Vardynn Embassy

[Raworaan]

Date: 30th Singing Bird, 3rd Hour of Sunblaze (11 am)

"No, that was exactly what I wanted to know, thanks. But I do have one more question; What exactly does he sell?" responded Thaelel as he took two of the larger containers from the wain, carrying it to the recieving bay as he followed Raworaan, "It's just that I work for another embassy, as you know, and we would love for him to trade with us. That does depend, however, on what he sells. So, what does he sell?"

"We sell a variety of products, some minerals, some foodstuffs, some plants, some finished products. We have a warehouse in Naios, attached to our house and shop. We have some suppliers, mostly those dealing with dwarves and other miners who bring their goods there. We also have jewellers, weapon makers and blacksmiths bring their finished products there. We also have dealings with a variety of different farmers in that region of Xaramon province down through to here who give us contracts to move their fresh produce for them. Uncle Cyr is only interested in the best products he can get for us to sell, and he always makes sure that everyone gets a fair deal, our suppliers, ourselves and our customers. He is looking to expand and put on additional teams to help with the deliveries. Hopefully, we'll be able to spend more time in each location, rather than being on the move all the time. This visit to New Santhalos, for example will only be for three days. Then we need to leave again," Raworaan said, as he carried more stuff from the wain into the receiving bay, "If there was something specific you wanted, you might need to ask Uncle Cyr about them. Though, he is willing to try to find most things, provided they aren't illegal, of course, and provided they can be sourced from down around here. These next things are heavier," Raworaan warned as they both made it back to the wain.

"I don't suppose you'd know if there are any fishing spots around here?" Raworaan asked, "I like fishing, but haven't been able to fish for a while now."

[Thaelel Swordmar]

Date: 30th Singing Bird, 3rd Hour of Sunblaze (11 am)

"Well, the river would be a good place to start, don't you think? I'm afraid I don't fish much myself, but I think that's a pretty safe bet." laughed Thaelel.

'I can't wait to see what the Ambassador says when he hears that I've got a merchant to supply us with pretty much everything! I know I'm going to love seeing the look on his face!' he thought, carrying yet more containers from the wain.

[Raworaan]

Date: 30th Singing Bird, 3rd Hour of Sunblaze (11 am)

"Well, the river would be a good place to start, don't you think? I'm afraid I don't fish much myself, but I think that's a pretty safe bet." laughed Thaelel.

A group of other workers from the Vardynn Embassy wandered over to help unload the wain, while Raworaan pondered the words of Thaelel with a frown on his face. He almost punched Thaelel for the comment, but based on the way that the swordsman drove off the porters, he decided that wouldn't be the smartest thing to do. So he calmed himself down and looked at Thaelel, "I didn't know there was a river through here. We haven't come in over it," he said.

The workers finished the unloading prior to Cyradin finishing with the third assistant under secretary. The merchant walked over to his nephew and the guard captain and said, "I'm pleased its all finished. Good job Raw."

Raworaan beamed at his uncle's praise, and said, "Uncle Cyr, I want to  go fishing."

Cyradin grinned at his nephew, and said, "at the river, I presume."

Raworaan pouted and said, "you knew about the river?"

"But of course, his uncle replied, "it was shown on the map."

"I didn't realise that," Raworaan said with a frown, "so, can I go and fish?"

"Of course," Cyradin answered with a grin, "go and catch your fish. Just don't be too late, and keep safe."

"I'm in New Santhalos, how couldn't I be safe?" Raworaan asked.

"Remember those porters," Cyradin said, "remember that, and don't let your mouth become too smart. Keep yourself safe."

Raworaan nodded and ran off.

Cyradin meanwhile turned to look at Thaelel, "so, about that drink I promised you and the talk you wanted, do you have time to meet at the Courtyard Inn now?"

[Thaelel Swordmar]

"Sure, I'd love to. I can't pretend to be a regular patron, but wasn't there some story recently about something illegal there? Still, a drink wouldn't go amiss, no matter the setting. So, Cyradin, what exactly do I need to attract your attention and deals to my own humble Remusian embassy?" Said Thaelel, setting off in the direction of the tavern.

[Drea]

30th Singing Bird, 4th Hour of Guardorans Known as Darkreign (12 AM)

Tylannah was happy.  The sun was shining down; it was warm but not too hot.  A slight breeze wafted the sweet smell of the flowers into her nostrils as she slowly walked along the cobblestone path that led its way through the gardens.  Here and there a gardener was kneeling and grooming the yard.  All was peaceful and calm.  She had hoped Kembar would join her, but of course he was too busy.  Seemed that was becoming the norm.  Feeling a bit tired, Tylannah spotted a bench up ahead and hurried to it, then lowered herself onto it.  

In front of her, a older woman was pulling weeds in a bed of large yellow flowers.  The older woman used a pair of shears and cut a single flower from its stem and turned around, offering the flower to the Lady.  "A yellow rose for you, m'lady?  Not nearly as pretty as you."

Tylannah reached out and took the flower.  "Thank you."  She brought the yellow rose up to her face and breathed deeply its sweet fragrance.  She closed her eyes for a moment, letting all her tension just slip away.

"Ouch!"  Tylannah opened her eyes and dropped the rose.  She lifted her finger and a spot of blood was forming on the finger.  She must have struck a thorn.  She brought the wounded digit to her mouth and kissed it, running her tongue over the wound until it stopped bleeding and the sting subsided.  A low growling caught her attention and she looked up.

Before her the old woman was kneeling, back to her.  Suddenly the old woman's head spun about so that it was facing directly backwards, so that a neck would have to be broken to produce such an effect.  Add to this the expression of pure feral evil on the face that it was no longer recognizable as human.  "You are ours!  Your child is ours!"  The voice that came from the woman was not human, nor did it sound like a single voice, but like the voices of many speaking in unison.  "We are coming for you and there is no place left to hide."

Unable to contain her fright, Tylannah screamed.

[Drea]

30th Singing Bird, 4th Hour of Guardorans Known as Darkreign (12 AM)

"Lady!  Lady!"

Drea shook the Ambassador's wife until the Lady opened her eyes.  Drea then helped the obviously upset and disoriented woman into a sitting position in her large and lavish bed.  "Are you alright, Lady Tylannah?"

Tylannah sat for a moment, shivering in her gown and surrounded by thick feather filled quilts.  "Yes.  I must have had another nightmare."

Drea nodded and reassuring laid a hand on the Lady's shoulder.  "It's okay, now.  You're fine.  Nothing can harm you."  Drea was aware that other's had entered the room, the most important of which was Ambassador Fruwee himself.  Drea looked hard at him, and a uncertainty filled her.  There was a look on the Ambassador's face that she couldn't quite figure out.  It had a mix of concern and love there, but there was something more.  Shame?  No, that might be too strong a word, but he was definitely bothered by the attention his wife had garnered.

"Another nightmare?"  His voice was a bit cold in its tone.

Tylannah nodded.  "Yes.  I'm sorry, my love.  I did not mean to wake you, or anyone else."  She held out her arms to him, beckoning him to her.

Drea stepped back away from the couple and took a position near the window.  She watched as the ambassador hesitated a moment then strode across the room and embraced his frail wife.  A bit uncomfortable, she averted her eyes and stared out the window into the gardens below. 

Fruwee held on to his wife, but there was something there that would not let him fully embrace her as he might have once.  In the doorway stood three of Tylannah's attendants as well as Aeris and Corrigahn.  All of this attention for yet another nightmare.  What was going on here?  Was his wife simply vying for attention?  Would she do that?  He had never been this busy before.  It was not his fault that he could not spend as much time with her as he normally would.  But to cause such commotion?  What was she thinking?

He waved away the group in the doorway.  "Go on back to your beds.  Everything is fine here."  Once they were gone, he pulled away from his wife, and gently took hold of her shoulders, pushing her away to arms length.  "What is going on, Tylannah?"

Eyebrows raised, Tylannah stared dumbly back at her husband.  "What do you mean?"

Fruwee sighed audibly.  "I mean what is going on with you, Tylannah?  You know how delicate this time is for me, for us.  We are new here, and trying to get this house, this embassy to follow us and not my uncle.  Do you realize how that can be jeopardized by you having these fits?  It makes us look bad."

Tylannah's mouth dropped.  Was he being serious?  "Kembar, I'm not some little girl acting out to get attention."

"No?  It seems that is what is happening here.  Look how for two nights in a row, everyone has had to come to you in the middle of the night to assist you in what has amounted to simple nightmares."  The ambassador pointed at Drea.  "I'm sure that Miss Corfuyne has better things to do than be playing nursemaid to you."

Drea's head snapped around to look at the couple and she squirmed uncomfortably for a moment.  The last thing she wanted was to be caught in the middle of their argument.  She resumed staring out the window.  A movement near the tree line at the east end of the garden caught her attention.  She peered hard at the spot and soon a figure appeared.  It looked like a woman, though Drea did not recognize who it was, and she was staring upward at the Lady Tylannah's window, where Drea now stood.  Definitely not someone who was employed in the embassy.  That meant whoever it was had no right to be there.

Drea turned to the couple, who were still bickering back and forth.  She took a step away from the window.  "I need to take my leave.  There is something I need to check on."  When neither the ambassador or his wife gave her any attention, Drea hurried from the room.  That was the first time that Drea had seen a crack in the perfect couple.  Somehow it made her feel as though whatever was happening with them was going to happen to everyone.

[Cyradin Lawabel]

"Sure, I'd love to. I can't pretend to be a regular patron, but wasn't there some story recently about something illegal there? Still, a drink wouldn't go amiss, no matter the setting. So, Cyradin, what exactly do I need to attract your attention and deals to my own humble Remusian embassy?" Said Thaelel, setting off in the direction of the tavern.

"With me, the most important thing is to set a price and conditions up front and keep to them, not change them," Cyradin replied, "I am happy to accept penalties for late deliveries due to weather any anything else, provided they are agreed to upfront. That is where the problems came with that 3rd assistant undersecretary back there, he attempted to change the conditions after the fact. Then he tried to bribe me. In short, I'm out for a win for myself, for my customers and for my suppliers. If your embassy is able to agree to those types of things, Thaelel, we have ourselves a deal."

[Drea]

30th Singing Bird, 4th Hour of Guardorans Known as Darkreign (12 AM)

Once out of the Lady Tylannah's boudoir, Drea felt more at ease.  It had been uncomfortable listening to the two of them.  In truth, Drea wasn't sure where she stood on the issue.  She could see the real fear in the Lady's eyes, and knew that it was no ploy for attention.  On the other hand, it was a nightmare.  It wasn't real, and many eyes were on them, as they settled in to their roles here in New Santhala.  On a personal measure, Drea had to agree that hastening into Lady Tylannah's room, sword drawn, expecting something wrong, only to find the woman cowering in her sheets was a trifle irritating.

But, it was her job,  This was what she was paid for.  

Drea made her way down the staircase, across the marble floor of the grande hallway, then out the door toward the gardens below Lady Tylannah's room.  She slowed her pace, careful to step lightly.  She didn't want to alert the person she saw down here to her presence.  Getting closer to the outer walls, she was hidden by the trees planted there.  From tree to tree, Drea darted in and out of the shadows.

Closer and closer she made her way  to where the figure had stood.  Peering through the foliage, Drea could not see anyone.  She moved closer.  Movement caught her eye, and her hand went to the ephords on her hips.  Pulling them carefully from the scabbards, she moved forward again.  She could see the figure ahead, moving quickly away, towards the rear gate.  Drea quickened her pace, her heart beginning to pound harder in her chest.

She emerged from the line of trees, stealth no longer the main requirement.  The figure was ahead of her, almost at the gate, its form seeming to glow in the moonlight, flowing cloth about it to the ground so that it appeared to be floating as it ran.  If Drea had to guess, she believed the figure to be a woman.

A grim line formed where Drea's mouth was.  She had the intruder now.  They were both near the gatehouse, where the path wound around the wall and into the gatehouse proper, and the portcullis that would be shut for the night.  The figure disappeared from view and Drea pushed herself to go even faster.

Rounding the stone wall into the gatehouse, large saliva covered fangs greeted her.  She skidded to a stop as a large hound, barely contained in its attack by a leather leash held by a bulky guard, barked angrilly at her and tried to lunge.  She stepped back, her head twisting from side to side.  The intruder was nowhere insight.

"A woman!  A woman just came past here,"  she panted.

"Armeros!  Quiet!"  The dog obediently stopped its barking, and the guard turned his attention to Drea.  "No, ma'am.  Ain't nobody been 'ere in hours, 'ceptin' you, of course.  Ol' Armeros 'ere woulda raised a stink, sure 'nuff."

Drea bit her lip and looked around again.  What had just happened here?  There was a woman here a moment ago.  She couldn't have just disappeared as a wisp of smoke.  "Dammit!  Make a sweep of the entire grounds.  Check everywhere."

The guard with Armeros and three other guards on duty all nodded and hurried to do the bodyguards bidding.

[Drea]

Date: 1st Rising Sun, 1st Hour of Sunblaze (9 am)

Aeris paced before the six men in his office, which was not easy to do, as five of the men were quite bulky and his office not that large.  He was frustrated.  This was not how he wanted his day to start.

"So, tell me, what in the name of Armeros happened to you?  Five of my labourers are beaten?"

One of the men cleared his throat. "Well, only two were beaten, sir.  Truth be told, the man didn't touch me, or Wuhl, or Gerdy."

Aeris stared hard at the man who spoke.  "Ah, yes, you surrendered and the other two ran away."  He nodded slowly, pursing his lips and took a slow step closer to the man.  "Do you think I care?  You five were beaten by a single stranger!"  Aeris yelled loudly at the man, causing him to shrink visibly.

Forcing himself to calm down, Aeris placed his hand on the bridge of his nose, feeling the pressure of a headache began to bother him.  He reached to his desk and picked up the report that had been filed earlier that morning.  "Now, it says here that the 3rd assistant undersecretary to the department of works-", Aeris turned around to look at Xennia.  "What is the 3rd-"

"Shipper and receiver," was Xennia's matter of fact answer.

Aeris raised an eyebrow then turned to the shipper, whose cheeks were a ruddy colour.  "A promotion?"

"Well, actually, I just figured a better title would help the embassy with all those greedy merchants trying to cheat-".

"Oh, would you please just shut up," Aeris put up a hand and shielded himself from the stupidity flowing from these men like a brisk winter wind.  "In fact, all of you, get out.  Get out!  And if I need to call you back in here, you'll find yourselves down the road."

When the room was empty except for he and Xennia, he climbed up onto his chair.  He closed his eyes for a moment until movement close to his face prompted him to open his eyes again.  Before him, in the palm of Xennia's hand was a single mayu bean.

She was a godsend.

[Drea]

Date: 17th Rising Sun, 2nd Hour of Greyshade (7 pm)

Drea watched as her Ladyship, Tylannah Fruwee, prepared herself for the evening meal.  To her way of thinking, it was almost a waste of time.  The Lady would invariably be dining alone, as she had been for near a fortnight now.  The tension between her and Ambassador Fruwee was almost palpable.  The two were not eating together, not socializing together, or even speaking to each other.

Drea could not be sure of everything that had transpired between the two, but she had gleaned the gist of it.  The Ambassador had grown both annoyed and embarrassed of his wife's strange behaviour of late.  The Lady, was angry that he did not believe her claims that there were strange goings on in the embassy.  She insisted that she heard the cries of infants and saw people where there could be none.

Drea didn't know what to believe.  That one night, she had been sure she had seen a figure outside, only to find no one there.  It had been strange.

"Deep in thought, Drea?"

Drea blinked.  "No. M'Lady."

Tylannah smiled as she sat before the boudoir mirror and carefully applied the last of her makeup.  She was somewhat disconcerted that she needed more makeup now than ever before.  In the last two weeks, her palour had grown paler and large black circles had formed around her eyes.

"Then, I think I an ready to go to the dining room."

"Very well, Lady."  Drea opened the door to the corridor, glancing up and down its length.  No one was there, and she relaxed.  Not that she expected anyone on this floor, besides the odd maid.

Drea turned back as Tylannah rose from her chair, leaned forward to her dressing table, and blew out the candles on it.  Only, Drea froze in her tracks, as her blood went old and she felt like she might faint.

For in the mirror, in the split blink before the light went out she had seen something impossible.  In the mirror, the figure of Lady Tylannah had not risen from its chair; had not leaned forward and blew out the candle.  The Lady Tylannah in the mirror had been staring at Drea herself, its lips curled back in a monstrous display of unimaginable evil.

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