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Given this paradise's natural setting, not to mention the all-female population, it was only a surprise to newcomers that there was no privacy at the enchanted hot spring where Jaci now bathed. What was considered everyday attire here--four short silken strips of cloth that do the bare minimum to preserve modesty--tend to surprise newcomers more.

No men set foot here. That was Mori's enchantment, and it suits those who called this sanctuary home. They are safe here... preserved, in a sense, from the outside world... from whatever brought them here to begin with.

Jaci was the first to be rescued… and, apart from the imp herself, the only one who doesn't adhere to this “dress code". The poofy-sleeved white blouse she wears, coupled with her plain brown skirt, might be outdated attire...but she feels most comfortable in the clothes she nearly died in. Morbid, perhaps, but there it is.

Her bath concluded, Jaci determines her next move. Sure, she transformed in public for her first round, but she had concealed her true form and mostly did so because Purity had bravely chosen to do the same. There was no point in doing that again, so she shifted her form here before taking the path through these dense woods that would lead her back to the hotel where she had declined a room with the rest of the champions. Mori needed her here.

… or Jaci needed to be in the presence of her Mistress. One of the two.

Salome greets some of the other female contenders, trying to keep her mind off of the lewd comments that the curvy, yet alluring, undead and the elf with the prosthetic limbs are having. She often keeps to herself in such places, despite her crimson eyes often taking quick looks. Maybe she thought today would have been the day she joined in on casual bath-time conversation, but she still has much to learn.

Perhaps a walk among the people would be in order? Seeing the sinful city from a wanderer's perspective and not that of a knight might ease her woes. She's always had the arms of the Order to help her, but here, she is alone.

“Hey."

The cloaked figure looks familiar, approaching her non threateningly enough. Salome would recognize this hooded form as another combatant in this Tournament from a fight after her own.

“You look like you could use some company," Jaci offers, smiling beneath her hood.

“Ah, a fellow Champion," Salome says, folding her arms over her chest. “Yet I haven't seen you around with the others. Though, that's to be expected when you are performing vigilante justice with Purity, if the rumors I hear are to be believed." She smirks at that. “You make it hard for someone to get information on you and your style. Tell me, are you as nervous about your next match as I am?"

“Only if I win," Jaci admits, showing the briefest hesitation at being identified so quickly, “as that means more time in the spotlight. Such publicity... doesn't suit me, though I suspect you can relate to that?"

The knight sighs and leans over some fencing, looking over the park. “I've never been too keen on my sexual side, as I've always seen it as sin--a part of my chaotic heritage that needs to be stamped out. But what that traveler showed me... it made me feel so different. I'm nervous, yes, but... excited to have the excuse to show myself as I feel deep down."

“Sounds like you have more to gain than I do from this Tournament of Pleasure", Jaci sighs as well, her voice briefly dipping into a less-jovial tone at the name of the engagement. “I suppose I was wrong about you, though two out of countless others is hardly a bad record. You mentioned that the carnal nature of this is something you'd normally frown on; think this'll change how you approach life from now on or is this just a break for you?"

“I feel it's an opportunity for a new beginning. All my life I've fought to the death with monsters and beasts. I never saw physical competition, nor intimacy, to be something celebrated. This Tournament is no blood sport. While we are to win recognition throughout the cosmos, it is fundamentally about bringing people together, in more ways than one." She says, looking over to Jaci. “To be chosen is an honor, indeed. It's validation from my god that I am the one chosen. If you have reservations about being a part of this, know that others' honor and happiness are on the line. I know if I were to be put against you, I would wish you give it your all."

“Fear not," Jaci smirks from beneath her hood. “I was chosen to fight, so anyone I face won't have an easy battle ahead of them; I just won't hesitate to let them pass if the result is somehow too close to call. If they deserve to be here, they can keep going. If not, that just means more focus on them when they fall in their next round."

She moves a bit closer to Salome, her gaze taking in the sights around them... of the bustling city, perhaps more modern than either of them had experienced before.

“Perhaps I am like you", Jaci continues, “participating on behalf of the 'deity' I hold dear. If so, however, she values effort over failure. In that case, my mission here is to act as a trial instead of an obstacle--to challenge whomever many cross my path so that they don't feel like a victory was handed to them."

“That is good," Salome says. “With both of us already eliminated once, we--and everyone else in the lower bracket--will have much to prove. I hear of people calling us all 'losers' for our failure to succeed over the others, and yet, I feel I've won more than I ever have before. I intend to show that I am capable of more than even I thought I could be."

Taking in the city's sights, perhaps the two don't realize right away that there was someone among them. But Salome's trained knightly sense warns her, and she spins around, only to see the angelic form of Hanioc among the two travelers.

“It is fortunate I have found you..." he begins. “The matches for the next round are soon to begin."