Rudolf turned to see the pink haired girl looking rather impatient, her eyes looking from Rudolf to Velim beside him and then back. Rudolf looked to his friend and grinned, nudging Velim slightly in the side. "Looks like this young lady has some business with me, how about we catch up tomorrow morning old friend? I'll give you some more information on the journey planned out from here. Perhaps I'll also be able to introduce some of the other members to you!"

With that Rudolf stood and grinned cheesily at the young lady. "You wished to speak with me, beautiful?"

Lucille furrowed her brows, the word beautiful being thrown out within seconds of the first encounter. Lucille gripped her hips with an impatient stammer of her right foot onto the floor. 

"Tirian said you were traveling. I want in."

The dwarf laughed heartily. "Of course! I can never say no to such a pretty face! My, my, companions are coming left and right. But you must know it is dangerous young lady, we're traveling to the next continent and have already had our fair share of trouble.

"I don't care. And I can do without all the complimentary words. I hate to break it to you but I'm not interested in midgets. I mean I know you're a dwarf but lord you have to be the runtiest dwarf I have ever seen."

Lucille cracked a smug smile, raising a single eyebrow in a mocking fashion.

Rudolf froze and grabbed his chest as if he had been mortally wounded.

"So a traveling merchant. Why go across the continent for just goods? You hiding something shorty?"

Lucille tapped her foot impatiently with unwavering eyes staring into the very soul of the dwarf before her.

Rudolf seemed to recollect himself and raised his eyes to take in the girl before him. He rubbed the back of his head and laughed. "What a blunt and inquisitive lass you are. I was hired by Novan to send in supplies, that's all. I may be the 'runtiest' dwarf you've ever seen but it does not mean I don't have my connections or friends."

He took a sip of his mead, and gave her a grin. "If you're interested in joining, you are welcome to. We're staying for another day or so in Cromerth, but come by tomorrow and I'll give you more information."

"Either you're a terrible liar of the stupidest person I've ever met. Benefit of the doubt. Connections or friends mean nothing by that kind of distance."

Lucille leaned in with an unusual amount of seriousness in her face.

"You and I both know the state Novan is currently in. I've got my eyes on you."

The pink-haired lass snapped back up with that smug smile with a quirky laugh before turning on her heels quickly.

"See ya t'morrow!"

Rudolf just watched her go, slightly wide eyed and wondering if he had made a huge mistake. He took another gulp of mead and thought it over. Nah, everything would be just fine.

------

After ignoring smooth words and a wad of paper notes, the men went in for the kill.

He was precise, she would give him that. He had pulled a few pins out of her hair, allowing the loose blonde curls to flow down past her shoulder, enough to hide the blade that was pressed against her jugular by the man behind her. She was forced to keep her head straight, watching the long haired man as he talked. Even now he still had his hand inconspicuously up her skirts, his thumb rubbing lazy circles against the skin of her upper thigh, just an inch above where her dagger was strapped to her. 

Aaerynn wanted to throw up.

She didn’t know why they were trying so hard to make it seem like there was nothing going on. It was obvious that anyone left up here didn’t give a shit what happened to her, or any woman in this bar either. The only one with an inkling of care was downstairs gambling. And even then, Vordan was an enigma. Sure, he had let her step into his world, for just a little bit. She had gotten to see who he was, even if it was just an instance. But honestly, how much care would her money, help, and not-so-stellar personality really grant her? How much would he really care for a comrade he had met for only a week or so? 

Suddenly Rudolf’s pleas to her in the forest were becoming much more real. She didn’t care about dying alone that was fine. But dying after being raped, beaten and afraid, with no one even caring that it happened to her…that absolutely terrified her.

 The rot in her chest started to make its presence known, it closed her lungs and twisted her stomach. She was having a hard time focusing. The man knew about her dagger, but he didn’t know about the vials hidden up her sleeve. She needed to think and remain calm. There would be a time to use them.

“Wood elves have always fascinated me.” His voice broke Aaerynn out of her thoughts, and his hand reached out, taking a few strands of her hair and bringing it up to his nose. “Especially the North elves.”

Aaerynn’s eyes narrowed and the man smiled as his gray eyes bored into her blue ones. “Elves don’t really change.” He continued. “Centuries could go by and they’d still be living with the same philosophies. For instance, they mate for life don’t they? And committing adultery is such a sin, they could be killed and prosecuted for it.”

Aaerynn flinched as she felt the blade at her throat nick her skin. She stiffened as the long haired man reached out and swiped his finger across the beads of blood that had risen from the cut. He looked at the black blood with curiosity, rubbing his thumb and forefinger together to understand the texture. “They can live for centuries upon centuries. The only thing that can really kill them is by a wound, or by a broken heart. Beautiful really.”

The man looked up at her and his smile turned into a grin. “The grief rots them from the inside until their body crumbles a part, and all that is left is a sapling of their soul. But tell me, what happens when grief involves sin? Perhaps guilt.”

Aaerynn sucked in her breath as the man dragged his finger along her pale neck, leaving the dark stain of her blood. “Their rot is excruciatingly painful. Isn’t it?”

He leaned closer to her, his lips brushing against her ear. “Shall I guess at your sins? How many men have you slept with, hmmm? A lone North elf, an elf from a tribe with the highest morals, ending up in a bordello? Strange isn’t it. How have you survived? Through the beds of men? Through theft? Your sins just pile and pile and pile until your blood is nothing but black sludge.”

The man pulled back and Aaerynn couldn’t breathe. Her head was pounding, her hands sweaty as the rot boiled and sizzled beneath her skin. She couldn’t think, old memories attempting to force their way through her mind. The man clucked his tongue in pity. “I suppose it doesn’t matter. For you see, I’ve always wanted an elf. A beautiful creature, more beautiful than a human woman could ever be and more superior above man. But I’ve been so curious. What are their faces like when they are ravaged against their will? Do they scream like human women? Do they struggle and scratch, or do they give in? What do their faces look like when they are twisted in pain and shame and fear? As their beautiful bodies are deflowered and abused?”

He reached out and cupped Aaerynn’s face. “A whore like you won’t be missed.”

She was angry and terrified, and perhaps that was what gave her a moment of clarity. She stiffened up, her blue eyes turning icy and fiery. Her words were laced with her anger as she said, [b]“I am not a whore. And I won’t let your filthy hands touch me, you disgusting and pathetic sack of shit!”[/b]

He back handed her, and it split open her lip, but it wasn’t what made her fall. What made her fall back was the man behind her boxing her ears with such a hard blow it disorientated her. She fell to the ground, holding her ears as they began to ring and pain shot through her skull. The harsh head blow made her vision blur and she desperately tried to blink it away, trying to maintain calm so she could figure out when to counterattack but she couldn’t do anything as one of the men grabbed her by the arms, preparing to drag her.

--At first glance, Vordan simply smiled as it seemed that she was going to use whatever charm she had to sway yet another trio there. He wondered how far she would go to sell her products. North Elves seemed to be pretty morale people most of the time, but for her case, her morals were like one of a human. There was nothing wrong with that really, even if she did go all the way. Money is money and there was little shame in how you procured it. He had a gentle smile as he was going to go back downstairs, but something caught his eye. Her hair was down and his hand was up, whoever the man was. Yet, seeing how the hand was placed, the positioning was odd… Maybe it was the mead playing on his mind.

He was curious and decided to stay a little longer since she had yet to notice him. When her expression changed, so did his state of mind. He could see the discomfort in her face and the sly smiles on those around her… Plus, everyone else wasn’t given a damn or even being curious. How bizarre it was… So, Vordan started to slowly approach them… And then, he started speaking. Those words resonated in his mind. This pattern of speech meant something pretty bad was going to happen. He didn’t want to interrupt right away as it might just be his delusion.

He came up to the bar, keeping his ears and eyes open on them, but not intervening in the slightest. What surprised him more was that no one was seemingly disturbed by what was happening. Vordan him ordered a drink to look natural, looking over with the corner of his eye. He babbled on, then mentioned the Rot. The Rot? The elven curse? HE had seen passages in books about the Rot, but never took a real big interest to it. He detailed out a few things that seemed so horrible and he was getting angered. How dare they try to do that to her? To anyone at that matter.

His eyes soon became fixed on them, noticing the blade at her neck. Now, it was clear what their intentions were and Vordan simply wasn’t going to let that happen. Yes, he was a criminal per say, but those went beyond his morale standards. His speech simply went on and Vordan’s hand tightened. HE clearly couldn’t just blindly attack them. He had to do something else… But what? He didn’t know, but he couldn’t leave her in this state.

The one action that pulled at the mercenary’s heart was the unnecessary slap to the face. That was it. He stood up straight and shock overtook him. The symbol on the ring was clear as day to him. Syndarea. This fuelled his rage over all things. Syndarean scum were able to hit people and do what they went. Oh, it wasn’t going to go down like this. No, they would suffer… He thought about it quickly and came closer to the trio, clearly angered and simply outraged.

[b]“You Syndarean scum are filthy bags of worthless flesh! You lost the war, so you attack those vulnerable and weaker than you? Did being the Emperor’s bitch been hard on your little tiny shit lives? Leave her alone and return to that worthless nation of yours. Or even better, come here so I can teach you a same lesson Ellahur taught you years ago.”[/b]

He showed no sign of wanting to draw weapons, but he was definitely looking for a fight.—

The long haired man stood up, looking completely unperturbed as his gray eyes glanced over Vordan. His two cronies still had their grip tight on Aaerynn's arms. 

Aaerynn couldn't hear what was going on very well. The blow to her head had made her ears ring and dull to the outside world. But her eyes were trying to focus on the newcomer and eventually she realized who it was. "Scribbler..."

The long haired man sneered a bit as he cocked his head, rubbing his chin as he came to a conclusion. "Aren't you the man the elf paid to get in here? You look like a vagabond. I'm surprised you actually have any chivalry."

He proceeded to search his pockets. "Well she paid for your service, how about I pay you double to go back to your games? Hmm? It's obvious you had a bit too much to drink to shout such nonsense." He finally found what he was looking for as he said, "This should settle things. Why should you care what she does with her night?"

He held out a paper note, worth a few thousand gold coins when claimed at the bank. But his eyes were narrowed, taking Vordan in as a whole.

--Three Syndarean bastards… It made the situation much worse than what it already was. If he wasn’t in such a great disadvantage right now, he would have started this brawl an instant before this whole thing. He couldn’t just fight; he wouldn’t get out of there alive. He had to be much cleverer than that. The question was what options were at his disposal here. The people around wouldn’t help him, probably even his new found acquaintances wouldn’t jump in… Bu they were Syndarean men and probably some soldiers. Expose their magic, have the authorities come in.

His fist clenched as he suggested that he was paid to come in. What an assumption. It was partially right, but there was another motive behind it. It was fun. This night was about the fun they could have playing these people like fools. He was even discovering a more enjoyable side to the naturally cold wood elf. It couldn’t go wrong, but it did. He wouldn’t let this happen.

So the man came forth with an offer, one that would have been great if he didn’t care about the people around him. But he did, more so when he actually knew these people stories and torments. He reached out and grabbed the paper note. Fake or not, these guys seemed to have money beyond belief and they could afford to silence the place. Vordan considered it a moment and put it away in his pouch, then looked back up at him.

[b]“I won’t refuse free money, but I would never listen to a Syndarean piece of shit like you. So let the lady go and I won’t have to scatter your blood on these tables. We came here as partners and we are getting out of here as partners. Your choice, filth.”[/b]

He needed to by some time, but the best way he could think would expose his magic… Would it be wise, in this town, to do it? No, so he would have to rely on some vials and his wits. That was it. It was a touchy situation, one he had to handle carefully from there on.--

The man laughed a bit. "That's not how it works. If you're so worried about your partner, we'll return her after a few hours. Nothing wrong with that is there? How about you go back downstairs, have a few more drinks and finish your game? Instead of making empty threats."

He was goading him, the man's stance was prepared, ready for the initial attack, but by his cocky attitude he certainly thought Vordan wouldn't go through with it. He began to back step, motioning his men to follow his lead. 

Aaerynn was slowly coming back to reality, her vision clearing and the ringing in her ears receding, leaving only a throbbing pain in her head. She struggled a bit, flailing her arms, making the men grunt and switch positions. But the slight movement allowed her to succeed in her goal. A vial had slipped down into her palm and she gripped it in a loose fist. She allowed herself a single glance at the vial's contents. Yellow. Perfect.

Her gaze shifted to Vordan and she held her breath, waiting to see what would happen.

--He laughed at his threat, seemingly taking it not too seriously. So, he thought nothing of him than a mere stain basically. He would have a surprise that night, one he would remember as his spirit would depart from his body. The guards would probably get involved at this point IF he simply tried to kill them. Since the people were probably paid to shut up, they would side with them to lie. Yet, Vordan couldn’t let these imbeciles simply get out freely. He considered his magic right now. He had a weapon to defend himself, something none here, even Aaerynn, knew about. It was a tough call.

As he backed away slowly, he realized that she would be going with them if he didn’t at least get them to consider his threat. It was then that it popped in his head. He had to get them to let go of her. Not necessarily fight them, but have her get away so he could use some vials. How to do it, he had no idea, so he would go with the first thing that would be reasonable to his degree.

Raising his arm that had the gauntlet tied to it, he took a step forward. He would have to prove to them that his threat was real and they would focus on him and not her. IT would end up in a brawl at least, probably in bloodshed. [b]“You were warned.”[/b] Vordan whipped his arm, chains materialized under his wrist and extending towards the man’s arm that had the dagger. With the little manipulation he could have with the magic, he snared his chains around the man’s forearm. He kept a tight grip once fully formed.

[b]“Drop her now and I won’t shred your arm off. Don’t test me Syndarean.”[/b]

The leader cocked his head and grinned. "My, my the vagabond has a few surprises."

He looked at his arm and raised it. He had worn baggy clothing for a reason, and with minimal effort it was seen that the chains were loosening and widening, having to confine against something rising from his skin beneath the silk of his tunic. "Well if it's a fight you're willing to make, I suppose I'll have to participate." 

His gaze shifted to the left over men in the area, who quickly began to scatter, jolting down the stairs like rats. Only a few stayed, obviously hired help.

Well if they weren't going to drop her, Aaerynn decided to make her move. She crushed the vial in her hand, wincing as the contents burned her palm but then she slapped it against the nearest grunts inner thigh. He screamed, mostly in shock at the burning and dropped her. Aaerynn didn't take any second for granted as she immediately turned, using the momentum to land a groin shot on the other grunt. He immediately doubled over, dropping her arm in order to hold the hurt area.

She struggled to her feet as the leader shot back to look at the commotion.

--Vagabond… He had a certain distaste for that word. He was a traveler yes, but not a vagabond. At least, he had thought he would be able to rip his arm off if the liquid that he had smothered on the chains worked. He would have to wait and see. Right now, the man in front of him was still grinning, meaning the threat wasn’t taken seriously or that he knew this would happen. Either way, he did get his attention, but not his grunts.

The chains became loose and Vordan retracted the links back, making them disappear. He didn’t know how he managed, but he had something in his sleeves. He frowned as he then noticed the commotion behind him. Aaerynn had managed to get herself out of their grasps. That would be his opportunity. The leader turned away a second and Vordan lowered his center of gravity as he rushed towards him to tackle him onto a table.

[b]“Aaerynn! Get out of here fast!”[/b]

The leader grunted as they landed on a nearby table but he quickly retaliated. A barrier covered his fist as it collided against Vordan's stomach, with enough force to crack ribs if it landed correctly. He was discreet, making sure the barrier was only visible for a second. 

Aaerynn grimaced and stumbled a bit. She wasn't going to do that. She wasn't going to leave him here. These men were different. And if Vordan let loose the magic that she knew he had, she wasn't going to just let it drop or tuck it in the back of her mindset anymore, he could be left in even greater trouble. The men here had the upper hand, they had the support of the bar, the money in their pockets...and this fight was because of her. 

Another vial slipped into her hand and she smashed it onto the ground. Immediately smoke began to bubble and fill up the room. Aaerynn quickly grabbed her satchel and ran through the fog to the grunts of men struggling. Eventually she was able to grasp her hands onto Vordan, pulling him out. "Let's go, let's go." She urged him. "Not here Vordan."

She pulled and pushed him to the where the stairs were. But a hand shot through the fog gripping and twisting her wrist. She wasn't afraid anymore as the last vial slipped into her hand. With a twist of the wrist the cap came off and as the leader stepped through the fog, in one quick motion she lodged the vial up his nose, and then cracked his head back, her fist rising up beneath his jaw. He sputtered, the purple sedative dribbling out of his nose and mouth and he let go of her to dislodge the vial.

--Vordan was about to try and pin the man down against the table, setting his forearms onto his chest and keep him from standing, but that single punch had taken him off guard. With a solid blow to the rib cage, he grunted loudly as he moved aside from him, pushing him a little ways away. He felt the pain right to the bone, not pleased at with this sensation… He had backed off as the smoke came up. He couldn’t see much anymore and knew that a few more were still around. 

He reached inside his vest, grabbing the hilt of his dagger and looking around himself. He hoped that Aaerynn would have gone out, escaped with all this. Vordan was prepared to go towards what he thought was the stairs, but someone grabbed him. He was about to turn and smash his fist into the person’s face, but he realized, in time, that it was Aaerynn. She was free from the followers and seemed to be heading the same way. She confirmed his suspicions as he was being pushed out towards there. She was safe and they didn’t need to keep fighting.

He pushed forward as he could, feeling that each step stimulated the pain in his ribs. It was uncomfortable and quite an annoyance, but he wouldn’t stop. She was still near him as the leader tried to grab her… His attention was drawn to two of the guys who had been sticking around to help the Syndareans. His hands went to the first chair he felt and brought across the man’s chest, sending him to the ground. The second one had a successful stab right into his shoulder. Vordan screamed, but push him down to the ground as he pushed through to the stairs.

As they headed down, going towards the door… It would be blocked for sure. But the glass windows or pans… On impulse, he grabbed Aaerynn and lifted her off the ground once down the stairs then jumped back first through on of the windows, smashing the glass. He landed on his back, grunting once more as he felt the pain in his ribs worsen… He stayed down for a moment, a little nauseated and dizzy.

Aaerynn's eyes widened as she felt Vordan's arms wrap around her and he brought her with him, straight out the window. 

The wood elf gasped in pain as they hit the ground, landing on glass and cobblestone. Her face was buried in Vordan's chest as her mind tried to process what just happened. She didn't have the pleasure to think about it though, as she heard scrambling and yelling coming from the bar. 

"You're an idiot..." She mumbled quietly to the man below her. It wasn't an insult and she didn't speak coldly. Instead her voice was sad and vulnerable, choked with emotion.

She quickly picked herself up, and hurried to help get Vordan up. "Can you walk at all? Come on, we have to go."

Aaerynn threw his arm over her shoulder, bearing all of his weight that she could with her slightly smaller frame. She had noticed that he had to be in pain and was favoring a certain side to bear his weight, so she did the best she could not to aggravate any injuries. She began leading them both down the alleyway, her mind desperately trying to come up with a plan. If they went back to the Bronze Lantern, there was the fact that all of their stuff was there, her medicine, his weapons, and comrades that would probably help. But that lead to another problem, Vordan had said the men were Syndarean. Aaerynn had a bad feeling that leading those type of people to the twins would be a horrendous idea. Plus, Vordan needed medical attention pronto.

"I'm going to find us a place to stay. I don't think going back to the inn is the best idea. Right?" She looked up at him for some kind of confirmation. She honestly didn't know what she was doing anymore, and she was shaking, her body trembling as she held onto Vordan.

--He had a hard time thinking at that moment, trying to filter out the pain and come up with a single comprehensible thought. The sounds around were muffled and his vision was blurred out. He didn't come back too when she spoke to him either, but followed with the motions that guided him… Vordan clearly wasn’t all there for the moment. He stumbled to his feet with her help, had a hard time standing up straight as he held part of his rib. He was clearly in pain and the deep gash in his shoulder was bleeding greatly.

They walked off, away from the place and trying to reach the Inn… Vordan had barely any time to try and clear his mind. The pain was making everything a lot more complicated and he knew only that he would need to pull out some bandages. Would he have time? He had no clue for now… Instead, as they stopped, he looked up at her, still half there. He could determine that their initial destination wasn’t going to be the plan… Whatever it was, he tried to make sense of what was happening; only faintly recalling the things that had just happened…

[b]‘’The Inn… Syndareans… Bad idea… We need to… hide somewhere else yes… I… its painful…’’[/b] He still held his ribs in pain. [b]‘’Bandages… you’ll need to hold them… against my wounds.’’[/b] He took a painful deep breath, slowly letting everything sort out.

[b]‘’Let’s get out of here… Find somewhere quiet to heal these wounds.’’[/b]

Aaerynn hadn't realized how bad he was. Her body stiffened up with a new purpose. She couldn't think about her rot, her fear, her pain. This man put himself in danger to help her. He made sure that she didn't die alone, battered and broken. "You're going to be fine. I promise." Her words were tense as she supported him. 

Her mind had mapped out a bit of this new Cromerth and she moved as quickly as she could with an injured Vordan on her hip. Eventually she came across another inn. It was ritzier than the Bronze Lantern, that was for sure. But it was the opposite way, and frankly the only option for a clean room for the injured man beside her. Quickly Aaerynn pulled out her up-do, letting her hair cascade down and cover her ears. Her eyes were fire as she helped Vordan in and walked up to the nicer bar.

The hostess looked up at her and quirked a well-defined brow. Aaerynn smiled sweetly, pulling out all the stops. "Hello, my husband got into a little tiff at a bar across the way. We were shoved out, and I was hoping you would possibly have any vacancies."

The hostess took one look at Vordan and her lip curled back. "I'm afraid we don't serve people like you."

The smile remained on her lips as Aaerynn reached into her satchel and pulled out a wad of the bank notes the Syndareans had attempted to push on her. She slapped them down on the counter, the amount reaching into the thousands for gold coins. "Surely, you can reconsider."

The hostess eyes lit up and she didn't say anything else as she pulled keys off the wall and handed them to the wood elf. Aaerynn's smile turned cold as she snatched them and helped lead Vordan down a hall of doors. 

"Almost there, almost there." She didn't know whether she was trying to encourage him or herself. 

Eventually they made it to the right door and Aaerynn threw it open, immediately helping Vordan lay down on the rather large bed. She quickly ran back to the door, closing and locking it before returning to the scribbler. Carefully she examined him as she helped him out of his vest and shirt. Her hands were meticulous, gently touching what she could and processing his injuries. The major problem was the stab wound, and his ribs were swollen and red. Aaerynn dug into her bag, finding one of her last vials. It would have to do. She shook the vial before pouring it onto the stab wound, clearing it out of debris as she asked. "Where are the bandages?"