Demitri smiles as the kids enjoy their treats. He wraps his arms around Nadia while she ate, just happy to have her back. He nods back to Jakob. The fact that they both got a loved one back was something they shared in common. "Is Hannah alright?"
"He's dead, Griggs," Ortik says quietly. "Lamm's dead, and I found evidence that exonerates Old Man Hartleby. That's why I want to speak with the Field Marshall. I want him freed."
"Well, Field Marshal Kroft would be VERY interested in hearing that, I think." He says with a grin. That may just be the first time you ever saw him smile.
He knocks on the double doors. "MA'AM!"
A female voice, edged with authority, replies "What is it?"
"Got some good news for ya. May we come in?"
"Door's open."
With that, Griggs pushes the double doors open to reveal what appears to be a blend of a war room and a meeting hall. A long, finely carved table made from ash wood dominates the center of the room, lined with chairs on all sides of it. Beyond the table stands a well-made desk carved from maple wood, decorated with images of pseudodragons. A high-backed oaken chair with violet cushions sits behind the desk, and in the chair is a brown-haired, grey-eyed lady clad in red and grey plate mail is seated in the chair. Her eyes have dark circles beneath them.
To her left is a thin, dark-haired man of Vudrani descent, clad in gold-colored robes. He has a nervous look in his eyes, and what appears to be a golden key hangs around his neck.
Griggs leads you into the room, stopping in front of the desk before offering her a salute.
Marissel sits quietly as Deredel finishes his story. The silence stretches on. Finally Marissel clears his throat. Well. That's in the past. You've already moved passed the shiver, this is part of that.
Marissel continues making small talk for a few minutes. Then, Have you heard from Donna and Mercia today? I was going to check on them next. Let them know the good news.
"I haven't been out since the riots began." Semond finally speaks up. "I don't know how they're doing: I've been busy with Deredel."
Semond has a conflicted look in her eyes. She looks between you, then Deredel, then you again. She stands up.
"Are you staying for dinner, Marissel?" She asks.
Unsure of how to respond to the leader of the City Guard, Ortik removes his hat and holds it to his chest. "Begging your pardon, Field Marshall. I know you must be ready to turn in after such an...eventful day, but there's a matter I wish to have a palaver with you. There's an innocent man in your dungeons, and I have the proof of it here, found in the possession of the actual culprit, Gaedren Lamm. It's penned in his own words, which is fortunate, as that's the only way he'll be speaking any longer." He reaches into his satchel and withdraws Lamm's journal, flipping through the pages until he reaches the section on how Lamm framed Hartleby for Raelk's murder. He presents the book to her with a quick glance to the Vudrani in apology.
"This handwriting..." The Vudrani has a smile on his face. "...it's a match. Definitely a match!" The man is practically bursting with glee.
"Dhatri, calm down. There's..." Kroft begins, but trails off as she reads the entry detailing Lamm's framing of Hartleby. A small smile appears on her face. "...I'll be damned. I didn't think Lamm would be stupid enough to write something like this down."
She closes the journal, dog-earing the page with the evidence before handing the book off to Dhatri. "Go take this back to the Bank. Make sure it's thoroughly examined, Acolyte; we can't afford to just assume that every piece of evidence we get is genuine."
Dhatri takes the journal and leaves with a spring in his step. Kroft looks back to you and Griggs. "...but in this case, I think I can make an exception."
She stands up from her desk, walking over in front of it, stopping in front of you.
"I don't believe I've made your acquaintance, ser...?" She asks, holding out a hand.
Jakob eats quickly, and nods to Demitri. "She's with our parents. It was hard to leave her there, but they'll be safe."
He gives Nadia a grin, happy to see her safe. Happy to see all of the children safe.
"Things are quieter on the streets. We could see about bringing the others to their families." He knows that some won't have families, but finding out who seems a good way to start.
Ortik wipes his hand upon his fur coat before extending it to the Field Marshall. "Ortik, Field Marshall. Just Ortik will do fine." He chuckles softly to himself. "And yes, I was very surprised to learn Lamm was that daft myself. Pleasantly surprised, mind you, but still." He shakes her hand, surprised by the strength at which she returns it.
"I had some help getting this, but that's not what's important right now. The rest of them will be by tomorrow to discuss everything we found in his possession, but I figured you would want to know that the bastard's been put in the deadbook. None too soon, from everything I saw there." Remembering the desperate looks upon the children's faces and the fates that too many of them came to sours the dwarf's pleasant disposition, and he clenches his hat tighter to get control of himself.
"Might I have a visit with the Old Man?", he asks. "I'd like to bear the good news to him myself."
She looks over at Griggs. "Corporal. Follow us." She says, striding out the door. Griggs follows without a word, but you can see his hands clench into fists briefly.
She leads the two of you across the training yard, glancing over in the direction of the barracks. The glow of a light beneath the barracks entrance can be seen. She doesn't think much of it, though. Soon, the three of you come to another set of doors north of the training yard, these ones under the watchful eyes of two Korvosan Guards. They salute her as she walks up and opens the doors.
"Part of me wanted to believe the Old Man wasn't foolish enough to do something like commit murder. He always struck me as being a reasonable man, if a bit eccentric." Kroft says as she steps through the doors. Beyond, you can see many rows of finely-crafted weapons of all sorts: swords, axes, hammers, spears, a few nets here and there, bows & arrows, and even several two-handed swords. There are a few suits of armor on stands in the corners of the room, each of them standing upright and polished to a mirror shine. Another set of double doors is directly across from the entrance.
After going through the double doors and past a couple of guard stations, Kroft leads you up a flight of stairs. At the top of the stairs is the entrance to a cell block. Each of the cells looks the same, more or less: a bed, a chamber pot in the corner, a barred door, and a barred window to the outside. Kroft waits at the top of the stairs, bidding you and Griggs to enter.
Sitting in a cell near the middle of the hall is the Old Man himself.
Several of the children stand up, and one of them walks over to the two men. He's a sandy-haired boy who looks no more than ten.
"Sers, um… will the nice lady upstairs let us stay here for a bit?"
Ortik follows the Field Marshall across the training yard, a few paces behind, thanks to his smaller gait. As they pass by the guards leading into a secure area of the compound, he nods to them as well. "As you were, men," he says, walking past them and into the stronghold. He listens as she says something about never believing the charges - truth be told, his focus wasn't on her, but at what lay at the end of their journey.
And then he sees the Old Man.
He wants to stride up to the bars, clasp his hands and tell him everything that's happened. He wants to order the doors open and embrace him. He's played this moment in his head when the going went rough and things looked their bleakest, and he always had something clever to say, something that would seem inspirational or righteous.
Right now, all he could muster was to rush to the bars, tears of joy in his eyes. "It's over," he blubbers. "It's all over."
Exchanging a quick glance with Demitri, Jakob nods.
"You may stay here, as long as you don't steal any more. Nobody blames you for what Lamm made you do, but that part of your life is over now." The big man stands and sighs. "I suppose it's time to clean up."
He takes a bucket and goes down to the river to clean the blood off.
Merissel frowns and shakes his head, You know I'd love to Sem, I always love your cooking, but I- he cuts off, slapping his forehead. I can't believe I forgot to tell you about the rest of it. We found a brooch among the things he had stolen. It turned out to belong to Queen Ileosa. We returned it to the castle, and the guards sent us in to return it to her hand directly. You should have seen her. He stares off into nothingness for a moment then continues, Anyway, she asked us to help put Korvosa back together. We agreed and are going to go together to Citadel Volshyenek. I agreed to meet up with them this evening. And I'd like to make sure Donna and Mercia are alright after the riots. Marissel stands, speaking of, I should get going.
Demitri looks down at the boy. "Of course you can. Like Jakob said, no more stealing, but you have a place to stay. All of you go get cleaned up too." He starts directing them upstairs.
"That's like you, alright; making friends in high places. You're movin' on up."
With that, he rests his head back on his pillow and closes his eyes.
"Well, with such a busy week ahead of you, I shouldn't keep you, Marissel." Semond says as she moves to the door. She holds it open slightly, not wanting to let the cold air in.
Nadia stays next to you until all the other children are upstairs. She watches Jakob leave the house, then looks back up at you.
"Is he coming back, Daddy?" She asks. You can see a glimmer of anticipation in her eye.
Hartleby appears to have weathered his time in the Citadel's jail with good health; he's still clad in brown robes tied at the waist with a cord, and his brimmed hat is never far from his head. His grey beard has bits of food still stuck in it.
He lets out a chuckle as you approach the bars. "I knew I could count on my two best students."
"Hartleby... you've no idea how glad I am to hear you're alright." Griggs says. From the sound of things, this is likely the first time he's been allowed to visit him.
"Oh, believe me, I'm more than alright." Hartleby says, standing up from his bed. "Now, if Miss Kroft would be so kind as to let an old man out from his cell?" He asks, calling out down the corridor.
The *clanking* of footsteps behind you signal's Kroft's arrival in front of the cell. She hands the key off to you.
"Go ahead." She says.
Ortik nods in agreement with Griggs, and smiles as he accepts the key from the Field Marshall. He turns the key in the lock, and the cell door groans in protest as he swings it open. "I thought I'd failed you when Lamm had Gartaman Raelk killed," he says. "If he hadn't been so foolish as to write down how he framed you, his frame job would have gone undiscovered, now that he's dead. But he did. I still can't believe it, but the bastard wrote everything down. And now we can get you back to the Forgottenfolk." He turns to the Field Marshall, and bows his head with true sincerity. "Thank you, maam. For everything. On a day where you could have easily dismissed the ramblings of a street dwarf for far more important matters, you took the time to listen. The memory of my race is quite long - I shall not forget this kindness you have visited upon me."
Demitri looks down at Nadia. "Yes, he's coming back. Why?"
Soaked to the skin and a bit chilled, but relatively clean, Jakob pushed back through the door of Zellara's house to find most of the children have gone to bed.
"Thank you again."
With that, she heads upstairs to go to bed.
Hartleby steps out of the cell and stretches. "If I may, I wish to say that your accommodations could stand some improvement, Miss Kroft. Why, the stiffness of the bed alone is enough to drive a man to escape!" He says with a small chuckle.
It's at this point that he takes a closer look at you and notices how injured you are. "Did you fall down some stairs?" He asks as he digs around in his robes for something.
Under his breath, Griggs mutters something along the lines of "Didn't notice a difference." Hartleby produces a small pouch with moss, opens it up, and takes a bit out.
"Now, just hold still for a bit and I'll clear this up." He says, crushing the moss in his hand and rubbing it on your forehead.
You feel a lot better.
"Through some stairs is closer to the truth, and a much more painful preposition," the dwarf says, rolling his eyes at Griggs' words. He sighs as he feels the magic go to work, straightening as his rib mends and color returns to his cheeks. He looks curiously at the Old Man's pouch, then back to Field Marshall Kroft. "At least they didn't insist on handling your baggage themselves, that always leads to trouble." He winks to her, then turns his attention back to Hartleby.
"Whenever you're ready to leave, I'll follow."
Demitri will give Nadia an extra long hug before she goes to bed. "That's my little girl. I'll be up to check on you and the others in a little bit."
Marissel gives them each a quick hug, then sets off for Donna and Mercia's.
Lyla lets out a sigh of relief upon seeing the Shingles untouched by the riots. She steps into the house through her bedroom's window and yells "I'm hooooome". She drops her gear on the floor and two bars of gold on the bed, which instantly remind her of the queen's request. Yeah, right. As if I wanted to help the town guard. would be a thrill. Turning to her dresser, Lyla notices a seven-day candle lit on top of it; it looks like it has been burning since last night. The candle is not unusual; it is actually Althea's way of praying for Lyla's safety. Feeling bad for disappearing the night before, Lyla steps out of her room speaking softly, in an apologetic tone.
"Althea? I... sorry about last night... but you'll never guess what happened! I met a bunch of people who had all been screwed over by Lamm, you know, and well, there was this lady, a fortune-teller, but she was a ghost 'cause Lamm fed her to his alligator a while back, anyway, her name was—is—Madame Zellara, and she served us food and wine—ahm, but I didn't have any—and she told us where to find Lamm and we..."
Lyla stops cold as she enters the store's main room, turned upside down and littered with broken vials. The two oil lamps hanging on the wall let Lyla see in details the blood spatters all over the room. There is no sign of Althea. On the store counter, the latest entry in Althea's cash book is from just a few hours ago. The scene is still fresh.
The girl storms out the door and starts calling for Althea, stopping passers-by to ask about the old healer. She grows increasingly angry and frustrated as no one seems to have seen anything, and collapses against the wall of an alley with her head in her hands. Lyla hits her own head repeatedly, punishing herself. "Stupid, stupid! Why weren't you there? You had plenty of time to come back after dealing with Lamm! But noooo! Let's return the brooch! What business do you have going for a walk to meet the queen? Great idea, huh! What you gonna do now, dummy? The guard's never gonna lift a finger to help folks from the Shingles..."
Her eyes suddenly widen as she realizes there is one thing she can do. "... Unless that folk happens to be one of their own." She shruggs off the thought, remembering that the guard's inefficency was the reason Demitri left in the first place, but decides to grab her stuff back at Althea's and pay a visit to Citadel Volshyenek anyway. If everything else goes wrong, that dwarf bum seemed to be some kind of investigator, too.
Walking up to the guards at the gate, she explains her reason for being there. "Hey, guys. Queen said I could talk to Field Marshall Kroft. Name's Lyla—go check, if you want. If it helps, she also gave me this, which goes to prove I'm not b@&#~!+%ting you," she says, showing a gold stud with the coat of arms of Cheliax.
The wind outside is blowing softly through the streets of Pillar Hill as you make your way to Yardarm Lane and Maxis' old shop. The smell of the harbor is thick in the air: a mix of fish and old sweat. The storefront's window is misted over, but you can see a light flickering inside.
Approaching the front of the house, you can hear the sounds of two women arguing over something.
"...I need to have a talk with Private Clay." She says, turning on her heel and heading back down the stairs. Hartleby follows, with you and Griggs in tow.
When you reach the training yard, you see Simon & Grau; the sergeant looks much more alert, if a bit like a wet dog.
"Sergeant. Where have you been?" Kroft asks, though it comes out sounding like an order.
Grau sighs. It's obvious he's resigned to whatever happens next. "In the gutter, drinking until I can't think straight, Ma'am." He says. "Were it not for Ser Ortik, I'd have never found my way back here."
Kroft looks back at you, then to Grau. Her face may as well have been chiseled from stone. "You of all people should understand that the Korvosan Guard is in need of every guardsman now, more than ever. The penalty for abandoning your post is 5 shifts manning the gates of South Shore. I expect you to report in by dawn, Sergeant."
"Yes, Ma'am." Grau replies. He looks down at the dirt in shame.
"Dismissed." She nods to him. Grau turns on his heel and returns to the barracks.
"As for you, Private Clay..." Kroft turns to Simon, who visibly pales. You can hear some stifled snickering from Griggs. "You were the one responsible for arresting Mr. Hartleby, correct?"
"Y-yes, Ma'am!" Simon replies. A drop of sweat runs down his head.
"Then why is it that he--" She nods at the Old Man. "--had a pouch of healing moss with him in his cell?"
"Wh--?" Simon begins to stutter. "H-he told me i-it was chewing tobacco!"
There's an audible silence in the air. You can practically *hear* Kroft's frustration rising.
At this point, Griggs can no longer hold his laughter back. Hartleby just gives you a shrug.
"And you believed him?" Is Kroft's only reply. Simon merely swallows. "Private, when have we EVER allowed prisoners any more than the essentials for their incarceration?" She gives Simon the same stone-faced expression she gave Grau. "If he had a knife in his hand and he told you it was only a fancy iron toothpick, would you have believed him? The penalty for such negligence is 3 shifts on sewer patrol duty. I expect you to report in at dawn, Private Clay." She orders.
"And Griggs, if you keep laughing, you'll join him down there." She says, turning to Griggs. His laughter immediately stops.
"Sorry, Ma'am."
"Go ahead, citizen."
Stepping through the gates of Citadel Volshyenek, you enter a training yard that has seen some recent use. A guardsman in the uniform of a sergeant is walking over to a set of doors to the east of the yard, his head lowered in shame. At the north end of the yard, you can see a brown-haired lady clad in red & grey plate mail giving a fat guardsman of Taldan descent a good dressing-down. Behind her stands another guardsman, this one weedy, dark-haired & dark-eyed, in the midst of laughter. Next to him stands an old man in brown robes and a wide-brimmed brown hat, his grey beard flecked with bits of food. Between them stands Ortik, looking much better than when you saw him last.
Ortik watches the scene with growing amusement. When Griggs started laughing, he had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from showing it, but Hartleby's innocent shrug pushes him over the edge. A loud snorting chuckle escapes through Ortik's nose as the Field Marshall doles out punishment for the unfortunate Private. "Chewing tobacco," he finally manages, wiping a tear from his eye. "I'll have to remember that one."
Marissel approaches the door a little slower, looking down at his shuffling feet. Finally his hand reaches up, knock, knock, knock. Then he waits.
Lyla spots Ortik standing next to Field Marshall Cressida Kroft, and marches in their direction with a somber expression on her face. She arrives just as tha fat guard turns to go away, and the view of Ortik laughing annoys her deeply considering her own situation. "Hey, Ortik", she greets him without enthusiasm, not bothering to come up with clever nicknames. The halfling girl excuses herself and kneels before Cressida Kroft; she takes care to let the Chelaxian coat of arms visible through the opening on her purse, and speaks to the woman while staring at the floor respectfully. Her speech sounds rehearsed.
"Greetings, Field Marshall Kroft. I come to you as requested by Queen Ileosa. My names is Lyla, and I was with the group that returned Her Majesty's missing brooch; she told us we could report to you to offer our talents to the Korvosan guard in this time of civil unrest. I wish to help, if you'll have me."
She pauses for a moment, and lets out an exasperated sigh before continuing. "...but there's something I would like to ask in return."
Before you stands Donna, her brown blouse wrinkled and patchy. Her blonde hair is hanging messily about her face, and her grey eyes widen in surprise when she sees you. Behind her you can see Mercia leaning against the storefront's countertop, equally surprised.
"There you are! Do you have any idea how worried I was about you?! Mercia told me that you were off to do something and she said she didn't see you return home and then the riots started and then I was worried that we'd be next--" She says, her words coming at you like a flood of rain. She takes a deep breath, long enough for you to get a word in.
"Take a message to the Soldado home. Tell them that Sergeant Grau has been found, and he will be back to work by tomorrow. Also, tell them that he will be home at the end of his first shift tomorrow to explain himself. When you have delivered that message, report back here." She orders in a clear, calm voice.
"Y-yes, Ma'am." Is Private Clay's only reply.
Kroft nods. "Dismissed." The Taldan races off, afraid to incur the Field Marshal's wrath again.
With that, as Lyla approaches, Kroft looks down at her. Her demeanor changes drastically as Lyla offers her services, in return for a favor.
She steps in front of Lyla and gets down on one knee in front of her. She has a small smile on her face. "I'm certainly not going to turn down an offer of help, Lyla. And this isn't Castle Korvosa; the Queen may demand that you not look upon her when she's talking to you, but I very much prefer it when the person I'm speaking to looks me in the eye, be she a normal citizen, noble, or royal. You don't need to avert your eyes from me."
The Varisian guard chuckles a bit. "That's Kroft for ya--friend to all things. Bloody frightening when she's mad, though."
Marissel holds up a hand, Donna, it's okay. I'm okay. I'm sorry to have worried you, and I'm so glad to see that you're okay. But I have . . . he looks up momentarily. I have some important news, he says as he looks back down at them. May I come in? As Donna let's him in, Marissel moves over to the storefront counter leaning down on it. I know it's too late to make much of a difference, but . . . I found him. I found Maxis' killer, Lamm, he almost spits the name out. Then this morning, a group of people that had also been wronged by him, including that dwarf that came around here and helped me investigate the murder, we went down to his warehouse. Lamm's dead. Maxis has been avenged. By this point, Marissel's eyes have become slightly misty from the discussion of his old friend.
"What woman isn't, Griggs?", Ortik whispers back. "Though I'm beginning to believe that Kroft is one of the rarest of breeds - a Korvosan official in a position of power as well as a good person."
Ortik steps forwards and clears his throat. "I can vouch for the little one, Field Marshall. She did some reconnaissance work on Lamm's hideout before we went in, and I'd likely be spider bait if not for her keen head for alchemy and a keener aim with the results." He turns to Hartleby and offers a shrug in appeasement. "I tried to convince them not to attack. How was I supposed to know it didn't like my grammar?" Turning back to the two kneeling women, he places a hand upon Lyla's shoulder. "If there's anything I can do as well, you only need ask, friend."
"That's the best news I've heard in a long time!" Mercia says, moving from behind the counter to you. "And Daddy's will has been sorted out, too. He left us the shop and what money he had left: it's enough for us to live comfortably for at least a few more months!"
Donna hugs you, her next words muffled by your coat. "...I hope it hurt. I hope Lamm's death hurt a lot." She pulls away and straightens herself.
"We've been discussing what to do with the shop now. Mercia wants to reopen it and keep Daddy's business going. I'd rather sell the shop and use the proceeds to find somewhere more comfortable to live."
Nodding to Madame Zellara Karri says, "I do. You are not here for yourself; you are here for Korvosa. I am not here for myself. It seems the city is calling to me." She stops suddenly, Does she even know I didn't control my demons? I let them run as Jakob slaughtered Lamm! Changing the subject, "Given your choice would you stay here, or move to your reward?"
* * *
Karri passes the night in her room. She meditates and tries to seperate the voices clamoring in her soul. Maybe names? she thinks to herself. She drifts off to sleep many times during the night, waking up thinking of Madame Zellara's words: Secretssecretssecrets. A sibilant whisper starts in her mind, We know these secrets... listen to us... Terrified that the demons are right Karri wakes up completely. She washes in the cold basin in the room and tries, in vain, to go back to sleep. Trust in me...just in me...shut your eyes and trust in me...you can sleep safe and sound knowing that I am around...
"Korvosa is my home... as long as it needs me, my reward can wait."
She disappears, leaving you in an empty bedroom.
Jakob seems to have something in his eye as he looks at the half chocolate bar. After a while, he finds something to wrap it in and tucks it into a pocket.
After a ssslipping into ssilent sslumber, he ssleeps well, desspite sstrange dreamss. And snoring.
Lyla stands up and raises her head to meet Cressida's stare. She glances quickly at Ortik with the corner of her eye as the dwarf sings praises to her, and blushes almost imperceptbly.
"Okay. Here's the deal, then. Althea, my... I guess you could call her my guardian... well, something happened to her today. I don't know if it has something to do with the riots or not. You see, she's a healer, and we have this shop down in the Shingles. When I got home after returning the brooch, I found the store totally bashed, blood everywhere, and Althea gone. No one saw anything." She raises her hands and swings her head. "Now, I know an old woman missing from the Shingles is not top priority for you guys up here, so hear me out. I work with the Korvosan guard for now, and you conduct some serious investigation to find her. I mean it–some investigation. There's this guy, Demitri, who left the guard because you couldn't help him find his kid. I'm not having that. If we're gonna do this, we're both gonna do it right. So... yeah, that's it. Do we have a deal?" she asks, stretching out her right hand to Field Marshall Kroft.
"Deal. Welcome aboard, Lyla."
She rises, bidding Lyla to stand as well. She turns to the Varisian guard at Ortik's side.
"Well, Corporal Griggs, it looks like you just received your newest assignment." She says, in her usual no-nonsense manner.
A look of surprise appears on Griggs' face. "Ma'am?" He steps forward, almost hesitantly.
Kroft looks between Lyla & Griggs. "This is Corporal Griggs. He specializes in street-level reconnaissance and information gathering. He's been itching for a proper assignment for a good while now, haven't you?" She says, arching an eyebrow at the guard.
Griggs clears his throat. "Yes, Ma'am." With that, he steps before Lyla and kneels down so they can see eye-to-eye. One of his hands reaches into a pouch at his belt, taking out a notebook and a length of charcoal.
"Alright, cutter, describe Ms. Althea as best you can. Hair color, any noticeable scars, eye shape, build, anything you can think of that'll narrow my search down." He opens his notebook and rests it on his knee.
The old man watches the exchange silently, but you're certain there's a smile on his face.
Lyla looks up trying to remember every little detail about Althea. "Let's see. Well, I never really asked, but she's got to be at least sixty years old... not as many wrinkles as you would expect—guess her mud masks realy do work, now that I think about it—except when she's angry or sad; then you can really see the age lines. She still got most of her teeth, too. Thick white hair, shoulder length... she wears it loose and all messy. Small nose and years, which I gotta say is kind of weird for an old human, and big dark eyes. Varisian for sure. What else... hmmm... oh yeah, she is 5 feet, four inches tall, but she hunches a little when walking, so you could easily guess simply 5 feet. Oh, and there's this big wart on the back of her left hand. And... a breath of fresh peppermint. No family, no enemies that I know of, but then again, I don't really know that much about her past, to be honest. We have this sort of don't-ask-don't-tell tacit agreement when it comes to deep stuff. I know for a fact that the attack took place this afternoon; check her notes at the shop and you'll get a better time frame. Does that help?"
"It'll certainly help. Korvosa's a big place, but with this, I can find your old lady." Griggs moves towards the entrance to the Citadel. "I'll get back to ya in a couple of days, tops." From the tone of his voice, it's easy to see that he can't wait to get started.
With that, Griggs disappears into the streets of Korvosa. Kroft watches him leave, then turns to Lyla & Ortik.
"Well, there you have it. It's been an eventful night, for all of us. Right now, the best thing for you to do would be to go home and get some sleep." She says, walking back to her office west of the training yard. "I'll have something for you to do in the morning."
The old man watches Field Marshal Kroft disappear into her office, closing the great double doors behind her.
Lyla swings back and forth impatiently, alterately throwing her weight on her heels and toes. She looks around the place waiting for someone to approach her, and the stares at Ortik. "Soooo... think I should've asked for a room and a meal, too."
"With that, I believe it's time for me to return home. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Ms. Lyla, and another thank you to Ortik, for bringing me my freedom." The old man fixes his hat on his head and leaves the Citadel. He carries himself with a quiet dignity, head held high.
The night is getting colder as you all finish what business you had and return to Zellara's home, to warm meals and beds.
----------------------------------
Starday, 11th of Calistril, 4711 AR
You all awaken to another sunny day. The sounds of people going about their business outside filters through the windows.
You can also hear the sounds of children playing down the hall from your rooms.