Xavier's ears perked up as he heard the smooth voice of the woman calling to him.

"My lady, you have no idea what kind of company I desire this night. However, the question is, are you willing to provide me with the company which I desire, or are you afraid of what goes bump in the night?"

Xavier straightened himself as he spoke. No sense in seeming weak, even if he was. His red eyes focused on the woman's neck, as he lusted for the blood inside.

Seluumiel nodded to the governor as she bid her farewells and made her way out of the building. She asked one of the guards for directions to the Nightshade Inn and continued through the town in silence. Townsfolk hustled in the streets around her and she found herself weaving through the crowds of humans.

She soon found herself before the inn and quickly entered the building grateful to be away from the frenetic crowds. Once inside she made her way to the front desk and greeted the innkeeper.

"Well met, I am Seluumiel Ithil'Luume. I am in the employ of Governor Castor Bailash, he informed me that there would be accomodations here."

The man nodded, "Yes my lady, your rooms are up this way. If you will follow me."

Seluumiel followed behind the man as he led her up through the building. The interiors grew more opulent as they climbed the stairways. At the top floor the innkeeper turned and stopped in front of a large wooden door. He handed her a key and smiled.

"Here you are my lady."

"Thank you my friend," the moon elf smiled her reply as she pressed a gold coin in the innkeeper's palm. "An associate of mine is staying here tonight. She is a half elf named Ardulace, if you could find her and tell her I would like to speak with her it would be greatly appreciated."

The man smiled, nodded, and headed back down the stairwell. She watched him depart before entering her quarters. The rooms were large and complete with the balcony, as promised.

Leaving her bag at the foot of the bed she stepped out onto the balcony. Warm breezes caressed her and tossed wisps of silver hair about. Seluumiel closed her eyes and breathed deeply enjoying the quiet respite. She stood there for awhile just breathing in silence. There had been no time for meditation and contemplation since her arrival to this human settlement, and she suspected this journey would provide little chance for reverie.

Nearly an hour passed before she walked back into the room. As Seluumiel stepped back into the room she pulled the magical weave around herself. Tiny tendrils of magic washed away the days grime from her body and clothes. Freshened she ran a hand through her hair as she sat at the foot of the bed. Reaching into her bag she produces the two books she had acquired that day. Seluumiel opened the book of Draconology and began her night of study.

(OOC: .5 MP Prestidigitation, spends 1 GP)

"Twenty gold coins would erase all fears of the carnal things you may have in mind."

The woman walks up to Xavier, the moon glistens amber off her auburn-red hair, and her blue eyes reflected the moon as she looked into his red eyes and pressed her ampley filled bodice against his body. She gives a toothy grin just before pursing her lips to kiss the pale man. She pulled back with a concerned look because the kiss was cold. It was like kissing a man who had been dead for days. "Honey, are you out of sorts? You don't seem healthy."

Mmm... I can smell it... the blood calls.
Xavier reached forward as the woman came towards him, kissing him on his lips. He slid his arms around her, inviting her to an embrace. For a brief moment they connected, and Xavier felt the warmth of the blood pumping underneath her skin. As she pulled away however, Xavier stiffened his grip, stopping her from pulling away.

"Miss, my pain begins in my purse, and only increases from there... I have to admire you for what you are... a beautiful, strong-willed woman, who is willing to take pity on a poor soul like me who has seen so many woes in life... Please, take pity on me. I will give you all that I have and what I lack in coin, I will make up for in passion. My fine lady of the night, come away with me for tonight, so that we may be together in one night of fiery passion. Will you acquiesce my request?"

___________

Diplomacy: +13 (I'll leave it up to you to roll it.)

...As you have accepted the invitation you found, you are now in my employ and I take care of my own. Now, take these coins and have a good time on me. It may very well be the last night of good times and high humor that you have for a while, for you are as the daring warrior the night before war. That house and quite possibly its origin must be neutralized if this realm is to survive. From what everyone is telling me, it sounds like an invasion is eminent. Keep in mind that I sent out five invitations. Before that I set up five rooms for those I called. Spend a safe night at the Nightshade Inn as a thank you for answering that call. Good night, Satya."
"Thank you," Satya said a little surprised at the governor's generosity. As she took the bag from him and placed it in her pack she bowed her head as a sign of respect,"and good night," then she headed out into the night air. Satya knew what it was he spoke of. Many times as a child she saw the wild feasting of her people the night before a raid. She had never seen anything quite like it again since she had left her home. She had learned through the years that every culture was very different. Women in this part of the world were more often seen in a role at home, and she had seldom encountered female adventurers like Lacy and Seluumiel. She was intrigued by them both and sensed that they each had, like her, some great past that had pushed them out into the world.

Tonight I shall try to remember what it means to be one of the Laasya tribe, she determined in her heart. First on that list was to replace the worn clothes of her journeying. As she stopped for a moment on the front steps of the house she asked the man that opened the door for her where she may find some nice woman's clothing. He pointed her in the direction of the merchant district and informed her that she would need to hurry for many shop owners would soon be closed for the night. Satya set off at a fast gait and quickly found a store window displaying a variety of woman's clothing.

As she walked in she was amazed at all the variety and color decorating the shop. The shop keeper stepped out and greeted her heartily. It had been a very long time since she last spent a night in a town and in a bed. She had nearly forgotten what it felt like to be scrubbed clean with warm water as well, and wearing something as free and unconstrained as a dress. The woman that owned the store asked many questions about Satya's origins for she had never seen a woman with her dark complexion and features before. She was sweet and seemed eager to learn more about the world that she had come from. As she asked questions of Satya she would pull out different dresses to see if they were to her liking. Each one unique in style and coloring and made of fabrics that she hadn't even heard of, but none where what she was looking for. Finally the shop owner pulled out a dress that was a deep crimson with black embroidered trim around the low cut neck. The back had an even deeper scoop than the front and there were no sleeves to the dress. Satya's eyes lit up at the strangely styled dress and smiled. "Its beautiful she whispered." The shop owner, excited that she finally had found something to the young woman's liking, offered to let her try it on in the back room.

Satya slipped into the dress and was amazed at how soft and light it felt on her. The dress was fine linen, and more exquisite than anything she had ever owned. Well, I may only ever get to wear it for one night but it will be a night to remember, she thought. The tribal markings that traced her shoulder blades and down her arms where laid bare in the sleeveless sun dress, and when the shop owner saw her she fell silent and her eyes grew wide. Here was a truly unique woman that she would carry the markings of a barbarian and yet still could have a feminine air about her.

"You will definitely turn some heads in that dress miss," the shop owner finally managed to say after getting over the initial shock of Satya's tattooed body.

"I do not know about that," Satya said doubtfully,"but I intend to honor my people by celebrating in their ways the best that I can this evening. Thank you for assisting me in finding a dress. I do hope that I have not been too much trouble." She changed back into her traveling clothes, paid for her dress then headed out to see what else she might find before the stores all closed up.

Satya looked forward to finding some live music and dancing for the night. She wasn't sure what she would find but she made a point of keeping her eyes and ears open as she finished her last bits of shopping.

((OOC Satya will use gather information and Listen interchangeably as she walks about the merchant district hoping for some wholehearted fun that she will have a chance to get lost in for the evening.))

It didn’t take Ardulace long to find what she sought. The destitute and the desperate were never far from, though rarely in sight of, those to whom life had been kind. She had only to ask a few children to get directions to the orphanage. A weary old monk named Brother Matthias greeted her at the door. When she explained to him that she was a priestess of the Dark Maiden come to offer what services she could, he ushered her in without delay.

The good brother could shelter only a few of the neediest children in the small dormitory. The bulk of Leaphaven’s orphans wandered the streets unseen but for when they filched an apple or meat pie from a vendor’s cart, taking shelter each night wherever they could. The first child to whom Matthias escorted her was in terrible danger.

“She was partially crushed by a barrel of wine. The workmen roll them down a ramp off the back of their wagons and into the taverns. She happened along at the worst time, the workman never saw her, and the poor girl couldn’t dodge it. Both legs were broken, and her hips too if I’m any judge. She can no longer move anything below the waist, and now the fever has set in, I think she has the blood poisoning. There is nothing more I can do for her, but ease her passing” he explained.

“I pray that it will not be so, Brother, not this day” replied Ardulace. Kneeling at the child’s bedside, she pulled back the blanket that covered the pitifully thin figure beneath. The girl’s eyes were wide open and bright with fever. Ardulace could feel the heat radiating off her. As she started her examination, the girl watched her intently.
“Who are you?” the child asked.
“I am Ardulace,” she replied, “a priestess in service to the Dark Maiden, Eilistraee.”
The child continued to watch but said nothing.
“What is your name?” asked the priestess.
“Isabeau,” the girl said tiredly.
Ardulace nodded.
“Do you expect to help me?” said the girl, her voice sharp and accusing.
Ardulace stopped her examination and turned to the girl. “I hope to, yes, if my goddess will aid me.”
“Gods and goddesses be damned. I do not believe in gods” the girl spat.
Ardulace recoiled, never having encountered such vehemence in a child so young. “It is not wise to speak so” she said, as she resumed her examination.
“The gods are false” snarled the child. “What will they do? What more can they do to me?
Ardulace paused in her ministrations. She spoke, her voice as calm and soothing as she could make it. “Can thou see thy pain? Or touch it? Would thou deny that it is real?" Closing her eyes, she sought communion with the goddess, and felt the divine power flowing through her. Laying her hands upon the girl's head she whispered an incantation and drove the fever from the girl’s body. Slipping a hand beneath the small of Isabeau's back she whispered another incantation and felt the healing flow like warmth through her own hands and into the child’s flesh.

On the bed, Isabeau gasped, eyes wide as the pain from her broken legs flowed through newly mended nerves. Moving her hands to the child’s hips she repeated the healing incantation, and then again as she moved her hands along each of the girl’s shattered limbs.

Isabeau struggled to rise, shock and wonder in her eyes, but Ardulace held her back. “Stop, thou art still weak and in need of rest.”

Ardulace arose from the child’s bedside, the girl looking up at her in confusion. “Thou art yet a child, but in time thou wilt come to see that the things in which thou believe shall be the things for which thou stand.” said the Priestess. “Neither peace, nor love, nor joy, nor pain can be seen, yet they are all real. The things that may or may not be true are the very things that you must believe in the most; that people are good, that honor and courage matter where wealth and power do not; that good shall always triumph over evil, and that true love never dies. These things thou must believe, not because they are true, but because they are worth believing.”

Ardulace turned to Matthias, “Lead on good brother, the goddess’ love is upon me and there is still much to do.” As the monk beamed a smile at her and took her arm to lead her to the next sick child, Ardulace wondered if the child would be worthy of the gift that Eilistraee had bestowed upon her. Was it wise to use so much divine energy on one child, when the same magic dispensed among several might save more lives? Such was the dilemma with which she struggled each time she went forth to aid those in need. She could not pick and choose who should live and who should die; she must put her faith in the Dark Maiden, and trust that she would be lead to where she was needed most.

Matthias took her to a girl whose skin was blotched and bleeding with the pox. Eilistraee’s love cured the child, and then a boy that suffered from dysentery, and another who shook with the ague. Each time Ardulace prayed and whispered her incantations and each time the goddess’ divine power flowed through her and healed the sick and the injured. With each healing the drowess grew more weary, yet felt ever more alive. Broken bones and mangled flesh healed beneath her touch and broken spirits were revived and given hope; just a glimmer perhaps, but perhaps a glimmer would be enough. The spirits of the children she healed that night had not been killed, merely stifled. She dared to dream that the flames of spirit she may have kindled that night might be even more important than the injured flesh she had healed.

Hours later, after exhausting her store of divine energy, physically drained, but exalted in spirit, she walked through the streets of Leaphaven, her feet dragging even while her heart soared. All around her the people of the city were extinguishing their lamps and drifting off to sleep. Ahead, the warm lights of the Nightshade Inn drew her onward. Without hesitation, she entered the inn and went to her room. Here she stripped off her weapons and armor, laying them aside, then retrieved the lute from her haversack before setting that aside too. Locking the door behind her as she left, she returned to the common room, got herself a goblet of wine from the bar, and flopped down into a thickly cushioned chair beside the fire.

With her feet propped beside the hearth, she took a long sip of the wine, and then tuned the lute. Perhaps this was not such an awful day, after all.

The woman puts an arm around Xavier and leads him to her own private entrance to the building she had stepped from earlier saying,"You beg for my compassion and I will give it, but now I beg of you to make me what you are, for you to make me one with you. You may be from the nice side of town, but you and your group have become well known in Leaphaven. I do not wish to give myself to strangers forever. I'm a good woman. I can take care of you. We both have something to offer one another. You won't have to constantly look to stangers for compassion and companionship, for I can quicken you and you , me."

She leads Xavier to her bed once they make it to ther room and has him take a seat on the bed. She turns her back to him and begins to fumble with her dress then asks Xavier,"Would you like to help me undress?"

---------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, Satya wonders the streets looking for a good time. Following the sound of lively night music to its source, she finds her goodtime in the large lounge and Tavern located in the Nighshade Inn.

Seluumiel closed her spellbook and placed it next to the other two books on the bed. She had spent a few hours studying the "Book of Unwritten Chronicles" and "Dragonology" before turning to her spellbook, It had been just after sundown when she began and now the waning moon was nearing its zenith. The moon elf returned each of the books to her bag before rising from the bed and moving to the balcony.

Faint moonlight bathed the balcony and in its soft light she seemed an apparition, moonlight made flesh. The silvery birthmark on her forehead reflected back the light shining like a star in the skies. Seluumiel closed her eyes as she welcomed the embrace of the Daughter of the Night Skies. In the light of the moon the full power of her goddess was felt suffusing her with a sense of wholeness, it was home.

"Sehanine tessa amin e' kalina'lle."

Spreading her arms the priestess threw back her head letting the power of Sehanine Moonbow flow into her. It was life. It was everything. She opened her eyes to behold the glory that was the night sky and soon became lost in its esoteric splendor. Minutes flowed into hours but the moon elf held still enthralled in her meditative communion.

"Amin diola Sehanine ten' kalina'lle"

As the closing prayer left her lips Seluumiel dropped her hands to her sides. Letting out a sigh of joy she remained in the for a moment longer. Still shaking with the meditative ecstasy she stared out into the night reveling in its splendor. With the moon just past its zenith she took a deep breath and turned from the balcony returning to her room.

Xavier walks with the woman to her own quarters, slightly stumbling along the way, of both fatigue and shock. The woman wanted to be a vampire? Was that what she was saying, or was he just hallucinating from blood loss? Perhaps it would be better to discuss after he had had his fill. But that would mean leaving her alive...

"My my my... you have strong ambitions. I will say this - I will only ask for one night. What you give to me after that is of your own volition. We can talk afterwards about your other... terms."

Xavier looked around the room, taking in every single nook and cranny. This all seemed too good to be true. And if it was, he wasn't going to be caught unaware. He would know his way out. And he would know how to do it quickly.

Closing the door behind him, Xavier smiles. This city wasn't so bad after all. He would probably enjoy it here. He could only think of what the governor had said after he walked out. And what the rest of his party had said. And what he was thinking. Oh right. He knew the answer to the last question. Blood.
At the woman's request, Xavier moves in, cracking his knuckles and reaching out with his nimble fingers. "Very well, my lady. If that is what you want me to do, then I shall."

After Satya made her last purchase of the night and the shops where all but closed she figured that getting to her room to change clothes would be the next best thing to do. As she made her way to the Nightshade Inn she realized that should would not have to look far. Satya entered the lively tavern and found the Innkeeper."Hello sir, I am under the employ of Governor Bailash and he told me that there was a room reserved for me for the night."

The man looked her over once and then smiled,"Of course, please right this way." The Innkeeper led Satya up the stairs to the top floor. There where several large doors and the man stopped in front of one. "Will you be needing anything for the night?" the inn keeper asked as he handed Satya her room key.

"A wash basin with some warm water would be excellent." Satya replied as she took the key from him and opened the door to her room. It was very nice. A comfortable bed and a large window on the far wall took up one side of the room. A table, chair, and a wardrobe where along the other. There was a nice simple colorful rug that lined the floor so that when stepping out of bed at night your feet didn't land on the cold hardwood floor.

"Very well, I shall send someone up with it at once," the innkeeper stated then hurried off down the stairs to care for the rest of his establishment.

Satya walked around the room once, then satisfied with her accommodations set out her new dress on the bed and removed her armor and traveling gear. She had stripped down to just her long tunic when there was a knock at the door. She opened it slowly to see a young boy standing there with a large kettle of steaming hot water and clean towels hung over his arm. "You called for me miss?"

"Oh yes, by all means come," As she stepped away from the door to let the serving boy enter. He set the large kettle on the ground and took a wash basin that had been stored on top of the wardrobe and set it on the table. He then poured the hot water in it and laid the clean towels over the back of the chair.

"Will that be all miss?" the boy asked hopefully, as he stood in the middle of the room.

"Yes, thank you," Satya answered. The boy hesitated there in the middle of the room just long enough for her to realize her small indiscretion. "Wait I did forget something." She walks over to her bag and pulls out 2 silver coins for the boy's services, and puts it in the palm of his hand. "Thank you."

The boy grinned, and without another word scurried out of the room. Satya closed the door behind him, then stripped off the last of her clothes and stood by the table and scrubbed herself down till her skin was raw and red from it. Once she was satisfied she ran her fingers through her hair and twisted it up into a loose knot at the nape of her neck and used the leather strap from her turban to keep her hair up. Satya then slipped into her dress and sandals, grabbed a hand full of coins, and headed down to the tavern for some drinks and dancing.

Chiron charged through the gates of Leaphaven and began the ride southwest to the relocated Ilmatari temple. Fifteen minutes later, he spotted the marker; a small cross stood under the limbs of an old scraggy oak. As he drew closer, the details of the marker came clear. It was more than a simple three-foot cross. The vertical beam had been carved to look like a human arm, elbow plunged into the ground and the fingers of a right hand pointing skyward. The crosspiece was a carved left hand and part of the forearm. The two "hands" were tied together at the wrist with a red cord to make the cross-like shape.

He pulled Prajna to a stop and slid from the saddle a few steps from the tree. "You can go home and rest now, girl. Thank you."

The large horse whinnied a reply, playfully nudged the paladin's shoulder and faded away, returning to her celestial home until she was needed again.

"Okay," said Chiron as he turned to the marker, the symbol of Ilmater, "Let's see about finding this entrance." He grabbed the silver chain from around his neck and pulled pulled it free of his shirt. A pair a tiny, finely crafted silver hands hung at the end of the chain, matching, if at a much smaller scale, the bound hands of the marker before him (though each hand ends at the wrist, unlike the marker).

"Ilmater, The One Who Endures," the man whispered as he knelt before the marker, "I am in need of guidance. I seek your patience and long-suffering. Show me the way that I might better serve the town of Leaphaven in its time of need."

Chiron placed his holy symbol around his neck again and slowly opened his eyes, but remained kneeling, waiting for some sign from his god.

Relaxing by the fire, a glass of wine near at hand, Ardulace begins to strum her lute aimlessly. Before too long, the random chords she strums begin to fall into a pattern as she hums a lively melody. After a minute of humming the melody she begins to sing, softly at first, but within a few moments her voice rises fair and clear above the clatter and chatter of the common room.


O’ an old man came courtin’ me, hey do a-darrity,
An old man came courtin’ me, me bein’ young
O’ an old man courtin’ me, hey do a-darrity,
Maids when you’re young never wed an old man

For he’s got no fallorum, faliddle, fallorum
He’s got no fallorum, falliddle fallay
He’s got no fallorum, he’s lost his ding-dor-um
So Maids when you’re young never wed an old man

When we went to our tea, hey do a-darrity,
When we went to our tea, me bein’ young
O’ when we went to our tea, he started teasing me,
Maids when you’re young never wed an old man

For he’s got no fallorum, faliddle, fallorum
He’s got no fallorum, fallidle, fallay.
He’s got no fallurm, he’s lost his ding-dor-um
So maids when you’re young never wed an old man

When we went to our bed, hey do a-darrity
When we went to our bed, me bein’ young
O when we went to our bed, he lay as if ‘twas dead
Maids when you’re young never wed an old man

For he’s got no fallorum, faliddle, fallorum
He’s got no fallorum, faliddle, fallay
He’s got no fallorum, he’s lost his ding-dor-um
So maids when you’re young, never wed an old man

O When he lay fast asleep, hey do a-darrity
When he lay fast asleep me being young
O when he lay fast asleep, I from his side did creep
Into the arms of a handsome young man

And he’s got fallorum, faliddle, fallorum
Yes, He’s got fallorum, faliddle, fallay
Yes he’s got fallorum, he’s found that ding-dor-um
Maids when you’re young never wed an old man

As Chiron prays from his heart to his god, the clouds gather and surround the moon. The silver lunar light is being winked out. Just as it seems the moon's light is going to be blotted out, an opening in the clouds alow for a thin beam of light to stream down, touching the old oak, causing the tree to disappear and in its place, an entrance resembling a mausoleum.

*********************************************

Satya mingles among the goings on in the lounge. The piano music stops as the player gets up to take a pause for the cause. At which time another musician makes use of the gap in music to play something of her own. It sounded like a lively tune and those in the room ate it up:

O’ an old man came courtin’ me, hey do a-darrity,
An old man came courtin’ me, me bein’ young
O’ an old man courtin’ me, hey do a-darrity,
Maids when you’re young never wed an old man......


......And he’s got fallorum, faliddle, fallorum
Yes, He’s got fallorum, faliddle, fallay
Yes he’s got fallorum, he’s found that ding-dor-um
Maids when you’re young never wed an old man

As the beautiful, new musician played, some laughed in delight while others danced to the jaunty tune. When she finished her song, everyone in the room clapped and a few laid a few silver in front of her.

(Lacey made 10 silver for her song)

As Satya wondered through the lounge area she stopped at the bar and ordered a stiff drink. Her feet tapping to the piano music, were ready to carry her away. But she waited and took her time finishing her drink. As its warmth filled her belly she grinned and slowly took in all the life around her.

As the music shifted and became more lively people got up and began to dance. Satya set down her empty glass and wasted no time joining in with the merriment. She wove in and about with all the other people dancing, then threw her head back and let fly laughter she had not released in many years. She whistled and clapped for the musician and other dancers as they took turns around the room and for a small moment she felt like she had come home. The setting was far different but at that moment in the room the spirit was the same. People were setting their cares aside, because once we left this room many were off to battle, war, and an uncertain future. All we had was this moment, right now. As these fleeting thoughts drifted through Satya's mind her eyes began to scan the crowd looking for someone.

Not sure if she would find what she was looking for she continues to dance and intermittently scan the sea of faces. Trying not to be too hopeful but deep down wishing the night would not end alone.

(OOC: As Satya is dancing around and mingling she is looking for a man that does not seem to be attached to a woman already. She is mostly interested in finding a warrior that would understand her need for a night of comfort before heading out to battle. No strings attached. He doesn't have to be super attractive. These people all look exotic to her so many are attractive to her in unique and subtle ways that their own culture has come to take for granted.))

Suddenly realizing how much attention she had unwittingly drawn upon herself, Ardulace gathers up the coins they had tossed her way, and taking her wine along with her, gives the crowd an embarrassed smile, and withdraws from the common room.

In the hall she stops a chambermaid and asks that water for a hot bath be brought to the room of the Lady Evaine Guaire, she slips the ten silver coins she earned with her song to the maid, then hurries on to her room.

Alone in her room she admonished herself for her carelessness. “Do not get too comfortable”, she thought to herself. “These people are not your friends. They accept you only because they do not know what you are. One glimpse of what lies beneath this façade and most of them would happily burn you on a stake. Though you may entertain them and heal them and help them and even save their lives, do not forget that they will hold you to account for all the crimes committed by any of the ilythiiri.”

Having resolved to be more careful, she looks sadly at the lute, then carefully stows it in her Haversack. After making sure her weapons were where she left them, she opens the shutters a crack and peers out the window, scanning all she can see of the street, alert for anything even remotely suspicious. A knock at the door startled her out of her surveillance.

Crossing the room she admitted a long train of maids, each of whom bore a large copper cauldron of steaming water. When the maids had filled the tub in her bath, they filed back out, while Ardulace distributed another handful of silver coins to them as they left. The last maid stopped in the door and looked back at her.

“It is getting quite festive out there, my lady. Will you not rejoin the party? I’m sure the Inn’s guests would enjoy another song” asked the maid.

Ardulace recognized the speaker as the maid she had met in the hall. “Perhaps another night, I have had a trying day.”

The maid bobbed a curtsey, and closed the door on her way out. Ardulace immediately threw the bolt and then jammed a chair beneath the knob to insure her privacy. She double checked all the windows to satisfy herself that they were secure before dousing the lamp and entering the bath.

Shedding her clothes, she kept her Hat of Disguise on longer than was really necessary. She knew she was becoming too dependent upon it, but there was so much hostility towards her kind… she sighed, knowing she would continue to use it as needed. With that, she removed the Hat and, keeping it within arm's reach, sank slowly into the steaming water of the tub.

Safely ensconced in the darkness, she relaxed and let the heat of the water soak into her weary limbs and ease away the stress of the day. Surely, most healers did not truly appreciate the restorative powers of a simple soak in a steaming, hot tub. In short order, the heat left her sweating freely. Sinking beneath the water she let the heat soak into her scalp and neck. The tension in the muscles of her neck seemed to melt away. Rising again above the surface, she soaked for a few more minutes, until she felt the water lose a bit of its intense heat. After scrubbing herself clean of the day’s grime, she wrapped herself in one of the Inn’s luxuriously large and soft towels, and returned to her bedroom.

Kneeling upon the bed, the Hat within easy reach on the bedside table, she spent an hour in meditative prayer, then slipped beneath the blankets and fell fast asleep.