"... if any of you are looking for a more interesting night that is."
Grace snapped back to reality. She realised her mind had been wandering, but this had brought her attention right back. "Sorry, what did you say?" she asked.
"I said there's always BP," repeated Triss. "They're the person to go with if you're looking for a more interesting night."
Triss was the dwarven bartender, and seemingly owner, of the inn that Grace and her party of adventurers had stumbled into, following a tiring day of evading the King's guard in the inner city. Luckily for the adventurers, it also turned out that a number of sex workers lived and worked in the inn, so they could each have company for the night. Triss was currently talking them through who was available.
"Yes please," nodded Grace eagerly. "I'd like that a lot."
"Alright. Let me go get them for you," said Triss. She turned and opened a large trap door on the floor behind the bar. Within it, Grace could see wide stone steps leading down into darkness. Triss descended and was quickly swallowed up by the shadows.
Grace's initial confidence had probably been helped by the beer in her system, but now she began to feel anxious. She loved to explore sexually and to try new things, but what had she just signed herself up for? She hadn't even asked what Triss had meant, she'd just yelled yes without thinking.
Grace was a wood elf and an adventurer. She had long flowing hair, through which the tips of her pointed ears emerged. She wore close fitting leather armour and had a bow strapped to her back, alongside a quiver of arrows. She had joined her adventuring party as a ranger a couple of years ago. She didn't have the raw physical strength, nor the magical proficiency of her companions, but her skill with a bow was unparalleled. She also kept a level head when situations became dicey, an attribute which had saved the rest of the party on several occasions.
Grace's companions had also come to learn that she was adventurous when it came to her recreational time. Whenever they took a brief break from traditional adventuring, be it in an inn, a friendly village, or the castle of a grateful monarch, Grace would always seek out new and intriguing bedtime pursuits. So the rest of the party weren't surprised that she jumped at the opportunity to try something 'more interesting.' They said their goodnights to her as they split off and headed over to meet their individual love interests for the evening.
Grace fidgeted anxiously on her seat and rapped her fingers on the wooden bar as Triss emerged from the trap door.
"They'll be up in a moment," said Triss with a smile. "I hope you enjoy your night." She gave Grace a wink as she walked away to serve two half-orcs further down the bar who were looking agitated due to their tankards being empty for more than 30 seconds.
Grace downed the rest of her drink and looked into the darkness of the cellar steps, which stared back at her and filled her head with doubts. What the hell would emerge from it? And why did they live in the cellar?
Before Grace could become too wrapped up in her own head, the outline of a figure began to form from the darkness. They certainly appeared humanoid, but as they came further up the steps Grace realised that whoever this was, they were huge. They were having to stoop in order to fit in the walkway, a walkway that had seemed overly large when Triss was coming in and out of it.
As the figure emerged from the trap door, the light caught their face first. They had pale purple skin and long silver hair which they had tied back into a ponytail. As they covered the last few steps, they rose higher and higher until they towered over Grace. They wore a plain white robe, which held back an incredibly stocky torso. By comparison, their arms and legs were lean, with well-defined muscles that weren't overly pronounced. Their presence would have been intimidating, if not for the beaming smile that was on their face. Their motions were also incredibly delicate, and Grace realised that they had made barely a sound whilst walking up the steps, despite their large size.
"Good evening. Would you be Grace by any chance?". Their voice was deep, but soft and welcoming. "I'm BP," they said, extending their hand. Grace shook it. The hand dwarfed hers, but it squeezed her with a light pressure that left her feeling calm and reassured.
"So," said BP, "Triss tells me you'd like to spend the night with me."
"I think I'd like that very much," said Grace.
"Fantastic," said BP with a smile. "I believe Triss has already discussed the cost with you?"
"She did," replied Grace, who pulled a small coin bag out of one of her pouches and tossed it across the bar to BP. BP plucked the bag out of the air smoothly and tucked it into a pocket in their robe.
"Not going to count it?" asked Grace, raising an eyebrow.
"Triss says you're trustworthy. And Triss is a good judge of character." BP walked over to the trap door and gestured welcomingly towards it. "Shall we?"
Grace followed the silhouette of BP down into the darkness, tracing her hands along the brick walls on either side. Towards the bottom, the stairway took a sharp right turn and emerged into a brightly lit room. Grace stepped out after BP, her feet sinking into a soft rug on the ground. The room was tall, allowing BP to stand in it without fear of hitting their head on the wooden beams above. The walls were bare stone, but were covered by tapestries decorated with intricate shapes. In the middle of the room was a bed that was bigger than any Grace had ever seen. There was also a small chest of drawers with a wash bowl on top, and a rack with clothes and towels neatly hung on it.
What captivated Grace the most however, was the source of the light. All around the edge of room, small jars floated in mid-air, each emitting a different colour of soft, warm light. Moving closer to one of the jars, Grace could see that inside each of them floated a tiny fairy from whom the light emanated. All of the fairies in the jars near to her smiled and waved excitedly.
"They're so pretty" remarked Grace, smiling. "Are they trapped though?" she said, looking over at BP.
