Solo Dog Days (Part 2)

[Yisanareysin]

Continued from here

The glowing path was easy enough to follow, fresh as it was, and Rey did so as quickly as he could manage without being too loud. As long as he got to the messenger before he reached Vane, he was fine.

The plan that Rey had come up with was fairly simple. Emlin had had to give his messenger instructions on how to pick up the "delivery", which Rey was assuming was smuggled cargo Emlin was reselling. That seemed to imply that Vane wasn't expecting that messenger in particular, just an envoy from Emlin.

So, if Rey caught up with the messenger and disposed of him, taking his clothes and whatever other identification the messenger might have on him would be all that Rey needed to impersonate him. Rey had never met Vane, so just pitching his voice slightly would probably be good enough. Then, he could pick up the smuggled delivery, and bring it to Lambard. You couldn't get much more solid proof than the actual smuggled items, after all.

After a few chimes, Rey turned the corner to find his target walking briskly down the alleyway. Perfect. Rey started after him, keeping as quiet as he could. It really was a pity he didn't have any blue whinnis with him. With it, the needle launcher in his bracer would make quick work of this messenger, and with minimal risk of bringing the speakers down on him.

Come to think of it, why didn't he have any blue whinnis? He'd been neglecting that aspect of his mothers teaching. Perhaps he should rectify that. Still, that was for later. Right now, since he didn't have any blue whinnis, he was going to have to do this the old fashioned way. He ran the risk of killing the man, but eh. It should be fine.

Rey was close enough to the messenger now, just under two viper's length away. He didn't think he could get any closer without risking alerting him, but it was fine.

Unclipping his cloak from his neck, Rey held it in his left hand, drew his dagger with his right, and burst into a run, all attempts at stealth gone. At the sound of feet on cobblestone, the messenger started to turn to look, but not fast enough. A human might have had trouble closing the distance between them in time. But Rey was a viper.

Within moments he was close enough to the man to fling his cloak over the man's head before he could get a good look at Rey. He kept his momentum, seizing the messenger by the throat with his left hand and shoving him back against a wall. The messenger's head slammed back against the stone. Apparently not hard enough though, as the messenger reached for his hip, and began to draw a curved blade of some sort.

Now, that wouldn't do at all. Rey brought his right hand down sharply, stabbing his dagger through the hand on the blade. The messenger let out a shrill scream, and Rey let go of his dagger to cover his mouth through the cloak.

One more try.

Hauling him back by the throat, Rey slammed the man's head against the stone wall once more.

Snake Tongue | Common | Arumenic

[Yisanareysin]

This time, the man fell silent, and slumped over. Pulling his cloak off the now limp man and tugging it back on, Rey knelt down to check on him. Two fingers on the side of his throat found a fluttering heartbeat, so Rey quickly stripped the man of everything he had on him. There wasn't much, other than his clothes and that blade. No matter. The man's clothes were plain too, so Rey probably didn't need to change into them. Good, that made things easier.

Ripping the man's clothing to shreds, Rey quickly bound and gagged the nude man, and rolled him into a dark corner. With any luck, it'd be a while before he got out and reported what happened to Emlin, by which time Rey would be long gone, their smuggled goods with him.

Picking up the man's blade, Rey hefted it in his hand, testing the weight of it. The style seemed familiar, something he'd seen in Ahnatep. It wasn't exactly the cutlasses sailors seemed to favour... Ah. A scimitar, that's what it was called. Well, Rey didn't particularly need a blade, but he figured it was best if he didn't leave it with the unconscious man, so he buckled the scabbard at his side and headed off.

It took some time to find Vane, but that was pretty normal, as far as Rey had been told. Before long, Rey was standing before a small, unassuming wooden door, with the image of a rooster carved into the door frame. There was no handle, but there was an indentation, probably a slot with a sliding cover, above Rey's eye level. Probably just the right hight for your average human, though.

Nothing else for it. Drawing the hood of his cloak over his head, he knocked on the door, then stepped back. After a few ticks, the slot slid open, revealing a pair of narrowed eyes. "What are you looking for?" The voice growled, and Rey hesitated, trying to recall what Emlin had said. "A sshadow from abroad." He responded, trying to sound more confident than he felt. To disguise his voice, Rey pitched his voice up, not quite reaching the point where it felt unnatural. It was odd, to feel his voice reverberating in his head instead of his throat, and he made a mental note to test out new voices when he was safely home.

There was a tick of silence where Rey held eye contact with the person behind the door, trying not to blink. Then the slot slid shut with a snap, and something started clanking behind the door. When the clanking subsided, the door slid open, and the woman on the other side gestured him in. As he entered, he caught a glimpse of an absolutely ludicrous number of deadbolts and locks on the door.

"Down the corridor." The woman told him, before settling back into a chair, holding a crossbow very conspicuously in her lap.

Lovely. Nothing quite as soothing to potential customers as the certainty that one was about to get shot directly in the spine.

Setting his shoulders, and attempting to ignore the crossbow, Rey strode down the corridor, trying to look like he was definitely the real servant of a client here to make a completely legitimate pickup.

As legitimate as you could get dealing with a smuggler, at any rate.

NoteI feel bad just picking up a weapon out of the blue so I could say that Rey accidentally loses an amount of money equivalent to the cost of a scimitar? Leaving it to the grader's discretion.

Snake Tongue | Common | Arumenic

[Yisanareysin]

The corridor opened up into the most opulent study Rey had ever seen. Bookcases lined half the shelves, and furs covered the other half. The rough stone floor of the hallway behind him melted into a reddish purple marble, reflecting the flickering firelight from the hearth set off to the side. A desk was planted in the centre of the room, and behind that desk, sat a middle aged woman, her dark red hair bound into a loose ponytail.

When she caught sight of him, the woman stood and smiled politely, extending a hand for him to shake.

"Ah, hello there. You'll be Alexander's emissary then?"

Rey nodded politely as he shook her hand, trying to seem professional while still covering his face. Just in case, he focused, drawing on his magic and pushing it towards her, seeding her mind with the certainty that yes, of course this was Alexander's servant. Who else could it possibly be? It wasn't a particularly strong thought

"Vicky Vane. You're just in time. The delivery's just arrived."

Walking around the desk, Vane clapped him on the back, and led him back down the hallway he'd come. Only now it was clearly not the same hallway, ending a quite a ways down at an elegant wooden door.

"Your master's request was a little unusual, I have to say, but he'll be pleased to know I've managed to find one that fit his specifications perfectly. Had to import her from some trainer in Endrykas, but I think he will be very pleased."

"Her?" Rey managed not to blurt out through sheer force of will. That... did not bode well at all. Smuggling was one thing, slavery was another. While technically legal in Alvadas, having to drag an actual person around complicated things quite a bit.

"Oh, don't worry." Vane said, apparently having caught Rey's concerned expression. "She's been properly trained in Common. Did you get the list of commands she's been taught." Rey shook his head, and Vane sighed.

"Of course not. Alvad couriers." She shook her head ruefully. "It'll show up eventually, but I have another copy you can take with you." Rey had no idea what she was talking about, but it seemed like Vane was doing him a favour, so he nodded and feigned a thankful smile.

Pushing the door open, Vane led Rey into a large room. On one side stood three vaguely people shaped figures, which on closer inspection turned out to be padded dummies sunk into the floor.

On the other, two humans stood, chatting indistinctly. Between them sat a large black dog, obediently still. As Rey and Vane entered the room, the dog turned to look at them, red eyes flicking between them.

"Here she is. The perfect guard dog, just as Alexander requested." Vane said proudly, clapping Rey on the back.

Oh.

Snake Tongue | Common | Arumenic

[Yisanareysin]

A dog. A guard dog? Well, Celise had called the man paranoid. At least it wasn't the slavery Rey had imagined. Still, there was a dull throb of disappointment. He'd thought he'd managed to unravel Emlin's scheme, find the source of his advantage over Lambard. Something big, something he could bring to his client. This was just, well, a dog.

Still, he was too deep into this to bow out. So Rey simply nodded again, not sure what else to do. "Chatty, aren't you." She laughed. "I understand. Emlin likes his secrecy. I should have expected any servant he trusted enough to send on this errand would be the same." Rey wasn't sure how to respond to that, so he merely shrugged, and looked back at the dog. He could... pretend to inspect the dog? Honestly, Rey had never cared much for animals, and he wasn't certain how one inspected them. It didn't look like it was dying, and that was just about all Rey could tell.

Luckily, Vane continued to talk, sounding more and more like a saleswoman by the tick. It sounded like a habit more than a tactic, though, especially since Rey was pretty sure he had... uh, Emlin had already bought the thing.

"She's a Bozderon Shadow Dog, like any you can pick up at Impawsible Pets so there's no reason for anyone to think she's much more than a companion, or a simple guard dog at best. I know most Bozderon's aren't trained to fight offensively, but my supplier assured me she was the finest war pup of her litter. Will you want to see a demonstration? Or will you be satisfied with that?"

Demonstrate? Well, truth be told, he was rather curious. But he'd have to speak to get her to do that, and, and Rey wasn't particularly keen on her hearing his voice and potentially making a connection later. Unless....

Gathering his magic once more, Rey let it flood into his throat and tongue, infusing his words with a magical tint. Pitching his voice higher, Rey spoke softly, hypnotism nudging them to simply accept that his voice belonged to a woman. Ionu knew he had the height and silhouette for it.

"A demonstration, please." He murmured, enunciating his words carefully to ensure his hiss didn't slip out. Vane nodded

"As you wish, lass. Arthur, if you could?"

One of the human nodded, and stepped forwards. The other turned away, and moved to the back of the room to open a chest. "Sable." The man who had stepped forwards snapped. The dog straightened up, and turned to look at him. "Attack." He said curtly, gesturing towards one of the dummies.

Within moments the dummy was shredded, and the dog was standing, hackles raised, between the remaining dummies and the man who'd commanded her. "Easy." He called out, and she relaxed, turning to pad back towards her master.

Just then, the second man, who'd apparently armoured himself from the chest, came up behind the first and swung a wooden sword towards him. It clattered to the floor as the dog tackled him, sinking her teeth into his armoured forearm, and pinning him to the ground.

"I take the requests of my clients very seriously. You'd be hard pressed to find a better protector than Sable here." Vane told him, clearly proud of herself. Rey glanced at where the second man was now nursing a bruised forearm, while the dog stood staring him down. "He'll take her then." It wasn't a question. Rey nodded anyways, already considering the possibilities. A guard dog, huh? The underground was a dangerous place.

"Good. I didn't name a price when Alexander made his request, since I didn't know what sort of protection I could get for him, but the dog will be eighty gold. I trust that won't be a problem."

That wasn't a question either. Petch.

Snake Tongue | Common | Arumenic

[Yisanareysin]

Petch it, he'd already committed to buying the dog. Nothing for it, and it was affordable enough compared to what he was going to get from Lambard. Eighty gold was quickly measured out and handed to Vane. She raised an eyebrow at him, but seemed to accept it. "Paying upfront, huh? What, is Alexander worried about the rest not going through?"

Uh.

Shyke. Evade the question, don't draw-

Wait. The rest? Perhaps there was still something here for Rey. Pitching his voice up, he spoke again, just as soft as before.

"Mister Emlin iss cautious, that's all. He... worries." Under the hood, he grimaced, hearing the hiss slip out a little. Still, he supposed it wasn't unreasonable that she would simply accept that he was a dhani in Emlin's service. It wasn't a big deal, but the hiss was another distinctive feature he had to work on.

"Of course he does." Vane shook her head, and Rey seized his chance. Weaving his magic once more, he sent a hypnotic nudge in her direction, urging her to reassure him. "Well, he has nothing to worry about. The Salty Skipper docks tomorrow evening as arranged, no delays. There's no reason to believe that there will be any trouble with the pickup. And if Alexander wishes for my men to pickup the goods for him, he knows my price." She looked at Rey questioningly, and he shook his head, cackling internally.

So she was smuggling goods for him! Just not today. That was even better. And it sounded like it was Emlin's men who would be making the pickup. Oh, Lambard was certainly going to be pleased with this. He was still smiling when Vane turned to him, holding a piece of paper she'd whipped out from gods knew where. "Here." She handed the paper to him. "The list of commands. Just in case the courier we sent never shows up."

Rey took it, stowed it away in his pack as the dog was led to him. "Sable." The man said again, and the dog turned to look at him. Kneeling down, he clipped a leash to her collar, and then handed the collar over to Rey. "This is your new owner." He said, and the dog looked at Rey, then back at the man, then at Rey again. Was it just his imagination, or did her tails and ears seem to droop slightly?

"Just copy what I did when you give her to your master." The man said gruffly. "Hand over the leash, tell her who she belongs to, and she's his. She'll bond with him eventually, if he treats her well. Bozderons are loyal creatures."

Rey nodded again, fingers tightening on the leash. It seemed he had a dog now. This was not how he'd imagined his day going.

Snake Tongue | Common | Arumenic

[Yisanareysin]

Back at his house, Rey sighed, studying the dog staring expectantly at him. "You're one Hai of a miscalculation, you know that?" The dog simply looked at him, seeming to be waiting for his command. "Easily the most expensive one I've made too. Still, I suppose it could have turned out worse."

He'd overtaxed himself with hypnotism, it seemed, and his throat was scratchy and painful. He'd stopped coughing up blood though, which was something. Rey sighed, and shook his head. Reaching out, he set his hand awkwardly on the dog's head, scratched lightly like he'd seen others do. The creature seemed to react positively enough, tilting its head so Rey was scratching behind its ears and letting out a soft huff. Its red eyes looked up at him, blinking slowly.

"Good girl." He tried, parroting what he'd heard from others. It didn't react. "I'm going to have to buy you things too, aren't I. Going to have to learn from someone how to keep you. And I'm going to have to teach you to know me in my true form too. Siku's scales. "

A lot of effort for an animal that had sort of been dumped into his lap. He had a feeling he was going to regret this. But then again, that was the case with most of his decisions, so he wasn't too bothered. Most of the best things in his life had come from decisions he'd known he'd regret later. First things first. Lambard needed a report.

Standing, he looked down at the dog, then pulled out the paper Vane had handed to him. Sit, Stay, Fetch, Attack, Kill, Hold Still, Pin, ah, there it was. "Sable." He said, slipping the paper into his journal. "Guard." It let out a soft yip, then settled down in a dark corner of the room, facing the door. Any intruder that came in, it'd attack and pin down until Rey came back. He wasn't expecting any intruders, really, but he figured it would be best if it got used to taking orders from him, thinking of his as it's master.

Good dog. He thought as he tugged on his disguise, and stepped out into the darkening streets.

Snake Tongue | Common | Arumenic

[Yisanareysin]

Lambard was already at their assigned meeting spot when he got there, pacing nervously. Rey stopped just out of sight, watching her carefully. She was on edge, that much was obvious. How bad? Rey almost reached for his sense, before scolding himself mentally. He'd already taxed himself enough for the next few days. No more magic.

Instead, he shifted closer, using the shadows as a hiding place, and watched her, watched the way she fidgeted as she paced, the way her hands smoothed over her shirt, the slight frown on her face. She was anxious, he decided. But not desperate. Not yet. It'd have to do.

He waited for her to turn her back for another round of pacing, then stepped quietly out into the open, and stood up straight. She turned again, and started to find him standing there. To her credit, a slight start was all the reaction she showed to his sudden appearance.

"He hired a smuggler." He said softly, before she could ask. A muscle in her jaw twitched as she gritted her teeth.

"Of course he did." She seethed. "Can you find out if-"

"Tomorrow night at the Port. The Ssalty Skipper. His men will be there to collect." He interrupted, prefering to speak as little as possible while his throat was in this state.

The smile that spread across Lambard's face was something to behold, vicious and victorious, satisfied and sinister. "Good." She told him. "You'll have your payment in full, but a little extra when it's done."

Rey raised an eyebrow under his mask. When what was done? He said nothing, though, and Lambard looked up at him. "Isn't it shocking, how a perfectly respectable merchant has resorted to smuggling? What a pity. Imagine what the speakers will think." Rey let out a sharp chuckle at that. He understood her meaning well enough. She couldn't be implicated in this, of course. But Rey, well. Even if word got back that Rey had snitched, everyone knew he was a freelance spy. Why, any number of people could have hired him for it. He might even have done it on his own to curry favour with the speakers.

Well then. He supposed it was time to go find the Silver Serpent.

Snake Tongue | Common | Arumenic

[Kaleidoscope]

"Please! I won' do it again!"

The small crowd bayed, sensing victory, as the cowed man with the vibrant purple hair and crooked teeth grovelled on the small, wooden stage. Severus the Serpent nodded sagely, and addressed the crowd with a melodious lilt to his silver tongue. "This man says he 'won't do it again', but this is the third time he has been the distinguished guest at this event. It is clearly obvious that he has done it again, twice. Is it fit punishment to simply get away with a mild telling off?"

He turned and hooked a cane under the tunic of the sunken man, lifting him up with a benign smile. He staggered, spluttering, and clutched his tunic protectively. "What should he do, Alvads? Should we make him pay for his crimes? Should we give him utter hell?" The crowd pushed forwards, roaring curses and warnings, but most had a kind of wicked delight writ clear on their faces. A Speaker's event was a special kind of barbarism- something sophisticated in its mockery of the unfortunate party that had got caught in their crimes.

This man would get off easy though. An already troubled mind didn't need provoking too far, and Severus knew his limits. Of course, he was a criminal after all, so he wouldn't get off completely scott free. The crowd had riled itself up and was now hurling insults at the purple-haired man, ranging from the simple, "Yer a horse shyke!", to the more elaborate, "A thieving, deceitful frog-petcher like you does not deserve Ionu's attention let alone hospitality, think yourself grateful nasty petcher!"

The Silver Serpent watched with amusement, pacing the man around the stage by dragging him along by his tunic- the stolen item, as it happened. He walked him around in circles until he let go and the man staggered, disorientated, falling to his knees again as the crowd laughed without much kindness. "We'll be needing back what you stole, Francis. Come on now, don't be too shy." And so the thief deposited a pile of items on the stage- the embroidered tunic, a silver spoon, five gold buttons, asurprising pair of feathered gloves and a small bag of gold mizas. It was a pretty fortune, but the Serpent was satisfied.

Left with a ringing warning and not much else (being unfortunately shirtless), Francis the thief was allowed to leave. Slowly, the crowd began to disperse too, until Severus was left by himself, atop the stage. It was then that he noticed the singular member of the crowd that hadn't left yet. It would be completely unnoticeable, but the man's eyes flashed as he absorbed the stranger's appearance. Then, the Serpent descended the three, small steps to street level and approached the Dhani.

"You have news for me."

It was barely a question, simply a statement of truth. He waited patiently, his elegant cane resting on the cobbles of the street as Ionu's stage faded and peridot-coloured flowers, tiny and strangely fragrant, blossomed across the man's chin.

[Yisanareysin]

Severus's shows were always an intriguing display of contrasts. The speaker was always cool, composed, elegant in his superiority. His victims were often base, in their own frantic, terrified sort of way. And his audience was usually vicious, baying for blood like a pack of jackals. Rey wondered sometimes if they were aware of the irony in that. He was certain Severus did, though what the speaker thought of it was anyone's guess.

Rey hovered at the edge of the crowd, mimicking their movements. He surged forwards with them, cheered when they did, laughed at all the right times, waiting all the while for the show to conclude.

When it did, Rey lingered for a while, feigning fiddling with his pack and possessions, until he and Severus were the only ones left. Straightening up, Rey met the speaker's eye, and inclined his head respectfully as the man walked down to meet him.

There were two reasons that Rey had chosen to go to Severus, rather than any of the other speakers. The first was thoughtful, and eminently practical. In any other city, he would have gone for the most guileless law-keeper he could find, all the easier to use as a tool in a client's scheme. But this was Alvadas, and it was here, not Sunberth or Syliras, that Rey had learned true paranoia.

Paranoia or not, Rey doubted trying to pull one over the speakers would go well for him. So instead, he had gone to the one speaker who Rey was fairly certain would know, or be able to figure out, that he was coming in good faith, without guile for once in his life.

The second reason was far more whimsical. Before going to search out Severus, Rey had pulled Chance from its hiding place in his home, and rolled them, hoping for an indication of what was to come. To his surprise, they had landed on the same image, for the first time as far as Rey could remember. On each, a shimmering cobra, with flowers for a hood.

Danger and opportunity, both in the form of The Silver Serpent. Perhaps it would have been safer not to go ahead with his plan to go to Aysu or Kaleo or one of the other speakers. But Rey had never been one to shy away from danger if there was opportunity to be had. So he'd gone on, and now, here they were.

"You have news for me." The speaker's face was impassive, and again, Rey wrestled down the urge to sense, to learn, to study. Ignoring the whispers in his mind, he nodded.

"I do. A smuggling sship comes into the Patchwork Port tomorrow night. The Salty Skipper, third dock from the easstern side, around the 23rd bell." At least, that was what Crow had said, and Rey had heard nothing to disprove that. "Goodss onboard are for Alexander Emlin. Big man, greying hair, green eyes. Nervouss, often twitching. Owns three sstalls in the Bizarre. His men will make the pickup. They may leave it in a dead drop ssomewhere in the city, I'm not sure."

Snake Tongue | Common | Arumenic

[Chameleon]

The Speaker's face remained passive and flushed with a slight pink of disinterest, as if everything that Rey said was a fact that was both well known and unimportant. In reality, his mind was calculating, far too busy on the outside to show any sort of emotion on the outside. Everything the Dhani before him said, he sorted through with his own information, drawing links, finding connections, and figuring out where it all came from.

He seemed to be telling the truth. There was nothing in his body language that betrayed lies. Nothing that contradicted Severus' own knowledge enough to create alarm.

Carefully, he brought both of his hands up from the cane, letting it balance by itself, as if it had grown from the street of Alvadas rather than having been left beside the man. One hand moved up to brush against the flowers on his chin, spreading a faint mist of pollen into the air, while another gestured to someone behind him.

"And, Mr. Yisanareysin," he started calmly, his voice thickening suddenly with a strong Dhani accent as he spoke the foreign name, "How - or rather more importantly, why - are you so well informed about Mr. Emlin's business?" Along his voice, there was a slight hint of amusement, as if he was simply testing him to see how he would reply.

Most likely, it seemed like that because he was testing him. Severus was well informed about the city and its happenings, and a freelance spy was something that came up often enough. Reysin was a Dhani that had reasons to be watched. And it wasn't just the obvious ones that put him on the list, either.

Behind the Speaker, a smaller woman emerged, porcelain skin tattooed thickly with flowers, like a china cup. The comparison ended with her skin - her muscles were thickly built, betraying anything but fragility, and her features were thick and heavy, lacking delicacy. "Blossom, you were right," the Speaker confirmed to her without batting an eyelid in her direction, "And this little man beat you to it. 23rd bell tomorrow night, third dock from the east, correct?" He didn't wait for Reysin to respond. "I'm sure you can get Emlin's men in the act. Do you need this man to accompany you to help you with this task, too?"

The woman bulged with visible irritation, but didn't reply, mouth sealed tightly shut. Most of her anger was directed to Reysin, despite it being caused by the Serpent beside her. After long enough of the silence, Severus made another gesture with his hand, and she took it as a reason to leave, disappearing almost instantly into the shadows around them.

It took another few moments for Severus the Serpent to speak again, but when he did, it was full of interest, almost pride, towards the man before him. "We've got our eyes on you, Mr. Yisanareysin. Then again, who don't we watch?" He smirked, eyes lighting as a series of colourful fireflies flooded behind Reysin. "Careful which side you're playing on."

Then the fireflies enveloped him, and the man seemed to disappear. Just the cane was left behind, still perfectly upright in the middle of the street, only slightly wobbling after the cloud of fireflies.

He had felt like this exit needed to be big. The Speaker wasn't usually a fan of big, showy ones.

All of a sudden, the street felt like it had lost a large presence. Everything seemed massive, and Reysin remained a speck of dirt in its size. It was as if no one had ever been here, apart from the lone Dhani. The lone Dhani, and the million eyes that seemed to be watching him.