<div class="floatleft">(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v181/Kittenpeeler/Pathfinder%20Characters/tumblr_na2v1xDjRZ1qjto1yo3_1280.jpg)</div>Ramzenny peered through a small fold in the hanging cloth that separated the inner chambers from the common room of her... business. It was a temple really, but by the standards of Korvosa, the tentlike building was probably a pretty sorry excuse for one. In the common room were three people; two men and a woman. the woman was Esilla, a Varisian girl apprenticing with Ramzenny. And of the two men, Ramzenny had not seen them before. One was barrel-chested and mustachioed, lounging comfortably on a divan and following Esilla with his eyes. The other was years younger, slender and smooth-faced, and sitting as if the seat were made of chestnut burrs; all nerves and tension. He wasn't watching the Varisian go about her work, or much else for that matter. Both were dressed in the livery of a small mercantile household, though the priestess couldn't immediately place which.<br/><br/>Sweeping aside the heavy curtain, Ramzenny stroke out with a level of confidence most wouldn't expect from a gnome; her violet hair was brushed and loosely plaited, draped over one shoulder so that the bound end rested atop her silk-clad bosom. The robes of her priesthood were not as much revealing as they were<em>appealing</em>, a ribbony weaving of thin satin in silver, white, and robin-egg blue that held her close. As she stepped out, both men rose, and she looked up at them, a smile curling her lips. "<strong>I bid you both welcome to the House of Soaring Spirits. I am called Ramzenny, and this is my acolyte, Esilla. What brings you by?"</strong>She cast her lavender-hued eyes towards the other woman.<strong>"Esilla, some chamomile tea for our guests, would you?"</strong><br/><br/>The younger of the two seemed about to speak, when the elder spoke, in a voice clearly used to bombast and proclamations. "Madam, I present to you Simon, heir of the House of Arosha." a beefy hand clapped the youth on the shoulder. "The Lord Arosha has decided it's time for his on to learn some things." The young man stared at the floor, his face looking more and more like a beetroot with each heartbeat.<br/><br/>Ramzenny sighed softly. This again. Well, no matter, the priestess surely had<em>something</em>worth learning. Stepping forward, she took one of the young man's hands in both of hers, exploring his fingers and knuckles for a moment.<strong>"Learn he shall, then."</strong>she gave him a smile, and drew him towards the inner chamber. when the older man made to follow, she held up her hand<strong>"Simon is here to learn, good sir, not to be studied. There is a fine drinkhouse not far down the way."</strong><br/><br/>"Lord Arosha wishes to confirm that-" the large human sputtered<br/><br/><strong>"If Lord Arosha wishes to confirm something, then let him come confirm it."</strong>was Ramzenny's firm answer. The older man drew himself up as if to argue, then deflated. he grumbled something under his breath and excused himself.<strong>"This way, Simon,"</strong>she returned to the young man. He nodded and stumbled after, letting the heavy curtain fall silently behind him.<br/><br/><hr/><br/>Simon lay within a nest of pillows, his head in Ramzenny's lap. She was still clothed, though he had removed his doublet and tunic. At the moment, the priestess' hands worked over his arms and shoulders, a thin sheen of fragrant oil helping her knead them to supple softness as he spoke. it had taken several minutes to get him to untie his tongue, but once realization came to him, everything had come in a torrent of words and relief.<br/><br/>"Father will be displeased should I defy him," the young man sighed, not for the first time. "What you've told me is sound, but... But he demands a grandchild someday, and I don't want to leave the family foundering after he's..." Simon trailed off, unwilling to finish the sentence and its possible implications. He looked up from the gnome's lap, meeting her eyes with his flint-grey ones. "What should I do?" It was not the first time he had asked that, either.<br/><br/>Ramzenny peered back at him, drawing her hands up his collar, to stroke the long muscles in his neck.<strong>"I can't <em>tell you</em> what to do, lovely Simon; I am not the kind of clergy for that."</strong>Her thumb worked a spot just under the youth's ear, behind the jaw, eliciting a sigh of pleasure from him.<strong>"Your father is a sensible man faced with something he does not understand, himself. Your heart does not yearn the way his does, is all. All I can advise is for you to listen to your heart," </strong>her hands slid down, over his breast to rest over where she felt his pulse thumping<strong>"rather than simply obeying your ears." </strong><br/><br/>Simon fell silent, gazing up at the woman as she worked the muscles of his chest now, before letting his eyes close, mulling everything over. "What if he's right, and it's just...a moment's affection?"<br/><br/>She shrugged, not taking her eyes off his face.<strong>"Only you can tell. I would encourage learning that about yourself though, Simon. You're the only person who could possibly know."</strong>Her hands drew up to work his neck again, making the merchant's son<em>'mmm'</em>quietly.<br/><br/>"You said... that you would teach me?" he asked, opening his eyes again, a glint of curiosity in them, if maybe not exactly interest. he blinked them closed again as Ramzenny leaned down to claim his lips with hers in a small, chaste kiss.<br/><br/><strong>"I said I would help you <em>learn</em>. But I know what you ask. The answer is yes, of course... but, only after you have had time to think."</strong>another kiss, this time for herself, before leaning back up and patting his shoulder.<strong>"Your father's man will be along soon, lovely Simon. If you wish it, Esilla can provide you with, er... <em>perfume</em>..."</strong><br/><br/><hr/><br/>Ishani entered just as Simon and the herald were leaving, the aroma of sweat and woman lingering around the young man as he brushed past. Ramzenny looked up from her quiet conversation with Esilla, her cheeks pink and her hair loose. she crinkled her nose at the receipt of the message from Larsen.<strong>"Well... he will have to wait a moment, I should not leave here dressed like this."</strong>she smoothed a hand over her robes, and cleared her throat.<strong>"No need to wait, I will be along briefly, thank you Ishani."</strong>She suspected that her wardrobe change might take a few minutes longer than usual, this evening...<br/><br/>Her business attended, and clad in street wear, the gnomish paladin would come to Larsen's office as requested.