[The Aylasa Caves]Both sides of the coin.(Eris)

[Weyliss]

The adrenaline gave every movement a punctuation. Eris's off-put blink, the strangers dazed and staggered response. Counting, Weyliss had to remind himself to breathe. As the strange man spoke, Weyliss' face took on a darker tint.

"My man?"

Weyliss let his sword arm drop, and stepped foward, eyeing the stranger.

"Mr. Alcherion, you see he... he was a family man."

Leaning forward, the warrior's face twitched as he gave the other man a once over.

"Now, I'm no expert, but any father worth his salt, wouldn't just up and leave his family. No way to fend for themselves an' all. Nay, a father-"

He physically spat as he finished the word, moving to the man's side, while still staring him down.

"-doesn't hide in a system of caves, an' doesn't need hired goons to protect him."

Weyliss seemed to pause considering. Suddenly laughing, he turned to the other man and placed a hand on his shoulder. Regardless of how the other man felt about physical touching, it didn't matter, Weyliss' grip was rather tight. Leaning in, he spoke in a low tone, while eyeing Eris.

"See 'ere friend. Neither of us mean you no harm. Now, she's pretty cute ain't she?"

Giving the man a smile, he gave the man a glance as the stranger tried to speak up.

"Now, now. Just listen, seem to think that you have something important to say. Need patience brother. Now. Back to the matter at hand. See 'yon girlie? Very good looking, despite her smaller then average assets, she could pro'lly turn a few heads. Now wouldn't it be strange if she was a hired killer? A real monster, using her looks to deceive innocent men such as yourself."

Turning he looked the man straight in the eye from an inch away.

"Me? I'm a real upstanding fellow. I'm not going to lie to you mister. It looks to me, like you could use a shave. Little bit o' fluff growin. I'm such a nice guy, that I'll even over to cut that wild beard for you. I start at the neck. So listen real good. I'm going to tell a story, and then 'ol fire-crotch is going to tell a story. Then, after we've done speaking, YOUR going to tell a story."

Letting go of the other man, Weyliss rocked back on his heels and stepped away.His face feigned interest as he spoke.

"Ooh! Mine's a good one. See, there's this book-keeper, and he has a wife and child. He also has a shady past. Worked with some real unsavory fellows -like myself- and went missing recently. Now, a dead body wound up in his shop, and his lil' old wifey, done sent out somebody to find a Mr. Alcherion. Sad story, I know. Luckily, there is a second act, as my dearest companion here will fill you in on."

Still holding the blade, Weyliss simply stood there, a wolfish smile on his face.

[Eris]

She bristled at the man’s little evaluation of her, her eyes narrowing dangerously. He might be trying to intimidate the stranger, but he had better tread lightly with his comments. Her fingers twitched around her dagger – at the moment, she felt like hurling it at Weyliss rather than the stranger. Her eyes still narrowed, she watched Weyliss circle the man – almost predatory in a way.

He was speaking in such a course, informal way – vastly different from the polite, knightly air he usually had around him. She hoped that this was simply an act for the other man’s benefit. Then again, people very rarely kept to their civil ways for long.

When he finished his narrative, Eris let the silence hang for the moment, trying to gauge the stranger’s reaction. He appeared to be somewhat shaken out of his passive state, but remained silent and motionless, except for the occasional nervous jerk of the head.

“And then a noble wanted help settling some monetary matters. So , he went to Mr. Alcherion and asked him for his professional opinion. He got his questions answered and decided that the best course of action to take was to kill the three people the money belonged to. So, the three friends got their throats slit and this nobleman took their money and ran. But he couldn’t leave his little consultant behind, could he? So he brought him along, promising him riches and a carefree life. And they ended up in a cave.”

She spoke coldly, not caring much for the dramatic flair Weyliss seemed to love so much.

[Weyliss]

For another long moment, nobody spoke. The man simply stood there, giving them both a rather baleful stare.

Weyliss rolled his eyes to nobody in particular. Letting out an exasperated sigh, he suddenly hefted his sword.

"Wait."

Pausing, Weyliss eyed Mr. Alcherion. Indeed, he had recognized him shortly after looking down his sword at the man. He wasn't entirely sure of the man's innocence, so he waited.

Fidgeting, the man shot several furtive glances to the ground around him.

"I-I.. you are mostly right miss...I would like to say that I was kidnapped, but that's not true. Mr. Telther offered me quite a sum. He ... he brought the driver of the caravan with to get something. While he was there, I realized that during his trades, he had been short-changing Mr. Telther and his friends by a rather substantial amount of money. Mr. Telther killed him, and then grabbed me, citing my loyalty. I won't be belittled, I thought I could help my family out, and I jumped at the chance. They left me here when they jumped on their horses. I believe they are headed back to Syliras."

The man shot each of them a rather resolute glare.

For his part, Weyliss gave the smallest of smiles. Clicking his tongue, he waved his arm at his horse. Gingerly stepping forward, it approached. Motioning for Mr. Alcherion to approach, he steadied the horse.

"Then I do believe its time to take you home mister."

Weyliss laughed, his jig having worked, he was quite pleased with himself. Or maybe the bookeeper just didn't care? More likely. Either way, it was case closed for the warrior. If he noticed the odd glances the bookeeper shot him, he gave no indication, instead helping him up into the saddle. Turning to Eris, he grinned.

"So. Where to? You think your man is going back to take care of your employer, or maybe he's getting more horses for a long pull to the south?"

[Eris]

Eris watched the man with slight disdain as he explained his predicament. Helping out his family – what a lovely excuse for greed. Eris shook her head slightly. She didn’t have the right to judge the man, nor did she wish to.

Eris whistled softly and Rhine came trotting up, looking displeased at having her rest interrupted. The Gildling’s light coat gave off a pale light that slightly brightened their surroundings. Suddenly, Eris was glad to have her horse with her again. Giving the mare’s flank a gentle pat, she swung herself up into the saddle – feeling very much at home.

“If this man can be trusted, the sensible thing to do would be to return to Syliras,” she said, shooting Mr. Alcherion a glare. “So, that’s where I’ll be going. I suppose I should warn my employer of Telther’s return before I do anything else.”

She spoke in a clipped tone, still irked at Weyliss’s performance a few minutes ago. But annoyance was overshadowed by her curiosity over his appearing act. “Where have you learned the maneuver you used a few minutes ago? I haven’t seen anything like it before.”

[Weyliss]

At first Weyliss thought she was referring to his cat-calling, then it hit him. Looking up at her, he pulled on the reigns, hoping the horse would respond.

"Oh. Uhm.. remember when I mentioned that old tutor of mine? We got drilled pretty hard on knightly combat techniques. That one is for when a knight needs to dismount immediately. Its part of an entire philosophy developed for fighting. Very reactionary. Ive been practicing for years."

He gave her a light smile as he guided the horse forward. On reflection, he decided that the manuever and the act had been part of the shell he had been developing over the past year. So many people lied, you couldn't just approach and ask someone anything anymore. Maybe this explained his growing infatuation with Eris? She had been pretty straight about what she did, not even so much as flinching when she had talked to him last.

Shaking any and all thoughts from his head, he looked back at the bookkeeper.

"I'm taking you back to your family, as well as the Knights. You can sing your tune to them."

Then he turned to Eris.

"Syliras it is. If you want to ride on ahead, I'll guard this miserable man."

The young man was quite somber, and as much as he hated to admit it, coming down from his adrenaline high had worn him out. His arm was on fire making pulling the reigns rather painful. All of this coupled with the long walk back, hardly made for a fun evening. Ah... the joys of working.

Looking up to the night sky, he gave the stars a friendly snort.

[Eris]

Eris nodded with his interest at his explanation. She wondered how someone who had been trained in riding could despise horses so much. She gave Rhine a little kick with the heel of her shoe, urging the horse into reluctant motion.

Riding ahead would be the smart thing to do, of course. She would arrive in Syliras faster, warn her employer, and still have some time for a nap. But, she could feel the little jabs of her conscience even before she left. The bookkeeper could be more dangerous than he lets on. He could be trained in some dark magical art, for all I know. And Weyliss has a bleeding arm that won’t help him any if a fight breaks out…

“I suppose I should ride on ahead,” she said slowly, “But are you sure you’ll be fine?”

She gave his arm a meaningful look, not wanting to mention the injury out loud in front of the other man. After all, Weyliss might not want his wound made known to the bookkeeper – even if the bloody bandage on his arm was painfully obvious.

[Weyliss]

Weyliss almost laughed at his companion. She fascinated him. How could she possibly be worried about him, when her business was murder? Or she was more concerned with his companion. That thought caused a rather sullen look.

"I'll be fine."

He gave Eris a smile and a little wave, before pulling the horse forward with his good hand.

"See you 'round yah?"

The last part was aimed at her back as she turned to ride on. He wouldn't mind seeing her again. Wether for aesthetic, or personal reasons, he wasn't sure. As he walked, the man looked back at the book-keeper, who had gone silent, and was looking up at the stars.

Weyliss turned his attention to the sky as well. It was a beautiful night sky, filled with countless spots of light.

"You know, a lot of times I take these for granted."

Weyliss blinked, and turned as the other man continued to speak.

"I mean, Ive never appreciated the view afforded by the gods. To think, they gave us all of this, and we squander it."

Weyliss was no expert, but he was pretty certain one of those gods had tried to take it all away too...

Grinning to nobody in particular he continued to lead the horse.

[Eris]

Eris gave him a curt nod and a small smile. Ready to depart for Syliras, she delivered a slight kick to Rhine’s flank. The horse neighed in annoyance, turning her head to look at her rider. Eris gave the animal a small smile. “If you hurry, there’ll be some oats in it for you,” she whispered into the horse’s ear.

As if sensing the promise of a nice dinner, Rhine broke into a gallop, quickly leaving the two men and the other horse behind. They were soon out on the open road, the dense forest quickly thinning behind them. Eris inhaled a breath of the fresh night air, letting it spread in her lungs as if it was the last breath she would ever take. She leaned forward in the saddle as clusters of green foliage and rock whizzed by. With no canopy of treetops to cover it, the moon shone brightly in the night sky, reflecting its light on the Gildling’s luminous coat.

Eris really didn’t particularly want to draw too much attention to herself at the main gates, but nothing draws attention faster than a shiny horse. Hopefully, the guards on duty would be familiar enough with the horse’s breed not to be overly curious.

She wasn’t particularly looking forward to waking up her employer from a peaceful slumber to tell him that his ex-partner was after him. The night hadn’t gone completely according to plan, but it was an interesting night nonetheless. A thought in the back of her mind nudged at her, wondering if she’d ever see that man again. But she quickly dismissed it as she began to see the outlines of Stormhold Castle looming ahead. Time to prepare a convincing explanation for the guards.

FIN

[Harlequill]

Weighing in... XP Awarded Character: Weyliss Experience: 2xp Sword, 2xp Medicine, 1xp Unarmed Combat, 2xp Blind Fighting, 1xp Intelligence, 2xp Riding, 2xp Interrogation Lore: Aylasa Caves Layout (Entrances), Fantasies about Eris, Combat Dismounting Techniques, Temporary Alliances, The Story of Mister Alcherion Character: Eris Experience: 2xp Stealth, 2xp Interrogation, 3xp Tracking, 3xp Intelligence, 1xp Riding Lore: Aylasa Caves Layout, Temporary Alliances, Telther's Sordid Dealings, Flirting With Danger (Entrances) Comments: I enjoyed the mystery of this plot, and how your own interactions before the start of the thread were referenced throughout as Eris and Weyliss pieced together the puzzle. Fun combat, fun interrogations, fun story. Please message me if you continue the line!