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[Iskessah]

Winter 2nd, 512 Iskessah let out the deep breathe she'd been holding as she passed through the gates of Syliras. Despite her nervous behavior--which she was sure had not gone unnoticed despite her best efforts--the guards at this gate had allowed her to pass through. Even better, the castle walls cut off the chilled winter air, allowing her to feel almost like herself. In a sense, being surrounded by stones brought back a weird sense of nostalgia, reminiscent of her youth living in the caves of the Nest. Once free of the intimidating guards, it was time to get on with what she had come here for. She ducked into the first quiet alleyway she could find, so that she would have time to think in peace. She pulled out the crude-outdated map of Syliras that she had been given, and studied it while going over her objectives in her head. First, she had to find the spot marked "X" on that map. That alone boggled her mind, since she could barely recognize where the gates were supposed to be, and the X was far across the city, beyond countless buildings and streets and passages. Add that the map might not even be accurate, and she had something of a puzzle on her hands. She was having a hard enough time recalling that the middles of the streets were not filled with water... Maybe her second objective would be easier, and might help with the first. If she could find a current and more accurate map, she might be able to match it up with what she already had. Then there was the third task, if possible, to find alternative entrances to the city. Now, given how imposing the front gate was, she doubted hidden entrances were something the public would freely divulge. At first, she was at a loss of how to even begin. Then it occurred to her that the first step was to gather information. It was so obvious she almost slapped herself; this past season in the wilds, she had been trying to reclaim something of her Dhani self, but at the cost of forgetting that she knew how to do the sort of thing she was trying to do here. What had been the point of those decades spent watching Mattieu if she was going to forget everything she'd learned in the span of a season? Sighing at her own ineptitude, she strolled out of the alley and made her way toward the first tavern she could find. Maybe there would be someone there she could eavesdrop on.

[Tatiam]

Tatiam was finally smoking again. Back leaning against a brick wall like any within the Hold, she felt like contributing personally to the poor air quality of Syliras. At least then, she would have someone to blame. At least the scent wasn't as bad as any other around. Smiling to herself nonchalantly, the young woman glanced at the people walking by in the street, staying conveniently in an alley nearby. Out of reach, out of sight: Out of trouble. It wasn't a day Tatiam wanted to meddle in others' businesses and lash out at anyone bothering her. Instead, she'd stay on her own, no surprise, no deception, no expectation. It was peaceful for a while, she enjoyed the warm flavor of the smoke numbing her feelings and thoughts. Tatiam felt like everything in life had a deep meaning, she felt accepting, even harmonious with how the world was. That wouldn't last. It was nice for a moment, though. The foreigner let the cig butt drop from her fingers, stepping on it to put it out, then headed towards the tavern. Two... three mugs at the most, then I'm off. It wasn't a day for socializing, making friends or enemies... Tatiam liked to surround herself with people, but letting anyone close was another matter entirely. Today she'd escape all of that, today there was no one to worry about.

[Iskessah]

OOCTook a bit longer than I expected, but here it is. Enjoy

Eavesdropping proved as fruitless as she should have expected. What did she care for farmers discussing the price of wheat? Without some sort of direction or goal, a target at least, listening to a random selection of strangers would go nowhere. She would have to risk approaching someone directly. But who? Everyone in the tavern seemed busy, already engrossed in riveting wheat conversation, or otherwise engaged with drinking fellows. There was no one she would be able to shanghai into helping her without having to fend of two or more of their friends. That is, until a woman walked in. The woman went straight for the bar, obviously not expecting company. Perfect. Iskessah's patience left something to be desired, and she was tired already of the fruitlessness of her task. She wanted to be done with it already, and she had barely started. Well, now she could trap this friendless woman in her coils, and she would not let her go until everything she came here to do had been accomplished. With smooth, casual strides, she made her way to the woman's side, dodging other tavern patrons on the way. She noted the tang of smoke that seemed to cling to the woman's clothes as she spoke the lines she had prepared. "Hello, I am new here. Could you help me? I cannot find anything... do you know where I can obtain a map?"

[Iskessah]

Iskessah waited a few ticks for an answer, which she was sure was a reasonable amount of time for the woman to take notice of her. However, there's was no response; the woman merely nursed her beverage, ignoring Iskessah even when she repeated her question. Disgusted at the Syliran's rudeness--honestly, was it that hard to take two ticks to say "Sorry I can't help you"?--Iskessah turned cold, narrowed eyes on the rest of the room, trying to figure out who she could get information out of if asking politely wasn't going to work. She let her mind relax, taking her time to sort out the information she had. Asking the other patrons was still an unlikely option. She could seek help outside the tavern, but that would run a risk of catching the attention of the Syliran Knights. She knew little about the Knights, but that fact that the were basically the sworn enemy of Ravok was enough to avoid them as much as possible. Ravokians held most foreigners in contempt, but anyone who could inspire such outright hatred was not someone Iskessah wanted to get caught crossing. By process of elimination, Iskessah narrowed her possible targets to the tavern staff. She approached the bartender, and repeated her map question. The man replied with a good-natured chuckle, "New to the city, eh? It can seem like a pretty big place to strangers, but you'll get used to it in no time." Iskessah was afraid for a moment that he was going to leave it at that and expect her to learn her way around via days of exploration. Fortunately, he spoke again, apparently having only paused to think. "'Course, if you're really set on getting yourself a map, I can't think of a better place than Undeniable Interests. Not much of interest for the common man, but them bookish types seem to like it there." It was just her luck that the place had a name that would make it impossible to disguise her non-human tongue. Iskessah thanked the man for his help, and asked him to repeat the directions several times, trying to memorize them. The bartender, oblivious to her concerns, finally said, "Just ask one of the Knights for directions if you get lost." Suppressing a sigh, Iskessah merely nodded and left, repeating the directions in her head in an attempt to commit them to memory. At the very least, she should be able to get to the right part of the city before the bartender's words faded.

[Iskessah]

Less than a bell later, Iskessah was wandering some of the narrower passages of the city, convinced she would stumble across the shop at any moment, but in fact she was completely and totally lost. She had ducked into the alleyways in an attempt to avoid running into any Knights. All she really knew about them was that they were the sworn enemies of the Ebonstryfe. And if they were anything like the Ebonstryfe, she did not want to get in their way. She did not even have the security of citizenship papers, so she felt especially vulnerable to whatever arbitrary tortures these "Knights" could think up. She was thinking of giving in and asking one of the more harmless-looking citizens for directions, when, quite by accident, she found herself staring at a shop matching the bartender's description. She hustled into the shop as if it would run away from her if she did not catch it. Once inside, she nearly gaped at the sheer amount of dust covering the haphazard piles of junk. One thing was certain; no shop in Ravok would be allowed to get into this state. She tried to find someone among all the junk, any living soul to find what she needed for her, but when she flicked her tongue, all the got was the taste of dust and neglect. She was somewhat daunted by the prospect of finding a decent map in all this, but she figured it would only take longer if she didn't start looking, and if she had any strength it was patience. She had glanced through about three piles, containing mostly junk she could neither recognize, nor fathom a use for, and had begun making her way toward a more likely looking pile of scrolls when there was a sudden clatter from the back of the shop. She whirled around, eyes and ears alert and focused on the area the sound had come from. One of the piles of junk had fallen over, and from beneath the debris, Iskessah could barely make out a small, wizened figure. "Blasted... piece of... have to start that pile all over again..." Mumbled grumbles were coming from the croaky voice of what Iskessah could now see to be a very old man. She remained unmoving as she watched him, following him with her eyes as he struggled to re-assemble the pile he'd knocked over into something he was satisfied with. It took Iskessah a moment to realize she was searching for any sign of threat. She relaxed only slightly when his movements proved to be slow and feeble, typical of humans who had lived too long. She might be able to overpower him if necessary, but then it wouldn't be long before a dozen or more Knights were on her tail. The old man finally finished messing around with the pile and came back toward the front of the shop, finally noticing Iskessah starting at him. "Yes? Can I help you?" he asked, a touch irritably. Iskessah blinked several times and cleared her throat before she remember why she had come here. "I am looking for a map of the sscity." The man made a noise of disgust, which surprised Iskessah, until he said, "Seems like that's all anybody comes here for anymore, it those blasted things. I wouldn't even make them anymore if they weren't in such high demand. Every yokel coming to Syliras thinks they need a map--hah, they probably couldn't even find their own arses without one!" The man sounded aas if he could go on about this for quite some time, but since he appeared to be fishing around in a stack of scrolls, she let him ramble. Interrupting him at this point would probably only cause a fight and make him take longer to help her. From the bottom of a stack of scrolls, he pulled one and thrust in unceremoniously at Iskessah. "That'll be two mizas, girl. But if you have any sense of value in that noggin, take another look around my shop and find something that's actually worth your time!" Iskessah was almost tempted by the man's intensity, but she was in the middle of an assignment, and as a result she was not in the mood for frivolous shopping. "Another time, perhapsss," she hedged as she handed over the mizas, causing the man to throw up his hands and shrug her off as a lost cause before ambling back into his forest of garbage.

[Iskessah]

With the old man's attention gone, Iskessah wasted no time in pulling out the old map and comparing it to the one she'd just acquired. The styles of the lines were different, suggesting a different hand penning the maps, but otherwise, the general shape of the city was largely unaltered. She found the place where the 'x' was marked on the old map--near the outer wall of the city, but well away from the gates--then put that map away. With her nose still stuck in the new map, plotting a route from her current location to the spot she was here to investigate, she walked out of the shop... ...only to run headfirst into someone. Iskessah looked, up, intending to tell the human scum to watch where it was going, but she froze when she actually saw him. He was wearing chainmail, and bearing a small buckler with a strange tree symbol on it. She did not know what the standard uniform for the Syliran Knights was, but she was willing to bet it was something like this. Her mind raced as she tried to think of what could possibly save her in a situation like this. Her instincts were all wrong; pulling out her papers declaring her a citizen of Ravok would probably get her slain on the spot. If she was frozen with terror, the boy she'd bumped into was anything but. He had exclaimed loudly, and was now rubbing his forehead where Iskessah's had hit. It took him several moments, but it seemed to belatedly occur to him that he was not the only one in the collision. His demeanor instantly shifted to one of concern. "Oh, I'm so sorry, ma'am! Are you all right?" Iskessah was still too terrified to know how to react, but when the boy moved closer to inspect the bump on her head, self-preservation kicked in and she knocked his hand aside, a snarl forming on her face. Her heart-rate had increased, and she hunched slightly in a defensive posture, getting ready to fight if necessary, since she was trapped in the doorway of the shop and running was not an option. She doubted she had the strength to challenge one of the feared and hated Knights, but she had no intention of going down without a fight. Her prejudiced notion of the Knights was so strong that, when he quickly backed off and raised his hands in a non-threatening gesture, she was completely baffled. "Sorry, sorry, completely my fault. I should have been watching where I was going. Let me make it up to you. I'm Marcus, by the way." He stuck his hand out for a handshake and gave her a friendly grin that reminded her jarringly of Joshry. Iskessah was still looking at him like with bewilderment. She couldn't figure out his game. No one could possibly seem this genuine without dropping some hint about their ulterior motive, but she could not for the life of her figure out his game. And that made him even more dangerous. If she couldn't figure out what he was really up to, her safest move was probably to go along with him. As long as nothing she did put her in a worst position than she already was, there was a chance she could figure out his motive in time to turn it to her advantage. She tentatively shook his hand (she was probably stronger than he expected, but not necessarily strong enough to easily over power him, so any show of force should be a last resort), and offered a name in return. Not her full name, not enough to find her with, but not something so foreign that she might fail to recognize it, thereby making it obvious she had lied. "Kess." Marcus smiled again. "It's good to meet you, Kess." His tone came across as a touch condescending, but given that she had been cowering from him like a frightened animal only moments before, Iskessah couldn't really blame him. She was still leery enough of him that his tone calmed her more than it annoyed her. She knew she should be suspicious of this obviously deliberate attempt to get her to trust him, but it was ridiculously hard to distrust a boy who reminded her so strongly of her pet human back home, no matter how much he was dressed like a dangerous Knight. Marcus's eyes wandered toward the parchment she held in her hands, and he managed to recognize a map of Syliras. "Oh, are you new to the city? Maybe I can help you find something!" If his enthusiasm hadn't been so boyishly innocent, Iskessah probably would have made her excuses and left immediately. Under the circumstances however, she talked herself into using Marcus to help her with her tasks. Certainly having an insider perspective would make her job easier. As long as she could keep him from figuring out what she was doing, and why. She took a chance and pointed to a place on the new map. "I am trying to get here." Marcus squinted at the map, and the place she pointed to, and brightened as he recognized the area. He said with a sort of mock-formality, "Why, certainly Milady, I would be happy to escort you!" He beamed and held out his arm. When Iskessah looked at him in confusion, he blushed, laughed nervously and withdrew it. He cleared his throat and said, "Um, it's this way." He stood aside to let her out of the doorway, and then he lead her through the confusing passages of the city.

[Iskessah]

Iskessah followed, allowing herself to relax ever so slightly as time passed and nothing bad happened. If nothing else, the boy did not realize she was from Ravok, and seemed more willing to believe her than not, so as long as she didn't do anything obviously antagonistic, she would probably be fine. They walked in silence for a time, but for some reason, the silence felt awkward. In her sidelong glances to the boy, Iskessah saw him open his mouth several times as if to say something, but then shut it again. Was he thinking of interrogating her? It looked like he was second-guessing himself. Did he just want to converse? Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. If he was going to be so slow at interrogating her, then she would steal his chance. Luckily, there was something she had been dying to clarify, and it was an innocuous enough question for a foreigner in the city to be curious about. "Are you a Knight?" Marcus jumped at being addressed, but he quickly laughed and said, "No, not yet. I'm just a Squire. Someday, though..." He got a dreamy sort of look on his face, like he was imagining a glorious future. Iskessah pitied his optimism. The poor boy would one day learn that nothing in this world was glorious. They fell into silence again, and Iskessah thought on the best way to break it. A Squire... so not a full Knight, but certainly aspiring to be one. That meant that he was only less dangerous in that he was less experienced. He would certainly be no Ravok sympathizer, so letting any truth about her mission slip could still be disastrous. Even if he was not a Knight himself, he would know exactly where to find one. She was still trying to come up something non-suspicious to say when he beat her to it. "So... you're new in town, aren't you? Did you travel very far to get here?" The question put her on edge, and she had to remind herself that he had no reason to suspect she was an enemy unless she gave him one. "Very far," she murmured in agreement, giving him as little information as she could get away with. He seemed to take her brief answer as an invitation to fill the silence himself, as he launched into a surprisingly enthusiastic tirade. "Was it very dangerous, travelling through the wilderness? Or did you follow on of the roads? I'm not supposed to leave the city myself, since I'm just a squire. But someday I'll be a full Knight, and I'll be able to go out into the world and make Mizahar safer for everyone!" Iskessah couldn't help feeling a bit ill as he went on. One thing she'd noticed was that humans were arrogant, assuming that the world worked exactly on their terms. When Marcus said safe for everyone, he meant safe for humans. So, if he ever ran across a Dhani in the wild, he would probably consider it a threat to Mizahar and try to kill it. Dhani would have no qualms eating humans should they come across one, making them one of the very threats Marcus was training to kill. Just because the odds of him meeting a Dhani were slim did not make him any less her enemy. As if she needed more reasons to hate a Syliran... Iskessah was focused on keeping her disgust and hatred from showing on her face, so Marcus filled the silence with ramblings about his future, most of it meaningless dream fluff. She did learn a little though; for example, Marcus indicated that the Knights routinely patrolled "roads" leading to Syliras. One such "road" led all the way to another city, called "Zeltiva". This information interested Iskessah very much. If she could follow a "road", then there would be no need to stay with the Ravokian army to keep from getting lost. She might not have to return to Ravok with the rest of them, not just yet anyway. She began to be curious what the other cities of Mizahar were like... He daydreaming stopped when Marcus did. She looked at the boy in confusion, and he looked back at her. Neither said anything for a moment, but finally, the Squire cleared his throat and said, "Um, we're here. This is where you pointed to on the map. What were you looking for, anyway?" Iskessah looked around. They appeared to be in a plain, uninteresting corridor. She was supposed to be looking for an old drainage corridor, something the black Sun could theoretically use to infiltrate the city, but she didn't see anything like that here. She pulled out her original map, careful to prevent Marcus from seeing it, just in case there was anything incriminating on the old parchment. She found the x, and compared the location to where she was. She hadn't been paying attention to where they were going, so she had to trust Marcus, but she did not believe he had led her astray. Anyway, the old map was not exactly precise, as the x took up most of the corridor. She peered along the stone floor, making one last hopeless effort to spy when she was looking for, but she soon sighed and gave into the need to ask for help. It was stubborn and foolhardy not to use readily available resources, and Marcus had already proven eager to please. "I am looking for a drainage corridor..." she said, and only his bewildered look made her realize what an unusual question that might be. She hastily constructed a lie, to make her story seem more plausible. She took her time speaking, partly to minimize the hissing in her words, but also to give herself more time to check her story for inconsistencies in her head. "I am sstudying drainage syssstemss. I came from...from Zetiva, to bring back knowledge of how other citiess... drain..." In truth she had no idea what she was talking about. Luck was with her though, this Marcus was a gullible fellow. "I...I see. That...sounds very interesting." He cleared his throat. His lying was even worse than Iskessah's, if that were possible. He looked around the alley, and then walked over to a small hole near a wall. "Is this what you're looking for?" Iskessah stepped closer to take a look at the hole and frowned in dismay. As far as she could tell, it was certainly the only thing in the vicinity that looked like it might qualify as a drain, but... it was only a few inches wide, a foot at best. There was no way the Black Sun could infiltrate through here. Perhaps if they used a mouse kelvic or something... but this was completely unrealistic for what she had been sent to discover. She stood staring at the thing in shock, frozen as her brain tried to recalculate what she could still salvage out of this circumstance.

[Iskessah]

In a slightly weak voice, she asked, "Are there...are there any larger drainsss in the sscity?" She cleared her throat, abruptly remembering to use her cover story. She needed to concentrate; her 'accent' was starting to slip through. "I would think a dwelling this big would need to accommodate... more." A brief flash of inspiration compelled her to add, "Essspescially one with no... ventilation." She gestured to the stone walls that surrounded them, and the entire city. The majority of her act was lost on the Squire. He did not seem to suspect her of lying at this point, but he just shrugged and said, "I've never seen any larger drains. It must all work somehow." It took Iskessah a moment to disguise her look of contempt. It was the mark of a feeble mind, when a person stopped questioning. With an effort, she smoothed her features and tried a more direct approach. "Do you know of any other path into the sscity? A tunnel or hole large enough for a person to sslip through?" This had been a mistake. Curiosity might not be one of Marcus's virtues, but he was not stupid. His eyes narrowed. "Why are you interested in something like that? The Gate is the only way in or out we need. That's how we keep Syliras safe. If there were secret entrances, enemies of Syliras might be able to sneak in without the Knights knowing!" Iskessah looked away quickly, so that he wouldn't be able to read anything in her eyes. She didn't want him to guess how close to her true motive he had stumbled. For now he seemed inclined to believe she spoke in innocent ignorance, and she wanted to keep it that way. The last thing she wanted was to tip off the Knights that a stranger was asking about secret ways into the city. She lowered her eyes in what she hoped passed for a demure fashion. "I...you're right. I wassn't thinking." Obviously. If only the boy knew how true that was. If Mattieu could see her now, he'd probably berate her for her incompetence. The man was dead, and yet he still haunted her... Marcus smiled kindly. "It's all right, you're new to Syliras. From what I understand, it's a bit different from other cities. But you won't find a safer place in all of Mizahar!" Dear Siku, the boy sounded almost as fanatical as the average Ravokian. She began to wonder if the two cities were really as different as either wanted to believe... It was clear that there was nothing more to be learned here. She let Marcus escort her back to the main thoroughfare of the city, where she bid him farewell. Her little adventure had taken much of the day, and it was late afternoon when she left the city gates. Most of the traffic was entering the city at this time. She hoped she didn't attract too much notice as one of the few leaving at this hour. She tried to keep her face hidden, just in case. She tasted the air frequently on her way back to the Ravok Base Camp, to make sure she was not being followed, but the Sylirans seemed to lose interest in her once she was outside their precious fortress.

[Perplexity]

Riddled with Rewards!

Iskessah Kosun

Acting	+1 XP
Observation	+3 XP
Intelligence	+3 XP
Socialization	+1 XP
Rhetoric	+2 XP
Persuasion	+1 XP
Subterfuge	+2 XP
Stealth	+1 XP

Lores :

• Defeating Ineptitude
  
• Intelligence: Purposeful Eavesdropping
  
• Syliras: Rude People. Rude Place.
  
• In Search of a Map
  
• Syliran Knights: Not So Bad After All…
  
• Marcus the Squire
  
• Gone Are The Glory Days
  
• Observational Insight: Friends and Foes
  
• Subterfuge: Lies And Deceit
  
• Stealth: Blending With The Crowd
  
• A Tale of Two Not So Different Cities

Loot :

1 Map of Syliras

Notes :

Oh my, this took quite some time! I am happy it was finished though. It is not often I see espionage threads. Well done Ms. Iskessah. Sorry to see that your potential thread partner vanished. I hate it when that happens. PM me if you’ve any questions regarding your grade!