91 Putting One's Ear to the Ground
Pretending he couldn't see the trio, Andrew reached up to pinch his nose, frowning as he remarked, "Ugh...why does it smell like a Bangaa inverted their asshole and leaked all over the place...?"
Sniffing at the air, Andrew eventually looked toward the Bangaa before recoiling in disgust, fanning his hand violently as he exclaimed, "By the Gods! Even the stench from the sewers isn't this foul...!"
"Enough of this! We only need the girl...!" exclaimed one of the Bangaa, a green-skinned man with yellow patterns and multiple piercings along his floppy ears, elongated snout, and chin. Protective plate armor covered his snout, the back of his neck, and chest, and he had on brown trousers with no shoes and rather fierce-looking gauntlets with claws that looked like they could tear through flesh with relative ease.
Lunging forward with a burst of speed that caused the stone beneath his reptilian toes to fragment, the green-skinned Bangaa attempted to stab Andrew in the throat with his claws. His speed was a little surprising, but Andrew managed to catch him by the wrist with relative ease, resulting in the man and his posse staring at him with wide eyes.
"I'll take this," said Andrew, placing the Bangaa's gauntlet in his Item Box before spartan kicking him into the pair of slack-jawed lizards behind him. Then, using Libra, he discovered that the man and his cronies each had a 200% weakness to Water, so he blasted them with a continuous spray of Watera powerful enough to flake away the facade of the building behind them, kind of like a power washer powered by a fire truck.
Catching Andrew a little off guard, the green-skinned Bangaa abruptly dropped to the ground and 'slithered' toward him like an alligator slinking down the moss-covered slope of a creek. He then attempted to pounce, opening his toothy maw with the apparent intent to bite him, but Andrew didn't panic. Rather, he adopted a smile, his already spiky hair becoming noticeably more rigid as tendrils of bright blue lightning began to spread from and across his body...
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Stirring awake as Andrew sat on the bed and brought his warmth closer to her, Penelo sleepily inquired, "Who was it...?" She had heard the sounds of gushing water and crackling lighting, but she had awoken in the middle of REM sleep, so she wasn't sure whether it was real or imagined.
"No one of importance," answered Andrew, hugging Penelo's body as she snuggled up to him. The trio outside were clearly there to kidnap her, but as they had taken their time and chosen to act while he was present, they only had themselves to blame for the outcome. They should just consider themselves lucky he spared their lives.
Since she didn't care in her current state, Penelo responded with a moan-like "Nnn..." before immediately falling back asleep. Andrew, however, was now completely awake, so he used the same method as the previous day to monitor the trio of Bangaa to see where they would go after waking. He did still need an airship, after all...
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"You have a concerning amount of stamina..." remarked Penelo, seated in Andrew's lap within the large, barrel-like tub he had brought out for them to use.
"Just let me know if it's too much for you," said Andrew, using a comb to remove the suds from Penelo's hair. Due to Garnet and Nanamo, he had developed a fondness for taking care of his women, so despite Penelo's insistence she could do it herself, he was shampooing and conditioning her hair.
"I'm sure I'll get used to it..." muttered Penelo, the waning blush in her cheeks returning with a vengeance.
Nodding in affirmation, Andrew conceded, "Yeah...women are remarkably adaptable creatures. But, still. Don't push yourself or let me drive you too hard. You seem to think you must do whatever I tell you, but it's actually the opposite. Now that you've decided to become one of my women, you can do whatever you please, within reason."
"Thanks...I'll keep that in mind..." replied Penelo, her voice even fainter than before. If she were being honest, she would rather Andrew tell her what to do outright. There were so many things she was uncertain about that the only thing she knew for certain was that she needed to hunt and kill Fiends to get stronger...
Luckily for Penelo, Andrew 'did' have something for her to do, asking, "Are you planning to head into Migelo's today? I designated you as my point of contact, so people from the Resistance are likely to seek a meeting with me through you and Vaan."
"I can..." replied Penelo, raising her head to ask, "But I'm curious...if Vaan and I are your points of contact, does that make you a spy from Rozarria? I've heard their Agents keep a woman in every major city..."
"If Rozarria possessed my capabilities and the means to bestow them to others, they could destroy Archadia from the inside with just a handful of people in a few short years," said Andrew, shaking his head as he added, "So, no, I am not a spy from Rozarria. I may align myself with them in the future, but that depends on how things play out here in Dalmasca."
"What do you mean by that...?" asked Penelo, curious to learn at least the motivations of the man she had become involved with.
"Mmm..."
Seeing through Penelo's motivations, Andrew took a moment to consider his response before revealing, "The truth is...I'm the Prince of a nation far beyond the shores of Ordalia, Valendia, and Kerwon. One of the reasons I came here is to help restore the Kingdom of Dalmasca, likely by marrying its Princess, the deposed Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca. She is currently held captive by the Empire, but I plan to rescue her in the coming days."
Hearing that Andrew was a Prince, Penelo's eyes briefly became as round as saucers. There was a chance he was fooling her, but if he were telling the truth...it meant she had snagged herself more than just an opportunity to rise above her standing...
Reaching up to cup her face, Penelo fell silent for more than a minute as Andrew carefully combed the remaining suds from her hair before saying, "Be mindful of your eyes..." as he poured warm water over her head. When he was done, he used a finer brush to ensure her hair had no knots or split ends before emitting hot air from his hands to blow it dry.
"That ought to do it," said Andrew, prompting Penelo to lower her hands, turn her head toward him, and ask, "Are you really a Prince...?"
"And that's just the tip of the iceberg," mused Andrew, wrapping his arms around Penelo's body and rising from the tub. Once their feet were on the floor, Penelo turned around, leaning into him and craning her head to ask, "Then...what happens to me after you marry the Princess...?"
"That's entirely up to you," replied Andrew, preempting Penelo's response by linking his arms around her, adopting a smile, and asserting, "But, don't worry. I won't be 'discarding you' if that's what has your brows in a bunch. I told you previously, but the moment you decided to follow me, our paths became intertwined..."
Punctuating his statement, Andrew propped Penelo up by her toned ass and kissed her deeply and passionately, initially intending to simply allay her concerns before she abruptly pulled her legs up and wrapped them around his waist like a vice...
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While waiting for Penelo to contact him, Andrew roamed the streets of Rabanastre to pass out alms, gather information, and get a feel for the costs of various goods. This was important for understanding how much 'leverage' he had in future negotiations, so Andrew's Gil flowed as freely as water to those willing to tell him what he wanted to know.
"Empty your pockets before I make you spill more than gold...!" growled a middle-aged man with scars across his face and body, blocking Andrew's path with a rusty-looking shortsword as he attempted to take a shortcut through an alley. Two others approached him behind, but their weapons were makeshift, consisting of a plank of wood with a nail in it and the leg of a chair.
"No, I don't think I will," replied Andrew, wearing an unconcerned smile. His behavior caused the scarred man to second-guess himself, but after following Andrew for more than an hour, seeing him hand out money as if his pockets reached his ankles, his greed compounded beyond the limits of his reason.
"Then die...!" exclaimed the man, lunging toward Andrew only to feel an impact to his foot before the world appeared to spin. His union with the ground forced the air from his lungs, but he didn't have time to process the pain as Andrew kicked his head like a pendulum, effortlessly knocking him out before turning to deal with his companions...
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After dealing with the ninth group of assailants, Andrew emerged from the alleyway with a relaxed smile, looking around the area before gazing up at a hanging sign denoting an establishment called the Drowning Cactuar. A potent smell of spirits and a fragrance he had come to identify with opium filled the area, so he wasn't surprised to see a vast array of Dancers lining the street in their colorful clothing.
Noticing Andrew emerge from the alleyway, a pair of nearly identical, brown-haired Viera approached him, their naturally scant, lingerie-like attire making it difficult to determine if they were also Dancers until one narrowed her wine-red eyes and remarked, "You're a new face..." while the other moved to flank him from the opposite side, sniffing him before adding, "A peculiar scent, this one..."
Mirroring the second Viera, the first leaned forward and gave Andrew a whiff, detecting the aroma of flowers, oil, a female in heat, and a strange, refreshing fragrance akin to the crisp, dew-filled air of the early morning.
"Enjoying yourselves...?" asked Andrew, raising his right brow as he eyed the duo's actions. In response, the second Viera, her eyes fixated on his tail, asked, "Have you wandered here accidentally or come seeking solace and relief? If so, we can surely appease whatever ails you..."
"I certainly wouldn't mind a chat," replied Andrew, maintaining a smile as he allowed the duo to guide him to a small, cozy-looking building without signage. There, an especially exotic-looking Viera smoking an opium pipe sat at a front desk, insisting that he fork over a hefty fee of 1,000 Gil just to be allowed inside what turned out to be a very 'naturalistic' bathhouse. It had a stone structure, the same as every other building in Rabanastre, but the square, in-ground baths were encircled by mulchy soil and plants, affording a limited degree of privacy to those within.
After being shown to his private bath, Andrew stood flanked by the two Viera, wearing transparent white garments, as they cleansed his every nook and cranny. Fortunately, he wasn't unaccustomed to being attended, so he maintained a relaxed demeanor and remarked, "I never expected to encounter so many Viera in one place. At least not here in Rabanastre..."
"Exile and isolation are anathema to Viera..." expressed one of the bronze-skinned beauties, prompting the other to remark, "Since we cannot return to our ancestral Wood, places like this serve as a waypoint for those who have satisfied their wanderlust and seek community..."
Lowering herself onto her knees before Andrew, the first Viera carefully rinsed his penis as she expressed, "It's a shame that the world outside is obsessed with money..."
Punctuating her statement, the Viera narrowed her eyes and brought her face forward to begin sucking Andrew's dick. At the same time, her sister raised his tail and spread his ass cheeks, causing his brows to shoot up as she abruptly started licking his anus. He knew that eating ass was a thing in his previous life, but he never expected to experience it directly. Much less from a bunny girl whose tongue reached all the way to his prostate...
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