Just A Normal Visit To The Pub, Nothing Suspicious

[jarleth]

The cloaked figure of Jarleth, or Remnis as he was known around here, entered the Phoenix Tavern. Sure, the place was bound to be full of Osirus' men and they were bound to be on the lookout for members of the Order, and what with Jarleth one of the Majors of the Order it was a little risky, but he was bored and thirsty and needed something to do. This was his umpteenth time in Du Aurella since joining the Order of Lumen, and nothing had gone wrong yet. Ok, so once or twice he had been given a small interrogation, but honestly, they had nothing on Jarleth that could prove he was in the Order. He wasn't bursting in and shouting protests at the Knights, just heading in for a drink before heading back for Amblethorn tomorrow.

The strong smell of tobacco filled Jarleth's sinuses as he entered the tavern, and it was enough to make his nose scrunch up. How repulsive. Disgusting humans. No, Jarleth wasn't one of those Elves who looked down at humans as a pathetic beastial race who was under that of Elves... He just didn't really like them, despite the fact that, as long as he kept his ears hidden, he could pass so easily for one. Most Elves kept totally clean shaven and many chose to bear long hair. Jarleth had done so at one time - for most of his time actually, but drastic measures had called for him to remove it in order to uphold a false identity, even within the Order. Amazing, wasn't it? That Jarleth was now lying to everyone he met - Knights, Order members, King Osirus and Aden?

No harm, what they don't know or suspect won't hurt them - not saying that the Knights never suspected him of anything, simply saying that they were still too stupid to actually further their investigations upon him, what seeing as the same Knight had interrogated him drunkenly about 5 times now and, just for fun, Jarleth had given him different information each time. The stupid fool still didn't notice. "Foolish humans," Jarleth breathed silently, approaching the bar. The place wasn't all that crowded - it was only early in the evening anyway, but Jarleth imagined they would all start spilling in once they got off duty. Or even when they were on duty. Honestly, some of those bloody Knights were so unbelievably lazy. All that being said, Jarleth had forgotten to tell anyone in the Order that he had decided to go off to Du Aurella for a couple of days, but again, no harm.

"Whiskey," Jarleth informed the bartender when Jarleth approached the bar, the bartender nodding and setting to fetch his drink. Jarleth glanced around the tavern, noticing that more than one or two people were eyeballing him warily, obviously because his hood remained over his head, covering the upper half of his face aswell, or at least his sparkling blue eyes. If it wasn't the ears, it was the eyes that gave him away. Luckily in the dark lighting of the tavern, not even a glint of those shiny sparklers could be seen under the hood, so Jarleth was safe for now. However, it was quite inevitable that some Knight would come along and order him to show his face and then Jarleth would pull down his hood and the Knight would ask why he was here when he was an Elven and then Jarleth would have to explain how he was in town on a delivery, popped in for a drink and would be on his way soon.

It happened a lot and quite frankly, got a little boring. Half of Jarleth's visits to Du Aurella were boring, though every now and then he would come along during a fight of some kind or some other slightly exciting event and then it would all be worthwhile, compared to the load of bollocks going on back at Amblethorn. Jarleth had expected just a little bit more action when signing up for the Order of Lumon, he had expected that by now he could have gotten at least a little bit towards avenging Aksis, but no, they were hardly even planning. In fact, Jarleth had no idea what they were doing. Although, he was only a Major, so maybe that was how things were meant to be. But Aden could at least tell him... But of course, Aden still didn't recognise Jarleth.

Well, that was the way Jarleth wanted things really, so he couldn't exactly be cynical about that. Take note, Jarleth had already been around to one or two taverns by this point, so the sudden cynical attitude was more or less the boredom and the one or two whiskeys on him already. Alright, three or four, and the whiskey he took with gratitude from the bartender was to be his seventh. Look, he was an Elven, human alcohol didn't hit him nearly half as hard so really, you could consider this simply his third or fourth whiskey, not even really. Jarleth handed the bartender his money due before taking a sip of his brew, no rhyme intended and he once more glanced around. It was niggling him, how people were staring and whispering and pointing every now and then.

'God, how fricking paranoid are these humans?' Jarleth thought, rolling his eyes from beneath his concealing hood as he sat on a barstool, quite content with remaining there rather than moving down to one of the tables or booths where the humans lay in waiting. Since when had the whole world gone downhill? Oh right yeah, since Osirus came along... Ugly old git. It was times like these Jarleth considered becoming a recluse again, but then something told him that the moment he went into withdrawal, something exciting would happen and he would miss it. That was the way of the world, it was how things worked. What can go wrong, will go wrong. Damned unwritten laws of nature. Whatever happened to Elves reaping the benefits of these laws because they were intune with nature? But no, nature went and stabbed them in the back and took all the glory and riches for itself.

'Damned nature,' Jarleth thought bitterly, taking another slug of the whiskey. 'I should kill a deer later...' Yes, you see what Jarleth was like when he was kind of but not really drunk? And then if someone came along he'd probably sober up again because Elves can sober up at will, even if they have no idea what they're doing and they're out of their heads, if there's some sort of need to sober up - they sober up! Some sort of freak of nature miracle thing! There were downsides however, because sometimes you just don't want to sober up and want to remain drunk and happy and cheery. Though in Jarleth's case, he just got pissy and narcisstic when he was drunk, so no loss there.

[Laties]

The door to the tavern opened slowly at first before being swung open completely. “Good evening, fellow dogs.” A dark haired man called out cheerfully as he stepped into the tavern with a smile on his face. “Don’t bother standing, half of you can barely sit as it is.” he quickly said as he waved his hand in a ‘sit-back-down’ gesture. It’s been a few months since the general was last at the tavern, several months, actually. Oh, how he missed seeing the drunken expressions on the men’s faces, the smell of exotic spices, the pints of ale. The ale was something he missed greatly.

“Good evening, General.”

“Evening, sir.”

“General.”

Laties returned the greetings with a small smile and nod as he made his way to the bar, determined to have a pint. Occasionally, he was forced to stop as his fellow soldiers and start a small conversation before he excused himself to go to the bar. The two minute walk from the door to the bar had turned into a fifteen minute walk and the general was slowly losing patience with his men.

“Good evening, General. It’s been awhile.” The bartender smiled as he place the pint in front of him, already knowing what he wanted. Laties grinned, “That indeed, almost a year, right?” The bartender nodded as he began fixing up some other drinks for the patrons. “No mean to offend but you smell.” The general chuckled as he took a drink before answering, “You would too if you had to go through the blood chamber. Lord Nikanoru had me ‘help’ him there since I embarrassed him in front of the pages. Never want to go in there ever again.”

The bartender chuckled as he left the general and his drink to serve the others there. “Any leads to where the insurgence are hiding?” The dark haired man sighed as he hand his fingers through his hair and gave the older man a shrug of his shoulders. “Rumor has it that they’re in the north hiding with the elves, another rumor that they’re in Arioles but I highly doubt that. The only one I sort of believe is that they’re hiding in Gurella, sadly, no-one is willing to travel out there.”

“Why don’t you, general?” The bartender asked.

Laties grinned as he leaned back slightly in his seat. “I would if I could but you know me and my infamous living habits. Why waste the energy? Besides, I’m swarmed with reports of a ‘phantom’ lurking in the south. Been causing some trouble down there.” He eyed the room before draining his ale and putting his ale down, “I see you have some new one here.”

[jarleth]

The sudden greeting from the General of Osirus' Army nearly made Jarleth jump as he turned swiftly in his seat, hand instinctively reaching for the daggers under his cloak. However he then quickly moved it back to his glass, hoping the bartender had not noticed because that would just cause some sort of commotion and much unwanted attention for Jarleth. General Laties. Jarleth had spotted him once or twice before whilst wandering about, and he had certainly heard people talk about him enough. Jarleth's teeth gritted against one another as he held back the urge to just grab his sword and plunge it right into the bastard. He had to take a a long, deep, shuddering breath to force himself to turn away and return his attention to the pint before him.

After all, a cloaked stranger jumping when the General of the King's Army walked in and then reaching for something under his cloak and then watching the General with avid interest was just a tad bit suspicious. He took a forced drink from the mug of whiskey and tried to ignore the loud drunken greetings of the soldiers to their General. If Jarleth was expected to greet the bastard, well then people were having high expectancies of hooded strangers these days, because he would sooner slaughter a thousand cattle than greet that bastard. After a strained number of minutes for Jarleth however, the General came over to the bar and had a short conversation with the bartender - that Jarleth eavesdropped on of course, it was near impossible not to.

“Good evening, General. It’s been awhile.” “That indeed, almost a year, right?” “No mean to offend but you smell.” “You would too if you had to go through the blood chamber. Lord Nikanoru had me ‘help’ him there since I embarrassed him in front of the pages. Never want to go in there ever again.”

Lord Nikanoru? From what Jarleth had gathered, Nikanoru was one of Osirus' chief advisors, and just from listening on the street it was quite obvious he was widely disliked. And openly too, from the sound of it. Well, if there was disorder amongst the ranks of Osirus then that was good news for the Order wasn't it. Jarleth tried not to draw attention to himself as he shifted himself into a more comfortable position in the seat, taking another quick slug from his drink. The blood chamber... Jarleth had heard bad stories coming from that place and to be honest, if there was one place he wished never to go, it was there. If he were captured somehow, if, by chance, today, he let it slip who he was and all the guards in the tavern along with Laties fought him and took him captive, Jarleth would probably kill himself instead. It just sounded so gruesome, so depressing, that Jarleth never wanted to get within 100 metres of it.

“Any leads to where the insurgence are hiding?”

Jarleth stiffened slightly, though thankfully it wasn't all that noticable from under his cloak. He loved that beautiful piece of clothing, the one thing keeping him alive and well all these years. His pointed ears perked slightly as Jarleth keenly listened, although it certainly wasn't necessary given the conversation was taking place right beside him. Still, the drunken shouts and cheers from the guards could make anything hard to hear in this place, and Jarleth certainly didn't want to miss anything, not at this part in the conversation. It would give him an idea as to what Osirus knew about the Order.

“Rumor has it that they’re in the north hiding with the elves, another rumor that they’re in Arioles but I highly doubt that. The only one I sort of believe is that they’re hiding in Gurella, sadly, no-one is willing to travel out there.”

Oh bollocks. Two bad things there - if Osirus suspected the elves of hiding the Order then that meant he may launch an attack on the Northern Mountains, and while the Elves were well capable of protecting themselves... Well, Jarleth would simply much rather that his home remain intact and remain another place he could visit without worry of Knights or guards or any of Osirus' men. Not only were his parents there, but a number of his friends aswell. It just was a bad thought. The other problem there was that the General suspected them of being in Gurella - a good estimate as they were posted just a little bit beyond there. Jarleth shifted again in his seat, cursing to himself inside his head as he took another slug from his drink, finishing it this time and leaving the glass back down on the bar.

“Why don’t you, general?” “I would if I could but you know me and my infamous living habits. Why waste the energy? Besides, I’m swarmed with reports of a ‘phantom’ lurking in the south. Been causing some trouble down there.”

Ah yes. Jarleth had heard that one too. The phantom. It sounded so ridiculus and yet Jarleth couldn't help but feel such curiosity around it and would nearly go down South to just find this phantom and see what all the fuss is about. It would at least give him something to do and could be an interesting journey. Well, at least it was a relief to know Laties wouldn't be travelling there way.. for the moment. His 'infamous living habits' could feel a change of habit and he could end up travelling there - and if so then they would have to be on better guard in future. Well, at least it seemed that this was not an entire journey wasted. Jarleth was learning lots of good-to-know information and remembering it! Like I said, they sober up if they need to and that's what had happened to Jarleth. He was as sober as a pioneer, which were actually quite hard to find around Alyssus. Jarleth had only ever encountered one and he ended up getting pissed because of Jarleth the next night.

“I see you have some new one here.”

Jarleth suddenly realised that the General was talking about him. He glanced from beneath the hood at the bartender and then to Laties. "Just passin' through," Jarleth grunted, trying to keep the conversation short as usual before inclining for the bartender to give him a refill, which the older man then set to quickly. Great, now he would have to talk to General Laties for a bit. He could have always just excused himself and left, but if there was any chance of getting more information out of the General, then Jarleth would manage to put up with it for the time being. However, if things went too far too fast he would quickly excuse himself and leave. Jarleth wasn't going to risk getting caught, not when his mind was still lingering on thoughts of the blood chamber.

[Laties]

Laties watched the hooded man for a moment before he slapped his hand against the other's shoulder. "Relax, no need to be so uptight here.” He chuckled as he returned to his drink. “Most of us here won’t jump you, in fact, most of them are to drunk to tell from friend or foe.” He chuckled to himself as he stared at his pint before pushing it away from him and slumped over the bar slightly. The bartender gave his a small look of disapproval before chuckling and tossing the rag playfully at the man. “Lazy bum.” he commented.

The general chuckled as he tossed away the rag and ruffled his own hair before turned his head to look at the hooded man. For a moment, no words left him as he stared at the half hidden face before a small smile formed. “Interesting eyes you have there, you’re from the north? Elven, perhaps?” A look of surprise formed on his face as he quickly sat up and held his hands up. “I mean, I don’t have anything against them, of course. It’s just the air told me what kind of eyes you have. I sound like a mad-man…” Laties shrugged his shoulders as he raised his empty glass. “Throw me another one!”

“No, I want you to walk home since I know that you normally use young Israfel to pay for your drinks and seeing that he’s in Arioles, you’ll be paying.” Laties leaned back, his hand over his heart as he let out a small gasp. “A cruel shot, I’m only mean to him.” He protested. “It’s not like I force him to pay.” The bartender shook his head and chuckled, “So… ‘Pay for it, kid. That’s an order.’ Isn’t forcing him?” Laties smirked.

“What’s the young boy doing in Arioles?”

A moment of silence fell over the general as he tilted his head to the side in thought. “I believe…” Another moment of silence passed. “Something about a sword being delivered to Du Aurella from there, I was suppose to go with my best men but Nikanoru needed me. The King is really determined to have it.” Laties said in a thoughtful tone before looking back at the other man, “Anyways, where you from, stranger? What brings you here? The food? The drinks? The goods? The women? Maybe the men?”

[jarleth]

The sudden feeling of the general's hand on his shoulder didn't help Jarleth relax, it nearly made him tense up even more. Though he tried not to show it and forced a smile out from under the hood. Well, General Laties certainly was not how Jarleth had expected him to be, even if people sometimes spoke of him as being a light-hearted fun-lover... It just seemed so hard for Jarleth to grasp a General being like this, especially when Aden was so different. Then again, Aden was in a very different situation and he had full Leadership of the Order, where as Laties still had Osirus and Nikanoru to answer to. And he was also in a pub full of soldiers, so unlike Jarleth, he had no worry of being attacked or ambushed, not when so many of his men were here with him. Jarleth glanced around the tavern as Laties claimed the men were too drunk - and while he was right, Jarleth knew some of them were still sober enough to fight if they heard that a Major of the Order was sitting at the bar.

Jarleth barely touched the refill that the bartender had just handed him, even though he had paid for it. He just didn't feel like drinking anymore right now. Besides, it wouldn't have much of an effect on him anyway because his mind was keeping him sober in the hope that Laties would reveal more information. And Jarleth had to hand it to himself that he was right, because he did reveal something about Osirus. But not before noticing Jarleth's eyes. Well, Jarleth was impressed, to say the least, he hadn't yet met a human who could identify him as an Elven without him hinting towards it or revealing all of his facial features. Laties however, gathered it from his eyes. But as impressed as he was with the General, he couldn't help but feel a little bit unnerved, even if Laties seemed like a friendly enough fellow...

For the moment.

Jarleth hesitated. Well, if Laties knew he was Elven and they were going to continue conversation, Jarleth got the idea that leaving his hood up would seem somehow suspicious. And besides, if any of the other drunk idiots in here had a problem with Elves - perhaps Laties curiosity and will to speak with Jarleth would put them in their place. So, Jarleth lowered his hood, revealing the vibrant blue eyes, the light shadow, the very short light hair and of course, the ears. "I've found that some are not quite as comfortable with what I am as others, thus the reason I try to keep myself hidden... If I can. Clearly General, your rank does not exceed you. I admit myself impressed." Jarleth kept himself calm, trying to remember how to speak to a normal stranger if you were a normal Elven. You know? With grace. Jarleth had lost the grace in his speech a long time ago - he could still move with swift and ease but when it came to speaking...

Well, let's say it was another trait that could fit him into the human world easier than his own. Jarleth listened to the conversation that ensured between Laties and the bartender. At the use of the name 'Israfel' Jarleth had to search every corner of his mind to to find out why it sounded familiar. Then Jarleth recalled people mentioning him being some sort of Sergeant in Osirus' rankings, although it was something higher up than that like a Sergeant General or something as such... Jarleth didn't worry too much about it as the conversation continued to mention some sort of sword that was important to Osirus. Jarleth willed Laties to continue to talk about the sword, but then the General turned back to continue conversation with him.

'I'll have to get it out of him somehow... It could be vital... But if I ask him straight up about it, it'll seem suspicious... Dammit...'

"As you guessed previously I come from up North, though I enjoy travelling and happened to be passing through the city when I decided I would stop for a drink. I'm afraid in the interest of men and women, I am not so intrigued. Love, nor any other relative to it, does not particularly grab my attention..." Well, Jarleth spoke some truth there. He was only travelling - although the passing through part had been a bit of a fib. And then when it came to love, Jarleth also spoke of truth. He had no interest in finding a partner of any kind. In the current age, he had the feeling that it would only bring more loss and a stronger thirst for revenge. And according to Aden, that was a bad thing. He hadn't said it directly, but Jarleth knew he thought it.

Revenge is bad. Anger is bad. Anything that could cloud your judgement is bad. You should only want to help those less fortunate than you. It was amazing that, although they were taught the same things as children, Aden seemed to have stuck to the teachings. Jarleth on the other hand, while he wanted to stop the evil tyranny of Osirus, felt he needed to kill the bastard more for the sake of his brother than for the sake of the others suffering because of him. Jarleth had hardly even noticed Osirus before discovering his brother's death. That had been the turning point for Jarleth. And now, here he was, a Major in the only resistance against the King and speaking to the General of the King's Army.

It almost made him laugh to think how things had changed so much in a matter of years. From a quiet, lonely recluse to an up in arms fighter. It was kind of funny.

[Laties]

“That’s definitely an interesting set of eyes.” Laties chuckled as he ran his finger over the rim of his glass listening to the soft ring he created. “You rarely see elves in these parts, in fact, most of them stay in the north nowadays. Can’t blame them, really. Sometimes I wish I could just run away and hide from the horrors here.”

If only he could run away and hide, but he swore his loyalty to King Osirus, he swore he would serve under him till the day he died. Why did he even take that oath? He knew what he would be forced to do, things that contradicted with his way of life, things he deeply regretted when he had the chance to think about it. A sigh escaped the general as he cradled the pint in his hands and stared at what was left in the cup before covering with a hand. A moment passed before he raised the now filled up and drained the water downed ale.

The images haunted him, images of the battlefield where he slaughtered countless men and sometimes women and children, images of his recent visit to the blood chamber fresh in his mind. Remembering what took place in the chamber, his stomach automatically rejected what was entering it. Laties let out a choking sound as he coughed into cup and the slight sound of him vomiting into it was soon to follow.

“You alright there, Laties?” The bartender asked as he quickly made his way over to the man and gently slapped his back. After a few minutes, Laties pushed the cup back onto the table and chuckled slightly. “Sorry about that, I threw up most of everything I ate a few hours ago so I managed to save your cup.” The man stared at the cup in disgust as he took it, “You’ll be buying me a new one.” Laties grinned stupidly as he nodded, “Yessir,”

“I’m sorry, please forgive me.” Laties said to the elf beside him, though despite his goofy expression on his face, his eyes seemed to be apologizing for something else. He cleared his throat when the elf mentioned about him exceeding his rank and grinned, “Why, thank you. I try to lead by example.” One of the nearby soldiers scoffed and chuckled, “Lead by example, eh? It’s more like you beat it into us. Poor pages, I feel sorry for them. Hell, I feel sorry for everyone who‘ve lost to him, I could beat the general blindfolded.” The general turned his head slightly to look at the drunken soldier, a small sadistic smile on his face. “Would you like me to beat another example into you?”

The soldier blinked and slowly looked at the general, “I, uh, er, forgi-”

WHAM!

In a swift movement, the cup Laties had been choking on was sent flying into the soldier’s head. The bartender sighed as he hid his face in one of his hands. “Don’t get full of yourself!” Laties snapped before a wet rag was thrown at the back of his head with a loud slapping sound. “Stop destroying my tavern! Now clean that up!” The bartender hissed angrily as he waved a fist threateningly in the air. “Yessir, right away, sir!” Laties laughed as he pulled the wet rag off of his head and walked over to the unconscious soldier and quickly cleaned up the mess. It appears that the bartender has the general whipped.

Once finished, Laties returned back to the bar and handed the rag back to the bartender who gently punched him in the shoulder, “Stupid boy.” he commented. “You know you love me, old man.” The bartender smiled softly, “I’d love you more if you paid your tab.” Laties put on a pout. “B-but you love me!” The older man smirked, “Not that much.” The general chuckled as he looked back at the slightly forgotten elf.

“You’re one of those types to think love isn’t for you, eh? Well, I’ll tell you this, love is going to creep up on you when you least expect it. Could be someone you knew for some time or it could be someone you just met. Think of love as a surprise attack, you don’t know when or how it’ll get you.” Laties said as he shook the elf’s shoulder firmly. “The general is a romantic at heart!” One of the soldiers cried out soon causing the rest of the tavern to cheer. A faint blush formed on his face as he stood to glare at them, “Imma kill you all!” He shouted as the tavern roared with laughter and began to sing a love song.

[jarleth]

This was certainly not how Jarleth had imagined his first meeting with the general to be. It was not how he had imagined one of Osirus' top men to act. Perhaps it was simply the light atmosphere in the tavern, or maybe this was just how he was, nonetheless it put Jarleth both on guard and it also willed him to relax a little. Jarleth was surprised as Laties expressed the wish to escape 'from the horrors here'. Jarleth bit the inside of his lip, which was beginning to turn into a habit of his when he was at an indecision. He then nodded, "We rarely leave the shelter of our home. Any events of man are not our concern. Let us be and we shall return the favour. We enjoy our own company and rather not get involved in the problems of others. It is simply how we are."

Jarleth paused for a moment. It was true, he remembered the displeasure his father had shown when Aksis had informed him he was to travel as opposed to join the military as Jarleth and Aden did. His father had made the inquiry as to why Aksis wanted to travel into 'that acursed land where food is scarce and courtesy is dead'. However, Jarleth and Aksis had both disagreed, Jarleth more for the sake of defending his brother than anything as he had no idea what the human areas of Alyssus were like, nor had he any idea of what had once been the Shade's home. Now however, while Jarleth agreed with neither his father nor his dead brother, who at the time had claimed that the mainland was a place of blooming culture and friendliness, he did find it very different to the North Mountains. However he still enjoyed it down here, he enjoyed the differences - most of them at least.

Jarleth was pulled from his thoughts of home as suddenly, General Laties vomited into the glass he had been drinking from not long before. Jarleth grimaced, but stayed where he was, neither flinching nor wincing as most would do whilst witnessing another bring their food back up. The bartender came over and quickly patted him on the back. Laties apologised to the bartender, who then demanded Laties would buy him a new cup. Jarleth found the easy acceptance of this fact another thing he had not expected of Laties. In fact, Jarleth later noticed that the bartender seemed to have a lot of control over the General. It was intriguing.

"Don't apologise for something you cannot control," Jarleth assured him, shaking his head. He was certainly finding it easier to talk to the general now, although he was still on alert in case of a sudden change of heart in Laties. In fact, he was one, if not towards himself then towards the soldier that insulted him. 'Drunken fool...' Jarleth thought, glancing towards the Knight as he arrogantly stated he could defeat Laties blindfolded. 'Times like these, I'm quite happy I can't get drunk easily...' Jarleth thought as Laties unexpectedly knocked the soldier unconscious, making quite the mess with his puked up innards as they spilled out onto the soldier and the floor. This time, Jarleth did wince, quite relieved that it wasn't he who was unconscious on the floor. However it did let him know that Laties certainly was far more capable of damage than he seemed.

Jarleth found even more surprise, and even slight entertainment, at the relationship shining clear between Laties and the bartender. Clearly Laties was a constant regular in here, more than Jarleth thought the General would be. But at this point, Jarleth was telling himself not to be surprised anymore. Not when he had been surprised a dozen times by now. It was teaching Jarleth the very valuable lesson that surprise, if taken wrongly, could get you killed. Because Jarleth was sure his amazement at many of the General's aspects had shown up once or twice on his features, even when he usually tried so hard not to. Perhaps the alcohol was still having a slight damper on his consciousness. He certainly felt more relaxed than he usually did in Du Aurella.

Jarleth, after listening to Laties opinion on love, couldn't help but feel a burning curiosity burning inside of him. "Ah, but General, I never claimed disbelief in love. I know someday someone, man or woman, will come and sweep me off my feet. Until then, I will show no expressed wish to go and find love first. I agree with you, it's a surprise attack. And you shouldn't look for surprises." The firm shake Laties gave him did not unnerve him as it had earlier, in fact Jarleth hardly noticed it as the soldiers suddenly began to cheer and compliment their leader. Jarleth let a smile break through, finding now was a time to express the enjoyment he was feeling.

He then decided not to express this aspect of the visit to Aden. If he told the Order General what he had learned, he would not tell Aden of the fun this was turning out to be. Even surrounded by so many that Jarleth could someday be slaughtering, he found enjoyment. Though at the idea of killing these men, perhaps even General Laties if the time came to it, it made Jarleth feel a pang of guilt. If, no, in fact, when the two opposing factions finally came face to face in a brutal battle, Jarleth wondered if he would have to fight some of these men and if they would remember his face and feel betrayal that the cloaked stranger who had sat in the tavern that day, talking casually to their General, was indeed a member of the Order of Lumen. Jarleth wondered if he would meet Laties in battle, and tried to imagine the General's reaction.

But as the soldiers burst into song, Jarleth was pulled out of his thoughts of what inevitably lay ahead and simply tried to enjoy himself, something he rarely forced himself to do, as he took a slug from his pint and smiled at Laties who, in an attempt to qualm his embarrasment and perhaps joke about, stood and claimed he would kill them all, a statement that was received light-heartedly by the soldiers and which made Jarleth feel slight reluctancy at the idea he would later be telling Aden some of the information he had learned here. Then again, he didn't have to tell him straight away - after all, it didn't seem like the Knights were any closer to discovering them and Aden was certainly taking his time in advancing the Order's plans. However Jarleth knew he couldn't get too comfortable here, reminding himself of Aksis, whose grave lay somewhere just outside of this city. That helped him keep his head a bit.