Shanna laughed. "The Sorcerer-Kings say the gods abandoned their duties and left mortals to their fates. Only their timely and benevolent seizing of cosmic powers saved the world from ruin." Then she muttered on, "Which probably means it's a load of dragon's dung, like everything else they say. Down to what they're doing about the price of bread in the market." She lifted her head. "So normally, I'd say your head's been addled by the sun and you need a good, hard drink of camel piss to wake you up from that delusional stupor you're in. But now..."<br/><br/>The gladiatrix started unlacing her bodice, peeling the thin white fabric away from the sleek, rounded curves of her breasts. Shanna had a warrior's toned physique, but by the burning skies she had curves where they counted, be it hips or butt or bust. She had also recovered enough of her composure by now to undress. Did so confidently, in fact. It was one thing to be peeked on without consent, one thing to be beaten on the battlefield and have one's armor stripped off one's back, but choosing to bare herself in this way actually gave her back a measure of control over the situation. She couldn't very well kill Cyprus, but she sensed, or at least suspected, he enjoyed the view. After all, there was a reason he waited until her thong was around her ankles before deciding to reveal himself. And so she actually made a little show of shimmying out of her teeny-tiny thong, sitting on her small (very small) pile of discarded clothing, and peeling her thigh-high stockings off with her legs in the air: first one, then the other.<br/><br/>When she was completely nude, Shanna lowered herself into the tub with a satisfying sigh of relief, plopped her arms down on the rim and let her legs stretch out as far as they would go. Her knees made little islands in the sea of steaming water, and her rosy, tanned skin glowed with health and life beneath. "Now, I'm free in the morning and don't have anywhere to go. I was going to head for Khavad-Khor or Taranos, maybe Belistra, but I don't really fancy working my way up the ranks in another arena all over again. And if you're speaking the truth and you once had power over weather, you're going to make me incredibly rich. I could very well be the new goddess of gold."<br/><br/>Weather. Rain. Water from the sky. It sounded like a miracle, and in this parched skeleton of a land entire city-states would get on their knees for that kind of power. "So, 'Cyprus'," she grinned, "I suppose we have a deal."<br/><br/>A pause.<br/><br/>"Wait a moment," she suddenly said, sitting up straight in the water. "You said we were going to go get your power back.<em>How?</em>"