Ch135: Talking in the Hot Spring

Thea slips into the pleasantly hot pond with a softsplash. “Get on with it already!” She impatiently demands, arms crossed beneath her bare breasts.

“Ach, girl, give ‘er a chance ta relax.” Beryl clicks her tongue and shakes her head. She hardly spares that silver-blonde brat a glance, focused more on massaging and kneading at the Drakling’s scalp, stopping only to gently pour some more water onto those strands of crimson hair. “She ‘as ‘ad a long few days o’ travellin’, so give ‘er a break.”

“Ugh!” A pair of beautiful blue eyes, the same colour as a clear and sunny sky, roll around in an increasingly petulant way. “It is not liketalkingtakes a lot of energy! Stop giving her excuses to be lazy!”

“Mmm.” That hum isn’t quite as neutral as normal, tinged with disappointment and disapproval. The rippling surface of this hot spring pool laps at Inanna’s shins as she sits with just her feet in the more than warm water. “You do realize that your complaints are just dragging this out, Thea?”

The silver-blonde brat holds her tongue and simply glares at that Dwarf, her face scrunched into a rather cute and pouty scowl. She would no doubtloveto argue against that point. But she would only be proving that shortstack right.

Beryl’s caressing massage pauses for just a moment. With absolutely no shame, this caramel coloured Wood Elf spreads her legs and slightly scoots forward, pressing her slim body right up against the barbarian’s back. “My dearest love,” she softly speaks, her voice full of reassuring affection. “Ya can begin whenever ya want ta. And feel free ta talk about yer whole trip, if ya’d like. Ya don’t need ta jump straight ta ‘ow ya met this woman. No matter ‘ow impatientyer bratmay be.”

“Okay...” The Drakling tiredly sighs, sinking into this wonderfully warm water that she missed oh so much. Her eyelids are heavy, struggling to stay open, but she does her best to keep them from drooping down. “Just jumping straight to how I got those seeds wouldn’t really make sense, so...”

Exhaustion lingers at the edges of Krvavy’s mind, the fatigue of these past few days catching up to her now that she can sit and rest, surrounded by comfort and love. The relaxing massage that started as Beryl’s attempt at washing her hair isn’t helping her stay awake. Neither is the fact that she is now using that tanned tomboy’s toned tummy as the best pillow ever made...

“I... I guess the whole chain of events, so to speak, started a bit after I got into Raseyne...?” A lightbuzztickles the back of this barbarian’s brain. Annoying as it may be, that incredibly mild discomfortdoeshelp her stay awake. “A thieving little bast– achildstole the less valuable pouch of coins right off of me. So I chased that kid through the city, going across streets and through alleyways, and–”

“How doesthathave anything to do with you meeting some rich noblewoman whore?!”

The barbarian clicks her tongue and meets her exasperated brat’s glared gaze. “If you let me talk then you will find out, okay? Good...” She stifles a sigh, which threatened to becomes a yawn, and gets back on topic. “By chasing that kid I... well, I got lured into a meeting with another Champio–hhn...!”

A soft hiss interrupts that final word, Beryl’s nails scraping across Krvavy’s scalp with a bit more force than intended. The suddenly quite tense tomboy halts her kneading massage.

“Interesting.” Inanna leans forward, squishing her titanic tits into her lap as her chin comes to rest atop her knuckles, the elbow of that arm justbarelyable to press into one of her thick thighs. “Mm... It makes sense that there would be others like you.” She states, copper-orange eyes staring intently at the Drakling. “I presume that the meeting went fairly well, considering that you arrived back here on foot and not via dying?”

“I wouldn’t say that it wentwell...” Krvavy trails off, deciding to leave it at that as she all but feelsher sweet berrygrow even more stressed behind her. “But it didn’t lead to a fight or anything.” She quickly adds, trying to reassure Beryl, even if just a bit.

“What was this other Champion like?” Inanna continues her inquiry, seemingly unbothered by the near-malevolent tension emanating from that tanned tomboy.

“They were...annoying.” The barbarian can’t quite keep the groan from her voice. “They wore a hooded cloak and didn’t show even a bit of skin... I have no idea who or what they may be, I don’t even know if they’re a man or a woman... All I know is that they go by the name ‘Shadow’.”

“And what did this ‘Shadow’ want from you?” The busty Dwarf asks, tilting her head ever so slightly to the side as more and more curiosity enters her otherwise neutral tone.

“Nothing much, really. Shadow just wanted to know what I was doing in Raseyne and if I was going to cause any trouble.” Krvavy responds with a shrug, the faintest smile finding its way onto her lips as Beryl’s long legs loosely wrap around her torso. A pair of nicely toned arms soon follow, getting lazily yet still quite possessively slung over her shoulders. “I, uhm,” she gives her head a light shake, trying to not gettoodistracted. “I wasn’t too happy with Shadow, so... they tried buying my favour by getting me an invitation to a fancy party and even paid for an outfit I could wear there...”

“Mmm, yes. I doubt this ‘Shadow’ figure came off as a trustworthy fellow.” Inanna idly states. “That offer surely must have felt like quite the trap. But I take it that you went anyway?” A tinge of amusement colours the Dwarf’s copper-orange eyes as her question is answered with a slightly embarrassed nod. “And this ‘fancy party’ would have been where you met that wealthy noblewoman, correct?”

“Yeah, though we didn’t really do much more thanmeetthere. We barely even introduced ourselves...”

“And yastillended up in bed wit’ ‘er~? My, she must’ve been realsmittenwit’ ya~!” The tomboyish Wood Elf lightly teases, her energy returning now that the conversation is moving past the Champion that frustrated – and no doubt threatened –her Krvavyso much. “As she should be, o’ course~. Ya are socharmin’, mydearest love, and don’t ya deny it~! Ya got both a bristly bratanda dour Dwarf ta fawn after ya, so it is onlynaturalfer the nobility ta see and be seduced by yersuperiorityas well~!”

A fair bit of colour fills Krvavy’s face, her cheeks nearly as red as her wet hair. “Well... IguessI caught her eye...”

“Aye,o’ courseya did~! Just ‘ow could ya not’ve~? Ya are the embodiment o’ barbaric beauty, mydearest love~!” The tanned tomboy tightens her full body hug, toned thighs squeezing into the black scales that cover this Drakling’s sides as her heel press into those muscled abs. Dexterous fingertips dance across Krvavy’s collarbone, diving beneath the steamy surface of this rocky pool to caress their way into a valley of pale-skinned cleavage. “Sostrongandimposin’~...!” A husky tone underlines the Elf’s all but moaned words. “Somightyand –...!”

“Hmph! Enough!” The blushing brat huffs from across the hot spring. “Stop stroking the ego of thatdegenerate Dragon! Andyou!” Her faintly flustered gaze pierces into Krvavy’s very soul. “Stop stepping around the topic already! Justwhowas this whore of a noblewoman who seduced you?!”

The barbarian bites her bottom lip. If she wasn’t so tired, and if she hadn’t cum just before all of this, then her cock would no doubt be as stiff as can be right now. But, as is, her shaft is still... well, it is still semi-soft. It is impossible to remain completely calm with a lewd Wood Elf clinging onto her like this, pert and perky tits all but resting atop her head...

“Uh,hello?!”

Krvavy lightly shakes her head. “Oh, uh, yeah... You... might actually recognize her name, Thea.” A scowled glare serves as the impatient brat’s only answer to that. “It is... If I’m pronouncing it right, her name isAlexandrina Yuliya Marzannavich, though she just asked me to call herRina.”

A look of confusion fills the noble girl’s face. Her already rather scrunched brow furrows even further, her gaze dropping down to the rippling water. Silently, she repeats that name again and again. “Hh!” She suddenly sucks in a breath of air, her attention snapping back towards the barbarian, staring wide-eyed across the hot spring pond. “Seriously!? You are not justmessing with me, are you?!”

“Oh?” Inanna raises a thick eyebrow and turns her inquisitive gaze over to the silver-blonde brat. “You know of that name? Just who is it?”

Thea doesn’t answer the Dwarf, at least not directly, as she continues to stare at Krvavy with bewildered shock for a few more long seconds. “You slept with...!?You had sex with the Countess of Raseyne?!”

“Yup, but also technically no~.” Krvavy can’t help but smile as she gives that playful answer. “Rina has to remain a virgin for when she eventually gets married, so we didn’t haveactualsex.”

“Y-you...!?” Thea sputters, her mouth opening and closing with hardly any proper words making their way past her kissable lips.

“Mydearest love~!” Delight drips from that venerable title as Beryl’s squeezing, full body hug grows even tighter. “Did yareallygo ta a city and bed its ruler on yer first night there~?! Ah amso proudo’ ya~! Wha’ avirile conquerorya are~!”

“HOW?!” The bratty girl suddenly shouts, justbarelyable to articulate that simple question.

“How~?” A dangerously mischievous glint fills Krvavy’s emerald eyes as she stares across the water at her incredibly flustered brat. “Of courseyouwould want to knowthat~...!” Her lips spread into a predatory grin as she so eagerly begins to answer that girl’s question. “Well, Rina thought that I was just a normal woman at first, so learning that I had a dick was quite thesurprisefor her~. But not an unwelcome one, luckily~. Still, she didn’t have any experience with cocks and wanted to change that by ‘examining’ mine~. So naturally, I let her~. And it wasgreat~! She wasvery thorough, feeling every shudder and twitch as she explored my entire length with her soft and delicate hands~! She even got herlipsinvolved, planting kis–~”

“S-STOP!” Thea loudly – and shakily – shouts, her face filled with a bright red blush that reaches down her neck and over her ears. “Enough, youdisgusting degenerate Dragon! That isNOTwhat I meant! I doNOTneed to hear what you did with thatslut!”

“Oh, butAhwant ta know~...!” Beryl seductively moans, grinding against her barbaric lover’s back as her hands grope and knead those big pale-skinned breasts. “Wha’ did the two o’ ya do next~? Did yaruin‘er wit’ yer tongue~?”

“SHUT UP!” The silver-blonde brat demands, her tone shifting into actual annoyed anger rather than just embarrassment as she splashes water towards Beryl. “Stop encouraging thatdegenerate!” Her hands slap into the water again and again, to no avail. Her frustration only grows as each splash simply hits Krvavy and not the Wood Elf ‘hiding’ behind her.

“No~...!” The tanned tomboy smugly replies, laughing as she remains safe and mostly dry in her cover.

“Mmm.” Inanna hums as she rises to her feet and takes a few steps back, not wanting any errant splashes to get her hair wet. “What kind of woman is this Countess?” She curiously asks.

“She –Tch!Can you stop that already?!” The barbarian heatedly hisses, unhappily wiping a hand across her wet face before glaring towards the brat who wasjustabout to splash some more water her way.

Thea rolls her eyes at that demand but ultimately complies, letting Krvavy take a few long seconds to compose herself.

The barbarian breathes in, holding the steamy air in her lungs for long enough for it start to sting, before very heavily exhaling. “Rina is... she is very playful and teasing.” A faint frown pulls at the corners of Krvavy’s lips. That is veryvague... But... “I feel like that is probably the best way to describe her. Other than saying that she is, uhm, sociable? It is too easy to talk with her, even for someone with the social skills of a rock like myself, and... and she is honestly just enjoyable to be around...”

“And wha’ does she look like, mydearest love~? Just wha’ kind o’beautydid ya bed~?”

A pleasant shiver runs down Krvavy’s spine as those soft, cooing words whisper their way into her slightly pointed ears. “She is... just a little shorter than you are, I’d guess.” The barbarian replies, glancing up to talk to the Wood Elf directly. “She... I’m not really sure if I’d be able to do her any justice by just listing off what she looks like. Rina is aridiculously beautifulwoman, absolutely breathtakingly gorgeous. Not exactly the same kind of tomboyish beauty that you have, but... She just looksincredibly sexual, with anamazingly lewdfigure. Like she wasbuiltfor sex~...”

“Oh, mydearest love~!” Beryl breathily moans, the pointy nub of her clitgrindingagainst the black scales that cover her Draconic lover’s back. “Ah can almost imagine ‘erwrithin’beneath ya~! Is she a blonde like yerbratis~? Does she ‘ave shining golden ‘air~? Beautiful blue eyes~?”

“No...” The barbarian’s breath catches in her throat, her tired mind getting clouded with lust. “Her hair is a silky black, with an almostpurplishsheen to it...” Krvavy replies, heart hammering away as her tanned Elf acts like the shameless lesbian that, well, that she is. “Her eyes are a vibrantviolet, kind of like amethyst versions of your own, really. And they looked even more intense with the black makeup she wore around them...”

“Wha’ o’ ‘er tits~? Just ‘ow does she compare ta Inanna or myself~? Ah know tha’ ya would’ve ‘ad a ‘ard time takin’ yer eyes off o’ them either way~!”

“They were pretty big...” The Drakling admits with a rather wistful sigh, shuddering a bit asher Elfcontinues to fan the flames of her lust. “Maybe a bit smaller than my own, but on her... They just lookedamazing... And her nipples looked sodelicioustoo... They were just sopink, even more so than her rosy skin...”

“Oh?” Inanna suddenly speaks up, raising a single thick brow as she meets Krvavy’s slightly hazy gaze. “Did she have pink skin? That is not typical for a Human, unless you are exaggerating how she looked when flushed with arousal?”

“Yeah, she has pink skin.” The barbarian nods her head more by instinct than anything. “And she isn’t a Human, not fully. She is ahalfMoon Elf, though I thought she was just an Elf when I saw her.”

“Oh?” Beryl’s lewd ‘act’ fades away in an instant, shoved aside by her sudden curiosity. “She is an Elf? AMoon Elf? And yet she rules over some Human lands? Well, guess now Ah‘ave tago wit’ ya next time ya travel ta Raseyne, mydearest love. And ya ‘ave no excuse ta deny me tha’! Ya said it yerself: it was completely safe!”

“Tsk.” Krvavy clicks her tongue, thatthreatso effortlessly snapping her from her lustful daze. She blinks a few times before glancing up at the Wood Elf, glaring at that upside-down, flushed, and innocently smiling face. “Maybe I just won’t ever go back to Raseyne?”

“Ach, don’t be so stubborn, ya paranoid and worrisome Dragon...” Beryl dramatically sighs, giving her barbaric lover’s entire body a light squeeze. “Ah ave got ta show myappreciationtowards the woman who gave all o’ those incredibly valuable seeds ta ya. And, o’ course, I also must thank ‘er fer satin’ yer lusts in our stead~.”

“Ugh...! Can we stop talking about thatwhoreof a Countess already?!” Thea bristles a bit, glancing down into the Drakling’s lap with a slightly longing look in her eyes as she continues to sit all alone on the other side of the hot spring.

Beryl’s lips twitch down into a slight frown. “Callin’ ‘er a‘whore’? Tha’ is a bit ‘arsh, don’t ya think?”

“No.” The silver-blonde brat coldly replies, firmly crossing her armsoverher breasts. “We gave Krvavy permission to sleep outside of her ‘harem’ so that she could sate her lust. But this ‘Alexandrina’ woman hasseducedour Krvavy and stolen her heart!”

“Ya are bein’ a bit dramati–”

“No I am not!” Thea slams her hands down into the water, causing it to splash around her as she rises to her feet. “Krvavy, you incorrigibly perverted lizard, do not eventryto deny it! You have fallen in love with a woman you spent asingle nightwith!”

“I...” Krvavy bites the inside of her cheek, knowing full well that what she is about to say will not help her case. But she has to be honest with her girls. “I spenttwonights with Rina...”

“That makes iteven worse!” The noble girl stomps her way through the water, grabbing at Krvavy’s horns as she stands in front of the Drakling. “Have you no shame?! Must we prevent you from even laying those lustful eyes of yours on other women, lest you fall in love with them too?! Ugh! You frustratingly degenerate Dragon!”

With absolutely no warning at all, Thea gives the Drakling’s horns a good tug, jerking Krvavy’s head forwards so that she canclaimthose pale lips as her own. Warmth flows from silver-blonde brat to barbarian as a dainty tongue forces its way into the Drakling’s mouth.

Krvavy is, understandably, caught off guard by this abrupt and rather passionate kiss. Her mind takes a second to reboot. But just as she begins to reciprocate...

“Hah...!” The bratty girl pulls back from that kiss, a string of saliva connecting her lips to those of her Draconic lover. “You can not have the Countess!” Her chest rapidly rises and falls as, rather than take even asecondto catch her breath, Thea instead continues to spit out these scolding words. “Not just because I would votenoto her becoming one ofyour girls, but because she is aCountess! Shecan notbe dragged all the way out here to live with you, withus! And Iknowthat is what you want! Do not deny it, you degenerate!”

“Yeah, alright, alright, I know!” Krvavy hisses back, swatting Thea’s hands away from her horns to finally stop her head from getting violently shaken around. “I’m not going to throw away everything I have just for her, so calm down...”

“Hmph! I am of the mind toforbidyou from spending any time with that harlot at all!” Thea firmly crosses her arms and slowly lowers herself down into the water. “But... I will give you another chance and trust that you will not be swayed by any furthergiftsshe gives you...!”

The barbarian blinks and raises her brow as that brat nestles into her lap. Not knowing what else to do, she wraps her arms around that girl’s waist and holds Thea tight.

“Mmm. You had quite the eventful trip.” Inanna idly states after a few moments of silence. “What else happened during your time in Raseyne?”

“Well...” Krvavy’s mind swirls, strained and pushed to its limit by her exhaustion and the emotional whiplash it just suffered from. And... Her head tilts back, pressing into Beryl’s belly, as she finds herself looking up at the rocky ceiling above, staring into space.

Thereisone thing that she needs to talk about, but... Should she bring up her existential crisis? The fact that she isn’t from this world, thisreality, and that she came into it thinking that it was a video game?

Krvavydidpromise herself that she’d tell her girls when she got back home, and theydodeserve to know that she isn’t exactly who she claims to be...

But that is a... that is abigconversation to have, and it already very late in the day. She got home around the time they’d usually go to bed. So not only isshetired after her long journey, but so are her girls...

And, on top of that, she also has some more pressing news as well. Krvavy will have to leave again pretty early in the morning tomorrow. She doesn’t want to miss her chance to kill that lightning wizard... So she’ll have to postpone talking about... her existential crisis... untilaftershe gets back from that.

Krvavy is fully aware that those are just excuses for her to procrastinate and put off a heavy conversation. But she is too tired to really care about that.

“You had better not be thinking about that Countess...” Thea quietly grumbles. “I do not want to hear any more about that whore...!”

“No, sorry, I’m just... I’m just tired.” The barbarian gently shakes her head, before taking a very deep breath. “Thereissomething that I really need to talk with you all about, but... not right now.” There, that’ll help ease her conscience and keep her from feeling too guilty for constantly putting that conversation off. Her girls, probably Thea for the most part,willmake her talk about it at some point.

“Ah’m sorry, mydearest love. Ya ‘ad a long few days and ‘ere we are interrogatin’ ya instead o’ lettin’ ya rest.” Beryl tenderly rubs her Draconic lover’s shoulders as she leans forwards and plants a soft kiss on Krvavy’s cheek. “We can finish this tomorrow if ya’d like ta go ta bed.”

“No, it... I havetwoimportant things to talk about, but one is... a lot more time sensitive than the other.”

“Does one of these topics, or perhaps both, relate to this ‘Shadow’ figure?” Inanna inquisitively asks.

“Yes.” Krvavy nods her head and sighs.

“Do... we need ta worry about tha’ other Champion?” The Wood Elf wonders, letting a bit of her earlier concern enter her voice.

“Probably not...?” Krvavy hesitantly replies, her uncertainty not doing much to relieve Beryl’s worry. “I’ve made itveryclear what I’ll do if Shadow wrongs me, and the sneaky bastard is smart enough to know that I’ll get even more extreme if they so much asthreatenany of you. So while I don’t exactlytrustShadow, I don’t think that you need to worry much about them.”

“Ugh! Stop beating around the bush and talk about whatever this ‘important thing’ is already!” Thea impatiently demands, pressing her elbow into the barbarian’s belly.

“Alright, alright.” Krvavy reluctantly relents, a long sigh squeezing past her parted lips. “I’ll be heading out again in the morning.”

“Ah take it tha’ ya ‘ave got a good reason fer tha’?” Beryl asks, her voice just alittlefirm and unhappy. Krvavy only just came back to her.

“Yup, I do.” The Drakling replies, pausing to yawn. “According to Shadow, the lightning wizard that works for the Duke is currently heading south to meet with the Dwarves, and that in roughly three days from now he should make it to a big stone bridge that he’ll use to cross the river. I want to be there waiting in ambush so that I can kill him.”

“Are you not worried that it may be a trap for you?” Inanna questions, raising a thick eyebrow as she holds Krvavy’s gaze. “You do not trust this ‘Shadow’ figure, after all, so why trust the information they give you?”

Krvavy gives a single shrug before she tiredly responds. “I’m pretty sure our interests align here. Shadow doesn’t want the Duke to get whatever it is he wants from the Dwarves.”

“Do you not find itsuspiciousthat the chance to get revenge on the person whoactuallykilled you is being dangled right in front of your face?” Thea glances sideways at the barbarian, her eyes narrowed into thin and judgmental slits. “This is the perfect bait for alizardwho doesn’t think about her actions...”

“I’ll have you know that Idothink about my actions, thank you very much.” Krvavy’s shoulders slump slightly as she leans in and rests her chin atop that girl’s head. “I usuallyoverthinkthem too...”

“Never would have guessed.” The bratty girl rolls her eyes as those sarcastic words leave her lips.

“Look, I’m pretty sure its just a coincidence. Shadow had no way of knowing that I even knew of that lightning wizard, because I was honestly confused when he was brought up. Shadow called him ‘Patriarch’... uh, something or another... Gregory, maybe?” The Drakling gently bites her bottom lip, before giving up trying to remember his actual name. “Doesn’t matter. The point is that Shadow wouldn’t have known that I’d want to kill him, specifically.”

“So ya want ta leave early in the morn?” Beryl speaks up before Thea can sass the barbarian again.

Krvavy lightly shakes her head, nuzzling intoher princess’silver-blonde hair. “No. Ihave toleave that early... I don’t want to be exhausted from running all the way there and then immediately have to rush into battle. And I also don’t want to miss out on this chance altogether.”

“Mmm.” The Dwarf thoughtfully hums. “Fighting someone adept in magic is no easy feat. And you did not fare so well against him the first time.”

“I was also level... eight at the time.” Krvavy yawns again, relaxing intoher sweet berry’shug and the hug she is givingher beautiful brat. “Iwouldlike to be even stronger, but a chance like this doesn’t come along every day. And its not like I’ll becompletelyoutclassed. Shadow gave me some sort of anti-magic grenade to throw at him.”

“Mmm...”

“Ya are dead set on doin’ this?” Beryl softly asks, already knowing the answer before Krvavy can even nod. “Right. Then ya’ll be takin’ Khalia wit’ ya.”

The barbarian tenses up. “No.”

“Tha’ wasn’t a suggestion, mydearest love.” The Wood Elf firmly states, her blue-green eyes hardening as she glares down at the Drakling. “Yawillbe takin’ Khalia along wit’ ya.”

“And if it turns out I’m running right into a fight that I have no hope of winning? What then?” Krvavy almost growls back, meeting Beryl’s glare with her own narrowed eyes. “I can come back from death. She can not.”

“If ya think tha’ the both o’ ya dying is a possibility, then ya shouldn’t go in the first place.” Beryl forcibly returns, her bright blue-green gaze hard and unwavering. “Mydearest love, if ya fail in killin’ this wizard then a single death would be the least o’ yer worries. Ya are likely the only one o’ yer kind in this region, and ya look quite distinctive. This wizard will almost certainly recognize ya as the same Drakling tha’ ‘eincineratedbefore. Do Ahneedta tell ya wha’ the consequences o’ tha’ could be?”

The barbarian doesn’t respond to that, simply exhaling sharply as she continues to stubbornly meet the Elf’s harsh gaze.

“Ya ‘ave a better chance o’ survivin’ando’ actually killin’ tha’ wizard if ya ‘ave Khalia wit’ ya, mydearest love.” Beryl reiterates, placing a hand on Krvavy’s shoulder. “She is far stronger than ‘er level would suggest,andshe is a higher level than ya are. The only way ya are goin’ without ‘er is if ya takemeinstead, and Ah’ll say tha’ she’ll be more effective against tha’ wizard and wha’ever guards ‘e ‘as than Ah would be.”

“Fine...!” Krvavy hisses back, not particularly happy about relenting to her tomboyish Elf’s demands. But she doesn’t really have the energy to keep protesting...

“Now, ‘ow strong ‘ave ya gotten...?”

Beryl’s question trails off expectantly as the familiar non-physical feeling ofInspectintrusively pokes at the barbarian’s awareness. With a reluctant sigh, Krvavy lets the scrying through.

“Ach, ya didn’t level up...” The Wood Elf slowly shakes her head as her eyes trail across an empty spot of air in front of her. “Oh? Ya got a new trait. And it is... Huh...”

Krvavy’s eye twitches as she feels another set of non-physical prodding at the edge of her mind. The question of who is usingInspecton her is answered with just a quick glance down at the impatiently curious brat nestled in her lap.

“Just ‘ow did ya get tha’ new trait? It isn’t somethin’ ya would ‘ave bought, is it?”

“No. I got it, and some more favour, after spending the second night with Rina...” The Drakling tiredly yawns that answer, not bothering to elaborate any further.

“Interestin’... It will definitely ‘elp ya grow stronger at a quicker rate...” Beryl muses, her dexterous fingers digging into Krvavy’s shoulder and giving it a squeeze. “Well... Is tha’ all? Do ya ‘ave anythin’ else ta say about yer trip?”

The barbarian takes a moment to think, her mind feeling heavy and slow after this excruciatingly long day she’s had. “Nothing important, I don’t think. Just... remind me to talk about that other thing when I get back from killing the wiza– uh,Patriarch, okay...?”

“Aye, mydearest love.” The tanned Elf nods her head. “Now, Ah’d say tha’ it is time we ‘ead ta bed. And when Ah say tha’, Ah do meanour bed. Because, mydearest love, the moss ‘ad fully settled in on it while ya were away. So no longer will ya need ta rest on those pelts...! Ya’llfinallyget ta experience wha’ it is like ta sleep on tha’ big bed ya made fer us!”

“It is... surprisingly nice...” Thea quietly grumbles as she reluctantly rises from the barbarian’s lap.

Inanna watches the three of them step away from the hot spring pool before holding out a few towels. “Here. Dry yourselves off first.”

“Thanks.” Krvavy tiredly responds, hardly having the energy to stay standing.

She just wants to lie down and pass out already...