Heirs of a Fallen Land
Sixteenth Day of the Twelfth Month 292 AC
The house was not large, nor was it eye-catching as it lay in the midst of the new-built merchant's quarter, its stark limestone facade sharing a small courtyard with on guard post and a small scribe's shop. About the only thing that caught the boy's eye was the fountain, its two spouts flowing from the beaks of a two-headed eagle. He remembered seeing something like that carved into the walls of Essaria, though they had been worn by wind and rain... a reminder of home for the master of the house.
As he waited outside for the servants to answer his knock, Maelor of Mantarys born to another of Valyria's lost daughters wondered if it was better to have had a home and know it lost in ruins, or to remember the ruin as one's home and sometimes feel irrationally offended knowing that stones long tumbled loose would be set aright. He almost wished Glyra was here to distract him, then thought the better of it. She would probably drive the old mage up the wall. It was a lot easier managing the gremlin when she was not in danger of being turned into a newt over some silly notion.
The young sorcerer was only slightly surprised when the one who opened the door was not a man at all but one of the small silver-furred folk who had guarded Malarys' slumber for centuries. The surprise grew, however, when he saw the Little Valyrian lift a gold-framed lens to his eye before asking somewhat hesitantly in the old tongue, "What is it you carry,
kaelos?"
"It's... ah, tamed," Maelor replied, touching the metal ring of the infernal chain wrapped several times around his belt. He would not call the thing safe of course given its nature, but if one thing had not changed between his old life and the new, it is that it paid to impress and no matter how exciting words alone would only carry one so far.
"As you say," the uncommon little manservant answered, though Maelor had no doubt the news would reach the ear of the master of the House long before he could unveil it.
***
"... so then the idiot told me his 'girls' are in the business for fun and don't
need to get paid, after which he implied I might join them," Selyse finished describing the means by which she tailed an illegal brothel and gambling operation by one of the gang bosses who'd gotten themselves elected to the town council of the Deep. As of three days ago he was not leading anything on account of it being rather hard to do so when one's head had permanently parted ways with one's shoulders.
"Any sign there could be some kind of foreign backer or just an idiot who finally got his hands on enough rope to hang himself?" Maelor asked. He was, after all, sort of responsible for keeping other sneaks out of town or under someone's eye just as Garin was.
"Well he
thought it was his idea alone which does not rule out certain magics or even a truly subtle manipulator, but it does not feel like something that would be worth either," Garin replied firmly. "The council has little power to govern and only as many funds as are needed for quarterly administration."
"Pardon me for saying so," their host interrupted. "But I fear it was not worth the time of anyone here... Oh, do not mistake this for any inherent disdain of the victims of this little scheme," he added. Maelor believed him, believed he cared as little for whores as most other people that is. "It brings to mind using a war hammer to crush a gnat, indubitably effective, but somewhat more tiring then can be justified. More to the point what can work to keep a small growing town ticking along might be a fatal distraction on a larger scale and that days will come. A hundred gnats might yet hide a manticore even as they die."
There was a bit of a thoughtful silence then as the next course was brought in, some kind of mushrooms Maelor surreptitiously made to taste like stake.
"The system needs more crosschecking to stay healthy and free of corruption," Hermetia offered. "Perhaps investigators from the Scholarum...."
"
No," the mistress of the tower almost jumped from her seat. "Ask me in twenty years...
maybe. It's hard enough to teach magic without every fool thinking the study of sorcery is an easy path to influence in whatever petty rivalries they may be invested in."
"You've been very quiet," Malarys addressed the youngest guest save Maelor himself with a smile. "Tell me true, has the food been that good or that bad?"
Valaena Velaryon seemed to sink into her chair for a moment, though she smiled in return. "Neither, I simply do not feel I have much to offer, having little experience in such matters."
"On the contrary, my lady," the elder sorcerer answered. "You have the best of all experience, a different one. Another culture another tradition of law, another way of looking at the world." He sounded so convincing that were Maelor might have believed it had be not seen and partaken in more scams then he could count. The respect Malarys had for anything coming out of the Sunset Lands could perhaps fill a thimble...
The poor girl looked like she was about to shatter the glass in her hand but she did manage to get out: "Perhaps tie the council positions to the guilds and do away with this vote from all. It seems an easy way for a man of low character to gain authority."
Well, Maelor thought.
There's one way yo take eyes off her. He let the chain that had been coiled obediently around his waist fall to the floor and coil into the center of the room. "Figured out what this does," he announced.
"Skewer one's enemies with spikes," Hermetia jested, though it was clear the skilled mages in the room were giving the infernal chain wary looks.
"Well it can swing around in a fight to take advantage of an enemy leaving openings, or it can trip them... but the important thing is it wasn't trying to kill anyone, except maybe Glyra. It was trying to draw blood to bond with a worthy warrior..."
The chain had coiled itself at Valaena's feet, managing to somehow give the impression of a dejected dog, no small trick for a length of chain, forged in the fires of hell and adorned with spikes the size of daggers.
OOC: Oops this got away from me for a bit, since as I wrote I realized there was more and more stuff to explore than the things planned from the start. The bit with the chain ended up being a relatively small part of the interlude. Don't worry, Valaena did not pick it up yet, the weapon just expressed a preference (and it would be a decent weapon for her since it is eligible for weapon finesse). 
)
