The duke was somehow exactly what Luna had expected him to be. Extravagant, masked, derisive… he was exactly the type of Orlesian Fereldans pictured when thinking of Orlais. For such a proud man to associate with mercenaries meant the rumours about his standing were probably true. Her expression remained neutral, but her eyes blazed. Let him look down on elves, then; it wasn’t worth revealing what she really was just to show up a desperate man.<br/><br/>As Leland spoke, her gaze wandered the room. How many of them were prepared for what they could face? She’d read a lot about the Deep Roads - reading was one thing she’d had plenty of time to do in the Circle - but that was a lot different than actually<i>going</i>there. And while she could call upon magic, she’d only had to use it while fearing for her life a handful of times. The results had always been… volatile.<i><span style="color: grey">Look at it as practice, then,</span></i>she thought.<br/><br/>Still, most of the mercenaries looked as prepared as a non-mage could be to face danger. The elf who spoke first - the Dalish - was dressed all in leather armour as foreign to Luna as the Orlesians, and she had, at the very least, a shortbow for combat. Luna didn’t doubt that she knew how to use it. She was… regal and intimidating, all at once, and Luna found herself wondering if she’d have been the same way if she’d been born Dalish. The Dalish had no great love of city elves, that much she knew.<i><span style="color: grey">I’m a Circle Elf, really, but I can hardly say that, can I?</span></i><br/><br/>And another elf by the fireplace, working her fingernails into points with a dagger. She, too, was dressed in leather armour, but it seemed to serve a completely different purpose than the Dalish’s, given how tightly it fit. Luna blinked. She had many weapons, then, and not just her blades. A true mercenary, maybe.<br/><br/>The last elf of the four looked like she’d just run through a forest. Her armour, like the others’, was mostly leather, but it looked old and worn. Still, it didn’t look like she couldn’t handle herself, and she hardly looked out of place among the group. If anything, the girl seemed the most like her, although it was hard to know for sure. Well, except for the whole mage thing.<br/><br/>She avoided looking at the Qunari for too long - if they followed the Qun, she didn’t know much about that, and if they didn’t, she knew even less. Best not to risk having her head crushed by huge grey hands for now.<br/><br/>And a dwarf. His race had the best reason to explore the Deep Roads of anyone, so she couldn’t fault him at all for coming along. Mug of ale aside, he looked like a capable and terrifying warrior.<br/><br/>A fine group, then. Four elves, a Qunari, a dwarf, whoever else straggled in, and any of the duke’s men he chose to provide. She eyed the knight at his side curiously. She seemed a capable, if haughty, warrior, but high society was all about appearances. Would she come along, then?<br/><br/>She shook her head. She didn’t have any questions that wouldn’t immediately seem suspicious.<i><span style="color: grey">Best to stay quiet, then. If he’s looking for anything specific down there, he isn’t likely to let us in on it. If he isn’t, then there’s likely not much he could tell that I don’t already know.</span></i><div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>