<div class="floatleft">(http://i66.tinypic.com/15o8l02.jpg)</div><br/>Ember was a native of the Empire. As a matter of fact, she came from streets just like the ones surrounding the inn. Filthy, surprisingly dark, and harboring dangers she was only too aware of.<br/><br/>She felt at home here.<br/><br/>So she assumed her usual appearance for such an environment. Plain and ordinary. Just another grey figure hurrying along the walls and away from light. Just another serving girl, wrapped in cheap, oversize, worn robes, face hidden, perpetually late. Just the kind one is apt to overlook and forget about. The anonymity made her feel comfortable. The knots of hustlers (the smell of sour sweat, fear and excitement), gazes of kidnappers (a whiff of chemicals she was all too familiar with), the attentions of the town watch (stench of corruption hiding behind straight postures, truncheons and insignia)- those were old friends to be reacquainted with, and given wide berth. A bittersweet wave of nostalgia washed over her, evoking a half-smile on her lips.  Beneath the over-sized robes and cowl she was petite, strikingly beautiful girl, wasp-waisted, her wild brown-red hair barely constrained with thin black ribbons. Worn leather strips were loosely wound around her forearms and wrists; similar strips protected her sandaled feet and legs.<br/><br/>"<em>A time comes when a child cuts the ties to the past, and looks to the future</em>" her mentor's voice whispered from somewhere behind her left shoulder. It was only a memory, but it served to help her keep focus. She was not here to play with the locals. No, it was at Drake's summons she  was here in the first place. Judging by the inn he chose, he was low on cash yet again. Ember's smile widened a bit, remembering the dire straits he was in the last time, his conflict with her old gang... and the opportunity at escape she took. It was a huge leap of faith for her, but he proved himself time and again during the following weeks. They both made just enough money during the misadventures back then for him to get a new horse and replace what he had sold off.<br/><br/>History doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes. Ember squinted at the other women seated with her, sizing them up. Bold. No, flamboyant. Obviously used to forcing their way through. How were they not victims of some man's hubris yet? Were the gods looking out for them? No, they were probably only from somewhere else. Hmm. They seem so unlike her, who always sits with her back to the wall, with a clear view of the entrance, and an escape route already planned.<br/><br/>She dipped her fingertip into the cheap wine, stirred for a bit, then sucked the finger clean. An absent-minded look in her eyes as she reached for the Queen of Wands with her other hand, the cat in the image warm and familiar.<br/><br/>"I am Ember." An awkward pause later, she added "Of the streetcorner orphanage gang." She winked at Drake. "I see you are down a horse and bling again, love. At least you still have your armor. Unlike that time when you were down to your loincloth and sword. You aren't planning to sell us off to get some cash, are you?" She laughed, nudging the warrior with her foot beneath the table.<br/><br/>"Then again, I am stolen goods, in a way. Unlike the others you called." She finally looks full-on at each of the other women. With only her face and leather-bandaged hands exposed, there's not much clue she gives of herself. "The good man rescued me... or was it me who rescued him? Anyways, it was a sticky, sweaty situation with many naked bodies and even more naked blades. It's a common thing in the Empire, too, unless you're highborn or a foreigner."