Private Tales Truths In Blood

[Theron]

Now he knew her name.

It brought a smile to his face, as if he had won a prize, but that smile faltered as he soon began to realise how fortunate she was to have a fan so readily in hand. He was glad for the distance now, allowing the warm breeze that came through to do at least something for the heat. Seyah was proving to be intriguing and surprising, as he noted where it was she was leading him.

The goblin dens.

It wasn't something to smile over, nor was it something he felt as if he should have expected.

"Curious." But Polgir had a man in every profession of different shapes and sizes. "Where are you leading me, Seyah?"

 

[Seyah]

"To my friend, Dearest Theron." She told her companion, the warm smile on her face never disappearing.

Tyr had been founded by their peoples, named for them, but every Tyrian knew would not have made it were it not for the other two tribes that joined them. First came the Ogre's, in their great flight from the Dragons in the mountains. They became the backbone of this great city. Founding the Deathwatch and aiding the Tyrian's in the defense of their nascent home.

But after the Ogre's, came the Goblins.

It was the greenlings, as Tyrian's sometimes affectionately called their diminutive brothers, which saved Tyr. Not through battle or blood, but ash.

When they finally found Tyr, the Goblins found a city starving. Having grown beyond what it could support, the peoples of the City of Crimson Rivers found their belly's empty and mouths dry. In their arrival, the Goblins brought with them the secrets of farming within the Volcanic ash that surrounded the city.

It was this expertise, and the labor the Greenlings provided that allowed Tyr to survive. Thus, came the third founders.

Though the Goblins of Tyr were just as assimilated into the city as the Ogre's or those who held it's namesake; there were some among the tribes who still wished to live as their ancestors had. Taking up residence beneath the Temple District, it was here that one could find the Goblin Dens. Home to every criminal of green skin in Tyr.

She glanced back at Seyah as they reached the entrance to the Dens. A doorway of ramshackle steel that lead to an treacherously designed and built stairway. "Don't worry."

Seyah said with a wink.

"I'll protect you." The mirth within her words sang into the air as she began her descent.

 

[Theron]

"Ah," he smiled in her wake as she began to take the stairs, "I should have known."

The Dens were a place not many of the Watch bothered to go, only if matters were pressing. If anyone had gone to disappear down below, then the Watch hired bounty hunters to do their work as they put their attention elsewhere in Tyr.

"Best hold my hand. You know, to better protect me and my fear of being underground." His boots hit each step behind Seyah, his eyes scanning their surroundings as they became apparent the more they descended into the Dens. It was a jest, but this was actually his first time here. There were others that knew the Dens in and out that were on the Watch, and often this sort of job would be left to them.

But not this time.

This was unsanctioned work, done in secret with just Seyah and himself in the know.

Theron let out a low whistle. "Fuck, it's bigger than I thought it was, and in my head it was fucking massive."

 

[Seyah]

As they continued down the rickety steps, Seyah let out a small laugh. "Oh, I think you'd rather want my hands to be free."

The Taverness quipped cryptically, gracing Theron with a smile shot over her shoulder. A quick wink flickering over her eye before she turned back and continued down the steps. The warrens of the Dens slowly opening up around them as the massive underground city came into being.

His words, in all truth, were a reflection of her own thoughts when she had first visited this place. The Dens were a nightmarish maze to those who did not know them, and not all those who dwelled here meant to be friends.

"Fear not." She told her companion. "I know the way."

Seyah assured Theron. "Tell me something, Theron."

She asked.

"What brought you to your side of the streets?" Joining the Watch was an honor for any Tyrian, but each had their own story. She was curious to know his. Curious to know if he could be...helpful in the future.

 

[Theron]

He forgot what it was like to talk to someone that was not a colleague of his, and ones he saw every day.

Seyah had been someone easy to talk to, to understand what she wanted would benefit him and the Watch. It seemed she caught on to the same idea when she asked him of his choice to join the Watch.

The answer made him grimace, shrugging. "I had the gift for smelling blood since I was young. It made me curious. Learned to fight scrappy on the streets looking for those that spilled blood, and eventually I was catching the eye of the Watch. I was at that age that as a boy, I knew I was worth more. I would be a legend with this gift if I was part of the Death Watch." Not honour or glory, not to seek helping others.

Theron wished to be known, to be remembered.

And the pay was better than he thought. Most of it went to his parents, to help pay their home off and give them a much needed ease of working to provide for themselves. It left him with little money at the end of the month, but it was worth living in a shoe box than to watch his ageing parents struggle with fatigue.

"The hunt excites me. I sometimes wish and dare someone believes they can get away with it, but even if they wash their hands clean from blood, I can smell it on them the instant I can lay my eyes on them." Here, he flicked his gaze down at her descending in front of him. "And you? Always wanted to run a tavern?"

 

[Seyah]

Seyah listened to every word, the cadence of his tone, the inflection of his voice.

Every little bit was a clue. Every syllable was a breadcrumb. It was all something that she could read, all valuable in it's own way. All that he said she took in, and all would later be used to the fullest effect.

That was her job, after all. Talmanes had not given her the opportunities she had because of a pretty face. One day there would be a moment where she could use all of this. One day there would be some opportunity in which Theron would be useful.

The truths he offered would only make those points more clear. "A tavern?"

She chuckled, her amusement carrying through the caverns in their surroundings.

"No, dear, The Orchid is so much more than a tavern." Seyah flashed him a brief smile. "Do you know when men most spill their secrets? When women breath their relief?"

The mistress shook her head. "I won't be shy, Dearest Theron. A tavern is the least of my designs."

Slowly, she looked up at him, flashing her charms.

"There are steps to take in our fair city, ones that lead to power." The Taverness mused. "But I intend to build my own."

 

[Theron]

Theron smiled, then it broke into a charmed grin.

"Alright, I stand corrected, Seyah." He chuckled. "Must say, never ventured over your way in my nights. Shame my first visit was to see a dead body and not one of your girls."

But he was picky.

"And this power you are building, am I part of the plan now?" He asked, eyes trained on the steps for a few seconds before casting the golden hues to the cavernous hollow in the earth. Their voices were lost in the size, but he could hear it face to echo if he strained his ears enough. "We are working together to put a stop to someone the Watch have been after for so long, how does that benefit you and your vision for power?"