Roen stared up at the dark stony ceiling of her cell, one arm draped over her head. The room was dimly lit, and it reflected her thoughts.
How many suns has it been since she'd turned herself in? A week? Suns were already starting to blend into each other. At least she had the singular window in her cell to mark the passage of days; that and the vase of wildflowers that Ser Crofte had brought lent a little brightness to her small cell. A blanket and pillows, parchment to write with, a lamp to lend extra light... all small comforts afforded by the Sultansworn to try and make her incarceration somewhat bearable.
It was barely that. The small walled cell sometimes felt as though it encased her like a vise. Askier had noted it within seconds of entering her cell. It took her a few bells, before the dark walls started to feel closer and the room lacking air. When had she become claustrophobic?
It was that cursed boat, she thought bitterly.
Roen took to her meditations like bee to honey. She had meditated most suns for bells on end, to try and clear her thoughts, to dismiss that heaviness that wanted to crush her chest and shatter her composure. Numerous visitors had brought comfort and welcomed distraction too. Hornet had brought her things from Noscea, just personal trinkets and changes in clothing. But she too immediately felt uncomfortable standing within the prison. Her obvious disgust for the place was worn plainly on the Roegadyn's face.
Verad Bellveil, however, brought something Roen did not expect. A gift of levity. He charged in with falsified papers demanding to be put in the gaols, only to be refused. He shared his not-so-sane plan with Roen after the fact, that he had hoped to break her out from within. But the Sworn's refusal to arrest the man on fabricated charges foiled it, and for that Roen was grateful. And... perhaps amused. Their talks were always something that lent brightness to her day and left her with a small, lingering smile. The eccentric elezen seemed to have a special talent for it where she was concerned. He departed with a promise to send her a copy of his highly scandalous memoir to pass the time.
Then there was Askier. With the golden-eyed Miqo'te, there was always that sense of stark honesty between them, because they both knew the truth of what had happened aboard that boat, and the darkness they had suffered there. It brought about bouts of sadness, but also a measure of freedom in their honesty towards each other. He whispered his promise, but also slipped her a ceruleum grenade hidden in his sleeve, in their farewell.
If she had been quicker in thought, Roen would have gotten Kage to smuggle it back out when he visited her next. But so excited was she when she recalled that the smuggler named Shaelen could potentially clear Gharen of the involvement in the ceruleum theft, that she had completely forgotten about the grenade she had hastily shoved under her pillow.
And she dared not share it with Crofte, who may have been duty bound to report it. She could share it with no Sworn. Not even Natalie, who had recklessly stolen Roen from of her cell by sneaking in a courtesan who uncannily bore a face that could have belonged to her sister, all just for an hour's lunch.
But the grenade was still in her keeping. Hidden, rolled up in a tunic in her sack, but still there, so she was immediately grateful when Delial unexpectedly came to visit. The woman was obviously not pleased with her decision or her situation, but did not press the issue for long. Instead, Roen asked her to sneak out a special package that Askier had left with her, and the Highlander woman immediately understood.
Only after the grenade was disposed of did Roen confess it to Crofte, along with the courtesan who came for a visit. The Sultansworn seemed to gain new lines above her brows with the news, but she bore it stoically.
But after the events of today, Roen began to see genuine concern and perhaps even doubt in the Sworn's eyes.
Roen frowned as she still felt some lingering aftereffects of the somnus she nearly overdosed on. She was told a potent dose had been hidden in the sweet water that Kage had brought her. She did not recall all of the events clearly, but knew that there was a surprise search of her room while she was trying to stay conscious, and vials of Garlean made aether poison, as declared by the heavily armored Sworn who conducted the search, were discovered hidden in her pillow case. Crofte immediately argued that it was planted, but Roen could not remember any other visitors. She wondered how long she had been asleep after her drugged state.
Immediate suspicion fell to the Sworn who conducted the search; Ser Besten was his name, and he proclaimed that his orders came from his superior. He also then implied that his superior had Monetarist ties and knew Taeros.
This all seemed to fall back to Taeros, the Monetarists investigator that started the Mines inquiry in the first place; the same man with ties to the Garlean woman, Banurein. Roen frowned, trying to make sense of things. He had his own motivations, as Gharen noted, but none seemed to know what they were.
But if he was working for Banurein, one constant had been that the mysterious Garlean woman had wanted Roen to return home to Garlemald. But with this potentially fatal dose of somnus in her waterskin, that no longer seemed to be her agenda. What had changed?
The fact that Kiht had known this Banurein woman for a long time came as a complete surprise. Her longtime Moon Keeper friend had come for a visit, and just in time, to discover Roen's groggy, drugged state. Once again, Roen owed her a debt, for with her help, along with that of Ser Crofte and Natalie, the antidote was administered in time and only thing Roen suffered now was a bit of a headache and some hazy memory of the last few bells. But that mattered not to Kiht. The sorrow and guilt she bore on her face when she confessed of the knowledge of the Garlean woman had taken Roen aback. Of all people, she would have never guessed that Kiht would have been in contact with the woman who captured and tortured her brother.
Banurein was also likely responsible for getting Natalie, Kage and herself suspended from the Order. And even blackmailing Natalie into luring out Gharen. Now things were starting to make sense. Why would the Syndicate really care for her brother? For a few destroyed properties? For gil? Nay. Banurein wanted him back. This Delial warned her and Gharen. And she used Taeros to bait him back out.
Perhaps this somnus was also a trap then. Roen knew, if she had overdosed on somnus, possibly died within the gaols, the news would reach her brother. It would bring him back to Ul’Dah, looking for retribution. It may even rekindle that rage within him that Roen knew he had worked so hard to calm--a rage that Banurein wanted to unleash for unfathomable reasons.
Roen clenched her fists. She was tired. She was tired of being beaten. Kidnapped. Poisoned. Tired of being used as a lure for her brother. She was tired of the sleepless nights. Tired of the nightmares. Tired of feeling so helpless. She had turned herself in to the Sultansworns with hope finding a new bloom in her heart. But now laying here, that delicate bloom was threatening to wither. Had she made a mistake? Was she wrong to trust Ser Crofte and the system she so stoutly represented? She could not say.
Roen closed her eyes. At least her brother was safe, and Hornet too. But sitting here in the gaols, it made her an easy pawn still. Of this Gharen warned her. He had promised her not to let them use her, but … she was starting to have doubts about his resolve after seeing their methods.
She sat up straight in her bed, a new resolve set in her narrowed eyes. Her fate had been given willingly over to the Sultansworns, and she would abide by it. But she would not simply sit here and be bait. A pawn. A victim. There were still pieces to this puzzle that did not quite fit, but she had a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that there was a missing a key, and she just needed to figure out what it was.
Roen took a deep breath in, but rather than taking her seated meditative pose, she stood and began to practice her forms--the ones Qaeli had taught her in those final days of her escape in Noscea. She no longer felt the need to clear her thoughts and calm her mind. She needed to get ready for whatever was coming.
How many suns has it been since she'd turned herself in? A week? Suns were already starting to blend into each other. At least she had the singular window in her cell to mark the passage of days; that and the vase of wildflowers that Ser Crofte had brought lent a little brightness to her small cell. A blanket and pillows, parchment to write with, a lamp to lend extra light... all small comforts afforded by the Sultansworn to try and make her incarceration somewhat bearable.
It was barely that. The small walled cell sometimes felt as though it encased her like a vise. Askier had noted it within seconds of entering her cell. It took her a few bells, before the dark walls started to feel closer and the room lacking air. When had she become claustrophobic?
It was that cursed boat, she thought bitterly.
Roen took to her meditations like bee to honey. She had meditated most suns for bells on end, to try and clear her thoughts, to dismiss that heaviness that wanted to crush her chest and shatter her composure. Numerous visitors had brought comfort and welcomed distraction too. Hornet had brought her things from Noscea, just personal trinkets and changes in clothing. But she too immediately felt uncomfortable standing within the prison. Her obvious disgust for the place was worn plainly on the Roegadyn's face.
Verad Bellveil, however, brought something Roen did not expect. A gift of levity. He charged in with falsified papers demanding to be put in the gaols, only to be refused. He shared his not-so-sane plan with Roen after the fact, that he had hoped to break her out from within. But the Sworn's refusal to arrest the man on fabricated charges foiled it, and for that Roen was grateful. And... perhaps amused. Their talks were always something that lent brightness to her day and left her with a small, lingering smile. The eccentric elezen seemed to have a special talent for it where she was concerned. He departed with a promise to send her a copy of his highly scandalous memoir to pass the time.
Then there was Askier. With the golden-eyed Miqo'te, there was always that sense of stark honesty between them, because they both knew the truth of what had happened aboard that boat, and the darkness they had suffered there. It brought about bouts of sadness, but also a measure of freedom in their honesty towards each other. He whispered his promise, but also slipped her a ceruleum grenade hidden in his sleeve, in their farewell.
If she had been quicker in thought, Roen would have gotten Kage to smuggle it back out when he visited her next. But so excited was she when she recalled that the smuggler named Shaelen could potentially clear Gharen of the involvement in the ceruleum theft, that she had completely forgotten about the grenade she had hastily shoved under her pillow.
And she dared not share it with Crofte, who may have been duty bound to report it. She could share it with no Sworn. Not even Natalie, who had recklessly stolen Roen from of her cell by sneaking in a courtesan who uncannily bore a face that could have belonged to her sister, all just for an hour's lunch.
But the grenade was still in her keeping. Hidden, rolled up in a tunic in her sack, but still there, so she was immediately grateful when Delial unexpectedly came to visit. The woman was obviously not pleased with her decision or her situation, but did not press the issue for long. Instead, Roen asked her to sneak out a special package that Askier had left with her, and the Highlander woman immediately understood.
Only after the grenade was disposed of did Roen confess it to Crofte, along with the courtesan who came for a visit. The Sultansworn seemed to gain new lines above her brows with the news, but she bore it stoically.
But after the events of today, Roen began to see genuine concern and perhaps even doubt in the Sworn's eyes.
Roen frowned as she still felt some lingering aftereffects of the somnus she nearly overdosed on. She was told a potent dose had been hidden in the sweet water that Kage had brought her. She did not recall all of the events clearly, but knew that there was a surprise search of her room while she was trying to stay conscious, and vials of Garlean made aether poison, as declared by the heavily armored Sworn who conducted the search, were discovered hidden in her pillow case. Crofte immediately argued that it was planted, but Roen could not remember any other visitors. She wondered how long she had been asleep after her drugged state.
Immediate suspicion fell to the Sworn who conducted the search; Ser Besten was his name, and he proclaimed that his orders came from his superior. He also then implied that his superior had Monetarist ties and knew Taeros.
This all seemed to fall back to Taeros, the Monetarists investigator that started the Mines inquiry in the first place; the same man with ties to the Garlean woman, Banurein. Roen frowned, trying to make sense of things. He had his own motivations, as Gharen noted, but none seemed to know what they were.
But if he was working for Banurein, one constant had been that the mysterious Garlean woman had wanted Roen to return home to Garlemald. But with this potentially fatal dose of somnus in her waterskin, that no longer seemed to be her agenda. What had changed?
The fact that Kiht had known this Banurein woman for a long time came as a complete surprise. Her longtime Moon Keeper friend had come for a visit, and just in time, to discover Roen's groggy, drugged state. Once again, Roen owed her a debt, for with her help, along with that of Ser Crofte and Natalie, the antidote was administered in time and only thing Roen suffered now was a bit of a headache and some hazy memory of the last few bells. But that mattered not to Kiht. The sorrow and guilt she bore on her face when she confessed of the knowledge of the Garlean woman had taken Roen aback. Of all people, she would have never guessed that Kiht would have been in contact with the woman who captured and tortured her brother.
Banurein was also likely responsible for getting Natalie, Kage and herself suspended from the Order. And even blackmailing Natalie into luring out Gharen. Now things were starting to make sense. Why would the Syndicate really care for her brother? For a few destroyed properties? For gil? Nay. Banurein wanted him back. This Delial warned her and Gharen. And she used Taeros to bait him back out.
Perhaps this somnus was also a trap then. Roen knew, if she had overdosed on somnus, possibly died within the gaols, the news would reach her brother. It would bring him back to Ul’Dah, looking for retribution. It may even rekindle that rage within him that Roen knew he had worked so hard to calm--a rage that Banurein wanted to unleash for unfathomable reasons.
Roen clenched her fists. She was tired. She was tired of being beaten. Kidnapped. Poisoned. Tired of being used as a lure for her brother. She was tired of the sleepless nights. Tired of the nightmares. Tired of feeling so helpless. She had turned herself in to the Sultansworns with hope finding a new bloom in her heart. But now laying here, that delicate bloom was threatening to wither. Had she made a mistake? Was she wrong to trust Ser Crofte and the system she so stoutly represented? She could not say.
Roen closed her eyes. At least her brother was safe, and Hornet too. But sitting here in the gaols, it made her an easy pawn still. Of this Gharen warned her. He had promised her not to let them use her, but … she was starting to have doubts about his resolve after seeing their methods.
She sat up straight in her bed, a new resolve set in her narrowed eyes. Her fate had been given willingly over to the Sultansworns, and she would abide by it. But she would not simply sit here and be bait. A pawn. A victim. There were still pieces to this puzzle that did not quite fit, but she had a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that there was a missing a key, and she just needed to figure out what it was.
Roen took a deep breath in, but rather than taking her seated meditative pose, she stood and began to practice her forms--the ones Qaeli had taught her in those final days of her escape in Noscea. She no longer felt the need to clear her thoughts and calm her mind. She needed to get ready for whatever was coming.
