#4301  Penthesilea
     
Blackharbor

     *Back in her room at the Guild Hall, Penthesilea feels Kodiak's presence through the bloodbond. It is like he is standing behind her, holding her. She loses herself in the sensation for just a moment then she speaks to him through the inspeaking.*

Penthesilea: (inspeaking) I'm going out pub crawling to see what I can find out. I promise I'll stay out of trouble.

Kodiak: (inspeaking) Not even the power of a god could keep you out of trouble, my dear!

Penthesilea: (inspeaking) You know me SO well! I knew that there was a reason I love you. *And with her love chuckling in her ear, Penthesilea left the room...*

#4303  Penthesilea

Blackharbor

     *Penthesilea spent most of the evening going in and out of drinking establishments of varying degrees of respectability and had gleaned one indisputable fact -- the people of Blackharbor were glad that Lord Reginald Leverence was dead. He was believed responsible for numerous disappearances of young women from the poorer quarters of the city. Since it was known that he did not favor women as "companions" the fate of those unfortunates was open to speculation.
     Now that Reginald was dead, his twin brother Ragnar was now Lord -- or would be as soon as the formalities were observed. Penthesilea hoped he would have more sense than his brother and not go seeking a foreign bride with red hair and a Castle! Even more, she hoped that his king would decide that trying to take the Keyholder's Castle was more trouble than it was worth!
     Penthesilea decided to call it a night. Her bed beckoned -- even if it was a bunk in the Guild Hall and empty to boot! She was almost to the Guild Hall when she heard it....the muffled scream of a woman. She went to investigate... *

#4305

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#4307  Penthesilea

*It was a busy couple of hours once Penthesilea arrived at the Guild Hall with her highborn charge. The civil authorities were notified and they arrived in due course. It took a little longer for Lord Grissom to arrive but not much. Lord Grissom strode into the hall and Glorianna ran into his arms. The Lord embraced his child with tears in his eyes and Penthesilea found that he approved of him. She could tell from his bearing that he was a military man and one that actually kept in shape. No fat nobleman he! Kodiak picked that time to chime in from the back of her head.*

Kodiak: (inspeaking) Like what you see? Should I be jealous, my dear? *Penthesilea gave him the mental equivalent of a swat on the arm.*

Penthesilea: (inspeaking) No. You do not need to be jealous. When I climb into another man's bed -- THEN you need to be jealous! *Since they both knew how unlikely that was, Kodiak laughed.

Once he was done greeting his daughter, Lord Grissom turned to Penthesilea.*

Lord Grissom: Warlady, thank you for saving my child.

Penthesilea: You are welcome, my Lord.

Lord Grissom: There is no reward that I can offer that sufficiently expresses my gratitude so I ask you to take this. *He hands her a small medallion on a slender chain.* Keep this token as a symbol of my word. Any boon that is within my ability to grant is yours. *Penthesilea takes the token.*

Penthesilea: Thank you, my Lord. *Lord Grissom turns to the Guild Masters.*

Lord Grissom: I thank you for your hospitality to my daughter, Masters. I will take her home now. *The Lord and his escort left with Glorianna while Penthesilea led the authorities to where she'd left the bodies. They were still there and after being thoroughly questioned, Penthesilea was allowed to return to the Guild Hall and her bed -- which she fell into with extreme gratitude, asleep before she hit the pillow.*

#4309 

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#4311  Penthesilea
     
Blackharbor

     *Since it was entirely too early to go pub crawling, after she had eaten her breakfast at the Guild Hall, Penthesilea headed for the Market Quarter which was as good a source of information as the pubs. She did not immediately see the tall, lanky man who drifted from shadow to shadow, following her.... *

#4313  Penthesilea
     
Blackharbor

     *Penthesilea was brushing the crumbs off of her shirt when she felt Kodiak at the edge of her awareness, "watching" for want of a better word.*

Penthesilea: (inspeaking) Morning, beloved. *She looked for her stalker and didn't see him. Since it was unlikely that he had drifted off, she decided to stay in very public areas at least until she had him spotted again.*

Kodiak: (inspeaking) Good morning, my dear. Is anything wrong? *She could hear the concern in his mindvoice.*

Penthesilea: (inspeaking) I'm not sure yet. I'm being followed by a Wolfkin. It could be something, it could be nothing.

Kodiak: (inspeaking) Should I come? *Penthesilea smiled.*

Penthesilea: (inspeaking) As much as I want you with me, you need to finish your training. I don't think I'm in immediate danger. I'll take every precaution, I promise. I've finished the business part of the trip so I can leave the city at a moment's notice if I need to. *She started wandering toward the livestock market.* What I'm really looking for now is a horse.

Kodiak: (inspeaking) Didn't your father give you a horse for your birthday?

Penthesilea: (inspeaking) He certainly did and a handsome stud he is too. And he needs a lady or two or three which I am looking to provide for him. I might as well look at what's available while I'm here. *Kodiak laughed in spite of himself. His lady was a practical little thing!*

Kodiak: (inspeaking) I have a lesson shortly. Be careful, my Lady.

Penthesilea: (inspeaking) I will, my love. *She felt him pull away but remain at the back of her awareness. She hoped that it wouldn't interfere with his training. She didn't want anything to interfere with his training. The sooner he was released, the sooner that they could be together. With that happy thought tucked away, she continued to watch for her stalker as she walked to the horse market.*

#4315  Penthesilea
     
Meanwhile, back at the Castle.....

     *Miranda left the tower that held her apartment and headed across the Courtyard. She had arranged for a cart and driver to take her to Crowhaven. A page had brought a message from Penthesilea just before Miranda had left her rooms. "Sapphire blue for MoonCat," it had read "and Royal purple for SpiritFire. And, of course, black for my Lord!" Miranda could hear Penthesilea's happy laughter in the writing and smiled. Miranda remembered how frightened Penthesilea had been at the prospect that her former owner (that was how Miranda thought of him) had found her. Miranda knew with unswerving certainly that if that vile creature made his presence known now, the Darklord would hunt him down and kill him like the filthy thing that he was! That knowledge gave her a deep sense of satisfaction and she laughed at the change in herself!

Sir Alexander: Happy, my love? *Miranda turned, startled. Sir Alex was behind her, mounted on his horse.*

Miranda: Very, my Lord. Are you going out on patrol?

Sir Alexander: No. I have the pleasure of escorting you into Crowhaven. The Lady's orders, my love. I can't disobey. *Miranda smiled.*

Miranda: The Lady will have her way!

Sir Alexander: Only if it causes no harm. She is a kind and gentle lady, my love. She only fights when she has to.

Miranda: I know. I've seen both sides of her. ( pause) We'd best be going then. It is a bit of a ride to Crowhaven and we can go no faster than the cart. *She started to climb into the cart. Sir Alexander would have none of it! He reached down, scooped her up in one arm and deposited her on the saddle in front of him.*

Sir Alexander: If I am to guard you, my heart, I must have you close at hand. Don't you agree? *Miranda smiled as shivers went up her spine...*

Miranda: Of course, my lord. Of course.

#4318  Penthesilea
     
Blackharbor

     *Penthesilea made sure to be back at the Guild Hall before nightfall. The Wolfkin had dogged her every step the entire day and she was beginning to worry. She had not found a suitable horse at the horse market and so she was thinking of quitting town without notice. There were interesting currents flowing in Blackharbor and she needed to know more but she couldn't snoop effectively with a werewolf on her heels. She would speak to her Spy Master and get some of their people moved into Blackharbor. She ate an early dinner, packed up her gear and checked out. She left the Guild Hall and spotted her stalker at the entrance to an alley across the street and a few doors down. She walked in the opposite direction and stole a quick glance backwards, he was following. She smiled and prepared the spell as she turned into a shadowed alley. Once she was in the dark, she triggered the transport spell and was gone. A moment later, the Wolfkin followed and howled his frustration at the suddenly terminated trail.... *

#4320   Penthesilea
     
The Keyholder's Bathing Room

*Penthesilea, immediately upon arriving in her bedroom, headed for the bathing room. She filled the sunken tub and all but dove in. She heard Kodiak chuckle in the back of her mind.

Kodiak: (inspeaking) Hedonist.

Penthesilea: (inspeaking) Pot calling the kettle! I KNOW your reputation, Beloved. Every time you jumped into the hot tub with that little sow, I knew about it -- by rumor the next day if nothing else! The little tart had not been shy about bragging about how she had lured the Darklord to her bed and Penthesilea ground her teeth in rage every time she thought about how her Lord had been deceived by the wench.

Kodiak: (inspeaking) *Laughing* Busted!

Penthesilea: (inspeaking) You betcha! So, my beloved Darklord. Do not begrudge me MY bath -- especially when I'm taking it alone! *He laughed in her head then and made a promise that made her laugh in turn -- and anticipate his return even more...*

#4324  Penthesilea
     
The Keyholder's Office

     *Ares sat behind Penthesilea's desk trying really hard not to kill his daughter's Castle Guard Commander. The man was an officious snob. He was also the best man currently available for the job. Ares was working on changing that, especially since he had learned that many of the Guard were more loyal to their Commander than they were to the Castle's Lady. The heavy losses that the Guard had taken in the attack gave Ares the opportunity to move people of his choosing into Penthesilea's service. The man was trying to block him but Ares was having none of it. The Guardsmen whose loyalty was to the Commander and not to the Lady had been noted by the Spy Master and Ares and were on the way out as soon as Ares could get their replacements ready. The man that he had picked as the new Guard Commander would be on his way as soon as his current obligation was finished. Ares had only to wait. At the moment, the Commander was railing about MoonCat. She had been planting harmless, if messy, booby traps around the Castle. They had been going off randomly and the Commander failed to see the humor -- which didn't surprise Ares in the slightest. His granddaughter had a sense of humor he could appreciate. Having the showerhead in the Commander's shower spray him with hot pink permanent dye was inspired! The man finally ran out of words and Ares speared him with his best "dark" look.

Lord Duncan/Ares: This Castle is MoonCat's home. Her pranks do no harm. I suggest, strongly, that you consider her booby traps as a training exercise: Security has been breached and multiple bombs have been placed around the Castle. Find them before they explode. *Ares smiled.* Anything else? *His tone suggested that there had better not be.*

Mercatante: No, sir. *Ares dismissed him and Mercatante left, seething. When he took his place as Penthesilea's lord and master that daughter of hers would be locked up and her sister married off to whomever would pay the most! Then he would breed worthy heirs on her! As for Lord Duncan -- Mercatante savored how pleasant it would be to kill him...*

#4328  Penthesilea
     
The Keyholder's Magickal Workroom

     *After she had cast as tight and secure a circle as she could, Penthesilea contacted Daemon through the inspeaking. Once assured that she was not interrupting anything, Penthesilea conjured a small mirror into a transport circle and carefully lowered the jar through it and onto a table in the room where Daemon and Satira sat. Then, with a little wave, she withdrew her hand and collapsed the spell. She hoped that such a tiny use of magick would go unnoticed. She knew that Satira would have their quarters shielded like a major temple but Penthesilea was in no mood to take chances!

Come cuddle! Penthesilea looked. The Black Huntress stood outside the circle, her amber-gold eyes glowing and her tail switching slowly side to side. Penthesilea smiled.*

Penthesilea: That sounds like a very good idea. *She rose from the floor and began to dismantle her Circle.*