The Dead Dove Locker -- "I don't know what I expected."

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The Dead Dove Locker -- "I don't know what I expected."

Mamorien Offline

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RE: The Dead Dove Locker -- "I don't know what I expected."

#200

10-12-2026, 06:29 PM

Headless Over Heels finds the al Ydris party preparing to make entry To The Necropolis. We pick up after Seth has been introduced to Rafiel al Kanap, "the tabby king of the cathouse", the fattest muran in the United Territories, and Annalise's vitriolic best bud...

Dukerino Wrote:
Some pretty soldiers on the carriage carry cocked shotguns.
With a noise like a cutlery drawer yanked from its housing, a suit of full-plate armor unfolded itself from the colossal carriage behind Rafi and teetered across the straw, moving stiffly. A metal mitt smoothed the black-and-green lancer tabard on the knight’s midsection, then slammed the grille on the front up to reveal a single unlit eye, its opposite covered by a patch.

Lisa tipped the brim of her saturno. “Good morning, Pars.”

The eye darted downward to Seth. The gauntleted hand produced, from a hip pouch, a slip of card. Pars(?) held it out.

Seth gingerly took it, and read, in neat and practiced pen:

Salutations. I am Verdugo Officiyant Pars al Kanap. I do not speak. Please do not take my silence as impropriety or disengagement. If required, my husband Rafiel (cont on inverse)

He flipped the card over.

and our retinue can serve as intermediaries, but I would prefer to remain a listener as often as is convenient. Thank you for your understanding and patience. Please return this card.

“Saints be kind,” Rafi said, as Seth read. “Is that a moustache you have there, Sunshine? I feel positively decrepit.”

“The attempt is all, milord,” Tiago said.

“He’s gotten a hexentat to grow it out,” Ofelia said. “The Mossy Rock.” Her brother gave her a sharp, brief swat on the bicep.

“Ahh.” Rafi tapped the side of his whiskered nose. “I’ve heard of that one.”

Seth returned his attention—and the card—to Pars. “It’s an honor—“ Seth realized he had no clue whether this silent soldier was a milord or a milady. “—Officiyant.”

Pars nodded, evidently satisfied, and clacked the full plate suit’s visor shut.

“So they’re both Verdugos?” Seth asked, as the al Ydrises returned to their carriage.

Riccana glanced from the window at the al Kanap party. “There’s only one Verdugo per carriage. Isn’t there?”

“Pars is a Verdugo Officiyant,” Tiago said. “Like how Feeli and me are Verdugo Teniyants. We’re part of the Verdugo corps, but we’re not the Verdugo. Gotta be an Exark for that.”

Seth hesitated. “So, wait. Your mom’s an Exark, then?”

“You’ve been in her house,” Tiago said. “What do you think?”

“I think I’m in over my head.”

“Some pretty soldiers on the carriage carry cocked shotguns,” Ofelia said.

“Don’t do the dumb mnemonic,” Tiago said. “It’ll confuse him.”

“It’s not dumb,” Ofelia said. “S.P.S.O.T.C.C.C.S.G., you see? Soldat, Primary, Subofficiyant, Officiyant, Teniyant, Capitan, Coronat, Comandant, Superior, General. If you’re anything above Teniyant, you’re an Exark and your family gets a fancy al in their names. And the wings are Verdugo, Legionnaire, and Sorcerer. So Tiago and I are Verdugo Teniyants, and that fellow by the door is a Legionnaire Primary, and Mother’s a Verdugo Superior which makes her an Exark. Oh, and if you’re a Lanzman—that’s like a Lanzteniyant or a Lanzcapitan—you’re like a lesser version of the rank. Get it?”

“Barely,” Seth said, truthfully.

“It’s quite simple,” Ofelia said. “Just remember that some pretty soldiers on the carriage carry cocked shotguns.”

“I’ll give it my best try,” Seth promised. “What about the hermandati?”

“They’re not anything,” Ofelia said. “They’re just town militias. The Legion doesn’t care about—what the hell?” This last part she said because Tiago had swatted her again. She swatted him back. “Stop.”

“You stop,” Tiago hissed, gesturing to the carriage window. The curtain through which Riccana had been watching them was closed again.

“What I meant to say,” Ofelia said, visibly chastened, “is that the essential work of the hermandati, while appreciated by the Legion, is not officially within their organization.”