Kalem looked at Zamanda. Great, just what I need. Will have to deal with this later. Walking into the other room, he looked at his companions and said.
"We're taking her back to Cressida, right?" He wanted to say I mean, we've already made enemies of half of the city's underworld. And by taking this girl in, we're potentially on the hit list of the queen. If we don't bring her in like ordered, what do you think Cressida is going to do? She'll turn on us as well, and declare that we're in league with her. but he held his tongue. Already Zamanda didn't trust him, and neither did Pellius. The last thing he wanted to do was talk about practicality. Instead, he said "She's always be on the up-and-up with us. And if she wanted to hand the bard to the queen, she would have just told us that the bard did it and we'd have done the job full of piss and vinegar. The sooner we bring her in to Cressida, the better."
"I have a contact who might be able to help get her out of town... surely we aren't going to turn her in to Cressida... I trust Cressida, but not the guards, not the grey maidens, and not the queen... sorry, but Cressida might be powerless to protect this girl from the queen."
Bashiel takes in the conversation, watching Trinia's reactions as best he can. When the group moves on to a side room to talk more privately, he follows along deep in thought.
If she's innocent then we have a much bigger problem on our hands. Can we hand her over to the hellknights in good conscience? They'll do worse to her than anything Vancaskerkin or Devargo may have gotten. And if our feelings are right, they won't let up until she's dead, one way or another. A mess. That's what this is.
~A likely innocent girl. You can send her to the slaughter. Or you can act to make sure it does not pass. But either way blood will be shed, hers... or yours Bashiel.~ Harize's slow intonations feel heavy with emotion. ~I once faced the same choice, shed blood to protect someone, and was forced into transience to escape greater retribution. It was a harsh time, but I did not regret my decision.~
Bashiel looks a bit sick as he rests against some furniture in the adjacent room. He nods along hesitantly with both Kalem and Quin's statements and then says "What we were hired for was to bring her to the Field Marshal. Cressida has a good head on her shoulders and I feel deep down she has a good heart, but she strikes me as a practical woman. Under enough pressure from the crown she'd make the practical choice and give Trinia up." He rubs at his stubble while thinking how to phrase what he wants to say.
"If we want to protect this girl, we have to get her out of the city, far out. If you have a contact for that Quin, all the better. It won't be easy, but its the right thing to do." Even if it means opposing the will of the crown. Bashiel tightens his jaw at the thought. "I think Cressida is smart enough to come to the same conclusion as us, but she's in a tight position. She can't officially order something against the queen's intentions. But she can pretend not to know what happened to the girl..."
"I'm all for getting Trinia to safety. But I'd also like to get Cressida in on our plan rather than lying to her about Trinia's whereabouts."
Listening to the others discus the best course of action, Pel is starting to realize just how much in over his head he is. He had just met these people yesterday and they were already discussing actions that could be tantamount to treason depending on who you asked.
Well, he couldn't exactly back out now. If any of the others were implicated, he could easily be implicated as well. Maybe they all should have worn masks. They were pretty much already vigilantes anyway.
"How well do you know this Cressida? She seemed okay, for a government official, when I met her. But you all have more experience with her, so I'd love to get some more insight into what makes her tick.
"If we do include her in the plan, I think we need to be as vague as possible. Cressida might be trustworthy, but there's a plethora of other guards who could secretly be working for the hellknights or grey maidens.
"Quin, who is this contact of yours that you mentioned?"
"Most of you have already met him... He knows just about everyone, and can either find us a permanent safe house for Trinia or get her out of town unseen and unspoken of... His name need not be spoken here, eh?" He looks at each of his companions, new and old, to see if the old at least gather who speaks of. "A little disguise work to get through the streets safely and we can take her there now... make arrangements and then see Cressida when all plans have been made."
"I don't know..." Kalem pulled out his medal and showed it to the group. "Cressida put her trust in us. She even honored us, for making this city safer. If we do this, she will soon know of our betrayal. These medals? They'll be worth nothing. Worse than nothing. We could be hunted down. Like Lamm, or Devargo. Is it worth it when we'd be making an enemy of the only person in the city who is on our side?"
|
Listening to her companions, Ilsa shifts nervously from foot to foot.
"I agree with Kalem," she says. "Cressida obviously isn't putting a signet-ring stamp on everything the queen says. She wants to find the truth, too. I think we can do what she's asked, and keep Trinia safe."
She rubs her eyes wearily.
"Plus, and not to sound selfish, but I was hoping not to leave the city right now. We have a meeting with cultists I'd like to get out of the way... Can we not continue to put our trust in Cressida?"
"Pel, I've known Cressida as a levelheaded leader with a sense for justice and an actual passion for her job. I think she'll do what is necessary to make the city safe for everyone. As Kalem points out, we have her trust right now, and she was willing to leave questioning Trinia to us rather than rely on the Citadel's questioners."
"Kalem, we can't just turn Trinia over and close our eyes. You saw the girl, heard her answers, she's innocent, right? The Field Marshal asked us to find her and investigate this and we have. We report, explain to her what Quin's contact can do for us and her, and I think she'll side with us in any plan to get Trinia out." We have to convince her. Its our lives on the line.
Kalem nodded. "Wise words. Wise words indeed. And of course we cannot do anything that would endanger Ilsa's family. I vote for Bash's plan."
She looks up at Zamanda and forces a tired, sad smile on her face. "Thank you, for what you said, but it's okay. I don't know why the Queen thinks I did it, but if I were married to a man like His Majesty, I'd want his murderer caught, too. Maybe, once I talk to her, they'll believe me and get back to finding the real killer." Her lip twitches slightly as her brow furrows, "I mean, I guess, assuming he actually was murdered or poisoned. But the Queen wouldn't lie about that."
She shrugs off the confusion and says, "Anyway, again, thank you. I'm Trinia, but, uh, I guess you already knew that. Um, can I ask your name?"
My name is Zamanda. There is no need to thank me.
She gets her some more water, and moves over to sit next to her, putting her arm around her, if she is allowed.
I wish I could do more... I'm a bard too, actually. Sometimes singing helps for me, does it for you? We could try "Merchant Johnny" if you know that one.
She starts singing the aforementioned song with a low, lilting tone, waiting for Trinia to join in on the well-known duet, hoping that it will comfort her.
"Thank you for your insight, Bashiel. I agree with your plan as well. We don't want to betray Cressida's trust, but we should leave Trinia here or perhaps with Quin's contact while we inform the Field Marshall of our plan."
This situation has turned into a real mess, I really need to pick up a bad habit or I'm never going to survive with these people. Drinking is not really for me, I like keeping my senses about me. Maybe I'll take up smoking.
Back in the "serious room", you begin to hear the two women singing a duet.
Zamanda starts to learn Trinia's vocal range and style, and gives her openings for more playful verses, starting to make up a few after the regular ones are over.
-
Zamanda puts her arms around Trinia and lets her cry on her shoulder, not unemotional herself, but not sobbing with her, feeling that her sorrow is nothing in comparison, and expressing it would be a selfish cheapening of the reality facing Trinia. She strokes her hair, whispering that it will be okay, although she knows that it won't be.
She wonders why the gods can't step in to save a girl like this, who has clearly suffered enough and deserves some happiness. She utters a fleeting but fervent silent prayer to any god listening that if they would save Trinia that she is willing to dedicate her life to whatever the God wants her to do or to be.
She then talks to Trinia a little bit, trying to distract her again from the doom before her. While still stroking her hair, Zamanda says You never know what will happen. Maybe we'll both make it out of all of this mess. If so, make sure to look me up. What you do is address an envelope to Otto at the Cador residence in Five Corners. Inside that Envelope, put another one with just a Z on the outside. That way Otto knows it is for me. That's how I survived adolescence, you know. My father would read anything that came for me... but Otto's mail he would ignore. Then Otto would pass me the messages. I sometimes suspected that he read them first, but you know, he never said a word to my parents, no matter how much trouble I was in. He would just show up at the oddest times to help me out...
She lapses into silence, realizing that she is rambling, and just keeps holding Trinia, trying to comfort her the best she can.
Bashiel catches sound of the singing coming from the other room and pauses to listen for a moment. I suppose that's a good sign?
"Quin, your contact would be ready right away? As Pel mentioned, it seems a good place for Trinia to hide until we can sort Cressida out."
"Varor, are you in? Kalem was right that this is quite the risk to us. But I don't see another way without sacrificing Trinia."
Bashiel also sticks his head out the door and says "Zamanda, we have a plan and you should also hear it." He points back towards the adjacent room and the rest of the party "I can keep Trinia company while you weigh in."
"I have to talk to my contact first... do you want to wait here while I do to avoid walking around the city with Trinia and risk being spotted? I can run over and chat with him... see what he can do for us... I can't make any guarantees, but I think if anyone can help us, it'll be him."
"Waiting here does seem prudent. Will you be okay in the city by yourself? With monsters coming from below and the hellknights and Queen's Grey Maidens, it could be dangerous to go alone."
"I'll go with him. Safety in numbers, and most people tend to leave me be."
"Two of us walking together should be safe enough... We'll have each other's backs and four eyes are better than two. Thanks, Kalem."
Pel nods and says, "Very well, then. Assuming Zamanda is okay with the plan, we should make haste. The Field Marshall may already be worried about us and the hellknights and Grey Maidens are almost certainly searching for Trinia."
Zamanda, with her arms around Trinia, who is sobbing, says calmly to Bashiel:
Why don't you just tell us the plan right here? Don't you think that she has a right to a say in her fate?
Indeed, by the time Bashiel returns to the other room, the singing has been replaced by quiet sobbing as Trinia leans against Zamanda. The back and forth over a "plan" seems to go right over her head but she does gradually stifle the waterworks. "I'm sorry. This is just all so much. You're right, Zamanda. This will work out." She looks up, realizes she isn't being immediately marched off to Castle Korvosa, and seems confused and pensive but otherwise stays quiet and waits for the next shoe to drop.
"Shall we go, Kalem? The sooner the better, I think" He gives a light tug on Kalem's sleeve... tilts his head toward the door.
"Yeah." He took one last look at the room and the crying girl. "Let's go."
Quinlan takes Kalem to Vencarlo's Academy... looking for his cousin.. Hopefully the streets are safe enough for the two of them to maneuver their way safely.
Once there, he explains to Vinnie that he and Kalem need to speak with him in private on a most sensitive matter having to do with a young lady... He tries to make it seem innocent enough if there are any prying ears around until they are in a private location.
Vencarlo, I have a favor to ask, one of great import... I need to secure safe passage out of town and a safehouse or some other security for someone... You know everyone and have lots of contacts, so I thought I'd come to you. This is a matter of utmost importance and requires the greatest of discretion... Can you help me?"
The Academy itself is closed (Ven explains it is due to the rioting) so finding privacy is simply a matter of closing the door to the street. Nonetheless, he walks you both to an office with some chairs and offers some cognac as he says, "You know I can't deny you anything, Quin. Tell me, though, who is after this person and why? How serious is this and who should I expect to follow after you?"
The questions are not accusing nor scolding. Rather, they are businesslike and with an analytical bent, intended to assess the resources needed to counter the risk.
"Ah, Vinnie, now there's the rub...everything is of course confidential. I know I can trust you or I wouldn't be here. The who would be the queen, the grey maidens, and the guard, the why would be she's accused of killing the king. We're equally sure she's an innocent who will be vilified if she's caught.. it's beyond serious, Ven. Everyone is after this girl. We've got to get her out of town and to safety." Quin looks at him hopefully.
While conversing with the pair, the swordmaster begins pouring a bit of cognac for himself and then, if they indicate interest, the other two. As Quin mentions the players involved, the pour pauses just slightly as a silvered brow arches in a hint of surprise. He seems to consider something, then gives his own glass an extra pour before putting the decanter away.
"Well... I assume this is about the portrait artist I've been hearing rumors about. What's her name, Trinia something." He hands over glasses before taking a sip of his own, followred by a solid gulp, then sets the still half-full glass on a side table. "My my, Quin... You've certainly brought a challenge."
His gaze shifts to Kalem and he smiles, genuine yet rueful at the same time, "And we know too well the Crown doesn't always get it right, do they? So... you think the girl innocent. And you're quite right, if the mob gets a hold of her, she's as good as dead, and that's if she even makes it to her date with the noose."
He sighs, then winks at Quin. "Sounds like fun. I have a place in mind where she can stay." He walks over to a corner in the room where he opens up a rather large closet. Within are clothes of all sorts and styles, for men and women. He begins muttering quietly to himself as he sorts through the stash -- quickly ruling out certain articles of clothing -- before pulling out some loose fitting, drab outfits along with head covers and footwear. He tosses it into a bag, then retrieves his own weapons and gear before returning to the men. "Alright then... lets go."
Oh, I knew I could count on you. You're the best. But... " he looks wistfully at the cognac in the glass. "first, I'll need a little fortification." he lifts the glass and takes a large gulp, followed by a sigh. "ok, I'm ready now."
Kalem watches the exchange silently. He notices the look that Vinnie gave him, and returned it with a polite nod of the head. Wordlessly, he follows the two of them out.
Bashiel looks from Zamanda to Trinia and back, clearly mulling something over internally. With the risks involved, maybe it'd be better for Zamanda to make the decision herself, without having to face Trinia at the same time. But... she looks pretty adamant.
He shrugs "We would fill her in eventually anyway." He nods to Zamanda "I think we're agreed that Trinia wasn't behind the king's demise. With the queen's announcement and the groups she's mobilized to find her, I suspect her innocence-" He looks to Trinia "-your innocence, doesn't much matter anymore. We can only guess what might happen if you're caught, but it wouldn't be good." He looks back at Zamanda and waves at the room he just left "We agreed that we want to help her escape. Quin has a contact that might be able to manage it, him and Kalem are about to head over and ask. Our role would be to sneak Trinia out to the contact and eventually out of the city, as well as reporting the actions we took to the Field Marshal. The Field Marshal left it to us to judge Trinia's innocence, and we have. I think she'll be happy to resolve the issue peacefully and to not see justice perverted for political ends."
"Trinia, we think this might be the safest plan for you, but Zamanda was right that you have to give us your approval. After all, even if everything goes right, you'll likely have to leave Korvosa forever. Or at least until another monarch succeeds the queen." He tries to give her a reassuring grin, but it comes out a bit sickly.
"Zamanda, this plan is not without risk. There are a number of ways we could fail and end up on the wrong side of the queen's attention. I wouldn't fault you for arguing against it. But I'd like to have you on-board with us, if you're willing."
Zamanda looks stunned for a minute, trying to think through what just happened.
They... what? They decided to *help her escape*? I can't be hearing that right. These same people that tortured someone yesterday? That were just a little while ago clearly lying to her? I've either gone insane, or ... maybe someone *was* listening to my prayer.
She closes her mouth and starts to recover.
Maybe they aren't as evil as I thought?
Zamanda turns to face Bashiel and as she begins to speak, her voice is warmer and less formal than you have ever heard it.
I love the idea, but I can't help as much as I would like to. I'm totally in as far as I can be, but this can't fall back on my parents, so I can't be the front man, or risk getting caught.
I'm sorry about that part. I don't mean to throw all the risk on you. I agree with what you are doing, and I would like to support you further, but I can't risk my father's name, now that everyone knows who I am, which includes crossing Cressida Kroft. I'll do whatever I can within my agreement with the Field Marshall, which I'm completely willing to stretch, <She indicates where they are now, as though to say that she was already stretching her word> but I can't actually go against her.
Which means... I'm in, and I will hide her, and disguise her, and do whatever I can for her here, and as long as we are in uncompromised, non-illegal places, and I will wish you the absolute best if you go farther. <She grins at Trinia with real hope for her future now>
However, you shouldn't tell me the details about anything past that, or where Trinia goes next, so I don't have to tell Cressida if she ends up ... being displeased. You understand, I wouldn't *want* to be a jerk and turn you in, and I don't *want* to be trapped like this, but the field marshall owns me now, and you need to understand that, for this situation and for the future.
I can do her hair a different color, and arrange a better disguise here, and I can show you a back way out of my building, but after that it probably has to be on the rest of you. I'm really sorry.
Looking at Trinia, she says
I do wish you the best, and hope to see you again in the future.
Pel listens closely as Zamanda responds to Bashiel. The woman certainly knows how to wax eloquently. Perhaps her loquaciousness could be useful in the future.
He can't help but shake his head slightly when she mentions not wanting to sully her father's name. My parents did a good job of sullying their name all on their own. That's true even if their devilish associations weren't generally know.
"I'm not planning to leave Korvosa either, Zamanda. The city still needs us. I assumed Quin's contact would get Trinia out of the city once we got her to him. I guess I could be mistaken, though.
"Bashiel, were you planning to go with Trinia? I think Cressida and the rest of the city could still use our help. And there's also the matter of Ilsa's niece, of course. There's still so much to be done."
Quin along with Kalem, leads Vencarlo to where Trinia and the rest of the party are currently waiting, slipping through the streets with as little notice as possible... Quin tries not to be distracted by his companions, keeping his eyes open for trouble in the streets and avoiding it at all costs, using side streets if necessary to skirt trouble.
I didn't think any of you were going with her out of the city. What I mean is, I can't be seen smuggling her anywhere shady within the city. Make sense?
Bashiel sticks a hand out to shake Zamanda's and responds "Glad to have you then, Zamanda. And I can't fault you for not wanting to implicate you own family." I pray to Osiris that I'll be able to protect my own if something goes wrong. "You've taken enough of a risk already with housing us here for now. If you can disguise her, we can manage to get her out between the rest of us. Assuming Quin's contact pulls through for us."
"And my plan at least is to be relatively upfront with Cressida. Maybe not give her all the details if she doesn't ask for them, but otherwise report what happened. I'd like to be able to trust her and have her trust us in the future."
To Pellius he responds "As tempting as it can be to run away Pel, I'll be staying right here. I agreed to help Ilsa, and well, I've managed to delude myself into thinking I can help the city somehow as well." He shakes his head. "As crazy of a task as that is."
He turns to Trinia to see how she took this all in and what her response is to the plan.
"Yes, that's makes sense, Zamanda." But I can't say I expected you to care about looking shady.
"Glad to hear you're staying, Bashiel. If someone like yourself decided to run away, I might start to think the city was cursed."
To Ilsa, Pel says, "If you'll let me, I would like to help you find your niece as well. My brother went missing shortly after anarchy engulfed the city and I've been unable to find him. But with a lead on finding your niece, I want to help however I can."
Pel either purposefully or ignorantly, or perhaps a bit of both, fails to mention that there were very good reasons to suspect that his brother is dead and gone. He refuses to let that thought linger for long.
Trinia is a bit gobsmacked by all of this. That those who she thought we be taking her to the gallows now seem to be putting themselves at so much risk to keep her safe... she leaps up and wraps her arms around Bashiel's shoulders and neck in a somewhat manic embrace. Half laughing and half in tears, she explains, "Desna smiles, she truly smiles, thank you so much, I thought I... it doesn't matter, thank you." Before Bashiel can even react, she plops a kiss on his lips then spins and hugs Zamanda. "Oh, thank you. I don't know what I can do to repay this but I will do something. I'll find something." And then she kisses Zamanda, too, before spinning about in place and collapsing back in her seat somewhat breathless.
Just then, there is a soft rap at the door. A moment of tension. But soon revealed to be Quin and Kalem returning with Vencarlo in tow. Their journey through the streets was not entirely uneventful, but the wily swordmaster used a few tricks to escape notice or, when that was impossible, scare away any potential trouble. The man had a bag of tricks at his disposal that seemed to run the gamut from the simply crafty to the truly devious, and his knowledge of the streets and back alleys was preternatural.
Zamanda embraces and kisses Trinia in return, overjoyed to see her sadness turned into hope.
When someone knocks on the door, Zamanda whispers to Trinia to go hide in the bedroom
(to convince her without scaring her to death all over again)
and then goes to see who it is.
Once she knows it is okay, she joins her in the bedroom, sits her in front of the mirror and starts changing the way she looks. She adjusts her hair color to white with prestidigitation, reminding her to wear the old cloak she found for her, and then sets in on actually altering the appearance of her face
Then they come out, with Trinia ready to go, and looking much older.
You might want to bend over a little bit when you walk. Don't oversell it though, or you'll draw attention Zamanda advises.
Kalem resisted the urge to sigh. He was nervous, about the possibility that they'd be called to return with the girl. And if she was already gone...well...he glanced at Quin. He didn't want to skip town, but he had the nagging feeling that they were all skipping and singing their way merrily to the gallows. Still, he kept quiet. If nothing else Bash knew the guard. And Quin's associate had more than a few tricks. Keep the faith. We aren't dead yet.
Quin observed both Kalem and Vencarlo as they walked, admiring his cousin's easy grace and skill... The man was a marvel... with a nice @ss too. Nothing lacking in any department. But he'd also noticed Kalem was quiet and nervous. Quin dropped back to walk at Kalem's side and whispered to him softly, "You seem nervous, Kalem.. Please don't be... I wish I could assure you that everything was going to be okay. I can't lie to you, but with Vencarlo helping us, we've got the best chance we'll ever have. He's amazing, is he not?" It's obvious Quin has great confidence in the swordmaster.
After Trinia kisses Bashiel and runs over to Zamanda Varor walks up to him and says, "You know since Trinias leaving the city she's essentially going rogue, and you're a sergeant, a rogue and a sergeant, and we have a bard who can sing the tale of star-crossed lovers."
The priest then watched the two singers kiss before he could finish and then turned back to the guard. "Well I was going to have you bribed me so that I wouldn't convince Zamanda to sing an embarrassing tale about you, but now it's obvious that if you play your cards right you might be able to get both of them," the elf says with a toothy grin. This particular grin being common among street thieves, however the elf's pointed ears make it seem more devilish, "If you ever need any help let me know."
Bashiel only manages a "Ah, well, I, sorry but..." as he blinks in confusion after the kiss, but straightens himself out in the following moments, as Trinia spins away to occupy Zamanda instead. His momentary dazing turns to bemusement, then outright snorts of laughter when Varor follows up with his joke.
"Pshhh - a rogue and a fool maybe, eh Varor? The three of us could start a travelling troupe, them singing, me stepping on garden rakes and taking the handle to the face." The silliness of Varor's suggestion, combined with the tension of their current situation, sets Bashiel off into a wave of guffaws.
He only barely manages to get back under control when Quin and Kalem return, the corner of his mouth quirking upwards as he greets them at the door and gestures for them to enter with a turn of the head. He nods, slightly more solemnly, to Vencarlo as he spots the man following the other two.
To Varor and Bashiel, Pel says, "I don't think there's anything wrong with a sergeant aiding in the exfiltration of a person who is clearly innocent. Especially when the law he serves under is unjust. Of course, to maintain his role, he'll eventually have to work to reform said law. One thing at a time, though."
"Quin, who is this contact of yours that you've brought?"