The woman pushed east<i>hard</i>. She traveled exclusively by night and hid in the thicket whenever anyone else came up the road. She camped far enough off the beaten path to make it impossible for travelers to see the dim light of her fire. In short, Lilith took every precaution there was. The rain had continued for a few days past her robbery and was sure to have covered up whatever tracks she had not made obscure already. There was just one thing she had not accounted for – a witness.<br/><br/>There had been far more activity on the road heading east then usual. Was there to be a banquet, perhaps? Some well-known auction? The drow could not be sure. Usually she would stop off at a tavern, ask the right questions and get her fill of the gossip to once more be in the information loop, but she scarcely had the luxury for that now. Until she got rid of her incriminating loot the woman wished to lay low. This was not her usual goods, the likes of which were inconspicuous and could be sold to just about anyone without them blinking an eye. Oh no, she had to be careful with the jeweled scabbard. It was a blessing and a curse, an easily identifiable (even if extravagantly rich) piece.<br/><br/>The woman barely spent an hour in the first town she reached. There was agitation in the air, she could feel it. Too many eyes were watching the roads, the shops and the like. She did not like it. Lilith took only the time that was necessary to sell the studded leather armor (it was weighing her down) and reload on provisions before heading off again. Now laden with cured meat, dry biscuits and more coin instead of the cumbersome, shiny black leather, the drow moved a little quicker. But not as quick as a horse, unfortunately.<br/><br/>By the time she reached the next town the woman all but breathed a sigh of relief. It had been just over a week since she had left the Commander alone in his drunken stupor. Having traveled without pause, Lilith found herself quite weary. Surely she was free of that man’s influence all the way out here? A night at an inn sounded particularly nice. A hot bath sounded even better. A horse, after selling that damned, heavy sword, sounded best.<br/><br/>The woman checked in at the inn first. She paid the innkeeper with silver and copper and took the smallest room at the end of the hall whose windows faced out into the small garden the man and his wife kept. She had checked in well past sundown, but with a bit more coins and few persuasive words she managed to talk the innkeeper into arranging for a hot bath for her. After soaking in the water which was fragranced with lavender and basil, the woman felt infinitely better. Once<i>that</i>was crossed off the list, the drow hit the streets and began looking for shady alleyways where unsavory transactions were sure to take place. Every city had them because every city had thieves. And, naturally, the thieves needed to pawn their goods somewhere. That is where the pawn shops came in. She did not stop at the tavern to get her fill of the news, not just yet, otherwise she might have seen one too many bounty hunters lurking in the back with their ever-watching eyes. Even this city was on lookout. The Commander was quite tenacious.<br/><br/>After just over twenty minutes she spotted it. A rough-looking man with shifty eyes walked out of a dimly lit, narrow alleyway and suspiciously looked in both directions before pulling up his scarf all the way to his nose and blending in with the sparse midnight crowd.<i>There.</i><br/><br/>The drow, cloaked and hooded, crossed the road and ventured down the same alleyway. She was still dressed as before – knee high leather boots, fitted breeches, leather half-corset, blouse and gloves, carrying a long parcel that was wrapped in cloth. Within a few minutes she spotted it – a man with a short-trimmed beard and droopy eyes was counting out coins in front of a storefront which sold soap. That must be the place.<br/><br/>“Do you buy?” She asked the man after getting close enough to realize that he smelled so strongly of rose oil as to make it offensive.<br/><br/>“That depends.” The man spoke without even looking up. He finally finished counting all his silver, intermixed with a few foreign marks, and put them away in the respective pockets of his pouch. “… On what you have to sell.” He finally finished after an awkward pause and looked up at his new<i>customer.</i><br/><br/>“I have this.” The woman unwrapped a healthy portion of her cylindrical bundle to expose the gleaming, jeweled scabbard and sword. The merchant looked startled and hastily wrapped the parcel back up. Wide eyed, the man looked in all direction around him before finally staring hard at the drow herself.<br/><br/>“We had best take this inside.” He told her firmly and opened the door to his store. Lilith slipped within the establishment, which further assaulted her with strong perfumery of every kind, and moved towards the back of the room. The shop owner, after casting a few more cautious looks in both ends of the street, joined her within. He locked and bolted the front door before flipping the sign on his store to<i>closed</i>.