Once their activities are finished, Betha wastes no time gathering her clothes, dressing, and making her exit.
Finding Jordanna asleep, Betha grins as she slides under the tattered blanket with the pregnant woman.
"An-na," she sing-songs. She hand slides over the woman's protruding belly. "I'm ba-ck."
She continues until the woman awakens.
"I'm sorry I didn't share tonight," she says in a contrite tone. "I had to make sure he was good enough for you."
Betha's rubbing is met by a small, clawed hand protruding from Jordanna's belly. It briefly grasps her fingers before melding back into the skin. The motion awakens Jordanna, who rolls over to smile at Betha. She strokes her sister's back. "Mmm, it's okay. And what is the verdict? Is he worthy of our time or only useful as a sacrifice to the Demon Queen?"
"He's worth our time ... for now," Betha says, smiling at the memory and enjoying Jordanna's touch. "We can sacrifice him later if he becomes boring."
She turns and tucks Jordanna's wild hair behind her ear and leans in to speak softly in her ear. "He has lots of energy and enthusiasm, and he's not completely selfish."
She grasps a handful of the brown locks firmly and pulls her head back to press her teeth and tongue on the woman's neck.
"And he likes it rough. I know how much you like that."
Her other hand slides down past the swollen belly.
Jordanna gasps as Betha gets rough. She giggles and pulls the blanket up over their heads, submitting to her sister's ministrations...
The next two days pass quietly . With the lack of specific instructions from the Scarlet Crown the entire coven is taking its ease at the jail when, with a shattering of glass, a stone comes flying through one of the windows! Accompanied by broken glass and a hefty handful of dirt it makes quite a mess as it slams into the floor near Alyssa's foot.
Jordanna spends the two days experimenting with new alchemical recipes, working to unlock the secrets lost when her the Glorious Reclamation slaughtered her fellow Lamashtan cultists.
While checking in on the prisoners in jail, she snarls in surprise when the rock smashes through the window. On instinct, she speaks the words to a spell, surrounding her pregnant body with a layer of protective mage armor. "Who would dare be so bold?" she snarls, rushing outside to try to catch the culprit.
Betha narrows her eyes as she draws her blade. She watches Jordanna move outside. She doesn't follow, however, moving instead to the back to watch over the prisoners.
"Everyone flat on the ground!" she commands.
Alyssa carefully moves her foot away from the broken glass. "Well lawks a mercy, dearies. It does look as though law and order are breaking down." She sounds positively delighted by this.
"Let's go and find some disproportionate retribution, shall we?" With that, she hastily moves outside, hoping to catch the offender swiftly.
It's the only swift thing she intends to do with them.
Alyssa peers around carefully, her old eyes squinting in the daylight.
Jordanna's mismatched eyes burn with rage as she seeks the culprit.
Alyssa can't quite make out the culprit as her elderly eyes adjust to the light, but Jordanna sees a small figure ducking into an alley a street or so away. The various people passing through the streets seem to be trying hard not to catch the irate witches mismatched eyes.
”Over there!” Jordanna casts another spell, then takes off like a dart in pursuit of the small figure.
The figure in front of Jordanna is wriggling under a fence as Jordanna reaches the end of the alley. It is filled with carts and boxes!
Witch, Smash!
Skirt Around!
Since Expeditious Retreat doubles your move you can reroll one check each round.
Jordanna smashes her way through the carts and boxes. Though she struggles at first, she eventually pushes through and uses her enhanced speed to catch up!
The figure ahead can just about be seen worming their way through the crowded market square! Unfortunately a fence blocks Jordanna's way!
Climb Over.
I know a shortcut!
Jordanna: 2, Vandal: 4.
Jordanna clambers over the fence, dropping heavily to the ground in the other side. She snarls and continues her pursuit!
The market square, which Jordanna emerges onto, is packed with people!
Spot a path.
Make a lane there!
Jordanna 3, Vandal 4.
Quickly spotting her quarry across the square, Jordanna snarls at those around her. "Get out of the way!"
They don't move fast enough, so she shouts again. "I said MOVE!" This time, they clear out, and the changeling races towards the fleeing suspect.
With her magically enhanced speed Jordanna burst across the square, the crowd parting before her like water. She shoots out the far side just in time to collar a young girl with dirty hands who seems to have been debating whether to turn right or left.
"Let go of me! I haven't done anything!" The girl cries.
"Innocent girls don't run away," Jordanna chides her, holding firm to her collar. "Shame on you for making a pregnant woman exert herself like that. You will come back with me to the jail and accept the punishment for your crime. I don't want to hurt you--but accidents might happen if you struggle." She digs the tips of her claws into the girl's neck just enough to show her she means business.
The girl goes completely limp in Jordanna's clawed grasp and allows herself to be carried/dragged back to the jail. The people she passes look askance at the sight .
Jordanna deposits the girl on the stoop of the jail's porch. "Here is our vandal. What do you want to do with her, sisters?"
Betha returns from watching over the prisoners.
"Perhaps a public flogging?" She offers, glowering down at the girl. She winks at Jordanna indicating that she's not serious. "At the very least, she should pay to replace the window. If she can't pay, then she'll need to work it off."
"We can always take our price in blood," Jordanna sneers, trying to goad the girl into talking.
Alyssa wanders back in, breathing heavily (mostly just for show). "Oh, so - so this is our villain?"
She leans down, eyeball to eyeball with the young culprit. "Little girl, if you don't tell me everything RIGHT NOW I will fill your bones with hot lead and eat the cooked flesh. Mmmm. Been ages since I was around someone as soft and plump as you." She smacks her lips.
The girl glowers at Jordanna, but when Alyssa gets involved her resolve cracks.
Her name turns out to be Pheobe and she insists that she threw the rock "because I like to break things, and nobody likes you so I thought I wouldn't get in trouble."
"Hello Pheobe," Betha breathes. "You like to break things? I like to break things too." She smiles. "How would you like to break things for us?"
The woman reaches into a pouch and pulls out two silver coins.
"I can offer you more of these," she says. "All we ask in return is that you keep your sharp eyes and ears open and pass along any juicy bits of gossip that you hear."
Her smile widens.
"Oh, and we'll probably have you break things for us once and a while. What do you think? I'm sure it beats being locked in a cell ... or worse." She indicates Alyssa with her eyes.
Pheobe nods, although her eyes are entirely focused on the two silver coins. "I can do that!" She nods, seemingly quite interested in the prospect.
"Oh. I can start now. Did you know Doctor Rohelendi is badly in debt? Her hospice will get closed down soon if the town comes for their back taxes..." She gives a sly grin. "I heard my father talking about it!"
"Is she now? Perhaps we should make a house call, sisters. We could get her out of her debt and place her into ours. Besides, at some point I will be in need of a good midwife..."
Betha hands the silver coins to Phoebe. "Consider this a retainer fee then," she says. "Remember to come by frequently to update us on any other rumors and there may be more coin for you."
She turns to her sisters.
"Let's pay a visit to the good Doctor."
"Sounds good to me, dearies. I was getting bored with all this waiting."
The Coven sets out, and finds Doctor Rohelendi where one would expect, at her hospice. When she sees the new lawkeepers she excuses herself from the elderly man she was speaking to and comes to the door to meet the coven.
"Can I help you ladies?"
Jordanna stands in front of the door with her arms crossed over her belly. She lets her more socially-inclined sisters do the talking.
"Yes, I think you can," Betha says with a purr. She steps close to Jordanna and places one arm around her shoulders. "As you can plainly see, my sister here is heavy with child. It won't be many days before she'll need a mid-wife and it's come to our attention that you have skills in that area."
Betha releases her sister and moves past the woman and into the room. She looks around as if inspecting the place.
"But first we must determine if we wish to place the well-being of her child into your hands."
Alyssa scowls on the way over to the meeting. "I don't see why we want to help the doctor. I don't hold with the healing of the sick. T'aint natural. They should be ill. And poor. Keeps 'em desperate, like the Goddess intended 'em to be."
The doctor eye Jorsannas belly critically. "Yes you do seem far along. Perhaps you should be resting more?" Instead of being here... lingers in the air although Rohelendi says nothing of the sort.
When Betha tries to step through the door the doctor refuses to budge. "When your time comes I will be happy to help you, but until then this is a place for the ill. I would prefer that you do not come in, unless you intend to join in my nursing?"
Jordanna glances at Alyssa. "Just like Ingoe and Phoebe. We spend some coin to buy the doctor's loyalty, and have her work for us instead of against us."
"We hear your clinic has recently fallen under hard times," the changeling says. "We might be persuaded to make a... donation to your cause."
The Doctor looks shocked and then indignant. "I have no idea what you mean! I don't turn down donations but the clinic is doing just fine thank you!" Hopefully she is a better doctor than she is actor because her attempt at bluster is woefully underdone.
Alyssa smiles - or at least, shows her teeth. It's not quite the same thing. "Well, I'm shocked, dearie, quite shocked. Did your mother never teach you it is wrong to tell lies? And telling them so badly, as well. What is the world coming to when a respectable doctor thinks she can lie to a harmless old woman? Aren't you ashamed of yourself."
Betha reaches out and places a soft hand on the woman's forearm.
"There's no shame in asking for help when you need it, is there?" she says, her voice full of understanding. "And that's all that my sisters and I offer; Help."
She looks past the door into the house.
"Why don't you invite us in and we can talk about what you need?"
Alyssa nods in agreement with her sister. "That's right dearie, there's no need to be so suspicious: we're from the government and we're here to help."
"I'm fine." The Doctor insists, "the people of Longacre are good, community minded folk. They'll rally around, just as good people do." She nods her head firmly, "Now if you will excuse me ladies, I am very busy."
She steps back and shuts the door firmly in your faces.
"Rude," Jordanna snarls. She looks to her sisters. "Perhaps we might try again at a later time. As her financial situation gets worse, she may be more willing to see reason."
Alyssa purses her lips in thought. "She's not completely wrong, though, dearies. Good people do have an annoying tendency to work together and cooperate.".
There is a pause while she nods thoughtfully.
"We should probably do something about that. Don't want the whole town united against us."
"Should we make a few more examples, like that wretched innkeeper?" Jordanna asks, flexing her claws.