<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/P7bMJyq.jpg) </div>Almond eyes first narrowed, then widened, adjusting to the light.  A little shiver of anticipation went through Reiko as she spotted the glow, further sign that she had been right.  The bas-reliefs were stronger confirmation.  As she walked along, her tread both silent and quick, she couldn't help but smirk, just a little.  Sukoku had not exactly been a licentious culture, but compared to the Elysians they were practically hedonists in that regard.  And yet, if they only knew more about their own history..<br/><br/>As the light caught the images, Reiko found herself pausing again.  With all the lewd things being done to the women, there was something in their carefully carved expressions, in the way they arched, seeming to imply ecstatic movement.  It was clear that they were experiencing pleasure beyond... well, beyond anything Reiko had experienced.  Artistic license, or was there something about this ancient religion that made them feel that way?  No way to know for sure... spotting the circlet, Reiko refocused her mind on the task at hand.  So close to this first significant step in her goal...<br/><br/>Pressing on, another shiver ran through Reiko, this time at the temperature change.  As a trained kunoichi, she was used to resisting extreme temperatures.  But there was something about this mist... one more shiver, Reiko's lips parting in the softest of gasps as she felt something trace along the soft skin of her thigh.  Biting her lip, Reiko glanced quickly around, her almond eyes alert, but there was nothing.  Nothing visible, anyway; mystically attuned senses couldn't shake the feeling that there was<em>something</em>.<br/><br/>But nothing that could dissuade her.  Lips thinning, Reiko drew a kunai from the sleeve of her kimono, holding it along her forearm, ready to strike.  Armed and confident, she strode onward, curving hips shifting from side to side as each step drew her closer to the circlet, and to her goal.