With the coming darkness of night the various methods of luminance come into full proper display. Crystal lamps light stores and entry ways, and some locales have their signs glowing, the paint used to achieve the effect a combination of dyes and crushed glowstones. The different areas of the quarters were colour coded to aid visitors in their navigation, a decision made by members of the town long before she had ever arrived at the town.
The streets of the glowstone quarters were buzzing with activity as Elva moved through them to her intended destination. Mix of locals and visitors looking for entertainment or sustenance roamed the streets. Aside from the few taverns in the area there were also food stands aplenty.
As the glow around her shifted from pink to purple she knew she was approaching her desired destination. The area with the pink glow was known as the joy district, where the brothels and gambling dens are located, attracting its fair share of customers. The cabaret laid in the adjacent section’s border which was the fancier area of the quarter known as the crystal district.
Within a minute of entering the district, Elva arrived at the front courtyard of the cabaret. She could hear the pleasant sound of music coming from the building, broken occasionally with the sound of cheering. The two guards at the entrance, Saifa and Zudra, had their arms crossed as she approached but gave her a friendly nod as soon as she was close enough to be identified. After a quick greeting a thought struck her and she decided to pause there and ask them if they had seen anyone matching Malik Saltrus’ appearance entering the building.
“That is a pretty general description you are giving there Elva, but I do believe that person is still here, yes. He was asking if Madam Sagira was in when he got here and I have not seen him leave yet.” said Zudra as he scratched his head recalling recent memories.
“This guy did something to piss you off?” asked Saifa.
“No, but I do have things to discuss with him. Thanks you two.” said Elva as she resumed walking into the building. Just before she could reach for the door handles, the door opens and out walked a man with a rather gaudy outfit who was accompanied by a hooded and cloaked individual. The man paid her a quick passing glance before continuing walking forward as though she was just a copper shell on the street. His description however matched what Zaina told her and she looked to Zudra as the man walked past. Zudra shot her back a knowing look and nodded.
Elva wanted to catch him while he was still in the cabaret so she could pick her moment to approach him at an optimum time. This was a much less ideal but she had to work with the chances she got, so she decided to call out to him. Before she did though the cloaked individual’s movement seemed to her to have stiffen and tensed.
“Excuse me, good sir. A moment of your time?”
The man turned and regarded her, this time examining Elva carefully. His companion moved behind him as he turned, allowing her a full view of his dressing. He inclined his head, indicating for her to continue.
“Might you be Malik Saltrus?”
“Indeed I am. Who are you and what business do the temples have with me this time?” replied Malik, a twinge of annoyance in his tone.
“My name is Elva Scyhlar, I come in my own capacity to purchase certain items you have in your inventory and-”
“And for some reason you have it in your head that if I would be in an amendable mood if I am bothered while trying to seek some relaxation? The gall.” interrupted Malik as he already began turning away.
Elva could feel her right eye twitch even as she maintained a smiling visage. Clearly the man was extremely pompous, but she already expected that based on Vance's description. If it weren’t for the current situation involving Father Gabriel she would have given a rather blunt farewell along with giving the man the finger. But she resisted the impulse , determined to make any kind of headway. Before she could properly formulate a response however, Malik turned around in an overly dramatic fashion and continued speaking.
“But, I must admit that this kind of attitude is quite refreshing. And I must say getting accosted by such a pretty face is a nice addition too!”
The way Malik spoke sent a shiver of disgust down Elva’s spine, this was a clear red flag in her mind that the man was a creep, but the circumstances demanded that she humor him. Perhaps she thought to herself, she could use this to her advantage, however distasteful it was to her personally.
“I’m glad you are willing to hear me out sir. The item I am looking to acquire is-”
“Now now this is no place to discuss business my dear. Out in the streets? We are not urchins! Come, there is a rather delightful place on the topside to continue this conversation, the Suncliff I believe.”
“My thanks for your kind offer, I shall take you up on it then.”
Malik smiled and turned around to continue on his way, his companion paused for a moment before turning as well. As the figure turned, Elva could hear the faint rustling of metal, chains if she had to guess. A number of guesses ran through her thoughts, if it was what she thought it was then the man was truly brazen to be playing with the law. Sunhold might be an extremely distant settlement of the Combine but their laws were still recognised and followed by visitors of the Alliance and Holy Kingdom. Slavery and any related activity was illegal and in the past the town had even eliminated an underground attempt to use the locale as a trading point.
Still, it was probably best not to unnecessarily sour the mood, especially if it turns out to be wrong. Thought Elva. Not for the moment at least, and if the need comes up she could always inform the town guardians.
Sighing inwardly, she waved a farewell to Saifa and Zudra as she followed Malik and his companion, heading towards the direction of a lift to the topside.
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It wasn’t long before they arrived at the threshold of the Suncliff inn, the restaurant portion of the establishment to be exact. Upon seeing their approach an attendant opened the door where another guided them through the main dining area, eventually leading them to a finely furnished table in a corner of the restaurant. Elva took a seat opposite of Malik as he began ordering some food and drink, his companion however remained standing beside him, leaving the third chair unoccupied.
“Is your friend not going to take a seat?” asked Elva as the waitress walked away.
“Hmm? Oh Yuria? Well she normally stands… But I see that you find that rather awkward.” Said Malik rubbing his hands together, he looked backwards and flashed his companion a smile. “Come Yuria my dear, take a seat and join us properly, that is my wish.”
Though the moment was swift and the motion minute Elva noticed her flinch before she sat down with what she could guess to be hesitation, again she could hear the faint jingling of metal.
“Now then, unless you need anything else perhaps you may enlighten me on what item I have that you are interested in.”
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“Once again I would like to thank you for hearing me out.” Seeing Malik gesturing for her to continue she decided to get to the crux of the matter. “The items I wish to acquire from you are your crates of Eflusia.”
“Ah, and am I right to assume you already attempted to gain an audience by the traders guild and they stall or block you constantly?” looking at her grimace he had his answer. “My apologies, the members of the guild do tend to have a rather different attitude to those without the look of grandeur or an obviously fat purse.”
“Well then, I am more than willing to sell my two crates to you of course. Though we are dealing directly I still have to obey the guild rules and pay the traders tax…” Malik trailed off mumbling numbers under his breath while counting fingers.
Elva let out a sigh of relief which turned into a cough as soon as she heard Malik finish, saying. “Fifty-five conus.”
“I’m sorry, can you repeat that?”
“Fifty-five conus. Seems fair don’t you think? Oh are you only carrying Combine currency? That would be forty-eight gold Arits then I believe, but we can go to the commerce house to get a more up to date exchange rate if you desire.”
That number was so much higher than her worst estimate. She could not afford it, nor would she be able to acquire the coin needed within the short period of time. And if this was the price of the herb then the future treatment of Father Gabriel would be impossible to maintain. She needed to know more.
“How many urns are in your crates? I believe that the price of Eflusia was about a conus or two for an urn, fifty-five for two crates seems excessive.”
“Fifty-five for two? My dear I am afraid I did not properly convey the price properly then. It is fifty-five for a single crate of four urns.” chuckled Malik
“You have got to be joking. How in Lumina’s name does that herb cost so much now?” said Elva, the agitation in her voice clear.
Leaning back in his chair Malik looked at the returning waitress bearing a tray with three glasses of wine. After she served the table he took a sip of his glass before turning his attention back to Elva with a smug smile on his face.
“Simple supply and demand. The demand for a herb important in the creation of several types of healing potions in the region remains the same. But the supply from the Northern nations has been severely curtailed due to numerous factors. Thus we arrive at this current price. I myself had to pay a hefty amount of coin for this batch I assure you.”
“But this is a life saving item, surely you can’t increase the price to such a ludicrous amount!”
“You are more than welcome to travel to Ikandras or any of the nearby ports to try your luck there. Let me assure you that my price is much fairer compared to the ones you may be offered.”
Sinking back in her chair Elva took a drink from her own glass, too fast and much for a wine of the vintage but she needed to soothe her nerves.
Sighing in an exaggerated manner Malik spoke in a disappointed tone. “Judging by the way you are acting I dare say I think you don’t have the coin to buy. Pity.”
“Not the amount you are asking for.” admitted Elva. She decided to try a different approach, somewhat distasteful but perhaps it would work. She changed her tone, adopting a more sultry one. “But perhaps we can work something out?”
“Oh ho? And what might you be suggesting?” inquired Malik as he leaned forward on the table with a grin.
She brushed her hand against his and leaned in close to whisper. “More intimate negotiations perhaps? In your private quarters?”
“Intriguing suggestion.” he whispered back as he leaned closer as though fishing for a kiss.
Elva moved in lithely, the motions of her body seductive. She knows that this method is less than savoury but it works well on these types of people. She moves close, prepared to tease him just a little more to stroke his desire. Just a hair’s length away from his face however he suddenly retracted, leaning back into his chair and began chuckling, leaving her stunned and in a rather awkward position.
“I love a good tumble as much as any man but unless you are a princess I doubt you are worth that much gold.” said Malik as he laughed.
Sitting back up straight, Elva crossed her arms with an annoyed look. “You wouldn’t happen to be gay as well would you?”
“Not at all, but I do have rather high standards.” he replied as he gestured to Yuria.
She then drew back her hood to reveal a breathtakingly beautiful emerald eyed face framed with short red hair that almost reached her shoulders. The other two things which grabbed Elva’s attention was a headband with a small green gemstone set in its middle and what looks like a thick collar around her neck.
“Ah. So shackled and unable to refuse?” spat Elva in disgust.
Malik simply responded by silently continuing to grin.
Sighing to herself at yet another waste of her time Elva stood up and made ready to leave. However, Malik raised his hand to forestall her and said. “Please stay, I believe I may actually have an offer that you will find more receptive.”
Seeing Elva sit back down he continued. “You are of Clan Scyhlar yes? The desert faring tribe?”
“The last of them, yes.”
Malik’s eyes widened and he said in a soft tone. “My condolences for your loss.”
Acknowledging with a nod, Elva pushed forward saying. “I assume you are asking me whether I am a Sandsider correct? Yes, I am. Though my skills were not taught by my tribe. Amnesia. It's a rather long story I prefer not to elaborate on now.”
“Do you have experience operating in the Eastern region of the Rakta?”
“I have ventured several times into the Plain of Scorn, scouting assignments only.”
Clapping his hands together and with a grin on his face, Malik said. “Excellent. In two days time I shall be departing with an expedition across the Eastern portion of the Rakta and I would like to hire your services to guide my group through the region.”
“For what purpose? That is the second most dangerous region of the Rakta.” stated Elva, unable to keep the incredulous tone from surfacing. “And you are leading a group? That is folly, larger numbers do not equal safety when it comes to the Plain of Scorn.”
“I do apologise but I will not disclose the purpose of my expedition to anyone not involved in it. Trade secrets. Rest assured this is not something I have planned on a whim. Preparations have been made to ensure the success of this endeavour, and one of the last few things I need is a sandsider guide.”
“Let's say I agree to this, my payment is the two crates of Eflusia?”
“That is a rather steep price… One, with some gold to top it off.” He raised a hand to forestall her and added. “Currently, I plan to use some of the other Eflusia as a supply during the journey. If there are leftovers of that crate I can be convinced to yield them to you as a bonus, depending on how well you did your job.”
“So I will get the one crate before leaving?”
“Gods no!” Chuckled Malik. “You will receive some gold to account for your preparation materials but full payment is upon job completion.”
“You are going to haul goods across the desert?! Where there is a good chance it could be lost to the elements? And if I do get you to where you want to go I am expected to haul it back to Sunhold?!” said Elva angrily.
“What better reason to join and ensure their safety then no? And I can assure you that there will be safe passage back to Sunhold, though I cannot tell you how at the moment.”
“Trade secrets.” said Elva as she rolled her eyes. Sighing lightly she continued in an even tone. “Can I be allowed some time to consider your offer?”
“By all means. But I would appreciate an answer soon. I will be departing in two days time, maybe three if there are delays, so I will need to hear from you soon. And should you agree I will of course give you more details.”
Fishing around his pockets for a moment, he withdrew a steel coin with the imprint of a twin headed serpent on it and tossed it to Elva.
“Show this to my representative at the trade house and he will know to direct you to me with haste.”
Elva caught the coin and after a brief examination nodded, and proceeded to drink the rest of her glass before leaving. Quietly watching her go, Malik left soon after she exited the restaurant, leaving behind two glasses of wine that were only half dranked.