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EsailiaAt Graves Manor
Rathas stood at the prow of the Kiana. She was still bound in the tin-lined ropes from before, but otherwise was given freedom of movement around the deck. Tobias had clearly taken her at her word.
They had arrived at Waterside, a town further south in Pachelian territory. As the Kiana pulled in to dock, the classical odors of a port wormed their way into her nostrils: salt, sweat, and shit. It was an odd place to put an estate, considering Tobias had said it was where the Graves family manor was. Only she and Tobias would disembark here. Her former crewmates would continue on southward towards Bellonia, the Pachelian capital, to await trial.
A pair of sailors threw a plank onto the dock. Tobias led her off the ship and into an office at the end of the port. It was one of those tiny clerk’s offices, the kind where one would sit inside and document all that went by. A mousey man with a receding grey hairline opened the window.
“Mr. Graves, you’re back. Did everything go well?” he asked in a not-unfriendly tone.
“Well enough. We met our goals, at a cost. I suspect you’ll hear more about it in the paper.” Tobias frowned. “Call me a carriage.”
The clerk turned and pulled at a string, ringing a bell somewhere. Within minutes, a carriage drawn by a horse pulled up next to the small office.
It was just her and Tobias, alone, in the carriage. It started moving, wheels clacking on the cobblestones beneath. He leaned back in the seat opposite her, and met her eyes. "Well, Miss Rathas, we are now on our way to the Graves Family estate. I trust the rest of the ride suited you well? I apologize for keeping your hands tied, but I need to ensure the safety of everyone around us.”
"Do you start small talk with every prisoner you take?"
Tobias's eye twitched. "I'm speaking because you're an important asset. A dangerous asset, but important nonetheless."
Those words reminded her that she carried enough power to properly challenge the corruption that drove her prior leave. The fear she expected was replaced by drive.
"Then spill. What do you want to say?"
"I suppose there is no hiding it. The Graves Family is in... dire straits. Ever since, well, you blew a hole in the family manor and left, the family hasn't been the same. My uncle- excuse me, your father has plunged the family finances far into the red. Furthermore, he drinks continually in his room and refuses to leave. His gate is still strong, and as such nobody dares to challenge him. I do not know whether he truly loved you or viewed you as a political piece- only that he took the loss rather hard." Tobias leaned back. "I will make no pretense. Right now, the Graves Family is a sinking ship. Someone with a legitimate claim to lead may save it. That first step necessitates a... change in power."
It was becoming very evident that Tobias knew less than he might hope to. He was unaware of the dungeons, unaware of their twisted bloodline. She held her tongue for a moment, then replied. "Why do you devote yourself so wholly to this house?"
"It is a matter of pride," he said. "For the family, I will do anything to better it- even if that means replacing the head."
"And you've never sought the position yourself?"
"I am incapable of filling it." Tobias summoned his gate and splashed a bit of acid on the floor, slightly eroding the wood. The smell of decay wafted throughout the carriage. Rathas cringed at the singed wood with money on her mind. Nothing a rug wouldn't fix, though. "The family will only accept a leader with strong magic. I cannot do much more than this."
“That’s ridiculous.”
He nodded. "That it is. But, Rathas, here is my question. Why did you leave the family? You must know the amount of suffering it caused. Did you not think about your actions beforehand?"
"I was just a child. It’s in our blood to be rash."
Tobias frowned. "So you turned to piracy."
"Petty theft, first. But, yes, piracy."
"What in the way of education did you receive out on your own?"
The prisoner raised an eyebrow. "I was taught basic writing and arithmetic by my mentor."
"...you didn't learn those skills before you ran?" Tobias asked, incredulous.
"No.”
Tobias was silent for a moment. "What other skills did you pick up? The sword? Sailing?"
"Yeah, both, somewhat. From Hal."
"I assume you didn't learn much in the way of politics."
"Politics hardly matter amongst pirates."
"Hmm. We have a lot of work to do." Tobias knocked on the hatch behind him and slid it open. [color=d8cfbe]"How long until the estate?"
"Jus' pullin' up on it here, sirrah," drawled the driver.
"Excellent. Miss Rathas, steel yourself. Are you willing to completely change yourself and help shape this family's future?" Tobias asked the ridiculous question with a completely straight face. At least it was easier to stifle her chuckle when faced with such brute earnestness.
“Alright, Tobias. Just lead the way.”
The carriage stopped. Tobias opened the door and climbed out.
Looming before them was a wrought-iron gate just tall enough to stand out as odd. A large stone eagle stood at the top, staring down at any visitors.
The family motto and coat of arms on the stone wall were faded and completely illegible. Through the gate, Rathas could see that the grass was uncut, the flower beds were overgrown, and the paint on the manor walls deteriorated. Her memory of the place, foggy as it was, painted a less dilapidated picture. Now, the entire estate sat in a sort of gloom.
Tobias looked away. "We're here. It isn't pretty, but, well, it's nicer inside.”
She smirked. "I believe you." With a heavy step, Rathas exited the carriage. She expected, even hoped that something inside might properly rattle her memory.
"We will have to get you cleaned up and in new clothes." Tobias began to walk towards the house, then stopped. "I suppose I must free you of your bonds as well. Do not try anything."
His dagger pushed through the rope around her wrists. Immediately she felt the needles of numbness dancing through her hands. She rolled her arms and gave her hands a good shake, welcoming herself back.
Tobias led her down a stone path leading towards the front entrance. "We're going in through one of the secret doors," he explained. "I don't want anybody knowing we're back yet."
He brushed aside a bush and led her to a back entrance, then heaved open a camouflaged stone door. A bat flew out, screeching as its dark abode was disturbed. Rathas flinched.
"There should be..." He fumbled around the entrance. "Aha." He pulled out an emerald gemlight and uncovered it, bathing the antiquated entrance in green light. The floor, walls, and ceiling were all made of the same grey brick. Though some slight water damage had aged it, it was almost perfectly uniform. "Follow me." He strode in, slightly hunching to avoid scraping his head. Rathas followed wordlessly. Between the tight corridor and Tobias's hunched back, she couldn't make out how far the exit was, or if there was one.
He stopped after about a minute. "Right here, I think..." He knocked twice and pushed. The wall opened, spilling light into the hidden corridor. After Rathas' eyes adjusted, she realized that she was looking into a woman's room. A large four-poster dominated the far wall, and several armoires stood to her left. Their doors were open, and she could see that they were mostly empty. On the other side, there was a cabinet with a mirror atop it and a writing desk.
Tobias pushed the secret door closed- it was a bookshelf on this side. "She should be coming back soon..." He mused. "My sister, that is. Erm... she is also your half-sister..."
Maybe, Rathas thought. Maybe. "It's a nice room."
"That it is. She should be able to clean you up somewhat-"
The door opened.
"And you know, I said, 'that shouldn't even be legal!' But it totally is, you know?"
The opener of the door was a dark-haired girl in a long, light blue dress. She was talking to a woman in a servants uniform.
"I'll... talk to you later, Jill. My brother's here." The girl shooed the woman away, then stepped inside. She had a youthful face- probably no older than 15 or 16.
"Toby, you're back! How was your mission? Did you beat up some pirates? Are you injured? Who is this... scuffled woman, and why is she here? Ooh, have you finally found a girl you like? Are you two in love?" She rushed forward and seized Rathas's hands. "Tobias can be such a bore, I should know."
"Elina... This is Rathas. Rathas Graves. She's your half-sister by a different mother. I found her with the pirates."
Rathas gave an exasperated smile. "Hey there."
"Oh my! You're... you're the reason why Father is... it's good to finally put a face to a name." Elina turned to Tobias. "She's your 'solution,' isn't she?"
"Yes. Help her in any way you can. When the two of you are finished, meet me outside. I must get cleaned up as well." Tobias gave an awkward sort of hug to Elina and left the room.
"Anais above, he can be such an idiot sometimes. I assume he wants you cleaned up and presentable?" Elina looked Rathas up and down. "You definitely could use a bath. Here, use mine. If Toby came in by the backdoor, I guess he doesn't want you using the House Baths. Not that they work, anyways. Did he tell you that everything's rather broken now? I haven't had a proper meal since last year."
She directed Rathas to the bathroom. Interestingly enough, the Graves manor was outfitted with a strange metal tube over the tub.
"What's this?" she asked, nodding towards the shower.
"Oh, it's a Northern 'shower.' It's one of the last things Father actually got round to properly installing before he stopped doing anything entirely. You turn that knob and water comes out. It starts out cold, but you can balance it with warmer water by turning it further. We keep a heated tank in the basements. It's all quite ingenious, really. Northerners can be so resourceful sometimes! You can use the curtain to block water. I have soap and hair solution right over here, use those. I'll get you some new clothes, too. I'm guessing you'd prefer something more... masculine?" Her enthusiasm was completely juxtaposed to Tobias's grueling monotone. A welcome change.
"Whatever's easiest on me and you. Thank you, by the way." Rathas relaxed and smiled to herself. The prospect of family seemed much more realistic now.
"No problem! It's been so long since there's been another girl even close to my age around here." Elina smiled. "I'll leave you be while I scrounge up what clothes I can find. Take your time. You, uh, smell like you need it." She left the washroom, closing the door behind her.
Rathas wiggled knobs in the shower until it turned on, and stepped in, oblivious to and unshaken by the frigid water. All she could think about was Elina. Was that really her sister? By blood? There was too much doubt to conclude anything then, but she wanted it to be so.
The curtain still hung wrinkled up against the wall, and a puddle was starting to form on the tile. Rathas realized that the water had turned scalding hot and hastily climbed out. She would master this "shower" another time.
A more realistic and time efficient approach to hygiene at that moment was the bathtub in the opposite corner of the room. Absently, Rathas drew water and began washing herself. Only a few minutes passed before she stood and toweled off. It was common etiquette on the Ironmaw to bathe briskly. After she finished, she grabbed the towel and exited the bathroom. Elina was sitting at her desk, reading a book. Pachelian Politics: A History.
"Ah! You're done! That was fast!" She stood up and set the book on her desk. "I got you a shirt and pants, plus new undergarments. The style's a bit old- I think it's from two years ago. It should be fine, though. Gimme your towel, I'll have it cleaned." She wrinkled her nose. "Or burned."
A laugh escaped the freshly de-musked pirate. "Appreciate it." She threw her towel by Elina's chair and started putting on her clothes.
"Oh my. You've certainly got... a lot of injuries. And you're so fit, too! That's very good! If Toby really wants you to lead Graves, being strong will help. Not like me, you know." She laughed. "I've been inside my whole life. Practicing politics, maybe, but I envy that sort of power over yourself."
"You study politics?"
"I'm afraid I have to, at this point. Not the most ladylike thing, but you see Esme Nols and Alana Pachel doing it, so it must be fine. Toby's the hands, and I'm building myself to be the brain." She picked up the book and flipped through it. "Though, with you around, I suppose we'll both have to learn such things."
A knock came from the door. "Finished?" Tobias's muffled voice floated through.
"And here's the bore," sighed Elina. "Come in!"
Tobias entered, dressed in a fresh uniform and freshly washed. "Everything fine?"
"Yes, yes, I was just talking to Rath about politics. I'm so happy to have a fellow conspirator."
"Never mind that! How did you forget to tell me that Jevin Pachel is dead?!" Tobias threw a newspaper onto the desk. "This changes everything!"
Rathas looked up at the siblings. They were outpacing her by a healthy margin. Thankfully, Elina noticed her confusion.
"Okay, Rath, here's your first lesson. House Pachel's rule is determined by election, not birth. Specifically, that means a low-born family like us that's only barely related to the 'main line' can become the main line."
"Or, we can curry favor with the new ruling family and try to increase our situation, which is what I was thinking." Tobias sat on the bed. "First thing's first, though. We need to speak to your father- and by speak, I mean persuade him to hand over power."
"You don't make that sound easy."
"It won't be. But perhaps seeing you will shock him to reason. If not... we can..." Tobias stumbled on his words.
"We can kill Father. Damned stonge needs to die sometime, might as well be now." Elina said pointedly. "Tobias, the goody-two-shoes, just can't say something like that."
"...That is correct."
Rathas was very clearly not opposed to the idea as long as it made all of their lives easier. Hell, she was almost positive that this man was not her own father, and harbored little compassion for whoever was. "...Repercussions?"
"Well... I'm sure nobody would particularly care if we just... said that he died of alcohol poisoning, would they? Nothing a little bit of money wouldn't solve."
"Sadly, Elina, that is something we are rather short on at the moment." Tobias sighed. "Still, there isn't really anybody who actively supports Uncle. So... k-k-... changing power like that wouldn't be that much of an issue."
"Then it's unanimous." It had only been about a half hour at the manor and they were already plotting a proper political assassination.
"Alright." Tobias stood. "It's only the plan B, anyway. Hopefully it doesn't come to that. Rathas, are you prepared to meet Uncle right now?"
"Immediately?" Elina asked, horrified. "Surely she could have some time to prepare herself?"
"This time of day, only a single maid waits on him outside. No better opportunity than the present."
"Let's get to it.” Rathas agreed with Tobias. There was only time to waste.
"Very well. Elina? Do you wish to come?"
She nodded. "If history is being made, then I wanna be a witness."
They left the room and stepped up a flight of stairs. Rathas noticed that there were no servants around the manor as they walked through the halls. The wallpaper was starting to peel at some corners, and there was definitely the sound of a rat or two in the walls.
Eventually, they came to a large red door with a maidservant standing outside. A small string ran out from a hole above the door, linked to a bell.
"This is it," said Tobias. "Leave us," he said to the servant. She nodded and walked away.
"Ready?" He asked.
Rathas reached past Tobias, twisted the doorknob, and pushed open the door.
The strong stench of alcohol floated out the open door, invading her nostrils with its rank odor. It wasn't quite as bad as the pirates' revelry, but for one man it was far too much. Her eyes watered slightly. Behind her, Elina broke out into a cough.
The room behind the door was in absolute disarray. Various items of clothing were strewn across the floor, and empty bottles of various wines cluttered every step. Where there was no clothing or glass, there was an odd green... thing growing on the carpet. Probably some sort of mold.
At the center of the room was a large bed. The sheets looked freshly cleaned, save for a few odd stains from wine here and there. A few trays of food lay at the foot of the bed.
And of course, there was the man in the bed. He lay on his back, propped up on pillows, lightly dozing. He looked to be getting on in years, likely around 60 or 70. His retreating hairline was the same color as Rathas's. A few liver spots covered the shiny parts of his head. His eyes slowly opened.
"Who is it?" He asked in a scratchy voice. "Jill, I told you not to come in unless you got that new brew from Perker's."
"It is Tobias, along with Elina and a guest." Tobias stood at the door, unmoving.
"You- gachk!" The man spat some black phlegm onto the carpet. "-may enter."
"Peloston Graves," Tobias said, stepping over the threshold. "I bring today the rightful heir to the Graves Family- your daughter, Rathas Graves. You've wasted the family fortune for far too long. It's time we had a change in leadership. Hand over control."
"...Rathas? Really?" Peloston laughed, a dry hacking cough that scratched Rathas's inner eardrums. "Come in, girl. Let's have a look at ye."
Rathas took a few steady steps, planting herself next to the man's bed. She looked down at the sorry sod, digging into his eyes with her own.
"Hm... What do you think of the Graves Family now...?" He met her gaze. His eyes were milky and clouded over.
"Don't waste my time, old man."
"Hah. Waste..? Don't act like you haven't benefited from your upbringing. Have some respect for your progenitors. What've you been up to for all these years, huh?"
She ignored his question. "We need you to relinquish your position. Do not make this difficult."
"And yet you show on my doorstep and claim rights to my belongings. What's to say you're really-"
Before Peloston could finish his sentence, the gate that sank the Ironmaw flooded the room with a hellish shade of orange. It hovered crackling and sizzling two feet above Peloston's crusty eyes. The ice in Rathas’s stare shot through the burning runes.
"Is this what you wanted to see?"
He laughed again. His eyes opened wide, exposing the full whites. "Incredible! A true masterpiece! The product of so many years of work, realized! You should thank me for creating something so perfect!" He exclaimed. "You are the living proof that the program worked!"
"Program?" Tobias asked. "What program is it that you speak of?"
"Why, the goal to create the most powerful gate possible, of course! It's not fully there, but if this girl here can sit down and make more kids, we'll surely see some incredible progress in a few generations!" Peloston cackled.
"You... you have been breeding mages? Is that why Rathas ran away?"
"Yes! Hah! Yes yes yes! Many times over, yes! My brother, your father, Tobias, he told me that it was too much for her! And look at her now! Incredible!"
Tobias and Elina stood in shocked silence. Peloston simply chuckled to himself in his bed, ecstatic.
Rathas dismissed her gate. She stared in silence at the maniac, almost experiencing his delusion secondhand.
"Peloston..." Tobias stepped past Rathas. "Elina... was she a product of this too?"
"Elina, you, everybody! This has been going on for years! Every high-class mage family does it! You two useless brats just didn't have good gates!"
Tobias's lip curled. "You... to Mother... all for..."
"Yes, yes, she had a good gate. Shame she offed herself after the second birth, I wager she had a good few left in- '' Peloston said.
Tobias unsheathed his dagger and ran him through the throat. Blood spilled onto the white sheets. He withdrew the blade and rammed it into Peloston's chest repeatedly. It caved in after three blows, the ribs cracking and opening to reveal his body cavity. Tobias didn't stop, continuing to slice through intestine and entrail over and over and sending chunks of flesh and blood splashing over his freshly pressed uniform.
"Toby!" Elina held her hands up over her mouth and ran out the room. He finally stopped and dropped the knife onto the mauled corpse, his hands shaking. He breathed heavily from the exertion.
"I will request that this room be scrubbed down and the body disposed of." Tobias turned away. "Rathas, you are now the leader of House Graves. We will need to have a discussion with the remaining members of the family." He fell to the ground, resting on his knees. "If you wouldn't mind... I'd like a moment."
Her new clothes were already stained red. The murder didn't draw so much as a flinch from the mageborn, though.
"Take all the time you need."
She finally turned away from the bed, towards Tobias.
"...All the time you need. Properly."
