Welcome to Gaia! ::

It felt good to come round again to this place. Divintra hovered outside of the tavern, his purple eyes sweeping over the unassuming enterance. He traveled so often now, it had become almost a sense of relief when his eyes fell upon the tavern. Not that he had anything really emotional or sentimental tied up in this place. No...he knew the man that worked the bar. he knew the man that owned the building. he knew the men that used a secret room in the back. He also knew that they had a strange sense of respect for him. And expectation that Divintra worried about failing at times. He was careful though and thus far he'd only had success with these folks.

Divintra brushed his hand down the front of his dark cloths and entered through the front door. As was the norm with his entereance, he heard a few murmurs. He was uncertain if eyes really did turn to look at him or not. He was of the opinion that if he paused to look around when he first entered a public building, and he was not looking for a particular person, it was a invintation for something unpleasent to occur. His head had to stay up, his eyes had to stay focused, and he should not linger like a uneasy child in the doorway. In the years that he had taken up his self claimed mantle of Courtier, Divintra had learend that a aura of self assurance and calm carried more weight then the meek mouse he once was.

Divintra crossed the floor and reached inside of his vest. Carefully he tugged out a folded and sealed piece of parchment, and he took up standing beside the bar. The barkeep looked up as Divintra waited for acknowledgement...and a smile broke out on the gruff elder males face. Divintra returned the grin with a faint one of his own, and he wordlessly handed the letter over. The barkeep glanced only for a moment at the seal on the letter and tucked it into the back of his pants. " 'ey Div. You got to run off do yeh?" he asked as he began to reach under the counter.

Divintra shook his white haired head slightly. "No Sir. I've no customers right now. I was thinking about taking a few days for myself." He replied. The barkeep placed a glass upon the counter in front of Divintra, and he tilted his head a little. Leaning forwards he lowered his voice to a soft hush.

"Dun suppose I could convince you to take a...look round? I've got some matters I could use some...you know...thoughts of yours on. Eh?" He waited while Divintra glanced down at the empty glass before him. It had been a long trip..and Divintra was grateful to be in his home town. Still, as he looked into the waiting red eyes of the barkeep, he had to admitt to himself he didn't want to risk making the men here unhappy with him...and he could use the practice...

"I suppose I could...after closeing, and if I had something to occupy myself with until then. You do have quite a few hours left after all." Divintra made a show of grudgeingly shrugging his shoulders. He supposed his act of reluculance was not reaching his eyes or properly portrayed as the barkeep merely chuckled at his answer. He pulled his hand from under the counter to set a clear glass bottle half filled with a very pale red liquid.

The barkeep spoke as he set the bottle next to the glass he had provided earlier. "I'll have the kitchen bring you out something to eat. The usual or something different this time?" Divintra closed his hands over the glass and bottle and tilted his head thoughtfully. As he took his time to consider, something misty slithered out from his messenger bag. Divintra blinked as the winged mouse eared felame fluttered up before his face with her hands resting on her hips. Her lips opened and moved though no sound issued from the hovering creature.

"Ah... the usual Sir. But with some roots." Divintra answered after a moment. The barkeep gave Lin a bemused glance, and turned to relay the order to one of the servers in the room. Divintra turned away, and carried the bottle and glass towards a unoccupied table alongside the wall. Lin glided along at ear level, her hands lifting from her hips to gesture towards the bottle he was carrying. "It's only juice." Divintra began to explain to the creature. "Well...no...but...yes I was..." he continued to whisper softly to Lin as he set the two objects down on the table. He blinked at Lin and formed a small frown as the small female began to shake her hand at him more fiercely.

"It helps me...oh come on...I asked for the roots didn't I? Can't you give me some credit?" Divintra shook his head a little and sat himself down in the chair. Lin fluttered her wings and 'landed' herself ontop of the bottle in a form of protest. "Just a little Lin. I won't drink it now. I'll wait till later, please?" Divintra pleaded with the small creature, who answered with a vehement shaking of her head.

Divintra folded his hands in front of his face as he heard Lin's voice carrying on in his head.

~... and you shouldn't even BE here! You know what those men want! When are you going to do the right thing and go to a Priestess? Hmm? It would be better for you all round. A nice respectable profession. Surrounded by some pretty females. You have begun to notice females haven't you? They would be able to better guide you then just wandering around waiting to be killed by who knows what and...~

Lin's scolding voice died away. At first Divintra had thought that perhaps he had managed to tune her out. Or perhaps unlocked some unknown ability to shut Lin out of his head. She was as stble as the mist she was made up of. Today she'd berate him for his choices. Tomorrow she'd be urgeing him to locate another priest of his faith. It was all focused around one thing he supposed. She wanted him to get proper training. And to find someone to teach him. Mentor him. That was it. Lin wanted him to find a mentor, and someone to take care of him. He tried to explain to her that he was fully capable of taking care of himself, but she would not stop treating him like a child. It was only when he took notice, through his fingertips, that Lin was not gestureing in her animated way, that he realized he had not tuned her out. She had stopped talking. Divintra lowered his hands from his face and blinked at the little mistform. He followed her line of sight, to see she was stareing at a drow that was...standing...near to him.

Divintra felt a start of alarm, and his hand rose to lightly touch against the material of his shirt that concealed his holy symbol. He parted his lips to speak to the hovering male. Perhaps he had missed the bartender sending him over... A streak of grey fluttered past his eyes, and inwardly Divintra groaned as Lin, in all her female aggressiveness, had floated herself up to eye level of the male. Her hands rested on her insubstantial hips and her lips moved, though no sound issued from them. Divintra closed his eyes for a moment, and reached his hand up to wave his fingers through Lin, so as to cause her to disperse a little and brush her away from the male.

"Excuse me Sir...my...pet...would like to know what has caught your attention?" He was going to pay for this later...hours of scolding and beratings....but honestly, she could be so...thoughtless! just because he could hear her did not mean anyone else could! Divintra lifted his eyes to look at the male, and he found himself shifting a bit uncomfortably. he seemed...odd. maybe it was the two different colored eyes he had. Or maybe it was the staff he was holding....

Divintra felt uneasy, and the sense was growing. he didn't want to look up at the other male, as his various twitch's and pauses made Divintra think there could be something wrong with him...Then again... The last drow he had talked to that had exhibited queer traits...he had actually been helpful. In a manner. He had talked with him and given him sound advice. Words of wisdom from a source close to insanity. Talking to a skull certainly counted as insane. Divintra forced his purple eyes to look back up at the other male. The others obvious observation of his skin color caused Divintra to run his fingers over the back of his other hand slowly.

"Then that would make two of us really. I have never seen a pale drow myself either. So I suppose I can understand how you would be curious." Please let that be all it was.

~ I don't like how he's looking at you. Make him go away.~ Lin's irritated voice sounded in his head as the mist reformed into her female shape. With a flick of her misty wings, she glided down to 'land' upon Divintra's shoulder. One of her hands reached up to 'grip' his pointed ear while she fixed a daring glare on the male as he introuduced himself. ~ And how dare you call me a pet! I'm nothing of the sort!~

Divintra ignored Lin's voice for now, and he lifted the hand he had rubbed with to gesture towards her. "Lin is a...unique creature." He started, then paused. He rather wished he had said his prayers earlier. He dared not use them here in such a crowd. Really...what good was it being a priest if he could never practice? Or ally his gifts to the situations he needed them most in? Divintra gestured to the chair across from him while he attempted to figure out how to turn this uncomfortable situation into something more favorable. "Why don't you sit down. It makes me nervouse to have someone hovering over me. If you want your curiousity satisfied though I may require something in exchange."

Divintra's eyes lifted from time to time to peer at Hal before it was he took a seat. His face marking was rather odd. At times it seemed to glow. What was that a sign of? Divintra could not imagin that it was a effect he had choosen on purpose. The glow was too telling. in the darkness it would catch much attention. So...it had to be something else. Was it a curse mark?

~Do not let him touch you. The last thing you need is a glowing curse to make you stand out more.~ Lin's voice echoed in his head. He hated it when she did that. Listening to his thoughts was about as bad as her encouraging him to talk to females. Divintra chose to ignore Lin's mothering and annoying voice for now. Hal had answered him, in a way. His words intrigued him? Should this interest be something he ought to be worried about?

~ Tell him you changed your mind. He probably is a slaver. Send him away. I don't trust him.~ Lin's voice raised a octave in his head and Divintra did his best not to bat at her where she hovered over his shoulder. Lin's constant bossiness and worrisome paranoia did distract Divintra...but not once had he ever wished for her silence. He had long missed the hovering presence of someone who cared for him. While Lin's concern could have been bourn of the fact her life was tied directly to his own, it still meant that she cared.

Hal's answer to his terms was...surpriseing, to say the least. Divintra tilted his head a little, his purple eyes lingered on Hal's own. Well...what should he ask? Divintra folded his hands before him and he let his eyyes turn next to the staff. He seemed to be a mage of sorts... "What sorts of magic do you work?" He asked while mulling over the possible requests he could make.

"He?" Divintra echoed Hal's mistake. He...Divintra found his eyes focusing on the two different colored eyes of the other male rather intently. A Necromancer...wasn't that what Micar was? no...he was something else, but it had something to do with the dead he was certain. The small and scrawny male had spoken with a skull, something that was hardly normal really. But he had been harmless, as far as Divintra had been able to tell. Still..he had spoken strangely...and cryptically... His words had moved Divintra to look into something he had never thought to before...and it had really paid off. He had learned much and definatly been forwarned of something that was damn important concerning himself. he was still uncertain if his reasoning behind adhearing to a obviously unstable man's words was due to his own practice of looking beyond things, or if it had just been because he'd been that badly scared by the implemented meanings. Divintra did not fancy the 'Noose' part of the males words coming true.

Clearing his throat Divintra lifted a hand to his white throat and rubbed his long fingered hands over the lump that seemed to have formed in it. "Someone I would wish to talk to?" Those purple eyes blinked at Hal. For a necromancer he had a very strange air to him. he hardly held himself or spoke like someone who tormented the dead for a living. Divintra slowly lowered his hands back to the table and he laced his fingers together. "No..no to both I'm afraid."

~Oh. That is such a lie! Ask him! I can hear the question in your heart no matter how hard your trying to pretend it's there.~ Lin spoke into his head. her whispy form tilted forwards and leaned down to peer into one of his eyes. Divintra turned his head upwards a little and peered at Lin as he spoke, partly to hal, and partly to Lin.

"I wouldn't want to disturb the dead. What's done is done and some things are best left unknown." Tilting his attention back to hal, Divintra formed a faint smile on his lips. "And I am afraid I am not the sort of drow who likes to mess with souls either. I'm not a particularly vindictive male, I have no enemies that I am aware of so...I do not think there is much you can offer me."

~Well you have to ask him for something. You can't tell him there is a price, then not ask for something. That's rude.~ Lin spoke in his head and made a gesture towards Hal with a hand. Divintra had to agree, and after a moment more of thought, he spread his hands before him on the table. "What about a simpler arrangement. I will answer your questions for money. One silver per question you wish to ask. I promise not to be cryptic or purposefully short with my answers. I am sure you do not have that many questions really and I can't imagin needing a favor from a Necromancer. Besides, the odds of us actually meeting again outside this tavern are probably very slim."

It was good that Hal accepted his suggestion, because Divintra honestly was about to run into a wall concerning payment suggestions. Why had he even answered in that way?

~ Because you are devoted to a God that would have frowned on you for giving stuff away for free, and in your position you can't risk that kind of disfavor.~ Lin smugly spoke into his head. Someday...Divintra was going to learn how to shut her out of his mind, then he'd see how sarcastic and demanding she'd be if she knew he could give her the silent treatment. Divintra, for the time, had to pretend not to hear her. Having Hal to focus on made it far easier. Even more so with the odd comments he made. If he felt the dead were best left undisturbed...why was he a necromancer? Divintra tilted his head and furrowed his brows at the other males comment. It simply made no sense at all... The smile that followed put him off his more then likely paranoid manner of thinking.

"I can understand the need to wander a lot." He replied while watching the other produce a handful of silver. Hnnnn..well..maybe he would not need to ask that many questions. Perhaps a silver was too low? With the right amount of funds Divintra could have just offered up his entier life story up, along with the promise of not avoiding or speaking around cyptically. Divintra shifted in his seat, and he could not resist the faint smile that came when Hal asked if it would cost him to learn his name. He glanced down at the coins, and placed his palm over them to draw them across the table and before him.

"Well no. It will not cost you to learn my name. I am Divintra Do'Ghym. But since you had to ask a question to learn that I'm afraid it will still cost you three silver for this." He could hear Lin huffing in his mind, and he did his best to ignore her snide little grumble.

~You should charge him four then. What good are the rules of this exchange if you don't follow them?~ Divintra did not speak to Lin, but merely focused his attention on answering the other two questions....oh...dear... His purple eyes widened a bit as a question concerning his family was brought up. He had promised not to be cryptic or short...he couldn't short change Hal just because the question didn't suit him or made him uneasy.

~ Lie. Make something up.~ He couldn't do that. He made his reputation and living based on being trustworthy and truthful.

~ Oh please. Your patron diety is well known for his Lies.~ That didn't mean he had to be an exact shadow copy. He was...Divintra closed his eyes and gave his head a small shake.

"I apologize. Lin is getting very vocal and that can be distrating like you wouldn't believe." Opening his eyes, Divintra formed a faint smile and answered the questions that had been posed.

"I am afraid I do not know if this run's in my family. The only family I have ever known was my mother, and she was as dark as obsidion. I can tell you that I suspect it did not. Mother seemed far too proud at times about my coloration for it to be a common occurance in my line." There, that question seemed answered well enough, and it did not betray anything that Divintra was uncertain about right now. Now though the question addressed Lin. Divintra reached up to scoop his palm through the mist that was Lin. He pulled her from his shoulder, and held her out before him.

Lin blinked a little as she was forcefully removed from her perch. She appeared to be sitting in Divintra's palm, and she crossed her arms over her naked chest while twitching her tail. "I met a very talented mage during one of my trips. Her name is Valin, and her magic is over the mists. Lin was something of a expirement and a gift from her. Valin's mists are bound to her and take the form of slender whisps. She was curious to see if she could attach a bit of her mist to someone else. I am not positive how the magic worked. She had me invision what I wanted it to look like, and she used her magic on me." Divintra brought his other hand around to gently stroke his fingers through Lin's feathered wing. His lips perked into a fond smile as Lin shivered and reached with a hand to pat at his finger. "I wanted her to look like a winged mouse. Yet she turned out looking like this. I never imagined she'd have a personality or a will of her own. It's like she's a seperate entity entierly, though I do know she is bound to me. Valin mentioned something about my soul but I'm not sure exactly how it all works together, she seemed as surprised as I was."

((Slight OOC info, in case it pertains. Since you do have a necro *Pokes Hal and laughs* Lin is created from a small part of Divintra's soul, that's why she can't go very far from him. She uses mist to give herself a visable physical form, otherwise only Divintra or those able to percieve invisible souls would be able to see her. That also explains why heat and evaporation doesn't kill her, but only makes her look thinner and more transparent.))

Divintra felt a sense of satisfied pride at Hal's compliment. To know he had suceeded in being clever felt like a small personal accomplishment. It was a sign that he was matureing at the very least, and that his travels were instillin in him a wisdom he would not have obtained had he remained the little slum dwelling rat that most of his lot were doomed to become. His sense of personal content was shaken away as Hal would reveal something a bit surpriseing. More then once voice? Hal had...someone talking into his head? Was it a familar or a companion? Were they both now being watched by a keen eyed companion to ensure Divintra did not try to harm Hal? Divintra felt a creepy sensation tingle it's way up his back. Lin responded to his unease by scanning the crowd and ceiling for good measure in a way that Divintra would be unable to without making it obvious what he was doing.

"I am surprised to know you have a similar mental connection with another." Divintra spoke after a short period of silence. "But at least you can understand then when I seem to get a little distracted." Should he ask Hal about this other voice he had?

~He will probably charge you back a silver to answer your own questions in turn.~ Lin's voice warned him. Divintra did not want to lose the coins he was earning right now...but when weighed against his own curiousity he found himself willing to risk handing back over some of the coins. As Divintra turned over the possibilty of asking his own questions, Hal commented upon the importance of one's soul, and the tendency for mages to toy with them.

"Technically that is another question." He commented with a faint humored smile on his lips. "And I do not believe all mages play with things like the soul. Only those that have a invested interest in them. If their magic incorporates the Souls of others, then you can't expect them to ignore something fundamental. It's as if to expect a Lizard rider to refuse to put a saddle on a Lizard just because they feel it is wrong to bind the beast to their will. It comes with the proffession. That isn't to say that they couldn't choose a different profession but...well...some are more suited then others I suppose."

Divintra watched as three more coins were placed upon the table. Three more questions? hal did seem earnestly curious didn't he?

~A fool and his money are soon parted.~ Lin quipped happily in his head as she whisped her way over to dance about the three silver coins. Sourly Divintra eyed the happy mistform. That may be true, but a fool wouldn't be gaining anything in exchange for that money. Divintra pulled his gaze from Lin to focus upon Hal as he would ask a rather..well... It was both a unexpected and a realistic question. Though it was strange to waste such money on a trival thing as this. Divintra reached his hand across the table to gently sweep away two of the coins, if nothing more then the quiet the grumble of Lin over letting opportunities slip away.

Divintra lifted his hand after he pulled the coins over to the small pile before him. Holding the slender and long white fingers up, he gently flexed his fingers. "When I was smaller, my mother used to make me rub soot onto my skin. From forehead to toes, she made me cover myself up, even the parts that would not be visable under the clothing. So...for my earlier years, I knew what it was like to be just one more drow child in the underdark. I can't say it was very pleasent, but I'm not foolish enough to think that had my true coloration been known that things would have been different for me. I think perhaps it would have been worse." He slowly placed his hand back upon the table, and allowed his lips to pull back into a wry smile. "Being the color I am is both a blessing and a curse. It warrents me more attention for certain. Drow leave me alone out of fear in part. Fear of who I could work for. Fear for what skills I may be blessed with. Or simply fear because of what they have heard in rumors. At the same time I find myself the focus of more scrutiney. Those in higher positions take note of my passing with more interest then the common drow may. I feel constantly watched. I can't honestly say I wish I looked like the rest of you. I know that there is no sweeter side of that wish. Having dark skin would not change my situation by much really. It would only exchange dangers and safeties...so..I suppose my answer to your question would be a No."