Mercedes can see the color of sound, Elize marries against all odds and Hieronymus is rudely interrupted
General Summary
Villa de Luna - Reception Area
An anonymous servant approaches Elize and Julius. Elize, having worked herself up with paranoia, tells Julius to stop him, but when he touches the servant he quickly withdraws his hand as if he touched a hot stove. The hand has gotten blisters.
The servant removes his face which turns out to be an apparently magic wax mask, revealing him to be The Bearded Man. He leans forward to a terrified Elize and tells her that assassins are here and they will kill her unless she takes rapid action, and to consider the warning a wedding present from her aunt, after which he disappears in the crowded reception room again.
Elize takes the warning to heart and she, Julius and her bodyguards rise to leave the room. She gestures to Princess-Mayor Mari de Luna that things are afoot, discreetly to not cause a panic, but as Mari also rises to leave the room people start to notice something is wrong, and there is a bit of a commotion as Elize and Julius exit.
Servant's Quarter in a Remote Part of the Villa
Hieronymus, Mercedes, Sevro and Castor are in the small room above the secret stairs from the wine cellar to where they followed the tracks of the supposed assassins Sevro discovered in the cellar, having just seen the families auf Burgon, de Fornanza and auf Grulve prematurely leave the party outside the window.
They hardly have time to discuss what to do or look for further clues before a person enters the room from the non-secret door, dressed in unremarkable clothing. Mercedes does not recognize him as one of the regular servants of the villa and asks who he is as she draws her rapier. He says he is just a botanist working at the wedding, to which Mercedes answers that there are no flowers here. He claims he is lost, but Mercedes does not buy it. She is also stressed and has little qualms about murder at the moment, so she abruptly aborts the conversation by aiming a stab at the man's chest.
Suddenly he has a knife in his hand and deflects the rapier and answers with a blindingly quick series of stabs, the first of which catches Mercedes in the side of the torso leaving a deep wound before she backs up and manages to fend off the rest of the blows. Castor and Hieronymus also draw their rapiers. Mercedes counterattacks and Castor also attacks the knife-wielding man who still continues to dodge nearly effortlessly and intensifies his assault on Mercedes who barely keeps him at bay. Hieronymus, who is not a noble and has not practiced with the blade a fraction as much as the two high-born, realizes that he'd rather not attack after all and turns to run back through the cellar for help instead.
Sevro also enters the room from the stairs, having fallen behind after (probably) being distraced by something, where he sees his friend Mercedes caught up in a fight and bleeding profusely. He draws his own knife with a roar and starts running towards the fight, him and Hieronymus crossing paths.
Castor and Mercedes continue trying to strike a hit on the assassin, but he is like water and continues his relentless assault on Mercedes. She gets an idea and switch tactics, instead grappling him around the torso with her left arm which is not occupied by a rapier, and shouts at Castor to stab him. He complies but his first attempt almost ends in tragedy as the knife-wielder twists out of the way and the jab would have instead pierced Mercedes is she hadn't also narrowly avoided the blade and given him an upset glare.
The assassin is definitely hindered however, and while he continues to try and stab Mercedes, he fails to dodge out of the way as Sevro reaches the fight and gives the assassin a slash in the arm with his knife. The man doesn't seem to even feel the pain though. Immediately following up however, Castor decides to try again despite almost killing his ally the last time. This time he strikes true and his blade catches the assassin right above the eye and penetrates his skull, splattering brain on Mercedes who is wrestling him. The assassin convulses before falling limp.
The entire battle has taken only a few seconds and Hieronymus has just reached the top of the stairs when he notices things has calmed down behind him. Castor is incredibly excited about his killing blow, as is Mercedes who assures him she is very impressed. Sevro points out Mercedes is bleeding and needs help, but she says that'll have to wait, hopefully it's just a flesh wound. For now they have to concentrate on stopping the assassins and warning the guests; her mother and the bride in particular. They decide that Hieronymus should continue with the plan to run through the wine cellar where there shouldn't be any obstacles to get to the reception hall, while Mercedes, Castor and Sevro continue their hunt upstairs.
The larger of the groups exit the door from the servant's quarter into a corridor leading out into the main mansion. There are no assassins here, but two dead servants. Further ahead are two more bodies, these ones lacking their clothing. Mercedes recognizes them as de Luna house guards however and they realize that the assassins must have taken their uniforms as disguise. The continue and shortly reaches a two-way stair leading both up to a mezzanine above the main hall, and down to the hall floor itself. Knowing the assassins were carrying crossbows, Mercedes assumes they have went upstairs, but tells Castor to still go downstairs just in case, and to warn her mom if he doesn't meet any enemies on the way.
She and Sevro takes the upstairs. Her conclusion turns out to be correct as, on the mezzanine which goes all around the floor below like an enveloping balcony, there is another body. And further, along the same side of the room around 12 meters ahead, stands a man dressed as a guard aiming a crossbow at her mother Mari's back as she is leaving the room together with the rest of the de Luna family who are attending the event. Mercedes draws her pistol, but does not trust her own aim enough to be sure she can fell the crossbowman in one shot, and if she doesn't he may well still shoot her mother before she reaches him.
Instead, she aims at Mari and fires an unaimed shot, hoping to all the gods she isn't a good enough shot to hit her at the ~25 meters distance which separates them. She squeezes the trigger and a loud bang fills the room. The shot does not hit Mari, but hits one of their house guard in the leg who screams in surprise and falls to the ground. It does give the desired effect however. Mari and the others look up at the balcony and sees her with the smoking gun. Her mother, always one to surprise, quickly assess the situation and also sees the crossbowman aiming at her, giving her a precious second to react. She throws herself to the ground as the bolt is released, missing her by a hair and striking another bodyguard behind her. Meanwhile Mercedes is rushing headlong towards the assassin.
She reaches him and tries to tackle him, but he nimbly steps out of the way. He then drops his crossbow and jumps down from the balcony, still dead set on his apparent primary target; The Princess-Mayor. Mercedes, who is bitterly regretting wearing a dress, jumps after and manages to land cleanly and not break her leg. The assassin has drawn a knife started sprinting eerily fast across the room to the group of guards and family, including Mari laying on the ground. Desperate, Mercedes gives chase and does a Bomanian-style running lunge at the back of the assassin standing over her mother. The rapier strikes true and pierces the heart, tip exiting the chest on the other side. A sizzling sound is heard as the sea-king metal blade imbued with magic from the glowing crystal at the hilt meets the assassin's flesh which fuelled by Sarkian magic. The man, like the last one, convulses and falls limp. Mari gives Mercedes an appreciative nod.
Piazza
Around the same time Hieronymus and Castor also enter the room from different doors just in time to see the stabbed assassin fall to the ground. The guard who was shot in the leg by Mercedes is still alive. However, the poor guard who was hit by the crossbow bolt is not doing well. The bolt was evidently poisoned, and the man's skin is getting transparent as he convulses in pain. It looks like he is burning up from within. Mercedes stabs him in the eye for a quick death, deciding it is the merciful thing to do rather than let him suffer.
With the immediate crisis averted, they all exit the room and join Elize and Julius outdoors at a piazza with a nice fountain at the center, and position themselves behind a row of pillars to provide some cover and not be seen from the windows of the mansion.
Elize calls for Malakit to gather a squad from her mercenary company to escort her, while other guards search through the house in case there are more assailants. Hieronymus also joins the Kindling/de Luna constellation, at first stopped by a guard but let in after Mercedes says he's cool. Alsonso tries to dress Mercedes' still bleeding stab wound, but already shaken after the assassination attempt at their mother, the dressing is less than perfect and keeps bleeding through. One of the guards who has done some field surgery previously manages to stop the bleeding instead. Mercedes is a bit pale but otherwise feels alright, all things considered.
Mercedes, Mari and Elize bunch up and discuss what happened. Mercedes shares that she saw the wagons of Burgon, Fornanza and Grulve leave before the attack, which is basically a confession of guilt, and Elize confirms she also saw them one by one leaving the room during the time leading up to the attack. Mari immediately sends an arrest order, hoping to catch them before they leave town. Elize also tells Mercedes, separate from the others, that she was warned about the attack by The Bearded Man who also seemed to be sent by Laura Kindling.
Julius tires of waiting and walks out on the piazza to check the windows for assassins. He looks around for a bit, then starts to signal that the coast is clear. However, before he finishes the sentence, he abruptly stops and stares tensely like a hunting dog for a moment before immediately flipping his rapier in his hand and throwing it like a spear at a window on an upper floor, killing what would turn out to be the last remaining attacker.
Elize recalls that Tyne Skalich said something suspicious earlier that night which she shares with Mari and Mercedes. Mercedes, who doesn't mind Tyne very much despite his family being a political opponent to her own, decides that it's best to clear it up sooner rather than later and they call him and his family over.
Separated by a double wall of house guards, Tyne with family face Elize, Mari and Mercedes. Elize starts off quite antagonistically with asking if he remembers what he said to her earlier that night, then makes a thinly veiled accusation that he knew what was going to happen. He categorically denies any involvment or knowledge. Tyne's wife, Electra auf Klint, covers their 6-years old daughter's ears, horrified over such accusations. For once Mercedes is the one who wants to deescalate, and says Tyne and his family are not suspected of anything and she is very grateful for his help during the investigation of the murder of his father, but they of course have to ask to clear it up before it blows up.
Mercedes then realizes that Electra is an auf Klint but has not left the city with the rest of her house and asks her about it. Electra says she was summoned by the auf Klint family head Einar but declined because she was busy, and wasn't even aware they had disappeared. Besides, she considers Skalich her family now. Mercedes accepts the answer and lets them go before Elize can carry on the interrogation. Mari stands quiet, listening intently the whole time.
After, Elize sees her mercenary backup has arrived and decides it's time for action and walks over to the fountain in the middle of the piazza to hold a speech. Mercedes on her end is starting to see strange patterns and colors, soon realizing she ate a mushroom given to her by Sevro about half an hour earlier. She grabs hold of Hieronymus shoulder who calms her down and helps her to sit down by a tree. Elize climbs the fountain and addresses the remaining crowd.
It turns out she has no intention of cancelling her wedding, assassins be damned. She declares that now that the distraction is over with, they can continue to the dinner. Some laughs and applause start spreading through the crowd, first tentatively, then more enthusiastically. Castor "The Jester" in particular is laughing and clapping loudly, pumped by his heroic stabbing of an assassin in the skull earlier that night. Mercedes is also clapping, first at the speech, then because there are interesting ripples of color emitted from her hands for each clap.
Getting an idea, Mercedes rises and makes her way to the fountain, avoiding obstacles no one else can see. Elize notices her pupils are covering almost her entire iris as she suggests that they continue the wedding at the de Castillio villa which is just next door, where there should be absolutely no assassins. Elize asks the Castillios if that would be acceptable and they answer that of course it would, they'll get the servants to start preparing new food at once. The crowd starts to migrate to the neighboring villa, the participants a bit confused but also quite appreciative that the festivities continue despite literal murder and treason happening, feeling like that is the true Alldris spirit.
Villa de Castillio
The party continues against all odds and new dinner is cooked for the guests since they cannot be sure the previously prepared one is not poisoned. Amazingly the dinner passes without incident as well. Hieronymus converses with Castor again who wants him to make a painting of when he stabbed the assassin in the head since he was there. Hieronymus answers that he'd love to, but he was running away at the time and thus had his back to them and didn't witness his cool move. Castor is a bit disappointed but brightens up and says that he can stand model for him to recreate it. They decide that they'll meet some day for a painting session, and Castor muses that he didn't think he'd be a model at 50 years old.
During this conversation he overhears Mercedes talking to her mother, telling her that while you'd think red wine would taste red, the taste is actually yellow which is why it fits so well to beef. At this point he is fairly certain she is actually crazy for real.
The bridal couple decide it is time to hold the marriage ceremony before more chaos erupts. It is held in the main hall with a beautiful view over the ocean. For a moment Elize does feel a bit weird about holding the ceremony in the same room where she had drunken sex with Guiss Blankros a few months earlier, but discards the thought.
They are a very beautiful couple indeed; both tall and with features that would make the finest sculptures envious, and few eyes are dry as they take their vows. Even Elize, on the verge of breakdown the entire evening, is looking genuinely happy. Mercedes, who is close to tears even on a regular day, is loudly bawling her eyes out, her emotions even more vivid than usual when high on mushrooms.
Without any incidents during neither the dinner nor the ceremony, the jovial night continues. Elize, however, is still bothered by her killing of a man the day before and goes outside to the balcony to get some peace. Julius joins her and asks what's the matter, but she says she'll tell him tomorrow because today is the best day of her life, so they instead stand holding hands for half an hour.
Hieronymus sits down on his lonesome for a moment when he is approached by a man he has never seen before, accompanied by three courtesans. He introduces himself as Affo de Vurt and says he's heard Hieronymus is Mercedes' new best friend and asks him if he would like some fine mead. Hieronymus says that he don't really know if they are best friends but admits he has made good contact with the de Luna family, and accepts the offer of mead. Affo pours him a mug from an incredibly fancy barrel with intricate carved decorations. The mead does indeed taste amazing. Affo explains he was having an affair with a rich merchant wife, and when leaving he saw this barrel; it was locked inside a glass case, on display. He picked the lock and swiped it.
Affo starts lamenting his life for a while before Hieronymus gets smooth with one of the courtesans, and they leave together for the wine cellar for some time alone where he can "examine her shapes".
Elize eventually decides that they should entertain their guests and they start to walk inside from the balcony. They are interrupted by Guiss and Elize almost gets an anxiety attack, fearing he'll make a scene. But he just stiffly wishes them a happy marriage and says he accepts that he lost, and leaves the party. Not sure what to make of it, the couple takes to the dance floor instead. The dance is not going well however.
Things end up poorly in the cellar as well, as Hieronymus is as most enjoying the examining of the shapes of the lady, a lisping voice interrupts them. It is Klopstock standing in the archway. The courtesan gets very upset, saying she is not that kind of lady and besides was not paid for this, and storms away. It turns out Klopstock has chosen this exact moment to ask Hieronymus if he has finished the painting he commissioned, which Hieronymus says he has, and he can deliver it tomorrow. Klopstock is overjoyed, again showering Hieronymus with compliments.
Then he warns Hieronymus about Kleon whom he met at the Bellwick Club meeting the other day, for he may seem friendly, but he will make you his servant, so don't make any pacts or promises. Hieronymus does not mention that he has already made a weird magic blood-pact with him.
After this, Klopstock walks away and Hieronymus decides to follow to see how in the Mist he manages to enter and exit any place without being noticed. He follows the footsteps but again, eventually finding only a dead-end and a feather on the ground.
Hieronymus exits the cellar and returns to the party, where Mercedes has now joined Affo who was about to start lamenting again, and Mercedes informs him that she is incredibly high because she was given a mushroom by Sevro. They are distracted by Hieronymus swift return. Hieronymus explains that it didn't go so well, and Affo agrees that it must have been pretty bad if he got her so upset she left. But Affo claims that now Hieronymus owes him money for the gifts, to which Mercedes points out that theyre not gifts in that case.
Mercedes finds Lafayette sitting by the dance floor, looking depressed. She sits down next to him to check if he's alright. His broken leg hasn't healed since he was a prisoner in Barrodal but he is recuperating slowly. He is most of all, of course, devestated that Elize has married another man, one whom he can never compete with. Mercedes tries to cheer him up by saying there are other women, and Elize husband cheated because he is a demi-god, and besides, he will probably die young, while Lafayette has his entire natural life before him. Lafayette declares that he will continue to love Elize from afar and be there for her even though he is hurting. Mercedes finds it beautiful and they cry on each others shoulders.
Elize, who is dancing with Julius, sees the two friends crying on each other and decides to end the dance which was going poorly anyway, and she and Julius joins them. After Mercedes has given her a violent hug that is half tackle, and now with only the initiated present, she continues the talk with Mercedes and Lafayette about the warning from the Bearded Man who seemed to be working with Laura Kindling, her aunt. Mercedes, ignoring her hallucinations that Elize is growing a beard, says that that at least means the assassins were probably not sent by Laura at least.
Alsonso approaches the group and explains that he'll have to leave to organize the chase for the traitors who has left the city, but wishes the couple a heartfelt congratulation. Mercedes says she'd like to join, but Alsonso answers that she should stay at the wedding, both because Julius and Elize are closer friends to her than him, but also that he can tell she is drunk and high as a kite. She reluctantly agrees.
As Alsonso leaves, Hieronymus also dares join the company. It turns out Hieronymus and Lafayette get along very well and gets into an animated discussion about high art, to which Elize listens intently as she is also a connaisseur. Mercedes gets bored out of her mind and ask Julius to dance with her instead and they leave the company.
The dancing pair talk about fighting and killing, as that is a large shared interest between them, and Julius says that while he enjoys the battle a lot, the killing itself gives him no joy. He says it must have been terrible for Mercedes to kill all those peasants in Hut Town the day before, to which she answers that usually she would never fight the peasantry since they are not allowed to strike back, but these were heretics and were shouting insults at her, so it wasn't that bad.
As the art discussion turns to philosophy, religion and politics, especially surrounding The False Phoenix and the war, Elize also loses interest and is even more miffed to see Mercedes and her husband dance gracefully on the floor, contrasting hers and Julius own clumsy dance earlier. As Affo sits down next to her and start talking about how pointless and fleeting love is, she has had enough and walks out on the dance floor and grabs Julius, telling Mercedes that she is sorry for stealing her dance partner, but it is time for their wedding night. Mercedes vigorously assures her she completely understands.
Feeling his urge for opium growing, Hieronymus excuses himself from the discussion with Lafayette to walk home. Lafayette says he was going to offer him lodging, but since Hieronymus lives fairly close by, just past the bridge from Northern Hills, he doesn't insist. They amicably take farewell, deciding to meet another day, and Hieronymus takes his leave, as does Lafayette.
Having sat down in a couch to just enjoy her still vivid hallucinations, she is again joined by Affo and the two courtesans accompanying him. Affo starts passive-aggressively speaking of friendship and how some are meant for greatness so it is no wonder no one cares about someone like him. Mercedes says he's got lots of people who love him, and he knows she will do anything for him if he asks her.
Ah, but poor Affo, he continues, take away his partying and his joviality and who would care? Mercedes says he's being silly, because if you take away her fighting skills, she'd be no one either, it's what defines them. Affo continues with a monologue that Mercedes is like the wind, a wild force that stokes the fires that burn down a city or wreck a ship. She probably didn't even think twice before taking the mushroom even though it was her best friend's wedding. And even if she dies, she'll be a legend, while he is no one. She isn't sure if it's envy, insult, admiration, or all of them, but is still very flattered for being called a legend.
Affo takes his leave to socialize with the two courtesans and falls down the stairs on the way out, pulling down a tapestry onto a candelabra, almost starting a fire, which Mercedes finds very amusing. She proceeds to drink herself into a stupor and falls asleep on the sofa.
Elize and Julius are alone in a bedroom in the villa. Elize is laying on the bed, glad to finally be free from all the people. Julius notice something is still wrong but doesn't push the issue. After a few minutes of silence, Elize takes the word. She tells Julius that he is going to be a father. For a few moments, he looks terrified, before he starts crying, saying those are the best news he has ever recived. With that, the night proceeds as is appropriate.
Hieronymus walking home
Hieronymus is walking home through the night, almost dizzy from the sensory overload he has had that night, when he hears a song of lament loudly recited from a villa just after the bridge between Northern Hights and Emerald Park. The villa of House Blankros. Confused, he peeks inside and sees Guiss Blankros standing on the balcony rail, tying a noose. The gate is open so Hieronymus runs inside and starts talking to the suicidal boy, saying that please, think about this. But why, wonders Guiss, should he continue this constant pain when his one and only love is marrying another. And he himself, totally lacking skills and qualities, standing alone useless and hopeless in this cruel world.
Deciding to take action, Hieronymus knocks on the door of the mansion which is opened by a tired guard asking what he wants at this time of night. He quickly explains that the son of the lord is about to take his life. The guard gives him a doubtful look, but peeking outside and up on the balcony, seeing the young Guiss standing there, he lets Hieronymus in and they hurry up the stairs.
On the balcony, being the wordsmith he is, he eventually manages to convince Guiss to come down from the railing and talk to him. He tells Guiss that he is so young and he can still find his worth in life. Guiss starts to get a spark back in his eyes. Yes, maybe he can. He'll have to leave this wretched place and his oppresive father, and go on an adventure and build his own destiny. Filled with fire and teary-eyed, he thanks Hieronymus profusely and tells the servants to ready his armor and horse. Hieronymus wonders if it's such a good idea to do this in the middle of the night, but Guiss answers that he must strike while the iron is hot, and tells him to not worry before whirling away to get ready.
Even more confused and exhausted with this crazy day that never ends, he heads to leave the mansion. However, the torments are yet to end, and he meets Andal "Red Rose" Blankros, Guiss father, on the way out. Furious, he asks if Hieronymus is the pleb that has given his son stupid ideas to leave. Hieronymus says that, actually, he saved his life. Nonsense! Andal is furious. Hieronymus looks to the guard that accompanied him, but he keeps quiet and avoids his gaze. He tries to evoke the names of Elize and de Luna, but Andal only gets more angry, wondering if they are in on this too.
Andal orders Hieronymus arrested and that the guards to take him to the yard and prepare the dogs. While they walk, he asks Hieronymus if he knows what happens when you feed dogs human flesh, then keep them starved. Hieronymus is pale with terror and doesn't answer, because he knows the question is rethorical. Indeed, as they reach the yard, Andal takes the leash of a dog and comes up to Hieronymus, dog pulling on the leash to get to him.
Fortunately, Guiss enters the yard, dressed in armor and seated upon his horse, on his way to leave. Hieronymus desperately begs him for help, and Guiss rides and puts himself between Hieronymus and Andal. He says that he owes this man his life, and while he may one day forgive Andal for the things he has said, if he hurts this man Guiss will renounce his family name and never return. Then he dramatically rides off.
Andal emptily looks at Hieronymus for a while before he lets go of the leash. For a moment Hieronymus is certain his life is over. The dog runs up to him and starts sniffing his leg and lick his hands. The guards unlock his shackles and Andal tells him to get out and not show his face here again. Next time it won't be the nice dog.
Hieronymus, shaking, walks the last few hundred meters home. What a night.
Comments