• Nobles of Null is a forum based roleplay site where sci-fi and magic collide. Here, Earth remains fractured and divided despite humanity reaching out to the stars. Worse still, the trans-human slaves of one major power have escaped, only to establish their own Empire, seething with resentment at abuses of the past. Even the discovery of aliens, though medieval in development, has failed to rally these squabbling children of Earth together with its far darker implications. Worse still, is the discovery of the impossible - magic. Practiced by the alien locals, nearly depleted and therefore rare, its reality warping abilities remains abstract and distant to the general populace. All the while, unseen in the darkness of space, forces from without threaten to press in. For those with eyes opened by insight, it is clear that an era is about to end, and that a new age will dawn.

Okigira: Prologue

TheCountryWarrior

TheCountryWarrior

Member

Prologue

The year is 3560 in the Age of Ascendance, within the city-state of Bastion in the desolate Badlands. Bastion had finished construction only 6 years prior, the result of a Dragonborn uniting many of the tribes in the area under one greater banner, that of a Golden Claw and Shield. The city was walled with desert stone, the brownish-sandy color dominating the walls of the city and of many of the buildings within it. The streets were largely unpaved, the stone making up adequate roadways for carts and foot traffic. Along the roads were merchant stands, built for trade and commerce within the city. They sold trinkets of any kind, from scavenged materials to crafted artistry.

In the center of the city was a castle of magnificent proportions, said to have been built by the Living Dragon God Draskgraggon the Golden King in but a single day. Rumors, of course, but to be fair, no one saw him build it. Around this castle the city was divided into three rings, the center ring being the castle. The caste's main gate fed directly into the main street, and in fact the gates were usually open. The main street ran straight through the castle, patrolled by soldiers to keep the peace, however trade was allowed in the castle grounds. This was called the Merchant Level, and the other levels were closed to the general public. The richest and most prominent merchants and guilds had a place there.

The ring around the castle held the middlingly important guild halls and merchants, where the upper-class dwelled most often, and more importantly where the heads of the Tribes had a City Home for conducting business in. The buildings are suitably ornate, with Badlands art and potted desert plants adorning the large homes of such important people.

The ring around that one was for the middle-class of sorts, where the average person lived and worked. In this ring were most places of employment, from breweries to manual labor, this ring was the place to go for a steady job. This ring also housed most of the religious centers, from the Shamanistic Order of the Land to the Badlands sect of the Maker, to, perhaps more importantly for you, the Observatory of the Cosmos.

The third ring was the poorest ring, though such notions were not considered polite when speaking of a Badlander. Perhaps the more apt description was "hardy." This ring housed most of the low level workers for the city, which the addition of housing the less reputable guild halls. The running gag is that everything is legal in Ring Three. This is close to the truth, but through the strength of arms of the military the place is kept relatively safe. If you're looking for some less morally upstanding work, or to ask someone to do some less morally upstanding work for you, the third ring has it all.

Around the city is a massive swirling dust storm, magical in nature, to obscure the location of Bastion from the hostile eyes of the Empire of Calcia to the north and the tribes that frowned on such unity.

The Badlands is a desolate wasteland, as the name implies, littered with canyons and deserts and plateaus and very little water at all. Tribes are built along the scarce rivers that lead out to the sea to the south, and Bastion has the only safe to drink lake in it's borders. The people of this land are, as a requirement, hardy, strong, and intensely mixed. There are few pure-blooded humans in the Badlands at present, and alike there are few pure-blooded elves. As such, this new race of mixed descent has been called Wildlings for some time, their ancestry with mixes of orcish, human, elvish, sometimes even draconic. Each Badlander learns at a young age that the strong will seek to overpower the weak, and as such weakness is a trap. The only reason Bastion was formed was because the Golden Tribes believed they'd be stronger together. The tribes that refuse to join believe otherwise, or fear Bastion will become the newest threat.
 
Raymond of Mephis served as city watch for the Middle Ring, in particular the area around the Observatory of the Cosmos, ever since it finished construction. The Mephis tribe, a name granted to the otherwise nameless group of dragonborn by human scholars, was one of the many that united under the Golden Claw and Shield. As a gold wyrmling, Raymond was cared for by priests and sorcerers who worked under the Star Father, trained by a paladin and educated by a witch. With knowledge and strength at hand, Raymond channels the powers granted to him from his divine patron through his dragonbreath, and walks the streets of Bastion donning the colors of the Observatory and chainmail underneath, his tail outfitted with metal plate, serving as a weapon, and a completely metal spear in hand that serves as another extension of his body.

Raymond of Mephis heard his name called from behind, he'd turn to see Captain Esesks, a tall, muscular Red Dragonborn, and his direct superior. Raymond knew the man was a bit of a hardass in most situations, but he was loyal to the city of Bastion above all else. He nodded to Raymond, a nod of acknowledgment, and began speaking. "Raymond, I have been asked by the Commander to send someone to the Third Ring, and you were the first motherfucker I saw that I know won't immediately die. Head to the Third Ring, Second Section, and see if you can help. Target is some creature of some sort, probably nothing. Chase it off and report back. Get to it."

"Consider it done, Captain." Raymond put his left fist to his chest and replied without a second thought. With spear in hand, he made his way to the lowest level of the city.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the city...

"Dumb Stabby Stab!" Ghelina screeched, throwing another rock at the beast who had effectively chased her up the wall. "Ghelina's grub grub! Go get own!"

The beast behind her was a large, horrific monstrosity of unknown origin. At least that's what it was to her, this beast was unlike any she'd seen herself, and prhaps that was a good thing. The beast moved on six spiked legs, chitinous armor covering it, the rock boucning off said armor. The monster hissed up at her with a large maw of teeth, it's long neck craning up to nip at her.

"Ghelina not grub grub! GNYA!" She shouted, kicking it in the nose as hard as she can. "NOT GRUB GRUB! GO AWAY!"

Her kick landed directly against the beast nose, the monster backing away quickly in response. Ghelina could see it's eyes narrow further, and it roared up at her, it's two front legs stabbing into the wall. It was beginning to climb up to her! It seemed to object to the notion that Ghelina was not grub grub.

Ghelina screamed at it again, baring her teeth. She was small, but stubborn as she climbed a little further up the wall, her claws digging into the cracks of the stone. She had to be crafty. Maybe she could make it run away. She waited for it to get ready to bite at her again, and then jumped to try and get onto it's back.

The beast was now standing horizontally on the wall, looking down at Ghelina with an animalistic disdain, rage, as it snapped forward again. With a sudden lunge of her own, she leapt forward onto it's back, grasping onto it's weird armor, trying to savagely attack the beast's neck. This was met with a horrific screech as the beast reared up, twisting and turning it's neck as it tried to snag her with it's teeth. It moved forward, standing on the top of the wall now as it snarled. Ghelina's plan may have been reckless, but at the very least she wasn't in tooth range currently.

She caught the eye of beast once, and she saw in it some terrible thought. The beast stared up at the blue sky, and began to gag and spit, the result of which was a green spray of acid erupting into the air above them, falling down on the two of them. She felt the acid on her skin, eating away at her in little splotches, but the beast was suffering similarly.

Ghelina screamed out, swatting at the acid as if she were being attacked by something, before falling off the beast and down to the ground below with a loud THUMP

Ghelina felt the hot rock smack into her when her fall was completed, the pain racking her body as her eyes went just a little blurry.

Raymond of Mephis would arrive to see many people running from the problem, forcing him to look up. What a surprise it would be to see the monster standing on the wall, watching as a Lizardfolk woman was sent to the ground below. This seemed like the problem he was sent to deal with. It also seemed like the problem would be greater than anticipated.

Immediately, Raymond brought his arms and shoulder blades backward, his bracers flashing once before he opened his maw, revealing a ball of light within, which condensed into three arcs of light that shot straight towards the monstrosity. With a puff of smoke that came with his exhale, and ran towards the smaller Lizardfolk. "You okay?" He asked in straightforward Common. All he really got was a dazed groan.

The three puffs of fire landed on the beast's hide, causing it to let out another screech of pain! It locked eyes with Raymond, and began to skitter down the wall towards him, and the dazed lizard woman! It's neck leaned forward, jaws snapping as it got closer and closer!

Raymond's eyes narrowed, standing between the Lizardfolk and the monster stoically. He murmured something beneath his breath, his bracers flashing once more, as he spun his metal spear extravagantly into a defensive position, his armored tail similarly ready to strike. Then, as the monster lunged at him, a pillar of light struct at the back of the monster, aiming right for the neck.

It was a conjured spear, simple in shape and design.

The spear struck through the monster's neck, all it could say in response was a gurgle of pain. It didn't stop, however, still rushing forward, carried by momentum, and perhaps, a little bit of hatred. It raised a spiked leg up and slammed it down, stabbing just short of Raymond's body. Now face to face with this creature, he got a damn good look at it, it was much larger than him, 6 spiked legs providing it's locomotion, and a long neck, unprotected for the most part. Not to mention the spear through it's neck. It was quick too, perhaps even intelligent, but it was pure meat, no spirit to it. It slammed another spike down, but his spear was sufficient to deflect it.

Raymond looked slightly behind the monster, then back at it. With a determination in his eyes, he freed one hand from his spear to grab the monster by its neck, while his armored tail replaced his spear to maintain the parry. Then, with fast movements of his fingers, his maw once again opened, producing another ball of light. But this time it shrank and disappeared for a split second, before erupting behind the monster into a great fireball to burn it alive.

The sound of a fire erupting was heard in this alleyway, as a fireball lit the space behind the monster. It let out a horrifically pained squeal, falling forward, it's back smoking, pieces of it blasted away. It painfully fell to the ground, trying to crawl away now, trying to survive.

The dragonborn snorted smoke out of his nostrils, his tail wrapped forward in front of him as a loyal shield as his bare, reptilian foot came down upon the monster's neck, attempting to crush its windpipe. The skewering came immediately after with both physical and spiritual spear striking into the neck. The beast gurgled again, and was silent. The alley was quiet, and Raymond was left with a mostly conscious lizard woman and a big dead monster.

Kicking it twice to make sure it was truly dead, Raymond turned back to the Lizardfolk. "Clench your teeth." He ordered as he examined the splotches of corroded skin. His finger moved over the wounds, leaving behind a path of scorching heat, and skin that began to visibly close up. It didn't stop Ghelina from hissing in pain as she squirmed.

Once he was done, he looked up to the sky. As expected, the bird familiars were circling above, watching the entire encounter. With a nod to them, he began to walk away, leaving the corpse and the Lizardfolk behind, making his way back to the Middle Ring.
 
Raymond made his way back to the Middle Ring, particularly the Sentry Station he reported to. Captain Esesks sat at his desk, aggressively scribbling reports. He looked up to regard Raymond. "See? I knew you wouldn't die immediately. Actually you look like you're doing just fine. Your report soldier?" He was asking for Raymond's report of the incident, which Raymond knew Esesks both loved and hated, loved because demanding a report felt good, hated because he then actually had to write the report.

"A monster that spawns from one's worst nightmares chased after the lizardfolk in the Third Ring." Raymond explained flatly. "It was slain by me through standard mage combat tactics of the evocation school. The Lizardfolk was a small female, most likely hailing from the tribes on the outskirts of the city. She took injuries to the skin though acidic burns to the skin. After treating her wounds, I left the scene. That is all."

The Captain nodded, taking in Raymond's words. "I'll have the Academy take a look at it's carcass, if it's new we'll log it, if we already know what it is I might remember to tell you at some point. Alright, dismissed. Hopefully the tribal woman being attacked doesn't bite us in the ass, but if she's from the local tribes we should be fine. I don't know, I'm not a Chieftain, as you were." He took out a different sheet of paper, and sighed. "Reports. Fuck."

Raymond simply nodded, then turned to continue his patrol. It was mostly uneventful, until he turned a corner. He was then face to face with the upside-down face of the Lizardfolk girl who had been fighting that creature from before, and she was just looking at him. "Hi," She said, her voice gruff and gravelly, but also clearly feminine. She was hanging upside-down off a balcony, which was how she managed to be at eye level.

"Hello." Raymond greeted her politely. "I see you've recovered. Anything I can help you with?"

"Big scale stop story ending," She said, shifting so now she was hanging right side up by one arm. She wasn't wearing anything substantial, and now that he wasn't either fighting a monster, or trying to lend her medical aide, it was all the more obvious. A few straps and belts, a tail bag, and a backpack. Her scales and face were stained with red dirt, and she had bits and baubles weaved into the thick, stiff quills of her mane. "Me stay with big scale till me stop his story ending."

"Story ending..." Raymond pondered, "Ah, yes, you're welcome. As for the gratitude, that won't be necessary. You are free to go back to your tribe and continue with your own life."

Ghelina looked at Raymond for a moment, then shook her head. "Me no can. Me tell story, an tribe end story big big. No want. Me help you instead, long story, gods happy."

"I... see." Raymond's tail lowered and curled a bit around his leg, expressing sad sympathy. "You can no longer go back, can you? In that case I'll find you a place in the Observatory to live for now until we can figure something out for you."

"Me already figure out," Ghelina said, lifting herself back up onto the balcony, scratching behind one of her horns. "Me help you. Me tribe big head, know lots. Can grab stuffs for big scale. Best grub grub finder, never insides hurt. Promise!"

"Alright, alright." Raymond nodded in agreement, partially just to humor the lizardfolk. "Let's go then." His tail uncurled from his leg. Ghelina followed him, only dropping down to street level when she couldn't use balconies and other elevated platforms to keep up, forcing her to jog to keep pace.

Raymond led the way to the Observatory of the Cosmos, a large compound with a tall observatory in the center. It was walled with the same sandstone as the rest of the city, but across it's sides were painted vistas of the stars, constellations drawn out, distant planets labelled on the walls, inside and out. The compound was divided according to the Moons, the center observatory for the Mother Moon, the Barracks for the Summer Moon, the Library for the Fall Moon, the Cosmic Church for the Spring Moon, and the Hall of Remembrance for the Winter Moon. Raymond would be heading for the Observatory proper to tell the Observer his guard shift had ended, before heading to the Barracks where he had a room.

The Observatory was a tall building, shaped like a big bubble. Sticking from the top was a pillar that moved via strange clockwork, a telescope. Inside, the top of the observatory was another mural of the stars, a map. Raymond saw the Star Keepers (the Cosmos version of the paladin) walk around, and on a pedestal before the Telescope stood the Master of Understanding. He oversaw the Observatory and it's clerics, and as such Raymond reported to him.

He was an older Blue Dragonborn, wearing navy blue robes with a headdress of horns. He looked to Raymond and his new ally, stepping down from the pedestal. "Raymond, my son, I hope your day was filled with Understanding!" This was his usual greeting.

"It was, Master." Raymond nodded. He then stepped aside to reveal the small lizardfolk standing behind his body that was almost twice her size. "I come to speak of this matter. I saved her from a beast of unknown origin, but now she cannot return to her tribe due to reasons beyond my understanding. She wishes to stay at my side, and I'll entertain that notion until the Observatory can come to a decision."

"Me help big scale," Ghelina said, looking between the two dragonborn. "Me know lots. Tribe big head. Do many things, yes yes. Best grub grub finder, no no use mate. Me work biggest hard!"

"The emphasis is on entertain, Master." Raymond repeated.

The Master of Understanding appraised the lizard girl with an amused glance. "I wish I could understand it, truly. I do believe that it is claiming it's a gatherer of some repute, but her common is so primitive that I suspect she is from a either an isolationist tribe, or just a very primitive one." He looked to Raymond, hands behind his back like an admiral, or a scholar. "You wish to entertain the notion that she may continue this path she's chosen? We cannot just have a stray in the compound, not without supervision. What do you think should be done Raymond? What would you prefer to do with her?"

"I would prefer if she had a tribe of her own, but I'm not sure that'll be the case. For now, I will keep an eye on her." Raymond replied.

"Me no go back to tribe," She said, shaking her head vigorously. "They end big story, gods unhappy. Punish short stories. Me want long story, so help big scale must. Help big scale have long story. Can leave when stop story ending."

"She wants to stay with me until she gets a chance to save my life, it seems." Raymond explained. "Master, everyone deserves a tribe to call home."

The Master of Understanding held a hand to his draconic chin, taking in the lizard's words. "Ah. Her gods require a story to end before she can return? Either she needs to save you, or you must die, before she can return. Fascinating. 'Stop story ending,' yes she must save you. I must looking into this. In the mean time, you will need to find a place to stay for her elsewhere. She cannot stay here. The Light of Understanding would be lost on her, and we have not the spare room for one not adding to Understanding."

"Understood." Raymond nodded, then looked down at the Lizardfolk. "Come, hmm... your name?"

"Name?" Ghelina asked, looking at Raymond. "Ghelina Big Bite! Cause I bite much big!" She said, opening her jaws surprisingly wide and snapping them shut powerfully. "Much strong, good protect. No danger. Big Promise!"

"Very well, Ghelina." Raymond turned back to the Master of Understanding. "I might have to sleep elsewhere in the city tonight, given her attachment. Is that acceptable to you?"

"It is not. You understand as I do that Clerics of Cosmos are not to spend time out of the compound without the proper instruction and clearance. Namely, you must complete the reciting of the tenants, some of which are hidden from you. You are not prepared for the City of Bastion. Send the girl away and return to your barracks. That will be all." He turned about, returning to his massive telescope. This indicated the conversation was over.

"You heard the Master." Raymond pushed Ghelia out of the Observatory, then towards the entrance of the compound. "Let me find you a tavern to stay in." He nodded to the Star Keepers along the way.
 
Ghelina scowled a little. "Me know lots! Me stay, keep your story long! Other big scale say big dumb things. Plenty room in big shelter for me!"

"I'm sorry, that can't happen until the Master allows you in. Until then, we'll find you a place elsewhere." Raymond shook his head.

"Big scale no understand. Fine. Me have teach, so big scale learn," She grumbled, crossing her arms.

"Let's get a roof over your head first. And some food." Raymond looked forward. "Then you can tell me everything you want, little one."

Raymond led Ghelina through the Middle Ring to one of the cheaper taverns. At the very least she'd have a roof over her head in a relatively safe part of town. Raymond had the scratch for a night or two maybe, for one person. Luckily he didn't have to pay for his barracks room. The inn was called the Tapped Tailor, noted by the tapestries of common quality decorating the walls. The innkeeper gave the two of them a nod, an orcish man with grey hair. "A room for two? Single bed or double bed?"

"Me small. Roof make happy, no bed," She said, still looking pouty. "Big scale not listen. Big mean."

The innkeeper blinked, looking between Raymond and Ghelina. "We don't have rooms... without beds. You can get two rooms if you want, if..." he looks to Raymond, confused but seeming to take away something from this limited conversation that wasn't true, "if big scale being big mean."

Ghelina looked around, then saw an empty corner. "Me sleep there."

"I can't just let you sleep in the corner. You need to get a room."

"I no need room! Roof good. No wind. Make cold." She said stubbornly.

"No loitering allowed, you need to pay to sleep under my roof!" He was growing exasperated, looking to Raymond with a small glare. "Can you get your lizard in order?"

Raymond pulled Ghelina away from the bar by her backpack. "Sorry about that." He looked down at the Lizardfolk with a waning patience. "You have two options. You either accept a room in the inn and sleep here for the night, or you find a dwelling elsewhere and not bother the tavernkeeper. Are we clear?"

Ghelina rolled her eyes. "Fine! Me find new shelter without big mean Green man to say Ghelina no can sleep in corner. Ghelina big sleeper, can sleep anywhere!" She huffed, before licking Raymond and running off.

Raymond waved back at the orc, before striding off to follow rambunctious lizardfolk, but when he got outside, she was gone.

Raymond watched the orc tense up, narrowing his eyes at the lizard girl for the 'Green Man' comment, but he seemed to just take it. Raymond now seems to have gotten rid of a problem, at least until the morning. There's no way she could follow him into the compound, and perhaps he could sleep well knowing he saved her life, despite the... new complications attached to that. Heroism was nice, but it was full of responsibility, apparently.

He made his way home, the Mother Moon and Summer moon hanging over his passage. The compound was closing it's doors, the gate shutting firmly behind him as he made his way to the Barracks, to his room. As a Cleric of the Cosmic Understanding, he had his own room to better suit meditation purposes, but more importantly it suits some damn peace and quiet. The night is his, for now.

Raymond took off his armor and outer apparel, leaving him in a simple, sleeveless shirt and shorts with a hole cut out for his tail, which curled around him in a circle as he sat on knees, his feet underneath his body. He closed his eyes, his hands on his knees, and meditated.

His barracks were mostly against the wall, with a small gap between his wall and the compound's wall to allow a window to let some fresh air in, and the Badlands needed it. It was under the Moons and stars he meditated, unbothered.

Unbothered for a time at least. His meditation was uninterrupted, his center found, and his mind cleared of all temptation and untoward desires. He went to sleep, the sounds of night consisting of locusts chirping away, and the occasional hoot of a elusive Owlcat. His sleep was peaceful.

Except towards the end, which was much sooner than expected. His senses picked up something, alerting him. Something was in the room with him. Very close. His hand was even on it. It was cool to the touch, and the leather feel of scales were familiar.

Raymond's eyes opened up, and he turned around to find Ghelina curled up besides him snoring. He frowned, picking her up by the back of her neck and supporting her bottom at the base of her tail.

"Up," Raymond ordered, carrying her to the door. "The Master will not tolerate such intrusion."

Ghelina squawked, her limbs flailing about. "Big scale let go! Small head big scale not big mad by what he no no!" She argued, squirming even more. "Make protect hard! Stop!"

Raymond ignored her, bringing her out the barracks much to the amusement of his fellow clerics and Star Keepers, approaching the main gate.

"Silly big scale!" Ghelina half yelled, half growled in frustration. "Does what told no ask why! No think Ghelina good, only bad! All cause small head say Ghelina bad! No decide for self!" She said, continuing to try and get out of the grip.

Raymond stopped in his tracks for a moment, then continued walking and called up to the gate watchers. "Open it up a bit." As the double doors yawned open, Raymond admonished Ghelina. "If you want to talk, do it tomorrow morning. I need sleep." With that, he practically threw her out, then helped close the gates shut. He then went into the library to find one of the Observatory's mages. After getting the mage to fortify his window, Raymond slumped back in bed to get some much needed rest.
 
One of the night mages, of the Star Shift (the night shift if you will) came to wave their hands over the window, spectral bars forming to protect it. Raymond is left to sleep, for just a little while longer. To bad it wasn't long at all until he could smell the scent of dirt and soot, as well as the feel of scales under his arm that were not his. Ghelina had somehow snuck her way back into the sanctuary.

Raymond's eyes went back open again, seeing Ghelia curled up next to him. "By the gods..." The dragonborn started to sound frustrated, "How did you get in this time?"

"Ghelina walk in," She said, curling up tighter. "Big scale go sleep. No cranky with sleep," She added, sticking her muzzle under his arm.

"Absolutely not." Raymond picked her up for the second time and brought her to the gates, before pausing, turning to the Observatory instead.

"Master." He greeted the Master of Understanding, with Ghelia in his hands. Between Raymond's visible frustration and Ghelina's dirty claws, it was apparent what had happened.

"Bad touch! Bad touch!" Ghelina yelled, kicking and flailing. No mean no put Ghelina down!"

The Master of Understanding had been at a desk in the observatory, gently writing away, when Raymond barged in with a wiggly lizard. He sighed, looking over the beast with an air of exasperation. "It seems you've gained a new companion, a constant one at that." He tapped his chin, thinking. "What could we possibly do with he, aside from knocking her over the head and leaving her outside. Given her relatively low sapience, low education, and annoyingly high tenacity, I could count her as a pet, allowing her to stay?"

Raymond stayed quiet at the notion of calling the Lizardfolk a pet, but he replied flatly nonetheless. "She will be my responsibility then. I will not allow her to bother you." He let her down, but still had a hand on her neck.

Ghelina brushed herself off indignantly. "Small head big scales think Ghelina pet. Ghelina person, just no talk good. Small head think no can talk no can think. Big mean."

The Master of Understanding chuckled, waving his hand dismissively. "Yes yes, on your way. Raymond, remember yourself around her, though I'm certain temptation would be lost on you. If she proves useful in some way, we will revisit her permissions among us. As of yet, she cannot enter a building without your supervision. That will be all." He turned again, indicating the conversation was over.

"Let's go to sleep, little one." Raymond finally let go of her neck, then patted her on the back to herd her back to his room.

"We no had to stop!" Ghelina snapped in annoyance. "Could do all this when big bright rise up and hurt lookers. Big scales sleep in big nice time. Only small head sleep when small brights in sky."

"Yes yes." Raymond replied half understanding the Lizardfolk. Once he got into bed he yawned. "Good night."

Ghelina crawled in next, curling up into Raymond's stomach. Before he could say anything, she was already snoring.

The morning came uneventfully, Raymond awakening to Ghelina still curled up on top of him. He had his morning routine to complete, and it seemed he had a plus one this morning.
 
Raymond didn't bother waking up the Lizardfolk. Instead, he got to the floor and began his morning prayers first. Though, Ghelina was up once he moved. She looked around, then looked at Raymond. "I go grab grub grub. You stay. Funny self whisper. Will come soon," She said, before jumping out the window and sprinting off.

The dragonborn wanted to stop her, but sighed, instead going back to his prayers. Once he was done, he went into the mess hall to grab a bite: his usual meal, a hunk of meat and watered down wine. Once he was done with that, he returned to his room to don his armor and Observatory colors.

"Me look everywhere!" A familiar, yet muffled voice said, Ghelina poking her head through the window with a whole, dead, chicken in her teeth. "Me find grub grub," She said, dropping the Chicken on the floor in the process. "Left in space to walk. You eat," She practically demanded.

Raymond gave the dead chicken a worried look. Not because he minded a dead chicken in his room, but...

"Did you just kill a chicken in the middle of the road?" He asked.

"Yes?" Ghelina asked. "Space to walk, was just pecking. So Ghelina big bite. Small head in shiny suit mad, but Ghelina too big head. He no can climb, silly small head. Shiny suit small head!"

"Oh sky father..." Raymond muttered, rummaging through his purse, wondering if he had enough to pay for some poor farmer's chicken. "Look," He put a hand on her shoulder. "We don't kill animals in the city, understood? Those are someone else's animals, and we don't steal from other people."

"No steal," Ghelina said, shaking her head. "Flappy in my muzzle, means mine. I give you. You eat, be big head like Ghelina. All other grub grub nasty hot. Not good grub grub. This good. No make insides hurt!"

"No no no." Raymond shook his head. "Before you bit into it, where did it come from?"

"Me no bite. You bite. Eat," Ghelina said, grabbing the bird and holding it up to Raymond. "Ghelina eat few brights ago. No need grub grub that much. Keep your story long. No sick."

"Few brights---" Raymond shook his head again, "One thing at a time. You got the chicken from somewhere, right?"

"Space for walking," Ghelina said, sounding impatient.

"Yes, in the city, right?"

"Big wall," Ghelina said. "Inside. You eat now. Else story end and gods big mad. Me get punished big big. Eat, see?" Ghelina asked, sticking the bird back into her muzzle.

"No, I won't do anything until you listen." Raymond raised his voice. "That chicken came from inside the city. Therefore it is someone else's chicken. You don't take other people's animals from inside the city. Understood?"

Ghelina scowled. "Then keep in shelter! Ghelina no take grub grub from shelter! Space to walk. Not shelter. Do flat faces own scavvies? I see scavvies, in space to walk. No one big mad about scavvies. Those grub grub too, just not big big for big scale."

"Just don't take chickens from inside the city." Raymond partially seethed. "Treat this whole place as if it's a giant shelter for chickens, okay?"

"That big small brain," Ghelina muttered. "Eat. I try hard. No waste grub grub, hard to get!"

"Promise me first." Raymond leered at her.

"Fine, no take flappy," Ghelina groaned. "Eat! Eat eat eat!"

"No, I already ate." Raymond replied. "I eat hot meals. You should too, since you haven't eaten in days."

"You eat already?" Ghelina asked, suddenly looked shocked.

Raymond nodded.

"Me ask one thing!" Ghelina stomped, clutching at her mane. "Big scale no listen! No listen to Ghelina! Think Ghelina big small head! Think big wall make so special! I try hard, you no eat! Big mean! Gods punish big mean!"

Raymond drew in breath. "Ghelina, you want to protect me, correct?"

"Big scale no be outside wall!" Ghelina snapped. "Big scale, big small head, new scale! Me live outside big wall through many stormy times! Me on own and no die, you die, several brights. No more. Stompy stomp crush and eat. Me big head. Me know how keep safe, big scale just no see! No understand, think such big head."

"Well as long as we're in the city, you listen to me, okay?" Raymond asked.

"Big scale make Ghelina's job hard," She grumbled.

"Say yes." Raymond grumbled back.

"Fine, big scale no want help," She huffed. "I go sit and wait for gods to get big mad," She snapped, turning around and jumping out of the window, crawling up the wall and out of sight.

Raymond sighed, picking up the chicken. "Alright, time to find that farmer..."
 
It wasn't too hard to find the scene of the crime, a trail of blood leading to a spot in the streets on the outskirts of the middle ring, a pool of blood near a house. A Wildling, perhaps some human and elf in there, man is holding a sharpened pitchfork with angry intent. He doesn't seem to pay Raymond much mind.

"Your chicken, sir?" Raymond raised the dead beast in front of the farmer.

His eyes widened, and he pointed the pitchfork towards Raymond. "You do that, or did yer pet do it? I hope you intend to pay fer that! Chickens ain't free!"

"Yes," Raymond replied apologetically, "I do. How much is it?"

The farmer blinked, seeming to consider this. "2 gold." Raymond knew this was a ridiculous price for a chicken, especially one from some Middle Ring farmer.

"A chicken is not worth two gold." Raymond replied flatly.

The farmer set the pitchfork upright, shrugging. "Call it compensation for the brutal murder of one of my animals."

"You understand I'm a city guard, right?" Raymond warned. "The laws of this city do not work that way."

He frowned, pointing at the still bleeding chicken. "Then what the fuck do you expect to do about my gaddamn chicken?! I deserve some recompense for my loss here!"

"Hmm..." Raymond looked at the corpse. "Suppose I bought it from you. There is no difference, is there? I might as well have purchased it and killed it myself, once you tell me the proper price."

He narrowed his eyes, and growled. "5 silver." He seemed determined to get some money out of this.

"That is fair." Raymond handed him the pieces. He then went to go look for some hungry dogs to feed the corpse to.

There were always dogs hanging around in their little dog gangs, and such an offering wouldn't be remiss. He had little use for staying, and turned rather quickly from what would be a grisly sight. Work to be done anyway. He had to report to Captain Esesks after all.

Captain Esesks sat at his desk, glancing up as Raymond entered the Sentry Station. "Ah Ray, just the Golden Boy I wanted to see! You did good on the... fuck what was it." He starts flipping through reports in a filing cabinet, before nodding. "The Kruthik. Kruziik? Kra-something, that big ass monster. You seem the reliable sort, and as such I think I could use you in much more effective ways than a simple beat cop. So, that in mind, I need you to take a look into something for me." He slid a report over to Raymond, nodding down to it. "Woman on the outskirts of the Third Ring, reported shady activity at the Inn "Talentless Talks," you get to go look into it for. Shouldn't be too hard, barely an inconvenience. Come back with info, or even just confirm that the woman is just a Nosy Nellie, either way, you're moving up kid! Any questions soldier?"

"No sir. I'll be on my way." Raymond replied, then went his way.

Just another job, just good work for the world. The "Talentless Talks" inn was a run down building of rough clientele, laborers about to get to work, people giving quick money in return for jobs of dubious morality. The inn was made to wrap around a pedestal of sorts, a raised platform for people to speak from, or bards to play on. The innkeeper was a full-blooded orcish woman, scars running down the side of her face, a scowl planted on her mouth. She regarded Raymond with some amount of suspicion, unfortunately not rare in these parts. "You here for a drink or you here to complain?"

"Both, if you will." Raymond set his spear next to him, while his armored tail swayed slowly. He sat down on a stool, then tossed the innkeeper a few coins. "Ale will suffice." As he received his beverage and took a token sip, he asked, "Business is okay, I assume?"

She turned to a keg and pulled him some ale into a mug, taking the cash as she set it down before him. "It's okay, yeah. Why? You hearing otherwise?"

"Whispers. Rumors." Raymond replied. "I figured I'd stop buy, check out the fuss, and give some patronage."

Her eyes shifted to the corner, just once, before landing back on him. "Probably some old bitch who can't keep her ears to herself, looking for a reason to hate us. Sure, we have fun at night, isn't anybody's business."

"I see." Raymond gulped down his ale, then stood up. "Thank you." He then promptly left the establishment. Exiting, he looked up, searching for the magical familiars above head. Finding one, he idly patrolled the area around Talentless Talks, always keeping it within a dash's range.

He wasn't sure what to look for exactly, but he watched as people came and went. Soon it was lunchtime, he could tell the place was well populated. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw an old woman of elvish descent on a rocking chair, just staring at the inn with disdain.

Raymond walked up to her. "You were the one who sent the complaint?" He asked in his usual, neutral and low voice.

She nodded, pulling a pipe from her pack on her porch. "I'm glad they sent someone! All hours of the night I hear that racket, and I swear I hear some of those "Speakers" talking shit about Bastion. Oughta be illegal if you ask me."

"Is that everything Ma'am?" Raymond asked with a slight sigh. He didn't know whether to be grateful that nothing big was happening, or slightly frustrated that all this was just some negative opinions of the city. "Well, do you know what they were saying?"

"I bet you they're part of them Freemen tribals, you know the ones, they were the bastards that opposed the union. I always said them motherfuckers shoulda been turned out of the city." She shook her head with annoyance. "It's just a matter of time before they start something. If it were up to me, we'd have kicked them all out ages ago."

"Mmmhm." Raymond nodded. "Thank you." It didn't hurt to come around in the evening, he supposed. On that thought, he left the scene to report back to the Captain, then waited until the sun set to come back again.

He made his way down the street, but he didn't get far before he heard a "Psst!" Looking over, he saw a Dragonborn woman of blue scales patterned with red, dressed in the basic outer ring outfit, beckoning him closer. "Officer! Can you help me with something?"

"Go ahead. Speak." Raymond turned around.

"I need some help with moving boxes, and you and your strapping self was just walking down the street!" She flashed her eyelashes at him, smiling sweetly. "Care to help me officer?" She lifted a finger and beckoned him forward. "Please, I'd really appreciate it."

Raymond looked her up and down. "Sorry Ma'am, I was not hired for labor. Unless it is a matter of safety or health, you'll have to find someone else. Now, if you'll excuse me." He turned around.

"Matriarch have Motherly Mercy my first job is with a damn Cosmic prude." Raymond didn't have the time to react as he felt a bolt scrape past him, cutting him but thankfully not embedding itself into his body. He turned, to find the same woman holding a small crossbow. "FOR FREEDOM!" Three others, an orcish man and two wildlings start advancing, crossbow bolts flung at him at great speed, one digging into his arm. His scales are handy in this case, but it still hurts like hell itself.
 
Raymond winced at the pain, but kept his footing, whipping his tail back and forth to swat away further strikes, while his fingers danced quickly and his maw opened. But just as the light was about to compress within his mouth, a familiar figure dashed behind the assailants, forcing him to close his mouth shut, pushing hot gas out of his nostrils.

Ghelina bolted, before lunging upwards to sink her talons into the Blue Dragonborn's back. The Tiny Lizard grabbed the Blue Dragonborn's shoulders with her hand and twisted to pull her down to the ground with a pitched, violent shreak, quickly putting her name to work as she started biting at her throat.

The blue/red Dragonborn fell to the ground, hissing in relation to the agony that was having her throat bitten, while the orc turned to Ghelina and raised his crossbow, sending a bolt into her side making her scream even louder, while the Wildings focused Raymond, two more bolts flying, one sinking into his armor, the other piercing into his chest, slowed by the armor.

The gold dragonborn flinched. Taking stock that a friendly was now in the fray and injured, he snorted embers out of his nostrils, then surged towards the orc, grabbing him by the neck. With fire in his eyes, his hand burned red hot against the orc's flesh. The wildlings were not to be spared either, as a spiritual spear formed out of thin air and attempted to impale one of them.

Despite the bolt poking out of her chest, Ghelina was still able to get to her feet with animalistic rage in her eyes. She let out another scream, but this one sounded distant. Faint, even as she pushed herself towards one of the still standing wildings, tackling him and beginning to claw wildly at any exposed area she could, focusing heavily on the throat face and eye when she could.

The orc yelled out as his neck was burned, fire spouting from around his throat as he fell to the ground, clutching at his throat. The wildlings were assaulted immediately after, one taking a spear through the chest, while the other took a humanoid raptor to the torso. Their flesh was torn, rent by her claws, eyes popped and throat slashed.

All in all, a victory. The four assailants lay dead or dying, and people were rushing to either spectate or holding the nearest pointy object. One of the gate guards looks at the scene, utterly confused. He nods to Raymond, seeing a fellow guard. "What the draconic fuck happened here?!" He looked over to the onlookers, pointing out a couple. "You three, help me clean this up."

Ghelina finally stood up, her breath ragged and rattling. Her chest wasn't moving right but the rage was still in her eyes. Then it wasn't and she looked down at herself, only to faceplant shortly after.

Raymond didn't reply to his fellow guard, instead tending to the Lizardfolk who managed to get herself injured again. Not that he was in a particularly good shape either, but he's been through worse. The dragonborn had one hand on Ghelina's wound, the other hand pulling out the bolt slowly, bringing along bits and pieces of flesh. Immediately, he had both hands on the wound to seal it with divine heat.

He then picked her up in his arms carefully, like carrying an injured cat. "I'll report to the captain after," He replied to the guard, neverminded that the bolts in his body were scorching painful either. Without missing a beat, he strode back to the Observatory.

The Observatory's gates were open, several guards catching sight of his wounds. One of the other clerics, a Silver Dragonborn woman he knew as Aeska, walked with him as he moved. "Goodness, you look like you need help, like you were ambushed by three Dire Minotaurs. Set the lizard down, let me help you."

"Take care of her." Raymond ordered, putting Ghelia down, following it with a groan. "I'll treat myself." He then slowly walked to the medicine room. Once inside, he bit into some folded cloth, then started pulling it the bolts in his chest and arm, his nostrils pushing out embers as he cried in agony, muffled by the cloth. He immediately then tore off his armor and shirt before the bleeding got too bad, searing the wound and applying ointments and bandages, heavily breathing the entire way.

Aeska brought Ghelina along, placing her on a bench to look her over.

As Ghelina was being tended too by Aeska, Ghelina woke up with a start and immediately started screaming, spinning herself around and jumping onto the Silver Dragonborn with a raspy shreik.

Raymond immediately stomped over and grabbed Ghelina by the neck, forcing her back on the bench with one hand still flailing. "Sorry about that." He apologized the second time today, this time to his fellow cleric. "Are you alright?" He asked Ghelina.

"Big small head big scale!" She hissed, continuing to thrash. "Me want out keeping story long, and you big small head do again!" She yelled. "No thank! Feed Ghelina's hunt to yaps! No care! Big big mean! Gods end story big big! You wait!" She screeched, trying to get her claws to bear.

Aeska was hissing in pain, running a hand over shallow scratches the lizard had left on her. "What is with your pet here, and DO I NEED TO STAB IT?" She, being one of the newer clerics, was not as emotionally controlled as Raymond yet. This was proof of that, as she glared at Ghelina.

"Please don't." Raymond ordered, wondering how he angered the Star Father for such a day to occur. "Look, that chicken was hot in the sun for quite a while. I was doing you a service by giving it to animals who actually needed it. That's another thing that I didn't get to ask before you ran out of my room. You said you haven't eaten for days now. You want food? Proper food?"

"Flappy was grub grub!" She yelled. "You no eat, you let waste! Ghelina no waste grub grub! You no care!" She hissed. "Think such big head but miss important stuff! Always miss important stuff!"

"Aeska, if you don't want to listen to this, go grab some porridge and a slab of meat. Doesn't matter what it is." Raymond asked her, temporarily ignoring Ghelia.

She sighed, still glaring at Ghelina. "Really? You're going to feed it? Let it get it's own damn grub grub, turn it back into the wild where it belongs." She put a hand to Raymond's shoulder, shaking her head. "You remember the old saying, if you tolerate it, let it go, and if it comes back deal with it."

"Small head big scale no use saying right!" Ghelina hissed. "Think so big head but not! Hide in city! No understand! Small head! Small head!"

"I hate to say it she has a point." Raymond sighed. "Plus it did come back. You weren't there last night. Let me deal with this... conundrum. Give yourself peace."

She snarled quietly, before turning. "Fine, may Cosmos grant you Divine Patience. You'll need it. And if you don't get this under control, everyone else will need it too." She leaves the medicine rooms, leaving only the handler, an older elvish man that was doing his best not to be involved in this.

Raymond turned back to Ghelina. "You are going to eat, okay? The silver dragonborn lady is going to bring you good food to eat. Don't make me feed you with a spoon."

"Fine," Ghelina hissed. "No listen. Ghelina will get used. Do as told, like small brain pet."

Raymond waited a few minutes for Aeska, before realizing she wasn't returning. He let out a snort of frustration, before lifting Ghelina up. "Come on, I'll do it myself." He carried her to the mess hall, ignoring gawking eyes of his peers, setting her next to a table. "Stay."

Keeping her in eyesight, Raymond quickly grabbed a bowl of porridge and a small slab of pork, then set them in front of her. "Eat."

Ghelina grumbled in a language Raymond couldn't understand, taking the pork and swallowing it quite quickly. Then, she looked at the porridge and grumbled some more, starting to pick at it. She didn't find it too appetizing apparently.

"Do you want to eat raw chicken?" Raymond asked.

"Flappy better than city grub grub," Ghelina muttered, laying her head on the table. "Think so much better. Scavvies better than this."

"I'll buy you a chicken later." He offered.

Ghelina stuck out her tongue at the porridge. "Not eating mud... other food good enough. Can wait," She said, sounding defeated.

Raymond was, soon after this exchange, visited by his Captain. Esesks sat down at Raymond's table, patting the surface with both hands. He was silent for a second, before taking in a deep breath, in the style of someone who had to say something mildly unpleasant. "I got a report of... well actually I have two reports about the same incident. One report says you were ambushed and this girl here," his eyes shifted to Ghelina, giving her a friendly nod, "saved you from being turned into a golden fancy pincushion. The other report says you and this Tribal here ripped through 4 non-combatants in record time. Please tell me the former is the right report. I really don't want to have to end you, you seem a stand up guy. If a little blunted on the soul department. No offense."

"The former. The latter is false." Raymond replied nonchalantly, gulping down the porridge that Ghelina refused. "My wounds are evidence, and you know how much weight my oath carries."

"Yeah I figured, but I had to ask for myself. This sort of thing isn't common and now there's an investigation on it, trying to figure out what went wrong. I figured I'd get to you before the guy they hired for this, Inspector Eaves, said he used to be Calcian. I just figure my face would be a bit more friendly." He smiled wide, which, to non-Dragonborns and perhaps to those of similar reptilian face, looks terrifying. Luckily it fell back into looking serious. "So, run this down with me, what the hell happened out there? What morons decided to take the fight to some guard?"
 
"I went to check out that tavern as you asked, talked to the elven lady who complained. Something about speakers with poor opinions of the city. I guess someone was eavesdropping and didn't take kindly to me looking into the matter. Next thing I knew, four of them were on me with crossbows yelling Freedom. A shame, one of them was a red kin." Raymond explained.

"Yeah, one of them hybrids, I saw the report, blue and red. Shame. Not unexpected though." He sighed, and leaned back in his chair. "You know us, pretty hard to change our minds." He leaned forward again, looking Raymond in theeye. "That's why I'm putting you on this case. I need to know if there are others like that in the city, others willing to kill for this idea of freedom. Honestly they can just leave if they want, so clearly they want something besides just their own freedom. You're on special assignment, you report to me." His eyes moved over to Ghelina, and he shifted to face her.

"Hear you're the ballsy lizard that saved our golden boy here, so thanks for that. But I need to ask if you're willing to keep helping him out. Clearly you're a sneaky one, or at the very least you're deadly, so if you help me and our boy Raymond here out, I can offer you at the very least payment of some kind." He shrugged, glancing between the two of them. "Not sure what relationship this is, but I know it's not one born of emotional support, so I'll assume it's the combat benefits. That's fine too."

Ghelina continued poking at her oatmeal. "Give Ghelina not mud. Ghelina stop big scale story ending. No choice. No want mud though," She grumbled.

"I already told you I'll buy you a chicken later." Raymond replied, then responded to his captain. "It's a messy story, but she needs a place to stay so she's staying with me. I'll keep her under wraps and have her help where she can."

He nodded, the Captain standing up from his seat and rolling his shoulders. "Alright then. Expect to meet an Investigator, the one I spoke of a second ago, he's allegedly not the kindest sort." He nodded to Ghelina. "Ma'am." He nodded to Raymond. "Ray. Report in the morning with information and continue to do so. You have a large amount of autonomy with this case, but I'm here to help. I'd rather not have to deal with civil war in my time, and insurgency would be a pain too. Good day." He turned and walked away.

Raymond stood up and followed him out the gates, intending to continue his usual patrol routine, with Ghelina jogging behind him, head moving around like it was on a swivvel.

Esasks holds up a hand, stopping Raymond. "I need your full attention on this. You're free of the routine patrol, for as long as you're on the case. That inn, clearly something is up, or at least the epicenter of this problem. I hope this is just a gang. On your way." He nodded, and continued on his path.

Ghelina blinked at Raymond. "What do now?" She asked, looking around again.

"How hungry are you still?" Raymond asked back.

"Me fine," Ghelina muttered. "We kill more baddy big scales?" She asked.

"Hopefully we don't have to kill anyone." Raymond replied. "This inspector from Calcia..." He muttered.

"We no like Inspector?" Ghelina asked. "Me sneaky sneak. Can deal with."

"I have no animosity towards him, but I've heard rumors of Calcia, those humans of the North." Raymond mused. "We shall see."

"Sooooo, no sneaky sneak?" Ghelina asked.

"If you want to stay out of sight of him, go ahead." Raymond replied.

Raymond's patrol came up with nothing, an annoyance at worst this early in the case. As he walked, he heard someone clear their throat behind him. He turned to see two individuals walking up. First was a human male wearing far cleaner garb than anyone in the Badlands has cause to wear, clean cut robes that looked official and a medal on his chest, spectacles on his nose. His countenance was that of an important individual, though it was difficult to ascertain whether the level of importance was self appointed or not. To his right was a human woman in leather armor, blades at her sides and a bow over her shoulder.

The Inspector, the male, presumably, stepped forward. "You're the Dragonkin I was told to interrogate, the golden one. Your kind is rare." His eyes moved over Raymond like a Flame Serpent over a mouse, analyzing him, then looking to Ghelina just as coldly. He then ignored her entirely. "The reports are conflicting, and thus truth lies in the middle. Follow me to the site of the incident," he said as he started walking, his guard following, "and speak to me on the way. Tell me your story, and we'll see if facts follow your tale."

"As I've told my Captain, I followed his orders to go investigate the Talentless Talks. After a brief conversation with the bartender and a jug of light ale, I left to patrol the perimeters a little, eventually finding the elven woman who reported the inn in the first place. Talking to her, I learned some of the nightly speakers spoke ill of the city openly. Deciding to come back later to hear such opinions for myself, I left, only to be confronted by a mixed red and blue dragonborn. After denying her request to help her with some labor, I turned my back against her, after which her and her friends, an orc and two wildlings, struck at me with crossbows. Ghelina here pounced on the dragonborn as I joined the fray. Together, we slew them, but not without injuries of our own." Raymond explained, pointing to Ghelina's recovering bolt wound under below her armpit, then bunched up his own armor and sleeve to show his own on his arm.

"I could show you my chest wound as well," He offered, "If you'll entertain me taking off my top garments in public, Calcian."

The Inspector didn't bat an eye, keeping a steady pace still. His guard, however, looked over her shoulder at him, smirking. There was something in her eyes that Raymond hadn't seen much of at all. His training told him it was something between merriment and attraction, but a more... uncouth kind of attraction. Very unreligous. The Inspector started talking, unbothered. "Your nakedness would prove nothing, and I have the reports memorized, I know exactly where you were wounded and in what manner. You have a new mission, beginning now. Disguise yourself and go to the Talentless Talks in the evening, listen for this dissent. You will, with luck and whatever ability you have, quash this dissent before it becomes a problem."

Ghelina looked at Raymond. "Ghelina Sneaky Sneak now?" She asked, annoyance in her voice.

"Yes, little one." Raymond replied, "You don't need to talk to her, do you?" He asked the inspector.

"No, I do not, but she must remain nearby at all times. Surely you didn't think to let your wild Tribal loose? Imagine the damage it could cause. It is clearly an ambush predator, and I have no mind to be ambushed. She will remain with us, unless she is required elsewhere. I have difficulty believing she has many duties to complete otherwise." The Inspector stood now before the scene of the incident, blood still seeped into the stone where the bodies fell.

"Well, here we are." Raymond crossed his arms. "If Ghelia didn't intervene you'd see scorch marks on the floor too; I was planning on consuming all four of them in a fireball."

"Ghelina big bite scardy big scale," Ghelina said. "Sneaky sneak, make scream!"

He didn't bother looking towards Ghelina, instead just staring into Raymond's eyes. His own eyes were blue, a sort of piercing blue that just stared into one's soul. "Yes, that would have made my job harder, but I have ways around that. Regardless, you didn't do that." He looks down at the blood, the bodies have already been removed. "I will look at their bodies later, see what they had on them. As is this scene doesn't hold much to it. I will rely on your espionage tonight to gather more information." He pulls a card from a pocket, and hands it towards Raymond. "My office is open to you. You will report directly to me on this matter, as this is a matter of state security now. Be on your way."

"Yes sir." Raymond replied, then pulled distance between him and the inspector faster than usual. It was probably the xenophobia in him speaking, but the human, the Calcian human, put him off. "Time to get a cloak for you and I, little one." Raymond didn't let his concerns translate into anything outwardly when he spoke to Ghelina.

"Me has funny feeling about flat face," Ghelina said, her feet pattering next to him as she continued to look around. "Taste funny, no like. No trust."

"How did you taste him?" Raymond asked.

"Taste everything," Ghelina said, sticking out her tongue. "Only lick if want big taste. City big bad taste. What do now? Why Ghelina need cloth?"

"You were involved in that attack." Raymond explained. "If bad guys are in the tavern, they'd recognize you and me the way we're dressed and attack us. Better to stay hidden for a little."

"Me good at sneaky sneak," Ghelina said. "Much good. Cloth make harder. Me sneaky sneak in. Be very unseen, help you if need."

Raymond looked her up and down. She was a small, that was for sure, and judging by how she constantly got into his room last night, she wasn't lying. Honestly, she'd probably be better hiding in a crack somewhere than trying to pass off as someone native to the city. "Alright." He nodded. "Go off and hide somewhere. I'll go into the tavern by myself."
 
The moons took to the sky, and Raymond took on the guise of a filthy commoner. All he had to do was put on a commoner's outfit and stand in an open street for 20 seconds, letting the dust gather in his clothes. Thus the disguise was complete. The Talentless Talks was bumping around this time, people from the hardest walks of life. On the stand was a half-orc woman, voice raised, surrounded by rowdy patrons. "WE THE PEOPLE DON'T NEED TO STAND FOR THIS!" She leaned forward, arms raised to the ceiling. "It's only been 5 years since we've built this city, and already people are getting SOFT! They're letting others fight their battles for them, their drive lost! One Badlander used to be a match for an entire squadron of Calcian dogs, and now we need to band together?!"

The shouting was understandably something an older woman would report in, but it was within their rights to be loud at least. Raymond took a corner seat, allowing him to see the inn as is people moved about. The half-orc was replaced by a Wilding, who began to speak loudly about the tribes never getting along before, and the King was actually making them stronger together than apart, which sparked an entire debate before Raymond's eyes.

Raymond stayed quiet, entertaining the cheapest ale that the tavern offered. So far, this didn't strike him as anything concerning. People were allowed to have opinions. His eyes wandered, as he tried to figure out where Ghelia was hiding. He could see something almost slither along one of the rafters, just in that zone between shadow and dim candlelight which made it all that much harder to see. Raymond blinked twice in that direction, then looked back at the unfolding argument.

The half-orc and the Wilding began arguing on the pedestal, people seeming to take two separate sides as the argument began to spiral out of control, faster than Raymond would have expected honestly. In the opposite corner he noticed one human sitting as he did, not taking sides, not talking, just watching. Raymond could see the man shift his hands from time to time, as if weaving a basket.

The dragonborn kept an eye on him, then moved his seat to one near the door. If things turned violent, he'd need to alert more guards to come quickly.

The man caught Raymond's eyes, and Raymond got a good look at him. Human, skinned tanned as many northern Calcians were said to be, his eyes were a reddish amber. He stared directly at Raymond, and his hands stopped moving. He grabbed his drink, and sipped it slowly.

As Raymond sat down and stared back for a moment, he looked back at the unfolding argument. There wasn't any reason to be suspicious of anything right now, other than the fact that a Calcian was here in the Third Ring. Then again, he's met weirder people before.

The man put their hood up, stood up, and started walking out of the building.

Out of curiosity, Raymond followed.

As the two left, Raymond heard the argument seem to cool off behind him, a lucky compromise reached, and drinks shared. The man moved down the street at a steady pace, turning down an alleyway, picking up the pace.

If the man wasn't fishy before, he certainly was now. His presence when the strife rose and his departure when it ended couldn't have been a coincidence. Raymond looked around for Ghelina as he strode forward to keep the man within eyesight.

Ghelina was nearby, a shadow on the rooftops as Raymond followed the man down the alleyway. The alleyway shifted before him, twisting unnaturally, sending his head spinning as the man rushed down the alleyway unimpeded. Ghelina, however, was not affected by this, and wouldn't notice anything besides Raymond dealing with the side effects.

"Chase him down." Raymond grumbled at Ghelina, wherever she was now, as he tried to reorient himself and get back into working order.

Ghelina was already moving as fast as she could across the rooftops of the city to cut the man off. She wasn't going to jump him while he was running though. Raymond wanted him alive, unfortunately, and that made her job much harder. Given how Raymond fell over without being touched by anything, that meant there was another thing to make her job harder. Magic. She hated it, most of the time. But she had an idea.

Her plan was simple. Jump down, get her legs around his neck, scratch out his eyes, and choke him until he passed out. It was perfect. She slowed down as he slowed down, and she was sure to keep her footsteps light until he gave her the perfect opportunity. Once that happened, she pounced, springing her plan into action.

She pounced, slamming into the unsuspecting human, sending him toppling to the ground. She raised her claws to his eyes, relishing the scream as he felt his eyes lose their sight. She spun around his torso, bringing her arms to his throat, and holding him in a chokehold. The alleyway stopped shifting for Raymond, allowing him to approach the scene. Ghelina was holding an unconscious cloaked man, his eyes bleeding and sightless.

"Well, that was far more violent than I expected," Raymond knelt down to the man and, perhaps hypocritically, seared the wounds across his eyes shut so he'd stop bleeding. "He doesn't need sight to answer questions though."

"No magic," Ghelina muttered, licking her claws absentmindedly. "You fix if want, me no fix."

"You did good though." Raymond carried the man up in his arms. "As violent as it was, it was fast, efficient. It's how I usually take care of criminals, except I use fire." He spoke bluntly.

"Fire messy. Burn shelters," Ghelina said, walking along beside Raymond. "Claws no hurt shelter. Sneaky sneak, no expect. Big shock. No fight."

"Fire has its uses. There's not many in the city guard who can use both the blade and fire at the same time, for example," Raymond explained, "So even the most evasive criminals can have trouble evading me. Plus, not everything can be solved through melee. That creature yesterday? Fire or something equivalent was required."

"Me just get surprised," Ghelina snapped quickly, crossing her arms and pouting. "Me could kill if Ghelina surprise it. Ghelina very good story ender. Be do it all life. Many stormy times. When Ghelina small scale, me end story of boy who was big mean. Gods punish. First time. Where I get name big bite."

"That's a fair tactic." Raymond looked down at the man, who probably won't see the light of day for the rest of the life without expensive treatment. "I wonder what the inspector will think of this?"
 
Raymond hauled the body into the inspector's office, located in the upper Middle Ring, and plopped him down on a chair in front of the desk nonchalantly. "Forgive my lack of formality." That was partially a lie. Raymond just didn't care what this human thought of him.

The Inspector was writing in a journal, his bodyguard leaning in the corner with a smirk. The Inspector looked up to the individual, and nodded. "What did you bring to me Patrolman Raymond? A suspect? Suspected of what?"

"Of causing the chaos intentionally." The dragonborn responded. "I watched him manipulate people into hating each other, who came to terms with each other as soon as he left. The fact that he tried to assault my senses as I tracked him down doesn't help his case either."

"Interesting. Perhaps this was accomplished via illusory magic, or something similar." He stood up, and began circling the man. "I assume his rough state was the doing of your... companion?"

Ghelina stared at the man. "Ghelina do what told. Stop man. No eyes, no magic. Me safe."

"Well thought, companion, though I doubt you actually understand why." He stood in front of the man, grasping his face in his hands and looking at his eyes. "If this was Illusory magic he would require line of sight to see if it worked. Agent Malsi," he glanced back to his bodyguard, "we'll take his hands as well. Better safe than sorry, as people say. Patrolman Raymond, would you care to assist in our interrogation?" There was something in his eyes that didn't feel kind, a coldness as he held the man's face in a hand.

"... If it must be done, I will." Raymond replied after a pause for thought.

"Your abilities will be quite advantageous in interrogation, I'd like you there. Agent Malsi, bring the subject to the Chair." He let the man's face fall, and walked into the next room, and down the stairs. Agent Malsi, the bodyguard, picked the man up and hoisted him over her shoulder. She followed him. Raymond would follow them dutifully, watching as she set him in a metal chair in a dark room, lit only by torches. No windows, dim light, and a series of tools laid out on a metal table. The Inspector stood over the man, and he looked to Raymond. "Wake him, Patrolman."

Raymond gave the man two good slaps to the face.

The man awoke, gasping. "Oh Maker I can't see, I can't see!" The Inspector clapped shackles on the man, his hands and feet trapped, and he turned around to look down at his table of tools. He look over his shoulder to Raymond.

"Patrolman, show me your ability to gather information from captured individuals. Pull a confession out of him."

Raymond didn't respond at first. Instead, he raised his hand dramatically, canting something under his breath. The man would be mentally forced to tell non-lies as the dragonborn turned the tables, imposing magic on him.

Once he was done, Raymond started speaking. "The sooner you give us information, the sooner I'll help you see the light again. Otherwise, your sight won't be the only thing that's missing." He tapped the suspect's hand with his claw. "So confirm to me first, are you the one who's enticing the arguments in the Talentless Talks?"

The man's face was filled with fear, staring around at whatever voice was speaking. "I-I don't know what you're talking about, I just listen! I like ideas!"

Raymond paused. "What were you doing with your hands then? Why did you decide to leave as soon as we exchanged eye contact?"

"I don't know! I-I..." he shook his head, sightless eyes moving around, trying to remember. "I went into the Inn, I wanted to hear Valsandra speak. I'm not one of those freedom tribals, I swear!"

"And you didn't have any other intentions? Yes or no." Raymond asked further.

"No! I swear please don't... please I... I just want to see..." he whimpered, "please don't kill me! I just wanted to drink and listen!"

"Were you the one who casted disorienting magic on me? Were you intentionally trying to evade me, the gold dragonborn, as you left the tavern?" Raymond interrogated, not batting an eye at the man's grief.

His eyes widen, and he shrinks away. "Gold?! Gold, no no no! Are you with the King? I-I-I was just making jokes, edgy jokes in a bar with friends, I didn't think I was doing anything wrong!" He shut his eyes and turned away. "No, I wasn't doing anything! I don't even remember leaving the inn!"

Raymond snorted a puff of embers. At this point, it was apparent to Ghelina that he was dissatisfied, even though he didn't show it otherwise. "We--- I made a mistake. Someone else is behind this." The dragonborn started to unshackling the man. "I'm going to take him to the observatory to-" The Inspector shook his head, moving to stand in front of Raymond.

"You will do no such thing, Patrolman. Me and my associate will handle the issue from here. If you find yourself turned away by the idea of this interrogation, you may leave. There is still much to learn from him, even if he himself was used in such a manner."

"He must be cured of his blindness first. He is innocent, and he will suffer these injuries no more than required." Raymond responded. "I will talk to him as we treat his wounds."

"He magic Big scale," Ghelina said, growling a little. "He lie. I see with lookers. Watch whole thing. He run after."

The Inspector smiled, which was honestly less assuring. "Exactly Ghelina, well done. This individual is clearly a well trained Illusionist, and I know some individuals of this kind can lock their own memories away for interrogation. Only pain can force them out." He picked up a scalpel, looking it over. "Ghelina, I'm sure you know what's best for your friend here. Big scaley isn't the brightest sometimes is he? Take him home." He looked back to Raymond. "I will ensure you're given full merits for this job, and will be notified if anything comes up. Your service is appreciated."

"I'm sure it is." Raymond replied flatly, then left absent minded, not acknowledging Ghelina's presence.

"Big scale!" Ghelina hissed at the Inspector, before grumbling and turning away to follow Raymond. "Me still no like..." She said once they were out of earshot.
 
The day was late, now approaching midnight. The two moons hung in the sky, the stars spread out on a backdrop of darkness. The city was quiet, but the office behind them locked as they closed the door, and they heard a muffled yelp.

"I don't like this whole situation either." Raymond nodded in his usual stoicism, but now there was some frustration in his tone. "Even if the man could use magic prior to bypass my own he never had the opportunity to do so. I must look into the matter further."

Ghelina looked at Raymond. "You want sneaky sneak?" She asked.

"To where? Our job is done for the day." Raymond replied.

"Ghelina can sneaky sneak flat face," Ghelina said. "What he do. We no know. We know if Ghelina sneaky sneak. Will tell."

"Stay safe. I'll consult the books in the meantime." Raymond patted Ghelina on the shoulder.

Ghelina moved quickly, slipping through the windows back into the Inspector's office. There wouldn't be anywhere to hide in his basement, where the interrogation was taking place, but she stood at the stairwell and listened. The lighting was dim, and if she looked back she'd see a very short hallway leading to The Inspectors office, with two other doors from this hallway. One was a bathroom, the other was a bedroom, both unlit.

The Inspector was speaking, but it didn't sound like information gathering to Ghelina's ears.
"Masli, take this down. The Altered recognized the danger they were in, note: being watched, and fled accordingly. Note: look into increasing range of abilities. Just in case subject has been Altered beyond expected parameters, his hands will be removed." Ghelina could hear screaming from the Interrogation room, the cloaked man yelling and pleading for mercy. From the sound of it, there was none. The Inspector continued speaking. "Malsi, take this down and then make the preparations to dispose of the body." Ghelina heard footsteps approaching the stairs.

Ghelina looked about, before slithering her way into the bedroom. The bedroom had two twin beds and three separate bookshelves against the wall, next to a little armory holding blades and a rack for armor. There was exactly one painting decorating the wall, of the two moons colored blood red, and exactly one window. The view was of the street behind the building. There was a closet, closed.

Ghelina looked around the room, seeing the window. As quickly and quietly as she could, she opened it, hopping out and dug her talons into the wall, closing it behind her. Then, she lowered herself down the wall enough that someone would have to look straight down to see her.

Two sets of footsteps walked towards the bed room, one set stopping and entering. Ghelina heard them walk around, perhaps to one of the bookshelves, before collapsing into a bed. The other set of footsteps walked to the front door, the opening and closing of the door the telltale sign. Ghelina looked back and forth, seeing another window right to her left.

Slowly, after waiting a minute or two, she started to inch her way to the other window. She opened up the shutter, keeping an eye out for tricks. Flat face could not be trusted, and thus, she expected anything a tricksy person would do. She then opened the door fully, and slipped into the office, keeping her steps light.

The office was small, a desk facing the door with a wooden chair tucked in behind it. The desk was orderly, papers in the center, pencils and pens in separate cups on the right hand side of the desk, and a large candle on the opposite side. The desk had drawers, all with a keyhole. On the wall was another painting of the moons, this time in their ordinary colors, and on the opposite wall was three framed documents. In the corner was a desert fern.

Ghelina looked around the room, looking at the papers on the desk. They had something on them, so the quietly took them, sticking them in her backpack. Then she looked at the documents on the wall. She took them as well, before looking at the desk. It made her uneasy, the keyholes did. She looked them over as best she could, but she didn't know what to do about them. A key was needed. The basement, however. Maybe something was down there. She opened the door, and slipped out of the office, taking a look at the other door.

The door to the bedroom was open, candlelight spilling from the doorway. She moved without being seen by the woman that hung out with the Inspector, as she was reading a book, and Ghelina made it down to the basement. The sight that awaited her was, while perhaps not a new scene to the one known as Big Bite, it was still something to be noted. The chair held the dead body of the cloaked man, his eyes plucked out, his hands removed, and his throat cut. She and Big Scale had been out of the building for 5 minutes tops before she snuck back in, and heard what was clearly not an interrogation. Even more odd was there seemed to be no sign of the eyes or hands, but even weirder was that there was no blood to speak of.

She started looking around, her tongue poked out of her muzzle as she searched for something she could take with her. The body was out of the question, she wouldn't be able to take that, but she was struggling to find anything. She was going to have to leave empty handed, other than the papers, and so she did that, with every intention of getting out of the house unnoticed and back tot he observatory.

Ghelina slithered out of the office window, and dropped safely to the streets below. She wasn't sure what to make of the information she'd got, given her inability to read, but Big Scale would be able to do it, he was a nerd. With that thought in mind, she scampered off into the shadows.
 
Meahwhile... at the Observatory...

Raymond of Mephis had travelled back home to the Observatory, where a sizable library would hold the information he sought, if luck was on his side. The Librarian was an elderly minotaur woman who knew the path to every single book here, and as such Raymond was quickly pointed in the right direction. According to his research there were ways around the Zone of Truth, some methods as simple as just not lying while being evasive, while more advanced methods, ones breaching the realm of fantasy, were locking selective memories away so one could not lie. However, this method is considered to be fantastical dreaming at best, and a horrifying thought at worst. Essentially, if one had been able to lock their own memories away, why wouldn't he lock his pursuers away too? He'd make a clean get away and be none the wiser. Thus, the Inspector was wrong if that was the case, at least according to the library of the Observatory.

"Calcian." Raymond muttered.

There was a clatter of scaled feet on the ground as Ghelina sped into the library, seeking Raymond. "Big scale!" Ghelina half panted, testing her hands of her knees. "Flat face kill. No lookers, no grabbers," she said, trying to catch her breath. "Dead in no time, flat face did somethings, neck slashed, no blood, wanted us find him, said big words like altered, more than... Expected... Prematernal?" She half asked, plopping down on her butt. "Me take papers from table room, but no read. Flat face big bad. Hear everything!"

Raymond raised an eyebrow. "Let me see the papers."

Ghelina pulled off her backpack and dumped it in the floor. "Hope helps."

Raymond sat down and looked over the information given. The three framed papers are diplomas and certificates of excellence. One from the Imperial Academy of Investigation, most likely a Calcian thing, one a certificate allowing him to practice Private Investigation work in the Polis of Bastion, and one signifying his citizenship of Bastion.

The papers taken from his desk seemed to be sporadic notes, a list of names included there, alongside their addressees and a list of their habits. The rest of the notes make little sense, something about "Seeing the doctor" and "Red Moons- what do they mean?" along with a batch of musings about Raymond and Ghelina. Seems the Inspector believes Raymond to be a sheep, dutifully led by the reigns to wherever he is told to go. He seems to think little of Ghelina, calling her a 'delightful gaze into a far more backwards time.'

"Unfortunately none of this pinpoints the inspector doing anything criminal, and your witness of what they did in the interrogation room is only hearsay, even if they are true." Raymond shook his head, then handed the documents back to Ghelina. "They do give me a reason to keep a closer on him though. Please return these where you found them before this situation escalates, thank you."

Ghelina snarled in frustration, gripping her mane tightly, before grabbing Raymond's arm and starting to pull him. "No lying! Will show! Come! Me not seen, sneaky sneak!" She growled, continuing to try and pull Raymond.

Admittedly, Raymond was curious as well. Conceding, he allowed Ghelina to pull him towards the inspector's office.
 
"Primitive, a pleasure to see you again." He looked back to Raymond. "I came to warn you that someone seems to be working against us. A rather ineffectual thief has stolen my diplomas and my scratch paper with lesser notes. They also seem to have brutalized our dear captive, who I was about to bring here for healing. Poor man, innocent as per my investigation, but he was required to gain an insight into what shadowy individual had possessed him. Just a friendly warning, if they're willing to cover evidence in such a brutal manner they may came for us as well."

He looked back down at Ghelina, smiling, but he still spoke to Raymond. "I trust your little companion here has been by your side all night? No excursions in the dark, no sneaking around where she shouldn't be? I only ask because these tribal types are horrifically untrustworthy, and I'd hate for her actions to reflect on you, who no doubt has taken responsibility for her actions."

"Indeed she has." Raymond replied flatly. "Little one has been refusing to eat the porridge I attempt to feed her, and started wishing for some wild hunt. Thus I decided to bring her out to see if she if she can catch an unlucky desert owl cooing on the rooftops."

Ghelina stuck her tongue out. "Mud bad. Flappy better."

The Inspector's cold smile remained. "How charming. Well, be at ease knowing that whoever dares to intrude upon our investigation will be persecuted to the full extent of the law, and my own personal efforts. My warning is given. Have a good evening." He stepped aside, and waited for them to walk away.

Raymond pushed Ghelina forward. Once they were out of hearing and sight of the inspector, he growled. "Go ahead of me and put those papers back. That way, what's going to happen at worst is a slap on the wrist. Calcian wants to play games. Sure, I'll play nice for now."

"We put back," Ghelina said. "He know it us. Drown papers. No catch us if no can see. Or I eat? Only guilty put back, only if think caught. We no can."

"... Very well. We'll circle back to the Observatory then. Do actual go try to catch a desert owl then." Raymond nodded.

"Flappy easy," Ghelina said, handing Raymond her backpack. "Be back. No go away from guard. Flat face sus," She said, before running into the night.

Raymond took out the papers, reading them all through and memorizing the words as he walked, occasionally glancing in the direction Ghelina headed. Then, as if he was trying to get a better view of the streets, he crumpled all the papers in his large, left hand, and blew into it, creating a small fire ball that temporarily lit up his surroundings.

Ghelina moved over the rooftops with speed, sneaking along, searching for her prey. It wasn't long before some poor desert owl found it's neck snapped, now a limp meal for a hungry lizard person.

The lizard girl quickly ripped most of the feathers off the bird, before sinking her teeth into the lower half, effectively ripping it in two and swallowing it with no small amount of ease. She then dropped down to street level with the head, breast, and wings still intact, offering it to Raymond. "See? Flappy good. You eat now?"

Raymond waves his hand. "I'm fine, I had my meals back at the Observatory. Eat up, it's your kill."

"And what do if no observatory to eat from?" Ghelina asked, snorting in annoyance before swallowing the second half of the bird. Her head rocked back and forth as this time she struggled around the wings, before gagging and finally getting it to fit down her throat. Raymond could see it bulge out her neck before finally vanishing into her stomach.

The dragonborn chalked it up to her living outside of the city for too long. He remembers his parents telling him of uncivilized eating habits where they were young, before they came into the city, and his grandparents definitely behaved no better than Ghelina did now. Except they were twice her size. And probably also hunted her kin down when they were especially desperate.

"If I had to ever leave the city, then I'd learn to eat like you I suppose." Raymond pondered. "Let's go now. I need to confess to my master."

Ghelina stared at Raymond in disbelief. "You tell Master what do? Ghelina get throw away! You cannot!" Ghelina said, stomping her foot. "No can stop story ending outside. I stay with you!"

"I won't drag you into this, but I need to make him aware of the inspector." Raymond explained.

"Ghelina get dragged in," Ghelina huffed, starting to walk. "If you do, make Ghelina promise. No leave Ghelina alone outside. No trust, no agree."

"... If the Star Father believes my cause just then nothing will happen." Raymond paused, then contemplated. "I won't let one without kin die to the dunes. You have my word."

"Go then," Ghelina said sourly. "We see how trust in city works."
 
Soon, as the night wound on, Raymond entered the Observatory. He watched as The Inspector and his Agent walked out of the observatory proper, saw as he gave Raymond a cold smile as he walked past him, and looked on as he left. Raymond entered the observatory and stood before the Master of Understanding. The Master looked stern from his little podium, looking down on Raymond. "I just had the most interesting conversation with a very intelligent man. Tell me, looking on the path you are on now, what seems to be the big picture? What is the end goal?"

"Depends, Master. Do you have faith in me, who serves under you without question, or a Calcian whose motives are dubious." Raymond responded with resolution.

He stares at him, and then his eyes move down to Ghelina. "Do you serve without question? The responsibility for this creature fell to you, and yet you let it move without supervision, unless you intend to tell me that you ordered for it to steal from the Calcian Inspector?"

Raymond paused, then snorted embers. "I did ask her to do so, Master. At best, the Calcian has trampled on the honorable laws of this city by torturing then killing suspects without cause. At worst, he is involved in a greater conspiracy to throw our home into chaos. My transgressions require punishment yes, but they are small in comparison to this greater danger. I ask you, please let me look into these matters. The unity of the tribes is at stake, and I will not allow some outsider to tear us apart."

"And where is this evidence? You speak ill of this man, surely you offer more than an opinion? As far as I know you ordered your underling to steal from an innocent man, and now you accuse him of High Treason!" The Master of Understanding stared down at Raymond, his face much like Raymond's, without outward emotion.

"If you grant me time and resources, I will provide you the evidence." Raymond replied. "I have learned of the Calcian. He is cunning, to be sure, and he is no doubt hiding his steps as we speak, but he cannot hide forever if the Observatory uses even a fraction of its combined intellect to place pressure upon him."

"Me see what he do," Ghelina said simply. "We gone big short time. I go back, hear big mean treatment. Screaming. They say things, wanted us to capture flat face. Was... Test. Took grabbers. Took lookers. Rip neck. No blood. I no eat flappy in time they do this to flat face."

The Master of Understanding leaned forward, staring at Ghelina. "At some point you forgot your place, snake. Your speech is primitive and garbled, pointless, and your testimony means nothing to me. It is as if an infant babbled nonsense, and thought it the work of a wise author." He leaned back to his normal stance, and looked over to Raymond. "I swear, ever since you joined the patrol and exposed yourself to the city you've fallen from the way. The problem has been exacerbated by the arrival of this beast. Send her away, and return to us as Cosmos would prefer you to." It was an ultimatum disguised as advice, as a chance to return to the status quo with open arms. But really what it was offering was to put Raymond in his place, as if he'd done something wrong.

"Me no speak well, not me dumb," Ghelina hissed. "No believe if speak draconic?"

The Master of Understanding looked at her, and snapped his fingers. No sound she could make was allowed to escape a little bubble around her. "Don't listen to such tempting outside forces Raymond, my son."

Ghelina just looked at Raymond with a face that screamed "See? What did I tell you."

Raymond looked at Ghelina, then back at his Master. "I'm loyal Master, not stupid." He spoke bluntly. "Every fiber in my body, every part of my mind, tells me I am doing the right thing and following the teachings of the Star Father. Thus far I have followed orders because I saw them just, appropriate. But willingly turning a blind eye to a problem is not the way. I will not cross that line. Goodbye Master, I will return to my parents now." He flatly stated, then turned.

"Perhaps even this, the Star Father ordained." Raymond was allowed to grab his things, and at the Master's behest he was escorted out, a display meant to shame someone. Raymond arrived at his parents home with Ghelina plodding along, the downstairs being their shop from which they sold armor. The forge was cool, as it was early, early morning, the tools neatly placed as they always were. The store was quiet, the atmosphere was peaceful. He was home. His parents would be sleeping upstairs in their room, but in an hour or so they'd be waking up to start the forge.

"Take a quick nap if you want, little one." Raymond told Ghelina. "I'll stay awake for my parents."

Ghelina nodded, hopping over to Raymond and curling up in his lap. Tried to at least. While she was small, she was definitely not lapdog small, but she was seeking warmth, and he provided enough to placate her enough to quickly fall asleep.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top