Rain and Aramek: Moonday Night, Fireseek 3, 591 Common Year

As supper ends and everyone is leaving, Sir Gorman comes up to speak to Sgt. Apone and then leaves. Sgt. Apone then calls his squad aside before they can leave the hall.

“Troops, I need some of you to stay back to provide extra security for a meeting here in the palace. Aramek, you specifically will be needed as you are our squad sorcerer. I need two others. Okay, you Rain and… okay, Noch. Go back to the barracks and get your gear and then report back to me in the great hall.

“The rest of you get some rest. No seriously. You’re all being taken off the watch rotation. One of the new reserve squads is going to fill in for us, and we’re all going to receive new orders in the morning. So go get your beauty sleep people. Dismissed!”

As soon as they can, Rain, Aramek, and Noch hustle back to the barracks. Rain and Noch get on their armor and strap on their weapons. Aramek also picks up his weapons and slips on his tabard. They all head back to meet Sgt. Apone back in the great hall.

“Good, follow me,” says the Sgt. 

Sgt. Apone takes his three troops to the eastern door of the great hall and out into the hallway of the second floor of the southern wing of the downriver loop, the wing whose southern windows look out over the keep walls and Lake Peledor beyond. He takes them up a flight of stairs to the third floor and to a door outside of which Sir Bodwyn, the Captain of the Watch, awaits them.

“Thank you Sgt. Apone. I’ll take over from here.” Sgt. Apone salutes and takes his leave.

Captain Bodwyn says, “Behind this door is Prince Prospero’s solar. Rain, you will stay with me here. You two,” he points to Aramek and Noch, “go back down the stairs and wait at the foot of it. No one may come up the stairs to this floor unless I say otherwise. If anyone gives you any trouble, I’ll be able to hear it from up here and I’ll come down and deal with it. Everyone understand? Good. Now get to your stations.” 

At Bodwyn’s orders to Rain, she nods curtly in reply and awaits further orders after the others descend back down the stairs. After a couple of minutes of standing at attention with Sir Bodwyn, he turns to Rain with his finger to his lips and gestures for Rain to go into the room. When she does, she finds Prince Prospero, Lady Sedara, and Sir Ragnbjorn waiting for her inside. On the Prince’s desk, Rain sees the journal and the parchment wrapped statue that must be the items Lady Sedara took from Master Parwyn’s home the night before.

Lady Sedara introduces Rain as she enters and Bodwyn closes the door softly behind her, “My Prince, Sir Ragnbjorn, I would like to introduce you to Rain. She is one of my agents recruited from the town and currently assigned to Commander Gorman’s night watch. She is the one who told me about the journal and the statue and was of great assistance to me in their acquisition.”

“Rain, this is Prince Prospero of the House of Ilshar, and Sir Ragnbjorn of the King’s Rangers.” Sedara gives Rain a look that says, ‘This is no time for jesting, be courteous as I have taught you.’

Rain sees but does not return Lady Sedara’s look. She knows what to do. Rain makes every attempt to look at ease in the presence of these men, while maintaining a formal stance of one who has not yet been allowed to relax. Rain motions in greeting first to Prospero then to Ragnbjorn, not the curtsy of a girl, but the smooth motioned lowering of her head then half bow of the torso which states ‘this is important’ and says, “Prince Prospero, Sir Ragnbjorn, it is an honor to meet you both.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you Rain,” says the prince. “I have been hearing good things about you. Please everyone, sit and make yourselves comfortable for we have much to talk about.

At Prospero’s request to sit Rain finds a comfortable chair and relaxes into it, though she keeps herself keen and aware of her surroundings – looking for any nuances of expression to give hints to the others reactions.

“Let us begin with this journal.” The Prince walks over to the desk, takes up the book and the parchment wrapped statue and then sits down again across from the others. He hands the journal to Sedara. “We have already heard about how you found out about this and acquired it,” he smiles over at Rain, “but perhaps, Lady Sedara, you will be so good as to read the relevant passages for Sir Ragnbjorn and also Rain. There are things in here that you two will need to know about when you go out into the Hool Marshes.

Rain cocks her head slightly in question.

“Oh, my pardon Rain, I forget that you haven’t received your new orders yet. Tomorrow, your squad will be assigned as security for a diplomatic mission to the lizardfolk in the marshes. I have asked Sir Fingol and Father Gar to help negotiate a peace with the lizardfolk. At least a couple of aldermen from the fishermen, shrimpers, and crabbers will also be going, and a representative from the Fishmongers Guild. Sir Ragnbjorn and his two companions, the half-elven brothers Indranil and Lorindel, will be going along as guides and translators. But in addition to the very important task of negotiating peace with the lizardfolk, I want Rangbjorn, the two brothers, and yourself to keep watch for anything relating to this Reece, or this unknown deity, or any evidence of a lost city, or Thracia, in the marshes. I suppose we cannot leave your friend Aramek out of this, but we will bring him in later and tell him what he needs to know and only what he needs to know – at least for now.”

The prince turns back to Sedara, “Now, Lady Sedara, if you please…”

Sedara says, “As I mentioned, before Rain came in, this is the journal of Reece, the son of Parwyn the alchemist. She then proceeds to summarize the contents of the journal, though she also reads key passages relating what happened to Reece during the occupation of Westkeep by the Scarlet Brotherhood and how he subsequently left in search of a lost city with his friend Relikez.

Sedara hands the journal back to the prince who carefully reaches over and puts it back on the desk. He picks up the small wooden statue wrapped in parchment. It is unwrapped to reveal a skeletal being in a cowl and cloak holding a scythe. “Now here,” says the Prince, “there is writing on the parchment that seems very like Reece’s handwriting. It says, ‘Thanatos god of Thracia. Is this the power I seek? Can he still be called upon from within his ancient shrines?’”

Ragnbjorn rubs his beard in concern. “I see. So this fool Reece went off with that other fool Relikez seeking to find some lost city, Thracia I suppose, so they could unleash the power of some forgotten death god by the name of Thanatos in order to have their revenge on the Scarlet Brotherhood! And we are supposed to be on the lookout for them or for this lost city while we try to keep out of the way of rogue Amedi warriors and ghouls in the course of trying to keep the lizardfolk from going on the warpath?” Suddenly Ragnbjorn starts to shake with hearty laughter. “I’m so glad you haven’t called me and the boys back here for anything trivial Your Highness.”

Rain listens intently to Sedara’s reading and comments. As Ragnbjorn comments and laughs heartily, Rain laughs lightly as his comments have echoed her own. This is gonna be some trip. I’m gonna have to stay light on my feet if I’m to come back from this in one piece. She realizes suddenly that she is not laughing anymore.

The Prince smiles saying, “We would not presume to waste your time Sir Ragnbjorn. Perhaps, you can tell Rain about the Amedi warriors and the ghouls. She should know what you might be facing out there. And I would like to hear it again just to be sure I remember it right.”

Ragnbjorn resumes his serious mien once again. “Yes Your Highness. Well, as you know since helping to lead King Skotti and his army here to take Westkeep from the Scarlet Brotherhood, I have spent some time with Rhodophylax, the leader of the Malarat tribe of lizardfolk, but that was many months ago. For the last six weeks I have been conducting a survey of the marshes with Sir Indranil and Sir Lorindel looking for better caravan routes.” Ragnbjorn says this with a rueful smile. “Now the morning that we received the sending from Paragon Muire, we spotted two Amedi warriors. They passed us in a canoe as we waited in ambush. We chose to let them pass for we wanted to get here without any unnecessary trouble. However, if you shake a haystack and a bunch of pins fall out, you really have to wonder how many more pins there may be left inside. But of course that is not the worst. That night, not more than half a day’s travel from here, our camp was attacked by two ghouls. Of course we didn’t know that’s what they were at the time. I brought one of their heads back for Paragon Muire to examine and he told us what they were. We destroyed those two and followed the trail back to a mass grave. Undoubtedly it was where the Scarlet Brotherhood disposed of their victims. There were three more ghouls there and we destroyed those as well. As I said, we didn’t see anymore, but I do recommend we return there later with clerics and paladins of Heironeous and St. Cuthbert and purify the grounds.”

The Prince responds, “Yes, that will certainly be done after your current mission.”

“There’s something else you should know,” says Ragnbjorn. “I don’t know how much you hear up there at the High Table, but you should know that Sir Fingol and the others have taken it upon themselves to investigate your little robbery Lady Sedara.”

Lady Sedara raises her eyes, “Is that so? I couldn’t hear them tonight for all the noisy minstrels. It has also been a rather busy day for me reading through this journal and recuperating from last night. What, pray tell, have they been up to?”

Ragnbjorn continues, “Well, apparently Sir Fingol, Father Gar, Sir Jankin, and a Brother Burne went over to Master Parwyn’s to take a look around. Apparently Brother Burne got it into his head that the locksmith replacing the locks on the doors was either the burglar or a link to the burglar. They ended up chasing this man through the streets though he got away, but not before stabbing Sir Jankin. Apparently, to their credit, the others were not in agreement with Brother Burne’s zeal and apparently were trying to rein him in before a riot started.

“Now, let me see, here’s how I believe it went. As Sir Fingol was questioning him, Brother Burne tried to cast a spell on this locksmith to see if he was aligned with the forces of disorder and misrule. You know how the Cudgels get. Anyway, the man pulled a knife and tried to stab Brother Burne, but Sir Jankin pulled him away and received the blade instead. Fortunately it was just a flesh wound that Father Gar healed later. In the meantime, Brother Burne and the locksmith were brawling right there in the shop until Father Gar stopped them somehow, they didn’t exactly say how but I can only imagine with those wild Flan priests. That’s when the locksmith ran off with Brother Burne and Sir Fingol after him, but he got away down on the Processional. Now, Sir Fingol and Father Gar seem to think that the actual thief may have been Reece himself or a confederate of his seeking to reclaim the journal and the statue. Yes, Aramek told them about what was taken though apparently Master Parwyn was not at all pleased.

“It doesn’t end there either. Apparently, after the baths Your Highness graciously provided, Sir Lorindel decided to go have a night on the town. He ended up in some dive called the Murky Archer and there, wouldn’t you know it, he fell in with a violet eyed man matching the description of the locksmith that Brother Burne and Sir Fingol were chasing. His name is Fergus, and he was there with some young tough named Cole and another young punk named Dion with, of all things, a pet monkey. Dion, by the way, has long been sought after by Brother Burne for ‘questioning.’ He is convinced that they are members of the Thieves Guild of Westkeep. They may or may not be, but you should know, Lady Sedara, that other people may be blamed for your robbery.”

At the mention of Fergus, Rain attempts to hide a small smile, one that only a clever eye would pick up on. That smile quickly vanishes to a very forced lack of emotion when Cole and especially Dion are mentioned. Ah shit, fuck’n Norebo’s luck, what are Dion and Cole into? Now I’m gonna have to pay a visit to Fergus when we get back from this trip… and somehow keep Dion and Cole out of this robbery mess. Fuck.

Sedara flushes to hear that others may be blamed for her robbery, “Oh no, this is… I must do something. I will not have anyone else pay for my crimes.”

Rain is surprised by this. Hmm… a sense of honor, and a true one, not just to those she serves. Interesting…

The Prince looks to Sedara and says, “Relax Lady Sedara. I will make sure that no harm comes to these men for anything you have done. That does not mean they are wholly innocent however. At the very least this Fergus has already proven himself to be armed and dangerous, though I will grant that Brother Burne undoubtedly provoked him.” The Prince turns to Ragnbjorn, “Did they attempt to rob or otherwise harm Sir Lorindel?”

Ragnbjorn smiles, “No, they did not. Sir Lorindel, unlike his brother, has a pretty good way with people. They apparently befriended him and even walked him back to the Processional for his own safety. Curious way for members of the Thieves Guild to behave, but perhaps they either genuinely like Sir Lorindel or perhaps they are playing a more long term game and hoping to get information from him.

“But that is not all, and perhaps this has already been reported to you Your Highness, but Sir Fingol, Sir Jankin, and Father Gar then went over to the Heironean Mission, which apparently is now full of Olman refugees. Apparently Sir Fingol used his healing skills to help those with the fever, while Father Gar purified their food and water for them. Sir Jankin, however, discovered that their shaman, a man named Nauyotl is some kind of servant of evil. He left and brought back Cudgel militiamen to escort Sir Fingol and Father Gar safely away. Thankfully there was no more fighting, but Olman did follow them after they left the mission, though Father Gar sent them packing by giving them food and telling them to deliver it back to the mission. Your Highness, if you did not hear of this yet from Paragon Muire, because I am sure Sir Jankin reported it all to him, I wanted to be sure that you knew of it.

“I also think I had better get my son and the two half-elves out of this city before they get in over their heads or stir up trouble that none of us need at this time.”

Prince Prospero nods gravely, “Yes, I think you are right. I certainly thank you for telling me this. I noticed that there was a bit of an altercation as well. What was that about?”

Ragnbjorn shakes his head. “I am sorry about that Your Highness. I know you asked Father Gar, as an emissary of the Great Druidess, to help broker an agreement with the lizardfolk, but he has a very odd sense of humor and my rather humorless ranger Sir Indranil did not take it too well. Sir Jankin and I talked with Sir Indranil however, and he understands that it will be his job to protect Father Gar in a professional manner and not take anything the good priest says too personally. Begging your pardon Your Highness, but I certainly hope that Father Gar is more tactful with the lizardfolk.”

Prince Prospero grimaces, “Yes, let us hope so.”

Suddenly the Prince looks to the balcony, currently closed off by a heavy curtain. He points and cups his hand to his ear. Sedara and Ragnbjorn look to the curtains as well.

Rain heard it also, like something or several things dropping lightly onto the balcony’s balustrade. Ready in her chair for immediate action, she springs toward the balcony while drawing a dagger with her right hand as she does so. She flings open the curtain to catch whoever or whatever is out there.