A Griffinhart-felt Counsel

[OOC: Sorry for the lateness. I had a linear algebra midterm to deal with this morning.]

The black cloak traced a shadow through the air as Griffinhart moved, his surety of motion swift and without pause. The Commander trusted the berserker too much; it was one thing to grant an audience to a prisoner at the drop of a pin, another thing to unbind the prisoner in your presence. There were ways to show off confidence without showing off stupidity and weakness-

But he did not voice these things when the guards had come for him. He did not voice a single thing at the summons; he only rose from his seat on the floor of the cold, empty room he had been silently meditating in, and dressed, and left. And he would not voice these things to the Warden-Commander; perhaps she had good reasons, reasons hidden from him and from everyone else, for what she had done.

The warrior hoped so, at least, as he knocked on the door to her room, catching the last muffled sounds of the plotting. Something about bait, a hostage. Inwardly, Griffinhart grimaced; he had not discounted such a possibility, but had hoped against it. Hostage situations were always messy, no matter which side of the hostage you were on. Moreso for Griffinhart, who was not attuned to - or trained for - negotiations and not killing people immediately.

Not that he hadn't prepared himself for such things long ago - that was the mark of a good warrior. Always prepared.

((OOC: Not a problem. Real life always comes first!))

"Come." Nygozy called out as there was a knock on it, "Ah yes, Griffinhart. It seems that Rakot did not wish to wait until he was called."

In a second she was standing, removed a knife from a spot under the cushions and had thrown it at the wall right beside a man's head along with another knife which came from Kai, both at the same time.

Said man grinned at her while putting his hands up in the air, "Keeping you on your toes is my job, my commander." Zevran chuckled as he removed the knives from the wall, "Zat comes close to murder, you know, my pretty. It took off some of my lovely locks. Are you ready for me to set up the meeting?"

Kai growled as Nygozy rolled her eyes, "Be glad we knew it was you, Zev. Just make sure your toy is kept cold. I do not wish for it to smell up the room before the Arl even gets to speak."

Zevran put the knives on the desk as he went towards them then smiled as he passed the men and left.

Nygozy waited until the door was closed, "As I was going to say, Griffinhart is one of the people who will be working with you. You do not want to make a wrong move around him. Now. Are you capable of doing this job without killing your unloved kinsmen until this job is complete, Rakot?"

"Tendir? Tendir isn't my kin, he is trash. If this gets me to Lorek, I'll do my best, but I can't promise anything on that, my hand might slip. As for your tin can friend over there..."

Rakot pointed at Griffinhart.

"...I so far have no reason to be impressed. That shapeshifting dragon thing I fought in the woods, that was impressive, and I'll gladly have another crack at it one day. But keep your warnings, Warden, I am not doing this out of fear of you, nor any of your wacky band of misfits. I am doing this because I've been wronged and I will see the culprit pay in blood. Now give me my maul, and tell me there I am going to start swinging it, I need nothing else to get this done."

"If your hand slips, I will take it from you," impassively stated Griffinhart. His ragged black cloak drawn around him, immotile helmet locked into place, the swordsman was a statue chiseled from shadows as he awaited the Warden-Commander's orders. He had heard the berserker's words, and was neither perturbed nor impressed. Any warrior lost in rage had already given up half the fight; they relied on brute strength to win the battle. And perhaps they would win the battle, but never the war. Fight smarter, not harder, was the lesson he had learned.

Rakot would be easy enough to kill. Distance, and fire. Perhaps ice. Distance was all Griffinhart would need, and that was easy enough to get. The Fade would speed his legs as easily as it sped his arms. Failing that, he would only need to be faster still. A maul took time to swing. And limbs. Limbs were the critical thing to a swing.

But no, they would be giving the berserker some armor, Griffinhart presumed. Otherwise he would not last long. No matter; the warrior would - could - improvise. Such was a weapon master.

Rakot grinned.

"You got a mouth on you, rusty. A few more empty threats like that and you better be concerned with my hand slipping in your direction. Just stand there, quietly, and pretend to look stoic, you seem to be good at that."

He turned back to face Nygozy.

"Don't believe my word about returning to you, so you're sending this one and another with daggers pointed at my back? Well...I can't say I don't understand there you're coming from, but I hope your men are clever enough to not get in between me and my prey."

Her smile did not slip as the two men spoke at each other, she could not consider such a conversation to be to each other, but she did not interfere with it yet. These two would have to work together but whether it was amiably or not was between them to decide.

The call of a hawk caught her attention and she looked to the window with a smile then back at the men, "Whether you are impressed or not with the people I have working for me is not my concern or care. Whether you fear or respect any of us once again is useless as we are using you as a tool just as you are using us."

Nygozy stepped forward, her eyes now narrowed, a slight growl of a grin upon her face as she looked directly into Rakot's eyes, "All we need to know is that we are going to be working together to reach an end to this issue which we both require dealt with for our own reasons. My people are going with you to make sure that our interests are completed, and that means to obtain that Tevinter bastard. You can kill all the rest for all I care, as long as they are not innocents such as family members or bystanders."

She gave a slight nod towards Griffinhart, "You will work with my people, Rakot. You will work with that piece of nug dung who set you up in the first place. You will get your revenge and we will get our information. Once this mission is over then whatever happens to Tendir is not our concern and he knows this. However, you will return because you owe one further thing which would conclude your quest to retrieve your honour."

"Good to know we're on the same page, Warden. Seems its time for me to return to my cell. I'd do it on my own, but then your guards may start feeling unappreciated, and we wouldn't want that."

Rakot remarked sarcastically, picked up the chains from the floor, shackled his own wrists, turned around and approached the door.

"You are being moved to a better cell." Nygozy pointed out as she walked towards the window, "We need you at a good level for the mission tomorrow."

She looked out the window, not concerned about Rakot as she had both Kai and Griffinhart there plus Torture was lying just inside her bedroom just out of sight, the door open. There wasn't much that could become a danger to her with those three guarding her plus her own abilities put in the mix.

The sky was a soft colour and it seemed to be a good day outside. She would have to go out for a bit in order to calm her mind before her noon meeting but for now she waited for Rakot to leave and to hear his footsteps going away with those of the guards.

"What do you think, Griffinhart?" She asked calmly while listening to the birds chirping away.

[OOC: Blrrghgdblefbh discrete math midterm and Touhou Teatime meeting was today (well, yesterday as of now).]

"I have not seen him in battle, and do not know how well he will perform." The Anderfels Warden was all business; he had not cared (or perhaps not noticed, but he did not seem the sort to not notice anything) a whit for Rakot's arrogant words. "I have seen Wardens more proud than him die just as easily as any other mortal. If he steps out of line, he will be dealt with."

But more important than Rakot was the mission, and how they were to prepare for it. "You walk a fine line, Warden-Commander. You must give Rakot proper equipment for battle, but not enough that he becomes a meaningful threat to the mission if he chooses to betray you. Further, he must strike a fine balance in his killing and rage; too much too quick and he will be exhausted and useless in battle. Too little too slow and he will be overwhelmed - or mistaken for betrayer."

Griffinhart paused for a moment, hesitating - not wondering if he should dare breach the topic, but how to breach it. "Also, Commander. Bait? A hostage?" Again, a moment of hesitation. "How tantamount is their safety to the mission? If I have to choose between saving the hostage's life or completing the mission - or killing Rakot - what do I prioritize?" This was not a question he normally asked. In his experience, the mission had always taken precedence.

But this was a new Commander, and she could have different priorities. Griffinhart had to establish those priorities before they became important factors.

"Yes he is quite ... proud and somewhat obnoxious in his attitude." She chirped out the window and waited a moment. When there was a responding sound she walked away from the portal and rolled her shoulders, "When it comes to battle though, I believe in Drake's word. Rakot can fight and fight well but I agree there is a chance of him not using his skills to the best of his capabilities due to his own personal considerations. That can be dangerous and it is risky business but one cannot gain without some risk."

Nygozy rubbed her chin, breathed deep then let the air out slowly, "One of the reasons I have chosen you for this mission is because you are one to look out for betrayal and will never trust anyone completely. That is greatly required for this. Also, you will not allow emotion to rule your actions or motivation. I do not dare expect everything to go well. I hope for it but wish to stay realistic. It is why I've been testing that man, to see what I may expect from him."

There was a knock on the door and Jezarine popped her head in, "You wanted me?" She shyly came into the room and closed the door behind herself, her big brown eyes on Griffinhart as if she were unsure of what to do around the man.

"As for bait ... Jezarine is very important to us. So is this mission."

Jezarine turned her head to look at Nygozy, worry in her eyes, "Ah ... bait?"