by CherryStatic » Thu Sep 11, 2014 2:27 pm
She didn't care much for the way she was being addressed, but she supposed that the Lady Warden typically commanded a bit more respect than she was being shown. It wouldn't do to antagonize someone that could cause her trouble down the line.
The noblewoman's subtle attempt at intimidation rolled off of Bern like rainwater on oilcloth, but her words carried a certain amount of merit that couldn't be ignored. If Gloria truly was who this woman claimed she was, then perhaps she wasn't useless after all. Although, one's occupation mattered little if a lack of common sense guided your hands. Or hand, in Gloria's case. If help came in the form of the Kestrel, she wouldn't refuse it. But she wasn't going to lick the woman's boots.
"Yes, yes, I've heard the stories." She waved a hand impatiently. "Military prowess and all that. An upstanding individual. I'm sure I pale in comparison." She leveled her gaze with Egris' own. "If you're here as a favor to Gloria, and we really are partners in this, then I'm treating you like a woman with a blade, nothing more, nothing less. I assume that's how you regard me already, so that shouldn't be a problem."
"And I know fully well that you're talented with that weapon of yours." Her green eyes were appraising. "Just know that there's a reason I'm never wanting for work."
When Egris noted how long the barkeep was taking, Bern glanced at the doorway the man had disappeared through. She supposed he had been gone for longer than it took to find a single key. Perhaps he had misplaced it?
She opened her mouth to respond, just as the before mentioned barkeep reappeared. He moved somewhat stiffly, but produced the key, laying it upon the counter between himself and the women. His eyes rose to meet theirs, looking first at Bern, then at Egris.
"I hope you find what you're looking for." he said.
Bern narrowed her eyes as a bead of sweat trickled down the side of his face, but she picked the key up all the same. She glanced at Egris, shrugged, and moved towards the stairs that led to the guest rooms, her footsteps silent but the steps creaking all the same.
An L-shaped hallway led them to a dead end comprised of a window between two opposing doors. The door on the right was her client's and she slipped the key into the lock, turning it with a barely audible click. She pushed it open a few inches with her fingertips, peering into the room.
A lamp had been lit.
She kicked the door open the rest of the way, drawing a throwing knife from her boot. The room was undisturbed, everything where it should have been as far as Bern was concerned, with the exception of the woman who sat cross legged on the bed, flipping through a book with no title on its cover. She wore skin tight red-leather, and her brown hair was woven into a simple braid pulled over one shoulder. A lengthy baton hung from a chain on her wrist, laying next to her on the mattress. She glanced up at the half-elf and her companion with a smile.
"Hi. I was just flipping through her journal." She indicated the book, a look of amusement on her face. "It looks like she really did forget everything. I thought she was joking." She shook her head in mock wonder, setting the book down.
She rose to her feet, and Bern tensed. Every muscle in her body screamed at her to put a knife between the oddly-cheerful woman's eyes, but she knew that if she did, she would be no closer to learning the whereabouts of her client than she had been five minutes ago. So, she waited, finger's ready to loose the blade across the room and pluck another from her boot should the first one fail to find it's mark.
"Be ready." she growled to Egris. She turned her eyes on the woman, who was now rolling the baton between her fingers. "Who are you?"
"My name's Molleine." the woman said, smiling in greeting. She pointed the baton at them, addressing them respectively. "You're Bern Clydell, a bounty hunter, and you're Egris Verreaux, the Lady Warden of Myrken. You're both pretty dangerous, or so they say." Her smile widened, contradicting the atmosphere in the room. "I was supposed to stay here and observe "Vixen", or whatever she's calling herself, but now that she's with the others, I'm on cleanup detail. Boring, right?"
The baton swung down to her side, and the smile lessened. The woman's eyes took on a somewhat glazed look. "Anyway, this is the end of the line. Sorry to do this after having just met."
A spark skipped off the end of the baton. Bern's eyes widened as a white-hot coil of energy danced along the length of the metal, hissing and popping as it folded back on itself. The woman, entirely unconcerned with this development, dropped into a half-crouch, the baton held at an angle in front of her.
Bern knew that, for at least one of those present, this was going to hurt.