Tsuiraku-town, part 3

[Jack Rothwell]

OOC Hey grey, do you wanna skip ahead in the timeline a bit? Basically nothing's really happening atm that resolves the rebel situation so it makes sense to me to cut to a point where something is. Besides, the other threads are creeping ahead of this one, we could always fill in details retrospectively./OOC

[Graybeard]

OOC: Something going up in this thread a little later today, but yeah, we can move the clock if you wish.

[Graybeard]

[OOC: OK, fast-forward to evening, anyway, with a bald-faced attempt to get the two separate parties talking to each other...]

"Mom, do you know how to get hold of that couple that was out here earlier?" Layla asked over dinner (and, of course, after providing Zachary with his own first).

Faye thought for a minute. "No idea. They didn't leave a --"

"Barker Lane," Joe interrupted. "I saw them there while I was checking out another store to use as a base until we get the liquor store fixed up."

"'Until'?" Layla snorted. "'Unless' is more like it. I don't think that property is getting fixed any time soon. Anyway, I need to talk to them about a small business proposition."

Joe looked dubious. "That's not the best part of town. There's some kind of guild that works out of there, not sure yet who they are but they don't exactly put their best foot forward. And what kind of business do you want to do with them anyway? I don't think -- oh." Layla was wearing her "I am a Big Shot, you are not, now shut the hell up and do what I tell you to" expression. She didn't use it often, but there were times when it was called for and this was one.

"I want you to make contact. Take Oskar and Stevo, tooled up but on everybody's best behavior," she commanded. "This is a friendly visit, not looking for a fight. If all goes well, I've got some work for them."

And if it doesn't, well, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it, she thought as she cut another piece of meat.

[Jack Rothwell]

Jade stood in the cluttered guild at Barker Lane with Leo at her side. Opposite the woman sat the man she'd last seen three years ago, and at that time he'd been riding into the distance with an injured woman hanging on behind him and doing his best to evade capture by a half-dozen of Port Lorrel's finest. She scrunched up her eyes involuntarily, as if convinced that the old bastard she'd pegged for dead was just a mirage brought on by spending too long in the hot forge. The day had been a productive one on that score, the second mana-rifle was now completed. It was currently stuffed into a canvas bag in her boyfriend's tentative hand.

As she arrived she'd taken in the furnishings of the dimly lit building; the few token racks and chests dotted throughout it, but what really drew her attention was the cane that rested by the side of Rufus' desk. The prop of an invalid. He'd snatched it up and leaned upon it heavily as he'd made his way around the desk to hug her.

"It's good to see you, old man."

"And you also, young lady."

They'd exchanged all the customary pleasantries. Rufus had re-iterated what Leo had already told her; that he'd achieved some measure of peace, that this building would be the place of his working retirement.

"We've already accrued some interest from some of the local tough's who're trying to break into the mercenary trade." He'd recounted.

"You're going to teach them?"

"Teach? No. But if they pay attention they might learn a few things."

"Whatever happened to seizing control of Port Lorrel?" There was a bluntness in her tone, faintly accusitory.

"This." He touched a hand to his leg. "And a few other changes besides, but that isn't the business at hand, is it? Leo, tells me you're working with another group now, are they treating you well?"

"As well as can be expected." She shot a look at the handsome merc, who simply shrugged in aknowledgement. "They might have need of some extra muscle in the future."

"Against this rebel group, correct?"

"If it comes to that, yes."

Rufus seemed to pause for a long time.

"No." he said quietly.

OOC I'll post up some more later on if I get the chance. Btw grey, do you know why once you get past a certain amount of text in your reply the text box starts doing a jack-in-the-box impression when you type? It's been bugging me for months./OOC

[Graybeard]

[OOC:

OOC I'll post up some more later on if I get the chance. Btw grey, do you know why once you get past a certain amount of text in your reply the text box starts doing a jack-in-the-box impression when you type? It's been bugging me for months./OOC

I haven't seen this, despite writing some rather long posts. What browser are you using? If it's too troublesome, drop kaitou a PM about it; he's the computer guru for Poe and Impy and he might have some ideas. /OOC:]

"This is the place," Joe said as he, Stevo and Oskar arrived on Barker Lane. A quick check didn't show any traps beyond the usual, so he risked a knock on the door, and a slightly raised, but not unfriendly, voice. "Jade and, uh, Martin? Layla sent us, got some possible business to discuss."

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

Back at the vineyard, Layla, Faye and Ace were also talking business, more or less.

"Maybe things are finally settling down around here to where we can regroup and start doing what we came for," Faye offered, her voice more hopeful than her body language. "How are the lessons going?"

Layla made noncommittal noises as she finished feeding her son. "Well enough, I guess. Galina says I'm a fast learner and so on. Plus, she's a friend, and we're honestly enjoying the whole thing. I just wish the Divine Dwarf people hadn't butted in."

Ace raised an eyebrow. "That was behind the errand you sent Joe and the boys on?"

"I'm afraid so," Layla sighed. "And sweetheart, I may have just the tiniest favor to ask you in that same context."

Her mother and her boyfriend looked at each other, emitted a joint sigh, and simultaneously facepalmed ... and with these examples, Zachary produced a giggle and an attempt at a facepalm of his own, and suddenly the mood at the house lifted by a notch or two, for a moment anyway.

[Jack Rothwell]

"Jade and, uh, Martin? Layla sent us, got some possible business to discuss."

There was a clicking noise from behind the door, and a wooden panel embedded in the upper part slid away to reveal a pair of pretty brown eyes staring through the gap created. The voice the eyes were attached to, however, was not so pretty. It was clearly young, and female, but had a rasping edge which suggested the owner enjoyed the finer things in life like drowning puppies and using orphans as footballs.

"Jade's in a meeting right now." Eve grunted. " The hell do you want?"

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

"No."

"No? Why the hells not?" The exasperation in Jade's tone was large and immediately apparent.

"We're small scale, Jade. We don't have the manpower yet to go rushing into a war against a magical army. Besides, what kind of profit will a transaction like that get us?"

"The army's tech for starters." Her gaze flickered to the bag next to her. Leo, who'd been holding it, had pulled a vanishing act. Presumably he'd gone downstairs, not wanting to get involved in a squabble between his girlfriend and his employer. "And the foundation of a good business relationship with the organisation as well."

"Which will be a great consolation to our smoking corpses in the aftermath of such a fight." Rufus said evenly.

Jade ran her fingers through the hair at her temple, a gesture she often used when she was annoyed.

"I thought you were a tactician, Captain."

"I thought you were wise, Blacksmith."

They locked gazes for an uncomfortable moment. Jade reached down and grabbed the bag, pulling out the newly finished 'mana rifle' with a deliberate flourish. She closed the barrel and held it up so Rufus could see it clearly, even with his single eye.

"Did Leo tell you about this?"

He didn't reply, but there was a glimmer is his eye the old man couldn't hide.

OOC Leo is on his way downstairs, fortunately he's a lot nicer than Eve. Did he run into any of the guys outside the door in the lqiuor store?/OOC

[Jack Rothwell]

Leo caught up at that moment and elbowed Eve out the way of the door in a way that reflected their sibling-like relationship. She squawked in annoyance and started trying to stick the older man in a headlock.

"Excuse Eve." Leo panted as he struggled to keep his throat constriction-free. "She's got the manners of an irate bull after a dose of anal rape. Aren't you gentlemen- urk!- friends of the Sorensens?"

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

"Alright, I'm listening."

"I'll make you a deal, old man." Said Jade, fighting the urge to weave the rifle in a figure of eight to see if the Captain would track it. "You agree to check out the situation in more detail and I'll give you this as a gift."

Rufus clicked his tounge off the roof of his mouth, a sound of contemplation.

"...ok." He said reluctantly. "That's fair. But if anyone gets hurt we'll wash our hands of the business immediately." He held out a hand, which the Blacksmith shook, then gestured at the gun with an open palm. Jade held passed it over but didn't release it right away.

"And you'll help if you can."

"If we can turn a profit and if it's not unreasonably dangerous then... we'll see."

Jade let go.

[Graybeard]

[OOC: Leo would certainly have seen Oskar and Stevo at the liquor store, in the sequence starting here. He would also recognize Joe as the "owner" of the liquor store, as seen here. Incidentally, I'd forgotten all about that when giving Joe his "inspiration" in the next main paragraph -- the fact that it all hangs together is pure luck. /OOC:]

"She's got the manners of an irate bull after a dose of anal rape. Aren't you gentlemen- urk!- friends of the Sorensens?"

What's the right answer to that? Joe wondered. He decided to play it straight; Layla's judgment about friends and foes was usually to be trusted. "We are," he said. "More like employees, actually. We're at the vineyard now." Oop. Probably shouldn't have appended the 'now' part ... but too late to change it. Then he had an inspiration on how to make his gaffe work for him. Even better, what he was about to say would even be true. "Layla took us in after the damn thaumato-arsonist blew up the liquor store we were running. Now, there's an investigation that needs doing ... and Layla wants to pay you people to play a part in it."

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

Life seemed to be settling down (finally) at the vineyard, but there was one loose end to be tied up. It happened to coincide with the spur-of-the-moment, improvised introductions that Joe was doing in town.

"Mom, you taught me not to believe in coincidences," Layla said after she put Zachary down for a nap. "The magical fire strike at the Temple of the Divine Dwarf happened too soon after the liquor store got burned out. I'm sensing a connection there." She didn't add that the incineration of the shack outside the vineyard fell in that time interval too; she was pretty sure that Kitaura was behind that one, which meant that it was not, under any conditions, to be investigated. But the other two ... well, something just didn't add up.

Faye thought about it. "I know what you mean. Peter wants to keep a lid on the crapstorm at the store, but something doesn't feel right, does it?" She thought for a minute, reached a decision. "Okay, you're spinning up people for the Temple event, right? On my authority, if you can learn anything about the liquor store fire-bombing by doing it, go ahead -- but make damn sure to keep the Gewehr out of it."

[Jack Rothwell]

"Layla took us in after the damn thaumato-arsonist blew up the liquor store we were running. Now, there's an investigation that needs doing ... and Layla wants to pay you people to play a part in it."

Leo broke free of the annoyed young woman long enough to unlatch the door and pull it open for the new arrivals. Eve stuck out a kick which caught the merc squarely in the shin before leaving the bewildered group in a huff. Leo rubbed the sore limb and grinned.

"Come in. The Boss is on the second floor with Jade right now." He led the group up the flights of the stairs, stifling a limp as he did.

A moment later, Rufus looked up from his discussion with the Blacksmith with a frown. Leo made a hurried introduction, and relayed the business offer before the old man could start berating him about the interruption.

"An investigation you say?" He exchanged a brief look with Jade, who made no comment, then turned back to the group. "What would this Layla have us do exactly? And how much is she offering?"

OOC Hope this works ok. Incidentally if there are any merc/sleuth types who want to take part in the investigation they could write them in as characters in Rufus' guild for an easy way in./OOC

[Graybeard]

"What would this Layla have us do exactly? And how much is she offering?"

"Not much, and not much, but enough," was Joe's answer. "There have been a couple of fires recently, apparently of magical origin, in places that interest us. We'd just like to know who set them and why." "Them"? Layla just wanted the fire at the Temple of the Divine Dwarf investigated. Have I overstepped my bounds here? Anyway... "Nothing dramatic is called for, just routine fact finding at the Temple of the Divine Dwarf and at the liquor store where I saw you. You might need to bribe the local cops, who I assure you are susceptible to bribery. We'll cover that, and throw in enough to pay well for a week's work or so." He named a figure that fit the "pay well for a week's work" description adequately.

-----------

"So I'll have Joe talk to them about the store too?" Layla was confirming with Faye, at so close to exactly the same time as Joe was extending his business offer that she'd later wonder, only half joking, whether telepathy was at work.

Faye nodded. "If that causes trouble with Peter, I'll handle it. We've got to have some autonomy working out here in the field. You're the on-site boss, so you make the calls."

Ace chose this moment to clear his throat. "Speaking of which, honey, you said you had a 'favor' to ask me. Dare I ask what it was?"

Layla told him, and as she would later reflect, the fact that Ace didn't instantly take off running in horror was the strongest evidence yet that their love was meant to be...