"I understand," said the gypsy woman, "You both would probably feel fresher with a bath. I might come over later to see about your evening plans."
Renee quickly agreed to the idea of freshening up. She gave Ilynda her room number at the inn to find them later as they both thanked the group and took their leave.
The raven-haired girl and Alisa parted ways after climbing the stairs of the inn. The redhead couldn't help but notice a certain predatory quality that was new to Renee's walk, and something within her bristled with tension and faint longing at the sight, thoughts gnawing at the back of her mind with a shape looming and unremembered.
She cleared her mind and shook her head, heading back to her room.
It was connected, that much she knew as she asked a chambermaid to draw a bath for her. Everything here was happening for a reason, but she didn't know the reason yet. She started to disrobe, mentally going over what she knew so far.
These odd reflexes as she looked at Renee were nothing new. Their encounter when they had first met was proof of that. Stronger perhaps, but not new.
Renee had assumed the role of a paladin of Heironeus when she had entered the town. That much was obvious by the medallion she wore. However, Renee was blessed by Artemis, and someone had slipped that coin into her pocket.
Alisa wondered if she was blessed by Artemis as well. She hadn't been in town as long as her new friend, and she hadn't visited the temple. Perhaps she should before heading back to look for her friends at the hotel.
Alisa was fully nude by the time the chambermaids brought the bathtub into her room. The girls paid it no mind, and she simply shrugged, figuring they were used to it. One of them poured the hot water into the tub by the bucket, and the other poured some bath oil in before sprinkling the water with flower petals Alisa was not familiar with. They both curtsied and left.
The tub was ornate, brass inlaid with carved ivory depicting classically nude huntresses with bows stalking deer under the full moon. More local flavor, Alisa mused, as she recognized the smell of the bath oil. Everything in this town seemed to bear that scent, and while she was wary of it she realized it would be difficult to leave town without encountering it at least once more.
As much as she had tasted of it already, would a bath truly hurt? She guessed not as she eased herself into the decorative bathtub.
Ilynda had been right. The bath soothed her much more than she had expected, the warmth easing her tired, half-cramped muscles. She rinsed out her hair which had gathered a collection of leaves and twigs during her amnesiatic night. Flopping it over the side of the tub, she wrung it out and each time it seemed to stretch out longer.
She relaxed there for a long time, head tilted back and eyes lidded. As the water began to cool, she finally decided to dry off.
Hefting her barbaric self out of the tub, she smirked, wondering if her friends would even recognize her when she returned to the hotel. She had gained at least an inch in height, and quite a few pounds of muscle, making her not unlike the slender, leggy huntresses she saw on the tub. Her legs were unshaven, showing the beginnings of reddish hair to rival the gypsy woman's. Her bush was as unruly as the mane atop her head, and she quirked an eyebrow as it seemed to have crept up her belly a little. Her nails, both hand and foot, had grown more than they should, tapering, though still not the strange hooked things the gypsy and the paladin had.
Walking over to her belongings, she perched her glasses on her nose, and chuckled soflty at the absurdity of the contrast. Donning her shift, she looked about for her medallion to pray for her spells for the day.
It wasn't where she'd left it.
Rifling through her bags and clothes, she searched for it, but to no avail. Without her medallion, she was just another peasant with a staff. She sighed in frustration, sitting down on the bed only to hear the metallic clink of something hitting the floor.
That must be it, she assumed.
Looking down, she found herself very wrong.
It was one of the Artemis coins.
Now she had a very definite reason to check out the temple, and find out who stole her medallion...