Sewer Elves

'How is it I always end up back here?'

This question pesters me like a splinter in my brain as I pass through the southern gates, my hood up, my head low, my steps light.  It's dark thankfully, though I notice the guard pays more attention to my passing than usual, and I can feel his stare upon my back as I move quickly up the cobblestone road.  The tension is palpable in the city, and the smell is no better than usual, so I do my best to skirt around the main areas, keeping to the side streets.

I spy the rise of the stone gazebo, lit dimly by the lanterns swinging in the winter winds far to the west, and decide to jut north through the slavers quarters and again the smell of the place assaults me and I cringe.  I walk past the misery, the dark alley quiet, only the occasional cough or groan lifting from the hapless souls trapped behind the bars, and I ignoring their existence.  At one time, I would have felt sorry for them, but now, here, in this place, I simply could not find it in me.

I was lost in these thoughts when I rounded the corner and nearly skidded into a city guard.  He was clearly as surprised to see me as I was him, likely due to the fact he was currently already involved in a confrontation, with an ebon skinned male, his ears, his manner, not to mention his red eyes all led me to the brilliant deduction, this was a drow.  This particular drow, seemed rather intent on spitting his venomous, hateful words towards the guard, who was quickly back peddling from the aggressive male.

"Militia to ARMS!!" the guard bellows as he quickly decides he is being ambushed with my added presence to the scene and at his point the drow decides to shove the heavily armored guard directly towards me, sending the man stumbling off balance, pinwheeling backwards to stay up on his feet.    I brace myself and let him slam into me and grunt with the weight of him.  "gotcha" I growl between clenched teeth making sure the man did not clatter to the ground.

Two guards from opposite directions appear, north and south and within minutes the drow, and myself are disarmed and my hood is yanked from my face.  "well well, if it isn't a pair of stinking sewer elves" sneers the largest of the three and I sigh, my chin dropping to my chest.  I know exactly where these leads next because it is all too familiar to me.   Even the term 'sewer elf', oh yes, that one I had heard many times before.  I glare at the inky skinned male who had been at the center of this mess and I am not surprised to find him staring at me.  What does surprise me, is the venom he held in his gaze for the group of guards that were now in the process of hauling us both off to the stockade, was nothing compared to the disgust he wore in his expression when he glared back at me.

What the hell did I do?  It was a fair question after all.  I had just happened into HIS problem, I failed to see why he seemed ready to rid me of my head at first given opportunity.  Oddly, it amused me for a moment and I let him see my grin, and just out of spite, I blow him a kiss.  If I had not been surrounded by armed guards willing to beat me to a stain, I would have laughed out loud at his expression.  It was truly priceless.

My accused cohort and I were separated and I was 'processed' rather quickly.  Dragged in, stripped down, given only a single layer of clothing and nothing for my feet and tossed into a familiar cell.  As I settle myself upon the stone shelf that acts as the only furniture in the dismal little room, I see something upon the wall that makes me smile.  "he actually scratched out...hugs" I say aloud into the room and I feel a pang of pained nostalgia.  I miss him.  I have trouble admitting it to myself, but being here brings it back fresh and I have to confess, his death hit me hard.  I had avoided coming to the city since his execution.  He was the only reason I used to come to Delmarii in the first place.  And yet, somehow, here I was, staring at the old note he had written me, scratched deep into the cell wall.  "aww Seb, it's just not the same anymore" I murmur into the dark and for the first time since his death, I allow myself to feel his absence.  It draws a single tear from my eye and I allow it to roll silently over my cheek.  "He'd poke fun at me for sure" I say aloud into the empty cell and I chuckle as I wipe it away.  I draw a deep sigh and close my eyes, knowing I am going nowhere fast and decide to get some sleep and allow old friends to visit my dreams.

The door creaks open some several hours later and I as I rise to my feet, I am met with a solid boot to the gut which knocks the wind out of my lungs and drops me to a knee.  "Bag her!" the words are barked from the hall and I do not fight as a linen sack covers my head and I am shackled hands and feet.  I recall thinking that I was likely being executed, but at the time the idea did not really bother me all that much.   I am unceremoniously tossed into the back of a wagon face down, and there are at least two pairs of boots on my back making sure I stay that way.  I find it a rather uncomfortable, uneventful ride considering I couldn't see a thing but we rock over cobblestones the entire trip, steadily moving uphill as we go.

I am once again dragged somewhere, the smells and sounds are strange, rich, pungent and even more so as I feel the downward haul of stone steps.  It is not until I am thrown against a wall and chained by a single ankle shackle that I am released from the sack over my head and I open my eyes to the wondrous and unsurprising sight of another dank cell.  This one, a tad larger and slightly more damp with welcoming pile of moldy hay in the corner.   No one bothers to tell me where I am and I do not bother to ask, I am certain I will find out eventually. 

It's at least another half a day, or perhaps closer to a day and a half, it was hard to tell really, I tend to sleep a lot when I am bored.  But eventually the answer came and a heavily armed, heavily armored pair of guards arrive.  It is the Royal Crest upon the breastplate that curls my brow upwards and as I am led up a small set of stone stairs that rise for four floors and comes out at the top of a short but rather opulent hallway.  I blink as the dazzling glare of golden sconces and crystal chandeliers reflect light over thick carpet and velvet walls.

A pair of golden doors is opened as my escorts pass me through them and there surprisingly there is a small ornately cushioned Dias, in a private marble chamber, with a pale skinned, regal looking woman seated primly upon it, her blonde hair curled upon her head, and pinned in place with the unmistakable accessory of a golden, bejeweled crown.  The doors are closed behind me, and the pair of guards remain making sure I take to my knees by taking them out from beneath me with a swift kick.  "welcome to Delmar Rashka" come the soft, pleasant words. "forgive the abrupt invitation, but in these unsettled times, it was for your own safety that you be escorted quickly to me" she explains.   These words wring a smirk from my lips, but I offer nothing else to this woman.  There is no way, no way I am where I think I am.  It makes no sense.

"How long have you been visiting Delmar?" she asks me directly, and so I give her an honest reply, "over five years..." and I pause, then risk the guess, "your Majesty" I add.  I am rewarded when she does not correct the title, and I am informed that yes indeed, I am kneeling before the Queen of Delmar.   "indeed?" my answer seems to surprise the woman and she looks to her guards questioningly.  Neither apparently has a suitable answer to offer and she is content to return to questioning me. "well then it seems my welcome is somewhat tardy" she concludes pleasantly.  "Rashka, please allow me to get to my point" she offers needlessly, like I was going to interrupt her.

"You have been arrested before, or so I am informed" and to this I only nod, "you knocked out a city guard" she reminds me, and again I smirk, "Oh yah" I respond, and chuckle a little as I recall the night Sebastion dragged me into that mess. "according to the records actually, you have a habit of attacking poachers as well, you are skilled in survival and combat and according to the guard who's jaw you broke, hit like charging bear", with this said the woman lifts her eyes from a small parchment I had yet to notice upon her lap.

"Rashka, you are hereby recruited into the Rangers of Delmar" she informs me directly, "the Militia has two uses, one to keep the city secure, the other to guard the borders and keep them safe.  The Rangers, are the hunters between the two" she explains, "you are several things I require all in one" she smiles politely, "and so, I am giving you a job" she explains.  It is at this point I finally find reason to speak again, "and if I refuse, or fail?" I press calmly. "Then you return to the cells, and remain there.  If you are in Delmar, you are in service to me and this land.  If you are not, then you are a threat to it and will be dealt with as such.".  Why was I not already dead?  This thought rambled casually through my brain as the Queen spoke.  The Queen.  I was on my knees before the Queen of Delmar.  Why was she even talking to me?  Since when does the Queen personally recruit grunts for Goblin Patrol?  The questions pile up, but the answers that came were far and few between.

I spend the next hour getting the full details of my new fate before I am turned about and arbitrarily dismissed.  I am happy to depart through the golden doors again, and as they close behind me I am both relieved and dismayed.  I was just drafted.  It was this thought on my mind when I am escorted down the hall past a certain familiar Drow.  The very same one who got me arrested in the first place.  He stares at me as we pass each other, both of us with a pair of guards on each side, and I return his glare with an icy one of my own,  because I was in this shit neck deep because of him.   I took a moment to wonder what the Queen would want with him.  I guess she has to keep track of all the trouble making Drow if she wants to keep the ceasefire between the Nations intact.  It was the best I could do on the fly.

I am not left to wonder upon it long as I am not returned to my cell, but instead, bagged and guided out of the palace and left at the edge of the city, with all my belongings.   I stand there watching the wagon depart, the two Royal guards disappearing with it, and I look towards the beckon of the free road that leads to the forest and I take the open gate as an invitation and I flee.  "I fucking despise that place" the last words I utter as I pass through the gates, the urge to punch the guard as I do, was nearly overwhelming.  I raise my hood as I put distance between me and the stinking stone cage, and I spit my disgust upon the road as I move quickly southwards.  "If she thinks I am going to do her dirty work Seb"...I murmur under my breath, "she clearly doesn't know me very well" the next few words pushed out from between gritted teeth as I take the first opportunity eastwards to meld into the greenery. "catch me if you can".

The Problem With House Guests

I kneel over the small fire stirring it to life, bringing light and warm into my humble shelter.  I look down at the small pup who had immediately put his nose to the ground and began to investigate his new surroundings the moment his little paws hit the dirt floor.  It was a long trip for him and we were both soaked to the skin, but the little guy held up pretty good all things considered.   At the moment that thought entered my head however, he decided to mark this new place as his own and I growl at him as he promptly lifts his leg and invokes my displeasure.

Snatching the little bugger up in midstream, I promptly toss his ungrateful little ass into the cold rain beyond the green curtain that divides the weather from the warmth.  I go back to the business of unpacking, setting everything back in its place,  "you don't own shit here mister" I mutter under my breath, unwrapping my soggy bedroll, sighing, "looks like I sleep in fur tonight".  It is then I hear a pathetic, rather apologetic whine as a certain, uppity pup sticks his nose back through the opening, and I stop and eyeball him straight on.  This immediately causes him to freeze and cower, and I resist the urge to smile at him, damn he had his moments..and I recall thinking,  'I hate cute, there is simply no defense'.

"Alright you presumptuous little shit, let's get something straight right now" I inform the little pup sternly, though somewhere after the first word, he had already invited himself back in and was waddling his way towards me.  "This...is MY house" I tell him, and even as I speak I know he will likely be chewing on my boots before morning.  I sigh as he noses his way under a small woven shelf in the corner and upsets my tools with a clatter, sending a rain of iron and steel projectiles down around him.  "Zalon...where the hell are you?" I grumble to myself, looking at the little pest worm his way through my belongings and I sigh, "It's not like I could leave you there" I mutter aloud, "every child deserves someone looking out for it, even mutts like us".

I wonder exactly what had led to me finding the dog in the first place.  He was locked up in that room, for days it seemed like.  It certainly smelled that way.   He had no food or water, and the adorable little pain in the ass was incredibly happy to see me.  What can I say...I'm a dog person.  I scooped him up, and set out to find Seb, or Zalon, or someone to take care of him, then I was getting the hell out of the city.  Problem was, I couldn't find anything of the sort, what I did get, was a pretty convincing threat from Sully to turn him to soup if I left him behind.  So, here he is, roaming all over what few things I have and somehow, I feel the comfort of his being here.  I wasn't alone.

After I had set everything in place, I spent a few minutes preparing a meal for my guest and myself, and it did not take all that long.  Luckily for me, my new friend and I have the same tastes when it comes to dinner.  When both our bellies were full, and I had properly educated him on where he was to take care of business, we settled down by the fire.  He was more than content to cuddle in next to me, seeming to understand it was time to do just that. 

"Well, if you are staying for awhile, I best figure out what to call you..." and a few names immediately starting racing through my brain and for a moment, I did not know why I knew them.  I watch as the little pup starts chewing on the furs we lay on, and I shake my head, "Kuzma...no" I chastise, my tone sharp but still quiet.  He seems to get the message and I nod, "he was a pain in the ass too" I explain to the little bundle of fur.

I know I have to take him back, but there is no sense in hanging out in the city in hiding with this nuisance, when even being seen with Sebastion right now can mean jail time.  We will lie low for a while, Seb would get that, then turn up in a week or two when things have calmed down.  In the mean time, I think I will educate this little man about manners.  It is on that thought that I drift off to sleep, oblivious of what was coming.  Thinking back, had I known what was about to happen, no one would have been sleeping that night.

I take a moment or two and shift into a more comfortable state of self and sigh again. My little companion is at first, quite put out by efforts, but is soon once more curled up against me, his eyes closing quickly. I curl up around him protectively, and feel his little heartbeat near me and feel grateful for his presence.