105 – Exploring The Party, Rox gets in a fight

  Steven went down to the first floor and continued his looking around. He soon found that the lower floor had no balconies that were not also docks, and that this floor in general was designated for the juveniles and teens that were not of sufficient discipline, or interested in joining the adults above.

  Roxanne wandered the second floor, pausing in one room to help herself to the buffet. She found herself making small talk with a few other locals, but most were apparently loath to approach her until she sat. Then she was set upon by a token few who took it upon themselves to interrogate and then properly introduce this elfin interloper.

  Rox did not have long to converse, before being taken from the third floor up to the forth floor and introduced around there. She was soon passed about a dance floor, and learning the local dance moves. As they went, she was able to learn little that was truly helpful.

  Caspian got to the top floor and strolled briskly down the hall, checking the rooms for a balcony, and then went out onto the first one he found, looking over the river. He paused and then seeing no one around he closed his eyes, and relaxed as best he could. Then he turned to his magic sense. The entire fortress was weighing heavily on him, but there was also a brooding malevolence pushing against his awareness. Caspian reset his senses, partially by remembering and concentrating on a ditty from his youth. Quickly it was as if a fog lifted, partially. The old magic that was virtually innate to the fortress was still there and dominating his magic senses, but it was now more bearable. The malevolence was also reduced to a peripheral level.

  Reinforced, Caspian turned and went back inside. As the bulk of the party had not yet reached this level in force, the room buffets were not yet stocked. But he found a staging table outside this levels kitchen annex and helped himself to the meat, fruit, bread, and other foods being prepared.

  Caspian then proceeded to explore the available area. This floor had more dancing rooms than the other floors below, with the bands still warming up. To his surprise, in one smaller sitting room Caspian found a few merchants that he knew from elsewhere, and was able to strike up conversation with them. To no surprise, they had no real understanding of the why's of this particular ball, and were availing themselves of the opportunity to socialize with some they might not otherwise have opportunity to, and perhaps arrange some new business. Finally Caspian excused himself and moved on, working his way down through the floors seeking for anyone worth listening to.

  Karen had her senses going sorting through the static and noise of the various minds to find 'Steven' and his wife. As well, she was partially shrouding herself from the other society matrons, who would no doubt try to bring Karen into their circles and hook her up with some man. Her clean range of pickup was the floor she was on, and either the one below or above; there were enough minds beginning to fill the rooms that to try to scan three floors at the same time was too much. So she moved quickly along the second floor first, with scant attention to the kids’ floor below and more attention to the merchants on the floor above.  Getting around the whole of the palace wing, Karen climbed up two levels and started back the way she had come. She thought she picked up Steven on the lower floor but was not paying enough attention to get a good reading, and was not going to break character by backtracking right now.

  This forth level had more diplomats and socialites to interact with, or avoid. The top level was developing a good mix of everyone, as the primary dance floors were on that level. Karen would have to scan that level on its own. Now she focused on everyone on this floor. She got partway around and got a solid reading on a non-local half-elf female. Karen entered the room and looked around. Sure enough there was the tall female with a white mowhawk that Karen had followed on the streets. She was on the dance floor being passed from partner to partner, as a reel was played. Karen took a glass of drink from passing tray for camouflage and sat at a side table to watch, and wait for an opportune moment.

  Roxanne worked along the buffet, taking a break from the dancing to have a bite to eat while considering how to make the talk go to the subject of the reason for the ball. She had kept up with her dance partners, and realized that most of the locals probably recognized her as a juvenile elf, and therefore maritally unattached. As she looked the fruit tray over, she realized that the fresh stuff was all melons, with a few other candied and preserved fruits from other seasons. This struck her as she was looking for the strawberries and blueberries to go with her melon.

  “Traveling through or settling?”

  Rox looked at the man next to her. He wore white over off-white robes, and tingled of magic. He was tall enough she could elbow his nose without raising her arm. His accenting was not quite local.

  “Passing through. We were conducting business and learned of the ball, and came to see.”

  “Oh, then you have some time?”

  “Not much. This has been entertaining, though we don't know quite what it is for.”

  “I sense magic about you. Do you cast?”

  Roxanne was feeling that something was wrong with this situation and she needed to get out of it. Behind her, the orchestra started a new dance number and the floor filled with moving bodies.

  “I have access to some casting. Why do you ask?”

  “I have long had curiosity about elves and their use of magic.”

  “Then perhaps you ought to visit one of our cities, rather than troll about for someone to bother.”

  With that Rox took her plate and stepped away from the buffet and toward a table, where a few ladies were sitting.

  A hand took hold of her arm, almost gently, and tried to turn Rox toward another empty table. The man asked “Will you join me for a bit more conversation?”

  Rox felt his hand wander over to her hip and rump.

  Across the room, Karen senses told her that this man did not have the best of intentions toward the half-elf. Then she saw him put his had to her rump. Karen stood up and started around the perimeter of the room to go intervene.

  Rox grabbed his wrist and pulled it away, squeezing the bones together. “Touch me again, and you loose the hand.”

  Before she let go, he tried to cast a spell. She felt a heavier magic pop and fizzle the spell of this man. Rox turned the rest of the way, smashing her stoneware plate into the man's startled face, and twisted her other hand away from his arm. The plate fell to the floor and clattered, but the room was noisy enough that the sound was unnoticed by most. She stepped away and back to put space between them. He followed, and lunged after her, grabbing her arm again. Rox felt him try to cast a spell again, and again his spell was crushed by a heavier spell.

  Karen peripherally felt the enchantments of the castle thrum, then settle a second time. Suddenly there were two guards with pole arms standing and visible at each of the two sets of doors to this room. Karen briefly wondered if they had been there all along, but somehow shrouded.

  ‘Grenade’ began echoing through Rox’s mind, as she tried to get him to let go. She brought her martial arts to bear, and knocked his hands off her, but he was quickly trying to get his hands on her somewhere, even the arms she was using to deflect him. He was also still trying to subdue her using a spell, as they grappled. She could not understand the words, but could sense the direction of the magic. It was not the same that had failed twice. This would try to affect her will.

  “Shields,” was all she got out as he finished.

  “Come with me.” His spell wrapped around hers and they sparked and spat, trying to drive each other to nothing.

  Roxanne was not waiting. She yanked on his wrist with one hand and punched him in his sternum with the other, through the magic between them. He fell to his knees stunned, letting go of her. His spell fizzed to nothing.

  Rox again tried to leave. He tripped her before she got from him. He then started clawing and crawling up her leg to stand while trying to physically restrain her. He pulled her over in the process. Later she would wonder why he did not try to magically restrain her, or teleport again with her. His hand got to her knee, when she kicked him again with her free leg. But he wrapped this up before she could pull away.

  Roxanne had enough of his groping her. “Shields.” Again her magic shields came on at full intensity, using the floor for a locus. “Grenade.”

  She focused her attention and idea on the base of his skull. ‘This is a dangerous way to practice magic,’ she had been told. ‘The idea you have had better be clear, or it could go awry.’ Roxanne had a clear idea. In moments his neck exploded, becoming so much vaporized tissue. His body stayed put, but went totally limp and fell over. His head came to a pulpy stop under the table next to them. Somewhere near by a woman shrieked in instant hysterics.

  Roxanne let her shields dissipate and pushed the body off her legs. Her ears rang, her thighs were numb from the concussion, but she was in one piece.

  She picked herself up, as she heard his voice.

  “That hurt. Very clever.”

  She turned as he stood up from reaching under the table and put his head to his neck, his neck still reintegrating itself, his head inflating back to shape as he held it in place. He then began to cast a new spell. Roxanne felt her hair start to stand on end and crackle.

  ‘Energy is energy’ and ‘Lightening rod’ flashed through her mind. As her opponent set up to cast a lightening bolt at her. Rox reached into her sash and through the illusion of the gown and grabbed her staff, activating the ends. She planted one end on the ground and tilted the staff toward her opponent. The bolt let loose as she got set. The thunder was deafening, and almost a physical force, knocking several people between and around them down. Her staff glowed white for a moment, but all the energy was directed into the floor. There was now a small burned spot where Rox had planted her staff, and she had some tingling in her hands. But she was still standing.

  Rox pulled the end of the staff off the ground, deactivated the length and pointed the staff at the wizard, letting loose with a barrage of magic darts, like a machine gun.

  She pinned him to the wall with this, then turned toward the doors again. He tried to grapple her from behind as she crossed the room to leave, but only got the butt end of her staff in his belly for his troubles. He collapsed on himself as she came back around with the other end, catching him just under his jaw. His neck gave an awful popping sound as his head whipped back, and he rolled onto his back, his body going limp again. His jaw was a mess, and this time he did not get back up. Evidently his spell was either exhausted, or only covered dismemberment and not internal damage.

  The fight had made a mess of this part of the room, right in front of the buffet. Once the guards had become aware of the fight, they had closed the doors they stood at and waited for it to finish. Likewise Karen had stood aside and pulled a few non attentive bystanders out of the way, and set up a spot of cover.

  Roxanne decided not to stick around for the cleaning bill as guards started to come at her. She moved for an exit, staff in hand when a brown haired woman in a light tan gown pulled Rox into a knot of people on the dance floor. “Come with me, if you want to get out. And put the staff away.”