[center][img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/497520670167662612/873286814893477948/banner2.png[/img][/center]

Cinder was trying to compose herself from the frankly [i]horrifying[/i] realization that Valanthe was going to be a part of this job. She hadn't seen the elf in probably a good six months, and unless memories failed her, Valanthe had been well and locked up in a jailhouse somewhere. Again. How she got out was anyone's guess, but Cinder imagined it probably involved her donning the persona of some innocent, meek girl that had been falsely accused by the "brutish, terrible genasi." At least that was what had gotten her out the last twelve times Cinder had gotten Val thrown in jail. The distinct tang of smoke was starting to fill the room as her hair crackled and burned, her face now etched into a scowl as she tried to swallow her temper down and appear at least half way professional. After all there was too much money at stake for her to lose herself within the first ten minutes. Instead of continuing the conversation with Val, Cinder busied herself by examining the others that had entered the room. 

The orc had made a good enough first impression. He'd entered and immediately gone to sit down without a word, not so much as greeting her before silently minding his own business and letting her be. He was, predictably, a rather large fellow, and Cinder imagined that he was probably some sort of hired muscle. Then again looks could be deceiving and she wouldn't be surprised if he had some sort of knack she didn't know about. If nothing else he was quiet, and that was enough to assure Cinder that they would get along just fine. No needless chit-chat meant they'd probably avoid getting on each other's nerves, and the gods knew that Cinder was going to need someone quiet around to help her keep some sanity since Val was going to be there.  

Next had been the tiefling. Oh, gods, not a tiefling. He had red skin, gold eyes, a warm smile,  and his attire seemed completely out of place for this part of the world. There had been some merchants from the east with similar garb in the market she'd passed in town, so Cinder assumed he must be a foreigner from those parts, though she couldn't imagine how he'd ended up in Forsaken with them. A sneer of disdain crossed her face as they made eye-contact. Unlike most people Cinder's prejudice didn't stem from some sort of deep hatred for anything remotely fiendish. As someone who didn't really have much of a race to call her own, she had never really understood the culturally ingrained hatred for other races that seemed to be prevalent amongst the more common species. Her own prejudice towards the horned devils was much less complicated than all of that nonsense. She'd once fallen in love with one of their kind, and even married him, but then the sorry bastard had gone and stabbed her in the back by sleeping with someone else. She now hated tieflings on principle, especially the men. Cinder wasn't exactly going to go out of her way to make things difficult for them or hunt tieflings down, but she avoided them wherever possible.  Ulleiss had gotten onto her about that several times. 

The next two to enter had been a pair of cat-folk, presumably relatives of some sort judging by the resemblance they shared. One seemed to have some sort of prosthetic which intrigued Cinder, and she might even ask about it later if they managed to get enough drinks in her, but now was hardly the time or place. One of them looked like he'd scurry out of the room in a heartbeat if anyone so much as yelled at him. Must be his first time being in a place like this. Cinder felt a little bit of sympathy for the poor sod but reminded herself that he'd get used to it eventually, or he'd just end up quitting. Either way it wasn't her problem nor her responsibility to make him feel better. At any rate his relative seemed a little more at ease and spoke quite a bit to the group, addressing the orc specifically. Ah, so those three were locals. Technically Cinder supposed she was a local as well, given that she'd grown up in these parts, but it had been so long since she'd been back that it may not count anymore. 

Then there had been the goliath. Cinder couldn't read much from him other than he seemed to be your pretty typical goliath; big, bulky, and constantly having to duck in order to avoid hitting his head on things. He was tall, even for one of his kind, and even as he sat on the floor he was still nearly as tall as Cinder was herself. His little gesture of swiping the dust off of the shelves had earned a slight chuckle from the genasi. It seemed that, at the very least, they could all agree that the butler was a judgmental and pompous ass, and she'd certainly worked with parties that had much less in common. The racial dynamics of the group were sure to cause some interesting interactions, but Cinder intended to stay as far away from the middle of that drama as possible and just enjoy watching the others crash and burn as misunderstandings and chaos ensued. 

A few minutes after Val came in and did her little entrance the door opened again, swinging open to reveal an older human man who looked to be in his late eighties, though he seemed to still be moving well, walking only with the aid of a surprisingly simplistic wooden cane. His posture was straight, a gray pin-stripe suit adorning him with a silver pocket watch hanging from the pocket of his matching vest, a fine white dress shirt underneath. His hair was white as snow with not even a trace of whatever color it had been before remaining, and his eyes were a bright blue, their size seeming almost too big for his face as large round glasses magnified them somewhat. His expression was warm, a soft smile causing his eyes to wrinkle at the corners as he greeted all of them with a slight nod of the head. 

"I'm glad to see you all made it here safely. I know some of you had a longer journey than most," he said, his tone seeming genuine in its address as he made his way over to the desk in the room and sat behind it. 

"Please, all of you make yourselves at home, and should any of you need refreshments don't hesitate to ask. I'm very grateful that you've accepted my invitation. I know that my letter was rather short and you must have questions, so please, feel free to ask and I will do my best to clear the air where I am able."