CitrusArms

🗡 Roses and Daggers 🎕

Stratya Durmand

Time: 23rd, Morning
Location: Barracks --> Beach
Interactions: None
Mentions: @FunnyGuy Duke Vikena
Today's Armor Ensemble

The investigation into the assassination was crowded. It was a fairly high-profile occurrence and, admittedly, her efforts were best spent elsewhere. The assassination reeked of magic, which made things interesting. Rather than make a big huff by taking the reins of the investigation herself, and giving away her involvement, she would poke around quietly in parallel to the full investigation force. That an assassination on an important target was attempted told her that another high profile party was involved. Alternatively, someone from the common folk with a grudge or an agenda got their hands on some magic tricks… but that didn't seem likely.

One thing was clear, and that was magic in the capital. Somewhere high in the capital. And that meant mingling. Aah, she was hoping to avoid this. Her, socializing with nobles? And maybe even the royal family? Little ol' her from some village scarcely on the map? Ooh, waily, waily. She got a squire to help her with a bit of plate before she'd go to begin probing the nobles. A little bit of parade plate helped liven up her appearance without being overbearing. A quick look in a mirror and she'd say she looked pretty good.

Her preparations done, she had no excuse to continue loitering around in the barracks. Her feet brought her out into the sun, which was rather high in the sky already. She'd spent a bit of time fussing over her appearance, which was something she hadn't really done before. It was refreshing, and a bit of fun. Reminded her a bit of when they'd have a formal event for the guards and she'd have to get dressed up, only this was much more enjoyable.

At any rate, she found her feet carrying her toward the beach. Not the first place she might have gone, but not a bad idea, either. It was a nice day, and much of the city, including noble estates and taverns, were right on the beachfront. She still wondered how she was going to- oh? It seemed there had been a disturbance. The Duke Vikena was here, and looked like he was about to depart, likely back to his estate. She would ask him as he passed.

🗡 Roses and Daggers 🎕

Stratya Durmand

Time: 22nd, all day
Location: The barracks, the slums
Interactions: None
Mentions: None

It really was something else, living in the capital. Back in her village, certain fruits were only really available at one time of year, when a merchant came by with a fresh supply, on his way to bigger sales in the city. In the capital, however, these things were much more available. Even baking powder and baking soda were readily available. It made a baker's life easy, it was no wonder the baking here seemed so… advanced. The powder and soda would keep, she should send some to her mother.

Bananas, strawberries, lemons, and baking soda. That is what the recipe for the yearly bread recipe called for, besides the usual stuff. They typically had to do without lemon, however, which also meant switching from the soda to powder. The capital had all these things and more, so she could use the older form of the recipe. She slipped into the kitchen after most of the breakfast cooking had been done and got right to work. She'd grabbed all the muffin tins and bread pans she could find to make a large batch. Admittedly, they did not have many muffin tins. She would have to acquire more.

Now, what had she found Callum doing in the slums? What she'd heard about him disturbed her. He'd gone and thrown coins at some poor bloke as a means of provocation? She couldn't tell if he'd smelled of his activities or just of the slums when she found him. It was concerning, but she said she'd keep her nose out of it. But, well, maybe she wouldn't. Her service was to the Queen, after all, and she could only imagine the Queen wound want to see the lad's doing alright. As a royal in Caledonia, he probably wasn't.

The bake went smoothly, though there were other tools she'd need to obtain. She made enough bread for the whole barracks to have a bit, and then some. She'd had to do two rounds of baking, as she had not had enough tins for the whole batch. She had the oven space, with two small ovens and one large in the barracks kitchen, but not the tins and pans for it. She would have to get more, if she wanted to do more baking here. She loaded up a basket with muffins, dressed into her adventurer getup, and made a return to the slums.

She had a few people to go through, and a few mouths to stuff full of muffin to stop them from asking too many questions. However, she eventually found satisfying information. The man in question was a known nuisance. What she found was troubling. Perhaps she'd be sticking her nose into matters, after all, but there was the distinct feeling that his family would not aid matters. This would be something she had to do on her own, and she'd missed an opportunity.

Callum. She didn't much envy him the position of Edin's son. She'd caught a glimpse of how the King could be, especially to his family, but she couldn't imagine how bad it was when there weren't eyes to see and ears to hear. Nobility and royalty had to be very, very good about that sort of thing. Perhaps the fallen prince would attract the unsavory sort looking for a high-society in. If he wanted to live so poorly as she witnessed yesterday, she might be able to show him a way to do so without the beatings? She didn't normally involve herself in the high court's internal affairs, let alone the royal family's, but if the prince were in a position where he couldn't rely on his family, then she would see if she could help him, as service to the Queen. Surely, she would seek her son's health and welfare?

Aah, but she would have to find him first. That would have to come tomorrow. For the rest of the day, she would be catching up on any ongoing investigations, particularly with anyone who had done interviews or interrogations yesterday with regards to the gunfire and assassination attempt.

🗡 Roses and Daggers 🎕

Stratya Durmand

Time: Night of the 21st
Location: Slums
Attire: Leather and chainmail with simple clothes
Interactions: Callum @Helo
Mentions: None

"Oh fuck, he says." Had she been recognized? Why else would he be so upset to- Wait a minute. Ooooh. She"d heard his voice before, which helped her identify his face. He did recognize her, and her position. "Aaaaye, shyte," she groaned, obliged to see that the prince is well. "Ye well know I can't be goin' and ignorin' y', aye? Much as it seems y'd prefer tha'. C'mon, then. Le's away somewher' me eyes don' feel so robbed and w'll get ye patched up. Shouldn't dip in the river with an open wound an' all." A phrase from the country, emphasizing proper rest, care, and maintenance of things, lest they break worse.

She would lead the prince away from the slums, where at least the moonlight held more ambiance around them. Luckily for her, adventurers tended to be the prepared sort, so she had been able to bring supplies with her without drawing attention. This included a basic first aid kit. Treating relatively minor injuries like cuts and splits and scrapes was relatively easy. It was just cleaning, and covering to keep it clean. She learned a lot from caring for the boys back in her village, and she'd asked one of the doctors in the city to teach her more. If one of the men under her command was injured, she wanted to be able to try and keep their injuries from getting worse. Those that would suffer injury for their work should be treated with special care.

The prince's purpose here, however, was unknown. What had he suffered these injuries for? The lives of nobility and royalty were strange indeed, and she dare not assume something at surface value, but should she really pry, at the same time?

Maybe not, but she couldn't just ignore this, either. "The slums is certainly an interestin' place to find someone like y'self in such a state. And what a story ya left behind for me, too. 'Some nutter got himself a beatin' for bein' a rich pest.' Y'did go and buy it, too, I hear." Threw coins at the man. "Can't see the sense in it, but I won't pretend to understand that complica'ed web of complica'ed people you were dropped into. Jus'..." The knight considered how to phase her sentiment for a moment before continuing, "I don' think either of us wan' me involved in ya business, aye? Aye. Now, I'm sure ya don' want or need me to hold yer 'and. Good night. maybe get some rest?" It was best not to address him by name. He was quite a sight, and she didn't want to cause undo duress to the royal name. This was a delicate situation. One she wanted to distance herself from quickly.

🗡 Roses and Daggers 🎕

Stratya Durmand

Time: Evening
Location: Park -> Slums
Interactions: Callum @Helo
Mentions: None

The park festivities had been exquisite, nothing like what they had in her village. The knight couldn't help but think of her hometown for a moment before bringing herself back to the present. She'd have to bake something, to fight this homesickness. Tomorrow. For the rest of tonight, patrols. This city has been getting quite loud, and not in a way she appreciated. She said fair well to the festive dancers and one musician (who'd had his guitar borrowed) she had gathered and got herself another skewer as she strode off to the city.

The streets, at this point, mostly bustled with people going back home from the park, but there were merchants trying to make one last sale for the day and other citizens who planned a whole night of partying and revelry. She might have joined then, but she was wearing just a little too much heraldry. Enough that she could be identified as a knight. She'd already given herself some rest time, recently. As well, she could smell something brewing, so maybe it was best she was rested already. The day's assassination attempt was a pretty big red flag, after all.

"Haaarrrr," Stratya haw'd to herself as she walked the streets, "if'n I were in a wizard's cabal, where might I be hidin'? Hhhrrmmmm." The warehouses, maybe, but she'd already been there. On a different investigation, but she had. Anywhere near the castle would be too guarded, you would think, and she'd have to have evidence, before she went poking around in any of the estates. If she were do stumble on something, it would have to be when they'd let their guard down, and that would be more likely farther from the castle. Farther from King Edin's many eyes. Between the enforcement centers and the castle, the furthest you could get from the guard was the graveyard (and there was scarcely anywhere to hide, there) and the slums.

The slums, huh? Plenty of holes in the wall, there. They might even be able to muscle out some tenants to claim their own building without raising a great fuss, gods know the king couldn't be bothered. Ah, but she was so certain the people of the slums would be happy to help. Yes, after so long of being ignored, they'd just love for a knight to walk through their streets. For this reason, the knight stopped by the barracks and dressed down a bit. A bit of leather here or there, some chainmail and common clothing later, she looked a bit more like someone from the Adventurer's Guild than a proper knight. That was the point.

Her preparations made, the knight strode back out into the night, making her way to the slums. She meandered her way through, stopping to talk to the occasional slummer. Ask them about anything weird. She got an answer sooner than she thought, though it wasn't what she was looking for. Some crazy bugger had made a real nuisance of himself and gotten himself beat without putting up a fight. The coins he spilled were a big occasion, too.

Apparently, that happened over here. The knight nearly kicked the poor fellow by accident, in the darkness. "Here ya are, aye?" She sighed as she looked at him, seeing his sorry state but not quite recognizing him in the dim moonlight in the alleys. "Alright, lad, let's up and away. Can ya walk, are ya awake?"

🗡 Roses and Daggers 🎕

Stratya Durmand

Time: Evening
Location: The Park
Interactions: None
Mentions: None

The fireworks preparations had been proceeding smoothly, so she left the men to it. Needn't be an extra body in the way. She worked her way through the town a bit before she steered herself to the park, to observe the bursting starlight. That's how it had been described to her, and it was an exciting description. As she entered the park, the knight easily fell prey to the wonderful smell of funnel cake, and several other foods, before she finally went to find herself a place to lean and eat and watch the fireworks.

It was quite a satisfying show. The bright, colorful lights that filled the air were a beautiful sight. It went especially well with the meal, somehow. Her belly filled and the resulting debris properly disposed of, the knight drew a fife from a holster attached to her scabbard and began to play. The playful, lilting tones of folk music from the countryside would fill the air, between the bangs of the fireworks. It wasn't completely unlike playing over a roaring fire, though there were some rather staunch differences. She could remember the dances and festivals from her youth, especially during the harvest season. This was not unlike that at all. Just… bigger, more grandiose. This music would never fit in the castle proper, but here, it seemed to belong. She rather hoped a bard or two might join her, though. There must be a few wandering about, yes? Maybe they could even get a dance going.

🗡 Roses and Daggers 🎕

Stratya Durmand

Time: Afternoon -> Evening
Location: Estate Zone and The Bazaar
Interactions: None
Mentions: None

A meal had been just the thing to ruminate about these events. While the one part of her brain that demanded food was let to occupy itself with eating and tasting, the rest of her mind could focus. According to the bazaar merchants, they hadn't seen anyone like what the knight was describing.

The knight had also returned to the alley (with food), to pour over the scene once again. There were a number of things that could have happened, but it didn't seem to her like any of them were the answer. It seemed like the suspect had simply… disappeared. It was an interesting situation, one which had only a few answers.

She should interview the target of the attempted assassination. She had a fairly clear picture of the chase, but the events before were foggy. She should at least get a look at the scene, but they'd probably cleaned up already. Well, she was a little late on that one. Oh well. Shall she ask the cleaning staff? Such an unusual incident must have stuck out in their minds, maybe they'd remember what the aftermath looked like. If she could clean up her image of what lead up to the chase, the moment in question would become clearer, too. Where did the perpetrator go? How did they escape? She had to be certain.

She broke her used wooden skewer into smaller pieces before scattering it into a flower bed she was passing. She had more interviews to conduct, but before that, she'd go talk to the royal guard she saw leaving the estates. They may have just done some asking, and it wouldn't do to go asking right behind them.

This time, she got some different information. They hadn't bothered the staff, so she went and asked some of the help some questions. Rather than try to explain all of it, they walked and talked their way to the scene, which had yet to be fully cleaned and repaired. "Ooh."

"It all happened so fast, ma'am."

"It wa' quick, was i'?"

A guard spoke from the hallway, "it was, I saw. One moment, nothing. Then, the windows break in and arrows start flying like a swarm of bats came in." He was a little jittery, and it seemed like he'd coped an arrow in the arm.

"Wha' o'you mean by 'at?" Arrows everywhere?

"It was like we were surrounded by murder holes, ma'am."

What?! "So they wehr…" Stratya trailed off as she turned to the room and made a motion through her finger, tracing random trajectories through the air. "Hmm." There were holes all over the walls, even the outer wall, where you might expect them to be coming from. This whole thing was reeking, more and more.

That was enough information for now. She might interview the attacked, but later. This whole incident must have been very stressful.

She went over the grounds once more, then it was time for dinner at a local tavern, and… there was something neat going on tonight, wasn't there? Aah, right, fireworks. Something she hadn't had the chance to see, yet. She'd better not miss it, either.

With her dinner scarfed down, she decided she'd inspect the fireworks launch before finding a good spot to watch from.

Rising Stars: A Fairy Tail AU

"Oooh~, weeee~'ve been to the mountains and been to the hills, been to the forest and the beach," a lazy mezzo-soprano came from a particularly tall tree in the forest north of town. One would spot the shining golden climbing equipment before the young lady doing the climbing. "We've crossed the desert thanks to a friendly oa~si~s," she missed grabbing a branch but caught herself from falling before she pulled herself up to have a seat. She requipped a small telescope into her hand, only good for scouting, and peered South, down the mountain side, "we've seen the lake and its pretty birds, and all its sprawling plai~ns," she turned her telescope onto the town finally, before smiling to herself, "but we still haven't been to my~ house!"

The song was over as she examined the town, "alright, new town. Maybe it's friendlier than the last place was, oof." There was activity in town that caught her eye, "is that a caravan? Interesting." The songstress collapsed and disappeared her hand telescope before scaling down the tree much easier than going up, whistling to herself as she did. Once at the bottom, the golden climbing equipment she'd been using was changed into a pair of boots, upon which she proceeded to glide along the ground, heading south to the town she'd seen at the foot of the mountain.

The boots carried her through shallow water and over thorny ground, all while she whistled merrily. As she went, she puzzled to herself, "how's that one even go, again? ~I've got a brand new~... Badup bah~ dabah. Ah well."

As she came into town, her long, gliding strides slowly morphed into a regular walking stride before the boots dissolved away from her feet, leaving only normal boots in excellent condition. It was best to scope the place out a little before being very showy. In the name of such, Trinity found herself a nice cafe with an outdoor section and got herself a coffee with whipped cream on top.

Rising Stars: A Fairy Tail AU

Trinity, Wandering Bard

Name: Trinity Rainsteppe
Age: 23
Birthday: May 7th
Magic: Energy Make - A powerful, old maker magic with many secrets and great utility. It is as obtuse as it is useful. It is easy to waste magic power during formation, and finding a substitute energy to use as "material" goes a long way in conserving magic power. Each energy type has its own properties, however. Additionally, lacrima can be used as batteries.
Bard's Legerdemain - A performance magic, Bard's Legerdemain enables a mage to remotely manipulate musical instruments. It's only really useful to musically inclined mages, who can play remotely using this magic.
Requip - Trinity keeps camping supplies and some instruments in her requip space.
Magic Level: B
History: Trinity was born into a quiet life in the countryside, in a small village by a forest. Her father and mother were both mages who were too traditional and stubborn to fold into whatever was happening to Fiore's magical community. In response to their daughter's interest and aptitude, they taught her their magics. Eventually, they left Fiore, seeking a country with a more traditional community for mages.
Once they did settle somewhere, after a time, Trinity decided that she wanted to see more. She'd been through several countries with her parents, in search of a new place to live. What other places were out there? As she grew older, the desire to see more grew. When she expressed the desire to her parents, they received her wish with supplies for the road. Her parents had, of course, seen the yearning in their daughter. They made her promise to return, to tell them where she'd gone, what she'd seen.
Personality: A young woman just trying to live a carefree life.
Guild and guild mark location: N/A
Team Members: N/A
Three Strengths:
1. Musical
2. Mechanically inclined
3. Inventive
Three Weaknesses:
1. Squishy mage
2. Loves animals
3. Hesitant combatant
Appearance:
Additional Details: Her mother has a lot of nice heirlooms, for someone without an ancestry to speak of.

Rising Stars: A Fairy Tail AU

Trinity, Wandering Bard

Name: Trinity Rainsteppe
Age: 23
Birthday: May 7th
Magic: Energy Make - A powerful, old maker magic with many secrets and great power. It is as obtuse as it is useful. It is easy to waste magic power during formation, and finding a substitute energy to use as "material" goes a long way in conserving magic power. Each energy type has its own properties, however. Additionally, lacrima can be used as batteries.
Bard's Legerdemain - A performance magic, Bard's Legerdemain enables a mage to remotely manipulate musical instruments. It's only really useful to musically inclined mages, who can play remotely using this magic.
Requip - Trinity keeps camping supplies and some instruments in her requip space.
Magic Level: B
History: Trinity was born into a quiet life in the countryside, in a small village by a forest. Her father and mother were both mages who were too traditional and stubborn to fold into whatever was happening to Fiore's magical community. In response to their daughter's interest and aptitude, they taught her their magics. Eventually, they left Fiore, seeking a country with a more traditional community for mages.
Once they did settle somewhere, after a time, Trinity decided that she wanted to see more. She'd been through several countries with her parents, in search of a new place to live. What other places were out there? As she grew older, the desire to see more grew. When she expressed the desire to her parents, they received her wish with supplies for the road. Her parents had, of course, seen the yearning in their daughter. They made her promise to return, to tell them where she'd gone, what she'd seen.
Personality: A young woman just trying to live a carefree life.
Guild and guild mark location: N/A
Team Members: N/A
Three Strengths:
1. Musical
2. Mechanically inclined
3. Inventive
Three Weaknesses:
1. Squishy mage
2. Loves animals
3. Hesitant combatant
Appearance:
Additional Details: Her mother has a lot of nice heirlooms, for someone without an ancestry to speak of.

🗡 Roses and Daggers 🎕

Stratya Durmand

Time: Midday
Location: Estate Alleys -> Bazaar
Interactions: None
Mentions: None

Stratya had been conducting a few interviews with guards that had been part of the gunfire exchange and examining the alley itself. The the guards all had very similar statements. From what she was able to piece together, the criminal in question fired back, startling the guards in pursuit and buying them distance with which to flee. The guards all insisted they were not that far behind when the criminal vanished. That part was also common. They were in pursuit when suddenly they could no longer find a trace of the criminal. It reeked... But she couldn't be sure. As she examined the alleyways, a number of possibilities came to mind.

"'ow far be'ind were the lo' o' ye? Show me, stan' so far away." She motioned vaguely with her hand, her gauntlet clacking lightly.

"I was about here, ma'am, the distance from here to there, where you're standing. But there were a couple of other guards in front of me."

"Righ'. Th' chase led down this way, aye, and then..."

"The criminal turned at the crossing. That's the last time I saw the two of them."

"Break your sigh' on them, then do somethin' unexpected and disappear. Kee' pace with me from there, lad." Stratya walked to the corner and used the guard as reference for how much time there would have been to disappear. She looked the alley over closely, observing possibilities, before looking to the guard she had with her, "righ'. Stand there for m' reference, would you?" She ventured into the alley, considering how much time each option would take. There weren't many good avenues to escape by, and they were all...

Did that guard say two people?

The knight came back to the intersection. The guard she left looked bored. "You said there were two?" The guard nodded and Stratya nodded slowly. "I see... Awrigh', tha's all. Thank ya, 'ave a drink at the tavern tonigh'." Stratya flipped the guard a silver as she paced back down the alley, looking things over carefully, and then proceeding down. Eye balling measurements, thinking about time. Balancing different ideas against each other, and wondering if maybe she was overlooking something.

She wandered her way back out toward the bazaar as she thought. She was hungry again, too. She could go for a... Something on a skewer. Yes.