Braghnia

Mambele hrmps. "Cats and water. I should have known." he shakes his head. Turning to Tulkavoa'e, he bows. "Well, I think I'll head over there myself. Should you not be joining me, then I wish you a very pleasant evening. Please take care, though. Don't follow any strangers outside of public areas!" he advices before heading out.

The Wilden stands up with Mambele. "We will come with you to the hot water!"

Mambele looks delighted. He gently grasps Tulka's hand and leads her off through the crowd. Reaching the location with ease, he rings the bell and awaits for someone to tend to them. Meanwhile, he looks through the list of options. "Saltwater bath. Not sure if that's healthy for you, miss Tulka, but I suppose you could always try it and decide. Maybe a peat-bath would be more to your liking. Of course, we could just go for traditional springwater..." he ponders.

A slim, young and attractive minotaur approaches the duo. "Welcome to Braghnia springs. What can I do for you today?" She says politely. She looks over you both closely. "Oh! You are the winner of the weight lifting competition! I must say that I was very impressed by your ingenuity. You are entitled to a free soak!" She bows to Mambele. "Your friend is welcome as well. I must say that you should have won that trivia competition! That no good Hepplegrew is a liar and a cheat!" She calms down. "Please, follow me. Which bath would you like today?"

Mambele bows before the minotaur, taking advantage that she cannot see her eyes in this position to take a quick glance at the creature's lovely body. "I'll have the herbal bath. Something fragrant. Maybe a touch of rosewater." he says. "Throw in some hair washing too if you have it. I'll take it there's an extra charge for dreadlocks?" he wonders, rubbing at his own poofy explosion of serpentine dreads.

She giggles. "Oh no. No charge for you today, sir." She winks at him and turns to Tulka. "And for you, madam?"

Tulka looks around at her surroundings before answering. "We thank you. You are kind. We would enjoy a simple bath, but do not know much about them. Is there one that you would recommend us?"

The woman looks you over. "With you, I would suggest our mineral water bath. Very fortifying. I'll make sure we throw in the whole works too. A massage, perhaps a trim?" She grinned. "Follow me." She takes you into the building and shows Mambele to a door. "This room for you, sir. Come with me, ma'am." She leads Tulka down to another door. "Go ahead inside." She then leaves you.

Inside the rooms are large pools, bubbling and steaming. There are signs saying to wait for the attendants before stepping in. Before too long someone comes into your rooms. Mambele is greeted by a stunningly beautiful elven woman and Tulka's assistant is an exceptionally handsome man. He looks confused for a moment but his training takes over and he smiles. They both prepare the water per your orders and tell you to strip to what you would be most comfortable.

Meanwhile...

As Fang explores the town and takes in the sights of the festivities, he becomes aware that he is being followed. Every time he turns around, though, he sees nothing out of the ordinary. Disconcerted, his wanderings take him to an interesting shop full of many unique trinkets. The shopkeeper, an ancient halfling man, greets him.

"Hello! Welcome to my shop! What can I get for you? I have many wondrous things! Ask me for anything and I'm almost guaranteed to have it!"

Mambele's fertile imagination had already prepared him for a number of worst-case scenarios. Namely, walking into a room full of huge minotaurs in towels, jeering at him that the ladies room was on the other side of the building. He had even pictured a minotaur warlock, twirling a rod twice the size of his own and making the appropriate remarks. He had NOT, on the other hand, prepared for the best-case scenario, and he finds himself at a loss for words.

"Hello, I'm..." He stops to think. The future ruler of a land beyond the Great Rift? An adventurer in a quest to save the world? The guy who was this close to winning the village trivia contest? "....Mambele. Is this my tub?"

Tulkavoa're has no clothes to strip of, and gets into the hot water prepared for her. "What are you called?" she asks the attendant.

Mambele:

The elven woman's voice is melodious. "You may call me Surrel. Yes, this is your tub, as you call it." She giggles. "Please take off your robes before entering, Mambele. Although if you are not comfortable unclothed then you may use a wrap." She points to stack of neatly folded strips of cloth behind you. "If you wish me to leave then I will give you privacy. The water is prepared to your liking." She bows.

---

Tulka:

"My name is Artus. Is the water temperature to your liking, milady?" He asks in a deep yet soft voice.

"It is quite nice; we enjoy it, Artus." She leans back against the tub wall and soaks.

Fang was feeling a tad paranoid, but once he entered the shop, he seemed to forget about his supposed pursuer. "Hm? Oh, uh,I"m just looking around really..." He glanced around the room, crossing his arms over his chest. He thought about asking the halfling about his father, but felt it would be a waste of time. "Hmmm..."

Mambele smiles as he strips off his robes, folding them neatly and placing them on a chair. He winces a bit as he steps into the hot water. Looking around, he notices the other patrons are too busy relaxing in their own tubs to pay any attention to him, and feels a bit more at ease. "Thank you kindly, Miss Surrel. I haven't done much traveling here before, but I think I may find my path straying here more often in the future." he decides, closing his eyes and sinking deeper into the water. Unconcerned about the prospect of any dangers, he has placed his weapons and armor out of reach.

Tulka:

"Would you like trim, madame?" Artus holds up a pair of clipping shears and blushes. "I used to be a gardener before I worked here. I know that plants will grow healthier and stronger if the undesirable branches are removed. I suppose that is why I was chosen as your attendant."

---

Fang:

As you contemplate you suddenly realize that the old man is holding your scythe! "Interesting choice of a weapon, Fang. But you'll need a different edge if you're going after Margesh!" He drops the scythe on the ground and pulls out another from behind his counter. The handle looks like polished mahogany and the blade glitters in the light.

---

Mambele:

"I see you are not modest, Mambele!" Surrel blushes slightly. "I believe you wished to wash your hair? It would be easier to undo it and then re-bind them. I have the fastest hands of the attendants." She blushes again as she realizes what she just said. "I mean that I am good with hair."

Fang suddenly realized he was holding his scythe. "Hey, shorty, paws off- wait... how do you know my name?" He blinked, then slammed his hands on the counter and leaned close."And how do you know Margesh!?!??" He glanced down at the awesome looking scythe, moving away from the halfling to give him some space before picking it up to examine the weapon.

Fang:

The scythe looks like it was made for battle. The blade is engraved with depictions of lions.

"Silvered." The old man says simply. "Oh, I believe there is someone waiting outside for you."

He noticed the silvered blade,t hen glanced up at him. "Outside?" He turned his head, glancing out the window to see if he recognized the person out there.

Fang:

As you turn you realize that you are outside. The shop is gone. And so is the old halfling. You are standing in an open plot. As you are wondering what happened you catch sight of the elven woman you had met, and fought, earlier. She seems to be staring at you.

The wilden nods in agreement. "We would like this trim you speak of, Artus." She closes her eyes and just enjoys the warmth and pampering. A plant lady could get used to this!

Fang stands there, staring back at her, then realizes his previous scythe was gone and he was still holding the silvered scythe. "Um... hi.", was all he said, wondering if he had suddenly zoned out and was talking to himself.

Mambele cannot help but laugh at that, and he casts the elf an apologetic grin. "That's good to know. I don't think I'm in a hurry, though, but I suppose I shouldn't keep you from your other chores. It would please and honor me greatly to have you work on my hair, Lady Surrell."

Tulka:

Artus sits behind you as you soak and begins to clip the scraggly branches. Dead leaves and twigs start to pepper the ground around him. He hums as he works, a soothing melody that you have not heard before. He pauses a moment and plucks something from your scalp, but sets it aside and continues. About a half an hour later, he stops.

"All done, madame. You are looking much better. You should get much more light now." He chuckles. "Oh, I found this in your branches. I don't know what it is." He hands a small fruit of some sort. The skin is tough and leathery and some part of you tells you that you must keep it safe.

---

Mambele:

"Then I shall work." She sits behind you and quickly undoes your dreadlocks and begins to massage your scalp with soap and fragrance. As she works you start to drift off to sleep. You are awoken by the sound of steps. "You should not be in here, sir." Surrel says. She gasps. "Forgive me, sir!"

A deep voice speaks behind you. "Hello, Mambele."

Mambele narrows his eyes, not turning around yet. That voice fills him with unease, but he's still groggy from sleep and cannot quite place it. "I knew I should have checked my horoscope today." he groans out loud, and steps out of the tub, turning around. He's naked, dripping wet, and the hair on one side of his head is poofier than the other due to Surrell's work.

OOC Thank goodness for high intimidation skills. He's gonna need 'em!

OOC Also, Tulka's a mommy? Nice!