"Very well. The roads are not safe to travel at night, but I will personally escort you back to Stachys at first light. And I will stand vigil outside your chambers to ensure that villain does not return."
Nicolaus helps Melodie and Zhi onto his horse and walks him up the hill to the citadel. Fortunately, the rest of the night passes without incident. In the morning, the baron rides with the two women until they reach the safety of Stachys.
Maria and Sara had already returned to town the night before, but Zileska is still in Jambis. Festo can provide Zhi with minor healing services, though.
---
Zileska spends the next day at Baron Telus's side as he performs his noble duties. He holds court to hear his citizens' concerns and tours the rebuilding efforts in town. He makes sure to schedule some alone time for himself and the priestess though, picnicking in a park for lunch, and playing a few rounds of trucco on the estate's lawn. Zileska can still see traces of the arrogant and slightly self-centered man Araig reportedly used to be, but he is also patient, compassionate, and mindful of his people's needs. All in all, it seems his time as a monster has changed him for the better.
And the sex is great.
After seeing Zhi safely deposited with Festo for basic healing Melodie returns to the house and begins scouring the library, partly to keep herself busy and partly to track down anything she can about soucouyants.
A hunting blood hag preys on unsuspecting neighbors during the night, sneaking into their homes and feeding off their blood or burning them alive. When a blood hag finds a particularly choice victim, she forgoes simply feeding on her, and instead abducts her, spiriting her away to the hag’s hidden lair, where she’ll be tortured and drained dry of blood over the course of days or weeks. Once the hag has properly prepared the victim’s skin, she wears it. Bold and particularly clever blood hags attempt to masquerade as their victims for a time.
Blood hags are immune to charms, disease, fear, fire, and magical sleep effects. They resist weapons that are not both magical and cold iron. While in her fiery form, a blood hag is immune to all nonmagical attacks and effects. A successful targeted dispel magic spell or a significant amount of cold damage returns her from her fiery form to her normal form.
For the return trip to Stachys, Zhi insists on riding behind Melodie rather than on her own horse.
She remains quiet for the beginning of the ride, but after a few hours of silence, Melodie feels Zhi's arms tighten around her middle.
"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you," she says softly near Melodie's ear. The defeat is clear in her voice. "I was more upset with myself then with you. I shouldn't have let you be put in that situation. I should have ... "
Her arms tighten again.
"I'm sorry."
~~~~
Once they arrive at the temple, Zhi remains just long enough for the priest there to accomplish what healing that he's capable of, she then returns to the estate. She joins Melodie in the library. She doesn't interfere with her research, simply seeming content to sit quietly curled up on one of the softer chairs.
Sara is particularly perturbed by the presence of the Baron in their house, but says nothing, assuming it means success in their mission. She avoids Melodie and Zhi when they arrive, having only recently learned of their engagement and feeling a bit uncomfortable for it. Instead, she again attempts to get to know Maria, their excursion having instilled both a quiet respect for the woman as well as a general curiosity about her.
She invites the woman out to a picnic lunch, simply sausages, cheese and crackers with wine.
The much taller woman is forthright and blunt with her opinions, thanking Maria for her assistance and expressing her admiration but also coming across as quite rude.
"Frankly I've always thought you a bit boring, very stick up the ass type, and not in the fun way. But you're damn near charming when you're trying: you were the sexiest woman at the Jubilee and until you started mouthing off about our patron and instilling doubt into the Hoods, you had them wrapped as tightly around your finger as an ass is wrapped around the aforementioned stick.
"So why don't you try? You're delightful when you do."
As her frenzied researching slows Melodie begins building a stack of books all open at different pages, with all the references she can find to soucouyants arranged and spread across the desk.
She grabs a clean piece of paper and begins making notes in her clear, neat handwriting.
"It's not your fault Zhi. There's nothing either of us could have done. She's practically immune to all my magics, look." She pushes the book she's just finished copying over to her fiancee. "There's nothing we could have done. Her call was just..." She trails off, "Have you ever had a need for something? Something so strong that you feel like its pulling you somewhere? It was like that but so deep, I could... it felt like my blood was singing Zhi, singing the song she sang."
Melodie's pen droops and she seems to shrink into herself right in front of Zhi's eyes. "She really is my mother isn't she? It explains so much..."
She trails off, "Have you ever had a need for something? Something so strong that you feel like its pulling you somewhere? It was like that but so deep, I could... it felt like my blood was singing Zhi, singing the song she sang."
"I've felt something like that," Zhi says quietly looking up at Melodie, although she doesn't elaborate.
Melodie's pen droops and she seems to shrink into herself right in front of Zhi's eyes. "She really is my mother isn't she? It explains so much..."
Zhi moves around to slide into Melodie's lap facing her. She reaches out with one hand to lift the girl's chin up to face her. She then leans forward to touch her forehead to Melodie's.
"I don't know if she's your mother or not," Zhi says. "And I don't care. I know who you are and I love you." Her eyes close. "I'll take anything she can dish out," she says after another moment. "Just as long as you don't leave me."
Melodie's pen droops and she seems to shrink into herself right in front of Zhi's eyes. "She really is my mother isn't she? It explains so much..."Zhi moves around to slide into Melodie's lap facing her. She reaches out with one hand to lift the girl's chin up to face her. She then leans forward to touch her forehead to Melodie's.
"I don't know if she's your mother or not," Zhi says. "And I don't care. I know who you are and I love you." Her eyes close. "I'll take anything she can dish out," she says after another moment. "Just as long as you don't leave me."
"Never." Melodie replies, her lips passing the word like a kiss to Zhi. "I'll never let you be hurt again Zhi - never." She stays that way for long minutes, breath mingling with Zhi's as their hands sit intertwined on the desk before Melodie takes a deep breath.
"We should probably take... precautions." She says in a whisper before raising her voice in a call to the domovoi.
When they arrive Melodie briefs them about the situation - that a woman might come to the house and attempt, either to see Melodie or to break in. "I want you to stop her where you can - lock doors and make her life difficult, but don't risk yourselves. The first thing you have to do is to warn as many of us as you can. Then stay safe and slow her down if you can." With instructions given Melodie turns to an even harder job.
"Zhi, could you find Onora, any of the others who are around and warn them about what's going on? I need to write to my mo... to Lady Valois..."
Putting pen to paper Melodie writes a short message which she dispatches with one of her agents and enough money to pay for fast horses the whole way to Oppara.
Dear Mother.
I need to speak to you and Father, urgently. Please, I will come to you or you can come to Stachys but it has to be as soon as possible. It's vital we talk as soon as we can.
I'm sorry to not say more, but I really need my mother. Please.
Melodie.
The much taller woman is forthright and blunt with her opinions, thanking Maria for her assistance and expressing her admiration but also coming across as quite rude.
"Frankly I've always thought you a bit boring, very stick up the ass type, and not in the fun way. But you're damn near charming when you're trying: you were the sexiest woman at the Jubilee and until you started mouthing off about our patron and instilling doubt into the Hoods, you had them wrapped as tightly around your finger as an ass is wrapped around the aforementioned stick.
"So why don't you try? You're delightful when you do."
Maria figured it would be a good idea to try and get to know Sara a bit better. She'd gotten a simple, light blue dress that might've been a little cold for the weather, but her fiendish heritage provided a number of perks like not really feeling the temperature until you get into serious extremes.
"Most of the time I just don't feel the need," she admitted, "at least not when I'm working - which seems to be most of the time these days. The "stick-up-the-ass" bit you're referring to - I assume you mean like how I was calling you out under the Senate? I just prefer caution and methodical work; a habit from investigating crime scenes, I suppose. And with the Hoods, I had another angle I was going to play if you hadn't talked them down."
"I was going to point out some more long-term effects of what would happen if word got out about our planned replacement for Lotheed - who I never referred to as our patron, mind, I was planning to frame it as us having approached them for the good of the whole region - essentially ordering an assassination. While it would hardly be a first for Taldan politics, public opinion would be tarnished. I was going to bring all this up as considerations that the replacement had already voiced and asked us to avoid as a condition of the arrangement. Possibly with the implication that Tigress was acting out of self-preservation to avoid the replacement bringing her down. I'll use them if necessary but your argument removed that need for now."
"But like I said; I often just don't feel the need."
Zileska spends the next day at Baron Telus's side as he performs his noble duties. He holds court to hear his citizens' concerns and tours the rebuilding efforts in town. He makes sure to schedule some alone time for himself and the priestess though, picnicking in a park for lunch, and playing a few rounds of trucco on the estate's lawn. Zileska can still see traces of the arrogant and slightly self-centered man Araig reportedly used to be, but he is also patient, compassionate, and mindful of his people's needs. All in all, it seems his time as a monster has changed him for the better.And the sex is great.
Zileska is supportive of Telus' efforts, listening in on the judgments and cases and making sure that Telus knows that her divine aid is ready at hand if needed - healing spells for the sick, zones of truth in cases of crimes. She also makes sure that Telus knows that he's free to pursue amusements and diversions that he enjoys; he doesn't just have to indulge her - whether it's watching knights tilt at the lists, or dinner and drinks with his close companions.
Over the game of trucco she does delicately raise the political issue of the day.
"You've heard," she says, as she's lining up her ball for a shot, "that Princess Eutropa may be asking Lotheed to give up his regency? She seems to be consolidating her power base, and he is a regent, after all - that's his duty, should she ask it."
"I've caught up on the rumors," Telus says, admiring Zileska's form from behind. "I've obviously been out of the political game for awhile, so I'm not sure what's best for the county, but I trust your judgment. If you believe we would be better off with Eutropia in charge, then I will support her claim."
"Most of the time I just don't feel the need," she admitted, "at least not when I'm working - which seems to be most of the time these days. The "stick-up-the-ass" bit you're referring to - I assume you mean like how I was calling you out under the Senate? I just prefer caution and methodical work; a habit from investigating crime scenes, I suppose."
Sara, initially lying on her back and watching puffs of cloud go by, pushes herself up to her elbows and eats a slice of everything as she listens, chewing lazily with her mouth open.
"More to the point," she starts, swallowing, "I meant more of like when I ran into you in Oppara and accused you of not knowing how to properly have fun. And then later, when I apologized, you said you really didn't know how to have fun, and so I thought, oh, that's Maria, this is just how she is. All notes and papers and watching everybody all the time. You know, rigid, inflexible." She takes a healthy sip of wine, pausing. "Boring, I thought.
"But I was wrong then, weren't I? You got the charm, but you bury it in mounds of paperwork."
Sara's head spins as Maria goes on about her fall back plan, and though she nods and laughs at times, she finds herself too engrossed in the wine and food to really pay the appropriate amount of attention (perhaps even retreating into it, hiding from the sheer amount of planning being tossed at her feet, pearls before swine).
"Well," she says at last. "I would really hate to play you in chess, little miss always-thinking-ahead there. My father would have called that dangerous, a woman thinking that much. For once, I see the merit of such a statement, but in my taking, that's a strength. The world can always do with more dangerous women about. See why Martella hired you now."
"But like I said; I often just don't feel the need."
Sara lets herself collapse onto her back, blowing out a slow puff of air as though she were deflating.
"I just can't imagine not feeling the need to try. I don't mean this harshly but are you natively Taldan or are you an immigrant? Cause I think this could be like a cultural thing. I feel like I'm never not performing. With Hare, Swan, the Princess, the people who attend my protests, even Zhi and Malphene, it's all a version of myself, designed to make them accept me.
"Even back in the Narrows, that's how it was. Everyone, out to secure their own positions and be perceived as more than their neighbors. I admire you, Maria. You're different. You care, yes, but you don't let it bother you."
She rises to her knees, searching in the basket for parchment, a pen and a stopped inkwell. "I thought it might be fun to write the letter requesting the Hoods's amnesty together. You wanna play your hand at it? I'd like to watch you think."
"Never." Melodie replies, her lips passing the word like a kiss to Zhi. "I'll never let you be hurt again Zhi - never." She stays that way for long minutes, breath mingling with Zhi's as their hands sit intertwined on the desk before Melodie takes a deep breath.
"Mel," Zhi says softly. "I can handle being hurt. It's kind of a requirement for my job."
Pulling back the sleeve on her tunic, she places Melodie's hand on the inside of her forearm where there are three oval scars. "Trap counter-weight." Zhi slides Melodie's hand up under the left side of her tunic where she can feel a short jagged line. "Javelin spring trap."
She slide's the girl's hand around under the tunic to her back where there's a large irregular triangular scar. "Glass from a broken window frame." Zhi lets go of Melodie's hand to reach up to pull down her collar to reveal another line just below her collarbone. "Crazy halfling's dagger."
She reaches down again and takes Melodie's hand in hers. "There are a lot more. You've seen them." She pulls the girls hand up to kiss it gently. "I can handle getting hurt. I'm your Knight. That's what I'm supposed to do. It's ... it's my job to ... protect you."
"Zhi, could you find Onora, any of the others who are around and warn them about what's going on? I need to write to my mo... to Lady Valois..."
"Mel, stop that!" Zhi seems angry. "The Lady Valois is your mother. She raised you - no one else. She alone deserves that title. Even if Kurana ... even if that thing gave birth to you, she's not your mother."
~~~~~
Zhi will make the rounds, finding all the ladies that are still present at Stachys as well as Onora and inform them of the threat that Kurana presents.
She will also make an effort to see if she can find Alista. If she can, she makes it clear that she wants to know everything the girl knows about Kurana.
Sara, initially lying on her back and watching puffs of cloud go by, pushes herself up to her elbows and eats a slice of everything as she listens, chewing lazily with her mouth open.
"More to the point," she starts, swallowing, "I meant more of like when I ran into you in Oppara and accused you of not knowing how to properly have fun. And then later, when I apologized, you said you really didn't know how to have fun, and so I thought, oh, that's Maria, this is just how she is. All notes and papers and watching everybody all the time. You know, rigid, inflexible." She takes a healthy sip of wine, pausing. "Boring, I thought.
"But I was wrong then, weren't I? You got the charm, but you bury it in mounds of paperwork."
"I may have mis-spoke. I have fun reading, spending time with friends, the odd alchemical experiment - which reminds me that I still need to work out somewhere to set up a proper lab around here. I... might have been making assumptions about the sort of fun you were thinking of. I figured you meant 'rowdy, drunken revelry' which I don't enjoy. I... should've been a little more open-minded on that. Sorry."
"Well," she says at last. "I would really hate to play you in chess, little miss always-thinking-ahead there. My father would have called that dangerous, a woman thinking that much. For once, I see the merit of such a statement, but in my taking, that's a strength. The world can always do with more dangerous women about. See why Martella hired you now."
Maria made an involuntary noise at hearing what Sara's father would've thought. "No offence, but it sounds like your father was a prime example of Taldan sensibilities. If it weren't for sentiments like that then the country wouldn't be in this mess. Well, there wouldn't be a succession crisis right now at least, can't vouch for everything else going wrong." She couldn't help but nod at her mention of Martella. "Can't deny; I'm certain she knew of others who would be more suited to this sort of thing - maybe she'd originally intended to hire my father and figured I was a close-enough replacement. Thinking that certainly hasn't stopped me trying to do my hardest, though, if that's what you were worried about."
"I just can't imagine not feeling the need to try. I don't mean this harshly but are you natively Taldan or are you an immigrant? Cause I think this could be like a cultural thing. I feel like I'm never not performing. With Hare, Swan, the Princess, the people who attend my protests, even Zhi and Malphene, it's all a version of myself, designed to make them accept me.
"Even back in the Narrows, that's how it was. Everyone, out to secure their own positions and be perceived as more than their neighbors. I admire you, Maria. You're different. You care, yes, but you don't let it bother you."
"That little aspect of Taldan culture is one I've never liked. I may have been born in Oppara, but my father did immigrate here - he's probably where I got my distaste for this sort of performance nonsense from. Besides;", she tapped one of her horns, "people make enough assumptions about me because of these. If they can't accept that I'm not a latent criminal purely because some ancestor or other made a stupid mistake then I'm not going to compound the issue if I don't have to. I'll play the professional when I need to, deceive as necessary in the pursuit of a greater goal, but if the average person on the street can't accept me for who I am then they can go to wherever these came from." She paused for a moment as something occurred to her about what she just said.
"Which, since I'm part Rakshasa, would be Vudra. Poor choice of words on my part, but you get my meaning."
She rises to her knees, searching in the basket for parchment, a pen and a stopped inkwell. "I thought it might be fun to write the letter requesting the Hoods's amnesty together. You wanna play your hand at it? I'd like to watch you think."
She thought for a moment. "Why not? If nothing else you can reign in my tendency for excessive verbosity." She said with a smile.
"In all seriousness, though; I was tempted to just point out that she could consider their aid in deposing Bartleby could be seen as a... 'work release program', in lieu of more conventional punishment for an illegal border crossing. They're hardly the only ones doing it these days, although I suspect there are more people wanting to get out of Taldor than into it these days. Oh; and that she not mention that in the amnesty documentation - don't want the Hoods thinking that they're forced into helping us."
Onora lets out a low whistle when Zhi informs her about Kurana. "Damn. She sounds like a real piece of work. I'll do what I can to keep an eye out for her, but if she was able to work you over so easily, I don't know how much help I'd be in a straight-up fight against her."
Alista seems stunned by the revelation that her fellow bard was a monster in disguise. "I've known her casually for a few years at least. We hadn't performed together until we came here to Stachys, though. If I had known what she was... I never would have brought her here and put your lives in jeopardy."
The next evening when Zileska has returned, Melodie once again summons everyone to the dining room. It is immediately obvious that she isn't well, she's even paler than usual and has large, dark bruises under both eyes as though she hasn't been sleeping. None-the-less she tries, and fails, to smile at her friends.
"I have something to tell you all. When Zhi and I went to Pensaris I was woken during the night by a... call. It turns out that Kurana, the bard who was here a few weeks ago is a soucayant, a Blood Hag, and..." There's a long pause as Melodie glances around the table, trying to marshal her courage. "and she said that she's my mother. She wanted me to go with her and when we refused she attacked us. She was strong, really strong, if Baron Okerra hadn't come I don't think we'd be here now..."
She passes sheets of parchment down the table, each one with a neat list. "This is everything I could learn about soucayant's. They have a lot of strengths and I worry that she'll come back, to try and take me away. I... just want you all to be prepared."
Sara laughs at Maria's notes but dutifully takes them down, spinning the words into something a bit more aristocratic.
"I quite like that, Maria," she murmurs. "Devious, dangerously clever b#$#&, you are. Princess'll eat that up."
She seals the letter with hot wax and grins at Maria. "Job well handled, eh?"
Sara is shocked by the news, tears ruining her makeup as she listens. At the end of it all, she rises and hugs Melodie tight, pulling back to say, "You know what this means, right? You charged me with being your bodyguard and I'm gonna start actually being that. I love you, Mels. You and yours took me in while the world was against me, and I can never repay that. I would proudly die for you. We'll not let her take you anywhere."
"So what do we do when she comes back?" Zhi says quietly. She doesn't look up from where she lays with her head on the woman's chest. "We're not strong enough to fight her. Even if we all stood up to her. And she's not going to give us that chance anyway. She's going to come in the night when no one expects her."
She looks up at the changeling.
"I will back you, whatever you choose to do," she says. "But ... but whatever you choose ... I want to be with you. Don't go without me."
Melodie returns Sara's hug, tears running down her cheeks to match. "Thank you Sara." She whispers, "Thank you for.. not hating me."
"We stay." She says, finally. "I'm not going to run, not from her. This is too important, you're too important to me for that."
Zhi is rewarded with the ghost of a smile from her fiancee. "I love you My Zhi."
Sara pulls back, holding the younger woman's shoulders. "Why would I hate you for this? We're friends. Far be it from me to judge. Don't worry, love; you're in good hands."
"I've caught up on the rumors," Telus says, admiring Zileska's form from behind. "I've obviously been out of the political game for awhile, so I'm not sure what's best for the county, but I trust your judgment. If you believe we would be better off with Eutropia in charge, then I will support her claim."
Zileska misses her shot, just barely, and posts her trucco stick to lean against. "Well, you don't have to just do it to make me happy. I mean, I do think Eutropia has a strong claim, and I do think that as regent he should step aside when requested. But I'm not so shallow as to say that my favors are purely based on political expedience."
She saunters over to place a hand on Araig's face and says, "All I want is for you to do the things that you think are right, that you think make you the best man you can be, and that elevate the country that you love and for which you are a man of noble lineage in a role of leadership. Given that you've been out of the political scene for a while, I'm gladdened that you look to my judgment for some idea of what's happening now - but even better, we can watch the future of this province unfold together, and you can be a leader of the caliber that Taldor needs."
~~~~~~~~~~
Upon her return to Stachys, Zileska is upbeat and has a coy smile. Clearly, she got what she wanted, and got it often.
She listens intently to the tale of the blood hag.
"This is a dangerous calamity," she says. "But I think we can rise to the occasion, when a conflict finally comes. It will be difficult... but we've handled difficult before."
"In good news, Baron Telus seems inclined to be favorable toward Eutropia's claim."
Sara's eyes glitter at the news, excited by what this means. The whole of the county banding together behind them.
She steps back from Melodie and gives a report of her own. "Similarly, the Four Hoods have pledged to fight beside us as champions of the common folk. They requested only amnesty for crossing the border from Andoran, as well as a chance to kill the Count's seneschal. Maria and I sent out a letter to the Princess requesting such this very afternoon."
Sara's eyes glitter at the news, excited by what this means. The whole of the county banding together behind them.
She steps back from Melodie and gives a report of her own. "Similarly, the Four Hoods have pledged to fight beside us as champions of the common folk. They requested only amnesty for crossing the border from Andoran, as well as a chance to kill the Count's seneschal. Maria and I sent out a letter to the Princess requesting such this very afternoon."
"While we're waiting for her to get back to us," Zhi offers. "Why don't we pay a visit to Baroness Voinum? Didn't she send us a letter inviting us to come by?"
"While we're waiting for her to get back to us," Zhi offers. "Why don't we pay a visit to Baroness Voinum? Didn't she send us a letter inviting us to come by?"
Melodie nods, although the suggestion wasn't aimed particularly at her. "That's a good idea. We should finish shoring up our local support."
The next morning, you travel via canal up to the town of Voinaris. The center of Baroness Voinum's demesne derives from the family name and shares the tradition of military service, and many of the county's soldiers are drawn from this sleepy town. The pungent scent of wine and vinegar—the town's two main industries—taints the air for miles in every direction.
The baroness greets you pleasantly upon your arrival and offers a tour of her estate, which stands 3 miles outside of town. It features one of the most extensive wine cellars in Taldor, with vintage bottles dating back centuries and secret rooms storing various recipes, wines, and strains of yeast from across Avistan and Cassomir.
Voinum treats you to a fine dinner followed by an extensive wine tasting, including the elven vintage that she mentioned in her letter to you. Afterwards, you retire to a drawing room for cigars and conversation.
"I hear the lot of you have been busy little bees, flitting all about the county on various tasks for her citizens. Your efforts are to be commended." She sips a warmed brandy, then looks directly at you. "So, when do you move against Count Lotheed?"
"If you think that's devious, remind me to find the file my father kept on what he called 'The Case of the Dying Detective'. He had a bit of fun when writing up his record of it, could probably publish it if he wanted."
Maria was clearly concerned over what happened and clearly pissed at the hag. "Well, assuming she's smart, she's not going to be using that bard disguise anymore, and we're rather lacking in ways to see through magical disguises - rather ironic, given how we've been using them, but anyway - so all we can really do is keep an eye out for anyone hanging around the estate or asking about Melodie. Well... more than would seem usual for someone so recently arrived to the region."
"I hear the lot of you have been busy little bees, flitting all about the county on various tasks for her citizens. Your efforts are to be commended." She sips a warmed brandy, then looks directly at you. "So, when do you move against Count Lotheed?"
"When we are commanded to do so." Melodie replies, matching Voinum's directness with her own, as she remembers the Baroness prefers. "We are not like Lotheed, doing as we please and forgetting our duty. We have come with a purpose and a mission and we will carry it out as ordered by our superiors."
She looks at the Baroness with an appraising eye, trying to shake off the tiredness which hangs like a pall after two sleepless nights. "Unless you have Sir Guisarne hidden behind a curtain I assume you've not told the Count about us. Therefore I conclude that we have, if not your support, then at least your neutrality. Is that right?"
Voinum barks a laugh. "This county has been far too boring. It's about time somebody came along to shake things up." A slight smile creases her face. "You know, I knew you were impostors from the moment I saw you at the jubilee. You don't even look like a Betony. I figured out what you were up to a long time ago, but I had been waiting to see how things played out. All of Meratt is rallying around you, and it would seem untoward if Voinaris didn't join in with them. Aye, you'll have my support in your forthcoming coup. I can't wait to see the look on Bartelby's face when he realizes his time has come."
"We are grateful Baroness." Melodie replies, finally managing a real smile, "Although I confess I thought we'd have to do something to impress you further. I will put aside a dozen of our next harvest for you." She offers the Baroness her hand in a firm shake.
"It has been a real pleasure Voinum. Long may it continue. Oh" She lowers her voice somewhat. "And if you spot anyone else around who is clearly not who they say they are, please let us know!"
"Now," She says, in her normal voice once more. "What exactly gave me away?"
Sara is ecstatic to visit the Baroness, having nothing but love and respect for the woman. In the drawing room, she eagerly drinks the brandy, presenting eight of her floral cigarillos and a bottle of bloodberry gin as gifts on her part. When the Baroness accuses Melodie of not looking anything like a Betony, she just begins laughing.
"You are a shrewd woman, Your Grace, and you have my thanks and respect. Would anyone be up for a few hands of cards?"
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You spend a pleasant evening of cards and conversation with Baroness Voinum. In the morning, you make the journey back to Stachys.
Several more days pass in Stachys as you consolidate your power base and coordinate with your allies, preparing for the assault on the Palace of Birdsong. A few letters arrive. The first is from Lady d'Valois, promising Melodie that she will come to visit her in Stachys within the next two weeks. The second one is from Princess Eutropia, granting the Four Hoods the amnesty they asked for. With the proof in hand, the leaders of the Beggarwood camp fully commit themselves to your cause.
The final letter is from Lady Martella Lotheed. It reads as follows:
Well met, loyal friends. Word even in Cassomir is that your actions in Meratt have left a memorable impression on that stodgy old county; I can't wait to see what else you may yet accomplish.
I have met with various contacts and settled misunderstandings here in Cassomir, and I believe we have come to an agreement with Grand Duchess Tiberan. She is prepared to validate our seizure of the county but needs certain conditions to be fulfilled. First, you must obtain the original charter granting the Lotheed family stewardship of the land. It will be kept in the library, near my brother's office on the second floor, and I believe Gul Gusairne would carry the only key (or more likely, hide it near his room, the weasel). Grand Duchess Tiberan also requires both Count Lotheed and his acting seneschal to abandon the property. She was nonspecific as to how.
Unrelated to Duchess Tiberan's needs, I have also learned my Great Uncle Panivar has established a teleportation circle to come and go at will from the royal apartments in the tower. Panivar is an extraordinarily gifted wizard and a man utterly without remorse, and I cannot stress how vital it is to destroy his access to the estate before word of this seizure reaches him in the south. Once you begin your attack, I doubt you will have more than a week before he returns.
Good luck, agents. May Taldor endure!
Martella Lotheed
Melodie's agents spend the week in Stachys, spreading the word about Kurana and the potential danger she may pose to the town. They are somewhat non-specific about the situation, simply warning the people that a woman with powerful abilities has made threats against Lady Betony and that everyone should be on the look-out for her. They do their job well and the town as a whole becomes much more alert to possible magicians.
Melodie spends most of the week practising with her Chakram in the gardens behind the house, with the help of a mannequin which looks suspiciously like Kurana. She enlists Sara, Maria, Zhi and anyone else she thinks might be able to show her exactly how she should be using the weapon.
After they got back, Maria set to to reinforce Melodie's efforts to create a warning system if Kurana showed up again. Mostly trying to teach them what to look or listen for if someone was showing just casual interest or if the questions were a bit more prying.
"You are a shrewd woman, Your Grace, and you have my thanks and respect. Would anyone be up for a few hands of cards?"
"Cards, you say?" Zhi says with a smile. "Shall we play for stakes?"
~~~
"So this is it then," Zhi says with a sigh. "It's finally time to brave the beast in his lair."
She looks around at the gathered ladies.
"So, do we go openly? Or do we surprise him?"
Sara laughs and lights a cigarillo. "It would be quite boring if we didn't. Are you afraid of losing, Zhi?"
"My vote is open rebellion. With all the support we are being lent, I fail to see how we could sneak in."
She runs a hand through her raven hair, pushing it out of her face. "Regardless of our decision, I need to get there a little early to invite the Swan."
Sara laughs and lights a cigarillo. "It would be quite boring if we didn't. Are you afraid of losing, Zhi?"
Zhi's expression freezes for just a moment before she smiles back.
"That depends on the stakes," she says in a voice filled with much less bravado.
~~~~
"I'm sure we'll have lots of support, but this can't just be a mob rush - innocent people get hurt that way. Besides, that would probably lead to looting of the palace. Which is something we don't want."
Zileska lounges about, mostly spending her time at leisure, either practicing trucco, reading Calistrian tracts, or helping the other ladies with their business - via advice, an extra pair of hands, or whatever magical assistance might be of use.
Duchess Veleto, of course, is never far from Zileska's side. She encourages the priestess to take Bartelby down so that she might be free to do as she pleases without him constantly trying to control her.
Sara writes a letter to the Night Swan, about the attack on the Birdsong Palace and when they intend to launch it, and finds herself distracted in the writing, getting further and further off topic as the wine and ink flow.
"You are deadly and beautiful, Swan, radiant and enchanting," she writes.
"I once bore witness to the strangest of events in Oppara: picture a large fountain, covered in thin, detailed figures of washerwomen pouring and collecting water. In the fountain's water swims six swans, long necked, graceful and serene, and beside the fountain, an old woman, pale faced and smiling too wide, gave a speech to a gathered crowd. She had raised a seventh swan from the egg, and brought it here for it to join its fellows. It was a fundraiser, I suppose, for her animal fostering work.
"Before this beautiful fountain, the crowd gathers and the woman, clutching the swan close for one last moment together, gingerly places the swan in the water. It honks and swims excitedly away, moving towards its fellows.
"They swim away from it, around the fountain, and yet the stranger, every bit as long necked and graceful as they, follows, not as fast, but curious, eager. Upon entering the center of the swans, the original six turn on the stranger, screaming and beating it with their faces and necks, biting into it with their beaks.
"There is no warning before they pull the heart out and eat it. The six swans again swim away and bathe, cleaning themselves of the blood. They leave the stranger's body to float aimlessly in the water, and its mother bends over it and cries.
"You are beautiful, yes, but deadly too. No one has a story like this about a simple Mockingbird."
She leans back and finishes a glass, pulling open a birdcage and reaching in. "I wish so badly I had never lied to her, Rosie," the woman whispers to her pet. With the back of two long fingers, she strokes the bird's cheek. Sara stands and opens the windows and all six cages, allowing the birds to hunt and forage while there is still light.
She moves to a windowsill, and, pouring herself another glass of wine, continues.
"Would that I could fly with you always, Swan. I fear that soon, you will not view me as you once did, but will see in me something else, see a stranger in your fountain and you will tear out my heart.
"Nonetheless, my heart quivers for our reunion, when we will charge together through the gates of the Palace of Birdsong. I love you, Night Swan."
Drunkenly, she signs her name, Sara, pushing a feather dipped in ink onto the parchment beside it to leave its shadow.
She folds and seals the letter, forgetting all about this slip of the tongue. Pen.
Melodie doesn't say anything, but watches the entire exchange with a small, tired smile.
"Let's keep it simple, gather our allies at the appointed time - set them to doing useful tasks like patrolling the estate or causing distractions in Lotheedar itself to divert people's attentions. Then we go in, try to find Bartelby as quickly as possible and end this." She looks around at the rest of the group. "I think we can agree that Guisarne would be no great loss, but I don't want to kill Bartelby if we can avoid it. We have the support of the entire county and if we can convince him to step down peacefully that will be so much the better for us and the Princess when she comes for her inheritance. Do you agree?"
Sara grimaces when Melodie advocates against killing Bartleby, but nods dutifully all the same. His time would come, she assures herself. "We may not be able to go as quickly as we'd like," Sara pushes, remembering the letter. "We still need to destroy Paniver's-- your husband's," she says, gesturing at the Duchess, "teleportation circle. Actually, Duchess, could you give us a better understanding of the castle layout? And perhaps do you know where the Duke's circle is? It would be a tremendous help, Your Grace." The resurrectionist inclines her head slightly in a sort of half-bow, trying to offer the picture of grace and gratitude.
"My darling husband keeps an arcane laboratory at the top of the palace's adjoining tower. I don't know much about magical matters, but if there is a teleportation circle anywhere, it will be up there," Duchess Veleto says.
She can provide a rather thorough description of the layout.
"I think we are ready, thanks to the Duchess." Melodie concludes with a nod of thanks to Veleto after she provides the map.
"So Ladies," She says with a genuine smile, which has become more common over the last few, peaceful, days. "Shall we go?"
Sara nods. "I know I've said this a bunch, but I do need a second to drop something off in town, so, you know, the Night Swan can fight with us. And we should send word to the Hoods as well. But I think we're as ready as can be, which is scary, it is."
When Sara brings up the Night Swan, Zhi looks as if she wants to say something, but after glancing at Melodie, she just nods.
"I'm not a fan of walking through the front door in the middle of the day," Zhi says finally. "It kind of goes against all my instincts."
She smirks.
"I think we should go in through a servant's entrance at night. It creates the most surprise and I think the least chance that this turns bloody."
She glances at Melodie again.
"But I'll go along with how everyone else wants to do this."
"I think this should be a statement. Especially if we are taking Bartleby alive, my vote is we march in during daylight hours and peacably retake the land he refuses to turn over. A coup during the night, even a bloodless one, is not a great way to signal to the locals that we're doing this for their benefit. This act will be remembered, and I want everyone to remember that we were proud and unhidden, with total support from the nobility and the community both. Not that the Princess sent her lackeys in under cover of night to uproot the rightful ruler of the land."
She leans back in her chair. "But, likewise, I will cede to the popular vote."