Snippet #2446954

13 Days Post Ball...Valcrest..Just outside of Blackpond. Morning into Afternoon

A few hours had passed, Shockwave not slowing a bit in pace as he ran, Ess occasionally patting his neck encouragingly. Turning her head to the side she shouted back to Luckas, "You good, or do you need a quick break before we get closer?..." Ess wasn't sure exactly where in BlackPond Ian was, but she knew a few places she would start with. The idea of going back there was awkward, leaving a heavy feeling in her gut as she saw the city in the horizon.

Luke was feeling a little bit nauseous from the ride, but he sure as hell wouldn't admit it. Still he decided to keep his answers as short as possible "I'm fine!" Going back to Blackpond this way was making him slightly nervous, and more so for knowing that they were walking right into a trap. At the moment he only hoped he wasn't recognized by someone potentially dangerous before finding Ian.

Ess nodded, leaning towards the right, the Stallion feeling her change in direction easily. She would not of course go through the main gate and felt they should walk the rest of the way on foot once she found a spot to leave Shockwave. "Eaaasy now boy...." Ess sang gently to the horse who responded with a slow trot, making their way towards a cluster of trees still about a twenty minute walk from the city. "Easy..now.” She continued as she swung her right leg forward and slid off the horse before he came to a stop "Ok Luckas....gonna go the back way in.."

Luckas was more than pleased to get off the horse, but not as much as he was to not go through the main gates, still something made him uneasy and he felt himself absently reach for the back of his left shoulder as if something there stung, walking silently a few steps before replying. "Sounds like a plan." He stated, with a nod, his eyes discreetly checking their surroundings as they walked.

Ess stretched her body, checking her weapons at her waist before running her fingers through her curls. As her fingers passed her hair turned a dark brown, straightening in unison to the skin on her hands darkening to a golden tan. When she faced Luckas she smiled, the contours of her cheekbones lower than before, her eyes smaller and slanted slightly. She gradually began slowing her pace, as they neared a grate, where a stream of water trickled out. "This will lead us near where I use to live..."

Finally letting go of his shoulder Luke stretched slightly and breathed in and out, his eyes momentarily sparkling as if there was something hiding behind them. "You haven't been back here in how long? He asked suddenly, glancing at Ess' changed figure as they reached the grate. "City's changed quite a bit. Not as easy to find your way around as it used to be. Dare I suggest you stay close to me, or will I be accused of caring again?"

Ess bent down a bit, her fingers tightening around the grate as it didn't want to budge. Nodding as if this is what she expected she sat down, ignoring the steady stream of water, sending her feet forward several times, kicking at the grate until it came loose. Once she stood back up she grabbed the grate to replace it after them as they entered. "I know you mean well, if you won't admit it, believe what you will, My dear Luckas." Ess whispered, motioning for him to follow. "But you won't hear me arguing with your suggesting to stay close to you." She winked before disappearing through the tunnel.

Luckas chuckled. "Well, Lady... It's your family reunion, I'm just here to make sure it all goes as smoothly as possible. That's what I believe." Luckas stated following after Ess through the tunnel, shaking his head in amusement. "Wish you'd take all my suggestions that easily, but nooo..." *He chuckled. "Double standards, isn't it?" Heaving a sigh he added. "Not far from where we're headed... there are some seemingly abandoned buildings. I'd say we check those first. Some businesses run there." He said absently.

Ess made sure to replace the grate before they wandered in too far, letting Luckas take the lead. "Well if all your suggestions involved being close to you, then maybe I'd listen more." She giggled softly. "What double standard am I being accused of?” Ess trailed off as she saw a light appear at the end of the dark tunnel, faded and distant. She continued to whisper so that her voice would not echo. "They rebuilt since I was last here then...not surprising. What kind of businesses?" She asked casually.

Luckas chuckled. "I'll remember that. Well, if you trust my judgment only when it's convenient then it's also a double standard, no?" He joked as they neared the exit of the tunnel. "All sorts of businesses: Bars, illegal gambling, cock fighting, dog fighting, human fighting, weapon smuggling, pros...titution..." He trailed off for a second and snorted half annoyed at the things he'd seen in some of those places. "That's how I found Jasper." He added after a while, as they crossed the exit of the tunnel into the light.

Ess followed Luckas out the exit, silent for a few moments before she paused in her step. "You're right Luckas, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to come off that I'd only listen to your suggestions when convenient. This is just something I need to do." She still whispered, slowly her tone grew louder as she began to move once again. "...Did they rebuild that brothel then too?" She growled, keeping the glow of her eyes dim, not wanting to draw attention as they began to blend into a crowd, Ess playfully sneaking between several patrons without bumping them. She pulled her hood over herself, hiding her hair as she let the color change to a bright blond, remembering how Mageria told her to keep her disguise a constant change to keep up the deception.

"Of course I'm right." Luckas stated with a satisfied grin. "I understand that you need to do this, but there are safer ways than this." He said absently, slightly shrugging as they walked. "Not that talking about it matters right now." He added, moving towards a sort of center square amongst a few buildings that were boarded shut. "Not that same brothel, no." He replied to her question with a slight nod of his head."These places are different, all businesses legal and illegal run by the same people and not people anyone would like to mess with. On the outside, they seem nicer than the people you worked for, but they are without a doubt worse if crossed the wrong way. "There's a place here for every nasty habit. I'd guess gambling for a start." He said, choosing a path.

"When did you start speaking with a voice of reason?" She teased "I lived this life.....the life people either were apart of, or they simply ignored. You're preaching to the choir Luckas about the dementia of a person’s mind. Or have you forgotten what you've seen in my head? What I have never uttered to anyone.." Clearing her throat she followed Luckas to a building, alive with laughter and shouts of competition. "Ok...split up inside....I know how to blend" Ess smiled, letting the hood fall back, exposing her blond hair with brighter sun-kissed highlights, her eyes now wider like a doe, giving her the sweet and desirable persona. There were all sorts of gambling going on in this building: from card games to animal fighting upstairs, feathers drifting down from above. Ess started with the card players, a sultry smile curling her lips as she slid her arm along the shoulder of one man, whispering softly in his ear. The balding figure turned and smiled up at her, offering her a seat on his lap, which she graciously accepted, chatting away. At one point she made a bold move by placing a bet on a hand for the man, and to the bald man's surprise, won the pot.

"What part of staying close to me do you not get?" *Luckas muttered as Ess just walked out to blend in with the crowd. Shaking his head and heaving an annoyed sigh, he wandered to a small bar in one end of the room, tracing his index finger through the outlines of a crest marked into the surface of the wood. As the man tending the bar came to him, he ordered a shot of their strongest drink, and when he was given a price to pay, simply flashed his eyes red and received a frightened nod of acknowledgement, one eye always on Ess as he felt someone sneak up on him. "What are you doing, Brother?" *Zeke's voice sounded in his ear. "Who is your friend?" Luckas chuckled "Why are you always after me? You need a woman. I'm just showing my friend a good time." He replied downing the shot and waving the bartender for a refill. "There is still room for that in the brotherhood, no? Or do you have something I need to take care of this instant?" He inquired, turning to face the other man with an angry glare. "Because if you don't, be kind enough and piss off." He muttered, leaning closer to the man with a growl.

Ess stood up, excusing herself with a reluctant expression as if she was having a great time to get herself a drink. She found that table boring and the others who she spoke with were of no help as she casually hinted a question here and there between hands. Politely she shook their hands, her fingers caressing their palms playfully, stating how she would see them again. Ess glanced around, knowing full well where Luckas was, but acted like she lost sight of him, her hand covering her mouth in an innocent giggle as she walked up to the same bar, catching sight of someone speaking to Luke. She played into her familiar role, slipping her arm gently around Luke's waist as she leaned in and pecked his cheek. "Can I have one of those, sweetness?" She purred playfully, her fingers attentively twirling a lock of his hair.

Ezekiel opened a slight grin as Ess approached Luckas, looking from her to him as if he had just won the lottery. "Won't introduce us, Luke? That is so rude of you..." He chuckled. "Piss. Off." Luckas repeated, still glaring at the man and ignoring his provocations, not wanting to show just how much his desire to see him gone had increased with woman's presence and hoping he failed to notice the inconvenient reddish tone that had taken over the sides of his face. "I said I will see you later." He muttered, knowing he had said no such thing, but that he would understand that as the promise for an explanation. "Fine, I'll leave, but don't forget what you owe me, Luckas. The people I work for aren't quite as forgiving as I am." He smiled wickedly at Ess before walking away to join the crowds. Luckas snorted out in anger as he waved at the bartender again, and placed a shot for Ess. "You didn't give me a chance to say... They don't like..." He lowered his voice to a faint whisper. "They don't like Enlightened here. So if you don't lay low we'll be in serious trouble."

Essence kept her sweet smile, taking the shot happily as she leaned back into Luckas in a seductive manner, her lips just grazing his ear as she whispered back. "I got that hint when I was chatting with my new friends over there, their derogative joking and I played along just fine, sweetness. You...didn't look too happy to see that friend of yours...." Ess pulled back, leaving it at that, glancing upstairs then back to Luckas. "We going to check out the festivities upstairs?"

Luckas heaved a small sigh trying to not act bothered by the closeness. "You're going to get me killed one of these days, but there are definitely worse ways to go." He stated absently, a chuckle escaping him as he took his shot and pushed himself away from the counter, taking Ess by the hand and beginning to lead her towards a back room through which they could reach the upper level pushing through the groups of people rather easily and ignoring the stares of some who knew his face. He knew he'd have to deal with Zeke, but the man was the least of his troubles if compared to Sam. Whenever she got word of this there would be hell to pay. Up a rather shaky flight of stairs, the upper level was far less neat than the first floor, but the patrons there were far more serious gamblers. This was where people got into serious debts, and what generated most profits. Small rings were several fights took place at once were scattered around a great open hall as people took bets. Dogs, poultry and other animals were kept in cages or leashes awaiting their turns. People seemed to enjoy watching this, but Luke sincerely didn't see why.

Ess noted the stares Luckas got by some as they passed through the crowd, but made sure to keep her gaze averted, giving a rather tight squeeze of his hand. After she made it upstairs, she remained close to him, not wandering this time. Again she leaned into him so he would hear her against the rowdy noise of the men and women shouting. "Ok...so I don't want to get you killed....what next then? What do you want me to do?"

Luckas chuckled softly. "I was kidding Lady, I can take care of myself, but here's the deal..." He pointed to several men in grey clothing taking bets. "See the guys with the books? Anyone who comes here ends up owing money at some point, and if you owe money your name goes in the book. Once your name gets in that book, every other detail of your life does as well. They keep records so detailed they most likely know how many times their gamblers sneeze on a weekly basis. So, if you'd like to find someone and that person's owed money here, peeking at one of those would give all you need to know on that person." He snickered slightly and nodded towards one man in the farthest end of the hall. "He's new. Distracting him for two minutes would be enough."

Ess adjusted the bodice of her top and nodded. "More questions keep coming to mind...but here's me..giving you the benefit of the doubt..." She smiled, her lips brushing his cheek as she pulled away. "That one I meant." Ess slinked through the crowd, pausing here and there to watch curiously at the fights that were mercilessly occurring in the cages she passed. She couldn't help the sickening feeling and a soft burst of anger that filled her as she watched a dog fight; but by looking at her, one would think she was simply turned on by the event. She continued to smile, sauntering over towards the man that Luke pointed out. How Luke knew so much, made it clear how much time he'd spent lurking and such in this city. Once she reached the young man in grey, she 'accidentally' bumped into him as if another had caused it, giving her the motive to profusely apologize to the man for her clumsiness. He didn't seem to mind as he turned from his podium to speak with Ess. "I'm Talena..." She giggled playing into his obvious interest, her fingers teasing the flesh along his large forearms. At one point he leaned into Ess, running his fingers through her hair asking how long she planned on sticking around that day and when he could sneak away to buy her a drink. Coyly she played this game, keeping her eyes averted downwards for the most part, safeguarding the glow of her eyes while she worked.

Luckas couldn't help a small snicker at Ess' comment, but he was pretty sure the questions would eventually be asked one way or another. He let her go ahead and make her way to the man while he followed from a short distance, ending up amongst a small nearby group of gamblers watching a dog fight, the corner of his eyes watching as Ess faked being pushed into the book keeper. That was really all it took to put the man's attention completely on her. Luke had to admit he would be impressed if it just didn't annoy him so badly, luckily he didn't have time to think about it as he quietly made his way to the podium and leaned against it as if waiting for the man to finish his conversation, meanwhile peeking into the book and finding Ian's name on it, as well as where he spent great part of his time. Luke knew the place and it wasn't far, which meant getting out of that building, making him extremely happy. He then turned away from the podium faking annoyance for not being able to place a bet. He walked to wait by the stairs, but still casually keeping an eye on Ess to make sure there would be no trouble with the man.

Ess noticed Luckas from her peripheral vision as she kept her attention on the bookkeeper. Offering another apology when someone complained on the obvious distraction from being able to place their bet, the man turned back to his work with a promise to be available in an hour or so. Ess simply nodded as she turned about to 'wait for him' at the bar, stumbling a bit when she received a firm smack on her backside. Instantly she wanted to hit him, but she choked down her anger, using the red rushing to her cheeks as embarrassment when she forced a smile over her shoulder at him. When she made it to the stairs she walked past Luckas in case the bookkeeper was still watching, her smile turning into an annoyed glower as she brushed Luckas' arm, making her way down the stairs and towards the main door.

Luke gave about thirty seconds before following after Ess, through which he glared at the bookkeeper, making a mental note to do something painful to the man when he came back alone. He caught up with her downstairs heading for the exit door, but out of the corner of his eyes he caught three familiar figures, two dressed in dark blue and one all in black which was Ezekiel. Heaving a sigh, he caught Ess by the wrist and whispered quickly. "Leave, take a left and enter the third building down the road; it's another bar. If he's not there he will be." The moment he finished that sentence a hand gripped his shoulder. "I apologize friend, but apparently the higher-ups don't feel like waiting for an answer." The man stated, obviously not sorry in one bit. Luke nodded smirking as he replied, glaring at the man. "Oh, I'm sure you're broken hearted, Zeke." He then turned to Ess with a smile and nodded towards the door. "I'll catch up with you in five minutes. I promise."

Ess felt the familiar fingers upon her skin, so she didn't flinch when she was suddenly stopped in mid step by Luke, nodding to his words, her head snapping to attention as the man from before came up behind Luckas. The familiar sweet smile curled her lips as she nodded from Luckas to the dark skinned man, Zeke apparently was his name. Politely she bowed her head and slipped out the door of the establishment, making it a point to remember those faces she had just encountered. Luke had promised to meet up with her, but that didn't ease the hairs standing up along her arm. Something was most definitely going on and Luke didn't want Ess around at the moment, more than likely to do with what he said earlier: about the place not taking kindly to her gifts. She wasted no time, out the door taking a left like Luckas instructed and casually entered the third building down the street, where she found herself at the bar. A few moments went by and she was already three shots deep, as she kept to herself, acting uninterested in the gatherings around her while she tried to focus her mind on the task and not worrying about Luckas. Of course that was easier said than done.

The moment Ess was out the door Luckas turned to face the other two people Zeke had with him; both women, one dressed in only dark blue, but the other had dark blue robes with golden trims. Luckas literally twitched as the woman left to a backroom, silently motioning for him to follow her. He immediately complied, finding himself in a private room with her and the other woman in blue, who simply stood in the corner with her head bowed, and Zeke, who shut the door and stood blocking it. At this point the woman with the golden trims removed the hood of her cloak and glared at him with a severe look in her eyes. "What are you doing, playing with your meal, Luckas?"

Luke winced at the familiar words and simply mumbled. "How did you get here so fast?" The woman immediately slapped him across the face, the gesture stung, even if the blow in itself was weak. "Don't ever question me. What are you doing with her?"

Luckas didn't raise his eyes to meet Sam's as he replied. "I'm following my orders to get the information you wanted."

Sam snorted angrily. "How so? You're interfering with our plans Luke."

Luckas sighed. "Because it won't work. Even if you get her, and even if she knows something, you won't get it out of her by force. Me? I have her trust. I can get that information easily if you give me time. And if you still want to kill her afterwards, fine." He shrugged "What have you got to lose?"

Sam seemed to think about it for a second before she reached and gently caressed the reddish mark she had left on his cheek. "You make me proud Lukey, and that's why I will give you time, but don't you dare betray me. Are we clear?"