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Janzyne rubbed the her temples as the drink was set on the table. She placed the money on the table, the goblin took and walked off. She glanced around.
Taking a deep sallow from the tankard, she continued to rubbed her temple. Leaning back she noted the quiet, the bare sound of shuffling feet, whispered of cloth, a few other sounds, but nothing that would spark the drumming in her head.

"There". An undetermined amount of time had passed, and a few things had changed. A single tear slid down the moon elf's cheek, who aside from that looked as serene as usual. Her shoulder bore now a blackened mark like a burn, perfectly shaped like a wolf's paw.

"This shows everybody that you belong to somebody. Like branded cattle. And now that a bit of my blood runs in your veins, your smell and your aura will carry a part of my own essence. They'll know who they're crossing if they mess with you. As a side effect, this will keep you safe. Nobody will think of messing with a demon's property. Also, your thoughts are now no secret to me. Thus if there's trouble, I will know it. And i will also know if you try to cross me."

Naki smiled a bit oddly, thinking of the twisted first assumptions people would have upon recognizing a demon's essence in the elf's smell; his smile vbanished instantly as he realized the moon elf was smiling softly, probably she had caught his expression Or was it something else...?

Pushing the issue to the back of his mind, he got up. His forearm's wound was healing pretty fast.

"Ah yes, one last thing. I don't care what your name was before. Now you will answer to the name Lyvesta. Because you are from now on, and for the rest of your days, sworn to the Wolf. Now go to the bar. You'd better get used to being at the front".

The impressions that he received from her made it clear that she was not pleased at the idea of showing up so scarcely clad in a public place. But there was no resistance whatsoever. Lyvesta slowly got up and with a faint ruffling of clothes stepped into the bar. Naki went into his private chamber and came out with a bunch of assorted materials. He then sat back down and got to work. Better to have too many arrows than not enough.

The moon elf Lyvesta moved over to the table that the female Drow had just left, with silent step born from bare feet trained over centuries of survival in the wild, and scooped up the coins. A greedy goblin that was aiming at snatching the money, scuttled away as soon as he saw her approaching, thereby sparing the ever vigilant Naki from taking the imp's life in retaliation.

The lithe-bodied slave went then back to her post behind the bar, the only perceivable noise the faint ruffle of the red silk against her blue skin. At that moment, Naki peered out the backdoor and found her icy blue, benevolent eyes staring into his, a mere two feet away. Momentarily thrown off, he frowned and went back into the back room. Lyvesta strode in after him, for even though he hadn't spoke a word or made a gesture, his intent was clear to her.

Once in the backroom, Naki gestured to the nearest stool and sat down in the usual spot that allowed him to keep watch on the bar through the small window. "So tell me", he said with hoarse voice, his gaze focused on his arrow crafting. "What weapon skills do you have?".

A little bit too long went by without an answer, and Naki looked up. He frowned when he noticed Lyvesta was smiling in that soft benevolent fashion so usual in her. A split second before Naki even moved his mouth to talk, she beat him to it.

"I followed the way of the bow before becoming a novice in the worship of--", she fell silent upon noticing Naki's steely glare. "A cult." Her voice was oddly soothing, nearly melodious, almost alluring but in an innocent sort of way. "I can wield a longbow, or a shortsword. I am not very skilled, but I can hold my own in a fight". Naki was tempted to scorn her by asking why she had got herself captured if she was so good at taking care of herself, but something told him he would not like her answer. Moreover, he intuitively knew the answer although he refused to acknowledge it consciously.

A pause, then she carried on. "And I am a healer. I can free the body from disease and wounds, both by magical and natural means. No, I do not mean that kind of magic", she smiled again with that unnervingly benevolent attitude of hers, seeming to anticipate Naki's immediate concern. "Although I could--"

"NO", Naki nearly bellowed. He added in a more normal voice, "I get it". The wolf demon went back to working in his arrows. "Very well then. You earn my trust, you'll get some weaponry. I don't expect you to keep order around here with only your hands".

"When will I earn your trust if not now, when my mind is an open book to you and you can see that I do not mean you any harm... but quite the opposite?"

Upon hearing this, Naki sprung from his seat, the arrows and twigs clattering as they fell on the floor, and stormed over to where the moon elf was sitting. His arm muscles, visible because at the moment he was wearing only the black tanktop on his torso, looked to be at full tension, a full force blow from his tightly clenched. vein-ridden, gloveless fist would certainly kill her...

For a few instants, the fist hovered there, trembling in sheer rage. Then it dropped, in a supremely annoyed, yet grudginly defeated growl. For the most part it was because of her on-target logic, but her utterly serene demeanor might have had some effect as well. Unclenching the fist, Naki heaved a growl and fetched his duster coat, slid it on, grabbed his gloves and put them on as well. He then strapped on his pliable crossbow and some daggers, replenished his leg-strapped quiver and finally stepped out of the room, leaving a female that did not show the slightest bit of curiosity about his plans... like she didn't need to know.

Lyvesta then stood up, walked over to Naki's seat and picked up the assorted materials and the finished arrows, putting them away in a shelf inside his personal chamber. She then grabbed a battered broom and went around sweeping the floor, humming a soft tone while she worked, keeping an eye on the bar through the small window all throughout.
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Startled by the newcomer's bellow, three goblins scattered to tend to his request. Two of them crashed against each other, then went to the bar following the third, hurrying to prepare his first drink, and his second. Naki, who had just stepped out in time to see the small scene, twisted an odd, fang-ridden smile, and fixated his wild, wolven yellow eyes in the stranger.

"You got the purse to back that order, friend?", he growled in a slightly amused tone. "I got Death's Head, but a drink that fine ain't cheap. 150 coins a pop, and it's far cheaper than other places.."

He stood there for a moment or two and glanced back at the busy goblins. "Give him the ale you have for now, imps. And remember to look sharp when the patrols come". With that, he finally stepped into the streets of Ulorbbath.

The goblins stopped in their tracks, confused. Some of them wanted to rush to grab the bag... but they froze as they noticed Lyvesta was peeking out through the doorway to the backroom.

"Give him what he wants. Give him a bottle of ale", she said simply in a soft tone before retreating back into the room behind the main bar. She did not want to be out there while clad only in a semitransparent gown and nothing but a couple rags guarding her modesty... and unarmed to boot. She was hoping Naki would return soon and watch over the drunk Drow.

A goblin snatched the gold purse and scooped up a few, rushing to deliver the coins to the backroom, another one rushed to put the bottle of strong ale and a drinking horn atop the stranger's table.

"My slave". Naki's tone, though hoarse and gutural as usual, did not carry any hostility. It was merely a statement. His face showed a degree of annoyance, but not of the kind that might push you to act on it. It appeared to be born from a different source other than the drunk Drow.

The Wolf demon gestured a nearby kobold over and handed him a package wrapped in greenish fabric and secured by some knots tied in a hurry with makeshift cord, then pointed him to the backroom. The kobold scuttled away to deliver the package, and Naki turned to receive the coins from the goblin that had retrieved them from the Drow's table. He then made the coins dance in his gloved palm while he glanced at the drunk Dark Elf.

"I only have bugbear meat. Rothé meat is yet to arrive. Soon".

"No. This is a tavern, not a bookies."* Naki had nodded at one of the kobolds, who went in to grab the cured meat and reheat it. He gave a thoughful glance to the coins and then pocketed them, having calculated just how much more food and drink the money would pay. A snap of his fingers and another two small slaves rushed to fetch another bottle of strong ale, fetching the empty one and leaving the full one. Naki in the meantime went into the back room and a few moments later reappeared without coat, gloves and any visible weaponry. The tanktop, slacks and the like remained.

Taking a piece of parchment and a quill, he started to do some scrabbling. One of the more annoying part of being a business owner.

((*homage to one of my favorite movies rofl ))

"Indeed. Most likely though, you'd get more than just your legs broke". Having roamed the Land That Sees the Sun for so many centuries, Naki had pretty much seen it all, so he knew the kind of punishment dealt to those who did not pay their gambling debts. Sometimes he had dealt them himself.

After carefully checking that nothing was missing -out of mistrust for both the drunken Drow and the slaves-, Naki went back to his scrabbling. He'd have to start paying his dues to the sponsoring House, smiling upon realizing that the business had kicked off to an early success. Two customers in just a few hours.

Surely that would please High Priestess Ghaunkah.