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Rolled 1

>>27370671
>You are now suspected of murdering your kingdom's crown prince by exploding him with magic.

"But I'm just a maid, I can't explode people with magic, thats just silly."

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Rolled 23

>>27370734


>Rolled 1

You dun fucked up, sis!

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>>27370734
>1
OUCH
Ouch, man. Ouch.

You weep aloud, kicking and screaming for your life. You try to explain why you lack the talent for puling off an attack like this, but you choke on the words and just mewl and sob a bit. The captain sighs and looks embarrassed. He bends down and scoops you up bodily in his steel-plated arms so he doesn't have to drag you kicking and screaming. "I'm sorry," he says under his breath.

The door to the dungeons is open already. Very spooky. When you've been down here before, scrubbing the floors and fetching wine out of the cellars, the stout reinforced door has always been locked. He leads you down a dimly-lit, mildewy corridor, past several empty cells, to a nicely furnished room at the very end of the line. Inside is sitting a tall, gray-haired man in a strange mask.

"Come in, dear," he says. "We can start this slowly. Until the ambassador comes, it's just you and I. He's toying with a small knife between his fingers. "Will you make it easier for yourself and tell us who sent you? A strange woman appears in the palace the very same night the prince receives a letter with a rare killing spell on it. You must have thought nobody would notice an extra maid, but I... I never forget a face..."

You have no idea what he's talking about. You've been working here for three months.

[] The truth shall set you free
[] Say whatever will keep the knife away. You think you can make something up about being a spy for the Commonwealth that will keep him interested.
[] Pretend to be dumbstruck with fear and sorrow. Or hell, maybe you are.

>>27370974
[] The truth shall set you free

>>27370974
[x] tell him the truth

You sniffle and catch your breath. You still smell like smoke. It was good to get a good cry out. It's been a very emotional evening, and these dungeons might be the only place in the whole palace where raising one's voice is allowed. "I... The Maiding Guild sent me. Three months ago! I work here! His Majesty asked if there was mail for him, so I brought it to him. When I heard the fire, I raised the alarm! That's all I know."

The Tradesman tilts his head up away from you. His voice is soft and muffled under the woody mask. "Three months?"

The captain of the guard nods.

"Interesting... it seems I do indeed forget a face!" He stabs his knife down into a heavily notched section of the table and reaches for your face. You flinch, but he grabs your jawline in one leather-gloved hand and presses into your cheeks with thumb and forefinger. "You have a very forgettable face, girl. And I mean that as high praise. That glow, that fullness of youth, unspoiled. You have the face people imagine themselves to have before they look in the glass and remember their ugliness. The Trade would suit you well."

"Fnnk ymm," you answer.

"Nobody will be getting out of this palace until the investigation is over. An investigation I will have a large hand in. Keeping you here is not needed, methinks. Tell me, sweetling, can you perform some discreet services for your king and his Tradesmen? Or would you prefer to never see this room again?"

>>27371399
Why not? I doubt we particularly cared about the prince, but it could be a worthwhile change of pace.

>>27371399
sure, why not

>>27371399

We can help. This opportunity might help us get ahead.

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>>27371399
[x] Let's do this

You figure this might give him a little faith in you and possibly stop him from doing anything nasty to you in the future. "S-sure, I could do that."

The Tradesman brushes a tear from your cheek as he lets go of you. "Good, good. You will see: the Trade looks after its own, and the king looks after the Trade. Did you know? The king fought the Founding War for us. Well, in part at least. The Commonwealth wanted to take away our national traditions, the Trade foremost among them."

"All right... So what is it you want me to do?"

"Observe and report. Use your special talent to listen in where even such as I cannot. I want to know everyone's loyalties. The court wizard. The Queen Consort. And this man."

He passes you a document printed in block letters with the vital information of one of the servants here, a butler named Chauncey. Thin, dark-haired, only 19 years old. Nothing special about his service record. You're not sure why he's a suspect. "He is a traitor. I could make him admit it, but I want to prove it. I can say no more."

When you're done reading he document, he takes it back. "And none must know of our arrangement. Not even His Majesty. If you need to see me again, find an excuse to go into the wine cellars." With that he arises and leaves the room.

You leave the dungeons and meet up with the guard captain who's waiting for you. "I knew you weren't a spy," he says. "I'm really sorry for carrying you like that. It was... presumptuous..." His eyes are all of him you can see through his helmet. They look bashful.

[] find Chauncey
[] find the court wizard again
[] find the Queen Consort
[] go right back to cleaning up the crime scene, maybe study it a little
[] Take a bath so you no longer smell like smoke, sweat, mildew, charred fat, and human suffering

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>>27371937

Get cleaned up. The smell of smoke makes us noticeable, and that's bad.

>>27371937

[X] Bathe - Obligatory shower scene.

>>27371937

>[X] Take a bath so you no longer smell like smoke, sweat, mildew, charred fat, and human suffering

followed by

>[X] find Chauncey

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>>27371937
[x] clean up

You figure that your fellow maids can take care of cleaning up the crime scene without you. You'll let them know you're all right the next time you see them. But right now, you need to straighten yourself out and process all this.

You head back to the maid's suite, to the room in the back that has several bathtubs and a stove for heating water. Petra is already in there bathing - she's the one who broke down crying when she heard the prince was dead, and she stayed behind. "Oh... Hi, Columbina. Did they let you back down early?" She looks red-eyed and miserable, but not a complete wreck.

"They had to question me for a while, but I'll be all right. I, uh... I didn't know you felt so strongly about the prince..."

She curls up in a fetal position again. "We weren't... I never... please don't let them think he was carrying on with me..."

"Of course not." You pour some hot water into a separate tub. Maids have to be naked around each other sometimes, and neither of you particularly care about modesty right now anyway. You want to know more about the deal between her and the prince, though she's probably not really in a talkative mood.

[] pressure her for more information
[] leave her alone

>>27372703

>[X] Leave her alone.

No need to draw undue attention to ourselves...

>>27372703

Don't push her. She's saw something she couldn't handle.

>>27372703
[x] leave her alone

our strength is our lack of presence, pushing for info will potentially negate that

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>>27372703
[x] leaver her be

You feel bad for her, and she's one of the few people you've been able to call a friend during your time here. You just strip and bathe in the other tub. No homo. Especially since she seems to have a severe case of hetero for the late prince.

After a change of clothes, including changing your shoes into a pair that you didn't accidentally step on a charred body with, you go out looking for this Chauncey character. You think you know which one the document describes. You've never spoken to him before, but he certainly doesn't look like a traitor.

Speaking of alleged traitors, on your way to the butlers' suite you see two guards escorting a little man in glasses and a foreign military uniform. He's panicking and calling for help from anyone who will listen. He fails to notice you. Damn, you're getting good at this.

Around the corner, you see Quaffles the court jester sitting in an antechamber and drinking. He has to tilt his head most of the way back to take a drink because he doesn't quite have a full set of lips anymore. You're not quite sure how he got that way. He's not very funny. "I suppose it'll be another war, then," he says. "And the last one was so much fun. However will they manage to top it?"

You can discreetly question Quaffles if you want. He's been here in the palace for longer than just about anyone, not counting the king. He might know some shit.

>>27373210
shoot the shit with Quaffles

>>27373210

"Do you have any idea who could have done this, Quaffles? I'm scared they may still be in the palace..."

>>27373210
"Do you have any idea who could have done this, Quaffles? I'm scared they may still be in the palace..."

Quaffles shrugs and pours himself some more wine. "Prince Alain seemed to have it all together. Very princely. He was engaged to be married, finally. Made peace with his little brother. He never laughed at my barbs, but he also never told me to shut the fuck up, and really, what more can I ask? The king seems to think the Commonwealth did it, but if they wanted to attack us again you think they'd just man up and do it. Some lone agitator who wants to provoke the king to do something dumb, I'd wager. Maybe some grouchy old man who went mad because nobody laughed at his jokes."

He passes you the bottle. "There's not much left. You want it, or you want to just keep staring at it?"

(Anything else to ask before we go on?)

>>27373649
nah, better not. already got a 2nd write up today.

>>27373649

Chuckle politely. Then pass the beverage.

He was joking about going mad and killing the prince, right?

...Right?

>>27373210

Ask Quaffles about the Consort.

>>27373649
You suppose a very small touch of wine wouldn't hurt. You drink the dregs of the bottle. It's strong, and the bottle looks very old. Quaffles knows his wines.

"What about... His Majesty's wife?" You forget the Queen Consort's official form of address. People seem to treat her in weirdly contradictory ways, like royalty one moment and like a whore the next.

Quaffles raises an eyebrow. Well, he only has the one eyebrow, so maybe he didn't mean the expression to look as wry as it does. "There's a thought! This could be a matter of succession. With the princes in the way, there's no way any children the Queen Consort has will ever inherit anything. Now there's just the one prince left, and he... well, never mind. And she seems a little... young to be plotting double murders. You think dark, though. I like that. What was your name again?"

You don't want a reputation. "Nobody special. Thanks for the wine, Quaffles. I'll be around."

"Ma'am."

You check the suite where the butlers stay, looking for Chauncey. The door has been left open a little ways.

[] sneak in
[] better not

>>27374153

[X] Sneak in. We are invisible and/or just doing our regular cleaning duties.

>>27374153
>[x] sneak in

"House keeping. Fresh towels"

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>>27374153
[x] sneak in

You resolve to be neither seen nor heard. You can always tell a graduate of the Maiding Guild.

Inside, you see the butler you're pretty sure fits the description of Chauncey. His jacket is off, his sleeves are rolled up, and he's washing blood and charred gore off his hands. Interesting.

You may start a conversation with him or roll d100 to act like you're just here to collect laundry or something and not spying on him at all.

Rolled 100

>>27374577

>[X] - We're doing regular maid stuff and totally not spying on this indivdual.

>>27374655

Nice.

>>27374655
#1 SpyMaid

>>27374655
Damn! This dice roller has been all-or-nothing tonight.

You don't even qualify as a human, really. You are a shadow in a black dress. You are The Help.

Chauncey sits on his bed, bent over a wash basin and scrubbing his hands off. He goes into another room, then comes back with fresh water and repeats the process. He's getting very Lady Macbeth about it. Since you don't have fresh towels or any cleaning tools, you collect dirty laundry scattered around the room. Chauncey strips to the waist and leaves his smoky-smelling jacket and shirt on the bed for you. He's probably going to bathe.

[] check on someone else
[] go full creeper mode and watch him bathe through the crack under the door.

>>27374916

> [X] We are in the zone. Go for maximum creepage.

>>27374916
>[X] go full creeper mode and watch him bathe through the crack under the door.

If we're going to spy, we may as well do it properly right?

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>>27374916
>[x] go full creeper mode and watch him bathe through the crack under the door.

with a blank expression

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>>27374916
[x] creep like you've never creeped before

You could totally be a spy, you think. The Tradesman himself said so, and he looks like he's been creeping for decades. Maybe this was the secret of being a successful servant - taking work on the side as an informant. You add Chauncey's clothes to the pile you've made, then you silently drift toward the door to the bathroom.

Hello, naked Chauncey. Naked Chauncey steps into a tub that's steaming in a lively manner and probably too hot. He winces and scrubs himself again anyway. He looks deeply uncomfortable. Nobody else is in the room. After a few minutes, he gets up again, glowing bright pink from scalding and rubbing himself sore. He walks out of your field of view, and you hear him dragging something heavy a short distance, then dragging it back a few moments later.

The door to the outside hallway opens. Before you can react, the court wizard is looking at you. He assesses the situation, closes the door, and keeps walking.

[] try to explain
[] hide behind something till Chauncey leaves, then see what furniture he was moving around in there.
[] look for that Queen Consort
[] actually do Chauncey's laundry
[] something else?

>>27375340
We should go see what he did. That was suspicious.

>>27375340
>[x] hide behind something till Chauncey leaves, then see what furniture he was moving around in there.

let that goofy (possible alcoholic) wizard think what he wants

>>27375340

>[X] See what Chauncey was moving.

It's not like the wizard got a good look at our face.

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>>27375340
[x] hide behind something till Chauncey leaves, then see what furniture he was moving around in there.

You look for something to hide behind. You quietly open a large chest and push some shoes and old blankets aside to make room for you. Only when you've closed it behind you do you realize that you forgot to hide the pile of laundry. Oops. You watch the room through the keyhole.

Chauncey finally comes out, wearing a towel. A small towel. Possibly a hand towel. Maybe you should have brought fresh towels after all. He sees the laundry, then looks around for you. You tense up. "Miss?" he asks nobody in particular. "Huh." Figuring you must have stepped out, he changes into a fresh tux and goes out looking for you.

You slip into the bathroom and look around for what he could have been moving. There's the stove, but it's connected to a flue in the ceiling. There's a dresser full of towels. That must be it. With all the stealth you can, you shimmy it out of the way. None of the floorboards seem to be loose. You check the back of the dresser. There's a crack in the wood with a couple of letters stuffed in it. Hello, Chauncey's stash! Maybe the butler did it. Speaking of the butler, he's probably coming back soon.

[] get out ASAP
[] get out ASAP and leave the letters behind for later
[] take time to read the letters now
[] hide for a while longer

>>27375706

>[X] Bail! Get out now. The letters can be examined in a safer location.

>>27375706
>[x] get out ASAP

>>27375706
[x] gtfo

You tuck the letters into your belt, push the dresser back into place, grab the laundry, and absquatulate. Your heart is pounding. Intrigue! Espionage! And only yesterday you were just scrubbing skid marks out of laundry.

In your excitement, and with the double-armful of laundry blocking your vision, you bump square into Chauncey as he's coming back to the butlers' suite. His smoky black jacket fals off the top of the pile and onto the floor.

"Oh! Excuse me!" He bends down and gets the jacket for you, then puts it back on the pile. You do your best to hide your face in the rest of the pile. You really, really don't want him knowing who you are if he sees his private letters are missing. You think you didn't let him get a good look at you.

You make it down to the laundry room and lay your burden down with a sigh of relief.

(Gotta call it a night soon. We'll pick up next time with the contents of the stuff you stole!)

>>27376058

We shouldn't read the letters ourselves. We should bring them straight to the Tradesman, so we don't get caught with Chauncey's letters.

Plus, the less secrets we know the better.

Did the Maid's Guild even teach us to read?

>>27376058

Good night, OP! I had a good time.

>>27376417
That can be an option. And yes, you were taught to read, because it commands a higher salary and lets your employers give you orders without even needing to talk to you, which some classy folks really like. You're not a terribly strong reader, but you could probably fake your way through it.