Campaign Log: Chaotic Pioneering

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Thoughts on August 6th

Olivia and I spent the morning shopping for clothes. It was mostly for her, as she needed a completely new wardrobe now that her belly was growing. I only bought one dress, an elegant one to wear at the palace.

Olivia wasn’t invited, so she stayed behind at the White Truffle while the rest of us went for our audience at the gubernatorial palace, in the northern part of town. Soldiers wearing military colors, as opposed to the Church colors that were used earlier, stopped us at the entrance to the nobles’ district. I showed our pass, and the officer sent two of the men as escort.

I had to show the pass again at the palace gates, and palace guards took over escorting us. We were eventually shown into a waiting room by a servant. There were refreshments here, wine and fruit mostly, and the servant asked if we needed anything else. We didn’t, so he left us alone, saying we only had to knock on the door if there was anything; he’d be outside.

Ilzo snooped in the cupboards, curious as ever, but didn’t find anything exciting. After a while, the servant knocked on the door and asked us to follow him. He took us to a large office occupied by a butlerish type and two functionaries. The butler seemed to be under the impression that I desired to perform at the palace, and that I’d come to make arrangements for that. Sensing that something wasn’t quite right, I confirmed his belief.

Just then, someone knocked on the door, and a servant entered and whispered a message to the butler, who apologized that something had come up; did we mind waiting here. The butler took the functionaries with him when he left on the servant’s heels.

One minute later, the door opened again, and an officer from the palace guard looked inside. I asked what he wanted, but he just pulled back his head and closed the door again. The door opened once more, and a man in his thirties, looking like a circus ringmaster, came inside. Va’lyndra suggested that he might be Sirius Nopel, which he confirmed.

The trade minister sat down behind one of the desks and bade us sit as well. He told us he had heard about us from his good friend Karl. Just good things, Va’lyndra hoped. “Yes, mostly,” Sirius replied. He told us he had heard of our involvement with a certain Lady Karita in clearing up metal export troubles. If I recalled correctly, Ilzo and Leopold hadn’t been with us at the time, but I didn’t correct him.

Anyway, since Karl wanted Sirius to assist us with an investigation, he would, within reason, and before March. We wouldn’t be able to meet again, at least not regularly, as this business should be undertaken in secret, but he would get us a contact we could deal with instead.

Va’lyndra said we needed to get someone alone, and Sirius might be able to help, depending on who that someone was. Leopold revealed the name of the governor’s spiritual advisor, Neriel, and Sirius winced. That might be difficult. Va’lyndra asked if Sirius could tell us more about Neriel, instead. Where did he come from? Where did he live? Sirius informed us that Neriel was sent by the Church, about fifteen years ago, to advise the governor. He didn’t know what Neriel had done before that, or where he had been.

Neriel lived somewhere in the cathedral complex, but worked at the palace. As far as Sirius knew, Neriel didn’t attend external events. Leopold wanted to know how much influence Neriel exerted on the decisions being made at the palace. Sirius didn’t think that Neriel had very much clout. He was supposedly just a liaison between the governor and the Church, although he participated in budget meetings.

We told Sirius that we believed Neriel and his ilk to influence secular governments detrimentally, and that Lord Karl had tasked us with acquiring proof of this. Sirius offered to keep an eye on Neriel, stood, and went to the door to summon one of the guards outside. The guard’s name was Jonas, and Sirius asked him to help us spy on Neriel, but not to take any risks. Sirius instructed us to discuss the details with Jonas, and asked if there was anything else he could do for us. I mentioned performing at the palace, and Sirius told me to take it up with the butler.

Once the door closed behind the trade minister, Jonas said it was nice to meet us, and that we didn’t have much time here. We agreed to meet at the Bar Ground, a tavern not far from the White Truffle, at noon tomorrow. Jonas asked us not to draw attention when we got there, then he bowed and left.

We waited for a quarter of an hour, and then the butler returned, functionaries in tow. He apologized for the delay, and sat down at his desk. I asked him about performing at the palace, but he didn’t think that would happen unless I could convince several nobles to request it. I was disappointed, but that wasn’t really why we had come. The butler had two guards escort us out.

Back at the inn, Va’lyndra declared that she was going up to her room to rest. I began performing in the common room, and Olivia and Ilzo sat down to watch. Va’lyndra came down again, too troubled to rest, and went out instead for a little while, and vanished upstairs when she got back.

Anita, the dwarf we had investigated for the knowledge guild and ultimately saved from assassination, entered with a group of guards to watch the show. Afterwards, one of the guards contacted me and said that his employer wanted a few words, so Olivia and I went to sit with Anita. She seemed exhausted, but wore much finer clothes now than she had done in Urdon. It struck me as not a very dwarf-like outfit. Anita wanted to talk to Va’lyndra, so I led the way upstairs and knocked on my friend’s door. There was no reply, so I knocked again. Had she gone out again? At this hour? I was about to knock a third time, when the door opened. This seemed like knowledge guild business, so Olivia and I excused ourselves and went to bed.


Thoughts on August 7th

Va’lyndra must have gotten over her insomnia, for she looked much better this morning. She told us over breakfast, in the suite I share with Olivia so we could talk without being overheard, what Anita had said last night. She had a brother named Rulf who still tormented her. Rulf was supported by a criminal gang who vandalized Anita’s businesses. Anita had come to ask our help to eliminate the threat, in a way that couldn’t be traced back to her. We quickly agreed that we had to avoid situations where Ilzo or Leopold would be interrogated, and I said I didn’t want to be part of any illegal activities. I’ve done some things during my adventuring career that I’m not proud of, and expect to do more, but I felt this business with Anita was sort of optional. The world wouldn’t go under if her brother won the battle of the dwarven siblings. I would do what I could to help, within reason. We spent some time discussing ethics, and decided that the best way to approach this was for Va’lyndra to spy on Rulf’s gang. I was too famous, Ilzo too recognizable, and Leopold too truthful to conduct espionage.

I showed my friends how I could become less famous, by transforming into Fabian. Ilzo was very curious about the process, so I demonstrated again, changing back into Mattea. When he began asking how the process affected my private parts, Olivia dragged me out and into the bedroom. I needed to relax. Two transformations in such a short time was taxing. I caressed Olivia’s belly and we talked about how wonderful it would be to have a baby.

At noon, I said goodbye to Olivia and went to Bar Ground with Va’lyndra, Ilzo and Leopold. It was a very fine establishment. A waiter showed us to a private room and offered wine. I asked for fruit juice instead.

Jonas arrived not long after us. I told him we needed to know about Neriel’s daily routine, and Jonas said he could find out in a couple of days. Leopold added that we wanted to know who he talked to. Ilzo wanted to know which watering holes his guards frequented. Jonas told us that it was palace guards who followed Neriel when he was at work. Since Jonas didn’t exactly answer Ilzo’s question, I assumed he told us about the guards being palace guards because they have their own drinking establishment, probably at the palace.

Jonas didn’t have much to report about Neriel at this time, so I asked Va’lyndra if she was going spying now. She replied with a glance at Jonas that she’d love to have Fabian along, if he was available. I told her I’d check. Jonas said he didn’t want to know about this.

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We stayed in the private room for a little while, so it wouldn’t seem suspicious. Leopold asked Jonas to tell us what was happening in Surd, since it had been several months since we were here last. Jonas told us about a new bank that dealt with small loans to the lower classes, backed by the merchants’ guild. People who couldn’t repay their loans became slaves. The other main thing that was happening was refugees from the Old World arriving and becoming a burden on society here. There was still that plague on the other side of the ocean that people were fleeing. Ilzo didn’t care much for small talk and drank like a fish, but it was Va’lyndra who was tipsy when we stood to go, and she drawled that Fabian had to guard Anita’s house.

I fetched Olivia first, and we brought her borrowed books back to the medical library. Olivia wanted to relax again, but assured me nothing was wrong with her or the baby, so she returned to the White Truffle, while I went to find Anita’s house. When I got there, I realized that I had forgotten to turn into Fabian, but I didn’t care for another walk across town, so I just approached the door.

There was a guard outside, who informed me that Anita wasn’t home, so I thanked him and sneaked into the overgrown garden. I found a good hiding place which allowed me to watch the house unseen. The sun was shining, and it was nice and warm, so I undressed and basked in the sun for a couple of hours. Nothing happened during that time, except I started to feel cooked, so I put my clothes back on and returned to the inn.


Thoughts on August 8th

I escorted Olivia to the medical library so she could study. They had decided that only men were allowed entrance now, and after a failed charm offensive, I asked Olivia what we should do. How could she develop her medical skills now? Olivia suggested finding a midwife, to learn about child rearing.

The midwife agreed to give lessons for a price, and while we were there, we had her examine Olivia. She declared that all was well with mother and child, and recommended that Olivia abstain from exhausting activities and avoided stress. The midwife was nice and didn’t ask any questions that we couldn’t answer, like who the father was, or why I was so excited about the whole thing. We sought out a physician afterwards, and arranged for Olivia to take lessons with him as well, starting today.

I left Olivia with the physician, and returned to the White Truffle to change into Fabian. Then I found a restaurant with outdoor tables and a view to Anita’s house. They wouldn’t let me sit there without ordering anything, but I hadn’t brought much money, nor could I eat forever, so I turned on the charm and tried to befriend the waitresses so they’d let me stay after I finished my meal.

My plan backfired, and a few hours later, I climbed out of the bed of one of the waitresses. Nothing had happened at Anita’s house while I watched it, and when the waitress invited me home, I failed to resist. Shamefaced, I hurried back to the White Truffle and confessed to Olivia. “Well, that’s a first,” Olivia exclaimed with amusement on her voice. Somberly, I began to promise it wouldn’t happen again, but Olivia hushed me and said I shouldn’t promise anything I couldn’t keep. She rang the bell for a servant. “You’d better change back to Mattea. Then you will have a bath, and then you can earn my forgiveness.”


Thoughts on August 9th

Va’lyndra informed us that Rulf had received funds from his backers, who I gathered were Anita’s business rivals, and said she suspected that some kind of attack was imminent. We couldn’t agree on a decisive course of action, but sat in our room and speculated.

We went to meet Jonas at Bar Ground at noon. He thought Neriel was boring. The last couple of days, he had followed a regular routine, arriving at the palace at eight in the morning, and leaving at six in the evening. Jonas listed up who Neriel had met with during the time he had watched him. Neriel hadn’t visited the cathedral, which may or may not be out of the ordinary for a spiritual advisor. Jonas described the palace and cathedral layout, and said that Neriel used a private passage between the two districts to get to and from work. We asked Jonas to continue observing Neriel from a safe distance, and said goodbye to him.

Ilzo had been at the fight club again, and was rather beaten up, but he was certain he could defend us if anything happened. Va’lyndra decided she wanted to burgle Rulf’s house, and needed Leopold’s assistance, since the house was made of stone. I told the others I would go and spy on Anita, to see if someone else was spying on her too. When I left, Va’lyndra and Ilzo joined me, so I supposed Va’lyndra postponed her burglary plans.

It took us several hours to locate Anita, and we found her at a warehouse at the harbor. There were plenty of handsome dock workers, and I kept my eyes on them in case they were up to no good. Eventually, a horse-drawn cart arrived, and people from the warehouse filled it up with rolls of cloth. Anita left with the cart, her contingent of bodyguards, and a couple of workers. Va’lyndra made no move to follow, but instead pointed out someone else who trailed Anita’s party. Aha!

Ilzo and I skulked after Anita’s stalkers, but Va’lyndra disappeared. The stalkers found a table at a café, and we watched them carefully, from concealment. After half an hour, they began walking again, back towards the harbor, still following Anita. The cart was empty now. We followed the stalkers from the harbor and up to Anita’s house, where they turned aside. We kept following, and I noticed Va’lyndra was behind us. We entered the slums, and the stalkers entered a guarded house, so Ilzo and I walked back to Va’lyndra and asked what we should do now. She thought the stalkers were making their reports, and Ilzo believed they were planning an attack on Anita. Va’lyndra pointed out that Anita had said that she had been followed for quite a while; this was nothing new. However, she thought that Rulf was being pressured by his backers to get something done, soon. Ilzo and Va’lyndra began making plans, but I made it clear I wouldn’t take part if it meant breaking the law. Va’lyndra said we needed to continue our surveillance. I realized it was getting late, so I hurried back to the inn, where I performed in the common room, and in the bedroom, after.


Thoughts on August 10th

Ilzo, Va’lyndra and I resumed spying on Anita’s stalkers. Nothing out of the ordinary happened, and I returned to the White Truffle to hold a show in the evening.


Thoughts on August 11th

Only Leopold, Olivia and I gathered for breakfast in the common room, so I asked Leopold if he knew where the others were. He said they’d had a late night. I asked what they were up to, and Leopold told me they had fixed the Anita problem, but he wouldn’t say more in public. I got the impression they had bribed Rulf, or possibly his backers, to leave Anita alone.

I escorted Olivia to the midwife for another lesson, and then returned to the inn to practice in the enclosed garden. Leopold had vanished when I got back, presumably to study, either in his room or at his guild. When it was time, I retrieved Olivia and took her back to the inn.

In the evening, I performed in the common room again, but in the middle of the acrobatics, someone shouted, “What?! Really? There’s been a massacre at Halfmoon Street?” All the attention shifted away from me while someone announced that the city guards had found blood outside a house, and when they checked inside, there were ten headless corpses strewn about. People began streaming out to see for themselves before the guards removed the corpses. Not even changing my act into a sensual dance was enough to keep the audience captivated.

It was a disappointed and quite angry Mattea that stomped upstairs. I slammed the door behind Olivia and me, and made sure to lock the door. Whoever had killed all those people were unlikely to come to the White Truffle, but I wasn’t taking any chances when it came to protecting Olivia. I put Scorchmark under the pillow and laid out my leather armor next to the bed. I propped up my bow and quiver against the nightstand so I could reach them quickly. Olivia thought all this was unnecessary, but she made no effort to stop me, either. Once we were in bed, she made me forget all about it, though.

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Thoughts on August 12th

This morning, I remembered a detail from the vision where Lady Karita, Va’lyndra, Kine and I fought Serals. I recalled them being particularly eager to defeat Va’lyndra and me, probably because they could detect our Chaoticity. Chaoticness. Whatever.

We ate breakfast in Olivia’s and my suite, as we didn’t want to be overheard. We discussed how to get to Neriel. Ilzo told us he had been to a sermon in the cathedral, just because he was curious, and told us the guards were vigilantly keeping track of everyone, making sure nobody could sneak off to restricted areas. Leopold thought we could use a sermon to acquaint ourselves with the cathedral district.

I explained to the others that I didn’t want to follow them to the Solus sermon when they went. I felt that my connection to Sulla was tenuous at best. I had made up my mind to commit to the god of love, and didn’t want to jeopardize anything by participating in worship of the sun god.

Va’lyndra wanted to look for good places to make holes in walls when they went, but I suggested that we could use the sewers instead. After raiding the palace vault in Landfall, we realized that things might have gone a lot smoother if we dug our way in from the sewers instead of going through the palace wall. Leopold confirmed that Surd had a sewer system. It didn’t cover the entire city, but the richer parts of town, where Neriel lived and worked, were connected to the system. I said I didn’t mind swimming in the sewers as long as I didn’t have to go to church. Leopold patted my shoulder. “Definitely Chaotic,” he concluded.

Leopold wanted to wait for the darkness of night before we ventured into the sewers. I complained about going in when it was dark, until he pointed out that we were going underground, where there were no lights anyway. I felt rather stupid.

I escorted Olivia to her tutor, and returned to the inn to practice acrobatics in the garden. That made me feel much better.

Va’lyndra, Ilzo and Leopold attended the church service, which lasted from six to eight in the evening. Since I was going spelunking with them when they got back, I started my daily show in the common room earlier than I used to. My friends caught the last couple of routines, and I dashed upstairs to change into my traveling garb, which had seen better days. I brought a change of clothes for after we exited the sewers.

There were six sewer channels running through the city from west to east. We needed to get into the second from the north, but the nobles of Surd had put guards near the main entrances of the two northernmost channels, since they ran under their houses. We had no intention of trying to grab Neriel before we met with Jonas again in four days; tonight we only planned to explore the sewers, to see what we were up against. We brought a pick and a shovel, in case we decided we needed to do some digging.

We wanted to enter the third channel, find a suitable side passage and dig our way through to the second channel, from which we hoped we’d be able to make our way unseen to Neriel’s house when the time came to strike. The river was diverted to run through the sewer channels, to wash the filth into the sea. The exit from the third channel lay under the docks, and it could be difficult to get to and from it unseen, so we decided to enter where the river flowed in, on the west side, in the slums outside the city walls.

We located the sewer entrance easily, and discovered it lay inside a fenced-in area. When we got there, there weren’t many people about, so I got everyone over the fence unseen. Most of the area was taken up by a small pond. There were vertical metal bars blocking our way inside. Ilzo yanked at them, and discovered one was looser than the others, but if he pulled it out, he’d tear out a loose stone block, too. Va’lyndra stopped him, for she heard someone outside the fence. I whispered to Leopold, asking if he could shape the stone in such a way that we could remove one of the bars, and put it back again once we’d passed.

Leopold worked his stone magic, and then he, Ilzo and Va’lyndra undressed. Leopold didn’t have to put anything on again; being a gnome, it was socially acceptable for him to prance about in the nude. Ilzo and Va’lyndra put on their designated sewer clothes while I kept watch. We put our other clothes in a half-rotted barrel by the pond, once Va’lyndra had dried it out. Then we discovered we had forgotten to bring a lantern. Ilzo and Leopold could see in the dark, but Va’lyndra needed some light to see. I needed a lot of light.

I slipped over the fence and skulked around a corner, only to bump into a couple out for a late stroll. The woman recognized me, and wanted my autograph. I chatted with them for a few minutes, then I dashed off towards the White Truffle. Olivia was surprised to see me so soon, but understood why I had come. I traded a kiss for her lantern, and then I sprinted back to the slums. I took the last stretch slowly, so nobody would notice me going back over the fence.

I couldn’t see the others when I got back to the pond, so I hurriedly changed shoes into something sturdier than moccasins, and entered the sewer. The others waited for me there. I pulled flint and steel from my pouch and lit the lantern. The channel seemed straight, as far as my eyes could see, at least. Leopold held a wax tablet in his hands, ready to map the sewers as we explored them.

We passed smaller channels coming down from the sides, and then we came to a cross in the main channel. Leopold and Ilzo could see from there that the side passages ended after about fifty meters. We turned left, towards the north. There were small channels coming down from the sides here as well. One of them pointed north, and Leopold asked me to climb first.

The walls and floor of the incline was slippery with some kind of algae growing in the filth. The incline wasn’t very steep, but I expected that some of the others might have trouble following, even though they didn’t have to carry a lantern in one hand. Ilzo tried, and as I predicted, he failed. It was difficult to measure distance while I was climbing, but I estimated I climbed about forty meters before reaching a wooden hatch. I couldn’t budge it, so I guessed it was locked from the other side. I glanced between my legs and whispered to see if anyone had managed to follow. I was quite alone. Time to have some fun!

I turned around and sat down, and released my grip on the walls. I picked up more speed than I had expected, in spite of pushing a growing pile of waste and algae in front of me, and I feared I might land on one of my friends, so I put on the breaks by pushing against the walls with my feet and elbows. I came to a complete stop, then climbed gracefully out to the others. I got some unreadable glances from them. It could have to do with the pile of waste that had announced my arrival, shooting out from the wall and splashing everywhere, or because I was covered head to toe in excrements.

I told them what I had discovered, and Va’lyndra wanted to inspect the hatch. She needed light, so she asked me to follow her with the lantern. She wanted to use both hands to do the climbing. The second climb was a lot easier, as I had cleared away most of the slippery covering from the bottom of the slide.

When we got to the top, Va’lyndra used her plant magic to open the hatch, and peeked out. There was a wall to the north, and stone houses around us on the other sides, she whispered. It looked like a back yard to her. She asked me to check it out, so I climbed past her and out. I recognized the wall; it was the one separating the cathedral district from the common folk. I returned down the hatch and we climbed back to the others.

After telling Ilzo and Leopold what we had discovered, we returned to the main channel and continued east. There was another intersection after fifty meters, where Va’lyndra sat down to rest. Opening the hatch hadn’t been that taxing, had it? No, but while I was fetching the lantern, guards had entered the fenced-in area, and Va’lyndra had hidden herself and Leopold in the pond, using magic to let them breathe under water. Ilzo had been close enough to the sewer entrance to hide there.

We left Va’lyndra in the dark and continued mapping out the main channel. We followed it all the way to the harbor exit, passing around twenty large intersections in total. Along the main channel, there were three ladders leading up to manhole covers. Occasionally, a load of waste came out of the wall, but none of us were struck, although looking at myself, I realized I couldn’t get much dirtier.

We picked the most promising side passage to the north, the longest one, and began exploring it. It was about halfway through the main channel. I climbed up a north-bound slide. This slide, like all the others and like the main channel, was lined with stones. Leopold had said that Surd was built on loose soil, so the sewer builders had to cover it with stone to prevent collapse. My task now was to find a loose stone, preferably not too far from the top of the slide. I searched and searched, but found nothing. All I got for my trouble was a reeking wad somehow stuck under my braid, and now it was dripping down my neck.

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I returned to Ilzo and Leopold and said I couldn’t find any loose stones. Leopold was needed up there, so I helped him climb. Being a gnome, he of course found a loose stone immediately. He showed me which stone it was, and asked me to pry it out. It was slippery, but I got it out eventually. I balanced it on my foot so it wouldn’t slide down and hit Ilzo on the head. Leopold had me remove a couple more stones, and then he used his earth vision to look for a part of the second sewer channel. He saw a slide, similar to this one, about thirty meters north of us. I put the three stones back, but didn’t push them too hard; we would need to remove them again later. Then we picked up Ilzo and returned to Va’lyndra.

The elf mage was nearly fully rested, but Leopold was tired now, from using his earth vision spell. He explained that we had found a good place to dig, but warned us that there were some cellars that we wanted to avoid. It shouldn’t be a problem if we could dig straight towards the other slide.

Va’lyndra wanted to fix the hatch we had opened earlier, before anyone noticed what we had done. Her spell had elapsed before I returned down the hatch, and she didn’t have enough energy at the time to mend it. I went with her, to get the lantern up the slide so she could see what she was doing. I suggested that the next time we came here, we should bring some planks, so we could make a hatch to cover the hole we would be making.

Our task was quickly accomplished, and we found Leopold below the slide we had decided to use for our tunnel entrance. Ilzo had already gone up, and was digging, hopefully according to the instructions Leopold had given him. Soil was coming down the slide and formed a growing mound on the floor.

After two hours, Leopold climbed up so he could inspect Ilzo’s work, and to move a load of earth with magic, in one large scoop. Leopold also decided to make a plug to cover the hole Ilzo had made, and wanted me to come up with the stones Ilzo had removed. They were at the bottom of the mound, obviously, so Va’lyndra and I began digging through it. I eventually brought up the stones, and Leopold put them where they were supposed to be.

There was nobody outside the bars at the sewer entrance. Just in case, we backtracked to the first sewer slide, and had Va’lyndra hose us down there. She sprayed me with my clothes on, me with my clothes off, and my clothes. Then I exited and dove silently into the pond. It was a warm summer night, and a bath was too tempting. Va’lyndra destroyed the water on us and our sewer clothes before we dressed in our backup clothes.

Va’lyndra and I instructed Leopold in how to move silently for the climb back over the fence. On the way back towards the inn, a guard patrol turned their heads after us, but they didn’t challenge us. I sneaked through the suite and into bed. I made sure not to put any weight on Olivia’s belly when I wrapped my arms and legs around her.


Thoughts on August 13th

It was still dark when Olivia woke me. “You reek!” she declared. The constant assault on my nostrils seemed to have dampened my senses, for I couldn’t smell much, at least not on myself, but Olivia announced that I needed a bath – with plenty of soap! – and that we needed new linens for the bed. I asked Olivia to ring for a servant and give instructions. If I smelled as awfully as she claimed, it wouldn’t do my reputation any good to see anyone before I’d had that bath. I stayed hidden until the servants had changed on the bed and filled up a bathtub.

After the bath, Olivia inspected me, and while I found it arousing, Olivia was too tired for more than a little tongue-wrestling and some light fondling. I was rather tired myself, too, so when the fun stopped, I dozed off almost immediately.

Olivia was gone when I woke again, but she left me a note saying she was at her lessons. The note also specified in detail what she was going to do to me when she got back, and it was a wonder the paper wasn’t singed through already. I burned it, but not before memorizing her words.

I went out to the inn’s private garden after a very late breakfast and practiced acrobatics until Olivia came back and poked her head out the door. She asked if I had found her note, and if I didn’t mind following her up to our rooms to deal with what it said. My ears began to burn, but I followed her like a puppy. As soon as our door closed behind us, I threw myself at her, carefully because of her condition.

After my performance in the evening, it was time to go out again. I kissed Olivia goodbye and remembered to bring the lantern. When we got to the slums and approached the sewer entrance, Va’lyndra helped Leopold sneak inside. He didn’t seem very focused, so I reminded him to pay attention. We couldn’t be there for him every time he needed to be stealthy, so this was a skill we required him to pick up.

Inside the fence, we retrieved our sewer garb, changed, and headed inside. We found the slide where we had begun making our tunnel towards the other main channel, and everyone climbed up. Leopold reopened our hole with magic, and then surveyed last night’s work. Ilzo began digging as soon as Leopold had given his instructions. We had brought an additional shovel today, which allowed Va’lyndra and me to work shifts moving what Ilzo tossed behind him out to the slide, where it slid down to the sewer. Leopold rested for the most part, and intermittently moved large loads of soil, using his innate gnomish magic.

It was about two in the morning, according to Va’lyndra, when Ilzo struck stone. We had reached the slide on the other end of our tunnel. We moved some more soil aside, then Ilzo began prying loose the stones lining the second slide, so we could get in there.

Leopold suggested that Va’lyndra and I moved up to the surface to get our bearing. Va’lyndra listened to the wooden hatch for a full minute, in case there were guards above us. She could hear movement, signaled me to be quiet, and pointed at the lantern. I climbed down and handed it to Ilzo, then I returned back up. Even blind, I didn’t have any issues climbing the slippery slope. That’s how good I am at climbing. I wished, for the umpteenth time, that acrobatics came as easily to me. Then there’d be no doubt who was the best acrobat in the world. As it was, I just had to keep practicing.

Va’lyndra opened the hatch and peeked carefully outside. She asked me to retrieve the lantern, so I did. We climbed up the hatch, and found ourselves in a small, dark room with only one door. There were buckets and brooms here, making it obvious what kind of room we were in. Va’lyndra felt the walls. Like the door and the hatch, they were made of wood. Va’lyndra had me put down the lantern near one of the walls, and shaped a small hole above it, so she could look outside. She whispered that we were inside a house. Duh!

We rejoined Ilzo and Leopold in our tunnel. Va’lyndra wanted half an hour of rest, so I began to cartwheel back and forth along our thirty-meter-long tunnel, while she sat down with Ilzo and Leopold at the northern end. Leopold warned me not to hit the walls or ceiling of the narrow corridor. A cave-in would be bad, but I was in full control. Cartwheels aren’t particularly difficult, not even when I had to bend my hips and knees to stay below the ceiling.

After five minutes, we heard the hatch open, and someone emptied a bucket down the slide. Va’lyndra had thrown herself in front of the lantern so it wouldn’t reveal our presence. Whoever was up there must have been drowsy, for they didn’t seem to notice that the hatch was damaged. When Va’lyndra had had her rest, she and I climbed up and she fixed the hatch.

As it was getting quite late, we decided to call it the night. Leopold plugged our tunnel entrances, carefully stacking up the stones so nobody should see anything out of the ordinary if they peered down the slides.

Va’lyndra turned her water jet on us at the sewer entrance, and dried us afterwards. We put on clean clothes and returned to the White Truffle. The sky was turning gray while we passed through the dark streets of Surd. We didn’t want to be recognized if anyone happened to be up, so we didn’t relight the lantern even after leaving the slums.

I moved on silent feet through the suite, and stubbed my toe against a waiting bathtub. The water had cooled to room temperature, but Olivia’s intentions were clear, so I washed as thoroughly as I could before joining her in bed.

[coronatiger]

Thoughts on August 14th

Again, Olivia was gone when I woke around noon. The note she had written for me today was vaguer about what she wanted once she returned from her lessons, but I didn’t have to think very hard to conclude that I had something to look forward to. I practiced in the garden again to pass the time until I could have sex with my darling wife.

I had a show in the evening, as usual, and then it was time to head out. Va’lyndra, Ilzo, Leopold and I found our way back to the tunnel we had dug out, and Leopold opened it. I climbed down on the other side, and Leopold followed. Luckily, he waited until I had reached the bottom, for he lost his grip and accelerated down the slide, shooting out of the wall and into the sewer channel with a big splash. We were both dripping wet when Ilzo and Va’lyndra joined us.

Va’lyndra hosed us down, and cleaned Leopold’s wax tablet at the same time, then we began to chart the channel. We started by following the side channel we had emerged in to the main channel, but discovered that a metal door blocked our way. Leopold shaped the stone in which part of the barrier was set, allowing Ilzo to pull the door sideways and out of the lock. This method allowed us to put the door back after we had passed it, so nobody should see that we’d been there.

We turned left, towards the cathedral, and followed the main channel. Some side channels were blocked with similar doors, but some had no barriers. After passing several intersections, we arrived at a barrier in the main channel. I asked if we could do the same trick here, but Leopold needed to rest first. He suggested that the rest of us tried to figure out where we were in relation to the streets above.

Va’lyndra and I climbed up the nearest slide, and Va’lyndra listened to the hatch. It was made of metal and set in stone, so she couldn’t use her plant shaping spell to get us through. We needed Leopold for this, so I suggested we try the next slide to see if there was a wooden hatch above it. Unfortunately, that slide also had a metal hatch on top. Va’lyndra heard someone above it, and thought it might be guards. The third slide had a metal hatch, too, but apparently no guards. Back down, Ilzo asked if he should try to force the hatch. While I didn’t doubt he was strong enough, it seemed like a bad idea, for it would reveal our presence, since we wouldn’t be able to repair the hatch afterwards.

Va’lyndra and I started up the last slide from this side channel, and when we had climbed about three quarters of the way, we heard the hatch open above us. I hurriedly blew out the lantern, and whispered how Va’lyndra should hold on to the wall, thus allowing the bucket contents to pass under us. We were filthy enough already, but dodging this load boosted morale nonetheless. We lit the lantern again when the hatch closed, and climbed back down. The hatch sounded very metallic.

We tried climbing up a ladder to a manhole cover, but that too was locked. Va’lyndra listened for several minutes, and learned that guards passed by regularly. We returned to Leopold and reported. He was rested enough to shape the stone, allowing us to continue along the main channel, but he wanted ten more minutes before proceeding, so we leaned against the wall and relaxed.

There were metal barriers at some of the side channels west of the door, too. Leopold repeated that we needed to get up and find out where we were. He sat down to rest again while Va’lyndra and I began searching for a place to peek out. We climbed three slides, all with metal hatches, but apparently no guards, before checking in with Leopold. He needed more rest, so Va’lyndra and I checked the next side channel. There were four slides, and all of them had metal hatches. Still no guards.

In the third side passage, there was another ladder up to a manhole cover, and Va’lyndra climbed it. The cover was locked, so she came back down after listening for guards. We tried the slides, and heard guards above some of the hatches, which were all made of metal.

We went back to Leopold, and I brought the gnome up the closest slide. Va’lyndra reminded us to listen to the hatch before opening it. Leopold heard nothing, so he shaped the stone around the hatch, allowing me to take a peek. There wasn’t anyone else in the room, so I leapt up and reached down to Leopold to help him up. He popped his head out, and declared that he knew where we were, and that we had to get down. I thought we were about to be discovered, but the reason we had to hurry was that his rock shaping spell didn’t last much longer. We got out in time for him to reseal the opening. When we rejoined the others at the bottom of the slide, he said that the room we had seen was one of the toilets in the cathedral. Their snooping about in the public areas before the sermon paid out.

It was time to leave. Since Leopold was exhausted from his spellcasting, Ilzo rebuilt the seals for our tunnel. Va’lyndra hosed us down like before, near the exit to the small pond, and then we put on clean clothes and returned to the inn. There was a bathtub waiting for me when I reached our rooms.

[coronatiger]

Thoughts on August 15th

I rose late, like the last few days. Olivia was gone, as I expected, although I felt a twinge of disappointment at not finding her in my arms when I woke. I rang the bell and ordered breakfast to my room. I ate and found our money reserve, for I was going shopping! I “borrowed” a few gold coins from the several hundred in the stuffed pouch. I would tell Olivia about it later, of course, so she could update her accounting or whatever, but I still felt a little guilty. I wasn’t supposed to buy anything expensive on my own, for Olivia thought that some shopkeepers might try to take advantage of me. I have some silver and copper for minor purchases, but anything more expensive should go through her. Well, we did discuss my need for new traveling clothes after I started using my old set for sewer crawling.

I managed not to make a fool of myself over money at the store, and bought only one complete outfit suitable as traveling garb. The shirt was light grey, and the trousers and jacket dark green. It was nothing fancy, like what a merchant or a noble would wear, but the clothes were sturdy, and would do well, both on the road and in the forest. The proprietress didn’t even take advantage of my poor understanding of financial matters, and sold me the clothes at a standard price. She told me so herself, so it had to be true.

When I got back to the White Truffle, Va’lyndra was waiting for me. She wanted to talk to me, and suggested we did it in my suite, to prevent eavesdroppers. I was going up there anyway to drop off my new clothes, so that suited me just fine. Va’lyndra explained that Ilzo had dreamed last night, and received instructions from Gromsh, his god. Gromsh wanted Ilzo to conquer the underground fighting club out in the slums. Ilzo mentioned the dream to Va’lyndra, who had proposed to include Leopold and me in the discussion. Ilzo had gone to fetch Leopold at his guild. Ilzo and Va’lyndra had agreed to go to the club tonight, and Va’lyndra asked me if I wanted to come. There would be a stage and lots of people there, she promised. That made it easy to accept the invitation. Ilzo returned to the inn after a while, and told us that Leopold would do some research on how to conquer the club, and would meet us for dinner.

When Olivia returned, I told Ilzo and Va’lyndra to excuse us, as there was something I needed to discuss with her in private. As our companions left, I thought I overheard Va’lyndra say to Ilzo that there wouldn’t be much talking.

I told Olivia I had a confession to make, and she threw herself at me and began bawling like a child. I held her tight and stroked her hair, explaining that I only had borrowed some money to buy new clothes. That dried up the flood of tears right away, and Olivia stood back and glared at me. “Don’t scare me like that!” I apologized and asked what I could do to make it right. I recognized the glint in her eyes when she said that she would think of something. But first, she wanted to see my new outfit, so I put it on. “How much did you pay for it?” she wanted to know, and I told her it cost us one gold and two silver, standard price. She raised her eyebrows. “That’s actually true,” she exclaimed. I explained that the shopkeeper had said as much, and Olivia rolled her eyes at me. She sat down on the side of the bed, and told me, “There’s nothing for me to forgive, but if you still want to appease me, I believe your new clothes would look very good on the floor…” She spread her legs suggestively, and I knelt before her, my clothes already scattered around the room.

At dinner, Leopold informed us of his research results. The purpose of the conquest was obviously to spread Gromsh’s influence, and to have the fighters and spectators worship him. Unfortunately, Gromsh was not on the official list of acceptable gods. That list included only the creator gods of the various “civilized” races. Worship of Gromsh was illegal, and except for Solus, there were strict limitations to what was acceptable when it came to worship. For instance, one can’t charge admission to a religious service, like one can to a social club.

The other thing Leopold had discovered, was that if the fighting club was a legal, registered business, Ilzo couldn’t own it, since he wasn’t a registered citizen. I pointed out that any of the rest of us could put our name on the contract instead, but Va’lyndra confessed she wasn’t registered either. Olivia, Leopold and I had registered at the immigration office when we first arrived in the New World.

I had another idea, which I thought was brilliant. If Ilzo could convert the people who would be running the club for him, they might have some good ideas on how to worship Gromsh secretly. We began making our way there. Olivia stayed behind; the concept of fighting for money and entertainment didn’t sit well with her. She really abhorred violence.

I wanted to show off at the club, so I suggested that Ilzo and I team up for the fighting. We’d be the Beauty and the Beast! Speaking of being a beast, Leopold wanted someone other than Ilzo to come to his guild if we needed anything there later. Ilzo had thoroughly made a nuisance of himself with the guards, even though he assured us that he hadn’t broken any arms or legs.

Outside the fighting club, Ilzo recognized one of the organizers, so he and I approached him to have a chat. We said we wanted to team up against other fighters, and the organizer looked at me incredulously. He knew very well who I was, and didn’t want to be responsible for injuries to my famous figure. Even worse, I was a woman! I assured him I could stand up for myself, and asked if the club had any rules against hitting women. They didn’t, but then they hadn’t had any women volunteering to fight before either. Since I was so insistent, he budged, but said I had to do a test fight before the club opened.

We went inside, and the organizer told my opponent to be gentle. No striking at my breasts, or my face. And no groping, either. Probably to the best. My opponent had to put on padded gloves. I didn’t have to, the organizer said, but I put them on anyway.

We started on opposite sides of the circular cage, and I flipped towards my opponent. He took a step towards me, closing the distance, but didn’t want to be the one to strike first. My acrobatics had him totally confused, so when I lashed out, he barely twitched his arms before I connected. My punch flattened his nose and pushed him back so he fell on his butt. The referee called off the fight.

I returned to Ilzo, Leopold, Va’lyndra and the organizer triumphantly. We discussed how best to structure the fighting, and decided it would be best if Ilzo and I fought separate matches. Even with my victorious display, the organizer didn’t want me to go against ogres, and Ilzo’s reputation here had him fighting in that class, even though they’re larger than him. Except for my bulging arm muscles, I really am quite small, so I guessed there was some reason to be cautious. There were some preorganized fights that would take place during the evening, but between them, Ilzo and I would alternate, going one on one against volunteers. Our fights would be like my test match, in that the winner would be the one to first land a hit. For each defeated opponent, the organizer would add to the prize pool. When Ilzo and I eventually lost, we’d get half as much as the person defeating us, for participating. “What if we go undefeated?” I asked. “Do we get the participation prize as well as the winner’s prize?” The organizer stared at me in disbelief. “Sure, if you can go all night without being struck.”

I asked if the organizer owned the club. He didn’t, but wondered why I asked. Investment, I explained. He asked who we represented. I told him I represented myself, as always, but Ilzo said he represented Gromsh. The organizer said we needed a letter of introduction if we wanted to see the owner. Va’lyndra mentioned that I knew someone in the merchant guild. We could write to him and ask for a letter of introduction. I said I would, but secretly hoped Leopold would formulate it for me. He has a much better way with words than me.

[coronatiger]

My first opponent was a volunteer from the audience. I rushed at him, and he steeled himself for a slam, but I bounced off the floor, twisted in the air, and tapped him on the back of the head when I landed behind him. Then it was Ilzo’s turn, and he defeated an ogre without much difficulty. My next few opponents weren’t much more difficult than the first, but then the real fighters began showing up. The organizer had warned me that the best fighters would come last, when I was tired. Ilzo was hit by an ogre in his seventh round. The force of the blow made me appreciate the restriction that I wasn’t to fight any ogres.

Even though each fight only lasted for a few seconds, I began to breathe heavily after fifteen or twenty. The tension and excitement had my heart racing, even during my breaks. I wasn’t reeling, yet, but I knew that the time was soon approaching that I would begin to slow down, and I silently thanked the organizer for having fights only last until the first hit. Tired, against a strong, skilled fighter, I would seriously worry about my health. I had seen how badly beaten up Ilzo had been when he’d fought earlier. Such a thrashing could kill me if I was unlucky. I forced myself to think only about the current fight. This would surely be the last one. No, there was one after it, and another, and another. I lost track of the count, as well as the time.

Finally, the organizer took my hand and raised it in the air. The roar of the audience invigorated me as I was declared the winner. “How many?” I whispered. “Mattea Vishi has defeated all thirty fighters,” he declared, and the cheer grew even louder.

I met Ilzo and the organizer in the dressing room. Ilzo had already received his reward of two gold pieces, but I got forty-five! The organizer was really impressed with my performance, and while it was good show, he didn’t want me to attend too often. That would demoralize the other fighters. I smiled broadly. “No, this isn’t really my kind of stage. I think this was a one-time deal, although you shouldn’t be surprised if I come back again.”

The organizer said we didn’t have to write someone far off to get a letter of introduction; he’d write one himself! He left to write it, which allowed me to sink into a chair and breathe. The organizer returned shortly with an envelope. He wanted a handshake for it. I stood and gave him my hand. He told us the owner was called Herbert Siriussen, and pointed at the envelope. He had written the name and address on it. I recognized the place as not that far from the White Truffle. Apparently, the owner was a wealthy man. That made sense, since he owned this club.

Ilzo and I found Va’lyndra and Leopold, who had been watching the fights from the stands with the rest of the spectators. I asked if we were going back to that place we visited last night, as the night was still young. They agreed, and we went back to the inn to fetch the lantern. As people were still out and about, we lingered for a while in Olivia’s company. I gave her my winnings and a kiss.

Our picks and shovels were hidden with our sewer clothes near the entrance, so we didn’t have to carry them across town. We decided to buy new ones when we left Surd, since our old ones were too stained with sewage to salvage; we’d never get the smell completely out.

We made our way inside the sewers unseen, and traversed our now familiar route until we found ourselves under the cathedral. Leopold suggested we found out exactly where the toilet was positioned in the cathedral, so we could find the passage closest to Neriel’s house. He climbed up the slide and made a tunnel into the toilet, circumventing the cage that surrounded the hatch. The nobles and church people here in Surd were obsessed with security, I thought. It was almost like they expected us.

Va’lyndra and Ilzo followed Leopold into the toilet, and I brought up the lantern as far as Leopold’s tunnel. He sat above me, resting, while Va’lyndra and Ilzo went to explore the cathedral. They took their time, and explained that they had gone all the way outside during their search, and had found two possible sewer shoots in the front court, the garden they had passed on their way to the sermon a few days ago. One was quite close to Neriel’s house.

I climbed down with Va’lyndra and Ilzo, to see if we could find the sewer shoot from below. Without Leopold, we couldn’t open any hatches, but Va’lyndra is a very good navigator, and located the hole in the wall which she said the right one. We returned to Leopold, and found that he had climbed down. He had heard noises, and sealed the hole behind him so we wouldn’t be discovered.

Leopold joined us to search for a slide going even closer to Neriel’s house. We found a few possibilities, and Ilzo and I climbed up to listen at the hatches. Ilzo heard voices over the second hatch, but then we just had to wait for Leopold. He needed to rest before opening any more hatches. I decided to spend the time demonstrating different somersault techniques, from a safe distance, so I wouldn’t spray sewage on the others. I placed the lantern so they could see me clearly.

When Leopold declared he was ready, he, Va’lyndra and I climbed up one of the slides. Leopold listened at the hatch, and hearing nothing, he opened it by shaping the stone around it. He tried to get around Va’lyndra so she could climb up and look around, but started to slide on the slippery slope. Va’lyndra just moved out of the way, but I braced myself and grabbed Leopold. I didn’t think he’d enjoy the speed he would reach at the bottom, nor shooting out of the wall and landing – if he was lucky – in the sewer. I helped him climb back down to Ilzo. I didn’t go back up with the lantern, for I didn’t know if Va’lyndra had opened the hatch or not.

Va’lyndra came down after a few minutes, and explained that she emerged in a metal cage right next to Neriel’s house. Leopold and I climbed up in the dark, for the gnome needed to see for himself, if he was to tunnel under the house. He listened to the hatch for several minutes, and then had me open it. He peeked out, before sealing the hatch again. We climbed down to the others.

While resting, Leopold told us that he had studied the house, and determined it didn’t have a cellar. I asked how he could be so certain, and he explained about architecture and masonry. I didn’t understand a word he said, but he was quite adamant in his opinion. It wasn’t difficult to be convinced.

When he’d had a quarter of an hour sitting down, he declared that it was time to go home. We said good night in the upstairs hallway at the inn, and found our separate rooms. Va’lyndra had sprayed us clean when we exited the sewer, but Olivia hadn’t thought that would be enough. A bathtub of tepid water stood ready for me. Our perfumed soap lay on a stool next to it.

[coronatiger]

Thoughts on August 16th

We had a late breakfast in the common room, everyone except Olivia, who was out studying. The rumors floating around the room was about Anita! She was on trial for the murder of her brother, and the general consensus was that she was guilty. This concerned Va’lyndra deeply, and she wanted to do something about it.

First, though, we had an appointment with Jonas at Bar Ground, which we had to keep. I deemed it more important to restore balance in the world than to interfere with the trial of someone I barely knew. Jonas told us he had continued his low-risk surveillance of Neriel, and presented us with a list of the people working in his house. There were four guards, a butler, a cook and two other servants. Jonas also gave us a note about the guard schedules at the palace and around the cathedral district, which he ordered us to memorize and destroy. I let Va’lyndra take responsibility for that. Finally, we got a list of fifteen people Neriel had met who weren’t related to his work as spiritual advisor. One was a high-ranking palace guard, for instance. These people could be friends of Neriel, or something more sinister.

Jonas asked if we wanted him to stick with low-risk spying. If we wanted him to take chances, by snooping in Neriel’s documents or looking through his windows at home, he could, but we decided that it wasn’t necessary. Unbeknownst to Jonas, we already had a more or less complete plan for kidnapping Neriel. Leopold asked if Neriel had deviated from his routine significantly, but Jonas said he hadn’t. He had stayed at work half an hour later than usual one day because of a meeting that dragged out, but that was the largest deviation, and hardly worth mentioning, in my opinion.

I asked Jonas if he knew how to pick locks, for that was a skill that would be useful to us. He offered to help if we would undertake an investigation for him, but we thought that looking into his smugglers would be too time-consuming. Jonas thanked us for the cooperation and warned us that we wouldn’t be able to reach him again.

He left, and I asked my friends if they had any tips for where I could learn to pick locks. I thought I could ask the manager at the fight club, but Leopold believed that blabbing my mouth about lockpicking could get me arrested, and he didn’t want me to spread information about us wanting to conduct illegal activities, which could land the others in trouble, too. Va’lyndra thought that someone at the knowledge guild could teach me, but she didn’t know anyone in or near Surd.

We discussed Anita’s trial. Ilzo thought she could beat up the judge to prove her innocence! Leopold explained patiently how things actually work in civilized trials. Ilzo claimed it was dishonorable to accuse Anita of something she didn’t do, which prompted me to ask how he could be so certain of her innocence. For all we knew, she was guilty as charged. Leopold opened his mouth to explain, but Va’lyndra slammed her fist on the table, saying we had to help Anita, now! I didn’t know how any of us could help, for none of us knew much about the law, which we would need if we were to argue in her defense.

Leopold said we had to find out exactly what she’d been charged with. According to the rumors, she had paid someone to assassinate her brother, but Leopold pointed out that the rumors might not be correct. Va’lyndra would find out tonight, she decided. Helping Anita was more urgent than breaking into Neriel’s house, according to Leopold. I didn’t care much about Anita, but she was Va’lyndra’s friend, so I would have helped out however I could, but nobody gave me any instructions. Ilzo was going to listen to rumors about the crime and trial, but Va’lyndra decreed that he had to do it alone.

Since I wasn’t needed, I told the others I would return to the White Truffle to practice. Ilzo left to seek out rumors, and Leopold went to his guild to work. Va’lyndra followed me back to the inn, but we didn’t say much on the way. She only mentioned that she needed to change before going out.

I spent a few hours practicing, and when it was time, I performed in the common room. Afterwards, I knocked on Ilzo’s door, but he wasn’t in. So, I kissed Olivia goodbye, and went out to find a burglar. My plan was to canvas the streets, looking for someone breaking in somewhere, but I ended up in a strange bed in a not-so-fine inn instead.


Thoughts on August 17th

I slinked back to the White Truffle in the early morning with my tail between my legs. I dragged my worthless carcass upstairs and fell to my knees in front of Olivia, tears streaming from my eyes as I confessed my sin. I didn’t give any details, for Olivia didn’t want to hear that. After listening to my admission of guilt, Olivia pulled me up and hugged me. I supported her while she shed her own tears. She eventually collected herself and forgave me; she always does, even though I don’t deserve it.

Olivia had finished her week of training and wanted to find some work, if that was possible. She didn’t know how long we were staying in Surd. I guessed at least a week, but I wasn’t sure. Without a license, it would be illegal for her to practice as a physician, but she could perhaps hire on as assistant to someone else? The midwife she had trained with had made it clear she wouldn’t hire her, but her other teacher, the doctor, hadn’t mentioned the topic, so the two of us cleaned up and headed there.

The doctor knew how skilled Olivia was from their sessions last week, and offered her a job at one thousand copper a month. I was a little concerned that Olivia’s pregnancy could get in the way, but she felt fine, so she decided that she could work full days. Neither of us believed her belly would grow overly much during the short time we had left in Surd. I trusted Olivia’s opinion of the state of her pregnancy. From what I gathered, she had learned a lot from the midwife, and as she had seen her every day for the last week, if anything was wrong, the midwife would have picked up on it.

I left Olivia with her new employer and returned to the inn to practice acrobatics. I was so happy! Olivia had reached a milestone today. She hadn’t had a proper job since we fled Duke Leonard’s mansion. That was only four years ago, but it seemed like a lifetime. I was incredibly grateful that Olivia had stuck with me all this time, despite my countless dalliances and my insistence on dragging her along on my adventures into the wilderness. And now we were married and had a child on the way! I wouldn’t have believed either to be possible, just half a year ago. What a miracle!

Olivia was beaming when she got back from work. She was also ravenous, so I joined her when she ordered dinner brought up to our rooms. I didn’t eat much at the time, as I had a performance to consider, but I listened to her as she spoke of her first day at work.

She came downstairs to watch my show after the meal. Since I was going out again to look for burglars, she insisted on some private time before that. I wasn’t hard to ask. I had taken a bath after my practice, and wasn’t going to contaminate her with the residues of last night’s encounter. I found no burglars tonight either, but I could return to the White Truffle with my head held high and slip under the covers to embrace my wife, free of guilt.

[coronatiger]

Thoughts on August 18th

Olivia warned me not to go out and look for burglars again. She declared that I had no idea what I was doing, and that my incompetence was likely to draw unwanted attention. I didn’t disagree, but I felt our party needed someone capable of picking locks when we attempted the break-in at Neriel’s house. “Then someone else, like Va’lyndra, should find you a teacher. She’s much more experienced at asking discreet questions than you. You have a tendency towards exhibitionism that gets in the way. I don’t doubt your ability to get what you want from people, but everyone’s going to know about it. You’re terrible at keeping secrets!” Olivia was right, of course, as she always is, so when she left for work, I knocked on Va’lyndra’s door. I explained the situation, and she agreed to come with me tonight.

I spent the day practicing, and held my usual performance in the common room, then Va’lyndra and I left the inn to trawl the city. She found someone almost immediately, a scruffy fellow in a tavern. He insinuated that he might get us in touch with someone skilled at getting in places. Va’lyndra made an awkward attempt at flirting to get him to commit to helping us. I showed her how it was done. The trick isn’t to overwhelm your target with words and gestures. In seduction, unlike in acrobatics, less is more. Assume the right posture, inviting yet reserved, and give the right smile or wink at just the right time, and you’ll get everything you ask for.

The tavern loafer brought us to a house and knocked on the door. A hatch in the door opened, and our guide said he brought potential customers. A deep voice from inside exclaimed, “Is that Mattea Vishi you’ve brought here?!” The hatch closed and the door opened. “Come in, come in,” the hunched man inside said to Va’lyndra and me. “Have a seat!”

This small house was a mess. There were dirty clothes and used cups and plates all over. There were also lots of locks spread about, which I found promising. I pushed a garment I’d rather not look too closely at off a stool with my foot and sat down. Va’lyndra leaned against the kitchen counter. Our host promised the guide a good commission for bringing me, and gave him a handful of coins before shutting the door in his face.

I gave a vague statement about wanting to learn how to pick locks so I could use it in my performances. The man agreed that he could teach me, and introduced himself. Laurus was his name, and when I looked closer at him, I realized that he wasn’t as old as I first had assumed because of his stooping posture. He was probably not more than twice my age, but at first glance, I had guessed he was around seventy.

I explained that my fingers were faster than my head, and that I had tried to learn lockpicking earlier, but my teacher at the time had just gone on and on about theoretical concepts that I failed to grasp. Laurus understood where I was coming from, and said that he could teach me, but I had to be prepared for some theory. He said he could teach me the basics in a week, and then it just came down to practice. He wanted five gold for his tutelage, which was way more than the spending money Olivia allowed me to keep, so I had to ask Va’lyndra to lend me the money. She knew I was good for it, a hundred times over.

Laurus began teaching me about different types of locks, and what tools we used to get them up. As it was quite late, Va’lyndra and I only stayed for a couple of hours, but I promised to be back in the morning. Not too early, of course.


Thoughts on August 19th

Laurus had made a noticeable attempt at tidying up when I returned this morning. The house was still a mess, but he had cleared some workspace for us, and that was really all we needed.


Thoughts on August 20th

I went back to Laurus to learn more about lockpicking.


Thoughts on August 21st

We should probably have seen it coming. I had sex with my teacher today. Olivia sighed with disappointment when I met her in the afternoon, but she didn’t forbid me from going back. She knew how important it was for me to learn what Laurus could teach.


Thoughts on August 22nd

When I left the inn this morning, my mind was set. I was not going to jump into bed with Laurus. I was going to focus on my training, and ignore his advances. I failed.


Thoughts on August 23rd

Olivia woke me early and tried as best she could to satisfy my daily needs. She certainly left me nice and mellow when she headed out for work. When I left the suite a little later, I saw Ilzo enter Va’lyndra’s room down the hall. I stopped in front of her door to think. Had we arranged a meeting today that I had forgotten? Perhaps Leopold was there, too? I was just about to knock when I heard a rhythmic thump inside. Well, well, well! Good for them! Va’lyndra had often seemed uptight, but lately, she had begun to loosen up and embrace her sexuality.

The orgasms that Olivia had provided were helpful, but inadequate. Laurus’s advances soon broke down my walls. I just couldn’t say no to sex! Even though I hated myself afterwards, in the moment, it was like being offered a drug to which I was addicted. It gave me a taste of heaven.

I wished Olivia wasn’t working. Then she could have come with me and taken care of my needs as they emerged. She was good at recognizing when it was time to pull me away for some private time. But she was so happy at work, I couldn’t demand that she quit just to look after me. My week with Laurus was almost up, anyway.


Thoughts on August 24th

Olivia did her best again this morning, but of course, it wasn’t enough. It’s never enough. Not for me.


Thoughts on August 25th

I had my last session with Laurus today. I felt I hadn’t received all that much learning from this week, but there we were. My mood had gone up and down like a seesaw these last few days, ecstatic one moment and guilt-ridden the next. Olivia was mightily displeased with my behavior, but she still forgave me every time I strayed. I wouldn’t have been so merciful.

Va’lyndra had news from Anita’s trial, which she shared after my daily performance. Or rather, she explained that there had hardly been any progress. I don’t know if that’s good or bad.


Thoughts on August 26th

I went back to Laurus this morning. I complained that I had paid for more tutoring than I had received. All the sex had gotten in the way of learning. Laurus agreed to teach me for another week for free. I supposed he’d try to take my favors as payment instead of money. He’d probably have used my money on hookers if I didn’t provide their kind of services, anyway.

Olivia was angry with me when I told her what I’d done today, but I think she was angrier with herself for not seeing it coming.


Thoughts on August 27th

I was determined to learn lockpicking. When I knew enough that I could continue practicing on my own, I would never have to see Laurus again.


Thoughts on August 28th

There was something frantic about Olivia’s lovemaking this morning, as if she wasn’t really in the mood, but still wanted to make it as good for me as she could. I knew what the problem was, of course. It was my insistence on visiting Laurus every day. I swore to Sulla that I would make it up to Olivia afterwards.


Thoughts on August 29th

I went to see Laurus again. As usual, Olivia tried to satiate me before I went. As usual, I determined to focus on my learning. As usual, I slept with Laurus.


Thoughts on August 30th

Ilzo was going back to the fight club tonight. I decided not to accompany him, preferring instead to remain at the White Truffle with Olivia. She deserved all the attention I could heap on her. After all, I had visited Laurus again.


Thoughts on August 31st

Ilzo wasn’t as blue and black as he usually was after a night at the fight club, and chose to return tonight. Today was nominally the second-to-last day with Laurus, and after the day’s lessons, I felt that I might actually reach my goal there. Olivia was pleased to hear that.

[coronatiger]

Thoughts on September 1st

I finished my lockpicking lessons today. As my final test, Laurus handcuffed me and challenged me to get out before he could “have his way with me”. I accepted the challenge, but I guess I failed, for my hunger made me give in once he put his hands on my body. However, I did get out of the cuffs while he was dozing after the deed.

I told Laurus I would take the handcuffs and a set of lockpicks as compensation for the way he had taken advantage of my inability to say no to sex. He said that was fine. He also warned me that there were some kinds of locks that he hadn’t taught me how to pick.

I had to confess to Olivia again when I got back to the inn, but at least now I could promise I wouldn’t see Laurus again.


Thoughts on September 2nd

Olivia left for work, but the rest of us stayed to plan. Va’lyndra informed us that all evidence had been collected and presented in Anita’s trial. Only deliberation remained. She thought the trial was going to end in Anita’s favor. It was unlikely that Anita would be convicted for anything, but Va’lyndra believed the trial might end in a settlement.

So, should we wait for the trial to conclude before grabbing Neriel? Va’lyndra said no, we could take him whenever was most convenient for us. I asked what we were going to do with the Seral, once we had him. I had assumed we would bring him to Karl Morgenstern in Urdon, but that wasn’t the case. We needed to interrogate him and figure out how to prove that the Serals were working in secret to undermine the government.

We decided to break into Neriel’s house as silently as possible. There would most likely be nine people in the house, but at night, most of them should be asleep. Ilzo wanted to stand in the door. He thought he could bar the church guards from entering once the alarm was raised, as there was only one door. “Do you recall how it went when we tried that strategy when we broke into the vault in Landfall? There was only one door there, too.” I asked. “No,” Ilzo admitted. “That’s because you were unconscious when we had to pull you out!” Ilzo was a formidable fighter, but against skilled opponents who outnumbered him, he wouldn’t last forever. No, we needed to be sneaky.

Leopold was going to have to use his gnomish rock magic to get us inside the building, but I pointed out that he shouldn’t exhaust himself so much that he couldn’t keep up with the rest of us if we had to run. What if we went down the sewers one more time before the raid and prepared the last tunnel? Then he wouldn’t need to spend so much energy on the actual break-in. The others complimented me on the clever idea.

We debated for a long time what to do with Neriel once we took him. Eventually, we decided that we needed to prepare a hideout somewhere in the countryside, away from people. “Should we make a list of questions to ask him?” I pondered. Va’lyndra and Leopold agreed, and Va’lyndra noted down the few questions we managed to scrape together.

The last question we needed to answer was who was going to look for a hideout. Va’lyndra had to go, since she was the best at hiding and tracking. It should be difficult to follow us there. If we needed to excavate the place, Leopold would be useful, so he had to go, too. Ilzo decided to go along, mostly out of curiosity, but I thought it would be good for Va’lyndra and Leopold to have a bodyguard if they stumbled across something out there in the wilds. I didn’t know what dangers existed, so close to civilization, but I was sure there was something out there.

When Olivia returned from work, we were still planning. I thought a change of atmosphere would do me good, so I invited her to join me for dinner in the common room. The others continued talking in our suite.

We could use a truth serum, I told Olivia on the way down, looking in every direction to make sure we weren’t observed. It might come in handy when we were interrogating Neriel. Apart from alcohol, Olivia couldn’t think of any truth serums, and she didn’t have any means of researching it either. Not without taking risks. And neither of us wanted her to do that.


Thoughts on September 3rd

“Mattea? Are you crying? What’s wrong?” My violent sobs against Olivia had woken her. “I’m a bad person,” I wailed, “a terrible spouse!” “No, you’re not!” Olivia stroked my hair. “You’re the most loving, caring, devoted person in the world. And the best acrobat,” she added, to stroke my ego, but then suspicion entered her voice. “Is there something you need to tell me?” “I didn’t have to learn lockpicking. We probably won’t encounter any locks in Neriel’s house. And even if we do, Va’lyndra can shape wood and Leopold can shape stone, so we could get around them anyway. I’ve just been selfish, because I felt so useless. My only contribution to the raid so far has been to carry the lantern in the sewers, a lantern we probably wouldn’t need if I weren’t there. All the others can see in the dark. I wasn’t even needed for protecting Va’lyndra and Leopold from sewer critters. Ilzo could have dealt with any monsters that came along, not that we found any.”

“Look at me, Sweetie, and listen!” I pulled back and locked eyes with Olivia, who absentmindedly wiped my tears off her chest. “You’re very much a valuable member of this group. If speed is called for, to whom do we look? Mobility? Dexterity? Do you remember that magical trap in the mines, the one that changed dangerous zones every second? Who was it that literally danced her way through that? That was you. And nobody else could have done it. Who helped her companions climb sewer shoots? Who prevented Leopold from sliding down one and cracking his head open? That was you. And you know Ilzo can’t be counted on for protecting the weaker party members. He’s reckless. Sure, he’s big and strong and can take a beating, but he’s stupid, and does stupid things, like throwing away Surkalpi in the middle of a fight. You’ve complained about that often enough. And as for lockpicking, that’s a skill that would have made things a lot easier when you were making your way through the sewers. In Neriel’s house, if you come across a lock, you will preserve the mages’ valuable energy now that you can pick it, and even if there are no locks there, you can implement the skill in your shows. I’m also sure that there will be locks in future adventures. In minutes or even seconds, you can bypass an obstacle that otherwise would demand an hour of recuperation for Va’lyndra or Leopold. Yes, it hurt when you slept with your teacher, but we both know that if you hadn’t gone to him for training, someone else could have tripped you up. At least you didn’t hook up with Ilzo. Although, from what you tell me, he’s already getting it on with Va’lyndra. Va’lyndra would probably kick your butt if you tried to intrude on their thing.” That image seemed so silly in my fragile state that I began laughing uncontrollably. Olivia didn’t understand what was so funny, which somehow made it all even funnier, but then a sobering though struck me. “She would probably douse us in icy water while we slept.” I caressed Olivia’s bulging belly protectively.

We wished the others goodbye. They had to go one or two days away from Surd to find a suitably isolated hideout for us. We shouldn’t begin to worry before they’d been gone a week. They might need some time to search for the right spot, Va’lyndra said. “So, Ilzo hasn’t found it yet?” I giggled. Olivia kept a straight face, but squeezed my hand gently to let me know she understood. The others stared blankly at me. “Never mind,” I said. “Be safe!”

Olivia left for work, and I went shopping with money she had provided. I needed a black outfit for the break-in. I already had a balaclava to hide my face, but I had to acquire suitable clothes for the raid, large enough to go outside my leather armor. I purchased one garment here and one there, thinking that was clever. Nobody would know I had bought an entire outfit, but come to think of it, many people knew I had bought black clothes.

I spent the evening alone with Olivia, only interrupted by my performance. She came to watch, of course.


Thoughts on September 4th

Somehow, with Va’lyndra, Ilzo and Leopold gone, Surd felt quiet and empty. The din of the city was still there, but knowing that my companions were away made the city feel less … adventurous. During our stay, there had been many days when I didn’t see any of them at all. Leopold would go to his guild to do whatever work they put him to; for some reason, I imagined him going around a big library, wiping off old books with a feather duster. Va’lyndra would stay in her room studying magic, and Ilzo would hit the town, and we’d all worry that he should do it literally, and then we would have to bail him out again. With them gone, any trouble that came my way would be entirely of my own doing. That was a lonely feeling.

I spent the day in the private garden of the White Truffle, practicing acrobatics as usual. It was a little chilly today, a sign that summer was giving way to autumn. Still, a couple of the inn’s patrons came outside to watch me practice. Others watched through their windows.

When Olivia came back from work, we retired to our suite and ordered a bath. Olivia’s growing belly made her less flexible in the small tub, and I imagined that in a month or so, we’d have trouble fitting the both of us inside at the same time. I determined to enjoy our baths as long as they lasted.