Two Crows Watch from the Gallows Tree

"Ah! Excellent!" Aleth said brightly. If you can see them coming from this far away, then you could have had a servant up here waiting and come to tell you now, idiot. "Can't wait!"


Ky pushed herself to her feet, confused. What had she said wrong? She hadn't even been trying to probe for information with that one. Just a compliment, and a genuine at that. "Yes, ma'am. Thank you. This was... nice."

"How are you faring?" Tarr looked slyly over at Aleth. He could tell the man was cold. "Can you bear another thirty minutes?"

Lyra nodded quickly and opened the door, nearly bumping into Alexander Dalia on the way out. She murmured an apology and hurried away. The gangly young man watched her go, puzzled, then shrugged and loped into the library. He took no notice of Ky, wandering over to a far shelf and dancing his fingers thoughtfully across the book spines.

"Never better!" Aleth smiled a bit sarcastically at him, hearing his silent accusation loud and clear. "It's quite nice to get a bit of fresh air before an afternoon of long meetings, isn't it?"


Fuck.

Ky rubbed her face. Lyra wanted to travel and didn't have friends. Great. Sooooo useful. Aleth would be so pleased that that was all that she'd figured out. Ky rubbed her abdomen, wondering how badly tonight was going to be for her, then walked out of the library, dodging the new man and hoping Lyra was telling the truth about not telling Tarr they'd spoken.

"I agree wholeheartedly." Tarr returned his gaze to the forest, grinning to himself.

Lyra didn't want to be out in the cold, nor did she want to disobey here husband and be punished later. But after that conversation she needed some fresh air. Besides, the punishment would be worth it if she got to see her father, and it might be the last one if he took her home with him. Lyra just had to have faith.
She stepped out into the freezing cold a few minutes later and tugged on her gloves. Her husband was up on the wall with Aleth; Lyra would wait down here out of sight until her father came.

Ky didn't know where to go. She rubbed her face again as she got to the hall, then nervously opened her file and re-adjusted her materials, verifying that she had everything that she'd need. She took a few more steps then stopped to check again, just to be sure-sure. Then she wandered down and sat on the bottom stair that was by the main entrance. She wasn't sure where she was supposed to be, but she figured this gave her as good of chance as any to find Aleth whenever she was supposed to be with him.

She resisted the urge to bury her face in her hands -- she couldn't have any potential passerbys seeing her distress -- but her mind was still fixed on what Aleth was going to do to her when she admitted she failed him. He wasn't a patient man.

Not too long after Lyra came outside, the gates opened to admit five riders and a large wagon of camping supplies driven by two soldiers.
The first to dismount was Lady Constance Barraster. She was a short, plump woman with strong arms and a round, friendly face that was currently dark and unsmiling. Her curly black hair was pulled back with a red hair tie. The next to dismount was her wife, Lady Arianna. She looked delicate next to the stocky Lady Constance with her willowy frame and striking blue eyes, but her face was sharp as a knife and very stern. Her own black hair was braided back.
Tomhas Loquitur was the last to dismount. He was younger than the Barrasters by several years; he was barely two years past thirty. His stature was characteristically thin, but he was fairly muscular and stood at a reasonable 5'11. His eyes were a deep blue similar to his daughter's and twinkled merrily in his angular face. His short hair was a deep brown and in complete disarray, but he didn't seem to mind.

Tarr descended the stairs quickly to greet him, but Tomhas didn't even glance at Tarr.
"Lyra!" He threw his arms wide and Lyra rushed to him. Tomhas caught her and swung her up in the air, then drew her into a tight hug.
"Are you well?" he murmured, just above a whisper. "I've been worried sick, little ghost."
Lyra could hardly breathe, not from the tightness of her father's hug but from the terror and the difficulty she was having controlling herself.
"I want to go home," she whispered, fighting tears. "It's horrible, I want to go home! Please..."
Tomhas closed his eyes, massaging her back. He'd hoped Tarr would be good to her, but obviously he had been too optimistic.
"I'll see what I can do," he replied softly, releasing her. "We'll talk more later, sweet. I'm sorry." As Tarr came up behind him he whirled, plastering on a brilliant smile. "Ithicus, old boy! What a treat to be here again so soon. How are you?"

Aleth followed Tarr off the wall, standing back to watch the scene unfolding between them. Lyra leaping into Loquitur's arms -- a poor decision, really. He'd thrash Ky within an inch of her life if she disobeyed him like that. His gaze flicked over to the Ladies Barraster, then back at Loquitur as he addressed Tarr. He folded his hands politely and watched with a neutral expression, but his eyes were sharp and observing everything. Where was Ky? Clearly she wasn't with Lyra, which meant she should be here with him.

"Well enough," Tarr replied, eyes flicking to Lyra, who was already regretting her decision. "How was your journey, Lord Loquitur?"
"Positively hellish," Tomhas replied cheerily. "Lady Constance was forced to dispatch a rabid wolf yesterday, and we ran into a horde of spiders a couple nights ago. Not to mention the cold was a bastard, as usual. Not that anything's wrong with bastards, mind you--can't go around insulting myself, now can I?" He caught sight of Aleth. "Ah, Constance, is this our new friend?"
Lady Constance slung her pack onto one shoulder, looking Aleth up and down.
"Looks like it to me," she replied. "Count Eden said he looked something like this."
"How do you do, then?" Tomhas stuck out a gloved hand. "Lord Tomhas Loquitur, at your service--or I suppose you're at mine, aren't you? Wasn't my decision, really. Connie thought it would be a good idea. Hope you're worthwhile!"

"Pleased to make your acquaintance!" Aleth answered brightly, shaking his hand firmly. "Aleth Klev, very much at your service, sir. I'm sure you'll find my services valuable, and I quite look forward to working with you."

"I certainly hope they're valuable. I expect I'm paying Tarr a fortune in return. How much?"
"Sixty thousand," Tarr replied, crossing his arms. Tomhas's eyebrows shot up.
"Oh, no, that won't do at all. I said fifty thousand, Ithicus. Fifty thousand is as high as we go." He looked to Aleth. "Surely ten thousand clappers can't be too much to part with, sir. There is a war on, after all, and I need to save my funds."

So, he'd guessed right. Tarr needed Loquitur's permission for the negotiating. It was annoying to have to be renegotiating. But it seemed like Loquitur was actually an adult, which relieved Aleth. Maybe Tarr was right, after all, maybe he could get along with Loquitur better.

"Ah, yes, I certainly can sympathize that," Aleth said cheerfully. "But, as I mentioned, I'm certain that my services will be of great value to you, and they are -- unfortunately -- not cheap for me to offer. I've got servants to bribe, spies to pay, my own servants to feed. I'm afraid sixty is quite as low as I can go."

"I'm sure you'll get paid twice as much for sending whatever bullshit we feed you off to our enemies," Tomhas said dismissively. "Fifty thousand it is. Vedir's ass, it's cold out here! Why are we standing out in the cold?"
"I'll have the servants get your bags," Tarr replied, waving the trio and the other two riders toward the door.
One rider was a tall, very round young man about Tarr's age with a thick black beard and hair as curly as Lady Constance's. The other was a small woman with close-cropped hair and dark skin.
Lyra followed at a distance, afraid to get near Tarr.

Aleth raised an eyebrow as Loquitur attempted to shrug him off. He was cunning, he'd give him that. Though he wouldn't give Loquitur his services if he didn't loosen his purse strings soon.

No point squabbling now. May as well get some information first. I can always walk off after that if he won't be reasonable.

He followed the group towards the house.

Ky heard a commotion outside, and was on her feet, resisting the urge to pace. She was just to the side of the door -- well out of the way, but near enough to be readily accessible. She watched as she saw visitors walking in -- no doubt the Ladies Barraster and one of the men had to be Loquitur. She figured she knew who he was from the way he held himself, but, she knew better than to make assumptions.

Her gaze locked on Aleth. The bottom fell out of her stomach when she saw the bruise forming on his cheek. The fight must have gone as poorly as she feared. But she didn't have time to linger on what that meant for her before Aleth's eyes locked on her, gaze dangerous.

She rushed forward, falling into step with Aerik as he followed the rest of the group into the house.

"Who's this?" Tomhas asked immediately as he caught sight of Ky. His eyes swept over her, missing nothing. "A servant of yours, Aleth? They look smart. How do you do?" He offered Ky his hand.
"Oh, for..." Tarr tugged his beard and leaned against the wall. Lady Constance and Lady Arianna shared a knowing look.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, your lordship!" Ky answered cheerfully, offering a small smile -- polite, but not too enthusiastic -- as she met his gaze, hoping to the gods that that wasn't a mistake in this country, and shook his hand. "My name is Ky Ruiarc, I'm Master Klev's assistant."