"That was too close!" Nuitae said in Elvish as they passed through the town, drawing more than a few stares, but none that put Trey on guard.
"Don't worry about it, and just play along. They won't ask you to remove your cloak and gloves if you stick to that story. Humans think elves are flighty and vain. Well, most humans and most elves. So if you play it right, no one will ever ask you any further, especially if you let me explain the situation."
Nuitae put her hand on her hip and looked at him. "Basically you're telling me to shut up and let you do all the talking?"
Trey turned around and grinned. "I wouldn't have it any other way. You're rather talkative once you get going." Nuitae was glad for the face covering, but even if she did not have it, it would not have mattered. Her black skin covered any trace of a blush she might have, from embarrassment or otherwise.
Trey laughed a bit as they continued walking. The town was rather large, on the verge of becoming a city, quite nearly there in fact, but still small enough where most of the inhabitants were close friends or relatives. Rumors spread quickly in a town such as this.
"Are we staying the night?" Nuitae asked quietly.
"Of course! And I know just the place," Trey replied, his eyes skimming over a fairly nice inn, and coming to rest on a broken down tavern. Nuitae's lip curled in disgust.
"I can smell the stench from here," she said as they came closer. Her eyes glanced longingly at the nicer inn just a few buildings down and across the street.
"We won't hear any good rumors or gossip at a place like that." Trey looked at the tavern with a grin. "And that's what we're chasing after. Rumors. That's what most hunters listen for." Nuitae sighed, but finally relented.
That evening, Nuitae and Trey made themselves at home in the local pub. Or, it should be said that Trey made himself at home while Nuitae sat stiffly in her chair, eating just small amounts of fruit and bread. Trey drained more than a few mugs, Nuitae sipped at some wine. She said little, and finally she stood up and walked over to where Trey was singing loudly, and off key, with a few other fellows. Bowing slightly and swiftly to the group, she walked over to Trey and leaned close to him.
"I'm leaving. The stench of the place is unbearable," she said quickly in Elvish.
Trey grinned. "Ah come on, stay a while!" he said loudly, though his response was in Common. Rolling her eyes, Nuitae shook her head at him.
"I'm retiring for the night," she said finally, and walked off. Trey shrugged and returned to his group. No one paid attention to the cloaked elf as she exited the tavern and made her way down the street towards the inn.
"So, Trey, what line of work you in? Trade? Smith? I'm sure there's plenty of folks 'round here that could be of use, or could use you!"
Trey laughed. "Sorry but I'm not in the market for material things," he said, waving his hand. "I have no skill with the forge and I have no trading skills whatsoever. However, if any of you gentlemen are in the market for information, I'm your man."
Parts of the tavern went quiet, most everyone was looking at Trey. One man narrowed his eyes. "What kind of information you looking for, or got for us?"
Trey's grin widened as he leaned forward on the table. "Why, drow, of course. If you've seen any, I'd like to hear about it. If you're willing, of course!"
"What, are you some sort of madman? Anyone with half a brain knows to stay well away from them when they can."
"Well obviously I must be lacking. I make my living hunting them."
If everyone had not have already been staring, this statement certainly would have caused it. Trey was no longer smiling, his face was set and serious; no one felt any reason to doubt him. "Now, I ask again. If you've seen any, I would be quite interested."
Trey left the tavern late that night, well after the moon was in the sky. He walked up the street towards the small place where he and Nuitae had found lodgings, but barely made it halfway there when a crossbow bolt came speeding towards him, landing in the side of the building next to him. Trey stopped short and spun around, catching sight of the perpetrator. Moonlight glinted off a braid as the black-skinned elf ran across a rooftop.
"D-D-DROW!" came a shout from behind Trey. Gritting his teeth, the hunter spun around to see a young man standing and staring. Quickly, Trey covered the man's mouth.
"Idiot, do you want the whole town up? My job is a lot easier if everyone just stays asleep!"
The man was shaking, and so Trey let him go. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Please forgive me, it's just… I can't believe it came back! What does it want?"
"Don't ask me. You hired me to kill it and that's all I know. You didn't ask me to get questions from it. Now go back inside, and leave me to my work!"
Nodding, the young man, suddenly sobered, rushed back down the street and disappeared into a building. Candles appeared in several windows, but seeing there was nothing to be alarmed about, at least for the moment, many of them were extinguished. Trey cast a quick glance at the inn that Nuitae had left for earlier that night. He did not turn towards it, however. Instead, he pulled a thin, black cloak from out of the bag he was carrying and pulled it on and lifted the hood. Then, from inside a pocket in his vest, he slipped on a pair of strange spectacles. Without wasting another moment, he ran in the direction he had seen the elf.
"It's going to be a fun night," Trey said with a grin.
The next morning, the tavern was buzzing with the latest about the second drow sighting. This time there was hope, a drow hunter was passing through. Tales of the mighty Trey Kirith, drow hunter, were already spreading more than they had years ago, when he first came through the town. Even when Nuitae, cloaked and hooded as usual, walked in, the men hardly gave her a second glance until one came over and sat down next to her. She lowered her head and inched away.
"Heard your friend is out catching himself a drow. How come you're not with him?" the man asked with a grin.
Nuitae nodded. "Apologies. I am not as efficient as Treian. He would have the drow found and killed before I could get there, so for now, I am content letting him take the glory."
"Seems to me an elf would be right there beside him."
"I was not trained in such advanced combat as it would require to fight against drow. But I assure you my hatred of my dark-skinned cousins is no less than yours. Please, excuse me." Nuitae stood and bowed, leaving as quietly as she came.
Trey should have been back by now, the elfmaid thought to herself. I wonder if he really ran into trouble. Not sure what to do now, Nuitae went around the back of some of the buildings, and in a few short jumps, climbed up to the rooftop of some shop. There, she crouched and waited. After a few hours of this, she fell asleep, and did not wake up until the sun was nearly set, when a watchman called out.
"I see him, he's come back!" Nuitae sat up and slid down to the street below, just as several people from the square looked in the same direction.
"I don't see any lifeless body with him," someone remarked. Nuitae turned to him and said, "He burns the body. You likely would not recognize the corpse anyways, not the way Trey kills. He brings back the hair, and sometimes a souvenir, but never the body."
"Then how do we know he actually killed the thing?"
"Oh, I assure you," Nuitae replied coolly. "You will never again be plagued by this drow. Others may come, but my guess is this one worked alone. It is not common, but it is not unheard of." Nuitae walked forward to greet Trey, who was covered in dried blood, but grinning. The two spoke in Elvish, and the man handed his elven companion something.
"It is drow hair," she said as Captain Bellin walked into view. She tossed the lock of hair to him, tied with cord. The Captain caught it, but nearly dropped it when he realized the blood was still fresh.
"Good work," the Captain said gloomily. "Come with me, I'll see you get paid."
Trey grinned, but as he took a step, he collapsed. Nuitae's eyes widened and she dropped down to his side. When she leaned in to feel his heartbeat, he spoke. "Why, I think they like me," he whispered, before coughing a bit. Nuitae's face was grim, though her expression was hidden behind the mask and cowl. She helped him up.
"It is no laughing matter," she said softly. "We are playing a dangerous game here. Especially you."
"No, my dear." With Nuitae's help, Trey followed behind the Captain. "You are playing more dangerously than I."