Cat and Mouse [ Sleeping Tiger, Bahn ]
The cape pinned to Vera's shoulders was the proper color as dictated by the uniform code all Riders followed, but against her back the fabric felt too light and too smooth. Her cloak had been lost in the battle for the Lower Courts; while her uniform was saved, it was only so that another could be made. In truth, she only wore bits and pieces of the white that she'd ridden into Agethlea with. Vera's gloved fingers moved briefly over the emblem of the Free Cities that was stitched in black at her chest, before she fiddled with the foreign bit of silverwork that kept her cape in place. The same Dwarven hands that made this pin had made the knives now resting in the wide leather belt encircling her middle. How Elden managed to afford weapons from a Dwarf's forge was a mystery, but that fit in line with the sorcerer's nature. They had been gifts to help her, to cheer her up. And that was another mystery. Vera had not known Elden very long, but he'd managed to see how much she'd needed her uniform back.
Sun warmed her hair through her hood. It was like a storm had passed through her, fleeing over the horizon as the morning breezes calmed whatever was left. Her heart still felt split as if it were a tree limb splintered by lightning -- not destroyed, but having to cling to the trunk for the chance to carry blooms again. When she looked at Bahn, the lanky Rider was squinting in the brightness of the morning. The sky was slow to keep up with them today. She, Bahn and Sleeping Tiger had already visited three of the seven posts they were scheduled to inspect in Agethlea. For the most part everything they did was routine. There had been some trouble in getting information from soldiers in the second post, but Bahn managed to dispel tensions over their White Rider uniforms where Vera could not. Because of who she was. And because of the sword at her hip. When the soldiers started to talk about the turn of the atmosphere in the city and confess their fears, however, they were eager for her advice. Daughter of a High Lord, trained in estate management and the command of men. Surely Vera had the knowledge to help, they said. A building exploded, then was suddenly whole again. There had been a carriage chase in the city. Residences were taking damage and then being burglarized by completely separate criminals. Soldiers were no good at investigating, but there weren't enough White Riders to help. Even those that were present weren't trusted. The only solution then was to throw a bunch of people in jail. But the soldiers were hesitant to do that too. If they imprisoned the wrong people, it would be a long wait for the innocent to get out. They could only lock up so many people for a certain period of time. None of the courts were functioning, so there were no releases.
"It's turning to chaos. We're stretched thin. But I'm not asking Beit-Orane for any help." The captain grimaced. "Sorry, my Lady. It's just..."
It was just that there was no one to trust but your own. Vera understood that well enough not to tell the captain that his own were just as corruptible. There was enough fear going around that she couldn't add to it. Even if suggesting a more paranoid mindset was the best advice to be given.
There was no sign of Gola or Beit-Orane beyond the officers normally stationed near Agethlea. Her party wasn't approached even when they moved alone in the streets. Some of the soldiers had said they believed they were having good fortune today with so few incidents, but Vera was beginning to feel annoyed more than relieved. She tugged at the edges of her gloves as she waited with Bahn about a block outside of the fourth post. Fifteen minutes ago, Vera had asked Sleeping Tiger to look around again before they entered. Asked. She'd not tell him to do anything. Sometimes he wandered off without a word and reappeared the same way. Vera still did not know why he agreed to come along. She was never sure when she would see him again. Sleeping Tiger was talented at moving around unseen, more so than anyone she ever encountered. He held himself differently than Eragos or what she observed with Talon. Vera wondered if there were as many variations of Dragon Knights as there were legends of dragon. What had Sleeping Tiger's people believed that Eragos' did not? Did Eragos' brand mean the same thing to Sleeping Tiger as it did to all the other temple folk who had seen it?
Curses were feared, even when they came from civilizations that people did not know or understand. Eragos thought she simply did not believe. The thought soured her mood, so she turned to Bahn again.
"Are you tired of military talk yet?" she asked, breaking the silence created by waiting. She smiled genuinely for the first time this morning. "When I was a girl I had to do this with my mother around Eistocene to learn how things were run. It was boring to me. All I wanted to hear was war stories and instead they talked about leaks in the roof and the flow of supplies...walking around Agethlea, I long to hear accounts like those."
No sign of Sleeping Tiger yet. But then Vera did not really expect to see him coming.