The Dark Heart - Part 3 (Samheen 24th TT/ET)

[Grant]

(OOC: Please breath a sigh of relief: this thread...and all subsequents...are now passable again!)

Indeed, there was a dress, though a fairly common one used by the servants and clerk ladies. It was a pleasant color of eggshell, a reasonable enough color for servants...but one that seemed perhaps bland upon Elaine. In addition to the dress, Corbin received his sword with a confident nod from the guard waiting just beyond the chamber...a guard that wasn't at all surprised that his standing orders were about to change based on the sudden, unexpected meeting from within the chamber.

The call for an adhiel guard resulted in Sergeant Ailla, though in truth Ailla was no Purple Guardswoman at all. She was an "asset", once utilized by Ulder Synkaaros for...more legerdemain purposes within the city, her shapely form and perfectly flawless countenance making her ideal to pose as either a spoiled, noble lady or a desirable prostitute...but today, she chose to hide herself under a purple tabard and a helmet, ways she could obscure her form but not her face which, she feared, might be remembered by some in the room if they were very attentive. But not Lady Bannon. She can't see, so just...don't speak, and it'll be okay, she thought, unwilling and uninterested in being recognized due to the electric, almost panicked feel of the fortress tonight.

She did manage a crisp, military bow to Corbin, and then motioned off in another direction to lead him to the Archives once directed...and the remaining guards ran Andolin's orders without question or hesitation, with several remaining to escort Fauna and Elaine to Andolin's former residence as well. It would leave Andolin alone in his office...and much of the Citadel vacant...which was perhaps ideal for the new Major Domos.

[Corbin Dillon]

Corbin nodded at the Domus' response, diplomatically remaining silent. He had been presented with three options by the Domus - bring it to the Domus' house, the University or Vanir. He had no idea who this Vanir was, and the Domus indicated that away from his house was a good idea. The University it was then - Professor Moore would know what to do with it.

The Domus seemed far more interested in Elaine than Corbin, and Corbin took possession of his sword with a sense of relief, quickly strapping it back on his hip and hoping he wouldn't need it again this day, but suspecting he may well. The presence of Sergeant Ailla was slightly disconcerting - she wore a helmet and tabard, both of which served to disguise her. She was obviously Adhiel - after all that was why she had been detailed to him, and her face had an Elven quality to it that reminded him of his fallen comrade. She had a pleasant face, and one which he enjoyed surveying.

He returned the bow to her, though only by slightly dipping his body. She was, after all, only a Sergeant and he was the son of a rich merchant - were he in the Guards he would most likely be at least a Lieutenant. Still, he wouldn't let that interfere with their mission. He turned and bowed to the Domus and announced his departure to Elaine.

"I wish you luck and safety, Lady Bannon." He announced, sensing she would need both, and with that he turned and followed Ailla out of the room and in search of the Rosestone.

[Fauna Winthrope]

Fauna moved to help the blind woman dressed. She took a one look at the gown that was given to Elaine and harrumphed indignantly, disgusted by the design. She had seen more exotic gowns at Audreys when she worked there and if the tailoress could see this gown, she would have wept and gnashed her teeth by the apparent lack of fashion statement.

Who designed this gown? I'd have to delete the tailor from the face off Tazlure! She thought disgustedly. Well, there was nothing else to clad the blind woman and this would have to do. She shrugged and gently, silently helped garb the blind achadhiel, not minding the scene that was happening around her.

After that was done, Fauna gave the Major Domus an imperious look, curtsied gracefully and led the Elaine out of the room with a last swirl of her gown and cloak, leaving Andolin to play with the machinations and controversy of the palace.

[Andolin]

Not employing his mindreading abilities, Andolina was oblivious to much of the silent thinking going on in the room. He, likewise, had no reason to doubt the credentials of the adhiel sargent that showed up at his door.

Bidding each group farewell, Andolin still had time to plot and plan before the grand meeting at first mark. Scrivening more notes, he asked for Sosa or Ulder to visit him. He needed to know the strength and capabilities of the guard. He also needed to inform them as to the unwelcome guest in the darkness below.

Then there was a note to his fledgling Imperial Guard. He wanted a report from his chief recruiter as to recruiting successes. He wanted 100 guards enlisted as quickly as possible. It was time to phase out the Purple and introduce the white.

Then there was the small matter of finding a servant who could be entrusted with a sensitive assignment. The servant would be told that there was a dark spirit in the dungeons below and that he had been advised by mages at the University that a charm could be made against it with simple animal blood. As such, the Lord of the Chamber would require a large jar of it. The servant would be told that this was a sensitive assignment because he did not want to frighten any of the staff unnecessarily. The spirit would be defeated on the morrow and things would return to normal. If the man, or woman, could hold their tongue, there would be a promotion to special assistant for that person, as well as as a related jump in pay. He would need someone who could acquire things confidentially in the Citadel. Every great man needed a servant who was a specialist at procuring things with no questions asked. Andolin hoped to find such a one.

If he got his blood, and some paint brushes, there might just be another twinkle of the nether at the top of the Citadel that eveningtide.

[Grant]

The most reasonable servant for Andolin's more...discreet requirements was a clerk...not a chamberlain...named Piette Layton. He was gaunt and somewhat sallow, a very easily overlooked man, and also one that had a 'deal' arranged with the Office of the Exchequer to expedite as well as profit from funding requests to that group. If Andolin's requests bothered or troubled the little man, he demonstrated no sign of it, nodded and murmuring some word about checking in the kitchens and...properly butchering something for dinner. No sooner was he away than Andolin received his next guest, a man named Preston Summers, the de-facto Sergeant Major of the Imperial Guard.

Summers had been an ideal choice to train and flesh out the fledgling group...not due to his sterling background, but due to the parts omitted from his background. He had never been a Purple Guard, but he had served...undoubtedly as a Scout...before he had been dismissed for reasons unknown. He was brutal, strong, and effective with most kinds of weapons...and he had a very powerful presence with new recruits...but his higher leadership tactics were certainly undeveloped, and it was never likely Preston would ever be the proper material for a gentleman officer. Ever.

"The recruitment is going slow, but it's going. Most of the men don't know the proper end of the sword to hold, but I can get a hundred men in white by now, I think," he admitted. The only potential officer he had in his grasp was an ass, so he had been forced to kick the man out before he would risk presenting him before Andolin. Sure, he might see Loraith Kasvenir again some time, but at least it wouldn't be his introduction that brought that misery to the Major Domos. "We're a long way, milord, but we're started, and that was perhaps the most difficult part. It would help if we had a more...proper set of barracks assigned. It may only be vanity and pride, but it does wonders to keep the recruits focused."

"Oh, and I suppose you may have heard the rumors by now?" he added, somewhat tentatively. "The rumor is that the Captain of the Garrison...Captain Synkaaros...died in the riots today. He and the Deputy Provost Marshal, a man named Kiker Reeves. I knew Reeves rather well. I didn't know Synkaaros...but the rumor I heard was a reliable one."

[Guest]

With similar haste and sense of timing as before, Ginneke suddenly reappeared in the doorway - he looked as though he'd been running - his face was somewhat flushed and sweaty, and he gasped slightly, regaining his breath before speaking in a tangled torrent of words. Apparently he was not certain which information to impart first, and so was speaking all of it mixed together - mind and mouth had a direct link without conscious thought to check them first.

"My lord Andolin! You're still here, thank the gods - the lower levels - the wards - you must evacuate the Citadel immediately! I insist on it! The wards would not have held forever in any case - I have my staff searching for the damn thing, but... You must leave with all haste! When we find it - but I can't say how long that will be! And if we can't find it then I don't know what shall be done... It wasn't expecting to come up against serious resistance - all the guards in the Heart of Tribus are dead! I couldn't hold it - what was I supposed to have done...? it attacked me back! I mean, with half a flicker's worth of extra time who knows what could have been done, but it's no use speculating about it now, is it? Take your staff and go! I shall do what I can, but in truth I have no idea how much or little that might be and..."

It didn't appear Simon was going to run out of steam at any point soon - his own thoughts too confused and numerous to let up in his own mind, and now he'd started speaking it seemed unlikely he could contain them all within such a crowded space. It appeared he felt they needed air to become coherent, when he was being anything but. So it must have been a relief for all concerned that at that point one of Simon's staff - a short, blonde girl of probably twenty or so yahren, rosy cheeked from trying to keep up with him and clearly nervous and shaken - arrived behind him in the doorway and interrupted in a soft, nervous voice.

"If I may...?"

Simon paused, hmmed, and nodded in a distracted sort of way, biting at his painfully short fingernails and staring off into the distance as if a wealth of thoughts assaulted him. He was clearly worried - extremely worried. The girl took a breath, and addressed Andolin in a respectful tone, careful to keep her words brief and to the point.

"The demon is no longer in the lower levels, my lord Andolin. My lord Ginneke was forced to defend against the thing when it breached the first wards we laid down, but it escaped. We are not certain where it has moved to, but we are doing our best to locate the thing. As soon as this is done we will attempt to contain..."

"Exactly what I was saying!" Simon interrupted, urgently, his sharp eyes bright with concern and nervous tension, "Not to put too fine a point on it, milord, it's bloody gone! We'll find it - we will find it - but until then you must leave the Citadel - order everyone to leave - it may have gone further afield - but we can't be sure! - and there's no use being less cautious and relying on hope - perhaps it's better to evacuate the city?! No? No... I suppose not - in the meantime, the rift must be closed, and quickly! Okay? Okay! Fine - I shall get back to it, then. Unless there's anything else...?" He addressed this last comment to himself, his lips moving slightly as he searched his mind for any extra information that might have slipped the net of his scattered mind-to-mouth trawling process. "Mmm. No, I don't believe... Oh! Yes! Yasmin - Andolin. Andolin - Yasmin. She's... uhh... gifted in... uhm... communications, yes - if I leave her with you I can stay in touch without running halfway across the damn Citadel to do it. Okay, good, marvellous - thanks for your time."

With that he turned and practically ran out of the room and down the corridor outside, not even pausing to hear Andolin's reply. Yasmin smiled sheepishly at his behaviour - as if she'd have dearly like to apologise for it but dared not. "My lord." She offered the Major Domos a deep, respectful curtsey and then clasped her hands together with the air of someone a little nervous, and not quite sure what to say.

[Andolin]

It is said that life is a balance -- a mixture of good and bad. Yet, of late, things had been mostly bad. An optimist would have quipped that this meant that there was destined to be a long spate of good luck. Of course, such a cheery person would have likely received an icy stare from the Lord of the Chamber (that had to be evacuated).

There was a time for hand wringing and there was a time for action. Grateful to have interviewed and found the mettle of two servants, this sense of contentment was short-lived with the return of the Imperial Magi, and his assistant. Perhaps it was good that the Sargent Major was still about.

"Milord," he addressed Ginneke, "I am perfectly willing to evacuate the Citadel. Certainly there must be alarm bells intended for such disasters to summon all the personnel in the place. My only pause is this, what is to stop the demon from being unleashed into the city? Moving several hundred palace personnel into a city of thousands seems to accomplish little unless you tell me that the daemon will not leave the Citadel."

All the while he was talking, he was gathering up important documents, locking drawers and taking seals. "Unless it will stop in the walls, it will soon be feasting upon a larger populace. We cannot evacuate the entire population of the island in one night. Only the temples might be safe." He began to consider which temple he would seek out for himself.

"Or we can stay and keep the thing occupied so that it is too busy to infect the streets." That sounded strangely noble. Andolin was not a noble creature, unless it accomplished his own selfish ends. "We could, for example make an entire chamber of this palace into a circle of protection, that even the hardiest of daemons dare not cross. Inside it could be subcircles of protection. The daemon would spend its time trying to penetrate the defenses, while leaving the city at peace perhaps." He paused to see if he was making an impression on the magus. His eyes also took in his Imperial Guard trainer to see if the man was near panic.

[Grant]

Who the fuck was... Preston watched the wizard come and go, leaving this girl behind, another soul to protect, no doubt, he thought, glancing at Yasmin with disdain and then turning his eyes upon the Major Domos. "Milord, I don't like the idea of surrendering the Citadel. I don't care what that..." Preston glanced at Yasmin briefly "...gentleman claims. Regardless of what it is, it can't be everywhere at once...and this fortress was designed to keep people out instead of keeping monsters in..."

"Evacuate yourself to safety and take your staff...wherever you think might be best...and leave me and my people...and the wizard...to hold the creature as long as we can," he offered, a selfless sacrifice but one he was willing to attempt in the name of glory or position. After all, it was his job. "I can evacuate the rest directly, if you give the order...and I can do so without any public showing such a bell or alarm. That way we won't...alarm the public?" he suggested, that last bit a stroke of strange clarity from a man that really had no place to advise the Major Domos of such matters anyway.

The girl only smiled weakly at Andolin, rather accustomed to the Master's impatience and inability to communicate when he was excited...which was strangely very often. She did listen, though...and she listened intently, ready to provide what help she could.

[Andolin]

Andolin cursed softly as the Magi removed himself without answering his question. The Sargent impressed him with his bravado, but it only caused the Major Domus to sigh.

"I suppose we should evacuate as you suggest. I shall remove myself to my old quarters just outside the walls, but can be back inside quickly. We only need a squad of Purple Guardsmen and a squad of Imperial Guard to remain. Select who you would of your men. I want our squad to control the gate to the Citadel. The squad of Purple Guard is to stay with the Magi. I would like Purple Guardsman Valsert to be in that detail," he declared as he wrote out a swift order detailing the evacuation and the command to have Valsert in attendance. That insubordinate ass would learn the folly of incurring Andolin's wrath.

"Yasmin," he called out to the mage left behind, "are you able to communicate with anyone? Could you contact the various high priests and University Lectors and thereby save me from writing a new set of instructions for them to meet me at my residence, and informing them that the Citadel has been evacuated?" He pulled out sheets of paper to begin scribbling, if not.

Andolin did not like the idea of leaving any more that Preston. He preferred to draw a circle of protection in blood in his office and withstand the attack there. But, he would be alone, and the odds were not in his favor.

OOC~ Do e have to worry about a time knot? The next day, if memory serves, is the tribunal with Sosa and Valsert (which takes place in the Citadel).

[Grant]

(OOC: Only we could create the largest potential timeknot in forum history, of course I've addressed in the Post)

"I cannot," replied Yasmin. And that was only partially true. There were others to whom she could communicate, but she knew them well and they were...familiar to her. But she didn't offer anything further in the way of an explanation, of course. Unlike her master, a man that had some difficulty synchronizing his flashing mind with his rather clumsy tongue, she was a girl of precious few words. Preston could be seen to roll his eyes slightly at the girl, his feelings on the matter clear to any watching him without any need for magic at all.

"I'll see to it that any arriving visitors to the Citadel that match your description are directed to your house, milord," assured Preston. A few words to the gate guards would do it, and in truth, it wouldn't be too hard. He had boasted his numbers only slightly...he claimed to have a hundred men in white, but he actually had not quite eighty. While he would be taxing the new recruits heavily...watch upon watch, with precious few breaks...they could manage it. Hopefully, it wouldn't last for long. "Ah...and I'll send someone for this...Valsert as well..." he said, not questioning the Major Domos' orders though he felt decidedly disappointed that any Purples at all should be involved. Oh, he realized the importance of them...but as far as Preston was concerned, it was their responsibility that this had happened in the first place.

"Ah...I would be more comfortable if you departed at once, milord...I'll see to your orders at once. Will you...be taking Madam Yasmin with you?" he asked, though Andolin could clearly hear the hopeful plea in the Sergeant Major's voice, oh, PLEASE take the little twit with you...I've no interest in her underfoot...

[Andolin]

"Yes, Yasmin will come with me Sargent-Major. I will need only a little time to collect a few things and then I will be gone to my house outside the walls," he pledged. Gathering some important papers, he locked them in his desk, but remembered to take the seal of office with him. He would be needing to issue orders from his house for the forseeable future. There would also need to be a stop to his room to collect a change of clothes or two. He could purchase more if necessary.

Of course, there was the little matter of Isabella and Marius. There was to be a funeral soon. Still, he supposed that they would either rid the place of the daemon soon enough ... or it would not matter.

Orders were given to the servants to assist him. They would be assured that this was but a temporary measure. It would not be long before they would be back inside again, he assured himself.

[Grant]

Having made his decision and issued his orders, Andolin had only to secure his own office before he left the fortress. He could tell that Preston was anxious and clearly impatient...the nervous atmosphere of the fortress was wearing upon him as well...and it had been a very rough day for all involved in it's affairs. As far as Preston Summers was concerned, the day would be a resounding success if the Major Domos were to be safely stored without injury, a sharply more refined set of goals that he had held when he first awoke in the early, predawn marks.

"The Ladies Fauna and...Elaine have already gone ahead to the...former residence, milord Chamberlain, and I suspect they'll surround themselves with Purples," he added crisply, with only a slight glance at Yasmin. I'll need the bulk of my resources to secure and search the Citadel fully, and to...possibly enforce the evacuation..." he used the word, indicating that he would not accept any half-measures based on his current orders. The Citadel would be cleared, regardless of whatever protest the residents might offer. Fortunately, the bulk of the officers and clerks working in the palace were already at home for the night, with only a few chamberlains to work through the late marks to prepare the palace for the new work day.

Yasmin appeared calm. Perhaps too calm. She understood the precaution, and it was a wise one...but whatever this thing was, it had to be quite horrendous to put the Master in such a state, and such a horrendous demon, it would most likely be cunning, too. She was not convinced they would have a quiet, peaceful night wherever they went, but then again, she was by nature a very pessimistic girl with very little hope for the future. Will it chase us? Will it find us? The night is very long...

[Andolin]

Securing his office, Andolin took the blood and brushes with him. He would sleep within a circle of protection this night. It caused him to smile. Perhaps he would be the safest of all this evening.

So, off he went with his necessary belongings to return to the house he had just vacated. He supposed that he should withhold the dire news he had gained about Ulder. She was already close to cracking as it was, and he needed her sane ... at least for the present.

[Grant]

~Fin! Preston Summers says: "You want me...to delay WHAT?!?"

Good luck, Preston! -G

[Grey Wolf]

Skilled by a dead Purple Guard.