On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
Nothing because it's not anywhere near Christmas yet. Except it is.
I am simultaneously elated and appalled that Christmas is basically tomorrow already. This fustercluck of a year flew by. Or did it drag? I don't even know anymore.
Anyway, here's Wonderwall.
Somehow, by some stroke of luck, Weiss found her way to the docks. It was not an uneventful journey as another would-be thief attempted to unwisely wrench Myrtenaster from her belt as she passed by. Not only did he fail spectacularly, not bothering to check if it was strapped to her or not - which it was - but he'd been rewarded by being frozen upside down to the wall of a building. He would break free sooner or later, she left one of his arms loose, but it had the desired effect still. No one else tried to take anything from her the rest of the way down.
She couldn't say it felt particularly good doing that, but time was of the essence. Every minute she wasted messing around was another Ruby or Blake's condition could worsen. Her nerves were running short enough without someone trying to pilfer what little she had on her person and she almost welcomed someone else to try her, just to vent her frustrations.
No one did. While the crowds remained as dense as ever, like walking through a fleshy forest where someone had smeared grime on the bark of every tree, she managed to make her way along just fine. Cramped buildings became spread out more and those that remained were nice, or nicer than the ramshackle shops further inland.
Windows were in one piece, albeit foggy from accruing dust. While many buildings sported multiple coatings of paint - spackled yellow, brown, gray, and blue - they did not chip like the others. Either Weiss was becoming accustomed to the nauseating stench of the city or the smell of feces and bodily odor was growing less pungent too. The ever-present cloud hanging over the bay had not let up but it grew thinner and allowed some modicum of sunlight to seep through the covering. Plants sprouted up, mostly weeds, and small, patchy lawns surrounded a handful of the houses she walked by. Following the dirt roads packed so hard they might as well be stone she finally arrived at the docks by mid-afternoon. Or early evening. Without the sun visible it was a nightmare trying to judge the time of day.
From Vale's docks and piers, one could see for miles out into the ocean. An endless, unyielding stretch of blue that dwarfed any man-made creation and thwarted countless explorers' dreams, the unwavering sea was as daunting as it was beautiful.
Logically, Weiss knew the same thing needed to exist here on Vale's eastern coast, yet from where she stood it was impossible to tell. The fog dipped its fingers into the ocean from above, disappearing into the shifting surf and rising again in twirling plumes. For perhaps a hundred yards from shore she could just vaguely spot silhouettes of ships idling about, watching more drift languidly from the bat and disappear behind the suffocating curtain.
Aside from being trapped beneath the swirling mists the dock was more similar to Vale City's than not. Crates and barrels stacked several times her height rested beneath low hanging eaves as workers milled about, unloading, inspecting, counting, and delivering materials. Warehouses stood silent and faced the ocean as immobile vanguards, mouths open wide to ravenously devour anything the seafarers might deliver them.
Weiss had no idea which one of them was hers to inspect. Would it bear the spider emblem like the token did? Color? Or had someone been notified of her arrival? Considering how out of the loop Hannah had been she wouldn't hold her breath on the last one. With the smells no longer as oppressive as before she lowered her scarf from her face and inhaled the fresh ocean air. Her hands wrestled with the clasp in her hair and she adjusted her ponytail, resting a hand on her rapier. Then with all the readiness of a baby left alone in the wilderness she started her way down the boardwalk. Friendlier than anyone she had encountered thus far the ocean reached over the edge to greet her, throwing fine mist and cold water into the air that served to feed the fog further. She kept her distance and erred towards the warehouses instead.
Hannah said to speak to Isaac. A lot of good a name does me, Weiss lamented. No description, no indication of which building specifically she would look for. Producing the token, she turned it over in her fingers, shrugged, and approached the first worker she came across.
She would have had more luck using a porcupine as a pillow. One look at her token and the man turned up his nose, rabbit ears recoiling, before he spat at her feet and stormed off. So, she tried another warehouse and got roughly the same results. First, she tried to ask without the token and only found herself stonewalled. As if the token would help, she showed it anyways and had to excuse herself before they came to blows. Her third and fourth attempts yielded no better and Weiss threw her hands up as one woman, after thoroughly insulting Miss Malachite over things Weiss neither knew nor cared about, told her a very creative and disturbing way of how she could hide her token.
Weiss had no intention of following through on the woman's suggestion.
The damp crate she claimed as a seat wasn't the best choice, but she needed a break. A moment to think. With an exasperated sigh she looked up and down the roads, pursing her lips while swinging one leg. Miss Malachite's warehouse had to be somewhere here… Among dozens of others. The largest structures must belong to the wealthiest groups in the city which limited those she needed to search to only twelve. Nine if she counted the three she had already checked.
"There has to be a better way of going about this."
After ten minutes of sitting idly Weiss could not come up with a better solution. Asking anyone who seemed remotely willing to talk only resulted in her being rushed off with insults and glares. Sighing, she slid from her perch and grimaced feeling her pants cling to her thighs. After unsuccessfully peeling the fabric off herself she left it be and continued on her way.
Which warehouse held her objective was anyone's guess. They all looked the same to her; massive structures of brick and mortar with sheet metal roofs, bays wide open to welcome legal and illicit cargo alike. Aside from the foremen who wore tailored jackets and caps every worker wore plainclothes; trousers with suspenders, overalls, tunics and jerkins, everything fitted and sealed to keep the chill of the ocean at bay. Her own more breathable attire left her shivering whenever spray spit at her and her damp trousers did her no favors either.
Weiss had paused to watch a group of Dimuran workers unload metal crates from a small two-sailed craft when she heard shouting begin. Of that there was plenty along the docks and it might have otherwise gone unnoticed if not for what the growing crowd of workers were screaming for.
Joining the rest of the morbidly curious she made a quick jaunt towards the commotion, gathering with the others at the mouth of an alleyway between two of the larger storehouses. From the back of the crowd she could not make out anything, so she slipped between bodies, pushing them aside and ducking between halfhearted attempts to bat her back, managing to worm her way to the front of the gathering mass.
She didn't know what she expected to find there, but a man pinned to a wall by large iron spikes would never have crossed her mind. Arms and legs were held wide apart as the man splayed himself out while laying down. Dried blood trailed down from the limbs and pooled at the base of the wall, yet as brutally gruesome as those wounds were the chest almost made Weiss lose her breakfast then and there. Not only had a spike been driven through the man's chest but it had collapsed partially as a result. Thankfully his clothing still concealed most of the carnage, drenched though as it was. Someone else nearby fared worse and Weiss grimaced hearing bile spilling on stone.
Two armored men, both sporting tabards similar to Gustav's inspected the body, one checking for a pulse rather idiotically while the other carefully lifted the man's head. She had a good idea who this man might be.
"Fuck…" someone gasped beside her, a pallid man with wide, bloodshot eyes. "It's Feldgrau."
But she appreciated the commentary, nonetheless.
Nauseous as she felt Weiss made no effort to try and approach the grisly scene, instead content to watch as the mercenaries wrenched spikes free and lowered the body from the wall. Again, one of them checked for signs of life and shook his head, as if anyone could survive those kinds of injuries.
Well this is just fantastic! Not that she didn't feel any compassion for the man before her. She did, obviously, but this twist had just set her back even further. What in the world am I supposed to do now?! Look for Isaac? Weiss took one glance around the crowd, what she could see of it anyways, and couldn't discern one face from another. Everyone was a complete stranger and their outfits had nothing to make Isaac stand out from anyone else. I can't exactly ask, can I?
She grabbed the sleeve of the man who'd spoken a moment ago and tugged. "Sir? Do you know where I can find Isaac?"
The worker stared at her, through her really, blinking slowly before furrowing his brow.
"Isaac. The foreman for Lady Malachite's warehouses," Weiss repeated. "Do you know where he is?"
"Isaac… Oh. You mean Isaac!" No, I mean the Queen of Menagerie, you dolt. Weiss smiled and nodded. "He's, uh…" the man looked around. "Somewhere."
"Can you point him out to me?"
To his credit the worker tried, getting on his toes and craning his neck to search the crowd. He came back down and shook his head, scratching his balding scalp. "Er, sorry, kid. I don't see him."
For the love of all that is good. "There is no way the man in charge here vanished right as this happened." Unless he's responsible. Such leaps in logic weren't going to help Weiss get any closer to figuring out what was happening.
Weiss grabbed the man's shoulder and with a jump climbed onto his back.
"H-Hey!" he protested, stumbling as she used his shoulders to lift herself further.
"What does he look like?"
"Get off me!"
Weiss used the man's head for further leverage, pushing it down and herself up higher. "What color hair? Any notable facial features? Is he Muran? Faunus?"
The worker beneath her stumbled. "Muran! Red hair! Uh… I dunno, blue eyes!"
Well that helped precious little. Weiss spotted a woman with red hair first, large bull-like horns curling back from her forehead. Her eyes searched the crowd, checking those that had begun to disperse already. Red hair seemed to be rare so they should stick out like a sore thumb, right?
"Ah, there!" Weiss leaned forward and her impromptu mount almost toppled from it. A man towards the rear had his back to her but he clearly had orange hair, or red, from what little she could see beneath a black cap.
Isaac turned and Weiss' eyebrows shot up. "Wait a minute... "
Bangs covering one eye. A penchant for white coats that only a complete idiot would wear in a filthy place like this. Weiss dropped off the worker and pushed back into the crowd, rushing to break free from their ranks. She stumbled out and surveyed the area, spotting Roman walking away casually, twirling his cane in one hand, the other holding something out of view. "Isaac indeed!" she grumbled.
Was this his new facade after abandoning them? The nerve! If Roman was posing as a Malachite official though this worked out wonderfully; she could get more information and a little payback for the conman running out on them. As tempting as it was to box him in an earthen tomb then and there it would cause far too many headaches; people might not care if she used magic in self defense but attacking an "innocent" man in broad daylight was bound to get unwanted attention.
Roman paused and took a look around, glancing back into the crowds. He frowned, pocketing whatever he'd been carrying and cutting down another emptier alleyway. Weiss peered around the oversized Faunus worker she'd used as a shield, smiling apologetically before hurrying after her mark. Half expecting him to have vanished she rounded the corner and spotted Roman heading for a set of stairs leading to a higher road just behind the warehouses. Wherever he was going might have more answers for her…
Weiss wove an earth rune and sealed the far end of the alley. Roman jumped back with a start, wheeling around and holding his cane out like a sword. A blunt, rounded sword that wouldn't stop shaking. In the few seconds it took for him to realize who had followed him his face flickered between shock, worry, relief, then worry again when Weiss drew her rapier.
"Roman! How nice to run into you again!"
"Ah, hello there, Schnee! Liking that rapier I bought you?"
Weiss smiled sweetly and held the weapon up. "Yes, it's beautiful. Deadly too. It tears through Grimm quite effortlessly."
Roman's lips quivered and he backed up until he hit stone. "That right? W-Well that's great! Now, if you don't mind lowering this wall of yours I have somewhere to be."
"I'm sure you do but right now I need you here." Weiss sauntered up to the man and held her weapon out. She still stood several feet away, well out of striking distance, but the message was clear. "Roman, I have had a day. Quite a couple of days. And you and Neo abandoning us suddenly certainly didn't help matters."
"Now look, it was nothing personal! Once everything went to hell I figured we were done! I mean what more could we have helped with?"
Provide somewhere for us to hide? Help ensure the staff were safe before running away?
Weiss lowered her sword, laying the blade delicately across her palm as she took another step forward. "You can help me now, Roman. I just have a couple of questions." Weiss dropped her smile and bounced the blade in her hand. "Starting with; what in the hells is going on in this city?"
/+/+/+/+/+/
Roman would not stop pacing. Weiss shifted in the leather armchair she had claimed, material creaking along with the legs, leather peeling off. The man's restlessness rubbed off on her more than she cared to admit. His reluctance to provide any answers that might be of use was getting to her much quicker still.
"What do you mean you don't know?"
"I mean I don't know!" Roman stopped before he burrowed his way through the floor, throwing his hands up. "Neo and I arrived here not long before you did. We figured it was a great place to lay low, let everything blow over. Barely any Church presence, laws are more of a suggestion than a requirement…"
"Just like bathing and waste management, evidently."
"I never said it was a perfect city."
"Not to mention the flagrant disregard for personal space, the impossibility of trying to navigate this godsforsaken place," Weiss listed on her fingers. "Then there is the matter of the people in charge -"
Roman huffed. "Again, not the best plan, I'll admit."
"Certainly not the most elegant solution."
"But it's all we had. They clearly know my cover is just that meaning there are likely Hunters watching my manor even now. All my Lien is there." Roman's shoulders sagged and he whined. "Not to mention my spare jacket, and my favorite brandy."
"My friends are currently waiting for some critical medicine so forgive me if I don't sympathize with you." Weiss slid forward on the seat and froze when it wobbled. The chair, much like the rest of the one room building they had hidden in, likely was on its last legs. "So, you don't know anything about what's happening? About the murders?"
Roman removed his cap and shook his head. "Not a damn clue," he answered quickly, glaring into his hat and digging at something inside. "All I know is once we showed up bodies were already showing up in the streets. Nothing out of the ordinary for a dump like this…"
"But it's not typically the ones up above that are being killed off," Weiss surmised.
"Exactly. Now that the people with all the influence are in trouble suddenly it's an issue." Shaking out his cap Roman clicked his tongue, brushing the top off before setting it back on his head. Weiss did not have the patience for his cheeky smile or suggestive wink. "Remind you of anyone?"
"Yes, you. And nobles, which is neither here nor there," Weiss grumbled. "Although I don't understand why people live in such squalor here. In Vale City it's only a small portion of the population but here? It's almost like everyone not in the manors lives in complete filth. Why put up with that?"
"Because despite the obvious issues it's the fine ladies and gentlemen in charge that keep the city safe and let people do whatever they want. More or less. Think about it; the families who run this place hire the Magi to keep Grimm away, and in exchange the people work for them. Sure, they get the short end of the stick when it comes to housing, but it's a paradise for anyone who wants to indulge a bit. Want sex? There's a willing worker on every corner. Drugs? Plenty of ends for it."
Weiss' face crumpled. "It's a den of depravity."
"And paradise for people who don't mind lowering their standards. So sure, they might live in squalor," Roman acquiesced, shrugging his shoulders. "But they get to do whatever they want in exchange. For plenty of people that trade is worth it."
Nothing was worth this. No person, vice, or freedom was worth living in a place where you waded through shin-deep puddles of excrement and risked being mugged on every street. Maybe Weiss just had an unnaturally high expectation for what was a livable space. Maybe every soul living in the lower rungs of Liar's Bay was broken beyond repair, wholly and unequivocally enraptured by their desires.
Weiss bet on the latter.
Giggling and hollering interrupted them, a pair of foggy figures passing by the lone clouded window in the house. They stopped and bumped against the barred door, a woman's muffled laughter and moans making Weiss groan. The door rattled and a man grunted, giving the door another shove before the pair wandered off. Roman's cane remained firmly lodged in the door's handle.
"Forgive me but I don't believe that you're entirely clueless. I was told that an illusionist is suspected to be behind this." Weiss stood from her seat and frowned, cocking a hip as she folded her arms. "And I only know of one illusionist; one that is notably absent at present."
"Neo and I have nothing to do with this, Schnee!" Roman warned. "We're here to lay low. Why would we jeopardize that by killing off people?"
"Maybe Neo has gone rogue? Can you say for certain she hasn't been sneaking out behind your back?"
"Yes, I can actually!"
Roman looked genuinely insulted by her accusations. Weiss lifted her head and tapped her foot. "Well? Where's your proof?"
"Neo isn't here because one of the other families picked her up yesterday! I'm out here in this festering hole in the ground trying to find leads for them!"
"Pardon me?"
Blowing his bangs from his face Roman stormed off towards the rear of the building, apparently remembered there was no other room and doubled back. His face had gone paler than usual and he ran his hands along it, groaning before kicking a footstool across the floor.
"We tried to steal from the wrong guy and Neo ended up knocking them out when we got caught. We were disguised at the time, figured it was no big deal, but once they realized what she could do and the whole idea of an illusionist being responsible for this mess." Roman waved a hand and growled. "All for a hundred Lien! I'd sooner have sold my damn jacket if I knew what a headache this was going to cause! Now they're holding Neo hostage until I find some information for them!"
Weiss stared, then scoffed. "So you're in the same boat I am then?"
"The clowns in charge here can't figure out what's happening so they rope me into their mess!" Roman threw his hands up. "Why do people insist on getting me involved in their ridiculous schemes! Why can't I just go back to honest swindling?"
"Do you listen to yourself when you talk?"
"So no, Neo and I are not involved in these murders," he continued. "Like you, I've been forced into trying to make sense of this! Unlike you, however…" Weiss lifted her rapier and Roman yelped, taking a step back and chuckling. "Unlike you I'm, um… Wasting my time here…?"
"You have nothing to share that will help me, so you're wasting both of our time here." Weiss groaned, lowering her sword and rubbing at her temple. "Wonderful. This accomplished nothing."
No closer to her goal. No closer to securing treatment for Blake and Ruby. Weiss scowled. Someone in the city must know something. Maybe someone back at the warehouses had seen the killer. It might take some coercion to get them to talk but surely she could find answers. Waving clouds of dust from her face and stifling a sneeze she started for the door.
"Wait, where are you going? I need your help!"
Weiss' hand hovered on the handle. "What you need are answers, something which both of us lack." She shot an icy glare in Roman's direction. "And neither of us will find them standing here bickering. I'll go back to my investigation and you see to yours."
"But we're looking for the same thing!"
"And you're distracting me from searching." Weiss stumbled back and tried to wrench her hand free of Roman's grasp. "What are you doing?!"
"Help me get Neo back! Come with me, tell them that she's innocent! We both saw the body; there's no way Neo could have done that if they have her."
True. Weiss doubted Neo could pin a man to the wall with iron spikes too, although she could have had an accomplice. Wide-eyed and pleading Roman searched her face for some sign that she might give in and loathe as she was to admit to it Weiss felt herself doing just that. An exasperated sigh passed her lips and she tugged her wrist free.
"Fine, but I expect the two of you to help me with this. If we're all working towards the same goal I imagine you don't have any objections?"
"None at all! B-Besides," Roman smiled uncertainly. "You owe me for that sword of yours."
Weiss glanced at Myrtenaster. "This? As I recall a man tried to bribe me with it, clearly violating codes of conduct between Hunters and nobility."
"Okay, but you're not a Hunter anymore! And I wasn't really nobility -"
"I'm saying I'm not repaying you for a bribe, you dolt. But I'll help, if only because our goals are aligned." Weiss unclasped her rapier's sheath and slipped it inside, not breaking Roman's gaze as she locked it in place, jabbing a finger in his chest. "You had better not run away the second you two are reunited."
"And risk the families sending people after us? Wouldn't dream of it, ice queen!"
Weiss left Roman clutching his foot while she circled around him, moving to examine the small satchel he'd carried in with him. A crude map of Liar's Bay sketched in charcoal, probably in the dark, with no labels or even directions charted out. A smaller cloth pouch of Lien, a dagger that she sincerely doubted Roman had unsheathed even once, and what looked like a paper sausage. She picked up the latter, turned it around in her fingers, sniffed it and grimaced. Whatever it was it smelled horrible.
"Right then." Weiss picked up the map and slid the remaining contents into the satchel, tossing it to Roman. "Let's meet this family and get Neo back, then the three of us can discuss our next course of action."
"Er… She's mute."
"It wasn't meant literally." Weiss rolled her eyes. She swung the door open and managed to not retch as the rancid air swept into the room. Fog swirled in from above, dissipating in the cramped space. "You know how to get back?"
Roman nodded, slinging his bag over one shoulder and hurrying out after her. "Head north to the lifts and take those to the top. Their home is the one with the obnoxious fountains out front."
"Didn't you have a mansion of your own?"
"All for show," the conman said, brushing her off and smiling. "And my fountains were not obnoxious; they were art. I had them commissioned by -"
"I distinctly remember you having a horrible sense of decor too. Insultingly tacky." Not that Weiss knew much. She smiled to herself when Roman sputtered.
"Tacky?"
Weiss rolled her eyes, waving Roman along and letting him take the lead, stepping aside as the narrow road demanded they walk single file. Not far from their hiding spot they passed the pair from before, or Weiss assumed they were the same duo. Grimacing, she tried to turn her head away, but she could do nothing to drown out their sounds, gagging and wishing her hearing wasn't so acute.
The roads gradually rose up ahead of them, ghostly lifts rising into the heavens above, lanterns small faltering specks, passing through the veil like wayward spirits. She doubted there would be anymore answers found up above; the families wouldn't be wasting their time with surrogates if they knew who the culprit was. Three heads were better than one however and Weiss was not so proud to not admit she could use the help. Even if she didn't trust two of those heads.
Even if the answers might be somewhere down below staring her in the face.
/+/+/+/+/+/
For once Weiss relished the chance to return to affluence. Though the palatial manses which took up all the space on Liar's Bay's uppermost levels it was a welcome change of scenery. No foul odors plaguing her, no one trying to incessantly pluck whatever she had on her person. Here she could see the sky in plain view, blue as her eyes and stretching out endlessly over the equally vast ocean. Here, high up above the muck and grime she could breath more easily.
The fact there was such a flagrant difference between how people lived annoyed her to no end. How were the people below okay with any of this? Where denizens in the bay fought for every inch and buildings might as well be stacked atop one another, manors spread out across a quarter of an acre or more, separated by ivy-encrusted brick walls, wicked wrought iron fences and unyielding stone-and-mortar barriers. The air here was clean and hells, the roads were cleaner than the air here. Roman had mentioned people allowed themselves to live so poorly because it meant unparalleled freedom. Why couldn't they have both? Obviously not everyone could live as the families above did but then no one needed to. No one needed a house large enough to put up a village or enough servants to populate one. Yet here they were surrounded by buildings just like that.
Roman glanced at every home they passed with a wistful sense of longing, muttering on and on about a desire to return to his own manor as soon as possible.
Weiss wondered if any of the residents could survive without someone to wipe their nose every time they sneezed.
Loathing the people she had become indentured to probably wasn't conducive to anything though. When they arrived at a large iron gate flanked by towering, flowering bushes and guarded by a pair of women clad in leather armors. Odd, considering everyone else she had seen wear armor - what few there were - always opted for metal. Far more protective and expensive, admittedly. Both wielded spears, their heads encased in studded leather helms with open faces.
Both women glared at her as they approached the gates.
Without a word spoken they crossed their spears and barred entry. Roman beside her chuckled, removing his hat and approaching them with stuttered steps. "Hello again, it's me. I'm here with an update on my search." Neither woman blinked. Clearing his throat Roman spoke a little louder. "I'm here to see Tamarind. Why don't you two -"
The butt of one spear slammed against the ground while the other leveled itself at Roman's chest, the motion so swift and fluid Weiss hardly registered it. "You humans fancy yourselves nobility, yes? Then you should know how to address our leader," the pointed woman snapped, her soft voice twisted by an odd accent. Something between lower Valean, a slight drawl to her words despite being fluent. "Lord Tamarind is busy."
"Ah, yes, w-well you see, I'm confident that I have something useful. If you two would just let me -" The second spear hung in front of his face and Roman yelped, hands shooting up defensively. "C-Come now, be reasonable!"
This is getting us nowhere. Weiss stepped forward and was met with a spear herself. Reasonably confident she wouldn't be killed in cold blood she smiled and mirrored Roman's yield by lifting her hands. "I'm helping to investigate the murders. My… Associate Roman and I have new information that we would like to share."
"Associate?" The first woman to draw her spear leaned forward and narrowed grey eyes at Weiss. She looked over her once and scoffed. "Draksha. Du fer mo hal."
"Come again?" Roman asked, grunting when Weiss stomped on his foot. "Stop that!"
"Elven tongue," she shot back, frowning as she studied the woman. She recognized a bit of the tongue but knew none of it, only that it existed. Rare as it was to find a language besides the common tongue spoken Weiss had never bothered to learn it. "Was that a yes to see your lord?"
The look given, somewhere between mild amusement and sheer disgust said no. Despite that the women stood their spears at their sides once more and stepped aside. "Be swift, and mind your manners, jester."
"Our lord will see you when he is ready. Wait in the foyer until then."
Weiss smiled triumphantly while the guards opened the gates, rolling her eyes when Roman pointed out she'd done nothing. "I didn't get weapons turned on us," she pointed out. Although she didn't know what she had done to gain them entry either. One hand absently ran along her ear, fingertips coming together at the pointed end, and she nodded to the guards as they passed inside the walls.
Compared to some of the other manors she had visited Weiss found herself surprised by the simplicity of this one. Instead of beds of flowers or ornate statues the entire property had been turned into a grove of sorts; oaks and birches planted years ago had begun to sprout in earnest, their budding canopies creating patches of shadow along trimmed lawns and bluestone pathways. Small streams fed from unseen sources trickled throughout, their sparkling surfaces reflecting the sunlight peering through the leaves. More surprising still, Weiss saw people roaming about on the property. Not servants if their leisurely stroll was any indication, nor how they sat among the shade, laughing and speaking in low voices to each other. They scarcely paid her or roman any mind beyond a curious glance, treating them with no more care than one might a wandering cat.
The manor itself too did not resemble anything Weiss had become used to. Instead of a towering, multi-story building made of stone and brick this home looked to be made of nothing but wood. Dark wood trim which framed lighter, possibly bleached wooden walls. No glass panes in the windows where instead dark green shutters laid open. It wasn't until they arrived at the front doors, two heavy looking pieces with brass knockers resembling eagles holding a snake in its talons, that Weiss began to wonder if they hadn't wandered into another realm entirely.
Roman took the initiative and knocked at the door while Weiss tried to make sense of their surroundings. A noble without a proclivity for excess? One which allowed their staff to enjoy themselves in their gardens; Weiss wasn't sure she'd call the trees and pathways a garden. They were in the right district and the towering walls of the mountain behind the manors were a reminder that they still resided in Liar's Bay but it felt so alien.
"We are at the right place, yes?"
Roman stepped back and dusted his hands on his trousers. "Of course! Did the women threatening to run us through shake you that badly?"
"I wasn't the one ready to soil myself," Weiss said. "And no, this just feels unusual. It's too, I don't know, modest."
"Oh, just you wait, Schnee."
"I look forward to being thoroughly disappointed," Weiss mused, smiling as the doors opened with a groan of reluctance.
Another female guard answered the door. A welcome change from the leering nimrods in tin cans, Weiss mused, stepping back and gesturing to Roman. He knew these people and with any luck would get them in without being threatened again. With how the woman glared at them she wouldn't hold her breath.
Taking the conversation as a chance to peek inside Weiss leaned over. What little she could see of the foyer confused her even more; flowering vines grew along pillars inside, a reflective pool in the center turned orange by low-burning torches surrounding it. Wind swept from outside and chimes jingled within. Long shadows danced across the walls and Weiss realized it was not just a trick of the light; people danced across the threshold arm in arm, heads lolling as if lost in some trance. Relaxed, almost welcoming, and wholly out of place.
The woman at the door at least looked the part of a guard, covered in just as many scars as she was articles of clothing. A single leather pauldron on her right shoulder made the bulk of her armor, held to a vest of hide by straps and steel ringlets, leather faulds fanning out at her waist. Open toed boots were irregular, and the twin scimitars hanging at the woman's waist were nothing she was accustomed to either. Weaving, intertwining symbols on the armor made it seem more ceremonial than functional until Weiss realized some of those symbols were just marks left by claws and blades.
Weiss blinked with a start realizing she'd been addressed by the woman, cheeks flushing. Red eyes matching the equally vibrant red hair on her head watched her curiously, lacking the bite of those outside and showing more curiosity than animosity.
That might change as she tilted her head, lips working for an answer to a question she did not know. "What was that?"
Rather than snap the woman smiled, briefly, before her face returned to an impassive state. "Who do you work for, draksha?"
"I…" Roman tried to discreetly shake his head, ending up being subtle as a Boarbatusk in a marketplace. Weiss grabbed her scarf, thought to remove it, then smiled carefully. "I work for Roman. With Roman," she amended. "I've worked with him in the past and he asked for my help with this."
"Seeing as someone has taken my usual help," Roman agreed, earning a none-too-kind glare for his remark.
"I see. And you think you can help us find the deceiver?"
Weiss very nearly pointed to her 'partner' then and there, settling instead to nod. "I can. In fact, I might have some information to help with that."
Surprised, the woman nodded herself, stepping back and gesturing for them to enter. "Very well. My husband is dealing with his guests now, but this takes precedence."
Weiss quickly followed Roman, glancing around curiously as they strode through the open-air foyer. All elves, she realized, and both men and women dancing about without so much as a look of acknowledgement. The only time they appeared to even recognize anything beyond their partner was when the chimes rang out, sending a small spark of energy in the otherwise docile air, one which brought brief flashes of delight to their angular, youthful faces.
Unconsciously she stepped closer to Roman and set her hand on her rapier, the peculiar gaiety sitting poorly with her. Subdued as it was everyone they passed on their way through the building looked equally lost in an unspoken revelry, moving without a care in the world. Beyond a few more female guards standing at attention and their escort Weiss wondered if anyone inside the building even knew what time of day it was. Unfiltered sunlight flooded the halls and poured in from openings in the roof above them, leaving the interior even brighter than the shaded groves outside. Chalk it up to paranoia but Weiss found the openness of the structure to be more constricting than the tightly packed slums.
"Er, Titania? If you don't mind my asking -"
"I do, but you will anyways," their escort interrupted.
"Aha, right. If it's at all possible might I see Neo while we're here?" Roman smiled, giving what otherwise might be a look that would win over most people. The woman, Titania, did not bother to turn around. "I know you promised you wouldn't harm her but I'd still like to see her, if it's all the same."
"You'll see her," Titania answered.
"Good! Wonderful! See, I knew we could do this civilly."
That was about as noncommittal as you can get, Weiss wanted to say. Instead she rolled her eyes and continued to follow in silence.
From the foyer they passed through a long corridor and sizable dining hall, two large chairs at the head of it. A chandelier of carved bones hung over the table; the table itself looked to just be a slab of a massive tree's trunk, cut thin and supported by simple timbers nailed to the underside. A few members of the household sat around it, some with their heads on the table and others enjoying a meal in peaceful silence.
Past the dining hall they traveled down another long corridor and Weiss began to notice music. It was nothing like the songs bards in the city might play. Slow in tempo and irregular in rhythm it started off as dull twangs of a stringed instrument before blossoming into a syncopated melody.
Weiss just thought it sounded odd.
Ahead the hall ended, spreading out into a larger room that grew into a cavernous hall. Only once the lack of natural light set in did Weiss realize they had traveled inside the mountains. Wooden walls and flooring remained but the ceiling was pure stone, grey rock turned amber by the dozens of candles and lanterns set alight. The music continued, plinky stringed instruments strummed at an irregular beat. Two muses sat to either side of a wooden throne at the back of the room, swaying to an unknown beat. The lord of the house - Weiss assumed it was the lord from how he presided over the room, watching his fellows meander about - looked up at their arrival and smiled.
Neo looked up too, eyes going wide seeing her and Roman. She moved to greet the latter and the chains around her arms and legs rattled, the choker around her throat pulling her back in place.
Roman tensed beside her and drew a sharp breath. Titania glanced back at them and Weiss thought she saw the woman shake her head, but the elf turned away before she could be sure.
"My lord. Ir bak yohr fallen, du tre vas na," Titania recited.
"Du tre vas na," the lord replied coolly, pulling on Neo's bindings again. He rose from his throne calmly and smiled broader. "Ah, the false man has returned. With good news I hope?" His eyes flickered to Weiss and his thin brow arched. "And he brings a daughter of the wilds with him?" he asked, glancing at Titania. "One of ours?"
Titania dispelled any such ideas with a shake of her head. "Doubtful. She is from another clan I think."
"Hm. Or a dweller of stone."
Weiss didn't appreciate the way this man examined her. Leering she was used to and could handle reasonably well; this man didn't leer. As he strode down from his seat, leaving Neo sat on the stone steps, he pursed his lips and slowly tilted his head to one side, then another. Rather than leer he studied her, coming just close enough that he could almost reach out and touch her before stopping, thanks in part to Titania blocking his path.
"Palla re san hroth ni, vas na."
Weiss might not understand the language, but she knew a warning when she heard one. Yet the lord did not looked incensed or even annoyed by his wife's blatant rejection, smiling and holding his hands out.
"My palms are unsullied, my dear Titania. I have behaved in your absence." The lord smiled and placed a hand over his chest. "And please, use the common tongue when we have company. It is rude to speak poorly of outsiders when they cannot understand us."
"I didn't -"
"Nor did I expect you to so rudely not inform me of your return! I trust the Grimm beyond the walls have been dealt with?"
Titania sighed, holding her arms out and smiling. "I'm here, am I not?"
"True. Forgive me for my insolence." The lord chuckled to himself. "Ah, but where are my manners? It is custom for you to exchange your names upon meeting, yes?" He folded his other arm behind himself, one leg sweeping back as he bowed at the waist. "Lord Tamarind. Head of the Selee clan, son of Tam Lin and Carabosse, and gracious host to all who enter our halls."
Someone is certainly full of themselves. "Weiss," Weiss answered simply. Roman cleared his throat and Titania spared her a look of incredulity.
"Simply Weiss? An interesting name for one of our kin, even if you are from another clan."
"My parents were eccentric," Weiss said with a shrug.
"And what a wonderful trait to have. I find humans are always so dull," Tamarind went on, waving a hand dismissively as he sauntered back to his throne. His layered robe swayed with his steps, green and white flowing cloth wrapped around his tall, lithe frame. "Of course, humans also enjoy dabbling in things that do not belong to them. Is that not right, halfling?"
Rather than deny it Weiss nodded at the accusation. "They do enjoy that, yes." She stewed watching Tamarind sit back down and pull Neo forcibly before him, admiring her like a trophy. "I see that greed is hardly limited to humans though."
"Greed? It is collateral, sapling. You noblemen enjoy that term, don't you?" Roman's jaw clenched, his cane creaking between his hands. The lord hummed musically and crossed one leg over the other. "I trust you have returned because you have information, Roman? Something to absolve your pet of her crimes?"
"She is not my pet, elf," Roman spat back. "And she committed no crimes!"
Weiss felt surprise and, dare she say, a twinge of pride in watching Roman offer some spine. It was a shame the same spine was torn out when Tamarind pulled Neo hard enough to send her to the floor, putting a foot down on her head to keep her still.
"Claims which you have yet to offer proof of."
"Is taking a prisoner really supposed to help anything?" Weiss asked.
"Prisoner? Ah, naturally you have the wrong impression." Tamarind waved a hand dismissively. "Titania? Be a dear and educate the ignorant, would you?"
"It is our custom, that is, the custom of many clans to take a geirskor, whenever a crime has been committed." Titania folded her arms as she turned, furrowing her slender brow while she rolled her neck. "It is… Not collateral," she mused, clicking her tongue. "A guarantee. One life for another. When one is slain there must be equal and fair repayment for the crime committed."
"She. Didn't. Kill. Anyone," Roman growled.
"A slain member of my house says otherwise, Roman, not to mention countless eyewitness accounts."
"That is because an illusionist is at work here," Weiss offered. Titania seemed interested by the news. Tamarind scoffed.
"A convenient excuse."
Weiss shook her head, carefully stepping around the warrior and approaching the throne. "Not an excuse; the truth. Someone else was slain while you had Neo here. One of Lady Malachite's men."
"Oh? What a pity."
Tamarind's tone belied his delight in the news.
"If Neo was the killer then she couldn't have committed this crime," Weiss continued. Her eyes went to the mismatched girl and she cringed inwardly as the lord rubbed his foot into her head. "You have the wrong person and we need her help to find the actual killer."
"Hm. Possible. But what is to say you aren't her accomplice? It is rather convenient, don't you think?" Tamarind frowned, laying his head on one hand as the other drummed on the throne's arm. "I capture your assassin, you come here to beg for her release on false pretenses. I allow you to leave with her and you all escape, free of charges."
"Other families are being killed too, you fool!" Roman shouted. "We aren't responsible for this."
"And what do I have for proof? Your word?"
Weiss could feel Roman's anger radiating, or maybe that was her own. Neither of them had the information they claimed to and the revelation that killings continued despite Neo's capture did nothing. They needed something more convincing and she would sooner wade into Grimm infested waters than return to the slums on another errand.
She dug into her pocket and found the token, hurling it across the floor for Tamarind to take. Rather than rise from his throne he sent one of the bards from their perch, immobile and silent since their arrival. While the lord inspected it Weiss removed her scarf, peeling back her tunic's collar to display it.
"I'm working here on behalf of Lady Malachite, but hardly by choice. My friends and I were attacked outside of the city and two of them are in serious condition, their treatment contingent on my helping her." Weiss glared at the man. "I'm not a killer, and I have no time for whatever squabbles are going on between you and the other houses here. I just want to help my friends and leave; that's the honest truth."
And probably the last thing to admit to being. More than one person had warned her about revealing what she was to anyone in the city, but what else was she supposed to do? Continue arguing in circles? Ruby and Blake needed help. They needed to leave Vale, and neither would happen so long as they were stuck in Liar's Bay.
"My friends are geirskor, despite us having done nothing wrong," she insisted when Tamarind remained stoically indifferent. "Let us have Neo back and find your actual killers. I'm not leaving the city until my friends are helped and I'll make certain these two don't either."
"I see, and you think I should just take you at your word?" Tamarind scoffed. "I think not. You two may leave at your earliest -"
"Go on, take the girl back."
"Titania, I did not give leave to -"
"We lead this family as equals, dear. Meaning we both have a say in how we conduct business." Titania tilted her head and tapped the side of her neck. "She is marked as well. Raez doth hrimmar. Unless you want to draw the Church's ire…"
"I'm no longer with them," Weiss butted in.
"Even still, we should not take that chance." Titania motioned for one of the idle revelers to approach, a wispy-haired man with a delirious smile. "Remove her shackles and let them go in peace."
"Titania, my dear, you would just let them leave unchallenged?"
"I do not trust Roman to complete this search on his own, and having a girl trained as a Hunter working to solve this should help." The red-haired warroress smiled at Weiss' befuddled expression. "I would not want you to think we are monsters, Weiss. It would be poor to give you a bad first impression of your people."
"She is a halfling, vas na." Tamarind sighed, sinking back onto his throne and waving the now freed Neo off. He watched her go with a bemused smile, shrugging and waving to her. "But so be it. Do give our regards to good Lady Malachite if you see her. And let her know we still seek a blood price."
"Blood price?" Weiss stumbled back, shrugging Neo's hand off. "You expect us to deliver whoever is responsible to you?"
"I do. It is only the right thing to do, no? We were the first attacked, and so we will be the ones to send the killer to the afterlife. Do so and perhaps I will even reward you for your efforts."
Rewards. Weiss frowned and allowed Roman to pull her along. Whatever the elves thought they could offer didn't mean a thing to her. Lady Malachite had what she wanted, and even if she didn't care who dealt the killing blow Weiss was not about to go out of her way to appease a slighted family.
"I hate this city," Weiss grumbled. Neo nodded, scowling and making a slicing motion across her throat. "No, no murdering anyone. That's exactly how we've ended up in this mess."
Not that the city was making it easy for her to play nice.
Funny little story but initially I had planned for the reunion with Neo and Roman to be a little more comical. If anyone is familiar with "One Punch Man", I had Weiss effectively ask "Who's sassy child is this?" while referring to Neo.
Perhaps someday, but today was not that day.