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[OOC]

Aleron strolled through the dark streets with casual grace– a feat few dared to perform at this time of night in Old Aether. No one could really afford to be casual about anything nowadays. She was on her way to the only place with lights still on: the Red Rose Tavern and Inn. Sidestepping a drunken patron who had stumbled out the door as she entered, she sat herself at the bar without hesitation, no doubt a regular here.

In spite of her small stature, she was strongly built though not overly muscular. This was all apparent once she took off her cloak and piled it nonchalantly on the stool beside her, along with the bag she'd obviously been carrying under said cloak. Inside that worn old tan canvas bag was about twenty pounds of small weaponry which, surprisingly, she didn't often use.

Examining the room, she noticed the large fireplace at the far wall was occupied by most of the patrons - those patrons being the drunken ones practically passed out on the table. The ones that were still coherent were slurring their compliments to a buxom lady, whom no doubt would be quite lovely were it not for the excessively painted face. Ah, ladies of the evening. Aleron loved them for their cunning; the way they slipped their arms about a drunken man and stole him blind before he passed out. After all, it wasn't really a bad thing if they were still awake. A slow grin spread across her face as she turned, quite aware of the bartender looming over her with a look of - what was that? Menace? Probably, but that didn't matter at the moment.

"Nice to see you again as well, Ajax." Aleron's smile made the tall man want to shudder. Which was indeed something. Ajax was a good six feet and eight inches or more with enough scars and dark spots in his past to keep everyone at a good distance. Still, Aleron managed to creep him out a bit. A dumber man would've found the smile sexy and made him think of tangled sheets and silky warm skin.

"I already told you, I haven't seen the guy. You know I don't like business with that type anyway, why do you have to come bothering me all the time? I'm about ready to throw the rest of this bunch out so I can get some damn sleep. I don't need a useless interrogation to get me all tied in knots before I join Lola in bed." Aleron simply smiled and tilted her head questioningly. "How is Lola? I should've known you'd have snatched her up as soon as she got back from her travels." This of course would send Ajax into a drawn out explanation that sounded more like an excuse - which would fall upon deaf ears. As Ajax went into his one-sided argument about how Lola had come back in need of a job and his unwillingness to have her harassed by the customers, Aleron poured herself a glass of whiskey and pretended to listen.

The door to the inn swung wide with a creak and groan. The night was still and quiet but there was a thick air of tension around. In the doorway stood a tall figure covered completely in a deep brown cloak. From the floor to the tip of the hood was nearly six and a half feet. With sure steps the figure entered the inn and slammed the door behind him. Each step caused the cloak to swirl around the man like a wind was whipping around under it. Something seemed to be pushing the figure to keep moving, even if the steps were strained and short.

The figure took a seat at the bar next to Aleron without bothering to remove his cloak. His head was down and his arms rested heavily on the bar. In a quick movement a hand shot from the cloak and grabbed the glass of whiskey from Aleron and pulled it up to his hidden face. The brown liquid disappeared quickly into the shadows and the glass was placed on the bar with no sound whatsoever.

"Sorry Aleron. I guess that I owe you another drink." the man under the cloak laughed lightly as the opening turned towards the short woman.

With a quick movement of a sleeve and a jerk of a neck the hood was pushed back. A mane of midnight black hair encased a face that seemed weathered beyond its years. The tanned features were sharp and were accented with a thin black beard. A single scar ran from the forehead over the right eye to the middle of his cheek. His eyes showed the injury just as much as the scar, in which the right was a pale blue and the left was a bright green. A rugged smile graced his face and from the wrinkles it seemed that he hadn't smiled in some time.

"I'm very glad to see a familiar face. I guess that I haven't even been indoors in some time as it is."

OOC- Incase it wasn't clear, I'm taking the role of the 'friend'. Hope that's cool. In case you were looking for a name, I think I'll go with Gideon.

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Archipelago Exodus - Come to the Exodus, we have cookies!

Startled out of ignoring Ajax [whom was still explaining his situation with Lola], Aleron turned to the newcomer that had stolen her drink. It didn't take the sight of his face to recognize him; his voice was plenty. Aleron grinned and grabbed his large forearm, pulling him into a warrior's greeting and slapping him heartily on the back before releasing him. "You owe me more than another drink my dear Gideon; seems shortly after helping you escape, the authorities have been giving me strange looks. You know, stranger than normal at least."

Ajax seemed to be a bit annoyed by Gideon's appearance. He'd stopped his explaining and had the same look on his face as when Aleron had sat at the bar. "You guys are going to get me into a heap of trouble if the wrong people see you here." But even as he complained, he reached down and got another glass for Aleron and filled both her's and Gideon's with another shot. He shook his head and moved off to serve someone farther down the bar.

Aleron smiled at Ajax's comment and continued on with Gideon. "Where've you been lately? I thought I'd see you sooner than this after prison. Mister Beauregard must have the guards on you pretty heavy, huh? I bet that bastard had something to do with the real robbery." She was, of course, talking about the brown-nosed illegitimate son of the late Earl of Aether. Being as he wasn't recognized as royalty, he'd worked his way up through acquaintances to be something like an informant to the Duchess. Little did the Duchess know that Beauregard Valdo was much like a weasel - and not in the cute and furry sense. "Ugh, I'd like to have that little cretin's head on a platter."

Aleron threw back her drink and grimaced slightly as the burning liquid rushed down her throat, then let out a sigh of satisfaction as her belly started warming. She imagined if she ever called a place home, this would be it - in spite of Ajax's seeming annoyance at her presence currently.

Gideon simply listened as Aleron asked questions of him. He hadn't heard the voice of a kind human in some time. Things were rough at the moment and Aleron knew it. She had always known how to relax him, even from the most angered state. A faint smile graced Gideons weary face.

"Yeah, I've been meaning to meet up with you but the patrols have getting heavier lately. It's taken every ounce of my energy to get here unseen. Sadly I've spent the last week hiding in a cave outside of town in the forest. Things to eat have been few and far between, sleep is light if I get any, and I'm starting to think that I'm loosing my mind. That was until I found you here tonight Aleron." Gideon said as he took a long drink of his whiskey without wincing a bit, the liquid was refreshing.

"I guess I have a question for you now. What is it that you're planning? I know you to well to think for a second that you don't already have some plan in place that will undoubtily put us both in a life or death situation. Don't suger coat it, just tell me the truth. I might just enjoy getting some revenge on Beauregard, and maybe a few items to remember the experence from."

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Archipelago Exodus - Come to the Exodus, we have cookies!

A mischievous smile spread across Aleron's mouth as he questioned her about a plan. "Well, I do have a little something planned out...but first, food! Hey Ajax! Go fix us up some grub, would you? You can't let your friends starve to death in your own tavern, can you? Then you'd have to drag out our corpses."

Ajax turned from the drunken man he'd been chatting with at the end of the bar, arching his eyebrow at Aleron. "Oh, come on Aleron, we can all tell you're far from starving. I wouldn't dream of letting you die in here anyway - I'm sure I'd pull a muscle trying to drag you out." The wide grin on his face let Aleron know he was only joking if it weren't already apparent by they're contrasting sizes. Ajax could probably pick her up, dead weight and all, with only one arm. The man was built like a prize bull.

"You know, Ajax, if I were anywhere close to being a lady, I would be completely outraged right now." Aleron chuckled and watched as Ajax went into the back to get them some food, then turned back to Gideon. "Well, we need to get Ajax's help. He's reluctant to tell me, but I'm sure he knows something about the whereabouts of Beauregard Valdo. Before you'd come in, I'd only just sat down to discuss it, and the way he denied knowing anything about Valdo's presence before I even asked told me something. Through some hearsay, I found out that our lovely would-be duke tends to come here to this side of Old Aether every few weeks or so to partake in some activities that would otherwise put him out of favor with the Duchess. The usual unadvertised activities of a degenerate snob - drunken gambling of what little fortune he has, soliciting prostitution, probably responsible for a few of the random beatings of vagrants. Well, as for that second one, he really only has a limited choice of purchase around here," she made a gesture towards the buxom woman that was still stumbling around, now half drunk herself, trying to get a customer, "so I imagine he goes to Crane's Valley after or before he gets done doing the rest of his dirty little habits here - you know, that wonderful little village west of here, known for it's wide assortment of prostitutes. To put a long story short, I say we ambush him and try to find out something about the heirloom - as he's the only person low enough to take advantage of being close to the duchess in her time of mourning for the duke, and then," she shrugged, "do whatever you like to the little bastard." She poured herself another shot and downed it as the smell of cooking meat began permeating from the back room.