Getsemiel, part 2

[Jack Rothwell]

Eli stared at the blood without expression while a hiss spat from between his teeth. He stepped towards the office door.

"Let me..." He said quietly. "...he's my uncle, after all."

No inferno from a magic artifact was necessary for the operation the half-elf had in mind. In this case it was a kick applied with enough enthusiasm to break the flimsy latch and send the door bouncing back off the inner wall. Eli caught the splintered thing on the rebound and stepped into the room, a dull splash announcing his entry.

"Oh."

The blood trail was, upon examination, an excellent way of framing what was left of Telan. It ran broadly like a runway to the body and pooled around it in a semi-circle almost too perfect to be natural, in a detached way Eli could almost enjoy it. The body itself was considerably less pretty to look at.

"Well at least they pinned him up." Eli said, in a faint voice he hardly recognized. "I remember uncle hated it when people slouched. The note stuck to his face though... he probably would've hated that more."

Slowly, he stepped sideways to an empty chair, sitting down with a thud.

[Graybeard]

"Oh my god," Sister Rose breathed.

Quickly she checked for signs of life, confident that there wouldn't be any; there was altogether too much blood on the floor for that. Still, there might be some tiny chance that a Heal could get enough blood to the man's heart to sustain life until more heroic healing magic could bring him back from the brink. She bowed her head in prayer, summoned magic to her fingertips, projected it into the man's chest ... but no.

She turned to Eli, misery on her face to match the horror on his. "I'm so sorry ... but he's beyond our help. Please allow us to give him last rites. From the look on his face, that's the least we can do for him, and maybe also the most." She made preparations for the Rite of Repose, the note that had been daggered to his face forgotten for the moment ... although it wouldn't be for long.

If the hard men out working in the warehouse were aware of what was going on, they gave no signs of it; the district was a rougher place than Rose optimistically thought it might be, after all.

[Alberich]

Tim, up near the front, stepped in right after Rose, and when he saw what she was trying, attempted to help. For a fleeting moment he wanted to call on Desiree to do the same; a chance to use her best skill might be good for her morale. But in a quarter-second it was as clear to him as it was to Rose that there was no way they would get this man alive, or to a point where he might answer actual questions. Too bad. Exercises in futility wouldn't help. And if this stranger was involved in that beastly crime, it meant there'd be no chance to give him a less merciful death later on. Too bad about that, too.

He let Eli take the lead in reading the note -- this was his family's business, and the crime was against his lover -- and instead joined Rose in the short rite. But it was hard to concentrate as there were questions he was itching to ask, and evidence he was eager to examine. To know whether this was a magical assassination, like the strange weapon Ronnie had found back in Umbertiel, or a person who simply walked in, killed, and locked the door on his way out. The warehouse workers wouldn't want to admit whom they'd seen, and Tim's priestly rank would be unlikely to open their lips. They'd need another way.

[Jack Rothwell]

Eli composed himself long enough to retrieve the note from what was left of his uncle's face. He shuddered freely at the cricking noise from the older man's neck as his head was turned by the action. The half-elf resisted the urge to slap himself to clear his head and instead simply stood as still as he could manage, blinking hard to make the words on the paper swim into focus.

"To whomever finds this rotting meat, take this as a warning. Undercutting the Eisenfaust is a remarkable way of committing suicide."

Eli handed the note over to anyone who wanted to double check it and began to scan the room, assessing drawers, shelves and cupboards until he found what he was looking for. He uncorked the whiskey bottle with a trembling hand and took a large swig.

"Maybe there's something here that can tell us what the old idiot was up to..." He managed. "...and tell me who these people are."

[Graybeard]

"...Enter into Luminosita's Presence," Sister Rose intoned, finishing the brief rite. This wouldn't be the time or place for a complete, formal Rite of Repose, but it shouldn't matter. She'd observed that the body bore no wedding ring. The dead man might have no living relatives to be consoled other than Eli, and that could come later, if at all; he'd never shown any interest in the Church of Luminosita, and he probably wasn't going to start now. (As for the possible "preventative" components of the Rite, which she'd dismissed as archaic superstition for most of her life until the eerie events on Dead Man's Hill, she decided not to think about that.)

Back to business. She inspected the note, paying particular attention to the stylized "E" at the bottom with a fist superimposed on it. It gave the thing a curiously "official" look, and it got her thinking out loud. "Eisenfaust ... Eisenfaust ... Have I heard that name before? I don't think so, but it sounds like one of those mercenary guilds that more or less run Farrel." She shuddered and turned toward Argus. "I know a lot of people outside our country don't think much of the idea of government by theocracy, but you'd have to admit, our 'government' doesn't run around doing things like this. I think our way is better, imperfect though it is. Anyway, I'll inquire about them when we finally make it to the temple for the night."

She sighed as she watched Eli rummaging through the dead man's papers. The half elf seemed to be holding up remarkably well under the circumstances. (For that matter, so was the rest of the party. Even Desiree didn't seem as horrified by the scene as she would have been only a few days earlier, Rose noted. Luminosita's Nethers. Do people around me become inured to death that fast?) She started to ask if there was anything she could do, but decided at the last second to hold her tongue; it looked like he was finding something he considered interesting.

[Jack Rothwell]

"'Meeting- tomorrow at ten. Philippe and Baxton. Weatherby docks.'" Eli read from the freshest stack of notes he'd found in his rummaging."Baxter... I think that was the name of one of the gentlemen Telan was meeting with earlier. Of course they could have been the guys who put the blades in for all I know." He continued. "Fresh imports, hundred a head. Send to storage and locate alternate buyer... Fredriel's people, out of business."

"Bad man!" Came a cry from beyond the doorway. Tamina poked her head into the office, cringed at the sight of the dead half-elf and gave the other a wide berth as she approached.

"Fredriel owns the... ahh... Rose. Not you, Rose, the Red Rose." She cleared her throat, a habit that surfaced whenever she was about to make a speech. "Got captured week ago. Brought to Lorrel... the Isn't-fast traded me to him... tried to... umm... got drugged, were gonna do bad things to me."

"Isn't fast? You mean Eisenfaust?"

Tamina nodded at Eli, giving him a smile that didn't conceal the fear behind it. She tapped her chest.

"Escaped. S'good he's out of business. Don't know what happened to him."

"Where are they?"

"Fredriel or Isn't fast?"

"Either! Both!"

Tamina retreated a step backwards at Eli's sudden snap. She kept the urge to whine in check; the horrible suspicion she had about the half-elf was nearly confirmed.

"Rose is... 'bout... erm... over there." The kobold pointed out of the factory in a westerly direction. "Not sure about is... eyes-then-fast. Rose might know. Red Rose... I mean."

[Drannin]

Argus stared silently at the remains of Eli's uncle. The Eisenfaust. He'd heard of them, traveling through Farrel, and this was totally in keeping for them. Simply a very well-organized group of thugs. Professionals, really. The business-like tone of this murder just drove it home. The assassins were likely just throwing an ale back somewhere, complaining about the rigors of their job.

"It shouldn't be too hard to locate this Red Rose," he commented. He looked at Tamina. "I don't suppose you know where it is?"

[Alberich]

"I do," said Udo. He'd brought Tamina here, holding her furry paw as long along the way. While staying in place and holding her all day would've been nice, he thought she'd cheer up faster with a new experience to distract her. Like a fight. Or a squirrel. It looked as if all the violence had been done before they'd arrived, though.

"And you're right about the Eisenfaust. I think this is about the limit of their power in this area. At least, they don't have a presence in Ester, next town up the road, and they haven't done anything to clear the bandits from the road that way." He grinned and nodded to the kobold. "We did that just the other day.

"Anyway, want to go to the Red Rose? Let's go!" - that way lay distractions a-plenty.

[Drusia]

Even Desiree didn't seem as horrified by the scene as she would have been only a few days earlier, Rose noted.

OOC: Actually, I was assuming that Desiree stayed outside, hence no response. However, if you insist... /OOC

Eli wants to... it sounds like he wants to kill his uncle for handing me over to those people. I stick close to Rose - Eli scares me. He's like another person. I knew he had a temper from his reaction to Brother Tim, but... killing people? Killing his own family?

We arrive and... his uncle is dead. I blanche, turning away from the scene - I'd probably vomit if there was anything left in me. Instead I just stand in the corner, crying.

Is this what my mother wanted me to see? Really? Why? What am I supposed to learn from horrors like this?

No more. I... I can't stand this anymore.

Eli is looking at some note and Rose is performing last rites. While no one's looking I slip outside. I pick a direction and start walking. I figure if I keep going straight, I'll eventually get to the edge of the city. Once I'm outside, I can figure out what direction Snamish is in. If I keep walking, I'll get there eventually.

-- Desiree

OOC: Don't worry, Desiree isn't leaving the RP. She's just upset.

[Alberich]

"Wait a minute," said Tim, looking around the room. "Is Desiree outside? - We shouldn't be leaving the ladies alone around here, with what happened before, and all." The door was full of Udo and Tamina for the moment, so he asked them - "The young lady who was with us - is she still back there?"

Udo looked back, then shook his head. "No sign of her." Too bad. She was hot!