27th of Searing, 120
It was unreasonable to believe that Cojack waited in the woods in all the time he'd been missing. For someone as frail as Cojack, it would have meant certain death, he was sure. How could the sickly horse fend for themselves alone in the wild? Arkash had taken care of him for the past seven years or so, and that was with all the resources of a city to help them. Arkash didn't believe Cojack had stayed in the woods, but he knew that the horse had revisited their old home however long ago.
On the table, Arkash had two things. A bundle of farthing bills was neatly tied with a piece of string, and something Arkash had not yet inspected laid hidden in a bag of animal skin beside the notes. The bag belonged to Cojack, so Arkash resolved not to investigate its contents. If it was Cojack that had gone back to the house, and Arkash believed it was as some money had been left in the stash that only the both of them knew of, then there were a couple of things that didn't quite make sense. For one, Cojack didn't take his bag from the stash. For two, Cojack must have believed Arkash had left him. Why would he leave Arkash money if he believed he'd gone?
As it happened, it was difficult to pick up a trail that was two months cold. All he had was ideas, thoughts of what Cojack might have done. His next theory led him to Outer Nivenhain, where he believed that the horse might have gone to live comfortably without a home to retire to. Such a lifestyle couldn't be sustained too long, but he knew Cojack. He would have found a way to make it work. The goal was to investigate the inns, see if any of them knew or had seen him.
But, the problem of the wall presented itself. Arkash was wanted on the count of assault and murder, and the new wall that separated Lower and Outer Nivenhain was swarming with argents and hollows of all kinds. He couldn't pass through the construction site freely, not like citizens, not even like nameless had the liberty to for the time being. He needed to get around somehow, but couldn't think of a way to manage. Asmodei couldn't fly him over; they'd be seen. A disguise wasn't an option, as Arkash stood out among humans.
He just needed an idea, something to inspire him, but no matter how hard he pushed his thoughts, nothing came to him. Then, his shoulder twitched again, and he was forced to tilt his head to the left as a powerful contraction tensed his left arm and forced a shrug. He looked to the stump and tried to turn it, but the movement was jagged and painful. It forced a second powerful spasm, followed by a third. After the fifth or so, Arkash leaned into the table with his only arm and shuddered. His body was too broken to cope with sometimes.
"How goes the planning, Ark?" Called a low, masculine voice. Arkash tilted his head to spy Asmodei, who approached from across the ruin of the abandoned factory. "You've been on your feet all day so far. If we're going out, it should be soon, while you can still walk."
Asmodei raised a good point. Arkash couldn't walk around for an entire day as he had once been able to, he was still recovering from his coma, from the time he spent in bed. "I don't know," he replied in vithmi. "I know he's not in the woods, obviously. So I think he might be in Outer Nivenhain somewhere." Asmodei and Fayeth claimed to have already searched Lower Nivenhain while he was unconscious, and Arkash believed them. He didn't know the time frame of when they searched, but he couldn't imagine Cojack spent even an entire day in the woods. He must have returned to the city early, before his stalwart protectors began the search. "Maybe at an Inn?" He thought aloud.
"Maybe," Asmodei shrugged. "You realize you'd need to somehow slip by under the chevalier's noses to get there, right?"
Arkash nodded. "Mhm. Oh! Maybe Valris can help me?" Arkash widened his one eye with enthusiasm. "You take on your argent-knight persona and walk me through as your prisoner?"
Asmodei shook his head. "You know full well that an argent would sooner kill you than take you prisoner. That won't work. Sides, I'd rather keep away from the argent if possible. Kathar nameless are a rare thing, and I'd rather not draw attention."
Arkash bowed his head, but his expression remained twisted with thought. It was a dumb idea, indeed. But, he didn't take the hit too hard. Arkash wasn't born with the right to an education, let alone the money to afford tutoring. Some of his ideas weren't going to be well thought out, and he was at peace with that. "Yeah I'm just... thinking out loud," he replied, then scratched at his chin with his claws. How did he get by the argent without them seeing him? "We could dig a tunnel under the wall," he grinned.
Asmodei smiled playfully as he shook his head, then hummed. "Or use the sewers," he offered in jest. Arkash laughed a breath, then paused mid-laugh with his jaw agape. Could they use the sewers? His eye fell on Asmodei while he considered the possibility.
"-That was a joke, Ark," he added when he caught the contemplation in the lizard's gaze. Arkash didn't budge; he truly considered it. "...you can't be serious. The sewers?" He asked with a hushed squint. "Ark, it's not like we have a map or anything, it could be a maze down there. What if we get lost? Don't even get me started on the stink!" Asmodei surely regretted that he opened his mouth at all, but Arkash saw a golden opportunity.
"Look, we can write on the walls so we don't get lost." It was a tactic he and Liu had practiced once upon a time while out foraging; they'd mark trees to show the way back.
"With what? It's not as if we have an abundance of ink in that we can splash all over the place."
Arkash held up a claw, then looked about his surroundings. There was surely some charcoal or something of the sort sitting around the factory. That was when his eye widened on yet another brilliant idea. He peered over the iron table, and spied his prize. He had to use the table as a support as he bent down to get it, but he managed with a little effort. As he stood, he presented a dead rat to Asmodei.
The avialae went a shade paler at the presentation. "Dead rats? You want to leave a trail of dead rats through the sewers?"
Arkash squinted. "No? Theres probably loads of rats down there. We can use them to paint the walls." He'd figured that was obvious.
Asmodei stared in disbelief, as though he was hearing something obscene. Arkash had skinned plenty of animals carcasses in the past; it didnt feel or sound weird to suggest. "I'm not touching any of those things," he declared with a distinct firmness to his tone. Arkash rolled his eye.
"Fine, then let me do it. As for the smell, just breathe through your mouth. It's probably not much worse than some streets in these parts; it's not like we have plumbing." People defecated in the streets all the time there. It wasn't anything new to Arkash.
Asmodei simply stared onward, as though he couldn't quite grasp the plans Arkash had set. Perhaps he just didn't want to believe that they were truly meant to delve into the sewers? It wasn't that bad, Arkash imagined. And if there was a chance for them to find Cojack, it was worth a little discomfort.
"Will Fayeth come with us?" He asked after a moment of silence. Asmodei sighed exasperatedly, then shook his head.
"She's out hunting. It'll just be you and I."
Arkash nodded while he thought; he couldn't imagine she would want to go anyway. "Alright then," he hummed, then looked to the rat in his claws. "Help me find more rats? You don't have to pick them up, just point them out."
Asmodei gave a distressed groan, then grimaced as he turned to look about the room. "Fine... As long as I don't have to touch them," he warned with a glare, then set off to look around the abandoned warehouse. Arkash smiled a little, then looked to the rat in his claws. It felt as though he was getting closer and closer to Cojack with every move. Even if it was unlikely that someone in his position could have made two months alone, Arkash believed in him.
It was unreasonable to believe that Cojack waited in the woods in all the time he'd been missing. For someone as frail as Cojack, it would have meant certain death, he was sure. How could the sickly horse fend for themselves alone in the wild? Arkash had taken care of him for the past seven years or so, and that was with all the resources of a city to help them. Arkash didn't believe Cojack had stayed in the woods, but he knew that the horse had revisited their old home however long ago.
On the table, Arkash had two things. A bundle of farthing bills was neatly tied with a piece of string, and something Arkash had not yet inspected laid hidden in a bag of animal skin beside the notes. The bag belonged to Cojack, so Arkash resolved not to investigate its contents. If it was Cojack that had gone back to the house, and Arkash believed it was as some money had been left in the stash that only the both of them knew of, then there were a couple of things that didn't quite make sense. For one, Cojack didn't take his bag from the stash. For two, Cojack must have believed Arkash had left him. Why would he leave Arkash money if he believed he'd gone?
As it happened, it was difficult to pick up a trail that was two months cold. All he had was ideas, thoughts of what Cojack might have done. His next theory led him to Outer Nivenhain, where he believed that the horse might have gone to live comfortably without a home to retire to. Such a lifestyle couldn't be sustained too long, but he knew Cojack. He would have found a way to make it work. The goal was to investigate the inns, see if any of them knew or had seen him.
But, the problem of the wall presented itself. Arkash was wanted on the count of assault and murder, and the new wall that separated Lower and Outer Nivenhain was swarming with argents and hollows of all kinds. He couldn't pass through the construction site freely, not like citizens, not even like nameless had the liberty to for the time being. He needed to get around somehow, but couldn't think of a way to manage. Asmodei couldn't fly him over; they'd be seen. A disguise wasn't an option, as Arkash stood out among humans.
He just needed an idea, something to inspire him, but no matter how hard he pushed his thoughts, nothing came to him. Then, his shoulder twitched again, and he was forced to tilt his head to the left as a powerful contraction tensed his left arm and forced a shrug. He looked to the stump and tried to turn it, but the movement was jagged and painful. It forced a second powerful spasm, followed by a third. After the fifth or so, Arkash leaned into the table with his only arm and shuddered. His body was too broken to cope with sometimes.
"How goes the planning, Ark?" Called a low, masculine voice. Arkash tilted his head to spy Asmodei, who approached from across the ruin of the abandoned factory. "You've been on your feet all day so far. If we're going out, it should be soon, while you can still walk."
Asmodei raised a good point. Arkash couldn't walk around for an entire day as he had once been able to, he was still recovering from his coma, from the time he spent in bed. "I don't know," he replied in vithmi. "I know he's not in the woods, obviously. So I think he might be in Outer Nivenhain somewhere." Asmodei and Fayeth claimed to have already searched Lower Nivenhain while he was unconscious, and Arkash believed them. He didn't know the time frame of when they searched, but he couldn't imagine Cojack spent even an entire day in the woods. He must have returned to the city early, before his stalwart protectors began the search. "Maybe at an Inn?" He thought aloud.
"Maybe," Asmodei shrugged. "You realize you'd need to somehow slip by under the chevalier's noses to get there, right?"
Arkash nodded. "Mhm. Oh! Maybe Valris can help me?" Arkash widened his one eye with enthusiasm. "You take on your argent-knight persona and walk me through as your prisoner?"
Asmodei shook his head. "You know full well that an argent would sooner kill you than take you prisoner. That won't work. Sides, I'd rather keep away from the argent if possible. Kathar nameless are a rare thing, and I'd rather not draw attention."
Arkash bowed his head, but his expression remained twisted with thought. It was a dumb idea, indeed. But, he didn't take the hit too hard. Arkash wasn't born with the right to an education, let alone the money to afford tutoring. Some of his ideas weren't going to be well thought out, and he was at peace with that. "Yeah I'm just... thinking out loud," he replied, then scratched at his chin with his claws. How did he get by the argent without them seeing him? "We could dig a tunnel under the wall," he grinned.
Asmodei smiled playfully as he shook his head, then hummed. "Or use the sewers," he offered in jest. Arkash laughed a breath, then paused mid-laugh with his jaw agape. Could they use the sewers? His eye fell on Asmodei while he considered the possibility.
"-That was a joke, Ark," he added when he caught the contemplation in the lizard's gaze. Arkash didn't budge; he truly considered it. "...you can't be serious. The sewers?" He asked with a hushed squint. "Ark, it's not like we have a map or anything, it could be a maze down there. What if we get lost? Don't even get me started on the stink!" Asmodei surely regretted that he opened his mouth at all, but Arkash saw a golden opportunity.
"Look, we can write on the walls so we don't get lost." It was a tactic he and Liu had practiced once upon a time while out foraging; they'd mark trees to show the way back.
"With what? It's not as if we have an abundance of ink in that we can splash all over the place."
Arkash held up a claw, then looked about his surroundings. There was surely some charcoal or something of the sort sitting around the factory. That was when his eye widened on yet another brilliant idea. He peered over the iron table, and spied his prize. He had to use the table as a support as he bent down to get it, but he managed with a little effort. As he stood, he presented a dead rat to Asmodei.
The avialae went a shade paler at the presentation. "Dead rats? You want to leave a trail of dead rats through the sewers?"
Arkash squinted. "No? Theres probably loads of rats down there. We can use them to paint the walls." He'd figured that was obvious.
Asmodei stared in disbelief, as though he was hearing something obscene. Arkash had skinned plenty of animals carcasses in the past; it didnt feel or sound weird to suggest. "I'm not touching any of those things," he declared with a distinct firmness to his tone. Arkash rolled his eye.
"Fine, then let me do it. As for the smell, just breathe through your mouth. It's probably not much worse than some streets in these parts; it's not like we have plumbing." People defecated in the streets all the time there. It wasn't anything new to Arkash.
Asmodei simply stared onward, as though he couldn't quite grasp the plans Arkash had set. Perhaps he just didn't want to believe that they were truly meant to delve into the sewers? It wasn't that bad, Arkash imagined. And if there was a chance for them to find Cojack, it was worth a little discomfort.
"Will Fayeth come with us?" He asked after a moment of silence. Asmodei sighed exasperatedly, then shook his head.
"She's out hunting. It'll just be you and I."
Arkash nodded while he thought; he couldn't imagine she would want to go anyway. "Alright then," he hummed, then looked to the rat in his claws. "Help me find more rats? You don't have to pick them up, just point them out."
Asmodei gave a distressed groan, then grimaced as he turned to look about the room. "Fine... As long as I don't have to touch them," he warned with a glare, then set off to look around the abandoned warehouse. Arkash smiled a little, then looked to the rat in his claws. It felt as though he was getting closer and closer to Cojack with every move. Even if it was unlikely that someone in his position could have made two months alone, Arkash believed in him.
