CROSSED ALLIANCES
"No doubt they'll want to hear about what happened to the men, first. If they're smart they'll get someone else to do the damn interrogations. And besides... her Thalassian is atrocious." He sneers this as they load her onto a horse, Altharis taking a mount free for any survivors they found.
It comes as a shock, then, as Altharis finds himself immediately in front of her the following morning, held in chains at a table laden with breakfast fruits. He doesn't speak for a long while, watching her.
She remains equally quiet, her face blank despite the urge to laugh at him, her gaze matching his. Her curls have dried, but they're wild now, slipping down to her waist. The fruits haven't been touched...in fact she appears to be ignoring them. Lydia finally blinks.
"I won't tell you anything," she speaks first in her soft Thalassian. "You might as well start the torture now." The woman's brow twitches slightly, a flash of sadness lighting her face before turning stony again.
"Torture? Who's said anything about torture, hm?" He picks up a fruit from a nearby dish and takes a healthy but delicate bite of it. "I can sit here as long as I want waiting for you to decide to not be stubborn. So, first, to clarify: Who are you spying for?"
"The Horde," she replies, lacing her fingers together, a faint smile on her face. Lydia begins to speak in Orcish, which is a bit rougher and harsh than her Thalassian. "Y'see, t'Orcs don't trust Elfies much. Wanted information, I got call. So I say, okay, I spy. And now I'm here."
The woman's smile deepens...she looks completely sweet and innocent, despite her eyes flaring.
Altharis hums amusedly, even chuckling slightly as he stands, taking another bite of his fruit. "Very cute. Too bad your logic is even weaker than a newborn lynx cub. Now, the real answer, if you please." He rounds her chair languidly, almost aloofly.
She switches back to Thalassian since her grasp on it is much stronger than Orcish. Lydia continues to stare straight ahead, not appearing unnerved at all.
"I told you I would not tell you anything."
"Oh, come now." He croons, draping an arm over her shoulder, the fruit in his hand hovering just out of her chained reach. "Does it matter who you're spying for? Tell us everything you know, and you would make us an ideal spy into the alliance. And you'd get to see your loved ones again. So. I'll ask you again. Who are you working for?"
"I'm here, so I'm not exactly working for anyone right now, am I?"
Despite drapping over her and tempting her with the fruit, she still acts indifferent, keeping her breathing even as she focuses on the wall.
His other hand twists into her hair sharply, pulling her head off to the side. It's a momentary snap before his voice turns smooth again. "I'll give you one last chance to be honest before I consider affording you that torture you were so excited about. Who sent you to our lands?"
Her features twist slightly in pain, baring her teeth as she sucks in a sharp breath. Lydia matches gazes with him, her eyes flashing with stubborn defiance.
"Do your worst. You won't learn anything from me."
He sucks in a deep breath, and releases her hair. He does a tour around the table, taking another bite of his fruit. The trick to a successful interrogation is calm. Calm. "Very well. I'll see to it that that chair of yours becomes your--" He is interrupted as a pair of Blood Knights enter the room, faces stony. Altharis scowls. "What are you two doing here, I've barely started here?"
"We've orders to take you into custody, sir, on the grounds of conspiracy, treason, and murder. Please lay down your arms and come quietly." The gold-haired Blood Elf gapes in horror at his captors, eyes turning back to the imprisoned human.
"I lived through watching my squad massacred, bring back a spy, and--"
"There has been evidence brought forth to the contrary. The both of you are to be locked up until further notice." And so another pair of knights enter behind them to take Lydia as the first two shackle Altharis, leading both off to the dungeons.
Now an honest reaction is drawn from Lydia...for a brief moment utter confusion crosses her face. The woman glances back and forth between the men, but once they move to take them both, her expression goes stony again. It isn't until they're both locked away that she finally speaks, narrowing her eyes at him in distrust.
"This is a rather elaborate scheme you've got going on here. If you think it'll work you're fooled."
Altharis had been stripped of his armour and weapons, and left in the cell in little more than Lydia was. He keeps his eyes well away from her, glaring proverbial holes in the stone. He remains silent-- whether he's keeping quiet out of shame, anger, or pure stubborness, it's hard to tell.
She leans forward, her hands lightly holding onto the bars.
"If you think acting this out is going to make me trust you and confess, you're staring at the wall for nothing. You're doing nothing but wasting time. Call the guards. End this farce. I would rather die quickly than have you draw out my fate like this."
Lydia's tone is soft, her face unreadable.
Still Altharis remains silent for some time. Even when he speaks, his gaze remains on the wall and away from the human, his voice quiet but harsh. "Your interrogation, for now, is over." His face pulls taut with bitterness. This was embarassing, being thrown down here with the likes of her. No doubt the guards would soon be back, after hearing of this situation's wrongness from his superiors. Plotting the death of those men, spying for the alliance... Rubbish.
"Evidently," she remarks dryly. "You're unable to walk around me in circles."
Moving away from bars, the woman reaches up to run her hands through her hair in frustration. Sighing, she leans back against the wall before lowering her head. Softly she begins to recite a prayer in Common, clasping her hands together in front of her. He may recognize it, it's a fairly popular prayer that has also been translated and recited in Thalassian.
Though he doesn't understand the words, a flick of his eyes to her as she begins reciting and her tone is enough to know that it's a prayer. He snorts, both at the pettiness of her comments and the audacity of her trying to pray her way out of this situation. "This is an outrage..." He mumbles to himself, finding that comfy spot on the wall to glare at again.
Her prayer is shortlived by the sound of footsteps, raising her head. Different Knights arrive this time, unlocking the cell doors. Both she and Altharis are grabbed and led off in chains to a new interrogation room, where a dark haired man waits, his features cold.
"Leave them," he commands. "I'll have them both speaking in no time."
Lydia sighs a bit to herself as she's forced into another chair, directly next to Altharis. She doesn't bother looking at him.
Altharis keeps his eyes on his feet glaringly as he's walked into the room, his flicking up to the dark haired elf as he's marched past him. "Garrathe! You don't honestly believe those fools, do you?! You know how loyal I am to the Knights and my people! Stop this farce before you're made a fool, yourself!" he shouts as he's chained to the chair, struggling forward against the irons. This wasn't his place! He was supposed to be on the other side of the chains!
Lydia turns, brow arching as she watches Altharis throw a fit and struggle against his chains. The woman is sitting calmly, her hands clasped together on the table.
The darkhaired Knight laughs.
"Explain this then, Altharis."
He unrolls a scroll in his hand, approaching the table and setting it down for them to read. It's smeared in blood.
"This is a detailed account on one deceased Uliar Duskbright, seeing you meeting this woman and speaking."
"Duskbright?!" Altharis scoffs, disbelieving. He reads the document, over and over. Surely, this wasn't real, it couldn't be! "It's a forgery, can't you see that? I've never met this human filth in all my hundred and eleven years! It was chasing her down that resulted in the deaths of those men, not any... planning on our part! You're insane!"
"Then how is it that only you and she managed to survive the Scourge attack? How do we know you two are in alliance with the Scourge and trying to infiltrate from within?"
He glares down at the both of them, causing Lydia to scoff.
Altharis leans forward in the chair as his chains allow, eyes steadily training on his interrogator. "Garrathe. You know me. I was in combat with her above the falls when the Scourge decended on my men, and we only survived by virtue of the river hiding us until they left. I am not with the scourge." His lips curls slightly, as if disgusted by the mere suggestion.
The Knight turns and walks to another smaller table, holding up a tattered journal.
"Lelila Bloodsun wrote in her diary that you would often leave camp for extended periods of time without any explanation or instructions. Did you know that she and her fiance were expecting their first child together?"
Lydia's jaw squares, her hands clenching into fists. She seems to be thinking of something, her mind racing as the man throws accusations at them.
She may have to confess to save herself. Duskbright's plans were better organized than she thought.
"I had heard as such, yes," Altharis grits through his teeth, "Do I need explaination to have time to myself, when I am off duty? This is utter folly. All you're doing is reading into these... accusations of yours what you wish to hear. Stop wasting your time on me--" He jerks his head sideways to the human. "And find out why she is here!"
"You're being rather defensive and angry for a supposedly innocent man," Garrathe remarks, smirking.
Lydia sighs. Altharis was simply far too stubborn and hot-headed to quietly talk himself out of this. She glances over at the other table where other articles are stored. The realization hits her suddenly, and her eyes widen.
They were both set up.
"I apologize if being held as a prisoner by your own people and accused of treason doesn't heat my blood any," he growls, but takes and deep breath and sits back in the chair, regardless. He closes his eyes with another calming breath. The evidence was forged, he was sure of it. Such letters as the one Duskbright had on his person would never be bound for Tranquillien, where they were headed. He had come to the conclusion that something was amiss the moment he was pulled away like a street rat to the jail cells.
"You are right about the Scourge trying to infiltrate from within."
At this Garrathe's eyes gleam, and he turns to Lydia. "So, you work for the Cult of the Damned, I'd wager," he sneers.
"Wrong," she remarks calmly. "Duskbright and the human who gave me my mission are. The Blood Elf and I were set up to take the blame."
Altharis's head snaps her look at the human, eyes narrowing appraisingly. Duskbright? A member of the Cult of the Damned? That was something he could hardly come to believe. "Which makes you just as responsible," he growls, "Did you mean to get shot? Draw those damned ghouls to slaughter my men?" Even though her story seemed correct enough, at least about the set up, the image of the massacre was too fresh and horrid in his mind to be able to leave that be.
Lydia doesn't seem affected by the bars as Garrathe listens intently.
"I had been sent to kill Duskbright. I work to snuff out members of the Cult of the Damned, Horde and Alliance alike, to prevent Scourge footholds in the powers of the world. After all, the Lich King is a common enemy, no matter how badly the Horde and Alliance Clash."
She glances at Altharis.
"Duskbright is a high-profile case at hand. His goal was to infiltrate your Order to try to invade Silvermoon from within."
The darkhaired Knight's brows suddenly raise. "...you're Viper," he remarks. Lydia merely smiles.
"Viper..." Altharis echos, recognizing the pseudonym from past briefings. A high-class spy and assassin, the supposed cause of many mysterious deaths in Blood Elf lands and otherwise. He smirks. "Surely deciding to work alongside them as well was not your smartest move."
"I'm not the first to make mistakes," she remarks quietly. "But this suggests a further infiltration beyond the Blood Knight Order--"
"You caught Viper," Garrathe interrupts, looking to Altharis. "The Horde has been wanting to get their hands on her for months, despite her work against the Cult of the Damned." His gaze shifts, narrowing his eyes at the woman. "If your words are true you've saved your captor's life and only made things worse for yourself."
"My concerns are ending the lives of those that are traitors to -Azeroth-, not to the Alliance or Horde. Both sides are blinded to our primary concern: defending the LIch King and the Scourge."
"And that will be the Horde's doing," he sneers.
"A simple common foe does not excuse the underhanded use of spies and thieves to dispatch of our men. Your concerns mean little." His eyes turn back to his fellow Blood Knight. "If you will, now that that is settled, I would be greatful if you were to unchain me."
"The Cult were responsible for the deaths yesterday," the woman replies.
Garrathe moves over to Altharis then, pulling a keyring off of his belt, freeing the other Blood Knight. He lightly claps the other man on the shoulder.
"Great job. You'll be sure to recieve a huge reward for managing to finally bring this snake into custody."
Altharis rubs at his wrists as he's released, giving Garrathe a small nod. Despite his words to the human... there was something that gnawed at the back of his mind, even as she spoke. "No reward will be great enough for the loss of my men," he mutters bleakly. He ticks his head back to the Viper. "What will you be doing with her, then? More questioning, I take it?"
"Yes. We want as much information out of her as possble. She needs maximum security, and absolutely all talk of her must not leave here. We will send a messenger to Thrall immediately. The Alliance will be sore to lose her, so we need to keep her a secret as long as possible."
Lydia goes silent then, lifting her eyes to stare at the wall, her hands calmly clasped before her. So this is how it will be.
Altharis snorts faintly. "Be ready to use force if you must. The humans are notorious for their tenacity for a reason, and she is no exception." He gives one last look to the woman, and it's an odd, apologetic one as she resigns herself to her fate. No doubt this would be the last he heard of the details on her case. He may be highly ranked, but certainly not that highly ranked as to be privvy to all the details to potentially the biggest capture of the decade. "Good luck," he says with a small salute, and leaves the room to leave Garrathe to his work.
It comes as a shock, then, as Altharis finds himself immediately in front of her the following morning, held in chains at a table laden with breakfast fruits. He doesn't speak for a long while, watching her.
She remains equally quiet, her face blank despite the urge to laugh at him, her gaze matching his. Her curls have dried, but they're wild now, slipping down to her waist. The fruits haven't been touched...in fact she appears to be ignoring them. Lydia finally blinks.
"I won't tell you anything," she speaks first in her soft Thalassian. "You might as well start the torture now." The woman's brow twitches slightly, a flash of sadness lighting her face before turning stony again.
"Torture? Who's said anything about torture, hm?" He picks up a fruit from a nearby dish and takes a healthy but delicate bite of it. "I can sit here as long as I want waiting for you to decide to not be stubborn. So, first, to clarify: Who are you spying for?"
"The Horde," she replies, lacing her fingers together, a faint smile on her face. Lydia begins to speak in Orcish, which is a bit rougher and harsh than her Thalassian. "Y'see, t'Orcs don't trust Elfies much. Wanted information, I got call. So I say, okay, I spy. And now I'm here."
The woman's smile deepens...she looks completely sweet and innocent, despite her eyes flaring.
Altharis hums amusedly, even chuckling slightly as he stands, taking another bite of his fruit. "Very cute. Too bad your logic is even weaker than a newborn lynx cub. Now, the real answer, if you please." He rounds her chair languidly, almost aloofly.
She switches back to Thalassian since her grasp on it is much stronger than Orcish. Lydia continues to stare straight ahead, not appearing unnerved at all.
"I told you I would not tell you anything."
"Oh, come now." He croons, draping an arm over her shoulder, the fruit in his hand hovering just out of her chained reach. "Does it matter who you're spying for? Tell us everything you know, and you would make us an ideal spy into the alliance. And you'd get to see your loved ones again. So. I'll ask you again. Who are you working for?"
"I'm here, so I'm not exactly working for anyone right now, am I?"
Despite drapping over her and tempting her with the fruit, she still acts indifferent, keeping her breathing even as she focuses on the wall.
His other hand twists into her hair sharply, pulling her head off to the side. It's a momentary snap before his voice turns smooth again. "I'll give you one last chance to be honest before I consider affording you that torture you were so excited about. Who sent you to our lands?"
Her features twist slightly in pain, baring her teeth as she sucks in a sharp breath. Lydia matches gazes with him, her eyes flashing with stubborn defiance.
"Do your worst. You won't learn anything from me."
He sucks in a deep breath, and releases her hair. He does a tour around the table, taking another bite of his fruit. The trick to a successful interrogation is calm. Calm. "Very well. I'll see to it that that chair of yours becomes your--" He is interrupted as a pair of Blood Knights enter the room, faces stony. Altharis scowls. "What are you two doing here, I've barely started here?"
"We've orders to take you into custody, sir, on the grounds of conspiracy, treason, and murder. Please lay down your arms and come quietly." The gold-haired Blood Elf gapes in horror at his captors, eyes turning back to the imprisoned human.
"I lived through watching my squad massacred, bring back a spy, and--"
"There has been evidence brought forth to the contrary. The both of you are to be locked up until further notice." And so another pair of knights enter behind them to take Lydia as the first two shackle Altharis, leading both off to the dungeons.
Now an honest reaction is drawn from Lydia...for a brief moment utter confusion crosses her face. The woman glances back and forth between the men, but once they move to take them both, her expression goes stony again. It isn't until they're both locked away that she finally speaks, narrowing her eyes at him in distrust.
"This is a rather elaborate scheme you've got going on here. If you think it'll work you're fooled."
Altharis had been stripped of his armour and weapons, and left in the cell in little more than Lydia was. He keeps his eyes well away from her, glaring proverbial holes in the stone. He remains silent-- whether he's keeping quiet out of shame, anger, or pure stubborness, it's hard to tell.
She leans forward, her hands lightly holding onto the bars.
"If you think acting this out is going to make me trust you and confess, you're staring at the wall for nothing. You're doing nothing but wasting time. Call the guards. End this farce. I would rather die quickly than have you draw out my fate like this."
Lydia's tone is soft, her face unreadable.
Still Altharis remains silent for some time. Even when he speaks, his gaze remains on the wall and away from the human, his voice quiet but harsh. "Your interrogation, for now, is over." His face pulls taut with bitterness. This was embarassing, being thrown down here with the likes of her. No doubt the guards would soon be back, after hearing of this situation's wrongness from his superiors. Plotting the death of those men, spying for the alliance... Rubbish.
"Evidently," she remarks dryly. "You're unable to walk around me in circles."
Moving away from bars, the woman reaches up to run her hands through her hair in frustration. Sighing, she leans back against the wall before lowering her head. Softly she begins to recite a prayer in Common, clasping her hands together in front of her. He may recognize it, it's a fairly popular prayer that has also been translated and recited in Thalassian.
Though he doesn't understand the words, a flick of his eyes to her as she begins reciting and her tone is enough to know that it's a prayer. He snorts, both at the pettiness of her comments and the audacity of her trying to pray her way out of this situation. "This is an outrage..." He mumbles to himself, finding that comfy spot on the wall to glare at again.
Her prayer is shortlived by the sound of footsteps, raising her head. Different Knights arrive this time, unlocking the cell doors. Both she and Altharis are grabbed and led off in chains to a new interrogation room, where a dark haired man waits, his features cold.
"Leave them," he commands. "I'll have them both speaking in no time."
Lydia sighs a bit to herself as she's forced into another chair, directly next to Altharis. She doesn't bother looking at him.
Altharis keeps his eyes on his feet glaringly as he's walked into the room, his flicking up to the dark haired elf as he's marched past him. "Garrathe! You don't honestly believe those fools, do you?! You know how loyal I am to the Knights and my people! Stop this farce before you're made a fool, yourself!" he shouts as he's chained to the chair, struggling forward against the irons. This wasn't his place! He was supposed to be on the other side of the chains!
Lydia turns, brow arching as she watches Altharis throw a fit and struggle against his chains. The woman is sitting calmly, her hands clasped together on the table.
The darkhaired Knight laughs.
"Explain this then, Altharis."
He unrolls a scroll in his hand, approaching the table and setting it down for them to read. It's smeared in blood.
"This is a detailed account on one deceased Uliar Duskbright, seeing you meeting this woman and speaking."
"Duskbright?!" Altharis scoffs, disbelieving. He reads the document, over and over. Surely, this wasn't real, it couldn't be! "It's a forgery, can't you see that? I've never met this human filth in all my hundred and eleven years! It was chasing her down that resulted in the deaths of those men, not any... planning on our part! You're insane!"
"Then how is it that only you and she managed to survive the Scourge attack? How do we know you two are in alliance with the Scourge and trying to infiltrate from within?"
He glares down at the both of them, causing Lydia to scoff.
Altharis leans forward in the chair as his chains allow, eyes steadily training on his interrogator. "Garrathe. You know me. I was in combat with her above the falls when the Scourge decended on my men, and we only survived by virtue of the river hiding us until they left. I am not with the scourge." His lips curls slightly, as if disgusted by the mere suggestion.
The Knight turns and walks to another smaller table, holding up a tattered journal.
"Lelila Bloodsun wrote in her diary that you would often leave camp for extended periods of time without any explanation or instructions. Did you know that she and her fiance were expecting their first child together?"
Lydia's jaw squares, her hands clenching into fists. She seems to be thinking of something, her mind racing as the man throws accusations at them.
She may have to confess to save herself. Duskbright's plans were better organized than she thought.
"I had heard as such, yes," Altharis grits through his teeth, "Do I need explaination to have time to myself, when I am off duty? This is utter folly. All you're doing is reading into these... accusations of yours what you wish to hear. Stop wasting your time on me--" He jerks his head sideways to the human. "And find out why she is here!"
"You're being rather defensive and angry for a supposedly innocent man," Garrathe remarks, smirking.
Lydia sighs. Altharis was simply far too stubborn and hot-headed to quietly talk himself out of this. She glances over at the other table where other articles are stored. The realization hits her suddenly, and her eyes widen.
They were both set up.
"I apologize if being held as a prisoner by your own people and accused of treason doesn't heat my blood any," he growls, but takes and deep breath and sits back in the chair, regardless. He closes his eyes with another calming breath. The evidence was forged, he was sure of it. Such letters as the one Duskbright had on his person would never be bound for Tranquillien, where they were headed. He had come to the conclusion that something was amiss the moment he was pulled away like a street rat to the jail cells.
"You are right about the Scourge trying to infiltrate from within."
At this Garrathe's eyes gleam, and he turns to Lydia. "So, you work for the Cult of the Damned, I'd wager," he sneers.
"Wrong," she remarks calmly. "Duskbright and the human who gave me my mission are. The Blood Elf and I were set up to take the blame."
Altharis's head snaps her look at the human, eyes narrowing appraisingly. Duskbright? A member of the Cult of the Damned? That was something he could hardly come to believe. "Which makes you just as responsible," he growls, "Did you mean to get shot? Draw those damned ghouls to slaughter my men?" Even though her story seemed correct enough, at least about the set up, the image of the massacre was too fresh and horrid in his mind to be able to leave that be.
Lydia doesn't seem affected by the bars as Garrathe listens intently.
"I had been sent to kill Duskbright. I work to snuff out members of the Cult of the Damned, Horde and Alliance alike, to prevent Scourge footholds in the powers of the world. After all, the Lich King is a common enemy, no matter how badly the Horde and Alliance Clash."
She glances at Altharis.
"Duskbright is a high-profile case at hand. His goal was to infiltrate your Order to try to invade Silvermoon from within."
The darkhaired Knight's brows suddenly raise. "...you're Viper," he remarks. Lydia merely smiles.
"Viper..." Altharis echos, recognizing the pseudonym from past briefings. A high-class spy and assassin, the supposed cause of many mysterious deaths in Blood Elf lands and otherwise. He smirks. "Surely deciding to work alongside them as well was not your smartest move."
"I'm not the first to make mistakes," she remarks quietly. "But this suggests a further infiltration beyond the Blood Knight Order--"
"You caught Viper," Garrathe interrupts, looking to Altharis. "The Horde has been wanting to get their hands on her for months, despite her work against the Cult of the Damned." His gaze shifts, narrowing his eyes at the woman. "If your words are true you've saved your captor's life and only made things worse for yourself."
"My concerns are ending the lives of those that are traitors to -Azeroth-, not to the Alliance or Horde. Both sides are blinded to our primary concern: defending the LIch King and the Scourge."
"And that will be the Horde's doing," he sneers.
"A simple common foe does not excuse the underhanded use of spies and thieves to dispatch of our men. Your concerns mean little." His eyes turn back to his fellow Blood Knight. "If you will, now that that is settled, I would be greatful if you were to unchain me."
"The Cult were responsible for the deaths yesterday," the woman replies.
Garrathe moves over to Altharis then, pulling a keyring off of his belt, freeing the other Blood Knight. He lightly claps the other man on the shoulder.
"Great job. You'll be sure to recieve a huge reward for managing to finally bring this snake into custody."
Altharis rubs at his wrists as he's released, giving Garrathe a small nod. Despite his words to the human... there was something that gnawed at the back of his mind, even as she spoke. "No reward will be great enough for the loss of my men," he mutters bleakly. He ticks his head back to the Viper. "What will you be doing with her, then? More questioning, I take it?"
"Yes. We want as much information out of her as possble. She needs maximum security, and absolutely all talk of her must not leave here. We will send a messenger to Thrall immediately. The Alliance will be sore to lose her, so we need to keep her a secret as long as possible."
Lydia goes silent then, lifting her eyes to stare at the wall, her hands calmly clasped before her. So this is how it will be.
Altharis snorts faintly. "Be ready to use force if you must. The humans are notorious for their tenacity for a reason, and she is no exception." He gives one last look to the woman, and it's an odd, apologetic one as she resigns herself to her fate. No doubt this would be the last he heard of the details on her case. He may be highly ranked, but certainly not that highly ranked as to be privvy to all the details to potentially the biggest capture of the decade. "Good luck," he says with a small salute, and leaves the room to leave Garrathe to his work.