Plus, I've added a new header. I'll work on a new profile picture too.
I look forward to next wednesday. I'm quite excited. And I know what's coming!
The Curse of the Crimson Throne
Part 5: Into the Shingles
We spent the next few days doing fairly normal things. The rioting was easing, the markets were reopening, and Korvosa was slowly returning to normality. The city folk were begrudgingly becoming used to our new queen.
However, it wasn't long before a new rumour began to spread through the city. Apparently, the king had been murdered - poisoned. Gossip began to circulate that it was Queen Ileosa herself who had administered the poison. But then, a statement came from the palace. The murderer of the king had been named - an artist by the name of Trinia Sabor. She had been commissioned to paint a portrait of the king a week before he died. She had been alone with him for many hours and had had plenty of opportunity to administer the poison. To make matters worse, the crown had placed a bounty on her head for her capture. This stoked the people into forming lynch mobs, sweeping the city for the woman. The people now had someone whom they could take out their anger on, and Trinia had become public enemy number 1.
It was then that we received a summons from Field Marshall Cressida Kroft. She told us that this whole situation didn't sound right. Why had the queen made this news public? It was as if she wanted the riots to restart. Our mission was to find Trinia before the mobs, and bring her in to the Korvosan City Guard for questioning. We had been given her address, and that was where we were to start our search.
Trinia's flat was in the district known as Midland, on the third floor of a tenement block. The door was barricaded from the inside, but it didn't stand a chance against the strength of the paladin. Inside, we found a small room with an open window, and Trinia curled up asleep on the bed. However, as we went to wake her, we realised that she was just an illusion. Looking out of the window, we could see her dashing across the rooftops, into the area known as The Shingles.
Let me explain about The Shingles for those of you who do not know it. A few decades ago, various urban renewal projects in the city forced many of the city's poor out of their homes. Desperate for somewhere to live, the people moved onto the roofs of many of the city's buildings. These temporary accommodations soon became permanent fixtures, and then they, too, were built upon, until there was an entire city built on top of the existing city. The Shingles, as it became known, was a quick way to get across the city without being noticed by anyone on the ground, and so it became a haven for criminals hiding from the law. It also became the home to some minor species of monsters.
So, the chase was on.
Trinia had gotten a good head start on us and was already several buildings away. The first out through the window was Sabelle, but she almost immediately lost her footing and plummeted into the street below. Adam and Reda began to give chase too, with Reda trying to slow Trinia down by firing her arrows at her. At one point, Adam was almost within reach of Trinia, but a bird flew up from a hidden perch, startling him, and he slipped and also fell into the mob-filled street.
Reda, her keen eyes never losing sight of Trinia, could see that the girl was starting to tire. Reda had hit her a few times, and Trinia was losing blood from the arrow wounds. Trinia slowed to squeeze through a gap in a wall, and Reda seized the opportunity. With a swift movement, she loosed one of her arrows. Trinia was hit in the shoulder. The girl squealed in pain, and then dropped to her knees, passing out from the pain. We had caught her. When she slipped back into consciousness, she began crying. She had not killed the king, she said. She had been framed. From the tears in her eyes and the plea in her voice, we could tell she was telling the truth. She was being used as a scapegoat.
We were now in a quandary. What were we to do with her? We didn't want to turn her over to the Korvosan City Guard. Although the Guard promised not to hurt her, there was no guarantee she would survive the interrogation process. We certainly couldn't just let her go, as she would be found by the mob and torn to pieces. We needed somewhere to hide her. But where?
It was Sabelle who came up with the answer. She was now quite good friends with the King of Spiders, who owned Eel's End. Perhaps he would hide her on his ship until the mobs died down.
And so, while heavily disguised, we transported Trinia to Eel's End. The King of Spiders promised to keep her there. She would pose as a serving girl, and no-one would know it was her.
We returned to the Field Marshall and told her that Trinia had escaped. I don't think Cressida believed us, but she accepted our story.
We did not have time to dwell on this, however, as the Field Marshall had already gotten us another mission. But this I shall tell you about at another time. Return to me in a few days, and I shall continue this tale of bravery and heroism.
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