[GaladrieloftheOlden]

I wrote up a (granted, somewhat short :/) post for Hess, leading up to the moment where she meets "the associates, [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]" but I wasn't sure if it was right, so I thought it might be better if I posted it here first to see if it was okay. =)

Hessa had risen out of her lethargy for long enough to run for water, clothes, and the warmest blankets she could find, but the scene in the little house little changed since we saw it last, days ago. Hess still sat next to the bed, leaning over occasionally to look concernedly into her mother’s face. Her appearance, however, was noticably changed, her eyes red from lack of sleep, the edges of her always-laughing cherry mouth turned down, her usually glossy long black hair in unkempt clumps, and her face uncommonly sunken and pale. She barely moved from her stuporous pose when she heard the downstairs door slam, and stood up only when a shadow slowly projected itself from the entrance to the room.

"Letter for you, Miss Taiel," said a slightly rasping voice. A hand reached out from under the cover of a cloak and dropped a piece of heavy parchment on to the floor just in front of Hess. She opened the envelope bemusedly, looking up only when she had the words of the letter itself blinking in front of her eyes. But the man was already gone. Shaking her head at this, she began to read:

To Miss Hessa Taiel:
I have heard about your misfortunes and your mother’s illness, and realize that you have urgent need of money at the moment, so I am offering you a job on the corsair side of the current conflict. If you would like to find out the particulars, please come to the Sea Dog Inn tonight to meet my two associates, who will be sure to brief you in on your role.
Jythralo Doran

Hess rubbed her eyes. This all seemed almost unrealistic. And, casting a concerned eye on her mother, possibly dangerous. But then… maybe she could go to the inn and be back in a few hours if anything went wrong. Yes, that sounded good enough... leaning down to push her mother’s graying hair from her eyes, she whispered: "I’ll be back soon, mother." Then, walking quietly into the next room, she looked around. Finding the mirror, she almost gasped and quickly ran a comb through her hair, wincing as it got caught in the knots. Then, after a moment of hesitation, she bent down and pulled out her dagger and, sliding it next to her leg in her boot, made sure that her ring was still on her finger, blade safely inside. These safety precautions taken, she uncertainly looked out the window, and then, making her mind up totally, clattered down the stairs leading to the outside street.

Opening the door to the Sea Dog Inn, she carefully looked in. Raucous laughter resounded inside, and the establishment certainly wasn’t lacking in dodgy-looking types. She lifted her skirts and, swallowing her slight fear, walked in, looking around. Suddenly, she remembered that she had no idea who she was supposed to be meeting anyway... straining her mind, she could only recall that there would be two of them. Sitting down on the edge of a rather grimy wooden seat, she could only wait.

-Menelien

<font size=1 color=339966>[ 8:54 PM January 06, 2004: Message edited by: GaladrieloftheOlden ]