By the time Liina woke up, Nopsa and Janos were already dealing with the chores downstairs, so she dutifully joined them. Janos was able to mention in passing that he'd already been out and about, but he'd tell more later. A few people were ready to pay for the trio to get them some washing water, and they took the chance to get to talk with a bit more privacy. Nopsa, apparently, had only woken up a bit before her, so he listened closely as well when Janos told about his excursion.
"So, I was able to wake up early, and go check on the warehouse. A quick walk by showed nothing new, so I came back and started the normal water carrying. On the second trip, I noticed a man of your description, Liina, so I quickly took the water back to Longtree and said I had an errand. The muleteer didn't seem to happy about that, though…"
Nopsa shrugged it off. "Well, we took care of it already, so he shouldn't have much to complain about."
"Anyway, he seemed to be going towards the main square, so I went in that direction, and was able to catch up to him pretty easily. He got there, went a ways off to one side, then began setting up a stall, with some sort of pastries, sweetmeats, and cheap-looking small banners in the national colors – green and blue, with two yellow diagonals. I decided to leave him to it and jogged back to finish with the chores, and you two woke up soon after."
"So, we need to go take a look at him – I mean, Liina needs to make sure he's the same guy, right?"
"That would be useful. Then we can at least connect him to being in the warehouse, and have a clear person for the rangers to try to identify."
"Well, let's get this water carried, then!"
After a few quick trips, they declined any more extra chores. Once again they gobbled down their food, though mercifully the porridge had already cooled down a lot. Then, a quick jog to the main square.
Once they got to the main square, there were already many groups of people there, and a thin line of people along the edge of the road where the king's carriage would proceed to the cathedral. They first ambled a round a bit and saw that the merchant had now set up his cart against a building and the stall in front of it. He was hawking his wares with middling success, people stopping now and then to buy something. Liina was able to confirm that it did seem to be the same man. Deciding to not get closer for now, they quickly located the Longtree group and were settling down when Liina remembered that they hadn't returned to Ulrika yesterday after meeting baron Filippa, and they were supposed to do so today. Janos and Nopsa decided to stay at the main square while she paid Ulrika a quick visit.
Jogging to Ulrika's lodgings, Liina had an uncomfortable feeling about leaving Janos and Nopsa behind, but couldn't think of any real reason why. "Ripats, lend me your speed!", she prayed in her mind, and maybe he did, considering how little she seemed out of breath once she arrived. The servants fetched Ulrika to the side room so quickly that Liina knew she must've been waiting for her.
"Ah, thank goodness you're alright! I was afraid something had happened to you."
"Rather the opposite. Almost nothing happened. Baron Filippa heard us out, but only shortly, and couldn't promise much anything."
"Well, the evidence is a bit scant."
"And, then – I'm sorry, we forgot to swing by here, but the boys were so eager to get to spying on the place again."
"I understand. I mean, I was worried, but more so in the morning with still no news of you."
"Unfortunately, nothing happened last night. Well, not nothing, there's a southern merchant apparently also living in the warehouse, and a couple of Royal Rangers surprised us, but with nothing new, they left as quickly and quietly as they had appeared."
"Oh my. They must believe that there might be something to what you've found, then."
"I wish I could be that hopeful. Well, with my … experience, I know something is going on, I just don't know what."
"So, now you're…"
"Following the merchant. Oh, I didn't have the chance to tell you about it yesterday, but me and Nopsa, we met the most strange inquisitor at the cathedral records office. He seemed more like a librarian or scribe, and not really fiery at all."
"Oh. I think I can guess who – or more accurately, what he is."
"Do tell."
"Though the inquisition of Fire is the most well known, there are two other branches as well. The inquisition of Silk deals with the nobility not acting in accordance with the laws of the Seven, and the one you met must be of the inquisition of the Ink. They ferret out injustice and treachery through the records, bookkeeping, ledgers and other such."
"That rings true. I've never seen someone be able to read and write that fast and well."
"Not that useful against cultists, I'm afraid, but a contact none the less."
"True. Now, I think I should get back to the main square. When will be the best time to come and see you next?"
"I'll be travelling to the castle for the coronation while the king is at the cathedral, but you can't interrupt me then. Tomorrow morning will have to suffice."
"Until then, then."
On the way back, she was able to keep a similar pace as coming, and thus, the crowds hadn't thickened too much. She sat down next to Janos, noting that Nopsa was talking to people in another group nearby in a fast-paced chatter.
Liina chuckled. "He was nervous and couldn't sit still?"
"As usual."
"And nothing new with our merchant?"
"Another southerner came to him and went behind the stall to do something – unload more things to sell from the cart, maybe? He doesn't seem to be helping much with the selling, though."
"Hmm. Does that seem suspicious to you?"
"A bit. I mean, this seems like a situation where you'd be trying to sell as much as possible, and keeping your assistant at the cart rather than trying to call out to passersby doesn't help."
They stood up, Liina getting a better look at the merchant.
"Right. The stall seems full enough, too, so no point in adding things to it from the cart, either.
"Well, I'll go get Nopsa and we can hatch a plan." Janos walked over, interrupting him, but Nopsa certainly didn't seem to mind as he quickly said his farewells and scampered back to Liina.
"Great, you're back! Do you think I should try to go haggle with him? I could probably stretch it for a while, try to look at what that other guy is doing."
"Maybe later, if we can't see from further away. Remember, those two are probably dangerous."
"So, walk around them a bit further away, try to check them out without them noticing?"
"That would be my first plan. Janos?"
"Yes. That stall seems pretty normal, but he's set things up so that the cart is covered up pretty well from most sides. He could of course just be afraid of thieving, but it is also covering up whatever that other man is doing."
"Well, let's start with that then. Walk around separately, each of us, try to get a look at what those two are doing, then gather back here."
Nopsa piped up. "…and then compare what we've seen. We seem to do a lot of that." He grinned, then started off.
Janos looked at Liina plaintively. "Well, it works…"
"He's just tweaking you. Let's go."
As they circled around, the crowd thickened as people arrived to watch the first procession, from the castle to the cathedral. This made watching the merchant both more difficult, with people in the way, but also easier, as they could creep closer by. After a short while, Liina met with Janos a bit further away from the merchant.
"Have you seen Nopsa?"
"A few moments ago. He was passing close to the merchant in a small group of people going towards the main road."
"Oh, bother. The crowd's getting pretty thick in that direction, so he can't see much from there. In any case, I don't think there's a point in going back to the other Longtree people anymore."
"I agree. See if you can find a good spot to watch him away from the road and I'll see if I can fetch Nopsa so we can meet you there."
"Can we switch? I think you'd be better in finding a good spying spot."
"Probably, but I'd guess I'm also better at spotting him in a crowd."
"Oh, true. I'll be a bit further away at first, then."
"Sure. Now, let's get going."
She circled a bit further away from the merchant, moving slowly against the crowd, until she found a recessed corner off to the side and a bit behind the merchant, maybe thirty or fourty paces away. It seemed good enough. She also noticed an used barrel against the wall a small distance away, one side stained from a cracked plank. It had been emptied, though, so she was able to drag it to the corner, then carefully climb on it. The barrel rocked a bit, but it gave her a better view, and if she moved it, she should be able to see the merchant and the other man, since she knew where their stand was. Otherwise, the masses of people made finding any single person hard, so Janos actually noticed her first, waving a bit, and she clambered down to talk with them.
"Whew, there you are. It's getting crowded out there."
"By what I heard, the king should be coming by soon."
Nopsa looked nervous. "Hey, do you think they'll try to attack him or something?"
"It would be a good opportunity. He's out in the open. Either now, coming back from the cathedral, or during his speech. Those were the three times he would be seen publicly today, right, Liina?"
"Yes. Hmm… it depends on what their aim is. For maximum chaos, probably during the speeh."
Nopsa had an eager look to him. "Well, I think I could sneak a look at them if we move the barrel a bit closer to the the edge of the building."
They quickly dragged the barrel to the outward corner of the building, then Janos took hold of it to make it a steadier surface to stand on. "Remember, keep your body behind the corner."
"Right, and move my face slowly into view so not to draw attention." Nopsa climbed up, then spied around the corner for a short while before dropping back down. "That's strange. It looked like there was some sort of mechanism on the cart, and he was stretching a long bit of material similar to the stuff that that pair and the alchemist in tourney grounds were selling. Janos, you take a look."
As Janos climbed to the barrel, they could distantly hear horns sounding out from the castle. He climbed up, looked for a moment, then dropped down. "You're right. I think it is the same kind of material, though I'm pretty sure neither of those two is the southern man we saw at the tourney grounds."
"Even more people involved in this?"
"Could be. What worries me more, though, is that machine. It reminds me somewhat of the siege bow that the dwarves were showing. The mechanism is different, but it has some parts that look like those targeting things they were talking about."
Nopsa climbed back up, then talked from there. "Hey, that bouncier slingstone of mine can fly much higher than from where I threw it, if I use enough force. And that stretchy rope that the merchant showed the dwarf, it could quickly pull themselves together?"
"Now that you mention it, that thing does sort of look like a staff sling. I'm afraid it might be some sort of a weapon."
Liina interjected. "Well, did it have a stone to throw?"
"No…"
"Well, not much of a weapon without it."
"Except now he pulled something out of a small crate, a ball of metal and glass. It looks really suspicious to me – Liina, I think you should take a look at it." He jumped down, cupping his hands to let her step up quickly.
She steeled herself, then looked around the corner. Her senses were immediately asaulted by the sphere, which seemed to seep black smoke, all around, choking her. Only when she noticed that the people much closer to the stand weren't reacting in any way, did she understand that it was another vision. The man working the strange siege bow seemed like a poisoned dagger to her, sharp edges throwing drops of venom around. She saw movement at the castle gates – the prince's carriage was exiting the gates. She jumped down, trying to keep her voice low enough while she felt like shouting. "They're going to poison the prince! That stone, it's… some kind of poison gas. We've got to do something!"
Nopsa looked at Janos. "Curse it, you could easily shoot them with your bow, but it's at Longtree, right?"
"Yes, I can't carry it in the city!"
"Ah, crap, it's me and my trusty sling, then." He jumped back up on the barrel, then back down. "Damn, you've got to push me out in the open. I can't try this with my left hand!"
A quick shove later, both Janos and Liina buttressed the barrel, and Nopsa climbed up again. He first kept in a crouch, taking out his sling and stones, then stood up, quickly scanning the situation. The carriage was nearing them, and the man working the strange bow had placed the shiny sphere at it's low end. Nopsa took a stone, nochalantly placed it in the pouch of the sling, then let it drop out of his hand. With no real time to think, he started whirring the sling around, then loosed a stone right at the back of his target. Some evil sense made him turn to look toward Nopsa, though, so the stone hit him in his left elbow instead, shattering it with a sickening crack. Staggering against the strange siege bow, it shifted a bit before he found the trigger. With a loud ''sproing'', the ominous missile launched into the air, streaking towards the road and the carriage of the king!
The commotion had roused the attention of some defenders of the king, though, and a magical shield sprang up in front of the deadly sphere. One of the metal bindigns encircling the sphere flashed a sickly purple, the shield shattered, and the missile continued on it's way. Nopsa's shot had done it's job, though, and the glass ball hit the road mere yards behind the carriage, shattering with an explosion of black smoke! Nopsa had already dropped back down to crouch, readied his next stone and was getting up to take another shot, when he saw a glint from afar. From the top of a tower in the outer wall of the castle, he saw an arrow fly, impossibly fast, striking the assassin right in the stomach. He staggered, dropping the second sphere he was loading into the weapon, and lay still. On the carriage, the man next to the driver had taken over the reins, snapped the horses to a gallop, and seemed to have ordered the king to the floor of the carriage as it disappeared out of the main square. The merchant had sprung out from behind his stall and was dodging between people, running away from the main road. His head turning this way and that, there was murder in his eyes when he noticed Nopsa, still standing on the barrel. Nopsa quickly dropped down behind the barrel, something clattering behind him as it hit the wall. Janos grabbed Liina and pulled her behind the barrel as well, but the other assassin apparently valued his escape higher, as no further attacks came. Looking back, Nopsa immediately noticed the long, sharp, serrated knife, but a hiss from Janos stopped his hand as he was reaching for it. From somewhere in the direction of the road, the cries and wailing started to widen in area, quickly growing into a great roar as the crowd began to turn into a mob.
With yells of "Murder!" echoing against the walls, the attention of the people was turning in their direction. Janos quickly scooped the strange dagger in a rag he dug out of his pocket, then carefully set it back in. Not wanting to get stuck in a mass of angry people, they started moving out and away from the crowd, though that also meant going in the same direction the other assassin had left. As they were approaching the street, they wondered whether go forward or trying to fins another street. Suddenly from the crowd a man appeared, pulling the hood of his ranger cloak down, and waved them to follow. After getting out of the main plaza, he soon turned down onto a side street, then guided them through a maze of alleys and small streets, until they ended up at the cathedral complex. Once past it's gates, they stopped for a moment to pant and catch their breath, and suddenly noticed that somewhere along the way, another ranger had started following them. After a short trot, the pair ordered them into a strange building, called up a servant, and asked for their names. Upon receiving those, the pair looked carefully at their reactions as they announced that Liina, Janos and Nopsa would have to stay as guests of the inquisition for at least a short while. Liina looked at the others – Janos shrugged, Nopsa looked like he was going from disbelieving to furious. She put a hand on his arm and told the rangers and the servant that they hoped matters could be resolved quickly. She then dug out the note she got from the inquisitor yesterday and showed it, then asked to see her quarters. Looking at Janos' calm, Nopsa followed their example, muttering something about a poor welcome for heroes. At least one of the rangers had the decency to look a bit apologetic as they were escorted into the dungeons of the inquisition.