Watching from afar, Faliensk was brimming with rage as she saw Arensha not only spot, but somehow<em>dispel</em>the trap made for her.<br/><br/>"How...you didn't hide it well enough!" she hissed at the mage.<br/><br/>"I...it should have been almost impossible to see!"<br/><br/>"I don't care if it's 'almost impossible,' it didn't work!"  Fuming, she stormed off as the three concubines followed her.  This failed attempt would not deter Faliensk, and like it or not she would not give them peace until they helped her successfully.<br/><br/><div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;">Seventh Day in the Gilded Cage: Roshul's Dance Lessons</span></div><br/>It was the end of the week, and as part of the schedule time for Roshul to gather al-Samara’s concubines together as part of a weekly assessment of their abilities.  The room was a small theater, with three rows of chairs before the raised platform.  The naga had little need to sit, coiled up snugly as she consulted the books at her side detailing the many forms of art.<br/><br/>Silent Girl chose to sit right by Arensha.  Smiling, she looked at Arensha, wondering if her friend had any memories of her.<br/><br/><em>None,</em>she thought.<em>She doesn't recognize me.</em>She pointed to her chest and mouthed the word 'Hanifa.' (Arensha's Perceptive enough to read her lips).  She then pointed to the catgirl, expecting her to give her her name.<br/><br/>Silent Girl frowned a bit at this.<em>They even gave her a new name.  I'm here, but how can I reliably communicate to Menya without raising the suspicion of others?</em><br/><br/>Suddenly an idea came alight in her head, and she removed a small wooden box to sit on the table.  Opening it in half revealed ten engraved depressions, along with various colored pebbles.  A Mancala board-game, a popular one around the world.<br/><br/>Unfortunately they did not get any time to play as Roshul addressed the gathered crowd.<br/><br/>“Today we have dance lessons.  Most of you know the drill, but for any newcomers the task is simple: watch, study, and mimic the movements before you.  To dance is universal, a visual medium that cuts across language barriers to create a desired emotion in the audience.  Whether you be two-legged, or sinuous like me,” she said with a playful undulation through her serpentine form, “you are capable of dance.  It is emotion and creativity, tempered by graceful precision!  An extension of the soul-fire coursing through every inch of your being!”<br/><br/>Alfreldi laughed.  “She may not look like it, but song, poetry, and dance are some of Roshul’s favorite hobbies.  Thus the reason why she’s the head of this class.”<br/><br/>One of the harem girls was summoned up to the stage, and Zelda began to play a soothing melody on a harp in tune to the woman's rhythmic motions.  The others watched in awe, interrupted by the rare chastisement from Roshul whenever she made a misstep.  Each woman selected her own dance, with Zelda switching instruments and tunes as befit the situation: Alfredi tumbled and weaving through the air with long red ribbons to a rapid drum-beat; the blue tiefling slow and sensual with her hands running along her curves as Zelda hummed a slow song; Faliensk performed an upbeat elvish dance with the shoes of her feet knocking the ground in a stampede-like motion; and Silent Girl dance incorporated a swaying motion with a prop sword, an eclectic mix between the stance of a warrior and the showmanship of an entertainer.<br/><br/>"Your turn, Arensha," Roshul said.  "I understand your memory hasn't fully returned, so if necessary I can help guide you.  Do you want to pick a certain dance, or come up with your own?"<br/><br/><em>Here Arensha rolls Perform (Dance).  Due to having no ranks in it, she'll have a +4 modifier.  But her training in Acrobatics grants a +2 circumstance bonus, and a bellydancing outfit can grant a further +2 equipment bonus.</em><br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Result</div><div class="spoiler_body"><strong>DC 10 or lower:</strong> "No, you're out of synch!"  "Put more soul into it, more life!"  Roshul's criticisms are frequent and stinging, and for a time it feels like Arensha is spending more time correcting her own mistakes than putting on a good show.<br/><br/><strong>DC 15:</strong>  Roshul nods her head slightly at the end of the dance.  "Good, good, but for the Sultan we must be far better than 'good.'  You did very well on your first try, and in time we'll improve your expertise."<br/><br/><strong>DC 20:</strong> Several of the girls in the audience applaud.  Roshul seems pleasantly surprised.  "That was a <em>very good</em> first performance, Arensha.  Keep it up, and you'll soon be the best dancer here!"<br/><br/>If Arensha gets this result or the next, she experiences a flashback.<br/><br/><strong>DC 25:</strong> Arensha's dance is flawless.  Roshul comes up to the stage and holds Arensha's arm up into the air.  "We have a winner here!" she joyfully exclaims.<br/><br/>"I have a small present to give you for this amazing performance."  She takes out a small silver necklace from her pouch to give to Arensha.  Within its pendant three tiny balls of light dance within.<br/><br/>A <em>dancing lights</em> spell.</div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Flashback</div><div class="spoiler_body">Arensha has moved like this before.  She's in a desert town by the river, running...naked!... with another woman through the streets.  Are they streaking?  No, they're chasing someone, and Arensha is moving twice as fast as any normal person could go.  They go through a bakery, things spill over, and she grabs a pastry out of the air.<br/><br/>The other unclad woman has dark skin and white hair, she looks a like like Silent Girl, now that Arensha comes to think about it...<br/><br/>Gain 1,500 experience if Arensha gets this vision.</div></div><br/>At the end of the lesson, all of the girls had worked up a sweat, even Roshul, who ran her voice hoarse from her backseat criticisms.  None of them needed any encouragement to head to the baths.<br/><br/><strong>Sex Perk: Slave Girl:</strong>During Roshul's class, recommended reading in the library and advice from her and the others, Arensha gains a very intimate understanding of how to exhaust and please people in the best way possible.<br/><br/>Whenever engaged in intercourse with a target, Arensha can inflict 1d6 points of nonlethal damage per Hit Dice plus her Dexterity and Charisma modifiers after at least one minute of sex.  The damage represents intense pleasure and exhaustion.<br/><br/><div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;">The Baths</span></div><br/>Arensha was in that familiar space once again, this time with a larger crowd.  Alfreldi, Zelda, and the others were present, chatting about their day and complimenting each other on their prowess.<br/><br/>"You did very well Valerie, " Alfreldi said to the tiefling. (http://i.imgur.com/NQdhFwU.jpg?1)  "I didn't expect Faliensk to have such an energetic and similar dance to my own.  I guess that worked out against me in regards to Roshul's judgment."<br/><br/>"Oh please, it was just a routine move!" Valerie replied, blushing as she scratched the back of her head.  "So um, Arensha is it?" she asked of the other catgirl.  "I'm Valerie, nice to make your acquaintance."<br/><br/>The tiefling looked over Arensha's shoulder to Silent Girl, who had now dried off and wrapped herself in a white towel.  "So, uh, I noticed that Silent Girl came up to you at the dance class.  She's otherwise reserved around the rest of us, but when you came in she was ecstatic to see you.  What was that about?"<br/><br/>"Well, when you can't talk it's kind of hard to socialize," Alfreldi said.  "Remember what Roshul said about transcending language barriers and all that?  Maybe she was in a good mood and able to express herself today."<br/><br/>"Yeah, makes sense," Valerie added, nodding her head in agreement.<br/><br/>By then Silent Girl was standing behind them.  She sheepishly waved at the crowd.<br/><br/>"Oh, do you need something?"<br/><br/>She pointed to Arensha, then held up the Mancala box from earlier.  Her eyes looked hopeful.<br/><br/>"Oooh, that's my favorite game!" Alfreldi said.  "But don't worry, I don't mind watching, if that's alright."<br/><br/>Silent Girl pulled out a chair for Alfreldi, Valerie, and Arensha at a nearby table.  Zelda opted to watch from the air.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Mancala</div><div class="spoiler_body">The objective of the game is to capture as many pebbles as possible.  A player makes moves based on pebbles, and drops one pebble per hole from the amount which were in the engraved hole.  Once the last pebble is dropped, all the contents of that hole are claimed.  The process continues until you end up dropping a pebble in an empty hole.<br/><br/>The game's rather cerebral and math knowledge is a plus, so Arensha can make an Intelligence or Knowledge (Engineering) check opposed by Hanifa's result of 14. (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=70652)</div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Win, 15 or more</div><div class="spoiler_body">Silent Girl is enjoying herself a lot, even if Arensha's superior strategy overwhelms her.  The other girls look on, Alfreldi cheering for Arensha to win, although Zelda opts to cheer for both of them.<br/><br/>Arensha vaguely recalls playing this game once, the movements and positions awfully similar...yes, she DID play such a match, several years ago!  It was in this village, the name of which she couldn't remember.  It was a colder climate, probably not Garund, and it was on a plane of existence with grass and sky and clouds.  The board game was out in the open, on a table of some sort, and a garundi girl a lot like Silent Girl was playing it with her!  Wait, was it Silent Girl, it's hard to remember now...</div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Loss, 13 or less</div><div class="spoiler_body">Silent Girl wins, although the surprised look on her face indicates that she didn't expect to beat Arensha.  Alfreldi went "awww!" as Silent Girl counted the last pebble and compared it to Arensha's.</div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Tie, 14 exact</div><div class="spoiler_body">The game is too close to call.  Depending on her move, things can go greatly or poorly for Arensha!  The spectators lean in close, holding their breaths for her to make the move.  As the catgirl concentrates on the board, a flashback appears: it is outdoors, on a plane of existencewith green grass and clouds in the sky.  She's sitting at a table playing the same game against an unknown person.  From the memory's vantage point Arensha can tell that she's wearing traveler's clothes and not the luxurious fabric common to the harem.  And the working gloves of the other player's hands indicate a background of low station.  Eventually, Arensha spots a winning move and takes it...<br/><br/>And that move is the same move to make right now!  Arensha wins the game to the raucous cheer of everyone!</div></div><br/><em>If you got either the Win or Tie result, Arensha gains 1,500 experience points.</em><br/><br/>Regardless, Silent Girl is very happy that she got the time to play with Arensha and closes up the box as they redress and exit the baths.<br/><br/><div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;">Day Seven, Late Night</span></div><br/>Arensha is under al-Samara, her legs spread as his hips thrust down onto her.  His breath is close, face on the right side of her own, as her tight cunt milks him for all he's worth.  Unbeknownst to either, out in the courtyard, one of the eunuch guards is knocked unconscious along with 4 others.  The two masked assassins (http://i.imgur.com/TjYmMl8.jpg) sent by the enemy marid of the Sultan are already outside his personal bedchambers. (http://i.imgur.com/UFRM9EJ.jpg)<br/><br/>Both aided by personal<em>nondetection</em>spells and Slippers of Spider Climbing, they open the doors a bit and take to the walls, making their way across on opposite ends.<br/><br/>Due to her position, Arensha's face is to the ceiling, her gaze uneven from the rockings of the man on top of her.  But even with this hindrance and in the darkness her eyes can make out odd movement on the ceiling.  Neither a trick of the wind nor a small animal, these shadows are man-sized and poised directly above her and the Sultan!<br/><br/>Seeing the reflection in her eyes, al-Samara rolls over as the assassins drop, their fine blades missing him by an inch and cutting deep into the bedsheets adjacent to Arensha.<br/><br/>Wordlessly they stand up in an instant, their eyes focusing on their target.  Heart racing, al-Samara focuses to take his elemental form...<br/><br/>Instinctively Arensha gets a sudden flash of insight, her fight-or-flight mind seemingly slowing down time and pointing out her environment and the postures of the enemies.  She can't explain how or more importantly why, but<em>Arensha knows how to fight!</em><br/><br/><em>Roll for initiative.  The assassins between them have 20 AC and 39 hit points.  Al-Samara has 23 AC and 114 hit points.</em><br/><br/>First assassin got a 12 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=70653)<br/>Second assassin got a 14 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=70654)<br/>al-Samara got an 11 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=70655)<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">If the assassins go first before Arensha</div><div class="spoiler_body">The both rush towards the marid, one missing as al-Samara expertly ducks out of the way... (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=70656)<br/><br/>...and the other by an inch. (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=70657)<br/><br/>"Fiends!" al-Samara shouts as they attack him.  "Feel the wrath of the most noble of geniekind!"<br/><br/>He blasts a geyser of steaming water out from his palms, which the second assassin dodges out of the way. (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=70658)<br/><br/>Amidst the chaos Arensha is ignored by all parties, meaning that the assassins are treated as flat-footed against her first attack.</div></div><br/><br/><div align="center"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: andale mono;"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;">Environment</span></span></div><br/>Here's a list of available maneuvers Arensha can perform.  Like in previous Environment encounters, she can perform one of these per round as part of a regular round's worth of actions.  However, once one of them are used (successful or not), the assassins will grow wise to Arensha's trick and said maneuver cannot be used on them again.<br/><br/><strong>Throw Furniture:</strong>Arensha can grab a vase, a music box, or some other object within the luxurious bedchamber and use it as a ranged attack against the assassins.  It deals 3d8+ Strength or Dexterity modifier points of damage on a successful hit and stuns him for 1 round as he gets struck in the back of the head.<br/><br/><strong>Bedsheet Wrap:</strong>Arensha can wrap one (or both at a -4 penalty) of the assassins in the long bedsheets, rolling her CMB against their 20 CMD.  On a success, they are treated as being entangled and must succeed at a CMB or Escape Artist check (equal to Arensha's result) to break free.<br/><br/><strong>Wondrous Devices:</strong>Arensha can rapidly search through the nearby cabinets and boxes to find an item suitable for combat.  On a successful DC 25 Perception check, Arensha can find a single magic item worth 8,000 gold pieces or less to use in combat!<br/><br/><strong>Drop Attack:</strong>Arensha can climb up the walls to gain ground on the assassins and drop onto one of them (or both this round, being adjacent).  With a successful DC 20 Climb check she can do a drop attack.  This is treated as a normal attack, but with a +2 higher ground bonus and 2d6 points of bonus damage.<br/><br/><strong>Sexy Distraction:</strong>Fortunately for Arensha, the assassins are both heterosexual men.  With a successful Acrobatics, Bluff, Perform (Dance or Sex), or Sleight of Hand check vs. their CMD (DC 20), she can render both of them dazed for 1 round.