Inari scratched his jaw. “Talkative?”
“Anything you might know of?”
“Perhaps… Tell me, Kaja, what do you think of me?”
Aloisia frowned. “What?”
Inari held a finger up, indicating for her to remain silent.
“Well, I certainly cannot say you are unattractive, nor can I say you are trust-worthy.” Kaja clamped a hand over her mouth, her cheeks flaming red.
Inari breathed a laugh. “Charming. You possibly did not notice whilst being interrogated, depending on the questions you were being asked, but it seems to be a truth potion.”
“That’s possible?” Aloisia asked.
“With magic, and the abundance of resources they possess here, yes.”
“Which resources?”
Inari raised a brow. “Poppies. Used for creating opiates, medicines, and such potions.”
“You mean to say,” Kaja said, “they are forcing us to tell the truth through magic and poppies?”
“Yes, just so.”
“You said there was magic here,” Aloisia said. “Is it anything you could use to our advantage? You seemed to think so earlier.”
“I’m still working on it.”
“Then, by all means, work faster.”
“I dread what you’re going to be like with a truth potion.”
“Perhaps you should make that your motivation to get us out of here sooner?”
The hide covering the entrance to the hut moved aside and two Shadow Sisters brought Oda forth. Her left cheek flared as if struck, the blood at the corner of her lips enough confirmation of it.
“What happened?” Aloisia demanded as they approached.
The Sisters did not answer, simply returning the guard to their cage. Inari was the next to be taken. A dart pierced his neck. He was calm as he strode from their confines, acquiescing to their commands. Aloisia hoped he had a plan, hoped he would enact it once out of the cage.
Aloisia pulled some cloth from Oda’s shirt and dabbed at the blood on her mouth. “Why did they strike you?”
“She asked a question,” Oda said. “And I answered. I didn’t want to, yet the words came anyway. I guess it wasn’t the answer she wanted.”
“What is she asking?” Aloisia glanced between Kaja and Oda. She wished to be more prepared before facing Maili herself.
“Why we are here, what we want, what we are searching for.” Oda checked each off on her fingers. “She asked about the Forgotten Gods too, about what was happening in Littlewatch.”
Kaja nodded. “Much the same as me. Though, I guess she may have other questions for Inari.” She stared at the hut where he had been taken. “How does he know their tongue? What does him being a shaman mean to them?”
Aloisia shrugged. “Who knows? But, if it gets us out of here, provides some kind of leverage, then I’ll take it, whatever it is.”
Kaja studied Oda. “What did you say to provoke this?” She gestured to the guard’s bloodied face.
Oda shifted uncomfortably. “She asked about my opinions of the clans.”
“Ah.”
