Sunday, July 10, 1066 SE, continued
Mon had emerged from the secret dining room staircase, only to stumble upon Herald and his girlfriend Rouslana, whom he had once met wearing a disguise at the Coughing Raven. Questioned by Herald and by Rouslana, who learned Mon possesses a painting representing the power of the Raven Queen, Mon ends the discussion by turning himself invisible and quickly leaves the dining room, abandoning Branna and Marigold behind him, as they could not pass through while Mon stood in the secret doorway.
For Herald, more shocking than Mon’s disappearance is seeing both Marigold and Branna standing in a space that should not exist. He questions them about where the secret passageway goes. Rouslana seems very curious to hear their answer, and she pushes several times to find out, but Marigold and Branna manage to escape her questioning, and they leave the dining room before climbing the stairs to their room.
Once there, they push their heavy dresser in front of the secret door in their room that they suspect leads to the same underground complex as the dining room door, hoping to prevent anyone from pushing it open. They then try to catch some sleep following their eventful day.
Mon returns to his bedroom. He removes his painting from the wall and, concerned about Rouslana’s naked interest in it, hides it in his pillowcase. He thinks about the number of steps they took to descend to the underground complex, and recalls about 350. With that many steps, it would be nearly 300 feet down. Due to the magical nature of the secret door, it doesn’t mean the complex is nearby, however. But he did leave a spoon magically marked, which will allow him to attempt to locate objects in the morning.
He is interrupted by Herald and Rouslana entering the bedroom. Still invisible, Mon stealthily withdraws before the door closes. Now deprived of his own bed, he comes up with a new plan. He climbs the stairs up to Branna and Marigold’s room and, after ending his invisibility, knocks on their door. A grumpy Marigold cracks open the door and, seeing Mon, reluctantly welcomes him in. Marigold takes the painting and hides it in her suitcase’s secret compartment. Mon turns himself invisible again and returns to the dining room to sleep in one of the dining booths for four hours.
At 6 in the morning, the smell of fresh coffee and sizzling bacon begins to float through the building. Luba is the first one to enter the dining room, carrying a cup of coffee. Mon makes himself visible and joins her at her table after piling eggs and bacon on a plate. They talk about the new apartment being built in the Legendary. Mon mentions missing Pavel’s hearty greetings in the morning back on Katarina. They then discuss the play Mon is writing, and Luba reminds him she’s also writing a musical based on their harrowing sailing from Katarina to Konstantina, and she’s involved Iulia in writing some of the music for the songs she’s composing. She suggests Mon could also collaborate with Iulia.
Marigold descends the stairs, grabs some breakfast, and heads to the Grand Royal Opera to test the bubble machine and ensure that it is in perfect working condition for her visit to the Royal Palace in the afternoon. Branna comes down soon after, and after breakfast, she too returns to the Grand Royal Opera to verify the costumes for tonight’s performance. Both of them spend the morning working in their respective departments.
After breakfast, Mon leaves the South Gate Hotel and heads to the grand fountain in the public garden located along Riverside Hill Road, featuring a carved stone statue of a woman holding a raven. He greets old man Mykola, who is wearing the same aged and shabby outfit, and who sits in the same spot, feeding the pigeons. Mon sits next to him, and they exchange pleasantries. Mykola shares that “every new key made in this city has a brother that opens a vault better left sealed.” He proceeds to tell Mon he senses evil stirring, that a tragedy is coming, and that it cannot be stopped. Mon uses a spell to clean up Mykola’s outfit and beard, and though appearing not to be surprised, Mykola tells the actor that the witchcraft that comes from birds is dangerous.
During their conversation, Mykola also mentions two seemingly nonsensical sentences. He tells Mon that "I once saw a man sell his voice to a shadow—now he only speaks through the price of bread." Later, he adds that “a map's most valuable mark is not where the treasure lies, but where the path disappears."
Wishing the old man good day, Mon walks away. He picks up a twig and performs a sleigh of hand on the twig to locate objects. He pings for the spoon as he walks through the walled city, and eventually detects a faint whispers that increases as he stands in the middle of the old square, near the Grand Royal Opera. The spoon is located directly below him, somewhere between 350 and 400 feet, which puts it near being leveled with the Lavra river.
Mon returns to the Legendary, locates Branna in the costumes department, and shares the news with her. They then look for Marigold, and when they find her, also let her know of his discovery. Marigold wonders. Who owns the surrounding houses to the old square? Since the shop of Branna’s parents is not located too far, perhaps they know some of the owners. Conveniently (or not), Sir Sergeii’s townhouse is also located on the square. Since shops inside the walled city are closed on Sundays, Branna elects to visit her parents and Dhuka across the Lavra river in St. Gleb. Meanwhile, Mon and Marigold walk to the Royal Palace. The actor carries the bubble machine, while Marigold frets at every step he takes.
Arriving at the Palace’s front gate, they check in with the guard, who confirms they are on the list, and he allows them inside. They are led to the same room as yesterday, and Marigold is given a few minutes to set up her equipment. The Queen enters, followed by her attendents and with the wheelchair covered with a cloth, hiding the figure inside, who emits random childish noises.
Marigold starts the bubble machine, and bubbles of all shapes emerge, rising towards the ceiling. The wheelchair shakes with pleasure as happy sounds spread through the room with the bubbles. The Queen appears delighted. Mon reflects on ways to either scent or color the bubbles in the future, enhancing the spectacle. On the same wavelength, Marigold pours a small vial of coloring in the bubble liquid, and bubbles of different colors begin to float out of the machine.
The person sitting in the wheelchair is obviously excited as the chair’s shaking increases, and suddenly the curtains part as a small girl, no taller than a four-year-old, falls out. Her skin appears shredded, almost like it was stitched on her frame. Her limbs are shrivelled, her short blond hair is sparse, and her mouth is grossly disfigured. But her eyes strike Marigold. She’s seen similar eyes. Dhuka’s eyes are eerily similar, and, to a lesser extent, so are Anya’s. The Queen and one attendant rush to the girl’s help, and quickly and carefully get her back in the wheelchair. She requests Mon and Marigold not mention what happened in the room today, to respect the girl’s privacy. She rewards Marigold with 25 gold crowns, along with a contract to build a bubble machine for the girl.
As they walk towards the Royal Palace’s door after the performance, Mon suggests Marigold could put scented oil to improve the product. Marigold agrees. He then notices Viktor, head of the King’s secret police, standing by the door, arms crossed, and staring hard as the actor and his friend walk by. He doesn’t say anything as they leave the Royal Palace.
Walking on the St. Gleb road to visit her parents, Branna encounters neighbors and they share news. Arriving home, Branna enters a scene of chaos. There is fabric everywhere, and Dhuka stands on a chair, spinning around while draped in blue velvet, and Branna’s mother holds pins and needles. Dhuka tells Branna that her mother wants to make her a dress, but she hasn’t found the right fabric yet. Branna and her mother talk in the kitchen, and Branna tells her Dhuka is probably stalling, as she doesn’t want to wear a dress. Branna suggests a compromise whereby Dhuka gets to pick the style of the dress and the fabric. Both Dhuka and Branna’s mother agree, and Dhuka finally settles on a rich red silk fabric for her new outfit.
Branna asks her mother about who lived around the old square. Her mother reveals what Branna feared. The Cardinal, before his exile, lived in the second townhouse from the old square. That must be where one of the entries to the underground facility is!
Returning to the South Gate Hotel, Branna hears a commotion coming from below the cliffs. She rushes towards the road descending the hill to St. Boris, and witnesses a full-blown riot occurring. The Royal Guard has been deployed to quell the rioters, and Branna sees in the distance two columns of soldiers marching towards Konstantina from the west and north.
Branna runs back to the South Gate Hotel and informs the Legendary’s crew of the threat boiling in St. Boris. They hear marching outside, and, thinking it is the rioters, they rush to the windows. A column of soldiers is marching through the gate on its way to St. Boris. Noticing the military preparations at the gates and the deployment of soldiers on the fortified walls, Marigold suggests they head to the Grand Royal Opera now, instead of waiting. This turns out to be a good decision, for they are the last group to squeeze through before the gates to the walled city are closed.
The play is lightly attended that evening, with only people living or caught behind the walls in the audience. Marigold asks security to monitor the entrances, in case the rioters break through the city’s walls. Mon, who had gone to the Grand Royal Opera earlier in the afternoon, was unaware of the rioting going on in the poorer sections of Konstantina. He performs a group inspiration, and the Legendary’s performance of Masha and the Bear ends up being one of the best ones of the week.
After the show, Marigold and Branna tell Mon what Branna discovered about the Cardinal’s house on the old square. Branna relates that due to his exile, his property was confiscated. They walk by the old square, and notice candle lights in the windows, indicating that the house is currently occupied. They return as rain begins to fall from the sky. Mon wonders if it could be magical, but his arcana skills determine that the rain is natural. They re-enter the Royal Grand Opera, where the rest of the crew has already prepared for a sleepover inside the theater. Marigold and Branna find comfortable places to sleep.
Monday, July 11, 1066 SE
Mon sleeps for four hours, then wakes up in the middle of the night. He begins to search the Grand Royal Opera for signs of the cult of the Black Sun, but does not find any. Mon reflects that if Dhuka were here, she would find all of the secret nooks in no time.
In the morning, the crew wakes up to find a chipper Sir Sergeii, who uncharacteristically is up early. He has brought breakfast from the Furry Rabbit for everyone.
With nowhere to go, the crew begins preparing for this evening’s performance, but they are soon interrupted by church bells ringing all over the city. One of the page boys delivers fresh copies of the Konstantina Sun, revealing that yesterday afternoon, the King’s ship exploded in Katarina, and no survivors were found.
