A stone for a stone

You are nearly sucked in by Scar's charms, but you realize where you are and the part you're supposed to be playing. You are the **** of three goblins, and slaves aren't there to think or speak or make decisions on their own. To get caught would quickly bring the city guard into the mess, and likely have you thrown in jail.

"I'm just a ****, why do you think I could help you?" You put up an innocent front. "You should be speaking to my master, Glaw."

He scoffs, challenging you with his stare. "If you're really a ****, then I'm really not the bastard son of an elf. Now THAT'S the truth and I'll tell you why: It's your posture for one. You walk too tall, too proud. Any **** would be cowed for such behavior, especially the slaves of goblins."

"Second, there's the little ones next to you." He points to Dai and Modoc, who are standing on each side of you, growling at him. "Anyone half-blind who watches long enough can see that they seem to be following you, rather than the other way around."

"And then there's this." In his hand, Scars materializes a shining stone - YOUR Shining Stone, specifically - and holds it up to the sun. "Look at how it reacts to the sunlight, how it makes the rays bend and almost encircle it. It seems almost magical. One might get ideas as to the purpose of such a thing and the intentions of the one carrying it."

You whirl your head to your side pouch, glancing inside to confirm that, yes, your precious stone is gone. When did he...of course, you think angrily, it was when he first touched you around the waist. Sneaky bastard. No pun intended.

"I see. Not only are you a liar, you're also a thief." You spit, glaring at the half-elf.

"Such poison!" Scars says dramatically, clutching his chest on mock anguish. "You wound me. I personally prefer the term 'rogue', for the romanticism it invokes. And I object to that first bit about being a liar: it's only a lie if you believe it to be true."

You grit your teeth, but restrain yourself from punching the smirk off his face. You're still technically acting as a ****, and you can't give your identity away to anybody else. Your stone is so close, but you're bound by the wrists and judging by the twin blades at his side, Scars could easy take on Dai and Modoc at the same time.

"What is it you want then?" You ask harshly.

Scars smiles mischievously, knowing that you've caved in.

"I want you to get something for me. It's a small little thing, a meaningless bauble really, but it has sentimental value to me." Scars shrugged nonchalantly, "It's a medallion. Silver, unmarked, and about the size of your thumb."

"In one of my many moments of drunkenness, I offered my medallion to a ****-girl, a whore in one of this city's fine brothels, in the hope that she would give me a discount. Not very smart, I know, but what can I say? I have a weakness for pretty things. In any case, she took my heirloom (and gave no discount I might add) and I had a fun night with her."

"When I had regained sobriety the next morning, I realized my mistake and went back to try and re-buy my medallion, but the blasted girl wouldn't give it back! So now she keeps it locked away in her room all day, away from where I can get it. This is the part where you come in."

"I don't suppose I have very much choice, now do I?" You say with a sigh.

"The brothel is called the Palace of Infinite Pleasures." He continues, "I've spent a great deal of coin there, and let me tell you, I can think of three things that are wrong with that name. Inside, the rooms are divided according to the rank of the whore. The name of the girl who has my medallion is Elena, and she is one of the princesses - the highest tier - so she is entitled to her own room and lock-box, where our prize should be resting."

"Why don't you just steal it back? With your nimble fingers it would be an easy thing." You ask dryly. Scars laughs at your backhanded compliment.

"My 'nimble' fingers can do much more than just pilfer, miss, if you'd just give me a few minutes alone with you. " He purrs suggestively, "But sadly, no. I cannot do what you say. I am too well known in the Palace and the girls there would spot my intentions immediately. Besides, I would need to sneak into the sleeping quarters for the **** girls, and I can't very well do that, being male and such."

"I need a woman I can trust. I need a woman who knows how to deceive and improvise. In short, I need a woman who is familiar with danger, and I think that someone with your immense...assets...might be able to slip inside unnoticed."

"Me? You want me to sneak inside a whorehouse to steal back a worthless amulet?"

"Like you said, you don't have very much choice, now do you?" Scars taunts, dangling the Stone in front of you.