The Lead Crown: Ch 2c, Revelations (pt 3)
Tranquil Waters: The Lead Crown Ch 2-3, Revelations
Coffee was one of many morning rituals that Sada enjoyed... perhaps more than almost all others. The careful attention to detail in measuring out the beans-- the gentle-yet-deliberate movement of the mortar as it ground them in the pestle-- the soft patter of boiling water followed by the mellow sound of it pouring into the carafe-- the scent... oh the scent.
Regardless of how tired she had been the prior night or how poorly she had been treated by her clients, a well-prepared cup of coffee made it all better. Despite the fact that Lehsunian coffee was far more bitter than that of her native homeland, the otter still enjoyed the ritual just as much, and the aroma was beautiful regardless... or perhaps because of its overbearing power. She smiled to herself as she gently pulled down on the handle of the carafe, pressing the ground beans to the bottom and leaving the beautiful blackness awaiting its trip to her lips.
Despite her eagerness for the drink, Sada forced herself to be patient... patience in all things, she reminded herself. No matter the activity, she who had the greatest amount of patience had the greatest chance for success-- it was what her mother had taught her until the day she escaped the oppressive household-- it was what the madam at the bordello proved until the day she managed to escape the town aboard a southward-bound merchant ship-- it was what the aggressive captain had reinforced in the many long sessions of abuse until she was able to jump ship in a port town. Patience was everything.
Finally, after a clean count of one hundred, the otter pulled the latch that opened the top of the container, and she slowly poured the beautiful liquid blackness into a fine tea cup. Sanmer, her absent host had a decent apartment, but he lacked the refinement to appreciate fine drinkware; the cup was her's, and she valued it greatly. She gingerly set the carafe back down and took her thumb off of the latch, letting it fall closed once more... and only then did she fold her delicate digits around the warming ceramic cup, and slowly lifted it to her muzzle.
The click of the door connecting the apartment to the passage that led to the shop below interrupted her morning ritual. Silently sliding around the table, Sada moved to the large metal pan resting on the counter and, without making a noise, the otter picked it up. She ignored the faint warping of the pan where it recorded its use as a weapon the previous night, and readied herself for a repeat performance; Sanmer never used the door.
"Sanmer." called a deep, rumbling voice, "Come out."
The call was a direct challenge to the apartment's owner, but it lacked the sound of a threat. After having encountered a party of the fox's unexpected guests the prior night she was almost willing to greet the newcomer a little more elegantly... but she still had enough suspicion to do so while holding the pan... just in case. "He's not here." she announced, flowing out into the main room to encounter the newest visitor, then came to an immdiate stop at what she saw, pan almost falling out of her surprised grip.
"I didn't realize he was going to be entertaining." the comment was somewhere between sarcastic and casual, and, for as good as Sada was at reading people, she was honestly confused by the announcement... but perhaps it was because she was still stunned by the owner of the rich, bass, vibrato tone. Staring at her was a leather-clad dragon, easily seven foot tall. His scales were as white as the snow of Soyria and his otherworldly pink eyes glimmered the usual red of a dragon in the half-light peaking through the shuttered windows.
"Personally, I ALWAYS find Sanmer entertaining." it was witty banter, a tool Sada favored when trying to gauge a stranger's intellect, and she was not disappointed in the results.
"Then you have a far greater appreciation for tomfoolery than I, my lady." the dragon inclined his head slightly, the taller of his two sets of horns coming within a hair's breadth of scraping the ceiling, "But here we are speaking so candidly to one another without being properly introduced... never would I expect to be so forward without at least knowing the name of a fellow conversationalist."
"Sada de'Ahm, good sir." she introduced herself, providing a perfect courtly bow with such grace that she was certain it would put most noblewomen to shame.
"Ah..." the stranger rumbled, revealing several jagged teeth with a reserved smirk, "So the flower I now see is not only striking, but even its name holds a beauty that eclipses all others."
"You are obviously a skilled wordsmith, Mister.....?" she opened up the opportunity to let the stranger introduce himself, which he did simply, and without any particularly great amount of presentation.
"Wiesen." Despite the dragon's previously elegant and courtley manner, he managed to ruin the illusion by plopping down unceremoniously into a nearby arm chair. His enormous bulk practically swallowed it up as he lay across it sideways, thighs resting on one arm and the small of his back supported by the other. His size caused the chair to creak, but it held, and he was situated in a way that permitted ample room beneath his rump for his tail to overflow the cushion and spill out onto the floor, its end curled at an odd angle at the very tip, almost resembling a hook.
"A pleasure, Mr. Wiesen." Sada offered another bow, making certain the frying pan was still hidden from his view as she moved to the chair across from the dragon's, "And now, perhaps, you might reveal why it is you've come to visit our mutual acquaintence?"
"I might..." the stranger acknowledged, his tail reaching out to hook the handle of a large leather carrying case and pulling it closer to the chair where he lounged, "...or perhaps I might insist that such information was priviledged."
"We are friends now, dear Mr. Wiesen..." Sada leaned forward in her chair, both to identify that she was wishing to be engaging in her conversation, but also to provide the dragon a very clear view of her low-cut sleeping gown, "Surely you wouldn't wish to keep me in the dark."
"I would never dare keep such a beautiful treasure such as yourself in the dark." Wisen countered, "Truly, a gem as flawless as yourself should be put on display for all to appreciate like the work of art you are."
"Well... he knows how to use his tongue..." Alarice's unimpressed tone spoke up from behind Sada, "That much is certain."
"I was unaware that our fine vulpine host had so many aesthetically appealing female friends." the dragon announced candidly, his deep voice rumbling in good humor, "My impression of him has suddenly improved."
"I thought this place was supposed to be secret." announced the wolf-husky scholar in a gruff voice, emerging from his room with only a pair of underbritches on. He suddenly seemed to remember how poorly dressed he was when he met the gaze of Sada and Alarice, and moved immediately back into the cover of his doorway, "Random visitors doesn't usually fit into the equation of a secret hiding place."
"He looks like an oversized stable boy." Alarice's pet bat announced from his place beside her, "That much leather either belongs in a stable or in the bedroom, anyway." and he provided a pointy-toothed grin.
"I find myself in the latter more often than the former." the dragon responded, "And now I find myself at a loss having encountered far more of Sanmer's acquaintences than I realized knew of this apartment."
"I am in a similar predicament." Sada admitted, glancing pointedly at Alarice.
"That would make three of us." the human woman countered immediately, gazing first back at the otter then to the dragon.
"A lot more than three." the .ilky-eyed human scholar announced, emerging from his room with a hand on the wall. Sada didn't miss the fact that Roland the wolf-dog went instantly to his side to show him to a chair... and was immediately shooed away; the otter gained a certain respect for the human over his desire for independence; she found it... humorous.
"My name is Patricia Arnhart." Alarice introduced herself falsely to the dragon, "And you are?"
"Hmm." Weisen responded flatly, then glanced toward Sada, "Far more direct and much less pleasant."
"And you are?" Alarice repeated her question in a slightly more challenging tone; Sada didn't miss the fact that the human woman's hands were drifting ever closer to a hidden weapon. The otter didn't know what the weapon was, but saw the tell-tale signs of its existence nevertheless-- she'd had plenty of experience having to figure out who was and wasn't armed in a number of different, compromising situations.
"Wiesen." the dragon responded casually, "Although most of my aquaintences know of me as Crook." he added after a slight pause.
Alarice seemed to calm immediately, "Sanmer has spoken of you before."
"I don't doubt that." Weisen responded in a self-important tone, though his grin revealed that it was all theatrics rather than a bloated sense of egotism, "Sanmer is a regular customer... he particularly likes my chains."
"I don't doubt that." Inigo the bat parotted the dragon's earlier statement... and the two shared a knowing smile that Sada understood immediately.
"You wear gloves." Alvis spoke up for the first time, and only then did Sada realize that the mutt was in the room.
"I work with heated metal." the dragon acknowledged, "Hard to do with bare scales."
"Would you..." the mixed breed dog paused, and Sada realized he was attempting to gain the gumption to make a demand. When it finally came out the otter was pleasantly surprised with how well he made his demand, "If you don't mean us any harm, take off your gloves."
"Well..." the dragon chuckled, loosening the straps securing them around his wrists, "That was rather forward... here you are asking me to get undressed without even introducing yourself." but, despite the jibe, Weisen did as was requested, and took off each glove, setting them atop the leather bag situated next to the chair. "Your talon fetish may now be satisfied." he announced, holding them up bare, palms out first, and then turning them so everyone could clearly see the back.
Sada was confused at first, until the blind scholar spoke up, "Tattoo, or no?"
"Ah..." the dragon acknowledged in a knowing tone, the sound almost deep enough that the otter could feel it in her gut, "I take it you've had a run-in with the Order of Blades."
"Why would you say that?" Roland challenged.
"Three obvious UPU scholars, and the famed Sellsword Alarice." Wiesen motioned to one part of the party and then the human woman, "I would say--"
"Two scholars and a student." the blind scholar interrupted him.
"Be that as it may," Wiesen continued, "considering the events in the square, I would assume that the Order of Blades has an interest in you."
If Alarice was displeased at being discovered she didn't let it show, "Should we be concerned that YOU know of the Order?"
"Only if you're looking after my well-being." the dragon responded, rolling his legs off of the chair as he returned to a standing position, "The Order and I don't precisely see eye to eye... which is why I had planned to meet up with Sanmer."
"Why would the Order of Blades be after YOU?" Inigo questioned.
"Well..." the dragon noted, kneeling down to put his gloves back on, "I assume based on the fact that you're traveling with three UPU scholars--"
"Two scholars and a student." Roland took his turn to correct Wiesen; Alvis appeared quite dejected at the constant correction.
"Considering your traveling companions..." the dragon rephrased, "I would wager it's for a similar reason." Once Wiesen had his gloves on he opened his bag and began pulling out a number of strange metallic mechanisms.
"You're a scholar?" questioned the blind human, surprising Sada with his astute deduction considering he wasn't able to see the dragon's activities.
"Tinkerer." Wiesen countered.
"An unaffiliated inventor." Roland pointed out.
"Under contract, actually." the dragon slipped a leather strap around his head, pulling several metal-and-glass components down over his left eye. He adjusted a hinge until a lense held up by a metal arm sat snugly on the scales of his cheek ridge like a monicle, "The University wanted my help with a certain project."
"And what project would that be?" demanded the human scholar.
"The one that sadly turned into a fireball in the middle of Newport." Wiesen noted flatly, "Which, incidentally, is one of the main reasons the Order of Blades is after me."
"ONE of the reasons?" questioned Sada, sliding off of the sofa and taking a step back; she didn't much care for anyone who was on the hit list of a powerful secret organization.
Weisen shrugged, "I MIGHT have killed a few of them getting away from the square."
"Were they following you?" questioned Alvis, glancing out through the cracks in one of the shutters covering the windows.
"I lost them late last night." the dragon stated.
Alvis' next words chilled Sada to the core, "I'm not so sure you did."