The dwarven marketplace was busy, and that pleased Moliira.  While she typically avoided those who held the drow to be enemies, even she had to admit that their crafts were some of the best.  A few of her people were present as well, exchanging weapons, fabrics and metal ingots for the most part.  It seemed an uneasy truce had been reached in this part of the Umbral Depths.  The drow traders had their own area, and Moliira visited them first.  And it was there she learned some very interesting, and useful information.  It seemed to her past had been very similar here, from her birth to the point of her exile.  But The point where paths had diverged was still not clear to Moliira.  Accepting a trade for the bottle of elvish cordial she had brought with her, Moliira moved on. 

The dwarves eyed her warily, but she engaged them in the rough dwarvish she had learned.  That softened the woman's attitude towards her, and Moliira was able to make herself understood.  Handing the metal to the dwarven woman, she waited patiently.  The silver was pure, and she did not have the skill to forge it into the shape that she needed.  Once the dwarf spoke, Moliira nodded.  She was not surprised there would be a price, but it was not as much as she thought.  She was told to return in a couple of hours, and the drow nodded.  It was just another step in her plan.

Moving away, she headed for another section.  This seemed relegated to those from the surface, and a mix of languages was being spoken here.  Perhaps there would be other things that would be useful here.  But Moliira found herself wary.  She was not as powerful here, and the drow knew there were quite a few people who would stick a dagger in her back simply for existing.  Glancing at a young human, there seemed something familiar about him…

Hiro was told by his father he could trust the dwarven blacksmiths.  It seemed he was right.  They looked at him oddly, he was just a young'in, especially compared to the long lived dwarves.  But they actually recognized the Phoenix Crest of Kouen he wore on his coat once they got a good look at the young lad.  They treated him well, and with his recent jobs, he was able to afford a nice masterwork bastard sword, and he got a deal when he purchased a mythril breastplate.  He hadn't the silver crescents for a full suit of armor, but he needed a better weapon than the worn old broadsword he started out with, and he needed some kind of armor to shrug off the blows of battle.  The armor was very light and flexible, but extremely durable.  It fit him like a glove.  The dwarven blacksmith was so nice and kind to him, it was like he was part of the family.  How did these blacksmiths know of his family?  Did they meet his father some how?  Was he that much of a hero that his legend reached the Umbral Depths?

Hiro left the blacksmith's shop with his new sword on his belt and wearing his breastplate.  He walked through the crowd, filled with all sorts of people, dwarves, humans, races he couldn't identify, even an occasional drow.  He did not notice yet the woman staring at him through the crowd.  His sense of magic was not as keen yet as his father's was.  He could not yet see auras, despite being able to cast fire magic.  That was one trick he had to pick up on his own.  He had his father's face, but the raven hair of his mother.  However, he had the striking, blue eyes of both parents.  He wore the phoenix crest on his overcoat, though he did not wear all red clothing or armor like his father did.

Blue felt uncomfortable so deep underground. Although he had devoted Himself to travel the world, he still regretted coming the umbral depths. He felt insecure when he knew the blue sky, he once fell from, was so far away

The mage looked around the market, scouting for something to buy. Thats when he saw a strange looking scene. A drow staring at teenager from across the gap between them filled with dwarves. Afraid she would hurt the boy, Blue observed from a distance, readying his spells and fearing the worst. Normally he wouldn't be this tense but the lack of the open sky was getting to him. 

While Moliira only glanced at a person and moved her gaze on, others of her kin were not so subtle.  She noted another drow staring at the young human, though her gaze was unflinching and filled with hostility.  It took her a few moments since she was not in her realm, but Moliira knew why he seemed so familiar.  There was only one she knew with that sort of crest, and it was that of Sabishii Kouen.  While she had never entirely agreed with the man and his methods, she still held respect for him.  From the look of the young man, this was likely his son.  If Sabishii had survived and come to Revaliir, that was a good thing.  Perhaps this young man could enlighten her.

But only if her kin did not sink the dagger into his back.  She moved like the wind, grabbing the other drow's wrist when the dagger was inches from the young Kouen's back.  "I would not advise doing that.  Especially in an open market such as this.  Now go," she spoke, voice as chilled as the mountain winds.  For emphasis, Moliira clenched her fist hard enough to leave the other drow with a thoroughly sprained wrist.  The grip made it clear she could have easily broken the woman's wrist.

Turning to the young man, there was a calm but curious look on her face.  "I know the crest you wear, boy.  Your father and I crossed blades once or twice.  I am Moliira," she said with a bow of her head.  It was because of who she was now that she knew she was correct.  It only remained to be seen if Sabishii had mentioned any of his old acquaintances to his son.

Hiro was unaware of the drow stalking him until the last moment, when he whirled around to see a female drow holding a knife, and another one stopping her from plunging it into his back.  He would have finished unless this woman didn't save him. 

"W-what the Hells?"  His face showed shock and confusion.  He had no idea there was an assassin attempting to take his head until it was almost too late.  He had to keep his guard up, and learn how to sense auras, else he would get killed sooner or later when he wasn't expecting it.  He waited for the assassin to slink off into the darkness before speaking.  "Thank you, ma'am, it appears you've saved my life.  Was she just a thief?  Or someone with an axe to grind against my father?  I haven't done anything to anyone to incur wrath like that.  I've only recently started traveling alone in these lands on my own, having left home."

She spoke to him, introducing herself as Moliira, that she knew his father, having crossed blades with her.  "Ack!  It seems everyone knows this crest.  The dwarven blacksmith showed me respect after seeing this crest.  You knew my father?  He mentioned he knew a drow woman, he had respect for her.  He said he didn't always agree with her, but respected her anyway.  He said she became a Deity of Air or something.  It seemed like everyone my father knew was either a God or Goddess.  Is that true?  My name is Hiro Kouen, son of Sabishii Kouen.  I owe you my life."  He bowed to Moliira courteously.  His father always taught him to respect his elders, who knew how old this drow woman was, she was likely hundreds of years old, despite looking like a woman who was possibly in her twenties or thirties.  Elves and drow were deceptive in their appearance, they lived much longer than humans did, despite looking young and fair.

{Sigurdson, you might want to try and interact with us or something, we're not trying to ignore you lol}

As Blue walked towards the young warrior and the drow huntress, he felt ashamed. When the assassin had lifted her dagger, blue had frozen on the spot. The tension of the situation and the killing intent in the rouges eyes as she drew her blade, was too much for Blue. The mage was truly not ready for a real battle yet. Fortunately, another drow had come to his rescue in Blues place. She had a powerful presence, and had scared the other one with mere words.
 
“Are you guys okay?” he asked worryingly as he approached. He wanted to know what the motives of the assailant were, but securing the safety of the victim was far more important. The smell of moist moss and wet rock tickled his nose, reminding him how far he was from the safety of the open sky. The only reason he had traveled so far below was because somebody else had forced his hand. On his way from the ancient ruins of Tinashe, a group of five drow mages had attacked him. They defeated him with ease, as each of them had been on his level of strength. The sorcerers had stolen the artifact in the ruined city and Blue had followed their trail all the way down to the Umbral depths. However, he would need help if he wanted to get his artifact back. He was not strong enough alone. This was an opportunity to gather allies. If he could help the huntress and the knight, maybe they would help him in return.

The confusion on the young man's face told Moliira a great deal.  Mostly that he carried his father's idealism of the world, and that he was still fairly innocent of how many people would simply kill him for the coin in his pocket.  "Possibly the first, more likely just one of my kin with a hatred of humans.  You are stepping into her territory in a way, after all.  Something to remember," she said, then chuckled when the young man confirmed what she had deduced.  The drow only nodded when he asked the truth of the rumors he had learned of her.  She did not want to draw attention to herself here, and Moliira had a feeling that her name was enough confirmation for the young Hiro. 

"Just owe me a favor.  Much easier to call on," she said with a slight grin.  There was no malice in her tone, adn her eyes drifted to the stranger that approached them.  She studied him for just a moment before answering him.  "We are fine.  Only a lesson learned in dealing with the denizens of the Umbral Depths.  Turn your back on them as little as possible.  Except for you honorable folk," Moliira said, raising her voice for a moment to address the dwarves who were still listening in.  Turning her attention back to the young Kouen, she wondered just what his destiny would be.  It would be curious to see if he followed his father's footsteps or struck out on his own path.

Looking to the other person who had joined them, Moliira wondered at his story as well.  "And what are you seeking down here?  Most don't wander down here just for the scenery," she said, keeping her eyes on the crowd more than anything else.  There was likely still danger here, and Moliira had always been more than a little paranoid.

Blue nodded in agreement to the drows advice. As it was the rougeish behavior of the residents of the Umbral Depths that brought him here to begin with. The horrible people she was talking about was probably the dwarves listening in on their conversation, he figured. " It's true I didn't come down here for the backdrop. I don't care much for caves. I came here to reclaim something stolen from my possession." It was best to be vague, as he didn't know the drows, nor the humans alignment. There was also a chance of an unwanted listener among the crowd as well. " What about you too? what are you doing here?. Would it be rude of me to ask for your names? My name is Blue." Blue had caught the last part of their conversation, so he did not need to ask why. Rather, he stared at the crowd listening in on their little talk. " I take it the walls have ears here in the depths. Shall we move somewhere more private. I would love to buy you a drink. Both of you seem like good people, which is a sight for sore eyes." Blue nodded towards a nearby tavern. In the noise of the drunkards within, it would be notably more challenging to listen in on their little chat. This was beneficial to Blue as he wanted to discuss business with the two. If he could hire them to help him get his artifact back, he would maybe have a chance again the mages. These didn't look like the sort who would betray him either.

What about you two*

So he didn't need to ask about the motives of the assailant*

((( Sorry for the bad language, I have norwegian auto correct and a small concussion)))

Moliira explained to him that the drow that just tried to assassinate him was probably just after him because he was human and was in their territory.  "I see, that makes sense, I hadn't considered that they just hate me because I'm human, maybe they wanted to rob my body and take my things after they finished killing me.  At any rate, thank you so much, I don't know what I can do to repay you.  My magical senses need some work, that drow would have killed me if you didn't step in."  Moliira suggested that he merely owed her a favor.  "All right, I owe you then."

A man older than Hiro appeared and asked if everyone was all right.  "I'm all right, my heart's just beating fast, I'm a little unnerved from that experience."  The man introduced himself as Blue (which Hiro thought was a weird name, maybe it was just a nickname), and told them he was seeking help obtaining an item that was stolen from him.  He offered the two of them a drink and asked them their names.  "My name is Hiro Kouen, and I was here to purchase some fine dwarven equipment.  I needed a better sword and armor."  He looked at Moliira to see if she would accept the offer from this stranger.  He seemed out of place in the Umbral Depths, but so was Hiro as well.  He appeared human, so could Hiro fully trust him?  If this man secretly wanted to rob them, it would be very poor luck for the young Hiro indeed, to get threatened by two entirely different people in a row.  But this man seemed to be a good man, so he would try trusting him.  Maybe he was just on edge because someone just tried to kill him.  "I . . . suppose I could go for a drink?  It would be nice to talk in a more private setting, even if it's a bar.  Moliira?"  He asked to see if Moliira approved of taking this man's offer.  She was someone his father knew, and wouldn't betray him, right?  Though one thought crossed his mind.

He was sixteen years old, and hadn't had alcohol before.  That also made him a tad nervous.