Make your point directly

You awoke in the early morning, the building next door providing solid shade from the rise of the sun. You were disappointed in yourself that you had unintentionally forsaken the bed, having slept in that chair the whole Night. Jiaghan may have been right about something after all, though you weren’t ready to tell her. Your skepticism and paranoia kept you away from enjoying real comfort, something you wouldn’t normally have access too, and can’t see when you would next get the opportunity. Your guilt dissipated as you got up from the chair looked at the bed and saw Jiaghan still sound asleep in it, splayed out widely in the middle of it, cocooned in the soft sheets and blankets. If your discomfort allows her some realm of peace, than it was worth it. That there was no incident was an extra benefit, though you're far from putting your guard down.

Slowly walking back to put the chair back in it’s place, and depart, you felt a slight soreness in your back and waist, and pain as blood slowly moves back fresher into your legs and feet. Letting your friend to continue sleeping, you silently moved to the main space of the inn, only to find your curious rescuer, now unarmored, already present at a table. Removed from his armor, and the days light upon him, you had a more accurate sense of his body. He seemed a little short for a human, but was of decent stock and build. He had some experience on him, though not quite a ‘middle aged’ man. His blonde hair was darker than most, certainly contrast from Jiaghan’s more bright and golden hues. There was an aura about him, that he seemed unphased by the world, an optimistic spirit that gave you pause. His brown eyes connecting with your red ones, he smiled as he extended his hand to the table in front of him, where some bread, fruit, and a pitcher of juice had been waiting, clearly in excess of what even a hearty human like him could likely eat by themselves.

"Good morning. Please, take a seat, have a bite. Hope you slept well"

"Well as one can" You reply neutrally

"I'm glad to hear it, and hope your young friend did too. I don't know what you had planned for the day, but I was hoping I learn some more about the two of you before you run off." He cordially tipped a cup before taking a drink.

You couldn’t keep your lack of trust or belief in his friendliness in anymore. There had to be an ulterior motive, you were sure of it. Bluntly, you put the matter out to force him to cut to the chase "Look, if you want to fuck me, just come out and say so."

The bluntness took the man by surprise, as he choked and coughed on his drink. After clearing his throat, he asks "I'm sorry, what?"

"You heard me. I don’t like playing games and I don’t have a lot of patience, so let's quit dancing around this. Let's haggle a price, you take me up to your room, do whatever it is you need to do, and we both get on with our lives"

The man was visibly shook by the words, unsure of where to go "I'm sorry there miss, but I'm afraid you have the wrong guy. Whatever I did to give you that impression, I owe you an apology for."

"Really?" You asked, crossing your arms in doubt "So you're saying you don't want to fuck me?"

"I hadn't given it any thought to be honest, until you brought it up..."You realized this was the first time he wasn't looking at you eye to eye, having started perusing your lithe and dark body "You're a beautiful lady, I’ll give you that, and I'd be a damned liar if I said that idea didn't sound like fun. But, I promise you this much, I didn't save you and your friend from those two scumbags hoping you would throw yourself at me for it."

"Than why?" You asked crossly, to which he responded with an incredulous tone.

"Because it was the right thing to do!" Struggling to keep his voice down, his hands open ahead of him exclamatorily, before grabbing a slice of bread "I mean, what other reason do you need?"

"Because it gets you what you want, or what you need from someone."

"Hm,” He paused, taking a bite of the bread, his eyes studying you “I'm sorry that's been your experience that you just assume everyone is out for themselves.” He added a quip of sarcasm “Surely not you though, you must be the diamond in the rough"

You shake your head "No, I'll at least admit it. Those two men were chasing Jiaghan and I because we swindled them out of their money, after a deal was made to forgive paying rent"

"Well, there's something to be said for honesty." He raised his cup again in a mock toast "It sounds like you've been through a lot. I may not live long like you or that..” he paused, debating the use of the word for Jiaghan” young lady, but I’ve been around long enough to know people don’t act this way without a reason. I can’t judge what you’re doing or what you’ve been through because I haven’t been there. All I know is that I would like to help the two of you if there's any way I can."

"Even if it means you don't get to fuck me?"

"Ya, even than.” Demarchus finally cracked, showing that he was a mortal with normal desires after all “I'm sure having those lovely legs around me would feel amazing, but I'm a little old fashioned fellow. Intimacy should be earned, not bought,” He caught himself, closing his eyes as he tried that again “That’s not right either. I don’t deserve to have sex with you just because I do a good job on something. These things tend to be better when there’s a courtship about them.” He looked up and behind you, eyeing the staircase “Besides, even if I was the type to pay for it, your friend is going to wake up soon I'm sure. and once we get going, you're not going to want to stop"

At least he's consistent, you tell yourself. The human is selling the morally upright shtick for all it's worth, but showed his hand by admitting his desire. He's still playing the same game you think he was from the beginning, but he just doesn't have the bravery to admit it.

You pressed the point forward, slowly rising out of the chair to move closer to him

"That's a lot of confidence in your ability for someone claiming to not be interested."

He smiled in response "I never said I wasn't interested. I just said I'm not helping you to try and get in your pants."

"But you refuse to pay for it." You repeated, trying to show an error or break in his logic, to no avail.

He nodded gently. His eyes wandered over your body as you're close enough to touch "I don’t think I’m the odd one for believing this, but your partner not really wanting to be there takes a lot of the fun out of the whole experience."

"What fairytale storybook did you fall out of?" You asked, incredulously "Some sappy handsome knight who helps young women out of the goodness of his heart?"

He smiles from ear to ear as he grabs an apple "So, you think I'm handsome? I'll take that as a win."

"For a human" you blunted the compliment "but I only have a sense of you under all those heavy clothes and armor. Maybe you can show me more later."

Before you can get an answer, you panic as you hear the familiar voice of Jiaghan immediately behind you.

"Hey guys. Did I miss an important secret or something?" The question and tone suggested that she suspected what you were up to. Struggling to think of a suitable cover, the human beat you to it.

"No, not at all. Liz here was saying she couldn't take hospitality from some guy she just met, so I waited until you were both here. I wanted to tell you both a little bit about myself and what I’m doing here while we share some breakfast, and maybe you two can tell me what those two guys were chasing you for, so that I can see what I can do to help."

"You already helped" You piped in, hoping you can be rid of this interloper. You put the appropriate grace in your words “more than anyone else has done for us, and we really are very thankful for everything, but you’ve done enough.”

"Temporarily, sure. They didn't seem like the type of guys who give up a chase."

"Not until you came along" Jiaghan said with a laugh "Thanks for that, by the way. We owe you a lot. Never met or heard of anyone like you in the Matchsticks."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Hopefully me and my Brothers can be a positive and permanent change. I am Benjamin Motier, Brother of the Knights of Delanius. Ben is fine though"

"Missionaries don't make their way into our neighborhood, Benjamin. We're too poor. " You reply bitingly "That name means nothing to us."

Jiaghan spoke up before the knight could respond "Delanius is the God of Chaos, Anarchy, and the Sea."

"Freedom, actually" Benjamin spoke up politely "There’s some of the extremists who are anarchists, but The Liberator does not demand it. So long as people are given the freedom and dignity that all the sentient beings deserve, we don't care much for what system of governance takes root. Delanius is the Liberator of Souls, and the Brotherhood seeks to liberate the living, in his image."

"Wow" Jiaghan let out loudly, clearly impressed with the message. She turned to look at you, seeing if you're joined in her esteemed opinion, and found little. The Knight on the other hand couldn't help but smile gently at the response. Your young compatriot continued "So, what are you doing around here?"

"And what took you so long?" You quipped in addition

Ignoring your question, he explains "My Brothers found evidence of trafficking in persons. It's severe, and there's reason to think it traces back here. Given your experiences yesterday, it seemed like we would be able to help each other."

"trafficking in persons? You mean, slave trading?" Jiaghan asked, leaning forward. "Have you heard of them taking dwarves?"

"They take all kinds, unfortunately" Benjamin responded melancholily "If they can find a profit, they'll stoop to just about anything. It's often trading in slaves, but there's any number of ways they try to dress it up so they can get away with it in areas where slavery is off limits. Some groups have even dealt in child soldiery. I'll spare you the details of what happened there. Either way, the people engaging in this are monsters that have to be removed for the benefit of others."

"We gotta help him" Jiaghan turned to you "If Halgen was taken as a slave, we need to free him!"

"Someone you know? A friend of yours?" Benjamin asked

You tried to slow things down, seeing that the two were feeding off each other with no proof "A dwarven friend. He actually was doing reasonably for the Matchsticks, had a job as a blacksmith. He was actually about to take Jiaghan here to be an apprentice,” You smiled as you looked at your friend, who had a meek smile of her own, proud to have been so close to learning a valuable and legitimate trade. “He went missing without a trace a few days ago. That happens alot around here, especially when people can't pay their debts."

"Well, Liz, I hear your uncertainty, and I understand. He might have gotten taken, but there's plenty of other possibilities, none of them good. I can't be looking out for just one case here, until we find something definitive. In the meantime, it sounds like if I travel with the two of you, trouble will find us on its own. I'm sure we can work out the debt problem you're under, one way or the other. If you'll have me."

"If you really want to help" You started, arms crossed "selling that fancy armor would be more than enough to get both of us out of here and set up somewhere else. At least as far aways as Vahn."

Ben laughed gently at the preposterous proposal, while Jiaghan gave you a stern look "sorry, that's out of the question."

"Why's that?" You asked.

"Well, first, Vahn's hardly the place for you. They actually have rules, and don't take kindly to violators. That, and there's some rumors in the wind that something bad is afoot. Hard to make out what's going on, but something went wrong at their southern border."

"I hope your other reason is more convincing" You responded, lightly amused.

"Well, beyond that is pragmatic. I need this to do my job, and I'm here to solve problems, not just to cure symptoms. Getting the two of you out of here isn't going to fix anything."

"Bold of you think to that you can fix anything either way" Your pessimism was flagrant. Jiaghan tried a more diplomatic approach.

"There's a lot of problems here is what she means. You could spend your whole life here and not make a dent."

"Perhaps not, but the fear of failure shouldn't deter anyone from trying. The only thing I'm more of a sucker for than a damsel in distress is a lost cause."

"I'm not a damsel" You refuted coldly "and I don't like the idea of you trying to help me to curry favor."

"I'm sorry that I gave that impression, and I'm sure you have reason to be so suspicious. I'm here to help, no matter the risk, and all I ask for is some trust."

His unflinching altruism was annoying you. Nobody can be this selfless, you're sure of that. You took a quiet moment to try and get a handle on it. If he's the type of person you suspect he is, he'll reveal it soon enough. If he's as gullible and naive as it seems, that can be a plus as well.

"Trust is earned, and scarce here" You make plain "We'll give you a chance. Show that you really are a person of your convictions."

"I'll take it. You won't regret it. Now, about this debt. How much do you owe?"

"Doesn't matter" you shook your head as you explained "after the stunt we pulled and your help, there is no simply paying back the coin. Their payment will have to be paid with blood"

A strange smile went across Ben's face as he reached for his shield on the floor "I'm actually counting on that. I'm not scared of a fight, especially not from these thugs. They'll take the gold, or taste steel. Are you ready for that?"

In the first moment, you were hesitant. This was not going to end quickly. This human was trying to single handedly declare war on the criminal underworld that effectively ruled so much of the city of Ten Forks. As much as you doubted this would end well, you recognized you wanted to see these people get a taste of their own sense of justice. "Fuck it." You responded, raising your hands up for a second "These bastards have it coming to them."