Time: Evening
Location: Palace Grounds to the Camping Site
Mention(s): @princess@ReusableSword@CitrusArms@SilverPaw@Tae@Tpartywithzombi

---

The carriage wheels clattered against the cobblestones as they made their way through the capital’s outer gates. Riona sat across from Cal, keeping her gaze fixed on the window.

With each turn of the wheels, each hoofbeat carrying them further from the city walls, something inside her began to unravel. The crushing weight of the Capital’s invisible miasma of spite and fury that had been her constant companion—began to thin.

She should have felt relieved. Should have welcomed the lifting of that burden.

Instead, its absence left her feeling hollow and scared.

The cursed fire within her, fed for so long on the city’s malice, flickered uncertainly. Riona pressed her palm against her sternum.

It was still there, quieter, but still there. And she knew it would remain as long as she had breath in her body and will in her heart.

It was a quiet carriage ride, and Cal could only attribute the somber atmosphere to the weight of Darryn’s murder. After a while, he moved from his seat and sat beside Riona. Still quiet, he didn't want to interrupt her thoughts, and there weren’t words that would make anything easier. He offered proximity until the silence became comfortable.

Sensing movement, Riona turned her head toward Cal. In the carriage’s dim interior, Riona’s eyes looked like bottomless pits and her skin had paled a bit from sudden weariness.

She gave Cal an appreciative smile before looking back out the window. “It’s been awhile since I’ve left the capital. Feels… strange.”

“Sorian, and all her problems, will still be there tomorrow. You deserve a break from it.” But Riona looked far from relaxed, so he pulled a flask from the inner breast pocket of his jacket. “Got a potion for that too.” He joked, shaking the flask.

Riona let out a small, amused sound—something between a sigh and a laugh. Her mouth twisted into a half-grin. “Really?” She shifted in her seat to face Cal fully. “You’d better be sharing that,” she said, reaching for the flask.

__________________________________________________________________________

The air became different; crisp and clean and infused with hints of campfire and roasted food. The clomping of hooves slowed to a stop and the carriage door opened, allowing them to step out into the carefully tamed wilderness. Everything at the campsite was lit by soft lanterns and moonlight, even the nearby lake seemed to shimmer. Friendly staff was quick to greet them, a handful of strange faces with familiar, mandatory, smiles.

And one all too familiar face. Callum froze for a moment, almost grateful for how lifelike the haunting image of Darryn now looked. Side effects must be getting weaker. He felt relief at the thought.

“Darryn?” The name fell from Riona’s lips in a breathless whisper that said she saw the impossible too.

Stratya Durmand

Time: 25th,
Location: Pinebrook Camping Event
Attire: Very Light Armor Set
Zweihander Greatsword + Simple Leather Sheath
Swordbreaker
Family Dirk + Crest
Interactions: Ariella @Tpartywithzombi
Mentions: Kira @Potter

Stratya was just taking in the beauty of her surroundings, relaxing herself for the time being, when someone came skipping toward her. Certainly a welcome distraction from brooding, the Captain smiled warmly as she turned to face the younger lady, pushing off the pillar she’d leaned gently against. She placed a hand lazily on the end of her zweihander’s hilt to steady it as she moved, a plain leather scabbard protecting the blade from dulling against the ground. Not that a big sword like that needed to be particularly sharp. Her bundle of effects were tied around the large weapon’s handguard. As she watched Ariella approach, she noticed someone else who had occupied herself with standing aside and watching. There wasn't much time to watch or analyze her, but something about her seemed out of place. Hm. Anyway.

“Lady Arriella,” she chimed, pleased to have a pleasant face to look at, “aye, the air frrom the fahrrest is crrisp an’ rrefrreshin’ an’ t’ sky is clear. Looks like therre’ll be a lot o’ food, too. Ooh, I’m rreyt glad I came.”

“ This should be quite the evening I think. How are you feeling after my brother's party? “

“Oh, I’m jes’ fine, thank‘ee f’rr askin’, swee'earr’. It’d take morre’n a strrong drrink orr two ta ge’ me ill. Even if they were unusually strrong.” The friendly knight leaned in, lowering her voice, “t’ween you ‘n me, m’Lady, I’ve been dodgin’ t’ social even’s. I'm a figh'er, nae socialite.” She leaned back again, chuckling, “I though’ tha’ was jus’ some drrink I’d never seen, aye? Hweh! More t’ fool, me.”

Speaking of the party, the knight remembered, “you were in’errested in ‘andling a blade, aye? You mentioned somethin’ at t’ par’y, but y’r fahtherr appearred and ye seemed nae inclined tae mention it ‘rround ‘im.” Stratya hummed softly as she considered Ariella, briefly, and then she dug around for a moment before producing a plain dagger from within her bag of things. “I unduhstand most lassies are nae rraised with weapons like I was. Nae t’ trea’ ye like a child, but nae swingin’ i’ ‘rround, ey? If yerr interrested in tha’, I c’n give ye figh’in’ lessons la’er. I have boffles we c’n swing abou’ at ‘ome.” The dagger was short, only most of a hand long, with a small guard.

“I brrough’ tha’ ferr forraging, but, ah,” she paused, taking another look at the surroundings of glamorous camping. It seemed like everything was provided, “I wonder if I’ll need ta.” The Captain looked between the dagger and Ariella for a moment, before asking, “‘forre I go ‘andin’ this overr to ye, Lady Ariella, what ken ye of ‘andlin’ a blade?”

---

Ah, someone he could trust. He hadn’t worked with him for too long, but all the times that he had to deal with him, the man had been professional and nothing short of impressive. At this moment of this crisis seemingly crawling and seeping through the cracks beneath the earth, threatening to swallow this earth while the nobles went for each other’s throat, it was good to have allies.

”Lord Ravenwood.” John bowed firmly with a hand on his chest. Understanding the cues, he leaned in a little, and followed along with whatever Roman deemed safe. ”Sure. Long story short, you knocked several guards unconscious. Some tried to stop you. In the ruckus, their youngest went out cold.”

”You’re aware of why you went rogue, right?” He crossed his arms. ”Would save me some time if you do.”

Roman walked with John a little ways away from the pavilion before he spoke again, “No.” he said bluntly with a hushed voice. “The tonic I took alters one’s perception. I was talking to my grandfather who died twelve years ago.” shifting his head slightly to keep his ears open for anyone investigating the pair. “My instincts would have told me to protect… what happened after I charged off into the forest?” never one to beat around the bush, Roman opted to get straight to the point.

”You barged through the guards trying to hold you down, tried to pursue something I’m not sure, but then…” John gladly obliged. ”Two people joined in trying to knock you down. One is Farim, and the other is this woman who used some form of magic on you. She appeared angered that we were intervening, but I won’t deny, she knew what was going on with you, that being…”

John took a deep breath. He didn’t know how to explain it at first, as it all depended if Roman knew what was going on with his own body. He seemed to be rather well-informed to the extent that he could, so John decided to be as straightforward as Roman would have liked, but was prepared for questions.

”After you seemed to calm down, something formed above and around you, before our eyes. Literally.” John said. ”They were many, translucent…silhouettes, if I were to describe them. There’s no face I can describe, just that it looks very vaguely humanoid, to put it generously.”

From what he described, it sounded more of a fairy tale or a horror story than a situation report, but that was what he saw, and he assumed everybody saw as well.
”Those silhouettes made angry comments about us being sinners, and that we ‘stole’ this land from them. Then they disappeared, just like that.” John concluded, continuing to the princess. He sighed, knowing this was his mess.

”As for the princess.” He said, doing a brief shoulder check before continuing. All of a sudden, he noticed someone looking his way. He wasn’t sure if those were just the usual gossipers, but he decided not to take any chances. ”She ran off into the forest after you had already fought Farim and that woman, so it’s not your fault. From what I heard, she was found unconscious but only with a bruise. To me it just sounded like she wasn’t watching where she was going and bumped her head, or whoever struck her was quite soft so as to not hurt her.”

John gave as much hints as possible that it was them that did it. Whether Roman would get it was up to him. If not he’d have to arrange a different meeting later on, privately.

His brow furrowed and his eyes twitched as he searched through his mind as to what could have happened and what he was saying. “Sounds like possession.” He whispered more thinking out loud than anything. “More than a few pissed off spirits around this city,” he continued. “The presence of the other women is strange and doesn't sound like one of ours.”

Again he pressed through the information he was just given and nodded, “Farim might be an issue, you're sure no one was around or has come forward about the princess being injured?” a witness to what happened would be an issue as well but speculation could be worked around. If what he was picking up from the doctor and what he was saying was true and he had a hand in it.

The information the man provided matched up with several of the other reports he was able to look over. He still had to ask him about it earlier today but one problem at a time. Roman still had his own information to give to the doctor. Trying to investigate this other mystery woman was another thing he would have to make a report on later.

”Not that I’m aware of the contrary.” John whispered, but he was sure, because they were the only ones there at that time. So the only corroboration that could implicate John would have been Anastasia, and from what he heard, she was not known for reliability.

”As for that woman, yeah I do not know where she came from. I do know that she ‘threatened’ Mina as a decoy to get your attention. That would be something for her to elaborate further.” John said, then proceeded to give Roman a general description of Torvi.

”I’m still a little unsure of how this possession works, but just from the big picture, this seems like 2 unfortunate events - you drinking the tonic and the princess being injured - unrelated but the crown is connecting the dots.”

A sigh escaped him, roman took a glance back towards where everyone else was being dropped off clenching and releasing his jaw. “We will look into her more at another time right now there are more pressing issues.” He stepped in closer to his friend, his voice again lowering to a hushed whisper.

“I had multiple physicians that were tasked with subduing me should I lose control given the nature of the tonic specifically made for me. Two of them went beyond what was ordered and took it upon themselves to remove anyone out of my way by any means in order to protect them. Unfortunately Ana was one of them.” His mind was racing as he spoke remembering what was discussed at his earlier meeting with his people. They would have to fabricate at least two other statements from their people to support this claim if it was pushed.

“Those two have been stripped of their positions and will be returning home within the next two days to receive punishment, prison, and reeducation.” A pause to lock eyes with john. Making sure he understood what was being said for all of its gravity. “I will take responsibility for this. It plays into my own plans.”

John made a note to tell the Society this. This would be something they could likely help with. They maintained records and licenses of physicians across the country (a relatively new thing in Varian society). He knew Roman. The man enjoyed seeing a well-oiled machine work, so if there were any pebbles John could remove for him, it would benefit both of them. They could probably make the case better too.

As for Roman’s plan…

”You sure?” John furrowed his brows a little. ”Caesonian laws are not known to be fair, even for Varians.”

John trusted Roman to have a plan, but the doctor still had some trauma over Caesonian treatment of him many many years ago. Inside, he didn’t want the man to be subject to the same thing.

“Agreed, but here the king is the law. I plan on giving him an opportunity he won't want to miss.” he couldn't risk telling him everything. Not that he didn't trust him but drugs and magic could get you to divulge information you would rather not and there may be listening ears nearby still. “No matter what happens, stick to that story and don't stray from it.” a thought came to mind as he spoke.

“If you and yours come across any evidence of rampant magical use or sickness pass those reports onto me or Erik, if you think something needs to be paid for our misdirection.” He didn't know that physicians without kingdoms organization would see this as him trying to pull favors but at least this way it would definitely pull some scrutiny away from them so they can continue their work.

With that settled it was time to bring up the other thing, “can you give me a bit more detailed report on what happened to you this morning?” there was a hint of something in his voice and his posture. Anger but at who or what?

John gave much of what Roman said a firm nod, and left it at that. Until he brought up the attacks earlier today. John’s teeth gritted. He was of the same temperament as Roman, but for a different reason.

”It was near the Sorian temple. A perfumer outside the shop Lasko sprayed something on my face, making me see…unpleasant things from my past.” He spared Roman the description. ”I managed to keep myself relatively in control, because I’ve been under magic influence before, but I had to flee.”

That was what he knew at least. What came next was speculation. ”I don’t think she was the shop’s oblivious employee. And while I’m not sure who’s the people committing the attack, I’m pretty sure I know who calls the shot: Calbert.”

“Hmm” was the only immediate answer from him as he mulled over the information. What he said matches up with most of the information that was in the report. Like with Riona he couldn't give him all of the information but there were a few things he could tell him to at least get him on the same page or close enough to it. John was, after all, very intelligent and careful.

Again his voice was but a whisper, “Calbert is definitely connected but our intelligence points at him working with the criminal syndicate in the city. Our sources believe it's the same one that's running most of the black market dealings in Varian as well.” again it was speculation for him as well but given what Violet told him and what he has observed, that man has his schemes. Getting his hands dirty directly didn't seem like his way.

He paused as he considered his next words, this time leaning in to whisper in the Dr.’s ear. “Your lot needs to proceed with extreme caution, we have found evidence of between two to four vampires operating within the city. Possibly under the employment of the syndicate or someone very powerful.” he stepped back to gauge the man's reaction while he remained just as serious and stoic.

”That sounds about right.” Somehow the idea of a criminal syndicate targeting him didn’t phase him that much, but several vampires running around the city did.

”Vampire…” John planted his lips on his palm, pondering. Was that Violet girl one of those vampires? She didn’t seem like the type, but human hearts are difficult to predict. Or…

Was Mina’s uncle a vampire too?
That certainly fitted the description. His blood gained life when other people’s blood were added. He always seemed pale and lifeless. It was a good hypothesis worth investigating, but he wasn’t sure if Mina should know. For all he knew, the guy could be part of this syndicate too and John would be walking into the cave there.

”That’s valuable information to have, thank you. Let’s see if we have any sort of countermeasure against those creatures.” He nodded. ”We’ll go around only when the coast is confirmed clear.”

John pondered a little bit further. ”I won’t make any conclusions yet, but I have a feeling one of us Varians at home may be one too.” He whispered back.

The way John mentioned creatures as a description for the afflicted people made him involuntarily squint his eyes into a glare. Yet he was right to be worried about them just as he was. “Cursed people not creatures. And yes we are aware but we are more worried about the ones we don't know about. The last thing we want is the inquisition of this kingdom investigating.”

Rumors always circulated about the medical conditions of some of the nobility. His father made him aware of several issues with several nobles and that we were not able to move against them or confront it. Surely there was some deal put in place between his father or the crown and these nobles. Either way it currently wasn't his problem.

“Do you have anything else to report?”

”No…” John finally let out a sigh, knowing he had not much else to pretend.

He would pat Roman in the shoulders, but again, he wanted to keep the image of a lord and a commoner, so he bowed his head lightly.

”People don’t know it, but we’re in dangerous times.” John said, smiling with a tight lip. ”I hope what you’re doing works out. Stay safe. Don’t get killed.”

“Likewise, remember I take the heat, you and yours just pass along any magical use you come across to us.” He sighed. He could only wish that their lives didn't have to be like this, that they could relax and enjoy what time they had. There will always be work to be done, and so they must go to work.

Roman plastered the fake smile and body language he has been using for most of his life and bellowed out a hearty laugh. Stepping around the tree and back towards the others, “and that's when I told her, "That's not me you got a hold of that's my hammer.”” another laugh to really set in that he was just telling John some off color jokes.

It takes two to tango, and John filled in the steps well. He replied in fake cackling. ”Like…what part of you did she mistaken for your hammer, my god?”