"Wait, how'd Loquitur get his hands on the girl if her master was here?" Pratik asked.
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
"Well, I don't know the whole story but the way Lord Ash tells it, they met up at Lord Tarr's Keep so Lord Loquitur could employ this man, Aleth. He saw the way Aleth treated Ky and took her away from him, then sent Aleth to Serpent Keep as a spy."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
"Aleth?" Pratik stopped short, brain screeching to a halt. So it was the same Ky? And... he -- she? -- was a girl? And Aleth was getting his hands dirty himself? And... was dead? "Aleth Klev?"
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
"I believe so, yes." Sera's brow furrowed. "Is this the man you were talking about?" "What are they saying?" Ada asked Rickard, tugging at his arm. "They're talking about two other people," Rickard murmured to her. "I don't know them. One of them was killed, apparently."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
"Yeah," Pratik said, brow also furrowed as he forced himself to keep walking, mind spinning. "I guess so. But his assistant was a lad. Kyber Ruiarc."
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
"That's her last name. She's a girl, though, no doubt about it. Her hair was cut a bit short but there's no mistaking a teenage girl."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
"No shit?" Pratik scratched his chin. "Huh... and Loquitur killed Aleth?"
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
"Slit him from hip to hip," Sera said gravely. "He didn't stand a chance. It was one of the less pleasant endings to a meeting I've experienced."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
"Yeah," Pratik agreed, contemplative. Well, that was a plot twist he never would have guessed in a thousand years. Ky was a girl. Loquitur saved her from Aleth. Aleth was dead -- he'd thought that nasty bastard was going to live forever. "... And Loquitur's adopting Ky?"
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
"That's why Lord Ash is gone. He's attending the familial rites ceremony."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
Ky certainly deserved to get a break -- which he hoped Loquitur would be decent enough to give her. If nothing else, he had to be kinder than Aleth. Aleth treated Ky worse than a dog. And she didn't deserve it in the least -- she was scared witless, but kind and helpful and generally pleasant. He liked Ky, despite how much he hated Aleth.
Which made the next thought that struck him make him feel sick to his stomach. Her lot was about to get a whole hell of a lot worse, if Aleth was dead.
"They do realize Ky's got people coming for blood, if Aleth is dead, right?" Pratik said, raising an eyebrow. He doubted Loquitur realized the world of trouble he'd gotten himself into. "Aleth tried to bribe me to retaliate against Ky if anything ever happened to him, and I wouldn't, because I liked Ky... maybe I should have agreed, to ensure no one else took the job, but I didn't think of that at the time. I don't know who it is, but someone will be coming for her, once word gets out that he's dead. Sure as day. How long ago was this?"
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
"About a month." Sera frowned. "Ky warned us there would be repercussions. She didn't specify the exact ones to Lord Ash. Do you know something about it? If so I'd like very much to know." She reached the stairs and led them up.
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
Pratik cringed. That timing wasn't good. There wasn't anything he'd be able to do about it, at this point. He had no doubt the word had already spread to the people who it concerned. And they'd be coming. Soon.
"Aleth was scared of his own slaves," Pratik said, following her up the stairs. He buried his hands in his pockets, trying to warm them. "Had people on hand -- at all times -- to threaten them into submission. I don't know too much about the mechanics. I only worked for him when he had jobs that came with an obscene price tag attached... but he tried to hire me to kill Ky -- and Tadaaki, don't know what happened to him in the midst of all this -- if anything happened to him, whether it was their fault or not."
Pratik thought for a moment.
"Sorry wretches." Pratik cringed again, shaking his head as he thought about what they had coming. Neither of them deserved it. "They've got a price on their head, and the sum he offered me was consequential. He probably went to Isya after I declined. And if Isya wouldn't take him up on it, then... probably..."
Pratik furrowed his brow, looking up at the ceiling as he tried to think through the order of the next most competent mercenaries he knew of. Aleth would have started with the very best of the options he had.
"Nyler," Pratik said after a moment. "Or Wyl... or Jaerek." He nodded, looking back at Sera. "It'd be one of those four, I'd bet anything. And I'd also bet anything whichever one it is, already knows. And is on his way now, if he hasn't already gotten to her."
He was silent for a moment, wishing he would have taken the stupid money so that he could just toss it to the wind now and give Ky and Tadaaki the safety they deserved. But he hadn't.
"They're all good. Ky won't last another month." Pratik shook his head. "Poor kid."
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
Sera stopped walking and turned to face Pratik. "Ky will be guarded, I'm sure of that," she told him. "Lord Loquitur would have been informed of the situation and he'll take the necessary precautions. She'll be alright."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
Pratik hesitated a moment. Loquitur did have a lot of resources at his disposal. If he really did care about Ky, then being with him was probably the safest place she could possibly be. But Pratik had never tried to get past Loquitur's guard, to know whether it was hard to do so or not. Most officials prided themselves on their security, when it was shoddy at best. It might be alright for an attempted siege. But not assassin-proof.
"I hope you're right," Pratik answered, genuinely. "She's a good kid."
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
