Chapter Six
Knowing that entry of the tower will be no easy task it is agreed that lodgings are taken whilst matters are considered further, casting around the piazza eyes alight upon the tallest building other than Korvin's Tower itself, the Inn of the Nine Virtues. Entering the inn they are immediately addressed by the hotelier who introduces himself as Snaarl the Good, fawning his way around the party they eventually agree on an exorbitant price for a set of connected suites on the fifth floor however, later as Krei sinks back in the luxurious bathing area, she reconsiders that the rooms were well worth the gold coins Lexian had paid.
Some hours later as they all relaxed on the twin balconies, talk turned again to the tower rising above them on the opposite side of the square. Krei's concentration, despite her best efforts, continually lapses from the conversations around her as her eyes flick around the square below for any sign of that bastard Rosan, Zelth, regrettably she sees no one remotely resembling him. At one point her attention is dragged back to talk of Korvin when Merlynar describes a demon known to the elves whose name closely resembles Korvin, finally however she can stand their talk no more & with a flourish she takes what coin she has & decides to learn more of the noble quarters night life as well as keeping an eye open for Zelth.
Several hours later, Krei, frustrated, returns to the vantage of the balconies, whilst she now has a dress fitting to a lady of the noble quarter & heard many rumours concerning the infamous Korvin she is disappointed at still having seen no trace of her quarry. Krei suggests that maybe she should prettify herself & go knock on the tower door, however Lung & Lexian call for caution, suggesting that they wait & watch for a week or so before acting.
The following morning, the seventeenth of Octarius, all except Krei, Mohimas & Pelmas head off to the temple's of Willowstar & Jarak. Leaving Pelmas & Mohimas to thier own business, Krei forlornly spends the morning watching both the towers door for signs of movement as well as the square for Zelth. By midday, Krei, clearly frustrated by the inaction, is at once astonished & infuriated as she spies her companions crossing the square, not toward the inn, but toward Korvin's tower. At her gasp Mohimas glances outward & watches mouth agape before bounding towards the door.
Krei, seething within, listens as Lung, Lexian, Turbulane & Merlynar tell first of thier conversations with Willowstar high priestess, the Lady Finiel, & latterly, the bloated oaf, Berloman, Bishop of Jarak, still angered however she is unable to listen fully as she silently blasts these cock sucking pigs, they walk up to the door bold as brass & invite Korvin to tea after telling her the night before to bide her time, never again will they tell her what she will & will not do.
Leaving them to Mohimas's drivelling, Krei returns to the balcony as Snaarl is summoned & given instructions as to their requirements for the dinner party to be held here the following evening, even Krei's inner fury however is cooled as Snaarl, intrigued by the shrines constructed around the hearth, is fooled by the words of Merlynar concerning the wonders of Willowstar.
Waking late, Krei bathes, dresses & quietly leaves the inn heading for the tower of Korvin, from the discussions overheard the previous evening Krei gathered that some rare beauty accepted the invitation on Korvin's behalf, calmed now, Krei had wondered whether this woman was Korvin's mistress, slave or kin, whichever however, Krei intended to extend the invitation to this woman.
As Krei approaches the door however, the reaction of the two sword cultists standing guard was disappointing, ignoring her pleasantries & request to speak with the Lady Zelania, as Lexian had named her, they dismissed her words threatening only violence in answer to her request. Unprepared for such a response & furious at thier reaction to her, Krei walks slowly back towards & through the busy inn hoping desperately that her rebuttal was not seen from the balcony above.
As midday approaches Krei sits sulkily on the balcony desperate to know where Zelth has disappeared to, as she ponders his whereabouts there is a knock at the door to the room, listening intently she hears one of the others talking to a female, pushing the drapes to one side, Krei can see a beautiful & vibrant woman, surely this is the Lady Zelania,
"My Lord Korvin would be delighted to converse with you & your friends this night, but he is not cherished by the populace of this city & he would therefore be pleased to receive you in his quarters, Oh & before I forget, yes you can bring the whore with you"
Appalled, & deeply embarrassed by her words, Krei makes her mind up there & then that whatever the consequences she will not join with the others this evening. Resolute in her decision, Krei watches from the balcony that evening as Zelania welcomes her comrades into the tower.
Some three quarters of an hour or so later they re-emerge minus Lexian & cross back towards the inn, Krei continues to watch sure that she couldn't have missed Lexian leaving earlier, as the others are about to mount the steps to the inn, the door of the tower opens & a cloaked figure emerges followed by Zelania. Krei, suddenly alert looks on, then it dawns upon her, its him, the bastard is working for Korvin, rising she screams across the piazza,
"Zelth, Zelth you bastard, its you isn't"
As Mohimas & the others turn & stare, the figure looks up, his hood sliding to reveal his shadowed face, shaking his head for his foolish response, he quickly slips away into a darkened alley.
Back up in their rooms, the storey of Korvin's madness & demands is retold, Lung intimates that he & Lexian had discussed Lexian's disappearance beforehand & that they should not worry for his safety, whilst Merlynar, having seen Zelth following Krei's outburst, tells that he recognises him as a shapechanger, dangerous & definitely not to be trusted. It also emerges that Korvin attempted to recruit thier services in removing Gundred from the palace before Korvin releases his undead spawned demons on the world, truly, thought Krei, this is madness. What is equally bizarre however is Korvin's tale that Queen Gundred is the power behind the distribution of the Yellow Lotus, he, Korvin, simply used her little ploy to occupy the masses by introducing rootvile into the equation.
From beneath his robes Pelmas produces a scroll case containing the letter that Korvin had instructed them to deliver to Gundred, fearing that it carries more than words, Pelmas urges Mohimas to destroy the parchment, when no one objects, he raises his hand, mutters a few words & the case & its contents vanish.
Determined to act immediately upon Korvin's revelations, Mohimas & the others head off towards the royal palace with no thought for the curfew.
Alone again, Krei returns to the balcony to see Zelania approaching the inn, wary of what may occur, Krei slips the bolt on the door & waits blade at the ready, a few moments later there is a knock at the door, ignoring it but poised for action, Krei is disappointed when a note is slid beneath the door & footsteps fade away. Quietly she opens the door a fraction & sees a figure, male, dressed in purple disappear down the stairs. Opening the note there is a brief message from some person unknown offering help, curious, Krei heads for the stairs & stands watching from the shadows. Across the busy bar area, Zelania is deep in discussion with two, well dressed, brutes, Krei's eye however is also caught by the fop dressed in purple heading towards her, cursing under her breath, his flirtatious behaviour is quickly dismissed as she recognises him as one of the limp wristed courtesans she encountered on her sortie the evening before last.
As the dandy departs Krei wonders as to whether she had misinterpreted his intentions, collecting her cloak & blades she hurries from the inn & follows his trail through the streets. As he enters a substantial, & guarded, residence his demeanour changes from that of fop to that of being in control. Krei, realising that all was not as it at first seemed, takes on the air of a lady slightly the worse the ware & accosts the buildings duty guard, quickly she learns that the fop is in fact the fop is the Lord Alaerka, the Rosan Ambassador, despite his being a Bretonian. Continuing her play as that of a drunken party goer she allows herself to be seated within the embassy before demanding, loudly, to see her friend & confidant, the ambassador.
Minutes later, ensconced in a room with Alaerka, a difficult exchange takes place, whilst Krei believes he is truly who he says he is, she is still unsure as to his intentions, cutting the conversation short Krei returns to the inn hoping the others may have by now returned.
As Krei enters she spies out the oafs who earlier had been in consultation with Zelania, realising that intelligence was not their greatest virtue it only takes but a few moments to establish there purpose, Zelania has paid them to lure Mohimas into a darkened alley &, well, ensure he doesn't walk back out of the alley, conspiring further with the idiots, Krei agrees, for a fee, to assist with luring the old fool to his death.
Seeing Mohimas & the others return she advises the would be assassins to leave & she will join them, with Mohimas, in the alley to the rear of the inn in a quarter of an hour or so.
Grudgingly, Krei realises that she must at last trust Mohimas & tells him of Zelania's plotting. Deciding to play along with Zelania's plans Krei & Mohimas, escorted by the others, slip into the street. Allowing themselves to be ambushed, the two would be assassins are soon dead, to late however they realise that this was all far to easy, this becomes even more apparent when a ever growing ball of fire burst towards them from one end of the alley. As all bar Mohimas dive for cover, the old man stretches forth his hand & plucked the sorcerous flames from the air, crushing it in his fist until only cinders remain.
Quickly returning to their rooms, Mohimas, needlessly, warns them that they must now be on their guard, however before the conversation can go further their attention is caught by a small ornate box sat on the table in the middle of the room. As they speculate as to its being there, a voice, Lexian's rings out across the room, from nowhere he emerges into view & tells how he hid in the tower before slipping out of the door with this pretty bauble in his pocket. He goes onto tell that it contains yellow lotus from which Korvin took the smallest of pinches before sleeping, Mohimas studying the box & its contents tells that it is indeed yellow lotus but it contains the very essence of primal sorcery itself.
When Lexian tells of the eight towering Ethari bred by Korvin within the tower, Mohimas's is truly appalled,
"What are Ethari" queried Krei innocently,
Undead demons, thought Krei, that doesn't bode well for the future.
When questioned about their efforts to deliver Korvin's message to the palace, Turbulane relates the tale of their brief incarceration for the mischievousness at the palace gate & their subsequent interrogation by Chancellor Fallock. Considering the matter, whilst events did not go strictly according to plan, Pelmas was pretty confident that Korvin's message had been, of sorts, delivered, not so sure herself however Krei mentions her recent assignation with the Rosan ambassador as a possible alternative way to gain Gudren's ear.
At Krei's announcement concerning the Rosan ambassador, & despite the lateness of the hour, it is agreed that they should go to the embassy immediately.