"I'm sorry about them." Iolaire says, offering her apologies to Orsini. "Things have been tense recently, what with all the changes in the city. Thank you for looking after Trinia, it was a really kind thing to do." She offers the man a shy smile and retreats back the safety Roz provides.
"Perhaps one day I could come to you for a real lesson?" She asks. "I make a lot of blades but I'm not so good at actually using them..."
Trinia disappears into a back room to change into Nicoleta's outfit, putting on the wig of red curls as well.
Putting her arm around Trinia she says "Don't talk. Stick with us. Everything will be just fine." She leans in and whispers "And if Roz tries to pull that It's the fairies b$@@&+~$, hold your nose."
"Oh, blow it out your ass," Roz snarls. This is followed by a flatulent sound which was most definitely the faeries.
She starts walking and turns to Trinia, arm still around her she says whispers "So, Trinia. You staying with me tonight then? Are you a big or little spoon kinda gal?"
Trinia blushes. "Oh! Um, I-I don't know... It's been a while since I've been any kind of spoon, honestly..."
She giggles at the banter between Aurelia and Nicoleta.
"I'm sorry about them." Iolaire says, offering her apologies to Orsini. "Things have been tense recently, what with all the changes in the city. Thank you for looking after Trinia, it was a really kind thing to do." She offers the man a shy smile and retreats back the safety Roz provides.
"Perhaps one day I could come to you for a real lesson?" She asks. "I make a lot of blades but I'm not so good at actually using them..."
Vencarlo bows to Iolaire. "It was my pleasure to look after Miss Sabor. I am always happy to lend aid to a damsel in distress. I would be happy to give you some lessons in the future, but I am afraid for the time being, that won't be possible. I might have been a tad too outspoken about the king and queen over the past several months, and I fear I have drawn too much unwanted supsicion. As such, I plan to attend to some private business and disappear into the anonymity of Old Korvosa for a time. I must thank you again for all your help, and ask that you try not to find me--I'll call upon you when the time is right. Until then, ladies, I bid you safe travels."
***
You depart the Orisini Academy and begin a slow walk through the city to avoid attracting attention. Vencarlo suggested a path towards High Bridge and then up to Dwarfwalk Road in order to mingle with the afternoon's merchants leaving the city. You pass by several groups of guards (who now bear crimson tunics to proclaim their allegiance to the new queen), a few Hellknights of the Order of the Nail, and some mercenaries who cast sidelong glances at you as you travel, but you keep cool heads and pass them by.
As you walk, Trinia speaks in a low voice. "I appreciate you helping me out once again. I'd love to know a little more about you, if you don't mind sharing."
Nicoleta rolls her eyes, realizing that her request that the girl not say anything wasn't going to be realistic anyways.
"I read fortunes," she says without elaborating. She then glances at Aurelia "And I discipline naughty little Varisian girls," she can't help but add with a smirk.
Aurelia glares at Nicoleta and responds "Oh, do you now?", folding her arms on her chest. She says "And I help people realize and act on that tiny voice in the back their mind. Like so."
Turning towards Trinia, she stares at her and says "You want to kiss me."
Nicoleta realizes what's happening in an instant, grabbing Aurelia's arm, she pulls her away from the disguised artist before the mesmerist completes her spell.
"What the f&~$ are you doing?!" she snarls. "She's not my favorite person either, but she doesn't deserve to be treated like that!"
Trinia's eyes become half-lidded as Aurelia's magic starts to compel her, but Nicoleta grabs her arm and pulls her away to try to disrupt the spell.
Aurelia is yanked to the side as she begins to cast her spell, but she has already made up her mind and is determined to unleash a demonstration.
She ignores being tossed around by the monk and finishes her spell, watching the realization inside of Trinia's eyes light up as she rushes forward to kiss her. Aurelia's lips are turned up in a smirk through the kiss, her eyes never leaving Nicoleta's.
Once the kiss completes, Aurelia focuses back on Trinia as she pulls back. "That's what I do."
Turning to Nicoleta she shrugs, "What? She asked."
Trinia moans softly as she presses her body against Aurelia's, passionately kissing and caressing the mesmerist. The magic only lasts a few seconds, and when it is over, the young artist gasps, her cheeks reddening in embarrassment. "I-I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me..."
You notice several eyes in the crowd have turned in your direction due to the minor commotion you've caused.
"I don't remember hearing her give you permission to f!@$ with her mind," the dhampir says in a cold voice. "But I guess you don't really care about that, do you?"
Pushing Aurelia back with a strong hand, Nicoleta grabs Trinia by the arm. If her grip is a little tighter than it should be, she doesn't pay any attention to it. She then turns and begins walking the girl through the crowd.
"We have somewhere to be," she says to the others. "And we're attracting attention which is what we don't want."
Rozalia curses softly and steps protectively in front of Iolaire. "Stay behind me. This is about to get ugly," she whispers.
"Ugly like your face!" laughs a fairie.
Staggered back a few steps from the shove, Aurelia protests "Hey, watch it!"
Frustrated that the dhampir didn't appreciate her demonstrated, she quickly moves behind her as she walks with Trinia, pouting. She responds "No, I don't. Do you ask to punch people in the face? No, you don't. She asked what I do and I showed her what I do. I don't understand what the big problem is here. Why are you upset with me now?"
"We'll talk about this later," Nicoleta hisses back at Aurelia.
The monk's intent now seems focused on getting the group out of the city and away from watching eyes as soon as possible.
Iolaire stays behind Roz, although she does swipe at one of the fairies, brushing its wings as she does so. The pixies are fast, but Iolaire is nearly fast enough...
A few minutes later as the group continues walking, Iolaire slips into stride next to Aurelia and draws her hood up. A hand falls on the mesmerist's shoulder and she starts when Vox's face and snow white eyes meet her own from inside the shadows of the hood.
"Just to let you know..." Vox says quietly, "If you ever try that shit on me, I will cut out your tongue, peel away your eyelids and boil your eyeballs one by one."
Her voice and tone are deadly serious.
Then she pulls away, shakes her head and Iolaire is back.
"Are you ok?" She asks, seeing Aurelia's wide eyes.
"Ah!" she says, jumping as Iolaire says something. She shivers, shaking her head and shoulders "Yeesh! You all need to lighten up. Way too much tension in those bones. You would think you aren't getting any in attention in the bedroom or something. Oof."
Turning to Iolaire, she shakes her head no, now showing signs of frustration "NO! I'm not okay. Vox just said she was going to cut my god-damned tongue off and boil my f!!~ing eyeballs. WHAT PART OF THAT IS OKAY?! This is how she treats me? Threats of violence? I didn't even do anything to her! F$$+ing psycho!"
Pushing off on her own, she walks ahead of everyone, hugging her arms tightly to her chest as she storms ahead.
You make the rest of the trip to the city gates in uncomfortable silence. Despite the unwanted attention, nobody stops you, and as soon as you pass through the gates, the trip becomes relatively less stressful. The only tension now is between each other.
As Vencarlo mentioned, Trots is a 12-mile journey through the low hills north of Korvosa. You reach the inn by the time the sun is setting. Trots is a relatively unremarkable roadside inn with bland fare and mostly vermin-free accommodations. You are met there by Jasan, a wide-grinning, barrel- chested man who greets Trinia like a long-lost friend. He thanks you for escorting her, but is eager to be on his way back home.
”Farewell for now,” Trinia says. She manages a smile, but avoids meeting Aurelia’s gaze. Then she and Jasan ride off to the north. You are free to spend the night at Trots or head back to Korvosa at once.
Turning to Iolaire, she shakes her head no, now showing signs of frustration "NO! I'm not okay. Vox just said she was going to cut my g~&-d&*ned tongue off and boil my f&*!ing eyeballs. WHAT PART OF THAT IS OKAY?! This is how she treats me? Threats of violence? I didn't even do anything to her! F~%&ing psycho!"
Iolaire gapes after Aurelia and then begins frowning heavily, her eyes glazing over as she walks, apparently without seeing the road before her. It isn't until Trina leaves that the redheaded smith snaps out of her funk and lays a gentle hand on Aurelia's arm.
"I'm sorry about her." She says gently. "Vox and I... we are both... well, I don't really know what we are, but we're both in the same body and... Vox is very new. I think she's, afraid, scared that, if someone got inside my head, that they might do... something, and she'd be gone. Trapped forever or even... killed."
Iolaire shudders at the thought. "Vox, I, neither of us can face that. I'm sorry she threatened you - she lashes out against things she fears. Hurt them so that they won't hurt you back... so, well... I'm sorry, even if she isn't."
She leans forward and, if allowed, kisses Aurelia gently on the cheek. "I don't know much about Vox, not really. But she doesn't hate you, not at all. So, if you can, remember that?"
Aurelia sighs, letting her frustration fade away as Io apologizes for Vox. "I just... I don't know. Everyone keeps threatening me with stay out of their f#~~ing heads. I mean. I've never done that to either Nicoleta or Vox, but neither trust me enough that they feel they need to repeatedly verbalize it to me."
She shakes her head and says "Either everyone is scared of me or thinks I'm such a monster that they need to repeatedly tell me what to do."
She doesn't pull away from Aurelia's kiss, but she doesn't make any move to do anything more with it. With a sigh, she apologizes "I'm sorry I yelled at you. I was just frustrated from earlier."
"You're powerful." Iolaire replies gently. "People fear what you could do, even if you never do it. Just like no-one ever robs my shop because they think that because I'm strong and make weapons that I could really hurt them. We fear what we don't know. And you don't need to apologise, you weren't yelling at me."
The mesmerist takes that in for a moment and considers that everyone is just scared of her. She offers a small smile and squeezes the shop keeper's shoulder before heading off to her room for the night.
When Aurelia arrives at her room, Nicoleta is sitting on her bed with a scowl on her face.
"I told you that we would have a talk about this," she says in a restrained voice. She rises from the bed.
Aurelia had just finished easing out of the tension with Iolaire when Nicoleta decides that they needed to talk. She sees the woman rising from the bed and her bottom gets ghost pains from the spanking she's about to receive. She holds up her left pointer finger and says "One moment before you enact your wrath upon me."
She clears her throat "You and I, Peaches, we're very different. I don't think that one of us is better or worse nor do I think that one of us is always right and wrong. We view things differently and I just wanted you to hear that before you tell me what I did today was wrong."
Nicoleta frowns. "We are different," she agrees. "And there are some things that we view differently, but what you did to Trinia was wrong and there's no gray about it."
"She asked you about yourself. That's all she did. She didn't give you permission or invite you to do what you did. It would be like if you walked up to some worker on the docks and asked what he did and then he flipped you over a barrel and shoved his cock up your arse." She spits out the last part and turns to glare at the mesmerist. "Asking about someone is not the same as asking them to do something to you. You may think that's an extreme example, but it's not. What you did was just as offensive and violating. You went into her mind without her permission and forced her to do something she wouldn't have done."
The dhampir looks down at the floor and then back at Aurelia.
"You took away her choice Aurelia. That's wrong no matter how you twist it. Sure I'll punch people that need to be punched. You'll ... manipulate people's minds if you have to. That wasn't one of those situations."
Aurelia jumps at the vulgarity of Nicoleta's example, shifting her weight uncomfortably. "I disagree that what I did was like you say. I didn't hurt anyone. All I did was make her kiss me and then it was done. It made her feel good, too."
"You and Vox, you are physically imposing and can do whatever you want to whoever you want whenever you want. I'm not you, Peaches. I don't have your strength or fortitude, all I have is this." She taps her head a few times.
She sighs, not understanding why the monk thinks what she did was so offensive. "I know you don't like what it is that I can do and it scares you. But I would never hurt you, Peaches. I understand the difference between going too far and playing around. I wouldn't do something that would f%@@ you up." Oh, like say, put your blood all over her face.
She closes her eyes and blows out a breath, throwing her hands up before they collapse at her side and she lets her whole body slump "What do you want from me, an apology?It seems like all I do is make you upset with me now and f$*& everything up all of the time."
Roz touches Aurelia’s arm lightly. ”I ain’t scared of you, for what it’s worth.”
As the mesmerist departs, the oracle adds silently, Because if you knew more about my patron, you would do well to be scared of me.
***
Roz enters the room she is sharing with Iolaire holding a bottle of wine and two glasses. ”It’s a crappy vintage, but the best they’ve got in this place. Figure if the other two are gonna be at each other’s throats all night, at least we could have some fun.”
"I want you ... I need you to understand why what you did was wrong," Nicoleta says, stepping close and putting a finger under Aurelia's chin to tip her head to look at her. "You did hurt Trinia. Having your choice taken away about your own body hurts at least as much as someone punching you. And the effects last a lot longer. Take it from someone who's suffered from both."
"Yes, Vox and I can punch or stab someone. But we don't, Aurelia. Not without a really good reason. My body is a weapon like Vox's sword. That means that I have to be mindful of how I use it. I wouldn't just punch someone if they asked what I know how to do."
She frowns for a moment before looking away with a small smirk. "Not unless they really, really deserved it." She looks back at Aurelia and her face grows serious again. "Trinia didn't deserve that."
Aurelia doesn't want to meet Nicoleta's gaze and looks away to her side. "Alright. I will apologize to Trinia next time I see her. I will also try to stay out of peoples heads unless they deserve it. Sometimes it's second nature to me. I'm impulsive and I just react. I do promise to try though. Alright?"
Nicoleta shifts so that she can see Aurelia's eyes. "It's important that you understand this, Aurelia. Your mind can be used as a powerful weapon. You can't be surprised when people react like Vox did when you're using it like a toy."
She smiles at the woman's surprise.
"Yes, I heard her. And I totally get where she's coming from. I've had someone play in my brain before. The thought of someone doing that again scares the shit out of me. And if someone threatens that, I'm going to defend myself the only way I know how."
Her hand moves to brush against Aurelia's jawline.
"Now since I'm sure you're not interested in my company that way anymore ... I'll head off to my room and see you in the morning."
Aurelia closes her eyes when the monk touches her jaw. She inhales slowly, as if she is trying to take in the woman's scent. "I never said I didn't want your company, Nicoleta. I'm the one that screwed up last time, not you. It was my fault I put you in that position. It's my fault what happened, I got what I deserved. Besides,"
"I've been a bad girl today." She opens her eyes to stare up at Nicoleta's. "Haven't I?"
Nicoleta searches Aurelia's eyes as if seeking reassurance that this is what she wants. She nods when what she sees satisfies her.
"Yes, you have and bad girls get punished."
Without a preamble, the dhampir pulls Aurelia into her arms and, after turning and sitting on the bed, lays the woman belly down across her lap.
"Count for me," she commands.
~~~~~
For those that happened to be walking along in the hallway outside Aurelia's room, the sounds of flesh striking flesh can be heard quite clearly.
...
It seems the day has seriously gotten to Aurelia because for some reason as she counts to ten, she get stuck on seven and keeps repeating it again and again.
Roz enters the room she is sharing with Iolaire holding a bottle of wine and two glasses. ”It’s a crappy vintage, but the best they’ve got in this place. Figure if the other two are gonna be at each other’s throats all night, at least we could have some fun.”
"I wouldn't know." Iolaire replies with a smile, "I've never had much of your human wine. Only a little elven when I can get it, and that's nothing like this stuff. So you try it and tell me what I should think."
About half a bottle later the smith shakes her head and looks at Roz with a smile quirking her lips. "Rozalia, are you trying to get me drunk?"
”Why, is it working?” Roz says with a wink. ”I know we’re taking things slow, I ust wanted to relax with you tonight. Don’t worry, I won’t take advantage of ya... unless you want me to.”
”Why, is it working?” Roz says with a wink. ”I know we’re taking things slow, I ust wanted to relax with you tonight. Don’t worry, I won’t take advantage of ya... unless you want me to.”
"Either that or you're intoxicating." Iolaire replies, a bright light in her eyes. She leans in to kiss the oracle and then leans her head on the woman's shoulder.
"This is comfy..." She says in a quiet voice, apparently preparing to fall asleep.
Rozalia smiles around Iolaire’s lips and caresses her hair as the elf drifts off to sleep. She snuggles closely to her and soon is snoring as well.
When you return to Korvosa the next morning, gossip buzzes through the city and fanciful tales run wild. Every tavern and street corner is abuzz with rumors of pirate raiders and ghost ships. Apparently, the Korvosan Guard fired upon and sunk a mysterious ship that sailed up the Jeggare River last night and refused to identify itself. The Crimson Throne remains quiet on the matter, though, with even the loosest-tongued politicos seemingly knowing nothing of the previous night’s incident.
The next day, a familiar face approaches you—Sergeant Grau Soldado. Physically, he’s in much better condition than the last time you met him, having shaved, bathed, and sobered up.
”I wanted to thank you for helping me out a few weeks ago. I was in a bad way, and you really made me come to my senses. Now, I have another favor to ask of you.
“My niece is sick. I don’t know what she has and neither does anyone in Trail’s End. She’s broken out all over in red pocks and can barely keep down food, or even the swill that good-for-nothing herbalist gave her. Her mother’s talking about going to the Bank of Abadar, but can’t afford to pay the prices their clerics would demand. Then I remembered how you and your friends handled yourselves during the riots, and how you aided me, and I figured you could help. A bunch of resourceful folk like you, I’d bet if you don’t already have a way to fix this, you must know who can. Surely you can’t just sit by while a child suffers, can you?”
Iolaire shakes her head vigorously but doesn't say anything. For once she and Vox are in complete agreement, but that just makes it more likely that the vigilante may slip out.
Yeah, sure, throw an injured kid in front of us. That's low.
"Yeah, I guess we can take a look," Nicoleta says, after turning back to the others. "No harm in that, right?"
Seeing Iolaire's expression, Rozalia quickly agrees as well. "Thank you! I knew I could count on you," Grau says, sounding relieved.
Trail's End is a small community northeast of Korvosa. Made up primarily of Varisians—with a few Shoanti and socially disaffected Chelaxians—Trail’s End is poor and reputedly dangerous, but the neighborhood feels more like a small town than any district within the city proper. The criminal element is obvious and impossible to ignore in the face of dozens of toughs and thugs who loiter on the streets, mostly Sczarni brutes who call themselves the Bashwater Boys and prey exclusively upon Chelaxians and other outsiders. Knowing most city folks’ distaste for Varisia’s natives, the residents of Trail’s End return such prejudices, creating a community that thrives off Korvosan coin but reviles the city all the same.
Grau's sister-in-law, Tayce Soldado, lives here with her three children, Brienna, Charlo, and Rello. Along the way, Grau tells you that Tayce's husband Bayan was murdered long ago by highwaymen. Left with three children to raise alone, Tayce dedicated her life to bringing them up right. Grau visits the family at least once a week to ensure that they’re safe and have everything they need.
The Soldado home is a squat, two-story wooden building in desperate need of repair. Overall, the building feels like the home of a family too busy living to bother with tedious chores. Inside, the house is remarkably clean and well kept, filled with worn furniture and decorated with the crafts and scribbling of children. When you arrvie, Charlo and Rello are playing quietly in the living room. Tayce’s sons have distinctly Varisian features, with unruly black hair, brown eyes, and olive skin. Every few minutes, a spasm of ragged coughing fills the house from above.
A Vudran man in Abadarran robes is in the kitchen with a bag of herbs, brewing some concoction that smells of cinnamon and anise. "What is he still doing here?" Grau says. "Excuse me a moment, I'll go talk to Tayce." The sergeant quickly heads upstairs, and you can hear a sternly whispered conversation taking place between the coughs.
The acolyte approaches you somewhat abashedly. "Hello. I am Ishani Dhatri, of the Bank of Abadar. Are you friends of the Soldado family?"
Nicoleta gives a nod here and there to some of the Varisian thugs as they move through the community, recognizing them.
The dhampir's ears perk up as she listens to the conversation taking place between Grau and Tayce while she turns her attention to the priest. "Yeah, we are," she says, looking him up and down. "How's the kid?"
Ishani frowns and shakes his head. ”Not well. She has rashes all over her body in addition to headache, fatigue, and coughing, as you can hear. My greatest concern about the girl isn’t that she’s ill, though, but that I don’t recognize the exact combination of her symptoms. I fear this might be a harbinger of a new disease.”
The acolyte sighs in frustration. ”If I had been sent for earlier, perhaps I could have cured her, but I’m afraid my duties at the Golden One’s Vault required me to entreat him for similar miracles already this day. Even if I could heal her, the tenets of my church force me to request a donation for Abadar’s power, which I suspect these simple folk could scarcely afford. I am brewing up an herbal remedy for her—I can only hope it will be effective in treating her illness.”
"Son of a b!!+@, that was fast," Nicoleta says in frustration as she turns to the others. "Did you manage to pick up any of those scrolls that we talked about?" she asks Roz.
"I have two of them," Rozalia confirms.
"Give us a moment, would you?" she asks the priest and pulls the others aside. "So here's the quandry ..." she begins in a quiet voice. "According to the Harrowing I have no doubt at all that we're going to see a lot more of this in the near future and the ability to remove disease is going to become something extremely in demand. Scrolls like those are going to become harder and harder to come by." She looks around at the others. "So, do we save those because I have a feeling that at least one of you are going to need it in the next couple of weeks. Or do we use one now on the little girl upstairs?"
"Save her." Iolaire replies immediately. "We're healthy now and able to earn the gold required to buy more. This family won't, and besides, there's no harm in having Grau in our debt."
"As long as you're aware that those scrolls that we'll be buying more of will be going up in gold - probably a lot," Nicoleta says quietly.
She gives Roz a nod in the direction of the stairs.
"I'll buy one to replace it." Iolaire says firmly. "This matters. Children matter."
Nicoleta shrugs.
As you reach your decision, Grau comes downstairs with his sister-in-law. Nearing 40, Tayce Soldado possesses a simple beauty, scarcely hidden by her disheveled appearance and wan features. It looks lke she hasn’t slept in more than a day, but she manages a warm smile. "You are welcome here, friends. Grau says you can help cure Brienna?"
Roz nods and gestures for the woman to lead the way. The creaky steps open up into a bedroom loft above the main room of the Soldado home. A young girl lies in one of the beds, her slight frame dwarfed by the bed’s size and the pile of pillows, afghans, and quilts surrounding her. Splotches of an angry red rash cover her face and arms, appearing in irregular shapes and sizes. Suddenly, her restlessness is interrupted by a violent fit of hacking coughs that jerk her entire frame, lifting her well off her pillows. The spasm passes after a moment, dropping her back to the bed, but seemingly having done little to ease her breathing.
"Brienna, baby, these ladies are here to help you," Tayce says, stroking her daughter's hair. The girl wheezes as she drifts in and out of consciousness.
Roz kneels down beside her. "Don't worry, little one. I have a magic scroll that will take away all of the sickness," the oracle says. "Now where is it?"
She fumbles around in her pouches for a bit, grumbling as the faeries have rearranged everything. Eventually she finds it bundled up in a pair of lacy panties, and she extricates the scroll and unfurls it before reading the incantation.
A warm glow suffuses Brienna, and immediately she seems to relax. The blotchy rashes disappear as her breathing becomes easier. Her eyelids flutter open and she looks up at Tayce. "Mama?" she says softly, slightly befuddled by all the strangers around her. "Is lunch ready yet, mama?"
"Oh, my baby!" Tayce cries, embracing her daughter. Tears stream down her cheeks. "Thank the gods you have come back to me!" She sniffles before turning to hug Roz. "And thank you! You saved her life!"
"Heh, don't mention it," Roz says, blushing slightly.
Tayce proves very animated and affectionate in her thanks, and none can hope to escape the relieved mother's hugs. "Please, you must stay for a feast! It's the least I can do to repay your kindness!"
Grau smiles and wipes at her eyes, and even Ishani seems moved by Brienna's recovery.
Nicoleta stiffens at the woman's hug, but doesn't resist. She eyes the child for a bit before speaking up.
"Brienna, is it? Before you got sick, did you go anywhere or meet anyone new?" she asks.