Neva still can't get a handle on what might be going on with the dagger. It obviously shows as magical, but beyond that not much can be discerned.
The morning comes after a restless night's sleep, everyone has questions about the goings on of the last few days: an unrecognizable new disease, the people's hero Blackjack, unmanned ships in the night, the accused painter Trinia Sabor, and hidden meanings in Zellara's harrow reading. Rutter wakes to a powerful cough overtaking him, red, rashy patches on his arms.
As everyone rises, a tattered note is visible on the floor by each of your doors. Upon investigating it, you each notice that it is written on the back of a wanted poster for Trinia, with a royal bounty of five-thousand gold for her capture. The note is short, stating simply "I have faith in you to be trustworthy. Meet me at the Orisini Academy."
Felgar heads directly to the Orsini Academy when he rises.
Pravlox reads the note briefly, and heads over the Academy, figuring that the others received something similar and would be heading that direction as well.
Rutter bursts into the party's residence. His tantrum is cut short by another fit of coughing. "I KNEW *cough, cough, hack* ... ugh, i knew i shouldn't have come to that plaguey effing house with y'all. NEVA! *hack* Rutter slumps down onto a cot after his entrance, his copy of the poster/message still crumpled and forgotten in his left hand.
"Oh, Rutter, you poor dear!" Neva said with concern, heading over to the halfling. "We've got to get you to bed"
She has Rutter lie down, and whispers a prayer over his coughing body.
Neva gets Rutter wrapped up and in bed, and then heads off to join the others.
Finding the Orisini Acadamy isn’t too difficult. After asking around a little, you all find yourself facing the building near the center of Old Korvosa, on 16 Hillcrest Street. A sign hangs on the door and reads “Classes Cancelled Today.” A few moments after you arrive Vencarlo Orisini himself opens the door and ushers you inside.
Vencarlo is a tall man of advanced years, yet with a twinkle in his eye and a bounce in his step that hints at a vibrancy and inner fire of a man under half his age. He wears his salt-and-pepper hair pulled back tightly into a bravo’s topknot. His eyes are a cast of deep green like the ocean after a storm. He is of old Chelish blood, and it shows. He wears black leather gloves to ensure the oils of his skin don’t rust the pommel of his shining steel rapier.
He thanks you for responding to his cryptic note and leads you down the hall and into a study, the windows of which are tightly shuttered and curtained. During the walk he mentions, “Thank you for helping Grau like you have, setting him straight and all. He was one of my most promising students.”
He explains in hushed tones that he has an important task for you, one that becomes obvious when calls his other guest into the room. In walks Trinia Sabor, wearing simple traveling clothes, and holding a wide-brimmed rider’s hat and a wig of long red curls. She appears both nervous and excited, and upon seeing you, smiles and says ”Sorry about the trouble I gave you in the Shingles a few weeks ago.”
Vencarlo asks you all to be seated – he remains standing as he speaks ”You were all at the Queen’s debacle, so I don’t doubt you recognize this charming young woman. I had only just reached my home the night of Her Majesty’s morbid gala when that rogue Blackjack and this startled woman arrived at my doorstep. The vigilante and I have had some dealings in the past, but still, it’s been some years since I’ve seen the scoundrel. He was quick with his words, and soon swooped of, doubtlessly to ‘right some festering wrong’, but not before entrusting Miss Sabor into my protection and care.”
”Although I don’t know his motives or politics, I trust his judgment and have seen much right done by his hand. He says the girl is innocent of the crime she’s been accused of, and I’m more disposed to trust ‘The People’s Hero’ than the tantrums of some bloody-minded harlot playing at queen.”
He stops at the mantle of the cold fireplace, ”The matter is simple: Korvosa is no longer safe for Miss Sabor. I’ve arranged for friends in Harse, a couple of well-respected ranchers, to take in our beautiful renegade until the whole ‘assassination’ foolishness blows over. It’s the first leg of our journey where we find our problem, though. Both the Korvosan Guard and the Sable Company have been searching for the young lady tirelessly. They’ve stopped by here three times so far, and each time I’ve only just barely been able to turn them away without inviting a search. My most reliable contacts have gone to ground in light of the recent uprisings, and Her Highness’s considerable bounty for Trinia’s capture makes the use of new agents inadvisable. Thus, after some time to let her trail cool, I turned to you resourceful lot. Care to escort a lady home?”
Pervception:
"Indeed, the actions of the authorities suggest they are desperate to cover something up and will stop at nothing to find a scapegoat for whatever it is that troubles them. I for one would be happy to escort the lady to a safe place to wait out the storm."
Rutter looks down at the crumpled poster in his hand. "Oh, yeah. Y'all got this, too? That explains it. I was wondering who woulda thought I was trustworthy," he chuckles, but is overtaken by another coughing fit. When Neva finishes her ministrations, Rutter sees them off. "Thanks, Neva. I'm not too bad, but I guess if I am contagious, I can lay low for a day or two."
Addressing Pravlox, the one that answered him, he tells what he knows, "I've supplied Miss Sabor with a horse, and the supplies she will need, to get to her destination. I would hasten to suggest that you try to make a subtle departure. With all the activity around North Bridge the other night, I would say you may be better off taking a slow walk down to High Bridge, and then up to Dwarfwalk Road. If you mingle with the afternoon's merchants leaving the city, you may just go unnoticed. I leave all the major details to you."
Pravlox turns to the others, "Do any of you need to get mounts? I suspect that Rex would be rather insulted if I tried to ride any other; he can be very territorial of his perceived duties. I may need to stop to pick up some additional rations and such, though."
Wait a minute. We be in the employ of the Korvosan Guard these past weeks. What makes ya trust this Blackjack more than the Queen, besides the execution?
"Not just the execution, but the process that led to it. It was, and is, more of a witch hunt than anything resembling justice. From what I have heard about this Blackjack, he is trustworthy enough that when the queen's guard goes out of their way to lower their own credibility, he is at least as trustworthy as they are; probably more so, because this kind of thing seems to be quite consistent for his behavior, whereas the behavior of the other side is something entirely new, and therefore more troubling."
Vencarlo is just about to answer, but Pravlox succinctly puts it just about right. He nods in agreement as the halfling speaks, only adding at the end, "Blackjack and I have had run-ins long before the death of King Eodred, heck even before the king wed his young bride. I know him to act for the good of the city and her people, regardless of what trouble it may bring him."
He highlights after the fact, "I trust you lot to do the right thing, as I know Field Marshal Kroft to be a good judge of character, and she was high on praise for you both before and after our first meeting in her office, even if she doesn't give you the encouragement directly. Once you have made your plans for how you will escort Miss Sabor here, we can go about bringing them to light."
Neva listened to the handsome swordmaster with interest. He's aging well.
At the mention of Blackjack, however, she allowed herself an inward, fluttering swoon. A smile spread on her lips, like she'd bitten into something sweet. I wish I'd been here when Blackjack came by!
But soon the implications of leaving the city began to dawn on her. "I have two patients here, Master Orisini. I would be difficult for me to leave them. She turned her head thoughtfully. "However, I feel that the Gray Lady has honored me. I might be able to minister to both and be ready to leave tomorrow. With luck."
A smile touches the old swordmaster's eyes at Neva's words, "Milady, your grace is only enhanced by your compassion. The trip is but a few hours at most. There is a farmstead just outside the city. I have a few old trustworthy students that will meet you there. Once she is in their care, you will be back. If you choose to travel at dusk, then you will still have this day to tend to those in your care."
Do you be mindin' if Field Marshal Kroft be knowin' our task?
Vencarlo hesitates, bowing his head slightly to the right as if thinking, before explaining, "Cressida is a good woman, and a great leader, even more so she is devoted to the ideal of the Korvosan Guard. I don't begrudge her the position she is in now, as I'm certain she can see the city is facing dark times, but she will continue to act in the role she fills. This is why I didn't ask her to give you all this task. I would rather she not need to know about the situation with Trinia, that way she is not torn between doing the right thing, and doing her duty." He seems genuinely upset that he knows her devotion would cause conflict for her.
"Understood, it was clear enough in her initial orders regarding Trinia's capture that she was not entirely happy with the situation, and I am inclined to agree that in this case, the less details she knows, the better off all of us are."
Hmph! Fine then, shall we be off?
"Very well. I will tend to Rutter and the little girl, and then we'll leave at dusk. We should be back in time to check on them both in the morning. We thank you for your hospitality and your concern for the city's welfare, Master Orisini.
I'll be comin' with ya' M'Lady Neva.
Vencarlo bows at Neva's planned timetable, "We'll have this young lady dressed up and ready to depart when you guys return. Once again I thank you for your discretion in this matter." he shakes or kisses hands as appropriate as he leads you to exit his schoolhouse.
Brienna looks much better today. The little bit you gave back the day before with a restoration helped her along the path to health, and just by looking at her you can see that she rested well and is fighting against the disease. They are actually surprised to see you back so soon, and are overjoyed when the spell you cast clears up some of the red rashiness left over, and there is no rattle left to indicate a cough. All signs of the disease are gone.
Tayce, is so happy and full of life, she offers once again to cook a good meal for you.
Felgar beems up at Neva.
Well done M'Lady! Well done! Be there no end t'yer talents?
Neva smiled along with the others, and blushed a bit at Felgar's praise.
"They are not my talents, dear, but the Lady's," she said, still grinning. "But I do try my best! she added, unable to suppress a feeling of warm pride. She squeeze Felgar's hand and turned back to celebrate with the others.
Soon, her thoughts turned to Rutter, and she made preparations to leave.
Pravlox will spend the rest of the day the same he spends most afternoons, feeling that the best thing to do to maintain the best chance of success is be to be perfectly normal in his behavior. He does summon Rext at some point, and tell them they have a task that evening, but otherwise it passes just like a normal day.
Neva stops to pick up some hot broth on the way to Rutter. "Laying low in this case means to 'lay down', sweetie", she told the fidgeting halfling as she tried to spoon-feed some broth.
"And here", she added, handing him a hastily prepared poultice. "Rub this on your chest, it should help with the cough"
As the halfling rubbed the poultice, she realized that the marjoram she was supposed to have used was still in a tied bundle on the counter. She placed a tired hand over her eyes and rubbed. Great bloody dung beetles! she cursed to herself.
"Alright. We're going to run a quick errand this evening. We'll be back in the morning, and I think I can help you feel better then."
"I can feed myself, at least! There's not much else to do around here. So what was the secret meeting about?"
"Hmph. Well, you know where to find me."
Copper meets with the non-bedridden members of the group to get caught back up.
"My apologies for missing such an important meeting. I was more tired than I thought, and didn't get out of bed until almost noon. So let me make sure I understand this all. Rutter is sick in bed with whatever this mystery disease is that he contracted from the now-cured girl. Tomorrow morning we are supposed to be meeting with the guy from the Academy to pick up this 'package' and escort it out of town? Do we know where we are taking the 'package'?"
Aye, that's 'bout right. The package be the prisoner who's execution we attended.
"Basically, you get the idea. We pick her up, take her somewhere safe, and come back. Simple enough in concept, and if we're lucky, it might even be simple enough in execution."
"Shall we be on our way, then?"
As the evening rolls around you make your way back to the Orisini Academy, again without Rutter. As you arrive, you are let in again in hushed darkness. Inside, Trinia looks like she's ready to go... somewhat. She is wearing a wig of red curls, poorly with streaks of blond sticking out as the wide-brimmed hat rests crooked upon it. Her dress looks like it truly doesn't belong on the limber artist, as she itches and fidgets within it. It's obvious that dressing up is not something she is used to doing. As she sees the group she has an awkward smile of relief, until Copper comes in with them. "Oh, he's still with you guys? I thought maybe something happened to him since he didn't show up earlier."
Vencarlo tries to change the subject quickly before things get tense and the group changes their mind. "So, she has all she needs for her trip, and the address where to meet my associates outside the city. What are your plans exactly for getting her out?"
"Your suggestion seemed reasonable to me, Master Orisini: a slow walk down to High Bridge, and then up to Dwarfwalk Road."
Copper raises an eyebrow at the girl's 'disguise', rolls his eyes at her comment, but otherwise doesn't respond to her.
"I don't think we have worked a plan out yet, sir", Copper says, shaking hands with the man, "Though I don't think all of us walking in one group sounds like the best idea. We might need to spread out a bit so as not to attract too much attention."
Vencarlo raises an eyebrow at Copper's admission of not having an agreed upon plan, "Well, please act quickly in refining whatever details you need. I had assumed you would take the time between this morning and now to have worked it out amongst yourselves."
"I suggest we leave here in smaller groups. Neva and Felgar can escort our friend here out. Pravlox and I can wait for a few seconds, then exit ourselves, crossing to the other side of the street before following in the same direction as the first group. How does that sound?"
"That sounds good. We can stagger our departures, but I'd like that we stay close. I already feel the absence of Rutter's sharp eyes and street sense. I'd hate if any of us end up facing trouble alone."
Aye, solid plan.