"Zalen!" Alandra yells as she reaches the same roof and sees him jump off after Trina, forgetting about the ring.
She moves as quickly as she can to the edge and looks down.
Trinia screamed in abject psnic as Zalen gripped her, and an audible snap signalled her ankle shattering. Both of them plummeted towards the street-in an odd kind of slow motion more akind to someone slowly diving into deeper waters, almost able to swim against the movement, but not quite. Trinia whimpered the entire way down, and collapsed into a sobbing heap as they came to ground. She tried to form words, but they did not come out right, so Zalen could only guess them to be protestations of her innocence and pleas for mercy.
Krek and Gern faced the guardsmen for a moment longer, but his strict gaze gave way to a certain weariness. "Hells... not again. Be on your way, now. This does not need any innocent bystanders." He declared, and swiftly turned towards the direction Gern had invented to rally and rampage in. The Sable marine, seeing the sudden motion, also spurred his winged mount into action, and followed the soldier along the false lead.
Gern sent a silent prayer to Desna, lady of luck, for how things had transpired. That was twice now he and Krek had pulled the wool over the eyes of the local constabulary. He was hoping the two of them wouldn't have to try for a third any time soon.
Speaking quietly to the big Half Orc over his shoulder he again begins to run on the direction the chase had taken the others. "Come on big man, they may be needin' tha help o' our muscle ifn' they get tha lass ter ground"
Now that his adrenaline rush and anger had worn off, if not his own pain, Zalen did feel genuinely bad about his actions causing the girl so much pain. It really hadn't been his intention. Picking her up in his arms as gently as he can, he says quietly to her "We really to mean you know harm Trinia. I am actually an admirer of your work. And you must trust me for now that coming with us truly is in your best interest. You know the barely controlled unrest our city is in and it seems the populace has focused on you as their next target of wrath. If we hadn't come for you when we did, you may very well have been facing a maddened mob thirty for your blood. Now, try and be still, and I promise we shall get your ankle ('and my burns' he mumbles more quietly under his breath) healed up good as new as soon as possible."
And, having said his speech, the young rogue waits for one of his much stronger friends to arrive and help him with his burden.
Alandra looks for another way to get down to the street as quickly as possible.
Krek follows Gern's lead to their target.
If she is found still screaming and in very close proximity to Zalen, and if Zalen does not warn them of the situation quickly:
In any case:
As Zalen sees his large friend rushing over with an angry expression on his face and feels Trinia clutch him tighter in fear he reflexively holds her tighter as well and he quickly explains "No friend Krek! It is OK..I...I did this to myself" he flushes slightly with embarrassment, though truth be told it is hard to tell underneath his burns. Looking down at the whimpering girl he says quietly "I think she understands we're not out to hurt her now"
Looking at his Half-Orc friend Zalen can divine some of the source of his anger and, although he cannot truly relate, he can not help but understand it. For it was true, if it was Krek in this situation it would be very unlikely that so much effort would be made to protect the half-orc, regardless of his possible innocence. Considering all of this, as Zalen holds the girl who is quickly becoming heavy for him, he nevertheless decides to hold onto to her longer, thinking that Ayedah, or perhaps even Gern, might be a better one to pass her off to...especially if they wanted to continue to keep her quiet...
Trinia struggled to regain some semblance of self-control. She tried hard, but could not stiffle her sobs and when Krek threatened to further harm her, she tried to squirm out of his grasp - to no avail. "Please, just let me go." She whispered. "I've done nothing wrong, I swear. Please. I couldn't ever do something so evil."
Gern looks up at the young woman, huffing slightly after his run. "Bah, She's only a girl. How's she meant ter have done any harm?"
He looks around, making sure no one is observing them, before continuing.
"Lass, we aint here ter cause ye any more harm. We're a protective escort o' sorts, and ifn' ye'd stopped long enough ter listen ter us afore, ye'd be halfway ter a secure place and with nary a broken bone."
He turns to Ayedah and Alandra. "Mayhap you two'd be best put ter carryin' the girl, she seems a might nervous o' the big guy here."
"Krek, ye and I may need ter be runnin' some interference with them guards we ran into earlier. Ifn' that bird rider comes circlin' back this way, he'll think it suspicious if we're with this lot. Time to move people, ye three take the lass direct to the Field Marshall, Krek an' I'll drop back a little ways in case them guards come back. Holler if'n ye be needin' us"
Zalen nods at the wise Dwarf's solid as usual tactical planning. Once Ayedah and Alandra catch up to them, Zalen is only too glad to hand over his burden to his much stronger barbarian friend. To Alandra he turns and, indicating his burns and Trinia's ankle, says "I'd be very appreciative for you to grant us a little of your Goddess's healing energies Alandra."
Once they are ready he'll start leading the way back to Field Marshall Kroft's. Using his knowledge of the city (1d20+8=11) and skill at remaining unseen (1d20+7=20) he tries to find the quickest yet most discreet way there, choosing discretion over speed if necessary.
Ayedah and Alandta managed to make their way down to the streets, joining up with the three of them. The minstrel tried hard to stand again, but her broken ankle precluded that rather completely. "Please, let me go. I'll do anything, just... don't make me go to the dungeons." She pleaded, looking among the other woman for some kind of support.
Wishing to get the woman off the street as quickly and quietly as possible and thinking that perhaps getting her cooperation as sooner rather than later might help with that, Zalen says "Ok, look. We do have a job to do but I'll make you a deal. Let's find somewhere we can talk safely and in private. There, we'll give you a chance to tell us your version of events before we decide what to do. But just so you know, I don't think Field Marshall Kroft has any plans to through you in the dungeons. She is a good and fair woman and she sent us to find you to ensure your safety from the mobs. So, will you agree and come along quietly? Or will we have to resort to...other measures?"
Starting to get more than a little frustrated with the young woman Zalen allows his pain and anger to fuel his attempt to Intimidate (1d20+6=22) her into acquiescing.
If she agrees, Zalen puts his head to thinking of the best place to go and looks to his comrades for any of their suggestions.
Alandra adds:
"What Zalen says is true, we don't think you murdered the King either. We were just hired to make sure you get to Marshall Kroft safely. Won't you come?"
Having missed Krek's outburst by the time she arrived, Ayedah let out a great sigh of relief that both Zalen and their quarry were safe. Her elation was shortlived when she saw Zalen's plain frustration, and Trinia's shattered ankle.
"Gods and spirits... Alandra! Can you heal her leg?" Trinia was obviously in great pain, and that could be no help at all if they intended to reason with her.
She stepped forward, gently placing herself between Trinia and Zalen and placing her hands on the panicked woman's shoulders, as gently as she could while still holding her firmly in place. She looked Trinia directly in the eyes, pleading, "Please believe us, Kroft will not allow any harm to come to you. She sent us to to keep you safe. There will be people looking for your blood, and if we were able to find you... You have no reason to fear us, I swear!"
She looked over her shoulder at Zalen worriedly, wondering what had shaken him from his usual demeanor.
With his moderate strength quickly running out from holding the injured woman in his arms, Zalen is grateful at Ayedah's arrival and passes his burden over to his much stronger barbarian friend.
That done, his burns still causing him much pain, he still waits for Alandra to first heal Triana. Meanwhile he continues to think on the best place for the group to move onwards towards.
Alandra nods and touches her holy symbol to Trina's leg.
"See? We don't mean you any harm."
"Oh Zalen! You're hurt too!"
Trinia stopped her vain struggles after a short time, and submitted to the indignity of being carried by Ayedah rather quietly. "Alright... If you are dead-set in it... I can't well fight all of you at the same time. Will you give me a chance to disguise myself? All I need is a little space and free hands. I promise I won't run. I did my running for today, and you lot are better at it."
She looked over the group, and her fighting spirit seemed to have gotten a significant damper. Not eager anymore to continue the flight, but instead consigned. "I'll see if that Kroft character is at all interested in what I have to say, or eager to have our beloved queen put on a bit of a show for the crowd."
Krek resigns himself - barely - to keeping the guards at bay with Gern. He couldn't contest the young lady would probably be better in the hands of another, though he didn't much like to leave the scene of the on-going action.
He kept his eyes sharp for the sable marine.
Gern kept pace with the big Half orc, his eyes peeled for trouble from the guards. He hoped his friends were coping with the woman, tough he couldn't really see how one little waif of a girl could be any real trouble. With luck they'd remembered to disarm her or bind her hands at least so she wouldn't go attacking them or using any magic on them. He'd forgotten to mention that to them before leaving, and now he was fretting over the fact.
"Bah he muttered to himself "They's big enough ter be takin care of 'emselves. "
Again he took to watching for guards and flying opponents.
As Alandra's healing energies wash over him, Zalen smiles his relief and gratitude at her.
When Trinia seems to finally give up and indicate her willingness to come along peacefully, Zalen gives her a careful look, trying to sense (1d20+5=18) if her words ring true.
There is a sense that he may be missing something and strangely he seems to hear a grumbling dwarf somewhere in the back of his mind but he cannot quite make out what his subconscious seems eager to tell him.
Alandra smiles back at Zalen then turns her attention to Trina, trying to discern if she is up to something:
Trinia seemed sincerely out of the fighting mood. Her posture had changed to quiet resignation, and unwillingness to further fight. "I promise I did nothing wrong. But beyond my word, I can't offer much. How could I? Proving your innocence tends to be tricky."
As she was tacitly allowed the freedom to cast her spell, she went through her belongings swiftly, and began to hum a few subdued notes. Zalen couldn't quite make it out, but her face began to shift into a much broader form, and her figure became much less lithe, heavier-set and a bit less graceful. "This might keep us away from mobs. Won't last very long, but with all the commotion, getting out of the neighborhood in one piece is the tough thing."
Krek and Gern found her words all too true. While the guardsmen and Sable Marine were not coming back at the moment. However, interest in the normal citizens had spiked, with several otherwise unremarkable people poking their noses out of their windows, the more daring ones stepping before their doorsteps, and congregating into the tiny puddles of people that precipated into mobs at the proper provocation.
Gern frowned at the people beginning to mill around. He could practically smell trouble brewing in the air.
"Best be keepin' a wary eye on some o' these folk Big Man. They's startin' ter look a might unfriendly. I dinnae know how Kroft will take to us killin' any folk as cause us trouble neither, so if trouble starts, might be best we use our fists afore we use our steel. What say you?"
It was the first time the dwarf had asked the Half Orc for his input on a plan, rather than just dolling out instructions. It surprised the fighter a little, but he had grown to respect the big clerics battle prowess and grasp of tactics. Now was not the time for old prejudices to interfere.
Krek watched the people intently as they formed, sizing up the danger they may have to face. He was looking forward to it.
A glance down to Gern reveled a face which was not agitated (for once) but rather calm instead. He blinked.
"Fists? If you're not looking to put blood on our hands, words would be a better weapon." He looked to Zalen. "... for someone who is good with them, anyway." Krek got a message across just fine; he knew he wouldn't be the best herald of more delicate news though.
"If they move against us though, I won't wait to cut those down. Fists won't win us a fight, but they will surely make it grow. At least with steel you can cull it." He breathed deeply once before saying to their escort: "The first part to proving your innocence is living long enough to defend it."
With the aid of the illusion, and Zalens good knowledge of the streets and alleyways of Korvosa prevented both clashes with angry mobs (which were converging on her previous hiding-hole) and patrols of guardsmen who were not privy to their special mission.
They managed to deliver her safely to Longacre Building, where Trinia moved towards the dungeons with head hung. Two guardsmen strongarmed her into the building, but no further resistance was given... she had put her hope on the fairness of the trial Field Marshal Kroft had promised.
The field marshal was unavailable for a direct meeting due to an important consultation - which was hinted to involve her loyal majesty herself. However, the desk sergeant handed a bill worth 1000 gold pieces from the royal treasury.
The party retreated Zalen's home to a meal fashioned lovingly by Zalen's young ward, Ayen. Just when she procured her lavish (yet sadly, not experty) prepared meal, an urgent knocking sound almost to the point of bashing open the door sounded. It contrasted strangely, unpleasantly with the otherwise pleasant late summer evening.
Standing up quickly and motioning urgently to Ayen to take all the children into the next room, Zalen approached the door, he stands to the side of it against the wall. His one hand on the door handle with the other ready to unleash his hidden sleeve dagger, he loudly calls "Who disturbs my home so! Speak now or forever regret it!"
Alandra looks worriedly at Ayedah, and goes to stand on the other side of the door from Zalen, her holy symbol clutched in her hand.
Gern moves too, placing himself about five feet from the door but directly in the line of travel if anyone rushes into the room. He's not expecting trouble, but he wants to be ready to defend his friends if it is.
He speaks quietly to Z, hoping to keep the young man calm and not hurt anyone by accident "Easy there Lad, aint likely as trouble would knock afore enterin'. Let's see what this is afore we go hurtin' things"
Despite that, he has his hand on his axe shaft, though he left his shield leaning against the wall.
The children hurried into the next room, ushered outside by the ever in-control Ayen, and the party took their position by the door, when Zalen demanded their unexpected urgent visitor. "Please, I need to speak to you!" The visitor demanded, and the voice sounded all too familiar... It sounded like Field Marshal Kroft - that was, if Kroft was close to a mental breakdown and trying not to fully panic by any means she could muster.
"Open the door Zalen!"
Zalen does just that, opening the door as quickly as possible, ready to catch the Field Marshal should she be off balance or hurt. Once she is inside he quickly peeks his head out for a look around (perception (1d20+6=21)), then closes and bars the door.
As he then turns to her urgently, "What is it Kressindra! What's wrong?" in the heat of the moment forgetting his propriety in front of the others.
Kroft stumbled into the room, disolving into tears almost entirely. She was not hurt visibly, not bruised nor bleeding... but she was obviously beyond her capacity to endure. She cried "I'm sorry" over and over again. There wasn't much more to be made out for the moment.
It took some time and gentleness to return her to some semblance of sanity. Her face, behind which she had retreated more and more as her abuse of the reviving magics she had ample access to had grown more severe was now afire with tears and looked more like a heartbroken young girl than the tough, in-control military woman she usually was. "I am sorry. I gave you my word, but I could not keep it. I'm sorry. I... I did not think this could even happen. You must believe me, I had no idea, you simply must."
His stomach falling into his stomach with a feeling of dread, fearing he knew already what her next words would be, Zalen asks again, quietly this time "What is it? What happened?"
Gern moves forwards and checks the area outside the door, looking to see if any one followed the Fieldmarshall.
He then closes the door and speaks "Aye Lass, best be tellin' what it is as ye was fored ter do. Mayhap we can help ye as we have in the past."
Krek, previously unworried with the visitor and more interested in the food on his plate, became very curious with the state of the blabbering military woman. Aside from being unheard of disposition for the guards, the field marshal was here, so something must be up.
Unarmed, he went to see what was happening. Thinking along Gern's lines, he looked to see who'd followed her, but seeing as the smaller man had taken care of it, he fixed his eyes on Kroft.
The marshal tried to speak, but tears kept streaming down her face. "Sabina, she came. She... she overruled me on account of Illeosa. She took the girl, Trinia..." Another wave of sobs wracked her body. "She and her 'Roses' took her away, I don't know to where. Probably castle dungeons, and said this would be done come next evening."
She grasped a handkerchief, and blew her nose in it, roughly cleaned her face - to no avail. "They made me break my word of honor, Sabina made me less than a street harlot. I asked you to trust me, and now I can't justify that trust anymore."
As Kroft weepily said the words that Zalan had been dreading to hear, his stomach drops past his feat and into the sewers and his eyes grow wide as his face becomes slack with his own sense of horror.
a part of him knew he should, wanted to try and comfort the Marshall but all he could keep thinking at the moment was ' It's all Our fault! WE caught her, oh Gods, I caught her...I..I broke her ankle doing it. And..and I Promised her a fair hearing. She put her life in out hands and now she shall die because of it...'
Another part of Zalen's mind was already beginning to spin with plans and questions for the distraught woman in his home but for the moment, at least, the young man was consumed with overwhelming guilt...
"Can we rescue her?"
Gern went cold inside. Was this how human justice was going to be conducted in this city? Could a Queen overrule her own laws at whim and so easily subjugate the very woman responsible for enforcing those laws?
He moved fowards and stood over the weeping Law enforcer. When he spoke his voice was tinged with the anger he felt at the situation, as such it came out quite a bit harser than he'd hoped.
"Stand up woman, and quit yer wailin'. Ye cannae be of any use ifn' ye cannot get yer self together long enough ter give us more useful information!" His voice was loud, the words really rolling with his dwarven accent, sounding almost runic as they rumbled from his mouth.
He went on, more calmly as he reigned in his temper slightly. "Ye come here with this problem, which shows yer have good sense and a great deal o' honour. As a dwarf I can repsect that. Now as a dwarf let me give yer some advice, when yer honour is besmerched, ye don't cry about it, ye get it back. Be it vengence through blood, or vengence through law, ye work till yer honour is restored. Now tell us what can be done ter get this girl we dragged in to a fair hearin'"
He held out his hand for Kroft to take and help her to her feet. His anger still burned, but now it wasn't focused on the woman before him, it was merely a vague emotion of aimless rage, looking for a place to vent.
The breakdown wasn't about to go over gently, as the weeks of harshness broke way. The tears kept streaming out of her eyes like a river. She managed to get her sniffling under control after a while, though. She managed to become somewhat more coherent. "I don't know how to get her back, that is the point. If there was something I could do, I would."
She hugged herself gritting her teeth. Still the tears kept falling. From the room Zalen had banished the kids into, some sounds were audible. Yet Kroft didn't, couldn't be hurried. "Sabina took her, personally. I have no more say in this matter. Illeosa will "judge" herself, as is her right as monarch. She probably has done so, already.
She described in brief, clipped sentences what she knew. There were dungeons under the Castle, dungeons not overseen by the guard, but by the royal elite regiment. Sabina was in command of them, and had made very clear that she considered Cressinda's part past concluded. Nothing short of a full-fledged case of mutiny (of which she lacked support) or a clandestine raid (which she doubted to be possible) would spring Trinia from the prison.
The commander's despair only rose as she regarded that she had been more or less informed on the outcome of the trial by being ordered to vacate the courtyard, and prepare for a public spectacle.
Ah, the always dependable Gern. The Dwarf's harsh words, while not directed at him personally, were enough to snap Zalen out of his stupor. Taking a deep inhalation and standing up straight, a raging fire ignites in the young man's eyes at the sense of injustice, betrayal and guilt he feels.
As he moves to put a comforting arm around Kroft though, it is evident he is controlling his fury as his words to the weeping woman come out soft and honeyed. Yet also are they strong and encouraging as rogue applies all his skill with words (1d20+6=15) to try and reach the inner core of strength he knows the Marshall to still have.
"Cressida, my friend, you are no longer alone. Whatever you may have thought to be impossible before, I know that together, we can all find a way to make things right. And we WILL make it right! This I swear! But to do this we will need your help. First, you must tell us exactly what happened? Had you found Trinia to indeed be innocent? And if so, why? We need to know what is really going on here. Secondly, no one knows this city and the castle like you do. If we are to attempt some type of rescue, we shall need your knowledge, support and connections."
Looking up to his friends, Zalen motions to Alandra with his eyes as he says "Alandra, perhaps some of that wine might help steady the Field Marshal. Would you be so kind as to pour her a cup?"
Alandra pours the cup of wine. As she hands it to Cressida she says
"What do you want us to do, Marshall?"
Marshall Kroft took the goblet Alandra had handed to her, and took a huge gulp, not really tasting it, just chucking the wine away like one would usually do with cheap alcohol. "I don't think we can do much. While she's in the dungeons, she's beyond me. I can't turn to my men I can't ask them to betray the city. We can't ambush her in transit. Sabina will be there, and she's much better than me or any of us. If anything can even be done, it is in the courtyard, just when she faces the headsmen."
She went through the situation in more detail... and it really did not sound all too well. The dungeons of castle Korvosa were designed to prevent both outbreaks as well as liberations - being construed to hold revolutionaries and political prisoners as well as common criminals. In transit would be a highly protected parade, and only take her from the dungeons to the courtyard either way. Little time, hard to reach - impractical. Besides, the "Roses" and Sabina were going to handle the transfer as well.
Now that the Field Marshall seemed to be coming slowly back to herself, Zalen asked her once again "What happened though Cressida? What did you find out during Trinia's trial? And what are your suspicions as to what is really going on? If we are to even consider pitting ourselves against the very crown to save the life of this girl, I will want to know exactly what I am getting into. Why do you think they want to put this girl to death if you found her innocent?"
Kroft bitterly shook her head when Zalen asked her about the details, and raised her shoulders. "We'll never know if she was guilty. Any trial she'll receive now is sure to include Illeosa, maybe a fake confession and certainly a guilty sentence. Heck, even if she killed our late king, that would still not be right."
She rose, moved away into a more sensible distance, and continued her tale. "I think Illeosa does not care of she did it or not - or if she can prove it. She cares about a public spectacle to rally the city behind her, and cement her position as queen. Some question her legitimacy, and putting the killer of her husband to death demonstrates her being in control."
"I aint normally one fer ceremony and pomp Fieldmarshall. Meself, if I know's they're guilty I'd just as happily distribute the justice. The problem I'm seein' here is that we cannae be sure as ter the innocence of the girl"
The dwarf moves over and grabs a drink of ale from the meal now laying forgotten on the table. He drinks deeply before continuing. "Tha way that stripling of a lass caved once we'd caught her though, I be doubtin' she had the nerve ter be poisonin' a king. I certainly aint happay as to her bein' used ter further tha needs of our "beautiful" queen."
He looks around the room at the others, realising he was about to make a statement that could very easily end his life. "When it comes ter the public execution, yer can count on me fer tryin' me best to see the girl freed. She deserves ter be heard on what happened at least. Tis always easier ter execute a criminal later than resurrect a dead innocent."
He leans in now, dropping his voice, though the gravelly words still rumble deeply. "Might be best as we take this discussion elsewhere though. Youn ears need nae hear what has ter be said, and small lips can tell tales without meanin' to. Plus yer ow folk'd be wonderin' as ter where ye got yerself to Fieldmarshall. I advise yer ter return ter yer barracks and make an official call ter us about some business or other. We can best discuss it there?"
Zalen's eyes narrow dangerously at Kroft's words but it is obvious his anger is not directed at any in the room.
And Wrath's wise reminder of the nearby presence of the children, Zalen nods and moves over to where he can check to see that they are all still safely in the other room.