Grau raises his eyebrow at Korriban's suggestion. "Uh, Korriban, Tayce and I live outside the city proper, remember? And we're not leaving today, in any case. I'll see you on your way tonight, and then...well, hopefully we'll catch up in Magnimar sometime soon."
Korriban realizes his mistake and hits his forehead with his hand. "Wow, I'm dumb. Sorry, Grau."
That night, all five of you meet Derrick the Rat outside the Noisy Moose, a small and extremely seedy-looking pub in the Varisain neighborhood of Thief Camp outside of the city itself. The night is dark, cold, and cloudless, with a quarter-moon shining down onto the streets. Derrick, who seems like he may not be entirely feigning his slight inebriation, seems taken aback by your motley group.
"Well, if this is the gang...let's get goin', eh?" he asks. "No need fer the rest o' you to know my name, and no need fer me to know yours. Follow me..." Weaving slightly, he leads you to the nearby docks, where a long rowboat waits, a dark figure seated in the prow.
Korriban nods at the smuggler. He chuckles a bit at Teodor's comment and admires the wyvern mask that Matoska puts on. "Now that's pretty cool."
During the rowing, Korriban keeps quiet, his nervousness and the tension overriding his need for chatter. When the boat gets into Old Korvosa, Korriban releases his held breath.
"Alright, like I said, we're bringin' you in to Old Dock now," Derrick says. He seems more cheerful now that (presumably) the riskiest part of the venture is over with. "Shouldn't be too many people in the streets, but yeh never know. I'd keep yer heads down if I were you--rumors are that this 'Emperor' is a nasty character, and most o' the street toughs're answering to him now. Easy does it..."
Korriban nods. "Thanks for the advice. And thanks for getting us in. How do we contact you if we need to get out?"
When the smugglers leave, Korriban looks around the area.
"Wow. I've never heard it so quiet in this part of the city. It's really creepy."When Matoska leaves, Korriban looks at his retreating figure. "Okay then. See ya." He looks at the others and shrugs. When the Shoanti returns, Korriban says, "Well, then. We're not that far from Eel's End. And we'll get to the Rosa in Fiore before we get to Vencarlo's house. We should be able to take care of business at those two places before we get to our destination."
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"I'll be right back," the Shoanti murmurs as he moves towards a nearby alley.
"Well, we lost that one quickly! Just as well. I feel like he was sniffing me. Creeps me--"
Carefully shifting back to his human form he rejoins the others and offers anything he has picked up on.
"--out of sight, perhaps our masked friend has found something, ah aheh!"
"Now that's pretty cool."
Matoska grins behind the mask. "Yes, a trophy of my proudest hunt, enchanted and gifted to me by the Spireclan shamans several years ago. It's something between a signature and good-luck charm for me now."
Lantressa was quiet as they got their ride across the water into Old Korvosa. She had been very quiet teh whole time actually, unusual for her, and her usual banter, especially with Korriban, wasn't to be seen. Maybe it was the new person, maybe it was the situation, maybe it was going back to the area she had called home for the last several years.
When they finally landed she nodded her thanks to the boatmen and stepped off the boat onto the Old Docks. In fact she was pretty sure she had serviced someone in that alley there one time. She realized, not without some trepidation, that they were [i[very[/i] close to Eel's End. The tiefling harlot turned her gaze to Korriban and said, "Um Korri? We had better get to the fast. I don't think we want the Spider King finding either of us here just now."
Matoska grins behind the mask. "Yes, a trophy of my proudest hunt, enchanted and gifted to me by the Spireclan shamans several years ago. It's something between a signature and good-luck charm for me now."
Korriban whistles. ”Wow. You must be pretty bada** to take down a wyvern.”
Lantressa was quiet as they got their ride across the water into Old Korvosa. She had been very quiet the whole time actually, unusual for her, and her usual banter, especially with Korriban, wasn't to be seen. Maybe it was the new person, maybe it was the situation, maybe it was going back to the area she had called home for the last several years.
Korriban notes the silence from Lantressa. He decides that now isn’t the best time to talk to her.
When they finally landed she nodded her thanks to the boatmen and stepped off the boat onto the Old Docks. In fact she was pretty sure she had serviced someone in that alley there one time. She realized, not without some trepidation, that they were very close to Eel's End. The tiefling harlot turned her gaze to Korriban and said, "Um Korri? We had better get to the Rosa fast. I don't think we want the Spider King finding either of us here just now."
Korriban turns to Lantressa. ”Don’t you want to head to Eel’s End first to check on your friends and stop Spiderman? If you feel better getting to the Rosa first and then go to Eel’s End, that’s fine. I’m just saying that because we’ll be going farther away from Eel’s End while going to the Rosa.”
Lantressa considered Korriban'ss question and there was concern in her expression as she looked at him, "By now he is likely after us both. Do you really want to hand yourself over to the King of Spiders? Do you think he will let me be after taking so long to bring you to him?" She shuddered slightly, "I do want my friends to be alright, I want the Madame to be alright, but I don't know that it is safe to check on them." Her shoulders rose and fell in a quick shrug, "Then again if we can convince him it is in his best interests to work with us then we can certainly use his help. He could well have information that will help us here."' Sighing she said, "I hope he just doesn't have us killed on sight."
"Perhaps he is this Emporer. Would make sense from what we know. Supposed to be nearby. He has the resources and contacts."
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"We need to focus, folks," Callie says, and then pauses. "Did I just say that?" She shakes her head, and is speaking quietly so it is not easy to overhear. "Anyway--we have a lot of goals: Protect Korriban's family. Find his trainer. Learn more about the Emperor. Now you're adding 'befriend or murder the Spider-King' to the list. We need to think carefully about our priorities."
She pauses as she thinks. "My initial sense was that we should check on Korriban's people first. But if you've irritated folks that much, we might only draw trouble in the Rosa's direction if we go to them first. Same for Lantressa's 'academy.' If we have more potent enemies here than allies to start with, then it seems to make sense to look for Wobblestick first, because he can probably help us with our other problems. That also keeps Matoska here from getting involved in your personal business--and personal enemies--if he doesn't want to be."
She looks at everyone. "What do you think?"
Teodor shrugs amiably. "I'm just having fun here! It all sounds so good!"
Korriban looks at everyone as they discuss things. "Well, the thing is that Teodor and I have been enemies of Spiderman for months now. When he and I met him, I tricked him him into trading the silver dagger I had for Majenko so we could free him. However, I didn't know that it was actually a demon and it got away from him. Now he blames us for it. He threatened Lantressa into getting me and Teo over to Eel's End so he can get us. She had to quit her job there and come to the Rosa for safety, despite her friends working for the guy. Whether Spiderman is the Emperor or not, his guys are probably stalking the streets; and if they see us, then they'll let him know and he's going to come after us. And I'd rather keep him away from the Rosa and my family." He sighs. "But, if we can hold off fighting him for a bit, then I can deal with it. But, I would like to end this thing with him as soon as possible."
Lantressa glared at Callie as she ranted and said, "I never said anything about killing the King of Spiders, I wouldn't want to even try that. He might be a bastard sometimes but he isn't the worst criminal around. He actually stabilizes things a bit and keeps some of the worst crimes down as they're bad for for business. I bet this 'Emperor' person is making it hard for him to keep his organization working."
Lantressa sighed and decided to change the subject slightly as she said, "I agree, we need to stay away from Eel's End for now, and while I don't want to draw trouble to the Rosa I don't know where else we might find a safe haven in al of this mess. As for Wobblestick do we have any clue on where to find him?"
Callie raises her eyebrows at Lantressa, surprised at her hostility. "I didn't say you did," she says, her voice calm and soft and patient. "Korri mentioned 'stopping' him. Maybe I read too much into it, but there's only one way you 'stop' a crime lord like that. Maybe it was even wishful thinkjng. Being very personally aware of the effects of the shiver trade on the area, it is nothing resembling 'stability.'" Here, her voice does grow tense and dark, and her eyes turn to the ground, simmering with a long-repressed rage. If I could end very shiver dealer and the spiders who spin it, I would in a heartbeat."
She shakes her head and takes a deep breath. "I know, though, that wouldn't really fix anything. Korri, you'd best know where to find your mentor. Is it there or the Rosa first?"
"Their ends come, Callie. Hurtling like a boulder from the sky, they come. Perhaps we shall help the Lord with these endings. But that isn't our first priority, as you say. I still suspect the Spider could, in fact, be this Emperor. Megalomaniacs love titles, hm? Let us go to the Rosa, then find Wobblestick."
Callie nods at Teodor. "Fair enough. fair enough."
Korriban frowns as he thinks on what his friends are saying. After a few moments, he says, ”The Rosa first. I need to check on my family.”
Moving as quickly as you can while still staying quiet, you all head down the darkened streets of Old Dock toward Bridgefront, hoping to arrive at the Rosa in Fiore without further incident. As you move away from the water and deeper into the streets, it becomes clear that the island isn't in fact completely asleep...you can hear sounds of drunken revelry, and occasional screams of pain, rage, or terror, coming from various locations. Most of them are in the distance to the north, where the buildings are thickest, but every once in a while they sound closer.
You're almost into Bridgefront when a quartet of men reel out of a nearby street and stop short at the sight of your group. Although the alcohol almost visibly wafts off of them, they clearly aren't simple drunks: all of them carry shields and wear decent, albeit stained, armor, and battleaxes are tucked into their belts. One of them lets out a loud laugh when he sees you, and a second pushes past him to approach you, grinning widely in an unpleasant manner.
"Well well well, what have we here?" he asks, leering. "Looks like a doxy, a horser, an empty...and what're you two? Two dandies o' some kind?" He spits onto the ground. "Whatever yer up to, yer not s'posed to wander the streets at night, and I ain't never seen you lot around here before. What're you doin' in Old Korvosa, heh?"
"Not looking for trouble, but not afraid of it either," Matoska rumbles, his posture casual but his voice hard-edged. "Let us pass on by and enjoy the rest of your night. Our business is none of yours."
Korriban frowns at being called a "dandy". He steps forward, crossing his arms. "My friends and I are just taking a walk. Where we're going is none of your business. The better question is, what are you doing here? If we're not supposed to be out at night, then you're definitely not supposed to be stumbling around in the dead of night. Who even are you guys anyways?"
Lantressa wasn't sure what bothered her more, the screams that they heard as they traveled or the fact that her darker nature found them arousing. The streets looked strange, darker somehow, and the atmosphere was one on the edge of violence. She kept her eyes opened, looking around at all times, and her cloak drawn close about her as they made their way towards the Rosa.
She thought they might make it to safety without any trouble but of course as soon as she thought that Lantressa jinxed the whole thing. It was then the drunken thugs exited the ally. She eyed the one that spoke, trying to see if she knew him as a customer, while silently preparing for battle.
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Callie's dressed as a street performer as she always is, with her mithral shirt concealed beneath her jerkin. But they are drunk enough they probably can't tell a busker from a toff.
She also surmises that drunks half-dressed as soldiers are perhaps "guards" in service of this new "Emperor."
She flashes them a smile and then, addressing Korriban and Matoska, "Easy, boys. These good gents are merely doing their duty," here she turns to the quartet's spokesman, "and I assure you sirs, we had a lovely late evening of it all," she waggles her eyebrows in Lantressa's direction, "And are headed to the nearest lobkin to sleep it off. As I'm sure you good sirs are aching to do the same, let me wish you a good evening, and send Cobalt's best regards to your employer." She reaches out her hand to shake with the guards, flashing gold between her fingers so the man (but few else) can see that a generous bribe is on offer.
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Teodor opens his mouth to speak, but Callie's diplomatic tactic seems a wiser course of action, for now. He smiles and winningly as he can.
Neither Korriban nor Lantressa is familiar with these four, but given how many people there are in Old Korvosa, that's not exactly surprising. The four men seem slightly taken aback by your cool confidence, but as Korriban questions them, the leader starts to laugh unpleasantly. He stops when Callie steps forward and flashes gold, though, and grins.
"Well, I see at least one o' youse knows a bit o' politeness," he says with a grin, snatching the gold from her hand. "I think we can all understand spendin' a little too long in a house o' pleasure...though I gotta admit, I'm surprised that there are so many honest Korvosans who share the Shoanti interest in tail with a tail!" The other guards find this ethnic slur/pun hilarious. The leader continues, "Go on an' get on yer way, then, but remember--the Emperor don't want too many people wanderin' the streets at night. An' if you don't look to be from 'round here, you're likely to find yerselves guests of the Emperor, an' maybe meetin' the Tall Knife too. Have a good night, now..." Looking smug, the men swagger off into the darkness.
You make it to the Rosa in Fiore without further incident, and Korriban's repeated knocks on the door finally bring a familiar pair of eyes to the peephole. "What?! Korriban?!" you hear Falko's deep, gravelly voice exclaim. The door is unbolted and you're ushered into the brothel by a strongly built Shoanti man in early middle age. "Come in, come in. Sit down. LIALDA!"
A few moments later, Korriban's adoptive mother appears. "Korriban! Thank every god you're safe. How did you make it into Old Korvosa? What are you doing here?!"
For those of you who've been here before, the Rosa seems to be in a bad state. Some furniture is missing, there are some scratches in the walls and floors, and it clearly hasn't been thoroughly cleaned in a while.
Neither Korriban nor Lantressa is familiar with these four, but given how many people there are in Old Korvosa, that's not exactly surprising. The four men seem slightly taken aback by your cool confidence, but as Korriban questions them, the leader starts to laugh unpleasantly. He stops when Callie steps forward and flashes gold, though, and grins.
"Well, I see at least one o' youse knows a bit o' politeness," he says with a grin, snatching the gold from her hand. "I think we can all understand spendin' a little too long in a house o' pleasure...though I gotta admit, I'm surprised that there are so many honest Korvosans who share the Shoanti interest in tail with a tail!" The other guards find this ethnic slur/pun hilarious. The leader continues, "Go on an' get on yer way, then, but remember--the Emperor don't want too many people wanderin' the streets at night. An' if you don't look to be from 'round here, you're likely to find yerselves guests of the Emperor, an' maybe meetin' the Tall Knife too. Have a good night, now..." Looking smug, the men swagger off into the darkness.
Korriban frowns at the men as they laugh and scowl at their slurs.. However, he watches as they leave after Callie’s interaction with them. ”Well, looks like we found the Emperor’s forces then. But what’s this Tall Knife they were talking about?”
You make it to the Rosa in Fiore without further incident, and Korriban's repeated knocks on the door finally bring a familiar pair of eyes to the peephole. "What?! Korriban?!" you hear Falko's deep, gravelly voice exclaim. The door is unbolted and you're ushered into the brothel by a strongly built Shoanti man in early middle age. "Come in, come in. Sit down. LIALDA!"
A few moments later, Korriban's adoptive mother appears. "Korriban! Thank every god you're safe. How did you make it into Old Korvosa? What are you doing here?!"
For those of you who've been here before, the Rosa seems to be in a bad state. Some furniture is missing, there are some scratches in the walls and floors, and it clearly hasn't been thoroughly cleaned in a while.
Korriban is happy to see Falko answer the door. He gives the man a big hug. ”Falko! I’m so glad you’re okay!” He follows the man into the Rosa. When Lialda arrives, Korriban stares at her, relieved that the woman who saved his life is okay. ”Mom...” He runs over and embraces her, tears starting to form. ”I’m so glad you’re okay. When I heard about the quarantine, I was worried about you guys. So I asked Callie to help smuggle us in.” He steps back. ”Is everything going well? What happened to the Rosa? The couches? The chairs? The walls and floors? What happened?” He then remembers something. ”Also... uh... I need to talk to you about few things.”
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Callie forces a smile through the proceedings, and when they are thoroughly gone and out of earshot, she mutters several extremely impolite words she learned--probably indeed in Old Korvosa--about exactly what she thinks of those men.
"Pigs," she says, finishing with less colorful language then when she started, while casting prestidigitation to clean the glove she shook hands with the "guardsman." She mutters to the others, "In other circumstances, it would be lovely to cut their knees out, but we'd best not draw trouble if we're to keep things quiet at the Rosa."
When they arrive at the Rosa, Callie takes in the place--and assumes that it's probably not at it's height of glamour. She waits for Korriban to make introductions.
Korriban realizes that he has his friends standing there. ”Oh. Sorry. Introductions.” He gestures to his half-elven mother. ”Callie and Matoska. Allow me to introduce you to my mother: Lialda Balros, Madame and Owner of the Rosa in Fiore and priestess of the Savored Sting.” He then gestures to the large Shoanti man. ”And this is Falko of the Sklar-Quah, our head of security. There’s also my sisters, aunts, and uncles... and Verik. But, I’m not sure where they are.”
He then gestures to his friends. ”Mom. Falko. You already know Teodor and Lantressa is living with us. But this is Callie Cobalt and Matoska. They’re new friends.”
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"Hi, Korriban's mom! Tis always a distinct pleasure to visit the boy's family." Teodor bows deeply and take's Lialda's hand.
Matoska removes his mask and inclines his head politely when introduced. He eyes Falko warily--the Sklar-Quah are easily the most warlike of his people, and this man might have been exiled--but he offers a greeting in Shoanti, then turns to the rest.
"Nga mihi mai i te koroheke, te teina. Whakawhetai ki a koe mo to manaaki. It is a pleasure to meet you all."
"Greetings from the Spire Clan, brother. Thank you for your hospitality."
Callie smiles in greeting to Lialda and Falko, and nods to Lialda. "Your son is a brave and capable young man. You must be very proud."
Lialda smiles and shakes both Callie and Matoska's hands warmly. "I am quite proud of him, indeed. The more so for managing to find a way to get back to us with this accursed quarantine on the city..."
Falko nods firmly back to Matoska, meeting his eye almost defiantly. "Tena, e hoa. Ehara tenei i taku kainga, engari kei a koe te pai."
Lialda goes and sits at one of the remaining chairs. "As for what's happened here...well, things have indeed not been going particularly well, Korriban." She smiles crookedly. "The movable goods were taken a few weeks ago as a 'tax' by the so-called Emperor of Old Korvosa. Have you heard of him? A criminal with a gang of thugs him...but hefty thugs, and worse, numerous. More are drawn into his orbit every day. They mostly operate in Old Dock, but they're starting to come out into Bridgefront more and more frequently, and there's little we can do to stop them taking what they want. A few of my younger employees tried to interfere with them the first time they showed up, a week or so after the quarantine began...they beat them unconscious and took them away for the Emperor's 'amusement.'" Her voice is steely, but her hand is white-knuckled on the arm of her chair. "We daren't do anything against them when they show up demanding service, but fortunately that doesn't happen too often. As for the rest of the time..." She shakes her head. "Old Korvosa's fallen on hard times. Food is scarce, people are scared, and madmen and criminals have the run of the streets. The Arkonas were having their personal guards patrol the streets and keep order for a little while, but they got outnumbered pretty quickly and are now restricting their activities to Fort Korvosa. They've left the rest of us here to rot." Her lips twist bitterly.
"What about you all? What are you doing here?"
Korriban beams at the praise being thrown his way. He is also able to understand the conversation between Matoska and Falko. But decides to keep out of it.
When Lialda reveals that some of the Rosa's employees were taken by the Emperor's thugs, Korriban scowls heavily. His fists clench, white-knuckled in rage. "I'll kill him. I'm going to kill this so-called Emperor. No one messes with my family. No one! I'll kill him and get them back. They'll regret crossing us. I need to do this. We certainly can't rely on the Arkonas, the Maidens, or the Queen to do s**t." When she asks what the team was doing here, Korriban says, "We're looking for Master Vencarlo. Kroft got a message from him saying that he knows where the Seneschal is."
When they have the time, Korriban speaks to Lialda. "Mom. I have something to tell you. A few weeks ago, I met someone who offered me lessons and teachings and... uh..." He lifts his hands, showing the new rose tattoos. "I've started worshipping Milani, the Everbloom. In fact, I've become an evangelist for her." He lowers his hands. "That doesn't mean that I'm not going to worship Calistria or Shelyn anymore. It's just that Milani will be first. I'm sorry that I'm betraying what you've taught me. I know that you were okay with worshipping Shelyn. But I wasn't sure how you're going to take this."
"I'm only surprised the Arkonas even made a token attempt at helping." Callie looks at Korriban. "I don't like what these thugs are doing either. But just want to remind you we already have a mess of enemies." She pauses, and muses, "I wonder if we can somehow turn the Emperor's people toward the Grey Maidens and let them deal with each other...."
Teodor grabs Korriban by the shoulders. "Compose yourself! Threats against family, I get it. But you're no cold-blooded killer, and we are here on urgent business."
At Callie he nods. "Tricky! And perfect! Let them eliminate each other!"
Lantressa was content to let Callie deal with the goon squad. Particularly since she felt her blood start to boil and demand their destruction in a suitably brutal and fiery fashion. Ultimately they left after the bribe and she didn't pursue them, it wasn't worth it...for now.
They continued on their way to the Rosa and to say she was shocked at it's stated was an understatement. She'd only been here for a short time before the quarantine but she never would have expected this to happen to the place. She moved forward to embrace Lialda before stepping back and standing with her friends as they listened to the story of what happened. All in all it was a good thing that she had been gone, she had a temper at times and it sounded like she would have brought a lot of problems to the Rosa with it, more than they could deal with. She again felt her blood boiling at what the goon squads were doing and began to wish she hadn't tempered her reaction before.
As Korriban began to rant about what had happened and what he would do she nodded in complete agreement and said, "You have my help Korri, they've attacked my new home," her eyes flared with lurid red light as she growled out in a foul language, "Тие ќе платат!"
I thought Teo was the Ustalavan.
"I think--after a few hours' rest, it's late--we go look for Vencarlo. He may have more insights on the Emperor, presuming he is alright."
Korriban looks at Teodor as he grabs his shoulders. He then looks at Callie and Lantressa (who is all for vengeance). The swordsman closes his eyes and takes a few deep breaths. He then opens his eyes. "Very well. Vencarlo first. Then, we save my family from the Emperor. If we can get them to attack the Maidens to weaken his forces, then let's do it."
"Is there a plan? To get this Emperor and the Grey Maidens to fight, I mean." Mastoka's voice is soft and even, posing the question carefully. "Old Korvosa has been cordoned off for how long now--yet no fighting between them seems to have broken out. Wishful thinking gets us nowhere, we need a clever plan or sharp blades. Probably both."
"That's why we look for Vencarlo first--which is why you're here anyway, isn't it Matoska? Hopefully he has a better sense of the situation and we can figure out what's really possible from there."
Korriban looks at the group. ”Looks like we have a plan. Let’s get over to Vencarlo’s place.”
Callie stifles a yawn. "But after sunrise, okay? Which sadly, is only in a few hours." She looks at Lialda. "I'm sorry, but could we trouble you for a place to rest?"
"Of course," Lialda says. "Plenty of spare beds at normal times, and plenty going unused now. Rest yourselves here, refresh yourselves, and start off tomorrow morning. We've got enough to scrape together breakfast for everyone, and you'll be able to head out with your bellies full and your wits sharp. You'll need them, navigating the city streets these days..."
After wrapping up any last conversations, you all head to bed and snatch a few hours' sleep before the sun rises.
Fireday, 9th of Lamashan
The next day dawns warm and breezy--it would be quite pleasant, were it not for the stench of refuse that the breezes bring in from the untended streets. After a scant but carefully prepared breakfast, you head back onto the streets.
Now that it's daylight, there are more people out and about, although many dart from one place to the next quickly, trying to avoid drawing notice. Those who carry weapons walk a bit more confidently through the streets, but they still seem wary. The ones who draw attention to themselves, though, seem either to be fools or madmen. At one point you pass a group of children gathering around something in the middle of the street, and singing an odd little song:
"Headless, headless, that's what you'll be! Brand-new dolls in the Emp'ror's cemet'ry! Choppy choppy chop, the Tall Knife calls, waitin' for the day for Korvosa to fall!"
As you cross from Bridgefront into Fort Korvosa, the streets become slightly more open, but still are clearly in a bad state of disrepair. Korriban leads you all to Vencarlo's Academy, where a shocking sight greets you.
The Academy itself, a complex of three low-slung buildings, has burned to the ground. The fire was clearly massive, and all that remains in most places are charred bits of timber and exposed foundation stones. Although nearby buildings are slightly scorched, the blaze seems to have been effectively contained, and Vencarlo's home, which stands just a little ways to the east, is unharmed. A feral-looking mastiff growls at you but slinks away as you approach the buildings, leaving you to decide how best to approach. There are no signs of life from inside the home.
Callie offers her sack of apples to the breakfast preparations if the family is willing to accept it.
When heading up the street, Callie does peer toward the creepy chanting children playing their grisly game. "Hmm," she says after they pass, "Looks like the Tall Knife is some kind of killing engine. Not a person."
Her jaw drops as they come upon where the Orsini Academy should be. Myriad thoughts fly through her mind at once, and the one that pops out at random is, "I can't build a rival one if the bastards burn down the original!"
She blushes, embarrassed by her own outburst, and looks around. "Good gods. Well, hopefully he and everyone else got out safe, but I wouldn't be surprised if he's gone underground. Still, let's check out his home. If we're lucky, he's there. If not hopefully there are clues as to where he went. There's clearly nothing to be found at the Academy."
Callie steps up to the front door, examining it first for any signs of oddities or booby traps before knocking.
She then knocks on the door.
Callie doesn't see any signs of booby traps or tampering on the door, which--after gently testing the handle--she concludes is unlocked. There are, however, no responses to her knock.
"Ugh, now the Galt come here too?"
Korriban smiles at his mother as she accepts his new faith. He hugs her tightly. "Thank you, mom." He then leaves to help set up the Rosa for their new guests.
The next day, Korriban helps make the food and eats with his friends (Callie's apples included). When they move out, Korriban is instantly in rogue mode, dashing from place to place. When he hears the singing, Korriban is curious. He approaches them and asks, "Hey. What's that song you're singing?" He then sees the structure. He asks the kids about it. Hearing them and Callie's statement, Korriban says, "Well, at least we know what to expect if we ever go there." When Teodor says his piece, Korriban looks at him. "The Galt? The Tall Knife's something from Galt?"
When they arrive, Korriban is shocked at the sight of burned down academy. "Wha... What happened?!"
Her jaw drops as they come upon where the Orsini Academy should be. Myriad thoughts fly through her mind at once, and the one that pops out at random is, "I can't build a rival one if the bastards burn down the original!"
Korriban looks at Callie, eyebrow raised. The look on his face says 'Really?' When says her piece after that, Korriban says, "I hope that they got out as well. We have got to check this out."
He goes to the burned out building with Callie. He then looks, listens, and searches for traps.
If Korriban says it's safe, she opens the door.
The ruins are too thoroughly devastated--and burned too long ago--to offer any clues or hold any further dangers. Korriban does not, however, find any traps, so Callie pushes open the door to the nearby house.
The door opens onto a small, bare entrance hall with a large and colorful Vudrani throw rug that covers most of the floor. A door stands opposite the one you entered from, presumably leading to an interior room; a hallway leads to the left. The room is dark, though you can see that there's a faint, flickering light coming from the hallway that leads to the left.
Matoska rises and eats in silence, his sleep having been disturbed by discomfiting dreams. With a nod of thanks to Korriban's family for their hospitality he pulls the hood of his cloak up to conceal himself, though its beads and feathers likely draw more attention than he would like.
He keeps a keen eye out for more of this "Emperor's" armed thugs, and keeps his distance from the crowd of children and their disturbing little mock-up, though he listens carefully as Korriban approaches them. Cocking his head curiously at Teo's comment, "You know of that device? I don't care for the look of it, nor do I admire any man who would keep such a thing in his court."
He immediately follows Callie through the door, sniffing the air and scanning for signs of struggle or foul play. The moment he notices the light, he heads straight down the hall, klar held at the ready.
Korriban looks at the room carefully, in case anything is going on. When Matoska heads down the hall, Korriban follows, drawing Il Pungiglione del Bacio.
"Oh, yeah, the Galtans love chopping off heads. It's up there with cheese and wine for them."
Callie waits to see what the report is on the flickering light.