...and then he notices that he's been getting harder over the past few minutes and it's getting worse rather than better. Aaaand it seems like Erandur is, too. Aaaaaaand Ruby has a guess.

"Your Sanguine, I'd wager," Erandur says, giving voice to Ruby's thoughts.

"Yyyyep."

"Is this a condition for us to get our equipment back?"

"...I would be surprised. I don't think she'd—I don't think it's her style."

"I see."

"...but if you'd want to anyway..."

"I suppose," he says, and there's a small note of mirth in his voice, "that would be an appropriate way to show my thanks."

A small part of Ruby is pointing out that they're in the middle of a temple that used to host dread rituals and has been abandoned for decades.

A much larger part of Ruby is his dick. "It would," he agrees.

"Then allow me to do so," says Erandur, pulling away from the embrace and adjusting himself so he can lean down and wrap one hand around Ruby's cock before pulling it into his mouth.

—oh the beard's ticklish. That's not bad, actually. And he discovers Erandur's hair is very soft, as he wraps his fingers in it and pets him.

Erandur hasn't... had a ton of this kind of experience. He hasn't exactly been self-flagellating over the past several decades but he's definitely, between one thing and another, not had any time for sex since he left the cult. But he's finding himself pretty motivated to try to remember any of the skill he did use to have, before that.

Ruby can give him pointers, but honestly blowjobs are just very nice especially when they're both being supernaturally aided by the Daedric Lord of Horniness Hedonism.

At some point Erandur has found himself jerking off, which he very rarely does. In retrospect it's not really surprising but he still nevertheless does find himself surprised by how distracted he was by Ruby's cock in his mouth, to not even notice his own hand moving.

And he'll soon have a moaning mess in his mouth, breathing heavily and pulsating with pleasure. Erandur seems to be remembering his skills really fast, and honestly Ruby is going to ask him for some pointers about that, he is pretty sure he's nowhere near this good.

Before he left the cult he definitely had a lot more experience, yes. And cheek aside he does actually want to pleasure Ruby a lot. It may be Sanguine's influence speaking but right now it would feel very appropriate to get Ruby to come very hard as thanks for the help.

He'll get his wish.

There isn't, really, anywhere to properly snuggle up afterwards in this chamber, so he just goes back to leaning on Ruby when they're both done.

"I had planned to set up a temple of Mara in this tower," Erandur says after a bit, "but I think... Lady Mara might have put you in my path for a reason."

Ruby does not like the idea of being put anywhere by gods but honestly at this point it'd be denying reality to think there aren't gods interested in him for some reason. "Hmm?"

"As you said... you cannot walk away. And it seems like there are powers greater than us that are paying attention to you. I believe that... you may yet do big things, good things, and it would honour me to accompany you."

Oh. Oh wow. Okay that's pretty flattering and also when Erandur puts it like that Ruby can kind of see it.

He has no idea who he is, or why the powers that be think he's special, but... if that means he'll be able to do big things, good things, then, well...

Yeah. He wants that.

"It would be a pleasure to have you with me.

"...uh, though I should mention that I'm not planning anything big soon, this fight with—this last fight really drove home that there is much I have yet to learn and improve at, and I want to do it before going out and going things. Which in practice means I'll be spending a while in Winterhold."

"Then I can find myself lodgings there, and you will know where to find me."

"...yeah, sure, that would work."

They make their way back upstairs, and there's still no sign of their equipment anywhere.

But when they step outside the tower into the bitter cold, there is a small package barely concealed by however much snowfall happened while they were inside, and it does indeed contain their equipment.