- Chapter 2 -

Previously...

Strides-Tall had little to worry about. As promised, Raven and Ashyra kept a careful eye on the elf-woman whenever their dancing schedule permitted, but as the night wore on, they became concerned that their friend was going to be disappointed. From what she had told them about her Reclamationist contact, Bresquet had not sounded like the kind of person to be offended by dancing girls, but as the hour grew later and later, it appeared that he was not going to appear.

The elf was, however, not the only person with a talent for stealth. Performing in the mirror-lined Diamond Suite with Raven and Kashni, a pretty, yellowish-skinned girl with dark, slanted eyes, Strides-Tall took her eyes off the audience for just one moment, midway through a spin, and when she next looked out across the crowd, Nadel Bresquet had appeared in a seat at one of the tables nearest the stage.

Smiling and nodding appreciatively, Bresquet did as the other customers did, throwing coins up onto the stage for the girls as encouraged by the management. The coins were standard Trading measures of silver and gold, cast in thin squares with rounded corners and stamped with the officially recognised mark of the Combined Trading Alliance, and Kashni quickly gathered up her share, losing her sophisticated composure in her hurry to collect her reward. Raven, however, ignored the treasure at her feet...

Strides-Tall quickly scooped up her money and scurried backstage, leaving the stage to her tall, black-tressed friend. There had been shouts plainly directed towards Raven throughout the dancers' set, and she was now going to give them exactly what they had shouted for - and that required the whole stage.

The adventuress, a long satin dressing-gown wrapped around her, stepped out into the public area of the Diamond Suite just as Raven's solo dance started to heat up, the girl swinging on the poles and letting her fabulous hair sweep out over the heads of the crowd. It was an awe-inspiring sight, and many in the crowd obviously appreciated the display, but it was still not what the majority were expecting.

The music, loud and wild, blotted out any sound of movement but still Strides-Tall sensed someone moving behind her. The presence that came within range of the elf's nigh-on supernatural senses was a familiar one, however, but hardly welcome.

"Table Three is asking for you", informed Skylla, leaning close and speaking right into Strides-Tall's gracefully-pointed ear, "and he better be after a private dance..."

"What else would he be wanting?", asked Strides-Tall, feigning innocence.

Skylla knew better. "The management, unlike myself, are wholly unaware of your, ah, second job, but that doesn't mean you can solicit business on these premises."

"It was his idea, not mine", the elf responded. "Anyway, he paid to get in, didn't he?"

The First Dancer did not have chance to respond. Even her attention was drawn to the stage as Raven whirled to centre-stage - and Strides-Tall could feel the potent energies building up within the dancing girl.

The swirling mass of darkness surrounding Raven grew as she spun, and when she abruptly came to a halt, hair whipping around her naked body and booted legs, her wings emerged from the blackness, the tips almost touching the floor.

Strides-Tall took a seat beside Nadel Bresquet as the crowd celebrated the transformation. The Reclamationist representative was clearly amazed, and impressed, but not to such a degree that he did not detect his guest's arrival.

"She's magnificent, isn't she?", he murmured.

"That she is", responded the elven adventuress. "We can't talk business here - Skylla's got her eye on me."

"So where can we talk?"

Strides-Tall glanced up at a window overlooking the Diamond Suite. "The private dance room", she said.

"And do I get a dance, then?", asked Bresquet.

"If you pay for one", she answered. "Twenty Trading gold - you can touch, but I have the right to refuse any request and all improper advances."

Bresquet produced a jingling pouch from his stiff leather waistcoat - the kind of garment worn by riders as body-armour. "I'll just watch, I think", he said, and the elf was thankful.

Strides-Tall "sent" he thoughts out to touch Raven's. ***I'm going upstairs***, she told her friend telepathically. ***Watch Skylla for me.***

***I'll do what I can***, Raven replied, and a ripple of gasps rose from the audience as the dancer, her skin now tinged red and her eyes turned red-on-yellow, flapped those great dark wings strongly, causing her marvellous hair to billow out in front of her.

"Can't we stay a while and watch Raven some more?", asked an increasingly spellbound Bresquet.

"You want to talk, right?", said the elf, grabbing the man's sleeve. "Well, let's talk...!"

Bresquet had known Strides-Tall for quite some time - almost all of the three months she had spent so far at Freeport - and theirs was, until now, purely a business relationship. Here in The Phantasia, just for once, he forgot that and allowed himself to enjoy the elf's company.

It was not exactly easy to concentrate on explaining the mission to Jaglundar's Rock with the elf going through a full dance routine, for the benefit of the concealed security camera, installed to ensure the dancers' safety. To maintain the charade, he had to look as though he was engrossed in Strides-Tall's sinuous writhing, and it was difficult not to fall for the charade himself, and become lost in the waves in the girl's hair, or the ever-changing reflections flowing across the brilliant red surface of the adventuress's boots.

"So, what's the deal this time?", Strides-Tall asked, glancing over her shoulder.

Bresquet almost failed to realise she was talking to him. "Something a bit...ah, bigger than you're used to", he replied, nearly stumbling over his words. "You won't be working on your own this time. It'll be an operation involving a large organised force, and we may need someone capable of advance covert scouting. There's no guarantee you'd be called on to do anything - but we'd still pay you for being around should we happen to require your assistance."

Strides-Tall strutted over to a chair, and swung one booted leg over the back. "Use of force is not my style", she stated firmly, dropping onto the seat, facing the chromed back-rest. "If this is some kind of raid..."

Bresquet saw he was going to have to be more generous with his information to sustain the adventuress's interest. "We'll be working in concert with a Murgand strike-force to liberate one of their colonies from an unknown hostile force", he revealed. "In return for our help, they've agreed to provide us with rare raw materials we need to advance a number of very important projects."

The elf hooked her feet under the seat of her chair and, holding on to the back of the chair, leaned back so that her long straight blonde hair brushed across the floor. "And you've no idea what kind of enemy we'd be up against?", she enquired.

"An enemy who took a strong Murgand garrison totally by surprise, and killed a large number of battle-tested warriors", answered the Reclamationist. "We'll be bringing along some pre-Rage weaponry that'll even things out..."

Strides-Tall interrupted, adding two very telling words. "...you hope."

"Come and see our preparations, and see what you think then", recommended Bresquet. "You should at least do that - it'll give us a chance to show you what we were able to do with the last little treasure you recovered for us."

The elf sat up suddenly, and nearly lost her balance. "The little box with the wires?", she asked, her interest fully engaged. The retrieval of the object in question had been a real challenge, set against the backdrop of crumbling subterranean ruins that were all that remained of a city from a long-past age.

"Yes", beamed Bresquet, his trademark winning smile breaking the surface. "The 'little box with the wires'."

Strides-Tall leaned on the back of her chair. "Okay, I'll come and see what you're doing, but don't for a second think that my agreeing to do it is anything more than what it is. I reserve the right..."

"... to refuse any request and all improper advances?", suggested the Reclamationist, leaning forward himself. The smile was quickly becoming a grin.

"...to walk away if I'm not happy with your arrangements", the elf said, adamantly.

Despite that statement, Bresquet got the distinct impression that the dancer-adventuress was already convinced she should take part in the expedition. "Come to Dock twenty-five, on the West Quay of the main harbour tomorrow morning", he told her. "Come when you're ready - we won't be leaving for a day or two."

"I'll be there", the elf confirmed.

"I never doubted it for a second", said the Reclamationist, grinning again. "In the meantime, I was wondering...how much would it be for two girls - say, you and Raven?"

"Fifty is the basic rate", Strides-Tall told him, now kneeling on her chair. "If you have anything...special in mind, that's extra. And subject to the same conditions."

"Can I hire you for a party, outside the Club?", he then asked, and the elf responded with a nod that was almost part of the dance, seamlessly incorporated in the circling movements of her head. "When we get back, I fully intend to celebrate in style."

"Just make sure you get back at all", advised the dancer. "Over-confidence is a killer."

 

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