The Princess and the Blade

[Soran Nightblade]

Havi crossed his arms. "I asked what is the fastest. Not what is the most savory."

[Emora Deen]

“You will not want to do what is fastest, Havitharon,” Laurius said. “What will you sell? Your horns? Your hair? Your eye? Your hand? Your blood? Your time? Your sex? Go back to that market and you will find a buyer for any of it, I’m sure. If you go to the labs, perhaps you will make a good test subject? Poisons, new torture devices, spells of all sorts. There are so many ways to make money in this place, and none of them good.”

[Soran Nightblade]

Havi turned on him as if he'd caught him mid-crime. "So then, is that what you intend to offer when you go to meet that professor and negotiate with him?" He loomed over Laurius, into his personal space. "You may have Tenara and her family convinced, but you are not the selfish opportunist you like to paint yourself as. If you were, you would not hate this place so. I know the look of someone planning to solve everything alone."

[Emora Deen]

Laurius almost failed at keeping the hard look in his eyes. Havitharon was almost a foot and a half taller than him, and he was intimidating when in a good mood, much more so now.

“You’re mistaken,” Laurius said. “I am a selfish opportunist…” He almost spoke further—about how his selfish silence had resulted in Tenara and Ren being taken by Arken. But, Havitharon seemed…

“But who are you to talk? You think you’ve bucked your instincts, but here you are, willing to throw yourself into a fire for that little female child.”

Laurius frowned, looking again at the girl. It would all be easier if... But there she was, looking at him with that terrified blue eye. “I so rarely like people, Havitharon. And I like you. I don’t want to see this place destroy you like it almost did me… So, what should we do?”

[Soran Nightblade]

Havi's eyes gleamed a warning at the man. He was torn between alarm at his words, rage that he'd spoken them, and concern, because the merchant was once again not acting the way Havi was used to. It gave him the sense that something was much more wrong than he'd surmised about this place, or about Laurius. Or both.

"I said I would take care of it, so stop acting like you're trying to earn another hole in your chest, and just tell me what I need to do," he growled.

[Emora Deen]

"The Pit," Lee chirped from where she still stood, rigid and uncertain, in the doorway. "You could make money in the Pit." Laurius glowered at the girl and she shrank back. The merchant pinched the bridge of his nose and glanced at Havitharon. It was... the least unpleasant option. He barely remembered Havitharon's fighting skills in their duel. He'd been high as a cloud.

"The Pit is a fighting ring of sorts. Bets are placed on the fighters. The Pit is supposed to be where students and staff can test the effectiveness of their inventions in combat—new weapons, spells, potions, drugs. Winner takes the pot and splits it with their handler. It devolved into being less about the testing of theories and more about the making of money. Of our options, it is the least objectifying or defacing."

[Soran Nightblade]

Havi paused only a moment. "Fine. Then, your professor will release the child to us if he becomes my handler?"

[Emora Deen]

Laurius turned a multitude of colors. "No," he said, flat and sharp. "Absolutely not." He turned his gaze on the red window, sweeping over the architecture of it. "I will be your handler." Only he had no inventions with him, no materials to create a weapon... Laurius scratched furiously at the back of his head, which is something he only did when supremely irritated. "If you are his pawn, you—we—have to lay clear boundaries and expectations. If we leave an opening for him to alter the bargain, he will use it. Once you make a bargain with him..." Laurius seemed to drift away for a moment, before centering again. "It is very hard to break."

[Soran Nightblade]

"I am very hard to break," Havi countered. "Tell me this. When he asks his price for the girl, will he name something you can afford to give him?" There was a meaningful edge to the Ivis's words. He still didn't know what had taken place between Laurius and the professor, but the look on the merchant's face spoke volumes.

[Emora Deen]

Laurius looked at the girl. "I'm sure he will name a price he thinks I would be willing to pay," Laurius said, and purposefully did not think beyond the unsightly knots in the girls hair. She really needed someone to brush them out. "I have better negotiating skills now." He walked over to their bag and dug through it for a comb. "Girl, come here."

Lee stiffened, glancing between Havitharon and Laurius before she slowly approached.

"Turn around."

Lee turned.

Laurius took hold of her hair and she jumped out of her skin. Then, he began to comb. "We'll go to dinner at his place tonight and propose an exchange—your position as a tester, and he as the handler to replace a physical form of payment for the child."

[Soran Nightblade]

Havitharon watched Laurius's work with crossed arms. "She does not like that," he critiqued, sidestepping the discussion.

Was it true? Was he leading them off their path? "What if we told your professor about the book."

[Emora Deen]

Laurius’s hand stilled as he brushed the many knots out of Lee’s hair. “There are a number of reason we shouldn’t, but most of all because one of Tenara’s three fathers will gut us,” Laurius said, not wanting to think about how bad Oberin would be to deal with if he had access to a book with those otherworldly spells. “We’ll set term limits with him. Decide how many rounds you’re willing to go before the debt is paid.”

Lee winced as he resumed brushing. He didn’t think she’d ever had her hair combed. His gaze caught sight of scars stretching up from beneath her dress, crossing at the nape of her neck. Lash marks. He frowned and continued more gently. “We’ll leave her behind when we go to meet with him.”

[Soran Nightblade]

Havi opened his mouth to ask if the girl would be safe here, but reflected and thought better of fighting him. Laurius was the expert on this place, and at some point, he'd have to start deferring to the man's judgment if he wanted to survive. "How will we know when the sisters get here? What will they do if they learn we are here before we know of them?"

[Emora Deen]

Laurius pursed his lips. Those were very good questions, and ones we didn't know the answer to. "Well, our advantage is they think we are trapped in another world..." He brushed a little longer, managing to work the knots out at the end of her hair. "We keep an eye on the main entrance when we can spare the time, maybe taking it in shifts? If they get through, and find out we are here, then we're in a very dangerous position. The sisters' magic is one thing to contend with, but they could bring this whole place down on us, and then escaping will be impossible."

[Soran Nightblade]

Havi tapped his fingers on his arm. Bring the place down? With magic? Like Tenara could? He had underestimated what those two were capable of. "In that case, perhaps I should take the first shift," he said, all but pointing at the dark circles beneath the man's eyes.