A lone journey and gathering info.

She'd promised him that they'd leave together in the morning. While he slept soundly, she snuck out. She couldn't have him risking his life for this. More than that: she couldn't leave this kingdom defenseless. If both heroes were off in other countries, the other kingdoms would no doubt take the opportunity to attack.

She wrote him a short letter explaining it all before leaving. She still felt guilty, but it was for the best. For now, she needed information. She needed to know how to get to the Demon Kingdom how, but she couldn't exactly ask the castle; they certainly wouldn't condone an **** on another nation.

Valerie herself had never been to Undertown, but had definitely heard enough about it. It was on the outskirts of the kingdom and trafficked in all sorts of illegal goods. ****, creatures, weapons, people, but most importantly: information. She could not exactly hide herself, but she supposed a cloak for do for keeping her head down.

The place she had always heard about was Inn's and Outs: a large tavern in the center of town. They were supposedly the biggest information hub on the continent and no one could ever touch them. She wasn't sure what made them so secure, but that wasn't what she was there to find out.

Unlike the kingdom city proper, Undertown had filled streets during the night. She was surprised to see all sorts of races here, especially those unwelcome in the kingdom. Luckily, though, everyone else was likely in a similar position: they were here for one reason or another and did not particularly care about anyone else.

Eventually, she found the tavern. The inside was just as chaotic and roudy as the streets. She had an image in her mind of everyone stopping to stare at her when she entered, but no one paid her any mind. She approached the bar and waited for the barkeep.

A fat orc stepped up, polishing a glass. "What can I getcha?"

"You probably hear it all the time, but I need information. I'm looking to get to the Demon Kingdom, more specifically: to Amathys. Only thing is, I have no idea how to get there. Our kingdom doesn't sell world maps or anything of the sort and I can't imagine the castle would take kindly to me prodding. Think you can help?" Valerie asked, barely looking out from her hood.

"Aye," the bartender said without skipping a beat. "We get a few a' ya comin' by to defect every now an' then. I know how to get there, but it ain't cheap." Despite his nonchalance, she could feel his eyes wandering over the parts of her he could see. He'd given her more information than he knew, but that wasn't why she was here. The kingdom suspected defectors, but she had bigger priorities right now.

"How much?" She said, turning to reach into her bag.

No coin. Got two options for ya: ya spend the rest a' the night on yer knees behind the bar, suckin' my cock or* ya help me around tha bar as a waitress." With the ease he rattled it off, it sounded like a deal he made, or at least offered, quite often. Still, the third option was to just go find some more information.

But she was running against the clock here. When Gareth woke up, he'd go looking for her and she had no doubt he'd look here. She could go somewhere else, become this guy's cocksucker for a night, or just do some light waitressing.