Masquerade - These Masks We Wear

[Channelknight Fadran]

48 minutes ago, The Ward's Guard said:

"First of all," Caden got close to Wendy, "I need you to answer a few questions of mine."

"Fine. Ask away."

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

5 hours ago, Channelknight Fadran said:

"Fine. Ask away."

"First, are you a follower of Robin the Traitor?"

[Vapor she/her]

Arabella shifts around in Wendy's lap, still sleeping.

[Channelknight Fadran]

2 hours ago, The Ward's Guard said:

"First, are you a follower of Robin the Traitor?"

"I follow Robin Custos. Whether or not she's a traitor isn't mine to say." A traitor to the crown, of course; but that doesn't make her evil.

Edited April 11, 2021 by Channelknight Fadran

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

On 4/10/2021 at 8:30 PM, Channelknight Fadran said:

"I follow Robin Custos. Whether or not she's a traitor isn't mine to say." A traitor to the crown, of course; but that doesn't make her evil.

"Then we will start off simple, where is that traitor hiding?"

[Channelknight Fadran]

10 minutes ago, The Ward's Guard said:

"Then we will start off simple, where is that traitor hiding?"

"No idea."

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

7 hours ago, Channelknight Fadran said:

"No idea."

"Then that would be a problem," Caden gesture to Arabella as his gravelly voice gained an edge, "do you remember what happens when we have one of those?"

[Channelknight Fadran]

7 hours ago, The Ward's Guard said:

"Then that would be a problem," Caden gesture to Arabella as his gravelly voice gained an edge, "do you remember what happens when we have one of those?"

"They move around a lot! All I can tell you are a few places she probably isn't at."

[Robin Custos she/her]

“Biana what happened?”

Biana looked at Robin and shrugged, staring at the horizon. ”They have Arabella and the Raveness hates me," she said.

Robin's heart dropped; she wanted to only focus on getting Arabella back, but she knew she also needed to help Biana. 

“How are you holding up after that?”

Biana shrugged indifferently. “Fine. I told them I didn’t care about her in hopes they’d go easy on her, but I don’t think they believed me.”

"Do you care that they have her?”

Biana turned back to Robin. “Of course I’m disappointed I lost Arabella, but I know we’ll get her back. All it did was help me realize I was getting to attached to her. I risked my own life by throwing pie at the Raveness to save her, and all it did was make things worse for her."

“We need to move camp before we attempt any rescue, but I want you to start planning it. Maybe you can put your indifference to good use.”

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

On 4/13/2021 at 5:54 AM, Channelknight Fadran said:

"They move around a lot! All I can tell you are a few places she probably isn't at."

"Then I suggest," Caden lowered himself to Wendy's level, "that you start talking!"

Edited April 21, 2021 by The Ward's Guard

[Channelknight Fadran]

"I couldn't tell you where to go. I just know it all when I'm there." Wendy glared at him. "All I can tell you is that she's in the forest... somewhere. She's probably already moved, seeing as how two of her companions just vanished inside the castle."

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

On 4/4/2021 at 7:04 PM, Shard of Thought said:

Her face red with fury, Riva stared at the creator of the noise. A servant, bah! For a moment, she toyed with the idea of marching over and demanding for his presence in her dungeon, but then realized that was probably incredibly harsh. She desperately needed to get out of here... The tension was palpable, the noises a whirlwind. And more than that, getting splattered, then rejected by the general had been embarrassing. The possibility of a damaged reputation made her skin crawl; if she lost the protection their fear allowed her...

Quote

Here, Ivian, have some more reason to get rid of the ol' Raveness. 

Also, this scene will escalate quite a bit and I want everyone to get the chance to post character reactions as it goes so... Yeah. 

There, was, of course, one tactic that Riva knew with a surety could boost the crowd's fear of her. She'd have to be careful - with this many people watching, a screw up could potentially be very dangerous for her - but she was in the right mood for it and felt confident she could pull it off. If she did it right, everyone in this room would remember to fear her power for the rest of their lives and pass that fear down to the next generation. Just how she liked it. Unfortunately, her plan would likely result in the death of a few men who didn't deserve it, but... Oh well. She couldn't bring herself to care. 

With a sweep of her skirt, Riva marched towards the front of the room where guards stood around the great entrance doors. Her steep heels - designed to make a woman of her painfully average stature appear intimidatingly tall - pounded on the ground, drawing the attention of a good portion of people. Not enough yet, but more more stares would come soon. The Raveness picked out a particularly buff-looking man and pointed at him with a gloved finger. "You there!" she boomed. "I DEMAND to be let out of this room this instant!"

To his credit, the man hid his fear quite well; he didn't flinch and he looked her in the eyes which was quite a feat. Riva immediately respected the man. "I'm sorry, Lady Raven, but we cannot open, not even for you." 

"Oh, you're not sorry yet, boy. But I can promise you will be if you refuse me. I will not say it again. Let. Me. Out."

The guard hesitated, biting his lip.

Edited April 21, 2021 by Shard of Thought

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

17 hours ago, Channelknight Fadran said:

"I couldn't tell you where to go. I just know it all when I'm there." Wendy glared at him. "All I can tell you is that she's in the forest... somewhere. She's probably already moved, seeing as how two of her companions just vanished inside the castle."

"Then you and I are going to find her," Caden glanced towards the child, grinning mischievous as a thought occurred to him, "or she will find you. After all, I can't imagine that the traitor would be all too happy with two of her 'companions' being at risk of falling into the Ravenness's clutches."

[Channelknight Fadran]

Just now, The Ward's Guard said:

"Then you and I are going to find her," Caden glanced towards the child, grinning mischievous as a thought occurred to him, "or she will find you. After all, I can't imagine that the traitor would be all too happy with two of her 'companions' being at risk of falling into the Ravenness's clutches."

"If you or the Raveness or anyone lays a finger on her," Wendy said, "then nothing you can ever do to me will make me talk."

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

Just now, Channelknight Fadran said:

"If you or the Raveness or anyone lays a finger on her," Wendy said, "then nothing you can ever do to me will make me talk."

Caden growled, "you have the word of the king, the child won't fall into the Ravenness's hands. But your 'companion,' the traitor, doesn't know that." Caden smirked once more with a cruel look in his eye, "and the King has offered you no such protection. I would watch my tongue if I were you, girl."

[Channelknight Fadran]

Just now, The Ward's Guard said:

Caden growled, "you have the word of the king, the child won't fall into the Ravenness's hands. But your 'companion,' the traitor, doesn't know that." Caden smirked once more with a cruel look in his eye, "and the King has offered you no such protection. I would watch my tongue if I were you, girl."

"If that's your plan," Wendy replied, "to wait for Robin to come save us, then that's fine by me."

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

Just now, Channelknight Fadran said:

"If that's your plan," Wendy replied, "to wait for Robin to come save us, then that's fine by me."

"That's not all, girl." Caden stood up, "I want to know how many the traitor has at her side."

[Channelknight Fadran]

1 minute ago, The Ward's Guard said:

"That's not all, girl." Caden stood up, "I want to know how many the traitor has at her side."

"Several dozen. All armed." Wendy figured she probably could've lied here, but there wasn't any point in risking that. "But they're good at seeming like they're more or less."

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

4 minutes ago, Channelknight Fadran said:

"Several dozen. All armed." Wendy figured she probably could've lied here, but there wasn't any point in risking that. "But they're good at seeming like they're more or less."

Caden scoffed, "what are their skills, if they have any."

[Channelknight Fadran]

Just now, The Ward's Guard said:

Caden scoffed, "what are their skills, if they have any."

"Quiet espionage, highway robbery, hiding in plain sight... they aren't remarkably combative."

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

Just now, Channelknight Fadran said:

"Quiet espionage, highway robbery, hiding in plain sight... they aren't remarkably combative."

"Now tell me, what does Robin, the traitor, plan on doing."

[Channelknight Fadran]

1 minute ago, The Ward's Guard said:

"Now tell me, what does Robin, the traitor, plan on doing."

"She just wants to fight back." Wendy shrugged. "I'm not sure if she has a long-term plan."

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

Sweat shone on the guard's forehead and he assumed a defensive stance with his spear. "Lady Raven, this castle is on lockdown. Raveness or not, any attempt to break the lockdown on your part will result in violent retaliation. Is that clear?"

Riva smiled evilly. "Oh, yes. Very much so." With that, she threw a small orb on the ground.

The Raveness did not spend much time in public; after all, her death was a dream to many a man because of her nasty reputation. Thus she made sure that when she was in public, she had more than a few tricks up her sleeve. The orb was one such trick. When shattered, it quickly released thick smoke, obscuring her. She was no witch, as many claimed she was, but stunts like this certainly did a good job of fueling those rumors. While the foolish, disoriented guard stumbled, Riva gracefully stepped behind him, unsheathing a small poison-coated dagger hidden on her garter and swiping at the man's neck. The incision she made was a small one, but the heavily concentrated poison made all the difference. When the smoke cleared, the man was screaming and writing on the floor, a smug-looking Raveness standing over him. "Anyone else?" she boomed. In the now-silent hall, her slightly-raspy voice was like a thunderclap.

Even Nicolae stirred, sitting up suddenly. "Mm, what, yer Majesty?"

@Condensation

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

4 hours ago, Channelknight Fadran said:

"She just wants to fight back." Wendy shrugged. "I'm not sure if she has a long-term plan."

Caden growled, "then what is she trying to do now."

[Channelknight Fadran]

21 minutes ago, The Ward's Guard said:

Caden growled, "then what is she trying to do now."

"Move everyone to a different location."