”Oh dear. Are you alright?” Mirode hurries over when Jyoti calls her name. ”Oh, oh my, she can’t understand me can she? Poor dear, she’s had an awful night. I agree Jyoti, it would be best if she went out with Rasji. Maybe...I know you’re offering them a way out Gosk, but I am torn. We must find out their motives. If they are truly evil we must send Rasji for the guard.”
Gosk sighs, then smiles. "I never said I'll let them go. I said we may consider letting them go. But they don't need to know that."
I wonder if it's them who are being silly or I've been speaking in half-truths for too long... could be both...
He shouts down, "I'm waiting!", before continuing his conversation. "If you want to, call the guard. But I think we can get something on the kidnappers now, from them. If they go in jail, word will get out, and the kidnappers may dig in deeper. Just thinking about the bigger picture." He grunts quietly.
The fire goes out of Jyoti's eyes on Gosk's words. "I misjudged you, I'm sorry. I thought for a moment you were one of those who would sit back and let evil doers go free..." her voice trails off uncertainly.
"We're going out and we'll be back soon. If you come out of the basement, we could be inclined to show you guys clemency." she hollers.
"Lets help Lajja out of here." and tries to assist Lajja in standing up and moving out of the house.
Once outside, Jyoti informs Rasji softly, "We need your help in calming Lajja down. We ran into some trouble in the house and are in the process of fixing it. Don't call the guards, we can handle it. We'll pop out again when we're done." before leaving Lajja in Rasji's hands.
"Rasji is a guard, don't worry, she won't let any harm befall you. We'll be back once we settle the problem." Jyoti reassures Lajja, before leaving Lajja in Rasji's hands.
A hyperventilating, panicky Lajja begins to recover as she's led outside her house, shifting into some sort of semi-lucid shock. "Those were my son's friends? I haven't seen anything like that since...well, probably before you were born, girl. What on earth would a boy like him be doing mixed up with a bunch like that? I just don't understand, and to resort to violence so quickly..." As she rambles on, it's clear she's not going to say anything useful.
From below the floor, there's a sound of murmuring voices, then the woman's speaks up loudly. "We are in agreement here that your offer is generous. However, it is not for us to accept such promises. Sanvali asked me to stay here, and I will see him again either in time or in death. That is, unless you have a better offer to make than empty promises."
= = = = = = = = = =
"Remar of Quantium." The Nexian grins broadly. "And his paramour, Rayana." The woman speaks up for the first time, giving a semi-playful smack to the man's shoulder. "We've been assigned here on business. Purchasing grain, inquiring on alliances, that sort of thing. Not that it would help Nex to tie herself to such a bizarre region."
Remar speaks up. "New places to see and people to meet! A man after my heart. Listen, Colonel, you should join us for a walk through the fields. There is much for us to see, and sometimes business calls at strange hours." A series of carefully-concealed winks and shrugs from Rayana show that there's more to this meeting than either feel comfortable discussing openly.
Bizarre? I wonder what she considers bizarre.
"It would be a pleasure to join the two of you after dinner." he says. He then takes a few deep breathes, trying to guess what is cooking by smell. "Would either of you know what is being served?"
Gosk sighs again, quietly. I so hate fanatics... Looking at Mirode, he nods, and whispers. "Go and tell the guard to arrange a blockade for people in front of the door. And tell them to be real quiet." Turning to Jyoti, he whispers again. "I've been told that I'm a heartless bastard way too often, don't worry.", he smiles. "What we need to do is get their leader. And now we've got a name."
He stands up, shouting down to the basement. "Look, I'll be honest too. All I need, we need, is to ask you a couple of questions. As a sign of trust, you can come up the stairs, and we can all disarm at the same time. We can give you one of the boys upstairs, as proof we don't want to kill anyone. They're knocked out. The other stays with us until you give us what we want, and then you're absolutely free from us." Thank Nex we killed neither...
Jyoti listened to Lajja's rambling. Her heart went out for the old woman. So many shocks in such a short time. Firstly her son had dissappeared, then her son's friends turned out to be hooligans, who were willing to commit murder to cover their misdeeds. "I don't understand, either. Maybe he didn't know the true nature of his friends" she replies. That was the kindest thing to say.
Or maybe she did. Love makes fools of us all. But even so, to endanger his mother-the one who had brought him up single handedly just to be with his lady love...rephrehensible behaviour. Jyoti would like to think that he truly didn't know his friends were hooligans, but he did arrange Yamuna's kidnapping after all. Jyoti decided if they ever managed to rescue Ilya she would have some harsh words with him.
She hoped that Lajja would be all right.
Gosk seemed to have more experience in dealing with the situation in the house. He had managed to weasel the leader's name out of them. Might be his military experience, but better for him to take the lead. He sounded like he knew what he was doing.
Jyoti pops her head into the doorway. "Yup, we won't harm any of you as long as you give us what we want." Secretly she gave Minali the hand signals to guard Gosk. If the cultists below decided treachery was in order and tried to overpower Gosk, they'd be in for one nasty furry surprise. She then popped her head out of the doorway.
Mirode’s been staring at the floor, her eyes glowing and a frown on her face. She whispers to Gosk ”Be careful. Someone down there is quite evil.” In her head she grumbles ’Disarm?’ Hardly! Sarenrae is quite clear about my scimitar smiting the evil of this world’
Her hand rests on her weapon as she walks over to the door and pokes her head outside. Go get the guard. Quickly and quietly. Have them block the door. Ask Miss Lajja if there’s any other ways out of her house.. She turns and looks back inside. I’m going to try and help Gosk keep them in line until the guard shows up.
Jyoti whispers to Lajja, "Do you know any other exits from your house other then this one?"
She then addresses Rasji in a whisper, "Change of plans, could you bring Lajja to the city guard, and have guards come swiftly and quietly and blockade all exits to this house?"
After a few moments of mumbling down below, the sounds of footsteps on a ladder can be heard, and then the woman's head pops through the hole in the floor. "If it's questions you want, ask, then let my men and I go. I am Viti." Her clothing, for the most part, is similar to that of Jyoti, though scales of armor glisten under her wrappings.
Meanwhile the guard and her charge make their way to the nearest post, though it's likely to take a few minutes for them to arrive. Jyoti doesn't spot any other ways out of Lajja's home, aside from the windows and doors of the actual building.
= = = = = = = = = = =
Most of the two Nexians' conversation is horrifically mundane as the Colonel joins them for dinner. "This isn't the first place we've been sent, of course. We did a tour in Westcrown several years ago, and of course Absalom is a favorite." "But then there was that trip to Ardis far up in Avistan." As the two set aside their meals, they gesture to the Colonel to follow.
Once they're convinced they're far enough away from the inn, Rayana begins whispering conspiratorially. "So, as you might imagine, the Arclords didn't just send us here for no reason. What do you know about Nexian politics? Actually, that doesn't matter. What's important is that, in a fit of stupidity, the Arclords decided that retaking Jalmeray was a good idea, and that landing at this old city would be a good first step. That was two years ago."
"Three." Remar speaks up helpfully, drawing a glare from the woman.
"Okay, three. Have it your way. The point is, we know they entered the city, but then the messages stopped coming. We also have some idea of why you're in Chauri to begin with. Not the details, but some idea. So, the question is, would you like to know more about what they might have found before we lost messages with them? If so, just know you're agreeing to help the Arclords."
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'Now all we have to do is to keep them busy talking until the guards come. Dad wouldn't exactly be proud of the way we're handling this situation. He's always told us to be honest with our dealings with others. Surely he did not mean wicked people, though?' Jyoti fidgetted a bit on the spot. Her thoughts drifted to her brother, Asim. 'Asim, on the other hand, would think it as a prank of a magnificent nature on the thugs.' She could almost imagine him in this situation when the guards came. Asim would cheerfully tell them that they were free to go, and would not stop them, as the city guard took them into custody, as per the letter of the bargain.
"Pass them one of their men as we agreed, Gosk. Vita, you could start by telling us how all of you came to be in this house."
The more important part would be why they attacked us, but the point of this whole exchange was to drag for time until the guards came.
Gosk slowly sheathes his staff, and goes and picks up one of the unconcious men, kicking away the sword. He tosses a small smile at the woman as he places him near the stairwell and back away, looking in her direction. "Alright, Viti, there's your guy. Not really unharmed, but not dead.", crossing his arms and standing next to Jyoti. Not the first question I'd ask, but she's the local, and I'm a Nexian. If I'm calling the shots, I undermine her authority. Plus, it can get them talking., he thinks as he waits for the armoured woman to respond.
The colonel chuckles at the mention of politics. "Being from Taldor, I am well acquainted with how politics can interfere with doing the job."
It seems the woman is in charge here, although considering what they likely do that may be misdirection. Still, best guess at the moment.
Leaning on his cane a bit, he says "Information is always valuable. So is my reputation."
Looking the woman straight in the eyes, he asks "Do you have a way I could get paid for two jobs without them being in conflict?"
Mirode wait for the woman to respond. She’ll have to get one of the other two to translate any questions she has which is annoying. I need one of the others to teach me some basic words. I’ve always been good with languages so hopefully I can pick up the basics quickly. I can’t keep relying on the Colonel’s potions.
The Cleric leans against the wall next to the door. If this woman tries to make a break for it she’ll be ready. In the meantime she keeps her ears open, trying to hear what the group downstairs is doing.