A Drow's Dilemma Ep. 03: Entering City

"It is a bit of a strange farce, I have to admit." Caleldir replied with a shrug. "I would prefer to avoid directly using either of our names unless necessary, to minimize the awkwardness. Best not to be tripped up though. I gave you my name because I did not have time to forge a whole new set of papers for you. It was easier just to change a few letters to make them more believably yours. I used your name because I have a keen sense of dramatic irony. But 'Blackdawn' rather than Duskhaven..." He grinned a bit, twinkle in his eyes. "Well, sometimes I like to be mysterious." He affected an exaggerated 'mysterious' pose, that was slightly ridiculous.

Then, after a few moments of Excessive Mystery, he smacked his head. "Oh! You were asking about motives, not technique. As for why I volunteered, eh, I figured that I had a better chance at convincing Lord Faust that I would not be any trouble. I mean no offense when I observe both that the Drow are not liked around here, and that you appear to be less socially adroit and manipulative than most of your people. I figured that you might have a hard time of it if arrested." He smiled. "And so it worked out. Better than I thought, actually. For a while there, I was afraid that he would start asking questions I couldn't answer. But in the end, everything went far better than I expected. So it was no trouble at all, really. I suppose I should apologize for burdening you with my name for a week though. If it helps, 'Hissael' means 'Wise-Eyed' in my hometown, and identifies my family as sages and wizards. I am afraid I am a profound disappointment to them, what with my lowly career."

Ashyr didn't really feel like her question was answered. "Yes, I know it would be harder for me to get in." She said with an undertone of irritability. "And it all turned out better than expected. But it might not have. Why did you risk yourself for me? I don't have anything to give you!" Selflessness was clearly a foreign concept to her. There wasn't a single action in her native world that was fueled by charity. There was always something for someone to gain. Clearly there was a debt between them now, something that a drow like herself would be foolish to enter into without knowing at least some of his motivations. There was now that risk of a sudden "anonymous" tip that she wasn't who she said she was. Maybe blackmail was his goal all along?

Caleldir's normal expression of cheerful humor gave way to one of perplexity. "You just answered your own question!" He answered patiently. "I risked myself rather than you, because it was a lesser risk for me to do so. It did not make sense to leave you to take the fall, when I could do it so much more easily... Wait... your question is not of technique, nor of surface motives, but deeper than that..." He shook his head sadly. "I had heard that life was tough underground, but I did not think that simple altruism would be such an alien concept." He sighed, then broadly smiled again. "I like to help people. Frankly, it is rather selfish of me. One day I want to be a famous hero, and you helped me practice. Taking risks for others and not asking for rewards is what heroes do. You know, fight dragons, oppose tyrants, rescue damsels... That sort of thing." Stepping out in front of her, he made an exaggerated bow, sweeping off an imaginary feathered hat with a broad, theatric motion. "To be of service to a lady as lovely as thine fair self is indeed its own reward! " He resumed his normal pace with an easy laugh of amusement.

"Rescue... damsels?" She asked, seeming to grow more perplexed by the strange pale elf by the second. "To be a hero?" Then it clicked with her dark elf mind. A dark grin spread across her face with the realization. "You want to be a god. To be adored by people you don't even know. You want to show off." She said in a tone somewhere between amused and teasing. Ashyr couldn't rightly look down on those with such a goal. Especially not after her stunt with the harpies. She couldn't honestly say that she wasn't at least showing off a little bit there. Grandstanding in battle was one of her favorite pastimes. Perhaps he wasn't so strange after all.

"I do not want to be a god!" Caleldir replied with low force. His expression had darkened, and a strange glint appeared in his eyes. Literally, not metaphorically. But he quickly composed himself. "I am sorry for that." He apologized. "I suppose you are right. Although it makes me sound sort of narcissistic when you put it that way. I prefer my way of saying things. It makes me sound more noble."

She caught that look in his eyes, that darkness that couldn't quite be explained. She tilted her head in curiosity. The glint in her eyes was metaphorical. She was fascinated by that look he gave her for just that moment, but that didn't mean she wasn't preparing herself for a fight. That darkness passed before she got a good look, and, to her disappointment, he apologized for it. He had almost her full attention now, a privilege only Celeste had until that moment. "I suppose being a god would be awfully exhausting. Limitless power, adoring worshippers, beautiful men and women just begging for -"

"Cal, Celeste, Ashyr!" She was cut off by a man who approached them, carrying firewood. They were finally at the edge of the caravan's little section of the city.

The troupe's setup was on the border between the market district and the government district in a smallish forum housed inside a few stone arches. The place wasn't in the best of shape, and looked like it wasn't very well-used but at least it seemed to fit everyone from the crew comfortably. The morning was too early to determine the people of Port Afron's reception of the performing troupe. The troupe was still in the process of setting up smaller areas and stages where their talented occupants would hopefully "wow" the crowd. Colorful tents joined the colorful wagons. The people within seemed... excited. More so than they usually were, even at Whitegrain. It seemed they expected to make a good amount of coin playing here, and were pulling out all their best routines. There was always someone laughing, someone dancing. Ashyr couldn't decide whether it was a strange sort of paradise or hell. It was not something that she chose to dwell on for the time being. At that moment, she had a very perplexing creature talking to her. If only the ugly half-orc would stop interrupting them.

"It is good to see that you made it back. I am pleased that Lord Faust did not keep you a prisoner." Gurzan continued. He gave Ashyr somewhat of a suspicious glance. "I am sure that we are all appreciative of your services." So saying, he disappeared behind some other tents. Celeste went with him to help with the rest of the setup. Until that moment, Celeste was quietly listening to Cal try to explain himself to Ashyr. She looked amused by the entire exchange. It was always entertaining to try to explain a concept to the drow that seemed so simple to a surface-dweller. The lion's share of that job had fallen on Celeste's shoulders since Ashyr joined the crew. Now someone else got to muddle through while she got to watch and laugh. She would have listened further, but there was work to be done.

"Glad to see you too!" Caleldir called after his retreating friend. Shaking his head, he turned back to Ashyr. "I apologize for him. Gurzan can be rather prickly. Also, I think a Drow killed his cat or something. Do not take it personally."

She ignored his friends apologies for him. She wasn't offended. "What was I saying?" She asked when she turned her attention back to Cal. Her face was full to bursting with mischief. Ashyr had observed so far that the people of the surface got uncomfortable when she spoke of anything nearing a sexual act. She wondered how Cal would respond to it, especially combined with the concept of being a deity. Poking at people was another of her favorite pastimes, and a big reason why she didn't get along well with her own kind.

"You were saying something about how unpleasant it would be to be a god." He said seriously, but with a mirthful glint in his eyes. "Something about lots of power and respect, which I admit, I would not dislike, and also something about men and women begging for things, which would be somewhat annoying." He did not appear to get the innuendo in her statements, though he noted that her expression was unusually mischievous. He sighed. "The position of deity as you describe it is not outside the realm of my eventual ambitions, I must admit, although I have... reasons for disliking the title 'god'. I was raised by these monks, see, and my mother..." He trailed off, then shook his head. "That is not important." He fell silent, staring off into the distance.

Her smile faded slightly, then left her face completely when he gave his reasons for not liking her use of the 'god' title. She fully expected him to dive into a tale of baffling heroics that could not possibly have happened. Instead, he spoke of growing up in a monastery, and something about his mother. The drow took it to be one of the rare truths about his past. She grew attentive, but it seemed as if that was all he wanted to say on the matter.

"It seems you're already on your way to becoming a... hero." She almost said god again. "I saw most of the fall you took from that disgusting creature - which I killed by the way, you're welcome." Or did Celeste kill her? It didn't matter. She broached this subject as a sort of distraction from the staring off into the distance trend he was taking. Down whatever particular road his mind took were emotions Ashyr did not feel like dealing with. She did not enjoy it when men started whining.

"Ashyr! Cal!" Called out another familiar voice, interrupting. It was Artur this time. "Glad you made it in." The old man approached and clapped the taller elf on the back. "But what are you two doing standing around? There's work to do - yes, even you, girl. I'm still paying you to be useful."