The House of Leaves

Polished — 21m03s — 2020/12/08

The first night at the fancy house, Baet saw the brothers Homoth and Komotz playing cards, and was happy he was assigned the first watch. He had Toar stay up a little late and explain the mechanics of their game. The second night, the brothers played several games against Baet, who proved to be a fast learner.

The third night, the brothers broke out the copper, and began to play each other for money. They tried to tempt Baet, but he gently refused.

"You must remember, we were all in prison little more than a week ago,” he said through Toar—as the young wanderer was forced once more to stay up late and serve as interpreter. “All our stuffs were taken. Even the duke borrows coin."

Homoth and Komotz stared at each other for a long second, surprised that they had not realized this on their own.

"You do not play for lack of coin?” Homoth began. “Well, I have too much of it!" he declared, “And I tire of taking my brother’s money,” he added as he pushed a stack of copper bits toward the Saot guard.

"It shall be quicker for me to take money from two men instead of one," Komotz noted and pushed a few of his own coin at the Saot with a nod.

Initially, Baet refused their charity—but the brothers continued to insistent—and the Saot’s palms itched to gamble. Figuring the hours would be long and tedious if only he watched the game from afar—and since the brothers made such a demonstration of wanting him to play—he allowed himself to be persuaded. After all, it was only copper. How much trouble could it cause?

The three men whiled away the hours as they played card games that were new to Baet. Yet, the Saot was a consummate gambler. He quickly divined the mechanics of their foreign games, and with Lady Luck on his side, Baet lost little and gained a great deal. He collected bits and bots from the generous brothers as they scratched their heads in disbelief and taught the Saot some of their favorite native curse words.

Deep into the night, as the next guard was approaching, Aim banged through the door with Elpis over one shoulder and Wenifas leaning on the other. “Coming through!” he bellowed as he stepped into the room, and immediately handed off the priestess to the first available hands; those belonging to Baet. Her face was a mask of trepidation and askance as she held a fussing and irritable Evereste.

The beautiful priestess was not her usual dour self, but seemed sapped and completely lost. Baet took her in hand, and Wenifas was only too happy to accept his support, a fact that both excited and concerned the guard. With a flutter in his heart, Baet led her to a couch and had her sit.

Wenifas flounced on the couch and almost spilled her babe. Her hair was a tangle and her right hand was wrapped and held away from the baby. She absently tried to comfort her daughter, as Baet noticed that she'd also developed quite a smell since she’d gone missing.

The house woke, and bodies started to pour down the stairs. Aim proceeded against the rush of traffic, and carried the heavily bandaged Elpis up the stairs. Scurra and Apulton entered the house, then closed and secured the door behind them.

“Weni!” Celesi called, then ran down the stairs, joined Wenifas on the couch, and wrapped the priestess in a hug. Evereste fussed and whined. It took Wenifas several beats to notice anything was wrong with the child. With a frown, Celesi gingerly pulled the girl from the priestess.

"I..." Wenifas began to protest.

“My sweet sister, you must relax,” Celesi kissed the priestess as she pulled Evereste from her arms. "We can all see that you have suffered something dreadful, and I have had too much time to rest! Let me see to your babe. I shall care for her as if she were my own."

Wenifas relinquished the child. "She needs food. She needs changed," the priestess confessed, as tears welled in her eyes. "I’ve had nothing to give her," she collapsed back into the couch.

Celesi soothed Wenifas and stroked her hair. "I will see that she is tended. Sit, relax, and know that we are here for you."

"Where's Meu?" Wenifas asked.

Celesi frowned and shook her head. “She is not among us,” she said, as there was still no sign of the old, slender redhead.

Wenifas buried her face in Celesi’s shoulder, and began to bawl. “There are so many of us missing!”

Celesi turned toward Baet with a critical eye and used some of the steel Meriona had instilled in her. "Get some food," she ordered the myopic guard. "Get fruit and soft things for the baby.”

More than happy to be of assistance, Baet went into the kitchen and searched through the pantry and chill box. He assembled a plate of berries, a soft pear, milk, honey, and soft cheese; the light sort of fare he preferred when he was sick. He returned as Celesi finished with the child's diaper. Wenifas was slumped to the side, her eyes closed as she breathed even. Was she asleep so soon?

Celesi took the plate from Baet with one hand and gave him the spent diaper with the other. "Thank you," she said in a formal manner and gave him a bit of a smile. She thought even this simple guard should be encouraged for his good behavior, then turned her attention back to Evereste.

"Thank Jeiju!" Traust stated as he arrived in the room with the duke and Carringten in tow. He was all too happy to see Scurra and Wenifas; and to know that Elpis was also home. They may be in a sore condition—especially Elpis—but that was much preferred to being lost. “Where have you been? What happened?”

"We were ambushed at the Lady’s estate," Scurra began. "We had to fight our way back to the road; and during the fracas, Elpis was struck. I didn’t see how it happened, and thankfully, It was a shallow strike. But it nicked the artery, and he bled something fierce.

“For a time I thought he'd bleed out, but he humped that hill,” she continued. “Anyway, we were chased from the Lady's estate and managed to lose them as we approached the slant streets.”

"Then we were right to think they would go after our friends,” Traust frowned. “But I did not expect them to be so immediate. I should not have sent so few to go to the Lady's house."

Scurra shook her head. "Even if we all went, it wouldn’t have been enough. There were so many. We only escaped because the Lady was brave and warned us. I believe that is why she paid such a steep price,” She paused for a long second, then glanced about the room, and asked her own question. “Have you seen the wanted posters?"

“Wanted posters?” Traust began. “I haven’t been off the property since we arrived.”

Scurra shrugged. “We saw a couple yesterday, though I cannot say they look like us.”

"What are we worth?" Andrus asked.

"You’re a hundred chit,” she informed.

Andrus frowned. "A hundred chit barely seems worth it."

"The ones they really want are the foreign duke, and my brother," Scurra said. "It seems to be accepted they somehow orchestrated Kezodel's death. They're the real prize: five thousand chabling a piece."

That impressed the room.

"It's fake money, no matter the amount,” Andrus snorted, “It's like they don't really want to catch us at all."

"They're forced to stick to their lies," Traust noted. "And even though it’s a lie, it is a generally accepted lie. And since its accepted, five thousand chabling would see a frugal man through many years—but enough of the price on our heads,” he continued. You were running from Degorouth and Ministrians near the slant streets. It took you three days to get here from there?"

Scurra gave a nod and continued her story. "We got away, but we were going the wrong direction. We decided to backtrack through the tunnels of Beletrain—which got us away from the Degorouth and Ministrians—but brought us other problems."

"No!" Homoth's eyes grew wide at the suggestion. "You saw naga!?"

Scurra bobbled her head about, shaking and nodding all at once. "I wouldn't say we saw it," Scurra admitted. "We certainly had a run-in with one of the bastards," she leaned close to Traust. "You'll notice the priestess is missing her boy," she whispered.

Celesi's eyes went wide as she heard the hushed statement. She searched about room, though she knew she would not find the lad. No wonder Wenifas was so distressed! The others shook their heads. Celesi thanked their stars that Wenifas was oblivious to the conversation. With a lump in her throat, Celesi cradled Evereste a little bit tighter.

"Well, there is some good news," Traust cut in. "Your brother is awake—or should I say he is out of his coma. How he sleeps through all this noise is beyond me."

Scurra gave a nod. "If he is well, then we should wake him. I'd like his opinion on Elpis."

Traust shrugged. “He’s sore with scarring about his face and chest, and his hands are thin as twigs. Saleos can see to Elpis—unless you think it is truly necessary.”

“I would appreciate it,” Scurra replied.

Apulton stood, and with a nod from Traust, he proceeded to take the stairs two at a time.

"Figures you'd be the one to see a naga," Homoth complained.

"The naga," Scurra repeated. "Damned thing tried to take my head off with a mallet! I just heard it and managed to dodge—but I lost my footing and fell back. I lost my torch. Lucky for me, the beast turned on the others, or I’d be dead.

“The beast smashed up our cousin, then turned on the priestess,” Scurra related. “The priestess saved us all. She found a black powder bomb in the folds of my brother's cloak and smashed it into the naga’s face. Notice the mess of her hand?” she said to Celesi.

The apprentice Jay eyed her friend’s hand and noticed the loose bandage about it. Gently, she peaked under, and saw the black, red, and purple of a recent burn.

"Anyway, the beast screamed and disappeared back into the murk with it’s face on fire—but it took her boy with him," Scurra hanged her head. "What were we to do? We could not search for him…" she began to choke up. "After the naga, I wrapped another rag around Elpis, and we limped for the exit at full hobble,” Scurra continued. “We came out of the tunnels at Fowler's Auction. Fowler promised to send word and asked that we stay until you could come get us—I assume you heard nothing from the man."

"Not a peep," Aim confirmed. "We've checked our drops religiously and received no word from anyone."

“At first, I thought nothing was wrong, and I slept for a bit,” Scurra explained. “Then I suffered a nightmare, and when I woke, I could not shake a sense of dread, so we snuck out and made for the apartment in Peverly. We stayed there until noon—which was the only decent sleep I’ve had in days. Last night, we stayed in a ditch among some homeless, then continued along our way as the sun came up. About sundown, Aim and Apulton found us down by the Church of Muaha Dalinfoers.

“That’s a slow trek,” Andrus noted.

Scurra snorted. “It’s been slow going, as I dragged a half dead man, and escorted a woman lost in her sorrows. Each time I turned around, the priestess was wandering off and Elpis was doing his best to die on me, so we were forced to take a lot of breaks—and this city is way too big!" she finished with a dramatic wave. Her anger didn't last. It melted into a smile as she stared at the concerned faces all about her. "By god, it's good to be among friends!" She said as she hugged those nearest to her. “I’m gonna sleep well tonight!”

Apulton returned, and since there was a lull in conversation, he spoke. “Your brother will be down in a bit. He means to see Elpis before he comes down, and he says he has something for the priestess if she should want it."

Scurra turned to Wenifas and shrugged. “She seems about out of it. Perhaps sleep is the best thing for her.”

Celesi turned to Baet, who was oblivious to the conversation as it was all in Trohl. She spoke to him in Ministrian. "Will you see the lady up to my room?" she asked.

Baet nodded and gently picked Wenifas off the couch. To the Saot's delight, she laid her head against his shoulder. Despite the dirt and wear of her misadventures, she was still a sight to see—and since the babe was changed, she didn't smell quite as much as before. He carried the priestess up the stairs as the others continued to converse. At the end of the hall, he shifted her weight so he might open the door—and felt a familiar lump press against his chest.

Cloud Breaker.

The musket was tucked somewhere among the folds of her cloak. Baet glanced about the hall. Sure that they were alone, he shifted the woman in his arms and felt about her person, in hopes that he might retrieve his weapon. With a moan and a whimper, Wenifas protested his touch. He shushed her as he continued to dig about the layers of her clothes.

The door across the hall popped open. Krumpus stepped from his room looking haggard and worn. The angry scar about his face and neck no longer smoldered as it had in the Great Court—but it still added a ghoulish element to his scowl—as he noted the Soat guard’s hand buried in the priestess' clothing.

Baet pulled his hand from her clothes. "It's not what you think!” he said, chagrined.

With a snort, Krumpus huffed and stamped; then motioned for Baet to bring the lady in to his room and set her on the bed. Once the priestess was down, Krumpus pushed Baet out of the room and down the stairs, all while the guard continued to protest his innocence.