Thread: Darkness and light (LeatrixSage and Silver Star)

Who told you to sin against your God, she asked mildly enough as he spoke, a smirk making the corners of her lips twitch, A man, or your God? His fortitude was commendable, she supposed. It took a certain kind of strength of character to actually believe the prattle he had been taught, and despite herself, she respected strength in all its forms. He was nave, maybe even a little stupid considering he was trusting her with his life, but he wasnt weak. At least, not exactly. Well, not weak of character. The thought made her left eye twitch. She would much rather it if he was pathetic and sniveling, a hypocrite like all the rest. Instead, she was beginning to suspect the man was actually dedicated to the nonsense that he was saying. It was equal parts annoying and intriguing. Annoying because she was going to have to listen to the Lord of Light shit for the next several weeks. Intriguing for the opportunity to see how that unshakeable faith held up against the trials ahead of them. She imagined the man having a heart attack if he caught her bathing and nearly laughed allowed. Again, she found herself wondering. It was slim pickings on the surface, and she avoided her own people and the Underdark like the plague they were. Shed shared her bed with a human or two, even a dwarf once, but never a virgin of any race, not even her own. The fact that he happened to be a pious little shit might actually make for some interesting sport, if she could see him was something more than that. Her attentions snapped back to the man, and her eyes widened as he begged her to protect him, and then narrowed as she sneered at him for apologizing for the lives she might take in order to keep him alive. He was speaking partially to her, and partially to his God, as he claimed responsibility for her future sins, and then he went quiet. Liora was gripping the horn of her saddle so tightly that her fingers ached in protest, but if she let go, she was going to smack the little priest right off of his saddle. The man couldnt kill for himself because someone had put a book into his hand instead of a sword. Her nose wrinkled as she made excuses for him. He was a man grown, now. Needing someone else to do his dirty work for him was a disgrace. Daring to presume to protect her soul by taking responsibility for her actions was more deeply insulting than she could articulate in a language that he could understand. Do me a favor, she purred darkly once she could finally speak, and dont pray for me. Ive killed more women, men, and children than you have known in your short little life, and I will kill many, many more. If you want to truly serve your God, you should end me, not try to take responsibility for the lives that I am going to take in the name of your God, your King, and you. There was more on her tongue, but Liora clenched her jaw shut against it. She shouldnt be angry, there was no point to it, and her ire was not a thing either of them could afford. It wasnt his fault his leaders were liars, thieves, and conmen. They promised her such sweet rewards when they returned, as if she were fool enough to believe them. It was bait to the trap, because if she ever went back, theyd kill her just as surely as she would have had their roles been reversed. The Drow took a slow, deep breath, and then forced the emotions down. It was a waste of her energy to bother with them. They traveled in silence for a time as the sun reached its zenith and then began its slow track back down to the western horizon. It was fortunate the winding road lead eastward so that they didnt have to stare into the sun. Of course, that meant most of their mornings would be blinding for Liora. If she had her way, theyd be well on the road by the time the sun rose each morning, and hopefully it would spare her the vulnerability of being sleepy and blind. As evening began to settle in around them, he spoke again to ask where the road would lead them. Liora stared at him, her bright red eyes looking for some hint of a joke before realizing that the little priest had never been outside the walls of the capital city. His entire world was half a days hard ride behind them. You mean you dont know? she asked slowly, simply to make sure that she wasnt confused, and then chuckled as she shook her head. You poor little man. This is the Kings Road, it runs from the capital to the Crossroads. At the Crossroads, there is the Crossroads Inn, and a road that leads out in each cardinal direction. The North Road will take you to the Moores before it breaks off to lead to smaller lairdships and fades away into forests and mountains. The West Road will take you to the coast, a collection of farms and fishing villages, and Sandbar, the trade city, or as you might know it, the City of Sin, that sits in the heart of the bay. South leads to sprawling farms and orchards that eventually give way to the Gardens of Dungraven, the largest city next to the Kings seat at the capital. East will take us through a few small lairdships, farms, over a couple rivers, into marsh lands and forests, and then to your villain. The Drow watched Aelir with a strange sense of kinship as she told him things he should already know. Shed thought priests were among the most educated humans, and the study of maps and knowledge of the kingdom he lived in seemed essential. And yet, when she had crawled her way out of V'elddrinnsshar, the Underdark beyond the city had been foreign to her, and the surface world so much more so. Was it really so unusual that he had not left the city of his birth any more than she had? When the road turns back to the west, we will crest that far hill, and the Inn will be on the other side. Well get a room and some warm food tonight. After that, well Liora smirked and shrugged as she went on, there are few places that will allow a Drow to step foot inside, no matter what kind of coin you wave at them, but we might find some beds for you along the way. Strangely, she held no malice against humans that turned her away from their businesses and homes. The wise thing to do when a Drow came knocking at your door was to bolt it shut and pray it went somewhere else. And most humans did exactly that, ignored her and hoped shed go away. Dwarves were less like to turn her down, partially because they felt it made them look small and weak, but mostly because of the kinship they shared as races of the Underdark. Leaf-licking surface elves, however, typically tried to kill her on sight. Of course, she tried, and usually succeeded, to do that very thing to them. The only thing that tempered that behavior was the laws in mixed cities that tried to foster a peace within their borders. It was as things were, as they rightly should be, and it bothered her more to receive kindness than it did to catch hatred and distrust. The thought made her chuckle, particularly as it pertained to the priest. She distrusted kindness and all its trappings to the point of avoiding it and lashing out against it. Malevolence was so much more comfortable and familiar that she welcomed it when she encountered it, and the little priest was shaping up to be one of the least malevolent things she had ever met. Fucking Iblith, she muttered the curse to herself as she tucked her heels into her horses side to finish up the last leg of the journey as quickly as possible. Keep up, she called out more loudly, the sooner we get there, the sooner we can eat and sleep.