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"Impressive." Isabel whispers under her breath when Shelley makes his appearance. For someone who generally considers herself observant the fact that she has completely misjudged the young man is a slightly sobering reminder of her limits. She appraises him quite frankly and their eyes meet for a moment before he continues his pantomime of indifference.
It's only when Shelley leans down to tackle the chest that Isabel remembers the feeling of discomfort she had had early, under the Fair Fortune Livery. Closing her eyes briefly she reopens them, her normally green eyes now a deep cobalt blue as she once again scrutinises the objects for magic.
"Aye, young Galen, I imagine you could say that a member of the Bellflower Network is familiar with such," Laria chuckles as she hops off her cushion to grab a bear claw from the pastry plate.
Shelly throws her a disapproving look as he bends down to pick up the chest and place it on the desk. He produces some slender tools which are clearly meant for working with mechanical items and begins to manipulate the lock. After a rather short time, there is a click and the lid of the chest pops open a crack. He throws back the coffer's top to reveal a small stack of documents and scrolls—several marked with arcane sigils indicating they are likely spell scrolls.
These documents number hundreds of pages in all. After a quick examination, Rexus comments that many are written in some kind of a cipher that mixes the languages of Celestial, Elven, and Strix.
Rexus strokes his chin. "I happen to be relatively fluent in all three of those languages and decently skilled in linguistic studies. It will probably take me several weeks to decipher these, but hopefully they will give us quite a good bit of information about the Silver Ravens."
"Perfect!" Laria exclaims snapping a finger. "That means there's plenty of time for our new friends to tell me all about themselves. I've told you about my secret—being a Bellflower that is—so tell me all about you."
Laria looks around at the group slyly. "After all, I've known many of you as customers. I'm not too shy to say I'm surprised to see some of you here answering Rex's call to revolution. I'd like to hear why."
Shelly rolls his eyes and sighs. "The better question is whether we can trust them or not. You're putting a lot out in the open without enough concern, Laria. Perhaps not any concern, rather."
"My name is Darian, ma'am. And while I must admit to having not been a prior customer at your shop, I must admit it is quite nice. But, all that aside," Darian glances at each of his earlier companions before continuing, "the actions of our new lord has made it all too apparent that Kintargo must stand up for herself if it is to maintain any of her own spirit, rather than what House Thrune wishes to make of her. I put my family at great risk just by being present for such discussions, so I trust that in and of itself warrants a certain measure of trust from you?"
Laria laughs, and Shelly tsks dismissively.
"Considering everything I've already admitted, I'd wager I've already displayed much more trust than with which Shelly here is comfortable." Laria winks at Darian.
"If you're Barzillai's spies then I've already condemned myself, so I don't think it's too much to ask what has brought such fine men and women to the brink of insurrectionist action rather than just bitter rhetoric over their cups. And you'd do well to consider the danger you bring to others. Poor Rex here is certainly a good example of that."
Laria's expression calms and she continues soberly, "He's a man now with nothing to lose. You'd do well to realize what you have that you may jeopardize. If you can't stomach what's to come and have the resolve no matter what atrocity may be devised, you may do well to step back from what lies ahead."
Phineas raises an eyebrow at Shelly's new appearance, but watches in silence as the man picks open the locked chest. As the papers are taken out and examined, Phineas will lean in and examine them as Rexus looks over the documents.
"After all, I've known many of you as customers. I'm not too shy to say I'm surprised to see some of you here answering Rex's call to revolution. I'd like to hear why."
"Indeed, I doubt my daily coffee and casework has done overly much to impress you with my willingness to fight. But rest assured, Laria, I'm in this just as much as Rexus is. We all are. But in my case...well, the church of Asmodeus has already taken the most important things from me. I might have some things left to lose, but nothing compared to the loss of my family. Kintargo itself, the freedom and culture and the life I've built here is all I really have left, and I'll be damned myself before I lose it to them too."
Phineas folds his arms and nods at Shelly. "You're wise to be cautious; I've been sending out very subtle feelers for a while now. But recent events have pushed things too quickly, and I think we should all agree that we need to do something, even if it means taking risks on who enters our confidence."
Phineas picks up one of the coded pages, glancing over it before putting it back down and turning to Rexus. "Rexus, I should be able to help with the notes. I have a fair amount of training deciphering encoded messages, and I speak celestial and elven. Let me know if you would like assistance when you get a chance to look them over, and we can work something out."
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Phineas picks up one of the coded pages, glancing over it before putting it back down and turning to Rexus. "Rexus, I should be able to help with the notes. I have a fair amount of training deciphering encoded messages, and I speak celestial and elven. Let me know if you would like assistance when you get a chance to look them over, and we can work something out."
"My strix is passable at least, and my father taught me Elven - I can certainly help too." Isabel chips in, massaging her temples at the headache building as she tries, again, to make head or tail of the items in front of her. To distract herself for a moment she thumbs through the documents along with Rexus and Phineas, eyes still blue and open to magic. "I'd love to learn Celestial at some point, perhaps you fine gentlemen could teach me some as we go along?"
Feeling her headache retreating a little as the conversation slows and people take turns to speak Isabel drinks a sizeable slug of coffee, with much less grace than normal and returns her attention to the items in the chest.
Having minimal luck she sits back in her chair and focuses on the ravens, softening her gaze and trying to simply intuit the magic rather than studying it.
Drifting away from the thread of the conversation she neglects to actually reply to Laria's question, unless prompted.
Darian notices Isabel rubbing at her head, and steps over to her. He gently puts a hand on her shoulder and asks softly, "Are you alright?"
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Darian notices Isabel rubbing at her head, and steps over to her. He gently puts a hand on her shoulder and asks softly, "Are you alright?"
Isabel looks up at Darian and musters a smile for him, although its not as dazzling as usual. When she looks at him he can see the last vestiges of electric blue drain out of her eyes, leaving their usual green instead. Her voice is soft, tired. "I'm fine Darian, it's just a headache. Too much magic and exertion today. I was trying to figure out what all of the objects we found are - but I just can't concentrate properly." She smiles again, looking surprisingly vulnerable for a moment. "I'll be fine in a minute. With a little more of Laria's excellent coffee." The last is said at normal volume as she mimes a toast of her coffee cup to their host.
Her other hand squeezes Darian's gently.
"If you're Barzillai's spies then I've already condemned myself, so I don't think it's too much to ask what has brought such fine men and women to the brink of insurrectionist action rather than just bitter rhetoric over their cups. And you'd do well to consider the danger you bring to others. Poor Rex here is certainly a good example of that."
"Many in Kintaro are dissatisfied with their cups, I'd wager," Avrora replies curtly. "And more suffer the caprice of our new lord mayor in silence, for fear of being eaten by fiendish hounds. Not to mention public beatings by this Chelish Citizen's Group."
"And as for me, well, my name is Avrora Vikta, daughter of Ursius and Quinta Vikta, sister to Boros Vikta. A few years ago I--well, I was at the center of a rather heated controversy."
Avrora's face flushes a distressing scarlet, and she fixes her gaze on the floor, clutching the pommel of her morningstar in a ferocious grip.
"I-I was...assaulted by a man that I once cared for deeply. He happened to be a recruit within the Dottari. I pressed charges, but there were forces at work greater than myself. I once believed that the hands of government existed to shield and support its citizens. I was naive."
She glances up at the others, focusing on Rex. "But now I see things clearly. Clearer, anyway. And I do not intend to let the same fate fall upon anyone else. So if there's a chance to make a change for the better in this city, to reclaim some small part of it for its citizens, you don't need to ask me twice."
"If you say so," Darian says. "Still, if there is something bothering you, you can talk to me."
He then goes to stand beside Varian and nods at him. He looks to Rex and says, "Well, if this is going to take some time, what are the rest of us to do in the interim? We shouldn't linger too long and draw attention to ourselves..."
Once Arora makes her proclamation, Darian replies "I do remember that, but hadn't until just a bit earlier. It was a shame how that whole thing was handled, and you have my condolences."
"Of course, Isabel. I've always found celestial to be a rather pleasant language. It is certainly more enjoyable than working in infernal, though sadly there is much less call for contracts written in the former."
Phineas finishes sipping his coffee and eyeing Isabel's work with the Ravens, while the conversation continues until Avrora tells her story.
"Ah yes, I remember. I was new to Kintargo at the time, but your case was prominent in the courts." Phineas sighs, a far off look in his eyes and a sad, bitter smile on his lips. "Its always the ones we love the most that can wound us deepest, isn't it?"
Galen glances furtively at Laria, then to Phineas at his words and looks sadly at Avrora a moment, then back to Laria and holds his words while staring down at his coffee.
"Not to belittle the current topic of conversation," Darian says while giving Galen and Avrora sympathetic looks, "but we need to decide on what we are doing now, with all of...this," Darian says while gesturing to the magic items, and then quieter, "as well as with this...rebellion we are discussing. We must tread carefully here. This is a whole new level of treason we are undertaking."
He sits and leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Much of the initial legwork of this...thing, is going to rely heavily on Phineas, Isabel, and Galen, I am afraid. Myself, Avrora, and even Varian's...if caught, our actions right now would draw too much negative attention to the aristocracy. And they are going to be the slowest to come around and hardest to gain the sympathy of," he points to himself with a smirk, "as we have already seen. If we put them on the defensive early on, we may never gain their support."
Rexus to Phineas & Isabel:
The scholarly man looks up from the papers. "Excellent. Any assistance will be appreciated. Muddling through all this alone would definitely take quite some time otherwise."
To distract herself for a moment she thumbs through the documents along with Rexus and Phineas, eyes still blue and open to magic.
For the briefest second, Isabel thinks she sees a dim aura on something in pile of papers, but her headache spikes and she can't be certain. Perhaps it's just the proximity to the other magic items which she turns to examine now.
Rexus smiles as Isabel mentions learning Celestial.
"I would be more than happy to assist in that any time you'd like."
Laria to Avrora:
Laria hops off her trunk and approaches Avrora and sweeps a glazed donut off the plate. Her smile softens, and her eyes appear moist. She places the donut in Avrora's hands and seems to encourage her to take a bite.
"You poor dear. So many of us were appalled by what happened, and there many heated discussions about the handling of the case over my pastries and coffee. You had a lot more support than you will ever know.
Laria to all:
The robust halfling woman nods at Darian's words. "Whew! I like how quick you are to get to the point! But before you get too heady with how to win this or that section of the city's citizens, I'd like to offer you a deal. You'll all need a place you can come where people won't be suspicious if you happen to cross paths, especially if the need to keep your visible personas separate from one another becomes necessary. Long Roads Coffeehouse could be that place."
She looks around the room to gauge their expressions.
"But..." she actually looks a bit embarrassed. "First I need your help. You see, the Wasps's Nest..." She gives them a sheepish smile.
"I've actually been scrambling since the takeover of the city. A lot of the Bellflower Network has vanished, gone to ground, or...worse, I fear. Same with my set of contacts who managed less than legal operations that may have known what I do...or not. I have been struggling just to keep information flowing I haven't really had time to check on my friend Nan." Her eyes flick to Shelly whose expression sours.
"Nan," Shelly says a sigh heavy with disgust, "is a rather unscrupulous smuggler who has aided us in moving refugees out of the city, but often for his own profit by insisting they carry his contraband. He gets free pack mules and in exchange we get some of the less fortunate away."
Laria nods. "Yeah, well, we work with what we have to here in Cheliax." She shakes her head slightly. "But my point...Nan took some of his own cargo and some people down into the Wasp's Nest. I think he might have been shuffling a group of runaways or fugitives on his own aside from my activities, he takes side jobs like that and uses some of our safe houses for that. He was just supposed to be lying low for a bit when Thrune swept in trapping Nan and his group down there since it hasn't been safe to try and get out just yet."
Laria pauses to gulp down a bite of bear claw.
"But...I hadn't really given much thought to it until I realized that after a few days, Nan stopped coming up to see me from down below in the Wasp's Nest. The food I put out always vanishes, but...it's been some time since I've seen him, and I never did meet who he had taken down there. I'm a bit worried about the state of my own house."
Laria looks down and to the side her cheeks crimson.
"So...yeah. I'm offering to help front whatever extracurricular activities you may want to get up to from a place I'm not even sure is completely safe or that I have control over. Gosh, it sounds even worse when I say it out loud."
She takes a breath and brings up her gaze to boldly face the group despite her embarrassment.
"Well? How does that sound?"
Shelly sighs.
Darian listens intently to Laria's request. "So, our first act as...rebels...is to save a criminal for the privilege of using a Bellflower Hideout." He sighs before adding, "Is there anything else we should know?"
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Rexus to Phineas & Isabel:
The scholarly man looks up from the papers. "Excellent. Any assistance will be appreciated. Muddling through all this alone would definitely take quite some time otherwise."
** spoiler omitted **
Rexus smiles as Isabel mentions learning Celestial.
"I would be more than happy to assist in that any time you'd like."
Isabel smiles in response, before saying quietly. "I think one of those papers is magical, but I can't be sure. Could you take a look Phineas?"
She nods her agreement when Laria suggests going down to investigate the Wasp's Nest, but doesn't move until the rest of the group stand up. When she does so she seems more active, no sign of the headache that has been plaguing her last half hour.
When Isabel asks for assistance looking over the papers for a magical one, Darian casts his own detection spell and looks them over.
"Hm? Oh, fascinating!" Phineas mutters a few arcane words and gestures, concentrating as he examines the papers and other magical devices found earlier.
As he works, Phineas continues to keep an ear on the rest of the conversation. As Laria finishes her request, Phineas stretches slightly. "Well, that does not sound unreasonable. We've had quite a taxing day, however. Where is this Wasp's Nest, and might we be able to investigate it in the morning?"
"You poor dear. So many of us were appalled by what happened, and there many heated discussions about the handling of the case over my pastries and coffee. You had a lot more support than you will ever know.
"I, um...thank you." Avrora glances down at the simple pastry in her hand. A simple thing, to give her a donut, but the meaning behind the gesture representing so much more. It had been a long time since she had given voice to the vicious thoughts inside her head. There was no reason. Living on the farm in Harsk, life was simpler and far removed from the horrors she had experienced in Kintargo. There was not much reason to re-visit them other than to drive herself mad. And, of course, she had attempted a great deal of healing within the commune of Milani, and she had learned principles of peace and forgiveness.
Not that such lessons ever got very far with her.
But through simple repetition she had learned not to dwell on her anger and instead to focus on the path forward. It strikes her as funny that her path should bring her right where she started.
Her eyes begin to burn and a spasm grips her throat as the urge to cry threatens to overcome her. Instead, she simply takes a bite of the donut, trying to focus on its delicious sweet and savory layers. "Fank oo. If's Doolifshufsh," she sputters as crumbs fly from her mouth and fall upon the floor.
The Wasp's Nest
"Criminality is relative..." Avrora adds absently, then nods in agreement with Phineas. "Yes, I think at least a good nap's in order before we go diving into another underground layer. And that name, the wasp's nest, what does it mean?"
The rather glum Galen noticeably glances in the direction of Laria when she mentions her smuggling associate Nan, though he sighs and shakes his head irritably after hearing more about the nature of the predicament. His Nan was no smuggler or rascal...though Galen muses that in a way his grandmother smuggled him into Kintargo those years ago, and seemingly for a purpose that he still doesn't really understand.
He takes several healthy draughts of his coffee as the others talk and ask questions, keeping an eye on Avrora and the emotions flickering across her face at the dark history of twisted Cheliaxian noble families and what cruelties they are capable of. Even in Kintargo. Yet even Galen concedes in his mind that cruelty and malice are present across all classes and divisions of society, not just to the rich and powerful. Nobles just seemed to play at the pretenses of hypocrisy that others did not. Galen smirks wryly to himself that he had engaged in several such debates and discussions in this very establishment with student friends and colleagues, though they had no real examples to base it on aside from gossip and second-hand accounts. How frivolous and high-handed we were with the storm coming upon us...as if any of that mattered or made any difference...
"I too would like to know the meaning behind the Wasp's Nest," pipes up Galen in support of Avrora and Phineas, "and though I'm not really tired I don't see the hurry if the others here prefer the dawn to venture down wherever this is."
"As to the rest of it...the Silver Raven stories and this talk of rebellion and my supposed part in it - all of it really - well I just can't tell you in a phrase or two what it means or what I'm about with it. Certainly not what I'm willing to do or how far I'll go or should go. I just know I can't pretend any more that things will get better without some of us taking part in a stand." Galen shrugs and adds with a embarrassed smile, "Not very inspiring or what the famed Shensen would say, truly I know."
"And that name, the wasp's nest, what does it mean?"
"I too would like to know the meaning behind the Wasp's Nest," pipes up Galen.
Laria chuckles.
"Well, that's a simple enough story. As for getting rest, tomorrow morning is fine, just fine. If Nan Comerivos is still down there, he'll keep. If he's not...well I don't have the resources to get him back from the Boneyard I'm afraid, so hopefully he's happy with where his soul ends up."
She approaches her desk and retrieves a pipe and pouch from her desk then hops onto its surface next to the open coffer.
"The Wasp's Nest is the underground beneath Long Road Coffeehouse. But my coffeehouse hasn't always been here, you see. Way back, not long after the Chelish Civil War came to its regrettable end..."
Laria pauses to light the pipe after stuffing it full of tobacco. She takes a puff.
Shelly sighs and his shoulders slump. He evidently has heard this story many times.
"As I was saying, not long after the Chelish Civil War came to an end, the church of Calistria, The Unquenchable Fire, was forced to abandon its cathedral on Temple Hill after House Thrune outlawed worship of the Savored Sting. As you know, most of the faithful fled north to seek shelter in cities such as Magnimar and Riddleport, but here and there worshipers clung to their traditions and their homes, practicing their faith in hiding. One small group chose this area as a place to hole up, and walled off a stormwater overflow pool to use as a shrine to their goddess. Eventually, inquisitors of Asmodeus routed the cult, and today all that remains of the shrine is a statue standing in the water."
Laria gives a wry smile. "At the moment, you can only see the top half of her...The Lady in the Room that is. It would take quite the bit of engineering to get that statue out of the water. So we left her where she is since I can't exactly hire a crew to move her. So Lady Calistria looks on over our illegal operations from the place she's been now for decades. Despite constantly being wet, she hasn't complained, and we have been fairly successful, I'd say."
Laria's grin takes a decidedly naughty turn. "I've always thought The Savored Sting must appreciate the irony myself. Always wet!"
Laria laughs heartily and slaps her knee at her own ribald joke. Shelly groans, clearly expecting the punchline and weathering it yet again as one does for good friends.
"As to the rest of it...the Silver Raven stories and this talk of rebellion and my supposed part in it - all of it really - well I just can't tell you in a phrase or two what it means or what I'm about with it. Certainly not what I'm willing to do or how far I'll go or should go. I just know I can't pretend any more that things will get better without some of us taking part in a stand."
Laria looks at Galen with admiration.
"The man claims he can't say it in a phrase...then goes and does it."
She places the pipe between her teeth and drops down from the desk to approach Galen still having to look up at him even while he's seated. Placing a hand on one of his, Laria looks him in the eye.
"Realizing there's no pretending...that's all any of us need to do, my friend. Everything follows naturally after that."
"Hm? Oh, fascinating!" Phineas mutters a few arcane words and gestures, concentrating as he examines the papers and other magical devices found earlier.
- papers = a ledger of accounts seems to emit a dim aura, a scroll of misdirection, a scroll of pass without trace, a scroll of undetectable alignment, and a scroll of whispering wind
- slightly gnawed cloak = cloak of resistance +1
- suit of leather armor = +1 leather armor
- other magical cloak = cloak of elvenkind
- silver ravens = still unknown, but there's likely a strong suspicion...
Varian didn't follow the others, preferring to swing by his home in order to make himself presentable. After taking a relaxing bath and shaving his beard, Varian wears the finest clothes he has and joins his companions.
As soon as he arrives, he throws a small smile at his friends and seats next to them. "Hey, sorry for the delay, folks. How are things here?" Realizing that the others were already engaged in deep conversations, Varian hunches. "Would anyone mind to let me know the topic of the conversation?"
Avrora crinkles her nose at Laria's crude joke, but smiles a little anyway. "Calistria? Well, I wasn't expecting that. And you've been using those chambers for decades without any trouble until now? Maybe Nan's just taken off without notifying you. With these new Proclamations, I'd wager there are plenty who'd rather put Korvosa behind them for a time."
"Oh, Va--Julius, we've been waiting for you. Yes, something about a looted chapel of Calistria, a wet statue, and some missing friends of Laria's. It seems we've decided to rest a while, then investigate. What do you say?"
"He's a smuggler of sorts, apparently. Rather the sort of person it will be good for us to know, and currently lying low from Thrune. With luck, he's just hiding out, afraid to draw attention to himself. But, well." Phineas shrugs. "Its probably best we're prepared for trouble, so we were planning to investigate tomorrow."
Phineas runs his fingers over the magical cloak thoughtfully, glancing over the items, his eyes lingering on the silver ravens. "I think I recognize the function of most of the items we found, but the ravens..."
"What makes you think they've any function at all? What if they were just decorative?" Avrora looks puzzled. "Do you think they have anything to do with that strange music we heard?"
Darian couldn't believe what he had gotten himself wrapped up in over the course of a few days. Treason. Rebellion. Smugglers. Bellflowers.
Well...Varian always managed to keep things interesting.
"Well, let us get some rest and tend to whatever business and preparations we must in our normal lives...well, as normal as they can be, and meet back here at the Longroads in the morn. It wouldn't seem unusual for a coffeehouse to be busy in the waking hours. Then, Laura can show us the way down into the Nest, I presume?"
"Hm? Oh! I'm sorry Avrora, I should have mentioned. There is a magical aura surrounding the ravens, although I don't quite recognize the function. These others are a cloak to shield the wearer from harm, one to help the wearer blend unnoticed into their surroundings, and the leather armor is magically strengthened. There are a number of useful spells scribed into these pages as well, but the Ravens..." Phineas trails off thoughtfully. "Well, we can worry about that tomorrow. I agree, let us meet back here tomorrow morning."
"You're not thinking of leaving now, are ya? If so, you'd better git!" Laria says with concern.
"Curfew is happening real soon, so I suggest you run along as quick as you can. If you need to cross the river, you'd best wait until morn, I'd say. If you're place is close, you'll probably have time but you'd best hurry or get harassed by the Dottari or the Chelish Citizens Group."
Laria puffs on the pipe letting out a burst of white smoke. The heady smell rich and spicy.
"I do have a bunk room here if you're interested. Shelly and I are more than happy to put you up if your homes are too far to reach this evening."
Avrora frowns, tracing her finger across the cracked pine tabletop in a vague route from Longroads to The Salty Mermaid. The last thing she wanted was trouble with the law, and certainly not with the Chelish Citizens Group. The scoundrels. What was waiting for her in her inn room, anyway? Her belongings would be safe just one night unattended, surely.
"Y-yes. Thank you, Laria. I would like to stay the night here if it's alright with you.."
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"You are all welcome to stay with me if you wish." Isabel chimes in. "It was nice to have guests."
Isabel glides over to Darian and bats her eyelashes at him in an exaggerated fashion. "Would a handsome lord like yourself be willing to escort a young damsel home lest she fall afoul of the darkness?" She asks, trying to sound innocent and failing, mostly because she can't keep the grin off her face.
"But of course," he says as he exaggeratedly offers her his arm. But more seriously, he adds "but we best be going, should we wish to beat the curfew."
As they walk, he speaks softly to her to avoid eavesdroppers, "So, what was wrong earlier? I've never seen you like that..."
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As they walk, he speaks softly to her to avoid eavesdroppers, "So, what was wrong earlier? I've never seen you like that..."
Isabel pauses, touched by the genuine concern in Darian's voice. "Overuse of my abilities Darian. I'm not a spellcaster like you or Varian, my abilities come purely from the force of my own will. Sometimes, for simple things, its easy. But facing those devils was draining beyond belief, and after that even a simple cantrip to detect the magic on the items was just too much." She walks further in silence before speaking again. "I think Galen is like me; although not as pretty of course! He was casting spells but I never heard him pray or incant."
She stops and looks straight at Darian, memories of the last time they did this rising unbidden as she does so. He was a good kisser... "Darian, I'm afraid. If we can clear this Wasp's Nest and actually really establish a rebellion I'm afraid it will all get out of our hands. What if we can't stay on top of things? What if the others disagree with how we should run things? I believe in Loyalty, in building trust - people who are loyal will never betray you, no matter what. But what if the others disagree, if we end up taking arms against Thrune openly?" She pauses, seemingly embarrassed by how much she has just blurted out to a man who was, until two days ago, one of her dance students, and no more, but now, suddenly, was someone she cared about.
Darian pats her on the arm gently to reassure her as she grows concerned. He looks around at the other people hurrying to get home before the curfew, noting their focus on their journey. "Shhh," he says with a smile meant to appear as if it were comforting, "we will have to talk more about that in private, but for now, I think the others are smart enough to not jump to such rash action. And if not, we will have to convince them of their folly."
As they near Isabel's home and studio in the shadows of the walls and gate house into the Greens, he walks her to her door, then turns to look at the ever darkening sky. "I think the two of us should talk in more detail about what you said on the road, but I think that if I don't get going now, I may not be able to get home without...issue."
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As they near Isabel's home and studio in the shadows of the walls and gate house into the Greens, he walks her to her door, then turns to look at the ever darkening sky. "I think the two of us should talk in more detail about what you said on the road, but I think that if I don't get going now, I may not be able to get home without...issue."
Isabel thinks for a moment, and then looks at him with her more normal, mischievous smile. "You'd be welcome to stay..." She brushes her hand up his arm as she turns to open the door, looking back over her shoulder as she enters.
Galen has all of his possessions stowed neatly in a corner of the bunk room, his pack and satchel now representing the entirety of what he possesses in the city. He's been used to having his own room and privacy for some time now, but spends time for about an hour or so meditating on times past when he had but a small corner of the caravan wagon that he traveled in as a boy, or the shared boys' common room he owned but a cot and chest in while at his first years of formal schooling. He reminds himself the lack of material goods, while inconvenient, is not what gives him such anxiety and melancholy now, but the sudden and violent change that swept it upon him over the past two days. Like some violent storm off the shore, the wind and waves crashing in upon his ignorant little life made out of sand and twigs.
It was a sobering moment that he tried to reflect on in his evening meditations and then compartmentalize so as to not chew upon it the entire night, for it was easy to allow himself to spiral into despair if he let it. Galen vowed that at least for Laria's sake, who was fighting the fight but had so much to lose still, he would steel his mind and keep to the business at hand, whatever that may be. He used the special Varisian crystal in his hands that illuminated the candle lamp around where he was seated just a bit more, as well as a small bit of his remaining incense in the censer he had stowed in his pack. Ringing once a small hand bell and focusing on its fading tone helped him to focus himself, deepening his breathing and calming his nerves despite the rousing effect that the evening coffee had upon him.
Once completed with his meditations, Galen carefully puts all but the candle lamp away and produces a worn deck of Varisian fortune cards from his satchel, studying them fondly and laying out various patterns in remembrance of the different ways his Nan would tell fortunes to welcome guests and gullible patrons of her shop.
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After a long moment of kissing Isabel pulls away slightly, taking Darian's hand and leading him upstairs towards her bedroom, her other hand loosening the fastenings of her dress as they go. As the bedroom door closes her dress hits the floor, followed swiftly by the rest of their clothes.
On the floor above Annette smiles to herself as cries of passion emanate from her mistress's room below, before pulling her pillow over her head to get back to sleep. I hope he's a good one. Isabel deserves a real companion.
"And talk. About, well, a lot of things."
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Thorny, tangled rose vines surround Avrora as she creeps carefully through the maze-like gardens of her youth.
Her mother had taken great pride in these flowers, and she was forever warning her daughter not to trample the plants, and not to set foot off of the walking path or else she'd soil another dress and goodness knows they'd spent enough money on her dresses, even though Avrora insisted on playing in them and costing their father a small fortune in seamstresses, but gracious it was tactless to speak of money, another reason for Avrora not to behave in such a meddlesome fashion...
...But today is different, for Avrora is not the unruly child from years ago, but her adult, unruly self of today. And although she wears a child's garrish, laced frippery, she is quite aware of her tall stature, of her breasts and womanhood, and of her cropped hair.
She is also aware of the game. Phantoms and Finders. Someone else is hidden within the maze, she knows, and she must find them. Yet she feels lost. The simple garden path she had known so well in her youth is now transformed, its turns and corners somehow leading in at impossible angles, bringing her to locations both previously explored and, paradoxically, terrifyingly unfamiliar. And here another hedge, leading to who knows where.
She peers around the tall bush, expecting to find another enclosed walkway, but instead she sees a small open space with a bird bath in its center. A raven stands within its waters, glaring in her direction. With bated breath she takes a step toward it, her hand outstretched. The bird seems very important to her, and she isn't sure why.
The chime of a small handbell floats through the air, coming from multiple directions at once. The raven caws and flutters away, up over the top of the hedges. She turns her head this way and that, suddenly afraid at being alone. A low growl creeps from the rose bushes, and the smell of smoke and burning brush follows. The sound of the bell persists.
When the hellhound emerges from behind the wall, she gasps in terror. He hand reaches instinctively for a weapon, but she is unarmed, unarmored, helpless. She turns to run, but the long hem of her dress catches under her shoe and she is falling, tumbling down toward the earth as the infernal dog snarls and leaps upon her back.
She stirs, gasping softly and tensing her body from the anticipated impact, but simultaneously awash with relief at the realization that she was, in fact, only dreaming. Soft lamplight flickers across the room from the bunk overhead where, she comprehends, Galen must still be awake.
"Galen?" she whispers, crawling to her feet and glancing at his bedspread, whereon a spread of harrow cards has been laid. "What're you doing?"
"Thank you for the hospitality, Laria, but I do indeed live close, not halfway from here to the shipyard. I will take my leave, and see you all in the morning. Goodnight, my friends, and stay safe."
Phineas strikes out for home, leaving just before the curfew strikes. He nods farewell to Isabel and Darian, heading south, the setting sun casting long shadows across his path. The events of the day flow through his mind, weighing on his thoughts. So much that he had hoped for, yet the events that spawned from this could be his undoing.
Phineas climbs the back stairs on his office building, unlocking the door to his apartment and pushing inside before hanging a magical light on the doorframe with a brief incantation. He hesitates briefly at his kitchen table, looking over the files of open cases. Work to do, something that once would have seemed so important, now seems somehow so trivial by comparison to the events of the day. Phineas passes them by, readying himself for sleep.
As he nestles into his bed, Phineas opens his nightstand drawer, pushing aside handkerchiefs, candles and tonics to retrieve a small, framed painting, only slightly longer than his hand. A much younger Phineas stared back at him, dressed in finery, a smile on his face as he stood next to a young woman, and behind a young boy and girl.
Erica, how could you. How could Barzillai, how could any of this have happened. Surely, we should be better than this. Why, why are we not better. Phineas runs his fingers across the painting, lingering on the young girl's face as a feeling of overwhelming sadness suffuses through him. This is not the way it should be, and it will not be the way it will be. Tomorrow....tomorrow, it truly begins. Phineas places the painting face down back in his nightstand drawer and dismisses the light, letting darkness fill the room and his thoughts as he drifts off into a troubled sleep.