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Completed Chapter VI: Eye of the Storm

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Maggie smiled. "And a pleasant evening to you as well. It was nice to meet you." Again she nodded her head in respect to someone Auri called friend, wondering what next the night would bring them.
 
Auri Grashaal the Insatiable

- Drakkar Ambassador to Asgard -​




Wolf Rawrrr said:
Then he turned back to Auri. "I would use tonight's opportunity to speak with you as well, Ambassador. It would be purely business, I'm afraid - so I'll understand if you elect not to seek me out. I will remain in Alicante until tomorrow at noon, otherwise."
Click to expand...

Auri nodded and spoke in respectful tones, for he did respect Teagan. "If tonight you have business urgent enough for my ears alone, I can make that happen; my friends are the understanding and improvising kind. My door is open to you, Bann Teagan."

With that, Auri kept a watchful eye behind a pleasant face.
 
Date: October 10th, year 3321
Location: City of Alicante, the capital of Asgard
Weather: A dark, cloudy night with occasional gusts of chilly wind.


  • Around 19:10
    The Courtyard, Alicante's Royal Palace

    Just after the bann departed, Auri, Maggie and Laurolf were greeted by a pleasantly familiar voice.

    "Evening, ladies and gentlemen," Meric said cheerfully, moving to stand next to them. Both by appearance and demeanour, the elf seemed to fit right into the scene. "I see that you've already broken the ice, but you really should mingle more. You'll look awfully suspicious if you remain bundled up like this for much longer." He turned to Maggie with a proposal. "Care to accompany me for a while, Maggie?"

    Erya Ryagundi was nearby, still in the presence of A'kal where Meric must have just left them. That meant that the infiltration was a complete success, for now. Everyone was in. All they had to do was survive for another half an hour at most, before moving on to the main event and the undercover search for Dina.
 



Maggie looked both relieved at Meric's appearance and a little chagrined at his words. "Oh, yes, you're right! It's just that I know hardly anyone here." She let go of Auri's arm, smiling up at him as she did, and went to Meric's side. "Who shall we talk to first?"
 
Auri Grashaal the Insatiable

- Drakkar Ambassador to Asgard -​






Wolf Rawrrr said:
"I see that you've already broken the ice, but you really should mingle more. You'll look awfully suspicious if you remain bundled up like this for much longer."
Click to expand...

At Meric's direction, Auri meandered away from the others he had entered with and toward the food as even the subject of food often made for fine conversation with complete strangers. The last thing Auri wanted to do was look suspicious and chance endangering Dina.
 
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Date: October 10th, year 3321
Location: City of Alicante, the capital of Asgard
Weather: A dark, cloudy night with occasional gusts of chilly wind.


  • Around 19:20
    The Courtyard, Alicante's Royal Palace

    There wasn't any real food available on the tables near the bar; more like snacks and appetizers than anything else. Definitely nothing that would sate the hunger of one such as Auri. But then, it wasn't meant to. The actual feast awaited inside the still shut doors of the northern wing of the palace.

    As soon as the ambassador left the relative safety of his group, there was no shortage of brief, curious, and seemingly very welcoming encounters. He knew only a few personally. Most of the people who approached him he simply knew of. A handful of barons from the Hyeralds. Some elven nobles all the way from Reindir. A dwarf or two whose names he could not rightly pronounce, nor was he entirely certain who they were or why they were invited. All of these people had one thing in common: they all knew Auri. Better than he knew them, at least. But none of them were really important.

    The only exception was Count Heron Olwind, a dark, middle-aged man with a visage of perpetual vexation. Auri was quite certain that he never saw the man crack a smile, and he'd seen him quite a few times. Count Olwind used to be an advisor for the kings and queens of Asgard, as counts usually were. Now he was one of the closest confidants of the Sorceress. True to his persona, Olwind was dressed in black even at a reception as posh as tonight's. He looked like a big crow, and was about as pleasant to be around.

    "Does it pass inspection?" he asked in that hoarse voice of his, having mumbled his hello. "The service?"
 
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As the two guards conversed, Asher was preparing a noise bolt, nocking it in silence. As soon as it was ready, Asher fired the bolt past the guards, aiming it slightly above the periphery of their vision. The bolt fell and ignited as it struck the ground. The powder started to burn releasing gas through a tiny hole on the bolt, and a quiet whistling sound was produced. The powder was mixed with a less reactive substance at intervals, making the sound produced an excellent mimicry of a person whistling quietly enough to only attract anyone in a range of 10 meters or so.

At least one of the guards will go and take a look, if not both, and Asher would take the opportunity to either sneak by while they aren't looking, or incapacitate them, one after the other. A tranquillizer dart in combination with a choke-hold would do, as long as none of them gets the chance to call for help. Or so he hoped.

Ready to move, with his dagger in hand, Asher nocked a tranquillizer bolt.
 
Auri Grashaal the Insatiable

- Drakkar Ambassador to Asgard -​



"It does indeed!" Auri proclaimed. Crow or no crow, Auri felt he could be pleasant to Olwind for unless he could read minds, Auri could quite very well keep his real feelings about the count to himself. "From a culinary perspective, the best thing about these occasions is the food. You never know what you can learn from someone else's preparations and designs. The things you can bring home might be quite unlike the things already there!"

Auri felt if he was going to be stuck with this dark buzzard, the least he could do is make the best of it.
 



Maggie took in all the introductions, but particularly Meric's advice regarding them. It seemed a little silly to her, that people would choose illusions over truth just to enhance their image of themselves (which was itself another illusion). However, the more people she and Meric spoke to, the more she became convinced he was right, at least about these courtly types. Thinking about it between conversations, she shook her head. How could you become friends with someone if they were always pretending? How could you know what they were really like? She decided she much preferred the Chosen, Auri, her friends at the temple, and those like them. All the same, each person got one of her own, sincerely warm smiles. They were all the Maker's children, after all, whether silly or wise.

She offered a rather friendlier smile to Meric's latest introduction: Erya, the elven ambassador. Maggie hadn't met her before, of course, but Meric and Auri had, and seemed to like her, and that was good enough for Maggie. She was surprised by Erya's question, as it seemed rather serious for this sort of occasion, and her surprise showed briefly on her face before her expression grew thoughtful instead. "I don't worship her myself, of course," she said after a moment. "I believe that we are all children of the Maker, including the other deities. Like any family, there may be squabbles and disagreements, and the occasional 'black sheep' sowing discord and disunity, but I hope for a day when all are at peace with one another." She looked suddenly embarrassed. "Oh, um, not that I'm saying Ashura is the black sheep! Far from it! I don't myself see any conflict between belief in the Maker and belief in Ashura, for she represents nature, does she not? And nature is a part of creation, perhaps the greatest and most beautiful part."
 
Date: October 10th, year 3321
Location: City of Alicante, the capital of Asgard
Weather: A dark, cloudy night with occasional gusts of chilly wind.


  • Around 19:20
    The Courtyard, Alicante's Royal Palace

    Auri's enthusiastic reply cleanly redirected Olwind's snide remark, much to the count's annoyance. Though he was quick to mask his disappointment, a half-audible grunt got past his dry lips. "How reassuring," he said, holding his hand above a plate of biscuits only to withdraw it after a moment's hesitation. "And your charming companions - the priestess and the dwarf; you've brought them to sample the renowned royal cuisine then, I take it?"

    Olwind's sudden prod for information was so poorly disguised that it had to have been intentional.
 



Maggie tipped her head to one side as she listened, nodding once to accept Erya's own honesty regarding what she'd seen from other of the Maker's clerics. "I can speak only for myself," she replied, "but many of my teachers had the same views on other deities that I do, which is probably at least partly why I feel the way I do. Some of them were rather... withdrawn from the world in general, though, preferring the company of their brethren, so you probably wouldn't have met them. There's a peace to be found in that, but it's not for me."

In response to Erya's question, she continued, "For a few years. I left soon after I became a priestess. It seems like a very long time indeed, but I'm sure to elves it's no time at all!" She laughed cheerfully, seeing the joke on herself both as a human and as a young person. "There is so much to see, and so many people in need of comfort. It's good to come home and visit friends, but I think I won't be staying long. I like travelling too much to stay in one place forever."
 
Auri Grashaal the Insatiable

- Drakkar Ambassador to Asgard -​



Auri's thoughts simmered along the sarcastic but he did not utter them. Oh, but I would have offered to invite you instead, my dear Count, except that your great and adoring throng of cheering admirers so captivated by your tact, grace, and manners held me back! *gasp* Oh wait! You have no such entourage! Nor any of the aforementioned qualities! How could I have missed all of that?! Must be my age...

Instead, Auri said, "Well, count, not everyone gets to eat like a royal, you know! And the invitations were so nicely addressed. You do not think I should have wasted them by showing up alone do you?" Auri's facial expression and body language followed his every word.

Perhaps buzzard or crow was doing this fellow a disservice. How about sniveling rat?
 



Sparing no time to listen in on the distracted guards' babble, Asher decided to quickly sneak by. If they were to direct their sights towards him, his clothes and low movement ensured that he looked like part of a shadow cast by a nearby torch's dancing flame. As such, there was no need to shadowmeld.

To deal with the two guards on the other side of the bridge, Asher would distract them with a noise bolt, same as with the first two. If that doesn't work, he would have to shadowmeld to bypass them.
 
Date: October 10th, year 3321
Location: City of Alicante, the capital of Asgard
Weather: A dark, cloudy night with occasional gusts of chilly wind.


  • Around 19:20
    The Courtyard, Alicante's Royal Palace

    The crow-like count seemed more irritated than ever for Auri's continued amiability. "Yes, well, do enjoy yourselves then," he said, though his tone did not match his words. "Perhaps I'll chance to speak with them later myself. They certainly seem like they'd have interesting things to share. For now I believe I am needed elsewhere..." Muttering a goodbye and probably only pretending to be gesturing at someone in the background, Olwind spared Auri his further company.

    His place would soon be filled by A'kal, the burly northerner from the Varden Kingdom - which was so far nearly everything that Auri actually knew of the man. As part of the Chosen and the Resistance he'd spent the day and two nights at Auri's home, but the two hadn't really spoken until now.

    "Such fine company kept the kings and queens of Asgard," he said not too loudly while casually reaching for a snack from the table. "Am I right? Or was that part of the new order I spied?"
 
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Maggie shook her head ruefully. "I've had much less time than you, you know! All my wandering has been in Darkvale so far. When I first left Alicante, I headed southeast to Lake Sharn, and just followed the Dunnaev north until I met you in Dunn. Well, with several side trips along the way, of course. There's a lot of small villages out there, and not all of them near the river. And I wanted to see as many people as I could reach." She smiled impishly and continued, "Where would I like to go? Everywhere! I want to see as much of the realm and beyond as I can."
 
Auri Grashaal the Insatiable

- Drakkar Ambassador to Asgard -​


Auri kept a happy-looking but watchful eye about him. Only when he was absolutely certain of their privacy did he utter his softly-spoken words to A'kal.

"That buzzard is clearly one of the Sorceress's pets. It seems he has come to such contentedness with the role that, abandoning his freedoms, he embraces his shackles like a lover."

Auri the Insatiable took a few more snacks into his claw and nibbled away at them while keeping an eye on Maggie and Laurolf as best he could.

Auri imagined a clash between the proud dwarf and the count; while it was not a pretty thought, it did have some amusing qualities to it.
 
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With the footsteps becoming louder with each passing moment, Asher took his chance and started to climb the wall of the north wing. The fine decor and protrusions made for an easy climb, but he still had to be vary of any unwanted gazes from below. That being the case he prioritized speed to being soundless, especially with the approaching guards.

Right before actually climbing onto the roof, he'd have to check if anyone was watching from a balcony or window of one of the towers, and how dark the rooftop actually was. Worst case, he'd just find a fixture to hide from the looks below and wait for the guards to pass, then climb back down and continue to the terrace.

If the roof was dark enough, then he could try to get to the West Tower. The map was lacking in detail, and what he could gather when looking at the Palace from below was minimal, so it was questionable if he could actually access the tower directly from the roof, but the path to it was much shorter.
 
Date: October 10th, year 3321
Location: City of Alicante, the capital of Asgard
Weather: A dark, cloudy night with occasional gusts of chilly wind.


  • Around 19:40
    The Courtyard, Alicante's Royal Palace

    The next twenty minutes or so passed relatively uneventfully.

    Maggie's chat with Meric and Erya continued onto the topics of geography and social politics in regards to the places mentioned, allowing the young priestess to learn new things from her more experienced friends. Among the most interesting, perhaps, was Erya's account of her ancestor's homeland down South - the jungle landscape far beyond the deserts of Daskárd. Narishaw, meaning "far-land" in Elven, had been one of the most remote elven regions; a place of great beauty and unexplored wonder. Unfortunately, it had also been the landing point of the Drakkar invasion... Which is why the Narishaw of today is an all but abandoned region, dotted with overgrown ruins. For someone who had never seen it in its days of glory, Erya's words held a surprising amount of pride and sorrow. She was also able to very vividly describe that land and its creatures - owing to several trips to the region, as she revealed with a reminiscent smile.

    The conversation between Auri and A'kal grew less cautious and conspiratorial, and more relaxed, upon Laurolf's arrival with the necromancer, Valtieri, who had apparently become quite popular at the party already. Several other people joined and left the group as time went by, and the mood was overall good. One could almost forget where they were, and why.

    At some point the great double doors of the north wing opened wide, and a herald ceremoniously invited the guests into the great hall for the banquet.
 
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Auri Grashaal the Insatiable

- Drakkar Ambassador to Asgard -​


Auri's reptile eyes widened and his smile broadened as the doors to the banquet opened wide. Auri immediately searched for Maggie and joined her if he could, in the company of A'kal, Laurolf, and Valtieri if possible.

"It begins!" he trumpeted excitedly. It was all he could think to say, for inwardly, he could only hope Asher's own stealthy attempt to enter was equally successful.

His hopes were high indeed.
 



The moment Asher heard her and she came into his view he recognized her. Though he gathered various descriptions of the Sorceress through his travel, it wasn't her looks that gave her away, but the way she felt.

A wave of fear and excitement pulsed through Asher, going through the nape of his neck making his hairs stand up. But his body already accustomed to similar situations, even if on a different scale from this, almost automatically started to calm down, his breathing and heart rhythm being still.

Even if I attack her now, Asher thought whilst he was already marking a spot to put his dagger through, with the neck being an obvious choice, at least when it came to incapacitation, fumbling at any point, a small moment of imperfection, and everything will fall apart. I would die for nothing and she would still reign.

Thinking so, Asher came to realize that it was a miracle that a being with so much power had not noticed him skulking above her, even if his presence was so obscured by darkness and silence. A single wrong move, or any move at all, could end up with him being discovered, let alone if he tried to attack her. Since he could not make that choice at this point, he focused on keeping his breathing and body as still as possible.

If nothing else, at least I can try and gather some information, Asher thought and listened in on the Sorceress' monologue.

If luck wills it and she leaves with him unnoticed, Asher would continue on towards the tower.
 
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Maggie​




Maggie wished she could have seen Narishaw in its glory days, and said as much to her elven companions. Even today, it sounded like a wondrous, if sad, place to visit, and she listened to all of Erya's descriptions with an appreciative expression. She had, after all, become a wandering priestess largely because of her desire to see and experience all the realm had to offer. Was it not all ultimately a creation of the Maker? And so for Maggie, appreciating the world's wonder was itself a kind of worship. That, too, she shared with Meric and Erya if the conversation drifted that way.

Her attention was caught by the opening of the great doors and the herald's ceremonious announcement. Maggie looked uncertainly at Meric and Erya, wondering if she ought to go in with Auri (who had, after all, officially brought her). She turned her head to search the crowd for her big friend, but was willing to follow the elves' lead if they indicated she should enter with them.
 

  • Around 19:45
    The Great Hall, Alicante's Royal Palace


    The Great Hall was as great as the name would have you believe, in both meanings of the word.

    A wide red carpet ran down the center of the chamber, connecting the three doorways in the shape of the letter T. The walls themselves were lined with elaborate tapestries and paintings, except the northern side which had three tall windows instead. These would let in generous amounts of sunlight during the day, but at the moment all they showed was a starry sky marred here and there by clouds. Still, ample lighting was provided by candlelight from great chandeliers suspended above, as well as sconces along the walls.

    There were five tables, all set with the finest linen and tableware, further decorated with various ornaments and candles. Four of the tables were identical; straight and long, made of some type of darkwood, and with enough seats for at least thirty people each. They were positioned in horizontal pairs, two on each side of the central path. The fifth table was a little different. It was singled out to begin with, being placed almost underneath the windows, an area elevated on a low platform that provided those seated there with a superior view over the rest of the hall. Interestingly, this table was built in a curved fashion, and though it was about the same size as the others, the seats here were farther apart, allowing for only a score of people at most. It was painfully obvious that this arrangement was reserved for the elite of the gathering.

    It had to have been the largest room in the palace, made complete by two impressive fireplaces located at the ends of the "T" formed by the red carpet. A fire was roaring happily in each. Next to these fireplaces were the two secondary doorways, one utilized constantly by the staff travelling to and from the kitchens, and the other providing the shortest path to the lavatories.

    Entering from the southern, main doorway alongside Auri*, the first thing Maggie would have seen were likely the three high windows straight across the Great Hall and the podium that held up the queen's table. It was her first glance of the inside of the royal palace, and she was not the only one. Laurolf did nothing to mask his curious examination, and neither did A'kal. The necromancer, Valtieri, was harder to read. He acted like any of the other nobles who frequented the place. Could it be that he had been here before? Or perhaps he was simply adept at pretending.

    One way or another, it was not long until all of the Chosen were in. As the last of the guests crossed the threshold, the main gates of the northern wing were shut behind them, though the doors leading out of the Great Hall remained wide open (all three of them). The inside of the palace was pleasantly warm compared to the chill outside. Soon enough, the lords and ladies of Asgard's ruling class would be back to their social scheming in comfort.

    For the Chosen, however, there was no such luxury. Not with Dina's life at stake.

    As Meric had explained, the fellowship was free to take up seats at any of the four big tables. Ideally not all next to each other, of course. Auri was an exception in that, being an ambassador like Erya, he had a seat reserved for him at the queen's table - if he chose to take it. He was certainly expected to, that he knew. He also knew that, if he chose to sit elsewhere, certain individuals might see that as projecting a certain message. However... On this particular occasion, there was the possibility of using his escort as a valid way to excuse himself - he did bring her along, after all, and it may be that she does not know anyone else here...

    But for the moment, there was no one to excuse himself to.

    The Sorceress - or Her Majesty, as Meric highly recommended she be addressed if it came to it, had yet to appear. As she was the one supposed to officially open the banquet, and it wasn't quite time yet, that was probably normal. What may have been less normal was that some key individuals were still missing; such as General Niara Shadowleaf, or any of the other banns besides Teagan. If the Bann of Darkvale saw fit to attend the party, then it would be somewhat odd indeed if none of the others joined. That said, even Bann Teagan himself seemed to have disappeared somewhere in the meantime.

    Meric was surely alert to this. His grey eyes were subtly searching the settling crowd. Not too far, Laurolf and A'kal were heading for the corner of one of the tables on the left. The fact that they'd chosen the closest seats possible to one of the exits could not have been a coincidence. Valtieri looked like he was still deciding, chatting away with two other gentlemen.



    * Since Dann had indicated such intention in his previous post, and Kaerri was open to it (with Meric's approving nod).
 
Auri Grashaal the Insatiable

- Drakkar Ambassador to Asgard -​


As the way to the Great Hall opened, Auri took a deep breath and let the sight fill his old eyes. While he smiled outwardly with unfeigned appreciation, inside, he was taking up every tactical advantage and disadvantage of the place. He made acute mental notes of any changes from the last time he had been in the place.

"Oh, gentle priestess?" He offered his large and scaly forearm to Maggie and took small steps to match her smaller, human stride. He continued to marvel and note as they entered together, if indeed she took him up on his offer. Otherwise, he walked alone and untroubled.

The Great Hall was magnificent. It was times like these that he knew his choice of choosing the role of ambassador to his people was truly the right one for him. For he believed he would have hardly ever seen halls like these as a sword-wielding warrior or as an elemental mage. But as an ambassador to his people with decades upon decades of integrity, experience, and reputation to call upon? Yes, times like these made him reflect kindly back upon his choices in his long life.

But what was this? Another choice ahead of him!

Did he sit as expected at the Queen's Table or at one of the other, "lesser" tables?

With Dina's life literally on the line, Auri inwardly paused in thought as they walked slowly into the hall. The less the Chosen acted out of the ordinary, the less suspicion they might give rise to. Besides, if Auri sat with Maggie or Laurolf or any of the others, any attention his position provided him would also be shared with his guests. It was like being a great lamp amongst candles;, the less illumination his fellows had, the better for Dina's sake.

Best for them to be able to fade into shadow unlike him whose shadow was so large that it was difficult not to be seen. So it was both for an ambassador of his reputation and a drakkar of his immense rotundness.

"Dear Maggie, may I recommend you take a seat with Laurolf? Mine must be at the Queen's Table." This, the ever-pleasant drakkar said with a grin. He had faith that Maggie was keen enough to understand.
 



Asher let out a small sigh, conflicted by what just happened. On one hand, he was relieved for remaining unnoticed, on the other angry because of his inability to do anything. Instead of letting it fester, he refocused on his mission and restarted his path towards the tower.

Thinking about the conversation he just witnessed, and how that information might prove useful, he snaked through the pillars and decorations of the shadowy roof, all the while checking his surroundings for unwanted eyes. Asher was unsure of the usefulness of what he heard at this point, but at least he now knew where the Sorceress and her general were, at least for a short while.

Reaching the base of the West Tower, Asher's previous observation proved right. He could definitely reach one of the upper windows, and maybe even the top if the constructors were generous with the stone details.

Asher began his climb, sticking to the side of the tower that was in shadow, hiding from the moonlight.
 
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Maggie​




Maggie simply stared around her as they entered, eyes wide and face clearly mirroring her wonder at their surroundings. She automatically accepted Auri's arm -- and a good thing too, or else she'd have forgotten to move out of the others' way! Instead, she let him guide her along as she gazed at the Great Hall. Her friend's voice called her back to the reality of their situation. "Oh! Oh, yes, of course. You've your Ambassador duties. I'm sure I'll be just fine with Laurolf." She returned his grin and patted his arm before making her own way to the corner where Laurolf and A'kal were already heading. Smiling at them, she explained, "Auri has to sit at the head table with the other ambassadors. May I join you here?"
 
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