When they got back to Longtree, the other two merchants and their group had arrived. Katrin went to them, calling greetings to a few of the travellers, then took the small room for herself and the other two, a private discussion of plans and costs that had Nopsa quiely muse about eavesdropping. Liina distracted him with descriptions about the other possible activities in the coming days, especially the tournaments, while Janos went and carefully stored his purchaces. After a quick check-in with Elmar, they decided that they had enough time to go check on the timetable of the official proceedings. They raced to the scriptorium, then slowly let their breath return as they edged closer to massive boards, first whitened and then written on in large letters. The scribes had thoughtfully written in two forms of letters. Liina could slowly puzzle out the more intricate ones, which more uncommon and specific words as well, while Nopsa and Janos had to do with reading the text meant for common folk.
The actual coronation would happen in three days, with public feasts sponsored by the king held on the coronation day as well as the days before and after. Tomorrow, there would be some tournaments and other military demonstrations, as well as some plays sponsored by barons or rich merchants. There had also been multiple masses at the cathedral a for few days already, with many opportunities for anyone to come and pray for good health to the future king, and these would continue tomorrow as well. The next two days there would be reserved for the nobility and clergy, with many rituals, sanctifications, and anointments happening, after which there were three more public days. The day after tomorrow, the first with more official proceedings, would see two public addresses from Garan, both to the citizens of the city and his county, as well as to all the people of Kuiko in general. The actual day of the coronation, there wouldn't be as much public spectacle, with the highlights being a procession in the morning from the castle to the cathedral, another one coming back some while later, and a public speech after the coronation was finished. Then, the rest of the evening would be reserved for feasting. On the day after, the king would hold court, with a line expected to fill most of the main square, where anyone could come and speak their mind to the new king. The smaller text mentioning that a maximum of three sentences would be imposed got a smirk out of Liina, as she remembered a few of the older gaffers of Wortbank, as well as the droning cleric from their trip to the city. Janos and Nopsa also noted the absolute prohibiton of weapons for all coming to see the king, not allowing even the ever-present table daggers. There were of course a great many other smaller events on each day, though with a notable skew towards the events being aimed more for the higher estates in the ones happening more than a day after the coronation. They decided they could come and check more thoroughly tomorrow if they felt like it.
As they walked briskly back towards Longtree, with the last rays of the sun still lighting the tops of the buildings, Janos pulled the other two to the side of the street. Nopsa tried to squeal before Janos quickly clapped Nopsa's mouth with his hand.
"Shh! See those two men? Rich farmers, by the look of them, singing quite loudly, ahead of us?"
Nopsa instinctively lowered his voice. "Yes, what about them?"
"Well, I noted three youngsters following what I thought was us a short while ago, but now two of them just passed us and are heading for those two poor drunken sods. And I think I saw a third shadow peek out of the alley where one of our drunkards is heading … right now. To relieve himself, I'd guess."
"What? Some thieves are going to rob them? We've got to–"
"Shh! Not so loud. No, don't," Janos struggled as he tried to keep Nopsa from springing out towards the robbery about to happen, "we don't know if they have other allies as well! Liina!"
She froze for a moment, then helped Janos detain Nopsa. A passerby looked their way, quizzically looking at the struggle. She moved in front of Nopsa, trusting Janos to warn if something might happen to her, looked straight at Nopsa and explained. "If it comes to a fight, we'll go help, of course. But I don't want you or anyone needlessly getting a knife in your stomach. As Janos said, there may be others. And they'd certainly want revenge on you if you exposed them. Besides, I haven't seen any guards in a moment. Janos, you?"
He shook his head, the let the dejected Nopsa go. Ahead, they heard a roar, "Mah purse! Thieefff!", then saw a youngster dash back in their direction. Nopsa was ready to act, but a servant maid was quicker, throwing a bag of laundry in the robbers feet. They fell down in a tumble, the purse flying from their hand at an angle to Nopsa's feet, then sprang back up without looking around and just contiued running away.
Nopsa scooped up the purse, looked around, then walked over to the maid. "Your catch, you get the reward." She looked a bit surprised, but nodded, then took her laundry and walked over to the drunkard. Someone, a craftsman's apprentice by the look of him, had pulled the other drunkard out of the alley, his pants tangled around his ankles, no purse to be seen, and with a gash on his forearm, bleeding a bit but not seriously. The maid appeared to them, her loosened hair shining like a halo from a lantern held up nearby. "This is yours, I believe?"
The drunkard looked up. "Ohhh, thank youu, fair maidn! You are oursh sh-shaviour, our saint! I though' we'd be uttererly impor– impv– ruined!"
As other locals gathered around to appraise the situation and help the robbed pair, Janos, Nopsa and Liina decided to continue their way to the Longtree warehouse, rather than wait to see if any guards would appear and what, if anything, would happen then.
"Well, Nopsa, you saw the cut? Not deep, thank goodness, but could've been."
"Yes… I guess it was probably better you stopped me. It's just hard not to help when others are in trouble."
"Your moral drive to help others is admirable, it truly is. You just need to temper it with thinking a bit before acting, so it doesn't turn to others needing to help you."
Janos spoke up. "And you helped. I think that maid will remember your gallantry."
Nopsa snorted. "Huh. What kind of black-hearted rogue would steal her glory there? I didn't know what to do – I probably would've just tackled the thief. And possibly gotten knifed for it." He shuddered.
Liina grimaced. "I hate to say it, but you're probably right, Janos. She did sort of seem like her life had delivered her some hard blows. Maybe the drunkard's reward will help her out."
"Thanks, both of you. I feel better already. This one will certainly be a nice simple story to tell back home."
By the time they got to warehouse, Elmar was just finishing his recitation of the same list of events they'd been reading a short while ago. To Liina's ear, he was leaving out many of the post-coronation events, but, then again, those probably wouldn't be of interest to most. The tournaments did seem to be the destination of choice, going by the talk she heard. Then, Katrin and the two other merchants stepped up on to the bench and introduced themselves, the other two obviously being an older woman, Alda, and her adult son, probably not much over twenty years of age. After they had introduced Elmar, the muleteer, and the servants of the other group, as well as pointed out Liina, Janos and Nopsa as responsible for their duties, the son then stepped down and let the other two do most of the talking. Katrin and Alda took turns talking, sometimes amiably adding a bit if the other forgot or something seemed unclear to a larger number of people. Liina was pretty sure everyone in their group had already heard the plans and rules, but some seemed have forgotten them already, by the looks they gave or questions they asked. During the night, the door would be barred, but someone would stay awake up until midnight – the carpenter couple had installed a small eyeslit for checking who was outside. Food and eating came up, of course. For the group in Longtree, there would be porridge for all each morning, but otherwise, everyone would be responsible for their own food, though cooking it at the warehouse was allowed. The fact that there would a great feast provided by the king for all present on the day of the coronation, as well as lesser ones on the days before and after, got cheers. When discussion turned to coronation day, a small group announced that they had planned on staking out a small area of the main square and staying there the whole day, and invited others to come and join them as they wished. Katrin promised to guide a group from Longtree to watch the public speech after the coronation if they wanted to do other things in the morning of the big day. There were some questions about getting to see more of the ceremonies, but any such interest was quickly quelled by Alda. She reminded everyone in surprisingly graphic terms that all the guards – king, city and church – were on high alert, and that other warehouses had been converted to cells much less nice than their current quarters, ready to hold those who would disturb the peace or try to sneak to events where they did not belong. After going through some more details, and reminding that any issues would be handled by Elmar and her servants in the separate room, the three bid farewell for the evening, having a fete to attend.
Most of the lodgers were planning to turn in early, but a few small groups were gathering for some short exploration of the city, though it was already dark, with the last glow of twilight barely visible. After having once again filled the shared water barrels, the trio then decided to take up the offer to carry extra water for some bathers and earn some pennies for street food or souvenirs. Although he did his part for most of job, towards the end, Liina noticed that Nopsa was slacking.
"Oh, there you are. Come one, you're not getting one third of the coins if you don't do your part!"
"Sorry, sorry, I'm not being lazy! I just saw something strange and had a bit of a look. In fact, I think you two should also check it out."
"How about we get the work done first?"
"But, then… ah, fine. I just hope we don't miss out on something interesting!" Nopsa speeded up his steps.
After the bathing barrel was full and the coins were being gathered, split, stored and purses hidden, Nopsa couldn't stop nervously urging them to speed up. As soon as he could, he pulled the other two outside and a distance towards the well, then off to another side street, then spoke in barely more than a whisper. "Ok, let's find a nice shadow to lurk in. Janos, are your eyes used to the dark already?"
"Well enough, though with torches, lanterns and other points of light here and there, I'm not going to be great with noticing fine details."
"Let's hope it's enough. And that there's some latecomer."
Liina was getting a bit irritated. "Nopsa, some explanation, please?"
"Shh! Right, so, when we carrying those buckets, I thought I heard a voice I recognized from a passing rider. It took a moment until it clicked – Burkhart. At least I think so. Just not bellowing, but saying something about taking the horses to the other rider. I had to follow, of course –"
"Of course."
"– and when I got to the corner of this street, I saw him walking away from his horse, to one of those two warehouses, and the other rider taking his reins and walking his horse away. He walked sort of like Burkhart did, too, from what I can recall. Then he fiddled with his face – I'm pretty sure he pulled a scarf or something in front of it. Knocked in a rythm, then said some strange words that I couldn't properly hear, and he was let in. I was reminded of the robbers earlier, so I decided to get back to you. But I think I saw someone else, heavily cloaked as well, walking towards those warehouses, while I was carrying the last buckets of water."
"Hmm. I hate to say it, but that does sound a lot like clandestine meeting. A bit too much, in a way. Still, it's probably better if we–"
Janos cut her off, whispering. "Against the wall! A rider, no, more than one, coming in quickly." They tried to stay still in their meager plot of shadow, while a pair of riders appeared from the other end of the road. Again, much the same happened as what Nopsa had described, and once the second rider had left and the door had closed, they let out heavy breaths. "You may well be correct, both of you. The horses and their gear looked fit for nobles, not mere guardsmen."
"And his stance – hard to say in the dark, of course, but there was something in the way he stood and walked that reminded me of court nobles or liege lords." Liina concurred. "Can we move a bit futher away, though, maybe even – ugh – an alley or something. Just make sure there's no one else in it, will you?" she continued as Janos was already slipping back.
Once in the questionable safety of the alley, a furious whispering argument erupted from Nopsa's fancies.
"So, Janos, do you think we could climb to roof and listen?"
"Well, I'd start by checking for holes or cracks in the walls first. A lot easier to get to, and easier to–"
"No. No! We are NOT getting involved in the plotting of what is possibly high nobility! You know, the people who can pressure your landed knight to throw you out as vagrants? Maybe your whole family, even, if you sufficiently trouble them?!"
"Ooh, you're right. And they can afford to hire assassins, too! Better to just sneak around on the ground, watch from afar. Hmm, I wonder if I could find dirty rags somewhere, disguise myself as a beggar?"
"You'll end up as an actual beggar if they notice you!"
"Both of you, keep quiet. Considering the speed of the last one, he was probably late, so maybe others won't be coming soon, but we don't know how long their meeting will last."
"Right, sorry, Janos. Now, how about we sneak back to Longtree, and –"
"Hey, hey, we can't use real names if someone might be listening! We've got to create fake names. Hmm… I could be… Sparrow? Or…"
"If someone WAS listening to us, we'd probably already be surrounded." Janos took a quick look down both directions of the street, then scanned all around elsewhere, even up to the roofs. "Nope, I think we're good for now." He looked back at the other two, hissing in arguments.
"How about Rat? Or Goblin?"
"Hey, come one, give me a bit more credit than that! Hmm, Ferret? Shadow would sound powerful and mysterious… but probably more suited to J– ah, you know."
"Really, let's just get out of here. We can talk to Ul–"
"Shh!"
Liina let out a long sigh of breath. "– our better-connected friend. Tomorrow? In the clear daylight without us jumping at every shadow?"
With still no other movement around, Janos returned to the other two. "Let's think this through logically." Liina nodded eagerly, then motioned him to continue. "What we saw is suspicious. Nop– you are prone to flights of fancy, but by what we saw, I'll trust what you described as reasonably accurate. Your seeing the baron, however, definitely needs supporting witnesses. And looking at you and your excitement, I'm going to side with … her, here. Let's get back to our lodgings, and return in a short while."
"But…"
"Two votes against one. You can argue your side when we're safe. Or safer, at least. I'll have one last look, then we sneak out the other end of this alley."
Back at Longtree, they huddled in their own corner and continued their discussion. Nopsa was extremely upset once Janos revealed that he should stay back for the next outing, even if he was slightly mollified that the other two would use the small hatch for to go out and come back. The hatch was stuck at first, but opened soon once Janos and Nopsa wiggled it a little bit, while Liina tied the coil of rope Nopsa had borrowed to the closest roof beam. Janos declined to have the rope tied around his waist, trusting his agility to be greater without the rope hampering him. The hatch was a tight fit, but he was able to squeeze out, then, with a bit of support from the others, catch the edge of the roof. The other helped to pull him in, then Liina closed the hatch for now to stop others in the warehouse from noticing the excess airflow. She wasn't eager to go out spying again, but agreed with Nopsa that it would be better for Janos to have company and with Janos that she would be more careful than Nopsa. So, away they went, Janos sliding down easily, and Liina with more difficulty. This left Nopsa to having the worst time, well, not in his life, certainly, but for many weeks at least. He waited nervously, playing with the rope for want of better things to do, then went to go relieve himself as normally as he could, then back to waiting at the hatch. After what felt like an small eternity, he heard a small knock at the latch, then quickly opened it to see Liina and Janos, the latter dropping his second throwing-stone. Getting up was a bit more difficult, with Liina causing some noise from bumping against the wall, but luckily the people lodged beneath them seemed to be solid sleepers. Janos made not much more noise climbing than walking, so soon Nopsa had his curiosty sated. They had had to wait for a while, but then, people had started to leave, again singly, and seeming quite noble or at least rich for what little they could see, some walking, others waiting for a companion to bring a horse. Janos had carefully shadowed the third walker after not seeing anyone leaving right away after them. The walker, though heavily cloaked and unidentifiable, had gotten into a very fine-looking carriage indeed, with markings he hadn't recognized. According to Liina, who had left through the back alley, they sounded more merchant house than noble, but she too cursed a bit at not being able to seem them herself. Anyway, she now had another question for tomorrow's meeting with Ulrika. Though they tried to set to sleep, it was while until any of them managed it.