Gold-plated

[Anja]

Well, it certainly didn't seem as though he was about to get on the wrong side of anything, because he was being systematically ignored. Never before had he dropped to his knee and been treated as though he didn't even exist, and, Benjamin had to admit, it rather stung. He knelt there, dumbfounded, Sandwheel gawking at his side, up on his sleek and stout hind legs, as the young pair before them began feeling each other's secrets out in a rather less than academic manner.

It was the young elf that broke off first.

"We have company, Maeve."

Sandwheel was the first to speak. "Well, at least one o' ye's got some respect fer yer eld-mmph!?"

Benjamin had caught the venerable old talking badger by the snout and muffled his tirade before it had a chance to proliferate into a monsoon. "Shhh, old friend, remember, these two saved my life while you were off sulking in your hole."

Turning to the two, he continued his speaking: "Thank you, friends, for helping out an old man in a sorry state. I am Benjamin, and this is Sandwheel. You will find us at your service. Oh, and out of your way rather quickly, should this be your preference."

This last addendum was given with an eye to the heaving chests of the obviously unsettled pair of would-be carnal explorers, and given the bloodlust Benjamin had seen in the female, he considered it a wise addition to what would normally have been a perfectly fitting and graceful introduction. Sandwheel, for his part, didn't think to give more than a harrumph, followed by shrugged shoulders, crossed arms, and a sudden fascination with a sapling growing nearby.

[Maeve]

The act of their tongues touching sent a shockwave through Maeve. She moaned low into his mouth as she tasted him, beginning to explore. And then suddenly the touch was gone, and her hands were ripped away from the back of his neck as he forcibly stood up. She blinked, opening her eyes, focusing up at him with green, partially unfocused irises.

At his words she reluctantly lifted her hands from him the rest of the way. She turned her head to stare at the ex-prisoner and his new friend. She had seen shifters before, so a talking badger wasn't anything to be excited about. However, the half-cambion was a little surprised to see a badger shifter, so she raised an eyebrow, more at that than what the two were saying. Her hands found her hips and settled there, her stance shifting slightly as she regarded them.

The first thing that sprang to mind came out of her mouth. "I wasn't saving you."

And that was it. Her expression was quite apathetic. "Those men deserved to die. Be glad I came before they did their worst to you." She brushed past Chezak to walk closer to the man on his knees. "I'm curious to know, however, why they kept you alive." She stood before him, spattered with drying blood, hands still on her hips. She paid no particular attention to the badger, since he didn't have much of anything to offer at the moment. No mention was made of shooing the both of them away to allow her and Chezak privacy; there would be plenty of time for that later.

[Chezak D'Maroe]

Chezak had never seen a talking badger before, but he had seen enough talking trees that he was little surprised by the badger. In fact, he even went so far as to offer a small smile at the badger's ill hidden words.

He forced the feelings he was having to the back of his mind, and focused on the issues before him. There would be time to deal with Maeve and her unpredictability ... and other idioms ... later.

Maeve turned away from him and moved towards the elf and badger. He frowned when she said she wasn't saving the elf, but didn't speak. He agreed that the men deserved what they got, as it was likely that the jail would have turned them loose in short order. However, he didn't agree with Maeve's idea of vigilante justice.

Once Maeve was done, he decided to step forward and take control of the situation.

"You said your name was Benjamin, correct? As my rather forthright companion mentioned she was interested in, why were you kept alive? I imagine people such as these try to avoid keeping witnesses alive."

As he spoke, he deftly unstrung his bow, tucking the string into a small oiled cloth pouch with his spare strings. He slipped the stave over his shoulder into it's case, then settled his feet shoulder width apart and imitated Maeve's pose, hands on hips, though with minimal aggression.

[Anja]

Ahh, the interrogation begins. Benjamin couldn't help but chuckle a little. "Yes, why keep me alive indeed? The poor, misinformed souls thought that if they waited for a time before releasing me from my earthly bonds, they might gain something of value from me. To be precise, a weapon of great power."

He paused and scratched his chin as he rose up off of his one knee and shed his misplaced gentlemanly ardour. "Of course, they never had a chance of getting it, because I don't have it, nor does Sandwheel. My second stroke of luck was that, though they were somehow aware of my meeting, they weren't aware that I was meeting with a badger, rather than a human. If the poor bastards had known that the badger trudging around a few yards off was, in fact, my rendezvous, my friend's life and the lives of his family could have been forfeit."

Here, he looked Chezak in the eye, choosing to avoid eye contact with the frightening lady that stood to his left. "And of course, my third stroke of luck was you two." The venerable, well-dressed elf then lowered his gaze and tweaked an eyebrow as he mused a little further: "Which means I'm just about out of luck for the day, and I'll be damned if I'm only half done the day's work. Shucks."

Sandwheel was still sulking, but managed to mumble something about not having seen Benjamin when the elf brought up the badger's proximity to the scene of travesty. He seemed to take it as an accusation of liability, or of purposeful ignorance, and his temper never took well to accusations. One could almost see him growing redder and redder, and, by the end of Benjamin's thoughtful half-monologue, he was on the brink of eruption. His voice was a low growl, hued with a fury younger than his years.

"Mate, don't ye dare bitch t'me about work. I been diggin' fer mushrooms all feckin' mornin' while yer fop arse was prancin' down the village path without a care in the world."

_______________________________________________________

But of course, Benjamin had many cares, the largest of which had eight legs, and was busy brooding, miles away, in one of her favourite brooding spots beneath the city of Marn. Anja had been resting her spindly arms on a series of intricately woven skein, frozen still and quiet for hours, and waiting for the first telltale vibration that would herald the crossing of Benjamin and Sandwheel over the bridge into Marn. She could sit thus for days at a time, but she hoped that she would not have to wait that long. There were other contracts to fulfill, ones that required Benjamin's attentions, not to mention his contacts.

"The Ephemerae sit well and untouched, miss." The voice was Puck's. It was a meek and humble voice, befitting a meek and humble frame, ill-suited to the ancient and gurlging Greatweaver tongue, yet he spoke it fluently and clearly.

Anja replied, and the contrast was hellish. Prior to hearing Anja's voice, the limits of one's imagination invariably impose a clearly set idea in one's mind of the highest level of viscosity and surliness a Dwarven throat could possibly boast. Upon hearing her speak the words of her mother tongue, this ceiling is blown apart. "Good. Now, we have only to wait for our grumpy little friend to come and collect them."

The Ephemerae in question were a pair of sucklestone gauntlets. Sucklestone, formed only beneath the ice floes of the deepest continent, and hoarded by terrible ghouls of the ocean, was a prized commodity indeed, especially when it happened to make its way this far north. And now, as Anja perched on her feeler webs, she was given plenty of time to ponder one curious thing: How the hell had Benjamin gotten his hands on it to begin with, let alone find a creature crazy enough to do what Sandwheel had done in order to get it in a finished and usable form? Yes, Benjamin was, indeed, a fellow of many contacts. Perhaps too many...

No, pure paranoia, my love. Benjamin is faithful. Yes, faithful Benjamin. When shall you come home?

[Maeve]

"Yes, why keep me alive indeed? The poor, misinformed souls thought that if they waited for a time before releasing me from my earthly bonds, they might gain something of value from me. To be precise, a weapon of great power."

Maeve hummed low in her throat after he said this. This new bit of information was obviously very interesting to her. She listened raptly, opening staring at the elf as he got up and continued to talk.

"Of course, they never had a chance of getting it, because I don't have it, nor does Sandwheel. My second stroke of luck was that, though they were somehow aware of my meeting, they weren't aware that I was meeting with a badger, rather than a human. If the poor bastards had known that the badger trudging around a few yards off was, in fact, my rendezvous, my friend's life and the lives of his family could have been forfeit."

At the mention of 'Sandwheel' and the 'meeting with a badger' she looked down at the little animal and smiled nicely. Obviously this shifter was going to be recieving the weapon from Benjamin, and he didn't look like he'd accept money for it. Already her mind was whirring with possible scenarios and what this "weapon of great power" could be. A power object, here? From the legends about Marn, she wouldn't be all that surprised, but it still seemed less than likely. There was only one way to find out.

After he was finished speaking and Sandwheel was done raging, she piped up enthusiastically, rather chipper all of the sudden. "Perhaps you aren't quite out of luck yet, Benjamin." She said his name like she was tasting some exotic new fruit. "I assume that you two will be heading for the..." She paused, saying the next word like it was a mysterious new idea--paired with her slight accent it was almost believable. "...'weapon', now. If these men were after you, they are most likely someone's lackeys, and whoever ordered them here is most likely on to you more than you realize and won't give up so easily. Luckily for you, I'm a hired hand. I'd be willing to protect you on your way to your destination, and for just a small fee." She smiled big, showing a set of white and very normal teeth. "My name's Maeve. And this is Chezak," she pointed over her shoulder at the bowman, also making sure to include Sandwheel in the introductions by glancing at him. "He's not really with me, but he'll probably want to come along." She met Benjamin's eyes and calculated her success. Hopefully, without her cloak, she would seem like a charming young lady, rather than the bloodthirsty warrioress they had met just scant seconds ago.

[Chezak D'Maroe]

Chezak nodded to himself as he listened, fitting pieces of the puzzle together to form a more accurate picture. Perhaps then, instead of simple brigands, these men were well-informed. The sentries at the roadside could have been placed there to watch for the person Benjamin was supposed to meet, instead of any hapless person strolling down the road. It would seem the folks he and Maeve had systematically destroyed were likely working for someone higher up the food chain, which meant trouble for the future.

He opened his mouth to ask a question when Maeve cut him off. Her voice was suddenly honey sweet as she spoke, and Chezak frowned at her momentarily. She had never spoken like this to him, and at the same time, he was feeling the use of some kind of fey magic emanating from her. The bracelet again seemed to be the source of it, as it's ever-present magic emanation increased.

Chezak looked from Sandwheel to Benjamin, gauging their reaction to his companion's use of magic. He could only assume she was using some form of charm again, which would explain the suddenly sweet voice.

When Maeve was finished, he shot her a dark look, but nodded to both Benjamin and Sandwheel. "We shall take you where you need to go, as Maeve said. For a fee."

His face remained impassive as he spoke. He didn't have a good feeling about this, but he was helpless to stop it in the face of his own, possibly induced, feelings for this strange woman.

[Anja]

Benjamin smiled a genuinely mischievous smile as Sandwheel finished his raving, and winked at him wordlessly. He knew that this would most likely boil his blood, and was therefore pleasantly surprised when the badger simply let it go, preferring instead to dwell on the words of the now-perky warrioress. As Benjamin turned his attention on the woman, his surprise died like the blossoms at her feet, too ashamed to bloom second-best to what must have been the most beautiful pair of lips the old elf had ever seen. Their beauty increased tenfold when they moved, weaving a siren speech in his venerable ears.

"Perhaps you aren't quite out of luck yet, Benjamin."

Yes, so it would seem... But then, when she spoke the word "weapon" a little too haltingly, a different sort of siren rang in the elf's ears, and pulled him out of his reverie. The glaze faded from his irises as he took in the rest of her words in a slightly less rapturous manner:

"If these men were after you, they are most likely someone's lackeys, and whoever ordered them here is most likely on to you more than you realize and won't give up so easily. Luckily for you, I'm a hired hand. I'd be willing to protect you on your way to your destination, and for just a small fee."

Benjamin smiled at the girlish beauty before him. Indeed, her guiles played upon him well, for at that moment, it seemed to him as though she really was rather sweet and innocent. Had he not just seen her commit mass murder, this impression would undoubtedly have settled upon him in a rather concrete manner. As it was, he thought to himself, this exquisite beauty presumes much...

And the lad was corroborating this presumption! Well, it was perhaps time for Benjamin to put his salesman's face on, and make some presumptions of his own... Still smiling gently, he replied: "My name is Benjamin, and this is Sandwheel. We do not work in small fees, my friends. We work in favours, and, as I said before, I happen to owe you a rather large one, the balance of which I intend to set right directly upon my safe arrival in Marn. If you will allow me to elaborate, you will see that, small fees aside, my uneventful deliverance into the city is very much in your interests."

Before continuing, Benjamin removed a pipe and pouch from the breast pocket of an extremely expensive-looking, now-torn coat, packed the bowl in with the last of the well-cut, beautifully burnt-orange tobacco, and set flame to it. He leaned his back against a nearby ash tree, and lowered himself to a sitting position as he puffed on the finely carved corncob pipe.

As the smoke rose, Sandwheel interjected with a murmur and a raised finger. The old badger took out his own bag of tobacco from a leather-lashed pouch across his back, and tossed it so that it landed in Benjamin's lap. Benjamin did not display surprise at its landing, instead calmly placing it in his other breast pocket. The exchange was obviously well-practiced, and commonly performed.

Benjamin looked up at the two strangers with a relaxed and winning smile, and continued speaking:

"Though you might not believe it, I have been doing more this whole time than simply laying around scared. ...though, admittedly, I have been doing a lot of that. But I have been observing you. Chezak, with your obvious affinity to your bow. I could make it so strong that, when you hold your weapon in your hand and take aim, you will be tautening your very heartstrings, and with an arrow aimed from the core of your being, severing the heartstrings of your enemy as easily as a child might hum a tune.

"And Maeve, with your formidable dual wield, why, I could make armies fear you! My superiors could craft you blades that would ring with the hellish harmonies of the pit, that would deliquesce the veins of your opponents, and, with easy stroke after carefree riposte, make their warm humours unto a gushing fountain, set off by your tempestuous hand!

"So, as I have said, it would very much be in your interests to escort me to Marn, for I intend to make overtures to my superiors to arrange just such a desirable state of affairs for both of you, in exchange for rescuing their number one employee, and a well-liked client, from grave peril. What I have to offer is yours already, friends. But it would soon disappear, were more trouble to befall my friend and I prior to reaching our destination. Besides, I, for one, would love the company."

Sandwheel, who had remained silent, alternately staring at the divine beauty before him, and eyeing her acquaintance with suspicion, now opened his mouth, seeking to reaffirm his position on the whole affair: "Well, I wouldn't. But if I had to stroll off to Marn with someone, it might's well be a fine-lookin' gal like yerself. Better company'n this putz, anyway," he said, jabbing his thumb at his elderly companion. And as an addendum to this: "...but yeah, his people make damned good weapons. Matter o' fac', gonna go get me some gauntlets right now. Ye wouldn't believe what I had to do to get them!"

Sandwheel was obviously eager to tell an impressive story to Maeve, despite his attempts to seem aloof and grumpy. The old beast seemed rather taken with Maeve, despite the fact that she had turned very little of her charms against him.

[Maeve]

Maeve bit her lip and teased it with her teeth after Benjamin finished the speech. There was silence in the small clearing for a moment before she trusted herself to speak. She was unsure whether her charm had worked or not, so she stopped its use.

Releasing her lip of its light torture, she smiled as she spoke. “You have a way with words, Benjamin. Perhaps I can forgo money just this once.” She was obviously kidding by her tone; her smile showed how excited she was at the prospect. She hid her startled surprise well behind her words, and she turned her attention to the badger to continue the charade.

She knelt so she’d be closer to his level and looked directly at him for the first time. “Well, you’d be surprised what I’d believe.” She appeared, on the outside, to be quite interested. However, she wasn’t interested in his story—she was interested in the gauntlets, and was hoping for a few more details about them. She was a little disappointed that they were not power objects in the exact sense of how they were commonly defined. In all of her travels, she had never heard of anyone still making powerful objects like the ones he talked about. She hadn’t thought it was still possible.

That was extremely interesting. She let that show on her face, and it appeared genuinely toward the badger.

Even as she knelt there, she started to feel her high come down. She could still smell the blood and feel Chezak’s lips on hers, but her body was tired. Even those things weren’t going to be enough. She kept her face calm even as she felt her body slowly crashing.

[Chezak D'Maroe]

Chezak crossed his arms and stood behind Maeve, listening to Benjamin and then Sandwheel. It had been some time since he had seen an elf that wasn't corrupted by the Marnian way of life, and he found stirrings of the longing he had felt for home only a few times before.

Chezak didn't hold much with magic, and avoided it's use whenever he could. He had no aptitude to use it, and the only thing he carried with him that was magical was his falchion, and that only kept it's edge, no matter what he struck it against.

While the three in front of him talked, Chezak kept his eyes and ears alert. Here they stood, in the middle of a bloody scene in what amounted to enemy territory, and idly spoke of things of magic.

Two things disturbed Chezak about this scenario. The first was that the guard could happen along at any time, and he wanted nothing to do with them. With Maeve here, and the amount of magic that flowed from her, he doubted she would want anything to do with the guards either. Not to mention Benjamin and Sandwheel, one of which who dealt in magical items, and the other who was purchasing one.

The second thing that bothered him was that this group might have others waiting nearby. It was rare that groups this large worked without the aid of someone guiding them, and none of the men within this group had seemed like he was the distinct leadership. And that meant that more of their friends could happen along at any moment to see what was happening here.

Chezak took a step forward as Maeve's shoulders slumped slightly. It was the only thing he noticed that might indicate she was tired, but it was enough for his elven sensibilities. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he motioned to Benjamin and Sandwheel.

"We should leave this place. A word placed in an ear in the town will lead the guards to here, and they will clean this place up. But we should be out of here before someone happens upon it, or we will have much explaining to do to people who are suspicious of everyone."

[Anja]

At the temptress' words, Sandwheel receded into such a bashful state that he might well have dug a hole and crawled in right then and there, were it not for Chezak's promptings. As it was, grumpy, pragmatic badger that Sandwheel was, he hearkened to the voice of reason and haste, as did his friend Benjamin.

"Indeed, we should be going," said the elf. "I, for one, would like nothing more than to be back within the confines of the city limits."

"Aye, an' I've got a mean pair o' gauntlets waitin' fer me!" chimed in Sandwheel.

Benjamin pulled himself to a standing position, still puffing his pipe. He then brushed off the lapels of his coat, which had caught some tobacco grains, and patted his hands absent-mindedly at his sides. Looking at Maeve and Chezak, he addressed them: "Well, I appear to be in order. Shall we?"

Sandwheel had already begun huffing and stomping in the direction of the road, tramping like a child out to teach some poor inanimate object a lesson in respect.

[Maeve]

Maeve took a slightly shaky breath and braced her hand on her knee to stand up. She shrugged off Chezak's hand rather roughly and began to walk in the wrong direction, through the forest. "I'll meet you on the path momentarily," was all she said. She headed for where she remembered she left her things hidden neatly beside a tree. Before she gathered them she took a moment to rest. She was breathing hard, leaning most of her weight on the tree, feeling dizzy. The adrenaline rush of before had done hardly a thing but fuel her fury for but a moment, but now it had fizzled out. It left her feeling even more drained than before. Perhaps she had been too hasty in leaving those poor farmers and the food and shelter they offered.

There was nothing for it. She was amongst strangers now, and couldn't show weakness. Especially not when offered a reward. She couldn't let this chance slip through her fingers because of her tired state. She was not weak anymore, and she could handle this. She'd been more exhausted than this while on a bloody battlefield; she could definitely handle this. Newly resolved, Maeve stretched down rather wearily to grab her things and put them back in their respective places. Backpack first, then cloak.

Once settled, she made a rather noisy path back through the forest until she reached the road. When she emerged, she looked for her "companions" where they'd probably be, further up.

[Chezak D'Maroe]

Chezak watched Maeve crash back through the forest towards the road, and where she had left her things. He turned to Benjamin and Sandwheel, who was already almost at the road.

He smiled at Benjamin and motioned toward the road. "How about you two wait for us up around the corner there? If you need us in a hurry, call out. We won't be far, or long."

Chezak turned without waiting for a response, and moved through the forest much more silently then Maeve had. He waited on the road for her to emerge from the forest, and had a few moments to himself.

It was strange how captivated he was by this woman, and he was almost certain it wasn't from the magical charms she employed. He wasn't sure what it was about her, except maybe the fact that she was as much of an outcast as he was. Chezak had tried to make contact with some of the elves around Marn and Shim, but most of them ignored him as an outsider. They, like the rest of Thar Shaddin, were suspicious of strangers at best. Though Chezak wasn't inclined to rely on magic as many people were, he didn't harbor the fear of it as even the elves in the region did.

Maeve's crashing through the forest brought him out of his reverie, and he waited for her, arms crossed until she appeared on the road. He lifted a brow at her a moment, then turned up the road towards their current road companions. A small smile graced his lips as he thought back to only hours previous, when he and Maeve had become road companions.

Chezak reached into a pouch at his hip and pulled out a piece of dried beef. He held it out to Maeve as he pulled out a second piece for himself.

Without preamble, he said, "Why are you doing this?" He assumed she would know that he meant joining with the other elf and his badger companion.

[Anja]

Having now fully regained his composure, Benjamin was looking forward to a leisurely and companionable stroll back to the city. He winked at Chezak in agreement before turning and following in Sandwheel's wake, chuckling inwardly at the badger's mood for what must have been the fifth time in the last five minutes.

Soon, they were roadside. There wasn't a soul about, which was just as well. The old elf adjusted his clothing and dusted it off, trying to make himself look like the gentleman he was, and not a recent kidnap victim. There was little to be done about the tatters over the waist pocket of his suit jacket, but that was all in a day's work when your employer was a giant spider freak living in the sewers and dealing in arcane and mysterious weaponry.

The cherry in his pipe still glowed heartily, and its mood warmed him, just as its smoky humours warmed his mood. He and Sandwheel wordlessly made their way to the bend in the road that Chezak had spoken of, and assumed positions of repose and luxury in the shade of a rather venerable-looking willow tree.

"Good sunset tobacco, this is. You've never let me down, old friend."

Sandwheel grunted contemptuously. "Wish I could say the same fer you. Miser."

[Maeve]

Maeve gave him the evil eye, mainly for that random smile, and shook her head at the offering of dry meat. “You have any trail mix?” she asked, trying to sound bored. She shifted the backpack around to a more comfortable position and cast a glance at the strange duo up the road.

“Well, aren’t you interested in what he promises? If you’re implying they could be lying, it doesn’t matter—at the very least, we’ll get some sort of recompense,” she said, still sounding bored.

She walked forward slowly in case he didn’t follow immediately, waiting to see what he would say. She might feel safe back in her cloak, but she was still dead-tired, and wanted to get a move on so she could rest.

[Chezak D'Maroe]

Chezak ignored the look she gave him, and tucked the piece of meat away. He took another bite out of his own piece of meat, and with the other hand slipped another pouch from his belt and handed it to her.

Swallowing his mouthful, he glanced over at her and said, "I'm not interested in much of anything anymore, least of all supposed 'Gauntlets of Power'." He paused as they neared the corner, and he could hear the other two speaking.

"Later, you'll have to tell me more about this 'some sort of recompense' you're talking about." He lifted a slender brow slightly, letting her know she wasn't fooling him.

They came around the corner and upon Benjamin and Sandwheel. Without preamble, Chezak made a show of looking up into the sky and gauging the sun, then continuing walking. "We should get moving. I want to be in Marn before it gets too dark."

He walked, not waiting to see if everyone followed him. He just assumed they would.