TRP: Goro, Luci, and Jonn (Rescue)

**IZZY**

[SETTING: Morning 255, Morningstar Keep.]

Lucienne had a problem.

She couldn't go to Hansel for help, and she didn't think she
ought to ask Roddy. She briefly considered Joan Ripley -- she seemed highly
capable -- or possibly even Gavi -- Luci was owed a favor, wasn't she? -- but
she thought that Goro was the best option, and she trusted him the most, besides.

She paced outside his bedroom door for a few minutes anyway,
thinking. No, she definitely needed help with this. Tucking her staff into the
crook of her elbow, then, she grimaced to herself and tapped on the door.

**LINA**

After several seconds of rattling chains and turning
deadbolts, the door cracked open an inch and one narrowed eye peered out. The
eye widened briefly in surprise, and Goro opened the door a few more inches.
"Morning. Everything okay?"

**IZZY**

"No," Luci said. "Jonn's in jail. He doesn't
want Hansel to know. Will you help me get him out?"

**LINA**

Goro let out a short, weak moan and rubbed a hand over his
face. "Fuck's sake. Yeah. Hang on, let me get my fucking shoes." He
shut the door again while he went to retrieve them and drag them onto his feet.
He shook his head and muttered as he walked back to the door, activated his
warding glyph, and stepped outside. "Alright, what fuckin' jail?"

**IZZY**

She wrung her staff between her hands as she waited, and
kept doing it when he came out, stepping back as he stepped forward. "In
Skyport. He stabbed a cleric."

**LINA**

Goro broke into a grin. "Hah. Good."

**IZZY**

"Well, not really, given that he's in jail, now,"
she pointed out. She kept twisting her staff.

**LINA**

Goro started down the stairs, gesturing for her to follow.
"Pfff. Worth it, probably, since we're gonna bust him out. Did the fucker
die?"

**IZZY**

She trailed after him. "Oh, yes. Both of them
did." She paused, realizing this was unclear. "There were two
clerics, I mean. He killed both of them."

**LINA**

Damn, that was... well, delightful on the surface, but
Goro's grin faded. That kind of crime had torture written all over it, when you
got caught. "Where're they holding him? The abbey or the Citadel?"

**IZZY**

"The abbey, I think?" She hesitated. It was deeply
uncomfortable to her that there was a place in Skyport that was called an
abbey, but that her brother was being held prisoner there. "He wasn't very
clear. He sent me a crow."

**LINA**

"You got a note? Lemme see." He turned around and
made a grabby hand at her.

**IZZY**

"It's, um." She remembered who she was talking to
and pulled the note out of her pocket  to
hand it over.

It was written very carefully. Jonn had lovely handwriting
from when they'd both been trained at the Sanctuary, and he had done a great
deal of painstakingly writing I will not ... as penitence for his various
misbehaviors. It was, however, written in blood and seemingly with the tip of a
fingernail. She was only glad that the Skyport messenger crows carried bits of
parchment on them, or goddess knew what he would have had to use to write on.

In Skyport jail, was all it said. Don't tell Dad. Help.

After she'd passed it over, she said, "I Sent to his
partner, Finch. He told me about the dead clerics. He also told me to never Send
to him again or he'd electrocute me," she added thoughtfully, "but I
don't think he was serious about that part."

**LINA**

"Skyport jail," Goro read aloud. "Fuckin'
useless." He frowned at the note. "I wonder why he doesn't want
Hansel to know. Couldn't fucking hurt, having a big guy along to rough people
up for us. Jonn's worried he's gonna be mad, or something?" He passed the
note back to Luci and continued down the stairs.

**IZZY**

"Likely." She put the note away again. She
wondered what Goro knew about Jonn -- what Hansel had told him, or what he'd
managed to work out on his own. "Hansel did explicitly tell him to not
kill people," she said carefully.

**LINA**

"Eh. Well." He shrugged. "Guess this one'll
stay between us. And--hell, we oughta try and get there as quick as we can, so
we'll have to get Mishka to teleport us. Don't worry, though. I'll cook up a
real good lie for him. Just let me do the talking." He smiled and winked
at her.

**IZZY**

"Oh, I'm not sure if ..." She trailed off and
narrowed her eyes. Maybe he was lying about lying. It was so hard to tell, with
him.

# # #

When they made it to Skyport, Luci stayed close by Goro and
let him lead the way. She didn't know her way around the city, and it was so
loud and busy. She preferred to go into the city with Hansel or Roddy, because
they were large enough that people tended to just get out of their way. They
were also very good for hiding behind, but Goro was adequate for that, too --
better than Jonn. Jonn would hold her hand as he cut through the crowd, though,
to be sure she didn't get left behind and let her put her hood up and look down
at the street. She tried to just focus on the back of Goro's robes and ignore
the bustle around them.

Once they were near the abbey, a crow fluttered down and
landed on her shoulder. She checked the little metal tube on its leg for
messages, but Jonn must have just sent it to stay with her. She bit her lip,
looking the abbey over.

"There must be an open window where he's being
kept," she said. "Or he wouldn't have been able to call for the
crow."

**LINA**

"Hm. There's this one big holding cell where they like
to throw criminals for a while until they figure out what to do with 'em. That
one's got a little window with bars on it, I bet a crow could slip
through."

Goro squinted thoughtfully at the building, then started for
the alleyway on the west side. He kept his eyes peeled for clergy
members--knowing all but the newest ones would recognize him, and he wouldn't
exactly be welcome here after the past few months.

He was lucky, for now, and they reached the window of the
holding cell without running into anyone. The cell itself was at the basement
level, with the window high up, along the ground. Goro squatted next to it and
peered inside.

**IZZY**

Luci trailed after him, her hopes rising when she saw the
tiny floor-level window. She had imagined a high-up window too far to reach --
perhaps this way Goro could just use that teleportation spell he and Roddy and
Mishka all had to step in and get Jonn out.

Unfortunately, when she knelt down to squint inside, Jonn
wasn't there. A couple other prisoners were being held inside: one an older man
passed out on the floor, drooling, the other a young boy, ten or so, scowling
fiercely at the floor with his arms wrapped around himself.

**LINA**

"Psst." Goro slid a hand between the bars and
snapped his fingers. "Hey kid."

**IZZY**

The kid looked up, glaring. He flipped Goro off viciously.

Luci crossed her legs to settle in. This might take some
time. At least the alley was quiet.

**LINA**

Goro flipped him off back, then dug inside his robes for a
gold coin. He held it out for the kid to see, turning it back and forth so it
caught the light, then palmed it. "You see a guy in here earlier, pretty
small, fidgety, long dark hair? Woulda got a visit from a crow at some
point."

**IZZY**

The kid narrowed his eyes. "Maybe, maybe not."

**LINA**

Goro pulled his whole coin purse out and gave the contents a
jingle. "How much do you charge for maybe?"

**IZZY**

His eyes went wide again at the jangling, and he sat up
straighter, but then cut his eyes at the unconscious man. Back to Goro.
"How ... how much is it worth to ya?"

**LINA**

"What, you're not smart enough to hide a coin under
your tongue like the rest of us? Let me tell you a little something. There's a
paladin who does the rounds down there sometimes named Geoffrey. You'll know
him 'cause he's got ginger hair and a lazy eye. And he is the cheapest
motherfucker you've ever met. You flash two or three gold coins at him, he'll
let you out and on your merry way. 'S'all it takes. You know what it's gonna
take for me to give you two or three gold coins?"

**IZZY**

The kid shifted, looking suspicious, then pushed himself up
and came over to the window, climbing onto a bench and standing on his tiptoes
to get as close as he could to Goro's face and peer into it. "Paladin
named Geoffrey," he mumbled to himself, then said, "Yeah, that guy
was down here. All covered in blood, but wasn't none of it his."

He held his hand up for payment.

**LINA**

Goro passed down one gold coin. "Where'd he go?"

**IZZY**

He made a grabby hand, glaring.

**LINA**

Goro clucked his tongue and leaned away from the window.
"Shame. Dead end."

**IZZY**

"Hey! Fuck you!" The kid scrabbled a hand up
through the bars, flailing at him.

**LINA**

Goro scooted out of reach. "Fuckin' cut it out. You
answer my questions, you get paid. That's how this shit works. You think I'm
gonna go back on my word? Pfff. You don't look rich enough to scam."

**IZZY**

The kid made a frustrated sound, clawing at the wall.
"Fine!" he hissed. "They fuckin' took him off for askin' him
questions."

**LINA**

Goro dropped another coin through the bars. "They go
right or left?"

**IZZY**

"Left."

**LINA**

Goro dropped two more coins. "Little extra one for your
patience. Start praying to Mask when you get out, and maybe you won't get caught
next time, eh?"

**IZZY**

The kid scowled up at him and jammed the gold into his
mouth, scampering back to the corner furthest from the unconscious prisoner.

Luci looked to Goro expectantly. "Does 'left' mean
anything to you?" She fidgeted with her staff. Questioning. Jonn wasn't
good at being questioned.

**LINA**

Goro jerked his thumb at the building. "Means he's
still inside there, most likely. Hope you're ready to do the whole fake-pious
thing. Gimme a second." He closed his eyes, and breathed in and out. When
he opened them again, he batted his eyelashes innocently. "Gosh, I just
had to come back. Oh, how I've missed being around other faithful
Helmites!"

**IZZY**

She gave him a flat look. "Unconvincing."

**LINA**

"Pff. They're all unconvincing, that's the point. C'mon."
He jumped to his feet and offered her a hand up, doubting she'd take it.

**IZZY**

Wrinkling her nose, she stood on her own, pushing up with
her staff. "I suppose I have to take your word for it."

**LINA**

"You sure do. I spent fourteen years having to suffer
through their insincere bullshit on a daily basis. You know, everyone thinks I
learned to be such a good liar living on the streets. I got my start there,
sure, but this place is where I really refined my craft."

He chewed on his lip as they came around the front of the
building again and started up the front steps. As he grasped the large iron
handle on one of the front doors, he tossed Luci a look over his shoulder.
"Hey, ah. You wanna pretend to be mute?" He cocked an eyebrow.

**IZZY**

She stared back at him without saying anything.

**LINA**

He grinned and bobbed both his eyebrows this time, then
faced front again and opened the squeaking door.

Much as he hated the people here, and much as he believed
Helm was thoroughly dead, he could never help a bit of muted awe as he stepped
inside the main sanctuary. It was chilly and fragrant with incense. The
enormous hall with its vaulted ceilings could make even a pinprick echo, but
everyone did their best to maintain the silence, leaving only the shuffling of
footsteps and an occasional cough even when dozens of people were about.

Goro paused at the holy water font and glanced around to see
if anyone was watching. Didn't seem to be, but just to be safe he dipped his
fingers and anointed his forehead anyway, then jerked his head at it to
indicate Luci should do the same.

**IZZY**

Luci raised an eyebrow slightly, and copied his gesture. She
glanced around the abbey, unable to repress the feeling that it was --
sinister, somehow. It didn't feel like the Sanctuary of Eldath at all, nor the
Silvan Sanctuary outside Shepherd Hills. She wasn't a fan.

But she tried to look as though she knew what she was doing,
and belonged there. Yes. Definitely belonged there. She kept her mouth shut.

**LINA**

Goro led Luci out of the sanctuary, dawdling just a little
for a good look at all the stained glass panels. Wasn't until they'd started on
the stairs to the lower level that he ran into someone he knew.

"Sister Cleo," he said, clearing his throat and
nodding at her.

"Brother Goro." And hot damn, the amount of what
the fuck are you doing here and where the fuck have you been and how's that
heretic mentor of yours doing she was able to cram into her tone. She glanced
at Luci, then looked at Goro questioningly.

Goro leaned in a little and lowered his voice. "An
unfortunate. I picked her up in the woods."

"Mm," Cleo said, looking him up and down. She cast
one more glance over Luci as she walked past the two of them. When she was well
out of sight, Goro mimed gagging himself with a finger, then continued down the
stairs.

**IZZY**

Luci stared at the woman with blank, wide-eyed innocence as
she was appraised. It was the same look Jonn had always given the Eldathyn
clergy, except that Luci was better at it due to actually being innocent.

Well, usually.

At any rate, she passed muster. When the cleric moved on,
and Goro made a face, Luci huffed out a slight amused sound. It would probably
have been more amusing if she hadn't been worried about her brother.

The place was relatively empty, down below, but she could
hear some faint distressing sounds through the stonework. It didn't sound like
Jonn, but it didn't quell her worries at all. She had read about Helm; he was
meant to be a protector god. A good one. She began to wonder how anyone in
Skyport believed that these people truly worshipped him.

They brushed past what seemed to be a cleric and a paladin
who were too intent on muttering between themselves to cast them a second
glance, and beyond them -- she was fairly certain guarding the room they'd stepped
out of -- stood a lone paladin, back arrow-straight, in front of a door he had
just finished locking. The key dangled from his belt, right next to his
broadsword.

**LINA**

Goro approached the paladin guarding the door. He cleared
his throat and inclined his head. "How is he?"

**IZZY**

The paladin looked mildly suspicious, but perhaps that was
simply his face. "He gave us what we needed," he said shortly.

Luci fidgeted. That wasn't an answer. It wasn't a fucking
answer.

His eyes flicked to her, and she tried to follow Goro's
lead, bowing her head slightly.

**LINA**

"Let me see him?" Goro asked. He glanced over his
shoulder at Luci, then leaned in and spoke lowly to the paladin in Celestial.
"This is his sister. I think maybe I can make her talk too, you understand?"

**IZZY**

He still seemed suspicious, looking Luci up and down.
Matching Goro's tongue, he said, "No one told me anything about a
sister."

**LINA**

"You can see the resemblance, can you not? Obviously he
didn't say anything. He would've wanted to protect her."

**IZZY**

The guard's eyes narrowed, and his hand dropped to his
sword, slowly. "Yeah, he didn't say shit about anything, that's why they
used Detect Thoughts on him. No one told me fuckin' anything about a sister
coming up."

Luci grabbed Goro's sleeve, knuckles going white around her
staff.

**LINA**

Goro patted Luci on the arm and spoke to her softly in
Common. "It's alright. They say he's worried about you." Then he
scowled at the paladin, confused, and switched back to Celestial. "Did I
get the wrong fucking room? It is a guy who looks like this girl, right?"

**IZZY**

The guard scowled back. He seemed displeased, and kept his
hand on his sword. "It's the right fucking room." He studied Luci for
a moment. "No one said anything about a sister being involved with his
fuckin' gang. It was just shit about his boss. You think she actually knows
anything?"

**LINA**

Shit. This was a little more serious, apparently, than Goro
had assumed. Shit about his boss? Did that mean fucking Finch, or what? Morgan?
Larkin? Son of a bitch.

And if Goro pretended Luci was involved with the gang too,
that'd get them a lot more attention than he wanted. Like the kind where Luci
got dragged away from him to be questioned by experts. Yeah, no, this wasn't
gonna fucking work.

He shouldn't have let Luci come along with him at all,
really. The fuck had he been thinking? Dragging her straight into this vipers'
nest, where she had only him to rely on. Shit, fuck, piss, goddamn.

Nah. Nah. It was fine. He'd fucking handle this.

He sidled up next to the paladin, speaking quietly into his
ear while staring right at Luci. "Listen. We got a rare gem here. She's
gotta be handled delicately, you get what I mean? Dunno if she knows anything,
but I bet I know just what to say to get her to crack if she does. Let me
handle this, alright? Let the two of us in there."

**IZZY**

Luci would have found this all very interesting to watch,
some other time. Goro was clearly very good at it. The problem was that her
brother was behind that door, and more people had been messing about in his
head, and she thought: It would be easier to kill this guard than continue
talking to him when Jonn needs me.

That was the kind of solution that had landed Jonn here in
the first place. She stayed still and quiet and tried to channel the affect of
a nervous, pathetic waif rather than a furious, capable cleric.

The guard was hesitant. Goro was wearing him down, but he
said, "If it's some delicate fuckin' situation, you probably don't want
her to see him. He's all fucked up." He angled his head to the side.
"Maybe take her next door."

Luci grit her teeth.

**LINA**

"All fucked up?" Goro cracked a smile.
"Sounds like you fellas aren't very good at your fucking jobs. That's
gonna help my case with the girl, though, I guarantee it. Letting her see him.
Now, come on. Let the professional do his job already, will ya?" He
cracked his knuckles.

**IZZY**

The guard kept eyeing Goro, like he knew something was going
on here, but he couldn't justify his suspicions and the lack of evidence had
finally broken him. He stepped aside, pulling the key off his belt to turn the
heavy lock, and pushing the creaking metal door open for them. He looked away,
and pulled the door shut behind them. Luci kept her eyes down, still trying to
play her part. How, she had to wonder, were they going to get out, now?
Dimension door? Could Goro get them both? She had no idea.

It wasn't a large room. There were shackles hanging from the
walls, and unseemly devices in the corners, the likes of which Luci had seen
illustrations of in books when she was younger and immediately closed those
books in horror. The stone floor was stained. What unsettled her the most,
though, was that it was well-lit by four glowstones set into the ceiling, bright,
almost sterile if not for what the  stones
illuminated.

Jonn was chained to the far wall, slumped on the floor with
his hands up, caught in the cuffs to either side of his head. They were bloody,
but like the boy in the holding cell had said, the blood wasn't his --
actually, he didn't look injured at all, from what Luci could see, apart from
some rawness around his wrists where he must have been jerking at the
restraints. His knees were pulled up to his chest, and his head was down; he
wasn't struggling now.

Luci dodged around Goro immediately to go to Jonn's side.
She thought he was unconscious, but when she lifted his head to check the pulse
in his neck (slow, strong, normal), his eyes were open. He didn't look at her,
though. He didn't react at all.

She whispered a quick prayer to heal him, and his wrists
mended, but there was no other response.

She looked back to Goro for help.

**LINA**

Goro stared at Jonn and ground his teeth for a second,
thinking.

"Hey," he said to Luci, in a low voice. "Can you
fake cry?"

**IZZY**

She gave him an extremely confused look. "No?"

**LINA**

"Alright, you'll cover your face, then, so no one can
really tell. Here's what you're gonna do." He kept speaking softly, and
switched to Orcish for good measure. "You're gonna take your cloak like
this--"

He took the hem of it to show her, holding it up like a
handkerchief to cover the lower half of his face, and he hunched over, eyes
squeezed shut, whimpering. He passed the hem to her. "Like you're real
distraught, crying into it but you don't want anyone to see. You're gonna run
out of this room, slam the door behind you, and fucking book it for the main
entrance--I mean run. Get outside. You'll meet us in the alleyway where I
talked to that kid before. Anything goes wrong, anyone tries to stop you, you
Send to me. Got it?"

**IZZY**

She fidgeted in place. She'd asked for help, so she should
do what he said -- and he seemed confident about it -- but the idea of leaving
Jonn was distressing. It wasn't that she doubted Goro would do something to
help him, it was just ... distressing.

"But -- with what you told the guard --." She
matched his volume, and spoke in orcish as well. "Won't he stop me? Right
away?"

**LINA**

"Nah, nah." Goro waved it off. "He's gonna
see you losing your shit, and he's gonna think, aha, I was right. And then he's
not gonna want to touch you with a ten foot pole. Men are terrified of crying
women. But listen, if he does try and stop you, I'll have words with him. And
if he doesn't like my words, I'll introduce his gut to my knife. But don't
worry, you got this." He touched her briefly on the upper arm to coax her
toward the door. "Now come on. Get ready to act like you just found out
your whole family was murdered. You're fucking horrified. Sell it."

**IZZY**

Luci grimaced. She glanced around the room -- at least with
these surroundings, horror wasn't difficult to summon up.

She knelt to quickly kiss the side of Jonn's head -- just in
case -- nothing -- then stood again and nodded. Jonn had told her once to bite
her tongue if she needed to cry to get out if trouble, so she did it hard
enough to make herself wince and force her eyes to water reflexively.

"Okay," she said, pulling the hem of her cloak up
the way Goro had shown her. "I trust you."

She looked down at Jonn staring blank-eyed at the floor one
more time, then shoved out of the room, sniffling and making little strangled
whinpers. The guard started, but then drew away from her, looking sheepish, and
when she wasn't quite able to slam the door behind her in her rush, he actually
did the job for her.

Luci bolted out, dropping her act and drying her face when
she was out of the basement, beelining for the alley.

**LINA**

Goro listened to make sure he only heard one set of
footsteps retreating from the room. Nice, Luci. He half grinned. Then he knelt
in front of Jonn and snapped his fingers in front of Jonn's face. "Hey.
Kid. I'm gonna teleport you out of here, alright?" He didn't wait to try
and get a response, just crouched beside him and put an arm around his waist,
then snuffed them both out to the alley.

Without the shackles holding him up, Jonn slumped right to
the ground when they were outside. Goro caught his head and rolled him onto his
back. He tried snapping in his face again. "Hey. Hey, Jonn. Wake the fuck
up. What'd they do to ya?"

**IZZY**

Jonn didn't respond. He stared off into space.

**LINA**

"Yoohoo." Goro waved his hand back and forth in
front of Jonn's blank eyes. "Fuck."

He shifted into a more comfortable position and prayed over
Jonn, trying to see if there was any magic on him Goro would need to dispel. Nothing.
Maybe Jonn just got like this, sometimes--running away to somewhere nicer in
his head. Goro had known a couple people who could do that; always seemed like
a neat trick. He figured Luci would know, so he stayed in place waiting for
her, eyes and ears alert for anyone less friendly approaching.

**IZZY**

Luci came around the corner and immediately picked up her
pace when she spotted them, relieved. She slid to a halt and dropped down
again, pulling Jonn into her arms and squeezing him, like Hansel did when he
got upset -- she wasn't as strong as Hansel, but maybe it'd help.

It didn't do anything, and neither did he.

She looked to Goro again, helpless. "Did he -- do
anything, or --?"

**LINA**

"Uh." Goro tried not to wince. "Not... no. I
was wondering if you've seen him like this before."

**IZZY**

"Sometimes." She squeezed him harder. Still
nothing. "He always -- responds to me, though. Or Hansel."

**LINA**

"Aha." Shit, shit shit. He was hoping Luci would
know what to do, and here Luci was looking at him like he should know what to
do. Fuck. Alright. He scrambled for an idea. Someone who'd know how to fix this
kind of shit. Amari, maybe. That fuckin' druid lady in the woods--yeah, there
was a practical plan right there, pfff. Finch? Finch. "Maybe we oughta
take him to see Finch. The two of them were like fuckin' peas in a pod. They
were real tight, I mean. Spent a lot of time together."

**IZZY**

That seemed like a good idea. Jonn was very fond of Finch.
Luci had spent very little time with him, and thought he seemed shady, but she
supposed that was par for Jonn's acquaintances. "I don't know where he
lives."

**LINA**

"Eh. Yeah, I'm not sure where he lives either. What
happened to that fuckin' crow, do you know?"

**IZZY**

"Um." She looked around. There were always rows of
pigeon and crows and sparrows and the like lurking on the eaves in Skyport, but
they were all just ... birds. She couldn't tell them apart.

What was that song Jonn whistled? She tried it, then tried a
minor variation. It was something like that. Roddy would know -- maybe she
should Send to him, but -- she didn't want him to be worried, or tell Hansel --
and could a tune really be conveyed through Sending, anyway? Her leg bounced
anxiously, and she looked down to Jonn. If he would just do something. Say
something. She kept having to pointedly avoid thinking about the fact that his
memories had been modified, and his thoughts read, and he hated things like
that -- that was why he was so afraid of Mishka, getting into his head.

She made a quiet frustrated sound and closed her eyes, and
tried another tune. Oh. Oh, that was it. Yes. It was a couple bars of a song
they used to play together. The crow fluttered down and landed on her shoulder,
and she let out a relieved breath.

**LINA**

"Yeesh." Goro was a little startled by how that'd
worked. "Uh. Well. Great."

After they'd sent the message off and transported Jonn to a
more discreet location, Goro tried waving his hand in front of Jonn's face
again. "Hey. Kid. If you don't cut this shit out now, I'm gonna tell your
dad on you. How about that?"

**IZZY**

Jonn didn't react, except to blink a bit when Goro's hand
came close to his face. Luci held onto him, resting her chin on his shoulder,
staring down at the street.

When Finch arrived, he looked pissed, but Luci wasn't
positive that wasn't just what he always looked like. His arms were tightly
crossed and he scowled as he looked them over, presumably taking in the fact
that Jonn didn't seem to be physically hurt. Granted, he was also with two
clerics; the chances of him still being injured, even if he had started out
that way, were low.

He snapped his fingers in front of Jonn's face, and the
scowl turned to somewhat more of a frown when Jonn continued having no response.
He bent over to squint at Jonn. "All right, I'll bite. The fuck is going
on?"

**LINA**

"All I know is they used Detect Thoughts on him."
Goro shrugged. "He wasn't much hurt when I got him out of there.
Sometimes, though, at the abbey, they..." He glanced at Luci out of the
corner of his eye. She wasn't gonna fucking like hearing this. "They'll
hurt somebody, sometimes half killing them, and then heal 'em back up so they
can start over again. So... hard to say what exactly happened."

**IZZY**

Finch looked over to Goro while he talked, then back to
Jonn. He waggled his fingers directly in front of Jonn's eyes, just getting a
couple blinks. "The shit were they using Detect Thoughts for?" he
muttered. "Like Jonn knows shit about ..."

Then he jerked upright. "Fuck. Ah, shit. Shit, I bet
they fuckin' fixed --." He gestured to his head, like he still didn't want
to say it out loud. In case it was still a secret.

Jonn twitched in Luci's arms, then lunged towards Finch
abruptly. She didn't think to hold him back, and Finch started to back away,
but Jonn was faster. He swiped the knife stuck in Finch's belt and aimed it for
his own throat.

**LINA**

"Drop it," Goro commanded, and swooped in to
snatch the knife when it clattered to the ground. He passed it to Finch, hoping
the bastard had the sense to put it somewhere harder to reach, and kept himself
positioned between Finch and Jonn.

**IZZY**

Finch held the knife over his head immediately, snapping,
"The fuck, Jonn? Calm down."

That was a good idea. Luci wrapped her arms around him
tighter, whispering, "Calm. Calm."

She felt the spell slip off him, and he struggled against
her -- she shifted her weight and locked her hands onto her wrists, managing to
keep her grip as he completely ignored Goro, looking past him and straight up
to the knife in Finch's hand, grasping towards it futilely. He made a sounds,
finally, but not a word, just a low, desperate sound in the back of his throat.

**LINA**

"Would you throw that thing up on a fucking roof, or
something?" Goro grumbled at Finch. Yeesh, what kind of asshole kept his
knives out where anyone could grab them?

Goro snapped his fingers in Jonn's face again. He spoke
gently. "Hey. Hey, Jonn. You wanna go see Hansel? He misses you. He's
worried. C'mon, let's go find him."

**IZZY**

"No!" Jonn said sharply. He struggled harder at
the suggestion, jamming an elbow back into Luci and managing to get free. While
she fumbled to try to grab him again, he dodged towards Finch, trying to grab
the knife again.

Finch kept it over his head, shoving Jonn away.
"Fucking knock it off!"

Jonn stumbled back a step. He was shaky on his feet, looking
between the three of them like a caged animal, then turned to bolt away.

**LINA**

Goro threw his hand out toward Jonn. "Hold." Then
he lunged forward to try and grab Jonn before he crashed to the ground, and
didn't even fucking graze him in time.

**IZZY**

Luci flung herself after them both, but didn't get there in
time to catch Jonn, either. When she did reach him, she pulled him -- with some
difficulty -- back into her arms, holding on tight again in case he threw the
spell off. It was ... better, in a way, that he was moving and reacting at all,
but extremely distressing how he'd chosen to begin reacting.

"Hansel won't be mad at you," she whispered next
to his ear, because that was the only time Jonn ever refused to see Hansel --
when he thought he'd get in trouble. "It's okay. He won't be mad."

Finch followed behind, pitching his knife onto a nearby roof
with a scowl. He kept his distance, looking uncomfortable.

**LINA**

Goro crouched down beside Luci and Jonn. "She's right.
He loves you so fucking much, Jonn. Whatever happened--he just wants you to be
safe, alright?" He nudged Luci's arm. "Should I drop the spell? It
gonna freak him out worse, do you think?"

**IZZY**

"I -- I don't know." She kept holding onto him
either way. If he got free and made another run for it, and they weren't able
to stop him, and he did something -- "We could -- tie him up so he can
talk, at least --?" She hated the idea. She hated all of it. But he had to
be safe, first.

Finch came closer, almost hesitantly. "The, uh."
He gestured vaguely. "The hold person thing. That freaks him out bad. When
Diva got him, that fucked him up for days. Maybe being tied up a bit would be
better."

**LINA**

Goro kept watching Jonn, thinking. Wondering where they were
gonna get a rope, if Finch didn't already have one.

He twisted around, frowning up at Finch. "When Diva got
him?"

**IZZY**

"Yeah." Finch looked at him blankly for a second,
then winced. "Oh. Right. He didn't ... uh, don't tell his dad, I
guess."

**LINA**

"Wait, wh--when did--uh." Goro rubbed his face,
blinked at Finch, then blinked a few times at Jonn. His heart skipped to life,
pounding against his ribs, and he scooted back a few inches. Yeah, no, not the
time for this. He could fuckin'... freak out or whatever later. Jonn was
freaking out now. Because Goro had him paralyzed, just like Diva.

"Fuck," Goro whispered. "Fuck." Thinking
about how rope and all that had been a good idea, but not caring enough to let
it stop him, he dropped the spell.

**IZZY**

Jonn lurched once, like the motion had been building while
he was paralyzed and had to escape, then went limp against Luci's chest. His
eyes cut between Goro and Finch a couple times, and settled on Finch.

"C'mon," he hissed. "You're always saying
you're gonna electrocute me. C'mon. Do it."

"Uh." Finch dragged himself back a step.
"No."

**LINA**

"Jonn," Goro said firmly, like he could snap him
out of this shit if he used a stern enough tone. "What happened?"

**IZZY**

Jonn looked at him. His eyes were wide and empty. "You
can do it. Hansel won't be mad at you. He'll understand."

**LINA**

Good god. The fuck was going on here? Goro glanced at Finch.
"Hey, you know if he gets freaked out by Sendings, like how you do?"
Or, well, he supposed Luci would know too, so he looked to her.

**IZZY**

Finch gave him a doubtful look. "Yeah, he just doesn't
like shit being in his head, I think. Roddy Sent to him once and he lost his
shit." He glanced at Jonn. "That was just after the Diva thing,
though."

"Hey." Jonn struggled against Luci, but not hard
-- only to flail a hand at Goro. "Hey. Finish what you fuckin' started.
C'mon. Remember? Hansel's gonna take your side this time. Come on."

**LINA**

Goro stared at him. "Uh. Sure, kid. I sure will. I'll
make it quick and painless, too. Let me just check with Hansel real quick, alright?"

He settled into a more comfortable position, sitting back on
his heels. He closed his eyes and dropped his chin to cast the spell.

Ahuv. You use your Sending bead already? Need you to Send to
Jonn. Tell him you love him no matter what. Urgent. I'll explain later.

This could backfire. Real fucking bad. Goro shifted into a
crouch again, watching Jonn intently, ready to do... well, fucking something if
he started freaking out worse.

**IZZY**

Gave it to Theo already. What's going on? Where are you?

Jonn growled and twisted in Luci's arms, seeming more
frustrated than actively trying to get away. Fidgeting. His fists were tight.
He lowered his voice to a whisper. "Luci. Luci, hey. Hey. Come on. Please.
Help me. Please."

She grit her teeth and closed her eyes. "We're
trying."

He kept fidgeting. "No."

**LINA**

Fuckin'... god damn it. Goro ignored Hansel's questions for
now, since he needed to save the magic. Hell.

"Alright, alright, hey, Jonn." Goro grabbed onto
one of Jonn's fists, giving what he hoped was a comforting squeeze.
"Listen. I'll help you, alright? I got this spell. Never pull it out much,
'cause it's hard to do, and... well, the person I cast it on's gotta be
willing. It's a kill spell. Works instant, no pain." He glanced at Luci
briefly, hoping she'd know he was bullshitting. She might even know what he
really planned to do. "You gotta agree to it, though, otherwise it just
bounces off. You really wanna do this?"

**IZZY**

Jonn narrowed his eyes. "You fuckin' liar. Fuck
you."

He thrashed again, breaking free, and as Luci struggled to
get purchase on him again, Finch dropped down immediately to help her, and
between the two of them they were able to restrain him. He kept trying, then
gave up with a pathetic groan, going limp again.

Finch gave Goro a look. In Infernal, he said, "If
you're gonna fucking do something, I'd do it now."

**LINA**

"Alright, alright, fuckin'--" Goro held his hands
out. The spell really wouldn't fucking work if Jonn wasn't willing, so Goro
couldn't just blindside him. "You're right. I lied. It's not instant.
Takes a few minutes, alright? I didn't wanna fucking scare you. I fucking swear
it won't hurt, though."

**IZZY**

Jonn spat at him.

"All right, that's just not fuckin' necessary,"
Finch commented. He shifted his grip. "Calm the fuck down. You wanna
goddamn die so bad, let him do it."

"Fuck you, too, you're a fucking liar too," Jonn
snarled, then dropped his voice again, begging. "Luci, c'mon, please,
motek, please."

Luci gave Goro a desperate look.

**LINA**

Goro flinched at the spit hitting his face, and swiped it
off with the back of his hand. He squinted at Jonn. "What do you think I'm
lying about, exactly? What do you think I'm gonna do to you? C'mon, worst case
scenario. What are you afraid of?"

**IZZY**

"I don't know." He squirmed. "Some ...
control shit, or ..."

**LINA**

"Nah. Nah, you've had enough of that. I'm here to put
you out of your misery, kid. On my honor. I swear it on my father's grave, this
ain't mind control. It'll be like going to sleep. A nice long sleep."

**IZZY**

Jonn gave him a long look, then glanced to Finch, and back
to Goro. He relaxed. "Okay," he said quietly. "Sorry I spat at
you."

**LINA**

This little weirdo. Goro realized he'd actually be sad about
it if he had to kill him for real. He let the feeling show on his face, for
credence--wistful, regretful.

"Just close your eyes," Goro said gently.
"Maybe Luci can sing to you while you're waiting. You're gonna hear me
praying for a while."

When Amari had taught him to cast this spell, she'd said to
use graveyard dirt to anoint the person's head. Goro didn't have shit, no
incense or anything, let alone dirt, so he was gonna have to pray over his
amulet. He pulled it out of his pocket and set it on the ground, narrowing his
eyes at Finch briefly in a This little tidbit doesn't leave the alleyway, you
understand? kinda way. He'd been less secretive lately about which god he
really served, and Finch probably followed Mask himself, but it was less than
ideal situation anyway.

"I'm putting him in a coma," Goro said in
Infernal. "He'll be fine on the other side of it."

Luci, he figured, would recognize the words of the prayer in
Celestial. Goro folded his hands and began to recite.

**IZZY**

Luci eyed Goro warily, unsure what he was doing, but
trusting it would be all right. Jonn settled, and she held onto him a little
less desperately, and started humming a soft tune in his ear, the full version
of the one that he whistled to his crow.

"Okay," he said again. He closed his eyes.
"Thanks."

Finch started to slowly disentangle himself from the
situation, and Jonn grabbed him to pull him back. He went along with it,
looking uncomfortable. It was also possible that was just how he looked, too.
Either way, he stayed there as Goro prayed, and Luci began to recognize the
words, and understood what he was doing.

Jonn went limp. Even knowing it was just the spell, Luci
didn't enjoy it.

Once Goro had finished, Finch said, "All right, fucking
great. Now what do we with him? Fuck with his memory again and make him forget?
I can't do that shit."

**LINA**

Goro let out a breath and slouched, relieved to be done.
"I don't know. I don't have a fucking clue. Make Hansel lock him in a
twenty-four hour hug?" It'd fucking work on him, he reasoned.

That reminded him he'd left Hansel hanging. Seemed like he
still had a good chunk of magic left after that ritual, so he Sent off another
message.

Skyport. Jonn killed some people, thinks you're gonna be mad
at him for it. Begging me to kill him. I put him under for now.

**IZZY**

Fuck. Fuck. All right. Okay. On the way. Can you get him to
Mishka's estate? If not tell me where.

Finch pulled away, frowning. "Seems like that'd just
fuck him up more. He was pretty goddamn adamant about it."

**LINA**

"Eh, well." Goro wasn't quite sure what to say to
that. I'm well acquainted with feeling like I don't deserve Hansel's love, and
let me tell you-- Fuckin' nah. Not to Finch.

Goro stood up, gesturing to Luci to help him with Jonn.
"I Sent to him. He wants to meet us at the estate. C'mon. The coma's only
gonna last an hour." He tilted his head at Finch. "Dunno if you feel
like tagging along, or what. But thanks for... what you did already."
Maybe the guy wasn't totally useless.

**IZZY**

Finch scowled, offering Luci a hand up and scoffing when she
didn't take it. He shifted his weight, crossing his arm. The scowl turned more
concerned as he looked Jonn over.

He whistled, and a crow flew down to perch on his shoulder.
He shrugged and gestured, and it fluttered over to Goro's. "Send Verthir
back to me if he ... needs anything else. If being around his dad fucks with
him, he can always stay in the bunker. I'll move out everything that's sharp, I
guess. And ropes, and ..." He blew air out through his lips. "I
dunno. I'll work it out. Fuckin' -- take care of him."

He turned to go, scowling again.

**LINA**

"What was he doing stabbing clerics for, anyway?"
Goro asked. He glanced uneasily at the crow on his shoulder. Hah, his fuckin'
kin. He'd still have been more comfortable with it a few feet away.

**IZZY**

"I don't fuckin' know." Finch kicked at a loose
cobblestone, and turned to look back. "When, uh --" he waved to her
-- "Luci Sent and told me he was in trouble, I looked into it. Just a
fucking couple of old Helmites. All he told me was that he was bored -- he gets
all fuckin' restless sometimes, and I didn't fucking entertain him, so he went
out to entertain himself. Who fucking knows. He's a psychopath."

**LINA**

"Old Helmites are pretty entertaining to stab,"
Goro said, with a ghastly smile. Then he glanced at Luci, cleared his throat,
and had the decency to pretend to look contrite. "Hey, uh, you know that
spell for enhancing abilities? Let's cast it on each other, lighten this load a
little." He patted Jonn on the leg.

**IZZY**

Luci nodded. Jonn wasn't particularly heavy, but it was a
long way to the estate.

###

Luckily, it was less than an hour. Hansel was already there
when they arrived, presumably having teleported in with Mishka, pacing back and
forth in the entry hall. He broke from his pattern as soon as they came in,
coming over to hook an arm around Jonn's waist and take his weight off the two
of them. Resting Jonn against one shoulder, he wrapped the other arm briefly
around Luci, kissing the top of her head, then doing the same with Goro,
squeezing him tighter and holding on for a beat.

"Fuck." He sighed, clearly still troubled but
relieved to see them. "What the fuck? Fuck."

**LINA**

Goro squeezed Hansel back, feeling inexplicably guilty. Like
he should've done a better job looking out for Hansel's kid. "Well,
apparently he stabbed a couple Helmite clerics--"

If they were old, Goro wondered idly if they were the same
fucks who'd let Luka die. And then he wondered it less idly, frowning to
himself.

"Uh, anyway, they had him in the abbey and were
questioning him, and... we're not sure what happened. Might've removed his
memory block, was Finch's guess, and none of us have a fucking clue what was
under that block."

**IZZY**

"Shit. Fuckin' ... all right." He shifted to hold
Jonn more easily with both arms. "Fuck, I didn't -- I have no fucking plan
for this," he admitted, looking down at Jonn. He angled his head for them
to follow, and headed for the nearest sitting room. "How long 'til he
wakes up?"

**LINA**

"Ten or twenty minutes, probably?" Goro raised his
eyebrows at Luci for confirmation as they followed. "Uh, Hans... he
really, really didn't want to see you. I just thought, maybe... if you could
get a good hold on him..."

**IZZY**

Hansel winced. He laid Jonn out on a couch and knelt next to
him. Luci recognized that he would be upset by Jonn not wanting to see him, and
filled in, "He probably just thought you'd be angry at him. For, um.
Breaking the rules."

He nodded, still watching Jonn. "Goro said. Fuck,
though, it's not like I ..."

That was true; Hansel was never angry at Jonn. Luci chewed
on her thumbnail, considering. "Maybe he did something ... worse? And it
was behind the block?"

**LINA**

"Something worse than making--" Goro cut himself
off. Making a deal with Diva to torment Hansel's husband for hundreds of years
wasn't the most tactful example he could come up with, even though his point
was a good one. Goro couldn't imagine anything Jonn could do that would make
Hansel stop loving him. How the fuck could Jonn think he'd gone too far?

Speaking of fucking Diva. Goro looked at Luci. "Did you
know he got hosted, or whatever the fuck?"

**IZZY**

Luci opened her mouth and shut it. She glanced at Hansel,
who had turned to look at Goro, alarmed. "He didn't want Dad to
know," she said softly, twisting her staff in her hands, staring at the
floor.

Hansel swore quietly, and pushed himself up to scoop Jonn
back up and settle onto the couch with him, wrapped around his seemingly-dead
body. "Fucksake," he muttered. "Goddammit, Jonn."

**LINA**

Goro closed his eyes and folded his arms tight over his
chest. Fighting the urge to pinch himself. Fighting the urge to run, curl up
and hide somewhere. Even being back here at the estate was doing him no favors.
He still remembered the fucking bush he'd crawled into right after he got free
of Diva. He could go out and point to it.

Still wasn't the time to be freaking out, though.

He crossed his arms tighter and gripped his elbows, digging
his nails into them but trying to be subtle about it. He shifted his weight
back and forth on his feet. "Could try asking Morgan what was behind the block.
Dunno if she'd know, though. Was probably Blue pulling that bullshit."

**IZZY**

"Amren," Luci said. "He would know." She
chewed on her lip a bit, then made herself stop.

She studied Goro for a moment and plucked at his sleeve.
"We, um. We did our best. Maybe we should leave him with Hansel. So he
doesn't get overwhelmed when he wakes up."

**LINA**

"Oh, um. Yeah. You're right." Goro unclenched his
hands, scrubbed them through his hair, and turned to leave the room. Figured
they'd have no trouble hearing it if some shit went down that required their
assistance.

He walked into the kitchen, trusting Luci to follow. Checked
the shelves and cupboards out of habit for something to eat, even though there
was nothing. Course there wasn't. No one lived here anymore. "Well. Uh.
Shit. Sorry I couldn't..." Couldn't what? Just felt like he'd made some
kind of grave error in this little fucking rescue mission.

**IZZY**

Luci kept watching him. He was clearly nervous, which made
her frown -- she would have thought that Hansel being here, and handling Jonn,
would take the load off of him. She was still worried, but -- Jonn was her
brother, and she didn't know how to help him. Perhaps Goro was concerned about
the strain this would put on Hansel.

"You did everything you could," she tried.
"You got him out, and got him here. I don't ... I don't think we can do
anything else." She wasn't positive Hanse could, either, but at least
while he tried, Luci could keep trying to think of other things. The crow Finch
had sent with them had taken up residence on the counter. Maybe he would be
trying, too.

**LINA**

"The hell was he--stabbing clerics for, anyway,"
Goro muttered, screwing the top off a clay pickle jar. Empty.

He could joke all fucking day about how there were a million
reasons to kill Helmite clerics, but nah, this was gonna be bugging him. If
Jonn went and wiped out all the old ones, that'd be robbing Goro of the
pleasure of looking into the eyes of the people who'd let his father die, right
before he fucking gutted them and took all their money.

**IZZY**

"I don't know." Luci  sat down to think, resting her temple against
her staff. "He wouldn't normally ... do that. Not unless they attacked
him." Finch said he was bored, though. Bad things tended to happen when
Jonn was bored. But he'd been doing better.

**LINA**

"Would he..." Goro tapped a finger against the lid
of the jar. "Does he ever..." Does he ever get protective?, he almost
asked. Hah, Goro, you think? You think Jonn's got a little bit of a revenge
streak in him? Who'd'a fucking imagined.

"Would he get protective of me?" Goro turned
toward Luci, squinting over her head at the wall. "What's it take to make
him kill for somebody?"

**IZZY**

She squinted back at him. "I'm not sure. He does like
you. It's ..." She didn't enjoy talking about this. "It's normally
just me and Hansel. Well, and Roddy, now. And ... and probably Finch."
Well, now that she was thinking about it, she admitted, "I guess he
probably would, but -- you weren't anywhere around. You weren't in
danger."

**LINA**

"Nah. Maybe protective isn't the right word. It's
just..." Goro turned back around and tried another jar. That one unsealed
with a pop, and the inside was packed with shiny green pickles. He pulled one
out and took a bite, crunching. "Y'know. Few weeks back I asked Morgan Wyn
to find my parents for me. Since I never knew 'em, right? Didn't know who they
were. She had Jonn and Finch helping her out. My dad was living around Skyport
for a while, and he was real sick around the time I was born. Tumor in his
stomach. Couldn't afford healing, and the clerics just... let him die. Jonn
would've heard all that, and relayed it back to Morgan." Goro shrugged and
took another bite. "I haven't asked for their names yet, but I'm betting
some of 'em are still alive. They'd be old now, though. And Finch said... eh.
Who knows."

**IZZY**

Luci bit her lip again. Jonn did have ... a tendency to be
protective of children, and get attached to fatherly people. She thought it
wasn't particularly far-fetched for him to have considered these clerics --
letting a father die and orphaning someone that he now liked -- worth killing.
But Hansel had talked to him about that kind of thing. He was supposed to be
... good, now. He had only done what he'd done to Mishka because he was trying
to protect Hansel.

But, then, maybe that was why he was so sure Hansel would be
angry with him.

Still, she said, "He, um. Used to do ... things that he
thought was right, or good for people, when they weren't, really. His judgement
is ... bad." Careful. "Hansel told him -- not to, though. I think it
would take something else happening to make him forget that." She was back
to chewing on her lip, and made herself stop again. "I don't know what,
though."

**LINA**

"Hmm." Goro polished off the last of the pickle.
"If we put one and two together... maybe the clerics were trying to arrest
him for something else, or... maybe he saw them hurting someone. Dunno. Maybe
when he wakes up..." Or not, fuck. Goro looked in the direction of the
sitting room, biting his lip. Any minute now, if he hadn't already woken up.

**IZZY**

She shifted uncomfortably in place. "Maybe he'll talk
to Hansel," she said quietly, looking away, then looking back to him,
remembering why they'd come in here. "You really did do everything you
could. I'm very grateful. He will be too, once ..."

**LINA**

Goro didn't know what to say to that, so he held out the
jar. "Pickle?"

**IZZY**

She stared at him. "No thank you."

**LINA**

He screwed the lid on and set the jar back on the shelf. He
leaned against it and crossed his arms, staring at her. "So, uh." He
jerked his chin. "How's life?"

**IZZY**

"It could be better," she said bluntly. That was
rude. "It's, um. Been nice staying at the castle, though."

**LINA**

"Yeah? What could be better about it? Maybe we can make
arrangements." He didn't have a fucking clue what this girl liked--if a
nicer bedroom would do the trick (he doubted it), or if there were some people
she wanted dead (again, probably not), or if it was a simple case of wanting
her family to be less of a fucking disaster (which, unfortunately, Goro
couldn't help with).

**IZZY**

She squinted at him. "No, it's not ..." Hm. He was
being very nice. She felt like she should come up with something he could help
with. "Um." She didn't think she had anything, so she just said,
"I don't belong at the Sanctuary anymore, and the castle is nice, and I
like working for Joan. It just isn't what I'm used to." She twisted her
staff, and glanced towards the sitting room. If Jonn was awake, Hansel had
shushed him. "I'm not sure what I'm doing."

**LINA**

"Ah. Hm." Goro thought about that. "Dunno if
I can relate. For me, getting used to something is the same as getting bored
with it. But you like a routine, I take it. Some predictability."

**IZZY**

She twisted her staff again. "Maybe. Or just ... some
sort of plan for the future, I suppose. Mishka told me I would -- always have a
home with him and Hansel, if I wanted, which is nice." More twisting.
"I thought maybe I would ... do something with Jonn, now, but ..."

**LINA**

Goro snapped his fingers and pointed at her. "A purpose.
Some direction. I getcha. Hell yeah, everyone needs that kinda thing." He
decided not to share that his, specifically, was to wipe out the Church of
Helm. Might make things a little awkward. "Hey, I got a question. Have you
been dabbling in secret with Eilistraee all this time? Or was there something
more recent that led you away from Eldath?"

**IZZY**

She wrinkled her nose a bit. Dabbling in secret -- he made
it sound bad. "It was recent. When I learned about -- Gruumsh and all."
She looked down. "He's merciless. A war god. If I were a true follower of
Eldath, I would just ... lie down and let him take Hansel. Not fight." She
paused. "I'm not prepared to do that."

**LINA**

"Mhm. Listen, I can only rag on pacifists so much. My
dear mother's one of them. She's real into the whole Eldath thing. Fits her
perfect, I'm happy for her." He raised an eyebrow. "But if you ask
me, she's out of touch with reality. Always has been, always will be."

**IZZY**

Luci mulled that over. Amari seemed very kind -- she was no
coward, she seemed to genuinely have some sort of peace inside her. She
wondered if Amari had always had that. If she could achieve it some day.

She didn't think she could. Jonn was her brother; she
thought they might have something in them, the both of them, that would keep
them from finding that peace.

"Amari would make a good Eldathyn, and she's a
wonderful person," she said finally. "But -- I think the world needs
more than pacifists, yes."

**LINA**

"So. You want me to teach you how to whack a guy?"
Goro mimed holding a staff and hitting someone upside the head with it,
complete with a whooshing sound effect.

**IZZY**

She gave him a blank look. "That's okay. Jonn taught me
how to kill people."

**LINA**

"That's a good big brother. I plan to teach Theo the
same, when she's a little older. I mean, hoping she never has to fucking use
it, but let's be realistic."

**IZZY**

"Maybe she'll learn magic. That would keep her safer.
Or I suppose Hansel could teach her how to stab people with a very small trident,"
she added thoughtfully, imagining the scene of her extremely tall father
passing that silver trident of his onto a very small girl. That could have been
her, she guessed.

**LINA**

Goro snorted. Yeah, he bet Theo would love that, no joke. He
worried about that kid, sometimes. A little too... well, a little too much like
him.

He shook the thought off. "Y'know, it's definitely been
an hour by now. Let's go check on 'em." He motioned for Luci to follow,
and headed back into the sitting room.

**IZZY**

She nodded, equally nervous and eager. It had been quiet,
which seemed ... good?

She trailed behind Goro, peeking around him into the sitting
room. Hansel sat on the couch, with Jonn curled up small in his lap, hiding his
face against Hansel. He was shaking slightly with sobs, but he had settled.
Hansel was shushing him softly and rubbing his back, not having to hold him
down -- he looked up when Goro and Luci came in, eyes a little red-rimmed.

**LINA**

Goro raised his eyebrows at Hansel. "Can we,
uh...?"

**IZZY**

Hansel shrugged. Luci came closer, but didn't think she
should touch Jonn when he didn't realize she was there. Hansel jostled him
gently, whispering, "Hey."

Jonn lifted his head just enough to spot her, then hid it
again and mumbled, "Sorry." He didn't see Goro.

**LINA**

Goro cleared his throat and inched closer. "He, uh. He
talk to you at all?" he asked Hansel, speaking softly.

**IZZY**

"Little bit." He kissed Jonn's head and asked,
"Hey. You feel like talkin' anymore?"

Jonn sniffled, and didn't move, but said, "'Kay."

Hansel tilted his head for Goro to come sit next to them, if
he wanted, as Luci slipped in on his other side, pulling her legs under her.

**LINA**

Goro eased down next to them on the couch, keeping his arms
crossed. He glanced at Jonn, but looked away, not wanting to stare. Weirdly private
moment to be invited in on. Goro was better at asking questions of people who
were being cagey and defensive, not ones who were crying in their father's
arms.

"Sorry about the spell," Goro said. He meant how
he'd lied before, but as he said it he realized he was a lot more fucking sorry
about the paralysis. Jonn could it interpret it how he wanted, he guessed.

**IZZY**

Jonn made a noncommittal sound, followed by,
"S'fine."

Hansel kissed his head again, and dropped one hand to slip
his fingers between Goro's.

**LINA**

Goro squeezed Hansel's hand. Wasn't fine, but Goro couldn't
tell if Jonn was just saying that because he was used to giving in, or because
he could actually understand why Goro had done it.

"So, uh. What happened, kid? Why all the fuss?"

**IZZY**

He whined and pressed himself closer against Hansel.

"Hey, hey." Hansel hugged him tighter in turn.
"You're okay. Tovta, motek, tovta."

After a moment, Jonn mumbled, "It wasn't on
purpose."

"I know. I know." Hansel petted his hair.

He sniffled again. "I was just gonna fucking ... talk
to these clerics. I was trying to find out more shit about -- Goro's dad. And
they wouldn't talk to me anymore. They called me a graverobber and I didn't
even fucking --."

He broke off into a frustrated sound. Jonn had definitely
dug up graves before, Luci knew. How strange to have to protest your innocence
over a crime you'd committed in the past.

"I was just threatening them," Jonn said. "I
wasn't gonna actually hurt'em. I wasn't. But one of them used that fucking -- that
fucking cantrip, the fire one --." He shifted to scratch at his forearm,
and glamoured armor bleeding up his arm so that he could reach the burn scars,
and Hansel gently pulled his hand away to stop him.

"I had to fight back," he muttered. "But I
guess one of'em Sent for help, or something, 'cause then paladins showed up,
and there were too many, but ... I really wasn't gonna kill them. I didn't mean
to." He finally angled his face towards Goro, still not actually looking
at him. "I was gonna leave them for you. Dad said to. I was. I'm
sorry."

**LINA**

Goro narrowed his eyes at the word graverobber. So they went
and checked now and then, did they? You wouldn't fucking know it, from the
state of the place. And Goro couldn't blame the Church for not keeping up with
the maintenance of every goddamn grave out there, but for them to be getting
all uppity about it when someone else took matters into their own hands--

Eh, fuckin', whatever.

He felt like he should... pat Jonn on the shoulder or
something, but he wasn't sure Jonn would actually appreciate it. He also didn't
know what the hell to say. They deserved it, you did the right thing, was
fucking true, but he remembered what Luci was saying about Jonn's bad judgment,
and how hard Hansel worked to try and keep Jonn's fucking psycho tendencies
under control, and he wondered whether maybe it wasn't a great idea to go
encouraging murder for Jonn, period. What with Jonn not having any gut
instincts to fall back on, Goro wasn't sure how to go about explaining Sometimes
it's right to hurt people who hurt you, and sometimes it's not.

"You were defending yourself," he said, settling
for that much. "You don't gotta be sorry."

**IZZY**

Jonn cut his eyes up to Goro's face, looking suspicious.

"See," Hansel prodded. "I fuckin' told you it
was all right."

He grumbled like he still didn't believe it, but didn't
argue. He hid his face again so that his voice came out muffled. "There're
more of them. I'll find the rest for you."

**LINA**

Goro didn't want to act too happy about that, but the
corners of his mouth twitched, anyway. Couldn't pretend it wasn't a relief. He
really wanted to look those fuckers in the eyes. Make sure they knew exactly
who he was.

Anyway.

"What'd they do to you after they brought you in?"
he asked, carefully. He wanted to know, but he'd drop it if Jonn started
freaking out again.

**IZZY**

His hands clenched in Hansel's sweater, and he didn't move
or say anything for a moment. When he did, his voice was flat. "Guess they
knew I used to be with the Sanguines. They're real interested in what ...
fucking happened with Wyn, and shit. Where she went. So they tried to
interrogate me, and I told them to fuck off, so they brought out this --
medallion thing." His knuckles went white. "Mind reading shit. And
they were asking questions about ... where Wyn came from, and how she ... and
what happened to Helena, and ... the one using the medallion said that
something was fucking wrong, and ..."

He trailed off and didn't pick it back up.

Hansel filled in, quietly, "He said they made him
remember shit. That Wyn made him kill Helena, and -- a fucking lot of other
people." He hesitated. "Raef's kid, too. Gwydion."

Jonn gave a tiny whimper and started crying again.

"It's that little dragonborn, Amren," Hansel went
on, rubbing his back. "The fuckin' bard. Compulsion magic and then that
modify memory shit to make him forget."

**LINA**

Goro started chewing his fingernails. Gnawing on his left
hand while his right thumb played with the Ring of Mind-Shielding.

Good investment, that. Not exactly worth all the trouble,
but a good consolation prize, at least.

Again, he found himself at a loss for what to say. Good
fuckin' riddance, Helena Baron. Don't worry, Amren'll get his. Blue Wyn was a
fucking coward, making other people do her dirty work all the time. Hey, I'm
gonna kill every one of those fucks at the abbey; they got no right digging
around in your head like that.

Eh, maybe that last one was alright. Everyone already knew
the whole fucking Church was on his kill list, he was pretty sure. If Hansel
had already told Jonn to leave the clerics for Goro to kill, then Goro killing
them probably didn't count as being a bad influence, or whatever.

"Hey, for what it's worth, I'm gonna kill every one of
those fucks at the abbey," he said. "They got no right digging around
in your head like that."

**IZZY**

Hansel nodded in agreement. Luci had heard him say things
like that before -- I'll kill anyone who fucks with you, you know that? I'll
fucking gut them. No one can hurt you. No one can touch you. She'd found it
more frightening than comforting; the sentiment, she'd always known, was
well-meaning, but the viciousness and the detail unsettled her. It didn't so
much, anymore. She understood it a little better.

Goro's tone was matter-of-fact. She knew he had a vicious
streak, too, at least as wide as Hansel's, but this was more of a calm
certainty. Oddly, she thought that it was actually kind of comforting.

Jonn made another noncommittal sound, small and broken.
"Doesn't change anything." And after a second, more lowly, he added,
"Good, though."

**LINA**

You wanna help? was the kind of thing Goro would normally
follow up with, but... again, that problem of wanting to steer Jonn away from
killing people.

Luci, though.

Goro leaned forward, looking past Jonn and Hansel to fix his
gaze on her. A plan for the future, eh? Well, he could sure pitch her some
ideas.

"I have this dream," he started. He shifted around
to sit with his back against the arm of the couch, so he could see all three of
them. "See, I went to Calimport a few months back. Blew my fucking mind,
what I saw there. It's real different from Skyport, in a lot of ways, but I
think the biggest one--the one that meant the most--is that they don't have any
laws about religion. Any and all gods you can think of, people follow openly
there, and there's temples all over the city. People like you and me, Luci,
don't gotta run around doing our thing in the shadows. We don't have to whisper
and hunt to find others like us. I didn't have to go everywhere carrying my
Helmite shield, I got to wear this--" He pulled his Mask amulet out and
flashed it, then stuck it back in his pocket-- "around my neck. There's no
one to fucking arrest and torture people just for practicing privately in their
own homes, let alone on the street."

He cracked half a smile. "It was amazing. I didn't
wanna leave. So my dream is, someday, that Skyport'll be like that. This whole
region'll be like that."

**IZZY**

Luci was wrapped around her staff, fidgeting with it, eyeing
Jonn as he talked until he couldn't and Hansel had to fill in for him --
completely clueless as to help. Her gaze shifted to Goro as he moved to face
them all, though Jonn didn't budge from his place hiding against Hansel.

She mulled over what Goro had said, for a moment. That
sounded ... nice. She had known she couldn't go to Skyport and expect better
treatment than at the Sanctuary -- at least at the Sanctuary, then wouldn't
kick her out for turning away from Eldath. She was sure they'd take her staff,
and she couldn't give it up; she needed it. But in Skyport, the Church of Helm
-- well, she'd seen what they were like, today. More than she would have really
liked to. She cut her eyes at Jonn, again, for a second, then back to Goro.

"What would that take, do you think?" she asked.
"How ... long?"

**LINA**

"Not a matter of how long, just of how many. As in how
many dead bodies." He figured he shouldn't look too happy about it. Luci
may've given up pacifism, but she probably still found murder and shit
distasteful. "I'm working my way up to Freddy. Once he's gone... well,
actually, it won't be that quick a fix, since we need someone to take his
place. You ever thought about, uh... politics..." He scratched the back of
his head as he said it, realizing what a fucking ridiculous question that was.
Yeah, Luci the politician. Fucking spot on. Pfff.

**IZZY**

She twisted her staff. "No." Someone else, though;
someone trustworthy. "Have you?"

**LINA**

"Oh, yeah. All the fucking time. I don't wanna be a
public face, though. That's a fuckin' desk job, most of the time. Hell nah. I'd
be bored as shit." He rubbed his chin, thinking. "But if not you, and
not me, then who the fuck? Amari? Eh. She's probably happier just healing the
sick, and gardening, and shit. Dunno. We'll have to find someone."

**IZZY**

Luci eyed Jonn. He was -- distraught, right now, and a mess,
but he could be ... good with people. It was even odds on whether people liked
him or hated him, but she bet he could get better, if he tried. He was a good
liar, at least. And he largely did what he was told to do by people he trusted,
like Luci, and Hansel, and Goro.

Then he she looked away for a moment, and back to Goro,
agreeing, "I'm sure there's someone."

**LINA**

"Well. In the meantime. You wanna help me kill some of
those fuckers? I mean, don't feel like you have to. S'gonna get done either
way."

He glanced at Hansel, a little unsure what he would think
about Goro trying to recruit his teenaged daughter into murdering a bunch of
clerics with him. Less than traditional family bonding.

**IZZY**

She chewed on her thumbnail, and glanced to Hansel, too,
catching Goro's look. It wasn't as if she needed Hansel's permission anyway,
but expectedly, he offered a mild shrug. He was far from squeamish. And she
thought about the day of that storm, when Roddy's old circus had been in
Glimmerton, how Hansel had told her to stay with Goro -- he must have already
trusted Goro to watch out for her then, so she couldn't imagine him having any
objections now.

"The --." She hesitated. "The two people we
passed, going to that -- room they had Jonn in. Could we find them, do you
think? Maybe Finch would help," she added thoughtfully, chewing on her
thumbnail again and looking down. Those two must have been the ones who'd hurt
her brother. She didn't find violence and death appealing, but she could
certainly justify it in this case.

**LINA**

Goro snorted. "Kid, I know their names. I know where
they sleep at night. Well... knew it six months ago, at least. The point is,
you got an insider right here. We sure as hell can find 'em."

**IZZY**

She nodded. That was a place to start. Goro had been
indispensable in getting Jonn out -- she'd seen the way he was able to talk
through the Abbey. She couldn't do things like that.

But she did have magic, and Jonn had shown her how to cut
someone's throat in such a way that they couldn't scream for help.

"Okay," she said. "Good."

[END]

Title: Rescue. Summary: Luci asks Goro for help in rescuing
Jonn from the Church of Helm, discovering he's been interrogated about Morgan
Wyn with the spell Detect Thoughts, and had his memory repaired. He's
disconsolate. Luci joins Goro's crusade against the church.