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[latkje]

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[latkje]

[ Nash raises an eyebrow at that. Caleria is a fortress city and the jail here isn't kind to traitors, something Nash knows from extensive personal experience. ]

You seem pretty proximate with one on your right hand.

[ But no, that was a rhetorical question. ]

And the five elemental runes are all connected. That's why the renegade Bishop did the ritual the way that he did.

[trueltning_fury]

[he matches that eyebrow-raise with one of his own. Touche.]

And Harmonia is only getting that one over my dead body, which I'm sure is their intention.

[he sips casually at his ale, contemplating the possibilities here. While Nash can be a mystery in a lot of ways, Geddoe is sure he's not putting the current bearer of True Water under scrutiny for reasons.]

Having spent so many years close to two of them, I've noticed as much. Hm, since the good Bishop doesn't get to leave Crystal Valley anytime he wants, you've decided to come looking for another element to use as a tracking device.

[better him than Hugo though...]

[latkje]

[ He opens his arms, halfway between shrug and surrender. It's a studiously innocent look, which is to say, not really innocent at all. ]

I haven't told anyone about what you have underneath those intimidating gauntlets of yours, but I'm not the only one who knows, am I?

[ Geddoe's whole unit, for one, plus the entire Firebringer leadership. Nash didn't think any of those would rat Geddoe out to Harmonia, himself excepted, but Luc had found out, and Albert Silverberg knew, and there's no paragon of loyalty like Albert Silverberg, is there? So, really, it was only a matter of time before someone else put the whole picture together.

Nash wasn't so naive to think Geddoe trusted him. Only an idiot would trust him. But he's betting that Geddoe might trust Nash more than whatever the Holy Kingdom had under door number two. ]

Do you know what they say about wolves in Zelant? It's better to let one in than to try and keep the whole pack out.

[trueltning_fury]

[Door number two is exactly what he's worried about, Nash seems to exist as the better of all the evils, no matter what the situation. He's right, too - it's not just the hundred people who intimately brushed shoulders with him during the war, it's anyone who caught a glimpse of him using a lightning spell on a much higher level than anything they had. And he didn't exactly restrain himself from using it once the cat was out of the bag and two more True Runes showed up.

Geddoe sighs to himself, right hand curling loosely into a fist on the table in front of him.]

And then what, pat it and feed it and hope it doesn't rip my arm off?

[he knows full well the Twelfth will follow him anywhere, but especially if he tries any secretive missions to hunt for a Rune. Part of the reason he hasn't set out yet is an internal debate over whether that's prudent. Nash, at least, could share in all the information, but if they found it...]

You know that if I had you looking over my shoulder when I found it, that would mean I would have to kill you.

[latkje]

[ What Nash is hoping is that he doesn't find the thing or it doesn't want to be found, and then he can file a report and this whole business will be done with. ]

True Runes do what they want, no?

[ He shrugs. If they actually found the thing, who knows what it would do? Who knows what it would want? Maybe they could seal it there. ]

And yeah, I know you might try. [ What a stupid thing to say. ] I don't like to brag, Geddoe, but I'm extremely good at running away from my problems. [ He doesn't seem overly worried, and takes another sip of his ale, frowning. Has this stuff been watered down? ]

What would you do after you killed me?

[trueltning_fury]

[ugh you don't have to tell him twice, they sure do. As well he knows, staring at the back of his gloved hand.]

I can't really say. It depends on a multitude of factors, not the least of which are whether word gets back to Sasarai, and what that word is. [there goes the eyebrow again] Nothing personal, Nash, you know how it is preventing witnesses from returning to make reports.

[or taking that Rune at swordpoint...]

I'm your only lead, aren't I? Hugo and Chris are busy with the affairs of their homelands, and probably don't want to go Rune-hunting.

[latkje]

Hmmm? I've abducted the Silver Maiden before. [ A shrug. ] I think she liked it. [ Sasarai could do this himself if he didn't have people to answer to in Crystal Valley. ]

But you're a captain in our Southern Frontier Defense Force. So you should be amenable to our orders.

[trueltning_fury]

[Geddoe gives him the driest of dry looks over his tankard]

If you can manage to get her out from under the noses of her protective harem, I'll buy your drinks next time.

[siiiip] ...so it's an order, is it?

[latkje]

Ah, many doubt her capacity for romance, but beneath the armor, Chris Lightfellow is a woman the same as any other. [ His hands leave his tankard to make an appropriately dramatic gesture with his hands. If he weren't already married. ]

It could be. [ He tilts his head, hand falling back on the table. ] How much has Wang told you about me?

[ Not that anyone in the SFDF knew his whole story. He'd joined to escape his past and disappear. He hadn't been alone in that. ]

[trueltning_fury]

[snorts. He doubts half of that story.]

He was naturally a bit stingy on details, but he told me enough. Things I probably could have found out if I dug into records, more or less. He's convenient like that. I mainly wanted to know how the two of you were acquainted, and his story checked out.

[latkje]

Not everything gets put into reports, you know, even when I'm writing them.

[ He doesn't drink any more, but peers into his glass like a curious child, frowning. Nash isn't great at sitting still, it seems. ]

It's just that all this talk of orders reminded me of a story.

[trueltning_fury]

Oh? [with a finger tapping idly against his mug] Then you'd best tell it, I suppose. I could use an interesting story to liven things up.

[and maybe gain a little insight, if that's where Nash is going with his hints]

[latkje]

Mmm, well. There was a lot of complicated stuff you don't have to worry about , but suffice to say I had to escape from the prison under the fort here. [ As you do. ] They'd just put some First Class incompetent in charge, and he'd left the place guarded with novices, so it wasn't too hard. I just needed to get to the warehouse, where they were keeping my stuff, and I could make a nice break for it.

[ He takes another sip of his ale, finally. ]

Except there, guarding all my equipment, was Wang. Do they still use the graveyard shift as a punishment for drunkenness? [ But apparently that's not a question Geddoe was actually supposed to answer, because Nash keeps talking. ] Anyway, I thought maybe he'd just let me go, on account of how I didn't deserve to be locked up in the first place, but no dice. He told me, "I'm a dutiful man. And it's my watch tonight." Can you believe it?

So we fight, and, truth be told, without my weapons I was just hanging on. [ Joker is an expert martial artist, and Nash is… not. ] But then all of a sudden, he just says, "Time's up."

The first light of dawn was peaking through the window. Turns out he had to report for a mission first thing in the morning. So he followed his orders to the letter and let me escape.

[trueltning_fury]

[oho, so those were the details. Joker had only ever said 'eh we clashed a bit once but I had better things to do' and that was that. Geddoe's good eye narrows in a sly look, vaguely amused]

To the letter, huh? I suppose that's one way to look at it. Orders can be a curse but sometimes, a blessing in disguise.

[he can see where Nash is going with this. An order would make it very easy to make excuses for why he's prowling the Grasslands or the Northern Outlands when Harmonia needs defense elsewhere, but...]

...orders for the Twelfth means you'd get to rub shoulders with the other four as well. Have you ever camped with Ace?

[latkje]

Do I look like I want to?

[ Does anyone? ]

[trueltning_fury]

[okay that deserves a rare chuckle out of him]

Fair warning, then. Do you really want to make it an order?

[he leaves the question hanging for a moment and them continues right on ahead] ...or you could rely on the fact that our intentions, such as they are, align, at least until the Rune is found. Then all bets are off. But they would be, even if I'm ordered to accompany you anywhere.

[latkje]

Geddoe, I only give orders that I know will be carried out to the letter. And you've already told me enough to damn you in a few lines of my theoretical report. [ There are supposed to be trials, but that didn't always happen, especially in the military. ]

So if that's really what you're worried about, it would be better to kill me now. [ He tilts his head toward the bartender. ] Him too. [ Nothing personal, witnesses, et cetera. He's been to assassin school. ]

[trueltning_fury]

[judging by the wry twitch of an eyebrow, he knows, and it's deliberate. He's been around too many blocks to know that sometimes you have to feed info to get info. But most people aren't as shrewd as Nash.]

It would save a lot of time, but on the other hand, I'd miss out on whatever other useful things you can do for me in the meantime.

[he'll leave it at that, for now. It's still too early to decide whether he's up for a dangerous team-up or if he'll be going his own way at the end of the day]

Not sure how much longer I'll be on the payroll as it is. We'll see.

[latkje]

And you trust me enough to let me leave here alive. I'm just asking you to trust me a little bit further. [ If they actually find that Rune, it will go bad. But that's what happens when anyone finds a Rune. ]

It could make getting out of the Defense Force easier if that's really how you want to play it.

[trueltning_fury]

[it's not himself Geddoe is concerned about, but his unit. They're already in too deep, privy to his secret and guilty by association. He's fairly certain that if he wanted to leave today, he could just walk off into the wilderness and never report back in and that would be enough...but the rest of the unit would be put in danger if he did so. He likes those idiots, he's not leaving them high and dry like some runebearers of old cough cough]

Enough, yes. What's your idea, then?

[latkje]

If I can prove that the stupid thing isn't there, Harmonia doesn't have a reason to send other operatives tromping through the Grasslands to look for it. Or for someone down the line to invade in hopes of reclaiming the thing. [ Not that an invasion was likely to win the Rune back, but it was a pretty justification for expansionist impulses. Someone might try it. ]

And you'd look good. I could recommend transfer to a better paying post. [ One that it would be easier to slip away from. ] It'd buy you time. [ Nash has another idea, but it would involve more creative honesty on his part. And Geddoe probably actually would have to trust him. ]

[trueltning_fury]

[true, as much as Geddoe would like to hope that new treaty would be enough to hold them back, Harmonia might be willing to bend their promises just a bit in order to gain a True Rune. He sighs noisily, pondering the worst.]

You mean the ceremonial site north of the Great Hollow. [the first place to start looking, he was about to consider doing so himself] The Lizard Clan is guarding it closely, but Chief Dupa would probably let familiar faces like ours pass.

[he tosses back some of his drink and then shakes his head] No transfers. I'm with the Twelfth for their sake, not mine. If you can't ensure their safety, then I want no special treatment.

[latkje]

I know where it is. [ Albert Silverberg told him, remember? ]

Please. I can't ensure anyone's safety in the SFDF. [ That's the entire point. ] But if you were formally separated, they couldn't go after your unit for any of your shortcomings.

[ That's what he meant. ] It's better than leaving in the middle of the night.

[ Which is a topic he's been lectured on plenty, thank you. ]

[trueltning_fury]

[damn, so Nash has guessed at his intentions. It's not hard when anyone looks at the surface Geddoe with his lack of emotional investment in things and assume he'd just fuck off to nowhere. Which isn't wrong.

His frown deepens.]

If formal separation were so easy I would simply quit. But they'll follow me. [idiots. loveable idiots]

Let's stop playing coy and be plain about it, Nash. What do you want of me? That any other Defense Force unit or runebearer can't provide you...

[latkje]

[ Alright, hold that thought, there's something he has to say— ]

You think this is me playing coy?

[ He's only pulled one, maybe two strings. That's not enough to pluck a lyre.

Maybe he's been in Crystal Valley for too long. ]