Quest Attack on Riverfall[Coordination Office]

[Rhy]

"Scrolls can be stolen." Rhy jumps in first before Rowan gets a chance to speak. The Akalak is charge is a formidable sight, snapping at them like an angry goose before they had even fully entered the tent. And Rhy acts as she would if a bigger dog has challenged her; posture and bluff. "He's got it all stored up here", she taps the side of her head, giving the Drykas a meaningful look, "It's a new... Thing the runners are trying. Easier to protect." She nods in confirmation of her own lie. Her arms are crossed high over her chest and she tries her best to keep direct eye contact, but she finds that her eyes are straying over to the tent flap and the long rows of archers in front of the artillery. This feels like one big distraction for what she really wants to know, and what got them into trouble in the first place: where is Gianne and what is going on? Her eyes snap back to Ronan in a searching way. Doesn't he want to know too? It would seem like it, he did agree to read the scroll. A hard chip of guilt stabs through her spine and she shudders. If they get in trouble it will be completely her fault, there is no getting around that. Her eyes soften in an apology before she turns back to the Akalak. "So, what are we taking back? We think we prefer it the more traditional way. With scrolls. And words. And..." Then her carefully contained concentration snaps. "And I need you to look up a name: Gianne Basette. She's in the archers ranks. I need to -like to- know where she is and... If she's ok." Losing all pretence she cranes backwards without moving, as if, if she tried hard enough, her bondmate would materialize around the next catapult or running Akalak.

[Ronan]

Ronan tried not to flinch as the Akalak demanded answers from them. They had arrived empty handed, and the Riverian had noticed in an instant. Rhy was quick to speak, and in actuality, he was impressed by her excuse. It was feasible to someone not clued up - perhaps. His face crumpled a little, hoping the lie would work. Ronan simply nodded, voicing agreement as she explained. "All up here," he repeated, pointing to his head as if the point needed to be emphasised. He began to recount the little he could remember, trying to keep the shakiness out of his voice. He hoped it would be enough.

[Mist]

The Akalak just stood there stone faced, listening to the two who had come before him. Not a whit of intelligence between them. He was giving an inquisitive glare as he heard there story... Which was what made him realize how full of Shyke they both were. First rule of lying, stick to one lie, and keep them simple and vague enough to possibly be true. First telling him it could be stolen... Well what the petch use were they if that was true, and they could not defend a scroll over such a short distance. Not to mention the faults of memory, which would end up bringing back a garbled piecemeal message. Saying that the runners were now memorizing the scrolls for safety... Which made no sense, as the biggest aspect of safety was as few people knowing the info as possible, which was why the runners had scrolls, so they did not need to look at them to deliver them, cutting down the number of people who knew its contents to one... Then the other petcher, a Drykas by the looks, started going along with it, spouting off the info he could recall. From the sound of it, it was a general info request scroll, one he had received many of. Which was probably why it had been sent as this pairs first job, in case they petched up, which they had. He was trying to decide whether he should be nice, and pretend like this had never happened, and send them back... If he should give them this one chance to make up for there foul up, and still be of use... But then the woman had to open her mouth and start ordering him about, telling him to look up some random woman, which was complete nonsense as they had no point to look up a individual at this point of the battle. The decision was made for him, as he lost it at both of them. "Shut the petch up you petching shyke for brains! I asked you a simple thing, to tell the truth, and what do you do, you lie up a storm, and try to waste my time on a pointless bit of info you petching well know you were not asked to get!" Fuming, he took a step closer, his rage making him appear a foot taller, as he stormed at the two of them, and fought the urge to deck one. "You volunteer, then you do your job! You don't go off ignoring orders, or petching up the entire operation! Now go stand outside, while I decide on what to do with you! And you better be there when I get out there!" That said, he turned from the two, and walked back to his scrolls, cursing a few more times under his breath at the people he had to work with.

[Rhy]

The angry goose erupts into an army of the evil, honking creatures. She ducks her head, properly cowed, and resists the urge to cover her ears from the noise of the tirading man. Akalaks will always be frightening creatures, but a truly angry one is a sight to never, ever behold. His presence seems to grow inside the tent until him, and his impressive lungs, fit in every corner like an expanding balloon. The lie sits heavy on her tongue. How did they ever expect this to work? Was she really that stupid? Lying is a skill she never possessed. If she was not so scared shykless she would think to try and communicate with Ronan. Try and communicate how deeply she regretted this whole endeavour. From the moment she walked in the volunteer station. Suddenly, the two are dismissed with a warning and a threat. And Rhy backs up on the balls of her feet out of the tent. As if the Akalak was a dangerous animal or a bomb that could be set off at the slightest noise. Is this her chance? Does she make a run for it? Surly they couldn't catch her. But the thought dies with a weak fluttering. No, no reason to infuriate them further. That would definitely make her wind up in the Gidion arena. And there is no way Ronan could follow her without his Strider. Unless the Drykas comes up with some brilliant plan within the next few minutes there is nothing to do but wait for orders. Or punishment. Gods dammit.

[Ronan]

Ronan stroked his temple deliriously. What they had done was so stupid it was undeniable. Why had he even listened to the damned Kelvic in the first place? He was tired... it was partly the reason he wasn't on the front line. Only a few days ago he had been nearly killed in a glassbeak attack. He wasn't thinking straight, that was all. As the Akalak walked off to consult his colleagues, the Kelvic looked set to scarper. He put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. "We should wait," he said with carefully, measured words, "We've got ourselves in enough trouble as it is." He watched the Akalak carefully. Though he had spent a lot of time in Riverfall now, he still found the sight of them surreal. Hulking men in the most unnatural of colours. And a race of one gender? Ronan found the concept confusing, though as a Drykas he was conditioned to the importance of both men and women, and their respective roles in day to day life - and survival. He felt a little sick to his stomach. The Akalak were fierce in terms of their laws and codes. He had seen enough with Kavala to understand that. He hoped somehow they'd get away with it, but he realised how idiotic they'd been. He looked to the Kelvic again. She seemed unable to stand in one place still. He glared at her briefly before looking back up. Judgement approached.

[Mist]

The Akalak shook his head at the two as they left the tent, really not even sure what to do with the two of them, after they had dishonored themselves as they had. Which to an Akalak with a rather severe thing to do. A Akalak without honor, was worth less than nothing. He simply carried on with his duties, mulling it over, as he went through other papers and scrolls. Outside, he had sent Rhy and Ronan to wait... Though he had not specified how long... But after a few chimes, no one came out. All that was for them to do was to watch the people walking buy, pairs of Akalaks running along with their blue faces showing, and weapons out. Other pairs like them a hodgepodge of races, some even odder than them, holding scrolls or papers or some object or goods that needed moving from one place to another. All on a mission to do as they were told. But clearly the man inside was busy, and was not in a hurry to deal with the two of them. As the battle got into full flow, the people going by slowed down. A bit off, the sound of someone yelling "Fire!" could be heard on the air, as the artillery began shooting off their weapons, huge chunks of rock were launched by the catapults, and ballista bolts shot off like giant crossbows, arcing lower than the catapults ammo, which tended to curve more and go higher. As the two of them were left alone, a few people came out of a side street, a pair, with similar cloaks on, though little detail could be seen on them, and they did not appear to be carrying anything. Though oddly enough they were walking, not running like near everyone else that had passed. They were approaching the rear of the artillery, making their way there quietly. As they reached about halfway to it, another pair of cloaked figured came out of a different side street, wearing cloaks of a similar make similar to the other pair. They also seemed to be heading to the rear of the artillery.

[Ronan]

They waited tensely, but the Akalak did not reemerge. He could hear a lot of hurried voices, and people walked to and fro often enough. The worst was coming to fruition, as he heard the cries and shouts, the groans and whallops of ballistas, and the tort and sharp release of longbows. Ronan could only watch, afraid of what now struck at the heart of Riverfall. His feet seemed twitchy, since he was itching to aid the people of this city in some way. It was still unclear what was trying to best them. A threat from the grasses? A foreign army? Or something else? He was unsure, but he knew that all had been mustered, with Kavala utilising her healing abilities for those that had been injured in the skirmishes. Something caught his eye though - cloaked figures emerging from a side street and heading towards the artillery. The way they moved made Ronan shudder. Something wasn't right. Another pair of figures appeared from the other side, and it seemed they were rounding on the bowmen. Ronan's breath became shallow and hurried. In that moment, he acted. He nearly stumbled forwards, but his hand went out and grabbed one of the figure's cloaks, a bunch of material in his hand. He kept his periphery clear, assuming Rhy would have noticed the same thing. "Who goes there?" he growled in the common tongue. "Show your faces." He did not ask. He demanded. The people of Riverfall would not enter battle shrouded. He had a bad feeling that the enemy had infiltrated the citadel.

[Rhy]

Maybe it was because Ronan and Rhy are the only two people in what seems like the whole city that are not moving. But when the cloaked figures rounded the corner the Kelvic's eye naturally falls in their direction. Much like watching a fish swim upstream, the motion of simply walking just did not belong. Rhy stares at the pair, cocking her head from one point to the other as if she can't quite get the lighting right. She decides, rather grudgingly, that they must be Akalak. They seem to be the same shape, if rather small. But she can't really tell why the sight of them makes her stiff. Then a second pair rounds an opposite corner, and the sight makes the hair on her neck prickle. This is wrong. Somethings wrong. But for all her instincts she can't justify what is wrong. And loath she do something impulsive again and get them in even deeper shyke then they already are. But she still dips to a crouch and comes back up with a large chunk of cracked stone pounded loose from the cobbles, roughly the size of half a brick. And while she is still deciding what the two pairs of strange Akalak are about, Ronan jumps forward. Rhy, sputtering and rather shocked, has no choice but to step in behind him. But she still keeping a few paces back, pawing her stone. This is wrong. Something isn't right.

[Mist]

The second set of forms was close enough to intercept, and jumping upon a hunch, the duo did indeed set upon them, questioning what they were doing. As Ronan grabbed at one of the hooded figured, grabbing the clothe he wore, a gurgle rose from inside, by the unseen face, like some odd perverted stream clogged with gunk, trying to suck its way clear... Both of the forms turned together, to face them, ripping the cloth out of his hands... But as it was pulled angrily from his grasp, one of the figures hood fell back... To reveal his face... Which was just... Not quite right... At first glance from the hue and height of the figure, it appeared to be a human. Albeit a human with dry skin that was a touch dirty, and in need of a good washing... A pale brownish tan color. But it appeared human enough... But what was wrong was... Its features... For though it seemed the height of a human, its face and ears looked liked those of a Akalak's... But it clearly was not the purple or blue hue of one... Not even the odd red color occasionally seen... No, its color and size denoted a human, while its features denoted Akalak... There eyes the black of a cloudy night... They both glared at Ronan, and the one he had grabbed shoved him in the chest, pushing him away, with a startling amount of strength for his size. Neither of them had yet spoken. As this was going on, the first pair of forms were reaching the back of the ranged weapons.

[Ronan]

Ronan let go of the cloth, recoiling in horror. This was no normal attacker. There was something off. The scent was vile, like oozing mud, caught in a riptide. It looked like a hodgepodge of races too. He couldn't quite decide which it resembled. He took a step back, swallowing hard. But no sooner had he taken that step, the figure slammed him hard in the chest. He tumbled, spittle flying from his mouth. Hands went to the impact point, Ronan unable to speak, winded momentarily. He turned desperately for the Kelvic, but she was fending off her own. And in the distance, he could see the first pair heading to the armaments. "No!" he rasped, one arm outstretched. He pulled his dagger free from its sheath, regaining some balance, and sped back past the enemy that had assaulted him, grinding the dagger against its side. He rushed towards the pair heading to the weaponry and bound straight into them, using his shoulder to hit the pair with force.