Raneaux belted through the inn doors and sidled up to Lina.
As she skidded on the bench as she sat, Danton was walking down the stairs. She
tried to compose herself as much as she could before he reached the ground
floor. His first words to her made it clear that he knew she had most likely left
the inn while he was upstairs. She
admitted that she had left Lina to go exploring, although protested that she
didn't leave her alone. Danton's reply was a little out of character, she told
her that he was just glad she was safe. Lina had, in the meantime, been
painting pictures of women, crowns and dark black patches that looked liked
spilled ink. Raneaux was a little patronising to her, praising her on her paintings.
In her mind she told Danton that they needed to go to the domed building as
soon as possible. They were interrupted by Lina who cried out at both of them
to stop leaving her out. Danton did a double take before asking Raneaux in her mind if she had heard what Lina said.
The girl now started to pout and angrily told them to stop treating her as a
child, she was a Hawk Eye after all.
The revelation of Lina's abilities and the fact that this
young girl was a Hawk Eye was impressive to Danton. He told her that she was
incredible, although she did not take to well to the compliment. Raneaux apologised
to Lina and went over to hug her and as she did so, Mavis approached. She saw
Lina's red eyes and Raneaux comforting her, then blamed Danton for whatever had
caused her to be upset. Danton tried to
tell her that it wasn't his fault but soon came unstuck when Lina asked where
her best friend Javis was. Mavis cocked an eyebrow and tilted her head at
Danton expectantly, relishing the fact he was about to try to lie to her. What
came out was in fact the truth. Lina started to cry again but Mavis backed off
a little, confused at why Danton had suddenly changed his tone. Mavis then took
Danton to one side and asked about Eryn, to which he told her about the
kidnapping.
She looked at him a little dumfounded. She told him that the
line of succession as leader and protector of the village fell upon the Hawk
Order. Feral Hawks held positions outside of the main cities and if they were
to become incapacitated in some way, the nearest Hawk would be next in line.
While Lina was unconscious, Mavis had been taking on the mantle but she couldn't
rightfully hold onto it and Lina was far too young. She said that she feared
for the future of the village. Danton tried to keep his tongue pressed lightly
against his cheek and his mouth firmly shut as his fangs grew and retracted. He
offered his assistance of looking after the village but Mavis had reservations
about a member of House Ethis taking over the village once again. She had
suffered through their exploitations of the villagers for their private mining
business and had vowed to never let another take root. He winked at her,
telling her that he wasn't Ethis and Darkperch had now become his home.
She sighed, knowing that the resources Danton could provide
could rejuvenate the town and perhaps keep the Oraea in line. She told him that
he needed to make sure Lina was okay with the line of succession. If she wasn't
happy, then she would have to return to Auspar to consult with the City Hawks
to install another Feral. He replied with a smirk that if he stayed, Jarvan
would too and with that she went bright red and slightly smiled. This was now his new task, to make sure Lina
was on his side so that she wouldn't find a replacement. His first instinct
however was typical of his family. He offered a little money for her to buy
food and drink but Lina refused. She bluntly told him that Mavis had and always
would look after her out of kindness and no money could change that situation.
She tutted at him. Danton hated the fact he was being judged by a young girl
and bit his tongue not to say something. He picked out of his pocket the pot of
green paint that had managed to keep from overflowing or staining his clothes
and placed it on the table. He offered it as a gift before there was a knock on
the inn door and a member of the Oraea stepped in and walked out with Danton.
Xera had now regained consciousness and had no idea on how
much time had passed. He found himself in Lina's bed in an empty room. He
rubbed his head trying to dissipated the migraine he had woken up to but it
didn't leave him. He plodded downstairs to see where everyone was and saw Lina
and Raneaux painting. He asked her where Danton was and she said he had already
gone to meet with Lord Lyathra. Xera shook his head, he knew that he would have
better luck with Silas than Danton would and made for the door. Before he left
however, Lina said she was sorry about the child to him, to which he stared
back at her for a second. He shook his head, believing he had misheard her and
headed for the Oraea.
When he arrived, Danton seemed to be in a quandary with
Silas. He was questioning Jethra as to why a member of House Ethis was even present
and Xera quickly acted by tapping Silas on the shoulder. He didn't know how
well this would go down but he needed to take the focus of Danton. Silas
shuddered and turned on his heels and a faint smile grew. He gave a warm
reception to Xera, to which Danton seemed to not have received. Within moments
of the greeting, Jethra was ordered by Silas to provide hospitality for him and
Xera and soon both were given wine and the best of the leftovers. It was now as if Danton did not exist. The two
of them talked about the escape from Auspar, the binary code from the
holographic creature and the search for Morianna. Xera admitted that his lab
had been broken into and his notes on both Morianna and what Silas was interested
in - the research by Melvile - had been stolen. This riled up Silas. He told
Xera he knew something like this would happen and told him they needed to
quicken the pace. He offered passage to the home of House Morianna, Ickwell
Manor, in a day or two after he had visited his niece. Xera's mouth was left
wide open.
A little confused by Xera's reaction, Silas tried to change
the subject by asking why he was travelling with a snake from House Ethis. Xera
bit his lip while Danton let out an accidental hiss. Silas said to Xera that inviting
a member of House Ethis into the Manor could be disastrous, with his plans most
likely to become compromised. Xera replied that if he was to go find Morianna,
Danton would have to come too. Silas shook his head and turned it to face
Danton. He addressed him in a sever tone. If anything was to go wrong, if his
plans were jeopardized, then Danton would bear the soul responsibility on pain
of death. Xera bit his lip again and tried to draw away Silas' attention. He mentioned that the Oraea monks had
threatened both him and Danton at the lake and accused them of murder and thievery.
Within an instant, the large frame of Silas was up on his feet and stomped
towards Jethra. He demanded to see the two responsible. They were both soon
thrown to the front. Their heads bowed, Silas asked them to join in prayer for
the Vessel. They closed their eyes and recited until the slash in their throats
from Silas blade drowned their words in their blood. Danton took a step
backwards, he never considered the rotund man to be of any threat and now the
warning he had given Danton rang in his ears.
Silas demanded to Jethra that he was to apologise to both Danton and
Xera for the monks insolence and for someone to take the bodies away. His next
question made Danton's stomach churn, he asked Xera if heknew where his niece Lina
was.
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