Beedis

It would take the squire longer than expected to sneak out of the castle. Guards had been stationed in all kinds of unusual places in an effort to assure everything ran smoothly leaving most of his usual routes inaccessible. He was resourceful enough to find a way out but his good fortune would be short lived.The weather turned quickly and as soon as he made his way past the gates it began drizzling. "Perfect." he muttered to himself as he picked up the pace; there was nothing he hated more than being rained on. The Squire wouldn't get very far down the road before he spotted the company of mounted knights in the distance. He cursed his luck under his breath as he considered his options. Trying to get by the group without rousing suspicion would be difficult. He looked out of place without any official uniform or armor, but with all he had invested into leaving tonight he couldn't justify going back. With pride clouding his judgement he continued down the road despite the obvious risks. As he got closer he noticed the formation took up most of the narrow section of the road ahead, it would be impossible to slip by. Try as he may to play things off the closer he got the more wary the knights grew shooting him wayward glances as soon as he entered their line of sight. "You there halt!" One of the knights finally yelled before brandishing a weapon. A clean exit wasn't exactly an option anymore. The entourage had spread out completely blocking the way ahead, and by this point all eyes were trained on him. Delgue had little choice but to comply stopping in his tracks. Following a brief silence the same knight spoke up again "Now state your purpose!". Delgue's situation had quickly gone from bad to worse. The only thing that would get him out of this now was a bold faced lie, but that was something he could manage. "With all that has happened as of late they were beginning to get worried something had gone wrong. So they sent me ahead to assess the situation." he explained as he scanned the crowd. His gaze finally caught on the woman he thought to be the dignitary. "And you must be Lady Dollya." He continued before turning to face her. "I'm but a squire so it's an honor to meet someone of your prestige." he finished before offering her a bow. The squire acted with practiced ease never once stuttering, or breaking character. He hoped it would be enough to fool the royalty because if the plan worked he would be home free in no time.

Delgue wiped the sweat from his forehead before taking a step back from the hedges he had been fixing. "Come on pick up the pace." The senior knight barked. "Lady Dollya will be here within the hour." the knight continued. "It's one thing for them to send someone to supervise me doing chores but another thing entirely to send someone who has no appreciation for the fine art of gardening." the squire remarked whilst admiring his handiwork. "Don't make me write you up for insubordination again Delgue, just follow orders for once." he commanded. "You know somehow I think our guest has bigger things to worry about than a courtyard she might only glance at." Delgue replied before moving to work on another hedge. At this point the Knight was done humoring him and only offered indignant silence as a response. Today Drakiss was rife with activity. Word had reached the keep that a dignitary would be arriving within the next few days to act as the new regent ruler. The news had the higher ups desperate to make a good impression. So desperate in fact that they diverted all available manpower from training to tidying up. Delgue was no exception as not even the most senior of knights were spared from the chores. It didn't take long for the qquire to fix the rest of the hedges and with the task at hand finished he tossed the clippers to the knight before leaving the courtyard. "Be on your best behavior Delgue. If you cause trouble today the consequences will be dire, and change out of those soiled clothes while you're at it." he ordered. "Yeah, yeah." Delgue replied before waving the knight off as he passed him. Things had yet to calm down by the time he walked back to his quarters. The halls were still filled with the rank and file doing some last minute cleaning. Soon he reached his bunk and began digging through his belongings. With a fresh pair of clothes in hand he began to change. As much as he loved to stick it to his Superiors walking around in an outfit stained with grass, and sweat wasn't a pleasant thought. After freshening up the squire made his way to the door. There wasn't much time left but he would try to slip out into the city unnoticed. Just the thought of the goody goody ass kissers parading around the keep was enough to make his skin crawl. This plan would make everybody happy and keep him out of trouble.

Vormund smiled "Well for now you will have to take my word for it but I'm sure you'll get your chance to see more once this is all over." he explained. Her response to his anecdote made him chuckle "Yes, you know me. I can certainly be hot headed and impulsive at times." he explained before peering at his still bandaged hand. As she leaned in he closed his eyes and titled his head to reciprocate the gesture but the moment wouldn't last. A foul and unsettling wave of magic rippled through the air as Aranel pulled away from his embrace. His expression grew cloudy at the sensation. It seemed everywhere they went trouble was not far behind, at least they were able to enjoy a temporary peace. As two flustered Dwarven soldiers busted through the front doors of the library he shot up from his seat. The two confirmed his previous suspicions. The Drow had taken advantage of the situation and broken into the castle in a bid for power. He knew they were not to be trusted. If the Drow were to succeed they could ruin their only chance at peace, and they couldn't allow that to happen. "We won't let them go through with this." he assured the two Dwarves. It was then another wave of magic rippled through the city. This one more violent than the last, and violent enough to shake the city. The quake put the library in a state of disarray knocking books, and shelves down alike. He managed to keep his footing but the guards were not as fortunate. It seemed the situation was more dire than he had originally expected, they had to move now. The longer they took the more innocents could be injured. He followed the Archmage rushing outside after her. It seemed she was thinking the same way he was. In order to escort the Dwarves to safety she summoned her familiar, and with the civilians safe they wouldn't have to hold back. "Your King and Queen will come out of this unharmed don't worry." Vormund assured the two guards before taking off towards the castle as fast as he could manage. As they ran he found himself wrought with self anguish. "We never should have trusted them Aranel." he said.

"Alright, I'm still skeptical but if you think we can trust him then I'll follow your lead." he responded as they began walking towards the rear end of the village. "I hope you're right. His type must have problems with fake coin all the time." he responded. "Still I wasn't about to give up the payday I got from turning you into your mom." he joked with a cackle. "I need that money to pamper myself once this is all over." he added. "All the Drinks and Girls I can buy as soon as I get home. Maybe I'll even get a bonus for solving this mystery." he continued. They made their way out of the village and back into the surrounding woods. Soon Marlo began speeding ahead of him. She was anxious, this much was obvious and he could feel it from where he was standing but that wasn't going to stop him from being petty. "Remember I'm the one in charge here Marlo; and your stalwart leader has to conserve his energy." he replied sarcastically while keeping his pace. "And remember what I told you Marlo. We aren't after some thieves or your problematic mother this time. Calm down and remember to use that thick skull of yours." he ordered the sarcastic edge now absent from his tone. Suddenly Delgue closed the distance to Marlo grabbing her by the back of her clothing before pulling her down beside him behind a nearby tree. "Be quiet!." he commanded before peering around the trunk of the tree and into the small clearing a ways ahead of them. He could make out the silhouette of a figure awkwardly slumped down against a tree. For a minute he watched in silence. The figure didn't seem to move, in fact the figure didn't even appear to breathe. "I think they're dead." he whispered. "Damn. It seems whoever was after us picked our trail back up. They should know by now that a corpse isn't going to scare us away...if that even is a corpse." he continued. "If anything they helped lead us straight to them." he added. "I can't see anybody nearby but still, we shouldn't get anywhere near the body. It seems like a trap to me." he explained. "We should go as far around it as we can." he suggested.

Vormund chuckled before wrapping his arms around the Archmage and pulling her into a warm embrace. "Aranel where do you get these ideas from? You have nothing to be insecure about." he assured her. "Of course not all humans are beautiful. Just like Elves or Dwarfs there are humans of all sizes, complexions, and physiques." he explained. "If you would like to hear an embarrassing story of my own when you originally captured me I recall myself thinking about how beautiful you were despite the obvious danger I was in." he said following another chuckle. "In all of my travels I have seen many pretty women but none compare to you." he explained sincerely. "Now are we feeling better?" he asked with a smile.

Delgue knew what he was getting into when he insulted Marlo's friends. As she threw the punch this time he managed to catch it before it could make much of an impact. A wicked smirk crawled across his features "Oh Marlo sometimes you make it too easy to push your buttons." he joked. Marlo gladly accepted his offer taking the lead for the last mile or so they had left to walk. He wasn't quite sure why she liked that disguise so much, it wasn't like her. Sure she would attract unwanted attention but that was never a problem for her. She could handle anybody in a fight and he knew she loved fighting. Following another brief stint of walking they arrived at their destination. It wasn't anything special, it looked like all the other backwoods hamlets he had visited thus far. "Of course, just let me do most of the talking and we will get the information we need in no time." he responded. It didn't take his partner long to find them a store that dealt with fabrics. Upon entering they were greeted with an odd odor and a cluttered mess. As his partner approached the counter he stood back scanning over the store and its wares. It wasn't until Marlo jerked her head at him that he actually approached the counter. As he reached the clerk he produced the fabric in question. "We are searching for our friend who went missing. This piece of fabric is our only clue and we have been trying to find who sold him the clothing it originally belong to." he explained. The man's expression shifted as Delgue placed the fabric on the counter; it was clear he recognized it. "Ah yes that fabric is my hand crafted signature. But I am having trouble remembering the sale perhaps you could help jog my memory?" the man asked. Delgue grumbled before digging in his bag for some coin and tossing it onto the counter. Despite the real coin he had just made he still decided to use the counterfeit coin. A rat like this didn't deserve the money. The man looked at the currency and sighed "That helps but my memory is still a bit foggy." he explained. Delgue rolled his eyes before fishing for even more coin and tossing it onto the counter. After this the man looked satisfied "Ah it just came to me. Your friend passed through town rather quickly. He bought some clothing from me and then split. I was told he left through the woods behind the village. Something was off about him if you ask me." the shopkeeper explained. "Now if that is all. Good luck and thank your for your patronage." he said with a smug grin as he began collecting the money Delgue had left on the counter. With the information they needed there was no reason for them to stick around. "I can't believe we found somebody so helpful." he remarked sarcastically to Marlo before they left the store. "Well seems like we got lucky for once." he said. "Of course he could have been lying or trying to lead us directly into a trap but for now I feel like we should follow the lead he gave us. Worst case scenario we run into a bunch of thieves and we have to try the next village on our list." he stated. "What do you think?" he asked.

He rolled his eyes in response to her teasing "Alright fine you win, at least you aren't trying to sabotage me anymore." he remarked with a cackle. "But I'll warn you now. As soon as this is all over I'm splitting. You're my kind of lady Marlo but you know me. I'm a busy man and I can't have you tying me down." he added. "And I don't see why you're complaining when I haven't even shot you yet." he remarked. He knew the punch was coming so he was ready for the it. He braced himself for the impact gritting his teeth as the punch connected. He didn't flinch but the hit stung like hell regardless. "Aww, that one hardly hurt. You're not going soft on me now are you Marlo?" he accused with a cackle. As per request Marlo began to explain how she got her nickname. While a simple misunderstanding wasn't the grand origin story he was hoping for he was still entertained. The degree of success Marlo enjoyed with her violent problem solving never ceased to amaze him. "I'm surprised Marlo, Ducking a fight isn't your style." he remarked with a cackle. "And don't kid yourself Blondie. I wouldn't be caught dead with your friends. Rolling with a bunch of twitchy maniacs would be a bad look for me." he said. "And besides what would The Black Heart think if they found out one of their squires was associating himself with a bunch of lowlifes!" he continued as seriously as he could manage. It wouldn't be long until the two ran into another dilapidated sign marking the road. Delgue held his arm out stopping Marlo as he took a moment to examine the marker. "Seems we are about a mile out from one of our options. You want to lead the way? I feel like you know better than I do what we are walking into here." he explained.

Vormund chuckled lightly at her comment before gently squeezing her hand. "Not to worry your stern teaching helped forced me to learn quickly." He explained with a grin. "When someone is always threatening to maim you if you don't perform you tend to work harder." He added with another chuckle. "But at least in the end things worked out for the best...Well besides the whole mess we find ourselves in now." he said before gently rubbing his cheek against her shoulder. "Now that I know you like stories so much I have a few favorites I could share with you if we get some down time again." he offered. "Ah have some confidence in yourself Aranel." he mused. "I'm sure you would have come out of your shell eventually even without me." he assured her. "The awkward doofus that you really are would have found a way to shine through that cold exterior." he teased. "And I'd rather not think of you and Techran like that." he responded with a chuckle. "I know he turned a new leaf but I'll always be wary of him. It's hard to forget the way he acted." he explained. "Ah I'm sure I'll warm back up to him some day though. Holding a grudge is unlike me." he said. His eyes grew heavy and he began to nod off as things grew silent again. But before he fell asleep he noticed the Archmage's face had grown red it was subtle but her skin was flushed. "What has got you so flustered Aranel?" he asked with a yawn. "Did you read something embarrassing?" he asked.

Delgue smirked at her reply "Yeah, sure you did. Let's not make a habit of this. if it's at all possible I'd like to keep this set of clothes free from bodily fluids." he teased back with a wink before moving to the mouth of the cave to scout the area. He halted in his tracks as Marlo called him out though turning to face her as she approached him. "What did I do now Marlo?" he asked before she tugged on his handkerchief. Her aggression certainly caught him off guard and as a result he stumbled a little as she tugged. Despite the shock as soon as he learned what had prompted this little altercation his expression changed back into the usual smug smirk. "Sorry Marlo you know me, giving you the satisfaction just isn't my style. Besides I think it looks good on me" he quipped back before reciprocating her kisses. "Man what will it take for you to relax? I figured letting you have your way with me once would be enough for you to leave me alone." he remarked as she packed up her things. With his partner all packed up and any traces of them erased from the cave they were once again on their way. "Well we lived through another night without our throats getting cut. Normally I'd thank my keen senses, intuition, and leadership skills but I feel like we have just gotten pretty damn lucky." he said. "But hey we are getting closer to the bottom of this so here I am hoping our luck doesn't run out before we get the job done." he explained. "And you know how lucky I have been in the past." he joked. "But hey let's not be morbid. One step at a time you know? I've never been a little details guy anyways." he said as they continued to walk, he was acting strangely chipper this morning. "So Camille I was wondering...where did the name Marlo even come from?" he asked knowing full well he was going to get slugged for it. "I mean I know the whole girly girl thing doesn't suit you but I'm sure you didn't just make up the name for that reason" he said. "There has got to be a fun story behind it so what is it?" he asked.

Vormund followed dutifully as Aranel guided him by the hand through the grand shelves of the library. He knew it must be so exciting for Aranel. Unlike him she had been trapped with the same exact books her entire life. With how much she enjoyed reading it was an opportunity he wouldn't want her to miss. The sheer volume of books on one shelf alone would be enough to occupy a reader for a year. So if the Archmage was happy he would do his best to be happy as well. As they walked Aranel collected whatever books caught her eye. He continually insisted he carry the tomes but Aranel didn't seem to hear him. She ignored his offers only handing him a few books to carry while she carried a massive stack much to his dismay. With the Archmage unable to carry anymore they set down what they had on an empty table towards the back of the library before taking their seats. Aranel had selected quite the variety of books from short children's stories to dense history tomes; at least a few of her choices struck his fancy. Despite his funk the Archmage managed to earn a smile from him with her excitement. It was nice to see her like this again after all they had been through, it had been too long. He found himself caught off guard again as Aranel kissed him once more his cheeks grew red but he quickly relaxed into the gesture. Sighing contentedly he let his head rest on the elf's shoulder as she read, his hand gently squeezing hers. "I never really thought of sharing any sort of nursery rhymes or stories with you because I never thought you the type Aranel." he explained. "I used to think you were too serious and dignified for stories." he said with a light chuckle. "When I was a boy I used to love the grand tales of heroes past. The stories of single men who against all odds come out on top to save the day. Those stories were the reason I ever picked up a sword in the first place." he stated. "Had I not had this silly desire to become a hero myself I would likely be a farmhand right now." he said. "I sometimes wonder how different things would be if that were true." he said.

"Great, don't expect to sleep in we are going to start as early as we can tomorrow morning." he explained. " And you know Marlo, It would be really nice if we got to avoid a fight for once. Maybe we try to get along with the lowlifes this time." he requested. After two hours of walking the sky began to darken. Their luck still hadn't run out. A brief search found them another cave off the road a ways. It wasn't as large as the last one but it was just as vacant. This time of year was still a bit too early for animals to begin seeking refuge for the winter. Marlo offered to collect firewood leaving him with the easier job of creating a fire pit. The small amount of daylight filtering in through the mouth of the cave gave him just enough light to work with. He dug a small pit and surrounded it with rocks he found laying around. Just as he finished up his partner returned with a pile of dry wood ready to be burned. Not wanting to waste any time he grabbed the pile and began building the fire. With the structure finished he removed a small knife from a pouch on his armor and began to whittle one of the sticks Marlo had brought back for kindling. "You know, a little of column A a little of column B." he replied with a cackle. "I'll leave it at that If I told you anymore it might ruin the mystique." he explained before finally lighting the fire. With the fire taken care of he dug through his pack for his sleeping mat before rolling it out near the side of the fire. He stretched out and put his pack down before laying down, taking up as much of the mat as he could so Marlo would have to shove him to make room. "You know all in all, not a bad day. I got paid, and I got a bunch of free food. Now lay down and lets get some rest you clingy weirdo" he joked. ... Delgue groaned, a beam of light filtering in from the mouth of the cave roused him from sleep. It took him a moment to gain his bearings, their slumber had gone undisturbed thankfully. He grabbed Marlo's shoulder before shaking her "Rise and shine sleeping beauty. We got work to do." he ordered giving her a moment to come to before sliding out from under her. He yawned taking a moment to straighten his clothing out and grab his bag. He kicked some dirt over the smouldering remains of the fire before walking to the mouth of the cave. "Come on Marlo, we are burning daylight, roll that mat up for me. Will you?" he requested. "And by the way, you drooled on me again." he complained.

Vormund chuckled at her response "Thank you for your blessing Aranel, I can now eat my lunch without guilt." he teased as they continued to eat and chat. "Of course the other humans will accept your people." he assured her. "Some will be obstinate about the change naturally but over time I'm sure prejudice will wane." he promised her. "And try not to get so dire, it's our day off. Nobody is going to force you back onto the island. You will have me by your side." he stated before gently touching her arm with his bandaged hand. "And for as long as I draw breath I promise we will see the world." he explained. "Now stop with all that frowning and enjoy your meal." he joked with a light chuckle. Soon the two finished their meal, as the waitress returned they were treated with the same dwarven hospitality they had received before. She explained that the owner insisted they get their meal for free. As was promised after their meal the next stop was the library Aranel was so adamant about visiting. It wasn't a long walk from where they ate to the building. Just as the rest of the city the library was tastefully ornate. He wasn't as excited about the visit as she was but he did his best to feign interest as they walked through the front door. He enjoyed reading as much as the next guy but he didn't like technical tomes. He was an adventurer and a mercenary at heart so yellowing magical texts were not his idea of interesting. The place reminded him of his training and all of the horribly dry texts Aranel forced him to read. "Well here we are, you take the lead, I'll be right behind you." he offered.

Judging by her immediate reaction to his accusation it seemed he had struck a nerve. Marlo was potentially one of the most impulsive people he had ever met, he couldn't trust her to make any kind of rational decision in the heat of the moment if he knew she was chasing an old flame. She had some explaining to do. Delgue stopped in his tracks glaring at her as he crossed his arms. "Alright lets hear about this Kirin then." he insisted. Despite his frustration he gave her a chance to explain herself, listening intently as she spoke. At the very least he understood what those letters she was so fond of were all about. It seemed her friend was the reason why she was so convinced something foul was going on. Marlo's friend got too clever for his own good, pissed somebody off, and went missing. It sounded a lot like their situation. The only difference was they had yet to run out of luck. The final letter she showed him was crumpled and many of the symbols were splotched. He had no way of knowing how long it had been since that last letter was sent but by now her friend had to be a corpse. If he was being hunted there was only so far he could run and when he was out of places to run a one armed thief was no good in a fight. He growled his frustration fading as he uncrossed his arms "Fine you win." he remarked. Now that he was thinking more rationally he understood how empty his threats really were. Despite how much of a pain in the ass Marlo was he couldn't kick her to the curb just yet. He needed her to narrow down the towns they would have to search, she knew the trade routes. "You're so damn lucky you are nice to look at because your personality isn't doing you any favors. And don't start crying on me, it's not going to earn you any free sympathy" he said with a cackle. "Now break time is over. it's going to get dark before long, we have to start planning ahead. Keep your eyes out for safe places to sleep." he ordered. "Abandoned cave, hole in the ground, tree house, whatever. Tomorrow we start searching towns your mom doesn't deal with." he explained.

Delgue rolled his eyes at her comment regarding the stench. "Cute" he mumbled before getting back to collecting food. He couldn't help but feel Marlo had really overestimated how much her mother would be able to help them. She wasn't telling him anything useful, or course the cloth was of poor quality it didn't take a genius to figure that out. The fabric hit him while he was distracted before limply falling to the floor. He growled before dropping the rolls he had collected, crouching down, and putting the fabric back where it belonged. So all she could tell him was that she wouldn't deal with cloth of such low quality. Great now all they had to do was check every seedy place in the forest. He was going to give Marlo hell for dragging him all the way out here for that useless nugget of information. Well it was something, a vague lead was better than no lead so with his arms full with food he made his way to the door. It was then the washcloth Bianca was asking for flew straight through the door hitting her square in the face. He couldn't help but cackle at the poetic justice. Maybe her servant had grown a pair and decided to resign in style? but this theory was disproved as Marlo emerged triumphantly only a moment later. She made it out without his help for sure; but not unscathed, a fresh bruise now decorated her cheek but he knew she didn't mind. Her mother was completely at a loss. It seemed they won this round. "Oh no, how did you escape? Please don't hurt me!" he joked. "Yeah, yeah I got what I needed, not gonna stick around while you work things out with your mom though. Have fun without me I've gotta go round my things up." he explained before making his way out of the room. He collected his bags from where he had left them in the sitting room before stashing the rolls he had grabbed. Now that there was nobody to stop him he grabbed the coin pouch from the center of the table and packed it away. "Who said nice guys finish last?" he cackled. Only moments later Marlo came waltzing out of the kitchen and they were out of the house and back on the road. Marlo was happier than he had ever seen her before, she was acting very unlike herself. He on the other hand was not so happy with their situation. Marlo knew her mother's routes so it narrowed down the places they would be looking more than he originally thought but there was still the issue of where Marlo's motivations lie. "Sure, real hilarious. Hate to rain on your parade blondie, but I think it's about time you come clean about that lover you are so eager to find." he ordered. "Your mom clued me in about that little detail and I don't think she was lying either. Love doesn't exactly promote good decision making and I'm sure you know that. If it makes you a liability we're gonna have a problem." he explained.