A few minutes had passed, and an Apo'nari man in thieving leathers approached Deventh's office door. He was summoned by notice of a job opportunity, and the anticipation caused his orange-striped tail and feline ears to twitch in unison. He rapped the door as he stepped in front of it and called out,
"Deventh, it is Tatsidi. I have come as requested."
Deventh answered the door a few moments later. Having caught a second wind, he'd found some time to readjust his unkempt hair, and he was refreshed enough to discuss work.
"Tatsidi, glad you could make it," he said, motioning to the seat in front of the desk. "Given the current circumstances, I greatly appreciate it. Your travels weren’t troubled, I hope?"
"No, the warning in your letter proved sufficient to keep me alert to danger. I am happy to say that I ran into none," Tatsidi answered, taking the seat occupied by Jessa moments prior. “Regardless, I would much rather suffer such dangers than stay in Greah beyond obligation; pirates are not as fun as they used to be." His tail wrapped around the chair, and he placed one leg over the other as he made himself comfortable. "So, what are these disappearances you wrote of? Are those perhaps related to the job opportunity?"
Deventh nodded. From atop a stack of books, he retrieved an open envelope. Its seal flaunted the garish image of a cockatoo encircled by a thrice-blooming hibiscus branch. As he passed the letter over to Tatsidi, he said, "The problem seems localized to the road between the city and the Raven Gate. People are disappearing in groups, indiscriminate of any identifying factors. Most of the Oath’s local chapter is out on other jobs for the time being, but it sounds like it's becoming urgent, so they were looking to enlist help with the investigation."
"Investigation?" Tatsidi asked, his eyes narrowing with concern at his mention of the warriors' guild. As he skimmed the page, his face scrunched into a slight grimace. "I realize I am the most experienced when it comes to these types of missions, but if I am to be truthful, I would much prefer something simpler. Something along the lines of killing a troll, or stealing a gem from the orc king." Shrugging his shoulders, Tatsidi crossed his arms over his chest. "What is my role in this, then?"
"Sounds like you're not terribly keen on the idea," Deventh deviated from the conversation to address a glaring point of concern, sharpening his eye contact. "I know you mentioned it's been a while since you've done this sort of work. In any case, it's not a requirement if you don't feel like taking it on. Has something in particular got you apprehensive?
"The thought of working with the Oath, in particular. Is this truly the best contract we could find? I have grown weary of working with those who do not have brains, and now you present to me the prospect of working with the least endowed of all." Tatsidi shook his head, not wanting to appear unwilling to help. "I will do this, but I will reserve the right to complain, as always."
"Fair enough," Deventh said, unable to fault Tatsidi for his annoyance with the warriors' guild's incompetence. "At least it's a job for now. I've a heavy suspicion they won't be 'helping' too much anyway, given the complicated nature of the task. They'll be out of our way for the most part. They'll need to spend some extra time bashing their skulls together before they can do the job."
"The Oath's work is never done, it would seem," Tatsidi said with a chuckle. "In that case, do you have a plan? Will any of our other members be coming back from their endeavors to assist us?"
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“We’re to meet our contact in the next couple of days," Deventh began, "The useful information we have as of now is limited, but we should find out more from him. As for the others, I haven’t asked anyone else. If I'm being forthright, I'm not inclined to count on any of them turning up on time. Anna will be more than enough help, and I believe they were also seeking out some volunteers outside of their usual reserve.”
Tension hung in the air. Whiskers twitching, Tatsidi coiled his tail.
“This is… Unusual.”
“How so?”
“I have always known the two of you to have every excruciating detail planned before calling upon me. But now that is not so.”
“I suppose that’s right. I wanted to do things a bit differently this time.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, Anna and I discussed including you from the beginning. Figured it's time for you to work as our equal from now on, if you're up for it," said Deventh. The Apo’na’s eyes widened at his offer.
"You would trust Tatsidi with such a position?" he asked as he chuckled and gave a small bow in his seat. "I am humbled, kind guildmaster. I would be delighted to help in such endeavors."
"Aye, should I not trust our most consistent and capable member?" Deventh asked lightheartedly. A half-smile tugged at the corner of his lips; as humbled as Tatsidi felt to be included, Deventh held the same sentiment toward having a loyal guild member. This momentary reflection left a mutual silence to linger until Tatsidi took the initiative.
"So, where should we begin?"
"We'll need all the information we can get. First, we’ll meet with our contact, see if there are any developments, and try to get at least a few names of people who have gone missing. Then we'll go from there."
"Simple enough. If the Oath enlists help from other sources, I and perhaps a few others could snoop around Kho'Gul while the rest patrol the roads. It would be most efficient to split up and cover more ground," Tatsidi mused, the gears in his head turning. "You and I could lead the former of course, with Anna leading the latter. What do you think?"
"I think the city watch could stand to be more attentive," Deventh quipped, "But that may be a decent start. We can discuss more details whenever Anna gets back, though. That's all I had for now."
"Very well. If that is all, I would like to get some shut-eye. I've only just gotten back to Grimros, after all." As if confirming his statement, a yawn escaped him, his jaw extending much further than that of a man or elf.
"Aye, that's a good idea," Deventh said, catching Tatsidi's yawn which stole away his wakefulness in an instant. "Have a good rest, Tatsidi."
"Indeed, I will be sure to do so." With one more bow, less sarcastic than the last, Tatsidi stood and made his way to the door. Before his hand gripped the doorknob, however, he recalled an incident with Jessa and took pause. "Oh, I have one more question. Did you make Miss Bisset cry earlier?" he asked, turning around with a quizzical glint in his eye.
Deventh looked up at Tatsidi and returned his quizzical stare, slowly raising a brow as if anticipating his reassurance that it was merely a jest. "Did I – what?"
"Yes. I heard her crying in Anna's office. She claimed that the cold in Grimros has her feeling sick, but I am not so sure." A growling hum resembling a purr rumbled from Tatsidi's chest, and a smirk played across his feline lips. "Interesting."
"More than interesting, I'd say... Odd. We spoke briefly and she wanted to join us," explained Deventh. "Though I'm not sure why. Regardless, I interviewed her, but I haven't even given her an answer yet, so unless something happened between here and Anna's office, I'm at a loss."
"Quite the odd one indeed," Tatsidi nodded, perplexed by the girl's behavior. "Either way, I'd like to find sleep before it escapes over the mountains. Good night."
As soon as he left, Deventh slumped back in his chair and gazed at the rugged stone ceiling, tracing its jagged lines with his eyes. Wondering what could have discomposed Jessa to the point of crying, he let his eyes wander down to his desk. The corner of a particular piece of paper caught his attention.
From beneath an open book of hand-drawn schematics, the previous month’s overdue rent note taunted him once more. Deventh sunk back further into his chair, shaking his head as he relented to the heaviness of his eyelids. His exhaustion and uncertainty called forth an expletive in his mother tongue.
"Vrok," he muttered.