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Temple Baths
A large circular window of colorful stained-glass depicting Naamah is framed by two crescent shaped ones, sitting further up the wall as to allow for generous lighting during the day, with the shades of the glass used in the center painting the interior of the Temple Baths in colorful hues. The light beige tiles of the stone floor are arranged in a pattern, spaces between filled with darker shade mosaic stones. The changing area is divided into two spaces, hidden away behind semi-opaque drapes. Here, visitors can leave their clothing and move over towards the pools that are filled with the warm waters of a hot well, a faint layer of steam lingering occasionally in the air directly above the waterline. A larger pool of white marble is in the center, between two smaller pools that offer room enough for two or three people each. At the edge of the pools, trays are provided at regular intervals, some holding various flagons of bathing oils while others hold bars of flowery soap and other bath implements.
Acolytes of Naamah, clad in the red flowing robes of the temple stand at the ready, to provide towels or robes when needed and make sure a peaceful atmosphere is maintained within the baths.
The baths were, as they always were, spring or winter, quite a popular place to relax and to rejuvenate oneself. There were few of the pools which were entirely empty, but the woman seated on the edge of one not far from the wall seemed to have carved out a small place for herself. Roxane sat at the edge, as close to not submerged as she could make herself, one arm held out before her, the other skimming over her skin applying oil in a careful practiced movement. Neither too much or too little. There was something slow and unhurried in the movement, almost an act of meditation. Turned as she was from most of the other pools, it was easy enough to see the marque on her back, with her hair pinned up on the top of her head.
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Another visitor to the baths does not have the looks of the local, but he is clearly familiar with the location - and the procedures. It would not be seen, but he changes out of well-used working clothes in the covered areas, leaving behind sword and dagger. When he emerges, he carries only a towel in hand - the large, bearded man making no attempt to mask his modesty. For better or for worse. As he begins to wander for a pool to sit in, the courtesan's back catches his eye while he walks past that section. He stops, stares at the Marque in an attempt to figure out where it hails from.
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Roxanne repeated the movement, shifting from one arm to the other, turning her head as she heard the sound of footsteps on the tile, looking up, well, far further that one should really have to, to glance up at the man who moved around the pools near to her, only to glance away again as she returned to her bath. There were some rules, even in the baths, and respecting privacy as well as one could that was one of them.
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However, there isn't any rule about starting conversation, thankfully. And the attendants in the Temple of Naamah can sometimes … look the other way, so long as people are not obtrusive. Tancred, clearly not that unfamiliar with the custom in the bath, isn't shy to speak up. "Hello." His deep voice is tinged with a Skaldic accent, which only makes his d'Angeline sound rougher. "What is the oil for?"
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Roxanne offered a polite smile, as the Skaldi approached, "A good evening to you, Monsieur." Roxane glanced down to the oil, "To protect and scent the skin. The water, while it is comfortable, does tend to dry out the skin, at least so I have experienced. The oil allows me to combat that."
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"Oil is expensive," comments Tancred, who looks down at one of his arms, and then briefly touches his cheek. He might need a touch of moisturizer himself. "May I join you?" He takes a step towards the space she has claimed, slowly setting the towel down on the table adjacent. "Are you from the Salons here?"
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"It is. But it is not always a bad thing to indulge in a luxurious thing." Roxane offered a dip of her head in acceptance, "Of course you may. There is more than enough room." The question of the salon brought a shake of her head, "I am not. I am from House Eglantine, in Elua. Though I do work, on occasion with Lis d'Or, tending to their instruments and occasionally as a music tutor."
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"I do not remember what Eglantine is known for." This foreigner is, at least, honest, as he slowly seats and sinks himself into the pool, working up a bit of a lather with the soap they do give out here without much or any expenditure. It's used to scrub at neck and shoulder. "You play music?"
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Roxanne nodded, in answer to the question, as she returned to her oiling, working in small sections, so that she did not waste it, "House Eglantine is a House known for its artistry. Music, painting, dance, all manners of artistic endeavours. I both sing and play, though I have turned my attention in the last few years towards the crafting of instruments and not solely to their playing."
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"How did Elua be set free by Naamah? Was it with her voice?" Tancred asks, understanding at least the differences between each canon. He sets aside the soap after that quick scrub, clearly in the mood more for a soak.
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"House Eglantine maintains that Elua charmed the King of Persis with the sweetness of her song, and so, in honour of that, we seek to offer our own artistry in memory of that feat." Roxane was a small woman, and it did not take her long to complete her tasks, her movements more spartan and crisp than performative. "You have some interest in the history of the Houses?"
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"I have more interest in their worship than the history," Tancred remarks, with a hint of amusement to his voice - candid, as he appears to be - while leaning a little to study the marque once more. "But they are both good. It is good to know about things where you live."
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Seeing his interest, Roxane turned to allow him to study her back, though she did not move closer, simply reaching up to ensure that none of her hair had fallen from the pinning, risking obscuring it, "Yes, that is not an uncommon interest. If you wish to experience Eglantine, then you should seek out Salon Lis d'Or, as that house has within it those who also follow the Eglantine path."
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"I know of one from that salon well," shares Tancred with a slow nod, leaning in a little towards the marque as he takes in all the details. He strokes his beard briefly, settling back after a moment. "She is known for her playing as well. Do you know Fiorella?"
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Seeing him settle back, Roxane straightened, herself, finishing her work before she settled into the water, "I do not. But I am only newly arrived in the city to live, though i have visited a number of times over the years. And most often, when I do visit that Salon, it is solely to do my own work. As I am not a part of the Salon, I rarely stay to socialize, unless I have bee contracted to play which is a rare thing, as the Salon prefers to showcase their own talent."
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"You do not do assignations often?" he asks next with another nod, content seemingly to sit and converse. "Is this your only trade?"
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"I take assignations, but as I work independently of a House or Salon now, I write my own contracts, and do not need to have them overseen by another. And I am currently under an exclusive long term contract, and cannot take another." Roxane shifted, lifting her hands to tuck and repin her hair.
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"Is that a thing that can be done?" Tancred asks, bending down himself, but more to get at a spot of bruise on his leg to idly rub. "I cannot take them, so I am not familiar."
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Roxane nodded her head at the question. "There are many types of contracts. Short term such as might be for a few hours or days. And then long term, which can be both exclusive, meaning that the courtesan takes no other contracts for the duration, or non-exclusive which allows a courtesan to take other contracts so long as she makes her schedule part of the contract, so that there are prescribed times when she is available only for her contract holder. Some courtesans may even choose to give their services without the need for a contract, if that is their choice. But that is not for everyone."
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"That is the only way I know them," Tancred muses, with a brief glance at one specific pool, before he's back to sinking in the water and letting his bright eyes droop shut, all relaxed. "I did not know they went long term. I know courtesans do as they please, but adepts cannot."
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"A fully marqued courtesan does have many more freedoms than an adept, who is still, in many ways the property of their Salon or House and cannot do as they please, but most of the Houses, if you do choose to remain in their confines do exert some amount of control on what a courtesan should and should not do, because their actions dtill reflect, for good or ill on the House they call their own. At least, so it was with my own House. Perhaps things are less strict in Marsilikos. In my time, I have taken all sorts. Both in duration and in type. At least with Eglantine, the assignation is not always for Naamah's Service. I had quite a number of patrons and contracts which were only for my voice, or my performance."
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"What made you wish to leave your house?" Tancred asks Roxane after a moment, staring at her pensively, with a dip of gaze below her neck, that one probably less pensive.
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"I wished to pursue my work as a luthier more fully. I have borne my marque, in full for nearly thirteen years. I remained in my House always with the goal to eventually pursue my passion for the crafting of instruments. It has taken me a long few years to bring myself to this point. Three years just to get my shop prepared. Once I judged that all was ready, I left my House to ply my trades here."
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"It is a noble trade. In my homeland and many others, it would be above being what a courtesan entails. The worship is not the same as yours." Tancred briefly inspects his nails, but is led to wonder, "Do you teach of instruments only, or the voice as well?"
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"Being a courtesan is a holy service. In other places, it is known that we are seen as little more than common prostitutes. These are two very different things here. And it would be ill-advised to treat a courtesan and a prostitute as though they were one and the same within these lands." Roxane shifted her shoulder, not quite a shrug, but that was implied. She was clearly not bothered by what those outside of Terre D'Ange believed about her Service. "I teach both voice and instrument. My preferred instrument for performance is the cello, but I can teach most of the stringed instruments though none so well as the cello. Are you interested in voice lessons?"
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"I understand this. I have seen both. There are many of the common kind around the port. Still - it is not a distinction made outside of Terre d'Ange. It is sometimes strange to one who did not grow here," Tancred explains easily enough, nodding slowly. "I would like to learn many things. I fight and ride for the House, and attend to its duties. Another courtesan helps me with this tongue, in exchange for my teaching me in mine. But I would like to play something small, with strings. When it is cold at camp and there is little to do in the evening."
"There are things like flutes, but they are not your specialty," realizes Tancred after a beat.
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Roxane was silent for a few long moments, as she considered the puzzle, "Yes, I think we could find something small for you. Perhaps a small lute made for ease of travel, or a cittern. Something on which the strings are plucked, rather than played with the bow. Most stringed instruments can be made smaller. Indeed, that is how most children learn to play, on such instruments as are small enough for them to use comfortably." There was amusement in her voice at the mention of the flute, "I actually have made such an instrument, with the assistance of a reedmaker, but I could not teach you to play it. There are instrument makers of all variety here in Marsilikos. If a flute was what you wished for, it would not be difficult to acquire it, as well as the lessons you would need to learn to play."
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"I see. We will have to talk of coin and time," Tancred figures after a pause, briefly looking at his bulky, callus-worn hands and imagining an instrument in them. "Perhaps we may look in your shop."
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"I would welcome a new student. Though I would wish to clarify that this is only for the lessons, and nothing related to my service as a courtesan." She held up a hand, "My apologies if that seems unnecessary, but I have found, in my time, that too often one is confused with the other and I do not wish that here. But, you would be welcome in the shop to examine what I currently have to offer, and to purchase an instrument, if you find one to your liking, or if not, to speak of commissioning one for yourself."
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"I could not nearly afford to be a student of such things," Tancred states with a mild note of amusement, "That is a price only noblemen and merchants may afford." He begins to rise, perching on the lip of the pool to find his towel. "I will come by your shop soon, then."
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"Perhaps so. But each day is a new one. And even a servant of a House may one day become more than what he is." Roxane was far enough away that she would not be in his way, "I will look forward to seeing you there. But before you go, perhaps we should at least share our names. I am Roxane nó Eglantine."
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"There is always charm where coin does not suffice," claims Tancred, who isn't that charming, "If you are the kind to love freely." But he dries himself off (particularly careful with the bit of beard that did get wet, even if it needs several more months to see its full glory) and wraps it around his waist. "I am Tancred." Skaldi name, of course. "I serve House Baphinol, though I hold no name or title myself."
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"Charm is a powerful gift indeed, and one that, oftimes, must be carefully guarded against. It was good to meet you, Tancred. I look forward to seeing you at my shop and perhaps finding you an instrument that seems right for you. The shop is not difficult to find, as it is in the grand plaza and only three doors down from the marquist Lanthenay." As Tancred prepared to depart himself, Roxane returned to her meditations in the bath.
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"I shall remember. Have a good day." Toweled off, Tancred begins to wander on back to the changing area to resume life as usual.