Goriel and beyond, part 4

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Alberich
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Re: Goriel and beyond, part 4

Post by Alberich »

For a supposed "healer," thought Tim, she loves to pick at scabs.

He did not call any nastiness after her as she left, but felt it only in his heart. Stupid elf. I loathe you because you act like an elf, not because you are one. Indeed, his reading had led him to overestimate the subtlety of these creatures. Desiree, he much feared, could play him like a fiddle if she cared to. The Good Lord be thanked she doesn't care to. This one? Her only instrument was the bludgeon.

On Rose's instructions, he went to his room to pack. He saw no need to talk it over with Lillith or anyone else. If they'd seen the elf had started it, wonderful; if they wanted to blame him, so much the worse. He wasn't going whining to anyone. The pity party was over. There was work to be done.

His minimal possessions took nearly no time to pack, so he spent his other time alone studying a certain paper he had. When he knew he had those symbols memorized, he'd destroy it, but that might take time - he was not the fastest study. He positioned himself so he could put it away discreetly before anyone barging in could see. Which is to say, he was squatting on the chamberpot, behind the bed, facing away from the door - whoever pushed in would look away, and he could put his paper away as he got dressed. And as things were - Rose was even polite enough to knock, and that made things simple.

He hoped the others would remember his admonition not to talk about all he'd told them after they left here, but to act as if Silka spies were watching them all the way.
Last edited by Alberich on July 12th, 2012, 4:40 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Alberich
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Re: Goriel and beyond, part 4

Post by Alberich »

Some little while later - Rose and Brad reached the Veracian embassy to ask about a "coach." Rose received high priority, and soon they were back in a well-appointed private study with the burly old Orthodox.

"A coach?" - there was mirth in his voice. "This is a little...ornate for this wild country, yes? A wagon we might manage. For most people going that way, it is...feet, you know? Also lots of weapons! Many outlaws that way. They can be dangerous. But look dangerous and guard your camp at night! Or convince a village to let you stay.

"About this Gibazov mine, they boast of it all the time, and love to show their rubies off! You've been to their museum. So you know what I do. This stone, I have seen - there is something strange and magical about it - but for them it was just a showpiece, a sign of honor, so they name it after their clan god and say it is like...a blessing for their mineral wealth. So losing it, they lose prestige, yes? They are scouring the city to find it. It isn't like the Yurkashev, where they could just squeeze a confession from someone, and then hurt them to death in public to redeem themselves. They want the stone itself. That's harder! They would pay plenty to get it back. Or kill plenty too!

"Is there more you would talk about? Nothing in this country is in too great a hurry, yes?"

* * *

Argus and Drusia, making their way to the Duravsky compound, had no trouble spotting a little entourage from that clan -- well-armed men escorting two well-dressed ladies, out on a shopping trip. One of the ladies was Desiree; the other was cute. Also, one of the escorts was Vladimir, who'd originally made the exchange with Kirassia, so it would be easy for Argus to make himself recognized if he chose to approach them in the marketplace.

[OOC: Drannin, up to you if you want to roleplay any of the scene with Harker and Dina; if not we can assume she made whatever appointment he would allow and went back whence she came]
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Drannin
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Re: Goriel and beyond, part 4

Post by Drannin »

Argus sighed. "Honestly? I just tune the man out. We've tried to get through to him, but he insists on embodying every last terrible stereotype about orthodox priests. But, if he wants to stay in his paranoid little world, then so be it. He's happier there."

Some time later, Drusia and Argus were on the way to the Duravsky compound when they saw Desiree and her escort, apparently on a shopping trip. "Convenient," Argus murmured to Drusia, "I should indicate to the guards that our stay here is coming to an end. And Desiree may wish to speak to you."

(OOC: Yeah, just assume it happened off-screen. I don't have anything really special for Harker to say.)
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Graybeard
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Re: Goriel and beyond, part 4

Post by Graybeard »

OOC: Getting something fairly long prepared for Rose's (ahem) interactions with Father Boris, which, it is fair to say, may not proceed exactly as expected. Go ahead and transact things everywhere else; this may take a while for me to write ...
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Alberich
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Re: Goriel and beyond, part 4

Post by Alberich »

[OOC: Great! I'm addicted & love it. In addition to whatever you're planning, Boris is also there as a resource to run things by or extract any info on Goriel or the gossip of the day.]

Argus approached Vladimir to inform him that this must be their last day in town. Vladimir made many protestations of how sad they were to see these noble foreign guests leave so soon, all with typical Gorielian levels of sincerity. Of course, he said, if the noble Lord Cleiviein wished to re-exchange geteroi, he'd want to bring Kirassia by this afternoon, and it could be done formally as before. (Well, nothing was very quick in this country and it was late morning already - maybe Desiree would at least have a pretty new dress if she could complete her shopping trip...)

Whether Drusia chose to make her presence known here and now, well, that was up to Drusia, now, wasn't it?
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Drusia
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Re: Goriel and beyond, part 4

Post by Drusia »

Argus sighed. "Honestly? I just tune the man out. We've tried to get through to him, but he insists on embodying every last terrible stereotype about orthodox priests. But, if he wants to stay in his paranoid little world, then so be it. He's happier there."

That explains so much.

Tim, the racist and religious nutball, scolding everyone for imagined sins, suddenly starts talking about Eli summoning demons... and everyone ignores him because they think he's speaking metaphorically. Except... Lillith? Or perhaps she was wary enough to look into it personally. But why didn't Lillith say anything? ... because she knew Tim already had?

Ugh - piece it together later.

Drusia and Argus were on the way to the Duravsky compound when they saw Desiree and her escort, apparently on a shopping trip. "Convenient," Argus murmured to Drusia, "I should indicate to the guards that our stay here is coming to an end. And Desiree may wish to speak to you."

"Oh," I say, surprised. "Not exactly what I was expecting."

Argus approached Vladimir to inform him that this must be their last day in town. Vladimir made many protestations of how sad they were to see these noble foreign guests leave so soon, all with typical Gorielian levels of sincerity.

I head over to see my daughter.

"Hey," I say softly.

-- Drusia
Alberich
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Re: Goriel and beyond, part 4

Post by Alberich »

Another escort noticed and was concerned - but it was easy for Argus to make a "she's with me" kind of gesture in the middle of the verbosity, and for Vladimir to give a nod that said go ahead and let them talk.

[OOC: I injected this just to make it easy - so you can do the entire dialogue at any pace you like. Can slice it out if you prefer another way.]
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Drusia
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Re: Goriel and beyond, part 4

Post by Drusia »

Look at all these beautiful fabrics! Oh, I want the red one with the gold embroidery. That would make a beautiful dress, particularly with some gold jewelery for accents. Maybe some rubies - or would that be improper considering the political situation?

"Hey," I say softly.

I blink. "Mother?" I ask, staring at my... mother. "What are you doing here?"

She steps close, keeping her voice low. "Eli... he's gone Errant." I suck a breath in through my teeth. I should be shocked, I really should be. But...

"I... I wasn't sure," I tell her. "I didn't want to think..."

"It's okay," she replies. Then "Rose and the others are helping me go after him. We're going to need to pull you out. And... this new love I've been hearing about?"

I close my mouth and smile, just slightly. "Anfisa. Wait, so that means... you're going to...?" I trail off in case anyone's listening, but I'm sure she takes my meaning.

My mother shrugs. "Might as well," she replies. "I do have a talent for it. I, um... also wanted to introduce you to someone. But we can talk about that later." I nod - I suppose we can.

"This is Anfisa," I say, speaking slightly louder and nodding towards her. Anfisa turns towards us and blinks in surprise at Drusia's presence. Or maybe her ears.

"Charmed," my mother says, giving Anfisa a little curtsy.

"And Anfisa," I say, "This is..." I pause. My mother who looks no older than me? That isn't going to work. "My sister," I say instead. My mother's smile turns a bit wry, but she nods confirmation.

"Drusillia," she says, introducing herself.

-- Desiree
Alberich
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Re: Goriel and beyond, part 4

Post by Alberich »

Anfisa's knuckles flew to her mouth and her eyes widened as she heard the fearful name...but then she felt silly. Of course Drusilla was an acceptable Gorielian name, and that girl had died before Anfisa was born. She blushed a little as she lowered her hand and her eyelids. "Hi," she said. "Your sister - she's just the best getera there ever was!" Then to cover her embarrassment, she started commenting on the lovely fabrics Desiree had been eyeballing, and she used to have one like this but she thought with Desiree's eyes, she'd look better with one like that....
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Graybeard
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Re: Goriel and beyond, part 4

Post by Graybeard »

[OOC: Pull up a seat, ladies and gents, and have a beer, as Rose channels her inner Anita for a while. :evil: /OOC:]

"Is there more you would talk about? Nothing in this country is in too great a hurry, yes?"

It was the smirk and wink at the end of that last line that finally pushed Sister Rose over the edge. That, or the glimpse she'd had of a rather ornate carriage parked out behind the temple as she and Brad were coming to the place.

Yes, Father Boris had gone native, all right. And certain things had to be done as a result.

She'd scribbled a note before coming to the temple and handed it to one of the airship's security people, now doing duty at the temple, with instructions to take it to the captain if she didn't countermand him when she left. Now she knew she wasn't going to ... and more.

She quickly sized up the "father" before taking her next step, remembering something she'd only done once or twice before, under ironically similar conditions at Albigenish, lo those many years ago. It would be harder now; she was ten years older and slower, not to mention out of practice, and this man was large. On the other hand, his fighting days, if he'd ever had any, were obviously far, far behind him, and the way he was leaning back in his incredibly ornate chair (she'd been in the Patriarch's own chambers once, and his own working office was no more ornate than this, she thought) made for an almost perfect balance attack. Yes, she could do it; leverage would do most of the work.

With a suddenness that would have stunned anyone who didn't know her background as a Special Forces officer, Rose lashed forward, and in the literal blink of an eye, her hands held Boris' collar in an iron grip, lifting the man's torso out of his seat as he emitted a strangled "UURRRKK!"

"No," she hissed, as Brad gasped. Her grip grew tighter. "Now we're going to do this our way, Boris. Not the Gorielian way -- not your way."

"Rose?" Brad managed to get out. "I -- I don't understand."

"You don't have to, Brad," she answered, her voice still a snake's. "But since you asked, look at that lamp." She pointed with her chin, since she wasn't about to release her grip on the priest's throat. "See that ruby set into it? There was one just like it at the mining museum, and we all know where it came from. And the ones in his chair, same thing. This whole damn office is crawling with 'em. And that coach standing outside -- the one that he just said they don't have any of in this benighted city, with the very prominent clan emblem on it --" She tightened her grip again, and the man's face started to turn a worrisome purple color before she showed mercy, relatively speaking, and backed off slightly, just enough for him to answer the question she was about to ask, not that an answer was really required.

"The Gibazovs own you lock, stock and barrel, don't they?"

If there had been any doubt about his answer, the almost metallic sound of crystals clashing together as his hands brushed against an envelope on his desk, addressed to another clergyman in Veracia, would have resolved it.

[OOC: Thus ends Part I of Rose's Berserk Button Moment; Boris' response and some other stuff will follow shortly.]
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