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(Page 2 of 13) Ivaris - Chapter 5 by Jennifer Raney "I- we- I don't know, I was contacted and offered payment. I accepted and was delivered instructions in writing for the job. I didn't know until the next day that I was one of seventeen," he stammered.
"Who hired you then?"
"Jo-" he stopped, not wanting to say. The chimera hissed threateningly and he grimaced, "Jovraan T'resh! Get that beast away from me!" he cried.
Rory nodded and the chimera backed away a little.
"Bullshit," I said, "you were confused when you saw Jovraan in Varren's house that night; you wouldn't have had a problem if he was your boss."
Seroan scowled, as confused as I was.
"No, that wasn't Jovraan with Varren," Dolgren confessed, "that was someone else, an imposter. We- Jovraan thinks he was an undercover investigator, working for the Empress."
"How did you know it wasn't Jovraan, looked like him to me," I said.
"His eyes were the wrong color," he answered simply.
"Oh."
Dolgren must have been thinking very slowly, because it wasn't until just then that he realized I had been in the room with them. His expression turned to surprise and he sat forward suddenly, about to demand an explanation, but the chimera put a firm front paw on his chest, sending him back on his rear with a thud.
Rory exhaled loudly, "Well then tell us what's going on here, I've got nothing but tangled snakes for a story here."
"I don't know, T'resh didn't tell us. But he called us for a meeting and said something about having the stones. I don't know what stones, but I- well, we convinced him to keep looking for you because we thought you were headed here to look for information..."
"Is anyone else looking for us, or just you?" Seroan asked.
"Jovraan was so upset with us for losing you at the border, I wanted to find you myself..." he sighed, "all I did was ask where to find the Reans, I don't think anyone knows who I was looking for."
"What about the other two? The men we saw you with at the pub?" I asked.
"T'resh reassigned them, sent them back to Enora for something. I don't know what." He slumped further down the wall; I thought he looked terribly exhausted. He glanced nervously at the chimera, who now considered him indifferently.
"Jovraan has allies in the Enoran government; I was attacked by an Army officer. Do you know anything about that?"
"No, I told you, I don't know what he's up to, bu-" he stopped.
"But?" prompted Rory. The chimera's eyes flicked and narrowed.
Dolgren sighed again, "Hell," he muttered.
"You know someone who can tell us what T'resh is up to," Seroan said.
"Can I get something to eat? I feel awful," he whimpered.
Rory nodded at the other chimera. It slipped off to deliver the message to Mordre, I assumed. We waited in silence, and a few minutes later the creature returned, with Mordre shortly behind carrying a tray and a mug. Dolgren ate the leftovers rudely, and sucked down the ale in a few gulps.
He was finished quickly, and Mordre accepted the plate and mug from under the bars with a look of disgust.
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