121. Accessorising: Tabitha

While Wiremu was off hunting, I had a light lunch, after which the city’s second-highest-level Beautician was due to arrive. Linne had already scored the highest level one. This banquet was a chance for the rich to show off, so I had to do my best to look good for Eluf when he paraded me in front of everybody. I planned to partially mimic one of the empty airheads that circle Eluf. I say partially mimic because if I went full out, I think I might become one, which would be a fate worse than death. I was also planning on utilising my Distract Skill in this farce, as I wanted everybody distracted from the fact I was armed and coiled to strike.

The Beautician wasn’t just for me, though. For this, I had a partner in crime. I convinced Rotte to join me. When I asked Eluf how I could get another female inside, a small smile spread on his face, and he said casually, “Sven doesn’t have a date.”

Rotte arrived at the Inn in time for lunch with me. She was in a casual shirt and trousers instead of her normal ragged and worn leather armour. She had washed, but that was of no concern as I knew the Beautician had commandeered the Inn's baths as the first step. I could tell she was nervous. I am guessing she hadn’t been mixing in normal society for at least a decade, possibly longer. For elves, age is hard to determine, but I am guessing she is at least Ruku’s age, if not considerably older.

Rotte was a bit taller than I was. Elves generally tend toward the tall and skinny look, and Rotte cleaned up, was no different. She had raven-coloured hair and an olive skin tone. When the hair was brushed back from her face, you could see the elven shape of her eyes and ears. I suspect she had a skill that normally helped her hide them. When we had finished our baths, I could already tell she was stunningly beautiful, and this was before the Beautician had even got underway.

The problem with Rotte was not her looks. It was her attitude. She really didn’t want to be here. When I asked her, she just said, “Bad memories,” and wouldn’t say more. Our tailor arrived mid-afternoon and fitted our dresses. Mine fit almost perfectly as it was made for me. It was a full-length black dress with two leg splits that came as high as my hips. It showed a lot of leg but allowed a lot of movement, which was my priority. It had full sleeves and a plunging V front which showed a lot of cleavage. The tailor had a second one available in dark red, which she fitted to Rotte. If she weren’t an Elf, we would pass as sisters. I would be the ugly younger sister.

I reached over and touched Rotte on the shoulder, “What should we be calling you this evening?” That got a strange look from the tailor.

Rotte thought about it for a while, and something seemed to change in her demeanour. Her posture changed and straightened, and she suddenly extruded a dangerous competent air. Then she said, “It is time for the return of the Gwrach Waed. You may call me Gwaed.”

“Gwrach Waed?” I repeated. “I remember some myths, horror stories to scare children, about a Gwrach Waed.”

“Really? Have the stories spread this far? I was young when I earned that title and was driven out of the Elven Forests. Probably about the same age the Black Butcher was when she earned her title.” She winked at me.

The tailor and the Beautician were both staring at us, open-mouthed. The tailor plucked up her courage, “A …are you really the Gwrach Waed … the Blood Witch and … and the Black Butcher?”

“Don’t be silly,” Gwaed said with a laugh, “the Gwrach Waed is only a myth to scare children with.”

“And the Black Butcher is dead,'' I added.

I don’t think they really believed us. I must admit our smiles and our dresses, one black and one blood red, tended to give the lie to the words we had just said. Fortunately, Wiremu came in at that point, reporting the failure of the hunt. We chased out the tailor and beautician while we discussed what to do. I introduced Gwaed. Wiremu had never heard the stories of the Gwrach Waed, which translates as The Blood Witch. We look forward to hearing the truth. Wiremu decided to stay with Modrica and the outside force. We decided Tāoke would be helpful to be with me. I looked at my dress and wondered how I could carry him. He was still quite small, so I had him climb up my leg, and he wrapped himself around my thigh, locking his joints with Granite Bones. I moved him around a bit so his thin tail was on the inside of my thigh and wouldn’t rub when I walked. With a small application of Body Image, he could pass as a snakeskin garter.

“That is handy,” Gwaed said. “I wish I had somewhere for Difetha and Merch.”

“What about in your cleavage?” I asked.

Gwaed looked down, “Difetha is too big now, but Merch could snuggle in there.” Suddenly the smaller rat darted across the room and climbed her leg. She caught it and helped it snuggle in between her breasts until it was out of sight.

Wiremu’s parting comment was, “I hope the beautician is finished.”

I asked Gwaed about her bonds.

“Difetha has been with me since we bonded on the boat over from the Elven Forests. Merch is her daughter or the one I decided to bond with anyway. Difetha has a lot of children. She is also quite old now and may not have long to live, which is why I decided to bond with Merch. I don’t think you have met Sugnwr, although Sten and Ruku have seen her. She is a vampire bat, and we have been learning from each other for three years now.”

“How many bonds can you have?” I asked.

“That is a very personal question,” she replied. “The Druid Class is common among Elves and helps them bond with all manner of creatures. Animals, elementals, Fairies, Nymphs, Slimes, Spiritual trees and many others. My affinity, which I think you have guessed at, changed my Druid Class to Blood Druid, and I am only able to bond to creatures with blood, but I get bonuses for learning from them and easier body modifications.”

I raised my eyebrow at that, and she demonstrated by raising her hand, and a set of claws came out of her fingers, similar to a cat's. “Very handy when I need blood,” she said. “That comes from my first bond. He was a stray Tomcat and a vicious fighter from whom I learned much. Avenging his death led to the legend of Gwrach Waed.”

We only let the Beautician back in who finished off our hair. Then we helped ourselves to a drink.

“What is the program tonight?” Gwaed asked.

“Eluf and Sven should be here in a half hour or so, and it starts with a formal reception. It is basically pre-dinner drinks and nibbles and a chance for the rich folk to show off and try to put each other down.”

“Can I start a catfight?” Gwaed asked.

“If nothing has happened and we get to the post-show party, then sure,” I said. “The reception will last about two hours, and then we will go to the banquet. This has fixed seating, and we will be at the Duke's table next to our dates. There are some speeches scheduled before the main course is served. After the main course, we will go to the Bardic Concert Hall for the show, which I will obviously need to leave for. Dessert is served in the show's intermission, and after the show, we go back to the dining hall for the after-party.”

“When would you strike?” she asked.

“During the show. It is dark, and everybody's attention is on the stage. The Duke and special guest have taken over the Premier balcony seats. It seems like a ready-made opportunity.”

“What is to stop the food or drink from being poisoned? That seems the simplest way to incapacitate a crowd, making a strike much easier.” Gwaed said.

“The Duke apparently has someone with a highly developed Sense Poison Skill who will be checking the food and drink,” I said.

“There are numerous ways around that, especially as they will only take random samples.” She said.

“When would you strike?” I asked.

“If the aim is to assassinate one or two people, it is easiest done in a moving crowd, so either the reception, the intermission, or the after party. If the aim is to make a public statement, then it will be at the banquet meal when everyone is seated, and the focus is on the Duke’s table,” was her response.

“How would you strike during the banquet?” I asked.

“Explosives are the easiest if you can get them close. That is the advantage of explosives. They only have to be close.”

“We have already seized two lots of explosives,” I said.

“What do we know about the lead assassin?” Gwaed asked.

“Not much. Imperial, based in Northport. Everybody is scared of her but won’t say why.” I replied.

“So not a contract assassin then, but a purpose-trained imperial?” I nodded, and she went on, “then she will stick very close to her orders. Imperials like people who follow orders and that is ingrained into their training. What do we know of her orders?”

“Only what we can deduce from their actions. The first action happened over two years ago with the poisoning of the Duke. Unable to be cured, and that led Eluf to come home from the Army.”

“I heard rumours…” she suddenly looked at me, “How come you haven’t accused me of doing that? I can think of three ways that I have on hand.”

“I don’t know whether or not you did that, but I am not here to save the Duke,” I said.

“Why are you here?” she queried.

“To mess with the imperials,” I replied.

“Have you got a blood feud like the Orcs?”

“Not to that extent. It is more opposition to slavery and those who perpetuate it.” I said.

“That is not that different,” she said. “How do you know the Duke’s poisoning was Imperial action? You should call it a disease as it is more likely to be the cause.”

“We don’t know that it was, but I don’t know of any other reason,” I said.

“Then you don’t know much about the Kirghiz Kingdom’s politics. Do you know how they choose a king?” I shook my head. “When the king dies or retires, and that crusty dwarf Thorbjørn has ruled for too long now, then all twenty Dukes gather together and elect one of themselves to be the next king. This could easily be internal politics.”

“How do we tell?” I asked.

“Probably can’t,” Gwaed said. “If you get me some of his blood, I might be able to track down the source of the infection, which may provide a clue, but a lot of the nastier diseases are Elvish or Mer.”

“The most recent activation of agents in the city is in response to the Kirghiz Military Intelligence stealing secret enchanting plans from Northport. We think they also killed a number of key enchanters there. They want the plans back, or at least not in Kirghiz's hands, and they have tried abducting our enchanter.” I said.

“If they had had their noses bloodied, they would want to make an example so that no one ever does that again. That is definitely the imperial way.” Gwaed stated.

“So you think it will be at the main banquet then,” I said. She nodded. “Care to make a small wager on that?”