7.16 – Elida’s Team

7.16 – Elida’s Team

The weekend arrived quicker than expected, and with it, the upcoming delve with Elida's team—an event Natalie was both wary and apprehensive of, yet also admittedly interested in.

While Natalie certainly didn't like Elida, to be generous in the description of her feelings, that didn't mean she wasn't intrigued by the top performer of their year, since Natalie was a delver and warrior at heart, and that woman excelled in both fields.

Vanetta too had caught her attention. There was no denying the short, scar-faced woman was a person of immense talent and equal intrigue, considering her unknown background. A place on Elida's team, temporary or not, would give Natalie insight into both of them that she might not ever get otherwise.

It was just a shame she had to suffer Elida's presence to get that insight.

While apprehensive and equally dreading the event as much as she was interested in it, Natalie wasn't scared of heading into the dungeon with Elida. The Parda-Halts were snakes; everyone knew that. A dagger in the back wouldn't be out of character. They had literally tried such a tactic on the ruling family of Valhaur, the Beaumons, a few generations back—and high treason was a more dastardly crime than arranging an 'accident' in the dungeon.

Elida spotted her coming almost immediately, green eyes locking to her from a distance. A dark leather vest, worn but sturdy, protected her torso, while a pair of lighter leather pants hugged her legs. Her left arm was adorned by a bracer made of dark-blue hardened hide. On her right arm, she wore a strange pale glove that extended halfway up her forearm. The ensemble was expectedly discordant and not-so-fashionable, since dungeon gear rarely made a habit of dropping matching outfits. Natalie's own armor was only coherent because it was commissioned by a smith using the erotite deposit she'd found.

Elida's daggers were nowhere to be seen, though that was to be expected: she kept them in a monster core, since openly carrying weapons through the common streets of Aradon was, while not illegal, frowned upon when done by powerful delvers. Not something everyone cared about, but as Tenet students, image mattered. Natalie for her part was happy not to lug around her enormous hammer as a matter of practicality.

Vanetta was clad in predominantly black. Her gear was lighter weight: a black cloth shirt, dark gray breeches, and brown boots. She wore a cloak with the hood already pulled up, and her expression was reserved, as it tended to be. Natalie couldn't read much on her face. She had also spotted Natalie coming early—it was probably in a rogue's nature to be aware of their surroundings. As all delvers should be, but rogues more so. They were lightly armored and often relied on positioning and awareness of their opponents to accomplish anything.

The other two of Elida's party hadn't changed. She knew their names after this many weeks at Tenet. Clementine, the team's healer, was dressed in heavy white robes that obscured any other gear she might be wearing, besides the brown belt around her waist which hugged the thick cloth in. She had long brown hair and green eyes so dark Natalie had thought they were black from a distance. She had a friendly resting expression, though for obvious reasons, Natalie didn't particularly like the woman. She was one of Elida's cohort—enough said, that.

Faye was the team's mage, and her hair was the most striking part of her: bright orange, and worn short. Natalie was fairly sure it was dyed, as was a common trend in Aradon, or at least common enough it was never worth a pause no matter how bright or strange the color. She had brown eyes, was tall and thin, and was fairly aloof in demeanor, though not in the manner of Ana, but an unfriendly sort, as if she was making it clear before a conversation began that she would rather it didn't. Maybe that uncharitable read was more thanks to the fact she'd been robbed by her—under Elida's leadership, but through Faye's explicit help nonetheless—upon their first meeting.

Taking a breath, Natalie finished the walk over, inserting herself into the party she would be delving with the next few days.