Put Some Madness to the Method

[Lion]

"If water's all yer gonna drink, man, then I'm gonna have you kicked out. Understand?" the raspy, smoke-stricken voice of the bartender warned to Vandryn as he gently took sips from his cup.  The dark elf wasn't pleasant to look at and if it weren't for the shade of his hood, the bartender might have seen the whole of his face.  The man just stared at him until Vandryn lifted his head and slipped the hood back, letting the many candles cast harsh shadows on his sharp face.  The bartender took a step back and made a face at Vandryn's patchwork look, like it was sewn back together.  The dark elf gave a snarl of a smile and slammed a gold coin on the counter.

"Consider that payment for keeping your mouth shut and leaving me alone.  Don't know how you can keep this trash-heap standing with all the maggots you have seeping out of the woodwork.  Now go away," Vandryn said in a gruff voice and slid the coin toward the bartender, scratching the wood as it went.  The older man made wide eyes amidst his sagging jowls and hanging wrinkles and just took the coin before stalking off.  It was high of the bastard not to lash out at Vandryn who'd just insulted the man's place of business, but it wasn't like it was an inaccurate statement.  The air was cold and though the building was drafty, it was a hell of a lot warmer than the drifting snow that fell outside as the evening drew in.

And it had brought in all the riffraff too.  Already, the place was a mess with bad smelling drunks, many of them miners that had come up from the local hole in the ground to drink away whatever pay they earned for that day.  Vandryn scoffed to himself and just drank his water.  Yes, just water.  He didn't feel any particular need to join in on the smashing of wood and glass and spilling blood when there was no real money involved.  He was an assassin, among the best, so what the hell was he doing here?

If only Vandryn could answer that question.  Mat'nacht had told him something worth looking at was waiting here and would walk in through that door any minute.  That was three days ago.  Now the snow was starting to build and soon he'd be trapped in here with all these morons.  "I don't know what you're doing, Mat'nacht but it better be good and it better be soon," he murmured into the darkness of his cup.  He saw a purple eye shimmer in the liquid, blink before dissipating.  He smirked before he looked up towards the door and saw someone come in that obviously didn't belong.  What the hell was a girl doing in there?  She didn't look like trash, like everyone else did that were too busy getting heated up in their own quarrels.  This wasn't any place for her, he knew, but far be it from him to tell her to get the hell out.

There weren't many women here, and those that were brave enough to walk from table to table and get orders were good and bobbing and weaving between tables and ass-grabbing hands that seemed to have minds of their own.  Vandryn watched the newcomer with narrow eyes, eyes that widened a little as a fight suddenly broke out in the back of the tavern.  "This can't be good," he muttered and only grinned as he sipped his water far too calmly.

[Clair]

Dorothea hated the cold. She preferred warmth; she preferred to be hot. So, as soon as she saw the tavern as she slipped out of the woods, Dorothea made up her mind that she'd stay there for a night. Wrapping her thick woolen cloak around her shoulders and pulling the hood closer to her head, Dorothea's felt-boot clad feet made easy work of the already snow-drift covered terrain.

As she entered the tavern, lowering her hood, she immediately became aware of someone watching her. Her attention was soon distracted by the rude, rowdy and disgusting patrons that were too drunk to notice another entering. One quick scan over the crowd of people and Dorothea knew, despite having spent days in the woods, that she was finest dressed, and probably cleanest, in the building. Her nose wrinkled.

Dorothea made her way up towards the counter, just as a fight broke out towards the back of the large room.

[Lion]

Snow in Darken Vei never got too bad unless you were far up in the north.  This tavern in particular was nestled in a well-hidden place, between two mines, conveniently placed for business so whatever tired workers could waddle on in when it suited them.  What didn't seem to occur to the owner it seemed was the apparent rivalry that stood between the miners that came from competing mines.  And with liquor added to the powder keg of tension already pungent in the air, Vandryn was not surprised when suddenly the whole place exploded in a full-blown brawl and so fast too.

It did not take long before the fight reached the front of the tavern.  Vandryn saw the bartender go white-faced and suddenly duck beneath the counter and crawling toward the backdoor.  "Coward," he growled at the man before moving out of the way of a chair that came flying overhead.  He was in no mood to get involved though it seemed he had no choice before a pair of brawlers came tumbling down on him.  Vandryn stepped back before he could get pinned and shoved them aside before leaning back behind the counter and watching as more chairs were used as projectile weapons.

A pair of chairs suddenly came soaring out toward the young stranger that had just stepped in.  Vandryn grinned a little.  Far be it from him to tell her to get out of the way.  Maybe she ought to watch where she walked into in the first place.  He might have called out to her, to at least offer a second's warning, but the distance the objects were aimed for her were far too close for his words to be any good at all.

[Clair]

Dorothea smirked a bit, her mood improving by the second as she felt herself almost feeding off the energy emitted from the drunken chaos. She did not falter in her step, not fearing for her safety at all, continuing to make her way towards the bar.

Just as she neared the table, her eyes me a stranger's. He seemed to be watching her intently, as if contemplating calling out to her. As a pair of chairs sailed towards her, Dorothea laughed; they seemed to come to an abrupt halt as and crashed to the ground at her feet. She lifted on hand, not loosing stride, to rub the sore spot in her shoulder where the chairs had hit her.

[Lion]

What the hell?  Vandryn furrowed his brows at the odd woman and knew then that Mat'nacht was right.  She was always right, now wasn't she?  This was what he'd been waiting three days in the ball-freezing cold for.  But for why?  Well, he couldn't answer that right now, but he was sure the answer would come with time.

Vandryn approached her without caution and promptly headbutted a patron that came charging at him with a glass and tossed the body aside.   "You're pretty brave to be walking in here.  I saw those chairs come flying at you.  They were oak by the looks of it.  They should have knocked you clean to the ground but there's not a scratch on you...  That's a pretty unique gift, girl.  What's your name?"

[Clair]

Dorothea smirked and gave a small chuckle. "That's very intimate and too the point, isn't it?" However, she did not speak with a hostile tone. Though the chaos around them energized her, Dorothea was in a good mood and did not feel like joining in with the senseless violence.

And this man, despite not knowing him, also emitted a great energy. She was drawn to him, but would not show it. "Who are you? Why should I trust you?"

[Lion]

So the direct approach didn't seem to work, Vandryn noted.  That was to be expected and he only set his tattered lips in a peculiar smile.  The fight was getting worse and where there merely growls and grunts of aggression, the liquor were lighting a brutal spark and already the assassin could smell blood in the air.  Somebody was getting their face beat in, in a corner.

"This is no proper place for introductions," Vandryn said simply and looked around to the side.  He couldn't easily tell her his name, for there were strings that came attached to everything, no matter what you did.  "I'm a little bird," he said carefully.  "Why don't we go in the backroom, and I'll tell you more then.  Follow me."  Vandryn grinned at her and nudged his head toward the backdoor began stepping that way, the same way the bartender went.

[Clair]

Dorothea gave a sigh. She knew the man was right, but was not fond of the idea of following a complete stranger out of the tavern. Seemed like a stupid mistake. What and who did this man think she was? A common whore? But, again, she didn't want to stick around all the idiocy.

"Don't try anything stupid," she warned him as she followed him out.

[Lion]

Vandryn only grinned at her when she warned him.  What did she expect him to do to her, honestly?  Assault her from behind?  Unless she was a mark, she was fairly safe having her back turned for the time being.  He kept his hands on the pommels the swords at his hips, their short lengths only sticking out a tad beneath the cloak on his shoulders.

They walked out the backdoor, a door that led downstairs to much warmer backroom.  Vandryn saw the bartender out of the corner of his eye and gave him a glare.  The bartender looked like he was about to protest, but Vandryn nodded his head to get out of the room.   He did so and closed the door securely behind him.  The backroom had a fire alight the hearth to the left and a bear rug a couple feet in front of it.  Two large sat across from each other, deep stately chairs that looked like they cost more money to make than the whole drafty building was worth.

"Have a seat," Vandryn said before sitting across from her.  "Want a drink?  There's plenty down here, feel free to help yourself.  Consider it paid for."  He grinned at her before leaning back in his chair.  "Now I can answer that question you were so interested in knowing.  My name's Vandryn.  I wouldn't be surprised if you haven't heard of me.  That's the way things ought to go.  But seeing as we'll get nowhere fast, little bird, perhaps you'll tell me who you are now?  And I'll get down to why we may find reason to trust each other."

[Clair]

Dorothea took full advantage of the large comfortable chair. It had been a very long time since she'd been very comfortable. She lay across the arms, her knees and legs hanging over one arm, and her back leaning up against the other arm.

She nodded her head to his offer of a drink, she was parched. "No, you're right," Dorothea told him, "I've never heard of you. And now, don't you call me "little bird" or any other sort of insulting nicknames. I'm stronger than you'd ever believe." She almost gave him her last name, not wishing to get too intimate too quickly, but stopped herself. He might be a bounty hunter... she was still technically the property of the Ura family. "My name is Dorothea. That's all you need to know."

[Lion]

Vandryn nodded and stood up, walking toward the wine cabinet.  He pulled a bottle of madeira, expensive for this particular kind of establishment and wrinkled his brow at the realization that the bartender was actually holding back his better stuff in here.  All that was out there in the brawl was cheap whiskey and two-dollar wine.  He wasn't any connoisseur, but he didn't see any reason why she couldn't have any, even if the owner was a cheap bastard.

He filled a glass he found hanging on a rack above and handed it to her as he passed by to sit back down.  Sinking back into the chair, he only grinned and pulled back the hood from his face.  There was no need to hide at this moment, and his was a face one could not easily forget.  "Oh, I would believe it.  I saw something of the kind with my own eyes, only moments ago," he remarked without sass or intention to insult.

"But even little birds have plenty strength all their own," he continued.  "But nicknames are not why I asked for your company, Dorothea.  Though I appreciate your frankness.  However, to cut to the chase, I'm just curious about that wonderful display of endurance back there, getting hit by that chair.  I don't suppose you can do that all the time can you?"

[Clair]

She resisted the urge to grimace at the look of Vandryn. As a young and beautiful woman, she wasn't quite fond of anything ugly.

Dorothea smirked, in an attempt to hide her discomfort around him, and nodded. "Of course," she said, taking the glass and sipping at it. "It's always with me, this power. I keep up my physical strength and work on my combat skills when I can, and the ability increases in power. It's very useful. But why does it interest you? "

[Lion]

He didn't care much for how she reacted to the look of him.  Vandryn was not something that one could easily consider beautiful, and he was one to argue semantics about the word.  He was who his scars made him and the scars gave him a fierce look, a look that was more than necessary in his line of work.

Vandryn thought for a moment, because he wondered just what Mat'nacht might have been thinking to tell him that this was the person he'd been waiting for all this time.  There was something about this young woman that made him consider the possible source of that power.  It couldn't have been as simple an explanation as magic.  He would have detected it as soon he saw her; no, it was something deeper than piqued his interest.

He tilted his head and furrowed his brows at her.  "Combat, eh?"  He grinned and flashed sharp teeth.  "I think that's my interest in it exactly.  I think we have something that can mutually benefit from one another.  You look pretty strong yourself, but I'm an expert in certain skills that can make you even stronger... if you think you have the stones enough to handle it.  And for that, in exchange for a vial of your blood."

[Clair]

Dorothea sat up straighter, twisting her body so she faced him directly. She set the glass down, mostly full, suddenly not feeling very thirsty anymore. Her eyes squinted at him suspiciously. "Why does my blood interest you?" she scowled. "And why would you teach me anything? What are you playing at? Answer me!"

[Lion]

Vandryn waved his hand nonchalantly.  "My interest is purely professional," he attempted to assure her.  "And I only offer as a fair and...just trade if you'd like...  What do you think I was hired to seek you out?  No, Dorothea, quite the contrary really.  My offer is genuine and you seem to have an interest in combat, if at all.  I think there's a lot we can learn from each other if given the chance."

[Clair]

Dorothea nodded, glancing down at her hands that rested on her knees. It could be useful, working with this man. She needed to gain strength, she needed to be taught how to improve... and here was someone offering to help her. She looked up again. "Why do you want my blood?" she asked. "What interest in it do you have?"

[Lion]

"You really want to know?" Vandryn inquired with a tilted head.  He took a moment before finding the right words to answer.  "A vial of your blood, I think, would allow me to make a potion that could potentially mimic that intriguing ability you have to withstand blows.  Of course, it will be a trial and error basis, but I think I'll be able to come up with something.  Do you think you still might be interested?"

[Clair]

Dorothea bit her lip in consideration. It didn't seem like that much of a price to pay. Then again... blood had a way of coming back and haunting people, didn't it? She shrugged, though.

"Vandryn," she said slowly, "I will make this deal with you... but you have to make a promise to me, first."

[Lion]

Vandryn grinned, glad that his work would be cut in half in the case she refused again.  At least now he didn't have to take he blood by force.  It was always better when they gave it up willingly.  But it seemed there was a catch and Vandryn wiped that grin off his face.  "A promise?  What did you have in mind?" he asked, his brows furrowed, and he leaned forward in his seat.

[Clair]

"You will get only a few drops of my blood, that's all I will give you," she warned. "You loose it, then that's your loss. And you will not use any potion you make to earn yourself money." She sat back. "If you don't agree to these, then I will walk out of here and not speak with you again, sir."