[closed] don't go prison (breakin') my heart

[katabasis]

WHO: Benedict, Kitty, Kostos, Derrica, Lazar, Caspar, Poesia, Yseult, Flint
WHAT: The Gang Breaks a Guy Out of Prison
WHEN: Early Cloudreach
WHERE: Tevninter; a small island not far from Neromenian
NOTES: OOC Post; if you're in a group, I highly encourage flexible turn order. Feel free to self-assign where your character ends up once Things Get Real, but please don't have your lad or lady be two places at once. Prompts below are the main action of the plot, but feel free to do whatever you like before/after/adjacent to them.

Eione Island was once a staging ground for Tevinter forces eventually bound for the jungles of Seheron. Today, with the Imperium's attention and the bulk of its military might directed toward the South, the island fortress is an outpost in reserve - maintained by only a few dozen members of a private guard and overseen by Idothea Petrus, the third daughter of a Laetan family which has spent generations carefully navigating their way up Tevinter's social ladder. Much of the island is characterized by its challenging cliff faces with water too deep to cast anchor in. The only sure anchorage to be found is in Eione Bay itself, over which the fortress itself resides. Catapults at either end of the bay provide strong discouragement to anyone who might attempt a surprise landing to take the island by force. SO THEY'RE NOT ATTEMPTING TO SURPRISE ANYONE. Instead, Riftwatch is sailing straight into the bay in their own Tevinter ship, repainted in the reds, gold and blacks of the Artemaeus family and flying a flag of distress. The story? Benedict Artemaeus, son of a magister and heir to a textile trading empire, was returning from having overseen the sale of a large shipment when their ship was attacked by Nocen Sea pirates. Having barely escaped, the ship has put in here at Eione until the likelihood of further danger passes. Besides, wouldn't you know it? - Benedict's picked up some dreadful cough while doing business abroad and now requires the Petrus family's hospitality now more than ever as he recovers. The mages of the group in addition to Benedict are all to pose as semi-important mages in Benedict's company. The rest of Riftwatch's force will pose as servants and advisers and so on, including Yseult as Benedict's most devoted maid who is simply worried sick about her illness-stricken master and must keep close at hand at all times should he seem likely to tax himself overmuch by, say, spilling the beans, and so require the healing touch of a tender knife between the ribs. IF ALL GOES TO PLAN, Riftwatch will take advantage of Petrus' hospitality for the few days it takes to locate where their target, a once-prominent contact with the burgeoning enslaved rebellion in Tevinter who has been missing for two years, is being held. From there, Riftwatch's forces are to divide themselves into three groups: two groups will disable the catapults at each end of the bay in as flashy and dramatic a way as possible so as to draw attention; the third team will descend into the prison, locate Valeriantus, and then make their escape overland to the other side of the island where groups one and two, having made their own get away, will meet them with the ship for extraction. Simple, right?

Comments

[altusimperius]

[He allows this, of course, but his eyes stay locked on her even as his head turns.]

Red, [he rasps after a moment,] ...red. Gold and black. Like the ship's colors.

[He clears a bit of bile from his throat.]

My family's colors.

[bloodandsand]

[ She pouts. ]

Your little herd of heretics, yes. All the more reason to wear blue, I should think, but we must appeal to these cows so they come sweetly to us, mustn't we, kitten.

[altusimperius]

[There was a time he would've argued against this, and stuck up in defense of his family.

That time is long past.

He nods again.]

[bloodandsand]

[ She pats his head. ]

There's a good kitten. And you must be very good and mind yourself well so your throat doesn't get slit.

[ It's said a bit like a woman gently scolding a child, including a playful little tap on the end of his nose. ]

[altusimperius]

[Whatever insanity this is, Benedict is too weak to care. It's nice, in a hideous way. In a more hideous way, it makes him feel at home.

He nods again, and feels he trusts this unnerving woman, a fact he finds as problematic as anyone else would.]

[bloodandsand]

[ He was wonderfully agreeable and she gave his head a pat as a reward, then considered him again. She was not the plan maker here and neither was this boy. She was also under the impression that the success of their plan hinged on the festering heretics not realizing the boy was actually captive.

Or whatever he was, aside from the confusing myriad of people on the Situationally Dependent Do Not Kill list. She stood elegantly and held out her hand for him to take. ]

Come along, kitten. You require a bath.

[altusimperius]

[He considers her hand for a moment, then takes it. He's in no position to decline a bath, and in the back of his heart he hopes it's a real one, not a bucket dumped over his naked form on a bare floor, dignity preserved by a blanket hung over the cell door.

But surely there's a way for the others on the ship to clean themselves, and he trails along after Poesia in hopes of learning what it is.]

[bloodandsand]

[ It is actually a bucket and a blanket, which she leads him to with a very pleased smile. Isn't she helpful! ]

Here you are, kitten! Miserable conditions, of course, but I suppose it's to be expected. I'm told tubs are very heavy. I hardly see what that has to do with anything, but I'm not a sailor.

[altusimperius]

[It's not that his face falls, since it wasn't that cheerful to begin with. He just.

Fails to smile.]

Thank you, [he rasps, and steps forward, beginning to tug off his threadbare shirt. Might as well get it over with.]

[bloodandsand]

You're very welcome, my dear!

[ It's said in a sweet sing-song voice, full of earnest cheer. She doesn't disappear right away, instead she watches him disrobe with her head tipped slightly. ]

Would you like help washing your back?

[altusimperius]

[That's


kinda weird.

He looks back over his shoulder at her with a quiet shake of his head. He can douse himself with a bucket just fine, thanks.]

[bloodandsand]

[ She shrugs, the brief interest fizzling out like a damp match. ]

Suit yourself. Do call if you need anything, kitten. Mind you don't drown.