The Lead Crown: Ch 3c, Making Friends (pt 2)
Tranquil Waters: The Lead Crown Ch 3-2, Making Friends
Alarice wasn't able to remember the last time she had willingly stayed somewhere for three days, but, considering that the underground religious sect seemed safe, she made due. The woman didn't bother counting the days she was unconscious; even after recovering from her near-death experience she realized that she wouldn't be fit for the streets, and so she buried her impatience and submitted to the care of the priests... and Inigo.
The bat had seemed near-frantic the afternoon when she had awakened and, according to the head priest, Brother Marteen, Inigo had seemed obsessed over her wellbeing. Of course, once it was determined that she would live, the bat had very quickly returned to his usually crazy-go-lucky attitude and everything after that seemed to be more business-as-usual for him... he even hinted a few times that he hoped she would get better faster so they could get back to more 'traditional arrangements'.
Inigio's antics were not all that unexpected, but what DID surprise Alarice was that, out of the entire group, not a single one of them had died. Whether it was pure luck or some divine entity looking down on them, for one reason or another all of the scholars survived. While she would normally have congratulated herself on yet another decisive victory, the fact that she was the second-to-last of the party to awaken left a sour taste in her mouth; it made her feel somehow... lesser.
Despite spending most of her time recovering, Alarice, nevertheless, also made sure that she was up and about as soon as she could stand. Looked-after and assisted by Inigo, she made the rounds, exploring the secret church until she felt that she had its floor plan memorized. It was hardly as large as the more traditional Mehnzilian variety, but that just made it easier to locate each of the members of her party.
Sada, as it turned out, was the party's reason for being among the underground sect. The otter had an agreement of sorts with the renegade religious faction, and that ended up serving the party well. Alarice made a mental note to thank Sada suitably with a reasonably sized financial gift when the opportunity presented itself; if she remained on the otter's good side it was very likely that they would both be able to benefit from the relationship.
As far as the scholars went, Alvis was the first to regain consciousness, and had spent the most time among the clergy. From Alarice's understanding, the mutt was quite open, discussing everything he knew about anything; no topic was off limits and he was happy enough to engage the priests and nuns in conversation all day long. This, of course, only further confirmed to Alarice that her decision to remain mute on all topics with the scholars had been a good one; the young mutt was a security risk.
Joshew, (and, by association, Roland) was easy to find... Alarice just had to follow the complaints. The blind scholar had spent his days in a combination of caring for the unconscious wolf-dog and complaining about the church. The clergy of the temple, for the most part, were quite understanding and patient... even so, he was doing himself no favors by working as fervently as possible to alienate their hosts, and Alarice elected to resolve that issue as soon as possible.. assuming she could find the time. The one major obstacle to free time for the woman (other than healing) was dealing with Weisen.
The dragon turned out to take up a far greater amount of her waking hours than she normally would have preferred. On the up-side, he wasn't wasting it-- he was a fount of information. After the fight at the apartment, Weisen had managed to take one of the Order prisoner; while the rest of the party had been unconscious, the dragon had taken it upon himself to 'harvest' a good amount of information.
Alarice had not been conscious during the interrogation, but she did catch a glimpse of the body as the priests prepared it for burial. It further reinforced in her mind that the dragon was not one to be trifled with... and it was then that she began to hear rumors about Weisen being an ex-Templar. The thought was a strange one to the woman; it had always been her assumption that there was no such thing as an ex-Templar... and so a rather engaging conversation began between the woman and the dragon.
She was rather direct, "So, Mr. Weisen... tell me... what is this 'ex-Templar' thing everyone is talking about?"
His answer was exactly the opposite, "There is not much to say... Ms. Arnhart."
Alarice didn't miss the way Weisen emphasized the pseudonym she had provided, "You can just call me Alarice."
The dragon blinked, but didn't say a word. Alarice sighed, "There was no way of knowing who you were-- you will have to forgive me if I was not willing to trust the first random dragon who wandered into a secret apartment."
Weisen's smile came easy to him, indicating right away to the woman that his indignation was all an act, "Then perhaps, if you mean to say you trust me now, you might see fit to provide me with your REAL name?"
Inigo, who had been walking right beside the woman was quick to speak up, "You just got it. Her name's Alarice."
The white dragon's smile left, "I very much doubt that... ever since the famed female outlaw Alarice Dubois from Trevossier, nobody within the kingdoms that I know of would willingly name their child Alarice... which means, either you're lying, or you've taken it as a title... just like the all of rest before you have done."
The bat's gaze switched off between the human and the dragon, then back to the human before returning his stare to Weisen, "Well she's been Alarice as long as I've known her... so that's good enough."
Alarice smiled sweetly, covering up her concern over how much the dragon knew about her pseudonym. She gestured to Inigo, "Either way, you've heard the man... Alarice it has been, so Alarice it shall be."
The dragon chuckled, "If I were a betting man, I would wager that you killed the last Alarice..." he paused, picking at one of his teeth casually before continuing, "Tall, Ei'Kaean human woman... short, curly brown hair... just starting to gray when I met her. Pretty though... very pretty." he nodded thoughtfully, "Green eyes."
Alarice chose to call his bluff, though such a feat would require a hint of information from her own reserve, "The Alarice I knew was barely past thirty... long, black hair..brown eyes... and she was from Lehsunia."
Weisen raised an eye ridge at the description, "Barely past thirty? Long, black hair?" he tapped a talon on the table where he sat, "Three scars along her right cheek?"
The human woman took a breath in surprise; how had the dragon known? She didn't quite like those kinds of quandries, "You know more than you're letting on..."
The ex-Templar smiled confidently, "The woman you're describing was a ward of the prior Alarice when I met her... of course, she was barely in her teens at the time. Her name was--"
"Adrianna." Alarice spoke in unison with him.
Weisen nodded, "Yes, precisely."
Inigo fidgeted off to the side, "So... your name isn't really Alarice?"
The woman rolled her eyes, "Inny... you've said yourself numerous times that you had a feeling it wasn't my real name... why are--"
The painful agony in his tone was a display of over-the-top theatrics, "But I never REALLY knew for SURE!"
Alarice let out a sigh and leveled her gaze at the dragon, whose mirthful expression indicated that he truly was enjoying the argument. Although she herself couldn't successfully convince herself that she wasn't likewise stimulated by the banter, she had a specific reason for speaking with Weisen, "As joyful as this inquest as to the origin of my name may be, I DID have a reason for speaking with you, Mr, Not-a-Templar."
Weisen nodded, "Yes... I would suppose you had questions regarding the rumor regarding the Order of Blades prisoner."
The woman paused, "Rumor? I was told point-blank that you took a prisoner."
The dragon smiled pleasantly, "Oh? Yes, Ms. Alarice... that much is quite true... I did indeed manage to take a prisoner from among the men who had attacked us."
She frowned at his casual response, "So how is that a rumor?"
Weisen folded his talons on the table in front of himself, gazing down at them as he noted with a hint of what might have been frustration, "I thought you were in reference to the fact that the man might still be alive."
Alarice took several moments to recover from the dragon's answer; she didn't realize any men from the church would be so casual about inflicting death upon anyone, let alone a prisoner, "You killed him?"
"Yes... three times."
Inigo chimed in, "How can you kill someone three times?"
The dragon unfolded his talons and turned to regard the two of them, "Inquisitors are taught how to sustain a questioning... all I had to go off of were rumors and second-hand accounts. All the while, I knew we could not allow him to live... but I am not heartless, and I saw to it that he did not suffer... now, are you more concerned about the prisoner's three demises, or what information I obtained from him before the third and final time?"
Alarice took a seat, "By all means... tell us what you learned."
Weisen went on to discuss what the man knew, which was frustratingly little. She was surprised to find out that the men that had encountered the group were actually after the dragon and not them, but at least that meant that he shared a common enemy and would be easier to work with if they had mutually beneficial ends. Weisen had some interesting viewpoints to go over, but that discussion was interrupted before he could cover everything.
"Brother Crook..." one of the church's nuns approached the table where the three sat, "I have found the men you've been seeking."
The dragon bowed his head to the ewe, "Thank you, Sister Yvette. Might I please trouble you to show them in?"
The nun bowed her head, "Of course, Brother."
Inigo was the first to speak up after she left, "Crook? As in, a guy who steals stu--"
Weisen interrupted the bat by flopping the end of his tail on the table, the tip of which appeared to had been broken a long time past, creating a hook as it bent in on itself, "No... as in a shepherd's crook."
The bat didn't even seem to register the response; he simply sat there rubbing the little splotch of red fur on his chin, "Hmm... maybe I should take that for a name... Crook-- he who has stolen a hundred hearts."
Alarice smirked, "Why stop at a hundred? You may as well say you've stolen a thousand."
Any further discussion was brought to a halt as the ewe returned, leading two scruffy-looking men: a flea-bitten rat and a heavily scarred, broken-tusk elephant. Weisen spoke up the moment the nun excused herself, "Greetings, gentlemen... I was informed that you may have some information regarding an acquaintance of mine... a red scaled dragon... Kesst by name."
The rat bowed deeply, almost groveling, "Yessir... a'course, sir..." Seen 'im ourselves, we did... a'course, yer grace."
"Lil bugger kicked me in mah sack." the elephant growled.
Weisen tented his talons in front of himself on the table, "Wonderful... I am told your names are Grange and Suros..." he leaned forward, "Which is which?"
Alarice simply sat back and watched the dragon talk to the men; she had seen their type all over town. Personally she would have leaned hard on them and got all she wanted at the tip of her sword, but Weisen's method showed an extremely fine amount of finesse. She admired his use of words in the way an artist might have used a paint brush, and, before he was done, the two ruffians were eagerly telling him all they knew.
Inigo whispered quietly aside to her, "He's good."
She nodded, watching as the two men headed off back toward the nun who remained waiting for them. They had told him everything and he hadn't parted with even a single coin, "Yes... he most certainly is."