Snippet #1401417

Loki did not flinch away when the fingertips whistled past her nose, nor did she blink once at the resulting current of air. She might well have been cast of stone for all she responded to his erratic behavior. The Princess did note the black circles on Eos’s palms, though she had no idea what they meant, if anything. Of course, the fact that he implied knowing her mother only served to temper her irritation with curiosity. Not that it would do him much good, all things considered, not when he was behaving like this at his only chance for freedom in the near future.

He knew Amon, though… had called himself Amon’s dog. The only logical conclusion was that this man had once been an assassin. But even that did not make any sense. Amon Gregory did not leave loose ends, and if this…assassin was so incompetent as to have been caught by the city guard, there was no way it would have been impossible to cauterize the particular festering wound he represented.

She was tempted to ask why it was that she should care if she knew of a man who had spent the last however-many years in an alcohol-induced haze of existence, but he’d said “us,” not “me,” which immediately informed her that something was going on here that she did not know about. Amon… you have some explaining to do.

Loki spent a moment in contemplation, trying to decide exactly what to do with this man. The likelihood of being able to get one of Amon’s agents (or former agents, as it seemed) to talk if he did not wish to was quite low for one who drew lines where she did. Clearly, he did not well understand that she was his best chance out of here, even if she wasn’t feeling all that charitable at present. Still, it was obvious that he was not responsible for Goldwater’s death. The Marquis had been killed by poison, a method a good deal more subtle than Eos’s personality would suggest. He would have probably admitted to it directly anyway.

Now there’s a good point… If nothing else much worked in his favor, Eos was… direct. A good deal more so than Amon, apparently. If she was to discover what he was referencing, why not ask the story of him, rather than wait to inquire of someone who might be less willing to discuss it? She shot a glance at Taylor, but he was probably a bit further behind yet than she was, because to her knowledge, he had no personal acquaintance with the Guildmaster and perhaps thus less implicit reason to be so intrigued.

“Perhaps you are correct about that,” she replied to Eos's rather unsubtle implication regarding her ignorance of who (or perhaps ‘what’ was the more appropriate term) he was. “Fine. You have been rather frank, allow me to do the same. I have the power to free you, but I’m not in the business of doing things for nothing. Neither, I imagine, are you. I want this tale you seem so keen to tell, and I want all of it. If you are forthcoming with it, you’ll see the sun again. If not…” she shrugged as if to convey complete nonchalance, then crossed her arms neatly over her chest. It was a deal he was free to take or leave as he chose; it was not as though she were completely without other options. Either way, she was probably going to let him go, not being of the sort to happily keep an innocent (though that too seemed the wrong characterization) person imprisoned. But he didn’t have to know that.

-=-
District Beta

“Hmm… Pandora Elling… I suppose it would make sense to pay the clinician a visit. Thank you, Etzel; you have been most helpful. If anything further about this occurs to you, you can find me in the usual place.”

With that, Amon reassumed his shuffling demeanor and exited, smiling crookedly as he called over his shoulder. “Thank you kindly, doctor, I’m sure I’ll be back eventually.” His mind was already occupied, choosing the best guise under which to make a surreptitious visit to the Elling woman. He’d have to make an adjustment to his wardrobe, of course, but- ah. Loki had asked him to drop by her office first. Apparently, she had been planning on securing an alliance with Lord Caelin Taylor, and he wondered how far she would take it. In court, there were allies with whom one shared goals, and then there were allies with whom one shared information.

He supposed he would find out when he got there, and for now he could pass on the information he had gained from Etzel about the poison, and check for an update on Parliament’s actions in the matter. They tended to move slowly as a body, but that was not to say that individuals were not already trying to establish positioning in the wake of such a major figure’s demise.

Amon had the feeling that he was going to be quite busy indeed for some time to follow.