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[Carthrat]

"Shouldn't try so hard to alienate those who'd help you. Like it or not, Shadowshore's not quite an island," remarks Rudy. "I get wanting to do things on your own. Goes for a community 'swell as a person."

"Bad news ain't so much bad as unpleasant. Sordid stuff we found down the coast," he continues, lowering his voice and glancing towards the two eidolons. "Maya did the world a service when she broke out of there, I'll tell you that much. Wasn't just one kid they were trying to give a monstrous pet, and she surely weren't the only kid gone missing from Salerno, being the closest town. I want to hope she got all the bastards there, but there's a decent enough chance a few got away to pick up their work elsewhere.

"Her mind, how it's all unsound? They do it deliberately. Apparently they thought only a broken person could summon up one of these eidolons. I'm sure you've put a few people through some pain in your time, but it can't be as cruel as what we saw."

Rudy turns back to Hermann with an unhappy shrug.

"Folks all over are looking for new weapons, it seems, and they aren't shy about the means they're using to get 'em. And if they're gonna go that far to get them, it makes you wonder what they're intended to be used for afterwards. You happen to have heard the names Kivan Gardner? Jellica Hawthorne?"

[Ebiris]

As Rudy relays his foul tale, Hermann's stony gaze is drawn to the fragile looking young girl currently standing on tip toes to balance a stone on the nose of her horrific but compliant giant snake. "Always figured it was something like that... but she never mentioned any other kids," he murmurs, pitching his voice low. "Probably blocked it out."

Staring in silence for a long moment, he eventually sweeps his gaze back towards Rudy. "Never heard either of those names. Whoever they are, they don't live in Shadowshore."

[Carthrat]

I'm about done, methinks!

[Ebiris]

After session 37

Rudy

It's a bit of a trek up the cliffs into the Arena district for Rudy to find the Anowian Embassy, a walled compound adjacent to the rising barrier cliff that shields Salerno, near the entrance to the district. The gates are wide open facing the street, flanked by two guardsman in gleaming silvery breastplate glimpsed under their white and purple tabards showing the star and circle emblem of their nation. Tall halberds are held upright by their sides, and the two men - tall, handsome, and well muscled specimens of Anowian stock if ever there were - nod as Rudy approaches, the left announcing, "You walk on Anowian soil, sir!" as Rudy passes through the gate. Ahead stands the three storey building of the embassy itself, each floor smaller than the last to give it a stepped-pyramid appearance, though the empty space is used in the form of gardens and balconies. A dozen or so other soldiers are seen drilling in the yard under the flag of Anowia, and the door to the embassy beckons Rudy onwards.

Once inside he's met by a voluptuous older brunette receptionist who, after learning his business and explaining that the ambassador is currently busy but will shortly be available, spends a good half hour shamelessly flirting with the far younger man, before she escorts him up the stairs to meet with Ambassador Witchwillow. The dwarven Anowian seems happy enough to see Rudy, wearing far less jewellery than at the banquet but still having a few flashes of gold threaded through her hair. "I'm glad you could make it, Mr Giacomo," she welcomes Rudy into her office, the window having a commanding view over Salerno and the surrounding forests, the walls decorated with paintings of scenes from home, both rustic and cosmopolitan. "The embassy is as much here for the benefit of our expatriates as it is for forwarding our agenda in Isernia. And it's especially gratifying to see one of Anowia's sons doing so well for himself in a country that doesn't always appreciate us," she grins unashamedly.

Lucie

After a fruitless day or so locating a physician at a small monastary devoted to Hermes in the Cudgel district and then being told exactly what all the quacks her mother hired years ago said, Lucie turns her attention towards the dance school opposite her new home which also shares the same owner, the mysterious Lady Telvanta! It seems innocuous enough, a wide single-storey building with lots of glass windows on its sloped roof to let natural light in, but few windows on the walls themselves. A noticeboard stands close to the double-doors of the entrance, with fliers detailing the various classes on offer and their times, coupled with glowing recommendations from former students and various luminaries of Salerno... a quick scan with Lucie's sharp eyes is all it takes to spot one such recommendation saying, "Thank you for unlocking the music in my heart - Rowyn Kellani."

As she's looking, however, her musings are interrupted by a friendly voice saying, "I haven't see you around before - thinking of signing up?" Looking to her side Lucie can see a young and fresh-faced blonde woman, her trim and toned figure barely hidden by the short lavender dress she wears under an open overcoat, woolen stockings worn to guard her long legs against the encroaching winter chill. It's a body Lucie is more familiar with than most, given that it belongs to the 'maid' she enjoyed the use of in the strange fantasy conjured by Vriskna's deck of cards.

[Carthrat]

Many of the scenes are as of yet unfamiliar to Rudy, who had barely stepped foot outside his hometown before his travels began.

Like the ambassador, he's not quite as shiny as he was at the banquet. He can't resist a bit, though, and a large, disc-shaped gold amulet rests in plain sight, visible just above his (admittedly low) collar.

"Isn't it our business to be appreciated?" replies Rudy, sauntering towards the window. "That is our agenda, surely, and one I'm happy to forward by whatever means necessary!" He turns back to Witchwillow, grinning the grin of rogues. "Or did I miss something on the boat over?"

[Ebiris]

Rudy

"Money talks louder than history," Miszen nods, "And don't get me wrong, I love being posted here in Salerno, much better than up in miserable Thanellar," she follows Rudy to the window, looking out over the harbour. "This town has an almost Anowian quality to it... no surprise considering it's spent a good number of its years under our flag," she chuckles knowingly before sauntering back towards her desk, but remaining standing.

"So, Mr Giacomo, I think I can safely assume from that that you're willing to do a little work yourself to help your country out here. That's good because you're well placed to do so - I took the chance to talk to Lady Vanderboren at that banquet she arranged, and she's a forward thinker, someone we can work with. I can put Anowia behind her, with the right advice pushing her fortunes forward and taking you right along with her, and I'm confident she can be an asset to us. But before we get to that, I'd like you to do something for your country - it's not an easy task, but if the boasts I heard at that banquet are true then you and your friends should have no trouble."

[Sierra]

"I am now," Lucie blurts out. "That is, look at all these recommendations," she adds, gesturing to the notice board. She does her best to smile in a friendly manner. She doesn't have that much experience with it, but surely she's seen such an expression before. "Lucie Dolan, just moved in across the street--" she waves to her house, "--thought I might as well look into the neighbors, see if maybe the classes here had anything to offer me for a start."

[Carthrat]

"Aha! I knew all the flattery was going somewhere," replies Rudy. "Work is work, though. People like us seem to live irregular lives, so it's hard to turn anything down. Especially when it will help to justify milady's retainer to us at the same time."

[Ebiris]

Rudy

"Not to mention I'll reimburse you from my discretionary fund," Witchwillow reassures Rudy, leaning forward. "The matter at hand involves one of our couriers, two days ago she was delivering a message to a friend in the Merchant District... the message was never delivered, but it was a minor thing and that's not what troubles me. You see, the courier was picked up by the town watch after causing something of a scene - they had her as a drunk or a lunatic, and it took not a few kind words and donations to the veteran guards' fund to have her released back into our custody."

The dwarf leans back with a pensive look on her pleasantly soft and rounded face, "She used to be one of my most reliable workers. Quiet, attentive, proud to serve her country. Now she's loud, vain, a thoroughly disreputable braggart - but what really concerns me is that she doesn't remember a lot of the jobs she's done for Anowia over the years. It's not like an enchantment, where you can see magic floating about her," she waves a well manicured hand vaguely around her head, "Pushing down the memories where conscious thought can't reach. It's more like something reached into her head and tore them out, along with her sense of discretion."

Focusing her attention fully on Rudy now, she asks, "What do you make of that, Mr Giacomo?"

Lucie

"Ilona Marwood," the blonde smiles back, seemingly not put off by Lucie's painfully constructed look of friendliness. "I live over the water," she gestures her hand Eastwards in the direction of Cudgel District. "I think any woman could benefit from learning dance - it improves your prospects, it's a nice way to meet new people, and it's good exercise. Though..." a sidelong look is given to Lucie's new home, "I'd daresay your prospects are quite favourable as they stand, Miss Dolan. But the other points still stand."

[Sierra]

"Pleasure to meet you again, Ilona," Lucie says. It's a task to keep her eyes from roving given the nature of her previous encounter with the woman and Ilona's outfit, but Lucie gives it a valiant effort. "Cudgel, is it? I've not spent much time there. Truth be told, I've not explored my own little neighborhood much yet. It would be good to know which eateries to patronize and which to avoid, if you have any recommendations.

"And I have been fortunate to come into money of late, but it will take work to make it last. I shouldn't turn aside the chance to learn new skills, as you say. I fear I may lack the grace for the art, but there is only one way to find out, isn't there?"

[Ebiris]

Lucie

"Again?" Ilona looks briefly puzzled before giving her head a minute shake, seemingly dismissing the slip. "I'm afraid I rarely dine out, so couldn't help much for recommendations about restaurants here, but as for dancing I'm sure I can - I've been an instructor here for a few months now, and a student for years before." She takes a moment looking over Lucie's voluptuous form, her affliction hidden well enough that the blonde makes no comment regarding it.

"I'm sure you could handle ballroom dancing, at the very least, and that's a style that there's always call for," she offers as her clear blue eyes meet Lucie's. "If you find you enjoy it, you can always take it farther and learn other types."

[Sierra]

Lucie carefully avoids acknowledging her own non sequitur in any way, and instead holds that gaze a moment before nodding. "And a lovely instructor you must be. I could have some use for the talent--I attended a social function of some sophistication not long ago and it was an act of mercy that there wasn't a call for dancing while I was there. Wouldn't have been prepared for it had such a demand been sprung upon me. I think that will do for a start and, well, we'll see where things go from there?"

[Carthrat]

"The first question, before we even consider 'how', is 'why'? Who gains from turning your agents into, might I say, extremely entertaining but professionally useless fops? What is the motivation? Let us count the possibilities."

Rudy raises a finger. "First, denying you a useful asset, and murder or kidnapping would provoke too great a response. I could see it, if her jobs go beyond being a simple courier. Second! It is an attempt to humiliate Anowia in the public eye. There are many who'd like to see us taken down a peg, no? Crude, but effective. Third! It is something personal between the courier and some enemy of hers. You would know the possibilities better than me, I am sure. Fourth! It is a distraction, meant to consume your resources while some other activity takes place behind the scenes. Fifth! Perhaps this is the wrong angle, and the real goal was, in fact, to steal the memories of your agent to begin with. Is such a thing possible? I can't say."

Rudy's lips compress into a line, and he seems to nod to himself. "Of these, the first and second would be part of a larger sweep, shall we say. If you lose more agents or the embassy suffers further embarrassment in otherwise unrelated circumstances, that should tell us enough. I can't speculate well on the courier's personal circumstances. And if you don't believe your courier knew anything sensitive, then I would put my money on the fourth. All of this, of course, assumes there is a motive, and this is not a random act of cruelty. With some mages, though... Oh, and of course she could be faking the whole thing."

[Ebiris]

Rudy

Miszen listens along to Rudy's various suppositions, waiting until he finishes before speaking. "My first instinct mirrored your fifth possibility. Her job does make her privy to many things best kept safe within her head. But the more I look, the less it fits - the memory loss is too hap-hazard, as if someone took a scattershot to her brain rather than deliberately sweeping for sensitive information. To be fair, it could be the case that only one memory was considered important and the rest were taken just to throw us off, but it's still a shockingly brute force method."

After a moment she adds, "She's not faking though, I made certain of that. In any case," she clasps her short-fingered hands before herself over the desk, "As you've no doubt surmised, what I want is for you to discover who or what stole her memories and sense of discretion. Recover them if they can be recovered, but if nothing else ensure that the culprit presents no future threat to us or Salerno's citizenry. Think you're up to that, Mr Giacomo?"


Lucie

"If you're interested then why don't you stick around?" Ilona asks smoothly, "We have a beginners' class starting in just under half an hour," she inclines her head towards the noticeboard, "It's only three silvers per session at that level and you don't need to worry about dressing up, but it should give you enough not to embarrass yourself at your next waltz. If you like it you can keep coming and learn more as you go."

[Sierra]

"What fortunate timing," Lucie says. "I'd love to." A genuine smile has seized control of Lucie's face by this point, much to her dismay. Stop grinning and gawking, woman! Could you look any more the smitten maiden? What a fool she must think you. "This is the regular day for it, then?"