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Tranquil Waters: The Lead Crown Ch 5-1, A Call to Arms

Alarice had spent a day and a half contemplating the best time to leave town but, in the end, the timing was decided for her. Although she still hadn't managed to hear the whole story, the short version of it had something to do with one of the scholars setting off a small explosion outside the hotel. While the group's laying-high method had been working quite well, she had no doubt that the Order of Blades would look in on something as obvious as an explosion. Even if they didn't the authorities would.

She grumled to herself as she was forced to prepare Inigo's traveling case for him since the Bat was nowhere to be found. He had left a few hours after the explosion and, with less than an hour to go until dawn there simply wasn't enough time to wait. She carefully packed some of his finer clothes, mostly because she had so much respect for their designers, and then tossed the rest of his things haphazardly in after them. She was used to packing simply and traveling quickly; she hoped the scholars wouldn't be delaying things.

Heading down the hall to meet by the stairs, she pulled out a pocket watch and checked the time; she would give everyone fifteen minutes before going back for them. Thankfully they started showing up after five. Sada was the first to appear, with a small pouch in one paw and a shoulder satchel on her other arm. Weisen was next, with his tool case and a haversack. Alvis and Brother Jessen showed a minute after that; they had been sharing a room the last two days so it only made sense that they arrived as a pair.

Five minutes later Joshew and Roland appeared. The Human led the way, holding a cane in front of him that slowly drifted to his left, touched the ground, then came back to the right to touch it again; the cane's motion repeated itself as he walked. Roland followed along behind the blind man carrying what looked to be all of their combined traveling goods. Joshew stopped a few feet from where everyone was gathering, "We're ready."

Alvis was looking at the Human's cane, "Where'd you get that?"

Joshew looked roughly in the mutt's direction, adjusting a pair of blacked-out spectacles that sat on the bridge of his nose, "Get what?"

The mixed breed Dog flicked his tail, "Your cane. You didn't have one before this morning, did you?"

The Human held up the length of wood, "This? Yea... it's YEARS old. I left it at my apartment the day of the unveiling since I figured it'd only get in the way with the whole crowd... glasses too. To be honest, I've felt naked without em."

Sada was immediately aghast, "You went back to your apartment? How do you know you weren't followed here?"

Roland shook his head, stepping between the Human and the Otter, "He didn't go back to his apartment; he was here all night. Inigo dropped everything off at our room about fifteen minutes ago."

Inigo's perky voice was unmistakable, "Looks like we're all here!"

Alarice about-faced to look at the Bat; he was wearing a pair of circular frame blacked-out glasses just like Joshew, "What are you doing?" she demanded.

He grinned in reply, "Waiting for everyone to get ready."

Brother Jessen looked past Alarice to the Bat, "Were you followed?"

All eyes went to Inigo, who shook his head, "Nah. Even if I was I woulda lost them on the way back... not many people out there can roof-run like I can."

Roland stepped forward, "Why DID you go to Joshew's place anyway?"

The Bat leaned back against the wall, "He asked me too. There was some stuff he really wanted me to get for him."

The Wolf-Dog glanced to the Human, "And what was that, exactly?"

Alarice cut off the discussion, "I don't care what it was, and whatever it was doesn't matter... I don't want ANYONE doing anything without letting me know-- heading out into the city right now is foolish-- almost as foolish as setting off explosions."

Although Joshew obviously couldn't see the glare she directed at him she was fairly confident that he knew where her frustration was focused. He shifted from one foot to the other, then paused, sniffing the air, "Inigo?"

The Bat glanced to the scholar, fumbling a bottle he'd been dabbing onto his finger before putting it away, "Hmm?"

Joshew looked right at Inigo, "Why do I smell my cologne?"

The Bat shrugged, not that the Human could see it, "I guess we have similar taste in men's aftershave. Huh-- who knew?"

The blind scholar scowled, "That's funny... I don't remember selling any of my personal mix... I make it myself."

Inigo sighed, "Oh relax... it's just some nice smelling scent... it's not like I took a pair of your stylish black lens glasses." The Bat about-faced on the stairs, "Anyway, I'm gonna go check to see if the carriages are ready yet." and he proceeded down the steps.

Joshew sighed, "He's wearing a pair of my glasses, isn't he?"

Sada moved up to rest a paw on the scholar's elbow, "It would have cost you more in the long run to have sent someone else."

The scholar grumbled, "Whatever." but didn't further argue the point.

Alarice glanced around at the gathered group once more before heading down after Inigo, "We'll not be staying for breakfast... I want to be out of Newport before the sun rises."

Weisen slid past everyone else and followed directly after her, "You do realize the Order will likely have men monitoring the gates..."

She continued down the stairs, "I think that is very likely, yes. This was taken into account when I had the carriages reserved."

Alarice smiled, waiting by the front door of the hotel, turning enough to watch the expression of surprise spread its way across Weisen's muzzle when he set his eyes upon the twenty four identical carriages, blocking the street where they were waiting outside, "Even if the Order knows this is our caravan, they'll never be able to stop all of them."

Although Weisen nodded appreciatively at the decoys, Sada was quick to interject, "So that decreases our chances of being the whichever carriage they stop... but what if they get lucky and choose the right ones by mere chance?"

Inigo stepped away from the wall where he'd been leaning as he waited for the rest of the party. He smiled wide, winking at Alarice before providing the answer, "Easy... we're not going to be in any of em."

Alvis cocked his head to the side, "So... we're NOT leaving the city?"

Joshew frowned, "We're going out through the sewer drain, aren't we?"

Alarice's attention snapped immediately to the blind scholar, and Inigo mirrored her as she turned to regard him, "What? How did you--?"

The man reached up to touch his nose, "Even though Inigo put on WAAAAAY too much cologne I could still smell the reek of whoever you hired to lead us through the sewage ducts... he's already in one of the carriages."

The Bat's ears lowered forlornly, "Way to ruin a surprise."

The blind scholar shrugged in response, then rotated his head toward Alarice, "How are we going to work this?"

Alarice smiled; at least he hadn't figured that much out, "We'll be getting into the carriages and taking the road out of town to the west... but we'll be stopping at the inner gate for the guards to clear our caravan. The three carriages we'll be inside are going to be out of view, directly beneath the Widow's Bridge."

Alvis rubbed at one of his ears, "Isn't that the bridge that goes from the wharf to the Merchant Quarter? Why IS it called the Widow's Bridge anyway?"

Brother Jessen patted the Mutt's paw, "It was named after the woman who threw herself from it after she found out that her husband died at sea."

Sada scowled, "She lived, but only because she fell into the sewage flow-- the drain had been put in place only two days previous and she had been so distraught she hadn't bothered to look before throwing herself from it."

Inigo grinned, "And here I thought the old phrase 'look before you leap' was boring... what a way to learn about civil engineering changes."

Alarice cleared her throat, "Thank you for that-- but, back to focusing on the task at hand-- we will disembark during the short wait and the carriages will go on without us while we are led through the sewers to the outflow... and, from there, we are on our way to Vallara."

Weisen rumbled contentedly, "As good a plan as any, though I am curious as to whom you hired to aid us in such an endeavor... very few men have the knowledge of a city's sewer tunnels, and fewer with that knowledge would wish to spend any real time in them."

Clearing her throat, she motioned to the carriages, "You will have an opportunity to meet him soon enough... in the meantime, let's not delay, shall we?"

Alarice saw to it that two of the scholars were loaded in first; Roland and Joshew climbed into the seventh carriage. In the eighth carriage Alvis and Brother Jessen took their seats. One carriages later, she opened the door for Sada and Weisen, leaving only Inigo and herself waiting for their carriage; they took the tenth, and joined their guide. Inigo smiled at the Human, "I'd shake your hand, but, well, you know how it is."

The man smiled, resting his dirty fingers on the fine wooden finish of the carriage's interior, "Aye... no offense taken, mate. Assumin' I had nice clean paws that'd been manicured up one side and down th'other I wouldn't wanna shake neither."

Alarice smiled poltely, climbing into the carriage before closing the door, "So good of you to join us, Mr. Evans. You're looking well."

The dirty Human smiled, "An' you're lookin' as delicious as ever, Sweet'eart."

"I'm sure I do."

Their guide looked across at Inigo and winked, "Oani hammah."

Alarice scowled, "Don't talk to him." She felt Inigo's thanks through the soft squeeze of his paw against her hand.

She hadn't missed the unease Henry's presence caused in Inigo... and that was for good cause; although the Bat might not have recognized him, Henry Evans was one of them men responsible for the destruction of the Mist Tribe village-- just one more secret she would never end up revealing... but, of course, Inigio he didn't have to know that.