After the walk through, Amandine mentions to Photine that the house has been kept up well past the death of the last resident by someone. "When I have a chance later on, I'll do some poking around to see if I can find out who's been taking an interest in this place."
When Chana mentions the secret door, Amandine goes down to take a look at it with her. "It looks to me like this would lead in the direction of the tower room. I didn't see anything free-standing outside for a passage to go to. Unless it's a very long passage, we might find the other end of it in the bottom floor of the tower room."
"Not supposed to be opened from this side, huh? Could be from something 'neath the tower. Could be a sneak 'ole that leads well far away... And I don' like the idea 'a someone sneakin' into this 'ouse from the cellah witout us knowin'."
The tower predates the manor itself by a considerable amount. In fact, its architectural style suggests it may have been an elven construction that was later remodeled by human settlers. In fact, some of the renovations may have been done to better incorporate the tower into the exterior decor of the main house.
The height and width of the tower would also suggest that perhaps only a single chamber sits beneath. Tunnels, caverns, or additional cellars of any size would have compromised the foundation of both the tower and the house; the lack of such damage thus contradicts the possible existence of any larger complex. In fact, the long, narrow hallway connecting the two main cellar chambers is the result of this. Adding additional rooms off of this hallway could result in a collapse from the weight of the manor above.
As for the estate at large, the upkeep seems to have been performed by hands with considerable time and dedication but only simple tools and limited raw materials.
"Sure is weird 'ow clean this place is..." Chana mulls over who's responsible for that, until she notices the narrow fissure leading down from the tower room. She pats her vest and chitters, getting Snips' attention.
"Hey little guy, want'a peek your nose down there? Come right back if its anythin' dangerous." She pauses for a moment to chitter off a quick spell before letting her familiar head down into the crack.
Amandine nods in agreement with Chana about the door.
"I'm almost certain the passage behind it goes under the tower, and it can't be very large. With no way to open the door on this side, my guess is it was meant to make it possible to go directly from the tower to the basement without having to go through other parts of the house. The first floor could be bypassed getting here from the second floor. Yes, it could be a shelter in case of trouble, if the house were attacked. It shouldn't go far though, or be large. Otherwise it would undermine the tower's foundation. It's the same with the long passage down here. Open the area below the house too much and the weight of the house would be too great. It would collapse eventually. The house is immensely heavy."
"Don't do anything with the door yet" she asks Greenly. "The entrance to this may be in the floor of the tower. It could prove useful to have this hidden area if certain kinds of emergencies came along."
"Let me look around more carefully and get a better idea of things. If the rest of you want to check the first floor of the tower, I'll take a look around outside."
Amandine is gone longer than expected, and when she turns she's more excited than when she left.
"This is a very interesting house! The tower is the oldest part of it, this place wasn't built all at once. The tower is much older than the rest. A close look makes it easy to tell, the stone is different, and it's been cut differently too. Much better workmanship than the rest. I think it might be elven work actually. If I'm right about that, the tower would be potentially thousands of years older than the rest of the house."
"I believe the house was originally smaller, and built beside the tower. Later it was expanded to incorporate the tower into the structure. it was done well enough that the casual viewer would think the whole thing was a unified architectural plan, but it's obvious it isn't if you know where to look!"
Snips darts back into the tunnel and scampers upward, back to the safety of your companionship. Along the way, a single word reverberates through his small head like a panic bell: "Cat! Cat! Cat!"
Anyone else in the ground floor of the tower with Chana observes as her familiar bolts out from the fissure. He runs over to his companion and scurries up her leg, clearly frightened by something.
Chana clutches Snips close to her to calm him down. "Amandine, I don't think we're gon' be usin' that as a safe room. Snips got a look of some room set up down there. Feels like a den, and there's somethin' 'ome." She rubs a thumb on Snips' nose "Somethin' like a cat, maybe. But Snips ain't no coward, so I figga its somethin' rougha than that."
"What do you guys think? Could be dangerous leaving this mystery creature close to us. But its all well blocked off right now. Could be it leaves us alone." She looks between Amandine and Photine, figuring that Greenly is spoken for as wanting to attack.
Photinè, having made herself right at home and already in the middle of getting ready for the masquerade, arrives downstairs in nothing but a silk robe and an alarmingly green face-mask. She waves a hand leisurely when asked about the mystery creature. "Whatever it is, it's done us no harm. We're the ones that have barged so suddenly into its home, after all. No need to go about breaking down its bedroom door before we've even introduced ourselves."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Greenly follows shortly after, also in the middle of getting ready for the masquerade. Like Photinè, she is dressed only with a light robe and a facemask, but unlike Photinè, her robe is unsecured, and her mask only half complete.
"Hey, Teeny, where are you going, you didn't even finish- oh, like, hello everybody." She giggles awkwardly and ties the sash around her robe.
"You need a bedroom door broken down?" she offers, misunderstanding the Galtan socialite.
"I s'pose we ain't got much time either." She grins behind her mask at the giggling barbarian "Greens especially doesn't 'ave time, huh?"
"When there's more time I can check around outside. There may be a hole, a burrow exit somewhere on the grounds. But yes, I don't see a way for it to get into the house. Best left alone for now since we have bigger fish to fry."
"Sure thing Amandine. 'Ow 'bout we go take a walk to Stachys and see wot we can 'ear 'bout the nobles at the party tomorrow?" Chana looks down at her annoyingly poofy dress. "I'll change first."
|
Olivia decides to claim the southern bedroom on the second floor, simply because it is closest to the staircase.
She does a round of the estate to determine how secure it is, and by the end she decides it isn't great. This is clearly un château as the Galtans call it, not a fortified castle.
Olivia turns her head and blushes when Greenly accidentally rushes out in her unsecured robe. She goes back to her room to change, and gets in her armour to play the role of a knight. She's still thinking of a name to go by...
You descend the curving cobblestone path and return to the little village at the foot of the hill. It would not be a stretch to say that Stachys is on the verge of vanishing, collapsing under the weight of decay and being swallowed by unchecked weeds and creepers.
Other than the main road leading through town, which itself is rife with weeds, all the roads around the village are little more than dirt paths worn by feet, hooves, and the rare wagon wheel. If they were ever paved, those stones have been long since scavenged for building materials. Other than the collapsed mill and a large house converted into a sort of tavern, the only other inhabited buildings are shabby farmhouses dotting the poorly tended fields. You also spot a small, roadside shrine that is as ill-kept as the rest of Stachys.
The few residents you see, gathering wood and hoeing fields, all watch you with suspicious, unkind eyes.
The shrine's housing is akin to something midway between a lean-to and a gazebo. A few ghostly flakes suggest that the timbers may have once been painted, but now the wood is gray and splintering. Four small icons sit within the shrine, one placed at each of the main support posts.
You notice that the tablet depicting the scales of Abadar have been cleaned most recently. The gravel at its foot has been plucked clean of weeds, and the stone surface has been scrubbed free of moss and cobwebs.
Chana has changed into her hide vest and rugged pants, hardly looking particularly well off. She keeps the red scarf around the lower half of her face, as usual.
She creeps into the village with uneasy steps. She's no stranger to trespassing into places where the residents watch with feral eyes. But this is the first time she's experiencing such things outside of the comfort of the streets of the Narrows. There's no alleyways here, no easy escape paths into the sewers. If something were to attack here, she'd have to defend herself and her allies rather than run.
She stays close to Olivia while the paladin inspects the shrine. And at her prompting, Chana shrugs "Sure, why not? Maybe brightenin' their days." Once they're done giving it a quick cleaning, Chana tugs Olivia's sleeve and beckons with her head toward the makeshift tavern. "'Ow about we poke around there?"
Although you don't have any cleaning tools among you right now, with a little time and effort - plus, perhaps, a few cantrips - you are able to uproot the weeds growing from the gravely floor, clear the cobwebs choking the corners of the shrine roof, and wipe away the dirt that has collected on the small icons. It at least makes the small place of worship a little more presentable.
Towards the end of your work, after about thirty minutes, one of the locals approaches you. She is a heavily freckled half-elf wearing a plain brown dress draped with a canvas apron. A few ghostly strands of gray hair are the only hints that betray her age.
"I never expected no nobles to even do their own cleaning, much less someone else's," she says, crossing her lean, muscular arms.
Amandine Prestidigitates grime and moss from the statues and gazebo until the woman approaches them. She stops as the woman comments on their work and replies.
"It's a lovely sanctuary. It seemed a pity to let it languish. Besides, someone has been keeping our house up in our absence. I imagine it must be someone from here in Stachys? We owe them a debt for their favor."
Amandine steps forward to the woman and offers her hand.
"I am Amandine Betony. We have only just arrived in Meratt."
"Onora Piscum," she introduces herself, shaking Amandine's hand by instinct. A fleeting look crosses her face, as though suddenly unsure whether it's safe and appropriate to shake a noble's hand. Onora seems to quickly dismiss the concern.
"I run the Wolf's Whisker," she says, nodding her head back towards the public house. "I suppose I'm also the village's tribune since we haven't had one since my husband passed five years ago and Allis Betony ten years ago.
Amandine's courteous attitude drives a wedge through Onora's cold demeanor. Whether it is because you are nobles or merely outsiders, the tribune seems more guarded than curious regarding your presence.
"You say your name is Betony? I suppose this means you'll be moving into the estate then?"
Greenly doesn't join the ladies on their stroll through town, staying inside to finish up the face mask that Photinè had started applying. Once she's all made up and pampered, she begins to unpack, spreading her belongings through her room and the library.
In her pack, she finds the coded papers she had taken from the warehouse, as well as the squeaky brass cricket. Lighting a few candles, she spreads the papers out across the research table in the library, puzzling out the code for funsies.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Chana nods at Onora's assertion that Amandine is moving into the estate. "Awful big place, ain't it? We'll all be stayin' there too ta keep 'er company." She says this as if it's perfectly normal for such a motley group of women to all live in the Betony manor.
"Think we could stop by your pub? It looks like a cozier place ta chat than the street." Chana stretches, waving about the cloth she had been using to clean off the dirt. For the most part, she lets Amandine handle the conversation making, and instead watches Onora to read her reactions to the newcomers.
"My condolences Miss Onora. I am sorry for your loss. Yes, the estate is the house I meant. It passed to us upon Lady Allis's passing."
Amandine indicates each person with her in turn. "My cousin Lady Chiara, and my young brother Calix. With us are Lady Olivia and Lady Photine. As Lady Chiara mentioned it was my wish to come here and they have all kindly agreed to accompany me. We were quite young when we received the property, and only now have we been able to come here."
"Could we visit your public house? We can discuss making arrangements to talk at length about Stachys's current state of affairs, and what might improve them."
Amandine looks about with an expression showing mild dismay.
"Sure, sure," Onora says, waving towards her home and business. "It's just about time for my customers, what few there are, to come rolling in."
Onora's personality is not hard to glean: she is a no-nonsense country girl, very dedicated to her tiny corner of Taldor. She clearly does not think highly of nobles, likely viewing them as useless, especially given the state of her village. Flaunting wealth and power is a sure way to earn her resentment, while demonstrating practical skills would likely help in winning her over.
.....
She leads you into the ground floor of the Wolf's Whisker. The pub's sign, written in grease paint on a wooden board, currently serves to cover a broken window. Inside, you find a dirt-floored common room with a single table and three chairs. A few upturned crates and barrels serve as makeshift tables elsewhere, with pallets of hay placed for patrons to sit or kneel on the ground.
Onora drags over a couple boxes to serve as additional chairs, seating you at the one proper table, even though it will be rather cramped.
|
|
Olivia sits down on a crate and seems quite at home with her legs spread on either side. She takes off her helmet and rests it on the table, running a gauntlet hand through her hair. "This brings back memories. We had our briefing in a place like this, except it was in a supply room..." She then tells a short story about her commanding officer briefing her and several other sergeants about their first mission on the frontlines. Their objective was to advance into the worldwound and rescue anyone who fell during the primary assault. She doesn't go into detail of the actual mission, but sticks to describing the experience of receiving the briefing, as well as the tension, apprehension, and the tiny sliver of excitement that goes along with it.
Chana figures there's no particularly good reason to keep up her whole faux noble routine with this down-to-earth lady. And besides, she isn't dressed up enough to hide her more visible deformities. When Amandine calls her 'Lady' Chiara, she gives Onora a helpless shrug.
"I'm not much for Lady-in' this and that anyway. You can just call me Chiara if you want."
---
Inside the pub, Chana puts her feet up and orders whatever drink everyone else seems to be having. One benefit of having grown up drinking sewer water is that there isn't a single drink that doesn't taste good. She downs her mug in a flash and asks for more.
While Onora is busy serving other folks, Chana mentions to her team her first impressions of the village's tribune.
Once Onora is not quite as busy, Chana engages her in a few questions. Where Amandine might ask something more diplomatic or useful, Chana has priorities of her own. "So Onora, what kinds of wild animals are there around town? Anything attacking your chickens? I'd like to see a wolf, or bear, or-" She continues, getting into the details of wildlife she's only read about. Stuff that she's never had a chance to butt heads with back in Oppara.
Onora's expression does not soften as she listens to Olivia, unimpressed by the noblewoman's tales of playing at soldier. However, Chana's discussion of local herds and animals better seizes her interest.
"Them fading foxes often sneak off with chickens, but the bigger problems make off with the goats," she replies. "Every couple of seasons, I'll hear about some thorp that lost almost their entire herd to wolves, mountain lions, or worse. Also, every high summer, the Iron Lash flies in from the Verduran to hunt before leaving at the first frost."
When plied for details, Onora is only able to describe the "Iron Lash" as some winged beast of great size and uncommon brutality that has preyed upon the county for years. She's, thankfully, never seen it herself and hasn't the foggiest idea what it could be.
Chana grins at the mention of wolves and mountain lions. While her mouth remains covered by her scarf, its clear from her eyes that she's excited. "Those fading foxes don't got much meat on them, if they didn't get a chicken or two, I'm sure they'd up and fade to dust. But wolves and mountain lions? I 'ope I'll get a chance to see one. Maybe we can help protect some of the 'erds from them for you?" Chana offers, almost forgetting that she's here to play politics rather than find interesting new animals.
After self care and deciphering code, Greenly spends the remainder of the evening packing for the trip. She lays out her mask and clothes for the next day in preparation for the events to come and goes to bed early, excited for the days to come.
Chana has heard no stories about the "Iron Lash" while on the road, and certainly not back on the streets in Oppara.
Meanwhile, her proposition earns a guffaw from Onora.
"Sure. A gaggle of nobles want to protect some scrawny goats," she muses bitterly. "Can't say I've heard a joke like that before.
"Pardon me. I'll go pour some drinks and make you a meal. I'm sure you're eager to get home and scrub yourselves down after 'playing nice' with the local bumpkins. Heavens know I'll need some time to clean my clothes for that party tomorrow."
Chana looks incredulously at Onora. "Wot? You don't think I'm serious do you? I'd rather be doin' that than going to the party. Better the wolves out in the forest than those... what was it-" She pauses to think back to one of her lessons. "-wolves in sheep's clothing, at the party tomorrow."
"Hey Onora, what's going on with this party anyway? We just got here, and I figure you would know if you're joining it."
Better the wolves out in the forest than those... what was it-" She pauses to think back to one of her lessons. "-wolves in sheep's clothing, at the party tomorrow."
The way Chana uses her turn-of-phrase to assess the nobles expected at the Jubilee earns a sincere laugh and smile from the pub owner and tribune.
"Nobles never need much of an excuse to pat themselves on the back and throw themselves a lavish party that they think they deserve," Onora says, the smile not completely faded from her freckled face. "The only reason I've bent over backwards to get an invitation is because it's my best chance to meet with any of them nobles and plead Stachys' case. Of course, the only ones who'd probably even entertain the notion of helping would be Baron Okerra and maybe Baroness Voinum."
"Yea, nobles and par'ies go 'and in 'and." She slips some more into her Narrows speech as she relaxes.
Chana nods, feeling a little smug that one of the names mentioned is one she already knows. All that training and practicing paying off! "Mm, Okerra's an alright sort, fer a noble. But who's this Baroness Voinum?"
Amandine listens as Chana and Onora talk about animals, but she isn't convinced that Stachys' wretched condition is caused by some lost chicken sand goats alone. She doesn't want to approach the question of what else is wrong exactly head on though, so she uses the time to think of a way to maybe get at the subject in an indirect way.
"You knew Allis Betony Onora? What was she like? We never met her ourselves."
Photinè introduces herself as 'Lady Betony's' aide, and watches amusedly for the most part, happy to let Chana take the lead with Onora. The noblewoman has somehow managed to arrange herself elegantly on the crate, but her genteel bearing makes her look awkward and out-of-place in the ramshackle tavern. The state of the town is quite jarring to see up close, as are Onora's sweeping generalizations about the tendencies of nobles; surely, House Aurelius never neglected the lowborn in such a manner. Lady Michèle-Aurelius took great pride in making sure those who lived on her estate, her servants and attendants, were well cared for, and taught her son to do the same. She feels confident that under the new leadership of the 'Betony' heiresses and their associates, Stachys will similarly come to thrive.
At Onora's offer of drinks, Photinè rises from the makeshift chair and smiles cordially. "May I assist you? It's the least I can do when we have intruded upon your hospitality so suddenly." Her eyes flicker to Amandine, deducing the woman's angle. "Perhaps you will indulge us a little longer, with a tale of Stachys over a glass?"
Onora offers a wordless, inscrutable expression as she appraises Photinè for a moment before accepting her offer, allowing the Betony heirs' "aide" to assist with her work.
"I'll say this for Lady Allis, at least when she served as tribune I could focus on running the Whisker," Onora says while feeding a few spindly sticks into the belly of the stove. "My Royen did his best to fulfill the role of both mayor and sheriff after Lady Allis passed, but he mostly did it so I could focus on our business. It's no secret that the pub has suffered with me splitting my time - just have a look around and you'll see I haven't given it enough of a cleaning or fixing in a while."
Onora pulls a wedge of cheese down from a pantry shelf along with a bag of beans, then retrieves some potatoes and onions from a sack. She also lays out a knife for dicing and asks Photinè to dip the pot into the rain barrel outside.
"I actually knew Lady Allis for a good portion of her life," Onora explains while peeling potatoes. "She was sweet but not the most reliable of people, although it was hardly a sign of malice. She just...always seemed a bit preoccupied and withdrawn. Folks would whisper that she wasn't quite right in the head."
Onora raises her eyes from her work, looks across your party, watches for customers at the door, and pauses before continuing.
"Truth be told, I caught her a couple times talking to folks who weren't there - just having a conversation with thin air. This didn't go away with age, either. Probably why she stayed a spinster to her dying days. Her entire last decade, she lived as a recluse. That gave my Royen some practice at being tribune for when she did pass."
Amandine considers what Onora says about Allis Betony, quiet and thoughtful for a few moments.
"It sounds unfortunate. But, did Allis Betony seem unhappy? Perhaps for her, personally, it wasn't unfortunate at all. I am sorry though that her... apparent infirmity, burdened your husband and you so heavily. I apologize on her behalf."
"Now that my cousin and have arrived, would I be right to suppose the office of Tribune will fall to us? I must admit it's not an office I have any familiarity with. There are no Tribunes in Oppara. What are the responsibilities that come with the office? Who do you answer to? Did Allis answer to the same person as Lady of the manor?"
Through the questions and answers Amandine maintains a curious and earnest demeanor. She thoroughly plays the role of a newcomer in a strange place, eager to learn her way around. It's not difficult because it's true.
Chana shrugs "I've seen all sorts not right in the 'ead. Some end up pret'y alright, considerin'. Helps to be a noble for that, I figure." She pauses "You ever hear any rumors about Lady Allis keepin' something underneath her house? Any kind of creature? Was she a cat lady ever?"
When Amandine asks about the office of Tribune, Chana looks at her with wide eyes "Maybe Onora don't like bein' tribune, but I don't see how that gives us any right to steal that away from 'er?"
Onora seems, at first, taken aback by Amandine's apparent enthusiasm, but that gives way to a blend of surprise and satisfaction. She continues to speak, even more freely now, as she continues to prepare a stew.
"I wouldn't say she seemed unhappy. Even with nobody around, I couldn't say she was lonely. Besides whomever she thought she was talking to, there were a trio of old cats that lurked around the estate. From a distance, I'd see her leaving out bowls for them.
"Baroness Voinum's lands sit just west of here, across the lake," Onora answers Chana's question. "She served in the Phalanx back in the day, and it shows. She's a towering woman. She's got a scar, right across her face, and she wears it as proudly as though it were a medal. She's pretty stern and scathing, too. The last time I wormed my way into one of these noble shindigs, I saw her browbeat a drunken Lord Titus until he was practically blubbering.
"She serves her land just like Lady Allis once did, acting as tribune. A tribune sort of serves as both mayor and sheriff, and if you're Lady Allis' heirs, then the duty does fall to you. Sorting out drunken brawls and punishing the local sneakthieves is one of the biggest responsibilities, along with dealing with Sir Gusairne when he comes 'round to collect the taxes for Count Lotheed. I guess that means you'd be answering to the two of them.
"Frankly, I'll be relieved to be relieved as tribune if only so I don't have to deal with Sir Gusairne anymore. He's as flinty as an elf-kin can be, and it makes me sick," she says, self consciously rubbing her own tapered ears.
"Cats, eh?" Chana rubs a spot on the back of her vest, attempting to reassure Snips. "Maybe we leave some milk out and see if they're still around?" She looks to Photine and shrugs, unsure if whatever lies in the manor's basement would be responsive to that kind of thing.
When Onora describes the Baroness, Chana grins behind her scarf "I like 'er already." And when she explains what's involved in filling Lady Allis' shoes, Chana nods reassuringly "That kinda thing won't be a problem for us. I've done my bit in beatin' thieves, when it comes to it. And Amandine's not someone to let some tax collector guy cow 'er."
Chana's pretty much hit her breaking point on names to memorize already. She crosses her arms and asks Onora "So, you got a way into this party, or you want us to vouch for you?"
Chana waits patiently for stew, hungry for some real food after the Porthmos House's "dainty" affair.