Bai returned from retrieving her soap. "All this talk of building, perhaps that's not a bad idea, just have a little home with a library, or better yet a library with a little bedroom." She laughed quietly at her joke and relaxed in the water. "Have you heard anyone else's plans? Or is Pipre the only truly ambitious one out of us all?"

Pipre looks over at Victoria, a bit of a smile tugging at her lips. "We might could use a boat, before long. There are such a thing as lake and river pirates that disrupt water trade further west, they got a little marsh town called Drowned Trees. We'll probably be glad for your expertise by then."

She takes another drink before addressing Bai, "Remind me to show you my library if we make it out that far south."

"Pipre, I hope it's ok to ask, but who are you? You know an awful lot about the local banditry, you have a home further south, at first blush it wasn't a hard assumption to think you were a bandit. That's not the case though, I suspect you're something else all together, might I ask what brings you to working for de la Maistre and where you came from?" Bai looked at Pipre with a tinge of concern, she knew this was likely pushing her luck, but the questions had been weighing on her for some time now.

Pipre's eyes light up with caprice, a small smile playing at plush lips, "I don't mind telling you but first I must know what you're suspecting. You can say it, it won't anger me."

Bai return the smile, "Well my suspicions have ranged from former bandit in exile to a supplier for them, though each suspicion I have seems to have a flaw when I reflect on what I've heard."

Pipre looks a bit let down, "Aw, I thought it was going to be something juicy." She leans back in the water, stretching out a bit. "Yeah, I was in a bandit gang back before the Stag Lord took over. Things became less fun and more violent after that. Before we only took from those who could afford it; we used fear or distractions rather than killing.  We didn't live lavishly but we got along, especially since we didn't have to send up most of our earnings to a big jerk like the Stag Lord." She lifts her left wrist where a small, crude little tattoo is shown, "We were the Black Hatchets, and we were pretty great for a while there, but that was only one part of my life. I never really hung my identity on being a bandit so I was quick to leave before things got bad." The tattoo is, as expected, a black hatchet.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:22, Thu 02 June 2016.

Bai keeps her face serene as she stretches in the water, glancing towards her drying clothes on the bush just out of the water. "I know it really isn't my place to pass judgement on other people's past, I haven't been in these parts long enough to learn enough of how things work out here. But I have to ask, you seem pretty proud of your past in that gang, do you think it would be hypocritical to pass judgement on people doing what you use to do?"

Vik finished her washing and climbed out of the pool, getting back into her small clothes and armour.

"I shall leave these discussions for you two to sort out. I must see to it that my squire hasn't got herself into trouble."

--->To the Fire

"I fail to see the hypocrisy and perhaps you've noticed that I've been trying very had to convince them to leave the profession that I myself did. I could understand you accusing me of hypocrisy if I was or still intended to be a bandit, but I'm not and I don't. A reformed bandit trying to get other bandits to reform seems to be the least hypocritical thing I can think of." She has taken to washing her own clothes by this point. "But, what about you? I think I've opened myself to enough clumsy scrutiny-- what's your story?"

Bai nodded, perhaps in agreement or maybe something else. "I do hope it hasn't come off as too clumsy, it wasn't my intent to insult. I just don't really understand that lifestyle, that's all. I just asked because you seemed to dislike the Stag Lord, or is it lords, for doing what seems like much of what you did. I doubt it's something as simple as because they stopped you from doing what you did, but I just don't see the difference. Thomas always said I was a bit too blunt at times, so I'll assume that's what I did here." She looked down at the water for a bit which seemed to ripple away from her. "I don't think I really have much of a story, to be honest. I'm a widow who has a knack with picking things up. I married young, but sickness took my husband a few years back. I heard about the expedition here and I figured that perhaps I could help out, idle hands and all that you know." As she told her short tale Bai didn't emote much, instead focusing on her fingernails.

"Ah, sorry to hear that," Pipre says, letting a thoughtful moment pass before continuing, "One of the things you've picked up seems to be some knack with magic and the wind. I've never hid my proclivities as an alchemist but I'm not sure exactly what to classify the source of your magic. It doesn't seem exactly arcane." After oiling her leather cuirass she wrings out and ties up her hair, the tousling allowing the pleasant floral fragrance of the essential oils she used in it to diffuse into the air around her. She hops up onto the bank, sitting on a thick cloth that she dries her shiny, hairless skin off with, the chilled bottle resting between her thighs.

Bai smiled but shook her head, "Thank you, but it's my past. What's done is done, you know. What do you mean about the wind though?" She looks a bit confused at Pipre, while reaching out of the water and grabbing an overhanging branch and breaking it off "I'll be the first to admit I don't really understand much of it. I just seem to be able to do things, though what causes it or where it comes from, I won't pretend to fully understand." She focuses on the branch for a moment and flinches a bit and the end of the branch starts to smolder and slowly catches fire. "Something like this, I know what I want to happen and I know how to do it, but I couldn't really explain how I go about causing it to happen." She shrugs and places the branch on the ground under her clothes, not close enough to set them alight but still it will speed up the drying.

"Hm. Can't say I really understand either. Must be nice." Pipre continues toweling off, putting on the loose white slip and a pair of arm cuffs to keep it from falling completely off of her slim arms. The neck is quite wide and slouches down to expose the top of her chest and delicate shoulders. She ties her cloth 'shoes' back on, really just thatched soles that cover the ball of her feet and are kept on with broad cloth wraps. "Do you want to walk back together?" Pipre asks, the opened bottle of ale dangling from pale, fragile fingers.

Bai watched the flame dance on the branch as he clothes continued to slowly dry, the turned to regard Pipre when the woman asked her about returning, "No, I think I'll sit a little while yet, my clothes still need to dry too. Thank you though."

She picks up the bundle of her supplies and nods, "Suit yourself."

--> Tower 1
This message was last edited by the player at 16:46, Fri 03 June 2016.

Bai relaxed in the water for a while after Pipre left, she was pretty sure that the woman still didn't like her, but not everyone in the world would. When she felt her clothes were fully dry she left the water and stood naked next to the fire, letting the water dry naturally. Something about drying without a towel always seemed to help stress just drift away. When she was finally content she nodded towards the fire and muttered a bit and a quick splash of water appeared above the fire, dousing it. She dressed slowly, taking her time and then when was finally dressed she took a few moments to do what she could to return the pool to how it had looked before the women had visited it. Finally satisfied she left the pool in search of something to eat.

>Fire

---

New Day

---

--> From Around about Oleg's -->

Andalon walked out from the bushes that screened the pool from the path and headed straight toward the water. He glanced around briefly and selected a convenient log near the pool to sit and start to remove his gear. He laid his weapons and other gear down on the poolward side in front of the log then started unbuckling his studded leather armour.

As Andalon pushed through the bushes, he catches a glimpse of what could be someone in the pool area.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:36, Sat 11 June 2016.

Pipre was splashing lightly with her movements. In the sun her pale skin, bruised hips, thighs, and shoulder shone with a fragrant oil she was rubbing into her soft skin. She was sitting on an underwater rock shelf and as Andalon approached she shifted slightly. Her knees were raised out of the water, she pressed them together and let her calves maintain a bit of modesty, for Andalon's sake. She didn't seem worried about her bare chest. "Ah, hey there. The water is nice, feel free to come in." she said in her low, smoky tone.

"Thanks, I will. I'm sorry to disturb you. I didn't realise anyone else was here," Andalon replied.

Andalon sat down at a log near the pool and shed his gear and studded leather armour. He avoided looking at the alchemist in the pool as he didn't want to cause any embarrassment. When he was fully undressed he walked down into the water and sank down into its cool embrace. Only then did he turn to face Pipre.

"The water feels so good ..." he began before the expression of contentment on his face suddenly turned to embarrassment as his eyes fixed on her chest.

"Oh, gods! I'm so sorry. I didn't realise you are a girl!"

(Edited - Pipre is not a Halfling ;o)
This message was last edited by the player at 04:06, Sun 12 June 2016.

(lol, I do not know what idea you got about me. Not a halfling and I walk around in short shorts and with tits nearly out- I have a character description with an unmistakable feminine figure. 5' 3" which is short but not halfling short :p)

(oops - I hadn't read your character description and Andalon was just oblivious! He had only thought of Pipre as a short alchemist without ever thinking of her gender. ;o)

Pipre arched her half-eyebrow. "Not very observant, are you?" She asks, non-plussed. She stands up, proving she was indeed all woman as rivulets of water glisten down the bell of her hips and long, shapely legs. "Enjoy the bath." She moved up onto the bank, squeezing out her hair as best she can before putting it up in a pair of short, voluminous pigtails at either side of the back of her head, her bangs tousled and swept to one side.

After putting on her shorts she sets out- she didn't seem to have brought a towel and was going to let the rest of herself sun dry on the walk back to Oleg's. She walked away gingerly, a bit of a stutter-limp to her step that mostly disappeared by the time she made it back.

Andalon was horrified that he had made such a blunder.

"Wait!" he called as he saw Pipre leaving. "You are injured. Allow me to relieve that at least."

Without waiting for permission he splashed out of the pool, grabbed his holy symbol and held it forward to channel the power of his god into a wave of healing energy.