Lyla runs inside and gets an apple from a bowl in her room. She holds the apple in front of the donkey and tries to help Ortik by baiting the animal into following her.
Nalun shrugs at the two as they attempt to coax the beast...
To Demitri he says Why don't they just let the owner drive the cart?
"They don't want to feel like they're bothering him anymore than they need to. Besides, this is a little entertaining."
Karri smiles, "It is."
Where Ortik's attempts at empathy fall short, Lyla's method of appealing to the donkey's hunger succeeds. The animal sniffs at the apple, and when Ortik takes the reins it's a simple enough matter to get the donkey and cart moving.
After taking a winding ramp down from the Shingles, the party proceeds through Korvosa's streets. Quite a few people eye the cart with curiosity that rapidly turns to discomfort and disgust when they see its contents. While the reek of death has been successfully removed by your hard work, the dead man's greying skin and stillness remains--an eerie reminder of the grimness of your task.
While the common folk are content enough with getting out of your way, it appears that old grudges between Chelish nobility and the Storval Plateau are eager to rear their heads. As the party turns onto West High Street, a group of ten well-dressed men bearing swords and armour appear at the end of the street.
"That's far enough." Their leader says, stepping forward and patting his blade.
Evidently, they're still interested in making things more difficult for the Arabastis.
"Is it? Can we help you gentlemen?"
"Errrm, not by my estimation, sir," Ortik says as he pulls the reins to the cart, slowing it. "Unless you're to be our escort to the Citadel, you should clear the way. Unless you want to get deader and donkey scat on you, in which case, feel free to stand your ground."
Karri steps to the front of her group. Her voice rings with all the power of Legion, though she keeps them forced down. To the leader of the armored men, "As the dwarf said, you should step aside. If you choose to stop us, understand that every freeman here is watching you. Whatever your cause for stopping the Queen's task is, you will clearly be to blame for the disruption. Now, where Ortik asked you to move, I am telling you to move.
In her mind, Kasdaye is screaming at her, What are you doing!? You have spent Legion, you are powerless! Give me more Legion if you want your vessel unhurt, Demon."
She grits her teeth and says aloud both to Kasdaye and the fools blocking the street, "Do as you're told or suffer."
The leader actually takes a step back in surprise that Karri would speak in such a manner to him. "Oh, believe me, I know what I'm doing--in fact, I hoped to speak with you about the boy."
His cronies are eying Karri with a great deal of fear. If she could make their boss take a step back, it evidently was enough to spook them as well. "But... it appears I've come at a bad time. Perhaps later, once you've had a chance to make your delivery."
"Dammit, boss, I TOLD you this was the worst idea you've ever had..." One of his goons says. He's promptly silenced by a glare from the leader.
"You've no idea," Ortik says as he begins to prompt the donkey to move again. "I think I still have derro in my beard. Once we've all had some time to clean and deliver the dead to a grieving grandfather, maybe we can palaver then. How would I find you?"
The leader tries to speak again, but the goon cuts him off.
"Don't bother trying to find him." The goon steps forward, his closely-cropped black hair rustling as the Pharast breeze blows through. "He has nothing to offer that's worth pissing her off." He nods at Karri. "He really should have known that before coming here."
"What?!" The brown-haired, grey-eyed leader turns to the insubordinate henchman as if to chastise him. "Daerred, I did! I put a lot of thought into this--"
"--You dragged us out of Cheliax for this?" The henchman, Daerred, stares him down. The rest of the mob starts dispersing. "Look, I'm not getting in the way of a funeral march here--even if it is for a Shoanti. Unlike you, Cardin, I have standards." The two of them look around, the 'leader' Cardin paling at the sight of his henchmen turning tail and leaving. "Clearly, the rest of us do as well."
Daerred turns back to Karri, his words and tone a polar opposite to that of his former boss. "We're sorry for wasting your time. Please, don't let us keep you." He takes Cardin by the arm and forcibly drags him off to the side. "Just... please don't throw fire or magic like that at us. Please?"
Ortik looks askance as the Chelish men depart, clearing the way to the Citadel again. "All the way from Cheliax..." he repeats under his breath. Something odd just happened in front of his eyes, and it doesn't sit well with the dwarf. Still, not one to look a gift donkey in the mouth, he snaps the reins and urges the donkey to head on.
Karri gets back in line and smiles inwardly. I don't need you, demon. Keep your lies and remain at my beck and call.
Nalun looks at Karri, thoroughly impressed. Well, that worked out. Shall we continue on?
Demitri chuckles. "Good work."
With that bit of odd business concluded, the party drives the cart onwards to their destination--Citadel Volshyenek. Karralo glowers at the party as they march him onward, his eyes occasionally darting to side streets and alleys as if looking for a chance (however slim) to escape. Giggles continues to lie unconscious, taking up space in the back of the cart.
As the cart enters the Citadel's courtyard, a curious sight greets the party: it seems the entirety of the Korvosan Guard has been gathered in the centre of the courtyard, and Field Marshal Kroft is standing before the gathered crowd. It looks like she's giving the guardsmen a speech.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am certain you all know exactly why I called you all here. If you don't, then clearly you haven't been paying attention to what's been happening lately." Kroft's voice booms out over the crowd. Her voice is calm, but with an undercurrent of disgust to it. "As most of you have heard, a young man was murdered last night--and said young man was the grandson of the Shoanti ambassador." A murmur of discontent ripples through the assembled guards. Whether it's born from outrage at a murder happening or old prejudices coming to the fore is uncertain.
"I understand this is only the latest crime to be committed on our watch--I also understand that the Korvosan Guard has not been performing at its best lately." Kroft can be seen pacing at the end of the crowd. "In fact, in recent days, I understand that *many* of Korvosa's problems could have been avoided if the Korvosan Guard had been more diligent in their patrols and enforcement of the law. Among the crimes that could have been prevented are several cases of petty theft, child abuse, kidnapping and desertion. The last case is especially appalling, considering it was committed by FOUR of our own."
The guardsmen fall silent. "This lack of dedication to the laws of Korvosa has become bad enough that I have been forced to turn to outside assistance in getting this city back in order. Yes, you heard me right--I contracted outside help to uphold Korvosan law when by all rights I should not have had to."
At this point Field Marshal Kroft looks up and sees the party. "Ah! And here they are--the ladies and gentlemen of the hour!" She starts moving towards them, and the crowd of guardsmen parts for her. "Look upon them, Guardsmen--these are the men and women who have accomplished more in a few short weeks than many of you have in *years*."
She turns and addresses the crowd when she reaches the party. "They have not only arrested the men responsible for deserting the Guard, but have also brought many of Korvosa's criminal elements to heel--Gaedren Lamm, Devargo Barvasi, and now the perpetrator responsible for murdering the Shoanti ambassador's grandchild." She glares at Karralo, who recoils from her while giving her a spiteful glare in return. "Allow me to point out that of all of them, only one of them--" She nods at Demitri. "--once wore the colours of a Korvosan Guard. The others here? They are no more than concerned citizens, willing to come together and do everything they can to preserve the stability and safety of our proud city."
"These people have proven their worth ten times over, to the point where many of Korvosa's citizens place more trust in them than they do us. And when the people of Korvosa no longer believe the Korvosan Guard capable of keeping them safe at night... when the people of Korvosa no longer believe that the Guard can do better at protecting the city than a random group of vigilantes..." Cressida's eyes narrow. "...then you have failed in your duties. But you have not failed just me."
She steps forward, her disgust and anger dripping from every word she speaks. Her composure never breaks once. "You have not only failed me, but you have failed your brothers and sisters--the men and women of the Guard who took their oaths, in good faith, to uphold Korvosa's laws and protect its citizens. You have failed the people of Korvosa, who once believed in the Guard and have had their faith rewarded with nothing but complacency and dashed hopes. You have failed Abadar, whose doctrine calls for an orderly society and willing men and women to defend it. Do you understand now, the scope of your failure?"
She stops, her face becoming a stoic mask. "But the failure is not yours alone--indeed, the greatest of these failures is mine, for I allowed this to happen. Steps will be taken to correct this. From this day forward, I will be walking alongside the patrols, observing you all and seeing for myself how the Guard is working. Any corruption, any laziness, any shortcomings I witness will be found and corrected. I wish things had not come to this, but the Korvosan Guard is in dire need of my guidance, now more than ever."
She glares at the assembled crowd. "Dismissed."
The guardsmen, silent and pale-faced, eye the party with mixed looks of admiration, guilt, envy, spite and resentment.
Lyla feel awkward for walking into such a scolding, and even more so after Cressida singles out the party; she halts and scratches her head, eyes her colleagues and then keeps staring at the floor as if she had nothing to do with any of that. As the guardsmen disperse giving her nasty looks, she just shrugs her shoulders and replies "Hey, don't hate me, I'm just doing jobs."
She looks for Griggs and approaches him amicably. "Hello, Griggs. Don't take that personally, you're not part of the problem here. The likes of are", she says, pointing at Karralo. "Yup, we got him for you... and we also got the ambassador's grandson." She looks around before continuing an then and covers one side of her mouth. "The kid was literally torn to pieces, but more on that later. Can you watch these two and take care of the body while we talk to Field-Marshall Kroft? I mean, not that I'm particularly anxious to chat with her considered her mood, but what you gonna do, right? At least we have good news, I suppose. Oh, and I think I have a solution for that garbage disposal malfunction in Endrin Square. Wish me good luck on selling idea to Kroft." She winks at Griggs, walks up to Kroft's office and knocks. "Boss...? Is this a bad time?"
Oh, wonderful! The foolish fleshling just made us scores more enemies!
Karri does not share Kasdaye's sense of wonder and fulfillment at the prospect. You are right, now to stay away from them unless they decide to do what you would do...
Probably wise.
Demitri is surprised and shocked at Kroft's speech. Everything she said, he felt it all those months ago until now. While scum like Lamm and Karralo were responsible for their actions, the greatest sin was the failure of the guards in his mind. While he always respected her, this day he could say he now admired the woman. "Even though it wasn't for me, I thank you." He says walking up to her.
Nalun gives the nearest guardsman a small shrug.
Griggs doesn't say anything to Lyla, merely acknowledging her with a nod before he moves to secure the cart and prisoners. He calls two more guardsmen over to make sure Karralo doesn't try anything foolish.
--------------------------
Kroft looks up as the party enters her office, her expression still as emotionless as when she was speaking. Thousand-Bones is seated in a chair at the great table, eying the party with an expectant & anxious look.
"Boss...? Is this a bad time?"
"No, it isn't." She sighs, rubbing her eyes and straightening herself up.
"Even though it wasn't for me, I thank you."
She looks down at her desk. "You don't need to thank me for doing my job." She looks back up at the party. "Am I correct in assuming you've successfully retrieved Gaekhen?"
She looks like she has something else on her mind...
Ortik listens in silence as the Field Marshall disciplines her men. More than once, he finds himself nodding in agreement with her assessment, despite his best efforts to conceal this. He also follows up with Griggs. "What she said," he starts, nodding towards Lyla. "This is actually a good thing. The city's immune system is kicking back on, and together, we can fight the sickness in its streets. With time, the Guard will be the place people go to for help, not any jackbooted Chelaxian thugs. That's how it should be."
"Still. I feel like it needs to be said. Yes we have the body."
Cressida breathes a sigh of relief. "Finally, some good news." She stands up from her desk. "And not a moment too soon--I just got a message saying that a delegation of Shoanti has arrived for the body."
Thousand-Bones rises from his seat. "May I... may I see him?" He asks, his voice beginning to shake.
Lyla looks at Kroft and the rest of the group and raises her hand. "If you don't mind, I have a few words to say to the ambassador." The girl clears her throat and starts speaking in Shoanti. "A-hem ... Мянган-Яс ... Би алуурчид таны хүүгийнхээ амьгүй болсон биеийг юу гэж танд анхааруулах байсан ... зөв биш байх хэрэгтэй. Бид гэмт барьж, та зөв goodbyes хэлж болно байхаар өөрийн ач хүү татаж , бид та нарын уламжлалыг хүндэтгэх нь бидний хамгийн сайн хийсэн . Би аль болох бол , зарим нь жижиг тав тухыг санал болгох болно гэж найдаж байна"
She then opens the door and steps outside, speaking in common once again. "Corporal Griggs is taking care of him. Come, he's right outside." She walks to the courtroom and stops by the cart, lowering her head and joining both hands behind her back, in respect. "Би та нарын хохирлыг их харамсаж байна."
"I'm sorry for your loss."
Thousand-Bones doesn't say anything as Lyla and the rest lead him to the cart where Gaekhen's body is being kept.
As he looks upon the body of his grandson, he abruptly sniffs. He takes a few breaths to steady himself. "Та бүхэнд баярлалаа." He reaches out and touches his dead grandson's cheek briefly before he pulls his hand back. His eyes squeeze shut.
Despite his best efforts, a tear rolls down his weathered cheek.
Kroft follows the party outside, doing her best to remain calm.
"I wish this could be the end of it--but, unfortunately, there's still one thing left to do. Your pseudodragon delivered a message to me before you returned: the Shoanti delegation has arrived for Gaekhen, and they have another demand--they want the men responsible for murdering him."
"We're to ride out and meet them as soon as everything is in order." Kroft starts walking over to the gates of the citadel.
Karralo's expression doesn't change, but the horror in his eyes is all too real. "Oh, and you're just going to throw me to them?! What happened to 'being diligent in enforcing the law'? This happened on Korvosan soil--I demand to be tried as such, you F!@*ING HYPOCRITE!" He screams at Kroft.
Nalun grunts at Karralo Don't do the deed if you fear what comes next... as the man starts screaming Nalun says Shut your mouth, or else I'll gag you.
Karri turns on the man and his false outrage. "NO! Let us fix him!" Her eyes flash and she grins. Her smile fades and she whispers to Karralo in a small child's voice, "Go with them, or maybe we will get to play for a while..."
Karralo abruptly shuts up, his face paling.
"You had your chance to play by the rules, Karralo," Ortik says, unmoved by the man's pleas for mercy. "You chose to spit in our faces. People like you have taken advantage of the loopholes for too long. Devargo F**KING Barvasi has made efforts to fix the problems he created in this town. You chose to double down on your crimes. Now be a man and face your end with dignity."
He leans in and whispers quietly. "And we'll get you some clean pants before then."
"Alright--enough chitchat. Let's get going." Kroft says as she saddles up on a horse. Thousand-Bones follows suit, and soon the party is underway.
-----------------------
The citizens of Korvosa give the procession a wide berth as they ride through the streets. As the party turns onto North Point, a crowd gathers behind them and follows them as they ride for the city gates. Karralo rides in the back of the cart and keeps his head on a swivel, looking all around at the surrounding crowd.
There is another crowd at the North Bridge, this one clearly composed of Shoanti. There are seven of them, and they are all dressed for combat--some carry massive earthbreakers, whereas others bear swords and klars. The biggest of them, a bald mountain of a man clad in little more than a loincloth, hide vest and tattoos, rides forward upon a great black courser of a horse.
"Sharatok... tshamek." The leader growls, his glare falling upon the party. He gives Thousand-Bones a look that bears grief and anger in equal measure--to his credit, the old shaman does not flinch. "Where is my son?"
Thousand-Bones leans closer and whispers in Demitri's ear. "This is Gaekhen's father--Krojun Eats-What-He-Kills. Tread lightly around him--all the spirits of the Plateau and all of your gods would not be able to stay his wrath today."
Demitri steps forward. "He is here. My condolences." He nods to whoever is carrying the body.
Karri is standing near Karralo. In her mind Kasdaye is asking, Make this go smoothly. Show this guardsman this is better than giving him a taste of what you are. The advice is sound, or so it seems. Karri steps up to Karralo and says in a plain voice, "These men are going to kill you. If you resist you will be given to me and I will share my gifts with you. Imagine an eternity undying as a vessel for the things even Hell itself fears. Go quietly into this night and I will light a candle for you in Pharasma's house." She smiles, a sad small thing considering the circumstances, and adds in that raspy whisper, "Or fight, I don't really mind." Her eyes flare green light and then her smile returns.
Having done the deed she feels sick to her stomach, Could I do this to someone else? Kasdaye's sibilant whisper is the only reply, Of course. Let me show you...
Nalun watches the proceedings with a stony face. Silly bugger, why would he do this for a mad derro necromancer...
He walks forward with the stitched together corpse covered and wrapped in a cloth.
"In times like this, the phrase 'sorry for your loss' gets bandied about," Ortik says solemnly. "I know words cannot cure this wound, that words sound hollow and meaningless. Let our actions speak for us - we return your son to you, so his soul may enter the Boneyard in peace." He bows his head respectfully to the Shoanti warrior, and lets Nalun present the body to the man.
Lyla knows better than to draw attention from an angered Shoanti leader; she steps to the side and lets Ortik do the talking for the time being. She cannot hold still, though; the girl keeps tapping her fingers while observing the situation unfold. The thought of giving someone away to be slaughtered—even if that someone is a scoundrel like Karralo—makes her restless. And what about Giggles? The guy is a complete moron! Half the time he doesn't even know what he's doing.
Krojun's face is an impassive mask as Nalun steps forward with Gaekhen's body in his arms. He tentatively reaches out and slides the cloth covering his son's face down.
He doesn't say anything for a long time. Thousand-Bones rides up alongside him.
Krojun looks up at the rest of the team, his eyes shining with unshed tears. His glare does not waver. "Now, where is the хир буртаг who murdered him?"
Karri says to Karralo, "You're being called. Now face the music or dance to it."
"These men are going to kill you. If you resist you will be given to me and I will share my gifts with you. Imagine an eternity undying as a vessel for the things even Hell itself fears. Go quietly into this night and I will light a candle for you in Pharasma's house." She smiles, a sad small thing considering the circumstances, and adds in that raspy whisper, "Or fight, I don't really mind."
Karralo looks between her and Krojun, considering his options.
"So... if I fight you, I live, then? I can work with that, darling." He growls. Suddenly, he leaps out of the back of the wagon and starts running!
However, he doesn't get very far...
Before anyone else can react, a glint of steel flashes in the daylight, followed by a piercing scream from Karralo. He staggers and falls on his face as a knife with a stylized 'B' on its hilt buries itself in his left foot. The murderer's eyes widen in pain and panic as he tries to struggle to his feet…
"Disgraceful. Absolutely, utterly disgraceful." A baritone voice says from high above the streets of Korvosa. Looking up, everyone can see a man wearing a black, hooded cloak, blackened leather armour and a red & gold scarf covering his face standing on a rooftop, a gleaming rapier held in one hand. "Haven't you done enough, sir? Have you no sense of decency left, at long last?" The man's words are spoken with a mix of jest and utter contempt.
"I imagine Queen Ileosa would approve of this attempt at dodging justice, the little harlot." He leaps and bounds off the rooftop, acrobatically making his way down to the streets and grabbing Karralo by his hair. The cries of pain coming from the ex-private do nothing to dissuade him. "She always had a fondness for inflicting suffering and pain on people who did nothing to deserve it, and getting off scot-free." He bends over and violently rips the knife free of Karralo's foot, then begins dragging him back to the party.
"My apologies for interrupting, ladies and gentlemen, but I'm quite certain you're all tired of chasing dogs like him--perhaps it would be a good idea to buy a leash in the future." He chuckles, wiping the blood from his knife off on Karralo's clothes. "If only the Queen could be brought to heel the same way, no?" He roughly tosses Karralo at Nalun's & Demitri's feet.
Did he just wink at you?
"Now, if you'll excuse me…" He twirls his rapier into a salute before taking to the rooftops once more. "…I believe you have this under control from here. Long live Korvosa! Down with the Queen!"
There is a brief silence, broken only by Karralo's moans of pain.
"Who was that, tshamek?!" Krojun nearly roars at Kroft, at once enraged at Karralo's escape attempt and relieved that it failed.
"…I think that was Blackjack." The field marshal replies, completely surprised.
Impressive. Nalun says with a nod.
Get up you piece of filth. Nalun hauls the man up
Take him and be done with this..
"That was also unexpected. I was certain he was a myth. Glad to know he isn't."
"The mantle has been vacant for a decade, Demitri," Ortik says with a smile. "It's about time someone took it back up."
Kasdaye laughs and laughs in Karri's mind. However, she is unphased, in fact she smiles an open warm smile and realizes there is more spirit left in Korvosa than some would suspect. It fades fast though, as she remembers the somber nature of the gathering. She addresses Krojun, fully aware that she knows next to nothing of his world, "Krojun, Blackjack is a sort of folk hero. He rises up when the city needs to be reminded of it's own soul. He is an animus of what we wish we could be. Please understand that it was not Korvosa that murdered your son, it was this man and his now dead allies. We have gladly given him to you for your justice."
Kasdaye keeps laughing and laughing and Karri feels it is now directed at her.
"The mantle has been vacant for a decade, Demitri," Ortik says with a smile. "It's about time someone took it back up."
"For a while, I didn't like vigilantes. The message that the law couldn't help people so someone else had to. Then I became one." Demitri chuckles.
Krojun glances over at Karri, listening to her with a venomous glare on his face. He eventually turns his gaze to Karralo, bleeding and crippled before him.
He nods at two other warriors in his entourage. "Түүнийг доош зохион байгуулах." He growls.
The warriors step forward and seize Karralo by his arms, hauling him up to his feet. Krojun turns his eyes back to the party. "So be it. You have returned my son to me, and brought his murderer to heel. For that, I am grateful."
He turns his baleful gaze to Karralo. "As for you, tshamek..." His boot lashes out and--
Karralo's knee bends backwards and breaks. The murderer starts shrieking in shock and pain as Krojun breaks his other knee.
"...I think that will be enough to ensure you do not escape again."
A guttural groan comes from the cart as Giggles groggily sits up, having finally regained consciousness. "Uh... what's goin' on?"