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Tarrov finished his slice of bread.  "You know what my vote is."  He shrugged and wiped his mouth with a napkin.  "Take it back to the palace, get rewarded, and attempt to insinuate ourselves into the confidences of the most powerful personage in the city while she's still struggling with her newfound reins of royalty."

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This message was last edited by the player at 07:01, Fri 01 Nov 2013.

"Tch," Momma tchs as she eyes her son. "People just sayn' thongs abut tha Queen cos she's young and pretty. Things go bad, people wanna blame someone. Do you know the Queen's a bad person? Or is that just what you heard? I didn't raise you to judge a person by what other people say about them."

"There is that point. But more importantly...may I see brooch?" Skirk wipes his paws on a napkin and holds the brooch up to the light. "Yes. At most I think we can get about a thousand coins for it. But if I recall correctly, there s a reward out for it. Two thousand coins. Or thereabouts. We get more for the baubble by tuning it in. Favor or no favor, that is reason enough for me. I say we turn it in."

"Okay, we give the queen the benefit of the doubt then and turn it in right after breakfast!" he says through a mouthful of food. "By Iomedae I forgot how good you cooked mamma. Oh, keep Marisha inside the house and stay in yourself if you can until it's safe outside."

The Castle, unsuprisongly, is locked down. It takes a half hour to convince the guard you do have business here. The sight of the brooch gets things moving more quickly. You are lead up one of the great stone stairways....the Castle is built atop someold ziggaraut...and stopped before one of the great stone doors. The officer on duty holds up a hand. "You'll need to leave your weapons here."

Vaddis nods to the guard and grudgingly hands over his weapons to him as directed.

Selvin barely hesitated. His main weapon, after all, wasn't something he carried. He left his weapons with a shrug.

Toke shrugged and handed over the cheese knife he picked up earlier. "Easy come, easy go."

The officer looks at Tarrov as Skirk  hands over his blades.  "Worry not," says a voice behind you. A woman is approaching. She wears a light mail and carries a finely crafted blade on her hip. Long black hair sways around her shoulders and her eyes are as grey as smoke. The ensignia of a major is stitched on her shoulder.

"All your weapons will be returned to you after your audience. I hear you have found our queen's brooch. I am Major Sabina Merrin. I am head of our Lady's security. May I ask how you happened to come across the brooch?"

"We took it from a man that made his living kidnapping, robbing and killing people. We turned him over to the authorities yesterday."

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Tarrov agreeably handed the officer his whip and dagger as he looked over at the newly-arrived officer.  "Well met, Major Merrin.  I am Tarrov Garrick, former pupil to the great Mikael Burwich.  The man who possessed Her Majesty's brooch killed Master Burwich and was running both a narcotics and child-abduction ring down by the docks."

Tarrov nodded at Vaddis.  "As my companion says, that man is now in the custody of Her Majesty's guard.  We found this brooch in his possession, and having heard that Her Majesty was missing such an item, we came as directly as we could to return it to her, given the unfortunate and unjustified civil unrest currently wracking our city."

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This message was last edited by the player at 08:43, Mon 11 Nov 2013.

Sabina studies you all for a moment and then nods slightly. She looks at the guard officer. "Give them back their weapons. I will escort them to see the Queen."

The officer looks a bit surprised, but doesn't maintain eye contact with Sabina for long. Instead, he hands you back your things.

Sabina waits for you all to reequip yourselves and then nods to you. "This way please."

She leads you up into the higher levels of the castle. At last you stop before a pair of large, grand doors. Sabina nods to the guards standing before it and then looks back at you. "Our Lady has had a terrible blow with the death of her husband. Please be attentive to her need."

She does not wait for an answer. Only turns and waves for the guards to open the door.

The Throne Room is filled with echoes. They take up the places you would expect the usual throng of statesmen and nobles would stand. As it is, there are only a few military advisors standing near the steps up to the throne.

The Crimson Throne of Korvosa is a bit less ostentatious than you would think. It is made of fine mahagony and thickly cushioned with blood red pillows. It almost looks comfy.

The Queen perches on it dressed in the darkest shades of black. Even the stiff veil covering her face can not hide her delicate features or the firey hue of her hair. Her green eyes, deep as the tops of the oldest forest, gaze down at you. She smiles. "Are you the heros who return to me my brooch?" She sounds both sad and cheerful at the same time. "I would that the circumstances of this event were better timed. But perhaps they are timed just right. Our City has need of good news right now. And what better news than the tale of your bravery?" She gestures to Sabina, who takes the brooch from you. The Queen then turns back to you. "Our City has entered a dark time my friends. And it...as well as I...have need of brave heros. There is so much that needs to be done to secure the safety of the citizenry. You will be rewarded for the brooch of course. But could I implore you to perhaps render more service to Our City?"

She nods as Sabina brings forward a small chest. It is filled with coins. Quite a bit more than the promised reward for the brooch. The Queen smiles at you all again. "All who stand with the city in it's time of need will have my gratitude."

Note: She is not using the Royal We when she says Our City. But the Yours and Mine kind of Ours.

"Watch Commander Cressidia has need of capable hands to assist her. Please. I beg you on behalf of the Citizens. Aid us in our hour of need."

Vaddis bows deeply to the queen, obviously taken in by her regal demeanor and great beauty, "Thank you your Majesty, I will serve you gladly."

Selvin looks slightly uneasy. He gives a bow when they approach the Queen. The Queen is beautiful and after taking one long look at her, he drops his eyes to the floor for the remainder of their visit.  He doesn't want to be thought of as improper...well, more than he actually is. He hesitates and then speaks up after the only-answer-obvious Vaddis speaks up.

"I am not a hero, Majesty. But...if I can help, I will. This is my home, after all."

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Tarrov put his hand to his chest as he knelt.  "If there is anything I can do to help you or the city, Your Majesty, you have but to ask."  He looked up at the Queen.  "I, for one, am at your service."

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This message was last edited by the player at 08:42, Mon 11 Nov 2013.

Toke's steely eyes never left the Queen, even through his attempted gesture that one may construe as a bow; they stared at the Queen's profile as a tirade of unsavory thoughts ran through his mind. Only when the chest was brought out was his attention diverted. He looked longingly into the chest and thought about his chances of actually receiving the treasure. He would be the most likely one to survive, as everyone else seemed as inclined to draw attention to themselves as he was to hang back. Not to mention other rewards...

"Aye." He said simply, fearful that his greed would show through his tone.

The Queen claps her hands together and clasps them over her heart. Like a little girl who has been given a wished for gift on her birthday. "My friends! You give me such comfort and hope. Know that your words and actions have given me some solace in this dark time.

"For now, please go with Sabina. She will see you to Field Marshall Cressida Kroft, the Head of the Watch. There is much we need to do to rebuild our glorious home. Now, if you will forgive me, I need to rest. The day has left a strain on me and I need some time to mourn."

Sabina steps up and, after bowing to her Queen, motions for you all to follow. She leads you silently out of the throne room. After the doors are shut, she looks back at you all, a  smile pn her lips. "You have given Queen Ileosa some comfort. For that you have my eternal gratitude."

---

"So you're the calvary huh?" Field Marshall Cressida Kroft's eyes are as grey as the hair in her head. She looks each of you over as you sit around a round table in the heart of the Watch Command's citadel. Sabina left you with the Watch guard and bid you good fortune before heading back to the castle. It didn't take long before Cressida met you and whisked you into an inner conference room. She is a tough looking no nonsense kind of woman. Her uniform is crisp at the corners and her boots still have a shine. She sets a decanter of wine out for you to help yourselves from and settles back onto her own chair. "That's good," she continues, "cos we need a calvary charge about now. You've been out on the streets. You know better than I do how things are. My men are stretched pretty thin right now, keeping what little order we have. It leaves me pretty shorthanded where it comes ta dealing with the...special cases. And we got plenty of those right now. So here's the deal. I want to hire you on as agents of the Watch. To help with those special cases. It doesn't need to be said that you'll be well compnsated for your trouble."

She pours herself some wine and takes a sip before continuing. "The most pressing need I have right now needs some delicate handling. One of my officers has gone rouge." She scowls at the wall, as if it were the man then shakes her head. "When everything went down last night, some of my men deserted their post. Most did so to see to their families. I can at least understand that. But one of my officers deserted for other reasons. Verik Vancaskerkin. He did worse than just deserting his post. He's talked some of his subordinates into joining him. Claims Queen Ileosa is going to bring the City to ruin. Whether she does or not isn't the point. Things are bad enough without him pulling more of our manpower away from their duties with secessionist garbage. He's like an infection in our ranks. And I need to minimize the damage he's doing. He and his 'men' have taken over an abandonded butcher's shop in Northgate called All The World's Meat. I need you to go in and take stock of the situation and then handle it. If you can avoid killing any of them, I would appreciate it. I have some questions I want to ask them. But the bigger concern is ending his rebellion before it spreads. Can you handle that?" She smiles tiredly. "Though if you need to catch some sleep first I can understand that. Do you have a place to bed down?"

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"I think we can handle it," Tarrov raised an eyebrow at his companions, "unless anyone thinks differently?"

He looked back at Field Marshal Kroft.  "Is there any information that you can give us on Mister Vancaskerkin?  Does he have any weaknesses or proclivities of which you know?  What are his religious leanings?  Any idea why he suddenly went secessionist?  Was he considered a good officer before he went rogue?  A popular one?  Was he vetted before he joined the guard, and what did that turn up?  Do you think they took over this butcher shop because it was convenient, or does it have some sort of tactical or strategic value?  That sort of thing."

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This message was last edited by the player at 08:43, Mon 11 Nov 2013.

Kroft shrugs. "He is...was...adequate as far as his service went. There were some discipline problems. Minor infractions his superior let slide. Late for musters mostly. I would guess a woman was the cause." She takes another small drink. "He was over one of the pike units for a while. He's taken four men with him. All vetrans and none what I would call shining examples of military honor. They'll give you a fight if it comes to it. But there are ho spell tossers that I know of."

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Tarrov nodded.  "A woman, you say?  Any idea who or where she might be?  We might be able to have her talk some sense into her man.  Of course, he might be deserting because of her; that would be good to know as well."

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This message was last edited by the player at 08:42, Mon 11 Nov 2013.

"Indeed, she may be the root of the issue. Can you give us directions to his station so we may interview his men before we confront them, and a pass, so we're not mistaken for looters would be nice too."

"If I knew who she was, I would approach her with the matter. Honestly, it's speculation on my part." Kroft sets her cup down. "But usually when a man deserts his post it's due to money, Shiver, or a woman. There were no indications he was an addict. And it's usually a woman. One way or the other, he needs to be brought to justice. I'd prefer he face charges in a court. Arrest him and bring him to custody. His men as well. Though, " the Field Marshall sighs, "I understand they may resist. And you need to do what you need to do. But if at all possible, bring them in alive."

Selvin frowned a bit as he listened to the conversation. Rogue watchmen. They'd already seen a drunk one that night. And with the city kind of tearing itself apart, it wasn't a surprise he supposed, but still not a good thing.

To his companions he said, "We should scout them out first before actually approaching. See if they're barricaded in there and shoot first ask questions later sort of thing, or if we can approach to talk safely."

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Tarrov grinned at Field Marshal Kroft.  "Not to worry, Milady.  Alive is my specialty."

The bard turned to look at Selvin and Vaddis.  "Those are both solid ideas.  The more information we have, the better, I say."  He looked around at the others.  "I propose that we, with the Field Marshal's leave, of course," he nodded at Kroft, "decamp from here and head towards his station to interview those who served with him, and then scout out the lay of his lair.  What say you?"

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This message was last edited by the player at 08:41, Mon 11 Nov 2013.

Toke thought over what the Marshall and his own comrades were saying. Personally it would be much easier just to lock the watchmen in their safe little store and turn "All The World's Meat" into a burning wreck. It wouldn't be hard for the Marshall to lump it into the rest of the burning city, should the need arise. He smiled to himself as he mused over his new position helping the guard rather than avoiding them.

For now he would play along.

Toke nodded at Tarrov's words, "Sounds like a plan, Garrick."

Please head to the All The World's Meat thread.