Private Tales A Performance In The Fortress

A private roleplay only for those invited by the first writer

Kasim Areth

The Prodigal Son
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Kasim drummed his fingers against the side of the table, lips thin, eyes slowly wandering around the inside of the small waiting room.

He wasn't entirely sure why he had come to this place.

There were a dozen rumors surrounding the Iron Fortress. Tales of Mages being strung up, thrown onto the pyre, or even put to the question simply because of their natural gifts. Someone like him didn't belong here, someone like him was as close to being thrown out the window as he was to entertaining those who lived here. Of course, perhaps that was exactly why he'd chosen to come.

It was exceedingly exciting to perform in a place like this. The danger of the situation, the gripping fear that lurked around every corner. There was something joyful about that, something that Kasim would surely enjoy as he danced along the thin wire of survival.

In truth it wasn't really that dangerous. The Runes were only part of his act, and most of the time he skated by with only his stories. They were enough to enthrall most nobles, and here he would just have to tailor them to suit the Kings more...dark age likings. Easy enough really.

The Jester shifted slightly, leaning against the table as he waited.

A maid servant had told him that she would prepare a room for him, though that had been almost an hour ago now. He supposed that the Iron Fortress didn't receive many visitors, but it wasn't like he was an elf or something like that. He'd figured they'd be more welcoming to someone like him.

As dreary as this place was.
 
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Kasim Areth

With a certain amount of protest, Eislyn had finally convinced the chamber maid to take the rest of the night off. Or rather, to focus on her other duties. They didn't get many outsiders here and that made the young princess quite curious. Curious enough to play servant for the next hour or so. Her younger sister even helped her get ready, finding a servant's dress that would fit her form.

Couldn't go walking in wearing her typical fabrics. Though, she was sure she might've missed something that would give her away. It would depend how observant this Kasim Areth was.

Pale-haired self finally entered the hall that the stranger was waiting in. Arms cradled a set of fresh linens and a pitcher of warmed water from the fire.

"Sir," head bowed slightly, silver-blue eyes couldn't help to sneak a look, trying to soak in his appearance at a glance. She didn't know what she expected. Perhaps something fantastical, like moving tattoos on skin, fire from his breath, or enchanters fingers. Maybe a hint of pointed ears. They were silly thoughts.

"Your room is ready. If you would follow me?"

His room was out an opposite door to the one he entered the hall and down a small corridor. There would be a basin in his room for the water she held along with a four-poster bed, lavish rugs, and slightly garish tapestries. A window overlooked into the gardens where he'd see a decidedly less dreary side to the castle.
 
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Eislyn Gray

"Of course." Kasim said with a deep bow and a flash of a smile.

the Jester was more than used to lavish accommodations. Most of his time his stays in one manor or another featured the grandest bedrooms. Every noble that he stayed with attempted to impress him in one way or another, either by trying to give him a higher wage or a larger room.

"So." He began. "Who are you exactly?"

Kasim knew that the lifeblood of every city, fortress, or castle was it's servants.

This woman wasn't a servant, he could tell that from the way she was dressed, but there was...something else. He frowned for a moment, following behind her closely as he waited for an answer.
 
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Kasim Areth

Whoever said outsiders didn't have manners? Being polite to servants was a good sign in Eislyn's mind. It might not matter to many nobles but it mattered to her. The girl imagined she inherited that trait from her mother who didn't seem to judge others on class or station.

Unlike her father.

"Just a humble servant to the house of Gray," gaze flickered over her shoulder at the man. There was that same glint of curiosity there as if she could sneak a thousand looks in one. A warm glow from lit sconces along their way cast her face in shifting shadows. Stopping at a closed door, she maneuvered the things she carried to open the latch. It wasn't an easy task but she finally managed to lodge the door open in coordination with her hip.

"But if you must, you may call me Lynn," she wasn't a particularly good liar. So, she chose a nickname that was very real.

"Do you mind, Sir Areth, if I ask you some questions?" Motioning inside, she set the towels down along his bed.
 
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"Mmh." Kasim hummed quietly, not quite an affirmation, but not quite calling out her lie.

Part of what made him such a great entertainer was knowing how to read a room, and of course the people within it. He could tell that she was hiding something, but knew that pressing it wouldn't get him much of anywhere. Instead he decided to play along, at least for now.

"Of course." He said calmly. "I'm an open book."

Stepping inside Kasim placed his rucksack onto on of the nearby tables. "What would you like to know?"

He was used to this sort of thing. Whenever he appeared there was always a gaggle of girls pining after stories of the outside world. Most people didn't leave the farm they lived on. Someone like him was an utterly unique happenstance within their tiny little world.
 
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Kasim Areth

While she was, unabashedly, wanting to know more about the outside world - what lay beyond those sets of iron walls, one question burned at the forefront. Her sister had been getting progressively sicker. The herbalists had failed to find something to help. Eislyn had come upon a rushed conversation between her mother and a visiting trader one day.

Something about a rare and powerful plant that had healing capabilities.

She began filling up the water basin with the warmed water from her pitcher. "Have you ever heard of the Sky Bloom? A plant so rare and only found within a hidden valley in the Spine?" It was clear she wasn't asking him to regal her with his many tales. She was asking a very personal question. One not for entertainment's sake.

Fingers tucked silken hair the color of straw behind one ear shyly. "I wasn't sure if you ever traveled across the spine."
 
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He considered her question for a moment. "I've through the Spine."

One couldn't travel to the east without going through or above the mountains after all. The journey was never and easy one, the mountains were cold and unforgiving, not to mention those that lived there. The Dwarves of Belgrath were alright, but...well everyone around them not so much.

"But I'm not botanist." Kasim continued. "One plant is the same as any other to me, I'm afraid."

He would not lie to the girl. "Though, The Dwarves of Belgrath would know of what you speak."

They had made their home within the Spine for as long as anyone could remember after all.
 
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Kasim Areth

Eislyn set the pitcher down and turned. The girl couldn't hide the intrigue written across her delicate features. It didn't even occur to her to think that he would lie. She'd be learning some hard lessons later on.

"Dwarves?" She'd never met any. Only heard stories. It was more an exclamation than a question. "What kind of supplies would one need to travel there? And are there any important customs to know about when among...dwarves?"

Moving away from the bed, she extracted a chair from the table and sat down. Feet seemed to glide across the floor. Posture was straight and could have very well given her station away even while wearing the u inform if a maid. Braided blonde hair fell down and past one shoulder.
 
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Kasim perked an eyebrow.

If she was trying to be at all subtle about her intentions then she wasn't doing a very good job at it. Any fool would be able to tell that this little girl intended on making her way to where she did not belong. It wasn't any of his business of course, but curiosity was something that innately drove him. He already knew the why, someone was sick, but he wanted to know the how.

What was her plan exactly. ”Belgrath is easy enough to reach. The old trade roads still stand and the gates to the inner city remain.”

He mused for a second.

”You would need a horse, pack horse, food enough for two weeks.” He glanced at her for a moment, then looked out the nearby window. ”A few guards to keep away the bandits.”

Sadly they were becoming more and more common in this day and age.
 
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Kasim Areth

Eyes seemed more gray than blue for a moment at the mention of bandits. Of course, the princess had never had to deal with any real danger in her entire life. Though, she had seen some of its effects, helping her mother apply poultices and working on the wounded in the guard. She was no stranger to injuries and gore.

Just not on herself.

She nodded slowly, making her own mental checklist as he spoke. She knew she was running out of time. This little charade would be up as soon as Kasim saw her seated by her father and mother on the throne at his show the next night and she wasn't sure how long the maid would keep quiet as to her own actions tonight.

"Can you draw me a map? If I paid you. Would you also provide your descretion and swear you will tell no one of this conversation?'

Dainty fingers drummed nervously along the rough, wooden surface of the table.
 
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Oddly enough this was beginning to feel to him like some sort of trap. Was she trying to get him to Incriminate himself somehow? The lord of this place was notoriously against magic and protective of everything else, was she trying to prove that outsiders were a corrupting agent? He wouldnt put it past her.

Nobles were untrustworthy. Kasim knew that from personal experience. ”I dont think that's a good idea My lady.”

The Jester said cautiously.

”The journey is a dangerous one.” His eyes wandered around the room before they settled on her. ”Not one that should be taken lightly.”

Or at all for someone like him.

Bandits would be the least of her concern if she went by herself. Wolves, pests, and there was even talk of Necromancers near the spine now. Kasim didnt particularly care about this girl, whether she went or not, but if the ruler of this keep found out he enabled her task?

His head would end up on a pike.
 
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Kasim Areth

And now he was nervous and she was frustrated. Beyond frustrated. She wasn't used to begging but for her sister she would try. If only her father wasn't so fearful. Perhaps they would've found a cure by now. Like her own restlessness, Eislyn could sense it in her mother as well.

She stood, slowly. Both hands bracing her petite form on the surface of the table. "As I'm sure you've guessed by now I am no maid. I am Princess Eislyn Gray. I admit. I was drawn to learn more about you out of curiosity. But when I realized you might know more about..." she hesitated. It wasn't her place to share about the health of her sister, the youngest princess.

"There's someone whom I care deeply about who is ill. Please sir. This is a matter of life and death. I will not force you to help."

Eyes cast down and she suddenly found herself seated again, more resigned than anything else. Though there was a stubborn line along her mouth.

"But if you change your mind before you leave, you'll be able to easily reach me." He could very well take all this information to the king. Eislyn would have to rely on the protection of her mother if that was the case but it might mean a week or more in the tower. Her sister was worth it. Eyes lifted once more, like two pale, blue moons.
 
Her revelation was not entirely surprising to him. Nobles, no matter who they were, just had a certain way about them. How they carried themselves, how they looked at others, it was all there if you knew what you were looking for. To the right kind of person some folk just screamed of a regal upbringing.

This girl was certainly one of them.

”The Journey likely means death itself.” Kasim said simply. It wasn't that he had no sympathy for this girl, he wasnt a monster. By the way she spoke and what she said made him almost sure that she wasnt lying, but he also didnt want to deliver her directly to deaths door either. The issue in front of him wasnt just his own survival, but the fact that she would very likely die with only a map in her hands.

”Bandits, wolves, whatever lurks beneath the Spine.” There were stories of monsters, trolls and worse. ”All of them stand in your way.”

Kasim frowned. ”That's not even mentioning the elements themselves. The trip is not a pleasant one even for a seasoned traveler.”

The Iron fortress did not trade much with Belgrath, no one did anymore save for maybe Alliria. The trade roads were not as well maintained as they once were.
 
Kasim Areth

She did not think the man before her was a monster. If anything, she was surprised that he wasn't a swindler. The girl listened quietly. Fingers pressed into the soft flesh of her temple.

"I understand the risks. Please understand me. I'm only asking for a map. Or perhaps for a recommended guide."

She was not asking him to be the guide.

"Have you ever loved anyone? Do anything for them - even face monsters?"

It was clear she would. She'd already made her decision. It was just a matter of how she'd get there. She couldn't let fear own her. Wouldn't. Hands fell away from her face and she watched him quietly. Her face was an open book.
 
The question amused him, though only briefly. There was only one person he would have sacrificed for, one person he would have fought for, and in the end he ended up fighting for him. In the end the sentiment hadn't been the same, but there was no bitterness on his side.

He understood why the decision had been made. Why his brother had done what he did. "I know you understand."

Kasim reiterated. He did not doubt this woman's conviction or cause, simply her ability to carry out the task. It was a cruel thought, but from the look of her she was no warrior princess or fighter.

"I can't in good conscience let you go by yourself." Kasim stated. "It would be suicide."
 
Kasim Areth

"You did not answer my question," the girl pointed out. She stood, the dress adjusting to her movements. "Who is to say I would go alone?"

Brows the color of sunlight shafts lifted along her pale forehead.

"But please do not be like every other man in my life thinking to make my life decisions for me." A rueful smile briefly crossed her rosy lips. She made her way to the door of his chambers.
 
"I'm not making the decision for you." Kasim stated plainly. "I just do not wish to be the cause of your death."

That was his own choice to make.

While Kasim generally tended to play it rather loose with morality, he didn't like people dying because of things he did. There was a reason that he had left Vel Anir, there was a reason he had refused to train was a Dreadlord. Death was not in his liking, it was not what he wanted to do. "Tell me your plan."

They could negotiated, and she might be able to get what she wanted, but only after he was sure that she wouldn't end up dead on the road within the first week.

"How you're going to do this." Kasim continued. "Then I'll draw your map."
 
Her back leaned against the door. Arms crossed beneath her chest. It was one thing for him to know what she wanted to do but the details? It put her at greater risk, mostly with her father. But she'd come this far. And right now? She didn't see another way.

And he still hasn't answered her question but she decided not to press it.

"Well," fingers tapped against her arms in a nervous tick. "I trust my head guard. I was going to tell him to get supplies ready. Wait until the king's meeting with the surrounding nobles a fortnight from now. And then head out. It would give me a well-enough head start before my father ever realized anything happened. I could bring some of my mother's medicines to sell on the road. Perhaps travel under the guise of a healer."

She would certainly have to wear a disguise, atleast until she made it to the base of the spine.
 
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Kasim tapped his chin slowly in consideration. It was good that she at the very least thought of taking one guard, but he didn't know if that would be enough.

He hadn't been exaggerating when he'd told her the dangers of the road. There were a dozen ways to die within the first week, and he doubted that she would meet enough people to actually pose as a healer. A frown touched his lips as he turned away from her for the first time.

What to do. What to do.

The question was more than he would have liked to admit, and in truth it took him quite a bit to get to where what he was about to say. "I won't draw you a map."

Kasim said quietly.

"But I'll go with you." If he left at the same time as her there was less chance of her father cutting his head off. Plus, it would make for a good story.
 
There was no hiding the surprise that splashed across her fair features.

"Go?"

She pushed off from the door, arms coming to fall back down at her sides. Brows furrowed together, pale, blue eyes searching the jester's face as if she could read past what was on the cover. "But you just spoke about the risks. Even for someone like yourself. Why would you put yourself in danger like that?"

Not to mention, she was fairly sure his contract to perform was only for a few days. Perhaps she was mistaken. And if he was caught when she tried to sneak away from the castle, well. The consequences would be dire.

"How will you face these monsters, are entertainers now champions of combat?" Golden brow arched as she looked him from head-to-toe. It was her turn to doubt how physically capable he was.
 
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"My Lady I have journeyed far beyond Belgrath and back." The words were no lie, surprisingly. Kasim was known for exaggerating, it was after all what Bards did. On this particular occasion however there was no need to stretch the story to it's limits.

He really had been all over the world, and he really had traveled most of that distance on his own. It was what he had done after he'd left Vel Anir, it was what his dream had been. There was no need to make it any grander than it already was, and Kasim knew that.

"Monsters, bandits, I've faced them all." He turned back to her finally. "How do you think I got here in the first place?"

Kasim seemed amused. "I don't travel with a caravan or a personal guard."

After leaving his home he couldn't afford it. "It's just me."
 
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"But how do you...," eyes narrowed slightly. He did, indeed have a point. She imagined she could sit all day and hear his stories and tails of intrigue. Considering how sheltered she'd grown up, who was Eislyn to say what was true or not? At least she recognized her own short-comings.

"You, sir, just told me about the dangers of traveling alone. Even your sex must experience similar hardships and dangers. How do you...how do you do it? How do you survive on your own all this time?"

There was a sound just outside the door. Eislyn jerked her attention toward the door. No one else could know she was in here. Many of the servants were gossips.
 
Kasim turned his head towards the door, but he didn't move. Instead he simply stayed still, then regarded his attention back towards Eislyn.

Her question was more than valid, and one that he could not directly answer here in the Iron Fortress. Even mention of that truth could see you thrown from the tallest tower, and further explanation would likely have you tossed up onto the rack. Kasim wasn't in the mood for that sort of treatment, never was.

"My father prepared me well for the dangers of the road." It was the truth, in a way. Though he had never wanted it, the path that he had originally been set upon had prepared him well for his current life.

He was not a blademaster, he was not a titan with the arcane, but against bandits and even monsters he could more than hold his own. It was the one benefit of the training that he had received, the one benefit of knowing both the Runes and himself better than most.

"Most of the first half of my life was spent with a sword in my hands." He explained. "And the second half with other means of defense."

That was vague enough.
 
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"Then you had a wise father," she spoke quietly, thinking of her own upbringing. How she felt so unprepared for many things. If it wasn't for her mother, she wouldn't even have learned the art of healing with herbs and plants. She could read, write, and deliberate. However, that meant little outside the walls.

And so, she already made her decision.

"Very well. Let us hope for both our wellfare, you will not have to use your skill with the sword as often as you predict. I must go." Turning, she opened the door and peeked out, making sure it was clear. "Try not to draw my father's ire between now and a fortnight Sir Areth." There was a small smile along her rosy lips.

"And thank you. I will be in your debt."
 
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"I wouldn't call him wise." Kasim countered quickly. "More exploitative."

There was absolutely no illusion about that fact.

His father had never much cared for his, or his brothers fate. It had never been about their own survival, their ability to do anything, it was simply about carrying on the family name. Nothing else had mattered, not their own wishes, not their own cries for independence. All the training he'd gone through, everything he had learned was supposed to have been for House Varik.

Of course in the end it hadn't exactly gone as his father had planned, but he supposed that was the way of things. He'd gotten one son to do his bidding, but not the other.

"Ready yourself." He told her girl as she made her leave. "It will be a difficult journey."

That much was sure.
 
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