Some explaining

Janno stared at the figure, his mind still reeling from his discovery. For a moment, neither spoke. Then, the figure finally doffed the hood of her cloak, revealing her face fo rthe first time.

It was a woman's face all right. Janno actually figured it was more of a young girl's face. The girl standing before her was youthful, possibly even younger than Ariel at first glance. Her hair was tawny, in between the lush, dark color of Bella and the blond locks of Ariel. She fidgeted as she realized Janno as getting a real good look at her for the very first time.

"What is your name?" Janno called out, his voice a bit harsh. He didn't like getting deceived. "Why the deception?"

"My name is Trixie," the girl answered, the confidence that she had shown only a few moments again somewhat shaken. "As for deception, it wasn't for any jest. I have had trouble finding companions because my gender made them believe I was too weak to aid them. I figured that after I had proven myself to you and been allowed to join, then I would reveal myself."

Janno stared hard at her. He understood and even sympathized with the girl's plight. Looking at her now, she wasn't a big thing and he even noticed that she had somewhat pointed ears. She was probably a half-elf. Given her small size, slender frame, her young looks, all combined together with her gender, Janno understood why she was turned down a lot in a still male-dominated profession.

"I'm not happy about this," Janno said, though his voice wasn't as harsh as before. "I prefer open and honest men...I mean people. I know enough about the business that you can't judge people right off. I would have given you a chance regardless."

Trixie hung her head slightly. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't take the chance. I ran away from home to fulfill my dream of an adventurer, but I keep getting turned down. I was worried that I would have to use my type of skills to, um, help keep my funds up enough for me to continue."

Janno didn't need any translation for that. Mentally, he quickly moved back to the topic of whether to allow Trixie to join the party or not. Her demonstration was impressive even if it caught Janno off-guard. However, he needed to see how she handled herself in a fight. He was still the only fighter of the group even with her. Ariel was a mage who still needed to get a handle on her spells. Bella was unknown, but a party never could have enough healing abilities. Janno needed others who could at least look after themselves in a melee. Of course, a rogue would be no more than that.

"How are you with weapons? That is what we came here to see in the first place," Janno asked.

Trixie nodded, realizing that all was not lost for her yet. "Let me give you a brief demonstration."

In the next few minutes, the small, waifish girl put on a surprisingly good display. Her throwing daggers were very accurate, while her archery was good. Janno had some qualms about the way she handled her short sword. She was still new to this, though the fighter felt he could help her develop those skills with practice.

However, if he included Trixie, then he likely would need to find another frontline combatant to complete the group. As he was mulling these thoughts, Trixie asked, "So do you think I'm in?"