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Trinia goes upstairs as Diamon and Korriban are talking, and returns with her small bundle of personal possessions under her arm. As she puts her cloak on and pulls the hood down to shield her face, you notice that her hands are trembling...but she seems determined. "I'm ready whenever you are," she says quietly.
Trinia lets out a sigh of relief as Diamon pronounces his judgment, but jumps slightly when she hears what Adoros has to say. "What?! Put myself in the hands of the Guard?! That's exactly what..." She bites her lip as Adoros explains the situation with Gaekhen. As the others discuss the new mission, she backs into a corner of the room, and looks withdrawn, pensive. After Teodor makes his statement, Trinia steps forward again. "I...I'll go to the Guard," she tells you all quietly. "With Sir Erlatt as my guarantor, and Zenderholm as the judge...I should be all right. And besides...I can't take people like you away from Kroft when she's trying to look after the safety of the whole city. She needs you--all of you--to handle things like this." She swallows hard. "It's selfish for me to ask you to protect me constantly. So...I'll go to Citadel Volshyenek. It's the right thing to do." She doesn't look happy, but she does look determined.
Trinia swallows nervously, then nods slowly. "V-very well. If you're s-sure that this is the right thing to do..." She takes a deep breath, clearly steeling herself, then walks over to Diamon, head held high. "Sir Erlatt. Would you care to be seated? If you can, I'll do my best to explain everything that's happened to me." When Diamon sits down, she leans forward and, without preamble, launches into her story. Trinia's story (spoilered since most people have read it):
"I am a painter by trade, Sir Erlatt, and I can tell you without false modesty that I'm a pretty good one. But what I never thought I was was good enough to paint the King. But that's what happened--the seneschal apparently saw some of my paintings and thought that they were worthy of King Eodred's attention. So, when I was summoned to paint for the King--and offered a lot of money--I accepted gladly. And to be honest, it wasn't that hard a job. Eodred is--pardon, was--rather sweet, though he could be a bit randy at time. His health was never good, and he was pretty busy with his...pursuits, so I had to pop in several times over the course of a couple of months to do the portrait. As time went on, Eodred got...familiar with me. He never really tried anything," she adds quickly, blushing slightly. "But he made it clear that he found me attractive, and he wasn't particularly secretive about it. And I started to notice that the Queen, who had originally seemed perfectly indifferent to me, seemed...hostile. She would glare at me when I came in, or if she entered the chamber while I was painting and Eodred was being chatty. I tried to tell her once or twice that there was nothing going on, but she..." Trinia shrugs. "She literally ignored me. Completely. As if I were beneath notice. So, I finished my painting, and then...I left." She looks Diamon straight in the eye. "As simple as that. Eodred's health was clearly poor, but as far as I could tell, when I left he was in just as good shape as when I arrived. I didn't know anything about his illness, or...whatever it was...until everyone else did."
Done with her story, she seems to deflate slightly, exhaling in a whoosh. "That's it. That's all there is."
Just as Teodor opens his mouth to reply to Korriban's observations, the door opens, and Adoros and Gadriel return to the domicile...with a strange dwarf in tow. Trinia stands up, looking relieved to have a change in topic, and rushes to Adoros. "You're back! What news?" she asks. "What did you and the Field Marshal..." She comes up short when she sees Diamon, and retreats a couple of steps, warily. "Who's this?"
3 Lancet Street: Trinia accepts Korriban's hanky with a teary smile of t hanks, and dabs at her eyes. She seems slightly alarmed by Teodor's comment about Korriban hitting on her, and that expression turns to outright dismay when Korriban stands to start his argument with Teodor, and she springs to her feet as well.
"Please, please don't start arguing over something as silly as this. I'd hate to think that I'd started a fight between two friends, and besides..." she takes a deep breath, steeling herself. "Besides, I--think Teodor is right. There are more important things than my own issues going on right now in Korvosa, and we should be focused on fixing them. So...what have you been able to figure out about the King's death? How did he die? Who did it?" She looks from one of you to the other, expectantly.
Lancet Street: Trinia listens to your story with wide eyes. "Th-that's incredible! So the woman who brought you all together was a ghost? It's hard to believe...though I do believe you!" she says quickly, seeing Korriban's rising objection. "It's just...wow. Ghosts, and dead kings, and assassination, and people out for my blood. It's just...my life has gotten a lot more...exciting than it used to be. Not that it was ever exactly easy, I guess," she adds with a tired laugh. "Let me tell you, being an artist in Midland...or in Korvosa, for that matter...it's not an easy task." She trails off, staring into space on the table in front of her, kicking idly at the leg of the table. "I sometimes wonder if I shouldn't just...get out of here. I could go back toward my parents' town, though I doubt they'd take me back at this point. Find some big, gentle, dumb farmer man and just...have lots of little kids and keep house and not have to worry about all this...s#*+..."
You realize that she's getting close to tears.
Teodor and Korriban: Adoros and Gadriel haven't been gone for long when Trinia descends the stairs, yawning prettily and blinking sleep from her eyes. "Good morning, Teodor, Korriban," she says, with a timid smile. Going into the kitchen, she retrieves one of the apples Gadriel has stored there and sets about coring and peeling it deftly. "I trust you each had a pleasant night? I slept uneasily, I admit, but...this house is pleasant. However did you all come by it?"
Trinia blushes slightly. "I, uh...admit that I'm not eager to...head into a...brothel." She blushes harder. "No offense meant, Korriban. But I'd feel more at ease staying here tonight. Where should I....?" When you indicate the stairs, she nods and heads up. "Goodnight, then...and thank you." she says softly, over her shoulder. Then she's gone. Looking outside, you'd guess that you still have about an hour before full dark...Field Marshal Kroft must be expecting you at some point, it occurs to you.
Trinia blinks back her tears, staring slightly as Korriban and Teodor wax philosophical. "I suppose I should count myself lucky I've escaped with my life...for now, at least," she says softly, not looking terribly consoled. Glancing around, she asks, "May I stay here tonight? I don't want to impose, but...we have only a few hours of daylight left, and I'm loath to chance the streets again."
Trinia looks stricken at Teodor's question. "No, no, no, no, no! Absolutely not! Nothing of that sort!" she exclaims, turning a fiery red. "And I think the Queen knew that much. But it's painful to see your husband lust after another woman. It seems unlikely to me that she'd invent this story up out of pure spite...why do so when that would leave the real murderer on the loose? But she might have been suggestible if someone wanted to point a finger at me." Her eyes well up slightly. "Though I have no idea who'd want that..."
When you ply her for further information, Trinia blushes even more intensely. "I, uh...well, I suppose it's a well known fact that His Majesty liked...girls. A lot. I mean, he married a woman less than half his age...so, after I'd been working on the portrait for some time--I'd been to the palace I think four times or so?--Eodred started getting a little...playful. Nothing bad," she hastens to add. "Just, you know, flirty, and occasionally a little handsy. I tried to brush it off, but it made me uncomfortable, and I think it made Queen Ileosa a bit angry." The thought clearly still embarrasses her. When Korriban and Adoros start batting ideas around, Trinia adds, "Though I hate to leave my home, I'll probably have to leave Korvosa eventually...but I'm not really excited about the idea of just waltzing down the streets. In the meantime, I support any plan that doesn't rely on the kindness of strangers, or at least the kindness of the Guard..." Up on the rooftop, Gadriel can see that riots are still raging throughout the city, though things seem to be slowing as evening approaches. The sound of fighting comes from Goldmarket still, and distant cries echo from the castle's plaza. Sections of Old Korvosa look like they might be aflame, but most of Midland and the Hill seem to have escaped serious damage. The Gray and East Shore look relatively peaceful.
Trinia shakes her head slowly. "The rumors I heard are that I'm being accused of poisoning the King--so it wouldn't matter where I was the minute he died. It was practically the middle of the night, and I'd already finished my work there. I was nowhere nearby, but I doubt that will matter much."
Trinia listens intently to Korriban's proposal, though she shakes her head nervously. "I don't...I don't know how I feel about sending a written statement to the Field Marshal of the Guard. Won't she just shake you down to find out where I am? I mean, no offense, but...she's in charge of the police force, and there's a warrant out for my arrest. It seems like the sort of thing she'd have to take care of!" She takes a deep breath. "But I trust you to do the right thing here." To Teodor, she adds, "I don't know that I know anything worth sharing...honestly, I don't know where this rumor came from! Though the Queen did take a disliking to me...it wouldn't have been hard for someone to suggest to her that I killed Eodred." Sense Motive DC 15: Trinia blushes when she mentions the late King Eodred; it seems that there might be something else about Eodred, the Queen, and herself that she's not sharing. |
