As Shanna carefully tore her room to shreds, Cyprus largely ignored her efforts in favor of settling into the bath. If he really concentrated, he could feel the warmth steaming off the surface, which wasn't remotely the same as being able to have a relaxing soak in the tub, but it was certainly better than he'd had in a while. He leaned back and stared at the ceiling, wondering, not for the first time, whether the limiting factor to his movement was actually the form he was in, or whether it was his insistence on thinking of it as a body. Maybe it wasn't, and if he put his mind to it, he could learn to fly, or at least not have to walk so slowly. These thoughts didn't distract him nearly enough to block out the sounds of her destroying the room.<br/><br/>He certainly hoped that wasn't going to be what cost her her freedom. If the Sorcerer-King's guards saw this, maybe they'd decide she wasn't ready to leave yet. Then again, maybe they'd only try to leverage the situation, which Cyprus couldn't exactly blame them for. He'd done plenty just to see her without that skirt. If they wanted to try to bully her into getting into it, he was curious to see how that would turn out.<br/><br/>But that was a worry for another time. Finally, Shanna seemed done with her rage, and ready to cooperate. If Cyprus had a mouth, he would have smiled.<br/><br/>"First things first, there's no point in letting a hot bath go to waste, so get in." It wasn't a request. Of course she'd have an observer, but if this went his way, they were going to be spending a lot of time together regardless. She might as well get used to him seeing her in her private moments. Especially when she'd already shown herself off at her most sexual. If not her most sensual. He'd never seen someone masturbate as a defense mechanism, but he decided that if he brought it up, it might get her to start smashing again.<br/><br/>"If my worshipful slave is<em>actually</em>going to obey, then by all means, grovel away. But if you're just going to talk about doing it, then I couldn't care less. What I need from you right now is action. Action that starts with the two of us getting out of this city." He hesitated, wondering how much to tell her. The fact that he was powerless wasn't exactly good for convincing her, but it might get the point across if he highlighted what she stood to gain.<br/><br/>"As you might have noticed, the world is on the brink of ruin. There are a number of reasons for that, but by far the most pressing is the drought." It hardly ever rained; the country had been drying up for decades. Shanna was young enough that she'd probably never once seen a real thunderstorm. "If the rains don't start up again, I figure civilization has another year left in it, maybe two. Mankind has 10 after that at the absolute best."<br/><br/>He refused to admit that all his powers had been stolen, but he could at least confess this one. "Once, I controlled the rains. Sadly, some years ago, that power was stolen from me. So, Shanna, my dutiful worshiper, what do you say we go get it back?" The downfall of civilization was a powerful stick, but just in case, there was a carrot as well. "As payment, I'll grant a fraction of my power to you. The power to control the weather is too great for any mortal to wield, but I can bestow on you certain abilities that you might find useful. Or, as you humans call it, magic." He hoped his voice was conveying the idea of an inviting grin, as it wasn't as though she could see one, or that he could even make one.<br/><br/>"So, Shanna, what do you say?"