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Unwelcomed Guest [Inali]
Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2016 9:15 pm
by Linika
The outburst took Linika quite by surprise. Her initial reaction was a cringe of semi-anticipated piling on by the eidisi, who she assumed was adding her own complaints about "that awful naer" to gain some quick and easy favor with the authorities. But though she could not understand a word of it, beyond the name of Linus and that of the city, intuition recognized a tone of outrage, rather than one of eagerly joining in with the accusations.
The surprised looks on the guards' faces backed up this assessment, but still she had to confirm. She turned her head enough to see plainly that this Inali character was directing all her venom at the guards, rather than directing heated testimony to them. There was a subtle shift in tongue; and though it was still indecipherable to her, Linika now believed she recognized a few words or phrases that she'd heard aboard the Biqajan vessel that had taken her north from Ivorian a cycle or two earlier. The fact that she'd figured them to be curses then, did not contradict the surprising situation now.
Then Inali pointed at her and went back to the initial language, verbally skewering the guards as Linika tried not to laugh at their expressions. She had no doubt that these guards would have no recourse but to take her in regardless of the tongue-lashing they would endure on the way. Her suspicious nature naturally took stock of the possibility that this was a ploy by both the authorities and this eidisi to gain trust so as to put her off her guard, but that was no reason not to revel in the comedy before her.
But just in case it wasn't, she realized it might be prudent to capitalize on her own chance to gain favor with these authorities. She turned to Inali, making a point of seemingly forgetting that she should be keeping her hands raised and stepped before her to place her hands softly on her shoulders. "Please, please, my friend, this is not necessary. I have no doubt there will be ample opportunity for depositions to be taken. It's not as though they are going to give me a summary execution right here. Surely they are just following orders. My culture recognizes the need for obedience. This is entirely proper in my view. I'm sorry if it alarms you, but I would not have you getting into trouble on my account."
Sure enough, the guards looked genuinely relieved and appreciative of her cooperative attitude. When Inali had finished dressing them down, Linika raised her hands anew and gave the eidisi a nod of approval. "I'm sure it will just be a term of labor, if anything. They'll see how hard a naer can work. Perhaps a paying job will come of it. But for now, at least they will have to house and feed me. But by all means I would love to have you come along, in case you have not yet seen the inside of a Magistrate's chamber."
Unwelcomed Guest [Inali]
Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2016 2:48 pm
by Inali
Inali did her best not to continue belittling the guards that were focused on escorting Linika to the Halls of Ivy. They were kind, at least, and refrained from binding her wrists, so long as she walked just ahead of them. Inali walked to the left of the guards, eyes fixed on the stone street that winded towards the official government buildings. Their progress was brisk, and the Eidisi had little time to reflect on who they would speak to or what she could say in the Naer’s defense. She would not be permitted to speak so rashly in the Halls. Linika would be expected to be even more subservient, and Inali wondered if it would be possible for the Naer to show deference to anyone outside of Augiery.
As they stepped within the expansive stone building, they were quickly ushered away from the Temple and towards the smaller government offices positioned along the western wall. They proceeded down a long hallway and Inali wondered at the purpose of the unlabeled rooms that surrounded her. The guards commanded them to halt as they reached a wooden door with strong iron hinges. The commander of the group spoke in a level tone, though Inali noted the tension in his arms and legs as he addressed them,
“We will wait outside and guard this area. Do not attempt to leave.”
He eyed Linika as he spoke and then turned his gaze back to Inali.
“I hope you know what you’re doing, Eidisi. There’s no telling how long you two will have to wait in there.”
His second-in-command opened the door and gestured that they enter. Inali did so quickly, eager to finally be rid of their overbearing babysitting retinue. When she entered, she noted that the room was sparse, even by Videnese standards – there room housed only a single wooden table and three stiff wooden chairs. The brick walls were unadorned, and the room was illuminated by a single candle set in a small hanging fixture from the ceiling. After a few bits of silence, Inali spoke,
“I knowing not who came for us here.”
She shrugged.
“No Mathisi, not high staff. Still, someone important. Must remain…”
Inali paused, unsure of the word in Common. She spoke it in the Ancient Tongue first, then Rakahi. Annoyed at her inability to say ‘respectful’, she patted the empty chair across from her.
“No weapon this, no attack. Viden is fair, they knowing Linus.”
She grinned at that, thinking back on the times when the guards had been called because Linus was too drunk. Somehow, the arrests had only added to the notoriety of the Advocate, and when he returned to his business, he had even more customers than before.
They waited for a break before a pair of boots echoed just outside the hall. A brief murmur of conversation could be heard, but Inali couldn’t make out the words. The door opened and a well armored Eidisi stepped through the door. His void eyes fixed on Inali before moving to Linika. He grabbed the remaining chair in one gauntleted hand and deposited it on the other side of the table before placing his hands atop the table.
“I have heard reports that you have assaulted one of the citizens of Viden. Do you have anything to say for yourself, Naer?”
Unwelcomed Guest [Inali]
Posted: Fri Oct 14, 2016 4:40 am
by Linika
The mention of "Mathisi" did not go unnoticed as Linika listened to Inali's struggle to converse in common. Linika did not know this word, but the following reference to "high staff" made it pretty clear that the eidisi was concerned about some departure from the normal due process. But she made an obvious effort to cling to aspects of the incident that would stand in support of her accused companion. The naer found the effort cute, but somewhat naive.
Linika stifled a growing concern that her casual acceptance of inevitable work duty sentencing was going to end up short of the actual punishment she would receive. She still didn't understand why the eidisi woman was acting in support of her. Every lesson or tale she'd heard involving Viden or its citizens implied uncompromising hatred of all things naer. She really did not think Inali's support would do anything but bring a black mark to the foolish girl's own record. There was just the briefest pang of something resembling regret, and she put a mental lid on it immediately. But she made an effort to appear stoic about the upcoming meeting with whatever sort of city representative fate would provide.
If it ever actually happened...
Finally, a break later, a man entered, accompanied by the lingering echo of boots and whispered conversations. A large man in armor immediately took control of the meeting, his request to hear Linika's side of the incident stained by the tones of a mind already made up. “I have heard reports that you have assaulted one of the citizens of Viden. Do you have anything to say for yourself, Naer?” His voice was a growl, daring his target to defy his conclusion with something contradictory, truth notwithstanding.
His reference to her, by race rather than name, immediately struck Linika as an indictment of her entire race, city and culture. Her face colored involuntarily, muscles tensing with the effort to stifle a scowl. She was hard pressed to make her respectful response not sound as if it wrapped a core of sarcasm. "By your leave sir," she ventured, "my assault, as you name it, was in defense of myself against a man armed with a knife. I did nothing to provoke him but exchange insults, and not before he had extended far more against me than I returned. Yet he initiated the escalation to deadly weapons-play. And even after I disarmed him, I did not press my advantage to do any injury with the weapon with which he would have killed me."
The man's eyes rolled with annoyance long before she finished even this initial rebuttal. "Oh dear!" he mocked, "One of the mighty children of dread Audrae was subjected to insult!" It seemed obvious, if not surprising, to Linika that this man was to be both prosecutor and judge. "...and for that you egged him on into attacking you. Strange, I had always understood that the naer were able to endure the highest extremes of adversity. We hear tell of all manner of astounding exploits, yet a few nasty words and this one completely loses her composure. So which is the lie, naer? The rumor that your people are tough? that you were forced to defend yourself? or that it was NOT the presence of witnesses that stopped you from killing him?"
Linika had no awareness that she had risen to her feet; nor that the knuckles of her hands were whitening as she gripped her end of the table. Her desire to inflict "The Gift" upon this overbearing antagonist was nearly insurmountable as the room took on a slightly reddened quality in her eyes. "You...call me...a..liar, sir?" she choked, trying to will the flesh of his throat into the space now occupied by the table's end. "First, let me state that I stand here in fear of your great courage, clad as your are in armor, armed as you are with blade, with myself in possession of neither, and only THEN may you call me a liar...sir." This time, no effort was made to veil her sarcasm as her eyes bored into his.
She had completely forgotten the presence of Inali. If the eidisi was speaking, the sound of her voice was subsumed within the blood hum that stemmed from the same rage that turned everything red to her. It was only when the inquisitor turned his own eyes toward the other woman that Linika remembered her.
Unwelcomed Guest [Inali]
Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2016 7:42 pm
by Linika
But it made no difference in any event, as the loud footsteps tromped suddenly to the door. It swung open to spill a stumbling, red-faced Linus across the floor, catching himself against the table as the legs screeched against the polished flooring.
"I want..." he gasped,
"I want to..." he held up a hand to indicate his desire that any proceedings currently underway should be stalled until he could regain his breath.
The armored Man rose at first in anger; then in grinning appreciation for the timing.
"Ah, the plaintiff, come to give eye-witness testimony." He turned a malicious sneer in Linika's direction,
"this should speed things up considerably."
"No, no!" Linus cried,
"I want to withdraw my complaint. It was all a horrible misunderstanding! A misspelling in a letter gave me reason to believe someone was going to try to steal from me, and well...naturally..." he did not finish the prejudiced accusation in the face of Linika's glare.
There was a brief, outraged exchange between Linus and the "Magistrate". And even though the barkeep's story was confused and inconsistent, he did not waver from his insistence that he was not going to follow up on any charges leveled against Linika. The exposure of his fishtailing story only brought comments from him confirming how confused the whole ordeal obviously had been.
For her part, Linika could see that it was plainly fear that kept the man on this course; and it was certainly greater fear than the considerable fear he must have felt in the face of the armored man's furious tirade. Linika wondered who it was that had ordered this reversal, for it could be nothing else. The frustrated anger on the face of the "Magistrate" made it obvious he had come to the same conclusion; but he ultimately allowed Linika to leave with a warning.
___________________________________________________
Back at the Devil's Advocate, a pock-marked face scowled from the shadows,
"Well Linus, you're lucky you only had to humiliate yourself. If the guard should decide to search this place, it will not go well for you. They may not believe at first that such a bumbling fool could be the brains behind our little market, but they'll surely decide that you're simply more gifted at acting the fool then they would have thought. We may have use for that naer. But even if we do not, she is not the sort we want stalking around, looking for revenge against a fat idiot who is all too quick to play right into her hands. So try not to make any more of an enemy of her than you already have."
There was a scrape of a chair and the scowl was gone. Linus swallowed hard and returned to work.
Unwelcomed Guest [Inali]
Posted: Wed Nov 23, 2016 9:51 pm
by Whisper
Peer Review
Story: 4/5
Collaboration: 5/5
Structure: 5/5
Awarded Knowledge
Invini: Ruler of Augiery
Linika Amarinthine: Exile of Augiery
Linika Amarinthine: Naer
Location: Augiery
Location: The Devil’s Advocate
Location: Viden
Naerikk: Hated in Viden
Race: Naerikk
Extras
| Loot & Losses | [/color]xxxxxx | Injuries |
| None | [/color]xxxxxx | None |
| Fame | [/color]xxxxxx | Devotion |
| None | [/color]xxxxxx | None |
[/color]
Peer Review
Story: 5/5
Collaboration: 5/5
Structure: 5/5
Awarded Knowledge
Acting: Suppressing Pride
Acting: Faking Tears
Eídisi: Superiority Complex
Eídisi: Not All Bad
Food: Checking for Poison
Naerikk: In Viden Docks
Unarmed Combat: Using the Environment to Advantage
Viden: Climate
Viden: Laws of the Land
Viden: The Máthisi
Viden: Very Cold
Extras
| Loot & Losses | [/color]xxxxxx | Injuries |
| None | [/color]xxxxxx | None |
| Fame | [/color]xxxxxx | Devotion |
| Threatened with Arrest/Attacking a Citizen -3 | [/color]xxxxxx | None |
Inali, a point lost on story for disapoofing on us, I'm afraid. Other than that, still loved it the second time round!
Good thread. I’m not sure about the linguistic element of this thread though. Common is the official language of Viden - Ancient is really an academic one. Use often, as most tomes are still in that language, but Common would be the language a citizen was raised with, notwithstanding race (of which Eídisi is a tiny amount).
As you can see, I have provided feedback and reasoning behind my review. If you have any questions, comments or criticism about your review, feel free to send me a PM and we can discuss it.
Thank ye.
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