- Messages
- 473
- Character Biography
- Link
Thunder growled outside, and the girl looked up from the thin stack of cheap paper in front of her with a hint of nervous energy. It had been raining for three days now; one squall barely cleared the slate roofed city before the next was calved from the brooding clouds clustering around the mountain peaks to the east. It was spring, after all, and the shifting winds blowing from the south along this northern stretch of the Spine always brought storms.
Nervous energy. She had been cooped up inside for three days, and despite the false face she showed to the world - that of a youthful scion of a merchant House vying to gain a title - she really was still just a girl. That youthful energy could only be diverted in so many ways, and as her secret study of The Art had not been doing so well, she had tried to throw it all into the task at hand.
The room was smaller than she liked, but still far better than most of her accommodations had been recently. It was not long ago that she and her brother had been cooped up in a forgotten part of the castle, in a basement isolated from the rest by collapsed halls and stairs. Amazing, to have been so close to the enemy and yet remain unseen. Of course, she had been the cause of that particular loss; overzealous practice of a power she barely had any control over. The whole place had collapsed, and she had hurt herself and others in the process.
She stopped pacing, pale face faintly flushed in embarrassment at the memory. The hue deepened when she realized what she was doing. She looked at the window, and saw that dreary day still lingered on, and then forced herself back to the chair behind her desk. It would not do to let the mask slip, to let the world see the unworldly youth she really was,the girl only partly trained in the dealings of the court. She had to appear in control, calm, confident.
Instead, she felt sick
She wondered if the sum was enough. A couple silver a week was on par with well paid guards among the elite of the city, but it was hardly enough to attract heroes in shining armor with blazing swords in hand. Hazard pay for specific assignments mlm might offset that a bit, but she could hardly discuss such details openly without having a commitment to the job. To her, truth to tell.
She got up, oblivious, and started pacing again.
Their coffer was not infinite. They had some success against the powerful factions in the city, but only so much squeezing could be done. Ever since the last sword vanished, there had been only a handful of victories to speak of.
In fact, the building and her attire both represented a substantial amount of their take. They had purchased the building, an old disused manor of some old merchant family on hard times. Her brother had taken the few faithful retainers left to them,and worked to restore the place to a serviceable state. All of the public areas, at least, reeked of opulence befitting a fairly successful merchant without rising above that supposed station. The neighborhood was such that a varied crop of merchants owned homes here, all of different levels of wealth. Overlooking the river but below the estates of the gentry, above the squalid masses of the peasantry even if they themselves were still peasants.
Just rich ones.
She stopped midstride, cursed silently, and angrily stormed back to her desk, kicking skirts as though they were what made her flit about like some precocious child. She paused before a mirror, a quick glance to reassure her that she looked the part. The skirts were hemmed in red, as was the neckline. She wore only a simple gold chain, and no other jewelry.
Fiery red hair, a pale round face sprinkled with freckles, high cheeks and slightly tilted eyes looked back at her. Her bangs hung low and framed her face in red, and fire rolled down her back in a loose braid that swung with every step. The dress was of fine blue linen, thick enough to ward off the chill but loose enough not to hug the nonexistent curves of her body.
She looked, in truth, like a well off you lady. It had taken hours of coaching from tutors from outside the city to teach her the act of being that woman, and now that she vcd was on the hot seat, that training seemed very thin indeed.
"Will no one answer this silly ad?" Two days, and not a single respondent. Two days, tied to this house while her brother did manly things, and while she waited for some that could, and she quoted it to herself, 'keep her head attached to her shoulders'. As if she needed any help so long as she was here.
She settled back behind the desk, restless, and picked up the paper and went over the details in her head. Two silver a week plus room and board. Must be able to make quick decisions. Must be capable with a weapon. Must be willing to make the hard choice if it came to it.
The sound of rain thundering on a distant roof continued.
Nervous energy. She had been cooped up inside for three days, and despite the false face she showed to the world - that of a youthful scion of a merchant House vying to gain a title - she really was still just a girl. That youthful energy could only be diverted in so many ways, and as her secret study of The Art had not been doing so well, she had tried to throw it all into the task at hand.
The room was smaller than she liked, but still far better than most of her accommodations had been recently. It was not long ago that she and her brother had been cooped up in a forgotten part of the castle, in a basement isolated from the rest by collapsed halls and stairs. Amazing, to have been so close to the enemy and yet remain unseen. Of course, she had been the cause of that particular loss; overzealous practice of a power she barely had any control over. The whole place had collapsed, and she had hurt herself and others in the process.
She stopped pacing, pale face faintly flushed in embarrassment at the memory. The hue deepened when she realized what she was doing. She looked at the window, and saw that dreary day still lingered on, and then forced herself back to the chair behind her desk. It would not do to let the mask slip, to let the world see the unworldly youth she really was,the girl only partly trained in the dealings of the court. She had to appear in control, calm, confident.
Instead, she felt sick
She wondered if the sum was enough. A couple silver a week was on par with well paid guards among the elite of the city, but it was hardly enough to attract heroes in shining armor with blazing swords in hand. Hazard pay for specific assignments mlm might offset that a bit, but she could hardly discuss such details openly without having a commitment to the job. To her, truth to tell.
She got up, oblivious, and started pacing again.
Their coffer was not infinite. They had some success against the powerful factions in the city, but only so much squeezing could be done. Ever since the last sword vanished, there had been only a handful of victories to speak of.
In fact, the building and her attire both represented a substantial amount of their take. They had purchased the building, an old disused manor of some old merchant family on hard times. Her brother had taken the few faithful retainers left to them,and worked to restore the place to a serviceable state. All of the public areas, at least, reeked of opulence befitting a fairly successful merchant without rising above that supposed station. The neighborhood was such that a varied crop of merchants owned homes here, all of different levels of wealth. Overlooking the river but below the estates of the gentry, above the squalid masses of the peasantry even if they themselves were still peasants.
Just rich ones.
She stopped midstride, cursed silently, and angrily stormed back to her desk, kicking skirts as though they were what made her flit about like some precocious child. She paused before a mirror, a quick glance to reassure her that she looked the part. The skirts were hemmed in red, as was the neckline. She wore only a simple gold chain, and no other jewelry.
Fiery red hair, a pale round face sprinkled with freckles, high cheeks and slightly tilted eyes looked back at her. Her bangs hung low and framed her face in red, and fire rolled down her back in a loose braid that swung with every step. The dress was of fine blue linen, thick enough to ward off the chill but loose enough not to hug the nonexistent curves of her body.
She looked, in truth, like a well off you lady. It had taken hours of coaching from tutors from outside the city to teach her the act of being that woman, and now that she vcd was on the hot seat, that training seemed very thin indeed.
"Will no one answer this silly ad?" Two days, and not a single respondent. Two days, tied to this house while her brother did manly things, and while she waited for some that could, and she quoted it to herself, 'keep her head attached to her shoulders'. As if she needed any help so long as she was here.
She settled back behind the desk, restless, and picked up the paper and went over the details in her head. Two silver a week plus room and board. Must be able to make quick decisions. Must be capable with a weapon. Must be willing to make the hard choice if it came to it.
The sound of rain thundering on a distant roof continued.