Chapter 15 - Part 5

“You spent almost two weeks flying with him and you don’t know much about him?” the Warden demanded, the scar in the shape of a pine tree on his cheek standing out as he yelled.

“Oh go throw a temper tantrum with someone who cares,” Delegado said, chewing on a toothpick, his feet up on a desk. The tip of his adamantine blade on said desk had procured said toothpick when the Warden hadn’t been looking.

“You sure you don’t care, brother?” the Warden, a half-orc, said, cracking his knuckles. “You ought to.”

“I’ve got lots of brothers and you aren’t one of them,” Delegado snickered. “And your threats are really lame, by the way. Problem is that you’re so scrawny. What do they feed you here in the Reaches?”

The half-orc turned colors and began to lunge forward, but the human with the dog sitting next to him stopped him. “Grash, why don’t you go into the next room and see how the warforged is doing?” the druid asked. Grash gave Delegado one more dirty look and the Tharashk bounty hunter laughed out loud. “It gets harder and harder to control him when you’re that flippant,” the human said.

“Oh galig,” Delgado snickered. “If he comes at me even your druid magic won’t stop me from opening his guts like a fish at market, and you know it. He doesn’t, but you do. And his business won’t work on the warforged, either. He’s been through far worse than you’re willing to dish out.”

“And yet you were arguing with him,” the druid observed.

“I argue with lots of people,” Delegado said. “Now here’s the deal. I’m meeting Oalian tomorrow. You know why. I already told you everything I told the Vadalis people, so you know what went down in Merylsward. And no, I don’t know a whole lot about Thomas. I know he helped us against the Aundairians and that he saved Pienna’s life.”

“You said he had some lightning magic?”

“He’s got lots of magic, he uses scrolls and stuff, like an artificer.”

“Will this warforged companion of yours tell us more about him?”

Delegado shrugged. “He might. He talked to Thomas more than I did.”

“And he’s part of this prophecy as well?”

“Right.”

“The one that you’ll share with Oalian, and not me?”

“Right.”

“You have any idea what Oalian will do to you if you waste his time?”

“Go back to sleep?”

“Have you met Oalian?”

“Yeah, have you?”

“When I was initiated. He has power beyond what you know.”

“Your point?”

“You’d best not be lying.”

“I’d best not.”

The human looked at some notes he’d been taking. “You claimed you killed the naga we’ve been trying to find.”

“If you’d wanted to find it, you should have hired someone from my House.”

“So you found it?”

“It found us, really.”

“But you’re dragonmarked.”

“Yeah, want me to drop my pants so you can kiss it?”

The human gave him a disgusted look. “Did you kill the naga, yes or no?”

“Orphan did most of it.”

“The warforged?”

“Ayup.”

“But you didn’t bring the head back.”

“Pegasi weren’t going to have anything to do with it.”

“There was a reward for it.”

“You can feel free to give it to me anyway.”

“You know, you’re very blunt.”

“I’ve been told that.”

“Very forthcoming.”

“I’ve been told that, too.”

“Very open about what you know.”

“Add handsome and I’ll think you’re asking me out to dance.”

“But the one thing you get vague on is this Thomas.”

“Well, you can always go ask Thomas your questions, can’t you?” The half-orc grinned. “Oh wait, you can’t. That cottage is a Tharashk sanctuary, and you can’t enter without what Oalian calls ‘solid grounds.’ Looks like you’ll have to wait until tomorrow when we go see Oalian. Oh wait, that’s no good either. Persons en route to an audience with Oalian may not be detained. Gee, tough break. You talk to him afterwards I guess – assuming Oalian lets you.”

“You presume yourself an expert in our ways,” the human druid said coldly.

“I presume that you presume I’m gullible because I have orcish blood,” Delegado said. “And I also presume that you didn’t take me seriously when I told you that Orphan can hear every word I’m saying in here through that wall, so talking to us in different rooms is silly. You’ll get the same story.”

The human snapped his fingers and the dog got up and trotted out. “He’ll confirm that or not,” the druid said. There was a long pause. “I have one more thing to tell you.”

“I’m to stay away from Brogan.”

“Yes.”

“I want nothing to do with him anyway.”

“I think you’re lying.”

“I think you’re sweet on me.”

“Tharashk or no, you’d better take that seriously,” the druid promised. The dog came back in, and the druid cast a quick spell. Delegado wasn’t trained in recognizing magic that he wasn’t personally casting, but he was willing to bet it was a spell that allowed the druid to speak with his animal companion.

He was right. The druid frowned, look up, and Delegado cut him off before he could speak. “Orphan has been telling the people next door word for word what I’ve been saying. Also the guy you sent to Brogan to tell him to keep his cool has come back so now you can let me go.”

The druid tried to smooth his face and failed. “The warforged couldn’t repeat every word precisely, but it was enough. He corroborated everything you said before pointing out how useless his corroboration was, except for one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“He says you know full well what Thomas is and so does he, but he respects Thomas too much to answer, and says we ought to respect Thomas’ privacy as well, and that Oalian will rule on it tomorrow.”

“He has a big mouth.”

“So you did lie to me?”

“No, except when I said I respected you.”

“You never said that.”

“Well then I suppose I’m an honest man.”