((Author's Note: The following has been adapted from in-room play in the RDI Saturday night of the 17th of May, 08.))

Lisa stepped out of her rented room at the Red Dragon Inn, closing the door behind her and then ensuring it was locked. She had chosen to dress elegant if simple, in a sleek black suit with a modest slit up the skirt, leaving her plenty of walking room. Gracefully Lisa made her way down the stairs, all the while drinking in the myriad of activity below. The inn was full this particular Saturday night. Oh, my, but she'd never seen this variety of patronage in her life but ever the cultured lady, Lisa schooled her expression, keeping it cool, calm, affected. She didn't let on just how new to Rhy'Din she was.

Moving across the room towards the bar, Lisa easily spied Alain through the crowd as he'd entered, he was so tall he stood out. But she didn't veer off in his direction, instead stayed her course barward. As she passed by a small group of three, two young looking girls and a youthful gentleman, she offered them a friendly smile. She caught a snippet of their conversation.

"I am sorry, Allyn, but my life is so <censored> up, I really don't have much in the way of merry an' jovial tales to retell. I work for a slaver. I married murderers. All my kids don't know me. I'm not exactly the poster child for happiness an' cheer" the redhead said with a grin. "Hello." She smiled to Lisa as she passed.

The girl looked sixteen at most. Married to murderers"! That was definitely a plural. And kids" The redheaded girl looked like a child herself; certainly she was far too young to have had any of her own.

Allyn, the gentleman with the redhead and blue-haired girls, nodded to Lisa. The blue-haired girl mirrored the redhead with a smile and a "Hello." Lisa bobbed her head in recognition of their greetings. She was surprised and pleased by their collective kindness. She didn't stop however. It would have been rude to butt into their conversation. Lisa stepped to the bar and waited patiently to catch the attention of the bar tender.

The bar tender was another story. The woman was tall, willowy thin with pointed ears and silver hair tied up with threads and hung with bells. She was extremely pale and yet ethereally beautiful. She obviously wasn't human. In contrast she was dressed more like a delinquent than any lady Lisa had ever seen. She had a thick accent, not of a language Lisa knew, and she seemed very distracted. Lisa watched the woman as she worked, but she kept her expression polite yet empty. She did not let on how much the inhuman aspect was affecting her.

From off to her left, Lisa heard the whispers of the two young girls. They spoke too low for Lisa to catch what they were saying, and Lisa had never been one to jump to assumptions". Just because they were whispering did not mean it was about her. A clandestine glance down the bar towards Alain was all she allowed herself. She overheard him ordering a "Bloody Mary".

"Maybe we should jus' talk for a bit Allyn" Like.....if you ask me questions I might remember a story based on them?" The redhead said, gesturing and shrugging.

The blue-haired girl was smiling, and watching Lisa. Lisa could feel the girl's eyes on her. Then to Lisa's surprise the girl waved her over to join them. The redhead in the meantime was greeting patron after patron, obviously the girl was popular.

The blue-haired girl pointed at Lisa saying something about babies. Lisa was taken aback for a moment, but refrained from responding. She hadn't caught the entire sentence and wasn't quite sure what the blue-haired girl was talking about. The pair shared another bout of whispers, before enthusiastically greeting even more people.

"Wouldn't they both need to be willing?" The gentleman the redhead had called Allyn asked.

Lisa hesitated. She wasn't sure if she should take the blue-haired girl up on the waved invite or not. She cast another furtive glance down the bar towards Alain, then quickly back to the two girls and the gentleman with them. Then impulsively Lisa decided to do it.

"Nonsense! Why willing?" the blue-haired girl was blinking curiously at Allyn before sharing another whisper with the redhead. All the whispering was lost to Lisa; she couldn't hear it over the din of the crowd.

The redhead was pointing at Allyn. "He brings up a good point. Forced mating is something only my kind does."

Lisa wondered what kind that was, but she didn't ask, and she kept her expression smooth and polite.

"But you're the leader so don't you get to decide?" the blue-haired girl asked the redhead. More whispers shared between them. The pair of them sure did enjoy whispering back and forth nearly as much as their audible bantering.

"What is it that you lead?" Allyn inquired.

"The Forsaken Blades guild." The redhead responded.

"We're the hottest crowd in town." the blue-haired girl said with an emphatic nod.

"Hello' Lisa greeted them anew with a bright, polished smile.

Suddenly the bar tender was smiling at Lisa. Oddly the cadence, the tone of the bells that hung from her hair was offensive, unpleasant; discordant came mind. Lisa turned her smile to the bar tender waving the lady on. She was otherwise distracted by the threesome and would ask her questions another time. Perhaps when the bells in the bar tender's hair sounded normal.

"Ever since that jellyfish attached itself to my left nostril, you know how paranoid I am an' I wouldn't necessarily call wha you an' Ammy did as 'curing'." The redhead whispered smirking.

Lisa felt the Detective's eyes on her, but she didn't turn to look back nor did she steal a furtive glance at him through the mirror behind the bar.

"Well that's wonderful. It sounds like a most noble endeavor." Allyn said but Lisa wasn't sure to what he was responding. The girls bantering had left her somewhat confused.

Then the blue-haired girl was looking directly at Lisa with such a bright yet oddly off smile. Lisa didn't feel it was a trust-inspiring smile. "Hi there! May I ask your name" It's for a survey."

"It really isn't a noble endeavor, Allyn. We don't do jack <censored>." The redhead said.

"I still maintain you must have one of its tendrils stuck up in your sinuses still." The blue-haired girl spoke softly, but loud enough for Lisa to overhear. Lisa's attention was caught up by the redhead however who was bestowing Lisa with another one of her smiles. It brought a prickling of hair at the nape of her neck. Something about the redhead or perhaps it was that smile made Lisa uncomfortable, she felt as if a predator had targeted her. Suddenly uncertain, Lisa stammered on her words.

"Ah' Lisa. Lisa Jefferies. And you would be?" She held out her hand in her most ladylike fashion.

"He called us noble!" giggled the blue-haired girl.

"More of a social club then?" Allyn asked before turning to Lisa. "Evening Lisa."

The blue-haired girl seemed to be pretending to write. She had no pen, no paper, Lisa watched her curiously until the girl suddenly reached out and seized her hand. She'd moved quick, too quick and Lisa had to fight to keep the surprise from her face and her serene expression intact.

"The Empress." the blue-haired girl announced.

"Impossible. My husband's servant, Dralak, made me snort this stuff last night that.....ohmuhgawd...when I tell you the *pain*..." The redhead shuddered as if assaulted by the memory. "It nearly killed me."

Yes, Lisa was beginning to believe they weren't the safest crowd in Rhy?Din, but it did make sense that they were popular. The topics they chose were definitely out of the ordinary, at least for Lisa they were.

"Oh....might I inquire as to why?" Lisa asked of Tara. It was a curious thing to say after all and there must be a good reason she wanted to dig him up. She thought it a polite inquiry to a rhetorical statement the girl had said to be amusing.

The Empress suddenly went pale and dropped her head, only to shake it slowly. Behind Lisa, the bar tender had gone into some kind of rant, to be sure, but it wasn't in a language Lisa had ever heard. Perhaps the Empress understood; the softly muttered "Must have misheard?" cemented Lisa's belief. She wondered what the bar tender had said.

"She wants to hug his dead body in the ground?" The Empress suddenly tossed out in comment to Tara wanting to dig up her dead brother.

Lisa caught the brunette and Alain in the mirror. They seemed very close. She found herself wondering if that was his current lover. Of course this distracted her from the conversation between her, the two girls and Allyn.

"This Tarathiele was your brother?" asked Allyn of Tara.

"Because my brother left me in the care of some maniac named Silvana Stone while he went off to go fight Imari an' Rayfe's wars..." Tara said growling.

And then it hit her and Lisa looked at Tara as if she'd suddenly sprouted two heads. Tara might have been serious. "Ah' Dig up your dead brother..."" Lisa was simply too horrified by the idea that Tara might really want to dig up her dead brother! "I see," was all she was able to squeak out.

"I have many brothers, Allyn, but aye, he was one." Tara said.

"That does sound like it would be difficult." Allyn commented. It was as if the gentleman didn't realize how serious the girl was or that he somehow took it in stride. Lisa though couldn't imagine such a thing and although she didn't know how to assimilate what she was hearing, she nodded and looked very sympathetic. After all they were speaking about a dead brother and who knew how many of the "other brothers" might have been departed as well.

Lisa glanced at the Empress who was shrugging and looking rather defeated. She didn't understand why.

"My only saving grace in those days was a lady by the name of Alysia Skye who has been my very good friend until last night when yet another maniac declared war on her an' now I can't talk to her an' I am SO VERY MAD!" Tara snarled. She crossed her arms and turned her cheek in a haughty upset manner. She looked mad.

But Lisa was distracted again; Alain was stroking the arm of the brunette with affectionate intimacy. He was looking at her with such tender care and concern. Because of the diversion Lisa missed a bit more of the conversation. She came back to it the moment the Empress" was gasping. "What"!"

"Hey, I met her the other night. Why would anyone wish to join battle with the fine lady?" demanded Allyn.

"It's a long story!" Tara huffed.

"If he is still alive, it would certainly be wise to dig him up, Empress. And quickly..." Allyn said.

"I sure as hell wouldn't! Alysia Skye is the hottest, most frightening woman in RhyDin right up there along with our Sid." The Empress declared as she tossed an upnod towards the bar tender.

So the bar tender's name must be "Sid", Lisa conjectured.

"Who is fighting her, Tara?" The Empress asked.

"My brother is not still alive." Tara said flatly.

Lisa was oblivious to the impact Tara's information had. She continued to look sympathetic and nod to the seemingly young, obviously upset, girl, looking between her and the other two, trying hard to not notice Alain with his brunette. "Oh, how awful!"

"She said hers was." Allyn replied while pointing at the Empress.

"Who cares about her brother" She's got another one that she sleeps with anyways." The Empress said ever so casually as she waved her hand for emphasis.

"That idiotic man Veighn!" snapped Tara.

The Empress actually hissed at the name, slamming her hand on the bartop. "That $**%$&#@!"

"You have a very unique sense of humor, Empress." Allyn decided to chime in right then.

"Naturally it had to be someone as stupid as him!"

Well, Veighn was a name Lisa had heard. She stopped nodding and her expression went blank, empty. She told herself she shouldn't be surprised, if he was on her list then of course he must hold some position. It was obvious it wasn't a respectful one. Lisa felt more resolved than ever not to do what Mister Howe had commanded of her.

"This Vain person sounds unpleasant." Allyn commented.

The Empress seemed to have blinked off to someplace else. A blush suddenly touched her face and she looked at the bar tender with a pleased expression. Lisa turned to eye the bar tender through the mirror, she seemed distracted with others, paying no mind at all to their small group. Then back at the Empress who looked like she was about to swoon. Something was going on between the Empress and the bar tender, but Lisa had no idea what.

Allyn seemed a fine enough, and proper gentleman in fact, but the two girls were creeping Lisa out. She stepped back from the pair them, thinking now was the time to make her get-away.

"And perhaps crazed." Allyn continued to extol Veighn's "virtues".

"He's a blowhard an' a <censored>!" Tara felt compelled to point out rather loudly.

"As well." Allyn was a smart man and agreed quickly with the spitfire Tara.

And to make things worse, Alain was cozying up even more with the brunette!

"Uh yeah! And he almost killed me that time. I got him back by throwing up in his face." The Empress grinned, shifting a little in her seat she crossed her legs slowly.

Tara eyed Lisa. It was a look that nearly froze Lisa in her steps" that is nearly.

"A fine vengeance," Allyn stated.

"He stabbed me." Tara then waved to yet another person stepping into the bar. One minute an eerie seriousness the next friendly and happy; Tara was a contradiction to say the least.

The Empress was looking at Allyn like a cat might eye a mouse. Yes, the two girls were perfect for one another! It was time for Lisa to beat a hasty retreat. Not sure how to respond to the 'stabbing" comment of Tara's Lisa murmured a weak "Ah?" Yes, it was lame, but what does a civilized person say to someone that speaks about marrying murders and being stabbed with such casual an air"! Lisa decided on Ah.

"I recall." The Empress fanned her face. "I think I need a cold shower." Surely stabbings weren't what was having such an intense effect on the Empress. Lisa spared yet another look at the bar tender catching sight of Alain and the brunette instead. Her heart sunk into her shoes and she felt sick to her stomach.

"Tha' must have been terrible for you, Lady Tara." Allyn said.

"Where the hell is Stephen?" The Empress suddenly demanded as she looked about as if to find him. Lisa had no idea who Stephen was, she did wonder if he too might already be dead, or not but buried or if he were stabbing people" she was so confused!

"Long time 'go," Tara looked at Lisa and shrugged. "It's too loud in here. My vampire ears can't abide this." Then she demonstrated by covering her ears.

Lisa's attention was riveted now" on Tara.

The Marketplace

Alain doesn't say much of anything for the first minute or so, but in that time he does what he can to subtly check their surroundings to make sure they aren't being followed. He's been at this sort of thing for years now, and manages to make sure they're alone. "They've got that place bugged."

"They have....what?" Lisa is sincerely surprised and it shows. "You mean....they will know everything I said and did"!" No, that is not a happy look. She hangs her head and slender shoulders droop.

"In the common room, at least' Yes." Then he looks over at her, eyebrows raised. "And did you forget about Mister Howe's excellent sense of smell?"

She takes in a deep breath, suddenly looking around suspiciously. "So, are we safe anywhere" Or are they watching everything?" Somehow she can't wrap her mind around the idea they could be watching everything....but then she never thought she'd meet a vampire in the inn tonight either. Strange things seem to happen a lot in this town! "I don't care about his sense of smell. I don't plan to do anything they want me to do anyway."

"He'll get rid of you as soon as he realizes you're useless to him," he says plainly to her, and takes a very long drag of his cigarette. "They can't watch everything....but the Red Dragon Inn isn't safe, I know for a fact they have it bugged. Public places like streets; I don't think so....but if you don't know for sure that a building isn't bugged, assume that it is. I'm pretty sure they're watching my properties from the outside, when they can." He said shoving his hands in his pockets.

"You shouldn't be anywhere near me." Lisa looks away off towards the various shops, anywhere but at him. She is haunted by her husband, and yet something about Alain tugs at her; something so familiar she finds herself drawn into it. She knows how dangerous that path could be and has every intention of not going there. She pushes her attraction for him away with determination. "And I don't care what they do to me." Lisa whispers this last, under her breath, as if assuring her self rather than him.

"I don't believe you," he says to her, consciously deciding to push her buttons. He slows, stops, and turns to look right at her. "You're playing strong because you're in way over your head and you're scared - you were scared the night we met, and you're scared now."

"Everything I did, I did for a reason and now"!" A sudden, wild gesture of her hand, uncharacteristic for her to say the least; a declaration of the immensity of the emotion she is battling. "There is nothing left. Nothing, Detective! Everything I did was useless in the end because, you see, you can't cheat death. I have nothing left to live for, except revenge against DCH and that is exactly what I am going to attempt to get before they kill me." She is being completely honest with him, even knowing that DCH might be listening. "Don't you get it; this is my endgame, Detective. My goal now is to see them destroyed. And don't try and stop me, because you can't."

With her arm waving out in the open, suddenly, fiercely, he seizes her wrist and closes the distance between them, but before she can protest (much), he speaks in a quiet hiss. "You don't have to die for this if I destroy them first. There's more than revenge at stake....these beings want to tap into incredible power here, and they just might destroy this world doing it!"

Surprised, Lisa freezes against Alain, her blue eyes widening as she gulps down a breath. A hint of a nod but his nearness is distracting her, breaking past the barriers she's struggled to erect against him, against the feelings he stirs inside of her. Lips inches from his she dare not move for fear of what she might do. Closing her eyes her chin tucking she seems to sigh soundlessly. She doesn't speak, but if he's telling her the truth' She is out of her element. If she wasn't scared before, she is now. Alain can feel the tremble that shakes her, but would he understand the duality of it"

His other hand goes to her side now, well aware of how intimate this has become, of how close they are. To an outside observer, they will look like two lovers embracing and be passed over. His forehead touches hers, and he touches her face and pushes back her hair with the back of his hand. "No matter how much it feels like it....now is not the time to despair, Lisa. There is still hope....even for you."

"Hope." Looking at him, feeling him so close, Lisa finds distinguishing between the fa"ade and reality harder to define. She understands the image they paint, in truth the effect would be good for her should Mister Howe be watching. Yet the intimacy of his touch, the seeming affectionate gesture of his head to hers is having an overwhelming impact on Lisa. "No matter what happens to them, Alain, my fate is sealed. Mister Howe holds my contract; so, no lies between us, please?"

If only she could feel the press of his lips to hers. A longing so hot it burns through her, burying itself in the depth of her. She should pull away, pull away now, before it is too late and things get out of control and she does something foolish.

"You can work your way out of any contract - even the contract of a demon....can be destroyed." His eyes are shut, his words breathy, and he remains close, though his heart is hammering a thousand beats and more each minute, not knowing for sure what Howe plans to do with her and what traps she might hold - but his gut tells him her heart is good, and is worth saving. "I'm going to take their contracts and destroy every last one of them....and when Howe stares me down in anger, no matter what my fate then is....I'll laugh in his face. And he'll be ruined."

"You can't make that promise, Alain." If only Lisa could let herself believe in that; in the hope that maybe she could get her soul back. But she's seen what?s happened to others that have come before her, she knows there is no escape; not for them, not for her. "Alain, please" You can't throw your own life away for mine! I did this to myself and I have to pay the price. Besides" how would you even go about finding those contracts" He certainly hasn't gotten them secreted somewhere about that shabby old warehouse!" Lisa breathed in the nearness of him. This may be the only such opportunity to enjoy Alain this close and she plans on exploiting it. He may not find in her what she does in him, but that doesn't stop her mind from wandering the imaginary paths of "what-if's' and "if-only's'.

"I'm his head of security, Lisa....I'll find them," he says back to her, unable to stop his fingers stroking through her hair, trying to offer her some calm, some comfort as he speaks. "I'll survive if I'm fated to live....and if I'm fated to die, I'll die well. Ending my life to set souls free, even if I don't destroy these demons, even if I only set them back....even if all I can do is try....that's not throwing my life away, Lisa. There are a thousand far worse things a man could die for."

Lisa seems to melt into him. She's finding herself believing in him against all odds. And hope, such a foreign concept only minutes ago seems to blossom in the sad smile that lights her face. She nods only once, lifting a hand to wipe at the tears suddenly staining her cheeks. Leaning her lips closer into him, she whispers against the stubble of his beard, the barest brush of sensation. "I believe in you, Alain, I really do." She sounds so earnest, painfully so. "I won't do anything foolish; I will give you the time you need." Besides, it isn't so bad being this near him, having this intimacy, even if it is only a game.

Now he doesn't just want to protect her - now he has to protect her. He can't bring himself to abandon her. He kisses her cheek, right next to the corner of her mouth, and then slowly releases her. After a long moment of silence, of smiling and lightly touching her fingers, he says to her, "All this talking has me hungry."

Lisa hates the sudden distance between them, it feels like miles and miles not the few inches it is. She doesn't realize the magnitude of his personal responsibility but she feels and trusts in his intentions. For now that is enough. She smiles more warmly and nods. "Food would be excellent."

"I know this great diner," he says to her, trailing off as he leads her away from the Marketplace, in the direction of the Old Market docks.

Before trailing after Alain, Lisa turns her attentions to the Lord and the girl she'd seen Tara telling off in the inn earlier. Poor girl, Lisa can't help thinking. She doesn't understand that Nadine is a slave or that Rhy'Din supports such activities. The Lord smiles pleasantly at them but before Lisa can respond politely, Tara comes rushing through the Marketplace.

"You can't do that! I got all sorts of confused!" Tara says to the somewhat intimidating Lord.

"Cannot do what?" The Lord asks with a cultured voice, elegantly if oddly pointing at his feet. To Lisa's utter surprise Nadine, the striper girl from the inn earlier, the one Tara had been yelling at, kneels at the man's feet!

"Just leave without notice, Boss. I almost tripped an' broke a nail." Tara smiles to Lisa. "Hello again!"

Lisa smiles and waves to Tara, as if they were old friends, almost like the "vampire confession' never happened. Looks are deceiving because internally Lisa is terrified of the young girl.

"Ahhhhh," the Lord replies as Lisa rushes past to catch up with Alain. "Delicious." But Lisa doesn't realize the Lord is looking at her. She can hear Tara's giggle fading with the growing distance. Lisa can't help the shudder that racks through her as she falls in step beside the Detective. Rhy?Din is surely the oddest place she's ever been and as nonjudgmental as she would like to be, she is nevertheless pretty sure it's far more dangerous than Mister Howe let on. Lisa feels setup and it isn't a comfortable sensation. In fact, Lisa is getting angry.

((Author's Note: The Marketplace is in-room play. I left it intact and did not amend the tense or offer it from Lisa's PoV. Please forgive the seeming negligence, but this post is waaaay behind, and I am striving to catch up. Thanks for reading! :lol: ))