Chapter 41: Bathtub Conviction

The next day, Sasha led me to the back of the large auction hall in the small town center. It was by far the most prominent building. Once in the back, Sasha directed us to our foreman. He pointed out what to unload and where to put it, and after two sweating hours, our foreman told us to take a break before the last three wagons got in.

"Man, I would almost sooner be killing monsters than this," I complained as I stretched out on the bench, putting my head on Sasha's lap.

"Don't complain, honestly, I feel the same way, but with the auction house here, all the monsters that are threats have been cleared up for items to sell," Sasha stroking my hair as she explained.

"You to look very comfortable."

Both of us looked to see where that seductive female voice had come from. Our eyes fell on the brunette with batwings coming from her head like Tilly and Sasha's ears. She wore an elegant pink dress, and both of us jumped up and bowed at the sight of her.

"Calm down. I'm not some noble or royalty—no need to bow. I just thought you looked cute together. My name is Maxine. Who might the two of you be?" She asked us while coming over to the bench we had been sitting on and patted the seat beside her for us to sit down.

We sat down and introduced ourselves, and getting into a conversation. It turned out that Maxine was the daughter of the auction house's owner and the head auctioneer. I decided to take a chance and asked her about magic.

"Mmm? Magic? Like this?"

Maxine held her hand in front of us and created a small cyclone. My heart skipped a beat as I watched the air spin, and I raised my hand to hers. When our hands touched, I poured my Earth magic into her Wind magic, and the cyclone slowed and formed a crystal that fell into her palm.

"Wah? What did you do?" Maxine asked in amazement as she held the crystal in front of her face.

"I added my magic to yours, but if we work together, we can achieve even grander things."

"We work together?"

"Yes, if you would like."

"But, I can't just leave."

"Hmm? Why not?"

"My father says I need to be taken care of, and my husband needs to be able to support me, but all the men that come are old, fat, or greasy men that just want to use me for a baby-making machine!"

The explosion from the cute bat-eared girl made us both step back. This poor girl was being yanked around by her father's need to secure noble or wealthy ties had the girl broken inside. I looked at Sasha, and she had a stern look on her face that I couldn't read, but after a moment, the expression softened.

"What does your father need or expect to allow us to take you with us," Sasha asked in a steady voice.

"Umm, well, I need to marry, and there has to be a proper give to prove you can support me."

"Mhm, When could we find such a gift?" Sasha's voice took on that "Oh Yeah?" quality as she interrogated Maxine, who didn't seem to notice the glare or chose to ignore it.

"There is a cave half a days walk from here, and It is said to have a precious ring hidden inside. The problem is anyone that goes doesn't even make it back out, treasure, or not. They sent an expedition of ten men, and none returned."

"So," Sasha turned her glare on me.

"I will make it up to you!" I protested, throwing my hands up.

"You better!"

"Are you sure this is ok? Are you two really going to go there?" Maxine asked, now with a worried expression on her face.

"We will go and come back with the ring. This mission is Dave's kind of thing," Sasha dropped her fist on my head while saying the last part.

"Oww!"

After we finished unloading the last three wagons, we waved goodbye to Maxine, who still had a troubled look on her face. I couldn't blame her. I had an uneasy feeling inside me and not just about the monster we had to fight tomorrow. No, I wasn't excited about our talk tonight.

After eating, we went to the tub that Sasha had ordered. I thought that we had separate ones, but there was only one large wooden tub with steam rising from it. The two of us got undressed and slid into the water.

It was refreshing, but we didn't while we washed off and cleaned each other's backs. Finally, I laid back, and then Sasha sat in my lap, leaning back and resting her head beside mine. Our cheeks brushed, and I started to feel a warmth rising that wasn't water-related, and Sasha giggled.

"So, How come I'm not your wife?"

The question caught me off guard, and I had a momentary pause in my thought process. I did love Sasha, but I loved Jill too. Now I had to marry Maxine to get her to follow us on the mission we set out to do.

"I would like to, but would that be fair to Jill? You know I love you both, and now I have to marry Maxine to get her to come with us," but a playful nip at my neck caught me off guard and silenced me.

Sasha adjusted herself and turned to face me, all six eyes on me. Her naked body excited me, but she held a clawed hand gently on my chest and pushed me back. The desire was palpable, a feeling I could almost taste, but Sasha's soft voice cut into every thought I had.

"I will be setting down some ground rules in place of Jill not being here," both of her hands grabbed the tub behind me, and I heard the claws sinking to the wooden side as Sasha pressed her body into mine.

The next day we grabbed some rations and headed out of the village. We traveled the directions Maxine had given us, and just before lunchtime, we made it to the large hole in the ground. We sat together, eating dried meat and looking down into the hole.

"What do you think is down there?"

"Giant snake or lizard," Sasha said while eating.

"Hmm? Really? I think it will be a giant bat or maybe a gorgon, and we will stumble onto a garden of adventures statues."

Both of us laughed as we finished eating and packed out stuff up. Sasha climbed down first, and I followed, scaling down a reasonably easy descent with good handholds. Soon we were at the bottom, but the light still lit up the spot and a large area around us.

Sasha's cat eyes picked up the large tunnel thirty meters in front of us as we looked around. We walked to it and started to follow it as we moved deeper inside. Sasha made light for us with her magic, but glowing green moss began to appear once we got deeper. Walking with Sasha here gave me a nostalgic feeling, and thought's of Tilly's warm smile tugged at me. Even in other memories, my own experiences push through.

"Lumimoss," I half said to myself.

"Hmm?"

"Sorry, just lost in thought."

"Get unlost and get ready. Something feels off," Sasha's voice was on edge now, and I could see her fur lifting and tail twitching.

We had just arrived at a large cave, covered in Lumimoss. Sasha let go of her light and had her claws extended while I looked around while walking. The end of the cave had an altar with a small box on it that I would assume contained the ring we were looking for.

Suddenly, I heard a noise come from the entrance, and only Sasha's quick push saved me from being skewered. After rolling and getting to our feet, we turn to see a giant scorpion advancing on us. I stabbed at me again, but I was ready this time.

As I dodged, I used Earth magic to pin the tail and yelled.

"Get It now, and I will shield you,"

This action was one of our favorite moves because using a combination of Earth and Light magic allows me to create a shield that blocks damage and heal while Sasha fight. We called it the Golden Tiger Aura since only she and I could use it effectively, and Sasha tore into the face of the thrashing monster. In less than a minute, the body had stopped moving, tail and claws piled off to the side.

Sasha and I walked over to the box, and I let Sasha open it up. Inside was a single white ring with a blue gem at the center. Nothing seemed that unique about the ring, and I couldn't feel even the slightest bit of magic coming from it.

Did we get dupped?