Completed A New And Closer Alliance

[Chandray]

Continues from here Timestamp: Not in the PC's storyline anymore (Formerly Day 40 of Spring 514 AV) It was a few days after the evening when Chandray’s search for the disappeared Stefan had taken her to the city’s brothel, The Velvet Curtain, where she had been told that the madam believed him dead. Nothing new of significance had happened in the days that followed. It had been everyday life as usual, busking wherever she could find work and one of the fiddle lessons with her little music trainee Novalak. But Chandray knew she couldn’t allow herself to be lulled into a false feeling of safety. It would be foolish and dangerous to relax and just forget about the bard’s mysterious disappearance, the assassination attempt on the bridge or the promise to the dhani Rississa. This was why she had walked to Coils Club today and asked to speak with the dhani. She needed answers to questions that haunted her day and night. She had been seen as one of the inner rooms, and now she stood there and waited. The room was a cave in the rock interior and there were no windows, but a fire was burning in the fireplace and in small niches in the walls was burning oil lamps of clear blue porcelain with tortuous golden decorations. The entire interior was in a style she had never seen the likes of before. It was clear, deep rich colors of intense blue, deep wine red and vibrant violet, and an extravagance of brocade and sparkling beads and sequins. The furniture of dark wood looked heavy and had intricate carved ornaments. Around the impressive bed at the short wall hung gauzy, translucent curtains that were held together with broad bands, embroidered with tiny mirrors that returned the light from the fire and the lamps. A myriad of small well-made ornaments of glass, clay, metal and polished stone cluttered the small tables and shelves that were scattered across the room. The overall impression was lavish, opulent and immoderate. Rississa arrived, so silently that Chandray didn’t notice her at first. She started and spun around when when the dhani suddenly laughed behind her. She was in her human form, and Chandray guessed she mostly was, as it seemed much more practical than the other forms. At least in Riverfall and indoors. Rississa didn’t wear the dancing clothers now : she was dressed in a loosely flowing bright red gown and a ton of gleaming, sparkling jewellery. If Chandray had only heard it described she wouldn’t have believed it was true and she would have laughed at it, but Rississa was looking oddly beautiful in all her exaggerated finery. To Chandray’s surprise the dhani greeted her very politely and told her the tea would soon arrive. She sat down on a low round cushion covered with deep red velvet, to one side of a low dark wooden table. “Please sit down” she said to Chandray, sounding like a perfect hostess. The contrast to the way the dhani had behaved that evening she had attacked on the street couldn’t have been greater. Chandray had come there prepared for a really unpleasant meeting, perhaps with new death threats and reminders of old ones, and now she felt lost and didn’t know what to say. But as the dhani was in control and theywere meeting on her conditions and on her ground, so Chandray obeyed and did as she had been told. She took a seat on another low round red cusion, at the opposite side of the low table. "It may surprise you that we have it so easy here," began Rississa . She sounded both proud and pleased, as she spoke in an urbane tone as if she wanted to seem blasé. "By time, this room has become quite livable. " Chandray was perplexed but didn't want to show it, so she nodded politely and said it was a very beautiful place and it seemed truly comfortable. She added some extra comments to commend the choice of colors and decorations. It could never hurt to behave well, and besides she could hardly behave bluntly when Rississa carried himself with such sophistication. Chandray’s parents were anthropologists and had told her since childhood how important it was to follow the customs and traditions which can be reached in order not to offend people . So Chandray applied her vague insight about the anthropologist’s way to do things and played along in order to blend into the unknown culture of the dhani. Personally she would certainly love to come to the point, but it was best to let Rississa take the lead. The door had been opened as quiet again and a young woman tiptoed up to them over the thick dark blue carpet. She carried a loaded tray and was dressed in a bright pink dress of the same loosely fluttering sort Rississa had on him, but without jewelry. Rississa introduced the girl as her daughter, Nassassa. Chandry greeted her politely and Nassassa smiled briefly, put down the tray on the table and left the room as quietly as she had entered. After this, Chandray watched patiently while Rississa made a big show of placing two elegant blue tea cups and filled them with tea. The dhani chatted while she was doing this, as if there was no hurry to find out what the reason for the visit was. It all seemed utterly pleasant, but Chandray knew better. Dhani’s were reputed to be harsh and cruel, and she had seen that side of Rississa already, far too much of it. She was wondering when this new façade of social polish Rississa was giving her would crackelate. Perhaps when she realized Chandray was there to ask questions, not to give information...

[Chandray]

The tea smelled fresh and flowery. Chandray sipped it and found the taste similar to the smell, light, fresh and somewhat minty. Rississa pointed at the plate that had come with the tea. It was full of small, colorful sweets, all of them elaborately decorated. As she was offered to taste them, Chandray took a small rose sweet and bit off half of it in order to investigate what it was and how it tasted. It was some kind of marmalade. It’s consistence was soft and creamy. It seemed to melt on the tongue. The intense and fruity slightly acid taste was nothing she recognized, but it was delicious. She ate the rest of it while Rississa smiled and looked amused, obviously aware of her visitor’s appreciation. Some more time passed when all they did was socialize and small talk. Rississa spoke about things they had in common, like the music Chandray played, music Rississa liked to dance to. There was something with music that made her just want to dance and dance she said, in particular flute music made her want to dance. But the fiddle music Chandray had been playing last time she was at Coils had been very inspiring too. Chandray found it fairly simple to speak about this topic, so she chatted on and socialized the way Rississa seemed to want it to be, though she really wondered where this conversation was heading. They socialized on like this for a while, in a very polite and well behaved way and Rississa explained some of the dance moves she liked and how to carry them out. She went enthusiastic and told Chandray to stand up so she could teach her a few things. Chandray did like she was asked to do, watched the dhanin move her arms and shake her hands, and then she held out her own arms and tried to move them the same way. It turned out to be much harder than she had imagined and it took several tries before she managed to do it reasonably well. Rississa was laughing and gave her instructions and corrected things, and Chandray couldn’t help laughing too. The atmosphere had become pretty friendly, but no for a chime did she forget what she was dealing with. But she did as she had been told by her anthropologist parents when she was a child, and put in effort to play along and do the things that seemed expected and polite in a culture she didn’t know, in order to try to seem assimilated and create contact. She asked questions to better understand and Rississa answered them. Finally Chandray’s arms and hands were moving the right way. She had learnt one of the arm moves of the dhani's dance, a fun thing to know. They sat down on the cushions again. “I have been waiting for you” the dhani said after a short silence. She too was sipping at her tea and eating sweets. But the social preludes seemed over. “I must admit you seem to have a decent understanding of things, for a human. You aren’t as rude as your kind often are ... but now, lets speak business. What do you have to report ?” Chandray was wondering what the purpose of all the preludes had been. Tea, sweets, introduction to family, small talk and general socialization, dance exercises ... but she didn’t find it wise to question it. Maybe it had been some kind of test. But now they were speaking, finally. She decided to start by telling Rississa about the assault on the bridge and see if this would ring a bell. This seemed smarter than just saying she didn't have anything to report and just wanted to ask questions.

[Chandray]

And so Chandray began to tell her version of the story of how she had been attacked by unknown assassins on the bridge over Bluevein River. "It was on the evening of day 27 this spring. I was lucky and got a job early in the day, so I had a night off. The weather was nice and I did not want to just sit at home in my apartment in Northwind Inn so I decided to go for a walk. I never get tired of looking around in Riverfall. The city is full of interesting sights and places. And besides, I think it is interesting to study the culture and learn more about the akalaks and how people live here. This day I did however go down to the sea and take a look at the beach, because I needed to find a suitable place to build a small sailboat. So I strapped on my weapon belt with my rapier - or your brother's rapier if you like - and went down through the town. " Here she made a break and took a new sweet from the fully loaded plate, because Rississa held it out to her and obviously expected her to provide herself with more. Chandray wanted the dhani to continue to consider her more polite than most humans. Therefore, she tried once again to apply her vague memories of his parents' discussions of anthropological methods to blend into a foreign culture. She thought now of how Rississa had praised her for her behavior, and concluded that it could mean that it was important to give compliments. Chandray's own style was pretty straightforward and unpretentious and she would not suck up to others, but she had been taught adapting to others' behavior was not fawning, but an intelligent way to show respect. So she reciprocated now Rississa's praise with compliments for the tea and the delicious sweets and it was honest compliments because it actually was delicious. Rississa smiled as if Chandray had done right. Chandray smiled back and felt that her attempts to behave like an anthropologist had succeeded - in any case, she wanted to believe it, optimist who she was. She looked curiously at the new sweet and examined it with her eyes. It was square and appeared to consist of a number of white and green layers, the white layers utmost - it was streaky and looked yummy. She went on to examine how it tasted. As before,she bit off gently half of the sweet. It tasted at the same time sweet and tart. She noticed now that while the sweet white layers were firm and sweet and seemed to consist of almonds, the green layers were some kind of exotic tart jam. The mixture of sweet and sour, firm and soft was perfect. After this initial examination she ate the second half as well and continued her story. "When I strolled through the docks I saw a tavern where a lively evening seemed to be going on, to judge from the sounds. I hadn't planned on going to a tavern, as I get my fill of taverns when I work there, but I felt curious about this one, so I went in. "

[Chandray]

"I understand exactly what you mean," interrupted Rississa. "It can get a little messy here in the evenings when I dance ... you get enough of tavern life when working in it all the time, right? But I have not always danced in taverns, certainly not, at home in Kenash I lived a completely different life ... but here in Riverfall it's the Coil's Club the Dhanis live in and you have to adapt to local customs. And being a dancer is an excellent cover. " She sighed slightly. "But I should not complain. It is quite warm and comfortable here, especially when there are many guests - and there is always the occasional drunk stray of the sort that doesn't belong anywhere, and no one will miss if you'd be hungry ... but by all means, continue with your report now! You went into an inn at the harbor? " Chandray almost choked on her tea  when Rississa mentioned how convenient it was for a dhani to stay at a tavern where the food came wandering in on their own legs. Chandray certainly had her parents in Syliras who would miss her if she disappeared without a trace into the belly of a dhani. But here in Riverfall, she would probably be seen as just a "stray" who survived by playing the violin in the streets and taverns. She didn't have any close friends in the city. The only people who might wonder where she had gone was her violin student, little Novalak and his adult brother Aristis Mauridis who paid the music lessons. She wondered why Rississa needed a cover when she was in Riverfall but asked no questions. "I don't only play in taverns" she informed. There wasn't much she had to say to increase her safety, but it still seemed best to say what she could and try to prevent that Rississa got ideas to end the meeting with a meal. "Sometimes I play at family parties and I have a music student, a small akalak who practices with me every now and then. It is a akalak family, rich people, I have got the job because I know a man named Aristis Mauridis ... and his second personality, Yannis ... we met the other night and ... but I will not bore you with my personal relationships." Chandray looked at Rississa as she spoke but found it difficult to read Rississa's facial expressions. "Well, " she said after a short pause . She continued to tell her story. "I went into a tavern in the port, it is called Alements , a newly opened place . If I understood it correctly, it was the first night it was open and there were special offers and many guests. And among the guests were many svefra . In any case , they seemed to be numerous , though it was perhaps just because they romped more than others. I don't know how many they were. But I noticed some of them . There was a very drunk man who raved about Kenash , and there was a black-haired svefra with cheeky facial expression that danced and made ​​himself a spectacle for a beautiful chactawe, while he was trying to attract another woman too, at the same time. But the beautiful chactawe seemed to prefer the drinker, who in turn seemed to stick to that other woman. Well, you understand ...in that way they kept on and none of them seemed to get anywhere. I had nothing else to do , so I decided to help the romance along, just for fun." Rississa clapped her hands with an amused little laugh . " Romance ? Oh, those humans and their inefficient romance! I can imagine those girls weren't getting anywhere ... human women can be so idiotic , they just sit there and wait like they don't have a say . And they actually don't have a say, sometimes, no matter how the Riverians say women are so highly respected in Riverfall . If you have an akalak lover you ought to watch out . The akalaks wants only one thing - they want their race to prosper and rule. For this they need more numbers, and they will take every opportunity to become more. If that man you are speaking about gets a chance, he'll take advantage of you. Watch out." Rississa leaned forward a bit and continued to speak. " The akalaks have long lives, just like us Dhanis . A long life makes for different ways of thinking ... love is a fleeting and temporary thing when you are over hundred and have seen many lovers come and go, I can tell you . " At this point Rississa laughed again. "But we dhani women give the orders and we can also safely have as fun as we wish without any consequences. Yet another advantage of our race. No unwished or mixed blood offspring, and no messy births. Laying eggs is just so much more convenient." She stopped there and gestured towards the tray of sweets again and asked Chandray to take more. Her daughter Nassassa had put in much time and effort to get the candy perfect. " Taste is the only one of our senses fully functioning when we are in our human form . And we stay in human form most of the time here in Riverfall. So I 'm afraid we have developed a depraved liking for sweets. " Stunned by the things the dhani had said, Chandray politely took a sweet. This time, it looked like a very small cookie with a bright yellow jelly on. She took a cautious first bite to examine it. The cookie texture was spicy and slightly chewy, while the yellow gel was slightly sticky and had a sweet, floral flavor of honey and rosor. The sweet was delicious and while Chandray ate it, she thought for a moment on nothing else than how wonderful it was. "This candy is really special" she said. "Amazing." Apparently it was wise for her to devote time to social finesse, she thought as Rississa nodded graciously and seemed satisfied. "Now, continue Chandray! You were going to help those clueless beings with their messed up romance ? " Rississa smiled. "This report is more entertaining than I had expected. Carry on !"

[Chandray]

Chandray continued to tell her story. "I decided to try to make the black-haired dancer with the insolent mien be more interesting for the chaktawe. My idea was to make it look like he was successful in courting another ... me ... you know how people are when it looks as if someone else tries to take their admirers, they become jealous even if they themselves did not want the person. Irrational, but people do not want to be rejected, not even by people they don't want. So I sought eye contact with him as if I were looking to seduce him. I looked into his eyes and tried to make him come to me ... " "A really good tactic" interjected Rississa in an objective way. "I use it often. It is very effective to attract those lost vagrants that nobody will miss. They are actually quite giddy when I see them deep in the eyes and comes wandering like they can not do otherwise. You could say that I have a hypnotic craving in her eyes. Oh well, enough about that now, continue by all means. " Chandray felt off track for a moment when the dhani came up with this disturbing comment about looking at people like a hungry snake. But she rallied and regained the story. "Very effective," she said in in agreement . "He immediately came walking to me as if he could not otherwise. So I planned to continue to talk to him for a while and make the whole thing seem romantic and then send him back to his chactawe." "A gift to another woman," said Rississa. "I must admit that you have a clearer insight than the average person about how to think. It's always a good idea to send a gift to another woman, right? We women have to stick together in this world. Males are mostly just good for food, so to speak. I would think that you would be able to attract a portion of them with your music and then present them to me ... " "Gifts are of course always a good idea," said Chandray in a weak voice. She did not even think about the terrible sidetrack that Rississa had come into now, so she hurried to tell how her conversation with the black-haired svefra had taken a completely different turn, as he had begun to talk about wepons and violence and Chandray had suggested that they would leave the tavern and talk further outdoors. "The fact was, that I had dropped a dagger on the floor and he seemed more interested in the dagger than he was in me. He was a strange man ... and he had an otter that came with us when we took a walk. A very cute little otter. Brown. Well, anyway, first this man, his name was Kel, wanted to retrieve his weapon, a trident. And then we walked towards the river ... I thought about going home ... he was a strange person, cold and wild, like a predator, and I began to regret that I had picked him up. He was talking about chopping the fingers of people and to kill, as if it did not concern him at all. " Rississa held out the tray of goodies again. Chandray looked thoughtfully at the candy and chose a round red ball. She took half of it to examine the flavor and texture. It proved to be brittle, dry and crumbly and the flavor was spicy, strong and sweet, with just a little bitterness that created an interesting contrast. She ate up the second half as well and went on to tell about the attack on the bridge. "Two akalaks walked past and for a moment I thought that this svefra, Kel, would attack them ... he did not think twice at all and I had to talk us out of it. Then we continued up the stairs, towards the bridge. At this point I really wished he would turn back, so I tried to get him to get worried about the otter. The animal had a wound in his leg ... but the svefra seemed not to care about that either. I wasn't keen on taking him home with me, but I did not know what I would do, so I went out on the bridge. " "Next time" interrupted Rississa. "Next time you want to get rid of someone, my friend - I know what you should do. You should go to Coil's Club with the person. You can always come here to Coil's in situations like that. You can turn to me with that kind of problem. You work for me, so of course you can simply come here with those you want to get rid of. I will protect my people." There was silence for a moment. Chandray did not feel completely comfortable with being called "my people" as if she belonged dhanin. Her plans when she had gone to River Fall had probably not been quite crystal clear, she admitted that, but she had not imagined even in her wildest dreams that it would go like this. Dhanis, assassins with suicide poison, a bloodthirsty svefra, a missing bard, a gig at the brothel, dhanis again, delicious chocolates, tea and a united female front against the world ... the thought of it all was simply mindboggling.  "I went out on the bridge. And that was when we were attacked. " Chandray didn't know how she had managed to keep talking so long. But she continued bravely. "Two men who appeared to be drunks ... they attacked us and we fought a battle out there on the bridge. One of them was wounded by the svefra and he died. The other man was wounded by me, but he fled. After that night nothing more happened, but I've been thinking ... I have reason to believe that they weren't just some ordinary robbers. I thought I should talk to you about it. If it would have to do with what you mentioned when we last seen, outside The Rat's Hole." Rississa leaned slightly forward again. "If it would have to do with me and my business? So. I can tell you right away that it was not me who sent assassins after you. It would not be profitable to put an end to my own people. But ... give me more details and tell me how you have been thinking. Continue."

[Chandray]

Chandray told more and described the two attackers. She described their clothing, dark, gray and black, a mix of leather, fabric and chainmail. And she described the pearl with poison that one of them had on a strap around his wrist and suddenly used to commit suicide when Kel Tempest began to torture him. She went as far as to say that the man she wounded, the one who fled and disappeared, had made an impression of overall coldness and cruelty and a desire to kill for killing's sake. But she did not say that she had used magic, auristics, to catch up that impression. The auristics was nothing she talked to others about. Rississa listened without comments. She looked thoughtful. Chandray waited a bit to see if the dhani would say something, but when her hostess remained silent Chandray continued to talk. "One of them called me a thief and I do not know why, there's only one thing I have been able to think of that might be an explanation. That said, the night when I and Stefan followed you and went into your trap ... after I gave you my promise and you had let us go, me and my friend the bard went into a nearby tavern, The Rats Hole . The place was flooded and we stood in the water to our ankles." Chandray was silent for a few ticks  and gave Rississa time to keep up with everything she had to say. Then she resumed the story. "There was not a soul in there, but Stefan found a dagger on a table that was full of dried blood. And I found the maps that were about to fall into the water and be destroyed ... well, when I left the tavern I took the dagger and maps. There seemed to be no owner there and I had found them so I assumed they were mine. Otherwise I haven't  found anything that I've taken care of, only those maps and so dagger. And I have not shown them to anyone, but I dropped the dagger inside the Alements. There were so many people, maybe it was someone who saw it, one of the two men who attacked me, or someone who sent them after me. " She took out the dagger from the pocket of her cloak and showed it to Rississa . The dhani took the weapon , weighed it in her hand and studied it for a moment. She still said nothing . "But it's more " said Chandray . " It could also have been someone who saw us that night. Maybe you too, and your cronies , when you shifted shape to dhani and one to a snake that threatened to eat Stefan . There were maybe witnesses, none of us were aware of. Someone who was hiding in the shadows or peered at us from a window and saw me and Stefan go into the tavern afterwards. That could explain ... the fact is that my friend the bard 's missing. I've asked around in the taverns in the city. But I find him nowhere and no one seems to know where he has gone. And I have visited the brothel , The Velvet Curtain, where he used to play mandolin. There they think he 's dead. It seems like he went out to do an errand and simply never came back . Silka , the madam , asked me to take care of his things. " Chandray paused briefly at the sad memory. Then she delivered the grim and painful but inevitable speculation that had grown in her mind ever since the attack on the bridge. "He may have been murdered by the same people who tried to kill me - his body could have been thrown into the river and taken to the sea by it, disappeared without a trace."   Rississa nodded slowly. "I understand. Yes. It's hard to say what to make of all this. Mysteries can always have many explanations, some of them beyond what one really could imagine. One can only speculate. But I am, as I say, not involved and I do not know what has happened to your minion, that foolhardy bard." The dhani held out the tray of bonbons, once again: " Take more Chandray, by all means. " Chandray found it difficult to soicalize right now, but it seemed important to Rississa to keep to her social protocol. And in the situation Chandray was in, she couldn't afford to get at edge with the dhani for small and unimportant things. So Chandray behaved politely and took a light blue cube that looked quite peculiar. She tasted gently to examine it and investigate it. It had a sort of spicy and floral flavor she couldn't identify and it's texture was crunchy. She ate the rest of it, and hoped that Rississa would have more to say. The Dhani studied the dagger again. "It's hard to say. And I can not know for sure, but what you said about their clothes and if the urge to kill ... and the fact that this man had poison on himself ... it makes me wonder if this might have to do with my so called brother - Sharassorajor, though he isn't entitled to that name, certainly not. "

[Chandray]

Rississa looked up from the dagger and gave Chandray a sharp and penetrating look. "Perhaps he has contacted you as I thought when I saw that you have his sword, though I had not thought he would do it just like this - I think it is time that you explain yourself, you said he would contact you, what is the situation really, how do you know him - or did you lie to me - did you simply steal the sword and this was why they called you a thief? " Chandray balked. Rississa had just added yet another possible explanation for the attack. Chadray had been so focused on the dagger and the maps that she had forgotten that there was the sword too. It had been carried  completely visible at all times so that anyone could see it. She had indeed bought the sword at Arma'Drex, but it struck her now that the person who had ordered it could think even a purchase a theft. It was bizarre, of course, but it could be so. She couldn't  understand that she hadn't thought of this! It was the sword with the special design of the hilt which had first started this whole mess. "I figured he would contact me if he wanted the sword" said Chandray gently. "And I promised to report back to you when it happened. But I do not know who he is, I have to my knowledge never met him. But it seemed best to agree with you at the time, when we made ​​our agreement ... But I would remember if I had met a dhani, especially if he were hostile, although he was in his human form. But why would he be there, I haven't  done anything but buying a sword that they wanted to get rid of at Arma'Drex because the one who had ordered it never came to get it and pay. " A strange smile that was not a smile appeared in Rississa's face and she said: "It is sometimes best to agree with me. But lying to me is not good ... not good at all, Chandray. However ... you don't know my brother and haven't gone his errands. That is to your advantage. And you have come here to report you promised - and this is to your advantage too and shows that you keep your promises and agreements, even if you were not entirely truthful from the beginning ... I hope you are telling the truth this time, for your own sake. " Chandray nodded. "Yes. I have reason to believe you. For my brother isn't a dhani. He is of mixed blood, my father's child with a slave. He only has a single form, the human form, and of his better heritage you can't see anything. He is of course not accepted by the family. He is our enemy. And now your enemy too. But you're lucky, aren't you , for you serve me and do not lack protection. Our agreement is already worth much more to you than you could imagine. I firmly believe that these developments will bring us closer together and this is just the beginning of a collaboration that can get very far. You're just a human. But sometimes it can be useful with the average person. And you are more resourceful than the average for your race enlightening my mind. If you wish to enter into a wider agreement with me, and I will tell you more about my so-called brother - information that can keep you alive! " Chandray nodded again. When her hostess again held out the tray of goodies Chandray took a rather large red circular thing. An initial investigation told her taste was fruity and fresh, while the consistency was soft but very chewy. It was also sticky and stuck to her fingers and her teeth. A dainty, but a troublesome titbit. "It's like this ... began Rississa. "Some years ago a joint stock company was established, a trade company named Ashuvatri."

[Chandray]

Chandray listened with growing amazement while Rississa told more. Ashuvatri, she was told, was trading in rarities and expensive high quality goods such as : Antiquities, Rare herbs and spices, Valuable old books, Expensive and unusual materials, Intricate gadgets, Exquisite art, Top class crafted items of all sorts, Select slaves with special properties and talents, Exotic animals and other rare and special things. Some of the trade was done on sheer speculation, some of it on demand. They operated secretively and discretely, so far mostly in the area of Riverfall, Kenash and Alvadas. As they had no bulky cargo they didn't need a fleet of their own - instead regular trade ships were used for travels and transport. Who would have thought, Chandray mused. She for one had lived all her life in the Suvan Sea Area and she had never before heard anything about this trade company, Ashuvatri. Their operations must indeed be very discrete, she thought. "Ashuvatri very little is known, as it is best not to draw too much attention when dealing with precious things in The Suvan Sea Area" continued Rississa. "The fewer rumors that are circulating, the fewer people who know anything about our business, the better. But we do of course have some loyal people who help us with things - people who have reason to be very loyal. And now you've got a reason to cooperate with me and be very loyal, right? So you could join us - me, personally, in fact, as my ... Aide-de-camp! You may do us some services in return for my protection. Not openly of course. It is good if people think you are just a busker. " The title "Aide-de-camp" sounded like Rississa had invented it the moment she said it. The dhani proceeded quickly and told Chandray  what an "aide-de-camp" would do, to be more precise. It could be about many things, and it all could not be mentioned, but the idea was that every now and then when there was any kind of problem which required Rississa sent someone out to make a closer examination of the situation, she could send Chandray to take find out what happened and what was going on ... it could also be about acquiring some things that customers had ordered, or monitor the transportation of sensitive goods, act as messenger ... sometimes missions where you had to handle a sword ... maybe some negotiations as well, where a human with good sense of right conduct could be put to use. "Humans can be so troublesome and refuse to negotiate directly with a dhani. They think we will eat them if they don't do as we want. Well. Does this offer to become my Aide-de-camps sound interesting ?" Chandray had many reasons to say yes. She had unknown enemies and no friends. She needed all protectors she could get, and she needed information. And now that she even knew the discrete trading Ashuvatri's existence, she had a feeling that Rississa had just given her another reason to say yes: she had become a woman who knew too much. Honestly, it sounded exciting and interesting. It spoke to Chandray's longing for adventure. It might not be so bad to be ... Aide-de-camps. Chandray would not normally have thought this seemed like a good idea at all. But everything is relative. Since she had unknown enemies as already tried to kill her and no friends in the city who could help her, a pact with Rississarajor sounded like a solution and a rescue, although certainly with some hooks. But the dhani's offer was compelling: Information, Protection, Money, Travel, Adventure ... The dhani's words and the way she explained things were utterly persuasive, and to Chandray it felt like this was the way to think, the only possible way to think, the true and right way to think ...the way she must think. It was lik she wasn't able to think any other way, even. And so Chandray said yes.

[Chandray]

Rississa beamed benevolently at Chandray and held out the tray of goodies again. "Good. Then we are allies now. And I do not have time to tell you so much right now, but you should know that my so-called brother, Sharassorajor, is the leader of a group of mixed-bloods of the same kind as himself. All are born by human females, but each of them has a dhani as a father. And all of them are the result of an amazingly intricate and long-term plan created by a cult that worships an evil god. "A couple of years before Sharasso and the other members of his group were born," said Rississa, "an exotic group of human female slaves were brought to Kenash to be sold there. Those women were said to be extraordinarily exiting. But instead of auctioning them the slave traders made contact directly with the Rajor dynasty and offered them a chance to buy the slaves without the auction - they would get a good price on a quick deal, after which the slave traders had urgent business elsewhere. They would sell to the dynasty that first gave them a decent bid. " A short break followed. Chandray found herself listening like it was all she could do. Rississa contiinued: "So it came about that the Rajor dynasty though they made a good deal, when they ruthlessly bargained down the price of a group of exotic female slaves from a distant city called Ravok. These slaves adapted immediately and behaved well and eventually succeeded one after the other of them, to initiate a closer relationship with any male rajor who fell for their wily arts ... for they were full of cunning arts, these women. Arts - and as it later turned out - the secret preaching of chaos and the dark god. " Rississa told on without stopping, and the story flowed from her lips with an ease that suggested that every word was true. "And so those slave women, the mistresses of the dhani’s they had ensnared, raised their children, their mixed bloods spawn, to hate those who hated them and despised those who despised them, because they were of mixed blood, freaks and slaves offspring. From their mothers, they learned to serve the evil god Rhysol - with their hate, their desire for revenge and their lies. They were told that there was only one way for outcasts like them to redeem themself for what they had been made to be. In order to be-recognized by a good like other people, they needed to spread all kinds of disorder, evil , destruction and sabotage ... and the one’s who most pleased the chaos lord he would bestowe his mark upon, so they could serve him even better. “ It was a long story, but in brief, it was how Sharasso's group had started once upon a time, many years ago. The mixed bloods had inherited the poisonous minds of their mothers, and the innate playfulness and determination of the dhanis that humans and other lesser races called cruelty. They had went about serving the god that had given them the promise of possible redemption and rise to future power as high and elevated as their birth as mere mixed bloods has been low. Their work was however not open and blatant, but subtle and secretive. Silently, invisibly they infiltrated and schemed, sowing a deceptive mix of lies and false stories which eventually made things go sour and made friends enemies and carry out evil deeds, unwitting of why they had ended up that way, unwittingly turning into followers of the chaos god. Sharasso and his group had disappeared out if sight. Where they were right now, no one could know! But Rississa speculated that the attackers on the bridge could actually be some of the very members of this evil group, or people who they had set up to willingly or unwittingly work for them. The story had stunned Chandray. She had never heard a word about this group of evil mixed blood terrorists from Kenash. This information really was totally new, amazingly new, and for a tick she actually wondered of if the story was true. Or was the dhani giving her some of the worst and most unashamed lies she’d ever heard ? First the unknown secretive trade company and now this dangerous group of enemies which had been created in a way so complicated and farfetched that it surpassed any normal imagination. She felt a little bit groggy. But of course, Kenash, thought Chandray, was known for its wealth, its plantations and it’s armies of slaves. It was said to be a city where the rich lived in great luxury built on misery and slavery. It circulated some stories about the city, about the sweet life there, but also about the slaves' dark and often tragic fates. She had heard that it was a place where a lot could happen on the plantations, when no one was looking. And it wasn’t completely unbelievable that Kenash had been infiltrated, in a rare and extremely cunning way, in silence, by taking advantage of the city's own dark side. The greed of the rich dhani dynasty could very well have made them purchase those slaves, because they got them for such a good price, Chandray thought to herself. And it could also be possible that some had eventually wanted to take advantage of their new possessions and use them as toys ...while they unknowingly served the convoluted and foresighted intentions of a far deeper and more powerful darkness ... There was a chance that this could be true. Strange things DID happen in this world. Rississa seemed to have finished talking and wanted to end their meeting. She smiled and held out the tray of sweets for the last time. Chandray took a huge black bon-bon and began to eat it slowly, while the dhani rang a small silver bell to call for her daughter; she immediately sent for a quill and parchment. Then she wrote down their contract and signed it, whereupon she asked Chandray to do the same. At the end of this long a and odd meeting with all it’s mindboggling stories and home-made dhani candy, Chandray felt a little dizzy and confused and weird. But she wrote her name on the place on the parchment as Rississa had pointed out: Chandray Evereene - she wrote it slowly and carefully, because she hadn't practiced much at her signature, but she wanted it to look good, because Rississas handwriting was very elegant. The black sweet was sweet as honey and bitter as dark chocolate, and its texture inside the thin outer shell of chocolate was creamy and smooth, with a hint of red cherry and a promising aroma of expensive rum. There was a rare and strangely attractive deep in its aroma, tempting, alluring and promising. It melted on her tongue like a dark, seductive dream, the black candy.