Devshi Looked at Nahla. She was more than a little upset that Nahla wanted to just take Bisha back to Alkadharam and go home. Devshi, on the other hand wanted to at least take him to the Mahapratanidhi and explain what had happened at the yunavarasiti. Devshi just knew that to do anything else wouldn't be honorable. She had to be honorable at all costs. Nahla on the other had thought that to tell everyone that Bisha was the only survivor of a massive explosion that had killed so many people wouldn't turn out well for them. The phrase "Killing the messenger" had come up multiple times in Nahla's comments. Devshi on the other hand had only answered that the Mahapratanidhi would never do that.
The debate, because Devshi couldn't think of it as anything else and stay Devshi. The two of them had kept their voices down so that no one else heard what they were saying. But it was clear that it was heated even if no one else could hear it, continued for almost an hour. Bisha got their attention and asked the two if he should start the campfire or wait til they were done. Devshi nodded absently waiting for him to leave before going back to her conversation with Nahla. As far as Devshi could tell Nahla hadn't even really noticed.
That was when the sound of an explosion silenced them both. Devshi quickly spun to look where the nights campfire had been prepped to see Bisha standing there with a stunned look on his face.
Devshi and Nahla both asked in unison, "What happened?"
Devshi and Nahla looked at each other both confused about the interruption to what Devshi considered a discussion. Both of them deciding that whatever had just happened was much more important than what they were going to do once they reached Alkadharam. And if it wasn't actually more important it was definitely more immediate. At least as far as Devshi was concerned.
With that thought in mind Devshi started to walk towards Bisha when he answered the question they had both asked.
"All I did was wiggle my fingers towards the campfire and it exploded," Bisha answered the joint question.
"You made majic happen without the components?" Devshi asked in an amazed voice. "Just your fingers? Nothing else? You just moved your fingers?"
Devshi was astonished at Bisha's emphatic nod. How could this be she thought to herself. "Irene did you hear that?" Devshi asked, looking around for the only person that didn't seem to be standing there. It took a moment for Devshi to see the body laying a bit away from the fire that Bisha had so unexpectedly started. Irene was laying on the ground with her hands at her throat. Devshi could see blood seeping from around her fingers.
"No!" Devshi yelled as she ran to were Irene was laying on the ground.
It was all that Devshi could say, over and over as she watched Irene bleed from the huge piece of firewood that jutted out of her neck. Devshi could feel panic starting to overwhelm her as she ran over to where Irene lay sprawled on her back. Devshi dropped onto her knees. looking at the spreading blood across Irene's armor. She knew that she had no way to help a wound this bad. Not only did she not have the necessary tools. She didn't have the skills to do surgery this complicated. All Devshi could do was pray and hope. Nonetheless Devshi was going to try to save Irene even if there was no hope.
Nahla had brought Devshi's medical bag but her eyes told the story. There was no hope for Irene. Devshi centered herself and started to pray. She reached out while she prayed and laid her hands on either side of the wound as her favorite teacher had taught her to do. Devshi dropped deep into meditation so only part of her consciousness noticed the strangest feeling that overcame her.
A strange harmonic hum coming from everywhere at once became just audible. Devshi dimly felt the huge pair of paws laying gently over her hands. Nonetheless Devshi opened her eyes and saw a huge ghostly pair of tiger paws surrounding her hands. Hands which seemed to glow with a sourceless golden light.
Deep in meditation Devshi saw all of this distantly and without any real understanding at the time. So when she reached out and grabbed the piece of wood that pierced Irene's throat, it was an automatic action that went against her training. Not that any of her training truly covered a wound like this. The part of Devshi's mind that wasn't deep in the trance was amazed when Irene's wound started to heal right in front of her. It was more than had ever happened to any healer that Devshi had ever heard of. As far as she knew the gods just didn't do things like that.
As soon as the wound was healed Devshi felt herself drop from the trance that she had been help in. All she could see when she looked up at those surrounding her and Irene was shock and amazement. Nahla was the first one to break the silence that had fallen when the healing was done.
"You healed her!" Nahla exclaimed excitedly.
All Devshi could do was nod her head numbly while she helped Irene back onto her feet. From the look on Nahla's face Devshi was fairly certain that there would be no more arguments with Nahla over what they should do. Between Bisha being able to cast spells by just moving his fingers to her healing Irene from a fatal wound. To many weird and unusual things were happening. The only thing they could do was go and tell the Mahapratanidhi what was going on. And maybe someone in Alkadharam could help them to figure all of this stuff out before anyone else got hurt. Or worse, even killed. Because it was all too strange for a bunch of young people to figure out on their own. That was Devshi's opinion at least.
From then on the rest of the party was reluctant to have Bisha make the fires anymore. After all the last one that he had made had exploded and almost killed Irene. Bisha however was determined to prove to them that he could light a fire safely. Reluctantly the party finally agreed to let him try. Just to be on the safe side however they decided that they weren't going to stand anywhere near where Bisha's experiment was happening. But when there was no loud explosion when the fire started the rest of them came back to where they had decided to camp. Nahla asked him how he had done it. How had he safely started a camp fire this time when his last attempt had gone so terribly wrong. Bisha smiled and told them that this time he hadn't used any of the majical obsidian. Last time he had and they had all seen the result. Apparently Bisha could now do majic without using the majical obsidian, something that no one else had ever managed.
Bandits
A couple of days after the amazing events of her healing and Bisha's fire explosion, Irene was riding point on her erch. The country of Kishnagar was a very civilized one. But there were still bandits in the more remote areas. And they were riding through one of the most remote areas that was found in Kishnagar. So riding point was an important task that Nahla and Irene traded off. Today it was Irene and so far her day had been a quiet one. Nahla's Ashfan hound Ryah was always at the very front no matter who had point that day which made Irene even happier. Even though she couldn't talk to Ryah her senses were much better than anyone else's and her alerts were easy to read.
Irene was just thinking about all of that while they rode through the low rolling hills of that ran through most of the provinces of both Koriolis and Mayhore. They were heading towards the city of Beri where they would pick up an actual road heading towards Alkadharam. The province of Koriolis, where they currently were, was almost completely uninhabited. The only real habitation was at and around the Adikha Yunavarasiti. The yunavarasiti being surrounded by farms and such to provide their food, clothing and other goods. And everything else being provided by very large pack trains that came through once or twice a year. The only thing this area was known for other than the yunavarasiti was the vicious winds that blew through randomly at all times of the year.
At first Irene wasn't sure exactly what it was that had gotten her attention. The path they were following was not a straight rode but meandered up and down over and through the hills. The land here was to poor for farming especially when you added the winds that often blew through the province. The only things that grew was a scrubby type of grass and stunted trees. You would think that you could see a long distance but the rolling hills made that impossible. Even though it was the growing season here it wasn't very green here. Irene was getting very tired of all the yellow and brown growth and begged for some green somewhere. She was beginning to understand why everything the Oristani owned was so colorful. It was to counter the blandness of their environment.
Even though the Oristani usually wore a blinding array of colors Nahla only wore black. Even the gear she used on her mount, her Temee was black. The Temee camel that Nahla rode however was an alabaster white that Irene had never seen on any other camel, Temee or not. Nahla had told her during their first couple of nights together that white Temee were very rare and almost never left the Oristani lands. Only the fact that she and Nahla had been told to journey in the outlands is why Irene was seeing one at all. The combination of all black on a blindingly white Temee was striking.
Although it could have been nothing, Irene wanted to ask Nahla to ask Ryah to go take a look before they got to the area that had attracted Irene's attention. So she stopped and motioned Nahla to join her. When Nahla had joined her Irene had to look up at Nahla. Something she would have to do even if the Oristani shaman had no been mounted. Irene hadn't expected to become friends with an Oristani, much less a shaman.The Oristani had a justified reputation for being war like and the shaman even more so. The Oristani did trade with others but only at designated places and at set times of the year. Generally it was considered wisdom to not approach a group or individual unless you were hailed first. Much to Irene's surprise though Nahla had turned out to be a very level-headed, if uniquely naive, person.
"What is it?" Nahla asked as she came even with Irene.
"I'm not sure, I thought I saw something flash over there. Can you please ask Ryah to go and look? I can't speak with her like you do." Irene waved towards the low hills as she answered.
Irene watched as Nahla looked at Ryah, the Ashfan hound. She noticed that Nahla's eye unfocused as she apparently spoke to her companion hound, then Nahla nodded. They both watched as Ryah slipped off of the path and came up to the shrubs from behind. It took only a moment for Ryah to reappear next to Nahla and sit down looking intently up at her mistresses face. Nahla then filled Irene in on how many people were hiding in the scrub and the fact that there were also some laying down with their mounts in the tall grass. Apparently this was a fairly concerted attack on their small group.
Irene was a tad surprised that her hunch had been correct. After all it was usually Ryah and her better senses that noticed an ambush long before anyone else did. But that was only a passing thought to Irene as she and Nahla decided how they were going to break-up this particular ambush. Not that there was a whole bunch that they could do. After all there was only the two of them and maybe Ten Rabbit that could actually fight. The rest of the party was more in need of protection rather than protecting. And Ten Rabbit was more of more use guarding Devshi and Bisha than as part of the attack. They did however also have their steeds. Both of which had at least some battle training. And Ryah being an Ashfan hound was a definite help in a fight.
While Nahla filled the rest of the party in on the ambush, Irene rode slowly but by all appearances obliviously towards the ambush site. Ryah using the skills of a hunter slunk towards the back of those waiting in the tall grass. No mount, no matter how well trained, was going to deal well with what it thought was a large wolf sneaking up from behind. Ryah's attack was intended to drive the mounted forces over those that were hiding in the scrub next to the path. Then Irene and Nahla would clean house with anyone left that could still fight.
Everything worked just as Irene and Nahla had planned it, up to a point. At first however it looked like the plan was going exactly like they'd planned. Ryah snuck up on the mounted fighters and then let out a loud growl. The mounts all seemed to freak out and start to run right at the bandits that were hiding in the roadside shrubbery. What they hadn't planned for was the bandit chief and about five of his mounted bandits managing to keep control of their mounts. Nor were they expecting the number of those waiting in the shrubs manage to jump out of the way of the stampeding mounts.
Irene watched as everything seemed to shift into slow motion. She saw the one they had assumed was the bandit chief reach down to his waist and pull a dagger. The bandit then flipped the dagger into a throwing hold and threw it at her. The dagger spun end over end, seeming to almost stop in the air. It gave Irene all of the time in the world to reach out and snatch it from the air. And while the bandit watched, Irene threw the dagger back at him. The blade hit the bandit chief square in the throat. Ending the bandits career forever. When the remaining bandits saw their chief slide from his mount and crumple dead on the ground they all ran away in every direction. The fight had been taken from them and they only wanted to flee and flee they did. soon there was only the party remaining on the path.
Irene however was only staring at the fallen bandit leader. She should not have been able to do what she had just done. She had caught and then thrown a dagger. This was something that not even her father could do. Where had the skill to do something like that come from. The only thing that had happened was her healing by Devshi. How could that of changed anything though. It was a healing. Now that she thought about it though she did feel better than she ever had in her life. Even things that had bothered her for years. The little aches and pains that came with long healed injuries. They were all gone. Not a single place was sore. Add to all of that the fact that her reactions seemed to be faster and it became an actual mystery. One that she was not sure that she could handle by herself.
Alkadharam
The rest of their journey to Alkadharam was completely uneventful. something that made the whole group very happy. After all if nothing else happened then there wouldn't any more weirdness to figure out. Only Ten Rabbit's somehow suddenly knowing how to ride and then just as quickly forgetting how when they left the yunavarasiti was unexplained. No one in the group knew all that much about Ten Rabbit or his people. The Michocan are a very secretive people after all. They tended to keep their secrets. One thing that almost everyone knew was that they didn't ride any mounts and only used carts when old, sick or injured.
Devshi was very happy to reach Alkadharam. Not just because it was home but because she could finally get some of her questions answered, or at least she hoped so. Not to mention putting this whole disaster into the right hands. The hands of the Mahapratanidhi, the ruler of Kishnagar. Ever since the explosion at the Adikha Yunavarasiti Devshi had been ill at ease. Everything she thought she knew about Ardu and the gods was changed. As far as Devshi knew there had never been a direct manifestation of a god before. Not since the earliest days during the time of heroes.
First things first, Devshi told herself. First we take news of what happened at the yunavarasiti. Then I take word of the healing of Irene to my temple. Who to go to first had been an easy decision to make. The fact that she didn't make it didn't matter in the slightest. All that really mattered was that it was the correct order. Not that the rest of the party felt any need to go and talk to her superiors at the temple. After all they weren't even from Kishnagar and only Bisha had even lived here before they all had left for the yunavarasiti.
The party was waiting at the palace for an audience with the Mahapratanidhi. The palace was made of large blocks of stone. The hallways were large and high ceilinged. Everywhere were brightly colored carvings and statues. Not to mention the paintings on the walls and ceilings. As well as beautiful mosaics on the floors. The majesty and splendor of the palace was unrivaled in the world as far as Devshi was concerned. Being back in Alkadharam was such a relief to Devshi that she felt almost refreshed by the sights and smells of home.
Devshi didn't even mind the wait to be told when they would be able to address the Mahapratanidhi. After all it wasn't like they were telling the council about an invasion. They would get an appointment for a couple of days from now. And as soon as they knew when they would meet with the council she could go and inform her temple of the strange miracle that had happened. It couldn't be anything but a miracle. Hadn't she felt the Goddesses avatar's paws over her hands? Hadn't she heard the voice of the Goddess resonate through her body? Of course she had and it was imperative that she tell her superiors all about it.
After a relatively short two hours the appointment secretary for the council returned to tell them that they would speak to the Mahapratanidhi and the full council in two days right after lunch. They would have been able to get an appointment today but Bisha, who had been the one to ask for the appointment had said that they need to speak to the whole council. Devshi however was fine with the delay since it meant that she would be able to speak to Veenha, her mentor about the miracle that she had participated in. Not to mention the rest of the hierarchy of the temple of Parvai here in Alkadharam.
After a brief discussion the group had decided to stay at the adventurers guild while they waited for their appointment with the council. Devshi decided to go directly to the temple rather than go with the group to the guild hall and then head to the temple. The sooner she got to the temple that faster she could tell about what had happened. Devshi felt that the temple needed to find out what had happened almost as much as the council did.
The first person that Devshi saw when she walked into the Temple of Parvai was her mentor. She had looked up to this person since she had first entered the temple as a novice. Her mentor was the personal secretary to the High Priest of Parvai. But when Devshi had joined the temple just before her eleventh birthday, her mentor had not yet climbed so high in the temple. She had been in charge of the novices and Devshi had decided almost from the beginning that she wanted to be just like her. After all her mentor was a calm and inspiring female. Always seemed to have an answer to any question that she was asked. And she made peace whenever an argument was brought to her. Not just temporary peace but the fighters would usually become good friends by the time she was done mediating their fight. So her being the first person that Devshi saw was a balm to Devshi's heart.
As soon as Devshi's mentor saw her she opened her arms to Devshi. Seeing this Devshi ran into her arms for a hug so fierce it almost crushed ribs. The mentor picked Devshi up and spun her around clearly happy to see the small Kishnagari. Her mentor was of Oristani decent but was a Kishnagari through and through. So the much taller woman was able to completely enfold Devshi in her hug of greeting. It had seemed like forever since Devshi had last seen her mentor although it had only been a couple of months. Devshi had really wished she had her mentor advice many, many times on the journey.
As soon as she was set down, her mentor asked her how the journey had been. Devshi started to babble out everything that had happened since they'd last been together. Her mentor started to laugh and waved Devshi to an alcove where they could sit down together, motioning her to slow down as they sat. Devshi laughed as well and restarted her tale much more slowly than she had at first. Once the tale was done the two of them went to her mentor's room to talk the rest of the day away.
32Council
The next day, Nahla was wondering what to do. They wouldn't be able to see the Mahapratanidhi and her council for at least two more days. Usually she would have spent her time meditating and talking with the spirits. But there were now wild places for her to do that here in the city. And she wasn't going to try to go out of the city. She might miss the meeting and she had the feeling that it would be a very bad idea to do so. So here she sat, more than a little annoyed that neither Usha, her Temee camel, or Ryah, her ashfan hound, could be in her room with them. For some reason the innkeeper here at the adventurers guild just couldn't understand that Ryah wasn't a pet nor was Usha just a mount. They were both members of her family. Nahla had almost gone and slept in the stable with them. But Devshi had explain that if she had done that they might all be kicked out. So here she was, all alone and not enjoying it.
At the sound of a knock on her door Nahla wondered who would be coming to see her. When she opened the door she saw the one person in her party that she didn't want to see. It wasn't that Nahla disliked Devshi, she was just tired of Devshi's constantly pestering her. A day wouldn't go by without Devshi coming and trying to get Nahla to answer some question or other. Now Nahla didn't mind answering questions. In fact it was a major part of her duties as a Shaman. Devshi's questions however seemed to have no purpose that Nahla could find. They were all about what she thought or how she felt about just about everything that happened. Not only the big things like the explosion at the Adikha Yunavarasiti, but little things like the weather or temperature that day. It was just annoying to Nahla's way of thinking.
All Devshi seemed to do was talk incessantly about everything that happened. She even had to babble about things that didn't happen although Devshi thought that they should. Nahla had taken to riding point everyday to get away from the small chatterbox. Devshi's tendency to always follow Nahla around chattering at her was why the Oristani Shaman called her senkhuul, or little mouse, after a small desert mouse that was frequently found in the Oristani tents. The small mammal was annoying but not actually destructive. In fact many Oristani kept them as pets. Mainly because they were gentle, even when wild, and ate many of the fleas and other such insects that infested any desert tent. In fact the senkhuul was considered to be good luck if a wild one came into a tent. They did however tend to chatter in their high pitched tiny voices. So all though some kept them as pets and they were considered to be good luck, no one wanted to many of them in any one place in case they were driven mad by the incessant chattering voices.
So when Nahla saw Devshi outside her door. Her first thought was that she was never going to get any peace from the girl. But when Devshi offered to show the whole party Alkadharam the way a native saw it, Nahla was intrigued. When Nahla had first been sent here it had only taken a day for the adventurers guild to join her up with the rest of the party. So she hadn't really seen much of the city before they had left. In fact she hadn't seen anything of it at all. Nahla decided that she would take up Devshi on her offer. After all hadn't she just been thinking about how bored she was?
It had taken almost a candle mark for Devshi to convince Nahla that Usha and Ryah couldn't come with her. Nahla had been very upset by this, after all the Temee were members of the family. The went everywhere with the Oristani that they had chosen. They slept in your tent and spent their lives next to you. Even though an Oristani might live long enough to have more than one Temee. Because of the kind of life the Oristani lived that usually didn't happen. One shared their ups and downs of life with their Temee. Nahla being not only a Shaman but one of those from the animal circle and could speak to any animal, meant that she was more than disinclined to leave Usha and Ryah behind. But eventually Devshi managed to get her to agree to go without her four legged companions.
It was coming up to the noon meal when Devshi suddenly squealed in pleasure. Coming towards them was an Oristani dressed in the same robes that Devshi wore, although slightly more ornate. Devshi hadn't noticed the slight wince that Nahla had made, she was far to concentrated on the lanky Oristani walking towards them to pay attention to anything else. Nahla hadn't caught the other Oristani's name. It was easy however to figure out that Devshi's fellow priest was very special to her. So when Devshi introduced Nahla to the other Oristani, Nahla figured something out. Evidently the other priest was Devshi's mentor and best beloved advisor. Which made all of Devshi's behavior much more understandable.
Nahla was more than a little annoyed that an Oristani would become a God Botherer but fortunately remembered that Kishnagar had been created as a treaty city. Created with people from all of the races to stop a war that was going to destroy the whole world. So rather than saying something rude Nahla merely gave a small bow of her head when they were introduced. She was surprised when Devshi's mentor knew that Nahla was a Shaman but quickly realized that just because the Oristani here no longer followed the old ways didn't mean that they didn't know them. She still wished that the Oristani who had moved to Kishnagar had kept to the old ways but she could understand why they hadn't.
One of the things that had confused Nahla at first were all the bells she kept hearing. She would hear them day and night and at first had thought that they were just temple bells or something. After all who knew what the God Botherers would do. So out of annoyance when she heard them again she finally had asked Devshi what was up with all the stupid bells. Devshi and Bisha looked at each other and then finally Bisha answered that the bells marked the hours the same way a candle did. They did the same thing in Khunduz his home. Nahla had only recently learned that other peoples of the world used candles not the sun and stars to tell the time. So using bells was just one more strangeness but it wasn't like they needed quiet to hear the world around them. Everything in this city was so noisy that hearing anything else was effectively impossible. Nahla decided that she would be happier when they could finally leave this over crowded, noisy and smelly place once and for all.
Since the bells said that it was time for food Devshi took all of them and her mentor to a street vendor to eat. This particular vendor had small samples of his food so Nahla was able to see if she liked any of it. Nahla turned to Devshi and quietly told her that everything had an aftertaste of licking an old knife. At first Devshi was confused but when they talked about it more she figured out that it was the spices that Nahla didn't like. It wasn't that they were too hot, not even close. They just didn't taste good to Nahla. So Devshi took the whole group to a part of Alkadharam called Little Oristan. Nahla brightened up for once since leaving her homeland the food smelled right. All around them where Oristani of all types and sizes. Finally Nahla felt at home.
There was one thing that Nahla really enjoyed about Alkadharam that wasn't found in the familiar scents and tastes of Little Oristan. That was the wonderful taste of sweet spoons. Sweet spoons were a sweet confection on a small wooden spoon. The "spoon" was more like a really small paddle especially in Nahla's hands. But they were wonderfully sweet and Nahla had a hard time getting enough. Her absolute favorite was one that had a fruity taste covered with ghost blossom powder. Nahla had no clue what the fruit was, nor did she care. All she knew about it was that it tasted wonderful and was vaguely purpley in color. The combination of ghost blossom and the sweet purple fruit was amazing. Nahla had already decided that she was going to find a way to bring this wonderful dessert back to her people.
Assassins Guild
Ten Rabbit watched the rest of his party follow Devshi with more than a little humor. It wasn't often that anyone got to see the sight of little Devshi bouncing and talking way to fast. She was trying to tell everyone about everything all at the same time. Poor Nahla was so confused that he was almost considering helping out. Not that he would of course, but the thought was there. Irene was faring a bit better but only because everyone one else had at least lived in a city before understood more of the generalities of city life to begin with. Nahla on the other hand had only lived in the vast open spaces of the Oristani plains. Not an experience that Ten Rabbit envied her for. The thought of all that wide open space was an experience that Ten Rabbit hoped would never happen.
In fact watching the rest of the group try and fail to keep up with Devshi's unending stream of talk was so engrossing Ten Rabbit actually forgot why he had joined the party in the first place. It was a chance comment from Devshi that reminded him about the fight in his room and his subsequent flight to the adventurers guild. Something that his usual self-preservation would not allow him to ever forget. Ten Rabbit listened in confusion and dismay as Devshi told the group that there was a guild for everything, including assassination. Although no one actually discussed the more unsavory guilds like thieves and assassination.
That had started Ten Rabbit thinking about the attack he'd won. Maybe they hadn't been there to kill him after all. Not that it mattered now. He'd killed all of the attackers after all. So even if they hadn't wanted to kill him before they probably did now. Ten Rabbit had just resigned himself to that fact when he noticed that the group was under observation. He wasn't sure if it was the whole group which wouldn't be bad. That would mean that the Mahapratanidhi or someone in her government was keeping an eye on the group. Not at all a bad idea considering the news that they carried. Or if they were watching a single member of the group. Which would be bad because it would mean that someone was afraid that one or more members of the party had news that was dangerous to whoever had set the watchers. Then there was the possibility that they were there for him. This was the least worrying to Ten Rabbit. He was more than able to take care of himself without having to involve the rest of the group. In fact he kinda hoped that they watchers were there for him. He needed the exercise.
To test which one of the three options it was Ten Rabbit lagged back from the group to see what the watchers did. And to his joy the watchers lagged back too. Good, he thought. That means they want me and I get to have some fun. Ten Rabbit slowed even further wanting as much distance as possible between himself and the party. After all why cause problems to the group, they'd only get in his way after all. It wasn't until Ten Rabbit had turned down an empty alleyway that he realized that he'd made a mistake. He'd forgotten the first rule of trying to lead a group into a trap. Know your environment and the number of people against you.
Not only had he not found out how many people he might be facing. He'd neglected to know where everything was in this part of town. As a result Ten Rabbit was now facing overwhelming odds. There he was halfway down the alley with at least ten people on his tail. And how many was he facing at the other end? Just as many combatants all focused on him. If he'd remembered to scout out the area before he so blithely went wondering through it he would have known that this particular alley had no escape routes in it. But no, he had to be cocky and get himself into trouble, again.
In the back of his mind Ten Rabbit vaguely felt something stir for a moment before settling back into dormancy. But at the moment he was far to busy trying to not die to really notice. That was when Ten Rabbit experienced the first of the days surprises. The group at the far end of the alley stopped approaching him. Then the group behind him also stopped and the one closest to him raised his arms in a hold up gesture. so Ten Rabbit also stopped now curious to see what exactly was about to happen. Not that he could stop them if they wanted to hurt him. But Ten Rabbit was certain that no few of them would also be hurting by the end of the fight.
That was when he received the second of the days surprises. The one closest to him cleared his throat before speaking. "Our illustrious guild head would like your company for a discussion."
For a moment all Ten Rabbit could do was blink confusedly at the large being just out of striking reach of him. He was only confused for a second but wasn't entirely sure how to respond. This wasn't a situation that Ten Rabbit had ever considered. Their boss wanted to talk to him. Was that some kind of euphemism for the boss wanting to watch him die? Or did the boss really just want to have a chat. If he'd been any place else Ten Rabbit wouldn't have wondered. He'd have been pretty certain that it was a euphemism. But here in Alkadharam Ten Rabbit just wasn't sure.
So he decided to ask and was even more shocked by the answer. Apparently it wasn't a euphemism, the boss really did just want to talk. This was more and more bizarre as far as Ten Rabbit was concerned. But as he didn't really have to many options he agreed to go and talk to the boss. After all it wasn't out of the realm of possibility that a refusal would result in many broken bones or even death. Although for some reason that he really couldn't understand the later didn't really bother him too much. Ten Rabbit decided to not worry about it either way right now, but did file it away for further consideration when his plate wasn't so full.
After a little more discussion, mostly concerning the bully-boys putting a bag over his head to "hide" where the Assassin's Guild headquarters was located at, the group got under way. Ten Rabbit was more than a little pleased that whoever was leading him actually took care that he not stumble, trip or bump into anything on the way. Ten Rabbit was thankful enough for not acquiring any injuries on the trip that he actually thanked whoever it was who had led him there. An action that got a surprised chuckle and a "you're welcome" when he was done.
Ten Rabbit wasn't completely sure what he'd expected, but he knew that a normal looking hallway in front of a normal looking wooden door was so not it. As quick as they had appeared out in town his "escort" disappeared leaving him alone in the hallway. Well, Ten Rabbit decided silently to himself. Nothing ventured nothing gained, he lifted his arm and knocked on the door. Not to loudly but not exactly quietly either. Somehow Ten Rabbit managed to knock firmly but not rudely. He waited mostly patently for the voice to either call him in or tell him to go away. Though why the guild head would tell him to go away after going to all the trouble to get him there Ten Rabbit wasn't completely sure. But something in his mind was still thinking it might be possible.
The reply that came at Ten Rabbit's knock was almost so mundane it was almost comical. Not that Ten Rabbit thought any of this was comical of course. When he entered the room all Ten Rabbit could see was wealth. Not in an over the top ostentatious way mind you. It was the kind of wealth that whispered instead of yelled. It had obviously been wealthy for so long that it didn't have to make a point of it any more. The walls were painted with subtle but outstanding murals. All of which showed unique and impressive assassinations. Or at least that was what Ten Rabbit assumed they were showing. He wasn't going to ask to find out. The furniture was all well worn but richly appointed. The kind of furniture that was found in all of the best houses. It sat upon rugs that were so beautiful they should be hanging in art museums instead of laying on floors. All of this gave the impression of quiet wealth that never had to yell because everyone already knew who was in charge and just obeyed.
The man seated at the huge mahogany desk was as unimposing as the room he sat in was richly appointed. The kind of person that would be over-looked. Until that is he decided it was time for something to happen. Then everyone would jump to obey without question. Ten Rabbit was more than a little intimidated by the seated man but he couldn't really put his finger on why. But even then, there was a tiny bit in the back of his mind that chuckled to itself about how he was reacting.
At the old mans gesture Ten Rabbit seated himself in the comfortably padded chair on the opposite side of the desk. Ten Rabbit waited, a tad nervously, for the older man to speak only to be surprised by his question. Apparently the Assassins Guild had been confused when Ten Rabbit had come to town and not registered with the guild and paid his dues. This was more than surprising to Ten Rabbit since he hadn't known there was an assassins guild until today. This in turn surprised the old man who started to chuckle.
"You mean to tell me that you didn't know about our guild until today?" he said while chuckling. "Oh all the things that I had suspected this was not on the list." The guild head continued still very amused.
"I had thought that you were on a mission here. For one of our guild heads, like me for instance. Or that you were here to kill our Mahapratanidhi, may she reign long and well. And we probably would have had to stop you one that one. There is an unwritten but important rule that you don't assassinate the Mahapratanidhi. It tends to make things messy which is bad for business. Mind you if our cut had been big enough we might have gone along," the assassin added in an aside.
Ten Rabbit was confused and couldn't believe his ears. "You only wanted me to register and pay dues?"
"Well," the old man said. "If you'd just been passing through we might have waved the dues but you would definitely been required to register with the guild." The old assassin pierced Ten Rabbit with a steely gaze before continuing. "After all it's bad business to allow foreign assassins to wonder around your lands without so much as a "hi how are you", especially if they are a priest to a death god as well."
Ten Rabbit was a bit confused even more. How had this outsider known that he was a priest and sacred assassin of Camatz. That wasn't supposed to be possible. The quiet separate part however started chuckling again. Again Ten Rabbit was far to focused on the distinguished gentleman in front of him to take any actual notice.
"I see you want to know how I knew about your affiliation. Lets just say that we here in Kishnagar in general and Alkadharam specifically make it a point to know all of our counter-parts. Especially those that might become obstacles."
Ten Rabbit could only stare at the older assassin, his mind a blank. Never in his life had he heard anything like this. This old man acted as if assassination was only a job. Back in the quiet of his mind Ten Rabbit heard a small voice tell him "that's because it is".
