Port Lorrel- Prison Break

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Alberich
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Re: Port Lorrel- Prison Break

Post by Alberich »

Tim either didn't hear Myra's words or did a very good job of pretending he didn't. "It went splendidly," he said, joining his friend at the table and calling for a pint and some food. "Sergeant Carlson seems to have a good hold of his men, a good tongue for the populace, and he didn't try anything deceptive. Firm enough to get the stuff distributed, nice enough not to hurt anyone in the process. If he's like that all the time he might be one to watch."

Really, Tim wasn't sure why he was telling all this -- he wanted this group destroyed and scattered after all -- but it had been his habit as an officer, even in training, to try to notice people doing their duties right, and report it to the ones who could do them some good. And following his old habits made it more natural for him to stay around these people and especially Eli. And you want him to teach you more, don't you... -- stop that; if he could get through this without more of the corrupting knowledge, all the better.

"So, anyway, when I go to the temple in a little while I'll be able to tell them what I saw. But what do you suppose I can tell them about your group? I know what you've told me so far, but if you were describing yourselves to some thoughtful strangers, what would you say? "

He hoped over food and drink to have some good conversation. [OOC: And feel free to add some minor Tim dialogue to move it along.] Of course he expected to be shown only a mask, whether a mask worn by Eli or a mask shown to him and Eli alike. But he would pay it rapt attention.

He didn't approve of this vulgar-looking girl. While he thought Eli did need someone human...not that kind of human. But he was very much in the enemy's camp, walking carefully, and even if it hadn't been for the Ralkin...you didn't just walk into heathen countries and start denouncing every bit of immorality you saw. Convincing Eli that fornication led to heartbreak, this could wait for another time.
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Jack Rothwell
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Re: Port Lorrel- Prison Break

Post by Jack Rothwell »

"So, anyway, when I go to the temple in a little while I'll be able to tell them what I saw. But what do you suppose I can tell them about your group? I know what you've told me so far, but if you were describing yourselves to some thoughtful strangers, what would you say? "

"...that Mr Logan harbors regrets over his past ruthlessness and wishes to make amends. His old age has him thinking hard about the legacy he'll leave behind." 'At least that's what he thinks he thinks...' "He wishes to use his influence to set a positive example in the Port, improve the lives of the common man, and turn this city into the prosperous metropolis he knows it can be. He recognizes a kindred spirit in the charity shown by your church and wishes to work with your superiors in that endeavor."

"Draining his personal fortune in the process." Myra muttered, draining her glass after she spoke and slamming it down on the table with the carelessness of the drunk.

"Which is substantial." Eli shot back. "Of course some people, like the charming Myra here, think his efforts could be better spent elsewhere."

"Fucking right I do."

"I don't hear you complaining about your wages."

The banditwoman shrugged, pushed to her feet and went over to the bar. The Priest's eyes followed her, along with several of the other men in The Clark, despite himself.

"Distracting, isn't she?" Eli smiled.

"Where did you find her?"

"She's a former outlaw, one of the bandits from the northern plains whose fortune took a hard turn for the worse. Gabriel crossed paths with her on a job, that's one of Aleron's lieutenants, and recommended we give her a job. She might be a mouthy bitch, but she's loyal."

Myra returned with a fresh mug and collapsed ungracefully into her chair. She paused with the drink halfway to her lips to give the priest a nakedly assessing look, clearly intending to see if he'd squirm under her regard,

"You're younger than I imagined." She said, then leaned forward, deliberately giving the man an eyeful in her low cut top. "Did you have to take a vow of chastity? I imagine that would be hard... very hard."

A tic of amusement flickered across the half-elf's face.

OOC Of course, Myra's still the kind of character who'd try to corrupt a man like Tim just for the hell of it. :twisted: /OOC
Alberich
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Re: Port Lorrel- Prison Break

Post by Alberich »

"You're younger than I imagined." She said, then leaned forward, deliberately giving the man an eyeful in her low cut top. "Did you have to take a vow of chastity? I imagine that would be hard... very hard."

Tim actually found it easy not to look at Myra's body, even when she was flaunting it a-purpose. The boozy smell, the face of contempt, the foul language and manners, the war paint, and the tattoos, maybe especially the tattoos, wrote their message in letters so large that even he could read them.

[OOC: "In vain in the sight of the Bird is the net of the Fowler displayed."]

No self-respecting man in Umbertiel would give a second look to a woman like this, the innkeepers would refuse to serve her, and the womenfolk would freeze her out 'til she left town. In Veracia, even the outright whores who were nothing but whores were more discreet, and so more alluring, than this one. Her affect of drunk, chippy vulgarity simply did not appeal to a man like Tim.

So he answered her - "Yes, I did. And yes, sometimes it is. But I think the opposite kind of life is hard, too." Then he turned back to Eli.

"Okay, I have that, but you also said he's hoping for a seat on the local Council, and so I'm guessing he's hoping to supplant, you know, whichever others are in control." Tim didn't know the Eisenfaust by name. His prior brief sojourn in this town had been very eventful, and also frightening on several levels, but he hadn't had time to follow the politics.

"So outside of charity - what are his policies? Is he planning to shut down the slave trade, the way you and I got to do before," -- that had been a beautiful and terrible moment, seeing his friend summon the demon-cat-thing, but still fighting shoulder to shoulder to strike down the slavers! "Or suppress or encourage anything else?" Eli had pleaded lack of time the last time Tim had asked this. Now, perhaps, he'd be more verbose. Or if not verbose, evasive, and that would tell him something too. Tim had another question as well --

"Also, I'm hoping they'll let me serve as a go-between, and it'll help if I can keep them out of any crossfires that are coming up. And I need to know what to watch for myself so I don't get snared. Can you tell me anything about who's against you, and anything I should warn them about?"

[OOC2: Many happy returns!]
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Jack Rothwell
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Re: Port Lorrel- Prison Break

Post by Jack Rothwell »

OOC Thanks Al! Turned 25 for the sixth time. :)/OOC

"Yes, Logan wants on the council, as for his policies..." Eli turned his eyes skyward and ticked off his fingers. "Fairer wages for his employee's, donations of money and new businesses to be set up in the poorer areas of the town, and yes, his organisation has 'shut down' a few of slave-traders in the last week."

"...with a mixture of threats, bribes and a beating or two."

"They're getting the message." Eli said, without a trace of apology. "And, more importantly, men like that are always willing to offer up associates to save their worthless hides."

"Bunch of sissies, the lot of them." Myra supplied, leaning back and crossing her legs.

"So, to address your question about keeping the church in the loop. We've found out about a ship bearing human cargo two days out of port. The Captain of the vessel goes by the name Allan Darmain."

"An old bastard, he's been involved in human trafficking for decades." The banditwoman said musingly. "Think I may have done some business with him a few years back."

Eli shot the woman a sharp look before returning to the matter at hand. "We've got a ship of our own returning in the morning. The plan is to gather the Black Guard, that's the name of Logan's personal army... did I say? Anyway, we're taking thirty well-armed soldiers, and going out to meet him, and when we find him we'll ask him politely to hand over the slaves and put the town to his rudder."

"...and if he doesn't we'll ask less politely." Myra said.

"That'll make him some enemies, no doubt. But the positive publicity of arriving at the Port with a group of freed slaves is worth the trade. Besides, between the peregin's and the kobolds, the slavers are small change as enemies go."
Alberich
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Re: Port Lorrel- Prison Break

Post by Alberich »

"Peregins," said Tim, stretching back in his memory, "...that's elf assassins, right? And kobolds...that's the, ah, furry creatures like the one we met here last time?"

[OOC: Tim didn't hear the name "kobold" in Port Lorrel, but given that he shared a camp with Tamina for a little while...well, I figure, he must've heard it.]

"Yes, I can see they'd both be a lot more dangerous." He'd seen Tamina in action several times, and although no one knew it, he'd seen Drusia fighting through silka's eyes as well as through his own. "Are any of them around here now, or likely to be anytime soon? That's something I should watch out for."
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Jack Rothwell
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Re: Port Lorrel- Prison Break

Post by Jack Rothwell »

"If that elf bastard Jack is around, he won't be for much longer, especially if I get my hands on him." Myra snarled, gripping her mug in a manner which made it shake in indignation.

"He's the one who tried to kill me and my... benefactor, earlier today." Eli supplied, avoiding the word 'master'. "I don't know where Drusia or her assassin pals are, but her description is circulating around the guard, along with her armament and the tactics she uses. Teleport or not, we've got the manpower to stop her if she tries anything. Even if she gets to Aleron, he's got the power to crush her easily enough. There's a tribe of kobold's who've been a thorn in his side for a decade or longer, but that situation's being dealt with as we speak. Gabriel took a platoon to the Southern Continent, needless to say they won't be killing any more of Aleron's friends anytime soon. Still... you should pay our leader a visit when you get the chance, his magic makes me look like a shit-kicking amateur. He'll give you the tools you need to defend yourself if trouble arises."

"Psssh, magic! A bullet does the job just as well."

"Don't knock it til you've seen what it can do." Eli replied evenly.
Alberich
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Re: Port Lorrel- Prison Break

Post by Alberich »

"Still... you should pay our leader a visit when you get the chance, his magic makes me look like a shit-kicking amateur."

Tim nodded. "I'd like that," he said. Translation: I'm terrified at the prospect. "Maybe you could arrange that sometime soon?"

While he was tempted to probe further for details, his judgment told him not to. He wanted his face to say "ambassador," not "spy." So he kept his last question open-ended. "Do you think there's anything else the Mission ought to know?"
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Jack Rothwell
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Re: Port Lorrel- Prison Break

Post by Jack Rothwell »

"Maybe you could arrange that sometime soon?"

"Tomorrow, if I can." Eli replied. "I'll let you know."

"Do you think there's anything else the Mission ought to know?"

"Nothing springs to mind." The half-elf said. "Although you might dig for any trouble the church is having that the Black guard might be able to help with. Get us off on the right foot and all that."
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Re: Port Lorrel- Prison Break

Post by Alberich »

Thanking Eli, fearing him, but smiling at him, Tim made his way to the temple as it was getting dark.

As he went he rehearsed how he might introduce himself and his mission. He imagined it would take a while for any word about him to get here, unless Rose decided to come in person, which he didn't think would happen. Thus he was stunned when he pronounced greetings in the name of Lord Luminosita to Brother Conrad, only to be told - "Welcome! Brother Tim, isn't it? I'm glad you made it safe." Well, they had met briefly during Tim's previous short sojourn in this town, but this sounded as if he'd been expected. Had Rose come ahead of him? Was she going to snatch him away?

He'd learn soon enough so he decided not to challenge the other Brother's knowledge. "Thank you, Brother Conrad," he said, leaving the initiative with the other.

"Father Romuald will want to meet with you this evening, he's quite clear on that. Have you had your supper yet?" Tim said he had. So Conrad showed him to the sanctuary and asked him to wait. No harm in that. Tim made his mind as still as possible, calming the roiling fears in his brain, not letting himself get up and stride around the chamber as his legs longed to do. Silently he rehearsed prayers he hadn't used recently -- unlike the Rite of Repose, which his time with Rose had made him practice often. And he waited.

And while he waited, an older priest came in, took a rear bench, and gave his own prayers low-voiced and at length. Tim was not watching for magic and did not know he was being examined, just as Rose had said, to ensure he was not already in the grip of a lower power. Had he known he would've approved.

At least two hours had passed in quiet before Tim was brought into Father Romuald's office. He wasn't invited to sit and he wasn't offered much information. Father Romuald said before him; Brother Conrad and the older priest sat to the sides and a little behind. "We know you're here," said Father Romuald, "and we know you're making an investigation of some kind. So talk. Tell us how you came to be here." With the tiniest effort at sensing magic, it was clear enough to Tim he was being watched for lies. Just as well he wasn't planning to tell any.

There was nothing for it but to talk. "Well, father, you remember my mission with Sister Rose before. That brought us from here to the Northern Confederacy. I can't say much more about that, but we informed a Board of Inquiry of what happened, and Father Blaise is no more. Also, our mission was a success, and some very dangerous and evil men we met up north have died."

Tim did not think he was authorized to tell the truth about Blaise and his involvement with those death-worshippers. The Church might choose as a matter of policy to hide that fact. Why disturb the Faithful with thoughts of evil apostates in the Inquisition itself? The fewer who knew the bettter, unless the Hierarchy thought it best to make it known.

"But during that mission one of our companions, a man under Patriarch's protection, came to be involved with this new group that's in your town now, this Black Guard. They seem to have agents in the Northern Confederacy, and definitely had them here, and possibly elsewhere. And they're led by a powerful wizard I haven't met yet. And they've got at least two others in their hierarchy." He remembered having spied on the fight with Drusia - and the things Eli and Gabriel had done were not easily forgotten. "Also wealth. If they take over here in Lorrel, as they seem to be doing, they'll be a force to be reckoned with. And beyond here."

"What's that to do with us?" asked Romuald. "Our Mission stays out of Farrelian conflicts."

"Yes, Father," said Tim, "But this group might grow strong enough to unify Farrel -- if their leader is as powerful as I think -- and if their enemies don't stop them."

"The Eisenfaust? The Gewehr?"

"Father, they don't even reckon them among their enemies. They've made enemies of the elves, and apparently the elves know they're here, for they told me an elf assassin attacked their, ah, benefactor, Mr. Logan, which is why there was a mansion on fire...and they're also enemies with those furry cat-like creatures they call kobolds..."

Father Romuald looked extremely skeptical. "And what kind of chance do they think they have against the elves?"

"Apparently, they're very confident, father. And I haven't yet seen what they really can, but because of this connection with my friend here, I have a unique opportunity to do that - and to see what they're really about. And also to spend time with them, and keep this Mission informed - say if they're expecting something that's best avoided."

"And so what have you seen them do?"

And here Tim gave an account of Eli's fanatical slaughter of the slavers - with Tim's own help - on the previous trip, of their stated intent to attack another ship of slavers on the sea, and of the charity misssion he'd seen. Romuald was as unimpressed as Tim himself had been -- physical charity meant little without spiritual content, and a heathen Farrelian who sought popularity might mean to do good with it, but that was not the way to bet. Romuald had once been described as "not the most dynamic man you'd ever meet", but he wasn't a fool, either, and years of serving the Church in this godless port of squalor had increased him in cynicism.

"But what do you know of their nature, their real aims? And what are your real concerns?"

This was the hard part. "Father - their wizards - they'll ask me what I've told you, and...as you are doing." He gave a look back at the older priest who was scanning him for truth. "I only have suspicions, not the full proof, but they have fearsome power. And if I can spend time with them, and go between you and them, I think I can learn it all."

Father Romuald scowled. "The more I hear about it," he said, "The more this whole mission of your sounds like an exercise in stupidity. Reckless stupidity. If it were up to me alone, I'd send you back where you came from double-quick.

"But it just so happens I've had two messages from Kiyoka today." Tim was surprised. Had they actually sent runners with letters through the gate just to write about him? "The first had instructions from Sister Rose. She said we were to aid this ridiculous mission of yours, but also to make sure you got back as soon as you could, and tonight if possible." Tim was full of dread and gratitude - he'd feared Rose would come out to try to snatch him back. If she had, there'd've been a loud and ugly confrontation he'd been dreading. But it seemed she'd not only given him his head but couched her desire to have him back...vaguely enough that he could justify staying away.

This show of decency on her part made him feel low for leaving without talking to her direct. Now he thought she'd deserved better. But she was busy. Fornicating with her heathen lover! It's best this way. And you've got some talking to do to convince this man to let you stay...

"And the second message is just from the mission itself - it says that Rose's airship left earlier than expected, this afternoon. She's already gone, and our Kiyoka mission bids you godspeed. So it seems the ones who know the most want you to be helped in this. So against my better judgment I'm going to.

"However, let me be absolutely clear about something. You can bring messages if you like, but you do not speak for this Mission on your own. And I am greatly displeased that you went along on that charity ride without checking with me first..."

"Father, their man made it clear to them that the charity was from Mr. Logan, and not the Church..."

"No matter! People think with their eyes, and what the eye can see the tongue can distort. If they see a Churchman going around with their wagon, by the time rumor gets through with it, we'll have Eisenfaust here wanting to know why we've signed up with their rivals. I'm not answering to that at this stage. No more going along to attack slavers with them, either, unless I give you the word. Is that clear?"

"Yes, father."

"Now, did they send you with any messages?"

So Tim told what Eli had told him - that they were asking about any sort of "help" the Mission wanted with its activities. Father Romuald shook his head. "All we ask for now is that they let our current educational and charitable activities continue unmolested. They can't expect we'll involve ourselves in a Farrelian turf war, not the way power changes hands around here."

There was more talk of less consequence. Tim was offered the late Brother Norris' bed, which he gratefully accepted. His prayers were intense - that he'd done the right thing, that he and Eli would be carried safe through, that Rose would turn from her evil purpose to use heathen prostitutes and their seduction skills to find Brother Dalton, that Brother Dalton was in fact safe and would be found anyway, and that Rose's mission would be blessed with success even without him. Fears and doubts haunted his sleep, as did the seductive lure of the silka summoning, and what the meeting with Eli's master might mean.
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Jack Rothwell
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Re: Port Lorrel- Prison Break

Post by Jack Rothwell »

"This is a stupid assignment."

"It's damn clever, is what it is." Eli retorted, as the pair strolled through the darkened streets, heading northwards towards the richer part of the entertainment district. The two of them had left not long after Tim had gone to his meeting, although the time of departure would have been earlier if Myra had acquiesced to the half-elf's demands that she put her uniform on for the job, instead stringing out the argument to get an advance payment. They made it to the upmarket stretch called Baron Road as midnight was fast approaching. There was still a fair amount of light to be seen from the establishments still open for business at that late hour, however, and it was to one of those places that the Ralkin were headed.

"I'm just saying..." Myra continued, completely ignoring the aggrivated look Eli was giving her. "...why go to all this trouble to win over some dusty old noble? Couldn't you just use Logan to bribe his cooperation?"

"It wouldn't have the same impact." He replied. "Besides, this way we save money, maybe even recieve a large sum as a thank you."

"They're so cute when they're optimistic." The banditwoman muttered, her voice dripping sarcasm. "What are the details of this crappy assignment again?"

"We used some of the information you dug up to arrange an 'incident'." The half-elf said. "Right now, the young, vaccuous and spoiled Vanessa Mirrilum is sitting in that overpriced wine bar listening to fops play strings, and indulging in some chemical alteration her father would most definately not approve of."

"Bad girl."

"...said the pot to the kettle. It is, around this time, customary for the heiress to stagger her way home in the company of her two meat shields and whichever man, woman or farm animal she's got waiting to visit her hornet's nest."

"That's a pretty twisted term for something men like you worship."

"I was thinking of you when I came up with it." Eli said flatly. "Now, if you're done interrupting me..."

Myra crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. It was the best he could hope for.

"She takes a lurch down this road and hangs a left onto Parley street, not as well lit there, unfortunately. There's a few blind alleyways her group will pass by."

"Where the mugging will take place. Who's doing the job?"

"A handful of lowlife thugs with delusions of achieving something. From Brambrook actually, one of our plain-clothes boys in the area passed the information along to them. They're already set-up, and waiting for their chance."

"Then we ride in and save them." Myra said. "I ask again: why this and not a bribe?"

"Because the tear-sodden face of a grateful daughter being escorted safely home by the Black Guard to her high-born father will make for a far more moving image, both in the heart of the man whose contacts we want, and in the hearts of the people of the Port when word of it gets around."

"I suppose." Myra reluctantly conceeded the point. "One last question, why are we doing this?"

"Because I want to make sure it doesn't get fucked up."

"...or maybe you just want to play hero for a while?"

Eli said nothing.
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