"I apologize, I never had a head for music. Perhaps one of our lovely young ladies could teach me a song and I'll be happy to sing it to you."
Ready to move on as well.
Wrestling with himself in the shadows.
Seren, who drinks little through the night, will get up early to study in the dim light and go gather some tea for Grau. He'll await the others before he goes to see him.
Melianthe appears, full of jaw-cracking yawns, and nods at Seren, taking a tea and looking around for some biscuits.
Demitri will drink heavily into the night, a little too heavily before being stopped by Absinthe or Mel. He awakens, hungover his head hurting, but somehow still feeling better than he had in recent weeks. He grabs a pot of coffee and sits down with the others. His eyes squinting as they adjust to being open.
Seren would like to reask him the questions from last night now that he's sober. What's his real concern, mainly? What's he looking to have happen and why?
Someone has an odd dream of an amorous snake wrapping around their hips in the dead of night. The dream persists until waking, when they find Absinthe next to them in bed.
The tiefling is chastely dressed, and there is no evidence of any hanky-panky - especially as Absinthe is clearly sleeping the sleep that comes after partaking of just enough and not too much beer - but she has her tail wrapped around her current bedmate's hips...
That, and she appears to be cuddling a guardsman's helmet for some inexplicable reason.
When Grau emerges from his room, the pained look on his face has more to do with his hangover than his glum mood. He gives you a nod of vague acquaintance, but makes no initial contact. Only after he asks Theandra who paid for his room, and she gestures towards your group, does he come over. Grau puts two silver shields down on the table, saying, "Thanks for putting me up, but here's your coin back. I hope I wasn't too much trouble." His glance pauses on Seren for a second, but he shakes it off. Recognizing Demitri, he nods, "Severin, right? Uh... Demitri?"
"That is my last and my first name. You feeling well enough to answer some questions?"
He winces, but nods. "Make it quick though. My head feels like I got hit with a hammer."
"So why were you drinking so heavily last night? What has happened?"
Grau gives Demitri a deadpan stare, but he flashes embarrassment. "What's it to you?"
Melianthe lets Demitri take the lead with the questioning, knowing that Grau must be nursing a killer headache. She smiles politely at him and sets a water in front of him and a coffee behind it, nodding and indicating the water first, then the coffee with her eyes.
"I was just wondering if something happened that we may be concerned with."
Grau notices Melianthe's gesture and gives a half-grin, despite himself. He downs the water quickly, and takes a sniff of the brew. He lets out a sigh, shrugging. "The city's dying... my city, if that's worth being concerned about. I figured, if no one else cares, I might as well get blasted as it goes down..." He looks away, shamed. "Bloody stupid, I know..."
"Why do you assume no one else cares? The king's death is very raw and recent. Could it just be the city is in mourning and is struggling to find identity?"
"I care more about this city than you know. We all do. This is our home. Pick yourself up, you're no good to the city drowning in drink."
"People don't go on rioting, killing sprees when they're mourning," Grau snaps, Seren's words keenly hitting the core of his anguish. He sighs again, reining in his outburst with an apologetic wave. He takes a chair and slumps down at the table, drawing a long sip from the coffee. "You're right. I'm acting like an ass, which is helping absolutely no one... Theandra's business excepting."
He sits for a few moments, enjoying the hot drink. When he looks up, his gaze locks on Seren once again. "I'm sorry... have we met? You look familiar."
Until recently this city has only done me harm. The barbarian interjects. But it has now provided me with good friends so I too care. [b]He spares a quick glance at his friends. So much so that evidently I have joined up with the city guard. They are short handed you know... [/b] He looks directly at the man's insignia and uniform. The city is in bad shape, but some of us are choosing to fight to make it better.
"What is this about killing sprees? Is it just due to food shortages, or something worse?". Melianthe sips her own water, her head a little cottony from the previous night.
"Something has shaken you, Grau. None of us have blind loyalty to the authorities here. My name is Melianthe, and as you can see, I'm not the kind of elf that gets respect from the upper echelons of--well, anywhere, really. You can trust us with your burden. We have a rather good skill set for solving...messy...city problems."
Seren frowns, "Other than mistaking me for someone else last night, I don't think so. If you know me through your duties with the law, I'd deny any involvement. I used to attend the Acadamae a while back, were you a student? Or maybe it was through my brother, who was framed for the murder of a woman on the docks ... "
Seren steps back for a moment, apprehensive, looking for the welcome comfort of the shadow, "... you weren't involved with that, were you? His name was ... well, is ... Lane."
Grau's eyes widen for a second. "No, no... Neffi. You remind me of an old friend, from Sandpoint." He shakes his head. "I vaguely remember that from last night."
He turns to Melianthe. "Nothing you don't already know, if you've been around Korvosa the last few days: riots, pillaging, anarchy. In times like these, the wicked prey on the weak, and there are too few to keep them safe."
To the group, he adds, "I have not been true to my duties, and I will rectify that this day. Thank you. It is good to know I am not alone in trying to make things right."
"No you are not alone. Though I wish more were trying."
"Speaking of the wicked, there is this monster named Parns who is literally butchering people and serving them. He was passing them off as beef before he got away. You should be on the lookout for him." Demitri will describe what he looks like as well.
"If the rule is orderly--I don't necessarily mean lawful, as laws should be bent on occasion--it's better than anarchy, Grau. How can we help you make things right today? Besides getting you more water."
Feel free to look me up in the barracks if you need anything, or of you get a lead on Parns. I'd really like to bring him in.
To Melianthe, Grau shakes his head, but his eyes show thanks. "The best thing I can do is get back to the barracks, get my shyte in order, and make sure my men harbor no delusions like Vancaskerkin, Parns and their ilk. I'll make it a point to track that bastard down, if the Field Marshal can spare the bodies." He finishes off the rest of his coffee and stands. He hesitates for a few moments, unsure what to say, and then gives a respectful salute. Grau then turns and heads out into the street.
***
About a week after the encounter at the Three Rings, a courier comes from Cressida Kroft in the mid-afternoon, begging your earliest convenience. The situation on the streets has remained tense. The labourers' strike continues, with intermittent riots and outbursts of violence, but trade has hesitantly resumed, and some parts of the city resume a normal, if nervous, routine. The guard is still stressed to the limit, but a hardened core has begun to keep the strays in line.
In the Citadel Volshyenek courtyard, you find a newly-raised gibbet with several swinging bodies. You recognize a few from the Vancaskerkin's crew, including Parns.
"That's all we can ask."
=====================
"They caught him. At least that is a relief."
So that's it? Parns was no ring leader. Who was he working for? What was he really up to? Maybe the guard captain will know.
"Of course, Segang, we will ask Marshall Kroft. We'll also see if this gibbet provides any answers..."
Melianthe walks up to the bodies to give them a closer look.
"Yes, there was no way he was acting alone. We need to get to the bottom of this. But we can take a small measure of relief that one more monster is gone from the streets."