Chapter 7: Not happening
Riselle paced up and down the room that was locked with a heavy door. Her feet hardly made any sound on the stone floor that looked solid enough to leave digging a tunnel out of anybody head who thought of escaping. "You need heavy explosives or at least a pickaxe to make a start," his voice sounded neutral. She looked at the white stone on the floor, not doubting him. The small window at the top of the room was barred. There was a table, two stools and a jar of water placed next to two stone mugs with cracks from sever use. The knock on the door startled her as somebody unbolted it from the outside. A Bruiser carried a tray with two plates, whatever it was it smelled good and it seemed hot as small swirling clouds of steam came from the plates.
"Place it on the table, thank you," the man said and nodded for the Bruiser to leave them alone. She stopped pacing around the room when she heard him poor the water from the jar into the mugs. "Join me for dinner miss Riselle? I'm sure you are hungry?" Hungry was right, she had not eaten anything proper since the night she was arrested. The steel loaf of bread and the dirty water served in prison were nothing you could call proper food. They didn't make any exceptions for females, why should they she figured. The bread was so hard you could easily break your teeth on it. The water so dirty it could be mistaken for something else. She refused to drink and eat, only if she had to. This smelled nice, warm, fresh, prepared with care.
"It will get cold if you keep pacing up and down," he said to her. Food was the magical word right now, she sat herself on the stool while she looked at him. Asalt rested his chin in his hands, watching her. "I bet you never had dinner with a goblin before," he laughed, she only smiled. It did not ease the mood when she took the first bite and he remained silent as he observed her.
"Perhaps," he said, "you can enlighten me miss Riselle, while we eat. Because I do not know what to make of you and your case," he said, trying to smile confidential. Goblins didn't do well in trying to create a confidential environment she thought. "What is so curious about my case that you come to my prison in person mister…Asalt?" She pronounced his name with care. He smirked casually. "Do you have any enemies miss Riselle?" He asked her, while taking a piece of the meat from his place and tearing off pieces of it. It still dripped with the juice they used to give it the crusty skin. Goblin barbeque was the best according to Asalt. But he had made sure the cook didn't serve the blood elf the greasy meat but something prepared a little more to elf standards. She did not complain, he hoped it wasn't because she was too hungry.
Eating it with dignity was what she did, taking in bite after bite. Enjoying the taste. He devoured his with more goblin table manners then she did with her elfish ways.
"So no enemies?" He repeated the question. She shook her head. "Not really," she first said, shrugging when he looked at her. "Not that I know of…," was the next reply. The way she tried to go around the subject by shrugging and trying to keep her face straight while swallowing her dinner did not convince him enough to truly believe her yet. "Fair enough," he said when she seemed to grow restless as he watched her. "Do you remember anything after they knocked you out?" She shook her head, she didn't. He could tell she wasn't lying. "You're not good at lying are you?" The notification of that made her blush fiercely. He simply grinned.
"Am I going to be charged with murder?" Her fear spoke for her. "They hang people for murder here," he told her instead, to see what she would do. She took a deep breath instead of panicking. "They do in Silvermoon for reasons as well, only they do it in private though," she said. Asalt tried to read her. "What are you miss Riselle? A paladin perhaps?" He wondered out loud, leaving the sentence for murder in the middle for now.
"Yes, unfortunately I'm no longer an active one," she said painfully. He didn't understand what she meant by that, nor did she explain when he did not ask her. There was an awkward silence at the table, she finished part of her dinner in the time they did not talk. Knowing he studied her, trying to observe anything about her she would not tell him.
"How much would you appreciate us turning you over to Silvermoon authorities to handle your case there?" The suggestion was meant well, her face turned pale as she gasped for air. Not exactly the response he had hoped for. It was Gazlowe that had suggested to him to inquire after that possibility. "Anything but that...!" She cried out to his surprise. After that sudden outburst she tried to take a deep breath. It left Asalt to puzzle more about the blood elf. Riselle looked afraid. "Please…put me back in prison. Put me away in the deepest dungeon you have…let me serve whatever punishment out here… please do not hand me over to Silvermoon authorities," it was a disturbing sight to hear a blood elf woman ask for a penalty she did not need to serve. It felt as if she went against her own nature. The reserved person he took her for in the beginning was nowhere in sight. It made Asalt wonder, wasn't Silvermoon the bright beacon of home for those who called themselves blood elves? Didn't the blood elves wish their people to remain close?
"You don't wish to be returned to Silvermoon?" She shook her head. "Are you banned miss Riselle?" Was his next best notion. He heard of the banishement from Silvermoon from travelers. Some that chose to leave, some that didn't fit in anymore and were pressed to leave. Some because they wanted more, some because they needed to see the world for themselves before returning to Silvermoon. He met many since Thrall opened the Horde to the blood elves. Yet the blood elves never really earned an equal seat among the Horde.
She flushed a shameful red again, making her cheeks burn. "Not so much as banned…," was all she told him. Asalt added enemies to the list of questions he had asked her and things he was still curious about. "Eat up before your dinner really gets cold," he said to her. She seemed uneasy when she took another bite with trembling fingers.
"How long will they need?" Asalt chewed his meat and swallowed it before he licked his fingers off. "As long as it takes. You shouldn't worry, the orc is a good guardian. He will vouch for your safety. And house-arrest is the best next thing new hype over hanging out in Hazers prison," Asalt said with a wicked grin. She did not respond. "The orc didn't have anything to do with this," she said softly. "I know, "Asalt said, enjoying the juice that seemed to stirr his fingers trough the rich thick juice they spiced the meat with. He didn't want Greymur to have part in this either, but he had no choice. And with him within sight, he could keep an eye on him and the young lady in front of him. "Greymur can't help he has friends that get him into trouble occasionally," Asalt smirked. Riselle looked at him, resting her green eyes on him. He wondered if she would have had blue eyes if she were a high elf. The fel taint was visible in every elf that was called blood elf.
"Tell me miss Riselle, would you be placed under house-arrest if you would be in Silvermoon right now?" He didn't think Silvermoon held high esteem about systems like that. All she had to do was shake her head to confirm that. "What would they charge you with if they found you in a simular situation?" He wondered out loud. Riselles horrified look made him fill it in for her when he said gallows. "Interesting notion to hang people in private instead of turning it into a spectacle for the crowd," he tried to imagine what it looked like. A small crowd of spectators in a dungeon while the sentence was death by hanging. That was a lonely way of dying he presumed.
"I didn't kill the woman…," she suddenly said. Asalt remained neutral. Greymur had told him as much. The hunter went by his instincts. Asalt had different instincts to his rogue nature. "Did you ever kill a person before miss Riselle?" She nodded. He did not ask her if it was out of self defense or by orders. That he left for her to tell him if she wanted. She did not. The rather large two handed sword that was supposed to be hers didn't look easy to wield, but he was sure it was kept sharp enough like he kept his knifes.
"Since we don't know anything yet miss Riselle, you'll be glad to still take me up on that offer to be placed under house-arrest," he said."Unless you give me any reason why I should not place you under house-arrest instead." Ofcourse she was not going to give him an honest answer now. "At least do not disrespect the orc," he suggested. "I won't," she said. Her body language told him she was not lying not attempting to hide anything right now. So he went with his better judgment and hoped she was what he thought she was. Honest right now. He hoped she had nothing to do with the investigation for her own sake.
"Sometimes they hang people for less, for being a fugutive. It would really be a big fat shame if they had to hang your pretty neck from a noose," he admitted. She only nodded. Not happy with the thought of that subject.
Whatever he got himself into he wasn't left with much choice to deal with it. So the grey hunter found himself sitting in Asalt's office that very morning, waiting for their third party to arrive with more details. "Have you been thinking about it?" His goblin friend asked. Ofcourse he had. He had been busy about it all night, spending most of his spare time thinking and rethinking what he did that would form a threat to their investigation. He coudn't come up with any. At least he helped Jeri out. Though loyalty to a friend didn't always pay off.
Now Jeri and Jatfast were leaving him alone he could focus on whatever it was that would come his way. Not that he liked it. There had been many things he never liked while still living in Twilight Highlands. He didn't particulairly enjoy the orders given by his superior at times. Gazlowe made clear there was no difference here if he had to play it hard. It would only be for a while. "Who ware we waiting for?" He wanted to know. "Apperently Zef," Asalt sad with little enthusiasm. "Gazlowe must be busy," Greymur pointed out, Asalt nodded. "What do you make of her?" The Chief of the Bruisers eyed him. "I do not believe she killed." The grey hunter said. Asalt folded his shoulders. "We'll see about that," he said. Up until then she would be left in his care to deal with. There was a silence between them that indicated they both didn't know how to start the conversation about last night.
"It's not all bad," Asalt finally said. "I mean, look at you! You get to guard around a pretty elf lady. I bet others would have liked that job!" He grinned this all knowing smirk as he looked at Greymur. "I'm not worried about the job, I do worry about how long this will take," the orc muttered. "I didn't come up with the part you were becoming her guardian, that was Gazlowe. I'm sure he had a good reason for it," Asalt mentioned, to make sure Greymur knew he did not carry all the fault to his situation. Greymur shrugged. All he could do was sit and hope the best of it.
There was a soft knock on the door that made them both look up. In the doorway Zef stood. Zef was one of Gazlowes personal assistants, the boss held at least four to six to make things work around his office. Zef was his main man. His head assistant. A skinny goblin with a pale green tone and no muscles to his arms or legs, wearing geeky half goggles on a huge nose he invented himself. The man was a good scribe though, he had a sharp tongue and mind. And a good handwriting, even Asalt had to admit that. Zef was sent to help him organize the Bruisers when he took the position of Chief of the Bruisers. They never became friends though, the man was too much by the rules and lacked proper humor.
"Finally, do come in," Asalt invited him. Greymur was silent until Zef entered the room with a stern face, adjusting his half goggles again, he could not help but have a bad feeling when the man passed him to sit in an old chair near Asalt's desk.
"Good morning, Gazlowe sent me to handle this case, as the boss himself is very busy right now," Zef said, greeting both of them. There was an awkward sphere in the room when he came to business and produced a large bookwork of papers he laid on the desk. "Right, I have given this a whole night of thought and came up with a solution," Greymur listened to the man, thinking the goblin was indeed an office man. Zef probably never fought in his lifetime nor held a weapon. Not if he had to believe Asalt.
"Mister Greymur, it seems you have provided Ratchet with some trouble, thus leaving us to get out the protocol for situations like this," the man mentioned, tapping the bookwork. For some reason it wasn't not so much the details of the tasks that worried Greymur when Gazlowes personal assistant opened the bookwork to the first page, it was more what came afterwards that made him worry for some reason. It made him frown deeply.
Greymur not only found himself stuck as one of Asalt his Bruisers, he was also provided with a task that didn't appeal to him very much. That Asalt was his boss for now was written in a neat handwriting in detail on the second and third page, explaining the job prescription.
"You're perfectly suitable for this job," Zef started, reading over the subject. "I did some more research on you. And my sources tell me you used to cook a little when you worked in the mines. So you will get to do something you seem very suitable for," Zeds smile never met his eyes, something that bothered Greymur. Asalt didn't open his big mouth once when Gazlowes personal assistant explained this suitable task to keep the orc busy. A cunning plan, as Zef called it.
Instead of the promised outhouses, which Asalt would have gladly assigned him to, Gazlowe felt he would do injustice to the orc and signed the task of finding a job to his personal assistant. Instead he was appointed with...kitchen chores!
Kitchen chores…the cheerful tone in which Zef told him his task made the orc scratch his chin in thought, while grunting something that sounded like a curse.
"Kitchen chores? You're joking," Greymur did not look very happy. Asalt was shaking his head, nor did he. "Do I look like I made a joke out of this matter mister Greymur?" Zef looked serious. No, the hunter had to admit to himself the goblin lacked humor greatly. "I know you can cook," Zef remarked with a certain grin. "And you are a hunter, then this should not be a problem," he said, tapping his finger to the bookwork again and continuing to page ten. Apparently it didn't only contain the protocol he mentioned before, but also a thoroughly written description of anything the orc could not do or wasn't allowed.
"This can't be right," Asalt said. Zef caught Asalt's curious glare. "Oh but it is, Gazlowe asked me to take over this task himself," Zef said stern. Asalt grumbled, this wasn't what Gazlowe discussed with him when he spoke about Greymur the other night. "If you do not believe me, here it is, solid proof and signed with his own hand. Written in detail how we should handle in cases like these, exactly how we are supposed to handle things around here…with protocol," Zef said proud. "Give me that!" Asalt said, his voice angry. "You can read all you like Asalt, the boss gave me his full consent to make sure I would put the orc to good use. And I did! A man with Greymur's abilities should not be left to guard a young woman, he should be out hunting. What better way to combine your hunter skills by making a good meal for hungry Bruisers at the end of the day?" Zef his pointy fingernail scratched the table when he shoved the bookwork to Asalt, pointing him out to the signature that held Gazlowe's approval on the last page. The man seemed awfully content with it, as he looked very relaxed.
Asalt flipped through the pages, again and again. Trying to read as fast as he could through the bookwork of more than thirty pages. Finding there was nothing in there that held up anything they discussed besides the fact Greymur was appointed as a Bruiser in his care. The orc sighed. Not knowing what to think of this task.
"Exactly how many hungry Bruisers are we talking about?" Greymur mixed his thoughts with the conversation. "Why, all of them ofcourse orc," Zef smiled at him for that. "All of them? You can't be serious." The orc hunter seemed surprised. All of the Bruisers were a lot. Far more than a group of ten or twelve. Asalt noticed the stiffness in the orcs behavior when he eyed him. "It's very simple mister Greymur. You provide food for a group of people as a hunter. Which is your profession if I recall correct. And you and that huge she-wolf of yours get to hunt all day long! I'm sure you'll manage to make it worth your own while when you are able to use your profession to fill the hungry needs of the town you live in?" The personal assistant looked content. Greymur did not.
"Where's the girl in this? Who will guard the girl?" Asalt blurted out after reading more. There was nothing in the paperwork about miss Riselle. Zef his smile turned into a grin. "That will be taken care of. You will not need to worry about the young lady Asalt. I was thinking of appointing her to another guardian, since the orc will have his hands full he can't be tasked to watch her as well can he?" The dark shimmer in his eyes made him look creepy for a moment. Asalt bit his lower lip, remembering something.
"Greymur, please go to Less and give him these from me, tell him it's important. Go with him if he asks you to," Asalt said, fumbling with some papers on his desk as he jumped up from his chair. He handed him an envelope with a black waxed seal on it. The orc hunter looked confused for a moment. "Just do it," Asalt said, pushing him out the door when the hunter got to his feet.
The two goblins were left alone in the room. Leaving Asalt to venture his frustration to Zef.
"What are you doing? This is not what the boss discussed with me! Greymur agreed to speak up for the young lady, he was appointed her guardian." Asalt said. There was nothing in Zef his thirty page counting paperwork about that when he read through it. "I know it isn't. This was my idea. This way the orc will surely not interfere with the investigation and he will make himself useful," the wonderful way Gazlowes assistant laid out his plan, worked against Asalt his good moods. The Chief of the Bruisers wondered when Zef had made Gazlowe sign his paper. The moment he was in a meeting and signed stuff in between, or the moment the boss had his mind settled to solve other matters when he signed this.
"I don't know what you think you are doing, but I will speak to Gazlowe myself about this. He would not want an orc like Greymur put to the useless task of cooking dinner when he could use him somewhere else," Asalt pointed out. If he didn't know any better he would think Zef was trying to delay something. Zef looked almost hurt for a moment. "You think I do not handle in Ratchets best interest? You hurt my feelings Asalt. I thought I did you a favor by getting the girl out of your hair and the orc from your sight," he said semi displeased.
"Does Gazlowe know you changed his plans?" Asalt wondered. Zef gave him the benefit of the doubt by smiling. Probably not. "You know you can't do anything about this, it has been officially signed. Until another plan is written and approved we go by protocol, like always." Zef simply said. Asalt his face said why, but the word never passed his lips. "I will talk to Gazlowe about this," was all he said. "You do that Asalt, you do that," Zef gave him a neutral look with a hint of sarcasm added to it.
"Until then we go by this official Gazlowe approved plan," he uttered again. "Not if I have Gazlowe speak against it," Asalt claimed. "He's too busy. You'll have to deal with it for now," Zef grinned. Asalt was silent for a moment. "Good, now if you will have your men bring in the woman, I'll be sure to escort her to her new guardian," Zef said, as if he was exchanging coins for a gold piece. Asalt didn't like the way he talked.
"What's wrong Asalt? Worried I won't inform Gazlowe you want an appointment to discuss things on behalf of the orc…again?" It was said with a certain air Asalt didn't enjoy. "I don't need an appointment to discuss things with Gazlowe. I'm his bloody Chief of the Bruisers!" Asalt grumbled. The Chief of the Bruisers gasped at the personal assistant for a second realizing something. Zef was stalling time.
The personal assistant sat back for a moment, leaning in the old chair as he crossed his small legs over each other. "I'm sure you need an appointment. He's extremely busy you see. Otherwise he would not give me this task. If you will do me the honors and have your men bring me the young lady, I will make sure everything will be alright," he promised as if he was the boss himself.
"I don't think so," Asalt said, his lips forming a crude smirk. "I do not have to follow your protocol when details are missed. I have discussed plans with Gazlowe myself, no fact can change the promise he made me when we dealt about this. Plus you seem to forget that she is left in my custody after my men collector her from Hazers prison. I say when and where she will be released or not," There was something in the way Zef moved that made him alert. There was nothing in that fancy bookwork of the personal assistant that indicated he had to release the woman into Zefs care.
"Minor detail I overlooked," Zef admitted supportively. "Nothing that cannot be fixed," he chuckled. "You will have to get those papers resigned. Or you will go unapproved. Can't have you go against the rules," The Chief of the Bruisers sniggered rightfully. It didn't matter to Zef. "I'll be back to collect the woman and sign her release papers this afternoon, with official signed papers that will prove Gazlowe supports my change of plans. You keep her ready for escort Asalt," Zef said.
"I think you are leaving now," Asalt declared to Zef, wanting the stern looking personal assistant out of his office and his sight for now. The woman was an important piece of the investigation he was tasked with, and there was no way he would sent her with Zef right now. "You can make this hard on yourself Asalt, but be reasonable, an elf like miss Riselle should not be put in the care of a savage orc like Greymur. She should be handled with a little more…delicate care," Zef said, getting up from the chair. Asalt disagreed, knowing the orc did a good job guarding what he was asked to guard.
"You go…now," Asalt said. With that Zef took his leave and left Asalt to think about what just happened here. With Zef moving around things he could do the same. If he managed to have her released into Greymur's care before the afternoon, Zef could bring in paperwork all he wanted, with Greymur's signature on her release papers Zef had nothing against him. Gazlowe made him a promise. It was like playing a game of chess or a game of cards perhaps. All you had to do was play by the underlying rules if you wanted to win.