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This was what Belladonna hated about humans. In places where law enforcement was seriously needed, nope! No one ever bothered, leaving the place a cesspit of criminal activity and lowlife scum. Then again, in a place where everyone was peacefully minding their business, some dirt bag with a semblance of political power appeared and wanted to set down some stupid sanctions that would make life difficult for generally everybody. Shirotsume was a mountain village, so what was the point in making the town more fortified? What war was Shirotsume fighting that required such “fortification”? It was only more annoying to discover that the person who had come up with the idea was a foreigner, an official from Bosco. Outsiders meddling with things that were little to none of their business. From the so-called fortification, the next thing people would hear was that some feudal lord who knew how to butter up the “right” people would then become the despot of the entire region, and the fortification that was meant to protect people would only serve to keep the world out, and that included help for the suffering underlings.
This could not be allowed.
Best to destroy this entire nonsense before it started.
Belladonna had no problems getting to the town, but infiltrating the venue of the political deliberation would be a bit of a hassle, what with the beefed up security the town currently had. She figured that it would be sheer folly to launch a direct assault on the town. The leaders would escape, she might end up getting arrested, and she would definitely have given the Boscan more ammunition for his campaign: everyone would agree that the town needed defense against nuisances, and they would applaud his moves. Something stealthier, more in the line of sabotage, was appropriate. And Belladonna had just the idea.
Of course, the meeting would take place behind closed doors, far from the meddling eyes and ears of the public. And she would use this to her advantage. First things first, creating a good diversion was necessary, and a distraction of this sort served two purposes: one, it would give the security something to occupy themselves with, and two, it would put the townspeople on her side. Being the schemer that she naturally was, Belladonna had entered Shirotsume with a large helping of flyers, which she furtively began distributing and posting in public places around the town. The leaflets were simple in their message: Why would the leaders rely on foreigners for protection, rather than their own people? Why were laws that would directly affect them being discussed behind closed doors? Belladonna knew that feudal lords had a lot of power over their vassals, but at least, when the fallout happened, the vassals would be technically on her side. In no time, the townspeople were reading the flyers and discussing among themselves, of course too frightened to rise against their feudal lords, but at least seeing reason in the arguments put forward by the flyers. Expectedly, officials of the feudal lords and the Boscan began moving about the town, dispersing the small masses of people who had gathered.
Time for Plan B.
Belladonna activated her Transient Whisper benediction, disappearing out of sight and other normal senses, as she quietly walked past the guards at the door of the large building and phased through the wall like a ghost. Within, she evaded servants and sentries, looking about for an important venue. It was probably upstairs, most houses of such grandeur were made that way. Since much opposition was not expected, the meeting was not likely to be set in a panic room. Of course, there would be protectors within and outside the room, but if she played her cards right, they would be inconsequential.
After a little searching around, she found what she was looking for: a large double-paneled door, outside which stood two Boscan sentries, looking as though all the joy in their lives had been sucked out, leaving them to plod through a dark moody existence. A smile crept along Belladonna’s invisible face, as she walked through the wall towards the far left and entered the room. Within, there were about eight guards standing on duty, both Boscan and Fioran, and at the center of the room, seated around a low table, were her targets. The Boscan, with his angular features and pale brown hair, and the Shirotsume nobles with their gaudy colorful robes, all poring over an outline, which the Boscan was dutifully explaining to the nobles, who were obviously impressed.
Again, Belladonna smiled.
Quietly, when she was sure no one was looking, Belladonna quietly locked the panel doors, and fortunately for her, no one was the wiser for it. Then...
... everyone in the room heard a sharp click, and ominously, a young woman materialized like an apparition in a fairy tale. Naturally, there was a pause, then there was chaotic movement. Guards were running her way, and nobles scrambling for the exit.
”Oh no you don’t!”
With a gesture, long, thick tendrils burst from the wooden floor, right at the door, ensnaring everyone close enough to be caught. Of course, the guards outside were in for a serious shocker, as they found themselves suddenly up to their armpits in tentacles. Of course, the Boscan and the nobles were trapped in the same predicament.
”Brilliant! I love it when everything goes as planned, sir,” Belladonna said to the Boscan, who paled in shock, then began struggling violently, all the while denying that they even had anything in common. ”You lying bitch! I’ve never seen...”
”Let’s cut to the gory part of the job,” she said harshly, cutting him off. ”This is what I was paid for, so, this is what I’m doing.”
She clapped, and from her feet, black spheres of smoke streaked out and attached themselves to everyone available, all but the Boscan. In an instant, all those unfortunate enough to be hexed, were transformed into black ducks, an assortment of squawks and quacks filling the room. Belladonna giggled and clicked her fingers once again, and the tendrils evaporated into nothingness, unleashing a bunch of clumsy ducks flapping and tumbling into everything and everybody. Still, more guards were coming, and they were picking their way towards her. It was time to make herself very scarce. At that moment, the Boscan reached into his belt and drew out a small firearm, which he leveled at the dark mage.
”I’ll be damned before I let you turn me into an animal,” he snarled.
”Why on earth would I even want to do that?” Belladonna laughed, as she slipped behind a pillar to avoid his bullets. ”I do expect full payment for this, however.”
And with those words, she “fell” through the floor and was gone. If she had turned him into a duck, he would have only become a martyr, and further fueled the plans to militarize Shirotsume more. Instead, she would leave him be, and with all her words, people would begin to suspect that she was indeed in cahoots with him, seeing that she did not transform him. He would be hard-pressed to explain why he was the only one spared, and Shirotsume would be a lot less trusting of him, or of any other foreigner for that matter. She wasn’t interested in getting the Boscan killed; after all, he hadn’t committed any capital offense, not to mention that it wouldn’t help her plans at all. No, he would take the blame for it, be protected by his people, and escape to wherever he came from.
And all his plans would fall to nothing.
Mission accomplished.
Fading out of sight once she was out of harm’s way, Belladonna went to the back of the house where the least resistance was, walked through the walls, and went on her merry way. Perhaps some days later, she would return to Shirotsume to see how the nobles were doing. Or not. She might be recognized as a miscreant.
Meh, Shirotsume wasn’t such a wonderful place to visit, anyway.
This was what Belladonna hated about humans. In places where law enforcement was seriously needed, nope! No one ever bothered, leaving the place a cesspit of criminal activity and lowlife scum. Then again, in a place where everyone was peacefully minding their business, some dirt bag with a semblance of political power appeared and wanted to set down some stupid sanctions that would make life difficult for generally everybody. Shirotsume was a mountain village, so what was the point in making the town more fortified? What war was Shirotsume fighting that required such “fortification”? It was only more annoying to discover that the person who had come up with the idea was a foreigner, an official from Bosco. Outsiders meddling with things that were little to none of their business. From the so-called fortification, the next thing people would hear was that some feudal lord who knew how to butter up the “right” people would then become the despot of the entire region, and the fortification that was meant to protect people would only serve to keep the world out, and that included help for the suffering underlings.
This could not be allowed.
Best to destroy this entire nonsense before it started.
Belladonna had no problems getting to the town, but infiltrating the venue of the political deliberation would be a bit of a hassle, what with the beefed up security the town currently had. She figured that it would be sheer folly to launch a direct assault on the town. The leaders would escape, she might end up getting arrested, and she would definitely have given the Boscan more ammunition for his campaign: everyone would agree that the town needed defense against nuisances, and they would applaud his moves. Something stealthier, more in the line of sabotage, was appropriate. And Belladonna had just the idea.
Of course, the meeting would take place behind closed doors, far from the meddling eyes and ears of the public. And she would use this to her advantage. First things first, creating a good diversion was necessary, and a distraction of this sort served two purposes: one, it would give the security something to occupy themselves with, and two, it would put the townspeople on her side. Being the schemer that she naturally was, Belladonna had entered Shirotsume with a large helping of flyers, which she furtively began distributing and posting in public places around the town. The leaflets were simple in their message: Why would the leaders rely on foreigners for protection, rather than their own people? Why were laws that would directly affect them being discussed behind closed doors? Belladonna knew that feudal lords had a lot of power over their vassals, but at least, when the fallout happened, the vassals would be technically on her side. In no time, the townspeople were reading the flyers and discussing among themselves, of course too frightened to rise against their feudal lords, but at least seeing reason in the arguments put forward by the flyers. Expectedly, officials of the feudal lords and the Boscan began moving about the town, dispersing the small masses of people who had gathered.
Time for Plan B.
Belladonna activated her Transient Whisper benediction, disappearing out of sight and other normal senses, as she quietly walked past the guards at the door of the large building and phased through the wall like a ghost. Within, she evaded servants and sentries, looking about for an important venue. It was probably upstairs, most houses of such grandeur were made that way. Since much opposition was not expected, the meeting was not likely to be set in a panic room. Of course, there would be protectors within and outside the room, but if she played her cards right, they would be inconsequential.
After a little searching around, she found what she was looking for: a large double-paneled door, outside which stood two Boscan sentries, looking as though all the joy in their lives had been sucked out, leaving them to plod through a dark moody existence. A smile crept along Belladonna’s invisible face, as she walked through the wall towards the far left and entered the room. Within, there were about eight guards standing on duty, both Boscan and Fioran, and at the center of the room, seated around a low table, were her targets. The Boscan, with his angular features and pale brown hair, and the Shirotsume nobles with their gaudy colorful robes, all poring over an outline, which the Boscan was dutifully explaining to the nobles, who were obviously impressed.
Again, Belladonna smiled.
Quietly, when she was sure no one was looking, Belladonna quietly locked the panel doors, and fortunately for her, no one was the wiser for it. Then...
... everyone in the room heard a sharp click, and ominously, a young woman materialized like an apparition in a fairy tale. Naturally, there was a pause, then there was chaotic movement. Guards were running her way, and nobles scrambling for the exit.
”Oh no you don’t!”
With a gesture, long, thick tendrils burst from the wooden floor, right at the door, ensnaring everyone close enough to be caught. Of course, the guards outside were in for a serious shocker, as they found themselves suddenly up to their armpits in tentacles. Of course, the Boscan and the nobles were trapped in the same predicament.
”Brilliant! I love it when everything goes as planned, sir,” Belladonna said to the Boscan, who paled in shock, then began struggling violently, all the while denying that they even had anything in common. ”You lying bitch! I’ve never seen...”
”Let’s cut to the gory part of the job,” she said harshly, cutting him off. ”This is what I was paid for, so, this is what I’m doing.”
She clapped, and from her feet, black spheres of smoke streaked out and attached themselves to everyone available, all but the Boscan. In an instant, all those unfortunate enough to be hexed, were transformed into black ducks, an assortment of squawks and quacks filling the room. Belladonna giggled and clicked her fingers once again, and the tendrils evaporated into nothingness, unleashing a bunch of clumsy ducks flapping and tumbling into everything and everybody. Still, more guards were coming, and they were picking their way towards her. It was time to make herself very scarce. At that moment, the Boscan reached into his belt and drew out a small firearm, which he leveled at the dark mage.
”I’ll be damned before I let you turn me into an animal,” he snarled.
”Why on earth would I even want to do that?” Belladonna laughed, as she slipped behind a pillar to avoid his bullets. ”I do expect full payment for this, however.”
And with those words, she “fell” through the floor and was gone. If she had turned him into a duck, he would have only become a martyr, and further fueled the plans to militarize Shirotsume more. Instead, she would leave him be, and with all her words, people would begin to suspect that she was indeed in cahoots with him, seeing that she did not transform him. He would be hard-pressed to explain why he was the only one spared, and Shirotsume would be a lot less trusting of him, or of any other foreigner for that matter. She wasn’t interested in getting the Boscan killed; after all, he hadn’t committed any capital offense, not to mention that it wouldn’t help her plans at all. No, he would take the blame for it, be protected by his people, and escape to wherever he came from.
And all his plans would fall to nothing.
Mission accomplished.
Fading out of sight once she was out of harm’s way, Belladonna went to the back of the house where the least resistance was, walked through the walls, and went on her merry way. Perhaps some days later, she would return to Shirotsume to see how the nobles were doing. Or not. She might be recognized as a miscreant.
Meh, Shirotsume wasn’t such a wonderful place to visit, anyway.
WC: 1345/1000
