Lord Vantyev pauses when Nebbin has his outburst. He turns slowly, his sword twitching in his hand.
"Do NOT presume to tell ME how to speak to my OWN daughter under my OWN roof! I'll wager half my company's value that you have NEITHER!"
"Tassira, get these people OUT of my home, NOW! Before I'm forced to call the actual guard."
"Come back here when you're ready to talk about the responsibilities and privileges of being a Vantyev in this city! And come alone. You want to find your mother? Think of the least responsible and appropriate place for her to be right now, and go there. That's probably where she is."
Nebbin is sweet, but Emi doesn't trust his impulse control. She puts some muscle behind pushing him out the door.
"Out Nebbin. Let's go."
Nebbin lets himself be pushed out the door, but he's not happy.
"That ... jerk!" he growls as the door closes beside him. "Threatening you with a sword! We're the real guard. We should lock him up!"
His nostrils flare, eyes clenched as he glares back, almost as if he can see through the wood and stone blocking his way.
The anxiety in Tassira's gut cools and sublimates into something more frustrated and venomous. It snakes into her limbs and causes her hands to clench into fists.
"...very well, Maric." She says through gritted teeth as she storms out the door.
Privilege and responsibility--you don't know what you're talking about. YOU married INTO the family.
"That ... jerk! Threatening you with a sword! We're the real guard. We should lock him up!"
"It wouldn't help." The ashamed mage growls. "We need to find Mother. Or at least find out where she and Lorne have gone."
Sparks start to run up and down Tassira's arms again, but in her exhausted state they don't have the same energy they used to.
There's just an instant of instinctual jealousy when Emileva puts her hands on Nebbin, but it's quickly washed away by the torrent of pride and love Kayleigh feels for all her new friends. Until recently, the two priests of Aroden (there were three at that time, the cleric remembers with a tinge of guilt and sorrow) had been the closest thing to real friends she'd had in a long time. Now the group was inseparable, all looking after one another.
Turning to Tassira, the priestess reaches out and puts one hand on her friend's shoulder. Some of her hair rises and frizzes a bit from Tassira's latent electrical energy, and her eyes widen a bit from the charge. "That was the alocohol talking," the cleric tells the mage. "And if he truly meant even a word of that nonsense, well...his loss is our gain! There's still time to mend your family, but it all starts with finding your mother. Do you know where she might have gone?"
Tassira glowers at Kayleigh for a moment, but when she sees the look in her eye, her anger abates.
"...he might have meant one of her old friends, from before they married." She nods. "Lara Brunswold. Sorcerous nobility who lives on the edge of the Heights."
"Knowing this city, she wouldn't have been able to move to a better house elsewhere. I think I still know where it is."
Tassira leads the group back out onto the dark, winding avenue. Her steps take them clockwise around the northern face of the hill and downslope several blocks to an only slightly more modest estate. Their knock at the manor door is answered promptly by a portly middle-aged maid. She looks like she's just stopped scrubbing something to answer.
"M'sorry ladies, Miss Brunswold is not in this evening. May I say who called?"
Tassira purses her lips. "My name's Tassira--Tassira Vantyev. Is Cassandra Vantyev in?"
"And if Miss Brunswold is with Lady Vantyev, could you please tell us where they are? It may be a matter of life and death!"
The maid's eyes go wide at Kayleigh's pronouncement. Her eyes dart to the checker on Kayleigh's shoulder and she starts talking to her toes.
"I'm not one to spout my mistress's business, but I recognize Missus Sandy's daughter, and I don't want any trouble with the guard."
"They're out together, in the Vantyev carriage. I don't really know where. Maybe there was a show at the amphitheatre - Kendall's is where they go for a show usually. But no, it's past curfew now."
"It's not my business," she says with a nervous curtsy.
Kayleigh grimaces in growing frustration as she senses that this poor woman is almost certainly being honest and is likely as worried as she and her friends are becoming.
"Can you at least tell us which way the carriage was travelling when it left here?"
Nebbin follows along, still seething.
"We should go to this Kendall's!" he declares. He steals a glance at Tassira.
The evening is wearing long, and Kendall's Amphitheatre is a good walk south from here on a very thin clue. Tassira has been many times and knows the way if you decide to make the journey, but it will be a weary one.
The maid shakes her head in the negative.
"I was polishing the Mistress's plates when she left. I'm sorry I can't say. Sometimes when the ladies go out they don't return until very late."
Kayleigh sighed and her shoulders slumped. Two days without sleep--even aided by her restorative magic--was beginning to hit her, mentally and physically. She turned to Nebbin.
"It's unlikely she'd still be at the amphitheatre this late...," she began before trailing off and shifting her eyes skyward, in search of the moon. Whether she'd received a vision from her goddess or just a random thought from her own exhausted and fearful psyche she couldn't tell.
"...although the amphitheatre would be the perfect place to stare up at the night sky, to see if the moon was still just a moon or had turned into a gigantic spider."
Tassira groans on the inside.
"...alright, how's everyone doing on spells and the like?"
Kayleigh manages a weak smile. "I'm out--totally out," she admits. "But I've got two channels left, and the wand of spiritual weapon if things get bad." After doing a little inventory, however, the priestess realizes she never asked Ishan for the wand back after loaning it to him in the bookshop. She approaches the Abadaran priest and asks for the wand.
"Well, I'm out of ideas. What now?"
Emi sounds tired, sullen, and petulant all at the same time.
Regeris has remained completely silent and speaks up. "I'm completely exhausted. This has been one of the most trying days for any of us. We may be chasing a cold trail but if she went to the ampitheatre and is still not home there may be some information on where she went. Although I'd love to just rest and call this tomorrow's problem family is important."
I feel guilty enough about neglecting mine. Tassira deserves this support.
Exhausted and miserable, Regeris stretches and looks to Tassira. "Let's go investigate. If the trail is cold we may not find anything tonight but I wouldn't want to sleep knowing we havent' looked."
Kayleigh nods in agreement with Regeris's wisdom in the matter. "It might be smart to leave a note here for your mother, in case she returns while we're still out searching for her," she tells Tassira. "To let her know what to expect when she gets home to your father."
Nebbin nods, thinking helping Tassira find her mother is a little more important than sleeping.
"Hopefully she'll be there. If not, I think we might need to wait until the morning," he admits.
Regeris nods to Nebbin. "If she's not there we're likely well behind wherever she may be and chasing her down won't gain us much time. Rest will be more important."
Tassira's eyes widen and a few tears start racing to her eyes.
"...thank you, guys." She weakly smiles. "Come on, before the trail goes too cold."
"I've got scrolls and a couple of bursts of lightning left in me."
She'll take a page of parchment with some ink and write a note for the maid to hold onto, explaining where they've gone and how her father is doing.
The night, at least, seems game to further investigations. The breeze off the bay brings a pleasant coolness to the evening, and a total lack of clouds fills the sky with all the stars of the heavens. Still, legs and feet ache with weariness by the time the Pillar Wall looms into view. Kendall Amphitheatre, still blocks away, is a darkened bulk against the moonlit wall. If there was a show there, it ended hours ago.
Any optimism the evening brought with it is suddenly dashed as the futility of this search sinks in.
Happily, as the group debates the prospects of going further or returning empty-handed, Tassira spots her family carriage sitting at the curb in front of the Crested Falcon, probably the swankiest dining establishment in the city. A groom that Tassira does not recognize holds the carriage door open, and as the group starts moving toward the coach, Cassandra Vantyev and her friend exit the Falcon arm-in-arm, steadying one-another for the dash to their ride.
At a call from Tassira, Cassandra stops, losing the arm of her mate in the process. She peers into the dark, trying to recognize the group.
"Tassira?"
"What are you doing here?"
Kayleigh lets out a sigh of relief upon catching sight of the matron of the Vantyev family. She hopes the unsteadiness in the woman's posture and gait is a sign of being a bit tipsy from drink, not unsteadiness after binging on shiver. Given the swankiness of the restaurant, the healer feels fairly confident it's the former, and she breathes a second sigh of relief.
"Remember to ask her if she's had any crazy dreams or sleepwalking incidents recently!" she whispers to Tassira.
Smiling at the seemingly happy end to the chase, Kayleigh moves to Nebbin's side and silently takes his hand in hers. "What a long day! I'm so tired, you may have to carry me back to the temple or wherever we'll be staying the night. It might make sense to find an inn hereabouts and head to Madame Carington's place in the morning."
Tassira almost collapses in exhaustion and relief when she finds her mother unharmed. She casts a light cantrip and moves to hug her.
"Thank Nethys we found you... we were looking for you." She starts.
"Who's, um... who's your friend?" She looks at the groom.
Regeris lets out an inward sigh of relief and remains his pleasant self as he stares at the carriage. He quickly casts he gaze over the groom and Cassandra's friend, looking for any signs of unusual behaviour beyond a night out on the town.
I doubt this is anything more than family trouble but I'm at the point of trusting nothing nowadays.
Tassira blinks her eyes. "...oh. Miss Brunswold. I'm sorry, I must be more tired than I thought."
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Emi finds a carriage wheel to sit/lean against and relaxes. It's nice when something works out.
Nebbin hesitates for a moment and puts his arm around Kayleigh.
[smaller]"Of course I'll carry you!"[/smaller[/b] he whispers back. [smaller]"But won't people talk if we get an inn?"[/smaller[/b]
He tries to pay attention to Tassira and her mother, but the idea of an inn on top of everything else scatters his thoughts. He shifts uncomfortably.
Miss Brunswold waves it off dismissively.
"Nevermind it Tassy, it's been a long time. Call me Lara. You're all grown up now."
"Well, you've found me." Tassira's mother replies.
She looks around at all the Guard cloaks.
"You're not here to arrest me for breaking curfew, are you?" she says, half-jokingly, but looking a bit concerned nonetheless.
"We're only out to get a bite... and maybe a sip... or three. I'm afraid we closed the Falcon tonight."
Lara giggles from the coach seat. They're clearly drunk as well.
Regeris lets out a long breath and nods wearily over to Emi. "Looks like everything is fine. Or as fine as it can be." For a moment he wishes he had a flask as he watches Tassira speak with her family.
Kayleigh melts into Nebbin's half-embrace; it's obvious the young cleric is exhausted from the long day and the two long nights she stayed up tending to the party.
"Well, we're the Guard," she replies to the big guy's worries. "I'm sure they occasionally rent rooms in other parts of the city when they can't make it back to their own watch station late at night."
She's not entirely sure that statement is true, but she's so tired at the moment any thoughts of hanky-panky barely enter her thoughts: More like 'Hit the floor and start to snore!'
Still, their job here isn't quite done. Uncertain if Miss Brunswold is aware of her friend's shiver addiction, Kayleigh decides to introduce herself and Nebbin to the woman to give Tassira a chance to speak frankly with her mom in private.
Extending her hand (but then retracting it, realizing belatedly that hand-shaking's not a smart thing in the midst of a pandemic), the priestess introduces herself and Nebbin to the other woman. After chatting briefly, Kayleigh asks if Miss Brunswold and her family are faring well during the epidemic, adding that she has some healing magic that's occasionally proven effective against the blood veil. "Any friend of the Vantyevs is a friend of mine; I'd gladly use a spell to try to remove the disease from a family member who's suffering from blood veil, and if that fails I could treat it with more mundane methods...."
The cleric does her best to extend the conversation with Lady Brunswold until Tassira can finish asking her mother if she's experienced any nightmares recently.
Tassira takes her mother aside.
"I'm not here to arrest either of you. We've had a very trying day, and I have to ask... have you been having nightmares recently?"
"Oh, my dear," Miss Brunswold replies, low enough that her words don't carry to Tassira and her mother, "my husband died some years ago and my children are out of the house. So far I've been fortunate to not catch this plague, but I appreciate your offer. Truth is, we don't get out very much. But lately Sandy's needed a friend, and a distraction from... home."
Cassandra blushes deeply at the question and seems to sober a bit.
"You know... better than most... what I've put myself through recently. With your friends help I've kicked that habit. But... yes, I've had some awful dreams lately."
"Frankly, I find drinking helps to drive them away. And distractions."
She looks over to Lara hanging out of the carriage to speak with Kayleigh and Nebbin, and smiles.
But why do you ask? Do you think they mean something?"
Tassira takes a breath of air. "...if they involve spider-monsters and the moon, I've been having them too."
"We're certain they're connected to some sort of spider-worshipping cult that's responsible for either creating, distributing or otherwise providing shiver to Korvosa."
"Why don't we talk while we travel? If two of you can budge up with the driver on the box, three can squeeze into the carriage with Lara and I and we can start back toward the Heights."
The carriage groans under the weight of so many, but taking it slow and staying to the widest avenues, the driver's able to make steady progress while the conversation continues.
"Yes, the dreams remind me of shiver dreams, but worse. Things are vivid and changeable, like in a shiver dream. But as you said... they're nightmares. They're menacing and... painful. Sometimes when I try to remember the details, I think I am a spider. Hunting and killing the people of the city as they were so many flies. And sometimes I feel like the spiders hunt me, and I'm the one having to work my way carefully through the webbing."
"Honestly, I'd assumed they were a consequence of my former addiction. The drug is a by-product of dream spiders... I suppose you know that. I sometimes felt that the spider was hunting me because my addiction was beaten."
She favors Kayleigh with a smile. Lara, seated close beside her says nothing. She stares out the windows of the carriage as the darkened city passes by.
While Emi rests on the wheel she's left with little to do but occasionally fidget for better comfort and pick at her hands. Even in the low light can tell she still has blood caked under her nails.
She's embarrassed by the discovery. She always feels uncomfortable around people like Tassira's mother and her friend. The state of her hands makes it worse.
Emi strolls around to the far side of the carriage as casually as she can. Once she's out of sight she pulls out a rag and spits into it a few times to moisten it. She tries to clean up a bit better, but her results are lacking.
When they're offered a ride, Emi quickly volunteers to sit up with the driver.
Kayleigh returns Lady Vantyev's smile, happy that the noblewoman apparently doesn't think too badly of her for giving the poor woman blood veil while treating her shiver addiction. "I'm glad to see you've recovered," the cleric admits. "I was worried for you; you seemed to be in a really bad place when I last saw you. But I see you're made of the same stern stuff as your daughter."
The part about shiver coming from creatures called dream spiders is news to Kayleigh. She wants to ask Lady Vantyev for more details but notices that Miss Brunswold seems to be avoiding the discussion. In the end, though, the healer's need to fully understand the origins of the malady wins out and Kayleigh asks the noblewoman to expound on the connection between dream spiders and shiver.
Tassira slumps in her carriage seat, her exhaustion finally overcoming her.
"...I think you're giving me too much credit, Kayleigh."
Regeris takes the opportunity to squeeze into the carriage with Emi clearly uncomfortable among noble company, and Nebbin's size maybe being excessive for the carriage. His longbow is an almost impossible fit and he ends up handing it to Emi before moving in. His gravelly voice cuts through the polite conversation.
"You've raised an exceptional daughter, Lady Vantyev. Brave and brilliant. Korvosa is suffering and she is working to heal its ills. These dreams a part of that. Something is doing this to you and others. Anything you can tell us will help Tassira help you and give you your nights back."
Lady Vantyev flashes a beaming smile at the praise for her daughter. It's obvious where Tassira gets her stunning looks from.
"She is, isn't she. And she seems to have fallen in with good company." She lays a hand on Kayleigh's knee and gives a squeeze.
"I wish I could tell you more about the drug, or help you with the leads you're chasing. I'm neither an alchemist nor a zoologist, though. My knowledge of the drug doesn't really extend beyond what I've told you. It's somehow distilled from poison, extracted from dream spiders, which are exotic. I think there are breeds native to the jungles of Mwangi and Vudra both. Probably other places as well."
Sooner than it seems possible the carriage comes to a halt in the short drive of the Brunswold estate. Everyone piles out of the carriage. Lara catches Cassandra's hand and pulls her toward the front door.
"Come in Sandy. Let's open a bottle from my cellars and sit on the balcony. It's still early. You don't have to go home yet."
"Go ahead. I just want to speak with Tassira for a moment and I'll be inside."
She pulls Tassira away from the others and speaks low.
"What happened?"
Nebbin steps away, making sure he doesn't over hear Tassira's conversation. He's already hurt her today, and doesn't want to intrude anymore.
He stands, uncertain what they should do, but wondering if maybe the carriage could take them all home afterward. But then he realizes he'd probably have to make sure the carriage made it back safely, and that would then mean walking home again by himself.
Kayleigh steps away with Nebbin to give Tassira and her mom some privacy.
"Was it you who cut down Tassira back at the book shop?" she asks quietly. "If so, it wasn't your fault: I think the half-orc used a spell to confuse you all. It doesn't seem like Tassira's holding it against you, though. Just apologize and be done with it. What's done is done; we survived, we move on. I'll be there apologizing with you. I didn't have a spell prepared to counter the confusion effect, and that's on me. Thank Milani--and Abadar--that Ishan had calm emotions prepared. I need to get a scroll with that spell on it just in case something similar happens again."
Emi briefly considers trying to start a conversation with the driver so she can slip in a few questions about the Ladies recent outings. But they're not really sitting far enough away from the coach's occupants for the driver to feel he could speak freely, even if he were inclined to. Besides, it seems there's nothing amiss after all.
Instead she closes her eyes and half-dozes as best she can for the duration of the ride.
"But I almost killed her!" Nebbin says, tears starting to fill his eyes.
"But you didn't!" Kayleigh counters. "We all got lucky this time. All we can do is learn from our mistakes and try not to repeat them. Or hide away from the world our whole lives out of fear and let the wicked prevail. To me, that's not a real option."
She lays a hand on Tassira's arm, tears welling in her eyes.
"Ships will no longer come into port. Commerce has slowed to a crawl. These are the things he cares about now. The things that stir his blood. He's fighting a battle that he can't win without help. Without this disease burning out. He petitions the court for relief to no effect. I've tried to talk to him but he finds my viewpoint... irresponsible."
"As if dwelling on an uncontrollable collapse amounts to responsibility."
"Maybe if our love was stronger, if we were still friends, we could find comfort in one-another through all of this. But it seems he would rather crawl into a bottle and nurse his grievances there. He won't come out with me and breathe the air, tainted as it is."
"I hope that you never come to really understand what it feels like to have your relationship grow cold and stale. To suddenly realize you've already heard every witty thing your mate will ever say. To wake up one day and find you share so little common ground. But your brother is gone, and you are grown and left the house... and busy pursuing life at a pace he cannot understand. Our common ground grows less and less."
"It's not that he's grown strange. Quite the opposite. He's grown too familiar. Some people at my age find peace and comfort in that, but I cannot understand it. Maybe that's partly my own reaction to your brother's death, but I feel the minutes of my life slipping between my fingers, and I'm no longer content to sit behind our doors and count our dwindling pile of gold."
"I hope you can understand. It's not about you..."
Regeris steps back to look into the night air, his sensitive hearing picking up the conversations as everyone works things out. He glances over to Emi as the rest of the party talk.
"I see which side of the family Tassira gets her positive traits from. I'm glad she's safe although I worry what these dreams will drive people to. We should get some sleep before visiting our favorite fortune teller tomorrow."
He looks over to Emi.
"How are you in all of this?"