"I do so love a bit of sport," the succubus replied, rising from her seat and taking a spot at Elizabeth's side. "I couldn't tell you where he is, I haven't had the chance to familiarize myself with the estate yet. Your guess is as good as mine." That was the last bit of vocalization she offered, seeming content to allow the armed armored heiress to lead. Exiting the room her cousin had granted her, the rogue quickly found her way through the hallway and back into the main hall. The grand foyer was much more active on the heiress's latest visitation. Refugees sat huddled near the columns, some were in the attire of peasant or servant and some were in the tattered ruins of the clothing of nobility. There were at least fifteen of the survivors in the foyer, which made the large room feel noticeably less large, especially when accompanied by the guard presence. The doors were guarded by four pikemen, who for their part seemed as wary of the refugees as they were of anything that might bust in from the outside. The guard captain stood near the foot of the grand staircase, but he was busy speaking with two armored men, presumably knights, and did not notice Elizabeth straightaway.
It was as she surveyed the room that a few servants, clad in long, but pragmatic, black dresses that nearly touched the floor, sporting white aprons on top of those scurried out of the door of the reception room the Silver noblewoman had spoken to Erhard in. As a woman trained to notice the little things, Elizabeth couldn't help but spot that the two servants' hands were covered in the soot of gunpowder. They appeared to be on their way toward the hallway she had just emerged from, the door of which the heiress was still only a few feet away from. Elizabeth could halt them and ask where the training room was, or take any other options that she might want to pursue in the foyer.
Elizabeth’s first priority was solidifying her team, and with Karina still napping, she thought it best to start with the conscious members, that and the idea of Erhard approaching Alice with his member put a sour look on the heiress’s face, or at least it would if she wasn’t trained to contain any signs of her emotions whatsoever. Though as it was, the presence of even that much concern for the young handmaid did unsettle Elizabeth, what did she care of Alice hopped on her cousin’s cock? It wasn’t like it would make things difficult for her; well, now that wasn’t exactly true, if Alice slept with Erhard it’d would likely make her less open to his murder, of course if their ‘relationship’ ended badly…
Regardless now was an opportune time to find herself a servant and see if she could make a friend, or find one as it were. She was looking for someone with specific traits, they should be, in many ways, like Alice, but more pliable, maybe a little shy, but outgoing enough that, even though she was a noble and heavily armed, they could form a friendship Elizabeth could later exploit. Someone confident in their role of servitude…
“Excuse me, I’m looking for my cousin, Erhard Silver? He should be in the training hall but I’m afraid I’m having a little trouble finding it.” She was sweet, but not overly so, respectful that it was effectively wartime after all. She was clear in her superiority and the expectation of an answer, she did after all expect an answer.
"Oh, I'm sorry milady, I did not recognize you," the first servant said with an apologetic bow, a gesture that the other maid quickly followed in. "I can take you there right away if you would like, milady. Heather, you continue and I'll catch up with you later." The serving woman had addressed the second sentence to her companion, apparently Heather, who nodded and pressed into the hallway that the assassin had recently emerged from. The woman who remained behind made a polite gesture, as if to indicate that Ruby and Elizabeth should follow her, and then was off.
Assuming Elizabeth followed along, the maid strode as she began to lead the Silver heiress and her demoness companion through the estate. While she had been polite in words, she was obviously in a hurry. This might have been fine for the rogue, however, if she was interested in getting to the training room as soon as possible. The noblewoman was obviously free to ask or tell the servant anything she liked on the walk.
The path they took would lead them through the door that Elizabeth had not explored earlier, which was another sitting room, not unlike the one she had spoken to Erhard in earlier but it one was complete with windows. If one were to judge by a small crate filled with ammunition sitting in the middle of the sitting room, the servants had been putting those windows to use earlier. From there the maid would lead Elizabeth through another door, which lead to another hallway. The latest hallway that the heiress found herself in was not so crammed with doors, however. One side of the hall had no doors to speak of while the other side had few enough that they could be counted on one hand, which seemed sparse given the length of said hall. It wasn't until they were at the third door that the maid gestured to it, indicating that it was the training room. Elizabeth could hear noise from inside but couldn't make out what kind of noise it was. The maid waited for the noblewoman to dismiss her, which would probably need to be done before the rogue could safely enact whatever plan she had in mind.
Elizabeth wanted a few short words with her cousin’s servant before she dismissed her. There were few people in an establishment with more unfettered access and less knowledge of their value than servants. “What manner of person is my cousin?” Plus with servants there was little reason to beat around the bush, they were obligated to answer you. “You honest answer please.” Of course just like with most people, more of what they meant would come from what they did than what they said. If Erhard were a cruel or corrupt man, they certainly wouldn’t say so plainly, they’d be afraid of him. They’d probably say something like ‘he’s a kind & gentle man’ of course if he was a kind and gentle man, she’d probably say that too, the difference would be the pause, that half-second of doubt as to whether she should be honest, or give the rehearsed story.
Beyond that Elizabeth may want to barrow a maid’s uniform, or two or three or four, sometime in the future. No one would second guess a maid busying about parts of the fortress an heiress wasn’t supposed to be in. “Thank you, that’ll be all, we can find our own way back.” Elizabeth adjusted her armor, and the cloth beneath it, swept back her hair just to try and get it to look a little less tangled, and then pushed her way through the doors. She wanted to startle the occupants, or at least catch them by surprise.
The maid didn't seem very comfortable with the question at all. "He's...unorthodox, milady. Not a bad man. He's never been unfair to the servants, at least, but Lord Erhard can be a bit strange in his ways. He is very kind and even friendly if you can get past that." It was obvious, however, that the serving woman didn't relax in the slightest until her dismissal. She seemed very thankful to be away from the question and the heiress who had asked it. There was one short, polite bow complete with an uttered "very well, milady." Then, she was off down the halls.
After she was gone and the rogue had adjusted herself, it was time to act. Elizabeth pushed open the doors, bringing herself into the room in nearly the same motion. What she stumbled upon...was not the scene she likely had in mind.
Alice was covered from the neck down in heavily padded cloth, her garments looking like they might weigh more than she did, a wooden sword in hand. Erhard wore a loose white shirt and brown breeches with his own practice weapon in hand. At the time of her entry, Elizabeth's handmaiden was trying to find a way to break past her cousin's iron defense to land a tap on him with the wooden sword, her eyes focused with a determination that the noblewoman hadn't seen in her since her last lesson. The two noticed the heiress and Ruby's rather obvious entrance, though, and halted their practice. Erhard greeted the assassin. "Ah, cousin! Good to see you awake, the lady healer informed us that the fight had taken much out of you, so I thought it best to allow you your sleep." He nodded at the handmaiden, who, with the adrenaline of the training exercise quickly fading, took it as a sign to rest and all but fell onto her backside as she moved to take a seat on the floor. "I thought I would offer Alice a lesson in swordsmanship in the few precious moments of peace that the invaders have offered us. You were right, she's quite prodigious." Despite the fact that it had been Erhard to directly compliment her, the handmaiden beamed at her mistress with a wide smile as the wayward Silver spoke the words.
"So, have you come to join us for a few sparring matches?" He asked with an easy smile.
“Yes, it has been a draining journey. I would like to again thank you for your hospitality cousin.” At least Ruby had the good sense not to say ‘I fucked your cousin into unconsciousness, she’ll be up later’ that would’ve been hard to explain. “I had actually come to retrieve Alice, we’ve some things I’d like to discuss. Though seeing as I am here; perhaps I could observe some, see what you’ve been teaching my little Alice.” Elizabeth smirked slightly, beginning to slowly circle the pair of duelists with slow steps and a careful eye on the two. Once Alice had had a chance to work up a good sweat, with her hear to make sure Erhard didn’t invite her to strip out of some of those layers. She could be retrieved for their bath, a chance to discuss some things that needed to be discussed. The real reason Elizabeth was at her cousin’s for example; though the Silver heiress also had some designs to make Alice’s employment more permanent, and with any hope, make the young maiden both very happy, and very off limits to the good natured Erhard.
It also wouldn't be a bad chance to see how Erhard handled combat, the last time Elizabeth had been a little, preoccupied, to study her cousin's combative skills, what with the whole giant floating mass of tentacles thing, but here she could see how Erhard fought, which could prove invaluable, if her assassination attempt happened to fail and combat were to erupt...
Which speaking off, Elizabeth still had to shore up her allies within the stronghold. The guard and the refugees seemed on edge, it might prove difficult to get the two of them to cooperate with one another. Though that would mean that if Elizabeth could supply the loyalty of one of the groups, it would be markedly less difficult to convince them to betray the other. Still; the idea of running the hold red with blood sat poorly with Elizabeth, ideally she preferred the only death to be the person she killed.
Still, there was some question as to who that would be. Elizabeth wet her lips.
"But of course, cousin." Erhard replied with a smile and a nod to Alice as Elizabeth circled the two. The handmaiden stood up quickly and shakily, obviously becoming a bit weary after time she had already spent sparring but eager to go again under her mistress's watch. The two took a position a few feet away from each other. Erhard made a small salute with his training sword which Alice emulated. Then, as suddenly as anything else that had happened that day, they were sparring. Alice took up an inexpert offensive stance, her side presented as she attempted to attack him with her wooden sword. Elizabeth noticed that her handmaiden had improved noticeably, even from when she had attacked and killed the alien outside of the gates of the estate earlier. The mousy girl was still nowhere near as talented in the art of fighting as her mistress, but she was learning quickly. Perhaps it was a testament to the power of alien invaders as a motivator for learning.
Erhard took up a much more practiced defensive stance. It was hard even for the trained assassin to find any holes in his guard from the front. As he began to counter his opponent's moves, it quickly became obvious that the man was a talented duelist. He turned away parries, effortlessly caught swings, and easily dodged. Unfortunately, the maid just wasn't good enough to force the wayward Silver to use full skill on the match. The rogue could see that Erhard was holding back. His muscles would move to counterattack against parried blows that left Alice wide open and he would stop himself before following through. The Silver noblewoman could count tens of victories that her cousin would have had against her handmaiden, had he not held back, and she could see in his eyes that he was counting them too.
Ruby watched neutrally as it progressed, the match consisting mostly of Erhard being completely defensive and Alice trying ineffectually to break his iron defense. It did not last too long, as the maid was quickly becoming exhausted. Elizabeth's cousin could see his opponent's tiredness as well. Rather than easily defeating her, however, the man made a lame parry at the last attack, all but allowing himself to take the tap of Alice's sparring sword. He offered her a smile and another salute of his sparring sword, complete with a; "Well done!" Alice didn't seem entirely sure how to respond, the rogue could see it in her retainer's eyes that she knew something was wrong with the victory. Yet, a mixture of pride and uncertainty present on the handmaiden's face suggested that she didn't know what was wrong. Regardless, with the match at an end it was probably a good time to extricate Alice from the training room.
“You improvement is impressive.” Elizabeth smiled slightly, looking over her shoulder to Alice, keeping Erhard and Ruby in her peripheral vision. “Though you’ll have some way to go still, it’s nice to see you take to such things so well, particularly since you’ve shown you can be so, deadly, when you want to.” The Silver heir smirked to her handmaiden wearing a smile that was perhaps more seductive than she intended it to be, she blamed her recent tryst, and the fact that Alice had murdered a rather creature that had been rather impressively determined to hang onto its life prior to said tryst. “Though I’ll have to say that’s enough for today cousin. I’m told the servants have a bath waiting,” that was a blatant lie, “and it would seem you’ve given my girl here quite the sweat.” She strode over to the overly padded ex-servant and laid a hand atop her shoulder.
“Besides, there is something I’ve been meaning to discuss with my colleagues.” Elizabeth smirked, this time more cordially, toothy and broad, before virtually escorting Alice out of the training chamber, nodding back to Ruby to bring the succubus with. “I’ll see your training vestments are returned here cousin. Until then, tata.” She gave a brief bow, never extricating his hand from Alice’s shoulder.
The walk back to their room was, less of a walk and more of a brief jog. Elizabeth had been attempting to get her group together since they’d gotten to her cousin’s. It was about time they were told why she was really there, and how she had her doubts that she should murder her cousin. Her father had the family, but her cousin had an army, a makeshift militia, and a stronghold, it made for a compelling case now to murder him. Of course Karina would likely vote she not murder anyone, but Elizabeth had something in mind to sweeten the pot for Alice.
Any uncertainty in Alice's eyes disappeared when Elizabeth complimented her. The handmaiden even went so far as to blush at the heiress's seductive smile. Erhard didn't seem bothered in the least as the rogue made to steal away with Alice. Instead, he offered a warm smile and a simple farewell. "Understandable, cousin. It would be a good idea to recoup while you have the opportunity, the day ahead will undoubtedly be busy." He offered a respectful nod as she took her followers and all but fled from the room.
The return to the guest bedroom that the servants had offered her was simple enough. Nobody paid any attention to three women moving through the estate with all the hustle and bustle of servants, refugees, and guards moving from room to room. The liveliness of the building was a large contrast to the streets outside, beset by invaders and almost entirely devoid of human life. It was within short order that Elizabeth found herself reunited with all three of her tagalongs and safely behind a closed door. Karina had remained asleep, the note not seeing any use. Ruby looked at her with interest. Alice, for her part, looked at Elizabeth with the strangest combination of emotions that the rogue might have ever seen. Uncertainty, adoration, happiness, pride, confusion, all were present in some measure.
Regardless, two were available for the noblewoman's explanation. It would be easy enough to wake up Karina to make all three available, though she could certainly also choose to explain it to Alice and Ruby in one way and to the spirit wielder in another, since the woman seemed particularly stubborn about remaining in the land of dreams.
Elizabeth carefully closed the door behind her as she ushered he acquaintances into their bedchamber, and remained leaned back against it as she took a deep breath and surveyed the two conscious members of her companions. How to go about it? Well best to start at the beginning. Elizabeth double checked the door, and walls, to ensure there were no eavesdroppers, she had intended to wait till they were in the bath. “Alice? How would you feel about being adopted?” Elizabeth gave a slight smirk. “And becoming my younger half-sister, Alicia Silversmith, Alice for short.” Elizabeth let herself smile, she liked this plan. If Ruby’s assessment was correct, and Alice was truly becoming more like her with every step, than it was only a matter of time before the young handmaiden became so much like Elizabeth as to lose the trappings of loyalty and adoration. With any luck, ‘adopting’ her would give Elizabeth the access to insure that her ‘sister’ became like her in the ways she needed, perceptive, sneaky, and deadly, but not like her in other ways, deceptive, ambitious and independent. “You would be the daughter of my father, and a common-blood woman, my visit to the Dreslin estate would have been a cover specifically to retrieve you. My father would have to sign off of it, but I have little doubt that he would mind the opportunity to have a second child, full grown and with such natural talent.” Or another daughter he could marry off to placate the protestors, while leaving not only Alice’s true heritage a secret to be shared should her suitor become difficult to manage, but also that Alice would be only half the Silver Elizabeth was. Plus being half-related to her should give Erhard’s libido some pause.
There would be more to discuss but Elizabeth had wanted to wait for their bath for a reason. Alice’s adoption was the least of the plans she had to share with her comrades.
Elizabeth strode through the room, sitting down on the bed beside Karina and reached a hand back to shake the young noble awake. She couldn’t keep Karina in the dark forever, and if circumstances became that they had to hastily flee the Erhard’s stronghold, than it would probably be best not to have to stop and explain why to the Karina. “Come on Karina, are you going to sleep all day?”
After Elizabeth ushered them into the bedroom, Alice gingerly sat on the bed, fearful of waking Karina up. Ruby slouched comfortably into the padded chair. The rogue carefully ensured that nobody was eavesdropping, which was about as simple as taking a peek out the door to see if anyone had followed them, given the lack of any other ways into the room. Nobody was in the hallway at the time of her peeking out. A few quick raps on the walls would prove them to be hollow beyond the inches of lath and plaster, not very good for masking sound. Beyond that, though, it appeared that she could keep the conversation unheard from other rooms as long as she didn't raise her voice unnecessarily.
Alice seemed surprised, then confused, then surprised and confused at the same time as the heiress explained her plans for the handmaiden. Her facial expression clearly conveyed the maid's uncertainty about it all, which was something that she would really do with getting better about if she were to be a Silver. Ruby was much more talented at hiding her thoughts behind a neutral mask, though the experienced Silver noblewoman could tell that her opinion was somewhere around 'mild amusement.' When she had concluded the first segment of her plan, Elizabeth's maid only replied with "Alice... Silversmith..." The words rolled from her mouth as though she were testing the weight of them.
Elizabeth probably wasn't going to gain anything more useful from her retainer-cum-sister, so it was time to wake up Karina. It only took a few shakes to wake her up. The curvy noblewoman's eyes slowly fluttered open at first. Then Elizabeth could all but see the memories of Karina's rude dismissal from the conscious world coming back into the psychic woman's head. The now very wide awake woman jumped into a sitting position and looked around frantically, before slowly realizing that they weren't outside anymore. The rogue could just barely hear Ruby snickering under her breath at the scene. "Elizabeth...?" The woman started, so befuddled that she forgot the customary title that she so often affixed to the rogue's name. "What happened? Where are we?" It would probably be a good time to give her the run-down, or to allow one of her companions to do so, and continue explaining her plan.
“Karina” Elizabeth said with a smirk, sitting back up off the bed. Stretching, lifting her hands up over her head to arch her back before slowly running her hands down through her hair on their way down. “It’s alright Karina, my cousin Erhard and his guards helped take care of the creatures, then Ruby helped take care of your injuries.” She gave a light nod to the succubus in question. “You should thank her, who knows where you’d be if it weren’t for her healing abilities.” This was just Elizabeth having some fun, but she figured it wouldn’t necessarily be bad for Karina & Ruby to get along, particularly if they were going to be a group for a while. “Beyond that, we were just discussing our plans now that the city has been taking over by those things.”
Elizabeth gave a slight sigh, before crossing her arms over her chest and leaning back against one of the walls. “Our options are limited. Any attempt to reenter the city will be made, difficult, by those things. That being said I highly doubt my cousin has the supplies to manage his staff of guards, and the number of refugees he’s taken in due to the attack.” This was more her thinking out loud now. If she wanted to take control of the stronghold she’d still need the support of one or both those groups, and as of yet the only support she’d managed to secure Ruby’s support. Not that that wasn’t both valued and appreciated, it just did come at a little high of a price. “So if we stay here we’ll undoubtedly be drafted to assist in the scavenging expeditions, which isn’t to say we couldn’t be of valued assistance to them, but I would like to remain as far from bestial creatures interested in my body as possible.” She looked up glancing over to Ruby as if to say ‘present company excluded’ before sighing and running a hand through her hair a second time.
“But first.” She leaned off the wall, working to try to get a knot out of her hair. “I need a bath. Anyone care to join me?” Surely the servants would have had plenty of time to draw a bath by now. Elizabeth smirked slightly looking to her companions as she walked toward the door. Plus; she’d really feel more comfortable discussing her cousin’s potential untimely death someplace private.
The Silver Heir strolled through the bedroom to the door, throwing it open and immediately looking for a servant to direct her. She was done putzing around, and as soon as she managed to snag one of the gun-powder maidens she asked. “Where’s the nearest bathing chamber, I believe my cousin had you draw a bath for me & my companions.”
Karina didn't make much reply to Elizabeth's recap, instead looking as though she were trying to assemble all the puzzle pieces in her head to discern what it all meant. At the rogue's suggestion that Ruby deserved thanks, she did offer a simple one. "Thank you, Ruby..." Despite her words, it was obvious that her distrust of the leering succubus hadn't subsided at all. "You're welcome," the other woman offered in a sugary sweet tone which, combined with her natural aptitude for smirking arrogantly, probably didn't help the psychic's opinion of her. Beyond that, Alice and Karina listened intently as the heiress explained her perception of the options available to them. Ruby watched the noblewoman with some interest, though more of it was probably on the cut of Elizabeth's figure in her silky shirt than her words. The glance after the mention of things that were interested in her body earned the rogue a teasing wink from the demoness, the motion one that, thankfully, was missed by the other two.
Each member of her group took the offer of a bath differently. Karina was wary, at best. Alice seemed somewhere between interested and embarrassed. Ruby was perfectly happy with the idea. It did not take long for the noblewoman to find a servant, eventually one came scurrying down the hallway and the rogue managed to stop the uniformed woman. "Ah, Lady Silver. It's right this way," she motioned politely in the direction that she had just come from. The serving girl waited for Elizabeth to gather her companions before scurrying off, leading them to the end of the hall opposite of the entrance to the foyer. She swung open the last door and gestured inside.
The bath area was spacious, it seemed almost in defiance of the spartan decorations of the rest of the estate. A large, ceramic basin was set into the floor at the end of the room. It was big enough for all four of the women and many more beside them, taking up nearly half of the sizable space. The tub was filled with water hot enough to raise steam against the air. Candlesticks adorned the room, offering a source of light. The floor was tiled in a checkerboard pattern. There were a few benches that appeared to be bolted into the floor, offering a place for the group to leave their clothing and to dry off after they were done. The basin itself seemed shaped to offer anyone bathing a seat in the water with which to sit and submerse themselves. Soaps were in abundance, stacked around the room, mostly near the tub.
"Lord Erhard drew the water and heated it himself, Lady Silver. If you need anything, you can ring the bell to summon a servant right away," the woman motioned to a rope hanging beside the door, leading to places unknown. She was obviously eager to be about her duties, however, and would leave as soon as she was dismissed. Not long after the maid was dismissed, Ruby would make the first move. The succubus dropped her robe to the ground in a heap, exposing her athletic body, sans the penis that Elizabeth had become so intimately acquainted with earlier, and walked to the basin with a swaying gait. In contrast to her slow gait, the woman's entrance into the tub was rushed. Though the demoness was masking it very well, the rogue could tell that Ruby was for the other girls to strip so she could watch them, probably why she had been in such a hurry to grab her seat. Whether or not the other two could tell that was difficult to ascertain but they seemed weary of the prospect of stripping, regardless of their reasons. It appeared that Elizabeth would have to make the next move to get them to enter the bath.
Elizabeth followed the serving girl spryly, regardless of whether her companions’ apprehension, or her own suspicions; it was only a little weird that Erhard would draw and heat water himself when he had so many servants scurrying about, though they did seem preoccupied with other things. The Silver Assassin took a deep breath the moment she stood in the steam, letting even Ruby’s lechery pass without significant notice. First: Ruby had already done more than seen her naked; it was senseless to be squeamish about it now, and second: Elizabeth had had quite enough of being dirty; she was a noble after all.
She removed her chainmail vest first, crossing her arms over her front and pulling it up over her head before turning to the serving girl, slowly walking to the nearest drying bench and laying her armor out on one side. “I wonder if I might make a personal request.” She sat on the bench and began pulling down her pants. They were all women, well excluding maybe some portion of Ruby. “Your uniforms; they’re simply darling.” Elizabeth gave the servant her best ‘womanly’ smile. “Do you think you could find a couple to spare and bring them here?” She smiled again, pulling her pants down to her ankles, lifting her long legs up out straight from her before unhooking them off her feet, folding them up in her lap and laying them out next to her armor as she tried dually to convince the servant that her interest in the uniforms was purely fashionable, and distract her from dwelling on it too long by becoming increasingly nude during her request. “I don’t mean to keep you” And wrapped everything up by offering a polite and easy escape from the conversation.
Elizabeth then stood up; wearing nothing but the dark shirt and slinky underwear Ruby had set her in. She couldn’t say she cared much for the black silky lace she found herself in, though it did have its good points it hugged her ass quite nicely, road up a little, and though the lace was mostly opaque the design left for some pseudo-transparent gaps that showed skin in a, generous, variety of places. Elizabeth choose not to dignify it with a response, and simply crossed her arms over her chest to pull her shirt off, standing there in the panties and matching bra for a moment as she folded her shirt, bending at her waist briefly to lay it on top of her pants before turning toward the enticingly steaming pool of water. Fucking putting on a show for the succubus, she’d wanted to bathe since the catastrophe in the ballroom. Which speaking of.
Elizabeth reached behind her back to unfasten her bra. “Ruby, were you in the Dreslin estate?” There had been that unarmed stranger fist fighting the fiends in the ballroom. It took a moment having not fastened it herself, but Elizabeth removed her bra, simply slipping it off her arms dropping it into one hand and swinging it back to her pile of clothing. Her nipples were a little sensitive to the sudden freedom, but the warm steam felt good, and she saw no reason to restrain herself from simply slipping her panties down her legs during her stride toward the bath, stepping one foot out of them while using the other to hand them up to her hand. She tossed them back toward her clothing, missing the pile, but managing to leave them half-hanging off the side of the bench.
Once utterly naked, Elizabeth slipped herself down into the steaming water with a weakly muffled groan. It felt good to wash, and the first thing she did once dipped into the water was to dive beneath it, holding her breath and closing her eyes to run her hands back through her hair before bobbing up with a slightly gasp. “Ah! I’ve been wanting to do that since that ballroom fiasco.” Elizabeth held her head to one side, slowly raking her fingers through her newly damp hair. “Alice could you find me a brush or something?” Surely there was one around, it was a bathing chamber after all, and it might help replace Alice into her comfort zone to be serving the simple requests of a bathing noble.
Elizabeth was determined to enjoy her chance to be clean. It was one of those little pleasures that no amount of training or discipline could drill out. Elizabeth was many things, but if she had her way, one of those things would always be, clean.
The serving girl raised an eyebrow but gave no objections to the noblewoman's request, only a shrug, before she departed.
Her tagalongs had differing reactions as Elizabeth stripped. Ruby, as she had so often done, eyed the rogue lewdly as a wolfish grin formed upon her face. She displayed even more of her pearly white teeth as the noblewoman revealed the underwear that the succubus, herself, had chosen. Alice peeked, though, to her credit, she did so with more subtlety than she had mustered throughout most of the rest of the trip. The trained Silver woman might not have been able to read her handmaiden's peeping if not for the blush on her face and her gaze lingering in places for just a few seconds longer than appropriate for a retainer who wasn't yet her sister. Karina, for her part, waited on one of the benches, looking away from the basin.
The hot water did wonders for the noblewoman. It was, perhaps, a little warmer than strictly comfortable. Given the state of the city, it was a luxury to have water, let alone heated water, at all. Regardless of the temperature of the bath, it helped to melt away the aches and pains that the last day's worth of activity had brought. It wasn't until the noblewoman had entered the basin that Ruby paused her voyeurism in order to answer the earlier question. "Yes. I was one of the guests. I had to escape through one of the windows after spending the better part of the night hiding from some of the turned." The demoness gave a knowing look to Elizabeth. The crimson-eyed woman's gaze was quickly dropped, however. Ruby chose to lean back with a sigh and close her eyes, instead.
Or at least she did until Alice came to the side of the basin with a few brushes of varying shapes and sizes in hand. "I found these, milady." The mousy maid had apparently gathered up enough courage to strip away her padded clothing while Elizabeth was preoccupied, which in turn had the demoness admiring the handmaiden's body much as she had the rogue's. The girl was as thin as ever, she would benefit as a rogue by putting on a bit of muscle. As she was, Alice barely appeared to have the strength and power necessary to to keep herself upright, let alone do the demanding acrobatics required of a Silver. "Should I wash your back, milady?" The blushing girl asked hopefully.
The psychic woman, for her part, remained on the bench, apparently not comfortable enough to join in yet. Of course, Karina wouldn't necessarily need to join in for Elizabeth to fulfill the dual-goals of getting clean, herself, and explaining her plan.
Beware the massive post! It will eat you alive Muwahahahah!!
Elizabeth selected one of the wider brushes baring thin teeth of some manner of coarse hair, taking it in her left as she raised both hand back over her head, brushing out the tangles of her long dark hair. “If you would be so kind, my dear sister.” Elizabeth smirked a little, looking back to Alice over one shoulder. She draped her hair over her right as she brushed it out, sitting into the bath with a contented sigh before turning her attention to Karina. “No need to be shy.” This she honestly meant, which was rare for her, but over the course of their time together Elizabeth had seen, or been seen naked, by one or the other of her companions at various points, Alice had tended her wounds, Karina & she had been, attacked, by those things in the ballroom, and Ruby, well Ruby was a succubus. It seemed senseless to be bashful between them now. They were practically sisters.
“Though I can’t speak form the others, I can promise not to become jealous of your bust, Karina.” It was a weak attempt at humor, but by Elizabeth’s reckoning Karina likely had the largest chest of the four of them, and punctuated by a saucy smirk and a slight laugh she hoped her jest would break the figurative ice. She’d prefer them to be in a state that would advise against outraged storming out before revealing her plans to assassinate the gentleman responsible for their good circumstance.
Elizabeth slid down in the warm liquid, giving another sigh. She didn’t like this state; normally she had little doubt as to what was necessary next, and though she’d long plotted for a variety of circumstance, invasion by aliens was not one she had seen coming. Rationally; she should simply remain in her cousin’s custody until it became unfavorable, though at the moment she didn’t know enough about her cousin or his fortress to make a satisfactory decision toward that, while reentering the city, even to return to her father, was obviously an unfavorable decision; there were creatures out there. “What do you three think of my cousin?” She said simply, staring down at the ripples of the water. It was a suitable enough place to start the conversation. “He’s obviously a good man.” No sense for tactics or, frankly, being a Silver, but a good man. “Honorable, kind.”
She took a few more swipes at her hair; she’d been keeping a rough count in her head and was up to the mid-thirties. “Certain was kind of him to take us in, and not only us but the refugees as well.” Though for what point and to what purpose did he ‘just so happen’ to have an army and fortress stocked with, from the looks of things, more guns than people, laying around? Elizabeth was forgetting her demeanor now, and was betraying how rooted in thought her statements were. “He’ll run short on supplies if he’s not careful, but with his guard and some support from the citizens he should be able to organize raiding parties, assuming he, or someone in his employ, is intelligent enough to recognize the need.” Now she was thinking out loud, and caught herself only long enough to give a glance about to ensure there were no eavesdroppers; still at the moment she was simply betraying how intelligent she was, nothing murderous there.
{perception check}
“The city is bound to be dangerous; even more so to breach it from within the fortress. Assuming those creatures have some, even rudimentary way to track life, they’ll have found this stronghold, and; judging from those titans we saw on the way here, will have the forces required to take it within a few weeks, days if there’s any real intelligence behind them.” Which was another argument for murdering her cousin and fleeing the premises as quickly as possible. Still, leaving, even temporary, safety for known peril wasn’t something that seemed sensible to the Silver rogue.
“Assuming there are other strongholds within the Necropolis, which is something of an assumption given how quickly the Dreslin house was overrun, then it is possible that by the time the enemy has marshaled its forces against us we may have the ability to resist them.” She paused to chew on her tongue, she was brushing her hair faster now, eyes lit up with devious schemes as they darted back and forth between ripples in the water. “But that’s too great a risk; it would make more sense to use the stronghold as a distraction. Assuming intelligence on the part of the enemy, than it would be a safe assumption to make that they’re able to transfer information between them, which would mean that the information that those forces we encountered upon our arrival here were defeated would have been transferred back to the, whatever intelligence we’re assuming they have.” Elizabeth raised a finger to her mouth, chewing it a little.
“That intelligence would know that this is a stronghold, and know that it’s well defended enough to defeat whatever those things were that we killed on the way in.” She was up to seventy something on her hair brushing. “Which would in turn mean that, assuming it still wants to take the stronghold, which given the observed behaviors of the creatures thus far I think is a fairly safe assumption, that that intelligence would know that it needs an even greater force to take the stronghold, which we can assume it has the capacity to obtain given the sheer volume of creature present in the city.” She laid the hairbrush on the edge of the basin. “It’s how long it will take that intelligence to marshal it’s forces that is the question, and we” meaning she “just don’t have enough information to answer that yet. Though there are a number of possibilities: assuming a single intelligence guiding the whole of the enemy, it should only take as long as it takes them to secure the other parts of the city. Once enough creatures are few from their other duties, the intelligence can have them marshal at our gates.” Elizabeth growled a little. “But we don’t even know how long that might take them. If there are other stronghold in the city, which… we don’t know.” She shrugged foully, hating how little she knew about their situation. “Then it may be that it could take a long while for the enemy to marshal enough to overrun us…”
“Shit” Something dawned on Elizabeth that made her swear. “The creatures have been impregnating people, and given the gestation period,” measured from her own experiences “it seems unlikely that it’ll take more than a few days for new born creatures to appear.” She hissed a little chewing on her finger. “Assuming their young are weak, like ours, even if the birthing process only takes a day, it could take weeks or years for the creatures to grow into their fathers… I would assume weeks. And assuming the enemy value their young, they won’t send them up against a hardened target like the stronghold until they’re at peak strength, until they’re grown. Still that only gives us a few weeks before we’re overrun here.” And not much longer until the entire Necropolis was overrun, assuming there wasn’t anyone out there murdering the infants, which their didn’t seem to be.
Elizabeth leaned back in the bath, arms spread over the edge of the cistern as she sighed. “Well, we can’t stay here.” That seemed like a given now, though whether any of this had dawned on her cousin was up for question. “ Still, fleeing now doesn’t seem like a sensible option either. The city is likely still under siege, or at least filled with roaming hunters, and will be until the free citizens are restricted pockets of resistance such as Erhard’s stronghold… our best chance to escape would likely be just as the enemy is beginning their assault on the stronghold. They’re most likely to concentrate their forces on one location, the front gate if I had to make a guess, then once they’ve breached that’ll be their main way in. It’s possible that they’ll continue to dismantle the walls, but that seems ineffective, if they’ve already breached the gate than their numbers would be put to better use flooding the courtyard, then once inside the wall they can diverge to seek out those within the stronghold. The ideal time to escape will be the precise moment they’ve breached, or shortly thereafter. The enemy will be distracted, and likely be drawing numbers from the surrounding areas to flood through the break in our defenses, when that happens they won’t be looking for a small band escaping near the rear.” She paused for a moment, licking at the inside of her teeth and raising a hand to her chin.
“Though it seems a shame to loose so many to the enemy when they could be put to better use.” Like serving her, for example. “A hidden tunnel would be ideal for a large scale evacuation, though without some resistance the enemy will overrun the stronghold too quickly, and as soon as the tunnel is discovered everyone attempting escape is as good as lost… sacrificial guards might be used to slow their advancement, or perhaps some manner of camouflage to conceal the entrance to the tunnel and those escaping within… alternatively I suppose we could complicate their path, turn the inside of the stronghold into a labyrinth with makeshift barricades and false starts, but that would almost certainly require the support of everyone inside, of course assuming Erhard doesn’t already have one, digging a tunnel out of the city, or even the stronghold, within a few weeks would take just as much manpower.” Elizabeth sighed again. Well at least she and her friends could escape suitably.
“Though there’s still the question of where to go…” She rolled her head back staring up to the ceiling and inadvertently presenting her breasts to anyone in front of her. “The enemies we’ve seen resemble both lizards & squids, roughly, as well as the gigantic humanoids… The mountains would likely be best, rough and difficult terrain for anyone, the giants will have a hard time finding footing among loose stone due to their increased weight, and the squids seem to require that” Elizabeth rolled her teeth lightly, almost blushing as she recalled “arousing liquid coating. The winter winds at the higher altitudes could rob them of it, hopefully killing them, but at very least drying them out and making pursuit unpleasant for them. The lizards… well if they’re cold blooded like natural lizards the cold temperatures will make them lethargic.” Through the mountains gave them two possible routes, north to Crolia, or east toward the desert sea, west may have been a possibility but there was a greater distance to travel there, and the mountains to the west were harsher than those to the north or east.
Elizabeth took a deep breath and closed her eyes, rolling her head lightly, all this plotting was exhausting. “Crolia won’t likely be eager to accept a band of refugees from Badaria of any size… so I guess that leaves the desert. The dry winds and inhospitable climate will make it difficult for the enemy to track us, assuming they care to, and the beast-folk are at least less likely to great us instantly as enemies, and they, like Badaria have firearms with which to fight off any of our potential pursuers.” And being slavers they would be welcoming of a large band of refugees, many of whom probably possessed trades. “Ideally we could carry the populous of the stronghold with us. Their numbers will be helpful in surviving in the desert, and those with trades might be more valuable than those with swords, hunters in particular.” That meant she needed to convince the local refugees to flee the safety of the stronghold and follow her willingly into slaver-lands. She had her work cut out for her, and that still wasn’t dealing with the need to murder her cousin, though she could just leave him to rot, it seemed likely the enemy would murder him for her.
{Perception Check}
Elizabeth lowered her head, bit her tongue between her teeth and furrowed her brow, hazarding a second look around to ensure absolutely no eavesdroppers. There was really no delicate way of phrasing what she need to say, so with a heavy sigh and a conscious effort to suppress her desire to lie, Elizabeth simply and plainly said. “I was sent here by my father to murder Erhard. He, before the attacks, spoke out against my unmarried status. As heir to my family and my father’s only child it’s expected of me to marry the man who will be the next family head, and subsequently bear him a son. I have no desire to forfeit what little freedom I have through marriage and this will not be the first of my family I have silenced.” She took another deep breath. “However; the attack on the Necropolis, and more pointedly, the fact that my cousin has an army at his disposal, offers the chance to turn the order on its head. My father will be expecting a report, and I assume the Silver family hold remains despite the enemy. I could, with the support of Erhard’s army, return to my family, and succeed my father as head of the family, despite my, fairer, nature.” She laid back in the water, just letting it soak out her sore muscles, telling the truth was more stressful for her than lying, another thing she could thank her father for. “Alternatively; I suppose we could simply flee to the desert leaving them both alive, though I would like the support of either the refugees or Erhard’s army, preferably both. And I guess my father doesn’t need to die, with Erhard’s support we and the others present could head to the desert without word to him.” That option hadn’t actually occurred to Elizabeth until just now.
Truly, I can not beat the wall. I can put up a supporting fence though, at least.
Alice's excited smile in return to Elizabeth's acceptance of her offer was anything but subtle. The handmaiden-turned-adopted sister chose one of the softer brushes and a bar of flowery smelling soap before getting to work. Her touch was surprisingly delicate, while still able to be firm when it was necessary. She was obviously used to cleaning others, most likely the nobility. The new Silver's attentions, in combination with the brush and the hot water, were enough to make any of the rogue's remaining tension simply melt away.
Elizabeth's fortune with Karina was less impressive. While the assassin was correct, the psychic easily had the biggest bust of them all, her attempt at humor didn't seem to move the Silrocio noblewoman much towards getting in with the other three. It did, at least, make her blush and timidly look away. It was some progress, if not necessarily the kind she wanted.
Things moved mundanely as the rogue considered how to best begin her proposition. Alice had begun to hum a song as she worked at the lean noblewoman's back. The succubus had finally begun to clean herself rather than stealing glances at the other two nude women. Karina simply watched the door, which was conveniently located in the opposite direction of the bathing women. Once she spoke up, however, she did receive a few answers. The demoness gave a short shrug. The noblewoman's handmaiden answered vocally; "He's very nice!" Karina seemed to ponder a moment, before bashfully turning her head to the bathing women just long enough to nod.
As best she could tell, Elizabeth had all of their attention, and perhaps as importantly, the attention of nobody else. Though Ruby had continued washing herself, putting on a show while doing so, Alice was faithfully lathering her back, and Karina continued to watch the door as though it were a particularly entertaining puppet show, they were acknowledging her as she spoke. Her handmaiden's work slowed down a bit as she spoke aloud her assessment of what the alien's could do, Karina tensed up. Both seemed less than comfortable with the idea that more of the aliens would be trying to batter down the gate at any moment. The succubus cared noticeably less. Ruby chose that moment of tension to begin cleaning her inner thighs
When the rogue swore suddenly, it grabbed the attention of both the handmaiden and the psychic. Alice was so startled that she dropped her brush, needing to retrieve it before she could continue. Karina, for the first time in a while, looked at the rogue, worry was obvious on her entire face. As the Silver noblewoman spoke of the creature's more carnal tendencies, the color drained from Karina's face and she quickly graduated from staring at the door to staring at her own knees. The rest of Elizabeth's monologue continued much the same, with Karina simply staring down, Alice washing her back for far longer than actually necessary, and Ruby seeming to care little, if at all, for what the noblewoman's eventual plan would be. It wasn't until she had explained everything, from her perceived options, to why she was sent to the estate in the first place, that any answer came. Even then, there was a long pause.
"I'll follow you, milady," Alice spoke first, timidly. "You've saved my life at least three times now, I'll follow you to the ends of the world, if necessary." It was timid, not quite an undying pledge of loyalty. The handmaiden's words weren't even really a tactical assessment, although they were, at least, a sign that she wouldn't betray the assassin, even if it came to murdering Erhard. Ruby gave another short shrug and leaned back, grinning wolfishly at the rogue. Karina was less understanding. "How... How could you think about killing your own cousin, Lady Elizabeth?" The psychic asked with utter disbelief. "How could you kill your own family members? Then to talk of abandoning all these defenseless people to their own fates. To talk of succeeding your father... How could it still be an option, or a concern, with the world falling down around us? I thought you were... I don't understand..." The last part was as honest a statement as the rogue had ever heard. Karina hadn't even looked up as she had begun her accusatory rambling. Yet, she hadn't rushed out of the room, either. It seemed as though the silver-tongued Silver would have a bit of damage control to do if she was going to keep the Silrocio woman on her side.
“Thank you Alice, but hopefully that won’t be necessary.” Elizabeth tilted her head back to look to her new-sister. She had to play this carefully, she liked Karina; she had potent abilities and though her natural innocence could be annoying at time, having her around gave some validation to the rest of them. “Honestly,” Elizabeth lied effortlessly “if it were my decision I would not kill Erhard.” Particularly if he had happened to supported the events that made it her decision. “And in truth I would prefer to escape with everyone here, not just the four of us, but everyone .” Many hands made for light work after all. “But we have to be practical Karina. The Necropolis has come under siege by an army of unknown size and origin. The enemy’s numbers are swollen by the bellies of their victims and we, at best, have a week before we’re completely overrun. If it comes down to saving my friends or protecting strangers I’ll opt to save my friends, and I have no shame of that.”
“That being said;” Elizabeth sat up a little with a slight sigh, “I am my father’s daughter, and he has requested I end Erhard’s life.” Painting her father as the cruel dictator and herself as the loyal soldier, it was one of her more inspired fabrications; but not entirely untrue, the best lies always contained an element of truth after all. “I have a duty, whether I agree with it or not.” She hoped to have added a proper amount of regret or remorse to those words, but it was hard for her to tell how much was the right amount. “It’s cruel, it’s unnecessary and more importantly it’s heartless.” She also hoped those were the proper adjectives, the only one she particularly agreed with was ‘unnecessary’ but the others seemed equally applicable. “But if we’re to need my father family’s support…” then his will need be done.
A brief pause to give a properly ‘mournful’ moment of silence, before Elizabeth set her hands against the edge of the bath and lifted herself up to her naked wet and dripping feet. “Regardless; I will need each of your help to ensure we manage to escape the Necropolis, and, if we can manage it, bringing any or all of the others here along with us. It won’t be easy, the enemy easily out numbers us, and the men of the stronghold are unlikely to open to the advice and idea of women, but failure isn’t an option, if we lose it’s more than our lives on the line.” She tried her best to turn this into a dramatic ‘follow me to freedom’ speech, though being damp and naked made it a little difficult, seconds after standing up she was already cold. “Can I count on you to help?” It was an open question, posed to any of the three, but Elizabeth looked directly to Karina.
"I... I guess..." Karina turned to face the naked noblewoman, a frown on her face. "Why did it have to turn out like this? Why did this have to happen to the city?" The psychic lamented to nobody in particular. She returned her gaze to her knees and gave a sigh before continuing. "I'll follow you too, milady!" Alice reiterated cheerfully, obviously an attempt to lessen the mood. At the same time, she finally rinsed the noblewoman's back, having used the better part of a bar of soap on it while distracted by the doomsday scenarios and glum atmosphere. "I'm sure you'll find a way to save everyone!" It was difficult to tell whether Elizabeth's new sister was using her lessons in guile and trickery very well or just overly optimistic. "I'll stick around," the succubus offered flippantly, before submersing herself in the cooling water to rinse her crimson hair.
A knock came at the door, interrupting the conversation at hand. Nobody came in, though, "Lady Silver, the change of clothing you requested has arrived," a maid's voice called from outside the bathroom.
Elizabeth posed for a moment, smirking with her hands on her hips as she looked to her crew, at least she’d managed to ‘inspire’ one of them, or maybe Alice was just humoring her, leadership was not one of Elizabeth’s better skills, she preferred manipulation it was easier to predict the results. Still they were moving forward and that was at least the right direction. She looked for a towel; but didn’t find one so with a slight frown she laid a hand across her breasts and hid behind the door as she looked to let the maid girl in, or at least to take the uniforms from her.
Elizabeth opened with a sickeningly girlish giggle as she cracked open the door the maid had knocked at. “Hehehe,” the giggling may have wounded something deep inside her, “thank you so much… I kinda forgot to bring a change of clothes.” She reached one arm out through the crack to scoop the uniforms up in an arm, the other ‘gracelessly’ crossed over her chest as she bent at the waist to lean around into the doorway, keeping her naked hips hidden behind the door, at least from the maid, as far as it went to anyone inside the room Elizabeth’s ass & shapely thighs might as well have been on display.
The uniforms retrieved; Elizabeth dropped her façade and closed the door tightly, carrying the maid dresses over to the same bench she’d stacked her clothing, dropping the twin uniforms on the far side of her own clothing as she sat in the middle. She took a deep breath, sucked on her tongue, crossed her arms over her chest, crossed her legs in front of her and thought. “If we’re going to do any saving; we need to do some investigating first.” They needed more information, not just on the enemy but on their prospective allies as well. “Alice; would you mind coming with me to speak to the captain of the guard?” Elizabeth was careful now that Alice was her ‘sister’ she couldn’t order her around quiet as directly as she had when she was her handmaiden. “I need someone to appraise the status quo while I speak with the guard, not just the refugees, keep an eye out for anyone who looks uncomfortable around us, refusing to look us or the guards in the eye or who leave the room after we enter. Do you think you can do that for me?” She tilted her head to one side, smirking slightly as she looked over to Alice, uncrossing her arms and bracing herself against her seat. It was time to see how well Alice could do at reading people; Elizabeth would be distracted by the guard captain, but she definitely wanted to know if there were people out there who didn’t want her to know things.
Elizabeth rapped her fingers across the bench beside her, trying to decide if she wanted to wear her armor of the maid’s dress. “Karina, if you could; I’d like to know how well provisioned we are. It’d be easier to just send someone to check than to bother Erhard with it, I’m sure he has other concerns, if you could check on how much food & freshwater we have, in addition; things like horses or carts, encase we do need to flee. I’d like to save as many people as possible and if there are sick, wounded, or elderly than they’ll need carriages or mounts to keep up.” They could also use carriages or wagons to carry supplies with them, if they happened to choose to ‘forget’ the sick, wounded, or elderly. Their sacrifice would probably buy the rest of them five; maybe ten minutes after the enemy breeched the stronghold.
She opted for her armor & the silky things Ruby had dressed her in, standing and stepping into the slinky underwear, pulling it up her legs and into place. “Ruby, I suppose you should check on the weapon stocks.” Elizabeth was arguably more interested in the state of Erhard’s weapon supplies than food or potential workforce. If they didn’t have enough weapons to arm the civilians, or even the guards, than they were in trouble. But she’d already put herself on thin ice with Karina by discussing Erhard’s untimely death; talking about how many guns or blades they could scavenge in depth might break the ice in the wrong direction.
Elizabeth clipped her bra back into place across her chest, and with a slight smirk looked to her friends. “Anyone wanna play dress up?” She teased, tossing her head toward the maid uniforms. Ultimately their intended use was to gain access to restricted areas of the stronghold, but before she went wandering around dressed as a servant, she need to know where ‘Elizabeth Silver’ wasn’t allowed to go.
