The Drow Queen of Glaley [Very NSFW]

[Zevran]

"A child," Zevran murmurs, head bowing and eyes unfocused as if deep in thought.

[Coquette Blacquin]

"Yes," she says, "I will have a third-- is that not what you meant?"

[Zevran]

"Sorry?" Zevran shakes his head. "Oh. I was answering your question. That is to say, I suspect that is the price owed."

[Coquette Blacquin]

"No," she says, fairly quickly and without much emotion. "It won't be that. Varisia has very few hard limits in life, but harming a child is one of them. She would never abandon or give away one of her -- my -- children."

[The Iron Bull]

"Uhhh." Bull clears his throat. "I don't disagree, exactly, about her never harming her own children in anyway. Fuck, only reason I've stopped suspecting she might be an actual devil is that I can't deny she loves the girls. But... would she consider a son a child? I mean, given the difference in how she treats the male and female servants..."

[Coquette Blacquin]

Cindy blinks. "What? Of course. What?" But Cedric's already thinking furiously. She always says 'a daughter' when she talks of having a child. Of course, we've had two already, but surely she knows the potential for a son exists. And that first child, the one we miscarried...

"She might not," says Coquette a moment later, in that darker tone. "Shit. Fuck." We can't risk it again, the ritual. Unless... 

[Zevran]

"Then paying the price is not possible," Zevran says simply. "Which means I must take my freedom in another way." He looks back up at Coquette, the words a challenge.

[Coquette Blacquin]

"Alright. I will help you." She gets up, finally pulling free of Bull, and moves to the desk, pulling out a small pouch. She begins counting, shrugs, then takes half of what's in there and puts the rest back, moving to offer him the purloined coins: 5 platinum coins. "Hang onto this. I'll get more and a map of the area, but this is a show of good faith for now. What else will you need? A horse? You can take my mare, or sell her for another if you don't trust that."

[Zevran]

Zevran slowly reaches out to take the pouch. "Food and drink," he says, voice coming out detached and bland. But this time, it's because he's shocked and stunned. "Ah... A Ring of Sustenance would be ideal, but an Everfull Mug, a couple of weeks of gnomish honey-meal bars, a sling and a few pouches of bullets would be, umm, sufficient. More than. A disguise kit. I do not know how to ride beyond a gentle, ah, horse jog."

"Canter."

"Yes of course." He shakes his head. "A pair of well made, mundane daggers or some other short blade." Zevran seems to finally snap out of his shock, a frown forming. "But none of that will help if my Bloodhook stone remains in play."

[Coquette Blacquin]

"Magic items are more challenging to get, but I'll see what I can find on the black market. A disguise kit I have, but since I use it myself, I'll get you a fresh one. Daggers... Will this do?" She moves back to her drawer, opening it again, then reaching in and fiddling for a bit before she comes out with two knives: slim daggers, each glowing faintly with magic. "I don't know what they do, but they don't feel evil or even aggressive, so I kept them. What's a Bloodhook stone?"

[Zevran]

Zevran takes the daggers, looking them over for a moment. He lingers on the hilt were there are a trio of tiny gemstones, then grunts. "If I am not mistaken, this one," he lifts the one with three black stones, "has a bane enchantment of some kind. I'm afraid I cannot tell which of corus, though I suspect the small glyph secreted in the center of the gems would reveal such if one could read it. As for the other..." He hums thoughtfully, then flicks his wrist with obvious skill. The dagger flies across the room where it buries itself up to the hilt in a loaf of bread Coquette had intended to offer to her husbands. 

Bull lets out a growl, eyes dimly red and Vicky held out in front of him. He himself is in front of Coquette, slightly hunched over to block more of her from avenues of attack. "The fuck are--" He cuts off as the dagger flies back to Zevran's hand, who catches it easily. 

[Coquette Blacquin]

Coquette puts a hand on Bull's arm to steady him. "Better in your hands than mine. I am awful with thrown weapons. The Bloodhook stone?"

[Zevran]

Zevran looks up from the daggers at them and winces. The daggers flash once more and... vanish? He bows, not nearly deep enough for a slave, but certainly enough for someone showing respect. "My apologies. I allowed myself to be distracted and did not think of how my actions would be taken." 

With a grunt, Bull slings Vicky back over his shoulder and crosses his arms. "Work on that," he says firmly. "And also? Sometime in the next few days, before the Bitchiest Dick returns, we're gonna sneak off to the garden at night and have a little spar. I wanna see if you can do more than throw a perfectly good blade away."

"That... sounds lovely," Zevran replies with surface politeness, regard shifting back to Coquette. "A Bloodhook stone is... a very expensive but nearly perfect means of tracking someone. With it, the holder can-- without any real skill, talent or knowledge of the arcane-- locate the one from whom the stone was created."

[Coquette Blacquin]

"Then that will be my real challenge. What does it look like? I'll begin the search for it in the morning."

She pauses, then adds, "I still think it'd be best if I were pregnant. It gives us longer to look for your Bloodstone, if you can stand to hang around a few weeks or months to do this properly."

[Zevran]

Zevran shrugs, the movement looser and somehow less resentful than previously. "That is a matter between yourself and whoever the father is to be," he replies, nodding his head towards Shisou.