Beyond the Wall of Sleep

[Jirai]

"She's dead." Words snapped quickly, the dark elf's hard gaze travelling over the three swiftly. The elf - she couldn't think of his name for the life of her, but what did it matter? - had a sword. That merited some consideration. Glenn did not appear to be armed, but that wasn't necessarily the case. And Suede... well, one never knew with him. Jirai frowned. Then she grinned abruptly.

"An elf in the Underdark." She purred, turning her attention towards Seth. "Bit foolish, isn't that?"

"And Glenn Burnie. Liar and deal breaker." She quite deliberately skipped over Suede as her glance moved to the mapmaker.

"Perhaps I should just make my life easier and kill all of you right here, hmm?"

A shrug of her shoulder sent the crossbow sliding into her hands, daggers having disappeared somewhere about her person. Nimble fingers spun the dial until the crystal mounted on the weapon was glowing red.

[Glenn]

Liar and dealbreaker? Really? That was rather harsh language considering that she hadn't been nearly so harsh the morning before when they were training together. Well, no, she did cut him repeatedly and try to kill him but it had hardly seemed so personal at the time.

Of course, he was a liar and a dealbreaker, to an extent. At least, he never intended to fulfill his side of things. He had come to her at his very lowest and people paid for his poor intentions. He simply couldn't give her that child, however. He couldn't give any child up to be raised by a Drow. Even being raised by Suede was better than that, by far.

"Really, 'Rai, that's hardly polite talk between friends and associates. I promised you the whereabouts of the child and here I've brought you the one man in the world who knows. And Suede, you wanted the crossbow and she's about to kill us with it, so really, I think I've more than done my part here. Above and beyond the call of duty. All my debts are paid." It was one thing to get stabbed in the dream. Getting killed by a magical object, however? That was something else entirely. He wished that Ariane had time to tell him more about that blasted crossbow. He really did.

Therefore, part of him wanted to act immediately, to just get it over with, just in case. His final solution likely wouldn't return her sanity at all. It might make her less of a threat, but it could make her far, far worse off. Granted, It would make him feel much better, however, and would be making Myrken safer... probably.

On the other hand, though, he had spent so much time with her these last few months and Ariane had often spoken fondly of the drow. Part of him very much DID want to help her. Maybe if he just waited a bit longer, maybe if he saw what was really going on with these dreams... maybe he could help her after all.

[Suede]

"Funny, she looks to still be breathing to me." She may not have addressed him when she did the other two, but she was still talking to him. The problem with that was he couldn't tell if it was a good or bad thing. His hope was that it meant she wasn't considering him when discussing killing folks. After all, if she really was after Tsoss, then she'd need to keep him alive to find the boy.

He gave Glenn a baleful look. "Generally, one doesn't want an object killing them as a means of receiving it. You should slip on over there and relieve her of it before she puts someone's eyes out." He was checking the area to decide if he could actually hide. There were places, of course, but who was to say if any of them meant anything when she could control the landscape at will.

"And if you burn us in flames it may make your life easier," Suede crossed his arms defiantly. "but it'd be a hell of a lot more boring!" He paused and thought about what he said, it wasn't the best comeback in the world. If Glenn knew nothing of the crossbow, he hoped the man at least took his words carefully. Hopefully it was fire and not lava this time.

Suede may not have shared Glenn's experience in the dreamscape before, but he'd been within one before. He'd died there, devoured by a werewolf, and it wasn't an experience he'd wanted to repeat. With a subtle shift he moved so any projectile sent his way would hit Glenn first. The hand on his more exposed side slid into one of his pockets.

[Seth_Bloodmoon]

A slight smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth as Jirai turned her attention to him and spoke. A shrug of Seth's shoulder was given to her words, "I've never seen the Underdark before so I figured why not give it a peek. Whether it is foolish or not remains to be seen," speaking in a non-chalant manner.

The tall elf was quiet once more, brilliant blue eyes still focused upon the dark elf, watching her carefully as Glenn responded to her words. When he saw her ready that crossbow, he tensed ever so slightly, taking note of the crystal took on that reddish glow. That was interesting, not good, but interesting.

As Suede spoke up, Seth put two and two together about the red glow that had filled the crystal. Being burned to death didn't sound like a fun thing. Still, whereas the tailor shifted to ensure Glenn would be struck first if a projectile was sent flying, the tall elf didn't. Instead, he took a single step forward to bring himself right alongside the mapmaker if possible, still in a defensive stance and not once taking his eyes off the drow.

[Jirai]

Glenn had alwasy been confused on what, exactly, Jirai wanted. But then, who would blame the mapmaker for not being able to follow the twisted workings of the dark elf's mind?

"I don't want the child." That went against what she'd said when making the deal with the mapmaker, but then, this was certainly Jirai Auvryrahel speaking at the moment. Perhaps that was an explanation of sorts. "But you still haven't fulfilled your side of the deal, Burnie. Though at least you have figured out that just disappearing isn't a very good way to handle things." The dark elf continued to caress the weapon in her hands, not quite in a firing position yet. She was clearly confident that she had the upper hand here.

"Too boring for you, tailor?" Teeth flashed in an eerie grin. She lifted the weapon, pointing it directly at Suede. And, consequently, at the other two, since Suede had managed to not be on the front lines. She made as if to pull the trigger before lowering the weapon slightly. "Perhaps you have a point though. I could show you a much more interesting way. Unless your friends prefer the fire, of course. I always aim to please."

[Glenn]

"Then what do you want?" In his mind, this could truly be enough. In the end, though, what he thought didn't really matter, did it? Not if she wasn't satisfied. Not if she would kill because of him. Still, he rarely asked a question so direct to her. Usually, he'd suspect or guess or try to FORCE information out of her by backing her into a corner. He probably would, still, here and now. This was a good place for it, but not yet, especially not with Suede here to draw different reactions out of her. He intended to succeed in this dream, but learning what he could was a large part of that.

She didn't fire. She shouldn't be AWARE that she could control the environment here. How could she be if she wasn't even sure she was asleep. It meant that he could take subtle control over things, and he would, if it came to that. As long as she didn't become aware, he'd have an edge. Still... making things interesting? He didn't quite like the sound of that. "Tell me what you want and we'll see what we can do?" Him and Jirai? Or maybe he was grouping all of them together. They were in this together against her in a way, after all. She WAS pointing he weapon at all of them.

[Suede]

"And your aim has always be fairly sharp." He was referring to the multiple stab wounds and scars that littered his body, of course. Suede never really thought Jirai had much interest in Tsoss. That wasn't to claim he knew exactly what she was after, but the child hardly seemed anything she'd be interested in. No maternal instincts, and it was a boy to boot.

Suede took her comment about disappearing as a personal jab. He had himself a nice little wall of fleshy other people to guard him, this was good for a shot or two, and thus he was feeling a bit daring with his words. "At least one part of you was! I can't say that you've impressed me of late with your intellectual persuits. I suppose Faeryl wasn't good for everything."

He yawned widely, stretching his free hand high overhead. "Honestly, Qu'essan, whatever you can come up with will likely be as droll as that woman's idea of fun. You've gotten boring and predictable. Your crossbow may still spit fire, but your flame has gone out."

[Seth_Bloodmoon]

Watching and waiting, Seth listened to Jirai and Glenn exhange words about something he knew nothing of. This is what the tall elf got for having pulled his own disappearing act. Though he had a good reason, in his mind for having done such. Of course it was just as likely he'd have no idea about the things they spoke of even if he hadn't left Myrkenwood for so long.

Twin pools of brilliant blue narrowed ever so slightly as the drow addressed Suede. Though it wasn't exactly her words that had caused the narrowing of his eyes. It was the fact she had lowered that special crossbow of hers and mimicked pulling that trigger. Privately, Seth thought he could do without things getting more 'interesting', but held his tongue on that matter.

The tall elf resisted the urge to cast a glance Suede's way as the man offered up his response to the dark elf. Yet he resisted the urge, not willing to take his eyes off the drow at the moment seeing as there was the issue of that crossbow she was wielding. Surely the tailor's words weren't helping the matter? Oh well, the words had been uttered already and there was only one thing to do. Face the possible consequences another man's words might bring about! Joy!

[Jirai]

Glenn might not be good at figuring out what Jirai wanted, but Suede was, as ever, incredibly skilled at pissing Jirai off.

She had been about to respond to Glenn Burnie's question, mouth even open -- but Suede's mouth was even faster and the dark elf's gaze locked in on the tailor, past the other two. She lunged at the man, almost as though she'd forgotten she held the crossbow. That, or she was planning to stab Suede with it. "As if you know anything about what Faeryl is doing." She snarled. Things began wavering again, and Jirai's face was quite an interesting sight, scarred one moment and smooth the next. Not that she noticed, not at all. Nor did she notice how the floor was stone one minute and wood the next, nor how the tavern's walls and the carved stalactites fought for supremacy. She wasn't even noticing Glenn and Seth that much, despite her attempt to rush through them for the tailor beyond.

[Glenn]

Glenn may not have known what she wanted, but he certainly knew how she moved. He knew her strengths and weaknesses. He knew her inclinations. He knew her physical tells. He had a pretty good idea exactly how strong and fast she was, exactly. Learning those things was the only thing that had kept him alive over the last many months.

So she would attempt to lunge towards Suede... through them. He could have tried to stop her with his body. He did weigh more after all. He could have pulled out a concealed weapon and tried to slash her as she passed. He could have just let her pass and hit her from behind. Instead however, he would grab hold of the crossbow and dive his body the other way. It meant that she could get past him to Suede if she wanted. All she had to do was let go of the crossbow and let him have it.

That IS what the tailor asked for before he made an ass of himself and denied Glenn some useful information, right? That the mapmaker relieve her of the crossbow before she put someone's eye out with it. Maybe Suede ought to have asked Glenn to watch his back instead, because so long as Jirai let go of the weapon, she'd have a much clearer path to the man's throat.

Of course, if she did hang on, there was a very good chance the two of them would be spiraling off to the side now, a congealed twist of human and drow.

[Suede]

It's poor planning to invite Suede to something and not expect him to be an ass. It's what he did. Many of his visits to the Broken Dagger had involved singling someone out and pushing their buttons until something snapped. He liked to know exactly how to drive someone to anger, it caused them to make mistakes he could exploit. Suede was smart enough to know he could succeed much more easily with any means to set his opponent off balance.

Glenn should appreciate that. A few words and Jirai's focus had wavered, her control over their surroundings was flickering away, which meant no sudden nasty surprises. Seth didn't know Suede, but at least realize things weren't getting as interesting as they could.

Suede met Jirai's stare with an arrogant look from narrowed eyes. His smile had turned sickeningly sweet. "Of course I do. She's making you a pretty little puppet, bending you over a barrel and you're just smiling as she turns you into a slave. You're so blinded by the word daughter you don't even care." The end of his words was rushed out as she was rushed out as she was about to reach Glenn and Seth. He realized the man wasn't going to be a very good wall and took a step back in preparation of a very painful encounter.

[Seth_Bloodmoon]

Well it definately seemed as if Suede knew what buttons to push with the drow, that much was easy enough to figure out judging by her reaction. Seth understood baiting an opponent, and was thankful the tailor's attempts seemed to distract the drow from doing interesting things with that special crossbow of hers. Well, for the moment at least. However, there was the fact she was coming right towards them with the weapon still in hand.

For the moment the tall elf utterly ignored the wavering surroundings. Tavern or cavern made no difference to him. Well, unless some random obstacle popped up. That could be a little awkward. It was a little harder to ignore Jirai's shifting face. At least there was the firm knowledge that this was indeed a dream.

As Glenn made his move to try and grab the crossbow, Seth manuevered himself to be out of the mapmaker's way, depending which direction he dove. Now what the tall elf would do next truly revolved around whether or not the dark elf relinqished her hold on the weapon or not.

Should Jirai let go of the weapon in favor of continuing her lunge for Suede, the tall elf would then attempt to throw himself bodily into the drow in the hopes of preventing her from reaching er target. While he didn't know Suede really, he didn't feel the need to let the man get mauled by a rabid dark elf after all. The tailor had perhaps prevented them from getting blasted by whatever that magical crossbow
might fire.

Now, if she kept her grip upon that nasty little weapon, and ended up in a tangled heap of mapmaker and not so sane dark elf, Seth would then sheath Twilight Heart and move as quickly as possible to aid his friend. That aid would come in the form of the warrior elf trying to snag Jirai's arms if at all possible and ,if successful, do whatever he could to help break her hold on the crossbow.

[Jirai]

This was an interesting choice she had been presented with - not that she was consciously thinking about it. Still, conscious or not, a decision was made. As the crossbow ripped out of her hands, her face had settled into the scarred version, the tavern took the place of the Underdark, and Jirai tackled Suede even as Seth slammed into her from behind. Doubtless it would be quite a brawl - until one of the three got a weapon out. Jirai herself was trying to get a dagger into one hand while also trying to make sure that the tailor couldn't escape. This had the unfortunate side effect of not leaving her any hands to fend off Seth though, but it would be worth it if she could get a blade into Suede.

[Glenn]

Well, that was easy. Easy and relatively satisfying too. Tremendously distracting too. There he was, destructive magical crossbow in hand. Were this the waking world, he could have ended the problem of Jirai just like that. All it would take would be a few words to get Seth back. Of course, it might end the problem of Suede too. Nasty side-effect but a more or less benign one.

Even here, in the dream, the weapon might be magical enough to do the trick. If he killed her with it, she might not wake up. It'd feel damn good too to launch so destructive a wave upon her. Then he could figure out just where she was and take the weapon upon waking. It'd likely end the problem of Sarayn too, if he had it. It'd end a LOT of his problems. He all but licked his lips at the the thought. Violence had such an appeal these days.

It took conscious effort to pull himself back to reality. It wasn't the answer and he well knew it. "Enough." He barked out. "Ariane told me all about this crossbow, Jirai, including how to use it." He spoke up knowing full well that she probably wouldn't stop trying to kill the tailor at first. "Either you stand down or else I'll shoot this. You probably don't care if I kill you, but you're so close to killing Roschen and I'd get to do it instead of you. Do you really want that to be your last thought? That some mapmaker human ended him (and you) when you were so close to doing it yourself? When you could almost taste it?" He had no idea what she wanted or what would affect her anymore. He spent most of his time not getting affected BY her. Still, this was building off of Suede's goading and it felt pretty right.

"What were you saying before, Jirai? What do you want from me? And why would you possibly choose to wear those scars when you don't even have them? Why do you see yourself that way?" He was going to use this explosive bit of leverage in his hands for as much as it was worth, or at least that was the plan.

[Suede]

Suede could handle Jirai's weight, even with her momentum. She wasn't large by human standards, and he may nearly have kept his balance had Seth not joined in the fray as well. So down they all went, and Suede was distinctly aware that he may as well have been wrestling with a six-headed snake.

As he hit the ground one of Suede's hands went for Jirai's dagger seeking arm, to try and take hold of it so she couldn't draw a weapon out. Even if he could just delay her, that would be good enough. His other went for the side of her neck, digging a thumb into the side of her throat to try and cut off her breathing. He had no idea if either act would help, but they were two good chances to force her to change up her approach. Maybe that would give Seth enough time to pin her down.

He seemed surprisingly unconcerned through all this, perhaps lulled too much by the idea of this only being a dream. "I'm honored, Qu'essan, that you'd rather have me in your arms than --OW-- than your crossbow. How sweet." Someone had struck him in the face mid-banter and ruined the entire thing.

And Glenn was talking about killing him, like he was some sort of prize, and rather disrespectfully. It would be wise to start treating him here like a full enemy, just to be safe. He did like the man's train of thought, though. "Perhaps it's because she realizes Faeryl uses her new appearance as a collar, or maybe that I'm here, and I never much minded how scarred she was." Twist those words deeper and deeper. See what she'll do, Suede.