Fantasy Assassin's Pledge: Whispers Of Myth

[GojiBean]

The Royal Palace​

"And that's the current situation, my King." Said a Royal Guard currently kneeling with his eyes diverted towards the floor.

"Thank you, Sir Irons."

Sir Irons stood with a salute to his liege before turning sharply on his heel and exiting the Throne Room.

King Harmon Va' Cre' Est, a man in his early 50's with a short graying beard and swept back brown/gray hair took a deep breath and softly released a long sigh.

"Are you well, my love?" Asked the Queen, Cecelia Xe' Cre' Est.

"Two more murder scenes. And on a festival, no less. It's getting out of hand. And I don't know how to combat it with the resources we have."

The Queen, a woman in her mid 40's with silky dark brown hair and the most subtle of wrinkles on either side of her cheeks, reached a hand over and laid it on the back of the King's.

"We will manage, my love. We always do."

"It's not us, my dear. It's the people. I can sense that their unrest is growing even if they've yet to formally voice it. Soon there will be public demand to face the issue head on just like there was for my father at the height of his reign thirty years ago."

The Queen smiled warmly and leaned over to place her other hand on her husband's.

"When I said "we," my love, I was including the people."

His eyes opened and locked onto his wife's as she gave him a playful smile. "After all these years of marriage, you'd think you have realized that by now." She said with a chuckle.

The King chuckled with her and shook his head.

"You're right, my dear. As always. You've never failed to include the people in your line of thinking... I suppose my weariness has begun to get the better of me as I've grown older."

She leaned over slightly further and kissed his cheek.

"You've been awake for thirty three hours, my love. Your weariness is understandable."

"You think I should-"

The doors to the throne room burst open.

"My liege!!" Came a cry from the Royal Vizier who sprinted towards the Royal Couple.

The Queen gave her husband a knowing smile and gently released her grip on his hands as she sat up straight, as did her husband, and they both greeted the Royal Vizier as he approached and bowed to them.

"My King and Queen! Apologies for the sudden interruption!"

"Never you mind it, Qu'ten. What is the problem?"

"My Liege. Our spies have suggested the presence of Te'i Sai in the city."

Both the King and Queen's backs straightened slightly as their eyes widened.

"Are they certain of this?!" The King bellowed.

His wife's hand gently came to rest on the back of his own, and he cleared his throat.

"Apologies, Qu'ten... Has this been confirmed, or is it merely conjecture?" He asked more calmly.

"My Liege. Thus far it is conjecture. But at least two of our spies have indicated they've borne witness to Te'i Sai's movements since the early hours of this morning."

"Did they offer any evidence to suggest Te'i Sai, specifically?"

"It was still dark out when the first of them claims to have laid eyes on such an operative. But they say that even with only the moonlight their robes were a deep gray, if not a darker charcoal gray which is Te'i Sai's signature color."

"Any markings?"

"None that were visible in the heat of the moment, my Liege."

"Hmm... What of the second account?"

"This one is more concrete, my Liege. She claims to have seen a group of three in close proximity wearing identical robes which matched the description from the first account. They moved in near perfect synchronization as they moved from rooftop to rooftop before disappearing altogether once they reached the church."

"I see. Though the evidence in the second account is slightly stronger, it's still only conjecture. We cannot say this was Te'i Sai based on such information. So for now I request that this remain in confidence until we either learn more, or have a third matching account."

"Yes, my Liege. I shall inform our teams and request all reports be brought straight to me."

"Very good."

Qu'ten departed the throne room leaving the King took take another deep breath while his wife rubbed his hand and wrist.

"Why don't you rest, my love?"

"Are you certain that's a wise decision given what's going on?"

"A mind well rested is a mind prepared, my love."

The King smiled and stood from his seat, as did his wife. The pair embraced and shared a kiss before the King left the throne room and the Queen retook her seat to prepare for the next report or request.

"Pardon, guardsman." The queen said, waving down one of the Royal Guards near the doors.

"Yes, my Queen?" He asked with a bow and a salute.

"There was a formal request for petition of aid scheduled soon, correct?"

"Yes, my Queen. They are due to arrive within the hour."

"Thank you."

With that, she took a breath and folded her hands in her lap to wait.

foresigh

 

[archur]

Turin Tya'Velis​

Wordlessly, Turin looked up to the sky to determine compass directions. Northwest... The sun rises in the east and rests in the west. Mentally, he looked up towards the morning sun and traced an invisible line across the path the sun would take, east to west. Knowing that, he determined cardinal north would be off to his left, and this gate would happen to be the west gate or the westmost gate. He nodded to himself and pushed himself past the guards, striding towards where they said those 'vagrants' were heading.

Obviously, the guards must've bought the disguises they had. Those men couldn't be vagrants even if they hung their heads low and scowled at every well-dressed nobleman that crossed them. What proved to be disconcerting was the fact that there were more, potentially actual homeless persons or further suspects, and an unidentified woman that may or may not be related to the doctor from earlier. He'd have to speak to her first before anything else.

As he walked, he prepared some questions for this lady that may or may not be related to Almna. Time was of the essence, so he didn't want to waste it.

GojiBean

 

[nh1]

The Wandering Knight
​

As the guards rushed him, he reached into his back and pulled out his single handed sword and shield. He would need the shield to block out the blows from the mace. One person reached him first and he raised his shield to deflect the oncoming blow. once taken he used it to bat away the mace as he slashed with his sword. Sadly, the other guard dodged just as the second attacker came in for another blow.

Slowly the fight devolved into the attackers with maces swinging at him while he batted away their attacks with his sword and shield. Sadly, thus far, he hadn't had much maneuver to attack until now. They seemed relatively well trained. Certainly not brigand level. Realizing that weathering their blows and allowing them to tire themselves out wouldn't work. He began going into offense. Using his shield as a weapons he slammed his shield forward into the body and face of one of the attackers while batting away a mace swing from the other. Turning around, while the first attacker was dazed, he swung down upon the man's weapon arm causing his arm to be brutally cut as he struggled to maintain his grip. Turning towards the second attacker who, in anger, leveled a barrage of attacks, he let the attacks come before he saw an opening in his stance due to his anger and slashed down upon that opening, bloodying his opponent.

At this point is was a matter of formality, as soon both men were bleeding and disarmed as they sat in growing piles of their own blood from their wounds. However, it was not an easy task as both attackers fought with anger and training, striking with purpose. Rushing forward to help the guard, who appeared to barely be holding on while the Doctor and her patient watched wide eyed as the fighting was taking place but had backed away from it all, he raised his shield to tackle the man. Finding the man's center, he pushed the man away from the guard before hacking his body armor, bloodying him. Once again it was only a brief few moments before the last attacker was beaten.

Rushing back, he quickly took some rope from his back before binding the various attackers. Thankfully, his training specialized in finding opponents weak spots and disarming them, an excellent skill to possess as a glorified city watchman. His style of fighting also utilized steady fighting, keeping exertion low before using accuracy to detect the movements and styles of his opponents finding flaws in them before exploiting them ruthlessly. While he tied up the attackers, he glanced back at the doctor.

"If you wouldn't mind, ma'am if I couldn't inconvenience you with help securing these mens wounds? Attackers they may be, I am sure their testimony holds valuable information regarding their employer."

Finished tying them up he also walked over to check on the guard kneeling down on the ground breathing heavily. While well trained, as Cre'est could afford excellent training for those who guarded its capital, it was obvious that much more fighting would have ensured the death of the guardsman. Hoping to reassure him and snap him out of any lingering fear of death, he patted him on the back causing the guard to loose his long stare as he glanced up. In truth it was these situations, dealing with terrified guardsmen seeking to protect the city that would always most remind him of home.

"Are you alright my good man? Take a moment to breath, but I hope you wouldn't mind helping to secure these ladies to a more secure location. We must keep moving if we are to make it safely. Do you where the nearest place would be?"

As he spoke, his old persona swept back in at full force. Immediately he was once again, the head of the royal guard, doling out encouragement and firm orders to his levy. The man straightened as he sensed the shift again further getting out of his trance after immediately remembering his duty and responsibility. The city guard inevitably had secure locations throughout the city to both house the city guards and ensure that should attack befall the city, these hard points would be bastions whereby troops could be stationed and coordinated over. He was sure the royalty here had such a system as he himself had knew the security of these sorts of cities well. He hoped that the nearest station was not far.

GojiBean

 

[GojiBean]

Turin Tya'Velis​

Moving as quickly as their weakest link would allow, the three vagrants finally caught up to an entourage waiting just down the road about three minutes out from the gate. It consisted of two horse-drawn wooden carts with approximately 15 people gathered around them. Of them, 13 were true vagrants with worn down, yet natural clothing and at least some run-down sandals for footwear. They all had tanned, somewhat leathery skin and worn, rugged features in their faces. A small handful of the vagrants were laying down up against the wheels of the carts in as much shade as could be offered for being out on the open road like this. The fluttering open and closing of their eyes, the dry lips with hints of saliva out the corners of the mouth, and the emaciated limbs spoke of illness and malnourishment in equal measure for these few unfortunate sould.

The other 'vagrants' met with the other two near the edge of the gathering and spoke in hushed tones for a moment while the true vagrants all began talking amongst themselves and with a woman who didn't fit the profile of the rest.

She was older. Perhaps early to mid 40's. Short brown hair which fell to her shoulders in length in a simple slicked back style with a white headband, strong amber brown eyes, bow-shaped pink lips, and all the same features of a woman still in her prime with curves in the right places despite being in middle-aged territory. If this woman was indeed related to Doctor Almna, it was easy to see where her ample bust came from.

"Doctor. What do you think?" One of the older men asked.

"Please. I told you I'm not a Doctor anymore." She replied calmly as she knelt down next to the ill and malnourished to examine them.

"But you were one, right? And your daughter's one?" Asked one of the few women in the group.

"Yes, I was. Now please, be silent for a few minutes."

Everyone quieted down and gave her space as she examined each individual before standing up and heaving a sigh.

"There's nothing I can do for them out here. They need food, water, and medicine as quickly as possible."

"But they're barely able to even sit there like this. Can they be moved? Even though they haven't eaten they've been dry heaving quite a lot lately." Asked another vagrant male.

"They can. Carefully. Pick them up by their legs and under their arms, and lay them down in the carts on their left sides. If they must empty their stomachs, this will let them do so safely."

"Where are we going to take them, then?" Asked the woman.

"Yes. Where?" Asked the blonde-haired "vagrant" Turin had followed as he walked up closer to the former doctor. "If moving them is so perilous, shouldn't they remain here and we fetch the medicine and food for them?"

"Doing so might waste too much time. They need to go to where the supplies are ample."

The two other "vagrants" were slowly walking around towards outside flank positions at the edge of the group, each clearly trying to hide something with one arm as they kept them pressed tightly to their sides and watched the crowd as their compatriot spoke to the woman.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Wandering Knight​

Lorraine gasped and stumbled back and away from the sudden rush by the two figures. However, almost instinctively, she turned and dove back towards Inka and hovered over the girl with one arm across her body and the other cradling her head.

The sounds of metal clashing with metal and the thumping of feet and boots and the sight of blood all took Lorraine back to a mental place she never wanted to revisit. Her eyes went wide and her pupils dilated as her mind replayed images and memory fragments of times since past which she'd hoped to bury forever. But here they were. Back again and causing her to relive the horrors of what came before.

As the action wound down, Lorraine's heart was pounding in her chest as she fought to catch her breath while still hovering protectively over Inka's unconscious form.

When the Knight asked if she would tend to the men's wounds, she hesitated.

The Knight had asked the other guard if he knew a safe place to go, to which the guard replied that a nearby inn called the "Lion's Head Inn" should suffice as it was only one block over from the local barracks.

After taking a brief moment to check Inka's condition and ensure that she was okay, Lorraine took a deep breath and let it out on a slow sigh as she stood up on somewhat shaky legs and walked over towards the men. Luckily, the other guard's compatriot finally arrived with her medical bag. As he handed it off to her, he inquired as to what the hell just happened which his compatriot was happy to relay the information for.

Lorraine knelt down next to the men and, silently, gave them each a look with furrowed brows and a subtle frown.

"I've known men like you." She said under her breath as the furrow in her brow deepened.

You test the limits of my willingness to remain true to my oath. She thought.

Nevertheless, she set to work on tending their wounds first by giving them each a salve to disinfect and numb the afflicted areas before sewing the wounds shut and wrapping them up. Once finished, she took her supplies and moved back over to Inka and carefully tended to the girl's head by wrapping it and also applying a fingertip's worth of the same salve to each of the bloodied areas on her back. The wounds were small enough individually that they didn't need wraps or coverings. A fresh change of clothing later would do nicely.

Gently she sat Inka up and gave her a light shake.

"Inka. Can you hear me?" She whispered in the girl's ear.

archur nh1 kakemha

 

[kakemha]

Inka Ve' Lie​

Date: Year 754, 14th Day, 1st Laetal Moon

Inka felt a shake and heard someone whisper in her ear. She slowly opened her eyes to see Lorraine, trying to wake her up. She felt better than before so she assumed it was Lorraine's doing, since she had mentioned she was a doctor.

"Thank you, Miss." Inka said lightly.

She then looked around and saw what seemed to be the remains of a battle or some sort. But wasn't quite sure what happened after she had went back to sleep from the last time she was awake.

"What happened there?" Inka inquired as she looked over at where the fight had seemingly happened. Her strength had regained so her voice was mostly back.

She knew once she could start walking, she'd likely need a fresh pair of clothes. She made a note to ask if she could ask to change her clothes before the two guards from earlier would bring her in for questioning. She then noticed another man that wasn't there before, he looked like a knight to Inka. Her mind started to race, had she made that big of a scene that the royal family had to be involved? She tried to ignore the thought racing through her head. She didn't want to go back to her hometown in Veilbrand, who knows what they'll do to her there. The things she has seen there and the things she had to do to survive, it was all flooding back to her now. She hasn't been there in years, and she had not intention of going back anytime soon. The family who ruled, if you could even call then rulers, there was sick and twisted. She was lucky not to get on their radar when she was still living there but if they found out a missing person from Veilbrand had returned, who knows what they'll so. Much less if they would know she was a poison maker, they'd probably exploited if they needed to. Her heart started to race and her breathing became much more rapid, she just couldn't shake all the scenarios running through her mind.

"Please don't send me back! Please I beg you!" Inka started pleading, shouting almost. Her pleas were more for the two guards and the knight that were there. Inka never really got a real citizenship for Cre' Est, no one even knew her last name, so they probably had the legal right to send her back to Veilbrand.

GojiBean nh1

 

[GojiBean]

Lorraine smiled when Inka's eyes fluttered open and she said "thank you." She thought about saying "you're welcome," but given that they weren't in a safe place yet it was probably best to wait. And as her voice returned and she asked what had happened Lorraine gave her a gentle and reassuring squeeze of the shoulders.

"Don't worry about that right now, Inka. Let's get you somewhere safe, okay?" She cooed.

She was about to help Inka rise to her feet when the girl suddenly jerked in her grip and nearly shouted about not being "sent back."

Lorraine blinked twice as she gently tried to keep Inka still so as not to aggravate the wounds on her back.

"Inka, calm down." She cooed giving the girl a tiny shake.

"Everything's okay. This Knight is here to help us. Not to hurt you or send you somewhere you don't want to go. It's all right." She continued in a gentle tone.

She scooted to the side and looked Inka in the eye with a smile.

"Let's get you to your feet, yes?" She offered as she held out her hand for Inka.

kakemha nh1

 

[NemuiTeru]

​

At some point, Sora had returned to her side, however Mayumi did not want to risk Sora being seen so she had signalled Sora to stay low and out of sight, to which Sora obliged and disappeared.

With her cloak’s hood over her head to prevent hair strands from flying all over the place, Mayumi looked out for indications of her targets from a rooftop above the main square. It was an intersection where people would have to indefinitely cross if they wanted to go anywhere in the city. Wherever they might be there was a chance her real goal was near if it really was ‘HIM’. She scanned the crowd below her, observing people moving suspiciously in the crowd. She narrowed in on a man whose arms were not swinging as they would normally but soon deduced him as a mere citizen with aching joints.

When she could not find anything, she searched for foot prints on surrounding roof edges where one might pull themselves up from leaving little scratches behind.

As she continued to scour the city from above, she heard footsteps not too far off from her and quickly ducked behind a chimney before a figure appeared hopping from roof to roof a few houses up north of her position. Light grey orbs peered around the corner of the chimney and observed the figure from the corner of their eyes. The figure was a young man and from the look on his face seemed overly excited about something. Mayhap it was a performance for the festivities? Now that made sense, she nodded to herself. Definitely not ‘them’.

Mayumi continued on her way steering clear of the man who was certain to draw attention to himself from the crowd beneath them. There were a few more instances when she was suspicious of people, like when she spied an armored knight trailing after a group of men dressed in tattered rags, she watched for a moment but after determining they were not ‘them’ she moved on to the next place...

foresigh
archur

 

[nh1]

The Wandering Knight
​

Seeing as the group had sufficiently recovered, he signaled to the guards to get ready to move out before approaching the doctor again.

"I believe we will begin heading to the....Lion's Head Inn.." the name was unfamiliar to him "The guard has assured me that the location is safe. If possible, we will try to move as swift as we can. I understand you may be injured but I promise once we make it to the inn, I will give of myself whatever is required for your recovery." With that he looked at Inka directly. "And if you need anything miss, don't hesitate to ask. I swore an oath long ago to help others. I would hasten to help if need be. Even if it is just a hand down the road." He nodded at them both, before turning around and looking around. It appeared the danger had passed for the moment. Taking the moment to readjust his armor and wipe off his sword, he made his way to his horse. Choosing to walk, he grabbed the reigns in one hand and held his sword aloft in the other as he assumed a ready stance and shuffled his way down the street, keeping the women behind him as he eyed his surroundings. Thankfully, any paserbys must have heard the commotion for the streets on the way to the inn were sparse if not deserted. This made a possible crowd control operation much more feasable. Of course, with the obvious blood and injuries the guardmen and himself bore.

In short time, they made it to the inn. Thankfully, no one had dared assault him in the middle of the street. Sighing, he staggered to the nearest chair and nearly collapsed. He began breathing heavily as he rested briefly. Indeed, he had been in many fights but that fight was one of the most taxing he had had in quite some time. Guarding caravans rarely saw much skill level beyond the average thug. Thankfully, his years of training had paid off and his skill was still up to a considerably high standard. Indeed, he could probably still hold his own as one of the top thirty knights in his old kingdom baring those who spent all their time and effort on the battlefield. Truly, his time as an investigator and as a guard had kept his time spent in high skilled fights to a minimum. Catching his breath he hoped that the others could be ok and effort could be made to help them. Sitting up, he collected himself and looked around to see what the guards would say and what the women would have to do next. Obviously there were threats out there now. He hoped he could do something to help

GojiBean , kakemha

 

[archur]

Turin Tya'Velis​

As the knight silently followed, he watched as the men came across the homeless the guards warned him about. It wasn't the homeless or the vagrants that caught his eye however, it was the older woman among them who bore a resemblance to the doctor he was with only a few hours ago. Interesting that the doctor would indirectly show up again, but it made sense, these were people that would've needed her help.

He figured that from how the men added themselves into the group, they had some sort of interest in either blending in, or this other, most likely related older doctor, or both. However, seeing the state of the people, their conversation, their desperation, made Turin think for a moment. The murder, while inherently important, was not truly his to solve. He was a stranger who took up the investigation as a hobby and a timewaster. Here, there are people who can be helped. However, the murderer may still be loose and he has suspects in front of him at this very moment, with no evidence to prove their innocence or guilt. He wanted to help, but he didn't want to blow his own cover. What could he do?

The purse on his hip hung a little heavy as he approached the group. It wasn't all of his money, but it was a good chunk of it for situations like these. Silently, walking up from the road, he strode towards the doctor, a heavy sack in his hand. It held 50 gold inside. He made no attempt to acknowledge his targets, knowing they, like everyone else, were going to look at him.

 

[GojiBean]

Lorraine Xe' Almna​

At the mention of the Lion's Head Inn, Lorraine's eyes relaxed and she gave a slow blink in understanding as she glanced to the right momentarily before looking down the road.

She assisted Inka with walking as they made their way down the road behind the Knight and the guards. The way he was walking with his weapon up like that made her somewhat uneasy. And the lack of people in the area was also somewhat unnerving. The people in Cre' Est were so used to alley brawls and one on one fights in crowded areas that this kind of silence was completely foreign. But she couldn't think of a legitimate reason as to why the streets would suddenly become so barren.

By the time they made it to the inn and the Knight collapsed into a chair, Lorraine surveyed the lobby and found it too to be rather empty.

Something's wrong She thought to herself.

Even at its least busy the lobby to any good inn like this one should have had at least 5 or 6 people. But looking around, there was nobody except those in their group. And the Innkeep behind the front desk gave them a smile and a wave, but Lorraine's keen eye caught him swallowing a lump in his throat.

After helping Inka to sit down Lorrain approached the Knight and leaned in very close to him. Her hands came to rest on his shoulders, and her ample bosom pushed against his cuirass making it seem like she was giving him a hug. But as her head turned and her mouth came to rest just one inch from the side of his helmet near his ear, she whispered as softly and clearly as she could.

"Inns are never this empty, even on holidays. And the Innkeep seems nervous, too. We should be careful here."

Leaning back and standing up straight, she eyed the Knight calmly and gave a shallow bow at the waist before her eyes shifted towards and shifted between the two windows beside the front door.

Meanwhile, the guardsman who'd promised to speak with Inka approached the girl and sat down in the chair across from her.

"'Scuse me, ma'am. Would you mind answering a few questions?"

The other guard came up next to him and stood behind his chair.

"For starters. The way the man near you was killed is identical to the two bodies found this morning. Would you care to explain what happened?"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Turin Tya'Velis​

As the Knight came up to the group the three 'vagrants' all took immediate notice and maintained their positions near the outside flanks of the group while matching the surprise and movements of the crowd of true vagrants.

"Oh my!" One of the women exclaimed.

"Where'd he come from?" Asked one of the older men.

The 'vagrant' who had gotten closest to the elder doctor turned around and stepped out of the Knight's way, but kept his eyes glued to him as he came in closer.

The woman herself, meanwhile, looked to the Knight with no change of expression.

"Pardon, sir Knight. But would you mind escorting us into town? These people need proper medical attention immediately."

nh1 archur

 

[kakemha]

Inka Ve' Lie​

Date: Year 754, 14th Day, 1st Laetal Moon

With Lorraine helping Inka walk and eventually sit down in the chair at the inn, Inka was feeling a little better. She pulled out one of her books that she carries around with her, and began to read. She got a few pages in when she spotted the two guards from earlier approach her. She closed her book and gave all her attention to the pair, feeling a little anxious, Inka started to play with her hands in her lap. Once one of the guards sat in the seat across from her, her heart slightly increased in speed. She knew they were going to ask her some questions, she hoped she'd answer them all calmly as to not seem nervous.

"I wouldn't mind answering a few question, sir." Inka said to the man, mentally preparing herself for the questions they would throw her way. Before the guard could ask another question, she took a deep breath in to calm herself. Then the second question came, explain what happened. She had remembered everything that happened up until she lost consciousness, so recounting details wasn't the issue. The issue was whether or not she should tell them she had used poison or not. After internally debating for a few seconds, she ended up deciding to tell them, Lorraine would tell them there was poison in the body once there was an autopsy report. So Inka spoke to answer the question.

"Well, I was walking in the main road, where all the flowers were. But I was closer to the buildings and alleyways." Inka responded. "Then my eyes were covered and I was pulled into one of the alleys, then I was quickly shoved up against the brick wall, and his hand was now around my throat chocking my, essentially." She added to her story. "Next, I reached my hand in my satchel, and dipped my dagger into one of my vials of poison." She showed her satchel and the hidden pocket where the dagger was hidden while telling this portion of the story. "And I stabbed him. The reason it was in the exact same place and those murders you mentioned, was because it was simply the easiest place to stab at my position" Inka explained, and with that she finally finished her recount of events. "Also if you were wondering, the poison I used was the one that paralyses the target and at the same time, messes with their heart rate, by the looks of it." Inka added, the more information the bette she thought.

"Anymore questions then?" Inka inquired. She was relived that she was able to answer the question calmly. Her heart rate slowed a little, being a little more comfortable in the setting. Alls she had to do now was wait for the next question.

GojiBean

 

[foresigh]

Luther Xa'Hearthstone​

The feeling of freedom that jumping over rooftops gave was amazing. He felt like one of the birds in the sky, flying, but for a short period of time, and always downwards. After a couple of minutes of this activity, something caught Luther's attention. Just as he landed on the roof of a local bakery, Luther saw a glimpse of a hooded figure hiding in a very smart spot, just behind a chimney with no direct view from almost any angle. The thing he found most... weird about it, was a flash of red emanating from where the eyes should be. Shaking his head, Luther tried to look again at the direction, but there was nothing in there, nor a clue of what was that.

"Oh man, this city is wild. Do ghosts just go around at daylight?" Luther thought out loud. This sudden change of rhythm in his roof hopping was enough to cool his head and think about his next step. The main reason he was in Valkyrom was to ask for aid for his village and join the group of bandit slaughters. Huh, that sounded metal.

Reaching to his backpack, Luther re-read the letter given to him weeks ago. It was a short a simple letter saying that the city of Valkyrom was recruiting men and women from all over the country for a special mission against a notorious group of bandits that has been terrorizing villages all over the country, signed by the royal palace.

"Wait... that's not right" After reading the letter, Luther realized a minor important piece of information. "Signed by the Royal Palace...? It says Sign in at the Royal Palace!" Indeed, the appointment was with no other than the king and queen of Cre'Est, and Luther was about to be late. Looking around from his position, Luther searched for the biggest and most Royal-Palace-looking building. It wasn't hard to find a very Royal-Palace-Looking building, as at the top of a hill, by the end of the high district, was the most Royal-Palace-looking building. Good news: He knew where to go now; Bad news: It was the exact opposite direction he was just roof hopping. "Oh shi..." With all the might his body could give, Luther ran, jumped, and almost flew upwards to the Royal-Palace-looking building.

 

[GojiBean]

The Guard listened intently to what Inka had to say and arched an eyebrow as she said she dipped her dagger in poison.

"So... In the middle of being choked out, you managed to dip a dagger into a poison that was in your pouch that just so happens to do basically what the Doctor there said was natural for the valian nerve-"

"Vagus Nerve."

"Vega-Vagus Nerve. Yeah. That."

"And sir, I know where you're going with your question. And I don't appreciate your tone or how you're framing your choice of words."

The Guard turned to Doctor Almna.

"Ma'am. Are you interfering with official Guardsman business?"

Lorraine stood firm and hardened her gaze.

"No, I'm not. But I am telling you not to put words in her mouth or try to frame the situation according to your own imagination. Take in the facts, and use those to piece together the information for your report. That's your job. Nothing more. Nothing less."

He took a firm step towards her and came almost nose to nose with her.

"Doc. I got all the respect in the world for your reputation and knowledge. But this is an interrogation. Not a niceness contest. So stay out of the way, or I'll be forced to arrest you as well under suspicion of accessory to murder."

Lorraine huffed through her nose.

"You can't charge me like that for correcting you, sir. I know the limits of your authority. And I've no intention of crossing them due to provocation or intimidation. Kindly do your job the way it's meant to be done, or I'll have to file an official report to the head of your division requesting an investigation into you and your methods for information gathering at the expense of the populace."

The Guard started growling but was pulled away by his colleague.

"Apologies on his behalf, Doctor. Miss." He said giving both women a nod.

After letting go the second Guard turned to Inka and spoke much more calmly than his associate.

"Ma'am, I hope you understand our position. It's rather convenient that you were able to accomplish something so complicated as dipping a dagger into poison without looking. After all if you were being choked out, his hands would block your chin from being able to dip which would have been how you could look down to see what you were doing. So you dipped a dagger in poison blind, essentially. That's something that doesn't happen by mere chance. Or, at least, the chances of it coming to pass are incredible low. Especially when in such a situation as yours where your life was in danger. Adrenaline rushing, fear, panic. All of it works against the idea of your innocence right now. As far as perpetrators for the two murders this morning, you're the closest match we've found." He said.

Lorraine crossed her arms.

"A fair explanation. However, her weapon doesn't match the profile of the one used in the murders this morning."

The Guards both looked at Lorraine. "How so, ma'am?" The calm one asked.

"The weapon used in the murders this morning had a serrated edge. We know this because the entry wound was unclean with dozens of tiny tears all around it. Inka's dagger is not only smaller in girth than the one used this morning, but it's also smooth which prevents it from creating such a messy entry wound. She's not your killer."

"She could have gotten rid of that weapon in the time it took between the murders this morning and now, though." The calm one said.

Lorraine took in a breath. As she did so, she brought her hands up in front of herself, palms up, and hands flat with the middle fingertips nearly touching. She raised them from her belly to the top of her chest on the inhale, and turned them palms down and pushed back to the base of her belly on the exhale.

The Guards both looked back to Inka.

"Anything to say in your defense, ma'am?" The calm one asked.

kakemha

 

[kakemha]

Inka Ve' Lie​

Date: Year 754, 14th Day, 1st Laetal Moon

Inka had saw Lorraine sick up for her, which she was pretty grateful for. She hadn't been trouble with the law here before, so Lorraine was a massive help in this situation. She had considered stepping in and saying something when the guard had stood up to go to Lorraine, but she decided against it. She didn't need another reason for them to suspect her more. When the guard had gotten close to Lorraine and was face to face to her, she stood up slightly from her seat in case she needed to pull the guard back fro hitting Lorraine. Luckily though, the other guard pulled him back before he could do anything. She sat back down into her seat and exhaled a breath she didn't know she was holding in.

Once the guard had turned to her and started to explain their suspicions, Inka noticed that this one was much more calm. She liked him better as an interrogator. She was about to say something, but Lorraine had cut in again. They went back and forth for a few minutes until the two guards turned to Inka once more and asked her if she had anything to say in defense.

"Have you ever grown up in a place where you had to actually fight for your life, fight for your needs to survive?" Inka asked the two guards, it was their choice if they answered or not, it was rhetorical. "I have, it gave me all new instincts, a subconscious that will protect me." She explained to the two guards, all the flashback of Veilbrand were coming back to her. "Sure, you may not believe me, but I am telling the truth. I hadn't even known about the murders that happened today without you guys informing me about them." Inka finished her statement, wondering what the guards responses would be.

GojiBean

 

[GojiBean]

The less calm guard gave Inka a scowl as she opened with her question about fighting for survival. But his colleague waved him off.

"Thank you, ma'am. We'll continue our investigation. But we must ask that you please don't leave the city. We may need to return to ask you more questions later. Where would we be able to find you?"

Lorraine cleared her throat and both men looked to her as she placed her hands on her hips and gave them both a calm, but firm glare.

"Do you mind telling me what you hope to gain by speaking to her again about this?"

"I know you don't like it, Doctor. But regardless of either of your spoken testimony on the matter she's still our primary suspect at this time unless further evidence leads us in a new direction. So we'll need to ensure she stays somewhere that we can easily find her and ask further questions if need be."

"What was the point of my analysis of the bodies this morning if your opinion about this incident supersedes my provided testimony and evidence gathered?"

"No disrespect, Doc, but your "analysis" was only good for those two bodies. And just because you saw a small difference in the way the wound looked on the surface doesn't mean they were actually different weapons used by different people. What if she used a serrated knife then and ditched it before this incident took place?" The angry Guard said.

"Just take a look at her for a moment, would you?" She demanded, pointing to Inka.

The Guards looked at the girl as Lorraine walked next to her and put her hands on the girl's shoulders.

"No offense, dear. But you two. Please observe her frame and note the lack of significant muscle mass. Do either of you honestly believe that a girl her size and age would be able to replicate two perfectly identical stabs to the Vagus Nerve of two men who were both a minimum of eight inches to a foot taller than her, and outweighed her by anywhere from sixty to one hundred pounds, without anyone seeing or hearing anything?"

"We've seen crazy shit before, Doc. This would be nothing new." The angry guard said, much to the chagrin of his colleague.

"Watch your language, sir! And pray, do explain to me how a girl who's obviously still in her teenage years would be able to accomplish the murders from this morning."

The calmer guard walked between both and put his hands up to separate them.

"That's enough, both of you. Please, Doctor. We're just doing our job. Again, I know you don't like it. But we are obligated to treat all potential suspects and witnesses as exactly that until we confirm the identity of the murderer beyond a reasonable doubt. If you could just provide us a place to go if we need to speak with her again then I promise we'll be on our way. For what it's worth, in likelihood I don't believe she'll be seeing us again."

Lorraine sighed in frustration and repeated the hand gesture from earlier as she turned to Inka and offered an apologetic smile.

"Would you mind giving them a location, dear? If you've nowhere else to stay you can come to my clinic. We have spare rooms for guests available if needed."

kakemha

 

[archur]

Turin Tya'Velis​

Without a word, Turin silently put away the sack of gold. Money was always a useful grease to make the wheel of diplomacy turn, but he wasn't dealing with a Veilbrandian noble, self-obsessed, and only concerned with lining their pockets. No, today he was dealing with a skilled physician who was more concerned with healing the sick and wounded than her own welfare, money clearly wasn't her concern at all.

"Pardon, sir Knight. But would you mind escorting us into town? These people need proper medical attention immediately."

In response, he stood up straight, put one arm behind his back, and presented his palm to her, the same pose he'd give to the princess before they'd go on walks. As he stood there, he almost felt his heart drooping as he realized he was just settling into his old habits at the first excuse to. He straightened up as if to excuse himself and explain that he'd simply lead them to wherever they needed to go, but it only came out as low gurgling noise. He supposed that at least his gesturing and posturing would be good enough to non-verbally get his point across that he'd lead them. As much as these 'vagrants' that were with the group were his prime focus, he could most likely try and keep an eye on them while siphoning answers from this doctor.

GojiBean

 

[GojiBean]

The woman smiled sweetly at the Knight with a half-tilt of her head.

"My thanks, sir Knight."

Had it not been for the strange sound he produced, she would have simply taken him as mute. However, this was not her issue to resolve.

"We must be away swiftly, everyone. Please, load your companions into their carts and we will escort you to my daughter's clinic."

"Who's your daughter?" The female vagrant asked.

The older doctor's face lit up slightly.

"Her name is Lorraine Xe' Almna. She's known as the Angel of Cre' Est, and runs the-"

"THE ANGEL!!" One of the older male vagrants shouted as he leaped far higher into the air than one would presume possibly given his slender and emaciated frame. "Oh, by Peur'tia our friends are saved! Quickly everyone!"

The others wasted no time in trying their best to carefully move their sickly friends into the carts and wagons to get ready to turn back towards town. Meanwhile, the "vagrants" had gathered close to each other a distance away and were deliberating under their breath.

"This can't be happening, can it? What are the fucking odds?" The old one growled.

"It changes nothing. Just wait for the woman to distance herself from that Knight and we complete our objective." The blonde one replied.

"What if he figures us out and tries to stop us?" The smallest asked.

"There's three of us. And unless all of your training just magically disappeared from your brain and body then we work together to take him out too." The old one said while pointing to the little one's chest.

They composed themselves and began "helping" the others by walking through the motions but producing little to no real results and wasting little to no real effort. Meanwhile the doctor approached the Knight and gave a bow of her head.

"Again, my thanks, Sir Knight. I'm certain once we get them to my daughter's clinic they'll get all the help they need. May Peur'tia bless you." She said while bowing fully at the waist.

Turning on her heel she walked ahead to join those at the front of the group as they began to head back into town. The three "vagrants" all gathered together momentarily and whispered amongst each other before fanning out in a reverse triangle formation around four meters apart from each other behind the woman. They matched her pace perfectly timing each step to match hers so as never to catch up, pass, or fall behind. And as the city gate loomed ahead of them they all glanced to each other with a nod.

Checking the eyes of the real vagrants around them they cautiously made moves at their sides as he rubbing their leg and thigh before tucking their arms tightly to their sides. Their pace quickened slightly until the two on either side were even with the woman and the one in back was mere feet from her with eyes locked on the back of her head.

... In a breath, he lunged with a dagger primed for a stab to her lower back.

archur

 

[kakemha]

Inka Ve' Lie​

Date: Year 754, 14th Day, 1st Laetal Moon

Inka caught sight of the scowl of the other guard but paid it no mind. She knew that, with his personality, it would be expected. She heard the question that the clam guard posed her, where could they find her. She didn't answer right away, she could say her little room above the local cafe, but she wasn't sure if her attainment of the property was exactly legal. Luckily, before she could even say anything else, Lorraine started to speak to the two guards again. She knew that it would probably be better if she didn't interfere with the argument, she could be caught up in something she didn't know how to finish. She did glance over at the knight from earlier however, she wondered what he thought of the entire situation, seeing as he wasn't saying anything.

Feeling Lorraine's hands on her shoulders felt nice, it felt like a motherly hold, something Inka has never felt before. All the yelling didn't really faze her in the slightest, she had heard it a lot when she was still living in Veilbrand, she actually had grown pretty accustomed to screaming and yelling. When Lorraine had offered her to stay at her clinic, she was very relieved to say the least. She looked back at both guards and responded to the original question.

"Sure, you can just find me at her clinic." Inka said looking back up at Lorraine when answering. She thought back to what the guards had said earlier, "We've seen some crazy shit before, Doc." And she couldn't help but agree with the statement, she had seen her fair share of bizarre occurrences. Rumors would spread like wildfire back at Veilbrand, that a little girl had stabbed a man about 40 times for a piece of bread, and probably loads more that sounded like the situation she was in. But of course, the law enforcement there didn't really pay attention to those unless necessary. The more she focused on what was happening the more she thought about situations like the one she was in. The book she was reading right now actually had a similar situation going on right now. She glanced down at the book in her lap, she wondered if she would end up like the girl in the novel. Would she jailed or worse sent back to her hometown. As she started to think again, she breathing became heavy and fast. Anyone could hear Inka, almost gasping for air. She clutched her chest area, where her heart was, as if trying to get it to stop beating so fast.

GojiBean nh1

 

[archur]

Turin Tya'Velis​

His intentions across, one way or another, he figured that it would be enough for now to simply keep an eye on the back of the group, or more specifically, the suspicious men that he had been tracking all along.

"We must be away swiftly, everyone. Please, load your companions into their carts and we will escort you to my daughter's clinic."

ears perked up at this announcement. His assumptions from earlier were confirmed with her second comment, her daughter assuredly being Dr. Lorraine Xe'Almna, or simply Dr. Almna as he kept mentally referring to her as. He made no effort to help or even touch the sickly as they loaded themselves and their friends onto the wagon, nor did he offer himself to push it. His mission was to keep a steady eye on his suspects so he can get answers out of them. If this little distraction lead him to where he needed to go, then so be it.

"Again, my thanks, Sir Knight. I'm certain once we get them to my daughter's clinic they'll get all the help they need. May Peur'tia bless you."

He gave a slight nod and stood stock still, letting the group pass him by until he was nearly towards the back, walking slightly behind everyone as they trekked so he could keep track of the three figures who walked with more than a limp and an intended purpose behind every step. His fingers anxiously curled around his mace, his nerves high as he forced himself to walk. Each of the figures was walking in unison, and all he could think about was the smell that was all around him, how hot the sun was, the sound of stomping feet on dirt, everything else but the thing he needed to focus on.

That was until the gate came into view and the three figures started to close in towards the doctor and his instincts jarred him into action, pushing through the crowd. He could see it in his head, the surprised yelp of the older woman, the skittering feet of the assassins in the chaos, and the immediate pointing of fingers at the gleaming knight with a weapon in hand.

Not once has he let anyone under his protection get hurt, and today wasn't going to change that.

Eyes bulging, adrenaline racing, he had his mace out of its loop in a breath, and as the assassin tensed his body he was only a step behind him. His mind was racing as to what the other assassins might do next, flee or fight? However, Turin's mind and his body were two different beasts, and as his mind was assessing the situation, his body had swung his flanged mace down onto the assassin’s back hard, striking him down mid-lunge.

 

[GojiBean]

Lorraine Xe' Almna

--------------------------------------------------------------​

Lorraine smiled as Inka confirmed her desire to stay at the clinic and gave the guards a bit of a glance. The calm one smirked with a chuckle, and the angry one shook his head and started towards the door.

"We should best be on our way. Thank you for your cooperation, Doctor. Miss." He said with a bow.

With that, the two guards left the room to which Lorraine heaved a sigh.

But alas, there was no time to get comfortable. Lorraine had only just turned towards Inka before her smile dropped and was replaced by widening eyes as she rushed towards the girl who was breathing erratically and clutching at her chest.

"Inka!"

She darted behind the girl and immediately, albeit very gently, wrapped her arms around Inka's own and let her hands come to rest on top of Inka's.

"Inka, listen to me. Breathe with me."

Using her arms, which were deceptively strong, as a press against Inka's body, she forced the girl's lungs to expel all of the air they contained before relaxing her grip and allowing Inka to take a deeper breath in.

"Breathe in."

She waited for the inhale.

"Breathe out."

Carefully she allowed Inka to try breathing out on her own. But at the first sign of Inka struggling she would tighten her grip to force the rest of the air out before loosening her grip.

Repeating this several times until Inka's control over her breathing stabilized, Lorraine finally let go and helped the girl to sit down on the floor against the wall while sitting close at her side and giving her a quiet smile.

"You okay?" She cooed.

Turin Tya'Velis

--------------------------------------------------------------​

The blitz of the attack had ended in failure. The mace swinging down into the man's back buckled his legs and sent waves of pain up through his spine that resulted in him losing consciousness almost instantly. The real vagrants around them scattered as the doctor spun around in both shock and horror to see what had transpired just as the now unconscious and already bloody body hit the ground.

Unleashing a shriek and backing away as fast as she could, the other two wasted no time in regrouping nearby while glaring at Turin.

"Now what, genius?!"

"Fuck off! How could we plan for him?!"

Indeed. Their knives would be all but useless against his armor. And he'd proven fast enough to intercept them, armor be damned, if the need arose.

"HALT!!" Came a scream from the gates.

The guards, having seen the commotion, were rapidly approaching the scene with blades drawn.

"Shit! Let's go!"

The pair dashed away towards the lightly wooded area just down the road and leaving their fallen companion behind to meet whatever fate awaited him. The guards approached and jogged to a stop before taking in the sight of the man on the ground and Turin with his mace held firmly in hand.

"Care to explain?" He asked.

"He protected me!"

The Doctor approached, one hand on her chest as she fought to keep her breathing in check from the shock.

"He protected me. I don't know what's going on. But that one there," she pointed to the unconscious man, "and his companions who just ran off seem to have been after my life."

The guards glanced between each other and gave a nod whilst sheathing their weapons.

"Very well. We'll take a full statement back at the gates. Please, come with us. All of you."

The vagrants had slowly begun gathering again around the wagons and calmed each other down as the Doctor looked to Turin and gave a full bow.

"I don't know how to thank you, good sir Knight. I had no idea they wished harm upon me."

Taking a look around, she quickly ushered the vagrants together.

"Let's get to the clinic, quickly."

kakemha archur

 

[archur]

Turin Tya'Velis​

His weapon had found its mark, and Turin's mind was already racing. His head wheeled as his first target collapsed and the others ran. Typical. Whatever they were doing, they were going to report back to whoever hired them, or they've already done the task they were hired to do. Fine. He had one here, and he could put together a few more clues with just him, even if he didn't know too much, or claimed to not know too much. After all, fingers are a valuable resource that can be useful bargaining chips in matters of information gathering. Primarily, the bargain is whether they would like to keep them or not.

He hoisted the unconscious conspirator up by his collar, staring into his dirty face for a moment before dropping him to the ground, disinterested. Feet raced towards him as the guards rapidly questioned the meaning of the attack, but Turin paid no mind to this. He knew that the doctor would speak up for him, to which she did.

As the shouting became less frantic, Turin took the time to put away his mace and pull out his notepad, quickly scribbling a note for the guards.

"I am investigating the murders for the sake of the city. Apprehend this man, I will return to personally question him."

He slapped the note onto the man's sweat-stained forehead and pushed him directly into one of the guards.

"I don't know how to thank you, good sir Knight. I had no idea they wished harm upon me."

He gave a slight bow of his head to the lady he had non-verbally sworn to protect, and once again let everyone pass him to the clinic. He'd have to follow just to make sure there weren't any surprise attacks later on since the other would be assassins ran away.

GojiBean

 

[GojiBean]

Turin Tya' Velis

--------------------------------------------------------------
​

The guards apprehended the man as requested and dragged him off to a holding cell nearby to await further orders on whether or not he'd be delivered to the primary prison facility located just West of the Palace.

Meanwhile, the doctor and the vagrants all proceeded inside the gates and down the main roads to the Central Square where they took a turn North and found the Almna Apothecary and Clinic. As they stopped just outside and prepared to knock on the door, a young woman with dirty-blonde hair tied back in a ponytail and a pair of glasses covering a lightly freckled face swiftly emerged wide-eyed and glancing about frantically.

"Lady Therease! What in Holy Mother's name is going on? Please don't tell me all these people need beds?!"

Therease chuckled warmly.

"Good morning to you as well, Cheyanne. And no. Only those in the carts require beds and treatment. The rest just need a place to rest and I'll be sure to show them to the inn just up the road for that."

Cheyanne released a heavy sigh as she placed a hand over her chest.

"Oh thank the Heavens. We're actually nearing patient capacity as it is right now. But if it's just those few in the carts then I think we can manage. Let me fetch Jessica."

Cheyanne disappeared inside as Therease shook her head with a smile.

"The poor thing just can't seem to calm down sometimes." She muttered to herself with a suppressed laugh.

Moments later another woman emerged. With flowing long flowing red hair cascading down her back, and a white jacket covering an otherwise ordinary sky-blue tunic and brown wool pants, she fixed her glasses as she glanced to the carts.

"Good morning, Jessica."

"Good morning, Lady Therease. Please, excuse me."

Jessica donned a face covering as she approached the carts and helped the sickly vagrants down one by one. With the assistants of several of the others she guided them inside and gave a nod to Turin and Therease both. Once the vagrants were all safely inside Therease turned to Turin with a bow.

"My thanks again, good sir Knight. I'll help these people find a place to rest at the inn just up the road. Please, feel free to go about your business elsewhere. Those ruffians wouldn't dare try anything inside city limits with the amount of guard patrols present due to the happenings this morning."

archur

 

[archur]

Turin Tya'Velis​

As the sick and wounded piled off the carts, Turin couldn't help but stand back and watch as the women did their work. It wasn't often you saw this sort of thing back home, he had tried his best to shield the princess from that sort of thing in the early years of his service to her, but he couldn't stop her from knowing the poor fate of those lesser than, cast off on the streets: They stayed where they were, and they died while they were at the very bottom, unable to lift themselves back up. To him, this was something entirely unique and overly generous. It was things like this that made him feel glad to travel and see the world. Perhaps, he would go to Shaharan next, but he'd need to find some place to carry parts of his armor, since it was apparently extremely hot there.

But that was for later, he still had a murder to piece together now.

He quickly scribbled out a message to Lady Therease, and handed it to her with a flourish.

"I am Turin Tya'Velis, former honor guard of the Veilbrand family.

I am investigating the murders of this morning on behalf of this city.

Do not be afraid to call upon me if you suspect something on your or your daughter's life again.
I had my role as honor guard through battlefield experience. You will be safe.
I will be within the city for the near foreseeable future.

Safe tidings."

After that, he walked off to find the guards from earlier and ask them exactly where they had transported the would-be assassin he had incapacitated from earlier.

GojiBean

 

[kakemha]

Inka Ve' Lie​

Date: Year 754, 14th Day, 1st Laetal Moon

It was consuming her, she couldn't think straight no matter how hard she tried. She thought it was over, until she heard Lorraine's voice calling out for her. Inka focused on her, and when she did that, it made it seemingly a little bit easier to breathe. Feeling the warmth of her hands on her own, was comforting. She tried a to focus on her voice, although that might be a little difficult.

Once she heard Lorraine's instructions, she followed them to the best of her ability. Granted, it took a few tries to finish follow her instruction properly. The tight grips definitely helped her focus more, though they did hurt a bit. Luckily, Inka was finally able to regain her breath and composure.

She rested her head against the wall once Lorraine helped her sit down on the floor. "Yeah, I'm fine and I'm sorry," Inka apologised to Lorraine. "I've probably cause a lot of trouble for you, and probably kept you away from your clinic for too long." She turned to Lorraine and told her. "We can go back now, if you'd like, I can probably still walk." She said as she slowly stood up and leaned against the tall. "Heh, you know, I never did tell you my last name you know. That might've been a bit rude." She laughed a little to herself as she thought back to their first encounter. Inka felt like she could trust her, she had been so kind and helpful to her up until now.

She stood up straight and turned to face Lorraine. "Let me redo my introduction. I'm Inka, Inka Ve' Lie." She said as she held out her hand for Lorraine to shake. She wondered what Lorraine would think of her circumstance, anyone would know it from her last name alone. Inka just hoped she wasn't like everyone else after hearing her last name.

GojiBean nh1

 

[GojiBean]

Lorraine Xe' Almna

--------------------------------------------------------------
​

Lorraine smiled and took Inka's hand to shake.

"The pleasure's mine, Inka."

Despite the smile, Lorraine's heart skipped a beat and dropped a little in her chest upon hearing Inka's last name.

I can't imagine... The poor thing. She thought while maintaining her outward smile.

She gripped Inka's hand a bit more tightly.

"Come. My clinic isn't far."

She began leading Inka out of the room with the Knight in toe and out into the open streets once more. Things around them seemed calm. People meandered too and fro as usual which let her know it was about as safe as it would be for a while.

"We should be..." She looked left, then right. Taking a quick second to look up out of the corner of her eye in thought, she walked through her mental map of the city layout before finally turning left and giving Inka's hand a little tug. "This way."

Along the way to the clinic she glanced over her shoulder and gave Inka's hand another gentle squeeze.

"So, Inka. I don't believe I asked before since I got caught babbling on about myself. But where did you learn what you know about herbs and recipes for their use? And from whom? It wasn't all just from books, was it?"

kakemha