Private Tales A New Journey Begins

It had been a couple of months since Kaelen got out of the tundra. The events that lead to him being stranded there were not pleasant, but it at least did offer him a unique opportunity. He could use his being missing as a chance to do some traveling and then when he was done return to his duties under the guise of it took him that long to get back home.

The place Kaelen had decided to start this new journey at was Alliria. The trading city was well known on the main land and easily gotten to by sea travel. It also had all of the resources he could need for traveling. While he might not have access to all of his family and personal funds, he did have some favors with mercenary companies he could take advantage of. It was one of the few advantages of having spent those years fighting across the main lands as part of a mercenary army.

Upon arriving, Kaelen immediately began to hit up the companies that owed him. This secured him some funds, equipment, and more importantly information. He needed a guide for while he was in the city and several people directed to this woman named Sol Minerva who worked at an establishment known as the Lotust. He got directions and headed straight there. What he found was a brothel of sorts. That was a little unexpected, but not unacceptable. Once inside he inquired about this woman and was told to go wait for her in a private room.

Kaelen sat down on a couch covered in soft pillows to wait. He wasn't wearing armor even though his sword was resting nearby in its sheathe against the wall. His clothing was well made and dyed in the blue and gray he always wore. A habit he knew but didn't want to stop. It made him look like either a merchant or craftsman that was doing well for himself or a mercenary that had not wisely spent the money on their equipment instead. A pair of durable leather traveling boots was on his feet and gloves of the same make on his hands. A scent of dried flowers clung to his clothing. Whoever had washed them last seemed to have made sure they would keep smelling nice after. It was like this that he sat and waited for hopefully his new guide to arrive.

Sol Minerva

The sounds from around the establishment spoke of how busy the place was. A good sign in Kaelen's book. He had been to many foreign lands over the years and it was always the busy taverns, brothels, and other sort of social gathering places that had the best information available. When people were happy they talked after all. The drunker they got the less they tended to lie or hold back as well.

Kaelen was still sitting on the couch waiting when a young girl arrived in the room. Definitely not this Sol Minerva person he heard about. She informed him that he was to follow her to another room. A change in location? Seemed a bit odd, but he wasn't going to argue. He stood up and picked up his sword. He allowed her to lead the way.

As Kaelen followed, he studied the place as he went. Alliria was completely new to him. He had heard of it from other people on the mainland and from some of the Mystmarch traders who had made it this far south ahead of their peers and country, but that was it. Not a single diplomat had been sent yet or seemed to be coming this way any time soon. It was part of the reason he had come here. The Council of Nobles was more focused on people and lands near Mystmarch.

What Kaelen noticed though was how the different levels of society were present in the place. Better connected merchants were easy to spot with their high quality attire and jewelry on. Some mercenaries and guards that were off duty were dealing with their stress carnally. Even average citizens and some of the poorer folk were here. A nice mixing pot of Alliria. He did notice though how those with coin had such a higher position, regardless of where their coin was from. That was not unusual at all, but it seemed to be particularly apparent here.

Kaelen finally made it Sol's room. The young girl had him wait then entered by herself. He was happy to wait. Given where they were at, it was impossible to say what might have been going on behind that door. He would rather give his potential new guide a chance for the best first impression. Likely it would make him look better rather than the other way around. Eventually the girl showed back up and he could finally enter. So he did.

Walking in, Kaelen noticed it was much more homely than the other room. This one was lived in. He also took note of the woman waiting for him. She had certainly made sure to wear something that left little to the imagination while still complimenting her figure as best as possible. She had a cup and what looked like wine as well. The woman was certainly prepared. He smiled to her as he took her in fully quickly. He had some ideas of what he would have liked to discuss, by the gods would he like to discuss it with her, but he had a more important objective right now. Perhaps afterwards.....

Kaelen said in a friendly tone, "You must be the beautiful Sol Minerva I have heard about. I can see now why my associates spoke so highly of you." He smirked a bit as he took her in again. His thoughts were drifting like his silvery gray eyes towards those hips.... He looked back up to her face. About got unfocused there too much. "I'm new to Alliria and in need of a guide intimately familiar with the city. You were the only one I was recommended. Is their faith well placed?"

The woman was not doing a very good job right now if she was hoping for payment. If Kaelen had been like most of her clients then there was a good chance he might have left already. Someone looking to get lucky did not want an indifferent, near lethargic partner after all. But he wasn't here for that. Or at least he wasn't here for that right now. What he was here for was something different and more long term than an hour of fun.

Kaelen just continued to smile as he chuckled at her words. It was fun in its own way after all even if her behavior was not reflective of her reputation. He rested his sword against the wall as he said, "I'm not here looking for directions. I said I'm here for a guide. Very different things." He paused and just watched her as she continued to be indifferent to things. Perhaps his associates were wrong about her and had just been blinded by her skills in the bedroom. "Do you know what a guide is and does? I do not blame you if you don't. Most who have never been out of their homeland and city would not. It is something more, political, than what others are use to."

It was time to see what this Sol Minerva had to say. From what Kaelen could see she had it pretty well here. A private room and enough privilege to dictate where her clients went to meet her was proof of that. The main issue was how she behaved from here. A little indifference and lack of any real enthusiasm was fine in a courtesan but not in a guide. It wouldn't just be a short amount of activity ending in a false sense of intimacy and briefly lived pleasure after all. No, what he was after was more akin to a partnership that involved putting some of his fate into her hands. He wanted to make sure her hands were focused and steady too if he was to do that.

The woman was not in a good mood. If that wasn't obvious to someone then they were more oblivious than stone was of the rain. Kaelen wondered what exactly it could be that had gotten her into such a foul state. Could have been his question. It like was the trigger but not the cause however. The way the woman moved and from the sound of her voice it seemed to him that she was exhausted after a long day. He had been around enough exhausted people to notice those little signs. It was just something you had to learn as a commander to judge the state of your forces since good soldiers would press forward regardless. He should change up his approach then.

After Sol Minerva offered him a drink Kaelen smiled and nodded to her. "Please. I just arrived to Alliria and have barely had anything in my stomach since then. Too much to do and prepare." He walked over to where she was at. It had been a long day for them both. He must have been more blunt and annoyed than he realized. "Feel free to relax however you wish. I might be a client, but I'm not the kind of man who would make an exhausted person force themselves."

Kaelen wondered if she would accept his offer or not. The woman seemed like the type strong willed enough to refuse. A desirable quality in a woman for him which was not helping his growing interest in her main services right now. It had been too long and his particular quirks always left him vulnerable to this sort of thing. Hopefully this Sol Minerva wasn't the type to notice and exploit it. Better to be thought of as a lustful deviant than someone readily manipulated.

Kaelen was more than happy to accept the drink from her with a smile. He took a sniff of it to get an idea of just what kind he was dealing with. Color alone wasn't always enough, or so his mother always liked to say. The woman sure did enjoy her wines and had the taste and smell for picking out the best. He didn't take a drink however before Sol Minerva spoke to him from the couch. She had even indicated a chair. He wouldn't mind a seat right now after all the walking on sea legs he had done today.

Walking over to sit down, Kaelen noticed the woman was more open than before to things. Excellent. As he got into the chair he said, "As I said I need a guide. I'm new to Alliria and going to be doing some traveling to see more of the world. I do plan to spend some time in the city however and could use someone intimately familiar to help keep me from making a fool of myself accidentally and provide some insight into what there is to do and see."

Kaelen took a drink from his cup to get a taste of the wine and to get some of it into his stomach. Best let himself adjust after a day with hardly anything in his belly. Afterwards he continued on. "I know a few mercenary companies in the city and most of them owed me a favor or two. While preparing my stay and for my future travels, I was mentioned you would be the person to speak with." He took another drink of his cup that was bigger this time.

"This private room and the fact you could have me escorted from another room here means you are certainly skilled at what you do in this fine establishment." Kaelen looked her up and down a bit to emphasis what he had to say next. "A beauty with such a lovely figure. It is not a surprise at all...." His eyes settled onto her own with seriousness pushing away the hints of lust. "But that does not tell me what your skills are outside of this room. I need to know about those skills to know if you are worth taking the chance on hiring or not. It is a job that would take you out of this place for extended periods of time, but I am willing to compensate you for the missing income."

Kaelen sat back and fully relaxed into his chair. "Would you be so kind as to show me why your reputation does not do you justice?" He smiled a bit as he added, "Or would you rather we discuss things in the morning over warm food after a good night's rest?"

Kaelen noticed the uncomfortable movement that Sol Minerva made with her legs after he had looked her up and down. Seemed this would be best saved for later on deciding things. Perhaps then he could also control himself a bit better. Another bad habit of his. He took another drink as she spoke. A question about his identity. He wasn't exactly hiding himself away, but the mention perhaps hearing of him did make him wonder. Would it be a good idea to name himself or keep his identity a secret?

For a bit he just sat there finishing off his cup of wine. Kaelen decided during that time there was no point in trying to hide his identity. He was already known to too many people in the city as it was for that. The best option was just to move forward and just not make his last name known. That would at least leave the chance for some doubt if his name left the city and found its way home before he was ready to return.

"Kaelen. No one sent me. I am here of my own accord." He set his empty cup on the floor. "I want to see a bit of the world and live how I please for a time." He focused on her eyes yet again. His silvery grays began to dig in deep as if to instill the seriousness of his statement to her. "Is there anything else you wish to know before deciding? I will answer all of them."

Sol Minerva seemed to prefer waiting on questions until later. That was fine by Kaelen. He had suggested before on waiting until the morning to talk. She even yawned in a way that was not faked, or if it was then masterfully so. That sounded good to him as well. The trip had been long and this day longer after all. He was use to pushing himself though in this kind of state so he was likely not feeling it as much as he honestly should be.

With a smile Kaelen replied back, "Excellent. We will pick this back up in the morning then." He picked up his cup from the floor and stood. He went over to her cabinet to set it there since it was where it came from, but stopped after he was only part of the way there. Where was he to stay tonight? It had slipped his mind to find lodgings as he was so busy getting other preparations done. None of his associates had offered a recommendation either on where he might be able to stay at and going to a random inn could prove to be a mistake. Thieves and cons liked to hang about such places and usually they were the ones who owned them. This thought caused him to frown a bit as he mulled it over in his head.

Eventually Kaelen decided on an option that was a winning situation for him regardless of the outcome. He turned towards Sol and asked, "Is it possible for me to stay here for tonight? I'm willing to pay you for the trouble and hire your services as well. If not then any suggestions on a trustworthy inn I could stay at?"

It was easy for Kaelen to be seen as nothing more than a man of carnal desires. He was often seen as someone who only viewed women as means of sating those primal needs. But he was not. While some truth could be had in his difficulty in controlling himself around attractive women it did not mean that was all he saw in them. So when he noticed the surprise and discomfort for a brief moment for Sol Minerva at his suggest as much as he wanted, craved, to see what she could do this meeting was over.

Kaelen waited for Sol to give him the run down of their payment system. He had already heard about it from the owner so was already aware. He kept his eyes on her and just took in how she moved. Partly it was to get an idea of how quickly she could recover to surprise and partly to get a few last looks in of her before he left. Once she was done and began to brush her hair, he said, "The cost is of no concern to me. If your reputation is well earned then it would be worth every copper. I will however not force a woman to do anything she is uncomfortable with, even if I am paying her."

Kaelen walked over to his sword and picked it up off the wall. He was serious in what he said and his movements would show it. Turning back towards her, he said, "If you would be so kind as to recommend a trustworthy inn I will see myself out and you can finally enjoy your well earned rest." With that he waited a moment before walking over to her. Pulling two gold coins out of his pocket, he placed them on her vanity. "For the pleasure of your company and for the inconvenience."