Master Crafter Kasik and Councilwoman Rheea join Aithne and Mollymauk in the interest of their own respective parties: Kasik to ensure the young man isn't mistreated, and Rheea to ensure Kasik doesn't, as she says, "try anything." Kasik is the sharp edge of a knife with her, cruel and cutting. Rheea, already a quiet, sullen woman, barely rises to his bait but does give him plenty of openings to bleed her with his words.
Neither Rheea nor Kasik are surprised to find the young man is being held not in a cell but in a guestroom on the fourth floor of the Queen's Residence. Rheea's nose remains wrinkled from the moment she enters the residence to the moment she leaves, and Kasik constantly dabs at his sweating forehead. Both of them are noticeably uncomfortable, but the young man is not even though he remains trapped in a Gray-shielded room. Allairavar lets the group in but stays outside, leaning against the wall.
The young man himself is thin, with a hook nose and watery eyes. He fidgets, rising and giving Rheea and awkward bow. To Kasik, he stutters out a hello with the overawed expression of someone meeting a hero. Kasik dismisses him without hesitation and begins wandering through the room, peering at the sparse contents as if expecting the furniture to grow legs and walk around. It does not.
Molly casts his spell, and it works with ease. Immediately, the young man breaks into a smile and gives Molly an amiable hug. To Aithne, he extends a warm but more reserved greeting—meeting Molly's friends is always wonderful, and they should all sit down.
(Rheea finds this spell fascinating but does not interrupt.)
The young man introduces himself as Neely Farmer and says his da works one of the farms just west of the city, near the power plant. It was mighty frightening for his family when the plant exploded, but they were sure grateful the Strangers were so quick about setting it to rights.
"Am I working alone?" He scratches his chin. "Oh, you must mean with... with..." He spares a nervous glance toward Councilwoman Rheea, whose nonplussed expression doesn't ease his nerves in the least. "There was my friends, of course, they were there, too. We were all thinking maybe we should go to the Bazaar and make some trouble for the ble—Blood folk. I..." He wrings his hands. Did someone put you up to this? "Eddy said it would be fun to bring Muters to The Last Meal. Make the Blood uncomfortable, is all."
When Molly asks where he intended to go, Neely puts his face in his hands. "I was scared. Ain't no one who wants to upset Prince Allairavar, him being the Lady's Master of the Guard."
Rheea draws back sharply at this phrasing, her eyes flashing. Kasik remains preoccupied with a paperweight.
"The Breaker? Oh, that's mine. Most of us landens carry one. It's..." He gives Rheea another nervous glance before lowering his voice and leaning closer to Aithne and Molly. "It ain't all the Blood who're as nice as them as in the Lady's Court. A smart man's gotta keep what's his safe. Including his life."
Then Neely pales. His face goes back in his hands and his spindly shoulders shudder. His hands muffle a great groan. "I didn't mean to. We was just trying to scare the Councilwoman, honest. She's said some right unfavorable things about the Guilds and us lately, and we was only trying to frighten her. But my finger just... it slipped. And then she was dead."
"And now witchblood grows where you murdered her," Rheea says coldly.
From a window, Kasik snorts. "That weed sprouts up all over Draega. Do you honestly believe a witch's death makes it grow in one place over another?" he asks, biting and short.
"It only grows where a witch's blood has been spilled in violence, you—" She breaks off, sinking back into herself. "I wouldn't expect you to understand."
Aithne's next question gets a shake of Neely's head. "Didn't mean to shoot her. Don't want to shoot no one else."
The last question produces outrage from both Kasik and Rheea, who being shouting so loudly that Neely's quiet "enter service?" goes almost entirely unnoticed. Both the Councilwoman and Kasik are offended by Aithne's question. Rheea because Aithne has no right to ask for a price on behalf of Vera's family and Kasik because Neely is a Crafter ("A shit one, but he's still one of ours and isn't beholden to your ridiculous etiquettes.").
It's at that point, Allairavar enters. "Your pissing and moaning could wake the dead," he says, gathering everyone up as Neely stares at the floor. "Time to go."
As they leave, Neely says he hopes he'll see Molly again soon and won't Molly apologize to Neely's mama, Sage Farmer? An hour later, he'll realize Molly worked Craft on him, but Neely is the kind of Crafter who finds Craft a puzzle, and he wonders how he might be able to replicate such an effect on his own.
no subject
Neither Rheea nor Kasik are surprised to find the young man is being held not in a cell but in a guestroom on the fourth floor of the Queen's Residence. Rheea's nose remains wrinkled from the moment she enters the residence to the moment she leaves, and Kasik constantly dabs at his sweating forehead. Both of them are noticeably uncomfortable, but the young man is not even though he remains trapped in a Gray-shielded room. Allairavar lets the group in but stays outside, leaning against the wall.
The young man himself is thin, with a hook nose and watery eyes. He fidgets, rising and giving Rheea and awkward bow. To Kasik, he stutters out a hello with the overawed expression of someone meeting a hero. Kasik dismisses him without hesitation and begins wandering through the room, peering at the sparse contents as if expecting the furniture to grow legs and walk around. It does not.
Molly casts his spell, and it works with ease. Immediately, the young man breaks into a smile and gives Molly an amiable hug. To Aithne, he extends a warm but more reserved greeting—meeting Molly's friends is always wonderful, and they should all sit down.
(Rheea finds this spell fascinating but does not interrupt.)
The young man introduces himself as Neely Farmer and says his da works one of the farms just west of the city, near the power plant. It was mighty frightening for his family when the plant exploded, but they were sure grateful the Strangers were so quick about setting it to rights.
"Am I working alone?" He scratches his chin. "Oh, you must mean with... with..." He spares a nervous glance toward Councilwoman Rheea, whose nonplussed expression doesn't ease his nerves in the least. "There was my friends, of course, they were there, too. We were all thinking maybe we should go to the Bazaar and make some trouble for the ble—Blood folk. I..." He wrings his hands. Did someone put you up to this? "Eddy said it would be fun to bring Muters to The Last Meal. Make the Blood uncomfortable, is all."
When Molly asks where he intended to go, Neely puts his face in his hands. "I was scared. Ain't no one who wants to upset Prince Allairavar, him being the Lady's Master of the Guard."
Rheea draws back sharply at this phrasing, her eyes flashing. Kasik remains preoccupied with a paperweight.
"The Breaker? Oh, that's mine. Most of us landens carry one. It's..." He gives Rheea another nervous glance before lowering his voice and leaning closer to Aithne and Molly. "It ain't all the Blood who're as nice as them as in the Lady's Court. A smart man's gotta keep what's his safe. Including his life."
Then Neely pales. His face goes back in his hands and his spindly shoulders shudder. His hands muffle a great groan. "I didn't mean to. We was just trying to scare the Councilwoman, honest. She's said some right unfavorable things about the Guilds and us lately, and we was only trying to frighten her. But my finger just... it slipped. And then she was dead."
"And now witchblood grows where you murdered her," Rheea says coldly.
From a window, Kasik snorts. "That weed sprouts up all over Draega. Do you honestly believe a witch's death makes it grow in one place over another?" he asks, biting and short.
"It only grows where a witch's blood has been spilled in violence, you—" She breaks off, sinking back into herself. "I wouldn't expect you to understand."
Aithne's next question gets a shake of Neely's head. "Didn't mean to shoot her. Don't want to shoot no one else."
The last question produces outrage from both Kasik and Rheea, who being shouting so loudly that Neely's quiet "enter service?" goes almost entirely unnoticed. Both the Councilwoman and Kasik are offended by Aithne's question. Rheea because Aithne has no right to ask for a price on behalf of Vera's family and Kasik because Neely is a Crafter ("A shit one, but he's still one of ours and isn't beholden to your ridiculous etiquettes.").
It's at that point, Allairavar enters. "Your pissing and moaning could wake the dead," he says, gathering everyone up as Neely stares at the floor. "Time to go."
As they leave, Neely says he hopes he'll see Molly again soon and won't Molly apologize to Neely's mama, Sage Farmer? An hour later, he'll realize Molly worked Craft on him, but Neely is the kind of Crafter who finds Craft a puzzle, and he wonders how he might be able to replicate such an effect on his own.