Drei Loraene's Story

Drei Loraene ~ The Incredibly Long Catch-Up Chapter

Drei's teeth sank into the soft flesh of the fruit, and the juices exploded in her mouth, spurting and dribbling down her chin. She licked up the juice running down her arms in an attempt to catch it before it stained her sleeves, but the itchy liquid was already making little pools in her lap and soaked into her shorts, so she supposed that it didn't really matter. After taking another smaller, more cautious bite, she popped the entire thing into her mouth and sucked happily, finally spitting out the pip and upsetting an onlooking bird from a nearby tree. Drei turned to the stream and dipped her hands into the clear water, scrubbing away at the red.

Drei was drenched. Her blond hair clung to her dark skin, and her clothes were heavy and needed wringing. The sky had stopped crying only moments before. All around her, her belongings were strewn about in the sun, in an attempt to dry them off. In the stream, the juice left Drei's hands in inky blooms, dispersing into the water as soon as she moved her hands over them. It was a very pretty shade of red, but Drei could remember seeing an even more beautiful pigment, somewhere. Cupping her hands together, she splashed water into her face and rubbed vigorously at her chin and mouth, until the juice was gone but the skin was left tender and pink. Drei then looked around at the forest sceptically, before deciding that it was better to get this over and done with sooner than later, before she would catch some disgusting over-world disease. She started to strip down, starting with unbuckling her corset, then lifting up her wet shirt to pull over her head. She had only lifted it to her chest when she pulled it back down and slid out one of her knives from its sheaf.

“I know you are there,” Drei announced in a voice that demanded authority, “So tell me, which are you? A perverse old lecher or somebody here to kill me?” Behind her, footsteps disturbed the fallen leaves and the soft sound of drawing steel resonated. The lack of an answer sparked a feeling of anger in Drei, and she grit her teeth impatiently as her heart pounded a little harder in her chest. She didn't understand why anybody would want to kill her, maybe if she tried hard enough she could remember... as soon as she got an answer out of her stalker. “By the sound of you brandishing a blade, I'm assuming you're here to kill me, or you're still just a pervert into the darker pleasures,” Drei spoke again without turning to face him, “Either way, if you don't walk away now, I'll have to kill you.”

“Priestess, you are to come home.” A cool and familiar male voice said behind her – that accent, it sounded like her own. Drei bit her lip, trying to make sense of her situation – to remember, by the Gods, remember! What was she, just a teenage runaway? Drei's eyes became fixated on the ground, to a particularly fancy looking leaf.

“What if I don't want to?” She asked spitefully, “Surely I must have left home for a reason, don't you think?” For some reason, whenever Drei spoke the word home, her voice became cracked and a silent wave of fury washed over her, leaving her seething and in a bad mood.

“If I may be honest, your kind don't want you back either, but you have something of theirs and if you deliver it to them, they are promising to relieve you of all charges.” The man said. Drei could hear him take a few confident strides towards her. She frowned, annoyed that he would show such confidence when he would be parrying against her within the next few minutes. “You entered a dungeon recently to retrieve it. You know it from your teachings as the Legendary Blade of Drakor.”

Strangely enough, Drei knew exactly what the mysterious speaker was talking about. She remembered the tight spaces and the darkness threatening to consume her, her discomfort and regret, and the dazzling, sparkling blade that kept her moving forward. She then remembered how easily the blade had shattered into a thousand, glittering pieces underneath the fallen rock as the cavern collapsed. Drei laughed a cruel, terrible laugh, enough to send rabbits down into their burrows in fear and uncertainty of what comes next.

“The blade may not be as legendary as you remember,” she shot, “It's destroyed now, so there is no reason for you to be here bothering me. Begone, dark elf.”

Drei heard a rumbling noise coming from the man's throat.

“Such insolence,” he growled, and spoke, “Child, the blade cannot be destroyed, even you, a traitor and an outcast, should know that much-”

“Yeah, well, sometimes stories and legends are full of shit, so go figure.” Drei said, and any formality she had shown before completely dropped, with her hand on one hip and her language gone south. Even being viewed just from behind, her body language said piss off.

“Priestess, I am going to make you come home and bring you to your trial, I swear by Vahilt, if you do not come silently, the Apostles will have to settle for your tongue -” the voice stopped suddenly, and Drei heard the man crouch down to pick up something. “It appears the Priestess has taken up thievery.” Drei sensed the mocking tone in his voice, and glanced back over her shoulder at the man. A fair haired and dark skinned middle-aged elf, with crimson eyes and dressed in the finest black and silver armour. Her attention immediately was drawn to his left hand, where he held a leather pouch. He tilted the pouch and a fountain of gold, silver and bronze spilled from its mouth.

“Not even a decent thief. Do you even know what is considered of value among the light dwellers, child?” The elf mused, holding a shard of quartz in his palm. With a flick of his wrist and a small cry of protest from Drei, the quartz flung from his hand and sank to the bottom of the stream. Drei fully turned her body towards him, with fury in her eyes and a disgusted expression.

“You do not touch my things!” Drei hissed, baring her teeth. She thought back to when she first woke, when the water had fallen from the sky, and how she had sat in the dark, afraid and crying. The water she could accept – the utter feeling of abandonment she could not, and even worse... the lack of memories. All her memory could give her was her name. She remembered emptying out the pouch strung to her side, fingering through the golden and glittering objects, not recalling whether they were of value to her or not. They didn't seem to feel like they were hers. Most seemed to be of value, but there were some silly things, like a thimble, a couple of brass buttons and a shard of stained glass. She initially wanted to throw them away, but decided to cling to them, as there had to be a reason that she had collected them before. Even though she would have just so casually thrown them all away before, this – this brute doing the same was inexcusable. No matter his reasoning, no matter what he claimed her to be or the person she was before, he had to pay for it. Drei drew her other knife and assumed a fighting stance, and a thought rushed through her head, questioning her behaviour. What are doing? Are you intending to kill the man over something so trivial? She didn't bother answering her own questions as charged at the elf.

Their blades collided with force, yet Drei held her footing. She ground her knives into the elf's sword, the sound of screeching metal ringing through the air, and glared between the gaps of her blades into his red eyes. They jumped back simultaneously, using each other to push themselves up and give them air. Drei let her hands touch the ground first and came out of her jump with a back handspring, flashy and unnecessary, and she cried out a little in surprise. When it came to fighting, her body moved on its own, like a rushing river: powerful and flowing. In fact, Drei didn't doubt that she could do this with her eyes closed. She recovered from her jump by bending her knees down into a crouch, brandishing both of her blades in front of her face and springing back towards her target. The elf was ready for her, and prepared his sword as she came into distance, but Drei quickly skid across the dirt to his left and stabbed at his side with her knife. Before Drei knew it, the elf had taken to the air, not receiving the full force of her blow, and landed on the large, flat rock behind her. She turned to him and scowled.

“Discard your steel and fight me at your full strength, monk.” Drei commanded, pointing a knife in his direction accusingly, “It's annoying that you think you'll get out of this alive without even using your true abilities.” The elf smiled at her, his armour only scratched from her strike.

“I was wondering when you would realise,” he said as he sheathed his sword and readied his fists, “So, this is what gets the child, hm?” Before Drei could react, the man was in front of her face, pulling punches like lightning. She immediately took up the defensive stance, and it was all she could do but dodge and reflect each hit with the flats of her blades, every now and then taking a jab of her own,while twirling and steadily moving backwards until she stepped into the cool water. The monk had backed her into the stream. She had to take it up a notch, or else she truly would be loosing her tongue. Drei's eyebrows furrowed and she growled under her breath. This had gone on for long enough.

Without thinking, she kicked out at the elf's leg. The elf caught it – of course – but before he could break it Drei jumped up, bending the knee of her caught leg and using the monk's hands to give her support, to keep her up just enough to let her see the spot she had been aiming for the entire fight. She plunged her knives into the base of his neck. The elf stumbled back and fell, Drei following through, and landing in a sitting position on his chest. She glared down at the dying man, adrenaline throbbing through her veins as the crimson blood of the man spurted from his wounds, each spurt growing weaker and weaker. The elf looked up at her fearfully, for some reason, and raised his hands to her neck. With the last bit of life left in him, he squeezed Drei's throat threateningly. Drei couldn't breath, but she stayed still.

“S-s-say i-it...!” The elf spluttered, his coughed up blood splattering her face. Drei looked at him, confused, when another memory flickered in her mind. If this Drow Elf's killer did not announce that his death had been in honour of Valhilt, his soul would be eternally condemned to wander... Drei's lungs were screaming, but she still managed her answer.

“No.” The elf's eyes grew wide and Drei gripped the hilts of her knives, crossing her arms over in a quick, smooth movement, tearing open his throat. His eyes rolled back and his body shuddered, his hands dropping from Drei's neck to his sides. Drei closed her eyes, letting the sick satisfaction of her kill take over her.

“That felt... good.” She whispered, and she was right. Her body was screaming, MORE, MORE, MORE! She loved this, and even if she tried denying it, the feeling was too strong to ignore. Drei tossed her knives to the side and trailed her hand down to the elf's belt, yanking off his own pouch and pouring the golden coins into her hand.

“And that felt even better,” she added, finally understanding the type of person she was. She moved over to the stream to wash the blood off her hands, and as the crimson colour left the tips of her fingers, she realised the beautiful pigment that her memory had recalled was right in front of her. When finally done, she looked around at her belongings and the body. Smirking, she made her way over to the corpse and began fumbling with the armour. His armour was bloody, but the tunic was mostly clean – and above all, it was dry. Drei lifted off her shirt and started to change.

She didn't remember her past, didn't know what the confrontation was about or where she would be heading next, but at least now, she knew who she was.

Her name was Drei Loraene. She was a thief, a murderer and a traitor, and it was time for her to get working.

Card couldn't help but but give a soft chuckle at Tollun's. From what little she could remember this was where she had spent most of her time in this place. But it was kind of him to show some concern. "I know the inn you speak of well, Tollun~." She gave him a small playful wink before turning back around, and watching her step not wanting to slip in the mud. Her tail flicking happily as is she was skipping more than trotting carefully across the road, leading the two to an dark alley that cut in between two run down looking homes.

It almost seemed to have a cloudy mist raising up from the narrow stone roadway, most likely from all the rain that had poured down not along. Cardista hopped from one large cobble stone to another in a rather carefree manner, glancing from now and then at the two to make sure she did not stray to far ahead.

Drei was following a bird. It was a small bird but a bright cobalt blue, grabbing the attention of her eyes and not letting them go. The bird would flit from tree to tree, perching upon each branch and turning its little head in curiosity to see if its stalker was still following. Drei didn't mind playing this game, as her memory gave her no idea where to go, and following the bird was... well, leading her somewhere...? At last the bird settled down on the lowest branch of a tree and didn't move, staring down at her. Drei glared back up at it and counted the seconds she was staring without blinking under her breath. It was the bird that gave up the game first, blinking and taking up to the sky and disappearing above the canopy. Drei watched it leave through the visor of her helmet, then looked around at her surroundings. She was on a small dirt path, in the middle of the forest, and she could have sworn she passed that rock an hour ago.

“For the God's sake!” Drei shouted at the top of her lungs and brought her foot down hard. As it stomped on the ground, mud shot up and covered her legs and Drei cried out in frustration, muttering obscenities at the mud and the water that turned the pleasant dirt into this murky substance. What a nice place for amnesia to hit her. In a cave that just so happened to be in the middle of f**king NOWHERE. Her chest puffed up and down with each heavy breath, and her hands balled up into fists. She really needed to hit something, but hitting a tree would simply result in a broken knuckle. Shakily, Drei spread out her hands and lent her body against a tree. She raised her hands to take off her helmet, letting her hair be freed from its stuffy prison and flow freely down her back. Counting down from ten, she forced herself to focus on her blessings.

She was dry and her clothes were new, well, at least new for her. Drei nodded to herself in agreement as she looked down at her clothing. Okay, that was a good place to start. The elf's tunic was a deep green and much too big for her, appearing as a short dress and its neckline showing off a generous view of her cleavage, which Drei didn't mind. Upon inspecting it further, she found to her delight that the silver embroidery on the tunic's sleeves was real silver laced into the fabric. Her other spoils of battle was the elf's intricate black and silver helmet and his shoulder armour, which Drei wore only to clip on the luxuriant green and black cape which came with it, and caught on every low hanging branch and shrub she past. Everything else of the elf's attire was simply too big and heavy for Drei to wear, but his fat pouch of golden coins made up for it. She still wore her leather boots, corset and gloves under her sleeves, not willing to give them up just yet. Now all I need are some pants, Drei thought glumly, looking down at her naked and vulnerable legs, splattered with dark and drying mud.

While having new things was great and all, she still had no idea what she was doing. Drei hated it when things were vague and uncertain, when she didn't have a straight and simple motives and a straight and simple path to walk down. The path she was treading on presently frustrated her to no end – it was a little narrow thing that could well just be the bed of a meandering creek. It seemed almost as uncertain of itself as Drei was now. Drei tossed her head back and slipped her annoying but admittedly cool and flashy helmet back over her head, when a glint up ahead caught her eye. She hurriedly rushed over to the glint and bent down over it, scooping the object up from the mud. It was just a bead bracelet, but it glittered and gave her hope. The weeping clouds may have washed away the footsteps, but people had been down this path before. She slipped the bracelet into her pouch and began marching down the path once more.

Before Drei knew it, she could hear laughter and music up ahead, less than a mile from where she was being so disheartened beforehand. Her first instinct was to run giddily up to the camp ground – or whatever it was – and join in with the festivities, but she silenced her inner child with a mental backhand. No, that was not what she was going to do. She neared the place where the laughter was sounding until it at last came into view. From behind her safe spot behind a tree, Drei watched over the festivities uncertainly. Merchants were sitting around, exchanging and showing off their wares, while dancers moved about them, swaying in sync with the music of the minstrel's lyre and beckoning those sitting to stand and have a dance. Children scampered around the caravans, playing chasing each other around and blowing bubbles from soapy water. Watching the children sparked a small and insecure memory inside Drei's head.

She was a child again, dancing alone in a deep and dark cavern, pitch black except for the small dapples of sunlight that brightened her dark world and warmed her face. The stone walls of the cavern were covered in red sap, running down from the cracks of her her special place and sticky to touch. Drei closed her eyes and drooped her head against her tree, indulging herself in the fondness of these memories. She could remember how much joy it would bring her to paint herself in the sap and make her mark with it on the wall. She could remember her small hand prints covering the walls and her more intricate pieces, like that dragon belching fire as it flew from its Dwarven captives to freedom, which was ultimately a failed attempt at something artistic. Most of all, she could remember the feel of a smile on her face. But these memories did not stay heartwarming for much longer. Suddenly, Drei felt something very cold in her chest. There was somebody standing behind her childlike self, a menacing figure that made child-Drei feel very afraid. The figure took her stained red hands into its own and lifted them up to its face, observing them. It nodded in approval at her work and its mouth opened, words spilling from its lips and booming around the cavern,

“Even in death, the lesser race bleeds.”

Drei's eyes snapped open and looked from left to right across the camp ground. Everybody was right there, doing what they were doing before she fell into that memory. Did she fall asleep? She accidentally stumbled from her hiding place and a few steps into the camp in shock, stopping herself by leaning over and staring down at the ground, hands on knees.

“Even in death...”

That voice sent shivers down her spine and she felt her gloves become slick from the cold sweat on her arms. Gradually, she stood back up straight and tossed her head back, regaining her usually confidence.

Forget about it, she thought to herself and strode into the camp with her chin up high, as though nothing had ever happened.

Some time later...

---

Revik

What am I even talking about again?

He looked around, seemingly disoriented for a moment. One instant he was talking with Sariya and the other he's suddenly in a gypsy caravan. He recalled agreeing to head back to the caravan but he didn't recall what exactly was said or even the road they took to get here. He was quite confused but not enough to really make a point of it. What worried him the most about it was the sense of deja vu, like this wasn't the first time it happened.

Whatever. He discarded the thought and looked around. About roughly five minutes later he was haggling with a trader.

"Look, twenty gold is more than reasonable for two blastfire bombs."

"What!? I know well enough that blastfire powder sells at about fifty gold a barrel. With the amount I'm asking for ten gold for still a hefty profit for you."

"Hefty profit!? I'd have to be ill to give anyone that kind of bargain. The most I'll drop it down to is eighteen for the two."

"I've never seen anyone pay more than fifteen for a blastfire bomb. I'm being my most generous here when I say I'll pay sixteen them both. My final offer."

With his ultimatum set he watched the man's face as he waited for a reply. As it looked as though the merchant was going to try and argue the price back up Revik started to turn as though he were leaving and the haggler finally broke.

"Fine! Fine, sixteen for the two."

He reached into his side pouch and produced sixteen gold coins. Placing it into the man's spindly hands he took his two bombs before parting ways with the merchant.

Blastfire bombs, an interesting concoction he happened upon during his voyages. Blastfire stone taken from slain magma elementals or mined in volcanic regions can be ground into a fine powder which explodes when met with a spark. Being quite a recent discovery it's mostly been a fascination amongst alchemists but pirates are a crafty lot, capable of taking seemingly useless and trying out all sorts of ways to make a use for them. Given how he'd only fight with cestuses and ever since he swore off poisons he's been quite limited in his choices for taking things down so it was predictable that he'd be quite fond of these devices. Around his chest he's donned a belt with hooks that are designed to yank the flint pin as he takes the bomb off, lighting the cordite fuse to it as he throws it. Of course since his crew had been stuck at port he'd had little chance of finding someone to sell him some more until now. It was just his luck that he'd find some variety vendor who'd gotten his little fingers on some Blastfire powder.


As he walked through the camp, looking over his bombs to make sure they're the real deal while keeping an eye on his money pouch to make sure he wasn't getting filched from, he noticed a particularly unusual sight. A particularly stunning drow woman who seemed to be striding with confidence into the camp. Between the quite revealing yet rather piecemeal outfit and her already rather shapely figure he was already drawn to her but at the same time he was quite curious as to why a drow would be wandering out like so. From his experience with them they were mostly a creepy sort of people who were into the weird stuff. Generally when they left their caves it was to take people from villages to offer to spider gods and such. Quite frankly it was a bit of a dangerous gamble for her to be walking out as openly as she was since it would be quite likely for a number of the caravan goers to get the wrong idea and drive her off or worse.

Seeing as how this situation definitely needed some sort of explanation he figured he should be the first to step forward if for no other reason than his ability to handle himself incase there's more of them or some kind of spooky magical hijinks was up. He walked right up to her with confidence before stopping about a few feet short and giving her a wave. "Hello there! A lovely young lady such as yourself coming up from the dark down-below isn't a common sight. To who do we owe this visit?" He asked her in the polite manner he almost always speaks to beautiful women in. He seemed quite bold, almost careless seeming around her as though she were just a pretty little lady and nothing else. The truth of the matter was about half that but half of it was that he still was ready to act at a moments notice, positioned to intercept her from the rest of the gypsies just in case. He had nothing against her but Sariya was still in camp and letting drow come about and kill everyone in the camp was a poor way to show off his mastery. Needless to say he was certain that his skills were sufficient for the task of greeting such an unusual guest.

As soon as Drei heard the voice she stopped, hand immediately placed on the hilt of her knife before she could stop it. Turning her head slightly, she could see a man standing to her left giving her a friendly wave, and she frowned at herself for being so paranoid. With much self-restraint, she removed her hand from her knife and placed it on her hip, turning to face the man.

"You owe this visit to me," Drei said strongly in a tone that said "Well, duh." She didn't like the way the man had greeted her while wearing that ornament to hide his face. It didn't let her see his eyes, and the eyes were always the dead giveaway for a person with ulterior motives. To get back at him, though it was just a simple thing, she decided to keep her helmet on too so that both of their faces would remain hidden during their exchange. She wouldn't like to feel open and vulnerable against one who seemingly kept himself so well guarded.

"You also owe this visit to a blue bird and some beads, but it's a boring story that you won't want to hear." Drei continued hurriedly as she looked away, back at the merchants. Pants. However, when the merchants looked over at her in turn, their faces changed to something like weariness. Drei couldn't remember why they were looking at her like that. Her armor was unbloodied, and the shadows of her visor hid all trace of her calculative gaze. It was then that Drei was reminded of the dark of her skin and the point of her ears, and the contrast of her hair... she turned her head back to her masked stranger with a sense of dignity, both of her hands on her hips and a frown scrunching up her features behind her helmet. A part of her wanted to continue talking to this man for the sake of conversation, but another part of her just wanted to make sure. All men who hide their faces must have some hidden agenda in their actions, surely...

"So tell me... what do I owe this greeting to? When you've finished sizing me up as a threat will you follow to watch over my every action, or are your words purely a friendly gesture of goodwill?"

Revik

While he thought he had an adequate read on just what he was dealing with her behavior threw him in for another loop. Her personality was quite atypical for drow as he knew them. Her almost sarcastic tone as she answered him along with her hodgepodge assortment of equipment gave her more of a roguish character than the typical drow's eerie half whisper and air of haughty nobility. What was also interesting was the fact they were both wearing helmets but very little other armor. It must of been a rather odd scene for onlookers.

"Well for the matter of who you owe this greeting to I am Revik Howster, Weapon Master of the cestus. As to what you owe this greeting to, while I certainly would enjoy watching your every action I don't wish to put you off of this here humble camp. Not much to it really, here's just a fair welcome." He answered her question about as pleasantly as a greeting between two friendly strangers could be. He was much less off-put by her appearance as her straight forward attitude was quite preferable to the typical upper class fashion of talking around things. He put a plated hand forward in an offer to shake hands.

"No harm no foul right miss... ?" He left the end of his question open for her to fill in while he left his hand out to hopefully shake hers if she wasn't completely hostile toward him from just this brief introduction.

Very well handled there, mister. Drei's eyes lowered to look at the man's outstretched hand in uncertainty. She couldn't remember being treated this way, of course she couldn't, and it left her mind blank. Would she take his hand? If she chose to, would she be submitting? If she ignored the hand, the smooth talker would walk away... You're putting way too much thought into this, you paranoid idiot.

Drei brought her hand forward, as daintily as she could handle, and placed it in the weapon master's. She laughed to herself and only to herself, her golden tooth glinting from behind her lower visor.

"Drei Loraene," Drei answered, all of her humor from her voice gone. She stared into where she could see his eyes slightly from behind his helmet as she shaked his hand with the mock daintiness of a fair damsel. With a sudden squeeze she gripped his hand strongly in hers, with strength unexpected of a 'fair damsel' like herself.

"And so, Revik, was it?" Drei asked coldly, refusing to let his hand out of her grip. She leaned in, her voice lowered yet still retained its strength and authority, "I have to warn you not evade my questions in the future, if you ever feel the urge to. I just hate it when people give me anything but straight answers. It makes conversation so pointless." With that she let go of his hand and stepped back, folding her arms protectively over herself and lifting her head. Anybody who would try to invite a drow inside of their camp could not be trusted, as Drei knew full well now that drows were considered not to be trusted themselves.

"Pants." She stated, changing the topic suddenly, "I need them, and I would ask those kindly merchants over there myself if they wouldn't drive me away with torches and pitchforks the second I ask. You, a human, need to vouch for me." Drei looked over Revik expectantly, waiting for him to turn down her demands or remember that he has 'something else' to take care of.

Revik

They shook hands, met eyes and he finally got a name to put to this pretty face. When she suddenly tightened her grip he gave a brief chuckle. She was a strong lass indeed, almost as strong as some of the bar wenches he's met. Still, he can't say he'd applaud the forethought of someone who'd try to squeeze a cestus unless they were an ogre. It was basically a futile effort.

He wasn't at all phased when she leaned in to deliver her warning. How very drow of her. He thought as she leaned back from him. "I get your point." He states simply enough, not really emphasized in one sense or another. He wasn't at all intimidated by her but he did appreciate getting straight answers in very much the same way. He just didn't think he'd be hearing that from a drow of all people given how they rarely say anything remotely close to what they mean unless it's a request for him to go away. They just loved to make their will known when they wanted someone to get out of their sight.


She suddenly changed the topic over to clothes. He'd roll his eyes but there wasn't any point since he was wearing a helmet. She did have a point in that she wouldn't get very far trying to trade with the people of this camp given her people's reputation for siccing spiders on people in the dead of night. There was no harm in helping a fine lady buy a pair of pants though, even if she were a drow. "Fair enough." He responded before turning and heading into the camp. He gestured to Drei for her to follow as he led the way over to a tailor he spotted earlier.

Drei was happy to have hidden her face from this man - Revik, as it hid how furiously she was blushing. Would anything phase this guy? Her hands balled up into tight fists as she walked alongside him, biting her lip underneath her visor. It was a gamble enough to have tried to intimidate him like that, as she hadn't even tested how strong her hands were beforehand, or couldn't even remember what a che-ces... cestus thing was made out of. But still, was she not intimidating enough? I don't feel like a killer next to this man at all, Drei thought in annoyance, wondering whether to associate that as a good or bad thing. No, it was neither good nor bad, all this meant was that as soon as she got time to herself, she'd start up training again. She needed to strengthen herself, after all, she couldn't remember how long she had blacked out down there in the cave. It could have been a week's worth of training she'd missed out on - a week that she couldn't afford.

"Well, now that we're on even ground," Drei started, emphasizing even ground in a way that said you better not dare look down on me, "I want to know where exactly am I, what direction is the nearest bandit hideout - mmm, no, city and how long it'll take me to get there by foot." As she neared the tailor she took the elf's large pouch of golden coins - which only now did Drei realise still had blood from the fight drying in the cracks of the leather - and plunked it down on the man's lap as though it was worthless. The tailor looked at her with distasteful eyes, then his gaze slipped down to the pouch on his lap. When he looked back up at her, his face was pleasant, all traces of his prejudice forced back. Drei held a hand up to his face to say deal with you later, and turned her attention back to Revik.

"Or..." she said, taking a better look at the campground, especially at the weary travellers who were talking among each other in confusion. "Do you not... know either, by any chance?"

---

(With perpetual lateness. Hospitals aren't fun)

---

After the fight with the slavers, Sariya couldn't recall what had happened. It was strange since she isn't one to pass out often, but this time she lost consciousness. She awoke with the rest of those she knew in a town, most likely the town she was talking about before she collapsed, which was okay since she was in safe hands with Cardista, Revik, Tollun, and Remiel, all four she had protected and helped. Shakily she rose with a sharp pain, most likely from the fall she took when she passed out since she was standing in a little grotto and probably hit her head on a root. None the less, Sariya looked around with a quick gaze that the dancers like her use.

She noticed Revik and approached, she wanted to know what happened, until the little half-elf noticed something... Different. There was another woman standing with Revik, which wasn't why she was spooked, it was something else with the woman, she was a Drow. Something she was taught was that drow elves were enemies to her kind. Though she put on a false gentle smile and spoke to Revik, in a manner that makes her quite the actress.

"Hey, Revik, what happened while I was out? And I apologize if I was a burden" she said with her tone not really confident, which Sariya wasn't. Sariya was not a confident person in public, though her eyes gazed at the Drow, she wasn't much different from Sariya, they were practically the same, other than one was half-elf and the other was a Dark Elf, or Drow. Though Sariya did speak to the Drow, masking any minor hatred her race had with them, she wasn't that type of person,

"Hello Miss, I guess you've met Revik, I'm Sariya Yotamaru, dancer and wielder of the snake blade, may I ask your name?"

Revik

He did like her roguish side as it did remind him of his pirate pals he had some pretty interesting adventures with not long ago. He remembered the common instances where the previous owner of the loot they stole still stained their earnings. Heck, once a man clutched onto a diamond lined brooch so hard that his fist refused to open even after he died. Big-small Pete had to hack the whole hand off and didn't bother with prying the brooch free before pawning it off at an appraiser, hand included. Those were some interesting times.

As for the current matter of his new drow acquaintance there was the question as to the nearest town. He rested the side of his helmet on his fist for a moment, thinking on what she asked. He remembered Cardista speaking of a town not too far off from where they were. "You're in a gypsy caravan which has set up camp for the night. There is the city of Brainde, which I'm told is the closest city to here. If we left now we'd be there by daybreak I reckon." Hoping to have satisfied her need for information without setting the little firebrand off again he looked around. There were a number of people whispering to each other and some of the more armed folk in the camp were starting to buzz around the area, never in direct confrontation but always closer and closer by. He figured given the camps attitude towards her being what it was if she were to stay much longer there might be a confrontation and that was a headache he'd rather not have to deal with. Why can't things be simple?


To complicate matters further up came Sariya. Lovely as she was he knew elves and drow tended to get along like cats and dogs. "Not an awful lot I'm afraid. While we were talking the others that were around got a head start towards that town they were talking about. The caravan you mentioned came around so I let you get your bearings while I checked out the traders. The camp which runs across some rather interesting guests I must admit." He answered Sariya's inquiry as best he could, trying to avoid agitating either of the fine females he now had in his company. Why can't things just be simple again? He wished in his heart and in his head, harkening back to the better days when he was a pirate who was free to sail the seas and seize his destiny by the reigns. You know, just a couple days ago before all this nonsense began.

So, he does know. Does this mean that I'm the only one here who doesn't...? Drei turned her attention back to the tailor and ran her fingers over the fabric on his table. There was one in particular that caught her eye and reminded her of river water, shifting under her fingers yet tough and durable. She pointed the fabric out to the tailor with a sharp and pained smile.

"A satisfactory imitation of the real thing..." she stated, half speaking to herself and half praising the tailor on his efforts, "I need pants made from this one. Just name your price and get on with it." Drei immediately lifted her hands over her head as the tailor swept his measuring tape around her hips and got on with his work like she commanded. Drei grit her teeth and beared it, telling herself that she was not completely vulnerable in this situation. The whisperers of this camp thought she couldn't hear them - ha! Try keeping whispers away from the ears of a drow.

It was then she turned her head to what had to be the most beautiful woman she had seen, not just since she had awoken, but she had the feeling she hadn't seen somebody like her for a long time before that. Gorgeous blue eyes and pink hair that seemingly floated around her, with porcelain skin and slightly pointed ears... when she spoke in that melodic voice of hers, Drei's chest tightened. So she had seen somebody like her before. It wasn't clear, but a memory was there. Beautiful people... she couldn't remember them being beautiful, not then. Their faces were wet and twisted in fear, and their tinkling voices pleaded her no - but there cries carried such melodies, it was music. It was then she slit her sacrifice's throat and a slow, solemn clap sounded around the temple.

"You're an elf." Drei blurted out, not bothering to answer the woman's question. She didn't feel comfortable enough to exchange names and besides, Revik would tell this elf anyway as it sounded like they were travelling partners. With that thought in mind, Drei shot Revik a nasty glare, though she knew that she hadn't asked him about his companions so this confrontation wasn't exactly his fault. All I'm here for are the pants, she reminded herself, If you can't handle that much, then there is no way you could get yourself through a city.

"You are an elf, yet you walk right up and introduce yourself to a drow like our races hold nothing against each other. Do you really think that was a smart decision?" Drei asked the elf woman coldly, eying her over. The woman seemed to hold no threat towards her, but she was and elf after all, so Drei stayed weary. Did everyone in this camp here not want to kill her? No, scratch that - these were the only two in camp that weren't set on killing her, Drei corrected her inner voice as there was a sound of drawing steel behind the caravan much too close for comfort.

---

Sariya smiled rather coyly at the drow, speaking in a manner that she's all to used to, a more seductive manner that also was sounding admittedly brilliant, "Oh I know the squabble between the Elves and Drows. But, I'm only half elf, and thus I make more of an attempt to form my own opinions to benefit me, my dear." she replied allowing for the drow to take into account the fact that Sariya isn't like other elves and that she forms her own ideas. Though she spoke to Revik, as if to reassure him as she noticed him tense up as it seemed that the world came crashing down on him,

"Thank you, Revik, I kind-of know where I am now, and the Gypsy camp is friendly to most. As long as you don't start anything~" she said with an admittedly cute look before stepping back gracefully and almost taking another step into a dance, which that one would have been the dance of darkness, which would blind most anyone in the camp, thankfully she stopped herself and thought to herself Easy Sariya. The last thing we need is a redundant conflict. Just remain calm if at all possible. Soo she switched her attention back to the drow.

"Though, Madame, I still would like to know your name, since I will say that I've no issue with your kind and am honestly no real threat to you in any manner. Since all I can do is sing and dance, swing a sword around, and that is about it. So, may I ask your name again?"

Drei sighed a long, drawn out sigh. This was getting too confusing for her blank head. She wasn't sure what to make of how the woman had suddenly changed her tone from slightly-timid friendly to... not at all timid and a tinge of something more than friendly. My dear? Really? It seemed like everybody was wearing protective helmets over their personalities today, or Drei was just behind on practice. She did not let her shoulders sag as she gave in with defeat to the half-elf's request, figuring that she'd either hear it from herself or Revik - who was looking slightly down-on-his-luck, come to think of it.

"Drei Loraene," Drei said, tilting her chin up with a little regal atmosphere around her that just came naturally, "And you're lucky that I have no personal issue with your kind either at this time. But, that won't stop me from having a personal issue with you, if it comes to it." The last words ran off her tongue like instinct, but Drei did not wince at them. It did not matter which way the half-elf took her words, after all.

The tailor was finished with measurements and disappeared into his caravan with the fabric to snip and stitch away at it. As soon as he left, Drei turned herself and sat up on the cleared spot of the man's table, letting her legs dangle like a small child.

"And you can swing a sword? That must be useful. I wonder, if something were to break out here, who would you swing it against?" She was speaking casually, but there was still a suspicious undertone to her words, "Would it be me, or would it be those BLATANT EAVESDROPPERS WHO WHISPER AMONG THEMSELVES AT THIS VERY MOMENT." Drei suddenly raised her voice to what would be a shout, except her voice was still even. She glared accusingly at the collection of armed men who were gathering around the area, and some of there heads lifted to look up at them. Drei smirked. "Yes, you."

Revik

He was quite happy that Sariya was being quite amiable to Drei and her rather confrontational attitude. It meant he didn't have to put himself in the middle of a conflict that would've almost certainly resulted in him alienating one of the two lovely women. While it was most probable that he would side with Sariya he also didn't want any animosity between him and Drei just because people can't look past the color of an elf's skin.

When Drei addressed the surrounding fellows directly he couldn't help but sigh a little. It's not that he didn't want to fight because he's more than willing to lay down a smack down any time on any day but the ramifications it would bear on his relationships if he were to either side with or against the camp guards were highly unpredictable. Mainly the question was just who Sariya would side with when the chaos begins and just how he'd be able to resolve the conflict without burning his bridges entirely. At this point the best option seemed to be to separate from the camp in light of trying to avoid a quarrel he'd rather not have to solve.


"Say, you were looking for that nearby town I was just telling you about right? How about we head on down there and get some rest. This place hasn't much work for a man of my reputation anyways so I'd welcome an excuse to head on down and see if there's anything worth doing over there. The city has a bit more of a diverse crowd so you should fit in at least a bit better." He presented his offer to Drei in a friendly manner. He wasn't really lying or even talking around the truth of what he said so he felt she probably wouldn't feel as harsh as she did towards his earlier attempts at diplomacy. He just didn't omitted the deeper motivations of this offer which was essentially boredom from standing around a camp with little to offer a figure of song and tale such as him combined with his desire to surround himself with beautiful ladies. He looked over from Drei to Sariya to extend his invitation to her as well since he was working on going places with the fine half-elven maiden.

"How about it? After spending several weeks traveling with a group of people it should be refreshing to see some new faces. As both you and I have noticed just recently these woods have been seeing far more unfriendly folk lurking about so if we go together you both should be much safer with me around." That was sort of the problem with his charm. Once he turns it on his confidence takes over and if there was one thing anyone knew about him it was that he rarely had any lack of confidence in his abilities. His biggest danger truly was his ego in a sense. If he were more humble he wouldn't of even become a weapon master in the first place and just opted to be a good fighter. If he were less cocky he'd of not thrown away those weapons he had a long time ago, most of which were probably powerful magical artifacts that looked pretty heavily enchanted when he thinks back on it. It was almost as if his whole life had been riddled with mistakes resulting from his desire to prove himself better to himself.

Does he regret it?

Drei nodded at Revik as soon as he extended the offer. After all, it was what she needed him for.

"Good," Drei confirmed with a brief smile that flickered and died under a second, "Though I doubt you'd find any of my kind in an outside city so crowded, I suppose it is better that I do not run into them after all..." She said this to no one in particular, staring off into the space behind Revik with her eyes refusing to look at him directly. Drei's thoughts were back to the drow who had attempted to take her life just a day before, and her face darkened. Yes, it was better that she didn't go anywhere near the places her kind would be found at. With that Drei hopped down from her seat and flipped her cape back, looking over at the armed men who were gradually backing off from the area. Though Drei would have liked to leave straight away, her pants were still being tailored. Without pardoning herself from her new-found companions' company, she stalked over and ducked inside of the caravan.

"Just how long are you planning on taking?" Drei shot at the tailor, who had only just started stitching the fabric together.

"I'm sorry miss, these things are more delicate than what you'd assume." The tailor replied to her with a hint of sarcasm in his undertone, a sarcasm that Drei did not tolerate. But, what could she do? She didn't know how to stitch and she didn't have anything else to help the process along... wait. A little light went off in Drei's head and she untied her pouch from her belt. Loosening the draws, she slipped her fingers inside and felt around for her needle. After drawing out three golden coins and a belt buckle, she pulled out a golden needle that had sifted through to the bottom of her little bag.

///Transition no Jutsu///

In less than five minutes, Drei emerged from the caravan. The elf's pouch was back, strapped to her belt and only slightly lighter than what it was before, coins jingling merrily with every stride. Looking down at her legs as she walked, Drei felt a sense of fulfilment and stopped in front of her companions, her new pants letting off a slight sheen in the light.

"Revik, Sariya." She greeted them both, with her head up high and her usually cool tone lessened,"Did I miss anything here?"

---

Sariya had listened and kept her watch around at the not-at-all hostile guards whom had in a sense surrounded her, Revik, and Drei, which she was used to, guards surrounded her all the time when she was a slave as she recalls, yet, she brushed that thought aside. More important matters were at hand with Drei yelling at the guards for eavesdropping, she both understood the reasons for Drei to snap, and if there was a response from the guards, their response too. Drei was not all in the right in her mind, they Were in public after all, though the guards were antagonizing the small party as it stood there waiting for who-knows-what. Though she spoke to her allies with a calm tone, as if she wasn't threatened by the sentinels, "And Drei, I understand how you feel, the guards are too close for comfort, but this is a public area, they're going to overhear. Yet. The party whom this camp is belonging to has a strong disdain for unwarranted violence. It'd end badly for us if we're the ones provoking the fight. So, I kindly ask that we remain at the very least, peaceful but wary." she stopped seeing Drei enter the tent and soon exit with a change of pants.

Though it was just some minor detail that Sariya brushed aside, it still amused her a little. That is, before Drei asked if she missed something. Nothing had happened in the five minutes she was gone, thus the little pink elf spoke back with a kinder tone, as if to try to ease her allies, "Nothing's happened, dear, or at least that you would have missed." though soon she turned to Revik,

"Your idea sounds like a grand idea. I'm on board with it."

Revik

"Right. Glad to see we're all on the same page then. Up and forward then?" He stood from the log he was just sitting on and started on their way to where they needed to go. Sariya seemed to be in favor of heading to town and Drei had her pants and was ready to go too. With little argument they all left the camp and went on their short journey. There wasn't a single obstacle and the weather seemed quite allowing despite it's recent harsher changes. The cool breeze of the air filled him with purpose in his stride as he boldly trekked at the front of the group.

---

Some time later...

---

They arrived upon the outskirts of town. The sun was just beginning to peak out from beyond the hill rise from the north. As the first golden ray of sunlight struck his helm it illuminated it was a brilliant gleam, the perfect start to his adventure. He wasn't just one of those people who wanders aimlessly, drifting from town to town however. He was one of those people who'd find a whole bunch of folks with something to prove and then pick some place people didn't like out of a hat or something and then wreck the spot and plunder it for loot.

Less of a drifter, more of a bandit really. It all depended on who he takes the loot from. Back in the old days he never really questioned the difference but now he did wonder what separated an adventurer from a trouble maker, a hero from a warlord. He banished the thoughts from his mind for now. He didn't come here to divulge in his moral complexities. He came here to drink, find out where there was fighting to be had and make some profit. First thing's first he stepped into town, looking about for an inn for his two lovely ladies and himself.

(This is before they stepped into Brainde, btw.)

Drei had bags beneath her eyes, and her face was fuming behind her helmet. A thin layer of sweat covered her skin, giving it a slight shine but not dripping. She looked back at her two companions that were walking up behind her, and huffed at how slow they were making their way towards her. Look at them, talking to each other. How could they be so chipper after walking through the entire night? She leant against the wall of the city by the gates, glowering as the weapon master and the elf walked over.

She had argued that they set up camp for the night and walk in the morning - but oh no, monk-wannabe had insisted that it was only a short journey and that there was no need to. So they had walked... all freaking night. She had continuously sprinted ahead, thinking that she might as well take this journey as a chance to train, even if it was just a little bit. Along the way she had discovered some new abilities of hers; she could suddenly speed up her sprint abnormally for a short amount of time, and every now and then she would find herself appearing a few metres ahead of where she was before - without moving her legs. Running through a spider's web taught her that these newfound abilities of hers could just as easily be transfigured into battle techniques. None the less, she would have prefered to have slept and worked out in the morning, and all she could think of now was hot food and a bed. Such of a waste of a dawn to simply sleep through... she thought as she looked wistfully up at the light shining over the forest.

As though sensing her discomfort, Drei's pouch of random objects began making little clinking noises. Drei looked down at it in surprise, immediately putting a hand over the pouch to stifle the sound and shut up whatever was in there. It was then that a sharp, pointy object jabbed at her palm through the leather, drawing a droplet of blood.

"Shit!" Drei swore and pulled her hand back, and something whizzed in a circle around her head like a flash of golden lightning. The sparkling object settled after a few more laps, floating in front of Drei's face and looking her up and down judgmentally with its... eye. If needles could ever show expression, Drei would say it was upset at her. "Prick," she addressed the needle, the name rolling pleasantly off her tongue with a vague familiarity, remembering why she chose such a stupid name for the thing. She wiped the blood from her hand onto the stone wall before raising an eyebrow at it. "I don't have anything here for you to do, so you should be inactive." When the needle didn't react to her, Drei waved her hand at it in annoyance. "That means get back into the bag!"

Prick ignored her gesture and dived down. Drei instinctively lifted her feet up, expecting the little thing to take a stab at her boots, but instead she looked down to find it stitching away at the bottom of her cloak which was fraying. She relaxed, and seconds later the needle was back in her face. From its composure, it looked like it was waiting for praise, but it's hard to tell with needles.

"Thank you," Drei spoke in a growling and strained voice, praying for the needle point to get out of her face already. This stupid thing! You're not supposed to have a will, you know that? "And the pants. Good work on the pants, too." The needle had done an excellent job on her pants indeed. Every stitch was expertly done, and Prick even had the right mind to add embroidery on the hems to match the embroidery on her tunic. The buttons were simple and brass, recycled from Drei's own collection, but were sewn so tight they wouldn't be falling off anytime soon. The needle perked up proudly at the compliment, and swiftly found its way Drei's jaw through a gap in her lower visor. Drei's lips parted slightly in shock, unsure of whether it was assault or an attempt at a human kiss, when the sound of footsteps crunched nearer and Prick dived down her cleavage.

"THE BAG, NO- Well it took you long enough." Drei turned to Revik and Sariya as calm as she possibly could with a needle down her shirt, or as casually as a woman could manage after yelling at her breasts. She hopped up from her wall and walked over to the entrance. As soon as she stepped inside the gates, she turned to the two of them with her hands on her hips.

"Our first order of business is an inn. I don't know how you both are feeling, but I for one need a rest." Her bloodshot eyes darted over to Revik from behind her visor, deliberately oblivious to the fact that she wouldn't be half as tired if she didn't marathon the walk to the city.

Revik

"Sounds good enough. We'll find an inn, I'll rally a crew of sorts and then we can set out. Funds are low and five spirits know I could use both the money and a good scrap to keep me from going rusty." He agreed with Drei's idea seeing as it worked just as well for him. Much to her likely displeasure he wasn't too keen on sleeping right at the moment. He figured they had at least weeks worth of nights on the road to rest, the city was simply too busy for him to just set his head on a pillow and relax.

Not to say that he particularly disliked resting but he wasn't exactly tired. Maybe a little sleepy perhaps but he couldn't see any reason why he shouldn't just pull a twenty four hour go like before. He once had to run for four days nonstop for training purposes. The days back when he really focused on his cestus training were rather... interesting.


As he walked along his merry way, keeping an eye out for places for his lovely companions to stay as well as someplace that might serve as a nexus for adventurers and like-minded folks who'd be interested in his proposal, a spray of mud suddenly erupted past the corner of the wall beside him. Thanks to his considerable reflexes he managed to catch himself on a loose brick and pull himself back behind the wall before the brown shower reached him. Looking around the mud caked wall corner he could see a red haired woman clad in meager yet sturdy looking silvery plate mail conversing with a younger girl in a red cloak carrying a large scythe.

There wasn't a group of people more likely to be adventurers. With little pause he stepped out to greet them. "Hey there, I'm looking for a crew of adventurers to join me in my quest to save the lands from evil and make loads of gold in the process. The pay's an equal share of the loot found." He put forth his offer in a rather blunt but straight forward manner. He was never much a fan of making small talk when it came to business. With ladies it was all smooth talking but for work he wasn't going to fool around the point. "Ya' interested?"

With that said, he put one hand out and leaned on the mud splattered wall with a casual air to him as he awaited their responses. Whether they were on board or not, he wasn't going to stick around much too long. If they accepted, great but if they didn't it wouldn't be much of a loss to him. If he couldn't find people to sally forth to fame and fortune with him then he'd just go do it himself like how it often was.