It had been building for quite some time now: an inner rage that told Natsumi to smack Silanus upside the head. She had suppressed her growing irritation toward the soldier through sheer willpower alone; attempting to maintain what she thought was a necessary alliance. Yet the man was quickly becoming insufferable, and his latest tantrum sent her over the edge. When he began berating her over a simple act of generosity, the last straw had finally fallen.
 
"Had I any notion that you were a mercenary, I would have paid you for silence long ago!" the druid suddenly shouted to interrupt the long-winded threats of her acquaintance.  She swiftly retracted her money from his grasp, and allowed the anger she had been hiding up until now to finally emerge. "Contrary to your assumption – and considering your constant insults up until now – I think of you as a headache that should stop giving me ideas on how to take out my irritation."
 
Natsumi moved away from Silanus at that point, noticing the chuckling onlookers as she went. She wasn't even interested in what her "ally" had to say in response right now, especially since one more insult from him was likely to cause her call off the entire alliance. He needed to realize that he had benefited from this "filthy mage," or he would be out of luck for anymore assistance. In the meantime, the Black Queen would simply remain outside the shop, waiting till Silanus had the guts to return and ask her about the "plan."
 
"The plan? The plan is to track down Adelano's superiors, provided you treat me with more respect than you have thus far." She was gruff, still waiting on an apology she could hear from the mad soldier. Unfortunately, she probably wouldn't get the chance to receive what she desired. Her words were overheard by a nearby guard: a battle mage donning the regalia of the Tarishtar guard along with a fantastic beard.
 
"Adelano, you say," the uniformed man asked? "Young miss, I don't know how you know that name, but you'll have to come with me. The lieutenant will want to see you." Being wanted for multiple, criminal offenses across the surface of Revaliir, Natsumi was more than a little apprehensive toward this officer's approach. She suspected the worst outcome of his involvement, but tried to play along rather than make herself wanted in yet another city for all the wrong reasons.
 
"Am I under arrest," she asked innocently?
 
"Not precisely. You haven't broken the law, but Lieutenant Mathias is working a case that involves the name you mentioned. I can't say more in public, other than he is looking for anyone who has information that might assist his investigation." The guard motioned for the young woman to come along, eying Silanus while he did so. She suspected that he might simply be trying to get her away from a dangerous individual, but it wasn't like she had much say in the matter in the first place. If she tried anything out of the ordinary, another unwelcome incident was likely to occur. As such, she could only follow for now, moving away from her spot next to Silanus to do so.
 
"Very well. Lead the way."

Now, Natsumi really surprised Silanus this time. Instead of acting like a soft, weak person, she asked for respect, making it clear for Silanus that she is not a woman that deserves being crushed by others, instead, that she knows her place, and knows that she deserves much better. Perhaps she even gained the soldier's respect! Now, the most respected member of his clan trusting a… A mage? That is clearly something new…

How unfair, how unjust! Just when Tacitus Silanus was going to answer Natsumi, a mister no one cane and INTERRUPTED them. Now, if they were in the wilds and not inside a city, a good punch in the nose would be the reward for this insolent wretch, however, punching a guard is plainly stupid, so Silanus found out another way of sending this canned fool away…

Silanus hid his anger and, with a calmed voice tone he said: "Are you brave or brainless, you disrespectful fool? Don't you sede Silan… Ehem, I am arresting this criminal scum? I am the right hand of the Imperial military governor himself, this little girl has broken so many laws in the land of Adeluna that they had to sent such an important man like myself to get her!" Of course! This plan had to work! The old fashioned armor Silanus was wearing was based on the kelonian armor, and the kelonian armor had some similarities with the armor the officers of the Empire of Adeluna use, so, hopefully, the lieutenant would believe Silanus' story.

The guard stared at Silanus, was his story true? Saying such things to a guard is risky if they were not true. So, who would have the courage to take such a risk? The guard stood in silence, if the stranger's story was actually real, a wrong word would cause trouble… Adeluna is a powerful nation, so angering the militare supreme commander would be a really, really stupid moce… Silanus continued talking: " Oh, so you are still here? Damn it, where are my bodyguards? If I was in your place, I would bow before me and ask for pietas! Now, begone, fool! I am taking this fugitive girl to the lands of Canelux, so she can take her trial!"

[OOC: Sweet new avatar, Silanus. :O]
 
Belief and reality are two separate realms, as any person with common sense would tell you. Just because someone believes something about themselves, for example, does not mean that their belief is reality. Their faith may foster growth – as most strongly held ideologies do – but it will never be a replacement for true skill.  
 
Unfortunately, Silanus, based on his reaction to the guard's sudden appearance, clearly did not understand – or just hadn't fully grasped – this fundamental rule. When Natsumi was accosted by the uniformed official, she could only agonize over her ally's inevitable, verbal response. She listened to his attempted bluff, cringing at all the loopholes it contained. Of all roles he could have chosen to play, he had picked one that required the most knowledge: knowledge he couldn't have possibly possessed unless he were intimately involved in foreign affairs. Not to mention he was slandering Natsumi's name to do so, and in one of the few cities she wasn't already a wanted criminal. It was a plan doomed to failure from the start; one that could only end with both Silanus and Natsumi being placed under arrest.
 
"Ah, good sir," the guardsman said with a smug expression as he proceeded to spell out exactly what was wrong with the warrior's story. "The military governor of Adeluna is a woman; and, even if she weren't, Tarishtar is sovereign nation with its own extradition treaties. You need proper documentation to prove that you are a foreign diplomat here to arrest a criminal, regardless of rank. Since you seem to be lacking that and you're not even wearing the mandatory identification harness, however, you should be aware that the penalty for perjury in matters of foreign affairs is death. "
 
Thoughts were racing through Natsumi's head as the guard was speaking, her brain desperately trying to pin down an escape from the hole Silanus had dug for them. One non-violent solution came to mind before the order to arrest was given, and, although it was possible the mad warrior wouldn't like it, the druid knew she had no choice but to proceed.
 
 "Please, forgive my uncle," she hastily said while moving between the irritated sergeant and Silanus. "He may look young, but he's already becoming senile. He believes himself part of an ancient order of warriors in which he was the right hand man of A military governor but not THE military governor."
 
Suspicious of Natsumi's sudden defense of the man she had seemed perfectly willing to part with up until a short while ago, the imposing officer continued his impromptu interrogation.
 
"Why did he call you a criminal, then? And why do you let him roam around in public with weapons on if he's really that far gone?"
 
"He's superstitious and believes that I'm automatically a thief because of my ears." Pausing, Natsumi removed her hood to show the man her fox ears. This validated her story in his eyes, but did cause his eyebrows to arc. "As for the weapons, it's not that we want him to have them so much as no one is brave enough to try disarming him. His mind may be going, but his sword arm is still very strong. I brought him here as both a bodyguard and also to make sure he gets some fresh air away from the pell."
 
This was a blatant lie, but a more believable one than the warrior had told. Few would deny that Silanus had mental instability just by looking at him, and senility was hard to argue against. The guardsman understood this and decided to drop his charges rather than face an unnecessary headache in his immediate future.
 
"Fine then," he said with that in mind, keeping an extremely watchful eye on Silanus as he continued. "Both of you still need to come see the lieutenant, but I expect your uncle to behave himself from now on." With that, tensions gradually subsided, but only so long as Silanus kept his mouth shut. Natsumi gave him a death glare as her way of warning him to do so, but she knew, based on the warrior's earlier performances, that her desire was likely to have little effect on his actions. Silanus had not proven himself to be the most reliable of people, thus far, and a second chance wasn't magically going to change that.  

Silanus sighted, worried about the future. There are many, but no, really, MANY cases of a group of "psychos" armored with an ancient kelonian-style armor  kidnapping and killing mages in many cities of Parvpora. In some cases, mages were found crucified, with letters who warned that if they don't "stop acting against the Divines" more travellers and "heretic" mages would be murdered…

Know, a little riddle… Who is a psycho, wears ancient styled armor, and of course, hates mages..? Easy, Silanus… However, only two corpses were found on Tarishitar, the place with most victims is Wyllmochvar, since Silanus and his… His "friends" have a camp there. So, there are many chances the guards of this city now few things…

Silanus' plan had failed miserabily, he was almost condemed to death, but Natsumi's lie saved his life… The soldier said many offensive things to her, and in some cases he even menaced her… Why didn't she just say that he is a random creep and let them execute him? Now, the armored man was really in debt with a ma… A MAGE! 

Of course, Natsumi's ears disturbed Silanus at the beggining… That is clearly something new for him! But, at this moment, that did not matter… Natsumi came with a new plan; Silanus looked at his sheated sword… He could easily stab the guard with it, or atleast hit him with his shield… Oh wait, he left it at home! The soldier knew violence would be a really bad idea, so he decided to follow his ally's plan… Honestly, it is hard for Silanus to not talk in third person, but he thought it would not be a problem if he did, since his name was not on the wanted criminals list. He said : "Silanus does not know how this little girl is the daughter of my brother eh… My brother Carl. She is so odd, with those animal ears! Oh well, don't waste Silanus' time and lead the way, officer!"

A mental sigh of relief came to Natsumi when Silanus played along with her guise, no doubt exaggerated by the release of tension in her shoulders. For once, things seemed to be going back on track, and the guardsman before her small party returned to his unassuming nature. He motioned for the pair to move forward, and they followed him through the snowy streets of the floating city as he led them to the nearest barracks. Eventually, they arrived at a fortified structure on the corner of a busy street, at which point the escort spoke up.
 
"Wait here," he said before ducking into the garrison. Two other guardsmen remained in the man's absence, watching the armored soldier and fox girl as if they were already criminals. It gave Natsumi a sour feeling in her gut, one she couldn't shake even after the sergeant returned.  "The lieutenant will see you now."
 
Following this remark, Natsumi finally passed through the door and emerged into a dimly lit room filled with cells. Sergeant Michayel, the name of the man who had been guiding her thus far, led the way through this maze of male pheromones, only leaving his charge when both Silanus and Natsumi were inside a much tinier office.  
 
"So, you two know about Adelano" asked a man from behind a desk in front of the unlikely pair? He sat on an uncomfortable-looking stool, faced away from his guests while he fiddled with a large map on the wall. His confidence was overpowering, but not as much as the incense he was burning. The smell made Natsumi nauseous, enough to where she had to fight the desire to pass out while answering the question given her.
 
"In a manner of speaking," she said while trying to find a place to sit down. "He tried to kill us while we were walking near his house, but we don't know him intimately."
 
And so began the return to chaos. Once Natsumi admitted to knowing Adelano – even if only by proximity – Lieutenant Mathias turned around to face her with a less than amused expression. He forcefully opened a drawer in his desk, and then took out an item that looked much like a scrying bowl. Regrettably, that wasn't its only feature. It was also a recorder that had seen the entirety of her interaction with Adelano. Both Silanus and she had been caught red-handed, as the currently running playback revealed.
 
"Then I suppose this was self-defense," Mathias asked as the Black Queen became visibly uncomfortable. "You can drop the act. You two interrupted a sting operation, and you're lucky I don't have you both arrested right now." He paused, but not as an act of intimidation. Rather than staring down his suspects like he normally did to get a confession, the young lieutenant let out an audible sigh of frustration. "Unfortunately, I need the help of scum like you. The man Adelano killed – the black market one? His name was Lexil Gracie: a small time representative of Shao, one of the local crime lords. Normally, he only works in drugs, but our investigations reveal something big just came into his possession. The incident with Adelano - a virtual hermit of a mage that has given us no trouble until today - tells us that." Yet another pause played out, followed by the man getting up from his seat to pace back and forth along the far wall. "We were trying to find out what the item was, watching from afar without overplaying our hand; and then you two showed up. Now, it seems Shao is blaming you for botching his deal, and he's coming after you."
 
'Crap,' was all the fox-girl could think of to say when she heard this part of the interrogation gone plea-bargain. She knew where this officer was headed, and she didn't like it one bit. Nothing good came from pissing off the powerful unless you could ensure they didn't come after you out of revenge. Natsumi knew this first hand, and yet that's exactly what this stereotypical detective was trying to get her to do. Unfortunately, saying no to law enforcement while in their home turf was also a horrible idea, so the druid along with Silanus was stuck in a catch-22.
 
"I'll let you two off the hook without any strings attached: provided that you help us salvage our plan to bring down Shao. Your killing of Adelano can easily be considered self-defense, and the decapitation mercy. I'd be willing to forget it ever happened and just file a different report with my supervisors given the proper incentive. All I want is Shao."
 
"Can't see we have much choice," the Black Queen responded in as neutral a tone as she could muster once she realized she was being blackmailed. Sadly, Mathias, in his cloak of self-righteousness, was not amused by this answer in the slightest, and he made that clear when sitting back down at his desk.
 
"No, you don't."  

Oh, this is great! The officer is willing to give a job to them so they don´t get arrested! What could be better? Many would be angry for this… But not Silanus, not him. This is a good opportunity, also, killing some crime lords? That is even better! Crime lords, corrupted people and bandits… They are the fault for the Fratis´, the clan where Silanus is in, misery! Perhaps murdering some of them can be be a good way of using his anger. Silanus gave the officer an arrogant look and said: "Hah! You know what you´re doing, my dear officer. Giving the job to us means this criminal will suffer!" Silanus stopped talking and licked his lips. A confident smirk appeared on his face.

Without asking his companion Natsumi, he made a demand to the officer: "2 men… The kiiiiind guard that brought us here and whoever you please… We ask you only for 2 men to help us on this… We never know, perhaps this Shao man has some thugs helping him, someone guarding our backs would be just fine!" Silanus turned his back and looked at Michayel, the sergeant was glaring at him, he was not very happy listening to this… Michayel said: "Sir, do you really think it´s a good idea to give those murderers backup? It´s a dead sentence, if I may say… Why don´t we just leave this to agents that will know what they´re doing and behead those thugs?"

Silanus gazed at Natsumi, she seemed to be a little anxious by the simple fact they were being blackmailed… Well, perhaps Silanus was enjoying this little game, but she wasn´t… Or atleast she didn´t seem to.

For someone that Natsumi felt needed to be committed to the nearest mental clinic, Silanus was uncannily able to locate and push her buttons. She was hoping, for the life of her, that he would freak out at the thought of being blackmailed: that he would cause enough chaos for her to get away and leave him as a scapegoat. But he didn't. Instead, he grew excited, and put on a swagger.
 
Natsumi could only watch as that soldier offered up his services on a silver platter. Mathias's grin at this development didn't escape her notice, but she knew from experience that she shouldn't dare reveal her hand so early. She had dealt with enough people in power to recognize the telltale signs of a dangerous individual, and Mathias possessed those characteristics. He was dangerous: the kind of person that pretended to be your friend before they stabbed you in the back. One word out of turn from either of his pawns could end very badly for those people, so Natsumi kept her mouth shut while the superior and subordinate discussed Silanus' proposal.  
 
"Patience, Sergeant," the lieutenant responded to his underling's objection. He held up his hand to command silence, and Michayel did as he was told. In the mean time, the sly fox in human skin turned his attention back to the eager warrior. "The request for men is denied. Shao knows the guard intimately, and will sniff you out immediately if you have guardsmen following you around; not to mention I don't trust you ordering MY men around. No, we'll be watching from a distance, and you two will just stay in the city. If I know Shao like I think I do, he'll treat your presence like a fish does a worm on a hook. With that in mind, Sergeant Michayel will see you out. All we ask is that you don't leave town for a while and that you try to stir up the hornet's nest during your stay."
 
Michayel was as stiff as stone when he heard his superior's final word. Natsumi's empathic nature gave her some insight on the anger he was feeling, even if it was invisible to the others. She noted how he buried his emotions, making internal remarks on how unhealthy such a practice was as the sergeant motioned for her and Silanus to follow.
 
"Come on you two," he said before guiding them out onto the street, past all the guards from before. He did not follow them beyond the threshold of his barracks, though. Rather than expose himself to prying eyes, he slammed the door behind the delinquent pair. Silanus and Natsumi were left to walk alone, once more: a fact the latter exploited in order to apprise her ally of circumstance in which they now lay.
 

"They have no intention of letting us get away," the fox girl whispered to the towering warrior while drawing away from the office. "I've been around enough people like Mathias to realize how many of them are weasels. He'll wait till we track down Shao then dispose of us so he can claim all the glory. Mark my words, tomorrow morning's story will be 'ambitious lieutenant apprehends two criminals and brings down an entire mob during an underworld spat.'"