"Well Vex, it seems that the fates have brought us all together."
"That just might be a good idea."
Liandra leads the group to her apartment as they talk.
"Home sweet home," Liandra mutters as she stands in the doorway, her eyes scanning the rooms making sure it is exactly as she left it.
Satisfied she walks in, inviting the others to do so. " C'mon in, make yourselves comfortable, just gimme a second and I'll be back," she says dumping her backbpack and gear in a corner near the bed.
She goes down the stairs and comes back up a minute later with a satisfied look on her face. "So anyone need anything? Al, I got clean bandages if you need 'em." Sitting on the chair, she removes her boots as she talks.
"I'll be back in a second."Liandra says after lighting a few lanterns and dumping most of her gear in a corner near the bed. She silently makes her way down the stairs, returning in a few moments with a satisfied look on her face.
"The king being dead would definitely cause a lot of the insanity going on out there, but it feels even bigger than that," as she speaks she sits on the lone chair and removes her boots.
"I was hoping you had more of an idea of what went down Vex, we were sort of occupied at the moment."
She pauses, and grins at the sound of the creaking steps and lightly sloshing water, raising a hand as her more alert companions begin to react to the sound. Padding barefoot across the room and opens the door allowing two identical young men about 14, into the apartment, each carrying 2 full large buckets of water, steam still rolling of their surfaces.
The twins' eyes bulge at the group, especially as they take in Skazz and Vex.
"It's ok boys, I just happen to have some company is all," Liandra flases them both a smile that brings color to their cheeks. "Go 'head and fill her up."
As the two proceed to the smaller room and begin filling the tub, she looks to her companions, "Landlord's kids. Useful to have around sometimes. Al, I've got clean bandages if you need 'em under the bed."
As the twins leave she tosses them each a silver coin." Tell your dad thanks. And these are all yours. Keep an ear out for things the customers talk about ok."
Locking the door, she makes her way across the room unfastening buckles as she talks, "So, we've got someone who wants goblins dead and decided to use us to do it, a city gone completely mad and chaos in the streets, a possibly dead King, of what I'm sure aren't natural causes, and some brilliant bastard pulling the strings. All in all I say we stepped hip deep in it."
"First things first though, I need a bath."
As she gets to the doorway of the smaller room she removes the top half of her leather armor with a single fluid movement. In the flickering of lantern light and sweat, the sensual curve of Liandra's back is criscrossed with a myriad of scars. Claw marks trace ragged lines across her right shoulder, slashes, most likely a whip, stretch from one side to the other, the puckered indication of a crossbow bolt, tells a tale a few inches shy of her spine, as well as a series of marks caused by various blades. The most recent of these, perhaps only a few months old, have been made by dog-slicers.
Lingering in the doorway for a moment the glances slightly over her shoulder, obviously aware of the eyes on her. "Oh and I'm pretty sure it all revolves around this." With a wink, she quarter turns and tosses Skazz the jeweled brooch, and steps into the room. After another minute or two a long sigh of contentment accompanies the sound of movement in water.
LIANDRA
** spoiler omitted **
Iziak
Skazz fidgets and is pacing up and down the room.
"I feel uneasy about all this. Dealing with skum is one thing, but getting up toour necks in it with royalty...well thats a pile of crap."
He leans toward Liandra's direction.
"Hey, Li; your not going all girly on me are you. I was getting to like that earthy smell. It kind of reminded me of home"
Laughter flows out of the other room. "C'mon, a big strong man like you isn't gonna let a little soap discourage him is he?"
After the better part of an hour Liandra walks out wrapped in a towel, her body language relaxed and languid.
"If anyone else needs there's more water. I think we should get a couple hours of sleep and head out again, fid the b$#&! who set us up, maybe see if we can get a reward for the brooch."
"This old woman did some trick with cards, slipping one to each of us," Liandra sys while getting dressed.
" Gave us some bard story about her son being murdered by goblins and got us to agree to wipe 'em out. Only after we were done we found the old woman's head. At least a week old."
"SO SOMEONE'S BEEN WATCHING AND USING US AND WE MEAN TO HAVE A FEW WORDS WITH 'EM"
She slides her weapons into their sheaths and readies to leave.
"So, what are we planning on doing to with the broach?". Goburn says, as he cleans his axe. "It would seem to me that no one wants to risk getting the reward from the Queen, but at the same time we would have a lot of trouble pawning such a hot item".
"As for our next action, what do we plan on doing?"
Skazz walks out of the side room. It's obvious that he has washed and it's possible that he ight even smell a bit better. As he stretches he pulls out a wetstone and starts to re-sharpen his weapons.
"I've got a score to settle here; I don't like being set up or used. How about we pay a visit back to the old womans place, search it for clues maybe?"
"I figure right after we visit the "old lady", I'll discreetly ask around about items of great value, and see how much info we can gather on the Queen herself and what went down yesterday. Could help our story."
Liandra slips the brooch into a leather pouch that exactly matches her armor. She then wraps the cord attached to it around her upper body 3 times nestling the pouch just under her breasts befor putting on the rest of her armor.
Liandra takes a moment to memorize her apartment as it is, then leads the group out into the city taking a circuitous route to the house that started it all the night before, sopping across the street to observe the place.
"So what'll it be, subtle or straight up?"
"Not sure, supposed to be an old woman, perhaps some magical ability, but that's a setup. could be anything."
Isiak
"Sounds like a plan."
Pulling her hood up Liandra deftly fades into the crowd, moving smoothly along with all the other morning foot traffic within a few moments even some of her alies lose track of her.
Walking past the house she deftly doubles back using the shadows on the westward side of the house as cover.
She makes her way around the house peering into and listening at windows, and checking for a back door.
"I know this is your first time here Vex, but trust me, somethings different about this place. I can't put my finger on it but it just seems to feel ... safe, almost like home. And the only home that I know is thousands of miles from here. Ol' Skazz don't like this, not one little bit..."
"I wish Li would hurry it up. I'm feelin' kinda exposed out here."
"Stop fidgeting, Skazz, you're starting to make me nervous too, this place is unnerving enough as it is".
Liandra signals for her allies to make their way over to the house.
As soon as Skazz approaches the door, Liandra uses his large frame to screen her attempt to pick the lock.