• PM To Join • Elementary, my dear Saeri

[Sintih]

Cylus, 4th, 717th Arc
Andaris Barracks, Andaris

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ith the recent influx of problems in Andaris city, the Iron Hand, specifically the Moseke Knights were dispatched to assist the guard and take on some of the more mundane, day-to-day tasks of the guard. While this meant an interesting variety of tasks for the actual knights, for the squires it meant little more than dull patrols and responding to citizens in need. More often than not these 'needs' ended up being not more than someone inflated ego being bruised by someone else's inflated ego. The amount of useless, time wasting disputes Sin had mediated in the past few trials was astonishing. It became crystal clear to the Eídisi looking Yludih squire why the guards were in place in a city with so many knights around.

But it wasn't the fault of these bloated egomaniacs that lived in higher midtown. No, in the end the fault lay entirely with these Rynmere citizens alliance people. They'd popped up seemingly out of nowhere, claiming the nobles were to blame for everything and that they were by all accounts useless. While Sin agreed with everything the alliance stood for, he wasn't stupid enough to openly stand with such a doomed faction. It was obvious to anyone who could see, at least Sin thought it was. If only they had found him before going around, yelling about everything that was wrong with the place, maybe they'd stood a chance. The way things were looking now, this alliance would disappear with the Cylus snow.

Speaking of snow, Sin pulled his foot out of it as he followed the small column of knights he'd been assigned to for the patrol. Not only was he on duty during the freezing cold this season, he was also running overtime. Despite being clad in a full outfit of wool winter clothes underneath his leather armor and standard issue squire tabard, covered by a thick cloak he'd been wearing for several seasons now, Sin could feel his face, hands and feet protesting against their prolonged exposure to the cold. Unlike normal people, even Vhalar was a crystal chilling season for the Yludih so the absolute cold of Cylus was a horrible nightmare for him.

He hadn't even properly set foot back in the barracks, hoping to catch some sleep near a fire when his name was called from the door. "Squire Rathaan, report in." The snow on his cloak hadn't even had time to melt as he put it back on and walked back out, grumbling quietly to himself. "Squire Rathaan, reporting for duty, Sir." Sin saluted the man behind the desk in the little office, taking note of his steward rank depicted on his chest. From the looks of the man, Sin was quite sure he preferred to wield the pen rather than the sword, or whichever weapon the man favored. "One of our more prominent citizens has put forth claims that the citizens alliance ransacked his home and nearly beat him and his servant to death. You're going to investigate his claim and make sure they're not without reason. We've got someone coming to accompany you." Sin listened, hands tucked behind his back, resting on the short sword he carried there.

A job like this could go either one of two ways, especially with the recent chaos in Andaris. Either the claim they were about to investigate was true and Sin and his partner would have to figure things out from there or, like many others before him, this 'prominent' citizen was trying to get the city to pay for certain things in his house that had been broken since well before the alliance had become a thing. There were always people trying to make money off the problems of others. While it wouldn't be the first time Sin went to investigate such a claim, it was the first time doing it with just two people. It seemed even the Hand was getting stretched thin across Andaris.

"You Eídisi are so clever, I'm sure between the two of you, you'll be able to figure things out for yourself." Between the two of them? He was being paired up with only one other person for this? And another Eídisi from the sound of it. While he really didn't want to go back out to work, he had to admit that he was a little excited to meet another Eídisi in the Iron Hand. So far, meeting them was a greet success, had he not managed to muck it up right at the end with his big mouth. Sin pulled himself from his thoughts as the man spoke up again. "There you are, come in, squire. Meet your temporary partner." Sin watched as the steward waved someone in. Curious, Sin turned his body so his side pointed towards the door and came face to face with a very familiar person.

[Yanahalqah]

Yana had never been too fond of Cylus. It might have been the darkness, the absence of the suns’ rays and light in general. Because of the dark the season was colder than it really should be, with no light to warm the body, no heat coming from the sky. It also brought with it too much snow, and ice, and slippery spots on the streets. And when the snow finally melted, there was a dirty sludge left, which was maybe even worse than the white blanket had been.

The Yludih had been glad she did not have to go patrolling today, instead, she and her peers had been subjected to drills all trial long. The drillmaster, always the sympathetic slave driver, was convinced that a good old session of boring exercises and training would warm up any and all, no matter whether it was freezing and ankle deep in the snow or not. In Saun he claimed the opposite; working up a sweat helped one to cool off. In any case, this season he was right, and despite the cold all squires had literally started steaming halfway through the first two sessions, much to the instructor’s glee.

As soon as they were done with the training for the trial though, the cold’s bite became worse, and any exhaustion was quickly washed away by cluttering teeth and trembling muscles. Yana went to wash off the sweat before she’d go get her dinner at the canteen, as was custom. Manners were also important, and no-one liked to eat in the stink of a whole group of sweaty squires. No-one got served if they did not wash first after practice or patrols. It was a fair rule… but now she was not really a fan of it. The barrels which held the water used for washing stood outside, and had a layer of ice covering them. On that ice lay snow. Yana was sure that that water was going to be really, really cold. Nevertheless, if she wanted to eat, she had to follow the rules, and following the rules she did.

When she was about halfway through her meal –which was nothing fancy, as per usual—someone called for her. She merely raised a hand, and the man approached.
“Squire LaChasse?”
“Affirmative,” she responded, staring sideways at the Knight beside her. “Sir.”
“My apologies for interrupting your dinner,” the man spoke, “but Steward Nomel has called for you.”
“For me specifically?” she asked, wondering what she’d done to gain the attention of a Steward she’d never heard of.
“Yes,” he said after a pause, “since the situation with the Citizen Alliance our forces have been stretched thin across Rynmere. You are one of the few Eídisi in our ranks, so…”
“You have to make do with what you have, right?” she continued, cynically. “Fair enough. When is Steward Nomel expecting me?”
“Right now, actually,” the Knight spoke, “but I’m sure he won’t mind if you finish your meal. Please do hurry though, I will brief you in the meantime.”

After her meal and quickly changing back into the squire uniform, Yana walked with a brisk pace towards the small room she’d been summoned to. The Knight had explained the situation in full to her, but it seemed to steward wanted to treat it as an official thing, probably because one of the more wealthy people in the city had been made a victim. It was never really a good idea to get on the bad side of someone with a lot of cash and connections.

She rapped her knuckles on the wood of the door quickly, and entered the room as soon as she heard a voice from inside.
“Pardon my tardiness, sir. Squire LaChasse, reporting for duty,” Yana spoke upon entry, saluting her superior.

It was something of a surprise to find Rathaan in the office as her partner for the investigation. Not an unpleasant surprise either. Rathaan was intelligent and held many of the same interests as she did. If anything they would be able to work together pretty well. Hopefully. She nodded to him in greeting as she took her place next to him, in front of the steward's desk.

[Sintih]

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here was a moment of surprise as Sin just stared at Saeri. She looked well, which was good. Sin let his eyes glance over her, taking in her clean squire outfit, her clean boots and most of all the fact that she seemed gracefully present, unlike him. He became painfully aware of his own appearance as he looked at her. Sludged boots tracking a trail into the office from the outside, half melted snow dripping from his cloak onto the ground of the office, a red nose and flushed cheeks from the cold as his asterism tried to send more light towards his face and other extremities in order to keep them from freezing off. All in all, disheveled and unpresentable was how Sin felt standing in the small office with Saeri.

The moment broke when she nodded at him and Sin remembered where he was. He quickly nodded back and turned back to face the steward as Saeri stood next to him. She even smelled nice compared to him. The steward, who still hadn't given his name to Sin, slid a report across his desk to the two apparent Eídisi standing before him. "Three trials ago, Sir Bandun was assaulted in his own home. both him and his servant were severely beaten. He claims that it was the citizen's alliance. You are to go to the Bandun residence and investigate this claim. As you are well aware, there have been plenty of such claims the past few trials but we can't have out more prominent citizens feeling unsafe in their own homes. Find whoever did this and bring them back here for questioning. I would have assigned you a knight but they're all busy guarding the nobles and protecting the citizens of Andaris."

Sin saluted quickly when it became clear that the explanation was done. The report would contain any practical information they needed for the assignment. Sin picked it up from the desk and waited for Saeri to walk out first. He closed the office door behind him when he stepped out as well. What was he supposed to tell her now? It had been a long time since they'd last seen each other and with the recent events in town, he'd been too busy after returning from his campaign to find her. While he was keen on seeing her again, he was sure that his behavior in their last get together had made sure that she wouldn't want to see him again. Would she let that get in the way of their work today?

"Saeri..." Her name was all he could manage before falling still for a trill. "It's been a while. How have you been?" When in doubt, fall back on the pleasantries. A good way to gauge the most obvious feelings of another. If she was intending on disliking him the entire time they were working together, she'd show it right here and now, most likely. He hoped she wouldn't, though. He waited a moment to try and see if she wanted to reply before continuing. "Are you ready to head out or did you need to prepare first?" With the report under his arm, Sin looked down the hallway towards the entry he'd come in from. The sludgy boot prints walking in from the outside were quite obviously his.

Not really knowing where to start this off, Sin pulled the report from under his arm and read it over quickly, skimming the boring bits and focusing on the important ones, like the address of this Bandun guy. Like most "prominent" citizens, the Bandun's had their residence in midtown, close to the Crown. Hadn't it occurred to them that maybe the alliance was simply raiding big houses close to the Crown? If you just moved to your holiday home closer to lowtown, nobody would bother you. After all, it was easy to spot wealth in a building if it had a garden attached to it larger than the homes most people owned. "It'll be a bit of a walk to get there and it's quite snowy outside." Sin rolled his shoulders and a small, half ice, half snow piece fell from his cloak to attest to his words.

Once Saeri was ready to go, Sin headed out, back into the cold. He lasted for about a trill before he had to pull the hood of his his cloak up and pull it tightly around him. Cylus sucked. Snow was still coming down and, most likely, wouldn't stop until the season was over either. "What have you been up to since we last met? It has been a while." Hadn't he already said that before? Sin couldn't even remember. His mind kept going over that one stupid moment a season ago where he messed up a nice afternoon with her with his big mouth. Despite his Eídisi training in Uleuda and his mother's Eídisi upbringing, Sin still felt like he'd given himself away then, in a most un-Eídisi like manner.

[Yanahalqah]

When the contrasting Eídisi had taken their respective spots in front of the desk, the Steward began briefing them both on the situation one more time, adding more detail that Yana had not heard from the knight before. It sounded fairly straightforward. Investigate to make sure the Hand and state did not lose support from the lesser, though still noble Bandun family. Money and influence were important to the state after all, the people who provided both… not so much. But still, they had to be appeased so they did not start another rebellion.

Yana saluted briefly when Nomel was done with his briefing before walking out the door and waiting for Rathaan to join her outside. He did within trills, but there was some sort of tension in the air. Yana could feel it, she could see it in his body language. Surely she was no different. Though they had met in the Blacksmith’s Arms last time, Yana had been on duty and had been actively arresting people. There really hadn’t been time for a decent conversation, or to pay a lot of attention to each other, or to dwell on the past meeting. Now though… Now she was not sure what to say. What to make of this situation or the last one. It was awkward, uncomfortable. Much like the end of their date in Ye Olde Inn. A stark contrast to how they had gotten along, to how they had talked at the start of it.

She shifted her gaze to her companion, glad to see that at least one of them had the guts to try and do something about the silence.
“It has been a while,” she agreed, running a hand through her hair. “Good, I suppose. Quite busy. Between patrols, training, and arresting people I have had little time to myself, really.” She let out a sigh. “And any free time I had has been spent on more training.” A grimace. “Apparently, my skill with both sword and bow is inadequate for promotion.” There was some irritation that slipped into her voice, and even her brow crinkled slightly as she spoke. It was beyond frustrating to be left behind by just about everyone else who joined the Hand, even though she was more than qualified for ranks beyond Steward. She glanced at Rathaan, having to turn her head entirely as the male Eídisi stood in her blind spot. “It is not something I cannot overcome though. You?”

The false Eídisi checked her gear briefly, making sure she had her sword at her hip, the dagger right next to it. Maybe she’d need to get her cloak though, it was quite cold, judging from how Rathaan looked. Wet, snowy, and with a flush on his face from swapping freezing temperatures for more agreeable ones. The puddles of sludge that had obviously come from his boots were a dead giveaway too. “I would like to get some things from my room,” he informed him, thinking that if they needed to pursue and arrest the possible culprits, she’d need more than just a sword and dagger. Her shield would be welcome. As would her bow. She waited for Rathaan to finish reading the report, before she lead the both of them to her room in the barracks, not really afraid to lead him there. Nor to allow him to come in if he wanted; it was really clean and organized. If he did come in while she gathered her cloak, shield, bow and quiver, she would put down a mopping rag so he could get rid of the sludge on his boots before he dirtied the floor.

Either way, it did not take too long for her to find her stuff, as everything had its own spot in her room. With her bow slung over her back, her quiver at her hip, and the Alder Wood shield strapped to her arm, she left her room once again, shrugging lightly. “I like to be prepared,” she said, with which she felt she was actually saying “I’m really, really paranoid.” … Still, there was no harm in preparing for the worst, even if it was no necessary. Besides, if she looked intimidating now, maybe the culprits would turn themselves in without a fight when they found them.

Rathaan repeated himself, earning him a raised eyebrow from Yana as they made their way through the streets of Andaris. For a moment she thought she was onto something, that she had gained an insight in Rathaan. It was a sudden flash, something that came out of nowhere. Perhaps she'd made a connection between his choice of words and the change in his face and body. Perhaps she simply decided she had enough of this hesitance, of each of them gingerly circling each other as if they were startled deer. She wanted to confirm his thoughts on the matter, while giving her own away at the same time. “Does it haunt you too?” she asked, surprised with her own directness. Why had she asked? Who knows. Maybe because she felt some sort of connection with this particular person, because she hated this current state of awkwardness around each other, especially after having tasted how things could be. Should be.

[Sintih]

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espite how their first official encounter ended, Saeri was friendly enough to answer his question. It was a basic answer, much like his question had been a basic one. Many words used, very little information shared. She'd been busy, which was good, less time to think of the stupid things he'd said back then. There was a hint of irritation in her voice but Sin wasn't sure if it was directed at him or if it was towards her inability to advance in rank. He completely understood how she felt. If there was ever anyone alive who would, it would be him. Sin quietly nodded to himself, agreeing with her irritation. He stopped when he saw her turn her head to face him. Was it just him or did she turn her head more than was necessary? Sin wondered if maybe she wanted to make sure he could see her clearly when she spoke to him. Her words set him at ease.

"Much the same, I'm afraid. Studying, training and work. And one night off that turned into work in the end." He tried to make it sound off hand, as if it wasn't anything major but it had been the one and only time Sin and Saeri had spent time together doing something after the disaster that was their first get together. It hadn't been a date, that was for sure. "I've been focusing my studies on owls. Genush hasn't been feeling well." Sin realized that Saeri would have no idea who Genush was and quickly added the explanation. "He's my pet owl." If she was paying attention, Saeri might think that Sin's pet owl was named after a variant of the Yludih word for loyalty, Genuh. That or whatever else it meant in one of the fifty or so other languages that existed in Idalos.

Sin walked with Saeri to her room after she told him that she wanted to get a few items before leaving. The fact that she had been walking around without a cloak hadn't escaped his notice. He remained outside her assigned room, letting her gather her things in peace. While it was a simple barracks room like all the others, Sin still felt like he hadn't earned entry into it yet. There was also the problem of the molten snow dripping from every piece of clothing he was wearing and the mud he was tracking through the hallways. While most of it had been left behind already, his boots were still a mess. The sound of rummaging came from inside as Saeri gathered her things and Sin couldn't help the surprised widening of his eyes when she came back out. She must have noticed him looking as she shrugged and defended herself. Despite the tension between them, Sin couldn't help a small chuckle. "I'm pretty sure lord Bandun only has a few servants at his disposal, not an army." But even as he spoke the words, Sin realized that even he felt intimidated by her choice of arsenal.

If he already felt a little like that than how was the actual enemy supposed to feel. Sin felt very undergeared with his simple shortsword on the back of his belt, ready to be drawn in battle. Only a few bits later they were walking outside in the cold Cylus weather. Side by side, hoods up, cloaks pulled around them to prevent the cold from getting in. Rolled up, the report was tucked in his belt, next to his sword, safe from snow and wind. It was here that he asked the thoughtless repeat of his earlier question. While it was worded differently, it definitely was the same question. When she didn't respond, Sin pulled his hood aside somewhat so he could see the cloaked figure next to him. Her response surprised him. Did what haunt him? Was she even talking to him? "What do you mean? Is everything alright?" It took him only half a trill to understand exactly what she was talking about when Saeri responded to his question. What else would haunt them?

It was a stupid mistake. Just a simple, stupid one. Father, why would you do this to me? Putting those thoughts in her head. Is this fun for you, causing such chaos in my life? Of course it didn't haunt him. Right? He was fine with it. He'd messed up, sure, but he had made his peace with it. Nothing he could do about it now. Besides, it wasn't like there was anything possible between the two of them anyway. She could never be with him, not the real him. She'd only ever see the Eídisi illusion that surrounded him, only ever like or even love the shell he hid in. No, nope, nuh-uh, no. He wasn't haunted. Then why couldn't he bring that into the world? why wouldn't his illusory lips form the simple movements needed to say no? Why wouldn't his crystals vibrate to emulate the sound needed to respond to her question.

He hesitated. Hesitated for what felt like several bits but was only a few paces of time. He couldn't say no, couldn't bring up the will to lie to her. Yet, he couldn't tell her the truth either. He was... he was afraid? Afraid to open up and tell the truth? Sin suddenly stopped walking, planting his feet in the fresh snow. Why is this so hard? If I tell her, what will she think of me? But she asked first. She said 'too'. Was it so bad that it haunts her even now? Is it even worse than I imagined? Why would she be so affected by some stupid words from me? The thoughts flooded his mind and he felt more and more the need to retreat. Sin clenched his fists, forcing himself not to run away, neither physically or mentally. If she was brave enough to ask the question like that then he should answer in kind, shouldn't he. It was the least he owed her. The illusionary Eídisi form took a deep breath in through the nose before the shoulders dropped visibly, defeated. His response was as direct as her question had been.

"Yes."

[Yanahalqah]

It seemed her question had been too vague, which was only natural. Rathaan could not read her mind after all. She’d forgotten that no-one except her could hear her thoughts, that the better part of the images and the reasoning of her inner voice had been private. As a result, the Eídisi next to her was only confused by what she asked of him. She shook her head slightly, once again turning her head so she could actually see him.

“The end of our last…” she hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to call it. “…when we went for drinks at Ye Olde Inn. Does it haunt you too?”

Hopefully that would clarify things so she did not have to repeat herself a second time. It had already been uncomfortable enough to be that honest and open with her fellow squire. It was difficult, and she felt exposed while doing so. She’d rather not have to do it again. Fortunately, the message made it to her companion, and he gave her question serious thought, or so it seemed. He retreated into his mind, possibly looking for an answer that would satisfy her. In the meantime, Yana led the both of them towards the Crown, guarding the silence. This was not the time for chatter, Rathaan needed to think, and Yana wasn’t sure what she would have to say anyway. She wasn’t even sure what she would do when she received his answer. The chance of it being ‘no’ was but small, there was no way he would have noticed the awkwardness that had started to surround them ever since she’d ruined their meeting, and not find it to be… well, awkward. Different from what they had had before, whatever that was supposed to mean.

Rathaan stopped in his tracks, boots planted firm in the snow. Yana stopped too, a little belatedly as she couldn’t see him walking beside her anyway. It was when only her boots could be heard crunching the snow that she did hold halt and turned around, seeing the other squire standing a meter or so away from her, looking very much deflated.

“Yes.”

It was but a simple word. A small, three letter word made up out of one syllable. But it hit her like a battering ram nonetheless. She wasn’t sure why. She had expected this, hadn’t she? Then why did she feel like she’d just been told she was the most reviled and disgusting creature that walked this world? Why did it hurt her? Why did it wrench her gut? What was this feeling of helplessness? Yes was good, wasn’t it? Wasn’t it better than no?

“I- I am sorry,” she tried, not even giving her words any thought. They just flowed out from inside her, her composure cracked. It was not broken entirely, it wasn’t shattered. It was merely cracked, allowing for a peek at what was hidden underneath the usual calm stoicism. “I am sorry for ruining things.” She sighed deeply, staring at the dirty white of the trampled snow, not meeting Rathaan’s gaze. “I- I am not very good with words. I said some stupid things last time… Things I did not think about… Things that ruined our time together and made everything all awkward and uncomfortable.” No matter how she looked at it, it seemed so very out of character for her to say all of this. Why did she even care? What did Rathaan matter to her anyway? What did any fleshling matter to her?

Yana felt as if she had gotten completely and utterly lost in her own self. She had thought herself incapable of these feelings in this world. She had though her mind strong, the walls around her firm and unbreachable. Impenetrable. Not brittle and on the verge of collapse. Who was she? Who was she really?

Long ago, she’d found out her life had been a lie, the blissful days of ignorance over. Her name, her race, her life; all had been false. She’d been unable to deal with that for a while… but she had, she thought. She had accepted her race, her real name. Her crystal body. She had discarded all attachment to Idalos and its denizens. She had stopped caring about all of it. Finding yourself, that was what was important. Uleuda, the Ancients, the Nulliem, the crystal forest, the mother crystal… those were real.

Now she felt as if she’d not accepted anything. As if she had not manage to deal with anything at all. As if she had just cropped everything up inside her, within the walls. As if she had been running away. As per usual.

Maybe she did care. Maybe she did long to be something else than Yludih. Maybe she did not want to live in Uleuda forever. Maybe she did want bonds with the people of Idalos. Maybe she did want something more out of life than surviving. Maybe she had not convinced herself as well as she thought she had. Too much conjecture. Too little certainty. Who was she? Was this a repeat of her youth?

“We should get moving,” she said, her words sounding hollow. “We have a job to do.”

[Sintih]

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is defeated form didn't perk up as he admitted to her just how affected he'd been by their first unofficial get together. But he felt like he needed to defend himself, apologize, say something more. Just yes was not enough, was it. Yes what? Yes who? Where? Why? He had to say more than that. Before he realized it, words were coming out in his defense at the same time as Saeri started speaking herself. Their speech mixed into a jumble of difficult to distinguish words. "I apologize for that. It wasn't my intention to upset you." Sin stopped when he realized they were talking over each other. Saeri sighed deeply and there was a moment of silence.

Would she end it now? Was anything except professional encounters strictly off? Was this the end of their... whatever they had? Sin didn't dare to look at her, not capable of seeing the anger or, even worse, the disappointment on her face. It was quite a sight, really. Even funny if you could see the truth of it. But nobody except for maybe Yvithia and Aelig could truly see the joke behind two Eídisi standing in front of each other, each one staring at the snow below them while wishing they could get more out of a connection they thought couldn't get better because they were both hiding the same secret. How much easier would things be if the Yludih weren't such a secretive and deceptive race and they could just come out and claim their race with pride. If history hadn't forced them to become as such perhaps two Yludih would have been much happier a long time ago.

Saeri continued to talk and Sin couldn't help but look up in surprise. What was she talking about? What stupid things? Sin just looked at her. In surprise at first but as he started to put meaning to her words his face turned to shock. He'd made it so bad that she thought it was her fault things had messed up last time they'd gone out? Sin couldn't believe what he was hearing. How had she come to that idea? Why would she even think something like that? She was... was... perfect, actually, now that he thought about it. Well, the parts he knew about her so far were. So many things clicked between them, as if Aelig had tricked Yvithia into making her just for him. If Sin believed in anything like destiny or faith, then this was definitely the sign he needed.

But she was wrong about it being her fault. It was all his doing, his mistake, his words, that caused a perfectly good connection to almost sever completely. He had to tell her that she was wrong, absolutely, totally wrong. When she fell silent, he prepared to tell her, gathered his courage and... nothing. What would he say? You're wrong, it was my fault? That wouldn't come across very well, would it? Give her his speech, completely mimicking her own feelings? That would seem as if he was just messing with her, wouldn't it? If he'd had a tongue, that's where all of his words would be right now, right on the tip of it. But he didn't have a tongue so his words were just stuck in his mind as he looked at her. The moment of inability ended as Saeri spoke up.

"We do. Let's focus on that first." Now he could speak?! You're doing this on purpose now, aren't you, father. Would it really be so bad if one of your children followed his asterism for once, leaving the coop? Would it be such a loss Uleuda if one of your children put his own wants before those of Uleuda? Perhaps focusing on something else would allow him to work up the courage he needed to tell her his side of the story, so he could fix this mix up and... and what? Sin shook his head, refusing to go back to that train of thought. "The house isn't too far from here, we should be there in a few bits." Sin didn't say much after that, only responding to question Saeri brought up, if any.

When they reached the house, Sin's initial thoughts on the owner were only cemented more. It was a big house, with a door the Iron Hand could march through without touching it. The small front yard had an iron gate in front of it which was hanging open. One side had been unhinged and had fallen into the snow behind it. Any footsteps in the snow were useless as the owner of the house had the snow shoveled, before or after the event Sin couldn't tell. The gate, however, put some credibility to the story. Sin walked over the gate and to the front door, where he smacked the eagle shaped handle against the metal plate, announcing their arrival to whoever was inside. It only took a few trills before the door was opened and a human in his mid fifties or so greeted them.

"Greetings. Is ser Bandun home? We're here on because he reported an assault on his home." Sometimes it disturbed Sin how he could slip into his professional squire persona so easily when the situation called for it. Somewhere in the back of his mind, the whole Saeri thing kept making noise but nothing about his face or demeanor would betray to a casual onlooker.

[Yanahalqah]

There was disappointment within her. She could feel it clearly, bubbling up and filling her head and mind and asterism. It made her feel heavy, as if she was bearing the weight of the world on her shoulders now. Yana did not understand. Had she not gotten it off of her chest? But she had apologized, hadn’t she? She had admitted to being at fault. She had said what she had wanted to say. But why was she feeling so… why was she feeling like she had completely and utterly failed? Why did it pain her to keep a straight face, pretend nothing had happened? Why did it felt so crushing to be professional and focus on the job at hand? Why did it feel like something in her chest was being roughly squeezed, choked, and smothered?

Just what was this?

Worse yet, why did it feel like a slap in the face when Rathaan agreed with her? When he too decided to act like a professional, to shove this whole… situation aside for now? Had she not proposed this? Had she not believed it was better to get their work out of the way first? The Yludih felt like screaming, an infernal roar tearing through her mind, frustration and lack of understanding making her want to smash her head into a wall. And yet, all of it was neatly contained internally, isolated from Idalos, confined to her mind only. She appeared as stoic as ever, the pure white of her eyes helping to mask the confusion she felt.

What was it she wanted? What was it she wanted from Rathaan? From herself? This sense of failure, this ache, what was the root of it? What caused it? An ailment of the mind? An affliction corroding the firm walls of the palace inside her head? Impossible. Her mind was not as weak as to fail her. It couldn’t be addled that easily. Not on her age.

Then what was it? A matter of the heart? Ridiculous. She had locked herself away from such things. They could assault the walls as much as they wanted, they could not be breached. She could not care less about Idalos or what happened on it. She did not care about its denizens, not a single one of them. Uleuda was the only place for a Yludih to live. Idalos was temporary. False. Vicious. She could only care about Yludih. Only there. Not here, not in this realm.

She felt as if she was lying to herself. Yana denied it, trying to convince herself she was not. Her body did not listen, nor did the emotions triggered. All she could do was cover hear ears and deny everything, still knowing the truth of the matter. What else could she do though? Up was down, left was right. Inside was out. Walls were crumbling down, the Queen on her throne refused to see things for what they were. Nothing could breach the walls. No-one, nothing, and certainly no sea of emotions. Even when they flooded the palace, drowning her she refused to believe.

What is it you want? her mind mocked in desperation. Have him disagree with you? Tell you nothing is ruined? Hold you and reassure you?

Of course not, she sneered. That’s not what I want. That’s ridiculous. I would never- and surely he doesn’t even feel that way about me...

Rathaan smashing the door knocker pulled her out of her reverie, making the world snap back into focus. They had arrived already, she’d been quiet the whole time, marching on like an automaton. Probably showing as much emotion as one too. But that was fine. That was good. Probably. No, definitely. It was perfect! It had always been, so now it was too, right? Right?

A man in a servant’s uniform opened the door, greeting the both of them politely. Yana paid him little attention, letting Rathaan do the talking while she did her best to keep her mind from drifting too far off. It worked for the most part, though she could not stop herself from slipping away just a bit.

“Ah, good evening, Sir. Miss. Lord Bandun has been expecting you, please do come in.” The butler stepped aside, leaving ample room for the two squires to enter the mansion. “Please do wipe your boots on the doormat,” he requested, making a minimal gesture to the item. “The manor might be a bit of a mess, but Lord Bandun would rather not have you tracking mud and snow everywhere. His hasn’t been the best of moods the past few days, and my colleagues and I would prefer not have it become worse.” He waited patiently for the two to make sure their boots were clean, and before they were done another servant appeared next to him, asking to take the squires’ cloaks. The woman in the maid outfit would have been unremarkable, if not for the large bruise on her face. It looked swollen, and the part near her eye was black. As soon as she received the cloaks from the both of them, the maid disappeared into a nearby door which Yana suspected lead to a cloakroom.

“Now, please follow me if you would,” the butler continued, “Lord Bandun has retreated to his study for the evening. After speaking with him you will have ample opportunity to investigate and speak to the staff. We dared not to touch anything, lest we hinder you in doing your jobs.” He gave a tiny smile at that, his graying moustache pulled up along with his lips. Then he was off, guiding the two through a couple hallways and up a flight of stairs, stopping at one of the many ornate doors within a hallway with soft carpet on the floor and paintings on the walls.

“Here we are,” he announced, holding his hand ready to knock, but refraining to do so as of yet. “Before you enter, I would like to inform you again of Lord Bandun’s mood. It hasn’t been great the last few trials, in part because a whole section of his house was ransacked, he and some members of the staff were attacked, he hasn’t been able to sleep well because of it, and it has taken three whole trials before the Hand decided to send some people to look into it.” He raised one hand defensively, as if to prematurely calm the two squires down. “Now don’t get me wrong, I do not mean to place the blame with you. I only want you to know that Lord Bandun is quite irritable at the moment, and might express some inappropriate opinions and say things he does not mean.” He gave them a meaningful look, to which Yana responded with a nod.

“Good.” The man rapped his knuckles on the door three times fast, opened the door when he heard a response from inside. He entered quickly, closing the door behind him right after giving the two squires a signal to stay outside for a moment longer.

“Milord,” the squires could hear from behind the door, the words a bit muffled. “two squires of the Iron Hand are here to see you.”
“Finally,” came the reply harder to hear than the butler’s words, “it was about time. Squires you say?”
“Indeed Milord.”
A disgruntled snort. “Couldn’t be bothered to send actual knights, could they? Tsk. Send them in.”
“Yes Milord.”

The door swung open again, the butler stepping aside like he had at the front door, allowing the squires to enter.
“Shall I provide tea and biscuits, Milord?”
“That won’t be necessary, Maxwell.”
The butler bowed at that, stepping out of the room and closing the door behind him, leaving the two false Eídisi alone with his master.

[Sintih]

[img]/gallery/image ... ge_id=6091[/img]

he butler that greeted them wasn't too surprised by their appearance which either meant they'd been expecting them for some reason or he didn't really care much either way. They were asked to wipe their boots before entering, something Sin could get behind considering the season. The door was quickly closed behind them to keep the cold out. He didn't fail to notice the large bruise on the maid as she took their cloaks. So the good lord was taking his frustrations out on his staff. Great, just great. Sin gave a quick glance to Saeri before following the butler further in.

Why did people even need this much space? The hallway they'd entered was bigger than his place and it lead to stairs leading to a second floor with several doors leading to other rooms along the way. How much space did one man need? They stopped at a door and the butler turned to speak to them. Sin listened and nodded, understanding the situation. The noble wasn't at his best because of the recent events and the fact that nobody had come to pat him on the head and help him. At least the butler went about it in a diplomatic fashion. The butler stepped in and they waited outside. "I wonder how big this place is if we haven't seen any of the damage yet after walking through and past all those rooms..."

The door opened again a few bits later and the butler invited them in to see his master. The tea and biscuits were promptly denied as Sin walked in first. The two Eídisi came face to face with Lord Bandun as they stepped in. The man did look like he had been going through a rough patch recently. He had rings under his eyes to show his lack of sleep and he seemed unshaven. All in all, his look only managed to strengthen his weaselly appearance. A glass of something stood on the small table next to his large chair. "So you're finally here to find the people responsible for the attack on my house. That damned alliance, how dare they attack me like this."

"Lord Bandun, could you tell us exactly what happened here?" Sin spoke up, not wanting to listen to the man ramble on about all the problems he had because he was an idiot. The look Sin got for his interruption told him exactly what sort of a man he was working with here. "I guess you're already late so we should get right to it. It was dark, sometime in the afternoon I think, when they attacked. I don't know how many there were but they came in through the garden and the back door, into the kitchen. The screams of my maids brought it to my attention so I went to look what was going on. By the time I got there, the kitchen was a mess already and the men came straight for me. They had knives or weapons or something. I tried to fight them off but they were surrounding me so I headed upstairs to defend myself from a better position. When they saw me there, they tried to come up but I managed to fend them off. When they saw they couldn't get past me they focused their anger on my belongings and ravaged some of the downstairs rooms. Some of my staff were attacked as well."

Sin made mental and written notes of what was being said, keeping them stored for later to put in his report. He couldn't really link the man he saw in front of him with a brave protector of his own home but he'd been wrong about people before. Sin waited to see if Saeri had any questions any wrote them down as well, together with the lord's answers. When she seemed finished, Sin spoke up again. "Could we see the kitchen where the men entered? And if you could show us how things went from there so we can get a good image of the events?" Sin finished some scribbles as he waited for lord Bandun to get up. It seemed that the contents of his glass were alcoholic in nature.

Bandun managed to get on his feet and picked up a silver bell from next to his glass, ringing it. It barely took a trill for Maxwell, the butler, to enter again. Had he been listening in on the conversation? "Maxwell, grab the keys for -the- rooms. These squires would like to have a look at the horrible event that happened here." The butler disappeared again, leaving the door open as Bandun followed him out. "Come with me." Sin closed his notes and followed the lord out of the room. They headed back down the stairs and deeper into the house until they got to a door that Maxwell was busy opening.

Inside Saeri and Sin were met with a ransacked kitchen. Jars and glass lay broken on the floor, several liquids and powders were tossed all over as well. There was a noticeable lack of other food, though. Most likely the attackers had taken it for themselves on the way out. That's how looting usually worked. "They entered from here then?" Sin walked through the kitchen to the door leading outside. The garden was on the other end although it was simply black and white this season. "Yes, yes they did." Lord Bandun nodded as he replied. Sin started sketching the room, a rough outline of it. "Could you take us through your actions from that night again?"

Lord Bandun, having sobered up a little now that things were actually getting done, started with his story once again as he stepped out the room, pointing towards the stairs where he'd come from. He retold the story exactly like before, making himself sound like quite the hero as he stepped into the kitchen to look at the problem that night. He retreated when he couldn't handle the looters and walked towards the stairs, Sin following him as he sketched the path the man followed. His stairwell defense sounded as skilled as before as he fended off the looters. It sounded odd to Sin that the man would defend his stairwell against looters but not drive them off all together if he was able to dispatch them so easily.

He finished scribbling in his notes and looked to Saeri, once again giving her time to ask her own questions. When she was done he looked to Maxwell and then to lord Bandun again. "Would it be possible for us to talk to the members of your staff that were present here that day? It would help us to create a complete picture of the attack." Sin couldn't tell whether the man was thinking, trying to recall who was here, or if he was hesitating but lord Bandun took a moment before replying. "Yes, of course. Maxwell can help you with that and anything else you might need. I'll be back in my study, if you don't mind, the whole ordeal... it's... I... I'll be up in my study, come see me when you're finished. I expect good results from the Iron Hand." He seemed to flare up with a bit of authority for a moment before turning back into the tipsy, weasel from before.

[Yanahalqah]

The Lord inside the study was a grumbling, weasel-like fellow, plagued by sleeplessness and a foul mood, all nicely represented in his appearance and voice. Rathaan got to the point before Bandun could ramble on for too long, which the Lord did not seem to appreciate. Well, well. For a man so displeased by the lateness of their arrival he seemed in no real hurry to have them solve his problems. First he needed to complain. An attempt at sneakily telling the Hand they had to do something about the Citizen Alliance, perhaps? Like they weren’t doing everything they could already.

He began telling his side of the events then, making himself sound far more heroic and capable than he actually was. She cast Rathaan a sideways glance, one eyebrow slightly raised. Bandun seemed not to notice.
“What weapon did you fight them with,” Yana asked, wanting to sketch the whole situation in her mind’s eye. Details could help with that.
The man reached for something behind the desk, showing a cane with an ornate head on top.
“A cane?”
“Cane sword,” he corrected, pulling back the sheath a little bit to reveal the blade hidden within. “I was known as one of the best fencers back in the day, before--” he cut himself off with a dismissive gesture. “Not important. I am rusty, but good enough to handle a couple burglars.”

Yana nodded, carefully committing it to memory, then seeing Rathaan was taking notes. He had it covered, and decided not to waste too much time trying to memorize all information provided.
“So that is why you retreated to the staircase, correct? Because you were outnumbered?”
“Well… I suppose, yes, you could say that. They were surrounding me, even you squires should know that showing your back to the enemy is a death sentence.” He sounded fairly condescending, as if he was talking to a child. “The staircase prevented them from circling me, and I had the high ground. Advantage.”

Perhaps Yana would have been offended if she’d cared enough about the man to have him acknowledge her as an intelligent being. She had no need for some Lord to validate her worth though, she knew well enough what she was capable of. And now she knew the Lord had some knowledge of standard battle tactics. If he was as good with his cane as he said he was, he would have had little trouble keeping mere civilians at bay.
“And the Alliance left when their frustrations had been sufficiently vented? They did not ransack the whole place?”

“Well, I imagine they knew they could not stay for long before the guard arrived. I mean, Maxwell had some of the maids leave through the front door to go call for nearby patrols. Right before they arrived the bastards fled.”
“So they did not have time.”
“They had more than enough time to completely ruin two whole rooms!” he scowled.

She stopped asking more questions then, not having any others in mind that needed answering. Maxwell was summoned and dispatched to fetch the keys, and the Lord himself went out the door as well, cane in hand. He did only occasionally use it for extra support, but it made Yana pay more attention to his gait than she usually would have. Sure enough, there was a limp. It was not very noticeable, easy to overlook. But it was there nonetheless.

The kitchen itself was a huge mess. Broken glass everywhere, as well as powders and spices. The doors of some cupboards hung semi-ripped from their hinges, entire drawers were pulled out of their resting place and laid broken on the floor. Shelves were shattered. Bandun gave a deep sigh at the sight of it. The request coming from Rathaan seemed to be a welcome distraction from the destruction. He ran them through it again, once more verbally puffing up his chest and making himself out to be some kind of hero.

She had no questions for the Lord, and he man quickly left the scene again, letting his butler take care of things. Yana turned to the butler, asking if they could see the other damaged room as well. The butler led them to a nearby chamber which was also locked. After opening it, he stepped aside to let them enter, showing another wreckage. From the looks of it, this was some kind of bedroom. It was rather large, at least twice the size of Yana’s room in the barracks –then again, the barracks weren’t exactly spacious-- with fancy wallpaper and floortiles, and chandeliers that hung high above the ground, thus saved from the destruction. The rest was not, however. Some tiles were cracked and broken, a queen-sized bed stood on the verge of collapsing, its posts looking as if they had been attacked with an axe. Closets, nightstands, and other furniture had been smashed to bits.

“Barbarians,” Yana muttered under her breath, having crouched to inspect a large shard of wood. It was polished smooth, still gleaming in the light. It had been part of an ornate dresser or something, she guessed, the love of the artisan for his craft oozed from the fine work.
“Yes, quite.” Maxwell agreed, “Absolutely barbaric. These had been in the family for generations. Antique works of art, as it were. Valuable too. The nightstand alone could feed a whole family of those savages for years, I’d imagine. Worse still is the emotional value. Lord Bandun was quite devastated when he saw… this.” The butler sighed.

“Was this a storage room for the familial heirlooms?” Yana asked, her interest piqued. She doubted it, seeing as there were no covers to protect the furniture from time and critters anywhere to be found.
“Heavens no. This was Lord Bandun’s bedroom –Lord Bandun’s grandfather Harold, I mean—during the last years of his life. Close to the kitchen, so he could sneak in at night and snack on some biscuits whenever he wanted. The cooks would make extra dessert and leave it in the middle of the table, clear view so he did not have to raid the pantry. The poor man had locked himself in once, a most tragic event.” Maxwell’s eyes seemed to have fogged over slightly as he walked through his memories, lost in the past for just a couple moments. Evidently, he had had a fondness for the dead man.

“We kept these rooms intact on Lord Bandun’s request. He had the whole estate refurnished, except for this one bedroom. We cleaned it as if it was still occupied. Removing cobwebs, dusting the shelves, replacing the linen… Lord Bandun came here often to be alone. It was his… special place, I suppose you could say.” The butler gave a sad smile. “Ah, but you must forgive an old man’s rambling. You two have a duty to fulfil, and so do I. I should not keep you. Shall I assemble the staff for you? Or can I still be of service?”

Yana shot Rathaan a quick glance, then shifted her gaze back to the old butler. “Actually Maxwell, I was hoping we could hear your version of the events. I would like to have a complete image of the events, from all viewpoints. For the purpose for being thorough.” Perhaps the butler would paint a whole different picture of what his master had done when confronted by the Alliance? Maybe he would confirm the noble’s heroic tale? Either way, Yana was not planning on letting the truth slip away. She considered herself quite a competent lair, and was certain she could spot lies and discrepancies as a result.