TRP: Amren, Goro, and Larkin (How to Question a Dragon)

Word Count: 4002

**Jen:** at 4:28 PM

[Setting: Morning of day 179, Castle dungeons]

It was early in the morning but Amren was already awake. Not
very cozy sleeping, with his wrists in cuffs and a soggy wad of cloth stuffed
in his mouth. The four armed people glaring down at him through the bars
probably didn't help either.

Amren looked up as they filed in. Probably knew what was
coming but just in case, Larkin decided to start them off without any
misconceptions. She took the bucket of mopping water someone had been too lazy to
empty out and sloshed it through the bars.

"Mornin' buddy," she said and set the bucket
aside. "Time for a chat."

**Lina:** at 4:39 PM

Goro unlocked the cell door, then tossed the keys to Jasper.
He stepped inside and squatted down next to Amren, making himself comfortable,
arms resting on his knees. He examined Amren for a while, head tilting to the
side.

Then he made a big, exaggerated pout, eyes watering.
"Oh, Goro, please, save him! You have to! I can't let him die! Please,
Goro, please! Pff." He shook his head. "Fuckin' Roddy. He doesn't
want us to kill you, can you fucking believe it? Sentimentality. I was never a
fan."

Goro tilted his head the other way, then leaned in a little
closer, eyebrows going up. "But. You know. He could hardly blame us if we
had to kill you again in self-defense. Don't you think? Wait, hang on. Lark,
how do we make it look like self-defense? I forgot."

**Jen:** at 4:43 PM

Larkin moved after him to lean lazily back against the
doorframe, well out of reach of any of Amren's limbs. "We kill him and afterwards
we use his claws to give us some nice scratches." She clutched a hand to
her chest, wincing in fake pain. "Ah, fuck! He tried to rip my throat
out!"

**Lina:** at 4:47 PM

Goro snapped his fingers and pointed at her. "That's right.
Perfect. Good, I don't want to hurt Roddy's feelings, or anything." He
looked back to Amren. "But, before we get too hasty... I suppose you can
change our minds. I suppose I can be persuaded. How about we let you talk a bit
before we decide, yeah? Hey, Raef." Goro stood up and stepped back,
gesturing down at Amren. "Let the poor fella give us a piece of his
mind."

**Mink:** at 4:49 PM

It had been forever since he had sat in on an interrogation
and this had to be the most amusing.He
had missed this. "No fucking problem," he said as he walked over to
Amren.He patted the side of the
small dragonborn's face with a smile. "Be a good boy and listen to
them." He pulled out the gag and stepped back beside Jasper, dropping the
rag to the ground.

**Izzy:** at 4:54 PM

Amren took a deep breath and snarled slightly, looking
between the group of them with wide eyes.

**Jen:** at 4:57 PM

"So? Got anything to say for yourself?" Larkin
smirked seeing the look on his face.

**Izzy:** at 4:59 PM

His eyes kept darting between them for a second; then they
narrowed as they settled on Larkin, and he spat, "Fuck you."

**Lina:** at 5:01 PM

Goro gasped and put a hand to his chest. He shared a look
with Larkin and shook his head. "So rude. So very rude. You know you're in
the presence of the lords of the castle here, right? You should mind your
manners." Goro crouched down next to him again. "Tell me why we
should keep you alive."

**Izzy:** at 5:03 PM

"Doesn't matter what I say." His voice shook.
"You're gonna kill me no matter what."

**Jen:** at 5:07 PM

Larkin tilted her head to glance at Goro, back at Amren,
then at Goro again. "Y'know, man, Roddy's our friend."

**Lina:** at 5:09 PM

Goro looked at Larkin for a moment, pretending like they
were having a silent conversation. He blew out a sigh and shifted his shoulders
around, looking back to Amren. "Alright, so, we might've gotten a little
carried away at the beginning, there."

**Jen:** at 5:19 PM

"Hmm. Yeah." Larkin was silent for a moment as she
stared at Amren, biting her lower lip as if worrying at a thought but really
trying to contain a smirk. She drummed her fingers against the steel bars, then
shoved them into a pocket.

"Well, look. If it was just my buddies and me
here," she nodded at Goro and glanced at Raef and Jasper, "we'd just
make you tell us what we wanna know then give you a big old smile in the neck.
But Roddy, he doesn't want you dead, god knows why. And we don't want Roddy
sad, sooo..." she rolled her eyes and whirled a hand in the air,
indicating how airheaded that was. "Anyway, point is, there's a pretty
good chance you'll walk out of here alive. If you talk. And on top of that, you
even get to choose how many body parts you'll take with you."

Her hand came back out of the pocket, pulling a knife with
it, and now Larkin did grin. "How's that sound?"

**Izzy:** at 5:22 PM

He swallowed, and eyed the knife, then looked back to
Larkin's face. "I'm not sayin' shit." His voice cracked on the last
word.

Beautiful Coyoteat
5:30 PM

Ha. Jasper watched them banter back and forth. These guys
were great. What an excellent little shady cleric. And what an excellent
bastard Larkin was. It gave her warm fuzzy feelings.

Jasper crunched contentedly on her apple while they worked.
Then he started showing resistance. Well. That was no good.

Jasper knew how to help with this. “Well, I guess he’s not
telling us anything,” she said. She pushed herself away from the wall, casually
sauntered over, then slammed her fist into the wall next to his head. She
crushed the apple as she did it.

She showed him the pulped mess, then dropped it on the floor
next to him.

She grabbed Amren’s head and moved like she was going to
smash it into the wall, just like the apple.

**Izzy:** at 5:32 PM

Amren screwed his eyes shut and waited.

**Lina:** at 5:34 PM

"Jasper! For fuck's sake, slow the fuck down!"
Goro leapt to his feet. "He's not even trying to hurt anyone!"

Beautiful Coyoteat
5:41 PM

Goddamn. Normally that worked on folks— but the dragonborn
just shut his eyes and waited. Jasper dropped him instinctively, frowning.

She took a step back, regarding him. She wasn’t really gonna
hurt him, and the fact he just sat there and took it caught her off guard.

Apparently death threats weren’t gonna work here.

**Jen:** at 5:49 PM

God dammit. Problem with death threats was, you couldn't
follow through with them if there was still something you wanted; people like
Amren were smart enough to know that. He had to be shown they were serious, and
that they'd do things to him that made death seem preferable- but out of reach.
Torture basics. They had to make Amren believe talking was his only way of
winning here.

Larkin waited for them to settle, then shook her head.
"Yeah, it's too early to off him and he know's it. Gotta try some stuff
before that."

**Lina:** at 5:54 PM

"We're not gonna off him, you nutcases! I thought we
were just trying to intimidate him!" Goro looked among the rest of them,
holding his hands out like he was at a loss. "I fucking told Roddy we
wouldn't!"

**Jen:** at 6:00 PM

"Oh, shut the fuck up," Larkin said without much
conviction. "We don't have to fucking kill him, we just have to beat
whatever his boss promised to do to him." She turned to look at Raef.
"Hey, you got your skinning knives with you?"

**Izzy:** at 6:02 PM

Amren's eyes widened a bit.

**Mink:** at 6:03 PM

Yeah.These
people were fucking great, and really did fucking miss the thrill of watching
someone squirm."Sure fucking
do," he said with a smile, reaching down to pull out the slender blade
tucked in his boot.He twirled it as
he watched Amren.

Beautiful Coyoteat
6:05 PM

That was some admirable threatening. Maybe it’d work. Maybe
not, though.

Jasper crouched down to look Amren in the eye. His eyes had
widened a little. “Hey. What are you so afraid of? What do you think Wyn’s
gonna do to you?”

**Izzy:** at 6:08 PM

His eyes flicked between Jasper and Raef. and he opened his
mouth a little, then hesitated. "What, you looking for ideas? Fuck
off."

**Mink:** at 6:13 PM

Amren was either brave, stupid, or both.Raef believed the latter - the dragon was frightened, but he
wasn't talking.He turned the knife
lazily as he walked over and crouched in front of Amren.

He rested his hand on Amren's thigh, the hilt between them.
"I don't need any ideas, Amren," he said with a soft smile.
"I've skinned bigger beasts than you alive, and I've been around a lot
longer than Wyn."

**Izzy:** at 6:15 PM

Amren grit his teeth and closed his eyes for a moment. He
opened them again to glare at Raef. "Do your worst, motherfucker."

**Jen:** at 6:16 PM

Larkin caught Raef's glance and nodded.

**Lina:** at 6:28 PM

Goro was thinking. He needed to change tactics--pretending
to be on Amren's side wasn't going to get him shit. Amren was fucking scared.
Of Wyn, apparently.

He wondered how many people in the Sanguines knew who was
really at the top. If Amren did, it'd be good leverage. If he didn't, Goro was
going to have to bluff his way through. Either would be fine, he decided.

"Eh, you guys are wasting your time, anyway." Goro
crouched down beside Amren again and smiled. "Listen, kiddo, you're
worried about the wrong thing, here. Wyn's not gonna find you. I'll make sure
of that. If you won't work with us, I'll just take you on a little trip, far
out of the way. To Sienna Springs."

**Mink:** at 6:31 PM

Raef glanced between Larkin and Goro before he stood up.They could handle it more tactfully
than he could.Probably with a lot
less bloodshed.He stepped back
beside Jasper - if they needed something done, he could do it.It was easier, and safer, to follow
orders no matter how it felt.

**Izzy:** at 6:33 PM

Amren watched Raef back off, looking a little puzzle behind
his facade of anger, then turned his attention back to Goro. Kept the same look
on. Confused.

**Lina:** at 6:44 PM

"Doesn't ring a bell, huh? I must've gotten a more
exclusive peek than you did. Sienna Springs is where the boss is. The big boss.
Bosses, I should say. Picture this, Amren--I march you right up to them, tied
up just like you are now, with the gag back in your mouth, and I say--this
little snitch told me everything. He's the one who told me where to find you.
He's the one who told me Wyn's a fucking figurehead. He's the one who told me
you keep tabs on her with those goddamn familiars of yours.

"Now, now, I know what you're thinking--what the hell's
the fucking point of telling me anything more? Why give me even more
ammunition?" Goro paused and glanced up at his companions, then back to
Amren. "'Cause I'm offering you a deal, you little shit, and you can take
it with a grain of salt but I'd still suggest you take it. Tell us what we want
to know, and I'll turn you loose. Never breathe a word to anyone about where I
learned it all. Keep your scaley little mouth shut, though, and we're gonna be
taking that trip I talked about."

Goro leaned back and held his hands out, bobbing them up and
down like they were a scale. "Sure, maybe I'm full of shit. Do you wanna
take a chance, anyway? Or should I go pack my bags right now?"

**Izzy:** at 6:46 PM

Amren's eyes widened as Goro spoke, locked onto him. His voice
had gone high-pitched and trembled, but he still tried to sound defiant.
"Yeah. Okay. Pack up. Let's go."

**Jen:** at 6:59 PM

Damn, that had been one hell of a speech. And Amren wanted
to take those chances? Larkin frowned down at him, tried to catch Goro's eyes.
Something was clearly going over their heads here. That, or Amren didn't
believe they'd follow through on their threats. Well, at least that could be
remedied.

"This is bullshit." She pushed away from the door
and picked up the gag, then walk over to Amren. She kicked him in the stomach,
without warning, and when he doubled over, shoved the rag back into his mouth.
"You're done talking for now." Her hand went to his throat, pushing
his head pack against the wall, and the tip of her knife scraped across his
cheek until it caught at the edge of a scale. She pushed it under.

**Izzy:** at 7:00 PM

Amren's teeth clenched around the gag and he closed his eyes
again.

**Lina:** at 7:13 PM

"Larkin, cut it out." Goro climbed to his feet.
"Don't damage the merchandise, you get what I'm saying? Let's go. We gotta
pack." He waved her out of the cell, then spoke to Jasper. "Get some
more rope. Bind his arms to his body, and cover his head. I want him
unrecognizable while we're out and about."

He walked to the doorway, beckoning for Larkin to follow,
giving her a look he hoped said I have something to tell you, get out here.

**Jen:** at 7:15 PM

Larkin gave Goro an irritated look but got up and followed.

**Lina:** at 7:17 PM

Goro took her by the elbow and pulled her out of the
dungeon. Once they were out of earshot, he whispered, "Let's let him think
we're taking him to Sienna Springs. But really--" he smiled-- "let's
take him to your uncle."

**Jen:** at 7:21 PM

Larkin opened her mouth to say something but shut it again
and grinned. She threw an arm around Goro's shoulder and patted him on the
back. Brilliant bastard. How she loved him.

**Lina:** at 10:28 AM

An hour or so later--Goro left some extra time to give the
illusion of preparing for a longer trip--they had Amren strapped to the back of
a horse, bag on his head, gag in mouth.

"Hm, this is a problem," Goro said to Larkin.
"We take the gag out he and he might be able to scream for help, but if we
leave it in, he can't answer any questions. You hear that, buddy?" He
patted Amren on the shoulder. "We can put a stop to this any time, just as
soon as you decide you wanna start talking. We'll turn right back around."

**Jen:** at 10:40 AM

"Man, we've given that little shit enough chances to
change his mind," Larkin said, meaning it. "I like 'em better like
this. The cussing gets annoying."

She leaned in to Goro and in a tone that was quieter, but
still loud enough to be heard by Amren, said, "Let's question him again
when we make camp tonight. Might just be enough." Hopefully Goro was right
about Amren just bluffing. If so, all they had to do was convince him they were
taking him to the Queen.

**Lina:** at 10:47 AM

"Yeah, yeah, alright," Goro said, matching her
volume. Then he spoke to Amren again. "Alright, how about this. Three
grunts--hng hng hng--means 'ungag me, I'm ready to talk.' Two grunts--hng
hng--means 'let me up, I gotta pee, and Goro doesn't want me pissing on the
horse.' One grunt means 'fuck you.' Got it?"

**Izzy:** at 10:48 AM

He grunted once.

**Jen:** at 11:01 AM

"You know what, this is actually kinda nice."
Larkin slouched back in the saddle, unsure how to sit comfortably on a horse
but steady enough to enjoy the view of the landscape. The animal seemed to have
a very forgiving temper, too. "We never get to spend so much time
together. This is like vacation."

**Lina:** at 11:12 AM

"We got plenty of time to catch up," Goro said,
leading the horse carrying Amren by the reins. "Near as I could tell from
the map Sienna Springs is a good ten days away."

**Jen:** at 11:17 AM

"You ever heard of camping? It's like being homeless on
the road, just on purpose. Rich city people do it for fun." Larkin kept
watching Amren but there was no indication he was listening to them at all.
Whatever did Wyn promise to do to him he thought the Runners weren't capable
of?

She signed to Goro. Keep going?

**Lina:** at 11:45 AM

He shook his head. Signed, Hang back. Give me a minute.Made eye contact with Raef to make
sure he got it too. "Hey, did you guys fucking hear that? Would you go
check that ditch over there? I wanna make sure we're not being followed."

Larkin steered her horse to the side a little, letting Goro
pull on ahead. Raef kept his distance.

Goro walked alongside the horse, close enough to whisper to
Amren. "Hey. Buddy. I'm gonna get you out of this. I'm gonna get you back
to Wyn." He reached his hand under the bag on Amren's head and pulled the
gag loose. "Don't scream. I need you to help me out, here."

**Izzy:** at 11:46 AM

Amren was quiet.

**Jen:** at 11:49 AM

Larkin fell back, watching, hoping whatever plan Goro had
come up with now would work. Her hand went to her crossbow when she saw him
reach for Amren.

**Lina:** at 11:50 AM

"Atta boy," Goro whispered. "Listen, that
shit about Wyn's bosses, and the familiars spying on her--I got that straight
from her. I'm trying to help her. She's like, fuckin', under their thumb or
something, right? Roddy said something about the Sanguine Queen. Who the fuck's
that?"

**Izzy:** at 11:52 AM

He stayed silent for a stretch, the mumbled, "Don't know."

**Lina:** at 11:53 AM

"How'd you hear that name at all? I can't imagine Wyn
fucking said it out loud, with those goddamn dragons sitting on her all the
time." Goro gave a thumbs up to Larkin and Raef, and Stay back. Another minute.

**Izzy:** at 11:55 AM

"I ..." He hesitated, and whispered, "I got
orders straight from her, one time."

**Lina:** at 11:56 AM

"You're a real good liar, Amren. A fuckin' champ."

**Izzy:** at 11:57 AM

He hissed. "Fuck you, then."

**Lina:** at 11:59 AM

"Aw, no thanks." Goro checked to make sure Larkin
and Raef were still keeping their distance, then he whispered as quietly as
possible, "I got your boss for that." He leaned away and snorted to
himself.

Raef was signing at him to get a description of the Sanguine
Queen. Goro still thought it was fucking bullshit, but if he could get Amren to
talk more, so much the better. "Orders straight from the top, huh?"
he mused. "Describe her. The Sanguine Queen."

**Izzy:** at 12:08 PM

"Ah, uh." He stammered for a moment. "I
didn't see her. She -- she talks through those little pseudodragons."

**Lina:** at 12:10 PM

Huh. "No shit? Are they both hers, then? I figured
maybe there were two of them. The Sanguine Queen and someone else."

**Izzy:** at 12:10 PM

"Don't know. The red one talked to me."

**Lina:** at 12:16 PM

Hmm. Last night, it'd been the blue one that showed up when
Wyn kicked Goro out. If there was a second boss, maybe Amren really didn't know
about it. Goro had told himself he'd consider anything coming out of Amren's
mouth a potential lie, though, no matter how true it sounded. Still, no harm in
asking more.

"What'd her voice sound like? Anything special about
it?"

**Izzy:** at 12:18 PM

He was quiet for another moment, and his voice trembled when
he did speak. "Umm. Sounded like ... fire. Sounded like -- a bunch of
voices talking at once."

**Lina:** at 12:21 PM

"What... the... fuck?" The hair on the back of
Goro's neck stood on end. "What the fuck? Was Wyn there, or did this thing
just approach you alone?"

**Izzy:** at 12:24 PM

"She was there," he whispered. "She was right
there. I don't think she knew it talked to me."

**Lina:** at 12:28 PM

"Uh, that's uh, that's fucking horrific, huh."
Goro ground his teeth and walked for a while, thinking. Something didn't add
up. "I want to know how you know she's scared. Roddy said you said she's
scared of the Sanguine Queen."

**Izzy:** at 12:33 PM

"I -- uh, I told her it'd talked to me and she seemed
real freaked out? She told me it was the Sanguine Queen." Then he mumbled,
"I wasn't supposed to tell anyone."

**Lina:** at 12:40 PM

"Yeah well, we're on the same fucking side now, aren't
we? I wanna help her." Goro poured a desperate tenderness into his voice,
making it sound like he was lovesick. It wasn't hard, emotional as he fucking
was since Hansel left. "What did it tell you to do?"

**Izzy:** at 12:50 PM

He mumbled incoherently for a while, clearly unsure and
uncomfortable. "I'm not supposed to tell anyone. The Queen said. Not
Morgan. She doesn't even know."

**Lina:** at 12:51 PM

Goro grabbed onto Amren's bindings and yanked him closer.
"Did she tell you to hurt Morgan?"

**Izzy:** at 12:52 PM

"No!" he hissed.

**Lina:** at 12:52 PM

"I want to know what the hell was so fucking classified
not even she was supposed to know about it! She's supposed to be the fucking
leader out here!"

**Izzy:** at 12:54 PM

Amren yipped in alarm, then snapped, "If I'm not
telling her, what makes you think I'll tell you?"

**Jen:** at 1:00 PM

"Hey! Goro!" Something was going on there. Larkin
sped the horse into a short sprint, coming up beside them. "What's going
on? He getting ballsy?"

**Lina:** at 1:03 PM

"He ain't said a goddamn thing," Goro said,
scowling and waving her off. Damn it, he almost had something. "I'm
telling him all the shit we're gonna do to him if he doesn't talk."

**Jen:** at 1:05 PM

"Huh. Could've sworn I heard him talk." Larkin
made the sign for bluff, then again directed at Goro.

**Lina:** at 1:06 PM

"Yelling around his gag, maybe. Did you find anyone in
the ditch, or not?"

**Jen:** at 1:10 PM

"Nah, it's all clear. Raef is watching our back
though." She dropped her voice to a mutter again. "I'm gonna go scout
ahead. Think you can handle him alone?"

**Lina:** at 1:14 PM

"'Course I can. Does he look like much of a threat to
you in his current condition?" Goro waited until Larkin had trotted ahead
before he spoke again. "To answer your question, you little turd, when I say
I'm on your side, that only holds true so long as you're on Morgan Wyn's side.
So you'd better put my fucking mind at ease, before I go checking with her to
see what exactly I'm allowed to do to you. What were the fucking orders Morgan
wasn't supposed to know about?"

**Izzy:** at 1:17 PM

"Check with her, then," he hissed. "She knows
I'm loyal."

**Lina:** at 1:26 PM

"Eh. She'll just have to have my sincerest apologies
once I've already fed you to the Queen." Goro reached under the bag and
shoved the gag back into Amren's mouth.

**Jen:** at 11:35 AM

[END]

Title: How To Question A Dragon, Summary: The Runners try to
interrogate Amren. Be proves stubborn until Goro makes him believe they're on
the same side. Larkin and Goro take him to the Basha.