Business isn't like it once was (open)

[Christophe Elenath]

Wildelight Haven. The flags and walls of the cities had been in sight since a while when he arrived. He was not alone. With him was a troop of merchants. The roads were definitely not safe anymore with all those wars. And even if dwarfs had not yet been accused of some evil deeds, the way from Bykry to the capital was still a dangerous path.

Playing the bodyguards for dwarf merchants might not seem that interesting for a mercenary such as him who fought battles, but these days, you had to accept the job where you could get it.

For five years, Christophe worked for the service of His Majesty the King. When he came back, it was to see his wife and son being brutally murdered. Now, he was not to let that happen. He'd be working for himself only.

Once they entered through the huge doors, Christophe took the money from the dwarfs and parted ways. Inside the city, they were protected by the militia who still had to respect the other races. Therefor, they had no more need of him.

Instead of leaving Wildelight Haven immediately, Christophe dismounted his horse and walked on the streets in search of a tavern or an inn. The dwarf stew may be good for dwarfs but he disliked it. And he was more into wine and liquors than beer. Besides, who knows, he might find another job. Playing the messenger, the bodyguard or the soldier. Anything would do if you could pay.

Christophe finally found a good enough inn. He placed his horse in the stables near it and took a room, paying also for a meal. He placed himself at a table and let the young waitress serve him some wine. Later, he would go to the market place see if there was anyone in need of his skills.

[Katanai Misarashi]

A sigh escaped the mercenary's lips as she ventured into Wildelight Haven. It had been a good week since she had done anything productive, really. It was hard being a half-demon. No matter what profession she would have gone into, her very race was a factor that made people think twice and turn away before hiring her to defend them? Demons weren't trustworthy. Whether or not she had human blood coursing through her veins, it was her demonic half that made people run from her in fear or spit at her.

Still, this was a good place to look for work. A lot of the people that lived there were quite wealthy. They had the money to hire protection, and they were "important" enough to think that they needed it. The only people she would be hesitant to take money from would be the Moorwickian royalty. She resented their rule. Those were the people that had killed her parents for money. Not just killed--brutally slaughtered. She remembered walking at age thirteen to see the bloody forms of her parents just laying there--the life freshly drained out of them. Whatever. She didn't need those memories at the moment.

Brushing her hair out of her face, she reached into the small leather pouch she carried around with her, pulling out the small sack that contained her money. She had enough for a quick meal. She walked down a street that was filled with things for sale and street performers trying to make some quick money. She walked in front of a small building. She took in the scent of freshly baked bread. Upon doing so, she turned around and walked into the store--not walking back out until she had purchased a small roll. That would be enough for her to eat. Good. She still had some money left.

Not too far off, she spotted a stable. A small smile lit her lips briefly before she quickly chased it away. Aurora was probably sitting in the stable; watching with great fascination as a horse's tail would swing back and forth. Katanai climbed a tree that was right near the stable, sitting down on one of the branches and splitting her roll in half. As if she had been called, the black cat was soon sitting next to her--looking at the roll and taking in the fresh scent of newly baked bread in as well as Katanai was.

After feeding a small portion of the roll to her cat, Katanai carefully chewed on her rations. As soon as she had finished swallowing the last bit of her meal, she heard the voice of a younger boy spitting the word "demon" out of his mouth as if words could taste and that one was quite bitter. She sighed. People wandered why she didn't like large crowds--she could barely manage one or two people. She simply sat there, unresponsive as the boy and his friends called her many-a-name. It wasn't as if it was anything new. She had heard all of this before.

Once the children left, she had a moment of peace. She closed her eyes for a few seconds before she slid down out of the tree with greatest of ease. Her cat followed closely behind. Katanai began making her way toward the wall where she would find various "Wanted" adds and job offers.

[Christophe Elenath]

The meal was good. But nothing more. Still, one couldn't expect more with such a low prize. Christophe was certain they were cutting their wine with water. But he didn't mind. It was better than beer. For Christophe, beer was like piss. Probably his elfin side coming out. They were refined and sophisticated, so it had to come from them. It couldn't come from his father...

Shaking the thought of his father off, Christophe stood up. He dropped on the table some gold pieces and left the inn. He needed to walk all of a sudden. He had been on his horse all day and his lower body was hurting him, he had to stretch his legs.

As he left the inn, Christophe saw a few kids running away, laughing. He watched them for a moment, unable to resist from wondering what caused such hilarity. Oh well, at that age, everything was funny. You were not worried about the future.

Chris heard a light thud on his left. He barely startled and slowly turned to look what caused it. It was too loud to be a simple cat and yet, a kid jumping around wouldn't make that sound either. What he saw was a girl. But different from humans. Elf? As he approached he understood she was no elf, or dwarf or whatever of the kind. Demon. He killed many like her. But he wouldn't kill her, at least today. He received no order to do so. Besides, killing demons or monsters was not as satisfactory.

He saw the girl get to the wanted ads. So she was looking for a job. He did the same, standing next to her without a word. Might check those as well. Christophe found one interesting. They were giving a lot of money in exchange for the capture of a felon. Easy task and a lot of money in his purse. Christophe grabbed the ad, ripping it off the board it was on.

[Katanai Misarashi]

It wasn't as if she hadn't noticed that someone was standing next to her. She simply didn't care. They weren't causing her any trouble. They weren't trying to strike conversation. She did them a favor and didn't say anything. Though, her heart rate did increase ever so slightly as she saw he was looking at the wanted adds as well. A fellow mercenary, perhaps? Well, nevertheless... Crimson eyes scanned over the adds. There were more here than there had been anywhere else she had checked. That was a good sign.

For a brief instance, her eyes had locked with a wanted add that was offering a decently large sum of money. Sadly enough, the man standing next to her had swiped it before she even had a chance. Her ears twitched slightly atop her head at the sound of paper being ripped from the board. She couldn't blame him, though. All is fair and love in war.

Fortunately enough, she happened to notice another wanted add. A demon slaying, hm? That was easy enough. People probably wouldn't believe her if she had told them, but the Misarashi was skilled in slaying demons. She owed them no respects. Being in a career of killing things for a living was no picnic, but at least it gave her money. Aurora jumped onto a small ledge on the top of the wooden board.

Reaching forward, Katanai grasped the paper neatly in her fingertips and ripped it off of the board. She took a moment to examine the add more closely. There wasn't any find print that said that demons or half-breeds couldn't receive award. She made sure to always make sure the adds didn't say anything that would prevent her from receiving compensation.

Suddenly, her ear twitched as she felt something being launched at her. She nonchalantly reached behind her head to stop the rock and drop it gently to the ground. Children... Ugh. It was a love-hate relationship between Katanai and young people. She hated the way they treated her, but would always feel that slight bit more sympathy if a tragedy happened to someone younger.

Katanai reached again into her leather bag, pulling out a small book this time. This was pretty much her travel log. She had a map of Moorwick inside, along with various entries on her cross-country travels. In the front page of the book is where she carefully stuck the wanted add before closing the book and putting it back in it's place.

Another add caught her attention as well. It was offering more money than she had seen an add offer in quite some time... But next to the sum, it said "per person." What was that supposed to mean? When she read over the rest of the add, she found out that they were looking for at least two mercenaries to perform this task. Slaying a pair of dragons. The person who posted the add was wise--killing two full-grown dragons would be a bothersome task for one person to do alone. Fighting with a one person per dragon system or something like that would at least even out the odds.

[Christophe Elenath]

As Christophe was to leave, he noticed from the corner of his eye the young lady grabbed an ad. So she was a mercenary as well? he tried to remember which ad was there. Luckily, he had a good photographic memory. Demon slaying. He was leaving it to her gladly. He had killed his share of demons at the service of His Majesty. And other people for that matter. He didn't need to kill anybody else. Not that he would mind, but he could live without doing so.

But then, it was something else that made him turn around. A swift sound. Something thrown. At him? As he turned around he understood he was not the target but that demon girl was. He glanced around and spotted the same kids as before. He sighed. Foolish kids. They were lucky that girl didn't seem to mind. They were no match against a demon, or a half-demon, or even a full grown man for that matter, even less one that is a mercenary.

He saw the kids come around and give the lady names, insults. "Move." he ordered them. A simple word. Said with just enough anger in his voice for them to respect him and run away. He knew that girl didn't need his help and it wasn't as much for her as to have peace.

He stared at the kids, making sure they'd run away, which they did, before looking back a little at the ads. He bet that one would be done quickly. A few talks to the people in the most dangerous part of town and it would be done. So perhaps he could look at something else.

A mother in search of his daughter. No. Most of the time, they were running with a fiance their parents disapproved. Some merchants in search of a rare material. No, it was too far and the prize money was barely covering the journey. Chasing away bandits. That one was easy.

As he reached to take it, his hand stopped. He noticed another ad. An interesting one, with lot of money. Dragon slaying. But it was asking a group of mercenary. He sighed. He didn't like working in group. He preferred to be alone. But a dragon... that was hard to kill. And they were asking for two to slay. He read it quickly, trying to know if they could keep the corpse later. Tooth, scales and heartstrings were giving very good money when sold to magicians. They were not saying anything about it. Apparently, Christophe would have to ask the man about it to know.

[Katanai Misarashi]

"Move."

Was he talking to her? If so, he was being ridiculous. She had as much of a right to look at the wanted ads as he did. Katanai turned around, ready to defend herself if need be. He wasn't looking at her by any means. The man who had been standing next to her was glaring off at...that boy and his friends. She was surprised. Most of the time, people didn't bother to help her. Lately, she didn't even bother to help herself. She found it easier to just let the kids do whatever they found they needed to do. Ignoring them made them angry, but their anger soon faded to boredom.

The strong tone of his voice had been enough to drive the children away. That was something she could respect. It wasn't as if her voice wasn't strong or solid. She was just quiet. Not as quiet as a whisper, but still a voice that was easily ignored. That was probably something that developed with the years of ridicule. Making her voice stronger was just another thing that she had on her list of things she dubbed as unimportant.

When he turned back to look at the board, she did the same. Of course, since she wasn't ignorant of the importance of being polite, she decided to speak up. "Thank you," was all she said. She didn't find it necessary to ramble on as many others might feel the need to.

She found herself looking back at the add for the dragon slayers. Dragon pelts, due to the difficulty in killing the creature, went for quite a pretty penny. Dragon hides could be made into armor, but teeth, claws, even the heartstrings of the beasts went for a pretty penny. She was sure that she could handle it. The extent of her demonic power dealt with fire, thus could come in handy, and her swordsmanship was well-polished. If she had a strong enough partner... Her hopes instantly sank.

Slaying a dragon wasn't the hardest part of this mission. Dealing with a partner would be. Still, she reached into her bag, pulling out her book once more along with something to write with. She turned to a blank page. She stared at the add, jotting down the details of where to go to speak with the man that was ready to assign two mercenaries.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the man looking at the same add she was. Wouldn't it be ironic if he was actually planning on taking up the man on his offer? Well, he didn't seem too bad to work with, she supposed. Katanai turned to walk off. The man's house, obviously, was within the haven. It wasn't too far off, actually. It would take about ten minutes to get from the market square to his house. She decided that the sooner she got there, the better. Aurora, as if on cue, jumped down from the ledge and landed next to her. The half-demon started walking off, her cat following behind her.

[Christophe Elenath]

"Thank you,"

Christophe looked at her a second after those words escaped from that soft-toned voice of hers. He did not reply to it. What was there to say? Besides, Christophe was not a man of big words. Feelings were losing so much of their impact when put into words. It was easier and better to just talk only when necessary. And since she was not staring back at him in hope of anything else, he did not bothered himself to add something.

Christophe barely noticed she was staring at the same ad as he was. Dragons. It was so tempting. Christophe was a good swordsman, a skilled one. And his elfin blood gave him the ability to detect more easily and efficiently sounds and movements. But a dragon, even weak or wounded, was dangerous. And now they were talking of two...

He had slew demons, goblins, monsters, wereanimals, humans, even elves. But never dragons. Only heard about it. They were tough, resistant, hard to bring down. He heard from bards and other mercenaries some tricks to bring one down but it was not with those tips that he could win. Only survive longer. No, for that mission, there was a need of two very strong partners, well at least two. Partners who knew each other, their strengths and weaknesses and could support one another. And Christophe was not the kind to work with others. He was not giving away his self so easily. So even if the task was tempting, he doubted he could do it. Unless they were a bunch and he was there to help, fighting his way.

Christophe decided to keep in mind the address and other informations to have more details about this hunt. But first, he had a felon to capture.

Leaving the half-demon behind, Christophe entered into the darker, poorer part of town. It didn't take long before he found someone ready to give in the guy after a little shaking session. So easy, Christophe almost wondered why the militia couldn't get him themselves. But then he remembered: they were far too busy trying to look good in front of the nobility. The mob could live in despair, it was not their problem. People like them were closing their eyes and turning their heads when walking near that part of town. Its rotten center.

Once the felon in jail, Christophe had to fight some for his money. Apparently, they did not want to give anything until they had what they bastard stole. But it was not Christophe's problem. For an hour and a half he stood in the dark, watching a house, waiting for the guy to come. He was not about to let the money slip away. In the end though, he earned only the third of it. He stopped bargaining. Those guys could see he was a half-elf, or an elf. And humans hated strangers. So it was the best he could get.

Leaving the prison, Christophe tried to get his way to the house of that second ad. Perhaps a few more mercenaries or adventurers would have come ready to get a hand on the cash and he could simply join them.

[Katanai Misarashi]

The streets were filled with the scent of freshed baked goods and various sounds that ranged from the laughing of children to the pound of a black smith's hammer on metal. Music was played here and there by street performers, people huddled in masses around different merchants--you could find just about anything. It wasn't the capital of business in Wildelight Haven, but it was pretty busy. Some of it probably had something to do with the time of day.

After passing through that busy part of town, she made her way down a small alley. The only way anyone would have noticed it was even there would be if they had the trained eyes of a mercenary or an excellent thief. The address of the man was burned into her mind, but just to be certain, she took her book out of her bag once more, opening to the page she had jotted down the details from the wanted ad. She looked from the page to the door. There was a number carved in it that was barely readable. It was just readable enough for someone to know that this was the correct place if you were there on business.

Thankful that she had gloves on at the moment, she knocked on the splintery wood of the door. A man that could be described as short, stout, and sort of greasy opened the door. A dwarf, perhaps? He quirked his eyebrow upward in a questioning way. All she had to do was introduce herself as a mercenary, and the man stepped aside, instructing her to come in.

She sat down in a wooden chair. It was a normal size, but when the dwarf sat across from her in a chair the same size, it looked gigantic. Then again, she shouldn't really say anything about height. She was a mere five foot one...and a half... Still. This man was probably around four foot three. If anything, dwarfs made her feel good about her own height.

The mercenary was given the details of the assignment. Apparently, these two dragons were causing the dwarf quite a few troubles--being he was pretty defenseless, and the dragons had decided to make a home out of the area surrounding his family's mine. This was a definite problem--which was why he was willing to pay so much for the extermination of the great beasts. The man also said that he wanted the corpses of the dragons disposed of in whatever way the mercenaries found useful.

"So that means that you want no parts of the dragons' bodies?"

"No," he replied instantly.

Either he was stupid, wealthy, or ignorant to the fact that you could sell parts of a dead dragon for quite a bit of profit. Whatever. It was all fine with her.

After a few more minutes of business-related discussion, the man smiled at her, saying that she had the job. She was happy. This was a good thing--a very good thing. He bid she stick around until a second mercenary showed up in regards to the wanted ad. According to her employer, the add had been up for a good day already. The lack of interest was obviously due to the difficulty level of the assignment. Oh well. At least it meant that she hadn't missed out on the opportunity.

Sitting up straight in the chair, she gave a sideways glance to the door every few minutes or so. How long was she going to have to wait for someone else to show up? No matter. She was a patient person. If it had taken a day for even her to show up, it might be a while until someone else mustered the courage to arrive.

Katanai had never slain a dragon before, but she was confident enough in her skills to not be nervous. After all the other creatures she had killed or captured, a dragon would be nothing more than a slight challenge. The only thing that worried her at all was the possibility that her partner wouldn't be nearly as skilled as she. Normally, this wouldn't pose as a problem at all, but the fact that it was more than one dragon was what was making skill-level crucial. Oh well. She would have to wait and see what would happen.

[Christophe Elenath]

Christophe hated jails and this one reminded him why. There were always three categories of people in those cells. The first was the culprit staying there only to pretend they are clean finally. You couldn't even say they were really paying for their crimes but most of them were rich or influent therefore, they couldn't stay in such a low place forever.

The second was the real culprits. Those who did bad things and were paying for it. Some were resigned, others were claiming their innocence or vowing to take on the guards once they'll be out, if that ever happens.

Then came the last category. Those who were innocent but would never see the light anymore. It was happening even more in rich towns like Wildelight. A rich lady lost a necklace during her daily walk outside. Well, it was obviously the mob. A little stop downtown to pick the first guy with shifty eyes, a little beat up session and they were having their culprit. Pathetic. This was why Christophe always hated jails.

So when he was done with his felon, Christophe didn't wait any longer to get out. Even if he never had been imprisoned, he always felt relieved to get out. As if, for the briefest moment, he feared never to see the sun again. But the sun was bright and standing high on the sky. His work here was done. And a third of the promised reward. Still, it was enough for a good bottle of wine, a warm bed and a hot bath.

Christophe almost forgot about that other ad. And he would have completely forgotten about it if he didn't pass across another board of the kind. Sure, this one was asking for easier tasks, but still, it was a board and Chris didn't need more to remind of that fortune promised on a piece of paper. Time to get some more money and allow himself more comfortable days.

Leaving the crowded streets to find the right alley, Chris started looking at the numbers on the doors. Most of them were almost disappeared. Strange that someone leaving in a street in dereliction could have enough money to pay for dragon slaying. Oh well, it was probably some eccentric magician. They loved weird spots that seem abandoned.

Finding what he thought must be the right number, Chris knocked. The door opened shortly after. But he didn't seem to see someone. He glanced at the small man. A dwarf. Well, that explained the price. Dwarves were mountain dwellers. Humans were rich in fields and wheat, dwarves were with all sorts of precious gems. And anyone knew a jade cost more than some cereal.

He entered in silence inside the house, following that small man. He was talking on and on about his family, their mine, and the dragon complicating their lives. "I understand." were the only two words escaping his mouth. Anyway, he was now unable to speak anymore. For as he entered the living room, he found in it another mercenary: none other than that demon girl he saw previously. He stared at her for a second before turning back at the dwarf. "You see no objection on paying an half-elf for this job?" he asked.

The dwarf assured not. Being not human, he didn't see why he should let only human do his task. Great, so he'll have his money.

[Katanai Misarashi]

A knock could be heard at the door. The dwarf told her to stay in the living room while he went out to answer it. She did as instructed, but her curiosity got the best of her and she began to wonder who was there. Was it another mercenary? Did she have her partner? Eyes stared with interest at the door to the other room--which the dwarf had just happened to shut behind him upon leaving the room. She shook her head, deciding that staring at the door might catch it on fire if she got mad enough. For now, she would just have to summon her patience and wait for her employer to come back.

Through the cracks in the door, she could make out the voice of the man who had hired her clearly. He was talking to another man that had a semi-familiar voice. Where had she heard him before? It must have only been a brief encounter. Otherwise, she would have remembered easily. It was a recent memory, though. Otherwise, she would have simply forgotten the voice with no name.

The door creaked open just after she heard the other mercenary ask if the dwarf would hire a half elf. The miner was probably inwardly noting the fact that two half-breeds had shown up. There was no significance in the matter, but it was kind of ironic. At least they didn’t have the same two halves. If they were both half demons, that would be just a bit too ironic for Katanai’s taste. It wasn’t something that was impossible, but it was just…peculiar.

As the dwarf stated about how he didn’t care who did the job as long as it was done, the two stepped into the room. Low and behold, she did recognize the mercenary. Her eyes locked with his for a brief moment as she remembered that she had seen him at the board with the ads on it. Well, at least he seemed somewhat strong. It would be good in her eyes if he was strong. Then again, he was probably questioning her ability at the moment too. She did not feel guilty at all that she was questioning the other’s skill. It was typical. It was business. Nothing offensive.

Katanai stood up from where she had been sitting, walking over to the mercenary and dwarf stood. Her face remained lacking of emotion as she approached them. The dwarf announced that they both had the job, she bowed to show her gratitude. She then looked up at her new co-worker, offering him her hand.

“I am Katanai. I look forward to working with you,” she said politely. Her face still held no strong emotion in particular. It was not as if she was overly excited at the possibility of working with the man before her. She could care less one way or the other, to put it bluntly. Still, she had to be polite. This was her co-worker. Politeness could mean that she wouldn’t have to fight over who got what parts of the dragons once they were slain.

[Christophe Elenath]

Christophe, as he entered the living room, did not notice the paintings. Nor the table, nor the portraits or whatever piece of furtniture inside the room. His eyes fell immediately on that girl. The woman he saw at the ads. The demon, or at least half-demon. She looked frail due to her short size but Christophe didn't trust that first impression. Demons could have the shape of a young child and still be very hard to kill. It all depended on the powers she earned from her demonic parent.

Christophe made not a move as she approached. “I am Katanai. I look forward to working with you,” she told him, offering her hand. For the briefest moment, Christophe stared at the hand before shaking it with his. SHe was only being polite and even if Christophe could be described as short mannered, he was still able to be polite. People just couldn't understand him. "Christophe." he simply replied, giving her his name. After all, if they were to work together, they best know each other's name. That wouldn't look good if they had to call each other 'HEY!' during the fight.

The hand he shook was strong despite its delicate feature. Strong, very good. That meant he wouldn't have to do all the job. Christophe looked deep in her inexpressive eyes. He wanted to see what she wanted out of this hunt. She seemed intelligent enough not to underestimate the value of a dragon. Good thing there were two then, one for each. Anyway, with one alone Christophe would be able to earn a little fortune, that plus the amount given by the dwarf.

"I will need a proof the dragons are slain. You will show their corpses to my family who will give you something so I can pay you." the dwarf said. Christophe nodded. He understood. How could you be certain one did the job if you had no proof of it. Christophe would give him what he asked for. He stared once more at Katanai, as she called herself.

"My horse is resting from the previous journey. I propose we leave tomorrow, if it is alright with you." he said. Not that he didn't want to go now, but his horse needed to rest. And Christophe had no choice but to trust that she will no go by herself to get all of the money for herself.

[Katanai Misarashi]

After a moment, she felt a firm grasp enclose on her hand. She was happy with his strong hand shake. It confirmed thoughts that he was at least decently strong. He would survive to see the outcome of their battle and share the victory evenly.

"Christophe."

Now she had a name to match to his face. Christophe. Alright. She would remember that. There was no real way for her to know for sure if this was his real name. What did it really matter in the end? If he gave her a false name, that was his prerogative. Once again, that was something she didn’t care less about either way. As long as she has something to call him during the span of time they worked together, it was all fine with her.

Their hands separated and her attention turned back toward the dwarf. Katanai listened as he said how he wanted proof that the dragons were dead and gone. This was understandable. There were definitely people in this world that would just say the job was done and take the reward money, leaving the man and his family to deal with whatever complications the dragons were giving them on their own. The cat-esque girl nodded, acknowledging what her employer had said. She didn’t mind having to prove her kill.

"My horse is resting from the previous journey. I propose we leave tomorrow, if it is alright with you."

Katanai turned back to her temporary partner, looking up at him as he spoke. Brushing her bangs out of her eyes, she heard him out. Leaving tomorrow would be just fine. She had just enough money to afford a room for the night and a good meal for dinner. Maybe a few coins would be left over tomorrow. It would be good if she could get something in her stomach tomorrow morning. Fighting dragons on an empty stomach just screamed “bad idea.”

“Fine with me,” said the mercenary in regards to his proposal. “A night’s rest would be a good idea,” she then added.

She had no interest in running off and making the kill herself. Dragons generally seemed to be more active during the night, so rushing into things wasn’t something that seemed very wise to do. Being there were two dragons, she would get her fair share of reward money from the one she would take down and the payment the dwarf’s family offered. Katanai wasn’t greedy.

[Christophe Elenath]

“Fine with me. A night’s rest would be a good idea.”

Christophe stared at her for a moment. With this gaze he was measuring her up. Although facing alone two full-grown dragons would be a suicidal act more than anything, that could also mean the entire amount of money for herself was she to survive. And Christophe did not wish to be stabbed in the back like this.

Christophe had this bad habit to always see the bad out of people, or expect the bad. And when they were nice he was indifferent to it. This vision of the world made him rather bitter yes, but also able to stay that long in the business. He was never relying on others. Still, her face showed no sign that she would actually leave without him. So perhaps he could trust her for the task at hand.

After he made up his mind about Katanai, Christophe nodded. "Then I suggest we meet back tomorrow at the front gate to leave together in the morning." he said. It was, he thought, a good plan. He was sore just as his horse and a good night rest on a real mat was what he needed. And perhaps a bath and, of course, a meal. He bet she'd appreciate it as well. He had no idea where she'd reside during the night, but that was not his problem.

The dwarf gave her both a map and indications about the location of his family's mines. Christophe took the parchment, listening well, letting the words engrave themselves inside of his head. Once done, he nodded to the small man and left his house, leaving to the small inn he left his horse at.