Regeris looks around uneasily, unsure whether he should be happy or not that the place seems to have worked out as a headquarters.
"What will you all do?"
"Investigate. Good job Majenko."
Regeris' eyes flash white as he begins to explore the building and also spend a good hour observing the surroundings from the rooftop.
"This place does look much better than the others. Thank you Majenko. If the windows were boarded up the bodies outside go a long way toward explaining why this place is abandoned. I could see tomorrow's sweep passing it by as not worth the time."
"How confident are we it will be safe to leave the lambs at the temple? Any signs of illness at all?"
"I'd feel better if you slept somewhere safer," Kayleigh tells Ishan. To prove how much she believes in her own advice, the frugal cleric even offers to pay for a room and a couple of meals for the Abadaran in a nearby inn.
"We've got to go back to the temple to make certain the Queen's physicians don't try anything funny there," she tells Ishan. To Emi she adds, "They all appeared healthy and hale when we left them. They should pass muster unless the Queen's people have an ulterior motive and are looking for a couple of troublemaking healers there as well."
Moving to Nebbin, Kayleigh simply says, "Thank you. Once we have a place where the sick can go to be treated in Old Kintargo, it'll be such a weight off my shoulders. I appreciate your support."
Lastly, Kayleigh has a chat with Majenko. "How would a couple of live chickens be as a reward for your help in finding these places?" she asks. "Would two make a good meal for your family, or should I procure more? Also...please eat them out of sight--and preferably sound--of the children at the temple."
Nebbin nods, his slightly hollow gaze making it clear he's going to need to get some sleep soon.
Regeris's sweep of the two flats comes up with no evident sources of evil. If the monster that fed upon the unfortunate in the alley is nearby, it's well concealed.
Ishan waves away Kayleigh's offer.
"Not that I'd turn down help paying off my tithe. Perhaps if any of our mutual adventures have yielded anything of value, some modest share would help me put my accounts with the bank to rights."
"But there's plenty of broken down furniture, and the crates downstairs to keep a fire burning up here all night. If I concentrate my efforts here tomorrow I could start to put this place together, assuming no one comes home to claim it or kick me out."
Majenko shakes his head.
"Mine says this one has been empty for weeks."
At the mention of chickens his little head turns, nodding eagerly.
"Two chickens would feed me and mine very nice. But maybe I need stay here and help watch for dead. If Miss Kayleigh's worried about this one."
In terms of inns, Old Dock has a few and they are all located nearer the waterfront to cater to passengers de-boarding from ocean-going ships. The closest to the Temple is just a few blocks north of it, across the street from the Old Dock Constabulary that you visited earlier this afternoon.
"I would greatly appreciate that," Kayleigh tells Majenko when the dragon offers to stay and watch after Ishan. "I promise to get two live chickens for you and your family at a future time of your choosing."
The walk back to the Temple is a weary one. The long days have started to run into one another for each of you. The city is dirty, sick and broken. Its people scared, hungry and increasingly desperate. The horror of the burgeoning health crisis makes it hard to even remember why everyone was so upset at the death of the king. It seems long ago and far away now. Ancient history, almost.
The travesty of an innocent artist paying the ultimate price for a crime she likely had nothing to do with stands in pale comparison to the specter of outrageous conflict with and possible detention by the minions of the queen. All in the name of curing Old Dock of a sickness that Kayleigh had only just started to feel she was mastering.
It takes some persistent tapping on the door before a bleary-eyed Garlan lifts the bar to allow you all to file in to the chapel. It's very late. So late, in fact that if things start too early in the morning Tassira will not have recovered her magic.
Unfortunately, as exhausted as you are, some of you don't sleep as well as you should. By first light, Regeris and Kayleigh both begin exhibiting early symptoms of the Blood Veil. Light rashes. Elevated temperatures. An ominous tickle in the chest.
Dawn was supposed to be the time of the physician's push. Looking down on the square from the bell tower, you can pick out the assembling crowd at the bridge through a thick pre-dawn fog. Their torches mark their numbers. Queen's Physicians in their long black robes and frightening doctor's masks mull about on the other side of the bridge like a murder of crows gathering at the field's edge. A bright flash of silver and bold dash of crimson warn of the steel retinue that's coming with them. On the northern end of the square a group of maybe a dozen guards in the red checker loiter for a moment to receive orders, but then begin breaking into smaller groups and spreading out to other exits from the square.
You have only moments to do anything you might do to prepare. The Plague Doctors are coming.
Nebbin looks around in concern at Regeris and especially Kayleigh, showing their symptoms. He's not sure she can do anything to hide their signs, but maybe between her and Tassira they can, if no one else appears infected. He puts on his armor and sword, making sure he has what few valuables he owns on him.
"I'm not letting them take anyone," he says determinedly.
Emi makes one last plea while there might still be time to act.
"No, it does not work that way Nebbin. If we stay here we cannot fight. If we try to hold the temple we will lose. There are too many against us. We can't manage a running battle trailing a caravan of old and kids. Even if we won the first round and drove them away, we are left defending a fixed position in the middle of a hostile city. The government won't let a defeat stand. They will come back again and again. If we could, we would have to leave the temple and never come back. If we can't get out, it will be an impossible siege and the temple will be taken sooner or later."
"We must go to the building we found with the lambs and hide. We wait this out there and then we can come back. If we need to we move out of the building up to the shingles to wait it out."
"If we stay here we must let them take individuals if they decide to. Otherwise everyone is massacred and if some aren't they're taken."
"I f%$~ing will not stand here passively and agree to mass suicide as a solution. F$@+ you're pig-headed, simple noble intentions Nebbin. The same goes for the rest of you too if you think sitting here and hoping for the best, and fighting a last stand here if you're disappointed is any kind of sane plan."
Kayleigh awakens from a half-forgotten nightmare. In it, Ishan had been taken by a vampiric half-spider creature, and then the beast had hunted her. The cleric finds the waking world only slightly better.
Her anger at the way Emi addresses Nebbin makes her want to punch her friend in the face, but fortunately she also hears the rest of Emi's words.
"Emi's right: Regeris and I can't stay here...unless we want to be taken and investigate how the physicians are treating the blood veil from within the belly of the beast. But do we really want to take the Lambs away? They're relatively safe from the plague in the care of the old priests; if we take them elsewhere, they'll likely get infected. If they're still showing no symptoms, I still think we should leave them here. But I'm too tired to fight about it, so I'll defer to Emi's judgment on the matter."
Getting her gear and possessions, Kayleigh tries to formulate a new plan. "Once I've had time to pray to Milani, I'll be able to remove the blood veil from myself and Regeris easily enough. That'll take an hour, though. Can the rest of you watch the temple from a safe distance to make sure anyone we leave behind isn't taken for no reason?"
Regeris wakes up truly miserable having not had a good day in a long time as he listens to the party talk.
"There are better last stands to make than this one," he says as Emi curses out Nebbin. "We are sent here by the Everbloom to save the city, not get slaughtered during a routine plague sweep. We could probably fight them off but our lives get a lot harder after that. Even if they take the lambs it will be to that hospice. The worst outcome is one we can deal with."
He looks over to Kayleigh as he straps on his pack and grabs his bow.
"The question is if they are here for the plague, or if they are here for us. If they're here for the plague then they will bear us no mind if Kayleigh and I are hidden, which is easy enough. If they're here for us, then it doesn't matter if we're sick or not."
After a moment he looks Emi in the eyes. "I think they're here for us."
Nebbin's face darkens at Emileva's words, an unusual look of anger settling in as he squares his shoulders.
"If we were just going to hide, why did we come back at all last night? Fine, you want me to let them take the kids if they try. I will, but then I will get them back. We didn't get them back from Lamm just to lose them some other way! If they want me, they can come get me!"
"We don't know if we're a target or not. We do know we've violated the ban on healing the infected and there's no reason to believe it's a secret. We also know the authorities like making public examples of people, guilty or not. There's a hanging this morning across the bridge you can attend if you doubt it."
"My point is we can't wait to see because by then it's too late. I'm not going to feed b#!$!#*~ fantasies about standing up to Korvosa's armed forces being anything other than a death sentence for everyone here. If we're here for the search, and there will be one, we have to peaceably abide with the result for the sake of those who aren't taken if it comes to that."
"If you don't like it, we have to go. All of us right now."
Kayleigh sees the anger brewing between Nebbin and Emi and decides to nip it in the bud.
To Emi she replies: "There is no ban on healing the infected, just on hiding them from the Queen's agents. We've done nothing wrong...yet."
"Nebbin--can you find Garlan and do a sweep to make sure no one else is showing any signs of having contracted the blood veil overnight?"
Regeris moves over to Emi and grabs her wrist. "Irrespective of what they do, we have to get out of here. Let's move. I can cast invisibility if we need."
Nebbin nods, heading out to look for signs of infection among the others. Sadly, he's not well trained in such signs, but he has seen a lot of it.
Garlan too is quick to try and broker a peace among the group.
"It's ok. They're coming for the sick, not the homeless. There's no prohibition against the children staying here in our care. They would not dare to take them from this house. They have no right..."
He stops and listens to the group argue further, then nods sharply at Kayleigh's direction.
"You're right. You need to go. All of you. Your presence here now probably puts the children more in danger, not less." He hurries off with Nebbin to examine the kids.
Nebbin and the old man move through the two rooms crammed with kids as quickly as possible, going child by sleeping child. They awake in various states of grumpy confusion, allowing Nebbin to look at their faces and backs for rash, to feel their heads for fever, and to question them about any coughing or need to cough. Carawyn blushes furiously, but doesn't argue when she's asked to bare her back. Happily there's nothing there to see, her alabaster skin is as unmarked as all of the other children. To Nebbin's untrained eye, the children are free of any sign of the Blood Veil. If the physicians find a reason to take the children, they're either seeing something he cannot, or their motives are askew.
While the group gets their things together and hashes the plan out further, Garlan cracks the front doors of the temple and walks out onto the front steps to see what he can see. In a few moments he comes back in and relays the information.
"The fog is thick out there," he says, wiping the dew from his spectacles.
"They're still at the bridge, not coming on yet. I think if you left now and headed north or west you could still get out before they start. In this fog you might even get out unseen. I can only see the glow of their torches in this soup, but there are many and more."
He walks over to Kayleigh and almost takes her hands, then remembers himself and sticks them in his coat pockets.
"If you stay, they will take you. That's not something any of us can afford now."
"Go! This isn't goodbye, girl. We'll see to the children until you can come back."
"We'll do our best to keep in touch," Kayleigh tells the old priest. "If the blood veil rears its head again--or if you or the Lambs need anything--you can send Majenko to find us. Stay safe!"
Just before leaving the building, Kayleigh tells Garlan that she left a pouch of money behind the statue of Milani in the small shrine to help pay for the upkeep of the Lambs and the temple alike. "Now go fetch it and hide it somewhere safe before the Queen's people arrive; I wouldn't put it past them to steal it if they were to discover it."
With that she exits the front doors and heads north, deeper into Old Korvosa.
Emi clenches her hands into white balls and bites her lower lip. She doesn't like it, but she can't bring herself to go against the elderly priest. It's a half-a-loaf solution. No violence to tip things into disaster, but no safeguard against the government's worst possible intentions.
Without saying anything, Emi spins on her heel and rapidly walks away. At her berth she packs a change of clothes, the Guard cloak, and her book. She also arranges the straps on her breastplate so she can carry it on her back. The few remaining things go into a sack, which she stows under the cot.
When she goes back to the main room she tells the others "there's no conflict anymore so I'm going to see Trinia Sabor." Indicating the armor slung over her shoulder, she informs them "I'm dropping this off at the first place we visited. I'll retrieve it when I return. If you know where you're going and want to tell me, I'll meet you there afterward. Otherwise you'll know where to find me."
On her way out the door, Emi starts considering her options for getting to the Longacre Building.
Feeling more than a little helpless, Tassira doesn't have much to offer aside from silent compliance.
...could I have even done anything to prevent this from happening? No, I don't think so... but maybe if...
She gathers up Ravnos in her arms. "...Kayleigh, if you need help getting away, I do have some invisibility magic left."
Nebbin nods, following the others. If they can't help the priests and children, maybe they can help Trinia.
He follows Emi, his few possessions -- including his massive sword -- on his back. He brings his halberd, using it as a walking staff, though leaves behind the old quarterstaff he once used as a crutch back in what seemed like slightly simpler days.
Desnus 5
As the group shoulders their packs and slips one-by-one out the door, a steady single-beat drum rolls out across the plaza, slow and menacing. A disembodied line of torches starts to resolve into a line of shadowy forms advancing over the bridge. The party files down the steps and around the west corner of the temple to break the immediate line of sight to the bridge, but once that basic modicum of cover is achieved, you cannot help but look back and watch the procession spill into the plaza.
The leading rank are physicians. Their flat, wide brimmed hats and dark cloaks marking them plainly. The four in the front swing heavy thuribles before them in time with the drum. The shining devices belch thick smoke adding to the obscurity of the plaza. Behind them come more of their ilk clad entirely in black with glass eyepieces reflecting the flat grey of the morning.
The front four are flanked by the Queensguard in shining silver and red, their crown tassels plastered to the sides of their full helms by the morning's dew. Above the whole, torches and vague forms along the walls on the other side of the Narrows surely mark where crossbowmen look out on the whole proceeding.
As the column reaches the near end of the bridge they fan out across the plaza in groups. Maidens take up posts along the perimeter of the plaza. Physicians zero in on clumps of locals too slow or unwilling to flee before them. A knot of physicians and Maidens breaks off and starts making their way through the crowd headed directly for the doors of the temple. Behind them a Maiden commander mounted on a black charger canters over the bridge to take position in the middle of the square. Behind her, a Pharasmin's Wain comes along on creaking wheels.
Some of last night's protest crowd stayed the night in the plaza, but these begin to route in the face of so much steel. There's a crier in the center of it all, but whatever the man is saying cannot be heard over the sounds of the panicking mob.
The scene is one-part mesmerizing and another part panic-inducing. As the crowd increasingly surges away from the oncoming force, members of the Old Dock guard fan out across the plaza's exits, holding the crowd from escaping. The guardsmen brandish clubs and shields, holding their lines as best they can against an ever-increasing tide of humanity.
As the physicians and their escorts reach the steps of the temple and begin to climb toward the doors, someone from the crowd lays a gauntleted hand on Emi's shoulder. When she spins to face the threat she's relieved to find Grau's grim face.
"You need to go now!" he hisses.
Behind him, the guard pushes forward to make a protected lane through their lines. With a last glance at the plaza, the crowd and the swirling fog-smoke, the party turns and squeezes through their lines.
Once beyond the cordon the streets are remarkably clear. Though faces peer down through nearly every window, no one is curious or bold enough to take to the streets. After a walk of one or two blocks towards the safe house, there's only the dim sounds of the desperate plaza crowd to mark the scrum taking place there.
You find the safe house as you left it.
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Regeris remains silent as he keeps his distance from the children and remains near Kayleigh. This was inevitable. We will make a difference. I know it. Milani is with us. What a blessing and curse this fog.
Once the group sans Emi reaches the safe house Regeris pulls back his hood and drops the pack of his meagre possessions on the ground. "I wanted to see if they would take the children but they either will or they won't. Witnessing the act doesn't change it."
He blinks and looks around for Majenko. If he can find the little house drake - "Majenko can you go watch the temple and see if they are taking the children away? If they do, can you let us know where?"
Kayleigh thanks Tassira for her offer. After thinking a moment, she says, "That might be more helpful for those who want to go to Trinia's execution." Toward that end, the cleric admits that she still has a water breathing spell from yesterday, if folks are desperate enough to make a swim for it.
Kayleigh digs her beat-up copy of The Light of Hope from her pack and flips to the section on prayers for the dead. Half reading it, she allows her mind to wander, trying to make a plan for the day while figuring out what spells will be needed.
With a moment to finally think, Emi considers her options for getting to the execution. The bridge south of the Temple is the obvious choice, but to use it you'd need to go right through the teeth of the action in the plaza. Without magical aid, that's not happening.
The many unofficial bridges over the Narrows can get you off the island, but to get beyond the wall and into the main city you still have to walk along the Narrows to one of the two entry points. The easternmost feeds directly off the Jeggare bridge, and again, leads right into the crowd of Maidens and doctors. The west is an extraordinarily long walk around. No way you make a dawn execution going that way.
Sitting there, grinding her teeth in concentration she finally does come up with another possibility. Londra's Labor or another of the fleet of fishermen out of Old Dock might still be found at the piers. With the river fog so thick still, it may be she's not put out of port yet. If the boat could be commissioned to do an end-around, she might land you somewhere in upper Midland, allowing you to approach the building and the execution from the south. But that route will also take precious time. And she might refuse because of the fog.
Emi finds a place among the broken furniture and debris to leave her breastplate and pack, covering them with broken furniture and crates so they won't easily be found. She leaves everything from her berth there except for two things. She stuffs her book into her shirt. The can of blue paint and brush she puts in her belt pouch.
"I'm going to see if I can find a boat to hire. Hopefully someone will be willing to take me across. It's the only way I can think of to get there."
She neither waits around for anyone, nor insists on going alone.
Kayleigh wonders a bit at Emi's paint and brush but doesn't ask about the items.
"Be careful!" she implores Emi (and anyone who decides to accompany her to the execution). Then she starts praying for spells. The sooner she gets them--plus her healing channels--the sooner she can purge the blood veil from herself and Regeris.
Nebbin looks back and forth as Emi goes to leave while Kayleigh stays. Finally, he shakes his head, having reached a determination. He takes up a post near the front of the safehouse, where he can see if anyone is coming. He wants to help Emileva, but he knows she can take care of herself. He can't risk leaving Kayleigh and the children, though.
"Try not to do anything to get yourself hurt," he says as she goes to leave. "If we couldn't fight the doctors, you can't find the executioners either!"
Emi shakes her head sadly at Nebbin
"It's not about fighting. It's about witnessing injustice so it's not forgotten or goes unknown. It's about respect for those who suffer because of it."
Emi cautiously navigates her way to the docks to look for a boat to hire. She starts by looking for Londra's Labor, figuring since she and they are now familiar with each other, it's her best chance.
The hour passes without event. The chaos unfolding mere blocks away leaks into the windows and into the concentration of the young priestess as she recites her prayers and receives her blessings. When she finishes, she feels filled to her limit with the righteous power of her goddess.
Emi picks her her way around the Old Dock, cutting through the Reefclaw Run Market and over the low shoulder of Garrison Hill to bring the docks into view. By the time she reaches the fishing pier the blanket of fog is starting to compress and the first rays of dawn are touching the tops of the masts.
As it happens, Londra and her sons are making final preparations to cast off in search of a late morning catch - late for a fisherwoman that is. She recognizes Emi immediately and waves a friendly greeting. When she hears Emi's request she agrees to it for a modest fee, but warns that she will only touch at upper Midland to drop her off and Emi will have to find her own way back.
The trip upriver is blessedly fast. The wind is in her favor and Londra knows her business. Sloping down to a pier jutting out into the flow, Emi's able to hop the gunwale with ease and rush along sidestreets to get closer to Longacre.
As she gets nearer the execution site it becomes obvious that something unplanned has happened. The crowd streams past her as a body, eager to get away from whatever has just occurred, and there's one name on everyone's lips. Blackjack.
When she finishes her prayers, Kayleigh uses one of her positive energy channels to remove the blood veil from herself and Regeris (simultaneously lifting some lingering damage incurred by the sea hag's claws from the day before). Then she casts a lesser restoration spell on herself, hoping to lift the magical weakness the sight of the hag had inflicted upon her. As per usual, her faith isn't strong enough to get the job done.
"Do we go after Emi?" she asks the others. "Or maybe split up? I need to at least check in on Ishan--make sure he doesn't have any fang marks on his neck."
"I don't think we should split up too much," Nebbin says. "But maybe we should go check on Ishan. Once we're sure no one followed us. We could also go make sure the temple is OK."
Regeris lets out a sigh of relief as the spell is removed. He nods over to Kayleigh.
"Let's go find Ishahn and inspect the temple. Emi can take care of herself."
Tassira runs alongside Emi as they make their way to the execution site.
Emi grows alarmed at the disturbance and speeds up a little to a jog.
"What could be going on?" she asks Tassira rhetorically.
When she sees someone who looks like they could be grabbed without stabbing her in return or otherwise reacting too badly, she does so, holding them by their tunic and demanding to know what's happened.
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"Your guess would be as good as mine." Tassira sighs while looking for something to cover her face with.
"Too many people here--can't help but feel this would be a prime breeding ground for blood veil..."
Kayleigh manages a weak smile and nods at the two men, approving of their plan...even though it means a lot of walking. But by the time they've finished with Ishan and any sick folk he may have gathered, the physicians should have moved on from the Temple of Aroden.
She also says a quick prayer to Milani to watch over Emi and Tassira at the execution.
The skinny young man that Emi catches by the elbow proves easy to push around. He swallows audibly, eyes a little wild.
"You're strong!" he offers before Emi can get out her demand.
"Umm. Blackjack happened. They were marching the girl to the guillotine that they set up right there in the square in front of Longacre, and then suddenly there he was, flicking daggers here and there. It was amazing! The executioner was a giant, but Blackjack just pinned his foot to the stage with a dagger as easy as kiss my hand! And he said something, yelled it up to the Queen telling her that she was the real criminal. And then they started shootin arrows, and hittin people that was just standin there. And then people started runnin and pushin and it was crazy!"
He licks his lips nervously and eyes people fleeing in the streets with envy before turning back to Emi and Tassira.
"Do you reckon he's right? That the Queen is the criminal? That girl sure didn't look like no assassin. I kinda felt bad for her, but not enough to spoil the execution. I never seen one of those before, but I guess it was worth it to see Blackjack though! Flesh and blood! Bet my parents never got to see him that close!"
---
Putting the din of the square behind you, Kayeligh, Nebbin and Regeris make their way back through the streets of Bridgefront to safehouse number three. On the second knock Ishan answers the door. His hair and clothes are disheveled and there's a smear of dirt on his cheek, but he otherwise seems no worse for the wear.
He asks first about the temple and the children, and the scene in the square, before describing his own night.
"There's alot of work to do here. A hospice must be clean to be effective, after all. No sign of monsters, though. Majenko kept watch and I got enough rest to get by. Today I need to get down to a market and buy some supplies for this place. I don't know where to get more beds. And we may want to think about hiring some trustworthy locals for basic cleaning and care. Not many. I don't want to spend more time keeping a staff healthy than I do victims off the street."
He seems equal parts excited and tired.
"What's your plan? How long will this thing at the temple last?"
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Nebbin tries to subtly checks the man's neck.
"It's a nice day, for a change!" he says encouragingly. "Do you want to come out into the sun? I think a quick trip to the market would make sense."
Kayleigh is uncharacteristically carefree with her coin, giving Ishan 100 gp for a pair of healer's kits, 100 gp for cleaning supplies and other purchases and/or hirings, and a final 100 gp to help pay off the tithe he still owes to the Church of Abadar. In response to his questions, a comical grimace crosses the priestess's face. "I'm not sure of anything this morning. If the physicians are merely checking each building for the sick, they should be long gone from the temple by the time we get back there. I want to--I need to--check on the Arodenite priests and the Lambs to make sure none were taken and to see if any questions were asked about the rest of our merry little band. Emi and Tassira were trying to cross the strait to witness the execution of the king's alleged assassin, so we'll want to join up with them at some point...though I'm not sure where."
Turning to Nebbin and Regeris, she inquires, "Is there anything else we want to try to accomplish today?"
Regeris silently lets Kayleigh pay off Ishahn's debt and for the hospice setup. His only goal being that the group has enough coin to function in their activities.
Once Kayleigh is done with Ishahn and Nebbin is done making sure he's not a vampire, Regeris takes a moment before responding.
"Temple first, it may dictate anything else we're doing. I'd also like to make sure we meet back up with Emi and Tassira unless we have trouble finding one another. It may be worth going down the eighty things we're trying to keep track of at once because my head is still spinning after that damn curse."
Emi's eyes widen incredulously. She relaxes her grip slightly to reassure the young man because she suddenly has a lot of questions to ask. She asks them in order of urgency.
"What do you mean 'spoiled' the execution? Is it delayed?"
"Are you talking about storytime Black Jack? That's not believable. Did he actually call himself Black Jack?"
Kayleigh slaps her palm to her forehead at Regeris's words. "Silly me! I was so caught up with all the goings on at the temple and worrying about Ishan and Majenko that I forgot to remove your curse! I even prepared a second casting, just in case the first one doesn't take." With a wistful smile she adds, "You know me...."
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The Streets of Northpoint
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"Delayed?" he laughs, "well, seeing as though Blackjack got away with the girl I think it's pretty delayed alright!"
"Once she gets back into Old Korvosa they ain't never findin her again. That place is a rat's nest! S'why I never try to get any closer to it than we are right now. That's my bet, at least."
"Well, I mean it's pretty incredible, right? I never seen him before, but if you believe what you hear, he's been poppin up in Old Korvosa lately. I don't know. When my ma used to tell me Blackjack stories she always said 'he' was a 'she'. But that was a 'he'. I mean he's supposed to be a master of disguise, right? Why no one ever know's who it is. But he had all the black leathers, and the black cape, and the daggers and the skinny sword. The duelin sword. Whats'it?"
"I thought one of them arrows grazed him, but I can't be sure. He didn't look no worse for the wear when he disappeared."
It would be impossible to grow up in Korvosa and not have heard of Blackjack, and most of what the young man is saying lines up with the confusing bundle of legends Emi's heard. Righter of wrongs and champion of the little people of the city. Most right-minded folks think he's either more than one person or not human. Seeing is believing, and Emi's never seen a real-life Blackjack. Just carnival characters and play-actors.
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Safehouse Three (in need of a better name)
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Ishan looks up in tired amusement as Nebbin circles him awkwardly.
"Honestly Nebbin, I'm not a vampire. I promise!" He pulls down the high collar of his shirt to expose his entire neck, jawline to clavicle. It's cleaner than his face, and unmarked.
He takes the first offered sack of coin and nods his head.
"Reasonable. We're gonna need those supplies for sure."
He takes the next sack of coin and shakes his head, but stows the purse anyway.
"This will buy alot more than cleaning supplies. This should outfit the place with furniture and living supplies too. Maybe more than enough to get us up and running."
He takes the last sack and holds it aloft, staring at it like it represents a puzzle he hasn't quite figured out.
"This... I'm not sure." He puts the pouch of coin on an upturned crate he's been using as a table and sits down on a barrel-chair pulled up next to it. He stares off at the wall and scratches the patch of black hair on his chin in contemplation.
"You all would put this money to use helping the city's poor," he practically mumbles. "Just like the first two sacks you gave me. Good after good."
"At this point, I'm not sure what my brothers and sisters would use it for."
"I'm not sure I want or need this pouch."
He pushes it back across the table toward Kayleigh.
Nebbin's eyes pop a little at the wealth Kayleigh gives away so casually. He's not sure how she can be so profligate. He'd grown up with almost nothing. He wasn't sure if his mother had that much money over his entire childhood, in fact. He certainly hadn't ... or at least not until very recently.
"We can argue over money later," he says lightly, "but we need to make sure the kids are OK."
Kayleigh smiles when Ishan returns the last 100 gold pieces. "Well, that takes care of the awkward question of how we'd deliver it to your superiors."
When Nebbin interjects, she gives him a quick nod.
"Maybe if we walk back along the docks we'll be able to see Londra's boat," the Milanite suggests. On impulse, she takes Nebbin's hand.
I hope Regeris won't feel awkward, but he's already told me he approves of Nebbin and I dating...if you can even call it that! He's great--like a second father to me.
Moments later, Kayleigh's inexplicably tearing up. She wipes them away with her other hand, trying to be surreptitious.
Holy Roses! I haven't given a though to Dad or Mom in weeks! I know we've been busy, but still....
Emi is stunned by the impossibly good news.
"What? He got her out of there?!
The rest of what the guy has to say goes in one ear and out the other after the news of an actual rescue. Emi's grip on him turns into a quick bear hug before she lets go of him with a quick "Thank you!".
She gives Tassira a happy, incredulous look before hurrying on to see if it's possible to get a look at the Longacre Building's courtyard herself.
"Did you ever take any of those Black Jack stories seriously Tassira? I mean I always sort of figured there had been such a person for real once in the past. But I figured it had just been a legend for a long time now."
"Let's see if we can get a look! Probably can't, but I'd also like to see if Trap's around since we're right here by the Bank anyway. Then we should start looking for a way back."
Emi seems buoyant, far more animated and upbeat than Tassira has seen her in a long time.
"Uh... well..." Tassira looks more than a bit surprised, like she has no idea what else to say.
"...can't say I've ever really paid attention to the stories. I had studies in magic to deal with."
"Really? They're fairly common. The basics are always the same but details vary among the stories. So, Black Jack is the hero. Wears a mask so nobody knows who he really is. All the ones I've heard have Black Jack as a man, but that guy said some have him as a woman. There's a lot of different stories."
"Anyway, there's some wrong regular people can't fix. Criminals, corrupt Guards, or agents of the Crown. Black Jack shows up at just the right time to stop the terrible thing from happening and defeat the oppressor before disappearing again."
"That's pretty much it. I mean what that guy told us was a Black Jack story, except this time it seems to have happened right here and now in the real world. The other ones are always 'a friend of a friend of my cousin's friend saw', or when he was a kid my great grand pappy saw'."