem, are sealed." He said, laughing and taking a sip of his drink.

"35 copper or ya sleep outside." The very, almost copy-paste level of familiar, barmaid said to Rosey. She was Amazonian just as yesterdays barmaid, looking like a twin sister, if not for her black hair. Rosey huffed.

"Can I work instead of paying? I'm a great wench." Rosey said, knowing the script from yesterday. She'd prefer just to get one with it, truthfully, get the work done, and pass out on the bed.

"I don't need a wench." She said, shrugging her shoulders and pointing to the mostly dead bar. Besides for one AFK player and one NPC, it was deader then a cemetery. "Could use an accountant. Check my books. Head on back and come out when ya done."

The world, like yesterday, shifted and Rosey felt herself sat in a chair, in front of a few tome of books. Getting comfortable, she opened the first book, titled The Beer Basket's Funds, and immediately felt her head hurt when she saw the first number. She breathed heavily. Power through it. Focus. Just numbers. The 1 carried over to the.....3....which added to the 2.....words displayed on the page, but shifted up and down, making reading them impossible.

Slowly, Rosey felt herself check page by page, annotating where she felt there were errors, working until the pages faded to blank. When she was done, she sighed at the stupidity of the rules. Words couldn't be read, but she could the title. What sense did that make?

She closed the book. A hand grasped onto her shoulder, and she jumped up like a caught cat.

"You done? Dang near hope you are, been in here the whole evening." The barkeep asked, taking the tome from Rosey's hands. For a medieval peasant, she had a deep southern twang to her voice.

"Um, yeah." Rosey shifted in her seat like a schoolgirl awaiting a punishment. Considering her past few hours, she worried what the bar keep would say with her work. Was it good? Decent? Horrid?

"Goodness girl, some of this work....What's your name?" The woman questioned, shutting the book.

"Uh, Rosey Cheeks. Why?" Rosey asked.

"Nothing, just wanted to know who I was addressing. Rosey, you aren't the greatest accountant, I can say that much sweetie." The woman said, mixing a smile with talking down to create a confusing vibe. "It's alright. You tried your best, that's all that matters. Some of us get back on our looks. Hands on the table, please."

Rosey felt herself standing up via the heels, with the arm bracelets forcing her to grasp onto the edge of the table; her conscious mind realized what was going to occur only a millisecond before the first swat came to her rear. Gasping, she gripped the table harder, and suffered a baker's dozen worth of hits before the barmaid ceased her swatting.

"There we go. I guess you can have the room, even with the shoddy work. Got rid of my stress from the night at least." The woman said, and Rosey dared not respond, rubbing her ass in pain.

Getting free food and beer, she polished it off before heading to the room.

"Hm.... How much is the answer worth to you?" Alexander asked his girlfriend, sitting in the cabana. She'd ask for another time what would have happened if she'd met his legendary creation. Thinking back on her capture and subsequent failure to even leave the first part of his little dungeon, she enjoyed the warm glow and gave him time to answer.

"0 dollars. But, perhaps you'd like to think long-term. Keeping avoiding my question, and your next rodeo won't be as nice as usual." She said, sticking a tongue out at him and producing a laugh.

"Uh huh." He said, running his feet through the sand and enjoying the sensation of it. The cruise had ended 4 days ago, dropping them off in their current tropic (touristy) paradise. Burnt out from water, the two had enjoyed lazing on the beach and enjoying each other's company.

"I'll say this....." She waited in anticipation for his following words. "...I definitely had something planned. Maybe. I forget." He grinned, and fled to the bar to top off his drink.

"I don't need a wench, and ya don't look like the type of lass who knows her way with numbers." The red haired Amazon said to Rosey.

"I'm a good maid?" She offered, not willing to pay the 45 copper piece price tag of a room. The further they got from the city, the less people they encountered, and the thicker the forest became; it made some sense that it was more expensive to stay the night, seeing as it was the only inn. At least that's what Rosey imagined for the reason.

"I could use a good char to clean everything up. Fine then, get the unoccupied rooms all settled first." The barkeep said, and Rosey found herself teleported to the first. It was a complete and utter mess, looking like a tornado had run through it, and Rosey began to work on it.

The room looked as immaculate as any shabby inn might permit. Feeling quite proud of her work, Rosey rushed to the next room, and continued the cycle, moving hallways after a bit, and taking a breather once she was done with the rooms. They all were similar in messiness, and she certainly felt like a char by the end of it, having proved her worth to the barmaid.

"Goodness, these rooms are cleaner then the day my inn was built! Good on ya girlie, ya earned the room." Rosey smiled at the compliment, and took it in stride. Once she was free of these 'enchantments' this hard work would pay off.

She kept that thought in her head the next day when she had to switch carriage companies. It was about as glitchy as she expected, with all the NPCs she'd been traveling with straight up just disappearing, most likely just to repeat the cycle they'd been put on. This carriage looked much worse off, covered in mud and debris, and the driver said no words to her when he spotted her; she stopped by a General Store to peruse the wares.

Nothing grabbed her interest, and she headed back to the carriage, the only one to be in it. Hmphm. Great.

"Come on hun, no work stuff." Alexander coyly replied.

"It's not work stuff. Besides, you're just afraid to answer me because Argathus was your little stand in. Weird how he likes every single fetish this sicko I know likes...." She trailed off, kicking dirt at him playfully.

"That's really rude! Argathus isn't a stand-in for anyone!" He replied, looking much like a caught animal.

"Tellllll meeeeee. Nowwww." She pleaded, having had to wait close to 3 weeks at this point for a nagging question. She was not, both knew, one who had good skills regarding patience.

"Just another week or two and you'll be fine. Chillout." He said with a smile. "Butttt...." His hand slid from his seat to hers. "It was something new and cool. I think. You'd have to ask Argathus."

"You and your little conduit for your spanking fetish annoy me greatly." She said, making both of them laugh. Alexander relaxed, and the two forgot about the conversation; the tropics around them buzzed with excitement and shouts of joy.

Circejul, much as the carriage man back in Asburn had said, was a swamp. Hot and humid, Rosey felt positively miserable in her dress, and was happy when they stopped for the day. One more day. She'd be to her goal in no time. Hit the tower, free herself....exploit this character. A master plan in three parts.

Her high heels sunk into the mud as she walked up too the creepy looking inn. Shocked at the appearance of a male bar tender, she sat herself at the bar, happy that the price for a room was a measly 5 copper. She didn't bother asking for a job, seeing as the place was clean, she was the only customer, and he seemed quite competent on his own.

Taking a few sips of the offered ****, she looked up form her book and at the man, who smiled; his wife came down the steps, an ugly old crone covered in warts. She went back to her book, and thanked the man when she felt him switch out her beer.

Her reading choices over the past few days hadn't been the best. The librarian had given her more then enough books, and she'd been sucked into a cheesy romance novella, mixing that reading with some knowledge of Midwifery. It wasn't the most useful for a rogue to know, but it was better then staring at the floor. The crone came up to her. Surprisingly, she could actually read these books, if a bit slow.

"Might I interest you in one of my healing salves? Even a maid such as yourself might have use for it." She asked, moving over a wooden jar full of white crème.

"Oh, I'm....quite alright, thank you." Rosey responded. She was caught up in the storybook romance of Arthur and....

"Please, please, I'm sure you'll feel its effects. Try some, it heals the skin quite well, I've used it on my own..." The woman said, and Rosey felt her bracelets shock her. They were forcing her to take the woman's charity, and dip her finger in it with ease. Once she took the wooden jar, the woman left her to herself, letting her have the crème for free.

A dreaded ding came from her GUI.

Item Gained!:

(Incredibly) Minor Healing Salve - Created by a hag of the forest, this will certainly be of use to you in your travels and adventures.

Compatible Item Substitute Found For SET: Argathus's Magical Experiments

UNLOCKING HIDDEN EQUIPPABLE AREA: LIPSTICK!

Creattttttttt;;;;;ing new item......ONE PROCESSING!

Rose Red Lipstick of Magic (NO LVL, Cosmetic) created! Used 100 percent of Minor Healing Salve!

...

New Item Description!:

Rose Red Lipstick of Magic (NO LVL, Cosmetic)

Argathus was a man who pushed boundaries, and one of his students once asked: could cosmetics serve a purpose beyond beautifying a woman? Argathus, a man whom never refused a challenge, spent much time on this project; his student pestered him over and over, and eventually, Argathus tired of the constant stream of whining and complaining. He gave her this tube of lipstick, and she ceased all her whining! Displays as merely cosmetic lipstick to any observer without perk Magicians Eyes, but creates gag which fills entire throat, bequeathing the gift of silence for those around you. The lipstick will answer any request for you, using Argathus's (soon to be) patented Intelligent Cosmetic Magicules, and may pull gag back if you beg hard enough! Maybe. Argathus forgets if he programmed that feature. Not removable without Minor Class: Cosmetologist and Makeup skill >= 101. [Cursed] [Wearer Gains Buffs: Muted, No Sustenance Needed, Spoken For] [Disguised as: Red Lipstick]

Buff Gained!:

Muted (Duration Infinite) - Silence is golden, and you'll learn that with this buff! No speaking for you!

Spoken For (Duration Infinite) - Argathus's magicules will handle the speaking part of life for you! Will produce vocal sounds simulating your own, answering any and all statements on your behalf.

No Sustenance Needed (Duration Infinite) - Argathus knew some would love this experiments enough to never want to take them off! Uses the magic inherent in your Base Stats to ensure you'll never need fed or to drink again! Decreases Intelligence, Endurance/Strength, Agility/Speed & Willpower by 1, using those points to set Food and Water bar to Max.

Missed Notifications!:

Skill Check - Complete Failure! Due to intelligence below 1, you are unable to effectively do your job as an accountant.

CONDITIONS NO LONGER MET FOR MINOR CLASS - NPC - Bank Teller - NPC.....due to repeated failures, removing minor class from listing for 'Rosey Cheeks'.

Removal successful!,,!**
**

Buff Gained!:

Satisfying Spanking (Duration 24 hours)

Skill Check - Complete success! Due to your expertise as a maid, you successfully cleaned the entire inn and earned your keep!

Buff Gained!:

Maid for Maidhood (Duration 24 Hours) - You're in love! With working, that is. You feel plain great from working your butt off in the Service Industry. You're getting addicted to the feeling, on some level....

Silencing all non-essential notifications due to lack of viewing....please change this in settings if you'd prefer to keep your notifications on!

Status Effects (Permanent) Gained!:

Cheapo! - You've chosen, throughout your adventures, to be as cheap as possible. No problem with that, even if does make you take the long route sometimes! [LOCKS CHOICES] [HIDDEN]

Rosey bit down. God damnit. She was actually gagged now. Up to the beginning of her throat. Pouring water of the bright red lipstick did nothing. She officially was as quiet as a church mouse now. Fuck. Rubbing her temples, she focused. Tomorrow, she'd be free of all this mess, and in a better situation. She'd make sure of that!

Even if she had to put up with a gag stuffed down her throat for this night, she wouldn't let it get to her.