Quest The Return

[Kaska]

Kaska blinked, glancing around before kicking her horse harder without thought. The number of times she had attempted to bait Lia into a race and she had stoically decline was quiet high. The truth was, Kaska liked riding. Greatly. Lia felt being on missions were freeing, but Kaska felt riding through the wind like a leaf whipping about was the ultimate pleasure.

So soon the woman would be left to the dust of the two racing riders, a grin baited to Kaska's face before she even realize he had put it there. It had been too long on foot.

They arrived to the small village with a loud clatter of hooves, the horses huffing large breathes as they trotted themselves into a cool down.

"Ha. Beat you."

 

[Lia]

Lia didn't take the bait.

It wasn't that she didn't like riding, that she didn't like racing, but her mind was still consumed with the darker thoughts that seemed to be plaguing her consciousness. Lips thinned slightly as she glanced around, eyes wandering as they reached the small tavern just outside of Alliria.

She wondered briefly if there would be other Rangers here, though for some reason she doubted it. There were closer Taverns, not to mention better ones.

Her horse trotted into place by the hitching post besides Kaska, the beast stirring slightly as he came to a stop and Lia lithely slid off the side of him. She blinked when Kaska spoke. "I suppose you did."

It was clear something was bothering her.

 

[Addis Vrummal]

Addis laughed a bit as she cut ahead of him, clearly more comfortable in the saddle than he was. He gave it his all but even in three hundred years he still hadn't got over being uncomfortable at a gallop. Didn't mean he didn't have fun with it though.

"That you did...at least this time." He grinned as they came to the post and dismounted. He patted the beast gingerly, the huffing breath turning to a snort as he scratched just below its mane before looking over the tavern.

Eyeing Lia before looking to Kaska and speaking. "I'll have to run the course a bit more to compete with you on horseback, but that was refreshing." The grin he wore a sure sign of future races.

"Let's get inside and find a quiet spot. I would like to know why you aren't a little more pleased with yourself after that." Addis spoke to Lia, his eyes failing to catch whatever feeling was eating her.

He took the door first, stepping in and to the side while holding it for the two behind him to enter with a clear view of who was present.

 

[Kaska]

Kaska glanced back at her, her mood abruptly falling. She gave a heavy sigh and dismounted, the distraction nice while it lasted. The mans prying curiosity were beginning to leave her edgy. As they walked in she fell in beside Lia, giving her a quick look that trailed to Addis, speaking volumes to her sudden mistrust and wariness.

Set up by the commanders? Could be.

She moved past him and pushed into a bench, glancing around with caution that was hard to shake after so long on a mission. "There's nothing really to tell. We're just tired is all." She kicked Lia into agreeing.

 

[Lia]

"The ship helped a lot." She admitted. "But you try running around for three weeks and slaying a Lich along the way."

He hand ran through her hair, pulling some it back behind her ear.

As they stepped into the Tavern her gaze swept around the inside for a moment, her lips thinning as she saw a clump of City Watch gathered at one of the nearby tables. They were loud, raucous, and not something she wanted to deal with tonight. "Let's sit over there."

She pointed to a table at the other side of the room.

It would be quieter.

 

[Addis Vrummal]

Addis nodded to Lia after she had given her answer, the guard ahead of them making him sigh a little as they headed to a quieter spot. "I'll give you that."

It still didn't give him much what with the strange feeling around the compound and the lack of concern from the commanders. Once they had sat down, he carefully tipped his seat back and leaned while keeping his voice low.

"Sorry for prying, I know you are probably exhausted. I'll leave it be for the time since we are here to relax. Well, you two need to relax." Addis shrugged. "Most I've done is run recruits ragged and avoided agitating the commanders more than they are."

 

[Kaska]

Kaska flopped down, releasing her hair from her bun and letting it air dry around her shoulders. "We've been gone for ages-- Attis, is it? How can we know about what frustrates the Commanders when we're leagues away. Best look to Alliria," she dismissed, running fingers through her hair.

"The answers are usually there." She raised her hand for service, eager for some liquor to coat her throat.

He might end up regretting the offer to pay.

 

[Lia]

She shrugged. "Things have been strange lately."

Lia wasn't about to go into specifics of course, Kaska had already kicked her once and she didn't want to suffer another one of those.

"I'm sure you've noticed it." Lia continued. "Politics are talked about more, rumors of the dead rising, villages disappearing."

She frowned for a second. "It's probably just that. Not to mention our numbers are lower than ever."

 

[Addis Vrummal]

Addis almost noticeably cringed when Kaska said his name. The small smile present as he enunciated his name for her. "A-ddis. And Alliria always has problems cropping up. Usually only enough to allow recruits to handle it." Addis waved his hand as he made to continue as Lia cut in.

His hand stopped as she explained. His head tilting a bit in agreement. "That is true, hard to ignore rumors when everyone says the same thing." A small huff as he watched the waitress head their way.

"Been a ranger trainer for almost a hundred years now and this is the smallest I've seen it. It's...uncomfortable." Addis shrugged a little toward the end of his words. "Bleh, but never mind that. Let's get some drinks before the liquor loses its kick."

 

[Kaska]

"Amen to that," Kaska agreed, dismissing it all in favor of the waitress walking forward. She briskly ordered not one but two rounds, apparently very serious about her claim to get a good bit passed washed up tonight.

Lia could judge her all she wanted, but they were done with the mission. Back. And had no other duties. She needed a drink, in a way that was beyond appreciation for it and bordering addiction. She squirmed a touch in her seat, looking around as she did.

"Why are you so fascinated about our mission, anyway?" She asked casually, scratching under her shirt. "How'd you even hear about it?"

 

[Lia]

Lia grabbed a drink from a nearby tray, not particularly caring that she didn't order it in the first place.

It wasn't that she was being rude...just...well it had been so long and despite herself she really was quite stressed about pretty much everything that was going on. The way the Majors reacted to them, the way that the mission had gone...all of it had gotten to her.

She really just wanted a drink.

Her eyes darted between Kaska and Addis for a second as the girl asked her question, Lia pointedly taking up her mug and taking a few small sips as she waited for the elf to answer.

 

[Addis Vrummal]

Addis ordered a round for himself as the attention centered on him. A small smile appeared at the question. "You two ran about and made a right mess behind you before you left, which made me curious in the first place. Not that anyone knew what to make of the archivist and the curator both being upset with you two." His gaze was shifting back and forth to each of them as he spoke.

"Ask the right questions, listen for what isn't said." Addis shrugged as he continued. "The Commanders are tight lipped, but they are just as fallible as the next person."

 

[Kaska]

Kaska blinked hard, glancing up over her drink at Lia.

She knew they were being watched. She just knew it. She placed down her mug, her expression growing a touch more hostile and serious as she sized up the man. "And exactly what do you want to gain, asking us these questions," she asked him bluntly, no more tact to this stupid game of words.

"Who the hell do you report back to?"

She doubted him, she doubted him greatly. Kaska was, after all, highly paranoid and had been from the start. It didn't help that suspicions had been panning out as justified and now even Lia felt it...

 

[Lia]

Her fingers twitched slightly.

What was going on? Lips thinned and slowly she put her cup down on the table. Eyes wandered around the room of the tavern almost as if she expected someone to jump out and stab her in the back. This was...strange to say the least, Addis was...watching them?

No, couldn't be. She had never met the man before today and she would have noticed someone following them. Still, her fingers curled slightly and brushed against her upper thigh. A knife was hidden there, beneath the hem of her pants and lodged within the cloth.

Kaska bit forward a question, her fingers grasped the hilt of the blade.

What was going on? What was happening in the Rangers? She didn't like any of this. Not one bit, and she could feel her heat begin to beat a bit faster.

 

[Addis Vrummal]

His smile turned to a frown as Kaska turned a bit hostile. "Nothing for my own gain. Someone was asking around about what you did before you left, asked me if I had seen or heard anything. Couldn't tell them anything."

Addis hunched forward and kept his hands on the table, his tone taking an annoyed bite towards Kaska. "Also, I don't report to anyone, but you pissed off someone higher up, or someone thinks you are meddling in their plans."

Addis frowned as he leaned back. "Hard to not be curious when someone asks about people that just left. Especially those superior to me."

 

[Kaska]

Kaska's sharp gaze tore to Lia, a smoldering intensity in them as she looked to the woman for help. She felt herself dangerously close to losing her temper, and she wasn't even sure why. Still, she possessed enough clarity in her emotions to turn to Lia, her gaze demanding the woman do something. Fix this. Figure it out.

 

[Lia]

"Who?" It was the one question on her mind.

There were few higher ups in the Rangers who could openly question Addis about something like this, who would dare even make the approach.

Their mission had been a secret, at least she had thought it had been a secret. Somehow it had been spread around like it were just another task. There was something in that...a low sort of whisper that could almost be taken as a way to frame this whole thing in someone elses favor.

Her fingers tightened on the knife. "Who asked you?"

A part of her wasn't even sure if she believed his words.

 

[Addis Vrummal]

"Therin." Addis answered with a huff. He wasn't entirely sure what to expect at this point from either one. It had all seemed so casual when he had asked about them, but something about this had put them both to a hard edge.

He kept his hands on the table, as well as keeping his gaze on them. "Therin was the one that came and asked me."

 

[Kaska]

"Therin?" Kaska echoed. But he had accompanied them on the trip. They had trusted him, Kaska had flirted with him. They had even given him their holy weapon.

Her brows slowly pulled in, confused and feeling strangely betrayed. "Perhaps he doesn't know," she mused cryptically to Lia. "Perhaps he was just told to ask?" Wishful thinking, the woman's crush on him not unknown to others.

 

[Lia]

She frowned slightly.

It didn't really make any sense. The lad wasn't...smart enough to manipulate them, wasn't smart enough to move them around and hide from them like that. Her head shook slightly, though not in response to what Kaska was saying. Her mind was processing this on it's own, spooling through it.

"There's more to this." The words were barely audible.

Lia could believe that the boy asked Addis, could even reason out that it had happened, but the idea that he was some sort of mastermind? No.

Whoever was doing this had used the boy like a tool.

Was using them all in the same way. Her fingers tightened, and finally her hand floated away from the knife on her thigh and settled back on top of the table.

 

[Addis Vrummal]

"That very well may be the case. It didn't seem like Therin was trying to dig for dirt. But he certainly didn't think up the questions on his own." Addis looked to Kaska while he spoke. "It sounded like concern from him, but I was told to keep my nose out of it by the commanders after following his trail of questions."

Addis nodded to Lia. "Seems that way to me. But to what end?"

 

[Kaska]

"One way to find out." Kaska tipped back the content of her drink into her mouth, finishing it off in a go. She glanced at Lia, the gleam in her eyes making it clear exactly which old tactic of hers she'd be resorting to tonight. She waved for another round of drinks, growing a touch withdrawn from the group.

 

[Lia]

Briefly she wondered what Addis was in all of this.

His role.

Her hand was back on the table, meaning she no longer believed he would try to attack them, but it all seemed rather...odd. She frowned for a brief moment as Kaska indulged herself in drink, withdrawing from the two of them. She leaned forward, taking the opportunity to speak. "Addis."

Lia began.

"What is..." She paused, was she really going to be direct about it? No point in beating around the bush she supposed. "What is all of this to you?"

They wouldn't get anywhere if they never trusted anyone.

 

[Addis Vrummal]

He shook his head a little as Kaska tipped her drink back, a small smile appearing before Lia had his full attention. It only took him a moment of thought before he replied.

"Trouble is what it seems like to me. You two are some of the best senior rangers we have and it feels like a target is painted on you." Addis spoke bluntly, taking a quick drink before continuing.

"That being the case, my concern is what is happening to the rangers, and what is going to happen to you two." He finished with another quick sip, glancing around the tavern while he did so.

 

[Kaska]

"I'm not a senior ranger," Kaska inserted, taking the new drink as it was brought over. She pursed her lips, frowning despite herself. Well, she had just been promoted. But unlike Lia, she hadn't wanted it.

She took another long draft of her mug, then pulled it back and frowned at it. "I need something stronger," she huffed at no one, standing up and taking it right to the bar without another word.

She left them there, acting as if he hadn't just expressed concern for their very lives as she flirted with the barkeep for a bit of whisky instead.