Chapter 21: Undercity
"My name is Jonas. Jonas Dredgewood. Undead merchant," the forsaken said, as he formally bowed to them. He was dressed in ragged robes, together with a flappy battered leather hat that was pulled down as low as possible. Jatfast snorted loudly. "Oh, cut the dramatizing crap! They are with me you idiot! The goblin is my old friend Suarez. He's my business partner. The elf is my protégé, well, actually he is Jeri's, but I have him on a leash tagging along for now. Charity, you get my point," Jatfast interfered as the others stared at the forsake in front of them. Two bright glowing yellow eyes looked at each of them from under the strange hat, before staring back at Jatfast.
Hurias didn't exactly look thrilled about being described as a charity case. It felt like a puppy that was more of a bother then a blessing. Whatever happened to the promise of showing him the tricks to the world of goblin trade? He should have known Jatfast was only true to his word when he could get something out of it. Knowing Jatfast well enough the whole promise was a faint breeze in the rogues strangely working brain by now. He easily 'forgot' a promise made to another if it was more convenient. Or he would promise you the world with his fingers crossed behind his back, in any other way even Hurias knew he would not honor his word or his promise. For once the elf wasn't really bothered by that thought. Right now he didn't care right now. At least here he felt more useful than at home, where Greymur didn't have any time for him, where he could not look at Riselle because his heart would beat so fierce he was afraid she might notice and where Jeri was sulking because of Jatfast. Going to Undercity was a good distraction.
"Thoughtful as ever I see, Jatfast," Jonas mentioned after the description of the elf. "Snowy will be ever so pleased to hear you came to do business," the wicked smirk on the forsaken's face when he mentioned Snowy instantly shut Jatfast up. It also settled the relation between the forsaken and the goblin to the others. Jatfast muttered several curses under his breath that made Suarez snicker loudly when he looked at Jatfast.
The last of the party remained awfully silent. Hurias only stared. His bright emerald colored eyes skeptic towards the forsaken that greeting them with such allure.
"Ah yes, the lovely Jeri. Your 'charming' wife. I have to say she does have taste. This is indeed a very nice specimen," the dark voice of the forsaken man sounded amused for a moment when he looked at Hurias, who looked more than pale when the forsaken eyed him like that.
"Back off undead! He's not for sale!" At least that part he did remember when he found himself back again and stepped forward in an agitated way. All that talk about Jeri reminded him too much why he was here. That or Greymur's reminder that something bad would happen if he would accidentally forget to bring Hurias back home in one piece. And if not for Greymur, then surely Jeri would have his head if he would not return pretty boy to her.
"Undead," the forsaken repeated the word. "You step on my cold heart Jatfast," the forsaken man laughed sarcastically. It made Jatfast mutter more under his breath, making Suarez snicker even more. "That's what you are, isn't it? A walking dead yeah?" Jatfast said. He seemed less agitated when he saw the forsaken could laugh about it. "We are forsaken, but there is a difference between the deranged undead walking zombies or a forsaken," Jonas said, not really trying to explain things. "Yeah yeah, just get to business! How long is Snowy intending to make me wait for my money this time?" he sounded like a child being deprived from a candy by his mother the way he lamented. Jonas grinned for a moment when he watched Jatfast. The forsaken's jaw hung a bit to the side when he did that, grinning.
Rotten teeth between rotting flesh. The holes in his skin did not really make him appealing to look at, nor did the different colors of skin that seemed sewed together in a crude way. Not to mention the bones stuck out of some parts of his ragged robes. The forsaken man adjusted his jaw again and draped a scarf around his hideous face, mostly to Hurias relief.
"Ah yes, the everlasting family feud between you and Snowy, how could I forget about that," came the sarcastic reply. Jatfast stamped his foot on the ground. "Hey! I earned you a job with because of that feud, didn't I? Nothing wrong with that!" Jatfast muttered, feeling stepped on his toes again.
"You should have seen him during his bomb squad days, he was always a rascal," Suarez could not help but interfere, grinned a fat grin, one that would indicate he would have another trick up his sleeve as it didn't help improve on Jatfast mood. "I'm sure pretty boy over here can share some more embarrassing moments to your taste," the mage punched Hurias in the side in a friendly but rather harsh way.
"Ouch," the elf said, rubbing his side. "It talks," Jonas noticed dryly, as he turned his attention back to the elf again. Hurias froze under the forsakens glare, feeling itchy all over as if he has maggots crawling everywhere. The surroundings, the trip through the portal, the forsaken, it all made his stomach spin around. "Excuse me," the elf called out suddenly, holding a hand in front of his mouth. He looked paler then a sheet of white linen.
"Uneasy stomach I see. The bushes might be a good place to vomit," Jonas chuckling darkly as he helpfully pointed a boney finger to the side of the graveyard where there were some dead bushes. Hurias didn't hear him anymore, all he did was run past them into the direction of the bushes where they could hear him empty his stomach.
"Happens to most of them the first time they visit," Jonas said, sounding like an expert as they all watched poor Hurias disappear between the branches of the dead bush again while spilling another load of stomach content.
When he finally came back he looked a pale grey-white, matching the gloomy area of Brill.
"Perhaps it would be wise to leave him in the tavern for now," Jonas suggested, eyeing the elf again. Nobody disagreed with that, Hurias least of all. Eventually Suarez went with him as innkeeper Rene settled the poor elf on a table with a bowl of bubbling swamp soup that smelled terrible.
"Now that is settled, let's get down to business. Your elf seems to be in capable hands, shall we? I'm always thrilled to see what you bring me this time," Jonas said, motioning Jatfast to follow him. He snapped his two good fingers together for two goblins to appear out of nowhere and push Jatfast's cart towards the tent near the butcher and the cook. No doubt they were family members of the Horde Coffin Hauler boys that did the trips in Tirisfall Glades.
"Sidekicks?" Jatfast asked, sounding ironic. "Helpers, provided very generously by my employee when I deal with you," the forsaken said, covering up his mouth with the scarf again as he laughed. Jatfast gritted his teeth. Bloody Snowy!
"Get moving boys," Jonas snapped with the fingers of his other hand again. Jatfast looked curious at the hand. It actually had flesh on it, unlike Jonas his other hand that was all bone."What's that you got there, new arm? When did you get that?" Jatfast asked, pointing at the fingers. "Oh I had that for some time, but the flesh is starting to come off already. Such a shame," Jonas said, sounding thoughtfully. "You might like what I have with me then, a whole box of spare parts as well!" The rogue said, grinning pleased with himself. "I'll see what you have. Maybe I can use some of those parts myself. But I like the elf better, he is indeed a beautiful specimen. Does he have any special qualities?" he inquired.
"Will you cut the crap!? He's not for sale!" Jatfast said, feeling played. Jonas laughed dark when Jatfast stared at him. "Oh I don't want him for myself, I already have one. It's mere curiosity to see what Jeri picked him for. Though two elves with qualities might be better than one, don't you think?" The rogue gritted cracked his knuckles, he didn't want to misunderstand anything wrong about what Jonas just said.
"What's yours about?" he demanded to know. Jonas shrugged. "Protégé, like yours!" the forsaken laughed louder now."It is a shame your wife took him in, Snowy would love him. She would find good use for him. He could even make a fashionable combination with my protégé," Jatfast gave him a sour look for mentioning Snowy again."He's Jeri's! Nobody touches anything that belongs to Jeri, not even Snowy," he said, feeling satisfied he knew that for sure.
"Since when do you even have an elf?" he asked, wanting to know more. The forsaken hummed for a moment before he burst into hysterical laughter. It seemed his laughter rolled and echoed against the walls of the houses in Brill, taking over the silence that seemed so present in the gloomy surroundings of the village. "Since I met one in Ghostlands," he said, sounding amused. "Now let's get down to business. Show me what you got," he said, turning the subject around as easily as he had brought it up. Something that irritated Jatfast.
Jatfast paced up and down the rather small tent in sheer irritation when it seemed to take ages for Jonas to give him a verdict on the bodies he brought in. His helpers unloaded the coffins one by one carefully before they opened them.
For Jatfast it was too cramped in here, there were hordes of flies swarming around he kept slapping away and the overwhelming smell of decaying flesh made his allergies play up again. All in all not the best place to wait. Jonas wasn't bothered about it, nor did his helpers seem to be.
Whatever Snowy ordered Jonas to do with his wares, he did it thoroughly, which vexed Jatfast even more. He wondered how Snowy pulled it off, was it a deal she made with the forsaken? Did she bribe him? Did he owe her a favor? Whatever she paid him it was enough to keep him on the job and enjoy it. He never managed to make the forsaken owe him a favor, never. Jonas always paid his debts and returned the favors in full. In all the time he knew the forsaken he never caught a weak spot he could use to his advantage or use against the forsaken. Instead he remained on friendly terms with the rogue. Not being his friend, but showing he wasn't the worst of persons to deal with. Courtesy he called it. Which was a good thing for Jatfast.
Because in Undercity he didn't really have the advantage he had at home. And here he wasn't likely to make solid ground for any schemes or deals anytime soon. Snowy was responsible for that as well. Showing him this was her terrain, not his. But that was something he figured out long ago.
Here he could not call in the favors others owed him. Here he could not easily make a quick deal. He cursed the day Snowy got married to one of those Coffin Hauler boys and brought in the idea to check his wears twice.
"You're welcome to check on your elf if you like, we will be busy for a while," Jonas said with a sneaky sounding grin. Jatfast stiffened when he suggested that. His greedy eyes focused on the corpses that were carefully laid on the ground one by one by Jonas his helpers. "And have some of my wares magically disappear on me when I come back? I don't think so Dredgewood! If you think I will fall for that old rogue trick you're wrong. Besides, I don't trust you one bit!" he snapped.
"Whatever you like, I'm only warning you up front, just in case Snowy decides to walks in," Jonas chuckled. It made Jatfast tap his foot in annoyance as he saw how his corpses were inspected. They carefully looked at every limb, every finger, and every foot. Everything part was examined. The worse of the corpses was tssk-ed by one of the goblin helpers. Jatfats flinched when one of the hands of the dead man came off rather easy after they tried to turn him around.
"Spare parts that one," he said, trying to sound smart as he gave an all knowing grin. The goblin helper looked at him and shook his head, as if telling Jatfast he was better off not saying anything at all. Which annoyed the rogue even more. When they started on the next coffin he stood up straight. This was his best one so far, he could earn a lot of money for this.
"That is a special one, you might want to treat her with care," he said, when they took the nails of the lid out with a crowbar. The wood squeaked when the last nail was taken out and they opened it. The other goblin helper gave him a nasty look, making a gesture for him to shush it. But Jatfast would not give into the silent treatment he was given by those Snowy followers. She always did things like that. Making him wait. Or she would make sure he was ignored by her helpers. Jonas was the only one that talked to him during the check of his wares.
"Boss, come and see this one," one of the helpers said, he grinned wide. Jonas shuffled forwards towards the coffin. "Hmm," Jatfast heard him say.
"It seems you really did bring us a treat," Jonas said, looking from the coffin to Jatfast. The young human woman with the long brown hair lay with her hands folded, like most did when they were buried. She was dressed in a simple linen robe that would have suited her nicely if she were still alive. Jonas notices she wore no shoes. Jatfast came closer and cast a glare into the coffin.
Her face seemed at peace now. How Adinna always managed to make them look so peacefully he never quite understood, but she did. The woman had a pale taint and if he didn't know any better she had a slight pink blush on her cheeks that actually made her look as if she could open her eyes and stand up any moment.
"She is a beauty isn't she," Jatfast said, tapping the side of the coffin and using his business voice to promote his wares.
"She will be a beautiful forsaken after she is woken," Jonas agreed. "Helbrim liked her," Jatfast said with a sly grin. Or at least that was what Adinna told him in private when he came to collect all the bodies and the spare parts that needed transporting to Undercity."Did he now? Well, I can see why. Whoever she was, I'm sure she will be a valuable asset to the forsaken," Jonas nodded as he ordered his helpers to be careful with the woman. To Jatfast's relief she didn't move.
"So, tell me more of this protégé of yours?" he said, trying to distract Jonas. "My elf? Similar to yours I suppose. You know, two hands, two feet, back, front, two eyes, mouth, nose, slender, long pointy ears, green eyes, you would probably recognize them easily enough," he said sarcastically.
"Ha ha, very funny," Jatfast replied. "Besides the fact mine has a talent with blacksmith skills yours seems… a little lost perhaps?" The forsaken made a simple statement of what he had observed earlier by looking at Hurias for a few moments . Jatfast muttered.
"The boy lost his job, but I was going to teach him some goblin business," he said, sounding resentful for remembering. Jonas snickered after that."Was that Jeri's idea or yours?" he asked. "What's it to you? The idea was mine of course! The boy just needs to grow a spine," the rogue said stern. Jonas shook his head. "Jeri won't like you teaching him stuff he is not meant for," Jonas knew for a fact. Jatfast grumbled. Was Jonas daring to tell him he knew Jeri better than he did?
"How would you know?" the rogue snapped. Jonas grinned, displaying the mismatch of his skin for a moment when his scarf fell down again. "He's delicate, your elf. Too…emotional," he said. Jatfast raised an eyebrow. "He would not last one day in your business," the forsaken man said, looking at an arm that was help up by one of the helpers from another coffin.
"Oh shut up, what do you know about my elf anyway? So yours isn't delicate? Aren't they all a bunch of feathered peacocks walking around in clouds of perfumed vain?" Jatfast sneered. The dark chuckle was his answer. "Mine has a little more…life experience," he said, as if that made it different. Jatfast mumbled about insolent forsaken nosing in things they didn't know about.
"He's Jeri's. And whether she likes it or not, the boy will have to start earning some form of living again. He can't eat by remaining pretty boy forever," Jatfast said. "Gazlowe doesn't like no-do-ers in his town," the rogue used for an argument. Jonas didn't answer him. He gave a slight nod to one of his helpers that silently disappeared from the tent. Jatfast only noticed he was replaced by a new one. A goblin with large bat like ears and a nose ring through one of his nostrils.
"So, how's Jeri doing? She didn't accompany you?" Jonas asked, adjusting the scarf around his mouth again. Sometimes she would come along to visit her sister and to score some jewelry or gems she liked. Not that she came to see Jonas. The forsaken and Jeri were skeptical towards each other. But when there was a deal at stake that had their mutual interest one could mistake their understanding for a strange friendship. Jatfast huffed.
"Don't mention Jeri," he said in a harsh bitter way, still not happy she declared war on him. Instead Jonas gave Jatfast an eerie glare as he chuckled in a low tone. "I see who wears the pants around your marriage," he said. "Oh shut up! We both know Jeri! You have the terrible twin sister bossing your around every day. I don't envy you one bit Dredgewood! If any of them is in one of their moods we know the world is about to explode," Jatfast complained, sounding very sorry for himself.
"You would do well to hide any way," the female voice sounded unfriendly when she opened the flap of the tent. Jatfast froze in his spot when the white-haired Snowy entered the tent. She grinned wickedly at him for that. "Hello Jatfast, you still look hot for the man that earned himself the right to be called my sisters worst choice," he stared at her. Snowy was an exact copy of Jeri in a different color hair. That and the fact she was slightly younger didn't make it easier for him to look at the woman he used to get along with and now posed as some enemy. She made anything difficult for him if she could.
"Here to peep some more? I doubt the forsaken make very satisfying targets for that, but Silvermoon is but an Orb of Translocation away for you to stare and gaze at elves if you want to please yourself. At least this time I won't catch you fapping in a bush, so your secrets is safe with me," she said, giving him a displeasing smile with a pair of cold eyes fixed on him like a spider would on its prey.
"You love bringing that up, don't you! Jeri never believed that!" Jatfast sneered at her. She pouting her lips the way Jeri did. Her lips were an unnatural blue that strangely matched her white hair. She was wearing a weird combination of dark boiled leather that was decorated with small ice-blue crystals that sparkled even in the gloomy light around Brill. Not something that turned him on. At least in that way she was different from Jeri. The strange dark blue rings she wore in her ears mismatched the whole thing nicely. He was glad her sense for fashion was different. But it was still the woman in front of him that annoyed him most. She had Jeri attitude, the ability to sound as miserable and misunderstood as possible to make you feel guilty and she could dramatize everything in near perfection to his wife's behavior.
"Yeah. Lucky for you she didn't believe my version. I would make you pay in any miserable way I can think of for making that mistake in the first place! You are not worth my sisters' time if I could help it!" Snowy promised him. Sadly enough she also shared the same temper and the same humor he didn't find funny nor appealing on her. "You became a true bitch," he mumbled to himself.
"And you became a true disappointment when I caught you with your pants down," she countered him. Jatfast shrugged, not impressed. "I will continue to be a bitch until you admit you did what you did," was her reply. The goblin helpers seemed very amused about the boss bitching the rogue around.
"Now children, don't fight!" Jonas his dark voice came in between the bickering goblins. Snowy spat on the ground. "Do I pay you to give me advice on how to handle scum Jonas?" she asked him in her authorizing tone. The forsaken laughed at her. "No, but you do pay me to handle things with care and to avoid worked up situation like this," he reminded her. Snowy pouted her lips for that. "Bah, you are true to your bones," she muttered. Jatfast smirked for a change. "You! I best not catch you in my sight, or I might change my mind and have you bring back your wares to Ratchet," she told Jatfast, holding up her fist to make sure he understood her correctly.
"Now let me see that treat you talked about, I want to be sure she is really dead before I decide to pay him a gold too much for his useless wares," he heard Snowy snap at her helpers. She didn't seem to have eyes for him any longer.
"I think I will check on my elf now," he said, breathing in and out deeply for a moment. Jatfast didn't know how fast he had to get out of that tent before she would change her mind.
So there he sat. Frustrated and more annoyed than ever as he joined Hurias, and Suarez. The elf seemed to have more color then before. And Suarez, who seemed more than a little amused to hear Snowy came walking in on him to personally check his wares, didn't hide he was having fun over the back of his friend.
"You'd think Jonas could have smuggled me out of that tent when she came walking in," Jatfast complained. Suarez didn't agree with him. "He did warn you up front," the mage said, still snickering loudly from Jatfast bad luck.
"Shut up Suarez, nobody asked you!" Jatfast said in a loud voice as he gulped down a badly tasting beer from a dirty mug. Suarez was right and the rogue knew it. Besides, he didn't have a good argument to support himself in any defense even if he tried. Jonas did warn him, fair enough. He moped, grumbling between sips of beer. Now he had to wait again. At least he was out of Snowy's way for now. There was silence after that. At least on Jatfast s account.
He never really figured it out about Jonas. One moment the man seemed reliable, the other he turned the odds against him. Even though he could get along with the sarcastic forsaken, Jeri only did well with him when he had something she needed. And he knew exactly what to bring her.
Jonas visited Ratchet often enough to cut deals in his own favor. If he had to work with Jeri he would use her payment plan skills or have her make up a contract he needed for something. In return he would always give her something she enjoyed. Business was pleasure for Jeri is she got something good out of it. And pleasure was more fun for him in the bedroom if she was in a good mood. Which wasn't very often lately.
Jonas would appear as silently as he came, using one of those bloody scrolls he always seemed to carry with him. He never got the deal with those scrolls.
They all sat there, shadowed by Jatfasts horrible mood mostly. It didn't stop Suarez from trying to teach Hurias how to play a card game. The elf didn't seem to understand the rules very well, which gave Suarez the advantage and win each time they started a new game. When Hurias was about to give up Suarez explained it down to the smallest point for the elf to understand. After that he had an equal partner in his game. He heard Hurias laugh when he won and Suarez tell him it was his luck they didn't play for money, or he would have been a pour elf again.
It left Jatfast to sulk for himself.
Hours passed, making the badly tasting beers almost nice as they flourished happily in Jatfast system. He drank one after another, throwing another coin on the table for Rene to pay for his new drink. The innkeeper didn't say anything, she silently took the coin and swopped the old mug for a new one. Jatfast had to grab it with two hands to hold it straight, spilling a bit of beer on his leather pants. He snickered as he looked at the stain that formed on hit weathered leather pants. Last time he was this drunk they had to carry him home.
But the world seemed a better place in the fuzzy blurriness that became his drunken vision. It was actually so funny to see forsaken move when he was drunk. They looked like badly played marionettes. They weren't funny enough to stop him from sulking when more entered the inn.
"Did you find a gift for Jeri yet?" Hurias talked through a hollow pipe to him. Or that was the sound he received. Suarez cackled a loud laugh. "Leave him be elf! He seems to be sulking in misery right now. I think he's even too drunk to notice us," the mage shared another round of cards on the table. "Jeri can drink him under the table if she is up for it," Hurias said. The echo of Suarez laugh banged against Jatfast's head like a war drum.
Jeri…Jeri…Jeri… Jeri…Jatfast repeated her name in his head over and over. Why was his wife so difficult sometimes? Was it so wrong to keep his writing a secret to her? She was an expensive girl, she wanted all these things he could not afford with the meager payment he used to receive from the normal daily job he had before he became a corpse clearer. It didn't add up to the expenses she had. But he tried. Anything for Jeri. The alcohol made his emotions go up and down from feeling guilty down to his toes, to being angry she never trusted him enough to provide for her.
She would snap at him for thinking that. He missed her snapping at him….
The way she could cuddle up against him when she was in a good mood. Claimed him if he looked at another woman too long. He only looked, never touched. Nobody matched with him so well as Jeri did. She could make him reconsider that deal he wanted to make if she jingled their bedroom money pouch at him. Dressed in a skimpy see through nightgown as she showed him the gold she stashed in between the silver and copper. If she put gold in the bedroom money pouch she was really turned on. You could wake Jeri up for gold in the middle of the night.
He smirked for a moment. Then his mood dropped to feeling sad and sorry for himself.
He never cheated on her! Well, not really. Looking wasn't cheating. Snowy caught him peeping at Miss Jade as she said. But all he did was pee in the bushes, why could Snowy not understand that after all this time? Jeri took his side? Jeri believed him!
Sure, he wasn't always honest, but he was honest enough to tell his wife about it. Why was bloody Snowy so suspicious.
He watched another group of visitors arrive. One carried a sword that would reflect the bloody moon if he wasn't careful. Show off!
Jatfast licked his lips as they disappeared again. Suddenly missing the mocking game they used to play while drinking amongst friends. Make fun of the shiny-shit. He missed home suddenly. The moments they would sit and drink and have fun at the weird game Jeri invented to kill time. Laugh at the shiny-shit. Come up with strange challenges to call each other's bluff. Greymur was good at that! The rogue nodded to himself. The grey orc was good at that, calling your bluff.
He was also the one that seemed to keep them all with their feet on the ground. Greymur could be harsh, grumpy, annoyed, but also laugh heartily at playing the game they did with the shiny-shits. Silly orc. Not to mention that wolf of his. Jatfast scratched his head thinking about it. Rena wasn't silly, she was everybodies friend. Greymur was a grumpy orc most of the time, he still liked the orc. At least he was honest. Greymur was what he showed to be. Jeri needed that sometimes, a person who told her off on things. The grey hunter never backed away for any of her terrible moods, unlike himself. Jatfast sighed.
But they weren't in the Broken Keel Tavern. There were no shiny-shits here. Only those travelers that stuck around long enough to have a small private chat with each other, or receive a key from Rene to go up to their cobweb decorated room with moldy blankets.
If Jeri was here she would slap him on the back of his head for the fun of hearing him curse. Not hard enough to tumble him over, but painfully enough to make him notice her presence. Jeri's laugh, Jeri's smile, Jeri's bedroom eyes. How he wished he was hiding in stealth in a corner of the Broken Keel right now, waiting for the group to come and settle at their usual table. He would have his greedy fingers all over Jeri if he wanted to tease her. He sighed heavily, feeling extremely sorry for himself when nothing useful came over lamenting his thoughts on how to solve the Jeri-war.
The hour was late, or perhaps early morning when the elf came walking in. He surely stood out in the crowd of forsaken and mismatched the other visitors of trolls and orcs that passes the inn at this hour. Even Suarez noticed that.
That and the fact Jonas walked in together with the elf. Protégé he had called it with that strange grin before he had to adjust his jaw and draped that scarf around his face again. Jonas pointed a bony finger in their direction. Suarez grinned when the forsaken approached alone.
Jatfast was fast asleep on the table as he snored loudly. Rene didn't bother with him. Suarez and Hurias watched out for him. "He's drunk," was the answer when Jonas looked at the sleeping rogue. "Shame, or maybe not. We're not done counting yet, it might take a little longer for me to convince Snowy on certain matters," Jonas said displeased. Hurias instantly stiffened when the forsaken stood too close to him and eyed him with those yellow eerie eyes of his. "I thought I might introduce my protégé to you, young one," he chuckled specifically at Hurias as he tightened the scarf around his face again and beckoned the elf to come over.
The male blood elf that approached was slightly taller than Hurias. His hair a rich dark chestnut color, kept together in a tail he wore over his shoulder. A small goatee decorated his chin. He was wearing a leather apron, a sleeveles shirt and a pair of leather pants and boots that had mail rings on them. His trait was confident the way he came up to their table. The man was by no doubt different from Hurias, and older then he was from the looks of it, yet still a young man. If not for the color of his hair, then for the gaze the dark haired elf looked around with. Eyes that seemed wise with knowledge and experience of things that were probably his past. The way he smiled reminded Hurias of a certain somebody.
"This, is my protégé and partner in some ways, Rotharian. He will be able to show you around Undercity if you like," Jonas his dark voice said. For a moment Hurias stared at the young man that held out his hand to shake his own.
"Rotharian, at your service," he said with a bright smile. "Suarez," the goblin said cheerfully, shaking his hand in a hard way. "H-Hurias," the other elf said, a little overwhelmed by the gesture of the forsaken man to introduce a member of his own race to him in a place like this. "I thought you might like to hear what brought Rotharian here," he said at the blond haired elf. Hurias wasn't quite sure what to make of it.
"Now formal introductions are over, I will leave you to deal with them on my behalf. Tell Jatfast I will contact him as soon as we're done finding a compromise for his wares," he said to Rotharian. The dark haired elf nodded. Suarez lay down his cards. "Is there a problem?" the mage wished to know. "Nothing worth mentioning. Some Snowy related trouble. Perhaps it is best not to mention her name at all in his presence," Jonas said, tapping Jatfast's head. The rogue didn't even notice.
"If I see the sorry state he is in right now I think he can use a good night of sleep. That does not mean you two cannot tour around Undercity left in the capable hands of Rotharian," he said, his glowing eyes never blinked, probably because he didn't have eyelids anymore. That sounded appealing enough to Suarez. "We'll tell him when he wakes," Hurias said, finding his voice back again.
Jonas disappeared again. It left Suarez with two elves to look at. Not that he was bothered by that. As long as they didn't beg him to write his life story like Arsenial had done, he was fine with anybody. The new elf sat himself on an empty chair and joined their table.
"So, Rotharian is it? Tour guide?"Suarez said, looking at the dark haired elf."More or less," Rotharian said sounding very polite. The mage snickered. "Do you play cards?" he asked instead. "Not often, but I do enjoy a little game if I can," the new elf said, seeming to be very much at ease. Hurias glared at him. He didn't share his thought with them though.
"So tell us, is there a good place to dump Jatfast for the moment and persuade you to tour us around Undercity right now? I can use a little distraction from sitting in this gloomy inn all day. That and the hope for something more tasteful then swamp soup, because I'm getting mighty hungry by now," he laughed. "Of course," Rotharian said and nodded.
"Maybe we can rent a room for Jatfast?"Hurias mentioned. He hated to admit he had little to add to the payment of a room at all. Money was scarce for him lately, as he was more likely to run out of what he had left then add new coins to his bank account now he didn't have a proper job anymore. Eating most of his meals at Greymur didn't add up to the fact he still needed to look into finding a new occupation again. But things had been so strange lately he was happy nobody pushed him to pay the bill for once.
"I think Jatfast can provide for himself," Suarez said in a sneaky way as he started to search through Jatfast his pockets for any money. To Hurias his surprise he dug up Jatfast money pouch and emptied it on the table. "Let's see what Rene will rent us for the sleeping sulker over here so we can have a good time without his moody face!" Suarez said in a merry way. Rotharian raised a delicate eyebrow at the scene in front of him. "Did you just pick pocket him?" he asked. Suarez smirked as he nodded.
"He won't mind. Because he won't know!" The mage slapped himself on his knee for that."Come, let us have a look around Undercity!" Suarez didn't wait for Hurias to answer him when he got up and walked over to Rene. He watched the mage arrange a quick exchange of money for a key. After they made sure Jatfast lay in bed properly they locked his door and were ready to go.