I'l Fana Kelbé (The White Hart) Contract: 'Retaking a Memory'

[Katarya Frost]

Katarya smiled at Dáire's poke at her about being summoned. She gave him a wry smile and wink, "But you're such a good boy!" She joked.

When he told her his own intelligence, she nodded. "Well if we are to attend this party, we'll need invitations. Apparently anyone can get one ... provided you're amongst the upper classes. He seems to send these invitations out rather randomly, so it wouldn't be a stretch for one or more of us to attend and him not know who we were. But we'd need one of these invitations, or a copy of one. Plus, we'd have to look like a member of the upper-class! And though I think we all look father dashing, I fear it may not be enough to move in such circles without drawing attention." She mused.

[Artemis Black]

Artemis appreciated the apology. “She does have a habit of turning things on their head,” he replied, and offered a nod to the elf to show there was no lasting harm. A grin tugged at his lips when working primarily alone was mentioned. “I’m certainly in similar standing, though I do have some amount of practice recently. I imagine we can be flexible,” he said before tamping down his smile.

He listened to Katarya’s explanation of the target, a constantly worn piece of jewelry, and the likely point of contact, a heavily attended party. Though there wasn’t any mention at all about all of the important pieces surrounding actually entering or exiting the event. His mind was already starting to tick over possibilities as Dáire provided the fruits of his own information gathering.

As opposed to Katarya’s golden egg vagueness, Dáire seemed to have a firm head on his shoulders. He’d checked for entrance and egress, and even had people to get him internal plans. ‘Might not be completely doomed then, only terribly deadly,’ Artemis thought as he listened to the man. He chuckled at the concept of simply skulking about a party like shadows, then felt a touch of worry as he wondered if perhaps that had been Kat’s plan.

He held back a grimace when Katarya winked at the elf. He still didn’t know what those two were, or even what was between him and her. He just knew it made him annoyed to see how open and playful she was. She mentioned the invitations and he felt an inkling of a less dangerous idea.

When she finished Artemis cut in, “I can likely help with the rotation schedules. Unless the man’s paying several lord’s ransoms each month he likely calls in private contractors.” He tapped his hands on the desk, making a tune unconsciously. “I’ve got a few fellows in the hiring guilds, even the high class ones, and should be able to get something by the morning if I make a visit tonight,” Artemis said, his respect for the elf having grown at the attention to detail.

“There’s bound to be extra staff brought in, same as the guards. Could talk to some companies, see if we can get on the list. Would get us into the kitchen, avoid the need for an invitation. Then change, act a little drunk, and get escorted back to the main party,” Artemis said. He tilted his head and tapped his lip in thought before continuing.

“Once we’ve snagged the piece I’m guessing neither of you has a blank bag? You know, makes scrying impossible, about yay big,” he said, making his hands into an oval about the size of a courier’s message satchel. “Those also aren’t cheap, even to rent. I might can pull in a favor, but your debt to me is starting to mount Miss Frost,” he said, locking his gaze onto Katarya. His expression wasn’t cold, but it was questioning.

He suddenly shook his head. “We’d need good clothes, and you said what four days?” he asked the witch. “That’s not going to be simple or cheap. Think you could work with O’Dell on that Ksenia?” he ask, turning to the woman.

[Ksenia]

Katarya’s comment about “we all look rather dashing” was clearly not meant for me, Ksenia thought acerbically, considering the fabric on her underdress was literally wearing away at the seams, and her overdress, while clean, was not stain-free or remotely fashionable. Katarya’s apparent plan of attending the ball completely out in the open seemed ridiculous, even to Ksenia’s mind. There’d be a clear trail of who was where and when.

Dáire’s intelligence, such as it was, seemed more practical. Ksenia knew that servants were rarely noticed by the upper-crust - Mam had never even cared about their names, even in the poshest homes - and any etiquette slips would likely be overlooked as the servants were not expected to have the manners of their ‘betters’. Artemis suggested going in as a servant and slipping into the party from there. Much less traceable. But ball clothes in four days? It was madness to think about!

“I think that, with Mr. O’Dell’s assistance, that might be possible.” Oh, it would. She would make it happen, even if she had to stay up three nights in a row. “I would need to get Katarya’s measurements, of course, and I might trouble Mr. O’Dell for the gentlemen’s attire, as that’s his specialty.” Damn it. Katarya’s manner of speaking was starting to rub off on her; she was falling into the upper-class diction and cadences Mam had drilled her on. Once on her own, she’d quickly adopted a way of speaking more like those around her; it saved confusion all around, both about what she was saying and why she was there.

“We should talk to Mr. O’Dell about this and make sure he can do it,” Ksenia said, turning slightly to Artemis. “It’s a tight time frame. We’ll need the fabric and all the bits and bobs to go with it, and we need it as soon as can be.” Her stomach gurgled slightly and she noticed Artemis flick his eyes toward her very briefly. For Cecilia’s sake, where was the server?!

[Katarya Frost]

The waiter appeared at the table as if Fenn's had heard Ksenia's plea: "Apologies for the delay, sirs, miss' ... what can I get you?

Kat's eyes lit up as the man approached. "Elven wine, if you please ... and a light salad." She knew how uncomfortable and restrictive higher fashion could be, and she didn't want to look too thick.

She gave Artemis a playful smack on the hand for his comments on her 'turning things on their heads', though she didn't deny it either. But when he mentioned the debt, her eyes narrowed. "Any debt will be paid in full, when the job is done. The reward is generous, though since it is more important for me on a personal level, rather than a financial one, I can make sure to pay you back for your help." And be out from under any obligation to you, she thought, but kept that to herself.

As the information from Dáire came in, it seemed a plan much different from hers was evolving. She gave a mocking frown. "Oh how it would have been to a princess just for a night!" She smiled. "Though I like the idea of getting through the kitchens and then heading into the party so I can have taste of the high life ... as much as I can't stand the lot of them!" She turned to Ksenia. "If I provide materials and sufficient payment; would it be possible to make me a simple, but elegant dress; satin perhaps? You're the experts. I know where I can get accessories ... I hope."

She quietened down as the server handed them their orders, then resumed after taking a drink of her wine. "Once the bangle has been secured, I think either Artemis and Dáire would be best suited ... I can't run very fast in heels!" She smiled. "Thoughts?"

[Ksenia]

“Satin would be expensive at best,” Ksenia said thoughtfully. “I don’t know what kind of reward would cover that and still leave you much over.” Mulling it over, “I mean, I suppose I could go to the clothing store Artemis mentioned that’s supposed to be cheap and maybe cobble a couple dresses together into something...but for a noble dress, I’d have to fake a lot of the decorations, you’d still need the right undergarments to make you look right...and honestly I don’t know if I could make that look anything like decent and hold together for more than very slow walking.”

She looked over at Katarya. “Do you have a corset and underpinnings for the dress you want? At the very least that’s a shift, a corset, and probably some kind of bum roll or a cage. That’s before adding shoes or any jewelry at all.” Ksenia cleared her throat. “I very much doubt that I can do what you want me to do, in the time frame you want me to do it, for the price you’re likely looking for.”

“Now, I might be able to throw together some servants’ outfits, if we can find out how the lord dresses his servants for these parties. We’ll also need to figure out which servants are most likely to be close to the guests, and copy them.” Ksenia honestly felt the entire thing was ill-judged and far too risky, but she would take her cues from her employer. If he wanted her to make Katarya clothing, she would do it. She half expected Katarya to balk at the idea of wearing servant garb at a fancy party, but the idea was out there, at least.

[Dáire]

He found himself nodding away while Artemis spoke, this man knew his stuff. Entering as staff sounded much more plausible that trying to pose as nobles. “If you can make some enquires; even if they’re only to get a hold of the correct clothing. I would say the contacts I have could get us into the house that way. Unless you want paper work faked so there’s credit if we’re apprehended, and need proof of our employment.” All the possible way things could go sour flittered through his head in a messy jumble, no thought really fully forming either. His brow furrowed as he rubbed his chin, deep in thought “I may be able to track one of those bags down, I had one at one point but as things go, that’s no longer the case. I’ve a few around that owe me favours though before we launch into spending money.”

He found himself trying to work out the dynamic between Artemis and Kat as the young man referred to her being indebted to him, she had called him her lover, but things seemed off to him. Thankfully a server arrived, gladly agreeing to fetch them much needed drinks. Dáire could feel the tension build in his friend before she replied, definitely something sore there he thought. Taking a much needed swig of the ale now in front of him, he was at least able to put in some more intel, “Aurae’s offering us 1 gold piece to retrieve her bangle from the noble woman, which is a generous sum for the item in question- it’s of high sentimental value which apparently warrants that sum to her.” He didn’t want to divulge too much about the bangle, he knew how much it may be worth to other elves and didn’t trust either of them not to disappear with it. “As for your question Kat, I’m not sure how well I will blend into staff in a human size household, so in light of that, I may be best hiding within some of the back rooms while someone else retrieve it and then to hand it over, so I can swiftly remove it from the property.” he paused momentarily, considering, "I suppose i could also find some way to cause a distraction should things go south before the bangles retrieved and you guys need a way out.

It all seemed so risky, so many variables that could blow up in their faces. He had no choice; he owed the woman more than she’d ever ask of him but it left him feeling unable to deny the request.

[Artemis Black]

"Does the drop off have protections? Do we need to go to ground to let things blow over? Do we have a fake we can leave behind? Often nobles like to avoid causing too much social stir if they can pretend to their peers that nothing's amiss," Artemis rambled, trying to organize all his thoughts as the rattled around in his head.

This didn't seem like a well thought out venture, and the consequences seemed more than dire. You'd simply disappear, likely to be tortured in a dungeon for sick amusement until you expired. On the other hand, it was a chance to get into a noble's party, steal something from under their noses, and even get paid for it. Add to that, Dáire seemed to have a fair head on his shoulders, and Artemis was intrigued.

"It sounds like the general gist is to slip in as a legitimate part of the servant's group, under false credentials, and then do the deed when an opportunity presents itself," Artemis said, weighing his thoughts with his hands. "I can get the bag if you can't. Either way, it's a favor traded in I imagine."

"If you're doing the running part, I think this could be managed. We'd need to have a ruckus caused in the kitchens to distract from various staff suddenly missing. A fire or something. That'd be you, my lover," he said, smiling at Katarya. "I'd also love if we could fashion a cheap but sufficient replica. Use social pressure to reduce the follow up recovery efforts," he said putting his palm onto his neck.

Artemis scrubbed at his cheek for a moment. "We can go for the materials once we get info on clothes, work with the clothier for the basics. This might actually get us enough to work things out."

Artemis suddenly nodded and grinned. "For the pay, and with the people, I'm in. Though, I'd like to have a very long talk after we've visited the clothier, and I've reached out to my contacts. Either late tonight or early tomorrow," he said to Katarya. "Am I allowed to come to your place, or will I need to let you in through the roof of mine?" he asked her, a faint smile on his lips.

[Katarya Frost]

As Ksenia educated her on the intricacies of dress making, Kat couldn't help but frown. "I'm afraid my wardrobe, though growing, is rather lacking in those kinds of things. Which is a shame. I was terribly looking forward to swan around the nobility, letting them think I'm one them, when they are actually talking to a completely broke witch!" She smiled at the thought.

"As for a replica; I'm led to believe that the bracelet is very intricate, true to Elven form. Getting a silver bangle with fake emeralds, plus the details on it ... I don't think we'd have the time before it was handed over to someone else. Our best bet is to make it so the lady Dirge simply doesn't realise she's actually missing it." Kat thought for a second, knowing she was going to bring up something which everyone but Dáire might be opposed to. "With an effective memory charm; that could work. But as said; we'd need to be in proximity to her, preferably somewhere away from the crowd."

As the plan began to unfold, Kat sat back and let the experts talk; she could do the things they asked, her eyes even taking on a twinkle when Artemis mentioned the fire. Happy to oblige on that from. The Ny'tha damned nobility could do with a fire lighting under their backsides." Then she asked: "I assume I'll be sent in to do said magic, but am I going in alone? Or will someone be there as back up? It'd certainly make me feel easier about it!"

When Artemis suggested they have a talk, she nodded. "I'm sure Cáno {leader} Aurae wouldn't mind if I had a visitor. Come by when you're ready; I'll be doing my preparations with the Book, so not going anywhere. If I'm not in my room, I'll probably taking a break in the main tavern .. try to ignore the looks you'll get; the elves at the Hart aren't entirely trustful of Humans, especially ones that don't know."

The witch drained her cup, then set it back on the table, enjoying the rich taste on her tongue. "Looks like we all have a busy four days ahead of us." She glanced to Dáire. "Home time?"

Kat leant over and gave Artemis a quick kiss. "I shall see you tonight. Take care, both of you." She said.

***

When she and Dáire left Fenn's, the witch glanced to the tall Elf as they walked, feeding Nyx on fruit as they walked back towards The White Hart. "What do you think? Did I make a mistaken, bringing them in?" She asked. "And be honest; I'll hold my hands up if I messed up.

[Dáire]

Dáire was relieved when the meeting drew to a close and everyone seemed somewhat happy with the result. There was so much to do in such a short space of time and he’d just been bombarded with a whole host of ideas. He needed to sit down and pick his way through them as soon as it was possible. When Kat looked over at him, he nodded in agreement, swiftly unfolding himself from the seat. Returning his attention to the table, he addressed Ksenia and Artemis both, “It was a pleasure to meet both of you, and I look forward to working alongside you. Should you have need of me, I’m sure Kat or Cithrel will have an idea of where to find me.”

He left Kat to her goodbyes, waiting outside in the fresh afternoon air. He took deep breaths into his lungs, all the while considering where he would need to visit next.

They walked in silence for a time, Kat feeding her raven as Dáire kept an eye on the humans bustling around them. Her question took him by surprise as they rounded onto yet another street. He looked over at his friend, mirthful surprise all over his expression and jovial voice. “Is that Kat being uncertain? My my, things are a foot aren’t they.” He smiled to himself , deciding to do as she asked without further jesting, “They aren’t what I expected, your lover is … well, he’s much sharper than I had first allowed for. As long as he isn’t going to stab us in the back, I think he is a good asset to have along with us. ..the other girl, I cant get a read on. I know there’s bad blood between you both; in some manner or another but there’s something I cant quiet unravel.” He made a point of moving out of her arm’s length, lightly tugging on her braid as he moved away. “You did well little human.” A smug smirk creeping onto his face as his long legs carried him easily out of reach.

The both went their separate ways when they returned to I'l Fana Kelbé, Dáire heading to his room to write some letter which he would then spend his afternoon leaving off to his various contacts. Kat off to take care of some business known to him.

[Katarya Frost]

Kat laughed Dáire's poke at her uncertainty; it was true she rarely seconded guessed herself - one of many bad habits she had - but she supposed that maybe spending time with the Elves (and Dáire in particular) had evened her out, a little. When you're twenty two and sparring with people who have lived for centuries, then one tended to be a little more cautious in what one said.

The pushed through the doors of The White Hart; it was busy this afternoon! She stepped into the main area, where all eyes were turned on Raen, who was sat on the small stage, singing an Elvish ballard. His beautiful voice accented his physical beauty, and Kat was also drawn into the performance, giving a big clap as he finished and gave a flourished bow.

She went to the bar and asked for more wine; she might as well enjoy the evening. She turned and raised the cup to her lips, appreciating the flavour as Raen sauntered up to order for himself. Kat gave him a wry glance. "Somebody seems on form, this afternoon!"

Raen gave her a bow, too. "It was a song about true love; dedicated to you."

Kat snorted. "It was a song about an Elven hero who died fighting a dragon," she pointed out. "So if what you say is true, then I hope I'm at least the dragon! 'Ive been called worse, that's for sure.'

Raen grinned over his mug. "You're too cold to be a dragon. Maybe one day you'll let your heart thaw for poor Rean the Bard!"

"I think not. You're too young, for starters ..."

"I'm a hundred years older than you!" He protested.

Maybe your body is older than mine, but you're just a lusty young man who doesn't need to keep flirting with me than one of the many fair Elven maids who would lift their skirts for the might' Raen the Bard!"

Raen out his hand to his chest, as if he had been struck. "Oh, how you wound me!" He said, then laughed. "Besides; where's the fun in that? I like to hunt for my prey. It's a Kerasoka thing." He grinned, his face was flushed with the effects of the booze he had been drinking all day.

"Well I suggest you call off the hunt," she said, putting her cloak over her arm. "I'm retiring for the rest of the day; I have studying to do. If Artemis comes in, will you make sure Cithrel knows he's not breaking the rules and can come visit me in my room."

"You're Human?" Raen pulled a face.

Kat laughed. "In case you hadn't noticed, Raen: I'm Human too!" She turned away. "I hope you enjoy the rest of your shift, and inevitable heart-breaking you'll do on some poor girl."

***

With Nyx sat on at the window, peering out into the city, Kat was hunched over her Book of Shadows. Though she was waiting for Artemis, she was absorbed in the spell she had found, wondering if she would be able to pull it off. 'Certainly not in here.' She thought. The Elves were a lot more relaxed about her using magic in her room, provided it didn't break anything; some of them even seemed a little fascinated by it, though most were indifferent.

She was supposed to be looking at charms that might help with the contract, but it was easy to get lost in the Book. She sighed in resignation as she moved onto memory charms; something she had always had an affinity for. She just wondered how she would pull it off at a packed party! ''I'll find a way' she thought. She didn't want to be a useless part of this whole thing.

The light began to fade, and soon the warm cosy glow of candles lit the room, while she sipped her wine and twirling a piece of thin rope round her fingers, silently mouthing the words of a charm so that she might remember it off the top her head.

At the window, Nyx gave a croak ...