pantothenic
Izurich
jasbraq
Ti
Jumbus
Fetzen
dragonpiece
NiraVaren
Lucid Dreaming
Assani 16th
Location: Xochiyeiteteo - Sweetwater Farmstead
Day of the week: Pandes
Time: Night
Present: Zarina, Classa @Force and Fury, Zox, Raiders, Tennaxi, Cozesteo, Cuimits, Torrix-Basté, Alqasas.
Classa was tucked in with a sleepy Nibbler to keep her company after a few moments of storytelling and tickles.
Zarina returned to a grisly sight. More death and suffering. The prisoners were terrified for the most part, with the current ‘victims’ screeching for help as Zox immediately intervened to separate the rabid Tennaxi from the others. “What the FUCK just happened?!” the barely armoured Virangish growled, eyes to the golem. Zox focused on keeping the three concerned parties separate but answered her nonetheless. “It was fast. Before I could hear anything, she had killed two.” Zarina clicked her tongue in annoyance. “Shit. They were lip flappers too.” her glare was directed to Tennaxi who had since come to and looked both panicked and confused at what just happened.
Soon came the fear, and then the pleading. Zarina was rightfully suspicious. “You better not be fucking me.” her sharp and armoured finger pointed at the legless girl. The three were separated and their arms bound while the two bodies were dumped outside for the time being.With Tennaxi still overwhelmed by what happened, one of the assaulted was approached first. One known as Cuimits. “As you may have deduced, Cazenax often have names with meaning. Unlike us.” stated Zox flatly. “This one means Nine-fingers.” Zarina, as if on cue, paid attention to the recently bound hands. “Huh. From some fancy name like Midnight Moon to Missing-Finger-Joe. ” she chuckled, already calmed now that order had been restored. “Names are earned in Cazenax society. There can be a story behind his missing finger. Or simply how he is known. I could not say.”
Tennaxi was isolated while Cozesteo was made to wait with the others. Cuimits, one Zarina had identified as having a head over his shoulders, was her first target.
Zarina pulled a chair, sat in reverse and crossed her arms over the seat whilst Cuimits sat on the floor, back against a wall. Zox was the translator. “Let’s start simple, then. Who sent you?” and then it just became a staring competition. So she repeated herself. “I only took orders. My lieutenant is dead.” translated Zox in a similar, flat tone as Cuimits. There was evidently something about this one that kept Zarina’s attention. The way the others looked at him and his composure reeked of unspoken authority, like a high ranking member of a mob that dressed like any other local.
“Why’d you do it, then?”
“Money.”
“Why did she want to kill you?”
“To silence us, maybe. We got captured after all.”
“Was it one of those elites that sent you?” Zox made sure to use the appropriate terminology to qualify who she was talking about.
“He never met the one that paid. It went through the boss.”
“And so who’s the boss?”
Zox paused as he heard the answer. “I have killed him, it seems.” he sighed.
For a moment, Zarina had an idea to turn up the heat. Do something a little extreme to get this one’s lips to flap. But the corner of her eye caught something: Tennaxi. She gestured for Cuimits to be put aside, for now, and bring in the calmed Tennaxi. “Are you going to tell me what happened?”
“Lasto! Lasto …” Tennaxi lowered her head, only for her to see the grim reality of her mangled body. She shielded her eyes briefly before looking up at Zazzy. “I don’t know what happened, she says.” Zox shuffled a bit in his corner, his stoney gaze shifting between the prisoners. Tennaxi paused before being hit by a moment of clarity, index finger raised. But just before she could speak, Cozesteo shouted something she didn’t understand with Cuimits adding to it.
“Shut up.” Zarina said, but they continued. “I said, shut UP.” they both felt immense pressure applied above them, forcing their cheeks to hit the flooring. Cozesteo was quick to apologize the same way Tennaxi would, but Cuimits showed continuous defiance. The rest of the captives began to panic, to which Zarina was sensitive enough to cease her show of force, and in turn the tension of the air faded. Except of course for Cuimits’ continued ranting. As a result, Zox intervened with his intimidating form and just taped his mouth shut with some conjured leather. Again, the group was frightened, but the golem’s imposing size was enough to keep them in order. With peace returned, the interrogation could continue.
The timid Tennaxi, upon seeing Cuimits bound up tight, felt bold enough to speak. “She says she felt like she ‘lost her body’, and was all numb.” Zarina blinked and then squinted. “Like her body had a mind of its own?” to which Tennaxi nodded once the sentence was translated. Zarina drummed her fingers over the wooden seat. “It could be a spell. It could also be bullshit.” Zarina bit her uncovered thumb’s nail as she pondered, eyes locked to Tennaxi’s. She wanted to believe this girl was honest, but she had indeed killed two.
There wasn’t much to get from Tennaxi that wasn’t already said, and so the interrogator moved on. Her attention drifted toward Cuimits again, bound and gagged with consistent defiance in his eyes. But then there was the sidekick, Cozesteo. Clearly of lesser intelligence and standing. Quite bulky too. “What’s his name?” to which Zox replied with a slightly amused voice, as if he was in synch with Zarina’s observation. “Cozesteo. Big Rock.” the corner of Zaz’s lip twitched. It was the rock’s turn in the spotlight.
“Who sent you here?”
“‘Dunno’, as he would say. He says for money.” Zox internally frowned. “The exact same formulation the other used.” to which Zarina scoffed. “Is that so?” Her attention was entirely on the Big Rock. “Who’s your boss?” and for a split second, Cozesteo peered over at Cuimits, only to then shift his eyes about to lock them onto Zox, acting as if he was the bigger boulder among the two. Unfortunately for him, Zarina caught that and shot a knowing glance at Cuimits. “Potojax.” he said before cackling like a buffoon. A laughter that slowly degenerated into awkward titters as nobody laughed.
What followed were a series of awkward but ultimately meaningless questions, poking the man’s daily life and intentions. The more she went, the more it became clear this robust look of his was a façade. And the more his slipped looks toward his true boss, Cuimits. Realizing what was going on, a very brief sonic bubble was formed that enveloped Zox too.
“Is this man your boss?”
Cozesteo, taken aback by the sudden use of magic, just shot a confused look at Zarina.
“Tell me now. Is he your boss? Did he have something to do with the murders?”
A moment of hesitation took Cozesteo. But then he chuckled, again looking at his superior to feel emboldened.
“He says you must not be very smart. He’s his own boss and gets paid.” he didn’t bother to translate the ‘poxa’ in there.
Zarina’s arm unnaturally extended to seize the Cazenax’s throat. Her platinum hand was suddenly huge and could easily pluck the smaller being’s head. “I don’t honestly know or truly care about the bullshit behind all of this.” she snarled, the sound-bubble pointless in hiding her intentions. “You’ve hurt people that matter to me. You tried to kill some kid because you hate demons or whatever. And I’ve given you a second chance. I can easily take it away.” it’d be so easy, easier than pulling a trigger. That draconic shield-arm was so big and the claws so sharp. It’d be like passing a hot knife into a stick of butter.
“Zarina.” a concerned Zox felt the need to speak up, and the audience was growing agitated once more. “Please.” the golem reached for the girl’s shoulder. After a moment, she calmed down, but it had worked in getting Cozesteo to whisper something. “Zé …” he said. “They’re all afraid of him. You can see why.” Zox added, looking at the pool of dried blood at the corner.
Zarina sighed, lowered the barrier and shot a menacing look at Cuimits. The head of the troupe immediately her numb and his chin hit his chest. He was asleep after a strong dose of chemical magic was applied. But with one potential problem gone, a new one arose. The prisoners were terrified at this point and just about ready to explode in their foreign ramblings. The Virangish girl opted to not use force this time, raising her hands as a sign of peace while speaking pacifying words they did not understand. Zox, being the terrifying monster that killed many of their peers, did little to help too as intimidation wasn’t going to cut it after what had happened.
Just as catastrophe was about to strike, Tennaxi mustered the courage to speak now that Cuimits was unconscious. “Zag. Zag!” she pleaded to her fellow Cazenax. A display of good faith was made, Tennaxi showed her desire to help despite the suspicions around her. Given that it actually worked, Zarina was more inclined to believe her. A second female Cazenax, Torrix-Basté, added to Tennaxi’s efforts and provided testimony of the events that unfolded, making external magical influence the likely culprit here.
With peace restored in a fragile state, she continued her interrogation with Cozesteo.
“He says that for the record, he has nothing against demons and even owns a few.” Zox translated the words of Big Rock, still rattled by the recent threats but more willing to talk now that Cuimits was out. “The king’s changes aren't good for them. They’ll lose their sense of purpose. Being entirely dependent on the Vozas has more than just the obvious risks.”
“Risks, but you’ve been using this for … A long time I presume? Why are you worried about risks?”
Cozesteo looked to Zox, and then to Zarina before sarcastically cackling. “They want to have more lax admission standards for the Vo-Wola. The people who make use of the Vozas. He says it is insanity to be this careless with the most dangerous thing in the world.”
“Okay, but what does this have to do with them raiding this place?”
Torrix-Basté interjected upon hearing this. “She suggests that it might have something to do with land speculation following King Stazen’s policies.” to which Zarina shrugged. “For just a quick buck? Really? And going as far as killing your own? So who exactly sent them?”
Torrix-Basté was unable to say, as she only did it for the money and a general dislike for demons. Cozesteo, on the other hand, had more to say. He needed a little more squeezing, but a light bit of internal chemical did the trick. “There was a meeting with an intermediary that referred to their client as female. Apparently this was done to ‘help a friend’, and that the actual motives are a mystery to him.” Zarina sat back on her chair, arms crossed and attentive. “He thinks that the people in the Batarsca, the elites in a way, wanted to acquire this land expecting King Stazen’s policies to suddenly change, like what she said, but he believes an assassination attempt will be the cause and it may have already happened. The sweetwater guild in particular was keen on dealing with this land due to it remaining independent.”
“That would explain why they’d want to keep a lid on things.” she spoke to Zox, her platinum claw scratching her chin. “Sweetwater guild, jaded elites and a reformist King, it sounds like we’ve stumbled into a web of power plays and we’ve just caused a very unexpected mess.” so far Zarina didn’t seem too alarmed, and she was left to wonder what were truly the stakes here. There was a reason Upta and the Silent Ranger had dispatched them, and the only conclusion she could make was an extreme case with the Vozas.Was Stazen’s elimination a good or bad thing? It all hinged on this, she just knew it.
Tennaxi was brought back to the spotlight with Cozesteo left to breathe in his own corner. Zarina didn’t have to ask anything, she just began to talk. “She doesn’t know that much more, she says. But she’d be happy to serve as a guide at the city, but she’d need to be mounted.” Zarina, Zox and Tennaxi all looked at the poor Cazenax’s stumps. The girl still hadn’t fully registered how her life was going to drastically change. But with this grim reality made real and recalling Classa’s words, Tennaxi had something of an epiphany. “She’s realized that Samaxi, Mr. Jascuan’s daughter, is Potés-Palix. And- …” Zox just stopped talking and ‘glared’ at the legless girl. “What is it?” Zarina dryly inquired, smelling something was off and deeply concerned considering her friends had gone to search for that individual. “It’s mere speculation. But … She suggests that the timing of the raid looked to have been done in accordance to Maxi’s absence. They did not expect more than just me to protect the stead.”
Zarina clenched her jaw. A woman had hired these goons via an intermediary. Samaxi’s absence was conspicuously timed with the raid’s. There’s a lot of money and political capital involved. All surrounding the Vozas, or better known as the wicked Void that had nearly taken three close to her. The Virangish rider had gone from mildly concerned for an inquest she did not grasp the importance of beyond finding a culprit, to realising the potential gravity of it all.
Cozesteo was brought back in. Forceful but non-physical, she asked plainly. “How do I get this asshole to talk? I’m out of patience.” to which the Cazenax continuously shook his head and insisted he didn’t know. Zarina didn’t have time for this. A bag of a few magi was tossed to his lap - currency that wasn’t common but had its use in the supply wagon from Nashibansek. With such a handsome reward, the Big Rock could put his conscience away for a brief moment.
“Zarina. Are you sure you want to go through with this?” Zox, concerned by what he had heard, wished this could end already.
“Just say it. We can’t find the head of this serpent without this guy’s cooperation.” she growled whilst glaring at the still slumbering Cuimits. The other Cazenax looked concerned as well, shooting expectant looks at Zarina. Was she going to actually do this?
“He has a family that lives west of town, at a place called The Dive. It’s … a red domed residence occupying a gap in the hoodoos.” then everything got quiet.
Zarina just nodded before stepping out.
She opened her right, metal palm. The flow of time became tangible to her as she began to draw from it. And then, once imbuing her claws with the abstract energy she was far from mastering, she dug them into the air before her and dragged her hand downward. A forcefully opened a tear into time and space and created a portal in a cruder manner than most did.
Zox stepped out, and so did Tennaxi. Both would see the magnificence that was Alqasas stepping out of the rift and into a land not too different from where her mother had laid her. The reticulated and pearlescent Alpha Froabas sniffed about, recognizing Zarina and unknown parties. Naturally, she inhaled to prepare a loud and domineering howl. Quickly, the beastmaster created an improvised sonic bubble, only for it to partially succeed. The earth-shaking scream was heard by all the Cazenax, perishing all notions of trying a breakout at this time.
“Be quiet.” the strict mother ordered before flicking the mighty beast’s snout. It recoiled, growled and then sniffed some more. “It’s late here, as you can see.” she clearly spoke to the beast, and reached out to caress that previously assaulted snout. “I missed you too.” the animal shot her a challenging stare, but was otherwise docile.
“I’m not gonna threaten some asshole’s family. I'll get another lead.” she reassured, head turned as she still faced her dragon. “You.” she turned and pointed toward Tannaxi. “You wanted to be a guide, right?”
“I’m going to visit that guild. Can I expect good demons like you to translate? Or must I make preparations? I’d bring you, but …” she looked to her dragon, still not fully mature, and then to the stead where Classa slumbered. “You’ve got more important things to care for. Watch over Riesco for me, yeah?”
