So Philip and the faction of Electors opposing Talpin sent us up to Dimmersdel to check in on the true status of things up there and find out the whereabouts of one of their spies in the city. They were worried since he hadn't been reporting in, there was trouble brewing and he may have been compromised. While we were there, they wanted us to check into the little known connection between Talpin and Duchess Veris, one of the main Dukes vying for control of Upper Thalia. Apparently they're related, and they want us to check if they are indeed in cahoots and if they are, to get proof to thwart whatever machinations he has going in Alestia.
The worst part was that we couldn't use magic and had to hide our weapons lest we be accosted or press ganged into military service. With the chaos in Upper Thalia, those in power are trying to find whatever fodder they can.
We got into the city, but apparently not without attracting attention- the gates were guarded by gargoyles that could detect magic, and we managed to trip that. Or rather, we looked suspicious, and some investigators started looking into us. Luckily, we didn't have to stay here long. The spy, Ronn Gravath, had fled the city in the chaos to stay with his inlaws and protect his family. You'd think he'd at least get word that he was doing that, so people wouldn't be worried that he had been discovered or that things in Dimmersdel where far worse than they actually were.
So, we fled the city, but not without attracting an alarm. We did manage to get away and make our way to Gravath's inlaws' estate. He had a son Vrad, who was actually eager to join the army, thinking it would be a fun, action filled adventure, much to his parents chagrin. His sister was named Renme, and she was a cute brunette.
After getting what little deets Ronn had, I decided to do some sparring with Vrad to see if he was just fooling himself and would get eaten alive in actual combat. He did seem a little young and cocky. I did end up trouncing him, but it was nowhere near as easy as I was expecting. The kid definitely has skills, but he's a fool if he actually wants to join in on the fighting going on. He was a little frustrated that he lost, but I think rather than turning him off, it only motivated him to train harder.
His sister watched the whole mock combat, and was somewhat impressed, as she hadn't seen anyone defeat her brother in a long time. I heard she had a fiancee (a soldier!) back in Dimmersdel that she was eager to get back to. I could tell she was annoyed having to stay here with her family. Like I said, she was cute, had that sweet girl-next-door look thing going that I like. So despite the fact that she had a man, I decided to try and go for it. Hey, she's attractive, if I didn't do it, someone else would have eventually, particularly if she ended up with a husband who would always be off doing military stuff and was never around. Better she find out now if she would succumb to temptation. Besides, we're both two good looking young people, we shouldn't be saddled down just yet! (I think Cass had the same idea about Vrad, because I saw her start flirting with him after our little sparring session)
I flirted with her, and she wasn't receptive at first, trying to keep things neutral, asking about the city and how thnigs were there currently. I told her things were okay, and I knew she was probably worried about her man, but if she wasn't going to bring it up, neither was I. The more he came into the conversation, the more likely she'd be thinking about him, which would lower my chances for some action. I managed to subtly control the conversation so she wouldn't have the chance to really talk about the guy. After several minutes I managed to whittle down her defenses, maybe dropping a snippet or two about noticing crowds of military types around what I assumed were the brothels in Dimmersdel. I was towing a fine line here, I was trying to get her all jealous and worried that the guy would be cheating on her, but if I wasn't too careful, that might have just driven her to try and sneak off and get back to Dimmersdel to see him. Lucky for me, it went the other way and plied her for my charms.
I used my powers of persuasion to convince her to have a little tryst. She knew of the perfect place where we could be alone after dinner. After we did the deed, once the reality of what we had done sunk in, I think she was starting to feel guilty. I told her it was just two people having some fun, and like soldier boy isn't in Dimmersdel getting his own rocks off? And its okay, there's nothing wrong with taking care of an itch their preferred partner can't scratch when they're away from each other. What matters is how they feel about each other and that they're loyal to each other in their hearts. I wasn't sure if she was buying into my line of reasoning, but whatever.