She shakes her head, letting her grip on the man's hand linger. Letting go smirks. "No. I train dogs, but horses are alien to me. I admire them, of course, who doesn't, but I don't trust animals that are taller than me. I feel as if there is no respect there, no partnership."
"I feel the same about men shorter than me." She smirks, biting her lip and looking down on him.
She fidgets, taking off her rings and dropping them in Zhi's borrowed bag. "There is one thing I find kinship among horses however. I'm hard to handle, impossible to tame. Men who have tried," she pulls off her glove, displaying her scar, the mark of Urgathoa, "have died."
Pythareus raises his eyebrow as he looks up slightly at Sara. Without her heels, they would likely see eye-to-eye--physically speaking. A slight smile spreads on his lips when she shows off her foul mark.
"Indeed? I am inclined to believe you, my lady." He steps a bit closer, clearly intrigued. He reaches out a calloused hand and gently takes hers, brushing the mark of Urgathoa with a finger. "A resurrectionist in the high courts of Taldor. You are far from the typical sycophant these kind of gatherings tend to attract. Who might your noble host be tonight, I wonder? And what is it you hope to achieve here?"
Zhi continues to listen to Zileska's treaties on gossip and revenge while keeping an eye on Dame Trant.
As she watches she notices one of the children attempting to imitate one of the jugglers with some wooden balls.
"It would seem, though, that the best revenge would be public and obvious," she says, continuing the conversation. "When she ... the person would be aware that it was you that brought it about."
She squats down to the child and, smiling, reaches out to demonstrate the easiest way to juggle. As a flourish, she causes one of the spheres to seemingly vanish.
She then hands back the balls to the child and rises to take her place near Zileska.
"At least to me, that would be the most satisfying."
The child is amazed by Zhi's juggling act, and she quickly calls a gaggle of her friends over. "Do it again! Please?"
Zhi repeates the trick several times, the crowd slowly gathering around her. Wyssilka the Fantabulous notices, and sends some of her troupe to join in the performance, tossing their own colorful balls back and forth and tumbling around Zhi's feet. The children--and several of the adults--cheer as the spectacle comes to its conclusion.
The grateful parents provide Zhi with numerous donations as thanks for the fine show!
She shakes her head. "My noble host is not relevant. Whoever thinks they can control me, show me off, a criminal in their pocket, as a toy to curry favor in their direction? Oh what novelty, someone desperate enough to deal in death to escape poverty. Even pointing them out as the hypocrite they are would give them the attention they desire. My revenge is to keep them a secret, sir.
"My goal, however," she takes the Strategos' hand as he brushes her scars. "My goal tonight, is to find someone who views me almost as equal. A better patron. Someone who does not mind darkness, scars, someone who," she stares into his eyes, smiling, "might appreciate them. I'm sick and tired of being outcast, ostracized. Do you know what the families of the, 'the affected' called me at the witness stand?"
"I don't know what they called you, my lady, though I can imagine it was nothing nice," Pythareus says with a smirk.
Satisfied by her work on the senatorial floor, Melodie begins asking around for Lady Pace - who she remembers needing to get close to. Once she locates her, Melodie observes her from a distance - hoping to pick up some clues on how to approach this unknown vote.
After Zhi completes her display, Zileska gently takes her elbow and says, "Here, watch this next trick. Play along - just nod and occasionally giggle. Bring up your fan just slow enough that people can see you start to giggle. We'll see if this gets Countess Pace's attention."
Zileska then leans in and whispers, "Peas and carrots. PEAS and carrots. Peas and CARROTS."
As she does so, she pantomimes with her hand, one stretching up slightly over her head as if measuring someone's height; then patting her hips and spreading her hands out as if to indicate great girth; then a series of swift chopping motions as if pantomiming someone savagely brawling or perhaps just grabbing handfuls of food with their hands like an uncultured brute. Each time she glances back at the towering form of Countess Pace.
After Zhi completes her display, Zileska gently takes her elbow and says, "Here, watch this next trick. Play along - just nod and occasionally giggle. Bring up your fan just slow enough that people can see you start to giggle. We'll see if this gets Countess Pace's attention."
The priestess takes up a position where Pace can see them, but far enough away that she can't hear. Zileska then leans in and whispers to Zhi, "Peas and carrots. PEAS and carrots. Peas and CARROTS."
First she whispers and then she turns her ankle of her right foot inward slightly and gestures down at her black wedge shoes. Then she makes a slow circle with her toe pointed down. She whispers to Zhi again, then twists her shoulders back and forth, as if pantomiming a confident walk. Then she draws a finger across the top of her bodice and over the curves of her chest. She whispers again and makes some kind of indistinct twisting gesture with her fingers.
An onlooker might get the impression that she has something to say about Pace's fashion. Or maybe it's about something else entirely.
As Zileska begins her pantomime, Zhi giggles and then hides her face with her fan as instructed.
Why are we doing this? This is exactly why we hated those other girls. Is this what politics is all about?
She can't help keeping an eye on their target to watch for a reaction.
Countess Pace notices Zileska and Zhi seemingly making fun of her. Her smile turns into a sneer as she breaks off her current conversation and makes her way over to them. When she gets close, though, she notes the insignia on their senate aide badges. Seeming to recognize them as guests of Lady Lotheed, the pleasant smile returns in an instant. "I couldn't help but notice you two ladies admiring me from a distance," she says. "Thy say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Perhaps it is fashion advice you seek, or tips on how to handle oneself at an elegant soiree such as this? I am sure your noble host would appreciate my assistance in educating her guests."
Melodie observes the conversation from nearby, but find it hard to understand Pace's true motives. She's not sure how best to influence the woman.
Zileska lets her hand drop to her waist and she shifts her hips to one side in a saucy pose. "You must be an historian, studying a variety of fashions from throughout Taldor's ages and bringing them all together," she says. "So are you a traditionalist who favors historical precedents? Or are you taking a bold stance by making this... clashing combination out of history to create something new? Are you a trend follower or a trend setter?"
Zhi uses her fan to hide her shock at Zileska's bold confrontation with the Countess.
Countess Pace bristles at Zileska's catty comments. "I will have you know that I am on the cutting edge of the haute couture scene. These looks haven't hit it big in Taldan courts yet, but they are all the rage in Brevoy. Just wait a year, and see what all the fashionable noblewomen are wearing. You'll have seen it on me first!"
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"... I'm sick and tired of being outcast, ostracized. Do you know what the families of the, 'the affected' called me at the witness stand?"
"I don't know what they called you, my lady, though I can imagine it was nothing nice," Pythareus says with a smirk.
"They called me a ghoul, sir. A ghoul."
She takes back her hand and pulls her glove back on, sliding ring after ring onto her fingers. "Because I dealt in death and was willing to profit from it, exploit it, they claimed I had 'the hunger'. That I had tasted death and wished to let it linger upon my lips. While they were never able to prove it in court, the families of the deceased claimed that I swept in and murdered their sick and elderly relatives, and witnesses claimed travelers went missing went missing because I or others like me stole them, hid them away and sold their bodies for men in white masks to carve up and study.
"I am a good person, sir. The courts proved that. You are a military man, yes? Surely you understand the lack of morality surrounding death. If I did, as they claim, hurry along a natural process, is it evil for me to do so when I would have done such only to feed and clothe myself and my family?
"To call me a cannibal, a half-crazed, rabid, " she stomped her foot, tears behind her eyes, "undead fiend, it is hardly fair, sir. All I did is dig up a few bodies."
She wipes a tear from her eye with a cloth, being careful not to blot or smear her makeup.
"As far as the courts could prove, anyhow."
"My dear," says Zileska to the Countess, "I am a priestess of the Savored Sting. It is my business to make people want me." She smirks slightly and says, "Whether clothed or otherwise."
"Did you choose your outfit yourself, then? Or was it a gift from a suitor?" says Zileska, knowing full well that someone with Countess Pace's awful fashion choices is probably not awash in suitors.
In fact, her whole demeanor almost seems chosen to get a rise out of the Countess... to know what inflames her, then stinging her repeatedly to see how she responds out of pure anger, instead of having time to compose herself and give a haughty or witty retort.
Curious to see what was going on down in the Servant's Area (knowing that gossip can spread to places the nobles ignore), she headed down and tried to get a feel for the place.
"Hrmm," Pythareus grunts. He seems a little less impressed than he did a few moments ago. Perhaps Sara's tears were pushing things a bit too far towards the melodramatic for his tastes. "You did what you had to do. Sometimes soldiers have to get their hands dirty to defend this glorious nation. While I understand your hardship, I can't say I approve of the methods you chose to address it. I don't think you are a ghoul, though, my lady. You are a survivor."
---
"It was my choice. No mere suitor would ever hold such influence over me," Countess Pace says, feathers ruffled.
Zileska can sense that beneath her towering ego, the countess is actually quite weak-willed. Bullying or browbeating her enough can get her to confess her true motives.
---
Maria lingers in the servant area, getting a feel for the plight of the overworked, underpaid staff. Several bits of gossip fly about, and she feels that if she puts in a little more time, she can gain some insight into the goings-on of the gala guests.
Zhi wanders back to the Arcade of Triumphs.
It always seems to come back to this.
The young woman sighs as she again discretely looks around, waiting for the right moment.
Is this all I'm good for?
With an almost casual gesture, the old journal takes its place next to the spyglass in her borrowed purse.
I could probably walk away with half the jewelry in this place and no one would notice. Hell's, they probably wouldn't even care; I bet they've got ten times as much still at home.
Something needs to change. I wish Father ...
She shakes her head.
Focus
She wanders away from the empty display case.
Melodie, watching the interplay between Zileska and Countess Pace, decides to leave the situation to the older woman.
Moving away Melodie decides to return to the Senate floor, where she happily engages in some of the mock debates on the floor, allowing herself to imagine for a second that she was a senator, deciding the fate of the empire.
Zhi easily swipes the journal from its display stand, another flawless theft.
Melodie gets involved with the mock debates on the senate floor. After several minutes, she wins a debate against a particularly odious young politician, to the entertainment of nearby Judge Dartist Mercenian, who offers the changeling a gold ring emblazoned with the Mercenian family crest (worth 300 gp) as a sign of his family's favor.
In the Arcade of Triumphs, Sara and Zhi notice Dame Malphene Trant and her three cronies making their way to the upper gallery. They approach Senator Dou and corner him, then Malphene shoves him into the nearby Beldam II waiting room before the others close the door behind them.
Seeing the woman she's watching slip upstairs, Sara makes to follow her. "Thank you, General. It's been a delight, but I must be going, at least for now."
She passes Zhi on the way out of the Arcade, holding her bag towards her. "Give me my purse. Time to put my money where my mouth is; I bet you a nice bottle of something special that I can pin that slag."
When she climbs up into the Gallery, she taps Zileska, asking her to follow her into the waiting room Trant just trudged into.
Passing their patron on the way in, she curtsies and says, "I'm on my way to wrestle a lady in an ugly dress, do you mind sending the word out to the others to come join me?"
Martella follows Sara's gaze to the ballroom and inclines her head. "Of course." She touches her badge and whispers, and Maria and Melodie hear the noblewoman's voice in their ears. "Trant is on the move. Meet your fellow agents outside the Beldam II ballroom on the gallery."
It only takes a couple minutes for the five of you to assemble. Sara opens the door to the ballroom. The room itself is a 30-foot-by-30-foot area, with lavish white marble floors and sturdy wooden walls. The centerpiece of the room is a vast 10-foot-wide gold-trimmed window peering down over the city of Oppara. Chairs and tables are spaced throughout the chamber to promote socializing.
Malphene looms over Senator Dou, haranguing the wincing young man. "Have you no loyalty, you double-crossing dog? My father counted you as an ally, and now we hear you've decided to side with the uppity princess's friends. That is very rude, little man. I don't like people who are rude."
Her cronies stand nearby, and noticing the five of you, one taps her on the shoulder. Malphene turns to regard you imperiously, hands on her hips. "How dare you interrupt a private meeting? We don't need the help at the moment, thank you. Leave us at once!"
Sara cracks her neck and takes off her earrings, dropping them in her purse.
"Get off him or I'll defenestrate you. I'm sorry, is that too big a word? It means I'll throw you face first through that window."
She chuckles and pulls the rings off her fingers. "Hopefully the glass won't cut you up too bad before you fall to your death. Want to leave a pretty corpse and all that; otherwise, nobody would buy it from me."
Malphene sneers at Sara, but her eyes dart to the window and the precipitous drop to the ground below. She lets out a soft grunt, then shoves Senator Dou towards you. "Fine. I was done with him anyway."
The young senator scrambles to take shelter behind you.
Leaving the intimidating to those who were more ... intimidating, Zhi raises her parasol over her shoulder and slowly moves around the perimeter of the room.
Hellfire, I don't want to have to buy Zhi a bottle of wine.
Still agitated, Sara holds out her foot, trying to trip the woman as she passes. She made a bet, gods damn it and she would follow through.
Malphene trips over Sara's foot, tumbling gracelessly to the floor. Her cronies gasp, and she snarls in fury. "Oh, hell no, b*&#@! It is on!"
In the meantime, while the scuffle breaks out above, a different kind of intimidation is going on between Zileska and Pace.
"Understandable. I expect you're not exactly awash in suitors," says Zileska flippantly.
"Fashion is simply a means to an end, whether that end is to entice, to obfuscate, or to enrage. The lovely covering that distracts and draws attention and shows one's persona," says Zileska. She delicately extends one leg out to her right and runs her hands down her sides with a sensual hissing intake of breath. "Showing people what they want to see... or making them desire what they cannot." She makes a slow circle with her head and continues, "Now as a courtesan of the Sacred Sting I use fashion to thrill many tastes... some people will pay well for the right look."
"And that," she says, indicating Pace's outfit with a nod, "is a look that could be in every Calistrian temple in the Empire, alongside this one, or the many other fantasies that our faithful desire... as a lark, you understand. This season's object of ridicule."
"The statement of fashion that says no-one will ever choose me."
Zhi smoothly closes her parasol and, with a step forward, attempts to slam the butt end of it into the crony next to her.
Malphene trips over Sara's foot, tumbling gracelessly to the floor. Her cronies gasp, and she snarls in fury. "Oh, hell no, b+!@$! It is on!"
"Suck my f&&&ing p*$~y, b%@+~, I'll rip your g*%$%!n face off!"
Zhi slams her hanbo into the back of the nearest crony's head. He groans and slumps to the floor, unconscious!
"She knocked out Carlao! You'll pay for that, little girl!" one of the others says. The remaining two sycophants grab chairs and advance on Zhi, swinging them at her, but the Tien woman deftly dodges the attacks.
Malphene stumbles to her feet before lunging at Sara, punching her in the temple with a balled-up fist!
---
Meanwhile, Countess Pace bristles as Zileska continues to insult her and her fashion sense. Despite her outward anger, the half-elf can tell that her words are hitting home, fostering the woman's self-doubt. "Yes, well... Fortunately, I am here for more than just looks. I have important responsibilities as a senator for the western reaches of the nation. Whether or not you approve of my fashion sense, Taldor still depends on me to determine its future."
Melodie cowers in the corner, wincing every time someone strikes a blow at anyone else. The fact that the blows are mostly unarmed makes the whole situation slightly more bearable, but the young noblewoman isn't taking the sight of violence very well...
"Please don't hurt my friends!"
"Oh, so you wanna go, b@*&!?" Sara throws a chair at the woman and then steps on her foot with her heel, twisting as she does so.
[dice=Intimidate, Enforcer]d20+7[/dice]
Malphene dodges under the chair, but spares a glance toward Melodie, feeling the supernatural weight of the changeling's odd stare. Sara takes advantage of her distraction by stomping on her foot. Malphene screams as blood wells up from where the heel pierced her foot.
"You crazy skank! I will destroy you!" she shrieks, but there is a quaver of fear in her voice.
"My, but aren't you manly men?" Zhi remarks to the goons facing her.
"It takes all three of you to deal with one little girl."
She then rolls to the side to move away from them.
Zhi whacks another of Malphene's goons into unconsciousness before rolling away from the last man standing.
Maria had been hoping that this was settled when Sara managed to browbeat the woman into submission. Then she just had to go and trip her.
Her sword cane hadn't been peace-bonded at the entrance, presumably nobody had noticed it wasn't just a regular cane, but drawing blood here would be a bad idea, nor did she want to give away just what the weapon really was. Fortunately; the space needed to house the blade did nothing to change the fact that it was still mostly very solid wood.
Wanting to end this quickly, she aimed for Trant, swinging the cane in towards her leg.
Maria's whacks Malphene in the leg, and she groans in pain, though she's still standing!
The final goon chases Zhi and swings his chair at her again, but she easily sidesteps the clumsy swing. Malphene tries punch Sara in the gut, but her injured leg buckles causing her to stumble and miss by a wide margin!
Sara wraps her hands around Trant's neck, pulling down, trying to bring them both to their knees.
"I own you, slag."
Malphene knees Sara in the crotch, shoving the other woman away before she can get her hands around the noble woman's neck. "Hands off, lowborn scum!"
"And you don't even have the sense to know when you've been defeated,"
Zhe gestures to the man's cohorts sprawled on the floor.
"I think we'll make sure to leave you all in very compromising positions for someone to find," she adds with a smirk.
"Why won't you stop?" Melodie cried as she sees Trant attacking Sara.
Her voice was discordant but the effect on Trant was remarkable.
Sara buckles, nearly falling over. "You'll pay for that... Just cost me a bottle of wine..."
Disappointed that Trant was refusing to acknowledge that she'd already lost, Maria took another swing with her cane.
Malphene claps her ears to her head and groans as Melodie screams, but she resists the worst of it. Zhi and Maria attack, but both of their opponents are able to dodge out of the way.
Trant's lackey tries to hit Zhi again, to no avail. Malphene's fingers rake at Sara's eyes, but the other woman twists away so that she only succeeds at tearing the top of Sara's bodice.
Sara recoils in shock when Trant tears her bodice. "You ignorant, unloved bastard child! You're paying for these repairs!"
She punches her square across the face.
Sara's fist impacts with an audible crack, and Malphene slumps to the floor, knocked out! Blood drips from her busted lip.
The last of her goons cries out in shock. "Help! Guards! Guards!" He drops the chair and holds up his hands in surrender.
Only a few seconds later, four Taldan Phalanx guards arrive outside the ballroom, having already heard the commotion. "What is the meaning of this? What happened here?"
A hand to her mouth, fake tears in her eyes, Sara chokes out, "Oh thank goodness you came! We were set upon by thugs, and they beat our good friend until she fainted. I'm sure one of my friends here can explain better than I can, oh I'm too emotional."
She falls to her knees sobbing, hunched over the unconscious woman.