FreeHolds Adventure, Cycle 2 Part 5d
Tipper was increasingly pleased with the gifts Adwin had obtained. First she was stunned by the beautiful dwarven crafted hatchet, it was well balanced and she liked the weight of the weapon. She was surprised to hear that he had actually bought it from a dwarf.
“It wasn’t so bad, introductions took half the afternoon and we were done our negations before the sun set.” He had explained.
“Still, that’s down right speedy for a dwarf.”
He then gave her a little booklet, An Agents Field Guide for the Roburns Trading Company, there was large lettering stamped across the cover, For Internal Use Only. She leafed through the booklet and then looked at him with a mix of horror and gratitude, “This is their operations manual.”
Adwin shrugged, “Yeah, it’s how they get people to do what they want, so they can establish themselves in a given area. I thought you’d find it interesting.”
She gave him a hug.
Then he took out a piece of folded parchment, unfolded it and passed it to her. “This is what I could remember from the report I copied, it’s the Roburns dealings with the Maldorn copper mine in the southern part of Darner’s Hold. You had mentioned your people were having troubles with the mining operation.”
She squinted a bit as she read the tiny script he had used, after a couple moments she looked up from the paper and said, “There’s a lot of logistical information here. I mean, I’m not sure what so say. A few moments ago I was ready to give you a good thumping. Now…” She leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, “Now, you are forgiven.”
Adwin sighed in relief. “Good, I’m glad.”
“What will you do if they find out you took these?”
“Better that they don’t.” He gave a small shrug, “Though, I really don’t need to work anymore. I’m also not planning on staying past the spring. My intention is to go to Kaymere with you.”
“Well, I’ll be happy to have you with me.”
“Happy to help.”
“I have a gift for you as well. It’s downstairs though. Can I give it to you later?”
“Oh, yeah. Besides I think we’re going to eat soon, we should probably go back downstairs.”
“I’ll make sure to tuck these out of the way.”
“That’s a good idea.”
“So, tell me about Addath.”
“What do you mean?”
She laughed, “It’s obvious there’s some tension between you two. I just assumed you and your boss had some sort of mutual understanding.”
Adwin blushed, “Not yet, no.”
“Ah, but you invited her here for Yuletide? And she accepted.”
“Well, what about you? You and Setta?”
Tipper groaned and lay back on the bed, “Mokha kind of threw me off my game. He seems to have fallen head over heals for her. I was not expecting that.”
“Ah, well. It is the Yuletide.”
They joined the others in the kitchen for the second feast of the day. They ate, talked and laughed a lot during the meal. Mokha opened the khulmah.
When they could eat no more an effort was made to clean up a bit; scraps were put into the soup pot, dishes wiped clean and the floor swept. Mokha put a small keg of beer outside, saying it would be better chilled. Calathy asked Adwin to go around and make sure the fires were good and warm then she went upstairs to find something more comfortable for Addath to wear.
A pair of kitchen cats sat perched high on a shelf watching the humans.
Adwin went to the bathing room first; it was very hot and steamy. The fire pit under the tub had a large bed of glowing coals and when he tested the water it was much to hot to bathe in. He added two buckets of cold water to the tub and did not add wood to the pit. He did put a couple of pieces of coal in the brazier though.
He then went upstairs and checked the games room and music room, adding a large chunk of wood to each hearth, though it was plenty warm in both rooms already.
He went up to the servant’s quarters on the third level and could hear the windy gusts of what sounded like a classic Yuletide snowstorm. The upper level was very cool, the draftiness noticeable, he added a bit of coal to the braziers at either end of the hall.
As he passed the room where he had left his belongings, he noticed a candle had been left burning. He spotted a beautiful bow laid out in the bed beside a quiver of arrows, he felt a brief chill of awe. He sat on the bed and picked up the bow which was smooth, well finished and supple looking. On inspection, two of the ten arrows were made with iron wood shafts. He wiped a tear from his cheek. Oh, how he loved Tipper.
He put the gift with his other belongings, took a couple deep breaths and continued on with the task of feeding the fires. He went back down to the second level, to the master bedroom. Both the main doors and one of the side doors were open, the fire had already been stacked with wood. From the side chamber he could see lamp light. Curious he wandered over.
Calathy was admiring herself in a full length mirror, not too dissimilar from the one that the Fingures had in their hoard of treasures. Thankfully in the reflection he could only see Calathy. She wore a beautiful sheer robe of a soft blue colour and she had let down her auburn hair. Adwin gasped at the sight of her, beautiful.
Somewhat startled she turned, then seeing it was him, smiled “Hi Adwin. What do you think?”
“What is this place?”
“The bedroom of her ladyship.”
“She doesn’t sleep in that bed?” He pointed to the other room. “It’s huge.”
“I don’t believe my lord and lady have slept together in a number of years. I think they have become bored of each other.”
“Still, two rooms, two beds? I guess I never really thought about it that way, but if you have enough weight then you can have what you want.”
“Money doesn’t make people happy though. Now, are you going to answer my question?”
“What question?”
She gestured to the robe she was wearing, “This, does it look good on me? Or is it silly?”
“Yeah, it’s not silly. I’d say it looks really good.” Hopefully she couldn’t see him blushing in the dim light.
“So, I think I’ll wear it. I’ve always wanted to.”
“Then you should. It’s the Yuletide, after all.”
“Alright, I will then.” She beamed a smile at Adwin, grabbed a small bundle clothing and snuffed the lamp. He followed her downstairs.
The others had settled into the gaming room, Addath and Mokha were playing stones, Setta and Tipper were cuddled together on a reclining couch. Adwin looked at Tipper and mouthed a thank you, she smiled at him contentedly. Calathy proffered the garments she had brought down to Addath.
Addath looked up from the game, looked at Calathy and then to the proffered knickers. She looked back to Calathy, pointedly at the sheer robe she had on. With a smile she asked, “Is there a message in this?”
“None that I’m aware of.”
“Alright, let me see these.” She picked a rust coloured pair of knickers and matching halter top then held up the rest. “Anyone else?”
Mokha looked up from the game, “Oh, that’s a nice top, give me that one.”
Tipper said from the couch, “Give me the green knickers, it’ll match the shirt I brought.”
Setta asked, “Are we all going to wear her Ladyship’s underwear?”
Calathy poured a couple of drinks, “You might as well, everyone else seems to be.”
“What about Adwin?” Tipper asked.
“Oh no, that’s okay.”
Calathy said, “I think Adwin looks splendidly handsome in his Yule outfit.”
Setta sat up and looked at the remaining underwear, “So long as it’s not red, I’ll be happy wearing her ladyships underwear. When I was younger I never thought I’d become sick of red.”
Tipper wandered off to change, Setta followed. Addath threw her knickers over her shoulders and returned her attention to the stones game. Mokha took off the shirts he had on and slipped into the blue halter top he had snagged. Calathy topped off Mokha and Addath’s drinks. She handed Adwin one of the drinks she had first poured and asked him, “Can I sit with you?”
“Ah, sure.” He scrunched over to give her a bit of room in the chair, she snuggled close. She sang for a while. He had an arm around her, drink in the other hand. All seemed well.
It was a long while before the other two returned. Setta was flushed and Tipper strode in behind her wearing her ladyship’s green knickers and the beaded halter they had won after the fight with Dannos. Adwin couldn’t help but admire her strong form. She gave him a smile and ruffled his hair as she walked past.
They played more trees and traps, drank a lot and snacked when they felt like it. Mokha remembered the keg before it froze and burst, so they had some cold beer. Then Mokha played lute and Calathy sang. Tipper then went around and added more wood to the fires. When she came back to the games room she pointed out the bath was perfectly warm and it’d be a shame not to take advantage of it, given how much wood they had been burning through the day.
Everyone thought a bath was a great idea. The big tub fit four comfortably, six was a bit snug, but everyone scrunched in together, slopping water over the edge and throwing up clouds of steam. Mokha sat across from him with Calathy on one side and Setta on the other, he had an amused smile on his face. Tipper was to Adwin’s right, next to Setta and Addath was on his other side, next to Calathy. With all the food and drink, the hot bath was making them sleepy and lethargic, they stewed for a long time without really saying much. At one point Adwin was pretty sure Mokha was playing footsies with him, for a while Calathy and Addath were kissing, which happened more than once.
It wasn’t until the water had noticeably cooled that people started getting out. Once the first one started to dry themselves the others soon followed. Then, with unspoken consensus they sleepily made there way to Lord Greensly’s massive bed. Mokha tossed another chunk of wood on the fire and claimed the middle of the bed, the rest of them piling on. There was some squirming and shifting as everyone made themselves more comfortable, but the bed was nearly large enough for them to all snuggle up together.
Adwin fell asleep, dreaming of sugared plums.
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