Open Afternoon Delight

[Somna Fern]

Season of Fall, 513 AV, Day 38

The sun had started to set over the hills outside of Sunberth when the Widow opened one of Donovan's books and started to read. No studying at the moment, it was just some work of fiction that she found enjoyable in filling the time while waiting. Outside, the temperature was starting to feel closer to winter than fall, but inside near the fire she felt content enough for a slave. Donovan dressed the Symenestra in sheer linens of black and off-white to accent her natural pale, lithe figure and allow a flow to follow the subtle hints of her curves. Hair fell in long, loose locks of a nearly white shade of blonde.

Smooth, unblemished digits rubbed lightly across the spine of the leather cover in her hands. Fanged teeth raked gently across her lips. The interior of the Muted Maiden's storefront, in a manner of speaking, had a considerably warm fire going, and the wood had been treated so as to release a pleasant smell into the air. The owner might not have been a worldly man himself, but he seemed to know how to run a business of pleasure. Various women leisured here and there in various practiced methods of seductively waiting. The legitimate work day was drawing painfully close to an end. As the sun vanished, men would seek out female company, and sometimes women would do the same. Those traveling to places of ill repute like Sunberth would likely come searching for a bed and someone to warm it for them.

There was no shortage of beauty on display inside The Muted Maiden, but the odd bookish Widow was likely to stand out if one looked toward the rear. This was a place for those with extra coin to lose themselves for a time. Some might consider pleasure houses an oasis from the rigors and tribulations of the dangerous life outside the wooden walls, but inside was an illusion of what people wanted most. Power over another, security of a warm embrace, or the peaceful slumber of a weary head resting on warm, soft, sweet-smelling flesh tended to draw customers in. Even those with little extra income tended to find the odd extra coin for such simple pleasures. Somna tended to simply study an art that allowed the body to follow the mind in it's stepping away from the world outside to a place of momentary bliss.

[Daedalus Dagwood]

38th Day of Fall, 513 AV

It was a rare occasion for Daedalus as he stood outside of the Muted Maiden, dressed in his typical all black attire. A long black wool coat draped over his body hiding the black linen shirt he wore as the coat was buttoned down to his waist. The cold nip of fall in the air teased at the up coming winter which caused him to dress warmly in the evenings. The elaborately crafted metal hilt of his rapier sword was the only true eye catching thing he wore as it laid sheathed in its scabbard on his left hip. The Scabbard forced the tail of his coat to wrap under it to give him some padding from its constant tapping against his thigh as it hit against the wool and black linen of his pants.

Daedalus smirked as he walked into the Pleasure House. The footfalls of his heavy boots making slight thuds against the ground as he looked around the room. It was rare for him to ever enter a Pleasure House, and even rarer an occasion for him to seek the intimate pleasures of a woman from such a place. However, the metal smith had just had a long day at work casting metal into item within a foundry and also swinging a hammer to mold steel on an anvil so his body was tense and sore. All the man wanted was a massage to ease his sore muscles. His backpack shifted along his back as he reached up to rub his left shoulder with his right arm.

Even though the women within the pleasure house were all attractive, the metalsmith was also a seeker of knowledge as learning as an inventor. For the rest of his life,the fascination of learning new things would be forever embedded into the Gadgeteer's mind. It was that aspect of his personality that made a specific woman in the pleasure house who was holding a book stand out to him. It was the first thing about her that he had notice as he found a sudden interest in her and decided to walk over to her. It was as he approached her that he then started to notice how beautiful she was.

The scent in the air distracted him for a moment as it felt wrong to him. He worked around fire, smelt molten metal as coal burned within a hearth oven. He was raised on the scent, and found the sweetness in the air to tickle his nose. It wasn't bad. Just different. Daedalus's mind returned to the woman as he found himself at her side at the rear of the Muted Maiden. "Hello, lovely. You wouldn't happen to know who here can give the best massages?" A soft smile started to form on his lips as the brow over one eye shifted upwards in interested curiosity. In both her, and in the answer to his question.

[Somna Fern]

The girls turned their attention toward the pale woman in the rear of the store room. The pale woman's attention drifted up toward the man whom had entered. Slender digits pressed shut the book she had been studying as muscles drew only slightly tighter at the rising from her seat. The leather bound rested where her long, thin arms met and hands held to the binding while steps carried her toward the customer. With a practiced countenance, she kept her head dipped slightly down so as to keep from making undo eye contact.

Her approach was slow, and once she was within arm's reach of the man dressed in all black, it was clear her presence brought with it the faintest smell of honey and jasmine. A light application of makeup brought a slightly more mysterious aura to her already exotic appearance. When she finally did go to speak, it was in a tone nearly a whisper. It added to the sense that the small Symenestra was petite and held a voice almost as light and weightless as she was herself.

"Of the Maidens here, sir, I am the most practiced."

It was understandable. Her strong Symenestrian features would have been hard to overlook, even if she weren't small by their standards. Slaves were expensive, and a Widow in a profession like hers could easily be looked at as a loss if not for a more specific specialization. Her left hand rose slowly away from the book. Clawed fingertips brushed ever-so-lightly against the man's shoulder. The flat back of her fingertips took to a slide down along the sleeve as pale blue eyes drifted up to meet his. It was a mixture of assuredness and subservience that dwelled in her eyes. She knew what she could do, but would only dare to do so with express permission. As such, she waited a moment to make sure that he indeed would allow one of the spider women to place hands on him. Some tended to want something more...conventional.

[Daedalus Dagwood]

Note to GraderI didn't know what the massage would cost so I used the price listed in the Braga's House of Happy Endings (Found on Sunberth's linkmap) location as my example. Using a 1 GM per/every 5 chimes price. Ultimately, I'll end up deducting 6 GM's for 30 chimes worth of a massage to the Muted Maiden Pleasure house from my ledger at the end of the thread.

Daedalus smirked slyly as he let his eyes settle on her firmly. He really didn't care about the other women around them. His golden light brown hazel eyes began to sway in soft waves from side to side as he took in the full view of her lithely petite form. Daedalus found the Widow fascinating, whether or not most people he knew said the spider like race should always be greeted with caution, she was beautiful. His eyes followed her as she walked towards him until she was close enough to start touching him.

As a man, there was always an attraction to a woman displaying soft amounts of subservience to a man. It went unspoken, but as Daedalus looked into her pale blue eyes that seemed to accentuate against the alabaster white of her skin. He could feel the consensual power exchange occurs of her giving him dominate position over her.

"Well then, the twin god and goddess Kel'wyn must have given me good favor today to have found the services of someone so alluring." Standing far taller than the woman, he smiled down at her while keeping eye contact. "What is your name?" He asked with a richly deep tenor tone of voice.

[Somna Fern]

"My name, sir, is Somna Fern. I am pleased you think me such a treasure as to be a boon from the Gods."

A small smile came to her softly pink painted lips. She would remain a moment before she would turn and begin to lead him to his room. Steps carried with them the natural lightness an grace common to the Widows. Feet padded with virtual silence along the polished wooden floor from her delicate steps. The steps still managed to allow her small curves to give the slight sway to shift her sheer black linens. Paces allowed her to almost flow in an ethereal state of grace through the dim corridors and into the stone of the mine shaft below. The darkness made her pale body almost seem to glow as they traveled deeper.

"Might I be so bold as to ask what I may call you?"

She asked, because it was conditioned to request permission for information. She asked what he wanted to be called because Sunberth had all kinds. Master. Lover. Lord. Some played out fantasies, some fulfilled a sense of emptiness, and some used the position to fulfill more unsavory desires that one might not speak aloud in the presence of the free. Slaves did not judge, or at least that was the belief held by the diminutive Symenestra.

If he were inclined to follow her this far, he could see the small network of tunnels that made up the interior of The Muted Maiden. It had potential to expand underneath Sunberth, but for the moment it was only a small place with few Maidens. Donovan had dreams and aspirations of grandeur. Doors were added to close off mine shafts and walls placed inside to allow it to seem more like a normal room one might find anywhere else rather than in a cave. Inside was a wooden table wrapped in padded linens. A small fire could be seen in a rear corner of the room where smooth rocks were heated in water. A shelf that looked the sort in some alchemist or apothecary shops rested near the 'head' of the table. This shelf boasted various scented oils and herbal salves not wholly unlike a holistic doctor's treatment room.

[Daedalus Dagwood]

Even though Daedalus known that most girls in the line of work were slave, he wasn't one to assume that a girl was. So even though he felt like he had the power of control in their sudden client-masseuse relationship. He treated her like any other person with a profession. Though granted, it was hard for the man to actually treat her with any proper professionalism due to the fact he found her attractive. As she guided him to a place unknown, the footfalls of his boots caused a light thudding sound as he continued down into what appeared to be a cave.

"My name is Daedalus Dagwood, and it is a pleasure to meet you Somna. You may call me 'Dae' if you wish. Most people end up calling me it after some point in time of knowing me."

The corridors of the mine shaft started to give Daedalus thoughts about exploring the mines of Sunberth. There were many lost metals in the world that were waiting to be found, and the metal smith in him wanted to be the first in ages to craft something out of them. It was a dream that he one day hoped he would fulfill in his lifetime. As the corridor grew darker, the closer he walked to Somna. Once they both had arrived to the small room, Daedalus's attention seemed to shift to the shelf with various items on it. He was a naturally curious man as he looked at them. Trying to guess what each of them were used for by sight alone.

It took him a moment before he realized that he might have been unintentionally ignoring Somna. Smirking as he turned towards her. "This Is a great Idea. Making use of tunnels as rooms." Seeing as he practiced Animation, he found himself thinking about the idea of one day having his own secret lab to practice in Sunberth. He could only assume that he needed to lay on the table so shifted his backpack off of his shoulders to lay it down near the table. His wool cloak was then peeled from his body after undoing its buttons leaving him in his linen black shirt.

He knelt down to rummage through his back pack then pulled out six gold Miza's that would be payment for the massage. He stood back up to hold them out towards her. "For how ever long of a massage this will pay for, I am sure time will seem to flow like a slow falling leaf in the breeze carried up towards the sky even higher at the feeling of your touch."

[Somna Fern]

"Yes, Master Tavish is very skilled at running a business."

True enough that using the underutilized sections of cave helped in the private nature of the business and making it difficult to gauge the true size of The Muted Maiden. Somna noticed Dae removing his backpack and wool cloak, and as he did so the Widow made her way to the shelf space of oils and salves, opening a drawer beneath it and pulling free a crisp and freshly washed length of linen that looked something larger than a towel but smaller than a blanket.

"That will purchase a considerable time, but it is customary to give the coin to Master Tavish." A slight momentary pause was offered before she continued, "It keeps many of the Maidens honest about their wages."

It was only a falsehood in part. True enough that the owner would want his cut, but with slave labor, rare was it that one would be given reigns to handle the business currency themselves. Somna might have been loyal enough to do so herself, but it would create a president with the other slaves and end in more trouble than it was worth. She gave a sweet, somewhat innocent appearing smile to Dae as the linen was handed to him.

"If you wish, finish undressing and make yourself comfortable on the table, Dae. Some of the girls here use a timer, but I have practiced enough to know the time six gold coins will buy. This way our time together will not feel rushed."

This was more true than false, given that there were those outside at the office that kept track of the time to make sure the girls were not short-changing customers. With each part of the massage, Somna knew the time it used. She knew what the coin he offered would purchase in services. Donovan would be pleased with the start of the night and Dae would return home likely to feel better than he had in ages.

Somna turned her attention away from Dae, should he wish not to undress in front of her. She presumed that much, and allowed the choice of observation to be his to make rather than assume such. In the meantime, she busied herself with attaching a linen apron that looked something like a feminine version of a blacksmith's tool belt. It wasn't as sturdy-looking as it was not leather, but also didn't give her a more harsh and rugged appearance that it might otherwise have had. Inside it's pockets were placed an oil of lavender, a salve of jellied mint and herbs, and other assorted items designed to relax the mind, loosen the muscles, and tingle the nerves of the flesh.

[Daedalus Dagwood]

The Miza's that he held soon found themselves back inside of his backpack before he smiled at her as he took a hold of the linen cover she offered him. Daedalus wasn't that modest of a man to feel any sense of embarrassment while undressing within a Pleasure House. "There is no need for such bashfulness." He chuckled lightly to himself. The aspects of nudity related to the business itself was enough to give him a peace of mind as he began to strip out of his shirt, unlatch his belt that also held his his rapiers scabbard, and pants. It left him standing in only a pair of white undergarment shorts.

Daedalus folded each of his articles of clothing before neatly placing them into the backpack then stood up to sit onto the edge of the padded table. It only took him a moment to shift backwards on it then lay on his stomach with his head resting on folded arms. He watched the Symenestra curiously having never really had the chance to observe member of the spider like race since they always wore armor of some type to keep their brittle frames safe.

"I heard about Symenestra aerial dancers during a short chat with friends over a mug of ale. I heard they are a sight to behold. Are you one of them?" There was a curiosity to his voice as he observed the graceful way she moved. He found it strange that her long limbs didn't move as awkwardly as he might have expected. It gave him the idea to lengthen the arms of a doll to allow it to use its hands while upright to more around once animated.

[Somna Fern]

"I am a Symenestra female, though I have never attempted any aerial dancing. So, yes and no, I suppose."

Her bright blue eyes studied the nude musculature of the man before her. He seemed human from what she could tell, and anatomy seemed to fit at a glance as such. Softly and gently, her hand was placed at the small of his back and the tips of her clawed hand moved over it's surface. This was a two-fold movement that would help to ease Daedalus' mind, as well as help her detect which tissues saw the most exertion. She noticed quickly from the knotting that the man had been in combat with something recently, given which muscles were overly tense and which were downright strained. The soft, smooth blade of her hand would trace over scars as if she were feeling around for which places to work first to best help Daedalus' recovery time.

"Your muscles show that you've been in combat recently. If I may be so bold as to ask, do you fight often?"

The next steps were a bit complex as she kneaded into the knotted muscles of the low back, where most tension and soreness built from upward sword thrusts, downward ax and hammer strikes, etc. Here she would begin with applying a mint oil to the skin that would tingle slightly, but increase nerve sensitivity and increase the surface muscle's pliancy to a smaller extent. Smooth palms would apply slight pressure in small motions to force the surface tissues to release built up layers of lactic acids that cause muscles to feel tired. Working her way from the surface down, gradually pressure would increase and allow her to work out the muscles closer to the kidneys and liver. A side benefit of this was that it tended to help digestive obstructions from time to time in the event that there was something of that nature Daedalus was suffering as well. When she was content that his aches and soreness had melted into relaxed, pliant muscles, she would move to the next muscle group.

[Daedalus Dagwood]

Daedalus let his eyes close for a moment as he felt a strange, although pleasant, tingle run up his lower back that sent a shiver up his spine. He wanted to take a moment to remark upon how fantastic an ability she had, but found himself slowly being lulled into a relaxed state. He wanted to speak but could only manage to make a low groan of pleasure which emanated from his throat. There were pains that the body grew used too after having suffered from them for so long.

There were many days in the Metallurgists life that found him hulking around carrying heavy crucibles filled with molten metal by only a long set of tongs in his hands. It caused a soreness that lingered in his lower back that was made even more prominent by the fact that he not only worked with a blast furnace, but also a blacksmiths hammer while working metal against an anvil.

He was in a state of relaxation and didn't look up, he was comfortably lying with the side of his face snuggling against his arms. “I practice with my rapier almost daily to be prepared for anything. Combat seems to come up in the most unexpected places.” He chuckled lightly to himself as he thought back to the day when he was nearly mugged by a beggar while walking the narrow alleyways of the city. “I do however on occasion visit the Blood Pits to fight. Willingly. Though most of that tension may be from just my job as a Metalworker.”