The introductions with the acolytes and Rodri went smoothly – apparently the initiate had told them about their encounter two days ago and possibly the lothga story, which had earned himself and Anur some automatic respect and leeway aside from their titles. It was good to see that the older two felt some responsibility and protectiveness for Rodri. It was a far cry from Kir's memories as an initiate working with acolytes.
There had been little active maliciousness aside from a few isolated incidents, but absent and unintentional cruelty could scar just as badly. There were reasons he had sought an excuse to leave the district so eagerly, and his age-mates, all scared stiff of him, hadn't been the main one.
The acolytes' reactions – and a somewhat subtle reassurance he wasn't going to be forcing any truth compulsions on them – were enough to placate Seras and Kavrick to the point they left, after reassuring their students they were indeed all right. Apparently entering an emergency Conclave and going into lockdown had alarmed them.
Who would have thought?
"How far back with the reforms send us?" Etrius, Seras' scholar, asked, corners of his eyes already starting to crease from reading in poor lighting.
"To recraft the Charter I believe we will have to start at the beginning and work forward as situations arise," Kir replied, unsurprised that someone who purportedly joined their Order for their historical records would understand how much of their Order's practices had been scrapped by recent announcements.
"That is going to take some time," Etrius commented doubtfully, before his eyes widened and he added hastily, "All due respect, Your Incandescence."
"Hearing that title is never going to get old," Anur managed to refrain from snickering aloud at least. His mental cackles were distracting enough.
Kir sighed and said dryly, "I would prefer as few titles as possible – Eldest will be more than enough within the Order. I will be hearing the more formal addresses soon enough."
"Of course Eldest," Etrius agreed immediately, the other two nodding though Rodri was a little hesitant.
Guessing at the source of that, he gave Rodri a small smile and said, "Simply calling me Father Kir would be even more preferable, but I understand that formality is a comfort to some."
Judging by Rodri's smile, he had guessed accurately. It was strange to see the boy so expressive – Kir had only really seen him those few marks after the lothga, so it was entirely possible this was his usual personality when not traumatized, but seeing him so expressive within the District, especially after being here a few years, was startling. Certainly not a bad thing, but a surprise.
He suspected he had the two acolytes sitting before him to thank for that.
"As for restructuring the Charter," Kir returned his attention to Etrius, leaning back in the armchair he'd claimed for the discussion, "Taking our time would be to our advantage, particularly as I doubt the reforms are through, though those to come will be less drastic in how they affect us."
:Until we get to Valdemar.:
:Well yes but that will dramatically affect everyone – while this announcement did the same, it more significantly affected us. Besides, Heralds are never actually mentioned in any of the Charters directly, so that announcement won't require a redraft.:
"So long as everyone applies some common sense in extending Solaris' explicitly announced reforms, there won't be any difficulties," Anur spoke up, shrugging and taking a sip of his once-again lukewarm tea. "Given, common sense can be rather rare, but self-preservation is a powerful motivator. Anyone pursuing those witch-powered will face severe consequences now that they are no longer considered wicked. We need a name besides witch-power by the way."
"We'll work on it," Kir said dryly, "Later. Now, besides simply introducing ourselves, there were a few things I wanted to clarify with you there in particular."
He waited a moment for them to focus on him again before saying seriously, "The practice of bidding within the priesthood is going to be reworked, and no one will be taken unwillingly for the priesthood any longer. As you have taken no vows, should you wish it, we can arrange for you to leave the priesthood entirely or simply this Order. I am well aware of Rodri's trouble two days ago and you have to know that while those of us already ordained will work to rebuild our reputation, you will all face judgment for acts you have never committed. Our uniforms set us apart and make us easy targets for rage against the priesthood's now anathema practices, even those were not responsible for."
"You are referring to Fury summoning," Maltin spoke up at last, voice naturally quiet in something of a startling contrast to his more strident mentor.
"Amongst others, but that is the main one we'll be wrongly held responsible for, yes," Kir nodded, feeling suddenly weary. Actually explaining the troubles their Order would face for years to come made them seem far more challenging and immediate than when he simply knew what they were facing.
"Because not all black-robes are summoners, they can simply blend in," Etrius elaborated, grim-faced, "While we cannot."
"You still can," Kir corrected.
The brief withering look Etrius cast his way before realizing who he was near-glaring at was refreshingly frank. His spoken reply was more controlled in tone but Kir could still hear the underlying rebuke – this one would be worth watching simply for entertainment.
"I put a lot of work into getting restricted access to these Archives. I'm not about to leave now that I'm only a few years away from having full access," he said, Kir feeling his mouth twitch into a smile as he replied, "Understood. This records' hall is one of the few things I truly missed about Sunhame."
"There are still lothga," Rodri said simply, giving a tired shrug far too old for him, "I'm staying."
"As am I," Maltin said shortly, providing no explanation.
"Very well," Kir said, inclining his head slightly, "Then have there been any troubles regarding your Order aside from what Rodri experienced day before yesterday?"
Etrius gave a sharp smile as he replied, "For myself, none at all, Eldest. Though I did assist Maltin with some difficulties, they were resolved easily enough."
He needed that one working with him. Desperately.
:I like him,: Anur said, evidently agreeing, :He reminds me of you.:
:I was – well, all right. By the time I was his age, I was probably worse. I had no one to directly protect.:
:You were with the 62nd by then?:
:Yes, and for at least a year – I believe Etrius is seventeen.:
"Maltin?" Kir asked, raising an eyebrow at the other acolyte, "Is the situation truly resolved or will it simply fester?"
"It will come up again," Maltin gave a fatalistic shrug that Kir hated to see on one so young, "It is not the first time."
Maltin was sixteen if he was a day, and at that age Kir had been just as resigned, but that by no means made it acceptable for one now under his protection to be the same.
"His dorm mates are less than friendly," Rodri said delicately, "Mine are scared stiff of me, but Maltin's were wealthy coming in and they've never let anyone forget it."
:You know, there is a coup coming up - : Anur suggested, tone half-joking at the beginning but quickly losing all amusement at Maltin's suppressed flinch when Rodri finished explaining.
:We are not accidenting acolytes, however tempting it may be,: Kir said sternly. And if some of that tone was an effort to convince himself of the same thing, well –
These three were his now. And he had always been rather vicious in defense of those he came to consider his. That Anur was similarly inclined simply spoke to how well they matched despite their different origins and outlooks.
:Kari?: Kir directed the query to Anur and the Herald had hardly sent back a wordless confirmation when the Cat appeared sitting at Kir's feet.
"Should there be further problems, mentally calling for Kari will bring assistance as quickly as possible," Kir said, "Honored Kari, the three youngest of our Order. Etrius, under Seras, Maltin, under Kavrick, and Rodri, our initiate."
All three were clearly awestruck and Kir took heart in their expressions, allowing them a moment for Kari to speak to each of them before continuing.
"And if dorm mates are the problem," Kir gave a deceptively casual shrug and waved a hand idly, "There are more than enough rooms here, should any of you wish to move to the Hall. You are a part of the Order, and this Hall was meant to shelter all of Ari's Folk, not merely those who've sworn formal vows of ordination."
"Are you serious?" Maltin burst, immediately looking horrified at his outburst but Kir simply smiled and said, "Yes. I would request you three chose rooms close to one another and obviously only those currently unoccupied, but other than that, feel free."
"…Can we move our things now?" Rodri asked hopefully.
"That is all I have to speak with you about for now," Kir said, "So unless any of you three have questions for us, you can go right ahead."
"I have nothing that cannot wait," Etrius shrugged, before narrowing his eyes and saying, "So long as you can honestly say you've been keeping records, Eldest."
Kir didn't bother to suppress his snort and Anur chuckled while he said, "As I've reassured your mentor, yes, I have been keeping records."
:Myste is still more terrifying.:
:Wait until you meet the priesthood's main archivists.:
"And Rodri, for the forges, shall we leave in a mark?" Kir suggested, the initiate brightening and agreeing immediately before bowing and darting of, undoubtedly to collect his belongings and find a room.
"I must thank both of you for looking after him," Kir said to the acolytes while they stood, "An initiate already selected is seldom welcomed by those elder."
Etrius tilted his head to the side curiously before finally nodding and bowing at the waist, "You are most welcome, Incendiary."
Maltin echoed the gesture and murmured a similar response before following Etrius out. The moment they heard the door shut behind them Anur looked over with a raised eyebrow, "Shall I follow?"
"Maltin in particular," Kir agreed, getting to his feet, "Kari, if you could keep an ear out for them?"
"He says of course," Anur relayed, standing and draining the last of his tea before setting the mug on a small woven mat on the side-table meant for just that purpose. They could come and collect their mugs to clean later. Right now Kir didn't want the acolytes to get too far ahead of them.
"I almost hope there is trouble," Anur said as they walked briskly down the corridor, no other Firestarters in sight.
"You would," Kir said, amused, "I almost feel sorry for anyone who bothers them."
"No you don't," Anur scoffed, "You're just jealous that you have to report to Solaris while I get to torment some arrogant brats."
"Save some for me," Kir finally requested as they exited the Hall entirely, Anur only laughing before clapping him on the shoulder and saying cheerfully, "But of course!"
Kir watched him amble away across flagstone and gravel before shaking his head. Presumably Kari, though remaining within the Hall, was providing directions of some sort. Otherwise he'd probably be calling on Kir to direct him – for a radially arrayed circular sector, the District was still rather confusing to navigate.
So if he paid a little more attention to the cheerful hum of Anur's mind against his own, it had everything to do with worries his brother would end up wandering aimlessly for marks and nothing at all to do with trusting only one other person in this District as far as he could throw them.
And he was heading to meet with her now.
***===***pagebreak***===***
Anur felt a little anxious about wandering through the District of the Heralds' most vicious enemies (though Ancar was a close runner up by now), but he knew how to act when he felt isolated and at risk even though everyone expected him to feel welcomed and at home.
Kris had not been the most vicious of Dirk's avengers, only the most reasonable.
So he strolled – a deceptively slow looking gait that covered a lot of ground – head high, nodding to the few who met his eyes with a slight smile on his face. Kari had murmured quick directions into his mind, but he'd hardly needed them. After a few moments walking he'd been able to see the two acolytes himself. They were sticking to broad, open and well-traveled paths, and didn't try to take any of the shortcuts Kari had briefly referenced.
Him being nervous, being cautious, made sense, even if he were truly a simple Karsite Enforcer freshly come to the District as a result of revolution. But two acolytes, practically raised here, should feel at home. Should feel safe – or at least confident enough to take shortcuts!
Humming one of the many Karsite drinking songs he'd learned over the years – some Kir and the twins had taught him had intentionally similar tunes to common hymns, hilariously enough – he snapped one of the throwing knives he kept at his wrists into his palm and started tossing it around with his right hand, letting his left linger in his pocket in a gesture that looked casual but was anything but. He could get his long-knife drawn in moments from that position.
He'd never been one to play around with knives until he'd started exploring uses of his Fetching Gift in combat. Then he'd realized even without using his Gift, it was good dexterity practice and kept him alert and focused.
It also, he smiled and nodded at a wide-eyed red-robe priest, unnerved people. And as he had learned, unnerved people were far easier to barrel through and shove aside. Loshern had been the one to firmly set that particular trick in his mind.
Kir had started calling the combination he'd worked up his homicidal maniac trick. Anur didn't think his friend had a leg to stand on, with how often he'd given a frigid little smile and sent priests and officers scrambling over themselves to do whatever Kir wanted. While Kir didn't like the reputation Firestarters had, they'd definitely taken advantage of it when there was no other choice. Hopefully that was behind them now, and they could focus on rehabilitating the Order's reputation rather than reinforcing it.
Well – unless that reputation was necessary to make some arrogant brats leave their acolytes alone. Besides, Firestarters were still going to police the priesthood. A little fear from them was probably inevitable and, with the revolution so fresh, healthy. If any Firestarters were truly visible during putting down this coup, it would only bring that message home.
Kir was going to be involved, so effectiveness was not even in question.
Ah – Etrius and Maltin had separated to different buildings. Such a strange layout, you'd think they would put all the acolytes that didn't warrant quarters with their mentors in one place, but instead they were scattered across the District in whatever random areas they could be shoved into. They were trusted enough to not be jammed into one tiny sequestered area like the initiates were, but not valued enough to have their own quarters or even semi-private rooms.
Really, it was no wonder all three of them were so eager to move.
He'd leave Etrius to his own devices for the moment; the young man seemed quite confident in his own ability to cope with any prejudice he might run into. Maltin's professed difficulties – and long standing ones at that – were more worrying.
He would have to ask Kavrick why he'd never intervened – after consulting with Kir. Kavrick's hands-off policy might be some custom he'd be expected to know.
If it was, he doubted Kir would let it stand for long. As occasionally overprotective of him Kir got, he didn't doubt that these much younger and more vulnerable Firestarters were going to be defended just as fiercely.
Anur used a trick Aelius had told him about one evening when he'd pestered his Companion for just how he knew about extending mental shields for espionage purposes. No answers as to the origins, but plenty of other potentially useful techniques. This one let him get a general sense for the mental state of a crowd – in this case, Maltin and those near him. If anyone had a spike of some sort, he would know. He wouldn't really know what it was, he was no empath, but he would know something was up.
He didn't like to use it often though; it was devilishly hard to narrow things down enough that he wasn't swamped with information but still keep it broad enough to be useful. He'd already had something of a headache from such extensive use of the Truth Spell on mostly hostile targets – holding this for too long would undo all the good Kir's fantastic tea had done.
It was no trouble at all to keep it up for a short time though, even while he continued strolling so he didn't look like he was stalking Maltin. After passing the building, he turned down a narrower path and weaved his way through the hedges and garden rows to approach the dormitories from another direction. It wouldn't do to have the brats think he was following Maltin as a protector after all. Then they would just lie in wait to ambush him when he was alone.
He had been riding in Companion's Field when Talia had gone under the ice her first winter. Something like that wasn't going to happen here. Not on his watch.
"Well if it isn't His Honored Cauterizer," an unfamiliar voice, but a far too familiar tone. Nobles being snotty brats to those they viewed as lesser transcended language barriers; who'd have thought?
A mental spike, probably from Maltin, but there was no verbal response. Anur looked around, careful to keep his movements casual, his gaze idle, finally spotting the open doorway that was probably letting the voices escape. Initially he had hoped the confrontation would be one he could believably stumble across, but it seemed he'd have to go with the second option.
But first, he'd let the boys dig themselves in a deeper hole. It wouldn't take very long.
He quit humming but kept his knife in hand, though he stopped tossing it. It wouldn't do for a flash of steel in the sun to draw attention to him and give away his approach after all.
"Packing up already?" a different voice taunted as he neared the door, just close enough to start to make out who was inside the room. "What, too ashamed to show your face in the District after what you've done? Heading off to be a useless vagrant somewhere?"
"Now show some respect," the first voice chided mockingly; he looked chillingly like Kris with darker skin and a slightly harsher nose. Too attractive for his own good, but with none of the personality to match; he reached out and forcefully clapped Maltin on the shoulder, white knuckles indicating a probably bruising grip. Maltin stumbled a bit at the sudden blow but managed to brace himself against the edge of his bed and jerked away from the taller boy. "Surely our little cinder has learned something here; he could certainly find a job as a sell-boy, though he'd have to be pretty cheap, his looks aren't anything special."
:Aelius, kindly inform Kir that I'll need some assistance in disposing of the bodies,: Anur said with a manic sort of calm, stepping into the room with a smile that he knew had too many teeth and didn't carry to his eyes, knife flying from his hand to slam into the Kris-lookalike's bicep. He'd be fine.
"Well I've certainly heard enough," he said brightly, casting his other wrist-blade to slam into the wall next to the other speaker's head, quivering ominously. The cries from the first one were annoying enough, he didn't want to have to listen to both the brats whining about no more than they deserved. "To think, Kir and I thought we were being rather ridiculous, coming by to collect you three on our way back from Her Eminence. I'm ever so glad we did though, why – just think. If I hadn't swung by to find you, I may have never met these charming fellows."
Fake-Kris was gasping, clutching at his bleeding arm but he didn't pull the blade out. Not a complete idiot then. Good.
"Did I say you two could leave?" Anur barked over his shoulder, the two silent observers freezing and looking terrified as he glowered at them. He gave them his most fearsome glare for a moment before abruptly switching gears and beaming at them, affecting an only lightly chiding tone as he continued, "Now really, leaving without even introducing yourselves? Quite rude, quite rude. I'm sure your mentors would be ashamed. Now, I did barge in without providing my own name, so allow me to rectify that. I am Anur Bellamy, Enforcer to His Incandescence, Incendiary Kir Dinesh – "
:Voice of Her Eminence, Solaris,: Kir's voice slipped in and he smoothly added the title to his introductory spiel, concluding with a toothy grin that could loosely be called something approaching friendly. If one had attempted to drink Kir under the table first.
He raised an eyebrow when they continued to simply stare at him while their friend Fake-Kris whimpered, and crossed his arms, "Now it's your turn to introduce yourselves," he said slowly, as though he were talking to a particularly stupid idiot.
Which, surprise, he was. Some days, he could pick out appropriate audiences.
"Is this truly necessary, Lieutenant-Enforcer?" Maltin spoke up, naturally quiet voice impressively dry. Possibly he was unaffected by their taunts, likely due to long enough exposure he had simply begun to ignore them, either because he had become convinced of their idiocy or he simply had had enough of listening. Also possible was the scenario where he was so damned used to this sort of disgusting verbiage, and so damned used to covering it up, that he could brush it aside with a blank smile at a moment's notice.
Either way, it meant he had been dealing with this for too long and Fake-Kris deserved to have that knife twisted a bit.
Oh, what would you know. It twisted a bit in his hands – must have been gripping it oddly, silly boy. It wasn't as if anyone here had a Fetching Gift.
:Chosen, you need to stop,: Aelius finally spoke up, though he sounded faintly regretful, :You are verging on cruelty.:
:I have long passed merely verging on cruelty, Aelius.:
:You are verging on cruelty I cannot stand by and allow,: Aelius corrected, :Leave the knife be at least.:
:But I can continue my verbal flaying?:
:Flay away, Chosen.:
:Excellent.:
"But of course it is!" Anur cried, turning back to him with an indignant expression, "As Enforcer for the new Incendiary, it is my duty to get to know all the members of the Order! And what better way to get to know someone than to speak with those closest to them? After all, you all live together, and are all brothers in the Sunlord, are you not?" Anur let his gaze – face still locked in a mocking, toothy grin – sweep the four trembling idiots. Maltin at least looked entirely composed, and the mental spike had subsided within moments of Anur bursting through the door like a steel-spewing spirit of wrath.
"Ah yes, acolytes' interpretation of the Kin of Vkandis," Kir stepped into the room, giving the two acolytes pressed against the wall near the door a dismissive glance as he continued, "Remind me to tell you about the time one of my acolyte brothers decided to see how well a Firestarter did in ice one particularly cold winter. Acolyte Maltin, are you all right?"
"Perfectly fine, Eldest," Maltin replied, having finished packing his bag while Anur ranted and now hefting it over his shoulder, "I apologize for interrupting your meeting."
"There was no interruption," a feminine voice replied for him, Kir stepping aside and inclining his head towards Solaris, who stepped through the doorway with a small smile that did carry to her eyes and which widened slightly as all the acolytes gasped and dropped to their knees. "We are perfectly capable of walking rather briskly and discussing matters at the same time, though your consideration is appreciated, Acolyte Maltin."
"So, where do we dispose of bodies in the District?" Anur asked, knowing it was abrupt and knowing very well they would never actually be killing these four imbeciles, but if what they had implied was even close to the truth, they more than deserved to have some serious fear instilled in them. Perhaps it would make them reconsider their life choices.
"Depends, are they publically executed or are we going for something more subtle?" Kir raised an eyebrow at him and very clearly wondering just what had been said to make him so lividly angry but played along nonetheless. "My personal favorite is simply burning them to ash and dumping the ash in one of the braziers. Blends right in with the embers, particularly if you split it up carefully."
"Should work nicely," Anur nodded, throwing out a hand in Fake-Kris' direction and saying, "I'll take that one."
"You are not killing any acolytes," Solaris said, voice stern.
"Considering the fact they belittled and insulted Acolyte Maltin, implying that should he leave the priesthood the only trade he could pick up would be that of a cheap prostitute, a profession for which he should have learned something in the past years, I would ask that you reconsider that stance, Your Eminence," Anur said, the sudden pulse of heat and visible shimmer radiating from Kir a sharp contrast to his own frigid tones.
"On second thought," Kir said with careful deliberation, "I doubt anyone would miss them that much."
Solaris' own gaze sharpened and she examined the kneeling acolytes with a considering air, before finally saying, "An investigation shall be conducted. But there will be no killing of acolytes. You four will remain here, in isolation, until I can speak with your mentors. Kir, Anur, kindly escort Acolyte Maltin to the Hall as was planned, and we can continue our discussion some other time. As always, I trust in your judgment, brother."
"As you say, sister," Kir murmured, heat fading away but the furious gleam in his eyes showing how very close to the surface those flames waited. "Acolyte Maltin, if you have your things?"
"Yes Eldest," Maltin gasped, grabbing his bag and quickly reaching Kir's side. Anur turned to the trembling Fake-Kris and didn't bother with a mocking smile, keeping his expression cool as he held out a hand, saying, "I do believe you have something of mine. Hand it over."
With a shaking hand, the young man pulled the blade out of his arm and handed it over, flinching away rather dramatically when Anur's hand brushed his as he took the knife. Snorting, Anur left him to clamp his hand over the wound; it had hit nothing vital, the bleeding would slow soon enough and they'd have learned at least the basics of first-aid by now, he was sure.
Raising an eyebrow at the other boy he'd tossed a blade at, he was smugly satisfied when the brat paled and scrambled to pull the knife out of the wall and hand it to him before hitting his knees in respect to Solaris again. Perhaps it was twisted, to find satisfaction in these four's fear, but they were cruel bullies and while some of them could be reached with compassion, with careful tending and redirection – he'd never had the patience for that sort of thing.
And there were some things that there was no coming back from.
Solaris, Hansa sitting regally at her feet, nodded to them as they walked past her. She was apparently fully content to simply stand there and let the boys stew. Perhaps the Firecat had called for their mentors to report to her so the investigation could begin. Between Hansa and the two Sunsguard standing outside the door at rigid attention, she should be fine. There was always lightning.
She would have said something if they'd had additional duties or tasks after all, so for the moment the only thing they needed to focus on was getting Maltin moved in to the Hall.
"Eldest, about the comments – " Maltin began to say, Kir silencing him with a raised hand, locking his hands behind his back again before saying, "This conversation is one best held somewhere more secure than garden paths, Acolyte Maltin."
"Of course Eldest," Maltin murmured, bowing his head.
Kir apparently didn't like the silence that followed any more than he did, as he cast a glance at him over the much younger man's head and smirked, "Forced them to give you back the knives you threw at them? And you made it look so easy."
"Please," Anur scoffed, "They were terrified witless of me. If I'd demanded it, they'd have thrown themselves off a wall to escape me."
"Your usual homicidal maniac routine, I suppose?"
"Alternated between fully furious and maniacally cheerful," Anur gave him a grin, flipping the now bloodstained blade around with his right hand again. He needed to clean it off before sheathing it. "To think, Loshern is the one that taught me that trick."
Kir rolled his eyes, replying dryly, "Yes, because being able to terrify the wits out of people by acting friendly one moment and predatorily lethal the next is such a useful talent."
"Considering our lives?" Anur pointed out, Kir barking a laugh and inclining his head, "Point."
Maltin's head was no longer bowed, his gaze no longer locked on the ground, and there was a slight smile on his lips to boot, so their banter had served its purpose. "I implied we were returning from a meeting with Solaris and had decided to swing by to check on the acolytes rather than say I was stalking them," Anur continued airily, "So for consistency's sake we might need to check on Etrius and Rodri."
"Etrius is close behind," Kir replied calmly, "I saw him leave his building when we did, and for Rodri I asked that Kari keep a specific eye on him now that the other two are within sight."
Anur raised an eyebrow and sent a wordless mental query his friend's way, Kir responding in kind with, :Using mindspeech is not the problem anymore, brother – at least not when I'm the one speaking. It is the other voices that give me difficulties.:
:So you can speak to Kari, but would prefer he direct any replies to me?:
:He sent back wordless confirmation – much as we do sometimes,: Kir's mental voice was tight with a bizarre sort of anxiety as he continued, :We'll have to wait and see if that triggers anything. It shouldn't, I'm – I'm getting better about it.:
:You are,: Anur was quick to reaffirm, wishing briefly he was standing next to Kir rather than flanking the acolyte they'd had to fetch. :I never thought we'd be able to mindspeak with one another, much less have Aelius join in,: he continued, :You're a lot better, and if this is where you feel comfortable, you don't need to push it further, Kir. I'm perfectly happy being an intermediary for mind-speaking.:
:Thank you, Anur.:
:Anytime.:
They had reached the Hall by then, Kari rising to his feet as they shut the door behind him and cocking his head to the side, mental voice for Anur alone as he asked, :Shall I fetch Kavrick?:
:Please,: Anur replied immediately, not needing to consult with Kir on that one. While Maltin may decide to speak without his mentor present, either way they'd be wanting to speak with Kavrick soon enough so might as well get him now.
:The small conference room we used earlier today is unoccupied,: the Cat said before trotting off.
He relayed that to Kir, who nodded and headed that way, Maltin hesitating only briefly before following. Anur considered following immediately but instead headed for the kitchens, wiping his knife down on his sash before sheathing it – awkward conversations were often helped along by the presence of tea.
At this rate, he'd become infamous within the Order for plying them with tea constantly.
Well, there were far worse things to be known for.
:Tea preferences?: he asked Kir, who sent back, :Something more expensive, just as a subtle bribe – but not too strongly flavored.:
:So nothing like your morning blend then?: Anur shot back, nodding shortly to the small group at the kitchen table still and grabbing three mugs. He and Kir could just share.
Using the reverse of the method Kir had described for cheapness, he dug around in the back of the tea cupboard and pulled out something that smelled sweetly spicy and already came in sachets. He pocketed three and cut across the courtyard with three mugs of water in hand. None of those lurking in the kitchens asked him anything, and only Lumira had returned his nod, the other two deep in their own discussion. They were comfortable enough to ignore him at least, that was promising.
Kavrick reached the door the same time he did and raised an eyebrow at the mugs before opening the door for him, Anur nodding his thanks. Maltin was sitting in one of the worn armchairs, bag at his feet and noticeably tense; Kir was standing at the stained glass window and looking out, hands still locked in the small of his back.
"Kir?" Anur said, holding up the mugs and unsurprised when they quickly began steaming, water nearly at boiling. "Thank you," he continued, pulling out the tea sachets and dropping one in each mug, amused at seeing Maltin's nose twitch and the teen quickly perked up, apparently recognizing the scent. At least he'd chosen well.
Passing one to the acolyte, he handed another off to Kavrick, who was now looking rather worried, and inhaled the scented steam of his own before saying, "So, shall I start?"
"Acolyte Maltin?" Kir prompted, the teen hesitating before nodding shortly, saying, "Please, Lieutenant-Enforcer."
"During our discussion with the acolytes and Rodri Kir invited them to move into the Hall, as we have plenty of room here," Anur began, figuring Kavrick could use the background information. "At that point, it came up that Acolyte Maltin had faced difficulties with his dorm mates due to his Order, and that it was a recurring problem. In order to head off any further hostilities along the lines Rodri encountered, I followed him back to his dorms to simply monitor the situation while Kir went to meet with Solaris."
Judging by the sudden slump to Kavrick's shoulders and the tired way he sat down in the nearest chair, he was well aware of these recurring dorm mate issues, and had likely tried to deal with them before but with little success. Interesting, given the usual reputation of their Order, that he hadn't been able to intimidate them into submission.
"The usual group?" Kavrick asked his student, Maltin only nodding mutely and the Second Order Firestarter sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "I swear, those four and their mentors do more damage to our priesthood's reputation…"
"Ah, so their mentors approve of their behavior?" Kir commented, turning from the window and accepting the still too-hot tea Anur shoved at him absently, "Lovely."
"Perhaps not active approval, but at the least a disinclination to sanction," Kavrick grimaced, "As the four in question were sent as tithe offerings from noble families anyway – and are led by a noble second-son sent as a supplementary tithe offering…"
"Worries of offending his very generous family keep people from disciplining him as necessary," Kir said sourly, Anur echoing Kavrick's expression, guessing the one they were talking about was Fake-Kris. He seemed the ringleader type.
"Which one was that?" he asked, wanting to confirm his guess.
"The one you stabbed," Maltin replied, Kavrick immediately choking on his sip of tea and spluttering, "You stabbed him?"
"I threw a knife in his direction and he failed to dodge," Anur gave a tight smile, "That's my story, and as the other knife I threw hit a wall, I can stick to it."
"May I ask what prompted you to start throwing knives?" Kavrick asked, definitely still in a state of disbelief.
"There was an intimation of prior sexual assault," Kir said bluntly and Kavrick's disbelief went straight to rage, the man snarling, "What?"
"There was none!" Maltin finally burst, all three of them snapping their gazes to him and he flushed slightly, "There was nothing of that nature," he repeated stiffly, "They simply… insinuated. I think they were trying to imply that my admission to the Firestarting Order was contingent upon such… favors, but I honestly don't know. The comments were rather rare, compared to the rest of their favorites."
His voice was distinctly sour at the end and while Anur was relieved to find that the worst they'd suspected had never occurred, he still held firm that Fake-Kris deserved his wound. Hopefully it would scar.
"For such harassment to be so common for them to have favorites," Kir grimaced, pinching the bridge of his nose and passing the now lukewarm tea back to Anur, who was quite happy to finally try this expensive tea he'd picked out.
It was delicious.
Almost as delicious as spice-cake.
And he'd apparently said that last bit out loud, because Kir gave an honest laugh and said mockingly, "A miracle in itself, that anything can compete with your love of spice-cake."
"Well there are some of the same spices in this tea," Kavrick commented, lips twitching and Anur decided that while they were now amused at his expense, his subconscious was still rather brilliant for letting that slip. The mood of the room was far less grim now.
Kir just shook his head before returning to the point of their conference, "Well, hopefully some of the issues will be resolved simply by separation. Also, Solaris is meeting with the mentors and acolytes now and while we'll pass on the good news that they were simply talk, they will still face some actual reprimand for that talk beyond whatever trauma Anur managed to induce. If there are any further issues, please come to us."
"Well now that I know stabbing them is an option," Kavrick grumbled into his tea, Anur and Kir both smiling at that comment and Anur made a mental note to ask about where they'd be getting blades for all the Firestarters. They could definitely pick up some for the acolytes while they were there.
"Apologies for delaying your settling in Maltin," Kir said finally, the acolyte nodding and grabbing his bag again, standing and offering a brief bow before he headed for the door. Etrius' voice carried in, "Found three rooms near each other. You all right?" before the door shut behind him.
Kir exhaled with a hiss, throwing himself in a chair and pinching the bridge of his nose again, saying, "I loathe this city."
Kavrick snorted and said bitterly, "You're not the only one."
"With any luck, they'll learn their lesson this time," Anur said, taking the seat Maltin had vacated and sipping at the amazingly delicious tea before offering them a sharp smile, "If not – well. Solaris said nothing about not killing priests. It will not be that long before they are ordained."
Both the Firestarters snorted, then shared a startled look at the echo. Anur hid a grin in his mug; as unfortunate as the incident prompting this meeting was, at least they were building bonds within the Order. As a relative newcomer, Kir was starting essentially from scratch. As a total newcomer, Anur was starting completely from scratch.
He probably had the better deal.
"It hasn't been anywhere close to a mark yet," Kir commented, "Shall we pack for Almondale?"
"We haven't even unpacked, Kir," Anur replied, raising an eyebrow, "How about you tell me about this Axeli fellow I'm going to be meeting?"
"Ah, you two are going to the forges with Rodri?" Kavrick interjected even as he stood to leave. "Did you have anything to do with that even starting, Eldest? I seem to recall you had a similar arrangement."
"I did, and yes. I contacted Axeli when I heard Rodri had been taken to Sunhame and asked him to keep an eye out," Kir said, hesitating before giving a rueful smile, "I figured it best to keep my name from being associated with his, given my reputation as a failure of a prodigy."
Kavrick tilted his head to the side slightly before nodding slowly and saying, "I see your point, Eldest. I doubt it would have done any true damage to his standing within the Order, but by keeping him free of any sort of association – yes. I can see the benefits of that. Well, I shall leave you to your discussion, and can only offer my thanks for taking care of Maltin. I hope this time, the lesson does stick."
"Of course," Kir murmured, Anur saluting the other man with his mug instead and the Second Order Firestarter quickly left.
"I notice," Anur said after a few moments of silence, "That he did not comment on your previous reputation as a failed prodigy."
"I highly doubt any besides Jaina and Seras truly remembered I even existed," Kir snorted, "Jaina because she trained alongside me, Seras because he was good friends with Verius and has apparently taken it upon himself to become our records keeper. But had my name come up, then the question of who I was would have arisen, and that record as a failed prodigy would have come up again. It also simply would have brought us greater scrutiny, which we could hardly risk."
"Valid," Anur grimaced, "If anything, our situation with the 62nd has become even more complicated now."
"In that some of our actions are now acceptable while others are still technically treason and heresy, instead of everything being condemnable?" Kir smiled wryly, "Yes. This halfway stage is going to be tricky. Hopefully it doesn't last too long and Solaris' reforms get pushed through quickly."
Anur took the hint and returned to a safer avenue of conversation, repeating the question that had driven Kavrick off, "So, Axeli?"
"Right. Well, he's head of the Ironworker's Guild, which actually represents all smiths and forges, not just true ironworkers, and has been for as long as I've known him. The two that were with him two days ago were his daughter, Beka, who is unusual in that she actually works the forges alongside her father and husband, who was the other one, Yakob. At least, I assume they're married, they were seriously courting when I left and she has marriage braids now."
***===***pagebreak***===***
"I quite enjoyed that visit, we'll have to do that again sometime soon," Anur said cheerfully, Rodri snickering while Kir just shook his head, a resigned expression on his face.
While at first they had been concerned with what Kir had been up to lately and getting the basic catching up out of the way, things had quickly progressed to reminiscing and the potential for stories of Kir's own youthful adventures was too good to pass up. Mocking references to a prodka fueled evening nearly melting Axeli's forge down were only the start and Anur looked forward to digging out the details in visits to come.
Kir had managed to distract them by working with Rodri on his flames and flabbergasting the three blacksmiths with his ability to shape them so precisely. The cat's cradle exercise was still Anur's favorite and Rodri had quickly adopted it as an ultimate goal. Hopefully he wouldn't scorch his fingers trying before he was ready.
Admittedly, another major distraction to collecting stories of Kir's youth was the fact they were leaving Sunhame this afternoon. Particularly when they were asked why they were doing so and Anur had immediately responded with the fact they didn't like the city while Kir had taken it upon himself to blame it on the fact Anur had stabbed an acolyte.
Which had necessarily led to clarification, because Kir made it sound like he ran around stabbing children in his spare time which was just malicious defamation of character. For one, Fake-Kris had most certainly not been a child – at the least he was sixteen and Maltin's age and while yes, sixteen year olds could be stupid, they still were old enough to be held responsible for their actions.
When Kir was barely sixteen, he'd been ordained and sent out to die in the hinterlands of northern Karse for some still-unknown insult offered to a summoner. If anything, those brats should be grateful all they faced was an angry Enforcer with a knack for throwing knives and acting insane.
"Are you really leaving because of problems with the others?" Rodri asked, keeping his statement appropriately vague as they were still in Sunhame itself and while there was definitely a dearth of people anywhere close to them, discretion was still a good idea.
"No," Kir said, "There's a problem much like the one you encountered in your hometown near the Morningray Mountains."
Rodri's eyes widened and he nodded, not asking why they hadn't ridden out immediately. It was likely that question hadn't even occurred to him yet, but it would eventually. Hopefully Kir and he would be out of range by then, because he didn't feel like lying to the kid and the current plan was to keep the three youngest of the Order in the dark as far as the coup went.
Kir broke the silence that had fallen with a question after Rodri's current lessons and the young teen fairly leapt after the topic, Kir hardly needing to say a few words to keep the conversation going. Anur was more than content to just listen, as pure and uncomplicated chatter was something that he hadn't heard in far too long.
It also was a decent way to learn more about the priesthood he'd be working with so closely without asking potentially awkward questions.
The conversation – as much as the one-way wave of talk could really be called that – lasted until they reached the Hall and Rodri bowed as he wished them farewell and good luck before heading for the archives. He had an essay of some sort due soon.
Before a mark was out, they were just exiting Sunhame proper. Aelius and Riva had both been delighted to leave the stables they'd basically been cooped up in for the past two days, especially since the stablehands were still giving them a very wide berth. With any luck some of the wariness would fade in time, otherwise Aelius coming out as a Hellhorse somewhere down the line could prove more difficult than they would have otherwise hoped.
"Sirs," one of the two guards actually at the gate stepped forward as they were leaving, grim expression not quite covering the nervousness in his gaze as he looked between them. "We've been asked to prevent long-term departures of members of the priesthood."
"I'm aware," Kir said calmly, handing over another seal-bedecked piece of paper but this time the message was actually read. The guard turned pasty and handed it back, offering a short bow and saying, "Apologies, of course you may depart Luminary – "
"No way," Anur couldn't help but interrupt, Kir pinching the bridge of his nose and saying, "Really? We're going to have a discussion about ridiculous titles now?"
"How could you not tell me that Luminary was a title?" Anur cackled, Aelius echoing his amusement with mental snickers, "It sounds like you're glowing."
"Well maybe if you didn't stab an acolyte – " the guard was glancing between the two of them with wide eyes and an expression that seemed to indicate he couldn't decide between running away in terror or sticking around to watch.
"This is going to be a thing, isn't it? I'm always trying to get myself set on fire and I randomly stab acolytes. Fantastic. Just brilliant, thank you ever so much Kir."
Kir snorted and nodded shortly to the guardsman who gratefully backed away from them, probably worrying that their crazy was contagious, before swinging up into Riva's saddle and giving him an actual grin. Anur made a mental note to get them an excuse to leave Sunhame for a day at least once a week. Hopefully without stabbing anymore entirely deserving acolytes. Rolling his eyes, he settled in Aelius' saddle and sighed, "Fine. Now. Race you?"
Aelius launched into a run, Riva managing to do the same at the same moment which entirely belied Kir's mental call of :Cheater!:
:Ha! Like you're one to talk!:
A/N:Gotten some… interesting feedback from my thought-bouncers. Basically on the Maltin situation, so I decided to back-up my decision to make some acolytes total dicks. And, more critically, to back-up Anur's decision to respond with throwing knives.
For the first, I call your attention to Karal, who talks about how isolated and shittily treated he was as a poor kid (not even that poor, innmaster's son) with the nobility in the first few pages of his intro in Storm Warning. Second, Lackey has a history of giving her characters serious bullying problems – as in, they are trying to KILL you problems. I tried to bring that up by referencing Talia.
For the second – would Anur have done this in Valdemar? Probably not; but there he has authority that EVERYONE at least acknowledges courtesy his white uniform, in Karse, he has no such thing. Sure, theoretically he has authority, but he has to prove it, it's not unquestioned. Also, he's been going local for a while, it's been nearly three years since he was working in Valdemar and even when he WAS working in Valdemar, he was working with the army during a war. His reactions are not exactly civilian-friendly. Will we be exploring this? Yes. But I just wanted to preemptively explain in case there was a comment explosion like my thought-bouncers produced.
Also, I kind of like explaining stuff like this.
Anyway, hope the situation (and, more importantly, Kir and Anur's reactions) made sense and weren't OOC.
But you know what? I got them out of Sunhame. Everyone, that, that right there, feels like a miracle in itself. Sweet merciful muses, that was difficult. Now for the bishra!
Gah.
