DreamLyrics™ Play-by-Post Forums Fantasy SKT: The Storm King's Thunder 3Cb - Settling into the Pearl Handled Pipe (Arus, Kriv, Sindar and Zhu)

DM

Three of their companions just departed. Apparently the Pearl-handled Pipe intimidated them. After the sudden departure, the receptionist clerk says, "My! What did I say? Have I offended them in any manner? I feel so bad!"

Arus

The paladin shrugs casually and leans in.

"I'm afraid folk with their level of wealth can be hard to please. They were adamant that the Pearl is not up to their standard." He says, before placing a hand on his chest.

"Personally," Arus continues, "and as I tell everyone, I think this is a first-rate establishment without peer."

Kriv

The Dragonborn noble drily stated,

"Humans. Their motivations and strange behaviour tend towards the perplexing. Such a vexing species on so many levels."

Indeed, species seemed to be the one unifying factor uniting those who had gone, compared to those who remained.

Zhu

She has tried to be 'race-blind' ever since she came here from the Faewild. Her own race showed far too much of a superiority complex for her taste. One of the things that drove her to leave in the first place. So Kriv's comment is as jarring to her as it seems to be accurate. She thinks it is just a coincidence, and that it had more to do with the lifestyle choices of those who left than it did of race. After all Bern and Davroar were more comfortable in the forest than the city, and Jaliera, well she seems enamored of Davroar. Still........

She quirks an eyebrow at Kriv but doesn't argue the point.

OOC: It is curious that an Eladrin, a Dragonborn, a Triton and a half-elf are the ones that are staying at the Pearl-handled Pipe and that the humans went wandering off!

DM
The clerk, visibly upset, is calmed somewhat by Arus's words but only slightly. "Indeed, we try to be the best and work very hard to keep up our standards! Well, I hope that you enjoy your stay and spread the word about us. Your rooms are ready. It will cost four gold pieces per room - they are all singles."

He raises a bell that was on his desk and rings it. A young woman, dressed in the standard uniform of the inn hustles over.

"Please show these fine people to their rooms," he says as he hands the keys to her. "And have their bath's drawn, they've just come into town." Turning to the foursome he adds, "The bath and three meals are included, of course. Eveningfeast will be served for the next few hours in the dining hall on he first level below."

The four gold pieces is expensive, but there are other inns that are more than twice that cost in other cities.

Arus

Arus smiles politely to the clerk.

"Single rooms are fine." He says, admiring the young maid when she steps up before adding, "As long as the beds can take the weight of two."

A hot bath and a filling meal. Arus intends to indulge and enjoy, though it may take some persuasion to get him out of the bath once in.

Zhu

In addition to the coin she came with, the added coin for their current investigation makes the price of the room easy enough to bear. Now, were they to end up staying here for a month she'd need to re-evaluate. But the thought of a hot bath is enticing enough to focus her immediate attention.

DM
After the coin is paid, the young lady starts to lead the four non-humans. She takes them to the corner of the lobby and asks them to follow. When the four are all together around a column situated in the corner. There's a mosaic circle around the pillar on the floor and she organizes everyone inside the perimeter of the mosaic. "Huddle together near the column please. "Most folk get scared the first time. Don't be," she says. As the last person complies, presses a spot on the column and after a minor jerk, the mosaic floor separates itself from the rest of the floor and begins to rise slowly.

The magical lift rises above the lobby and for those who've never been levitated, it would surely be an unsettling experience. As they reach their floor, she once again touches the column, in a different spot, and it comes to a gradual stop. "Here we are. This way please." She proceeds to lead them around the walkways and then turned inward. They passed several doors, all labeled with room numbers. It was easy to imagine there being close to 100 rooms on every floor. They reached the end of the corridor she stopped at four adjacent rooms and opened each door with a separate key which she left in the keyhole for the guest to take.

The rooms were luxurious, unique and furnished differently. They shared some common traits. The bed, which was called a single, could likely sleep a small family. The mattresses were covered by beautiful bedspreads and big, fluffy pillows. When someone finally would looked under the bedspread, they would see that the linens were freshly washed and clean. Flanking the bed on one side was a tall bookcase filled with all manner of books. On the other side was a desk with blank parchment and a quill in an inkwell. A vase with flowers and a candelabra sat on a dresser opposite the bed and an area of the room is curtained. She leads you towards it and pulls back the curtain revealing the bathroom area which featured a ceramic tub and a bucket-flushed
garderobe. "I will draw your baths shortly. There are soaps, towels and perfumes in the top dresser drawer. My name is Helene. If there is anything that you need, please ask for me," she says as she departs letting each of the guests select their own room.

Sindar

He eyes the opulence as they rise above the lobby floor. It was tastefully done and did offer comfort in its own way.

Once on the chosen floor, he picked a room that the others didn't seem interested in. Any of them would be fine for him.

Taking Key for door #3, he followed the attendant in to see what was offered for his four gold pieces. "Do you have clothing cleaning services? If so how are they priced?" He asked her, before letting her return to help the others.

Once sorted he set down his clothing, and returned to the balcony to say "I will be ready in about half an hour."

Assuming that worked for them, he closed and locked the door. A hot bath sounded like something he wanted to enjoy right at the moment. Road grime was think on him.

Arus

Dry land! It never ceases to amaze him. So much craftsmanship and magical energy put into going up and down in space. Underwater that's not such a problem.

Arus smiles charmingly at Helene and is quite sure he'll be calling on her services again.

To his comrades, he says, "Perhaps we might dine together? At eight, shall we say?"

He would like the opportunity to get to know Kriv, Sindar and Zhu better.

Kriv

The opulence neither fazed nor awed the Dragonborn noble. As a student of the Art, having it put to practical usage seemed reasonable, and the room certainly seemed par for the course given the price. His eyes lit up with draconic avarice at the bookshelves, hungrily looking for tomes he was not familiar with, be they histories, treatises or fantastic tales built around kernels of truth. He laid claim to room #2.

At Arus' suggestion,

"Dining at eight sounds a good arrangement."

Now, the matter of the baths. He'd have to make inquiries as to a scale polishing, at their full golden lustre they could certainly help with making a substantial impression...

Zhu

She notes the command words for the levitating platform when it is used so they can return below without needing to wait for Helene, then asking for hot water for the bath she glances in the unchosen rooms and chooses one of the two remaining ones. She is glad that one of the unchosen ones had a woodland theme, paneled in aged yellow pine with furniture of a dark red mahogany. There were a pair of dwarf trees in large pots in two of the room's corners as well as several ferns and other flowering plants on the floor, tables, and shelves. Large glass windows let in lots of sunlight and after taking the key from the lock she nods to the others and enters, closing the door behind her.

Immediately she opens the windows to let in some fresh air and disrobes. Eladrin have no nudity taboo so she is completely comfortable walking around the room naked. After removing her clothing she points at them and speaks a short word, and all of the trail dust and dirt vanish, leaving them clean and fresh. She'd have done the same for Sindar, had he wished, but he seemed to prefer the more traditional means of cleaning.

Moving to the bookshelves, she peruses the titles while she waits for hot water to be brought.

ooc: Zeim, There's no command words for the lift. Zhu, who was paying attention and certainly understands these things, noted that if facing out from the the corner of the lift towards the center of the lobby (like Helene was), touching the column with the right hand made it go up. Touching it with the left made it go down. Touching it in the center controls the speed and makes it stop or go. It's easy for anyone that's not a moron to figure out quickly. I'll let you take liberty with the windows and flowers

DM

Helene returns to each of the rooms, one by one, with a barrel of hot water that she moves around on a levitating platform. At each door she knocks and waits for them to be opened.

For Kriv, even without asking, she delivers instead exactly what he had wanted and needed. Dragonborn did bathe to get the grit out from between their scales, but they did polish their scales and were fastidious about that.

"Most people was their own clothing in the bath. There is a twine roll hanging on a hook over the tub. We do have a service," Helene says to Sindar, then continues in a whisper after she glances over her shoulder to make sure nobody from the inn can hear her. "It's expensive and I do not recommend it."

There were all sorts of books on the shelves. Some were tales of wonder, prayer books for various religions, there were history books and several that discussed some military strategies employed during various wars, biographies of important people of the realms, others about magic and mythical creatures.

Sindar

He nodded in appreciation for the tip about the cleaning services. "I will make other arrangements," he admitted. He didn't know what that would be, but his nice clothing was at least not covered in road grime.

He selected a book of songs to take with him to the hot bath. He wanted to soak the dirt away rather than scrub, at least at first.

He would have to ask the others about what cleaning services they had employed.

Zhu

She answers the knock in her natural state, smiling slightly at Helene and her tub of hot water. "Please." She says, opening the door wider and gesturing for the woman to enter.

While she'd waited she'd looked at the book titles. She'd already read the books on magic before and she is well versed in lore of mythical creatures. In fact she knows several that are not as mythical as some believe. She takes down a book containing a collection of biographies. In her role among the Guard and her Faction she has need to meet with people of import in the realms fairly often so finding a tidbit of interesting information in the book could be helpful.

Tucking the book under her arm she waits for the tub to be filled.

Arus

Hot water. It reminded him of the undersea volcanic vents back home. Good for the complexion.

Arus was walking about in towel by the time Helene arrived, showing off the gills in the crook of his neck and his fighting man's physique.

As his tub is filled he says to the maid, "Wouldst thou mind? My shoulders could do with a more tender caress than mine armour's."

Kriv

Ahh, the pleasures of life away from the demands of the road. Kriv was not one to idly indulge: The pathetic wretch that was technically his peer in human form whom they had rescued was testament to that particular pitfall. But a moment to soak in the comforting warmth to rinse the dust of the road from his scales, before getting them polished to just the right amount of shine, that was a moment worthy of the coin spent for it. Ever a voracious reader, Kriv delighted in the array of tomes available, and might well have been late for delving deep into unknown pages had a lifetime of study not prepared him to keep an eye on the time, or an ear out as tended to match the custom of large human settlements.

DM

None of the four who decided to stay at the Pearl-handled Pipe regretted the indulgence of a hot bath. They each found reading material that interested them, Kriv found a books about tactical warfare and one that caught his attention, it was tome written by a Cormyrian war mage about spellcasting in battles from small skirmishes to massive war battles.

Zhu's nakedness startled Helene at first when she returned but she did not make mention of it. She filled the bath and left with hardly a word, just a polite curtsey on her way out. There were several biographies for Zhu to peruse. The one that she settled on was a former Waterbaron of Yartar, Alahar Khaumfros and she found some interesting historical tidbits inside.

Sindar looked for a book of songs and found one with dozens of them! Some of the songs he knew, others were new to him like "Snuffed The Magic Dragon", "What’s In A Bottle Of Elfish Wine?" and "You Can Just Call Me The Gnome". As he soaked in the hot bath he soaked in some of the lyrics and wondered what the traditional tunes for them was.

Arus did not get the answer he desired when he requested a massage. Helene curtseyed and said, on her way out, "I will send our masseur". She closed the door behind her, but Arus understood why. Guilds controlled a lot in the city and it was likely that she was not permitted to give massages or any special services. Shortly after the door closed there was a knock on it, "Hello, I was told you sought a massage?"

ooc: Let's fast forward to dinner with your next post.

(OOC - Did you mean to say we "regretted" taking a bath?)

[[ Ohhh ... what?? Do like .... you never made a typo <gd&r lmao> ]]

Zhu

She enjoys the hot water, letting it soak into her skin. As she soaks she reads the book, finding a few items of interest that she memorizes for possible later use.

Once the water becomes lukewarm, she rises, towels herself dry and changes clothes to a set that is more appropriate for the establishment. A sky blue dress that matches her hair and highlights her otherworldly silver eyes. Not having the time to do much with her hair once it is dry, she twists it into a long, 3 strand braid, and then wraps the braid into a tight bun atop her head, holding it in place with some hair pins.

She then steps out into the hallway to see if the others are ready.

Sindar

He enjoys his time in the tub. The book was a nice diversion, and he memorizes the lyrics so that when he does determine the melodies, he is able to sing them.

He leaves the water and the road grime behind. He selects his best clothes, which in this place might be sub-standard. It should do though.

He exits his room with plenty of time to make it to dinner. For a moment he just observes the balconies and the lobby from above.

Zhu

Seeing Sindar exit from his room she moves in his direction (not far, since their rooms are near each other). "Enjoy your bath?" She asks as they wait for Arus and Kriv.

Sindar

"Yes, it was very nice. Most road baths are in cold rivers. This was much better.

"How was yours?"

When she finishes he asks "you mentioned some way to clean our traveling clothes." He wanted to pass on that the cleaning services were not very good, but he didn't want to do that in public.

Zhu

"Indeed. I enjoy river and pond baths in nature, but the occasional chance for a steaming hot bath is a nice change."

She listens and nods, gesturing to the door to his room since Kriv and Arus are still not present. "If you don't mind?"