TheTruthWhale

Blood and Gold (Ebonfort)

Cecielle smiled, saying, "I don't really know if leaving the country is comfortable enough for me. I rather like my route. However, if there is such a wondrous chance for trade, I will have to speak with him about it. After all, a merchant must follow her instincts."

She went silent as the auction started, and watched, with both wonder and curiosity, at all the things flying away from the house, with bids being far more unpredictable than she was used to seeing. This certainly was an interesting auction house, and she would have probably taken part. However, she had wanted absolutely no part in the barbarism that had begun towards the end of it. No matter what had happened, no matter what the justification, the execution of guards, and the bidding on whether they lived or died, disgusted her. It was an intrinsic, guttural feeling of disdain, and she would have began making her way out of the establishment the moment such activities had begun. However, with the crowd that had gathered, such a task would not be easy for her.

Unfortunately for her, she did not get out before the raid began, however, also fortunately for her, she was not quite at the door when it had begun, meaning that, instead of being instantly killed, she put her wings to use, and flew up towards the ceiling, hovering above the door, waiting for an opportunity to duck out behind the wave of guards. She wanted nothing to do with any of this, and was going to leave the moment such a thing was allowed. For now, though, hiding in the rafters above the door seemed like the most intelligent decision.

Knights of The Dawn Covenant: The Longest Winter

The sounds of the early-morning birds chirping were drowned out, rather quickly, by the toll of the death bell. Valerie, who had been up since before dawn, looked towards the inner city. The cool morning air hit her face in the window, as she took in the smells and sounds of the city, a place she had not been for some time. She didn't necessarily miss the people, and while she preferred the early morning dew of the forests, there was a certain nostalgic charm about the city's morning life. The bakers, who had been up as early as her, were just now cooling their morning pastries, a few smells wafting past her open window. It was, in her mind, going to be a good day. Since this was the city where she was born, she had spent the previous day, as well as the night, catching up with her mother and father, enjoying their company for the first time in several years. It was nice to see they were both still doing fairly well, especially considering the general disdain their coupling had garnered them. Irrespective, all the pleasantness of the early morning air had been removed by the stale reality.

Something had happened in the night. Something bad.

Just as Valerie was leaving her parent's home and store, she was interrupted by a frantic messenger, who had informed her that not only had the King been murdered, but that her Knight-Sergeant was calling forth everyone in his unit to come to the castle immediately. Almost disappointed in demeanor, she gathered and donned her armor, ensured that both her weapons were set, and began to make her way towards the inner city. She didn't necessarily care that the Human King was dead, in fact, one less horrid racist in this world would have even made her day a bit better, but, it made her job, and Draxis's life, as well as the rest of her team's lives, much more difficult than before. More than likely, they were going to have to find, hunt, and kill the person who killed the human king, or, worse, bring him back alive. Those were always Valerie's least favorite adventures, especially when the target got preferential treatment.

She made her way, quickly, to the castle itself, putting her duty before her unwillingness to participate. She didn't take a horse, but, instead, used the alleys and roof-accesses to get there quicker than any steed without wings could take her. Despite this, though, she arrived even after Gale had, blaming the fact that she was the farthest away. The order didn't really matter, though, as she made her way past the grieving servants and soldiers, ignoring them all, and started getting a feel for the situation, and making a mental map of every route out of the castle that the assailant could have taken. What's more, as she entered the king's chambers, following the scent of death and blood to the place of the murder. Without saying as much as a word, only giving a nod in indication to both the Knight-Commander and the Knight-Sergeant, she made her way over to the body, and began to do her job, inspecting the wounds and the blood splatter of the king's body and wound, as well as the weapon of choice, or, more-so, the weapon of opportunity.

Something wasn't adding up.

"This was not premeditated," she spoke, finally, saying, "and it certainly wasn't a hit. That's the same prod from the fireplace in here, and, given his injuries, he was dead long before the assailant stopped. Whatever caused this was either rage, or someone trying very, very hard to make it look like rage. The king even made it some ways before being bludgeoned to death, though, what I don't understand is why the king, after smashing the assailant with a wine bottle, didn't go for a better weapon. More importantly, a single shout from the king would have had his guards in here immediately. Why, then, didn't he scream for help? Bruises along his neck indicate that strangulation was attempted, but, it clearly wasn't successful. Have you had a healer in here to check to see if he was poisoned, either by magic or by some sort of herb?"

It was only then she looked up to see, and understand, that she had forgotten to factor in the human equation, her synopsis, probably, causing more pain amongst those present. She paused, and bowed her head, half in shame, and half in respect.

"Forgive me. That was brash of me."

Blood and Gold (Ebonfort)

The harpy listened to the orc's explanation with interest, though, she had no context as to why someone was assassinated, or why the Knights were using it as a vie for power. Marking it as an example of human strangeness certainly didn't seem to be applicable, simply because this was the first she had ever heard of such a thing, let alone experienced it. She was even further confused when the Knight threatened to interrogate the blacksmith, who had so kindly granted them sanctuary, in a more violent manner than previous. The way that Knight acted was both unbecoming and undeserving of the title of Knight, and she knew full well that, whoever that man was, he was a Knight by title alone, and, despite her usual willingness to cooperate and aid the human law, she would not help him in his cruel endeavors, and, to ensure such a thing, Cecielle made a mental note of his voice, and all it's nuances, just in case.

However, her worries seemed to melt away the moment a talk of business and mercantilism was introduced into the conversation, and she turned to the orc, a smile plastered along her naturally alluring face as her eyes ignited with an almost-frightening passion, explaining, "You see, Mr. Orc, I'm not actually bringing anything by this season, I'm starting my rounds here. At the beginning of last season, I traded away the salt I had gotten from Stonecrest, a preservative that was in high demand during the colder months, when fish were scarce, and the need for keeping food from spoiling was far greater than it would be otherwise, for the money to begin again this year. I actually just got back from visiting my family in the mountains, taking a season off from the civilized world, and spending it with family. It was also the first time I didn't trade in some form of credit, so, I've got plenty of coin to start this year with."

She was careful not to reveal to much information about her route, as to not garner even further competition, but, other than that, Cecielle was happy to discuss the nuances of her travels, from her horse's favorite food, to the things she had seen across the lands of the Kingdom of Ebonfort. As they walked, she told them, rather excitedly, of the time a few years back when she had nearly lost everything during a crash in the tools market, where she had gotten greedy and believed the tales of the incredible harvest, which turned out to be mediocre at best, and how she was able to bring herself out of debt by a doing a trade which took her, not along the known roads, but through hunter and bandit trails between Ebonfort and Green Falls. It was her first trade in gold alone, and the first time she had played debtor. All in all, she loved the experience, but quickly informed them that, despite her enjoyment, she much rather preferred being a merchant.

Once they had arrived at the auction house, Cecielle's lack of non-talon weaponry would have been fairly apparent, though, she did allow them to check her pack, only to find a tightly-sealed lockbox with a master-crafted lock, and a few other mercantilistic devices, such as a scale, a ledger, several blank and signed contracts, a magnifying glass, a mirror, and so-on. Nothing that could be used as a weapon of any effectiveness. She paid her own silver as well, entering the auction hall, letting the sound and smell of business cascade across her, all the while sighing with the content of someone who had just arrived home. Her trance, though, was broken by the orc's question.

"Particular? No, not really. If I find any really good deals, then I'll probably pounce, but, if not, I'm still debating my next move. If the quality of the live fish market is good, I'll probably capitalize on that for the springtime fish markets in the capital, but, if it's lackluster, I might just skip Azure Strand. I got some good insight from my former master when I visited him last year about a great starting point. And, I still need to get my horse and cart from the place I paid to keep them. Dancing Goat, if the contract and I remember correctly. This auction, for me, anyway, is just a wonderful little detour, as I've never been to an underground auction before."

Knights of The Dawn Covenant: The Longest Winter

Oh boy. This just got good.

Knights of The Dawn Covenant: The Longest Winter

@Zelosse

Sounds like -my- kind of party. Count me (and by extension, Val) in.

Knights of The Dawn Covenant: The Longest Winter

@TheDarkTemplar

Well then, I'm looking forward to seeing how the story progresses from here!

And, uh, sad things don't really bother Valerie, if you haven't noticed.

Unless you kill off Gale.

Then you shall know the fury of a Slayer.

Knights of The Dawn Covenant: The Longest Winter

@TheDarkTemplar

I do believe you have issued us a challenge, good sir!

I accept.

Knights of The Dawn Covenant: The Longest Winter

It's an honor to hear such things.

Knights of The Dawn Covenant: The Longest Winter

I hope you enjoy the work we put in!

Blood and Gold (Ebonfort)

Cecielle was confused, to say the least, especially by the distrust of guards. Something had -definitely- transpired here, as to what exactly that was, though, she couldn't say. This orc, though, was extending her a hand of aid in evading the guard, even though she had nothing to hide, and had done nothing run from, so, she decided to go against her natural trust of the guard, and move with them. She avoided visibly noticing the guard as she moved with them, staying silent, though, so she could hear whatever the guards were discussing, if they were discussing anything at all. What's more, the strange bat-winged man who had appeared seemed to know who the orc was, so, staying with them, if offered, seemed to be her best bet to survive whatever was going on.

She had moved as unassumingly as possible, not really saying much as she was led into a blacksmith's shop, and then into the back offices of a blacksmiths shop, after which, she simply placed her leg against a nearby wall, and leaned against it, still trying to process everything that was happening, and why she, as someone who was just returning to the town to pick up her stuff, would have been targeted by the guards.

"If you don't mind me asking, and interrupting, sir, why am I being chased by guards? I haven't done anything, and just arrived back in this city to pick up a few things, and make my way on my yearly merchant route. I'm just a peddler."