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Chapter Six: Revelations

My arm still hurt something terrible, off all of us I seemed to have the most injuries, no thanks to that brat Kaiber. I still couldn't believe the bastard had bit me, of all the injuries I had sustained in my years this was the first bite I'd ever had. I cursed under my breath as I took a seat on a nearby wooden stool and began to peel away the bandages on my arm; now bloodsoaked. The elixir I had taken had done much to repair most of the damage, but it still left a hideous winding mass of scars on my skin; I cursed again.

“This is pointless...the longer I linger here…" I heard Emet muttering as he paced back and forth, agitated and clearly in some mental conversation with Sva'll by the way he spouted and shouted to no one. Digger and Kaiber however stood nearest to me, the both of them with cautious looks in their eyes; I couldn't blame them.

“Is he trustworthy…"? Kaiber asked me, not turning his head, more of a whisper than anything else as I ditched my bandages and began tenuously testing my arm. The man did have some lingering sense of senility to him, something that did make me uneasy, if only a little.

“Can't say for sure… best to keep your guard up…" I whispered back, no doubt those tall furrowed ears of his head my words clear as day. He simply made some sort of reptilian noise in response; I shivered, I couldn't stand reptiles they just, creeped me out. At that moment though Emet stopped pacing and turned to face me, brow cocked and a flat look of puzzled thought stretched over his aged face; I didn't like that look.

“What are you doing here exactly...Assassin…" He said, an accusing tone in his voice, suspicion and caution in his eyes. He had all the right to as well, I had originally been hired by the Black Church to track down Roderic, but I had abandoned that mission as soon as I set foot in Dragonholme and for good reason.

“I was sent here to find Roderic, sent by the Church if you must know" I stated, wincing lightly as pain ebbed through my arm still. That of course was only part true, the main reason I had come here was to meet up with Hazel and get some answers, I hadn't expected to chance across Roderic and especially not Kaiber; I'd thought he'd died on Siricuse. If I wasn't in debt I would never have taken on the kinds of shady contracts that I currently had under my belt; had being the key word, I'd just lost all of them within the last hour.

“...huh I heard the Shade say something about 'terminating a contract' with you during that fight…" Kaiber just so happened to bring up. Oh how I wanted to flog that stupid lizard, Immediately did Emets eyes narrow sharply on me, I watched from the corner of my eye as his hand squeezed the grip of his warmace.

“In my defence I had no idea who I was working for on that contract ok, I was desperate for coin...I had…I have, people to pay off. They aren't nice people, I had no idea I was working for a damn Shade…" I said in defence of myself, clutching the handle of one of my daggers tight ready to draw if I needed to.

“Bulshit, you're with them! I knew it, of course they'd stoop so low as to hire an Assassin to kill the last heir of the Clement name"! Emet growled, the man was clearly delusional, obsessed or unhinged in some unhealthy way. However it was Kaiber who yet again interrupted him, and with quite an apt point to.

“Hold on...how do you know my family name… what do you mean heir...what are you talking about"? Kaiber once again said, shutting the aged Paladin down once again and thankfully taking the heat off of myself. For the briefest of moments Emet was genuinely caught off guard, just for a moment though before he unsheathed his Mace and went right back to glaring at me. There was a twitch to his eye, there was no way I would win in a fight against him, especially in my injured state.

“You know something...Tell me…"! Kaiber growled stepping in between the two of us, unafraid, no hesitation at all. His snout twisted into a determined snarl, the boy certainly had issues about people keeping things from him. Emet leered for a moment more before reluctantly ripping himself away mouthing and rambling even more, though this time seemingly in frustration.

“...The Clement Family was once a name known throughout all of Mirodel, your family once held the title of Knight Errant. You understand that, your forefathers were once Royal Knights... until your grandfather wasted away the name and fortune gambling. Now the name is only known to old Knights and Paladins such as myself…" Emet said, those words quickly had Kaiber recoiling in disbelief. Even I myself found the information unlikely, Emet was known as a traitor, he seemed unstable, unhinged, he could just be making it all up on the fly; then again, my knowledge on the Errant families was practically non existent.

“...your forefathers and mine once served side by side… your great grandfather saved my family in times long passed. Since then my family swore to always watch over the Clement family… If it weren't for me your mother and younger sister would still be suffering in Aldoran…" Emet never finished that sentence, Kaiber swiftly interjecting, his eyes going wide, jaw slackening, his whole posture seemed to slacken in shock. I had little care for the boy's past or family, no one had the perfect upbringing, no one had the perfect parents. Though I was still having issues with the whole Knight thing, Kaiber was a Vermian, the Advent didn't have Knights, let alone Knights Errant.

“My...M-mother…she's alive"? He stammered, clearly in disbelief, Emet however looked as if he'd just said something he wasn't supposed to have mentioned. The Aged Paladin looked to the head of the huge gold Dragon now perched on the side of the open faced mountainside stables; before letting out a defeated sigh.

“Yes, she and your sister are alive… I sought them out after your Mother sent me a letter… your Mother and I used to be...close. I didn't know the squaller your family had fallen into… reading her letter I couldn't sit by and do nothing." Emet said, his posture faltering some, though his hand remained on his mace rather firm, his gaze breaking from me to Kaiber, the conversation bored me, it was nothing of my concern; so I sat there, thinking, watching.

“What do you know of my Mother! Who is she to you! How do you know she's safe"! Kaiber screeched and shouted, nay, demanded, the tone of his voice wasn't that of desperate begging but command; he stood there totally unafraid of Emet, demanding he answer him.

“I...she was the one that got away...I loved her, I still do, but she chose that oaf of a man you call a Father. When I was a younger man I pined for her, years before you were born." the Paladin said, his face growing sullen and still, I wasn't buying it, Emet wasn't all there, that was clear as day. I kept a hand to my dagger just to be sure, one eye on Emet and another on Kaiber.

“You were born in Volthume… your parents worked mundane jobs with dreams of a grander life, your Father wanted to buy land, but no one in Volthume would sell for such a low price. So he bought land in Aldoran instead… I still love your Mother...I put aside some coin, to help her, but it wasn't enough. To learn that she had to sell her own son… Fugitive or no I couldn't just do nothing. By the time I found them… they'd been kidnapped into slavery, the farm burnt down and...your Father…" Emet went silent, there was resentment in his eyes but even I could see he cared little about Kaibers Father but the Lizard was quivering now, all over, knees weak and shaking; if Emet was playing conman, then Kaiber was being played as like a fiddle. But he seemed genuine, I still didn't trust him, still didn't buy the words coming out of his mouth.

“Please... Please in the name of the Gods...Tell me their safe…" Kaiber whined, his voice trembling in fear and anxiety. There was desperation in his voice, I kept listening, but my focus was elsewhere, I was more focused on my next move, where I was going to go, what I was going to do I sure as heck wasn't staying here.

“She and your sister are safe, I got them out of Aldoran before any harm could come to them, I left them in the safety of the Claw Keep, before I came looking for you." he continued, turning to face the Lizard, I however couldn't help but cock a brow at his statement. Kaiber let out a sigh of relief, a few heavy breaths as he slackened and relaxed; I however had questions, standing and pushing my way past Kaiber to confront the Paladin.

“Safe? At the Claw Keep? Why not take her to the Iron Keep instead? Or even the Black Keep in Rigel? Why take her to Sval Blaud of all places."? I questioned, crossing my arms with a wince, my left arm still rather sore. The Paladin narrowed his eyes at me once more, a look of disgust warping his face.

“Stupid girl I am a fugitive! I can't go to Mirodel or Rigel, they'd arrest me! If I brought Naiomy to either of those countries they'd treat her like she knew something, they'd torture her, question her, harass her for days and weeks"! He growled through clenched teeth, I could tell he wanted to run me through, being an Assassin by trade I had been taught never to trust anything or anyone, truth be told I don't know why I was getting involved in this crap; asides not wanting Roderic to murder me.

“...hm, he's got a point...well, what are we going to do…" I asked, brushing aside Emets spouting frustration and anger, there was no point in just sitting here yelling at one another. I brought my hands up to my temples and began to rub at them; pacing. Emets reaction to my response however was confused, puzzled once more as if he'd expected me to just yell something back at him.

“Look, Roderic asked me to look over the Lizard ok, dead or not he still expects us to be here when… if he gets back. You obviously can't stay here since your a fugitive and your hell bent on taking him with you, so we got a problem here." I said with a sigh turning to face the room, Kaiber was sat by Digger, his face deep in thought, his body still shuddered though, and Emet simply glared at me.

“Stalemate then aye"? He muttered in a low voice, folding his arms and looking away, no doubt this whole time he and Sva'll had been talking amongst themselves via the mind. I didn't care about what they spoke of, but I knew Kaiber wasn't just going to sit still on this, and sure enough after a moment of silence, he stood.

“I want answers. About who's hunting me." he said, sharply, his eyes locking on to me as he spoke before pausing and moving to Emet.

“And your taking me to my Mother" he continued. Exactly as I thought he would, he wasn't the sort to just sit around and do as he was told. I'd found that out from earlier, from the whole past week of observing him actually. He rarely took any downtime, he was always training or doing something to better himself, weather it be combat or knowledge; he did spend a fair bit of time in Gallens library.

“All I know is Alt is the one who put the contract out, from what I know he's being forced to do the bidding of someone else. Other then that I got nothing." I answered with a shrug, wondering if Hazel was still hanging around somewhere, it wouldn't surprise me, he was the type to eavesdrop whenever it benefited him.

“Alt? Alexander Alt? The inventor from E'cill Meiar"? Emet asked, his tone still carried spite toward me, I understood why, Paladins, Knights, all those faithful sorts despised Assassins. We were just murderers for hire, something that went against the conviction of Knights and the like, especially those the like of the Healing Hand.

“The very same I assume, word has it that...Broom's back" I replied, looking out of the open faced stables at the stretching mountain range, the blizzard had finally died down for good by the looks of thing. But Emets eyes only widened, but just for a moment before he sunk into another deep thoughtful look.

“That's troubling information…" he muttered, stroking his beard once more, eyes narrowed, brows knitted, a stern look on his face as he began to pace to and fro once more. I gave a nod as he looked up at me briefly, not more than a moment. I was going to say something, had it on the tip of my tongue but before I could, Kaiber once more interrupted.

“So, I'll go to E'cill Meiar then" He said in such a flat tone. Me, Emet, Digger even Sva'll, we all looked at the teal and scarlet Lizard, silent; all thinking the same thing.

He's joking; right?