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"A week? How many cycles would that take, again?" asked Valdaer as he and his sister sat and ate mushrooms outside a tavern.

Irrafay shrugged, "About 7...though he did say that if the item they were waiting for came sooner...". Then she stopped, and glanced around from under the cloak.

Whores and their sailors (both men and women) were sitting laughing and drinking. A chubby merchant was arguing with a weather worn Captain.

"Maybe, He'll be busy." Valdaer comment made her turn back to him.

She cut him a dry look and then looked back the moving crowds, catching words here and there.

"...huge wings, I tell ya. And he came down from the cavern roof, and I think he had his son with him."

"Yur jokin' us. He ain't got no sons. He ain't no children at all."

"Now miss, that can't be true. He must have many children given how many women he's taken in. It wouldn't make any sense."

"Young one, keep quiet. I lived here for many years. She's right, hasn't been one child in sight. He probably kills off the women when they get pregnant."

"Aye, don't want no competition for his throne."

Irrafay turned back to brother, who stared at the group talking. A group made of a merchant, either his child or some young kid he knew, and another merchant. "Do you think that maybe he wants me for one of his kids...maybe."

Valdaer returned her dry look, "No, you just heard the guy. He has been here for 'many years' and haven't seen a single kid. No...he isn't interested in for his kid. Anyway, with any luck he'll have forgot in a week and we will be on the surface."

Irrafay made a disgusted noise and she stood with her brother. "I can't believe you convinced me to go to the muddy surface."

Valdaer looked back at her, "Humph, it didn't take a lot. You had already come down from your daydreams to see the reality of the situation without my help."

Irrafay didn't reply back his now retreating form, instead she looked back at the talking people wondering if they had been right.

Irrafay felt him first, she spun around and look into shadows trying to see where the source was. She knew her brother was too, for his hands gripped her shoulders.

And then they heard his whispered voice. Valdear gripped his sister tighter, while her hands on his dug their names in in his flesh.

"My...My lord, there were just so many and they were all repeated so often that..." Valdear's gulp was so audible that Irrafay would have laughed, but her mind was taken up by his word.

He is going to use me to continue his long life, by eating th...She shook her head, he was just pointing fun at the silliness of rumors. But weren't rumor a realms life blood, didn't they hold some kind of truth. If they hadn't, then she and her brother had been getting along on pure luck.

That when Irrafay remembered that her brother had stopped talking. She looked up, just so that she could go wide eyed under her hood. He was coming towards them, out of what seemed to be pure shadows. Shadows that seemed to love him.

"...that...that...We thought that...they had to hold some truth." Irrafay felt like she was signing their death in place by saying it, but it was the only was to explain things. The fearful tale had become a reality and had caused her to fear.

"Brother, I fear we've error to close to danger." She muttered.

From the corner of her eye she could see his mouth twitch,
"Yes, well hopefully your smart thinking will save us. Just like the last time and probably sometime in the future too."

Valdaer pressed his lips together and then glanced towards his sister. He sister's face was contorted into a look of pure confusion.
"Sooo...we're screwed...".

Her expression shift to one of thoughtfulness. Then she nodded her head,"Basically...".

Valdaer felt his heart squeeze. And then he glance around at all the people who were staring at the group,"Doesn't this set us back?"

Irrafay nodded again, "Yeah, but don't worry. At least we'll be alive to know we're going no where."

Those words slammed in his chest. All the working, scheming, everything and they were so far from their goal.

With their whisper conversation done, he heard Irrafay let out a sigh before saying in voice that was less then a whisper, "We are willing to serve you anyway we can, my Lord."

They hands were still together and they gripped each other tightly as Valdaer said, "Our ears will be yours to use, my Lord. You have the Loyalty of our words."

Valdear paused as he stared at the black scale. He turned his gaze towards his sister. She side eyed him.

"Valdear, we don't have much choose in the matter. I'd rather not become nothing in a dungeon. Even if it means being nothing on the outside." She murmured as her left hand reached towards the scale.

Valdaer still hesitated, he still couldn't believe it. But instead of arguing with her that they should run for the surface, he reached out his right hand.

Together they recited the words that their new Lord and Master had said for them.
"Arithurirl axun...Arirlim loex,"Valdaer's hand followed after.
"Arithurirl axun...Arirlim loex."

Their voices were flat and emotionless, though Valdaer felt many things.

Anger, depression, worry, and even fear that they had just sold their souls to a demon from the darkest part of the abyss. That all their work to become nobles had been for not, that in the end they would die on the streets. His hand tighten painfully on his sister's shoulder, letting her know that her complacency to do as the demon said hadn't sat very well with him.

Maybe this is a symptom of shock, Valdaer thought as he felt some pain. His hand retreated and went to rest in his pocket.

Nobles...it was still a possibility for them, but to Valdaer is was even fainter now. Everything seems fainter.

The crowd had move away from them, distant and cold, Irrafay even seem distant to him. She was off somewhere in her mind maybe, dreaming of all that could be. That could be, if they please their new Master.

He shook his head slightly to dispel the thought and listened as Lord Val'atar told them how to contact him. Irrafay kept her face clean of emotion, her eyes thoughtful. "We understand, my Lord."

She bowed her head slightly and Valdaer's heart seemed to stop his sister was acting so unnatural calm. He shivered, but followed suit and bowed. "Yes, we understand."

Valdaer shivered, he wish he could bath the feeling of the City Lord of him, but he knew that the feeling were purely in his mind. "Well, I'm lost for what..."

"We're opening a Tavern."Irrafay's voice was flat and direct. Causing Valdaer to turn and look at her, startled. She didn't care, shrugged her shoulder at his questioning stare.

Valdaer raise both his eyebrows, he must have known she was planning something. She didn't tell, out right, but instead said, "We need workers for our tavern. Maybe those thieves, you caught would like to join and maybe a few others."

Valdaer was blinking trying to get his baring and then he smiled. Taking a deep breath, he nodded, "Yes I believe I can convince them of our better deal. Though how will you hel-"

She shook her head, Irrafay mind had been turning since the words of them being spies had reached her ears. If she worked quickly, quietly, and neatly this plan of her's could work. "He wants a network even lower then this current one right? Though I don't know why since he has been keeping such close tabs on us. But no matter! Well...I'm going to start looking for a suitable place. And maybe some people who would like to help out. Okay?"

Valdaer nodded, and turned on his heels head for the other side of town. Irrafay looked after him, and then sighed. She had to find that place that sent out magical messages.

Eilov spent hours within his hovel locating and preparing a series of most deadly spells for whatever fool bothered to underestimate him and how he would replace the corpse of the fallen with his own agent. "That's it! A cyst, I will have to have it removed later but it will work perfectly for this!" Eilov fetched a jar from his abode and removed it, opening a section of his flesh with a dagger he implanted the cyst. Screaming in agony the wound healed and a slight bump was visible on his thigh. Necromantic energy coursed through him as he lay temporarily incapacitated by the adjusting mother cyst. "Now, a casual touch is all I need! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Eilov stepped out of the shadows, shaken by a ward that had interfered with his travel and the new mother cyst. They have to be here, why else hide a ward so well? Looking around the docks Eilov saw only what anyone else could see. Whispering Eilov utilized a spell of true seeing coupled with a detection of magic spell, "Lu' ji xunus l' velkyn doera keffal a l' silinrul".

The guises of those at the docks faded into nothing, wards once hidden became visible, and what appeared to be a trading house shone with the light of a surface day bathed in magics designed to conceal its nature.

"Interesting, they clearly did not think someone of my caliber would ever target their home." Eilov slowly and painfully made his way through the shadowed alleys and streets of the docks trying to locate a member.

Eilov spent hours traversing the shadows to no avail, evidently the assassins did not travel by way of the surface paths; hinting that maybe they had a series of portals inside their building. It seems that I will have to take a more, direct, approach to locating a member for subversion.