#3175  Rewritten by Penthesilea

     Lord Stephan was not happy to be called from his bed at Penthesilea’s insistence. He had been informed shortly beforehand that Miranda was not among the evacuees that had accompanied him and the necessity of “breaking in” a replacement for her once he was recovered was not sitting  well. He could not tell her that, of course, since he was not keen on Penthesilea knowing what he had done to the seamstress. He came to the comunit intending to chide the  Keyholder for disturbing him but was stopped in his verbal tracks when, prior to addressing him, she transmitted the video of the hidden room in which Alisa’s body had been found and continued right through to the removal of the body. When the video stopped and Penthesilea’s face returned, she was grim and he was stunned.
     “Lord Stephan,” she began coldly. “I do not know why the body of the Lord Marshall’s second in command was found walled up in a secret room in your daughter’s palace. Alisa herself does not know who killed her or why,” Penthesilea held up her hand to forestall him. “However, I do know that her disappearance cleared the way for Jasmine to pursue Kodiak’s attentions without any interference.  Be advised that you and your daughter are under suspicion in the death of Alisa Averaldale. If either of you are found in those lands that have declared for me, you will be taken into custody and questioned under Truthspell. I will not pursue you in the matter of Alisa’s death, Lord Stephan, until and unless I find more evidence that points to you or Jasmine. And rest assured, I will be looking into this matter closely!” Penthesilea leaned forward so that the cold fury in her face was clearly visible. “Do not return to Paradise Valley and do NOT cross my path again. If you do, it will be necessary for me to find a reason to kill you and I won’t need much of one!” With that, Penthesilea cut off the transmission, leaving a sputtering Lord Stephan staring at a blank screen.
     On her side of the screen, Penthesilea leaned back in her chair. She deliberately had not mentioned what Daemon had told her of the conversation he had overheard between Lord Stephan and their captors.  It was a card that she had not needed to play and so she had not. If and when Lord Stephan was in her hands and under Truthspell, she would wring all the answers about that situation of of him that she wanted. And then she would use said answers as all the excuse she need to kill him.

#3177  Rewritten by Penthesilea 

     Sunset found the Wolfkin back in the clearing where they had started the rites for their dead. Although the pyre was long cold, they would finish the rite properly now that their dead, and all the Wolfkin that the Wendigo had killed, had been avenged. They would sing and howl and remember their own loved ones and others that they knew only by name. They would take as long as they needed and then they would return to the Keyholder’s Castle and partake of the hospitality that she had offered them.
     Elsewhere in the forest, while the Wolfkin held their rites, Daemon held his own rite for the dead. His beloved SummerWind and their little one, BrightStar, could finally rest in peace. And so could he, finally. The guilt that he had carried because he had not been there to protect them had gnawed at him like a ravenous wolf since he had returned to the settlement and found what had remained of them. He had wanted to die but he could not leave the world without avenging them. Now it was done.
What was he to do now?

#3179  Rewritten by Penthesilea 

     A low haze of smoke and ash lay over what had once been Paradise Valley. Sadly, Penthesilea walked through the wreckage. It had been a beautiful refuge and she was saddened that it had been destroyed. On the other hand she was beginning to suspect that its destruction was ultimately a good thing. The bodies of the human dead, or what could be found of them, had been removed and as the searchers had combed the various buildings looking for survivors or the dead, a picture of the hidden life of Paradise Valley was taking shape that filled her first with dismay and then rage. Evidence of torture was turning up and the sick feeling in Penthesilea’s guts told her that Alisa was unlikely to be the only victim whose remains had been discarded like a broken toy. Sir Michael had summoned her to the remains of Lord Stephan’s palace and she was very concerned about what he had found there.
     She was directed to the second floor of what had been Lord Stephan’s private “working” tower. That he had one wasn’t unusual, most mages, sorcerers and wizards had rooms that were dedicated to various workings. It was only prudent since the consequences of a disturbed, long range working could range from the simple failure of the spell to a cataclysmic explosion. She picked her way through the rubble and found Michael in a large room that bore evidence of considerable magickal activity.  Without a word, he handed her a large, heavy book. With a twinge of disgust, she recognized the leather of the covers as tanned human skin. She opened it and began to read then closed it quickly, profoundly glad that Michael had found it and had sent for her at once. In the wrong hands, such a book could be beyond dangerous.
     “As anyone else seen this.”
     “No,” Michael replied. “I was alone when I found it. It is what I think it is, isn’t it?”
     “Yes, it is. Anti-Life magick of the worse sort. I will need to look into this very carefully.”
     “I am assuming that this” he gestured around to indicate the room around them “is ‘need to know.’”
     “Without question. In fact,” Penthesilea summoned her daughters through the inspeaking. “I’ve just called the girls. When they arrive, we will seal this place tight. No one, not even Lord Stephan, will be able to get in. If it turns out that we need to take him out, I don’t want anyone to warn him that we are on to him. Or for there to be anyone who could be tortured for the information. I doubt that he will risk coming back after the warning I gave him but he might send agents to retrieve this book. The girls and I will do a little spell work on it before we take it out of here. When we’re done, he will believe it destroyed.” Michael nodded and a short time later, MoonCat and SpiritFire joined their mother and the three of them set to work.
     A few hours later, when Lord Stephan discovered that the servant who had been entrusted with retrieving his most valuable book had not been evacuated with the rest, he began a magickal search. After some hours, he had learned that the man was dead -- that piece of necromancy had been quickly accomplished -- and that he had never reached the workroom. The rest of the time had been spent trying to find his book but all he could find was a void that said that it had gone into an infernal abyss or had been destroyed. In either case, it was beyond his reach. He cursed the necessity of recovering the lost knowledge even as he rejoiced that it had not fallen into Penthesilea’s hands.....

#3181  Penthesilea

The Keyholder's Magickal Workroom

     *Aphrodite and Penthesilea stood before Penthesilea's scrying mirror. Both were laughing so hard that they were crying and could barely speak. Unable, finally, to withstand such merriment, Penthesilea blanked the mirror and leaned over her worktable, gasping for air. They had been catching up on Kodiak’s adventures in boot camp with particular attention being paid to the “practical joke war”. Penthesilea had been especially amused when Kodiak had been unable to avoid the wild pig wallow....

Aphrodite: You are enjoying this way too much.

Penthesilea: You bet I am! I go through 40 kinds of multi denominational hell just so I can have a shot at him -- because every time he touched a woman in the Castle I knew it and sometimes I felt it and it drove me crazy -- and as soon as I do, he packs up and hightails it out of here like he's never coming back. Then he comes back and tries to kill himself in my Pub -- after calling me "my love".

Aphrodite: It was that bad?

Penthesilea: They really should put it in the job description. "The Keyholder will be bound to the Castle. Everything that goes on in the Castle will be known by the Keyholder. And if the guy she's really, really hot for beds someone else, she will not only know it but feel it too --- but not enough to do any good!" So, yeah. He's going to have to work damn hard for it.

Aphrodite: Well, he's not ready for you yet. He's had mortals and vampires but never a demigoddess.

Penthesilea: We do tend to be man-eaters. *The Keyholder and the Love Goddess then proceed to discuss the Lord Marshall's amatory prowess and performance standards with the frankness of a Love Goddess and her former High Priestess.*

#3183  Rewritten by Penthesilea

Down in the Great Hall, a courier from the farthest most outpost of her holdings was waiting for her. He told her his news and her heart sank....

#3185  Rewritten by Penthesilea
     
Daemon and Satira are strolling out beyond the Castle wall when Daemon hears his sister’s summons accompanied by a certain sour tone.

Daemon: We need to get back. Penthesilea wants us and she is a bit upset about something.

That said, the pair head for the Main Gate with Satira struggling to match Daemon’s long gait. He notices, grins and sweeps her off of her feet. He will carry her the rest of the way.....

#3187  Rewritten by Penthesilea

     Sir Michael meets the Keyholder in the Main Hall. He is just back from duty in Paradise Valley and he finds Penthesilea’s news as welcome as another scorpion man attack. Still, he bows over her hand and goes to give the “wonderful” news to his fellow knights.

#3189  Rewritten by Penthesilea

Satira takes advantage of her position in Daemon’s arms to work her wiles a bit. He has an excellent view of her cleavage and she is pressed against his extraordinarily muscular chest. A position that she finds exceptionally agreeable. She notices him frankly ogling her and she smiles slyly at him. She really isn’t willing to wait too much longer to get him into her bed again.

#3191  Rewritten by Penthesilea      

Daemon blinks as he sets Satira on her feet. That was not a question that he was expecting.

Daemon: We have the needed facilities on the grounds.  All we need is to get the reviewing stands in shape and gather contestants.  A couple of days.

#3193  Rewritten by Penthesilea

Satira realizes that her clothing, calculated to catch and hold Daemon’s eye, is revealing entirely too much to the Keyholder’s gaze and that of anyone else wandering by. She tries to readjust it without anyone noticing.      

Satira: We could have contests in archery, sword and knife fighting, wrestling,  mounted combat and unarmed hand to hand combat.  We should check and see if the lake is warm enough for swimming. If it is, we could have swimming races too.

#3195  Rewritten by Penthesilea

Daemon: That should be enough to fill a program for a couple of days at least. More if we make it “round robin” eliminations.

#3198   Penthesilea

Yes, we are. The Knights know. And you haven't even asked why they are coming.