"I had a pet turtle once, back during the short time I was one of Gaedren's Lambs," Kayleigh announces suddenly. "For a day...until it crawled back into the river. In hindsight, I probably should have seen that coming."
Regeris pauses for a moment while he takes in the riot before he decides to just continue trailing her until he can locate wherever she's going to.
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The Bridgefront Shingles
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The chase pauses and looks back in the direction of her tracker, and Regeris is almost certain he didn't get spotted, but she picks up her speed nonetheless. So much open ground means she's able to get pretty far ahead before Regeris judges it safe to attempt his own crossing. By the time he gets to the roof on the other side his quarry is nowhere to be seen.
As he looks around for a clue where she's gone he can't help but notice the conflict developing in the square below. The rioting crowd parts like a wave as a file of armored warriors advances into the street. They're all grey steel and crimson cloaks. Helmets with red plumes and full face guards. They lead a prisoner by the arms, bound at the wrists with a bag over his head.
Just as he spots a balcony on one side of the building, easily reached from the roof, there's a new cry that comes up from the square. Looking back down, his heart sinks to see the woman he's been chasing in the iron grip of one of the knights. Apparently Regeris and Emi aren't the only ones who think she looks like Trinia Sabor.
He watches somewhat helplessly as she's taken into custody.
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Perrin's Perch
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Emi settles in with a refill of her drink. Perhaps a quarter-hour later, the shingles exit bangs open and a new crew comes sauntering into the Perch. There are three rough-looking men led by a one-eyed halfling. The halfling is a twisted knot of muscles and bone. He barks unintelligible orders at the man behind the bar, eliciting chuckles from the men.
"The boss wants his dinner!" one of the men translates. The halfling nods emphatically, sweeping up a freshly-abandoned drink and downing it with a swig. The drink's proper owner backs slowly toward the stairs, then bolts.
Taking no notice, the halfling starts making similarly unintelligible demands. It dawns on Emi that the halfling has no tongue. His men laugh hilariously at the barkeep's obvious confusion and fear. The barkeep looks at the laughing men for help but they just shrug and shake their heads.
Tucked away in her dark corner, Emi is not noticed by the miscreants.
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Trinia's Stepmother's Apartment
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The door to the apartment is not locked, in fact its not even shut. When the three push it open further they find a man seated in one of the chairs at the dining table. When he notices Tassira, Kayleigh and Nebbin he shoots to his feet. He's wearing the uniform of the city guard.
"Hey, who are you?!" Nebbin asks in surprise.
Regeris turns and savagely kicks the side of the building. "DAMNIT! I should have called to her... she would have just run faster though. Bah!" His hand instinctively goes to his bow, but he realizes that the cause is a lost one.
Bitterly, he gives the riot a wide berth to get back to Emi, hoping she's still at the bar.
Emi stays quiet and where she's at. She doesn't want anything to do with the new gang's kind of trouble. She does watch them unobtrusively though, trying to figure out who they might be.
Lots of dangerous "bosses" through this place tonight. I wonder if Pilts or this guy or both are the owner. Do they connect?
Kayleigh draws her morningstar as she sees the stranger in the room and that stranger immediately jumps to his feet. She does not, however, raise the weapon...yet.
"Yeah--who are you?" the cleric demands, echoing Nebbin's question. "And why are you waiting in this exact room...at this exact hour?" She then tries to read the man's body language and the intent of his words when he responds.
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Perrin's Perch
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The man at the bar appeases the band with ale, something apt to make them more dangerous - to someone other than himself. The halfling is completely ridiculous, carrying on a conversation with the men as if the organ's not missing at all. He produces a sad string of punctuated moans and gestures that the men around him just perpetually agree with. His remaining eye bulges to compensate for its missing partner and he perpetually wipes at his mouth with his hands as he 'speaks'.
Emileva's not left to guess who the boss is, they name drop Pilts several times. She's pretty sure the bartender is just spooked by the mad halfling. He looks dangerous and unbalanced.
It seems like a tense eternity before the dumbwaiter behind the bar turns and Pilts's meal arrives. The men finish their drinks and take up the platters and pots that make up the meal. They file out the same way they came in, back into the shingles via the stage.
Emileva is just squaring her tab with the barmaid when Regeris comes back up the stairs looking for her.
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Trinia's Stepmother's Apartment
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The man seems nervous.
"Some folks on the ground floor were talking about murders that happened up here this morning. I... worked for the guard. Here in Bridgefront. Before it fell apart and the jail was burned out."
"My name's Jesper Deiss. I live in the building next door. I saw the Wain and didn't think much on it. But then I heard that some guardsmen were looking into the murders so I came to find out who. I was sitting here thinking I was too late to find out and then you walked in."
"You're not from Bridgefront company, so what company are you from? Is the citadel sending someone to rebuild the jail?"
He's younger than he looked at first. Dirt and beard conceal it well, and his stocky build helps, but this guy can't be twenty years old.
"Oh, OK," Nebbin says, relaxing and trying to make sure this new guard has no reason to be nervous. "Don't worry. You don't need to be nervous. We're not going to hurt you.
"We're kind of special guards, just helping out where we can," he explains. "I don't know if they're going to rebuild the jail, but we're looking for Trinia. To make sure she's safe, not that she has to go to jail! Do you know her? Have you seen her?"
That should hopefully make him feel better. And this is great! We're already encouraging people, sort of...
The big man gives a warm smile to the newcomer.
Regeris doesn't bother with any pretense and settles in alongside Emileva. "They got her - whomever her is," he says in a low, hoarse whisper. "I followed her for a while but there was a riot and the guard grabbed her. I don't know if it was our quarry. Same hair. Frankly, they may not care - if she looks close enough that could be good enough for an execution. We should come back here after things have settled down, but until then let's find the others and figure out next steps."
Kayleigh does her best not to wince when Nebbin immediately mentions Trinia's name. Well, maybe it'll provoke a reaction from this guy that'll let us know what his intentions are.
Emi is clearly relieved to see Regeris return. When he delivers the bad news, Emi rests her arms on the bar and leans on it.
"Damn, as much as I'd like to believe otherwise, I really think it was her. She's cooked now. The Crown won't be willing to suffer the embarrassment of her turning out to be innocent, so she'll be guilty."
She sucks on a tooth with her tongue for a moment, thinking. "Let's go get the others. They're at the flat in case Trinia were to go back. I suppose we can try to find her, she might be at the closest station. I'd imagine she'd be taken there first. We might be able to talk to her and get a better idea about her. And whether it's really her."
As they walk to the flat Emi finally adds more. "Just so you know, this probably won't be a very comfortable regrouping. I got into it with Tassira and Kayleigh about the uniforms. I was frustrated. If we'd had just a little more time inside, things might have gone differently. Maybe."
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Trinia's Stepmother's Apartment
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"See, I been trying to do some of that. I've broken up some fights when they were just folks fighting. But these streets are ruled by family and gang now, and when they fight... well, one man can't do much."
"I know most of the guys that's left from the old company are working for one or another of the bosses now, if they weren't before. Some's laying low with their families. Like me."
"Others're dead," he says glumly.
The guardsman's story only makes Tassira's mood more somber. "...I understand, sir."
She takes a seat and sighs.
Ravnos, on the other hand, wanders out into the hall and sits to the side of the stairs, her ears twitching. She stretches out and yawns before getting back to the task assigned to her--watching for any sign of Trinia.
Regeris scowls, and nods to Emi. "Better you than me." He sighs miserably. "It's a cruel thing to turn an innocent into a cynic. The idea that being a model guard is enough to rehabilitate a system which is corrupt at its very core is beyond my ken, but I sort of admire the worldview. It won't last long, which is unfortunate."
He moves to stand. "Tassira made her first kill. She may have picked this battle because of a need to do something good and repent. She anmd Kayleigh will be vulnerable. Let's not cast blame about what could have happened."
"Oh, that's so sad," Nebbin says, moving over to pat the man on the back. "Maybe we can try to get them back. Not the dead ones, but the other ones. When they realize that we can restore order to the city if we're all together..."
Sure he's cheered the man up, he leans carefully against a wall, glancing over at Kayleigh from time to time as he keeps watch for Trinia's return.
"How long do you think it will take her to come back here?" he asks.
Kayleigh doesn't want to bring Nebbin down by replying Never, so she simply shrugs her shoulders. "If the girl shows up, I'll try to talk to her but be ready to chase her," she tells Nebbin. "If Regeris and Emi show up, we'll plan our next move then."
By the time Regeris and Emi reach the flat the sun is setting.
Regeris arrives at the flat exhausted and miserable alongside Emi. "The guards have her - or someone who looks like her. When people fled the flat, we caught a glimpse of someone who looked like Trinia. I tailed her as long as I could, but we ran afoul of a riot and the guards got her. If Trinia was innocent, then it is certain whomever they capture will be executed. We should report to Cressida time permitting and then get back to the temple. I think we all need some rest."
"Oh no!" Nebbin says. "But shouldn't we see if we can get her back? And the other girl the guards took?"
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Trinia's Stepmother's Apartment
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Jesper does seem to take some heart in Nebbin's cheerfulness.
"I'm gonna talk to some of them, see if we can't band together and reconnect with Garrison Hill or Old Dock company. Maybe you can help us? Where are you based from?"
"Everyone knows the Queen's accused someone named Trinia of the King's assassination. I heard she was local, but don't know her. There's lots of people in Bridgefront."
"Folks here feel like their city's abandoned them, and I can't really argue with them. Tell the citadel, the Field Marshall. Bridgefront's on fire. The only signs of authority we see anymore are pockets of this Queensguard - Gray Maidens is what they call themselves - and an occasional Sable company knight flying to or from the Guard Tower. There's riots every day! I heard Garrison Hill is calm and Old Dock streets is quieting down, but Bridgefront's fallen to thugs."
He collects his gear and moves for the door as Emi and Regeris show up.
"We're with the Old Dock company," Kayleigh tells the young guard. "if you're serious about making an alliance and making a difference, talk to Grau Soldado."
When Regeris suggests reporting to Cressida, she roundly seconds the motion.
Nebbin nods, smiling at Kayleigh as she answers the man's question.
He's fine with going to talk to Cressida -- quickly, in case they still have a chance to help Trinia and the other girl.
Ravnos follows Regeris & Emi in before hopping back into Tassira's arms.
"...damnation. We need to move. Now." She stands up and starts walking out the door, pointedly avoiding eye contact with Emi.
Emi lets Regeris do the talking at the flat. She decides it would be better to save the new information about Pilts until tomorrow. No need to add to the mix right at the moment.
She mirrors Tassira, avoiding engagement with her.
Regeris listens in for a moment, getting caught up on Jesper before he starts ushering the group out into the streets. "Regardless of how this proceeds we're going to need to come to an agreement on approach. This is not a case of anyone being right or wrong. But we are the chosen of the Everbloom to save this city. I am more confident of that with every passing day. And we must use our differences to our advantage and not let them rend us asunder. Even with this disappointment, perhaps Cressida can give us direction or clarity."
The trip back across the city is relatively uneventful. Once clear of the bridges of Old Korvosa, the street scene turns back to something resembling normal. The rain seems to have passed and the evening sky bursts with stars as the sun sinks into the bay.
The crowds of protest you've become accustomed to wading through in front of the citadel have been largely dispersed by the day's heavy rains. The group is greeted at the gate, shown an office off the entry hall and told to wait for the Field Marshall. Mere minutes later, a tired Cressida Kroft comes into the room trailed by a small entourage of officers and guards.
"If it isn't the heroes of Old Dock," she says in greeting. Though she smiles with her mouth, the pleasantry doesn't extend to her tired eyes. She sits down heavily in a chair next to Tassira.
"I was hoping you'd be bringing me a blond gift the next time I saw you, but I can tell from the looks on your faces that something's gone wrong. Where is Trinia Sabor?"
"The Queensguard got to her first." Tassira bluntly says.
Regeris cuts in to elaborate. "We followed a lead to an area in the shingles, and spotted someone who matched her description. I tailed her right into a riot, and in the chaos the Queen's Guard got her. I don't know if they got Trinia or just some young blonde woman."
He shakes his head, scowling. "The Queen's Guard, these Gray Maidens, are causing the riots. They killed a young man trying to protect his sister and took the sister in for some vaguely-described questioning. Moving around this city is getting harder and harder. What's going on? Without this madness we'd have something to show for our efforts."
Nebbin nods along as Regeris describes what's happening.
"Yeah, we don't know whether we should wear our cloaks or not. Some people seem to be more scared of them, but then we can't show them the guard is doing good things if we don't wear them," he further explains.
"May I speak to you briefly in private?" Kayleigh asks the field marshal.
Cressida sits back in her chair and blows out her apparent frustration. She stands, runs her hands through her hair, and checks herself before saying anything.
"The Gray Maidens. They're running rampant in the city at the Queen's direction - or her captain's. Every day the queen herself seems to grow more insular. Withdrawn from the people around her who are supposed to be her advisers. She seems to place all her confidence in these heavy-handed knights who are suddenly springing up all around her. Ready to turn her every paranoid fantasy into a reason to arrest, or even to kill."
"I've personally brought three credible reports of their excesses to her and received only platitudes about the King's justice in return. I don't know how to make her see that she cannot cut her way out of this crisis of public confidence. That the actions of her personal guard are making her objective of securing the streets of the city less attainable, not more."
"And now we think she has her suspect. She hasn't announced that - but that may just be timing if this just happened. If she is in the queen's custody and being put to the question by this bloodmage..."
She lets the rest of that thought go uncompleted, pacing and losing herself for a moment in her own thoughts.
She looks up at Kayleigh's request, considers for a split-second, then asks the rest of her retinue to excuse themselves.
"A leak - yes of course that's very possible. I trust the people closest to me here, but everyone's confidence is being tested these days. But a leak to whom? We have these miscreants in the dungeon now - Grau delivered them into the citadel's custody this afternoon with an explanation of how you captured them. We've put them to some initial questioning but they've yielded basically nothing. I don't want to believe that the queen would employ such as these, but honestly, if half the stories told of the Queensguard are true, how much better are these knights than common killers?"
She sits again, looking at the ground. The question was obviously a rhetorical one.
Regeris sighs miserably. "If the Queen is excluding the civil society as it exists and creating a separate power structure with these Gray Maidens that is... worrisome. A smart army and talented bureaucrats can contain a difficult leader's excesses. She clearly has no interest in that. I'm curious as to where the Bankers sit in all of this.
"As for the assassins, Grau pointed out they had weapons of the Red Mantis but none of the skills. Their only real talent was staying quiet." He thinks for a moment. "She is the most wanted woman in Korvosa. Why send amateurs with the weapons of masters? It could be a clumsy framing attempt, but why bother framing a mysterious assassin's guild nobody knows anything about?"
There are so, so many things bothering Emileva about this business, a not-rightness that she can't completely get her head around. She can't figure out how to put into words what bothers her though. She could talk at length about the gaps in reason and contradictions, but it could take an hour and still probably wouldn't be coherent.
Instead she brings up the one thing that seems clearest to her.
"I think there must be another party involved. I can't make sense of such loud accusations against Trinia Sabor, only to then murder her quietly out of sight. Besides, if the Crown is not interested in a trial, the Gray Maidens could kill Trinia just as readily. But the very public accusations demand an equally public resolution. The Crown needs a trial to generate sympathy for the Queen and demonstrate her effectiveness as a ruler. This is true regardless of whether Trinia assassinated the King or not."
"The assassins sent after Trinia aren't the Queen's then. Maybe Trinia knows something she can reveal that would be dangerous to someone. Maybe the idea was simply to ensure Trinia was never found and embarrass the Crown. But whatever the exact reason, some other party is working at cross purposes."
"With Sabor now taken, the only way forward I can see is to find out who employed the assassins."
"But shouldn't we try to rescue Trinia and the other girl they took?" Nebbin asks, concerned. "Yeah, we need to find and stop assassins -- of course! -- but they're probably not going to assassinate anyone else right away, and we don't know what's going to happen in the dungeons. And how would we even find out who employed them if they won't talk?"
"They're both beyond our reach now," Kayleigh says quietly to Nebbin. "Unless you want to defy the queen and become an outlaw in the city."
She nods at Emi's suggestion of a third party involved in the day's madness.
Tassira's hand clenches into a fist, and her backpack shakes as Ravnos hops out. The calico tabby hops onto the table in front of the distraught mage and settles down in front of her for pats & hugs.
"...blast it. Blast it all." She starts stroking her cat. "At least finding out who hired the killers is something I can help with."
Unlike remaining incognito. Or listening to someone who knows what they're doing.
Regeris shakes his head sadly at Nebbin. "This is a foe beyond our skill, Nebbin. We're going to need to re-orient ourselves and accept that she's been captured. Don't think of this as giving up. Instead think of it as choosing the best way to use our skills."
He nods over to Emi. "Frankly, I'm at a loss of what to do next and their murder of her stepmother should be answered in kind. I'm also curious about finding out who she was speaking with at the bar. Perhaps we can figure out if it was actually Trinia."
Cressida addresses Regeris's question first.
"Yes. That's exactly what this Queensguard is - an alternate authority structure within the city that she controls exclusively. She seems to mistrust the Guard somehow. Perhaps this is a failing of my own, but she does not confide in me at all. She speaks of the City Guard with disdain right in front of her Maidens, as if I'm not standing there listening."
She lowers her voice, perhaps unwilling to loudly speak ill of the dead.
"This at least was something I thought would improve with the Queen. With Eodred this same thing often happened. Only the King would commiserate with Neolandus, the Seneschal of the Castle. I felt that I constantly had to remind him of the the jurisdictional lines between the City Guard and the Sable Company. The King seemed to think a man on a Hippogriff could handle any situation better than a company of common guards. Thankfully, Neolandus was my ally in this, and we worked together to manage the King's whims."
"Every time I thought I was making inroads with the King I came away disappointed. In the end he was interested in one thing when it came to me, or any other woman around him."
She leaves that implication sitting there for you to mull on for a moment before continuing.
"But with the Queen it seems worse! There's no Neolandus to help. The Sable Company's been dismissed from the Castle entirely and their strength has been squandered with small tasks around the city for which they are ill-suited. Marcus Endrin controls their remaining numbers from the Great Tower and is totally excluded from the Queen's councils."
"Of the Bankers - surely you all know that I serve at the pleasure of the crown and the bank. Master Tuttle nominated me to this position, and these days he takes every opportunity to remind me of that. Again, I'm not privy to his councils, but it seems to me that the Bankers have thrown their lot in entirely with the Queen. After all, the Maidens have installed themselves in Longacre, mere yards from steps of Abadar's House. They are the force today that guard those steps and ensure the safety of his precious vaults."
She turns to Emileva's comments next.
"There are a couple assumptions in your thoughts that trouble me. First of all, those men are not Mantis assassins. Though they show significant discipline in their collective silence, real Mantis agents would have been harder to defeat and above all to capture. The weapon is a curiosity, but my master-at-arms assures me that the specimen itself is a crude imitation of the real thing. A real Mantis assassin would carry a magically-enhanced and better-made version of the same weapon. Maybe they aspired to join that group?"
"Perhaps they meant to capture the girl. Just because they killed as a means to lay their ambush doesn't mean their intentions were to kill their actual target. It's possible that they were part of the same dragnet, and their function was to flush the prey into the arms of the Maidens. Certainly the Maidens have no skills when it comes to subversion."
She pauses a moment in thought.
"Or maybe the Queen intends to kill Trinia, regardless of how she was taken. The lack of an announcement is worrying. That girl may already be dead. Perhaps she does know something that the Queen doesn't want publicly known. In that case, the sooner I get to the Castle and make her aware that I, at least, know that she's taken the girl into custody, the better."
"On the other hand, there are certainly other parties in the city who would like to endear themselves to the monarch by delivering the girl, so the list of possible employers for these 'assassins' is a long one indeed. If she does know something damaging to the Queen, this may have been an attempt to gain leverage or information to blackmail her."
"This is my frustration. I have some frayed threads of evidence, but nothing that connects. What seems clear to me though is that I need to get back up to the Castle."
When Tassira speaks, Cressida turns to her with a look of sudden recognition.
"Tassira Vantyev. With all this going on it's completely slipped my mind to pass my condolences to you and your family for the death of your brother! An assistant of mine brought the connection between you and he to my attention, but events have driven it completely out of my mind. The murder of a son in such a prominent family does not escape the attention of the House of Abadar, and my understanding is that an investigator has already been assigned by Master Tuttle to gather evidence in the case."
Nebbin scratches his head.
"What was he interested in?" he asks, still amazed that he's talking to someone who talked -- regularly! -- with the king. Who'd have ever believed it?
He waits patiently as Cressida muses, hoping she'll tell them (or him, at least) what she wants done next, but she seems as frustrated as the rest of them.
Eventually, he hesitantly asks, "Maybe we should go talk to Master Tuttle or the investigator and see if we can help?"
Kayleigh lets out a tired sigh. "Maybe we should call it a day and start fresh tomorrow," she suggests. "Then maybe talk with Master Tuttle and begin investigating the murder of Tassira's brother. Unless you have another suggestion, Field Marshal Kroft?"
The news of an investigator on the case causes Tassira to blink in surprise. She looks up from petting Ravnos and nods. "Y-yes! I want to meet this investigator."
Regeris glances over to Tassira and nods. "We're grasping at straws here otherwise. Your brother's death is important and deserves our attention."
"Alright, where can we find this Tuttle guy?"
Nebbin nods.
"Master Tuttle will either be at the House of Abadar in Northpoint performing his duties as head of the church, or attending court at the castle. These days he seems to be at court more often than not. He's not likely to grant you audience at this hour unless you have official church business."
Outside, night has fallen on the city. Your journey back to the streets of Old Dock takes you right past the closed doors of the Bank. As Cressida said, the entrance to the huge marble building is guarded by four of the red-plumed maidens. They stand at mute attention, their eyes behind their full face-guarded helms following the movements of the thin crowd before them. Passers-by give the Bank and its guards a wide berth.
Your group arrives at the Temple of Aroden without incident, and you're relieved to find everything there basically as you left it.
The news of an investigator on the case seems to have put a bit of energy into Tassira's steps--she retires to her room in the temple, but instead of going to sleep, digs out her spellbook and starts to write...