Magda's nose scrunches in reflex even though her body relaxes at a kroftiness still being around. Not that she would say that... EVER. She lets out a soft Humpf "Was that the good or the bad or both mixed up like gunk at the bottom of a boot?"
He grins a little, and the other guard rolls his eyes. Grau adds, ”it’s a matter of perspective, Magda. Head on in - she’s in her office.”
After shopping, crafting, and trying to extract something not completely evil from Rolth's spellbook, Vera felt extremely tired. Though she is delighted to have acquired a Ring of Sustenance that has saved her from needing to sleep! It was a miraculous item, and she wonders how she could have lived her life without such a thing. She joins her companions for a visit to the Citadel.
"Grau! I'm so glad to hear both of them are here. Let's go!" She hurries inside and looks for Ishani in particular.
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It is bliss to see Enzo and Catherine, even with the necessary protections in place. All Olenna wants to do is curl up in Enzo's arms and doze off reading a book with Catherine in her lap and Remy purring on the couch. Thankfully her husband has seen her through enough mess not too unlike this to know exactly what to do.
"What would I do without you?" she breathes as she takes off her shoes. She devours the soup and asks him about his writing. The latest novel is going slowly, but at least he has moved out of the discarding drafts stage. He still didn't want to go into too many details of the plot yet, but he rattled off a bit about a character that Olenna swears reminds her of an old roommate from back in her university days. Beyond that, the print shop was getting decent business. And Catherine was wonderful. Of course she was.
With a trade, Olenna starts to fill Enzo in on a sketch of some of what had transpired. She isn't the storyteller that he is, unfortunately. They had different gifts with words--hers more rhetorical and his more expressive. But they met in the middle. She tries not to worry him overmuch, glossing over certain facets of the events that she knows would upset him, but tries to provide at least a scene or two that might inspire him. It was, after all, more exciting than her usual work stories.
She had been careful not to delve too deeply into speculative territory or much about the political situation. She was especially careful not to repeat what Andaisin had said. But Enzo was sharp. He picked up on what was unsaid.
"So who were they working for?" he asks.
Olenna sets her soup spoon down. "We're not certain," she says. True, after a fashion, but ultimately false.
Enzo purses his lips and looks at his wife from across the room. "But you have a theory."
Olenna pauses but nods.
They had long since moved past platitudes like "be safe." The work of the Guard wasn't safe. You could be prepared, but you couldn't be safe. Enzo wrings his hands together. Olenna notices that his cuticles were a little frayed and still ink-stained, and his nails showed signs of some biting. Gods bless the man, but how would she ever keep him from worrying about her?
Enzo's face stretches into a facsimile of a smile. "I'll draw a bath for you."
---
Morning comes and Olenna isn't feeling her best, but Enzo has brewed her some strong coffee and she's ready to get back to it. After two baths, she finally feels clean. She pulls her hair back and styles it in a beehive as she gets ready for work.
"Will you be home tonight?" he asks as she heads out the door.
"I better be," she responds.
She drops her shield off with a local woodworker and her armor with a dwarven blacksmith along with bags of platinum and requests to transmute both to help her be even more resistant to attack. She would check out some standard-issue non-magical armor from the Citadel's armory in the meantime for her duties. A couple of days with lighter protection shouldn't be too much trouble, right? Hopefully the Queen and her agents would be regrouping, not sending out more force.
Olenna waves a cheerful hello to the adventurers as she happens across them near the Citadel. "Good fortune!" she says in greeting, one arm wrapped around the leather carrying case stuffed with papers. "Here I was just reporting for duty and hoping that I would see you all before too long." Her eyes light up and she prattles on, her dilated pupils showing signs of coffee working. "I have good news as well! It's too early to say for certain, but Vendra and I were working much of the day and, comparing notes, believe that we have found a cure! When I left, Vendra was beginning to produce doses. I still need to secure a contract with the Bank of Abadar, and we'll need to test it to be certain that it works as well as the theory would have me believe, but I'm hopeful."
She's excited to report the same to Sonya or Cressida or whomever was in charge today, along with hearing what the other four had gotten up to, but that could wait. She strides up and salutes Grau. Then her face falls to neutrality as he provides the news.
"Damn it," she sighs, closing her eyes and holding a hand up to the bridge of her nose. "Were we at least able to..." She bites her lip and loops a thumb into a strap on her uniform as Magda shows impulsive initiative. Youths. "Never mind. Thank you, Grau. In we go then."
Holding up a hand, Yaziyah stops Olenna. "You still look sick, let me take a look at you." While she is no longer wearing the plague doctor's mask - especially not in full view of the Guard - she still takes precautions, wearing gloves and a scarf over her mouth and nose.
She shakes her head and tsks after her brief examination, then begins a low chant in her throat as her hands weave about in the air, making repeated passes over Olenna.
Mags, who had constantly kept pulling up her mask down in the cultist lair is wearing nothing protection wise, and looks over fire hair as well.
"Looks like the thing... wait, you made a... Cure?" Mags missed that in her irritation, but suddenly it hits her like a crowd running for discarded coins.
A cure. The cobbles and bricks, from basement to chimneys, all collectively sigh in relief.
Mags grins. Wide.
"Thank you" will all the gratitude of a city behind those two words.
Olenna feels better at Yazi's healing. And then there's a weight behind Magda's words. Oh, these four were good.
"That's much better. Thank you."
Olenna doesn’t look very well.
He considers a moment, then responds, ”Lady Sabina and some Gray maidens took Davaulus, the doctors, and the cultists to an outdoor pavilion near the palace to try, and presumably execute them - all of them.”
Marcus frowns in thought. "What is our stake in this, precisely? They attempted to destroy the city, so we know of their guilt, but is their execution covering the queen's tracks? It would be hard to publicly protect them when we know they're guilty, even if it's in our interests."
Feeling rough, Olenna quaffs two extracts. She doesn't feel fully up to snuff, but it's better than the day before.
---
At Marcus' question, Olenna shrugs. "We should speak with the Field Marshal. As Grau said, it's news. I would have liked more information from them, but...ah, we'll figure it out."
The heat was starting to rise as the summer got into full swing, and the party now heads into the cooler Citadel, which remains replete with the sick, though the mood is a little less chaotic and most of the people are resting and sleeping. There are discarded Lavender’s Linament vials that are piled in waste receptacles, which seemed to have improved the health of every patient. Sonya is nowhere to be found, but her magical healing touch is evident, as the people who were on death’s door are obviously much better.
The party winds its way through the area, past the desk sergeant, past the cots, past sleeping guards who are resting against the wall .
They push open the door, and inside is the tired-looking form of Field Marshall Cressida Kroft, her elbows resting on the desk. Sitting in a chair facing her is the young Abadarian, Ishani Dhatri. He looks similarly haggard, with bags under his eyes demonstrating a lack of sleep. He stands when they enter, and looks like he’s… extremely relieved. He rushes over to Vera, but then stops himself, remembering propriety and… the safety measures that most people have been following in a city ravaged by disease that is transmitted by touch. ”Vera! You are safe. I cannot… cannot say how relieved I am to see you. We heard what happened - and I heard what you faced.” He seems to realize something, and looks up at everyone else, ”who would have thought that after we met - that it would lead to such chaos and misery.” He shakes his head and steps aside to let everyone else in.
Cressida Kroft beckons everyone out of the doorway, ”come in, come in.” But she doesn’t stand up. She salutes loosely Olenna in the standard style, and nods, ”your hunch was right. I’m glad you met up with these folks. Whatever questions you might have about their background they can share at their leisure.” She looks at Yazi with a quick glance, and continues, ”at this point - it’s obvious that they are both competent and have the best interests of Korvosa at heart.”
She pauses, ”Olenna, I think your service to Korvosa has been eminently commendable, but at this time you should retire early. In fact, I’ve already drawn up the paperwork.” She taps a stack ”you need to look after your family in these difficult times. Do you understand?” She watches Olenna’s face carefully.
Once that’s resolved, she continues ”Mister Dhatri and I spent a substantial time at the palace yesterday with some of the leaders of the temple. Queen Illeosa wanted us there to help coordinate the response with a few other clerics and some of her advisors. Davaulus was absent - and now we know why.”
She considers her next statement carefully, ”Queen Illeosa was incandescently angry when she learned about what happened in the cult lair. The investigators found ample evidence using their magical tools that everyone was complicit - except for Jolstinia, hold your questions- please”. She adds, when people give her questioning looks.
She holds up a paper, ”her guard and Sabine picked all of those responsible up, while largely still unconscious, and took them to a pavilion outside the palace - you remember the one, I think.” Her eyebrow twitches and she gives the party members with a piercing look.
She clears her throat, ”there will be a trial today, and tomorrow all will face the headsman’s axe, and a pauper’s grave. Afterwards, as thanks, there will be a ceremony and a reward for you five in honor of your help in the matter. I cannot order any of you to attend, but I would recommend it.” She pauses, then adds, ”strongly.”
She looks over everyone, ”for my part, I managed to scrounge up a little more of a reward for you all.” She holds up five sheets and passes them to Ishani, who gives them out.
She leans forward and folds her hands, ”I would like to answer your questions, but please be brief and… mindful.”
If you ask stupid questions, you may win stupid prizes.
Vera brightens immediately on seeing Ishani well. When he hands her a reward sheet, she immediately embraces him, disease be damned.
"Our city has suffered so much--who would have expected that when we met? But have you heard? We think we have a cure for the disease! Olenna turned the notes from the cultists, and their horrible, horrible experiments into a real cure." For a moment, Vera considered whether those notes somehow justified what happened to the Varisians. No, that was the wrong way to think of it. But they had turned what was evil into something good.
"We're fine now--mostly. Still some recovery for disease for a few of us including poor Olenna who definitely deserves to retire." Vera plays along with the Field Marshal's little game. "But are you okay, Ishani? You were with the doctors so long. I worried they might have tried to do something."
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Ishani blushes a bit, but hugs Vera back, lingering for a moment before separating, seemingly even more embarrassed.
He shakes his head when Vera explains, ”no, I had not heard. A cure!? That is incredible. We must distribute it to people as quickly as possible - though I’m sure Gregor will want to ensure the church gets a cut of the profits…” he looks annoyed and disgusted when he thinks about the situation, frowning.
He clears his throat, ”I am not an expert on subterfuge - but when it came to the physicians, I picked up at some point that there was something going on. I couldn’t do much directly, of course.” He continues after a moment, ”but I did what I could. The physicians were straddling a ‘line’ between helping the rich and merchants, and deliberately spreading the disease to the poor through their ‘inattentiveness.’ And it was not all of them, curiously, just some. I cross checked the records and figured it out, and I let Ms. Kroft know.”
Cressida nods, ”we didn’t know how far the corruption went - but it soon became apparent that Davaulus was orchestrating the whole thing. Ishani and I have been working on the problem from the inside, at the meetings we would feed Davaulus some bad information, or we exploited what he told us to get the guard in the right place at the right time…” She runs her hand through her hair, ”it’s been exhausting. I’m sorry for not supporting you all enough - we had a lot on our plate, and we had to work keep up the charade - it didn’t come naturally. In the end I think it worked out because we distracted them long enough that you all struck them before they knew what was happening, and then trapped them in that… place.” She looks mildy disgusted, but she also seems relieved to be able to explain the circumstances for the first time in a while.
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Olenna stares deliriously at the stack of retirement paperwork and her mind races as she picks up what Cressida is putting down. She reaches for a pen and tries not to lose her balance as her knees lock and her blood stops flowing properly. She listens to the rest of Cressida's talk as she focuses much of her physical attention on producing a languid signature.
Of course Cressida had known something. The sequestering of information was part of the operational security of the Guard. Perhaps removing her from the Guard was part of the same op-sec. Keeping her at least partially in the dark had worked in their favor for these last few months. Perhaps now as she descended further into it...
Oh, she had questions. She always did. But her questions were usually ones that didn't have easy answers.
How much of the loss of feeling in her legs was the lingering effects of the plague, and how much of it was being fired for her own safety?
Was it stupid that she wanted to return to service when this was all over?
Would this ever be all over?
She salutes and hands over the carrying case filled with documentation. "Thank you for the commendation, Field Marshal. Consider the submission of my reports on the cult investigation, our subsequent engagement, and my work with Vendra Loaggri to develop a cure for the Plague to be my final act as an agent of the Korvosan Guard. It has been a pleasure serving with you, ma'am."
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Yaziyah keeps her mouth shut, looming near the door with her arms crossed over her chest. Throughout the exchanges, she feels her respect for Kroft growing. The frustration of being unable to act is there, of course, but the Field Marshall was right in her actions, and in both the words she said - and didn't say. She catches the woman's eye during a lull in the conversation, and gives a slow nod.
"Very clever of you to disrupt Doctor Davalus with misinformation." She wondered if there was more to all of this than they could share here.
The question of why Jolstinia wasn't being tried triggered a thought. "You know, Jolstinia acted very strangely in all of this. She seemed to be completely infatuated with Rolth Lamm. It's almost like she had been put under a love spell." She hoped that by dropping that nugget of information, she might be able to get a little bit more information in return.
Kroft notes, ”it isn’t clear, but the woman is not lucid, and it’s hard to question her because of that. It could be magical compulsion, it could be mundane … methods. We have some records that younger forlorn elf disappeared about fifteen years ago from her adoptive human family.” Her tone drops a little bit in volume.
”Her birth parents had been killed probably eighty years ago - and she was an orphan, a difficult young woman, for probably thirty years until she was adopted by a fine family, the Susperios. She loved the very much by all accounts, but then her adopted parents were murdered by the Key Lock killer - who turns out was Rolth Lamm - and she disappeared Her tone grows softer, ”she has been through a lot. Enough, I think.” She sighs, ”she told me that she wanted to see Rolth soon; he promised to turn her into a zombie.”
Magda stood silent, leaning with both hands into her spear, and listening to what was being said, what wasn't being said, and plenty that no one else could hear.
Mags had questions, worries, doubts, and all that, but instead, when there was a lull, she said "You look tired." to Kroft, her dark eyes steady on her "You should get some rest... mam." the last word came out softer than the rest, and immediately the half-orc looked away, her greenish cheeks flushing in the embarrassment of it.
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Cressida Kroft didn’t smile much in the best of times, and this was far from the best of times, but the lines at the corners of her eyes crinkle a little and she inclines her head and Magda’s recommendation, the edges of her lips curling up slightly, ”you're right, Magda. I’ll try.“
Magda, still looking away, smiles. Soft but true. Her cheeks somehow managing to get even brighter.
Olenna's interactions with Jolstinia had been rather limited and brief in the context of things (at least compared to the adventurers who had unfortunately encountered her previously), though she had certainly gotten the distinct impression of madness. Her story rings sad, and Olenna almost feels bad for killing the object of her twisted affection. Almost.
The elven minority of Korvosa stood out, and many humans falsely assumed that all of the elves and half-elves knew each other. That clearly wasn't the case. And whatever happened to this particular elf was out of Olenna's hands. Would anyone claim her now?
Olenna almost chides Magda for suggesting that Cressida looks tired. She was used to hearing that talk from fellow officers when she didn't wear makeup and bristled against it almost reflexively. But Magda was right, too, and certainly didn't mean it in a demeaning way.
"I think we should all get some rest. Before tomorrow."
She wants to skip the executions but imagines that the two events will be directly tied together. Why couldn't she just have stayed in the shadows?
"Agreed. We have all been through a lot."
Yaziyah glances at Marcus. He was usually quiet, but after his outburst the other day she worried for him. Did he have anyone to talk to? Any place that was comforting and safe after all the horrors they had seen?
Her gaze shifts to the girls next. So young, and already with so much hard-earned wisdom and power. So many wounds, so many scars.
"Olenna probably want to be with her family, but the rest of you are invited to the community center tonight. We'll have a meal and stories."
Magda recovers, piling the awkwardness under some boxes inside her, all at the mention of dinner. She nods quickly, straightening from her spear, agreeing and ready. "I'll make twisty bread, I have some rising..." she pats her haversack, which oddly works wonders as a warming drawer. Her mind is already remembering the community center's garden and thinking about what she can add to her dish from it.
Suddenly she listens to something and then looks up at the boy that lives in Vera's eyes. "You should come too, for the dinner part." she didn't really say it like a question, but when her gaze shifts to the Kroft, including her, her face shifts as well, brows raised more, asking not telling.
Vera waits with anticipation at how Ishani and Kroft will respond to Magda's invitation!
Marcus grunts and nods in satisfaction at the (slightly) better state of the city. They had done good work with Sonya. It was good to see at least some effects they were having on a wider scale.
Marcus levels his gaze on Kroft and Ishani, noting their physical state. Primarily for Kroft though. She was tough, but everybody had their breaking point. He had learned that the hard way himself just recently.
As Kroft confirms Olenna's recommendation, Marcus stands a bit straighter and simply nods. It was a quiet gesture, but one that spoke volumes for him. He took incredible pride in having earned her trust.
At Olenna's forced retirement Marcus's brows furrow for a moment. The intent was clear; to free her up to act with them with more prejudice. But would her official connection to the guard be a more useful asset? Hard to say. He supposes that similar to Kroft, he must trust her in return.
And then Kroft gets back into the careful politicking words. Marcus's frown carves as deep as ever into his scar-crossed face. But his brows shoot up when they are to be honored for their actions. "S+#&." He murmurs, but doesn't elaborate.
Marcus snorts in distaste at the corrupt doctors. Those kind of men ticked him off like few others. A rapid dog needed to be put down, sure, but men who were supposed to be doing good and took advantage of their position of trust to hurt the vulnerable; despicable.
After much discussion going back and forth with Kroft, Marcus only had a single question for her.
"When we see the queen...will I need my armor?"
It was a simple question, but a heavy one.
Marcus's normal grumpy mood was downright sour as he threw himself back into work. The company would complain openly, only furthering his foul mood and causing it to get worse. Moral was starting to take a serious nosedive.
That's when Tiona came to pay him a visit.
"Hmph. I never can hear you, but when you wear that perfume I can smell when you're close enough." Marcus sets down his pen with a grumble, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she probably wanted him to smell her perfume. "What is it?" He asks bluntly.
Kroft doesn’t seem to know how to answer Marcus’ question, but responds carefully ”whatever the danger - the event is to be public, and I think I’ve done enough work already that hurting any of you would make more problems than it solved.” She looks hesitant, ”but this is a chaotic time. People don’t always make the best decisions. I would certainly bring some armor - the best you can… you can borrow some if you need it.”
For a short while Kroft and Ishani and the group chat, and the party explains in detail what happened with the cult lair, Ruan, Yelloweyes, the vampires and everything that the villains said. She frowns a bit when she hears the two physicians escaped, but her eyes widen when they describe the nosferatu. She adds, ”it doesn’t sound like the man was here of his own volition, whatever you might think of him. If what you say is true, helping him was a small price to pay for the cure.”
When Vera explains how the Varisians seemed to be resistant, she nods slowly, adding, ”I would guess that Andaisin created the disease - and that the experiments that Davaulus was doing was to find a way to bypass the resistance of those Varisians. But … that is just speculation.”
Ishani moves over to where his bag is, picking it up before they mention a feast. He puts it down and considers, as does Kroft as she accepts the retirement papers from Olenna, remarking ”Thank you again, officer. If you still wish to be of service, the only advice I can give you is that Enzo and Catherine should consider a vacation. Magnimar is pleasant enough, and I hear Andoran is particularly nice this time of year.” She extends her hand towards Olenna, to shake, though she glances at everyone else, adding, ”really - given what the city has been going through - I think all of our families and friends deserve a vacation, if they can.”
**********************
When Vera invites them to a feast, Ishani opens his mouth for a moment, sighs, and says ”yes - I would love to join you all - though I have much work to do at the Vault. They will need an explanation very soon.”
Kroft drums her fingers on the table and says ”Ishani - I think you can spare an evening. But before you make too many plans… “ she smirks slightly and is a little embarassed ”I must unfortunately be the… erm… ‘destroyer of fun.’ Grau and Tayce were going to throw you a surprise party this evening. Many of the guards were intending to come… I think I could get away with stopping in to that.” She straightens her collar, ”official business, of course. The Guard needs to see I have their back at all times, right? And East Shore is just across the bridge if I’m needed - and remember, I have a mountain of work to do as well.” She gives an extremely restrained stink-eye to the enormous ‘inbox’ on her desk.
She replies, ”you’ll decide for yourself if I’m losing my touch. Look at me.” Her normally languid, easygoing demeanor had sharpened. ”people have put up with a lot from you, Marcus Havel, as we built this business. But that’s because they had faith in your judgment. It worked out.”
Her ruby lips are a thin line, ”it isn’t working out, now, and I can only do so much before people start to quit.” She folds her arms, ”is that plain enough?” Her eyes are flinty and hard, and she looks into his face. She adds ”something happened to you in that - place. And you won’t talk about it. I don’t know if that will help, but this brooding s+@* certainly isn’t helping anyone.”
A chill goes down Yaziyah's spine as Kroft talks about "vacations". What did she know? Was curing the blood veil not enough? What horrors would be piled upon this city next?
She thinks of where her Shoanti family and friends could go... not that many options there. A sudden urge to 'reconnect with their roots' and visit the Cinderlands and the Storval Plateau. I hear it's lovely at this time of year.
Suppressing a sigh, she nods again.
Marcus grunts and nods to Kroft, mulling over the words. Maybe I'll see how that smith is getting along with my armor, see if I can borrow it back for a few hours.
Kroft's vacation suggestion lands hard. It meant little to Marcus, the only ones close to him were people who knew how to handle themselves, but the implications for how ugly things were going to get concerned him.
But Marcus is nothing if not a stubborn bastard.
"Not sure why anybody thinks it's news that I'm not a ray of sunshine. Clearly things have started to get soft in my absence. I know your cleverness has gotten us out of rough spots, but when times are easier you need to be hard on men with swords so that they can be prepared for the worse times. Otherwise they f$!+ up and wind up dead." He grits his teeth, memories of the underground chamber flicking into his mind for a moment. "They'll either learn to be hard or I'll find others who will."
Magda looked genuinely confused at the word 'vacation', but she gets the idea Kroft is suggesting. "the city is its people" she mutters, quiet enough not to make a fuss, not wanting to butt heads again with the newly Okayed Kroft.
She thinks of the orphans, the street scavengers, the o-ta-goo, even a funny elf girl, the Yazi's, the old fisherwoman, the egg pickers, their little guy with the nimble fingers, even the guard (the good ones). She thinks of them and thinks of the city without them and feels... hollow.
Olenna's mouth feels increasingly dry with all of the implications. The idea that anyone would try to go after Enzo or Cat because of what Olenna had done sends her mind through several loops, and she steadies herself on the desk. She misses the pronouncement of a surprise party entirely, though it lodges itself somewhere in the back of her mind. She might even actually be surprised later, if she hasn't fallen into a panic attack.
"Enzo has a cousin in Magnimar," Olenna murmurs. "Who we haven't seen in about five years."
Why why why isn't this over yet? wonders Vera. She decides she will need to consult the cards to figure out what the future might hold.
"A surprise party? That's so nice! I guess we ruined the surprise, but let's find a time and place tonight to celebrate."
She goes to Ishani and takes his hand. "In the meantime, won't you come with us? Maybe we can have a normal day for once."
Ishani looks at Vera, and seems to be thinking, he muses, ”I would like that, Vera, but I have duties to attend to. The vault needs to be made aware of what happened - but perhaps later - “
Ishani is speaking when suddenly, a guard rushes in. ”Field Marshall!” Kroft is surprised, obviously but gestures for the guard to ‘take a breath.’ He does, steadying himself.
He continues, though he’s obviously been running for some time and is out of sorts, ”the… the bridges - the wooden ones.” pant ”onto Endrin Isle. They’ve been destroyed! Old Korvosa has been quarantined!”
Kroft looks ashen faced, and then looks sharply at everyone in the room, she says, ”I see.” She blinks, ”perhaps it would be best for you all to continue your day. As you planned to. Remember, there is much to be done. Please excuse me.” She seems pale, though there is no shaking to her voice. Her last statement is a very polite way of saying, I have to leave now.
Kroft stands up and grabs a bag, hurrying out of the room.
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Yaziyah stares after the Field Marshall in disbelief. "Continue our day? Continue our day?!" She lowers her voice, hissing through her clenched teeth.
"She knew this would happen! What is going on? Why quarantine Old Korvosa now that there is a cure? My... my family. My people." She tenses, squeezing her eyes shut, hands balled into fists, every muscle in her body thrumming.
What did she mean, 'as we planned to'? I was planning to go to the community center. Oh no, it is too late to tell my people to leave the city!
Old Korvosa hadn't been Olenna's beat, but she knew Guards who operated there, and her most immediate concern is for them. (Most of her direct contacts were in the Midlands and the Heights, thankfully.) But as Cressida leaves, she reaches out a hand and begins to say something like "I can come with you" before the words die in her mouth. She was no longer a member of the Guard. She had no right, no authority, to help Cressida any longer.
A mixed bag that was.
"No she didn't, Yaziyah," Olenna says quietly. "You saw the look on her face. Whoever did this caught us all by surprise. But the why--that's the important question." As it usually was.
She sighs and looks at Ishani. "I'm sure that we'll hear the official reason soon. But if you hear rumors of another reason, there are a few citizens of Korvosa who might be able to conduct an investigation."
The half-elf shakes her head. That wasn't helpful in the immediate, though, and she knew it as well as the others did. There were people over there now who were in danger. It would be harder to get the cure to them. And they were stuck there.
Or were they?
Smuggling was something that Olenna had some awareness of from her time in the Vice Squad. The Underworld was loathe to give up its secrets, but it might be possible to reach them still. It might be difficult, but they wouldn't abandon their allies.
And with that writ to raid the Citadel's supplies, Olenna had something in mind that might help her avoid a little more notice. And then she'd have to get creative with chemistry.
"A quarantine? Based on what? On whose orders? Who's enforcing this thing?" Vera watches as the Field Marshal just leaves then turns to the guard who reported the news. "What exactly happened? Who destroyed the bridges?"
None of it made any sense to her.
The runner pants, ”the Queen’s orders, or her representative - I guess. Enforced by her guard, the gray maidens.” He leans down, hands on his knees, ”all the wooden bridges are gone, they’re blockading the only stone bridge in or out, and patrolling the harbor. I don’t know how they have so many troops now…”
Tiona scoffs, ”from where? You’re going to import them from the Order of the Nail? Pick up drunks? And where in hells did you get the idea that times are easy? At least a quarter of the crews have been laid low by sickness, and even more have been hollowed out because their families are sick,” She leans over the desk, ”you’ve been on them for minor infractions - things that don’t matter - like when you yelled at Timothy about the color of he spaulders. Who cares?”
She looks him in the eyes. ”I’ve adventured, Marcus. I know it when I see it - you’re afraid. Or you were. And it’s eating you, filling you with rage because this is the first time you ever felt that.” She stands back up and folds her arms.
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Magda had to hold on to something, her whole body shook. "They..." The bridges! Separated part of the city... like ripping off its arm but leaving it dangling on a hunk of flesh only.
Mags wanted to scream, rage, throw SOMETHING, but instead, she clutches that paper she was just given. She leaves for a moment, getting the things promised, and then returns with two bottles, which she shoves in Yazi's arms.
"This one lets you breathe, this one lets you swim. Get back there and help them. I'll be there by morning I promise, but right now, they Need You more than any of us. More than Anyone of anybody." the young woman is insistent, the city is insistent.
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That's what makes his response to Tiona so unlike him.
"Things that don't matter!? The little s@$* does matter! Today it's the wrong pauldrons, tomorrow it's the wrong sword, then it's falling for an obvious goad! Next thing you know you're bleeding like a stuck pig!"
Marcus jumps to his feet, chair crashing to the ground. "Don't you f@~!ing tell me you know what it's like! Don't you f~&@ing tell me that until it's your job to get the piss beat out of you so that others don't! Throwing yourself into the most dangerous spot despite every part of your body screaming at you to retreat because you know it's your duty to take the worst of whatever can be thrown at you!" He throws his hands up in the air. "Ah but don't worry, we'll patch you up good as new! Magic makes it all better! Just don't die and you'll be fine! Nevermind the shock, nevermind the exhaustion, nevermind the scars! Us f&*~ing mages will just wave a hand and it all goes away!" He grits his teeth. "Except it doesn't f&~%ing work like that!"
He loudly snarls and claws at his shirt, ripping it to show his bare chest. The over the top display of masculinity would almost be comical if it weren't overshadowed by the situation, and more pointedly, the condition of Marcus's body. New scars dominated his normal tapestry. Brutal puncture wounds, in breathtaking locations. Multiple would be considered death blows by healers. Even more disturbing is how the scars were settling. Like the flesh was twisted in a vortex, one on top of the other, overlaying and warping and distorting each other, vying for dominance.
Marcus stands there, breathing heavy for a moment. Then as sudden as the fury appeared, he deflated, hunching over as a wave of exhausting came over him. "When you just catch a few hits and get patched up, the body has time to adjust, to settle what happened between the damage and the magic. In the end it usually looks natural, just faster." He looks down, lightly tracing his fingers across the new unfamiliar patterns on his chest. "But when it happens back to back...and you're brought back from the brink...just to have it happen again...and again." His voice weakens and he trails off. "Doesn't f!+$ing work like that..."
Ishani holds up his hand, ”wait - do not go rushing off alone. From what you and the messenger said, first: traveling alone may be dangerous for all of you. Second: messenger, were there any signs that Old Korvosa was being attacked? Did anyone move in to begin an assault?”
He thinks to himself, ”no sir.” Ishani frowns ”I am a little older than 18, you do not have to call me sir.”
The guard nods, himself young, ”um. No. They just blockaded it. But they have people watching the water, too.”
Yaziyah raises a hand to stop Magda before the girl dashes off. "There are some things I can try, but not before I have rested. No sense in rushing into things before we know more, and we should stay together. Remember that Ruan and the others were targeted when they were alone."
Ishani breathes a sigh of relief.
Majenko then pipes up, ”um Is can just ask a pal to go talk to the other um… banana… bandana friends.” He nods pointing at Vera’s kapenia. ”The humans who wear that bandana. Vera’s cousins.”
"Ha, not my cousins!" interjects Vera. "But yes, that's a great idea, Majenko! They might be watching the water, but they won't think much about a house drake going back and forth."
She taps her finger on her chin as she considers what to say. "We can let the community center know what's happening. Let them know that we might not be able to make it back in for a while, and make sure they keep together and keep a low profile. Yazi--maybe you should write a quick note? In Shoanti so it won't be easily read by outsiders."
"Yes, that is a good plan." Encrypting the message was easy, just use the symbols and motifs she drew on to design the tattoos, with a few words in Shoanti to make sure they understood.
"The tribe together"
"Hidden and watchful"
"Dangerous water"
"Patience"
Olenna watches as the adventurers make their plan with a bit of quiet envy. Was this the way that they had been able to help the city so much before, unfettered by rules and regulations? Their ingenuity and fervor combined to create something wonderful.
She thanks the messenger and Ishani and asks to see the four after they left the Citadel. She draws out five stoppered vials. "If we want to, I can render all five of us invisible to the naked eye. It would last for," she thinks for a moment, her eyes flitting back and forth in calculations, "Eight minutes. It could help us scout out what's going on down there. Otherwise it may behoove us to behave as though we don't know what we know."
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Majenko flies up to the shingles with the message after saluting politely and soon returns. ”okay Is give it to Bloor. He is a distant cousin and will get the important message to the community center. Is trust him so you all can, and he is a sneeeeeeaky style cousin. Not like Is who is a wandler.” He retrieves one of his practice sticks and waggles it around. ”Is training to be bestest wandler Is can, yes. Um so wes should wait nearby until Bloor gets back so hes can find us. Oh. Um.” He is considering something and then thinks harder, and then nods ”no that was all!”
The party heads towards the entrance of the citadel and runs into Grau. He looks a little upset, but perks up as the party approaches. ”Look, I know you heard about the bridges to Old Korvosa, but… if you can’t figure out a way to solve that problem, Tayce and I wanted to give you a small present for helping Brienne tonight. Just something little.” He scratches the back of his head.
He’s hiding something, almost certainly the surprise party!
He has confidence in his voice and some of his roguish charm that he adroitly hides while on the job is obviously present. ”Just across the water in East Shore, at her home.” He looks a little nervous, like he’s hoping the party will accept.
Ishani shifts a bit, ”Vera - I will spend the day with you, but could we stop by the Vault for a little while? I have matters to attend to there.” He seems slightly riven between his sense of duty and his wish to do what Vera is asking him to do. ”after, I could join you with the Soldados - I would like to check on Brienne again to see if she is recovering well.”
Grau nods, ”of course! She liked you loads. And so did Tayce. The whole family really took a liking to Abadar after your help, you know.”
Ishani is silent for a moment, but nods ”well… not all in my church agree with me all the time. I am trying to stay in everyone’s good graces - but this is a challenge. That is one reason I’d like to head to the vault…”
He obviously does not want to have to make a choice here, and is hoping he will be ‘able’ to attend to some of his duties.
Marcus hmphs and nods to Grau's invitation. For him that was a full throated acceptance.
Marcus nods sympathetically to Ishani's conflict, but has little to add to it.
Even for him, he was being unusually quiet and standoffish.