Fate - First Reply Highway Robbery

[Alyxander Quellchrist]

"What is he here for, starving? This poor bastard looks like he hasn't even laid eyes on a crumb in weeks, let alone eaten one."

The wretched heat that baked the city of Dornoch with the fury of a particularly harsh summer sank through the shoddy walls of the makeshift jailhouse that Alyxander Quellchrist stood in with the jailor and two equally armored men from his assignment. Every pore of his body seemed to bead with sweat under the unrelenting waves of humidity, and it didn't help that he was donned in his armor. Every inch of his body was concealed with shining steel of the highest quality, granted to him by his status as a Commander. His helmet was tucked under his arm, his jet black hair combed and resting softly over one side of his head, a decent workaround to stuffing it all in the tight-fitting helm. His piercing gaze locked onto the emaciated figure laying inside the cell, a man, but barely that. He'd finally gone to sleep, but according to the men who brought him in it was only after a group of five had dragged him here, along with a novella's worth of insults thrown at each man's mother and wives. How in the world this frail stick could cause so much trouble, Alyxander had no idea.

"Caught him digging through our confiscated items. No idea how the hell he got in, and we can't find the man who was supposed to be watching the place. This little prick won't tell us anything, of course, so all we can do is guess."

Alyx clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth at the Jailer's explanation. Small little jailhouses like this were becoming more and more common. as certain members of the Dynast had taken to the practice of arresting more and more people for the smallest offenses against the city's law. The dungeons were almost constantly at capacity as of last year which constituted the conversion of old ramshackle buildings long since abandoned into prisons. Of course, there were scant good men and women available to work these prisons, and that led to messes like this one.

"So you mean to tell me..." The raven-haired warrior began as he turned to look at this excuse for a warden, his eyes narrowed in contempt. One could almost see the jailer shrink under Quellchrist's judging gaze. "That you requested military aid for a drunkard? Because he put up too much of a fight for you and your underpaid guards?"

"Sir, I... I mean some of the things in our possession are illegal contraband! We're under orders to report the theft of any contraband directly to The Matriarchy!"

Alyxander felt sorry for this stammering sod, truly he did. Were it his choice, he would have been let off with a warning to be more vigilant. Unfortunately, Alyx had been deployed with orders to decommission this jail for its failure to protect what the city saw as its own confiscated property. That included the dismissal of those working here. Quellchrist had protested the decision vehemently, but there was little point in arguing with and angering his superiors. It didn't help that the one who'd ordered him to do so wasn't a particularly huge fan of men working as jailors when many of the criminals they'd been encountering in this latest little crime wave were of the same sex. If they had chosen not to report the theft committed by this drunken thief, they would likely have lived on. It was with no pleasure that Alyx gestured his soldiers to take the jailer away.

"Take him outside. I will join you shortly for his debriefing."

The jailer's eyes went wide. He knew damned well what that word meant in this context. This was the only means of work the aging man likely had.

"You lapdog! You know I did right! You're taking away my living for doing as I've been told?! Curse you! Curse this damned city!"

A sigh left Quellchrist's lips as he took another look at the passed-out drunkard, a flash of sadness behind his eyes. He'd thought serving in the military would earn him some sort of honor, and yet here was cleaning up after petty squabbles from booze and midnight.

After arranging for a wagon to haul the prisoner off to another location, Alyxander stood outside the old building near the edge of Dornoch, explaining the relief of duty process to a still simmering ex-jailer. He would no longer be serving the city in his current capacity and would need to find work elsewhere. He was not to come within a certain distance of the prison, and any attempt to contact his former employers would be met with further punishment. Honestly, Alyx doubted the man heard him, but for his own good he prayed such guidelines were followed.

"I understand your frustrations, sir. You must understand that--"

Screams interrupted him from further down the road. Turning his head to find the source, he saw the wagon that had taken the lone prisoner only moments earlier, now turned around and careening back in the other direction, towards the city exit. shards of wood and torn fabric hung from its sides; the cart had already collided with several stalls and sideswiped buildings.

And in the front seat? That drunkard, eyes wide and a half-toothed grin on his face as he flew past Alyxander and the Jailor, only missing the two of them because Quellchrist brought them both to the ground.

It'd all been a setup! That moron had the confiscated goods in that wagon, and he was making a break for it!

Pushing the Jailer away and scrambling to his feet, Quellchrist ran to his horse and slid atop it with ease, rearing up to ride.

Finally, a little bit of excitement.

 

[Srivani]

Srivani had been known as many things. The Dancing Flame, The King's most precious jewel, a 'wonder', a 'marvel', an 'enchantress'.. Prisoner, property, and most recently, 'confiscated item'.

She had been foolish to think that she could remain hidden, that the ever-rising reward for her safe return to the King of Oban wouldn't tempt any man to throw out their nets. She had been even more foolish then to have entertained the small group of children on the quiet little street corner. The fire birds she'd conjured to fly around their little heads as they laughed in amazement had cost her the freedom she had only just began to settle into.

The thief had done his homework, and the iron cuff she wore caused her no pain, but rendered her unable to cast flame in effort to protect herself. She wasn't the type to harm, the very thought was abhorrent, but as she was bundled kicking and screaming into the back of some rickety wagon, she'd have had it turned to firewood in seconds had it not been for the ugly piece of junk now locked around her wrist.

Even in the dead language she screamed and ranted in, it was obvious that what she was saying was less than polite. Fire burned in her amber eyes, it burned in her chest and under her skin, but not so much as a spark would ignite from her bound hands. Both feet pounded against the wagon's door as it closed on her, but Srivani was a slight thing and no match whatsoever for the lock.

The horses whinnied, and she rolled from one wall of the wagon to the other, grimacing at the certainty of fresh bruising with every pothole and rock the wagon's wheels jolted over and every wall or whatever it crashed into. The best she could hope for was the idiot crashing and splitting the damn thing open.

 

[Alyxander Quellchrist]

The wagon was fast, and that bellend in the front seat had done this kind of thing before; he hugged turns and weaved between buildings as though he were in some sort of race. If he were trying to outrun anybody else, the prisoner would have made off scot-free, almost certainly. The thing was, Alyxander Quellchrist wasn't just anybody, and Second Saint may well have been the fastest horse in all of Dornoch.

So Alyx's teeth clenched in a predatory smile as he gained on his target, the thunder of Saint's hooves against the paved stone roads shaking and echoing in the heavy armor he wore. The grunt of the horse beneath him with each step was like a ticking clock counting down, and soon Quellchrist had managed to get beside the wagon right as it moved into the wide-open main road leading out of the city. Pedestrians and passersby gave them a berth, but the wagon still veered to its left, trying to ram Alyx off his horse.

Quellchrist would let himself be rammed, but instead of holding onto Second Saint, he released the horse at the moment of impact, instead grabbing onto the cage on back of the wagon and pulling himself aboard. Saint broke away, but Alyx would meet him later. The wagon passed through the city gate with the speed of a lightning bolt as the warrior clawed his way up the cage, stopping halfway when he took a glance inside and saw not only the crate of goods that had been stolen, but...

A woman staring back at him?

Why on earth was somebody else back there? This idiot driving was the only prisoner supposed to be on the transport. If somebody else was inside, he needed to be careful. As far as Alyx was concerned, this was a bystander, not to be harmed. With the confusion in his face flittering away, his gaze broke from hers and he climbed to stand atop the cage.

Srivani

 

[Srivani]

The genasi had been on her back and in the middle of a ranted outcry of abuse in her old tongue when she halted mid-word at the unexpected appearance of another. Her golden eyes were wide as she stared up at him, uncertain if he were here to shut her up, or help her out. It was most likely to be the former..

She tried as best as she could to get a grip on the bars, but her hands were bound and each time she reached for something, the wagon jerked again. She'd almost managed to sit up before it slammed into another ditch in the road and turned sharply, violently rolling her into the side wall once more. She felt the fresh welt on her temple and the small trickle of blood from the graze.

"I am worth no-things DEAD!" she yelled, her accent thick and dripping with rage. "Idiots!" she added for good measure.

 

[Alyxander Quellchrist]

Alyxander had no idea what human cargo was doing in this cart, or why she looked so familiar to him, but those were questions that would need to wait until he got this blasted thing stopped. The driver was erratic, and every turn and shift of the wagon did more damage to the buildings and stalls around every bend. "Gods forgive me if I kill this bastard..." The Knight muttered under his breath as he found his footing atop the cage.

The ceiling of the mesh designed to hold prisoners and goods sagged beneath him under the weight of his armor, but held as he took slow steps towards the front seat, outstretching his hands to either side to balance his weight with the jostling and jolting that threatened to toss him aside like a forgotten piece of garbage. One wrong step and his heavy plates would pull him down and off the side to a painful landing with the street.

All he needed was just the right moment, and on the final straightaway to the gates of Dornoch, he saw his chance, lunging forward over the wooden divider that separated the two halves of the wagon and into the seat with his target.

"Get off of me, boy! I'll feckin' kill you!"

Alyx had him pinned down with a knee against his chest, holding onto the divider for support. The drunk's arms were free still, however, and he quickly drew a knife and thrust it towards the only part of Quellchrist that was exposed; his face. A meaningless effort. The commander quickly met the knife with his free hand, closing his fist around the blade and wrenching it from the absconder's grasp before throwing it aside and bringing his hand down to the man's cheek with a mighty punch.

"Should have done it a long time ago then, old man." Alyx spat as Kristoph Quellchrist slumped over, his lights turned off. After that, it was a simple matter of pulling the horses to a stop and veering off the road just outside of the city gates to a clear area where he could assess the situation.

Dismounting the wagon, Alyxander slung his unconscious father over his shoulder and carried him back to the cage he'd been running off with. His dagger cutting the lock, the door swung open, and the strange woman in the back would be joined by the now-snoring man who'd endangered her in the first place. Escape wasn't viable just yet though, Alyxander leaned into the cage, barring exit.

"Now, who are you? What're you doing in a prison transport without being listed?"

Srivani

 

[Srivani]

She might have heard the yelling had it not been for the sound of trundling wheels and creaking wood, or had she not been yelling herself. She was bruising up like a peach as the wagon violently rolled her from side to side and punched her from below every time the wheels hit a rock, and so her ancient ranting only grew louder and louder until finally the wagon slowed and stopped.

For a moment she lay there, mentally assessing whether she had any broken bones, but other than the sting of the graze on her head, she seemed only to have suffered bruises. Her heart still roared in her chest and her breaths were still rapid with panic. The sound of the cage door swinging open did nothing to ease her, and the girl flinched and pulled herself up to curl against the wall with a stern frown at the unconscious man, and then to the other who'd apparently stopped the heist.

"I did nothing!" she bleated defensively. "Men think is okay to drag me from the streets, to tie me like this." she gestured her hands and ankles. "And throw a hood over eyes so I see nothing!" she scowled. "They throw me into a disgusting place and then put me in here. All I do is buy the carrot for soup!"

"You let me go now." she huffed sharply and held out her bound wrists insistently.

 

[Alyxander Quellchrist]

Alyxander took a moment to look the strange woman over, worrying maybe she'd hit her head during the bumpy trip out here and scrambled something in her head. A woman getting plucked out of the market by men and stuffed into a prison transport? In Dornoch of all places, such a thing was unheard of, at least without good reason.

Which meant either the girl was lying about what had happened, or she wasn't from Dornoch. Either way, Quellchrist didn't like the stink of what he'd stumbled into. "Calm yourself." He spoke sternly, but not loudly. "I've no desire to keep you imprisoned so long as you answer my questions. Come now, out of the wagon." Alyx climbed partially into the back with her, the wagon tilting with the weight of his armor as he set about drawing the dagger from his hip and cutting the bindings on her ankles so she could at least make her way out and stand.

He felt trouble in the air. No, he doubted even his father realized what he'd done. That prison transport was supposed to have been empty aside from the contraband. There was something else going on here, something even a commander wasn't supposed to be privy to. This girl was very important to somebody.

That somebody was going to be very angry when word of what happened here reached them, wherever they were.

Alyx took a few heavy steps back and waited for her, already asking questions.

"Where are you from? What is your name?"

Realizing somebody who'd just been stuffed away probably would be reluctant to reveal such things, he added: "As long as you're honest with me, I'll help you." It was a bold promise to be making, but Alyx had been so bored as of late, and this certainly seemed a fun thread to pull and unravel.

Srivani

 

[Srivani]

The bound girl recoiled slightly at the sight of the dagger, but even if he had been about to open her throat there was little more she could do than to brace for the inevitability of death. Thankfully, the man hadn't thought to murder her where she sat, and her tension loosened along with her bonds as they were cut. She snarled at the abrasive ropes as she tugged them free of her arms and feet, tossing them at the unconscious man with a hiss and rubbing the burned skin around her wrists.

"Now this. Take it too." she demanded of the male as he stepped back outside, her arm raised in gesture to the iron cuff she wore on her right arm. Whatever it was had not let her burn her bindings free, it hadn't allowed her to defend herself from the moment it was snapped onto her wrist. Srivani shuffled her way off of the wagon and took a careful look over the man asking her questions, her arm still held out insistently.

Her lips pressed into a tight line and her brows furrowed defiantly. Her name was a dangerous thing on its own let alone telling him where she was from as well. No, she wouldn't answer, not until she could think of a convincing lie..

 

[Alyxander Quellchrist]

Alyxander raised one of the thin eyebrows resting underneath the strange eye-like marking on his forehead, casting a glance town to the bindings on her wrists that she insistently thrust towards him before shaking his head. The woman thought little of him to think he'd be so simply swayed. It was true, he served a city that championed women, but right now they weren't in the city, and she was little more than a prisoner.

"Perhaps you think I was born yesterday, but as I recall that wasn't the deal I just offered you." Quellchrist deadpanned with a small smile that tugged at the corner of his mustachioed lips. It was almost cute the way she was pouting out demands in broken tongue, but his desire to help her wasn't so powerful that he would compromise himself any further than he already had. "I want my answers before I go taking anything else off of you. Unless you have a reason to hide who you are from me?"

In his mind, honesty was a fair price for freedom. That the firebrand woman was so reluctant to answer was more or less confirmation that she had something to hide. Which, by extension, meant he'd indeed stumbled into a mess far beyond his paygrade. Furrowing his brow a bit, Alyx sighed, sheathing his dagger.

"Look, we're outside of the city. Even if you're some high-value political target, I'm technically not obligated to keep you detained. You have a better chance being honest with me than hiding from me. If you're truthful, there's a chance I may let you go. If not, I'll probably have to keep you around until I know for sure you aren't dangerous. The choice is yours."

Srivani

 

[Srivani]

"Dang-rous?!" her brows shot up and her finger pointed at him in a jab. "You are the dang-rous. And, and this one." she pointed at the unconscious man, her eyes tearing up with the rage that burned under her skin. Srivani could have been dangerous, many men had wanted to use her in such ways, but she had never used her gift to harm anyone.

She was pacing now, her arms flailing as she rambled on in her own dead language about his 'offer', and his warning..

"<Honest, he says. Not an honest one among them, all they see is gold. They steal and kill for it, burn cities to the ground for it and they call me dangerous!? Hah! So much for my freedom, Elliot. This idiot steals me and now I am being questioned, or he will throw me back into another cage. If I tell him my name, he will throw me back into another cage. No!>" she stomped. "<Greedy human men do not own me any more. Okay, one, two, three..>"

And that's when she made a swift run for it.

 

[Alyxander Quellchrist]

Did she think him that much of a fool?

Alyxander had given her far more leeway than any other would in this position. The woman was angry, and rightfully so, but her rambling in a foreign tongue, emoting as though she were putting on a performance for an invisible crowd was bordering on childishness. Quellchrist didn't care how pretty or powerful this girl was, she wasn't in the position to try anything foolish, and that's exactly what she did next.

She was fast, and launched herself with a speed he wouldn't feel too out of line compared with one of the horses that had carried her mobile prison out this far. Unfortunately, she was running from somebody who people tried to run from several times a day, and Alyx was more than ready. The moment she broke into a sprint, the soldier moved a hand up to the symbol on his forehead, muttering something under his breath before twirling his hand and thrusting it toward her.

A bolt of white lightning shot out from his fingers, aimed at her back. It was nothing dangerous: A simple immobilizing spell, designed to be painless but to take motor functions away for a few minutes. Should it hit, he would at least have some time to talk sense into the woman. If that were even possible... honestly Alyx was beginning to wonder if her mind was gone.

Srivani

 

[Srivani]

Whatever that had struck her may not have hurt, but one second she was running at full speed and the next her limbs simply stopped working and momentum rolled her several feet over the rough ground and she cried out as it tore into her skin.

The girl grimaced and groaned as the pain settled in, and her pulse struck a staccato in her chest when she realised that she couldn’t move. Panic gripped her by the throat as she stared up from her back, her chest rising and falling in quick succession.

Hopelessness was an emotion she was quite used to feeling, but it was something she had hoped she would never have to face again. Her eyes pooled with tears that glistened as she watched him, bracing herself for whatever punishment might come her way.

“What have you done to me? Y-You should not harm me..” she huffed, her skin already grazed and bruising. “Please..” she added somewhat pathetically, knowing she couldn’t fight back if he chose otherwise.

 

[Alyxander Quellchrist]

Alyxander winced as she hit the ground a bit harder than he'd expected. Of course, Quellchrist really hadn't wanted it to come to that, but the strange woman hadn't left him with much of a choice. On the off chance that she was some dangerous criminal who'd been put in that cage for a major crime, it'd be on him if he bailed her out just to cause more damage. Then he'd be out of a job and a home.

Of course, he couldn't know otherwise if she wouldn't talk to him for a damned minute.

Taking his time in walking to catch up with her, he found himself rather impressed at how much ground she covered in such a short amount of time. If he hadn't been half-expecting her to run, Alyx wouldn't have been able to stop her quick enough. It didn't make him feel any better once he heard the soft way she was pleading with him now, begging to be spared any more pain.

A frown crossed his face, and he squatted down in front of him as best his armor allowed so that he could look her in the eyes. "I don't want to harm you, if you would listen to me for a damned minute." His voice was one of frustration, but he didn't look pleased that she'd been bruised. "I don't know who you think I am, but I'm really trying to work with you here, lady." Alyx tilts his head, looking over her stiffened muscles. "I hit you with a paralyzing spell. It'll only last a little while, and then you'll be back to normal."

The unchanged look of fear mixed with anger in her eyes brought a sigh to his lips.

"Fine. Don't tell me your name, if that's how it's going to be. Where are you from then? You said men kidnapped you, from where?" Male kidnappers in Dornoch would be a big deal, and a problem he'd need to deal with quickly.

 

[Srivani]

He had no idea how much she wanted to believe that, but her name had thus far only caused her trouble. Men and their greed had only ever landed her in cages.

She wasn't going anywhere right now, and acceptance softened the fear in her expression to something more sombre.. "Why is name mattering? Dornoch is home now, they..they snatch me from street, say I do wrong when I do nothing. Greedy, all are greedy men. I come to be safe, not to be afraid.." she frowned, her language even more broken in her fluster.

"Am I free now?" she asked with an attempt at a small wriggle..

 

[Alyxander Quellchrist]

A perplexed expression rested on his face as she opened up a bit more to him at last. What she spoke offered more questions than it answered, however-- A woman of her beauty being treated so lowly in the city of Dornoch? That didn't add up, especially if the perpetrators were men.

If anything, it spoke poorly of Alyxander, who was supposed to be helping keep such behavior in check.

"If men are kidnapping you off of the street in Dornoch, I assure you they do so against the law of the city." He did his best to assure her as he stood up straight once more, but there was lingering doubt in the back of his mind. Why the prison wagon, then? That wasn't something just anybody could procure... Shaking his head, Alyx reaches down, carefully pulling the still stunned woman to her feet and holding her up with one arm as he walks her towards the front of the wagon. "My name is Alyxander, by the way. I'm a soldier. Keeping you safe is quite literally my job. Now, up."

The literal knight in shining armor hoisted her body up into one of the front seats of the wagon with a surprising display of strength, before circling around to climb up and join her. Despite her protests, Quellchrist couldn't simply let her leave. She'd just be scooped up again if she was to be believed.

"Your paralyzation will be over soon. When that happens, and you run away again, there's nobody to stop you getting nabbed again. Stick with me for now and I can protect you until we find a safe place."

 

[Srivani]

'They do so in the name of Oban' she muttered bitterly. The sensation of trying to move and being quite unable was the most disgusting thing she had ever felt in her life, like the feeling when an arm or leg falls asleep and starts to wake back up. She winced as she was pulled to her feet and forced to walk with quiet whimpers of discomfort.

Srivani frowned with indignation and her golden eyes avoided looking at him as he hoisted her into the seat. "I wish for you not to do this thing to me again." she huffed, clearly trying to regain movement in her limbs and wrinkling her nose in frustration.

She turned her head away from him to gaze absently through the trees. "I will not be running from you, Alyxander. But there is no safe place." she frowned. "Soldiers are not safe, soldiers are greedy. They steal me from the street, then this drunk man steal me from them. Now you steal me too?" she asked, her eyes falling on the metal cuff she wore.

"Will you take this thing from me now please?!"

 

[Alyxander Quellchrist]

Oban.

Suddenly everything made a lot more sense. Alyxander let out a groan loud enough to be heard over the braying of the horses as they began to set off back toward the road. Indeed he had involved himself in something far bigger than himself, but it was too late to renege on his word. "Oban wants you then. That clears things up quite a bit..." Alyx admits to her, quietly reaching over to unlatch the cuffs that bound her wrists. She claimed she would not flee, and Quellchrist was inclined to believe her.

After all, she knew there was nothing to stop him from merely zapping her again, though he didn't wish to by any stretch of the imagination.

"I'm not stealing you. I just don't want you to be stuck on the run, not with the festival coming up. All eyes will be on Dornoch, and whoever is looking for you won't have a hard time finding you, as much as you stick out." He took a little offense to being called greedy, but it was apples and oranges, he supposed. Everybody had to look out for themselves in some capacity, didn't they? Alyx wasn't perfect, but then nobody was.

"If Oban is after you, no wonder you don't want to tell me your name. Bet there's a nice price for you then?" Quellchrist shook his head, leaning back in the seat, and listened to the sound of hooves against the dirt as they found the main road back to town, Dornoch's gates growing ever closer in front of them. "Don't worry. I've no intention of trying to cash in on you. I'm not a fan of what they do to women of magic over there."

That was his excuse, but...

He couldn't help but feel like maybe this strange woman was the key to getting out of this monotony that he'd been waiting for.

 

[Srivani]

Srivani clenched her jaw as she mentally kicked herself for allowing the word to spill from her lips. Still, the little honesty had at least earned her freedom from those cuffs, and the endless flame that ran in her veins was once again free to unleash itself. Srivani had never harmed a soul with her fire. She had used it to distract and to halt, yes, but right now she considered that allowing him to see what she was capable of would likely be a terrible idea. It wouldn't have taken much more for him to put the clues together.

The King of Oban's prized Dancing Flame.. Yes, there was a mighty fine price on her head. She turned to scowl at him as he mentioned it and kept her lips tight shut. Her arms folded across her chest and she huffed as she sat back too, turning away from him. She didn't believe his assurance. She was sure if he knew just how much he'd be paid upon her return, he'd have slammed those cuffs straight back onto her wrists and thrown her back into a cage.

For now, she opted not to talk to him, nor look at him. She would be patient, but she would not be going back to any cage or cell, that was for damned sure.

 

[Alyxander Quellchrist]

Her disbelief in his claims wasn't exactly hidden, and Alyx rolled his eyes as he turned his focus back to the road ahead of them. Fine, she didn't have to believe him. It didn't change his outlook whether or not he was trusted by the unjustly treated woman. If she was from Oban, he couldn't send her back to that. Not after he'd seen how they treated their women.

Still, precaution needed to be taken, especially if she was hiding her name due to being somebody of importance. As the gates to Dornoch grew nearer on the horizon where the road met the sky ahead, Alyx reached behind him to grasp the cloth that had covered the back of the wagon, pulling it free and holding it out to her. "Cover up. If you're as sought after as you seem to think, we don't want anybody recognizing you, do we?"

The Roost. That place should be safe enough for her. Thundering through the gates with only a brief nod from the guards who recognized the emblem on his armor as that of the military. It seemed the streets of Dornoch had calmed from the hectic calamity that had been caused by this very same wagon only half an hour ago, and most of the civilians had returned to their daily tasks as though nothing had happened. The festival was coming, after all, there were things to be done!

"We're going to a place called The Roost. It's an inn run by a friend of mine, he'll give you a place to stay..." Quickly, he added. "I'm not telling him where you're from, and he's not the kidnapping type. Don't worry. We just need a place for you to lie low until things die down. With the festival so near, people are in a downright frenzy..."

 

[Srivani]

Srivani remained the picture of defiance as they trundled along the road on the half wrecked wagon. She turned as much as she could to keep her back to him, her arms were tightly folded across her chest and her silence was firmly held. She had grown so used to the absence of voices that she flinched when Alexander spoke, her head turning slightly to settle a narrowed gaze upon the fabric he offered her. His reason was unexpected, and her furrowed brow rose slowly and fell with distrust once more.

It was unlikely to her, that he was trying to be kind, and more likely that he was somewhat curious or already aware of her worth and wanted to covet her for himself. She snatched the cloth from him and threw it around her head and shoulders with a huff. Fine. She'd play along and 'lie low', until she could make a run for it. All men were the kidnapping type if they'd get rich for it.

"How considerate of you." she murmured in her thick accent, her gaze downcast.

She resumed her silence as the city gates grew closer, and her head dipped, giving her the look of a sleeping old woman.

 

[Alyxander Quellchrist]

Whether it be because he'd no more patience for the sass she was giving him for every attempt at kindness he showed, or to maintain their thinly veiled disguise, Alyxander was relatively silent for the remainder of the trip through the city. The Roost was indeed an inn, but it was also far more than that. The old building served as a hub for those he'd built the strongest rapport with; a hub for Alyx and his most trusted comrades. There were only seven of them in this exclusive little club, but all would die for the others. It was also where some of them lived, Alyxander included.

Taking a route down a side street that skirted the east side of the city, the hustle and bustle of Dornoch waned to a trickle of pedestrians on one side of the street. It was at the end of this street, nestled against the city wall at a dead end that looked almost untouched by man or woman in years, that The Roost sat. It certainly looked to have been an inn or tavern at one point, but now the only signage on it was the depiction of a gold-scaled dragon painted on the front door, and a sturdy-looking lookout post built onto the roof.

"We're here. Come now, let's get inside so I can procure a room for you." Quellchrist would dismount the cart, and beckon her to follow as he pushed the door open and led her inside The Roost. The main room indeed looked like a repurposed tavern, tables dotted the large hall, covered in weapons, documents, maps, and other more personal items belonging to the men operating from the building.

There was a warm fire glowing from a particularly clean side of the room, along with a large couch and a small collection of books. It was clear that people were living here, and the whole building smelled of armor.

"Doesn't look as though any of my friends are here at the moment, but that's fine. I'll explain to them we'll have a guest for a while when they return. I'll ensure none of them disturb you."

He was going to catch a little bit of flak from the others for bringing a woman into The Roost and setting rules and boundaries as though she was his, but he knew they wouldn't do anything to jeopardize or harm her if he asked them not to. Of course, then the questions of 'why are you bending over backwards for some strange, rude foreign woman' would come about, and Alyxander would say something poetic about chivalry or the like.

They would all know he just wanted something to do with himself.

 

[Srivani]

It was difficult not to be distrusting when she'd been a slave for so long, and when so many sought to take her recently found freedom from her. They wanted to exploit her abilities for coin or entertainment, or sell her off to the highest bidder. The Genasi was a rare and fascinating little treasure to those men, not a living, breathing being. She was wealth that didn't fit in a coin purse.

Her head lifted as the wagon came to a stop and golden eyes wandered the surrounding area with scrutiny. She made a face that made her reluctance clear as Alyxander insisted that she follow him inside, but she did so without breaking her silence.

The smell of men was unmistakable as she wandered into the large room, her gaze catching first on the weapons, and then settling with more interest on the books she could see. She wandered toward them, and conveniently closer to the safety of the fire, though she stopped herself as she reached to lift the leather-bound volume from the top of the pile, pulling her hand back to her chest as she turned to him with a frown.

Alyxander may have removed those cuffs from her wrists, but he hadn't technically let her go. She seemed to realise then what he had said.

"Guest? Not prisoner?" her brow quirked..

 

[Alyxander Quellchrist]

"Is that not what I've been saying this entire time?" It was beginning to feel like he was speaking to a brick wall. Quellchrist considered himself a rather understanding man, and he didn sympathize with her worries over men and their desire to turn her in for what he assumed was a hefty bounty, but he wasn't sure how much more he needed to do to express his good faith. At some point, this strange woman was going to have to stop treating him like an enemy.

Alyx pulled the armor off of his chest slowly, setting it aside and rolling his arms to stretch his stiff shoulders, turning his head to look at his visitor as she gravitated towards the fireplace. "I don't make a habit of talking out of my arse, lady. I'm not pulling one over on you." Limbered up a bit, he walks past her, kneeling by the fire and holding his now uncovered hands up to it to warm his palms a tad. It wasn't too cold outside, but the adrenaline of the chase had worn off, and he found himself rather chilled now.

"If you're going to stay here, mmf..." Alyx let out a small grunt as he stood for a moment and removed the iron covering his boots. "May as well give you the rundown. This is the main hall, as you've obviously gathered. This is where we plan, hold meetings, and otherwise lazy about in the short amount of free time we get these days." It seemed he was content to let his comrades tell her that Alyx never really 'lazied about'. Most of them would say they hardly believed he slept. He pointed next to a door in front of an oddly colored stripe on the floor, perhaps where a bar had once been. "We have food and drink stored in there, as well as a small furnace for heating meals. There's actually quite a fine selection. And to the right of that, the stairwell that goes to the lower level, where several of our men sleep and where we keep our spare weapons and armor."

He swiveled, waving her to follow his gaze as he gestured to another stairwell that rested in the corner by the fireplace. "There's an old storage closet over there by the tables, that's another room for one of our men, Jerok. You'll meet at some point I'm sure"