Yrantan adventures (Completed)

[Ezri]

Anna let out a heavy sigh, staring blankly at her now empty plate. She had gotten used to Levon always being nearby and while she had found it strange at first, it was a little lonely going through her routine without him. Actually she hadn't seen him at all since the day before, when he hurried off after that fight with Zach, and the criminal's cryptic warning was still in the back of her mind. While she still didn't think that needed 'watch her back' around him, Anna was curious about some of Levon's more mysterious habits. Naturally she wanted to ask him about them, but more than that she thought that she'd just like to see him at all. Forcing herself out of her thoughts, she got to her feet and smoothed her dress before beginning her search.

 

[ArcticFox]

Anna found her steward in the garden. He was sitting on a bench under a big oak staring at his feet. She could not see her expression, but his manner was quite unlike him. She approached him enough for him to notice her, but still his movements were lethargic as he raised his gaze and gave her a forced smile. There was something sad in that smile, Anna thought. But, the steward recovered quickly, getting on his feet and offering Anna one of his gracious bows.


"Madam. I apologize for not making you breakfast this morning, I was quite taken with work in here." He gestured around the garden. "This summer has been very warm and the plants require more water than is possible to provide with just the staff watering them every day. I was thinking of installing an irrigation system, with your permission." He talked fast like he was desperate to keep the conversation in a way that would suit him, not allowing Anna to stray to a topic he might be uncomfortable with.


- Accept his proposition.


- Don't accept it.


- Try to ask your questions.

 

[Ezri]

"Um, I'm sure the flowers would appreciate it." Anna blinked, agreeing without much thought. Uncertain, she glanced around the garden, but as much as she enjoyed the place it wasn't what she wanted to focus on at the moment. His sudden concern about the plants did feel a bit forced -- it was mildly concerning that he seemed to want to avoid speaking deeply at the moment, but that was all the more reason to insist on it.
"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something else." Anna piped up quickly, as not to be interrupted. She felt a bit bad for pressing him on the issue, but it was too important to ignore. "About how you said you can sense people's presences. And you've been acting sort of strange..." She folded her hands behind her back, trying to choose her words carefully as she didn't want to sound too accusatory. "It does feel like you're hiding something from me." 

 

[ArcticFox]

Levon shifted his weight from one foot to another, but his gaze never faltered. He looked straight at Anna with his grey eyes that had a depth that should belong to someone much older than him. Then as if he finally surrendered, Levon let out a barely audible sigh and slowly blinked. "Madam, I do not wish to keep any secrets from you, but if I revealed everything about myself, you would think me insane." But, Anna wasn't about to let him brush her off again like he did so many times before. She crossed her arms and looked at him intently, and Levon succumbed to her curiosity. "I guess that it would be only fair, after all you are my employer. But, please." He gestured at the bench that he occupied previously and Anna took a seat. Quite unexpectedly he sat beside her, very close, instead of standing at attention like he usually did. 


"I am very old, madam." He said, looking somewhere ahead, his voice distant. "I am older than you. I am older than your parents. And I am even older than this city." He glanced at Anna sideways to judge her reaction. "In such a long lifetime one is bound to have a lot on his mind. Please, do not worry yourself about it."


- Respond however you feel like.

 

[Ezri]

Quietly she listened to him speak, mulling his words over and studying his face. Levon didn't look like he could be much older than her, let alone older than the entire city, but there were elves and the like that lived much longer lives. Although he didn't look like an elf, it was clear that he wasn't quite human, either. After a moment Anna realized that she had been staring at him for who knew how long.


"I would not have guessed!" she said, looking away quickly. "But I'm not doubting you. Even though I don't really understand how..." A sigh. "Of course I'd like to know, but it's all right if you don't want to tell me everything. I do trust you. And I don't want you to feel like you have to hide your troubles from me, either."

 

[ArcticFox]

"Thank you." Levon answered. Then he looked at Anna and she felt transparent under his gaze. He raised his finger and brushed her cheek lightly. His hand was very cold. And just like that the moment was gone and Levon stood up from the bench, bowed gracefully and left toward the mansion.


A whistling noise sounded from somewhere behind Anna. "Quite a charmer, that lapdog." Zach's voice. Of course, he was always where he was least wanted. Anna was about to say something to him, but he raised a hand to cut her off. "I have your item." He said and tossed the large rolled up piece of yellowed velum to her. "I'll let you know about your means of payment soon enough." And he was also gone in a second. Really, those two, always mysteriously disappearing.


- Consult Nerith immediately.


- Take a day to rest and plan tomorrow.

 

[Ezri]

Suddenly left alone again, Anna felt a growing restlessness. Part of her wanted to just relax for a while, especially since she hadn't gotten as much sleep as she would have liked. But Zach had made good on his promise, which was both a blessing and a curse, and Nerith would probably want to see the plans as soon as possible. 
With another long look at the papers in her arms, Anna shook her head. She would end up thinking about it all day anyway -- that or her talk with Levon -- even if she tried to put it out of her mind. Any relaxation she attempted would be half-hearted at best, so she might as well get to work. 

 

[ArcticFox]

Anna found Nerith in his run down old house in the docs. He was sleeping, laying on the bed on his side, his face turned away from her, his cloak pulled up to his nose. He looked very peaceful sleeping like that and he seemed to be in a deep sleep which was both very careless of him and very cute. But, then again, Anna doubted that the guardsmen would take their time to search this old, flooded house, without any suspicion, now when their numbers were so few. It was the middle of the day when she arrived at his hideout and sun was bursting through the cracked glass windows on the second floor. Nerith did not even stir when she entered the room, even though she knocked and even though the doors creaked when she pushed them open. Maybe he was just very tired. Anna could understand that feeling.


- Wake him up.


- Leave him to sleep and look around.

 

[Ezri]

Poor Nerith... since it must be difficult for him to go out during the day, it made sense that he would change his schedule accordingly and sleep while he could. Anna would feel guilty if she woke up when he seemed so peaceful, and she could only imagine how much he needed the rest. Although that didn't give her much to do except wait... after a minute of anxious foot-tapping she decided she would have to do something. This old building didn't look like it had much to offer, but there might be something of interest hidden away somewhere in it. At the very least, looking around would be a good way to pass the time (as long as she was quiet about it).

 

[ArcticFox]

Anna explored Nerith's room. There was not much to explore, really. Beside the bed and the empty side tables, the only furniture in the room was a rickety old cabinet. She managed to open it without much noise and take a peek inside. Only clothes. And then her eye caught a shine of silver. A locket of sorts hidden among the clothes.


"What are you doing?" Nerith asked, getting up from the bed and approaching Anna. He placed one hand on the cabinet's doors and pushed them closed.


"I'm sorry. I didn't want to wake you, so I..." Anna begun, not sure how to explain herself. She was caught in an odd position.


"Well, don't do it again." The elf told her in a tone one might use when scolding a naughty child. But otherwise, he did not seem very angry. "Did you come to talk to me about something?" He asked and his eyes immediately lit up with hope.


"Yes, actually." Anna was glad to be off the subject. "I have the plans of the House of Healing and I've looked through them for the best entrance possible."


Half an hour later the two of them were sitting on the bed, the map spread between them, Nerith tracing the corridors with one dark finger. House of Healing proved to be a real maze. At least, its lower levels were. The main floor was just an ordinary hospital, with cots for the sick and rooms for the healers to examine the people. But, everything important seem to be underground. Their medical supplies, herbs, potions, and the most important - books, they all were in various rooms in the two underground floors. It seemed that there were two libraries, one on the lower and one on the upper basement floor. They could search both if they had the time. But, for now, their most important decision was the point of entry. There were front and back doors of the building and of course the least popular entrance - through the sewer. Going through both the doors would be risky, since there might be guards posted at them. Going through the sewer could be very easy, but also very unhygienic. They could also just smash a window and enter. Nerith was all for sneaking through the sewers as he wanted to avoid the guardsmen if at all possible. This would also lead them directly at the lower basement.


- Agree with him.


- Suggest to go through one of the doors.


- Suggest to go through a window.

 

[Ezri]

Anna hummed, squinting at each marked possible entry in turn. Nerith was right in that avoiding the guards should be their first priority, so just using the doors was out of the question. Breaking a window would put them further away from the path of the guards, but she couldn't help but think that the noise might attract attention anyway. And it was bad enough that they were robbing the place, they didn't need to vandalize it too. The sewers looked decidedly like the safest option.


All that said, she still wasn't fond of the idea. Subconsciously she wrinkled her nose at just the thought -- the sewers couldn't be a pleasant place by any stretch of the imagination. But her comfort wasn't the important thing when lives were on the line. She would have to take an extraordinarily long bath the moment she returned home and pray she didn't get sick...

 

[ArcticFox]

It was an hour past midnight when Anna and Nerith entered the sewers a little way of the main square. They journey was every bit as disgusting as Anna thought it would be and it was difficult to keep her dinner in. Nerith's face wore a disgusted grimace, but otherwise he seemed in a better state. Thankfully their crawl through the sewage system was not very long and in less than ten minutes Nerith stopped to pick at the grate directly over them. It opened up into a musty basements room which was in complete darkness. Nerith raised himself through the opening first and then reached down to grab Anna and drag her upwards without much trouble. As he set her on the floor of the basements, Anna could not see anything around her, but she could smell both of them and it wasn't pleasant. Nerith though walked around the room like it was daylight and when he noticed that Anna did not follow he returned to her and took her by the hand.


"I can see well enough in the dark, but I forgot that humans cannot." He said apologetically. "I will lead you." And he walked up to one wooden doors and slowly pushed them open, exiting into a hallway. There were no noise of footsteps around and there was still no light anywhere. The whole lower basements seemed to be abandoned. Maybe the plans that Zach found were too old and the healers left this level to ruin a long time ago. They walked around for a while, navigating through a maze of hallways by memory, Nerith leading Anna behind him while she occasionally tripped and stumbled. 


Suddenly there was a creaking sound from down the hall and the elf stopped in place. They could run back through the hallway or enter through the doors on their right, hoping that there wouldn't be anyone behind them. Or they could just continue ahead, investigate the source of the noise.


- Run.


- Continue.


- Enter through the doors.

 

[Ezri]

Already on edge and startled by the noise Anna nearly gasped, clenching her jaw as if to trap the sound in her mouth. She hadn't thought anyone would be here at all so late at night, especially not in the basement. It might not be a person, necessarily; it could just be some vermin that had taken up residence in the floors or old furniture, but it was difficult not to assume the worst. Still, they couldn't panic...


Gently she tugged Nerith's hand in the direction of the barely visible doors to their right -- she couldn't remember where they were supposed to lead, but mostly she just wanted to get out of that hallway as quickly as possible.

 

[ArcticFox]

Nerith understood her motion and nudged open the doors, wide enough for them to slip through the crack. Then he pushed Anna through it and went after her. Both of them leaned on the doors from the other side, closing them and holding their breaths, carefully listening to any sounds that came from the hallway. But, none came.


"I think we're in the clear." Said the elf after a couple of moments. Then he turned his attention at the contents of the room they were in. "Dumb luck." He said with half a smile. They were in the lower library. 


The elf quickly found a small lantern, lit it and gave it Anna so she could see in the absolute dark of the basement. The shelves stretched through the whole width of the room and there were at least four rows of them. While this was by no means a big library, it would still take them a whole day to read the titles of each book it contained. They split up and begun their search at random, relying on sheer luck that seem to be following them for now.


- Anna finds something.


- Anna doesn't find anything.

 

[Ezri]

Before now it felt like just getting into the library would be the difficult part, and after they were in the rest would simply fall into place. Unfortunately that had been too optimistic. Aside from it being about some kind of deadly widespread disease, Anna had no clue what book she was looking for or where to even begin. Even if she did, finding anything in this dark, unfamiliar library would be a challenge.


She held the light up to the shelves as she walked, deciding to focus on finding any books that were particularly large or otherwise visually remarkable. It seemed like as good a strategy as any and eventually she did find a rather impressively decorated book, compared to its neighbors. Gingerly she pulled it off the shelf and held the lantern light to its cover -- even if it was fancy, it might not be of any help..

 

[ArcticFox]

"Anything?" Nerith asked after a while, coming up to her with a handful of books. When he noticed that she held only one he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. It was a book with gilt lettering and strong leather covers. It might have been stories for children. He set his own pile to a small dusty table near the shelves and then took up Anna's book. The letters were elvish. Nerith look at Anna, now with newfound hope. "Of elves and magic." He read the cover. Then he shrugged and flipped through its contents stopping near the end to read a couple of sentences. "Huh." He let out a surprised sound. "I'll take this." He said cryptically, throwing the book into his bag without further explanation. 


What was more surprising was that he made straight for the doors, listened a moment and then exited. "Come and leave the lantern." He said to Anna. She wanted to ask him about the book never got the chance as elf urged her on. They were soon prowling through the maze of hallways again until finally they found the stairs to the upper level. Careful not to stumble into anyone they climbed upward into the higher basement. The library here was probably more used as it was stationed between a supply room and a laboratory. They were bound to run into someone on this level, if not guards, then healers for sure. There was one direct route to the library, just through one wider hallway and there was a more roundabout one, through a couple of connecting hallways which were more likely to be empty.


- Go straight.


- Go around.

 

[Ezri]

After all the sneaking around they'd been forced to do so far, Anna couldn't deny that a straight shot to their destination was tempting. The sooner they made it into the library and out of it again, the better. But the idea of walking so plainly through the hall was a little horrifying -- by going through such a high-traffic area it was much more likely that they would be caught. How could Zach do this sort of thing all the time without having a heart-attack? She gulped and nodded to Nerith, moving towards the connecting hallways before she could change her mind. Better safe than sorry, and keeping out of the way had worked well enough for them so far.

 

[ArcticFox]

The two of them progressed through the narrow hallways, blazing their trail just by memory. It was a good half an hour when they entered the room that seemed to be the second library. First they made sure that it was empty and then they took a look around it. It was much the same as the first one, only this one was not so dusty and two lanterns hanging from the ceiling were actually lit. This meant that someone was in this room or should be, but they were lucky enough to miss them. Healers were obviously not too careful, but then again, who in their sane mind would want to rob their place of work. 


They split up to search this room, all the while intently listening for any sounds from outside. Nerith bagged a couple of small books and by the look on his face he was well satisfied. Just then they heard voices in front of the doors of the library. The elf ducked down, scuttled over to Anna and motioned her to stay silent. The doors opened and in entered a woman in grey robes with a sigil of the house of healing (two crossed birch tree leaves). She was slowly making her way right towards the aisle behind which the two were hiding. She would be on them in a breath.


- Provide a distraction by tossing a book.


- Greet the healer and make something up.


- Let Nerith knock her out.


- Knock her out yourself.

 

[Ezri]

Of course, it would have been too much to ask for them to get through this ordeal without a hitch. All of their luck vanished at once, to the point of reversing -- it wasn't enough that this woman had to come in right as she and Nerith were about to leave, she had to come right for them! If they were spotted Anna wasn't sure that she could come up with an excuse, and she didn't have much time to think it over. Panicked, she grabbed a book off the nearest shelf and threw it. After a brief flight it hit the floor in the opposite aisle with a satisfying thunk, and Anna hoped with all of her heart that the woman would look for the book itself before trying to figure out where it came from.

 

[ArcticFox]

Anna's diversion worked and the woman stopped in her tracks. She contemplated for a second and then moved in the direction where the book fell. With just enough time to slip through the doors, Nerith pulled Anna outside into the hallway. It was empty, but they could see the light of a lantern coming from the direction of the stairs. They couldn't go that way, which meant their only way back was the one they came from - through the filth. Nerith looked at her apologetically as he led her back into the lower basement and then into the sewage canals.


Their trip back lasted a little over an hour in all and they were back at Nerith's hovel a couple of hours before dawn. The elf opened his bag and rearranged the books on the table. All except the one Anna had found. "Thank you for this." He said, looking at her. "I am now in your debt. For my life and the lives of my people." He placed a hand on his chest and once again knelt at her feet. "I will study these books tonight and be gone tomorrow, but I will return to offer you my services, when my people are safe."


- Respond and leave.

 

[Ezri]

Once they were finally safe and back at the flooded house, Anna felt a surge of pride as she looked over their (his?) haul of books. They'd done it! Maybe robbing the House of Healing wasn't that great of a challenge, and it wasn't a glamorous achievement, but it had been for a good cause. Even if she felt fine now, she knew the exhaustion would creep up on her the moment she returned home. Cleaning herself up was still her first priority, but once that was done she was a little afraid that she might sleep for the whole day.


"You don't--" As Nerith knelt she started to protest his 'debt', but it would be hard to argue with such sincere gratitude. Instead she just smiled, tired but genuine. "You're welcome. I'm just glad I was able to help. And please be careful!"

 

[ArcticFox]

A whole week had passed by in a flash. Anna was busy both inside the house and the outside world. Levon was full of proposals, completely absorbed in his work and intent on making the Penrose mansion the most modern residence in whole Yranta. Thanks to him it already had an irrigation system, a redesigned kennel with watchdogs close to the main gate, a newly made back entrance, concealed from the public eyes and paved pathways that led to the entrance of the mansion and out back into the garden and up to the stables. It was all very luxurious, but the Penrose family could afford it and much more besides. Levon had also done some work on the staff of the mansion and it seemed that they all were at least twice more efficient than they were before the new steward. He really was a wonder. But, sometimes, Anna would notice a distant look in his eyes, or a moment when he just spaces out in the hallway, leaning against a wall, and every time she asked for a reason he would dismiss her with one of his glowing smiles and just change the subject.


Nate came to visit a couple of times, asking about Nerith and the shady business, but Anna chose not to tell him every details, keeping it a secret for everyone, even her best friend. Even though Nate was not a threat, knowing everything would cause him to worry too much. He was very much back to his cheerful manner and he loved playing with the hounds of Penrose family each time he came to visit. Nerith had gone, or at least Anna did not see him after their little raiding quest and she did not hear of any incidents involving a dark elf, so she guessed that, even if he was still in Yranta, he was very stealthy. Zach, on the other hand, was anything but. He kept barging in Anna's room at night and was missing for the whole day. He never said where he went or what he did, but he always came back, firstly to Anna's room and when she denied him he obediently went back to his own. He still used every opportunity to take a jab at Levon, but the steward seemed to ignore him pretty easily.


Anna was in her bed now as she needed to wake up early to go to a second meeting of the Council. But, Zach interrupted her as usual, coming in through an opened window and taking his place on her bed. He crossed his legs and leaned back on his arms. "I'm going to need to take that payment now." He spoke, very serious. "And for that, I'm going to need your body."


- Ask him what he means.


- Go back on your word.


- Just accept without further details.

 

[Ezri]

Since the last week passed relatively peacefully Anna had hoped that maybe Zach had forgotten about their agreement, or that he didn't need that favor after all. He kept up his nightly visits with almost remarkable reliability, but he hadn't really brought it up. Now he finally did and she sighed, dreading what he would ask for... and did he just say 'her body'?


"What is that supposed to mean?" she glared, fists clenched under her blankets. He had better be joking, or just trying to tease her -- he didn't sound like he was joking, but she could never tell exactly how serious he was about anything. Even if he was teasing her she wouldn't be happy, but it would still be decidedly better than the alternative.

 

[ArcticFox]

"Exactly what it sounds like." Zach said, looking at her straight in the eyes. A couple of seconds of silence passed and then he gave her a mocking grin. "Really, you have a dirty imagination." He stood up from the bed. "I need you to accompany me someplace and use your authority to finish a little job for me. Whatever else were you thinking I might ask?" He smiled and blinked his eyes innocently. "I am not that kind of a person, my lady." His tone was sarcastic, and then he chuckled to himself. "Meet me at the gates of Sunset. At sunset. Quite fitting, don't you think?" And without waiting for a response, he just left the same way he came from.


- Go to Sunset tomorrow.


- Don't go to Sunset.

 

[Ezri]

Ugh! As always, Zach had neglected to tell her any of the details and left before she could argue. Anna still didn't know what she was actually supposed to do, but if she had to use her position as a councilor it couldn't be good. It would have been dangerous enough if people found out she had helped Nerith, but if someone learned that she was using her authority to help an escaped prisoner all hell would break loose. She could just refuse to go, but there was no telling what Zach might do if she went back on her word -- he might even try to hurt her himself. And even if she didn't like how this agreement was turning out, he had kept up his side of their deal and those plans had been a massive help. No, she would have to go to Sunset after all; with a small groan Anna pulled the covers over her head and tried to sleep despite her worries.