Solo Tied With A Vine Of Affection

[Ashanna]

Ever so carefully the kelvic moved toward the table. On it, sat Alexius’s ruby. It was smaller than her palm, though not by much, and Ashanna wondered if it was even real. It wouldn’t be so surprising to find out that giant jewel was an imitation. Ashanna had seen the most beautiful precious stones that had turned out to be sophisticatedly crafted from glass, she knew how easily the eye could be fooled. Touch, however, could be harder a sense to trick. Running her hands over the black velvet vest, Ashanna smiled at the feel of the pearls. Cool to the touch. She brought the candle closer, realizing how thankful she’d been that Alexius hadn’t knocked over the candlestick when he’d ever so gently set down the bottle earlier. Her feline eyes adjusted easily to the dark but she was no jewelcrafter or gem trader, in her opinion the pearls all seemed to be of slightly different sizes. Alexius shifted in the bed and immediately Ashanna froze, darting her eyes in his direction while shielding the candlelight with her hand. But the snoring continued and she let out her breath. Quickly she reached for her own dress, searching its folds until her fingers found the hidden pocket from which she pulled her little friend, a small blade that fit around her finger like a falcon’s talon. With it, she set out to remove a few of the potentially precious pearls, focusing on the outer edges of the garment, where they’d be less noticeable should they go missing. Finding the thread that tunneled through each small pearl wasn’t easy but thankfully not as hard as it could’ve been. Whomever had sewn the pearls on used a thread to match the stone not the deep black of the velvet ground. So, with fastidious fingers and one eye always glancing back at the mass that still lay on the bed, Ashanna plucked out the pearls one at a time. Before the vest became noticeably bare, Ashanna stopped and made sure to pull off any loose threads and leave no trace of her pilfering, here again, the velvet helped with the pile of the fabric concealing any sign that it had been tampered with. As she set the vest back where it had been, Ashanna sighed in relief. She slid the blade as well as a handful of pearls into her dress pocket, taking one last longing look at the ruby that still sat on the table, its deep red glimmering in the candle light. She could see no way to take that without its absence being immediately noticed. Besides, it’s probably fake anyway… But maybe.... maybe it’s real… Just as the thought entered her mind, a deep trumpeting sound came from the bed and suddenly Ashanna could smell a foul sulfuric scent. The kelvic quickly threw up a hand to guard her sensitive nose from the man’s nauseating gases and went to open the single window in the room, hoping a gust of wind might come in and cleanse the smells of sex, mold and now flatulence. Little luck. Barely a breeze to be felt. It was a night, like many other nights, with perfectly fine weather. She stared out the window, looking at the small corner of the moon she could actually see, the air seemed still and quiet. The bridges she could see were free of any foot traffic. No boats in sight either. All she heard was the water sloshing in the canals and the snoring of the man in bed. Before long, Ashanna started getting that strange feeling in the back of her neck and quickly shut the window, pulling the old curtain closed and blowing out the candle. Her breaths were getting shorter and faster, she could feel her neck heating up and tried to swallow but her throat was too dry. Reaching over for the fallen bottle, Ashanna took two swigs. That didn’t help with the heat, now her throat felt as warm as the rest of her neck. But yet, it did ease her nerves. Ashanna took another swig and stood in the pitch black, her back against the wall, and just listened. Focusing on steadying her breath, she quietly counted back from fifty, then counted up when she reached zero. Had an hour passed? Had two? Had she only been standing there a couple of minutes? Either way, she could feel her heartrate was back to normal. If the room still smelled rancid, she could no longer tell. Though Ashanna was sure that sleep would not come to her tonight, she went back to the bed, sliding herself back in the side she’d crawled out from. Maybe morning would come and nothing will happen. Maybe she’ll get an uninvited guest, in which case, she had a handy human shield snoring by her side. Not knowing which path awaited her, Ashanna lay there and stared at the ceiling, her paranoid mind slightly aided by the drink. Sleep did eventually come, shortly before the sun rose. When she did wake, she was greeted by no one. Thankfully, Alexius seemed to have woken up and left, taking his clothes and his ruby but leaving behind a stack of mizas on the table.

[Vanguard]

Judgment Is Upon Thee!

Ashanna
Skill Rewards

• Deduction +2
• Larceny +1
• Observation +5
• Planning +1
• Seduction +4
• Socialization +5
• Subterfuge +1

Lores Learned

• Observation: Associating a scent with a region
• Seduction: Identifying a person’s level of assertiveness
• Self: Doesn’t like to ask for favors

Rewards

• 5 Pearls valued at 10gm each

Penalties

• After 2 days, Alexius notices the missing pearls. Ashanna's reputation at the establishment is damaged, making it richer clientele avoid her services.

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