Give thanks

The four of you eat a hearty breakfast together in the Salted Longshoreman's main area. Kraig and James seem none the wiser as to what had just happened earlier that morning. That's what you wanted, but you also kind of wanted to get caught to see what might happen. You quietly wonder how much of a stir you would cause if you let all three of these men enter you at the same time, a cock in each hole. You've never had anything close to that before, but just the thought of it could possibly feel like starts to quicken your heart. There's always another chance later, you remind yourself. You seem to eat in a hurry, and twitch your foot against the floor rhythmically. Your eyes quickly dart to the windows into the street, looking for trouble. You can't help but get a feeling that some new mess is going to unfold before your eyes, or that the city guards are going to come in here looking for you. You hear a song in the distance, and by now it's unmistakable; the same song you heard before you left the Rusted Dragon just a few days ago. You seem to hear it every time something strange starts to happen. In your minds eye, you can chart the melody on sheet music, and how to play it on your Lute. The music dissipates suddenly, as Kraig gets your attention.

"Hey, Fiana, is everything okay?" He asked, with a genuine show of concern

"Ya, you seem a little edgy" Bruce added "But I guess that's not a surprise given the kind of night you've had. Want to talk about it?"

"Sure" you respond softly between bites of thick bacon "Well, after the barmaid went upstairs, there was an odd disturbance outside, and I went to see what was going on. The uhhh, ladies of the night, from the establishment down the street had gotten especially rowdy and vulgar. A big crowd gathered around to see the show. Someone pushed me into the mess, and the women started trying to get me undressed, like I was one of them..." You see Kraig and James eyes dart at each other as they resist small smiles crossing their faces "Before I could get out of there, the magistrate rounded everyone up. Me included. Put us in a big carriage and took us to the jail."

"Wow, so what happened next? How'd you get out of there?" James asked.

"They put all of us in cells. I was off on my own. I got someone's attention, tried to convince them that I wasn't one of the prostitutes and let me go. Things went badly real fast. Instead of letting me go, the guard was about to...have his way with me" You swallow hard on the words. In all of the ensuing chaos, it was difficult to fully process exactly what would have happened had Stravaria not come when she did.

"You can stop if you want to" Bruce said as he cupped your hand in his "That must have been very scary, and it wasn't your fault."

You nod silently "I know, and thank you. I'm okay, really" As you take a quick drink to refresh your dry throat "Just after he came in, I was rescued by this strange elf woman. She led me out of the jail and took me to her small apartment where I would be safe. Than things got weird"

There was a strange chuckle by the humans, and you couldn't resist laughing too "So everything before that was normal for you than?"

"Hehe, ya, sounds like it, doesn't it? She knew exactly who I was, knew about you all as well. She said she was a priestess of Veserae."

Bruce and the Dowton brothers freeze hearing this. They all look at each other, than look at you "How is that possible? We've never met this person. And Veserae doesn't have any followers. They were all gone, right?"

"That's what we all thought, ya" you nod in agreement "Clearly we were wrong,"

Bruce rapidly finishes his plate and gets up from his seat. "Where are you going all of the sudden?" Kraig asks

"We're going. WE are going to meet this Elf. Priestess of Veserae or not, she rescued Fiana from what would have been a terrible ordeal, and we should thank her in person for that."

Kraig rolled his eyes "Your sense of gentlemanly chivalry is going to get us all in trouble one of these days. Can't we just get on with our day, let this cult leader be?"

"No." Bruce replied, abrupt as ever "When you start choosing to act like an adult, you'll understand."

The three of you also clear your plates quickly and head out, with you leading the way. The large industrial city is still very new to you, and the sights and sounds of the crowded streets look entirely different than they did the night before when being led on by a horny vagabond. You try your best to navigate, but soon find yourself crossing a street you've been on two times before. The anxiety of being lost gets to you all, and soon Kraig has enough.

"That's just great. Now we're doing laps in the worst part of the city to get lost in, all because you've got guilt hanging on you that forces you pretend you're something you're not."

"Stuff it Kraig! If not for this elf Fania, our friend, would have been **** and would still be in that jail cell, and we would have had no clue where to look for her. We owe her this much, at least"

"We went looking for her didn't we? Together! We'd have found her on our own!"

"But by than it would be too late! You don't have a strong enough back for the guilt of that to hang on your conscience. Not as a petty theif"

Just as you think things start to get out of control and hopeless, a strange idea enters your head. You close your eyes and hum the song from earlier. The strange music responds, as if sentient **** to itself, playing back. You start running in the direction you hear it coming from. The humans let their argument die immediately and start chasing after you. As it gets louder, it becomes less of a disembodied instrument, and takes on the tone and pitch of an actual voice; A voice you do not recognize, but a voice that is calm and comforting. You start to recognize some of the buildings, and before too long, you find yourself outside Stravaria's shabby apartment building.

"An elven priestess lives here?" James asks "I'd have thought they would live out in the forests, or in a park or something. One of the villas near the embassies"

"Faith takes all shapes" you respond as you calmly enter the building, and walk up the stairs to her floor. The door is left open, and you hear her voice through the hallway; singing the same melody you've been hearing in your ears. Looking through the doorway, she is stark naked on her knees, hands on her legs. She is in a deep meditative prayer it seems. Everything is as you left it, except for one thing. The holy relic to Veserae, the one you lost earlier yesterday, is now affixed to her windowless wall. Kraig, ever the rash troublemaker, tries to rush in to get it but is stopped short as his chest collides with Bruce's strong elbow. He takes the lead, slowly entering the tiny room. You enter behind him, his large size completely masking your presence. The Dowton brothers enter behind you, stepping to either side

"Priestess Stravaria? My name is Bruce Clifton, and I just came by to meet you, and to give thanks"

The elf slowly pulls herself from her trance and turns to her side to greet the old soldier "You are well met, Bruce Clifton, and friends, although I am not sure what I am being thanked for."

"Well, thank you, for saving our friend here" Bruce steps to the side so as to no longer eclipse you. The priestess keeps her soft smile and soothing voice "Ahh. I understand. You are all quite welcome. Forcing yourself on another like that is repugnant and had to be stopped. Think nothing of it, you all risked your lives to remove an infestation from my temple, and I can't thank you enough for that. This is a small part of my gratitude and repayment."

Kraig, having lost his patience "Well, you can start by repaying us with that relic! We went through a lot of trouble for that on promise of a hefty payday, only for you to steal it from us"

The priestess stands, her demeanor slowly becoming more cross "I cannot steal from you what you have already burgled, Kraig Dowton. That relic was never yours to claim. I paid someone to convince you to clear my temple of goblins in search of great treasure. You, my young lad, would never have taken a step towards it had you not been given a mercenary reason to do it. Do not scold me as though you are on the moral high ground here."

"Excuse me" Glenn piped in "That's the second time you've referred to it as your temple. You mean Veserae's temple, don't you?"

"Yes. I am her only adherent and prophet, and I am responsible for bringing her message and her love back to her children. As such, all that belongs to the God Mother belongs to me, so long as I continue to serve as her humble servant. The four of you have served her well, though perhaps unwittingly. I would ask you continue to serve her, and me, for at least one more favor, and from there, you may venture on your ways."

"If this is another charity gig, I'm out." Kraig replied

"I need you all to retrieve a rare book for me. The last known copy of Veserae's holy words. A greedy contemptible prince keeps it in his private study. Fear not young sir, you will be justly rewarded for your service. There is a chest of two thousand gold as a reward waiting for you. And don't worry..." Stravaria set herself on the bed, presenting her body temptingly towards the men "I can offer you a reward for your tireless service so far, if you'd accept it..." As she exposed her clean-shaven pussy to them.