(2024-11-16) A Chat With the Wind

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Author:	inkie
Summary:	Siamus Fallon follows up with Reniya Hartrim the morning after the latter's untimely demise.
Rating:	T for Teen

Arc: The Red String Game

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References to character death, kidnapping, violence; light sexual innuendo

Grey skies greet Fallon House the afternoon following Reniya’s unexpected return, complete with a light — some might say peaceful — drizzle of rain. Reniya, still recovering from the eventful end to his several day captivity, along with his appointed guard, Joelle, sits outside near the cliffs, watching the rain fall into the ocean. The pair of them are silent, but it’s a companionable silence, something they’ve shared many times before.

Footsteps on wet grass do not exactly carry — certainly not above the susurrus of rain and sea — so neither gentleman could be faulted if he is startled when Siamus Fallon's voice breaks the quiet.

"Am I intruding?"

The question is itself offered quietly, respectful of the scene and setting. Siamus is standing behind them on the grass, dressed in casual, workmanlike fashion, his hands in the pockets of his waxed canvas jacket. He's raked his damp hair back from his face; it's darkened almost to black in the rain, and the ends of it are curling wildly.

Both men turn to look, Joelle's eyes a dark chocolate calm, and Reniya's a blue-green tide of eagerness and energy — energy that his body cannot yet keep up with.

Reniya smiles and gestures, offering him a seat. "Sorry for leavin' you early last night," he says. "The day was more stimulating than expected. It took its toll."

"Aye, well, that's fair," Siamus agrees, and comes forward to settle comfortably on the ground beside Ren. "And far preferable to the way ye might have left us even earlier." He looks Ren over. "Have ye eaten and all?" His gaze moves past Ren to Joelle. Has he, Guard Puppy?

"Adrin said he should eat when he wakes," Joelle says. "I asked Moirin to bring some."

Reniya returns his gaze to the sea. "Lathrik told me I died for a bit, there. Doesn't feel real, aye? I remember seein' him arrive in a panic, and tryin' to talk to 'im, but everything faded out on me."

Siamus nods to Joelle and then turns his gaze outward to follow Ren's. "Aye, well. Ye gave a great many people a hell of a turn there, ye did. But all's well. Dinnsfield's owed more gratitude than the man'll be willing to claim in his lifetime, I'm afraid. You're lucky in your friends, Hartrim."

"'Twasn't luck in his case, it was hard work," Reniya says. "The man was a proper sea urchin in his youth. Prickly, and if he couldn't put it in his mouth, he didn't want anythin' to do with it."

Siamus is silent for a time. He may be meditating on the grey sea. He may be considering the sorts of things one can put in one's mouth.

"Well then, you're a man with a talent for friends," he says. "Speaking of which, have ye spoken with Mr. Moores or Miss Verglas yet today?"

"Nah. I was overdue a chat with the wind," Reniya says, lifting his gaze to the sky. "Do me a favor, mate. Never send me to that shite hole again."

Siamus smiles faintly at the sea. "I did tell ye I never could stand the place for more than a passing-through. But if ye like, I'll be sorry for the whole business. I'd not have sent ye at all, had I known what shape ye'd come back in. Which is not, mind ye, to say ye didn't handle the thing well, or that I wouldn't trust ye with another job. Just that a man can have regrets when a thing like that happens to a friend."

Reniya gives him a reassuring bump with his shoulder. "Ah, 'twasn't so bad. Worst pain I've felt in my life, a new scar to show, but other'n that. All told, I'd've had a better shot on my own, but as it was, I couldn't leave ol' Adrin to face 'em alone. Turns out I'm not as durable as Lathrik."

"Well," says Siamus dryly, "we can find consolation in the fact that pain passes, and ladies do appreciate a good scar."

"Cheers, mate," Reniya says. "Speakin' of. Tabby Cat alright?"

Siamus gives a single, very slight nod; it does not seem an answer to Ren's question, but as though he is checking an item off a mental list with some satisfaction. "Ye will want to speak with her yourself at some point today, I expect. She's been very well, here, but she was badly worried for ye last night."

"S'pose I've a whole house t'speak with on that today," Reniya says. "Sorry for the trouble."

Siamus lifts a hand to clasp Ren's shoulder briefly. "Would've been worse if it had turned out the other way in the end, aye? Now you're the one will have to make up for giving everyone a fright by putting up wi' their relief. Which I expect will be messy." Ugh, emotions. Sorry they're about to get on you, buddy. "But we're always glad to help." He pauses. "Did Miss Verglas tell ye at any point that she knows how to find Everdell?"

"Oi. Did she tell you?" Reniya asks. "I had a feeling, but then the goblin's crew started sniffin' around as it were, so I tried to keep 'em off 'er."

"Aye," says Siamus. "She told me a number of things. I can't tell whether it was my native rakish charm or the fact that she's feeling guilty as all hell and doesn't quite believe yet that I'm not going to see her hanged."

"Can't hardly blame the lass for bein' skittish, all things considered," Reniya says with a breathy chuckle. "She was in over her head. Still is, until the crew that did for me is gone." He tilts his head and observes Siamus. "What are you plannin' to do with 'er?"

"I haven't decided yet," Siamus says thoughtfully to the distant water. "I'm not going to hang her — though the fact she asked to be allowed to take her dress off before her death did make it worth a brief consideration, in view of the evening I'd otherwise had — but what I do decide to do will depend a great deal on her and how much she wishes to cooperate. I've not made any threats and I don't mean to; I don't operate that way.

"I know she's not wi' the Scourge or Mondragon any longer, and if we sentenced to death every person who ever defected from a cult on the grounds that they used to be in a cult, there's significantly less incentive for any of them to leave a cult, isn't there?"

Reniya smiles. "Aye. She's done right by me, so I'd not like t'see her suffer. If she's told you she can find our mage, she'll likely see it through. Wish I could tell you why Mondragon convinced 'er to leave the Scourge."

"Well, perhaps we'll puzzle it out eventually. Mondragon seems to have gotten up to several inexplicable things, in between all the murders and abductions and so on." Siamus rakes a hand through his wet hair and tips his face up into the light rain briefly, his eyes closed. "As I expect she's got a warmer feeling toward you than she has toward me, I'd be obliged if ye could reassure her we don't carry out summary executions here, and that if in fact she is in continuing danger from these… people, we'll be glad to see her safe here while they're still at large."

Reniya laughs. "I'll let 'er know," he says. "She's a lifelong resident of Dalaran, aside from a bit of a displacement period when 'twas destroyed, so she's got no place to be if she can't go home. Thanks for puttin' 'er up meantime."

Siamus does not bother to hide the face he makes at lifelong resident of Dalaran. Ew. "Ye may have discerned by now," he says dryly, "that we're always glad to offer hospitality. What can ye tell me about the people who held ye?" He glances sidelong. "If ye'd rather not discuss it right now, I understand, but I'd like to hear it while it's fresh, if possible."

Reniya gives him a knowing look and a shrug. "Now, why wouldn't I like to discuss it? They were an interesting sort, aye? Small-ish group, led by a goblin who at least had the appearance of success — well dressed and the like. The rest of 'em were a smattering of races, from orcs to humans. Noted at least one Forsaken, a troll, a gnome… the worgen lass. She was the most vocal of 'em. The most eager. Spicy little lass, that 'un. They've got some semblance of organization, but nothin' large."

"Ye have," Siamus observes after a moment, "a very low threshold for self-preservation, man. Was the outfit operating under a name? Was the goblin using a particular name? Did ye see the worgen lass in both forms or only the one? What was her name?"

"Is it a very low threshold for self-preservation, or a very high interest in solvin' puzzles?" Reniya asks with a grin. "Goblin went by Fikk Rumblespark. Bank of Fikk was his bank front, ran potions under the name Sparky's, and I imagine the rest of his operations had a similar lack of creativity put into their names. That's a low threshold for self-preservation if y'ask me. And aye, I saw the worgen lass shift one time, while she was bustin' into our room. Figured it out before then, though. All we know is she went by Rida."

At Ren's first remark, Siamus puts his head back and laughs, with warm and unselfconscious delight. "Aye, all right, that's fair enough." He grins at Ren. "I don't know the names will actually lead anywhere, if any of them was brighter than a brick, but 'Rida' is promising. Might be an actual nickname. Can ye describe her?"

"Human form, she had red-brown hair, short an' fluffy. Elle here would've loved givin' it a good pat. Or he would've if she hadn't, ah…" Reniya shoots an apologetic glance at Joelle. "Movin' on. She had a scar on the left side bridge of 'er nose down to 'er cheek. My left, not hers. Slender, if not scrawny lass, all bones, few muscles. Dressed like huntin' clothes was all she owned. Worgen form was dark brown, not quite full black, though I'll add it was hard t'tell in the dark. White around 'er snout and footpaws, and 'er ears were a bit chewed, seemed like."

Siamus nods, his gaze gone intent. "Gilnean?"

Reniya nods. "Aye, she had the accent, at least. I did ask, but it only seemed t'irritate the lass." A smile creeps back onto his face, thinking about it.

Siamus snorts. "Tides ha'mercy, Hartrim, ye realize ye can get your thrills at a cheaper cost than your life, aye?" He shakes his head. "It's a good description — I'll pass it round to some Gilneans I know for a start. What did ye learn about Everdell, apart from the daughter and the… financial situation? Miss Verglas leads me to believe he was engaged by Mondragon rather than by Amerith, which is of a piece wi' some other information I've been gathering."

Reniya's smile fades again. Back into work mode. "On that," he says. "Somethin' doesn't sit right with me. By all counts, the man was well respected by his colleagues, talented, and devoted to 'is daughter. For what reason would he risk all that to take up with a death knight?"

Siamus raises his eyebrows and sits with it for a moment, and then nods slowly. "How bad were his financial straits, d'ye know? Miss Verglas mentioned that Mondragon tried to forward him money, but he'd already vanished by then. Seems odd if that were their arrangement and he was so desperately off, he wouldn't have waited for those funds as well before resorting to robbing goblins." A frown creases his brow.

"She tried t'pay him?" Reniya frowns as well. "Aye, that couldn't've been the motivator. No one I spoke with mentioned anything 'bout 'is money situation, which means he hid it well, or…" His eyes light up. "His bank accounts. If we could get a history, p'rhaps… Problem is, Stormwind's got no legal pull in Dalaran. Gettin' that information legally would be… a process. And another thing. If he wasn't workin' with Count Amerith, it'd mean 'e stole from 'im. Cannon was in the Count's name, aye?"

"I don't know that he wasn't working with Amerith; it could be that Mondragon paid Amerith separately to provide the cannon. I spoke wi' the Fey woman while ye were away, and she was under the impression — said she suspects, at least — that Mondragon made the arrangement for the cannon with Amerith, and then tried to silence him afterward with an assassination attempt." Siamus's gaze is distant. "The money doesn't make sense. With Everdell, I mean. And we have been operating on assumptions that may not hold water after all." He glances at Ren. "Did ye find or speak with the daughter? There's a daughter, aye?"

"A child still," Reniya says. "Probably took 'er with 'im. Means he won't've got to anyplace too dangerous. If the Count's pieces continue to play in his defense, it'll be hard to confirm anything beyond suspicions."

"Miss Verglas says the staff she has — his — can find him. She's also sure he's set traps, however, which seems a fair certain bet." Siamus tips his head back to gaze up at the sky again. "Miss Fey suspects that Mondragon arranged the cannon from Amerith, and then tried to silence Amerith by assassination. Two assassinations: his, and Lady Ravendusk's.

"What if the reason Everdell didn't wait about for her money was that he realized he'd made a deal with a devil? So he panicked, helped himself to funds that couldn't be easily traced — unlike, perhaps, his own accounts — thanks to their criminal origins, and vanished without waiting around to see whether or how Mondragon would hold up their arrangement?"

Reniya strokes his beard thoughtfully. "Aye. Aye, might be. D'you think he'd still stand in Count Amerith's defense, if we track 'im down?"

Siamus shrugs. "All of it's speculation. I'm trying to find the equation that all the variables fit. I don't know what I think he will or won't do. I'm trying — " He stops. After a silence, he begins to speak again in a slow, abstract fashion, clearly thinking aloud.

"I'm trying to assume the fewest possible number of bad actors. I suppose it's possible they're a lot of villains at each others' throats, but the simplest stories we can tell are the ones with just one malefactor. At the moment, it looks like that's Mondragon, and based on what we know of her, that feels a safe assumption. And if we assume that's the case, there are simpler explanations for all the rest. Not for how men like Amerith or Everdell came to be dealing with her in the first place, perhaps, but Miss Verglas says she usually operated through proxies, so perhaps they didn't know at first. Nor does it explain Amerith's more recent behavior, but — I'm still looking into that.

"The trouble is that Everdell could answer much of this for us, so we ought to find him. And if it's Mondragon he's hiding from, with her dead, he'd be safe. Except — your new friends, who are after him now for the money. He's slipped one noose for another." Siamus ruminates some more. "And they have your identities, I assume. Yours and Moores's, and likely Miss Verglas's?"

"If not by name, Rida's got us by scent," Reniya confirms. "Sami they'll know, seein' as how she lived and worked in Dalaran. They did confiscate my notes, but the cipher'll take 'em some time, especially if they've got no one versed in the art."

"All right." Siamus contemplates this and then nods. "All right. So they're on to you lot, which means if we find Everdell, there's a risk we lead them right to him as well. Which is plainly an outcome they're hoping for, as they tried to… accelerate that process.

"And in order to effect that outcome, they'll be looking for the lot of ye. Which means if we don't find them first — obviously best-case — we'll have to be sharp and pick them off your trail. And Miss Verglas will be safer here for the time being, once she can be persuaded she's not going to hang.

"But we need to find Everdell to fill in blanks for us, and they want to find Everdell for reasons… unhelpful to us."

"I could always bait 'em out," Reniya says. "Rida's spicy, aye? She's got somethin' to prove. Drawin' her out'll be easy."

Joelle noticeably tenses at the suggestion, but he doesn't object.

Siamus studies Reniya for a long moment. "D'ye have a middle name, Hartrim?" he asks.

"Aye, it's…" Reniya stops, realizing where this is going. "Oi, oi, c'mon mate, it's a good plan. I'll come out of it fine with the proper setup an' no Babyface t'worry about."

Siamus smiles wolfishly at him. "Ah, don't make me give ye one, Reniya Middlename Hartrim, because so help me I will.

"If ye mean to play bait for the woman who killed you, I'm going to expect ye to be careful as all hell, d'ye hear me?" He pauses, glances at Elle, glances at the sea, looks back to Ren. "Your mother won't be able to take another shock like last night, and I won't be able to take your mother again. Don't do it to me, man." His tone is dry but his gaze is heavy and serious. "Every precaution, aye?"

"She's inexperienced, our Rida," Reniya says with confidence. "And now I know what t'expect. Junior'll want in on the plan, given everything. We've got it this time, I promise. 'Sides, I've gotta stick around for Tabby Cat and the kiddo."

Siamus's gaze thaws slightly. "That's right. Ye do." He nods. "And I might advise ye to get a worgen or two of your own involved, as ye know this Rida's got methods ye don't. And I don't mean Miss Kensington-Whit, though I don't expect either you or Dinnsfield would involve her."

"Not intentionally, no," Reniya says. "We'll have t'be careful how we go about it. Swallowtail's not one to sit idle."

"Aye, no, I'd gathered as much." Siamus shakes his head. "I'm reminded of my own sister. Tell Dinnsfield to have a care Miss Kensington-Whit doesn't run off to join the 7th."

He squints up at the sky again. His hair is now quite thoroughly soaked. He rakes his fingers through it, tousling it roughly, but doesn't otherwise seem to mind. "Ye stay here for a few days, until ye've your feet under ye and we know whether they're on your trail already. While you're here, I'll want ye to write down for me as much of the business as ye can remember, see if that trips other details. I'll go and make notes right now on everything we've just discussed." A pause. "And if ye wish not to be disturbed by… any other residents of the house, ye may plead either your recuperation or that you're doing some work for me. I don't mind playing the taskmaster."

(He really doesn't, if u kno what he means.)

"I'll handle what needs t'be handled as I can," Reniya mutters. "P'rhaps not all at once."

Siamus looks past Ren to Joelle. "Ebek. Have ye been in touch wi' your commander? Shall I assume ye haven't got a shift yet?"

"Night shift," Joelle reports dutifully. "But Pennings might pull me off. Lathrik will cover it."

"Ah. The door," Reniya says, cringing a little.

"The door," Joelle repeats, nodding.

"The door," Siamus agrees. "Mind — I understand why ye did it. And I can sympathize with your fear for your friend. But a man does have to keep his head in a crisis, aye? Even a personal one. And the Lady of this house is seven months along with twins, and it's a… particularly delicate case. A shock can be dangerous to her at this stage. Aye? And if it had been — " His gaze is abruptly flint-edged and dangerous.

A peculiar little wind whips up, briefly battering the three of them with gusting needle-teeth of rain, and then drops away just as suddenly. Siamus does not seem to notice.

"But as it is, it's only a door. I know ye for a good lad and guardsman, and I don't want to make any more trouble for ye than is needful. I'll write as much to your commander if ye like." He pauses. "And ye will see about getting me that knife back, aye?"

There is a tiny, almost imperceptible shiver of guilt that runs through Joelle, that could just as easily have been from the weather. The way he averts his gaze is the telling tale.

Reniya, however, holds steady, placing a hand on Joelle's shoulder while his eyes remain on Siamus. "We'll work on it, mate. We will. It's only happened twice, now. Once for me, once for Lathrik. But we'll see it sorted."

Joelle is silent for a moment longer, his gaze still on the ground, but eventually he finds his voice. "The knife…" And then loses it again. He nods, instead.

"Aye, good, then," says Siamus kindly. "I'll leave the pair of ye be to enjoy some peace. Shall I have Moirin put a tray in your room for when ye come back, Hartrim?" He rises smoothly to his feet and looks down at Ren inquiringly.

Reniya nods, flashing him a smile. "Appreciate it if y'would," he says. "The menu options these past days have been a choice between fist or foot, and I prefer more of a variety."

Siamus's gaze darkens again, but he nods equably and puts his hands in his jacket pockets. "I expect we can do better than that, aye. Carry on, then." He nods and steps away.