~'Honey-Sweet'~

The Illithid King...; dark grey

She arrives back at the tavern which, it being around 2 pm, is now far busier, and full of gruff, drunken men, and adventurer looking types. A certain corner of the room catches her eye, and brings a slim sliver of a smile to her face. 

In a dimly lit booth in the very corner of the tavern are a dark elf male, and a teifling female. The two are close together, seemingly partners. it isn't often that our hero comes upon other unusual folks in towns like these, let alone 2 in 1 place. She walks over to the corner and the two lovers look up to her, a touch of fear evident in their eyes, she takes note of this. "Can we help you?" The man asks as the woman silently clutches tighter to him. "What are individuals are your kinds doing in a town like this?" Looks of offense strike the faces of the lovers, and Saya realizes how her question must have come off. "We face enough prejudice from them," The man points out at the humans and half elves that fill the tavern, "Never would I have expected to receive such a comment from a dragonborn. You should know better." She places a hand on her chest and gives a small bow. "Please accept my apology, I did not mean to offend." She straightens back up and tries to address the two with an awkward smile, "I merely wonder what brings you here. I assume you are adventurers of some kind." His face relaxes a bit, recognizing that her harsh tone was likely a result of the prejudice she has faced as well. "Yes, we are adventurers. I am Imraeah T'sorian." He gestures to the woman clutching on to him nervously, "This is my partner, Eladraen." Saya nods, her demeanor relaxing without her realizing. "I assume you too are here then in search of work?" He nods. "I have a task. If you are willing to join forces with me I believe we can free the towns people from the troglodyte rule." Imraeah (IHM-ray-uh) looks to Eladraen (el-AH-dray-ehn), and without exchanging a word, the two come to an agreement. Imraeah looks the dragonborn in the eye and nods. Then he stands from his seat and holds his hand out, "Your name?" Saya takes his hand and shakes it firmly. "I am Saya Surina, I think it suitable that we get to know each other a bit before embarking on this quest. Shall we sit and converse?" Imraeah nods and Saya sits across from them. "I am Saya Surina, paladin of the sun. Sorcerer of the stars." Imraeah looks intrigued by her official introduction. "I am Imraeah, the drow druid." A rush of excitement runs through Saya, she's never worked with a druid before. She stares down at the teifling Eladraen, waiting for her to speak. "Does your partner not wish to converse with us?" Imraeah looks over to Eladraen, "She doesn't speak to those she doesn't trust. She is the teifling theif Eladraen." Saya nods, "I suspect that will be very useful for the task at hand." Imraeah raises an eyebrow, "Tell me, Saya Surina, what is this task you speak of?" She thinks for moment of how to explain. "The king of this place. He is a selfish khajit. He is weak, and has allowed the troglodyte into his village. I know the king, and he is not a bad man. I believe that he is somehow under control. I think that if we can find out the source of this, we may be able to save him and bring peace to the village people." The two stare at each other in an unsettling silence for a minute or 2. "We will accept your quest. When shall we set off Saya Surina?" Saya looks out a window, looking at the position of the sun. "Early morning tomorrow. I shall meet you here at this very table." They exchange goodbyes and Saya walks to the innkeep, asking him for a room for another night. She strides up the stairs and goes to sleep. Over night she experiences something she never has, a dream. In this dream, a changeling watches over a pit of snakes, which are constantly devouring mice that seem to keep appearing. 

The next morning Saya walks down the stairs to see Imraeah and Eladraen sitting at the same table, this time they are both armed and look ready to fight. "You 2 received a good rest I take it?" The teifling woman nods, a smile on her face. She stands up from the table and rushes over to shake Sayas hand. "I am excited to be in your company too Eladraen." Saya finds herself able to understand Eladraens body language with ease. "Saya Surina, I place my trust in you." Her words float through the air, never having opened her mouth. "How do you do that?" Saya jumps back, instantly suspicious of the teifling theif. (Guys this isn't a spell or anything, it's how she communicates and it's just for flavor, for the story's sake, she can choose who to project her to, and can send selective messages. For gameplay's sake we're just gonna pretend that when it comes to important things said in battle, she can't concentrate enough to selectively project, and all those within a usual radius would be able to hear her.)