Kaldalis slowly returned to his spot in front of Onirioago’s cell. She was making a show of pouting, since he’d been unwilling to submit to her continued harassment, but he could see joy glittering in her eyes again now that she’d drawn him back with the crumb of information.

“I already knew what they were called,” Kaldalis said carefully. He crossed his arms. “You had better not be thinking about trying to tell me that their shapeshifting doesn’t remove all the scales from their body, because I already knew that one, too.”

“When did you learn that?” she asked, voice dripping with faux-sweetness. “Was it from the Panbu council? Or perhaps some of the ruins the Xorn attack uncovered when they attacked?” She tapped her chin, pretending to search her memory. “I don’t believe the dungeon would have held any clues, but It wouldn’t be the first time the Lataxinans surprised me.”

Kaldalis tried not to let his surprise show on his face, but Onirioago’s pout turning into a smirk told him that his poker face was completely worthless.

She was receiving information from the outside world, and not just local news. This information was explicitly targeted at keeping track of his activities. She’d just casually dropped knowledge of something he had done earlier this very day.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

Obviously, Gavinkim wouldn’t just let anyone walk in and whisper in her ear. She had to have some shenanigans up her sleeve.

This was what made her so dangerous. Even imprisoned, she was capable of manipulation. The only way to stop her would be to kill her, and there was no telling the consequences of that, since she was still a Zaran citizen.

“Following my exploits?” he said, trying to fake a casual tone. “I’m flattered. And here I thought I was just another prospective notch on your bedpost.”

“Don’t get a swollen head,” she said, taking the opportunity to run her gaze down his body again. “You’re not the only one I’m keeping track of.”

“I hope you realize that I’m not going to let you stall all night,” Kaldalis said, trying to ignore the feeling of her eyes on him. “I’m here for information. If you’re not going to give it to me, I’m not going to stay.”

“There have been five attacks,” Onirioago said. Even though she was being forced out of her flirtatious game, she still wore her confident smirk. “One per night since the first attack, and then one additional attack midmorning yesterday.”

“I could have gotten that from Garyung,” Kaldalis said, shaking his head. “If you’re looking to keep me here, you’re going to need to tell me things I don’t know.”

“The attackers had names,” Onirioago said, faking a pout. “Willem was the first victim, and his attacker was named Ara. Dolf was attacked by Ari. Koen was Abe. Thijn was Ara again yesterday morning, and then last night Flip was attacked by Ana.”

Kaldalis felt his blood run cold. Their names might not even mean anything. But that two of the attackers were named Ara was terrifying. Was it her? Had she truly returned to get her revenge?

“There’s also the reason I asked for you, specifically,” Onirioago said, her smirk returning. “It wasn’t just because I missed admiring those big... thick... horns of yours.”

Kaldalis was impressed that she managed to make him feel self-conscious about a part of his body he didn’t have an item of clothing to cover. He crossed his arms and pretended he wasn’t bothered.

“There’s something none of the victims wanted to admit, though,” she continued, her smirk turning to a grin. “The Jormongumo are looking for someone very specific. Once they subdue their victims, they tease them for falling prey to base urges. The one they seek is pure of heart. Too noble to fall for such tactics.” She stared at him, crossing her own arms in a mirror of his gesture. “You’re the only one they could be looking for.”

“How do you know that it’s me?” he asked, trying not to visibly freak out at the idea that Ara might be hunting for revenge on him. “It could be anyone.”

“Honey,” Onirioago purred, her voice taking the low tone of pillow talk, “I just stripped naked in front of you and you kept eye contact the whole time. If they’re looking for a soul too noble to be swayed by simple seduction, you’re their man.”

He wanted to counter that she hadn’t been fully naked, but that was just splitting hairs at this point.

“So is that your suggestion?” Kaldalis asked. “You want me to turn myself over in hopes that it ends the attacks?” It was very hard to keep his breathing even as he remembered Ara’s more unsavory threats.

“If that’s your way to answer it, knock yourself out. Or let them do it for you,” she said with a laugh. With her arms crossed under her breasts, the laugh drew attention to her chest in a way that was so obvious it couldn’t even have been fun for her. “But you could do things my way instead.”

“And your way is…?” he asked, keeping his eyes on hers.

“The same way I solve all my problems,” Onirioago said with a vicious grin. “Cut the head off the snake and the body will follow.”

“Ah, of course,” Kaldalis said, taking the opportunity to smirk at her for a change. “Kill them. Surely a town of adventurers could never have come up with that plan.”

She shook her head and laughed. “It’s amazing that you managed to put me in here. So pretty on the outside, but so simple on the inside.”

“It’s amazing how many plans a man can unravel if he can keep control of his own dick,” Kaldalis snapped. “If you don’t have an actual plan, I should probably go be acting as bait somewhere right about now. So if you don’t mind.” He turned on his heel and took two quick steps towards the door.

“I know where they are,” Onirioago snapped back at him.

When he pulled up short and looked back at her, she’d jumped up to her feet. It was good to know that he still held the cards here. He turned around slowly, but didn’t return to the front of her cell.

“I know where they’re coming from,” she continued. He expected her to be scowling from him forcing her hand again, but there was still a little flicker of enjoyment in her eyes. As much as he had the upper hand, she was still enjoying the game. “I can lead you to their home, we can eliminate their base and scatter them, forcing them to rebuild elsewhere, where they can’t harass us any longer.”

“Where are they?” Kaldalis asked, skeptical of her promise. “At the lake where I got your precious Deacon Tetra?”

“I’m not going to tell you,” she said, finally getting her cocky smirk back. “I will lead you there.”

“Right, so that you can escape custody and get back to your monstrous mind control plan,” Kaldalis said, shaking his head. “What a way to take back all the flattering things you’ve said, by thinking I’d fall for that.”

“Bring as many allies as you like with us,” Onirioago said. She held her hands up towards him, wrists pressed together. “Bind me under lock and key. As many ropes and chains as you can fit over my body. Take every precaution you can dream of to prevent my escape.” Her grin didn’t fade for even a second. “I’ll even tell you the catch, if that will put your mind at ease.”

“Nothing you can say will put my mind at ease,” he said, turning away again.

“I just want you in my debt,” she said. He heard her move to the cell wall, likely pressing her face into the bars to call after him. “I know what fate awaits me if I don’t make myself valuable. Gavinkim has made that coming end more than clear. I don’t want to double cross you!”

It was exactly what she would say if she were going to double cross him.

“Good try,” Kaldalis called over his shoulder as he left. “GG, WP. You played your hand as best you could. But I’m not that stupid.”

Kaldalis found Garyung immediately outside the door, wringing his hands. Before Kaldalis could close the door, Gavinkim slipped around the corner and quickly crossed the distance, entering the room before Onirioago could be left alone for even a second.

“It’s bullshit,” Kaldalis said in response to Garyung’s questioning look. “She’s yanking us around looking for a way to escape.”

“What’s bullshit?” Garyung asked. “Tell me what she said.”

It didn’t take long to convey to Garyung what Onirioago had told him. The two big pieces of information was that the Jormongumo were hunting for him, and that she knew where to find them. He didn’t leave out the smaller details, though, including how the victims were taunted, and Onirioago’s false motivation.

“I think we need to consider what she’s offering,” Garyung said, when Kaldalis was finished.

“You’re kidding. You’re not that stupid, right?”

“We are more than capable of keeping her under control. Both you and Gavinkim are impossibly committed to stopping her escape. If she wants out, we’ll truss her up and fasten her to a handcart.”

“But why?” Kaldalis asked, rubbing his temple with one hand. “It’s a bluff. She doesn’t know anything.”

“If it’s a bluff, the pot is too sweet not to call,” Garyung said. He tapped his own temples. “Think, Kal! Think! We can make this all go away by chaining her up and making her a GPS for an afternoon! And when we know she’s lying, we bring her back and we leave her strapped to the handcart to think about what she’s done.”

Kaldalis didn’t like this plan.

Not even a little.

“I’ll make you a deal,” Garyung said. “You have total control of the operation. Bring as many people as you want to help. Bring an army. Hell, I’ll go with you, too. Keep your hand on the wheel the whole time. You get to say when you have enough proof that she’s lying. You can call for her execution at a moment’s notice, and you know if you say it, Gavinkim will jump at the chance to strike before you can change your mind.”

“I don’t know,” Kaldalis said. Garyung was better at sweetening the deal than Onirioago was, and that made him nervous. He was getting to be a good politician, and he hated the idea of being manipulated. Especially since the sweetest part of the deal - permission to eliminate Onirioago once and for all - was not a reward he would take on a whim. Not until he knew what it would mean

“I can’t have this continue,” Garyung said firmly. “These attacks have to stop. You haven’t been here for them. You haven’t seen what they’ve done. What they’re doing to these people. We can’t let this opportunity slip through our hands.”

“I have seen what they do to people,” Kaldalis admitted with a shudder. He would never forget what Dalgaard looked like at the end of their encounter with Ara. “Maybe… Maybe you’re not wrong, but I’m not convinced that you’re right.”

“Do you really think everything she said was a lie?” Garyung asked. “Please, for the sake of whoever is out there right now getting their liver eaten. If you think she’s got nothing, we’ll find another way, but if there’s a chance...”

Kaldalis grimaced. He couldn’t believe he was going to do this. He knew - almost for a fact - that Onirioago was playing them. He didn’t believe for a second that her motivation was actually just an overblown PR move. She was going to try and turn this around on them somehow. This was her attempt to escape.

But was everything a lie?

When he’d finally left, she hadn’t called after him with desperation. She’d still had that knowing smirk to the end. She wouldn’t be so confident if she didn’t have an advantage. Him walking out would have been the end of her game.

“Fine.” Kaldalis took a deep breath. “Let the record show that from the very beginning, I thought this was a bad idea, but…”