[hider=Noon Sola 23, 1739: Callum & Quack & Riona Part 3][center][h1][b][color=00F8FE]Callum[/color] & Quack & [color=DAF6C7]Riona[/color][/b][/h1][/center]
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Quack’s face had said it all, but that didn’t stop the tirade from coming anyway. Callum understood the point, if they failed, it looked like Cal only lost something he didn’t care about, his life. Either way, success or failure, he was already losing his family. Success, almost certainly, would end in the deaths of every Danrose; he and his siblings included. Callum wasn’t so delusional that he thought they’d all just be sent off to live normal lives. Did Quack not consider that a sacrifice either? No, Quack probably saw that as the reason he needed insurance. But the insurance he asked for, felt like giving up a piece of his humanity. 

Each time Quack paused, Callum thought about saying something, then worried it would make things worse. And Quack kept on talking, except now he was only talking to Riona like Cal wasn’t even worth words. He glanced at Riona, and she almost looked like she was in pain. His fault, he was letting her down. She’d trusted him enough to bring him here and he was wasn’t going far enough. Now Quack was mad at both of them. Again. When she spoke he just nodded and addressed Quack. 

[color=00F8FE]“Because it’s not just insurance. You’re asking me to use someone’s life as a buy-in. To pick out a person I’m willing to use as a pawn, and I know that feels wrong. I cross that line, do I still get to say, I’m not Edin? Because it’s for a just cause? Or is that me taking one step closer to all the things I don’t want to be? You’re wrong about something, sir. Edin, Alibeth, most of my family; they’d all be quick to stab their closest friends in the back to get what they want.”[/color] He had to make it clear, that it wasn’t hard because he didn’t want to share the risk, or because he thought he could back out when things got dangerous. This was a line he could look at and say he wasn’t like the rest of them. 

Whatever he did now, he was a bad friend either way. He was either going to refuse to give a name, of someone he carried about, to be used against him, and in turn let down Riona who had been there for him more than anyone else. Or he was going to offer up a friend, to a man who hated Callum, and seemed like he had a bad temper, like a piece of leverage. There was no good choice and no way around it. All duck or no dinner. [color=00F8FE][i]Gods, let the day I become like Edin be the last day I draw breath.[/i][/color] 

He looked back at Riona again. [color=00F8FE]“If I do this, tell me it won’t make me like Edin, and I will.”[/color]

Riona couldn’t quite explain the feeling she got when Cal said that. The trust was bittersweet, it both empowered her and weighed heavily on her. The pragmatic voice in her head argued it would be easier to just say that doing this wouldn’t make him like the King. Everything would move along faster and she’d be one step closer to reaching the end. His friend, however, didn’t want to give him a half-baked answer.

She turned to Sexton, whose steady gaze never left her. He kept watching… evaluating? Evaluating what? Her? Cal? A thought crossed her mind. 

[color=DAF6C7]“This… interview has nothing to do with Sacrista, does it?”[/color] She braced herself for Sexton’s fury to resurface at the mention of her name. Instead there was sorrow, almost serene in its calmness. He gave a slow, somber nod.

Relief in her sigh, she folded her arms across her chest. [color=DAF6C7]“You keep talking about when you guys fail or when Callum betrays you. I think it’s only fair to tell us what your plans are for the nobles when you guys succeed.”[/color]

“They become commoners. That’s the whole point of gettin’ rid of the old system, innit?” He answered simply and without hesitation. “Some’ll stand trial fer crimes they got away with usin’ titles. Worse the crime, heavier the punishment, same as fer regular folk and how it shoulda always been fer nobs too.” His eyes focused on something that wasn’t Riona. “Bein’ noble-born ain’t a crime. Long as they’ve done nothin’ wrong and won’t be threatin’ the new ways, they’ll live like free citizens.” It was an ideal—one that might not be possible, but it was a dream that, at the very least, Sexton was working towards. And that made Riona decide to take a leap of faith.

Cal gave Quack a skeptical glance. It wasn’t worth the argument, especially since arguing with Quack would be like trying to milk a duck, but if Quack thought that was how this would all end, he was either lying or delusional. There wasn’t a house in Caesonia that was going to just give up power willingly, there were crimes that would be exposed that could only be answered with blood. Callum understood that; he wasn’t shortsighted enough to think this was going to end peacefully. Certainly not for Danroses, but they’d all more or less earned it with crimes that stretched back through generations. 

Facing Cal, Riona said, [color=DAF6C7]“Paranoia and distrust define Edin and Alibeth. They don’t show anyone their vulnerabilities, because they wouldn’t think twice about exploiting others with theirs.”[/color] She looked back at Sexon as she continued to speak to Cal. [color=DAF6C7]“If you do this, you’ll be doing something that Edin and Alibeth are too afraid to do.”[/color] Her razor-sharp glare pierced Sexton with a silent warning. [color=DAF6C7]“And if these people betray your trust, then that’s on them, not you.”[/color]

If Riona was trying to assure Cal that he wasn’t like Edin or Alibeth, bringing up their paranoia and mistrust didn’t help. It just made him remember how quickly he believed Ana was a snitch and turned that into a whole public scene at a tavern. [i]How close was he?[/i] Another later problem to sort out. Riona’s response meant he had to go for it and he could, at least, assure himself that no one in his family came down to the backroom in the servant's infirmary to discuss treason. 

[color=00F8FE]“Roman Ravenwood is a close friend, though he’d make for a difficult hostage. A Varian noble, different from what we have here in that he’s actually a noble person. Didn’t know they made nobles that nice until he saved my ass from a beating at the tavern. So when he’s around and we go out drinking, he’s always got stories of his big happy family to share and he just brings the warmth of the forge wherever he goes.”[/color] He didn’t forget the ‘why’ either. 

And if there was any name he could give, and still be sure they weren’t going to be a pawn, it was Roman’s. The beloved bear of Varian could never be described as an easy target. If Quack only wanted the name of someone Callum cared about he got it, and if Quack had anything else in mind, may the gods have mercy on anyone who goes after Roman.

“So friendship is whatcha cherish more than yerself, eh?” Seeming satisfied with Cal’s answer (maybe because of how much he resisted), Sexton was about to go on to the second condition before Riona spoke up.

[color=DAF6C7]“Wait. You got your answer, tell us why you really asked that question.”[/color]

Sexton’s eyebrow arched. “Didn’t ya two decide it was fer a hostage? Cause ya ain’t wrong. I ain’t above gettin’ my hands dirty, not when dealin’ with the Danroses and their posse. l’ll gladly roll in a damn pigsty it means bringin’ ’em down. This is war. I know this won’t end without blood. In war, there’s nae such thin’ as honor and fairness. We do what we gotta do with all that we can get our hands on.” 

Based on what limited interaction she had with the other anarchists, Riona knew how many of them would gladly spill noble blood and believed that the revolution wouldn’t be complete until they exterminated every last noble from Caesonia. No matter who they were; even children and commoner-turned-noble “traitors.”

“There might not be enough nobs left to be tried when we win. Probably only the ones that surrendered early, allies, and wee yins.” His eyes drifted to the woman on the table. “The last two deserve a chance.”

It didn’t take much to piece together that the anarchists already had support from a few nobles already, but Riona refrained from pointing that out. [color=DAF6C7]“... You still haven’t told us why.”[/color]

Sexton clucked his tongue then positioned himself so that the three of them were properly facing each other. “Me, bein’ a pessimist, have a hobby in imaginin’ the worst. In one scenario, the lad joins us and then his parents catch wind of it. Whatta be one of the first thin’s they’ll try to do to ya, lad?”

[color=00F8FE]“They’d question me, interrogate me, maybe torture me. But, as you’ve said I don’t care much for my life, and I hate them more than I care about me.”[/color] Cal was confident about that, so if Quack just needed someone to go after in the event that Callum squealed, it was never going to be an issue. But when he paused to add to that, something else Quack had said made him question it. 

[color=00F8FE]“That’s not the real problem, though. If someone else in my family is using magic, I might not have much of a choice.”[/color] He tilted his head, absentmindedly scratching at the long straight scab down his palm. [color=00F8FE][i]Magically compelled to lead the enemy back to Quack’s nest…[/i][/color], the idea was unsettling but possible. 

[color=00F8FE]“And I am often followed.”[/color] He nodded slowly, he could see the concern there, he’d have to fix that. [color=00F8FE]“I could work on that, a curse to keep me from saying anything, lest I never speak again. Would you be satisfied with that?”[/color] 

“Ah, I see ya drink my brand of pessimism in the morn. Cheers.” Sexton lifted an imaginary cup in Cal’s direction. “If ya can pull that off, it would set some minds at rest… and stir up other troubles, but we’ll blether ’bout that after. There’s one more thin’ yer forgettin’ and they don’t need magic fer this.”

[color=00F8FE]“May our glasses always be half empty.”[/color] Cal took the opportunity to mock a toast with Quack. The guy was about as hard-boiled as they come, Cal wasn’t going to let the chance to try and score a few points pass him by. His hands went right back to searching for something to pick over until they were stopped. 

Frowning, Riona gently pulled Cal’s hand away from the scab. [color=DAF6C7]“They’ll use what you cherish as hostage,”[/color] she said as she assessed the damage. Callum nodded, he didn’t need to be warned about his family’s most played-out move.

“On the nail.” Sexton said, clapping as he strode closer. “Now, I might not fully trust ya and I have my reasons fer not likin’ ya very much. But as long as yer our ally, yer one of us, lad.” He scratched the back of his neck, averting his gaze from Cal awkwardly, as if he was about to break into hives for saying all this. “We protect our own and our insurances.”

As Sexton talked, Riona mentally went down the list of people King Edin and Queen Alibeth could and would use against Cal. Lord Roman, Shehzadi Farim, and Lady Ariella immediately came to mind. Their nobility—and for the former two, their foreigner status—offered some protection, but she also knew that that wouldn’t be enough. Not when the Crowns had people like Kalliope or Lady Morrigan to do the deeds they couldn’t publicly condone. Riona worried most for Lady Ariella. Sorian being her home made her the easiest target out of three. Then there was that guy who hosted the parties Cal and Princess Anastisia loved so much. What about him?

That wasn’t what Cal expect to hear. Not by a long shot. He replayed Quack’s words in his head, looking for the hidden meaning, a contingency, and only felt more confused.. [color=00F8FE]“I dont,”[/color] [i]don't want help? Need help? Expect help?[/i] Was he supposed to offer to help protect whatever Quack held dear? [color=00F8FE]“I don’t know what you want me to say to that. I wouldn’t ask you for extra favors, and not one that seems to sit so uncomfortably with you. My friends have protection, what do you need from me to know I’m not going to harm yours?”[/color] He asked, he didn’t know what else he really had to offer up, might as well just ask what Quack wanted.

“Yer ain’t askin’ fer a favor. That's what bein’ on the same team supposed to mean. We have yer back, ya have our backs. If we protect what yer care ’bout, ya protect what we care ’bout. If ya betray us, we betray ya. Simple and honest.” Sexton shifted his weight as he crossed his arms. “Unless ya wanna do this posh? Let’s make it overly convoluted and shady. We can smile, shake hands, and pretend that everythin’s rainbows and butterflies. We’ll manipulate each other usin’ every trick in the book and when the time comes, we push each other under the carriage. How’s that sound? More to yer style?”

[color=00F8FE]“That’s a-uh [i]novel[/i] concept for me. People I’m most used to dealing with, don’t do their dealings that way. Your way’s better, it just might take some getting used to from me.”[/color] Cal admitted, it wasn’t easy to trust someone who felt more like a judge than a friend. He wasn’t used to uncomplicated honesty. He was more used to people looking like ducks, quacking like ducks, and turning out to be snakes. Maybe Quack was the real deal, the same duck he claimed to be, gods with his nickname, it did fit. 

He paused, and since they were all very close together and he didn’t even want the dead to overhear this, Callum whispered the next part. [color=00F8FE]“Who do you think Edin would send after rebellious thorns in his side and the people they care about? If he wants it done stealthily, kept out of the eyes of the public and all these foreign dignitaries around? That person might be a friend of mine as well. I could see if they’d give me a heads-up if they get any orders for anyone here in Sorian. To help watch your back.”[/color] He didn’t offer a name, but it wasn’t a tough inference either. Kalliope Arden, the hidden blade herself, was no loyalist to the crown. [/hider]