In Hell's Bright Shadow

One week. Barzillai Thrune has been in charge of Kintargo for one week, and already the city is beginning to crumble around the edges. It certainly hasn’t helped that the city’s lord-mayor, Jilia Bainilus, is gone—the rumor mill says she boarded a ship to Arcadia, leaving Kintargo in the lurch and under the control of Thrune. More than a few people say that Barzillai must have strongly “encouraged” her to take this unprecedented trip, but no one knows for certain where she is, or where, for that matter, Kintargo’s old way of life has gone. The situation created by Thrune’s presence in the city is nothing shy of an uproar.

For one thing—or perhaps several things?—Thrune has implemented seven bizarre proclamations of law that are being strictly enforced. Most of them are highly unpopular in town, but that doesn’t stop the dottari from continuing to enforce these new rules. Thrune’s proclamations are as follows:

Proclamation the First: All slayers of city pests (hereby defined as doves, mice and ravens) who present said pests to the dottari shall be rewarded with a bounty of 1 copper piece.

Proclamation the Second: All places of public business must display in a position of prominence within the first room accessible from the building’s primary entrance a portrait of Her Infernal Majestrix Queen Abrogail II. Said portrait must measure no less than 11 by 17 inches.

Proclamation the Third: Anyone who captures, alive and unharmed, a feral dog of a weight exceeding 50 pounds is to be rewarded with a payment of 2 silver pieces upon transfer of the dog to the dottari. Such noble guardian creatures should find homes worthy of their kind!

Proclamation the Fourth: The right to wear fine embroidered clothing in public is hereafter proscribed to anyone other than agents of House Thrune or the Holy Church of Asmodeus. Exceptions can be awarded or purchased at the city’s discretion.

Proclamation the Fifth: Grain is life! Should grain be spilled in public, it must be gathered, cleaned and repackaged within the hour. Any person who allows grain to go ungathered after a spillage shall be fined 1 copper piece per grain.

Proclamation the Sixth: The imbibing of night tea brings a dangerous imbalance to the slumbering mind. Between the hours of sunset and sunrise, the taking of tea is proscribed.

Proclamation the Seventh: The odor and flavor of mint is an abomination to the refined palate. Be not the cretin! Mint use in candies, drinks and all manner of confections is hereby proscribed.

Indignant persons throughout the city have agreed to meet for a protest in Aria Park this morning, Barzillai Thrune’s eighth in Kintargo. Perhaps he simply doesn’t understand the people’s needs and motivations. It could be true, couldn’t it?

Cinn, 9/9 HP, 16/14/12 AC, +4 initiative, BP 8/8, detect thoughts 1/1, spells; level 1: 2/2, during protest: +2 perception & sense motive

“Be careful.”

“Ain’t I always?” The accompanying grin was as much part of this little ritual as the words, but it didn’t quite manage to lift the mood. Something that could be blamed on the conversation preceding it, but it wasn’t quite that easy. It almost never was. For a moment longer he lingered, debating once more on taking more or less weapons with him. He shouldn’t need them and hadn’t been attacked in this neighbourhood for quite some time, but things were changing. Ironically that meant it might be safer with less weapons and armour, since it made him seem more harmless to the city folk, but there hadn’t been a proclamation yet to forbid such protection for simple folk. And it did give protection. In a way.

Shaking his head, he stopped looking at the far too clean room. Forced to chose between dangerous disobedience and turning his place into a private one, Tharhar had decided to claim he’d wanted to make some repairs and get some cleaning done for a while now. They both knew he was looking for an affordable portrait that satisfied the requirements so he could continue with his craft without repercussions. And they both knew the prices for such portraits had sharply increased the moment that proclamation became known. But some things were best left undiscussed.

Gently closing the door behind him, he strolled through the familiar streets with a careless attitude that belied the attention he still paid to his surroundings. Just because he hadn’t been attacked in a while around here didn’t mean he’d forgotten the times he had been robbed of the little he had. He didn’t worry too much about the ones who had been here decades like him. Those either accepted him, knew he didn’t have enough to be worth the trouble, or just wanted him to stay out of their way. The younger and ignorant ones were less predictable in how much they understood and how well they fitted here. And then there were the ones like Tharhar, who should have come here years before he actually did. It would have been better for him. Maybe not for them, although he liked to think that those few years wouldn’t have made a difference in their eventual connection. But things had happened as they had happened and there was no point in pondering alternate paths, no matter how inevitable it might seem when sleep was being elusive.

And he did hope that was all she was being. Elusive. Enigmatic. Painfully absent due to a whim or mad scheme, instead of something more dire. None of which would explain why she would be going to this rumoured protest. She wasn’t a fool. She was many things, but not a fool. He might be, for going there to look for her, but how would he know if rumours that she had been there were false if he hadn’t been there to see for himself that she wasn’t there? She had better not be there. Although her being there would rule out some of the darker reasons for her absence. And that was all he wanted.

He had long since stopped obsessing over her and her life. Long enough that he could acknowledge it had been an obsession instead of just a fascination or harmless interest. He had never crossed the line, though. Even in his more… intense… periods. And nowadays he barely kept up with her life. Just enough to know she was still doing mostly all right and roughly what new thing she had taken upon herself to get involved in. Which meant that, once he had seen her or determined she wasn’t around - as she shouldn’t be - it would be all right to leave again. He’d still want to know what explained her absence, but there were different ways to find out about that if it didn’t become obvious during this protest. He was hardly the only looking for her, and far less determined to find her than others.  

Stepping out of the way of yet another dottari patrol, he idly wondered if their rulers paid them extra to be obnoxiously present or if they were simply recruiting more folk to keep up with the demand that they created. Surely they realised that people were starting to breed vermin to collect the bounty and were trying to come up with a way to keep large dogs docile enough that they didn’t wander off into someone else’s pocket but feral enough to not obviously have been someone’s property before ‘capturing’ it. Then again, most of the proclamations made little sense. He wasn’t that interested in tea, but even he found it dubious that drinking it would be dangerous for a balanced mind during the night, but not during the day. Of course, folk would be even more annoyed if tea had become unacceptable to drink during the drink instead of just during the night.

Raising his hand in a friendly wave at a human girl who was complimenting her song with a lovely harp melody, he easily found his way through the paths within the park. It was slightly busier than it had been the last few days, but the real crowd would be further ahead. Presuming, of course, that people actually showed up to join this protest. He wasn’t all that certain that doing so was a good idea. At least, not for the likes of him. Which, he supposed, meant he was being quite a fool for coming here. But he had to see for himself if she was actually here, or would show up, or if it was just another rumour based on nothing but hope and pretence.

As he came closer to what actually seemed to be a growing crowd of protesters - strange as it seemed to him to attempt such a thing - he started to carefully circle around. Working the streets had given him plenty of experience with moving between people without disturbing them too much, while also not being so desperate he simply had to see every spot. There were always a few good spots that helped to scan a part of the crowd, which meant he needed to waste less time with randomly searching and hoping for the best. The best, after all, would be if she wasn’t here. Or was. Either worked, as long as she wasn’t getting herself mixed up with something truly dangerous. After all, she wasn’t a fool so she shouldn’t act like one. It didn’t suit her.

Jacqueline, 8/8 HP, 15/12/13 AC, +2 initiative, SM 7/7,  spells; level 1: 2/2, temp protest: +2 bluff & intimidate

She wasn’t entirely certain what she was doing here, but that was such a common occurrence that she also wasn’t overly disturbed by it. Not that she didn’t know how she had gotten here, of course. It had been discussed several times in the days before this and she hadn’t found a reason to disagree with any of it. Adam the squire was very fierce in his speech of how this couldn’t be allowed to continue. And Rydar the clerk had explained several reasons why they should be concerned. Even the two men who delivered the goods in the mornings had given grim nods and worried expressions, which probably meant that it was serious despite her not managing to remember their names. So, in that regard, it was only right to be here. They, as citizens of this fine city, should be here to protest the changes the new government was making. It was only right.

Which, unfortunately, didn’t help with knowing exactly what she was doing here, or supposed to be doing here. She had never protested the government before. So far it seemed to mean that they were gathering here, in this nice park, and talking in groups. But people gathered and talked in groups plenty of times in all kinds of places, and she was reasonably certain that those hadn’t been protests. She might not have paid a lot of attention to those talks, but surely she would have noticed the difference?

Shifting to a slightly more comfortable position, she nodded at the fellow who was currently doing the most talking when he glanced at her. She didn’t smile, because most folk didn’t seem to smile at this kind of gathering, so there was little reason for her to smile either. And it was all very concerning. There had been quite a lot of worries and fears that were being expressed, even more so now than the days before. Mother probably wouldn’t have approved of her being here, but surely it was the right thing to do and thus also what she was supposed to do? After all, she had no issue with tea or mint, and if a bigger dog wanted to wander around free and be menacing on its own - or with other dogs - than that’s what it should be allowed to do. Not that those things were the main topic of discussion so far in these groups.

But there would likely be something else and things would make more sense then. Something other than just grumbling, because that too happened frequently without it being a proper protest. So she would just wait and listen and nod and maybe she would figure out along the way what she was supposed to be doing here. Aside from standing around, because that was likely part of it and she was already doing that. But the weather was all right and no one was paying too much attention to her, so everything was all right. Even if she wasn’t all that certain yet what she was supposed to be doing and everything talked about how things weren’t right. But that would come with the something else. Whatever that might be.

Shykaara, 10/10 HP, 19/13/16 AC, L1: 5/5, Protest:  +2 to perception and initiative

“…as such, this protest is an absolutely perfect idea!  Don’t you agree?”

Shykaara yawned as disingenuously as possible.  “Wha..?” she said, almost drawing the sound into another yawn.  She wasn’t tired, not really.  She was, however, bored.  Dreadfully bored.  “Oh, sure.  If you say so.”

“I do!”  Will looked proud of himself, she had to admit.  He was pretty easy on the eyes, with a sweet face and floppy brown hair that was just not quite the right length for any look, but was somewhat attractive nevertheless.  The big blue eyes just completed his earnest charm.  “It’s the right thing to do; you know it is.  We need lord-mayor Bainilus back, not that infernal creep.”

“Watch it,” Shykaara warned, her voice slipping lower at his choice of words.  “What’s wrong with something being a bit infernal?  Think of a better word to use, or don’t keep flapping your jaws.”  She could feel her tail lashing angrily around one leg of the chair she sat upon.  “There’s no reason infernal needs to be used in place of some variety of curse word.  How would you like it if I said that Thrune was just another human creep?  Although he is a man, so some inherent creepiness is probably unavoidable.”  She knew her words would sting a little, and didn’t have to wait for Will’s slight flinch to tell her she was correct.

“Lady Shykaara, please, I didn’t mean to…  You must…”  Poor Will was tripping over his words almost as fast as they could come out of his mouth, which was almost impressive.  This was better than being bored, at least.  Shykaara had never minded a good bout with words.

She shook her head.  “No, I know you didn’t mean to be insulting.”  The words were, themselves, a small insult, and she knew her friend was keen enough to know it.  Shykaara sighed.  “Look, I’ve already said I’ll go with you, and I will.  When do we have to leave?”

The pair worked out the details quickly enough, and Shykaara even found herself agreeing to be picked up at her favorite tea shop in the Whitegate Market.  It would be far too early in the morning, but then again, such times were becoming more and more common for her given her work at the Cloven Hoof society.  She had discovered that mornings were not, in fact, all that terrible a thing.  Not that she’d ever admit to this if given a choice in the matter.  She managed to escape the Tanessen estate without being walked home; night was only just beginning, and the curfew wouldn’t hit for another hour or so.  The streets in the Greens were well lit, and she knew all too well that there would be no real trouble lurking.  It was a rather sad fact, actually.  She wouldn’t have minded a little trouble in her life.  That was, after all, why she had agreed to go to the damn protest in the first place.  It would have to be more interesting than doing nothing at all.  Wouldn’t it?

~*~

The morning dawned crisp, though not precisely clear.  A light rain fell as Shykaara arose and dressed for the day’s protest.  She chose a fairly sensible outfit, though not precisely low-class.  No, she wouldn’t need armor and weaponry at a simple protest, no matter how fervent Will Tanessen and his friends might be about what they saw as a need for change.  In truth, she, too, could see this need, but still…  A protest sounded like a somewhat messy affair.  But hey, messy could be fun, and fun was severely lacking of late.  She wore a sensible skirt that was divided for riding or walking, a blouse that wouldn’t be too irksome for Rowan or whomever to clean if—when, hopefully!—it ended up a little bit dirty, and a pair of walking shoes that her mother had sighed over the first time she had seen them.  The skirt-thing would cover the shoes mostly anyway.  

She actually arrived at the shop ahead of Will and had time for a nice cup of tea before he arrived.  Or rather, before he and his friends arrived.  Shykaara set her mostly empty cup back on its saucer as Will, Taldoran Aulamaxa, Lia and Rianne Aulorian and Katrian Jhaltero all descended on the tea house together.  She plastered the requisite smile on her face as she glanced up at Will, one slightly raised eyebrow all the question she would allow herself to ask.  The Aulorian twins could and would talk about anything, anywhere, and it was simple enough to let their river of conversation carry things along.

“You remember, last night I mentioned that it wasn’t just me that was bothered by this mess with Th..with, err, Paracount Thrune,” Will said quietly, behind the veil of the Aulorian sisters’ conversation.  

“I don’t recall hearing that you’d invited half the noble scions to tag along either,” she replied tartly.  She couldn’t help the glare she gave the young man.  Crowds of people were a perfectly fine thing, but not being in the spotlight was far less so.  Ah well.  “Fine.  Let’s just get going before the twins set up their lives here in the tea parlor.”

Leaving, of course, wasn’t quite such a quick affair, given that the new arrivals wanted their tea and pastries and this and that, but finally the group was maneuvered into a pair of light carriages and set out for Aria Park.  “I’d rather have just ridden over, or walked,” Shykaara said, “but with this bunch, it’s not like that was going to happen.”  She sighed.  At least it seemed that the rain on the carriage’s roof was slowing.  By the time the carriages stopped, the rain had as well, leaving the park—and the day itself—clean, but with a washed-out feeling, as though something vital was suddenly missing.  

“So many people!”  Shykaara heard Lia Aulorian murmur as they all exited the vehicles.  The girl sounded far too excited.  Shykaara decided she would have to keep an eye on that particular young lady…but then again, why bother?  It wasn’t as though the girl was under her charge or any such thing.  They were all just here for protesting something or other, weren’t they?  To be sure, there were quite a few people packed into the park.  Some were gathered in knots, while others just stood around looking a bit uncomfortable, and yet others spoke to groups gathered before them.  She heard all manner of things being said about Thrune, ranging from disgust to apathy, and some even seemed to sympathize with him, though those were fewer.  Not really waiting to see who, if any, from the group with whom she had arrived came with her, Shykaara pushed her way through the crowd to the fountain in front of the Opera House.  No reason not to claim a decent view of whatever was going on, she thought.