Chapter Ten: Representations
"Honesty has a beautiful and refreshing simplicity about it. No ulterior motives. No hidden meanings. An absence of hypocrisy, duplicity, political games, and verbal superficiality. As honesty and real integrity characterize our lives, there will be no need to manipulate others."
-Chuck Swindoll
The dark skin of the drow remained a representation of their black hearts, or that remained the opinion of the moon elf moving into the humble herbalist shop. The man that turned toward him was a rarity, given the less than kind treatment males received in drow society. Though the pure obsidian orbs that had replaced his eyes were a sign that he hadn't escaped torture even if he had escaped the wretched females of his evil race. Something about the replacements to his once eyes must have offered him some form of vision cause he was able to follow Sand as he moved across the small room.
"I don't get day walkers too often." His voice was harsh and raspy with the observation, as if it were painful for him to form words. The lack of blinking the voids of his gaze offered was a bit unnerving. "A woman's scent clings to you."
"I come on another's behalf." Sand thought a version of the truth often made the best subterfuge. "I seek a formula that is fairly unique in it's background."
"Blood Elixir." The fellow commented, sitting back. He was a little chubby for a drow or elf in general, apparently his life in Waterdeep had allowed him to eat well. Ivory hair was pulled out of his face into a haphazard ponytail, considering that it was done by a mostly blind man it looked well enough, bangs that hadn't been captured fell across his face and cheeks. He was 'looking' at Sand but the wizard had the idea there was a lot more to the gem like 'eyes' the drow possessed than he would care for. "You are a caster, you even smell like an herbalist...why should I help you?"
"I thought I entered a place of -business-." Sand replied with his usual slow pace. Eyes turning to the potions offered along the shelves nearest him. "Do you not barter that which you possess?"
"Some things carry a heavy price, you already stated that which you chase is unique. It is not a concoction whose recipe I am willing to part with easily." Given his raspy tone, it was likely that he'd suffered injuries to his vocal chords as well.
"It is only a matter of time before I discover how it works regardless." Sand shrugged. "It seemed kinder to offer such a entrepreneur some sort of deal for the original. Always good to nurture those that are still young to the field."
"Perhaps not as young as you would presume." The other man laughed, it coming out closer to a sickly cough than a chuckle. "But this doesn't seem like something that you plan to be making a fair profit on even if I do give you the regular creation. How is the Lady Sana?"
Sand paused, the question was unexpected, though this fellow seemed irritatingly observant. "Perhaps akin to the boy from Ember...a seer of some level..."
"Have I stolen that sharp tongue for a moment?" the drow's smirk was almost as annoying as his tendency to guess correctly. "You still have her scent on you. Hers is one that is difficult to either forget or mistake for any other. A rare creature...the reason for your visit has something to do with her relocation to Neverwinter. I gave her enough of the recent batch to last for months."
"There was an unfortunate incident." Sand admitted, albeit he didn't like being on the worse end of a bargaining chip he seemed to have little choice. "Though that brings us back to the matter of price."
"Straight to the point...I imagine as this is for Lady Sana I could let you have a copy of the recipe, if you'll offer me a sample that is." He made a general gesture toward the moon elf.
Sand let an eyebrow raise. "A sample?"
When the drow smiled the moon elf realized for the first time the fangs that glinted behind the dark elves lips. It was a vampire to which he was speaking, and not the partially blooded variety.
"I prefer to keep my blood where it is." Sand dead-panned at the request. "I believe gold will have to suffice."
The man let out that partial cough/cackle that he had the last time. "Pity, if she was tempted by it I suppose it is quite the delicacy."
"What do you mean?" He had to admit he was curious. Even if he didn't trust the creature, he knew precious little of the intricacies of vampiric feeding and was curious if there was some other reason behind Sana's attack.
"There are those that simply taste better than others. Nobles tend to have a much better taste than rabble. Much like pigs or chicken raised for the consumption of people, those animals with better care make better meat for the table." The straight face he had while explaining it reminded Sand why he didn't mind blowing the vampires to bits that he had come across during his adventuring. "Despite that, there is the rare individual that is born with something that makes them a particular delicacy regardless of whatever background they have. Such temptation is hard for even the most disciplined vampire to resist."
"I doubt that is the case." Sand replied. "How much?"
"Forty Thousand Gold." The man leaned back in his chair. "or that sample..."
"Done." Sand agreed, interrupting the drow as he reached toward his purse, a bag of holding he'd acquired recently. The shocked reply the dark elf offered was enough to make the high price worth it. He still had a fair amount of cash left over from his adventuring days, it wasn't like he had much to spend it on. Avoiding a tempted vampire wanting to feed on his blood for the second time in far too short a period made the purchase worth it.
After a long period of counting and re-counting he attained the copy of the recipe and read it over, experienced eyes looking for lies as much as scanning for how well he thought the recipe was put together. If there were going to be any lies now was the time to find them...
"Actual blood...no wonder I didn't recognize it." Sand thought darkly at one of the ingredients he'd missed. "Augmented with bloodvine...not a common component but not illegal. A good plan for the most part but areas could be improved...it's something I can use at least in the time being before I develop my own improvements."
They exchanged a basic polite goodbye and Sand was glad to be free of the shop again, heading away and glancing down the ally where Sana was suppose to be waiting. She was easy to see, her skin still seeming to almost glow in the moonlight and drawing his gaze. Her eyes were closed, enjoying a gentle wind that was passing her, she seemed serene.
It was difficult to interrupt her from the calm state but he had already chided himself for staring earlier and didn't plan to repeat the process. "I've attained the needed recipe."
Mismatched eyes opened and she smiled at him, glancing back up toward the stars. "Good, I suppose we should head back to that dungeon you call a basement then."
"Positively dripping with eagerness." He replied drolly, gesturing to the street. "We could walk for a bit if you would like, I wouldn't want to torture you too much with my dull nature."
She blushed a bit, it was always so easily obvious when she did. Nodding a little at the unexpected invitation. "Yes, though I suppose we shouldn't linger long regardless. I wouldn't know what to say if Uncle send Nevalle to check on us and we weren't there."
"If Nevalle tried to break into my shop you would be the least of his worries." Sand commented easily, considering the various spells and wards that protected his store. If anyone survived the aggressive spells the summoning spells he'd worked in after his return from adventuring would leave the docks swimming in enough demons that people would believe the hells were invading.
"I'm pretty sure I hope that never happens." Sana replied, eyeing the somewhat evil grin that had crept over his lips as he considered it. "Either way, I suppose lingering too long would make me feel bad anyway."
She was drifting along, walking in such a way that many of the streets they wandered didn't seem to possess others to interrupt them. Likely she was used to the need to avoid the sight of others. "Your conscience didn't stop you from coming."
"I was bored into the point of mental numbness." She countered with a smirk of her own, pushing a few strands of her hair behind an ear absently. "Don't you ever like just getting out and taking a walk?"
"When there aren't other, more interesting, things for me to pursue I suppose an occasional stroll is healthy for me." He returned. "It seems to do far more for you than I. Though I guess the hour could have something to do with that."
"I'm not completely about who my parents were." She frowned a little at him but then covered it with her courtly face. "I just enjoy walking sometimes, helps me gather my thoughts and relax. It doesn't matter what time it is."
"She is sensitive about that...probably something I shouldn't forget." Sand pondered to himself. "I wonder if she even realizes how beautiful she is." Not that it matters really, she'd be safer without various admirers.
"I guess we should go back." She accented, it hadn't been a long walk but mention of her vampiric blood seemed to have sobered her attitude. "I'd rather not find out what all you have set to defend your business if anyone comes looking."
"You are lucky I tend to prepare teleport spells more than a single time." He commented, holding his hand out toward her. She blushed a bit before taking his hand, giving him a moment of pause before he cleared his mind of distractions and began to chant the words that would take them back to his shop again. Teleportation was the quickest way to travel but allowing oneself to think about anything other than the destination could prove dangerous or possibly fatal. There were ways to avoid such side effects but it was a much more powerful magic. Slots of his power he normally reserved for more deadly replies should he be touched. "I'll have to begin to prepare the safer teleportation spells. I'd rather not end up in the middle of nowhere on a miscast.
Though Sand had a strong will and they appeared without incident in his workshop yet again. He glanced at her bashful attitude when he dropped her hand, she wasn't quite as surreal without the moonlight to reflect from her pale skin, but she was still quite the stunning creature. "Not a bad mind for a natural either. I might have the luxury of considering more if it wasn't for her position.
Whatever attraction that might have existed Sand wasn't about to putny effort toward exploring that, his self preservation meant more to him than whatever passing fancy a female could offer. It had been quite some time before he'd bothered with such a relationship but it seemed unwise to start back up such indulgences with the King's niece.
"I have a guest room upstairs if you are still too bored to stay down here." He offered, it was as a kind a offer as he ever gave, no one had stayed in that room sense he'd moved in. He wasn't sure sometimes why he'd bothered to put the furniture inside. "It's likely a little dusty but I'm sure a simple prestidigitation or two should make it passable for you."
"You want me to go to bed?" She raised a brow. "Shouldn't we return to the palace?"
"I have neither the spells left nor the desire to keep risking miscasts by teleporting so often." Sand answered honestly, moving over to the station he'd been using before to fiddle with this new project. "As I still require time to work with this I figured it would be more prudent to offer you a place to rest as opposed to allowing you to pester me and make the whole process slower."
"You..." she shook her head as she just headed toward the steps. "...are just unbelievable sometimes. Good luck with your research you obsessive."
He smiled a bit at her comments, despite the danger of baiting Nasher's niece he had to admit it was cute to watch her get ruffled at his words. Just looking wasn't too much of a risk after all...
After she left he got to turn back to the fascinating work at hand. He had wanted her out of the room for the experimentations as well. If she wasn't aware actual blood went into the substitute elixirs, even in tiny doses, he didn't want to be the one to break it to her. Though he also didn't want her there when he used a few drops of his, a little concerned she might attack him again.
Sana meanwhile was frowning at the dust covered room where he'd sent her. "Are you serious Sand? I think this place would need a few gust of wind spells as opposed to a couple minor cantrips. There is no way I'd sleep in there."
She closed the door and frowned to herself. It was late and despite her half-vampire blood she often kept hours during the day that left her tired as it was nearing early morning. She passed by his room, which was much more meticulously clean. "Likely the work of an unseen servant or two...hmm...screw it. I'm tired and he'll probably be busy until I'm done with reverie anyway."
She drifted inside, eyeing the king sized bed and smiling softly to herself, she whispered aloud to break the silence. "For all your talk of disliking the nobility, you sure like to live rich."
She sat on the edge of the bed, it wouldn't be comfortable sleeping in her robes but she wasn't willing to undress while invading the moon elves sheets either. Reaching down to remove her shoes and set them on the floor before reaching up to pull down the comforter and sheets. "A full set of silk sheets? Hell, make that living better than most nobles, even as royalty the only silk I ever traded for was a single dress and a handkerchief or two over my lifetime. I heard adventurers tend to live large but it's surprising for certain.
The smooth soft fabric felt cool and comfortable under her hands and on her feet and while laying naked would likely be an experience it was one she was more than willing to pass up in Sand's home. "I've already had enough mistakes there. I don't think I'd survive if he caught me naked anywhere. The very idea gives me faith that people are capable of dieing from embarrassment."
The bed smelled like him, a mixture of herbs so various no single one took the forefront along with a deeper masculine scent. It left her with flashes of memory; him reaching for her hand, holding her up in the gardens and asking if she was okay, the elegant gourmet that was him. Perhaps all the years of working with potions had left him with a seasoned taste, he was certainly a rare flavor. That brought her to force the run of thoughts to a screeching halt.
Okay Sana, Sand smells good, stop thinking about indulging yourself with his blood. You are better than this. You've gotten past the age of having random crushes on people, he's two times your age for gods sake!"" She pressed the cool pillow against her face to try to ward off the warmth in her cheeks.
She didn't get the chance to think about it for too long, her body exhausted enough that she was lulled to rest before long. Her subconscious left to torture her while she was unconscious as opposed to awake.
End Chapter
Whee. This chapter took a little while. I was playing (finally) MotB for NWN2. I still dunno what I think of the first expansion. It was fairly predictable...but maybe because I am a great fan of the forgotten realms and saw parts coming. I need to play it again anyway, missed stuff.
-Aura
P.S. Glad to see I've gotten some more readers - at least according to hits and such. Hope you keep liking it. Reviews are the awesome; but the cake is a lie.