Nautkia, and the South

[Sareth]

"That's quite alright," Lillith said, smiling. "It's not like I have anything to hide, really," she said. Only an entire town of people whose life hangs in the balance. She popped a piece of bread in her mouth. "I guess it's just natural? I mean, it's you, me, and Sasha, surrounded by all these Veracians. Even if we have nothing at all in common, we do have that at least. That we're not Veracian?"

[Drannin]

Argus chuckled. "Well, I suppose that's true." Actually there was something else, but there was no way in hell he was bringing THAT up. "Anyway, should we go meet up with Rose and Miguel? There are a few things I need to discuss with them."

[Sareth]

"Mm," Lillith nodded her reply, popping one last strawberry between her lips and standing. "Yes, I think so."

[Graybeard]

"Hang on," Brother Miguel said as he and Sister Rose returned to the stable. "Before we find Argus and Lillith, there's one thing I want to do -- should have done it long ago." As they approached the wagon, he gathered magical energy and prepared a spell, one that Rose didn't recognize. Moments later, a filmy curtain of light came into being above the wagon. It descended and wrapped itself around the wheels, body of the wagon, and tongue, then vanished.

Rose was impressed. "Very nice. A kind of shrink wrap for tamper detection, I assume?"

"Right. It's a variant of Luminosita's Chariot, for situations where you have to worry about emplaced bugs as well as magical scrying. Remind me to check back on it from time to time. It's not quite as robust as the Chariot, because it just allows detection of the scrying rather than just preventing it, but on the other hand, it's not as tiring, either. I'm still not going to have much energy left for other spell casting for a while, but this seemed important." Rose nodded her agreement, and they walked back toward the dining hall.

Argus and Lillith were heading out as the other two arrived at the hall. "They look cheerful enough," Rose remarked. "Looks like some of the personal dynamics here are getting more comfortable. That's good." She turned to speak to the mage and the half elf. "What are you two going to do while we're in town on our errand?"

[Drannin]

"I'll have a look around by myself, though I'm not sure I want to," Argus said dismissively, trying very hard to put 'Code Words!' into his speech. Hopefully the wagon wasn't bugged. He needed some help here... although he'd have to be very discreet with Lillith around. Miguel raised an eyebrow while Sister Rose shrugged while looking him in the eye.

Well. It seemed they'd gotten it, at least.

[Sareth]

Lillith smiled. While she was growing more comfortable with Sister Rose and Brother Miguel, there still were limits to how much she felt she should share. Especially in a place where who knows who was listening. So she simply shrugged. "I heard something about a quiet place to think in town. I thought I'd go see if I could find it."

[Graybeard]

Sister Rose raised an eyebrow at Lillith's obvious evasion; the garden and gazebo were as good a "quiet place to think" as she'd encountered in a long time. On the other hand, she and Brother Miguel had a secret or two to protect as well. "Hop aboard and we'll drop you off there," she said as Miguel hitched up the horses.

The group rode into town in unusual silence; clearly a lot of thinking was going on, and most of the thoughts were intensely private. The address that Lillith had been given was a short distance from the town center, at what appeared to be a greenhouse across the road from a tidy little park. "We'll pick you up here in an hour or so," Miguel said, misunderstanding Lillith's intentions, which was reasonable enough; the park did look like a nice place for quiet meditation.

Miguel turned the wagon down a quiet lane, and the park, and Lillith, hadn't yet passed out of sight when Rose turned to Argus. "Okay, this is about as secure a place as we're going to get. We checked the wagon for bugs, and there aren't any. So what's the deal, and what do you want us to do about it?"

[Drannin]

Argus sighed deeply. "I need advice. I'm not sure what to do here. Last night I was paid a visit by Nikolai- he's the fellow with the little glasses." The two nodded, signaling their understanding. "Alright. Suffice it to say, he claims to be an acquaintance of Captain Kitaura," their eyebrows raised at that name, "and he wants me to drop a cliff on a ship. Literally." The stared at him in shock here. "Look, normally I would have jammed a stone spike through his body, but... he gave me some ample reasons to help him out. Having to do with my daughter." All true, but not explaining which daughter. Argus was keeping that tidbit to himself.

"So. Either this Nikolai wants help defeating the smuggling going on here, or he wants help keeping it under wraps. I'm not sure which. This whole situation reeks, and... well, I've been caught off guard here. Since we're traveling together, I wanted you to know what's going on. I'm still trying to figure things out here." Argus hesitated, trying to figure out what to say next. He needed a drink, bad.

[Graybeard]

"That's ... interesting," Sister Rose said. "I wondered if those three were Tsuirakuan, your 'Nikolai' and the two big guys who follow him around. They certainly didn't look or act like they belong at the temple. So who does he want you to drop a rock on, and when?"

[Drannin]

"I don't know," said Argus. "But I have an address to visit in town, where I'll probably get more details." He sighed. "Honesty, this place has more intrigues than a Tsuirakuan business salon... and that's saying something."