5.61 – Setting Out

5.61 – Setting Out

After Fe, Zoey rushed off to Adrienne's address, using the directions Sabina had given her. She arrived to a nondescript apartment building in one of Treyhull's many residential districts. She knocked several times on the door, hoping Adrienne wouldn't be out and about. And there were good odds she would be, knowing the woman. She was no Sabina, always locked in her workshop.

But, continuing the good luck for the night—in the sense of getting in contact with everyone—Adrienne opened the door after the second barrage of knocks.

"Hey," Zoey said. "You have a minute?"

"Zoey! What are you doing here?" A beaming smile spread across Adrienne's face, which, of course, tugged a returning smile to Zoey's own. "Talk? Of course. Just, um, give me a second, won't you?"

"Uh," Zoey said, but she didn't get a real chance to reply—to tell Adrienne that it was urgent. Adrienne closed the door.

Since Sabina and Fe had gone swimmingly, Zoey wasn't in as much of a rush. Adrienne was her last stop for the night, and Sabina had even explicitly asked for an hour or two to organize her workshop before Zoey returned to help her pack. So she was on schedule.

That said, Zoey didn't want to be idling around, either. If she finished early with Adrienne, then she'd head back to check on Rosalie and Delta and see what developments were happening there. Hopefully, Maddy and Aria hadn't been difficult to track down.

Zoey shifted her weight from foot to foot as she waited outside Adrienne's apartment. A minute or two passed before she returned.

The door swung open, and for a second, Zoey failed to understand what she was seeing.

Because she'd come back in lingerie. The sheer bra cups barely concealed her full, round breasts. Her cleavage spilled over the top enticingly. Zoey could see through her lacy panties. Zoey's eyes, without input from her brain, drifted across the expanse of Adrienne's scarcely clad form, taking in the curve of her waist and her smooth skin.

Her brain briefly short-circuited.

Adrienne had asked for a moment, so that she could ... change out of pajamas and into lingerie?

"Sorry about that," Adrienne said with a cheeky smile. "Just wanted to throw something more comfortable on. You know, to get properly ready for this surprise visit."

Zoey reined in her wandering eyes, snapping her attention upward.

"Uh," Zoey managed. "It's no problem?"

Adrienne laughed, then grabbed Zoey's hand. "Please, come in."

Zoey let herself be guided into Adrienne's apartment, trying—and failing—not to stare at Adrienne's swaying hips and the way her panties clung to her ass.

"Please, sit," Adrienne offered, and, with Zoey's thoughts as derailed as they were, she simply did as she'd been told. "You want tea? Or anything? Coffee, since it's going to be a late night?"

"Um," Zoey said. The innuendo was obvious, and her thoughts derailed a second time. It took a moment for her to reply. "No, no thanks. That's fine."

Adrienne grinned. "Is it maybe another treat that you want?"

"Uh."

Maybe at Zoey's lack of eloquence, or more likely because the woman simply didn't mind taking the initiative, Adrienne stopped wasting time. She sashayed over to Zoey and climbed onto her lap. Zoey's hands went to her waist without conscious input.

"We can skip the foreplay if I've already got you tongue-tied," Adrienne grinned. "It's flattering, having this effect on a woman like you." She cradled Zoey's face in two hands. "I've been wondering forever when you would stop by. To think I almost went out tonight, and missed this."

"And I'm sorry for just dropping that on you, but does it work? Is it possible?"

Adrienne reeled as she took in the news. And, probably, from the miscommunication.

"I mean, my stuff isn't finished being packed, but—"

"Could you grab the important stuff?" Zoey asked. "It's an emergency. I'll pay you back for everything you can't."

"I—I guess that's fine? It's that urgent?"

"It is."

"What happened?" she asked incredulously. "Did you kill someone?"

Zoey winced, since the confrontation with the cultists nearly had been that, and Adrienne's eyes widened, thinking she'd gotten it right.

"No," Zoey said quickly. "No. Just, made a few enemies. It's a whole thing. And we need to get going because of it." She didn't distrust Adrienne, but she didn't trust her either, not with the full story. "Anyway, I came here to deliver the message. My party and I will have some extra inventory space, so put your important boxes aside, and we can scoop them up. You shouldn't have to leave too much behind. We'll be back in a few hours."

"O-Okay...?"

Zoey cleared her throat. "Well, that's all I had."

Then, in the world's awkwardest move, Zoey held her hand out. Adrienne shook it, seeming confused. She would hug her, but that felt—a little inappropriate, right now.

"We'll see you then," Zoey said, face burning. "Two hours, give or take."

"Bye?" Adrienne said, still seeming like she didn't know what was going on.

With nothing more to say, Zoey fled the apartment.

That conversation ... probably could've gone better.

Then again, it could've gone worse. Adrienne could have kept her trapped there all night.

***

When Zoey returned to her teammates, the rest of the wrap-up errands had been handled. Maddy was there, collected by Delta. The blue-haired girl was the easiest person to bring in, since, as a wayfarer, she was always ready to uproot her life and trek off somewhere new. The only thing holding her down, maybe, would be identifying artifacts from a previous shard, but Maddy had been hanging out in Treyhull for a while; she'd taken care of all that a while ago.

Aria, the priestess, had also been collected by Delta. She seemed disoriented to be there. Zoey breathed a sigh of relief that she'd been sorted out without difficulty. Zoey owed the woman a long talk—she was obviously bursting with questions about Ephy, and the goddess's command to act as Zoey's 'High Priestess'. That would have to wait a bit longer, though.

Rosalie and Lucinda had handled hiring new guides. Unfortunately, the ones they'd gotten into contact with beforehand were going to have to be left out to dry. There were no means that Zoey could think of to get into contact with them, or at least, none that would be hassle-free and quick. So their previous arrangements would have to go unhonored.

From there, as a group, they trekked out to Sabina's and scooped up everything she'd laid out as important. Following that was Adrienne—who was no longer in lingerie, and who had found a sudden nervousness for meeting Zoey's eyes. At least she was embarrassed too; they were mutually flustered by the miscommunication.

And so, their squad made the long trip down one of Treyhull's many enormous tree-trunk spiral staircases, then, shortly, they left the city behind for good.

Their destination: Mantle, the capital of the Deepshunters Guild, and more importantly, Rosalie's family.