A Lesson in Tactics [Capricorn, Open]

[Timmir]

In the middle of Dras-Leona, a small crowd surrounded a couple sitting at a table. One was a fairly well-known varden general, and across from him was a mostly unknown half-elf woman who was wearing a cloak with a dragon emblem on it. In front of them lied a chessboard with pieces that revealed the two were deep in the middle of a game with no apparent winner so far.

It was the general's turned, and he smirked as moved one of his pieces to capture the half-elf's queen. "You should know better then to just leave your Queen out in the open like that miss." He taunted as he looked over at his opponent, who seemed to be deep in thought.

The half-elf then looked up with a smug look on her face as she moved of her pieces. "And you should of known better then to have left your king open. Check." She said as she leaned back in her chair with a confident look in her eyes, watching the General as he looked bewildered that he missed that.

[Capricorn]

Auduriel was wandering the city. She hadn't really gotten a chance to wander the city much. The elf had just ordered some gauntlets from a leatherworker, to match her armor, and then decided to wander the city. "Beautiful" wasn't a word that she'd use to describe it. Perhaps these plazas had once been a major center for slave trading, and the houses were less than beautiful, but perhaps in time the Varden's work would pay off.

The elf was wearing her usual armor of white leather. Her sword hung at her side, comfortably in its sheathe. Upon her hands were gloves, made of black cloth. Auduriel was constantly picking at them, but didn't take them off. Her hands felt clumsy, restricted with them. It was strange when she touched things yet did not feel their texture or temperature. She didn't like them at all.

Her eyes fell upon a crowd gathering. Auduriel was curious- she allowed her feet to guide her towards the crowd, where she stood, looking over the heads of two human men. It was a chess game. The elf had never cared much about chess. She'd learned about it only when she arrived in Du Weldenvarden, but had never really gotten the gist of it. She didn't pay much attention to the competitors, deciding to watch for only a few moments.

The man- a Varden general- said something about a queen. The woman, although not immediately after, responded by taking his king. Auduriel tilted her head. That voice was familiar. After a few moments, a name came up- Farore? The elf glanced at the half-elf. Indeed, it was Farore. Auduriel still felt some bitterness towards her, for their spar, but was genuinely surprised to see her here.

[Timmir]

The general studied the board for a good second before moving his king out of check. Farore, on the otherhand, didn't waste a single second as she moved her pawn to the end of the board, promoting it into a queen. "I do believe that's checkmate." Farore happily declared as she won.

"Huh... I guess you won there miss Farore. Good game. I should have known that I was just playing right into your hands when I captured your queen there." The general said as he and Farore shook hands at a game well played. As this went on, several different people in the crowd began exchanging money.

"Thank you sir, and I wouldn't be to hard on yourself. You just need to recognize when somethings to good to be true." Something then caught Farore's eye, "Huh? Uhh... Thanks for the game General, but if you don't mind I think I have some business to get to."

"Of course, I believe we all have business to get to as well." The general as he glared at some of the soldiers who were in the crowd. Til next time Farore."

"Of course." She replied as she stood up and looked at the crowd to confirm what she had saw, and sure enough she was right. In the crowd, she saw a fairly familiar looking elf woman among the crowd, but Farore couldn't immediately place where she saw the elf before.

Where did I see her before? She wondered as she slowly began walking away from the table. She knew she had met the elf from somewhere before, but from where?

[Capricorn]

Auduriel wasn't very sure about the half-elf's name. Farore seemed right, but maybe it was Fiona or Farima or something along those lines. The elf didn't like to meet many people- she didn't have too many names or faces to remember, anyways.

The half-elf won the game. Auduriel was impressed. The game had always seemed incredibly difficult to her- perhaps it was that she was a soldier, a warrior, not a strategist. The elf noted the people exchanging money. Gambling? She expected that most would have lost- unless the half-elf had a reputation, the general probably would have been favored. After all, he was a general.

As the game's winner began walking away, Auduriel took a few steps forward to meet with her. That game had been impressive. "What a pleasure to see you here..." The elf said, her voice reeking of sarcasm. Her voice lost the sarcastic tone, and the elf said, being completely honest, "An excellent game. I never would have expected that you'd win a game against a general... But your strategy in our spar was clever, perhaps I should have."

[Timmir]

As Farore walked away, she found herself stopping as the elf spoke to her. The elf didn't seem all that glad to see Farore here from the way she greeted the dragon spirit. It also seemed that she and the elf had sparred sometime before. That was when Farore finally remembered where she had met the elf before.

She's that elf I sparred against back in Ellesmera. The one that I was sure wanted to kill me. Auduriel was her name if I'm remember it correctly. Farore thought as she turned to look at the elf.

"Well, it's definitely been awhile Auduriel. What brings you all the down here in this dark, depressing city?" Farore asked the elf casually, keeping wary of her surroundings. If Farore remembered correctly, the two of them didn't exactly leave in the best of circumstances, and she knew that the elf didn't hold her in high regards. But surely she wouldn't still be holding a grudge over that fight.

[Capricorn]

((I apologize if I phrased something badly- please ask me to clarify if I did. It's rather late.))

The elf moved her hand instinctively to the pommel of her blade, the opal. It was surprising not to feel the gem's cool touch because of the gloves. The elf glanced down at her gloves for only a moment. She could have used some paste instead, but that was even more worse than the cloth gloves were. Perhaps the comfortable feel of leather would be better, once the gauntlets were made.

"I suppose it has." Auduriel replied. Had it really been that fast? The days seemed to go by quickly. "I'm with the Varden. Like most elves. As the Varden is gathering here... I'm here. I'm assuming it's the same for you- I'm not quite sure if they'd let a neutral... soldier so close to that general, even a half-elf."

The elf wasn't even sure if the game's winner was a half-elf at all. She had to be either a human with elven features, a Rider, or a human with elves lineage if not, Auduriel decided. "You are a half-elf, correct? You look more human than elf, but not quite human at the same time. It's your build, I think, and your ears."

[Timmir]

Farore chuckled abit at the mention that she was a neutral soldier. "I'm sorry. I guess I never told you during our last meeting. I'm one of the Varden's tacticians, and it's great to know we have someone like you assisting us." She explained to Auduriel, keeping wary that the elf hand is dangerous close to the hilt of her sword.

When Auduriel asked if she was really a half-elf, Farore grimaced slightly. She didn't really like telling people that she was, in fact, part dragon. It wasn't something she'd expect many people to understand, and overall it just complicated matters. As far as she knew, only a handful of people actually knew of her true race, and she preferred to keep it that way for now.

"You are correct, I'm a half-elf." The dragon spirit lied, "It's just my human features are more dominant then my elven features. Something that has proven useful when walking through human towns and cities without raising to much suspicion."

[Capricorn]

The elf looked interested when Farore confirmed her race. Half-elves were unusually common in this day and age, it seemed. Perhaps it was the war. A few had lived amongst the Riders and elves, Auduriel had been told, but she had nothing to confirm that. Maybe the amount of half-elves had been exaggerated- she doubted that she would ever know.

"Oh, that's interesting." The elf said nonchalantly. "Were your parents Riders? My mother told me that quite a few half-elves were born to Riders. She was a Rider herself. I was never on Vroengard, though, so I never got to see for myself."

Her gloved hand continued to finger the sword's pommel. The elf glanced to the side- somebody seemed rather unhappy about loosing his bet on something. Auduriel didn't seem to care, though, and after watching for a few more moments, she returned her gaze to the half-elf that she had been talking to.

[Timmir]

Farore felt a tinge of guilt when she heard that Auduriel's mother was a rider. While the memories of her past still mostly remain dormant, she had regained enough to know she was a tactician back during the Dragon War. Because of this, she believed that she held responsibility for many of the dragons and riders that had died during that war, and it was likely that Auduriel's mother were one of those who she had sent to their deaths.

"To be honest, I have no idea. I had forgotten most of my past, and can now only remember small glimpses of it. I do know that the man who raised me was a human rider. In fact, he's the one that gave me Slytha in the first place. I'm guessing you got your blade in a similar fashion." She said, trying to think of something other then the guilt she felt of what could have happened.

"I'm sorry if what I'm about to ask brings up any painful memories, but I have to know. Did your mother die during the great war one hundred years ago?" Farore asked in a somber voice. She had to get to the bottom of this and understand if her feelings of gulit were founded at all.

[Capricorn]

Auduriel glanced at the half-elf. She couldn't remember? Something must have happened to Farore, but the elf decided against asking. Perhaps something happened to her during the explosion at Vroengard, or something. Auduriel noted that she shouldn't make assumptions like that, but she failed in that regard.

"Yes, I did." She replied, glancing at the sword, still comfortably in its sheathe. She had a desire to take it out, but decided against it, being in public. "Slytha, is it? An interesting choice of name."

Then, Farore asked about Auduriel's mother. The elf cursed herself in her head. She should have known better than to ask personal questions- the other person oftentimes responded in kind, and the elf didn't feel comfortable answering that question at all. Auduriel ducked her head, brushing a few locks of hair over her face to hide her distressed, pained look. It wasn't a pleasant subject in the slightest. "Yes, she did." The elf lied, her voice quiet. She sounded upset.

[Timmir]

As she heard Auduriel confirm her suspicion, Farore punched the nearest inanimate object, which happened to be a house. The stone bricks of the house cracked from the blow, and small droplets of blood could be seen flowing from the tore skin on her knuckles. Yet that hardly seemed to faze Farore as her face darkened upon realization. How many people lost love ones during that war? How many more will lose love ones during this war?

"I'm sorry." She told Auduriel in a quiet voice. She had no idea what else to say, and doubted that Auduriel would fully understand why she said it in the first place. Even so, she felt like it needed to be said.

Looking up, she notice several onlookers having witnessed the scene she just caused. "I think we should get moving." She suggested to Auduriel before she began walking again. As she did so, she felt her newly injured hand sting as the cold breeze brushed against it.

[Capricorn]

Auduriel looked rather puzzled as Farore punched a wall. That seemed to be an... Odd reaction. The elf brushed her hair out of her eyes and tilted her head once Farore apologized. The elf tried to think of any reason for the half-elf to say that, but didn't come up with much. Maybe she knew Galbatorix before he went mad and felt personally responsible... Although Farore had said that she couldn't remember much of her past.

When the half-elf began walking, Auduriel glanced around. People had seen Farore punch a wall, and that must have made her want to go. The elf decided to follow. The half-elf had been acting oddly, and she had made Auduriel very curious. "Are you going to heal that?" She asked, gesturing to Farore's torn knuckle.

Then, the elf added, "That was a rather... Extreme reaction. Why did you punch a house and apologize to me?"

[Timmir]

"Yeah, it was wasn't it? I'm sorry about that. I guess I should explain. You deserve to know after all." Farore said as they walked through the city. She then paused for a few seconds, hesitant to say what she was about to say.

"As I said before, I don't remember much from my past. Yet, from what little I do remember, I was once a tactician for the riders during the war. It was my responsibility to come up with a plan to end the war quickly with minimal casualties. Yet, I failed. Because of my incompetence, your mother was taken away from you along with several others love ones. I'm a failure of a tactician."

[Capricorn]

Auduriel began to feel guilty as Farore told her story. She had likely made the half-elf feel incredibly sad because of what she perceived as her "failure". The elf didn't think that the tactician was responsible at all. The blame should lie on the ones who took the lives- Galbatorix, the Forsworn, and their servants. But it seemed that nobody could believe that something wasn't their fault. People were strange in that way.

"I..." Auduriel dug for words. "I... Wish you would put some blame on their killers. You didn't kill them. Yes, you failed, but... It's really nothing but harmful to blame yourself. Go out and fix it. Help win this war to atone for the failures of the last."

The elf wanted to change the subject. Maybe get away from Farore, too. She'd have to, eventually. Until then, she might as well enjoy her freedom. The past few days had been filled with caring for her dragon. "Do you know where I could get something to eat? I haven't had any all day, and I don't know this city very well."

[Timmir]

"Your right, and trust me when I say that I do. It's why I joined with the Varden in the first place. So I may be able to assist them in showing the tyrant king the justice he deserves." Farore said with conviction.

Farore perked up as she heard Auduriel ask if she knew of any places to eat. She paused to think for a moment. "Well, if your looking for something basic, there are several taverns that you could go to. If your looking for something more fancy though, I believe there's a restaurant closeby that may be to your liking." She told the elf.

[Capricorn]

Auduriel paused for a moment. She wasn't quite sure if she wanted to brave a tavern, or if she'd rather that restaurant. The restaurant would likely still have drunks, but the taverns might have thieves or other criminals. Well, she could place wards upon her pockets- and it would take a fool to rob an elf in a tavern.

"Could you please show me to a tavern?" The elf asked. "Preferably a quieter one- I don't need to spend extra on a fancy place."

She didn't have to spend any money at all on food- Auduriel knew that the Varden would supply it if she asked. But the elf wasn't very keen on asking for things from others. She had enough money to buy food, and besides, it was likely more beneficial for the Varden's rations. Everybody that spent their own money on food was helping out, the elf decided.

[Timmir]

Farore nodded understandingly as Auduriel said she rather go to the tavern over the restaurant. The restaurant was most likely going to be more expensive then the tavern. Though the question now was which tavern she should go to. Never having been to any of the taverns herself though, she didn't exactly knew which one would be quieter then the others.

She then got an idea. Maybe she could think of this more tactically. Thinking about the the layout of the city, she looked at where each tavern she knew of would be located and what the nearby clientele would be like. With that, she determine which one would most likely to be less busy during this time of day.

"Well, if I'm right, there should be a tavern nearby that should be to your liking." She told Auduriel as she began leading the elf towards said Tavern. It wasn't long afterwards til they would reach a tavern called The Prancing Pony.

"Here we are. Moment of truth." She said under her breath before opening the door.

Inside was a pretty average looking tavern. While it seemed to have seen better days, it was far from horrible. It seemed to have a pretty warm environment, and Farore didn't smell the scent of stale ale as much as she originally expected to. It's current patron's themselves seemed to be small in number, and while they chatted among themselves, they seemed to be pretty tamed. At least, for now.

[Capricorn]

The elf simply nodded and followed Farore, fully expecting the half-elf to know where she was going. As they arrived at the tavern, Auduriel glanced at the sign. The Prancing Pony? That was an... interesting name, but most taverns that the elf had seen had similar names. As she stepped inside, stale ale could be smelt. She couldn't really expect anything else- she doubted that any tavern except a brand new one lacked that smell, and even then, it probably set in quickly.

"Thank you." Auduriel murmured to the half-elf. "Are you planning on eating here, too? If so, I suppose we could sit at the same table. Perhaps I could buy you some food. You know, as a reward for winning?"

Auduriel wanted Farore to stay for the simple reason that she didn't want to get lost. The elf hadn't been beyond the area surrounding her tent, and she wasn't sure that she'd be able to get back. This half-elf seemed to know where she was going, and that was good. She had probably been in Dras-Leona more than Auduriel had.

The elf purchased her food- just some bread and what little fruit they had. The elf opted not to get anything to drink. She didn't exactly trust taverns to keep the water separate from the ale, and she wasn't even sure if they had anything but ale. It would look bad if she decided to spar with somebody and was drunk. On second thought, Auduriel also purchased some venison- although she herself was a vegetarian, her dragon had never had any, and perhaps she'd like it.

((I wasn't very sure about how a tavern works, so I was just pretty vague about that. Please correct me if I made any mistakes.))

[Timmir]

"Well, I was hoping to as long you didn't mind. I haven't really had anything to eat all day, and I'm kindof starving. And anyways, there's no reason for you to buy me anything, especially for winning. It was just a friendly competition between two professionals. Nothing more, nothing less." Farore replied simply to the elf's offer.

As Auduriel ordered her food, Farore found something kindof odd. It wasn't that Auduriel didn't order anything to drink in a tavern. No, it was the fact that she ordered vension with her food. The last she check, most elves she had met were vegetarian. It is possible that Auduriel was different, but still was something of note.

Farore ordered a chunk of vension with a small loaf of bread, and some ale to wash it down with. A slight curiosity made her wonder what the elf would think of her choice of food, but she decided to ignore it for now. All will be revealed in due time. For now, they just needed to wait for their food to be served.

It wasn't long before a middle age woman, most probably the bartender's wife, walked to their table with their food. She put two plates on table, both containing similar entrees, except one contained fruit and the other didn't, before placing a wooden mug in front of Farore. Farore gave the woman her thanks before looking over at Auduriel.

"Well then. Time to eat." She said with a smile before she began viciously eating the chunk of vension she ordered. She wasn't lying when she said she was starving.

((Personally, I'm kind of vague how fantasy taverns exactly work to, so don't worry about making any mistakes.))

[Capricorn]

Auduriel simply nodded at Farore's answer. She was glad- she didn't want to spend more money if she planned to continue buying her own food and other things. She tapped her nails against the wood, for lack of anything else to do. She could talk, yes, but she didn't really feel like doing so. She had never really liked people at all.

Once the food was delivered, she set the venison to the side. It was a bit much- especially since she was about to fight in a battle, and she'd better get used to battle rations- but she hadn't eaten much since she had arrived. She took a bite of an apple, and glanced at it. It didn't taste like she was used to, but she was starving and didn't care much.

The elf didn't bother lowering the volume of her voice as she said, "They're not as great as those in Ellesmera, but I'd be a fool to expect that they were."

The woman might be able to hear her, but Auduriel didn't really care much. It probably didn't reflect very well on the elves, she thought after she had said it, although she still didn't bring herself to care. She doubted that many elves came this tavern, even nowadays, with the city full of Varden forces. Speaking of which, it probably didn't make the Varden look too good, either. What they don't know won't hurt them. She glanced at Farore. Unless they did know.