Disclaimer: Not mine, please see some other chapter for proper disclaiming.

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Kofyr

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"Are you telling me I smell?" The amusement is mixed now with narrow eyed annoyance. Hurriedly I shake my head.

"No! No. It's the incense. I remembered the scent."

"That you know it only proves the theory of you being a slave."

Oh it was only a theory? Sounded very much like utter conviction to me. I make a mental note to be more careful around this priest. He's either mentally unstable or just more clever than I am and both possibilities hold the potential for disaster.

"Give me the keys." The other one demands, already holding out a hand. Shit. If I give them what they want I'm as good as dead, because nothing would be gained for them by leaving me alive. How do I get out of this hole I dug for myself without having to lie?

"I... um..." Think Toren! Just this once! "Would... would you be very angry if I told you that I don't have them on me right now?"

Ah yes! Phrase it as a question and thereby tell no lies. I'm so brilliant!

"Yes." He hasn't moved a muscle, but still manages to seem so much more threatening all over sudden. I swallow uncomfortably.

"Oh. Ok. Nothing I can do then." I turn to Old Bo. "Sorry to get blood on your carpet."

To be brutally honest, I nearly faint after saying that. I know very well what they could do to me and all of it is incredibly painful. The wince comes automatically when the colourful one makes a move in my direction and suddenly I find myself on my knees. How I got there I don't even remember, but the fact that it's me who is kneeling makes me angry enough to glare at him. Getting up doesn't really seem like a very good idea though.

"Credit me with a bit more self restraint, will you." A voice chides from the armchair. "You'll simply have to go and get them. Kofyr will accompany you and see to your protection." At this he gestures elegantly in the direction of the colourful one. "It would certainly break my heart to hear that you were harmed on your way."

"Thank you."

I get up a bit too fast and experience the delightful feeling of all my precious blood rushing down towards the general direction of my feet. For a second I fear that I might still faint after all, but the second passes and when I can see again I deduce that now is the perfect moment for leaving Old Bo alone with his wonderful guests. Without another word I turn around and walk away, the only part which is not so nice about this picture is of course the Drow who has decided to follow me very, very closely. I can hear his steps and feel his presence only a few centimetres away from me.

We get out and silently walk down at least two busy streets before I can finally bring myself to turn around and look at my shadow. The sight that meets my eyes though startles me so much that I nearly walk into a cart. There is no Drow, at least not a visually recognisable one. The person I can make out is a deceptively innocent looking young boy. Only the evil smirk that spreads on his face upon noticing my confusion tells me that he is not what he seems.

"Like my disguise?"

This time I really cannot keep from rolling my eyes, but luckily he's more amused than angry. At present I'm more interested in getting rid of him, than in his bloody disguise, but the moment my gaze starts wandering around he seems to know what I'm up to and takes a gentle but firm hold of my arm, which makes us look more like lovers than anything else. An image that I absolutely despise right now!

"Stop that!" I hiss quietly. "I'm not going to run away."

"Yes, you should know better than that, but obviously you have done so before, have you not?"

Is he indicating that I simply ran away from my Master? Brrrr, the thought alone makes me shiver in fear!

"I didn't." I mumble still tying to disentangle myself from his grasp. He lets me for now, but still stays close.

"Excuse me?"

Oh so he wants to hear me say it again? Fine Bastard, here it comes.

"I did not run away." I say taking care to pronounce very syllable as precisely as possible, as if I was speaking with an imbecile. Annoyingly he simply ignores this and plows on.

"Then why are you..."

My angry glare shuts Kofyr up in mid-sentence and he just shrugs. Surprising actually. I didn't really expect him to show any reaction at all. Well I guess I won't be able to escape then, but even with what I have started to call "plan b" which includes giving the keys over, there's still the problem of "getting" them without him finding out that I've had them on me the whole time. Maybe if I just go to a place so disgusting that he won't look very closely I'll be able to slip them from my pocket. That would mean though that I would have to start digging in a big smelly heap of rubbish or something like that and I don't know if I'll be able pursue such activities without throwing up my breakfast.

And the fact that my greatly treasured keys will vanish after twenty four hours is a not so minor obstacle in itself, which I obviously need to discuss with Kofyr if I don't want my throat slit tomorrow morning. Or maybe he knows a way to make them last longer and I won't have to deal with the scary priest after all. On the other hand, maybe he doesn't and will just kill me on the spot. Gods! All this worrying is going to give me grey hairs! Why can't anything ever be simple in my life? I miss Andy. What would he do now? Probably laugh and find a way to get through this unscathed. Ah to hell with it!

"Let's get a beer." I say suddenly, turn towards the next available tavern door before Kofyr has a chance to stop me and even manage to drag him inside, because he is taken completely by surprise.

"What are you doing?" He wants to know, eyes narrowed in distrust.

"Getting a beer." I pause remembering my disastrous financial situation. "If you have any money on you that is."

"Money?"

I nod.

"Yes money. Golden or silver, glitters, makes people happy if you give them lots of it. Do you have any?"

He only stares, presenting me with the opportunity to pull him towards the nearest table and gently push him down onto a chair.

"Live with you must be quite exiting." Kofyr states dryly once I have taken the seat opposite to him. He has obviously recovered from surprise and temporary helplessness. "So you honestly expect me to get you a beer now?"

I only respond with a smile which could probably be called flirty if one were to judge strictly in this matter. When he doesn't react besides giving me a bemused look I add a rather desperate: "Please?"

"And what of the keys?"

This is the moment where I must make up my mind. Do I lie or trust that he has a sense of humour? In the end I decide that lying would be too much of a bother, take out the keys and put them on the table between us. The sight of his eyes growing big and round is nearly enough to compensate for the crappy course this day has taken up until now.

"But you said that..." he pauses thoughtfully. "No wait you never actually said that."

A wide grin spreads over his face and relief floods my insides. It appears my guess has been correct and he does indeed posses some kind of humour.

"I can't believe that you really managed to cheat all of us. Well, I guess that deserves some kind of reward."

Good, I'll get my beer and once I've got it safely stored inside of me I can start telling him about the time limit, always hoping that he'll stay happy with the help of a little bit of alcoholic influence. It might also make him more aggressive, but he doesn't really seem like the type to gut me straight away in a fit of sudden fury. I guess I'll just have to risk it.

We drink in silence while he studies me and doesn't even try to hide it. I do my best to ignore his looks and make the fruitless attempt to drown my apprehension in the too sweet beer. The fact that Kofyr is still wearing the guise of the young human boy is slightly unnerving, because I can't quite connect the evilly grinning Drow from before with this embodiment of innocence.

"Who's your Master?" He wants to know when we're through about half of our drinks. I grimace shortly before I catch myself and manage to mould my features into something resembling a noncommittal smile.

"My Master is of no concern to you darling."

He mirrors my expression and replies evenly: "If you don't want me to tell Eberral about your little key trick you should reconsider that notion."

I hate Drow! They really are the vilest, most evil creatures I've ever had the displeasure to meet.

"Do you work for him on a permanent basis?"

I assume that Eberral is the priest, even though I probably shouldn't because assuming isn't a very safe thing around Drow. Anyway, now it's his turn to roll his eyes.

"No. He pays well though. Now answer."

"He's dead." I snap curtly, which earns me a raised brow accompanied with a disbelieving shake of the head and an incredulous: "You killed him!"

That in turn makes me laugh so hard I nearly spit beer all over the table. I know it's not all that funny, but compared to a hysterical bout of horrified screaming, which would be the alternative reaction I believe laughter is quite a good option.

"You really think I could do that?" I gasp out between bursts of giggling. When after approximately five minutes I have calmed down a bit I add: "My Cousin shot him after he fed her Chatai."

"Your Cousin?"

"Hmhm." I try to hide in the mug, but my efforts aren't very successful and I can't escape his next question.

"Is your Cousin still alive and here in this city?"

"No."

When the human-drow continues to look at me expectantly I feel compelled to give further explanations.

"She lives, but she's not going to be here any time soon. Happy now?"

"Yes!"

Yes. Great! I wonder if Ayren would actually help or even just talk to me again. Probably not considering the latest happenings at Giciel's tower. She's certainly still mad at me for messing up her love life. Well, it's not like I'll miss her much.

"So you're free now?"

I only nod. Can he please stop asking all these annoying questions?

"When did you get caught?"

I glare at him, but this time he remains totally unimpressed.

"Well?"

"Listen, why don't you shut up and stop asking me questions I don't want to answer. We'll get on much better that way."

Once I feel the prick of a knifepoint on my thigh I realize that this was not the smartest thing to say. These tables are much too small for my taste! With a bit more space between us he could never have reached me, but no I had to pick his one. Stupid me. On the other hand, if the situation were altered, he would probably just have found a different way of threatening me.

"We'll get on best if you don't play silly games and answer when I want to know something bitch."

The cold voice tells me that Kofyr is not joking and that I'm definitely out of options here. Why does he want to know all that anyway?

"Six months ago." I say icily throwing him a hateful glance. I have let myself be fooled for a short time by his harmless outward appearance forgetting the real person behind that open, trustworthy face. My attention focuses on the point of his cursed knife, which is slowly, teasingly being dragged upwards.

"What is the purpose behind your questioning?"

I force myself to remain calm despite the sharp, dangerous metal so close to my unprotected stomach. His following smirk does nothing to soothe my frayed nerves.

"I have a plan, but I need to know how good you are."

So he wants to play too. Fine. I can do that and I'll be damned good so he'd better watch himself.

"Now you know that I survived six months of slavery." I lean forward and slowly let my fingers glide up his one arm that is still resting on the table. "What does that tell you?" By now I have reached his shoulder and can slowly him closer until he is in a comfortable kissing distance. "Nothing really, don't you think?" The smirk doesn't waver which I take as encouragement to complete the movement and let our lips meet over the sticky table whose smallness is suddenly very convenient.