Masquerade - These Masks We Wear

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

"There is a little girl in your employ; I believe her name is Katie. I have her on a special assignment at the moment. When she returns, make sure she gets the day off. If I hear anything otherwise, there will be consequences. Am I understood?"

Edited May 12, 2021 by Shard of Thought

[Channelknight Fadran]

"A... day off for Katie?" The taskmaster swallowed. "It will be done."

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

"Thank you." Riva flashed the taskmaster an utterly psychopathic grin. "She's had a traumatizing enough day; she deserves it. Anyway... What is it that boy says, the one your girls like to sleep with?" She snapped, trying to remember. "Oh, yes. Have a zu-bop of a day, miss."

[Channelknight Fadran]

"Have a... okay."

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

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Nicolae is iconic, fight me. And have a zu-bop of a day.

Riva strode away, the iconic sound of her wicked heels clicking against the ground while she hummed pleasantly on her way back to the dungeons.

[Channelknight Fadran]

"Breakfast!" The taskmaster called to all the waitresses. "After that we've got rooms to clean, so get eating, girls!"

Wendy dragged herself to the servants' mess hall and plopped herself down onto a bench. She wiped the sweat off her brow and washed her hands in the little water bowl set out in front of her. She doubted that any amount of scrubbing could get the smell out, but hopefully she could at least afford some sensation of cleanliness before she ate.

Her arms were shaking from lugging massive barrels of clothing down to a steaming laundry pit, and she'd somehow managed to coat her arms with dirt.

"What time is it?" She asked to no one in particular.

"Seven AM," no one in particular replied.

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

The woman strapped to the table started praying when Riva came into the room. That was a normal response, Riva had found. Personally, she didn’t understand it, but if she was religious, she supposed she might have done the same. 

“Oh please,” Riva mumbled. “Your gods won’t help you now. Do you know what you’re in for?”

The woman started sobbing. After being rather thrown off by Darrin’s quips earlier this morning, having someone respond appropriately to her presence was rather satisfying. Riva knew full well what this woman was “in for;” both in the sense of what she’d done to land herself in this situation and what she was about to endure. Or, well. She actually didn’t know what the woman was about to go through. The crying woman—named Brissa—was scheduled to be experimented on and Riva had a potion she was dying to try out.

“Well,” Riva continued, “I’m glad to see you’re just as excited about this as I am.” She opened the cupboard where she’d stored her experimental potion. As she was loading it into a syringe, her patient resorted to begging. Not an uncommon tactic, certainly, but most of the time, patients were smart enough to realize that trying to reason with their doom would be fruitless.

“Please, miss,” she bawled. “I have a family, children. They’ll die without my help, your Raven-ness”

“If you wanted your family to live,” said Riva idly, “you shouldn’t have been stealing food.” There was silence in for a little longer, until Riva strode over with the needle. 

“You can’t be as heartless as people say you are,” Brissa squeaked. Sweat coated her forehead. “Isn’t there a shred of decency in you?”

Riva snapped on a pair of gloves. “To be quite frank, I’m not really sure. Even if there is though, it certainly won’t help you any. Your cowardice is quite unbecoming.” 

Brissa began to scream the moment the needle touched her skin. Usually, screams were rather pleasant to Riva, but she had to roll her eyes in this instance. What a baby. The pain hadn’t even started yet, she was going to cry at a needle? Swallowing her disappointment, Riva checked her pocket watch and waited to see what the potion would do.

[Channelknight Fadran]

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*Patiently waits for Caden to arrive*

@The Ward's Guard

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

8 minutes ago, Channelknight Fadran said:

@The Ward's Guard

Caden marched down the hallway towards the King's chambers, his two personal guards at his side as always. Last night had been intensive, and as always, his sleep was restless. As he made the way down the hallway, he shouted at a maid who dared to get in his way, batting away at her with his gauntleted hand. Normally lashing out made him feel better, but it only left a low growl in his throat. He wanted to relish for another opportunity to lash out, but his growling only grew more intense. So it was to be one of those mornings. He let out a sigh of resignation right before he approached the door to the King's chamber, signaling to the guards who stood on either side to make way for him. As he entered the chamber, he bowed himself before the king.

"You summoned me, my lord?"

[Channelknight Fadran]

"General." Ivian nodded. "To begin, I'd like to congratulate you on your actions last night. Well done."

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And Guard, I'd like to congratulate you on such a wonderful pfp.

 

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

2 minutes ago, Channelknight Fadran said:

"General." Ivian nodded. "To begin, I'd like to congratulate you on your actions last night. Well done."

Caden didn't lift his head from the bow quite yet. "It is my duty, my lord."

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Why thank you ver much, Fadran. Shard of Thought sent it to me and I instantly knew what to do with it.

 

[Channelknight Fadran]

"I have two orders of business for your ears, if you'll lend them to me today." Ivian didn't wait for a response, choosing to continue regardless. "First: you are to improve the working conditions of all our guards and soldiers. Increase their salaries and recruit new members to grant the others more reprieve."

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

2 minutes ago, Channelknight Fadran said:

"I have two orders of business for your ears, if you'll lend them to me today." Ivian didn't wait for a response, choosing to continue regardless. "First: you are to improve the working conditions of all our guards and soldiers. Increase their salaries and recruit new members to grant the others more reprieve."

"It will be done, my lord. If I may ask, what is your purpose with this? If I know, then I can better perform your will."

[Channelknight Fadran]

"I'm meeting with the head of palace staff as well as several other leading figures here in the castle. This change will not be limited to guards only." Ivian did his kingly pace thing. "I figured that it was high time that our workers be rewarded for their hard labor. That being said, there's the matter of my second business: your reward for last night's actions."

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

Just now, Channelknight Fadran said:

"I'm meeting with the head of palace staff as well as several other leading figures here in the castle. This change will not be limited to guards only." Ivian did his kingly pace thing. "I figured that it was high time that our workers be rewarded for their hard labor. That being said, there's the matter of my second business: your reward for last night's actions."

Caden furrowed his brow, "my reward, sire?"

[Channelknight Fadran]

49 minutes ago, The Ward's Guard said:

Caden furrowed his brow, "my reward, sire?"

"Indeed. I've taken into account your loyalty over the years, and I feel like a reward for one such as yourself is long overdue."

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

Just now, Channelknight Fadran said:

"Indeed. I've taken into account your loyalty over the years, and I feel like a reward for one such as yourself is long overdue."

Caden cleared his throat, but it didn't extend to his thoughts. He spoke slowly, testing the King. "My lord, my only reward should be your safety as my king."

[Channelknight Fadran]

"If your desire is to assist the king, then you'll be most helpful by accepting this reward." Ivian stopped pacing. "In other words, I have prepared a reward that will be mutually beneficial to the both of us."

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

Caden looked up to the King, "if it is your wish for me to have it, then I will accept it."

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

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Caden: *shows extreme loyalty to Ivian*
Ivian: 
Nicolae: *does the same*
Ivian: 

 

[Channelknight Fadran]

"Very well." Ivian started pacing again. "However, I cannot tell you what it is yet. It isn't yet prepared."

 

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

Caden tried to hide his dissatisfaction with not being told what it was, he hated surprises. "Very well, my lord. Is there anything else you need?"

[Channelknight Fadran]

"No, that's all. Unless you have anything to say yourself, you may be dismissed."

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

Caden deepened his bow before rising and leaving the chamber. As soon as he had the King's presence, a messenger ran up to him, panting.

"General, the man you asked for is ready and waiting for you in the room you specified."

Caden growled, but there was a hint of satisfaction in his tone. "Gather the officers of the guard, there are changes that need to be made as soon as I am finished with this man."

Before the messenger ran off, Caden had spun around to head off to speak with the man he had called for.

Edited May 12, 2021 by The Ward's Guard

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

Brissa was dead. 

Apparently Riva’s potion had been a little bit too harsh on the body. Though some of her potions were used as a means of particularly excruciating execution, this potion had not been meant to kill the subject. Her death had been far too quick for Riva’s liking anyway. A few minutes after the potion had been administered, blood had started to be excreted from her face; out of the corners of her eyes, her nostrils, her ears, and her mouth. It wasn’t exactly a pretty sight, but Riva was quite proud of her handiwork. Sure, the potion was too intense now, but with a few tweaks, she could probably make it incredibly effective. And in the more short-term, at least she’d gotten some good screams out of it. 

With a sigh, she began to tidy up. Riva didn’t have to deal with the body - someone would be coming for it later - but she was quite good about keeping her workspace clean. A smile crossed her lips. She’d heard rumors about her obsession with organization; supposedly, if she wanted to kill someone, she would do so without leaving a shred of proof. That was, of course, entirely untrue:

The only time she’d ever killed someone on purpose, it had been very messy.

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Alright, Ivian can talk to Mav now.