The Lady’s Hand (A Dickings & Dalliances Adventure) - (Closed Except By Invitation)

[Poprockz]

“So the three of you are an item?” There was an appraising look from the changeling as she turned to look at each of them. A grin dawned on her face and she nodded. “Good for you. When this is all over, the three of you should fuck each other regardless of some stupid crown.”

The changeling shifted, morphing into a tiefling woman she once knew from the guild. She was dead now, like a lot of the forms she wore, but she was fond of this form. It would be better if the captain didn't recognize her, though it wouldn't stop him from assuming that she was one of them. Hopefully it would make her more difficult to pick out.

https://i.pinimg.com/474x/c1/37/af/c137af49658d37406ef8cb38f91a2253.jpg

 

[justspitballing]

Sprite had never cared to even getting close to the politics of this place. Her clan would never stand for such a practice of putting men in so much control. But the story of the Lady of Rionne hit her deeply and true. She was reminded of when she was first caught and brought to the bordello and expected to be someone's sexual pet. She was reminded of how she felt the other harpy's saw her. If the Lady of Rionne did not want a man, then no man should touch her, then she should be able to be a queen and have that still stay true. That who she was should be respected and that she had no power at all if she could not be herself.

"Your kingdom should feel shame for it wanting this union to give her power. I can not fix that, I would cave its heart in with my axe if I could, but for now I will gut that captain," Sprite snarled.

"Can my axe break that wall?" she then called out at Amie, still stuck in her box.

Sprite clearly at this point just wanted to stop the horrible possibility of this marriage. The Lady of Rionne needed to be saved.

 

[ICM8781]

"So..." Chasen remarks as the gears start turning as years of torture and imprisonment start replaying in his head. "Cut his dick off, metaphorically or you know if we get the chance, ... literally."

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

Amie nodded at Arx. “A-fucking-greed.” Then she turned to Sprite and put her hands on the wall. “No no no! Forcecage can’t be destroyed or dispelled. It lasts an hour, and we can’t wait that long. That’s why I’ve drawn my teleportation sigil here. It’ll send me to my matching circle at home.”

“Or just get her out of there,” Maritia said to Chasen. “He must’ve figured out some way to give her pleasure despite her enchanted chastity belt, but if she’s safely back in the palace then he can’t do it, whatever it is.” Her lips set in a grim frown. “There’s no way she would agree to even let him try, so he must be planning to force himself on her.”

 

[ICM8781]

Chasen considers Maritia for a second, "I'm a merc. Sneaking into a place only for extraction isn't my forte'. I also don't see how viable it's going to be with a guarded Capitain's mansion, and, I want to repeat, how unlikely the Devil's summoner's attack isn't related to everything else, and what HE could do to protect the place." He turns to the cage as his anger of this situation reaches him again. "Amie! call me an idiot for demanding information again, but what do you know about him, if you know his stake in this? He knows you enough to put your name on the Devil's contract. That's how you slipped by without so much as a look from the Devil. It's almost certain that both the capitan and the summoner are expecting you, probably all of us. Sneaking in is a good first step."

Not expecting a responce, just making sure everyone is on the same page he continues. He turns back to Maritia and continues to plan with her. "But a multi-prong approach wouldn't be a bad idea. I guess you, Sprite, and I could confront the Capitan, with hopes that the other guy is with him. Arx, being the master of disguise she is, could sneak in with Amie to try and extract the Lady. If anything our attack could give Arx and Amie a distraction to get you in easier. We would need to come up with some way to message that the extraction worked so that if we are too damaged or too in trouble we can escape."

 

[Poprockz]

Things clicked into place in her head and she became a bit more serious. “That plan sounds good to me. He has the spectral phallus, so he can fuck her any time he wants and not even her chastity belt would protect her.”

She tapped her chin before adding, “what if the symbol was a shower of purple rain?” With the flick of her wrist and a power that felt foreign to her, she called down a small shower of purple rain. No one felt it with it being an illusion and all, but it would be an effective signal.

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

Maritia gasped. Amie looked back and forth between everyone. "The Spectral Phallus? What's that?"

"Legend says the Spectral Phallus is a Delathi artifact that passes through any clothing," Maritia explained.

"Oh shit," Amie exclaimed as her face fell. "We need to go!" She put a few more flourishes on her chalk circle. "Whatever else you all need to figure out, do it quickly. I'll meet you in the square in front of DeGaulier's estate. Maritia knows where it is." With that, she put the chalk back in her pouch and stepped into the center of the circle, careful not to disturb the drawing. With a word, she vanishes from inside the cube, which remains, hovering in the air next to the group.

 

[ICM8781]

"Sire Silvergleam, How about you? You ready for the fight of your life, save the town and what not? You'f be with us."

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

Wylo shrugs. "The Captain's manor...that's...indoors, right?" He starts chewing on his fingernails, eyes drifting around the room. "Then I should probably not be on the stealth team. I fit in better outdoors."

 

[ICM8781]

"Fair enough. If we shall not meet again, It's been a pleasure." Chasen bows as if formally addressing a royal. And then starts rushing with the rest of the group.

 

[justspitballing]

Sprite nods and agrees with the plan in full. She is not one to plan and use good strategy. She keeps herself well off the ground and fallows the group as they charge forward. Her axe is still at the ready as they move along, hopefully making good enough time.

 

[Poprockz]

“Sweet.” Arx gives them a thumbs up before darting down the stairs and out the door. She sweetly asked a citizen on the way there to point her in the right direction. God it was good to run- being cooped up in a cage for a week certainly gave one the most serious of wiggles to get out.

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

As Arx, Sprite, Chasen, Maritia, and Wylo leave the temple and begin walking towards the wealthy quarter of Rionne, they notice a crowd building in the streets, moving in the same direction as them. The night is warm and the city’s lights are bright, and the people are dressed for a formal event, in silk gowns and pleated robes and pressed suits. The streetlamps are burning brightly, and streetcarts have seized the opportunity to park and sell their wares. Music can be heard from inside, strings and flutes, and a palpable excitement is in the voices of the Rhounen people.

“Ugh. People,” Wylo remarks as Amie finds the group, slightly out of breath and still noticeably singed from her fight.

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

A flyer flutters by, and snatching it out of the air reveals an invitation to this very event, labelled as the Coronation of King Candré DeGaulier.

 

[justspitballing]

Sprite uses her flight to get over most of the mob but of course has to float down before reaching the main door. She slips into the rest of the group, holding her wings close to her as if for protection.

"I think it's best that I and we will call it party A, go in the front door. I can see about flying someone from group B if they do want to try and stealth in through the top," Sprite suggests.

Stealth here would be pretty impossible, but it was their original plan so she wasn't going to toss it out.

 

[Poprockz]

Arx shook her head, “nah, too conspicuous, but thanks.” She had slipped through the crowd in the way that all petty thieves in the city knew. It had been tempting to grab a few deliciously ripe purses hanging so enticingly from people’s belts, so she had indulged in a small harvest of the most succulent. You could often tell who had gold coins in their purse rather than silver, and the pickings were quite nice. Once the coins were dumped into her bag, the other purses had been disposed of. They wouldn’t have a gift for their new King- How embarrassing.

There was a method to the madness though- stealth was great, but bribes were also handy in a pinch.

“We’ll go in the back door nice and slow… hopefully they won’t know we’re inside until we’re all up in their kidneys.” She grinned, gesturing to Amie to come with her.

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

Amie, painfully aware of how poorly she blends in with her functional armor and unhealed burns, despite her station, follows with eyes roving around her. If it comes to it, she could always claim to have been on a mission when the invitation arrived, but blending in unnoticed will be difficult.

Maritia, much more at ease, glances at the other three, waiting to see how they decide to proceed.

 

[Poprockz]

Arx led them behind a hedge that was fairly private. It even had a bench, most likely for making out in secret. When they were alone, she paused and asked, “Hey, you do water magic and shit right? Anyway you can wash the blood off me?” She was still covered in blood which was decidedly not inconspicuous.

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

The interior of the estate's Grand Hall was lavishly decorated in greens and purples, from tapestries hanging on the walls to tablecloths to bouquets of lantherils and rosemary stuffed into wall sconces. A small band played unobtrusive music beside the central staircase, and the room was positively stuffed with Rhounen nobility.



Amie nods, clearly nervous, but with a wave of her hand the blood is gone, no water necessary. Arx looks freshly bathed and laundered, and with Yenda's divine resurrection fresh, she has no wounds that would look out of place either.

 

[Poprockz]

She looked down in astonishment before looking back up, “holy shit, I look cleaner than the day I was born. Thanks!” In some ways it gave her the willies that Amie was so powerful. Forget the icicles- this marvel was a washing board, soap, clothesline, bath, and hairdryer all in one!

Squinting around the hedge, she noticed some attendants. Her mind was turning on how they could perhaps use them to get inside… they had such nice clothes, and the clothes looked familiar. Were those Eleg’s brand? She could have sworn she saw something like that in his closet.

“Wait here,” she whispered to Amie before standing up and striding over to them. She put on an excited expression as she approached, trying to exude an air of friendliness.

“Oh. My. God. Your get-ups are so well made! Did you buy them at Eleg’s?!” She smiled invitingly, waiting to see if they might engage.

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

The woman smiles noncommittally at Arx while the man whose arm she’s on lights up. “Yes! It’s such a lovely shop, isn’t it? Are you Qelazi yourself? You have that look about you, you know. It’s a wonderful city. We spent nearly the entire weekend in quite a few of the shops over there, and they were all delightful, but I must say there’s just something about that orcish gentleman’s style, isn’t there? And that lovely piece you’re in is just such a classic example of what I’m talking about. It’s avant garde, but brilliantly done, and I don’t know anyone in Rionne who’s even attempting such designs, and my dear love here and I were just talking about it when we walked out of his shop the other day with these prize finds we’re in now, right before we walked into that splendid little sweet shop just down the road there. What was the name of that place? Tumpkin’s Purse? Pocket? Pack? Something like that. You know the place. We slipped in there and had one of those tasty little taffies the streetchildren were on about it, and we handed a few out to them of course, due wages for the tip as it were, and went on such a gorgeous walk right after, but you must know what we’re talking about, what with you being Qelazi and all that. Can you believe most of the Rhounen we know don’t cross the Twin very often at all? Inconceivable! To think that the cultural and economic variations between our two cities would be unexplored, and when we’re so close! Just a simple stroll and you’re in a whole new place and it’s such a shame that people don’t take advantage of it, like with the Aret. I spent hours one day last month just staring at all the art in that museum—there was one piece in particular, what w—“

“Dear,” the woman interrupts, a hand on his arm. “I’m going to pick up a drink.”

“Yes, dear,” he says, right as Arx notices that they’re not only inside, but that no one was checking at the door anyway.

“Anyway, what was I saying?”

 

[Poprockz]

Arx tried to keep her spirits up, but near the end she still had no indication that he was going to stop. She had tried to interject or at least enter the conversation, but it was as though she had picked a man with a singular talent to speak in an unbroken train of thought. She found herself feeling very sorry for that poor woman, wondering how the hell she could stand it. How long could Arx listen to this man go on? How long had it been? Would she ever escape? Was it her fate to grow old and wither away right there, taking her last wizened breath as he continued on about fashion and shopping? Yenda… Laritz… anyone! For the love of the Gods, she couldn’t take any more of this-

And then the spell was broken, the wife having mercifully spared her of a lifetime of misery and boredom. Where the fuck were they?! She hadn’t even noticed that they had drifted inside, the changeling astonished that rather than sneak in, she had been pulled by the droning tide of this anomaly. She had to get away while she had the chance!

Holy shit. This man was dangerous.

“You’ve inspired me to go shopping right this instant! I cannot stand by while more of his clothing is sitting on the racks! But first I’m also going to grab a drink for the road.” Arx didn’t wait for an answer, she couldn’t. The woman scuttled away as quickly as she could until she got her bearings.

 

[ICM8781]

Chasen uses the floral decorations and foodstuff to cover his sent. Eating the the food that would quiet his breath and cover his prison stench. With all the trouble he has with Amie, he professionally wants the mission to go well.

"Relax Amie, you don't need to blend in, you just need to pass unnoticed. It's crowded enough that your wounds and garb wouldn't raise much suspicion. Your nervousness is going to get you in more trouble than your appearance. Let Arx do the talking, and act subserviant around her, like you do with the Lady." Chasen easily instructs. He's more at home in the trees, but moving through a crowd quietly is like passing through the tall grass and stealth still comes easy to him.

As he passes closer and closer to the crowd, he uses to uproar of mixed voices to plan a little more with Maritia.

"I can take point, but you got to direct me, where we going?"

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

Wylo looks uneasy as Maritia shakes her head. “We’re not very friendly with each other.” At that moment several nearby guests notice her, and divert her for the most dreaded of fantastical dangers: small talk. Chasen can hear mention of the Lightfather’s blessing and jokes about church attendance. Wylo is noticed as well, but much less favorably. He is thus spared small talk as the crowd parts around him, disgusted by his literally dirt-covered appearance.


Amie catches up to Arx, emboldened by Chasen’s advice. “Any idea where to start looking?”

 

[justspitballing]

Sprite pushed forward, losing track of her fellow party members in the mob of people. Of course that was kind of the idea, hopefully Arx did sneak in the back. Of course she felt for a moment that she could hear her off in the distance talking with a very droning man, but Sprite shook that off. Hopefully they hadn't been that unlucky that the plan was already going sideways.

To help at least Sprite stayed to the middle of the building, her wings pulled slightly out, bumping a person or two, sticking out like a sore thumb incase anyone did need a distraction. Her eyes though did not act in such a sloppy way as they quickly gazed around her, trying to spot any possible guards or security. Any bit of protection would be a danger very soon.