PAX: Gate Tavern (30 jy mt)

[Raevyn D`Altamooriana]

The amount of the debt owed by Melissa at first startled Raevyn. Seventy crowns was more than she had, and was more than likely more than she would willingly or happily give if she did have it. Melissa's cause for concern was well warranted, yet for some unknown reason, Raevyn felt compelled to help her.

"Well then," Raevyn said at first, just to buy herself that much more time to think. "That means we have more time to figure something out does it not?"

There were questions though. Questions like how much had she managed to save up, or how much did she still owe him. Questions which Raevyn wouldn't have any qualms about asking Melissa directly. Also how much could Melissa make during the festival. There were questions, and there were options.

Option one was that Raevyn could ask about her debtor. Questions that if he should all of a sudden end up dead, could be lead directly to her as perhaps the only suspect. If she wanted to find out more about this Fenegris character, she'd have to do so without Melissa's knowledge. Raevyn did have the resources to get that done though. Nemonis or the other two could dig up the info that she needed on him perhaps. Or maybe just by Raevyn being patient and waiting for him to show up himself. Surely he'd be checking in on Melissa the priestess imagined. If it wasn't him personally, perhaps someone that could be followed to him.

Another choice would be just killing him outright, with Melissa's knowledge and help. A deal perhaps between the two. A deal that could make Raevyn a nice hunk of cash, which she was all for, and save Melissa some money in the process. That way she could have a bit of insurance against Melissa ratting her out so to speak.

Or Raevyn could do nothing about it whatsoever. After all this was Melissa's problem, not hers. It didn't make a difference who owned the, so long as she had a place to stay. Normally this would be Raevyn's attitude concerning this. Raevyn didn't care about anyone else, unless she felt as though she needed them for some reason. Which just happened to be the case with Melissa.

That and Raevyn found herself wrestling with the thought that she owed it to Melissa for all the help she had given to her these past few months. A thought that didn't sit particularly well with Raevyn at all. Yet Melissa had done everything that Raevyn requested of her. To Raevyn's knowledge she had told her everything that Raevyn wanted to know, about this town, the people in it, etc. Damn her for being so useful.

"What do have in mind?"

It was a vague question. One that really was asked just to see what Melissa would say to it. It was however, at that moment that Raevyn decided that if she was going to in fact help Melissa, Melissa would have to do the planning. After all it was her problem to begin with.

[Ayolin Metalhand]

Ayolin sighed as he watched the dwarf leaving the tavern. He had not been here for half a day yet and already he found himself tumbling down this rabbit hole. He did not particularly like this turn of events, as any self-respecting dwarf Ayolin had a conservative nature. What he hàd got was a good sense of adventure and the possibility of profit and this was one opportunity he was not going to pass on.

Ayolin slowly stood up from his chair and put on his backpack. He went for the bar.

"I could use that bath late tradetide Rosie, and can you be so kind to wake me when it's ready?" was all he said. He felt weary and if there would be any adventuring this evening he ought to be well rested.

Thinking of a nice warm bed, Ayolin headed for his room. He went up the stairs and quickly found room 7. Once inside he put his backpack on the floor and threw himself on the bed.

He didn't have to wait long for sleep to catch him.

[Guido Cercatoro]

“I have twenty five crowns,” explained Melissa. “I thought to offer them as part payment and delay the rest for a while but Rufus says that Fenegris will never agree. So, I must either raise the money, which is impossible unless I rob the moneylender. “She laughed at her own joke and then shrugged. “The only other plan might be to find out more about Fenegris, to see if he can be persuaded to delay the payment. Perhaps there is something I can offer him.” She gazed around at the brothel girls a glum expression on her face.

“Here’s Rufus now,” she nodded towards a rough-looking human who was making his way to the bar tracked by and even uglier looking brute of a man. “Perhaps you can get some information out of him; he won’t speak to me, he thinks it’s all a great joke.”

Ayolin retired to his bedroom, having extracted a promise from Rosie to wake him at the appointed time. He found his room to be plain, containing little more than a bed, chair and chest for his belongings. After a few flickers, the tired dwarf was fast asleep.

[Raevyn D`Altamooriana]

A direct approach was the first thing to come to mind for the adhiel. For most of her life she had a rather shoot first ask questions later approach to just about everything. A habit that had gotten her into quite a bit of trouble on more than one occasion. It wouldn't be any different here if it weren't for the fact that she was doing her best to remain rather low key in the public eye for the time being.

"Okay," Raevyn said as she took note of Rufus and what she assumed to be a thug of his walked in. From her initial impression, Rufus seemed to pose no threat at all. Neither did his associate so long as she didn't have to get within arms length of the behemoth. Yet Raevyn had the unshakable feeling that she would have to go about this with caution. Raevyn made sure to not come off as confrontational with this man. If there was to be confrontation, it would come at a later time. Now her motive was to be calm, almost friendly.

"Buy him a drink dear, on me," Raevyn said to her with an unusually playful wink of an eye. "You can tell him that it is from me if you wish," she then said before sending her off. The adhiel was a calculating one. This she felt played well into her favor. Force wasn't the way to go about this one, not yet at least. No she'd have to use some of that wit and charm that was bestowed upon her by her mother.

After all, she had wit, she had charm, she had sex appeal. How could a girl go wrong with those things in her favor. Long ago her mother told her that with those three things she could get almost anything she wanted from any man with a heartbeat. Raevyn took a quick moment and shook her in a fashion that her long locks could flow down past her shoulders and she made sure that everything was in their proper places.

[Guido Cercatoro]

Melissa looked worried but nodded and left the table. She returned to the bar and poured an ale which she slammed in front of Rufus before murmuring a few words to the bearded man. He turned and gazed in the direction of Raevyn and soon a lop-sided and unsavoury leer appeared on his face. With a booming laugh to his sidekick he lurched over to the adhiel and plonked himself down in the chair vacated by the redhead.

Close-up, Rufus was not a pretty sight. Jagged teeth, rough peeling skin and unkempt hair were typical of his physical attributes. He was clearly a strong man judging by his bulging muscles and barrel-like chest. His breath stank: a mixture of stale alcohol and smoke. And yet, his eyes were alert almost cunning, perhaps even feral in nature.

“When a woman buys me a drink she usually wants to fuck me or rob me blind. Which is it with you?”

[Raevyn D`Altamooriana]

The almost playful demeanor that Raevyn had was quickly washed away when Rufus sat across from her. To call the man utterly repulsive would be an understatement. So when he posed his question to her, her answer was delivered with the same cruel intent as the arrows she launched towards her past foes.

"Both," she said. An answer that she was sure that would at least catch him off guard for a moment. Truth be told, Raevyn wouldn't lay a finger on the man if her very life depended on it. Yet he put it out there and the adhiel decided to run with it. "Maybe even more, but that depends on you." Her eyes then went from him to the other behemoth that walked in with him for a flicker before turning back to face him.

"Tell me about," Raevyn paused deliberately. "Your boss."

[Guido Cercatoro]

Raevyn’s riposte appeared to amuse the ruffian. “Well it might be worthwhile being robbed to spend a night with you. Although, I might lose more than coins….”

The adhiel could almost physically feel the man’s eyes appraising her. He was a disgusting fellow but his words and eyes indicated that he was astute and not without intelligence. A man not to be underestimated. His companion stood at the bar, his eyes focused directly on the table where the pair were sitting. Despite his size, the large man had the stance of a trained fighter, ready to back up his boss at the slightest provocation.

“My boss,” Rufus raised his eyebrows. “If you mean that fat bastard Wanesman, he’s dead. I’m in charge of his affairs now. Did you have dealings with him that I should know about?”

[Luca di Fabro]

Luca gave the farmer his most welcome smile before he turned around to give Rosie a wink and gestured for her to come over. He ordered some breakfast for them both as he hadn't had any back in the house. He usually didn't have an appetite in the early morning, but it was already a bit later now and it was kinda rude to leave the man eating by himself.

While they were waiting for the food, Luca started the negotiations. "So tell me, Harden, you had an idea for a business venture we could run together. You said something about having some land available to grow some crops on?"

[Guido Cercatoro]

Luca

Rosie was quick to come to the table and take the food order. As she departed she favoured Luca with a flutter of her eyelashes. For once, the farmer’s face changed from its normal taciturn appearance and he gave a rather unpleasant leer at the barmaid as she bustled to obtain the food.

“Aye. My fields ain’t in the best place and its difficult to grow most crops. But I’ve grown the sort of thing you’re interested in before on such ground. Won’t be a perfect yield but should be good enough and the farms remote enough that I don’t get many visitors.” Slater put a grubby finger into the side of his mouth, appearing to be attempting to extricate some trapped morsel of food.

[Guido Cercatoro]

(OOC: *bump* - no posts for a while in this thread, do either of you want to continue here?)

[Raevyn D`Altamooriana]

I do, but I shall post some time this weekend.

[Raevyn D`Altamooriana]

No wonder Melissa cringed when this, man if that's what you could call him, had entered. Not only was he hard on the eyes, but his personality left more than a little to be desired. One thing Raevyn seemed certain of was that he probably wouldn't be easy game should she decide to play. Yet she felt obligated to help Melissa any way that she could.

"Not him," was the response the adhiel gave him of his most recent question as she seemingly ignored his repulsive advance at her. Wanesman was of no concern for her, especially considering that he was in fact dead. No it was the one he currently had dealings with. The one who seemed to have her friend stuck between a rock and hard place.

"The dead hold no consequence for me," she then said while hoping that she had used the correct words in this blasted human dialect. Raevyn did what she could to remain poised in front of the man. He and his one man gang could certainly be intimidating to most people. She wasn't one that was easily intimidated.

Raevyn cursed herself silently for not really knowing how to go about this. Those that knew her, knew how cruelly efficient she was when it came to dealing death to her foes. The also knew of her at times insatiable bloodlust. Others might say she was somewhat of a loose cannon as well. The latter not being an option here for Melissa's sake and quite possibly her own. So she decided to get right to the point.

"I like this place," Raevyn started out with because it was the first thing that came to mind. "I care about the owner, and I do not like seeing her worried about certain..." she let her word hover for a moment on the air. "Debts that she has." Her eyes then locked onto his as if they were the only two things in the entire world. "So let us not play around, and get to business."

[Guido Cercatoro]

An unpleasant grin spread over Rufus’ face at the mention of Melissa’s debt. He scratched a piece of peeling skin off the side of his face and blew a cloud of stinking air in the direction of Raevyn.
“Stupid woman, shouldn’t have borrowed the money in the first place. She ain’t been working her girls hard enough; treats them too well. Perhaps she ought to get you working for her. You‘d earn her plenty. Might even be tempted myself.” He inserted a finger into the side of his mouth before flicking out a rancid piece of meat that had become lodged between his teeth.

“Wanesman might have given her more time to pay but Fenegris don’t bargain. You pay when it’s due or else you takes the consequences.”

[Raevyn D`Altamooriana]

Again Raevyn gave little concern to his implied intent with her. Quite frankly he absolutely disgusted Raevyn. He and her probably never would've had the chance to meet if the assassin wasn't willing to help Melissa.

Although Raevyn was wise to the ways of the world, it was a big world, and there were many things that the young adhiel didn't know about. Like what the man sitting across from her was speaking about when he mentioned, "the girls." She had played innocent and naive when it benefited her in the past when she knew what she was dealing with. Yet this time she just didn't know, and her naivety was for the moment sincere.

"What do you mean by that," the adhiel asked questioning what he meant about the girls and not working them hard enough. "The girls, they clean the rooms good," she said going with what she thought. "The food here, it is good too," she chimed in with next. "How much harder can these girls work?" Raevyn shrugged.

"Consequences," the adhiel then repeated. It was a word that she understood both in her native tongue, as well as human speak. One more than one occasion the girl had to face them herself, and she usually didn't like what they were. "Just what would these consequences you say, be?" Her demeanor switched as well with the switched topic. The closeness of the daggers she always kept concealed on her felt all the more relieving to her. Even though she felt safe with them, and how quickly she could draw them and deliver a lethal blow, Raevyn knew she would have to show restraint.

There also came a sense off getting somewhere with him when he said the other man's name. Fenegris, she committed the name to memory.

[Guido Cercatoro]

“You can’t be naive enough not to know that this is a brothel,” replied the unpleasant fellow, raising one eyebrow as high as it could be lifted. “A much more profitable business than serving drinks most days, I’ll wager.”

“Consequences,” he echoed in reply to Raevyn’s query. “Well, let’s put it like this, sweetie. You probably thinks I’m a rough fellah and yer’d be right but I’m a novice compared to this fellah. I’ve heard he does very unpleasant things to folks that cross him or don’t pay up. And ‘e enjoys it. He don’t want them to pay.”

“Fenegris is the biggest bastard in this dump of a town. Stay clear is my advice. He’d love to get his hands on you, I’m sure.”

[Raevyn D`Altamooriana]

"Oh really," Raevyn replied. Her bold attitude seemed to come back in the blink of an eye." What do you think he would do if he did," again her demeanor was more cocky, more arrogant, more comfortable. Surely if this Fenegris character had gotten his hands on this adhiel, he would indeed have his hands full she thought. Raevyn was tempted to say as she thought, but perhaps wisely, decided against that action. The fact of the matter was, Raevyn backed down from no man. She had seen her fair share of badasses in her life, some of which are now dead thanks to her. So why would he be any different than the others?

Now the news of the Gate being a brothel. Well that most certainly did come as a surprise to the usually perceptive assassin. Perhaps it was because she had been too ill to notice for most of her stay here, or just because she didn't bother to notice. Raevyn looked over towards Melissa when Rufus mentioned what this place actually was, which to Raevyn's knowledge, was just an ordinary inn. The fact that is was a brothel didn't really have that much of an effect on her either. People had to make money, and there were many ways that people went about that. If Melissa made money off of other people's private parts, so be it.

At least she's not a killer like I am.

The thought of slitting his throat right where he sat again crossed Raevyn's mind. Of course if she did attempted that she'd have to deal also with the other behemoth that walked in with Rufus. It was something that Raevyn wasn't quite inclined to do. Not only that, Raevyn had already had a talking to by whoever it was that was in charge of this town. The adhiel didn't want to that again. Furthermore, Raevyn didn't want to give Draydis or Ulder even more ammunition against her than they already had. Things with her and Draydis were ok but she still thought that he was just waiting for her to trip up. Her getting into more trouble would also put a damper on her trying to gain back his friendship.

A friendship that was more of a necessity to her than anything else. She needed friends, no, Raevyn needed allies. Raevyn was certain that if she was going to be successful in helping Melissa out of her bind, she would need help. There was no telling how many more of these people, like Rufus, Fenegris had under his thumb. That also might have played a part in her not bleeding him this very instant. He wasn't the problem, he was just the tool, the lapdog.

"She needs more time Rufus," Raevyn said sternly. Her voice unfaltering. So did Raevyn. More time to get as much info she could about Fenegris. More time to get Dray and her other fellow guard members to help her. Possibly even Ulder and his Swordmark. Raevyn needed a show of force. If Fenegris would be willing to go up against that, then he truly was a person not to be reckoned with. Someone that could easily dispose of Raevyn too she thought.

[Guido Cercatoro]

“Well if the debt was to me, I’d give ‘er loads of time,” grinned Rufus. “In fact if I was given the run of this place, I’d probably write-off the whole debt. But Fenegris ain’t one to cross. She’ll just have to find a way to come up with the money or lose the tavern. It’s as simple as that.”

“Of course,” continued the ruffian with a sly, slimy tone in his voice. “She could borrow the money from a friendly fellow who ‘appens to be flush with cash. For a price.” A lopsided smile spread across his whole face.

[Raevyn D`Altamooriana]

The smile wasn't reciprocated. No matter how much Raevyn told herself that this man really wasn't the enemy, she couldn't help but to loathe him. To make matters worse, it seemed like Raevyn wasn't getting anywhere with him. That in itself was enough to make the assassin's blood boil. "Or a woman for that matter," she scoffed as Raevyn's quick temper started to get the better of her.

It was no admission on Raevyn's part. She was certain not to tip her hat. The amount, although steep, was something that Raevyn could afford herself. She didn't want Rufus or anyone else for that matter to know. The less people knew about Raevyn, the better off things would be for the killer priestess.

Not wanting to waste any more of the precious time that Raevyn had left, she excused herself from the table leaving Rufus to sit there alone with his drink. Raevyn would have to talk with Melissa alone. She would but not right this very moment. A bath was in order. Even though Rufus sat across from her, it felt as if his reek was all over her. From her bath she would talk with Melissa about what needed to be done.

It would also give the manipulative adhiel time to think. She was already busy with planning on spreading her religion her in Pax. She was supposed to be helping some liberation that didn't seem like it was taking place. Would she have time to be a business owner as well? Probably not, but Raevyn was among other things, greedy. It wouldn't be the first time the adhiel made money off of the labors of others. It probably wouldn't be the last either.

[Guido Cercatoro]

(OOC: finished here I guess? Feel free to open/join a thread with Melissa - - although note her involvement with Torc in his thread in the tavern. If you want to discuss future plans, give me a PM).

[Raevyn D`Altamooriana]

Yeah done here. I'll get to the festival thread soon, maybe later depending on how much it hurts to type with my bad hand and how much i can type with one. Also I'll check Torc's thread to see if I can finagle a way in or just do it later(time stamp-wise).

[Guido Cercatoro]

Locked for skilling