"Funny, I asked for a blonde." For once Malark's wits seemed to be about him and he managed to keep from showing his hand too early. Half-elf eyes were sweeping the room for traps or any other figures. He didn't sense danger but one could never be too careful in Daggerford.

"You'll find her body out the window, I'm not a fan of blondes or competition." The rejoinder came just as swift but it wasn't accompanied by any urgent movement or explanation. M just seemed content to lie there, playing with her hair and his heart and moving her legs in a very intriguing stretch.

Malark hesitated another second before sinking to the chair at his bedside and starting to remove his gear and boots. He was content to play the waiting game and though his traitorous heart was pounding against his chest, the wizard wanted to stay in control. Funny how much more intoxicating her perfume was than any of the ale he had all week. He was in so much fucking trouble, and glad that his mouth stayed shut.

"I heard you were asking about me."

"You were on my list but not at the top."

"I came second to a man with a hook for a hand?"

"What can I say, I like a man who can accessorize."

"Well that answers a number of questions I had about seamen…. I mean sailors"

"Were you in here all day? I think you managed to get hair in every nook and cranny."

"Don't change the subject…. And I heard you were looking for me so I came to tell you about your best pal Hookhand and his arrival in town."

Now that they finally arrived at the elephant in the room, they both sat up and seemed to move past the games into something serious. "I told you once I would help you. This man is using a dangerous name to do villainous hateful things. If I have my way he won't be around to see the summer. What was it that he plundered from you that was so important? I'll try not to let it burn."

"You don't have your party; a frontal attack is stupid and suicidal. I didn't take you for either." For the first time since the bar Malark saw how dangerous she could be when she was playing in her element. When she spoke in that voice, even unarmed, Malark had to resist the impulse to check his body for knife wounds or crossbow bolts.

"He'll be here for a week, maybe two at the most and then he'll start the summer raids. Innocents will die, at sea and on land, and his reputation will grow. I need to stop him now before that happens. If you have another idea, then I'm all ears."

M seemed to pause at that, violet eyes taking him in before sweeping over his person, his gear, the room and then back to him. Instinctively he knew what was in her head. She was thinking about their interactions, and trying to determine from everything she knows whether or not…. "You can trust me, I didn't travel here on my own to con you, and I truly don't care what you want from his plunder. So long as he's stopped I'm happy"

Her lips twisted into a quick frown and then almost a pout as she felt a jolt up her back and stood up to face him. "Stay out of my head, that's not very nice! How did you even do that anyway? You should have had to cast a spell for telepathy."

"That wasn't a spell…. That was intuition. Was it that accurate?" M's silence was a deafening answer. She blushed redder than he had during the campsite and seemed torn between being impressed and throwing a tantrum. But she quickly regained control.

"Moving on… Rather than going to your death by threatening a bunch of bloodthirsty pirates with some sort of daring magical assault. We can go with my plan." She paused but he gestured for her to continue. "I'm expected in the camp, he wants me to go after the governor of a well defended port colony down south. If I do, I'm to be rewarded my weight in gold supposedly." The sarcasm was replaced with a flash of indecision, but she continued "And I receive what I really want. Without going into detail, Hookhand has a scroll in his possession. It doesn't belong there; it belongs with me."

"A scroll? And does he know you want it?"

"Yes, unfortunately I'm acquainted with one of his crew. The snake helped me chase down a lead for a noble's ship carrying the scroll. But before I could board and take it the ship as looted by Hookhand's crew. Now he knows he has leverage on me, but doesn't know me well enough to be sure how I will react to it."

Malark knew he had to take a step back. His mind was already planning stratagems and counters, his hand was itching for his spell book so he could find a useful glamour as well as something big and powerful in case of an escape. But he took another breath; he was skipping a step. "So, are you proposing we work together? I back you up as we infiltrate the camp. I get my shot at Hookhand and you get your shot at the scroll?"

"… Would that work for you?"

"It's better than my plan, but we both know you have the advantage here. It's your plan, you know what you're looking for, you know where I'm staying, you know what I want. If either of us is getting out of this alive, it's definitely going to be you."

"What's your point?"

"I need to know that you trust me, at least enough to get me in and out alive if you have the chance. Show me that you trust or care enough to give a shit whether I live or die."

Barely a foot separated them on the edge of the bed and as he asked for any sort of assurance he kept constant eye contact, trusting his intuition and his instinct. M leaned in close, her cheek brushing his as her lips whispered in his ear "My name is Meira."