Ch211: A Relaxing Bath & Some Spent Favour

Krvavy curls her fingers around a simple stone knob, the textured ridges covering its surface making it easy to grab and turn. The steaming, scalding, water raining down from above sputters for just a second before coming to a sudden stop.

Dripping wet, the Drakling turns and steps out of this slightly spacious shower alcove, rapping her knuckles against the thin strip of wall bordering the next one over. “Feel clean enough for the hot spring?”

Khalia immediately shuts off her shower and spins around... splashing water across the floor in the process. That soaked tail of hers sends even more droplets flying through the air as it wildly whips back and forth. “Yes~!” This soggy dog happily barks, her drenched and sodden fur rubbing up against the Drakling’s pale skin and black scales as she claims one of her Mate’s strong arms for herself, squeezing it into the glistening valley of her green-skinned breasts.

“Great.” Krvavy tiredly sighs, shoulders sagging and slumping as she lets that somehow still energetic Greenskin guide her forwards. Every single muscle in her body aches. Even her tail is sore, that meaty thing dragging across the ground behind her. Carrying an entire car-sized boar through rocky and uneven terrain wasn’t easy, not even with Khalia’s much needed help...

“Mm.” Inanna greets both barbarian and Were-Beast with a hum, right as they emerge from that bathroom. “I see you had a successful hunt.”

“Ehehheh~!” Khalia cackles and quickly nods, squishing her cheek into Krvavy’s shoulder... while only slightly nibbling on that Mate of hers. “We kill big piggy~! Together~!”

“I saw.” The Dwarf calmly responds, a hint of a smile audible in her otherwise neutral voice. “It is visible from our bedroom. Thea pointed it out to me.” She adds, subtly nodding towards the brat in question, that noble girl already lounging back in this wonderfully steamy hot spring.

Krvavy’s chest steadily rises as she takes a long and deep breath. “Yeah...” She slowly exhales. “We didn’t really have the energy to bring it all the way up here.”

“Understandable. It is quite the large specimen.” Inanna steps aside, letting those two head straight towards the large pool. After a moment, she follows, lowering herself down at the edge and sitting with just her legs dangling into that pleasantly hot water.

“Ugh...” Thea groans, trying to act annoyed even as her knee anxiously bounces beneath the surface of this steamy pool. “Did either of you get injured fighting that thing?”

“Just a little. Nothing serious though.” A smile finds its way onto Krvavy’s face, fed by the fact that her bashful brat has just not so subtly scooted ever so slightly closer to her. That noble girl isn’t quite within arms reach... but she isn’t too far away either. “Mostly just some bruises. Khalia did get a big cut on her leg, but we healed it up just fine.”

Inanna quirks a single coal-black brow, the grey-skinned expanse of her thick thighs jiggling just a bit as her elbow presses into it, chin coming to rest atop her fist. “Mm... Impressive. Was it easier to fight than expected?”

The Drakling leans back into these comfortably warm waters. “No, not at all.” Her thick tail slowly curls to the side, wrapping around her precious puppy’s waist and helping to pull that Were-Beast half into her lap, slipping her captured arm free as she does so... only for it to take the place of her tail. “We just didn’t fight it head on.”

“Really?” Thea skeptically asks, kissable lips twisting into a soft sneer as her bratty nature rears its head. “Did the two of you really not just charge in and attack?”

The barbarian brushes a few loose, wet strands of black-brown hair away from her Were-Beast’s face. “Not at first, no.” She calmly returns, almost focusing more on how she is caressing her Khalia’s cheek, the tips of her black-scaled fingers close to the base of an ear that would be quite fluffy were it not so wet. “We trapped and isolated it with magic, pelted it with a few javelins, and then ran in.”

“Rrgh.” This precious puppy supports her Mate with a nod, slowly but steadily sinking even further into Krvavy’s embrace. Soon enough, her face comes to rest atop a big and pale breast, listening to the steady beat of the heart beneath. “Fight was quick. Not too fun...”

“It wasn’t boring though, was it? Not like the slimes?” Gravity sees the Drakling’s hand slowly dragged downwards, the tips of her fingers trailing along the nape of this Were-Beast’s neck, then through the shaggy mane of fur covering Khalia’s spine.

The cuddly Greenskin doesn’t immediately answer, waiting a couple long seconds before grunting back a “no...”

“And was that enough for you to level up, or do you still need to slay some more slimes?” Inanna inquires, hands dropping to her knees as she leans forwards... unintentionally squishing her truly titanic tits together, those massive mountains pressing into her thick thighs.

“I did level up.” Krvavy slowly replies, idly rubbing her precious puppy’s back. It would seem that Khalia’s apparently boundless energy has finally run out. “Though I probably should still try for another level...”

A gentle wave ripples across this steamy, bubbling hot spring pool as Thea scoots just a little closer. “So what does your last milestone trait do?” She impatiently asks, not quite able to keep a tinge of curiosity from creeping into her tone.

“Dunno.” The barbarian shrugs her shoulders, much to that noble girl’s chagrin. “I haven’t dealt with the stat points yet. Guess I’ll do that now...”

Ignoring that silver-blonde brat’s exasperated groan, Krvavy brings up her stat sheet and gives it her full attention... Which isn’t too much, tired as she is. It only takes a few seconds to allocate the six points that she has been sitting on for the past few hours. One goes into Willpower, because her new Class is encouraging her to increase that, and the rest go into Guile, to finally get it up to twenty-five.

+25 Divine Favour, for achieving a base value of twenty-five in all attributes.

“Oh.” Krvavy blinks, staring just a little blankly at the notification that suddenly appeared in front of her eyes.

Thea ever so slightly scowls, suspiciously staring across the steamy hot spring. “What?”

Krvavy can’t quite look away from that simple line of text that popped into her perception. “I just got some favour for, well, getting all my stats to twenty-five...” She idly answers.

“Mm. That isn’t much of a surprise.” Inanna calmly comments, bobbing her head in the faintest of nods. “You get Divine Favour for fulfilling your desires, and you have been working towards this goal for quite some time now.” Despite her almost disinterested tone, this Dwarf is clearly brimming with curiosity, her copper-orange eyes piercing straight into that Drakling’s side as she leans in even further. “How much ‘favour’ did you get?”

“Twenty-five.”

“Really?!” Thea gasps, quickly scooting so close to Krvavy that their bodies nearly touch. “So you can finally buy that communication thing?!”

That brat’s barely restrained excitement draws the Drakling from her daze. “I mean, yeah...?” Krvavy quirks her brow, glancing down at her fiancée. “I could have anyway. I only needed one more point, remember? And I got two from levelling up. Which is hopefully the new normal...”

The haughty noble girl dismissively waves her hand through the air. “Whatever.” She huffs. “Are you going to get it or not?”

“Well...” Krvavy’s carnivorous teeth lightly chew at the inside of her cheek. Slowly, her emerald eyes trail between these three girls of hers, moving from the fairly big Were-Beast cuddling in her lap, to the impatient brat sidled up to her side, and then to the grey-skinned shortstack almost sitting behind her.

“Beryl is otherwise occupied at the moment.” Inanna answers that unasked question. “I am not sure what exactly she is doing, but it is keeping both her and Adeline busy.”

“Hmph!” Thea lifts her chin and crosses her arms, unintentionally holding those beautiful boobs of hers just barely above the waters surface. “We do not need those two here just to make this decision.” She quite firmly states, sternly glaring at this Drakling that she has agreed to marry. “Especially not the mouse... She would likely not even say a single word!”

Inanna’s stout fingers drum atop her knee. “At the very least, we could look over the options. Yes?”

Krvavy shrugs, seeing no reason to deny her Dwarf’s diplomatic suggestion. “Sure. I still don’t have enough for the good ones... But there are plenty that cost just ten points.” With just a thought, the points shop window pops into her perception, its many options quickly getting narrowed down in response to her intentions. “And most of them just seem to be variations of the same thing: a box of jewellery that, when worn, will let us mentally communicate with each other. Do we want all rings? Necklaces? Bracelets? Anklets? Earrings? Piercings? Circlets? Hair pins? Brooches?”

Inanna’s thick black brow knits together. “How many are in each box? And do all the options only contain a single type?”

“It doesn’t say.” A sigh accompanies that answer... and the next. “The only one which isn’t all copies of the same thing just says that it is ‘assorted’. But, unlike the Ore Seeds, it doesn’t mention being random.” The barbarian lightly nibbles at her bottom lip. “So it probably has at least one of each...?”

The busty shortstack slowly nods, that assumption sounding reasonable enough to her. “Does it mention how the individual pieces of jewellery function?” She curiously asks, tilting her head to the side. Which sees a few thick strands of her hair slip over the edge that she is sitting on, dipping their tips into the hot spring pool... not that this Dwarf really notices that. “Are they enchanted, or do they function via some other – more esoteric – means? How will they interact with Touch of the Ancients?”

“Again. I have no idea. The descriptions are all pretty basic...” Krvavy grumbles, finding herself scowling at those simple lines of text hanging in front of her eyes. “It says that they’re magic, but doesn’t mention any enchantments. I don’t know if that really means anything though.”

A softly exhaled breath passes through the Dwarf’s dark-grey lips. Slowly, she pushes herself just a little more upright, no longer leaning forwards nearly as much. The tips of her hair are dragged from the water, her absolutely massive tits lifting off her thick thighs. “Hopefully they function perfectly well for you, my Ushumgal. Otherwise they will be considerably less useful.”

Thea purses her kissable lips into an adorable pout. “So are you getting this ‘assorted’ box or not?” Impatience and annoyance alike underline that question.

“I guess...?” Krvavy looks toward Inanna, who simply shrugs, and then down at Khalia, who is barely even paying attention to the conversation. She mulls this decision over for a good long second before making up her mind. “Alright, sure.”

The Were-Beast grumbles unhappily as her Mate’s petting hand pulls away, those black-scaled fingers giving the base of her thoroughly soak – and completely submerged – tail one last scritch.

Krvavy takes a deep breath and makes the purchase.

A big, rectangular box suddenly pops into existence, balanced precariously atop the barbarian’s palms. She quickly turns and places it at the edge of this hot spring pool, setting that surprisingly large and decently decorated wooden chest down onto its four little legs. The dark polished lacquer glistens in the steamy air as Krvavy prods at the obvious metallic clasp, popping open its flat top.

Thea’s knee bumps into the barbarian’s body as she quite thoroughly invades Krvavy’s personal space.

“Mm...” Inanna, likewise, does the same... her titanic tits looming above that wide but shallow case.

Even Khalia lifts her head up to see what is inside.

Nestled neatly in place atop a bed of red silken fabric are dozens upon dozens of pieces of simple jewellery, all composed of a silvery metal and adorned with dull black gems.

“I expected there to be a fair amount considering how much it cost compared to the Ore Seeds and Thea’s eyeglasses, but even this is more than I thought...” Inanna absentmindedly admits, focusing her full attention on the numerous magical ornaments arranged before her.

Some of the smaller pieces, like the rings, have well over a dozen copies each while the larger ones, such as the circlets, have only a small handful. But overall... There is more in here than they would ever really need. Even if they are picky with what pieces they want to wear...

Krvavy focuses on a random ring, using Inspect on it.

Ring of Far-Speaking: A magical ring which allows for communication between the holders of other bound Far-Speaking items regardless of the distance between them. Automatically adjusts its size to fit its wearer. Appears as nothing more than a simple, mundane ring to all forms of scrying when outside of its origin case.

“Interesting.” The Dwarf voices Krvavy’s thoughts, clearly having done just as her Draconic lover did. “Mm...” She plucks a simple stud earring from its padded home. Her thick brows furrow together as her copper-orange eyes focus on that small piece of jewellery. “This is remarkably well disguised. Even knowing that this earring is more that it appears to be, I cannot detect even the slightest amount of magic within it. Scrying yields only a claim that it is composed of silver and onyx, which I have reasons to doubt.”

“How are these even supposed to work?” Thea scowls at the many options in front of her. A faint blush fills her cheeks as she snatches up a ring. “This... This does not mean anything!” The bratty girl bashfully blurts out, her face growing an even deeper shade of red. “I still need an actual ring from you, Krvavy!”

The barbarian blinks... her lips slowly spreading into a smirking grin. “You see a bunch of jewellery and that is your first thought~?”

“Sh-shut up!”

Unbothered by that beautiful brat’s flustered response, Inanna reaches over and purposefully taps her earring into the ring that Thea is all but clutching to her chest. A faint spark of light flashes between those two pieces of jewellery. “Mm.” The Dwarf hums and nods her head.

“What did you just do?” The noble girl narrows her soft-blue eyes, glaring quite suspiciously at that shortstack. Who doesn’t seem to respond...? “Huh?!” Thea suddenly gasps, nearly dropping her ring in surprise. “Oh.” This silver-blonde brat blinks. Slowly, she nods her head, slipping that magical trinket onto her left hand, shooting Krvavy a flustered glare as she does so. “So I just...?” The blushing brat idly rubs the black crystalline band that encircles her otherwise nondescript ring, that thing resting where a different one should be.

The Dwarf grabs another ring and taps it against the small stud piercing still held between her fingers, another dull spark flash from within those matte black gems. She wordlessly pushes it into Krvavy’s hands, smiling enigmatically. ⟨Here,⟩ her lips remain completely still as she ‘speaks’, ⟨focus your thoughts into this and then towards me.⟩

Krvavy gently bites the inside of her cheek. ⟨Like this?⟩

⟨Yes, my Ushumgal.⟩ A tinge of pride fills the grey-skinned shortstack’s ‘voice’, her words echoing directly into the Drakling’s mind. ⟨Now, if you would, send Thea a message.⟩

The barbarian’s heart beats faster and faster, excitement swirling around within her very being, leaving her grinning like a kid with a new toy. Her gleaming emerald eyes lock onto her fiancée’s soft-blue pair. ⟨Hey there~.⟩ She casually ‘whispers’ into that beautiful brat’s mind.

Thea scowls ever so slightly, her eyes narrowing just a bit. But she otherwise doesn’t react at all.

Krvavy’s smug smile finds itself faltering. ⟨Theeaaa~. Hello, my fiancée~.⟩ She pours her heart into those cooing words, her mentally projected voice dripping with love and lust.

Only for her to get absolutely no response back.

“Mm...” Inanna glances between the barbarian and brat, watching their expressions closely. Without a word, or a transmitted thought, she gently grabs onto Krvavy’s wrist and pulls that Draconic dickgirl’s arm towards Thea’s hand, bumping their two rings together. “Try again.”

⟨I love you I love you I love you I love you~!⟩

“Ahh!” Thea shouts and ducks down, hastily pressing her palms over her ears, trying in vain to silence those embarrassing words. Which, of course, keep coming. “Sh-shut up!” She shakily stammers back, an intense and so very bright blush burning across her face, that rich red hue spilling down her neck and even colouring her shoulders.

“I see...” Inanna thoughtfully nods, the voluminous mass of her coal-black hair bobbing along with that motion. ⟨Thea, Krvavy. Can both of you hear this?⟩

“Yup.” Krvavy breezily replies, letting that ‘p’ really pop. A wide and incredibly smug smile fills her face, her carnivorous teeth bared in a grin that only grows wider as she pointedly ignores her little princess’ heated, glaring gaze.

The silver-blonde brat sinks back into this wonderfully warm hot spring pond, arms crossed in an adorably indignant pout. “I... heard you as well...” She grumpily grumbles, her heavily flushed face scrunched into a cute little scowl.

Inanna slowly nods, completely unbothered by... that entire interaction. She is too busy with this experiment of hers to care about those interruptions. “Either of you, try to contact me now.”

“Okay.” The Drakling gives her precious puppy a pat on the head, peering deep into this studious shortstack’s intense copper-orange eyes. ⟨Hello. Do you hear me?⟩ Krvavy blinks. A good second passes on by. ⟨Hello?⟩

A faint hint of amusement plays at Inanna’s dark-grey lips as she clearly and purposefully ignores that call, holding her simple stud earring between finger and thumb. Rather idly, she brings her other hand in to tap at the polished black gem set into that small little ornament, her trimmed nail touching what appears be nothing more than a dull rock.

Krvavy rolls her jaw. It takes the stubborn Drakling a few more seconds before she stops focusing her thoughts towards that shortstack.

Inanna nods in that very same moment, obviously aware of the fact that Krvavy had just given up. Without a word, she leans over and places that small piece of jewellery back into the open case, leaving it there for hardly more than a heartbeat before taking it back. “Try again.”

The barbarian furrows her brow. ⟨Okay. Here. One, two, three. Hello.⟩

As before... absolutely nothing seems to happen. From Krvavy’s point of view, at least.

The Dwarf seems to notice something different. “Mm... How interesting...” Inanna slowly states, before nodding once. To herself, more than to the others here. “I believe that we have done enough testing for the time being. I have a general idea on how to use these.”

“Oh? Do you now?” Thea can’t help but sound a bit bitter and... and honestly a bit bitchy... That brat is clearly still a little miffed over Krvavy telepathically lovebombing her.

“Yes.” Inanna is quite confident about that claim, idly tapping her plain piercing into the rings held by both barbarian and brat. “To begin with the most obvious, each individual piece of ‘Far-Speaking’ jewellery must be bound to all others that we wish to communicate with. There is no shared network that one can join by binding to a piece already bound with the rest. Whether this is a limitation in function or a security feature is uncertain.”

Krvavy idly rolls her ring between her fingers. “That is... a little inconvenient. And it’ll only get more annoying down the line...”

The grey-skinned shortstack slightly shrugs her shoulders. “Perhaps. But, regardless of the reason, it still functions as a layer of security. We do not need to worry about our method of communication being compromised in the future. At least not via the theft of a single piece of jewellery.”

The Drakling tilts her head to the side. “Yeah, I suppose that’s a good way to look at it.” She shrugs, glancing towards the large open case. “And unbinding one of these is as simple as putting it back in there, yeah?”

Inanna nods. “It appears so.”

“Is it possible to... block... someone using these?” Thea asks, still giving Krvavy a bit of side eye. Typical brat, being all dramatic... It was just a bit of teasing! “I do not want this degenerate’s voice popping into my head at random points in the day!” The noble girl’s already rather rosy cheeks flush even further as she – completely unnecessarily – explains herself.

Again, Inanna nods. “Communicating via these pieces of ‘Far-Speaking’ jewellery seems to require intent and consent. Earlier you were expecting to hear Krvavy’s voice in your mind, thus she was immediately let in.” While that is an assumption... it does seem to be correct. Their little experiments proved as much. “But if you were not expecting it, or were purposefully ignoring her, then your ring would have simply pulsed and given you the impression that she was attempting to contact you.”

“Good.” The noble girl turns her chin up, trying to look proud and dignified. The fact that she is completely naked and dripping wet – in a literal sense, not in a lewd way – doesn’t exactly help her there. “That is far easier than having to take off my ring whenever I want privacy.”

“I still would have liked if it was more than just voice,” Krvavy admits with a slight sigh. “But, all in all, these aren’t too bad.”

“Mhm.” Inanna hums in agreement. “We do still need to see how well they function over a great distance though. The description makes it appear as if they have a functionally unlimited range, but in what way? Will there be a loss of quality or a delay as the distance grows? Will Touch of the Ancients exacerbate those issues? All questions which would be good to know but we are unable to answer, at this moment.”

“Ugh...” Thea groans as the Dwarf drones on and on and on. “Are you going to put that on or what?” She asks, staring intently towards the Drakling.

Krvavy blinks and glances down at her ring. With hardly a thought, she decides to slip it onto her lower right horn... mostly just because she wants to test one of the other features that it claims to have. The silvery metal and black gemstone band bends as it magically conforms to the more triangular shape of her horn, growing rather snug and secure as it reaches the bend.

The Drakling nods, satisfied by that. So much so that she completely misses the faint frown that finds its way onto her fiancée’s face.

“Hey,” the barbarian prods her lazily lounging Were-Beast. “You should pick one of these as well.”

“Rrrgh...” Khalia growls softly as she reluctantly raises her head from Krvavy’s chest. Her amber-gold eyes rake across the various pieces of jewellery. She does not look particularly impressed with the wide selection. After a few long seconds, she pokes a clawed finger into a fairly simple looking brooch. “Collar.” She grunts and drops her head back down onto the barbarian’s breasts.

“Mm. Are you sure that you do not want something that would be more present?” Inanna asks, earning herself a response in the form of a rumbling growl. “You would need to wear your collar more often if we were to clip this onto the same ring that your name tag is on.”

Khalia’s tail wags back and forth beneath the surface of the hot spring, the steamy water to swishing back and forth from the force of her joy.

“We can give it a try.” The Drakling gently shakes her head, taking the brooch that her precious puppy pointed to before clicking that case shut. “If it is too inconvenient, then we can get her something else.”

“Should we have even opened that here?” Thea abruptly asks, pointedly staring at the beads of condensation dripping down the lacquered surface of that nice wooden chest.

Inanna furrows her brow and looks over that box. “Mm... The various pieces of jewellery will almost certainly be fine.” If they’re capable of transmitting thoughts, then they probably won’t tarnish. Not easily, at least. That feels pretty basic compared to what these things are capable of. “But the padding may need to be aired out beside the fire to ensure that it remains dry.”

Krvavy ever so faintly frowns, placing her Were-Beast’s brooch atop the flat top of that case, before slowly pushing the whole thing further away from the waters edge.

“My Ushumgal, you should still have a fair amount of Divine Favour, yes?” Inanna idly asks, quickly getting a grunt and a nod in response. “Is there anything else that you would like to purchase, and which you could afford?”

The barbarian lightly bites her bottom lip. “Yeah,” she nods, “but I...”

Naturists Blessing IV: 24 Divine Favour. Upgrade Naturists Blessing III to gain increased True Defence from Physical Attributes, increases the base amount of True Defence to 25%, and increases Base Armour to 60. Upgradable.

“I have enough to upgrade Naturists Blessing. And... it’d probably be best to just do that now. Beryl would kill me if I skipped it again.” Krvavy dramatically sighs, a soft and affectionate smile finding its way onto her face regardless of that exaggerated act. “So unless anyone really objects with that...”

Rather predictably, no one says a word.

“Alright. Aaaaand...” With just a though, she spends most of what is left of her favour. “There.”

Naturists Blessing IV: Blessed by a divine power, you endure all that comes your way. Gain True Defence in proportion to how little you are wearing, the amount of which increases with the quality of what is worn, and this protection extends to anything you wear. True Defence increases in proportion with physical attributes. Additional benefits, attributes, & resistances are derived from what is worn. Provides 60 Base Armour and a minimum 25% True Defence.

The Drakling gently shakes her head as she reads over her Blessing’s increasingly long description. “Oh.” She blinks in surprise, turning her attention towards a certain trait that she forgot to even look at earlier.

Guts & Guile I: Increases Guile by 2.5%, strengthens its effect on Total Stamina & Total Mana, and it now slightly affects Total Health. Associated attribute = Guile.

“We got a bit carried away with these things,” Krvavy flicks the ring clinging snugly onto her horn, “and completely forgot about my new milestone trait. But, uh, it really isn’t anything special.”

“Mhm.” Inanna doesn’t seem particularly surprised to hear that. It is, in fact, almost certainly exactly what she expected. “If that is all, then I will take this case of ‘Far-Speaking’ jewellery off your hands and leave you to your relaxation.”

Krvavy clicks her tongue and shakes her head, playing up her disappointment. “What, are you just going to get up and leave like that~?”

The Dwarf’s copper-orange eyes stare straight into the Drakling’s emerald pair. A subtle smile plays at her lips as she leans in and gives Krvavy a gentle kiss. “There, my Ushumgal, now I will be on my way.”

“Rrhmmh...” Khalia quietly grumbles as the barbarian that she is using as a pillow turns to watch Inanna leave.