2011-11-22: Toil And Trouble
Toil and Trouble
| Author: EM Drosselmeyer | Published: November 22, 2011 |
Captain Irina swore as she threw a devastating blow into the training dummy, followed by a quick set of body blows and finishing with a sharp elbow that caused it to bounce on its’ mount. First that blasted beekeeper got away and left her with nothing but a fall man for a prisoner, and now Balandar’s running off to Commander Foxx about the Paws issue…She leveled another harsh swing into the dummies face, and the jostling dummy almost seemed to be laughing at her. Her hands clenched tighter in the fists they made, and she released another flurry of blows before she was interrupted by someone clearing their throat behind her. Grabbing a towel from the side table she wiped the sweat from her brow as she approached the young man.
“What is it?”
“Message for you ma’am, sorry to disturb your exercise.”
With a nod she took the rolled scroll from the boy and broke the wax seal, not recognizing whose signet ring it had come from. After a brief glance she looked it over and handed it back with a nod. “Let the archivist know he’s done good work. Tell him if he’s got time, I’ll pay him the same rate to get another set copied and sent to the Britain library. He’s definitely earned that extra pay I was offering him. And tell him to be careful.” The messenger quickly began to write this down before nodding, and Captain Irina tossed him a few crowns which the boy made disappear in a flash before making his way out. At least something seemed to be going right for her today.
The figure walked through the streets, taking note of all the passersby as they made their way, ignoring their presence completely. Turning one of the corners, they spotted a familiar face and fished a few gold coins from a pocket and slipped them into the pageboy’s hands, taking the copy of the Britain Beacon and slipping it into the satchel at their side. The figure heard a set…no, three sets of footsteps behind them, no doubt parasites attracted by the clinking of coin in the small coin purse hanging from their belt. They purposely slowed a bit, and after making certain of the following, slipped into a nearby alley and strolled through as if they didn’t have a care in the world. As they approached, their supposed victim let hands fall to their sides and hold them out open.
“Arright, hand over yer coinpurse and anythin’ else yer carryin’…an’ maybe we’ll let yer go.”
Their offer was met only with a vicious grin directed their way, and from the long sleeve of the garment the figure wore a blade slid firmly into their grip. “Fine, we can do this the hard way then!” The men charged into the alley intent on securing their prize…
Captain Irina blanched slightly as she stepped into the scene. These three had been repeat offenders with minor robberies, but now they were nothing but corpses. Blood slickened the cobblestones of the alley, and though she didn’t particularly care for these thugs who’d picked the wrong target and gotten their comeuppance it still frustrated her. It seemed that her luck at having the archivist’s work getting done quickly was the only bit of luck she was going to see in some time. After checking over the scene she found exactly what she’d expected to…not a single clue other than that the murders were committed with a dagger. “You can clear the scene and clean it up. There’s not going to be anything here that’s useful.” She turned with a flourish of her cloak and stalked off into the night air, the lantern in her hand feeling heavier than it ever had before.
Emilia smiled softly to herself as she packed up the small table of magical gems that she used in so many of her demonstrations; She didn’t have the heart to tell most of her customers the truth. It was entirely true that she could pierce the Void and see through to a time ahead, but lately those futures had begun to get more grim and darker by varying degrees. She had long since stopped trying to find any sort of pattern within the tangled webs of those whose fortunes she read, but it was hard to ignore it when it was as obvious as it often could be. At the fair of the previous month she’d read dozens of fortunes, and she had also brought levity and mirth to others, because she wasn’t willing to face the truth herself. One would be correct in saying she was trying to purposely blind herself to it, she thought with a wan smile. Still…There had been several whom she could tell would serve key parts in what was to come.
There would soon come a time of turmoil and intrigues, of secret alliances and openly told lies, and perhaps worst of all a time of death and fear. Many of these key players were unaware of their roles, and she could not pierce the veil of the future enough to see if they needed to be aware to prevent catastrophe. There were others who had their heads in a noose and their feet already upon the gallows, but were blithely ignorant of the fact; And yet others who were rushing headlong into danger. Though she yearned to do more, she knew it was a dangerous game to toy with the future, and many seers had found their end by attempting to do just that. She recited a mantra that her mother had taught her as a child and once again found her center, before a shaking hand went to touch the palm of her other, but she stopped herself. A seer should never look into their own future, she thought as she remembered her own rules. She couldn’t help the nagging and disturbing feeling that this might be one time where she could not avoid being engrossed in the conflict herself.
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