Fanning the Flames: Chyril 22nd GT

Tristam · Post by **Tristam** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 2:15 am

Tristam's thoughts were dark all the way from the Shrine Gardens to the Villa du Constanza. He, Prima's right hand man, was considering burning down her house for her own good. Tristam still did not trust Niccolo. This could easily be nothing but a strategem to get Tristam to do Niccolo's dirty work for him. Prima discounted that because it was not how things were done in the Mouth but Niccolo had built a loyal power base by not doing the expected.

Well let's screen the emotions out of this and do a risk/reward analysis. If Alvero was telling the truth, then an alliance with him would be the best chance they had for survival. If he proved false, then only the stone shell of the home was lost. Assuming of course he could spin this to Prima and others correctly.

That was the rub. In the absence of Prima, the house staff would follow his lead but they would not deliberately burn down their mistress's property. He would have to tell enough of the truth to be obeyed and hide enough to keep everyone's trust. The biggest concern of course was the two guards he brought with him to the meeting. If they caused trouble all would unravel. He would deal with that when and if it happened. First he must talk with the guard on duty.[/i]

Morg · Post by **Morg** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 10:15 pm

Well within the North Quarter, an area of the city commonly called the "Silver District", sat the Villa du Constanza. The house faced the Silver Road, a boulevard that ran directly from Northbridge in a straight line directly into the heart of the city to stop at Rhoddam square, home of the infamous Flying Dortman. Behind the Villa was one of the numerous canals that cut their way through the city carrying refuse, pollution, and water out westward until it joined the Scillus Rivers and, ultimately, the Mer itself.

The Villa appeared almost oppressive in the darkness. The thick mats of ivy coating its walls, lit by lamplight, gave it a shaggy, fierce aspect. Within loomed the black bulk of the house itself. No lights appeared to be on within, not even the light in the room of Prima's mother; for the first time in yahren, both the ladies of the house appeared to be absent.

The gates to the estate were closed, and a single guard stood beside the entrance. This gravetide it was Circe, an athletic woman with rich, brown hair and a dusky complexion typical of the Mouth. "Good tide, Master Tormson," she half-yawned, moving mechanically to unbolt and unlatch the wrought-iron gate and let the young merchant in.

As they had all the way from the Shrine Gardens, Patrick and Moon kept pace a stride behind Tristam. If they were going to cause trouble, they were not about to do so at this flicker in time.

Tristam · Post by **Tristam** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 9:40 pm

"I wish it were a good tide, Circe." Tristam replied grimly. "Gather around you three. We don't have much time." Tristam took a deep breath and went forward with his version of the truth. "Vendetta has been pronounced upon our house and the first strike comes tonight against this house." Tristam paused a moment to let that sink in. "Circe, I know we sent most of the guard away with Prima and Madam Constanza. How many remain? Can we mount any kind of defense?" Tristam knew that there should be few, but he wanted the answer to come from her.

Morg · Post by **Morg** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 8:39 pm

Circe pursed her lips. Moments like this were what she'd become a guard for... although the odds were heavily stacked against them. Far too heavily.

"Galto's on patrol," she stated, "and Marco and Lorenz are inside. That makes six of us." She left unspoken the obvious. If this first strike is serious, there's no way that's going to be enough.

"If that's all true, signore Tormson, we only have one real option." Moon spoke up, in the hoarse voice that had developed from smoking far too much in his Condotierre days. "We should get the most valuable things out of the house, as fast as we can. House Constanza's about the people, not some building. You can rebuild a house, but you can't rebuild a human. Unless you're Dominicus on high."

Circe was nodding slowly, reluctantly.

Tristam · Post by **Tristam** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 7:31 pm

Tristam bowed his head to hide the look of relief that threatened to spread over his face. Moon, you just made yourself a promotion this night. Tristam let out a big sigh and raised his head. "Agreed, Moon. Six is too few for a defense even for fine guards like you. Prepare whatever remains in the stables. I'll rouse the house staff and get them moving."

Trusting his instructions to be followed, Tristam strode off towards the house. He tried to remember all those dinner and planning nights when Prima would speak of this or that being in her family for generations. As much as he could, he would save. Still, Tristam was sure there were nooks and safe boxes that Prima had not shared with him. He could only pray she had guarded them well from flame. Tristam banged upon the front door of the house to rouse whoever was snoozing on night duty just inside the entryway.

Morg · Post by **Morg** » Sat Aug 04, 2007 11:28 pm

Circe nodded to Patrick and Moon, and the two of them peeled off towards the stables and coach house, leaving Tristam to approach the house alone.

It was Alphonse who opened the door. The frail butler/majordomo didn't sleep much these days, and despite the late hour he showed no signs of fatigue beside his usual general confusion. Behind him was Lorenz. The young, taciturn guard, a recent addition to Prima's protectors, was clearly on edge, but relaxed when he recognised Tristam.

"Master Tormson," Alphonse greeted him. "The lady of the house has departed, as I believe you suggested." He gave the young merchant a hard, long-suffering look. "Both the ladies of the house, in fact, although signora Gianna took some persuading. I trust this is only a... temporary arrangement?"

Tristam · Post by **Tristam** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 4:27 pm

"I am afraid that it will be more permanent then you ever imagined, Alphonse." Tristam said grimly. "Listen to me carefully for we have little time. Vendetta has begun. I've got a report that this house is going to be attacked and burned tonight." He paused a moment to let that sink in. "We need to rouse the staff and get as many things of value out of this house as we can. The outside guards are reading transport in the stables. Get what you can, get it there, and get out yourselves. We have maybe a mark. Any questions?" Tristam asked but his manner clearly did not welcome any.

Morg · Post by **Morg** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 9:44 pm

Alphonse visibly recoiled at what he heard, as if he'd been punched in the gut. He clearly had trouble grasping the situation - and well he might.

"Yes, I do," he replied, in a hurt tone. "I have managed this household for nearly thirty yahren. A... and now you tell me that we should just let it go? Just like that?" The birdlike man was becoming quite agitated. "Are we not going to fight? I was a dab hand with a sabre once. I could be so again. We should at least try to defend this house."

"And another thing," he persisted. "On whose authority do you do this? The last I heard, the Lady Constanza was the head of the household, not Tristam Tormson. W...why should I follow your instructions?" The old man had worked himself up into quite a state, spittle flying from his lips.

Tristam · Post by **Tristam** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 2:31 am

"Alphonse," Tristam clapped a hand onto the old man's shoulder. "Do you think I want to abandon this place? That I want to face my mistress tomorrow and tell her that when danger came to her home that I fled?" Tristam sighed. "There are only six guards here Alphonse. You know Vendetta. They'll send a mob."

Tristam looked into the old man's eyes. "I have to face Prima tomorrow and tell her that her home was destroyed. Please let me be able to tell her that we saved as much of her home as we could and that all of her servants are safe and ready to serve her again."

Morg · Post by **Morg** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 9:27 pm

Alphonse initially flinched at the contact, but as Tristam's words sunk in, and his last request, he huffed vigorously and seemed to calm down somewhat. "We should have seen this coming. We should have seen this coming and been better prepared," he muttered darkly, then called through to the kitchen. "SIMON! Get here, now, boy!"

He then turned back to Tristam. "I will send Simon to wake the other staff," he explained, still with a considerable frown on his creased face. "I'm not as fast on my feet as I once was, signore, but I will take it upon myself to collect and preserve the family porcelain. Although with the two Constanza carriages gone I dread to think what remains in the stables for us to travel in. And where will we go?"

The kitchen boy appeared at the door, rubbing sleep from his eyes and yawning. Alphonse turned his attention from Tristam and began to rifle off a list of instructions to him.

Tristam · Post by **Tristam** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 5:30 pm

Tristam let out a sigh of relief as Alphonse finally leaped into action. Once Alphonse was finished rattling off his instructions, Tristam answered at least some of his questions. "I have the keys to some of the Constanza warehouses. We can store her things there for the moment. I have apartments in one of my buildings in the West End. Those with no where else to go can stay there until something more permanent can be arranged." He offered.

"If you have things in hand down here, Alphonse, I'll start upstairs. I must save what I can of her financial records and deeds. If they make her files disappear in the Turcotte and Avarita they'll be the only proof of ownership for her holdings." Unless prevented, Tristam headed upstairs to do just that.

Morg · Post by **Morg** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 9:40 pm

Alphonse indeed made no move to stop him. He was already busy taking down drapes and using them to wrap up the patterned porcelain dishes in the glass-fronted cabinets. Simon, having received his instructions, was rushing downstairs to raise the other servants.

With the help of Master Ermanno, Prima had always kept her financial records and administrative documents neatly ordered and in a single room: one of the small spare bedrooms, although it had not been used in that function for decades. Theoretically this made Tristam's job a lot simpler. However, the room was fitted with a heavy door, and above its ordinary lock a new one had been fitted, a squat, solid construction of far more modern design. This door was currently closed, and Tristam would be able to recall that Prima had once stated that only she and Titus held keys to it... with the exception of a spare she kept hidden in case of emergencies. The room's single window looked out over the canal and was reinforced by an interior lattice of iron bars. The heart of the Constanza operation wasn't left open for the taking.

Tired, confused voices could be heard from downstairs as the servants emerged from their cellar rooms and were apprised of the situation.

Tristam · Post by **Tristam** » Thu Aug 23, 2007 3:32 pm

After taking a few flickers to swear profusely, Tristam realized there were only three options, four if you counted just letting all the records burn. The first was to send a message to Titus. That could create difficulties if the wily old merchant wasn't as easy to convince as Alphonse and the guards. The second was to try and enter the room via brute force. A crowbar and some muscle would do for the lock or the hinges given time. Time he might not have. That left option three. Finding the emergency key.

Tristam knew Prima fairly well. He even got to stay in her quarters on the Madrigal and so had an idea of where she liked to keep things. If she kept it anywhere, it was likely to be in her rooms. Anywhere else she risked the servants coming across it in their duties or as she was hiding it in the first place. Tristam would try there first.

Morg · Post by **Morg** » Sat Aug 25, 2007 10:32 pm

Even though three months had passed since the death of the Constanza patriarch, Prima's room was still somewhat mournfully decorated - although that was likely due in no small part to the fact that the Mouth's first female Councilor hadn't had time to sort out her quarters since. To the right of the door stood a four poster bed draped in forest green, festooned with bulky cushions. Opposite the bed, under the window, was a bureau. Its writing desk was open, as were a few of its myriad compartments, and a few papers were scattered around.

To the left of the bureau was a full-length mirror in a gilt frame on a heavy broad-based wooden stand. To its right was a small dresser with cosmetic products neatly arrayed on its shelves. Resting on a chair by the dresser was a bustle, gathering dust. The rear-enhancing device looked rather skeletal and sinister without an occupant. At the very top of the dresser were two brass hands, with valuable rings arrayed on their fingers.

Elsewhere on the walls were a pair of portraits: one of her father and one of her mother, when both were much younger. On the table next to the bed stood a cumbersome mechanical clock, a rarity even in the advanced Mouth. Its copper casing vibrated slightly with every tick. Beside it was a pile of books, none of which looked as if they had been touched in a while. In fact, with the exception of the bed and the writing desk, the whole room seemed extremely unused.

Tristam · Post by **Tristam** » Mon Aug 27, 2007 4:49 pm

Tristam sighed. Well he didn't expect Prima to make it easy now did he? The bed seemed an unlikely place. Servants always changed the linens and such daily. Writing desk seemed a good place to start. He rifled through the drawers and papers and even the underside of them in search of the key or any other important enough papers to be saved.

The pile of books would be searched next. He'd heard enough stories about the hollowed out false book to at least look there. Hiding nooks behind the paintings were also popular in tales so that got looked at next. Should none of that bear fruit, Tristam would randomly tear through the room looking anywhere for things of value and that all important key. It was not lost on him that the difference between him and a looter was not much at this point.

Morg · Post by **Morg** » Wed Aug 29, 2007 4:10 pm

The letters in and on the desk were not business-related. There were quite a few of them, though, and most of them seemed to be from her fiancÃ©, Ramius Lo Russo.

A bold hand wrote:Yulember 30, Gravetide, The Lykos

My Dearest Prima,

I pray that you are safe and well. Above decks there is a fat functionary cursing the name of your house as the Lykos races back to the Mouth loaded with the Chancellor's coffee harvest. I care little for trade, as you know, but in my heart I am glad that the Madrigal managed to pre-empt the Syndicate's harvest. I am sure it will bring great fortune to your house, if not great favour. As for Carloni, he is now more unlikely than ever to approve of our match. But it is not he who occupies my thoughts. Oh, how I long to see you once again, at long last...

There were several more such letters, mostly plain expressions of love from the unpretentious Flag Officer of the Condotierre. In early Darkenry the letters stopped, indicating the period that the two lovers were together in World's Mouth, but the latest letter from Prima lay on the desk, barely started and dated Chyril 22nd Eveningtide.

The desk did not, however, contain the key, and nor did the pile of books. The titles were diverse - Technology and Trade, Theories on the Subterranean Adhiel and the Structure of their Society, and even a pamphlet in dry, crisp paper titled Reflections on a war: the story of the common soldier. However, all were solid, and so was the wall behind the paintings.

It was the bustle that finally yielded a result. A patch had been sewn onto the inside of its crinoline back, and the finely cut key was thus concealed in its opaque lining. Prima never had the patience for the encumbering devices unless attending social events of the utmost importance, and even then the bustle was on her person, with the key resting scant inches above her buttocks, so it was unlikely that anyone would stumble across it unless specifically seeking it.

Of the other items in the room, the lantern-sized clock was likely the most valuable, although the portraits probably topped it in sentimental value. There was also a variety of painted wooden ornaments arrayed along the mantelpiece.

Tristam · Post by **Tristam** » Sat Sep 01, 2007 1:43 pm

Tristam sighed in relief and then looked about the rest of the room. What does he save? How does he judge what is truly of value? He sighed. We save the light, the valuable and the irreplaceable.

Tristam swept all of the personal correspondence together and tied it with a piece of string into a packet. That got tossed into the middle of the bedspread. Prima's rings soon followed. He wouldn't leave those for some looter. The clock was valuable but cumbersome. The paintings would be worth saving though. The letters and rings slipped into his belt pouch. The paintings got wrapped in the bedspreads and sheets and left in the hall.

Before heading to the records room, Tristam sought out a sack or similar carrying aid. He expected the amount of paperwork he would need to save would be considerable. Then he returned to the locked room and tried the key he had found.

Morg · Post by **Morg** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 9:59 pm

The key fitted smoothly into the lock and the door clicked open, revealing a small, dark room lit only by what light spilled in through the door and barred window. The walls were covered in shelves, but only the top third of these were occupied by ledgers and boxes of papers, a sturdy three-legged stool allowing access to the very highest. A sack found in a side room was large enough to hold all the papers if they were packed efficiently.

From downstairs, raised, worried voices could be heard. The servants had collected their personal belongings together, as far as they could carry, and were gathering in the hall. Alphonse's reedy tones were loudest, attempting to maintain some sort of order.

Tristam · Post by **Tristam** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 1:40 am

Tristam packed it all carefully into the sack carefully as he should and as swift as he dared. Then he too moved to the main hall to try and support Alphonse in keeping order.

"Please everyone may I have your attention please." Tristam called to get their attention. "I know you are all scared and concerned and you have every right to be. But know that your lady still needs your help loyalty more now than she ever did and I as her representative will be sure you are not abandonded now if your moment of need. Those of you without a place to go are welcome to my buildings in the West End and I shall see you have money to keep you until things settle out."

Tristam finished his little speech and hoped it had the desired effect of calming them at least a little. "Now Alphonse what is the status of the household. Are we ready to depart?"

Post by **Maeve** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 9:50 am

A hushed silence came over the frightened staff, wide eyes observing Tristam, clinging to his every word. They had heard his words before, from Alphonse's lips, but they reassured them, while also frightening them. It was all true. Vendetta.

Alphonse showed some of his youth, shining through in the way he held his shoulders straight, the firm way in which his chin rose as he proclaimed "We are ready Master Tormson. The House Constanza can relocate. We await your word."

Tristam · Post by **Tristam** » Tue Oct 02, 2007 7:55 pm

"Very well then." Tristam nodded and took forth a small ring of keys which he hands to Alphonse. "These will let you into my buildings in the West End. Take what you have been able to save and settle in there as best you can. I will join all there shortly once I have called in a few favors to see to your safety there. This is merely a bump in the road. We shall reach the destination together. Now off you go." Tristam helps them get going as best he can and then once they are all off, Tristam returns to the empty house for his final task.

Guido Cercatoro · Post by **Guido Cercatoro** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 2:18 pm

Nodding his head grimly, Alphonse took the small bunch of keys from Tristam. With a last regretful glance around the room, the elderly butler gave one final instruction to the assembled staff.

"It is time to leave."

The servants gathered together their belongings and trooped slowly out of the door. Within a few flickers Tristam was standing alone in the large hall of the house.

Tristam · Post by **Tristam** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 12:33 am

For a long burn Tristam did nothing. He just looked at all the history and riches still around him. "It is so she lives a long life after this." He reminded himself. Then Tristam went into action. Sheets and furniture were doused in spirits, oil and whatever other flammables he could find. Into the center of the house Tristam uncerimoniously lit a rag he stuffed into a bottle of potent alcohol and tossed it onto the blaze waiting to happen.

Tristam fled from the house clutching the bag of vital papers to his chest. He didn't look back.

Guido Cercatoro · Post by **Guido Cercatoro** » Sun Oct 28, 2007 10:36 am

There was no shortage of flammable materials in the house and within a few burns Tristam had thoroughly doused sheets, wooden furniture and other items in spirits, alcohol and other liquids. The flaming rag quickly started a blaze which had already spread throughout the room by the time the arsonist had rushed out of the house. Had he chanced a backwards look as he fled, Tristam would have seen flames begin to engulf the Villa du Constanza.

By the time the alarm had been raised, the fire had engulfed the Villa and by the following morningtide, little was left but the smouldering carcass of a once proud building.

(OOC: finished I presume?)

Guido Cercatoro · Post by **Guido Cercatoro** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 7:49 am

Locked for archiving.