The Midnight Sun

What might have struck him beyond her blow was that none of the onlookers decided to intervene. Drow's were not a popular race and should she have struck another they might have interceded on their behalf but for him none had. He had overstepped his boundaries when he began to spout off rather clearly giving them the impression he cared naught for anyone but himself. Even she had concluded this rather shortly earlier even when he spoke of his beloved. He was a selfish brat who had been raised without worry but he would soon know what it was to worry.

Watching him topple off the stool and into another in his inebriated state he was certainly much less graceful in his movements but not in the fall. It was a beautiful sight seeing silver hair flying around his face and even his look of shock carried with it the elegant beauty of his people. Myra cared not for his looks for his insides were uglier than a warthog and he was no better than the lowest creature. The fact he believed otherwise did make him unfit to rule in her opinion. Every subject beneath him was worthy of his love and caring. His protection. He could not keep a fly from harm in his current state and considering he was not home he should have never let himself get to this point.

Her vehement spouting might have been a step to far. Only one word had been regrettable in all that she said and now that he was asking questions of her instead of demeaning her she believed her actions to be correct. Grabbing a bar rag off of the counter she wiped a trickle of blood from his mouth off of her fist. Remaining standing before him her height was not up to his but at that point she could look down to him. She did not do so with the smugness he had expressed earlier but rather with pity. Replacing the rag upon the counter she would extend her right hand down to him to help him up as she answered, "I know because I have been there, I have seen the words inscribed upon the harrowed halls."

It was a place forgotten by both drow and elf alike. She failed to answer his last question because if she said no it would be a lie and if she said yes he might not agree to work with her. Not that she cared at this point. Her hitting him had not been a ploy to make him agree. She'd simply drawn up enough anger to unleash it in a rather unladylike way. Then again most ladies did not carry a morningstar upon their hip.

He regarded her help as rather unneeded when it came to getting up off the floor. Far be it for her to care whether he truly wanted it or not as he scrambled attempting to right his silver ring he used for a crown. It was slightly amusing to watch him attempt to do so but infuriating that he had little effort into making it modelesque as if he were purposefully rising from the floor. Her hands now clean she pressed her left the fingers curled into a fist into her right open palm where it would curl around the other. A sign of obedience among the drow as it was angled rather oddly being held at the same level of her breast.

Performed often as a child to her uppers it was a habit when someone was questioning her to do so. Only realizing it after she had started she moved to cross them beneath her bosom.

“I would not discuss such things openly not in such a crowd as this.”

They had caught the eyes of the staff and the patrons as they caused a scene. Well he had started a scene and she instead of defusing the situation she had elevated it to new heights for the gawkers. “You have garnered quite a bit of attention on your own openly speaking of the matter. If another sought it they may not be so kind as to offer their assistance instead of attempting to loosen your tongue with further drink.”

Hand itching to go down to her waist and slide the weapon out from its confines. It would be simple to slip it upward out of the leather and destroy that oh so pretty face of his. Really she was still considering it when his expression became slightly lax. Hoping her gesture had gone unnoticed she could not deny that she had done it. Denying anything was hard unless she kept her mouth shut and therefore every word she had called him thus far she truly believed him to be or else she could not have uttered them.

"Did you reckon any of them might follow you and take it afterwards?" His rather loud mouth was going to get him in trouble one of these days but it was also the only reason she had found him. Also believing that taking the stone from him would be easier than candy from a baby fed into her belief that somehow fate had led her to him. Thanking whatever gods saw fit to finally give her a stroke of luck at first sight now she was fuming and wishing that her luck had not held out.

Following him out the door she was weary of the eyes that followed. Slipping her hood up to cover her features before stepping out and putting her hands back in her cloak would make her appear as if she were but a shadow behind Vithkun. In the alley if he had not been facing her directly she might have disappeared within them.

The word lies had her itching again and sent a chill down her spine in the same instance. A rather odd sensation to experience both but she was accepting that her time around this man would be a combination of uncomfortable feelings. "I do not lie," she informed him attempting to keep the same neutrality that he had obtained in the bar if only momentarily, "I would not seek your company should it not be necessary to complete this task."

Blatant assault was far from what she would consider it. He had earned every bit of what she had given him and his mocking tone now made it seem he needed a bit more education as to just how wrong he was. If he kept blathering on about their goal he would gain the attention of others and place them in a rather difficult place. She believed the human term was between a rock and a hard place. Even now his supposedly wonderful voice knew no volume other than loud enough for a while square to hear it. Rather quiet as he monologued on asking questions of her without waiting for an answer. Then he so graciously gave his title as the proper way to address him. She’d show him creative here in a moment if he kept up at this pace.

“As much as you believe I should value your company I do not and will not. I also do not care how you take my word for I know my own to be that which is valuable in its own right.”

He posed to get a reward of some sort and she squirmed internally. It was difficult to work around such wording. Glancing down the alleyway as if to make sure they were still alone she would say frankly, “A drow being agreeable to work with a high elf such as yourself should be proof enough of my sincerity. For unless you wish me to show you the image of the hall itself by allowing you my own sight I cannot. I assume it to be beneath your highness to have to do so to start.”

Most of his questions out of the way she would snap at his last post one, “It’s Myra.”

He surmised correctly. He was a tool, one she would have gladly bashed and abused to get her way. It would teach him a lesson about his vanity in the end. He was certainly hitting the nail on the head thus far but he was far less useful than a hammer and she couldn’t consider him as such a useful tool. Maybe a hoe if only because the comparison to a certain human term amused her more.

Instead of agreeing she chose to focus on half of his speech, “Myra is just part of my name and I do not lack a last.”

Her last was not well respected for if he knew of the territories of the drow he would recognize it as one on the outskirts. Orphans or bastard children were granted such as a sign of their place in society. Should she prove herself she would be able to adopt a mantle of her choosing.

“You do not have to trust my own eyes for I can show you with your own. Though the journey is long and fraught with peril.”

Hoping a challenge might appeal to him more than her proving herself right it would give him plenty of chances to prove he was plenty better than her after all.

The mace sitting upon her hip was angled in such a way that it would not hit her abdomen should she have shifted wrong. It also meant that her left hand either had to rest upon it, her fingers spread keeping it between the spikes, or on her hip. Currently it settled on the top of it her palm expertly twisted to avoid settling on the semi-blunt tips. It was visible through her cloak simply because her right hand was lifted running through the top of her locks settling some of the stray ones back into the braid and attempting to calm herself lest she be tempted to grip tighter and simply pull the morning-star loose of its confines.

"Perhaps," giving him some agreeable answer was the only way out of the conversation for now, "Shall I meet you in the morning by the eastern gate?"

She had belongings to gather, supplies to arrange, and she had a steed that would need tending to before she could head out. She'd lost her saddle due to wear during her last trip. The leather had been thin and old and all she had been able to afford at the time. Her circumstances were not much better now and she might end up riding bareback at his rate. At least she'd had one good drink before setting off on the road even if it had been unintentional by the elf before her.

Ready to beat the bloody daylights out of the man this was going to be a test upon the limits of her patience. Frankly it had already stretched it every which way that it could be stretched. About to pop from the pressure he was placing upon it he was not stretching only one section. No, he had hit multiple calling her a liar and now assuming she could not pick out equipment to his standards. Not that she cared for his standards to start as the Prince seemed to have no understanding of the true value of coin. Why should he? He was raised without having to supply much other than a smile to get his way.

She caught the bag of out muscle memory her reflexes reacting to something being tossed at her. It almost went back towards his head but she was not paying for his own supplies. She barely had enough for her own. “An hour past dawn,” she told him sharply and turned on her heel. Trusting that saying anything else would further be a mistake she did not care for his rambling further and if she gave him more reason to comment upon her difference in upbringing he might.

Setting out across town he was right about one thing it was more familiar to her than him. Her skin might have been darker than they liked in one that appeared to be an elf but her coin spent just as well as the next. Her anger reined in now her demeanor had to be acceptable if she was to get what she needed. Lashing out at a merchant who chose to make offhanded comments would only get her in trouble with the local authorities. The guards of the city were not terribly easy to anger but they would believe one of their own before an outsider.

Seeing to it that they had rations for a few weeks she had two separate packs. Hopefully his highness could support his own, if not they could get a pack horse in the morning. Spending his money only on his own rations and supplies she did not wish to use it for hers. It meant accepting a favor from a man she could not yet stand. The local smithy might be able to provide the scraps she needed to work with in order to cobble together something resembling a saddle. Finding nothing suitable for a price he was willing to let go she would approach the stable master hoping that some of the old tack might be salvageable. He brought out a very thin leather piece made for couriers on short routes. It was not the sort of comfort one generally wanted but it provided some cushion between horse and rider.

Agreeing upon a price she took it off his hands and put it onto the stable wall by her horse along with the bridal that had no bit upon it. Preparations made she settled in for the night remaining in the stable itself. Lodging was another expense and one not necessary. Sleeping under the stars most nights it did not harm her to find a bed of hay and a bedroll that cushioned some of the poking of it. Arranging a bath in the morning so she didn’t insult his majesty was also in order.

Placing her bracers on the next morning she would secure her bedroll behind the saddle and the saddle bags with her own rations. His were carried in an old sack that the miser who’d sold her the supplies could spare. Mounting up she was at the gate but half an hour past dawn. Her horse was a Percheron with dappled grey coloring around its haunches and a height well of 18 hands. Its tail was brushed thoroughly and its mane was braided down the side to keep it from interfering with its vision. A type of draft horse she was thick and steady upon her feet and unafraid of work. More common as war horses than for a slip of a girl such as herself it made her appear quite small on its large back her feet not quite hitting the bottom of her ribs. Her black cloak from yesterday had been folded and tucked away behind her and underneath the bed roll. Instead she wore a thick wool in a charcoal grey. Inconspicuous and without decoration. 

Hands free before her the reins of the horse resting lightly along its neck she had his coin pouch in her lap. She wished to return it quickly and with only a few coins lighter than it was before.

"What a very odd thought, truly. You will all have to show me how it's done some time... and maybe I'll show you how we do, as well." The woman offered a wink to the knight-errant before taking another sip of wine. "But, back to my plan, you see, I will not be able to charm your empress as effectively inside that accursed citadel without some source of sunlight, and as of yet I have no way of bringing that with me wherever I go. But-"

From the folds of her cloak, she brought out a paper that had been posted up on the quest board. It had details about some kind of gem that could absorb sunlight in a very dangerous cavern that was difficult to navigate.

"The person who posted this wants the gems for a reward. I just want to take the gems."

Khepri tapped her chin, trying to remember exactly where Roxanne had mentioned the cave was located. The information was on the paper, but the knight seemed to be having a hard enough time reading as it is.

"... south," she mumbled, fingers pressed against her lips. "In an abandoned town. Roxanne mentioned that this isn't the first time she saw this notice. Possibly because someone accepted this quest before... and didn't come back. I don't know why. It doesn't say anything about what's guarding it. If we meet up with the one who posted this, they might give us more information that will allow us to prepare. What do you think, Knight Errant?" She stuck her hand in the pouch at her side, fishing out five golden coins.

"Does this sway you any? Why it's not even half of what I'm willing to give."