You tell Captain Bukhar to pack his shit, you're going for a trip into the wilderness! He raises an eyebrow, but seems to warm to the idea when you mention Princess Annika - she was all right as far as he recalls. Going on a hunt, you say? Better pack the crossbow then. Two, maybe. Actually three - you will need one too. And some knives as well.
Unsurprisingly, Princess Annika's chosen companion (well, chosen is perhaps a strong word - unshakable would be more appropriate) is from the diplomatic team. She watches you and the good captain like an owl as you prepare for the ride out into the wilderness. You leave your secretary in charge of business at home by note - ever since you became fully nocturnal your schedules have developed a very saddening lack of overlap.
You and Princess Annika catch up on the way - she appears very curious about how you've been doing lately, having missed being able to chat with you like this. You chatter and gossip in the evenings when the sun is low and you wake up.
4
Every now and then you stop at an inn, and you with the help of Captain Bukhar organize the disappearance of a local poacher or two. They grow 'em fairly delicious out here, you're pleased to note. Considerably better than what you get from a prison, that's for certain.
258 S.I., After A Week's Journey
Through your personal request you hold up the coach a little so that you arrive at your destination well into sundown so that you're at your best when you make your entrance.
Lady Something-or-other is a hale and hearty woman who absolutely feels at home in her country manor. Affluent, childless and certainly not more than 30 years old, she appears to have taken to a widow's lifestyle without missing a beat, and the first thing you notice about her estate is the sheer number of hunting trophies.
3
Though she appears reasonably keen on making conversation with you at the dinner table, you do get the sense she is perhaps a little bit disappointed at the presence of you and Captain Bukhar in her home. Certainly not enough to be rude about it, mind you. Merely enough to not extend the same sort of warmth she has for the Princess.
In any case, since nobody is tired and a night hunt seems like a smashing idea to your host once Princess Annika floats it about, you waste no time in getting right to it, and of the six of you who go, nobody appears to have much trouble with prowling the woods after dark - Lady Something-or-other clearly appreciates the challenge, her old manservant is intent on keeping a stiff upper lip by any means necessary, you can see perfectly in the dark, Captain Bukhar is a good enough shot that the night is just a minor hindrance, the Astral Dragon appears to thrive in the dark in her own special way and Princess Annika herself is content to go through the motions while skillfully imitating enjoyment.
At one point she asks you to have Captain Bukhar run interference for her companion, and you acquiesce out of politeness. At this point the two of you walk up onto a bluff and she turns to you with an earnest expression.
What have you
really been up to, she asks of you with terrible curiosity. You've been acting very strangely this whole year, and it's clear you've, well, changed a bit. The whole nocturnal thing, for instance. And the way you seem to be eating people quite regularly now, that's a bit of a change too. What's going on?
Her tone is perfectly friendly, but you get the sense she's done enough investigation for it to be impossible to politely deny her.
A) Tell her the whole truth of what you've been doing this past year or so.
B) Tell her about your changes, but leave out the bit about Nubby.
C) Tell her about Nubby and your changes, but leave the actual forces involved unexplained.
D) You don't appreciate being spied on, and you don't think you have to tell her anything.
E) Run away.
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Topic: SPAMMASTER: Spymistress Kalja the Bewitched (Read 34867 times)