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Message: <blockquote data-quote="barsoomcore" data-source="post: 4019506" data-attributes="member: 812">Frying Pan, Fire: 10"Isabella del Maraviez will see you now."Isaac tried to look unimpressed with the del Maraviez offices in Cadençia. Arched halls of marble and pink sandstone, golden and bejewelled treasures from around the world displayed in niches along the corridors, uniformed guards everywhere in the family's blue and silver, everything combining to make him feel decidedly inadequate. Or at least, unkempt.The city itself had soothed his need for familiarity, at least. Cadencia rose up around a steep promontory, stone-paved streets criss-crossing the slopes and everywhere the comforting accents of home. The colours of Las Familias toughs, swaggering in front of each other, always itching for an excuse to fight. Markets full of goods from all around the Inner Sea, junior merchants trying to convince passers-by to stop and compare the workmanship, the price, the quality. Guitars and the clack of castanets from a saloon, dark-eyed women with their challenging smoulders, immense wagons pulled by braying trikes, their graceful horns festooned with ribbons and blossoms, all of it breathed of Saijadan.Home.He and his friends had sat waiting in a parlour for a few minutes. Kaley remained close to Nevid, as she always did, looking around uncertainly. Isaac studied the strange woman as they all rose in response to the page's summouns.She spoke only to Nevid, even when directly addressed by others. At times she'd just not be around, even though no one had seen her leave, and then they'd turn around and she'd be back, with no explanation as to her absence. Isaac recalled Madame Yuek's words."I'll warn you not to treat spirit creatures as though they were human. They are not."That thought led him to Elena, who strode ahead of him into Isabella's office. They'd investigated her new "friend" a bit on the voyage, though not enough to satisfy Isaac's suspicion. He seemed perfectly willing to do whatever Elena asked him to do, and disappeared on command. But if there were any limits to his abilities or their control over him, they hadn't discovered."My friends. I am so glad to see you all again."Isabella del Maraviez was no beauty. She stood tall and rail-thin, her face pinched and almost craggy in its features. With her hair pulled back severely she seemed permanently squinting. She gestured them to the chairs arranged around her desk."I am so thrilled by your safe return to Saijadan. Please, tell me of your trip. I have had some news but there is no substitute for first-hand accounts."Nevid started in with a cursory accounting of their efforts to smuggle guns to Naridic rebels, but within a few sentences Arrafin had jumped in to correct him, and then Etienne contradicted Arrafin, and the telling got substantially confused.Isabella didn't seem to have much trouble following the threads of the story, Isaac noticed, and with perceptive questions and summations she kept the recitation rolling forwards. She nodded as they described their encounter with the Nevakada agent Kan Koshar, and noted calmly that the Kishak agent had expired under interrogation. Isaac was surprised to see how casually Isabella took the tale of their trip to Madame Yuek's castle and the revelations of sorcery, vampires and so on involved in that."She's clearly a force of great evil. But I don't know how we're going to be able to fight her."Arrafin turned on Nevid's comment."Why should we fight her? She's on our side."Zuleika scoffed."Our side? What side is our side? We don't even know what we're doing."Isabella held up her hands to forestall more angry outbursts."My friends. Perhaps you could just carry on with the story and we'll talk about what needs to be done afterwards?"The Naridic women subsided and Elena picked up the thread of the narrative."So then we ended up in Tallal."Isaac had to speak up then, and explain his part in the trap laid for the Kishak soldiers. Isabella's questions were precise and penetrating, and he had to admit she was one sharp customer. She didn't seem to be taking any notes but she referred easily to things they'd mentioned earlier. Isaac had the sense that she already knew most of what they were telling her, and was confirming what she knew rather than learning new facts.This was clearly not a woman to underestimate.Their story moved on to Al-Tizim, and another confused session of conflicting memories as they tried to reconstruct the rescue of Nevid, the battle with Shang and their various encounters with Madame Yuek."And then she said she'd killed everyone. In Al-Tizim.""Everyone?"Arrafin frowned."Well. Everyone we'd talked to. In case, you know, the Shade and."She wiggled her fingers. Isabella took her turn frowning."Sorcery?""Yes.""Ah. Well, yes, I have heard that there was a sudden series of deaths in the city. Library workers and a number of people at a tavern."The friends all looked at each other, then all looked at Arrafin."What? I didn't tell her to do anything. I didn't do this.""No, your girlfriend did."Arrafin's glare at Zuleika was even more incendiary than usual. Etienne broke in."Whatever. Now we know what kind of. Uh. Person. She is."When Arrafin snapped her glare over to him, the half-Kishak put up his hands."The kind who kills innocent people, that's what kind. Arrafin, she's a bad guy. She's evil. Come on, you heard the Blood Mother's story.""Everyone's got a story. It's what people do that counts, not what others say about them.""I'm cool with that criteria. According to her actions, she's a murdering immortal psychopath."Isabella smiled."Well. Fascinating. Now. We've arranged accomodations for you folks at a nearby hotel. Why don't you get yourselves settled and we can reconvene later? Perhaps dinner? There's a very fine restaurant here; the Furnace Club. The hotel clerks will be able to direct you. At sundown? Excellent."And they were ushered out of her office, back out through a maze of corridors and into the street. Cadencia rose up all around them, noisy and outrageous and frenetic.Isaac sighed."I need a drink."*****"I'll no leave ye. I can't.""That's not what I'm asking, Kaley. I mean, where do you go when you disappear?""I'll no leave ye."Nevid sighed in frustration. Elena came over and smiled at the Shaeric girl."Hi Kaley."Kaley managed a quick smile before burying her face in Nevid's neck. This made walking awkward for the Saijadani youth, but he managed not to stumble."Listen, sweetie, it's just that sometimes you're not around. We just wonder where you go."The Shaeric girl's voice dropped to a whisper so low Elena had lean in to hear her."The King takes me.""The... King? The King of where now?""The King of the Tuthean Tarn."A sudden look of horror flashed across Kaley's face, and she disappeared in a shower of colour and light. Elena reeled."Way to go, Elena. You sure have a great touch with people.""Shut up, Zuleika. Anyone got any notion what she was talking about?"Shrugs and headshakes greeted Elena's question. Isaac pointed up ahead."There's the place. The Furnace Club."Along the street, storefronts and awnings gave way to a high, carefully-trimmed hedge, with a single narrow opening. Two broad-shouldered men in dark uniforms stood at the entrance, watching the street traffic carefully.They turned their attention back inside the establishment as screams and crashes erupted from within.Isaac's face set in a grim expression."I have a feeling I'm not going to have that simple, quiet drink I was hoping to have."Guns went off and the two doormen rushed inside. The friends looked at each other."Yeah, yeah, alright."The Furnace Room was obviously a dignified, expensive sort of place for business dinners and fancy occasions, which made it a spectacular sort of setting for a massive brawl.Silver place setting tumbled across the tiles, ringing and clattering, as beautiful dishes fell and exploded amidst the chaos. Steel clashed, screams, and another gun went off as Isaac and Elena led the way into the dining room.Half-a-dozen red-skinned warriors stood against the assembled flower of Saijadani wealth and privilege, sabres red with blood as they fought for their lives. Enraged at the sight of Kishak swordsmen, Isaac scarcely noticed anyone else in the room as he leapt over a banquet table straight into their midst.His heavy sword beat down a surprised parry and he cut his man high on the shoulder. Etienne flashed by, rolling under a table and coming up with his knives out, followed by Zuleika, shrieking a Naridic oath as she cannoned into another Kishak. Elena stretched out a hand and one of the swordsmen convulsed, limbs jerked outwards by some unseen force.Only Arrafin saw Isabella.Face-down in a booth. Head caved in by numerous sword-blows."Nevakada vengeance."</blockquote>

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