Advice and Interrogation (Glen, Dolores)

Upon leaving the Riptides' ranch, Glen returns to the city wall and makes the winding way up to Dolores' office, alone but for his kitten. He appreciates Ka'Ri's offer, but he needs to speak candidly and privately with his commander.

Elen, meanwhile, is VERY popular - people of all stripes stop to admire the Very Good Boy panther and give him scritches. Especially enjoyable and humorous are the big, tough looking soldier types who turn to mush with the small but playful baby. Glen smiles from ear to ear, even though he can feel anxiety creeping up in his stomach the closer he gets to Dolores' office. The words of his companions today cut deep, and he can't help but spiral in his head, worrying about how Dolores will react now.



He comes to her door and knocks firmly, three times.

"Come in!"

Dolores sits at her desk, pouring over paperwork. She smiles when she sees Glen, seeming genuinely pleased by the interruption.

Glen enters and starts talking immediately "Hi ma'am, I need to warn you that---"

Suddenly, a big black furball comes rushing into the room behind him. His nose immediately starts going wild at all the new smells - the books, the faint smell of Dolores' morning coffee or tea, the people who have been in and out of the room, and the other familiar smells of the encampment drifting in the window. He rushes back and forth sniffing around until he sees Dolores herself, almost by accident. He stalks towards her, his tail low, and presses himself down to the floor. His hind quarters twitch and wiggle as he prepares to launch himself at her. Exasperated, Glen calls, "Elen! Vice-Captain Imokina is a friend!"

Elen is very disappointed that Glen is friends with everything that looks like fun to pounce. Instead, he pads over to her and starts sniffing at her leg where she sits.

"Ma'am, this is Elen. I believe he and I will be traveling together, so I think he's an unofficial member of the Eighth Division." He grins, a little sheepish, but he's confidant that Dolores will like his new friend.

"Oh!" Her eyes widen and for just a moment the serious paladin looks like a little girl as she clasps her hands and then reaches out to the big cat as if offering a hug. "He's a panther! Oh, he's perfect! Did the druids send him?"

Elen, seeing her open arms, takes it as an invitation and easily leaps up into her lap. He sniffs around for any food with his big baby butt in her face, then turns around and faces her, plunking his rear down on her knees with his huge front paws on her thighs. He sits and stares at her with his beautiful emerald green eyes, looking deeply into her eyes. He quickly comes to the conclusion that his second paladin of the day is also Very Good. He does a little circle on her lap, then another, then another, before finally finding just the right spot, lying down, and laying his head on his front paws in her lap, just barely fitting.

"Yes ma'am, a panther. I, um, don't really know where he came from. Yesterday, I... gave a tiefling woman in the slums some money for information, and she also told me she'd send a special black cat to my house?" He realizes this sounds completely absurd, but shrugs and carries on, walking over and sitting across from her desk as he's talking. "When I got home late last night, he was there - he'd stepped in a hunter's trap, poor thing, but I was able to heal him right up. I think my nature... powers? magic? Well, whatever you call it, I think it's getting stronger." He beams a little, pleased to be a better, stronger soldier for his vice-captain.

Her hands sink into the panther's fur, loving on him as he snoozes. "Then you are blessed by the gods. The ways of the wilds are a difficult path to tread."

Elen dozes happily, occasionally purring half-awake, and occasionally giving a little sniff or snort. He is largely quiet and content to let her pet him as he relaxes.

"Yes, ma'am. You know, I have always favored Obad-Hai, but since you gave me this a little while back," he briefly holds up the ring, "I've felt... I don't know. I've felt like Pelor has been watching me. Watching out for me, even. I've asked him for help, and he has guided me true thus far. I can't thank you enough - it really saved us yesterday." Glen delves into a long explanation of the previous day's events.

Dolores' smile softens as she listens to Glen speak about his affinity with her god, and she gives him a warm look. "I am pleased he is looking out for you. More pleased than I can say."

At the rest of his report, she looks profoundly alarmed. "A pitched battle in the streets is highly irregular. I am glad you are safe, and that this missing young man is safe, but I wonder if we shouldn't inform the city guard regarding these events."

"Pardon me, ma'am," Glen says, a little timidly, "but wouldn't they probably already know about it? Two rival gangs, a high priest of Nerull, armored carriages, the private guard of the commissioner of the Feytower and Commissioner Rivvers himself, battling in the streets? I'd be surprised if they hadn't heard about it within the hour. Either way, I can take it to Captain Callahan myself - the team wants to see if they have any pirates to interrogate, so I will be going to see him soon. Do you want me to bring him something from you, ma'am? Or, did you want to be present?"

He hesitates. "There, um, something else as well."

Dolores' frown deepens, looking thoughtful. "I should hope they would know about it, but I don't like to bet on that. The slums can be tight-knit and don't always go to the guard when trouble arises. And commissioners with private security do as they will, I imagine. Yes, please inform Captain Callahan when you see him."

At Glen's hesitation, she nods for him to continue.

Glen sits forward in his chair a bit and looks down at his hands, vividly recalling how he felt earlier while listening to his comrades talk circularly about his orders and what he should do. He suddenly feels very small, like the sad boy who followed his sister everywhere, or like the crying, out-of-place ranger who came to Dolores' office just a few short weeks ago.

"Well, ma'am, I've hit something of a moral quandary. When we first met, when you gave me this assignment, you made my orders clear: obey Laerdya Siannodel in all things. I remember because I asked about it, and you gave me something of a look, ma'am." He chuckles a little, then holds up his hands. "Not undeservedly! Anyway. You made it clear that as long as my orders were lawful, moral, and appropriate, I was to obey her. And I understood that when I signed the contract."

"My colleagues are not so similarly bound. They have taken it upon themselves to decide that Gwynnestri is-- or may be-- that Laerdya---" He pauses, taking a breath. "I'm sorry. I know the answer to this question, and I trust you absolutely, ma'am, but I still need to say it. What I am about to tell you is extremely sensitive, and not something I would want to share with anyone other than yourself and the other members of my team. I also say this so you know that I am not spreading this around, and wouldn't dream of doing so. Do you understand?"

"And, um, do you have any coffee? I'm sorry, it's been a rough morning."

Dolores watches him with a troubled expression, worried at the toll this is clearly taking on him. "I do understand. And, yes. Up, sweetheart." With little nudges, the panther is persuaded to hop down from her lap so Dolores can rise and bring him a hot cup. "Speak freely, please."

Elen sleepily protests with a little whining chirp but hops out of the way obediently. Once Dolores returns to her desk, he hops back and resumes his previous position, exuding a rumbly purr.

Glen takes the cup gratefully and takes a slow sip. "Well, ma'am, Gwynnestri had a diary. Most of it is pretty typical teenager stuff. But some of it -" He frowns, trying to think of how to word it. "She complains about her mother, as teenagers are wont to do. And she was apparently a bit sickly. It seems to me that her mother dotes on her, in some ways wishing she could wrap Gwynnestri in cotton wool and hide her away from the dangers of the world. As many parents wish they could do with their growing children. At the same time, though, Gwynnestri is legally a woman grown and should be allowed to make her own decisions about her life and how she chooses to live it." He takes another sip.

"Some of the group have become increasingly concerned that perhaps Gwynnestri left of her own volition. It does seem she was infatuated with the pirate, Korogur Redfang, and it seems that sometimes Korogur acts impetuously and in a way that does not immediately benefit the family's interests. It is possible she left to run off with him because she wanted to be with him and escape from her overbearing mother." Another sip.

"Their concern is not that she ran away on her own; rather, they are worried that Gwynnestri does not want to come back. Several of them have made it abundantly clear that they will not bring her back if she refuses to come back. They wish to allow her to have her own agency, and let her make the choices she wishes, even if they are mistakes." He frowns deeply, remembering their words keenly.

"When I spoke up to tell them that I had orders from the mission's commanding officer - Laerdya - to bring her home, period, I was met with a great deal of resistance. Folks told me that, well, I didn't have to be so strict about it, and just bringing her to a 'neutral location' like the temple was enough. They told me that I did not have to follow the letter of my orders, but rather their spirit." He chuckles for a moment. "Clearly, none of them has ever served in the Eighth Division, and definitely not under Dolores Imokina." He smiles.

"I - along with the Yondallan paladin, Rik Templeborn, who is also technically Gwynnestri's father due to Laerdya's use of the fertility ritual with him - made it clear that we are to bring her home. He took an oath to his goddess; I to my unit and my commander. They bid me to come to you and ask for flexibility, in the event that it turns out that Laerdya is, as they believe she may be, an abuser." He sighs.

"I am, quite frankly ma'am, not here to ask for flexibility, but to ask what I should do. These people were just beginning to trust me, and they have already started to withdraw from me now that I have made my orders clear. Irrespective of anything else, Brilight is a city of laws. Gwynnestri Siannodel is a witness to one or more crimes - kidnapping and extortion, to start with - and is a person of interest in an investigation that strikes directly at the heart of curing this city of the plague. I do not see how I can, in good conscience, allow her to stay with pirates, or even bring her anywhere else but home, for the good of the city. At very least, I should bring her to Captain Callahan for questioning and information."

He sighs. "But I do get the feeling that the people I am with may resort to violence if I do not accede to their wishes, and I don't want to hurt them, any of them."

After another sip, he chuckles. "Of course this all may be moot - she may understand that she should come home and speak with her mother, who will then allow her to leave of her own free will after the fact. But we cannot bank on that when we may be getting her out in some damn fool midnight raid on a pirate ship." He takes a long sip, finishing the cup, and waiting for her reaction. His eyes are filled with hope and admiration that she - and Pelor - will point him in the right direction.

Dolores' eyes widen through much of this. She nods several times as Glen makes his points, looking thoughtful and exasperated by turns. When he finishes, she thinks for a time and then gently coaxes Elen off her knees--she needs to think, and moreover he has caused one of her legs to fall asleep.

"Laerdya Siannodel is not a member of the Brilight Army," she muses aloud, shaking her head. "You and I are, but she is not. In that sense, she is not your commanding officer because she is no-one's officer; she's not an officer at all. However, your orders came down through the chain of command; I was told to tell you to obey her as you would a commanding officer, and those orders are valid military orders, regardless of the fact that Ms. Siannodel is a civilian and not an army officer."

Steepling her fingers, she looks into the middle distance. "However. Those orders were issued when the situation as anyone understood it was that the most valuable mage asset in the city was the victim of a terrible injustice and was seeking aid in rectifying it privately in addition to the efforts of the city guard. No one, to my knowledge, knew any reason to suspect Ms. Siannodel of inappropriate behavior." She frowns, her brow furrowing lightly. "Loose suspicion is not a good reason to disobey orders, you are correct, but it is reason enough to flow these concerns up the chain."

She reaches for a pen and then pauses, her hand hovering in mid-air. "But that is only half of the problem, as I understand it. Your companions are not merely opposed to bringing Gwynnestri Siannodel back to her mother; they are opposed to bringing her back at all if she does not wish to return. Do I understand correctly?" Thinking a moment, she rises. "Come. Are you up for a little walk?"

Elen hops down and starts vigorously rubbing his side against the corners of Dolores' desk. He can tell the affection and admiration that his ranger has for this Very Good Paladin, and intends to mark this as a safe place.

Glen, meantime, looks alarmed at the prospect of taking this information up the chain. Without thinking, he shoots to his feet, startling Elen a little bit, who grumbles at him and goes back to rubbing. "Oh, ma'am, I mean. Of course I am up for a walk, but I---" He pauses, trying to calm down from the wave of sick panic that ran through him.

"When I told you about Betreygis Redfang, you admonished me to be very careful about spreading these kinds of accusations around. This is someone even more important, and maybe I did not make this clear, but I have no hard evidence whatsoever to go on. She could be nothing more than an overbearing mother with a sickly daughter who she loves very much, unable to cope with her daughter growing up. All I have right now are the hunches of my comrades to go on." He swallows hard. "I do not want to be the source of tarnishing the reputation of someone of such import and power. Is that really enough to go up the chain?"

"And, well, it's hard to tell exactly what they want to do. Some want to leave her just where she is, if that's where she wants to be. Some are willing to bring her to some 'neutral' location, and suggested the temples of Sehanine or Yondalla. They seem to imply that Laerdya will not allow her to leave if we bring her home, which I find to be absurd, to be quite honest, given that, again, this is a city of laws and she cannot hold her daughter against her wishes. Father Templeborn and I also made it clear that in such case, we would not allow her to be held against her will, but they seemed to wave that off." He sighs. "I know my explanation is all over the place, ma'am, and I apologize. This all just happened, and I'm still processing it, and trying to remember exactly what everyone said is tough."

He takes a breath and seems to calm down significantly, his speech slowing down a bit now that he has gotten all of that out. "But yes. A walk sounds lovely."

Dolores nods as she gathers up her things and makes ready to leave; Elen receives a gentle pat on the back. "You're right, Glen," she says with a nod, her smile warm. "We don't want to tarnish Ms. Siannodel's reputation with innuendo and suspicion. My hope is that if I hit the bulls-eye on this one, we won't need to mention these accusations. Let's go."

She leads him out her office, down the labyrinthine paths of the inner wall, and--to Glen's surprise--out onto the city streets. Hailing one of the little human-drawn wagons which scurry the streets, she climbs in and helps Glen up beside her; Elen is forced to sit on her lap like a big baby while the runner goggles at the enormous cat in his vehicle. Then Dolores hands over a coin and orders, and the man is off.

Some time later, they are deposited at an imposing building on the north side of town which Glen is vaguely aware of as one of the buildings of the city guard. People hurry past them on business, many of them with patches on their sleeves and clothing similar enough to suggest one or more dress codes. Dolores leads him and Elen through a maze of hallways, desks, and chairs before knocking on an office door.

"I'm busy," comes a tired voice from within, but Dolores presses inside regardless. A gnome with sharp-tipped ears sits behind a desk, working on the omnipresent paperwork which seems to be a fixture in the lives of all those whom Glen visits. Dolores sweeps a sharp bow to the man, then presents Glen to him. "Captain Callahan, I am sorry to bother you but--"

"Dolores!" The man's face doesn't become more animated, but his eyes at least brighten somewhat. "I haven't seen you in a dog's age. Come in. Who's the recruit, and why in blazes has he got a panther with him?"

Glen follows and rides along in silence, his stomach in knots. Where are they going? He'd thought he might be about to meet the captain of the Eighth Division, but then they left the building and the district entirely.

At seeing and being presented to Captain Callahan, Glen is stunned. He bows smartly and snaps back to his full height and suntly gestures for Elen to sit beside him, which the baby obediently does.

"Sir, I am Glen Liadon, ranger of the Eighth Division, he of the Silverwoods. Oh!" He looks down at the panther cub. "This is Elen, my traveling companion. It is an honor to meet you, sir." He looks to Dolores for what to say next, simultaneously stunned and in awe.

"Hello, Glen. Hello, Elen," Captain Callahan repeats, looking amused by all this. "What brings you in here on a day when you could be literally anywhere else? Why, I hear tell there's a thing called 'sunlight' outside!"

"There is indeed, and he shines on you despite your lack of windows in here," Dolores pretends to scold, moving to pull out chairs for Glen and herself to sit. "Oris, we need to talk about the Laerdya Siannodel case."

The man's eyebrows fly high and weariness slams back into place on his face. "Oh gods, what's your involvement in that mess?"

Glen remains standing and will continue to do so until instructed to sit. "Well, sir, I was ordered by Vice-Captain Imokina to report to Ms. Siannodel and follow her instructions. Ms. Siannodel has assembled a group to try and bring her daughter back to her, myself included, and we are pursuing leads to try and find her." Glen realizes this has previously been under the jurisdiction of Captain Callahan himself, and quickly adds, "She knows you have much to do, what with the plague and all, and she thinks a smaller force of varying backgrounds might be able to find inroads more easily than uniformed city guards. Meaning no disrespect, sir."

"Sit down," Callahan orders grumpily as Glen remains standing. "When did you start recruiting diplomats, Dolores? Like hells Laerdya Siannodel has spent even a moment of thought on my workload."

"She called in a favor with the higher-ups," Dolores explains, her expression grim. "Pulled my best ranger for an expedition into the Silverwoods, but now it's gone sideways and they're following some new leads."

"And you want my goddamn help?" he demands, one eyebrow shooting sharply up. "I wasn't kidding when I said I was busy. We're already working this case at full capacity and then some."

Dolores shakes her head. "Not exactly." She sighs and chooses her words carefully. "There is a concern that the missing girl might not want to return to her mother. You know how pirates are, Oris; if they've been filling her head with fluff and nonsense, than she might want to stay with them. But she's a material witness to at least one crime if not more--kidnapping, extortion, and all-purpose piracy--and I think it's in the city's best interests to bring her in for questioning with her mother present. To that end, I'd like you to deputize Glen and give him a warrant to detain her, to use as he sees fit."

Glen quickly takes a seat and falls silent, worried he has angered the captain. His ears twitch a little when Dolores says he's her 'best ranger' but figures it's merely an explanation to help grease the wheels with Callahan.

When Dolores is done talking, he nods, adding quietly, "It is as she says, sir."

Callahan drums his fingers on his desk, considering all this for a long moment. "What god do you answer to?" he eventually demands of Glen.

Glen blinks rapidly. Of course Callahan would demand this information from him just when he himself is wrestling with it. He gives Dolores an uncertain look out of the corner of his eye, and swallows hard, lifting his thumb up to touch the back of the ring on his right hand. He looks the captain straight in the eyes. "Pelor, sir."

Dolores blinks, looking touched, but Callahan just nods and hops down from his chair. "Well, that makes it easier with Dolores here. Don't have to scrounge up my on-duty priest. Where's my bloody- ah! Here."

Withdrawing from a drawer a golden amulet set with the sun god's symbol, he hands it over to Dolores to hold out to Glen. "Hand on the symbol," the Captain orders. "Do you solemnly swear to act in the best interests of the city of Bright-Light-on-the-Water, to seek justice before self-gratification, to act honorably to the best of your judgment and abilities, and to answer to your god if you break this here oath?"

Glen places his hand on the symbol, his face and emotions quiet, the kind of quiet one gets immediately after making the right decision. He nods and says resolutely, "I do."