Shadow at the temple – Chapter 10

The civic stint in Dezasha marches on with no end in sight. Having used the past two days lingering in this simulated adaptation of ‘investigating’ which she agreed on with Malkiz, Eyren supposes that the main angle she’s been subsumed in is staying out of sight. She has wandered about, of course, spoken with strangers and locals in various nooks and crannies, but none of it has really amounted to a whole lot. And why would it? She’s not really meant to solve a great mystery per se. The real task laid before her was to await Malkiz’s call, but given that she didn’t wish to be accused of doing nothing for the gitties which the guards are paying her with, she figured this guise of fieldwork had to be conducted by extension. She can’t claim to find it unenjoyable to receive daily compensation, but each cut isn’t exactly an enormous amount either. And besides, she’s mainly employing some of these coins to fund the meals she and Razz partake of.

In the longer term, Malkiz conveyed to Eyren where it was that Ozdemir’s lair is situated, after he’d dabbled in some research of his own. Supposedly the preacher is lurking in one of the most monumental of warehouses in Dezasha, a three-storey building in decent adjacency to the waters, emplaced in a corner. This minor affair did jump out at Eyren, for surely Ozdemir can’t be the owner of it? If one gets technical, then North River does own everything that’s built within Dezasha, but licenses are generally delegated to those who seek to operate as merchants, smiths, or other services that North River doesn’t pursue on their own, which can include construction. Would the owner of that warehouse have agreed to shelter a cultist of Ozdemir’s variety? Or is it simply the ploy of the workers?

It’s in the evening of the third day invested in Dezasha that Eyren’s equation of this dilemma takes a turn. When she’s out wandering the streets with the intention of getting a snack back for Razz, who’s stationed near the inn they’re resting in for the time being, an ounce of hubbub snaps up her attention. Sounds to her ears as shouting and complaining, and it’s coming from deeper into the city. Walking out of the market district, she makes for the lines that’s bordering the region of North River’s headquarters, and passing there, she notes a surprising setup: a big crowd has gathered, hundreds of citizens, who’re chanting and hollering, potentially protesting. They’re doing so in Junvishti, but their yells aren’t really in unison, therefore it’s hard to make out more than the occasional, ‘Sadek will pay for this!’ or ‘no more lies!’ As of this moment, this flock is being screened off the premises of the North River complex by the company’s sentinels.

Even if this nature of undertaking isn’t wholly inconceivable to witness when one frequents a city, Eyren has to profess that she’s quite perplexed. What would’ve spawned this unplanned rush at their gates? Did Ozdemir really rally everyone without initial notice? Eyren can’t recall having seen another speech lately.
Peeking around the crowd, a little off to the side she spots Minhai standing and conversing with a number of her colleagues, giving them orders where to stand and how to redirect them at avenues which require reinforcement. When Eyren gains on her, Minhai picks her out and readily motions for Eyren to hurry up.

As opposed to meeting with her in the open, Minhai guides the two of them to a side-alley by one of the annexes to their primary facilities.
“This hubble-bubble drew you here too, eh? Should’ve figured they were too rackety, these bastards…”

Eyren shrugs.
“Yeah, I simply came to take a look.” She peeks in the direction of the crowd once more. “Seems like you people have a real mess on your hands.”

“Ugh, tell me about it. We’re gonna suppress these rowdy troublemakers in time, but it’ll likely take a few hours.” She scans Eyren once more. “And it’s best for you not to be around right now, I feel. Know you can take care of yourself, but this is something for us of the guards, not a jungei. Not gonna fork over coins for you to monkey ’round. I suggest you go back to whatever guesthouse you’re lodging at.”

“Could you leastwise let me know what it is that is at play here? Why are people harassing your company?”

Upon this inquiry, Minhai heaves a sigh.
“Good question, and not one I could crack for ya. My higher-ups are presuming it’s gotta be some ván chaot who leaked dirt to the public”, she says, mentioning another Junvishti insult, albeit milder than po gasi, Eyren believes.

“What dirt?”

“Beats me, but my bosses again holds that it’s gotta be fake shit. Someone is setting us up.”

“I see.”

She diverts at Eyren.
“That den you pointed out for us, we’ve been keeping our eyes on it since then, and though it’s only been a day, we’ve seen a number of weirdos coming in and out. Was gonna take a closer look when this struck us outta nowhere”, she tells Eyren and circles a hand at the protestors.

“That does seem…strangely convenient.”

“You’re telling me! They crept up to our gates like this and now they’re complaining that the company has threatened to tear down the Temple! When did anyone from North River announce that shemfwa, huh? Shades-damn idiots…”

“You’re suggesting North River is entirely innocent in this debacle?”

“Of course we are!”, she insists with emphasis, but after a moment of contemplation, she settles down and shrugs. “Well…mostly, anyway. In this case, the company sure as hell is. Like I told you on our last chat, no self-respecting and sensible business on this continent – least not in Shaim Xil – would tick off the Temple. That’d be suicidal, cuz it might turn everyone against us.” Huffing, she folds her arms. “Ya know what I’m reckoning? It’s Ozdemir.”

“That he is behind this, you mean?”

“No two ways about it. By all odds, he’s decoded that we’re on to him and he’s having a whirl at distracting us, causing trouble which we can’t overlook.”

“Wouldn’t be impossible, no…”, Eyren agrees.

The moment that Minhai aspires to offer another slant to her estimation here, they hear how the ruckus from the flock of unruly citizens skyrockets as a brawl breaks out, halfway against some guards but furthermore between citizens. Minhai groans in frustration.
“These lousy bastards can’t keep things straight…” She peeks up at Eyren. “I gotta chip in to quell this stupidity real quick.”

Eyren nods and beckons at the disarray by the buildings.
“Don’t let me stop you.”

“Just stay out of any quarrels, will you?”, Minhai relays as she bails. “Get back to your inn room and I’ll shoot you a missive later on!”

Pfft. She believes she can send Eyren away as if the northerner was some variety of bad-mannered child? Being in the employ of city guards really can become a major pain in the ass occasionally and this Minhai, while funny, is one such nuisance. It does make Eyren partially wish to misbehave just to spite her, but then again, what would she achieve from that? She is yet pending a call from her contact and with little else to go at, there would be no point in causing any kind of additional trouble for Minhai. After all, she is being paid for this stay, meaning-

The very moment she leans towards retreating out of here, however, she detects a hand on her arm, which lures her vision at it. And who does she see but the one she was awaiting a hail from. Malkiz erupts from the dark of the region, dressed in his earlier pitchy outfit worn when they first stumbled upon one another, and he tugs at her arm with a mischievous glimmer in his feline sight. Eyren follows suit and lets herself be hauled into the shadows.
“Well well…”, Malkiz whispers in Goetejul. “This was greater than I anticipated.”

“Huh?”, wonders Eyren. “Did you…foresee this would occur?”

“Oh, you could say that.”

Eyren arches an eyebrow, but when Malkiz follows the events beyond this alley, his tail flickers amusingly, a type of movement Eyren is now getting familiar with. She exhales.
“…you arranged this crap, didn’t you?”

Malkiz glances over his shoulder at her, but it’s no less pronounced that, beneath the mask, he’s smirking.
“Goodness me, what an accusation!”

“A correct one, isn’t it?”

Nevertheless, in his reply, he shrugs.
“Actually, that would be a slight exaggeration, shadi. I inserted a word here and there in the proper ear, who may have taken offense. Nothing more substantial than this.”

The northerner rolls her eyes.
“Mal…ya realize you’ve introduced a serious mayhem for my present ’employer’, right?”

“Heh, well, that is their price for being dedicated to one of the Pillars of Concord, is it not?”

“I mean…maybe.”

“Besides, am I not your real patron as of two days ago, hmm?”, he nearly drawls.

“…I should be telling ya you’re right, but I frankly don’t approve of how smug that’ll make you.”

A gripe which induces a giggle out of Malkiz, previous to him wrapping an arm around hers and his tail to caress her back.
“Come with me now.”

“Hmm? Where’re we going?”

“We are going to delve into a certain complex, dear Herdbrand expert, and find out precisely what it is our supposed ‘Tenkeeper’ has been ensconcing in his covert.”