Emi sniggers. "You and Helvara are so gonna do it. Fly, meet spider."
Emi laughs at her own joke, but it's more a snort as she suppresses it. "I'm sorry Tassira, that was mean. I don't really think that."
"Alright, I'm sold. I could use a little comfort. My cot at the temple is really awful actually... Hey, and maybe tomorrow on the way back we could stop by Zellara's house and check on it. I've been meaning to for days, but never find the time."
After walking a little ways supporting Tassira...
"So.... what would you think of someone if they were with someone and it was way past that age limit you mentioned?"
Nebbin fills the children in on the wasps, showing them some of his stings on his arms, and all the other horrors of the dungeons.
If they're lucky, they can spend all their time safe here and never have to go on an 'adventure,' he thinks.
He eats dinner and keeps looking with concern at the door.
Afterward, he approaches Regeris.
"Tassira and Emileva aren't back yet. Should we go look for them?"
"You and Helvara are so gonna do it. Fly, meet spider."
"...I'm sorry Tassira, that was mean. I don't really think that."
Tassira laughs aloud at first, then quiets down.
"Wha, you don't think I've got a shot with 'er?"
"So.... what would you think of someone if they were with someone and it was way past that age limit you mentioned?"
Tassira leans almost entirely on Emi as the two of them walk to South Shore.
"...are they happy together? And how large of a gap are we talkin' here?"
"Wha, you don't think I've got a shot with 'er?"
"Oh, no no, I was serious about the first part. Not the fly and spider part."
"...are they happy together? And how large of a gap are we talkin' here?"
"I would hope so, and I don't know exactly."
Emi sighs, then continues as if a confession has been wrung out of her.
"I'm one of the two, and the other is a certain gentleman who wouldn't be mistaken for a young man. Nope, nothing is actually happening. No, you don't know him."
"Oh, no no, I was serious about the first part. Not the fly and spider part."
"Oh." Tassira blinks, bleary-eyed, and nods. "Ok."
"But spider Helvara..." Her eyes widen and she stares off into the distance. "...um..."
It's difficult to tell if her blush is due to her drunkenness or the mental image that just appeared in her head.
"I'm one of the two, and the other is a certain gentleman who wouldn't be mistaken for a young man. Nope, nothing is actually happening. No, you don't know him."
"Ah."
Tassira looks down at the cobblestone streets for a bit. "Is he nice?"
"Is he nice?"
"Very."
Tassira nods sagely. She does it long enough that it looks oddly comical.
"Is he cute?"
"Yes, but that's not the right word. He's striking. He has charm. He's intelligent. He... I think there is a hardness or sharpness to him, but it is covered, internal. Over it I think he is gentle really."
"..."
Tassira thinks for a moment, then shrugs.
"...then why not? Go for 'em."
Why not? He could certainly do better. Maybe he already has? He's complimented me, but those can be summed up as "I'm sturdy" and "I have a good head", nothing there to quicken the pulse. He's never suggested that kind of interest. And this is too depressing to think about anymore.
"I'm still thinking about it. We're not well acquainted and I don't know if the feelings are mutual at all. It could be awkward beyond just embarrassing if I were wrong..."
Regeris frowns for a moment as Nebbin approaches him. "I was thinking that, although finding two people in a city could be very difficult. It's just as likely they'd show up while we were turning over the last stone in Midland or something. Let's give them a few more hours. They're tough."
He instead sizes up Nebbin. "What do you make of them? Kayleigh is more of an open book but I don't know too much about Emi or Tassira."
"Oh, I think they're really nice," Nebbin responds earnestly. "Tassira seems really smart, though I think she didn't really like Helvara too much. I'm not sure why, though, since Helvara seemed to like her. But she's also really powerful with her magic! And she's almost as pretty as Keyleigh! And Emileva's such a good leader and good with her sword. The queen kind of reminded me of her ... Not like she's rich or anything, but she can be a little bossy, but in a good way ... And she takes care of all the orphans and tells us all what to do. Oh, and she's pretty too!"
He looks at Regeris to see if he was right with his assessments.
"Eh, well..." Tassira sounds like she's about to start talking some more, but she trails off.
"...I think this is the way to South Shore."
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South Shore
-----------------------------------------------
By the time the ladies skirt their way through the throng, talk their way past the Pillar Wall checkpoint (the curfew still stands for the Heights and the South Shore districts), and pick their way through the dark deserted streets to Tassira's flat it is very late. A handy cantrip provides light as the mage fumbles with the key and lock.
Within Tassira finds her apartment undisturbed since her last whirlwind stop. There are two notes lying on the floor, however, delivered at some point through the mail slot in her door. Both are addressed in her mother's flowing script and sealed with her seal. The first that she opens amounts to a kindly worded command to move back in to the family estate in the Heights while the unrest in the city persists. The note is filled with just the right mix of guilt and persuasion to get under the skin.
The second note brings Tassira to a full stop. Olaf, Tassira's brother has been killed, and her parents are demanding her return 'home' The news washes over Tassira like a bucket of cold water.
Regeris actually laughs at Nebbin's enthusiastic description of his companions. "I think Helvara was trying to seduce Tassira, and she was having none of it. I agree, she's extremely smart. And Emi is... she seems to know how to navigate the world around her better than most. Sensible. I see why you see a bit of royalty in her behaviour."
He sees Nebbin looking to him for approval and he chuckles again. "It sounds like you have the right of them. I'm curious because they're more guarded than you or Kayleigh. Frankly more like I am. Where do you come from originally Nebbin? Are you local?"
Whatever alcoholic buzz that was afflicting Tassira is momentarily lifted as she reads the two letters. She puts the first one aside, but the second one stops her cold.
It a moment, sobriety reasserts itself, and her flush drains away. "...what?"
She doesn't say anything else as she stares at the second letter. Her eyes are starting to fill with tears.
"Wait, Helvara was trying to seduce Tassira?! But that ... oh!" the big man's eyes widen as he realizes how much he missed in the sewers.
"Yeah, I grew up in Bridgefront, and I think I've pretty much always lived there ... until now, I guess. I never even really saw the other parts of the city, since, well, I was always working I guess, trying to support my mum until she passed. What about you? You're not from here, right?"
"What is it Tassira?"
It's plain to see the letters distress Tassira in some way.
"...my brother... he's dead..."
Tassira walks over to her couch in a daze, sinks into the cushions, and is barely able to choke out another sentence.
"...and my parents want me to come home..."
Regeris laughs again. "Fairly sure she was. And I am from here. I grew up in the Bank of Abadar - that really big building in North Point. I was going to be a banker when I grew up and worship the God of money."
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"Oh. That sounds interesting. We didn't really know much about the God of Money. I don't think he came into the slums," Nebbin says.
Gozran 21, 4708
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Temple of Aroden
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The minutes stretch into hours with no sign of the ladies. The Temple grows quiet as everyone else drifts off to sleep.
Just after dawn there's a tapping at the chapel door. Garlan comes seeking whoever's up, to tell them that Grau Soldado the Watch captain is calling.
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Tassira's Flat
-----------------------------
There's light fog in the streets of South Shore when Emileva and Tassira rise - nature perhaps sympathizing with the young mage's emotional state. She hasn't seen or heard from her family since all this chaos in the city began.
With a throbbing headache and the twisting of guilt in her gut, Tassira quietly packs up her things and starts heading to her parents' estate in the Heights. Ravnos hops into her backpack as usual.
She pauses only for Emi to wake up and get ready to leave before starting on the long walk home.
"Oh." Emi is shocked, unable to think of anything else to say for a moment.
"I'm very sorry Tassira. Does it say what happened?"
Emi goes to sit beside Tassira. She doesn't know what else to do except to give her a hug.
"Would you like for me to come with you?"
++++++++++++++
"...no... it doesn't say what happened. Only that Olaf's dead."
Tassira practically collapses into Emi's hug.
"...would you come with me?"
Nebbin, awake for some reason, looks concerned at Garlan's words.
"I guess we better see what he wants, right? Maybe you should get Kayleigh and Regeris? I hope nothing's happened to Emileva and Tassira..."
He heads to the door to meet the guard.
I hope he's not drunk. And remembers I'm not his dead friend...
--------------------------------------------
South Shore to the Vantyev Estate
--------------------------------------------
The Vantyev estate sits high above the road, right up against the steep slope of citadel hill. The windows they can see have the curtains drawn and the place looks closed. Despite the look, the family butler answers the bell and welcomes Tassira and Emi inside.
"Your mother will be pleased to hear you've come," the old man says. Can I offer you something from the larders?" The front room where he's left you is filled with Tassira's mother's books.
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Temple of Aroden
--------------------------------------------
Nebbin meets Grau in the chapel. He passes the time in idle chatter with Nebbin until Kayleigh or Regeris joins them.
"What brings me here this morning is actually a note from Field Marshal Croft. It's a request to bring this woman, Trinia Sabor, into the custody of the watch."
"You likely heard that the Queen's investigator has named her the prime suspect in the murder of King Eodred. There are vigilante crowds looking for her, likely agents of the Queen as well. Marshal Croft wants to get her first, for her own protection. Ensure that the girl gets a fair trial rather than die in hiding, taking the truth with her to the grave."
He presses a note into Nebbin's hand.
"This is the address of her stepmother's flat in Bridgeport, where a credible source says she's laying low. She's young with a slim build. Early twenties, blonde hair and brown eyes."
He looks around for questions.
Regeris looks at Grau carefully before speaking. "I see. I've been out of the loop for the past day or so. What's the nature of the accusation against Ms. Sabor?"
"Oh, well, I guess we don't really want her to die! That'd be no better than what Lamm was doing," Nebbin says. "But we need to find Tassira and Emileva too. Oh my gosh, what if they've gone into hiding?! Or maybe they're already with Trinia! I better get my stuff."
He goes to get dress and get his gear (and make sure Kayleigh's aware of the visitor).
Kayleigh sleeps like a log and only wakens when the others stir her from slumber. After getting dressed, she joins them in the chapel to speak with Grau. After that, she again casts a cure disease spell on Carawyn and again can't seem to rid the girl of her powerful addiction.
Tassira swallows and nods at Lorne, the old butler. In many ways, he was an honorary uncle to the Vantyev children--whenever their parents were unable to soothe them or rein them in, Lorne had a talent for always knowing what to do to help them. A dignified man, and one whom Tassira felt she could share anything with.
"...I'd like some tea, please." She says as she kneels down and opens her backpack for Ravnos to hop out. The calico tabby leaps out and stretches her legs before yawning and looking around the estate's front hall.
"Emi? What about you?"
"uh, sure, tea would be fine... Thank you."
Emi is distracted looking around at the room and it's contents. Combined with the view of the house as they arrived, it's far beyond anything she expected. She knew Tassira's family had some money but wow.
The mageling wipes her feet on the entryway rug as Ravnos hops up on the table where her mother's books are kept. The calico tabby lies down next to the stack and purrs.
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Kayleigh's worried when she hears that Tassira and Emileva haven't returned to the temple while she was asleep; vivid images of the pair as sex slaves in Madame Helvara's secret dungeon try to press their way into the still-sleepy priestess's mind even though she's fairly convinced that's not why her friends haven't returned.
"Do we wait for the others to return or try to bring in this Trinia girl ourselves?" she asks Regeris and Nebbin. To the former she adds, "Do you have any spells that might make the suspect more compliant or less likely to run away when she sees us?"
"Is the messenger still around, Lorne?" Tassira asks once she's settled into a comfy chair and their tea has been served. "I need to send a message to the Temple of Aroden."
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Vantyev Estate
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The old man tends to your needs, getting the tea and fetching a messenger boy. Otherwise he hovers in the periphery of the room wringing his hands and trying to find ways of looking busy while the moments of waiting stretch on.
"Your mum," he says nervously, after a long wait. "She's ..."
The ladies hear a distant crash somewhere upstairs followed by a long string of curses - the familiar tones of a tongue-lashing from mother Vantyev. Her voice sounds a little lunatic.
"... perhaps indisposed?" he tries, apologetically. He cringes at the crash.
"Your brother lies in-state in the front parlor," he says, though he chokes up in saying it. The old man lost a son, in a way, when Tassira's brother passed.
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Temple of Aroden
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"The young woman stands accused of murdering the Head of State by poison. Her accuser is the Bloodmage Togomor of Kaer Maga, the Queen's own investigator."
Grau also has his own questions to ask concerning the attack on the Shoanti tribesmen that you broke up. He asks you about what you first saw as you came on to the scene. How many attackers got away? Was anything interesting said by any of the attackers that might incriminate an organizer among the hoodlums?
"The one captive says there was a guy who had the tip - where the Shoanti were breaking-in to private property. That he suggested they all go rough them up some. He says he doesn't know who that guy was. None of them know who that guys was! Of course they're lying but all I can do is turn them over to the citadel if none of them have a better story than that."
Emi sits stiffly holding her cup of tea, sipping on it occasionally. She keeps tabs on Tassira, trying to mimic her with it.
Was this a good idea? Maybe I should be here right now. I hope I don't reek of alcohol. I can't tell with this headache. I'll just try to not be noticed...
Regeris scowls as he realizes he was so focused on Grau as to forget Tassira and Emi haven't returned. He focuses back on the task at hand.
"Fair enough. I guess she'll certainly have something to say and I'm very good at ascertaining the truth of things."
On the subject of the Shoanti, Regeris' eyebrows raise a little. "Interesting. Here is what I saw. Five ruffians attacking three Shoanti - one was dead by the time we arrived. The ruffians said they were rapists and thieves and 'we caught them'. The Shoanti said they broke no law but found strife anyways, and then left with the local guardsmen to give a statement."
He thinks for a moment. "It is possible both parties could be right. Perhaps the Shoanti were doing something legitimate that upset someone who accused them of breaking the law and set the rabble on them. What was the Shoanti's statement on the matter?"
---
After speaking with Grau he looks to Kayleigh and Nebbin. "We can't go chasing a fugitive without the five of us. We're going to need to locate Emi and Tassira. Can you think of locations they favour? Hangouts? Residences? Relatives? Considering Helvara's interest in Tassira we may have to check Eel's End again as well. There is also the unpleasant possibility they came across an enemy of ours such as Pilts, although they are fierce combatants and I think that is the least likely."
Tassira takes down a letter for the messenger boy.
"Please deliver this to the Temple of Aroden. Ask for Kayleigh."
I'm sorry for not having shown up yesterday. Something horrible has come up at home--my older brother has been slain. I'm at the Vantyev estate in the Heights. I might be there for a week or more--Mum asked me to come home, with all the civil unrest going on.
Emi's with me, so there's no need to worry about her. I'm going to speak with Mum and explain what I've been doing these past few days with the Guard.
Sincerely,
Tassira
--------------------
Once the message has been sent on its way, Tassira cringes when she hears her mother raving upstairs. "I'll speak with her after I've..."
Her voice catches in her throat and she downs another gulp of tea. "...I've seen Olaf." Once she's drained her cup dry, she sets the cup aside with shaking hands and starts walking through the house to the parlor.
Nebbin explains what he remembers of the Shoanti attack, but it adds little more than Regeris' summary.
Kayleigh's sleepy eyes narrow and harden at the mention of Pilts' name; obviously, the priestess has neither forgotten nor forgiven Amistan's murder and Crayden's mistreatment at the crimelord's hands. She adds her own recollections to those of Regeris and Nebbin. "Both sides ignored our calls to halt the violence, but the ones attacking the Shoanti were the ones trying to keep the Guard from getting involved and who ran off when we did step in. I think they were likely the instigators."
Kayleigh purses her lips and tells Regeris she believes Tassira has a place in South Shore .
"Well, we can't just ignore an order from Cressida," she tells Regeris. Turning to Grau, she asks, "Are you available to back us up?"
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Vantyev Estate
-------------------------------------------
The parlor room is the same as it's always been, all save the casket standing between the windows against the far wall. A chair stands near the sealed casket and Tassira gets a vision of her mother sitting there, being near him in her grief. She's not here now, and the sounds of her fury upstairs thankfully have passed. Lorne waits quietly at the doorway as Tassira takes her time with her brother.
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Temple of Aroden
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A knock comes at the chapel door as your conversation with Grau moves along.
"Yes, I'm completely convinced our gang of local miscreants started the fight. They're all mostly from one gang. They call themselves 'Molly's Boys' and have prowled a couple blocks of north Old Dock for a decade or two. They've only recently grown dangerous - just so many men out of work right now."
"The thing is, their current leader isn't part of the band we picked up and none of them will explain his absence. Maybe he ran. But none of them seem to have any idea how one of the tribesmen ended up with his throat cut, or who the guy was who turned them on to the Shoanti in the first place."
"The tribesmen themselves were pretty quiet about what they were doing in the neighborhood. They're not local and they didn't seem to have much of our tongue, so that's not helpful. They say they were looking for a old woman from their tribe, someone who'd immigrated to the city a long time ago and allegedly lived in that neighborhood. They claimed to be on an errand from one of the tribe's ambassadors to the city, so I passed them on to the Citadel and that's the last I saw of them."
"Anyway, I'd like to have a stronger case for murder to pass along, but I've failed to identify the killer among them. That's not likely to please some ambassador, but it's about the best we can do in the circumstances."
Hal passes Tassira's note to Regeris as Grau addresses Kayleigh's last question.
Grau winces. You can sense his embarrassment as he explains.
"That's not in the borders of my district, so technically speaking I'm supposed to respect some jurisdictional line, but the local guard there is still not reconstituted. I think the Field Marshal's choice of you is to avoid drawing many eyes to the attempt and provoking some kind of riot."
"But I could probably post some men discretely at intersections where they might be of help. Particularly along any route that led back to this part of the island."
"Make it back to our streets with Trinia and we'll make sure she gets to Field Marshal Kroft alive."
Emileva remains in the entry parlour waiting for Tassira. She's not sure what she should do instead. Her only experience with family was growing up with her uncle. Emi's quite sure he would want a time like this to remain private, so she figures the same is true for the Vantyevs.
"Maybe we can help find this woman too? And their leader?" Nebbin asks as Grau relates the story. "After we find Tassira and Emileva and Trinia and ..."
He stops as he realizes he doesn't have anyone else he needs to find right now.
He nods at Grau's final words and smile as Regeris explains the contents of the note.
"Should we go try to find them then? I mean, if her brother's dead, maybe she'll stay at home."
Kyaleigh frowns slightly as her sleepy brain processes the two notes and Grau's words. "It certainly sounds like Tassira won't be joining us--her note says she'll likely be a week or more dealing with her brother's death. We'll likely miss her magic if this Trinia girl refuses to come along quietly...though I'll prepare a hold person spell for that eventuality."
"And as much as I hate going off without Emi...it sounds like making a side trip to the Heights would be irresponsible. For better or for worse, we agreed to serve Cressida as special members of the Guard, and she's worried that vigilantes and the Queen's agents are already searching for this girl. Can we really afford risking her capture by one of those factions while we run off to fetch our friends? Maybe we could leave a message here in case Emi or Tassira return shortly?"
"Maybe we could send a note back and they can meet us? She didn't know we'd have to go do this when she wrote the note... Is whoever brought it here still waiting?"
Regeris actually loses his temper a little when he realizes that Tassira and possibly Emi are unavailable. "Bah! This is not the time for family matters. They can wait, her brother's status isn't going to change."
He turns on Kayleigh and Nebbin. "I'll go stake out the Bridgeport flat if you two can get her and Emi back and meet me at that address. Let's go now. Don't take no for an answer - Tassira and Emileva have taken on greater responsibilities! Meet me at the flat."
With that he gathers his gear and stalks out of the Temple in a fury for Bridgeport, going as quickly as he can. He stows his red cloak in his pack.
"Oh, OK," Nebbin nods.
He smiles shyly at Kayleigh.
"Are you ready? We should probably do what he said."