After the group is arrested by the Collegium guards and taken to the comfortable “holding cell”.
Alexis, looking tired and energized at the same time, who is still bruised from the bookshelf and burned from the scroll magics, speaks.
“Well” he says looking around the richly appointed room “if we’re going to be held for questioning, this is a better spot than most.”
He sits down and starts fiddling with his jasper necklace.
“Lorianne’s surely going to have already gotten the first word. I never thought the Collegium could be so compromised. Have to see how this plays out.”
After shortening the leather thong around the jasper necklace, Alexis wears his red jasper around his wrist. He moves to Gustav to tend to him while they wait.
Rask somewhat awkwardly settles in for a long wait.
He adjusts his sword belt with a slight by uncharacteristic hesitation. He then without any apparent thought, pulls a small, deep red gemstone, smooth and uncut, from his pouch and rubs the gem absentmindedly with the thumb and forefinger of his sword hand.
The bloodied and deadly warrior begins to relax.
“It would seem to me we are in this jail, and this broader situation, in large part to investigating of the murder. Nardor Threp hasn’t been fully forthcoming with us. He had to ‘ve known the murder has been ‘solved’ by the Lascaris family. If we are going to continue to help him we should be able to renegotiate our deal. He has asked a lot from us and given us little in return”
Rask perks up slightly as Ethelred speaks, and cocks his head in slight confusion at the mention of the Lascaris family and the murder of Aleric Trevalayne.
Red notices Rask’s response and the lack of any words from Alexis.
“While it is true we have been a thorn in the side of the Lascaris family. I still believe the attack and us ending up here in jail, is due to the murder we investigated. And we only investigated the murder because of Nardor Threp . Alexis should. bring this up next time we see him….”
Alexis seems to have been distracted thinking about something else entirely and his hand was idly touching the blue and obsidian amulet through his shirt.
“Hm?”
“Sorry Red. Why do you think this ambush was set up related to the murder? On the surface it seems like it was set up for family honor, and paying a debt to the Dark Hand. Yes the Dark Hand was involved in the murder. And yes the Dark Hand was involved in this ambush, in a manner of speaking, but I’m not sure I’ve made the same connection you have. What is the evidence I’m not seeing?”
Gustav is applying a poultice onto Alexis’s wounds. He listens to Alexis and then looks down and says in a whisper.
“Oh no, not evidence.”