Go find your friends

You get up from your chair and start to head towards the door "I have to find my friends. They're going to be worried and have no idea where to find me."

"You presume much Fiana. They didn't come for you at the jail, and they didn't stop you from being apprehended in the first place. You are where you belong, here with me, and with our Goddess."

Her poisonous words do not dissuade you "You do not know what is in their minds or in their hearts. They'll tear up this city until I'm found."

Stravaria's words were disturbing in their cold, calm certainty "They will move on with you as nonchalantly as they found you. You served a need, to fulfill a task. That being done and of no further use to them, you are discarded like any other tool."

"They still need me!" You detest emotionally "They'd be lost without me. They are good men, but will wander and struggle without someone to help guide them."

"Intriguing choice of words" The elf responds as she sits up in her bed, hands on her knees "Are you sure it's them who need you, And not the other way around?"

"Of course! I've gotten this far without them. I don't need them around, I just enjoy their company!"

Stravaria smiles wickedly "Few are the thoughts that roam your mind that I am not aware of. You need them far more than you admit. You need their touch, you need those rough strong hands to grab you in the throes of passion. You need their dirty, foul scent in your nose as you pleasure them. You need those men to fill the holes inside, metaphorical as well as physical."

"It's not like that at all, and I don't need to hear this from the likes of you!" You slam the door and storm off, trying to find your way back to the other side of the city. Having been taken into a new part of town, and being effectively blinded when you were taken to the jail prior, you are remiss of any obvious landmarks or points of reference to help get you back to where you were. It could very well be morning by the time you get back to the tavern, and by than your friends could be missing. It wasn't beneath you to ask for help when you got lost this morning, it shouldn't be beneath you now.

The streets are fairly quiet by now, but you are able to find someone who may know where to go. A surly man, by all appearances, covered in dirt and scars.

"Excuse me, can you help me? I'm trying to find my way back to the Salted Longshoreman, do you know the way to get there?"

"You must be pretty far away from home there miss Elf. Lost are ye'?

"Yes Sir"

"That's a bit of a hoiti toiti establishment, far as tavern's go. Must have a bit a coin onya to be lookin' for the Salted Longshoreman, I wager"

"Not on me, I'm afraid. I..got pulled away, and lost my bearings"

"Not a problem luv. I know where the place is, and I'll takeya there meself, all hand-n-hand like, and I'm sure a beautiful, fair minded elf such as yourself could find some way of repaying this generosity"

You swear, it's almost as if all men in this city are perverts, and this isn't what you're in the mood for. You suspect somewhere on his person hes got a knife that could easily slit your throat as soon as he's done with you, and you'd rather not take the chance. But, you play at it a different way.

"Well, I do have a room there for the night. I'm sure we can exercise a fair trade when we arrive." You say in a soft, seductive tone. The man doesn't respond, he doesn't need to. He firmly squeezes your hand and leads you through the streets. Though he is being quite forceful, you are still thankful for this; you probably never would have figured out this route on your own. The tavern itself seemingly on the other side of town, the hubbub from earlier appears to have been quieted down since you were last here. The gruff man releases your hand just before you enter "'ere we are luv, the Salted Longshoreman. Ladies first"

Your idea worked out just as well as you had hoped. Just as you pass through, you see three of your companions, James, Kraig, and Bruce, just about to march upstairs to their rooms for the night. Seeing you, they rush down in unison.

"Fiana!" Bruce calls. You feel yourself suddenly ensnared as all three men try to hug you at once. "We were so worried. You had walked off, and we heard this uproar, and all the sudden you were gone. What happened?"

"It's a long story, and I think we've inadvertently caused a big mess. We should talk about in private, preferably in the morning."

"Good idea" Bruce acknowledged as he leads you and the others back up the stairs, almost forgetting about the elephant in the room

"Naw wait jus' one bloody minute! She promised me the reward of her bed for 'elping her get here, and I don't want you clods gettin' in my way"

Kraig, familiar with how to deal with scoundrels and vagabonds, was at the ready. "Not a problem at all." He tosses the man the key to the room of the tavern "key to her bed as promised. Sleep tight now." Spinning on his toes, he turns back to you, half-jokingly, "that was a nice noble thing you did by giving the urchin your room like that. We'll let you sleep in our room to make up for it. No funny business, we promise"

"That sounds great, thanks guys..." You're surprised that as you go upstairs, the three men who had been with you the longest and most exposed to Veserae's magical influence don't seem to display any affects of it. They even wait outside the room to allow you to change in privacy....while also contending with the ruffian who won't take no for an answer. You're not sure why, but you start to feel let down by it. Do they not feel attracted to you at all? Was everything you thought had happened between you and them at Rusted Dragon a dream? Once in bed, you and the others drift off to sleep suddenly and soundly.

And good for it too, for who knows what adventure the next day may bring...