Adventure: Heist Gone Wrong!

"Yeah, yeah. Fair play and all that stuff, I'll handle the next trap." Velatha sighed. "Big babies." she muttered under her breath.

Returning to the central room, the three women were greeted by the silvery orb once again. The image of Lady Launcet reappeared, a smug smile on her face.

"Oh, lookie lookie! Looks like one of you foolish fiends took a dip in my attire acid! If you thought that was fun, you haven't seen anything yet!" the noblewoman said, her image disappearing as quickly as it arrived.

"She's already annoying me." Velatha said as they continued on to the next room.

The third room presented yet another challenge. The room was featureless, save for a narrow pit in the center, a rope descending from the ceiling and into its depths. With the aid of Halia's sphere of light, the three could see that the narrow hole was lined with sharp and jagged protrusions, and an undetermined distance down a faint glimmer could be seen.

"I'm starting to wish I'd jumped in the water instead." Velatha said. Still she had agreed to handle the next obstacle, and there was no way the other two would be talked into doing it instead.

With a nervous gulp, Velatha grabbed the rope and slowly began her descent.

Dex Check: Beat 8
Velatha: 10+3=13

Velatha was gone for a few minutes, being slow and careful as she descended. "Eek! Wait... no, I'm good! I got it!" Velatha called up, followed by another tense wait as she climbed her way back up.

Reaching the top, Velatha emerged unscathed, to the amazement of both herself and her two companions. Putting on a confident face, Velatha idly rolled her newly acquired key between her fingers.

"That, girls." the rogue said. "Is professionalism."

Whether Jacqueline didn't hear Velatha's comment or simply didn't care, she carried on without a reaction. "I don't know, I do appreciate alliteration," the thief disagreed, after hearing Lady Launcet talk again.

"Well, you're going to have to go anyway," Jacqueline taunted, not caring at all about the elf's trepidation. At least, not caring until she had been gone for a while.

"Do you think she's okay?" Jacqueline asked Halia worriedly. Jacqueline immediately regretted her worry when Velatha returned with the key, but also with her snarky attitude.

Having changed demeanor entirely since Launcet last appeared, Halia merely rolled her eyes and moved her hand in a talking motion, imitating someone prattling on. When she disappeared, she nodded reassuringly to Jacqueline. "Yeah, she sure does love her alliteration. I'll allow it."

Deciding to mess with her cloak while Velatha was in the put, she clasped the useless thing around her neck (it had gotten briefly dipped in the acid pool). It was little more than a series of holes connected by green threads and a simple clasp, but she tried it on anyway with a dissatisfied frown. She blinked and nodded when Velatha climbed out of the pit, an impressed look on her face. Halia gave a little clap.

"Woohoo, Miss Professionalism! Due to your outstanding performance, you get to handle the next hazard too," she laughed.

"Now just to figure out what these keys are for. Although, for all the trouble, picking the lock might have been more fun."

Despite her words, she possessively gripped her key in hand, looking around warily.

Velatha's triumphant expression faltered when she heard Halia's declaration. "Says who? It's not my fault you two had bad luck!"

Regardless of the responses the other two gave, Velatha and the rest returned to the central room, only to find a major change. The hallway from which they had entered the room was gone, a large ornate door in its place. Three keyholes sat plainly upon the door, one at each and and one in the center.

Again, the silvery sphere flickered to life.

"Congratulations on conquering my key traps." Lady Launcet said. "However, this is simply the start, as the true test begins now! That door before you leads to the rest of my reliquary, and the terrible traps that wait within! Go ahead, open the door to your destiny of dismay!"

"We'll deal with the next trap when we get to it. For now, let's just find out where these keys go," Jacqueline rationed, hoping to keep the situation under control.

"Well, we know where the keys go. I guess we just keep going."

The half elf sighed, bit her lower lip, and petulantly rolled her eyes again at their spectral tormentor. Trying to blow a bit of hair out of her face, she eventually tucked her bangs back and regarded the other two, hands on her hips.

"Well, I guess we don't really have a choice now, do we..? We're just jumping through her hoops? This very door is almost definitely a trap..."

Without waiting for a response, Halia began to creep towards the door, her quirked brow and nearly inaudible movements indicative of her effort to spot any traps. The key was held tight in her hand as she approached what seemed to be the matching hole. Glancing briefly at the others, she gestured for them to follow... if all went well.

"So, we all turn at the same time, yea?"

Velatha nodded in agreement with Halia. "Sounds like a good plan. On three. One. Two. Three!"

The trio quickly turned their keys in the locks, each one flinching back in anticipation of some kind of trap. To their surprise, the door simply slid open silently, allowing access to the hall. Just as before, this hallway was nothing like the one the rogues had entered the center room from, with a plush red carpet and multiple torches illuminating the way.

"Well... I guess not everything here is a trap, huh?" Velatha said as the three moved on into the hallway.

Just as the last of them passed through the threshold, however, it became clear that Velatha had spoken too soon.

Int Check: Beat 7
Velatha: 3+1=4
Jacqueline: 5+1=6
Halia: 1+1=2

Noxious green gas shot forth from previously concealed holes in the wall, enveloping the team as they stepped into the hall. Taken off guard, all three staggered out of the green cloud, coughing and struggling to see. They didn't have any trouble hearing, however, and all heard the sound of something dissolving. After Halia's experience with the water, there wasn't much mystery as to what it was.

Finally freeing themselves of the cloud, the three looked themselves over. The gas didn't seem to have been as destructive as the liquid, but it was still nasty. Velatha's leather armor was almost completely ruined, and small holes could be seen in the top and pants she wore beneath. Jacqueline's armor was in a similar state, though her top failed to survive after being damaged from the earlier trap.

That just left poor Halia, now the victim of two acid attacks. The odds seemed stacked against the bubbly half-elf's attire.

((Also, guys, sorry about kinda slowing down lately. I think I'm having a bit of a burnout after so much activity here in a relatively short span of time. I'm -not- disappearing or abandoning the forum, just slowing down. I do apologize in any case. Hopefully someone else can step up and run some fights or adventures of their own.))

"No, I do believe this is a trap, too," Jacqueline responded, "I'm sure some sort of pointes will pop up in a moment or-AHH!"

"Oh, Halia. I hope you're okay."

((so, for purposes of my next post, what's that leave Halia with?))

((Okay, so, incredibly late, but I'm hoping to at least slowly resurrect this adventure. I've had some ideas, and both of you still seem fairly active, so hopefully you're both up to the idea of continuing. As for Halia's state of dress, Cerin, I was thinking of leaving that up to you. In my opinion, Halia likely wouldn't have much of anything left after the two consecutive acid attacks, or at least nothing that could be confused for real clothing. Perhaps some scraps held together by bits of thread, looking more like a bunch of webbing or nets rather than an actual outfit.))

((I'm going to go ahead and make a post to set the scene, to help get things flowing again.))

Velatha and Jacqueline watched as Halia stumbled and coughed out of the cloud of noxious gas. Both women were surprised to see that Halia was still, very very technically, dressed. Though calling her state of attire clothing would be a joke. What little was left of Halia's undergarments and armor was little more than wisps of thread and small patches of cloth. A tiny scrap hung over the bubbly girl's mound, while one breast was barely concealed by a tangle of thread, while the other was left free. They couldn't see Halia's backside, but it was unlikely that it fared much better.

Halia finished coughing and sputtering long enough to look up and notice the other two girls staring at her. Growing even redder in the face, she shifted from one foot to another, her sheepishness nearing its maximum. She let out a nervous little chuckle and cupped one hand over her exposed, rosy, pert nipple. The other one threatened to pop right through the flimsy fabric at any moment on the tip of her smallish breast. Her other hand was doing its best to cover her round little bubble-bottom, despite the fact that no one was really behind her to see it. She still felt waaay too exposed.

"Heheh, yep, Halia: Master Thief here, still good to go," she chuckled, still sheepish. "I'm fine!" she whispered forcefully, "just uh, you two keep leading the way, and I'll keep an eye out, kay? hehe..." Halia trailed off and slunk along behind the other two, keeping her butt facing the wall when she could and occasionally shifting to keep her flimsy network of threads that acted as cover in place. Every now and then a rebellious nipple would pop free and she'd have to tuck it back in, or a faint movement of air would cause the scrap over her crotch to flutter, and she'd have to catch it with both hands. Other than that, she seemed just as alert and ready for action as before..!

Despite their troubles, the trio of thieves continued onward. While Velatha couldn't speak for Jacqueline, she couldn't help but cast a quick glance behind her every once in awhile, interested to see how well Halia's outfit was doing. The answer was, unsurprisingly, not good.

Velatha was broken out of this idle train of thought as she and the others stepped out of the hallway and into a room decidedly unlike any they had seen so far in the labyrinthine dungeon.

The room was well lit by an unknown source, a warm glow throughout. The walls were a soft red color, and the stone floor seemed to change to a plush carpet. Perhaps the most noteworthy decoration was the door across the room, large and imposing and sporting a detailed mosaic of two women engaged in the throes of passion. As it had before, the silvery sphere reappeared, and the woman that had tormented the girls all night shimmered into view once again.

"I see my cunning contraptions continue to put you witless wastrels to shame!" Lady Launcet taunted. "Do you like this new room? Quite quaint, and beautifully built with but a single thing in mind! Can you figure out how to open the door? I dare say, even three thick-headed thugs such as yourselves can puzzle this out!"

Indeed, it seemed rather obvious what needed to be done to open the door. Aside from the mosaic on the door, there was a raised platform with manacles and an arrangement of... certain toys. The only odd part of the setup was the seat positioned by the platform...

"Three of us... but only two on the mural." Velatha muttered to herself. "I suppose the seat is for the third person to be an audience?"

"Precisely!" Lady Launcet said happily. "You may posses an inkling of intellect after all! Please, do put on a good show, else the door may not be pleased enough to open! Its magics meld with the entertainment experienced by the enraptured voyeur!"

With that, the image of Lady Launcet dissipated, though the sphere remained.

"So... who's doing what?" Velatha asked.

Halia watched, wide-eyed, as the silvery orb dictated the terms of their passage.  She gulped a little when she saw the throne and the toys, and heart jumped in her chest.

"So... She wants us to... Get intimate?"  Halia's blush deepened, somehow, and she bit her lower lip as she looked at the ground.  "Jeez, I uh... These aren't exactly the conditions I would have... I mean, you're both very, very pretty and all, but I don't just jump into things like this!  I'm a nice girl..!"

Halia continued to rant/protest much in this manner, continuously, until action from one of the other girls stopped or cut off the flustered, blushing half elf.  The added red in her cheeks and the way she refused to make eye contact betrayed her as thoroughly embarrassed by the prospect but ultimately willing.  It didn't look like she was about to make the first move, though.  Her faux offended demeanor was a bit undermined by her shameless state of dress, try as she might to cover her peeking naughty bits...

Jacqueline didn't much mind walking ahead of Halia, but she did much mind Lady Launcet's next suggestion. Once she had figured out the mystery of the door, Jacqueline became wide-eyed and red in the face. She looked rather like she wanted to say something, but she certainly didn't have anything to say.

While Velatha was sorely tempted to make a dash for the throne and claim it as her spot, leaving the other two to have to perform the more embarrassing act, something stayed the infiltrator's hand. After everything the trio had been through so far, Velatha couldn't bring herself to make things worse for the other two girls without at least giving them a fair shot. The last thing they needed was to start sabotaging each other when they had enough obstacles arrayed against them.

"If we have to decide who has to do what, it's only right we do it fairly." Velatha said, reaching into her leather jerkin and fishing around for a moment before pulling out a six-sided die. "So, we'll each pick two numbers. Whoever's number it lands on gets the easy job on the throne. The other two, well... we all know what the other two do. I pick three and four, how about you girls?"

Halia stopped yammering and looked, wide-eyed, as Velatha explained the prospects. Her blush had not faded.

"What does the person on the throne have to do, exactly? Watch and... pleasure herself?" the half elf murmured sheepishly. "I don't know if I'm comfortable with that! Now, if all I have to do is watch... Then give me five and six on the die. Otherwise, I guess I'll just have to get... intimate with one of you."

Try as she might to at least acknowledge the conversation the other two were having, Jacqueline still couldn't manage to get any words out. She only hoped that they would take her silence as consent to go along with the plan. It's not like they needed her input to know she would take 1 and 2.

"I'm not sure exactly what the person on the throne has to do. Maybe just sit and watch? I'm sure out 'wonderful host' will gladly tell us if we're doing it wrong." Velatha said in response to Halia's question.

With everyone's numbers picked, Velatha closed her eyes, gave the die a small kiss, and made the fateful toss.

The fancy gambling piece bounced across the floor, seemingly ready to land on a three... only to suddenly go flying once more, propelled by a flash of arcane light.

Velatha blinked in surprise, the rush of adrenaline from seemingly lucking out replaced by shock at this new development. Quickly realizing what must have happened, the infiltrator glared at the silvery sphere and let out an irritated "REALLY?!"

While Lady Launcet's image did not reappear, her voice could still be heard. "Hahahahahahaha! Yes." was the noblewoman's simple reply.

Once again, all eyes were on the die as it began to lose momentum...

Die roll: 6

The highest value on the die presented itself. Velatha let out a sigh of defeat at this sight, begrudgingly making her way over toe the raised platform she and Jacqueline would soon have to make use of.

"Congratulations, Halia. You get to sit and watch the two of us... let's just get this over with, okay?" the elf said, looking over at Jacqueline expectantly.

"Well then," Halia stated daintily, tip-toeing her way up to the throne and delicately setting her rear upon it. It felt a bit cold and she jumped a little, being mostly naked. Although when she first settled in she felt a strange sense of voyeuristic haughtiness, she soon felt a bit paranoid.

Her hands rested on the armrests of the throne, but looking down at it she realized that the big magical chair might be the least safe of the three positions. She gently bit her lower lip and decided not to voice her opinions, merely waiting and watching the two girls with a good deal of interest. Her eyes danced and she crossed one milky thigh over the other as she waited for them to... begin.

Though Jacqueline was obviously disappointed as the die almost landed on the three, she seemed even more crestfallen when it truly landed on the six. Anyway, she just continued to look down with her eyes wide until Velatha spoke to her.

"Al- alright," she managed to mumble as she began to remove what was left of her clothes and armor.

Velatha watched Jacqueline disrobe with more than a little interest. Each removed article of clothing served only to fuel a small fire of anticipation within her. While the circumstances of their situation wasn't pleasant, Velatha was at least trying to find the silver lining in the fact that her partner was easy on the eyes.

When Jacqueline's considerable chest was finally bared, Velatha couldn't help a small whistle of appreciation. "I might not be a fan of half-breeds, but I suppose getting some human blood has perks..."

Sensing that Jacqueline was hesitant about the situation, Velatha waited until both she and the assassin were both fully nude before stepping forward and gently taking her by the wrist, pulling her over to the table.

"Okay, just think of it as another job. You have to do it to get out of here, but you might as well try to enjoy it, right? I mean, you can't tell me I'm not easy on the eyes, right?" Velatha cooed, her fingers tracing over Jacqueline's stomach. "Just go with the flow."

Jacqueline mumbled something about Velatha being pretty, of course, but not really swinging that way as she was led to the platform, but for the most part, she seemed to go with it.

Leaning against the platform, Jacqueline didn't really know what to do with her hands, so she just placed them on Velatha's breasts and prayed for this to be over soon.

Velatha frowned, picking up on Jacqueline's reluctance with little trouble. How exactly were they supposed to get that stupid door open if one of them simply wasn't into it? How indeed...

"Okay, doll, since you clearly can't seem to appreciate what a woman can do for another woman." Velatha began, her hands greedily squeezing Jacqueline's ample chest. "We're going to have to trick you a bit. Here..."

Her idea quickly forming, Velatha took the (hopefully cooperative) Jacqueline and had her climb up on the table, putting her on all fours. A quick perusal of the toys provided allowed Velatha to find exactly what she needed. First, picking up a length of cloth, Velatha wrapped it around Jacqueline's head, creating a blindfold.

"There. Now you can really pretend it's a lad giving you what you want." Velatha said. "And I say that, because of this little number." with that, Velatha took her second item, a decently sized prosthetic phallus attached to a harness. After a few moments of fiddling with the straps, the infiltrator got the device properly attached and crawled into position behind Jacqueline.

"I'll try to be as quiet as I can, so you just... pretend I'm a fella with dainty hands or something, yeah?" Velatha suggested, shortly before pumping her hips forward and plunging the device into her partner.