Lady Luljeta Vsevolod's page

"Um...?"

"That's just delightful! Thank you so much." Illthir grins and thanks the lady for her gifts. And for giving the skald a chance to sleep in a real bed; now that was a true treasure.

Seeing as they had to wait around for most of the day anyhow Illthir spends most of the day trying to gossip with the Lady of the house (taking care to not call her a child; she had head that reaction loud enough already!).

"And here I was hoping that a traveling player such as yourself would have something to tell a cloistered lady something of the great wide world outside." Luljeta teases. Given the young woman's pallor Illthir does not doubt that she ever gets much sun.

She seems far more interested in Illthir's (and anyone else with four levels of adventure behind them's) tales.

"Lady Vsevolod, if you don't mind, have you heard of anyone traveling down your well before? Forgive a commoner - we are not used to finding anyone living down there ..."

A flash of memory strikes Illthir causing her to shiver.

"'Living?'" replies the Lady, growing a shade paler. "Well, sometimes there are bats, but other than that nothing living."

"But a gentleman, waits for the lord of the manor to give a reward, he does not demand one or press his case via the Lord's children...."

"CHILDREN!?"

The door slams two inches from Zokon's face. The force of its impact blows his hair back.

How young is she? Zokon is only 22 himself...

Middling teens, but her over all attitude, and fairer-than-Illthir (the half-snow-elf) skin points to someone who probably doesn't get out of her castle much.

"Still it was very brave. In the old days when a hero saved a lord's daughter they were entitled to half the kingdom...." She presses close.

1d20 + 9 ⇒ (14) + 9 = 23

Igor leads Zokon across the courtyard and up into the higher tiers of the keep. He stops before a door in a wide hallway and knocks. Zokon can hear someone rushing around behind the door and then--

"Come in." comes a breathless call.

Igor grins horribly and opens the door on a sumptuous boudoir and Lady Luljeta in a short, black, silk nighty reclining on huge bed.

"Why Zokon, this is such a surprise. I thought you had retired."

She rises and comes to the door.

"I wanted to thank you for saving my home...."

"But you can't just climb down there! It's too dangerous! I mean wouldn't you rather wait for morning after some rest?"

Durgan frowns.

"Lady Vsevolod, when do you expect your father to return? We cannot tarry long."
He turns to the others and speaks quietly.
"I know we cannot leave Alia's blade behind. But we also can't let the Beetles reach the Stag Lord before we do. We need to beat them there and kill the bandit king. If they can make it past the Mivon forces, I imagine they'll make a beeline for the Stag Lord and then we'll have to fight them again."

"He's due back by the end of the week." Four days.

"You would be welcome to stay until then." she says looking hopefully at Zokon.

Noticing the exchange, but trying to pretend she didn't Lady Luljeta sheepishly says: "Well, um, the catacombs."

She pales visibly at the mention of the place (which is quite a trick given her usual pallor). "But we can't go down there until my father returns."

"Yes, for the sake of the castle!" implores Lady Luljeta.

Seeing this Lady Luljeta bites hard down on her knuckle.

"What should I be packing right now?"

"And then he's going to raise me from the dead and kill me again."

"Father's going to kill me."

"You cad! The least you could do is wait for me!" Lady Luljeta shouts at Zokon.

"YOU IDIOT!" shouts Lady Luljeta over the ringing in Zokon's ear. "HE'LL JUST KEEP DROPPING BOMBS ON YOU IF YOU STAY HERE!"

She grabs his wrist and tries to drag him back.

"NOOO! OUR CASTLE!"

Arbalasti joined now by a grim-looking crossbow-bearing dwarf with a dwarf-sized shield strapped to his back, opens his coat revealing jars and jars of what one might expect to be high-yield, chemical explosives strung along cris-crossing bandoleers. From behind a merlon, he sniffs the wind for the scent of war. Seems Readied.

"THE CASTLE!"

"Pish posh, your friend is well supported. Besides she is a servant of Sarenrae. Trying to burn her is like trying to burn the sun."

More flailing!

"See?"

"What no.. she's a nice lass and all, but we hardly know each other. and why are we talking about this, they need my help please, unless you wish the young dangerous lord to escape?" he tries again the pull away

"Well of course I do, silly! I let him keep his mercenaries here didn't I? In time, when he has won his kingdom, perhaps he will think kindly of his one-time hostess." she giggles and blushes. She releases Zokon, and turns away to hide the sudden change to her pallor.

Zokons eyes go wiee open for a second and he savours the feeling of the lady's grip and the softness beneath his hand.

But he has to get on and help

He looks in the direction of the close by elemental and Scarlet "That elemental at the top of the steps just hurt my friend, I must goto her, please."

"Pish posh, your friend is well supported. Besides she is a servant of Sarenrae. Trying to burn her is like trying to burn the sun. Unless!" And at this Lady Luljeta's eyes go wide. "Ser and the young paladin!?"

This triggers a Diplomatic attack of opportunity from Lady Vsevolod. This eats up a move action from your next turn unless you resist.

"OH NO! It will burn the whole keep down!"

It really didn't matter all too much exactly where the company or their heinous employee went (at least she didn't think it did?) so Illthir went to offer some support to the Lady. Hopefully it'd help. "There there, there's plenty of handsome men out there. Some are actually courteous too - if you figure out which ones please do tell!"

Lady Vsevolod gives the pale skald a funny (somewhere between shocked and withering) look.

The skald offered her an arm as support and suggested - "Let's go and see what's all this sillyness about the beacon is. It is your home after all! What is it even there for..?"

"Yes, let's."

"I take it then that the beacon is not lit on account of one's wineglass not being full," [Numalar] quips, eyeing the empty bottom of his goblet. He then holds it up for the servants to refill.

Igor salivates at the opportunity to serve.

He puts down the goblet. "How much of a problem is it? Surely it woudn't be the end of the world if some other noble came here to aid you? Embarrassing perhaps, but hardly fatal. You just apologize for the error, and invite him in to dine with us."

"It would seem rather extreme for the Lord-Mayor to actually besiege his own son for hiring mercenaries with his own money. Is that what you expect? Not to mention that digging a hundred heavily-armed dwarves out of a fortified position is hardly a job any sane captain would relish."

"I would be interested in finding out who lit the beacon though, and why."

"As am I. Though it won't be another noble who arrives first," Lady Vsevolod says moving behind the heavy tapestry behind her seat, "but the Lord-Mayor's guard to stop Lord Hotspur." says Lady Vsevolod. "I highly doubt they would do anything untoward to me in my father's home."

It would seem apparent to Scarlet that she is not leaving, though conceivable she might lock down the place for a siege if it came to it.

"The other stair will be clogged with dwarves. This will be faster." she say to Illthir. See slide 2. She unlocks the door in the space concealed by the tapestry with a key.

To Durgan's point, there are only a little over a dozen dwarves (plus the few you brought with you) in the keep itself the other 80ish are billeted down in the keep's attendant village.

"Beetle, who is coming? Troops from Mivon?"

The party could reasnably assume that even if they are not the target it would certainly attract them.

"It is part of a warning system should any lord in region need aid, be it war or disaster."

"And you think the Stag Lord is gonna-" Scarlet grunts in frustration as the lord naïvely thinks he's in control just as a dwarf rushes in and mentions the signal fire.

"Oi. Now we're in trouble." Scarlet turns toward the tower. "Whomever lit that pyre is sending a signal, and I'm pretty sure we're gonna get ambushed soon. We gotta secure this place."

Scarlet turns to Lady Vsevolod. "My- Lady, how many entrances are here to your estate? We gotta secure this place and fast!"

"Well, there's the gatehouse gate, and the portal to the moat, and-"

"My lord, he is one of the eleven who showed up at the gates this evening looking for Beetle."

Edit forgot to account for the dwarves.

Igor and Scraps carve and serve the Tojbasarrirge. Igor uses a number of repurposed medical implements to accomplish the task (foremost among them a bone saw).

"Might the future lord of the Stolen Land enjoy dining with his hostess?" says the lady admiringly.

Lord Selline seems up to the challenge and takes his place in the larger of the two seats at the head table.

Map updated.

"Yes, my father had Igor make some a few years back."

"I am a skilled cook, perhaps I can assist with the dinner preparation. It is the way of my god, Abadar, that one should earn their keep. And I enjoy putting my skills to use."

If his Traveler's Any-Tool can be sharp knives and sturdy cooking pots, or if the manor house has a kitchen that counts as a Masterwork Tool, then Durgan's Profession (Gourmet Chef) is +8.

"You can cook! Oh good! I'm a bit tied of 'Igor's Surprise Stew' too many wobbly bits that look like tubes. Unfortunately, part of the reason the screen change is taking so long that he's cooking a feast for tonight."

*sniff, sniff* "Oh, are you done already? Let me have Igor show you to your rooms first. We don't usually have so many guests. I would have Igor put the play on during dinner, but then there would be no one to cook, and serve, refill drinks, and keep the fire in the main hall going."

After that was taken care of Illthir got dressed and roamed around the building, looking for the lady of the house. Or at least the one that had greeted them. Who knew - maybe there actually were a play? She wouldn't want to miss that!

Illthir and Duran find the lady in two-story chamber the size of a barn with two seats set into it off to one side and stage off to the other. Lady Vsevolod is sitting in the smaller of the two mini-thrones watching Igor with a Goldilocks wig on embracing a horrible little aberration stitched together from taxidemic leftovers. The creature is dressed like a nobleman. Igor tells the thing in a higher pitch than his regular voice that he loves it and that it should not leave while stroking its ears, antenna, and head ridges. The hideous little creature has a slate board hung around its neck by a bit of string. With a stub of chalk it writes that Igor should wait for its return. Igor pulls a cord that drops the curtain on the scene. There is a sudden commotion behind the curtain as the strange players change costumes and prepare for the next scene.

"Igor, how many times have I told you not to do that! And stop lisping."

"I can have the servants find you some place to clean up, and rest from your journey until then. IGOR!"

"Oh no. He's heading for the rose bushes. Could you please curb your dwarf?"

Arriving at the keep's door (set within a larger set of doors big enough to allow a carriage through) after Arbalasti has been barking at it for more than a minute, a young woman calls down from the parapet above.

"I'm sorry, but you will have to come back later. I am enjoying a play just now. You can leave any pamphlets you have at the door."