This was absurd. "Grand Mage," Davina snapped, her voice all but vibrating with indignation, "are you seriously going to stand here and submit to the demands of a man who has flaunted your authority at every turn? His friends have committed regular crimes in their attempts to find the Murder Skull, including breaking and entering, coercion, cooperating with criminals--need I go on? There's no need for them to have opened a portal. They are criminals, plain and simple."
"If you've got proof of all that," Gabe said innocently, "then why didn't y'all arrest them earlier in the year, before it got to this point? Seems like something you'd wanna stop ASAP."
Breathing a little heavily, Davina glared at him and didn't answer. Because there was no answer. Because they didn't have solid evidence of all that, only circumstantial conclusions. That was why the warrants had depended upon the 'endangering the world' caveat, and apparently now they didn't even have evidence of that.
"If Bespoke, Low, Renn and Cain weren't responsible for Pleasant's return," Davina said acidly, "then that means someone else was. You are a Teleporter and the Murder Skull was an Isthmus Anchor. Grand Mage, I recommend arresting this man at once on the same charges for which Low and Bespoke were previously accused."
"Hey, now, woah," Gabe said with a chuckle, raising his hands. "Skul asked a real good question. Was a portal actually opened? And if you didn't see it, how d'you I endangered anyone at all other than me?"
"You must have," Davina said triumphantly, "because a portal is the only way you could possibly have escaped from that dimension."
"It is?" Gabe asked with a bland smile, a knowing smile, and Davina felt her expression freeze. Her brain chose that moment to remind her that this was a Teleporter who had Teleported Bespoke without even touching him, a feat Davina had never heard any other Teleporter of performing.
A moment later Davina rallied herself, her chin lifting. He was trying to unnerve her by pretending he knew something she didn't; that was all. No wonder Pleasant had taken up with him. "You came out exactly where the Murder Skull was. Just because we didn't see a portal doesn't mean it wasn't there."
"Just 'cos we used the skull as an anchor don't mean there was a portal involved," Gabe countered.
Something in Davina snapped and she took a step forward, her fists clenched. "Then how, pray tell," she said in a low, deadly calm voice, "did you managed to cross dimensions?"
"We took a boat," Gabe answered simply. Davina snarled and whirled to Guild, jabbing a finger at Gabe.
"Grand Mage! This man is clearly defying authority!"
"How was I meant to know you'd object so much?" Gabe asked with a shrug, pushing back the brim of his hat and looking frankly at Guild. His tears had dried to nothing, but his face was drawn and his expression seemed more tired than it did irreverent. Tired, and frank, and without the sass Davina received. The woman seethed inwardly. "Fact is, Grand Mage, this ain't something most people from my world would object to doing if they had the means. Didn't occur to me it might be a problem from this end, though I get why you'd be worried. Nasty bastards on the other side."
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"If you've got proof of all that," Gabe said innocently, "then why didn't y'all arrest them earlier in the year, before it got to this point? Seems like something you'd wanna stop ASAP."
Breathing a little heavily, Davina glared at him and didn't answer. Because there was no answer. Because they didn't have solid evidence of all that, only circumstantial conclusions. That was why the warrants had depended upon the 'endangering the world' caveat, and apparently now they didn't even have evidence of that.
"If Bespoke, Low, Renn and Cain weren't responsible for Pleasant's return," Davina said acidly, "then that means someone else was. You are a Teleporter and the Murder Skull was an Isthmus Anchor. Grand Mage, I recommend arresting this man at once on the same charges for which Low and Bespoke were previously accused."
"Hey, now, woah," Gabe said with a chuckle, raising his hands. "Skul asked a real good question. Was a portal actually opened? And if you didn't see it, how d'you I endangered anyone at all other than me?"
"You must have," Davina said triumphantly, "because a portal is the only way you could possibly have escaped from that dimension."
"It is?" Gabe asked with a bland smile, a knowing smile, and Davina felt her expression freeze. Her brain chose that moment to remind her that this was a Teleporter who had Teleported Bespoke without even touching him, a feat Davina had never heard any other Teleporter of performing.
A moment later Davina rallied herself, her chin lifting. He was trying to unnerve her by pretending he knew something she didn't; that was all. No wonder Pleasant had taken up with him. "You came out exactly where the Murder Skull was. Just because we didn't see a portal doesn't mean it wasn't there."
"Just 'cos we used the skull as an anchor don't mean there was a portal involved," Gabe countered.
Something in Davina snapped and she took a step forward, her fists clenched. "Then how, pray tell," she said in a low, deadly calm voice, "did you managed to cross dimensions?"
"We took a boat," Gabe answered simply. Davina snarled and whirled to Guild, jabbing a finger at Gabe.
"Grand Mage! This man is clearly defying authority!"
"How was I meant to know you'd object so much?" Gabe asked with a shrug, pushing back the brim of his hat and looking frankly at Guild. His tears had dried to nothing, but his face was drawn and his expression seemed more tired than it did irreverent. Tired, and frank, and without the sass Davina received. The woman seethed inwardly. "Fact is, Grand Mage, this ain't something most people from my world would object to doing if they had the means. Didn't occur to me it might be a problem from this end, though I get why you'd be worried. Nasty bastards on the other side."