The Beginning of the End (Drow)

[Regantor]

So, a slaver? Like some person who actually did all the capturing and training and stuff themselves? Neit had expected such people to be uglier. Alot uglier. It was an ugly job description. Where this 'Taldi' got her good looks from was anyone's guess. Was she good looking? Were those drugs hitting Neit harder than she expected?

The psion looked back at the others, not so much feeling out of place, as trying to remember what the abyss they were actually talking about. A bucket of poison for a dragon? The fact that she didn't really need to buy anything herself? Well, the poision didn't have to be in a bucket...

Letting off a little murky plume of smoke as she held her cigar to one side, the hawkish woman gave a meek little look into the table, and considered something which brought another massive grin to her face.

"Okay." She leant forward slowly, and fixing a stray strand of Taldi's hair, then softly clasping her face. It was a complete bluff, and she pulled away at the last second, then held at a distance tantlizingly close. "So are you goode at your jobe, or juste priddy enoughe to get away with ite?... You are certainly... A darlin' wee thing..."

[Kodos]

Taldi closed her eyes and puckered her full lips apparently expecting a kiss and after a minute when none came she opened them again, looking confused. A few seconds later the words sank in. "Oh. Yeah. Real good. I'm pretty fuckin' badass. I'm Taldi. I'm kinda a big deal." She grinned and then giggled. "Oh... wai. Already gave sexy lady my name." Taldi cracked up again. "S'prise' pretty lady like you never heard'a me. I work all'ova. Gotta place back in Edonilche'el. Travel lots tho'. Don' meet too many ladies as pretty as 'ou, tho'." She gave a flirty little smirk.

[Regantor]

"Charmin'." Neit sniggered to herself. There was honesty, and then there was just blathering out whatever was on your mind, regardless of the consequences. The witch found it rather adorable; Aswell as probably far too ballsy of a ploy for any assassin to pull off. She knew more than one woman back home would would have cut Taldi up just for getting this close. But there the dunderhead was, blowing her own horn.

"Shhh." She had to physically stop the rambling by putting a finger to the woman's lips. Her hand then ran through Taldi's hair, and the spikes of her outfit began to dig in as their bodies gained proximity. Her breath lingered close to the ear. Half attraction and half intimidation, perfectly practised. "Listen. My name is Neitar Inthuul. I can deep fry your brain withoute ite ever leavin' yur skull. And other thingse... The question is, how much do you want to find out aboute tha other thingse?"

Grasping an earlobe lightly, she pulled Taldi into a kiss. It was only short, but with it came a noxious wave of sweet scent, everywhere and nowhere.

[Kodos]

Unsurprisingly, Neitar ended up following Taldi back to her room where, true to her word, the slaver did have two very handsome young Human men, Avernites judging by how pale they were, who she was willing to share.

***

Taldi, even in her highly drunken and equally stoned state, was quite an excellent lover. She was as good as she looked. Were all shebali this fun in the sack? Maybe Neit should spend more time with the filthy lower classes.

She was surprisingly tender, even, in her own way. Not like Aryyna, of course, but for a slaver anyway. Although she did have to smack the males once or twice because "sometimes you gotsta smacks'em 'rounds so they remembers who's in charge. 'Cause they stupid and forget. Boys're dumb."

***

Come the 'morning' Taldi had apparently sobered up. She'd had some potions to take care of the hangover that otherwise probably would have left her bedridden.

"You're pretty amazing." She said with a giggle, getting dressed - this time bothering with a top, inasmuch as a too-small boobtube counted as one. "Never been with a c'rintri lady before." A big grin before she looked a bit nervous, the fact she had just spent a very drunk and high night with a c'rintri woman slowly dawning on her. "Uh... um... I was a bi' drunk last night. Lots'a drugs and booze. If I said anything to 'ffend, please forgive me, jabress Inthuul." It was always nice when the lower classes remembered their place.

[Regantor]

"Don'te appologise now, I was impressede with those guts of yours. It's... extremely cute."

"I've had plenty of time to axe you, avunt Ie?"

Neit was stretching at the side of the bed, not bothering with her own garments just yet. It was not the kind of body that a Shebali could just pay for, under-endowned, but subtle and flowingly formed, like the life's masterwork of a great painter. Feeling like the empowered one for once did feel awfully good, and Neit was going to bask in it for all she could.

Technically Taldi should have been titled a 'Jabress' aswell, but the woman was so sick of formalities that she didn't bother. It was the c'rintri's prerogative.

"I hade fun, you knowe, girl. I like you. Talidy, wasn't ite?" Stretches or no stretches, she was lighting a cigar already. "And your taste isn'te half as bad as I expected, either. I assumed you mighta gotten goode deals and stayed alive by juste flashin' zose dumplings. You certainly coulde 'ave."

"Bute anyway. My sisters 're probally pissed at me..."

"You gote any complete asshole fuckheads for me to buy?"

[Kodos]

"Taldi, yes." She gave a grin. "From Edonilche'el. But I travels lots." Another small laugh. She seemed to enjoy the attention. "Gots lotsa slaves to buy. What is lovely jabress looking for? I can gets! Can gets real easys, too!"

[Regantor]

Neit reclined back onto the bed for a moment, thinking hard, and then lay forward with her chin was proped up by her elbows, so she was facing Taldi again.

"Doesn'te mattur ife it's an orc or a humane, bute a big one. And one 'who really diserves a propur nasty death." She smiled, sweetly, if entirely unfittingly, then looked thoughtfully into the floorboards. "I 'ave a certain manic attentione to the details, you see... A Drow can command and manipulate all things, but they cannote make a slave full of vile thoughts, or full of good thoughts... at leaste not yete..."

"I looked into the mind ofe a human-man-priest once. You know whate I found? Nothinge. Absolute gibberish and superstition. Either their gods do not existe, or flee from their own abominible creations, to the point where their worship is akin to begging for forgiveness..." Uncharacteristically, she hadn't touched the smoke for a while, and it was burning down to a stub in her hand. "I think... I think ite might be up to us to pick oute the good ones and bring judgemente onto the vile ones... You understande whate I am saying?"

Looking up, Neit had a sudden feeling of self-consiousness about the rather heretical things she was saying. There was just something about talking to Taldi (or, admitedly, perhaps simply talking to somebody sentient but lower ranking) that brought her conflicting thoughts to the surface.

"Sorry. I'm blabberin' nosence again. Probally still drunk. Juste please show me three or four ofe the slaves you really don't like. The dumber the betture. They don't have to be trainede or anythin'. I'll still give you a goode price, sweetness!"

[Kodos]

Taldi was clearly confused by most of what Neitar said. Except the last bit. Business, it seemed, she understood.

"Gots three kinda ugly Human boys. Was gonna kill'em and sells the corpses to some necromancers, but if you wants'em I can sells'em. They broken and will listen good, but I don't think they have any real skills or talents. Doubt they good for much 'sides eatin' or makin' undead." She shrugged.

[Regantor]

Neit just laughed reservedly to herself, and then strolled over to Taldi bearing only her black-fur overcoat. Her manner had relaxed, and become completely sleek and mercurial. Sweet, overpowering, addictive. A person who appreciated being feared as much as she appreciated her soft demeanour being cherished.

"Mind ife I 'ave a look?" She got right into the shebali woman's combfort zone very quickly indeed, but soothed the intrusion with a gentle hand through the hair and a warm, cooing tone of voice. "T'isnt that I don't trust you. Your manner seems refreshingly flate, even, and I like thate... Bute z'hey are for a rathere specifice taske."

"You wante to please a money-blooded waif like me, don'te you? One thate speaks nicely, and won'te get angry if you don'te laugh at 'er jokes?... One thate won'te kill you for not readin' 'er minde?..."

"Please me."

[Kodos]

Taldi sighed happily and leaned into Neit's caress, clearly enjoying it. I mean, it was always possible she was faking, but Taldi was also kind of an idiot, and Neit wasn't, so it seemed unlikely that Taldi was pulling one over on her.

"Course, lovely jabress. Follows me." She purred before yelling at the two 'pretty boyses' to pick up the rest of her stuff and take it along. Including, of course, a whip.

***

Taldi took Neit to one of the slave pens in the city. Given how many of the slaves cringed or stepped back when she came by, and the little jealous or deferential looks she got from some of the other slavers, apparently she wasn't lying and was kind of a big deal, I guess.

***

The cell had three male Humans in it. They were, as Taldi said, ugly even by pathetic Human standards, but looked young and healthy. She frowned at them, then glared at them, then unlocked the cage, went in, and backhanded the first one hard. "Guest is big important lady, dumbshits!" Taldi yelled in Undercommon, causing the three Humans to quickly prostrate themselves and Taldi to smile before leaving the cell and going back at Neit's side.

"Boys're fucking dumb," Taldi said sagely. "'Smacks'em 'round a bit, though, and they usually remember 'oos in charge."