On the way to the Hog's Head, Marcus and Dove walked very close together and spoke softly to make sure the others wouldn't hear what they were talking about.

"Dove. A fitting name for one so delicate and beautiful. Tell me a little about yourself. How did you come to be travelling the back streets, running from a debt collector's thugs?" He gently runs a finger down the length of her forearm as he speaks. His melodious voice is warm while speaking to another of his mixed race heritage, and a pretty one at that.

"Thank you," Dove said and smiled flirtatiously at Marcus. "A girl has got to pay the bills you know. And some ways are more enjoyable than others. Wouldn't you agree?"

"My path has always been one of duty and honour. I must confess that I have never thought much about the money. I serve, and my masters," he almost says 'Knighthood', but instantly realises that his identity is still a secret, and the girl still a stranger, "And my masters provide for me." He frowns slightly for a moment, then looks back down at the girl with a querying smile, "Would you ever consider giving up your current career? I am sure you have seen little of the world, but there are other ways to make a living. And they have to be safer than being chased by thugs."

“I see,” Dove said. “I enjoy my work, I’m good at it, and you’ve paid enough to find out just how good I am.” Dove smiled her seductive smile at Marcus as she said this. “I have never considered changing my line of work as I get paid to do something I really like. Though it would have been nice to have more customers.”

Marcus blushes slightly at her direct words. Although the other squires and pages always spoke about chasing the servant girls, he had never partaken in such sport, and was therefore quite innocent. "You can do this work for many years, being of the long-lived, but where do you finish up at the end? Have you never thought of finding a path of honour and fulfillment, as well as the chance to make money? It must be more rewarding, and it will give you a sense of pride. I am sure you are as good at...uh...that as you say, but if you follow a different career you can still do that. But you can do it becasue you want to, not because you need to eat."

“But it does fulfill me,” Dove said. “And it gives me money. Why do it for free when I can get paid?”

Marcus nearly chokes at her first words, then struggles to recover. "There are other things you can do for money. Then you can save yourself for one you love. You can aspire to something higher than running around in the gutters. My parents started off poor, but now they are quite wealthy. I am not wealthy now, but I know through service I will one day have wealth and power. You can better your station in life as well. Gain a life where you are treated with respect and friendship, not simply used for the lust of any rough man who has a coin."

“I don’t think one man could fulfill me for the rest of my life,” Dove said. “And as I said, I like what I do. Though I’ve had this dream since I was a little girl to be a courtesan in Kuri-Khan and that would better my station and give me respect.”

“Besides not only ‘rough men’ gives me money. Or are you a ‘rough man’ too?”

Marcus considers her words carefully. He believes that if he can get her away from Pashin then he may be able to show her a better way. But while she is in her comfort zone she will be difficult to convince. A thought occurs to him, but it is broken off by her next words. He chuckles slightly, then answers carefully, "I am a hard man when I must be, and gentle when I can be." He then continues speaking his previous thought, "The place I live is not Kuri-Khan, but there are many men of great power, wealth and station. Perhaps you could find a place for yourself there. It has to be better than living in a second rate trade town." He hopes to convince her to agree to leave the town, then he can show her the virtue and respectability that the Knighthood entail. He is careful not to tell her exactly where he is from, though, in case she turns out to be an enemy spy. He also looks at her closely, peering into her soul to try to see what sort of person she truly is in her heart.

[Private to GM: Marcus uses his Detect Evil ability on her to sense her alignment.]

"Where do you live?"

[Private to Marcus Valarian: I'm fairly sure she's not evil, but I'll update that, if needed when I get home.]

Marcus is very careful how he responds. He doesn't want to outright deceive the girl, but he also doesn't want to give away too much, in case she turns out to be untrustworthy. His glimpse into her soul doesn't seem to reveal any dark taint, but a street girl tends to be practical, and he decides to remain cautious. "I live a long way from here, in a mighty castle." He decides that this is sufficiently neutral. It says a lot about the sort of peopel that will be there, while not saying whose side they may be on. They could be Solamnics, Knights of Takhisis or local nobility from any part of Ansalon.

“And these men of power, wealth, and station, do they also live in mighty castles? And would they enjoy my services?”

"Most of them. And many have enjoyed the services of friendly women, though they generally marry noble women as they grow older. My people try to follow the precepts of chivalry as much as possible, so they favour marriage. But there are always those, particularly the younger ones, who prefer immediate pleasures," Marcus says. As much as he wants to convince her to leave Pashin, he is surprised to feel a sense of something approaching jealousy at the thought of the pretty young woman being shared among his fellow squires at the Keep. A surge of emotion threatens to overwhelm him for a moment, before he uses his discipline to force himself under control once more.

"And how many of these younger ones are there? And how many are willing to provide immediate pleasure?"

"There are many of us. Quite a few highborn young men, and many poorer ones who work around the castle. The majority of these young men, or the highborn ones anyway, are single. Most are waiting a few more years and will then marry a fine lady." Marcus forces himself to continue speaking this way despite the discomfort, as it seems to most likely way to convince Dove to leave Pashin.

"And are you telling me this because it's true or because you want me to come away with you," Dove asked with a sparkle in her eyes and that flirtatious smile of hers.

"I'm telling you this because it is true,"Marcus says. Then he continues, "And I am telling you because I want you to come away from this place. With my friends and...with me," he says, finally realising that this is true. He has spent his life surrounded by elegant young noble human women, but there is something compelling about the sweet earthiness of the young half-elf, one of few in the world to share his mixed heritage.

Dove kissed Marcus on the cheek.

“How sweet,” she said. “But I have a job and responsibilities, I don’t know if I’d be able to leave Pashin. And I’m used to making my own money.”
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:51, Fri 07 Dec 2007.

Dove's warm lips burn into Marcus's cheek. He is disappointed, but he decides not to allow himself to be so easily disuaded. The young woman's soul...and so much more, rest on his ability to turn her to a new path. He continues to try to convince her, "You can take on a new job. And one set of responsibilities can be traded for another. There are a few moments in a person's life that can change their future. I am giving you the opportunity to leave the squalor of Pashin, to mix with powerful and wealthy people of class and nobility. You will be able to find other ways of making money, and I am sure that you will be able to find ways to earn more among those people than you can mixing with peasants and poor traders. And when the time is right, I am sure you will have no trouble finding a fine gentleman to make you his wife," he says, adding the last words haltingly and somewhat more quietly.

"I like the way I earn my living and I don't think one man will be able to fulfill me on his own," Dove said. "But if I go with you. How long will it take us to get to this place?"

"Then from a purely practical point of view it makes more sense to work with rich men than poor ones. They have more money to spend on their pleasure, and you have the fine features to make an excellent living," Marcus says, appealing to her more practical side. "Then you may find a man who you can devote yourself to completely, and who will devote himself to you in return." He finds it impossible to look directly at Dove as he speaks, and he is blushing to the tips of his delicately pointed ears. "We are several days travel from my home. But there are things we must do here first, and we may have some business in the area outside of town to attend to before we can leave. We hope that your information will be able to help us determine that."

"You have paid for my time," Dove said. "I will help you as well as I can."
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:11, Fri 07 Dec 2007.

Marcus finally looks directly at her again. "And the rest?" he asks, raising an eyebrow slightly. He pauses and says, "You are right. I have paid for some of your time. Will you at least travel with us while we are in the Pashin area? That way you can see what sort of people we are, and can decide if you wish to spend your time among people like us or with these sort of people," he says, sweeping an arm to indicate the rough peasantry of Pashin. "If you wish a proper job, then you can act temporarily as a handmaid to Lady Gina over there," indicating Gina with a slight incline of his head. "She is a lady of rank as well as wisdom. She is also very independant, and will be able to teach you of the many ways a woman can make her own way in the world."

Dove looked back at Gina and turned back to Marcus.

“I will travel with you while you are here,” Dove said. “For as long as your money lasts. But I don’t think Gina wants a handmaiden. I think she wants to be the queen of this den of foxes.”

Marcus looks pleased by her agreement. "Then that is settled. And if Lady Gina does not require a handmaiden, then I could use a guide, or someone to carry torches so that I may keep my hands free for my weapons. We will think of something." He thinks for a moment, then adds, "How much of your time did the money purchase? I only ask so that I know how long we have to impress you. I wouldn't like to see you disappear after only a few hours together."

[Private to GM: I'm not sure what a courtesan would charge. Based on the standard wages listings I assume it would be a few steel per day. But I am not sure. Just want to check so I can anticipate having her around for either a few hours, or a couple of weeks.]

Dove smiled at Marcus again.

"That depends,” she said. “I cost 2 steel per hour or 10 steel per day. But if you want me for the whole day, you also pay my expenses.”

Marcus nods his head slightly in acceptance. "So you will be with us for a couple of days at least. That's good. Hopefully we can show you a different way of life, or at least one away from here." He thinks for a moment, but comes up blank. "What expenses are you likely to have?" he asks in mystification.

"Food, lodging, bath," Dove said. "Things like that. Something to wear if we're going someplace where this outfit wouldn't be appropriate."

"Oh. Of course, that will be no problem. Do you have any cold weather clothing? We were outside the town walkign through snow, and here you are wearing very little. As for lodgings, I suppose you can stay in my room. You will be completely safe, I assure you."

“What you see is what you get,” Dove said. “This is all I have.”

“And I’m looking forward to sharing your bed.”

Marcus raises an eyebrow again at her simple statement. "See what I mean? The living here is hard and poor. You can make more money coming back to my homeland with me." And he then says in a more amused tone, "And you may have the bed. I will sleep in my camp roll on the floor."

"Spoilsport," Dove said and slapped Marcus on the stomach.

Marcus laughs heartily at her words, and gives her arm a gentle squeeze. He has a strong feeling that it will be a long night, and that he will have to spend some considerable effort fighting off her advances. He also secretly wonders just how strong his resistance really is.

[OOC: Anything else we need to cover in this thread?]

Havin settled the terms of their aquaintance, Marcus now turns to finding out a bit about the girl, so that he can judge what she may know and maybe how trustworthy she is. "Does paying for your time include finding out about you? How did you come to be in this place at this time doing what you do?"

[Private to GM: Pretty much done. I had originally wanted to find out about her background, so I will ask that now. Then I will be finished.]

"This is my home," Dove said. "And it pays the bills."

Marcus smiles slightly at this simple but unhelpful answer. "I really meant that I want to find out a bit about you. Will you tell me about yourself? If not, then I won't push you. But if I am to try to convince you to change your life then I really would prefer to know what brings you to this point in your life."

"I just told you," Dove said. "To pay the bills. And I enjoy doing what I do. Is there anything else you'd like to know about me?"

Marcus stifles his frustration. He tries one last time, "Let me rephrase that. Can you tell me about your past, other than the details of your current career?"

”My past is a life long story of boring everyday life,” Dove said. “I was born, I grew up, and here I am. My present is much more enjoyable than my past.”

Marcus nods slightly, accepting defeat graciously. He decides that Dove has the right to hide her past from him, as she has no reason to trust him with her life story. He also decides that she may have dark secrets which led her originally to her current profession, regardless of how much she claims to enjoy it now. He contents himself to adding quietly, "And hopefully your future is more enjoyable than your present."

"One must always hope for a better future," Dove said.

"But sometimes one must do more than hope. Sometimes one must act to provide a better future."

[Private to GM: I think that is about where the conversation would die. We can merge back into the main thread again here.]

"But sometimes what you have is better than risking losing everything," Dove said.