Rissada - Session 48.5

With a breath of respite in the Thaumaturge's Guild, Pitch and Melodi go to work in the smithy, and Antille seems to be focusing on reading... and writing in... an unknown book, Nalzij finds herself with a moment of peace; one that is short-lived, however, when her newly acquired gauntlets notify her of a presence in the guild that is not expected.

Nalzij gets up, looking toward the doorway.
Nalzij: "...Someone's here. I'm going to check it out."
Antille: "Have fun."
Antille waves Nalzij off half-heartedly, focusing on what to pen down.
Advancing to the front, Nalzij sees a hooded man talking to Terita at the front of the guild. There seem to be no hostilities, however.
Terita Estion: "Nalzij. This man was just asking to see you. Are you familiar with him?"
The man, wearing a disguise Nalzij seems to recognize, turns and smiles warmly at her, acknowledging her presence.
Nalzij relaxes when she spots the visitor, bowing as she enters the room.
Nalzij: "Prince Aldin? What brings you here?"
Aldin: "I had a brief moment to myself without being smothered in work, for once."
"Please forgive the disguise, it does me little good to wear my usual attire when I'm seeking to avoid attention."
Nalzij: "Oh. I suppose that makes sense. Your timing is good, things are finally calm here again."
Aldin: " 'Again'? From the way you say it, you haven't had much time to yourself either."
Nalzij: "We both have our duties. And there's something amiss going on. Those assassins were here too, after one of the children."
Aldin: "They would kill even a child... it is truly deplorable."
Terita Estion: "We are fortunate, neither Tisha nor Se'ki came to harm."
Aldin: "...Ah. If we follow the evident pattern, of course it would be Tisha..."
Nalzij: "My only real victory was in managing to take one of them alive. Maybe he'll have something to say once he comes to, but I doubt questioning him will go well."
"That aside, it's good to see you again. Especially now."
Aldin: "Likewise. I would say we are long overdue for a moment of peace."
Nalzij: "It's been... since Tyrane, hasn't it? I hadn't imagined there would be so much trouble."
"I do have a more serious matter to speak to you about. Something I hadn't before realized the importance of."
Aldin: "Something you hadn't realized? I'm more than willing to listen."
Nalzij: "The hidden room in the library. There was something there besides the map."
Aldin: "Something else hidden there?"
Nalzij: "A small plant. I had thought it just an ornament at the time, but if it's poison we suspect, there could be more to it."
Aldin: "Were you able to secure it?"
Nalzij: "Yes. I kept it in a back room here. Would you know anything more?"
Aldin: "I have a passing knowledge of botany; it tends to be a useful skill for those on a pilgrimage."
Terita Estion: "Sadly, I would be of little help on that regard. It was always my sister that was more interested in plants."
Nalzij: "I'm still impressed you know so much of such things. I'll go fetch it."
Nalzij excuses herself from the room briefly, returning to the meeting room to retrieve the plant from one of the desks.
Nalzij decides not to bother Antille further, before returning and handing the plant to Aldin.
Nalzij: "Does it look like anything familiar to you?"
Aldin: "Snowpetal. Just as I was worried about..."
"I'm going to assume herbs are not a subject you have any interest in, and summarize. It's a plant that grows in the mountains that's popular with nobles for its white bloom, but the root itself has toxic properties."
Nalzij: "Clever. Good excuse to hide it."
"I'm afraid there's a lot of subjects I haven't studied much."
Aldin: "All it causes is fatigue and lethargy, but it never leaves the body, even only in trace doses."
"...Don't worry, you would have to actually consume the plant, contact is safe."
Nalzij: "...I hadn't thought of the possibility. Perhaps I ought to be more cautious."
Aldin: "Though I imagine you typically handled it with metal gauntlets in any event."
Nalzij: "There's rarely much time I feel comfortable without my armor, of late."
Aldin: "With a fear of assassins, I can hardly say I blame you."
"I don't feel comfortable in armor however, so my best defense is disguise."
Nalzij: "Whatever works, as long as you're safe."
Aldin: "Returning to the subject at hand, I figured it might be something like snowpetal and already gave my father something to counteract it."
"Unfortunately, since snowpetal toxin never leaves the body, any solution I can offer is temporary at best."
Nalzij: "There's nothing we can do?"
Aldin: "I pray to the Star for my father's health every night, all I can do is hope it might one day be answered."
Nalzij: "I'm so sorry, Aldin... that must be horrible for you to have endured for so long."
Aldin shakes his head.
Aldin: "My father has it worse."
"All I can do is hope to one day become a good ruler like him, since he is in no position to lead the kingdom the way he is now."
Nalzij: "You will. I'm sure of it."
Aldin: "Thank you very much, Nalzij. I hope you, too, would continue to help me on this dream of mine as you have been."
Nalzij: "Of course, I would be glad to."
Aldin smiles warmly.
Nalzij smiles back.
Nalzij: "I'll do whatever I can. For you and for Rissada."
"...Antille might know more about that map. Once he's done researching everything else."
Aldin: "Antille... the nanny you hired for the slaves?"
Nalzij: "Right. If he's from Nubaros himself, I can't think who would be better to ask."
Aldin: "Have you already shown it to him, or were you intending to do so now?"
Nalzij: "I only now thought of it, I'm afraid..."
Aldin: "No worries, I'm just here to spend free time with someone important to me, so I definitely don't have anything better to do."
Nalzij: "I... Y-yes, of course. It's high time we both had a chance to relax a little."
"Here, you should see the garden. Lorelei's done a lot of work on it, and it's a good place to sit down and talk."
Aldin: "You have me curious."
With Aldin following, Nalzij heads to the underground courtyard, where Christine appears to be serving a small banquet to the multitude of residents.
Aldin: "This is... quite the large amount of refugees."
Nalzij: "There are a lot of them. Antille and Lady Fox have their hands full."
Aldin: "I can imagine. So many you need to take care of... but some of them being able to take care of the others seems like it simplifies matters.
Nalzij: "They're learning, too. It's a start."
Nalzij nods in greeting to Christine and Lady Fox, heading over to one of the unoccupied tables.
Christine, noticing Nalzij and her guest enter, begins to head over to the two, a large bowl carried in her arms.
Christine: "Greetings, meowsters! What can I do for you today, meow? We have sole, trout, salmon, and squid, meow."
Aldin: "Uh..."
Aldin seems at a loss for words.
Nalzij: "...they like fish, so... Oh, thank you, Christine. Is there anything else still here, or is it all fish?"
Christine: "There's Antille's food, meow. I think he prefers meat and eggs, meow."
Aldin: "Eggs would be nice, if you would be so kind."
Christine: "...I don't know how to cook eggs, meow."
Nalzij: "(Why did that Selani have to be the uncooperative one...)"
"I don't suppose Lady Fox would be able to help you? It's probably best you learn to cook things besides fish anyway."
Christine: "Okay, meow."
Christine bows politely, before moving to talk to Lady Fox.
Christine: "(But I like fish, meow...)"
Aldin: "...You have a very lively home."
Nalzij: "...I'm sorry about that."
While the conversation appears to mostly be occurring out of earshot, Lady Fox appears to be becoming exasperated by Christine, before calling over another one of the beastkin; the golden-haired one that bears a remarkable similarity to how Tisha once looked.
Nalzij smiles at the sight of the foxkin, glancing briefly at Tisha and Se'ki.
The two children appear to be relaxing near flowers, enjoying the calmness of the courtyard.
When Nalzij turns her attention back, the golden-haired foxkin has left, leaving a much gloomier-looking Christine sulking back towards Nalzij's table.
Christine: "Inrieki is making you the food, meow..."
Nalzij: "Thank you, Christine. Don't fret it. You cook good fish."
Nalzij looks back at Aldin and shrugs helplessly.
Nalzij: "Things have been... interesting around here."
Aldin: "I wonder how you cope."
Nalzij: "Admittedly, I mostly leave them to Antille."
Aldin: "The mature-looking one... Lady Fox, was it?... seemed to handle it well."
"I suppose it's something like a family in that regard, they all look out for each other."
Nalzij: "I hadn't thought of it that way."
After a short discussion, the golden-haired foxkin... Inrieki, Christine said her name was... returns, holding a dish that appears, much to the pair's relief, to be decidedly not fish.
Inrieki smiles, setting down a platter which seems to contain a good quantity of eggs and sausage, and a side of bread as well.
Nalzij: "Ah, thank you... Itrieki?"
Inrieki: "I... food, eggs!"
Inrieki speaks to the party in Common, though it's clear she seems to be straining herself to manage it.
She pauses a bit, thinking, before saying something else.
Inrieki: "Oretresi!"
Inrieki returns to another part of the garden, looking happy with herself.
Aldin: "They've been learning how to speak? That must be quite the endeavor, considering how squalid I've heard their living conditions were originally."
Nalzij: "The ones who can are teaching them. It's impressive how much progress they've made so fast."
As the two talk, they take notice of some of the other beastkin approaching their table slowly, these ones bearing forms more in common with the wild wolf than a fox or cat.
Nalzij looks up at the closer of the two wolfkin in confusion.
Aldin: "...I get the feeling we're not the only diners here who weren't all that interested in fish."
Nalzij: "...I suppose that makes sense. I'll need to make sure they cook something else, won't I...?"
Aldin tries eating a part of the eggs and sausage, after freeing it from the platter with a knife.
Aldin: "Inrieki does seem to be a good cook, though. I imagine she's been picking up to things very quickly."
"It does seem promising. The more of them that learn, the more they can teach each other."
Nalzij: "There is that. They've come a long way, for sure."
Nalzij looks around for Inrieki for a moment, before talking to the wolfkin.
Nalzij: "Go to the kitchen and Inrieki should have more meat, okay?"
Male Wolfkin tilts his head. It doesn't appear he understands Common yet...
Aldin: "If I think about it, though, their fast learning speed is also rather sad."
Nalzij: "Ah? How so?"
Aldin: "They were slaves, and not well-treated slaves at that. I would imagine every minor disobedience was met with harsh punishment..."
Nalzij: "Right..."
Aldin looks at one of the fox-like halfkin near him, who appears to be contentedly sitting on the edge of the courtyard.
Aldin: "One wonders how many of these smiles are genuine, and how many are only because showing otherwise was prohibited in their old lives..."
"...I apologize for the grim talk. I... probably think about this sort of thing more than is entirely healthy. It feels like something I need to know, so I can help more people."
Nalzij: "No, I understand. We both have a duty to know."
Aldin: "I suppose that's an unexpected boon to living here. Seeing these disenfranchised individuals likely gives you a constant passive reminder as to who it is you're fighting for."
Nalzij: "It does at that."
Nalzij looks back at the children again for a moment as she speaks.
Aldin: "I wouldn't mind staying here either, but I could imagine nobody at the castle would be all that pleased at that development."
Nalzij laughs cheerfully, her mood lightening.
Nalzij: "It's probably best you not."
Nalzij looks in confusion at the wolfkin man again, before trying to gesture to one of the empty seats.
Male Wolfkin seems to understand this gesture, at least, as he moves to sit down.
Nalzij: "Still, I'm happy you could find the time to visit. Is Captain Vesteron still poking his nose around at the castle?"
Aldin: "Near as I can tell. For someone so flamboyant, he is surprisingly good at making himself scarce."
Nalzij: "I'm surprised no one's stopping him, still."
Aldin: "Near as I can tell, none of them are even aware he's there."
Nalzij: "That... is impressive. And not what I'd expected."
Aldin sighs, covering his face in a hand.
Aldin: "(I can't believe he acts like this...)"
Nalzij: "Looks like things are 'lively' everywhere."
Aldin: "At least his heart is in the right place. ...I assume. If he leaves and we find out royal heirlooms are missing, it will be difficult to continue overlooking his fugitive status."
Nalzij: "Heh, I suppose my father is right, he is still a pirate."
"I'm still trying to make sense of his gift."
Aldin: "The gauntlets?"
Nalzij: "Right."
"And who he took them from."
Aldin: "If it's the same 'who' I think, he was quite livid that day."
Nalzij: "The aide-de-camp?"
Aldin: "The aide's guest."
Nalzij: "...Gravewick."
Aldin: "I'm unfamiliar with the name."
Nalzij: "Please be careful, Aldin. That man is dangerous. I..."
Aldin: "Nalzij?"
Nalzij: "...He was dead. And came back."
Aldin: "He looked fine last time I saw him."
"Besides, that mark you put on the castle wall the other day; didn't you say it would let you know if any fiends or the like entered the place?"
Nalzij: "Something's been setting off the alarm sometimes. I set it to guard against a lot of things, so it could just be something normal, a Valesian diplomat or some such... I can't say for sure."
Aldin: "Well, at the least, we can be confidant this man is no diplomat."
Nalzij: "He's working with the assassins. He was here when they attacked Tisha. And both me and Pitch together could barely fight him off."
"Please be careful, whatever he is."
Aldin: "It seems difficult to believe, but I trust you would not try to steer me wrong. I'll watch out for him."
"At the least, whenever Vesteron decides to come out of hiding, he tells me some random thing about him or the aide."
"(His information, though, I'm more than a little skeptical about...)"
Nalzij: "Thank you for trusting me."
"...I shouldn't try too hard to make sense of Vesteron, should I?"
Aldin: "Not even I can make sense of him."
"He's certainly a... character. And while I can understand why father issued the reprieve of enforcement against him, there always seems to be a reason cropping up on why it's a bad idea..."
Nalzij: "Reprieve of enforcement? Why?"
Aldin: "Father is... grateful to that man."
Nalzij: "Ah. He did seem surprisingly loyal to the royal family. I hadn't thought an elf would be."
"Ehehe... I think when I met Vesteron, he thought I had killed you. I did a rather bad job of explaining how I had found your daggers."
Aldin: "Indeed. Vesteron is different. Which, come to think of it, is probably something you could apply to mean to absolutely everything about him."
"...I do apologize for that. He was... not in on Sir Tharrius's plan."
Nalzij: "Of course. Besides, it didn't cause us much trouble in the end, although it was a close call."
Aldin chuckles to himself.
Aldin: "There is one thing I will say in his defense, and that's that he would not have killed you even if you worded things worse than you evidently did."
Aldin looks to the food platter on the table, which during the pair's conversation has been depleted significantly by them.
Nalzij: "That's good to know, although I wouldn't have guessed it at the time."
Aldin: "I'm quite full at this point, so if you'd like, we can probably leave the rest of this for the beastkin?"
Nalzij: "Right, of course."
Nalzij passes the platter over to the wolfkin with a smile.
The wolfkin seem quite happy to receive the meal, and the foxkin girl on the side hops down to join them as well.
While watching the beastkin enjoy the meal, Nalzij gets another feeling from her gauntlets, giving her the impression that an additional unknown figure has entered the guild.
Nalzij stands up abruptly and looks toward the entrance.
Aldin gets up to follow Nalzij, on his guard.
Nalzij: "...ah. That's all."
Going towards the entrance, Nalzij sees the familiar knight that usually guards Aldin. Her eye catches Nalzij's, and she walks forward.
Armored Soldier: "Lady Latissier. How are you this evening?"
Nalzij: "Good evening, lady knight. I am well, and you?"
Armored Soldier: "Healthy but perturbed. The prince has gone missing and his presence is required at the castle."
"We were hoping you might be willing to aid us in the search?"
Nalzij: "Ah. Yes, he is here."
Armored Soldier: "Thank you, hopefully we will be able to fi--"
Armored Soldier pauses, apparently finally catching up to Nalzij's frankness.
Armored Soldier: "Excuse me, Lady Latissier, but did you say he was here?"
Aldin looks at Nalzij from further down the tunnel, shaking his head.
Nalzij glances back at Aldin sheepishly, not sure what to say.
Armored Soldier: "If you have any information at all, ma'am, it would be greatly appreciated. Due to the king's malady returning, it falls to the prince to perform all royal duties, including overseeing conferences."
Nalzij freezes in place, wondering if lying about this would be against her codes and what else to say.
Nalzij: "I... He... came here a little earlier. I'll help you look someplace else, o-of course."
Armored Soldier: "I see. If you learn anything, please let us at the castle know. I only hope His Highness is safe."
Nalzij: "Of course. Erm, so do I."
Armored Soldier pauses momentarily, in thought.
Armored Soldier: "Ah, yes. Sir Latissier has recommended you for attending this war council in his stead."
"If you would like to attend, we are convening at sunset. Otherwise, please let me know and Sir Latissier will attend instead."
Armored Soldier bows formally, and heads outside of the guild.
Nalzij: "Ah! I understand, I'll be there."
Aldin lets out a sigh once he is satisfied the knight has departed.
Nalzij turns back to Aldin, looking rather ashamed to have been lying even in his defense.
Nalzij: "It... looks like we don't have more free time."
Aldin: "I really do not wish to attend a war council. The only reason they request my presence is because there's only so much father can do without regular doses of a counteragent against his poison."
"Though I suppose if they want you to attend, it may be somewhat more tolerable."
Nalzij smiles slightly, still turning very red.
Nalzij: "If my father thinks I should be there... I'd like to be worthy of it."
Aldin: "I guess we should get them to call off their search, then."
"(I feel a little bad getting Lyre concerned, too.)"
Nalzij: "It's probably for the best, even if I'd rather have more chance to talk to you."
Aldin: "Don't worry, I'm sure there will be more chances later."
Nalzij heads for the exit of the guild with a sigh.
After getting the guards to call off the search for the prince, Nalzij and Aldin head up to the second floor of the castle, to a familiar conference room they once snuck past. Eventually, other people for the council arrived, including a familiar, unwelcome face.
Nalzij stiffens, glaring at Edmund Gravewick.
Aide-de-camp: "I offer my thanks for your attendance. In the absence of our usual attendants, Sir Eldorean Latissier will be having his daughter, Lady Nalzij Latissier attend in his place."
Commander Tass Eneson: "And I'm sure this is an important announcement, given the short notice."
Lord Edmund Gravewick: "Are you so concerned to be dragged away from your business?"
Nalzij stifles her anger with some difficulty and nods politely to the others.
Commander Tass Eneson: "As a matter of fact, I am. We're dealing with a dangerous threat at our doorstep, and we do not have the spare time for simply practicing how to talk to each other."
Prince Aldin of Rissada: "(It's like this every time, really.)"
Aide-de-camp: "If you all are satisfied?"
"Our scouts have reported back with dire news. Valesia has finished their preparations and are on the move."
Lord Edmund Gravewick: "So, what, a dozen or so rank-and-file to test the waters?"
Commander Tass Eneson: "Could you take this seriously for once?"
Aide-de-camp: "This is no false alarm, nor is it an advance guard. They have mobilized nearly their entire army, over three thousand soldiers."
Commander Tass Eneson: "Three thousand?! Even if I pull the recruits out of boot camp, we don't even have half that!"
Nalzij: "Star preserve us..."
Lord Edmund Gravewick: "So little faith for your soldiers?"
Commander Tass Eneson: "Would you be quiet for once?"
Aide-de-camp: "This is no trivial matter. The city's best generals have been sighted leading the armies. This is a systematic, calculated strike, designed to take over the city in one move."
Prince Aldin of Rissada: "If they have more than double our soldiers, and they have their best generals, AND they intend to overtake the city, exactly what do we do?"
Aide-de-camp: "Preliminary reports give us one week before they reach the borders of the city. Of course, intercepting them a fair distance from the city will help reduce any collateral damage."
Commander Tass Eneson: "A week is barely enough to teach some of the fresh meat which side of the sword to hold, and we're expected to muster up enough to take out their armies?"
Lord Edmund Gravewick: "I'm so sorry your poor men aren't up to the challenge. I'm sure I could take out one of their regiments singlehandedly."
Commander Tass Eneson: "Who are you even trying to impress with that bravado?! We're at WAR here, in case you haven't noticed!"
"Aide, why is this guy even here? He's just some mercenary, the last thing we need is a random sellsword that Valesia could just buy out from under our noses... if they haven't already!"
Aide-de-camp: "Argument over those who are to attend the war council will not be accepted. We need everyone we can get to stave off Valesia."
"Lord Gravewick, Lady Eneson, Lady Latissier, you have been informed of the state of affairs. By royal edict, you are to begin preparations for defense immediately."
"This meeting is dismissed."
Lord Edmund Gravewick: "Perhaps I shall have some lamb for lunch. At least that would be more of a challenge than the knights' finest."
Lord Edmund Gravewick begins to head out of the room, before catching Nalzij's gaze and giving a taunting smirk.
Nalzij scowls back as he leaves.
Commander Tass Eneson: "I can't believe that man right now... sellswords are not what we need."
"Latissier. Have you ever trained soldiers before?"
Nalzij: "The militia in Dubrovish. I think I could handle it better than many."
Commander Tass Eneson: "Good enough. I'm recruiting you to handle the green soldiers. Try to see if you can teach them how to put on a suit of armor without killing themselves, I need to spend this week drilling and training our elite."
Nalzij: "Understood, Commander."
Commander Tass Eneson: "Military Quarter, First light of dawn. I'll see you there."
Commander Tass Eneson turns to exit the room, not even offering a salute or bow before she departs.
Shortly thereafter, the aide leaves the room, leaving Nalzij and Aldin alone, still trying to process the situation.
Nalzij: "...The power of the Star is how Valesia defeated Nubaros. If we travel to the temple, maybe..."
Prince Aldin of Rissada: "Getting there within a week is asking for quite a lot, even if the Star were willing to grant us its power."
"I don't know how long soldiers are going to be able to hold the line once hostilities begin, but... from the sounds of it, it's not going to be long."
Nalzij: "Lux and I could travel quickly on our own, but I suppose you're right, and that wouldn't likely be enough..."
Prince Aldin of Rissada sighs.
Prince Aldin of Rissada: "I'm honestly a little torn between wanting the power Gravewick boasts about to actually be strong enough to turn the tide, and not wanting him to gain the satisfaction."
Nalzij: "You and me both."
"Three thousand soldiers..."
Prince Aldin of Rissada: "...They say that in the darkest hour, the Star shines the brightest. I can only pray that truly is the case..."
Nalzij: "I hope so. I don't know what else we can do."
Struck by the grim news, the two leave the conference room with heavy hearts, thinking about the looming battle.