Explore the Desert Lily.

It isn't like an inn you've seen before. The room is incredibly wide, though there is one door in the back corner, and a staircase next to that. The tables have red cloths with white trimming hanging down to the floor. To your left across the room a young man in a suit is playing the piano. There is no front counter, but waitresses are carrying platters of food and drinks to people throughout. What you notice most, however, is that there doesn't seem to be any men working here. That isn't too odd, and you have seen that before, though the girls working are definitely being... friendly. They're dressed in sexy outfits of varying styles, though almost all of them share the theme of desert silks. They have striking bodies, and they lean in close to their customers, and giggle as they're flirted with.

"This place is a festhall used for various things," Tom explains. "Though around this time, the Desert Lily rents it, and turns it into a paradise."

A woman approaches your group gawking at the festivities. Like most of the people you've seen, she has dark skin, black hair, and ruby eyes. Her hair falls down past her shoulders, and her bosom is pushed up by nothing more than a golden bikini with straps up over her shoulders. She has a purple dress that reaches the floor, though not only is it cut completely up both sides to show off her legs, but the material itself is translucent. You can see a pair of golden panties beneath it.

"Hello, boys," she says with a wink. "Are you all... hungry~?"

"Y-Yes!" Hedi blurts out. He makes squeezing gestures with his hands as he eyes the woman over with colour coming to his face. "Very hungry."

She giggles. "Oh my. Then please come in and eat your fill. I'll show you to a table if you wish."

"Please!"

She turns and gestures you all to follow with a teasing finger. Her hips sashay--the thin fabric drifting back and forth across her rear like a purple mist. She leads you to the right, and stops at an empty table. There's a menu sitting in the middle and four chairs around it.

As you all take your seat, she places her hands on her hips. "Anything to start with?"

"A round of fireberry ales for me and my friends," Hedi says.

"Coming right up, sweeties."

You look around, and you're not the only one getting this treatment. The Desert Lily isn't so much an inn or a tavern, but more of a gentleman's club. It's like Hooters but better, or almost like a strip club, though you've yet to see anyone actually nude. Hedi and Tom look thrilled to be here, and you can't help but share that sentiment.

"So, you're entering the Golden Sword too, eh?" Hedi asks--eyes turned towards Tom.

"That's right," Tom replies. "I admit I'm not the strongest person in the world, but the whole thing is just so much fun. It's the energy in the air. Are you entering too, Kyle?"

"Yeah. Me and Niki," you answer.

"Niki is here, eh?"

"Actually... Tom. Can you help us with something? There's a reason we came here, and it isn't a positive one," you whisper. It's barely audible under the noise of the other patrons.

He leans in. "What's up, man? This sounds serious."

"We came because people working under Demon King Sa'dis are watching Niki's family. They don't trust our party, and I guess she's the only one with a family easily threatened to keep us from getting into trouble. So we came here to protect them, and to hopefully find those spying on them."

"Damn. If I hear anything, you'll be the first to know."

The woman returns with three sloshing mugs in her hands. She bends down, giving you a generous view, and places them on the table top. Once finished, she blows a kiss. "If you need anything else, don't hesitate to call for someone."

Hedi nods and withdraws a few silver coins from his pocket. "Thank you very much," he says.

She giggles and leans down again, though this time hangs her chest near his face. "Anytime~," she whispers.

With a dumb smile on his face, he starts sliding the coins between her breasts. She giggles in response. Once the coins are given, she stabs up and squeezes her breasts together.

"Your hands feel nice," she says. "I hope we can do this again."

"Oh yes we can!" He cackles, and practically drools as she walks away.

So it kinda is like a strip club, huh?

"I'm not sure what can be done about it right now. We'll just have to keep our eyes peeled," Tom says.

You spot a dwarf not far away, though you swear you've seen him before. He also seems to be walking this way. The man is garbed in a dark red tunic beneath a metal breastplate. Beneath that, dark brown trousers into large boots. His hair and beard are both nicely braided, brown, and lengthy. A strap over his back holds a huge maul that looks hefty enough to snap him in half, so his body must be incredibly strong. That's when you remember him. The last time you saw this dwarf, he was dressed in a fancy red suit, way back at the ball with Rabbit's Foot.

"I heard talk of the Golden Sword... Kyle, was it?" he says. In his hand is a half-drank mug.

"Bek?" you reply. "You're here too?"

Hedi laughs. "So many friends! You're really popular."

The dwarf grins and slams the mug down onto the table. "Of course I'm here. I fight in the Golden Sword every single year. It's good to see you here. Last time we met, it was a damn fun time. Kyle and I crashed a noble's party. Really fucked things up for everyone."

You sip the drink. It's spicy.

Tom looks to you and chuckles. "I can see you haven't had anything made of fireberries before."

"So you're all fighting, eh?" Bek asks.

You all nod.

Immediately, he leaps up onto the fourth and final chair, and bangs both of his palms down against the table. It nearly knocks Hedi's drink straight off the edge. "Finally! You know, a lot of the people who come here aren't even competing. I was getting bloody bored. And they don't even have dwarf chicks here! Now I'm getting fired up. Though you don't all look that tough, I can't wait to meet you in battle. The food's on me, boys!"

Hedi throws a fist into the air. "I like to hear that!"

You laugh. "Thanks, man. I'll do my best."

"And if I win, you'll all pay me back," he says with a grin through his beard. "That's our bet."

"I didn't agree to that," Tom mutters.

This spymaster business has me paranoid. The Demon King's generals have been... interesting to say the least. Is this Lynx person the most capable of them all? I don't know how many spies they master, if they're a boy or girl, or anything. What if someone at this table works for her? Or it could be nobody I've seen so far. There's too much to think about. For now, I just need to relax.