The door is still locked from the other side!
Lucien opens the door using the standard issue RHC lock-pick know as 'Heel of Boot'. Luckily he does so with precisely the right amount of force to pop the bolt without doing excessive damage to the frame.
Melenae stands back, hand on her pistol ready to draw, just in case it is needed.
The door pops open, revealing the observation room is empty! The window hangs open.
Before you can investigate further, a halfling lunges out from behind the door, brandishing a sword!
It's at that moment that the military band on deck begins to play, the sound of Risur's national anthem resounding from above!
"The window!" Lucien cries, drawing his sword to confront the halfling. "Go after them!"
The halfling hisses in pain as Lucien slices into him. He tries to retaliate, but the tiefling manages to parry!
Lucien focuses on the defensive. "You must find the Duchess!" He calls to Melenae! "No guns!"
"What do you mean no guns!" Melenae shouts over the music from above, confused by the statement and rushes through the room to locate the Duchess, leaving Lucien to deal with the halfling.
Melanae skirts around the skirmish and looks around the room, but she can see no sign of either Duchess Ethelyn or Sokana.
The halfling ducks under Lucien's strike and stabs him in the thigh!
Being stabbed put Lucien off his stride. "I just had my uniform washed yeesterday!" He says reproachfully.
Melenae rushes over to help Lucien.
"Stop and tell us where the Duchess is or we will arrest you for assaulting an officer of the law!"
She pulls out her gun and levels it at the halfling.
"The duchess went for a swim!" the halfling says with a chuckle. Melenae's words leave him shaken, but he still attacks Lucien.
"Well S**t!" Mel exclaims before firing her pistol at the man's shoulder, and legging it back out the room, repetitively yelling "Man overboard!"
Lucien continues to do more interpretative dance than real sword play.
The halfling dodges both sword and bullet as he stabs at Lucien again.
The band playing the anthem on the top deck makes it impossible for anybody to hear Melenae's shouts!
Melenae continues to shout and collars the closest officer or worker she can.
"The Duchess is overboard! Help me find her!" She says desperately.
Lucien appears to think that the halfling is a lot taller than he actually is...
The halfling seems content to trade ineffectual blows with Lucien!
Meanwhile, as Melenae desperately searches around for a crew member, she passes over a portion of the deck where the floor is simply grating. Looking down, she can see the handmaiden Sokana racing down the hall of the lower deck. It looks like she is heading towards the engine room!
"You have to be kidding me!" She shouts, before rushing off after the woman, pistol drawn.
Lucien finally gets the measure of the halfling and lands a heavy blow! Then he runs to the window, scanning the ocean below in case the Duchess really has been thrown overboard!
Lucien knocks the halfling out before rushing to look out the window. Though it is dark, he catches a glimpse of an enormous squid a few hundred feet away from the Coaltongue. There seems to be a humanoid figure riding on it--the Duchess?!?--but it quickly dives beneath the waters and does not resurface.
Sokana looks up at the eladrin's shout and pauses to retrieve a scroll and begin chanting the incantation upon it. Her eyes glow with azure radiance as the spell comes into effect. Two fiery sprites appear on the stairs in front of Melanae, hissing as they attack her!
Seeing nothing Lucien hustles down the corridor after his partner as fast as possible.
Mel vanishes for a split second and reappears back down the corridor before firing at a sprite.
Melenae blasts a sprite into cinders as Lucien comes rushing up beside her!
The other sprite rushes forward and lunges at the gunslinger, just managing to hit her.
Lucien smashes the other sprite out of consciousness with his blade. "Who are you chasing?" He asks.
"Tha handmaid. She is heading to the engine room! She summoned these sprites!" She says as she sets off again to halt the woman.
You hustle down the stairs after Sokana, and as you approach the engine room, the absence of the guards who are supposed to be here is painfully obvious.
You enter just in time to see the handmaiden hurl a gleaming red gem into the furnace. Already crammed full of firegems to fuel the engine, the gem flares with light and the furnace begins to shudder with barely-contained arcane energy as a large fire elemental attempts to manifest within the furnace. An engineer here appears to be a saboteur aligned with the elf, as he works to disable the boiler's relief valves to ensure an explosion!
"You're too late!" Sokana declares. "This hideous abomination will soon be at the bottom of the sea--along with everybody on it!"
"Get ze girl!" Lucien commands, rushing towards the 'engineer'.
Melenae lets off a shot, aiming at the girls' thigh.
Sokana gasps in pain as Melenae shoots her in the leg. She staggers but does not fall. The engineer dodges Lucien's swing. He swings his wrench at the tiefling while the handmaiden tries to daze the gunslinger!
Mel just about manages to grit her teeth through the enchantment and manages to reload her pistol. Knowing that these two are most likely going to be dedicated to their cause, Mel shoots again at Sokana's other leg.
Lucien tries to drive the engineer away from the valve rather than hurt him.
Mel's shot takes out Sokana's kneecap, and she whimpers and falls to the floor, unable to stand or fight back.
The engineer dodges Lucien's attack and bashes him with the wrench. The boiler is beginning to shudder from the pressure inside of it!
Lucien floors the engineer with a blow and levels his blade for a moment. "Do not try and get up!"
Mel rushes over to the boiler and gets as close as she can, peering into the mess they created trying to work how to slow it down or stop it.
"What have you put in here? You're going to kill everyone! Tell us how to stop it!"
Sokana laughs weakly. "You're too late. There's no stopping it now!"
Taking quick stock of the boiler, Lucien can see that the alarm sirens have already been disabled. You can fix them relatively quickly, which will alert the rest of the ship of the danger, but you don't have a lot of time!
One of the relief valves is broken. Destroying the pipe will delay the explosion but also fill the room with scalding steam.
The most efficient way to stop the explosion is to break the furnace, which is too sturdy to be affected by most weapons. But if you roll a few casks of firedust into the right positions, the resulting detonation will fracture the furnace without causing catastrophic damage to the hull!
"Lucien, get outta here and go evacuate this ship. Get everyone onto the rowboats now! I'm gonna try break this furnace."
Melenae sets to work trying roll a few casks of firedust into the right places, trying not to think of the consequences if she doesn't succeed.
"Non! We are partners, cherie! I stay with you!" Lucien says firmly, putting an encouraging hand on Melenae's shoulder before helping with the barrels.
With great effort, you roll the casks of firedust into the furnace in just the right spots. A brilliant glow fills the device as you drag Sokana and the engineer out of the room just as the furnace detonates! The force of the blast knocks you through the door and out into the service corridor, the heat singeing Melanae's skin. (Lucien resists it!)
When the blast subsides, you can see that the explosion has broken open the bottom of the furnace, spilling out firegems onto the floor and warping the metal. But despite the damage to the engine room, the ship is safe!
Melenae, relieved they averted disaster after checking, turns on Lucien. "Lucien! That was so reckless, what do you think you were doing? If I say go evacuate the ship, then you should do it!" She rants, red rising in her face. "If that plan didn't work, then at least you would have saved some people's lives! Were so lucky but we can't take such great risks with people's lives involved!" Her deep purple eyes are glowing more intensely that usual with her anger and the adrenaline running through her system.
She looks at the man expectantly, awaiting an apology.
"Calm down, mon cherie." Lucien says firmly. "Eet did not go wrong. We 'ave saved the ship - zere is no use worrying over what might 'ave been."
His accent becomes more pronounced in moments of stress.
"We must speak to ze Commander and take zese prisoners to 'im. Then you can berate me to your 'earts content." He promises.
Fortunately, the explosion was impossible to ignore. Several crew members and engineers soon arrive on the scene to assess the damage. In the immediate aftermath, you are treated for your wounds and questioned thoroughly by Principal Minister Lee.
Thereafter, the king himself asks to speak to you! He smiles warmly and holds out his hand to shake yours. "I understand we have you to thank for preventing a great tragedy here tonight. You have my gratitude. What are your names, constables? I'd like to know a little about yourselves and your families."
Melenae takes the King's hand and shakes firmly. "Melenae Westora, your majesty. My family are not notable and my parents deceased." She says with a matter of fact tone, not elaborating, knowing that her true background would likely be looked down upon. Her eyes still glow with a purple hue, her energy still riled up from the events of the evening.
She turns to Lucien to allow him to introduce himself and, from what she has pieced together, a more complicated family background than her own.
"I am Lucien, Comte de'Fesch, your majesty." Lucien says with a courtly bow. "I have joined your majesty's constabulary in the 'ope of doing my part to bring about peace between your fair kingdom and the Republic. It is my honour to serve a king as just as yourself. My father died in battle," "Against you" He doesn't add. "Fortunately my mother lives still and maintains what small estates we still hold. I have one brother, the Vicomte de'Fesch, who resides still in the Republic. We are... not close." He finishes with diplomatic understatement.
King Aodhan gives Lucien a sympathetic grimace and pats him on the shoulder. "I understand. I pray that his enmity does not in turn make him an enemy. I now know the pain of having my own flesh and blood turn against me. My sister, Ethelyn, was behind tonight's attack, no doubt about it. I will decide how to deal with her."
He sighs and straightens his back. "Later. For now, I have a speech to make. It was very nice to meet you, Lucien and Melenae."
***
The king steps out onto the deck of the ship and stands before the assembled crowd. "I will not let tonight's events derail this historic moment." He speaks for five minutes, recounting the trials Risur has faced to defend itself from Danor through four wars that ultimately earned either side little.
"For centuries, my people have viewed Danorans as cursed and unnatural, while they claim Risuri are superstitious and primitive. But ironically our latest efforts to arm for war have brought the two nations closer together, as Danorans have helped Risur with its industrial revolution. I hope that my successor, whoever that may be, will not have to lose any more young men and women to another pointless war.
"And so, even though I first started this arms race, I now intend to seek peace with my old, respected enemy, the sovereign of Danor. In one year’s time I will convene a peace summit here in Flint, and to seal the proposed treaty, I intend to marry a Danoran! Our nations will thus be joined, from now on."
Normally, making peace with a distrusted enemy is a tough sell, but reactions polarize quickly because of the duchess’s assassination attempt. Scattered applause rings out among the crowd.
The rest of the evening passes without incident, and soon enough, you find yourselves back in Flint. The various dignitaries disperse and Stover Delft sends you home for the night.
Even though you are the heroes of the hour, you are not high-ranked enough to be given any critical assignments. Others in the constabulary are given the task of figuring out who was involved in the plot, and most of your tasks involve following up on the work of other investigators. Assistant Inspector Delft keeps you busy for the next few days conducting low-level interviews, filling out paperwork for search warrants, and the like.
A few journalists seek to interview you, though, and you briefly enjoy some mild local celebrity. Thames Grimsley thanks you for passing his message to Governor Stanfield and invites you out to a street party in a dockside neighborhood. But other than that, the next week seems tame compared to the heart-pounding events on the Coaltongue...
Normally, making peace with a distrusted enemy is a tough sell, but reactions polarize quickly because of the duchess’s assassination attempt. Scattered applause rings out among the crowd.
Lucien applauds heartily, before realising that it may not entirely be his place to do so and restraining himself a little. He certainly seems delighted by this turn of events however.
**********************
After three days of mind-numbing paperwork Lucien perches on the end of Melenae's desk one afternoon. "So, mon cherie, what would you like to do tonight?" He asks, before clicking his tongue at her look of incomprehension. "It is our anniversaire. Three months as partners." He explains. "Custom dictates that we must celebrate! Now what would you enjoy? A 'dive bar', a nice restaurant? I know the best places in town!"
Melenae smiles, and politely applauds the King's speech, not one to make a fuss of political statements, knowing full well they are not usually met.
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Melenae isn't one for paperwork and doesn't quite have the attention span and is usually found procrastinating at another constable's desk. When, one afternoon, she has finally got into the swing of one particularly mind-numbing set of paperwork, Lucien provides a welcome distraction.
"Do people usually celebrate three months as partner's Lucien? Isn't it usually a six-month affair?" She says, grinning, clearly pulling his leg. "Alas as we both know how reckless you can be, I can see why you're rushin' into it." For the last few days, she has kept bringing up the decision he made back on the Coaltongue, but she seems to have gotten over the frustration, and now merely uses it to tease him.
"I say we just go and see where the night takes us. I love a good bar but if you wanna treat me to a meal to thank me for puttin' up with you for the last few months, then I would be delighted!" She says, nudging him with her elbow.
"It would be my pleasure mon cherie!" Lucien replies, doffing his imaginary hat and making a courtly bow. "After work then, wear something dazzling!" He finishes with a laugh, they'll both be wearing their uniforms, since there is no time to change into anything else - but that's besides the point!
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It actually turns out that Lucien is something of a dandy. He has changed for dinner, wearing a fine red coat with grey trimming that goes well with his black hair and flashing eyes.
Taking Melenae by the arm he leads the way to dinner, which turns out to be at the Wrinkled Crab - a seafood restaurant near the harbour. "The view is quite something and the food exquisite!" He says with a smile. "The proprietor is Danoran so all the lobsters are steamed with butter and garlic, not boiled!" He is greeted as 'Monsieur Le Comte' and it turns out that they have a nice corner table for the evening. Lucien orders wine and then, once the somalier has left, he offers a toast. "To good friends, and better partners."
Melenae is still wearing her uniform, having had no time to change as she was unable to finish her paperwork early after all of the procrastination she had been doing. She has managed to run a brush through her hair and has clearly tidied up her powder and switched her lip colour for a deep red.
"To good friends and better partners." Melenae says, raising her glass to meet Lucien's.
Tearing off small pieces of bread from the basket in front of them, Mel ponders for a moment. "We've done well these past few months. Don't think anyone has stayed with me longer than a couple weeks before!" She admits. "Apparently I can be hot-headed." She says with a knowing wink.
"How long have you been in the RHC for anyway?"