Lightstar Family/Xarnelf/Roleplay 69/Epic Saga 16
Part 11: A Bold Irony
Xarnelf did not stiffen, nor did he bristle, that is true; however, his eyes did narrow to dangerous slits.
"Haul, is it?"
A gloomy shadow passed over his face as he frowned deeply, recalling the last time, not so long ago, that he had seen the mountain fortress up close and personal. The battles, if they could be called that, were disastrous and still left a bitter taste in the duke's mouth whenever the word 'Haul' was mentioned. Marcus instinctively backed away a step, wondering whether this Irdys's life would come to a sudden and swift end before his eyes.
All of a sudden, Xarnelf laughed, neither softly nor loudly, but just enough to dispel the gathering tension in the stables. He let the raised blade drop to point at an angle to the floor, and Marcus breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Of course, the duke could still run the commoner through instead of slashing a deathblow... the weapons-master mused, then quickly shook his head to clear away such dark thoughts.
"I find it quite ironic, you see, that a commoner from Soliferum would journey all this way to Aenilia, in order to present me with this... Nightblade, as you call it. Unless of course..." his expression darkened considerably again, with his eyes returning to dagger slits, "...you are not who you appear to be. Perhaps you are, in fact, an assassin sent to eliminate the Duke of Idapur?"
The sergeant cursed and moved forwards to interpose himself between his liege and the commoner, in case the fellow decided to make his move then to attack the somewhat exposed noble. Xarnelf raised the blade up and to his side to block the advancing sergeant, apparently confident in his abilities to defend himself, should the need arise. Then he let the sword fall back down to point at the ground, his gaze never leaving the hooded figure before him. All the tension seemed to return anew in those moments immediately following the duke's words...
(Roleplay from Irdys Galeheart)
Irdys relaxed, visibly at the fact she wasn't run through immediatly, and although tensing again at Xarnelf's words in regards to assassination the tension was nowhere near as before.
Eyes gazed up calmly from the floor, light blue eyes with a curious glint to them carefully studying the duke's face. A vague smile could be seen underneath the hood and a lighter note in the voice as it said, quite pleasantly;
"Your Grace, had I wish to run you through I would've made sure I had the fine blade instead of the rusty satchel at my side. And I would have need of being a far better swordsman then I am..."
Irdys smiled still, gazing at Xarnelf. The foolishness of previous boldness still clung clear in mind. Then again, boldness had gained that blade, and boldness had brought someone here. The choice was a difficult one, and the hesitation lay thick on Irdys her voice as she continued;
"I'm not here to assasinate your Grace, Sir. I, that is, Haul was no longer a place welcoming of my ilk." Eyes pressed shut for a moment before a voice continued hesitantly; "Not to speak ill of things above me your Grace, but not all in Soliferum are equally kind to ones they can easily control. And a beating and the clear words that ones who have power over life and death do not welcome you is enough your Grace."
Irdys reran that through her mind and a shiver visibly ran through her. Had she really just spoken so ill of a noble? She sighed softly, eyes gazing at the sword point on the ground infront of her. There they stayed for a moment before they gazed up defiantly at Xarnelf. The adventurer didn't say anything at that point, but if one looked closely at the eyes it was clear enough there was no real apology there for what she was, a likely bastard adventurer, and what she'd done. Departing from a homeland where she'd been ill-treated.
But all that Irdys decided should remain unsaid, the Duke had spoken of disguises, and a disguise was hard enough to keep up. What most guards likely just saw was an adventurer in a rough spun cloak kneeled infront of their duke after 'his' words. The voice higher pitched because of nervousness perhaps, although in truth the fear hadn't been that great. Just great enough that a certain ruse was difficult to uphold.
What Irdys mostly feared was what the duke himself might see. Flickering torchlight, eye contact, a kneeled position where he could easily gaze into the hood. She just hoped his focus would be more on Haul, on the blade, then on the adventurer 'himself'.
