Wednesday, May 17, 1066 SE
With Marigold and Branna staying the night at Luba's house to help feel better following her arrest and release, Mon discovered that someone has traveled through a little-used secret passage underneath the Legendary's main stage. Following the passage, Mon travels up several flights of stairs. On the third floor, he discovers that a secret door leads to the hallway that connects all of the loges to the lobby, and, conveniently, the loge directly in front of the secret door is that of the Archduke's royal lodge. Keeping this in mind, Mon continues up the rickety stairs to the fourth floor, which leads to a hallway that parallels the attic of the main roof over the stage and back towards the workshops. The passage then climbs one more set of stairs, to reach a crawl space in the roof on the fifth floor of the building. Clearly this is a "recent" addition to the building.
At the end of the hallway, there is an old wooden door that has been condemned. A warning sign in block letters reads condemned, danger on it. The area is filled with dust, but as Mon takes a closer look he notices that it is unnaturally spread out, indicating that someone has recently spread dust around. As he gets closer to the door, he trips a wire that has been strung across the hallway, and a bucket of yellow paint comes down from the ceiling. Mon catches it before it spills its content. He cuts the wire, and carefully puts the bucket by the door. Opening the door, he carefully steps into the room, catching the second bucket that had been positioned above the door. He also places that one on the ground next to the door.
This windowless crawl space in the roof has been converted into a small living quarter. With the ceiling no higher than six feet at its apex, the room feels cramped but organized. A worn mattress lays on the floor, covered by a blanket that seems to emit starlight. Mannequins stand around the room, wearing outlandish outfits made up of clothes and items that have gone missing from the theater over the years. A table with two chairs is pushed against a corner. Children's drawings are pinned to most walls, and Mon recognizes many of them as representations of the leading actresses wearing their costumes for various productions. Another small door in the opposite wall leads out of this room, and Mon does not find any trap on that one. The room is currently empty.
Mon spots one of the mannequins that vaguely ressembles him, so he undresses it, then hides it. He then puts on the mistmatch outfit, before assuming the same pose. Since he does not need to breathe, Mon stands still, and awaits the return of the room's occupant.
Just before dawn, a child of about 12 carrying a small lantern enters the room through a second door built in what was previously a chimney. Wearing street clothes and a hat, the child takes off a backpack and a hat, revealing hair pinned to a head. Mon realizes that the child is a girl. She opens her backpack and removes a loaf of bread, a small wheel of cheese, fruits, and several newspapers. She also remove a sketchbook and pencils, and places everything on the table. She sets a trap on the chimney door, before taking some food and eats a quick meal. She then lifts her mattress, and takes a book. She writes a few notes in it, before placing it once again under the bed. She changes into night clothes, lays down, and is soon asleep.
Employing mage hand, Mon carefully removes the book from the mattress. He comes close to waking up the girl, but after waiting for her to fall into a deep sleep again he successfully takes the book.
Quietly flipping through the girl's journal, Mon learns that the girl's name is Dukha, and she has lives up in this secret attic apartment for seven years. She originally moved here with her older sister Anya. Her sister left 18 months ago to meet someone, and she never returned, leaving Dukha alone. She has been fending for herself ever since. Over the years, the girls have learned all of the secret passages within the Legendary, and they have collected lots of gossip over the years.
The journal shows a strong difference between Anya and Dukha's writings. The older sister was more interested in political intrigues, and she noted much information about the rich and powerful who attended plays, while the younger sister reported on clothes, the different performances, and gossip between the actors. Based on the journal, Anya was systematically spying on the Cardinal, and noted everything that he said at every performance he attended for the four years before her disappearance. Many of the notes indicate that the Cardinal mentioned an oak leaf to the men that were present in his private loge during one of the performances. Dukha, for her part, does not mention any specific rumor about Luba since her arrival last year, but it is clear that she has been watching her for the last year. Lots of the drawings in the journal shows the various actresses, but more than half of them are of Luba.
The journals also contain many maps of the Legendary and its secret passages. A secret exit emerges right across to the entrance of the Archduke's royal lodge. A passageway that connects to one of the secret hallways allow someone of smaller stature to crawl in between the 2nd ceiling and the 3rd floor underneath the Archduke's royal loge. Such a passage is also present under the Cardinal's private loge.
Mon takes the opportunity to copy those maps, before carefully putting the journal back under the bed. Before leading, Mon crafts a note for Dukha, indicating that he is his fairy godparent, and she ever needs help she can leave her green teddy bear on part of the stage where it might not be noticeable, with a note explaining what assistance she needs. He then carefully resets the trap Dukha placed, before heading down the chimney and emerging through an chimney cleaning access point in an abandoned basement filled with old set pieces.
Taking several secret passages, Mon eventually climbs a set of stairs and emerges by the set design workshop, where he runs into Pavel. The jovial man takes one look at him and explodes in laughter. Mon did not change out of the mannequin's outfit when he left, and he looks absolutely ridiculous. Mon explains why he's wearing this particular outfit, and, leaving the head carpenter, he heads to the costume department.
Meanwhile, following yesterday's dangerous encounter with the Cardinal, Luba had been escorted home, and Marigold and Branna had agreed to spend the night with her. After waking up late in the morning, Luba makes them breakfast, then they all return to the Legendary.
Branna and Marigold run into Mon, who is coming out of the costumes. He tells them about Dukha, and asks Branna to create him a stylized fairy functioning costume that looks like what he was wearing as the mannequin. He will use the outfit Dukha put together for when he returns with the green bear, if she ever leaves it for him. Mon considers that this incident has the potential of becoming a play. In his spare time he will write a script.
Armed with information about the oak leaf, Mon considers letting the Cardinal know that Herald is connected to the oak somehow. Perhaps he could leave a semi-hidden note in the Cardinal's private loge revealing that Herald plays a major role in the organization and should be thoroughly interrogated. He returns to the Palace, changes into his own clothes, and hides the costume.Returning to the theatre, Mon receives a message from a page. The note is from Luba, and she invites him to the Warm Whistle at five for dinner, to debrief the events of the previous day and to properly thank him. Mon sends a reply back agreeing to the meeting, and as the page leaves, he realizes that the outfit he wears was very similar to the one Dukha had on when she returned to her apartment...
Oksana observes Branna building the costume Mon requested, and on the third time she mentions that it's a pretty hideous outfit she's working on. Branna tells her this is a commission, and Oksana gives her several suggestions to improve the outfit. Mon pays Marinka a visit. As head writer for the Legendary, Marinka is responsible for more than two third of the best performing plays shown at the theater in the last six years. He tells her of his idea, and she provides him with helpful feedback on how to improve it, including that a villain is needed to solidify the plot. She agrees to work with Mon, and mentions that once they have a rough draft in writing they could present it to Sir Gregory Tsaplin and see if he would be willing to commission the play.
In the late afternoon, Mon changes and dresses for his date with Luba. He spends some time cleaning Herald's side of the room, and he finds many love letters, from Lady Astral all the way to lowly serving wenches at some of the seediest establishments on the waterfront. He sorts them by category, and he plans on returning them without monetary compensation unless the woman is married, in which case he will hang on to them for now. Traveling to Blossom Boutique, Mon purchases a bouquet of yellow roses and irises from Roksolana, the owner. He then heads to the Warm Whistle, where he is warmly greeted by Nastasia. Luba soon joins him.
Luba gives him the silver bracelet with comedy and tragedy masks she had purchased at Gemstone Harbor. Mon remembers reading in Dukha's journal that though Ulan and Kisa are always looking like they get along swimmingly in public, they hate each other with a passion privately. He shares this information with Luba, who appreciates it, and they have a good laugh. He then escorts her home. Luba stands in the window with her cat Bahzen and waves at him before closing the window curtains.
Meanwhile, Marigold tinker some locks for the inventory so that items no longer missing. She protects the lockers that contain the props for the current and upcoming productions. She also fashions better locks for her and Branna and Mon's rooms at the Palace.
Branna visits the Anchor's Luck. She meets Captain Popov, and they get bread. The Captain's health is good, but luck has deserted him, and he owes a few pieces of silver to Ivan, the owner of the tavern. When Branna steps to the bar to purchase a few more rounds, she asks Ivan, who mentions the Captain's bill of three silvers is due. He also suggests that one of the Captain's friends may be cheating at cards, explaining the Captain's recent series of losses. They talk about what happened at the warehouse, and she mentions the disappearance of Anya. Captain Popov tells her he will start asking questions, but without more information he doesn't have much to go on. She pays the Captain's bill before leaving.
Before the next show, Mon wants to visit the Cardinal's box. He will sit in the Cardinal's seat, and see where he can hide a note for him to find, to cast aspersion on Herald.
Thursday, May 18, 1066 SE
After breakfast at the Palace, Mon looks for the green bear in the corner he indicated, but he does not see it. He works towards memorizing his lines for the upcoming performance of General Toptigin Cheats Death. He describes Dukha to Branna and Marigold. Branna for her part tells Mon about what she learned from Captain Popov.
In the evening, Branna returns to the Anchor's Luck. Once again the Captain and his friends are by their favorite table, playing cards and drinking ale. A newcomer has also joined the group. Popov introduces Branna to Captain Alexy. Both of them served together in the Royal Sezjan Navy years ago, and they have kept in touch ever since. Branna tells Popov about Dukha and her circumstances. Captain Popov tells her that his feelers have heard the name, but that he needs more details to get more information.
On the way home, Branna hears two of the Cardinal's men talking about the Luba incident. They discuss how a powerful lawyer got her out on a technicality, but that Sir Gregory's got a surprise coming soon and his lawyer won't be able to help him this time ...
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