Disclaimer: I don't own, except fo the parts I do. Figure it out.
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Trina rode Sylvie towards the main gate. The Dragon wasn't too big as dragons go, but still twice the size of the construct the Carson's had used, and as such, bigger then the guards were ready to face. Standing on it's hind legs, it's head rose high enough for Trina to address the defenders of the fortress, even though they were down on the path below. "Okay, we've beaten the monster that's been raiding our lands, and won the alliance of this dragon here. So, we demand to speak with Lord Carson, and resolve the issues of my sister's upcoming wedding."
"We're more then happy to have this discussion one you're not on that dragon." Came the voice of the captain of the guards. "So, dismount, and approach via the gatehouse, and we'll talk this over."
"I don't trust them." Sylvie told her.
"Still, we need to play this cool, cause our other teams are still gathering evidence." Trina quietly explained before raising her voice. "Okay, we come in peace, so we're gonna do as you ask."
Sylvie, against her better judgments, slipped out of view and changed back to her human form. She then joined Andre, Trina and Tori as they walked up to the main gate, leaving the bulk of their force behind them. "Remember, they're up to something. We stay sharp, and wait for some sign our other teams are successful." The Vega heir reminded her team.
Efficiently the guards opened the gate and allowed them into the tunnel, with the murder holes and arrow slits above and around them. The guard, however, didn't want to do anything that might bring back the dragon, so they met the Vega delegation in the tunnel before escorting them inside to where Lord Carson and his son were waiting. "I have prepared some drinks for us, to refresh you after this long journey." The lord of Carson City greeted.
Andre concentrated as he stepped forward, taking the offered refreshments and handing them to the two nobles. He and Sylvie weren't considered worth offering anything, though a servant did bring them something anyways. Still, his abilities were being used to both follow protocol, and protect the Vega nobles against treachery. No sign of anything he did passed, as he knew it was better to purify then just warn of treachery, at least as long as the Carsons had any level of deniability.
Steven smiled. "A toast my bride, may our wedding be fruitful." He rose his hand. After a moment of acknowledgment, they all drank deeply, then got down to discussion things.
"I do think we need to talk this over." Lord Carson agreed. "That beast hadn't raided this close before. I think it has issues with you, but I'm not sure. I am having my men check things out. By now, you know there's a cave under the mound, overlooking the river. If you'll give me a moment, I'm going to make sure it's secure, because it's big enough that that monster could easily land there. The defenses that cave has aren't designed to stop something that strong. It's mostly a convenient place to put a couple of ballista, to cover the river and make sure no one passes without paying their dues. It'll only take a few minutes…." He smiled and walked over to talk to a servant. The next ten minutes were him trying to find out what was happening down there, while using every delaying tactic he knew. The Vegas about what the merchant might find, but had to let it be, since it seemed they were more playing at checking things out then actually doing it. That meant time for Beck to find evidence, so Trina, against her own impulses, waited.
Andre, for his part, had noticed that one of the servants, a short girl with blond hair and a nice figure, was trying to be even less noticed then normal. His suspicions raised, he looked for a chance to confront her. Only, as he finally cornered her, he felt weak. Sliding to the ground, he realized his drink had been drugged. "It's a traaaa….." He got out before he hit the ground. Sylvie joined him, seemingly to far gone to feel the short fall, and in that moment, the Lord of Carson city gloated.
"They're gong to be fine. I only drugged them. You, your probably feeling fine, excellent even. But the poison in your drinks has rendered you weak, and in a few moments, death will find you." His smile was pure evil, even as Trina reached for her peace-bound sword, and Tori wondered if she'd lose her sister that day.
"I'm sorry, Victoria, but your acting wasn't fooling anyone. We knew it was you or us, so we poisoned you, and now…." Steven's words slurred, and then the schemer started to slump down before falling to the floor, blood dripping from his lips.
"Treacheryyy." Lord Carson got out before he joined his son on the floor, already to far gone. Moments later, the alchemical poison had done it's job, and both men were dead.
Sam stepped away from the servants where she'd been hiding, the worry about losing a friend relieved by the dead lords last words. Drawing her long knives she threatened the guards. "Wouldn't do that if I were you. We have loads more forces then you think, and they're already in control of the lower levels. Surrender, and you won't join these two in hell."
"Always be sure of who's handing you the drinks." Trina told her sister. "Though I think Andre used his own magics to make sure our drinks were okay. He just didn't see them drugging his drink."
"And he lacks my resistance to the drugs." Sylvie said from her place on the floor. "What? I was Just maintaining the illusion…" Her smile was infection. "Dre will be up in a few. Boy will be fine..."
"So, how is it they got poisoned?" Tori wondered.
"Duh, I swapped the drinks." Sam explained. "Didn't know if they were poisoning you, or just drugging you, but either way I wasn't gonna let that happen. Honestly though, I kinda thought they'd use drugs, cause death, really hard to take back. Kinda embarrassed I didn't see them drugging Dre and Sylvie here."
"No, you just admitted, you thought they were just drugging us." Sylvie countered. "I'm thinking you felt you could only protect two of us, and chose the nobles, Good choice, BTW. That drug, magical, and it did take more then expected for me to shrug it off. Still, wow, that kind of lethality, must have been something. Wonder where they got it?"
"The Van Cleef family of Alchemists." Sam told them. "They made the dragon thingy and everything. Magic through alchemy, who knew?"
"Any good wizard." Trina said, now taking in the gathered guards milling about. "Okay, it's like this, I have all the dragons, and you don't have any. I suggest you surrender, so we can get to making sure everyone is dealt with fairly. If you were decent guards, didn't abuse the populous too much, I think we'll keep you on, cause this city, it needs consistency. Otherwise, I'd suggest you tender your resignation, and maybe run."
Slowly The guards started to surrender. They even let the rebels in, nervous about the peoples desire for revenge, but understanding that more of the castle guards were innocent of whatever atrocities their lords inflicted on the people then guilty. Mostly, they were now dealing with what they hoped were fair nobles who'd keep their word, a commodity they'd find invaluable soon enough.
The next two days were a circus as the Vegas started the process of taking control of the city. Trina found the city, well run as it seemed, was a cesspool of corruption and graft. Many of the neighborhoods were run by gangs, who paid the merchant lords to leave things to them, and then extorted the people. Other area's were run by favorites of the Carsons, where things could be worse then the gang territories, depending on who ran that area, and how valuable it was to keep the businesses running. As long as the city made it's profits, the Carsons didn't much care. That led to the expected purging of the city guard, primarily among the units with the most potential for graft, abuse, and corruption. In short, in that small amount of time, Trina did what she could to make the city livable for the populous, finding the job overwhelming.
"It's just too much." The noble lady admitted. "It's gonna take years to make this city what it was supposed to be, the jewel of the south. No way around it, we have our work cut out for us. We'll have to import soldiers to garrison the city up until the town watch miss Carly is organizing can start to take over patrolling the streets. In short, I don't envy you, Tor, This city is gonna be under occupation until the king decides what to do with it, and if we're lucky, he'll send his own troops to occupy it so we won't be blamed by the populous."
"No such luck." A ghostly figure announced. It materialized into the seer Sikowitz. "Well, that worked. Amazing what you can do with the kinds of resources they have at the capital. Anyways, the king meant it when he said he was staying out of the Vega-Carson Feud. Let you guys settle this all on your own, cause what could he do otherwise. By the time he could act, the whole region would have been engulfed in this chaos. Whatever, point is, you won, and as the winners, you get the city, with all it's problems and rewards. A messenger has already been dispatched to Lord Vega to let him know. I expect, in time, he'll assign this city to one of this children… who are both right here. Okay, lets just say, between Beckett, Katrina, and Victoria, I see that the city's new governor is already here. So, good luck, this is official, and you should probably get to work."
The gathering was less then amused at the sudden appearance of the quirky seer, and would have said something about it, but the man did carry a seal indicating he was working for the royal court, at least for now. After making that announcement and filling everyone in on the thrones plans, Sikowitz did what he'd done in the past, finding the small home he maintained in this city and settling in to watch, then reporting everything to the king through his magics. He owned small homes in each of the major cities more because he liked being able to go from city to city and have a place to stay then the opulence it might appear to be. However, while he was happy to watch, and offer what advice he could, the seer was mostly happy to be out of this drama.
Lord David rushed to the city, covering the hundreds of miles in as short a period as possible, accompanied by a small guard of expert horsemen. Still, that meant a few days of Trina in charge of the city, organizing what she could to make the transition as seamless as possible. Her biggest problems were the merchants who had been robbing the citizens blind, and the populous once they realized Lord Carson was dead.
The corrupt tried first to overthrow the new government, only to stop once it became apparent that the Vega's had the assistance of dragons. Cat relinquished control of the construct, allowing Jade to make a deal with the fallen Vega clansmen, who's spirit agreed to inhabit the body for a while, to make up to the Vega girls for his earlier betrayal. The new, powerful body took a few tries to figure out, but soon that beast was flying over the city, intimidating the would be rebels. No one wanted to be the one's to try and take on that monster.
Sylvie's draconic form had also been seen, more then once, as she volunteered to help the new quasi-dragon learn to fly. While not as powerful as the construct, her draconic form was bigger, and as such intimidated the merchants into not wanting to draw the wrong kinds of attention. Their assertion that she was the biggest thing they'd ever saw fly ended when Azurban arrived. The great dragon, over twice the size of Sylvie, darkened the skies when she flew in to land and make sure things were progressing as intended. She had a deal to uphold, seeking an audience with Jade.
"Okay intimidated now." Jade told Cat.
"Yea, she is probably more powerful then you are." The familious agreed. "For now. Even she knows how potent you really are. One of the great wizards of legend, born at last. So, relax, and find a comfortable way to… ops, she can change…"
The old woman, dark skinned and wrinkled with age, Jade was convinced it was hardly her only form. Still, the sorceress was amazed the dragon had chosen such a form, and now was something more human, and to the mystic, more impressive. Still, the heavyset woman approached, speaking to Jade about the deal they'd made, as well as how long it would take. "Gonna be sending all my prospects to you, once they're ready. Way to hard to find transformation otherwise. Got lucky Sylvie survived…." The aged dragon paused for a moment, and Jade was left in wonder at the creatures humanity. "So, we had a deal, you help with Andre. Only, he's not ready yet. Let him live as a short lived dragonling, up until he finds that within himself to draw him to the draconic court. Only then will I be ready to have you bring him across. In return, I'll have my descendants, both in Clan Azur, and among the scaly kind, available to help defend the city.
Jade spoke with her for hours, learning more then expected. Still, in the end, the biggest thing Jade discovered was how important humanity could be for the truly inhuman, as that time as mortal flesh and blood offered a chance for growth unequaled in either the lesser, or greater species. It also kept her busy until Lord Vega's procession arrived.
Baron David Vega had rushed to the city, his lands now that much larger. Part of what he had to do wasn't anything he wanted, while another was something he'd been more then happy to deal with. The biggest things he needed to do was get everyone ready for the arrival of the king, and to rearrange the holdings of his kin so that a governor could be assigned to the city.
"Announcing his excellency, Baron David of Clan Vega!" The Baron's herald chimed out, alerting everyone that the lord of the Dale of Vordnar had arrived.
"Man, thought that was my job." Andre griped.
"Hush, child." Azurban warned the boy. She looked like she could be the young man's grandmother, and probably was. "Lord David has to bring his own herald, so we let the man do his job. Just be happy you're here, cause you were working directly for the lady. Sylvie is stuck outside, with the crowds." The smirk on the old woman's face screamed at hidden secrets and private knowledge.
David walked in, stopping long enough to greet an old friend before proceeding to where his daughter was holding court. "Charlotte."
"My lord." The dragon replied.
"So glad you could find the time to come out here." His eyes lingered on the boy. "One of yours?"
"My grandchild, I suppose." She shrugged. "Boy, this is the Baron David Vega, or at least, he was. Thinking that'll change soon."
David laughed. "Maybe. But for now, I have to deal with this mess. Just glad my children weren't the one's to cause it. They solved it just fine…" His smile was infectious. They exchanged words for a few moments longer before the lord moved on to deal with his heirs.
Ryder was standing next to his sister, dressed up for the occasion. Part of him was smirking at the blue dress Jade was dressed in. "They couldn't find the right green?" He whispered, knowing they'd chosen the outfit to go with her eyes.
"So, this is how we greet a baron?" Jade whispered, and Ryder wasn't sure if she was talking to Cat, or him.
"Maybe…" Ryder shrugged, but kept his eyes on the activities before him.
"Father." Tori said, bowing deeply.
"Dad!" Trina screeched as she rushed forward, hugging the man in a very undignified way. "What? We've never stood on ceremony before?"
Beck just laughed. "But this is different." He chided his cousin. "This time, we're annexing a whole trade city. Things like this require a bit of ceremony."
"No, Trina's right." David laughed. "We've always been loose about the specifics of proper behavior. Kinda the main reason I had to get here before the king. I need to be the one to greet him, just because…" His eyes locked on a familiar figure, standing in the background. "One moment…"
Baron David Vega of clan Vega walked directly to and past Ryder, stopping only long enough to glance Beck at Trina while pointing at Jade. But by then he was past, speaking to Ryder's guest, Sir Gary. "Gary, good to see you again."
"Good to see you too." Gary returned the hug, an act of friendship and respect. Then he made introductions. "This is Sir Ryder Danial's, a journeyman merchant, my former squire, and one of your daughters allies who helped with her quest. Beside him is his sister, Jade West, daughter of the lord of Travmort. She was Alisters apprentice, and has grown into quite the sorceress."
"My dad kinda disowned me when he sold me off." Jade admitted, now able to face that hurt better. "This whole experience has been… Therapeutic? Yea, thinking I healed a bit from my journeys."
"Um, my lord, not to be presumptuous, but given that the lady Victoria's arranged marriage is not going to happen…" Ryder started.
"You asking for you, or her." David interrupted.
"I have no doubt I'll land on my feet just fine." Ryder insisted. "But Jade, she needs a place, a safe place, to continue to grow and develop her magics. Plus, while I know it holds little bearing, I think they're in love…"
"Not love, but only because of how quickly this all happened." David said. "So sure, assuming Trina approves. I've decided to leave Tori's love life in her hands. Less of a disaster that way."
He then turned to look back at his children. "Okay, I need to go over the records, and we need to do it fast. The king has very fast transport for when he needs it, and could be here any day now. I want to be ready for the formal transfer of power. Beck, I also need to go over a few things with you. Once that's done, we can work out just how we're gonna include this city, with all the wealth it'll add to the clan, to our lands. People, we have a lot of work to do, including more useless ceremony, so lets get to it."
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It amazes me how much I wrote after the bad guy fell. I have one more after this. Hope you enjoyed. Thanks to those who reviewed, and if you haven't, feel free too. No mater how long after, I get a smile each time I get a non-flame review. So, thoughts?