Flashback Old Foes, New Faces (Svan, Ireth)

[Iskessah]

42 Spring, 510, evening The Silver Sliver Tavern The tavern was crowded, as usual at this hour. Iskessah normally didn't like being around this many people at once, but her friend Joshry had practically begged her to get out of her apartment and socialize with him. Never mind that she would much rather be "socializing" down at the House of Immortal Pleasures. Not that she would ever suggest anything like that to him. The boy might get...ideas. She rationalized to herself that she might be able to pick up on the latest gossip at least. Then she could at least pretend she was doing this for work. She eventually gave up on watching the front door. It opened so many times for patrons going in or out that it was impossible to keep track of everyone. She nursed a mug of water (she couldn't keep most other drinks down), as she tried her best to eavesdrop through the clamor and hubbub of the tavern. It occurred to her that this probably was almost the best place to talk about secret things, almost as good as the House itself. If you couldn't guaruntee privacy, you could at least guarantee that no one would either hear or care what you were talking about. "You're doing it again," Joshry said, watching her from the chair next to her at the bar. She looked at him confused for a moment, until he stuck out his tongue. She winced, knowing that she must have been subconsciously tasting the air. It was so hard, being in human form and cut off from most of her senses. Taste was the only one she still had, but actually using it was not common human behavior, and if someone besides Joshry caught on, she could be discovered, and her life might be in danger. She forced her mouth shut with a grimace. She almost thought she'd tasted something unusual... familiar, but in a nostalgic sense. She looked around, hoping for a hint of whatever it had been, but not daring to take another taste. It was a bad habit, and she needed to learn to break it if she expected to stay under the radar in Ravok.

[Licearsvansan]

"Thought you were pretty hot shyke didn't you?" A gravelly voiced man said as his boot kissed the face of a brown haired youth.

"In my defense two against one is hardly what I would call a fair fight," returned the man through a bloodied face.

"Shut the petch up. You were talking like you couldn't be beaten right up until the point where we stuck our boots up your arse."

"My face."

"What?"

"You shoved your boot in my face. The brown haired man, Svan, looked up to see a long black haired giant standing over him. "Though with a mug like yours I can imagine how you would get the two body parts confused."

Svan had just enough time to see the man's face turn red with anger before a third person shoved his own to the ground. The gravel voiced man motioned to the tanned figure who was currently sitting on top of the snake. "Jackson, I think he has eaten enough dirt. Pick him up and show him what the wall tastes like." the snake felt a pressure in his gut as his body was lifted up against a brick wall, and his face was smeared against it. "Good, now show him what happens to slaves who talk back." Svan heard the man's arm move behind him, and suddenly a flash of pain shot through his side as a knife dug its way into his body. The serpent let out a brief cry of pain, and the black haired man smiled. "Consider this the first lesson in your new career. Free of charge, no need to thank us."

Svan sagged against the wall as the man spoke. His breath had grown ragged and heavy, but still through grit teeth he managed to both smile and speak out in firm defiance. "Hehe, wh-what was that? A three inch dagger? Whats wrong, didn't want your dagger to be longer than your own-" Shink! "Guaaagh!" The snake gurgled on blood.

The man behind Svan spoke up, "Maybe we should cut out his tongue. I can't see anyone wanting a slave with this kind of mouth."

"Nonsense, a creature this rare could be worth quite a bit, I would rather not devalue him by damaging him any further than necessary. However, if the snake would like to keep talking about size of my friends package I don't have any problem removing yours. I heard that snakes have a spare after all."

The serpent replied in a dry almost defeated voice but his mocking grin remained, "You know a disturbing amount about snake genitals. However, I've learned my lesson now. I shouldn't have made fun of Mr. Jackson's 'package' when I know nothing about it. Though I guess you do. I imagine he delivers it to you quite a bit- Gaaah, Argh, GUAAAH!" Svan's entire body shuddered as a knife was driven into him three times. "Okay, okay, okay, I'm sorry. Please...." The snake's body went limp, and blood flowed from his side like a river. His voice had groan hoarse and pleading as his mortality was brought into terrifying focus. A light gurgle rose up from his mouth as blood began to spill into it, and he tossed his head limply over the shoulder of the man behind him.

"No vitals?" The tanned man nodded. "Good. Now lets tie him up and get going." The man behind Svan was handed a rope and began circling it around the snake. As he did so Svan leaned into the man, still shuddering, and began babbling incoherently about how the world was going white. At first the men ignored it, think it to be some ploy. Soon however, the babbling grew into a panicked whine, and tears began to roll down the serpents face as his body seemed to grow ever weaker. "I thought you said you didn't hit anything vital?!" By this point the man named Jackson was practically holding Svan up.

The tan man stopped tying up Svan and turned to his companion. "I'm telling you Daniel, I did- Jackson found himself sailing four feet in the air over the Dhani's back "-n't?" SMACK! The man's face met the brick wall and flattened like a pancake.

"So..." The serpent smiled beneath a mop of hair. "How does it taste to you?" Svan spun in place and let the sandpaper like wall grind against Jackson's face as his legs flew out to knock into his partner. With his foes off balance Svan chucked the now hamburger faced man at Daniel. Just as the snake had hoped the would-be slaver caught hold of his flying friend and was forced back until he was mere inches away from falling off a ledge and into the waters below. Just as the two men were regaining their footing they were tackled by the snake, and the blond haired one was sent plummeting into the water. The other one however, managed to find just enough footing to keep himself from spilling over the edge. He caught hold of Svan's arms, and the two soon became locked in a game of shove-of-war. Sadly for Jackson, Svan had both better footing, and an unnatural amount of strength for a man who had been stabbed five times. In the end Jackson was sent tumbling over the edge, and as he fell the snake whipped his own body backwards so that the man's head snapped forward. The slaver's skull bounced hard on the edge of the alley, and he sank quickly to the bottom of the water under a stream of blood and bubbles. "One down one to-you have got to be petching me." Svan looked over to find the blond man thrashing about wildly in the water. "How can you not swim?! The entire city is filled with water! Ugh, fine let me get you something." Svan returned moments later with a large brick in his hand and he threw it roughly at the man so that it smashed against the his skull just as he was nearing the edge of the water. "Free of charge, no need to thank me." With nothing left to do, Svan limped out of the alley and back into the streets of Ravok.

...

Several bells later Svan found himself in the Silver Sliver Tavern. He had wound a large cloth tightly around his wound, and wrapped his ragged brown cloak tightly around his body to hide his impromptu bandaging. Still, while his wounds had been dressed and most of the blood from his face removed, his head still ached from numerous beating and a few dozen mugs of ale sounded divine. After entering the tavern he made his way over to the bar and collapsed into the seat next to Iskessah. "One cup of the heaviessst thing you got." He waved to the bartender. "If I can ssstill feel my face by the time I'm done with it I don't want it." The barkeeper acknowledged him, and the serpent slumped into his arm. He knew he should have used his magic to hide his lisp, especially after the trouble it had caused earlier today, but he planned on getting wasted so he would be slurring anyways. So what if they thought he had already had a few too many to drink. He was in Ravok, its not like they would care. Svan wiped a few flecks of dried blood off his chin, and turned face the others seated at the bar. The very first person he saw was the Dhani Iskessah. There was something magnetic about her. He found himself holding his stare a bit longer than he had intended. And then as he turned away he made a face of sheer disgust.

"That was weird. I don't usually find humans...interesting."

oocSorry about the long intro. I wanted it to be shorter but yeah....

[Iskessah]

Iskessah tensed as the man sat next to her. She realized that she could hardly have expected that seat to stay empty forever, but she was still instinctively suspicious of anyone who sat that close. As a result, she was glancing at him when he started giving the bartender his order. She heard the hiss in his words, of course. She had been struggling to suppress that very speech pattern for the past five years, so there was no way she would not recognize it. Stunned, she slowly turned her head to look at him, her eyes widening as the unbelievable truth sunk in. Was she dreaming? It wasn't possible. She hadn't seen another of her kind since she left the nest.... half a lifetime ago. She had almost gotten used to the idea of never seeing one again. But no, that was exceedingly unlikely. What were the odds that another Dhani would end up here of all places? Odds were, he just had a peculiar speech pattern, just as people assumed about her. But then their eyes met, and something passed between them. Once more Iskessah felt the tingling sense of nostalgia, but before she could focus on it, she heard the man muttering about humans...as if he wasn't one. He was Dhani, he had to be. Suddenly, the danger of the situation crashed down on Iskessah. A Dhani, in Ravok, a city so contemptuous of non-humans that he would be dead of enslaved almost the moment he was found out? Not to mention, if the Ebonstryfe found out what he was, they'd be on the lookout for more like him, and she could be in trouble herself. She had to get him out of Ravok before he was discovered. She put a strong hand on his shoulder, not aggressively or hard enough to hurt, but definitely more than casual, enough that he'd have to struggle to get away. "What are you doing in Ravok?" she hissed urgently. "It'sss not sssafe for you here." From behind her, Joshry's uncertain voice said, "Kessi?" In the past few ticks, her world had turned so upside-down she had completely forgotten he existed. She was consumed with the need to protect her kin. Ignoring Joshry, she stared hard into the male Dhani's eyes, wishing she could force him to understand the danger and act with some measure of caution.

[Licearsvansan]

Monologuing. It had always been something that Svan had meant to stop doing, but he could never actually convince himself to quit. He had developed the trait from his many years alone, in hopes that his own voice would fend off the crushing boredom of a life away from society. It worked to some degree, but the antisocial traits that he developed when on his own always came back to bite him whenever he entered a city.

Svan slapped his own face at his own stupidity. Not only had he made it abundantly clear to the woman next to him that he was talking about her, he had also made it sound like he was some kind of inhuman creature. He was, but he didn't want anyone else knowing that. Thinking quickly, Svan turned to the woman and worked up a lie to cover for himself. "That came out wrong, you see I work with kelvics and-" The brown haired serpent's excuse was cut off by the woman's question. the hiss in her voice was impossible not to notice. "-and so I'm usually only attracted to human's with animal-like qualites..." Svan finished. His eyes scanned hers and he could feel the panic within them. A rush of mixed emotions and thoughts surged through Svan.

Dhani were cruel villainous beings, and not to be trusted. A viper might look past their shared ancestors and poison him for the thrill. A rattler might mount his head on a pike for abandoning his kind. And a constictor might crush him simply because he was a stain on the Dhani way. In short, Svan was much less than thrilled than Kess to meet one of his kind. However, something seemed off about this one. She had the build of a rattler, but she didn't seem angry with him for leaving the nest, but instead she seem....concerned. It appeared genuine, but Svan also knew first hand how skilled the Dhani could be when lying was involved. This woman could be just as easily trying to help Svan as harm him, and he wasn't quite sure which was the truth.

"One silver sliver."

A mug was set in front of Svan, and immediately he realized that he had lost himself in the woman's gaze the entire time he had been thinking. Svan's eyes flicked over to the hand at his shoulder, and he shoved it off so that he could turn to his drink. After handing the bartender a gold miza Svan's hand wrapped around his mug and stared into the silver liquid. He had felt it when he touched her. That ice cold feeling of flesh that only a Dhani or a Nuit could possess in the middle of spring. Petch! Did I really just sit next to a Dhani?! All the evidence supported the theory. The lisp when she spoke, the cool touch of her skin, and now that he thought about it he had seen her sticking out her tongue as he came in. Why was he only noticing that as odd now? Svan ran his hand through his hair and glanced back to the other Dhani. He responded to her question with a harsh whisper, "Not safe? What do you mean not safe? Not safe here, not safe out there, or not safe on Mizahar as a whole." Svan took a swig of his drink and the liquid burned his throat like cool fire. "Ah," He breathed as he set the glass down and wiped his mouth. "So what kind of safety are you talking about? Because honestly the only "safe" kind of person I've ever met is one in a hole six feet underground." His eyes flicked over to Joshry for am moment and realized that this woman was not alone. A clever smile formed on his lips. "I suppose you want to go someplace a bit more private to continue our conversation. Very well, I've got my drink, and I'm feeling reckless. Why don't you show me someplace safe." The brown haired man stood up, and dropped several coins on the counter. "That should cover for the mug. I have a feeling that I will be needing this drink where I'm going." The snake limped slightly towards the door and then abruptly turned around and delivered a smug grin to the woman.

"By the way, when we get there please remind me to tell you the story about the last two people I met."

[Iskessah]

Iskessah's tongue caught in her throat. She had never before considered the possibility that life outside Ravok might be more dangerous than within the city, even for nonhumans. It occurred to her for the first time that she was very nearly as isolated as the rest of the Ravokians. The only other place she'd ever been was the Dhani nest, and that was half a lifetime ago. She had no idea what the rest of the world was like. She'd just assumed it had to be better. When the man stood to leave, Iskessah followed him without hesitation. She had not thought about other Dhani since her childhood, but she did remember one thing from Siku's teachings. Never abandon a Dhani to an outsider. She frowned when she noticed he wasn't walking as confidently as she would have expected of a Dhani. He seemed to be walking gingerly...like he was in pain. Had he been injured? She was so focused, she didn't even notice Joshry following them, much less the increasingly dark look he wore. Just outside the tavern, the first thing she saw was an Ebonstryfe soldier heading straight for them. Her heart leaped into her throat, terrified for a moment that the soldier was coming for the Dhani. But rationality took over quickly, and she realized that he was probably just headed into the tavern... that tavern whose doorway the Dhani was blocking! She grabbed his arm and yanked him quickly to the side. "You idiot!" she said in an undertone. "I may not know how it workss in the resst of the world, but in Ravok, if you want to live, you don't tick off the Ebonssstryfe!" She shook her head. "Come on. My dwelling iss not far." She walked next to the Dhani, so that she would be able to lead the way but keep an eye on him at the same time. That was, until someone grabbed her arm from behind. She almost defended herself against her attacker, until she recognized Joshry from the nickname he used. "Kessi!" At least he had the sense to speak quietly as well. "What is going on? Who is that guy? Do you know him?" She finally noticed the depth of the frown on Joshry's face too deep to be simple confusion. No, the boy was displeased about something. "He's not a citizen, is he? Are you sure it's safe to take him to your place?" Iskessah yanked her arm out of Joshry's grip. As much as she trusted the boy in matters concerning the city and her continued well-being within it, something bigger was happening now. Something the young Ravokian was not equipped to understand. "Thisss doesssn't concssern you," she hissed sharply, not even noticing how much she was slipping back into snake-like speech. Joshry noticed though, and it worried him. The stranger was changing Iskessah, and Joshry didn't like it. Joshry fumed in silence for most of the walk but as they neared Iskessah's apartment, he knew he couldn't let her get involved with this foreigner. He had the show her how dangerous the man was. In an unfortunately carrying tone that was part accusatory and not entirely unaggressive, he demanded, "What did happen to the last two people you met?" Iskessah could have slapped him, but it was too late to make Joshry shut up now.

[Ireth Telemnar]

Step chink, step chink.

Anyone and everyone who grew up in this city knew what that sound was. That sound could either be a blessing or a curse. And with each footfall, Ireth couldn't help her breath quickening a little bit.

Step chink, step chink.

The Ebonstryfe.

She glanced behind herself quickly, then turned a corner and crammed herself up against the cold stone of the building, beside a tall stack of fish traps. She didn't know, nor, for the moment, did she care. All of her thoughts were on the soldier close behind her.

Step chink, step chink, step CHINK.

The man in the deathly-cold, black armor rounded the corner at a meandering pace. His gaze was stern, a dark stubble across his chin. He walked with power and the law in every step upon the Ravokian street. A longsword swung from his belt, knocking against his shin-guards whenever he took a step.

And he didn't even see Ireth.

When he went past, Ireth looked after him. Finally, she stepped out into the street. "Hi Mickaelun...."

The soldier stopped and swung around, his hand moving to rest on the hilt of his blade. When he saw that it was but a 15 year old girl-child, he laughed.

"Well hello there, little Telemnar! My word, look how you've grown. What in Rhysol's name are you doing out so late? Doesn't ol' Zhidynach know that it's not safe for his precious girl to be out alone in our city at night?"

"Oh Mickaelun, I'm not little anymore..." Ireth moved her weight from foot to foot, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. She hoped that the shadows surrounding the street hid the blush she could feel rising in her cheeks. "I'm running an errand, for Father. He needs me to go and collect some nets from my brother Jonah. He'd forgotten to send me earlier today."

The Ebonstryfe laughed and ruffled Ireth's hair with a gloved hand. The girl shivered at his touch, but he didn't notice that either. "Just be safe, little Telemnar. I'd hate for anything bad to happen to such a sweet face." He turned on a heel and took off across the Nitrozian Plaza, his gait lordly again.

When he wasn't looking, Ireth clasped her hands over her chest and sighed. Mickaelun... She'd known him for years. He was a year or two older than her eldest brother, Jonah, but he'd lived a few doors down in the NHC building that Ireth grew up in. Then he grew up and joined the Ebonstryfe... Ireth dreamed of the day when Mickaelun would arrive at her parent's door and ask for her hand. Such are the dreams of this Ravokian girl-child.

Ireth walked down the street to peek around the corner at Mickaelun, his suit of armor glittering handsomely in the lights of the shops and NHC rooms that shone down on the Plaza. He was walking toward that tavern, the Silver Sliver. Her brothers had gone there before, more than once, though she hadn't been in. But, much to her surprise, there was a man blocking the door to the inn. How dare someone so openly diss the Ebonstryfe?! Luckily, before Mickaelun was within reach, a tall and worn woman yanked the man away. Mickaelun walked in, out of Ireth's sight, but she could hear that woman hissing at the man. And there was another, a more submissive looking man near the two, though he looked rather upset.

Curiosity peaked and her chore forgotten, Ireth tucked her hair behind her ears and began to creep along the buildings, staying safely in the shadows so as to avoid detection. The second man laid a hand on the woman, urging her in some sort of discouraged voice. The woman shook him off rudely and began to lead the men away. Ireth followed, her old hand-me-down boots quiet upon the Plaza of stone.

[Licearsvansan]

Svan grunted as he was yanked out of the way of the ebonstryfe solidier. The suddeness of her actions had done his wound no favors, and his face twisted in both annoyance and pain. However, before he could get angry Svan saw the figure the soldier, and realized that she had actually helped him. "Nothing quite like a woman's tender touch." Svan muttered sarcastically as he followed Kessah out of the bar. His limp was somewhat renewed by the female Dhani's actions, but a few swigs of his drink quickly took the edge off his pain. As the silver liquid rushed down his throat it left the flesh behind it on fire, and Svan face beamed with pleasure after every sip. It had been so long since Svan had tasted the warming sting of a drink so full of alcohol. In fact, it had actually been a long time since he had any alcohol at all. Traveling through the wilderness often lacked the luxury of having a tavern or brewery.

As he nursed his drink he was reminded of why he sometimes missed the cities. At the same time, the soft ripple of pain that accompanied each step reminded Svan of why he so often left it all behind. As Kessah led him up and down the numerous walkways and paths of Ravok he allowed himself to observe the city. It frankly had a fair deal more water than Svan would have prefered, but it was undeniably impresssive. He had expected the city of the god of chaos to be a bit more....evil looking, but he couldn't say that he was sad to be wrong in this one regard. The mop haired snake grinned a cunning smile as he stared at the buildings around him. While the city looked impressive he was quickly learning that it beauty was only skin deep. He had been attacked more than once in his short time being here, and it was quickly becoming clear that this place was much more sinister than it appeared. Svan took another sip from his mug, and let out a relaxed breath as his lips drew away from the mug. It just doesn't get easier does it? He thought to himself. It seemed that Svan was always in some sort of danger or another. Still, he had managed this far so he couldn't see any reason why he wouldn't continue to do so.

When Kessah was stopped by her companion Svan barely even bothered to look at him. There was some kind of concern on the boys face, but the snake couldn't be bothered to care. Whatever it was that that was on the young man's mind either didn't concern Svan, and if it did he would find out soon enough. After a hiss from Iskessah the man relented, and the trio continued on their way, followed the whole while by an unknown observer. The rest of the walk went by with little event, and Svan had managed to down roughly half of his drink before Joshry spoke up again.

Realizing that the Kessah's pet was talking to him, Svan turned an unentertained eye towards the man. As he lazily scanned the man's expression he saw the mixture of contempt and worry in his face. A fire sparked in the serpents gaze, and his calm smile grew thick and mocking. Svan stopped walking and turned back around to face The man who had called him out. "Well human, I had a bit of a....philosophical debate with them." The innocent words slowly rolled off his tongue coated to much venom to be considered an accidental product of his lisp. The snake shrugged and looked aside as if what he was about to say was no big deal. "You see these two slavers seemed to believe that Rhysol was the greatest of the gods, but I offered the position that Siku and Caiyha were superior." Dull hazel eyes flicked back to Joshry, and a creeping smile grew up the Dhani's face. "I of course was quickly able to convinced them of their folly, and now the pair serve great granny Caiyha instead." Svan's smile grew wicked, "As food for her fish." Svan kept an eye fixed on Joshry as he spun back around and continued onward.

"Who knows though. Maybe papa Rhysol was just taking a nap."

[Iskessah]

Iskessah was too busy trying to get them all inside to pay much attention to their conversation. Joshry's question seemed harmless enough, but it wasn't until she got her door open that she realized the true meaning of the Dhani's answer. Here eyes widened, and she started to say, "You idiot..." "MURDERER!" Joshry yelled, lunging at the Dhani, his face a mask of rage. Iskessah cursed herself for letting him get this worked up without even noticing. Her reaction time was faster than his, fortunately, so she was able to grab his arm before he could cause any more trouble. He turned to look at her with a mix of anger and disbelief. "Kessi, what are you doing? You heard him, he killed people! Ravokian people!" Iskessah answered with something that was almost a growl. "I know, and I do not have time to deal with your tantrum." With no further warning, she aimed a fist at the side of his head, hitting his temple with enough force to render him unconscious. She caught him as he began to crumple to the ground, and set him down gently just inside the door. She then looked the Dhani in the eye and said, "Get inssside. Do NOT harm him further." Without waiting to see if he would comply, Iskessah did one last bit of damage control. She looked around for witnesses. If she was lucky, there would be no one about in the halls of the housing complex at this hour, but luck was not being kind to her today. Her eyes landed on a young girl, who had obviously witnessed the whole thing. She uttered a violent Snaketongue curse and rushed at the girl with all the speed she could muster, trying to grab and muzzle the witness before she could escape. Iskessah would have to hold the girl hostage until she figured out what to do. Maybe she could keep things from spiraling any further out of control...

[Ireth Telemnar]

She knew that she wasn't the smallest girl, nor the quietest, but Ireth was rather sly. And she listened very well. Comes from having five brothers.

She followed the trio for a short distance, until they disappeared into an NHC building, the furthest one from her own actually. She waited a couple of moments, then peeked in the door just soon enough to see the rude man turn a corner in the hall. Ireth paused, her mind racing. She was afraid to follow, suspecting foul play. Perhaps she shouldn't go in, but instead go and get Mickaelun...

A shout rang out, echoing against the wooden walls and doors of the housing complex. Ireth nearly tripped as she raced to the corner. From there she watched, as the woman punched the submissive man! He collapsed into the psycho's arms as the rude twit stood by and laughed. But the woman hissed at him again. This time, the murmur sent shivers down Ireth's back. She froze, her breathing heavy.

Before she understood what was happening, her gaze was caught by the woman's eerie light brown eyes. Ireth let out a squeal of sorts. The woman made a noise foreign to Ireth, but she was certain it was a curse. Ireth stumbled backward, the woman after her. For the briefest of moments, it looked like she would escape the wretch's crawling grasp. Then she stumbled again, over her latest pair of hand-me-down boots that had belonged to her brother!

She fell into the woman, though she flailed in a sorry attempt at defense. Ireth cried out "MICKAELUN!" until a cold hand clamped down on her mouth and dug its nails into her cheek. The wretch hit Ireth a couple of times, twisting Ireth's arms painfully around. Ireth cries turned to those of pain, still being muffled by the stone hand.

Eventually it came to be that the violent woman stood behind her, holding Ireth's arms behind her with one and and Ireth's mouth with the other, being none too gentle. Ireth was beginning to see black spots dancing across her vision, the pain in her shoulders making her feel like they were about to be torn out of their sockets. With a vicious shove, the psychotic woman began pushing Ireth down the hall.

Toward the room that the two men had disappeared into.

Toward the dark.

[Licearsvansan]

As Svan watched the lines of anger apear on Joshry's face, the snake reached his right hand slowly to his blade, and readied the mug in his left. Lets hope you're flamable. Svan was no swordsman, but he knew a trick that he could preform with his blade. As the cold iron teeth of the balde bit against the steal mouth of his sheath when drawn, it created a shower of sparks much like that of a flint and steel. had Joshry continued his assualt then Svan would have splashed the man with his mug, and used the sword breaker to ignite the alcohol heavy drink. Luckily for all involved, Kess managed to restrain the man. As he went out, Svan breathed a single soft chuckle of relief and released his blade. While lighting a man on fire without magic was impressive, Svan was unsure if the drink he had was flamable enough or if the sparks would even catch. Not to mention the fact that a screaming man on fire was hardly considered a subtle thing. He would have had to set the entire building aflame in hopes that it would give him the diversion he needed to escape. And while such a thing sounded fun, he couldn't imagine the guilt he would feel later....assuming Rhysol allowed him to have a "later".

"Get inssside. Do NOT harm him further."
Hiss the woman to Svan as she put down her companion.

Svan complied without comment dragged Joshry further into the room. Once Kess left in pursuit of some other person Svan looked down at the unconscious man, and immediately his mood lightened. The snake tossed the man into a chair, and threw down his own backpack. He quickly undid the flaps and began rummaging through its contents. A large smile crept up the Dhani's face as his hands fell upon the items he wanted. His eyes flicked up towards The captive on the chair and his smile grew devious.

When Iskessah returned she would find a Svan sitting lotus style on the ground, and Joshry sitting with hands and legs bound to the chair with a downright obscene amount of rope. In the poor man's mouth was a bar of soap, and a several lengths of cloth wound tightly around his head to keep it firmly in place. Looking up towards his fellow Dhani Svan smiled smugly. "Completely uninjured." Svan took a sip from his mug, and grinned at Ireth.

"I see you caught dinner."