Rinkaiel, Part 2

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Graybeard
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Rinkaiel, Part 2

Post by Graybeard »

"I don't like this," Joe said. "We'd better get back to our -- my apartment and see if Oskar has checked in."

Layla, Faye and Ace didn't like it either, but he was right. Anyway, they were going to have to let him take care of whatever was going on here; they had to get back to Kugelheim and get ready to move. (And maybe do some long-distance fact finding while they were at it.) Taking their leave from Kalin, they trundled back into town in the hack.

They'd only been gone five minutes or so when Kalin was startled by an unfamiliar voice behind him. "Ah ... that could have turned out to be awkward," a man spoke, in a pronounced Tsuirakuan accent. "Of course, it could also have gone ... better. Please do not turn toward me, sir. That might be ... bad for your health." There was a faint crackle, and a magical blue glow somewhere behind Kalin might have been reflected in a window ... or maybe not.

[OOC: OK, so herewith the second prong of the fork. Joe may need to stand in for Layla, etc., until they can get moved, but it shouldn't really matter...]
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Re: Rinkaiel, Part 2

Post by 4uk4ata »

Kalin was startled by the sound, and had started turning instinctively, but a low hum told him it might not be a good idea to continue. He gritted his teeth... That wasn't how it was supposed to go, no, not at all. Who the heck was the unknown man? The voice was coming from somewhere close behind, and he had neither heard nor seen anyone coming to him. Not in the least. He had felt him just as the man started to speak, a faint presence close by. He concentrated, trying to get as much from the... presence... that he felt behind him as the man spoke. The man was alone, around his fourties, not very high, clean-shaven, with large ears, formerly lean but now getting a bit portly. He was used to power, but there was an underlying... hunger that was probably a burning ambition. Oh, and he had eaten cheese and chicken... A very strangely prepared chicken, or was it something like a ... no, a man like that couldn't eat that... and downed it with wine.

Luminosita damn that, he thought as he felt the presence behing him disappear. He was going soft. Way too soft. Staying on the farm was a bad idea, and one he should abandon as soon as possible. But for now, more than even that, he wanted all those little secrets of this place unearthed.

He turned around, not without some anxiety, but by now there was no one. His brown eyes burned with uncharacteristic anger, and he squinted across the vineyard, at the shed. He looked at where the voice had come from, but there was nothing there, not even a scorched leaf. Yet that man had to have come from somewhere... And there weren't that many places he could think of.

"Just you wait, rabbit. Nu, just wait."

First, however, he went to the shed. There were some things he needed to take care of, alone.
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Re: Rinkaiel, Part 2

Post by Graybeard »

Oskar wasn't there.

Layla wasn't particularly offended at the disorder of the flat; that had been the way Arty was living when she met him, after all. There was plenty of debris from the late Fritz and Weed, and Stevo was over in a corner, snoring away just as he had been when they got there the day before. Of Oskar, however, nothing could be seen.

"We'd better try to resolve that," Faye said as they went back downstairs to the liquor store. "Joe, it's your problem, because we still need to get home to pack. Keep us posted, please."

"Will do," Joe said, eyeing a tall woman outside the not-yet-open store. Could she have something to do with the disappearance? No way to tell. "Can I help you?" he asked neutrally as the Sorensens got back into the hack.

[OOC: Opportunity for Tess here...]
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Dallen Andair
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Re: Rinkaiel, Part 2

Post by Dallen Andair »

[ooc]Working on it, just got in late, and am completely wiped. I'll re-read a few things and post in the morning[/ooc]
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Re: Rinkaiel, Part 2

Post by Graybeard »

What was going on at the front of the liquor store? Layla wondered. It wasn't open for business yet, so why was this woman hanging around? It really didn't matter, of course; she didn't look particularly threatening, Joe was on it, and there was a lot more firepower at hand than one might expect, if there turned out to be a problem. Anyway...

"We have a long trip ahead of us," she observed to her mother and Ace (and, of course, Zachary). "Think we could stop by that food stand over by the inn and pick up something to go? That was good stuff." And it would give me a chance to do some long-distance snooping about whatever happened to Fritz and Weed.
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Dallen Andair
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Re: Rinkaiel, Part 2

Post by Dallen Andair »

[ooc]Sorry, had a suddenly busy day yesterday[/ooc]

Tessa yawned as she walked the streets of Tsuriraku-town in the early hours of the morning. She had to get an early start if she wanted to get to the airship terminal on time, which had led to a problem.

The next time you have to get up so dammed early, don't stay up carousing with friends. She blinked hard and wished the coffee would kick in already, then blinked again when she saw a familiar shape lurking around the front of a wine shop. She could tell who it was, but closed anyway, no reason to yell.

"Sedona, what the bloody hell are you doing out already? You were worse off than I was" Tess checked her pocketwatch "Four hours ago."

The human woman laughed "Hello Tess. I was waiting for you, actually. And I figured you of all people should have handled last night better." She stood from leaning on the wall and joined Tessa in the street as her companion growled about never handling wine well. Tess noticed movement through the window and politely nodded to the woman eyeballing them. "Besides" said Sedona "Where you're heading you'll need to be careful so as to not get in the way of some people my people have in the area. Why risk something like Saus happening again when getting up at dawn to pass along some info will keep a few more Gewehr up and walking at the end of the day?"

Tess snorted and continued walking, Sedona keeping pace "It was your pack of newbies that decided to force the issue. I was on a contract. Not like it was personal."

Her companion shrugged "Water under the bridge. Anyway. First, the standard question from my superiors."

Tessa shook her head "Standard answer. I have no intention of dragging the Gewehr into my personal war if I can help it. I've lost enough friends to it as is."

Sedona didn't respond to that, but instead smiled slightly "The second. is a contract request from my-"

"I'm not joining the Gewehr, Sedona" Tess' voice was final.

"I understand that, and we're not trying to recruit you. We're instead offering a freelance mercenary that we know is reliable and close-lipped a contract to help...others in the area better keep their cover."

Tess arched an eyebrow "Non-aligned hired muscle?"

Sedona shrugged "Essentially, yes."

"Hm" Tess walked for a minute while she weighed the scales in her head, Sedona quietly matching her pace "Ok. Whats this contract pay, and what will you need me to do?"

Sedona nodded "Glad you're interested. I however am not the go to for this one. You'll be meeting the proper representative of the Organization aboard your airship. You both have the same destination. She'll give you the rest of the information."

Tess sighed. Dammed cloak and dagger. "Well, I guess we can't be too security conscious nowadays. Ok, can I at least get a description of the lady I need to meet?"
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Re: Rinkaiel, Part 2

Post by Graybeard »

"Who were those two?" Layla asked, watching the two women walk away.

Joe thought for a moment, said, "Not sure who the tall one is. The shorter one is named Sedona. We've developed her as an informant, intelligence gatherer. Weed knew more about her than I do."

"Is she okay?" Faye.

Joe shrugged. "As far as I know. At least her information has been good and has helped us on a couple of jobs. If you mean was she connected to all the crap at the inn last night, I doubt it, but it's hard to be sure. The taller one, I really have no idea. First time I've ever seen her."

"Well, let's not get into any more trouble here," Faye said, getting a nod from Layla. "Caution is the order of the day. I --"

Layla interrupted. "Any chance this Sedona could help us understand what's going on at the vineyard? Something still doesn't feel right there."

Joe chuckled. "Maybe. I don't think she's exactly your Kalin's type, though." That got a chuckle in return from the two women and Ace (Zachary tossed a baby giggle for good measure), and the group headed off for Rice's stand, hoping it would be open this early in the morning.
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Re: Rinkaiel, Part 2

Post by koshkoo »

((i IS BE SUMMONZED!! Sorry for the horrible internet English :mrgreen: Work's been pretty intense lately so my apologies for not being overly active, been meaning to write some but never got around to do that, my writing skills are rapidly deteriorating it's not even funny. *steps down the soap box*,anyways... bon-a-petite))

Given Rice's brilliant sense of direction, today her store was set on a different scene, if the group had taken the path down the seaside they would have ran into Rice's food stall before they reach the spot before the inn where they first encounter her.

It was a rather bright morning. The sun barely broke the terrain making its routine ascent over the horizon, sufficiently radiating warmth in supplement to the constant cool breeze that gently swayed the nearby vegetation. The breeze drew moist salty air from the warm sea towards the rapidly heating up land, battering waves played its timeless tune against the sand and the rocks; Ships of all shape and sizes traffic further off shore with hoards of seagulls overseeing their voyage. The white wash of the turbulent water crowns the glittering clear blue water, gradually turning darker further it went.

Rice's food wagon, parked alongside the small fishing pier, having the port side of the wagon facing the sun to provide reasonable shading from the sun, while allowing a generous view of the local fishing community out towing their nets further outwards. The wagon's red colour paint made it visible from afar if not the long trail of white steam trailing upwards,riding the air currents it had a hidden agenda, with it brought the smell of Rice's kitchen, the taste bud water scent that would make any man's stomach growl.

The food wagon's starboard side would be the huge window/counter where Rice would cook, like how she'd set her dinner arrangements there were 4 square tables laid out on just by the wooden planks of the pier, with 4 higher stools along the counter as well. The setup of furniture hinted she was serving food that can't be taken away this morning, A folding sign denotes dumplings were today's breakfast. At the counter there were a small tower of ceramic bowls which meant the rush for food was over and Rice had fed quite a happy number of hardworking fishermen. Perhaps that's part of how Rice gets her fresh ingredients.

The kitchen was as steamy as usual, and Rice dressed in her usual apron+unfamiliar looking clothing, if the wagon's design alone nor the manner of Rice's clothing and looks didn't look foreign enough.... you'd be daft to not know she's foreign after speaking to her.

((the stage is set folks, Rice has some good dumpling soup for you. Remember to pay the poor lady before the meal as well and don't steal her cutlery+tablewares))
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Re: Rinkaiel, Part 2

Post by Graybeard »

It took a while for the Gewehr group to find Rice's food stand, although eventually the aroma of dumplings vectored them in. By the time they got there, another man was standing near the stall, although he didn't seem to be eating, or even interested in the food. I've seen that man before, Layla thought, but she couldn't place him at first. He looked Tsuirakuan; his skin tone was lighter than the predominantly tanned features of the sea-faring people of Rinkaiel, or the nut-brown complexions common in southern Farrel. Between that and his facial features, he looked more like some of the people she'd seen in Kiyoka ... Aha.

"Can we get this to go?" she politely asked the nice young woman working at the stand. "We have a long journey ahead of us." She smiled as pleasantly as she could, making sure her back was to the Tsuirakuan ... because she certainly wouldn't be smiling if she looked directly at him, and particularly, if he looked directly back at her.
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Dallen Andair
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Re: Rinkaiel, Part 2

Post by Dallen Andair »

Tess looked up from her conversation as she and her companion rounded a corner and saw a decorated wagon parked nearby "That smells good. There's still a bit of time before I need to take off. Care to grab a bite? On me today."

Sedona grinned as the smell of baking dumplings and other fresh food wafted over "Love to."

Several others had gathered around the cart already, but it was hardly a crowd. Tess immediately spotted the woman she'd be speaking with later on the airship, but she was never one to mix business with breakfast. She paid no mind to the Tsuirakuan except a "pardon me" as she stepped past.
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