Varres’s eyes widened fractionally and he fought the sudden urge to take a step back as the lush green valley that was her cleavage came to a stop mere inches from his face. Damn her, trying to unnerve me with her “other” weapons. Forcing his eyes away like he had just noticed something happening down the street to avoid staring like a halpless adolescent at her sizable bosom, he responded with a voice as thick and sweet as chilled honey.<br/>“ Well, I asked first, but you seem to be too absorbed in your reading material to have noticed the normal flow of conversation. No matter. I follow the money, and right now a lot of it is flowing through this charming backwater. I have a client, a new one; a goblin prince who mentioned that he was tired of dealing with agents who claimed to be the best and yet fell far short of expectations. Perhaps you’ve bumped into him before? “<br/>Varres struck a casual pose as he delivered his needling comment, arms folded loosely across his chest, idly plucking at an imagined particle of dust on his shirt, shifting his weight to his right leg to take a slight lean.<br/><br/>He had taken centuries of experience to culture the attitude and look he possessed. A black silk swashbuckler’s shirt draped his lean, acrobat’s build, tucked loosely into form-fitting silk leggings of a dark, rich red. His boots came to mid-shin, black leather traced with gold, their slight polish dulled by a thin coating of dust. A broad matching belt was cinched around his trim waist, set with a smooth tumbled garnet the size of a bird’s egg in the middle. His main weapon, a rapier with a golden sunburst basket hilt, hung from a separate strap for a right-handed draw, the black lacquered wood of the sheath capped with the image of a snarling wolf in gold. A brace of perfectly balanced throwing knives rested across his torso, all a perfect complement to his belt and boots.<br/>His raven black hair was tucked back in a high pony-tail except for a few stray locks over his left eye while a neatly trimmed anchor style beard  rest on his chin. Gold rings set with simple garnets sat on several of his fingers, as well as two in each ear lobe while a golden stud pierced his bottom lip. Used to the sun, what skin was exposed was a golden tan, adding a slight contrast to his hair and pearly white teeth, the slightly elongated incisors capped with gleaming yellow metal as well, giving his smile a strange sort of feral elegance.<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>