Adell's appearance in the tavern drew no attention at first, though those who took a look at her could not help but stare. A single pair of eyes from the man nursing a drink in the corner was joined by another pair from the tavern wench wiping up an empty table just in front of Adell.<br/><br/>It didn't help that Adell looked so much different as compared to the people of the Kingdom of Agathor. Their skin-tone, a mix of yellow and pink that would have implied an environment much lighter on sunlight, contrasted with the near-complete darkness of Adell's skin. Her white hair and white eyes, along with the strange otherness of the clothing she wore.<br/><br/>Adell sighed mentally. Almost everyone travelling anywhere had to go through Agathor at some point, and she got almost the same sort of reaction in every tavern, inn or eating establishment she went into. Surely some of them must have seen a Selassian at some point. Or perhaps the ones that did just ignored her.<br/><br/>When Adell made her way to the front of the tavern, she popped herself onto the bar stool. The bartender's gaze, focused towards the patron that sat on the stool next to her, went to Adell's face for a moment. And stayed there far too long for her liking. There were the eyes of curious strangers that sort of tried to hide their awe at a black-skinned human being, and then there was those that didn't know when to stop staring.<br/><br/>Adell glared back, meeting the gaze of the bartender. The wrinkles surrounding the old man's eyes straightened out, and his gaze turned into a stare. Adell felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, but the clash of eyes continued.<br/><br/>"Eh?" she mumbled. Her forearm pricked with the sharp tip of something strange, and it felt a little wet. Adell glanced to her right, into the face of the young man beside her. She had to look down a little to face him, considering that he wasn't blessed with the height expected of a man. His feet dangled off the bar stool as well.<br/><br/>This young man had olive skin and a very boyish, youthful face. His blonde hair and green eyes complemented his youthful looks. He wore a white shawl that was atop a white shirt and pants. He carried a sword by his side, though Adell's eyes had to glance around his body to see the sheath it was in.<br/><br/>And he was giggling. His left hand held a quill, dripping with black ink, just hovering above Adell's forearm.<br/><br/>"I can't see the ink on your skin. Looks like someone owes me 50 golden sovereigns."<br/><br/>The bartender snorted, holding back an impolite chuckle.<br/><br/>Adell rolled her eyes. The cooling sensation of the ink irked her a little, though it sort of irritated her even more that she couldn't really see the ink staining her skin except when light shone upon it from an angle. There were advantages though. She never got caught sneaking around in the night.<br/><br/>The young man's quill went back to whatever he was writing. Adell turned to face the bartender again, though she felt a little curious. What was the young man writing there? She craned her head upwards, trying to peek a glance at the whatever the young man was writing. His left forearm blocked the view of whatever he was writing, and his left hand trailed behind every word, obscuring whatever he wrote even more.<br/><br/>She tried to look away innocently as the young man glanced in her direction. He blinked, before he smiled.<br/><br/>"Hey, mister. If you're so interested in what I have written..."<br/><br/>The thought of saying that she was female popped in her head for a moment, but that moment passed without action. She didn't explain it to everyone, because passing as a man for her was pretty much the norm. Adell wasn't crossdressing by choice, it seemed like the only logical conclusion when she saw herself in the mirror.<br/><br/>Her train of thought crashed when the young man leaned forward towards her, grabbing her by her chest-wrappings. Adell looked like a guy, but anyone touching her chest still made her a little too nervous. Pushing his hand away, she leapt from her chair and away from him. The blonde-haired young man looked quite surprised by her reaction, but the surprise faded away from his face and was replaced by a cheeky smile.<br/><br/>"Interested in a long-term career proposition? I'll make it worth your while."<br/><br/>As Adell slipped back quietly into her chair, her face still scowling at the young man, the young man reached into a pocket and placed a medium-sized bag of coins on the table. It jingled, drawing her attention. Was that the reward?<br/><br/>"It's an upfront of 800 golden sovereigns for the mission."<br/><br/>Adell gasped. 800 golden sovereigns was more than twice her annual allowance back home. Her funds dwindled by the days that passed by, and the pathetic coin pouch that dangled by her side held less than a few silver sovereigns. But a deal that good...<br/><br/>"What's the catch?" asked Adell.<br/><br/>The young man extended his hand and grabbed Adell's, shaking hers with polite force. "My name's Verse. I need something done."<br/><br/>Verse jumped off the chair and tugged at Adell's hand. When he finally got off the chair, the clear difference of height between the two was immediately obvious. Adell realised that she stood more than a head taller than the strange young man.<br/><br/>Dragged into a doorway of the tavern, he shoved Adell gently into an empty room. The room was quite spacious, though it seemed more like a meeting room rather than a bed and board. All the windows in this room were vertically thin and set above the eye-level of any sensible human being, and a square table with a few chairs stood in the centre of the room.<br/><br/>Adell took a chair nearest the door, looking Verse squarely in the eye. Verse was still smiling, swinging the coin pouch lazily in his left hand.<br/><br/>"The Kingdom of Agathor. What do you think you know about it?" asked Verse.<br/><br/>Adell placed a hand on her chin. She knew something. A little.<br/><br/>"There was a civil war. Succession crisis."<br/><br/>"2 years ago, yes." Verse nodded. "Continue."<br/><br/>"The current king..." Adell's voice trailed off. She couldn't remember the man's name, but she knew what he did to gain the throne.<br/><br/>Verse placed the coin pouch gently on the table and sat himself opposite Adell, grinning like a happy child. "Skip names if you must," he added.<br/><br/>"The current king overthrew his brother. The civil war was remarkably short, and just about no one died. The previous king was exiled to the border lands of Agathor."<br/><br/>Verse slid the coin pouch towards Adell. She caught it, held it in her hand and looked at Verse quizzically. "What are you looking for?"<br/><br/>Verse leaned forward on the table, though his small height made it quite irrelevant in how much closer he got to Adell. She leaned forward on it as well, though the length of the table made these little things quite irrelevant in the grand scheme of trying to whisper.<br/><br/>"Civil war."<br/><br/>----<br/><br/>And that was how it all began. Verse had brought a bunch of clothing for her to wear, though she insisted on something a little on the light side. A black-skinned human looked strange when wearing dark clothing.<br/><br/>Her thoughts wandered briefly to why she got picked out. Did Verse see something in her? Or was this some sort of strange patsy operation? Who spent 800 golden sovereigns on sending people to die?<br/><br/>As she lifted up the light blue silk shirt to the sunlight, she heard the door open from behind her. Verse said he was going to get more people.<br/><br/>"Hey," said Adell, without looking behind her. Her eyes focused on the shirt. She could pull it off a noble or upper class look with it.