Port Lorrel- Puppet Masters

[Drusia]

"Just... had to say it. Thanks Udo." She surveyed the group and released her tail from a be-clawed grasp. "I should... umm... get practicing... still gotta learn how to use magic without touching."
Any magic lessons being given to Tamina that night were being given by Drusia

"Anything I can do to help," I say, smiling at Tamina. I'm no mage, but I'm sure I can help her practice that at least.

-- Drusia

OOC: Um, that's all I've really got for now. Do we want to do some sort of scene with Tamina and Drusia doing magic stuff, either the previous night or that morning? Or... what?

[Jack Rothwell]

OOC We can do one this morning if you like. Sync's up better with what's going on in town./OOC

Tamina stared at the pile of rocks and, for what felt like the upteenth millionth time, put out her hands and tried to moved them. Her nerves where a little jangly under the regard of the beautiful elf, but the kobold persevered. She tried to calm herself and find her center once more.

'Don't run towards them... don't run towards them... don't run towards them...'

There. That same flicker she'd felt on board the Narwahl, gentle as a feather yet intrusive in it's strangeness. Beads of sweat stood out on Tamina's forehead as she willed her mana to reach out...

She let out an involuntary gasp as a leaf falling from a nearby tree crossed her path of energy and was swatted out the way by the invisible push. It was progress, but the surprise caused the kobold mage to lose her focus. Nevertheless she stood, panting, and managed a smile at Drusia, the first genuine one she'd made since the events that had taken place on the Southern Continent.

"I... think I'm starting to get it."

[Browncoat]

While Tamina and Drusia were working with magic of one sort, Angrist was developing another. He'd been developing a technique for a several years and his first field test had been during the battle to protect the kobolds. Now he was trying again, but there was a significant difference. With most of his inhibitors occupied with the magic stones, Angrist was much more in connection with the ambient magic. Now the others were not just points of light, but they appeared in their respective shapes, albeit without much detail.
Blindfolded, Angrist was navigating through the camp and the trees to test this ability. The trees and the ground were faint, but not the same darkness he had seen last time. On a whim, he tried climbing one of the trees. It was no more difficult than usual. Elated, Angrist threw caution to the wind and began running along branches and spring from tree to tree. Enjoying this new technique, he stumbled across Tamina and Drusia by accident. For a second, Angrist thought he saw a faint light extending from Tamina, but then it was gone.

I... think I'm starting to get it

To avoid startling the elf, Angrist dropped from the trees and waved a hand in greeting. Not wishing to disturb the two, he then turned and wandered back to camp. He completely forgot he was still wearing his blindfold.

[OOC: Thought I'd let people chuckle at Angrist instead of always keeping him so serious. And I based it off of something I do occasionally where I spend several hours blindfolded and navigate by sound. Several times people have had to remind me to remove the blindfold]

[Jack Rothwell]

Tamina waved back amicably at Angrist and turned back to her exercise... well, not entirely back to her exercise... she gave Drusia a shy look and held up her hands in a helpless gesture.

"Would you... umm... mind showing me again?"

.....

"Walk me through that again?"

The half-elf leaned over the table with a frown on his face, staring at the soldier in front of him as if seeking a hidden code in what he'd just heard. The portly Commander grunted and hitched his belt, his gut shifted little, there was toughness beneath it, the same could be said of it's owner.

"A gang of thugs, about a half-dozen, they hit one of the wagons coming into Brambrook, killed the guards and took the cargo."

"How the fuck did they manage that?"

"We suspect they were either contracted by, or working for one of the gangs around the port." The middle-aged man replied. "We've been getting some foul looks from them lately."

"The Eisenfaust?"

"We don't know. It could've been any one of a dozen factions in the Port. Hitting the slave traders has not endeared us to the criminal element."

"Sounds to me like we need to stomp down a little harder." The half-elf straightened up and ran an irritated hand through a closely-cropped mane of black hair; he still wasn't used to the coldness on his neck. "We'll arrange something appropriately brutal in the very near future. Anything else?"

"The renovation of the district is otherwise going well, the businesses here have been fully integrated into Logan's company, and we've got a slew of young men and women lining up to join the Black Guard, I'll be assessing them later today."

Eli nodded an affirmative, Commander Garald had worked with Gabriel on the selection of new recruits for the rising businessman's personal army, his fellow Ralkin member had pronounced the man to be of sound judgement. Given his previous successes as Logan's head of security, that wasn't surprising.

"We've also heard word of a trader with some unusual weapons on the road to Logan's Rest*."

"I'll head out to check later, we could use an extra edge or two." Eli strode to the doors of the hall-sized room. "In the meantime, I've got a meeting to attend."

"I heard." The older man chuckled as he followed the half-elf outside into the sunshine, and to what passed for Brambrook's town square. The district in the Lorrelian Port was dirt poor and ramshackle, although the sounds of construction could be heard all around them. The pair weaved passed wooden scaffolding and carpenters hurrying up ladders as their conversation continued.

"I can't imagine why you'd want to sit in while Logan and Mirrilum are talking business ventures."

"I saved his daughter's vapid life." Eli retorted. "It reminds the old noble of what is still his to spoil rotten, and it reminds him of his debt to us."

"So you'll think he'll invest?"

The half-elf's smile was cold, he dipped a hand into his pocket as he mounted his horse.

"I guarantee it."


*-the name of a training post ran by Logan's company, some five miles from the Port.

[Drusia]

Tamina stared at the pile of rocks and, for what felt like the upteenth millionth time, put out her hands and tried to moved them. She let out an involuntary gasp as a leaf falling from a nearby tree crossed her path of energy and was swatted out the way by the invisible push. It was progress, but the surprise caused the kobold mage to lose her focus. Nevertheless she stood, panting, and managed a smile at Drusia, the first genuine one she'd made since the events that had taken place on the Southern Continent.

"I... think I'm starting to get it."

I smile in return. "That's good," I reassure her.

I just wish I was a better teacher. This sort of thing is so second nature to me - to any elf really - that I feel rather inept trying to explain how to do it better. It's like trying to explain how to stand up and walk.

I try anyway. "Don't think about trying to push your magic out," I say, thinking back to my own (failed) attempts to learn evocation magic like this. "Think of the magic as... as a road. You will needs to get to the rocks, to move them, and the magic is the road your will walks upon. Spread your magic out before your will like a carpet. Once your will reaches the rocks, the magic will already be there."

I have no idea if that made even the slightest amount of sense to her. It's what my evocation teacher used to tell me when I was a little girl. I never did learn the trick of it - for me, it was always easier to move myself rather than move the rock.

-- Drusia

[Alberich]

In response to further inquiries by Carlos, Ross tossed off quick sketches of the "incoming allies," based on the "wanted pictures" he and Eli had been shown by Gabriel. Artistically, they were pretty good reproductions, but warped in ways that reflected his own attitudes as much as the models' features.

His rendering of Tamina wore an expression of dull, brute viciousness. His Drusia had the features of the original, all right, but with extra cleavage showing and a slutty "come-hither" on her face that made him purse his lips in mirth as he drew it. His dull-eyed drawing of Jamie had an air of barnyard stupidity that conveyed none of her lively deadliness, but he got the face right enough that no one who'd met her could doubt who it was. Jamie was memorable.

[Graybeard]

Dr. Rabbitfoot conducted the interview, such as it was, with Udo under terms very similar to the way things had gone with "Ross." However, his lifemage training called certain things to his attention. One was that spellcaster or not, this man wasn't an elf. The other was that spellcaster or not, this man was a doofus.

"Bring this to my office door at close of business tonight," he said, handing Udo another of the whore's bemagicked buttons. "There'll be a message waiting as to how to make contact with the people you want to reach." He showed Udo out.

As soon as he and Zero were alone, the monkey broke out laughing. "That was a real gem, boss! I've seen that guy before. In fact, so have you." He relayed what he'd seen in the alley, and its antecedents, such as they were. "But tell me," he finished, "how did we turn into Elke's personal welcoming committee?"

Rabbitfoot chuckled too. "I don't know, and yes, I think I dimly remember him. Emphasis on 'dimly.'" He chuckled again. Then he got serious. "Find someone other than Carlos for him to talk to, all right? I don't think I want to be in the blast radius when he and that elf run into each other..." The monkey nodded and climbed back into the heating duct.

-------------

OOC: Any interest in hearing what happens at Carlos' shop after "Ross" leaves? Do as spoiler, background noise, whatever?

[Alberich]

[OOC: Very much interested, and I think it should be right here in this thread! It's all part of the same story. But as far as I'm concerned you can skip any details that would be tedious to relate, to move us along to the fun parts that advance the plot, even if it's a few hours later, and whether those involve Ross and Carlos or internal Eisenfaust doings or whatever.

Ross has made his offer so you have a pretty good idea what he is up to, and I suspect his information - especially the "Jamie" part - may have unexpected effects on the Eisenfaust. Also, I'm keen to see if the left fist figures out what the right fist is doing...

I'll post Udo's redfaced return tonight.]

[Alberich]

Udo trudged out of town, worse for wear. No bandits molested him, but then, what did he have worth taking? It was well past noon when he reached the rendezvous point. Angrist saw him first.

Udo's head was still shaved, with painted scars and tattoos for his disguise. His beard was still dyed dark. But his clothes were gone; he was down to his loincloth again, and a couple of raggedy pieces of cloth that he'd wrapped around his feet. His staff and weapons were likewise gone* and he was looking uncomfortable.

"Ah, sensei," he said, "things have worked out not necessarily to my advantage. Some fortuneteller** smacked me upside the head, and, well, I woke up like this. But - I was still able to talk to my Eisenfaust contact. I just have to go back to his shop tonight with this" -- he pulled the magical token out of the side of his loincloth -- "and I'll get a meet-up to lay it all out to them." Which reminded him that he'd have to repeat all this. "Hey, can you tell the others? Oh. I guess you can't."

Angrist led him to the lusciously beautiful elf and the lovely darling kobold so he could make his report while turning redder than a beetroot. And you could see just how far down the red went. Khoo was also there but Khoo was not the problem. For just a moment Udo wished his companions hadn't had to be so female or so...so...pulchritudinous. Then he got over it and got on with it, repeating what he'd said before.

Also, since he lacked Ross' recent knowledge, he'd taken time in the shop to ask Dr. Rabbitfoot about recent events. While the placid lifemage was not a fount of gossip, he had given a few snippets of very public knowledge to his visitor. Udo took time to tell his companions about these. "Apparently those Ralkin 'Black Guards' have a heavy recruiting drive going on, and are bringing in mercenaries from all over the place. Also they're doing charity and stuff, taking food and money out to the poor parts of town and they say they're planning to put their boy on the council." So how come I didn't go to them for some clothes? "I got a hint there's already been some bloodshed between them and the Eisenfaust, so I figure things are primed for an alliance." How to tell the two sides apart? Let's play shirts versus skins. "Say, I don't suppose we've got a spare pair of shoes...?"

Carrying the token all this way hadn't bothered him. So what if the Eisenfaust tracked him? He wanted to talk to them anyway.
___________________
*He hadn't brought the pistol and rifle he'd taken from the Ralkin dead into town, so these were safe back in camp. However, he was not on Jamie's "death incarnate" level of skill with them.

**Udo did not know that Angrist had a little history with fortunetellers himself.

[Jack Rothwell]

Tamina shrugged, pulled off her own footwear and tossed them in Udo's direction. Kobold's feet were generally larger than humans so the size would be close, and in any case she felt steadier on her feet without the constricting boots pushing her toes together. As Udo was regaining some of his dignity she ran over what he'd told the group.

"Charity work? They being nice to people? That to get on the co-un-cil?" She sounded the last word out carefully, although she understood the concept. Leli had taught her enough about human society for that.

"How are we going to find Aleron? Ask Council Boy?"

.....

"Please have a seat Lord Mirrilum."

"With pleasure, Mr Lucas." The noble replied cheerfully as he made his way into the overlarge office which was the workplace of Lucas Amadeus Logan. Despite the nature of the greeting the aristocrat felt some trepidation as he sat in a plush chair and a decanter of whisky was pushed toward him. The businessman was a imposing figure with an equally imposing reputation. Lucas had taken and hung onto a lion's share of the trade passing through Port Lorrel for the better part of a decade, even forcing out his long-term partners from the company a few years ago. On that score, the word around was that Weatherby and Devive hadn't been seen since they'd left the Port. That, and a thousand other cutthroat acts had made Logan's sudden willingness to aid the people of the Port baffling. The Lord speculated that the businessman had found religion as he neared old age.

In any case, he was grateful that Lucas had found a conscience, and the smile on his lips was genuine as he exchanged a nod with the room's only other occupant; the young half-elf who'd rescued his child from a group of murderous thugs a few nights before.

"Mr Haverum, thank you again for your heroics. My daughter sends her best wishes, and asked to be remembered to you."

"No thanks are necessary sir. I was doing my duty."

"You have them nevertheless, it does my heart good to see that there are still white knights to be found in this... colourful city of ours."

"People need hope." Logan's deep, cultured voice replied.

"And you're giving it to them." The older man declared, returning his attention to the man he came to see. "But you must settle a curiosity of mine before we can talk of investment, Lucas. What inspired you to commit so many resources, even some of your own fortune from what I hear, to put pennies in the pockets of poor people who'll simply spend them in the next tavern they pass?"

"I'm not going senile, John." Logan leaned his large frame forward and rested his elbow on the ornate artwork inscribed on his desk. "The goodwill of the people can be a powerful thing to have behind you."

"...especially if a man was seeking office?"

"Correct, but having a friend with contacts within the council is also of high value."

Lord Mirrilum stared at Logan for a moment, then set his glass down on the table. The half-elf shifted on his feet.

"So you wish me to... pull strings for you?"

"I think I deserve that, don't you? And also, with your financial support, they'd be polishing that seat for me before the month is out. "

The noble cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"Something the matter?"

"Well... it's just that is... quite a lot of assistance you're asking for."

"Who said we were asking?" Eli said quietly. The Lord wheeled to face the half-elf as if he'd just been slapped.

"Enough of this pantomime." The half-elf muttered, reaching behind to his belt to grasp something hidden behind. "Take a nap Lucas."

The effect of the words was electric, the businessman slumped in his seat and began to snore. The old nobleman's eyes widened in horror.

"What- what have you-"

"You people amaze me." Eli said, in genuine exasperation. "How you mouth-breathers ever took over this shithole of a country I'll never know."

"I don't understand-"

"Oh come on! Did you really think that a man who wanted you for an investor just happened to have men in the area where your whorebag of a daughter just happened to be getting mugged?"

"You- sent them?"

"And finally. He gets there." Eli said flatly, striding purposefully around the desk to put himself between the door and the noble, who now had a look of rising panic. "Word of advice, if you scream to the meatheads you brought in I'll burn you alive."

The old man made a strangled noise.

"Close enough to agreement." With that, the half-elf pulled out the object he'd had tucked away. It was an ebony knife debecked by tiny, red runes which glowed with some barely repressed power.

"Dont worry." He said. "This'll all be over soon."