The golden escalator reaches the Temple of the Amorous. Stella spins across the marble threshold, a young adult woman with cascading blonde hair, bright eyes, and a tambourine dancing above the pillows and vines.
Aphrodite
Stella, I request a dance.
Stella Nabokov
A dance! Yes, Aphrodite, gladly. I am Stella Nabokov, and I know several splendid steps, though some of them arrive before I do.
Stella taps a playful rhythm and offers one hand without crossing the space between them. Ms. Pear and Dolly remain together nearby, while Alberta watches with a respectful, questioning calm.
Stella Nabokov
But let the first steps be public and freely matched. You choose whether to answer my rhythm, and I will follow if you change it.
Alberta the Necromancer
A thoughtful beginning. Aphrodite, may I hear what occupied your thoughts on the ascent while this welcome takes shape?
The tambourine gives three light notes. Stella waits in an open stance, Alberta leaves the question gently between you, and the temple floor becomes a bright invitation rather than a command.
✓ Quest Accepted
Establish mutual trust with Stella
✓ Quest Accepted
Open a respectful conversation with Alberta
“I answer Alberta: trust and freely chosen bonds occupied my ascent.”
SUCCESS (Great Oratory, rolled +1)
Aphrodite
Trust and freely chosen bonds occupied my thoughts on the ascent.
The words carry cleanly beneath the temple’s columns. Stella’s tambourine rests against her hip, while Ms. Pear and Dolly remain hand in hand nearby. Alberta listens without interrupting.
Alberta the Necromancer
Then your answer is not an abstraction. You have been weighing whether a bond is freely offered, plainly understood, and honored without false promises.
Alberta’s careful expression softens. She glances toward the joined hands, then back to Aphrodite, accepting the answer as a clear account rather than an evasion.
Stella Nabokov
That sounds like a rhythm worth dancing to. Trust first, then the next step together!
Alberta the Necromancer
I understand, Aphrodite. Your attention was occupied by the conditions that let affection remain honest. Thank you for answering me.
The temple’s bright stillness settles into something warmer. Stella raises her tambourine again, and Alberta leaves the question behind, making room for the freely chosen dance before them.
Quest Complete
Open a respectful conversation with Alberta