Hassan
General Wendy Margir
Small village inn

Wendy paused to watch Taichar as he slipped off his coat, taken aback by what he was wearing. It certainly _looked_ foreign, even if that was the only word she could find at present to describe it. The detail and vibrancy in color, though, reminded her of the embroideries her and Caroline used to work on together, to pass the time when a snowstorm proved too vicious to allow anyone to leave the manor. Either way, it reminded her of wealth, if she were to put it bluntly.

_He did mention that he was meant to inherit the clan, himself. Would that make him a little lord of sorts? Some would even say a prince.. Interesting._

She smiled at his joke, standing up and making for the stairs.

"I apologize for the secrecy, up until this point," The general said. "You have your own room, but come to mine whenever you're settled. I'll brief you on our mission."

She paused at the top of the stairs, then turned.

"We'll also have to find you some new clothes. Yours stand out too much."

Then, she disappeared around the corner, her steps upon the hallway making some of the wooden boards creak.
Ellen
Taichar-Yu
At the Inn

He met her watching eyes with a clever little smile. He could see her running the numbers it cost to make such elaborate clothing through her head and the thought made him laugh in a modest condescension. It tickled him to feel so rich and mighty although he had just been sitting in the midst of a bitter forest. It was ironic almost.

"Alright. I'll be up shortly... Oh, the clothes? Haha, yes. They're quite noticable." He stood by the fire for several minutes after she had left, watching the small handful of men in the lobby and the frost made the windows gleam from the inside. There was an indescribable feeling that hung in the air— something bad was about to happen. He sighed and started heading up the stairs.

 The only belongings he carried with him were his bow and quiver, sabre and his bone knife with one more addition tucked within his robes— a small deerskin-covered book.

He set his weaponry by his bed and undid the elaborate ivory buttons that kept his robes shut. Beneath it was a thicker brocade tunic of pure black with a cross section at the pectorals sewn in flaps of white cloth where the folds were stacked. Beneath the heavier leather pants he normally wore were matching black trousers for his tunic that were baggy at the hips and uniquely skinny at the calves down to the ankles, all tightly held up by a heavy beige-toned woven belt lined with wolf fur that wrapped around him like a sash. Stripped from his richer garments and down to the barren bones, it was undeniable that he was a pompous and powerful man even in a commoner's clothes. He was thankful he had so many layers for the cold but also for concealment.

He exited his room and gently rapped on the general's door. He awaited for an answer paitently.
Hassan
General Wendy Margir
The inn

"Come in, the door isn't locked," The general said, her voice slightly muffled through the door.

The room was a simple one. There was a bed by the window, a small bedside table in between the bed and the wall. It came furnished with a pair of skinny wooden chairs and a table, as well as a little scratched up rug. There was a basin in the room, prepared for a bath, if necessary, but Wendy didn't see herself using it. 

She hardly felt as if she could sleep, in the first place.

She was sitting at the table, her cloak and armor well removed. Her entire wardrobe was black, an attempt that her and her men pursued at keeping a good cover at night. Her riding pants were form fitting, and her booths came up to her knees, leather straps securing them at the sides. Her top was a more loose fitting charcoal shirt, slightly smudged from where her armor dug into it. Her collarbone was exposed, and her thick mane of red hair stopped just above her chest. A gold locket rested right above her bosom.

"Sit," She said, staring down at a map. She only looked up briefly to see Taichar, taking note of his more discrete appearance. Her gaze was soon focused on the map again, though.
Ellen
Taichar-Yu
The Inn

Taichar opened the door and walked in as prompted, not taking very long to look around the room before he sat down at the table. The room was essentially identical to that of his own.

He walked in and sat as soon as the words hit him. Upon sitting, he rested his hands upon the table and peered at the map. He had one himself but not of this detail and most likely costlier make. His eyes traced the names and locations of the lands before they located The Witherlands, then raising and looking back up at the general.

"What is our mission, exactly? You have yet to tell me about that— I'm curious to know. I assume you'll be getting to that though." He said in quiet, reserved calm. He was worried that indeed this could be a trap as much as the general was excited to get her hands on him. Poor man.
Hassan
General Wendy Margir
The Inn

"It is a little ambitious, but.." Wendy looked up at Taichar. For a moment, she felt vulnerable. This mission meant a lot to her. It would surely please her family, and of course it would please the Ice Lord. But, for some reason, she felt so much _pressure_ ... Maybe it was because if she failed, she could very well lose her life.

That fear of death had never felt quite real to her, before this moment.

"I have some intel about where Lord Vivayn may be. It came from a stupid rebel, but we've been sending out some scouts who've been able to monitor activity around the border," Wendy said. She placed her finger down on the map. "We're here, not too far from the border. The main gate that's used for entry into the Witherlands is here."

She slid her finger across the map, toward the southernmost part of the border. 

"Vivayn's holdings are permanent, but we can't be too sure of his whereabouts. We also have a hostage to consider, and so we don't want to be too brash, but..."
Wendy looked back up at Taichar, swallowing. "We mean to take him out. For good. And end this entire war in one blow. We're... The only ones who know, my men and I. Everyone else would have thought it too risky. But this plague, it presents the perfect opportunity. At least, I think it does."

She sat back, sighing. "Working with a team this small is hard, though. I've heard that eerie things have been happening around here, as of late. I wanted information from you, at first, but... No one would ever assume you'd be working for me. I think you can help us breach inside."
Ellen
Taichar-Yu
At the Inn, Regretting his Choices

He met her gaze and read it for what he could. He could sense her vulnerability as it poured from her. He could practically reach for it and snatch it from the air, squeezing' the essences from it and swallowing it up greedily. He stared at her blankly as he spoke before his eyes fell back to the map, following the finger with her eyes and picking up her words with a cautious ear.

"I see. I am new to these house affairs, so I am incredibly underinformed on all of this information." He stated, thinking on his words before adding, "But there is room to learn of course. If something needs to be done then I will damn see it through."

He met her eyes again as she looked back up at him. *He audibly heard her swallow.* He looked like an entirely different man from the one huddled by the fire, this was one that had seen battle closer and in a more dangerous light in more concentrations than perhaps any of her men had. His brows narrowed. 

"You use times of sickness to strike. It is dishonorable, but it is a good tactic if you mean to play dirtily." He said in a tone of disappointed bluntness. He watched her and his eyes shifted back to the map, then to her. "Of course nobody would expect me working for you and of course I could breach. I'm just some clueless outsider. It could very well be done. I'll see to it." He said after a long moment's deliberation. He was upset inwardly by the idea of striking during a time of plague. That was the time when clan's would call for truces and enemy lines would be dissolved to help.

Not walls being put up to harm. He sighed. "This is a small team. I'm used to many, many more men myself, but these numbers will do for breaching and intel gathering."