Drowning at Dusk Ch. 07 - Finale

Over the past few weeks, I'd faced down bandits, barrow-walkers, ghouls, undead constructs, and necromancers. All of those encounters had been only slightly more terrifying than the prospect of marching into the Lord-Protector's tower.

Although Rowela and Patrigan had passed along our evidence and made assurances of our safety for the meeting, fear gripped my body as I walked up the long promenade of black stone that led to the city's largest fortress. The sword-like towers loomed high overhead, casting grim shadows over Xelari and me.

Neither of us had said a word since arriving at the heavily-defended gate and we marched in silence under the watchful eyes of our well-armed and heavily-armored escorts. Twenty knights had been sent to keep an eye on the two of us, even after we'd been thoroughly searched and rendered all but helpless.

I allowed myself a faint sigh of relief at the sight of Patrigan and Rowela standing before the massive iron door that led into the central tower. Alongside them stood a dozen more knights, all of them clad in the same imposing red plate armor as the others.

"Welcome," the steward said with a warm smile. "Sorry for all the armed theatrics, but news of Synrik's schemes has the council on edge. They insisted on the extra security."

"I still fail to see why this meeting is even necessary," said Xelari, her demeanor cold and bored despite the abundance of knights around us, all of whom looked eager to draw their steel. "We provided you with satisfactory evidence, did we not?"

"Indeed you did. But the Lord-Protector wishes to...get the measure of you. His words, not mine."

Had we been discussing anyone but the ruler of Arkostead, I might have made a bawdy quip about him 'getting the measure of me' in a more intimate fashion, but I had enough sense to keep quiet.

A red-clad knight opened the massive door and Patrigan led us into a statue-lined hallway. Every past Lord-Protector had been depicted with a bronze statue within that corridor. Even the corrupt, lecherous and cruel among them had been honored with a masterful depiction.

Past the statues was a massive marble staircase which led to a large chamber with a beautiful table covered in a scale model of Arkostead. A dozen more knights stood guard; the Lord-Protector sat at the other end of the table.

Heroth was a slim, dour man in his late forties, with slicked-back brown hair, a well-groomed goatee, and a long scar that ran from his ear to his nose. He wore a red doublet and a matching cloak, and bore a rapier on his hip.

The most powerful man in the city slowly rose and greeted Patrigan with a nod. His dark, cold brown eyes examined me for several long, tense moments before giving Xelari the same slow regard.

"Cup of tea?"

"Yes, please," Xelari said smoothly, stepping forward and taking a seat without being instructed to. "A sprinkle of sugar, and a small spoonful of honey."

"I'll take a cup as well," I said, managing a crooked grin as I moved towards the table, though I didn't sit just yet. "Two spoonfuls if you please, my lord."

Heroth's dark eyes brightened with amusement and he nodded to one of his knights, ordering him off to summon servants with tea.

Once the Lord-Protector sat back down, Rowela and Patrigan joined us at the table. While we waited for tea, I admired the intricate model for a few minutes, noting the near-perfect rendition of the imposing towers at the center of the city, the models of the ruined palaces of the Deadcrown District, and the elaborate recreations of the sweet-smelling trees that stretched beyond the city walls.

"My son's contribution," Heroth said. "He's an apprentice architect."

"He's not following you into politics, I take it?" I asked.

"Gods above, no. I would forbid it. I'd hate to see my bright young son ruined by this sort of life." Heroth looked to Rowela and Patrigan. "And it boggles my mind that you would approve of your niece following in your footsteps, Patrigan."

"I would not be able to stop her even if I tried," Patrigan said, chuckling.

"And it will be an utmost honor to serve the city, my lord," the little blonde woman said, her voice coming out as a faint squeak.

Heroth smiled at that.

"I suppose this path does require a few true believers to keep the charlatans in check."

Servants arrived with tea for each of us. I took a sip and nearly swooned, finding it to be the best damned cup I'd ever had in my life.

"To business, then," said Heroth, steepling his fingers. "I have reviewed the documentation you allegedly secured from Amberkeep, but I have a few additional questions."

I barely restrained a sneer at the word 'allegedly.'

"Patrigan tells me that you witnessed a council meeting of sorts at Amberkeep. What did you learn?"

After a deep breath, I went into detail about their plans to raise the dead at Amberkeep to create an army to overthrow Heroth. I told him all about Synrik's plan to plunge Arkostead into chaos and to spread death across the Commonwealth, creating a new order from the ashes.

"Troubling. A shame that none of those grim details were in writing."

"The scrolls I recovered show details about raising undead from beneath Amberkeep, my lord," I said, gritting my teeth and keeping my tone in check. "What else do you need?"

"It is enough to justify further investigation and intervention, yes. But there are several key facts that are relevant here. First," he said, raising one finger. "According to Patrigan, you are an assassin hired to undertake a contract, and who reneged on that contract. Your word, at best, is suspect."

"She only reneged because she failed and I convinced her to help me," Xelari said, her voice ice-cold.

"Second," Heroth continued, raising a second finger and ignoring the interruption. "The dusk elf is a known associate of bandits, brigands, and other criminals, who undertook an illegal expedition in the Wildwood. Given the secretive and dubious nature of her activities, this also raises questions about her trustworthiness."

I gave Patrigan a brief glare; the meeting wasn't going nearly as well as I'd hoped. Though it certainly could have goneworse.

"Third: if everything you said is true, then Synrik likely has other friends and associates within the city government. This naturally makes any official intervention against him fraught and difficult, as I cannot know which officers to trust. Fourth: to deploy in force beyond the walls to Amberkeep could raise questions about my judgment and could leave the city vulnerable to an undiscovered threat."

He finally lowered his fingers and took a long sip of tea.

"As such, I cannot in good faith send a large force to march forth from Arkostead to investigate Amberkeep. However, I also recognize that the threat may grow further if I simply dally and try to gather more evidence."

My hand trembled as I lifted my cup for another sip. In my anger and irritation, I'd lost all of my fondness for the delicious tea, finding that it now tasted like spoiled milk.

"Thus I can authorize a limited expedition. A small but highly mobile force of mounted knights and battlemages, to ride to Amberkeep, scout out the situation, and put down Synrik and his army of the dead."

Some of the tension fled my body, and I gave Xelari a slight nod.

That was certainly something we could work with.

"A reasonable strategy," said Xelari. "Esharyn and I would like to accompany this expedition, along with our other associates. Given our experience fighting the undead and the personal stake our Tombflayer allies have in-"

"Out of the question," Heroth said a fierce shake of his head.

Xelari and I gave each other a sharp, pointed look. Her hands balled into fists beneath the table. I wasn't the only one who noticed the tension; two of the knights beside the door stepped forward but stopped short of drawing their blades.

"As I pointed out, I cannot completely trust the two of you."

"My lord," Rowela said, her voice as meek and quiet as a mouse. "While these two women are unconventional assets, they have been a great boon to-"

"Patrigan," Heroth said icily. "It seems your niece may not in fact have a future in politics, given her lack of tact."

The young woman blurted out an apology and looked down at the table, while her uncle cleared his throat.

"I apologize, my lord," said the steward. "But Rowela does have a point. And if these two women were in fact traitors or infiltrators of some kind, they would have already betrayed us. Why reveal Synrik's activities at Amberkeep if they had nefarious motives?"

"We have not even confirmed Synrik's activities there. All we have is their word and these documents, which could have been forged. Thus I shall send out a small but capable force to scout out Amberkeep, confirm Synrik's activities, and raze the ruin to the ground if necessary. This will be a delicate and difficult task, one that I will not complicate with the inclusion of these two women." He affixed me with a long, cold stare. "If your concern is about the prospects of success, you needn't worry. My knights are well-trained and seasoned and the battlemages alone could likely make quick work of Synrik's small undead horde."

A man like that was too proud of his own intellect to be easily swayed but I could also understand his hesitation. For all he knew, everything we'd provided could have been a means to set up an elaborate trap to draw out his forces.

"Esharyn here nearly died at Amberkeep to collect that evidence for you," Xelari hissed. "And this is how you repay her?"

"Be grateful the two of you are not already in chains. For now, you will be guests of the council and you will be provided with secure and comfortable quarters here in the tower until the scouting force returns from Amberkeep. If what you said about Amberkeep and Synrik is true, then you will be released, with my gratitude and a sizable amount of coin to compensate you for your time and inconvenience."

"And if nothing is to be found at Amberkeep?" Patrigan asked.

"Then I will order a formal investigation into Xelari and Esharyn's illegal activities and they will be remanded to the custody of the watch."

I sneered, but was too mindful of the heavily armed knights to offer a proper rebuke.

Xelari rose to her feet. A half dozen knights drew their blades and I reached out to catch her by the wrist.

"It's all right, Xelari," I said firmly. "I know what I saw at Amberkeep. Even if Synrik and his forces have fled, there will be more than enough evidence left behind to confirm my story. We can see this as a little...vacation. A chance to relax, recuperate, and plan out how we're going to celebrate once Synrik is dead."

My lover flashed me one of the nastiest glares she'd ever displayed, but huffed and sat back down. The knights, however, did not sheath their weapons or step back.

"No need for those," Heroth said with a wave to the knights. Blades slipped back into their scabbards. "Patrigan: be a good man and show our guests to their quarters. Sir Herrik: accompany our guests and assign a full squad to watch over them." He turned his smile back to us. "Consider yourselves as reluctant guests, rather than prisoners. If what you claimed is true, your time here will be short."

Still seething, Xelari and I rose, dutifully following Patrigan, Rowela, and the knights.

"Did you know this was to be the outcome?" I hissed at Patrigan, uncaring that the knights could overhear.

"No. His lordship asked me to arrange for a meeting, that is all. I am sorry that it turned out this way, but I cannot fault his reasoning."

Everything else I wanted to say would probably make those knights rather cross with me, so I followed along like a dutiful little 'guest.'

We arrived at the guest wing and it soon became clear that it was a glorified prison. There was only one door leading to the hallway, with no windows in the main hall. Guards patrolled the corridors and the staircase leading to the door. The rooms, while spacious and well-furnished, had thick iron bars over the windows.

The only consolation was that Xelari and I weren't separated. At least we'd be able to fool around between the sheets to distract ourselves and drive the knights mad with the sounds of our moans and cries.

Xelari, however, had such a fierce glare that I was certain a joke about a good fuck would inspire a wrathful outburst.

After showing us to our rooms, Patrigan murmured his farewells and marched away.

Rowela lingered in the doorway, her hands crossed in front of her.

"I am sorry about all this," she muttered. "Knowing how wary the Lord-Protector can be, I should have suspected he might take precautions like this."

"Yes," Xelari snapped, and Rowela flinched. "You should have known, and should have warned us. We-"

"Xelari," I said firmly. "It's not her fault. Besides, even if she had warned us about this possibility, what could we have done? Running away or missing the audience with Heroth just would have made him suspicious, and he may have sent his knights after us anyway. All things considered, this isn't the worst outcome."

I gave the young woman a warm smile and a gentle pat on the arm.

"Thank you, Rowela."

"I'll visit later," she said. "I can bring wine from my uncle's cellars, books, games, anything else you need."

"There is a black leather satchel in our room at Sergayl's Songhouse," Xelari said coldly. "I would very much like to have that."

I gave her a sideways glare; that particular bag contained her toys and various other implements. Hardly a priority, and not the sort of thing we wanted risk getting Rowela in trouble over. Besides, we could make do just fine without such toys.

"That won't be necessary," I said quickly. "But books, wine, and games would be nice. Don't risk getting into any sort of trouble on our account, if such gifts aren't allowed."

"I'll just have to clear them with the knights." She cocked her head. "What was in the satchel? It shouldn't be any trouble, really, as long as it's not a weapon, a poison, or some sort of tool that could be used to escape."

"An enchanted toy cock, several whips, and nigh-unbreakable silken rope," Xelari said before I could cut her off.

Rowela's face blossomed with crimson and her eyes flitted towards the floor.

"The whips and rope probably wouldn't be allowed. And anything enchanted likely wouldn't, either." She swallowed. "I'm sorry."

With a huff, Xelari rolled her eyes and stormed over to the one of the bookcases. I offered Rowela another grateful smile.

"It's no trouble, really. The most important thing is keeping us informed with how the expedition goes."

And over the next few days, I'd assess our surroundings to find potential weapons or escape routes. If the mission went wrong and we were blamed for it, I wasn't going let us get dragged to the dungeon.

"And if you can, tell our friends at the Songhouse that we're all right. Insist to them that they don't do anything rash."

The young woman scurried away, leaving Xelari and I alone. The dusk elf remained by the bookshelf, tracing over the spines of the books with her fingers.

"Madness," she hissed under her breath. "If I'd have had my runestone when that insolent bastard-"

"We'd both be dead," I said, knowing she was just lashing out and venting her frustration. "This will all work out."

"We are prisoners. Helpless. Unable to assist in the slightest. At best, we won't be there to bask in the triumph of Synrik's death...so how can you be so calm?"

"Because we're safe, we're alive. Because Heroth knows of the threat and is acting on it. And because being locked up with a beautiful woman like you isn't the worst fate I can imagine for myself."

I walked over to her and gently placed my hands upon her hips.

After briefly tensing at my touch, she sighed and leaned back against me.

"I know things could be worse. But that doesn't mean I have to be happy with this."

"Not asking you to be happy. I'm just looking at the bigger picture." I chuckled. "Although it's clear that I make a much better prisoner than you do. When you had me chained up, I didn't whine half as much as you are now."

She chuckled, and leaned back to give me a kiss on the cheek.

"Give me a bit to relax and let my nerves settle. Then we'll see how sturdy that bed is."

**

The next two days of our imprisonment proved to be enjoyable enough. The bed turned out to be quite sturdy indeed, and we made do without any toys or implements. Wild sex could not occupy all of our time, however, and I used one of the other bedrooms as a makeshift exercise space, fighting the boredom by pushing my muscles to the limit. When not engaged in sex or exercise, we passed the time idly exploring the ample libraries within the guest wing.

Xelari skimmed through histories of Arkostead and the royal family, perhaps in search of some sort of clue that might help further understand Synrik's motives and plans. Having little interest in dull old histories, I instead devoured a few silly, fast-paced adventure stories about a pirate who disguised himself as a brave, noble knight. Ridiculous rubbish, of course, but it made for damned fine reading, and I couldn't help but imagine Xelari and I appearing within those absurd, fun little adventures.

Servants brought us three meals a day and plenty of wine to get us by. Rowela visited to bring more books, a few decks of cards, and some wine that was quite a bit more delicious than the swill the servants brought us.

On the afternoon of the fourth day Rowela returned, her face bunched up in a tight frown. Glancing nervously over her shoulder, she quickly shut the door to the bedchamber behind us.

Xelari and I looked up from our game of cards.

"What's wrong?"

"Just nervous," she mumbled, and set down a pile of books upon the table.

"Why? Did something happen? News from Amberkeep?"

"No. I expect the knights won't even reach the fortress until tonight, anyway. So it will still be some time before we get any news." She scurried over to the door, pressed her ear against it, then rushed back over to the pile of books. "I, uh, broke a few rules. I checked in at the Songhouse again and your friend Terakh gave me your satchel."

Swallowing, she plucked the largest tome from the pile of books and flipped the cover open to reveal that it contained a hidden compartment. Within it were the two dildos, the harness, and a bundle of silken rope. Rowela blushed fiercely at the sight of it and Xelari flashed her a wicked grin.

"My, my, Rowela," the dusk elf purred. "I didn't think you had it in you."

"I didn't either. But I imagined how frustrating it would be, to be cooped up with little else to do. And it is clear that you care fiercely for one another. So I wanted to help."

"You really shouldn't have risked it," I said. "Promise me you won't try to smuggle anything else in for our sake."

"Don't be premature, Esharyn," said Xelari. "I have a whole list of other toys and implements that we could make use of."

Rowela's eyes widened, and intense crimson spread across her cheeks.

"I think you need to relax, Rowela," said Xelari. "If you go back out there all worried and tense, the knights will know you were up to something." She tapped her fingers against one of the wine bottles Rowela had brought the other day. "A drink to wind down a bit?"

"It cannot hurt, I suppose."

I poured us each a cup of wine and hid the toys away, which seemed to lessen the apprentice steward's nervousness a bit.

"What other news is there?" I asked.

"My uncle has conducted a more thorough investigation of corruption within the watch. He's arrested six more officers, including two who helped Synrik with his sham investigation that allowed him to take Pyrewatch. They don't seem to be involved in a grander conspiracy, though."