The man notices with shock the attempt on his life as he turns around
Persephone approaches the man from the opposite side Faerveren landed and strikes at the man with her mace.
The man draws his sword, and being missed by the mace he turns around again and stabs at the woman.
Faerveren gets up drawing her rapier and stabs the man with it.
As the elf gets up the man stabs her too, before taking a bad wound himself.
Persephone keeps striking at the man and this time she finds a proper spot to deal the pain.
Feeling the pain in his back, the man stabs at the elf again and steps out of the flanking.
Faerveren is nor amused. That man is far to lucky. He should have been down already according to the plan and not stabbing at her again and again. She steps up and stabs him again.
Finally the man goes down. With the silence that ensues an old man can be heard bickering inside. "Cutthroat! Robbing me of my honestly earned money with your cheap wine for far too much gold! You think you get away with everything, but one day, you'll find yourself before the gods for judgement!"
Then the voice of the chief is heard "Shut up. What was that noise?!" followed by heavy footsteps. The door flies open and he stares at the mess before him.
Persephone moves around Faerveren to have her between herself and that guy and casts healing on the elf.
Bolstered by the magic Faerveren feels bold again and readies an attack for the guy.
"You'll pay for that!" he shouts and attacks.
The thug misses by far and runs directly in Faerveren's rapier.
Faerveren stabs at the guy again.
Before anyone's curiosity gets piqued and they look into the alley Persephone casts obscuring mist, covering the whole scene in thick fog.
A cold chill creeps up the man's spine as he is surrounded by the white that clouds his vision and numbs the sound. He considers to run. But what would he tell my boss? He stabs at the elf again, in hopes of somehow getting the upper hand.
Faerveren takes a painful stab to the guts again. I really need some better armor. Why am I standing in front and not that girl with the chain mail and shield?
The thug looks badly wounded, but so does Faerveren.
Hearing the pain of the man and knowing, she can't patch up Faerveren forever, she steps up and swings her mace at the thug.
That last hit is enough to send the man into the land of bad and painful dreams.
From inside the old man's voice is heard. "What's going on there? Are you coming back?"
Persephone heals herself and then the elf. "Quick, thrown them on the cart." She grabs one of them and pulls him through the mist onto the cart.
Faerveren picks the other guy up at the legs, waiting for Persephone to come back to grab the arms.
Persephone drops the guy on the cart and pats him down for the gold. Then she returns to see where Faerveren got to.
"Ah, ok." she comments and takes the arms. Together they lift the second guy on the cart too. [b]"Do me a favor and fetch the tarpaulin. I dropped it before the corner.
Then she pats the second guy down for valuables.
Faerveren carefully moves through the mist and then runs to the corner. She picks up the cover and brings it back to the cart. After spreading it over the cargo on the cart with Persephone she tells her goodbye. "See you at your place."
With that she is off further into the alley. Where to exactly is hidden by the mist.
Persephone checks the ground once more for the weapons of the guys, and that nothing else is left. With a casting of create water she washes away any blood on the ground. She puts the shield and the mace on the cart and under the tarpaulin, then she takes the handles of the cart and pulls it out of the alley, the way she came in.
At the end of the alley she decides to go a different direction though and slow but steady pulls the cart home.
The old man waits inside his shop until everything is silent outside. Then he takes a look through the keyhole of the backdoor. He wonders that everything is white. Carefully he opens the door. But there is nothing to see but thick fog what wafts into his shop. Just as he stands there the fog disperses. But there is no one there. The only thing that looks wrong is the puddle of water in front of his door. It hasn't rained, has it?" Not sure what all of that means, he closes the door and locks it. He takes his pouch with the coins and puts it back into his safe. He shakes his head and walks to the front door looking onto the street. Strange.
At Persephone's courtyard a quick glance reveals that there are two crates with bottles left. And another crate that is bolted to the cart. Closer inspection shows that it is made of steel and only hidden with wood, to look like a crate. It has a lock that looks very complex and expensive.
That's a nice bonus. Persephone thinks as she realizes that there are two full crates on the cart. As the other box is locked and her method of opening is rather slow and loud, she unlocks and opens the back door to the house and carries the crates inside first.
Not surprisingly Faerveren is much faster back at the house. She lets herself in and takes a look around, before she settles in the kitchen to wait.
"So you're finally here." she greets Persephone. Looking at the crate she wonders "Why didn't you bring the coin box first?"
"Because it's bolted to the cart and locked." Persephone replies. She walks outside to fetch the second crate.
"THAT sounds like a job for me." Faerveren warbles and follows outside. Taking a short look, she engages the lock with her tools.
The lock is good, but not that good, within a few seconds the giveaway click of the lock moving into the open position is heard and the lid can be opened. Inside the steel box is covered with thick cloth dampening the noise the coins create. There are 20 platinum inside.
Persephone takes a quick glance inside, before Faerveren deploys some more of her skills and something disappears. Then she moves inside the kitchen. After putting the crate down she searches for a tool to open the crate.
As there is a serious lack of tools in the house she finally takes the mace and carefully hammers the lid loose from the side.
"At least I know I have a cork screw somewhere in the house." she tells, as the bottles come into sight.
Rummaging through a few drawers she finds it and opens a bottle. She fills to mugs she fetches from the cupboard. "To our success!" she toasts to Faerveren. After a big swig she adds "Sorry, but I'm fresh out of wine glasses, to properly enjoy this fine beverage."
The crate contains ten bottles of red wine without labels padded with straw. The wine is not bad. It might actually be worth the 10 gold per bottle, just not as prime cost for a business.
Faerveren picks up the coins and follows inside and put the coins on the table. She takes the mug "To our success. May it be the start of a long adventurous partnership."
She takes a sip and is positively surprised. "Your house seems to be out of a lot. The paintings are gone, the silverware is missing, even some of the furniture are gone. Have you been robbed?"
"Kind of. It's a long and depressing story. But the robber is in jail. Now I just have to get all my stuff back." Persephone explains.
She just then realizes how late it is already. "Mmh! I have to leave for my job. I can't be late. I assume you find your way out? See you later."
With that she is off towards the House of Flame.
Faeveren leans back with her chair and nibs at the wine again. "See you later." she calls after Persephone.
"But I don't think I'll leave. I like it here." she says to herself.
On the way to the House of Flame Persephone gets a little anxious. What will wait for me this time? I hope it's not another murder attempt.
She wonders why she is still going there. The elf is treating her like a pawn in a game. Easily used, easily sacrificed for the greater goal. The work is mostly cleaning and the elf looks down on her. Isn't that what her step mother had to die for?
But on closer reflection there are huge differences. Her step mother hated her and made that clear on every opportunity. The elf doesn't seem to have any feelings towards her. She gets fine dresses and copious amounts of money. And this aloof, cold scheming elf that has everything under control is fascinating. If the pawn reaches the enemy baseline it becomes a queen. Maybe that's the fascination. If she plays the pawn long enough and survives she might become a person of power like that elf. In high spirits she continues to the temple, excited what will come.
Persephone enters through the hidden side entrance and changes into the dress supplied in the locker.
The dress in the locker is a long white one.
The elven woman appears just in time - as always - to pick up Persephone. Looking her up and down she casts the cleaning spell and a healing spell on her. Satisfied with the result she orders "Follow me!"
Merileth leads the way through the labyrinth of corridors and hidden passages. She stops in a spacious room with several couches.
"Remember the way from here." she tells and leads further on through an open passage around one corner and through an opaque passage into a small room with an armchair with three pillows stacked on it and a round table. On the table stands a tray with a tea pot and a cup made of fine china.
Merileth casts another spell on Persephone. She whispers, but Persephone can hear it loud and clear in her head. "When I call you, you come to that room. There I'll be with the man from yesterday. You look shocked, drop the pillows, and run back to this room. Without screaming please - I don't need everyone coming to check. The tea is for you to pass the time."
Merileth leaves Persephone in the room.
So it's the 'being murdered' dress again.
Being cleaned with little magical vortexes is still very embarrassing, even if one is already dressed. But free healing isn't bad.
What's going on here? she wonders as she is lead a different route. Aaand I'm lost again.
The route from that room to the tea room is easy enough to remember though. She has it on her tongue to ask how she will be called, but the aura of the elf leaves no room for questions.
So Persephone settles down for a relaxing cup of tea.
For a long time nothing happens. Then suddenly the voice of the elf talks in her ear again as if she would stand besides her. She greets a duke, asks him to follow her and after a short period of silence offers him a seat. Half of the conversation is missing, it is very interesting to listen to.
First a short summary of the events of the fateful night. Then a lengthy list of precautions to take to not accidentally turning into a monster again. The most important of those the stay at the temple under the elf's watch on every full moon. Then a whispered "Come now." The conversation goes on with assuring the duke, that he will not be bled white, but his visits will only cost the regular donations he also payed for his visits in the past. Assuming he doesn't take the inventory apart.
Persephone grabs the pillows and walks up to the room as told. She looks to the floor to postpone the moment she sees him. As she is two steps into the room, she looks up at the man and freezes in a silent scream. After a second of shock, she drops the pillows and runs away the way she came.
"You see, the girl is fine again. A little traumatized maybe." Merileth comments. "But we were talking the future. We can keep your visits a pleasurable event that has to pause, once you let the beast out. Or if you're not in the mood and want to punish yourself I could lock you away until the next morning. It's entirely your choice."
The duke watches startled after the girl, but the elf quickly catches his attention again. "I... need to think about that."
Persephone returns to the tea room and sits down. She can't help but giggle. She tries to suppress it but that only makes it harder. And all while hearing the elf talking to her.
The talking elf disappears from Persephone's side and she is alone with the tea in the room for another two cups of tea.
Merileth walks into the tea room through the illusionary wall. [b]"I assume you paid attention to my deliberations? Because you need to be here at the next full moon too. You wouldn't want to wake up undressed and bloody next to a mauled corpse? It's not a sure thing, but we need to be careful."
This news hit Persephone in the guts like a fist. Her face loses all color and her mouth stands open.
"Don't worry, for you, the stay at the full moon will be free." Merileth states and turns to go. "Follow me. It's time for you to go."
The elf leads the way back to Persephone's personal entrance. "Here is your pay for today." She hands over a pouch with 10 gold.
"You need to come back at the next full moon. Don't miss that. If I need you before, I'll send you a message." With that Merileth leaves Persephone.
Persephone changes into her own clothes and leaves. She walks the way home like in trance. She doesn't perceive what is going on around her. All her attention is consumed by the horrible images raging in her mind.
She mechanically unlocks and opens the front door to her house, enters and locks it behind her. On her way to her room she stumbles upon Faerveren who is still sitting in the kitchen.
"Hey, you're back." Faerveren greets Persephone. "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost!"