marrinikari: (lilac)
marrinikari ([personal profile] marrinikari) wrote in [community profile] minipyre2014-08-07 03:24 pm

kushiel's scions

Deep in the wilds of Camlach, a horse is picking its way through the forest trails. The rider is wrapped in his cloak, long and luxurious and well-made, to protect him and his satchel as they brave the mountains to Skaldia. The road from Kusheth is long indeed, and they are tired; they will be glad enough to stop for the night. But not just yet. Ahead is the river, and the little wooden bridge that spans it. It is but a few leagues past the bridge to the clearing he is seeking, and there they can rest.
sicaria: Sitting on a log. (⑻ who sits by herself)

[personal profile] sicaria 2014-08-07 03:29 pm (UTC)(link)






The little wooden bridge collapses when the messenger is halfway across, dumping him, his horse, and his satchel into the river.
sicaria: Sitting on a log. (Default)

[personal profile] sicaria 2014-08-07 03:36 pm (UTC)(link)
Nowhere to be found. The river must have swept it away, no doubt to fetch up completely waterlogged some unknown distance downstream.
sicaria: Serious, intent. (⑿ you know it is my choice)

[personal profile] sicaria 2014-08-07 11:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Now, of course, there is the issue of what to do with this letter. Blatant treason, under the seal of House Shahrizai itself. A letter to Waldemar Selig, affirming that Isidore d'Aiglemort suspects nothing of their betrayal and will arrange his troops as they have agreed. Absolutely damning, if one can get it into the right hands without the faintest breath of warning reaching Melisande's ear. And how is one to do that?

Sarafiel considers the problem for about a day before she settles on Barquiel L'Envers as the most obvious answer. Not too long ago, after a lengthy investigation, she sent him an anonymous note detailing exactly why Dominic and Thérêse Stregazza must have poisoned his sister Isabel; she judged that no proper authority could make good use of the information, and that it might please him to know. It pleased him so much he sent a squad of barely-disguised assassins to rid the world of Dominic Stregazza. This time, therefore, she cannot trust any details to writing. She must meet him in person with her news, and convince him to take it to the Queen in absolute secrecy. At least he is currently in the City of Elua, which simplifies things.

So.

Barquiel L'Envers receives a second anonymous note, very like to the first. It reads thus:
Some time ago, I told you a tale of candied figs which you seemed to enjoy. I have another such tale to recount, this one rather longer. If you are interested in hearing it, you may find me any evening this week by the fountain at the north end of Rue Clavel.
sicaria: Dressed up. (⑺ primarily innocence)

[personal profile] sicaria 2014-08-08 10:20 pm (UTC)(link)
A few minutes after the Duc arrives at the fountain, a woman in a grey cloak approaches him. The cloak is very fine, the colour of pale morning fog, and almost floats behind her as she walks. The dress she wears underneath it is a darker grey, its details lost in the evening light and the shadow of the cloak.

"Good evening, your grace. Are you here for a tale?"
sicaria: Smiling, perhaps angrily. (⑷ consider yourself murdered)

[personal profile] sicaria 2014-08-08 10:44 pm (UTC)(link)
She flashes a sharp little grin. "Many people find me surprising, your grace. Shall we go somewhere more private? This tale is not yet finished, and as an artist I prefer not to reveal my work to the world until it is complete."
sicaria: Smiling slightly. (⑸ smiling as she falls)

[personal profile] sicaria 2014-08-08 10:56 pm (UTC)(link)
"I fear no consequences," the girl murmurs, smiling faintly.
sicaria: Dressed up. (⑺ primarily innocence)

[personal profile] sicaria 2014-08-09 01:26 pm (UTC)(link)
"Yes," she says.

"First - Waldemar Selig, the Skaldi warlord who has been frightening the Caerdicci. He sent an envoy to the Duke of Milazza with an offer of marriage for the Duke's daughter, and was refused, and now they are wary of him. But it is not Caerdicca Unitas that Waldemar Selig plans to invade. It is Terre d'Ange. For which purpose he can muster thirty thousand Skaldi, who will come through the mountain passes like a spring flood. Second - a man they call Kilberhaar, 'silver-hair', plans to allow them through certain passes to make a show of threatening lower Camlach so that he can make a show in turn of meeting them in the northernmost pass and negotiating for peace, ending in acknowledgment of Waldemar Selig as King of Skaldia and installation of Kilberhaar as King of Terre d'Ange. Already he pays the Skaldi to raid our villages more frequently. You would know this man as Isidore d'Aiglemort. Third - Waldemar Selig plans to betray d'Aiglemort and bring his armies through the northern pass in force to wipe out the Allies of Camlach and the Royal Army and conquer all Terre d'Ange from there. He conspires in this with Melisande Shahrizai, who sent him this letter."

She extracts it from a hidden pocket and holds it up, the seal intact but loose, parted carefully from the paper beneath so that the letter can be opened and read. The paper is warped along one edge, but shows no other signs of water damage.

"Do you read Caerdicci, your grace? Waldemar Selig does."
sicaria: Reaching for something. (⑽ just a touch)

[personal profile] sicaria 2014-08-09 03:13 pm (UTC)(link)
"Sarafiel Fortier, second daughter of an inconsequential minor noble house in Camlach. It was that envoy to the Duke of Milazza that caught my attention. He styled himself King Waldemar of Skaldia; I thought it odd. So I looked for an explanation. I discovered that this warlord truly does believe himself a king, and he has united the Skaldi with his visions of political legitimacy."

She speaks in just the same way that she writes - brutally unadorned, like an assassin's dagger. This is of a certainty the same person who wrote the original note telling him of Dominic and Thérèse.

"From there I learned about the man they call Kilberhaar, a D'Angeline nobleman who pays them in gold to raid our villages. I followed his messengers until I learned his identity. One of the messengers I followed led me instead to Melisande, which is how I learned of her involvement. To lay hands on this letter, I arranged for a small bridge to collapse and drop the messenger in a river, then retrieved his satchel before he could find it himself, leaving him to believe it had washed away irretrievably."
sicaria: Smiling slightly. (⑸ smiling as she falls)

[personal profile] sicaria 2014-08-09 03:36 pm (UTC)(link)
"I do not wish to see my country conquered by the Skaldi; a reasonable motivation, I am sure you agree. I suggest we start by informing the Dauphine. I could not achieve a private audience with her in a way that met my rigorous standards of secrecy, but I imagine you will have better luck."
sicaria: Dressed up. (⑺ primarily innocence)

[personal profile] sicaria 2014-08-09 03:51 pm (UTC)(link)
"Secrecy because I am very sure that Melisande is watching for signs of opposition, and if she realizes that her plans are known, she will change them. The Dauphine because the king is old and frail and has not left his bed in a week. And because I suspect, although I do not yet know it for certain, that she may have the beginnings of a solution to the problem."
sicaria: Smiling, perhaps angrily. (⑷ consider yourself murdered)

[personal profile] sicaria 2014-08-09 04:06 pm (UTC)(link)
She smiles. "While I admit I find the thought entertaining, please do not do anything so direct. To execute her for treason one must first capture her, which requires that she have no idea she is accused until she is already in chains. Therefore, secrecy. Likewise, if you send assassins after her and they fail, which assassins have been known to do, she will know that you have sent assassins after her and she will begin to wonder why."
sicaria: Smiling slightly. (⑸ smiling as she falls)

[personal profile] sicaria 2014-08-09 04:29 pm (UTC)(link)
"I could capture her, given time and opportunity - all this chasing around after secret messengers has given me plenty of practice at moving unseen. But I am not sure I will have either the time or the opportunity. And I must first be assured that once she is caught, no one will be letting her go. What I hope will happen is that someone will be able to properly arrest her without first alerting her that she is to be arrested. If that seems unlikely, however - better to leave her be and instead try to solve the problem of thirty thousand invading Skaldi."

(no subject)

[personal profile] sicaria - 2014-08-10 02:33 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] sicaria - 2014-08-10 14:59 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-10 23:20 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-10 23:20 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-10 23:21 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-10 23:21 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-10 23:41 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] sicaria - 2014-08-10 23:46 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-11 10:30 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-11 10:33 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-11 10:39 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] sicaria - 2014-08-11 11:08 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-11 14:03 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] sicaria - 2014-08-11 14:21 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-11 14:29 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] sicaria - 2014-08-11 14:41 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-11 22:48 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] sicaria - 2014-08-11 23:02 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-11 23:07 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] sicaria - 2014-08-11 23:24 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-12 14:22 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] sicaria - 2014-08-12 14:31 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-13 01:41 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-13 01:44 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-13 01:54 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] sicaria - 2014-08-13 02:01 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-13 02:07 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] sicaria - 2014-08-13 02:46 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-13 02:52 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-13 02:52 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-13 02:56 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] sicaria - 2014-08-13 02:59 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-13 03:01 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-13 03:07 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] sicaria - 2014-08-13 03:16 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-13 12:52 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-13 12:59 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-13 13:00 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-13 13:02 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] sicaria - 2014-08-13 13:11 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-13 13:40 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] sicaria - 2014-08-13 13:41 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-13 14:07 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] sicaria - 2014-08-13 14:17 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-13 14:26 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] sicaria - 2014-08-13 14:37 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-13 14:55 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] sicaria - 2014-08-13 15:05 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] sicaria - 2014-08-13 15:56 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-13 16:03 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] sicaria - 2014-08-13 16:06 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] sicaria - 2014-08-13 19:30 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] sicaria - 2014-08-13 19:46 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] sicaria - 2014-08-13 20:37 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-13 20:54 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] sicaria - 2014-08-14 14:30 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-14 16:03 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-14 16:06 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-14 16:08 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-14 16:15 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-14 16:15 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-14 16:18 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] sicaria - 2014-08-14 16:44 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-14 18:08 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-14 18:11 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] sicaria - 2014-08-14 21:07 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] children_of_elua - 2014-08-15 13:48 (UTC) - Expand