NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ladybird" data-source="post: 3304246" data-attributes="member: 10689">The nature of one of Lady Brenda’s requests having been determined, Brionna went off in search of more information on the other one: the mysterious Box 378.Lady Danielle, one of the late archduchess’s few surviving ladies-in-waiting who had also been on the expedition to Tarsh, received Brionna in a sitting room primarily decorated in floral-patterned cloth, with large squashy seats. Lady Danielle herself was similarly comfortable – plump, gray-haired, maternal, and smiling. “Do come in, dear. Would you like some tea?”“Ahem. Yes. Thank you, Lady Danielle.” With a vague worry that her armor would snag on the doilies, Brionna took a seat in the offered chair. “Now, what can I do for you, dear?”“I’m curious about an item that Lady Brenda requested from the treasury just before the expedition to Tarsh. A Strongbox 378?”Lady Danielle’s eyes immediately widened, and she nodded seriously, her high-pitched voice lowering to a more businesslike tone to match Brionna’s. “Oh, yes. Amelia asked her to get that. We took it with us to Tarsh.”“What was in it?”The elderly lady-in-waiting leaned forward. “This must remain absolutely secret,” she warned. “It contained nearly a pound of orichalcum.”“Was it used in Tarsh?”“No – it disappeared there.” A frown of remembered distress crossed Lady Danielle’s face. “It was nearly the entire royal supply – it had been laid down by Amelia’s father.”Brionna frowned deeply. “The entire royal supply?” she repeated“Yes,” Lady Danielle sighed. “It was a great loss, but other matters soon took precedence, so we couldn’t investigate. And then Amelia became ill so soon after we returned…” She trailed off, looking away briefly, before continuing a little too brightly to cover her grief, “The supply should be replenished, though. Have you considered asking the emissaries from the Twin Dwarven Kingdoms for some more? They have a small vein of orichalcum in their mines, and they’re here for the coronation.”“We could ask for some as a coronation present,” Brionna suggested.“Oh, yes!” Lady Danielle paused, her smile dimming a little, “You must not take offense, though.”“I would have thought the risk of offense would be the other way, with us asking them for a gift.”“Oh, they wouldn’t mind about that. But they are even blunter than most dwarves. There’s no telling what they might say.”Brionna made a mental note of that, and continued, “What about the Tiara of Flame? Lady Brenda requested that, too. Who had charge of it during the trip?”“We kept it in a portable vault. Amelia wanted to wear it herself – she didn’t have much psionic ability, just enough to be sensitive to the tiara and its effects. She feared that there might be some people still tainted by the chaos beasts - the tiara would allow her to sense them, and then the orichalcum would allow her to – ““Destroy them?” Brionna finished.“Cure them, was Amelia’s word.” Lady Danielle gave a surprisingly fierce grin. “I like yours better.”“Did she identify any tainted people while she was there?” Brionna continued.“Yes, as a matter of fact. Two of them. But when she went to the vault to get the orichalcum, she discovered that it was missing. Unfortunately, given the diplomatic circumstances, a more…direct approach wasn’t possible. So we sent a note to the Archbishop of Tarsh – but that was shortly before he was assassinated. I don’t think the note was given to his successor.”“Do you remember what was in the note?”“Oh, we have a copy of it here,” Lady Danielle said. “It’s in the throne room, dear. In the hidden storage compartment.”There’s a hidden compartment in the throne room? Brionna thought, as she blinked at Lady Danielle. Who knew?</blockquote>

Verification