The Missing Yasi

by **Verilian** on March 22nd, 2015, 3:50 am

Timestamp: 58th of Spring, 515 AV

Missing children was not something unheard of in Wind Reach. It happened. The Inarta lived a dangerous life, and the Yasi were not sheltered from that danger. When a child died or went missing it was a sad thing, but nothing unusual. When two, or even three, were lost, still it was nothing particularly out of the ordinary. Sad, of course, but such was life in the city of the fiery red headed survivors.

There was nothing usual about what had been happening over the past season and a half. A large number of Yasi had vanished, not just died, but vanished without a trace. The exact count was uncertain, such things were hard to keep track of, especially during the winter where dead bodies were so common, but in this case, there were not even dead bodies to count. The yasi were gone, and there was no sign of them anywhere. The count was estimated to be at least a dozen children of varying ages, and at least one was the child of an endal, both boys and girls.

The loss of the endal's child was the last strand. There were already some looking, for sure, but when an endal got involved, things happened. Endal's could command others, and they had friends among their caste which would join in the cause. Such was the case in this instance. Endal Marric was distraught, and it fell to others to organize the search, in truth. There were several who came to the call, and they were split into groups, each led by an Endal or Avora. Turrin was one such endal.

"Triza is her name," Forin, another Endal and close friend of Maric told the half-Myrian. "Marric says she went missing yesterday, but it might have been earlier. It's hard to tell, the Yasi are kept busy, and they don't always come home every day. We know in the morning she was going to the Enclave for history lessons. One of the other groups is already starting there. You should look for these."

Forin handed Turrin a list of twelve names, the twelve children confirmed missing, but four of them were circled. Each group was supposed to investigate four of the children, to split the workload, though they were all supposed to look for Triza as well. Triza was of course the main focus, being the daughter of an Endal, but if all of the children went missing for the same reason, finding one would hopefully lead to finding them all, Triza included.

"Alright everyone," Forin said, turning to face all those gathered, "Let's go find Triza and the other children!"

And with that, the groups split, leaving Turrin, Drusilla, Brandon, and Zhol to work together to find the missing children.

OOC :

by **Turrin** on March 22nd, 2015, 8:07 am

As Turrin listened to Endal Forin talk to him about the missing children, the endal was disgusted at the leadership of Wind Reach that it took so long for them to take action and look for the missing children. It took a missing endal child for them to take notice. In Turrin's mind, the leaders of Wind Reach should be ashamed of themselves, but the endal part of the him knew that they have to think about the survival of a whole city. If a few dozen children died or went missing than it was less mouths to feed come next winter. In Taloba, this kind of bird shyke wouldn't happen because there was usually enough food to go around, but in Wind Reach, food or the lack of food was life or death to the red headed humans. In the end, the whole situation left a bad taste in his mouth, and Turrin had a job to do, so he had to swallow his emotions and motivate his group to find these children.

Looking over the group, Turrin notice everyone in his party was outsiders. The myrian wondered if the other Inarta didn't want to sully themselves with a half-breed, symenestra, brown haired human, and Brandon Blackwing. The endal met Brandon during the hunt for the beast, and the best way to describe him was just plan weird. Turrin considered Zhol a good man with a large heart. The young man was about about as tall and thick as himself, and he was decent with a broad sword. The endal just hoped the brown haired human will able to control his emotions when they will have to sift through the pile of shyke called Wind Reach to find information about whereabouts of these children. If he haven't learned already, Zhol will start to learn quick how heartless Inarta were to people other than themselves. When his golden eyes fell on Drusilla, the endal knew this was the first time that he saw the symenestra in a couple seasons. If he was longer tails feathers as Aponivi put it, the endal would have seen his childhood friend sooner. Maybe he could even muster a smile for her, but he kept his face void of emotion and focused on the mission at hand.

The endal needed to keep his own emotions in check since he was leader of this group. The mission to find these children took priority over his own personal life. Turrin moved his eyes from Drusilla face, looked at the list, handed the list to Drusilla, and said to Brandon without looking at him with a voice void of emotion, “Brandon, I know you haven't been in Wind Reach long, but if you want to everything about how Wind Reach feels about it's citizens. Here it is it on paper...”

Since the food riots, Turrin wasn't taking any precaution, so he unbuckled his kukri scabbard from his belt and handed it to Drusilla. As he stuck it out to her, he hesitanted for a few ticks because it was dagger that he sacrificed the Dek to Myri with during the riots. Turrin stared at her and said softly, “Take it. There is a spirit of a warrior inside this blade... It should keep you safe.”

Turrin knew it was all was his clans superstition, but the half-breed truly believed that it might hold some essence of the Dek that he killed. The endal looked at everyone and said softly, “I want to hear everyone’s opinion and ideas on the situation before we investigate.” Turrin looked into the eyes of each of them and said to them with nod, “At this moment, we are family till the job is finished. Each one of us must trust in each others abilities, so when this mission is over, we can all share a pitcher of ale at the Inclement Weather when we toast our victory. Now lets hear your thoughts...” Naime was much better at speeches, but he had do his best to lift the spirits of his comrades. He just hoped it that this mission doesn't destroyed his already shattered opinion of his mother's city.

by **Drusilla** on March 22nd, 2015, 2:22 pm

Drusilla looked at her paper, "Both male and female, doesn't rule out Symenestra... But most were in too far for a Symenestra harvest... SOMEONE would of seen them, as it would of been a 'them' and not a 'he'. Even as small as Bitta are, a harvester could only carry one." She shook her head, "They weren't harvested, and most are too young to just be kept until they mature..."

She was a smart creature calculating, loophole finding, always suspect your birthrace first thinker. There had to be a pattern. Ideas were forming in her head, "Turrin go back to Triza's mother and get another article of clothing recently worn by the bitta... Can you do that? Once you get it give it to Brandon." Had the reasons they were meeting not been so serious, she'd of chewed out Turrin and possibly hit him with a book. No, she'd save that for later. But the storm was coming.

Looking down at the paper, "Can we get Aponivi to circle overhead? For any movement? Some one needs to interview Tysala Bursar." She paused. "I think Brandon and I should take the deepest parts of the tunnels. We both grew up in Kalinor and the dark doesn't phase us, plus that let's me climb around down there and really get a good look around." Drusilla wasn't dumb if she could get a piece of clothing, she could have Brandon act as a bloodhound and let him fly to places out of reach.

"Verda- I mean Zhol here is slightly claustrophobic. Let's keep him upper tunnels and courtyard side. He's from Drykas and has fast eyes. Let him take Solo and search." Finally she turned to turrin, "They may not even be in the walls, Turrin I think you should comb the wilds just outside. Also can you see if you can get Val to call a state of emergency and keep people in their homes and have the deks gather somewhere? We don't need extra bodies getting in the way. I have a last resort if it comes down to it, but until then we can try this."

by **Zhol** on March 22nd, 2015, 4:34 pm

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Zhol shuffled a little, uncomfortable at what Drusilla had said: not just her eagerness to sneak off into the dark depths of the warrens with her new favourite, avoiding her two brothers in the process; but what she had said about him, as well.

While it was true enough - he did get a little nervous and edgy in the deeper, narrower tunnels sometimes - there was more to it than that; and if that was what it took to find the missing Yasi, then he would fight his way past that fear. It certainly wasn't something he would let hold himself back; and it certainly wasn't something he wanted bluntly stated to Turrin and Brandon. He was of precious little use already: the last thing he needed was Drusilla providing Turrin with another reason to think of the horse boy as nothing but a useless burden. Perhaps they would be better off without him there to slow them down. Perhaps he shouldn't have volunteered to help.

But you did.

Normally his mind taunted and tormented him, but of late there had been whispers, gentle thoughts that did the opposite; and his mind chose Khara's voice to speak them.

You are here to help. You are here for those missing Yasi. And when you find them - you will find them - no one in this mountain will fight as hard as you will to make sure that they are safe.

A little kernel of resolve formed in the centre of his chest; enough for him to push his doubts aside and to find his voice. He considered what the Endal had told them; he considered what Turrin and Drusilla had said so far. They were good thoughts, good suggestions, but something niggled at him, some concept that didn't sit right.

"If- if-"

The words stammered out. Petch. His thoughts had merit; or at least, he thought they did. It didn't matter that the stakes were high. It didn't matter that this was more important than much of what he'd done. He'd fought that patchwork cave creature in the Winter. He'd fought the Beast, with Brandon and Turrin. He'd earned their respect; he was an Avora, for shyke's sake. Do what the Inarta do: act as if you deserve it, and rely on the rest of the world to fall in line. Something his father had said to him often lingered in his mind. Be the predator, not the prey.

He mustered his focus and tried again. "There are many of us," he said, with confidence this time. "Other groups. Other people searching. If the Yasi are easy to find, then the others will come across them, it is only a matter of time. But if they are difficult to find, we may not find them just by roaming the city with our eyes open. We should -" Another Endrykas idiom sprung to mind; he searched for the vocabulary to translate it's meaning into common. "- look smart, not hard."

That didn't feel right; the phrasing didn't quite seem to convey the same meaning as it did in Pavi. Stupid Common, and it's stupid lack of stupid hand signs; everything was so much easier if you could say in a gesture what it might otherwise take a hundred adjectives to convey.

He glanced at the paper their group had been given, carefully checking the names to make sure he got them right. Wind Reach might not care about these missing Yasi, but Zhol did; names were important. Names were what made them people, instead of just numbers. "Vord was last seen at an archery class. Marco and Darrin were last seen by other Yasi as well. We should talk to Tysala Bursar, definitely, and try to find out if there was anything suspicious that she saw -"

He trailed off, his eyes straying in the bat's direction. "Since Brandon is our resident expert on behaving suspiciously, he should definitely go; and perhaps I should go with him? If Tysala is teaching the class, there may be Yasi there who also may have seen something, or could help us find other Yasi that might. Brandon teaches Yasi and -" He thought about the sessions where he had aided Kami, teaching the young ones how to handle a horse and drive a cart, if their future jobs in the gardens, mines, or Thunder Bay might require it. "- I have a rapport with them as well. There is a chance that they might trust us; they might tell us things that they might not be willing to confess to an Endal, for fear of getting in trouble."

More likely to trust us than they would a Symenestra and a heart-eating Endal, Zhol mused, though he kept that sentiment to himself.

Another flash of hesitation, a moment of reluctance to seem as if he was trying to force the Endal into doing something. Worse, his suggestion would force his sister to spend time with someone she clearly did not want to; but she needed to, needed to let her anger out in the open rather than leaving it seething within, else it would get in the way of the task at hand. "Perhaps Turrin and Drusilla could try speaking to the workers in the kitchens, or at the Nesting Area? Aponivi might be helpful with that: even if the workers did not see, the eagles may have."

by **Brandon Blackwing** on March 22nd, 2015, 5:34 pm

x

One perk of being a thrill seeker was that you often found yourself in interesting situations. Brandon had a knack for getting in trouble or picking up on events that provided a break from routine and mundane activities. He’d heard about the search that was being organized for the Yasi of course and he’d hurried over as soon as possible. It wasn’t because he was concerned about his students –though in a way he actually was, a tiny bit- but that he believed this might prove to be rather interesting. Wind Reach or not, things were a bit too… inaction-packed to his liking, he’d expected the city to be more, hmmmm, wild.

Nevertheless, something was happening and if he had to be honest, he didn’t like the sound of it. Yasi that went missing, more people than other years? Well, that was highly suspicious for sure, it smelled like kidnapping to him, and to just about everyone with brains in their heads. The complete lack of action up until now was quite baffling and the bat realized that shouldn’t that particular Endal child have gone missing –or any Endal child really- there wouldn’t have been a call to arms, no search parties. In Lhavit, everyone would have started to freak out if there had been three children gone missing.

Brandon didn’t pay any attention to what was said by the Endal, not when he addressed a familiar face, nor when he addressed the crowd. He didn’t understand Nari at all and he knew that even if he would try, he wouldn’t figure out what was said anyway. People started leaving, groups splitting off and heading in different directions to start their search, leaving only the bat and three people he knew behind. Turrin, Dru and Zhol… well, at least he knew these individuals, there wouldn’t be any time wasted on introductions, and they’d speak common, since both he and Zhol didn’t have a good grasp -if any- of the Inartan language.

A piece of paper was pressed in his hands and the bat took a look at it, his brow furrowed. Written in common, how thoughtful of them. It looked like a list of sorts, with the names of the children on it, as well as the places they’d last been sighted. An eyebrow was raised as he returned the paper, then changed his mind and tucked it in a pocket of his bryda. “Actually, I’ll keep this.” The speech to lift their spirits and encourage working together was largely ignored partly because Brandon thought it to be common sense to trust in the other’s abilities, but to trust people completely was just plain stupid. Yes, Turrin was an acquaintance and Dru was a friend –what Zhol was didn’t really matter and Bran didn’t have any idea either-but that didn’t mean he trusted the Endal. Not completely. True, he’d proven useful during their encounter with the beast, but more that was it. He trusted his abilities, but not the person possessing them. The others, well, yeah, those didn’t doubt all that much… Not Dru anyway.

“I agree. I doubt there were any Symenestra involved, and even if they would be it wouldn’t make sense for them to take Yasi.” Like many others, Brandon had thought it to be a rumor –the harvest that is- but after hearing Dru confirm its existence… well, it was a bit unnerving. His mother had every right to be suspicious and wary of them. Brandon eyed Zhol with a question in his dark orbs; was it just him or was Dru’s tone awfully cold when addressing Turrin? Something had transpired between the two of them, but Bran could only make a guess at what had. All other ideas Dru suggested, or rather the orders she gave did not meet with Brandon’s approval. They were good ideas, yes, but a little… unfocussed. As far as Brandon was concerned there were five kinds of people able to solve crimes; guards, detectives, investigators, spies and criminals. Dru was neither, though he supposed that for looking around it didn’t really matter.

“Eh, I’m not a hound, Dru. I might have a great sense of smell, but that doesn’t mean I can accurately use it. Sure, I can tell people apart by just their scent, I can follow a scent if there’s not a lot of others disturbing it around.” He made a wide gesture. “But this is a city. I can’t find a Yasi just because I have a piece of clothing of her in my hand. I can check places that are rarely used, but other than that I’m afraid you can’t rely on my nose. I need more tracking experience for that.” His head was being shaken slightly. Then, Zhol spoke up, offering his own opinions on the matter and making a lot of sense.

“I agree with Zhol for once,” he stated, nodding approvingly, “We should search for leads, clues instead of searching randomly. And bringing people in a state of emergency will only cause chaos and that will only make it difficult for us to find the Yasi.” What do you know, the horse-boy was actually quite good at this, and for just a moment Brandon was once again reminded of Sal. Strange as it was, both Sal and Zhol could have been brothers, twins even, or perhaps just the same person.

Brandon took another look at the piece of paper, studying it a little more in depth than before, taking notice of the many different places the children had been gone missing from. Practically the whole city… And there were some that hand vanished at the same place, at the same time.The bat also noticed that there was significantly more information on the endal girl than on the others. “I suggest we don’t search for -” he glanced at the name for a split-tick “-Triza. Everyone else is looking out for her, so it’s best we focus on our targets first. There’s a couple things that’s been bothering me about these disappearances,” the Kelvic continued, “Firstly, they have been vanishing from just about everywhere, which means the people responsible must have had access to just about any place imaginable. Secondly, there’s these twins that disappeared at the same time. As Dru said, it’s hard to carry more than one child, so there has to be more than one suspect running around.”

There was a slight pause, as the bat wrecked his thief-brain for other things he could come up with at the moment, and there was but one and it only came up because he’d done a kidnapping himself once, where he was supposed to kill his target after transporting her. However, he was not sure if he should share it with the rest; Dru might not be- No, Dru had gone through a lot, she could handle it. “There’s a possibility that they aren’t alive anymore, ” the bat stated, sounding as if he’d just made an observation of the weather. “If that’s the case, I’m pretty sure we aren’t dealing with a large group of criminals, and all Yasi will be in the same place, most likely. If they are alive, the group will be larger and it is even possible that there will be small groups of Yasi kept in different locations. Either way, Splitting up is the best strategy for now, we need to gather as much leads as possible, then meet up here again.”

With that, Brandon practically dragged Zhol away from the group, without waiting for orders from Turrin, nor his opinion. It occurred to him that they hadn’t heard what he himself thought of this situation when the bat took the second step in the direction of the shooting range. He abruptly turned around. “Oh yeah, and what’s your thoughts on this, Turrin?”

x

credit goes to Euthisa

by **Turrin** on March 23rd, 2015, 7:38 am

Turrin crossed his arms as he listened to all his companions ideas about how to go about looking for the children. The endal could tell Brandon was eager to start because he was already pulling Zhol away from the group, but the endal was pleased that Brandon had enough respect for his authority to stay and listen to Turrin's opinions. Everyone had good points about how to go about the investigation. At first, Turrin noticed Zhol seemed nervous about giving his opinion, but when he got the courage to speak up. It was a well thought out plan. He must have had experience dealing with yasi. However, Turrin wanted to suggest that they expand their investigation to enclave too. Since the main focus is Triza, she should be the primary focus on there first location to investigate. Turrin knew that other children were important, but Forin focus was on Triza, so he need to steer his team in her direction too. They should be able to investigate enclave. She was went missing two days ago, so evidence will be fresh. Maybe they can find the green scarf along the way or a blood stain.

Turrin looked at Zhol and said with nod, “You made a good point, Avora. I would just scare the children if I want right into a class and start asking questions. I don't have the most approachable face unlike you and Brandon. However, I suggest after you make your way to enclave too before or after the trip to the archery ranges. Yasi class are often held there too, so it would be a good place to find any peers of our missing Triza. Also, I suggest you walk the path that Triza would walk to the enclave because you might find a clue like article of clothing like the girl's green scarf or possibly a blood stain...”

Turrin was impressed with Zhol, but as a leader, he had to stay neutral and not to show favoritism to any particular person. Brandon Blackwing was definitely clever in his own way, and the outsider seemed eager to share his opinion with the group. Turrin was skeptical of his idea of large criminal organization in Wind Reach because crime in the city was dealt with swiftly by the endal. However, anything was possible in this city nowadays. However, the strange man did make a good observation about that these children disappeared from many different locations around the city. If the suspect was a kidnapper, he or she was most likely a Inarta if nobody noticed them. Outsiders would stand out to much unless they have a way to disguise themselves. The endal frowned at his thought process because he needed to focus on getting the facts before he focused on the what-ifs and whys.

Suddenly, a idea came to his mind, and the endal rubbed his chin for a few ticks and said to Brandon, “You did make a good point Brandon. If our suspect is a kidnapper, they seemed to have access to most locations in Wind Reach if we go by the list. The only two castes that have that much access are endal and deks. Endals are the top of the food chain in Wind Reach, so they can go anywhere in the city; however, the lower castes do notice us when we enter a room. And the dek are mostly ignored by the higher castes unless they do something wrong or needed for some menial task. Ask yourself how often do you talk to a Dek on a daily basis?”

Turrin mulled over Drusilla's ideas about talking to the parents of Triza about getting clothing. They knew that she was dark green scarf, so everyone should definitely be asking for a yasi with that description. The endal thought it would be best to talk to her parents when they knew all the facts. He didn't want to bring three outsiders to the aeries of distraught parents and just start asking random questions about their missing daughter. It could get messy. However, her idea about talking to Aponivi and the other wind eagles in the nesting area would be good idea asking about the yasi Terri, Kisa, and Ehasi. Aponivi could definitely scout the Skyinarta and Unforgiving around the city for the children while he focused inside the city. Turrin agreed with Brandon about alerting the Valintar to impose martial law with no evidence. If the situation get worse, it could be a possibly to tell the Valintar to have the War Hawks patrol the warrens for public safety.

Turrin looked at Drusilla and said simply, “I have to agree with Brandon about suggesting to Valintar to impose martial law. We tried it once, and it ended up terribly for everyone involved...” Turrin paused for a moment as a couple memories of the winter floated through his mind, but he continued, “If we have no evidence, it could make situation worse for everyone searching for the children.”

Turrin ran a hand through his hair and continued, “However, if the situation get worse and there is a greater danger to the city as a whole. I will convince Endal Forin of a possible threat to the city, and both of us will go and petition the Valintar to set up War Hawk patrols in the inner warrens and post guards where yasi would frequently be present.”

Turrin wasn't surprised Drusilla had everyone safety in mind, the endal was convinced the woman didn't have a mean bone in her body. It probably the reason that he was drawn to her in the first place. However, he would be laughed out of the Valintar office if he suggested to guard the Dek. Turrin decided to tell the group what Drusilla and him were going to do. The endal looked at Drusilla for a moment than he looked over at Brandon and Zhol and explained his plan, “Drusilla made a good point about talking to Aponivi and the rest of the wind eagles in the Nesting Area. I can have Aponivi look around the outside of the city for dead bodies. I will just tell him to focus on looking for bodies of children. The side of the volcano would be a good place to dispose of any evidence or the possibly the Tomb of the Fallen.”

Turrin made a mental note that in the near future, he actually might want to check the Tomb of the Fallen with Aponivi. The endal paused for a moment and thought about the two youngest missing yasi Kisa and Ehasi and said his thought out loud, “Also I should pay a visit to the Tavina and talk to Old Lady about Kisa and Ehasi. I have a soft spot for the two twins because they are practically babes when they went missing. Besides, I am curious know how two children just disappear on the same day.” Deciding to use a myrian term for the Tavina, “The Queen of Wind Reach should have a couple theories about their disappearance.”

Turrin looked at Drusilla and said with a smirk, “However, I think we should head to the kitchen first and get something to eat. I can't really think about going into harms way on a empty stomach. Care to join me, Drusilla?”

Turrin knew that he would just cause a ruckus if he just went to Kitchen and started to interrogate the staff about the yasi Beni, so he needed to act nonchalant and order a meal, so the staff didn't just clam up on the two of them. Turrin looked at the other two and finally said, “Everyone had good ideas, so now it time to act. Lets meet up after we investigate our two locations and go over the evidence than we mix up the teams and decide which location the new team will go too next.”

by **Drusilla** on March 24th, 2015, 4:32 pm

Drusilla paused, "The deks... They'll talk to me. They always have. In fact, I believe when we switch partners, Zhol and I should hit one more target." The Den, where she had rode out the riots with a group of deks. A mini Kalinor she had pulled her weight, killing the giant rats that often stole food and other objects. They knew Turrin and taking him would of been a breach of the den's code. But Zhol, he had kind eyes and smile. Plus he was an outsider like her. Yes, they'd allow him entrance. "Sadly Turrin can give you no more information on this place, it would be a breach of trust." She explained.

"One final thing, may Rak'keli help us find and heal these children, may Dira give us the will to kill those who hurt them, and may Myri grant us Victory." It was a strange little prayer said to goddesses who were in conflict with one another, not that Drusilla cared. She had called out to all of them equally and given the situation they could put their squabbles aside to help.

"If we head to the kitchens now, I may be able to catch some of the deks eating. Depending on how many are there I might crave a filling elaborate meal, with a side of raw meat of course..." She nodded, "Yes, let's head there then."

She turned back to Zhol and Brandon, her brothers, her Versda. "Be safe my Versda, both of you." With that she turned back to Turrin so they could be on their way.

by **Zhol** on March 24th, 2015, 9:21 pm

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Both of you?

Zhol filed that choice of words away for later contemplation. It wasn't that he felt ownership of the term: he knew that Drusilla had - in the past, at least - used the Symenos term to describe Turrin as well. What intrigued him was that the term had been applied to Brandon also. True, Drusilla was swift to begin caring about anyone she felt a connection with; her world was a net, the people she knew woven into it, and for her there was no real distinction between friend and family - just different intensities of the same thing. Zhol respected that, and shared that; he viewed the world in much the same way. Brandon was a long way from being a brother though - unless he was the annoying younger kind, perhaps - and it made him wonder what things had transpired between the two of them for Brandon to ingratiate himself with her to such an extent.

Still, that was a mystery for later. With a silent nudge, he encouraged Brandon to continue leading them off in the direction he had chosen. He wasn't sure if the bat had learned his way around the warrens yet, or if he had absolutely no clue where he was going; it didn't matter, as long as the tunnel he'd selected led them away from Turrin and Drusilla.

"We are lucky to not be trapped between those two," he muttered, once he was sure they were far out of range of even the most sensitive ears. He glanced at Brandon, wondering if Drusilla had clued him in on the important details, or if the bat was completely in the dark. Simply explaining would be faster than trying to find that out, he decided, trying to sum up the situation as succinctly as he could.

"The winter before last," he explained, "There was a famine. The city leaders imposed rationing to ensure that the Endals and the Avora - the people going out and hunting more food - had the strength to keep going. Understandably, the Chiet and Deks didn't like that too much, and there were riots. Nasty, bloody riots. Rumour goes that -"

Zhol trailed off, trying to be tactful. "Supposedly, Turrin killed a guy and ate his heart. Might be true; might not. He's part Myrian, so who knows. Thing is though, most people in Wind Reach believe it. There was a lot of apprehension about this winter, wanting it to be different; I guess Turrin decided he wanted to keep out of the way of that, maybe. Either way, he's not really been around since the snow swept in last year, and Drusilla is..."

Another moment where tact was required; a moment where knowing the specifics of what was going on between Drusilla and Brandon might have helped. Versda meant close, but it didn't explain in what way. Zhol was close, but his relationship with Drusilla was purely platonic; Turrin on the other hand, well, things had happened, feelings had been felt, and then hurt. Zhol had no idea which of the two Brandon was, or if he was something else entirely.

"...mad at her brother for petching off and abandoning her."

He glanced back up the tunnels, though they were too far and too many twists and turns away for him to be able to see anything. There was worry in his eyes, for what kind of emotional state Drusilla might be in after the two of them inevitably talked. They'd find out when they returned from their interviews, of course; assuming that Turrin survived long enough to meet up with them, and that Drusilla wasn't otherwise occupied disposing of his body.

"Anyway." He pushed those thoughts aside, and turned his attention back to Brandon. They could solve the case of Turrin's homicide later; right now they had a different mysterious disappearance to focus on. "Where to first, Detective Blackwing? The Enclave, or Fletcher's Corner?"

by **Brandon Blackwing** on March 25th, 2015, 4:17 pm

x

Agreements and plans were made, Dru prayed and told both Bran and Zhol to be safe, and then every member of their group headed out, splitting up in two groups. Brandon went with Zhol, leading the way through the warrens quietly for a bit until he couldn't hear Drusilla or Turrin anymore. He opened his mouth to ask a question, but too late; Zhol was faster, muttering something that confirmed what the bat had been thinking the whole time when Dru'd addressed the Endal. Something had happened, but what? Before he could attempt to ask again, Zhol started an explanation, leaving the bat wondering if it was merely a coincidence or if he could read minds.

Riots eh? Well, If Brandon had been there he would probably have started them, or at least spurred the Chiet and Dek on, rallying them. It was good to know that such things could actually happen, even in Wind Reach. Food was more or less the currency here, you didn't have a lot of opportunities to buy food here, you had to work for it. And if the Valintar -or whoever- then decided that the little food the lower castes got should go to the Endal... Well, it was no surprise they'd taken action. Either way, the knowledge was safely stored in the vaults of his mind for later use, should he try to topple the chain of command of Wind Reach and destroy the Endal caste altogether.

Ah well, it wasn't as if he was serious about it, at least not yet. Perhaps if the Endal chose to make him their enemy he might just consider it. For him it wouldn't be too hard to sneak into the warehouses, and say... drop off some vermin that poisoned or ate the food reserves. During the winter of course, when food was scarce. It was without a doubt a very, very bad -cruel, malicious, maleficent- thing to do, and there would be lots and lots of victims. Conquering Wind Reach and leading a rebellion would be for another day, another season, should the Endal provoke him enough.

“Turrin should be glad he hasn't been liquefied ,” the bat stated, “Though what hasn't happened yet can still occur. For a gentle Symenestra, Dru can be quite vicious from time to time...” The prayer to Dira was a testimony of that fact, a prayer Brandon didn't need and wouldn't use either. He didn't need the will to kill his foes, he could kill just about anything even if he didn't want to. It went against his beliefs to just kill whoever stood in his way, be it friend or foe, unless it could not be avoided. Unless it was necessary. If the Yasi had been killed, Brandon would not hesitate to end the lives of the people responsible immediately, for he didn't doubt that what had occurred would happen again. A true thief couldn't stop stealing, just like a true murderer couldn't stop taking lives. Sacrifice two for the sake of many to come was no bad deal; Kihala's gift should be respected after all. Without any respect for life, how could one deliver death the way it should be? It couldn't, and therefor those people should be eliminated. Did he like the prospect? No, but he would carry out what had to be done.

Death should be meaningful, and for that very reason, Turrin had Brandon's respect. Myrian or not, eating a heart was quite a good way to give meaning to the death of a person. During a famine Turrin had been hungry, as a result he had killed a dek and eaten his heart. Was it surprising? Of course, it was the first time he'd actually heard of something like that. Did Brandon feel that Turrin was less a human now? Nope, as far as he was concerned, Turrin was just as human as Drusilla, and Dru was even more human than some humans he'd encountered throughout his life. Brandon wasn't repulsed or anything by Zhol's words, he was intrigued. He should talk to the Endal sometime and ask him some questions... it might turn into quite an entertaining conversation.

“Fletcher's Corner,” Brandon said after some consideration, “if she's teaching right now that might be the best place to start, I can't imagine someone would teach archery with books.” He grinned at that. “I don't know much about the archery teacher,” Brandon admitted, “but I don't suppose you mentioned the Enclave without reason? Does she hang out there a lot, by any chance?” It didn't really matter all that much, it would come down to some luck, and elaborate searching to find her. Brandon didn't know if the archery instructor even had to work today, or not. For all he knew she had the day off and was hunting in the unforgiving, or honing her skills at one of the other ranges. They'd simply have to ask around if she wasn't at the Fletcher's Corner.

Still taking the lead, Brandon guided Zhol through the warrens with some hesitation every now and then when they reached an intersection, but after a tick he remembered the which path to take and eventually the pair reached the Yasi shooting range. Even if Tysala wasn't there, there could be some Yasi around, maybe even a couple students of the bat that were willing to share some information. Perhaps. In all honesty, the Kelvic wasn't really sure if he was actually liked among the Yasi... probably not, even though he had been his usual, jovial self when teaching. But then again, he hadn't started on actual unarmed combat yet. The Yasi had to train their bodies a bit more first. All they'd done so far was running, and body-building exercises, as well as an extensive amount of stretching and talking in common. Oh, and learning how to properly break one's fall, they'd started on that recently. Breaking a fall was rather important to learn when attempting martial arts, Brandon found, and as it was the first thing that actually seemed related to the lessons he'd been hired for, th Yasi had seemed somewhat excited... or perhaps he had imagined that.

Well, never mind, if they didn't want to talk he'd just let them do sets until their arms felt like lead, their abs and neck burned like something stronger than Zhol's reimantic fire, and their thighs and calves were more sore than the bruises they sported. All in all, it would turn out to be interesting inside, that was certain.

x

credit goes to Euthisa

by **Verilian** on April 13th, 2015, 4:52 pm

A plan was formed, and off they went, Turrin and Dru to the kitchens, Zhol and Brandon to the Fletcher's Corner. Their task was not an easy one, the children could be anywhere, if they were even alive at all, and Wind Reach was a big place with many dark corners and hidden tunnels. Even a native could become lost, and perhaps that was all that had happened, but perhaps not. Those who were lost were normally found, eventually, dead or alive, and no child had been found.

As Zhol followed Brandon through the inner warrens on the way to the meet with Tysala he heard a strange sound, a whispering in the back of his mind, so quiet that the actual words were not discernible. The moment he noticed them and tried to pay attention they were gone, and did not return, and Zhol might even wonder if they had only been a product of his imagination. A chill ran up his spine, and then all was normal again. No sound, save for the normal ever day sounds of people walking the tunnels of Wind Reach, came to Brandon's ears, despite his excellent hearing. Neither did Turrin or Drusilla hear anything out of the ordinary as they made their way to the kitchens.

As it was still fairly early in the morning, the kitchens were still bustling with activity. Inarta of all castes came together for one purpose, to eat. Most of the cooking was already done, and Chef Davoid was overseeing the cleanup operations for the morning. That meant there were a lot of busily working chefs, chiet, and dek all not wanting to be interrupted. The head chef was not cruel or abusive to those beneath her, but she was strict and could be harsh when necessary. All that being said, those who kenw her did know that she could be approachable.

Zhol and Brandon found Tysala in the middle of teaching a group of Yasi. They must have been new students, because none of them were actually being allowed to hold any of the weapons yet, and they were young. Tysala was explaining how to safely string a longbow, though of course the student's "longbows" were more like short bows. Tysala glanced over at the pair when they entered then turned back to her students.

"Alright, everyone come up and grab a bow and practice stringing it like I showed you. I'll just be right over here if you need me."

After all the students had their bows and were beginning to string them, some getting it on the first try, others failing miserably over and over, Tysala came over to the pair and nodded curtly.

"If you want to schedule a session you should know that I'm booked up for the rest of the season. I can work you in some time early this summer if you can wait that long, otherwise you're out of luck."

Back in the kitchens Dru and Turrin would have a harder time getting the attention of any of the workers. Of course Turrin could always use his status to demand attention, but unless he ordered someone to stop what they were doing, the pair were pretty much ignored. Eventually Chef Davoid would notice their presence, however, and come over.

"You two. What are you bothering my staff for? Can't you see we're busy?"

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