Ethirdir had sent a message out almost immediately upon arriving home, asking a servant to bring him some fresh quality writing ink to his office immediately. The ink was already on his desk by the time the Elf had headed to his bedroom to dress in something a little more comfortable and then walked directly to his office, the inkwell sitting on his desk with a brand new quill resting beside it. Always pleased with his servants' promptness, the merchant wasted little time in using that quill and fresh batch of ink to write an important message that was rushed out by another servant almost immediately. The parchment had been rolled and sealed with an official wax insignia, which Ethirdir hoped would make the recipient understand how important the message was.<br/><br/>He was not disappointed - almost one hour later, a response arrived in his office. Not in the form of a letter, but in the form of a servant, one directly from the household to which he had sent the message. The servant was dressed in a vibrant red coat with a pair of similarly hued trousers. His elven ears were perhaps the sharpest Ethirdir had ever seen, piercing through the well-maintained long black hair that draped behind the elf's shoulders. His pale blue eyes were calm and collected, and when he spoke he had a fairly even voice that sounded like it could go deep at any moment.<br/><br/>"I am Aolieth, head servant of Lord Mage Tanaven," the servant said without a hint of shame or pompousness. Ethirdir had no doubt that this man was probably paid very well to look absolutely flawless when doing everything. "My master is currently very busy and doesn't wish to be disturbed, so he sent me in his stead to deal with the 'most important matter' you mentioned in your letter."<br/><br/>Of course, Ethirdir thought with a sigh. Mages, especially Elvish ones, were so wrapped up in their own little world that they often thought the entire universe revolved around them and they didn't need to bother with things they considered trivial or unimportant. It did make sense that Tanaven would send a servant to deal with this matter, since Ethirdir had been intentionally vague about what this meeting was about. He was being careful, after all, considering how dangerous the item he currently possessed truly was.<br/><br/>"I am honored that your master has sent someone he clearly holds in such high esteem," Ethirdir said, offering the Elven servant a bow, "but this is a matter I must speak with your master directly. It is a decision that he alone can make, and using someone to relay my words to him is not ideal under the circumstances."<br/><br/>"So says many people who wish to see him" Aolieth said without pause or hesitation. "Pray, tell me, what is so important that it requires his direct attention?"<br/><br/>Ethirdir grinned a little as he answered: "A Basilisk Heart."<br/><br/>For the first time in perhaps the servant's entire life, his eyes widened greatly and his jaw dropped. Apparently, the Elf had not been expecting to hear those words today, if ever. "A Basilis..." The servant seemed almost reluctant to say the phrase in its entirety. "Sir, if what you say is true..."<br/><br/>"It is true," Ethirdir assured Aolieth.<br/><br/>"But then...how did...when..."<br/><br/>Ethirdir held up a hand. "As I said, I will only speak to your master directly. No more details will be given to you, only the fact that I have one. I expect this will bring your master out of hiding, my good man?"<br/><br/>Aolieth hesitated...and then seemed to recover from his shock, smoothening out his surprise. "I will relay this message to my master at once. You can expect a response for a proper meeting time and place soon, I imagine."<br/><br/>Ethirdir widened his grin. "Now that's what I want to hear..."<br/><br/><hr/><br/>Theolin walked through the front door of the Dew Drop Inn right in the middle of rush hour. Still dressed in the same smart-looking clothes he had worn earlier that morning - because, honestly, why change when he was going to see Mercedes again anyway? - he for the briefest moment wondered if he could find a table that Mercedes was likely going to be serving before he noticed just how many people were currently filling the tavern. Getting a table that she would serve was going to be a crapshoot, and even then, he wasn't going to have much time to talk to her anyway. That's why he was going to talk to her after the dinner rush, after all...<br/><br/>Shrugging, he decided to simply find an open booth and take it. If he got Mercedes as his waitress, then at least she would know he was here and waiting for her to finish his shift. Regardless, he wasn't going to leave once he had dinner; he planned on waiting for Mercy's shift to end so the two of them could find a nice quiet place to chat and get to know one another. Even though it would involve just talking, Theolin was actually feeling excited, though he couldn't figure out why he was so eager like this. Perhaps it had just been a while since he had found a girl as lovely as Mercedes, or maybe he just wanted to make up for his stupid mistake earlier that morning.<br/><br/>Eventually he found an open booth, and as he sat down he checked to make sure the wrapped package in his pouch was all right. It was a little something to give to Mercedes later on, something he hoped she would like. Nothing fancy or elaborate, just something he hoped she would appreciate after a long day working in the tavern. If things went well after tonight, he would consider getting her more expensive gifts, but tonight this would do just fine.