Dragon Hunters

[Crowe]

Eira

"It looks like you two had fun." Eira said as she began to follow Goraidh.

"Yup!" Claira said, still hanging from Goraidh's arm while eating the apple. "He's my knight." She said.

Eira was glad that he took her to the puppet show. It seems to have lifted the girl's spirits and she didn't look like she had spent hours tucked into some crawlspace on a ship. Sometimes, Eira wished she could have that carefree attitude, but she knew she couldn't. Not until she did what she came here for.

When they reached the Inn, Eira asked the woman at the desk to give them a table at the dining area in the back.

"But of course, Mrs. Ladon (the name she signed them in with). This is your husband and daughter, then? She's adorable!" The deskwoman said, making Eira more than a little embarrassed at the awkward moment. Right away, they were directed to their table.

((I'm going off for a few hours. Take care.))

[FazzEagle]

Goraidh was just trying to avoid the attention the little girl was apparently giving him, but for some reason she's stuck with him - for him, perhaps it was just through a reason only a child could make. When they entered the inn, there was still some noise, but much more tolerable than the one happening outside. The scent of food was close, and it only made Goraidh impatient. However, his attention was shifted temporarily when Eira was addressed with a different name.

"'Ladon'...?" However, what the woman said next was the bigger surprise. "Husband...? Daughter...?"

Upon seeing that he was the one being addressed, he slowly looked towards Eira, as if demanding an explanation - though he waited for them to be directed at their table and have the woman leave after taking their orders.

"'Husband'...? You told them -I- was your husband...?"

[Crowe]

Eira

Eira tried her best to avoid Goraidh's questioning looks as they were led to their table. She sat down with Cirnelle to her left, Goraidh to her right and Claira across from her. As soon as the woman took their orders and left, there was a moment of akward silence.

Goraidh was still perplexed by her decision. Finally she groaned softly and looked at him. "Yes, it seemed to be the most convenient story for now." She turned to look at Claira, who was happily finishing the apple. "We can't just tell everyone how we found her." She didn't look back at him. "Don't worry, you're not my type." She said with a slight smirk.

[MiaKage]

Cirnelle couldn't help but laugh at Goraidh's reaction. "Oh it's not that bad!" She couldn't resist making pokes at Raid's frustrations. Balancing her chair on it's back legs she turned her attention toward Eira, "So what exactly is the plan in case this little meeting we're having goes south? I mean, Raidh did murder their pack of drakes."

[Crowe]

Eira

Eira pondered for a second. "We'll take care of it. You should stay in the shadows just in case." She replied to Cirnelle. The waiter came by and put the food on the table, although he couldn't seem to be able to hide his hesitance to serve an elf. At least he left without asking questions.

[FazzEagle]

"Oh... well... you're not exactly my type either then." Goraidh slowly shifted his eyes away as he said that, but soon found their way back to Cirnelle, who was once again making jokes at his expense. "... keep that up and you're going to end up as her retarded long lost cousin." At the mention of 'murdering Drakes', he glanced towards Claira before straightening himself on his seat. "This is neither the time or place to talk about such things. Claira, we'll get you back to your father soon, alright?"

[Crowe]

Eira

Claira quietly ate her food, looking back and forth between the three of them. She smiled at Goraidh and nodded. "I know. Sir Raidh will take me back home." She said proudly.

Eira reached into her bag and pulled out two keys. She gave one to Cirnelle. "They don't allow elves in the second floor, so your room is here on the ground level. This could work in our favor since you'll be able to leave your room unnoticed." She explained.

Then she got up from her chair after finishing her meal. "This one is for our room." She told Goraidh before looking at Claira. "Do you need to use the bathroom?" to which the girl nodded yes. "Alright, come on." She waved for Claira to come over. "I'll see you upstairs...dear." She said to Goraidh. She added that last part when she caught the eye of the deskwoman who was looking their way.

They went upstairs and Eira held the girl's teddy while Claira was in the bathroom. The room had one big bed and a small one, suposedly for the child. They would only spend one night here before having to move on. Hopefully the exchange would go well, although that might mean saying goodbye to Claira.

[MiaKage]

"Hey now, no need to get snippy!" She snickered, "Besides, it is the truth after all."

Taking the key, she nodded in agreement, "Just make sure you let me know when it's time for us to get moving along, wouldn't want to leave me behind again, the crowds can get a little heavy this time you know." Cirnelle made an attempt at a thieves can't signal, hoping to let Eira know to give a signal for when to start to move, just in case someone overheard.

[FazzEagle]

"What do you know...?" Goraidh said, taking a sip of his drink, "Perhaps your place in society may actually suit your line of work, elf."

He ate his food and one could tell that he actually enjoyed it - it was much better cooked than the ones on the ship. As they were done, he raised a brow at Eira calling him 'dear', but soon saw the desk woman apparently looking at them - he had no choice but to play along.

"Sure... honey," he said with almost a twitch in one eye before looking at the little girl, "And don't keep your... 'mother' waiting now." He watched them both leave before he stood up - though he stopped Cirnelle before she could. "And 'servant'... be helpful and... carry our bags to our rooms. Don't drop 'em though 'cause it's quite a walk up those stairs." He secretly flashed the elf a cocky smirk, waiting for her to actually do what he told her to.

[Crowe]

Eira

Eira sat in the bed, helping Claira finish getting changed. They had the Orlesian lady bring something for her. Eira brushed her hair and fixed it with her dagger where the templars had chopped it off. "Say, where's your mother?" She asked.

"The monsters...They took her under the ground." Claira said somberly.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Eira finished fixing her hair. "Well we're going to make sure that you're reunited with your father, alrgiht?" She said after she turned the girl around.

"I like your necklace." Claira said, reaching up to touch the emerald stone in Eira's choker.

"You do? Maybe I'll make one for you someday." Eira said, putting the finishing touches to the girl's dress. She wasn't sure if she could keep her word on it if the girl was going home soon, but she meant to, and that's what mattered.

[MiaKage]

Cirnelle grumbled as she started towards her room after taking the things Raidh had left for her to bring to the room. Her thoughts were filled with ways to get back at him, but that would have to wait. As she entered her room, she collapsed onto her bed face down grumbling into her pillow, things that would make even a dark spawn blush. Rolling over and with a deep sigh, she pulled out one of her throwing daggers and began to play with it, twirling it on the tip of her finger as she waited for when she was needed.

[FazzEagle]

Eventually, night came and the music from the festival came to silence. Still in his room, Goraidh waited for Eira to get ready, but his attention shifted to Claira every now and then. He leaned against the wall, looking out the window seeing only the patrolling guards making their rounds. There were talks about a fight happening in the ship but thankfully none of them got the accusing finger.

"So how are we going to do this...?" he asked Eira, "Just walk up to them and hand her over?"

[Crowe]

Eira

Claira looked out the window at the colorful lights that adorned the town.

Eira fixed her outfit inside the bathroom, making sure to have all her potions and traps handy. She equiped her weapons and put on her cloak before coming out. "From the notes its evident they will do anything to avoid harming Claira, so she'll come with us. But Cirnelle should stay hidden in case anything goes wrong."

She sat on the bed and finished putting her boots on. "We'll ask about the Drakes. This Taven person must know something about them, and about Claira's father." She got up and walked up to Claira, patting her head. She gave a faint smile to return Claira's bright one. "We also have to make sure he won't just put her in a trunk or something for the rest of the trip."

Then she looked at Goraidh. "Hey, you should be more respectful towards Cirnelle. She's still part of the group and is just as important as either of us." She said, knowing that it may not make a difference, but feeling that she had to say it.

[FazzEagle]

"Oh, what's this then...?" Goraidh asked, raising a brow, "Now you're pretending to boss me around? Remember that you're acting to be my wife." He straightened himself up, casting a frown at her. "And 'group'? You mean 'temporary group'. As soon as we've done our job getting rid of those bloody dragons, we have absolutely no more reason to see each other anymore. ... frankly, I could do without even learning the names of either of you. Sides... who knows what she must have caught during her time in the Alienage?" Then he started to walk towards the door. "Either way, I'm thinking we should get this over with. Make sure to tell the elf to get ready and have her stay close."

[Crowe]

Eira

"You're right. We have no need to be friends, but at some point our lives might be in her hands, so we could at least try not to make things worse. I should not have to tell you that we couldn't have taken on all those Reavers and mages by ourselves. We are here because she is here. That's all." Eira took Claira's hand and led her out of the room with Goraidh. She didn't intend to argue his dislike of elves or how she felt about them personally. The way things were at that moment, she knew this mission was difficult enough without them being at each other's throats.

As they made their way towards the back door of the Inn to meet with Taven, Eira knocked on Cirnelle's door twice to give her the cue to be ready.

[MiaKage]

Cirnelle waited a few minutes after the knock to give them time to get ahead. She quickly got her armor on, and going to her bag, pulling out a red scarf throwing it on. She grabbed 6 throwing daggers to place in various places on her body. She quietly moved out of her room and followed the group in the shadows, making sure not even they would be able to see her.

[FazzEagle]

Goraidh and the rest finally made their way out of the inn to meet for the exchange. The night was quiet and only the patrols were around, and those that walked past them only warned them to be careful during the dark. As they head towards the back of the inn, they would see and elf standing  with his arms crossed. Two men stood by his side, presumably bodyguards or hired thugs to keep trouble away. When the elf spotted the group, he released his arms and stepped forward, eyes focusing on the girl before the two that brought her.

"Ah, you've finally arrived..." the elf said, "I was worried you'd be caught on your way here."

[Crowe]

Eira

Eira looked down to Claira. "Is this Taven?" She asked the girl in case the elf was someone else trying to trick them. Claira nodded in affirmation. Though the girl had seen him with her father, she didn't know him well.

"The Reavers are dead. You're dealing with us now." Eira showed him the letters they uncovered so he knew they had some leverage. She was hoping Cirnelle had circled around by now in case the elf became aggressive. Hopefully though, it would all go smoothly so they could carry on their mission without further delay.

[MiaKage]

Once the meeting place had been reached, Cirnelle quickly made her way up the side of one of the nearby buildings. Making her way across the roof tops, perched right above the groups, watching carefully for any signs of aggression from any of them. She couldn't hear what was going on below, but her position gave her the perfect view of the field able to plan escape routes in case everything went south. 

[FazzEagle]

"What? Dead...?" the elf asked, a surprised expression taking over him, "But if Miss Claira is with you then...  Then what of the Drakes? They were supposed to be shipped here as well!"

"... pretty much like the Reavers: lying dead in the ship." Goraidh said plainly, "There's currently an investigation going on about why there were Drakes on board a public ship like that. What was your Master planning on doing with such dangerous beasts and keeping them in the same room as his daughter?" Goraidh stepped forward, but the two brutes beside the elf stopped him as they looked like they were ready to attack if necessary. "... and not to mention hiring Blood Mages. Dealing with ANY Blood Mage is a crime in itself; your Master best have a good reason for doing all this."

[Crowe]

Eira

Eira held on to Claira's hand, while under the cloak her other hand held a smoke bomb ready. There was tension in the air. "We're willing to let you take Claira back to her father, but you must answer our questions first." She said. Truth was, they couldn't afford to travel through the Frostbacks with the girl in tow, but Taven didn't know that. It was all a matter of getting as much information as they could about Claira's father and how it was all connected to their mission; finding out if dragons had been rising in Ferelden.

[FazzEagle]

The elf sighed, and shook his head. "Alright, alright. My Master just wants his daughter back. What was he supposed to do?" Taven motioned a hand to the little girl. "Ask the Templars to hand her back? There is no way the Templars would ever release her so easily. So... he-- 'we' hired Blood Mages to do it for us." Then he took a step back. "A, And about the Drakes... I really don't know, okay? My Master just asked them to bring back Drakes for something; he wouldn't even share it with me! Maybe it has something to do with the Darkspawns, or maybe the Archdemon - I wouldn't know! But now we'll never know since the Drakes are all dead now."

"Who exactly is her father anyway?" Goraidh asked, stepping forward, "No ordinary man could pull off all these things."

"He's... a mage." Taven replied, "He's serving a member of the Howe family in Highever."

[MiaKage]

Grr, what are they saying!? She couldn't hear a word of the conversation taken place, but by the body language, it seems that it was moving in their favor. She leaned over in feeble attempt to at least be able to make out any of their words. She was poised in a way that, if it were not for her particular skills, she would quickly tumble off the edge at the slightest of breezes. She kept calm and cool and waited, her eyes shifting between her group and the ones they were there to meet.

[Crowe]

Eira

Claira's father put himself in a lot of danger to get his daughter back. Perhaps being a mage helped, since he would know what they go through. While many people tried to hide their mage children from the templars, once they are taken only few would try to get them back.

So far Taven was confirming everything Claira had told them, but when he talked about the Archdemon, the situation got more complicated. The rumored Blight could have something to do with the dragons, which made it all the more crucial that they made it to Drake's Fall as soon as possible.

"I suppose you are meeting with him soon, then?" Eira asked the elf.

[FazzEagle]

"Oh uh... yes!" the elf said, "He's asked us to deliver his daughter as soon as possible. So please, Miss Ciara, it's time for us to go now and meet your father, alright?"

Goraidh glances at Eira but says nothing, wondering what else she might want to say before they would hand over the little girl to this 'Taven' person.