Port Lorrel- Puppet Masters

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Alberich
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Re: Port Lorrel- Puppet Masters

Post by Alberich »

Tim could only hope the "duty" didn't involve that classless tattooed harridan he'd seen with Eli before. "Good night, then," he said. He allowed himself an extra half-pint before returning to the mission to sleep. The things he was seeing and feeling were haunting his dreams, though not as badly as in Goriel, and if he'd had less self-control, he'd've drunk himself into a stupor to forget.

* * *
Udo smiled warmly when Tamina emerged from the tent. (Though she needn't have gotten all dressed on his account.) He wasn't feeling jealous, really, as the thought of the cute kobold and the hot elf together was more exciting than anything else. Though a picture of them painted by the Great Hieronymous would be nice...

Before Drusia was out, he asked Tamina about her. "So, didja, you know" -- he made some sweeping gestures around his chest and belly - "paint her up?"

[OOC: Graybeard tells me it'll be a couple of RW days before he determines what the Eisenfaust is up to, which in turn will determine what Udo can tell about the next rendezvous, so any more explicit information from Udo is going to have to wait. What I personally hope is that someone of consequence wants to meet the whole group out of town in the morning, the earlier the better, and get this operation moving very, very fast (in gametime).]
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Jack Rothwell
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Re: Port Lorrel- Puppet Masters

Post by Jack Rothwell »

Tamina frowned and pointedly unruffled the fur on her head after Angrist's touch; the affection was appreciated, but the humanoid wasn't a housepet or a child. Even so, the group being back together and unharmed was a weight off her heart.

"So, didja, you know...paint her up?"

"Wha-? Paint her?" Sudden enlightment dawned in the kobold's eyes. "Oh... oh! We... umm... spent some time together." It was obvious Tamina didn't want to elaborate on how exactly that time was spent, she changed the subject with a grating of gears.

"Glad you got back ok. I was worried." She said.

....

"- so that's the sum of it. Logan's making the announcement tomorrow."

"To run for office, yes. The noble who backs him has already begun calling in favours."

Eli shifted on his feet and stole a glance into the distance. The current residence of his master offered quite the view from it's rooftop, although the nature of the building felt like Aleron was giving in to a stereotype of some kind.

"It's all window-dressing anyway." The younger half elf said with a touch of contempt. "All we really need is some alone time with the biggest wigs and the whole city'll be in our pockets."

"Stay vigilant." The Ralkin Leader replied. "There are still threats to draw out, which leads me to our next piece of business..."
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Graybeard
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Re: Port Lorrel- Puppet Masters

Post by Graybeard »

[OOC:
Alberich wrote: [OOC: Graybeard tells me it'll be a couple of RW days before he determines what the Eisenfaust is up to, which in turn will determine what Udo can tell about the next rendezvous, so any more explicit information from Udo is going to have to wait. What I personally hope is that someone of consequence wants to meet the whole group out of town in the morning, the earlier the better, and get this operation moving very, very fast (in gametime).]
OK, a little background action to prepare for this, then. More on Khoo this evening...]

While all of this was going on, Annabelle, standing in for the absent Elke, was briefing a shadowy figure known to her only as "Mr. Jones."

She wasn't sure that even Elke herself knew the Eisenfaust capo di tutti capi's real name, and furthermore, she knew for a fact that at least two men had met mysterious deaths after they'd expressed interest in the subject. Nor was she sure that their improbable meeting place was his real lair. Well, it didn't really matter; when he'd summoned her, she had simply dropped what she was doing, and gone to meet him, as she must. Now they were sitting in an incongruously attractive garden, with a certain gadget they'd imported at great expense from Tsuiraku carefully concealing their presence.

"You're sure about these people?" Jones asked as she finished.

Annabelle pulled a face. "Not as sure as I wish I was, sir," she said. "Certainly we've got word that this outfit, the Ralkin they're called, have been getting more active in the docks. We'd had a working arrangement with them for a while, they pay us to look the other way while they run their own operation. It never competed with ours up until now, so other than finding out where they're based, and setting up some contingency plans if they get too pushy, we've kept our part of the deal. But now it sounds like they're not keeping theirs. There are about ten times as many of them as they let on, and it sounds like they're starting to make a play for the whole district. We can't let that happen."

"Indeed we can't," the man rumbled. "Careless of Elke, to let this threat get so close to happening, without just squashing them in the bud."

"She's been a little preoccupied lately, and they were careful to cover their tracks," Annabelle said, defending her pregnant boss, although she had no inkling of what Elke was really preoccupied with. "Anyway, this other outfit, which seems like a ragtag bunch that doesn't even have a name yet, more or less checks out, as weird as their contact was. They have a bone to pick with the Ralkin of their own. I still don't understand all that."

Jones nodded; there were things he knew, by way of his own cover story, that his underling didn't need to know about. "You did well to bring this to my attention," he said. "I'll get some troops on it from the main part of the operation. You just keep a low profile down at the waterfront, though. Your people at the warehouse aren't set up for a pitched battle, you know." They both knew that there were other Eisenfaust operatives with, one would say, more immediately applicable skills for this problem.

"Aye, aye, sir," Annabelle said, and the interview was over. Jones got back into costume, the cloaking device was deactivated, Annabelle headed back to the waterfront, and Jones too went back through the door that he had emerged from.

The servants' entrance to the city's Temple of the Veracian Church.
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Drusia
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Re: Port Lorrel- Puppet Masters

Post by Drusia »

"I'll try to behave myself." Tamina replied. "I'm not really looking for another pretty elf anyway."
One of her ears pricked up as she heard the shuffling of feet and a low whistling from the outskirts of the camp, her nostrils picked up a familiar scent, she clamped a hand over her mouth to stifle a full blown giggling fit.
"Poor Udo, he's probably getting cold. Should really be putting some clothes on, find out what's been going on."


"Honestly, I'd rather you didn't behave, and that we didn't bother with the clothes," I say, grinning. "But, as you say, we probably need a sit-rep." I go to collect my armor.

"Oh, and I didn't think you would be," I continue. "I just find it hard to let a good Cimmerii joke pass by unsaid. Probably because I'm no longer allowd to slit their throats on a regular basis."

-- Drusia

OOC: Yes, I saw that the conversation moved on. Drusia will just be putting her equipment on.
Alberich
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Re: Port Lorrel- Puppet Masters

Post by Alberich »

When Drusia emerged, Udo was mildly disappointed to see she'd dressed after all. So was the Pop-Up Elf Princess in Farell accurate or wasn't it? He looked her body over anyway, firstly because he liked looking over it, and secondly because he wanted to see if there were any traces of "virility paint" showing around the edges. He saw none. Well, maybe it was only boys who got that special tribute.

"Well met by moonlight!" he said. "So anyway, here's the dope. They're acting very interested in our info, and even though they're playing coy, I think they've latched on to the fact that they need to get rid of these Ralkins, like, yesterday. That's good because it'll save us a lot of trouble figuring out where the enemy is, where they keep that damn altar, and having to bite through a candy shell of armored grunts to get at the gooey creamy Aleron filling inside." Udo wasn't subtle enough to realize they seemed to have been expecting this, as if someone else had been bringing the same news, but then he knew nothing of the low-ranking officers' efforts to locate Jamie after hearing about unreal disturbances in a local tavern...

"So, anyway, there's gonna be a couple of Eisenfäusters coming out of town to meet with us in the morning, handy spot over toward the seashore, which I know from my high...earlier days. I think it's really so they can make sure we've really got you both with us, so that we're strong enough to do what we say we can do. They're a little leery about getting me a new staff, ah, but what the weave" - he hefted his rifle - "I'll shoot the bastards if I have to, and if they break my guns I'll punch 'em, and if they break my arms I'll bite 'em!" He thought for a moment and looked at Khoo. "'course, if you had the stuff to make another Khoo-boom, like something I could throw at 'em or use to blow up that altar, I wouldn't say no."
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Graybeard
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Re: Port Lorrel- Puppet Masters

Post by Graybeard »

Udo's question brought Khoo out of his not-entirely-pleasant reveries. Anna-Lisa Po. The one girl from home I would most like not to run into here ... and she's coming looking for me. Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, by the Sea God's green gills, why did it have to be her? "Huh?" he said, stalling for time.

Udo repeated the question.

"Um, yeah, I think she can make things blow up just fine ... I mean, I can." His open face blushed for a moment, and then it went pale as he realized something.

We're heading for the seacoast ... and I'd bet five years' worth of production from my home village that she's coming via that damned supersonic, beach-crawling magical submarine of hers.

This is going to get interesting, in the traditional-curse sense.
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Jack Rothwell
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Re: Port Lorrel- Puppet Masters

Post by Jack Rothwell »

"Bomb's a good idea." Tamina agreed. "Don't suppose we could just drop a big one on Aleron's house? Umm... do the isn't-fast..." She made a face. "Eyes-then... <spirits-curse-it>... those guys know where he is?"

OOC In case it wasn't clear, the house where Aleron taught Tim is no longer where he's staying. I've got an appropriate location in mind for the big-bad wizard I'll go into later./OOC
Alberich
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Re: Port Lorrel- Puppet Masters

Post by Alberich »

"Yep!" said Udo. "You can call 'em the 'less bad men' if it helps. Anyway, they didn't actually tell me where he is, but they know. You can't move big men, big money, or big magic around this town without them knowing. That's one reason we need 'em."
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Drusia
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Re: Port Lorrel- Puppet Masters

Post by Drusia »

"Bomb's a good idea." Tamina agreed. "Don't suppose we could just drop a big one on Aleron's house? Umm... do the isn't-fast..." She made a face. "Eyes-then... <spirits-curse-it>... those guys know where he is?"

I supress a flinch. When Tamina gets flustered over language difficulties while discussing tactics, it can get a bit confusing.

I'm not entirely sure what she's getting at, but I decide to throw in a suggestion that might be similar. And if not, it isn't a bad idea anyway.

"During the war," I muse thoughtfully, "I was occasionally given missions where all I had to do was get somewhere and leave something behind. Like a bomb. The trick usually was to get close without being seen, then put the bomb down and activate a three second timer. Then I'd gate as far as I could - to a rune at our home camp if possible - before it blew up."

There are probably loginstical issues I'm not considering. But still, not a bad idea.

-- Drusia
Alberich
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Re: Port Lorrel- Puppet Masters

Post by Alberich »

Udo shook his head. "We might take some of 'em out like that, or even blow up the altar that way, but not Aleron himself. Man like him, you need to see him dead, preferably with his head cut off and his intestines stuffed up inside it. Otherwise he'll pop up again sure as fuckin' weave. I wouldn't've trusted a bomb blast on old Gabriel Goatlover, and this guy is where Gabe got his juice from. Better give it to him up close and personal. And thorough. And often."
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