A Little Bird Told Me [M]

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News traveled fast, the dogs were barking- or more like the Soot Wolves were howling. Things were in chaos in the city of Arca, and when Valeska Horst returned- she was reveling in it and the first opportunity she had- she slit the throats of the Soot Wolves that dared approached her, attempting to challenge her and bring her in- and so she took care of them as any lady should, and left them hung in bloodied corpses on the alley walls as a reminder to Rufus- the bitch was back.

But she was pissed. She had missed her golden opportunity to seek revenge against Rufus. She made a vow to make him suffer in any way possible. And Dylanna Swinden and her son were still at the top of her list as targets. But she knew better than to go after the little lady merchant just yet, oh no, it was just too soon. But then some interesting rumors reached her ears.  Upon hearing about a little birdie... well, Valeska could have laughed. How many lovers did Rufus have? Or was this 'child-bird-wanna-be hero of the night' have other meanings to the red wolf? However, her resources were lacking, which soured her mood considerably, so she aimed to go to the source-

Goblins- and lots of them. Goblins, she knew, were trouble. On occasion, even the mountain cats got into scuffles with them, but the two groups left the others relatively alone. Perhaps until now...
Though one could say Valeska, by no means, was an actual member of the Mountain Cat group, she still held close relations and for some reason or another, which a lady kept as a personal secret, the group always obliged to help her. Always.

But for now, she didn't need the kitty cats. Oh no, this was between woman and... beast? Though she was not sure what to make of the little squeakers, she knew they were a tough lot to deal with. And it sounded like the sort of beings she desired as an ally. One could never have too many friends in dark places....

Where men favored the shadows of cities, she knew enough about goblins to know they favored the underground. Being a being of the surface world, she new little of the complexities the goblins cultivated beneath the surface, but she'd soon find out. So when she approached the inconspicuous looking cave, she thought not much of it, until something caught her attention and well... the almost invisible footprints of a hundred tiny men (or goblins to be exact) made her smirk and lead her eyes back towards the cave. It seemed they had tried to cover it by dust, but just enough of it was noticeable, even to the one eyed woman. Staring back at the cave, she let her hands grope over it, smoothing over moss and threading vines, until something happened and well...

She found herself the door. And when the woman opened it, she was surprised at what she found inside.

OOC: Tags to Daglobster!

[DaGlobster]

(Smed's got a whole bunch of supporting NPCs. I'm gonna roleplay this first bit as one of them)

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"Watch where you're throwing that thing, you scratchy knob!" Hissed one of the guards, and Skitzo hissed right back, and got up to retrieve the small ball he was throwing against the cave wall to pass the time. Today, Skitzo was on door duty, which wasn't exactly old news for the goblin, seeing as how he was uncannily perceptive, even for a goblin. Down the tunnel, somebody dropped their meal, and the faint noise that made caused Skitzo to sit straight up and cock his ears, before he sunk back down into it. His club laid on his lap, a sordid looking club wrapped in oil soaked rags, with sharp nails poking out from underneath the rags.

The other guards were in a similar state of boredom, leaning on their pole-arms and otherwise lazing about. One was smoking a cigar that was obviously not downsized for a goblin, while the other six were gathered around a table gambling with bits of food. Although all of them had polearms (which turned out to be the weapon of choice for creatures no taller than three feet), three of them also carried small muskets, which were deceptively deadly despite their crude appearance.

Skitzo was picking something out of his teeth when he heard a faint click, and froze in place. The door swung open, a rather beautiful woman standing there. All the goblins stopped and froze, staring at her. One of the guards at the table casually leaned over and pulled a rope by his elbow, setting off the silent alarm.

Skitzo's little heart started racing. She wasn't a Wolf, that much was true. A wanderer? Didn't matter. None of the goblins wanted to make the first move, since she wasn't a confirmed enemy yet, although the sound of a few small firearms cocking rang out. "You lost, woman?" Skitzo said, putting on his most menacing scratchy voice as he stood up from the chair, resting his club on his shoulder.

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Little tiny men, no taller than three feet tall greeted her, with the signature green skin and beady green eyes and pointed ears of goblins. Ah... it seemed as if luck was finally on her side this evening. How delicious.

"I think I'm precisely where I need to be," the woman purred, flashing white teeth behind a wicked smile. And though one side of her face was marred with scars and the same eye on that side was glossed over with a milky, opaqueness, if you were to look past even that, the goblins were right. The woman was hot, with smoking hot curves, and a leather, armored attire to show it, with a scantily short, ruffle leather skirt, a tankini styled armored breast plate, and thigh high boots and elbow length gauntlets and gloves. There was a sword on her back, and a few daggers around her waist, and wild, untamed blonde hair that fell about her shoulders that framed the tops of her ample chest that was jutting out and made perky from such a choice in attire. The cloak was left against her back, so it hid nothing before her as she wrinkled her nose gleefully.

"I've been hearing talks about little birdies and wolves playing with little green men. More specifically, a little green one of you called Smed." Her dark eye searched the men, her smile ever present as if she found this the most amusement moment in all of her life, well.. in a sort of crazed way.

"Which one of you is him?"

[DaGlobster]

As Veleska talked, the few goblin guards around the table exchanged whispers in their native tongue, although their eyes were still glued onto her. If Valeska happened to speak Serenian Forest Goblin, she'd know their whisperings comprised of lewd comments about her, questions about the stock of fresh meat, and observations about her scars. When she asked which one of them was Smed, however, they stopped.

They exchanged glances, and started laughing.

The laughter of the various goblins was shrill and scratchy, and Skitzo thankfully put an end to it, snapping his fingers to get their attention, a technique he learned from Smed. It turned out that the snapping of fingers was a particularly attention-grabbing noise to goblins, and indeed there was an entire "language" of finger snaps only a goblin's unique hearing and subconscious could pick up. "Shut yer blistering holes, you rats!" Skitzo hissed, and the others quieted down.

Skitzo turned his head to Valeska again, and smiled. Goblins were known for their incredibly toothy and wolfish grins, and Skitzo considered his set of broad, dagger-like teeth to be incredibly special. "You wanna talk to the Boss? I'll take you to him. I'm trusting you won't do anything stupid, yeah?" Skitzo said, narrowing his eyes. As he awaited her answer, Skitzo snapped his fingers three more times, and one of the goblins at the table stood up to get a loop of rope.

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Valeska knew well enough in body language of men to know what the little green things were thinking. They were hungry. Figured. Men always wanted one thing. She adjusted the weight in how she stood and planted a hand to her hip, noticing the rope then giving an equally sinister grin towards Skitzo.

"I won't do anything stupid if you don't. I might be a woman, as your men have easily observed, but I can assure you, there's a lot more to me than my breasts and scar. Now, are you willing to show me to this Smed, or do I have to ask nicely to someone else?" And she gave him a patronizing bat of her lashes and awaited his response.

[DaGlobster]

Skitzo let out a small laugh, shaking his head. "Don't worry about the rope, we're not going to tie you up." Skitzo said as the guard handed him the rope and he tied it around his waist, leaving a length of rope about five feet to dangle from it. "We use the rope to get new recruits oriented with the tunnels, make sure they don't get lost. Unless you can see in pitch blackness, grab the loose end. I'll lead you through to the main chamber." Skitzo explained, grabbing the loose end and walking up to her, standing at her feet and holding the loose end up, like a child offering something to an adult.

Once she took it, Skitzo would turn around, and pause for a few moments. "Keep watch on the entrance. I want eyes out of those peepholes. So help you if I get back here, and you idiots are lazing around." Skitzo snarled at the other goblins, waving a small fist. The other guards wasted no time in jumping off of their seats and taking their positions at the door's wall, using the cleverly angled peepholes to watch the cave outside.

Skitzo turned his head around to look at Valeska, mentally thankful he was blessed with having to look up her body towards her face. "Ready to go in?"

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Valeska took the rope and gave the man a wicked grin, giving a playful tug on it.
"But of course. Lead the way."
This was why she came here after all, though the idea of traversing a world in pitch black daunted her, she was confident enough in her own abilities not to let her fear get the better of her. Besides, fear made everything more thrilling, didn't it?

[DaGlobster]

Skitzo gave her the toothy grin again, and started walking, leading her into the mouth of the dark tunnel. It was so dark, that if she decided to look down at her chest, she wouldn't be able to see it. "Ought to tell you that goblins ain't the only things in these tunnels." His voice rang out ahead of her. "There's some natural caves that connect to the goblin tunnels, so we share these tunnels with giant spiders and other cave freaks. Even a few Cave Trolls, but we've got a lovely agreement with them, so they don't bother us." Skitzo said, trying to make small talk.

They walked through the tunnels for what seemed like an eternity, even though it was only about an hour. Every once in a while, they'd be greeted by some light, in the form of a campfire by a guard post, but these moments only lasted about a minute before they were in the darkness again. Even though she couldn't see, Valeska would be able to tell that the tunnels were winding and convoluted through all the turns they were taking. Finally, at the end, she'd be able to see a dim the entrance of the main cavern.

When they stepped out into the main cavern, it was like a scene out of some fable. There were crude tents and buildings absolutely lining the wall, with structures hanging from the sides and even the roof of the massive cavern, which was kept lit by countless small magical lights. The cavern was laid out like a city, with designated stretches of unused cave floor to use as streets of sort and a more or less even distribution of living spaces. From where she was, Valeska would be able to see massive shapes moving up and down the streets. It seemed Smed had taken to hiring Cave Trolls.

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For the first half an hour, it was an interesting thing, to be wandering her way through the darkened tunnels, but after a while, the cold and the darkness had gotten to her, and she was itching to be able to just see. When the occasional flame from a camp fire seen here or there came into view, it pierced her vision and made her eye tear as she made a face when her eyes had all but adjusted, only for her to continue onward back into the dark.

Soon she was asking Skitzo more than once, "Are we there yet?" And when she was finally rewarded with there, she was amazed. The city was vast and intricate, well, more intricate then she would have given goblins credit for, and the trolls strolling through the streets was a nice touch. The magical lanterns was also easy on the eyes, and being able to see was something a woman like her never wanted to take for granted. After all, she was only left with one remaining, deep, chocolate brown colored eye.

Taking in her surroundings, she studied the buildings on the ceilings and walls and all around her before she wrinkled her nose with glee and turned back to Skitzo, her single eye shining.
"Nice little town you got here," she said, strolling on up beside him rather than behind him and letting go of the rope she had once held that guided her. She didn't need to follow since she could see now.

[DaGlobster]

"Not a town." Skitzo proudly stated, spreading his arms wide. As they walked down the street towards a fairly large crimson tent (the kind and size that human nobility would use), random goblins would stop to peer at Valeska. Some stayed to watch, others snickered and scurried while others openly shouted catcalls at her. It was clear there was a mob of curious goblins following them, although most of it was moving through the tents and not on the streets. "All the lovely sods you see here are trained killers, through and through. Serenian Guard thinks just 'cause we're goblins, we're stupid and slow on our little legs. They tend not to think so when string them up on meat hooks." Skitzo said, chuckling at his own morbid joke.

In the buildings hanging from the ceiling, goblin snipers could be seen patrolling, wearing goggles that had one eye telescoped outwards for magnification and wielding a variety of ranged weapons.

Eventually, they came up to the front of the large tent, and the heavily armored two-handed sword wielding guards leered at Veleska through their visors. Their swords were efficient in their sickeningly cruel design, just long enough to catch a grown man by the neck and covered in barbs and hooks that protruded from the blade. They were weapons designed to mangle, and they were blatant with this.

Skitzo motioned for Valeska to stop. "I'll tell Smed there's someone here to see him. Wait out here for a bit." Skitzo said, and disappeared into the flap.

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Just about everything here amused Valeska, her eye dazzling at the sights as she let her eye take in all of the little details, piece by piece, and on occasion, her nose and ears as well. She could smell a lot of interesting things down here that mixed with the dank smells of the caverns, but the noises were interesting too. And she was still trying to decide if she was amused or annoyed by the way the goblins spoke. She supposed she'd have to decide that later, for as Skitzo commanded her to wait, she flashed him a grin.

"Alright, but remind your little leader that it ain't proper to keep a lady waiting."
And someone like her was rather dangerous if they let her get too bored, or even antsy. But the little gremlins, as it were, did not make any real advancements towards her, so for now, it seemed both sides were safe, which made this little hopeful alliance tame (for now).

So she was a good girl as she stood there, and would wait.

[DaGlobster]

Valeska was right when she presumed the goblin's attentions towards her were mostly harmless. For one thing, they were smarter than that to approach such a dangerous looking woman, and two, they knew they weren't going to get any of she had with pick up lines and seductive hisses. Normally, they'd have to a bit more...assertive, but Valeska was a guest, and goblins were nothing if not hospitable at times.

After about a minute, Skitzo came back out, and motioned Valeska inside.

The inside of the tent was spacious, given it was probably stolen from creatures that weren't goblin sized. A few spots where the crimson gave way to light blue showed that the tent had been dyed red, in a tone suspiciously blood-like. Inside, there was all the amenities one could hope for inside a tent, and all the pieces of furniture, from the drawers to the chairs, were obviously stolen as well (they had been cut down and reconstructed to fit goblins).

In one part of the room, there was a pole with some manacles dangling from it and a pool of dried blood beneath it. A remnant of Owl's stay with Smed.

Speaking of, Smed was there all right. He was seated at the table and facing her, his little red focused on Valeska and a smile which just appeared to be naturally cruel on his face. His weapons weren't on him at the moment, they hung from a weapon rack at the back of the tent. On the table, was a mug of coffee (which on the mug, there were several scuff marks around the Serenian Guard emblem emblazoned on it, as if someone had tried to remove it), a small plate with several juicy-looking pieces of meat on it, and a letter in the process of being written.

Smed leaned forwards on the table, his interest piqued. "Take a seat." He offered, and snapped his fingers twice. Skitzo came running back in. "Would you like some meat, or coffee? Skitzo can send a runner for some." He said, placing his little clawed hands on the table.

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"I didn't come here for a drink, but if you're offering, any alcohol you got would be nice." Her own lips replied in kind with a dark smile of her own as she took a seat, amusement evident in her eyes.
"So I hear you got a bird problem. Well, I've got one with wolves. Why don't we cut tot the chase and talk about that. I want to know about this little bird a certain wolf came to rescue. And why, who she is, and what all went down.And don't leave out any of the juicy details. Those I like best."

[DaGlobster]

Smed's smile deepened. It'd seem Valeska touched on just the right subject. "Skitzo, get the lady a drink will ya? From the Guard reserves if you will." He said, and Skitzo nodded before dashing out. Smed took a piece of meat from his plate, and ate it up.

He placed both his hands together, and leaned forwards. "Bird problem? Naw, more like a Wolf problem as well." He said, and leaned back in his chair. Normally, he'd keep info to himself, but if it meant he got to spread Owl's secret everywhere like half-melted butter, he'd take it.

"The girl we picked up? Einin Bierne, daughter of a noble family who reckons herself a nightime crime fighter. She calls herself Owl, but use Anklehackers know her as Pigeon. Figured she could take me and four of my boys in a fight after we cased a jewelry shop in town." He started, and chuckled. "She figured wrong." Smed said, and indicated something hanging from the roof. It was an Owl mask, sewn back together and made into a trophy.

"We brought her back here, and I kept myself busy by making sure every moment she spent here was a living hell. I'm talking a broken arm, a slashed ankle, all kinds of fun. But I'm getting distracted."

He paused to think, tapping a claw on the table. "She's Rufus' personal pet project, and I wouldn't be surprised if she was his alpha bitch too, know what I'm saying? But he paid a pretty penny to get her back from me. Led an attack, lost a ton of Wolves for no good reason, and made off with her. Declared war on all goblin kind, too." He explained, and paused for a moment so she could absorb all of that info.

"But..." He started again, and ate some more meat. "I think the Wolves're feeling the hurt. After a stunt like that, and since he's put her on heavy protection ever since, I think there're some Wolves who wouldn't mind a change in leadership. After all, why waste all these resources and good men on a woman who isn't even in the gang?" He said, and leaned back into the chair again, placing his boots on the table.

Skitzo walked in with a bottle of Serenian wine and a few polished silver cups. "That answer satisfiy you, Stranger?"

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Valeska's eyes lit up at such a story. My, my, my, wasn't this a pleasant surprise? Not only did she find Rufus wasting resources on a rescue of one woman, but now two. And as far as she could see, none of them had good reasons for it. Her presumptions against Dylanna Swinden she still wanted to believe were true. That he had something for her, and how knew, maybe her bastard of a child was his as well. The pieces seemed to be falling into place, but there was no definite facts. Just hints she collected that pointed it in Miss Swinden's direction. Or Lady Swinden, she forgot she had some nobility behind her or something, but the woman preferred to remain focused on trade rather than pretty little parties like most of her society was known fr. An interesting route for a lady to take. But thoughts aside, she'd keep the secrets about Lady Swinden to herself until she knew she could fully trust these little green men.

But it seemed they were more than happy to spill the beans and she mulled it over. So another lady? Rufus had taste. He was going after some big game here. And she began to wonder if he wanted to protect the younger girl because she was pregnant with another of his bastard childs. Figures the fool would find himself entangled with women, and here she, herself, had so much she could have offered him than whatever those other girls had.

But she let that thought simmer away as she flashed a grin his way.

"That's an interesting thought. One bird trying to fly from her cage, and a group of wolves trying to save her. Wolves are beast, just like a man is, so yes.." and here the ends of her lips curled. "I wouldn't put it past a few wolves to be getting hungry."

[DaGlobster]

"Yeah, especially when the Alpha's not sharing." Smed concurred. Suddenly, his expression changed, and he suddenly became more serious. "But, I'm sure you came here for more than a pleasant chat with The Anklehacker, didn't you? What could a woman such as yourself possibly want from a mass murderin' bastard such as myself? You from the Mountain Cats?" Smed asked, and his eyes lit up with curiosity.

Outside, the sound of a troll stomping past the tent on patrol punctuated his question before slowly receding. 

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Valeska smirked.
"I've got a.. connection with them, if that's what you want to call it,"s he said, seeming pleased with herself. "Made an alliance. More or less, they listen to me when I snap my fingers. They're good little cats, really." And her eyes took in Smed a moment before she slowly crossed one leg over the other. ANd if the troll's floor shaking stomp bothered her, she hardly showed it,a nd never once let her gaze lift from Smed.

"I came here with a proposition. Alliances I find more valuable than oaths and promises. It makes both worlds a bit more.. flexible, don't you think?"

[DaGlobster]

Smed laughed lightly. "Goblins and Cats against Wolves? Can't say it's a bad idea. We never had a spotless relationship with the Cats, but hopefully we should be able to put that aside to fight a common nuisance." Smed said. Personally, he despised the idea of the Soot Wolves. Sure, they were thieves like he was,  but they tried to convince themselves they were  thieves when their leader uses them as his own personal army. Surely, the ranks are ripe with dissenters, wolves fed up with Rufus' constant selfish abuse of his leadership position.

Perhaps, they could kill Rufus and install someone more...receptive to his ideas.

Smed adjusted himself in his seat. "I'm all for an alliance, but I need to see the leader of the Cats to negotiate." He said, and hopped off of his seat. "Besides, I've been in this cave for the past week."

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"You want to speak to their leader?" Valeska gave a laugh. "Whatever you say, I'm sure can go through me, but if you're itching to travel, I suppose things could be arranged.."

[DaGlobster]

"Call it a lesson from experience, but I've become a tad bit distrustful of middlemen." Smed said, narrowing his eyes at Valeska before giving her a playful little smile. He took his weapons and placed them onto his belt, and walked outside of the tent. He pulled Skitzo aside, placing his mouth up to his ear. "'Till I get back, you're in charge, all right? I'll only be a few days." Smed said, and Skitzo nodded.

Smed snapped his fingers, and a small, runty goblin (one of the many runners around camp) scurried towards him. "Skitzo's in charge until I get back from travelling. Spread the word." Smed ordered, and the small goblin nodded before running off.

Smed had something Rufus didn't, which was the complete and total adulation of his followers. Smed wasn't just a criminal overlord to these goblins, but he was something they usually didn't have. A way to be bigger than they actually were, and a way for them to vent their oppressed fury against the more civilized folk that kept them in their small tribes.