There wasn’t really a cell for them to throw Kaldalis in. The three people who had clumsily grabbed him all had different ideas of where to take him, but in the end Yosini took command of the situation and had him thrown into a nearby randomly-chosen shed. That suited him just fine. This was some unknown person’s bedroom, so there was a serviceable cot for him to sit on while he listened to the group outside argue through the thin walls.

“Who the fuck was that?” a strange voice asked.

“Kaldalis,” Yosini answered quickly. “One of Garyung’s flunkies. Probably got sent out here to take us down from the inside.”

“I see how he could accomplish that by knocking Voker out,” someone said with a laugh. “If he was sent to do that, I’m ready to move back to Cotanaku and bend the knee.”

Kaldalis stifled a laugh at that. He’d happily smack Voker down again if that was all it took to get these people to back down and uphold Kaldalis’s side of the agreement with Ara.

“What if he’s working with the Jormongumo?” someone demanded. “Maybe they seduced him to their side and he’s hear to kill us all!”

“That’s impossible,” Yosini said, though there was uncertainty in his voice. “It’s much more likely he’s a spy than a saboteur. I don’t think captain goody two-shoes would side with monsters over us.”

“Good? Bad?” someone said, their voice dripping with disdain. “He’s a guy with a dick. You heard what those things are like.”

Yosini started to protest, but that seemed to kick off a whole new set of arguments. Half of them were demanding to question Kaldalis to find out what the Jormongumo were up to. Half of them were planning to beat him up and turn him out into the jungle as a warning to Garyung to stop interfering. And all through it, Yosini kept trying to maintain order, to bring the energy down before it escalated to violence. Even though he’d taken command of the situation for a moment, the suyon healer was unable to maintain any hold he had over the group.

Kaldalis found himself wishing he had stood up for Yosini against Balrim and tried to reach out. Even if the man had a bit of an attitude problem - and poor choice in companionship - he didn’t seem like a bad guy. It wasn’t a crime to be kind of an asshole. Though perhaps the moment of sympathy was because the man seemed to be the only thing keeping the mob outside from busting in and pounding him to jelly.

Of course, when one voice rose above the others, it seemed Yosini had reached the limit of his ability to keep order.

“Where is he?” Voker roared over the argument of the crowd. “Let me at him!”

“Calm down, Voker,” Yosini said quickly, “you’re thinking with your fists and not your brain. We talked about this, you gotta-”

There was a dull sound of impact, and the door to the shed flew open. Kaldalis looked up to see Voker filling the doorway, cracking his knuckles ominously. Behind him, Yosini was sitting in the dirt with an expression of shock and surprise.

Kaldalis didn’t hold back. He immediately jumped up and launched a fist at Voker again. The man raised his guard, catching the bunch before it caught his jaw. He launched a counterattack quickly, but Kaldalis just took the sucker punch to the gut by tensing his muscles to absorb it. The low punch left Voker wide open on his right side, and Kaldalis nailed a left hook right into Voker’s cheek.

Voker’s low Aplomb meant that a bunch that should have barely made him flinch sent him reeling back out of the shed. Kaldalis stepped up again and landed a straight punch right to the disoriented man’s chin, laying him out again.

“That first one was for Haldir,” Kaldalis said, spitting on the downed man as he groaned and clutched his jaw. “But this one was for Yosini. Respect your fucking healer, asshole!”

The gathered crowd surged to keep Kaldalis from escaping but he stepped back willingly, not attempting to leave. It seemed his time listening to them argue was at an end, though. A handful of the raiders forced their way past the others and into the shed.

“Who sent you?” one of them demanded.

“How many are there?” another shouted over the first question. “How many more before they’re wiped out?”

“What does Garyung want with us?” the third barked, trying to physically shove the second speaker out of the room.

Kaldalis expected the warring factions of questions was going to devolve into a new argument, but apparently the focus being driven down on him was enough to keep the peace. Naturally, the thing that brought these people together was a common enemy. Having a common enemy now was going to keep them from each other’s throats.

“I’m not working for anyone,” Kaldalis lied. “I’m looking for Dalgaard. Just a little chat, that’s all.”

“About what?” the first one demanded.

“Haven’t the Jormongumo done enough to them?” the second asked. “Why would they send you to harass them further?”

“I wanted to know what Garyung wants with us, not what he sent you for,” the third said, raising his fist threateningly.

“I’m not saying anything without my lawyer present,” Kaldalis said with a smirk.

The third one punched him in the face immediately. Apparently they were short on patience and did not make empty threats.

As soon as the first punch was thrown, that seemed to be a signal. The other two started throwing punches as well. Somehow two more people forced their way into the room to join the fray, all of them focusing on pummeling Kaldalis.

For his part, Kaldalis found himself leaning into the fighting style he’d picked up from the assassin in Baimer. He bobbed and weaved, forcing a lot of attacks into misses or glancing blows. It meant he was able to punch back here and there, knocking someone in the jaw here, landing a solid strike to a solar plexus there. Outnumbered as he was, he was still getting way worse than he was giving. But these guys were going to come away knowing they’d been in a fight.

Kaldalis’s tank-class Vigor and full Aplomb meant that he was able to stand up to the punishment in a way he could be proud of. Especially after everyone had just seen Voker laid out twice in a row by three punches total. He was taking a lot of bruises, but no serious damage. After being in a couple of fights with War Weapons involved, taking a few half-assed punches was a welcome change.

“Come on, enough of that,” someone yelled from behind. Kaldalis was honestly surprised to see Voker grab one of his attackers to pull him off. Though the surprise was mollified when Yosini was also pushing his way into the fray, trying to break up the fight.

“He hit me!” one of them argued.

“Yeah, and who fuckin’ started it?” Voker shot back. “He hit me, too, and I’m trying to pull you off of him.”

For a moment, Kaldalis considered the possibility that he had misread Voker. Maybe he was not an asshole, but just an idiot. However, the thought ended when he saw who was standing in the doorway behind Voker and Yosini.

Dalgaard. Finally.

“I said to clear them out,” Dalgaard ordered. As soon as they spoke, the fight died down. “I’ll be fine to speak with him alone.”

“But he-”

“I said alone,” Dalgaard repeated firmly.

Leadership agreed with them. As much as they still cut a relatively small and youthful-looking figure, their presence radiated calm confidence that Dalgaard simply had not had when Kaldalis had first met them. At their word, the group’s protests turned to grumbles, and they filed out.

“Thank you,” Dalgaard said, stepping into the shed and closing the door. They waited a moment in silence and then slammed a fist against the door. There was a grunt of surprise and the sound of someone hitting the dirt. “I said alone!” they repeated loudly.

When Dalgaard finally turned their attention to Kaldalis, he felt a bit intimidated. They had an aura of command now, and Kaldalis felt awkward trying to take the lead from them. As such, they spent a long moment in silence, staring each other down.

“Nice friends you got now,” Kaldalis offered. “Very protective. I can respect that. The paranoia, not so much, but-”

“Enough of that,” Dalgaard said with a decisive gesture. “They’re not listening in. You didn’t come here to trade blows with Voker and make a show of petty bravado. I know you better than that. You’re here for a reason.”

Kaldalis nodded. “I came here to talk to you. The show of petty bravado was just a fringe benefit.”

“Of course,” Dalgaard said with a thin smile. “The only reason we’re talking is because of our history. I know you’re not a bad man. But I also know you’re very susceptible to manipulation. You’ve got a good head on your shoulders, it just happens to have a pair of handles on it for people to steer you around.” Dalgaard mimed gripping above their own head, a gesture evocative of Kaldalis’s horns. “So here I am. Say what you need to say.”

Kaldalis took a moment, realizing that he hadn’t planned on getting this far this fast. He was about to speak before Dalgaard raised a hand, cutting him off again.

“Keep in mind,” Dalgaard warned, “if I don’t like what you have to say, I have plenty of people waiting outside to express my displeasure.” They steepled their fingers ominously, clearly enjoying the new power dynamic between them. “So choose your words. Very. Carefully.”