Thread: The Adventures of Yaiil (NakedTea and Cherubian)

The sun shone down upon the coastal city-state of Arlun with all it's usual relentless, cheery diligence, bound and determined to bring just a little more light and warmth into everyone's day, even to those who might well feel they've had quite enough attention from the sun already. Oh yes, summer is in full bloom upon the eastern shores, the very waves of the Emerald Sea settling into a sluggish lull under the mounting heat. But boiling as though the conditions might be, business goes on as ever. In the streets of the sprawling markets wares merchants clamor to be heard over their competitors, hawking their goods to the people walking by, promising the freshest produce, the finest wares, the cheapest bargains. And if the sun brought perspiration rolling down the backs of buyers and sellers alike, then it was doubly harsh upon the 'cattle' sold in the great slave auctions, the skin of the poor girls chained to the trading posts glistening with sweat as nobles and merchants appraise them like so much meat. Arlun sits upon one of the few safe routes through the stormy Emerald Sea, a gate into the unmapped eastern reaches for the few brave or foolhardy enough to venture into those savage lands. Bordered on one side by the brilliant white sands of the shoreline and the other three by untamed jungle, Arlun is surrounded, reachable only by a long sea voyage, yet still it prospers by the sheer value of the exotic goods ferried to and fro. A shining jewel of civilization in the vicious wilds. The people here were as mixed a lot as you can imagine, merchants and explorers, pirates and fishermen, nobles and common laborers, the tan olive tones of those who had lived their lives on the shores and the silky white of those fresh off the boat from southern lands. Even elves. In fact, it is one elf in particular who concerns us now, for she is the hero of this story, freshly embarked upon a grueling journey into the jungle in search of adventure and in pursuit of coin. Work are in no short supply here, always a few dangerous beasts from the jungle that need slaying or barring that, at least good employ unloading ships at the harbor. But nothing truly high paying. Nothing truly challenging. Doing busywork around town was getting boring fast... So it was good then she had just received a job offer that promised to be a tad bit more interesting. ------ The bathhouse in which Yaiil's employer has arranged to meet her is a bustling place in this sweltering heat, fresh, cool water pumped in from from nearby rivers providing much needed relief to many. Bare flesh is on display in all directions, the slave girls bathing and oiling the patrons the only ones wearing anything at all, even if it only see-through veils. There's no privacy to be found in the main baths, but one of the slaves soon directs Yaiil towards a private room, where her employer is waiting. Already nude and basking in the pool, Sir Anthony Delusie is an imposing figure, if not perhaps the image of good health he once was. Even at it's deepest point the water barely reaches just below the giant of a man's chest, but ten years of rich food and little exercise have stripped that towering physique of the muscle it once had and left him with a slight, but noticeable paunch. A broad smile breaks over his face as the elf enters and he waves away the servants, leaving them alone. Ah, Yay-el, was it? So glad we could meet. He says, tongue stumbling over the foreign syllables of her name.