Unwelcomed Guest [Inali]

[Linika]

Unwelcomed Guest [memory]

24th Trial of Saun, 712th arc

The mountains of the southern continent felt pretty much like this during the Cold cycle. Maybe not the turnover into the deadly cold of Cylus, but at least the dead of Zi'da she was sure. But this was Saun! But this was also Viden. Still, the naer could scarcely believe it. She felt renewed appreciation for the precautions she'd quietly scorned as unnecessary when she'd been training for her mission.

Her Reapon superior had limited her mission budget to little more than the excessively warm clothes she'd kept in storage on the various ships she'd sailed to get here from Augiery. Once she'd reached the general "halfway" point of Ivorian, it seemed that both the weather, and the attitude of those she encountered grew steadily colder. But that part of the mission she had been prepared for; if only because the feeling was mutual.

In a way she glad of it. She'd been drummed out of Augiery as an exile, charged with the willful killing of a sister naer. It was true that she had saved her sabotage party in so doing, filling the wounded woman with a newly prepared dose of a fresh poison, found in the plants near Athart, where the operation was taking place. They had been given faulty intelligence as to what was the usual build of an Athartian scouting team. They'd been quickly outmanned, outflanked and outmaneuvered. But they had not been outclassed! Not by Naerikk standards anyway.

Linika knew it was the policy of sisters to give their lives for each other. In truth, her only crime was that she had not given her squad mate the courtesy of waiting for her to offer herself. Linika's quick chemistry had affected the woman's blood into carrying a contact toxin, and then she'd cut her bloody and sent her stumbling deliriously into the midst of the Athartians, dying in their arms, and spreading death.

The Invini had shown one face to Linika in private, praising her ruthless resourcefulness; and a second face to the rest of the Naerikk, calling her out as a murderer, despite the resulting success of the mission. It was made official that it was only the fact that it had saved the mission, and the rest of the party, that allowed a sentence of exile, rather than execution. It had been necessary, Linika understood. A deep cover story was going to be required to go to a location so hostile as Viden. The truth was, it was a tremendous honor to be selected for such a suicidal task.

So her trek north had been an endless act of guilt and humility as she encountered some that despised her as a naer, without having heard the tale of her being exiled as a traitor; and others that despised her because they had. By ship or by trail, it had been a relentless bowing of her head and murmuring of apologies. A few had accepted her contrition, and fewer still had actually befriended her. If they'd known the disdain she held for their weakling compassion, they'd have sung a different, stronger, tune.

"What are you grinning about, naer?" the question shook Linika out of her reverie. This was her one persistent failing, her inability to shut away the past, and her occasional want to glory in the suffering she was enduring for her sisterhood. By her cultural thinking, it was the one aspect of arrogance that her Naerikk heritage did not justify. Any fool could suffer for something they believed in. It was a naer's duty to suffer only for the glory of Audrae. And while she was suffering for the Great Mother, letting it slip out in a grin was counter-productive.

She put on a mask of tearful stoicism, "No sir, I'm sorry...I was not-..." she stopped mid-sentence, adding a wince for effect, "I am just so hungry, I would be glad to work for a meal." That part was more or less true. She'd been unable to get work with the pervasive hostility this culture held for members of her race. Her supplies had been exhausted a few trials earlier. She held her head down in mock shame, her voice quieting slightly with each word.

The man eyed her with disgust, "So the warrior bitch needs a job, eh?" he made no effort to remain quiet. He even raised his voice for the amusement of his patrons as he followed up, "Well, I guess I can use someone to empty the privy pots in my rooms upstairs. Screw it up though, and that's what you'll be eatin' for that meal."

Linika vowed silently to feed the man such a meal someday, as she nodded with a pained expression, which only added to the raucous laughter. She thought of benefiting them with a scene of tearful fleeing, but decided that would be going too far too soon. There would be a fine line she would need to follow to eventually garner trust and respect, rather than pity. So for now she resisted the urge to slam the clerk's face into his counter, and instead took rag and bucket in hand and headed for the stairs, trying to balance a look of resolve, resignation and obedience.

[Inali]

Inali had been hunched a spare journal for the better part of the last two breaks. The atmosphere of the Devil’s Advocate was hardly conducive to thorough academic research, but Inali treasured the tavern (and its numerous foul smells) for that very reason. While essays took twice the time to outline and write while in the Advocate, none of her colleagues from the University would dare step foot on the alcohol covered floors. The lack of true food was what kept her kin away. Any Eidisi that had traveled outside of Viden had been subjected to the poor conditions of the ships and caravans that left the fortress. However, even the most ramshackle of caravan crews had at least one guard who could cook stew with wild game, dried rice, and foraged root vegetables.

Linus’ rough voice rose above the din of half-drunk merchants and sailors. Inali spared a glance to the latest victim of his attention and took a moment to feel bad for the Naerikk. No matter how despicable the Naer were, Inali could hardly think of a crime worthy of Linus’ ranting. To her credit, the woman managed to hold her tongue and grab the rag and bucket beneath the far side of the bar. The Eidisi eyed the Naerikk as she made her way to the privy pots. The bright scarves and hair pins seemed out of place for an all-female race of warriors. Did she intend to fool the Eidisi by hiding her ferocious prowess in gauzy silks? No, surely the Naer would understand their reputation better than anyone else. The clothing was either a distraction, a poor attempt to fit in, or a reflection of the woman’s personal style. Inali bit her lip and pondered the situation. Had any books been written about the culture of the Naer? Did any of the scholars that studied the most hated of races bother with the mundane details made them seem more relatable?

Inali glanced down at the parchment beneath her fidgeting hands. She had made no meaningful progress in the last thirty bits and she doubted that Linus’ tirade would provide any inspiration. Sighing, the Eidisi closed the book and waited for the Naer to return.

► Show Spoiler

Sorry, not much to go on until they actually speak!

[Linika]

Linika scowled. It was demeaning enough work to begin with; but there were no "rooms" up these stairs. It looked as though there may have been one among the rafters, but now there was only the one privy. The pig-headed barkeep was bound to renege on his agreement 'What? You expect a meal for cleanin' naught but a single privy?!' She could hear him already.

She returned when she was finished and asked him if he'd like her to wait tables for the night, hoping to bypass his impending claim that she'd not yet earned her meal. She'd walked passed him while she asked, stopping by a table populated only by a single eidisi woman absentmindedly doodling on the surface with her nails as she ignored a journal sitting closed before her. Her steps slowed in time with her narrowing eyes as Linus jumped on the opportunity to degrade her further.

"Did I ASK you to wait tables? Are you stupid as well as untrustworthy? I'm not letting you get your hands within ten feet of my till! OR my patrons pockets, you thievin' snake! You won't be trickin' me out of an honest meal." he sneered, the satisfaction of having cheated someone plain in his tone.

Linika could not have been more delighted with his remark. She knew there needed to be a time that she "let slip" the story that she was an exile. It could not come out as if it was something deliberately revealed. It needed to appear spontaneous. She could see that most of the people here were younger; students, probably. Most of them human. They would talk. In their little academic cliques, they would do more to spread her cover story than anyone. And the barkeep's last comment was the perfect set-up.

She laughed, making an effort to out a bitter tone into it. "NO one is getting an honest meal out of you, no matter what they do. Not with this crap you call food! Back in Augiery, we eat fresh food, caught from lakes and hills that very day! Properly cooked and spiced with fresh herbs, growing in rich soil. Not the lichen and algae that's the only green you'll find within a thousand miles of this pig pen."

A storm grew on his face, egged on by the slight echo of laughter coming from a few corners. "Well why don't you just haul your ass back to Augiery then, you Naerikk slut?!" he roared, flinging his pointed finger at the door.

Linika pointed her own finger at a significant angle to where he was pointing. "Well first off, Augiery is that way." she sneered, her eyes gleaming beads of challenge. "And second, I was exiled, you fat lump of shit! I guess I wasn't willing enough to cheat honest men out of their fine wares!" The sarcasm in her voice could have stripped paint from the walls, if any still clung there.

Now the laughter filled the room, and a knife filled Linus' hand as he turned the corner of the bar, murder in his eyes. Linika egged him on, aware of the book on the table beside her. "Oooh, look at the big strong man. Tough enough to take on an unarmed woman. You're a fine sample of a gentleman, aren't you?" she cooed as she hooked a leg in the lower cross bars of the cheap wooden chair across from the eidisi.

Linus responded with some incoherent gibberish, rife with profanity, as he charged headlong into a chair, swung suddenly at shin height, when he still had about five feet of distance to reach his target. Linika swept up the eidisi's book as Linus made a hopelessly clumsy attempt with the knife, the chair legs hammering his knee and shin repeatedly as he staggered and fell.

Linika slammed the book shut on the blade of the knife as it hovered in his wavering hand, using both of her hands to twist it free of his grip. His effort to get both of his own hands on the book only ensured his complete fall. Linika dropped to place both her knees between his face-down shoulder blades, grabbing a handful of hair and pulling back hard. Linus lifted his head as best he could to relieve the pain, whereupon Linika swung the knife in front of his face, handle down, with the blade tip pointing up to find a nostril.

"Uh uh, don't touch, big guy, or I'll slam your face right down and sheathe this bad boy in your skull. There's no bone right there, so there's only soft tissue to slow down the penetration of the blade, do you understand? No, it's okay, you don't have to nod." She added with mock kindness. "Now I'm going to let you go. But I'm going to keep this knife, and I want you to get me something to eat, right? Yes..."

She stood slowly, stepping back to allow the man to get to his feet. He turned humiliated eyes on her as he passed. But there was enough fear still lingering there to give Linika confidence that she would not have to actually kill him. She turned to the eidisi as she flopped down in the next chair at her table. She looked as if suddenly reminded of something and set the book back from where she'd grabbed it. "Uhh...Here's your book back, There shouldn't be any damage to it. Sorry about that. The things we have to do to get a meal around here..." She shook her head with a soft grin.

[Inali]

Inali allowed her gaze to wander from table to table, lingering on each patron for a few trills before moving onto the next. It was too early in the day for the heavy drinkers and rabble-rousers to stumble in, so the Eidisi was left to observe an assortment of mundane humans. With the exception of a small group of sailors, most of the men and women around Inali sat alone at small tables. Linus’ favored customers sat at the bar and received prompt service in exchange to listening to the owner mutter loudly about the Naer. Inali rolled her eyes in Linus’ direction as he pretended to clean the bar with a grimy piece of cloth. No one within the city was ever excited to see a Naer. Compared to the scholars of the Ellune and the visiting professors from Rynmere, the female warriors had little to offer. Assuming one did come to Viden with pure intentions, the Naer would have little that she could help with – Viden fielded no infantry units of note. Still, Inali had no problem with the Naer if they were polite, as this one had been. The young Eidisi knew that she was in the minority – many shop owners were more than happy to spew vitriol at the outsiders in hopes of gaining more nels from their prejudiced customers. Linus was somewhere in the middle. Inali didn’t doubt that his dislike of the Naer was genuine, but she knew that he would be just as loud and critical of anyone who dared ‘slight’ him.

Her fingers strummed the poorly upholstered bench beneath her, occasionally snagging on dried strips of leather that curled upward to dig into her thighs. The Naer had returned, and Inali watched Linus’ face grow beet red at whatever the woman had suggested. A few trills later, Linus began his tirade once again, invigorated by the return of his newest victim. Inali swung her gaze to the Naer, curious if the woman would remain meek and subservient for a second time. Surely, she must have some limit. The Naer were not known for their well-mannered responses. The Naer’s scathing retort was both lengthy and full of wit – a rarity for a newcomer to Viden. At the mention of the Advocate’s food a few patrons slammed their fists on the creaking tables, showing approval for the Naer’s bold stance. This chorus infuriated Linus, and Inali struggled to remember a time when a patron had gotten under his skin within a half break.

The verbal sparring match continued, and Inali’s eyes grew wide with alarm when she saw Linus palm a knife from the bar. Perhaps this Naer had been exiled for her inability to hold her tongue? Worried for her own safety, Inali slowly scooted to the far side of the bench. With her eyes locked on the knife in Linus’ hand, Inali hadn’t bothered paying any mind to how the Naer would survive. As the Naer reached for her journal, Inali yelped and mirrored the woman, but found herself too far away to grab her treasured book. She spoke in the Ancient Tongue then, as her mind was inundated with the consequences of losing two arcs of precious research.

“My research! What are you ---“

A crash sounded through the room as Linus’ lower body met the chair and crumpled against the weight of it, cursing all the while. Inali’s eyes moved between her journal and the knife, unsure of which to focus on. Yvithia help me, what if my journal falls into a puddle of blood?
A moment later, the fight was all but ended. Her journal was closed around the citrus stained blade as the Naer positioned herself above Linus, blade pointed back at the man who had dared to cross one of the children of Augiery. Inali shook her head at the scene, marveling at how quickly the whole encounter had been resolved.

A few trills later, Linus was limping back to the bar, glaring at his favored regulars. Inali laughed at the thought of any of them trying to help. Linus put too much stock in the abilities and loyalties of drunken sailors.

When the Naer returned her book to the table, Inali snatched it up and began fanning through each page methodically. A few of the pages had been ripped, but the contents could be transferred to a new journal without much effort. She breathed a sigh of relief and nodded at the Naer.

“Yes, he might...”

She paused, hunting for the correct word,

“Hurt food with… poisun. Peison?”

The Eidisi blinked and muttered something about ‘damned Common’ in her mother tongue.

“Can taking you to good food. Safer food. Fresh.”

Inali stood up and gathered her journal and quill. The Advocate would be swarming with patrons in a half break, all demanding to hear about how Linus was bested by a Naer. Regardless of whether or not she was alone, Inali intended to spend that time in a calm environment.

[Linika]

Linika did her best to show no surprise at the display of actual benevolent concern coming from an eidisi. She'd been expecting a tirade of outrage over her presumptuous use of someone's property to save something as generally valueless in Viden as a naer's life.

As Linika pondered the offer, she naturally considered the possibility that it could just be a more competently employed trap than the barkeep's had been. She was well aware that the man was likely to put some sort of toxin in the food. Not considering that an eidisi student would be likely to know Naerikk sign - which was often called "Euthic" elsewhere - her awareness played out in a short, absentminded series of gestures. It was as simple as a subtle "Thumbs up", which was then reversed to tap the downturned thumb softly on the table top, and lastly followed by a soft plop of her fist there as well. The reversal of thumbs indicated "kidding", and the fist plop was a universal Naerikk "no".

It was classic Naerikk double-talk. Since most cultures would assume agreement to a proposal, by an enthusiastic pounding of fists, a naer could appear in full accord, but be telling those around them who understood their sign, that they were not actually agreeing. Linika made this "no kidding" gesture without even thinking, as she told the eidisi that she didn't believe that the man would go that far. Immediately going into an act of reconsidering the situation. "Do you really think he might?"

She wished now that she had a glass to look into as a means of subtly watching her own back. But there were no sounds of sliding chairs or creaking floorboards, so she relaxed somewhat. Her table mate's poor common suddenly dawned on her with a degree of surprise. "I'm sorry, I guess I always assumed you people...uh...I'm sorry...eidisi, all spoke excellent common. I'm afraid I have no other language to offer you."

She tensed slightly with the realization that Linus was approaching with a sandwich and the hint of a smirk. He set it down contritely, stepping back with an apology for his earlier rude behavior. Linika had to admit, it was not a bad performance; and a less skeptical victim might have been taken in. But she could already smell the ghost mushrooms slipped between the two slices of meat. She supposed that a bar was unlikely to have the more costly and concealable toxins, and Linus would know that he could not hope to succeed with some caustic cleaning solution.

But ghost mushrooms were all too well known in the toxin circles, and the Naerikk were among the most learned of such circles. They were deadly and cheap, but also quite pungent. Still, she smiled, figuring that his choice must mean that the population of Viden was not so learned of such things, and she could perhaps make use of them.

She turned back to the eidisi, "Fresh food, you say? How divine! But I'll just take this with me." she cooed smoothly, indicating the poisoned sandwich and turning an exaggerated smile back to Linus. "I wouldn't want to insult my host by refusing his generosity." her smile turned wicked as her eyes hardened, and Linus took an unconscious step back. "Oh yes, you can have this back," the knife came out of nowhere and clattered on the table top. "I won't be needing it after all."

She hoped that this eidisi, whoever she was, would figure her mark to be unarmed now without Linus' knife. If there was some trap afoot, she would find out otherwise. She picked up the sandwich, wrapping it in a napkin, and gestured sweetly to the door, "After you..."

[Inali]

Inali turned and looked over her shoulder, watching the Naer’s reaction with interest. The Naer was new to her, unlike the tired rants of Linus and the drunken slurs of the sailors that had all but given up on their lives ashore. The Naer’s hands reminded her of her own, constantly fidgeting and moving from place to place. As she continued watching, Inali turned around in earnest. Was that some sort of sign language? The gestures were too deliberate, too precise. The Eidisi blinked, and a moment later, the Naer’s hands had stopped moving. Inali pondered the woman’s question for a moment, and thought back to her first few seasons at the Advocate. Linus had been kinder then, but there was a reason why a few of his regulars flinched when he yelled loudly. Shrugging, the Eidisi replied,

“Knife, peison… why not? Not different.”

She peered at the Naer, hoping that the intent of the message was clear. While murder wasn’t tolerated within the walls of Viden, she wouldn’t put such a crime past someone who had been riled to the point of assaulting a worker. Murder via poison was difficult to prove, and few within the city would go out of their way to investigate the death of an Naer, exiled or not.

Inali bristled at the next comment and gritted her teeth as she replied,

“Am linguist of written language. Can speak Ancient Tongue, Rakahi. Common ugly. Common…”

The Eidisi paused. Common was not worthless. It was simply not something she cared to dedicate her time to. She completed her former sentence with a dismissive wave of her dominant hand.

“Common is common.”

Linus returned with a sandwich and Inali raised her eyebrows at the offering. When had the Advocate ever served such food? Linus must have gone into his own stash of delicacies to prepare the meal. Wondering at his motivations, the Eidisi listened to the conversation between the two and watched the knife clatter back onto the tabletop with a loud ‘thwack’. After the Naer had made her preparations, Inali exited the Advocate and breathed gratefully, her body delighting in the cool, crisp air. She stretched her arms out to either side as she made her way to a small café a few streets away. She turned back to the Naer.

“Why Viden? You are being exile, and you chose… Viden? No military, no...”

Inali stopped again, realizing she didn’t know much about what the Naer enjoyed outside of the thrill of combat. Still, this Naer had managed to find a fight in a bar, so it was obvious that she wouldn’t be bored pacifist in Viden. Inali knew that other cities in more temperate regions would offer sparring matches, fresh food, and other opportunities. Surely the Naer hadn’t come for the University?

Soon after she asked the question, the duo had arrived at a medium sized café that served all manner of Videnese citizens. With just a break before closing, the small countertop was nearly devoid of pastries, but Inali knew the waitresses would be more than happy to prepare tea or coffee for the duo. Inali pointed to table to the far side of the café, nestled in the corner of the north and east walls of the establishment. ‘If I keep her away from people, we might be able to avoid more conflict,’ Inali mused.

[Linika]

'Common is common' the blue-skinned woman said.

Linika suppressed the greater part of the grin the remark inspired. Somehow it seemed to strike her as conveying an attitude of superiority; one that said that things acceptable to most others were not assumed to be good enough for her. Linika instinctively assumed this attitude to have been meant to be taken on a racial scale. And though Linika would never consider any race superior to the Naerikk, she found it oddly ingratiating to encounter an arrogance similar to her own. The concept of 'A worthy enemy' found a place in her subconscious.

But then the woman began to pry. 'Why Viden?' she asked.

Linika was immediately on guard, though trying not to show it. She wondered now if this woman was an agent of city security or something, sent to "keep tabs on the naer". And here she had just been fool enough to put on a display worthy of being added to whatever file these Videnese might be starting up on her. She grimaced instinctively at her gaffe, and realized she'd now made another with that reaction; one more behavioral tic to account for.

'No...this can be covered', she realized silently. 'In fact, it helps answer the first question as well.'

She stopped and let her face sag with a sad and defeated look. "I'm sorry. First, I can't speak any other tongue but nasty old common." she added a disarming smile, hoping to adopt a look of trying to make up for any lingering annoyance. "But the truth is, "Exile" from Augiery is usually open status for other Naerikk, anywhere else in Idalos, to hunt you down. So I specifically chose the most unlikely destination." This was neither true nor false, but she hoped it would seem brutal enough to accepted. "One where I figured common would be common."

She laughed, with a few sniffles, at her own play on the eidisi's earlier comment, and wiped her eyes, hoping the other woman would not have noticed that there hadn't really been any tears. "But it's still painful to be rejected from your own people. I mean, I'm not trying to hide my training...what I am...from anyone," she gave a small, bitter smile, indicating with a nod toward the bar they'd just left. "You've pretty much seen that for yourself, I guess. But my exile was the result of an action that martyred a sister to save the rest. We'd have all been slaves in Athart if I hadn't." She hung her head subtly, "But the Invini didn't see it that way, I guess."

They arrived at a small café and Linika put on a look of apprehension, over the Videnese patronage, which was not entirely phony. She decided that was definitely enough on that subject. Any less would not seem like a true attempt, by an innocent, to defend one's position; and any more would seem too much like she was trying to "sell" the story. If this woman was city security, she'd have the means to check it out. And being the public cover story, it would check out, both in Augiery and in Athart.

She decided to go off on a tangent, "It was part of a skill I seem to have with chemistry. Of course, they all wanted me to provide "strategic" chemistry. Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to act like I have any moral qualms about that. But I consider medicine to be strategic as well. Augiery seems to hold more with 'Fighting to the death', rather than 'Surviving to fight again.' Well, I look at it the other way. I'm hoping to land an assistant position in the...uh...medical place here...what was it?...oh, right, 'The Infirmary'. Maybe I can eventually earn enough trust to make staff."

She lifted her eyebrows in a look meant to indicate genuine hope, with a backdrop of acknowledging the long road ahead, then shrugged and held her hand out. "So anyway, my name is Linika...Amarinthine. If I may be so bold?" she left the request for the eidisi woman's name open.

[Inali]

The corners of the Naer’s mouth twitched for a moment, hinting at some form of happiness. What was happiness for a Naer, anyhow? Had this woman been happy in the verbal sparring match that occurred at the Advocate? Perhaps she found joy in the physical aspect of the encounter. More than anything else, Inali imagined that the woman walking beside her found pleasure in that small window of time where Linus’ had stood down and gathered her food – real food – with his proverbial tail in between his injured legs. The Naerikk, Eidisi and Avriel were all known for their arrogance. While no race could match the arrogant fervor of the Avriel, the Eidisi and Naerikk each ruled over their own domains uncontested. Not even the most learned of Avriel would dare claim superiority over linguistics. Perhaps the same thought had occurred to the Naer. If it had, why did she hold back the full extent of her smile?

Inali nodded as the Naer spoke, wondering how difficult her life would be if her kin were sent to hunt her down. She shivered lightly and rubbed her arms to ward off the frigid air. Her knowledge of field craft was abysmal, and she had no doubts that she would survive only a few weeks before being apprehended to face the wrath of the Directorate. Well, that would never happen. Viden was civilized, and Inali had committed no crimes. The Eidisi spoke up, curious whether the word was one of the Naerikk tongue, or a translated form of it

“In…vinei?”

Inali stretched in the booth, allowing her long arms to drape across the leather covered seat. Her legs were angled to the large fireplace in the center of the restaurant, attempting to get even a few inches closer to the comforting warmth. Her mind spun at the rapid speech of the Naer and she did her best to piece the meaning together using the context. Chemistry, the Infirmary, fighting? Inali doubted the Infirmary would be pleased to heard Linus’ account of the events, no matter how obviously he lied to them.

“Infirmary good. Offers classes with University. Looked over, but good.”

Was ‘looked over’ the proper term to describe the status of the Infirmary? Probably not, but Inali had always found it difficult to translate phrases such as ‘overlooked’. She then replied to the Naer, Linika, with her own name.

“I am Inali. Linguist as said earlier. Study written tongue, codes…”

She trailed off, discarding the idea of expounding on her current project. A Naer would find such pursuits even less interesting than her kin. Well, it was their loss. Cryptography was at the core of all the best knowledge and she didn’t need to recognition of the University to validate her beliefs.

“If you want escape Naerikk, avoid docks. Have seeing more there over arcs.”

The advice was unsolicited and obvious, but Inali found herself struggling to relate to Linika. Why had she chosen to speak to the woman in the first place? Aside from their arrogance, it seemed they shared nothing of note.

[Linika]

"The Invini rules our people from Augiery. In spite of my exile, I am still bound by her will." Linika looked up with a mix of resignation and challenge. "But it is an honored aspect of the chase that I am not commanded to do anything that would make myself easier to track down by any that choose to...flush me out." Her expression turned grim with these last words, leaving unspoken the extremes to which they may be interpreted.

The eidisi mentioned the University in the same breath as the Infirmary. Linika was not sure is she meant to suggest that obtaining a position in the Infirmary required an endorsement from the University; or if perhaps the reverse was true. But at the least, it gave two options to begin a search for an open door into the workings of Viden's secrets.

The woman gave her name as Inali, and reemphasized her focus on languages. Linka raised her eyebrows in what she hoped mimicked a look of interest in the subject. She found Linguistics an academically worthy, but strategically tame, pursuit. Unless the gal was intending to be an interrogation translator, what good was it? Her instinctive thought was that a good threat was understood regardless of language. But she caught herself quickly, silently acknowledging her own lack of deeper considerations. She immediately refocused to assess the presence of any advantages to be gained.

Inali had mentioned the "ancient tongue" back at the Advocate. What if a squad of Naerikk had come across some relic of power, dressed in glyphs of this ancient tongue? They wouldn't know what to do with it. Not even how to move it, without risking some backlash of power, or simply breaking it. And another thought occurred to her; was it possible that she herself would miss opportunities to copy important Videnese missives for lack of this language? It now seemed almost to be assumed that these bookworms would be all about being fluent in some dead relic of a language.

It was feeling more and more like fate that she'd encountered this woman. It may well be that learning the rudiments of this "ancient" may be a requirement to get anywhere in this town. This presented a strangely uncomfortable situation for her. She suspected that she'd not been entirely successful in appearing to have any great interest in much that the woman had said. This was coupled by the fact that she felt a similar attitude from her. They both seemed to be studying each other, more than socializing.

Naturally, her feelings of racial superiority gave her to consider it her right to study whomever she pleased; while this eidisi was being rather presumptuous to expect to enjoy an equal privilege. But now she needed to propose a trade of equal measure, without this interactive stand-off being a point of contention. She leaned forward slightly, resting the sides of her pointer finger tips on the table top with a single tap. This was always a precursor for a possible message in naerikk sign.

The woman suddenly gave what she must have figured was unrealized advice. That avoiding the docks would be a logical step in any effort to avoid running into any other naer. Linika resisted any sarcastic responses based on how obvious she considered that notion to be. She was about to offer to trade lessons in her signing for lessons in Ancient. She was going to use sign to do it, to see if the woman had any innate instinct for detecting the use of sign. But the door burst open and a trio of armored men strode in, eyes glancing around and locking on their table.

"You there, naerikk! We have a report that you assaulted the owner of The Devil's Advocate. Stand in surrender and you will not be harmed. But you will come with us to be housed in the garrison until such time as a hearing can be scheduled to determine your guilt and punishment."

Linika curled her pointer fingers, and now rapped the sides of those knuckles on the table top, indicating "enemies"; plural by the use of two fingers. She then straightened the fingers again, with the tips on the table, dropped the middle fingers beside them, indicating "too" or "too much", and then softly swept her right hand to her right a few inches, to mean "late". Had it been the left hand, it would indicate "early".

The offer of swapping language lessons would have to wait. She doubted the woman had even realized there was a message. But now, as her Euthic Sign had stated, with the arrival of "enemies", it was "too late". She stood with a look denoting a complete lack of surprise. She suddenly grinned and chuckled as she faced the advancing guardsmen, "Does this mean I get the job?"

[Inali]

Linika responded to her question calmly, without even a hint of fear to color the talk of this mysterious ‘chase’. A shiver ran down Inali’s spine and the Eidisi struggled to contain it to her torso, exerting her will to maintain stillness in her arms and legs. While Viden was not a paradise, Inali found herself thanking Yvithia for the lack of barbaric cultural practices.

The duo sat in silence, each entertaining their own thoughts for a few bits. Inali turned, focusing her attention on how the Naer leaned forward, hands positioned atop the table. Was that another instance of some sort of sign language? Inali pursed her lips, pondering the other explanations for the odd behavior. The side of the Naer’s pointed fingers rested easily against the table, but Inali doubted that anyone could claim that it was a comfortable way to hold their hands. Perhaps it was a nervous habit? Warriors were conditioned to always be ready to move, react, or fight. Linika would have some adrenaline coursing through her veins after her brawl with Linus, and sitting at a café booth didn’t provide any way for her to release that pent up energy. Even if that was the case, wouldn’t she favor moving larger muscle groups? Inali knew how often the sailors stretched their arms out to their sides – many of the servers at the Advocate had been accidentally hit by the careless drunkards. Even though her guy told her it was some form of communication, it was far too subtle for Inali to voice her thoughts comfortably. If it was a nervous habit, Linika could take out all that nervous energy on her hide for the insult. Inali shivered again. Perhaps remaining silent was the better option.

A loud voice interrupted her thoughts, causing Inali to swing her head in the direction of the interlopers.

"You there, naerikk! We have a report that you assaulted the owner of The Devil's Advocate. Stand in surrender and you will not be harmed. But you will come with us to be housed in the garrison until such time as a hearing can be scheduled to determine your guilt and punishment."

A small tap sounded at the table and Inali looked back towards Linika, noting that her hands had changed position yet again. A trill later, Linika’s right hand moved to the right in a gentle swooping motion before the Naer stood. She replied to the demand in Common, and the humor of her remark was lost on the guards. The leader of the trio surged forward, his hand on a short sword at his belt.

Inali sighed loudly, stomped her foot on the wooden flooring and stood. She spoke rapidly in the Ancient Tongue, her right hand clenched in a tight fist as her left gripped the upholstered top of a nearby chair back.

“You have a report, do you? From Linus, I would guess?”

The third guard’s eyebrows rose- he understood her and his response confirmed her suspicions. She did not wait for a reply and continued her tirade instead.

“Assault is not against the law in Viden, and I doubt the hearing would rule against an exile who had cleaned chamberpots a minute before in hopes of a meal. A damned Naer stooped to the level of cleaning sailor shit and Linus yelled at her for trying to do more. Did he tell you about that? Did you ask any of the sailors about how he came at her with a cleaver?”

The Eidisi released her grip on the chair and cursed loudly in Rakahi, insulting the guards for their ineptitude before pointing to Linika.

“She defended herself. Nothing more, nothing less. She didn’t so much as tap him with the cleaver that she removed from his grip. I would know - I was sitting close enough that Linus could have hurt me in his rage. Thankfully, it didn’t come to that. If you intend to schedule a hearing, you can take me with you so that I can explain how quickly your trio was to ignore the assault by a damned Videnese businessman. Perhaps I’ll get to stomp into a peaceful establishment and apprehend Linus.”

Inali glared at the leader of the trio, her contempt plain on her face. The cool weather of Saun had left them itching for a fight and a report of an assault by a Naer was all they had needed to throw all the normal procedures out the window. It was disgraceful and Inali didn’t intend to see her home painted in such a light.