The Beginning is the Beginning...

[i]Somewhere in Valenwood...[/i]

[hr]

“...And that is how we’re going to steal a flawless diamond, gentlemen.” 

With a wave of her slender wrist, the woman in red began rolling up the parchment again - pushing back the weighted crystal from the edge of the sheet as a smug expression tugged at her features. Blue eyes, cold as the turning ocean in winter and just as dangerous too. 

Her full lips were painted in a deep red, shades darker than her tunic. No silk today - not in this humidity. It would be asking for disaster. Concentration crossed her brow as she gazed out at the two gentlemen in front of her and there happened to be a glimmer of expectation beginning. Her fingers twitched with the anticipation of the [i]hunt.[/i]

Only silence in the tent now, and the muffled ringing of the forest ambiance. Insects, birds, and the breeze that skirted every narrow passage between and rustled in the canopy with all of its lazy life.  The air too, was thick as molasses and carried the bright tang of nature as it flowed and fluttered through. 

The woman picked up a vial from the table too. A tube of glass holding a silver liquid, corked tightly. As she toyed with it, she glanced at her younger companion. [i]The Thief[/i]. “Drink this upon arrival…” she said with a knowing smile that danced between simple confidence and deviousness with each way the light bounced off the glass into speckles on the fabric walls. “You’ll have enough time for us to distract…” She then glanced to the older Nord at his side. “Then it’s back to the boat, the festival will hide us… Foolproof.

Any last questions?” she asked, her tone was sweet as honey on the surface - but the unmistakable sourness of greed tainted it. 

The Thief was a young Imperial man of Nibenese descent, with dark messy hair and an olive complexion. He was an unclean fellow in comparison to his two compatriots, simply and practically dressed which doesn’t say much given their fineries and trimmed appearances. He stood idly, fingers twitching nervously even as his eyes betrayed suspicion, but the vial had given his hands something to hold onto. He glowered toward the woman -- The Lady, supposedly, though he was the one with the actual skills. He loved the sound a plan made when it shattered to pieces, as they inevitably do.

“Yes,” said the Thief, “how long will we commit to this plan before we decide to run it by ear as usual?”

The Thief looked to his other male compatriot -- The Lord -- for validation. He was as much lacking in his skills as The Lady was, if not more, but he was at least the one who made sure The Thief had what he needed in order to do his job. The financer. He was the one who made the whole job possible. This wasn’t to say that he thought The Lady was incompetent at her job, but for cultural reasons, they simply didn’t get along as well.

The eyes of the men shifted back and forth, shrugs were exchanged, and eyebrows raised. The woman, however, remained still, just a light tap of her finger against the makeshift desk. How it had found itself in the heart of the forest was anyone's guess -- the trio were not usual people; they had their methods for procuring, devising, and obscuring. Completely out of place in Valenwood, and yet completely hidden too. 

Once more The Lady’s lips tugged into a smirk as she landed her gaze upon The Lord. Big pockets, he had. He was the reason they could be here, as much as she loathed to admit it. Her enterprise wasn’t quite to the standard of his. How that could be, she wondered, as he fussed over his tunic and in the silence a rumble from his stomach to his throat sounded - ending in a light cough of nerves. The Lady sighed and glanced at The Thief.

“We’ve got the running by ear down to an art,” she spoke, toying with the weighted crystal in her hand. “But this one might be too tricky to leave to chance. We follow the plan… To the letter.” Her expression turned as sharp as the edges of the crystal - severe and authoritative. “Now get going,” she added, motioning to The Thief. “We’ll see you [i]later…[/i]” 

By nightfall, the tent was gone.