The Death of a Monster

Political event

Fenneck and the people of Flottenheim learn that Staladin has been assassinated.

Fenneck leaned on the balcony outside of Revolutionary Hall. There was a light snow falling as the evening approached. Fenneck sighed as he felt the snow hit his face. "Hello dear." He turned and saw Baegla joining him. "Hello," he responded, smiling at her. "How have you been, love?" she asked him. "Fine. Actually. It's been a good day." Baegla smiled up at him. "I'm glad. You know, I wanted to speak with you about something," she said. "And what would that be?" Fenneck asked her. She turned to him. "It's about your position here. What would you call yourself?" He chuckled at her odd question. "I'm a ranger, I thought? An archer. Or would you have me take up sewing again? I'm sure Naertho would be pleased with such a change," he teased. Baegla smiled and turned back to Flottenheim. "I know you're a ranger. However, you have been quite involved politically lately and I wondered if you were becoming more interested in those elements now. You are growing older, you know. Perhaps you would like to do more than run around in the forest with your bow and arrows." Fenneck considered this for a moment. While he had been more politically engaged he still enjoyed his duties as a ranger. He liked doing something practical. Being out in the Vallee helping manage spiders and beasts and to check on the farmers. Checking the forests for intruders. Keeping watch over the palace at night. "You make it sound like I'm a child running around playing pretend," he feigned offense. "Oh pish posh," she said, waving a hand in playful annoyance. "You know I don't think that. I am serious, though. You have a better sense for politics than you think you do. It comes quite naturally to you. No doubt you get that from your parents," she complimented him. He shrugged. "I like being a ranger. I like being in nature and escaping the palace when I can. I'm afraid if I was more politically involved I'd never leave it." "True, but I do believe there is a part of you that was made for life in a palace." Baegla observed. "Perhaps you even wanted that when you were younger and falling madly in love with a certain princess." Fenneck rolled his eyes. "You obviously know that was the case. However, my priorities in life were ridiculously misplaced at that point." Baegla turned to face him again. "Which makes you all the better for it now." She leaned against the balcony railing which was slightly higher than she was tall, and folded her arms casually, belying her serious expression. "It is no secret that I am aging, Fenneck. You and the other elves are not. I just want to make sure Glitterfjell is in capable hands when I leave you all." He scoffed at her. "Don't say such things. Don't be morbid. If you really wanted to secure that, you'd have chosen an heir by now." She shook her head as her familiar wryness returned to her eyes. "I'm not being morbid, love. I'm being practical. Besides, you really think I haven't chosen my heir?" she said, meeting his gaze. "I chose long ago darling. It is not important that you know who at this point. I do however want to assure that the entire palace is ready when I do leave. What we've created here cannot go to the wayside. When I die, Staladin will see it as an opportunity if we are not careful in orchestrating every little detail." "Obviously, but you still have many good years on you," he commented. "Perhaps. If I'm lucky," she teased. He turned back to look out over their city. It was so much brighter than the first time he had stood on this balcony. So much happier. Well, for others. The first time Fenneck had stood here, on top of the world, was with Evelyn. She had turned him invisible one day to show him around the palace. At that point, he had never felt real grief. He had just recently moved up in the mountain. He was a full tailor making beautiful ball gowns for royalty. He had held a princess's hand in his own. As Fenneck looked out over Flottenheim now, he didn't feel happy like he had all those years ago. The revolution, the loss of Evelyn, the death of his parents, the death of Erikur and the fear that he would never meet his thiramin all weighed heavy upon his shoulders. He was proud of the society they had built but happy was not a word he would describe for himself. "What's that?" Baegla asked him, pointing to a speck in the northern sky. After a few moments, Fenneck recognized it as a giant eagle. "Catherine," he said. The eagle let out a greeting as it flew toward the balcony and Fenneck and Baegla moved to one side to allow it to land. "Hello there!" Vyndius greeted them excitedly on the back of the bird. Gwynsickle let out a gawk as they slid off of the eagle's back and Catherine turned back into an elf. "We have exciting news!" Vyndius announced running up to them. "Oh such good news indeed!" "Well?!" Baegla asked him expectantly. "He's dead! The fucker is actually dead!" Vyndius exclaimed leaping up and down with joy. Gwynsickle joined him and started dancing around the balcony, honking excitedly. "Who?!" Fenneck asked them. "Staladin," Catherine said, smiling, much more put together than her comrades. "Staladin?" Baegla asked in disbelief. Catherine nodded excitedly. "Yes! Yes! He's good and dead! Quite gruesomely too, or so we've heard!" Vyndius said happily, still waltzing with Gwynsickle. Catherine laughed at him. "Quite gruesome indeed. A woman assassinated him. Rumors are she tied him to the end of his bedpost, naked, and stabbed his neck. Very humiliating. Supposedly she was a member of the KAV that went rogue." "Or Pufuktin ordered her to do it," Vyndius added. "Or that it was some prostitute they'd hired. Lots of rumors, but it was his hubris that did it!" Catherine met Fenneck's eyes briefly before turning to look at Baegla. "One thing we know for sure is that she was a wood elf. With... red hair." Catherine met Fenneck's eyes again briefly when she said this. Could this be their soldier? Could this be her? The one who had taken Erikur's life. Fenneck tried to shove the thoughts away. "Well, let's hope her intentions were good," he said, hoping this woman turned out to be a hero and not some pawn of Pufuktin. "Also... she got away," Catherine added. Baegla looked surprised. "Really?" Catherine nodded. "Pufuktin has put out a lot of bounties for her. They want her alive if possible. It's assumed that she made it through the mountains west of here." "The mountains are too dangerous," Fenneck said. "You've survived them," Catherine pointed out. "I suppose so," he said, shrugging. "How long ago did this happen? We don't want KAV soldiers entering our borders looking for her," he asked. Catherine shrugged. "Hard to pin point the exact day. They tried to keep it secret for a while but we'd both guess a couple weeks now." Vyndius gave Gwynsickle a final twirl before walking over to the others and nodding. "It was quite a mess. The transition of power I mean. Pufuktin is going to be the next king though." His happiness left him as he spoke his old rival's name. "Pufuktin? He's a soldier," Baegla said, sounding confused. Catherine chimed in. "Supposedly he's also the only living descendent of Staladin, besides Jasna of course. His bastard son. They managed to keep it a secret all these years as he led the KAV." "Well that explains some things," Fenneck said, giving Vyndius a look of understanding, remembering the night they had encountered the soldier in Pyotr's farm house. "So it does," Vyndius said, looking down in disappointment. "Another warlock servant of Mephistopheles comes into power in Lenisily once again," the halfling said dramatically. "We should tell Jasna. And everyone else for that matter," Baegla said, considering this. "We should hold festivities tonight and celebrate Staladin's demise. Whether it's ultimately better or worse, our greatest enemy has been defeated. Let tonight be a night of celebration. We will worry about Pufuktin tomorrow," she decreed before waving them all to follow her inside to prepare. At the mention of festivities, Vyndius regained his cheer and grabbed Gwynsickle's flipper, hurrying along behind Baegla. Catherine hesitated and met Fenneck's eyes. He stayed back so they could speak alone for a moment. "How are you?" he asked her. She shrugged. "Fine. It's good news, Staladin's death." Fenneck could tell she was upset and pulled her into a hug. She squeezed him tightly and buried her head into his chest. He caressed her hair and kissed her head. "It's going to be okay," he told her gently. She pulled away and looked up at him. "I know. I know." She collected herself. "I guess we should head in for the parties?" she suggested, seeing their halfling companions had left them behind. "What's wrong?" Fenneck pressed her. She sighed heavily. "What if it was her?" Fenneck looked down at the city below them. He wasn't quite sure what to make of it. It didn't really matter. He didn't, however, want her escape to lead a posse of KAV soldiers across their borders and he knew it would fall on him to go into the mountains and check. "Look, there are plenty of red-headed wood elves in the world," he tried to comfort her. "Not in the KAV," Catherine combatted him. "You know as well as I do how difficult it is for wood elves to enter such ranks. I'm just warning you. She might be out there. We know she's good too. Clearly their best if she killed the emperor of Lenisily." Fenneck nodded understandingly as she continued. "Vyndius doesn't seem to care much about her. He's upset about Pufuktin taking the throne more than anything else. But if she did kill Erik and is heading this way... I just want you to be prepared for that. Ask us if you need our help." Her eyes were steady. Fenneck realized she was worried about his behavior more than the wood elf's. "I can handle myself, Catherine. Don't worry. If I find her alive, which I find improbable in the mountains, I'll find out the truth. And if she did kill Erikur..." He took a deep breath. Over the years he'd tried to move on from his anger. To move on from the desire to bring Erikur to justice. What if this woman had truly killed Staladin because of his heinous crimes and evil doings? "Well, I guess we'll deal with that when we get there." He pulled Catherine in and kissed her forehead. "We should go. Your husband will be missing you." Catherine smiled and followed Fenneck inside to join in the festivities. Throughout the entire mountain, dancing and music filled the halls. Wine and spirits flowed freely that night. Fenneck avoided the partying though. Jasna seemed very conflicted throughout the night and Fenneck found himself comforting her in a side room for a time as she cried about her uncle. She quite possibly hated him more than anyone, but he was still her family and she knew the complicated reasons behind his corruption. After he had comforted Jasna for a bit Baegla came in and relieved him of his care for her. He then went up to his room, alone. He walked out onto the balcony and watched the festivities in the streets below as magical bursts illuminated the sky over the Vallee. The people were so happy. "You should be here," Fenneck spoke into the void. "Oh, should I?" He imagined Erikur coming up behind him and looking out over the city. "Wow. Some party, huh?" Erikur commented looking out over the city. "It's not right without you here," Fenneck said, leaning into Erikur's nonexistent arms and imagining his face nuzzling against his own. "Don't worry, Fen. I'm still here, in a way." "Is it her? Is she the one who took you?" Fenneck asked him. "Who knows?" Erikur said flippantly. "If so, maybe she's had a change of heart?" Fenneck sighed uncomfortably at this idea. Erikur raised his proverbial eyebrows at this. "Oh, you want to hate her, I see. Well then, believe she was sent by Pufuktin. That it was a coup for him to come into power. It is believable. Definitely something he'd do," Erikur commented. "Why would she run?" Fenneck asked him. "Why indeed?" Erikur responded with frustrating vagueness. "You could always go find her and ask," Erikur teased him. Fenneck shrugged away from the idea. Erikur elbowed him. "Oh come on. You know Baegla will send you out there anyway. Into the mountains, I mean. The KAV will send soldiers after her and we - I mean you - should be there to stop them." "Why did you run after her that day?!" Fenneck pleaded with his construct. Erikur shrugged. "She needed help, Fen. I'm not a fighter like you. I help. I heal. I didn't think she'd lie to me. Perhaps I'm a bit naïve. But what if she did need help? I wouldn't have hesitated to run to her aid." Fenneck fought back tears. Erikur laid an imaginary hand on his friend's shoulder. "Fenneck. You know as well as I do vengeance won't appease you. Otherwise, wouldn't you be thinking about your parents tonight? You know their deaths and even my own were not the result of a soldier, but the result of him. Sure he may not have swiped the blade, but he signed the orders. It's his fault Fen, not this wood elf. Yet for some reason, you aren't celebrating. You aren't happy. You're up here talking to an imaginary version of your dead friend as your real friends and loved ones celebrate without you. Are you really that blinded by your vengeance for me that even the mention of a red-head can distract you for the entire evening? Or perhaps the real issue is that the world is just complicated. It's messy, Fenneck. Of course the death of your enemies isn't going to fix everything." Fenneck felt tears falling down his cheeks as Erikur's words cut through his defenses. "Let go, Fen. Open yourself up again. To happiness. You've been sad for so long." Erikur took his face in his hands and Fenneck stared deep into his bright green eyes. "I can't!" he told his friend desperately. Erikur shook his head. "Yes, you can. But you aren't going to find it up here." Fenneck leaned in to kiss Erikur and suddenly came back to reality as a loud magical burst exploded right in front of his balcony. Fenneck jumped and looked around desperately trying to find and conjure Erikur again but the reality of his death kept setting in. He felt himself start to hyperventilate and realized a panic attack was coming on. He stumbled into his room and collapsed onto his blankets, prepared to start sobbing. But he didn't, and he managed to gain control over his breathing. He laid there for a few moments taking deep breaths before he heard a knock at the door. He picked himself up and crossed his threshold to open the door to see Alexei standing there with a bottle of whiskey. "I figured tonight called for a celebratory shot with an old friend?" he asked hesitantly. Fenneck felt guilt well up in him. He had distanced himself from Alexei since Erikur's death. They were still friends but they hadn't hung out together in years. "Of course," Fenneck said, smiling and waving him in. Alexei walked in and looked around Fenneck's giant penthouse as Fenneck grabbed some glasses. They sat down at Fenneck's table and Alexei poured them both a shot. "To the death of a monster!" Alexei said before they clinked and downed their drinks. The liquor ran a little too smoothly down Fenneck's throat. Alexei chuckled. "I remember you used to hate this stuff. You'd cough up a storm just looking at it." Fenneck scoffed at him. "Are you implying something?" he asked his friend. "No, no. Not at all. I'd be much too scared to imply someone of your station -" he gestured around the room, "- was an alcoholic," Alexei teased him. Fenneck smiled. "I've missed you. I'm sorry I've been... well... distant these last few years." Alexei poured them both some more alcohol. "We need more to drink before we talk about that." Alexei smiled at him and brought the drink to his lips. "I couldn't agree more," Fenneck said, also partaking in another sip. He enjoyed the burning sensation of the whiskey dripping down his throat. He started to feel more at ease as the drink took its effect. "I'm not mad at you," Alexei assured him. "Look, things have been... rough, to say the least." "I thank you for that. I know you lost your best friend that day, too," Fenneck told him. Alexei smiled gratefully at him. "I know you two were always... closer, or so it seemed," he said. Fenneck shrugged and looked at his friend with sincerity. "I should have been there for you nonetheless. I know you tried to be there for me and I... shoved you off, like I do with most people and things nowadays." Fenneck finished his glass and tried not to look too desperate for Alexei to pour him some more. A few moments of silence passed between them, broken eventually by Alexei. "Can you believe he's really gone? Staladin, I mean," he asked him solemnly. Fenneck nodded and studied his glass. "I'm glad of it. Did you hear how humiliating his death was? Seems a fitting end for such a pig as he." "I did," Alexei responded, shaking his head in disbelief. "Fucking insane. You think she fucked him first and then tied him up? I mean, seriously, it's almost sad how foolish of a death it was," Alexei said, finally pouring Fenneck more whiskey. "For her sake, let's hope not," Fenneck said, eagerly sipping his whiskey. "It is a bit... ridiculous isn't it?" he continued. "One of the most powerful warlocks in the world, killed by some whore with a dagger," he mused. "I think she's a hero," Alexei said, taking another sip. Fenneck smiled and nodded. "I hope so. Perhaps she'll end up here and I can buy her a drink to say thank you," Fenneck teased. "Please send her to me. I'll give her the best alcohol I can find and maybe find out if she's as crazy in bed as the rumors say," Alexei teased. Fenneck laughed. "You may have found your equal at last!" Alexei smiled. "Let's hope so! Honestly though, I think I'm starting to get tired of one night stands," he mused. Fenneck choked on his drink. "I don't buy it. Alexei Smirnov doesn't settle for any one person." Alexei scoffed at him. "No no. I think I'm ready for thiramin. Well... maybe give me like, ten more years, but I am getting close." They laughed and Fenneck shook his head and smiled at Alexei. "If you meet your thiramin before I meet mine I'm going to write Corellon Larethian a strongly worded letter," Fenneck teased him. "Who knows, maybe you're my thiramin?" Alexei teased him. Fenneck smiled at the idea. "I'd be a very lucky man indeed." "You and me both," Alexei said, smiling at him. Fenneck downed the rest of his glass and sighed. "Thank you for coming by. We should hang out more. Like we used to," Fenneck told him. Alexei nodded. "I couldn't agree more." They spent the rest of the night catching up and they ended up on the balcony together watching the celebrations. Fenneck sighed a sigh of relief and seemed to feel Erikur's presence around them both. Maybe it was just being around Alexei again that reminded him of the old days when the three of them would spend every evening together gossiping at the bar or playing dragonchess by the fire. Alexei rested next to him that night. It was the first night Fenneck had spent with another person since Erikur's death and he found himself grateful for the company.