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(Yeah, sure! Is there anything you want to know?)
(What’s his job/role? Is he like an urban legend type? Is he a literal lord?)
(He's an actual person, though a lot of people have never seen him in person (he's super mysterious). He's not an actual lord, just a normal person who has a really big grudge against the Queen's Men, the Queen, and the gods. The Crimson Lord has some magical power granted to him by a demon, which basically makes him enemy number one for the Queen's Men. Also, he kills a lot of Queen's Men, so that's understandable. Most people in the area that he controls are scared of him, though they'd pick him over the Queen's Men any day. His proclaimed mission is to get the Queen's Men out of his area and 'save' everyone. Is there anything else you'd like to know?)
(Not specifically, I’m just trying to find a valid motivation for Dorota to want to find him. She could want to work with him, especially if Adrian already has a reputation she aspires to sorry I’m thinking out loud)
(Alright. I mean, working with the Crimson Lord would probably get her good things, especially if he succeeds, though it would put a target on her back if the Queen's Men knew she was with the Crimson Lord. And you're good, thinking out loud is fine!)
(Alright I’ll stick with that then, and sorry one last thing, could they stop by Dorota’s family’s house?)
(Yeah, go ahead!)
"Alright," she started firmly. She crossed her arms, resolutely parked in front of Adrian as she stared him down. "You're going to follow me. I can outrun you easily, or turn you to the Queen's Men with your name. We're going to make a pit stop, and then you're going to take me to see your Lord. Clear enough for you?"
She kept a benevolent smile on her face, starkly contrasting her determined stance.
Adrian stared at this strange woman in front of him. "Fine. Alright. Just one question, though. Why do you want to see the Crimson Lord?" He raised his eyebrows slightly. Adrian didn't really care that much about Dorota's response, but he was slightly curious. And he wanted to stall her just a bit. There was no way he was actually going to bring her to see the Crimson Lord, so the mention of a pit stop was appealing. It would give him time to think up and escape plan and execute it.
She clicked her jaw, thinking. "None of your business," she said finally. Nudging Adrian to start moving, she checked the Queen's Men were gone.
As soon as she was sure the coast was clearly she lightly pushed Adrian out of their hiding spot and fell into step next to him. "The first stop is a bit of a ways off. How far is it for us to teach the Crimson Lord from here?" she asked quietly.
Adrian shrugged slightly, eye darting around before locking onto Dorota again. He hadn't anticipated her answering him, so he wasn't too disappointed. Adrian let her push him around a little– after all, he would probably be long gone soon. "Okay. From here?" He paused, thinking. The Crimson Lord frequented several places, and Adrian needed to think about the place where it would probably be that day. The biggest place was about ten blocks away, and that was probably the most likely place where the Crimson Lord might be. "About ten blocks that way," he pointed down the road, "is the most likely spot." Adrian couldn't help a small, amused smile from appearing, though it was gone in a second.
Dorota looked off into the direction he was pointing and nodded approvingly.
"Perfect. You better hope you haven't just lied to me."
Off they went in that direction. They walked until the sun set, and then a few more hours. Eventually they arrived on the edge of a forest beyond which the roofs of a small clump of houses, barely a village, was visible.
"I didn't." Adrian held up his hands defensively. He was slightly surprised when Dorota started going that direction– hadn't she said she needed to stop somewhere? But they kept going, and going, and going. Adrian was not particularly happy about the hike, especially when they kept walking even after the sun set. "Wow, when you said it was a little far off, I thought it was going to be an hour walk, tops. Not… whatever this is." He complained as the houses came into view, trying to keep the weariness out of his voice. It had been a really long day, and he just wanted it to end already. Maybe Dorota was just trying to wear him out so he couldn't run away. If that was her plan, it was working, though he would never let her know that.
(Oh gosh hey)
(Oh, hey!)
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