No Funds, No problem

The next morning started to the sounds of an impassioned argument between two merchants over ensuring proper distribution of trade goods between their respective networks. Lucius grumbled at the fact that the two men happened to pick right below their window for their shouting match. As he dragged himself from the covers, he happened to glance over at where Hana was also stirring. She had just begun to sit upright, the pristine white sheets falling from her shoulders as she swiveled her ears around angrily towards the window. She murmured a bedraggled, “Good morning” when she saw him, a moving lump beside her showing where her tail slowly voiced its own greeting.

“Looks like you slept well,” Lucius commented, “Judging by the amount of bedhead you’ve got going on there.” She reached up for her head and gingerly felt around the top of her head, feeling along the puffed-up ends of her hair and how it stuck out strangely at the back of her head. Aware of her appearance, Hana yelped in embarrassment and threw herself back under the covers,

“Don’t just sit there and gawk at me! Go on! I will be down later once I am decent! Begone with you!” Lucius remained dignified, dressing quickly under the pressure of a continued stream of muffled shouts for him to leave quicker. Once he had done so and shut the door behind him, he began to make his way to the ground floor,

“For someone who is so physically different from others, she sure is like everyone else in other areas. I hope she’ll get to see that soon, seeing her so down sucks.”

What struck him most of the inn’s central hall was just how out of place he was, standing conspicuously in his drab brown and tan against the walls painted in the colors of the sunset. Those few who were awake at this hour dressed exceptionally well in multi-layered robes of vibrant color, and when they threw a glance in his direction, their attitudes ranged between dismissive and derisive. That was fine with him, because sticking around the area where he had committed a break-in was a terrible idea. What he needed was a plan, or barring that, a miracle. The number of problems that he faced was growing by the day, and if he wanted to keep his promise to Hana then he was going to need to get better at thinking on his feet.

Taking an empty seat at the end of the bar, which was the cleanest bar he had ever laid eyes on, Lucius tried to run through his limited resources and options to find a way forward. While he was in the middle of such arduous work, a figure appeared from outside his blind spot and occupied the seat next to him. He flicked an eye in their direction, and immediately got a sense of what they were here for,

“You guys again? I thought we were square.”

A woman with long blonde hair that flowed over pointed ears smiled thinly through the corners of her lips. She was pretty and young-looking, though Lucius knew that age was hard to tell with elves. Dressed in azure robes trimmed in silver, she appeared as the archetypal elven noble, though Lucius felt a distinct hardness in her eyes that gave away her whole ensemble. She glanced at him and gave a little sigh, as if she was disappointed in what was in front of her, rapping her knuckles twice against the bar. Within a few seconds, two glasses filled with amber liquid were set down before her. With fluid grace, the elf sent one sliding over into his hand, which he caught on instinct. Noticing how he was staring at the glass, the woman piped up with a bit too much sunshine in her voice,

“What? Don’t tell me that a human isn’t going to accept a free drink? You know that even a dwarf would accept a glass of Etherwine. It’s quite difficult to make, you know.”

“Pretty sure my dad taught me to never accept gifts from strangers.”

“But we aren’t strangers, are we, Lucius? We’ve been getting quite acquainted recently, or do you not feel the same?” He tensed upon hearing her subtle tone shift and realized that the bartender had mysteriously vanished from sight, leaving the two very much alone. Lucius felt cornered, but forced himself to stay calm,

“You know who I am? It doesn’t seem fair that you know about me, but I have no idea who you are.” The woman smiled none too happily and knocked back her tumbler, “Drink, then we’ll talk.”

Having his abilities challenged yet again, Lucius had to respond in kind. The Etherwine seemed to glow faintly as he brought the glass to his lips and it had a rather pungent odor, similar to caramelized onions. The drink burned like ice as it flowed down his throat and he nearly brought it back up, but thankfully he had had some practice with these kinds of things. He recalled the days when Julius had returned home on leave and insisted that Lucius learn how to hold his liquor. He had spent many hours “training” with Julius and his army friends, and though he never won any of their contests, Lucius could hold a drink or two.

Though it was slightly bitter, he was pleasantly surprised at its light and fruity aftertaste that lingered for several minutes. He placed the glass back on the bar and met her eyes, “Thanks for the drink, and your time.” Lucius knew how to behave around people in power, or at least thought they did. It was a skill you picked up being around politicians all your life, after all. Apparently pleased, the elf addressed him more directly,

“Of course we know who you are, we don’t work with just anybody, you know. It wasn’t difficult to figure out what family you came from, or the fact that you’re currently nowhere close to them. Now, now, no need to get tense. We have no intention of getting in the way of…whatever it is you’re doing. That isn’t our business.”

“So then what is your business with me? And do I get the privilege of knowing who I am speaking to?” The elf raised an eyebrow, but took no obvious offense to his directness, “As for who I am, I will not give names. But I will tell you that I am the organizer of all the people that you have met, and who helped you achieve your goals. Our people are known by some as Faceless, as those are who we represent and protect. Needless to say, our services are greatly needed in places of corruption and abuse of power. You can imagine that the Empire keeps us quite busy.”

“Hmph, sounds noble. And fruitless. You sure it wouldn’t be easier to empty the ocean with a bucket?” That got a small laugh from the woman, “I do agree that achieving such a goal is unlikely, but we do what we can. But I am not here on a recruitment drive.” She leaned in closer, her voice dropping to barely a whisper,

“You’re holding out on us, Lucius.”

A chill ran down the length of his spine, because he knew exactly what she was getting at. But this was also something that he had been hoping for, and he needed to make it work somehow. He was going to have one chance to make something of this, so he needed to do it right,

“Can you elaborate more on what you’re talking about?” The elf smiled prettily, “That journal you found for us, which was an excellent grab so good job on that, mentions a place which contains physical evidence of Salerius’ crimes. However, it is quite deftly locked and requires a specially made key. Would you happen to know where this key might have gone?”

Now he had confirmation of her motives, and she clearly suspected him of keeping the key. Lying was only going to make things worse, so he decided that honesty was the best policy,

“I did happen to see a key with the journal, but I didn’t realize it was so important, so I didn’t think t hand it over to your man last night. Is it truly so necessary?”

“Time is always of the essence, dear child. We would like to strike down this serpent before it hides where we cannot touch it. Should you still have it, which I am sure you do, I will take it now, with thanks.”

The corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily, almost giving away his emotion. Whether knowingly or not, she had just given him the exact inroad he needed to make his argument. Choosing his words carefully, he began his maneuver, keeping in mind all those times where he watched his father manipulate the hearts and minds of others time and time again.

“I believe that this is beyond the bounds of what your people contacted me for. I was asked to find physical evidence of Salerius’ indecent actions. I believe that I fulfilled my end of the bargain, much as you did in helping me retrieve my companion. As far as I’m concerned, we have no further business. What you say is true, however, in that I came across some items that are now in my possession which were not originally mine. Seeing as I have no desire to keep them and incriminate myself, I might be willing to sell them off to the highest bidder.”

The elven woman blinked at him, her face a porcelain mask with a smile plastered to its front. He silently wondered what was going on inside her head, and he knew his plan rested on a knife’s edge. Success for him relied on how much she really wanted to fight for the key; in essence, his strategy relied on his opponent being too busy or mentally prepared to respond with adequate force. He had bet that the woman, if she was who she said she was, likely had much to do and very little time to accomplish it. The simplest solution would be to pay Lucius off and walk away with a lighter purse, but holding the item she needed. But, if she decided to challenge his admittedly flimsy logic, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to oppose her for long.

Several stressful seconds passed before she showed any reaction, and when she did it was a mixture of exasperation and amusement. She smiled genuinely, apparently entertained by his small speech,

“My, my, you really are a politician’s son, aren’t you? That was some excellent bullshit you just vomited at me, though you do realize how flawed your argument is, yes?”

He simply nodded, which got him an approving look, “Good, I can’t simply let you walk away thinking that was in any way decent. But fine, you’ve made your point, and I have to respect a person who has the balls to make such ridiculous demands to my face. Fifteen gold for the key.”

“Done.” The word slipped from him before he realized what he was saying, but it was too late to make any adjustments. While he knew that it was the right call, the amused glint in the elf’s eyes told him he probably could’ve tried for more. But he had already been greedy enough and moved his hand towards an interior pocket where he had stashed the key, only to stop his movement before he got there.

“Wait. I’ll see the money first.”

Another approving nod preceded a pouch being placed in front of him, which he carefully opened and counted, trying to keep his excitement down. Only when he was sure of the contents did he finally produce the key and hand it over. Not wanting to remain here longer than he needed, Lucius began to take his leave, only to be stopped when she raised a finger towards him,

“It seems your money problem has been solved for now, but how about leaving? You do realize that before we can take him down, Salerius will stop at nothing to find you, and we don’t offer protection services. At least, not to your kind.”

Lucius chewed the inside of his lip, he had a bad idea of where this was going, “Right, so it’s time for me to leave. Thanks for everything.”

“I might be able to provide you with some advice, but of course, this is outside the bounds of our contract, so I will require payment for the information.” He stopped short, grimacing at his own logic being thrown back at him, “Fine, how much?”

The elf wagged her finger, “Nothing right now. But you’ve proven yourself decently capable, so we may simply call upon you again sometime in the future. Agree to that, and we can go our separate ways.”

It was a dangerous proposition, and it was altogether unnessecary. Lucius might be able to put together an escape plan without the shady elf’s help, especially now that he had the funds to. Plus, this woman could call on him at any point in the future to do who-knows-what to repay his new “debt.” It was reckless and foolish, but she had him in a corner, and he realized that this might’ve been what she was after the whole time.

Lucius caved to the trap, “Alright, you’ve got a deal. But on one condition.”

She raised an eyebrow, “Oho, and what might that be?”

Above them, a figure bounded down the stairs dressed to the nines in a beautiful emerald dress, though her shoulders were covered in an ill-matching travelling cloak with the hood pulled up. Hana stopped halfway down the stairs and waved to Lucius, a cheerful smile visible beneath the wide hood. He smiled and waved back, before turning his attention back to the elf,

“Whatever you need me to do, fine, I doubt it’ll affect me much. But keep her out of it. Deal?”

The woman smiled broadly and stood from her seat, “We have a deal. Let’s get you two out of here, shall we?”