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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Galfridus" data-source="post: 15347" data-attributes="member: 119">Episode 11: Songs and...more songsLeston, February 13, LE 654The next morning, Thorald makes his way to Leston Keep, ascending the narrow path that climbs beneath the keep's ancient stone towers to the Main Gate. One of the guards escorts him across the yard and through another gatehouse into the Inner Ward, and into the great hall. A large crowd is present: guardsmen, soldiers, and noblemen, along with a scattering of merchants and commoners. The Archbaron's court is open to all, though it seems that the wealthy and gently born are best represented. A narrow aisle leads to a dias at the back of the hall, where a throne of dark wood stands empty. In front of it is a well-crafted but simpler chair of oak; in that chair sits Alexander Stonecroft, Archbaron of Wassan. A scribe, two squires, and an older man dressed in Blaumere colors stand near him. Looking up, Thorald notices guards posted on the balcony above, in addition to those stationed around the hall. Thorald's name is announced, and he steps forward to request access to the Archbaron's library. While the crowd seems uninterested (many continuing whispered conversations of their own), Alexander listens intently and thinks for but a moment before assenting. He declares a fee of a hundred gold pieces to be paid per day, to be paid to the exchequer each morning starting two days hence. Thorald bows, thanks the Archbaron, and exits. That evening, the group returns to the Icicle, drawn by the enigma of Rose. A woman bard, Sara Heatherly, is performing. She begins with a haunting rendition of an old Loxham ballad, recounting the Count's earliest days, then moves into a less convincing performance of a traditional Blaumere number. Although the crowd seems more bothered by the sub-par performance than the political implications, Sara grimaces before launching into a trio of simple country tunes. While the rest of the party enjoys the performance, Magnimiliar decides to see what he can find out about Nip and Rose. Departing the Icicle, he hastens to his room in the Mailed Fist to disguise himself. He borrows some of Jonetello's spare clothes to aid in the deception, making himself up as a rough-and-tumble, small yet dangerous looking rogue - in short, as himself with different hair and clothes. Returning to the Icicle, he takes a seat at the bar and does his best to look out of place. A few minutes later, as Sara finishes her song and asks for requests, Nip strolls up and orders two glasses of wine. "On me," he says with a smile, climbing onto the seat next to Magnimiliar. "Haven't seen you here before," Nip adds, as the glasses are placed before him. "Haven't been here before," says Magnimiliar. "I'm looking for someone who knows people in this town." "I might fit that bill, if we're talking about the same kind of people - and I don't mean the kind who hang out in this place," retorts Nip. Magnimiliar nods, and an understanding passes between them. On stage, Sara shakes her head at a request from Jonetello, then begins another Blaumere song, her voice a little shaky. "Alright then," says Nip, "come on upstairs and I'll see what I can do for you." He hops down from his chair and heads casually for the stairway, nodding briefly at Rose.Magnimiliar follows a few moments later. Nip's room is on the second floor in the back. It is large but simply furnished. A small leather bag in the corner is the only personal item in evidence. Nip motions for Magnimiliar to sit and takes a chair near the door, his hands near the knives at his belt. "Go on," he says, and listens.Magnimiliar presents himself as Darius, a man from out of town who is looking to set up a protection racket in town. Nip, he says, seems like the kind of person who would know the right people in Leston to help him get started. Nip nods and smiles. "You came to the right man, Darius. I know the people - not that I would get involved in something like that - but I think I can help you out." He leans forward. "And, you know, I think my employer would like to meet you as well. Not that he is involved in that sort of thing - but he likes to, shall we say, hedge his bets." Magnimiliar is less enthusiastic about meeting Rose, but is quite willing to meet with Nip's other contacts. The two head downstairs (separately, of course). Meanwhile, Mystarion summons the innkeeper and inquires about available rooms. A servant shows him the few that are open, and Mystarion settles on the White Room, a spacious chamber near the front of the inn, over the common room but mostly insulated from the noise below. He pays for several days in advance, then returns to the common room. Sara is singing "Sygwerdan's Glory," a deviously written piece comprised of verses that praise the dragon's achievements while implying through complex symbolism that the dragon himself will someday fall prey to the warriors of Rellenor. The crowd cheers at each verse, relishing the intricate lyrics as well as Sara's musical talent. He waits, listening to the somewhat-amusing human music, until Nip and Magnimiliar return. He then heads back upstairs to cast Clairaudience targeted at Rose's table..."...some guy, Darius, says he's new. Wants to set an operation - standard protection racket, sounds like."Rose speaks, his voice cultured and calm. "Will he succeed?""Beats me! Prolly not, but you never can tell. I told him you wanted to meet with him-that OK?""Perfectly. Continue-wait. What is that? Do you see that...no, right there?"Mystarion quickly dismisses the spell, then Arcane Locks his door and window, but no one comes knocking. He retires for the evening.When the performance ends, Jonetello spends some time chatting with Sara, who is can't wait for Jonetello's turn tomorrow night. A small group of bards cluster around them, and conversation soon turns to Rose. No one knows who he really is, but nobody with any brains believes his story about being from eastern Rellenor. The best guess is that he's some sort of foreign merchant - there's a pool for whoever gets it right. One bard tells Jonetello about the time some local thugs decided to jump Rose - either Rose or Nip know what they are doing, because three were found dead the next day and one vanished completely. Since then, nobody bothers Rose.Leston, February 14, LE 654The next day passes quietly as most of the party rests or does some light shopping. Thorald shuts himself in his room and begins work on a pair of Boots of Thought's Speed commissioned by Jonetello. Magnimiliar spends the afternoon carefully preparing his disguise, aided by Jonetello. Mystarion remains in his room for most of the day.As evening approaches, the party returns to the Icicle. Jonetello begins with a series of old Loxham favorites, awing the crowd with his skill and talent. Mystarion comes down from his room and finds a quiet corner, waiting for an opportune moment to sneak in a divination spell or two on Rose. His moment comes when Jonetello begins a song with a well-known chorus. As the crowd joins in, Mystarion casts Arcane Sight, and studies Rose intently. He can see several aura: one, a divination aura, emanates from a charm around Rose's neck; another divination aura lingers around Rose himself, as from a spell cast several days ago. Lastly, Mystarion perceives an aura of moderate strength active around Rose - at first it seems like a Transmutation spell, but as Mystarion studies it, he can see the dark pulsings of necromancy beneath the surface. It appears that someone has attempted to disguise the spell's aura, something Mystarion did not know was even possible to do. After observing a lack of auras around Nip, Mystarion lets the spell drop and heads upstairs to ponder what he has seen. Something about the aura is familiar, but he cannot recall what...Jonetello's song brings the house to its feet. Emboldened, Jonetello decides to sing one of his own songs, something new. As he begins, a string on his lute snaps. He plays on, chording around the missing string, finishing the song but losing the audience. At the back of the room, the innkeeper sighs. "Stick to the old stuff, son." As Jontello finishes, Nip approaches Magnimiliar and suggests that now would be a good time to meet with Rose. Magnimiliar hesitates, then agrees. Nip escorts him upstairs to Rose's room, where the merchant is waiting, seated behind a large table covered with an intricately embroidered tablecloth. Rose begins the conversation by asking about Magnimiliar's plans and goals. When Magnimiliar proves reluctant to provide details, Rose begins to talk about his plans. He has been arranging several trade contracts and agreements over the winter, but is concerned that as spring nears, the other, more established merchants in the area will try to put him out of business. To avoid this, Rose is seeking forces to protect his caravans...as well, perhaps, as a group to "proactively" disable the caravans of his competitors. If Magnimiliar can provide such a group, Rose says, he is sure a profitable arrangement could be reached. When Magnimiliar expresses interest, Rose suggests a meeting with Magnimiliar's partners to plan further. Magnimiliar tells Rose that his partners are out of town and currently unavailable. "Perhaps at a later date, then," declares Rose, rising and motioning that the meeting is at an end. As Magnimiliar leaves, he realizes that something about Rose's demeanor is familiar -- perhaps his speech, or the way he held his glass - but he can't place it for sure...Downstairs, Jonetello switches back to old favorites, ending the night with a respectable rendition of "The Ballad of Greenhills". Sara is waiting for him at the edge of the stage, eyes wide with admiration. "You really know how to play!" she says with a smile. Jonetello agrees, then invites her for a drink. She agrees happily, and the two depart hand in hand.Leston, February 15, LE 654After an...enjoyable night at Sara's place, the couple are awakened by a banging on the door. Dressing quickly, Sara opens the door and a thin, pale man in a faded minstrel's outfit pushes inside."Sara, have you heard? The Knight-hello, who are you?" A neutral expression appears on the minstrel's face as he eyes Jonetello. Sara quickly intervenes."Louis, this is Jonetello, the new act at the Icicle last night, remember? Jonetello, this is my friend Louis." The two men exchange curt nods before Louis continues."Anyway, Pierre de Blaumere is dead-killed somehow! Messenger came in this morning and went straight to the palace. I thought you might get the story through one of your friends up there."Sara nods, looking concerned and excited at the same time. "Pierre de Blaumere is-was, now - the Knight Commander," she explains to Jonetello, who knows darned well who the old tyrant was but nods anyway. He and Sara head toward Leston Keep, where Sara passes the guards with a smile and heads toward the kitchen, where a stocky woman with a flour-stained apron approaches her. The woman, who Sara introduces as Anna, says that from what she heard, the Knight Commander and his wife were found dead in their cottage, smack in the middle of the garrison camp by the river crossing. Both had been torn apart by some creature, but none of the guards heard a thing all night. Moreover, they found a note on the bodies from the necromancer Malefice. The note warned the Blaumeres not to attack the necromancer any more. "You can imagine how worked up they are in the castle," finishes Sara, nodding her head seriously before returning to her baking. Jonetello bids Sara farewell and returns to tell the group this news. "Is this good or bad?" asks Magnimiliar. "Who was this guy?""Well, you can see I'm shedding tears over the Knight Commander, leader of the Blaumeres against the Loxham rebels," says Jonetello, his face sarcastically dry. He pauses. "But I'm sure his wife was quite innocent in the matter." The party spends some time pondering the apparent consequences of their actions.</blockquote>

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