Pointers

SUMMARY: Rona is attacked by some enthralled humans for no obvious reason. Halana rescues her with a cleverly cast spell before departing, and Daechir (in disguise) buys her lunch, where they talk about his ruse and ways to continue refining it. Aya, who is in on the secret, joins them briefly.

The sounds of battle can be heard from a nearby alley.

Out, again, enjoying the whole of the city. Doing her best to be a healer, protector, meeting the people and learning the lay of the land. That's Halana's day today, and it was her day yesterday. Though, today's smiling, quiet, calm walk is disturbed by the sounds of near by battle. That, she can't ignore, someone could be in trouble, again. So, she takes off in a full run towards said alley.

When Halana turns the corner she can see seven people. Three of them are on the ground, and Yelrona is in melee combat with the other three, laying about with the butt of her morningstar, clearly infused with the power of Tarien.

The three men she's engaged with, all human, are fighting with improvised weapons -- pipes and bats -- and don't seem particularly good at it.

"HEY!" Halana yells out at the top of her lungs, "What in the name of the gods is going on here!" she adds, equally loud as she moves to draw her longsword from it's scabbard. Her other arm moving to grab her shield off her back.

"Don't hurt them!" Rona shouts when she sees Halana, blocking a swing on her buckler and awkwardly striking a tall sunburned man on the side of the head with the hilt of her weapon. Her assailants say nothing... they don't even seem to notice that Halana is there.

Daechir has arrived.

"Wait" pause, "What? Why not? What is going on?" she asks, giving each of the other's a good solid look over. Though, considering Yel looks like she has it under contorl, she's not going to make any sudden moves towards anyone, yet.

"They aren't in their right minds," she replies, dodging three strikes and missing twice in turn. It looks like this fight may last a while.

There's a light chiming sound, and suddenly there's a man standing at the end of the alley. He's a dark-skinned man, with his hair cut short and neat. Wordlessly he steps toward the nearest attacker and touches the man on the shoulder. Instantly the man starts to laugh so hard that he's forced ot hold his stomach. The man, with this done steps backwards to avoid the swing that one of the others makes at Yelrona. "Hello Yelona." His voice is tinged with amusement.

Yelrona regards the new arrival skeptically. "Hello. Do I --" duck, pivot, strike, miss, hit on the backswing, and one of the three goes down -- "know you?"

Halana blinks, because this other man, she doesn't know him, not one bit. Though, he seems to know Yelorna, for better or worse. Well, might as well at least do, something, and that is putting her sword and shield away, clutching her symbol of Althea and uttering the words and making the gestures needed to place Sanctuary on Yelrona. With this, each person that attempts to attacks her will have no choice but to fight themselves internally or be unable to attack yelrona.

With their target cloaked by Halana's spell, the two assailants standing seem literally unable to decide what to do. They eventually start to wander off, dazed.

The man steps around the one that is still laughing, and the unconsious figure of another. Picking his way toward Yelrona before finally nodding politely to her. There is indeed something familiar about him, the way he moves and the way he nods to her. "You may call me David." He offers a hand to her and then after a moment he offers the hand to Halana as well. "And yes, we met a while ago."

Yelrona puts her weapon away... then replaces it with her bow. "All right, David. Remind me of the circumstances?" Though she suspects she knows.

Halana is just, confused, to say the least. "Will someone tell me what's going on?" she asks of them both, slowly reaching to shake the offered hand in response. "I'm far to tired, far to hungry, and far to confused to just stsand here and listen to a conversation."

David offers Halana a courtous nod. "She simply does not recognize me though we met not long ago in the forest beside a river where her friend threatened me with a bow." He nods toward Yelrona's own drawn bow. "Come, we can fix at least some of your ails. I will buy you both lunch so that you can rest and eat."

Yelrona glances at Halana, then back at "David," seems to think a bit, then nods. She puts the bow away, looks at the unconscious bodies at her feet, shrugs, and steps out of the alley. "I warn you though, I am not a cheap date."

Daechir for it is of course him underneath the disguise spell leads Yelrona to a resturant close by, clearly unconcerned with the expense of the meal in question. He settles down in his seat - one near a quick exit should that be needed and meets her gaze with his newly changed eyes. "So, what was that fight back there about?"

Yelrona laughs. "Oh, Tarien's nuts, I was hoping _you_ knew! I literally have no idea. I was... well, we can leave to one side what I was doing in that alley in the first place, but the next thing I knew a gang of humans was coming after me with... well, you saw. Sticks, pipes, bats, a crowbar. They weren't a serious threat... I've literally fought squirrels that were more dangerous. I can only assume someone was trying to send me a message." She shrugs. "Given how they seemed enthralled, I'm going to guess it was a fighting telegram from a vampire I met the other night, but it honestly might be anything. I, um... I've been making a lot of enemies lately." She chuckles. "Something you of course know nothing about, 'David'."

The man in question arches one dark eyebrow upward before placing one hand on his chest in a sort of bow. "One does what one can." He smiles then with a quick flash of teeth. "A vampire though... You do make interesting enemies. Did you confront the vampire alone?"

Yelrona laughs. "I barely confronted him at all! No, there were a group of us. Aya, me, Halana" gesturing in the direction of the cleric who'd recently left them, "Astaren, Dax... others, I think. A regular party of adventurers, though chance-met. Lucky thing too, he was no pushover." She looks a little sheepish. "I didn't even get a shot in, to be honest, I spent the whole fight trying to get up on the roof."

"If that is true... then I wonder why he would take a particular interest in you." Daed looks thoughtfully concerned through his disguise. "Do you know if he has sent people after anyone else? Done anything that suggests that he has an interest in someone other than you?"

"I don't know, but I intend to find out," Rona replies. "I'm pretty sure he had no idea who we were the other night, when we interrupted his feeding... maybe he just feels aggrieved that we got in his way. And the woman he attacked... I thought she was just a random target, but maybe she's more important to him than I'd thought." She looks concerned. "I think she went to the Soldier's Defense with Halana... I didn't think to ask, though."

"It certainly sounds like a good idea." He offers a regretful look. "Much as I would like to help you it would be unwise of me to go into so crowded a location with only... this to hide my identity." Daed motions toward himself. "In any case I am glad you were there to help this woman. You and everyone else."

Yelrona nods. "Understood. Speaking of making enemies," she adds with a smirk. "So... it's early days yet, but anything I should know on that front? I haven't let the Inquisition know the real story yet... I figure that's your secret to share or not, as you will... but I haven't put the word out on you yet either. Probably best to reach out to whoever you trust with the full story first."

"Nothing so far, but I have told everyone who I can think needs know the truth what I am doing." Daechir considers for a long moment before splaying his hands out in a gesture like a shrug. "I have few people to tell. I mentioned something to Aya though, so you if you wish to share with her information you think important she may make a good go-between. Other than that feel free to put out the word. I am as prepaired as I know how to be."

"All right... I'll coordinate with Aya. It's a good choice," she says after a moment, "half of the Mictlan already seems to think she's a crypto-slaver as it stands. Perhaps she's got a similar scam going on her own, but if so she hasn't shared it with me. Regardless, being seen with her will only lend credence to your story." She sighs. "And set back Mul integration in Alexandria by who knows how far... though hopefully not permanently, if this works the way we hope." She thinks a moment, then adds "If this _does_ work, I recommend you let the slavers know you are _not_ interested in Oruchkin, incidentally. Might avoid some unnecessary confusion."

Aya has arrived.

"I told him much the same," comes confirmation of Yelrona's statement on credence. From directly behind Yelrona, of course.

Yelrona jumps a bit, her chair slides an inch or so, and then she slams her head against the table.

Daechir expression shifts to one of warm welcome as Aya appears. If the suddeness of her arrival startles him at all it doesn't show. Only that soft welcoming smile. "Welcome Aya. Are you alright Yelrona?"

"Fine," Rona replies, choking back a laugh as she sits back up. "Join us," she says, making room for Aya. "I think you know my friend?" She doesn't bother saying anything more, no doubt Aya is perceptive enough to work out the situation.

Aya dips her chin as she moves to occupy a space at the table. "I am. We have spoken on a few occassions." She arches a brow at Yelrona, then, having not expected her to concuss herself.

"Yelrona was just telling me about what I should expect, and how to behave should I be approched." Daed adjusts his low collar briefly. "I have been thinking that I should appear to adopt my Grandmother's stance on which slaves make the best ones." He keeps his voice low enough that they can not be overheard. "Which would not in fact include oruch slaves."

"OK, I'm curious," Rona asks: "who makes the best slaves, according to your grandmother?"

"As am I..." Aya turns to listen to Daechir and his knowledge on the topic. He IS a slaver, afterall.

Daechir frowns, and seems to take a moment before answering blandly. "Children. Specifically with their mothers if possible; but not infants. She said... The mothers work harder in the hopes of seeing their children, and the children can easily be taught whatever tasks you wish them to perform." His hand smooths over the table but there's clear tension in it. "The race did not matter so much, but never Ourch because they were to 'uncontrollable' even at a young age."

Yelrona nods. "That sounds... true." She is spared from having to say anything else by the arrival of her food, which she stares at disconsolately for a while. "Half a score or so were rescued, the other day," she finally says, as though trying to cheer someone up. Probably herself.

The mul'niessa man in disguise looks at his own food without much interest at least until Yelrona speaks. Her words seem to hearten Daed as well. "Really? I am glad to hear that there are more freed from such a fate. Were you a part of this endevor?"

Yelrona shakes her head. "I didn't even hear about it until it was over. The cleric you met earlier was one of them, actually... I met her in the Soldier's Defense, afterwards." She picks at her salad. Then, changing the subject completely, "If you want, I can help you with your disguise. You're using the spell, yes?"

For a moment Daed ceases to breathe, his now-black eyes on the street for a long moment before he again gathers himself and finally nods. "Yes I am. I would appreciate any help in fact. All the better to be able to continue to meet you in private, or to keep myself from being attacked by random passerbys who are upset with my current arrangement."

Yelrona nods. "Good." She looks around, then gets up and sits on "David's" lap, giggling flirtatiously. "We can sneak off into a rest-room together in a few minutes, and people will assume the obvious, and I can give you some pointers," she whispers into his ear, exuding spurious naughtiness.

"But meeting regularly isn't really safe, even with a disguise. Especially not with me... if I'm not already on Charn's list of people to watch carefully, I will be soon enough. We can set up some message-drops, though... places you can leave a signal that we need to meet, or that you're in trouble, or a few other things." Rona already has several of these set up with others, she's gotten pretty good at it by now. "Others in the Inquisition can check them as well, without having to know about you... that way it's not all contingent on my availability."

Daechir wraps a arm around Yelrona. Both to help her balance in his lap and to further the ruse that their meal has developed into something a little bit more. "I appreciate your efforts in these things. This is a very complex deception." He is whispering to her his words as she herself has done. "There is much about this that I do not know, but I have seen enough that I believe I can play this role. With all of us working together I want to believe that we can stop this from happening to anyone else in Alexandria."

Yelrona smiles. "That's... more ambitious than I'm feeling, to be honest. I'll settle for taking apart this particular organization." She slips off his lap with a seductive smirk, mostly for the benefit of the pub's owner. "Come on," she says, more loudly, leading him off. "I'll show you."