Tsuiraku-town, part 3

[ComradeHavok]

Mouse continued to shadow Leo as he made his way out of the town. By now, she had finally deduced where he was heading to. Mouse couldn't think of any other reason why this man would be heading up that paricular dirt path, unless he intended to go visit the Vineyard. It was a popular destination, it seems. Mouse recalled there being a lot of people with guns there, but none of them tried to kick her or call her names, so she felt they were pretty decent people.

So, rather than continue to follow the man, Mouse decided to make her way directly to the Vinyard. She made her way through the overgrown thickets with ease. Leo would occassionally hear rustling coming from the bushes, but from the sound of it, it couldn't be anything bigger than a squirrel or cat.

[Sareth]

"Waffenbruderschaft."

Jasmine put the shotgun away. "That's all I wanted to know. Thank you." She shot a look towards the covered globe, then turned to walk away. "Oh," she called over her shoulder. "And remember, this is my daughter we're talking about. She is my business, first and foremost. Let's not forget that."

[Jack Rothwell]

Leo reached the outskirts of the vineyard in a paranoid sprint and had to pull up sharply to avoid falling into a trap involving a shallow ditch and a nasty looking set of sharpened stakes at the bottom.

"Fuck me!" He yelled, unable to contain the outburst. "Great plan sir. Head towards the sharp things at a flat-out run."

He took a second to brush the dust and moss from the rooftops and road off his more respectable looking set of clothes, feeling notably less self-conscious now he was looking like a merc and not a dandy. He finished the journey, easing his way around a few of more tricky surprises and half-tangling with a tripwire some inconsiderate bastard had left out as he got to the door. He banged on the frame.

"Hello? Anyone home?" His question was answered almost immediately as the women who'd introduced herself as Jasmine stepped into view with anger written all over her face.

"Oh... erm... bad time?"

...............

Jade was, after a fair amount of trail and error, making progress with her project ('The Mana Rifle' she'd dubbed it, in response to a desire she'd had as a kid to make 'ultra super cool weapons of doom with kick-ass names'). A few screws were stuck, smoking and impaled in the cieling from the first attempt she'd made at turning the power source back on. With a few tweaks and a lot of insulation there was now a faint glow emmiting from the modified gun barrel which was almost torch-like in its beam. She chuckled to herself and powered the thing back down, feeling a little like a mad scientist by his operating table and realising, for the first time in Gods knew how long, that she was actually enjoying herself.

"Right." she said brightly. "The butt." [OOC Gun-butt obviously, but make jokes amongst yourselves/OOC]

[Sareth]

Jasmine glowered at the man that had just skidded to a stop in front of her. "Depends. Which group are you with?"

[Graybeard]

[OOC:

Jasmine put the shotgun away. "That's all I wanted to know. Thank you." She shot a look towards the covered globe, then turned to walk away.

Uh, wasn't it a rifle, not a shotgun? Anyway:]

This time, Joe waited until Jasmine was well away from the office room before getting back to the crystal ball. He made a mental note to talk to Layla about getting some soundproofing in; the way this place attracted ... unusual visitors, it would come in handy. "Okay, we're clear," he told Peter.

Unexpectedly, the ball emitted a dry chuckle. "Waffenbruderschaft?" Peter said. "Where did you come up with that?"

Joe rummaged the cluttered attic of his memory, couldn't find anything. "Damned if I know. It just seemed like the kind of name a guild might have."

Another dry chuckle. "Oh, it is, it is. So anyway, let's get back to finding another base for you and Stevo and Oskar, maybe one a little more distant from the vineyard. The cross-talk is making me nervous." The two resumed talking shop.

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Far to the southeast, a certain guild capo found his ears inexplicably burning.

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"That was fun," Layla told her friend, "even if it was damn hard work." She'd spent the afternoon under Galina's instruction, learning the principles of using a staff or wand to collect and focus magical energy. It was hard work; she was finding herself short of breath as she got back into the hack, kissing its driver as she sat down beside him.

"Sweetheart," she told Ace, "I have a rather odd request for you ... but let's talk about it later." After bidding Galina goodbye, they headed for the consulate to pick up Faye and return to the vineyard.

[OOC: Moving ahead to evening is OK with me. It'll be a somewhat slow trip for the Sorensens and Ace, since they have some talking to do, but no need to do all that on-line.]

[Jack Rothwell]

"Depends. Which group are you with?"

Leo reached into his pocket and produced a white handkerchief, which he waved in the air.

"I'm with the group who doesn't want to get shot by the pretty lady with the gun." He said. "Leo, Jade's man, she introduced us earlier? I don't suppose you've seen Layla or Faye around?"

[ComradeHavok]

The sound of a bear trap being sprung was followed by a young figure tumblng out of a nearby bush. She came to a rest a short distance from Jasmine and Leo, and promptly checked to see if she still had all her limbs. She then stood up, dusted herself off, and grinned at Jasmine and Leo. She pondered for a monent, then started rummaging through her pack for something. After a bit, she produced a slate and a piece of chalk and started to write something...

HELLO, I'M MOUSE.

[Jack Rothwell]

At that moment there were three very important things jumping up and down in Leo's mind and waving their arms for attention; the first was the hat the young woman had on her head which matched the one he'd spotted earlier in his rooftop climbing escapades, the second was the name on the slate and the third was the look of the girl which lined up with the description Jade had given him earlier about Gault's crew.

"Well, well." He intoned. "Nice to meet you Mouse, well I say nice to 'meet' you but you and I got pretty well-acquainted on the way up here, didn't we? Did you have fun following me? How about sticking your rifle in my girlfriend's back?"

Leo's usual happy-go-lucky demeanour was nowhere to be seen as he stared at the new arrival with an icy expression.

[ComradeHavok]

Mouse just smiled sweetly and nodded to Jasmine. She did vaguely remember seeing this woman before when Gault had paid a visit to the Vinyard. She seemed nice enough, never yelled directly at her or tried to hit her with any saucepans. She continue to blithely grin, ever as Leo glared daggers at her. Though she thought for a moment as she erased her slate and began to write something.

YOU LOOK TIRED

Leo would probably be thinking that this Mouse person didn't seem quite as dangerous as Jade had made her out to be. Sure, she did have a hatchet clipped to her belt, but it had the appearance of a woodsman's tool rather than an implement of murder. While she was certainly fit and lean, her stature was rather lacking, and Leo would figure he wouldn't have too much trouble taking care of her in a fight.

Mouse erased her previous message again before writing another one. This time she pointed the slate at Jasmine.

SORRY TO BE A BOTHER MAAM

[Sareth]

"Trust me, if the two of you were the biggest problems I was having to deal with today, I'd count myself lucky." Jasmine sighed and slung her rifle. "So let me ask you, maybe one of you have some idea. What the HELL is going on around here?"