She watched the denizens of the dive watching her. It was an uneasy truce at best; her reputation preceded her here, even if not a single one of the dock men and other thugs could have agreed on just what that reputation was.
An untouched drink sat in front of her, flies circling, landing on the edge of the mug and then taking off as even
they decided it was not worth the risk of taking a drink. She would not touch the swill that was served here, but it would be unwise to just sit there, no drink in evidence. The owner would be upset to lose a seat to a non-customer, for one. For another, it might serve as an invitation for men to...try.
Aeyliea was not opposed to the attempts, or the attention. She just had no desire to sleep with men who smelled worse than a three day old corpse, or who had fewer teeth than the did fingers. Or whose intelligence rivaled that of pond scum, just to name a few of the traits she associated with the locals.
She was not surprised when a well dressed man sat down across from her, hood drawn up to conceal the soft lines of a face that had seen little hardship. A noble, or a wealthy merchant, then. There were no words to begin with, just quiet regard for one another, a careful examination to determine if it was worth their respective while to continue on.
"Captain Aeyliea?" He spoke in a cultured manner though, she noted, not an aristocratic one. Definitely a merchant. "Your reputation precedes you, Captain."
She gave him the faintest of smiles, although her hooded eyes betrayed not a scrap of mirth. "What reputation would that be, stranger? I am afraid you have me at a disadvantage."
The man raised his hands, fingers splayed. "Forgive me, Captain. I mean the reputation that speaks of your prowess in battle." He looked her up and down with open interest. "The name is Daerid," he added.
She snorted, finally a little animation to her features. "That I eat the flesh of my enemies like the rest of the savages would have been my first assumption," she replied, and glanced around. A few of the closer people, who had obviously been listening, looked away pointedly. "Either that, or that I kill men by sleeping with them and crushing them with my thighs. That, a favorite one." She spoke with an odd cadence, a strange accent that was thick and required a moment to process.
Daerid cleared his throat,perhaps a but too loudly. Maybe to clear certain images from his head? "It is your sword that interests me, not any of your other...exploits."
She grinned at him in an insulting fashion. Made a gesture with two fingers,twirling in the air.
Get on with it.
Clearing his throat, he placed both hands on the table. "Yes, well. I have great need of swords-for-hire. My good have been being targeted by certain...unsavory individuals, shall we say. They have money and influence. The Guard seems unable to do anything about them...or, perhaps, unwilling?"
Bribery. That was what he was talking about, and it was a common practice among the crime families in the city; buy off the police or the city officials for a certain amount of money and a little threatening here and there. It was how the criminal element maintained their power here, and everywhere they went.
She gestured for him to go on. In response, he pulled a thin stack of papers out. "A contract. To eliminate all of the time families in the city."
She blinked at him. It was, perhaps, as much as someone else yelling. Face deadpan, she cocked her head to one side. "I will take this contract," she said without picking up the papers. "But I will do it for fifty thousand crowns, gold."
Daerid's eyes bulged at the amount. "That...that's preposterous!" His sputtering was almost amusing. "I could hire an army for that sum! Two armies!"
"And what," she began in an even tone, "do you think you are fighting against? Some highwaymen in the city? Just a few dozen untrained idiot's looking for easy money?" The look on her face said everything of what she thought of that. "Criminals, there are probably thousands in this city alone. Small is my company. My people, many will die. Many civilians, they will die. Many guards. Many many."
"You will not be going alone," he protested. "I have hired another as well. He will be down in a moment," he added.
"Two, you hire? Where hundred dare not tread?" She picked up the papers, scanning through them with practiced motions. "Five hundred crowns for this?" She sounded incredulous. "Accept this I will not. Change the scope, else find someone else."
And another mercenary, contracted without even informing her of it? The man was a fool. She started to rise, annoyed at the waste of her time.
"Wait." There was pleading in his voice. '"Do not go! Wait for the Easterner. We can renegotiate..."
She hesitated for a moment, then settled back onto the 'chair' with a disgusted sound. "I will wait until I see this man and take the measure of him," she said, finally.
