Swallowing against the sandpaper in his mouth, Dean Shadow watched as the guards in their heavy armor shifted. That the tower was protected with more than just wards was testament to just how powerful Zozo had become, how far she’d risen politically. It also gave Dean hope for the mission. If she had what they needed, it would be the end of an interminable period of frustration.<br/><br/>Glancing back, Dean wished that the plan didn’t call for such ostentatious risk, but he hadn’t seen another way to get into the tower without magic. The windows were enchanted, and the balconies too high for him to easily repel. Dagger-climbing (or any other method) had struck him as foolish. There was no way his “friend” was going to give Dean enough power to assail that reach. Not that Dean blamed him.<br/><br/><div class="floatleft">(http://i945.photobucket.com/albums/ad295/Dariusfallenstar/Male%20Rp%20Characters/tumblr_mu9vgynDAQ1sxazu4o1_400_zps14380f1e.jpg)</div>Thus, the front door. Wearing the red and white livery of an eunuch slave, Dean stepped forward, silver plate on his outstretched palm evenly balanced. He felt odd, moving into the light, wielding none of his standard guise. Who the guards saw now was just…Dean. Lean, hard features, dashing goatee and mustache, enchanting eyes, a body that moved as if made for all manner of decadent pleasures…<br/><br/>“Hey, you, dickless. Are you going to saunter all night?” One of the guards broke into a chuckle at the speaker, who’d gestured with his spear at Dean.<br/><br/>Mentally scoffing at the man’s lack of respect, Dean picked up his pace, arriving at the arched double doors with their inlay of gemstones and whirling patterns a few seconds later. “Special spices for the kitchen,” he said, fighting the urge to use his *real* voice. The gravely deep baritone that had never failed. He reassured himself that these men wouldn’t have appreciated it anyway, and spoke in a higher octave than any man had a right to.<br/><br/>“Eh, okay,” the guard said, not even bothering to check the tray. Stepping aside, the guard opened the door. “You know the drill. If the enchantments pick up anything on you, you’ll die in a horrible burst of fire, immolated where you stand.”<br/><br/>Now *this* was the tricky part. Technically, Dean was a creature of enchantment, a magical construct. However, his kind were rare, fairly unique. It was unlikely that Zozo had adjusted her wards to prepare for his brand of power. Still, what was the worst that could happen? He could die, and dying sucked, but what could you do? You couldn’t live a life in fear.<br/><br/>Dean stepped through the doorway gracefully, ignoring the vague tingle that ran down his spine as he passed the wards. Nothing happened. He’d brought no poison, no weapons – so those defenses didn’t go off either. Stepping with new confidence, Dean allowed a smile to grace his almost too-generous mouth and began down one of the corridors.<br/><br/>“Hey,” called the guard behind, stopping him in his tracks. “You must be really new. Two lefts. Down a flight of stairs. Kitchen. Don’t get lost. There are dangers in this place.”<br/><br/>Grunting his thanks (well, squeaking it, but Dean wouldn’t acknowledge that he could even produce such a sound), Dean followed the instructions and passed into the spacious kitchen. The servants ignored him as he moved toward the garbage chute in the back. It was the only unprotected entrance he’d been able to locate; however, there was a trick: you could only open the chute and gain access to the interior from *within* the interior thanks to a clever trap door.<br/><br/>Glancing around, making sure no one was watching, Dean pulled the lever that would unlatch the opening to the disgusting pit. Turning his thoughts inward, to the connection he shared with his other half, Dean sent an emotional pulse: impatience.<br/><br/>Impatience for his weapons and tools – which his ally carried. Impatience for access to his rudimentary powers – which he couldn’t activate until they were both deeper in the tower. And, just maybe, impatience for his friend to show his face. No matter how much he disliked his other half from time to time, they *were* connected and it would be impossible for Dean to exist without him. Which was saying something.<br/><br/>The world would truly suck without Dean Shadow to make it a more interesting place.<br/>