[IC] "Shadows of the Past", a Warcraft Roleplay

[Feychild]

Liaena smiled dryly at Donalds last words. “Not so much, no”

“He knows what side his bread is buttered, that’s for sure at least”

The girl studied the mini assassin for a moment longer. The man was a deeply distasteful creature in her eyes, what with that little matter of him being a killer-for-hire, with simply a better grasp of conversation and social niceties than Serphia. Voicing such an opinion would do her no good at all however, and Liaena chose her words as carefully as Donald as she looked down at him.

“Let me explain all of this to you from my perspective. I have no interest in dragging you two around any longer than necessary, and I don’t particularly want to see you dead. Believe that, or not, as you wish”

Exactly how much Donald knew about her personally, Liaena had no idea. This meant that whether or not he was prepared to accept this statement from her at face value depended entirely on factors that she was unaware of. The girl continued on, regardless.

“You said yourself that you are a blade-for-hire, so I don’t plan on setting you free while this crisis with Sherpa is still going on. But, if you tell me everything that I want to know, I’ll let you go afterwards. Your girlfriend too, even, although from the noise she’s making it’s almost as if she wants to stay”

Here Liaena tilted her head towards her satchel, from which the shrieks of Astrid emanated, muffled but still entirely audible. She could only guess as to the content of her words with regards to herself. Liaena had the oddest impression they were probably not complimentary.

Looking back at Donald, Liaena raised an eyebrow at him to indicate curiosity. A statement the man made had indeed piqued her interest. “…and ’unofficially, terminally annihilated’? By you, or him?”

[Sinerathin]

"That would be by him." Donald answered Liaena's question while taking a step back to gaze up at her.
"It was how I ended up in the custody of you and your Night Elven allies, after all. What would otherwise have been a clean escape, he intercepted me and left me for dead."

Donald explained as he thought back to the whole episode in the sewer, which had consisted mostly of him being thrown from brick wall to brick wall like the ragdoll of a rather psychotic little girl. Part of him didn't like talking about the episode to Liaena, as he found the whole betrayal to be more embarrassing.
One could only be betrayed if you trusted someone in the first place.

"I knew he would turn on me eventually. I simply had not expected him to do it so soon."

For a moment, Donald smiled.

"I think he is probably a little disappointed with your Night Elven bodyguards, considering that I am still alive." Donald chuckled softly.
"I have no love for him, nor any loyalty either. If you want to make his life worse, I would only be too happy to cooperate, Lady Rune."

Donald paused, blinking his right eye up at Liaena.

"I believe we are united in a common desire to see my old customer pay."

[Feychild]

Liaena raised her eyebrows back at Donald in dry amusement, although her eyes had widened slightly at his words. “Oh? I thought you didn’t bear grudges. How kind of you to make an exception”

Donalds brief description of the events that led to his predicament filled her with deep unease. Mostly because she had never known Sherpa to be ‘disappointed’ about anything, or leave a person alive where there was a perfectly good opportunity to murder them and desecrate their corpse. The last time she had relied on an assassins advice, it had led to her nearly getting throttled by an undead, ghost….thing, and Liaena gazed at the little man with distrust. Was this yet another trap, or ploy?

“…Tell me about your ‘customer’, as you call him”

Donalds information could still be valid, just as long as it wasn’t relied upon in the same way they had blindly followed the hook hung by Esmeralda. All the more reason, if there weren’t already numerable, to keep the assassin firmly separated from the ‘experience and wisdom’ of her Night-Elf ‘bodyguards’, and Liaena studied the man carefully.

“The high elf, with the white skin and hair. I don’t know what you know him by, but he calls himself Sherpa. I want to know how and when he first made contact with you, where you have met him and exactly what he paid you to do”

Liaena chewed on her lip as she thought back to the ambush that had occurred down in the sewers. Donald had been with him then, and would presumably have at least some grasp of Sherpas plan. “Also, he has two creatures with him. An undead assassin and an incorporeal…ghost, of sorts. Female. Looks as though she used to be human, once. What do you know about them?”

[Sinerathin]

"It is not as much of a grudge as it is more of a precautionary measure. Some people are willing to kill to hide their agenda, and I have little interest in dying for someone's personal interests." Donald answered Liaena's assertion about him keeping grudges with a small smile.
"He tried once. What's stopping him from finishing his job sometime in the future?"

Although Donald's dealings were done with the High Elf, he doubted the High Elf was done with him for as long as he lived. It was not the first time someone had tried to kill their hired blades to hide the truth of their own plots, and it would certainly not be the last time either. Through his career, Donald had met with all sorts of people, including nobles and rich men. No matter how pretty their cloth, their intentions were seldom any more noble than that of a common street thug.

"A ghost?" Donald asked, slightly raising his one eyebrow as he looked up at Liaena; seemingly a little surprised. The assassin raised a finger up to his chin, as he seemed to be searching through his memory.

"I know the assassin you speak of, even though I never saw his face, he smelled like a corpse anyway. But the ghost you mentioned... I don't think I ever saw anything like that. That is not to say though that I have no idea what attacked me when Silverlion intercepted me. Something invisible, it tossed me around like a ragdoll... "

Donald paused for a moment, looking to the side before his gaze returned to Liaena.

"Oh yes, his last name was Silverlion. A Sherraine Silverlion, or something like that, weird elven first name. A merchant who's a wannabe lord, supposedly having a history with the noble Greymoon as well as some ties to the Scourge. He hired me through a friend of mine, for whom me and my... well, I wouldn't call them teammates but they were supposed to be a team nonetheless. I'm sure you've met them all by now."

[Feychild]

“I’m sure you’ve met them all by now”

“I would hope so”

Liaena remarked in a deceptively light tone, before her eyes returned to the assassin. “Hired to do what, exactly? Kill Sharon? Is that it?”

The assassins story appeared to check out as far as her knowledge on the subject went....although it did indicate that Rithrynn was a scavenger as opposed to a warrior, contrary to her earlier assertions of glorious victory over the man. Which, given the general arrogance and glory seeking nature of Night Elves as a whole, wasn’t exactly a stretch of the imagination. “Damn it Rithrynn. This is important!”

“Do you have any idea why he left you for dead?”

The girl enquired, after a brief pause. Liaena gestured with one hand as she spoke, in an attempt to encapsulate the fallacy of the entire alleged scenario as she saw it. “I mean, you call yourself a professional. So presumably, you had no urgent plans to sell him out.... call me naive, but it’s idiotic to start infighting when you were already being hunted down by those Night Elves. And it’s even stupider to leave you alive after that. Sherpa isn’t stupid, and he knows how to kill people. How did you survive?”

From her tone, it was evident that Liaena had reached the crux of her interrogation. Leaning forward slightly in her chair so she could see the small assassin more clearly, she gave the man a frankly suspicious scowl with her final question.

[Sinerathin]

“Hired to do what, exactly? Kill Sharon? Is that it?”

"Indeed. Quite frankly, it was a really simple task really. We weren't given many specific rules as to how it should have been done. Just to see it through... oh, and we were encouraged to set the house on fire once we were done. No hard feelings intended."

At Liaena's last question, the girl leaned forward over the assassin; to the point the assassin instinctively took a subtle step back as if he was afraid she'd accidentally fall on him at any moment.

"You seem to know this 'Sherpa' far more than I do. I did not even know him by that nickname until you used it." Donald explained, holding his right hand up as he explained.
"In the business, it is often the norm to give as little information as possible. Needless curiosity is often frowned upon by our clients, and thus we only ask for the information required to get the job done. This is a precautionary measure from the client's side to reduce potential harm done in case the handler; which in this case would include me, the hired blade; is caught and interrogated, or were to switch sides."

Donald spoke in a calm and organized manner, albeit with the occasional case of glibness in his voice.

"My only knowledge about this Sherpa is that he often surrounds himself with merchants in the maritime trade, and some gentlemen from the new White Hand outfit; whom I might say are as well mannered as they are devious. They get my admiration there." Donald paused, seemingly thinking a bit.
"Ohh, and the fact that he has magical powers of some sort, which I was not prepared for when he intercepted me. I am no mage, let alone a student of the mystical arcane or believe me, it'd been a part of my romance strategies; but I'd say that it is may have been kinetic, or some invisible force that he used against me. Maybe it was ghosts as you said? But I saw nothing but him."

Smiling, Donald gazed up at Liaena, his head slightly tilted to the side.

"Now as I have answered your questions, my lady, will you let us go?" He asked, holding out his arms.
"Do not worry about thoughts of vengeance. I have had enough of Stormwind as it is, and wish to travel to the tropical warmth of the Southseas. It would probably be best until you have dealt with this 'Sherpa' fellow of yours. Oh, and when you get to him; do send him my regards. Hopefully it will hit a nerve."

[Sinerathin]

Double post.

[Feychild]

“Hopefully it will hit a nerve”

“Hrm”

Liaena said nothing, other than make a dubious noise at Donalds last comment. Astrid appeared to have quietened down somewhat, although the occasional squeak could still be faintly heard. The female assassin had far too little self control or common sense for her chosen career, Liaena had long since concluded. Donald arguably had a little too much, at least for her liking.

“A little more fear and a little less joking would be nice. I’m not sure whether he really knows nothing or is just that smooth”

Potentially it might have been a good idea to keep Rithrynn around after all. She did after all excel in her natural bad-cop role. As it was, Liaena was starting to feel underappreciated in the intimidation stakes. The idea that Donald was already asking for his freedom so soon certainly indicated that in spades. Serphia probably never had to deal with anything like that.

“You haven’t managed to tell me anything very helpful so far” the girl remarked after a long pause, in a falsely light tone of voice. “You were hired by Sherpa to kill Sharon – which I knew. And he decided to turn on you – which I don’t really care about. If this is supposed to be an exchange, I don’t see why I’ve been paid enough to let you go just yet. Where is Sherpa staying? Where did you normally meet him?”

“...”

“...Oh, and by the way, what was Esmeralda to you?” Liaena added, as an apparent casual afterthought in the way she threw out the question. “You worked together...so, was she also part of this ‘team’ of yours? Who did she report to?”

[Sinerathin]

"Where is Sherpa staying? Where did you normally meet him?”

"I do not know where your friend lives, whether it be a house, hotel or even a giant underground castle." Donald explained as he shrugged his shoulders.
"I only saw him in person at predetermined meeting spots and rendezvous points, such as the bar... which you trashed."

Donald scoffed, before smiling.

" ... not that I ever miss that place. It was a run down mess anyhow and little more than firewood, if even could be used for that without poisoning the entire neighborhood."

Taking a few steps to the side, the rogue casually leaned against one of the empty beer bottles and tankards littering Doin's table, folding his hands as he gazed back up at Liaena. Though his face seemed calm, his gaze was still sharp the way it tracked Liaena.

"But since I like you, I'll tell you another thing: I do not think that he resides in the Trade District, despite his... or at least his official occupation; as a merchant. He always comes from north and north west. Although I've never followed him to any of the districts, the two most likely districts are the Dwarven District and the Cathedral District. And, since he is a rather proper fellow and his clothes are too clean for the grease and sot filled streets of the Dwarven District, I would wager that your friend is staying somewhere in the Cathedral District, among the pious and wealthy, but mostly just the wealthy."

At the question about Esmeralda, Donald's eyes lighted slightly up as the mini assassin chuckled a little bit to himself.

"Oh yes, she was our 'Great Leader' and official 'Know-it-all'. An aspiring disciple and adherent of the shadowy crafts and mystic. She was an eager girl who was full of grand ideas and plans that, unfortunately, were doomed from the start. And of course we were assigned to her... " Donald made a melodramatic frown at the end of the sentence, before he resumed a more natural look again as he peeked up at Liaena.
"From what I hear, I am to direct my gratitude for removing her to you and your allies? How is she anyway?"

[Feychild]

“Safe” Liaena responded absently. “Although she probably wishes she wasn’t”

Apparently somewhat distracted by her own thoughts, she spared a glance down at Donald. “Her latest plan was to annoy me, I think. It worked”

Sherpa hiding in the Cathedral district? His palace made of ice and black stone with crucified victims in the back garden seemed a far more thematic setting for Sherpa than the marbled terraced rows and detached mansions that made up one of the most affluent areas of the city. It was like King Varian conducting all of his business from a market stall in the trade district. It simply didn’t fit.

....Then again, if her previous experiences with Sherpa was anything to go by, he could very well be appreciative of the irony of the situation. And Liaena had to admit Donalds logic seemed sound – so long as he was telling the truth of course.

“So she was your boss. Was that whole shot at abducting me her plan then?” Liaena enquired belatedly, the amused tone in her voice indicating exactly what her opinion was of the late Esmeraldas efforts. The danger she had actually been in and the fear when the attacks had occurred had long since been eclipsed for Liaena by the smugness of victory. In her mind, the intervention of the Night Elves had had very little to do with it.

“...that would explain why she got so incredibly pissy at me. Irony’s a bitch”

“But anyway. Who was her boss? There must have been somebody else that she reported to”

[Sinerathin]

“Although she probably wishes she wasn’t”

"Understandable. Few dungeons are really any comfortable, whatever one she is in. Though she has a real knack for getting through locked doors." Donald smirked. The assassin had seen his fair share of dungeons, even a few times been stuck in one. Stormwind was a city that did not spend much money on the welfare of their criminals, although it was more than could be said for other cultures. Still, the man couldn't help but notice the slightly sinister tone to Liaena's rather few words on the subject of Esmeralda.

However, upon Liaena's question whether Esmeralda was his boss, Donald found himself unable to restrain himself as he let out a soft laughter at the idea.

"My boss is a man who goes by the nickname of 'Steel Snake', though his name is Arnoff. He did not participate personally, however. Esmeralda was more of a team leader in the whole project, as Arnoff was searching for someone who could fill his role in the field. He is becoming an old man now, and this profession does not take kindly to their kind. Though she has a few skills here and there, Esmeralda was never capable of running a gang." The assassin explained with a soft smile, using his arms as he talked.
"And if you are wondering where my old tutor might be, then he is either dead or gone to ground."

Donald lowered his arms as he finished talking, but when he noticed the slightly confused furrow of Liaena's brows at his last sentence, he opened his mouth again.

"Ahhh well, the reason being that if this Sherpa fellow tried to kill me, he might be doing what we in the business like to call a 'purging'. Killing off and eliminating all hired associates and related material and evidence, making a clean slate. And that would make Arnoff one of the targets." Folding his fingers together, Donald moved his eyes away from Liaena to study the room before continuing to talk.

"It would appear that this Sherpa is not very appreciative of botched assassination attempts, to put it lightly. If he considered us expendable before, then I don't think his attitude towards us has improved much since then...."

[Feychild]

“Everyone’s expendable to him” Liaena replied darkly in response to Donalds remark. The girl was once again only paying minimal attention to the assassins final words, as she was brooding over what he had told her. “Arnoff. I need to find him. If he thinks that he’s a dead man, anything could happen. Although would he try and hurt me? I haven’t done anything to him”

Liaena shot Donald a quick look, the assassins gaze remaining annoyingly impassive.

“Light, I can’t read him. Does he know…or not?”

“You have been helpful” Liaena said begrudgingly after a long pause. Kathlins blue eyes swept up and down Donald again, evaluating him carefully before she spoke again. “So where do we go from here?”

“I’ve already said that I don’t particularly want either of you causing trouble while Sherpa is still not taken care of. And besides…while I might believe you are sensible enough to leave town and never come back, I’m not convinced by her”

Here Liaena glanced down at her satchel, which contained Astrid. “Your friend does seem the sort to take things personally. She’s very…how to put this…Esmeraldaish?”

A flurry of squeaks were emitted from the satchel at this point, that while unintelligible, almost certainly contained the word: ‘bitch’.

“…And doesn’t know when to quit apparently. Do you want any deal I give you to include her as well, or not? She doesn’t seem like the brightest spark, but I get that you are involved and you cared what happened to her at least once before. Do you still?”

“….”

“…Ohh, and I think she might have been looking for you when I ran into her, near Sharons house” Liaena added helpfully, into the brief silence that followed. “Just as an FYI. You know”

[Sinerathin]

"Yes, she told me that already." Donald said with a small smile on his face.
"It's good to know that she is still watching my back - as I am hers. It's a precious and invaluable thing in a profession where nothing is otherwise true and everything is permitted."

Donald explained. Although he loved Astrid, the more professional part of him had always carried the smallest of inkling that Astrid might one day decide to betray him; a story that unfortunately had tragically been retold too many times among the villains of Stormwind. He had met enough people, and even had colleagues who were as emotionless and soulless as even the most depraved minion of the Scourge; only differentiated by the fact that their skin wasn't rotting and their blood was still warm.

"You have my word that we will not interfere with you again. I will make sure to tell my lovely colleague about it. As long as I'm safe and in one piece, she will let it go."

Donald took a couple of steps across the table, in the direction of the main door; when the assassin suddenly stopped, as though he had forgotten something that he just remembered.

"Ohh, yes; by the way." Donald said as he turned around and looked back up at Liaena.
"Since I am not too keen on having to battle every cat I come across in the city; an experience that would surely become more epic than it'd normally been what with me in my current state; if you could revert this shrink spell on us, it would be great. If you are worried that we will turn our blades on you, then you can also call your Vanguard friends to be sure."

[Feychild]

Liaena raised an eyebrow at Donald. “I don’t know exactly which blades you are talking about, but I think I’m good”

Reaching into her satchel and rummaging for quite some time for a vial, Liaena pulled a saucer towards her and poured a small measure of the liquid into it, enough to barely cover the bottom as she pushed it back towards Donald.

Glancing down at the proffered liquid, the little assassin gave Liaena a brief askance look before bending down to scoop some up in a hand. Liaena returned the look with a deadpan. “Sorry, I would join you. But I don’t feel like being a giant”

Taking a mouthful of the liquid, Donalds eyes widened momentarily as a numbing feeling of lethargy crept over him….before he collapsed on the table, both having a) returned to his original size and b) fallen fast asleep.

“….”

Ignoring the now even more high pitched squeaking from Astrid, Liaena studied the man in silence for a minute before pulling one of the less stained pieces of parchment from Doins desk towards her and locating a functional pen. Writing reasonably slowly as she gathered her thoughts, she glanced through it once when she was finished, folded and inserted it into the inside pocket of the mans coat.

The parchment in question read thusly:

Good morning.

You’re free to go as per our agreement. Sorry, but I will be keeping your girlfriend with me as insurance should you try and interfere with me in the future. Assuming I survive this and you don’t double cross me, I promise I will release her as soon as Sherpa is dealt with.

I hope you don’t take this personally, as you said yourself that I have no reason to trust your word. I don’t even want her any longer than I can avoid, but unfortunately I can’t afford to take any chances.

There was no signature. There was however, a postscript.

If you happen to remember anything else that could help with the surviving part, the dwarves know where to find me.

L

Leaving the room and closing the door carefully behind her, Liaena caught the arm of a red Vanguard member that was walking past. The place was mostly deserted, it was the early hours of the morning after all and the fuss of the White Hands visit had died down. “Hey. There’s a guy asleep in there who might be a bit angry in the morning. If anyone asks, he’s free to leave whenever he wants and I said it was fine”

“Uhhh….right” The Vanguard member said after a pause, during which time he gave her a very funny look before realising she was entirely serious. “And who are you, exactly?”

“Oh, nobody important” Liaena smiled back, before making for the stairs, already heading down them. Outside, the darkness of the night was eerily quiet after the excitement it had seen. “Fran knows me. Goodnight”

[Rithy]

It wasn't until late in the morning, when the beams of morning light traveled through the curtains and into the room, that Rithrynn finally began to wake up after the evening's little rumble, opening her eyes to look around..

It was a fuzzy sensation that she woke up to, filling her body, one of comfort and delight. She let out a delighted sigh as she reared her butt ever so slowly, enjoying the frenzied motions from within. However, when Rithrynn suddenly felt something warm that she was lying on top of, it dawned on her that it was not in fact Sherpa who was in her butt. Rather, it was no one other than Esmeralda who was still frantically wailing around inside, a rather disappointing realization that made Rithrynn slump her face back down into the pillows!

"Elune, how long do I have to deal with her?! ... "

Rithrynn was snuggled up to, or rather, on top of; Sherpa, the High Elven male being halfway stuck under the big, semi naked Night Elf and a sheet. She first peered lazily around in the living room, before her eyes focused back down at Sherpa. When she saw that he was still with her, she smiled and moved one arm securely around him.

"Are you awake yet?" She asked with a soft voice, raising a finger that she playfully moved down towards the temple of Sherpa's head.
"Waaakie... "

[Sinerathin]

"Waaakie... "

Sherpa opened his eyes to the voice of Rithrynn from up above, his eyes quickly finding the Night Elf sleeping on top of him.

"Good morning to you too, sweetheart." He smiled handsomely back up at her, before his eyes passed over to the bronze clock hanging and ticking on the wall between the windows. The clock showed 11:23 AM, and the High Elf let out a sigh. He had planned to get up earlier, but it seemed as if his little play with Rithrynn had drained him of more energy than he had anticipated.

The Night Elf, on the other hand, at least seemed rather pleased by the whole ordeal.

Rising up, Sherpa reached for his white shirt as he looked over to Rithrynn.

"It's a busy day today, and I don't think I can stay for long. Can I tempt you enough to stay for breakfast, or will you have to leave at once?"

---

Back in Sharon's mansion, Sharon appeared on the balcony above the atrium. The High Elf was wearing a darker colored silk bathrobe with turquoise fauna embroidery adorning it.

He gazed down over the railing towards the front door, as though he was looking for something. But alas, the elf didn't seem to spot anything of signifiance or interest down on the first level, other than a pair of slumbering Night Elves; one halfway hiding under a curtain, the other one sleeping up-side-down on an a wide leather chair by the entrance, with her butt in the air and wearing nothing but an undersized thong.

Continuing to scan the room, Sharon suddenly spotted a black coated and white haired butler walking along, masterfully balancing a large plate of empty plates and goblets in one hand while supporting himself on his cane.
Yet despite the speed at which Sharon had detected Fredrick, the butler had become aware of his presence first, and turned his head around to look up at Sharon.

"Good morning, Master Sharon. Had a good night rest, I hope?" Friedrick asked courtly, taking a short pause in his walk to the kitchen and miss Collins.

"Hm, yes... " Sharon answered, though seemed slightly unfocused as he continued to look around.
"You haven't by any chance seen Liaena, have you?"

"Not since yesturday, Master Sharon, when she left the house in the dark of night on another one of her secret missions. Goodness only knows when she will be back."

"Just what I hoped to hear... " Sharon replied as the elf rolled his eyes, while drumming his fingers on the dark oak banister.

Friedrick's report seemed plausible enough, given what Sharon knew of Liaena. Not to mention that he had never once suspected the man of ever lying to him. Liaena had a sense of adventure after all that only seemed to increase the more dangerous her surroundings became.

"I really hope she hasn't gotten herself into trouble this time.... even though she probably has. Well then, I just hope she's still alive at the very least."

[Feychild]

Outside in the city, Stormwind had very much awoken. It might not have been a festival or other religious day in the cathedral district, but all of the shops were open for trade with their awnings hung out and carriages and pedestrians were rushing back and forth. It was in the middle of all of this that a fairly unremarkable girl with brown hair in crumpled robes strolled down the street, keeping a sharp eye out around her for anything…unremarkable.

“One district…just one district to search in. How hard could it be?”

Liaena felt in her pocket for the purse that she had taken with her from Sharons house. It felt heavy, which was a sensation she still wasn’t used to. Frivolous expenditure of her boyfriends money was still something that she had very solidly in her head as a Rithrynn-Move, but this was clearly an activity that could be chalked up to the Saving Sharons Life fund. It was with this in mind that she crossed the road to walk into one of the more prestigious, expensive-looking boutiques in the area.

Once she was inside an assistant was quick to approach her, while also eying up her rather dowdy robes, mussed hair and dirty satchel. “Can I help you?” the girl enquired, while looking as though she would prefer her sentence to finish with: ‘leave’.

“Oh. Yes.” Liaena said sweetly. Glancing around, she peered as some of the racks of clothing. “I want a new outfit. Something in your latest fashion…oh, and do you do hair, too?”

It was some time later that Liaena finally exited the boutique. She was now wearing a fitted wool dress that while still managing to remain relatively functional, screamed style and expense. A new blue cloak with cream fur trimmings hung loosely around her shoulders and Kathlins long, straggly hair had been washed and twisted into a bun. A new leather bag was carried from one shoulder.

The bag was the only point that Liaena had actually fought over with the eager shop assistants. Her insistence on size and convenience had clashed with their opinion on the Latest In Thing, and they had eventually compromised on something that while not the height of the fashion, was still passable in their eyes with the rest of the ensemble. It was actually quite a nice upgrade over her old satchel, Liaena mused as she walked down the steps into the street and immediately flagged down a cab. Where she was going was in fact just around the corner, but that wasn’t the point.

What was around the corner was in fact the most prestigious estate agent in the Cathedral District. The server behind the front desk glanced up at Liaena entered, took in her general attire and demeanour and started to rise to his feet. “Can I help you?”

“I would like to speak to your manager. Can you arrange that?”

“Uh” the man glanced behind him, then back at her again. “Pardon me, Ma’am, but do you have an appointment?”

“No” Liaena whispered. Leaning forward, she slid a solid gold piece across the table towards the service. “Could you possibly see if he would make time for me?”

*

It was in a remarkably short space of time that Liaena had been ushered into a cushy office, to be greeted by a portly man that reminded her strongly of Lord Graymoon. The thought stuck in her mind and made her have to bite back laughter as he offered her a drink, which she declined. “And what can I do for you this morning, my dear?”

Liaena sunk into one of the cushy chair, before looking back at the overweight house broker. “I have a favour to ask you, sir”

“Oh?” The mans curiosity was clearly piqued, although it was tempered with disappointment that her response hadn’t been ‘sell me an extremely expensive house’ as he gave her a sharp look. “And what would that be?”

Liaena paused, taking a deep, shuddering breath before continuing. “I am looking for a friend of mine. I have lost contact with him, but I believe he has come back to live in this district in the last few months. He is a man of excellent taste, and if he has had dealings with your establishment you will have records of where he is currently staying. I am asking for your – discreet – assistance in this matter”

Looking up, Liaena gave the agent a wide-eyed, imploring look, before settling her hands on her extremely expensive wool skirt. “If you were able to help, you would find me extremely grateful I assure you”

[Sinerathin]

"Hu-hum," The pudgy man coughed slightly as he threw a quick glance to a large ledger the size of a small chest clad in dark brown leather resting at the end of the table, before finally looking back at Liaena.

"I am afraid that we cannot give out personal information about our clients just like that, it's a right of privity that we pride ourselves in being able to provide, young miss. Here at Rochenstein's Housing for Exquisite Personnel, we have a deep respect for our customer's private matters and desire to be left alone, which is the belief that forms the cornerstone upon which this illustrious company was built on!"

He proclaimed high and loudly as he held his hand up high as if he was a priest preaching fervently at a sermon, and his other around the laps of his richly decorated silk and leather coat.
The man definitely carried the look of being part of the higher middle class or lower upper class, as his garments were richly textured and adorned with elaborate tailoring. A small black hat with a long feather sat on the other end of the table, most likely belonging to the estate agent, and his fingers carried no less than six rings of silver, gold and adorned with diamonds or other precious metals and stones.

However, shortly after his little speech, the man peered at Liaena's rich and most likely expensive apparel with heightened interest. Moving his hand to stroke his short beard, a moment of silence ensued as the man seemed to be contemplating on something, before speaking again; his face now looking much more neutral and curious.

"But... ahem, exactly just how important is it that you find this man, my lady?" He suddenly inquired as he looked towards Liaena with a look that only a true businessman could recreate, hinting at her with one of his eyes while he placed one of his hands down on the ledger at the table, gently drumming with his index finger on the leather cover of the huge book.

"I might be able to arrange something, if the... need for it, was great enough."

[Rithy]

Rithrynn peered back down at the High Elf with a smirk, intensively studying the features of his face while at the same time running a pair of fingers through his snow white hair. The Night Elf seemed almost lost in her own little game when the offer of breakfast came, but after a few seconds; she finally blinked as her silvery eyes realigned themselves with Sherpa's.

"I'd love to!" She said with an eager voice as she smiled back down at the High Elf.

Certainly a breakfast couldn't hurt. After all, what was the worst that could happen?
She also didn't know the situation back at Sharon's mansion either. If her sisters had managed to empty the whole house's food storage, it wouldn't really surprise her. A meal was at least guaranteed here, after all. Not to mention she had not known Sherpa to be much of a cook. If Liaena viewed him as a cook, it was probably as a chef boiling the souls of the damned and grating infants.

But who cared? Liaena was notorious for completely blowing things out of proportions anyway!

Sitting back up in the sofa, and finally freeing Sherpa of her ensnaring embrace; Rithrynn began to look around for her clothes, armor and weapons that were scattered all over the living room. She had little memory of how her dagger had ended up embedded into the face of a man in one of the paintings decorating the walls of the room, something that would forever remain a mystery.
But on the other hand, she found it to be a miracle that neither she nor Sherpa had gotten themselves injured last night, as she found no less than four arrows, alongside her own sword, lying in the sofa beneath the blankets and pillows.

"Thank Elune Serphia didn't see this... actually, thank Elune twice for that!"

"What are we having?" Rithrynn asked as she was trying to sort through the straps of her breastplate that had gotten tangled amidst the chaos that now was the living room, throwing a smile back at Sherpa in the sofa.

[Feychild]

Following the agents movements intently, Liaena was quick to catch his glance towards the ledger when he initially looked towards it.

“Well…he did try to kill my boyfriend. Several times. So yes, fairly important”

“Very much so” Liaena quavered after a moments pause. Taking a few seconds to compose herself, she blinked big brown eyes up sorrowfully at him. “He and I – we were close, once, but we lost touch when he had to leave the city. I would give anything to be able to find him again”

That last was in fact, entirely true.

Giving her words a few moments to sink in appropriately, she looked up at the agent with wide eyes. “I would never ask you to betray your principals sir, but is there anything you could do to help? Anything any at all?”

*

The Advisor of Treasure was very definitely dead, that at least could be verified and had been by Kathlin about a minute after walking in through the door. Everything else, and there was a lot of ‘else’, was entirely up for debate.

Walking over, the girl stifled a yawn as she raised the sheet covering the corpse of the man lying across the dining room table. There had apparently been some friction between the city guard and the mans relatives. The latter were intent on removing the corpse immediately for the funeral rites, the city guard and Vanguard had been resisting as much as possible to postpone events until the Vanguards ‘specialist’ showed up. It was only after Kathlin had enquired of the arrival time of the aforementioned specialist had she learned it was supposed to be her.

Leaning over, Kathlin traced the entry point of the fatal wound, a neat hole in his neck. Death had been rapid and unavoidable, the spray from an artery splattering the wall near where the chalk outline had been sketched out. The murder weapon was easily identifiable as one of the advisors ceremonial swords, a relic apparently from his time in the army and which normally hung on the wall. What there was not, was a murder suspect.

“Excuse me” the girl turned to look the household servant that was tasked with following her around to make sure she didn’t misplace, break or steal anything. He gave her an unfriendly look that suggested he trusted her not to do none of these things. “Could I speak to his wife yet?”

“Her ladyship has been through a traumatic ordeal” the servant said stiffly. “She is not taking visitors at this time”

“Right…yes…you said that last time” Kathlin mumbled. Not for the first time, she glanced over at the Vanguard member who had accompanied her, who shrugged back at her looking equally lost. “The thing is…I understand she is very upset, but she might be able to help me understand what it was that happened here. Which…would help bring whatever it was that killed her husband to justice. Which is what she wants. Right?”