Ah, when all this is finally over, to regurgitate it from the Word file I have been keeping it, and savour it slowly, chapter by chapter...
but for now I shall simply begin the New Year with this.
Thank you, Rumple, for living, and gracing the minds of your readers with these gems.
Foxy
Thank you Foxy, for your unending support! x By the way, speaking of downloaded copies: I have significantly rewritten earlier parts of the story, and both the forum version and at fanfiction.net have been updated to reflect this. However, I recently steeled myself to go back and do a proper timeline of all my dates, especially in the interludes, and confirmed what I already knew: my maths is atrocious. I will have to go back and change a great deal of dates. If you like, when all is said and done (and it won't be long now - we are 75% through!) I will send you a completed word file with everything correctly organised.
I don't know why I love this sentence so much. It's brutal, yet funny.
:lol: Thanks Peleus - I think I was channelling Terry Pratchett for a moment there.
ARGH! See, this is what I meant about missing scrutinizing every single sentence as it may be a clue to the story - now I have to go back and scour over when she was first sneaking around Scourg Barrow and dig up all I have missed! I am glad Kippet was spared, I was afraid she would be sacrificed for a minute. I will have to start at the beginning this weekend and re-live the first thread for every single nuance of this current KOW line - I could read this one hundred times and still find some tiny thing I missed, I am sure!
You are a peach, mALX :hehe: There are actually tons of clues in the earlier chapters that pertain to later events, but unfortunately, I think they're the kind of 'clues' that only make sense after you've read the events they're supposed to be hinting at! I still have a lot to learn about murder mystery foreshadowing, haha. I need to get my Poirot dvds out again...
What more can I say that conveys how much I love this story? Princess Rumpleteasza, it is now a happy new year, because we have this wonderful story to sustain us. May the well of your creativity always overflow with such powerful descriptions and situations.
And may yours do the same! Haha, I actually really enjoyed writing that line - it sums up my feelings about their relationship perfectly.
Thanks very much everyone for reading and commenting! x
The King And I
Chapter Thirty - Before The StormIn Godsreach, in the pleasant lamp-lit common room of The Winged Guar, a Nord and an Imperial joined a Khajiit for a well-earned late supper.
Nenya and Bomba 'Lurrina greeted each other with an energetic hug, coming as something of a surprise to them both ? neither of them, particularly Bomba, were easily given to physical affection. The Khajiit returned to her seat with faint self-consciousness, marvelling at her own enthusiasm.
"Glad you could make it," she purred innocently over her scuttle and kwama-egg omelette, noting how closely the Nord stood to her one-time Blademaster. "I thought you might be?
busy for a while."
Caius gave her a death-glare, his cheeks reddening. Nenya, however, seemed preoccupied.
"Did you hear about Gwynabyth?" she asked solemnly, flumping into a chair and kicking the omnipresent warhammer noisily under the table.
Bomba sobered at once. "Yes. Her companion? the young man?"
"We went to Eadwyrd's lodgings this afternoon," Nenya said, biting her lip. "No reply. I wanted to say sorry for missing the funeral."
"You couldn't help it," Caius reassured her. "We didn't even know until yesterday." Bomba 'Lurrina did not fail to notice the uncharacteristic gentleness in his tone.
But Nenya toyed with her goblet, looking miserable. "I don't think they really knew anyone else here? they were the first friendly people I met in Morrowind, you know. They were on their way back to Glenumbra, and we crossed paths in Seyda Neen when I'd just left the prison ship. They gave me a Restore Health recipe that saved my life more than once, even with me being so useless at potions?" She trailed off, lost in thought.
Bomba blinked, going back a few words and focusing on the previous sentence. "Wait, wait.
Prison ship?"
Nenya seemed to realise what she'd just said; she put her goblet down sheepishly. "Oh, yes. Um. I... didn't mention that before, did I?"
Caius raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You haven't told her?"
"Told me what?" Bomba demanded. "How on Mundus did you land yourself in prison?"
Nenya sighed. "It's how I came to Morrowind. They deported me to Vvardenfell after a month in the Imperial jail, and the Winterhold lockups before that. They freed me in Seyda Neen with a package to take to Caius; Emperor's orders. I suppose they'd already decided I fitted the Nerevarine prophecies."
"But what were you doing in prison in the first place?"
To her surprise, Caius snorted.
"Shut up," Nenya groused, aiming a swipe at his arm. "It's not funny."
"Not in the slightest," he obliged, grinning.
"Shut
up! And Bom, you can wipe that look off your whiskers; if you haven't been in prison before I'll eat my hammer."
"What were you in for?" Bomba demanded, ignoring the sally, her half-eaten omelette growing cold on the plate.
Nenya chewed her lip. "I? broke a vase."
Bomba gave her a
look."You were imprisoned in Winterhold, transferred to Cyrodiil and deported to Vvardenfell? for breaking a vase."
"It was an expensive one, all right?" Nenya said defensively as the barman brought over two more plates of food. "I was in the Winterhold marketplace with my foster brother, and it just? caught on my elbow, you know?"
"Mm," Bomba agreed with a twitch of her mouth, thinking of Scourg Barrow. "Sounds likely."
"I was trying to make amends, but the stallholder got nasty and Fjordan always was a bit overprotective, so all three of us ended up in the gaol for the night. There must have been Blades hanging around in Winterhold who thought I fit the bill for the Emperor's orders, so they sent me on to Cyrodiil."
"And you didn't think it was
odd they were transferring you to the capital jail for upsetting a provincial market stallholder?" Bomba 'Lurrina looked as if she was torn between annoyance and amusemant.
"Well?" Nenya hesitated. "It was quite a
nice vase," she said meekly.
Bomba 'Lurrina sighed. "Nenya, for someone so bright, perceptive and intelligent, you can be really thick."
Caius was laughing again. "I thought she was lying at first. I was sure she must be getting away with murder somewhere."
"Your murder if you don't give it a rest," Nenya grumped ? but when she brought her hand out from under the table, Bomba saw their fingers were linked. She smiled.
"Anyhow," Nenya continued, getting stuck into her own food, "enough of this. Don't beat about the bush, Bom. What did Morgiah say of our report? Did you tell her everything?"
Bomba 'Lurrina put her cutlery down, her smile gone.
"Yes? I told her everything. I assume Caius ??"
"Nenya filled me in," he affirmed.
"Spent most of the journey jawing on it," Nenya elaborated, attacking her stew with the gusto of a ravenous guar.
"Well," Bomba 'Lurrina frowned, "I don't know if she believes us."
Nenya looked up, surprised. "Doesn't
believe us? What do you ??"
"Oh, I don't think she thinks we're
lying," clarified the Khajiit. "It's more like she's not too keen on the conclusions we've drawn from the available evidence."
"But what's to doubt? It all fits!"
"Not so loud," Bomba hissed, glancing compulsively over her shoulder at the other patrons.
"Sorry," Nenya modified, subduing her voice to a more acceptable level. "But I mean come on, the evidence ?"
"? is inconclusive," Bomba finished. "I mean,
we know it fits? but what real proof do we have?"
"Proof?" Nenya looked incredulous. "Who's going to need
proof when a fifty-foot golem turns up for dinner?"
"I
know, Nenya, but can't you see how far-fetched it sounds? We don't even have the full story, just conjecture!"
"Look," Caius interrupted, "this will get us nowhere. It's time to take stock. Exactly what information do we have that points to the whole Akulakhan thing?"
"Gortwog said Helseth's been sniffing around the Iliac Bay capitals for information on Numidium," Bomba 'Lurrina said at once.
Caius twisted his mouth. "That's not exactly damning evidence. How would he even begin to rebuild something as complicated as a golem? Even if he had schematics, how could he employ an entire workforce without a word of it leaking out? People talk."
"Maybe he's keeping them captive," Nenya shrugged.
"An entire workforce, without a whisper of rumour? Don't you see how
unlikely that is?"
"Well, there's always the connection with Nulfaga and Aetherius," Bomba countered.
"Aetherius' only real connection with golems is that Numidium's pieces were spread through the plane when it was broken," Cauis pointed out. "Akulakhan just collapsed. No magical interference at all. And anyway, how do you know Nulfaga's disappearance is related to Helseth? She must be past ninety now. How do you know she hasn't just died in that festering castle of hers?"
"Well, we heard voices inside?" Bomba 'Lurrina hesitated, trying to collate the facts rationally. "And then there are the black-robes; don't forget them. We saw one at Shedungent, and they've been sighted around the Palace and Tel Fyr."
"Then in this whole mess, the only thing that really connects all the different pieces are the black-robes," concluded Cauis. "And we have no idea who they are or what they're doing; only the guess that they
may be working for Helseth."
Nenya snorted. "It doesn't take a genius to make
that assumption."
"But that's still what it is: an assumption." Caius spread his hands. "I'm just being Dagon's advocate; you know I believe you. But trust me; I've been a spymaster for twelve years, and stuff like this will not stick unless you have something substantial. Not to mention," he continued, lowering his voice, "if this is true, Helseth is committing treason. If the Emperor finds out, it'll be execution. No wonder Morgiah's keeping quiet; he may be a homicidal little cretin, but he's still her
brother."Nenya chewed her lip. "I wish we had Eadwyrd's information. He and Gwynabyth were at Tel Fyr; they must have found out something about the black-robes there."
"Whatever it is, Morgiah's keeping it close," Bomba 'Lurrina admitted. "She didn't tell me anything about Eadwyrd's report. It might have solved some of these riddles."
"Well, we can hardly go and ask him now. We don't even know if he's still in Mournhold, and in any case we can't knock on the door and demand a chat about whatever Gwynabyth died for. He's grieving." Nenya looked upset again at the thought of the Breton couple.
"What we need to do now," Caius said, "is stick together and pool our information. We stay close to Mournhold and keep our eyes open. If Helseth
is doing what we think he is, we need to act quickly when the midden hits the fan." He furrowed his brow. "We should get Solon in on this, but I don't know where he lives."
"Solon's out of the picture," Bomba 'Lurrina said, suddenly remembering Morgiah's dismissal. "Morgiah doesn't trust him. She sent him away."
Nenya looked hugely indignant. "What?
Why? He's the best there is! She better hope he doesn't get recruited by anyone else; fine thing it'd be if Helseth got hold of him, wouldn't it?"
Caius narrowed his eyes. "Did she say what her reasons were?"
"She said he was a wild card," Bomba 'Lurrina shrugged. "To be honest, he did seem? different. Odd."
Caius sighed. "That's what I was afraid of."
Nenya rounded on him, putting Bomba 'Lurrina comically in mind of a matron scolding a naughty child. "You
knew about this?"
"No! I mean, not about Morgiah getting rid of him?"
"Then what?"
Caius sighed, troubled. "Look, there's something I didn't tell you. Dren didn't die in the fire. When I went upstairs to get Solon, Dren was lying on the floor next to him. He'd been stabbed."
Nenya gaped. "Stabbed? Solon
killed him?"
"I don't know and I didn't ask ? but it's not Mysticism theory, is it? He was just sitting staring at the wall; didn't even see me at first. And on the way home, he was? strange." He looked uncomfortable. "I didn't say anything before because I wasn't sure what really happened. Solon hinted at something going on between him and Dren? some personal dispute. I guessed he'd been fooling about with Dren's wife, and got caught."
"Dren didn't have a wife," Nenya pointed out, still looking unnerved by this revelation.
"Have you considered the possibility that what was going on between Solon and Dren was going on exclusively between Solon and Dren?" Bomba 'Lurrina asked dryly.
Caius looked nonplussed. "What do you mean??" The realisation dawned. "Oh. OH."
There was a brief silence as all three contemplated this prospect.
"Maybe you and he should get together, Bom," Nenya suggested. "You could set up a 'Lovers Beware' group."
"Oh, very funny," Bomba 'Lurrina said sourly. "Anyway, Lord Woodbourne was
Elysana's lover, not mine."
"I'm not even going to ask," Caius said exasperatedly, taking a fortifying swig of ale and steering the subject resolutely away from Solon's hypothetical lovers. "Look, let's stick to the topic, shall we? We stay close, we wait, we watch. The second anything comes up that points towards golems, we go straight to Morgiah. Agreed?"
"Agreed," said Nenya.
"And if Stendarr is merciful," Bomba 'Lurrina said, pushing her plate away grimly, "it won't be too late by the time we do."
*
There was a knock at the door of Helseth's study.
"Come."
His advisor entered with a bodyguard, the latter holding a whimpering and struggling figure.
"Ah, Vilerys, Rethan" Helseth said pleasantly. "Enter, please, and bring our guest with you. How do you fare this evening, Kippet?"
The Bosmer maid looked up at him. Her cap was askew, and tears were brimming in her eyes. "Majesty? please, your Majesty?"
"Come now, don't be tiresome. Anyone would think Rethan was ungentle!"
The guard smirked.
"Now, take a seat. Don't tremble, girl; I won't eat you! Good grief. It has come to my attention, Kippet, that my sister has forgiven your deplorable transgressions. Is that not so?"
Kippet nodded slowly, her dark eyes wide and fearful.
"And she is fond of you, is she not? She trusts you, or did so before your unfortunate blunder. She allows you to tidy her office and stoke the fire, correct? It is a room that few others have access to, I imagine."
Kippet's face crumpled as she realised where the conversation was leading. "Please, your Majesty? I don't want to betray her again! She's been good to me!"
Helseth banged his fist down on the desk suddenly, making her jump in fright. "Peace, maid," he said with a voice like ice. "Who spoke of betrayal? How dare you accuse your lord of treachery?"
Kippet's mouth snapped shut, her lips quivering.
Helseth's ugly expression melted away as fast as it had come, his tone pleasant once more. "I called you here, Kippet, because I am concerned at the state of the Princess' quarters. As I understand, her desk is full of papers; so very untidy! And that falls under your job description, Kippet. You will tidy up the letters in her desk, and bring them here. Do you understand?"
"Please?" the poor elf began once more, before the words died on her lips at Helseth's unforgiving stare.
"Do you understand?""Yes, your Majesty," Kippet whispered.
Helseth smiled. It didn't reach his eyes. "Good girl. If you please me, you might even earn some leave to visit your family. Where is it they live? Eldenroot, is it not?"
Kippet looked up, a second realisation dawning on her face, horror flowing into every feature.
"Your grandmother is quite frail now, isn't she? Such a shame. I hear your parents have been blessed with a little baby boy, though ? isn't that exciting? Your first little brother! Of course," he continued blithely, "the world is such a dangerous place for elderly grandmothers and tiny babies these days. So awful, don't you think? What with bandit activity on the rise, and sickness so easily caught by the weak, and those tremendously inflammable wooden houses you Bosmer tend to live in ? well, it doesn't bear thinking about, does it?"
Tears were pouring down Kippet's face now; she began to gasp and sob. "Please," she croaked. "Please, your Majesty?"
"Don't repeat yourself, girl; it is dull. Given that the world is such a dangerous place now, I suggest you complete your duties quickly so you can go and visit them. Do you agree?"
She nodded, shoulders shaking, her face buried in her hands.
"Good. Now get out of my sight."
The girl fled.
*
In the emptied Almalexia lodgings, Eadwyrd knelt on the bare boards and looked at the box in front of him. There had been calling and hammering on the door earlier, but it had passed through his mind like smoke, insubstantial and ignored.
He had been given the box by the funerary priest ? a small wooden chest, containing Gwynabyth's meagre worldly possessions. He took them out slowly one by one, laying them out on the floor.
A simple blue dress. Unbearable; it smelled like her. Her ivory ounce-measure, probably the most valuable thing she had owned. A wooden comb. A pair of shoes. A hair ribbon.
He hadn't told her. She had never known.
He closed the box and put it away, and that was when he finally found himself able to cry.
And once it started he found it went on and on, like his body was at last allowed some cruel form of relief ? contracted violent sobs that left his chest painful and his lungs gasping for air. Something else was in control now; his limbs felt too weak to be alive, and the only thing he could do was crouch and shudder and choke and wail, tears soaking his sleeves and pattering on the bare floorboards like some horrid perversion of rain.
It would never truly stop. Not now, not tomorrow, not ever. It would never stop.
*
*
» Sat Feb 19, 2011 3:10 am 
