Kingkiller Part I
General Summary
An Akorosi with deep red hair was sitting at a table in an upscale cafe under the moonlight. It was styled in something like art-deco with smooth bold lines and colorful pastels that contrasted pleasantly with the free hanging electroplasmic blue lights and the natural touch of planters growing radiant mushrooms.
"You simply must share an apple tart with me. They are to die for," Nina said to the woman sitting across from her.
The woman had an acrobat's build and wore close fitting black clothing: a simple jacket, black trousers, and black climbing boots. They were the flexible kind that laced up tight to allow full range of movement while supporting the ankle. Her blonde hair was done up in a tight french braid that barely reached her shoulder. She sat in an easy posture with her arms folded, but she constantly fidgeted in much the same way a restless child does.
"If I pay even half of what I'm sure that costs, I am eating the whole thing myself." Roethe replied.
"Nonsense! My treat." Nina said.
"It will be your treat, if I share it with you." Roethe said.
"You know, Ro? You should have more faith in people." Nina said, putting on an air of indignance.
A waitress walked by and placed two menus on the table in front of them without so much as stopping. Nina picked up the menu in front of her and opened it. A note fell to the floor as a white lifeseeker crow's feather floated down to rest on it. Nina sighed with the prospect of a thoroughly ruined evening, picked up the note, and opened it. Inside was a crude painting of wings surrounding a sword and crown, which was the symbol of the Angels of the Divine Emperor.
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Go to the docks, board the boat at pier 3.
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"Not the docks," Nina whined.
"Something against honest seafaring folk?" Roethe asked.
"I just bought these boots. I can't go stomping around in the mud." Nina complained while admiring her new footwear.
The image of Nina fussing over her boots and trying to avoid the completely unavoidable puddles and piles of muck at the docks made Roethe genuinely laugh.
"Nina, darling? Did you have to hunt for the most impractical footwear you could find, or does it just come naturally to you?" Roethe asked through barely held back laughter.
"What? They go with the jacket," Nina said, straightening an equally impractical dark blue jacket with a not inelegant gold trim.
Something about this struck Roethe as the height of comedy, and she fell into fits of laughter.
"C'mon, let's go," Nina suggested impatiently.
As they exited the cafe, Nina took a moment to compose herself. The time approached midnight, and the streets were lively. A group of children played in the thoroughfare. One of them bumped into Nina. Her hand shot to her hip pocket, and clamped around the kid's wrist. The other two kids stopped playing and immediately made a run for it. It wasn't a bad lift, but the kid hesitated. Worse still, he chose the wrong target.
"Please, miss! I'm sorry. I'm only looking to feed my two baby sisters. Me mum left us all alone. I'm all they've got," He pleaded with her.
"I'll be right back," Nina said to Roethe.
She dragged the kid around the corner of the cafe and into the alley. She released the child to stand in front of her.
"Momentum," Nina said.
"What are you on about, you daft old bird?" Said the kid, dropping the struggling orphan routine now that she didn't have a grip on him.
Nina's voice lost its prim and proper tone as it slipped from high Akerosi into something more befitting gutter trash from The Eaves.
"Don't be scared. I wanna help you. Look, kid, you got talent, no doubt, but you're sloppy. You need structure. I've got these rules, you see? You follow these four simple rules, and I guarantee you'll be swimmin' in coin, and won't ever have to worry about gettin' pinched.
"Rule 1: Never use the whole hand, kid. Just these two fingers. Whole hand is begging for them to catch you. Practice on your own pocket, when you have time. Just these fingers.
"Rule 2: Use their momentum against them. If you're gonna use the bump, you have to be ready for the slide. Don't be goin' this way when the pigeon is goin' that.
"Rule 3: Don't go all in for the big score. Thin wallets are easier to slip. It's a numbers game, trust me. Only easy marks, plus, you'll get in the practice, and trust me kid, you could use some practice.
"Rule 4: This one is the biggie. Pick a safe mark. Never steal from someone dangerous. Don't ever, for example, steal from someone who could kill you with a look," As she delivered the final line of her lecture, shadows curled in around her.
The world shrank, and her eyes brightened with blue electroplasmic energy. Her voice filled the air and seemed to boom in his ears. He willed his feet to move, but the shadows curled around them holding him fast. With all of his remaining energy, he pulled himself free from the witch's grasp and half-stumbled half-ran with all his might, scrambling down the dark alley.
"Remember dear, momentum!" Nina crowed sweetly at the retrating child, having regained her prim High Akerosi accent.
As she came back around the corner, Roethe shot her an accusing glance.
"What? I was doing him a favor. Kids have to learn. Who else is going to teach him. Honestly, They aught to call me Mama Nina." Nina said defensively.
Roethe looked nonplussed.
"Oh, like you're a saint. Don't think I don't know it was you who went back to the stash. We getting a bit nostalgic in our old age?" Nina retorted.
"Yeah, and when I got there, it looked like someone else had gotten nostalgic first." Roethe replied.
"You gonna report me, Ro?" Nina asked, dropping the pleasant tone.
After letting the question hang in the air for a bit, Roethe replied, "Of course not. C'mon. We don't want to be late."
When they arrived at the docks, Nina's fears were realized. The muck washed ashore by the Void Sea did thoroughly ruin her new boots. Along with a general grime, the docks were littered with crates of various sizes, some held tight with iron bands. Coils of rope laid dangerously about as the dockworkers and sailors moved back and forth carrying cargo or checking on rigging, occasionally fussing about a loose line or an open crate. All sailors mostly looked the same. A good pair of boots and a good sharp knife could give one away, but mostly it was their eyes. Sailors in the Shattered Isles either lose their mind or grow hard enough to shut out the things they've seen on the Ink Sea. That kind of experience stays with a person, and you can always see it behind the eyes.
Among the dockworkers were two other men who looked out of place. One of them was an exceptionally short man with mutton chops and short-cropped curly red hair stuffed with variable success under a bowler hat. The hat did not match the gingham patterned breeches and suspenders he also wore. His very fine hat was tipped down over his eyes and he leaned comfortably against a stack of crates too low for any taller man to rest against. Nina recognized him right away.
"Well, hello Holtz. You know you don't have to wear your clown academy uniform. We are on a job after all. You might draw less attention in street wear?" Nina joked.
"This is my street wear," Holtz replied tipping up his hat to rest properly on his head.
Nina grimaced, as if the prospect of intentionally going into public dressed as he was caused her actual physical pain.
"I'm used to people saying 'Hello!' or 'How's it goin'?'" chided Holtz with a sly grin.
"I can't hear anything you say over that hat. It's almost as bad as her coat," Roethe said drawing a comparison between the two bombastic articles of clothing.
"Why thank you, Ro! It's not like you to hand out compliments. Rare form today. Looking forward to the journey, I imagine," Nina joked darkly.
No one was looking forward to the journey. A long voyage across the Ink Sea was no one's idea of a relaxing vacation. Since the breaking of the world, the entire sea was stained inky black and speckled with far away points of light. The effect of the stars below caused a similar effect to staring into the perpetual night that hung over the world. This, too was caused by the cataclysm thousands of years ago. The night sky above and the constellations in the deeps met imperceptably on the invisible horizon. A traveler may look out from the bow of the ship and get the impression that they sailed into the void. It is precisely this that caused many dockworkers and seafarers to go mad.
"I believe that is our boat," Said the other man that was there with Holtz.
He was a tall Tycherosi man with shock white hair that seemed to reflect the light of the moon perfectly. He wore a long black coat and his hair floated about his head and trailed him in his movements, as if underwater.
"Oh! I didn't see you there. I'm Nina," Nina remarked, acting as if anything escaped her notice.
After a few too many moments of expectant silence to be comfortable, the man relented.
"Call me Morlan. Four of us? Quite a few on this one," Morlan noted as they all stood on the dock.
"Yes. A lot of people for standing on a dock. I don't suppose anyone knows how to operate that boat," Nina wondered aloud.
"You mean sail? Yes, but there's no need," Morlan offered helpfully
A tall, broad shouldered woman climbed up from some hold on the ship to appear on deck next to the gangplank as the group made their way to the boat. She wore a dark blue waist length coat belted neatly above clean trousers without a single wrinkle. Her light brown hair was bound back in a tight bun. Not a single hair was loose. Just looking at it would give anyone with long hair a stress headache. Her hands were folded at the small of her back as she stood straight backed and rigid, not moving a muscle. She stood in this uncomfortable position with the visible ease of a person who has practiced standing this way for many hours over many long years.
"My name is Captain Syra. Please board now. We must be under way," Syra said plainly with a tone that broached no argument.
After boarding the boat, the party was ushered into the hold. A makeshift cabin was made here using some not uncomfortable looking cots, a few lanterns, some barrels of food and water, some chairs, a couple of small tables, and a washbasin that looked entirely out of place in the small, dimly lit hold. No portholes or windows of any kind could be seen. Ships that wanted to keep their occupants sane tended to forego any way of looking out on the sea.
"It appears that I will be your transport," Captain Syra began.
"Well, didn't we get lucky," Nina interrupted as she eyed Syra like a predator might eye its lunch.
Syra's composure broke. A little rose colored her cheeks before the stalwart captain regained her composure, cleared her throat, and continued.
"Thank you mum. She is a fine ship. I am sure you will be comfortable. If any of you find yourselves in want of anything, ask me or one of the crew, and we will bring it. Please, make yourselves comfortable. We have a long way to go," Syra said before turning on her heels and quickly climbing out of the hold.
"You didn't have to mess with the poor girl," Roethe said to Nina.
"What?!" Nina replied, feigning indignance.
The voyage took a couple of days, but the crew was reasonably comfortable in the hold, if not a little stir crazy. Nina a little less so, as she was the only one of the four of them who ventured above deck. Just as a steady light began to appear in the void, Syra joined her at the bow.
“Mainlanders always ask me how I keep from going mad, floating out into the Void. I suppose you’ve learned the trick," Syra said.
"It's beautiful. It's terrible, but beautiful," Nina said.
"Yes. Focus on the beauty,not what scares you," Syra said.
Nina couldn't help but notice Syra was not looking at the void when she said this. Syra cleared her throat as she once again composed herself.
"That light there. That's Lockport. We'll be docking soon. Better get your crew," Syra said as she pointed into the void at the fixed point of light.
It was Syra's turn to notice that Nina wasn't looking at the void. She took a careless step back and nearly tripped over a tangle of ropes as she clumsily made her way back to the bridge of the ship. All the while, she fought unsuccessfully to keep her military bearing.
It was a comical picture, and Nina could not stop a little chuckle from escaping as she watched the poor captain's inelegant but adorable retreat. Ro was right. She was being cruel. But it was a long and boring journey. The mission was almost certainly going to be boring, too. She was allowed her little diversions.
Nina joined her crew belowdecks and prepared to disembark. Before long, the boat listed almost imperceptably as it gently bumped against the dock. Sera was obviously a very competent sailor. As they climbed out of the hold, Sera was waiting for them on the deck. She handed a paper to Nina.
"Honestly, I wish they'd go back to the linen cardstock. This thin paper is just so scratchy, don't you think?" She said absently, as she took the folded note.
When she opened the note, a white lifeseeker crow's feather fell from it and floated gently to the deck.
"Past the wall, central building, go to the top, don't be seen," Nina read aloud.
"Clear as ever," remarked Morlan.
The group disembarked the boat and Sera assured them that it would be there waiting for them when they were done. They ventured into the city. The architecture was mostly stone and mortar. Some of it was cut in the arches, but mostly they were rough. Many of the houses, like the cities in the Imperium, were seemingly constructed one on top of the other, as the growing population huddled behind their lightning barriers.
This city was built on a hill. The road from the dock hooked right and headed up to the before mentioned wall, a huge construction of stone hiding what appeared to be much nicer architecture behind it.
"Quaint, isn't it?" Nina remarked.
"I prefer our cities better," Holtz replied.
"They all start to look the same, after a while," Morlan noted.
"Still, I prefer my own," Holtz said again.
"Let's just get to the wall," Roethe said impatiently as she started down the road.
The rest of the party followed her. The streets were narrow cobblestone, and not many pedestrians were out. Not long into their walk, they saw two pedestrians being stopped by a couple of guards in black coats and helmets.
"They're checking papers," Holtz said.
"I don't suppose anyone brought papers with them?" Nina asked without hope.
"No, but if you give me a minute, I can whip up some. I just need a copy," Holtz replied.
He shuffled across the street and bumped into a pedestrian, a little too hard. The pedestrian lost his footing, and Nina looked on in horror as the man stumbled away from Holtz. Anyone could see thatv Holtz's hand was in the man's pocket, including the man. Nina shook her head in disappointment.
"Sorry sir. So sorry. I got the shakes, I just need a shilling for some wine. Take pitty on an old drunk," Holtz said in a heavy slur as he swayed back and forth like a drunk.
"Get yer hands off of me, ye filthy drunk. I've got a right mind to call those guards. I should get ye thrown into a cell. Back to the alley with ye!" The man growled at Holtz.
"I'm sorry, sir. So sorry," Holtz said as he cowered and slunk away, looking every bit like a shamed old drunk.
The guards noticed the commotion before Holtz rejoined the group and started to make their way down the street to them.
"Best close your eyes," Nina said as she raised her onyx spirit mask to her face.
Everyone in the group squeezed their eyes shut tight. Each one had worked with whispers before, and they knew what came next. A ghastly moan echoed off of far away caverns unimpeded by the earthly stone houses. Beastlike screams emanated from the guards as they scrambled back up the street and away from the group. Nina's voice came in whispered strange words that were not known to the group, but were understood nonetheless. She was speaking some kind of strange farewell. The next thing they heard was Nina's heels clacking against the cobblestone, a rustling sound, then he hard footsteps grew louder as she returned. Holtz could sense her close to him.
"The fraidy cats dropped this," Nina said.
Holtz opened his eyes and his vision refocused on an official looking document that Nina was holding in front of his face.
"Think you can do something with this?" Nina asked.
"Yeah. This'll do," Replied Holtz, as he stood, straightened himself, and pulled paper from his pocket starting work on forging copies.
His hands worked with practiced speed, but still no one wanted to be standing in those streets any longer than absolutely necessary, and any amount of delay was uncomfortable. Before long, he produced three documents that bore a striking resemblance to the official copy. He passed them out.
"That's it? These will pass, then?" asked Morlan.
Holtz suddenly looked unsure, which did nothing for Morlan's skeptecism.
"Actually..." Holtz said as he took the papers from each of the team members.
He then wadded each one into a ball, threw them on the ground, stomped on them, and picked them back up again. Before handing each one back, he carefully un-crumpled the paper. He deliberately tore Morlan's copy in the corner. Nina held hers with thumb and forefinger, careful not to touch more than was absolutely necessary.
"Yeah, should pass now," said Holtz
The party made their way back up the street toward the wall. It loomed ever larger as they grew closer and closer. They were stopped a couple of times by guards who told them to get home, but the papers held, and none of them got pinched. When they were about a block away from the wall, Holtz noticed Morlan was no longer walking with them.
Just as they began debating looking for him or carrying on, they heard a whistle from the nearby alley where Morlan's shock of white hair gave him away. He motioned for them to follow. He led them to a darkened portion of the wall where he apparently found a door.
"It's locked. I tried." Morlan offered, helpfully.
"Well, what do you think, Ro? Try scaling it?" Nina asked.
"Scale it? And how would I make it over that monstrosity?" Asked Holtz.
"Could toss ye over." Nina said adopting the street rat voice again.
"Short jokes? Real classy. Too bad I don't have any yuppy creepy stranger jokes," Holtz clapped back.
"Could you please not use that word?" Morlan said, annoyed.
"I didn't mean it like that, Morlan. Sorry," Holtz apologized.
"Racial slurs? Real classy," Nina remarked, her words dripping with sarcasm.
"This isn't helpful. Maybe we can find a way over from an upper floor, or-" Morlan began before the click of the lock mechanism cut him off.
"We're in, idiots," said Roethe in a whisper as she put away her tools.
"Classy," Nina and Holtz both whispered in unison.
The group went through the door and found themselves in a large goat stable. Most of the pens are occupied by huge Akerosian goats. These large mammals were bred for burden.
"We're past the wall, best find the central building," Morlan suggested.
"I'll take a wee peek," Holtz offered as he moved to the door.
Holtz cracked the door open and saw blackness. Suspended in the black, hung three brass buttons in a row. His eyes followed the buttons up to a helmeted face looking down on him.
"New stable boy?" The guard asked.
"Yessir! I'm lookin for work. Thought maybe the goats needed tendin' to," Holtz said as he frantically motioned behind his back for the others to hide.
The rest of the party backed deeper into the shadows of the stable, hiding where they could.
"Well, the stables are closed out for the day. Won't find work here. Follow me. I'll find something for ye," the guard ordered him.
Holtz dutifully followed the guard while casting a silent apology back to his team he was leaving behind.
"Going to need to do something about that," Morlan said.
"Let me try something," Roethe said as she began opening the goat stalls.
"Get off of me you flea bitten beast!" Nina growled at a goat that had begun chewing at a part of her sleeve.
Roethe pulled and pushed on the goats trying to get them moving, but they stubbornly stood fast. The only goats that seemed to move at all were the ones interested in Nina's fine jacket. Holtz was halfway across the courtyard by now.
"Looks like they like your jacket," Roethe said to Nina.
"Of course tthey like my jacket. It's Akerosi woven with Iruvian silk lining. Everyone likes this jacket," Nina replied while struggling to pull free of one of the goats who was tearing off a sleeve of the jacket and shirt underneath.
"I mean-" Roethe began.
"Yes, yes! I get it... Don't ever doubt that I love you, darling," Nina said as she took off the jacket and tossed it out the door into the courtyard.
The goats that were gnawing on Nina's sleeve hurried out of the stable to get to the coat. Not to be left out, the remaining goats whose stable doors were left open followed them into the courtyard. The goats reached the coat and immediately began fighting over it. The first two to reach the prized jacket took it as a matter of pride and began settling the dispute in goat fashion by engaging in a headbutting contest. a few more goats attempted to navigate the combat to get to the jacket which was actively being trampled.
The guard who was escorting Holtz abandoned his charge and joined a ggrowing group of people trying to calm and corral the goats. Holtz took the opportunity to make himself scarce and headed toward the huge central building.
"I'm gonna rip his sideburns off next time I see him," Nina said in the rough accent of a street urchin.
"Is it working?" Morlan asked.
"yes, it is working. They are creating quite a distraction. Morlan gave them the slip, and is heading to the central building. We should probably take this opportunity." Nina said, still a bit sad over her loss.
Meanwhile, Holtz attempted to sneak around the opposite side of the building, but was unable to do so unseen. People were gathering to lend a hand corraling the goats. He stumbled back and forth, using his cane to appear infirmed while frantically trying to find a door or shadow to duck into, but with no luck.
"What is he doing?" Morlan asked.
"I truly do not know. Do you think he is actually drunk?" Nina wondered aloud.
"Whatever. We need to go. We can meet up with him later," Roethe suggested.
The party made their way out of the barn. They followed Roethe and stuck to the shadows as they made their way to the central building.
"Hey, you! Don't just stand there! Go help!" Shouted a guard at the top of the central building staircase down to Holtz.
Holtz tipped his very fine hat and made his way back to the goat melee. As he crossed the courtyard he saw the party making their way to the building. He shrugged apologetically and waved them on.
"That man is a moron," Nina whispered.
The party arrived at a servant's entrance. They then made their way down a simple, unfurnished, low-ceiling hallway. Most of the servants were either asleep or helping with the goat situation. When they neared the end of the hallway Nina bumped into Morlan who stopped to stare out of a window that faced the courtyard. After a couple of failed attempts to urge him forward or draw out an explanation, she followed his fixed gaze to a window that overlooked the courtyard. She too found herself at a loss for words.
Report Date
11 May 2022
Primary Location
Secondary Location
Related Characters
Awards:
Lucky Duck goes to Nina (Jayme) for the highest average rolls at an average of 5.3Unlucky Goose goes to Holtz (Keaton) for the lowest average rolls at 3.4
Critical Player goes to no one, because there were no criticals
Team Player goes to Nina (Jayme) for the most assists at 1
Natural Leader goes to Roethe (Abbi) for leading the most group actions at 1
Try Hard goes to Holtz (Keaton) for the most attempted rolls at 9
Going to Therapy goes to Holtz (Keaton) for taking the most stress at 2
Stats:
| Rolls | 26 |
| Average Roll | 4.6 |
| Failures | 5 |
| Mixed Successes | 12 |
| Successes | 9 |
| Criticals | 0 |
| Group Actions | 1 |
| Stress Taken | 2 |
Roll Distribution:
- Holtz (Keaton) rolled Finesse (Risky, Standard) to pickpocket some papers and got a 2
- Holtz (Keaton) rolled Sway (Risky, Standard) to play drunk and got a 6
- Nina (Jayme) rolled Study (Controlled, Standard) to see what the guards are checking and got a 4
- Nina (Jayme) rolled Attune (Risky, Standard) to compel a ghost to appear and got a 6
- Holtz (Keaton) rolled Resolve to resist fear from a ghost and got a 4
- Roethe (Abbi) rolled Resolve to resist fear from a ghost and got a 6
- Morlan (Julian) rolled Resolve to resist fear from a ghost and got a 6
- Nina (Jayme) rolled Study (Controlled, Standard) to find out why people need papers and got a 6
- Morlan (Julian) rolled Survey (Controlled, Standard) to find a way past the wall and got a 6
- Roethe (Abbi) rolled Finesse (Controlled, Standard) to pick a locked door and got a 5
- Roethe (Abbi) rolled Finesse (Controlled, Standard) to pick a locked door and got a 5
- Holtz (Keaton) rolled Survey (Risky, Great) to find a building and got a 1
- Holtz (Keaton) rolled Sway (Desperate, Standard) to convince a guard he is there for work and got a 5
- Nina (Jayme) rolled Consort (Risky, Standard) to convince a goat to eat her coat and got a 6
- Roethe (Abbi) rolled Finesse (Controlled, Standard) to get a herd of goats to cause a distraction and got a 5
- Holtz (Keaton) rolled Prowl (Risky, Standard) to sneak away and got a 4
- Holtz (Keaton) rolled Sway (Risky, Standard) to not look suspicious and got a 4
- Holtz (Keaton) rolled Prowl (Controlled, Standard) to find a place to hide and got a 2
- Holtz (Keaton) rolled Prowl (Risky, Standard) to find a place to hide and got a 3
- Morlan (Julian) rolled Survey (Controlled, Standard) to find a good path and got a 4
- Morlan (Julian) rolled Survey (Risky, Standard) to find a good path and got a 5
- Morlan (Julian) rolled Prowl (Risky, Standard) to sneak to the building as part of a group action led by Roethe and got a 3
- Nina (Jayme) rolled Prowl (Risky, Standard) to sneak to the building as part of a group action led by Roethe and got a 6
- Roethe (Abbi) rolled Prowl (Risky, Standard) to sneak to the building as part of a group action she led and got a 5
- Nina (Jayme) rolled Survey (Risky, Standard) to find a way into a building and got a 4
- Morlan (Julian) rolled Survey (Controlled, Standard) to find their way in a building and got a 6
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