In God We Trust [M]

[visualspice]

His smile remained, but it grew some in his eyes when she mentioned 'today's festivities'. 

"I'm a business man." Came his blunt reply.

[Goldie]

She couldn't stop the laugh that burst from her lips at his response.

"Ah, yes, a businessman." She giggled, trying desperately to control herself. She leaned forward, eyes glittering mischievously, "and I am a Goddess."

[visualspice]

At that, his smirk grew a little larger. He nodded to her at that response, but said little else.

His response wasn't.. wrong, perse...
Crime was just his business. And he had his hand in many pots.

[Goldie]

Her smile grew in response to his own. She was reaching him, even if his words were few, there was a slight crack in his armor and she was nothing if not persistent. A small crack could grow much bigger with a little banging.

"I look forward to doing business with you, Vrae."

[visualspice]

He simply bowed his head, very subtly, but enough to show he acknowledged that. Whether she knew or not what he did was of no real concern to him. If she was a good partner, that would come out in time...
But if she were that naive.. Well...
He wouldn't have to worry about that. He was, Opus Dey. Someone of such insignificance would hardly mean much to him-harmless or other wise.


Once the place was straightened up, Opus stared towards the door. He seemed a little restless, if only because he wasn't as still as when they had all first entered the little shop. Ezzel too, was anxious to be rid of them and- well, call it a night and sleep off the worries of the mob. She moved towards the window, frowning.

"It seems things have calmed... but I would still suggest leaving out the back exit if you want to leave now."

Danning approached her, setting the feather duster aside and bowed graciously.

"You've been more than a helpful friend today, Ezzel. Truly," he took both her hands, squeezing them lightly. "I shall pray your shop finds many sales in the days to come!"

At that, Ezzel laughed. 

"Do not waste your prayers on such things, Father Danning!" She laughed and shook her head. "But come.. all of you, I'll take you to the back. Just.. " she paused in midstride, staring back at the priest. "You take care. Be careful. The war has been going on for too long. I believe in what you preach.. however.. there was a reason for the war. People are tired.. broken.. poor..."

She shook her head and moved to unlock the back door, and surprised when Opus was there beside her, and moved to lift the heavy wood from where the door was barred. She simply nodded to him.

He nodded back, then moved to open the door himself.

"There's compensation left on your desk." He stepped outside, nodding towards her, then began to make his way down the street.

Danning looked to Ezzel, but said nothing, just nodded.

"Thank you again, Ezzel."

"I'm sure I'll be seeing you again." And the two exchanged hugs before the priest too, stepped out into the cobblestone streets of the on coming night.

[Goldie]

Saorise also thanked Ezzel with a deep bow and another silver piece which she pressed into her old weathered hand. "I cannot thank you enough for your trouble." She said sincerely, "without your kindness, we would not have escaped with our lives. I am indebted to you and no amount of silver is enough."

Ezzel just chuckled and patted the half-elf's hand, "oh off with you." She cooed, "and don't forget to send for that clock."

"I could never," Saoirse assured her. And it wasn't a lie. That clock was a wonder! She would send a missive as soon as she was able and hope it didn't send her father on a rampage. He didn't exactly approve of her excursions. Something something "humans are dangerous" something something.

Honestly she stopped listening. After all, he was the one who had married a human, who was he to reprimand her, his HALF-HUMAN daughter.

Saoirse exited the shop and smiled as the starlight had started to sparkle above. The moon was a crescent this evening which  would make it more difficult to see as the sun's final rays disappeared over the horizon. It would make her next excursion much more difficult, but she wasn't worried.

Vrae wouldn't get far so long as she had the other half of a location sphere in her pocket. Even still, she had no way of knowing if he had noticed her slip one into his pocket earlier and, if he had, she would need to keep him in sight if she planned to follow.

Time to solve the Puzzle she thought to herself, and reached for a thread of magic to dampen the red in her hair. Personal illusions were easy and didn't require use of music to sustain. Thankfully. It would certainly not do to look normal at the moment. People were most likely still looking for the fire haired mage from before.

Her hair faded to a dark brown with only the slightest hints of red. She silently released her plait and let her long curls fall around her face. In a quick movement, she pulled a dull gray cloak from her pack and draped it over her shoulders to make herself even more inconspicuous.

Then she followed after her Puzzle and into the oncoming night.

[visualspice]

Opus Dey was in this city with one purpose- and that purpose was always to maintain the empire he created. Inherited or not, it had grown much over the years beneath his rule, and civil war or not, he was not about to have that affect his northern interests.

Even still, the chaos and strife of war always fascinated him, and could usually benefit a man in his position. But with the way things were going... he did not appreciate any strife within his own empire.

His presence in Connlaoth would do well- if not to purely remind those beneath his fingers that yes.. That was jut the case-
They were beneath him.

This was the part of the job that irritated him the most- when subordinates thought that 'well just because a figure head wasn't present meant they could 'become' said figure head'. Perhaps the northerners were just getting 'too comfortable' in their roles. They were still very much apart of his empire and when connections had gone.... 'quiet' after his last 'extensive' order...

Well, it was time to pay his business venture a little visit.

Now, he had sometime to kill, and knew the little she-elf was following him. He just had to figure out what exactly what he wanted to do with her. He mulled over his options as he allowed his fingers to rub over the stone she had thought she so 'discretely' slipped into his pocket. Truthfully, she was lucky he hadn't bothered to slip anything into hers.

He knew.. mostly what the thing did. She did, after all, give a matching one to the priest as well.

An interesting sentiment.

So he just let her follow, and decided he'd take the very long way so she'd have to trail him for as long as she had the patience. For Opus? He could have her go in loops all night.

[Goldie]

She followed well into the night, periodically checking the stone to make sure she was going in the right direction. She didn't know the city well, seeing as she'd never been here before, but she also wasn't stupid. She knew when someone was going in circles.

So he knows I'm following him, she thought, intrigued. That solidified a few things in her mind.

1) He was no muscle.
2) He was highly trained. Elven kind were quiet, nimble, and terrific tails. Even a half-elf could out sneak most.
3) If he was leading her in circles, he was clearly hiding his intent.

She weighed her options. If she kept going, he might lead her around all night and never actually go to his destination. That wouldn't do. But if she stopped and waited... well... that risked losing him.

"Puzzle....." she muttered, slightly vexed. This wasn't how she expected things to go and she was annoyed at his prowess. He wasn't supposed to be this good. He was a human.

And clearly she had learned prejudice from her kin.

Well that wouldn't do.

c'mon, think she urged herself. stop and think.

In a split second, she made her decision. She turned down a side street away from Vrae and leaned against the outside wall of a now closed shop. She was done with circles, done with games.

Either he would keep going or he'd turn back to find her.

[visualspice]

He could tell the second she left his trail.
Ah, so the stubborn elf did have a limit. It was probably best to curb this now before the girl got herself into some real trouble.

He didn't turn back the way he had come, rather- took a bunch of corners until he could pin point her location...

Then he went up.

And a few moments later- the little enchanted item she had 'snuck' into his pocket landed down beside her from the cobbles...

Except it would appear.. no one was even around.

Truth of it was.. he had taken to the roof top, an old past time of his before he became as well established as he was today- he hopped roof tops far less often now and it would due him some good to stay in practice. So he simply sat up there, somehow shrouded in enough shadows she'd only be able to see him from just a few unique angles down below.

And he counted on her to be able to see him.

[Goldie]

She let the stones of the wall sink into her back, almost like a massage, and closed her eyes. What a tale this day would make. Escaping a riot; saving, and being saved by, a priest; buying A CLOCK - oh Gods was she ecstatic about that clock! - and meeting her puzzle.

The mystery shrouding him made her itch. Hell, she didn't even have a name and she was already seeing him behind her eyelids when they closed. She heard his voice in the silence. She had to know who he was.

Even this little game of cat and mouse was the single most exciting thing that had happened to her in nearly a decade of life. She could almost believe it would be at the top for the next hundred years.

If she survived him.

She was impulsive, jovial, but she was no fool. Every piece of the puzzle she assembled screamed dangerous, but she didn't care. Well...she didn't want to be murdered or anything, but she was extremely well trained in the sword at her hip and her illusions kept her from sight if need be. She even kept a retractable dagger in her sleeve should there be a need. Those bandits she met on the road would not be sharing stories anymore and she had walked away with heavier coffers.

Thanks for the clock, friends! she thought darkly. It wasn't her fault, of course, they had attacked her.

Her wandering thoughts were interrupted by a small clink on the stones before her.

Odd.

She opened one eye to sweep her surroundings expecting to see a loose stone that had fallen or something. Instead, her eyes were drawn to a small glimmer on the cobblestones that had not been there a moment before.

She stooped, scooped up the object, and her blood ran cold.

She let out a high glimmer of laughter, "What fun!" no sooner had the words left her lips than the throwing blades were in her hands and she threw them in the direction of the shadowy figure above her.

[visualspice]

Well, he hadn't expected that.

A moment later, a figure stood, blades sticking out from his form. If they seemed to bother him, he made no inclination, rather, he stared down at where they protruded from his chest then.. looked down at her and...

Simply turned from her and walked away.

[Goldie]

She watched the blades fly, heard them make contact which, honestly, surprised her. For someone with so much mystery she had assumed he'd be a better fighter? Dodger?

But...the figure didn't fall, didn't so much as make a noise.

Throwing caution to the wind, Saoirse used her elven dexterity to swing herself seamlessly up the wall and onto the rooftops with her Puzzle.

"What are you?"

The wind whipped through her hair, all illusions had fallen at this point and the moonlight enhanced her elven-ness. In sunlight she could pass for human, in the moonlight, though she was anything but. The gold in her hair almost glowed in the moonlight. Her eyes were no longer brown, but glistening gold as well.

"Who are you?"

[visualspice]

If he had heard her, or made a reply- she wouldn't have heard it. Because the second she was on the roof top, he was already on another, hopping away with def speed and grace- and as his silhouette sailed through the moonlight- those daggers still jutted out from the chest of his form.

[Goldie]

Not this time.

The time for stealth was done.

He would not get away.

Without a second thought, Saoirse gave chase, jumping nimbly from the rooftops after him. He might be taller and maybe benefitted from some kind it magic or another, but she was the daughter of Eilinor, Lord of the Moon Elves who's ancestry could be traced back to Fell itself.

She breathed in the moonlight and let it guide her feet.

[visualspice]

Opus maintained his lead, not sparring a single glance back as he ran, leaping, gliding from roof top to roof top. There was something exhilarating about the rush of wind that howled across his form as he soared. Anti-magic lands be damned, it was evident in the way he moved he had aid by magics- though since his were not innate, the mordecai in the country could not touch the jumps he blessed.

Nor, he surmised, could they touch the natural powers of certain she-elf tailing after him.

He got towards the end of one street, the buildings growing less tall as they reached the slums- and he dropped down suddenly- disappearing into the shadows below.

But if the girl were clever...
She might notice the only open window of a building nearby.. with drapes blowing casually in the night winds.

[Goldie]

The girl was, indeed clever.

But since she wasn't exactly flying, and jumping down into the shadows would hide her from the moon's influences, she had to be cautious.

The moment the shadows overtook her, her ethereal glow dimmed as did her extra skills. She walked towards the open window and peered inside.

[visualspice]

On the opposing side of the room, large drapes of tattered clothe swung in the stale winds that rustled from the single open window. Long shadows painted the walls and floors, but the figure was evident, standing between layers and layers of moving clothe- set within a room that would other wise be open, where the maze of drapery was now shrouding it in it's mystery.

[Goldie]

Saoirse saw the future, but she hesitated. She had much more maneuverability out here in the open. This house could easily be a trap.

She chewed on her lip.

If she stay outside, she could lose him and then she'd never get answers. If she went in....well....he had already been stabbed by her throwing knives and bloody ran away like nothing happened.

"I'm not a mouse." She called from outside, deciding to be safer, "and I'm no fool."

[visualspice]

If he heard or, he made no reaction, his tall form an imposing shadow- remaining between the gentle swaying layers of the drapery. The only thing that could be ascertained was that he was looking in her direction...
and if she could see- and he surmised the elf had very good eyesight...
That he still had the daggers jutting out from his form.

[Goldie]

It made for an incredibly unsettling sight. Everything about this scene screamed at her to leave, that this mystery wasn't worth solving. She imagined the pain that would fill her father, her cousins, her friends, if she were to enter this house and never return to them.

But would she be able to sleep at night without knowing?

Would death be a cost she was willing to pay for answers?

You idiot, there is a 3rd option the little voice in her head chided her. Of course, the voice was right. The voice was always right. Her voice was the answer.

So she began to weave a ballad. She sang of their chase through the sky, sang of this moment, right here, in this house.

The illusions erupted through the window. 3, 4, 5 different Saorise's crept through the house. She put her will into the images to make them corporeal - a skill that drained her strength quickly, but just might save her life.

One of the Saoirse's walked towarda the curtain and drew it back.