"Oh you may certainly ask! Besides being cute and kind-hearted, she's a skilled artist, dancer, and songstress, but those she got before becoming a paladin. Shelyn has blessed Audria with strength and grace. She can heal wounds with a touch, and no disease can take hold of her," Tally says, brags really. Audria blushes, seeming embarrassed by the songbird's tone.
"Ah, so we know who gets to touch the plague victims from here on out. Good to know." Dry but bemused, "Thank you, Tally."
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Aside from the guards at the gate, a familiar figure awaits them in front of the Citadel; Abella, wearing white gloves and a long white veil, looks like some pallid bride from one of those gothic romance novels that are very popular nowadays. She lifts the veil a little to greet them.
"You stink like death. And it's only been a couple of hours since I started working on those vials, so no use asking me for updates. The relevant reactions take time. Oh, and Shane, I hope you don't mind me taking over your kitchen, I needed a place to set up my lab." She produces a small wooden box and offers it to the group. "There are plenty of samples if you want a second opinion. I find alchemy far less fascinating than my other pursuits."
Once they inform the gate guards that they would like to see the Field Marshal, they are ushered in without delay. Cressida Kroft's office has the same air of organized messiness as ever, but the commander of the Korvosan Guard looks even more haggard and tired than the last time they saw her.
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"You stink like death."
"Good to see you too," Shane says, but he does hit himself and his friends with another round of prestidigitation to clean up and remove odor.
And it's only been a couple of hours since I started working on those vials, so no use asking me for updates. The relevant reactions take time. Oh, and Shane, I hope you don't mind me taking over your kitchen, I needed a place to set up my lab."
Shane visibly winces for a moment, then says "Well... chemicals, some plague related, in the same room we make our food? Tish tosh right? We All have to make sacrifices." But then he adds, "I'm going to want it all restored as it was when this is done, thank you. I don't wish to anger the original owner."
As to the box, well, one of them will probably take it though as a caster he'd rather have his hands free, "We might check on Jessica. Yes."
--------------
Once they inform the gate guards that they would like to see the Field Marshal, they are ushered in without delay. Cressida Kroft's office has the same air of organized messiness as ever, but the commander of the Korvosan Guard looks even more haggard and tired than the last time they saw her.
Normally he lets others do the talking, he's not sure he trusts authority figures right now, but.. he's tired, and he just found out his kitchen got turned into a laboratory.
Making sure there don't seem to be any prying ears, and lowering his voice to her if there are, he says "Field Marshal, how do you feel about vampire spawn? There maybe an older more experienced one loose in the city somewhere."
Shrike turns her head to regard Tally and Audria at the news that the Maiden is apparently protecting her chosen from all disease. "Useful." The girl hadn't mentioned that before, but she supposes it hasn't been relevant until the last few days.
Shrike silently sets the box of divided samples of the amethyst liquid on a relatively uncluttered corner of Kroft's desk, and puts the second phial stolen from the basement of Lavender on top of the box. They can address it after the matter of the vampires and the quarantined block that needs assistance.
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"Abella!" Pava lights up with a wicked smile. "Not too lonely back here all on your own in the ghost house?"
They take the update on the samples with as much patience as they can muster. "Yeah yeah, well, don't let us keep you then love; sooner you're back to your beakers and all the sooner we can maybe get a night off again..."
***
"And here you were looking all knackered even before the bad news," Pava greets the Captain with technically detectable notes of sympathy. "Acadamae's right though, apparently the plague's not the only thing catching."
Audria's mouth twitches in a brief smile before she nods. It makes sense if she need not worry about getting sick.
===
The young paladin winces when she sees Field Marshal Kroft. She knows that it can't be easy dealing with a city that has gone through riots, martial law, unrest, and now a plague, but seeing how frayed the commander of the Korvosan Guard is getting is disquieting.
"Um, Field Marshal? Is--Is there anything I can do to help?"
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"Field Marshal, how do you feel about vampire spawn? There maybe an older more experienced one loose in the city somewhere."
The Field Marshall stares blankly at Shane for a long moment. "How do I-" She visibly bites back a different reply before continuing. "What do you mean, an older vampire spawn? Isn't that just... a vampire? And there is one in the city? Please explain." Briefly glancing at the vials that Shrike places on her desk, the commander listens intently as details are provided.
"First, I need to commend you on managing to kill four vampires on your own. I know professional hunters who would hesitate to take on this many at once. Yes, you were lucky in catching them unawares, but it was still very brave of you, and you were risking more than just your lives." She looks at the disordered pile of parchment to her left. "I'll deal with the paperwork for it later, right now I am retroactively issuing a bounty of a thousand sails each for these dangerous predators. I will send a few guards to collect the remaining bodies and investigate the location more thoroughly... and you said the shopkeeper had been dead for a long time? Poor Giotorri, he was always an unlucky sort." Cressida Kroft then quickly writes a promissory note worth 4000 sails, to be redeemed at the Bank of Abadar, and seals it with her personal signet.
"There. And if there is indeed a fully-fledged vampire in the city, I do not advise you to pursue them. I will report this to Her Majesty and hopefully she can hire professionals to track it down and destroy it."
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"Pardon, long day, yes, 'just' a vampire, and very dangerous."
He notes the Field Marshal's use of her personal seal and the set of her jaw as she writes. Unsure he should say anything on it at first, lest one of the more noble members of the party protest this generosity, he sighs and adds, "And thank you. Clearly your department is facing challenges of many sorts that you should see to our needs personally. I assure you, we'll put the coin to good use not just for ourselves but others."
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Audria spots the same thing Shane does, but the only sign that shows is the thinning of her mouth. The money could be used to buy food and get supplies to the quarantined.
"Field Marshal, do you know if the people being sealed off from the rest of the city are receiving food, water, and other supplies? We--we passed by a block that the Gray Maidens were sealing off and it--it almost turned ugly, ma'am."
Giotorri, that had been his name. Rodolfo Giotorri, toymaker. Shrike's head tilts toward the floor. They might never even know if it had truly been a suicide, or if he was murdered and his body staged that way. They had already given him to the grave crows for rites and burial, and anyway, if the ship-captain's corpse had been so decayed and eaten away that Brother Dhatri thought it could not give useful answers should he try to speak with it by magic, then the body of the toymaker, who had been dead even longer, was likely the same.
She hopes that whatever Giotorri's manner of death, his soul had either moved on from earthly concerns even before they cleared out the nest of vampire spawn that had taken over the shop, or that it will now be able to do so since the vampires are destroyed and he will be given proper rites. Shrike is sure it is not an accident that the house drakes' noses had found those corpses in particular. The Hunter's coldest and most implacable hatred is reserved for demons and the undead. Thank you, Hunter, for turning our path to Rodolfo Giotorri and his defiled shop. Let him not linger, but see him swift and safe to the Mother of Souls. And in her wisdom may she grant him peace.
So caught in these thoughts is she that she nearly misses the interplay about Kroft wanting to pay them a bounty retroactively. Shane seems to think it is once again coming from the her personal funds. Shrike does not object, even though it is a staggering sum by any measure and they had not done it in the expectation of a reward. "Thanks." Kroft is clearly wealthy and can afford to take on this cost for now. She had also said something about paperwork. That means that if things ever go back to normal, the Crown will reimburse its Field Marshal for the amount of the bounty. If things do not, they will all have much bigger problems. Though it looks like someone she will listen to needs to tell the boss robin that if she doesn't get some sleep between now and then, she won't be able to deal with any of those problems anyway.
She adds to Audria's question: "No riot. No bloodshed." Yet. "But the cockscombs were ready to butcher dozens. People looked set to fight anyway. Talked them down this time. Don't know what'll happen if being locked in's a death sentence." If they want official backing, it's best to make clear what the stakes are.
Pava studies Kroft's response to Odds' question carefully, but doesn't weigh in - yet, not wanting to let their expectations spoil any surprises.
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"We got lucky and got the drop on the vampires, which allowed us to launch a well-prepared strike on the while they were sleeping. If the tables had been turned, we would have been hard pressed. But the coins we found suggest that they have ties to Ustalev, so hopefully that is where there Master is. We'll be cautious."
Elric notes the stack of invoices and Kroft paying from her personal funds with concern.
"If I may speak frankly, Marshal. It's clear that the Queen sees subduing the population of this city with brute force as the best way to resolve this crisis. We disagree - and we're not mercenaries. All of us are motivated by what's best for Korvosa, not by personal gain. Please, don't hesitate to use us where we can do most good. We'll scrounge the resources we need to get the job done, if we have to."
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Cressida Kroft waves away Elric's concerns with a decisive hand motion. "I will keep supporting you for as long as I can. So look at this as an insurance for the future." She looks at Audria. "Normally, people in need of support can rely on a mix of temple-led and citizens-led charity organizations, but these are not normal times. I will bring this to the attention of Her Majesty as well, and in the meantime talk to Marcus Endrin to see if his people can deliver some supplies without risking the spread of the disease."
"... All of us are motivated by what's best for Korvosa, not by personal gain. Please, don't hesitate to use us where we can do most good. We'll scrounge the resources we need to get the job done, if we have to..."
Shane manages not to wince and keeps a placid face. He's been talking to Audria too long. Yes, I mean of course we're not going to let some innocent die in front of us, let alone a whole neighborhood if we can help it but...
Fortunately for Shane's internal rant, the Marshal is already answering
Cressida Kroft waves away Elric's concerns with a decisive hand motion. "I will keep supporting you for as long as I can. So look at this as an insurance for the future." She looks at Audria. "Normally, people in need of support can rely on a mix of temple-led and citizens-led charity organizations, but these are not normal times. I will bring this to the attention of Her Majesty as well, and in the meantime talk to Marcus Endrin to see if his people can deliver some supplies without risking the spread of the disease."
Relief , this he allows to enter his face, "Thank you, Field Marshal. I'm not as noble as my allies but do trust that, as I said, the resources we're given often go to the protection of Korvosa."
Then a thought, "Any news.. on how the outlying towns are doing? Has the plague spread there that you know?" He doesn't name Harse for fear of drawing too much attention to it. He wonders how Marta-Carla is doing. Are those two Acadamae applicants in the city or did they hear about the plague in time and avoid? And is the kindly family that hosted them okay? THe Field Marshal wouldn't know the details but she might have heard which towns and villages outside the city share this epidemic if any.
Shrike nods slightly in agreement with Elric, and the mask turns to Kroft at her declaration. Its blank face does not show her relief, but she silently thanks the Hunter that at least one person with serious resources in the city government understands the need to provide for its people and is willing take this problem off their hands.
"It's the block where Cinder Lane and Milliner Street cross in Pillar Hill," she croaks. "Let us know if Endrin's hawks can't get in."
Though she doesn't outright state her willingness to take on the limited number of Gray Maidens or other Crown forces that will probably be left to guard the quarantine zone, should they prove uncooperative or the Queen immovable, the subtext is clear just the same.
The Field Marshall shakes her head at Shane's question. "No news, I'm afraid." She looks sharply at him. "If you know someone there, can't you contact them with magic and ask? But..." She steeples her fingers, frowning. "Most of Korvosa's holdings are rather far. If the blood veil did originate in the city, anyone infected may not live long enough to reach any but the closest ones, like Veldraine perhaps." It's a grim thought.
The Field Marshall shakes her head at Shane's question. "No news, I'm afraid." She looks sharply at him. "If you know someone there, can't you contact them with magic and ask? But..." She steeples her fingers, frowning. "Most of Korvosa's holdings are rather far. If the blood veil did originate in the city, anyone infected may not live long enough to reach any but the closest ones, like Veldraine perhaps." It's a grim thought.
THERE? He tries not to betray an expression, Was it that obvious I meant a specific locale or person? Mmph. Losing my touch or maybe I'm just tired.
"Alas, while such spells exist they are currently, not to downplay my own talents, beyond me or just flat out not in my possession. Perhaps no news is good news. Let's hope." I need to get more powerful. I need to get more spells. I am the main Arcane resource for this group that is trying to save an entire city! I'm good but I need to get better and soon.
A pause, "Should the power ever come to me, most likely by item and chance, is there anyone YOU want me looking in on specifically Field Marshal?"
At less than sixty miles from Korvosa across Conqueror's Bay, with constant trade and fishing traffic between the two, Veldraine almost certainly has cases of blood veil by now. Shrike does not belabor the point. She waits for Kroft to answer Shane's question, and then says abruptly, "Vendra Loaggri at Lavender on Summoning Street is selling a fraud cure. 'Lavender's Luxuriant Liniment.' Sick folk crowded up with healthy inside and outside her shop." She indicates the samples of the amethyst liquid with the smallest motion.
"Abella's working on proving it's a swindle. Test it too if you like. But it's going to end. Just want to know how it ends for her if we drag her in."
Audria feels a little less like she's trying to hold back a flood with just a garden trowel and a small pail as she hears that the Field Marshal will do what she can to make sure the people being quarantined won't die of thirst or hunger. She can only hope that'll be enough at least until they do find some cure or the disease runs its course.
"Field Marshal, if you need a second opinion on Loaggri's snake oil, I know an alchemist, Jessica L'morie. She's, well, she's a bit much if you've never met her before, but she's got a good heart, even if she likes to tease people half to death."
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The commander shakes her head at Shane's question. "Thank you, but everyone I care about is in the city, for better or worse."
Her eyes follow Shrike's motion. "Lavender? I think I got a hand cream from there once... Not surprising that unscrupulous people would try to take advantage of the situation." A sigh, then Cressida Kroft reaches into the box and picks up a few vials. "I'll have our alchemists take a look, and you feel free to use yours and let me know the results. For now, I'll send a few guards to shut down her store for a while. Even if it's not entirely hogwash, having people crowded like you say is bad. Thank you for bringing it to my attention."
Audria nods at Cressida's thanks, but a part of her worries about how ragged the Field Marshal looks.
"Field Marshal, is there anything we can do to help you," she asks.
"We're obliged," Shrike croaks in acknowledgement, to Audria as much as Kroft. It's not the Field Marshal who owes them thanks, when she is immediately acting on the information they brought. She doesn't like owing the robins a favor, but there's no point in being prideful about it. It will save lives to close the store earlier. Still, she notes that the boss robin did not give an answer about what Vendra Loaggri's fate would be. Privately she resolves that even if Abella cannot determine the makeup of the Liniment by this evening, she will go poking around anyway to see if she can catch the sharper in the act of making it from whatever its true ingredients are. And if it is, as she suspects, something simple like aloe sap and lavender-water and dye, Loaggri will be out of the city with only the clothes on her back by morning.
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The Field Marshall lifts a hand to Audria. "You have already done more than I could have asked for, and you should get some rest. Be assured that I will call on you if you are needed again, with the current situation we need all the help we can get." With the last rays of the sun shining through the window, Cressida Kroft seems ready to take her own advice and get some shuteye, barely stifling a yawn as she bids them farewell.
The next day, Jessica sends word that she managed to analyze the amethyst vial taken from Lavender. As expected, it does not cure blood veil, although it is not entirely useless; a weak tonic, ingesting it would somewhat bolster someone's natural defenses against sickness. Jessica's note expresses some grudging admiration for Vendra's alchemical skill.
The day after the summer solstice is when traditionally the Riverwind Festival is celebrated, but since the blood veil continues to ravage the city unabated, the celebration is cancelled - although of course that doesn't stop some people from holding impromptu gatherings and drinking themselves into a stupor. The Korvosan Guard and the Gray Maidens work overtime to contain the unruly crowds and to attempt to prevent too many people from congregating in one spot.
Perhaps as a consequence of the illicit celebrations earlier in the week, word spreads that Old Korvosa is being devastated by blood veil, much worse than other districts. On the morning of Oathday, the Gray Maidens destroy every wooden bridge connecting Endrin Isle to the mainland, and erect a permanent barricade on Jeggare Bridge, the only stone passage over the Narrows of St. Alika. A royal proclamation shouted at every main intersection announced that Old Korvosa has been quarantined, and no one is allowed to leave it. There are a few protests, but they are quickly quelled before they can escalate, the crowds swiftly dispersed by the Gray Maidens - ostensibly to prevent the spread of the plague.
All this time, the sickness rages without signs of slowing; the corpses pile up in the streets, the plague carters barely managing to keep up. The temples are overwhelmed, with many of their clerics falling prey to the disease; the Korvosan Guard and the Sable Company see their ranks thin more and more - not just from the effects of the blood veil but also from desertion and burnout. The rumours that the cult of Urgathoa is behind the plague grow, with many claiming that the entire city of Korvosa is being sacrificed to the Pallid Princess.
After leaving the Field Marshal's office and the Citadel, Audria gets Elric's and Pava's attention and asks if they would meet her the next day at Shane's home, where she's been staying. She might not be able to do much, but maybe if she learns something about the cult she can at least stop the people most likely to hinder any efforts to bring the disease under control. That means going into the rougher districts where she will be a target if she doesn't have someone there to provide a reason as to why targeting her is a bad idea.
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We will do a time skip of about two weeks, so if you have anything you'd like to do please go ahead and post it.
Shane remembers that he told the others he would visit Eries Yelloweyes to check those items offered for magic. While he appreciates Shrike's sympathy for the poor and down trodden, the tiefling believes that if the woman does have any magic items she's not using, the group might put it to good use to help people. He will try to offer some fair barter of coin or services.
Also, Eries might have new information from the streets to share with them. Shane is curious as to the procedures of the doctors going around, and the frightening Gray Maidens. And he warns her "Spread word not to pick up bags of silver that might be laying about. At least one such may have spread the infection."
----
Fireday, 19 Sarenith
The next day, Jessica sends word that she managed to analyze the amethyst vial taken from Lavender. As expected, it does not cure blood veil, although it is not entirely useless; a weak tonic, ingesting it would somewhat bolster someone's natural defenses against sickness. +1 to Fortitude saves against disease. Jessica's note expresses some grudging admiration for Vendra's alchemical skill.
"Is there anything we can do to recreate it and distribute it without too much cost in doing?" Shane inquires (either in person or by note), "If we start passing this around to the as yet uninfected it might save lives in the long run." Shane is quite aware they are stealing a formula, and frankly he doesn't give a single damn.
If there is something they can do in that vein, he'll try to assist in just that.And he'll try to make
..........
With Abella working in his kitchen, Shane wanders to visits friend or at least aquaintances. He already checked with Jessica the other day, so he looks in on Grumby Hale; his halfling friend and fellow wizard and Old Broom, the aged tiefling caretaker at the temple of Aroden making sure they haven't caught sick and if there is anything they need. If Grumby is willing to work with him on a spell that lets him contact others from a distance or scry on them that's fine but everyone IS a bit busy he knows.
---------
He tends to the house and garden, and spoiles Majenko and the other house drakes. They've been working hard, and they deserve a small feast and recognition. Majenko may not be his familiar, but he is a friend.
He will use his illusions to entertain the House drakes if they like.
There might even be very tiny hats!
-----------
Moonday, 22 Sarenith
The day after the summer solstice is when traditionally the Riverwind Festival is celebrated, but since the blood veil continues to ravage the city unabated, the celebration is cancelled - although of course that doesn't stop some people from holding impromptu gatherings and drinking themselves into a stupor. The Korvosan Guard and the Gray Maidens work overtime to contain the unruly crowds and to attempt to prevent too many people from congregating in one spot.
Imbeciles, you've made me do something I never wanted to do... agree with the Gray Maidens. He thinks when he hears the people trying to hold a gathering of such size in a time of plague.
This might give him a chance to observe things elsewhere. With the Gray maidens, at least some of them distracted, he tries to use invisiblity to spy on the masked Doctors as they treat people. He wears a mask and gloves to reduce contact with the plague himself but he's aware nothing is full proof. He hopes to see this cure/preventative administered.He is quite ready to run for his life if he is somehow made while invisible and a fly spell is ready.
----
He'll report what he learned to his allies if he needs to and can. Unless there are other plans, he also goes to a place he never wanted to return to again.
The Academae, the hall of Ornelos most likely to check on applicants among other things.
"Pardon me," He says, "Have any new applicants joined on slightly before the plague truly began? A human boy, and half orc girl?" He describes them, the ones he met in Harse. If they're in the Acadamae they will be in danger, but they might be safer from the plague. A large part of him is hoping they stayed in Harse, but if they came here, and were turned aside then he may go looking for them in an all too large city. If they've been accepted so be it. he hopes his advice on which teachers were 'kinder' and what to watch for. And he guesses he'll see them in ten years if they live.
------
What has come before may affect his choices today, of course, but Shane throws himself into various projects. Transporting medical supplies, food at water to that neighborhood that was closed off or the temple of Aroden. And studying, of course, particularly subjects of us, Plus any projects his friends throw this way.
Would he love a day off? Yes. He is very tempted to hide in his house and wait this out horrible though it is, but he would rather keep busy than build up a sense of helplessness. He's no fool, he tries to stay distant from the infected and wears gloves and mask as per usual, but there you go.
-------
Oathday, 25 Sarenith
Perhaps as a consequence of the illicit celebrations earlier in the week, word spreads that Old Korvosa is being devastated by blood veil, much worse than other districts. On the morning of Oathday, the Gray Maidens destroy every wooden bridge connecting Endrin Isle to the mainland, and erect a permanent barricade on Jeggare Bridge, the only stone passage over the Narrows of St. Alika. A royal proclamation shouted at every main intersection announced that Old Korvosa has been quarantined, and no one is allowed to leave it. There are a few protests, but they are quickly quelled before they can escalate, the crowds swiftly dispersed by the Gray Maidens - ostensibly to prevent the spread of the plague.
And then it all comes crashing down.
He knows the Temple of Aroden, it's a valuable land mark of history. Old Korvosa was a place he once found solace in when he had no other place. And while Zellara's house has BECOME his home, it is more important to him than he thought it was.And it just got closed off without support.
A whole WARD of the city
Who needs hell, when you live in Korvosa the grand and damned jewel of Varisia?
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Pava puts their head down, time split between running down leads or keeping knives out of Odds' back, and their work within their community - busy at the best of times, and now completely overloaded.
Often their breaks come when there's simply nothing left to give; no one else left to ask.
Back and forth across the city, back and forth looking for something or someone at the heart of the plague, looking for things to help them all survive it. They don't know if they've been exposed yet, but they know they've had more chances then their family.
They spend most nights at Zellara's, just in case.
Until one morning that's their only option. Endrin Isle is cut off. Old Korvosa, their parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, their fian- whatever she was-
Gone.
"So who's gonna find me a boat?"
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The grand vault of Abadar is surrounded by supplicants seeking a cure, although the pricey clerical services keep away many. The priests seem to have established a system, so there are far few scenes of chaos and desperation; instead, the spread-out queues shuffle forward patiently, clutching scraps of parchment with numbers inscribed on them. The queue for services not related to curing blood veil is mercifully much shorter, and soon enough those who are seeking more information about the key found in Giotorri's shop are standing in front of a young, harried clerk. She examines the key, cross-references something in a ledger, then tells them to wait. Long moments later, she returns carrying a deposit box, and after the ledger is dutifully signed and stamped she hands it over. Inside are what must be the toy maker's life savings and his effects from his youthful days: A pouch of coins, a set of quality thieves' tools, a pair of soft leather booths, and a sheaf of papers detailing dozens of poorly designed toys.
After splitting with the group and making a few necessary purchases as Merula, Shrike is foiled in her intention to spend the evening of Oathday spying on Vendra Loaggri by the fact that the perfumer-alchemist has made herself scarce after the Korvosan Guards shut down her shop early. Perhaps spooked by the threat of the robins, Loaggri does not seem to return to the apartment or basement laboratory the entire evening.
When she arrives home to 22 Crescent Street very late, Shrike deposits a package of oats and butter wrapped in paper on the kitchen doorstep before finding her own bed through the window as usual.
In the morning after meeting at Zellara's to check in with the rest of the group and Majenko, Shrike absorbs in silence the unexpected news that while the Liniment is much weaker than a true antiplague, it is not wholly useless. She makes sure Kroft has the same information too, as soon as possible. Of course it does not excuse the lies in Loaggri's advertisement of the tonic as a true cure. And crowding coughing and sore-covered sufferers into and outside the shop with the healthy probably still resulted in more sickness than the Liniment helped. Still, Shane's idea to try to reverse-engineer the formula and distribute it more safely for less cost is a good one.
She accompanies the group to the Bank of Abadar, and then goes with Audria, Pava and Elric to any place, aboveground or below, that they decide is worthy of investigation or information-gathering. She makes sure to check in with Eries Yelloweyes specifically to see if the wererats have found anything or are in need of any help. And after dark, she does a walkthrough of the Old Fishery for anything suspicious.
Once again, Shrike arrives at Zellara's in the morning to check in and share information. Today she also wants to determine with the group which if any of the items they have acquired recently need to be sold on.
Interspersed with any resultant shopping as Merula — for which she wears long gloves and a full-face but sheer veil of black lace — she goes to see as many of her theatre friends as she can find at home or their usual haunts, and speaks to them outside or through their doors. In addition to checking on their general well-being, she passes on the word (supposedly discovered through Audria) that Ivy is back in town, living in Bridgefront and looking for a new roommate and work situation.
Aylos and his sister Sorcia, she knows, have no room in their tiny tenement flat or desire to move, and she thinks Gisela has a large family and Lennick a snobbish one, while she feels uncomfortable asking Saratha Florescu to even consider such a favor. But Cherie usually has at least one spare room in her house, if it is not currently being loaned out to some other artist in need. And Deyanira and her brother may be looking to take on a roommate in order to offset the pay cut Deyanira doubtless took when she quit the Marbledome for the Farrago.
At night, she checks on Ivy again as Shrike, just enough to see if she is alive and looking healthy in her current flophouse with the odd costumer roommate.
Besides making the rounds, Shrike goes to the Kendall Amphitheatre and attempts to use its Vault to get down to the Vaults proper.
Along with Shane, Shrike uses the cover of the muted and impromptu Riverwind festival gatherings and chaotic government response to spy on the Queen's Physicians and the work they are doing at their hospice for blood veil victims. She is particularly curious to know if it seems that any sufferers are being cured and leaving healthy, as a few fortunate citizens each day manage at Korvosa's temples. Unlike Shane, she relies on her native stealth to avoid notice, unless and until they decide they need to enter the building to learn more about the physicians' efforts, in which case she also asks for a spell of invisibility, in her usual laconic way.
In addition to checking in each day with the group and their sources, Shrike chases down any leads the previous days turned up.
Perhaps as a consequence of the illicit celebrations earlier in the week, word spreads that Old Korvosa is being devastated by blood veil, much worse than other districts. On the morning of Oathday, the Gray Maidens destroy every wooden bridge connecting Endrin Isle to the mainland, and erect a permanent barricade on Jeggare Bridge, the only stone passage over the Narrows of St. Alika. A royal proclamation shouted at every main intersection announces that Old Korvosa has been quarantined, and no one is allowed to leave it. There are a few protests, but they are quickly quelled before they can escalate, the crowds swiftly dispersed by the Gray Maidens - ostensibly to prevent the spread of the plague.
"So who's gonna find me a boat?"
"Bet Silent Lem's still renting." The cheerfully incurious and ironically chatty fisherman's dinghy might be in higher demand now, but his boat had proven perfectly sound for a short trip across the river and back if Pava is in the market. Of course, they might be better off waiting for the cover of night. She doesn't know what measures the Gray Maidens are taking against illegal crossings they notice happening in the river below or above the Jeggare Bridge.
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"So who's gonna find me a boat?""Bet Silent Lem's still renting." The cheerfully incurious and ironically chatty fisherman's dinghy might be in higher demand now, but his boat had proven perfectly sound for a short trip across the river and back if Pava is in the market. Of course, they might be better off waiting for the cover of night. She doesn't know what measures the Gray Maidens are taking against illegal crossings they notice happening in the river below or above the Jeggare Bridge.
"And here I was thinking of flying over, but I suppose a small boat under ten feet in length cloaked by an invisibility sphere for roughly 6 minutes might have a chance to make it." Shane realizes he's gotten into the habit of volunteering with these folk. Not a HEALTHY habit per se, but then what is in a time of plague?
Pava smiles, sharply. "I could swim it if that was enough to help, but the swim back's not particularly appealing with half a dozen family members handing from my neck, yeah? Ghosting the boat's a good notion though."
Pava smiles, sharply. "I could swim it if that was enough to help, but the swim back's not particularly appealing with half a dozen family members handing from my neck, yeah? Ghosting the boat's a good notion though."
"Half a dozen?" He realizes, logistically, that that's not that big a number as it can include parents and siblings but then, his aren't in Old Korvosa, just friends, "My half siblings likely don't even know I exist so that seems a lot. May take more than one trip for your crew but we shall get them if we can."
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The old wererat offers her collection of treasures to the wizard, together with some news and updates. "Girrigz is slowly coming around, and the young hotheads following him are now scared of your friends so they don't dare cause any trouble. We mobilized some of the others to help with carting the bodies." When asked about the doctors, she twitches her nose thoughtfully. "They're gathering some of the sick ones close to here, a warehouse they converted into a hospice. I hear the Arkonas donated the warehouse. And speaking of, you know the Longacre Building?"
always remain completely dead. Next to the necropolis of Gray District, more undead come from Longacre Building than anywhere in the city.
"The queen gave it to the Gray Maidens as their headquarters. I hear that the arbiters who objected have been relieved of duty, but the senior arbiter, Zenobia Zenderholm, openly welcomed them and pledged to aid them with the transition."
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Jessica thinks for a moment on the question of mass-producing Lavender's Luxuriant Liniment. "I would need to know the exact formula, and we would need supplies and a proper lab. But why not reach out to Vendra and offer to help her with the distribution, so that people don't crowd around her shop anymore? Just a thought."
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Grumby had caught the blood veil early on, but managed to get cured at one of the temples. Since then he's become a recluse, hardly leaving his rooms and not receiving visitors. Of the tiefling caretaker there is no sign.
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Spying on the masked doctors confirms what Eries told him - they're gathering many of the sick and taking them to the converted warehouse for treatment, but the building is guarded by Gray Maidens so it is difficult to know more. They seem to be picking mostly the ones in the early stages of the disease.
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The Acadamae has shuttered its gates again, barring access to anyone save students and faculty. However, asking around about the prospective arcane pupils he met in Harse points towards East Shore - perhaps they changed their mind about the Acadamae and applied to Theumanexus College instead?
The people in Pava's community all react differently to this new calamity; some seek to help, bringing food and medicine to their sick neighbours, others isolate themselves or flee the city altogether. There's looting and desperate acts, but also kindness and neighbourly concern. In the cramped Bridgefront, insalubrious at the best of times, many perish. The shady trades of the Old Dock are brisk, however - from people seeking passage out of the city to those peddling alleged cures, protective charms and secret recipes. The flea markets are busy as well, with a sudden influx of goods from those who passed away, or from those who are desperately selling their last possessions in the hope of buying a cure.
Maybe it's luck. Even with all the running around and the work and the being among so many people, Pava doesn't catch it.
Eries Yelloweyes shares the same news with Shrike that she told Shane. The Old Fishery is still deserted - perhaps the gruesome display outside of it has spooked prospective squatters, or perhaps the gods-awful stink of the rotting fish slurry is keeping anyone with a sense of smell at bay.
Her friends are mostly fine. A couple of them got sick, but the troupe pooled funds together and got a cleric to do a home visit for them. Merula finds a spot for Ivy with Deyanira Mirukova and her brother Ruan; with many of the regular shows cancelled they are struggling to make ends meet - although Deyanira is hopeful that some private performances might soon bring in some income. "I heard from a friend that some nobles in South Shore are throwing secret parties. If Ruan or I get invited to perform at one of those that will be a lot of money, I think."
Shrike finds Ivy on the roof of her tenement, smoking a long-stemmed pipe. "Jeonia is driving me up the walls. I don't think I can stay here much longer. She's, uh, getting a little scary."
Together with Shane, she stakes out the building where Dr. Davaulus and the Queen's Physicians have made their headquarters. Now called the Hospice of the Blessed Maiden, it used to be one of the Arkona Imports warehouses on West Dock, sold about 4 months ago to an unknown buyer. Now, sick folk from any walk of Korvosan life can come here to find care for the blood veil. But after watching the place for a few days, Shrike notices that although many people go in, few of them come back out - either dead or alive.
The Gray Maidens have been ordered to quarantine Old Korvosa, preventing anyone inside from leaving. Troops of Gray Maidens patrol the boardwalk along the northern side of North Point overlooking Old Korvosa, while more stand watch atop the wall along North Point's northern shore. They confront anyone they spy trying to leave Old Korvosa, warning them to turn back. If this order is refused, they open fire on anyone who continues to try to return to the city proper, either chasing them off or slaughtering them where they stand. However, they take no such actions against anyone trying to enter the district.
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The old wererat offers her collection of treasures to the wizard, together with some news and updates. "Girrigz is slowly coming around, and the young hotheads following him are now scared of your friends so they don't dare cause any trouble. We mobilized some of the others to help with carting the bodies."
He's grateful for the updates, "My friends are formidible, fortunately theyr'e also good folk."
His eyes fall on the treasures when some of them light up with magic, particularly the pearl. It would be unseemly for a wizard's mouth to water. Does she even know what she has here?When asked about the doctors, she twitches her nose thoughtfully. "They're gathering some of the sick ones close to here, a warehouse they converted into a hospice. I hear the Arkonas donated the warehouse. And speaking of, you know the Longacre Building?"
"Yes, I've heard of it....that's for criminals getting their death sentences ,well that and the deathhead vault below it. Snap of neck or removal of head. The clergy doesn't have the manpower to keep patroling at this time and the sick are being herded there? Not sure I like the sound of that. It's got a reputation for undead at times. One of the reasons they NEED the Cleric. Thank you though for telling me."
And i need to let the others know
After the talk of the Longacre building, he says "You have a pearl of power here, and these other things are magical as well. They're worth quite a lot and while I am not as noble as my fellows, they'd be cross with me if I cheated you. With your permission though, I'd like at least borrow them while we work. Anything we don't use up, you get returned when we're done or we pay you for. Anything we do use, we replace or pay you back for within the year. Now...Just so you know what I'm asking for." he relates what the potions and yes, the pearl, do.
If she says no, he cries a little on the inside but respects that.
----
Jessica thinks for a moment on the question of mass-producing Lavender's Luxuriant Liniment. "I would need to know the exact formula, and we would need supplies and a proper lab. But why not reach out to Vendra and offer to help her with the distribution, so that people don't crowd around her shop anymore? Just a thought."
"I was sort of hoping we'd dispense it for much cheaper than Vendra is trying to sell it for by creating our own but... maybe." Disgruntled but willing to let others take the lead on that.
............Grumby had caught the blood veil early on, but managed to get cured at one of the temples. Since then he's become a recluse, hardly leaving his rooms and not receiving visitors.
Shane is relieved his friend lives, but feels immense guilt that he didn't learn till now, I'm an intensive boor. One of my best friends and I only now learn he nearly died? He leaves a note to rest up after his ordeal, and a few supplies , clean, that his friend can use or restock with knowing Grumby can likely use some minor spells to make sure nothing passing his door is infected.
Of the tiefling caretaker there is no sign.
Shane looks about, Old Broom practically LIVES in the temple of Aroden, and the fact he's not there has him terrified for the old fellow. He was always tough for his age, but the Blood veil can be merciless on anyone, especially the elderly. When he can't find hide nor word of him... Shane returns from that trip rather stunned and withdrawn. He can't stay that way, more to do, but he is shaken.
--------------Spying on the masked doctors confirms what Eries told him - they're gathering many of the sick and taking them to the converted warehouse for treatment, but the building is guarded by Gray Maidens so it is difficult to know more. They seem to be picking mostly the ones in the early stages of the disease.
Even invisibility can't let you 'ease by' places when the doors are closed and guardian women acting like twin columns on the sides. For a moment he wonders if he should 'fake' the early stages. Or ask about Old Broom!
But he backs away. Feeling a coward for it despite the fact logic dictates he would merely draw more attention and the Graymaidens likely don't bother with the names of those being seen.-----
The Acadamae has shuttered its gates again, barring access to anyone save students and faculty. However, asking around about the prospective arcane pupils he met in Harse points towards East Shore - perhaps they changed their mind about the Acadamae and applied to Theumanexus College instead?
Grumby was asked to welcome them here, but he was sick so couldn't... He'll visit the Theumanexus, gloved and face covered, to make inquiry.
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"... come to any of the meetings, and the donations stopped as well. Darb is quite worried."
"Arbiter Zenderholm is one of the heads of the congregation, is she not? Strange that she would just disappear like that."
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In the days following their fight with the vampires, Elric divides his time between assisting the group with gathering intelligence and volunteering his time to bolster the hard-pressed ranks of Sable Company.
He makes sure that all patrols have the the descriptions of the cultists and Rolth, and that any sightings of them gets reported back to him.
What little spare time he has, he spends with Audria, doing his best to lift her spirits and in return takes comfort from her company to preserve his own dwindling sense of optimism.
After seeing how Pava seems to be working themself ragged, Audria decides it might be better to get tips on how and where to gather information from them so they don't wind up getting sick from exhaustion. She gratefully accepts Elric's company and comfort while doing her best to return the favor, but the news that comes out over the next few days does little to put her mind at ease. When she learns of Old Korvosa being quarantined, and in her mind effectively written off given how all of the wooden bridges are destroyed. With her search for any sign of Rolth, the Urgathoans, or the woman they suspect is leading them yielding no results, Audria turns instead to checking on Jessica and seeing what she can find out about how closely watched the northern branch of the Jeggare River is.
Her friends are mostly fine. A couple of them got sick, but the troupe pooled funds together and got a cleric to do a home visit for them. Merula finds a spot for Ivy with Deyanira Mirukova and her brother Ruan; with many of the regular shows cancelled they are struggling to make ends meet - although Deyanira is hopeful that some private performances might soon bring in some income. "I heard from a friend that some nobles in South Shore are throwing secret parties. If Ruan or I get invited to perform at one of those that will be a lot of money, I think."
Merula's contained relief at the idea that Ivy could move from Bridgefront and take up residence with the Mirukova siblings at their rented apartment in Ridgefield quickly turns to contained alarm. "Parties mean a great many people all in a crush... Are you sure it is safe? If just one person there is coughing, then both of you could fall sick too. I beg you will not consider it except in the direst circumstance. No, I will get word to Ivy that you want a roommate, and she will move quickly, I am sure. In the meantime, to make ends meet — here. We former Follies must stick together, after all. And if you need anything else, send me a message at 22 Crescent Street." Merula presses a small pouch of coins on Deyanira and Ruan. While it is not strictly true that there is a kind of rainy-day insurance fund for performers and musicians in the Farrago during lean times like this when the shows all close unexpectedly, she thinks that in the future there should be. And it is true that the troupe combined resources and helped those of its number who have fallen ill over the past few days.
Although most of her students cancel the dance lessons for fear of the plague, Druvalia Tuttle insists that her daughter follows the regular schedule. Cordelinda is even stiffer than usual, and almost bursts into tears after one too many mistakes. As Merula leaves the residence, her keen ears catch a fragment of conversation from an adjacent room.
"... come to any of the meetings, and the donations stopped as well. Darb is quite worried.""Arbiter Zenderholm is one of the heads of the congregation, is she not? Strange that she would just disappear like that."
Merula, who came to give Miss Cordelinda Tuttle's lesson on Wealday the twenty-fourth in veil and gloves, only because Magistrate Tuttle made it clear in a sharply worded note that if she cancelled two weeks in a row their business relationship would come to an acrimonious end, tries her best to be patient and cheerful with Miss Tuttle to bring her out of her doldrums. As usual, she feels she has very limited success. She lingers to hear what she can of the conversation in the other room while she is replacing her veil prior to leaving. One of the Bank of Abadar's most senior judges is missing? Has she fallen ill? I would have thought arbiters have magic, and would be able to cure themselves.
Shrike finds Ivy on the roof of her tenement, smoking a long-stemmed pipe. "Jeonia is driving me up the walls. I don't think I can stay here much longer. She's, uh, getting a little scary."
"Friend of a friend passed the word." It is technically possible that Shrike could have told Audria who told Merula to ask around. She hopes Ivy just won't think about it too hard. "There's a sister and brother looking for a roommate. Performer and musician. Live in Ridgefield. Nice folk. Mirukova's the name." Shrike would not know or care that they know each other a little already, or did a few years ago.
She gives Ivy the address. And after a long pause, she adds evenly, "Not my business what you do for that Madame." It had surprised her somewhat to hear her Milanite friend would work for the Calistrians in any capacity, but she is a practical person, and faith is a personal thing. Knowing the concerns of the Unquenchable Flame, her activities could be anything from making poisons, to thieving from or harming targets that have offended the goddess, to bouncing unruly 'customers,' to actually selling sex. The last two are especially dangerous with the city as it is. "But best not get too close to anyone right now. Still. Can't eat words. So use this if you need it. Pass it on if you don't."
And she leaves two platinum crowns on the rooftree when she goes, shining like the Hunter's full moon above them. Each is enough for a month of her own family's basic expenses, so she hopes Ivy will be able to take a holiday from anything risky she is doing for money. And if, gods willing, the plague passes relatively quickly, she knows of a certain theatre director who desperately needs a clever and silver-tongued assistant who already knows the business.
Together with Shane, she stakes out the building where Dr. Davaulus and the Queen's Physicians have made their headquarters. Now called the Hospice of the Blessed Maiden, it used to be one of the Arkona Imports warehouses on West Dock, sold about 4 months ago to an unknown buyer. Now, sick folk from any walk of Korvosan life can come here to find care for the blood veil. But after watching the place for a few days, Shrike notices that although many people go in, few of them come back out - either dead or alive.
Pava smiles, sharply. "I could swim it if that was enough to help, but the swim back's not particularly appealing with half a dozen family members hanging from my neck, yeah? Ghosting the boat's a good notion though."
"Half a dozen?" He realizes, logistically, that that's not that big a number as it can include parents and siblings but then, his aren't in Old Korvosa, just friends. "My half siblings likely don't even know I exist so that seems a lot. May take more than one trip for your crew but we shall get them if we can."
The Gray Maidens have been ordered to quarantine Old Korvosa, preventing anyone inside from leaving. Troops of Gray Maidens patrol the boardwalk along the northern side of North Point overlooking Old Korvosa, while more stand watch atop the wall along North Point's northern shore. They confront anyone they spy trying to leave Old Korvosa, warning them to turn back. If this order is refused, they open fire on anyone who continues to try to return to the city proper, either chasing them off or slaughtering them where they stand. However, they take no such actions against anyone trying to enter the district.
"It'd take invisibility to get back direct. But there's also the long way round." As far as Shrike has seen, the Gray Maidens are only watching and patrolling the Narrows of St. Alika, and only on the mainland side. A determined party could leave Endrin Isle on its northwest side, and sail south through the bay instead, re-entering at Cliffside or South Shore.
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Deyanira smiles impishly. "Oh, I have thought about the risks, but we're banking on the posh people being able to afford the best care and clerics, so the odds of them being sick are low. Still, we'll protect ourselves as best as we can."
Ivy goes still as she sees the coins. She gives the bird mask eyeholes a long look before reaching for the platinum. "I don't know when I will be able to repay this, you know. But I will." She takes the coins between both palms. "I- almost don't know what to say. You barely know me, but you already did so much for me." She gives a half-laugh. "If I was a suspicious person I'd think you have some nefarious motives behind it all. Maybe you do. But there's not much choice for me at this point, I guess. When your survival is on the line, principles are a luxury." She pockets the money. "I'll use some of this for rent, and hold on to the rest. And I hope that in the future I can do something to repay you, and not just in coin."
Deyanira smiles impishly. "Oh, I have thought about the risks, but we're banking on the posh people being able to afford the best care and clerics, so the odds of them being sick are low. Still, we'll protect ourselves as best as we can."
Merula cannot argue with this, so after a little more determinedly cheerful conversation, she makes her excuses and continues on her way.
Ivy goes still as she sees the coins. She gives the bird mask eyeholes a long look before reaching for the platinum. "I don't know when I will be able to repay this, you know. But I will." She takes the coins between both palms. "I- almost don't know what to say. You barely know me, but you already did so much for me." She gives a half-laugh. "If I was a suspicious person I'd think you have some nefarious motives behind it all. Maybe you do. But there's not much choice for me at this point, I guess. When your survival is on the line, principles are a luxury." She pockets the money. "I'll use some of this for rent, and hold on to the rest. And I hope that in the future I can do something to repay you, and not just in coin."
"It's not a loan. You don't owe me." Shrike says it automatically, just as she did to Majenko, and hears in it the echo of a formal phrase in a more ancient tongue: I release you from obligation. She does not even suggest Ivy might do the same for someone else someday. It wasn't a loan, not even a nebulous one against some future good deed.
But she does stop on the precipice of leaping to the next tenement. The mask turns back, just enough to see the sharp hook of its beak and the flowing dark track from one huge eye. "You've more friends than you think. They care for you. Let them."
In a very few moments, her dark-cloaked form is gone across the ropes and rooftiles of the Shingles.
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The weather has been getting hotter, and the people are chafing under the quarantine - both the large scale one of Old Korvosa and smaller ones of this tenement or that city block. Almost daily, bodies are fished out of the Jeggare, either those shot by the Gray Maidens as they sought to escape Endrin Isle, or those drowned while seeking relief from the heat into the tepid, muddy waters of the river.
Pava and Shane have devised a moderately safe route to come in and out of Old Korvosa under cover of night, using magic to mask the passing of their boat. This way, everyone is able to keep tabs on their loved ones stuck on the north side of the Narrows. Jessica is fine, although a little frazzled as she bends all her alchemical knowledge towards brewing potions to help her friends fight the plague. Ivy gets out just in time, now rooming with the Mirukova siblings in North Point; the windows of her former flat are ominously dark every time Shrike passes by afterwards. Old Broom resurfaces, much weakened after a bout of blood veil; he credits a mysterious benefactor with his survival, an oddly cheerful elf woman dressed all in black.
Meanwhile, Elric is kept busy as both the Korvosan Guard and the Sable Company's ranks continue to dwindle - even with their reserves of potions and curatives some succumb to the blood veil, others quit to care for sick family, yet others desert and flee the city - but the most unsettling part is that many of the female marines and guards simply disappear. Like the Field Marshall, Commander Marcus Endrin begins to use personal funds to keep the Sable Company afloat as the subsidies from the crown dry up.
Deyanira has never sought out Merula before at the address she was given, but she does so now. The young woman looks like she hasn't slept in a couple of days, and her eyes are red-rimmed and puffy. "Merula, I don't know what to do! You know people, right? I need- no, my brother needs..." A little incoherent from panic and exhaustion, it takes a little while for her to get out words that make sense.
"Oh, you warned us, and we didn't listen! But it was such a good opportunity, with the Carowyns themselves - you know them, right? Big patrons of the arts, they always like to outdo the other toffs. Ruan- they asked him personally to perform at their private masquerade that they were putting on at their estate in South Shore, so naturally he was delighted." She suppresses a sob. "That was three days ago, Merula! He hasn't come since! I went there myself, of course, but it... the place looks abandoned, all the gates are locked, the curtains drawn on every window, and the smell- it's dreadful, Merula! I've been imagining the worst. Since there has been no crime committed, the Guard won't break into the manor to check, and I don't know what to do, who to turn to!"
Merula is nothing if not soothing, when she needs to be. "Come and sit down in the parlor, Deya. Whatever it is, it will not grow worse in the time it takes to have a glass of cold cider." There is nothing stronger in the house, or she would offer a generous drop of brandy in tea to blunt the edge of her friend's distress. She sits down beside the distraught dancer and gently chafes one of her nerveless hands.
Though it takes all of Merula's practiced control to keep a rein on her expression at the news that Ruan has been missing three whole days already, she does manage it. But by the time Deyanira finishes the explanation, she is looking a little white around the lips herself. Her low, near-hoarse voice, however, remains steady and reassuring. "You've done right to bring this to me. I will make inquiries. In the meantime, you will stay right here, and do whatever you need to do to be able to sleep. Junie will take care of you. I promise you, I will find answers."
She does not recriminate with Deyanira now; does not even feel vindicated, since this is far worse than the situation she had imagined to warn the Mirukovas against. More than that, she knows too well the frenzy of vision-blurring, lung-sucking terror and self-blame her friend must be experiencing. Merula entrusts her to Junie's no-nonsense care as soon as possible. In the worst case, she trusts Junie to know whether and how to administer some of the drops Mamma uses for peaceful sleep when it has eluded her for several nights in a row.
In hardly any time at all, Merula leaves 22 Crescent Street with apparently nothing more than her veil, gloves and a fine pack, on a mission she will not be the one to carry out.
Shrike never paces or fidgets. But when the others arrive in response to her house drake summons, she is using a whetstone in slow, meditative strokes on the already-vicious edge of the long, curved blade that she has carried with her every day since the Dead Warrens.
"Had a tip. Carowyns' manor in South Shore. Owners were having a private party. But no one's come out in three days. Gates locked. No sign of life. And a stink strong enough to smell it outside. Robins won't act without an obvious crime.
"This isn't just blood veil. It's something worse."
Like perhaps a cult of undeath taking a lot of victims all at once.
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Old Broom resurfaces, much weakened after a bout of blood veil; he credits a mysterious benefactor with his survival, an oddly cheerful elf woman dressed all in black.
"Very rude scaring the life out of me, Old Broom. I told you how dangerous this illness is, and you got sick anyway. Then you vanish? You've no consideration for my delicate nerves." Shane grouses but his eyes shine with relief.
Old Broom snorts with elder disdain then ahems.Shane gets the question in the ahem "No, I don't think I know who this elf lady is, not with the vague description you gave beyond 'elven' 'dresses in black'"
Old Broom holds out his hand.
"Yes yes, of course you were in a fever so asking for exact details of a burning memory is probably a bit much." He concedes. He's just glad the man is alive. I believe the common phrase is 'tough piece of gristle'
He can't stay long, Pava may need more of his help with their own family and friends, but he tries to make sure Old Broom has a bit of coin, food and water for himself.
And he seeks to find out how Old Korvosa is holding up. The answer , judging by the dead in the water? Not good.
Pava bares their teeth in something close to a smile as they try to find some amusement in these dark days. "Why, oh why, are the nobs always putting on parties in the middle of plagues and bloody fluxes?"
"Right, so, whether this was just a spectacularly dreadful notion, or actually seeded by our pallid pals, there's a good chance they've stuck their noses in where we can give them a tweak, and maybe even follow things back"
Their focus is fully back as they conclude. "If luck's with us, we might even save some of the people they damned."
Shrike never paces or fidgets. But when the others arrive in response to her house drake summons, she is using a whetstone in slow, meditative strokes on the already-vicious edge of the long, curved blade that she has carried with her every day since the Dead Warrens.
"Had a tip. Carowyns' manor in South Shore. Owners were having a private party. But no one's come out in three days. Gates locked. No sign of life. And a stink strong enough to smell it outside. Robins won't act without an obvious crime.
"This isn't just blood veil. It's something worse."
Like perhaps a cult of undeath taking a lot of victims all at once.
Pava bares their teeth in something close to a smile as they try to find some amusement in these dark days. "Why, oh why, are the nobs always putting on parties in the middle of plagues and bloody fluxes?"
"Because they value their entertainment over the common folks lives?" He sighs "Not fair to many of them I'm sure."
"Right, so, whether this was just a spectacularly dreadful notion, or actually seeded by our pallid pals, there's a good chance they've stuck their noses in where we can give them a tweak, and maybe even follow things back"
Their focus is fully back as they conclude. "If luck's with us, we might even save some of the people they damned."
"I confess, in the area of noble families my education has an embarrassing gap here. Anyone have any more details on the Carowyns?"