Porthca Landing I: Memory of the Sea

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Ben smiled at Catelyn. "Thanks," he responded meekly as he untied the scraps of cloak from around his now healed wound. A thin scar remained where the bloody slice had been moments before. With no better alternative, Benito used the cloth to wipe up the remaining blood, then set it on the table. "Clean." He commanded the cloth and once more the blood dried and blew away. He pushed the scrap toward Tyrius, "We can probably get that mended at home. Sid used to keep a mender on staff; something about Joane ruining more dresses in a week than she'd worn in her life." His attempt and humor and joviality brought a small smile on his face.

Returning to his seat, Ben got quiet. He'd just shared a lot, both feelings and secrets, and now he was drained. All he wanted to do was retreat to a bar and escape this nightmare, but it seemed that wasn't an option. The Tahyrsts needed to be spoken with, and Virra still had to do her trick with the map. Ben wondered if she'd still be doing that or if he'd frightened her off of it. He felt bad for coming down on her so hard, but his reputation was already so poor, how would it look?

He closed his eyes and imagined the papers and the rumors:

Lazy Lord Swindled and Mocked by Tiny Woman, Finally Breaks
"Did you hear about the De'Porthca kid? Had a complete mental break. Right in front of everybody. They'll have to send him to the madhouse for sure."
"Benito De'Porthca up to his old antics, drew his blade in broad daylight and cut someone up. Left a trail of blood all over town. No one is safe."
"The De'Porthca's are so unfortunate. They would have been better off had Cyne survived and Benito were caught by the killer. Poor Anthol."
"Oh man, I saw the Lazy Lord lose his shit. Babbling about murder... maybe they'll put him away for good this time." - "I don't know there sure were a lot of witnesses last time, and he was in jail for what, a few days?"
"Lord De'Porthca's back from Azarad, can't even last a day without making a scene."
Bloody Ben, Will He Be Stopped?
 
Tyrius picked up the scraps of cloth and put them into his trouser pocket, smiling slightly at Ben's quip about Joane's dresses before turning to introduce himself to Cate, "Thank you for helping my friend," Tyrius said, "I'm Tyrius." Sliding his seat across to make some room at the table for Winston, Ander and Cate.
'I'm more concerned about Ben's state of mind than my coat,' Tyrius thought to himself, 'Worst comes to the worst I can always have a message sent back to Wyford for another coat to be sent down here.'
"Surprised you were able to find us," remarked Tyrius to Ander and Winston, "We didn't exactly plan on stopping for lunch, it was more of an impulse. But I'm glad you did."
 
The Scarlet Jester:

The hostess paused at Ben's words before bowing, "Of course, Lord De'Porthca." With a gesture of her hand, she motions for chairs to be brought as the rest of the group is seated. Two glasses were placed in front of each guest, one filled with chilled water, and the other filled with a red wine, the bottle left with the table.

She gestured once more as three baskets of fresh bread were brought to the table, hovering through the air. "If I may interrupt for a moment," she bowed, "on offer for today we have fresh caught crab, lobster and fish. If seafood is not preferred, we also have pork and steak, lamb as well with offerings of potato, greenbeans, corn, carrots, parsnips, mixed salads, asparagus, and various others if desired."
 
Benito looked around the table, "Why not bring a bit of everything. I don't know that all my guests know exactly what to expect, best give them options. I'll be covering the meal." He retreated back into his head before raising a hand to get her attention, "Oh, and I'll have the fish with the mixed salad and the green beans." He nodded and looked back to the table, very distracted with his thoughts.
 
Walking into this establishment, Winston couldn't help the small smile that creeped over his face. He could definitely get used to travelling with this Benito, he led him to areas with such great...inventory for him to browse. Passing by the table with a quick wave and whispering "Bathroom." Winston eyed the people he was passing, but all of the opportunities overwhelmed him and before he knew it he was at the bathroom with nothing to show for it. He sighed, and thought to himself This is why you conned people instead of being a petty theif. You were never good at decision making on the spot, you were just good at convincing people of your bullshit. Taking a few minutes to use the restroom and wash his hands, he returned back to the table. Hopping up on a chair next to Tyrius, Winston immediately took a large gulp of the red wine, sighing happily. When Tyrius addressed them, Winston shrugged, "We didn't find ya. She did." He jabbed a thumb in Cate's direction. "Ears of a hound I assume, no idea how she knew to come here. But anyways, how'd it go with the other noble families? Find out anything?"
 
Hearing Winston's question, Tyrius said, "Well, we found out that Gilmarie said the same phrase as Cyne did. Master Accmour is looking into countermeasures to prevent drowning and enchantments." Tyrius glanced to Benito, then to Virra and Eliza, "How did the search through the registry go?"
 
If Virra hadn't been excited before, she certainly was after hearing the specials that were on offer - and that she was going to get to try all of them. Amazing how quickly moods can lighten, she mused as she followed Winston's example in taking a swig of wine. Perhaps after retiring and becoming a noble she could go on a tour of Okesh and sample every city's best dishes.

As she busied herself with buttering a hunk of bread, she gave Tyrius a lopsided grin. "You already know that, Ty. I even gave you the book." To Winston and the others, she clarified: "We got a list of all known spellcasters who could have used the kind of magic we saw at the manor. Plus where to find them." Not patient enough to resist the scent of fresh bread anymore, she tucked into her appetiser almost before she finished speaking. "And if I can get an hour to concentrate, we'll know where to find that undead hitman, too," she added between bites.
 
Catelyn frowned slightly, seeing Benito’s obvious distress, but decided that now wasn’t the time to ask him about it. She smiled and thanked the waitress as she brought over a chair for her and took a seat, smiling politely at everyone’s greetings, but her attention was drawn towards the halfling as he seemed to be scanning around the room for something. She took a piece of bread from the basket and muttered a brief prayer under her breath as she tried not to assume the worst of Winston, but kept a close eye on him until he returned back to the table.

Catelyn smiled to Winston when she complimented his abilities. “Is it so hard to accept that it was the will of the gods?” She laughed as she broke off a piece of bread, wrapping it in a small handkerchief before putting it away in her pocket. “I must admit that it was my doing this time, however. A good priestess keeps her ears open so that no prayers may fall on deaf ears.”

After Virra had finished speaking, Catelyn spoke up. “If I may... I know I was not there at the time of the attack, but from what I have heard from your companions I do not believe these murders to be the works of a mere hitman. Undead creatures of a power such as this typically have a drive or a power of their own behind them, in this case vengeance. I believe it may be worth looking in to people who have died as a result of the nobility of this town... specifically those who had drowned at sea. There are two sides to every coin... something must have happened to have started this cycle of vengeance. Still, two wrongs will never equal a right.”

Catelyn then frowned as she looked to Benito. “I am sorry... I wish I had more to offer you, but my experiences in doing Ilmater’s will lie with tending to his flock and relieving their sorrows. I’m not a knowledgeable scholar or a brave warrior... just a conduit for the Crying God’s power.”
 
Dragged from his thoughts by being addressed Benito looked toward Catelyn, "I... uh..." It was pretty clear he hadn't been paying close attention to the conversation. He paused a moment before beginning his response again, "I had hoped you might have heard something, rumors or whispers. It's possible you just don't know the significance of what you've heard. Does the name Lestone ring a bell? Unfortunately I won't know more of them until I speak with my father tonight, but they are somehow involved in the founding of this town, yet their name is unfamiliar, almost like its been removed from the town's history." He looked to Virra and Eliza, "Did you think to ask after them in the registry? Do they have any casters among them?" He shook his head, "The Accmours were, for certain, the last family to join in the town's founding. Whatever the Lestones did they have history predating that, which means they could have history with all the families and hold them all accountable. Ty, maybe you should head to the Tahyrsts without me, your name should be enough to get you an audience... I could return home and speak with my father. I feel like the Masters are keeping secrets from us to guard us, but it only further obfuscates and hides the truth of the motive. What shared debt could the four families have except to a fifth family who has fallen into obscurity?"
 
At the name 'Lestone', Virra quickly swallowed her mouthful of bread, coughing with the effort. "Oh, right, we did ask!" she said once her throat was clear. "Or Eliza asked. Gileon, the Registry Keeper guy, he turned up a page that was just full of scribbles and blank spaces. It didn't look like a code, and only some of the scribbles registered as languages to me — can't tell you which ones, but I could probably figure it out if I took my time And it did respond to the name Lestone, so there's got to be something there. He gave us a copy of it in the book." Worked up now, she nudged Tyrius's arm. "C'mon, Ty, get it out...!"
 
At Virra's nudging, Tyrius reached into his bag and pulled out the book she had requested. Placing it in the center of the table for everyone to see, Tyrius flipped it open. "Ben, are you sure?" asked Tyrius, 'Maybe it would be best if Ben went home for the day, he's been through a lot.' Taking a piece of bread, Tyrius started nibbling on it as he thought, 'It's been tough enough with Cyne and the attack on Robern, I wonder if Ben will recover even if we unmask the killer.'
 
Eliza frowned remembering the incident, “Gileon seemed very shocked at the tampering and he couldn’t tell us how it came to be, only that he never seen anything like it before.” She took a sip from the wine, “I think the lack of information is a big clue in on itself. Who would go to such lengths to cover up this information, and why. One one hand you have a seemingly long-dead family showing up everywhere we go, and on the other hand you have undead monsters also showing up. They have to be related.”

With that an idea seemed to flash in her head and now excited she continued, “Or what if the Lestones were themselves wiped out by the same undead. I think we definitely need to dig deeper and found anything we can about the Lestones.”
 
Winston chuckled as Cate again teased him of his lack of faith in the gods, managing not to roll his eyes. When Tyrius mentioned the same phrase being repeated, he again thought of the elderly woman's comment. "One of the lesser fortunate that our resident priestess was aiding actually said something similar to the undead...thing that attacked us; something about the sea giving as much as it takes. Maybe some of the sailors might have some legends about how the sea collects its debts?" After putting in his two copper, Winston fell silent as he listened to the others recount some of what they learned. He was in the middle of tearing off a piece of bread when the book was laid out on the table in front of them, and he stood on his chair to get a better look. He noticed some markings that looked familiar, but no matter which way he looked at it, nothing made any sense on that page.

Shrugging to himself he sat back down and continued to eat; he did not know any Lestones and had no clue what all of this inter-noble drama was really about. Maybe I was wrong to tag along with this group, this Benito seems to have surrounded himself with a load of decent people. I followed him because he seemed an easy mark back in Azarad, but things are getting more and more complicated by the minute. I mean, c'mon, I was literally just fighting an undead sea monster last night. Winston's high speed food scarfing slowed the more these thoughts began to set in. What am I really doing here?

Unable to really answer that question, Winston continued to slowly eat as he internally questioned his decisions, but continuing to pay attention to the conversation.
 
Ben leaned back in his seat, not really inclined to say much, but at Eliza's questions, he decided to weigh in. "It's odd that you would find something in the registry which someone went to great lengths to hide if the family no longer existed. More than that, I couldn't think of anyone who would have so large a grudge against all four, no, five families that they began to exact some cryptic revenge about unpaid debts. I doubt the sea is to blame, but I have a feeling we'll find that the Lestones did some work with my family in the early days of the port. Probably shipwrights or pirates or something of the sort who value seamanship and honor. But the point still stands, if you want to make a statement by killing family members and send a message about a debt unpaid, you can't make yourself too hard to find and someone who already wiped out the obscure fifth family seems too far removed for me to believe it. If that makes any sense?"

Ben rubbed his face, "I don't know. It's probably worth checking the docks for rumors, and there's always displeasure among the poor and forgotten in the Maze, but I worry those may all just be stories and legends. I do think there's a living, breathing someone behind these attacks. Virra, if you find a location, it'd be best if we all went together. That thing was tough and I doubt any of us would fare well caught alone with it. Ty, I trust you to handle the Tahyrsts, but I can join you if it makes you more comfortable. I still have the letter from my father which may prove useful, however I am hesitant to hand it even to you for the weight of its contents."

Ben shrugged, "I hardly seem fit to make decisions for us. Perhaps you all can decide for yourselves where best you might further the investigation? It seems the big things are continuing to speak with the other families, deciphering the Lestone registry entry, learning more on the undead creature, and speaking with my father."

He looked up as food was being delivered to the table, "Good timing. We'll decide who goes where and for what after we eat."
 
The Scarlet Jester:

A human waiter arrived with the food, trays of various plates following after him carried by unseen servants as he set the plates across the table. A well cooked salmon was placed before Benito, the greenbeans steaming as his salad was set to the side, leafy greens with a vinaigrette, small grape tomatoes mixed in -- sweet and juicy. Across the table was placed nearly every item on the menu -- crab, lobster, more plates of seafood -- shrimp, oysters and clams, even some strange fish that appeared to have been battered and fried, with wedges of potato placed next to it. Roast beef, pulled pork, and a few racks of ribs were also spread across the table, small plates and bowls filled with the offered vegetables set aside. Old bread baskets were replaced, and glasses refilled as the waiter bowed, "Our chefs went with the most popular choices, please let us know if anything more is requested, or if anything is unsatisfactory, Lord De'Porthca and guests."

Bowing as he moved away, the waiter found himself bumping into a younger woman, turning to apologize quickly he instead bowed even lower, "Lady Defallian! My sincere apologies...!"

Looking at the younger woman she appeared maybe seventeen or eighteen, her light brown hair braided intricately, a few beads mixed in throughout that caught the light. Her dress was fine silks that flowed easily, her own family colors evident: a dark greyish brown, mixed with silver, accented in a light blue, her jewelry mimicking the colors throughout as her hazel eyes watched the waiter for a moment before she smiled, "No ... I was probably in the wrong place again. It happens -- don't worry about it." She leaned in and whispered with a smile, "Not even supposed to be here, don't tell, please?" The waiter bowed even lower in response. "Can you get an extra chair for this table, please? I think we can wedge one more in..."

With a quick nod and a chair pulled from an empty table, the party found themselves joined by another -- Benito would recognize this as the youngest daughter of the Defallians, Kecei. She smiled across the table before her gaze landed on Benito, "Hello and good afternoon, Lord Benito De'Porthca. I didn't expect to run into you -- I don't think we've ever really gotten to meet? My sister Malia and brother Rich have told me a lot, but I prefer to judge people myself."

Seated she bowed slightly to the table, "Apologies for inviting myself to the table, though you do eat food managed by my family. I am Lady Kecei Defallian, youngest of the Defallian family, currently learning about the family business. Well, when I actually stay around the Manor. I ... sort of escaped from my escort, but when I saw Lord Benito, I couldn't help myself from slipping in here." Kecei frowned, "I should probably apologize again, I maybe shouldn't have done this, you look busy..."
 
Benito stood and smiled, "We met the once, I think, at Madame Sidwae's party to celebrate... I don't even remember. However, it's always a pleasure to meet one of the Defallian Ladies, and all the more fun to hear you've escaped an escort. Please, have a seat here between myself and Ander, it should shield you from the search. Who would question a Paladin of Lathander - if they managed to spot you around him." Ben offered her a hand in greeting as the extra seat came over and was placed in the spot he'd specified. "Have a seat and join us Kecei, we were just about to put business aside and enjoy our meal. I'm sure the table would love to hear what your brother and sister say of me, and what you think."

Ben tried to avoid the topic of Kecei's mother, he figured it would be appropriate to offer his condolences after the meal. He knew more than most that it was important to find some normalcy in life without everyone bringing up dead relatives every other sentence. There was a time and a place, and it was not now. He took his seat again and began to carefully cut his fish, retrieving a few clams as well.
 
The Scarlet Jester:

Kecei giggled lightly at Benito's comments, placing her hand in his for a moment before seating herself. She glanced away at Ben's mention of what she'd heard, "Er ... well, Rich often deals with ... er ... delt with Lord Cyne, so his tales were often of your latest trip to the bars by the harbor. Gambling and drinking, occasional brawling." She pulled a fresh roll to herself, buttering it before taking a dainty bite and swallowing. "Malia told me more of seeing you and your sister Lady Joane, passing by your Manor or some of the archery ranges where you two might practice."

Kecei looked at Ben, studying him for a moment as he ate, "It's ... difficult for me to truly know what to think of you Lord Benito. I must confess I don't have much context for the world, but I'm interested that you went to Azarad. None of the Defallians ever seem to have a knack for magic, just a gift with animals and plants. Not something worthy of schooling, nor something Azarad focuses on." She appeared to focus briefly, rubbing one of her braids as her eyes shifted color then returned to their hazel. "For instance, I know later today we'll have storms." Smiling to the group she continued, "A Defallian always knows the weather for the day and sometimes into the next, I've heard some of my relatives could manage up to a month ahead. It's helped us plan for crops and fishing journeys, avoiding storms or strong winds not in our favor, or when floods and drought might be likely."

Returning to her bread she took another small bite, "Sometimes I envy the Accmour family ... true mages. Must be so interesting, all the magic items they get to see and study." Shaking her head, "Apologies, I ramble. I think far more the one I've heard about Lord Benito from has been Lady Joane herself. I see her often at various parties, and I could always tell when you were visiting -- she seemed very restless and eager for the gatherings to be finished. Lady Joane told me of some of your hunting trips, some of the shots you managed almost seem too impressive to be true, I'm almost inclined to think them the bragging of a very devoted little sister." Kecei smiled as she spoke, slowly working through her roll, occasionally glancing towards the doorway.
 
Listening to Lady Kecei in a respectful silence, one part of her speech did click in Tyrius' mind. 'Avoiding storms and planning fishing trips... Hang on, that couldn't possibly be- could it? Is she?' Tyrius looked over Lady Kecei, looking for the telltale signs of a magic user such as prominent component pouches. 'I don't think she's a druid, didn't see a focus when her eyes changed colour. So this is something else. I wonder what kind of magic she used to do that. As for the knowledge about the weather and using it to plan fishing trips and avoid floods. Could that possibly be the debt that the Sea demanded be paid?'

Tyrius continued to munch on his bread as he thought more, 'I'm probably wrong but still, it's a possibility and I shouldn't just discard it out of hand. Still I can't just blurt it out. Offending two of Porthca's noble families in one day would be very unseemly.'

"Excuse me, Lady Defallian?" Tyrius said, "If I might be so bold where did this gift come from?" Tyrius hoped the question wasn't offensive, he was trying to both keep Lady Kecei talking and try and work out if he was reading too much into something or not. Remembering his manners, Tyrius quickly added, "I'm Lord Tyrius Silverbane of Wyford, m'lady, but you can just call me Tyrius."
 
Ander sat back in his seat, proud to have found a new ally in their mission. He didn't understand much of the discussion of magic happening with the new young lady who had joined them, but he allowed himself to try to take in as much as he could. He was easily distracted by drinks and food, though as the restaurant buzzed around him with an amount of people that still baffled him a full day after arriving in this bustling city.
 
The Scarlet Jester:

Kecei turned to Tyrius, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lord Tyrius Silverbane." With a smile she replied, "I ... can't really say, Lord Tyrius. It's been tied to my family line for generations, since we've really bothered tracking. Some have it more strongly, some have it more weakly. Of my siblings, mine seems the strongest, I can sense a little into the next day, and my mother sa- ..." She paused, looking down for a moment, "My mother used to say if it was this strong as young as I am, it'd only get stronger as I grew up. At some point maybe I could sense into the week, or even out to a month."
 
Eliza mulled over Kecei’s words.

Did that mean that all the families were magic users. No, that doesn’t add up, didn’t Ben say he was the only one to practice magic in his family. But still, 3 out of 5 families, including the Lestones, practiced some form of magic.

Kecei’s mother probably died the same way but I wonder if there were any additional clues. She hesitated before asking her.

“Hello, so how did...” she tried to ask the question but quickly losing steam she tried to change the subject, “Um, I guess weather isn’t considered small talk in your family.” Laughing nervously she went back to her meal.

Oh, Eliza, you utter fool.
 
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The Scarlet Jester:

Laughing softly, Kecei shook her head, "Probably not in the same way it is for others, no. In fact we study it quite diligently, considering the various ways it can affect our trade and farms." Finishing her roll she glanced at the front door once more, "In my family's study, most of the books and scrolls there are all notes of weather patterns, what was 'sensed' and how closely it actually lined up. Magic elsewhere sometimes manipulates it and throws everything off." Kecei shrugged, before looking around at the table, "May I ask where all of you are from?" Nodding to Cate she added, "I recognize her red band as being one of Ilmater's priests, and I've heard they often buy stock from us in bulk -- at a very discounted rate, we often pay for the difference ourselves -- but the rest of you are so interesting looking, I doubt I'd have missed hearing about any of you from Lady Joane, especially if you're friends to Lord Benito."
 
Benito looked to Eliza, somewhat disappointed by her follow up to Kecei's comment about her mother, but the girl took it in stride so he made no mention of it. "Well, I grew up in a tiny house in the poorest district of a port you've probably never heard of," Ben teased. "Honestly, Lizy and Ty are friends from Azarad, the others I have only met yesterday, but I'm sure you've heard how much I enjoy company." He smiled, "Jo has a way of exaggerating, but if there's one thing she's always honest about, it's archery. She and I both... have a knack for it. My mother's family made bows and sold them for hunting and protection, that's how I got into the sport of it. It seems that our knack for the arcane comes from my father however; as you know Joane is my half sister, and she already shows great promise in becoming a talented arcane archer herself." He tried to open the conversation at the table some before anyone felt expected to reveal something about themselves they didn't want to share.
 
By the time the newcomer reached the table, Virra's plate was already a seafood buffet unto itself, and the gnome was reluctant to turn her eyes away from it. But as Kecei introduced herself she soon found her attention shifting. The way she described her family's affinity for the weather quickly caught her attention - as did her brief anecdotes about Ben's wild youth, which Virra took an undisguised pleasure in listening to. The shifting colour of her eyes only added to the intrigue.

"Eliza and I are both from Chilldrift, originally," she put in after finishing her slab of battered cod. Realising she'd skipped the introduction, she added, "I'm Virra Hopalong Nickeltooth, but Virra works fine. Just arrived in Porthca yesterday, so I'm feeling pretty lucky to have landed on my feet in company like this." Apparently done with sharing, she smiled at both Kecei and the others around the table before reaching for the wine bottle. "Oh, we should call for an extra glass for your Ladyship. Let everyone get a taste of this stuff before I finish it off," she chuckled, waving for the waiter while simultaneously topping her drink up.
 
At Kecei's nod and mention, Catelyn rose from her seat, and gave her a warm smile and a low bow. "I am Catelyn Pryce, an Adorned cleric of our Lord on the Rack. It is such an honor and a privilege to meet a member of the Defallian household. Your great kindness has always been appreciated in times when the Church's coffers ran low... as frightfully often as it may be. You have my eternal gratitude for all of the Suffering that has been alleviated thanks to your family, Lady Kecei. If your heart ever grows weary, know that there is always a place for you at the Church of the Crying God." After she had finished speaking, she nodded respectfully and sat back down, taking a small piece of roast beef and several potato wedges and beginning to eat.
 
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