Arlese-Hunter Arlese stood where she had been left, not moving at all but seeming as if she could have been a statue and almost forgotten about by those around her. She was not sure how much the king and she would be able to speak as it was very unlikely he spoke elvish and her own human was rusty at best. The Woad were taught to speak human but only out of tradition and a worry it might be necessary…for some reason. The elvish had not dealt with human’s for centuries and there was little speech between the elvish and a child of evil whom almost always were half human. It seemed that tradition was about to pay off, though to what extent was still to be seen.
As the other hunters milled about and were served food a man stepped forward and began to speak, forcing Arlese to concentrate hard to understand what was being said. As the man spoke Arlese jerked her head suddenly, understanding the words Cup of Eden perfectly. “Amada.” She cursed the man under her breath and pressed her small hand into her forehead. These imbecils had not even somehow discovered the damn cup but had left it improperly guarded and then announced the whole affair to a room full of possible unscrupulous characters and under paid servants. The news would be half way across the kingdom before they even left to recover it. Well-armed but poorly trained humans would be coming out of the woodwork, as the human’s said, to try and take the cup only to be cut down by the ruthless children of the shade. All because some human king couldn’t keep his mouth shut.
As Arlese cursed she could not help but look about to see the responses of the other hunter, one catching her eye. “Ed' i'ear ar' elenea!” She closed her eyes a few times but the feeling that emanated from the man was decidedly not human. There was no way….was there? For the first time since her arrival Arlese moved, making her way silently over to the well-dressed man where she stopped and spoke loud enough for only him to hear.
“Hir vuin, elen sila lumenn omentilmo.”She bent here head softly in a sign of respect, but not so much as to gather attention, before returning it to look upon him. “Edaved amin ten’ il fein amindoltelme, nan’ oline boe. Im Arlese, sai late a’ oment lle. Tel’ re na mori manka lle ier kuile.” Her voice was small and soft as it came from her bark colored hood, her black hair hidden in the shadows.
“My lord. A star shines on the hour of our meeting. “ “Forgive me for not removing my hood, but secrecy is necessary. I am Arlese, very honored to meet you. The days are dark if you are awake.” (My lord, a star shines on the hour of our meeting! Excuse me for not removing my hood, discretion is necessary here. I am Arlese, meeting you is a great honor amongst my people. The days must be truly dark if you have awoken.)
A servant made her way up and offered her a wine goblet, looking a bit quizzical, but Arlese simply put her hand up and shook her head with a smile. “No alcohol. You have…uh like from fruit?”
“Juice?”
“Yes! You have juice?” Arlese knew that in such a large city the water would be unsafe for her to drink and while she was technically allowed to drink the milk of an animal while on her trip she did not yet feel it necessary.
“What kind would you like my lady?”
Crap…another question. “Any.” That was the easiest answer and it seemed to please the woman as she then turned and made her way to the kitchen, unsure of the woman’s accent. This was going to be hard.