Spymasters and Inquisition

Valdyr looked away, trying to hide the fact that his eyes were all red. Leitna cleared her throat and finished her sentence to Horknath, then got up again from her chair. "I'll get your basket ready. You should probably leave while it's still night."

Horknath nodded to her. He respectfully kept silent about Valdyr's clearly emotional state - he had indeed noticed the red eyes. He put the recipe away, folding it gently and with care, in his backpack.

Valdyr dried his eyes, and cleared his throat. He thanked Leitna, and helped her prepare their basket. At one time, he ended up hugging her tight, and whispering a few words to her. Then, he took the basket, breathed in deeply, and looked at Horknath. "We should go."

Horknath nodded to him. He picked up his bag, looking at Leitna, extending a hand to her. "Goodbye, madam. Take care", he greeted her. "And thanks for your recipe. I will treasure it."

Leitna nodded, and was clearly holding back tears. "Keep it save. And take care, both of you," she said as she gently patted Valdyr's arm.
Valdyr just nodded awkwardly and heading for the door, holding back a sob.

Horknath looked at Valdyr. Then to Leitna again. "If you're ever in need... look for me. A'ight? I can't say I do much, but I am a good fighter", he told her with a small gesture. Then he greeted her again with a nod, and left to reach Valdyr.

Leitna nodded at Horknath's offer, but didn't say anything. She accompanied them to the door, hugged Valdyr for a long time, and even Horknath as much as she could, before they finally got out of the house. Valdyr took a deep breath, and started walking back to that secret door. "...Thanks, Horknath," he whispered then.

Horknath was an half orc, but damn if he wasn't as easily moved as an halfling. He shook himself and grumbled. "No problem", he said, shortly patting Valdyr's arm. He walked alongside the dwarf, keeping silent for a while. "She is... a good woman. Strong. I respect her", he added then quietly.

Valdyr nodded. "She's really strong. Even my cousin wouldn't dare to lay a hand on he-" he stopped dead, when they took a turn and ended face-to-face with a guard patrol.
"... What is an orc doing inside our walls," one one the dwarfs snarled, as they began to run towards them.

Horknath took a solid second to react, surprise hitting him like a brick. He pulled himself out of it and brought his great axe out in a matter of seconds. "RUN!", he yelled to Valdyr, taking a defensive stance and a menacing snarl. He was ready to pummel anyone to the ground and to beat them in a pulp.

"Don't be stupid, you don't know how to get out without me," Valdyr replied, yet he began running, because he knew Horknath could catch up easily. The dwarf guards cursed on their side, because they knew better than to attack an armed orc directly. Instead, they stopped, and one of them took his crossbow out.

Horknath opted to end everything quickly to catch up with Valdyr. He rushed forward with all his weight and hit as hard as he could with the back of his axe, first the soldier with the crossbow, then the other. No need to make useless deaths.

And since none of them had seen that coming, they both collapsed due to the shock. But it wouldn't be long before another patrol blew a horn to alert the rest of the mountain. They merely had five minutes before them.

Horknath run after Valdyr. "Let's go, let's go!", he yelled, finally reaching him. He was strong, alright, but he would have much preferred not to make his way through a swarm of angry dwarves.

Valdyr ran with him, and took him to the secret passage, opening it quickly. He winced when he heard the horn of the guards, and gestured Horknath to enter the passage. He got in last, carefully closing the door behind them. "You go first. I'll tell you when to turn, but we need to get out of there as fast as possible."

Horknath nodded, following the passage as fast as he could, crouching and cursing at how his back was hurting in that moment. He finally reached the end of the hole, letting out a relieved sound.

When the exited the mountain, Valdyr hastily closed the passage behind them. "We need to keep on running," he said. "If any of them did recognize me, my cousin is going to tell them how we got out, and where to start looking."

"Let's go then", Horknath repeated, breathing heavily through his nose. He waited for Valdyr to keep on running. Then he looked at him again, his eyes wide. "Leitna and the kid - will they be alright?", he asked, worry thick in his voice.

Valdyr nodded. "My cousin won't lay a hand on her without risking the whole mountain to turn against him, don't worry. She's got the people's trust." He kept on running with Horknath until he deemed them far enough, then gestured for him to slow down.

Horknath slowed down, taking a deep, deep breath. "Good", he just said. "Good." He looked around. Then he bent over, trying to get back a normal rate of heartbeats. "I am a trained warrior, but Gods do I hate running", he panted.

Valdyr couldn't help himself but laughed, as he shook his head. "Let's just walk again a bit and then find some quiet place where to sleep."

Horknath muttered something about muscles being heavy, then grunted an agreement. "A'ight." He walked at Valdyr's side. "You think they could try to come find you, one day? I mean your niece, and your sister-in-law", he asked quietly, not wanting to pry in his private business.

Valdyr swallowed hard, thinking over it for a moment. "No. They're safe now. They need to stay safe, and they know it. Besides, I don't know where I'm going," he sighed.

Horknath mumbled a quiet "I see", walking at his side. "I am sure everything will be alright", he said. He sounded quite sure of what he was saying. "And- damn, my ma will gut me if she discovers I liked another woman's pie better than hers", he exclaimed, trying to lighten the mood.

Valdyr held back another laughed, and glanced over at Horknath. "Hey, that's your ma standing against the greatest cook of the whole dwarf kingdom. She shouldn't feel frustrated."