Port Lorrel- Puppet Masters (part 2)

As we play, occasionally we'll close a thread and open a new one to keep the size of threads (and relative complexity) down to a dull roar. Here's where we store the closed posts from the history of Errant Road.
Locked
Alberich
Noble Knight Protector
Posts: 1892
Joined: October 5th, 2008, 9:58 am

Re: Port Lorrel- Puppet Masters (part 2)

Post by Alberich »

Many hours later, while Udo and Angrist slept at the out-of-town campsite and Drusia was on watch, she saw a second airship flying to the Veracian temple -- what was that, a third, a half, of their whole fleet? Something was a-doing. The leading Veracian airship user she knew was Rose. Could it be that Rose, or even Desiree, was on one of these ships? It might be worth checking out before she left for parts unknown.

[OOC: It makes no sense for Udo to be in town with Khoo to spot any officials; in fact it doesn't really make sense for Udo to head into town with Khoo at all, and I think he's about to be heading east for adventures with Angrist after a day or two of rest. I mean, if you really want that, I'll go with it, but there is no way any PC currently at the temple would want to join them and there is no reason to bring them to a "reshuffle" at all.]
Last edited by Alberich on May 8th, 2013, 10:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Graybeard
The Heretical Admin
Posts: 7180
Joined: August 20th, 2007, 8:26 am
Location: Nuevo Mexico y Colorado, Estados Unidos

Re: Port Lorrel- Puppet Masters (part 2)

Post by Graybeard »

OOC: Fine, so let him be talking to Tamina, Drusia, etc. Follow-ups can be found that put the others into the picture.

I think we're making this harder than it needs to be. If characters need to be in Lorrel and available when Rose and Argus emerge from the temple (with a surprise), then they're there.
Image

Because old is wise, does good, and above all, kicks ass.
User avatar
Jack Rothwell
Teller of Tales
Posts: 2405
Joined: June 17th, 2010, 7:35 am
Location: Liverpool, England

Re: Port Lorrel- Puppet Masters (part 2)

Post by Jack Rothwell »

Tamina had woken that morning with Udo's travels plans ringing fresh in her memory (which he'd told her in a brief discussion they'd had prior to their exhausted slumber the night before), and the already-awake Drusia telling her about the airships she'd seen (and the possibility that her daughter could well be on one) once the kobold had been alert enough to pay attention. She'd had listened attentively, nodding in all right places, and promptly volunteered to go along to investigate the exotic vessel. The Killikah Gah didn't leave until her burly knight protector had woken up of course, and what had followed had been a teary-eyed goodbye laded with promises for the pair to meet up again in the not-too-distant future.

They were a team, after all.

Khoo had accompanied them as they'd re-entered the port, having made the sensible decision to return to his home (not that anyone blamed him, given the trails the student had recently been subjected to), it wasn't long after they'd put foot back to cobble that they'd bumped into the 'officer'.

"Sir? Anna-- the Customs Commissioner would like a word with you regarding a matter of imports from that episode you and your friends were involved in last night. Please come with me. Your friends are welcome to come too, if they wish."

"Where you wanting to take us?" Tamina asked. "This 'bout the bad men?"

OOC I did my best to untangle the ball of yarn the last several posts turned into. PM me if anything needs adding/editing and I'll restructure as necessary. If you want to expand/explain the conversation in a flashback when your story gets rolling, go ahead Al. PM me if you want any input from Tamina's end./OOC
User avatar
Graybeard
The Heretical Admin
Posts: 7180
Joined: August 20th, 2007, 8:26 am
Location: Nuevo Mexico y Colorado, Estados Unidos

Re: Port Lorrel- Puppet Masters (part 2)

Post by Graybeard »

[OOC: OK, for the moment, crossing over from the other thread at this point. The "visit" be Rose and Argus will be just long enough to do the re-sorting. See note at the end of this also.]

"This 'bout the bad men?"

Not too surprisingly, Smitty, who was not one of the Eisenfaust's livelier intellects, wasn't quite sure how to respond to that, particularly coming from Tamina.

"Um... er... kind of," he finally said. "The boss says -- a strange airship appeared at the end of the thing with the bad men. She wants to know if it -- if it was carrying anything it shouldn't."

Khoo looked puzzled, and felt suspicious. "And how am I supposed to know that?"

Smitty fidgeted uncomfortably. "I dunno, sir, she just said to--"

He didn't have time to finish the sentence, however, before another familiar voice, with decidedly more pleasant overtones, interrupted. "Tamina! How good to see you again! I never thought--"

Wearing a big smile, Sister Rose was approaching at a trot, Argus following in her wake.

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

As soon as Rose and Argus were safely outside the temple, she had spilled her thoughts to him. "I think I get it. This whole mess has finally got the Patriarch concerned, and Luminosita be thanked for that. But he can't simply order me to go up and deal with it -- that 'plausible deniability' thing again. There are other people in the church hierarchy who would resist it, maybe even use it as an excuse to take him down. For all his faults, Jeramel is actually a pretty good man in his own way ... which I'm not sure I'd say of some of his enemies." She'd shuddered at the thought of the Cardinal Inquisitor taking over as Patriarch, for starters. "So he gives us this 'vacation' to go off and do it, and puts a trusted henchman in charge of making it happen. I had no idea that Amalric had been that high up in our military. That poses the question of why he got exiled to that tiny outpost in Gervasiel... but all in its own time." She'd sighed. "Well, we should go tell the others, give them a chance to stay here rather than put themselves in danger again. But I'm glad you're with me." A hand squeeze had confirmed this. They'd been on the way back to the airship, to pass the word, when Rose saw Tamina, and a digression occurred.

[OOC: One thing I'm unclear on is whether Drusia is with Tamina and Khoo at this point. If she is, Rose would obviously be delighted to see her too; the above can be edited to reflect that, or you can just assume that Rose would say and do the obvious things. Note that Amalric is NOT nearby for this, so Drusia won't be in a position to kill him. Yet. :evil: ]
Image

Because old is wise, does good, and above all, kicks ass.
Alberich
Noble Knight Protector
Posts: 1892
Joined: October 5th, 2008, 9:58 am

Re: Port Lorrel- Puppet Masters (part 2)

Post by Alberich »

[OOC: She should be; she said she was fine with being used as a delivery device to bring Tamina to Rose's group, so that's what I ran with - Drusia was going into town to check out the two airship arrivals, to see if one of them had brought news of Desiree; Tamina went along with Drusia; everyone meets, Tamina joins Rose's group, Khoo goes back home, Drusia goes her own mysterious way, and that is that.]
User avatar
Jack Rothwell
Teller of Tales
Posts: 2405
Joined: June 17th, 2010, 7:35 am
Location: Liverpool, England

Re: Port Lorrel- Puppet Masters (part 2)

Post by Jack Rothwell »

"Tamina! How good to see you again! I never thought--"

"Rosey! Mr Rock!" The kobold exclaimed in happy surprise at the approaching pair, as the elf beside gave her own greeting to the Nun. "Didn't know you were here! Y'got good timing, we just got rid of the Ralkin! We we're just gonna go 'vestigate a strange ship that arrived..."
User avatar
Graybeard
The Heretical Admin
Posts: 7180
Joined: August 20th, 2007, 8:26 am
Location: Nuevo Mexico y Colorado, Estados Unidos

Re: Port Lorrel- Puppet Masters (part 2)

Post by Graybeard »

"We we're just gonna go 'vestigate a strange ship that arrived..."

"That 'strange ship' was probably ours," Sister Rose nodded, leaving it up in the air, so to speak, whether the "strange ship" in question was the larger Veracian transport or the small, fast ship that the improbable Father Amalric had piloted. "We flew in overnight. We've been down on your home continent, trying to catch a different bunch of bad men who don't have anything to do with the ones here." I hope. "Now we have to chase them back up north. We're stopping to -- change airships and pick up Brother Tim." She raised an eyebrow. "I don't suppose you all would want to come along?"
Image

Because old is wise, does good, and above all, kicks ass.
User avatar
Jack Rothwell
Teller of Tales
Posts: 2405
Joined: June 17th, 2010, 7:35 am
Location: Liverpool, England

Re: Port Lorrel- Puppet Masters (part 2)

Post by Jack Rothwell »

"More bad men were in the Killikah lands?" Tamina said, then muttered darkly to herself in kobold speak. "S' not good. Can't ignore it. N' yeah, Tim was here, think he went to the church. He was helping with the Ralkin, well... Dru said so." A nod from the elf confirmed her statement.

"Someone should keep an eye on him, he was close to real bad magic... oh! I could do it! And... umm... Ar-gus..." She pronounced the man's name carefully as she addressed him. "I was hoping to see you 'gain, really wanted to learn s'more magic from you. Remember? Said we'd do a cross cul-tur-al-ex-change! So, umm, yeah! Love to come along!"

OOC Nice to have happy Tamina back. :D /OOC
User avatar
Graybeard
The Heretical Admin
Posts: 7180
Joined: August 20th, 2007, 8:26 am
Location: Nuevo Mexico y Colorado, Estados Unidos

Re: Port Lorrel- Puppet Masters (part 2)

Post by Graybeard »

More than I'd hoped to get, thought Smitty, who was still in earshot of this conversation as he tried to reassure Khoo that he wasn't being led into an ambush. He may not have been the sharpest tool in the Eisenfaust shed, but he did have sensitivity of a sort -- if Sister Rose had known him, she might have found amusement in the notion of developing in him the Empathy magic that she herself practiced -- and this whole story rang true. Further investigation wasn't going to be necessary here.

He made an elaborate show of pulling a timepiece out of his pocket and pushing a stud so that it vibrated slightly. "Excuse me, please." He held the thing to his ear (where it produced absolutely no meaningful noise, but that wasn't important, what was important was the acting job) and nodded several times before putting it away. "Your interview will no longer be needed, sir," he said to Khoo, mustering something that passed for a smile. "Have a safe trip home to Tsuiraku." He went on his way.

Khoo relaxed, more than slightly. "I was starting to wonder about that," he said to his companions, with a glance at this curiously attractive Veracian nun who'd joined them in the company of what had to be one of his own countrymen. What was the story there? Veracian clergy were supposed to be celibate, from everything he'd heard, and generally uptight about it. (Though I certainly wouldn't mind making an exception for this one...) "Well, I think I'll take my leave and catch the next gate back home. Goodbye, folks. It's been fun." He wandered off.

Rose watched him go, curious in her own right about another Tsuirakuan among the group. "Who was that?" she asked as soon as he was gone.
Image

Because old is wise, does good, and above all, kicks ass.
User avatar
Jack Rothwell
Teller of Tales
Posts: 2405
Joined: June 17th, 2010, 7:35 am
Location: Liverpool, England

Re: Port Lorrel- Puppet Masters (part 2)

Post by Jack Rothwell »

Tamina turned and waved to Khoo as he departed, giving him a cheerful farewell and a sincere 'thank you' for all his help before Rose made her inquiry.

OOC I'll give Dru a chance to get a word in./OOC
Locked