Two Crows Watch from the Gallows Tree (part 5)

Tomhas stepped inside, and Sara held the door for Zander.
Gaius was sitting up in bed, several books piled around him and one open in his lap. He looked even frailer than usual with his gaunt frame and near-white skin standing out against the dark furs and pillows. His hair was in even more disarray than usual; it was obvious he hadn't bothered to comb it today.
"How can I help you gentlemen?" he asked, looking past Tomhas to Zander.

Zander nodded to Sara as he stepped inside, then met Gaius's gaze. "We were thinking it'd be good for the three of us to touch base. Divide and conquer and all that."

"I agree." Gaius pushed himself further upright and shut his book. "I trust you're offering your services?" He gestured for them both to take a seat in the armchairs by the hearth.

"Of course," Zander answered, dipping his head as he sat down. "I'll do everything I can to get to the bottom of this."

Tomhas sat down as well.
"I have no doubt of that." Gaius's gaze never left Zander. "She's your niece too, after all. What do you have for us?"

"I've got a pretty extensive network -- mostly in the South and East, not so much in the North, unfortunately," Zander said. "But I know for a fact Jaerek worked primarily out of Rhaebaki -- didn't travel much. So I'm planning on starting there to see if I can figure out who sent him."

"Excellent. Who are your contacts there? Perhaps we have some in common."

"The ones likely to help me out would be Diehl and Meyer -- they usually roam between the three most northern territories. Then there are the Munen brothers -- but I might have to threaten them." Zander glanced at Tomhas, not sure how he felt about it. He seemed like more of a pacifist than Zander was. "Aerik usually stays in Ess -- Aldik pops back and forth between Ess and Rim -- and Jayk's hard to track down, but I'll find him. Not sure if they're after her or not, but I'd wager one of them knows who is, if not them."

Gaius nodded; he knew Diehl by reputation. "Excellent. And Tomhas, you have some people in the South, right?"
"Yep!" Tomhas crisscrossed his legs on the chair. "There's D'Ara Wai, of course. You and I both have her ear. Then there's Aro Pehn, Ma'Han, and Ija Ka. They're efficient eavesdroppers and interrogators. And I know you've got everybody else down there in your pocket."

"I do think it'd definitely be good to inform D'Ara, then," Zander said with a nod. "I can't imagine she'd tolerate this, if she knows about it. And one of Ija's cousins owes me a favor I can cash in, if that'd be helpful."

"Seems we have ourselves a fine cast, then," Gaius said. "I believe D'Ara was going to come up to see me at some point soon anyway; she wanted to chide me about the war. I'll discuss it with her then."

Zander smirked. That sounded exactly like D'Ara. He liked her a lot. What a legend.

"We should ask Pratik, too," Zander added. "Boy's got his nose stuck in business clear across the continent it seems."

"I'll ask him when I return home," Gaius agreed. "If he is indeed there when I return. I'm looking forward to finding out."

Zander nodded. This seemed like the universe giving him a natural segue. "I'd like to accompany you all, if you don't mind. It'd set my mind to ease to see she's settled before I head out."

Gaius's gaze sharpened slightly, and he glanced at Tomhas. Tomhas looked back at him, raising his eyebrows.
"I assure you Ky will be under heavy guard and well taken care of," Gaius said after a short pause. "Your presence isn't strictly necessary."