Longs legs in heavy boots were crushing branches in the snow. Two travelers covered in warm cloaks were arriving at their destination. The big gates of the town could be seen despite the snowy fog. Soon they will have finished their journey, and be separated.
"Here we are Rose. This is the town I was talking about. I need to find someone in this town, before I return to my people."
"Is that person very important to the drows?" Somehow the closer they got to the town, the more worried Rose was. She got used to Balok's company. He was easy to talk to and she always felt comfortable with him. Although they never talked about it, Rose was sure that they would part as soon as they were in the town. After all the drow did not promise her anything.
"He is very wise and we need his advices because we fear that some kind of enemy threatens us." Balok himself did not believe in such a thing. Drows were one of the most powerful races in the world, but even they had some kind of weakness. At least they wanted to check what was happening on the upper world. That was the reason why they sent Balok. He was one of the best scouts, an excellent worrior, and magic user.
"I wish I could help you somehow," she said. Rose really wished that she could. She hated the feeling of being useless and weak, but there was nothing she could do about it. Madame Ruby had made sure that Rose knew as little as possible. Her girls had to be avaible and weak, not strong, smart and independent. That was not good for the job.
"We are here. I recommend that you put on the hood. Maybe someone had heard of the girl who had escaped from the brothel." Balok never used the word prostitute. He did not want to insult her and Rose was glad for that, but also knew that it was the reality in which she lived. As long as she could not free herself or was declared dead, she was still formally a prostitute. She nodded to him and put on the hood, before they knocked at the gates.
"Who is there? What do you seek?" The man asked from the top of the gate. He looked first at Balok, who covered his head and then at Rose.
"We are just two tired travelers who seek a place to stay. We mean no harm or trouble." he answered calmly. The man whispered something to his companion and after a couple of minutes, the gates opened letting them enter.
"Is it always like that for you?" Rose asked him.
"When you hide your face, people don´t let you enter immediately. You have to assure them that you mean no harm."
"I understand." Rose walked close to him while she was searching the surroundings for any signs of danger. She did not know whether anyone knew something about the incident in the brothel in her city.
"First of all we will look around for an inn. We are both exhausted and I bet that you can hardly stand on your feet." She wanted to say she was not, but her body spoke a different language. Most of all she longed for a hot bath. During the last days and nights in the woods, she had often thought of the hot spring in the cave. Rose had also thought of what she had done to Balok that day and smiled.
"It would be nice if they had a hot bath in the inn." She answered him and smiled.
"Even better if they had a bath for two." Balok winked at her. He also recalled what happened at the hot spring and wanted to feel her mouth on his body again. His desire for Rose had grown stronger during the last days and he promised himself that he won´t let her go once they were at the inn. He would make sure she won´t be able to stand up when he finished the whole thing.
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