Uh oh.
Closed door? Crossed arms? Death stare? All the necessary ingredients for a bad time; Cherno learned that much from his ex-wife. Difference here being that Alena was never clad in plate armor and had never swung a sword in her life.
So Cherno quickly started feeling like the shortest person in the room, despite his size.
He slowly raised his hands up to the level of his shoulders in a surrendering fashion. Maybe the Major was like a bear. No sudden movements, and you'll be fine. No, wait, weren't you supposed to play dead with bears? Would that even work with the Major? Was her visual acuity based on movement?
...Maybe save the "play dead" card as the shitty option of last resort.
Cherno offered a smile that didn't mesh well with the tiny beads of sweat forming on his forehead. He glanced back and forth between Kraait and the Major. "Hey, hey...let's just all calm down for a second. We're all friends here, right?"
He focused more on Hakon now. "Major Kilandre, I understand. I understand completely, and thank you, by the way, thank you for your outstanding service to our great country. Gotta catch that mage before he hurts anyone else's wife or daughter—or husband! Shoot, that carriage almost crushed me."
An awkward second passed. "It ain't much, but this is all I know: that man inside our carriage said his name was Pritchard. Said his own carriage was attacked by bandits and only he made it out alive. So me and my wife offered him a ride to Reajh. Now, I don't know what kind of history this Pritchard guy had, but some black-clad mage just came out of the crowd on Market Street toward us. I was out on the street making way for the carriage. Saw him coming. Was about to ask him what his deal was, 'cause I didn't know he was a mage until he locked eyes with Pritchard and cast some spell that sent our carriage flying, and I mean flying, into the air! The mage must've thought the fall would kill Pritchard, so he just slipped back into the crowd while everybody was standing around all dazed and confused like. Well, he was right, 'cause the fall did kill Pritchard, but—thank Ansgar—my wife and daughter were both short and small enough not to be crushed. Jeez...just thinking about it now, if I was in that carriage I wouldn't be here talking to you, Major."
Cherno took in a breath, then clapped his hands back down to the sides of his legs. "I'm sorry I can't give you a better description of the mage, Major. But, I can assure you, that it was definitely not my lovely wife, Alena. Like she said, messing with magic is nothing but bad news."
