- Joined
- Nov 10, 2008
- Messages
- 16,468
- Reputation score
- 430
HP = 37, PP = 33, EP = 30, Status = Fine
Elizabeth moved through the crowd like a serpent through fallen leaves, her armor and weapons both silent and perfectly hidden beneath her long, flowing dress. The balls that the Badarian nobility held were always fruitful sources of both information, and clients, and this one was no exception. While a fairly minor house, the ball that Elizabeth had been sent to tonight came at the expense and invitation of House Dreslin. They were old blood, nobles since long before the Lich King had taken his throne, but they hadn't adapted well to the changing times. Their riches had long come from the mining of iron, and the production of weapons and armor with them. The iron mining still did fairly well, but it the head of the house had refused to allow his business to evolve with the times. When the army had switched largely to the use of firearms, the head of House Dreslin, a man by the name of Antaeous Theodore Dreslin who was almost seventy years old by now, had kept his ironworks producing blades and chainmail, neither of which were in high demand any more.
There were many rumors to be picked from the crowd, this night, and many days of picking the facts from them to follow. Some she had heard already, from a group of court ladies in puffed out dresses who giggled and flitted their eyes as they spoke, about the youngest son of Lord Dreslin trying to marry his way out of his failing family. As she'd passed a table of guards, she'd heard something about keeping an eye on Lord Dreslins first son, who had been rumored to be trying to assassinate and replace both his father, and his elder brother, who had long gone along with everything that his the head of the house did and said. More information on either rumor, either verifying or denying it, might prove very profitable to any of a fair number of parties interested in House Dreslins iron mines and metalworking businesses.
"Elizabeth! Lady Elizabeth!" A voice cried out through the noisy throng that was the ball, ad Elizabeth turned to find a young woman jostling her way through the crowd toward toward. The woman, more a girl really, was a member of House Silrocio, a fairly influential house. She was the only daughter of the brother of the head of that house, and her name was Karina Silrocio. She'd passed gossip to Elizabeth from time to time, and the girl even seemed to like her quite a bit, though she wasn't sure if she herself returned such sentiments. Elizabeth had learned many secrets from the girl, over the three years they'd known one another, and if nothing else she had proven to be a valuable resource.
Karina hurried up to Elizabeth, her formal gown flowing more naturally than any other in the place, and even the normally professional girl had no choice but to admire her beauty. Karinas skin was slightly darker than the normal pale among the Badarian nobility, with a slight olivine tinge. Her eyes were the color of chocolate, deep and dark enough for any man or woman to fall into. Her hair was a matching color, and had a natural curl to it that could not be controlled by any hairdresser, so she kept it shorter than was currently popular, letting fall no farther than her shoulders. Her dress was a deep dark green, like the leaves at the heart of a forest, and was embroidered in silver and gold lace. Despite the relative tightness of the garment, it could not conceal Karinas impressive curves, and her cleavage spilled out of the confining garment impressively. She was currently engaged to a lesser noble of an unimportant house, but she had been sending messages to Elizabeth of late, asking for a private meeting. As yet, she hadn't had time to answer them with anything more than courtly stalling tactics.
She didn't try to hug Elizabeth, or even to grasp her hand, but she did get slightly closer than might be considered appropriate in order to quietly say; "Elizabeth.... There's something I need to tell you about... Something you need to see. It's... You're the only one who I think I can trust with it. Not even... Not even my parents know yet. Please.... It's important." She seemed sincere, and distressed.