"I was told, his mother did. Please take care of everything. It will also be a sad ceremony. I don't think anyone but me will attend." A tear runs down her cheek.
"And if you know someone who can add the name of my father and my brother to the stone?"
"I will prepare everything. If you agree we can have a small ceremony tomorrow at 11 o'clock in the chapel. And I can arrange that a stone carver is there to make you an offer."
"Yes please. I need to leave now." She wipes the tear away and leaves in a hurry.
Faerveren listened in to that conversation while standing at a different grave out of sight of the priest. A few moments later she leaves, but uses a different gate.
Once she closes up again to Persephone she offers a handkerchief. "Either you are tremendously good at acting, or you aren't as cold as you pretend."
Persephone accepts the white cloth. "It's the first time I got to see the family grave. And that greedy b+!~! didn't even write my father's name on it."
"Also to me my step brother is a spoiled brat that treated me as a maid like his mother taught him by example. But my father loved that little boy, just as he loved me. And he would be devastated about him being murdered."
"Sometimes life sucks." Faerveren comments.
After a while walking in silence she asks "Where are we going now?"
"We are going to buy cake." Persephone remembers a bakery she has come past a few times while working as a house maid for some rich family. Their goods have been beyoind what she could afford for a long time. But not today.
The bakery is still there, at the road between the old town and the old rich people's district. The shop is still open, but most of the goods are sold already. A plaited yeast bun with raisins is the closest to cake that is available.
"Hi. I'll take that." Faerveren approaches the the person behind the counter and pays the requested abount.
"My treat."
The baker hands over the bun and asks for a silver in return.
"Then let's call it a day."
Persephone walks home together with the half elf. "How about you telling me something about yourself and your family?"
"There's not much to tell. I'm the second class kid in my family. My mum's husband didn't like it when the child she got had pointy ears. But I only get hidden in the coal cellar when we got important visitors. Otherwise it's fine."
"And currently I'm on holiday here in this nice town so the people in my hometown got some time to forget about my more obnoxious traits."
"I'd like to hear more about those obnoxious traits." Persephone replies, as that seems to be an entertaining topic to spend some time over tea and cake.
Back at Persephone's house sitting over cake and tea Faerveren tells some of the more interesting stories of her life how things she felt entitled to, but were denied to her kept disappearing mysteriously.
"As is became too obvious I had to take my hobby outside our household. But no one is born a master. And once everyone eyes you to make sure nothing gets 'lost', and first thing when something seems missing is a search of your room and body you might have overdone it."
"One of the nicer things was when I got this watch." she tells and shows a pocket watch, made of gold, with an engraving of the skyline of Magnimar. "It was on a ball held for some charity. Support of a library in an academy or something. The ladies of the society used to donate some old jewellery as an excuse to get new ones from their husbands. And some of the men discreetly donated some cash."
"But there was this one guy who was boasting to everyone who talked to him about this watch. How well made it is and how precious and expensive and everything. Someone spread the rumor he just wanted to make sure that everyone knows how valuable it is before donating it."
"When at the climax of the ball, all the donated things - where the donator didn't ask for anonymity - were then shown to the audience and applauded it was noticed that no pocket watch appeared. When inquired about that the man denied that he wanted to donate it and found that his watch were gone. But at that point everyone believed it was a coy to get out of making a donation. Made him look like a scrooge. Some didn't believe him and some said it serves him right."
"That time no one even thought of accusing me. Not that it would have helped. I hid it in the ridiculous hairdo of his wife that resembled a swan. When they left, I grabbed into her hair and got the watch and said 'excuse me, there was a spider in your hair', presenting a squished specimen the size of my hand. She shrieked and ran off, her husband after her, leaving me with this fine watch."
"Ok, it is golden, but what is so special about this watch?" Persephone inquires.
"Maybe that it properly measures time independent of the sun and isn't buzilt into a church spire? Most people you meet have never seen one. Besides that I don't know."
She turns the watch in her hand and then hands it over to Persephone to check herself.
"Well, might as well be." Persephone agrees and hands the watch back.
She finishes her tea and cake and calls it a day. "That day was very eventful. I need some extra hours of sleep to be ready for tomorrow. Good night."
"Good night." Faerveren takes another long look at the pocket watch.
Then she goes to bed to. Into the master bed room.
The night brings a rainstorm to Abadon and the big raindrops trembling on the roof and the wind rattling at the window shutters cover all other noises. On the roads the water gathers into streams running towards the harbour. Looking outside everything further away than 20 feet is a blur. In the early morning the wind abates and the rain slows down.
Nevertheless the bell of the Abadar Temple reminds the town that the day starts.
In the old part of town the loamy ground of the streets is wet and slippery. But the water has taken along all the dirt and garbage that massed up here and there. In the new part, the cobble stone roads are now reddish brown like the roads uphill.
Also reddish brown is the water in the harbour and patches of garbage and dirt are floating between the ships.
The sky is grey and covered in clouds as far as the eyes can see.
After dawdling away most of the morning Persephone puts on the black dress again and leaves the house to attend the mourning ceremony for her half brother.
Walking through the streets covered in puddles is no fun in a dress that's supposed to stay clean. But the air outside has this nice clean smell that lifts her mood. She arrives a little early at the chapel on the cemetery. She checks her posture and mood to appear properly as a mourning sister. She takes a breath and opens the door to the chapel.
Father Grimburrow took the morning to prepare for the ceremony. He was on his way even before the bell to retrieve the body of the boy. He wished Vorkatos was around to help with that. Pushing a cart through town is no fun, especially after a night of rain.
He is welcomed at the guard and led into the premises. After stating his business and some formalities two guards bring the body, wrapped in a rough white linen cloth and place it on the cart.
The way back is even more demanding. The weight of the boy doesn't ass much, but the uphill walk makes Father Grimburrow break a sweat. Back at the cemetery he pushes the cart to the family crypt of the Pembrooke's. He unlocks the oaken door opens it and waits a few minutes for the stale air to get out. Then he picks up the body and puts it inside on the empty ledge on the side where Peter found his resting place.
He locks the door again, moves the cart away into the small yard besides the chapel. Then he prepares the chapel. He puts two large candles on brass holders on the altar and lights them. Last he changes into his festive priest garbs and sits down on the front bench waiting for the 'congregation' of mourners.
Persephone silently enters and takes a seat next to Father Grimburrow. She nods at him for a greeting.
Father Grimburrow nods back and gets up. Placing himself in front of the altar he speaks a prayer to Pharasma.
He proceeds with a short devotional about the hardships of life and the cruel fate of the Pembrooke family in particular. And how appearing in front of Pharasma hopefully will lead to a more joyous place in the afterlife for the little boy. It is then, that he notices, that he hasn't asked the name of the boy.
He finishes the service with another prayer and closes with "let us remember that we are all on the path to Pharasma's Court and thus become wise."
Silence fills the chapel
"Let us walk to the last resting place." Grimburrow strides to the exit and opens the door, leading the way to the crypt.
Persephone hasn't attended to a service in a long time. And especially not one for Pharasma. Most of it sounds somewhat famliar as the sayings have found their way into common speech. She wonders though what judgement her little brother will get. He was an insufferable brat. Based on that it could go bad. On the other hand, he was murdered. Would that get him a bonus? She has to concentrate not to chuckle and smile on the thought she might have helped him to get a better afterlife.
As the service goes on she can't help but get annoyed. Don't talk bad of the deceased I guess. Blah, blah, blah. Can we get over it already.
She is glad as the last prayer is spoken and Father Grimburrow leads outside.
Another man enters the cemetery grounds through the northern gate and joins them in front of the crypt. "My deepest condolences to your loss." he tell the young woman with a slight bow.
"Miss Pembrooke, Mr. Burston. He is the stone carver you asked for."
"Thank you." she replies to Burston.
"What will it cost to have the two names engraved, just like Eleanor's name? The names are Peter for my father and Michael for my Brother."
Burston takes a look at the existing writing. Stepping closer he wipes over it with his hand and feels the contours. "Including refreshing the old writings it would be three days work. That would cost three gold. If you want to leave the old writing..."
"Make it pretty." Persephone cuts the talk short, gets three coins out of her pouch and hands them to Burston.
"While we are at it, what do you get for your service?" she asks Father Grimburrow.
Grimburrow lifts his hands in a defensive gesture. "It is my duty as a Pharasmin to offer this last service to the deceased. But of course you're welcome to make a donation. How much that is, is completely up to you."
Great. Can't you just tell a price. Now I have to find an amount where it doesn't feel like being cheap and also not throwing out money I have to earn the hard way again.
She hands Father Grimburrow also three gold coins. "Thank you for your service. It means a lot to me that you took care of this in this difficult situation."
"If you don't mind, I'd like to be alone here for a while."
Burston bows to the young lady "The work will be done withing two weeks. My condolences again." He leaves the way he came.
"Thank you. I'll be in the chapel if you need me."
Father Grimburrow slowly walks back to the sanctuary.
Persephone solemnly stands at the crypt. Thinking about the good days with mom and dad. Even the times with her dad and her little brother weren't that bad. It is just my stepmother that ruined everything.
Now that I got mostly rid of her it is a shame that I can't bring my family back, or can I?
She daydreams a while how it would be to bring back her mum and her dad and maybe even her brother and live as a happy family together.
But reality would be much darker. Even if it were possible, she would bring them back into a bankrupt home. And what about the age? Would they come back the age they died? Then Persephone would have caught up at least halfway to her mother. Her father also lived several years without his wife. And including an eight year old son from another woman won't be easy too.
But at first there is the issue that the culprit who caused all this misery is still alive. I need to find out what they are going to do with her. Don't want her to come back after some years of jail or something. At the end of the thoughts she notices something else. She has grown distant from her parents. Knowing what she did and the scheming she is involved in would leave them in shock. She isn't the cute little girl anymore. She is a strong woman that stops at nothing to reach her goals.
She turns, and as Father Grimburrow isn't in sight she decides to leave. She walks home to get out of the black dress and put on something more comfortable for a visit in The Pig's Whistle.
Faerveren sits comfortably in the kitchen as Persephone arrives. "You're back. How was it?" she inquires.
"Expensive. Cost me three gold for the stone carver and three more for Father Grimburrow. Looks like dead people are more expensive than those alive."
"Otherwise it was a sad thing. Only me and the priest. The stone carver joined later at the crypt. I could have done without it, but I don't think that would have been well received with Grimburrow."
"Anyway, there is business I need to attend to. There are people alive that shouldn't be."
"For a special reason, or are we killing people now just for the fun of it?" Faerveren asks with a raised brow.
"My step mom is in prison. But I don't really know what they are going to to with her. Maybe they let her rot. Or she gets another capital punishment. But it would suck if she would be let out sometime and I'd had to deal with her again. So I need to know what happens."
"So you walk over and ask the guard about it? Or do you have a better plan? Sadly I haven't had the opportunity yet to build some connections so I don't know who to ask."
"I would try to ask Norm if he has heard something. If not we might need to find some connections now."
Persephone gets out of the black dress and puts it back into the wardrobe. She dons her peasant clothes and the chain mail. "I should get a crest of my own. Parading around with some unknown insignia might lead to questions, I don't have answers to." she comments as she packs the shield.
"Are you ready to come?" she asks as she leaves the house again.
Norm feels a little bit better today, but still not really well. He decides to stay at home on bed to get well.
Business is still slow at The Pigs Whistle. The place is prepared and the first customers are already there. Isabella stands behind the counter and draws an ale.
Persephone looks around in the tavern, but as she doesn't see Norm she approaches Isabella. "Hi. Have you seen Norm?"
"Hi. No." Isabella puts an ale down in front of Persephone. "There is a one drink minimum, before asking questions."
"Is business that slow, that you have to take such desperate measures?"
"No, but I need to earn enough money to get someone to scrub the floors. You know, since shaking your ass gets paid with serious money, no one is willing to do the hard work anymore."
"Fair enough."
"Have you heard about the murder on the market? What will become of the murderer?"
"Yeah, who hasn't. What's your business in it?" Isabella inquires considering a meal requirement for details on that.
"I buried the victim today."
"Oh, I'm sorry. My condolences." Isabella replies. She's embarrassed for putting her foot in her mouth. "Was it a relative of you?"
