((Closed to Ira Shinkara.))
Letho hated going on wild goose chases, and that went double if that chase led him into an inhospitable land such as Fallien. In many ways, Fallien was like Haidia only without the roof. The heat was about the same, the xenophobia wasn’t too far off either and the only difference was that the demonic folk from the underground realm was now replaced by the sunburnt locals that wore funny looking, multi-layer outfits that Letho classified as really peculiar type of robes. Well, there was actually another thing that irked the hell out of him. While the temperature in Haidia was rather uncomfortable, that went double when it came to Fallien due to the restless sun that wanted to scorch the already singed piece of earth. Even though he and Myrhia were both Daywalkers – vampires that could handle sunlight – the excessive daily illumination combined with the heat wasn’t something they enjoyed.
Well, at least one of them didn’t. Unlike Letho, Myrhia didn’t allow for the environment to quench her chirpy spirits. She felt the discomfort the same as Letho – more so due to her extremely pale skin complexion – but the exotic beauty of the foreign land was simply too intriguing to be overlooked because of some mild nuisance. So while Letho walked through the Irrakam streets as if he was being led to his own funeral, the redhead was rather gleeful at his side, tugging him from one vendor to the other as she checked out the eerily wares. She seldom bought anything during her browsing – her coyness always reluctant to spend some of their hard earned money – but today that was not the case. Dangling from her ears were a pair of newly acquired earrings made out of genuine Fallien glass (or so the hawker said) and around her neck, somewhat covering the nasty black tattoo, was a necklace made out of what seemed like the same emerald glass bits. And because of this gift she was as happy as a child.
But purchasing outlandish wares wasn’t why the pair was in Fallien capitol. No, it was the wild goose chase, similar to the one they went on in Haidia mere weeks ago. The brass that commanded the Corone Rangers had another lead about the mysterious Coalition, an organization that was supposed to have its origins in Corone, but acted outside its boundaries. In Haidia they allegedly sponsored an insurrection of the locals with a sole purpose to weaken the demon realm, but the actual proof that Letho managed to gather from his investigation was mostly rumors and hearsay. He got in heaps of trouble though, both of them did on that occasion, but the statements of the witnesses never revealed any detail about the Coalition. It was a ghost organization, existing between the unreal and the real, and Marshal Letho Ravenheart was sent to the location they would supposedly strike next.
However, besides the rather suspicious looks from most of the locals that made him feel unwelcome, there was nothing amiss in Irrakam. The Marshal requested an audience with Jya, but the list was so long, he was bound to get to talk with the Fallien queen some time next month. So he stuck to the streets, talking to the few that actually wanted to share some information, but he was getting nowhere except blind alleys. If the Coalition was present in the Fallien capitol, they were either keeping a low profile or the info was wrong and this cell was dormant. Letho didn’t mind too much. It was basically a paid vacation for Myrhia and him.
“Letho, I’m hungry. Could be get something to eat? I think I saw a nice little restaurant where they serve that spicy stuff we ate the day before yesterday.” the redhead that clung to his arm asked, looking up at him with a mild smile. The pair of earrings – jewelry she never wore until their visit to Fallien – dangled gingerly from her lobes, its color in sync with her doe eyes. Attired in her short scarlet skirt and a sleeveless tank-top of the same color, she was a vision of beauty to him despite the fact that she was nothing more then a scrawny lass with unremarkable figure. The spicy stuff she mentioned was a local dish that Letho couldn’t quite figure out, consisted of what seemed like strips of some sort of pastry and chunks of meat seasoned in a manner that made it peppery enough for both of them to break a sweat while eating. Still, it was a pleasant taste, especially once it was washed down with a sip of wine.
“Didn’t you burn your tongue enough the last time? The waiter had to refill your glass twice before it stopped burning.” he responded with a mild smirk, walking down the cobbles of one of the multitude of Irrakam streets. The leather coat that usually covered his body was gone due to heat, leaving him in a pair of dark blue denim pants and a white linen shirt that still smelled like the soap Myrhia used to wash it.
“I wasn’t ready that time. It was steaming hot and spicy and I put too much of it in my mouth.” she replied. “But I’ll take it easy this time.”
“Alright. But don’t you come running to me in the middle of the night, asking to get you a glass of water.”
Of course she would and of course he would fetch her the water. There was nothing Letho wouldn’t do for the redhead nowadays. The pair made their way into the terrace of the restaurant whose name the Marshal couldn’t catch from the sign and soon they were sipping on the white wine and waiting for their order. The scent that was coming from the kitchen was pleasant, provoking even more hunger in their bellies, but suddenly it was replaced by a bitter, smoky scent. Myrhia wriggled her small nose to the smell.
“I think they burned up our food.” she said almost in a whisper, following it with a giggle. Letho smiled, but it was a rather bland looking smile. Because the smoke in the air didn’t seem to be coming from the kitchen.
“I don’t think that’s our food burning, Myri.”