quumunity | The Third Thingy

"Were you considering leaving him before?" Shonagon asks lightly.

His reply is shaded with surprise and the delicate widening of his lilac eyes. "...But of course. I was to ride to the east on the morrow. A matter of diplomacy, to Argentia. But," And he fixes Sei in particular with his gaze, just for a moment, before pressing the water goblet towards the good doctor. "In truth I was intending to examine whether there was any substance to the rumors of Argentian aggression along the border."

Argentia being the nation which bordered Glazingstoke to the west, and in fact separated one province from the main body of the rest of the nation. Mountainous, small, landlocked, its primary trade was in mining and the production of quarry materials, jewelry, alchemical reagents, and engineering equipment - though a number of notable authors also hailed from the region. Glazingstoke, with its fertile fields and long border with the sea, its quiet bays and smooth, level roads, was Argentia's most important trade partner.

Wait, hold up.... someone is there. Someone not wearing feathers, nor carrying a spear nor staff.

A woman, short, with a hard, capable look. She has very dark skin and soft, androgynous features, and wispy black hair like a cloud of cotton fluff that catches every hint of a breeze. She is wearing black clothing cut functional and close, though the white lace trim at her throat and the elaborate assortment of heavy silver (is it silver? experienced jewelers in the party may discover it is something else.) jewelry suggests that this is no scullery maid. There she is, leaning against the pale yellow-green soapstone wall, rolling a crossbow bolt between her thumb and forefingers. A fly in the ointment.

She is looking over Hei's shoulder to see who follows. Her quiet smile suggests the ripple of a lake under moonlight. If the ripple were caused by an enormous carnivorous fish.

"Fallen one, hide or perish. In there."

Her voice is soft; a vague, hushed sound, with a pronounced accent that licks along the L's and aspirates the TH-sounds. She points the flanged head of the bolt at an almost invisible door outlined in the stone of the palace wall.

A dozen guards are running your way.

It looks like the guards from the north are starting to notice the commotion.

A surly looking guard with blond hair and huge breasts that struggle beneath her armor of leather straps approaches Zell's cell. She is carrying a tray containing the following:

1 rough stoneware mug of water
1 small apple
1 stoneware bowl of salty oat gruel that has gone cold
1 hard-boiled (overcooked) egg
1 well-used, but clean, metal spoon
A napkin of a linen so rough that it is more likely to scratch the shit out of your hands than wipe them.

She bends over with a grunt, sets the tray on the floor, and pushes it through a slot at the base of the barred wall.

Unwilling to season the prisoner's lunch with conversation, she turns to leave.

Sei & Bones' path

Hei's path

Zell's path