The Stormcrow Cycle [Slow-burn Slice-of-Life Tragic Fantasy Romance]

Chapter Thirty-one: A Conversation with Nikias, Part II

"And there were no tribesmen with you?"

"No."

Nikias only raised an eyebrow at her, but he wrote it down, nonetheless.

"I see. You hauled him off the road. All eighteen hands of him. Alone." It sounded perfectly ludicrous, which was why she and Lukios had prepared a lie ahead of time.

"No."

"No? But you said you were alone."

"No. You asked me about tribesmen."

Nikias' smile was very thin. "Please elaborate."

"I had my strifa. I wrapped Lukios in my cloak and tied him to Amanayasu'ra—" Nikias' pen paused at the name, then continued, "—then dragged him off the road." She paused. "It ruined my cloak."

"I...see." He wrote it down. "And where did you take him?"

"To my home."

"Which is?"

"Not your business."

Nikias paused. "Lady Ba'an. I ask so I may follow-up with your tribesmen—"

"I do not have tribesmen. That is why I was alone."

Ba'an heard the scratching of the pens behind her cease. Hm. Was this truly so interesting?

The silence stretched on and on, and when it became apparent Ba'an would not speak first, Nikias did so.

"You are nur-vaa'ri?"

"Yes. For many years now."

There was a long pause.

"I see," he said, finally. "In that case, I must ask you to sign with your former name chain later as well. So we may...verify." Nikias glanced at the witnesses. "You can make a note of that too. We need to verify an identity."

One of them, the one with freckles and a head full of brown curls, raised his hand. At Nikias' nod, he spoke. "What is a 'nu-bary'?"

"Nur-vaa'ri means she is no longer Sander. You can confirm my report and sign off on it. Don't bother writing it in that." Nikias nodded toward the tablet the man was holding in his hand. "It'll get more complicated if you botch the spelling and we don't match."

The curly-haired man blinked in confusion. "What? How can she stop being Sander? Is there some kind of Sander law?"

"Yes. If you want the details, I suggest you read some Pausanias. Anything else?"

The man quickly shook his head and returned to his own notes.

"Thank you, lady Ba'an. I understand this is a...difficult...topic."

"It is well."

Nikias' dark eyes settled on her very briefly, and she could not quite make out his expression before he looked back down.

"So your home is not within a saa-vuti vur?"

"No."

"But you will not divulge its location?"

"No."

"May I know the reason?"

"I do not like nosy outlanders."

The other witness—the quiet one—coughed. It sounded suspiciously like a laugh.

"That is fair, but it will make verifying your identity much harder."

"It will not. I live alone. There is no one to verify with." She fixed Nikias with a flat stare. "You do not need to know where I live. If you wish to know me, then you may ask merchants here. I trade in Kyros for coin and food."