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[Kvothe du Ikana]

A voice responded out of the darkness, the murky cloud of magic that surrounded them in the moment. Kvothe could feel almost feel Alaric, which was the oddest sensation. Kvothe hadn't felt anything in so long. Perhaps it was the power the flowed through him, perhaps it was simply a moment of nostalgia. Whatever it was. More memories came flooding in, filling him with images and voices of times long past. Of people long dead. Of a life lived so long ago. ₁

Despite himself and the pain that flowed through him at reliving that time, Kvothe turned his expressionless mask towards Kaylin,

"Speak and he will hear you."

The connection was made and the tether between the mask's was firm. For the moment, it was as if they all stood together in the same room. Kvothe could almost see Alaric's figure swirling in the miasma that clouded the crystal in the center of the room. The pulsing light dulled the senses and Kvothe stared limply, holding on to the memories that had come in a flash. The vision of her face and the sound of her voice. A feather in the breeze. A ray of light on the soul. All buried in the soil. Dead. Kvothe's heart folded a bit as he listened for what Kaylin would have to say.

___________

₁ - Flashback

[Kaylin]

"A- Archon?" She spoke timidly at first but then her senses picked upon the form of Alaric and latched on. The whisper of the stone walls retreated as she clung to the connection. "I wanted to find out what I can do. Sitting here is wearing on me and I'm ready to move on." She didn't mention that she longed to see the sky during the daylight hours no that her thoughts threatened to overpower her own will. No, these thoughts remained silent and she waited to see or hear what Alaric would say.

She was still slightly injured and a long journey would be out of the question, but she could perhaps allow herself to ride a horse some place. There might be a message Alaric wished to send or some reports that needed tending to. With her survival skills, it would not be hard to find a task that Kaylin could complete out on her own. She could even work as a scout if the need was there. She only hoped that he wouldn't assign her to observe one target they both knew. Her suspicions about the relationship between Alaric and Richard were still in place, though she could not substantiate either's position with any real facts. It was a feeling that was hard to shake, that was all.

[Kvothe du Ikana]

"I suppose I've been cramped up in this place for long enough, I'll accompany the girl."

Kvothe said, realizing that Alaric had addressed him in a sideways sort of fashion. Something he said though puzzled the Stalfos a bit,

"I must be mistaken. Do you intend for us to tell the King of the Gerudo that we murdered members of his sister tribe in order to frame the Regent King of Hyrule?"

The King of Ikana posed into the empty air. The magic of the crystal stole his voice and sent it far away, where it would echo into Alaric's head. He still wasn't entirely sure how this spell worked or how Alaric had come across such a powerful artifact. Another time for those questions, perhaps. The thought of meeting yet another King interested Kvothe. What would a male Gerudo even look like? The Stalfos heard that only one was born every hundred years. How could such a thing possibly be? Kvothe's gaze searched the pulsing crystal and its shifting shapes as he waited for Alaric's response.

[Kaylin]

Kaylin blanched at the announcement of murder. Had she her eyes open, she might have looked at Kvothe in her shock, hoping to read either truth or deception there. It would have been pointless of course; he had no facial features with which to express his feelings or thoughts. What did he mean that they murdered the gerudo? She knew better than to question what had been stated; being a slave for years she had, on more than one occasion, learned to keep her mouth shut.

She said nothing and waited for Alaric to respond to what Kvothe had just confessed to. The Stalfos had a point and it would be interesting to see what Alaric said. Killing the allies and kin of a king did not often grant one his favor. Though when she considered it, she didn't know how that would apply to Prince or soon to be King Logain who had killed his own brother. Kaylin supposed that was just how it went when one had a sole man with all the power of the Kingdom; people were bound to challenge it and seek it for themselves at any cost. The woman was glad that her homeland had done away with Kings and Queens. It seemed to bring nothing but backstabbing and lies and allowed for a seedy population such as the Gerudo to thrive. No, there was no good to be found in a pyramid of power. Here in her country power came from the governed and those who were in power were subject to their subjects. Even a mayor like Alaric could be overthrown from his seat if the people wished it.

[Kvothe du Ikana]

Alaric was seemed slightly displeased about Kvothe's letting out the truth of the fate of the Gerudo. Kvothe had anticipated that, but there was no reason why Kaylin should not know the truth. If she was truly among their order and her loyalties were clear, there was no reason for her not to know. What difference did it make? Unless, of course, Alaric still did not totally trust her either. All of this felt pointless, of course. Kvothe would survive to see the death of everyone that walked the land. These trivial matters were barely noticeable to him at all. Of course, he wanted their plans to succeed, but if Kaylin was to betray their order; the death of the Gerudo was the least valuable information she currently held.

Besides, she had no love for those women either. They had threatened her life and the lives of those she had been traveling with; people that she clearly felt connected to. Her silence on the matter had long since proven that she was more than a captive of Richard's. She might not have even been that much. It was difficult to tell.

There was a final message whispered to Kvothe, for only him to hear. Guilt? So, Alaric was concerned over her loyalties. The living were such frail things. The King turned his expressionless mask toward's Kaylin,

"Shall we go then?"

[Kaylin]

The warrior woman was unsure what to make of the proclaimation that Alaric made. His assumptions were correct; the traditionalist and the pirate factions of the gerudo nation were not on the friendliest of terms. She got the feeling that perhaps her own previous troupe had not even been a favorite among the landlocked gerudo tribes. There were probably close to three factions that she could figure. The Terminian women and their king who pirated the high seas and disdained the land that their sisters and victims clung to. There were two factions in the Hyrulean tribes. Some had converted over to honorable trades and become very good tradeswomen who followed the laws and still made it rich. Then there were the traditionalists who clung to the old ways of robbing the ill-fated and weak. They thrived on prey that could be overpowered and made their wealth on the blackmarket. She suspected that the pirate women and the raiders had some sort of network in which to trade with each other, but that didn't mean they were on good terms with one another.

She still considered it a good idea to play it safe. As she disconnected from the wall and the spell, she took off her mask. A rush of fresh air covered her and relief washed over her. "I suppose we should. I might have to buy a few things in town seeing as my bag was never delivered. Never should have trusted that Maynie but I didn't think she had the guts to steal some rags from me. I guess robbing the Prince of Hyrule gave her more bravado than I thought. In any event we should stick close to the docks. I don't need to be seen in town just yet and you will likely draw a crowd."

She considered advising Kvothe on how she anticipated the Gerudos to react, but now was perhaps not the best time. Besides, they had a nice long river ride and then a short sea voyage to talk things out. "I'll meet you at the door." The woman returned to her room and gathered up her weaponry. Most of it remained her person, but the bow was cumbersome in the narrow halls and so she took a moment to retrieve it.

They met at the mouth of the cave and near the entrance. Kaylin was ready to go and they soon departed.

((bunnying us out of here. Let me know if I did wrong.))