The rest of the day was uneventful. Qion'li sent word that he expected K'airos to be ready to escort him by the next morning to escort him to Gridania. But nothing else.Â
With new blankets and, presumably, new beds in a new house, K'airos had a good night of rest, dreaming of strangely water filled fields and a white mountain in the middle of it. And Shelly, the smallshell she had adopted for all of a moment back in Thanalan's coast. The tiny crab was clenched to her arm. She waved it and giggled, trying to get him off. But it did not work. Instead, its tiny cute claws continued to press against her skin. She waved again. He answered with a playful bite. She asked him to stop. It replied by clacking its pincers and, suddenly severing her arm.
Out of the dream, the girl woke up with a shout, kicking the blankets to get them away but instead getting them all tangled on her feet.
Antimony snapped awake with every instinct of an aware mother at her daughter's cry. Her thoughts barely had time to coalesce around what she'd heard before her legs took her from her own cot to that of K'airos's. A panic Antimony hadn't quite realized drained quickly when she recalled the security they both rested in. "Airos, Airos, walk with the light. It is okay." Soothing hands pet at the young woman's hair and shoulder. "Calm down now. You're safe."
K'airos mumbled confusedly, eyes wide and looking up to her mother. She stopped kicking the blankets. Instead she looked at her own arm, which she was very sure was cut off. She found it perfectly normal, at first glance, and that was enough.Â
She mumbled again: "My arm's fine?"
Green eyes blinked, the lines around them deepening with a vaguely worried smile. "You're all fine, Airos. Though you've got yourself rather tangled up."
The girl closed her eyes. "But my arm feels funny." Her voice kept being mostly a sleepy mumble.
Antimony's smile broadened somewhat, and she moved one hand behind K'airos's shoulders to urge the woman to sit upright. "You likely just slept on it oddly. It'll pass."
K'airos sat up, rubbing her arm. "It's not funny like th-ow!." she exclaimed out of nowhere. She stopped the movements and bent her arm to look at it with more attention, getting it near her face. There was various long, thin strips of skin that were missing, the flesh underneath slightly green. It wasn't bleeding.
Antimony furrowed her brow when K'airos made a pained sound, leaning forward slightly to try and see what her daughter was looking at. When she did, she just blinked at it, not quite comprehending what she saw. "Airos, did you get hurt while with Sir Qion'li and not tell me?"
K'airos first reaction was, in retrospective, not the proper one: "-Sir- Qion'li?" Then she focused on the wounds again. "I didn't do anything dangerous. Just watching him- I mean...I paying attention to...for dangers. And stuff."
Narrowing her eyes, Antimony reached out one hand to rest it upon K'airos's arm. "Show it so I may see clearly. I won't have you brushing off injuries as minor. It could get infected."
She lifted the arm and kept it immobile. "I should clean it. Maybe these blankets have...I don't know." She looked down and passed her other hand across the blanket's surface. "Jagged...edges?"
Pursing her lips, Antimony ghosted her fingers over K'airos's skin, exercising an aether-sense she'd not had much reason to use in some time. Her frown deepened for a moment as she did this, tail shivering anxiously, but then she forced herself to look up and smile at her daughter. "Certainly not the blankets, but perhaps the frame has splintered in places. Regardless, we should clean this so it does not get infected." Antimony stood then and turned to consider their stores.
While the house was certainly small, Qion'li had made sure they were properly stocked. If anything was missing, it was likely to be found in Highbridge. Or perhaps that was just the Moonkeeper's logic.
K'airos avoided rubbing her arm again for less than an inch. She moved her legs off the bed, draggin the blankets with her. She gasped. "What if there are bugs from Gridania? We are close, and maybe they migrate and taste people's arms! Like mosquitos."
"I think we would both notice if bugs had infested this place," Antimony murmured distracted. She perused the sparse shelves, found nothing, and moved to the single cabinet built out of the wall. She shouldn't have been surprised that the medical supplies Qion'li had furnished them with were not the kind she knew and trusted. There was an ointment with a smooth smell (she picked out honey in the midst of it), and some dusty gauze bandages which she shook out as she stood. "I will perhaps take a walk later and try to find you the proper things for your care, but this should do for now. Do you feel any aches elsewhere?"
K'airos spent a minute or two untangling her feet, still feeling dozy. She left the blankets were they were, half on the floor and the other half on the bed. "No, just the one arm."
"Good." Returning to her daughter, Antimony took the young woman's arm in a gentle but firm grip. "Be still," she reminded before beginning to carefully apply the ointment to the cuts. Her tail curled as her fingers moved over the wounds; something about them did not look right. Something did not feel right. After a moment's hesitation, she murmured a few, ancient prayers over her daughter's arm and set to wrap the gauze around, so as to seal the ointment in place.
"I think I'm going to sleep on the floor next time." K'airos commented. "Maybe once Qion'li is in Gridania we'll be able to refurnish the place and get -proper beds."
"You may take mine," Antimony said firmly, nodding to emphasize her words as she tied off the bandage. "Certainly I did not wake with any new wounds."
"But then you'd have to sleep on the floor."
"It would be not very different from what I did most of my life." Antimony lifted one brow, smiling slightly, and then tapped K'airos on the shoulder. "Take my bed. You are the one whose job requires your top condition. I would worry far too much if you didn't get a good night's rest."
K'airos looked at her now bandaged arm before nodding to her mother with a slight smile. "Okay. That makes sense. Thank you."
"I will always do everything I can to help you. Now," Antimony paused to rest one hand on her hip, "I will send you off with replacement bandages and ointment. You must promise me to not let your work get in the way of your health during your escort."
K'airos hummed in thought. "Bodyguards do that. They throw their bodies in front of other people’s bodies so they don't catch any arrows." She stood up. "But don't worry! I'll be careful. And I have a shield."
Antimony brought her hands together, wringing them. "Please don't remind me, Airos... I'm going to be worried sick while you're gone!"
"I'm sorry! Ah..." The woman raised both hands and tapped their fingers against each other. "Don't worry! Nobody's going to shoot arrows at us."
And then she added, out of reflex: "Probably."
Antimony just sighed and ran her hands down the front of her clothes anxiously. Forcing herself to turn away from K'airos, Antimony set about gathering up the small number of first aid items for the young Blade to take. As she did this she spoke, "I hope only that you find less life-threatening work in the future, dear."
K'airos forgot completely that, perhaps, she should be checking what time is it. Instead of doing that, she moved to her mother's former bed and sat on it. "Maybe after this job's done I'll consider something else. Is office work fun?"
"I find it rather engaging," Antimony nodded and then hesitated, turning around with a small pouch containing the first aid items. She held this out to K'airos and gave her daughter an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, listen to me going on as though... I won't force you to do anything /you/ don't enjoy."
"We'll talk about this later...wait." She stood up, extending her hands to take the pouch. She groaned with s slight realization "It's too late to go back to sleep, isn't it?" She finished with a sigh and then made to the closet. "I'm going to prepare my armor."
Startling at the realization of time, Antimony spun back around. "I will ensure you have plenty of food for the journey."
The young Blade was quite disappointed that she couldn't go back to bed, but the fact that she had time to have breakfast and forget about nightmare Shelly cutting her arm was good enough to cheer her up.Â
She made to the door with the healing pouch tied to her belt alongside a waterskin, another pouch but of dried fruits and the Blade mask. She was covered from neck to toe with her chainmail on, a red and black turban on her head, scimitar on her hip and the Blade's signature buckler on her left hand. The bandages were covered by the armor, hidden completely from sight.Â
She stepped out of the house.
Kairos was immediately greeted by a Lalafell, blonde-haired and ashen-skinned and pale-eyed, with a small tuft of beard below his black lips. The elegantly garbed man stood directly in front of the door, an unmistakable dark silhouette against the pale sand, with his dark blue coat, black pants and black shoes. Even though he was dusty from his surroundings.
He lifted his gloved hands over his head and called out happily. "Hello! Do you live here?"
K'airos staggered backwards as a slight panic unfolded upon her thanks to not expecting anyone. She recovered quickly, however and bowed her head slightly. "Ah...I...guess I do live here. At least for a week or so."Â
The scare made her forget to properly close the door.
Inside, Antimony was going through the supplies Qion'li had provided them for perhaps the third time, making mental notes of deficiencies she would rectify while K'airos was away. Her ears quirked and she lifted her head in curious confusion at the sounds of her daughter conversing just outside the house.
"That's good! I was looking for just such a person who lived in this very place, but only for the next week." The Lalafell nodded. He clapped his small hands in an idle gesture, glancing at the stones around him. "Maybe you're the person. The very person. You're employed by Qion'li?"
"Uh..." K'airos turned her head, watching the tiny person sideways. "Yes? Did you need to meet him?"
"No, no." The Lalafel waved his hands in front of his head. "He ordered a custom hauberk for his bodyguard to wear. And I can see why. That chainmail won't stop an Amal'Jaa spear quite as well as high-quality plate mail."
"Oh. Did he? That's...nice of him. He should have told me about that before, though."
"Airos," Antimony called from inside, "is everything alright out there? You don't want to be late!"
The girl glanced back to reply. "Yes, just...someone Qion'li sent." And then she went back to looking at the lalafell.
"Oh, are you in a hurry? I won't keep you!" The lalafell spun to a wooden handcart that sat nearby, partially obscured by a bush and some rocks. "I just need you to put it on and make sure ti fits right. I'll walk with you if I'm making you late."
Antimony straightened, brushing off her knees, and made for the door. "Well if Qion'li sent him, surely they would know you are on a schedule," she chided as she stepped up behind K'airos, looking around her daughter.
"Yes. I am on a schedule!" She nodded, and gestured past the lalafell into Highbridge. "If he really wants me to put on that armor I'll slip into it before departing. How did he...uh...get my measures?"
The lalafell opened the box and pulled out a rust-colored plate hauberk. "I pulled the Brass Blades armor issuance forms from your files. Sssh! Don't ask how and don't tell anyone. Trade secret." He walked towards Kairos, holding the hauberk out and almost hiding himself behind it. "Every tradesman needs a few good tricks, after all."
Pursing her lips at the lalafell, Antimony set her hands on her hips. "I am well aware of the privacy expectations surrounding such records. What is your name?"
K'airos let her mother do the heavy social and scolding work while she herself took the hauberk off the lalafell's hands.
The lalafel glanced briefly towards Antimony. "Kibkibdo Dededo at your service, miss. If you have a problem with my business operations, you may file a complaint however you feel." He then returned his attention to K'airos. "There you go! Don't try putting it on over that bulky old Blades chainmail. It'll never fit!"
"Of course not!" K'airos giggled. "And....uhm, thank you."
"Hm. Perhaps I will," Antimony cautioned. She found herself distracted by K'airos's giggle, though, and turned to smile at the young woman. "Go and change quickly. You are on a schedule, remember!"
"Just let me know if it's tight at all!" Kibkibdo bounced.
She nodded once to each person and started walking away. "And...how do I find you, Kibkibdo?"
The bouncing ceased. "Well I'll wait until you have it on and then I'll be just outside."
"Oh. But..." K'airos trailed off, and inclined her head towards the town. "I'm going to meet with Qion'li first. He should have sent you earlier!"
"No, no, you have to put it on now or else I can't fix it if it doesn't fit!" The bouncing resumed. "If you show up with the armor and can't put it on it'll make us both look bad and then Qion'li will never hire either of us again."
"He will hardly blame Airos for your shortcomings, Mister Dedo." Antimony gave him a warning frown.
"Dededo!" The Lalafell staggered.
Antimony waved one hand dismissively.
K'airos stopped walking and turned around, looking at the poor little man with a stumped expression on her face. "I'm sorry, but I'm already late. You can come with me and we'll explain it to him! I'm sure he'll understand."
"Augh!" The small man stomped towards K'airos. "No wonder you work as a bodyguard. Your skills as a servant or serviceperson leave much to be desired. Explain it to him! Feh! Like you've never been employed before." Kibkibdo stomped right up to his little push cart, opened the box atop it, and reached into it. "Just a moment."
"Do not speak to my daughter in such a way," Antimony warned with a snap, practically looming towards the lalafell. "You will be patient and accept what ill may come of your inability to consider the schedules of others."
K'airos waited for the lalafell to take out whatever he was looking for in his box.
Kibkibdo stood away from his box, turned, and swung his arm over his head as he did so. A blur of gray moved with him and flew from his outstretched arm as a long, wickedly carved blade flew directly at one of K'airos eyes.
The woman yelped, raising her hands to cover herself. The hauberk was on them, though, and so the blade hit it instead. She dropped it to the ground after that and reached for her sword.
Antimony flinched bodily, green eyes flashing wide as the weapon flew towards her daughter. Instinct wanted to throw herself at the man who had dared threaten her child, but something else froze her in place.
"Gah! Twelve damn that stupid hauberk!" The Lalafel turned back to his box and began to dig around in it once more. "'Try to avoid doing irreparable damage to organs,' they said. 'Try not to mess up her face,' they said. 'Here, use this hauberk,' they said. Well to Thal with it!" The Lalafel withdrew an iron sword that looked far too big for him.
K'airos was not polite enough to wait for the lalafell to stop, or even start, mumbling to himself before she was already running and lunging towards him with her sword coming down.
The Lalafell fixed his grip on his sword and hefted it in front of him. "Now we'll see what gets the job done!" He turned on K'airos, and then went wide-eyed when he saw how close K'airos was to him. She was already well inside of his swing area, and all he could do was slam his weapon against her side as the woman's sword hit him dead on with full force.
She gave two uneasy steps to a side as she lost her balance, and then turned it on her favor, shifting her weight to spin around and slam the tiny man with her buckler.
Antimony just kind of clung to the doorframe and feared for K'airos's life.
K'airos recovered good footing, turned to face the attacker and paused. Then she noticed her initial slash had fallen between the man's shoulder and his neck, leaving a gaping wound from there to the middle of his torso, with all and an enormous red stain covering half of him. And then, of course, she had slammed her shield against the man without thinking. She didn't wage the damage that had caused on top of the first attack.Â
"Go to Highbridge! Get the guards to come." she exclaimed to her mother but without looking at her.
Breathing deeply, Antimony pushed herself away from the door to hurry around the gruesome scene. In this, she would take her daughter's orders, instead of the other way around.
The poor Lalafell knelt against his cart, the massive iron blade well off to one side. Mostly limp, Kibkibdo's small body bled quickly, his face limp and darkened. He gurgled through blood, "Heh. What're guards gonna do? Stupid."
From where she was, K'airos shouted a question: "Why did you attack me?"
"This isn't done just because you broke your sister's body." Kibkibdo chuckled. His large eyes, outlined in red, turned on K'airos and looked her over. "Yeah, yeah. You wanna know? Put on the hauberk."
The woman didn't hesitate. She walked to the lalafell, her eyes set on him with a frown, on his limbs. On his eyes. "Tell me what you know." she growled.
"Make a deal." The little man smirked. "Put on the hauberk and I tell you as much as I can before I die. I've only got a few minutes, but I can talk fast."
Antimony broke into a run once she was a good ten or so fulms away, heading straight for Highbridge. Her panicked waving and expression would flag down the first Blade or otherwise she ran into.
The woman glanced at the hauberk. When she looked back at the man, her eyes were open wide, her mouth curved in a crooked line and her hand gripping the hilt strongly. "You have two seconds."
The Lalafell chuckled, shaking his head. "Nah. You first."
K'airos didn't count to two. She counted to three and, when she was done, she raised her blade and slashed the man's stomach without another word.
The man's smile didn't linger. His lips fell into a straight line, and he looks down at his gut as it poured out. "Shoulda just... done things... my way." His head drooped forward, and he exhaled and went still.
The young Blade moved towards the house and then turned, looking at the man while she walked backwards. Five steps and she hit the wall of the house. She let her weight slide her back down to the ground. She sat there, waiting for her mother to come back.
It took a good ten minutes or so for Antimony to return, a confused and uniformed Blade following after. The woman huffed, trying to catch her breath, but sped up when she caught sight of K'airos sitting on the ground against one wall. "Airos!" Her voice pitched up, terrified that her daughter had been wounded. She couldn't bear to look at the blood and guts that spilled over the ground around what was left of Kibkibdo's body. The Blade, looking a little green, dealt with inspecting that as she rushed to her daughter's side. "I returned as quickly as I could! Are you hurt? Oh, Airos, don't move, I will take care of everything--!"
"I'm alright." the woman replied, standing up. She smiled at her mother. "I'm fine. I don't know what that was but...that should be fine. I'll-" She paused, leaning to a side to look beyond Antimony's shoulder. "Did you call Qion'li, too?" she asked suddenly, in a lower tone.
The man was approaching towards the house, in a ridiculously elaborate white and pink tunic. The darkness of his skin and the fact he was the only one wearing that in a hundred miles made it clear who he was to those who knew him.
Antimony stood with K'airos, putting her hands on either side of the woman's face and inspecting her closely with an anxious gaze. "You don't look hurt, but... ah, what if he struck you and caused internal damage!" Antimony spent a few moments practically panicking over this before she turned coincidentally and spotted a certain Keeper approaching from Highbridge. "... What is he doing...? Ah! Probably concerned over your lateness..." She spun back to K'airos. "Don't worry, don't worry, Airos. This horrible event is more than enough of an excuse..."
Qion'li spared a glance on the dropped hauberk first, finding it more interesting and out of place than the dead lalafell. When his eyes moved to the dead man while he walked by, he didn't seem to find the sight disgusting.Â
"Were you attacked? Is anyone hurt?" he asked the women, tone neutral, turning his head to them.
"We are both fine, we just..." K'airos started, feeling like she was shrinking for no reason. "...that man attacked me when I was going to meet you."
"Let's go inside for a moment, Airos," Antimony urged. "Get you something to drink, some time to collect yourself." She snapped a frown towards Qion'li as she spoke and finished it with a curt, "You should choose your commissioned crafters more carefully."
Qion'li raised his eyebrows. "I do not understand."
"He claimed you had hired him to make a new armor for me." the young Blade replied, pointing past him to the dropped hauberk. The man followed the motion to look at it. "He was...really upset when I didn't want to put it on."
The merchant walked towards the armor. "I did not send for anything of the sort to be made for you or anyone else, Miss K'airos."
Antimony turned on Qion'li, hands on her hips. "How else could he have known of her whereabouts? Either you sent him, or you were irresponsible with records, but it put my daughter in unnecessary danger."
"Following. Magical scrying. Or simply waiting." was Qion'li's answer. He crouched next to the armor and held one hand on top of it, trying to sense any aetheric auras. "This is the only road to Gridania, and it would not be hard for my competitors to make the educated guess I'd pass through here."
"I don't think this is the work of your...competitors." K'airos mumbled.
Brow knitting worriedly, Antimony looked back to her daughter. "What do you mean, Airos? I can think of no other reason but this man that your life might be in danger."
K'airos lips curved down slightly while she took a moment before replying. "He mentioned D'aijeen, and that 'it didn't matter' that...she had...." She looked away, making a little circular gesture with both hands.
Qion'li stood up and turned to look at them with a frown, but said nothing.
Antimony paled, ears lying back, and went very quiet for a few seconds. Her mouth opened, then closed, and she lifted one hand to K'airos's cheek.
The man spoke up: "I am unconvinced. With enough coin, your captain would have revealed you were hired by me. Angry competitors probably used your sister's demise to throw you off your guard and, dare I say, get you to forfeit this contract."
K'airos kept quiet, likely as she gathered her thoughts on the matter.
Drawing in a thin breath, Antimony watched K'airos in silence for a moment longer before letting her hand fall. "Do you want me to send word to Ulanan, Airos? They may be able to help." She largely ignored Qion'li for the moment.
"You should." the girl nodded, and then looked down to her feet for a moment. Then, she looked at Qion'li. "We should depart now. Any moment longer we spend here is more time they have to learn that their attack didn't work."
"I agree. But if you are right and these men were targeting you personally, then your mother is also a potential target." The man gave a few steps towards them, looking at Antimony. "I can arrange for you to stay in Highbridge until your acquaintances arrive or, if you prefer, transport back to Ul'dah. I'm sure you'll be safer there rather than on this little cabin of mine."
"I will not leave K'airos alone here," Antimony shook her head firmly. "Ul'dah is out of the question, but... I will accept your assistance in Highbridge."
"Then you will have it. Take a moment to recover and then come meet me at the town. I will have the preparations ready when you arrive." He finished speaking with a slight bow. He turned around to walk back to the town, but he stopped and turned to them again. "What do you intend to do with the armor?"
K'airos shrugged. "I don't know. They wanted me to wear it, so I'm -not- doing that."
"Certainly not." Pursing her lips, Antimony thought a moment. "Have someone inspect it. That lalafell could have been attempting to curse my Airos! Or worse."
Qion'li nodded. "I agree. One of my brothers is a thaumaturge. Once I'm in the Shroud, I can bring it to him. He lives close to my usual route, so it would not affect my own schedule in any considerable amount. I could take it to him and have it examined...if you do not mind."
K'airos looked at her mother, hoping she'd know more about what was the right thing to do than her. Magic had never been her strength.
"Keep it out of sight and Airos, do not even /touch/ it!" Antimony turned in place a moment, tapping her fingers against the sides of her legs and then just wringing her hands. "I will prepare a binding ward bag for it, if you could help me collect the ingredients."
"Sounds reasonable." the man said. "If you can give me a list, I will check the merchants who are resting. Some might prove to be helpful."
"Yes..." Antimony looked around again, anxious face casting about as though in search of further danger. Then she watched Airos for a moment before nodding and repeating more firmly, "Yes. I will be right back." And she went inside to prepare said list.
With new blankets and, presumably, new beds in a new house, K'airos had a good night of rest, dreaming of strangely water filled fields and a white mountain in the middle of it. And Shelly, the smallshell she had adopted for all of a moment back in Thanalan's coast. The tiny crab was clenched to her arm. She waved it and giggled, trying to get him off. But it did not work. Instead, its tiny cute claws continued to press against her skin. She waved again. He answered with a playful bite. She asked him to stop. It replied by clacking its pincers and, suddenly severing her arm.
Out of the dream, the girl woke up with a shout, kicking the blankets to get them away but instead getting them all tangled on her feet.
Antimony snapped awake with every instinct of an aware mother at her daughter's cry. Her thoughts barely had time to coalesce around what she'd heard before her legs took her from her own cot to that of K'airos's. A panic Antimony hadn't quite realized drained quickly when she recalled the security they both rested in. "Airos, Airos, walk with the light. It is okay." Soothing hands pet at the young woman's hair and shoulder. "Calm down now. You're safe."
K'airos mumbled confusedly, eyes wide and looking up to her mother. She stopped kicking the blankets. Instead she looked at her own arm, which she was very sure was cut off. She found it perfectly normal, at first glance, and that was enough.Â
She mumbled again: "My arm's fine?"
Green eyes blinked, the lines around them deepening with a vaguely worried smile. "You're all fine, Airos. Though you've got yourself rather tangled up."
The girl closed her eyes. "But my arm feels funny." Her voice kept being mostly a sleepy mumble.
Antimony's smile broadened somewhat, and she moved one hand behind K'airos's shoulders to urge the woman to sit upright. "You likely just slept on it oddly. It'll pass."
K'airos sat up, rubbing her arm. "It's not funny like th-ow!." she exclaimed out of nowhere. She stopped the movements and bent her arm to look at it with more attention, getting it near her face. There was various long, thin strips of skin that were missing, the flesh underneath slightly green. It wasn't bleeding.
Antimony furrowed her brow when K'airos made a pained sound, leaning forward slightly to try and see what her daughter was looking at. When she did, she just blinked at it, not quite comprehending what she saw. "Airos, did you get hurt while with Sir Qion'li and not tell me?"
K'airos first reaction was, in retrospective, not the proper one: "-Sir- Qion'li?" Then she focused on the wounds again. "I didn't do anything dangerous. Just watching him- I mean...I paying attention to...for dangers. And stuff."
Narrowing her eyes, Antimony reached out one hand to rest it upon K'airos's arm. "Show it so I may see clearly. I won't have you brushing off injuries as minor. It could get infected."
She lifted the arm and kept it immobile. "I should clean it. Maybe these blankets have...I don't know." She looked down and passed her other hand across the blanket's surface. "Jagged...edges?"
Pursing her lips, Antimony ghosted her fingers over K'airos's skin, exercising an aether-sense she'd not had much reason to use in some time. Her frown deepened for a moment as she did this, tail shivering anxiously, but then she forced herself to look up and smile at her daughter. "Certainly not the blankets, but perhaps the frame has splintered in places. Regardless, we should clean this so it does not get infected." Antimony stood then and turned to consider their stores.
While the house was certainly small, Qion'li had made sure they were properly stocked. If anything was missing, it was likely to be found in Highbridge. Or perhaps that was just the Moonkeeper's logic.
K'airos avoided rubbing her arm again for less than an inch. She moved her legs off the bed, draggin the blankets with her. She gasped. "What if there are bugs from Gridania? We are close, and maybe they migrate and taste people's arms! Like mosquitos."
"I think we would both notice if bugs had infested this place," Antimony murmured distracted. She perused the sparse shelves, found nothing, and moved to the single cabinet built out of the wall. She shouldn't have been surprised that the medical supplies Qion'li had furnished them with were not the kind she knew and trusted. There was an ointment with a smooth smell (she picked out honey in the midst of it), and some dusty gauze bandages which she shook out as she stood. "I will perhaps take a walk later and try to find you the proper things for your care, but this should do for now. Do you feel any aches elsewhere?"
K'airos spent a minute or two untangling her feet, still feeling dozy. She left the blankets were they were, half on the floor and the other half on the bed. "No, just the one arm."
"Good." Returning to her daughter, Antimony took the young woman's arm in a gentle but firm grip. "Be still," she reminded before beginning to carefully apply the ointment to the cuts. Her tail curled as her fingers moved over the wounds; something about them did not look right. Something did not feel right. After a moment's hesitation, she murmured a few, ancient prayers over her daughter's arm and set to wrap the gauze around, so as to seal the ointment in place.
"I think I'm going to sleep on the floor next time." K'airos commented. "Maybe once Qion'li is in Gridania we'll be able to refurnish the place and get -proper beds."
"You may take mine," Antimony said firmly, nodding to emphasize her words as she tied off the bandage. "Certainly I did not wake with any new wounds."
"But then you'd have to sleep on the floor."
"It would be not very different from what I did most of my life." Antimony lifted one brow, smiling slightly, and then tapped K'airos on the shoulder. "Take my bed. You are the one whose job requires your top condition. I would worry far too much if you didn't get a good night's rest."
K'airos looked at her now bandaged arm before nodding to her mother with a slight smile. "Okay. That makes sense. Thank you."
"I will always do everything I can to help you. Now," Antimony paused to rest one hand on her hip, "I will send you off with replacement bandages and ointment. You must promise me to not let your work get in the way of your health during your escort."
K'airos hummed in thought. "Bodyguards do that. They throw their bodies in front of other people’s bodies so they don't catch any arrows." She stood up. "But don't worry! I'll be careful. And I have a shield."
Antimony brought her hands together, wringing them. "Please don't remind me, Airos... I'm going to be worried sick while you're gone!"
"I'm sorry! Ah..." The woman raised both hands and tapped their fingers against each other. "Don't worry! Nobody's going to shoot arrows at us."
And then she added, out of reflex: "Probably."
Antimony just sighed and ran her hands down the front of her clothes anxiously. Forcing herself to turn away from K'airos, Antimony set about gathering up the small number of first aid items for the young Blade to take. As she did this she spoke, "I hope only that you find less life-threatening work in the future, dear."
K'airos forgot completely that, perhaps, she should be checking what time is it. Instead of doing that, she moved to her mother's former bed and sat on it. "Maybe after this job's done I'll consider something else. Is office work fun?"
"I find it rather engaging," Antimony nodded and then hesitated, turning around with a small pouch containing the first aid items. She held this out to K'airos and gave her daughter an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, listen to me going on as though... I won't force you to do anything /you/ don't enjoy."
"We'll talk about this later...wait." She stood up, extending her hands to take the pouch. She groaned with s slight realization "It's too late to go back to sleep, isn't it?" She finished with a sigh and then made to the closet. "I'm going to prepare my armor."
Startling at the realization of time, Antimony spun back around. "I will ensure you have plenty of food for the journey."
The young Blade was quite disappointed that she couldn't go back to bed, but the fact that she had time to have breakfast and forget about nightmare Shelly cutting her arm was good enough to cheer her up.Â
She made to the door with the healing pouch tied to her belt alongside a waterskin, another pouch but of dried fruits and the Blade mask. She was covered from neck to toe with her chainmail on, a red and black turban on her head, scimitar on her hip and the Blade's signature buckler on her left hand. The bandages were covered by the armor, hidden completely from sight.Â
She stepped out of the house.
Kairos was immediately greeted by a Lalafell, blonde-haired and ashen-skinned and pale-eyed, with a small tuft of beard below his black lips. The elegantly garbed man stood directly in front of the door, an unmistakable dark silhouette against the pale sand, with his dark blue coat, black pants and black shoes. Even though he was dusty from his surroundings.
He lifted his gloved hands over his head and called out happily. "Hello! Do you live here?"
K'airos staggered backwards as a slight panic unfolded upon her thanks to not expecting anyone. She recovered quickly, however and bowed her head slightly. "Ah...I...guess I do live here. At least for a week or so."Â
The scare made her forget to properly close the door.
Inside, Antimony was going through the supplies Qion'li had provided them for perhaps the third time, making mental notes of deficiencies she would rectify while K'airos was away. Her ears quirked and she lifted her head in curious confusion at the sounds of her daughter conversing just outside the house.
"That's good! I was looking for just such a person who lived in this very place, but only for the next week." The Lalafell nodded. He clapped his small hands in an idle gesture, glancing at the stones around him. "Maybe you're the person. The very person. You're employed by Qion'li?"
"Uh..." K'airos turned her head, watching the tiny person sideways. "Yes? Did you need to meet him?"
"No, no." The Lalafel waved his hands in front of his head. "He ordered a custom hauberk for his bodyguard to wear. And I can see why. That chainmail won't stop an Amal'Jaa spear quite as well as high-quality plate mail."
"Oh. Did he? That's...nice of him. He should have told me about that before, though."
"Airos," Antimony called from inside, "is everything alright out there? You don't want to be late!"
The girl glanced back to reply. "Yes, just...someone Qion'li sent." And then she went back to looking at the lalafell.
"Oh, are you in a hurry? I won't keep you!" The lalafell spun to a wooden handcart that sat nearby, partially obscured by a bush and some rocks. "I just need you to put it on and make sure ti fits right. I'll walk with you if I'm making you late."
Antimony straightened, brushing off her knees, and made for the door. "Well if Qion'li sent him, surely they would know you are on a schedule," she chided as she stepped up behind K'airos, looking around her daughter.
"Yes. I am on a schedule!" She nodded, and gestured past the lalafell into Highbridge. "If he really wants me to put on that armor I'll slip into it before departing. How did he...uh...get my measures?"
The lalafell opened the box and pulled out a rust-colored plate hauberk. "I pulled the Brass Blades armor issuance forms from your files. Sssh! Don't ask how and don't tell anyone. Trade secret." He walked towards Kairos, holding the hauberk out and almost hiding himself behind it. "Every tradesman needs a few good tricks, after all."
Pursing her lips at the lalafell, Antimony set her hands on her hips. "I am well aware of the privacy expectations surrounding such records. What is your name?"
K'airos let her mother do the heavy social and scolding work while she herself took the hauberk off the lalafell's hands.
The lalafel glanced briefly towards Antimony. "Kibkibdo Dededo at your service, miss. If you have a problem with my business operations, you may file a complaint however you feel." He then returned his attention to K'airos. "There you go! Don't try putting it on over that bulky old Blades chainmail. It'll never fit!"
"Of course not!" K'airos giggled. "And....uhm, thank you."
"Hm. Perhaps I will," Antimony cautioned. She found herself distracted by K'airos's giggle, though, and turned to smile at the young woman. "Go and change quickly. You are on a schedule, remember!"
"Just let me know if it's tight at all!" Kibkibdo bounced.
She nodded once to each person and started walking away. "And...how do I find you, Kibkibdo?"
The bouncing ceased. "Well I'll wait until you have it on and then I'll be just outside."
"Oh. But..." K'airos trailed off, and inclined her head towards the town. "I'm going to meet with Qion'li first. He should have sent you earlier!"
"No, no, you have to put it on now or else I can't fix it if it doesn't fit!" The bouncing resumed. "If you show up with the armor and can't put it on it'll make us both look bad and then Qion'li will never hire either of us again."
"He will hardly blame Airos for your shortcomings, Mister Dedo." Antimony gave him a warning frown.
"Dededo!" The Lalafell staggered.
Antimony waved one hand dismissively.
K'airos stopped walking and turned around, looking at the poor little man with a stumped expression on her face. "I'm sorry, but I'm already late. You can come with me and we'll explain it to him! I'm sure he'll understand."
"Augh!" The small man stomped towards K'airos. "No wonder you work as a bodyguard. Your skills as a servant or serviceperson leave much to be desired. Explain it to him! Feh! Like you've never been employed before." Kibkibdo stomped right up to his little push cart, opened the box atop it, and reached into it. "Just a moment."
"Do not speak to my daughter in such a way," Antimony warned with a snap, practically looming towards the lalafell. "You will be patient and accept what ill may come of your inability to consider the schedules of others."
K'airos waited for the lalafell to take out whatever he was looking for in his box.
Kibkibdo stood away from his box, turned, and swung his arm over his head as he did so. A blur of gray moved with him and flew from his outstretched arm as a long, wickedly carved blade flew directly at one of K'airos eyes.
The woman yelped, raising her hands to cover herself. The hauberk was on them, though, and so the blade hit it instead. She dropped it to the ground after that and reached for her sword.
Antimony flinched bodily, green eyes flashing wide as the weapon flew towards her daughter. Instinct wanted to throw herself at the man who had dared threaten her child, but something else froze her in place.
"Gah! Twelve damn that stupid hauberk!" The Lalafel turned back to his box and began to dig around in it once more. "'Try to avoid doing irreparable damage to organs,' they said. 'Try not to mess up her face,' they said. 'Here, use this hauberk,' they said. Well to Thal with it!" The Lalafel withdrew an iron sword that looked far too big for him.
K'airos was not polite enough to wait for the lalafell to stop, or even start, mumbling to himself before she was already running and lunging towards him with her sword coming down.
The Lalafell fixed his grip on his sword and hefted it in front of him. "Now we'll see what gets the job done!" He turned on K'airos, and then went wide-eyed when he saw how close K'airos was to him. She was already well inside of his swing area, and all he could do was slam his weapon against her side as the woman's sword hit him dead on with full force.
She gave two uneasy steps to a side as she lost her balance, and then turned it on her favor, shifting her weight to spin around and slam the tiny man with her buckler.
Antimony just kind of clung to the doorframe and feared for K'airos's life.
K'airos recovered good footing, turned to face the attacker and paused. Then she noticed her initial slash had fallen between the man's shoulder and his neck, leaving a gaping wound from there to the middle of his torso, with all and an enormous red stain covering half of him. And then, of course, she had slammed her shield against the man without thinking. She didn't wage the damage that had caused on top of the first attack.Â
"Go to Highbridge! Get the guards to come." she exclaimed to her mother but without looking at her.
Breathing deeply, Antimony pushed herself away from the door to hurry around the gruesome scene. In this, she would take her daughter's orders, instead of the other way around.
The poor Lalafell knelt against his cart, the massive iron blade well off to one side. Mostly limp, Kibkibdo's small body bled quickly, his face limp and darkened. He gurgled through blood, "Heh. What're guards gonna do? Stupid."
From where she was, K'airos shouted a question: "Why did you attack me?"
"This isn't done just because you broke your sister's body." Kibkibdo chuckled. His large eyes, outlined in red, turned on K'airos and looked her over. "Yeah, yeah. You wanna know? Put on the hauberk."
The woman didn't hesitate. She walked to the lalafell, her eyes set on him with a frown, on his limbs. On his eyes. "Tell me what you know." she growled.
"Make a deal." The little man smirked. "Put on the hauberk and I tell you as much as I can before I die. I've only got a few minutes, but I can talk fast."
Antimony broke into a run once she was a good ten or so fulms away, heading straight for Highbridge. Her panicked waving and expression would flag down the first Blade or otherwise she ran into.
The woman glanced at the hauberk. When she looked back at the man, her eyes were open wide, her mouth curved in a crooked line and her hand gripping the hilt strongly. "You have two seconds."
The Lalafell chuckled, shaking his head. "Nah. You first."
K'airos didn't count to two. She counted to three and, when she was done, she raised her blade and slashed the man's stomach without another word.
The man's smile didn't linger. His lips fell into a straight line, and he looks down at his gut as it poured out. "Shoulda just... done things... my way." His head drooped forward, and he exhaled and went still.
The young Blade moved towards the house and then turned, looking at the man while she walked backwards. Five steps and she hit the wall of the house. She let her weight slide her back down to the ground. She sat there, waiting for her mother to come back.
It took a good ten minutes or so for Antimony to return, a confused and uniformed Blade following after. The woman huffed, trying to catch her breath, but sped up when she caught sight of K'airos sitting on the ground against one wall. "Airos!" Her voice pitched up, terrified that her daughter had been wounded. She couldn't bear to look at the blood and guts that spilled over the ground around what was left of Kibkibdo's body. The Blade, looking a little green, dealt with inspecting that as she rushed to her daughter's side. "I returned as quickly as I could! Are you hurt? Oh, Airos, don't move, I will take care of everything--!"
"I'm alright." the woman replied, standing up. She smiled at her mother. "I'm fine. I don't know what that was but...that should be fine. I'll-" She paused, leaning to a side to look beyond Antimony's shoulder. "Did you call Qion'li, too?" she asked suddenly, in a lower tone.
The man was approaching towards the house, in a ridiculously elaborate white and pink tunic. The darkness of his skin and the fact he was the only one wearing that in a hundred miles made it clear who he was to those who knew him.
Antimony stood with K'airos, putting her hands on either side of the woman's face and inspecting her closely with an anxious gaze. "You don't look hurt, but... ah, what if he struck you and caused internal damage!" Antimony spent a few moments practically panicking over this before she turned coincidentally and spotted a certain Keeper approaching from Highbridge. "... What is he doing...? Ah! Probably concerned over your lateness..." She spun back to K'airos. "Don't worry, don't worry, Airos. This horrible event is more than enough of an excuse..."
Qion'li spared a glance on the dropped hauberk first, finding it more interesting and out of place than the dead lalafell. When his eyes moved to the dead man while he walked by, he didn't seem to find the sight disgusting.Â
"Were you attacked? Is anyone hurt?" he asked the women, tone neutral, turning his head to them.
"We are both fine, we just..." K'airos started, feeling like she was shrinking for no reason. "...that man attacked me when I was going to meet you."
"Let's go inside for a moment, Airos," Antimony urged. "Get you something to drink, some time to collect yourself." She snapped a frown towards Qion'li as she spoke and finished it with a curt, "You should choose your commissioned crafters more carefully."
Qion'li raised his eyebrows. "I do not understand."
"He claimed you had hired him to make a new armor for me." the young Blade replied, pointing past him to the dropped hauberk. The man followed the motion to look at it. "He was...really upset when I didn't want to put it on."
The merchant walked towards the armor. "I did not send for anything of the sort to be made for you or anyone else, Miss K'airos."
Antimony turned on Qion'li, hands on her hips. "How else could he have known of her whereabouts? Either you sent him, or you were irresponsible with records, but it put my daughter in unnecessary danger."
"Following. Magical scrying. Or simply waiting." was Qion'li's answer. He crouched next to the armor and held one hand on top of it, trying to sense any aetheric auras. "This is the only road to Gridania, and it would not be hard for my competitors to make the educated guess I'd pass through here."
"I don't think this is the work of your...competitors." K'airos mumbled.
Brow knitting worriedly, Antimony looked back to her daughter. "What do you mean, Airos? I can think of no other reason but this man that your life might be in danger."
K'airos lips curved down slightly while she took a moment before replying. "He mentioned D'aijeen, and that 'it didn't matter' that...she had...." She looked away, making a little circular gesture with both hands.
Qion'li stood up and turned to look at them with a frown, but said nothing.
Antimony paled, ears lying back, and went very quiet for a few seconds. Her mouth opened, then closed, and she lifted one hand to K'airos's cheek.
The man spoke up: "I am unconvinced. With enough coin, your captain would have revealed you were hired by me. Angry competitors probably used your sister's demise to throw you off your guard and, dare I say, get you to forfeit this contract."
K'airos kept quiet, likely as she gathered her thoughts on the matter.
Drawing in a thin breath, Antimony watched K'airos in silence for a moment longer before letting her hand fall. "Do you want me to send word to Ulanan, Airos? They may be able to help." She largely ignored Qion'li for the moment.
"You should." the girl nodded, and then looked down to her feet for a moment. Then, she looked at Qion'li. "We should depart now. Any moment longer we spend here is more time they have to learn that their attack didn't work."
"I agree. But if you are right and these men were targeting you personally, then your mother is also a potential target." The man gave a few steps towards them, looking at Antimony. "I can arrange for you to stay in Highbridge until your acquaintances arrive or, if you prefer, transport back to Ul'dah. I'm sure you'll be safer there rather than on this little cabin of mine."
"I will not leave K'airos alone here," Antimony shook her head firmly. "Ul'dah is out of the question, but... I will accept your assistance in Highbridge."
"Then you will have it. Take a moment to recover and then come meet me at the town. I will have the preparations ready when you arrive." He finished speaking with a slight bow. He turned around to walk back to the town, but he stopped and turned to them again. "What do you intend to do with the armor?"
K'airos shrugged. "I don't know. They wanted me to wear it, so I'm -not- doing that."
"Certainly not." Pursing her lips, Antimony thought a moment. "Have someone inspect it. That lalafell could have been attempting to curse my Airos! Or worse."
Qion'li nodded. "I agree. One of my brothers is a thaumaturge. Once I'm in the Shroud, I can bring it to him. He lives close to my usual route, so it would not affect my own schedule in any considerable amount. I could take it to him and have it examined...if you do not mind."
K'airos looked at her mother, hoping she'd know more about what was the right thing to do than her. Magic had never been her strength.
"Keep it out of sight and Airos, do not even /touch/ it!" Antimony turned in place a moment, tapping her fingers against the sides of her legs and then just wringing her hands. "I will prepare a binding ward bag for it, if you could help me collect the ingredients."
"Sounds reasonable." the man said. "If you can give me a list, I will check the merchants who are resting. Some might prove to be helpful."
"Yes..." Antimony looked around again, anxious face casting about as though in search of further danger. Then she watched Airos for a moment before nodding and repeating more firmly, "Yes. I will be right back." And she went inside to prepare said list.
![[Image: AntiThalSig.png]](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/179079766/AntiThalSig.png)
"Song dogs barking at the break of dawn, lightning pushes the edges of a thunderstorm; and these streets, quiet as a sleeping army, send their battered dreams to heaven."
Hipparion Tribe (Sagolii)Â - Â Antimony Jhanhi's Wiki
