The fold-out beds were not particularly comfortable but the white noise and movement of the tram had helped Tabitha sleep. The rolling hills outside her window gave way to flat fields. They were getting close. Groggily she extracted herself from the blankets and Saphica's limbs. Her movement caused Saphica to stir.
Tabitha began to dress. "Good morning, we should be arriving soon. Best get ready."
"What about the morning ritual?" Saphica replied with a sly smile.
"You would be perfectly happy eating my pussy for breakfast, lunch, and dinner wouldn't you?" Tabitha teased.
Saphica blushed and looked away shyly, "No...maybe."
Tabitha could feel the little sliver of hurt her rejection had caused. She knew Saphica had become fond of their intimacy. Honestly, she enjoyed it too. It'd been a long time since she'd allowed herself to feel this much connection.
Tabitha dropped her panties and climbed back into bed. "The abbreviated morning ritual."
Saphica sucked on her nipples and caressed her body but Tabitha found her mind wandering to memories of the dark things that she had done as an inquisitor. Would she need to do them again? Would that change the adoring look in Saphica's eyes? She was being silly, she didn't even know what mahant required. No need to get all maudlin yet. Still, a nagging thought persisted.
You know exactly what Mahant needs. What else are you good for?
She pushed it away and shifted her attention to the joy of playing with her miko.
Saphica was good at her work. She quickly fingered Tabitha to orgasm and made a big show of licking her fingers clean. It had the desired effect.
Tabitha pounced on her pinning her to the bed. "What am I going to do with you, mouth slut?" she growled playfully.
Suddenly the tram shuddered and began decelerating indicating that they had reached their destination and rudely interrupted their play.
"It seems that the day is upon us. I'll have to take care of you later."
"Cock blocked by a tram," Saphica pouted, "that's a first for me."
They dressed and gathered their things as the train slowly pulled into the station. A large sign read PISSDORF LOCOMOTORY AUTO-BOILER GASTRAM STATION.
"Pissdorf," Saphica chuckled.
♥ ♥ ♥
Pissdorf was originally named Blissdorf, but every map published in recent memory spelled it with a P. The Cartographers Guild claimed that this was simply a typo but no efforts to correct it have ever been made. In truth, a spiteful cartographer had an unfortunate holiday in Blissdorf and intentionally misspelled the town's name. It was a crude joke, so of course, the name stuck.
Saphica enjoyed the smell of saltwater in the air and looked at all the maritime shops as they made their way down the main avenue toward the heart of town. She had never been on a boat larger than a canoe and was excited to see so many bobbing in the distance.
They found a little café where they ordered some breakfast and watched the locals go about their morning business.
"Who do you think the others in the contingent will be?" asked Saphica while buttering a biscuit.
"Bureaucrats and nerds I imagine." Tabitha said with a smirk while enjoying her coffee.
Saphica giggled. "Well, I hope they're more fun than that!"
They finished their breakfast and got directions to the Busted Flush which was only two blocks away. The inn was constructed in the stone and wood style common to the area. It looked well-maintained and clean. Saphica mused on what the inn's name could be referring to. She was an avid reader of smutty novels and in those stories, the names almost always meant something dirty.
"Would you check us in? I'm going to take a look around." Tabitha had to explore any space she was to spend time in. She felt it important to learn the layout, the points of ingress, and especially the points of egress.
Saphica felt her mistress' habit was a little paranoid, but she kept that to herself and walked up to the bar. There was no innkeeper to be found or anyone else for that matter. The inn's common room was pretty typical, booths lined the walls, tables and chairs dotted the main floor. There was a large hearth with the smoldering remnants of last night's fire.
A large man pushed through the front door with a cask under each arm. He huffed and puffed as he hoisted the casks up and set them on the bar top.
Saphica called out, "Hi! Are you, by chance, the innkeeper?"
He spun around startled, but when he saw the strangely dressed woman standing by the bar, he smiled.
"Sorry lass, I didn't see yeh there. Sometimes I get the ole' tunnel-vision when I'm schlepping grog. Not as young as I used to be. The name's Buddy. I'm the proprietor of this here establishment. What can I do for yeh?"
"I have a reservation under Saphica Scissors or maybe the Scroatsburg-Fossegrim travel contin--that name is terrible."
"They always are lass. Bureaucrats, no imagination. Here yeh are in the ledger. Taint and Scissors. I'll put you in number three it's got the double bunks."
"No," Saphica said a little too emphatically. "Is there a room with one large bed?"
"Absolutely. Take number four."
Buddy's eyes fell on the holy symbol that Saphica wore as a pendant. He looked uncomfortable for a moment. "Err... I don't know the correct term, so please forgive the description but are you one of those sex-nuns?"
Saphica chuckled, "Officially, we're the Followers of Libidini but sex-nun is apt. Why do you ask?"
"Well, yeh see my sister Maggs runs a brothel. Last year some Followers of," Buddy worked through the pronunciation. "Li bi di ni... lotta' i's in that one, came through town. Maggs convinced them to do a workshop for her girls. She's been raving about the results since. Patronage has gone way up."
"I can imagine."
"But new whores come in, old whores move on. I guess they could use a refresher. She asked me to keep an eye out for her and ask yeh to drop by. She's happy to pay yeh for your trouble. It's called The Sausage Factory. Ask for Maggs."
"I'll keep that in mind. So what's the story behind Busted Flush? Is it a gambling reference?"
"Err...won it in a game of poker offa the previous owner, that sorta thing? No. That would be a much cooler tale. The truth is we had this broken toilet. Called on every tinkerer, plumber, and handyman what passes through here and none of them could fix er'. In their travels, those professionals passed on tale of our un-fixable toilet and it became a sort of test of skill or right of passage. Fix the busted flush and yer king of the plumbers! Or something, bragging rights at least. It brought in a lot of business so I just sorta went with it."
"What was the original name?"
"The Rusty Blowhole, named after me dad."
"Your family must feature prominently in the local lore of this town."
"Yeh have no idea," he said with a chuckle. "Don't get me started on those scurvy wastrels I call cousins."
Tabitha returned to the common room, apparently content with her exploration. Saphica watched her stride across the room and wondered how had she landed the affections of such a magnificent creature.
"Ahh, is this Mrs. Taint? Pleased ta meet yeh. Names Buddy. Yeh're in room number four. Lemme know if yeh need anything."
Tabitha paused letting the wave of jovial hospitality pass. "Thank you, Buddy. We need to find a sea captain. Saphica, what was his name?"
"Stipol Manlove," Saphica supplied.
Buddy guffawed. "Stipol's my brother-in-law!"
Saphica giggled. "Of course, he is."
Tabitha was confused but indifferent. "When the rest of our group arrives, could you please tell us where to find him?" asked Tabitha
