Fate - First Reply Into Thin Air

[Henk]

If the question she posed wasn't one that left him just as puzzled, he would have been rather flattered by the implication. Henk didn't think himself difficult to coexist with, but everybody had their fair share of detractors. That being said, Ralene was right in that he wasn't familiar with anybody who held such vitriol for him it fulfilled the listed criteria of the curse.

Henk stared at the pages in front of Ralene, rereading the passage a few times as he mulled it all over in his mind. The old elf woman... she'd been vague about the specifics, and the other elves with her had quickly tried to stop her from saying too much more. Was it possible they were being too specific?

"Perhaps it's not me they hate, but Dreadlords in general? I'm sure there are plenty who have a deep-seated hatred for us as a group..." The issue was that they couldn't be sure that counted. It was a matter of semantics towards a curse and creature they had barely any information on. "I have my enemies, but... I'm not sure." Henk didn't like to say it out loud, but people who became his enemy ended up, owing to his position as a Dreadlord Initiate, quite incapable of acting out on their hatred.

Suddenly, he wasn't so wary of leaving the Inn in this ridiculous shirt.

"The other elves, they knew something. When the old one started going into details, they tried to get her to shut up. I think the fact they left us behind might have been more complicated than we've been led to believe. We should follow this trail."

 

[Samantha Black]

That line of thought was more plausible, but Ralene saw one fatal flaw: they were traveling incognito. Not just that, but they were Initiates, a term within the realm of Dreadlords that translated plainly to the fact that they were nobodies. None of them had earned accolades or fame, none of them had any reason for their faces to be known in the world beyond the Academy. Their infamy as students didn't extend beyond Academy grounds.

So how they fuck would anyone know?

These thoughts remained unspoken, though, as Henk unspooled his own theory. In the end, she agreed with him. This was their best and only lead thus far, and it played well into their current plan. There was no legitimate reason she could think of not to follow it.

"Then we need to get their leader to listen," Ral mused, "and to talk."

Something that she felt would prove a challenge. Already they were untrusting and had proven they would not hesitate to act on their suspicions.

"I've changed my mind," she said suddenly, "we're not stealing the wagon, but we are going back to the caravan."

 

[Henk]

"Then it's settled. As soon as the sun falls we're paying a courtesy visit to our old friends." Finally, after a day of frustratingly minimal progress, it seemed they had something concrete to hang onto. Coupled with the weird fluttering sensation that still rested in the pit of his stomach from whatever that kiss had been between Ral and himself earlier, Henk was actually feeling rather optimistic about things.

"I have to admit..." Henk leaned forward against Ralene's back to flip through the rest of the book, biting the inside of his cheek. "Up until a few hours ago, this mission was starting to make me think I really could be cursed." Admittedly, Henk was finding himself rather drawn to the small moments of closeness, but he drew back and slid away, stepping around the bed and sitting on the side that wasn't covered in books.

"It's been what, three days? Feels like a week. If these elves can give us some answers, we can finally move forward. We have to be careful though. Word gets out what we are, and we'll be up to our neck in trouble." A smirk pulled at his mouth. "Not that I'm against a little trouble every now and then. Moderation is important."

 

[Samantha Black]

"I have to admit..." Henk leaned forward against Ralene's back to flip through the rest of the book, biting the inside of his cheek. "Up until a few hours ago, this mission was starting to make me think I really could be cursed."

Ralene's gaze shifted to the side as he reached to page through the book. A heedless action that gained him nothing aside from that brief intrusion into her personal space. Hm. Before he'd only acted forward when prompted by her own testing and teasing, but now he was volunteering himself for trouble.

Speaking of which...

Her eyes followed him as he left her immediate presence to retreat to the other side of the bed.

Not quite as brave as he thought.

Gaze narrowed skeptically, she eyed him from where she sat, closed the book and set it down on the top of the pile stacked on the table to her right, "Henk, you aren't cursed you just have a taste for trouble that you either haven't realized or won't admit to."

 

[Henk]

Henk's brow furrowed a bit as she closed the book. It was true that he certainly had done a few things on this mission he wouldn't have thought himself one to do before, but he didn't feel as though he was hiding or concealing anything about himself.

Still, the sharp gaze she shot at him did get her point across, and Henk eventually, brought a hand to his hair, running his fingers through it with a small sigh of reservation. No, she had a point... "Depends on your definition of trouble, I guess. It seems like the closer we get to graduating, the more restless I feel." Really, it was ever since that damned ball. Whatever that rush he'd felt during that dance was, it was intoxicating.

"I've always tried to be the responsible one, the one who didn't stick his nose into too much trouble. I guess maybe I just want to know what it's like to not care sometimes, to let loose. It feels far better than I expected, to chase those rushes."

Henk stops and shakes his head. "You didn't ask for a therapy session, I apologize. My feelings in general have been very conflicted as of late. I shouldn't let it compromise the mission." His gaze travels back to his companion, and he offers a small smirk. "Even so, I enjoyed that. I do think... that I needed it far more than I want to admit to you."

 

[Samantha Black]

Crossing her arms loosely at her front, Ral affixed her attention to her fellow Initiate as he let his confessions tumble free. For once, he'd stated something she could completely agree with and knew exactly what he meant: the closer graduation drew, the more restless she felt for its closure on this chapter of her life. Ral had recently realized she'd outgrown the Academy - insomuch that she wasn't sure that returning to it was really her best option for the last several missions. What was stopping her from going straight to Captain Holstag?

Well, primarily, she was pretty sure Holstag would send her packing back to the Academy. Stickler for rules, that man was, and she respected that, but that didn't make it any less annoying for her.

As for everything else? Causing trouble, chasing rushes - she could take or leave it. Ral gave a half-hearted shrug of her shoulders and splayed her hands in a gesture that said as much.

"It's not black and white, Henk. You can cut loose and cause some trouble and still get the job done at the end of the day. Snogging and fucking don't make you a criminal."

 

[Henk]

Well, when she said it like that it made him sound like he was making a fuss over nothing. Her phrasing got a chuckle from him, if nothing else. Sure, those things didn't make him a criminal. That was probably all the murder responsible for that. Still, he understood what she meant. "Well, I've only done the former once and the latter never, so forgive me for not being sure of the morality of it all. It's a bit easier for you, seeing as they're normalized."

That wasn't an insult, of course, merely observation. Henk simply wasn't as physical a creature as she was, or as many of his constituents were. Of course, the point Ralene was trying to make was that perhaps Henk was and was merely unaware of it. Honestly it hadn't been something he'd entirely considered, but he couldn't deny the possibility.

"Maybe I have just been denying my own nature or something of the sort, but it's really neither here nor there, is it? Graduation is coming soon, and it won't matter after that. If I wanted to experience things of that nature so badly, I should have decided sooner." Henk's shoulders raised in a shrug, and he cast a glance outside the window to the sun as it inched closer and closer to the horizon.

"Once it's over, the people I care about are going to be scattered. It's back to square one for me."

 

[Samantha Black]

Her eyes narrowed but not for any taken offense. It was curious amusement more than anything as her arms folded at her front again, one arm lifting to idly cup thumb and pointer at her chin while she listened.

He was making some fair points for himself, but her thought process caught on something he seemed to be glossing over.

"So, back up," the hand at her chin waved the conversation flow back, "you're telling me you just ... skipped the whole trip to the brothel two years ago?"

The one where the Proctors had taken their year to wet their wicks, as they said, and get the teenaged angst and hormones worked out of their system. It was one of the few things she thought the Academy did right by them: giving them an outlet for their repressed desire of closeness and intimacy rather than calling it taboo and banning it outright. Before the revolution, she'd heard tell that doing this had also been a means of producing more magically inclined dreadlords through the brothel workers. She didn't think the Republic looked kindly upon it anymore, but at least they hadn't taken the brothel away.

One of her favorite bedmates was there, after all, and like hell was anyone going to tell her she couldn't pay the gal a regular visit.

 

[Henk]

Shit.

Well, he'd rather outed himself there, hadn't he? Henk didn't have to say anything for Ralene to know she'd caught him off guard, his body going stiff and his eyes staring straight ahead for a few moments as his mind tried to catch up with the rest of him. Right. The brothel trip. That had been a thing he'd been supposed to participate in. With all that had happened since he'd completely forgotten about it.

"Ah... Well, they only forced me to attend. Techincally I did that much. I just... didn't feel comfortable doing anything aside from being there."

Henk's eyes drift off to some distant corner of the room, the scarred side of his mouth twitching reflexively. It hadn't been a fun night for the boy. His scarring was still fresh at the time, and he'd felt absolutely hideous. The wound was fresh enough that he hadn't been able to speak very clearly, and the entire right side of his face was a bright fleshy red.

Edric hadn't meant to do it. But it wasn't something that was discouraged at the time.

"I waited for the rest of you. Read the book I was trying to finish, mind you I wasn't great at reading yet. The Proctors didn't care enough to actually make me go inside, I don't think."

 

[Samantha Black]

What was that? Was that pity she felt for him? Ralene's brow knit upwards in a look of concerned disbelief. She'd of course had no issue participating in that evening and had discovered a whole new facet of herself in doing so. Honestly, it had been one of the most personally freeing ventures of her youth that she could recall aside from learning that she wasn't afraid to kill.

"That's a shame," she replied levelly, no mockery present in her tone, "the girls there would have treated you well. In fact I think they would have rather enjoyed your company," her brows lifted as her head canted to one side, "they like the shy ones. I can see why..."

There was a certain ... drive of predatory interest in it for someone like herself. Of course Ral didn't recall that Henk's scar had been so fresh that night.

 

[Henk]

Henk did his very best to not look as though he was somewhat flustered by her words, but the fact that she didn't use that teasing tone to her voice that she had the entire mission so far helped a lot more than he cared to admit. So much so that he actually smiled a bit as she tilted her head.

"Well, what's done is done. I'm not quite as unconfident as I was two years ago, thankfully, but I still don't see myself making any brothel trips. I don't feel as though I'd be comfortable with somebody I don't know." Another shrug lifted his shoulders as he laid back on the bed with a soft grunt, stretching on the surprisingly soft mattress.

"You and the others, I've known you for so long that I've grown a degree of confidence around you all." He continued, turning his head to still look over at her. "But that's all coming to an end, and I'll be honest with you, the end frightens me a little."

This was all silly. It didn't have any bearing on his job, or what he was here to do. He sounded like a child fresh out of his first year.

"Who knows? Maybe my chastity is what's held me back all this time from my full potential." Henk broke into a grin as he w wondered aloud, jokingly. If the secret to power and confidence was plowing a stranger, it certainly would explain a lot. He doubted it, though.

 

[Samantha Black]

Usually it went the other way round.

Confidence with strangers, insecurities with fellow Initiates.

As large as the Academy grounds were, it was its own small world and word traveled fast along the grapevine. There had always been gossip and whispers, but they seemed to have ramped up after the Revolution. With Initiates no long constantly at one another's throats, it gave them the opportunity to socialize, of all things. Heresay and theresay was only a natural side effect. A single fumble could spend a month circulating the social court before it died down enough to forget about or someone else did something worse.

But strangers? Fuck up with one of them and chances were likely you'd never see them again.

At the end of the day though, Henk was right. Their lives were about to shift dramatically past graduation. Ralene wouldn't say it, but she was eager for the end of her career as an Initiate. A short chuckle sounded as she thought on what she might be like if she hadn't unlocked the side of her that had grown from finding physical release beyond violence and aggression. She had her work at the forge, and that certainly counted for something, but it was a different beast compared to sex.

"Maybe it is," and the smirk that stretched her lips grew into a sideways sneer, "we've got an hour or so. Can always get you a brothel and find out."

 

[Henk]

Let it never be said Henk was the norm amongst his peers. Nobody would likely claim such.

That being said, Henk snorted in amusement at her suggestion. Now he'd given her ideas, and if he'd learned anything about Ralene on this mission, it was that the seeds of misbehavior seemed to take hold fairly easily within her mind. Not that he was complaining, of course. If anything, he felt more comfortable around her right now than he had any of the others in quite a while, enough to so jab back at her.

"If you think I'm walking into a brothel in this outfit, maybe the heat out in the Savannah got to you more than I thought,. Henk smirked and propped himself up against the headboard of the bed, crossing his legs. "Couple that with the suggestion I'd be in and out in less than an hour and I'm almost wounded. I'm fresh meat, sure, but I'm not going to melt as soon as somebody touches me below the belt, I'd like to think."

Truthfully, while Henk was as virginal as he claimed, he had been touched before. Granted he'd been rather drunk at the time and couldn't remember too much about it all. That was fine with him, all things considered. "Even if I was interested in finding some action while we're here, I'd be worried about burning somebody. Not sure what kind of hell that would play with my powers." He paused for a moment and snickered before adding. "Though I suppose you might have some experience with that." Henk saw the way Elias looked at her sometimes. It wasn't hard to make a connection there.

 

[Samantha Black]

"If you think I'm walking into a brothel in this outfit, maybe the heat out in the Savannah got to you more than I thought,.

Ralene's grin split wider, the whites of her teeth showing under the glint of mischief. Actually she had a hunch the locals would find him quite fetching in that shirt. It did seem to be quite the exotic fashion.

"Not every round has to go for hours, Henk," she said, "sometimes all you need is a wham, bam, thank you ma'am," she popped her lips and bobbed her brows at him, "and you're on your way."

As for the worry about burning his partner and the remark of her own personal experience with such things, Ral blinked at him with pointed expectation for why she would, "Don't think I know what you're referring to."

 

[Henk]

Not that she'd asked him, but Henk was more convinced the merchant they'd bought this thing from was willing to dump this thing for so cheap because nobody liked the damned thing. Anybody who did find it attractive? Henk would have to do some thinking before he considered sleeping with them.

Still, seeing Ralene bobbing her eyebrows and wearing a massive grin on her face was a sight that almost made him break down laughing just from how unlike her usual mannerisms it was. His brows raised and he visibly bit his tongue in an open smile. "I can appreciate that, but seeing as I'm so repressed I figure maybe I'd want to take my time and enjoy things." He shot back.

The lighthearted look she was giving him turned slightly at his last implication, but Henk merely shrugged, deciding honesty was the best policy. "Elias isn't subtle about ogling you, I suppose I made a shot in the dark. Apologies if I overstepped and assumed incorrectly. As you say, there wouldn't be any shame in it."

 

[Samantha Black]

She supposed she could respect that. The taking his time and enjoying things, part. Not like she didn't do plenty of that herself - especially after returning from a successful mission with her coin purse a little heavier for her trouble. Stretching her arms upwards in her chair, Ral eased down into it, rocking the chair back onto its hind legs and slinging her left arm over the backrest to prop her head up in a lazy manner.

The epitome of a predator lounging in its domain.

As for Eli? The Initiate snorted and rolled her eyes, "Hardly proof of anything. Eli will ogle just about anyone with a cunt and tits." That was maybe an exaggeration that didn't account for Eli's taste in women. He did have taste, it just happened to be quite broad and easy to please.

 

[Henk]

Henk noted that while she did point out logical flaws in his assumption, she didn't say he was wrong. Not that he really cared who Ralene was messing around with. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't occasionally find myself with wandering eyes, but only for a few people. Admittedly that list has grown as of late, but I try not to be obvious about it."

It wasn't like Henk hadn't seen a woman naked before. The baths had been communal at the Academy at one point before the revolution. As Ralene made herself comfortable though, he couldn't help but wonder how much she'd filled out. She'd always been muscular but... well, the wrap around her chest had to be for something, didn't it?

Damn it, as soon as he mentioned it, he started eyeing her up. Quickly, Henk cleared his throat and spoke.

"There's a brothel not far from the Blue Palace. Well, they call it a Bordello, but the meaning is the same. The wealthy are in and out of there all the time, apparently, high cost for high class. The Madame there is rumored to have leverage on just about all the elite who make a permanent stay in Maraan."

Henk had actually met the Madam once before on his last trip here, though not at the Bordello itself. Harrod bought dirt from her sometimes, and she would come in to peddle the latest copy of her black book to him. Polite lady, intimidatingly flirtatious, but pleasant nonetheless.

"You just reminded me of it, that's all." Henk's nervous habit of spouting information was well documented.

 

[Samantha Black]

She'd be lying if she said she wasn't curious just who had caught Henk's gaze lately, but her smugness at catching him in his own moment of ogling wouldn't let her ask.

"I reminded you of the Bordello's Madame?" she questioned him skeptically. Ral wasn't anything close to being classy or a lady, so the stretch was strong with that connection. She shrugged then, "Never been paid for sex myself. Paid for plenty of it though." Not that Ral felt any particular inclination to stop into a brothel here for herself. She was more amused by the idea of Henk getting bombarded by a gaggle of girls wanting to pop his cherry.

Hell, they didn't even have money to use as a bribe. Would have if their things hadn't been stolen out on that hillside. Whoever had made off with that coin pouch had earned themselves a small fortune for not much effort at all.

 

[Henk]

Quickly Henk realized he perhaps should have watched his verbiage better, and clearing his throat, he fought back a smile as he clarified. "I wouldn't say you directly remind me of her. The speak of brothels simply brought the place and the brief conversation I had with her to mind."

If Henk was totally honest, the discussion at hand was interesting in its own way, but talking of what-ifs and should-haves was a behavior he admonished. Henk knew there was no connection to the brothel in their mission, nor did he have any intentions to stop there for his own use, lack of money aside. "Why would you need to pay for it? You're quite attractive. I would assume you'd have plenty willing to give."

 Henk offered her a smile, but if he was being honest, part of him wondered if mayne he should pivot this conversation. He knew she meant no harm, but the way Ral seemed to be so amused regarding his virginity was starting to make him feel akin to some circus act to be gawked at for its deformity. Of course, he wasn't free of fault either, he'd been the one to lose his composure and kiss her.

"It doesn't matter, anyways." Henk drew his knife from his belt, bringing his arm up and cutting at the frilly ends of his sleeve. They itched, and they'd just get in the way. If he was going to wear this, may as well make it his own. "I'm speaking about fantasies and possibilities when I've promised myself I would focus my attention on what I can do. We don't have the extra coin for a brothel visit anyways."

A defense mechanism, clamming up when things began to veer into uncomfortable territory? Maybe, but that didn't make it untrue. Henk switched sleeves, the knife easily flitting away the gaudy frills on the end.

"We have a lead, a plan, and helping you with that plan is something that I can do, and do well. There'll be time for other things later. I don't intend to die anytime soon, so maybe I'll waste some money on a rut after graduating." He smirked, and pocketed the knife again, checking the sky for dusk.

 

[Samantha Black]

Ah ah ah, caught you babbling.

Ralene's smirk continued to visibly broaden as Henk let the words tumble free. She made no remark on his admittance that she was attractive, nor gave any confirmation or denial on having a ready group of willing partners to lay with. By now she suspected this was simply his own personal brand of defense mechanism when he got put off or anxious. Much as it had annoyed her to start, the Initiate's chatter was almost growing on her now that she thought she understood its purpose. Best he got it all out here lest he give them away later when silence was key.

She watched him whittle away the fringes of his sleeves, one dark brow larking slightly as he did, and smugly composed herself on her chair with her propped arm now cradling her head. Really, he could have kept going and she would have been perfectly content to watch him unspool. By the gods, she was enjoying it perhaps a little too much - making him squirm.

Much as she would have enjoyed pushing his buttons further, her own languid gaze followed his to the window and noted that now was a good a time to get moving as any. Without any further ado, Ralene uncoiled herself from her repose and pushed herself to her feet, shifting to collect her armor discarded earlier in the day to don them once more.

"No skin off my teeth if you do or if you don't," Ral said at length of silence from herself and making no further effort to define whether she meant him dying young or wasting money for a rut (hardly wasted, but that was neither here nor there).

"I don't suspect we'll be well-received by the caravan but I don't intend to go in with the purpose of causing trouble. I want to talk to their leader and this crone you spoke with before."

 

[Henk]

A small huff of laughter came from him as she speculated on their reception. "You don't suspect? No, I'm willing to bet they'll be none too thrilled to see the pair of humans they left abandoned in the desert back on their doorstep." If he were them, he'd be thanking the stars above she was aiming for talk, and not violence. They had delivered a blow that could have left her dead in the sun, after all. Henk himself may not even have been so forgiving of that transgression.

Henk wasn't sure if he was thankful or not, but Ralene seemed to decide to stall her teasing for now. Defense mechanism or otherwise, it was true that the time for them to continue their task was near. The Blue Palace wasn't particularly far, and the horses should be rested and ready to go. Still, with the track record that they'd built so far on this assignment, anything could go wrong.

Oh well. roll with the punches...

"Best case, we score a lead or two. Worst case we have to fight our way out of the Palace. Either way, it sounds par for the course. I'd much rather not get thrown out of Maraan before a good night's sleep though, so let's try to keep civil." He smirks, obviously, they wouldn't have too much choice in the matter if the latter happened. "Come on, by the time we get there it'll be dark." He stood stretching and reaching for where he'd normally put his jacket by reflex, before frowning as he remembered the majority of his gear had been stolen. Rainbow shirt it was, then. And, only feeling a little self-conscious, he slid out of the door and into the front of the store, headed for the horses.

Ralene

 

[Samantha Black]

Not far behind Henk after buckling on the remaining pieces of her armor, Ralene stepped out the door and joined him at the horses only a few minutes later. Coming to her horse's side, she pulled the girth snug again and gave the mare a short rub along her neck and ears, muttering quiet words while she did. Within short order, Ral brought her out through the narrow alley that connected to the wider street and stood aside to mount up and let Henk lead the way.

The throughway felt less crowded now even if it still seemed just as busy. The nighttime life seeped through each corner, winking into her vision with lighted braziers and lantern flames. A pale range of colors painted the sky above, darkening with every breath to let the shine of waking stars filter through. Maraan's atmosphere shifted to something quieter and Ralene couldn't say she disliked it. Felt like the sort of place she would have enjoyed exploring and experiencing if she weren't so encumbered by mission and duty.

Ahead she could see the telltale signs of the Blue Palace: broader, cleaner streets and taller, painted walls. Plants and trees she'd never seen before decorated exterior fencing. It screamed exotic royalty in every way that it should have.

 

[Henk]

"Enjoying the scenery?" Henk mused to her, with a small smile. Maraan hosted just as many people and services at night, but it was the nature of those services--and finding them--that could sometimes prove to be a challenge. Maybe vendors who sold legitimate everyday stock under the sunlight would move to peddle more questionable wares. Henk wasn't as familiar with the nighttime markets as he was the day, however, so there was little he could point out on their trip to the palace built with teal-speckled tiles, glowing with the reflection of Maraan's night lights.

The closer they came, the more visible the splendorous golden ornaments hanging from the palace walls came into view, shaped as stars and flowers and glimmering with an almost otherworldly glow against the light bouncing off the palace itself. The horse underneath Henk huffed as the began to climb the incline of the hill the Palace at atop, and Henk turned to look at his partner.

"Hopefully our targets aren't holed inside. That place isn't a public building, it's for foreign meetings and aristocratic feasts. Maybe if I had some trousers to match this shirt, I could pass as a rich man here, but..." No let's not give her ideas. There was no reason they would all be inside, right?

Thankfully not. The caravan came into view before too long, and the lanterns on the outside of several wagons were brightly lit.

"That long one, with the emerald design on the side. That was where we spoke."

 

[Samantha Black]

Ralene made a thoughtful sound in response. The scenery was certainly pleasant, but beyond the aesthetics she was scoping out the street and buildings for visible guards and sentries, as well as potential escape routes. You could take the Initiate out of the Academy but...

Well, ingrained skills and habits just didn't evaporate with a change of location.

Her eyes narrowed while she surveyed the landscape and Palace compound, shifting back to Henk. A shadow of mischief crossed her expression briefly as she allowed the image of him in a full, colorful ensemble to walk across her mind's eye. A task for another day, perhaps, but the appearance of caravan wagons and carts quickly banished all thought of it.

"Then we start with her. Leave the horses here and walk in on foot." They'd be less imposing that way. Dismounting, Ral looped the reins of her horse loosely over a tie ring on the wall of the nearest building and waited for Henk to join her before moving in on the caravan.

Their presence immediately drew attention, though it was difficult to say if it was the bad sort or not. An elf child spotted them first and flitted off to alert his elders. Soon enough several of the caravan's footguard had appeared. No weapons drawn, but clearly they were on edge. Ralene lifted her hands in the gesture of no threat, showing to have no weapons ready of her own and slowly moved forward.

"We just want to talk. Your elder, the old woman. We need to speak with her."

 

[Henk]

Henk felt the stares of the elves like small blades from every direction. They all definitely knew who these two strangers were, the ones from the Savannah. Thankfully, while their gazes were stern, they didn't seem interested in a fight. However, he did nudge Ralene and nod towards one elf in particular, with long aburn hair and a surprisingly muscular build for an elf, who was pinching the long bridge of his nose and glaring at both of them with frustration.

"He was there, he heard everything she said. Tried to hush her up, too."

On cue, that elf stepped forward, pushing to the front and pointing a finger at Ralene with a sneer. "You have some nerve demanding an audience with Madam Orsola, humans. You would have been wise to turn back in the sands of the Savannah. Your curse is not welcome here." His eyes seemed to focus on Henk at the end of the accusatory sentence.

There it was again, speak of curses. Could somebody truly despise him so much that they could use such dark magic to see him killed? If it was so powerful, why hadn't he been targeted since entering the city? Henk felt his lips curl into a frown as he crossed his arms. "If you thought your people were in danger, the noble thing to do would have been to ask us to leave. You elves are very particular about perceived nobility, aren't you?"

One could almost see steam from the elf's pointed ears.

"Orsola told you of your affliction and yet you sent your partner to appeal to our leader anyways. The treachery began with you."

"My, why are the children up so late?"

The young elven male's eyes went wide, and he spun around to face the frail old woman hobbling down the wooden step of the wagon with a cane, thin white hairs tied into a stringy bun and skeletal body dressed in a rather beautifully designed dress of cyan and indigo.

"Madam! I--"

"It is difficult to sleep when so many are calling for your attention." The Crone's withered face wore a smile of amusement as she interrupted her caretaker with a strained, but oddly soothing voice, hobbling over to the commotion with a rather thoughtful gaze toward the pair of Initiates.

"It's nice to see you again, boy. I wasn't sure how well you'd fare but..." The elf woman paused, and sniffed the air. "In this stagnant city air, I can smell the power on you. Both of you. Ask your questions then."

The male looked absolutely incensed.

"Madam, there's no reason for you to entertain--" Interrupted again by a stern glare from his elder, he angrily bit his tongue.

"They came this far after we put them through a great trial. If it answers they seek, they have earned that much."