43: Grassroots to Realpolitik

[Ebiris]

[14:02] <@Ebiris> After an eventful evening at the Golden Gremlin casino, the intrepid foursome reconvene near the entrance to Shadowshore the following day to collect their potion from Rabbani the poisonmaker, and go to visit the Anowian embassy. Of course, given how Henrietta seems to have returned to something approaching normal, the potion might not even be necessary, but since money was paid it would surely be wasteful to leave it. Fortunately the recent cold snap seems to have abated, and the weather today is rather more bearable, although ominous dark clouds are drifting in from the West that could herald impending rain or thunderstorms.
[14:03] <@Henrietta> "Who shall we cure first? Alison, no doubt?" Henrietta inquires, once more clad in her adventuring clothes and matching hat.
[14:03] * @Lucie makes a quick stop to acquire an umbrella, just in case. She'd rather not have another walk like that of the day of the feast, after all.
[14:04] <@Rudy> "Absolutely. Let the brat have a few more more hours of freewheeling glory." Rudy smashes his palm with a fist for emphasis. "I wonder if he'll take something from the experience!"
[14:06] <@Henrietta> "Unending memories of pain and shame?"
[14:06] <@Rudy> "They are excellent teachers!"
[14:07] <@Henrietta> "You must have learned a great deal in your travels, then!"
[14:07] <@Glenn> "He drunk away the memories."
[14:07] <@Lucie> "Changed your mind about this, it sounds like?" Lucie says to Henrietta.
[14:08] <@Rudy> "Good gods above, Glenn, did you just make a joke?"
[14:08] <@Henrietta> "Hmm? About what?" Henrietta asks Lucie. "I probably was not even affected, you know. It is, well, just the blow to the head that made me forget ever meeting that strange creature. But I remember it just fine now!"
[14:09] * @Lucie shrugs. "If you say so. Your head, not mine."
[14:10] <@Glenn> "I make them from time to time," Glenn notes. "Not very often, but from time to time."
[14:10] <@Henrietta> "I learned quite a bit from the experience, too!" Henrietta says proudly.
[14:10] <@Lucie> "Did you? Like what?"
[14:10] <@Rudy> "She learned she can throw you in the river!"
[14:11] <@Henrietta> "The world is filled with many terrifying things, but if you have the strength to deny their existence and ignore it altogether, you can ignore that fear as well!" Henrietta educates Lucy, utterly ignoring Rudy.
[14:12] <@Lucie> "Well, I guess it's a start," Lucie says, also ignoring Rudy (beyond the perfunctory glare).
[14:12] <@Henrietta> "Did you also learn something? Please teach me, if so!"
[14:15] * @Lucie considers this. "Huh. Might've. I'll let you know later. Hey, don't suppose anyone heard any random talk on the street about the casino robbery we quashed last night?"
[14:16] <@Ebiris> Fortunately the trip through Shadowshore is mostly uneventful, this being early in the day when the streets are filled more with destitutes trying to scratch a living and early morning drunks starting their squalid days rather than gangs patrolling their turf - oh, you get a few looks from suspicious types here and there, but none who choose to interfere with your progress. That all changes towards the far end of Amedio Lane when a fresh faced and widely smiling young man in baggy clothes peels away from a doorstep he'd been sitting on with two others, a skinny and strung out woman with long greasy hair, and a twitchy rat-faced young man. "Morning gents and ladies, out for a brisk constitutional?" he enquires brightly, moving to head off the group. Lucie vaguely recognises them as locals, this being Cobra Fang territory after all. "I say, if it isn't Miss Dolan! Haven't seen you about for a while!"
[14:17] <@Lucie> "Been busy," Lucie says brusquely, not slowing if she can avoid it.
[14:17] <@Henrietta> "Oh, hey, you met one of your friends!" Henrietta exclaims, tugging on Lucie's hand. "Maybe you could ask him about that casino!"
[14:18] <@Rudy> "If he's Lucie's friend, I'm not sure I can be," mutters Rudy, instantly disliking the man.
[14:18] <@Lucie> "Let me choose my own friends please, Henri," Lucie says.
[14:19] <@Henrietta> "That is just so cold!"
[14:20] <@Ebiris> "So busy that you seem poorly caught up on recent events," the young man tuts, still smiling and clasping his hands before him inside his baggy sleeves. "This isn't your territory any more, after all, and we've instituted a toll. To keep the clean and pleasant character of the neighbourhood - I'm sure you all won't mind contributing, yes?" Meanwhile the other two by the doorway now behind you all start ambling over onto the road themselves, and a fourth figure emerges from the alley to your side, this one a bald dwarf in patchwork plate armour and carrying a large hammer. Admittedly Lucie doesn't recognise him, but from the looks he's giving he seems to be aligned with this group of up and comers.
[14:21] <@Rudy> "Wait. This is a mugging? We're being mugged?" asks Rudy, trying to wrap his head around the concept. "Us?"
[14:22] <@Lucie> "Uh-huh," Lucie says skeptically, crossing her arms. "I'll believe that when it happens. What's your little band called, Snakefood?"
[14:22] <@Henrietta> "Oh!" Henrietta claps. "I understand now! These are your would-be rivals, aren't they? Oh, Lucie, this is just so adorable, the lengths they go to catch your attention!"
[14:23] * @Lucie glances aside. "Henri, I think maybe we have to force you to take that potion after all."
[14:23] * @Glenn silently agrees with Lucie.
[14:24] <@Ebiris> "The Medio Marauders, thank you very much," the young man preens, grinning as he parts his hands, a dagger now in each! The one in his right hand looks quite shiny and new, while the other is a bit rusty but seems well used. Behind you the greasy-haired woman produces a small crossbow, while the twitchy young man just rests a jerky hand on the hilt of the rapier at his hip. "And we prefer to call it a charitable donation. We're not asking much, just... hmm," he pauses and looks everyone over, "Ten gold each, I think you can afford that."
[14:24] <@Rudy> "That's it?!"
[14:25] <@Henrietta> "You are most welcome to try, of course," Henrietta tells Lucie pleasantly. Acknowledging Rudy's existence, she muses, "But it is the principle of the thing, would you not agree?"
[14:25] <@Ebiris> He raises an eyebrow, "Well, if you think you can afford more... fifty?" To the side the dwarf deflates slightly and shakes his head in seeming despair.
[14:27] <@Rudy> "But we're famous heroes! You can't go mugging heroes for trifles in broad daylight!" protests Rudy. "There's no percentage in that!"
[14:27] <@Lucie> "You little pissant," Lucie snaps. "You don't have any idea what you're dealing with, do you, what we get up to just for work? I've stepped on scarier things than you lot. Bugger off and I won't lead Midolin to you on my way back out."
[14:27] <@Ebiris> OOC: make an intimidate check, Lucie. +3 bonus for local rep
[14:27] <@Lucie> roll 1d20+13
[14:27] * +Hatbot --> "Lucie rolls 1d20+13 and gets 19." [1d20=6]
[14:28] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+4
[14:28] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d20+4 and gets 15." [1d20=11]
[14:30] <@Ebiris> "Uh..." he pales noticably as Lucie namedrops the famous snake. "Well, I guess since you're local we shouldn't charge you..." he steps back and to the side feebly, "Just stay out of our turf, we won't be so nice next time!" His voice warbles a little which ruins the effect he was going for.
[14:30] <@Ebiris> "You suck goat cock, Daveon!" the crossbow-toting woman calls at him in a reedy voice, sullenly backing off as well, the Medio Marauders seeming to melt away from their betters.
[14:30] <@Rudy> "That chick knows the score. You should go recruit her," advises Rudy, nodding firmly.
[14:30] * @Lucie just rumbles with a throaty laugh as she walks on.
[14:31] <@Henrietta> "Your rivals are nowhere near as neat as my rival," Henrietta says, shaking her head. "I think you should strive higher, Lucie."
[14:32] <@Lucie> "Oh, I am," Lucie says. "Your rival, now? When did you get one?"
[14:32] <@Glenn> "I think she's talking about Rudy, given all the competitions they've been having recently, Lucie."
[14:32] <@Henrietta> "It was-- my, it actually has not been that long at all!" Henrietta blinks. "But it feels like we have known each other for years."
[14:33] <@Lucie> "Uh-huh," Lucie says slowly.
[14:34] <@Henrietta> "You met her, remember? She is the very nice if slightly misguided Vriskna!"
[14:35] <@Lucie> "Oh, right, her. Didn't know you had that kind of relationship. You invite your rivals to all your parties?"
[14:35] <@Glenn> "Oh, she's your rival? You two seemed to get along better than you and Rudy. Never really saw you two fight things out or anything," Glenn notes.
[14:35] <@Henrietta> "Oh yes, we have a great relationship!"
[14:35] * @Henrietta blinks at Glenn. "Ah, right, you would not know. You were a goat at the time."
[14:36] <@Rudy> "It is because we get along so well that we can fight things out and still be... friends," notes Rudy, trying very hard not to sound sullen.
[14:37] <@Lucie> "Well, sounds like I missed a busy day or two somewhere along the way," Lucie says.
[14:37] * @Henrietta nods a few times at Rudy. "You are, without a doubt, the perfect friend material! Yes!"
[14:38] <@Lucie> "Hear that, Rudy?" Lucie says with a smirk. "Makes you feel warm inside, doesn't it?"
[14:40] <@Glenn> "I still had my human mind as a goat, you know. I do recall you two arguing, but that wasn't exactly much of a fight honestly..."
[14:40] <@Rudy> "Positively burning, Lucie. Henri told me a great many things about the proper way to deal with women, in the way only a woman can," notes Rudy. "I will have to go over them with you, sometime. A second opinion? Yes, that."
[14:41] <@Henrietta> "Glenn, whatever you have must be catching," Henrietta says warily. "I certainly have no memory of telling anything of the sort to Rudy."
[14:41] <@Ebiris> The rest of Shadowshore chooses not to interfere with the group as they continue onwards and converse, no sign of any remaining Cobra Fangs seen as the group nears the familiar filthy poison shop crammed in between the butchers and the bakers. No sign of any candlestick maker, though.
[14:41] <@Lucie> "Oh yeah?" Lucie briefly looks distracted. "Sure thing, fill me in later."
[14:42] * @Lucie walks right up to the shp and opens the door!
[14:44] <@Ebiris> Open the door goes! Inside you find Rabbani animatedly arguing with a dumpy grey-haired dwarven woman who actually seems younger than him based on wrinkles despite the respective hair colours. "I wanted the rats to die, but I didn't want to hear them screaming all night!" the woman exclaims, thumping a hand on the counter.
[14:44] <@Ebiris> "How else you know they really dying?" Rabbani retorts in an affronted tone, ignoring the new arrivals.
[14:45] * @Henrietta privately feels great happiness at not being in that woman's place. Hearing rats scream through the night as they die would certainly be a terrifying, traumatizing experience.
[14:45] <@Lucie> "Hey!" Lucie cuts in. "Rabbani! Just here to pick up, you two can keep at it when we're gone."
[14:47] <@Ebiris> "They sounded like babies!" the woman insists as Rabbani calls back over her voice.
[14:47] <@Ebiris> "Yes! Potion ready, emophage had lots of good ingredients! Here, take!" With that he reaches under the counter and pops a big green bottle on top of the counter, securely corked. "Drink half cup, no refunds. Hear that?" he turns back to his other customer, "No refunds!"
[14:48] * @Lucie takes the bottle. "Got it!"
[14:48] <@Henrietta> "Take care!"
[14:49] <@Ebiris> "You're the worst excuse for an uncle ever!" the dwarven woman is heard railing as everyone quickly departs from the scene!
[14:50] <@Lucie> "Wouldn't mind checking in with Hermann real quick while we're here," Lucie says once they're back outside. "Let him know they've got a new gang of twits around making noise."
[14:51] <@Rudy> "I could go for some of that acid they drink," agrees Rudy. "Just one shot."
[14:52] <@Lucie> "Hey now, it's only part acid."
[14:52] <@Henrietta> "Just to confirm, they are your friends? You would not be upset if I called Hermann and the others that?"
[14:53] <@Lucie> "Call 'em what you like," Lucie says, leading the way again as she hears no objections.
[14:53] <@Rudy> "Huh? Sure, they're cool. Guys like that creep, they're bad news. It's how he talks, you know? Using all those big words like he's someone all genteel or whatever. It's unnatural!"
[14:57] <@Ebiris> Into the rum distillery everyone goes. Instead of the expected scene of a couple gangsters and scant few other customers lazing around drinking and bullshitting, it's a rather more riotuous occassion. One side of the common room has had a number of floorboards torn up, exposing what seems to be a subterranean warren of extremely large rats, each one nearly two feet long and with matted ink-black fur. Quite a few are dead, stabbed or cut open to litter the pit, and the few still alive are in the process of being messily slaughtered by the giant black snake thrashing around inside the pit with them! A few familiar faces in Hermann and Dawley are seen, attacking any rats that try to climb out of the pit, while Maya peers over from behind Dawley's rounded bulk. The other customers, of which there are more than usual, are clustered around to watch and cheer the ongoing battle, drunkenly placing bets on which rat will live the longest or who'll kill the next one.
[14:58] <@Henrietta> "They are your friends?" Henrietta repeats quietly, looking queasy at the scene.
[14:59] <@Lucie> "Sometimes," Lucie mutters. She pushes her way through the crowd to Hermann, not sparing much attention for the actual proceedings.
[14:59] <@Rudy> "Only in Shadowshore."
[15:00] <@Henrietta> "I think they might be diseased. What do the rest of you think?"
[15:01] <@Ebiris> With his long polearm, Hermann lunges down to eviscerate a rat that was trying to wriggle into one of the tunnels to escape, eliciting another cheer from the onlookers. He nonetheless notes Lucie's presence, giving her a nod, "Found a nest right under our feet. One of the little fuckers bit Maya before we tore it up," he explains, said little girl calling out Lucie's name and skipping merrily over.
[15:02] <@Rudy> "I think they'll need a new floor," muses Rudy. "How do rats even get this big?"
[15:03] <@Henrietta> "Only... in Shadowshore?"
[15:05] <@Lucie> "Yeah, 'bout that, not the only one around." Lucie looks down to smile at Maya and pat her on the head before continuing. "Gang of fools called Medio's Marauders tried holding us up on our way in, some coward named Daveon leading them. I showed 'em some teeth and they scarpered. Still, just so you know, toll grifters trying to work around you."
[15:08] <@Ebiris> "Oh, not that fucking little shit again," Hermann grits his teeth, pushing a rat scrambling back into the pit as it tries to climb up that way. "Y'know I actually had him try out as a provisional with us? Kinda reminded me of Chekick, y'know? Didn't waste any time skimming protection money, so kicked his head and kicked him out. Can't believe he's trying this shit, now," the tall man concludes in a weary tone.
[15:10] * @Lucie shrugs. "Kick him again. Until it sinks in, one way or another. Just thought I'd mention it while we were in the area. And one other thing: you hear something about girls going missing--I mean, more than's usual--let me know? Could be nothing, just chasing down rumors. But I figure if someone's gonna snatch a few, likely to do it here where the rest of the city won't notice."
[15:13] <@Ebiris> The number of rats seems to be in terminal decline, with Midolin now cruelly playing with the last few that he's trapped within his coils, so Hermann wipes his brow and turns to face Lucie fully. "Y'mean like the fucks that got Maya?" Said girl now engrossed in cheering on her murderous pet.
[15:13] <@Ebiris> Meanwhile Dawley ambles over, smiling dopily, "Hi, Lucie! Good to see you again!" he grins, clapping her hard on the back.
[15:15] * @Lucie coughs, takes a moment to catch her breath. "Well, like that, sure, but older girls too, the sort a rich man might like to keep all to himself if he thought he could get away with it." To Dawley. "Hey, yeah. You get yourself a new bed yet? Unbreakable one this time?"
[15:16] <@Rudy> "Oi, Henri," states Rudy, slightly distant. "Do you ever enjoy hurting things?"
[15:17] <@Ebiris> "I got two beds, just like you said!" Dawley hitches his thumbs in his beltstraps and leans back proudly, before he lowers his voice, "And a girl, too! Y'know Maria at the butchers?" The local butcher's assistant, a nice local girl Lucie does in fact know, albeit one so petite and softly spoken that she's strikingly opposite of Dawley.
[15:18] <@Lucie> "Good for you," Lucie says, patting him on the shoulder. "Proud of you. Treat her right."
[15:18] <@Henrietta> "I have to say no," Henrietta responds, rather confused by the sudden question. "Because no one likes pain. You need to be a very twisted person to really enjoy causing it, would you not say?"
[15:19] <@Ebiris> "Ah, that kind of thing..." Hermann scowls himself, leaning on his glaive. "Nothin' I've noticed. You know how a lot a' girls around here dream about getting carried away by a rich man, doubt they'd complain anyway. So what brings you by your old friends, anyway?" he finishes, to his credit not sounding blatantly bitter or accusing. Not that he can hide the undercurrent from Lucie, though.
[15:20] <@Rudy> "I dunno," replies Rudy, leaning back against a post and folding his arms. "Loads of kids seem to. You know, pulling legs off bugs, that sort of thing. Bullies, all that. Plenty grow up without really changing overmuch."
[15:22] <@Henrietta> "I suppose," Henrietta allows, settling next to Rudy. "Why did you ask?"
[15:22] <@Lucie> "Well, keep an ear out for it, will you?" Lucie says before answering his question. "Picking something up from Arabani. Potion, gives memories back that got eaten by this critter. Crazy stuff."
[15:22] <@Lucie> *Rabbani, bah
[15:22] <@Rudy> Rudy gestures towards the snake. "If that thing is some part of the kid's spirit or whatever, you think it says something about her?"
[15:24] <@Ebiris> "Yeah, it's a crazy world," Hermann agrees with a look down into the depopulated rat warren where Midolin is eagerly fatting himself on the bounty provided. "Well, shit... don't be a stranger. S'good seein' ya," he gets out awkwardly at the end.
[15:25] <@Lucie> "Yeah, thanks. Anything comes up, let me know, right? You know where to find me." Lucie realizes a moment late that comment doesn't really help her case here. "Take care and all."
[15:26] <@Henrietta> "Well." Henrietta consider this. "The Alison we met is a part of the real Alison. But if it says something about her, it can only be saying that about a part of her. And it would not be right, I think. We all have... fighting instincts, I suppose you would call them? So if they were, well, divorced from our compassion, having just those shown would look really bad. But it would not reflect the
[15:26] <@Henrietta> true person."
[15:27] <@Rudy> Rudy blinks, and then breaks into a broad smile a moment later. "That's a pretty elegant way of thinking about it."
[15:28] * @Henrietta blushes at that sudden bit of praise.
[15:28] <@Ebiris> "Yeah, you two," Hermann nods dourly at Lucie's parting words, turning his attention to the other original Cobra Fang present, "Dawley, go an' get some rum. Could use a drink, now."
[15:28] <@Ebiris> *you too
[15:29] * @Lucie rejoins her new companions. "Figure I'm all done here now. Rudy, you want that drink, go get one before we go."
[15:30] <@Rudy> "Nah, I'm good, now," replies Rudy, flexing his palms. "Got it out my system."
[15:30] <@Henrietta> "I am fine without one as well," Henrietta voices, smiling at Lucie.
[15:33] <@Ebiris> Thus the group leaves Shadowshore and its many dramas behind, heading up the cliffs into the Arena district where the Anowian embassy waits much as it did last time. Inside Emerelda maintains the reception desk, handing a scroll to an ostentatiously dressed dwarf wearing far too much jewellery for a self respecting man. Said dwarf only gives a brief nod in passing to the new arrivals as he departs, and the voluptuous Anowian woman flashes a pearly white smile, "Mr Giacomo, how nice of you to brighten my day! And your friends, too! Of course, I remember Miss Ul'Copt..." she trails off to regard the other half of the group.
[15:35] <@Lucie> "Lucie Dolan," Lucie says, with an attempt at a polite smile. Some day she'll learn how to do these things properly, surely.
[15:35] <@Henrietta> "And I remember you as well," Henrietta greets the receptionist just as pleasantly. "However could I forget?"
[15:35] <@Glenn> "Glenn Farrunner, ma'am," Glenn offers.
[15:35] <@Rudy> "They're the brains, and we're the pretty faces," confides Rudy. "We've got a potion mixed up! Should we see Alison now?"
[15:36] <@Ebiris> "A pleasure, and welcome to our humble embassy," she stands up. "If you have a cure then yes, she's down the same hall as before - and more impatient to escape by the day, I might add. I'm sure you can see your own way there, and I'll have the ambassador fetched."
[15:38] <@Rudy> "Certainly! We'll catch up properly after, shall we?" replies Rudy, flashing a smile before making his way towards the improptu cells.
[15:38] * @Henrietta shakes her head, following suit after Rudy.
[15:44] <@Ebiris> It's a different guard than last time, a well muscled amazonian blonde type, but she nonetheless knocks on the door to receive a heartfelt, "Yes! Oh Gods, yes! Please be something interesting!" from within. The door is thus opened to reveal the familiar form of Alison that Henrietta wore herself recently, propped up on a chair before the fireplace and wearing a long blue tunic that just covers her thighs, her remaining bare legs pointed towards the fireplace where she wriggles her toes before the flames. "Hey, it's Rudy and Henrietta, right? You guys have fun while I've been stuck in here like the real King of Za-" she's cut off by a thump on the doorframe from the guard who levels a fierce glare at her.
[15:44] <@Ebiris> "Shut up! You're not supposed to say these things!" she remonstrates stridently.
[15:44] <@Rudy> "We've brought you something to drink!" proclaims Rudy.
[15:45] <@Henrietta> "You can tell us all about it in a few minutes if you like," Henrietta adds in an attempt to mollify Alison. "And while we leave this room, at that!"
[15:45] * @Lucie hardly has anything to say to a stranger after an introduction like that, so she just gets an eyeful of leg while she can.
[15:46] <@Ebiris> "Hope it's not water-ale," Alison pouts after a derisory glare back at her captor, climbing up to her feet. "I'd kill for a proper drink right now. Just like we killed Baro-" she's cut off by another barked command from her guard.
[15:46] <@Ebiris> "If you have a cure, then by all that's sacred give it to her!" the tall blonde insists through clenched teeth.
[15:47] <@Rudy> "You got any cups?" asks Rudy, hunting through the room for one to serve the drink in.
[15:47] <@Henrietta> "If you want something else to drink after that, I will buy you one! I promise!"
[15:48] <@Ebiris> There's a cup on the desk by her bed.
[15:48] <@Rudy> Rudy soon arranges for it to contain their completely legitimate cure concocted by a completely legitimate brewer, and passes it to Alison posthaste!
[15:49] <@Ebiris> And Alison shows little hesitation in accepting the cup and starting to gulp. Considering her expression and the fact that she doesn't stop, it seems to be quite tasty!
[15:49] <@Ebiris> roll 1d100
[15:49] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d100 and gets 48." [1d100=48]
[15:50] <@Ebiris> "Hah!" she exhales and smacks her lips after pulling the empty cup away from her mouth, before her posture goes straight and she blinks in a plainly confused expression.
[15:50] <@Rudy> "Hah! She looks like you did!"
[15:50] <@Henrietta> "Did you like it? Or should I buy you something now?" Henrietta wonders, after giving Rudy an evil look.
[15:51] <@Ebiris> "Oh," Alison's mouth forms a little o as her eyes return to alertness. "Ohhh..." her cheeks begin to tinge pink, and another more heartfelt, "Ohhh!" follows as she buries her face in her hands, looking utterly mortified!
[15:52] * @Henrietta shuffles her feet uncomfortably.
[15:52] <@Lucie> "Guessing it worked," Lucie says, leaning against a wall in the corridor.
[15:53] <@Henrietta> "You, well, you will feel better afterwards! That is, if it is the way it was with me...."
[15:53] <@Rudy> "Something was lost, today. But something was also gained," intones Rudy, stepping back.
[15:55] <@Ebiris> "Feeling better?" the guard asks, "Or worse?" she almost sounds hopeful on that last part as ambassador Witchwillow is seen by Lucie coming down the corridor.
[15:55] <@Ebiris> Meanwhile Alison goes to sit heavily on her bed. "I can't believe I... and with the... I told them all about it! And those other... damn!" she exhales softly, seeming to gather her thoughts and put on a rather more placid expression as she straightens herself up, just in time for her boss to arrive at the door.
[15:56] * @Henrietta feels a great deal of animosity towards the guard at her barely-restrained glee, and glares at her.
[15:57] * @Lucie steps aside fro the ambassador, standing a little straighter in the presence of their obvious employer.
[15:58] <@Ebiris> "You found a cure for her?" Miszen asks, looking into Alison's neutral face and seeming satisfied by what she sees. "Don't worry, Alison, we won't execute for things beyond your control. If you're back to normal now that's all that matters."
[15:58] <@Ebiris> The statuesque Anowian just meets Henrietta's glare with equanimity, "You haven't been stuck with her the past few days," she mutters.
[15:58] <@Rudy> "Mmhmm. Should we leave for the debriefing?" asks Rudy, still sounding slightly amused.
[15:59] <@Henrietta> "Then I hope you still feel the same thing if the situation is ever reversed," Henrietta hisses just as quietly back.
[16:00] <@Ebiris> "Still, I'm deeply sorry, Ambassador," Alison stands up and bows stiffly to the dwarven woman. "And grateful to the people who found a cure for my... condition. Please, disregard anything I said before - most of it was just guesses and rumours, anyway."
[16:01] <@Rudy> "It's not the words you said that I'll remember, but the way you said them," replies Rudy, still unable to banish a grin.
[16:01] * @Henrietta shudders. "I definitely do not remember anything!"
[16:01] <@Ebiris> "Most of it?" Miszen repeats, sounding amused. "Go and get cleaned up and dressed properly then we'll have a chat. In the meantime I need to reward your benefactors - if you four would come up to my office, now?"
[16:02] <@Ebiris> "That wasn't the real me," Alison nonetheless can't keep a slight blush off her cheeks as Miszen starts to lead Lavinia's employees away from the impromptu cell.
[16:03] <@Henrietta> "Ambassador, you said you do not execute people for this..." Henrietta says hesitantly as she follows Miszen, "but you would not punish Alison for any of this, would you?"
[16:06] <@Ebiris> Thus the four plus Miszen relocate to her office on the top floor, allowing a commanding view from the window behind her desk over Salerno and its inland surroundings while the walls are decorated with various scenes of Anowia. "I'm sure she's been punished enough in her own mind. I'll decide what to do after learning how she got into the mess to start with, but I'm sure she's blameless - as I told Rudy, she's one of my most reliable staff," the dwarf replies to Henrietta good-naturedly.
[16:07] * @Henrietta smiles at her in clear relief.
[16:08] <@Rudy> "I still wonder if this was an accident, or if she was deliberately targeted," muses Rudy. "We were able to catch the emohawk, but would something like that just end up randomly wandering the streets?"
[16:09] <@Lucie> "I'd wager she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time," Lucie says. "The thing that did this would've gone after anyone it saw, I bet. Still, it's not a natural creature--someone had to make the thing. Maybe a good idea to keep an ear out for who could do that."
[16:09] <@Henrietta> "I do wonder," Henrietta muses. "If the intention was to target her specifically, what merit is there in letting the creature loose afterwards?"
[16:10] <@Rudy> "Perhaps that was accidental. You saw how elusive that thing can be- I can see it slipping the leash."
[16:11] <@Henrietta> "Perhaps," Henrietta causiously agree. "I suppose it will remain a mystery for us, considering Alison's job?"
[16:12] <@Ebiris> "It does sound suspicious, doesn't it?" Miszen nods to Rudy, "But now that it's dead we can't track it to its owner, if there is one. We'll just have to be more alert... there aren't many people in Salerno who could make such a thing, and anyone who can is by definition not to be taken lightly. But nonetheless, you've done everything I asked of you, so here's your reward." She goes to open a cupboard in the corner, withdrawing a long mottled grey and charcoal cloak which she folds in her hands, closing the closet and approaching to hand it towards Rudy, "An enchanted infiltrator's cloak. Simply by wearing it you become harder to notice, and once a day if you tap the drawstring ends together you become undetectable by esoteric means for five minutes - perfect for sneaking past guard dogs, or even earth elementals or bats."
[16:13] <@Rudy> "Not bad," replies Rudy, appreciatively taking the cloak off her hands. "Is it legal to, you know, have this?"
[16:15] <@Ebiris> "In most places. I wouldn't go showing it off in Jherlund, but no civilised nation should have a problem with merely owning it. And of course with it you're less likely to be caught using it for any other less than legal deeds, but I'm sure I don't know anything about that," the ambassador's expression is mirthful.
[16:17] <@Rudy> "I'll be sure to tell you no such stories," replies Rudy, grinning.
[16:18] <@Ebiris> "I'll survive without such entertainment, somehow," she nods, going now to stand by the window. "But I also promised to offer some useful advice you can take to your employer, didn't I?"
[16:19] <@Rudy> "Did you? I suppose there's no reason why you couldn't have."
[16:22] <@Ebiris> She raises a curved eyebrow at Rudy's phrasing, looking sidelong at him. "Well, what you do with my words is up to you, but it would be for the betterment of both the good Lady Vanderboren and Anowia. How familiar are you four with Zameina?"
[16:22] <@Rudy> Rudy certainly looks lost at the name-dropping.
[16:23] * @Lucie looks equally blank. "I can't say it sounds familiar."
[16:25] <@Glenn> "I'm not familiar with it either."
[16:26] <@Henrietta> "Do you think you could educate us?" Henrietta asks politely, as no one has a better idea.
[16:27] <@Ebiris> "I see..." that doesn't seem to have been the response she was looking for, and throws her off her stride a little. Still, she recovers gracefully as only a diplomat can! "Well, it lies a few hundred miles that way," she points Westwards out of the window, "And happens to be a country on the brink of collapse. Their King is rarely seen, their people are corrupt and decadent, not to mention outnumbered by a massive population of slaves that seethes with Collective-fuelled propaganda."
[16:28] * @Lucie nods in recognition of *that* name, at least.
[16:29] <@Henrietta> Ah! That might be why the name sounded vaguely familiar to her!
[16:30] <@Rudy> "It would be an effective when it comes to slaves," notes Rudy, uneasily. "What implications do you suppose an uprising would have for Isernia? The Collectives have no love for this country."
[16:31] <@Henrietta> "Be that as it may, I hope you are not suggesting we defend the corrupt and decadent slave-owners?"
[16:34] <@Ebiris> "We expect that left unchecked, a bloody revolution will overthrow Zameina within the next two years at most. Of course this is a problem - the Collective's dogma might reasonate with a brutalised slave, but it has no meaning to free peoples such as those of Isernia or Anowia... or Tanagra," her expression turns grave, "I don't think anyone has an interest in protecting the current Zameinan establishment, Henrietta. But Tanagra would gleefully use it as a pretext to invade and secure the coast they need to make eventual domination of Pranneria a reality. In that eventuality, I think we'd even prefer a Collective free state over Tanagran triumph. But on the other hand, Anowia would be more than happy to support an Isernian intervention to secure Zameina's territories..." she trails off leadingly.
[16:36] <@Henrietta> "May I ask, that is, why Anowia is not considering doing that itself?"
[16:38] <@Ebiris> "Two reasons, really," Anowia holds up her hand and ticks them off, "It's far harder to invade by sea than by land, and whenever Anowia has acquired territory on the mainland, our new neighbours tend to forget their previous disagreements and violently eject us." Looking down, "It's happened a few times in this very city, after all."
[16:38] <@Ebiris> *Miszen
[16:39] <@Henrietta> "So as the situation is... it comes down to letting the state unravel, letting its other neighbor take it by force, or having Isernia make its own move?" Henrietta attempts to summarize.
[16:42] <@Rudy> "Why not support the Collectivists?" asks Rudy, suddenly. "Tanagra will probably clash with them before Isernia or Anowia does, and you'd wind up having them in your debt. We'd be able to keep lines of information open, too, so any sudden turnarounds could be handled."
[16:43] <@Lucie> "Rudy, we met a few of them, remember?" Lucie says. "Did they seem like they'd cooperate?"
[16:43] <@Ebiris> "Quite so," Miszen nods approvingly to Henrietta, "What I thus recommend is that you advise your employer to start acquiring land on the Western border, and use her influence to push for an interventionist line as the situation in Zameina deteriorates. I can't commit to exactly what support Anowia will provide this early, but there's no doubt that of all the possibilities, an expansion of Isernia is the best one." Giving her attention back to Rudy, "Backing the Collective against Tanagra is really our worst case scenario. If not done secretly it would alienate everyone else, and trying to control that sort of group is like holding a snake by the tail."
[16:44] <@Henrietta> "While I dislike saying so," Henrietta speaks up again, "the only way to have any sort of negotiations with the Collective is from a position of strength. I think you understand that as well, Rudy."
[16:49] <@Rudy> "Well, yeah. I was thinking of making nice with 'em on the sly. I mean, I think I could handle that," he replies, chewing his lip. "Strength just seems like it'd provoke them, long-term. But hey, I ain't a diplomat," he adds. "I think buying land could work, though. We just gotta make sure she doesn't lose it to any overeager raiders..." He frowns. (More)
[16:49] <@Rudy> "All the refugees from Zameina will probably head to Isernia, so she'll have to deal with them, too."
[16:49] * @Henrietta smiles. "Be in a position to help them, you mean?"
[16:51] <@Ebiris> "I know the young Baroness has been very active in the land market recently anyway, and having that sort of position would give her a solid claim on lands over the border should Isernia annex its neighbour," the ambassador adds. "In any case, this is just a recommendation - I don't set Anowian policy, and you don't set Lady Vanderboren's agenda. But by doing our parts, we can help move things to benefit both."
[16:52] <@Lucie> "I'm sure we'll have a chance to mention it to her, at least," Lucie says.
[16:53] <@Henrietta> Considering the recent land purchases were spurred on by Lady Vanderboren's other employees, Henrietta privately considers them having a good chance of convincing her.
[16:54] <@Rudy> "Yeah, we're overdue for a chat about the future," remarks Rudy. "We'll see what we can do, Ambassador. I'll drop by sometime again, we can chat about it."