"You should be pleased to know that those who would act against our plans have been left unaware of the situation. For the Inquisitor."
-Private Message I, by Chancellor Gustine
Avos blinked the sleep from his eyes as he opened them, seeing that he now found himself in a tiny room with only an open window to gauge where he was. From the outside noise, Avos guessed it was sometime midday in downtown Alandriel. Although it took some time to get up, Avos made his way to the window to look out. It was there he saw the familiar putrid streets of lower Alandriel and where he recognised the house he was staying at; Igo's.
Even though Avos could see no obvious injuries on his body, he could still feel the pain in his chest where Ender's attack hit him. Considering that the battle's wounds were gone, Avos assumed it was Cynthia's work.
Putting on some clothes, Avos shambled downstairs from his room, saying hello to servants who were working away and walking through the corridors upstairs. When he descended into the living room, he found Igo sitting on a couch by the fireplace with Cynthia pacing around the room. As soon as Cynthia noticed him, she briskly walked up to Avos and slapped him with enough force to knock an elephant unconscious. Still reeling from the pain, Avos didn't have time to respond before Cynthia put her arms around him for a hug.
"It's good to see you well, Avos. Sorry for the slap."
"N-no, it's fine..." Avos squealed, his cheek burning in agony. "But why am I here and-"
"And not the Guild infirmary?" Igo said, finishing his sentence. "For some reason, Cynthia suddenly had a lot to do and didn't have time to deal with you, or rather, wasn't even allowed to go near you. So, you were left with a group of nurses who for some reason all were known to report solely to the Inquisitor. You're lucky they didn't just kill you outright and actually tried to make it look natural.
"By the time I got to you and when Cynthia sneaked out on the pretence of a break to get to you, you were deathly pale. You should have seen the bedsheets. Or actually, maybe you shouldn't have. Either way, the only place we could treat you without Guild politics getting in the way was here. It's not the cleanest place but it got you healed without a convenient interruptions by injured people suddenly popping up out of nowhere."
"I can't believe you actually attended the competition!" Cynthia erupted after Igo finally finished. "You're lucky you're not dead right now! You should have known better and cancelled it after the recent incident with Lucan. Ellis is trying to get all who are allied with the Rogue dead right now. And that includes you!"
"Really? I would have never known." Avos mocked, sheepishly scratching a bit of stubble that had grown recently on his chin.
"Don't mess with me now, Avos." Cynthia said in a unusually calm tone. If Avos tried to mess with her now, he truly would be dead. Knowing her, his body would probably be painted across an out-of-the-way alley.
"Fine, fine. I was winning it too but got too cocky. Should have realised that cold-blooded twig was plotting something to spring at me at the right time."
"Nevermind that now. Go back upstairs and get some rest. You need it." Igo smiled, turning towards Avos, attempting to sway someone who knew was weak against the warm requests of the elderly, even if the age was partly feigned.
"No. Igo I should probably get out of your hair so not to attract attention. Anyway I need to go back to Midnight to train-"
"Like hell you are!" Cynthia shouted, pushing him back onto the stairs. "With your injuries, you'll be lucky to leave this house in a week, on top of all the damages your arts do to your body. So, if I see you walk down these stairs without a good excuse, I'm gonna make sure to finish the job Ender started. Go!"
Knowing better to not to test her any further, Avos sprinted back to his room, scared of what would happen if he turned around. Avos could only hope that Gulliver would be able to train Daniel, even if it meant not doing anything practical with him for a while.