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[Vari]

Vari swung his staff, feeling a sort of grim satisfaction as it cracked against the skull of one of his assailants. The man collapsed to the ground alongside another of his fellows, bring forth a chorus of growls from the remaining two.

Hired muscle, sent to teach Vari a lesson in respect. It had a grand total of one hour to come up with this plan, and already Vari was having his doubts about its likelihood of working. Now that the element of surprise lent by falling from the sky was gone, odds of winning were falling as steadily as the ash itself.

Step one, make somebody important mad. Check.
Step two, make him send his thugs for public humiliation. Check.
Step three, beat them up like an allomancer to get the rebellion’s attention without alerting the ministry. Work in progress.

The thugs had undoubtedly heard the reputation Vari had for fighting, but money was money, and a man had to eat. There was a decent crowd of skaa spectators as well, doing their best at pretending they weren't looking, but all very much interested in watching a little fight. The attackers fell into a front and back partnership formation, brandishing their slightly rusty knives. On any other day, Vari would have beaten them senseless while they were still in shock, but not only would that fail to fulfil his goal, but it seemed the seekers had been much more active of late, catching extended use of allomancy. Which was why Vari was taking extra care to keep it to a minimum while winning the fight. What I wouldn't give for a way to hide my allomancy...

The thugs approached, the knife-wielder at its head stepping out of formation to stab at him. Vari leaped backwards and swung his staff upwards, its superior reach batting the knife aside without endangering Vari to another attack. The knife wielder stepped back behind his partner, testing out a few more lunges. He feinted around, darting right and left, but never actually committing himself to an attack. What is he doing?

Primal instinct took over. Vari jumped left, turning as he did, both sides of the large alley coming into view. Someone had approached from behind. A fifth assassin! There was no way he would survive a three on one normally. It was time for some allomancy. Vari reached inside, not really knowing how he was doing it, and flared his zinc to life. The wonderful sensation of liquid flame ignited in his stomach, sending a wave of surprise and terror to the attacker behind him. The sudden jolt of emotion froze him, made him hesitate. It was enough. Vari spun around and kicked, landing a solid blow that many would have deemed unsportsmanlike. The fifth man went down to his knees in pain, and a few watching skaa winced. I really hope there weren’t any seekers passing by… Vari thought to himself. He needed something extreme, something to kick start the rumors. That would mean allomancy. Lots of allomancy. So be it.

Vari charged forward, bringing forth looks of surprise and amusement from the two remaining. He reached the head, sending out a concentrated burst of fear to him. Some primal instinct in people's mind let them resist, even if they had no idea what they were doing. A few people were better than others, which had landed Vari in a number of unpleasant situations before. Fortunately, this man wasn't one of the resistant. He froze with enhanced surprise, falling to the ground like a discarded coat as Vari slammed the staff into his head. Vari moved forward to strike again, but the remaining assailant remaining backed away, wary. He could tell there was something strange about this fight, something distinctly wrong. A few feet behind, the previously disabled thug groaned and started to stand. Vari found himself laughing out loud, drawing a few uncertain glances from his opponents. They hadn't seen anything yet.

Edited by Vari, 09 October 2012 - 02:16 AM.

[Daphne]

"Daphne, what to you think is going on over there?" Valerre's voice, usually laced with boredom and sarcasm, had suddenly grown more animated. Daphne held up her hand, shading her eyes from the sun, glancing in the direction he gestured to. It would seem there was a crowd gathered around a spectacle of some sorts. From the grunts and shouts, it sounded like some sort of altercation.

"Likely just a few drunks brawling Valerre, don't pay them any attention. We should be getting back to the brothel soon with these groceries." She gestured to her satchel filled with vegetables and the basket Valerre carried full of bread. Her action, however, was lost on her companion, who was absorbed in whatever was happening before them. He never could pay attention to any one thing for long, even as a boy.

Valerre set down his basked of bread, and headed towards to commotion.

"Valerre! Get back here! We have to get these things home!" Her admonitions fell on deaf ears, however.

Grumbling to herself, Daphne picked up the basket of bread in her free hand, and tried to keep the cover in place. They were buying for the entire brothel, and thus she likely currently carried more food than most skaa saw in several weeks. Valerre carried a staff to dissuade any potential brigands, but with him so distracted, Daphne didn't want to tempt any thieves.

Perhaps I can talk to Trev, get him to knock some sense into him. Perhaps Valerre could use a stronger male role model. Even as the thought crossed her mind, Daphne knew it wouldn't work. Valerre was his own man, through and through. He wouldn't let anyone try to change him, even her. Part of her was frustrated with his stubborn nature, but the other part was somewhat proud of how strong he had become. Now, if only, she could get him to love himself as much as she loved him.

"Daphne," he called, "Come look! It's a fight!"

Of course it was. Knowing this part of town, it was only a matter of time before someone pulled a rusty knife or piece of glass and killed someone. Then, there would be a panic as the spectators fled the scene, not wanting to be around in case the garrison or the ministry showed up to investigate. How did Valerre expect her to hold on to the groceries in the midst of all of that?

He doesn't expect anything. He just acts. Shaking her head gently, Daphne stepped towards to crowd, trying to get a view of what Valerre was so excited about.

She arrived just in time to witness a lone man with a staff charging two street toughs with knives. Poor thing, she thought. Likely he'd inadvertently offended the wrong crew leader and was going to pay now with his life. From the looks of things, he wasn't all that old. It was a shame people like him died every day. That's what's wrong with this empire, she reminded herself. Needless deaths like these were the reason she did what she did everyday, fighting in her own way for the freedom of her people.

The young man completed his charge and didn't die. The toughs had been organized into a strong partner position, using their numbers to their advantage. They should have been able to overpower him easily. True, he seemed a competent fighter, so the young man might have managed to wound or incapacitate one with his staff, but in doing so he would likely leave himself open to be finished off by one of the other toughs.

And yet her survived. At the last minute, one thug's face contorted in an expression of utter shock, his whole body seeming to tense up as if he had seen a mist wraith. The young man capitalized on this, slamming his staff into his head and dropping him to the ground.

"Valerre, did you see that?" Daphne whispered. What could have made the man freeze up like that. "That thug, he seemed ready to kill that poor boy, but something made him choke at the last minute." While there were surely other explanations, Daphne's mind went straight to allomancy.

"I know, I saw," Valerre was saying, he was scanning the crowd, deep in thought.

"Do you think..."

"A rioter is my guess. Soothers are more subtle, and don't produce such violent results like that..." he trailed off as he continued to search the crowd, looking for signs that an allomancer was helping the young man.

Reaching within herself, Daphne burned copper, hoping to mask any allomantic pulses in the area. If someone was burning metals, there was no telling if they had a copper cloud or not. If they didn't, it would only be a matter of time before this little show drew the attention of the ministry.

"We're covered," she said softly. "Any luck?" If there was an allomancer in the crowd, perhaps they could be recruited to the rebellion if they were sympathetic. If not, they might be a threat that Trev would want to look into. The last thing the rebellion needed now was trouble from one of Luthadel's major thieving crews.

Valerre frowned. "I can't tell. Let's keep watching and see what happens next."

[Vari]

Vari panted, hurting from dozens of wounds all over him. A knife cut from his initial attack, a bruise from a kick to the knee, the ever-present pains of hunger, and of course the alarming sensation of running low on zinc. He had a mercenary on each side, and neither of them seemed likely to fall for his allomancy tricks as easily as the others. Down on the ground, an unconscious man groaned, mumbling to himself. Though he was an allomancer, Vari was no thug, and there was only so much strength a teenage boy could hit with. Another assassin, the one at Vari’s feet, started to rise. Without hesitation Vari stepped forward and rammed his staff into the back of the man’s head, and then stomped on it for good measure. The others seemed slightly taken aback at the show of brutality, and Vari himself was hit with a wave of emotion.

He’s probably got a family. He only does this to feed them. I just killed a mother and children…

Vari shoved the caring down and advanced, hiding the limp in his right leg, though the blood was already seeping through. He turned sideways, facing both at once, keeping his staff at the ready. With a yell he charged the one in front of him, sending out the biggest wave of shock and fear he could muster.

It didn’t matter.

The shock only seemed to make the man react faster as he sliced, cutting a gash into Vari’s forearm. He cried out in pain, swinging out and backing away, falling into a sloppy defensive position, back to square one but with a new injury to complicate things.
It was probably time to run.

Edited by Vari, 15 October 2012 - 05:15 PM.

[Daphne]

"It's him," whispered Valerre suddenly.

"What?" asked Daphne, confused.

"It's him, he's the rioter. The changes in emotion are too well co-ordinated with his attacks. It has to be him."

Daphne eyed the man with a more critical view. Usually emotional allomancers stuck to the sidelines. Even if they were competent fighters, they were usually too valuable to risk in a fight. Unless...

"He's working alone then," she said. "No crew would put a soother or rioter in harms way without back-up."

"He's a rioter," said Valerre distractedly. "Shame though, looks like he's not going to make it."

Daphne looked up at Valerre's face. No emotion was displayed on it. He knew what was going to happen; that they boy would die, and was already resigned to the fact, prepared to watch even. Looking around, Daphne saw similar expressions on others in the crowd. It was the same indifference many skaa war on days of execution. This is why they rule over us, think of us as animals, she thought. What human being can watch one of its own die without being moved? They condition us to accept death, then use that acceptance to critique our humanity.

"We have to help him."

"What? Daphne, don't be crazy. The boy is dead already. We can't save him now. He won't last moments more." As Valerre spoke, the boy took a hit to the arm, and a hush rushed through the crowd as his shirt began to soak with blood. They know it too, Daphne realized. All minor discussions had faded away as the crowd waited for a grand finale to the spectacle before them.

I will not watch him die. The boy was an allomancer, and he could fight; was willing to fight. He could be an asset to the rebellion. He almost reminded her of Valerre, in a way, with his dark hair and defiant attitude. Somehow, she would save him.

Reaching into her bag, Daphne fumbled around for a few moments till she found a hard potato. "We're saving him, Valerre," she whispered. "But to do that, we're going to need help from this crowd. Follow my lead."

Without wasting another moment, she removed the potato from her bag and hurled it at the boy's assailant.

[Valerre]

Valerre watched the graceful arc of the potato as it hurtled through the air. Daphne had quite an arm on her, it would seem.

Why does she always drag me into this. Pushing his mental grumblings aside, Valerre immediately began to riot the crowd, focusing on the injustice of the moment, hoping to use a little old fashioned mob mentality to his advantage. While he might not share Daphne's unshakable altruism, he did respect it. Had he been here on his own, the boy would have died. That he knew. He had seen death before and the wounded rioter was nothing to him but a passing object of interest. But he wasn't alone, and because Daphne wanted the boy would live, Valerre would do everything in his power to make it so.

Picking up a clod of dirt from the crowd, Valerre took quick aim and threw as well. "Leave him alone, ya big bully!" he called, disguising his voice. "Why don't you go pick on someone your own size!" As soon as he shouted the last syllable he grabbed Daphne and began to weave through the crowd, hoping to make it difficult for the assailants to isolate their position, while rioting the crowd all the while.

"I hope this works," he muttered. "But if I get blood on this jacket, Daphne, you owe me a new one." How do I get myself involved in these situations.

[Vari]

Vari brandished his staff at the two men closing in, listening with dread as yet another one started to rise. As if from nowhere, a small rounded object flew from the crowd and smacked one of the mercenaries in the head. Moments later, there came a shout.
"Leave him alone, ya big bully!" it called, "Why don't you go pick on someone your own size!"
Another projectile hit the man, this time a dirt clod.
So, it would not be the rebellion that saved him this time, just an honest skaa. Though it was good to know there was such a thing, it felt wrong that all this effort should go to waste. Why did these kinds of things always happened to him?
You betrayed your family. You know that already.
But why me? Why-

Vari snapped alert. He had no reason to feel self-pity or injustice. He already knew he had what he deserved. An allomancyer! It was the rebellion!
Or his own mind messing with him.
This wasn't the time to worry about that.

Vari lunched forward, sweeping his staff sideways and taking the feet out from under a strartled and dirt-covered mercenary. Vari dashed out of the alley, turning back to look at the two men, now both on the same side of him. He glanced back, searching for the possible allomancer in the crowd, all the while debating whether or not he was stupid enough to try taking the recovering thugs on fairer ground. The ministry probably sensed me. Time to go.
With that, Vari turne to leave,

Edited by Vari, 20 October 2012 - 12:49 AM.

[Daphne]

The crowd began to hurl insults, and some even hurled stones at the boys assailants, calling for them to leave him alone, spurred on by Valerre's rioting. At least half the crowd remained impassive or left, but enough joined in that the boy managed to escape down a side street unpursued. Perhaps there is hope for us after all.

Tugging Valerre by the sleeve, Daphne nodded in the direction the boy had left and pulled him after her. After a few steps, she handed him back his basket of bread, not wanting to trip and spill both it and her bag of vegetables in her hurry. She already felt guilty about wasting that potato. Hopefully some hungry skaa child would find it, and be able to fill their bellies at least a little.

Quickening her stride, Daphne tried her best to follow the fleeing young man. Once she judged them far enough away from the square with the thugs, she called out, "Wait, come back! We can help you!"

[Vari]

"Wait, come back! We can help you!"
Vari slowed at the call, glancing backwards and preparing what little zinc he had left. As much as he wanted them to be rebellion members, it was not only unlikely, but also potentially lethal. They could easily be another batch of assassins the crew leader had managed to pay for.
But what if they're not...? his mind whispered
Vari stopped and turned fully, staff ready at his side and zinc at the ready. He glanced back at the speaker and her companion, who as holding a basket, presumeably with food in it. "You threw the potato?" Vari asked, inwardly wincing at his inability to come up with something stronger. Vari reached out and rioted the girl's sympathy lightly, conserving what little power he had left. It came out in a pathetic trickle, not enough to have an effect. Frustrated, Vari pushed it harder, giving off a brief blast of uncontrolled rioting before forcing it back under control.
"Thank you..." Vari muttered, trying to hide his embarassment at the clumsy rioting attempt.

[Daphne]

Daphne was still smoking, and thus had no idea the young man had just attempted to manipulate her emotions. All she knew is the boy had stopped running, and that she and Valerre might have a chance to save him.

"Yes," she said, catching her breath. "That was me." Beside, Valerre harrumphed loudly. Rolling her eyes where only he could see, she continued. "Valerre here helped too. He threw the clod of dirt and started the shouting. My name is Daphne." Valerre grumbled, rolling his eyes and making no attempt to disguise his disapproval. Frowning, he began to taps his foot impatiently, eager to be gone, and hesitant to get involved with someone he didn't know.

"Don't mind him," Daphne said, ignoring Valerre's childish display, "He's just jealous he's not the centre of attention. He has a little bit of trouble warming up to people, that's all."

[Vari]

She didn't even notice my rioting! Vari thought with alarm. It should have comforted him, but all it did was unnerve him. He checked his zinc, sensing for four good surges. With that in mind he flared it, smashing the girl, Daphne, with a wave of pity. Moments later he spoke, ignoring the rude one. Even the rebellion was bound to have rude people."You're allomancers aren't you?"
That's the best you can come up with? Six years of looking and you don't even know what to say...
"I felt some one rioting me." He added, aiming for observation value.

[Valerre]

Valerre groaned. The cheeky urchin had sensed his rioting, which meant they were in too deep. At least they knew about their violent friend's allomancy as well. Hopefully that would be enough to keep him from spilling Valerre's secret.

Touching Daphne lightly on the shoulder, Valerre whispered in her ear. "Let's get out of here," he hissed. "We saved his life, now we should go before he learns more of us than we'd like. In my opinion he's already learned too much."

Daphne shook her head, and Valerre stood aside. Why couldn't she just respect his opinion? Daphne didn't see it, but Valerre could tell she was stretching herself thin. She didn't need other souls in need to call on her attention. She barely seemed to have time for him any more as it was, let alone time for herself. If this new rioter thought he could mosey in on Valerre's territory, Valerre had another thing coming, whatever Daphne's intentions might be.

"We're here to help you," said Daphne soothingly. She was using her mother's voice, the one that had always been able to calm a younger Valerre when he was in his most violent of rages. To hear her apply it to some stranger on the street seemed absurd. She doesn't need you, a voice seemed to whisper from some darker part of his mind. No one needs you. You are worthless. Valerre shoved the darkness aside. Daphne did need him. He was her protector, her confidante. He had protection of her happiness, without him, who would make sure she smiled?

"We have some food," Daphne was saying. "Would you like some? If you come with use we can get you something to eat, and perhaps see to your wound."

Here we go again, thought Valerre, rolling his eyes again, and frowning heavily to show his disapproval of Daphne's newest friend.

[Vari]

"We're here to help you," said Daphne, using a tone of voice that reminded Vari of a place long gone.

"We have some food," she continued. "Would you like some? If you come with use we can get you something to eat, and perhaps see to your wound."

Vari's stomach growled, and the issue of the wound came to his mind. He was no surgeon, and a boy on the streets with a bad arm would not live long.

But can I trust them? Vari thought. Val...something doesn't seem very happy to see me. He's the kind of person you avoid.
This is your dream! Don't just throw it away!
But I can't be stupid either... That posed a problem Vari didn't have the time to contemplate. Think fast and stick to it he had once been told, and so he did.
"I'd like that." Vari said cautiously, stepping slowly towards Daphne. He kept his staff and zinc ready though, in case the other one decided to attack, against all logic.
I need to figure out what allomanctic power he has. The girl's a rioter, but what is he? With those thoughts in mind Vari dropped all caution and walked towards them at a normal pace, if the pace of a starving child moving towards food can be called normal.

Edited by Vari, 23 October 2012 - 10:41 PM.

[Daphne]

As the young man stumbled forward, at Daphne's side Valerre stiffened and moved in position between her and the would-be attacker. He's so protective of me now, she thought. It was strange to see the boy who she had devoted so much of her early life to returning her devotion. He'd like the world to think he's a black-hearted villain, but he's still got a heart in there somewhere. That was why he needed her. Valerre might be bolder, stronger, and more competent then the child she had cared for, but his heart was more fragile and broken than ever. Of course, it fell to Daphne to mend it. Who else would care for such a sullen and broken thing?

Thoughts of broken things called her attention back to the matter at hand. "Valerre it's fine. He means his no harm." After a moment during which he was likely giving the wounded stranger a defensive glare, Valerre stepped aside.

"Now then," Daphne said, trying her best to diffuse the mounting tensions, "I don't have any supplies here to treat your wound, but I can do what I can to save you some pain later." Handing her satchel of food to a muttering Valerre, Daphne brushed her hands off on her dress and made herself ready.

"Now then, let's see what we have to work with. May I see your arm?"

[Vari]

Daphne seemed to chastise her partner.
Vallere. That was his name. She seemed unworried of Vari, which made him nervous. People were supposed to be nervous. An unworried person was a dangerous one.
"Now then," Daphne said, "I don't have any supplies here to treat your wound, but I can do what I can to save you some pain later."
"Now then, let's see what we have to work with. May I see your arm?"

Vari took another hesitent step forward, glancing down at his arm. The slice wasn't as bad as it looked, but it still looked on the verge of infection, and the pain coming from it seemed to slowly gain power. Akwardly and unsure of what to do, Vari left the arm in, waiting for her to make a move. "How did you find me?" He asked, hoping to open more opportunities for questions in desperate need of asking.

Edited by Vari, 24 October 2012 - 11:04 PM.

[Valerre]

"Finally!" Valerre interjected, "Someone is showing a little sense." Walking around so he could look her in the eyes, Valerre fixed Daphne with his most direct gaze and rioted her, even though he knew her copper would make it futile. Sometimes, it just helped him think.

"He's wary of us Daphne. He doesn't know us. More importantly, we don't know him. We saved his life, that's all well and good. But now, we can check it off our list, groceries: done, good deed: accomplished. We've had quite the eventful and productive day. Now, let's go home and leave this vagabond to solve his own sorry problems."

As an after thought, Valerre turned back to the injured and wary looking man. "No offence."

[Daphne]

Before the injured party could respond to Valerre's outrageous statement, Daphne interjected. "No, Valerre, I don't care what you say. We're not leaving him." Daphne felt some colour come to her face, and knew she was in the right. Normally so contained and controlled, out of necessity, whenever something stirred her blood, she knew it was worth fighting for. "You can do what you want, but I will never, ever abandon someone who needs me."

"He doesn't need you Daphne. It's just a scratch. Probably not even as bad as it looks. Besides, you aren't any nurse, what do you think you can do for him that he can't do for himself?"

Daphne scowled, but inside she felt her heart tighten up. Valerre was right of course. She was just some common whore. She could dance and sing and delight the fancy of any man (as well as the occasional woman), but she was no doctor. She had no real skills at all, in fact. Who did she think she was, trying to change the world anyways?

No, she told herself. You can't go there again. Too many people are counting on you. Too many people need you. Amateur or not, she had to believe the things she did mattered, that they made a difference. Just because she worked in a brothel, that didn't mean a whore was all she was. People are so much more than what they do to survive, she told herself, repeating the familiar mantra.

"Stop acting like a spoiled child, Valerre," she said. "If he wants us, we are helping him, and that's final."

Turning to the young man, Daphne smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry. We were out buying groceries and Valerre noticed the commotion, so we went to see what was wrong. In my opinion, Luthadel has seen more than enough senseless deaths, so I like to do what I can to lessen that number for the future."

[Vari]

"He doesn't need you Daphne. It's just a scratch. Probably not even as bad as it looks. Besides, you aren't any nurse, what do you think you can do for him that he can't do for himself?" Valerre said.

Vari felt something odd inside him, and it took him a moment to identify it. It was....something else. It was like the caring, similar to what he'd felt in the fight. Except this wasn't like that. It was different somehow.
Valerre doesn't care! Vari realized with a start, barely hearing Daphne's next comment. But...what does that mean? Why would I feel like this to him, and not to half of Luthadel?
"Thank you, but we should probably go. It won't take long for him to figure out I'm alive." Vari muttered, looking down at the injury again. It was bloody and filled with dirt. Lord Ruler knew how long it would be before the arm turned into a giant sore.. "I hope you know a place to hide. He knows most of my hidey-holes, and can figure out the rest of them." Vari added. It was a lie of course, but it would be good to see where they would go, and they had no way of proving otherwise.

Edited by Vari, 26 October 2012 - 10:56 AM.

[Daphne]

Daphne hesitated. She couldn't risk bringing the young man into the fold until she could ensure he was trustworthy. She truly wanted to help him, but for all she knew, he could be a military agent, however unlikely that might sound. She could not risk endangering everyone she loved and the cause she cared for on the honour of a stranger.

"You can't seriously be considering this, can you? hissed Vslerre. "We know nothing about him Daphne. We don't even know his name! How are we supposed to trust him?"

"Enough Valerre," she said, setting her jaw. The young man who's name she did not yet know was correct. Time was running out. She needed to make a decision.

Why must it always be a choice? She was so tired of having to choose who to help and who to let die; who to save and who to doom. Why did it have to be so hard to make the world a better place.

I won't give up, she told herself. I can't.

"We can help you," she said after another moment of thought. "To hide you, anyways, until things die down. However, if you want more of our help after that, you'll have to tell us who you are, and explain yourself until we know we can trust you."

"How..."

"I have an idea," said Daphne, smiling as she interrupted Valerre. "Now then, we should probably be going. I'll explain as we go, but before we get started, might I ask your name?"

[Vari]

Vari hesitated. Any dedicated searcher would be able to trace him back to his varoius thieving crews using his name. With a little digging, they would be able to uncover his old name and all the history that came with it.
They would know what he'd done...
But they were allomancers. They were his people. He needed this. Vari reached to riot himself, break his indecision, but of course he couldn't. Nobody gave a curse that came with a doorway out. He would have to make this decision without hiding behind the excuse of allomancy.
"Vari." He said after another moment of hesitation. "My name's Vari."
He kept a careful eye on Valerre, looking for a reaction as the sounds of violent searching sounded out what seemed to be several alleys away.

[Valerre]

Valerre rolled his eyes. What kind of a name was Vari, anyways? Part of knew he was being petty because the similarity between their names bothered him, but he suppressed that part as best he could. If he wanted to be petty, why shouldn't he be? It was Daphne who was being ridiculous, after all.

The sounds of pursuit seemed to be following them. What is Daphne doing? Could she really be intending to expose a rebellion safe house to this stranger? Daphne was usually exceedingly careful when it came to protecting the rebellion, but that didn't mean she never made mistakes. Her large heart was one of the things Valerre liked best about her, but he also knew how much trouble it could be when it overpowered Daphne's good sense. Since when did I become the spokesperson for sense? I thought I was supposed to be the irrational one.

Turning another corner, Daphne took them out of an alley and on to the street. Interesting, does she plan to lose our pursuers in a crowd? While the thoroughfare they currently frequented was not as forlorn as the alley, it could still hardly be called bustling. Besides, all the witnesses here would be skaa, and their pursuers wouldn't care about making a scene unless nobles were involved. If that was Daphne's plan, it wouldn't work unless they got onto a main road, and out of the slums.

Suddenly, Daphne stopped at the mouth of an alley which Valerre's memory told him would lead out of the slum, and had very few other entrances.

"I'll wait here, and make sure they don't follow you. Valerre, take Vari down this alley, out of the slums, then mingle with the crowd until I join up with you."

"Daphne, you can't be serious. If you think those brutes will bat an eyelash at destroying a pretty girl like you, you know you are sadly mistaken. You can't stay behind!"

"I'll be fine, Valerre. They are only after Vari. They probably have no idea I threw the potato. Besides, when they don't find Vari, they'll be looking for someone to punish, and a mere prostitute will be much less of a target than another man who looks about the age of their intended victim."

"But..."

"No buts Valerre, there isn't time. Get Vari out of the slums, then do what you can to bandage his wound. When I join you, we'll see if we can get him to a doctor."

Valerre grumbled, but saw that arguing would be useless. "Fine," he said. "But you owe me one. Be safe." Without waiting to see if Vari was following him, Valerre set out down the alley in a huff.