CALLI: THE DAY AFTER THAT
(so this one takes place after multiple games, all logs can currently be found on https://thesavagetimes.com/ if you were interested in the whole story, I'm just collecting some of my bits here, as well.)
Early the next morning Calli woke with a yawn cut short. Her attempt to cover her mouth had been halted when her hand reached the end of the silken rope it was bound by. She snickered to herself and used her other hand to release it. She was alone in the cold room. The rope lessons had went well, and once it was clear Calli had a decent beginner's grasp of the slip knots Portia brought in a bottle of wine for them. Calli paid, of course. As they got tipsier they began tying up other random things in the room, and after the second bottle Calli was finally able to achieve a deep and undisturbed sleep. A pillow remained firmly suspended between two chairs by Portia’s own cording.
She slid the amusing display over to the dresser, sat in one of the chairs, and took out her ink and parchment. It didn’t take her long to finish a letter, sprinkle sand across it to help the ink dry, and fold it up into a tightly origami’d envelope. She sealed it with a bit of wax, and managed to catch herself before she could pull out her signet ring. She did not want this one signed!
Hearing a familiar deep laugh from the other side of the door caused her heart to skip a beat. Byron! She laced up her boots, tucked the letter into her corset, stuffed her rope back into her bag, left payment on the side table, and wrapped up in her heavy cloak. Listening at the door she heard the murmur of low voices receding. The practiced denizens were used to talking softly as not to disturb each other, but it seemed Portia was talking a bit louder than normal. Calli knew this would be for her benefit. She knew how it would look if she was spotted coming out of Portia’s room. Calli could hear when they'd turned a corner, and cracked the door to peer down the hall. Empty. Slowing only to gently re-close the door behind her, she then crept out of Ruby's Rest, hood up, and stepped out into Old Korvosa.
Even though she knew danger remained, she felt more confident with the sun beaming down on her this morning. She felt rejuvenated. She had a plan. She let the enchanted hairpin return her to the drab, unremarkable features and colorings, grimed herself up again, and made her way towards Palace Arkona. This early in the day it is a much easier journey, and pickpockets are more of a concern than cutthroats. The air was filled with the noises of a city getting ready for the day, and she bought a small rough loaf of something bread-like as she traveled to help soak up the night of drinking. By the time she’d gotten where she was going the roads were quite busy with people moving in all directions. Perfect. She holed up in an alley far enough away to not be suspicious but close enough to see who was coming and going, and then she settled in to wait.
Hours passed. People largely ignored her. This was a very strange sensation. On one hand, she felt weirdly forgotten. It was a sad and lonely thought that suddenly the world no longer cared about her. But on the other hand, it was a great relief that she was able to spectate in peace. A false invisibility that afforded her the power to really study people as they passed, overhear pieces of conversations that walked by, and witness a small bit of life for this area. Down the alley there were some kids taking turns kicking a ball into point zones scrawled on the building walls. Their laughter and bickering was reassuring. She kept her mind calm while she waited by beginning to think of potential verses for her new companions. They had a group name, it was up to her now to provide a song. She wasn’t happy with many of her ideas as of yet, the tune kept eluding her. She had finally come up one one solid line she was proud of (There’s Trevor, our half orc, the kindest who ever did live, Don’t get on his bad side or you’ll get the Shiv!) when she finally saw what she wanted.
Lady Melyia Arkona emerged from the palace with a small entourage. For a moment she swore it seemed like the woman looked down at the very alley she was hiding in, but her gaze kept travelling until Calli decided she must just be scoping the surroundings as a whole looking for threats. Calli wanted to take one of those concerns off her mind. She called out to the kids, putting on a hint of the local accent she’d been hearing more of recently, and reached into one of her coin pouches.
“I need someone to deliver a letter for me, fast, now. Which of you is best at getting through crowds?” The children narrowed their eyes at her and looked at each other, debating whether to trust the stranger. Calli took out the letter. “Just this letter. That’s all. I’ll wait here with two of you while one of you delivers. Once it’s with her, I’ll pay your friends. There’s a gold for each of you if you can get it there right away and forget who sent you. Just some boring lady who was told to pass it on.”
“Feck off, a whole gold for that, d’you think we’re stupid? You probably don’t even have…” The children’s eyes went wide as she pulled out three shiny gold pieces. They raced over to get a better look. “Where’s the letter going?”
“Lady Arkona.” The kids took a step back, recognizing the name. Calli continued giving instructions, putting authority into her voice, “She’s there, look, and she’s heading off, so you better get there fast. I’ll be watching to make sure you do. It’s just a letter, correspondence from the other side of the Narrows, stop acting like I’m asking you to spit on her.” The largest child had never taken his eyes off the coins, and finally nodded in acceptance. He reached out to take the letter.
“No funny business. I’ve been here long enough to overhear you mention where your Da works, and I’m sure your parents will be very disappointed to find out you’ve squandered this opportunity.” She held on to the parchment a moment longer after he gripped it until he looked up at her. “And thank you." She said it kindly, and his face was a mask of confusion as he took the letter and bolted off down the street.
She watched him bob through the crowds with the speed and skill only children possess. The smaller kids tried asking a couple of questions while they waited. “Why don’t you just deliver it to her house?”
“I wanted to see that she got it.”
“Why don’t you give it to her yourself?”
“I’m allergic.”
The kids laughed at the obvious absurdity of the answer, and Calli briefly smiled down at them, before her eyes snapped back to the target.
It was hard keeping track of him, he was so much smaller than the adults he threaded past, but people were giving Melyia a wide berth, so she clearly spotted when he popped out in her direction. The people around her immediately went on the defensive, but halted when they saw it was just some kid. She could see them talking as he held it out, saw the letter pass into her hand, and she pulled back before he could point back down in the direction he came. It was done.
“Your friend delivered. Here’s your payment, as promised. Don’t try to withhold his share, remember I know where to find you if I want to make sure you were honest!”
“We’d never stiff Thomas, he takes good care of us! So if you ever need any other letters delivered just let us know. But you know this is a lot for that.”
“I’m investing in the future. Be good.” And Calli quickly departed down the other end of the alley without ever poking her head back out, just in case Melyia had decided to follow him back. She only regretted that she couldn’t see her reaction when she read it.
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After I spent some time with a mutual acquaintance of ours I was firmly convinced that in spite of what his compatriots had been up to that your intentions were good. I, out of respect for you and the secrecy he tried so hard to maintain, made sure that there was nothing that could be traced from him back to you. I do believe he loves you, for whatever that’s worth. He actually is a good person. I then took pains to gain your attention through my own interests in helping the people of our town through this current period of unrest. I wanted to help pick up where he had to leave off due to prior business agreements.
I shouldn't have bothered.
You waltzed into what was possibly the fifth most heavily guarded location in Korvosa that night and threatened not just me, but everyone I hold dear. On a more personal level, you used what was one of the most traumatic moments of my life as idle gossip. I thought of you someone who wanted to help turn her family's notorious reputation around, someone I had started to admire. You have corrected my assumption. You are certainly clever, brazen, and you must be far more dangerous than I realize to sit at the table of Sable company and not fear I would retaliate in kind. But in spite of your distasteful delivery, you did manage to stop just short of outing me, and so I held my tongue.
Had you chosen diplomacy you could have found an ally with many lucrative connections. My peers and I are the future of our houses, after all. As it is you've only alerted me that there are treacherous depths to be wary of. I do wonder if the warning was a kindness after all. Perhaps it is not you that you were warning me of? Perhaps you are trying to turn your family around, and it is your family who I need to be cautious of. No matter.
I'm not the same girl I was then, crying about L to any who'd listen. I've learned the value of holding my tongue. At this moment I have no reason for any further dealings with you or your kin. As you've made it clear my charity can be spent elsewhere, I'll simply bid you adieu.
I will continue to work for the good of the city and the betterment of the people within. It would be nice if that put us at parallels and not at odds, but that is up to you. It need not concern me. I shall think no more of you.
I remain,
C
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She felt free. She wouldn’t know right away whether the letter will have helped, but it certainly seemed to her like she had delivered the White Flag that Lady Arkona asked for. A part of her felt incredibly guilty for not including Melyia’s silver dagger with the letter, but the fact that they’d not been able to identify it, yet, was too big to ignore. She wanted to be sure that whatever secret it was holding wasn’t something too malicious to return. Once they could figure that out, then they could decide what to do with it.
For now she got to decide what she wanted to do with herself. It dawned on her that in this moment she had absolutely no driving motivation. She’d achieved the things she had set out to do, and until the next mission came in from Cressida Kroft she was back to being just a Bard on tour. This time without the secret need for revenge! For the first time, possibly ever, whatever she did next was up to her alone.
She thought about her options, and went back to Ruby’s. The lesson with Portia last night had been fun, but also it was useful. Both in the bedroom and on their adventures! She’d struggled a bit trying to tie up the guards in All The World’s Meat. Now she had some pointers she could practice. She wondered what else Portia would be willing to teach her. As her conversation with Nif had pointed out, her only experience with Bedroom Diplomacy had been in the smut she read. She knew, thanks to her parents’ unique arrangement and years of studying the nobility, that sometimes deals are struck between the sheets. She knew from personal experience that there were many people in the world who would happily do favors for even the hint of physical reciprocation. It surprised her greatly that even though Orisini and told them that The Spider King was an egotistical womanizer, that her party reacted so scandalized when she played up to that with him. It had worked, he lowered the price and gave them what they wanted. She had expected them to understand the ploy, and she hadn’t ever needed to follow through on a flirt before. But when the day comes, she worried that her inexperience would render her a weak negotiator.
She cleaned up and transformed back into Pink Calli once again as she entered the brothel. A different group were out in the main room working the day shift, but their reaction to her was the same. Not a client, no need to get up. Gina, the tall woman who acted as bouncer when Byron wasn’t around, came over to say hello. “He’s not here, went to meet Trevor at the Cracked Weasel.”
“Actually, Gina, I’d like to speak to Madame Devlin, if she’s around?” Gina seemed briefly curious but confirmed she was in her office, and after checking with the older woman waved Calli in. Calli shut the door behind her and took a seat.
“To what do I owe the pleasure, dear? Have you realized how much that ivory figurine was worth and come to ask for it back?” Madame Devlin said this with a twinkle in her eye.
“I would never do that to you, it was a gift! Actually, I was wondering how I might go about booking Portia on a semi regular basis, as a tutor,” Calli had come into the room confident but something about the way Devlin’s face changed as she spoke made her suddenly shy, “I’m a novice, you see, and I would hate to be caught needing to give a “performance” without knowing the lyrics. And if possible, would I be able to arrange a way for this to remain just between you, her, and I? I’m not ashamed, but I’m not sure how my manager Nightingale would take the news, and I’ve not known the rest of the party long enough for us to know things like that about each other.”
The old lady looked with eyes filled with experience and some regret, her voice when at last she spoke was gentle. "I have never had a child of my own, though I have acted as mother to many, and been present at not a few births. But your request makes me feel more motherly than I think I have perhaps ever felt. You seem so young to me, so forgive me if I seem condescending. Are you sure this is what you wish child? The girls, women, boys and men here are skilled it is true. And they can teach you what you want. But, innocence once lost cannot be regained. Are you sure?”
Calli realises her intent has been misunderstood and even the hairclip can't hide the blushing. “I seek only to learn techniques, not practice the, uhm, application. I would pay the same! I just know there would be no better place for discretion and education than this, and Portia is an excellent teacher. I spent some time with her last night when I needed somewhere safe to stay and we got on splendidly! It isn’t like I don’t know anything, I’ve read all about it in romantic literature!”
Again Madam Devlin smiles, "Oh I understand. And I still say it might be more... enjoyable and perhaps be more satisfying to discover for yourself and whomever you chose to 'practice the application' with than to be taught." For a moment Madam Devlin looks younger and more innocent and a wistful smile touches her lips in a way that does not look out of place as if she is recalling some distant pleasing memory. "Ah, Tommy," Calli thinks she hears her say, but then she returns to herself and the lines that characterize her face return as if they'd been hidden by an unexpected sun. Her gaze focuses once more and she continues, "But I think although your mind is set on this I will ask but once more in deference to..." she grows wistful for a moment "Another girl I recall from long ago. Are you sure?"
Calliandra feels frustration creeping back into her chest. She was very, very tired of people telling her, even as a kindly insinuation, that she didn’t really know what she wanted. That she shouldn’t be doing the things she wants to do to become the person she wants to be. Why does everyone she meet think they know better than her what she should do with her life? She knows these lessons would make her sexuality a better tool to wield if and when it’s ever needed. But innocence is valuable, too. That’s true. And something in the way the woman spoke rang with such honest longing for something lost that she wondered: maybe she would be missing out on something remarkable by not finding out herself in a more organic way. Only, who knows how long it would be before that ever came up naturally. She never really took dating seriously, even if it had been possible without a guardian hovering all the time. She was weak to romance in books and songs, she could daydream with the best of them, but it was something that happened to other people. Her mind whirled with ongoing debate, and she realized they’d been sat in silence for a few minutes.
Madame Devlin showed no impatience or irritation. She simply waited. Calli hadn’t considered her request to be so scandalous, but it seemed it had more weight than she had expected. “Thank you for your council. I can see why Byron has such respect for you. I’ll take some time to think about it, then. I may still occasionally hire Portia just to get a night in catching up over the books we enjoy. She was great comfort to me last night.”
“If you’re short on people to talk to, I’m happy to make time for you, dear. And don’t worry, your party doesn’t have to know everything.” Devlin winked, and Calli got the feeling the woman had heard something from Calli’s conversation just now that hadn’t been said.
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She stepped back out on to the road and sighed. Fine. She’s made good progress on her own so far, maybe another day or two alone to think things over would continue to bear fruit. At least she could keep working on their song. But if she really was going to be alone tonight, it wouldn’t be in Old Korvosa! Calliandra made her way back over the Narrows into North Point. It was late afternoon, so she happily had time to spend at the Temple of Shelyn for thanks, praise, and inspiration, before she’d stop at the Three Rings Tavern nearby for the night.
Two whole days on her own. She missed Nightingale. She hoped he was okay. But she was enjoying this.