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| Details |
| Author: | inkie |
| Summary: | Harvey Morningdew, in prison after the baffling and bloody events of October 2nd, receives a visitor. The visitor is annoyed. |
| Rating: | M for Mature 17+ |
The man who strides into the guardroom of Stormwind City's jail at the precise stroke of the eighth morning bell wears the immaculate blue-and-gold uniform of a highly ranked Alliance naval officer, and does not appear to be in a mood for anyone's bullshit. His jaw is set, his gaze black with barely-contained fury.
"The warden," he snaps at the nearest guard, who straightens guiltily to attention at his tone and points at the bluff, square-built man who is already approaching uneasily. Siamus turns his ire on this one. "Vice Admiral Fallon," he says, his enunciation crisp with frost. "Stormwind House of Nobles. Here to see the death knight, Morningdew. I have clearance."
He does not produce any actual clearance. Go on, ask him for his papers. He dares you.
The warden does not ask him. "This way, sir," he says politely, and turns toward the barred door that leads down into the jail, already reaching for the heavy key ring on his belt.
Harvey Morningdew is locked away in the deepest of the prison's depths, in a cell towards the back. Alone. He is absent his runesword, but his armor remains, almost as if no one wanted to try prying it off him. The cell is small, but he paces it regardless, agitation in his expression.
Siamus dismisses the warden with a curt nod, and watches narrowly as he departs. When the man is gone, Siamus turns to Harvey in his cell. "Morningdew," he says, his tone still ice. "Do ye care to tell me what in the hell ye've done?"
"If I knew that, I wouldn't be in this hole," Harvey snaps, his eyes glowing intensely as they focus on his visitor. He takes a deep, though forced breath, and the glow dies down a little. "Apologies. This is not an ideal situation for me either. If I could explain what happened, I would, but I am myself at a loss."
Siamus stares at him in furious disbelief. After a moment, he closes his eyes. When he opens them again, his manner is still sharp-edged and tense, but some of the rage has receded in favor of cold reason. "You are telling me," he says, "that ye don't know what happened or how? Am I understanding that aright?"
"I left the house to check the mail," Harvey says slowly, perhaps to better contain his irritation. "Then suddenly everything was… bright. Painful. When that feeling subsided, three priests were dead at my feet. That is all I know."
Siamus considers this, watching Harvey narrowly and hard-eyed. After a moment, he turns decisively and moves to the wall across from the cell, leans against it and folds his arms. "Light-priests," he says grimly. "Any chance they ambushed ye? Could that have been the brightness, the pain?"
Good work, Harvey, you have made friends with probably the one nobleman in Stormwind who is immediately ready to distrust priests of the Light.
"I suppose it is possible, though there was no sign of damage to myself or my armor." Harvey frowns. "But why would they attack? It clearly did not go well for them."
Siamus broods on this for a time. He smooths an end of his moustache absently, straightens from the wall, paces restlessly a short distance and then back again. "D'ye know why I'm in Stormwind rather than the north right now?" he asks grimly. This is apparently a rhetorical question, because he doesn't wait for Harvey to guess. "Because I've spoken wi' your Roper, I've set out my positions, and I'm here to meet wi' a man about drafting a legislative proposal in support of death knight citizenship."
He pauses his pacing to fix Harvey with a look. "Ye can see, I imagine, how this will fuck all of that. And I am not interested in starting my political career with a public disaster of this magnitude. Our own bloody Wishock situation." He rakes a hand through his hair.
(Oh, but he said our. That's… promising?)
"Have they been identified?" he asks Harvey. "The three priests? Please don't tell me they're bloody orphanage matrons."
"I had hoped someone might tell me." Harvey rattles the bars a little. "I do not get a lot of information in here, and Ralaea…" His expression twists in pain and he lowers his gaze. "I have not seen her since the night of. Does Roper know the situation?"
"I don't know," says Siamus. "I haven't spoken wi' him since returning here. I can write, if ye'd like me to. Where is the Westwind girl? Do ye know?"
Harvey curses under his breath. "She could be anywhere by now," he mutters, his fingers beginning to scrape on his armor. "Ralaea has a death knight after her. Scourge. Last month her brother and her friend were taken, and a rescue had to be organized. They are safe now, but I was keeping her… away from the situation, waiting for a good time to broach the subject. That… did not happen in time. The death knight could strike any time. Roper needs to know."
"The rescue," Siamus says. He nods once. "He mentioned it, aye. I'll let him know of this. D'ye know where Westwind would have gone? Is she likely still in Stormwind? I have… people who can look into it."
"Best case scenario is, she went to Ironforge and Estel from Cobalt Company is looking after her," Harvey says. His grim expression does not suggest this is likely. "Second best scenario, she decided to stay at home. I can give you the address to check. Otherwise… she may have gone to check on her brother. That, I do not see going well. She never told them the death knight had allies after her friend. Worst case scenario…" He pauses, as if saying the words might make them come true. "Worst case, she may run off to Northrend again. That, more than anything, cannot happen."
"She's Cobalt, aye? I can speak wi' Captain Sparkwire and be sure they've got a rein on her, keep her clear of Northrend. Give me the address and I'll have a look in there. Estel from Cobalt Company is whom? I don't know the name."
Harvey recites the address of a small house in Old Town, then explains, "Estel is a priestess working at a clinic in Ironforge. Ralaea has been seeing her for medical reasons. Ismene Hazan also works at the clinic, and Niris Ference as well. Perhaps you are more familiar with them?"
"Lady Ference and Hazan's wife? Aye, those two I know. All right." Siamus stands still for a moment, staring shrewdly into space, and then pins another hard look on Harvey. "I need ye to answer me on your word as a gentleman, Morningdew — for your sake and the girl's. Do ye believe honestly that ye might have done this thing yourself, in some kind of… fit? Or do ye believe that ye've been… set up in some way?"
Harvey's chin rises and he glowers at Siamus. "I have far better control than to have a fit in the middle of Stormwind." It's almost bragging. The expression fades with another deep breath. "No, I… I would not have done that. If I could only remember…" He sweeps a hand through his hair. "The timing… I believe the timing works out too well for the Scourge death knight, Kaela Mondragon. It could hardly be a coincidence."
Siamus studies him. At last he nods. "Do ye have a lawyer?"
"He died during the Fall of Lordaeron," Harvey says without hesitation. "If he has risen again, I doubt he will be of much use to me. I did not see him at Acherus."
Siamus blinks. He barks a single, sharp syllable of laughter: Ha. "Well, then, that won't do," he says dryly. "I'll see what I can arrange." He frowns thoughtfully and smooths his moustache again. "If we can get at the truth of it, we might even be able to turn it to our advantage, politically. 'Innocent Ebon knight turned scapegoat,' that kind of thing." He contemplates this angle a moment longer, and then focuses on Harvey again. "Is there anything else ye need in here?"
"My runesword would be appreciated. Seeing as I do not intend to wage a one-man war on Stormwind, escape is not in the cards," Harvey says. "And that blade… I would say that it is bound to me, though in truth, it feels the opposite. Being without it feels the same as being without a piece of my soul. The pull of it steadily grows stronger, and I fear… Well. Let us say I am of use to no one without a soul."
Siamus arches a sardonic brow. "They're not going to let an accused murderer — let alone an Ebon knight — have a weapon in his cell. How near do ye need it for your well-being?"
"If I can at least see it… I will make do with that," Harvey replies. "It is, of course, to the benefit of everyone if this is resolved sooner than later. I have better control than most, but even I have my limits."
"I'll speak wi' them about having it brought in view of ye, here in the hall," Siamus says. "And I'll be giving them my word, ye understand, so I'll expect ye to honor that as a gentleman. If they'll not do it on my word, I'll speak wi'… a person I know who can make it happen."
"I appreciate your efforts either way," Harvey says, bowing. He does not bow as deeply as he perhaps intends, as though some part of him is fighting the very idea, running instead on the certain truth that Siamus should be bowing before him, no, groveling at his feet, for he is the Lord of Blood, and — Harvey straightens. "Rest assured, I will not betray your trust." There is sincerity in his voice, if not the bow.
Siamus is not the sort of man who takes much notice of the particular degree of a bow, so the internal struggles of the Lord of Blood go unremarked by the exasperated Vice Admiral (not of Blood). "Good," he says, and nods brusquely. "I'll do what I can. I'll be in touch wi' Roper and see about the Westwind girl. I'll see ye get your sword and a lawyer as soon as can be managed, though I'll thank ye to rely on the latter rather than the former in dealing wi' all this. Anything else?"
"Mondragon's head would be nice, but if you succeed in that, I would owe you more than I can afford to give." Harvey shakes his head. "No, I will endure as is. I am no stranger to such accommodations." He motions around at the cell.
"Very well. Ye'll hear from me." Siamus tilts his head and considers Harvey for a further moment, then steps up to the bars of the cell and offers his hand through for a shake.
Another deep breath follows before Harvey takes his hand firmly and shakes it. "Whatever happens to me is secondary to Ralaea's safety. Remember that."
"I'll bear it in mind," Siamus says mildly. "Ye'll hear as soon as I find her." He steps away from the cell, nods courteously to Harvey, and then turns to stride back up the corridor to the barred door and the guardroom beyond.