The Day Before

A roleplay transcript by Lord Silence and Silver

Lord Silence stepped into the Crucible and cast his shaded eyes about the room. The hubbub of voices hushed for a moment as he entered, but as he seemed not to be looking for anyone in particular, the conversations slowly resumed. When the majority of eyes had stopped watching him fearfully, he stepped down the steps, across the flagstones, back up the other side and stopped at Red the Fence's table. The man eyes him warily. "Relax," Silence said in his hushed tone. "I am not here for you." The man visibly relaxed and a smile crossed his dark-skinned face.

"What for then?" he asked quietly. "You looking for her?"

Lord Silence smiled. "Her?" He said in mock surprise. "Why do you ask about her?" he said, the smile souring to an irritated sneer. "Have people been talking about me?"

Red the Fence hurriedly shook his head. "Oh no, Lord... course not! Uh... I..." he trailed off.

"Good. It would be unhealthy for them to do so." He turned away from the Fence, casting his eyes around the room from beneath his hood. He was looking for her. He had a gift to give her. If she had one for him.

Silver let the lid drop and turned the key to lock everything up. She rose from the chest, tucking the key away and packed up her thieves tools so they were well hidden in one of the pouches attached to her belt. The rogue looked about the Crucible absently, thinking over her next assignment. She spotted Silence over by Red's shop and did a double-take. She had not seen him in the Crucible in all the time she had been there, so it came as a shock to her. Silver debated for a moment whether to sneak out of there without being noticed. She was really tempted to do so, but a part of her - and it was the daring part of her - had her turning in his direction. She strode up to Silence with confidence steps. "Lord Silence. Hope all is well," she neutrally greeted him. But she felt anything but neutral inside. 

He did not turn, not look at her, not allow even a flicker of recognition to cross his face. He continued to stair around the room, nodding to certain people and then he just walked away. He strode across the Crucible in a few easy strides and left through the doorway. Were she observant, she would have seen that as he passed through the door, he placed the tips of the fingers of his left hand on the frame for just a moment, index, middle and little finger extended, ring finger curled into his palm. "Follow" in the hand sign of the Order.

Silver did not make eye contact with Red or anyone else nearby. She furrowed her brow and waited for him to get enough distance between them so she could leave too without running into him again. She figured he was pissed about the gift, and that made her feel a little giddy inside. Good, she thought. But as she started toward the door, she caught sight of his message. She inwardly groaned, her heart beating quickly. This was not what she wanted. She did not want to meet with him in private again. At least, not yet. She considered just not following his order. Maybe she could get away with it. Or maybe he would kick her out of the Order altogether. She slowed her pace and finally stepped through the doorway, knowing she had a few seconds still to decide.

Lord Silence stepped into the brighter space of the Rat's Den environs, squinting his eyes at the sudden light, and then moved to the left-hand turn before the tavern. He waited just long enough to be sure that Silver would see him, if she followed - and he was not confident she would - so that she could keep up with him. He turned left again and then stepped through the door to the alleyway where that stupid blue orc kept some kind of pathetic kitchen. Then he made his way to the dingy waters of the underground river. Again he paused, giving her time to catch up a little, but never looking back to see whether she did so. Another left, and then left into the brothel quarters that led on to the slave auctions. He peered behind the curtains until he found what he was looking for - an empty bed chamber. He cared not where the whore had gotten to. Only that she - or it, or whatever the fuck was selling its orifices in this shit hole - was gone. He stepped inside, leaving the curtain pulled slightly back, so that Silver would see him as she passed. 

Now he waited. If she came, all would be well. If she didn't, then he would have to consider her presence in the Order very carefully. For her sake, he hoped she followed. He sneered at himself and his own dishonesty. This had nothing to do with the Order. This was about how much he wanted to use her again and again and again. His disgust at himself for lying inside his own mind was overshadowed by the disgust he felt at himself for finding a human so desirable. His anger fueled his lust.

As she stepped outside the Crucible, she caught a glimpse of Silence's cloak just before he disappeared. He was being so mysterious. She decided to follow him, intrigued. Each time she rounded a corner she thought she would catch up to him, but there were always more turns and twists, or more doors to pass through. What was he up to? She asked herself. The smells of fresh soup caused her stomach to rumble. She found she was also hungry and decided she would have a bite to eat before she officially started off on her next assignment. 

Silver frowned. It had been a bit since she had seen him so she started to look around the area. She was by the brothel now and only peered behind parted curtains which usually indicated a free room. She had to sidestep a speedy chicken so she would not trip over it, and as she looked up, she spotted him behind one of the curtains. Oh fuck no, she thought. Not fucking you here or ever again. But she stepped inside, not closing the curtain fully, and crossed her arms beneath her bosom. "Why so secretive," she asked in a hush tone. "Not through with me yet? You planning to gut me now?"

The relief he felt as she stepped through the curtain was not visible on his face. Rather, he tilted his head down, keeping his face in shadow, as was his habit. It would not do to have any but his closest aides knowing his true identity. She looked irritated and combative - to be expected, given that their last encounter had not been the pleasant fuck she had appeared to be hoping for. But he suspected it was also to cope with her own nervousness in his presence again. "No," he answered simply to her question. "I have a gift for you." He took a small leather pouch out of his robes and held it out to her. "Take it."

Silver silently cursed herself for not wearing gloves. What if he meant to poison her? Well, what good would that do him? She thought. He would probably just slit her throat if he wanted to. Or have her killed. She sighed heavily. She was frustrated that he caused all these dark, conflicting thoughts in her head. She took the package from him. "Feeling guilty?" she chided. She realized she really wasn't playing it smart and wished she could take back those words, but yet more spilled forth. "I will not get into a situation where you can touch me again. You know that, right?" She realized how ridiculous her words were, her being alone with him in a brothel room at that moment. She held up the package. "Shall I open this now?"

"Open it," he said, that unkind smile crossing his lips. "You will like it. But if you choose to keep it, then you must also choose not to hold me to what you have just said. No gift from the Lord of the Order of Whispers comes without strings, Silver." His voice, hushed but eloquent, sounded utterly reasonable. Inside he was seething at her defiance, foolish though it was. And yet he already knew he would obey her command if she told him never to touch her again. He needed her to want him, not just obey him.

Silver looked down at the package to hide the expression that surfaced in her eyes. She began opening it, thinking carefully over his words. She wouldn't remark on what he said. Let him steam over that. She would never admit to him that she would let him use her again. Mostly because she wanted him again. For she knew it would be only a matter of time before he... Silver grinned as she looked down at the item. "Ah, this is the city pass, right?" She turned the pass over in her hand. 

Lord Silence watched her turn the golden disc over in her hand. Just large enough to fill her palm, on one side of it was the griffin of Ansa`fel, and on the other, in Elvish script, the words 'Who holds this pass shall be granted the gates and portals of our fair city'. "It is," he confirmed, half-mesmerized by the dim candlelight glinting off the gold. "It will allow you to pass through the Healing Gate that leads from the slave auction to the House of Healing. It is a route reserved for noble men and women and their most trusted servants. It will also allow you to pass along the high walk without the Guardians getting interested in your business." He smiled beneath his hood, white teeth flashing yellow in the light. "It is not possible to forge such a pass," he said. "It is genuine. And it is yours. Do you want to keep it?"

She rotated it a bit, admiring the weight of it as he spoke. "Oh," she said as she lifted her gaze to where his eyes would be if she could see his face. "I had no idea about the latter part. Guardians will leave me alone then. Cool," she said in awe. She looked down at it again and then put it somewhere safe on her person. "I guess I am finally a full member then. Nice," she added as she patted the pouch containing the disc, figuring all of the rogues on assignment had a pass too. "Course I do," she replied to his question and moved to step past him. 

He took a small step. At least it seemed small to the eye, and yet the speed of the movement placed him between her and the curtained arch leading out of the room. “No,” he said. The word was not angry, but the command that registered in the tone was hard to disobey. “You misunderstand, Silver. This is not a gift of the Guild to a member. This is a gift from me to you. Taking it is free.  Keeping it has a price. A price you must pay whenever and however and however often I tell you to pay it.” As he spoke, his hushed tone hardened. “You might wonder whether the pass is worth the price. But the pass opens not only Ansa’fel’s doors, but the door to my chamber too. Perhaps that too sounds of little value, but others have killed for the privilege of an audience with me.” He stepped suddenly to the side. The idea of taking her here in this hovel had soured over the course of their conversation. “Keep it for a week for free and think on it. Give it to Flax if you want to return it. Come to my chamber at this time a week from now if you do not.”

Silver stepped back when he moved between her and the exit. The swiftness of his movements caught her off-guard. She listened to him, every word, her heart somersaulting in her chest. She hoped to god she kept her breathing steady. Being so close to him had such an odd effect on her. Normally, men did not intimidate her, but Silence did. And even though he frightened her, her body responded to him in ways that left her hating herself. The pull she felt toward him was too strong to deny him. 

She knew what it meant to accept his gift. And it was a major factor in why she accepted it. He wasn't through with her, after all. And she wasn't through with him yet either. She inhaled deeply and lowered her seemingly bored gaze to the side when he mentioned the disc was also a key to his chambers. She felt lightheaded and realized she had been holding her breath when it was her turn to respond. "Fine," was all she said as she walked away from him. She did not need time to think things over. She had already made up her mind as soon as her hand touched the gift.