Tempting, but...

"I've got business to attend to." The reply is brusque because you are more tempted than you would have expected. Iola's creamy skin is smooth and soft, her doe eyes are wide and trusting, and those lips that had been chapped so badly just minutes ago were now plump and glistening in the flickering light. She was as lovely as the finest courtesan of Jade street but unlike those paid professionals this young beauty was a blank canvas waiting for your touch. Tempting, but you were after something bigger than a quick roll with this pretty little rich-girl.

"Maybe after I've dealt with Orestes you can find some way to repay me." You tell her softly and cup her cheek gently to ease the impact of the curt reply. Iola slowly pulls closed the gap in her neckline and the plump tit and pink nipple disappear from your sight and you almost change your mind.

The descent down the rest of the tower takes much less time now that you have some light, and Iola follows easily in your footsteps. She moves well on her feet and to your surprise she doesn't bother you with questions or advice, maybe having her tag along wouldn't be so bad. The bottom of the tower stairwell opens onto a balcony that encircles a great hall below. To your right are the expensive glass windows that you remember from your rooftop climb and to your left are a series of doors.

You move swiftly down the hall checking the doors as you go by, the first two doors are unlocked and open into the same room; a library with shelves of leather backed books, a fireplace at one end of the hall, and a great wooden table and padded chairs that dominated the center of the room. The room screams of old money, but at first glance nothing looks like it is worth carrying around, the table is littered with a incongruous mixture of cheap cups and smashed glass goblets. Your heart sinks as you see the mess, the house has been abandoned; a mess like this would never sit overnight if there were servants doing their jobs. The bar at the far wall of the room confirms your fears, each and every one of the bottles that once had filled the glasses of Athenapolis's elite lay empty on the floor, most likely drained by the very guards left behind to protect this mansion while Orestes fled for safety.

"This sucks." You tell Iola, "He's gone. The good news is I bet his guards are gone too. Well gone, or passed out drunk." You lift a full-sized oil-lamp from a sconce on the wall and light it from the small flame of your much smaller lamp. After the tiny portable lamp, the light from the standard-sized lamp seems as bright as the midday sun. Your fears are confirmed, a rack next to the bar looks like it once held a collection of expensive goblets, but now the rack was empty, no doubt the absence of any candelabra or centerpiece on the table was also explained by either Orestes' planned absence or his guards opportunism.

"What do you mean 'He's gone?" Iola asks after a minute of hesitation.

"I mean Orestes is not here." You tell her as you guide her away from the broken glass. "If he was, the guards would have been at their stations and not drinking his best vintages." Her small bare feet look just as soft as the rest of her and if she stepped on the shards that covered the floor she'd leave a trail of blood for anyone to follow. Beneath the short skirt of her tunic Iola's legs look even longer then they probably were and it is not at all hard to imagine them wrapped around your hips as you grind your pussy against hers. Her light brown hair is darker than you had predicted, but her large doe-eyes and small mouth gave her a look of innocence and naivete that you doubt you've ever had.

It is a look that drives some men mad with desire and you wonder that the drunk guards hadn't dragged Iola from her cage and fucked the sweetness right out of her. All you can think is that maybe the man who had brought her up to the tower room had left with Orestes and the ones left behind hadn't even realized she was up there. If you'd been one of those drunken mercenaries you'd have laid her out on this great table and stripped off her...

"But, where could he go?" Your new-found shadow interrupts the erotic interlude. "Did he bring Airlia with him, or is she still here?" Both good questions, but ones that you can't answer any more than her.

"I don't know." You answer brusquely, "Let's go find out. It will be easier now we can see, but stay quiet, there might still be some of those guards around." Unconsciously your hands touch the hilts of the knives on your forearms and at your belt, only when you see Iola's expressive eyes widen in a look of alarm do you even realize what you've done. She's probably never even seen a woman carry a knife, not to mention one who knows how to use one - oh well, she's going to grow up in a hurry. "Watch your feet on the glass." You warn her as you head for the hallway, pleased to see her obediently follow.

The next room had once been locked but the mechanism was smashed open and the double doors were slightly ajar. Anything of real value would be gone, but you might find Airlia or at least what's left of her. Of course you might find the poor girl wedged between two or three naked guardsmen who might be quite pleased to see two fresh pussies arriving to the party, well pleased until the blood started flowing. If you couldn't kill them fast enough the ones who survived wouldn't be gentle with you, and Iola would continue her growing up in a hurry.