A Brand New Recruit and His Companion
Collab by @Kat & @The Legate
Charis, Minerva, and Leander made their next stop at the tavern. Caellum hadn't returned yet, so Minerva ascertained he was having a bit of trouble with one of the townspeople, not that he wouldn't be in that stage for long. He was well equipped with the cunning and agility needed to silence those who'd seen today's… theatrical movements. Minerva flipped her hair over her shoulder and entered the tavern with a certain air about her.
Many stopped what they were doing and looked up to see the woman with her allies and armed weapons. The bartender had just finished serving his newest patron, a merfolk, and spoke up, "Please, no weapons in here. We mean no harm."
Minerva gripped the pommel of her sword as she raised an eyebrow at the bartender. The old man serving thought she would attack them at headpoint. He had done nothing to warrant an execution, unless he sent the guards in to take her down. There would be a price to pay for that. Minerva waved Charis off to the bartender who'd manipulate and sweet talk him into allowing them to keep their weapons on body. Minerva would make due effort not to use her sword.
She noticed, however, a familiar face. A pale face and long black hair. Minerva was amused at the fact he'd tried to hide who he was with his little friend. She'd forgotten the girl's name, but Otemo wasn't hard to miss in the crowd and forget. Minerva and her gang had done a bit of investigating on this so-called "Perditionary" who claimed to be some kind of traditional magic user, if Minerva understood correctly who they were.
It mattered little if she did understand his kind though; Minerva walked over to the table where Otemo and the girl were. Negotiations were needed now. After the loss of her beloved Master of Poison, Minerva needed to replace the man with someone else, someone with herbal practice and tonics. Someone mysterious, like Otemo. It all depended on whether or not the "blind man" could offer her what she wanted, as well as what his true intentions were.
"Otemo, is it? I've heard of you and your skill across Vestriya. Do you mind if I take a seat? I'd love to have a chat over a drink or two."
Otemo picked his eyes up under the blindfold, before he seemed to let out a small exasperated sigh and motion to the seat next to him. "If you know my name, of all things, then you certainly know my business in Kinshill already…" he said as he motioned. There was a small movement of his head, like he recognized something, but little else. He had a strange accent that sounded like someone who spoke with larger vowels and had to pronounce consonants with incredible attention
"Sissy here does not speak a lick of Common, so speak freely." he teased the small child across the table. The small child's eyes suddenly narrowed as they looked up from the table. It's eyes shooting daggers into where Otemo's eyes would be if they were not covered. "... Azissi…" the child only stated slowly, in an even thicker accent, which only gave Otemo a wry smile though he could not see her reaction.
"What do you drink? I will buy, as long as my coin is taken here," he asked her.
Minerva smiled and sat down across from Otemo, "As long as you have the town's currency on hand, taking your coin should be no problem for the bar maiden. An ale would be splendid."
She waved over the barmaid, "An ale and whatever he's having."
"Just mead, honey mead…" Otemo replied, and then motioned toward the girl again. "You remember what I ordered for her, yes?"
"Regrettably…" The barmaid muttered offhandedly, before she disappeared back toward the bar as she made their drinks. Otemo allowed a small silence to permeate the table as the barmaid made them the drinks and came back, placing them down at the table for the two.
"Enjoy!" she proclaimed, mostly to Minerva as Otemo was assumed to be too blind to notice. Then she turned back to the girl, not knowing she didn't speak Common at all; "Your meal's coming right up, just sit tight."
The girl smiled as the barmaid left them, and after Otemo took a drink from his wooden cup, he suddenly turned his whole head directly toward Minerva. His eyes under the bandage looking fully at her.
"You and I have to share something in common, for you to sit here… I know what that is."
"You're presuming to know what we have in common?" Minerva mused and took a drink. "I'm eager to learn what you think we may have in common. Only very few know of who I am and I don't seek out talent very often."
"The liar, and the relic," he spoke plainly, leaning over the table and lowering his voice so others didn't hear, but his quickly broadening smile might have given him away. "What else would interest a woman like you in Kinshill? The food? If it were something smaller, you would have sent talent to do it for you." He said.
There was a slight pause. He looked at her entourage, then back at her. After a moment he poked out his pointer finger at them "That is the talent, yes?"
"Mm, yes. They are the talent, some more so than others," She indirectly insulted Leander, who now held a napkin full of ice up against his swelling eye. "I must say, you are quite observant."
She leaned forward, "The relic does interest me and the liar. What also interests me is your expertise in herbs and magic tonics. What do you do? Perhaps we can be something of a resource to each other. I know these lands and the people."
Otemo blinked, though she may not have seen it, and was taken back a bit. He wasn't expecting someone like this to ask for herbs, of all things, but he supposed there were much worse things she could have been interested in. "... Tonics…" He slowly repeated, thinking on it a moment before slowly nodding.
"Yes, I-... I know how to make lots of tonics, poisons, medicines, even some spices… But many of these things are from plants and horticulture not found on this side of the hemisphere."
As he said this, as if on queue, the barmaid came back holding a platter. In it was a hefty dosage of mutton, but the exuberant smell on the large slab of meat caused more than a few heads to turn. The entire piece of mutton was covered completely in dozens of different spices. So much so that it was almost completely caked in all sorts of peppers, herbs and salts. She gingerly placed it in front of the child, who licked her lips hungrily before she dived in. Paying no mind to any of her utensils as she consumed it.
Otemo turned his head slightly, looking at the girl, before turning his head back at Minerva as he tuned her out completely. It looked like he was used to this kind of thing.
"I suppose I could try but… It would be touch and go. Not exactly a stellar work."
"Where do you find what you need for your practice? My men are excellent trackers; they can find you what you need. How long have you been dabbing into these practices?"
Otemo started to laugh, and then it began to fade as he didn't hear her laughing with him. He then cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Yeddirn, My specialization is in formulas of Yeddirn. All Apharsites know some basic chemical solutions, mainly, things of hallucinatory nature. Some even grant visions into other magical planes but, past that… Most of my work revolves around medicine for my horse, and poison for the arrows."
"Specifically, I know a very toxic poison for use in…" he cleared his throat as he trailed off momentarily, before scratching the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable. "It's not particularly deadly by all means, but it's extremely painful. Most assassins don't use it, not because it doesn't work, but because it's just too messy."
"Unfortunately, you need Black Sand. It's not exactly hard to find, if you can get to Yeddirn… But I pity whoever you send to collect that stuff. Most don't return, and when they do, they don't live past the fifth winter."
Minerva snorted as they continued their silent conversation, "What makes you think my men can't make it past the fifth winter? My men are strong. We'd be doing you a favor, I'd say. Is arrow poison the only kind you specialize in? Have you created other poisons before? What have you used your herbs for, aside from your horse and arrows? It doesn't matter if you've done it once or twice."
"I've made all kinds of poisons, to varying effects depending on whose getting them and how much you use, but the Black Sand always kills. Maybe not instantly, but within the week. It doesn't work like other toxins. If you inhale even just a few grains of it, it does things with your head. Your body eats itself, and it's as painful as it sounds."
"Aside from that, mostly I use medicine on my horse sometimes to heal things in ways I could not heal him conventionally. Sometimes coagulants for lacerations, salves for burns and rashes, other tonics for sickness, and sometimes, just something for his coat," he said happily with a polite smile.
"And for the arrows, just… Well, lesser poisons. More for annoyance than actual lethality. One time I even made a knock-out ammunition using some of the traditional hallucinatory remedies."
Minerva nodded in acknowledgment and pondered on his skill. Leander and Charis decided to join the table as well, though understood that Minerva was still in charge and therefore, still doing the talking on their end.
"I'm impressed, though nothing can truly compare to an actual test of your tonics and potions you claim to be so potent. Tell me, if you feel so inclined to, what is your intention with the liar? You said that we have something in common. We can help you on your journey with hunting that thief down. A bit of a mutual agreement, if you will. Your services would do us great, though I'd like this to be fair exchange. What is it you seek?"
"The liar?" He asked, then shook his hand and waved it dismissively as he took another drink. "I've never met the man in my life, can't say there's bad intention for him. He speaks of a relic, that is what I want," he said, raising a finger on that last part as if to punctuate it.
"I am a seeker of knowledge, all of my kin are. Fundamental truths and the power of knowing is a bit of a hobby of mine. I know, perhaps, you wish for this artifact as well… And I won't stop you from using it. All I want is to see it, to know what it does and how it functions. As long as you can grant me this, I'm willing to pay more than a reasonable price."
"Of course, as long as it stays within my grasp," she tossed a bag of coins on the table. "I would be more than happy to allow you to hold it with me around, and allow you to learn of my experience. There will be some housekeeping rules we'll go over later at a less crowded source, other than that, you've got my attention and the help of my party. There will be a contract written by my dearest friend, Leander, so that neither of us steps over our word. How does that sound?"
"Great! That sounds certainly doable," he said. The small girl looked between Otemo and Minerva. Still believing Otemo couldn't see, she slowly reached out a hand in-between chomps to grab the bag of coins she offered. With deft precision and skill, Otemo swiped the coins quickly without breaking his attention on Minerva.
"Like I said, I can make a poison for you, but if you want the best stuff then you need to get me that Black Sand. I have a reserve of it myself but… I'm very touchy about it. I'm sure you can find small samples of it in Vestriya, maybe there's even a vial here in Kinshill if you have an extreme font of luck on your side."
"My men can find a barrel of it if I tell them to," Minerva replied in a casual manner. "Luck is always on our side." She glanced over at Charis, "See what's taking Caellum so long."
Charis nodded and left Minerva's side.
"That was Charis, one of my most esteemed masters. Leander is my first lieutenant. Today was not the first day he made a fool of himself, but he's valuable regardless. You would make a fine master of poison, but let's not get our hopes up too high and focus on our current tasks at hand. Leander will send our best men to Yeddirn in search of this black sand, fully capable of surviving harsh climates, if need be," Minerva detailed the expectations and brief plan laid out.
"In the meantime, we'll search for this thief, liar we've heard of that possibly has access to the relics. Perhaps you can make a truth potion," she joked. "Either way, we'll find out where this relic is hidden, I will take it into my possession and allow you the honor of studying its properties and functions. I like the sound of that. When did you last hear of the thief?"
Otemo shrugged, "I've seen hide nor hair of the liar since I've entered this town. The last time I heard of him was on the open road, some days ago, and they said he was still here in this town." As he spoke, a small toy arrow sailed across the table and boinked Otemo in the side of the head lightly. The small girl, now finished with her meal, smiled tellingly as she tried to hide the tiny bow under the table. Otemo looked at her and she said something in a strange tongue, where the words almost sounded like they were said at once without pause or spaces in between. Otemo only rose an eyebrow and turned back to Minerva.
"I came here to the tavern, since it sounded like a natural dwelling for liars and thieves. Though I realize now looking around that there are more than a dozen people here who fit that description, and I can't parse one from the other."
Minerva chuckled, "That's why you need other thieves to do the work for you. Only a thief can track a thief. What does your friend here do besides eat and speak a different language? Can she track? Is she observant?"
Otemo gave a 'so-so' gesture, bobbing his head up and down as well as side to side. "Eh, among other things…" he said, before turning back to the girl. There was a small pause before he motioned toward Minerva silently, as if giving her permission.
The girl turned to Minerva, and started to speak, but the words felt strange. At first it sounded like some strange tongue or language that was completely indiscernible, but as she spoke it had a profound sense of deja vu. It was as if this language she was speaking was some kind of ancient language, something more basic and fundamental, something from which all other languages derived from. Within a few moments, Minerva knew with an almost clear certainty what Azissi was saying, without really knowing why.
Minerva sat up straight, clearly flabbergasted, even though she tried to hide it.
"What in the world?"
"Hello" Azissi said, with a warm smile in this cryptic fashion. "My name's Azissi, I didn't catch yours."
Meanwhile as this was happening, Otemo felt himself suddenly toned out of the conversation. Since only Azissi and Minerva could understand one another now, he figured this was what Azissi felt like mostly all the time. He couldn't help but feel like the two of them were conspiring against him or something, though logic told him this was almost certainly not true.
Minerva leaned forward, bewildered and intrigued at the same time.
"Minerva," she replied, sinking back into her chair a bit. This would be fun. "You're Otemo's companion, correct?"
"Yah" She replied cheerily, using her fork to push around some of the scraps of food left on her plate. "Otemo translates for me and protects me, we're looking for my mom." There was a small pause, then; "Have you seen her? She speaks like I do."
"I've never seen her no. I've never heard of this language before. Perhaps we can figure something out. In the meantime, I want to know what kind of skills you harbor. What do you have that can help us in searching for this thief? Perhaps he may be tied to your mother."
"Skills?..." She replied, before she gave it careful thought. After some moments of contemplation and searching all the ways in which her companion Otemo found her useful, she almost answered with 'nutrients' in a joking manner but figured it distasteful.
"I-... Well, I'm REALLY good at hiding." She explained; "... Also I'm really good at distracting people, when Otemo needs it. I can send messages to people without anyone else eavesdropping, and…" She said, then lifted her toy bow over the table with a smile. "I got this! I'm pretty good with it, Otemo says."
"So you're stealthy, that's wonderful. What does your bow do? It looks like a toy."
There was a small pause. "It is a toy" she just said flatly.
"You can't kill with that," Minerva snorted. "So that bow is out of the picture. How long have you been sneaking around? Can you tell me about a time you outsmarted someone, perhaps saved your friend because of your skill?"
"Well, I never SAVED Otemo," She explained, looking down and rubbing her thumb along the length of one of the blunt arrows. "-but, one time, I stole the coin pouch off a guard and he ran after me so Otemo could get into the jail for something the guards took from him." There was a second of thought, before she puffed her chest out and lifted her chin with pride. "He didn't catch me, for your information."
"That's great. I like that. Not getting caught is important. Perhaps, once we figure out who the culprit might be, we'll have you distract them so we can round them up. Something to that effect, we can't be sure of our strategy until we have an idea of what they carry on their person though. Who they are and their intentions and motivations, as well as whether or not they cast magic is also important. He could be a well seasoned assassin for all we know," Minerva pondered.
Azissi blinked. "... You… want me to be chased by a magic wielding assassin?" She just asked, nervously. Bowing her head a little and wringing her hands a bit.
"We don't know if they're a magic wielding assassin," Minerva replied curtly. "Best to not worry about it until we know for sure who they are."
"Okay, I think I can do that," she said with a sure nod. She then suddenly grinned widely and waved: "Goodbye."
Then it felt as though the words came crashing down again. As Azissi drew her attention back to her plate, which she pushed away, there was a vague and incredibly faint feeling of confusion as the particulars of the words they had spoken was lost, and soon Minerva found herself unable to replicate that strange verbal runes she had been discussing. It was now all back into the world of Common.
"I trust you've heard it straight from the horse's mouth, then?" Otemo asked her, sensing that Azissi's little spell was over by the way she had waved goodbye.
"Yes, I did. Quite a profound child," Minerva mused and drank the rest of her ale. "She'll be good for stealth and distraction, if need be. Finish your drink, we've got work to do."
@TheoGreen @Duchess @Zelīa @Neo.