We were greeted at the door by a halfling serving-woman who showed us to an atrium. Two other people were waiting inside: a scrawny kobold with sandy-yellow scales and eyes that flicked watchfully across the room, and an androgynous green-skinned woman wearing a necklace of flowers. "Kala Knowlern! Well, I never! Someone finally lured you out of Sunrise! It's been too long!" exclaimed Liona. "And is that Snickers?"
The kobold only snorted, but the green woman smiled warmly. "Liona. It's good to see you too. Who's your friend?"
"Oh, of course, I forget my manners! Annie, this is Kala, and that there is Snickers. Kala, Snickers, this is Annie. She's 'just a librarian,' apparently." You could hear the quotation marks in her voice.
"Why she here if she just librarian?" said Snickers in an accent I couldn't place. "Quest person need research? Quest person better not hire Snickers for research quest. Snickers got better things to do than dusty book reading things."
"My guess is she's here because of this," said Liona, and without warning, she kicked me as hard as she could in the shin.
I yelped and drew my foot back as my skin briefly flashed bright silver at the impact point. "What did you do that for?" I said, my cheeks flushing with embarrassment as I shot Liona a glare. She only winked in reply. Kala clapped slowly. "Limited invulnerability," she said. "Neat. I have a similar ability, although mine is inherited—my mom was half-fey, so I can mostly avoid minor scratches and bruises as long as I stay away from cold iron. You must not have had your powers very long, or you'd have learned not to flinch by now. Is it a spell? I don't recognize the magic."
"I honestly don't know," I admitted. "The truth is, I don't understand my abilities very well at all. I can do these bracers that protect me from physical harm—" I lifted my sleeve to show the silvery-blue bracers underneath. "—and this cloak that lets me climb walls, and these gloves that can release an electric shock with a touch. I can do others, too, like sandals that let me walk on water, or a belt that protects me from the heat, or lenses that improve my eyesight. But I can't do them all at the same time."
"I understand," said Kala. "I'm still growing into my own magic as well. So far I can't do much with my flowers besides attract swarms of bees."
"Real fun at parties, I can tell you," said Liona.
"Actually, I tried it once at a party and it was very unfun," said Kala, frowning. "You were there, were you not? There was screaming and bleeding and crying."
"Snickers thought it was fun," said Snickers. "Gave Snickers great idea for bee-based trap."
I wasn't sure how to respond to that. Luckily, I didn't have to, because the conversation was interrupted by entrance of several new arrivals: a jaunty male half-elf dressed in leather armor and armed with a half-dozen daggers of different shapes; a dark-skinned dwarf with a sour expression dressed in green and brown robes and clutching a large curved spear; a haughty-looking woman dressed in dark purple robes and with a tattoo of a crescent moon on one cheek; and a tall and handsome man dressed in polished breastplate carrying a bastard sword. The servant who let us in before followed after them.
I waved politely. The man in the breastplate stopped, looking at me as if was sizing me up. "You lot must be the help Lavinia's bringing in to do the chores," he said.
"I guess so," I said.
"Well, best o' luck to ya!" he said, giving me a nod before striding out the door along with his companions.
"Safe travels, Mr. Kientai!" said the servant. She turned to us and bowed. "Lady Lavinia is ready to see you now. May I show you to the dining hall?"
As she led us down the hallway, I asked, "Who were those guys back there?"
"The Jade Ravens," said Liona. "Mercenary company currently in the service of House Vanderboren. A bit pompous if you ask me."
"Lady Lavinia has asked the Jade Ravens to travel south to Cauldron on a quest of their own," said the servant girl. "But don't worry, she won't be asking you four to leave the city of Sasserine today. Right in here, if you please?"
The dining hall looked comfortable, cozy, and private, with wall-mounted lanterns filling the room with soft light. There was a window overlooking the manor's central courtyard, and hanging on the wall was a large portrait depicting a handsome young man with a short beard. A woman stood before the portrait in a long, flowing blue dress, smiling at us as we came in.
"My lady, may I present Miss Annabelle, Miss Liona Fairweather, Miss Kala Knowlern, and Mr. Snickers," the servant said in a formal tone.
"Thank you, Kora," said the woman. The halfling girl bowed and left the room, leaving us with Lavinia. "Welcome. I am your employer, Lady Lavinia Vanderboren," she said. "It's a pleasure to meet you all in person. Shall we discuss business over a drink?" She gestured toward the dining table, which was already set for five, with a ceramic teapot in the center. We took our seats. I noted that two chairs were conveniently elevated so that Liona and Snickers could reach the table.
"So who's in the portrait?" I asked her as she poured each of us a cup of tea. She paused for a moment, then answered: "My brother, Vanthus." I could tell from her tone that it was a sensitive subject for some reason. I decided not to press further.
As we waited for our tea to cool down (well, all of us except Liona, who chugged the whole cup while it was still hot), Lady Lavinia began to explain. "As you may have heard, I recently inherited my parents' estate," she said. "Unfortunately, along with this fine house came a fine amount of debt owed to the Dawn Council, the harbormaster, and quite a few guildhalls. It seems my parents, for all their success as adventurers, were not as skilled at finance as one might hope. And if I'm to get my taxes paid, I'll need access to my family's vault under Castle Teraknian.
"There's just one problem, you see," she continued, taking a sip of tea. "The vaults are magically locked—keyed to special signet rings. Both of my parents had these rings—at least, until recently. My mother lost hers a few months ago. She arranged for a replacement, but it won't be done for another month or so, too late for me. Which leaves my father's ring. He never wore it—he had a thing about men wearing jewelry, bless his soul." She rolled her eyes. "So he kept it hidden somewhere on his ship, the Blue Nixie.
"The problem there is that after his death, the harbormaster seized the ship until someone could pay for the last four months of mooring. Now, I've paid the fines to the man the harbormaster's put in charge of my ship—a brute of a fellow named Soller Vark. And yet when I went to claim my ship, Vark's people wouldn't let me on board, claiming I hadn't paid the fines."
"I thought you said you paid them to Vark," said Kala.
"I did," continued Lavinia. "So I spoke to Vark again, and he denied ever receiving my payment. I complained to the harbormaster, but he didn't want to hear it—he's a stubborn old fool who trusts his man and won't relent."
She sat back in her chair. "And that's where you come in. Vark and his crew are up to something on my ship—I know it. I just need to find out what it is. Unfortunately, I don't think Vark is the type to respond to diplomacy or logic. I need someone who speaks his language."
"His language not Common? Snickers speak Common, speak Draconic, not so much speak other language," said Snickers.
"She means violence, Snick. The language of violence." Liona said. Lavinia nodded.
"What, like smash, blech, augh, pow, splort? Snickers speak that language too!" Snickers replied.
I raised my hand. "I, um, I don't speak the language of violence," I said. "At least, not very well. I took some of the combat training courses at the Academy. I got a C. It's not really my best subject."
"I'm not asking you to assassinate him," said Lavinia. "I'm not that sort of noble. Just find out what he's using my ship for, or, even better, recover the money I paid him. If you can do so nonviolently, then by all means, but I suspect he won't respond without the threat of force."
"What about the city watch?" I pressed. "Can't they handle it?"
Lavinia sighed. "I did approach them, and the government as well. But they told me without any proof of wrongdoing, there's not much they can do. All they did was promise a low-priority investigation at some indeterminate point in the future. I don't have that long to wait. That's why I'm willing to offer you folks 200 gold pieces to handle it instead."
"Each?" said Snickers.
"Each," Lavinia confirmed. "And an extra 50% if you can retrieve the money."
My jaw dropped. 200, maybe 300 gold pieces. That was more than I made in a month at the library. It was more than I made in six months at the library. Wow. Just...I mean, wow. This was...wow.
"We'll do it," said Liona. "But we'll need an advance. Annie here doesn't have any adventuring gear."
"Done," said Lavinia. "Kora will provide it to you on your way out. Anything else?"
There was a moment of silence, and then Kala raised her hand. "Do you have a bathroom?"
Lavinia smiled. "Down the hall, last door on the right."
I took another sip of tea, lost in thought. I didn't think of myself as an adventurer...but on the other hand, 300 gp was a lot of money. With that kind of cash, I could take a vacation from the library to do my own research, learn more about my powers and how to use them. Heck, I could even pay someone to do the research for me. Or...the thought came to me...or I could pay for a divination. Find out...find out who my father was. Where he is. Why he left. I shuddered a little bit. Did I even want to know? I wasn't sure. But...either way...I realized I had already decided to accept the job.
Well. This was bound to be educational.
"Safe travels, Mr. Kientai!" said the servant. She turned to us and bowed. "Lady Lavinia is ready to see you now. May I show you to the dining hall?"
As she led us down the hallway, I asked, "Who were those guys back there?"
"The Jade Ravens," said Liona. "Mercenary company currently in the service of House Vanderboren. A bit pompous if you ask me."
"Lady Lavinia has asked the Jade Ravens to travel south to Cauldron on a quest of their own," said the servant girl. "But don't worry, she won't be asking you four to leave the city of Sasserine today. Right in here, if you please?"
The dining hall looked comfortable, cozy, and private, with wall-mounted lanterns filling the room with soft light. There was a window overlooking the manor's central courtyard, and hanging on the wall was a large portrait depicting a handsome young man with a short beard. A woman stood before the portrait in a long, flowing blue dress, smiling at us as we came in.
"My lady, may I present Miss Annabelle, Miss Liona Fairweather, Miss Kala Knowlern, and Mr. Snickers," the servant said in a formal tone.
"Thank you, Kora," said the woman. The halfling girl bowed and left the room, leaving us with Lavinia. "Welcome. I am your employer, Lady Lavinia Vanderboren," she said. "It's a pleasure to meet you all in person. Shall we discuss business over a drink?" She gestured toward the dining table, which was already set for five, with a ceramic teapot in the center. We took our seats. I noted that two chairs were conveniently elevated so that Liona and Snickers could reach the table.
"So who's in the portrait?" I asked her as she poured each of us a cup of tea. She paused for a moment, then answered: "My brother, Vanthus." I could tell from her tone that it was a sensitive subject for some reason. I decided not to press further.
As we waited for our tea to cool down (well, all of us except Liona, who chugged the whole cup while it was still hot), Lady Lavinia began to explain. "As you may have heard, I recently inherited my parents' estate," she said. "Unfortunately, along with this fine house came a fine amount of debt owed to the Dawn Council, the harbormaster, and quite a few guildhalls. It seems my parents, for all their success as adventurers, were not as skilled at finance as one might hope. And if I'm to get my taxes paid, I'll need access to my family's vault under Castle Teraknian.
"There's just one problem, you see," she continued, taking a sip of tea. "The vaults are magically locked—keyed to special signet rings. Both of my parents had these rings—at least, until recently. My mother lost hers a few months ago. She arranged for a replacement, but it won't be done for another month or so, too late for me. Which leaves my father's ring. He never wore it—he had a thing about men wearing jewelry, bless his soul." She rolled her eyes. "So he kept it hidden somewhere on his ship, the Blue Nixie.
"The problem there is that after his death, the harbormaster seized the ship until someone could pay for the last four months of mooring. Now, I've paid the fines to the man the harbormaster's put in charge of my ship—a brute of a fellow named Soller Vark. And yet when I went to claim my ship, Vark's people wouldn't let me on board, claiming I hadn't paid the fines."
"I thought you said you paid them to Vark," said Kala.
"I did," continued Lavinia. "So I spoke to Vark again, and he denied ever receiving my payment. I complained to the harbormaster, but he didn't want to hear it—he's a stubborn old fool who trusts his man and won't relent."
She sat back in her chair. "And that's where you come in. Vark and his crew are up to something on my ship—I know it. I just need to find out what it is. Unfortunately, I don't think Vark is the type to respond to diplomacy or logic. I need someone who speaks his language."
"His language not Common? Snickers speak Common, speak Draconic, not so much speak other language," said Snickers.
"She means violence, Snick. The language of violence." Liona said. Lavinia nodded.
"What, like smash, blech, augh, pow, splort? Snickers speak that language too!" Snickers replied.
I raised my hand. "I, um, I don't speak the language of violence," I said. "At least, not very well. I took some of the combat training courses at the Academy. I got a C. It's not really my best subject."
"I'm not asking you to assassinate him," said Lavinia. "I'm not that sort of noble. Just find out what he's using my ship for, or, even better, recover the money I paid him. If you can do so nonviolently, then by all means, but I suspect he won't respond without the threat of force."
"What about the city watch?" I pressed. "Can't they handle it?"
Lavinia sighed. "I did approach them, and the government as well. But they told me without any proof of wrongdoing, there's not much they can do. All they did was promise a low-priority investigation at some indeterminate point in the future. I don't have that long to wait. That's why I'm willing to offer you folks 200 gold pieces to handle it instead."
"Each?" said Snickers.
"Each," Lavinia confirmed. "And an extra 50% if you can retrieve the money."
My jaw dropped. 200, maybe 300 gold pieces. That was more than I made in a month at the library. It was more than I made in six months at the library. Wow. Just...I mean, wow. This was...wow.
"We'll do it," said Liona. "But we'll need an advance. Annie here doesn't have any adventuring gear."
"Done," said Lavinia. "Kora will provide it to you on your way out. Anything else?"
There was a moment of silence, and then Kala raised her hand. "Do you have a bathroom?"
Lavinia smiled. "Down the hall, last door on the right."
I took another sip of tea, lost in thought. I didn't think of myself as an adventurer...but on the other hand, 300 gp was a lot of money. With that kind of cash, I could take a vacation from the library to do my own research, learn more about my powers and how to use them. Heck, I could even pay someone to do the research for me. Or...the thought came to me...or I could pay for a divination. Find out...find out who my father was. Where he is. Why he left. I shuddered a little bit. Did I even want to know? I wasn't sure. But...either way...I realized I had already decided to accept the job.
Well. This was bound to be educational.
No comments:
Post a Comment