His appearance was met with glances of wariness and hostility, the air stiffening with each passing second. Jarren however moved through the scene without a care as he made his way to the counter. "A shot, light with the ice." His tone casual as the gazes persisted. The counter man hesitated before executing his order.
"Excuse me but who are you?" A voice finally tore through the silence that hung above like a guillotine at the gallows. Jarren didn't bother looking back as he caught the glass slid at him. Taking a sip he finally bothered with a response. "I'm here for your leader, the one with a...perculiar plan."
His tone light as he took another sip. The man who spoke to him crashed next to him, the bar tender already making a shot. The man sized Jarren, his gaze filled with scrutiny as he spoke. "Your that butler of the miss, right?" His words drawing murmurs from the den.
Jarren looked to his side to be met with a face that wished to see him dead. His gaze filled with hatred, his wishes coming off as amusement to him. "Yes, the servant of Lyssara Vale." His tone composed which began to irk the man. "Do you think that you can just walk in here, kill our men and meet our leader so casually?!"
Rage stirred the air followed with murmurs of agreement from the crowd behind the pair. The man, his frame adorned in black robes and a horse-face complexion took one swing of his drink. "Why yes, or do you all wish to die?" The air fell silent, a storm could be felt brewing however before the cackle to declare the outrage began, a voice shot through.
"Please follow me sir." The voice calm to which Jarren didn't waste any time as he followed the source. On his way out glares of hatred were shot at him, his drink still half full before the scene shifted once more. A room, grand in stature hinting at the status of the person behind the door. "You're a smart man so don't make a fuss."
Jarren gave a low chuckle as the door slowly swung open and a figure was revealed. The man was drowning in ladies galore, his demeanor casual and light hearted before realizing his guests. "Ah come in, pardon mess." His voice light as he gestured for Jarren to take a seat.
He glanced around, the room furnished with high class furniture as the bevy of ladies took their exit, giggling as they went. Straightening himself up, the man stretched out his hand with a warm smile on his face. "My name is Drevic Caul, the had of the Motley Court." Jarren didn't bother with the handshake.
"Jarren Velros." His statement making the air shift into something colder. Drevic shot a suspicious look at Jarren before following it with a laugh. "A jester are we? Only few dare to use a name like that." He stated as he took a sip of his wine still left over from his earlier throes. "What are names at the end of it all? Titles given to cattle for the culling."
His tone flat as his eyes remained locked with Drevic who began to shift in his chair, the glare his brown eyes gave was anything but ordinary. "Hahaha!" The man mused however his attempts of easing the air between the two were met with failure. "It would be best to get to what brought me here. Your men have convinced themselves that they can abduct milady and use her as a bargaining chip for the nobles in the capital."
Drevic's eyes narrowed hearing this. "I'm still in the dark about this. Can you please elaborate more on this matter?" Jarren reached to his coat and placed a small card, pristinely white with trailings of gold. "That should be more than enough." Drevic reaching for the card read it's contents before his face turned sour.
"Who are you really?" The hostility in his tone potent. "A mere servant to miss Lyssara. We are merely passing by." His tone calm as ever which began to unnerve Drevic. "Your means of dispatching my men at the front, it's clear that you're a malcore expert, correct?"
Jarren gave a light nod. With the rise in tides of abominations, the flow of resources between kingdoms had come to a halt, trade nearly shattered as a means and those in the less fortunate places were meant to survive on their own. A cruel result thanks to the rulers of Redfall.
"The princess of Redfall? I've never heard of such a lady." Drevic continued as he recalled the issues with Redfall. He was aware of the current ruler Guinevere and the presence of Jarren Velros and Callista Vaewlyn. Some speculating that they too were in the process of rule however this information had little verification.
And now here a man out of the blue came here with the notion that he was with the princess of Redfall. It felt more like a gamble with fate rather than boldness. 'Is he merely using Redfall as deterrence or is he actually true?' With the little stream of information coming from Redfall, it was hard to tell what happened in it's interior.
"Do you think that a single card will be more than enough to convince me?" His tone showing irritance as he took another sip of wine. "I've shown you more than enough however we both know that you can't afford to be losing personnel. With the constant tides of abominations, it's hard to find replacements, right?"
His words making Drevic pause, his gaze tightening as he recalled the card. 'He's already aware of that, huh? Then it would seem that there might be some truth to that card.' With how much Jarren showed, I was clear that he wasn't an ordinary man however that didn't mean that Drevic would take his word yet.
"I'm sure that you are a wise man, what is the point of a dying kingdom when the world is descending into anarchy and ruin. I'm sure that with your power you would be privy to a far more than your previous life. Status, money and women should you want. In this rot, if you know where to bite you'll never be hungry."
The proposition made Jarren give a light scoff, inwardly barely holding back his laugh. "What will you do when all is rotten? Do you plan to starve and die?" His question eliciting a furrow from Drevic as he gave a nervous chuckle. "What is the difference between here and the capital? It's all doomed to wither away eventually."
Jarren showed no emotion on his face as he adjusted his wrists before rising to his feet. "All I see is a club of corpses still clinging onto life in their last breathes." And with that remark he took his leave. A subject to the side bothered with his ease of departure shot up. "Are we going to let him just walk out so casually? He killed our men!" Drevic however seemed infuriated with the statement.
"If you want to die then go and face him. With the few people with have and fewer resources, we can't take fight so haphazardly! We still don't know what noble house they belong to and it's clear that they aren't simple so it'll only be a downside to us either way!" He grunted taking another swing of his wine finishing it in one gulp.
'Even if I were to know what house, the hazardous roads won't make it easy for the resources to be sent at a backwater town like this!' He grit his teeth as he glanced at his palms. Soft and unfamiliar to hard labor thanks to his rank however he was sure that such a life wouldn't last forever. 'Even kings can't escape death.'
He chuckled rising to his feet and poured another round of wine. His eyes shut with the bitterness of the liquid. 'Damn it! This is the last stock as well!' His curse however changed nothing as he forced himself to take a sip of the drink.
...
"His name is Drevic Caul, a man still clutching to the false hope of survival in this chaos." Jarren'd voice calm with his hands folded behind his back. "Some pest called Perrit made his way here, I wanted you to kill ok however I'm sure that nature will take it's course." Lyssara sighed as she glanced at the monster that played as her butler.
"Don't you think that we should start making our way to Reuthar, after all time isn't a resource we can waste." Lyssara let out a faint laugh. "Why the rush? After all it would be entertaining to witness the fall of a kingdom like this." Jarren flashed a knowing smirk. "Miss Callista won't be thrilled to know that we dallied like so in a place like this."
Lyssara strangely enough didn't falter hearing her name. "I'm sure that mother would understand our delay." She mused as she made her way to Jarren, the air growing tense. Now standing a few feet away from him, she stated her mind. "Who is Kaelin and don't give me riddles Jarren?" Her tone authoritative which amused Jarren.
"Kaelin, a lady who unlike the rest is everything you'd least expect. She's the most tame off all, a bit restraint but other than that, she's a darling to be around. An anchor in the storm of madness the others give me." His tone light followed with a chuckle. Lyssara still had her locked onto Jarren.
Recalling his poem, it fit his words however she had more to ask. "I didn't think that someone like you could write or at the very least be drawn to someone like her. With your games and all it would be difficult to think you of the sort." Her words laced with intrigue and mockery that he welcomed. "Well the more you play, the more you know."
Just as she was about to press on with her questions, the sounds of an alarm ripped through the air alerting their attention. Screams and cries followed soon after however the two seemed complacent to investigate what the matter was. "Just how bad is this tide?" Lyssara asked with her gaze shifting towards the entrance of the two, a pack of hare making their way to the main gate.
"The town should last this tide however the next will be it's final nail in the coffin. However we could stay and help out should you wish." A scoff escaped her lips as she watched those below scramble for defense, most of which she could easily identify as the Motley Court's men. Hearing that they had dispatched the knights of the town to take over, she had no more will you help out.
"It would be a shame to think of the humans that would lose their lives in this swarm miss. A pure tragedy." Jarren chimed from behind, his frame towering over Lyssara. "They are humans, I'm sure that they should have a way to figure out their survival." Her words sharp as she made her way to her bed.
"The situation is no different in the demonic wastelands. The king can barely latch onto his crown with the wolves and devils swirling him." His comment still failed to faze Lyssara as she felt a faint slumber come about. "Then be damned this world and its gods!" Jarren showed hue pearls, his grin casual yet something far darker lurked beneath it.
"Then truly be damned this world." He mused with a scoff as he withdrew the curtains cutting off the rays that peered into the room. Making his way to the door, he gave a final glance at Lyssara who had began to sink back into her bed.
"Have a nice rest, milady." He mused as he turned off the lights letting darkness engulf the room. Now alone with her thoughts, Lyssara recalled what he spoke of Kaelin. 'She's the most tame of all. When your fun is shattering veils of reality, the term tame is rather subjective with a horror like Jarren.' She couldn't help but sigh as she let slumber claim her body.