Adrift...not Lost

[Missyb1]

The training did start just like her mother said and a grueling, mental grind it was for the youthful girl. By day her barmaid job did not change but her nights were full of conditioning, stretching and even some mock weapon fighting. There was so much thrown at her in the first few weeks Mialee even forgot to ask which day was which. Everything was a blur of constant activity. She grew even more lean and slender. Her body hardening as her muscles learned to be fast twitch, reacting to little changes as Martin tossed countless exercises at her. Mialee was so tired and sore that she finally knew what it was like to be a zombie shuffling from table to table with tiny groans.

"Ready for tonight?" The question came from Martin, she knew his voice like that of her mother but there was a tone, something different.

"No...I feel like someone put me through a wringer..." she muttered and looked up when he didn't laugh. He always laughed when she complained and her eyes looked up from the table to find his moving up to find her own. She knew what he had been looking at and she blushed even as her heart skipped a beat. Mialee was very aware of how manly he was even though he had not made a move towards her. She spent many nights wishing he would and the same scared to death of it as well. There was something about his eyes that frightened her as if he was holding something very dark at bay.

"No, this is different. A new phase." Martin said and crossed his muscular arms forearms flexing in the shadowy light of the setting sun. The minutes ticked by and soon they were standing at the back of the Lion and he was moving his hands in a different pattern, bringing the magic of the doorway to life. Mialee had been watching him use the door every night for the last few weeks and noticed he had a very specific pattern to calling the magic. But something wasn't right about the actions and her training had taught her to find hidden things meant to be lost to the common eye. Tonight, with the changing of the pattern she noticed it for the first time. His left hand twitched in his pocket as the right moved quickly through a new pattern. The left...what was in the pocket? There must be something else to the door and suddenly Mialee was very interested in the left pocket of his vest. But her thoughts disappeared as he ushered her into a room, a long narrow room and the clicking of mechanical things made her cover her ears as she passed through the doorway.

The room was nothing short of amazing. Wooden walls and flooring with magical floating light globes set in different areas revealed a long room full of moving, whizzing, shrieking mechanical and magical pieces of equipment. Each one was doing something different, bizarre or both. Her eyes saw huge swinging blades, a trapdoor set into the floor hanging open, the smoldering fire shimmering from several holes set into one wall and many other things ranging from dangerous to ensnaring. As Mialee looked on Martin touched a wall panel and everything "reset",leaving the room looking quiet and safe.

She groaned as it became very apparent what Martin had in mind but she gave him a "come on" look anyways.

"This is The Hall. Come I will show you how to identify, understand, disable and sometimes even remove or reset each and every one of these contraptions. Then, I will leave you here to get through all of them or die trying." His eyes remained cold and dead to her and she knew he meant every word.

Her gave her a small push and nodded "The first..."

[Missyb1]

The traps, oh the traps she learned over the next few months of training. Some mechanical and some magical. Their were traps designed to capture and hold prey, designed to paralyze with mind numbing spells and even some that causes all of the life force to be sucked dry from the victim. Mialee was introduced to each slowly. Then there were the demonstrations of how they actually worked. Then she was taught by Martin how to spot and mark them. Mialee excelled at marking them and finally Martin just shook his head as she moved onward towards the magical and holy traps. She was learning skills quickly but there was something missing from her approach. There was no ... Desire. Martin observed her many days examining and disarming all manners of dangers but there was no reason besides the learning itself. Granted he enjoyed the view offered by the youthful woman's slender body but he wanted her to want to succeed, the price of failure something she hasn't known yet.

"Ok-enough!" Martin exclaimed one evening. "You have proven yourself skilled at The Room. There is no more training won't apply when you apply your skills later."

Mialee approached him slowly and moved to stand next to him. Martin was confusing to her for she had only been around him for months besides patrons at the Lion yet he seemed even harder to be around the last few days. He seemed angry about something and no matter what she said to him he would answer as curtly and short as possible.

"Come on, back to the tavern. We will speak about your next training." And with that statement they were back in the main bar area within minutes and Martin walked away shortly after ordering a meal for them and setting his vest on the chair next to her. "I'll be back." He commented to the barkeep as much as Mialee and moved away.

Mialee stared at the vest. She knew there was something in that pocket and only a few seconds later her hand was moving into it. Tentative yet curious her fingers closed on the strange symbol that he wore around his neck and another, small globe. Removing both she stopped and smiled, cradling them in her lap. The symbol was of a black billowy mask, with diamonds set as eye slits. The globe was made of metal and had a strange band with notched set at intervals. It was the size of a walnut and she spun it carefully once right and left feeling it "click" at each notch.

"So that's how it works but how does he know where?" She whispered and continued to ignore the room around her as she felt the ball and tiny ridges near each notch. "A language?" She thought aloud and continued to study until a form broke up the meager light. She cupped them both carefully and hidden under the table, her face blushing at being caught.

The woman, Selina stood panicked, looking right and left very scared. She was a cook for the tavern since being beaten badly by a patron after a particular situation. (She stole his belt purse but no one told Mialee that part). Mialee thought she had been pretty but now her face was marred by knife scars. "What's the matter Selina?" She asked trying to hide her embarrassment at stealing from Martin and being caught but the woman was almost in a state of shock.

"My kids... Gone! They were playing back there a few minutes ago..." She exclaimed her fear etched on her face. "Kids?" Mialee asked as if wondering if she knew Selina had children but the woman pressed on. "Oh they've gone through The Doorplease do something!" Selina begged, reaching for Mialee's arm. "I won't tell, I won't say anything but find them!" She begged, tears rolling down her face now.

Mialee held up a hand, the one without the symbol and globe. "I... " she started but the woman grabbed her with a soft wail and dragged her several steps before stopping. "Please... You are the only one here!" That was a true statement and Mialee cringed at the passion and fire the woman possessed about her children. As much as she didn't want to do it she knew a few things. One, the children must have gone into The Room as the door appeared to only work bidirectionally between two spots at one time. Two, they must only have been there for a few minutes. Three, Selina's face was set in a mask of fear and determination and Mialee was scared to tell her no. So allowed the woman to literally push her towards the door finally both of them standing before it. Mialee cupped the symbol in her hand, not allowing Selina to see and moved it in the same pattern Martin had been using and did not move the globe at all.

The two women opened the door and stepped inside, the familiar sound of the running mechanisms bringing a groan to Mialee's lips. "The room wasn't active..." She mumbled as her eyes adjusted to the dim light of the long, dangerous room.

[Missyb1]

the scream startled Mialee out of her wandering thoughts. It was a rending scream of despair as Selina clutched at her breast, twisting the material there with fingers quickly losing their color. The children were alive but midway through the room. The boy, maybe six or seven by a quick estimation was staring intently yet not moving a muscle. Mialee could see the rolling of his eyes and she knew that he had hit the paralyzation trap having felt it's body numbing chills. But Mialee understood that it was only half of the insidious trap. The girl was further away almost to the end actually and Mialee's face scrunched up in curiousity. 'how did they get so far?' She wondered but the movement of Selina made her focus on the task at hand as the woman walked forward.

"Stop!" Mialee exclaimed reaching for the woman's trailing dress. "Do not!"

Selina looked back, fear and pain on her face. "Look at them... I have too! I'm coming!" She shouted. The woman waited for Mialee. Her eyes pleading with the young woman to help but Mialee was still trying to sort everything out. It was all moving too fast for her. She was starting to panic. Selina snorted her derision and started walking forward. "This isn't so bad I can wal..."

The blade that descended silenced the rest of the comment and the rest of Selina's life. It was a giant blade, curved and wicked with so much tension build up in the ceiling mount that the woman's body fell in twain at the waist with no sound besides the sudden flushing of bowels and organs. Mialee flinched away from the horrible sound and sudden stench that filled the room. She looked up to find the boys eyes affixed on his mother's body and yet no tremble coming from his own so complete was the spell. 'I have to get them...' She thought and she took a deep breath suddenly quite aware of her own mortality in this deadly room. The smell of Selina's passing was a horrible thing and Mialee's eyes watered at the olfactory experience. The floor was now slick in that spot yet Mialee knew that the trap would not fire again. Stepping quickly, slipping once in the cooling blood on the floor she moved to the next trap.

So it was with complete surprise when the familiar 'snick' sound of the pressure plate behind her feet brought another blade swinging from the shadowy rafters. Mialee danced desperately to the side attempting to flatten against the wall and make herself as thin as possible. Her mind and body moving beyond physical thought in pure trained muscle twitch and calculation. The blade swooped by her own midsection as she hit the wall and her body compressing into it as the cruel edge tugged against her form fitting clothing.

"What was that?!" She shouted as if to someone standing observing the room. When her voice echoed and faded without a response she grew just a bit more fearful. The room wasn't the same, not really or she had only been trained on some of it. Her eyes darted to the frozen body and the girl that was now a bit more visible. Mialee hated the fact she couldn't see well in the dark and by squinting she could make out the outline of the girls dress and the trembling form under it. Mialee ground her teeth at the changing situation and her reaction to it.

'Why should you keep going and get yourself killed for them?'

The thought was wisp like, vapory and cold. Mialee looked around but again there was no one around. Surely she didn't just think that. She looked up at the children and blinked slowly.

'You could just leave. After all they aren't your children. Why did they go where they don't belong? You have to be ready to pay when you play.'

It continued sinewy, corrupting, convincing. Mialee took at step forward knowing that she had to move to save the children, knowing she could get through the traps in the room but... What if she couldn't? What if she died trying to save some one else's kids? How did she even know who's they really were? The struggle was epic to a bystander. Clearly the young woman was struggling internally.

When the thin spray of oil jetted out over the boy's legs Mialee blinked slowly. This was new as well. The trap room wasn't the same now. Clearly the risk of a mistake, of death rose significantly.

'You can make it through. You are skilled. But... Why risk yourself for them? The less skilled. The weak.' Mialee wanted to scream out loud but she nodded slowly to herself. The lick of flame, a puff actually ignited the oil coating the boy's legs. Meanwhile the girl screamed out "Help.. I've stepped on something! Help!" The boy made no noise but his eyes rolled in agony of the growing conflagration.

'There is no gain here.'Mialee's mind whispered to her. It wasn't another's voice. It was her own. Quickly she backed away from the wall and turned, stepping in the gore of Selina's body pooled on the floor. She strode to the door, knowing it would take her back. Knowing that she was stronger now. The test proving that she would learn to survive, regardless the cost. The smile that graced the corners of her mouth betrayed no feeling of remorse on the young beauty's face.

[Missyb1]

Mialee realized she had been scrubbing the table for some time now. It was an absentminded motion and was starting to draw guarded but curious stares since she appeared to just be swiping the rag against the same spot over and over. Her lip curled in self-amusement and shrugged before dropping the towel on the table and standing up. She wasn't interested in the card game nor a drink although the comforting thought of just one came to the forefront of her mind.

Moving quickly, as if to not allow that simple thought more traction, Mialee stood and moved to the exit promising to return to the oddly comforting bar. She made her way out into the streets and smiled secretly at the noise there. The sun was shining yet here, in this place there was a lack of hope. She knew this scent. Where the thought of alcohol was comforting this scent, the twinge of despair made her happy. This was a place she could survive, make a name for herself, maybe avoid the past? She brushed by the woman holding a sickly child even as the woman pleaded with her eyes more than her voice. "Not Likely." Mialee responded and instead moved towards the invisible gates that always existed between the haves and the have nots. It would be a simple, subtle shift but Mialee knew on the other side would be those that would move her forward in life.

Mialee managed to find an open bench and slowly, tentatively sat down. The garden was massive and it appeared like a forest to the Waterdeep raised girl. There were no peasants here, no beggars and the passing army troops insured there were no interruptions to the people's daily lives.

"The Legion" she whispered watching the men and women move in carefully timed and unbending paths. She slide backwards uncomfortably but somehow she had been allowed here and was unmolested by the guards except for the occasion glance from a passerby. There were shops and temples even a bathhouse and library. The buildings were impeccable, shining white marble, bricks, tiles and polished wood. It wasn't unexpected coming from a large city but the difference between here and there were more like the difference between the sky and underground.

'How do they not have riots?' She wondered and immediately knew the answer as several heavily armed and armored knights walked by, one of the giving her a careful glance before continuing through the garden and moving into a giant structure more like a fortress than a building. She studied it for a long time and shook her head shaking out her blond hair.

Then she saw him. Walking out of the temple. He was definitely a knight. His armor gleamed like the rest of them and a sword hung from his belt like many but she could not take her blue eyes off his ... whatever color his were. He moved into the garden, his eyes moving left and right and she even noticed the friendly nod he gave to a passing noble woman. Oddly enough he was going to pass right by her bench and Mialee intended to make the most of it even if just as a voyeur.

But... Soon his gait wasn't changing not was his path veering away. He was walking directly up to her. Her eyes darted in growing trepidation instead of admiring the view of the handsome, chivalrous knight. Even as she moved to flee figuring he was going to make her leave the garden she could tell he was simply gorgeous. Maybe it was is young age, someone just about her own. Maybe it was the confidence and yet some type of vulnerability even with all of that armor. Maybe there was something to that romantic gesture around true love. Whatever it was Mialee's heart thudded in her chest, her palms were moist and yet she was frozen to the bench as he walked right up to her and introduced himself.

Mialee wasn't even sure what they talked about. His name was Michael Zollas. Andelain had mentioned her to him and that she should be around Aspirations. He also invited her to join him for dinner if she was so inclined tonight at the inn behind her. Mialee's eyes widened as she heard her own voice, confident yet innocently reply she would love to join him. Soon they said their goodbyes which while smooth were surprisingly awkward at least to her own ears. Michael moved away his armor making that grating sound of metal on metal and yet it was the most enchanting sound to her. He was a dream, wrapped in the trappings of a machine and yet his heart seemed big. Very big. And very unprotected? Slowly Mialee's thoughts about this most handsome creature went down many paths. She leaned back and smiled, suddenly very interested in dinner with Michael. The grin on her face looked like a young woman very much in love.

[Missyb1]

*** fast forward to after the Day of Broken Blades ***


As Mialee sat at the rickety table of the dingy, dirty two room apartment stacked in the middle of a three level twenty-unit building she realized how retched her life had drifted. She had done so much and had so much done to her in the short ... months of arriving in this crappy valley that she did not know wether to cry or smile. "I know it's been that long... My life didn't start with you." She called out to the room, never straying her eyes from the flickering flame of the wax candle they was even now burning low on the table. The single candle cast shadows on her face as well as the walls of the room that had been sanctuary for too long. 'Since that damn legion marched.' She thought to herself bitterly. The girl's slender fingers danced on the tabletop as she drifted between both ancient and recent histories. Things had not been going that well in the first place but at least she had not been left to living like a rat.

First had been Andelain the knight from the Triumvirate. He had been so gorgeous it first had made her forget herself or even why she had come to this valley. He had been kind and gentle without any real ulterior motive and she had come to appreciated him even more than his pretty face. "I would have changed..." She whispered aloud but squinted at the mocking laughter that seemed to lose from the wooden walls. Andelain had never questioned her, helped her without "protecting" her from danger or risk and made her feel useful. Just when she thought he was interested in her he grew distant, angry even and just disappeared. But he had left one lasting negative impression when he introduced her to "a good knight" named Michael Zollas.

Michael. Smooth tongued and a ladies man he had also made her feel important but for all the wrong reasons. Mialee snorted irritably in the gathering gloom of nightfall as a mouse moved slowly under the table. She had been smitten by Michael and found herself wanting to be with him. At first it seemed like a good match then she found out he did not feel the same about her. Michael was happy to disguise his feelings, allowing her to feel important to him and then tried to break her heart as cruelly as a demon spawn. First he asked for help find more information about groups and people like the "Black Hand" only to then find the idiot and his blonde girlfriend Chime doing the exact same thing. Mialee was even caught doing what Michael asked her to do by several of the Black Hand. Only quick thinking saved her life that day by offering her services to them; thus her alias 'Sarah West' had come into being. Even then she desired Michael but he again hid his feelings for another even while spending time with her. This began a tulmultuous relationship with Michael that left her without support. Even now she found her lips twist into a snarl at the thought of their nights together that ultimately ended with all of the gifts he showered upon her laying at his feet in front of that damned half finished temple. That whole Triumvirate group was a mess acting like they are better than everyone else, preaching about how they are always "more" then everyone. "Good thing they were wiped out by the battle." She smiled grimly and watched the mouse move closer to her boots.

Then there was the Black Hand. They were just about as bad as the Triumvirate. More fear me, fear this, fear the tyrant, fear, fear, fear. Mialee rubbed her wrists as she thought about the threat they made about cutting off her hands or giving her to the orcs if she messed up. Those were fears that hit home for the young woman but also made her decide to never give them the opportunity. So it was fairly easy to stay out of their way and not make waves but the symbol they gave her weighed heavily even tucked away in a pouch. One did not wave around a symbol of Bane but she just could not dump it. It was a free pass through certain areas. Free passes always made things a lot easier. Mialee had started a fairly good collection of them.

Mialee grinned and nodded. "I know, I know. Don't forget the children." She said to the empty room, talking to herself while her boot rose and crashed into the mouse, crushing and mashing it until the thin blood trickled from under the heel. The sound was disgustingly short and the smell of coppery death tickled her nose. It was easy enough to stumble into some of the children of Colibrus once she had access to Sestra. The Blood God. Now there was someone she could admire at least for his thirst and hatred but all she ever got from them was a dusty old book about the faith and vampires. "It's not like I'm going to become one of them or drink blood." Mialee smiled at the thought. Again they were a group that threatened, walking around like they owned everything but that didn't stop adventurers from going to the crossroads every night and killing a few of them for some extra coins. "Funny, they don't live up to the -eye for an eye- mantra very well."

Mialee lifted her boot heel and studied the puddle beneath her foot for a moment. "You know, I wouldn't have met you if not for him..." She trailed off and remembered the smiling unnamed elf who just happily pranced around her, bragging and ultimately faded into the shadows near Aspriations one bright day. Once again a male had demanded Mialee to make a promise or submit to their desires or allow them to invade her mind or some other cursed magic trick before helping her. But Mialee had shown them all by stealing a most precious book right out from the Sundren Library's special archives. She had unlocked his secret by herself but the knowledge had brought no joy, no sense of elation and absolutely no pride. Mialee had seen things better left unseen because of that elf's desire to not share nor guide her. Leaving her to fend for herself against the information contained within that damn book. "We don't get the choice to go back, do we? No we don't!" She whispered to no one and the giggled faintly. "And I brought you along didn't I? You had no chance without me..." She asked to the dimly lit room. Oh yes, she definitely wanted to find that elf again and show him just how helpful he had been.

When the legion marched against Sestra and the Black Hand Mialee knew it was only a matter of time before she was caught up in it all. She tried to figure out a way into the Legion through her contacts via some of the more lady-friendly commanders. She wanted to help, knew she needed to do something but it all moved too fast for her to risk her neck especially when the Legion was fond of hanging people out by the gates. No, she was not going to fight for a bunch of crazy zealots that only wanted everyone to fear them. Nor was she going to help the Triumvirate and their evil ways. It was not like anyone had given her what she wanted and even when they did it came with a string or heart break. So she hid in Sundren City's Cheapside district when the boots marched out that faithful period of war.

It was easy enough. The Rant family had sent a daughter away several years ago after a brush in with a guardsman. She had heard whispers on the streets of the blonde woman who had gone to Waterdeep to live with her aunt Selina. Mialee smiled like a cat as she had slipped into the very room she was in now that moonless evening. She could hear the snores of the family dreaming about their next worthless day of existence. The parents and two siblings of one Tracee Rant never woke from that evening's sleep. One by one the bodies were hidden in deep holes to never be seen again. "Yes, I know you helped... You are always helping..." She muttered and blinked away from the open doorway where the family had laid. Soon Mialee had a new identity, a home and a simple backstory of returning after her studies had been completed, only to find an empty home. The explanation would suffice to a group of people that had learned never to question things too closely.

She sighed and smeared the dead rodent all over the floor. "I know! Stop preaching at me. I feel it too. Time to come out of hiding." Mialee muttered and then glanced up certain she would catch the eyes this time of her partner but only finding the darkness where the candle couldn't penetrate. "Seriously, it's not like you were ever worth a damn before me." She sneered into the oily blackness before shivering violently as if something was retaliating against her tone or words. "Fine...you win" She trailed off, a whisper.

"Yes, I like it too. I told you when I met you it would be worth it. I know. Now what to do first..." Mialee stood and wiped her hands as if cleaning them free from the filth of the room. Soon after she stalked out of the apartment leaving it as if no one had been there. Except for the slime of the animal's remains against the weathered floor of the small apartment.

[Missyb1]

Focus…focus… exhale… focus….damn. Focus…Focus…cold!…

“Stop talking!” she muttered harshly and clenched her jaw in irritation before her blue eyes went back to the flickering flame of the single candle. Its mesmerizing dance casting an elongated shadow of the table based how it was placed on a chair to her left across the floor of the small dirty apartment. She huffed and leaned forward her breathing coming in short bursts as if having just run several miles. Her blonde hair was matted and darkened beads of perspiration trickled down her neck and chest to dampen her silk shirt and dark leather breeches. “Damn it!” she slammed her hand and then her head on the table and cursed like a sailor for a few long moments. The whispering cackle of laughter mocked her and guided her at the same time, infuriating her even more.

“Fine…it’s in here. I know it.” She said aloud to the empty room the shrill tone in her voice revealing the effort to convince any listeners. She grabbed the large time from the table that gave a wispy shimmer once it was firmly in her lap. Her slender fingers flipped pages quickly but no noise echoed from the action. Every possible minute had been spent this way. The paper notes came and went as did the Legion as they marched out of Sundren so did her days and nights. Training. The blessing and the curse of the book. It was an itch she could not scratch until she figured out the first key. 'The Merge' the unknown penman had called it in his cursive writing. Mialee had done it with the directions so penned but now...was it worth it?

"I saw it. I know I did... I ... don't need your help." She said from gritted teeth as the page turning slowed. The faintest of rasps told her she didn't see it in the book. That she did in fact need his help. The sound was chilling like a knife on bone but only she could hear it. Oh how she feared it but welcomed it at the same time.

"I'll try it again. I don't need you to show me. It can not be that hard." She explained and went back to trying until her body nearly collapsed from the strain. Finally with an exhausted sigh, sweat running like rivers from the multiple attempts and forcing something that could not be learned, she leaned back in the chair. Her lean body revealed through the thin wet clothing and chest heaving with gasps she again cussed at the failures.

"I hate you. But I need your help. I can not do this without you. Show me." She whispered and stuck out both arms with a grimace. Even if she wanted she could not explain the sense of joy as the form detached itself from the hazy shadow of the table on the floor. It was as if the black outline of a man just rose from the floor and stared at her with baleful orangish eyes. It's own limbs flowed over her arms like nightfall and she felt the inner twist of her mind as she finally learned the secret. The triumphant sound that slide from her lips was more sexual in its passioned gasp as the knowledge finally clicked together. She could bend to the shadow than the other way around. It was at this moment that the faceless form leaned closer and proceeded to suck the warmth from her body as it tightened its embrace. It was horrible and horrifying and she screamed trying to free herself from the icy grasp. But there was no escaping this payment and Mialee's eyes rolled white under the continuous drain. The numbing cold came fast and ruthless and those orange eyes gleamed as the creature fed.

It was over in what felt like mere moments. She shook her head as the room was back to normal save the candle having burned itself out in a puddle of wax and wick. The girl shivered as the night's efforts still dampened her clothing. She felt sticky and gross and wickedly hungry. The tome was back in her bag and she looked around as the thin line of dawn crept under the poorly fitting door to the apartment. "Are you there?" She whispered softly. "Are you?" She said again looking around the shadowy room. Finally she reached a decision and nodded "A dream. Just a stupid dream. But I remember now."

As she stood up Mialee barely kept her feet planted on the floor. It felt like she was on the deck of a ship and it was with a groan and a hiccup that she dry heaved several times with a gagging sound before actually throwing up. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand she stared at the mess and staggered away, flopping into the bed and sleeping like the dead. The orange eyes flashed in the deep darkness between the small hutch and the door at the sleeping girl.

[Missyb1]

Duplicate

[Missyb1]

The dream was vivid but most of them are when they happen in life. It was only in black and white yet the different gradients of black almost gave it an otherworldly color scheme of its own. The girl tossed and turned on the bed as the memory invaded her sleep. Her thin lips quivering at times smiling in others as the dream continued.

The rickety table that had so recently been the supper table for the Rant family held a book, several bottles and a single candle. The candle was a sticky, black-shaded semi-hard substance and while giving off the same light just added a dark ambience to the sparce room. The bottles were clearly potions and each was unstoppered as if ready to be put to use in a moment's notice. The woman did not appear worried though clear nervousness ripped through her willow-like form. She was clad in a loose-fitting white cotton shift that hugged her lithe frame and left nothing to the imagination of the slender body underneath. The only thing left on the table was the book. That book of secrets that she held so dear. Her only lifeline now and she was bound to learn its truths regardless of the price.

"So many mistakes made and yet through them I found you," the blonde woman whispered as she gazed at the book.

The tome shimmered and faded in the candle light as bringing its own shadows to the tiny room. Pools of them flickered chaotically as if trying to swallow the light of the single candle. She was confident that she knew what to do but the wiping of her palms against the dress betrayed her nervousness. She flipped pages again like a hundred times before. The secret was on two pages. Easy to miss unless someone was really looking for it. For the book was penned by a anonymous source and it was full of deceptions and misleading passages. Trickery and cleverness was their method but they were no judges. Individuals and individuality made up this brotherhood and she felt scared at this first step. If only that damn elf had cooperated. He was so high and mighty with his knowledge. He had forced her down this path. Again, someone else causing her problems and she grew spiteful even in the anticipation of completing this task. She was now left with this option. The deciphered scribbles of an unknown author.

'There is always a price.' A voice in her head whispered secretively. But the young woman waved the warning away. She had gotten her hands dirty before and this would not be the last time she made the difficult choice.

Ever so slowly she began to move. It was as fluid as she had ever known but more from skill than training for she was no dancer. Slowly her bare feet slide across the floor making no sound besides the soft scuffle of skin on wood. It was slow and sensual with nothing erotic to her movements yet clearly her state of dress would stir most to arousal. The blonde woman also felt a rising tension starting with her jaw and drifting to her limbs as it felt foolish to be moving in such a fashion. But she was patient, she was calm and slowly the energy built. Soon her doubt faded as the room grew a bit darker as if the candle was losing energy to light the room. The book seemed to be growing in stature and a hum filled her head echoing the growing power in the small apartment. The room faded and her focus began to clarify on the table and its contents. The young woman smiled and felt the dance continue into slides and pull backs her legs experiencing a comfortable burning sensation. Soon she was twirling and darting throughout the room and the minutes blended into tens of minutes and the dance continued.

Her breathing became labored, her body ached and she found that that dance owned her now. Her blue eyes looked for a way out but her body was not hers to control now. She looked at the book to find it pulsing between a deep blackness and wispy whiteness and then the pages flipped by themselves. Suddenly she was on a page never seen before. The figure drawn was humanoid and she saw its name, a real name. There were warnings and instructions but the woman had no time for that. Her price, what she earned and was deserving of was right in front of her. She panted out the sentence of gibberish, the language unknown to her and yet known all the same. She could feel the strain on her core self as the words were uttered from her parched lips. Perhaps she should have looked at the writing more carefully but she completed the sentence and the air stilled for a split second. The deal had been done. Suddenly the hum grew in intensity as the page flipped back to the ones she had seen before.

Twirling and dancing at a frantic place her hand unerringly darted out and grasp the two bottles on the table. She was gulping in air as she lept and spun under the table and her perspiration was soaking the dress and splattering on the floor. She danced with those two potions the necks held out away from her and trailing their contents. But the dark liquid was sucked away towards one corner of the room. Her eyes tried to remain on the shadowy corner but her dance was now in a state of unbelievable precision and horrible chaos. The book emitted small wisps of black and white smoke. The former unerringly finding the moving woman and the latter fading away to nothing.

Then the book slammed shut without a sound. The bottles held away from her form were empty and no trace remained of their contents. All of a sudden the dance's energy was gone from her head and her body. She could feel the horrible agony radiating from her limbs as she slowed once again feeling awkward and off. She panted fast, her small breasts rising and falling under the cloth shift that now was stuck to her body from the workout. The rising disappointment was held at bay by the sheer amount of effort that she had put into the dancing over the last hour.

Then she heard it. The buzzing sound. It was barely audible at first. It was coming from all around her and yet focused in her head. It was incessant. Not a buzzing sound but a whisper? A call and need? She blinked and shook her head. But it continued. Low and urgent. The girl groaned and blinked rapidly her breathing growing due to a rising nervousness of the unknown. Then she saw it. The eyes. Those orange eyes sparkling in the darkness. There was no shape but those eyes had life, horrible and chilling life and she grimaced realizing there was no protection if it meant her harm.

But it made no move. It watched her, never blinking from the gloom of the room. Slowly the candle diminished in intensity until they appeared like small island of light surrounded by oily black waters. The woman felt the eyes drift closer but she was no longer afraid of them or the owner. The whispering continued and she frowned straining to hear them. But there was no clarity, no form to the sound. She could not tell if they were even words. Then two words, horrific in their clarity sandwiched between the gibberish.

"PSj shhhs whsss phffft Joined ssssshhdr hhhwsss mmmmase sheess Teach."

Then she felt her arms gripped by a numbing force. For one moment that would not be recalled for some time came a joining of its and her world. The weakening and slipping of the planes that could be exploited in time to her benefit. But within that vision was the corrupted image of her own reality. The crumbling room set in a desolate apartment surrounded by whispers and calls of hunger, pain and want. There was no color here and the multiple shades of black and white made her eyes hurt with their intensity. It was as if a leech had sucked the color right out of the world. It was a meer moments glance and yet the woman screamed ... Screamed as the cold intensified...

Mialee sat straight up in the bed the sheets falling away from her naked form as she bit back the welling scream. She glanced at the form of the man next to her snoring lightly. The scream was still on her lips but she had managed not to emit it from her mouth this time. She slowed her breathing quickly and looked at the man next to her again literally feeling nothing for him in that moment. In fact murdering him just then crossed her mind and certainly if he had awoke and asked questions she would have done the deed. Mialee rubbed her blue eyes and looked to the right corner of the room. There he was. Those orange eyes boring into her yet the menacing malice within them shifted to the man next to her. She sighed and shook her head. She needed the man still. He had secrets that must be known.

'There would be time to play another time.' She thought to herself. Shifting slowly, she moved to wake him up for she needed something to get back to sleep that he would be more than happy to provide. And the baleful orange eyes glared silently on.

[Missyb1]

Mialee stared hard at the gloomy haze created by the overhead sun and canopy from a corpse of trees along the rutted roadway leading into Sestra. Her brow furrowed as she could see what she wanted to happen in her mind but the shadows in that recessed area remained still.

Do not force, allow...beg for it to do what you want... the voice that seemed only in her head hissed in that sickly icky fashion that still made her skin crawl. Especially just as she was about to fall asleep each night. Mialee knew that it could not harm her directly but just the gratingly twisted tone was enough to make her squirm uneasily.

A farmer and his wife passed by carrying what appeared to be eggs up the hilly roadway leading into town. They looked at the blonde woman curiously; clearly wondering why she was staring into the forest. That was until her almost manical gaze found them for a second, brow still knitted together. The pair put down their heads and moved on as fast as they could without running away. The guards were on patrol and yet as timing had it were not in the general vincinity at that moment. Flight was the better choice to these people rather than risking a discussion with the odd woman.

"Can't you stop? You're driving me cr... mad. With your constant words." The blonde spoke out loud not caring if the farmer heard or not. She had almost said it, the word. Crazy. Insane. 'Am I?' She thought and a ripple of fear ran through her and gripped her heart. 'I don't think I am... But maybe you never know...' she agonized over it for a moment before the never ceasing voice continued its jabbering inside her head.

Ever since that night when the book finally showed her a possible way to learn its secret ways without a real teacher physically in front of her. Mialee had no idea what she was giving up in return through that ceremony. The book had been short on those details. She awoke bound to this thing. She wasn't sure what exactly it was. Her shadow, a shadow, a monster or a friend? Both and none Mialee finally guessed. Whatever the reality, it was a sentient being from what it called home and she called Gloom for lack of a better name. It clearly did not like her world and she didn't like its own from the brief glimpses she had witnessed. At first it's voice was a small buzzing drone easy to ignore. But over the weeks and months since her "friend" appeared it had grown more clear and more demanding. It was not like she wasn't in charge but the constant needling and whining surrounded by an occasionally good idea just wore at the young woman. She actually refused to use its name as she feared that would give it even more of a foothold.

The worse part was she could not stop the voice. It spoke all the time. Rarely praise and usually demanding more of her, cursing her and telling her to do hateful things to anything that passed by. Mialee didn't mind such whispered thoughts for she often had similar ones but to have them battering her day and night, always hungry and thirsty for malice and pain was finally taking its toll. 'But I asked for it...' She thought and then wondered again about the odd devices she had started to collect. Did she really want to try them as planned?

But there was gain here and she kept hearing a stupid comment about "no pain, no gain." Mialee had gained from this partnership. She could feel other abilities just waiting to be released. Even now she was so close to the answer to bring forth something terribly useful from the gloomy spots of the world. People just didn't understand how much the sun was as good a friend as the growing dark of night. 'Everything in moderation, right?' She thought.

"Shut up!" Mialee shouted and for a brief moment It did along with the fauna at the edge of the woods. Slowly background noise came back and she smiled grimy. "Just shut up for a moment and let me think." She pleaded at a whisper to her shadowy companion.

Do as I tell you naive one. Allow for it. It will answer your call. I have made it so. came the reply after several moments of silence.

"You made it so? Idiot. You have done nothing. I hate you." The young young girl scoffed at the notice he had done any such thing.

The damn book. If it would have told her about this part she wouldn't have read it. Once again the world was conspiring against her as she was left to fend for herself. 'They all should pay... All of them.' She thought darkly and found it a comforting notion. "Yes all of them should." Mialee grinned, revealing her teeth as she finally felt that distinct "stretch" as if bending towards the shadowy lining of the trees. She knew this was the first sign of a successful breech into Gloom. The elation flooded her body and drained away any scared or concerned thoughts as she felt her hand gather and direct a piece of shadowy stuff, flinging it at a nearby stump. It flashed for a moment and swirled maddeningly around the stump before fading away. The wicked smile on her face spoke volumes about just how pleased she was with this discovery. Breaching Gloom was not easy and yet she had unlocked how to do it. By herself. With no one helping her. 'I'm coming for you elf.' She thought wickedly although a certain blonde female also flitted through her dark thoughts at the same moment.

That is it. Use it on your enemies or your friends and death will not be far behind. it whispered excitedly as if already tasting the usage of this skill.

Mialee grinned as well directly at the orangish eyes hidden so cleverly in her own shadow cast by the sun overhead. She looked up and down the road and shook her head at the notion of trying it on one of Sestra's inhabitants or even visitors. She was allowed entrance into the town and that access is something jealously granted and held. "I'm not losing that over something as stupid as you." She told the shadow at her feet. But...

Slowly Mialee made her way into a small caravan as it left the town. It was easy enough to smile and look away at one quite obese merchant as his cart moved roughly down the road and he eyed up her slender frame. Several minutes later and she was sitting next to the man who chatted like they were close friends. Mialee looked back into the covered goods and the set of orange eyes twinkling under the shadowy edge of the tarp. 'This one will be perfect to play with.' She thought and rested her hand on his shoulder as he droned on about the proper way to sell leather hides.

[Missyb1]

The audible gashing of teeth probably would have extended all the way back to that cursed temple that was slowly fading behind her except for the howling clipper that threatened to coat the city of Aquor in fresh powder. Mialee pulled the thick cloak closer to her chest but it was more in a reactive twitch than any real sense of chill. The dagger that set between her breasts moved not an inch with the movement and her jaw relaxed slighted trying the retain as much enamel as possible. The hilt set snugly into the wide belt that crossed over one shoulder and under her arm and she smiled grimly at the custom fit of the outfit. The damned shadowsilk was not easy to tailor especially a completely custom design. It shimmered while it was worked and its resistance to coloring away from darker hues was a pain in the rear. But like in all things she had persevered and finished it exactly how she wanted it done. But that was the problem. Things were definitely not going according to plan, in fact there was no plan anymore as far as she could tell. Adrift in a way only this Valley seemed to understand.

First was the symbiotic joining with her dark companion. That had not gone the way she had envisioned and even now the babblings of the creature continued unabated. His never ending whispering and cajoling made Mialee want to pull her hair out if just to find a moment of silence. But escaping him was a forgotten thing by now except in the arms of a bottle or a man. Either could reduce the volume of her companion long enough to find restless sleep. The creature's purpose was clear and she had to admire him for the singular focus to ruin anything good that it found. But Mialee knew deep down her mind was being worn down as well.

It was with pure accident that the warrior of Torm by the name Sawyer had decided to interrupt her drinking a few nights ago. Two things occurred in rapid succession. One was the babbling nearly ceased. Mialee did not make the connection at first so sudden was the change. The silence was so golden that she would have thrown herself at the man to repay him but then he just filled the silent void with his -own- babbling. Mialee was not sure how it happened but the rage that welled up inside her at that moment gave purpose to the lie about being accosted on the road. The walk to the scene of the crime was short and the area was lonely, just the place to not be seen. It was a simple thing to reveal her friend to the young knight, knowing full well what his reaction would be to the dark creature. Pity might have found her heart as she stepped behind him except that space was already filled by the delicious joy of her weapons slipping into his body. Soon the deed was done and she hefted the corpse slowly making her way from the secluded area. Someone else wanted this body and for all she cared he could have it. Then her friend's voice returned and with a vengeance. Not against her but encouraging her to do it again.

Find another of the light and snuff it out. Turn the world... Gloomy. Oh how he continued for days and days.

Then there was the Thayan. Even her own unplanned path with the knight had taken yet another turn but not for her betterment. No, he still knew the right way to treat a woman and Mialee felt her soft smile turn into a grin at their last meeting. The Enclave will certainly consider soundproofing rooms now. But the smile did not last nor did her eyes linger on the steep hill surrounded by the forboding metal gates of the Enclave. The knight was good in many ways to her needs but was far from hers alone and required a delicate touch to break down the chains that bound him. The question that surfaced was to what end? Mialee chose to keep walking and avoid that thought - letting her keeper continue to whisper his own thoughts on the subject.

Mialee made her way past the roaring fire and those stupid priestesses praising the fact they were able to start a huge fire and keep it going. "Big deal." She muttered under her breath as she passed. She found the pettiness of being critical of them helped avoid the looming spectre of personal reflection. It was not something she enjoyed and it was making her more and more irritable.

What about Kelly... Came the soft, incessant sound that echoed in her mind more than through her ears. This time his eyes were visible in the shadow cast by the scroll merchant's light spell and the tent itself.

"What about her?" Mialee snapped abruptly and aloud, "You should keep your thoughts to yourself." Not that she cared but the howling wind masked her voice some feet beyond her face and only brought the most curious of glances from the merchant as she passed.

But what about that frigid, sharp tongued woman? Why did Mialee always stumble into her and even more curious talk to her after continued verbal confrontations? Certainly it was not friendship as Mialee was sure she got nothing useful out of the woman. Maybe it was that Kelly tried so hard not to talk to anyone that it was more of a game? Pursing her lips, Mialee filed it away as useless thoughts to her current state of mind and needs. Kelly was Kelly and that is how she left it.

And the holy man? the voice whispered from the cut in the rocks as the Flagon appeared in the falling snow. He changed subjects just as fluidly as Mialee did which angered her more than a little for it revealed just how joined they really were. Damn that unnamed elf and his refusal to train her. Just another reason for her current life's woes and another person to blame for them.

What about Charoum...so much like Michael and yet so different. Naive and gentle yet unafraid of the dark. Her friend's voice faded away when she was with him but Charoum ultimately was playing with her like the others of that idiotic Triumvirate gang. Just dangling words on a string for her to grasp at, to learn more about him and his world only to pull it away and cover his tracks with meaningless drabble about trust and friendship. Mialee knew it was -her- fault again. That damned woman! If Chime would have kept her nose out of things then Mialee would have been set early on in this Valley. But once again that blonde bitch ruined Mialee's life with her judgements and sly whispered in enamoured ears. No one ever held Chime accountable for messing with people, trying to derail their own paths. Clearly Sune did not stand for anything good since at least two times the foul woman had corrupted Mialee's men against her. All in the name of "finding their true path" or some other dribble that was just a cover for the wickedness the blonde priestess held in her own heart that all may be as loveless as she was.

"She angers me so much!" She exhaled with a huff both of frustration and of warm breath on the short walk to the Flagon. The snow swirling around her head as the threat of a snowstorm lingered in the cold air. Cold. Mialee chuckled at the notion. People looked at her all the time and asked if she was cold due to her bared shoulders. Those people did not know cold. Not after his touch, his world. A mirror perhaps of her world or maybe it was how they saw the ground she walked on. He never spoke about it, ignoring her as she tried to do to him. What was this place he called home. She had seen the fringe. It granted her so much freedom yet she dared not press to hard. What if she fell into his world? What would happen?

'What if I opened the door to him. Allowed him in completely? What would I become?' Mialee asked herself this a dozen times a day. In her mind of course. She did not want to give him too much reason to push that direction with her. Mialee had been steered by a vicious and unrelenting human hand once before. What would happen if that hand was not of her world? Mialee hated the thought of giving herself into the creature, hated being considered anyone but her own person, strong and independent. Risking his full touch would be akin to giving up and becoming a slave in her mind.

"Would I be just another shell, a puppet for you? Would we watch all of this burn or would you control me forever, a slave in my owe body?" The question came out and she stopped near the door to the inn. The dwarf loitering there smirked at her question but did not reply. Her eyes were on the path around the lake anyways, her gaze holding her companion's own as it peeked at her from under a bushy shrub.

I would not do such a thing. We will be one. forever. Mialee shivered at the words but waved it away as part of the cold wind as it blew in off the lake.

Mialee smirked spotting Samuel in the windows of the Flagon as nightfall blanketed Aquor. Something about him drew her to this place again and again. Or maybe it was the Enclave and the twisted plots within, or maybe it was just to find that right moment with the priestess. It certainly was not with any sense of city loyalty as that might only belong to the floating place. But even there she felt like a stranger. No, there was no home for her. Nothing felt safe not even Waterdeep. The fringe. Could that be the place to call home? Could she even do such a thing?

Shrugging away the considerations Mialee entered the tavern and moved up to the bar. Time to find her silence.

[Missyb1]

The bitter chill caused Mialee to shiver violently and she hated herself for it. She gritted her teeth knowing that he would pull away in a moment and could not help the sigh of relief when he did.

Told you to focus...bend to the shadow, it will welcome you, protect you, hide you... That damn voice hissed in her mind. He was in his element now. The abusive but cofident teacher. One created from the very place she was trying to breach. He relished in her mortal shell and to her disappointment, and secret relief, he did not appear to be bound to life like herself. Mialee had watched him take the punishing blows of the giant rock man summoned by a bitch follower of that Varaal fellow. Yet the next day he walked again in her thoughts as if he had never been damaged. 'Last time I go on a date with a mage.' She thought at the time with an internal laugh.

Mialee did not need to see his eyes to know he was all around her as she stood in the shadows broken up by light sources on tall, thick posts firmly entrenched in the ground. It was a lonely stretch of road and if someone happened upon her now... well everyone's time must come eventually. She exhaled and shook her hands as if to release the numbing cold that even now slowly retracted as he released his grip. How many times had she tried this, perhaps the single most hardest task she had ever attempted. Sure she was good at avoiding detection but to slip away from someone as they watched her was beyond belief. It was not a "trick" like slipping into narrow depressions of the land or niches between bookshelves. No, this was a gift, a skill granted only by those that might be taught the way by another. Mialee had done it on accident several times before but with the death of the loser Tormite her "man" had decided to show her yet another trick of his world.

Focus. Bend to it. Allow it to embrace you. Like I do... the impatient task master whispered again and this time she felt the slippage of her form.

"Holy shit..." Mialee said partly in awe and the other with dread as she felt herself sliding impossibly quick into the light pole's deep yet narrow shadow. The freezing cold touch on her bare shoulder made her jump even as she faltered with her exclamation, her body about half way between the shadow and the pole from where she was standing.

"Damnit, stop that!" Mialee's knife leap to her grasp and she swung hard at the darkened hand that rested on her bare skin. The waves of cold shocking her into frantic action. The hand withdrew but then touched her again this time near her stomach and she sucked in quickly. Her heart fluttered for a moment at the chilled touch.

You cannot hurt me. I am you. Your reflection, you. I know your every step and will now forever be at your side and in your head. Your shadow. You must learn slowly so you know how to slip. The voice chuckled dry, inhuman, humorless and hateful. That did not stop her from trying and each slash was met with yet another touch upon her exposed flesh until finally she cried out in frustration and a bit of fear. He was telling the truth and it was with a strangled sob she jammed the blade back into her sheath hoping he would cease his actions.

"Oh I'm going to kill you all right. You damn thing! Going to find a priestess and get you..." Mialee trailed off at the proclamation of finding a priestess and the mirthless chuckle that accompanied her words was proof that neither of them would be seeing a priestess anytime soon.

But we have, haven't we? We have been seeing her. Almost every day. So many secrets that one has, yes? We should go play with her or that hin friend... The whisper in her head was just as malicious and full of hunger as it was mocking of Mialee's lack of action to date. "I hate you." Was all the girl could offer against the question that surrounded her and ate at her day by day.

Mialee turned back to the shadow caused by the pole as if the conversation was circular and would not be solved right now. She physically nudged her shoulder towards it in a silent plea but the act of stepping into the shadow was just as much mental as physical. It happened in an instant. The muscles of her core flexing forward even as the shadow bent towards her, enveloping her form. the young woman felt the surge internally but externally it was like she had not moved, just vanished. Mialee could feel the fringe welcome her and her warmth. The needful desire all around her sucking at her core energy trying to dismantle it, feed off of it, bleed her dry and throw her away. But then her hand curled around the wooden husk of the light pole. Mialee knew she was in control yet she was in his place. There was no other word to describe it besides Gloom.

Mialee's eyes blinked rapidly and her vision clarified sharply even with the dimness and deep darkness of the fringe. She recognized the landscape before her was the world she had just left and yet it was warped, decayed and in some cases a mutated and nightmarish vision. The heavy timbers of the light pole was gray and weathered, appearing to be a dried out shell of wood. There was no light source on it now but a broken glass enclosure swung mournfully on a squeaky metal rung. The cobblestone path was broken and pitted and the earth that showed was a muted dirt stained black and grey. It was like the color had been sucked out of this place and yet there were so many shades of black and white the world was full of alien depth.

Mialee slowly turned and noticed her friend seemed much taller now. His form both clear and deeper, tangible. She could almost make out the contours of his face now and those same orange eyes blazed balefully at herz. Then Mialee turned her head and saw something unbelieveable. She could only give it a name of "the veil". It was a curtain but of time or space that acted as if her world and his world were laid on top of each other but seperated by a filter. The veil was distorting her vision of both his world and her own. It started to dawn on Mialee that she was between both places. A pocket perhaps between them and she grinned in growing understanding.

"Fringe... I am in the fringe of your world and mine. Oh you clever bastard. We are balanced between both places." Mialee laughed softly even thought the sound muted in this place. She placed her hand on the rotting light pole and stared hard at the decaying vision. "So this is how you see us..." She wondered aloud and slowly tried to move around. After several moments she exhaled and blinked. Breathing was normal but movement was...unique. Her feet did not move yet she moved forward with her mind. The most interesting part of this mode of travel was how in tune she was with the shadows cast by objects in her world specifically.

The creature's voice was clear and short l, strong. You may slip through these places of shadow and yet you can hear and see all around you in your place. Beware, travel is not without ... risk. Mialee nodded and slowly moved to exit into another place and was soon slipping in and out of shadows as if opening and closing doors. Slowly the smile enveloped her face revealing gleaming teeth. Her eyes were deep for suddenly she had an edge, perhaps on all things. "Can hear and see, huh?" Mialee said out loud knowing her friend was in tune with her thoughts. And perhaps for the first time since their joining they both grinned at each other. Oh what pain they would cause now.

[Missyb1]

The crackling snaps of the sap as it burned off of the fresh pinewood log nestled in the glowing fire at the second wind inn made the woman tucked in the corner flinch instinctively. She was standing, her body shrouded in the flickering light of the fire as it sprang to life once again. Her face was tight as she winced again holding a long bottle by its narrow neck. The amber-hued liquid was half gone by now and yet even its familiar burn did nothing to ease her features or her mood. She was in pain.

I told you not to reveal yourself. You stupid girl. He cannot be trusted. -he- whispered once again, berating her over and over for the last few hours. She had no reply and simply nodded sheepishly. He is not normal. There is death and chill about him, I know you know this and yet your arrogance made you do it anyways. And for what? he continued before she spoke pausing the bottle an inch from her lips.

"Shut up. I've had enough. I know it was dumb but I have her now. I knew it when I saw them on that bridge in Sestra. I knew she meddled but now I know and the damn idiot Reyne..." Mialee muttered and paused her voice while drinking from the bottle with a grimace. "Wouldn't listen just went on and on about something dumb like rules." She finished with a painful shuffle of her feet.

Things had finally been looking up. Always thwarted, always just a moment too soon or too late but this time she had been at the right place at the right time. Sure the tall and short pair had blended into the population but there was only so many ways to 'cut cloth' so to speak. Mialee knew cloth and it was all she could do to not giggle with cruel joy when she had finally made the connection. Finally she had gathered enough to cause all sorts of problems to that woman. But everyone knows you cannot reveal delicous information without style so Mialee decided that the basement would be the perfect spot to tell them. "After all, if they had wanted it locked up they would have done a better job at it." She had said at the time. It was a fairly easy place to access actually and it was not her first time doing so but never with the information she had now. But then that cursed moron Lord Reyne had accused her of 'sneaking' in and had thrown her in jail. Worse he had beaten her bottom with a cane and left her there like a common criminal the entire night.

The young blonde women flinched again and sighed, her pained behind still crossed with red welts from the strikes the punisher had inflicted upon her and then left her there until morning. Mialee grimaced and hoped that she would not have other complications having been in that sickly place. She hated confined spaces but having your butt swatted by a wooden switch will make you forget a lot of things. "Like those leering prisoners that deserved to be there. I should have killed them before I left." She muttered to her shadowy friend.

"I'm so angry right now I can hardly think straight. Did he not know who I am? What information I carry and gather for his master? To treat me like a child and cane me? Damnit I hate him and them. All of them!" She hissed in the gloom and noticed that none of the patrons at this early hour seemed interested in approaching the fire no matter how cozy it appeared. She felt a surge of sadness that was completely unexpected and took her by surprise. Since when did she care about the way other people viewed and avoided her.

Then maybe you don't tell them? Maybe you withhold and help the others. the voice whispered softly, so soft that Mialee did not catch it at first. "What?" She asked -him- suddenly curious.

What if you don't reveal secrets to those that don't earn -your- respect? her friend's voice was different. It was calm and not full of malice or anger. It was not friendly by any stretch yet contained a neutral tone almost of indifference.

"What are you up to? Why would I not do what was asked of me? Especially against -her-. Especially for the gold." Mialee asked suspiciously. Their was a creak as her gloves flexed around the bottle's neck revealed her sudden wariness. Something was not right here. She scanned the shadows for his eyes and found them blazing as always yet with a less intense flame.

Perhaps you are wrong. Wrong about direction? Wrong about them? wrong... it whispered again but stopped at the sudden movement of her lifting the bottle to her lips. Mialee could feel the creature's disappointment, it cut like a knife. The but voice and its contents frightened her. She chugged the bottle dry and almost doubled over as the strong liquor filled her stomach with heat. She wanted to wretch but managed to swallow it down. 'It must be a trick... Just a ploy of the pain in my ass.' Mialee thought only to hear it again.

Do you not get it? betrayal, murder may not be the only path. Consider the options especially after such treatment... the voice trailed away leaving the blonde girl confused and very much concerned. Her blue eyes darted as if wondering if someone was tampering with her joining and -his- presence. But she knew something was different and even as she shook her head from the alcohol the content of the voice remained. "I'm losing my mind..." She exhaled through her mouth even as the words escaped her. Lifting the bottle Mialee stared at its emptiness and felt a surge of empathy towards it. 'I have to stop drinking.' She thought before it was blown away by the breeze of the open door of the inn.

Kelly, the stuck up bitch, stumbled in over the threshold and looked like she got into a fight with a cat and lost. One that had nine inch sharp claws. Her outfit had great tears through the arms as if the woman had been used as a scratching post. Mialee watched her wander to the bar and make some requests looking more dead than alive. Mialee wanted to laugh at the woman, so sharp of tongue she was but something held her back. Suspicious that her friend was still up to no good with such horrible whispers, Mialee moved forward towards Kelly and the bar. Still confused, feeling sick from the alcohol and her behind feeling like it had been whipped by a slaver Mialee smiled at Kelly and offered to help her up to her room. Surprisingly after a few short moments of conversation the women both moved to the staircase one leaning on the other.

And her shadow watched the whole process as impassively as ever.