Flashback Edge of nowhere (Kophesha)

[Karsynwa]

Karsynwa got up off the woman and let Kopesha take over. Her approach was interesting. It had him thinking whether there was any truth to her claim in any case as he studied the women carefully. For her part, the woman seemed to have broken down at this point, repeating what she had earlier about one of the men outside having stolen something from the Daggerhands.

Something about the way she shifted blame to the dead didn’t sit right with him and he lingered nearby while mulled over their situation. He certainly didn’t feel like staying here after all that had transpired. This place was far from secure and their little brawl outside hadn’t exactly been quiet. He worried that they might have attracted more unwanted attention which was quickly becoming the norm for them. Outsiders were far from welcome in a city like this. A lesson he wished he learned before boarding the ship from Zeltiva rather than right now.

As the woman seemed to be about to pitch herself into another whine about her lot, Karsynwa raised his left boot and slammed it down on her outstreched right hand. He felt the bones roll together under his foot with a crunch before he bent over to pull her up by the wrist. The woman was properly screaming now but Karsynwa ignored it as he dragged her over to the door. He opened it briefly enough to shove her through the gap in the door before slamming it behind her.

He stiffened. Not because he was starting feel the slightest bit guilty for the way he treated the woman but because of the flicker of movement he’d caught at the edge of the alley. Moving slowly, he walked to the side of the door where one of the windows was boarded up and slowly leaned against the crack between the wooden planks. Switching to Infra vision he spotted what his eyes had caught earlier. A hint of heat against the wall and ground where someone had been leaning only moments before.

“Someone is watching us.” Karsynwa groused in a low voice, tight with tension. This room was quickly starting to feel like a trap which wasn’t the least bit settling. “We need a way out.” He said after frowning in consternation for several moments. While he hadn’t had much of a problem with their communication before, he was quickly getting frustrated now that it came time to actually discuss plans. It left them at a distinct disadvantage against their adversaries whom could presumably converse at leisure. The second and third disadvantage came with them knowing this ground, as well as the city. A shite situation to be in by all accounts.

Karsynwa started by examining the left hand wall, knocking past bowls on the wooden counter and pulling at the wall to see if anything came loose. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for though he was kind of hoping that with the shoddy construction of this house they could make a way out without collapsing the structure on themselves. That last part gave him a bit of pause however as he drummed his fingers on the boards of the wall, looking carefully around the small room to see if anything jumped out at him.

When nothing didn’t, he looked over at Kopesha. “Before, you knew two men inside. How about now outside?” He needed more information, and right now he was at a loss for how to get it.

[Kopesha]

The woman didn't say anything more and Kopesha stood up, slowly, painfully, as Karsynwa broke her hand and tossed her out the door. Kopesha didn't know how interrogation worked really, so she didn't know if what she did worked or was helpful or really what Karsynwa was after. It all seemed so... unnecessary. But many city people things were unnecessary. They didn't have to worry about survival each and every single day so they lavished in the unnecessary.

At least the Rivarians were different.

Sunberthers were worried about survival too, but as individuals. Kopesha was quick to believe that there was no sense of community in this dirty, grimy hellhole. Karsynwa wanted a way out. "Three floor up. Ladder go up." She had found it earlier as she scouted the premises. She had assumed it went to the roof but hadn't checked it, nor went to see if it was unlocked or anything of the sort. A native Sunberther might've noticed, but Kopesha was not such a person, and checking for locks was a farcry from her nature.

As Karsyn ripped away at furniture, Kopesha lumbered over to him, clutching her ribs still, a hand on his shoulder. She had enough experience from her time in Riverfall to see when an Akalak was trying to be helpful to cover up their desperation. The man she'd had a child with did it enough on his own, and he wasn't the first, the last, nor the rarity.

"Calm self, Akalak. Breathe. Think. Ladder go up. Man earlier had ladder go up. Brother Eywaat go up. Believe me when say, we go up. I give word you that we follow course. I am mother to Akalak. I live in Riverfall. Trust my word, we live. I no steer you wrong."

She knew a lack of information was frustrating to everyone, and this man seemed determined to always know more. And he was a sharp eye, picking up on her detection of the inhabitants earlier. She held up her hand, so he could see the dots on her fingertips. It wasn't a cultural secret, but most people never bothered to learn any truths about her people. "I feel movement. Can feel from ways. But you need be still, no want feel too many movements at same time. All Chaktawe feel this."

She held her hand up to the door, feeling soft rippling tides, way off. It was hard to discern any difference other than multiple and distant. She slowly sidled the door open, and gingerly snuck her fingertips out and nothing more, to get a clearer feel. Something small splashed across the alley, perpendicular to the thoroughfare. A rodent or small animal she guessed. But further out she could feel the woman stumbling, a strange awkward motion. Kopesha could feel the woman's screams of pain but couldn't make out the words, if there were any.

Then she felt a flurry, rapids, large group of somethings or someones further out from the woman. And then a large splash, and a larger splash still. A crossbow bolt had been fired, striking the woman straight between the eyes and she struck the ground hard. Another splash, and a crossbow bolt slammed into the door, a hair's breadth away from her fingers. Kopesha slammed the door shut, turning away from it, forgetting to lock it.

"Too many."

It seemed that the reinforcements unknown to Kopesha and Karsynwa had arrived. It was time to climb, with or without the Akalak. Kopesha checked her straps on her gear and was scaling the stairs with deep, pained breaths. Time was of the essence so even though the wine helped, she was still pushing through the burning pain. Once she reached the ladder, she slowly climbed up it and began pressing against the hatch at the roof. And it seemed to be budging but not opening. Her eyes scanned it, she didn't see anything barring it.

They were trapped from the outside.

Panic was setting in, as she slammed her palms against the roof, swearing in her native tongue. She started back down the ladder, grabbing her knife in one hand, knowing she'd have to make her stand here with Karsynwa. What a terrible, disgusting place to die. But she said her prayers to Makutsi and Eywaat and prepared herself for battle.

Then the hatch swung open, and a man's face stuck down through.

The same man from the alley, who had sent them on this job in the first place. "Well, you all comin'? You did perfectly, exactly what we needed done." The man stuck his hand out, and Kopesha wasted no time climbing up, taking the hand as he pulled her up on the roof of the building. She didn't move away from the opening, waiting on Karsynwa, shooting glares at the man until he backed away. Despite the searing in her ribs, she knelt, waiting until she saw Karsynwa, and would offer him a hand up too. It was what Rivarians did.

Meanwhile, she could see all around the rooftops surrounding the alley were men and women armed with bows, crossbows, throwing knives and other implements. There was shouting and pounding from the street below, as someone was attempting to break down the door to the house Kopesha had just been in.

Then the man who'd rescued them smiled and raised his head an inch. A signal. And all at once, the crossbows snapped, the bows twanged, and the knives were thrown. And what followed was the simultaneous thud of twenty to thirty dead bodies.

"That'll teach them upstarts to not challenge the Daggerhands."

He then turned to Kopesha, "The name's Jakobi. Welcome to Sunberth. We can take you to somewhere actually safe and comfortable now if you'd like. Whatever you'd like, wherever. Sorry for not being so upfront but this is the way things work here in Sunberth. You may not be Daggerhands yet, but you did do us a service this night. So for a short while, you'll have our protection."