Flood Season - Chapter 1
Flood Season - Chapter 1
OOC Notes:
No exp tally for this week - it'll come with next week when we wrap up the ball.
This Week's Adventure:
Elizabeth was quite busy dealing with the aftermath of Drakthar. Running here, running there, negotiating with this person and that. She was becoming a familiar face among the Cauldron mercantile crowd and while there was a perception that Astrid was the leader, Elizabeth was the one all the merchants dealt with.
I found it strange that the one piece of business that she was ignoring I was sure would be the one to cause the most trouble: The Demonscar Ball.
The entire group had been invited, but it wasn't long before the alarm bells started going off. Casual talk over breakfast revealed that the invitations, each elaborately illuminated, contained some differences. Elizabeth wrote it off to artistic variation, but I wasn't so sure. But the first glimmer of the depth of the problem came to light with a simple question.
"Inkeeper," Bellsin asked "do you know if there's any significance to the variations in the invitations to the Ball?"
"The Ball??!?" he said, as if Bellsin had just handed him a wet kobold smothered in syrup. "I wouldn't know much about the Ball. I'm just a working man, like yourselves. The likes of me don't get invited to no Ball."
"Perhaps," Astrid said quietly "we are underestimating this..."
Elizabeth finished her mead and stood up. "I have to go finish some deals with some of the merchants. I can ask them - I'm sure they'll be helpful."
And they were. "The Ball? You've been invited?" Tygot asked, not displeased.
"The Demonscar Ball, yes," Elizabeth answered. "We're a bit in the dark on the whole thing I'm afraid."
"No need to say Demonscar, my dear. This time of year, there's only one 'Ball' anyone is going to be talking about," he said smiling. "The Ball is the social event of the year, with all of the elite of Cauldron assembled, plus many from surrounding areas. That you've been invited so soon is surprising, but no doubt due to your fine work of late."
"I see," she said suddenly aware of how un-elite she was. "I suppose I'm going to need a dress. Do you know a good tailor? I hope there's not dancing..."
"You don't need a dress. You need a costume. It's a recreation of the battle between the demons and the Cauldron founders." Tygot sounded genuinely excited.
Elizabeth buried her head in her hands. "Where would I get a costume?"
The blink dog shifted slightly in his napping position and interjected. "Sarlene's Silks And Finery is the place you want my dear. They can take care of you."
"Thank you Leepok," Elizabeth said. "This is getting worse by the minute."
"And if it's anything like the norm in Cauldron, it's going to cost a fortune" I thought.
Elizabeth gathered up the rest of the crew and told them the bad news. And so the Blue Tyger Legion headed off to Sarlene's.
It was an upscale shop on the northern rim of the crater, sporting the luxury of stone construction. A polite elven woman with a hint of her years asked if she could be of help. When the group said they had invitations to the Ball and needed to rent costumes, the woman asked to see their invitations.
"Why?" Glyph asked. "I assure you we are not lying."
"Oh no my dear," she said "I did not mean to imply that. I merely want to see if you are demons or founders."
She was met with a variety of blank looks. Elizabeth finally said "Please pardon us but we are new to all of this. It would be most helpful if you assumed we knew nothing of the Ball, and you would not be far from the truth."
And she was most helpful. The mark on the invitation - that of a mountain or a caldera, indicated which side one was to play. Elizabeth, Maris, and Bellsin were all City Founders. Krisfallion, Glyph, and Tzaddik were demons.
And then there was Astrid. Her mark was different, and Sarlene was surprised to see it. "Oh my. I wish you had come in sooner."
"We only got the invitations yesterday," Astrid said.
"Well, you should have come yesterday," Sarlene replied, not rudely.
"We were busy killing a vampire," Astrid said with a polite smile. Sarlene looked as if she had said "We were busy watering the garden."
"Why is it so important? And why is hers different?" Kris asked.
"She is to play Nabatheron, the leader of the demon hordes. The costume is quite special."
In Cauldron, "special" usually means "expensive". This time was no different. Astrid's costume was an elaborate affair - a winged demon complete with arms that ended in pincer claws yet allowed her full range of motion, glowing eyes, animated tail, etc.
"The top part will come off so you can fit in the coach" Sarlene commented, looking over Astrid once she was wearing the whole outfit for a test fitting.
"Coach?" Elizabeth asked, knowing what was coming.
The rest of the fittings were a bit dull. The founders wore stylized outfits, very nice but a single night's rental would cost more than a farmer saw in a lifetime. The demons were just as expensive but more tricky. Kris was dressed as a pit fiend with a real whip and all. Tzaddik was ... noteworthy. Since there were few costumes left, he was to be dressed as a marilith, complete with amusing extra arms and fake comedy breasts. As expensive as the outfits were, Astrid's fee was twice as bad - two HUNDRED gold.
This is to say nothing of the coach rental fee from a nearby merchant, plus the etiquette lessons from the Blue Crater Academy - most of the group was determined not to make a hash of the evening and decided it was worth it even at Cauldron prices.
Of more concern was a familiar face - the blonde half elf who had been following Elizabeth was spotted. Astrid stepped into an alley and altered her appearance and followed him, and I went with her. (Glyph had made or acquired for her a magic item that would let her alter her appearance - I believe he is still unaware of her true nature.) The elf went to the Drunken Morkloth and to the room of Tyro Amberhelm. The friendly dwarf now seemed to have entirely different motives, and I hate to admit it but it seems Tzaddik was right to be suspicious.
Bellsin's room was next to Tyro's, and I sent him upstairs and he and Astrid listened to what they could. I waited hidden by a table in the hallway to see what I could if someone came out.
"... keeping an eye on them..."
"... Pheleon says they went to purchase costumes..."
"... danger?"
"... no think they're safe for now. We'll wait and see how it plays out. Certainly something's afoot here. It's rather odd that they were so quickly invited to the ball. Someone is manipulating events. For now, we watch and wait."
"... no Tessaril is fine..."
"... wait..."
"... he says they've come back to the inn. They're already here. You're not exiting by the stairs - you'll be seen. Go the other way. That'll do for now. Go below. If you have any questions contact me, otherwise I'll send you a message at the appointed time."
"... By the Strider..."
The door opened, and I saw a dark skinned human come out of the room, wearing robes and carrying a staff. He went down the room and scanned the room quickly. It would not have been noticed except that Elizabeth knew he was coming and saw him study the room.
Astrid followed this new disguise to a pavilion in the park where he met with the other elf. She followed them to a bar in a working-class part of town, but then lost them.
"'By the Strider' is something that some sects of the followers of Farlanghan say," Krisfallion noted once the details had been relayed.
Something that had been nearly missed in all the fuss and bother was that the Ball itself was merely the culmination of a week-long festival in Cauldron. It began raining on the first day of the festival, and rained more or less steadily throughout. There were games, and shows, and the usual sort of thing. Astrid found herself in the drinking contest and was only finally knocked out on the final day, very nearly winning. It didn't hurt her reputation, but I'm starting to wonder if that's a good thing.
The day of the Ball arrived, and the costumes were delivered as promised. Everyone got themselves dressed, although Tzaddik had some issues with his... prosthetics. The coach arrived precisely on schedule and it did look very stylish with ivory unicorns, gold gilding, and soft blue leather seats. Elizabeth handed a letter of mark to the driver at the appropriate moment, and I could swear there was a look of relief on his face that they didn't try to pay him with anything as base as actual money. Once everyone was on board, the coach set off for the Coy Nixie.
There was no small amount of cheering at the arrival of the Blue Tyger Legion. There was quite a crowd around the inn there to watch the arrival of the finest of Cauldron, and the group's arrival, or perhaps just Nabtheteron's, caused a lot of cheering. We were lead inside to a grand area where many people were milling about, socializing and being generally seen. A servant in black approached us.
"Ms. Cartwright?" he asked.
"Yes?" I smiled politely.
"Lord Vhalantru would like to speak with you when you have a moment," he said.
"Oh of course," I said, not quite knowing who that was or what it meant. "I have not yet had the pleasure of his Lordship's acquaintance. Would you be kind enough to show me to him?"
She took Bellsin's arm to bring him with her and we were shown to a table where a man sat with an elegant lady, both dressed elegantly as city founders. She was beautiful in every way, and I gave Elizabeth a little reassurance. Introductions were made - the woman was Lady Celeste from Sasserine. Once polite obligations were satisfied and some casual conversation had been made, he dismissed Lady Celeste, but in a very polite way.
Lord Vhalantru lowered his voice. "I should warn you. It's my understanding that the StormBlades are... how shall I put this... they are somewhat threatened by your recent exploits. I don't know how much you know about them..."
Elizabeth said "I know nearly nothing of them I'm afraid."
"Each is the son or daughter of a powerful noble in the city. From what I've heard, they may try to sabotage some of your efforts this evening so keep an eye on them. The four you're looking for... ah there," he said scanning the room then pointing out a lovely woman in an angel outfit. "Anna Taskerhill - the only daughter of the Taskerhills. She has quite a singing voice. Over there, Cara Lathenmire. Her family owns most of the forges in the city. She is every bit the firebrand she appears to be. She is quick to anger and often resorts to violence." The woman he pointed out had short, red hair and a sour expression. "The dour man is Todd Vanderboren, and the other is Zachary Azlaxin the second - son of Lord Azlaxin, the hosts."
"This would explain how the Nabtheteron invitation landed with us," Elizabeth remarked.
"It may be that the invitations were sent purely for the opportunity to embarrass you. Be wary. I don't think they would do anything foolish," by which he meant "violent", "but they may want to make you look foolish in front of the nobles.
I took some more time to stare at each. Cora was talking to some people describing a fight - the gestures are universal - but she didn't seem to have her heart in it. And she looked uncomfortable in her rather feminine costume. Todd was in a grey robe with a hood and his face painted like a skeleton. He was supposed to be a founder - a dead one. While I was watching, he caught sight of Elizabeth and Bellsin and went over to Anna, whom he pointed them out to. Anna immediately turned to her parents and did the same thing.
Elizabeth thanked Lord Vhalantru for his time, and returned to the group. (I wonder what this help may cost us later.) She discreetly passed the word to the others to be on guard, and the girls and I decided it would be best if I stayed near Astrid for a while - she was likely to be the focal point of any problems.
Then suddenly, gold and white doors swung open and the Demonscar Herald came out, and tapped his white staff three times. He wore a robe half white, half red, and a mask to match - half fiendish, half an angelic blonde man. His hands even matched.
He spoke in a loud clear voice. "Welcome dignitaries and noblemen, denizens of the Demonskar" turning to his left so only his demonic visage can be seen "and founders of our fair city," turning around to reveal his angelic half.
"Tonight is a celebration of Cauldron's most glorious and monumental of historical events - the battle between good and evil, heaven and hell, arcane hero and demon general - between the founder of our grand city, Sundabar Spellmason and the demonic lord who sought to destroy our ancestors, Nabthatoron."
"Please enter through the grand doors to formal greet your Ball Patrons and begin the fabulous festivities!"
