"Ahhhh?" Salonius says slightly bleary eyed, he tries to recall if the chains could be simply removed or would require tools.
The sinews the child is bound with Salonius needs to cut in a few places, but the chains are only wrapped around the wrists and ankles.
"Where are you coming from? And you look like you haven't slept all night! And where is your tooth?" Laria greets him with a mixture of anger and worry. "Have you gotten into a brawl?"
Saul nods off in his chair. Just as he is in the land of dreams, the door flies open and the troop of Dottari comes in. Looking around the leader grins at the startled Saul and grins. "A citizen loyal to the queen. Keep it that way."
As he turns to leave, the others stop looking through the room, put everything back that they picked up and leave too. Noone cares to close the door again.
Grim faced Salonius takes his dagger and attempts to free the poor child from the sinews as respectfully as he can. Once done he offer to prestidigitate the child clean, gathers up the bindings and bids the tieflings a solemn fair well.
Heading back to the Alabaster Academy he is suddenly grabbed on the street, and still half asleep his heart lurches in terror! Until he recognizes his sister Mellia.
"Sallie! Why do you look like you haven't slept in a month?! Mother says you haven't been by in days and now I see you lurching through the streets like a drunkard!" Mellia exclaims, hands on hips, in a pose she clearly copied from the Barridan families formidable matron.
"Sal-on-i-us! Uh, Mellie, help me with my homework," Salonius manages, entirely flustered, before chanting a spell.
"The hells was that? Are you still mucking around with magical trees? Come home right now, if Mother finds out I saw you and did not kidnap you I will be in for it in your place."
"Ahhhhh? But, but..."
Grabbing his arm Mellia, marches him back top the Barridan family home. Where his dark eyes get the fearsome rebel sent directly to bed for a nap.
It would be wrong of me to envy orphans, it would be wrong of me to envy orphans.
Fhingle covers his missing tooth with a hands, "No brawl really, we went to help some people and there were tooth fairies, they took my tooth when I looked in their den. We found a dead child though." Fhingle looks down and sad. "It was very sad, I am sorry for being home so late." Fhingle moves to go to the back room.
"A tooth fairy? Did you get a coin for your tooth?" Laria asks in disbelief.
"A coin? Why would that evil fey give me a coin?" Fhingle asks with a confused look on his face
"I am going downstairs to check on Maggie and her friends, see what they want to do today." Fhingle says disappearing down the trap door.
"Maggie???"Fhingle calls out "What do you ladies want to do today? We could go help out a Teifling district they need someone to watch over them."
"I only know the tooth fairies from the fairy tales, where you put a lost tooth under your pillow and the tooth fairy gets it and leaves you a coin." Laria replies. "I don't know your kind of tooth fairies."
Fhingle notices a few items that haven't been in the basement the last time he was there. The tengus make themselves comfortable already and have found a way around town.
Magiie shrugs. "We're fine for today. How is your cause coming along?"
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Saul naps and waits in his office, until curfew passes, and until it is pitch black outside. They already treat me like a law-breaker, so I might as well break the law .
Saul takes off his duster and leaves his trademark spear behind, but holds onto the silver morningstar. Going out unarmed would be too foolhardy. He wraps his head and face in a black cloth, leaving only his eyes apparent.
Into the night he departs, staying in the dark corners of buildings, moving slowly from one shadow to another. And on every building face that he passes, he scrawls in silver paint,"Jackdaw lives!" He starts in Old Kintargo, but makes his way eventually over to Temple Hill. Would love to scrawl a bit in the castle district, but no... not yet. Too many guards. Let's see what happens with this, first. Oh man, S might be a little pissed.
As Salonius is grounded and Saul has plans of his own it gets a boring day for Fhingle. Too tired to be any help in the coffee house he takes a nap and once he wakes up in the evening, the tengus offer him to come along on their nightly trip.
Their commitment to the law is a bit shaky as Fhingle finds out as they jump a fence to get a bite on someone else's fruits. They offer Fhingle one too.
The destination of their trip is the devil's nursery, where they meet with some tieflings who are also not interested in sleeping at night. It's a non public bar in the basement of an old and otherwise abandoned building. The entrance fee is a bottle of booze.
The talk of the night is of course the horrible tale of the tooth fairies. Which varies in detail and accuracy widely, depending on who tells it.
Saul decides to piss at Thrunes leg and doesn't hold back to do so. And he chooses a way that ensures that only the scholars who are interested in the history of Kintargo and probably house Thrune will notice the rebellious nature of his paintings. With Thrune's ceaseless work to eradicate all memories of the Silver Ravens not many know of them and even less can make the connection to Jackdaw. Even though the name might have a positive ring to it for some.
Some lazy dottaris are no match for Sauls ability to move unseen. But as night moves on they get unsettled and restless. Silver paint reflects the light of the torches nicely and the writings don't stay unnotices for long. Which means Saul has to call his work off early to not get caught in the hastily intensified patrols.
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With a grin and a heavily beating heart, Saul carefully makes his way back to his home.
Heh! Ha ha! I thumb my nose at you, Thrunes! Still got it, Saul. You still got it. Maybe many people won't know who Jackdaw is. But everyone will see it and start to ask questions. Start to wonder. Start to learn. Word will spread who Jackdaw is. People will start to realize that they are not alone in their hatred of the Thrunes. My goal is to give them hope, and Jackdaw can be our sign.
Fhingle takes the fruit.
"It doesn't taste like it should." Fhingle says, Fhingle listens to the tales, covering his own missing tooth. Never offering the truth as it is much to horrible for them to really know.
Fhingle has a nice evening and manages with his experience as a slave to stay mostly unnoticed. Which allows him to listen in on a lot of conversations.
The tengus take Fhingle home before dawn.
As the town wakes, an unusual number of dottari are on their way. The gossip factory is working overtime. Everywhere in prominent places there are ugly grey patches of fresh paint. It is obvious that they try to cover something up, but even those who dare to ask get no answer. There are a few writings of 'Jackdaw' they didn't find at first and a few citizens have seen it. But the true thing is only one of many running in the rumor mill.
At about ten an official proclamation is made. At every info post a group of Dottari marches up and the leader reads the proclamation aloud before nailing it to the post.
"Tonight a despicable individual threw mud at the noble name of Thrune, by writing profanities at the buildings of this town. Such disrespect for our Queen will not be tolerated. Everyone who finds such writings on their building has to eradicate them immediately or be fined with 10gp."
"Relevant information that leads to the capture of the culprit of this nights defacings will be rewarded with 1000gp by our Lord Mayor Barzillai Thrune himself."
~~~~~~~~~~~
Salonius gets dragged out of bed by his sister, who is worried he might not eat enough after sleeping through dinner, so he will get a nourishing breakfast to start the day with.
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Saul takes a walk that morning, on a wandering path to see Mel's mother... intentionally mimicking his path from the previous night.
Disappointing to see so much of my work erased already. And now they are on high alert. It might be hard to do it again soon. Tarnation! How to make headway against these people!?! Oh, ha ha, here is one they missed. Finger in your eye, Thrune."
Eventually, Saul gets to the Greens and knocks on the doors of Meliandri's parents' estate.
Fhingle searches out Maggie the next morning, "We need to visit Clenchjaws next, it is a bar as well. Maybe we could make a tour of the city visiting all the bars?"
"What do you know of a place called Clenchjaws? I heard last night that it becoming more and more crazy, is there anything you need me to do today?"
"Nah, as you're a rich man now, I'll hire another halfling to do your chores. You have better things to do now." Laria replies as a matter of fact.
Eldonna Aulamaxa opens the door herself. "Ah, the private eye. You're reporting on the whereabouts of my daughter and now also my maid?"
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"Turns out she took a room at the Longroads Coffeehouse, Ma'am. But I wanted to let you know that she still seems healthy, cheerful, and dreadfully racist. She keeps a halfling female with her to do her laundry and such. Now...about that five gold... unless there is more you would like to know first?"
Eldonna of course has a lot of questions first. "Come in, take a seat."
She leads to a lounge where several sofas stand around a table. "So tell me. What is she doing with her days, whom is she with, is she in her room at night, and why the Longroads Coffeehouse? That's in old Kintargo, isn't it?"
Eldonna raises a brow. "Are you trying to evade my questions, or do you have even worse things on your mind?"
"Shall I get my husband for you, so you can compliment him for having me?" Eldonna asks. And she doesn't sound amused.
Darn. Why are all the good dames taken? I bet her husband is a fat slob, too. But rich, of course.
"That won't be needed, Ma'am. You've answered my question." Saul gives a long sigh, hoping that she feels complimented and not insulted.
"Meliandri has been acting a bit down recently. Trying to find her place in the world, I suppose. I don't talk too her much, figure it would be weird if an old man takes too much interest in a young girl. But I have met her and try to be friendly with her, so she doesn't wonder why this old guy always seems to be behind her. She just strikes me as a girl who wants a purpose, and being rich chafes at her while at the same time she simply takes it for granted."
"It is weird to be free like this, make my own decisions about what I want to do. I don't know what to do, I am used to being commanded around. Is this what is it is like for everyone?" Fhingle asks Laria
"If you have issues making your own decisions there is always the mop waiting for you. The floor could need a cleaning." Laria tells half-joking.
"Or a working class man showing interest in a noble." Eldonna adds to Sauls self assessment. She seems pleased with the report as she has no furhter questions. "Here are four gold for the next week. And if you manage to stay professional next time, you'll get five again. You'll find the door yourself?"
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Saul takes the 4 gold. "I'll find it. Should I then go through it? Ok, bad joke. I'm leaving."
Noble dames are as cold as ice. Ahhhh, too bad. She's a looker, that one. Four gold used to seem like so much. Now it is just a small pocket of loose change. Crazy how life can change like that.
Before Saul heads back home, he stops by the coffeehouse to say hi to Laria, and gives her a new fresh batch of flowers he picked up from the market. I want at least one dame in this city to not hate me.
He then proceeds back home, past the ashes of the Thrashing Badger. So many memories... and so many blanks in my memories, thanks to this place. Logan getting in fights... left and right. Just like his fists, left and right. He was a firebrand. He must be in jail. I hope he is. Otherwise, he's at the bottom of the harbor wearing cement galoshes.
As Saul looks at the remains of the Thrashing Badger, he feels the old thirst come up and the jingle of gold in his pocket reminds him of the old bitter yet delicious taste of beer and whiskey. No! Not again. I have a higher call now. I ruined my old life; I am not about to ruin this one.
Contemplating all of this, Saul makes his way back home, picking up some more paint, here and there. He buys all sorts of colors, hoping that a little bit of caution will prevent the paint buying from becoming suspicious. I think I better pick up a canvas too and start painting at home. Then at least I have an excuse next time the Dottari tear the place up and come across my paint cans.
Fhingle goes and gets the mop and mops the floor for a bit, "I think I will go and buy a few things, A new bag would be nice for me I think." Fhingle holds up the back with lots of holes in it. Fhingle goes and finds Maggie and sees if any of them want to go out shopping with him. After that he will go shopping buying a new pack for himself to carry things around.
With a sigh Salonius tidies himself up and eats breakfast, using his old tactic of telling a fascinating story about how Dwolf Gloindram discovered grafting, which he knows will cause his family to loose all interest in being in the same room as him. Ugh, if it was slaying a dragon eveyone would be interested, but when it is something with more long lasting and significant implications everyone acts as though it is tedium personified I do not understand people!
After feeding an insistent Peeko some dried worms he keeps in his bedside table for emergencies he heads back to the Academy resolved to take care of the Orchard before hesorts out Professor Glenell - who is more resilient than his precious trees as a rule.
Parts of the orchard have fallen victim to pests. Not the six legged variety, but the two legged one. At first Salonius doesn't notice. But on closer inspection with a sharp eye and his keen memory, he finds that a significant number of fruits from the cherry flavored peach tree are missing.
No fruits on the ground, no twigs broken. Picked off cleanly. Theft!
Salonius glowers at the empty spaces, these fruits are important research materials, which buffoon thinks it is appropriate to eat my research! I'll feed Peeko their steaming entrails, the inconsiderate, undereducated.... Boobs!
"Peeko I need you to hide and stand watch for thieves again, if you can identify the culprits I will double your worm tally. I am going to write a strongly worded note..."
"Peeko guards fruit! Peeko will have... Seven hundred worms? Peeko guards!"
Muttering darkly he heads in and writes several notes stating that fruit thieves will be brought to the Academy disciplinary committee, and that the fruits have been treated with poisons to prevent pests and may be poisonous to humans if not properly neutralized.
"Scrumping bastards, wish they were poisoned."
Then he irritably reprepares his color spray spell leaving the rest as they were yesterday. Still irked he puts some soup on for himself and the Professor, chopping vegetables viciously.
Professor Glenell wakes from Salonius' use of strong words. She shambles into the orchard to see what happened. "Mornin." she mutters.
"Somebody has been stealing my pears again! I want them expelled, well maybe not expelled... I'll just charm them and make them eat a hundred ordinary pears, which they have to pay for, and then nature will take its course and they will have to spend a week in the privy... Or just tell Peeko that he gets a dozen worms every time he craps in their hair..." Salonius fumes,
"Also I am making soup."
Glenell looks at the tree. "We should eat the rest, before someone else does." Moving a strand of hair out of her face she adds "For science."
"Or even better, we're treading them and let the juice sit to ferment." Daydreaming about the results she stands there staring at the tree.
After Fhingle does some shopping he goes to find Saul, arriving at Sauls shop a while later.
"Saul are you home?"
"So I think tonight we need to go to a bar, Maggie and her crew want to come since that seems be something they like to do. It is called...." Fhingle thinks hard for a few moments. "Clenchjaws, have you ever heard of it? I guess people are going there now since some other place burnt down." Fhingle looks around Saul's office as he talks.
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"Oh, hmmm? A bar. Great. Now, Little Mac, do me a favor. Hold onto my money, and don't let me buy a drink, no matter how much I beg. Ok? Let's just say I used to be a tad too friendly with the bottle."
"Shall we go? Maybe we can find S on the way back to Laria's place."
Saul opens the door and steps forward, only to trip over a body on the threshold. He tumbles over and forward, landing on his side in the street.
"Holy balls! What.... Logan? Logan, you are alive, man! Where have you been? Gods... how drunk are you? You reek. Please don't tell me this was a three week bender."
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Ow, my head. Where am I? Who's talking and why are they doing it so loudly?
"Saul? Hey man! Why are you yelling? I'm right here. Say, did you see that the Badger burned down? Who would do such a thing?"
Logan grabs his ever-present hip flask and raises it up.
"To the Badger! May she rest in peace." And he drinks a mouthful.
After he wipes his mouth on his sleeve, he motions to the halfling standing there. "Who's your friend?"
"No! Well actually Cherry Perry has a bit of a ring to it, and it would be much easier to make than Cherry Brandy... It is one of my earlier varieties... But no, it might end up serving as a gateway fruit, and before you know it they would be at the cake flavored pears."
Salonius says shaking his head. Muttering more dire imprecations he sets to tending the orchard, while stopping frequently to stir the soup. After a half hour or so he leaves the soup to cool on the stove and takes a basket of apples over to The Academy Kitchens where he exchanges them with Mistress Kedda for a loaf of fresh baked bread and a pale of yogurt.
Returning he has lunch with Professor Glenell, constantly pushing more bread and soup her way. Once done he cleans the table and sets out his writing supplies and begins scribing a scroll of True Strike.
Only then in the late afternoon does he head to the Coffee House seeking out his companions to discus what their next steps ought to be,
"Excuse me Laria, good afternoon, and, um, wuld you happen to have seen any sign of my usual companios today?"
Professor Glenell looks a bit more around the orchard. [ooc]It's too early in the year to really harvest fruits for fermenting.[/i]
Once Salonius is sone with the soup she takes a seat and nibbles on what he put in front of her. "You're trying to fatten me?" she objects as he shoves ever more food in her direction. But she eats it anyway.
Then she takes another nap at the table. Once Salonious has left, she notices that he gets sloppy in his morning routine. "Hey, am I supposed to clean myself!" As no answer is heard, she casts unseen servant and sends it to fill a bath with her watering can of endless water. After another nap in the tub and a scrubbing from the servant she feels prepared to give one of her late afternoon lectures.
"Fhingle was here early, but left again in the morning. The others haven't shown up yet. Only Rexus is here as always." Laria replies.
"I am Fhingle" Fhingle says offering his hand out to shake