The King sits in his pavilion and thinks about the tidings from the
compound.
"Rats", he mutters, "Why can't anything be easy?"
It's a dark day when a valued guard member, and a powerful Bard at that,
can be murdered while surrounded by allegedly loyal people. Makes one suspect
everybody.
"Squire!" he yells.
Squire Thoron pops his head in. "Yes Sir?"
"Has that messenger left yet?"
Squire Thoron frowns. "No Sir, no one should ride in this storm."
"I've got a note to be sent to the Compound. It must go at once. Find
someone extremely reliable and send them. No stops until Squire Sean has
it in his hands.
Clear?"
"yes Sir."
The squire leaves, and sounds of shouts can be heard for minutes afterword.
"Gots to teach that squire some people skills" thinks the King.
The king sits down with a grunt. "Now I've got to hope the messenger
is loyal. It's getting on my nerves, wondering who's plotting against the
crown."
******
The next morning the storm has abated somewhat. Now it's just cold,
wet and miserable. Some horses got loose and bolted during the night, and
people are out
looking for them.
The King is getting a bit testy with the delay.
Calling Captain Tey, he starts making plans. When the captain arrives,
she finds him with a map on his table with a big book resting on it to
hold it against the wind.
"Sire, what's the plan?" she asks.
"Well, everybody knows where we are and where we're headed. Can't be
helped. I need to get to the compound and investigate this damn murder
of Master Finn.
Gather the guard and a couple extra warriors. Provision fast horses
for two days, and lets away within the hour. If anybody is looking
to slow us down or do other nefarious things, it will be this damnable
wagon train, and not us they
slow."
Tey face slowly transforms into a wide grin. "My kind of thinking, Sire.
And I know just the man to go with us."
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Dear Changeling,
I was interrupted by one of my pixies the other day while looking for
herbs in the woods near Eagleshire.
She informed me that she had heard from a nymph that heard from a dryad
that heard from a satyr that heard
from a chimerical cat that I was under investigation. According to
the rumor, on one of my recent trips to
our homeland, I brought back a amulet that opened a path to the Deep
Dreaming that allowed a
shape-changing vampiric beholder to travel to our world and eat the
brain of a bard to let it use the
bard's powers to increase his profits in some sort of shady banking
consortium.
If you have heard anything like this, please let me know as I am rather
intrigued as to the sources of
these rumors.� I have noticed an increase in the number of...�
odd occurrences lately, but nothing so
big as to cause any major concerns.� However my housekeeper, Old
Aunt Evelyn, has been disappearing
for days at a time.� This would not be so strange if she did not
reek like a maenad when she got back.
When I asked her where she was, she giggled and told me it was like
the time she paid your Mom to have sex
with her and your Mom got arrested for it.� Do you know anything
about that?
These disappearances have been going on since before I stepped down
as Baron of Ironcloud, so it is not just
a recent occurrence.� It is rather annoying, to say the least,
to have dishes stacking up in the sink and laundry undone, so any information
you might have on� the
subject would be welcome.� Please send a reply as
quickly as possible, as I will be very busy all weekend
May the road walk lightly beneath your feet,
Breca Van D'Evic
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"Ice� ,, you must come ,� kenta needs you"
Ice opened a blood shot eye to the voice. A pounding� roar of�
activities hammered into his booze soaked brain. "You have got to be kidding
me,,, "
Sunlight scorched his mind as he went to the bar of his brother...the
center of the mass of confusion. People wailing and shouting orders ,�
crossing paths and running
around. It looked like a medical tent with healers and nurses ,�
people in general tending wounds...not at all like his favorite bar hop.
"Ice� ..� get over here .��� " Ice rounded on the caller.� one of the maids,,
"What the hell happened last nite????"
The sobbing woman before him shuddered at his voice..The bar maid gently wiped a muddy face off with her hand towel.
"It� was horrid,,, the men came and destroyed the shire...all,,,�� all ,,all the houses are burned,,� the crops trampled.�� "
"Who ?? Who did this�� and�� what shire???"
"Lockshire...� " she sniffed..
"Who ??� "
"The men in red...�� they came and looted the town at dusk,�
right after� the town crier called 'Alls well"...�� They
shouted orders like a army,,� or,� some kind of
squad,��� they killed most of the men that tried to
fight them,,� but they were so many ,� and they were all armed
,� and wore the red colors ,,,,,one hit me,�� ,,,,,��
with
,,,� " her words broken and muffeled by tears "�� he
hit me with his sword,,,� he said he had the right to ,� by the
king"
"WHAT !!!!��� The king sent men in to sack a town ???'
"He said that we had not paid taxes in so long that this was a lesson to be learned......."
"Wheres my brother ??'
The maid pointed to the back office..."There .."
"Good , we need to talk ..�� No one comes in� ,� hear me ?!~!!!!!!"
"Yes mi lord"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sean leads Korlys and Tanara to the "Infirmary" where Finn's body had been taken.
"Did anyone see exactly what happened?� Or are you just going off of assumptions at this point?" Korlys asked as they approached the room.
"I haven't had a chance to question everyone, but as far as I know no
one saw him take a nose dive," Sean replied.� Now somewhat more relaxed
since the healer
had arrived.� It helped that his conscience had actually shut
up and was staying out of his way.�� "We put him in here."�
Sean waved to guard posted outside out of the
way, then opened the door to the room where Finn's body had been laid...
Tanara and Sean were shoulder to shoulder almost filling the door way
and Korlys was looking easily over their heads.� What they saw made
them speachless.� They
stood there staring into the room.� Where the guard had�
layed Finn... Where Sean Carlton had SEEN the guard leave Finn. The cot
looked as though someone had
taken a nap and left it unmade.� There was no trace of blood anywhere
except on the litter and the few drops leading from the puddle on the stone.�
And most
suprising of all, there was NO BODY.� NOT A TRACE.� There
was only the one door leading in or out of the room. There were no windows
or any other form of
exit.
Sean, Korlys, and Tanara stood planted in total shock.� They looked
as if they had all three been suprised by a pertify spell at the same time.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Back in Daharan, in mid-afternoon, a guard has found a sleeping 'Finn'
in his bed, in his room. Sean Carlton is sent for - He is quite angry when
he reaches the door -
with Tanara and Korlys trailing him ...
Sean Carlton barks, "Finn! Is he ... alive? He's effing breathing!"
"Yes, Lieutenant. This is the way I found him."
"Well..� FINN! WAKE UP! WAKE! UP!"
It blinks, and opens its eyes ; "Ah, Sean... What reason for the rude awakening?"
With first, disbelief, then with some amazement, the events of the recent
past are related to 'Finn'- and the question arises:
�"So, since you died, what the hell are you doing here?"
"I do not know. I went to sleep in my room late last night. I woke
up here, in my bed, to your shouting. I did not even dream."
"So, what do you /think/ could have happened?"
"Per-haps, it could have been someone disguised as me? An assassination
attempt? If the guards saw noone .. Perhaps it could have been a, heh,
changeling ...
Maybe we can discuss this once I've gotten properly dressed?"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's 0'dark thirty. The wind is howling, and a snow (SNOW!?) is falling.
A messenger bangs on the gate of the compound. "Open Up. A messenger from the King."
The gate is opened and a runner is sent for Squire Sean.
"The King is but an hour behind", he gasps, then falls unconscious. He's� obviously been in a fight, and has wounds a-plenty.
"Hell", think Squire Sean, "By the time I can send out an honor guard,� he'll� be here."
Orders are given to prepare for the Kings arrival.
Less than an hour later, the thunder of hooves is heard and the King arrives in a cloud of mud and ice (Ice?!).
"Damned weather" the King mutters as he dismounts. "Haven't seen Snow and� Ice in ages."
Many of the guard with the king have tattered and torn clothing. Blood stains are everywhere.
"What the hell?" mutters the Squire under his breath. Aloud, he exclaims "Welcome, my King, everything is prepared for your comfort."
"Comfort hell!", exclaims the King, "I want Answers!"
"Uh well, Uh, All we have are more questions." Says Squire Sean a bit abashedly.
"Figures", Mutters the King. "Well let me get washed up, and then we'll go see Finn's body."
The Squire is noticeably nervous now. Obviously the King is NOT in a good� mood. "Um, It disappeared."
"Huh? Next you'll be telling me Finn's just re-appeared somewhere all nice and new!" Says the King, a bit of sarcasm sneaking into his voice.
"Uh, Well Um, that is, Yes." stammers the squire.
"Rats." The king takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. "Only a� handful of things can cause that.�h
Have Finn ready for questioning, if it is Finn, and have, um, whoever
the healers and wizards are here, ready to do the questioning and stuff.
Now where's some
water so I can get this damn mud off. And see to my guard. It's been
a tough ride, what the attack and all."
The King stomps off...
�