[ If you know to reach him, you probably know he doesn't suffer small talk for long. Be to the point and maybe he'll deign to respond assuming he can work the damn thing. ]
[ It isn’t about responsibility or Red, in the end. That’s not something can communicate clearly to Billie, evidently, if the way his jaw works a few times, like he’s trying to figure out how to put words around what he is trying to tell her in his own obscure way. ]
I know he is. [ Is what he settles on, finally. ] It’s not about keeping him safe.
[ As much trouble as she's had lately of figuring out what's on his mind, this one isn't as bad. At least, she's pretty sure she gets what he's trying to get across, but— ]
I know what happened before is throwing a lot of doubt on me here, but I can take care of myself, too. [ Billie's still making an effort not to get heated over this, figuratively and literally. ] If you're that worried, you're free to tag along. It's not like I would ever argue with that.
[ Billie's interpretation of Daud's sentiments draw a frown from the tiefling, and he shakes his head slightly. ]
I've never questioned your ability to fight. [ He knows she can take care of herself; he made sure of that himself, and it was why he hadn't spared her at the end (besides the curl of suspicion in his gut, anyway, the one that called for blood and whispered no one could be trusted to take advantage of a turned back). Her judgement is another story. It's not a question of can she take care of herself, but will she?
Ultimately, it's her choices, and her consequences to bear. Daud has never been one to shield his own from learning from their own mistakes, and he isn't about to now, and yet ... at the invitation, he shakes his head. ]
I have other things to look into. [ And if Billie's taking Red with him, well, he doesn't have much reason to stay here. ]
[ She's not even sure if the twist she feels at him declining is disappointment or relief. Billie can't watch his back if he's heading his own way, but she can't just trail around after him forever, can she? At least she does a fair job of keeping any of those thoughts off of her face. ]
Yeah, well, there's a first time for everything... [ She won't make a jibe about mistakes. It's fruitless and petty at this point, she supposes. Changing the topic looks like the safest bet for now. ] You going to give me a hint about those other things or am I going to have to use my imagination?
[ Of course, saying he's not going with her isn't the same thing as not showing up in the same city, to keep an eye on matters from a distance. The cities are connected to each other, for better or worse, and with problems at least temporarily resolved in two of them, it behooves him to turn his attention to the other.
All that being said, Billie won't have to wait long for her revelation. He turns away, but it's only to retrieve a string-wrapped bundle from a drawer; a murmured word is enough to lift the wards on it, and a tug of the string reveals a glass-and-metal orb underneath, small gears visible under the rune-etched material. ]
This was in Koroc, or on him. It's identical to the orbs Christine found on the dead soldiers, only it's made of dragonglass.
[ Daud will just be lucky the stormy weather in Didymos will more or less work in his favor. Billie wouldn't be keeping an eye out for him... Unlike now, where she's watching him real damn closely as he turns to go and unward the orb he brings out.
She's seen the one Christine had shown off on the courier, so it isn't anything new apart from— ]
Must be easy to get dragonglass with a dragon. [ That. It makes sense to her, though. They upgraded. It's the medallion that has her leaning away, however, because that phoenix is immediately recognizable to her. ] Okay, that's definitely from the cult, too. The spell they used to snatch people up off the streets stuck that [ And she points to the phoenix, just to clarify. ] on people.
[ She never saw the one on her own neck but everyone else in the pit had had them, clear as day. ]
And you're going to look without backup? Are you sure that's a good idea, Daud?
[ Wouldn't be the first time she's cautioned him against that and it won't be the last, she's sure, even if there has been a hundred year gap between asking him that. ]
Christine’s looking into it to. She knows the tinkers in Krimnos — they may be able to point her in the right direction.
[ He pauses. ]
Before I started the Wolves, I was used to looking out for myself. If you don’t hear from me, you’ll know something is paying attention to where we stick our noses.
Yeah, sure, but then you got old. [ Okay, she's just being a punk with that. A little more seriously— ] At least let me know where you're going. That necklace of mine doesn't do dead people if you do go missing.
[ Admittedly, he might be alive again by the time she figures something's gone wrong. ]
[ That he's still at the information-gathering stages of the process should say a lot. Also, he's pointedly not addressing that 'old' jab because this is a NO FUN ALLOWED zone, all right. ]
[ She has a few things to check in on here, too, apart from picking up Red and just as Daud ignores the jab (as per usual), she will ignore his lack of a definite answer. He doesn't even know yet, does he? And it takes an effort to keep from saying she could go scout it out for him...
But it's as he said once before. She doesn't actually work for him anymore. ]
Anything you need help with before I go?
[ That? That she can offer instead. She's pretty sure she knows what the answer is going to be, though. ]
[ Hardly a surprise he noticed those little acquisitions. She's messed around with one on her own time, out behind the house, watching the compass needle bounce back towards her weakly before pointing adamantly at the dragon skeleton looming grimly outside the city boundaries. ]
Fine by me. Hang on.
[ Billie abandons the mostly ignored breakfast at this point, getting up to head back to the same room she told Red to go to. She'll find him dozing in the hammock she has set up in there, partly buried under the blankets in there with him. She'll let him be and grab one of the two remaining compasses. ]
Here. [ She'll make her return by strolling back in and tossing it to her. Yeah, it's a delicate magical instrument, but Daud's going to catch it, right? ] Have you used one before?
No. [ Daud shakes his head. He does indeed catch the device, but he’ll set it down on the now-cleared table, stepping back and indicating it with a hand. ] Show me.
Poachers use them to track magical prey. If it has a magical aura, it can be tracked. Right now, nothing's in it, so it isn't moving. [ And just as she says, with the clear dome at the center, the entire compass is motionless and not even bothering to work as a regular compass. ] But when you add something...
[ For this example, Billie's going to pluck a piece of hair from her own head and pick the compass up, popping the dome open to add the hair. Admittedly, if she was just going to be handling it again, she should have just kept it herself, but such is life. Anyway, as soon as she snaps the dome shut again, the compass springs to life.
The needle spins a few times, as if searching, before latching on to Billie's aura. It ends up pointing directly at her. During this, she's angled it a little so Daud can watch it work. ]
The closer you are, the more certain it is. It can get pulled between multiple locations if it picks up the same aura in different places, though.
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I know he is. [ Is what he settles on, finally. ] It’s not about keeping him safe.
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I know what happened before is throwing a lot of doubt on me here, but I can take care of myself, too. [ Billie's still making an effort not to get heated over this, figuratively and literally. ] If you're that worried, you're free to tag along. It's not like I would ever argue with that.
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I've never questioned your ability to fight. [ He knows she can take care of herself; he made sure of that himself, and it was why he hadn't spared her at the end (besides the curl of suspicion in his gut, anyway, the one that called for blood and whispered no one could be trusted to take advantage of a turned back). Her judgement is another story. It's not a question of can she take care of herself, but will she?
Ultimately, it's her choices, and her consequences to bear. Daud has never been one to shield his own from learning from their own mistakes, and he isn't about to now, and yet ... at the invitation, he shakes his head. ]
I have other things to look into. [ And if Billie's taking Red with him, well, he doesn't have much reason to stay here. ]
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Yeah, well, there's a first time for everything... [ She won't make a jibe about mistakes. It's fruitless and petty at this point, she supposes. Changing the topic looks like the safest bet for now. ] You going to give me a hint about those other things or am I going to have to use my imagination?
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All that being said, Billie won't have to wait long for her revelation. He turns away, but it's only to retrieve a string-wrapped bundle from a drawer; a murmured word is enough to lift the wards on it, and a tug of the string reveals a glass-and-metal orb underneath, small gears visible under the rune-etched material. ]
This was in Koroc, or on him. It's identical to the orbs Christine found on the dead soldiers, only it's made of dragonglass.
[ There's also a flat, paper-wrapped bundle under the orb; he moves it over and unwraps it to show the phoenix and gauntlet-stamped medallion inside. ]
And this was in what was left of his tent.
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She's seen the one Christine had shown off on the courier, so it isn't anything new apart from— ]
Must be easy to get dragonglass with a dragon. [ That. It makes sense to her, though. They upgraded. It's the medallion that has her leaning away, however, because that phoenix is immediately recognizable to her. ] Okay, that's definitely from the cult, too. The spell they used to snatch people up off the streets stuck that [ And she points to the phoenix, just to clarify. ] on people.
[ She never saw the one on her own neck but everyone else in the pit had had them, clear as day. ]
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I don’t recognize the symbol on the other side — if it’s the mark of another group or it was meant to be a message for the recipient.
But looking into the origins of these is a chance to find the cult.
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[ Wouldn't be the first time she's cautioned him against that and it won't be the last, she's sure, even if there has been a hundred year gap between asking him that. ]
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[ He pauses. ]
Before I started the Wolves, I was used to looking out for myself. If you don’t hear from me, you’ll know something is paying attention to where we stick our noses.
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[ Admittedly, he might be alive again by the time she figures something's gone wrong. ]
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[ That he's still at the information-gathering stages of the process should say a lot. Also, he's pointedly not addressing that 'old' jab because this is a NO FUN ALLOWED zone, all right. ]
When are you leaving?
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[ She has a few things to check in on here, too, apart from picking up Red and just as Daud ignores the jab (as per usual), she will ignore his lack of a definite answer. He doesn't even know yet, does he? And it takes an effort to keep from saying she could go scout it out for him...
But it's as he said once before. She doesn't actually work for him anymore. ]
Anything you need help with before I go?
[ That? That she can offer instead. She's pretty sure she knows what the answer is going to be, though. ]
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You found something that can track down the origin of a magical signature, didn’t you? I’d like to borrow it. See where that leads me.
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Fine by me. Hang on.
[ Billie abandons the mostly ignored breakfast at this point, getting up to head back to the same room she told Red to go to. She'll find him dozing in the hammock she has set up in there, partly buried under the blankets in there with him. She'll let him be and grab one of the two remaining compasses. ]
Here. [ She'll make her return by strolling back in and tossing it to her. Yeah, it's a delicate magical instrument, but Daud's going to catch it, right? ] Have you used one before?
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[ For this example, Billie's going to pluck a piece of hair from her own head and pick the compass up, popping the dome open to add the hair. Admittedly, if she was just going to be handling it again, she should have just kept it herself, but such is life. Anyway, as soon as she snaps the dome shut again, the compass springs to life.
The needle spins a few times, as if searching, before latching on to Billie's aura. It ends up pointing directly at her. During this, she's angled it a little so Daud can watch it work. ]
The closer you are, the more certain it is. It can get pulled between multiple locations if it picks up the same aura in different places, though.