Kingkiller Part II
General Summary
Morlan and the rest of the party entered an unoccupied servant's room to get a better look at the spectacle going on outside. The goats, having finished Nina's jacket for a snack, were giving the servants and guards a merry chase. The pandemonium outside was no less chaotic for it. However, the real show was Holtz. He stood next to a huge goat who was still gnawing on Nina's coat cuff. He was singing to the goat and gently stroking it's head.
In the darkest night,
let ye sleep.
Go to bed.
Go to bed.
"Skovs not well known for their lullabies, it seems," Nina remarked.
It was actually working. The goat calmed, and even tilted its head down so that Holtz could more easily stroke it. After a few moments, Holtz took the opportunity to slink away into the shadows, making his way to the central building.
"Of course, he's a goat whisperer," Nina said without a note of surprise in her voice.
Holtz met back up with the party in the servants' quarters. He was greeted with some surprised faces.
"I'm back. Thanks for waiting up," Holtz said sarcastically.
"Yes. You're back. What a game changer that will be," Nina responded.
"Nina, respect his talents. Clearly, he has some kind of power over goats. I am certain it will prove invaluable," Roethe said while making no effort to hide a smirk.
"Bit chilly in here. You seem underdressed. Morlan, let Nina have your coat. She lost hers," Holtz jabbed back.
The memory of her recent loss made it hard for Nina to come up with a snappy retort, so she pushed on and the team followed. They moved on into a large hall with a dias at one end opposite two huge iron reinforced wooden doors. These are the same doors Holtz unsuccessfully advanced on before. a throne was constructed there with a smaller, but no less opulent chair placed on its right. To either side of the dias were two large arches that led into a chamber beyond. The room itself seemed fit to hold many tables and chairs, but was currently empty. Behind the dias were two large banners crossed with red and white after the fashion of the Skovland flag.
"I think I know where we are. This is the Skovland Royal Court. We're in the palace," Morlan remarked.
"How do you know that?" Roethe asked, a little surprised that aside from Nina, the only Non-Skov in the group clocked the Royal palace on sight.
"I read. Newspapers and the like. Besides, keep your friends close, and all that," Morlan said a bit defensively.
"So, where to?" Nina asked Morlan.
"I think back there. That's where the king would come from. Likely from the right," Morlan posited.
The group made their way to the back chamber. Here stood many stacked chairs and a few tables. This area gave the appearance of a staging room for the court. Three doors were set in each wall of this chamber. Holtz held a finger to his lips indicating silence and pointed to the far door where a few pikes were leaning against the wall nearby.
Nina moved to the door on the left as the party opened the door to the right revealing the stairs. Nina put her ear to the door and paused.
"Pssst!" Holtz hissed as he motioned Nina to come.
Nina shrugged and walked past him and up the stairs. As the party followed, they found her listening at a door on the first landing. She motioned for them to keep quiet, and made her way up to the next floor.
At the next landing, the party found Nina listening at another door.
"Nina, no! What's with you and the doors?" Holtz asked in a whisper.
Undaunted by Holtz's inquisition, Nina cracked the door and peeked in. Seeing a guard retreating on patrol, she quickly, but silently closed the door.
"No more doors! We're supposed to be at the top." Holtz demanded in a hushed voice.
"Keep your pants on!" Nina demanded.
The party eventually made it to the top landing, but before cresting the top, they saw a pair of boots, feet crossed and resting. Roethe pulled Nina back. The party communicated a rough plan through a series of silent pantomimes.
Roethe retrieved and covered herself with a cloak of shadows from her pack. Holtz handed her a vial of trance powder. Nina crawled close to the resting boots. Roethe began to move past the guard.
Roethe watched her steps carefully. She glanced at the guard. Still and sleeping, good. She took a couple more careful, silent steps. She looked at the sleeping guard again. He scratched his head, and adjusted in his chair, but settled back into his slumber. His eyes never opened. Roethe took two more steps, careful not to step on a loose tile or bump an errant piece of stonework. She looked back at the guard. His posture was unchanged, but his eyes were wide, and for the moment, unbelieving.
The next few moments happened fast. The guard stood, drawing his sword, but Nina pulled at his boot before he got it out of his sheath. Roethe uncapped and tossed the trance powder at him. It plumed in a pretty glittering blue cloud that enveloped the guard's face. He sputtered and coughed for just a moment, but as the glittering haze floated down to the ground, drawn by gravity, so too did the guard's will. Holtz snapped his fingers in front of the guard's face.
"What now?" Nina asked while testing the guard's mental state with a perfectly manicured poke to the side of the head.
"Well, this is typically when I cut his throat and stash the body in an attic or shrubbery or somthing," Holtz explained as he leaned on his cane-sword.
"A touch barbaric, don't you think? Besides, I've always fancied a good Skov. They blush so easily. Adorable morons, wouldn't you agree, Ro?" Nina asked.
"They are our enemy, not our playthings?" Roethe replied.
"Don't see why they can't be both. In any case, it'd be such a waste," Nina lamented.
"Right, then. What's your name?" Holtz asked the dazed guard.
"Timothy," the guard replied lazily, with eyes half open.
"Right! Timothy, listen close. I need you to find the most solemn, quietest corner of this building. Close your eyes, cover your ears, and stay there," Holtz ordered him.
"That sounds niiice," Timothy replied lazily.
"If anyone asks you what you're doing there, just say you saw a ghost," Nina added.
"A ghost... That's very scary," he replied absently.
"Yes, yes! Bye! Go away! Fuck off!" Holtz said impatiently.
"Right away, sir!" The guard replied without moving.
After a few moments, Morlan gently pushed the guard, which appeared to successfully start him moving. He slowly plodded down the stairs, and the party was left alone at the top of the tower.
Nina picked up a well worn copy of a book that was resting on the table next to where the guard was sleeping. It was entitled, "Under the Shade of Desire."
"One of those trash ones. Weren't these banned?" Nina remarked.
"Clearly not here. Thinking of taking home some contraband?" Ro asked, playfully accusing Nina.
"Of course not!" Nina said, gingerly placing the book back on the table using only her thumb and forefinger, as if it were a soiled cloth.
The party took time to look at the floor they landed on. The hall was tall and arched. Statues of former kings flanked either side. A huge set of double wooden doors with ornate carvings in the wood of fire wrapped around stone stood at the opposite end.
The group awaited Nina's lead as she lifted her Spirit Mask and surveyed the area. With some concentration and only after giving up a little of her own control, not unlike the mental equivalent of navigating a small boat through a violent river, she attuned to the ever present ghost field. The color faded slightly and electroplasmic blues ebbed and flowed over and through everything. Some collesced in far away lights and others in lights not so far away. She could discern runes etched into the tilework that were completely imperceptable to an unattuned eye.
"There are runes here, in the stone. They are encircled with an electroplasmic glow here and here. They lead to those statues. I am certain this is some kind of spirit security device. Like an electroplasmic thingy," Nina postulated.
"A trap?" Holtz offered.
"Nothing so crude. I think this not meant to keep people out, but to ward off the uninitiated. Possibly a booby trap?" Nina countered
"Okay, booby trap. Sure! Can we get past it?" Holtz asked impatiently.
"I think so. So long as we know where to step. More importantly, where not to step," Nina said as she retrieved stick of electroplasmic chalk used for ceremonies from her hip pouch.
She began drawing fully detailed skulls and crossbones on each of the dangerous tiles. As she squatted by the tile and drew, the chalk sparked blue and an afterglow trailed every stroke, leaving a lovely sky blue symbol of danger behind. This careful behavior annoyed Holtz to no end, which in turn brought Nina immense pleasure.
"Thirty six minutes left until that guard wakes up and most likely comes back here with a bunch of his friends to kill us," Holtz warned.
"This is an absolutely necessary part of the process," Nina replied.
"Yes, of course, just like listening to all the doors was necessary," Roethe pointed out.
"Thirty five minutes," Holtz added, updating the crew.
Nina rushed the last few drawings. The fun had worn off by then anyway. Finally, they reached the door. But it was locked from the other side.
"Ro? think you could tickle this one open?" Nina asked.
Roethe squatted in front of the lock. A few clicks could be heard of tools probing the mysterious insides of a lock, but almost faster than one might use a key, Roethe stood up and carefully folded her tools back into the carrying pouch.
"Was that all?" Nina asked incredulously
"I know. Weird! I didn't have to listen to the door to open it," Roethe replied with a sly grin.
A stifled laugh burst forth from Holtz before he was able to regain control of himself.
"Listening isn't part of opening the door, darling. It's part of the fun," said Nina as she turned the latch and pushed open the door.
The inside of the chamber was inbelievably extravagant. The room was the shape of a half moon. A huge canopy bed stood in the center of the room. The curtains were drawn back and two bodies were sleeping. One long and large and the other slender and short. Every stick of furniture was laquered and gilded with gold filligree and inlays of ivory and jade. Any one item from this room would be a life changing windfall to almost any Skovlander. Arched floor to ceiling windows stood a few feet apart around this massive room. To the far left was a balcany that overlooked the city. To the far right, another overlooked the Ink Sea. Between each window hung a weapon, a document, a heraldry, or some other item of import. The only exception being a ladder that led to a hatch in the ceiling on the far side of the room.
Even amongst this opulence, the group's eyes were drawn to the paper that fell from between the doors, and the lifeseeker crow's feather that floated down to meet it. Nina picked it up, read it, and passed it to Holtz.
Eliminate them both.
"Morlan? Where are we exactly?" Nina asked in a hushed voice, careful not to unnecessarily distub the silence.
"Well, who lives at the top of the palace?" Morlan replied.
"I suppose it doesn't matter anyway?" Nina said as she pointed to the sleeping bodies.
The party moved into the room. Nina closed the door and bolted it before jamming the latch with a hairpin. Roethe and Morlan moved to the side of the bed where the smaller one slumbered. Holtz moved to where the larger one laid. In the darkness, blades slid silently from their scabbards and positioned themselves to bring death to the sleeping monarchs.
Before they could bring down their blades however, the king awakened and immediately rolled to escape the bed and gain his footing. Holtz's brought down the sword-cane, but his strike landed a little to the right of true. He felt the scrape of steel against ribs, but knew he missed the heart. The king cried out with a booming voice. The animal sound of true agony rang through the palace, even through the thick doors. Nina listened at the door and could hear the sounds of clattering weapons and armor from the stairwell beyond.
The queen awakened and rolled from under the blow that was meant for her. The daggers plunged unhelpfully into the soft bed. She rolled to the side of her husband as Holtz lunged at the king again. Obviously, having been trained in combat, the king sidestepped the blow, leaving Holtz overextended. A little less conventially, the queen cast aside her regal composure and bit into Holt's arm, causing his cane sword to clatter to the ground.
While this calamity ensued, Nina raised her spirit mask and attuned to the ghost field. She sought out one of the electroplasmic clusters and called to it. She invited it to come in a strange language. The words were unknown, even to her. She was merely the speaker. But everyone understood the words. Even the guards that gathered on the other side of the door heard and understood her call.
A translucent child appeared from the balcony that faced the Ink Sea. Water streamed down its chin from its open mouth. It gasped silently struggling to draw breath, eternally choking on the water that undoubtedly took its life. One hand clutched its throat, willing it to somehow allow precious oxygen in. The claw marks were visible even on the slightly transparent flesh. The other hand was raised in a greedy claw, slightly too big for it's tiny frame. It advanced toward Nina.
Upon seeing the spirit, the monarchs' faces lost all color. Fear and determination turned to just fear. Holtz and Morlan focused on the Monarchs who scrambled for the exit. They left streaks of blood on the wood from their torn fingertips as they clawed desperately at the doors.
Roethe, however collapsed to the floor. Her eyes stared wide and unblinking at the child spirit as she hugged her knees. It brought forth memories of the orphanage. She remembered part of their training that was meant to teach them teamwork, aquatic combat, water breathing, and loss. The ghost's face, whatever it was in death, was now in her mind replaced with that of Eduin, her bunkmate and partner for the first four years. She saw him disappear beneath the water. The instructors just watched. She could barely swim herself, but she went under a dozen times to find him. Eventually, they had to pull her out. She fought them. She tried to go back, to look for him one more time. It was the only time she openly rebelled, to her memory. They punished her for that. She still wore the scars, inside and out.
"Ro! Roethe!?" Morlan called out to her.
She didn't respond. Instead, she simply laid there and mumbled to herself.
"Is she going to be okay?" Morlan asked Nina urgently.
"She'll be fine! Do your job!" Nina snapped in that less polished voice that always returns when things get tense.
Morlan and Holtz moved to the backs of the monarchs and went to work with their blades. It didn't take long, but they put in the work. Holtz even snapped the blade of his canesword in the effort. A civilian might have called the rapidity and eagerness of the thrusts barbaric or cruel, but the trained know that once you start, stopping is not a mercy.
Meanwhile, the ghost rushed Nina. She pulled out her spiritbane charm, but the ghost swatted it aside, oddly connecting with the item physically on this plane of existence. Its clawed hand dug at her heart, but she focused, and willed it back. The nails barely scraped the skin, but the icy cold touch of death shot out over her breast and took her breath away. She gasped a new breath and continued to command it back. It pushed as she pushed.
With one hand extended, she focused her will on the terrible spirit. Her other hand dug frantically for something in her hip pouch. She pulled out a spirit bottle. The cap was already off. With this, she changed the tone of her command. What sounded like banishment changed at once to a welcome, and the spirit shot forward as if loosed from some invisible bond. Nina stepped aside, and allowed the spirit's claw to touch the bottle. She smiled when she saw it. She knew it was done, but she never stopped chanting. The spirit's hand disappeared inside. It screamed silently. Water bubbled and sputtered from its open mouth as it struggled and pulled, but more and more of its arm disappeared into the bottle. Then its shoulder was pulled inside, then its head, and finally, it faded to mist and gently floated into the bottle.
Nina only stopped chanting when the cap was placed back on the bottle. She then returned the bottle to her pouch and rushed to Roethe who was still on the floor whispering to herself and hugging her knees.
"...went under. I'm sorry. I tried. They took me. I couldn't find you. Emporer above, I tried..." Roethe stammered without end under her breath.
"We just bumped off a pair of monarchs. We have to go!" Holtz said urgently as the door boomed and braced against the bolt holding it closed against the guards in the hall.
Nina bent down and helped Roethe to her feet. Roethe made no move to resist her.
"It wasn't your fault, darling," Nina whispered to Roethe as she moved to the balcony where Holtz and Morlan were already searching for an exit.
Morlan cursed and began pulling rope from his bag. Holtz tied the rope to the balcony as Morlan gathered the slack, ensuring it did not tangle as he tossed it over the railing. The door began to splinter as the guards continued to beat it down. With some difficulty, given Roethe's mental state, they climbed down the rope to the courtyard below. The courtyard was mostly cleared, as the guards inside the palace raised the alarm. Guards appeared on the balcony above them and pointed to the courtyard where they stood and cried out.
"Assassins! Assassins! They killed the king and queen!" the guard shouted.
People began to stir from nearby buildings. Lights came on. Doors opened. The group ducked into the stable. Holtz stopped in front of one of the pens.
"No time for your friends, let's get the hell out of here!" Nina said as she passed him on her way to the door.
"Go on ahead. Roger's gonna lend us a hoof," Holtz replied.
"Hurry up and say your farewells, Nina said as she and Roethe disappeared behind the door leading into the city proper.
"Alright Roger! I'm counting on you for a bit of chaos," Holtz said and then smacked the goat on the rump.
The goat's eyes lit up with pain, surprise, and betrayal. It charged through the open pen and out the door into the courtyard where it immediately started bucking and screaming wildly. Holtz used the distraction to disappear through the door and follow Nina.
The party made their way through the city without incident. They occasionally had to detour through one alley or another on their way, as by now the bells were ringing alarm. They finally made it to the docks where Captain Sera was waiting, but upon seeing the water, Roethe pulled from Nina's grasp.
"We do not have time for this, Ro!" Nina said urgently as she pulled at Roethe's arm.
Roethe's head turned as she searched, trying to make sense of the chaos around her. She Bells were ringing, the party was silently urging her to get on the boat, and the water. It was too much for her. Holtz climbed out of the boat and took Roethe's face in his hands, forcing her to look at him.
"Listen, either you stay here and become the mark, or you get in the boat. Got it?" Holtz said forcefully, but not without kindness.
Roethe blinked, and after a moment, she nodded. Holtz released her face, and she climbed carefully into the boat. The captain shoved off of a dock piling with one powerful thrust of her boot. They floated silently into the dark of the Ink Sea.
Nina stood at the back of the boat and watched as the search lights came on too late back at the shore. Sera brought Roethe some mushroom tea, and Holtz began lamenting about his broken canesword.
Along the way, Nina released the trapped spirit of the drowned boy. She uncapped the spirit bottle and tipped it out. The ghost floated calmly into the Ink Sea.
"I hope you find rest. One of us should," Nina said to the ghost as it disappeared into the black.
Nina supposed for a moment that she saw a new star wink into existence deep below, but that was nonsense. Lights were always blinking in and out and moving around in the void beneath the waves. She returned belowdecks to check on Roethe. Holtz was still complaining about his lost canesword.
"It was real gold. That clover was real gold," Holtz whined.
Roethe popped onto her feet and drew her dagger as Nina appeared from the ladder. Morlan and Holtz both started in spurprise at the sudden aggression. Seeing that it was only Nina, she calmly returned to her seat. Nina noticed she did not put away the dagger.
"Where is she taking us?" Roethe asked Nina.
"Mission's over. Going home, I suppose. Why? What's got you so paranoid, Ro?" Nina asked gently.
"What's got you so trusting?" Roethe replied.
"Sera's an honest sailor. We got out, darling. Look, just try and get some sleep. We'll be there in no time, and you and I can get that apple tart we're owed," Nina said to Roethe.
Nina kissed Roethe lightly on the brow and took her leave. Roethe was acting more than a bit paranoid for Nina's liking. The rest of the voyage was rather boring. Nina spent most of her time above decks. In much less time than it took to reach Skovland, the lights of the city came into view. As they drew closer, it was clear that this was not the Imperial City. Sera joined her on deck.
"Sera, where are we?" Nina asked.
"The Dusk. I was told to sail for Doskvol," Sera replied.
"And is that typical?" Nina said, pointing at the docks.
The docks were swarming with bluecoats. Sera ordered her crew to douse the lights below decks. Nina gathered her crew to join them on deck.
"I knew it. It's never that easy," Roethe said.
"Can't we just turn away and dock elsewhere?" Morlan suggested.
"Doesn't work like that. Whether we turn fuill rudder or not, I'm floatin' into their line of sight, and I'd rather dock peaceful than have a few dozen bluecoat pistols pepper my broadside," Sera said.
"And that would be a shame. You've got a very nice broadside," Nina flirted with Sera again.
"Emporer above and leviathans below," Roethe cursed under her breath behind Nina.
"Please, Ro! We're about to be clapped in irons and who knows what else. Allow me my little dalliances," Nina complained.
"We've been through so much together. I'll see you on the other side," came Roethe's voice with the force of exertion.
Nina felt hands against her back, then the Ink Sea rose up to meet her. As she plunged beneath the surf, the world above vanished. Below the waves, she could strangely see herself quite well. It is as if she floated in a well lit expanse of the night sky with nothing else but stars in sight. She swam in the direction she thought was up. After a few strokes, she released a bit of air to calm the urgent and involuntary pressure of her body begging to breathe. The bubbles ran down her body and faded into nothingness. Thinking quickly, she adjusted her direction and let out a little more air. This time she was ready. She chased the bubbles. After what felt like hours, and just when she thought she couldn't keep herself from sucking in the poison water of the Ink Sea, she broke the surface.
Luckily, the surf was choppy enough to mask the sound of her emerging. It was everything she could do to keep from gulping in loud gasping breaths. Her training was paying off. She was close enough to see and hear everything on the docks. Her crew and the crew of the ship were in chains and being loaded into the backs of two armored wagons. A very fat man with a too small head in a very fine black suit stood on the deck yelling at a captain of the watch. a very thin woman in a light blue evening gown stood just behind him, listening intently. Nina heard them from out in the dark void.
"What do you mean she isn't on board?" the fat man asked.
"They say she jumped. They say she went mad. It happens," The captain replied apologetically.
"Goat shit she went mad. Go in after her, or I'll have you guarding a leviathan hunter in the next hunt, and the one after that, and the one after that until you lose your tiny mind, or drown, or get eaten, or get your throat cut by one of those mad bastards." the fat man growled.
"Sir! I can't order my men in there. That's the Ink Sea. It doesn't matter anyway. Mad or not, if she went in, she's as good as dead," the captain pleaded.
"She's not dead," The large man said calmly.
He pushed the watch captain out of the way, very nearly pushing him into the sea. He then walked to the end of the pier. He couldn't be more than 30 feet from her, but his eyes scanned the darkness indiscriminantly. A too wide smile crept across his plump face.
"You see, that’s the problem with tools of destruction, Mrs. Zenick! Anyone can just pick them up and use them." He shouted into the void.
Report Date
18 May 2022
Primary Location
Secondary Location
Related Characters
Awards:
Lucky Duck goes to Morlan (Julian) for the highest average rolls at an average of 5.7Unlucky Goose goes to Nina (Jayme) for the lowest average rolls at 3
Critical Player goes to no one, because there were no criticals
Team Player goes to Nina (Jayme) for the most assists at 2
Natural Leader goes to Holtz (Keaton) for leading the most group actions at 1
Try Hard goes to Nina (Jayme) for the most attempted rolls at 13
Going to Therapy goes to Roethe (Abbi) for taking the most stress at 3
Stats:
| Rolls | 27 |
| Average Roll | 4.1 |
| Failures | 11 |
| Mixed Successes | 8 |
| Successes | 8 |
| Criticals | 0 |
| Group Actions | 1 |
| Stress Taken | 9 |
Roll Distribution:
- Holtz (Keaton) rolled Consort (Risky, Standard) to calm a goat and got a 5
- Holtz (Keaton) rolled Finesse (Risky, Standard) to calm a goat and got a 5
- Nina (Jayme) rolled Attune (Controlled, Standard) to see if there's anything fishy and got a 2
- Nina (Jayme) rolled Study (Controlled, Limited) to listen at a door and got a 1
- Nina (Jayme) rolled Study (Controlled, Great) to check out some boots and got a 2
- Roethe (Abbi) rolled Prowl (Desperate, Great) to sneak past a sleeping guard and got a 5
- Roethe (Abbi) rolled Skirmish (Risky, Great) to kill a guard and got a 5
- Nina (Jayme) rolled Attune (Standard, Great) to check out a suspicious area and got a 6
- Roethe (Abbi) rolled Finesse (Risky, Standard) to pick a door and got a 6
- Holtz (Keaton) rolled Skirmish (Risky, Standard) to kill a king and got a 4
- Holtz (Keaton) rolled Skirmish (Risky, Standard) to kill a king and got a 3
- Nina (Jayme) rolled Attune (Risky, Standard) to summon a ghost and got a 3
- Holtz (Keaton) 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
- Roethe (Abbi) rolled Resolve to resist fear from a ghost and got a 3
- Holtz (Keaton) rolled Skirmish (Controlled, Great) to kill a queen and got a 6
- Morlan (Julian) rolled Skirmish (Controlled, Great) to kill a king and got a 5
- Nina (Jayme) rolled Attune (Risky, Standard) to fight off an angry ghost and got a 3
- Nina (Jayme) rolled Resolve to resist the effect of a failed roll against a ghost and got a 5
- Nina (Jayme) rolled Attune (Controlled, Great) to bottle a ghost and got a 3
- Nina (Jayme) rolled Attune (Risky, Great) to bottle a ghost and got a 6
- Holtz (Keaton) rolled Prowl (Risky, Standard) to rappel down a building as part of a group action he led and got a 6
- Morlan (Julian) rolled Prowl (Risky, Standard) to rappel down a building as part of a group action led by Holtz and got a 6
- Nina (Jayme) rolled Prowl (Risky, Standard) to rappel down a building as part of a group action led by Holtz and got a 4
- Nina (Jayme) rolled Skirmish (Controlled, Standard) to knock out Roethe and got a 1
- Nina (Jayme) rolled Skirmish (Risky, Standard) to knock out Roethe and got a 1
- Nina (Jayme) rolled Consort (Controlled, Standard) to convince Roethe to get into the boat and got a 2
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