Pointed onyx ears absorbed the sounds of a horse trotting down the dirt pathway that intersected the massive tree she leaned against. Her initial reaction was to jump to attention and peak around the tree to see what sort of mercenary had arrived. But she resisted this urge. Need to play it cool Lil, you’re supposed to be a professional.

Lilly had reasoned that a young New Elf with almost no combat experience would be a prime target for banditry or betrayal once the schematics and gemstone were discovered. However, if the mercs she was hiring believed that she belonged to a formal organization that was monitoring the situation then it may provide her with a thin veil of protection. The inventor needed to relax, play it cool, let the hopeful explorer come to her.

As the horse was hitched the sound of hooves was replaced by footsteps. Lilly leaned forward and turned her gaze over towards the new arrival. Pale blue eyes looked up and down at the applicant before her, trying to size him up. Truth be told it was not exactly a skill she possessed, judging someone’s mettle purely by appearance. Still, she wasn’t exactly impressed by an elf in leather armor with a little bow and sword. Looks can be deceiving though.

One thing that she did notice, almost immediately, was his look of shock.

It made sense, the plain skinned elves didn’t interact much with dark elves. They liked to look down upon her kind, calling themselves ‘high elves.’ Lilly had learned to deal with it back when she traveled with that cabal of mages.

“I uh, hi there,” she let slip before reminding herself, be professional, “I assume you are responding to the advertising bulletin we issued?”

With no hesitation she continued, “well, let’s get a few things out of the way. Yes, I’m a dark elf who’s hunting a magical artifact within that tower,” a slender black hand gesturd towards the aging spire across the field. “Yes, most dark elves hate magic. No, I am not going to explain how my gauntlet works.” The brass and copper assortment of gears mangled around her left hand was usually the first thing strangers questioned her on.

The porcelain haired woman paused briefly. She was much more assertive when she was pretending to be someone else. It was a fun change of pace for her. “I’m uh… my name I mean is Lillian Svalesin, but please just call me Lilly.”

She nervously cleared her throat, fiddled with a loose thread from her cloak, and then stared back down at her boots. Pausing long enough to allow for the leather clad elf to respond.

“I can brief you on our task when you’re ready, I’ve had limited success so far,” that last statement was a bit more somber. Despite her naivety the drow understood the risks, she recognized that she was lucky to be unharmed after the past two failures. There was no telling if this time her luck might run out.