Need a hand....or six?

[CounterfeitFish]

When she finally chose to answer his questions, Drakmor's scowl went away. Yes, she wasn't the nicest of people, but she seemed...alright. For now, at least. Now, she was saying something about a life debt. He hadn't expected any kind of reward, but he certainly wouldn't pass up the opportunity, especially if it was offered to him! Now, to decide what he would actually want...

"Indeed. Give me a moment. From what I remember, life debts are a grave thing. Not something to waste." He noticed her tone near the end, but said nothing of it. He figured that it probably wasn't the most thrilling thing, being in someone's debt.

After a minute or two of silent thinking, Drakmor spoke. "I have decided what I want. My life is dedicated to ending the injustices in this world. A lofty goal, yes, but one that I plan on accomplishing. I want you to travel with me, and help me with this. It would not be for long, perhaps a month at most. However, I believe we can do much in that time." Together, the pair could root out the thieves, murderers and slavers that pollute society. Drakmor crossed his many arms, waiting for the mage's response.

[DragonSong]

Oh sweet stars preserve her.

"You want me to—?!" For the first time since waking, Neria's cool, imperious exterior cracked to reveal something very like petty irritation and truly baffled indignation. She gaped at him for a moment, then quickly school her expression back to that distant frown.

"Your wish," she muttered through gritted teeth, "is that I accompany you on this—this asinine crusade. And that is all you ask."

Fuck. She almost would have rather dealt with waking as a proper slave.

As though every word pained her, Neria tipped her head back to meet his eyes and ground out, "To fulfill my debt to you, I here agree to travel as your companion on your...quest, and to offer what aid I can, for one cycle of the moon."  She narrowed her eyes at him. "Does that satisfy, my lord?"

Though it was technically an honorific—and the appropriate one, considering he could have asked much more of her and she did still technically owe him her life—the words "my lord" sounded like a spat insult rather than proper deference.

[CounterfeitFish]

"Asanine, eh? I do not appreciate you insulting my goals. I have devoted my life to accomplishing them, and they will be completed. Even if it takes me hundreds of years, I will do it." A slight hint of menace crept into his voice as he spoke. He truly had spent his entire life going on this 'asinine crusade,' and he wasn't going to let someone insult it.

However, the moment she agreed to help him, a large smile appeared on his face. "Yeah,that'll work! Don't worry about the honorifics. I have a name, and I would prefer you use it." He held out a hand to her, more as a sign of peace than anything else. He wasn't the most intelligent person book-wise, but even he knew it was a good idea to not hate the person you're travelling with. "I am..."

What came out of the tall man's mouth can only be described as a series of low rumbles, clicks and a few other sounds that seemed physically impossible for an average person to recreate(also, as I found out, difficult to come up with!). Truly, Drakmor's language is just as strange as he is. "...You may call me Drakmor, though. Who are you?"

At this time, the giant seemed to have either not noticed or not acknowledged her clear insults and annoyance over this entire situation. He could take care of that later. Right now, it was time for introductions.

[DragonSong]

Names were powerful things, even to a creature who was only half Fae. Neria really didn't see much point in learning Drakmor's--she'd only be in his company for a month, and as far as she was concerned "hey, you" would work perfectly well as a form of address--but he gave it to her freely, so she learned it anyway.

You may call me. She couldn't tell if that was guile on his part, or simply coincidence. Either way, the familiar cadence of the words almost brought a smile to her lips.

"You may call me Neria," she replied on a sigh. She was only half-fae, it wasn't as though her true name would offer him real power over her. Not as long as she didn't give it to him.

She'd only done that once, and nearly paid for it with her life.

The memory erased any softness from her expression--or any expression at all really, her face settling back into an impassive mask. "That is not at all who I am, but I suppose it is a start. Now, we should probably be on our way. I cannot hold this glamour forever, not for someone other than myself, not in my current state."

She needed to rest. Or, preferably, find someplace where she could rejuvenate her power. She knew where plenty such places were further north, but here...and she supposed it may depend on just how long she'd been in that coffin...

No matter. A month was barely a blink to an immortal lifespan. If she needed to, she could simply deal with all that once her debt was paid.

[CounterfeitFish]

For the Karvach Ichtis, names were nothing more than a way to address someone. So, Drakmor did not mind giving out his true one. The tall man withdrew his hand, crossing his arms once more. "Pleasure to...not meet you, but know more about you, Neria." A frown appeared on his face as she spoke. He was not one for riddles or trickery through speech, so her words confused him. However, he pushed it aside for now.

"I suppose so. If you can maintain this...this glamour of yours until we are out of the city, then our escape should be simple. If not, we may have to crack a few skulls. Either way, now seems like it would be the best time to leave, as you said already." He began to leave the alley they were hiding in, but stopped at the edge(assuming they hadn't left already), waiting for Neria.

[DragonSong]

Maintaining a glamour for herself wouldn't be an issue. The problem arose when she had to keep attention off not just a blue woman with blood red eyes and a penchant for murder, but also a six-armed giant able to summon explosives seemingly at will.

She didn't feel the need to explain that, though, or to mention just how exhausting that kind of prolonged magic use was going to be in her newly-wakened state. She just nodded, following him out of the alley and glancing around as she attempted to get her bearings.

She'd been to Essyrn before, once, but that was...a long time ago. Things had changed.

Hating the fact that she didn't know something, she tried to keep her tone even as she murmured, "Which is the quickest way out of the city, then?"

[CounterfeitFish]

While the two walked, Drakmor didn't say a word. Instead, he simply stared at the woman near him, then at himself, and so on for a couple of minutes. He was clearly planning something, but it wasn't revealed until another minute passed.

"The only route I can think of is through the main entrance, but we would be in danger of being seen. However, I can think of a different way out...if we can find a low enough part of this wall, I could throw you over it." As he told Neria about this...this insane idea, he showed no signs of joking. If she allowed it, he would probably try and toss her right over the wall.

[DragonSong]

He wanted to--?

"What." Technically it was a question, but Neria's voice was utterly flat with disbelief. "You want to--what?"

Where in the name of all the stars had he come up with that plan?!

"And how, pray tell, do you plan to get over once I have been thrown?" she demanded in exasperation, planting her hands on her hips and tipping her head back to glare up at him.

She wasn't used to being quite so much shorter than someone else. She didn't think she cared for it.

[CounterfeitFish]

"I want to throw you over the wall. It will be difficult, but far from impossible." Even though it was probably a rhetorical question, Drakmor took it literally and repeated himself. Just like before, he was dead serious about this plan.

"I will climb over. Just like throwing you, it will be difficult, but not impossible. If I cannot find a handhold, I can make one. If I start to fall, I can catch myself. Now, will you go along with it, or should we take our chances with being seen?" He had spent a while thinking about this, and it was obvious. The worst part of it? He probably was strong enough to toss her over one of the lower parts, but whether or not he could climb up would be decided by luck alone. He was confident in his skills, but confidence can only get you so far.

[DragonSong]

You know what? Fine.

If this insane plan went wrong--as she was sure it would--she would likely be fine. Her companion was the one who would wind up detained by the city guard.

Or possibly dead.

Either way, she'd be free of her contract. If he was arrested, he couldn't very well go on his little "save the world" crusade. And nothing in their deal meant that she had to go so far as breaking him out of prison.

That didn't make the idea any less humiliating.

Jaw clenched, she glowered up at him and hissed. "Fine. Fine. Do as you will."

[CounterfeitFish]

A large grin appeared on his face once she agreed to his plan. He cracked his knuckles, all thirty of them. It was loud, to say the least. "Alright, that's what I want to hear! Follow me, let's find a spot that's lower than the rest of the wall." He slightly increased his pace, assuming that Neria would follow.

With the power of a determined strong guy and plot bullshittery, Drakmor found a section of the wall that was rather low, around thirty or forty feet tall. After confirming that this would be a good spot, he turned to face the half-fae woman. "You ready for this? I should be able to toss you over, but how you get down is up to you. You've got this though, right?"

He silently waited for her confirmation, not wanting to begin until she was ready. Even though Neria already agreed, he wanted to at least TRY to be polite.

[DragonSong]

Neria eyed the wall with no small amount of trepidation, but she figured she’d rather get this over with as quickly as possible.

“Very well,” she ground out, jaw tight. Her eyes flickered over his hands, then back to the wall. “How precisely are you going to go about doing this?”

[CounterfeitFish]

His smug grin seemed to grow even further, if that was even possible. "I'll just do this!" Without any warning, Drakmor picked up Neria with all of his hands, then backed up a bit. His grip was firm, but not painful, which was probably nice. He didn't want to hurt her of course, just toss her over the wall.

After getting a running start, the giant threw her into the sky, were she would begin to soar over the wall. His strength was just barely enough to get her over, and landing would be the half-fae woman's problem. "Alright, the rest is up to you! I'll be over soon!" Assuming nothing went wrong, Drakmor began to climb the wall. As he said before, he made some handholds if he couldn't find any. Of course, his method of making them was to forcibly create holes in the wall. He would probably have a few broken fingers, but they would heal in time. With all of that taken care of, he continued to climb.

[DragonSong]

Well.

That was every bit as humiliating as she'd anticipated.

Catching the edge of the wall with one hand as she tumbled over, Neria just barely managed to twist and get her feet under herself as she dropped do the earth--well, sand--and had to stagger a few paces not to just collapse entirely.

"We are not," she muttered to herself as she tipped her head back to peer up at the top of the wall, "doing that again."

[CounterfeitFish]

As she looked up towards the wall, Neria would notice Drakmor barely making his way over the top, before proceeding to soar through the air. Well, by soar, I really mean jump down into the sand. He got some decent air time, though. "Look out below, mastrak!" With a thud, Drakmor connected with the ground, steadying himself with his extra hands.

He looked somewhat bloodied, and seemed to have an arrow protruding from his left leg. "We should probably get going, and quickly. A guard saw me climbing, and he might have gone to get his friends. I left them a....a surprise, but it won't keep them away for long!" From within the walls, the sound of an explosion reached the pair. Drakmor had dropped a couple of bombs once the guard saw him, though the distraction likely wouldn't work for long.

Yanking out the arrow, Drakmor gestured for Neria to lead the way. "Well? If you know any places for you to regain your strength, lead us to them. I know a spot for us to rest, but it is far from here." He seemed to not care about the rather large wound from the arrow, but he did occasionally wince from the pain. It stung, but it most likely wouldn't hold him up too much.

[DragonSong]

Oh, for the love of--!

"Idiot," Neria hissed as she stepped briskly to the side, giving him space to land. The sand shifted uncomfortably under her feet and she bit down another curse. She eyed the bloodied arrow in the sand between them, then him with a glower.

"None of the places where I may properly revitalize my power are in easy reach of this...desert." She said the word like it tasted bad. "Wherever we may rest will suffice for the moment. And that--" she gestured to the wound in his leg-- "needs to be addressed."

He would only slow them down like this.

...Damnit.

"Do not move," she ordered briskly, and knelt in front of him. Still glaring, she leaned forward and blew gently on the arrow wound. Crimson light spilled from her lips like a puff of fog, knitting flesh back together and sealing skin. It wasn't completely healed--she'd always been better with combat magic than restorative--but it looked as though several days had passed in the healing process.

Standing, she screwed her face up disdainfully as she dusted sand from her clothes. "Now. We should move."

[CounterfeitFish]

Doing as he was told, Drakmor did not move while she healed him. After seeing what she had done, he looked somewhat impressed. "Is that healing magic? I could never understand how that worked. It is easy to destroy, but not so easy to fix things. That's just my opinion, though."

"Indeed." He looked back at the city of Essyrn, glaring. He did not accomplish much today, but he would be back eventually. "We will be going to La'marri. When I am not travelling, I live in a hut near the edge of the town. It isn't perfect, but it will work. That is, unless you can think of something better?" He knew it would take several weeks of walking to reach his home, but it did not bother him. He already trekked to this blasted city, he could handle walking back. Of course, this arrangement likely would end before they reached La'marri, but it was the best choice he could think of.

While he waited for a response from the mage, Drakmor decided to ask about Neria. It was going to be a very long walk, and the giant would rather not have it be silent. "Tell me, Neria. You said that you were a soldier, yes? What cause did you fight for? What battles have you been part of?"

[DragonSong]

La'marri. How far were they from the forest?

She supposed it didn't matter--one way or the other, she was stuck with him for the next cycle of the moon, at least.

"There are gateways I could use to reach those woods faster, but I know not how close any of them are to our current location," she replied briskly, and that seemed to be her approximation of a "No, I don't have a better idea, but I'm not happy about this."

She began walking, already squinting and hating the sun--but strangely leaving barely any tracks in the sand behind her, as though she weighed no more than a blown feather.

Her shoulders stiffened when he asked about her fight, her cause, and her jaw clenched on a tirade against his arrogance for evening thinking to pry. One month. It's just one month.

"I am a soldier," she corrected once she could confidently speak while keeping the ire from her tone. "I fought in no battles you would have heard of, mortal, and my cause is none of your concern. Or even your comprehension, most likely."

He didn't exactly seem like the kind of person who would take an answer like "ancient blood feuds between warring factions of Seelie and Unseelie Fae" in stride.

"You seem more than willing to profess your convictions to all you meet," she added lazily, glancing sidelong at him. "Do not presume I share your attitude. You may ask questions and I may not choose to answer. So long as my silence places you in no danger, our contract is upheld."

[CounterfeitFish]

As he walked with the half-fae woman, he was almost her polar opposite. He made deep imprints in the sand, and seemed to enjoy the heat and sunlight. Forests are nice and all, but they can be dark and boring at times. If it didn't take so damn long to get there, he could probably live in the desert for a bit.

He said nothing while Neria spoke, only nodding from time to time. However, he did scowl for a moment at what he assumed were insults. This language was strange to him. He could speak it well enough, but he occasionally had trouble understanding the finer points. Drakmor was silent for a while, even after his (temporary)travelling companion stopped talking.

However, he suddenly stopped walking, facing Neria. "You don't like me, or my presence, or having to be here. I get it. If you don't want to tell me about yourself, fine. If you wish to be....mysterious, so be it. However, can you at least tell me what I have done to piss you off? Clearly I must have done something."

Drakmor didn't know what he had done wrong, but he planned on finding out. He never expected sunshine and rainbows, but for someone who had just been freed from slavers, Neria seemed quite upset about the whole situation.

[DragonSong]

Neria gritted her teeth.

Then, slowly, she let out a long breath, and her shoulders relaxed slightly, dropping at least a fraction away from her ears. She glowered at a patch of sand somewhere to his left.

"You...have done nothing," she admitted after a moment, sounding irritated about it. "I am...uncomfortable, existing in debt to another." He clearly didn't know just how devastating that could be to one of the fae, and she wasn't exactly interested in clarifying it for him. Just because he hadn't harmed her so far didn't mean he wouldn't. "The fae do not thank one another, we pay our debts back. Thank you is an attempt to remove debt. And as I have yet to pay mine back to you, I am left...at a disadvantage."

She pursed her lips, arms folded tight in front of her body, then suddenly snapped her eyes back to his face. "How much do you know of the Folk?"

It should have been a question, but it came out rather more like a demand. She at least seemed to notice this time, though, and closed her eyes before clearly making a conscious effort to soften her voice, then continued, "If we are to be traveling companions, for a time, it may help to have a better understanding of one another." It could at least hopefully prevent him from asking awkward questions three weeks from now when she had her full powers back and might not be able to stop herself from blasting him.