Part 3
“Hello Becky.” Sirene said with a broad smile on her face.
“I’ve told you to not call me that.” Rebecca replied with such ice in her voice Hamlin shuddered.
“Seems you frightened the Dragon King quite badly. Care to share?” Sirene asked, moving right along. “I had to step in and fulfill the debt.”
Rebecca looked around. It was true they were no longer in the north, but where exactly were they? She recognized this type of terrain, but it could be almost anywhere in Southern Karand. She held up a hand, and knelt down to touch the ground with her right hand. It felt… it was a feeling she hadn’t had in a very, very long time indeed. It felt like a home she left behind over 120 years ago, and only finally returned to. Overcome with emotion, she dropped to the ground and sighed with content.
“Rebecca?” Hamlin asked. “Is everything okay?”
“I’m home, Hamlin. This is home. We’re in Whitemire, 10 kilometres outside of Point Thoryn, at 9 in the morning on the 17th of Erot.” Rebecca lay on her back, and gazed up at Sirene, who was curiously peering down at her. “You can’t trick me Sirene, I know you brought us here.”
“Fascinating, a Divine Creation mage at work.” Sirene replied, stroking her chin. “But back to my question.”
“I’ve been to Carcosa.” Rebecca replied, causing Sirene to raise her eyebrows. “Zarfangal touched me, and something about me scared him so much he ran off like a scared rabbit.”
Sirene smiled. Leverage over the Dragon King, good information for a later plot. For now though, she simply nodded, and began to walk down the road, away from Point Thoryn, without so much as a goodbye.
---
The party made it to Point Thoryn without further incident, and Rebecca pointed them towards their first stop, the vaults.
“Where are we going?” Marv asked, as they headed for the bank.
“The family vaults.” Rebecca replied without breaking stride. “There is a ludicrous amount of money and importantly, clothing, inside those ancient vaults.”
“Clothing?” Jack asked, puzzled.
“We need to look the part if we want to get an audience with the Baron of Thorns. I need to make a deal with him before we head to Whitemire.” Rebecca replied, her voice a half-whisper. “I have the keys and documents needed to get into the vault on me, but getting an audience with a Baron doesn’t happen when you’re dressed like homeless rapists.”
“I’m not homeless!” Marv protested. “I’m houseless.”
“...that was what you took issue with?” Heather asked, raising an eyebrow.
The party continued to make small talk as they walked to the bank, making them appear to be a normal band of travellers, causing most to pay them no mind. There was of course, a minor snag when they arrived at the Thoryn Vaults.
“Hold, travellers.” The guard standing outside said, when Rebecca tried to enter. “All weapons must be left with the door clerk. This includes swords, spears, crossbows, Dwarven firearms, wizard staves, maces, axes, scythes, knives, daggers, claymores, explosives, portable runes, ancient Orcish doomsday devices, improvised explosives, barrels of firewater, and so on.”
Rebecca sighed. Of course there would be weapons restrictions. “You heard the man, start dumping weapons.”
Marv started by depositing his main daggers, his boot dagger, his other boot dagger, his underwear dagger, his secret dagger, and his 17 sleeve daggers in the box, which caused the first eyebrow to raise on the guard. Jack followed up by dropping 5 shortswords into the box, all from his left sleeve, before pulling a spear out of his pant leg. Hamlin, after proving he was unarmed to the guard, simply walked inside and waited, leaving just Heather and Rebecca outside.
“Rebecca, will you need any help with your weapons?” Heather asked. Seeing a shake of her head, Heather nodded, and left his staff in the box, before heading in.
“You need a private room, ma’am?” The guard asked.
“Nonsense. The issue is just how many I have, as she pulled dagger after dagger out of her bra and underwear, much to the guard’s amazement. When she started pulling a full length longsword out of her hair, he stopped her.
“No, we’ll be here all day if I let you finish. Just… don’t cause any problems.”
Rebecca smiled and walked in, to see the rest of the party waiting impatiently for her.
“Stalled them into giving up as usual, boss?” Marv asked with a sly grin.
“Of course. Come on, that counter.” Rebecca said, pointing at the one with a sign saying “Family Vaults” above it.
“Documentation, please.” The clerk dispassionately stated. She perked up a little when Rebecca produced a stack of papers with a wax seal of the Baron of Thorns on it.
“I’m here to open the Montague Family Vault. I have all 5 keys on me.”
“The Montague--- of course! Right this way!” The clerk said, rushing over to open a door at the back of the building, revealing a series of tunnels.
“This wasn’t made by hand.” Heather whispered to Rebecca, who nodded.
The five of them, plus the clerk, continued in silence for nearly 20 minutes down the tunnels, until they arrived at a large gate.
“The first key, please.” The clerk stated, gesturing at the gate.
“No.” Rebecca said flatly.
“...what?” The clerk stammered.
“This gate is not part of my security system. I will not insert any key I possess into this gate.” Rebecca stated, staring at the clerk. “Hamlin.”
Hamlin smiled broadly, and approached the gate, twisting the bars as if they were made of clay. “Let us proceed, Duchess. Not you, clerk. You will remain here with your trap.” Hamlin grabbed the terrified clerk with a single hand, and twisted her up in the metal of the gate, snapping her spine. “Nobody will miss a thief.”
The footsteps of the party faded in the distance as they left the broken corpse of the clerk at the false gate, a dagger left in her throat, and 2 in her heart for good measure by Rebecca.