49: How appropriate, you fight like a cow!

[Ebiris]

[14:01] <@Ebiris> The group composed of all the women in both the Irregulars and the Jade Ravens follows the trail of this production being opposed by Countess Franesca, discovering that a play titled the Sixfold Trials of Larazod is being developed at the Limehouse theatre in the Northern side of Thanellar. Making their way across the capital's wide avenues, they finally reach said playhouse bracketed between a roofed open market and a tall tenement block in rather more dilapidated surroundings than where Lavinia brought them into the city. Outside the open double-doors of the theatre stands a sign declaring 'Open Casting for the Sixfold Trials of Larazod. Not for the faint of heart!'.
[14:01] <@Ebiris> Of course while all this was going on, Rudy and Trucy were hardly idle with the other half of the Jade Ravens, having done some research on one of the nobles Lavinia mentioned and discovered that Duke Thade is apparently sponsoring a play for the benefit of his new mistress, but it's running into severe casting troubles even after the Duke expended considerable capital simply to have the play be allowed in the first place. Given that it's a Murderplay, a long banned tradition that often sees actors slain on stage, it must have taken a lot of effort just to have it allowed in the first place. As the group heads to the Limehouse theatre to investigate, they see the other half of the Vanderboren retainers approaching the theatre from the other direction.
[14:03] <@Rudy> "And just as I thought Isernia was a bastion of civility," remarks Rudy sideways to Trucy. "Is it, like, an honor to die in one of these things?"
[14:03] <@Ebiris> "Hey, don't look at me!" Trucy protests, reeling back! "I've never even heard of this sort of thing! And I thought Salerno was supposed to be the messed up part of the country!"
[14:04] <@Henrietta> "I think, well, I think I can see how someone would oppose a play that murders people." Henrietta shakes her head, still finding it hard to believe. "How can this be? Even the arena isn't about lethal matches, is it?"
[14:05] <@Lucie> Even Lucie looks taken aback by this development. "Wouldn't think to see something like this even in Shadowshore. At least, not advertsied, out in public. Bit of a step up from stabbing rats in a bar."
[14:05] <@Ebiris> "If someone dies in there it's usually a mistake, yeah," Liamae nods slowly. "You know the Arena in Salerno's the only one in the whole country, too. I've really no idea how this thing ever got off the ground - Murderplays were a fad maybe four hundred years ago, and a short-lived one too."
[14:06] * @Henrietta frowns. "Now I don't really want to see it. How can you, that is, if you are in the audience, and you watch and don't help, how do you live with yourself?"
[14:07] <@Lucie> "Well...if they're in this play, they know what it's all about, they decided they wanted to die that way, right? So it's not like it wasn't their choice." She shrugs. "A stupid choice, but nobody can stop those from happening all the time."
[14:08] <@Ebiris> "I have heard of similar performances in Kal-Krusad. Usually the participants are condemned already, and it always made me glad not to have visited," Zani agrees, before she glances to the side. "Oh! Tobin and the others are over there."
[14:08] <@Rudy> "You might not get a chance to help if someone slips up and stabs themselves. Or however it works," replies Rudy, doubtfully. "So what's the plan?"
[14:09] <@Rudy> OOC: *ex that line, I am dumb
[14:10] <@Henrietta> "So they are!" Henrietta exclaims, waving the others over. "Hello again!"
[14:10] <@Rudy> "Heya, fellow spooks! Can we all agree on how moronic this play is?"
[14:11] <@Henrietta> "It makes me want to march right over and demand that it be stopped!"
[14:11] <@Ebiris> "Hey, you guys hear about this too?" Tobin asks, jerking his thumb at the theatre. "I guess only a Duke could pull it off."
[14:12] <@Lucie> "Go ahead, Henri," Lucie says. "Don't think anyone here's going to stop you. Bet you this place fills up anyway once the performance takes place. Everyone wondering, 'Are they really gonna do it?' That sort of thing."
[14:13] <@Rudy> "Did you guys get a look at the script, by any chance?"
[14:14] <@Henrietta> "Only the way this may reflect on Lady Vanderboren is stopping me right now," Henrietta admits. "And-- script? Well... no, not as such. Why?"
[14:14] <@Rudy> "Well, I wanna know how people might die. I mean, how dangerous is it, really?"
[14:14] <@Lucie> "Walk in and ask?" Lucie suggests. "Dunno how else you plan to find out."
[14:15] * @Henrietta tilts her head slightly, considering it, before deciding to follow Lucie's suggestion. "Alright, it sounds like a plan."
[14:15] <@Rudy> "Sure thing," replies Rudy, turning back to the theatre.
[14:18] <@Ebiris> Stepping through into the lobby, the group finds it fairly rustic with everything wood panelled and simple in construction. A pretty young woman idles behind the counter, reading through a book but quickly perking up as the group enters. "Good afternoon!" she smiles brightly, seeming extremely happy to see everyone, "Public rehearsals are finished for today, but you look more like you'd be interested in auditioning - are you?"
[14:19] <@Rudy> "Oh, sure! Hey, I do wanna know something though," replies Rudy, wandering up to the girl and leaning on the counter. "If I get taken out, will I still look good on stage?"
[14:22] <@Ebiris> "Well, I haven't seen any of the big set pieces yet - Master Nonon wants to keep them as a surprise," the girl admits, batting her eyelashes at Rudy, "But it's certain to be spectacular. And even if you die, our patron has guaranteed that a Muse of Apollo will be on hand to bring you back from the Underworld after the play... pretty funny considering the play's all about escaping the Underworld anyway, huh?"
[14:23] <@Lucie> "Wait--you're paying for revival magic?" Lucie cuts in.
[14:23] <@Henrietta> "You mean, you bring back however dies?" Henrietta asks in confusion. "Then why kill anyone on stage to begin with?"
[14:23] <@Rudy> "So life imitates art!" replies Rudy, chuckling.
[14:24] <@Ebiris> "Our patron is *very* rich," the girl nods knowingly in response to Lucie. As for Henrietta she merely shrugs, "I'm not in charge, maybe just so it looks better?"
[14:26] * @Lucie shakes her head. "Must be hard to manage a tragic monologue when you're bleeding out with a knife in you. I mean, anyone taken that into account? Do they rehearse that part to just so's the actors are used to dying?"
[14:26] <@Ebiris> "Oh, no," she shakes her head. "The more lethal parts tend to be mostly improv anyway, from what I've heard."
[14:27] <@Rudy> "It's authentic! It'll make the play seem so real! Because it is," replies Rudy, inclining his head. "So how would the auditions work? We go in one at a time?"
[14:27] <@Ebiris> "Resurrection isn't exactly guaranteed to work every time anyway," Tobin mentions with a glance at the group's druid for confirmation.
[14:27] <@Rudy> "-seriously?"
[14:28] <@Henrietta> "It probably wouldn't work on me," Henrietta agrees with a nod at Rudy.
[14:28] <@Lucie> "Why's that?" Lucie wonders, giving Henri a curious look.
[14:28] <@Rudy> "Is it the plant thing?"
[14:28] <@Ebiris> "Aye," Karkus nods, "Sometimes it just doesnae take. Hard to tell why - you can't hardly ask them, can ye?"
[14:29] <@Henrietta> "It-- 'plant thing'?" Henrietta sputters. "Don't refer to my heritage in that manner!"
[14:29] <@Ebiris> "Plant?" Tobin repeats, eyeing Henrietta. "It must have been an orchid or a rose!"
[14:30] <@Lucie> "Plant heritage?" Lucie says in the same bemused tone. "This some crazy story came out before I met you two?"
[14:30] <@Henrietta> "I actually rely on roses a lot, so that might well be it," Henrietta agrees with Tobin.
[14:31] <@Ebiris> Tobin smiles in satisfaction while Liamae just rolls her eyes, joining Rudy at the counter. "How do auditions work, yeah?" she seconds.
[14:33] <@Ebiris> "Well, Master Nonon's getting pretty desperate, I think - you should've seen some of the desperadoes we've had come in trying lately. They're either desperate actors who can't fight, or desperate adventurers who can't act. All of the 'safe' roles have been cast, but finding people for the challenging parts is driving him to distraction," the girl replies, leaning forward herself, dirty blonde hair falling over her face. "He usually just has people recive some lines suitable to their part, usually with some kind of obstacle or the like to see how they handle pressure."
[14:34] <@Ebiris> *recite
[14:34] * @Henrietta winks at Lucie and then summons a rose with a snap of her fingers, its stem elongating into a whip. She keeps it there for a moment longer, and then dismisses it casually. "Nothing crazy about it, is there?"
[14:35] <@Rudy> "We are neither of those, as we're not desperate," proclaims Rudy. "I'll give it a shot. It'll be good fun, I bet."
[14:36] <@Ebiris> "Might help our patron and their patron get along, too," Tobin agrees. "How many parts are still up?"
[14:36] <@Lucie> "Guess not," Lucie admits, not counting it among the strangest things she's heard. "Just wondering how, with a plant, well, how that gets in someone's family tree. So to speak. Never mind." She goes back to listening to the receptionist before this can be answered.
[14:37] <@Henrietta> "Magic," Henrietta responds with a shrug, before joining Rudy and Liamae by the counter. "Just how many roles are there still left uncast?"
[14:40] <@Ebiris> "Four," the girl nods briskly, raising her hand and ticking off her fingers. "Larazod, that's one of the starring roles of course. He's more of a tricky sort of subtle character. Dentris is the wizard, so you have to know magic for that part, and have a really sharp tongue. Tybain..." she smirks a bit, "That's the comic relief part. And the one that typically dies the earliest, so you better be confident if you go for that part - a religious background helps for it, too. Last one's Drovalid, the repentant torturer - it's the most combat heavy role." Looking over the group as a whole, "Larazod has to be a man, but I don't think it matters much for the other parts. Makeup can do wonders, anyway..."
[14:41] <@Lucie> "Pretty stiff requirements. No wonder you're having trouble filling out the cast."
[14:42] <@Henrietta> "Or magic," Henrietta muses. "Which part would fit me best, you think?" she asks her fellow adventurers.
[14:42] <@Lucie> "The wizard, right?" Lucie says with a shrug. "There really any question there?"
[14:42] <@Ebiris> "Dentris," Liamae nods immediately, "Although... Drovalid could be pretty funny, considering your views on religion."
[14:44] <@Rudy> "Well, Henri's got the magic part down. But isn't she bit, well, too nice?"
[14:44] <@Lucie> "Is this any kind of magic you want?" Lucie wonders.
[14:44] <@Henrietta> "They are perfectly valid-- and not really important, I suppose, to the case at hand." Henrietta bites her lower lip. "I suppose I could try to be... what is the requirement, mean?"
[14:45] <@Rudy> "Mean, in a biting, clever way. You've gotta know how to hit people where it hurts."
[14:45] <@Ebiris> "You've got to ad-lib some pretty good insults for that role," the girl nods. Shrugging to Lucie, "I don't think most people can tell the difference so long as you throw around pretty lights. No healing spells, I guess?"
[14:46] <@Henrietta> "How about you?" Henrietta asks Liamae. "Does anything catch your fancy?" Rudy's interest seems pretty obvious, at least.
[14:46] <@Lucie> "Lights, huh? Could probably manage that much. Could *definitely* handle the rest of the part."
[14:47] <@Ebiris> "Oh, I'm far too nice for the mean wizard role," Liamae smiles cattily. "To be honest I'm not sure I could pull off any of the others, either."
[14:47] <@Ebiris> "I'd go for Larazod, or maybe Drovalid in a pinch," Tobin declares.
[14:47] <@Rudy> "I'll be Tybain!"
[14:48] * @Henrietta tries not to look too disappointed, and then nods to herself. "When is the audition, so I know how long I have to practice insulting people properly?"
[14:50] <@Ebiris> "It's open casting right now, so you can just go in and try your stuff," the girl gestures to the closed doors leading down a slope to the theatre itself. "Don't take anything Master Nonon says personally, though. He used to be a drill sergeant, so..."
[14:52] <@Lucie> "May as well see what it's about, right? No other way I can see for that." Lucie says. "Auditioning doesn't mean you have to be in the play." She shrugs and reaches for the door.
[14:53] <@Henrietta> As Lucie brings up an excellent point, Henrietta quickly makes up her mind and follows!
[14:57] <@Ebiris> Going through, Lucie finds herself in a fairly compact theatre. No seats, but railings are provided to lean on, a sloped terrace leading down a short distance to the raised stage. Upon which are currently two figures - a hugely muscled and hunchbacked figure in dungarees who is moving a heavy looking cauldron backstage, and a short walrus-mustached dwarf in a sadly obvious toupee, frowning and muttering as he scribbles on a piece of parchment. Looking over at the new arrivals, her barks out. "Rehearsals are finished, you chattering jackanapes, come back tomorrow for your free escape from your miserable jaded lives!" Though as the Jade Ravens filter in as well his frown seems to ease a little, "Unless you're here to audition? I dare say it'd be hard to be worse than the last crop of idle-headed pribbling minnows I had the misfortune to watch maul the dramatic arts upon my stage!"
[14:58] <@Rudy> "Fear not- we excel at breaking barriers, sir!"
[14:59] <@Henrietta> "Is that a good thing, I wonder?"
[15:00] <@Ebiris> "Good, get over here quick-smart so I can have a look at you!" he barks, moving to the edge of the stage and looking down. "Hah, no club feet or obvious lice, that's a change for the better! But can you act? Can you fight?"
[15:01] <@Henrietta> "We can fight, obviously!" Henrietta responds with a huff. "And, well, how hard can it be to act?"
[15:01] <@Rudy> "I've been paid for fighting, so I've gotta be good at one of them," replies Rudy, grinning.
[15:02] <@Henrietta> "But then, you also paid to fight, didn't you?" Henrietta reminds him. "You must really like it."
[15:02] * @Lucie stands in front of the stage, hands on her hips. "Can fight well enough. Acting, well, one way to find out, right?"
[15:02] <@Rudy> "That depends entirely on who's watching!"
[15:03] <@Ebiris> His face turns bilious red at Henrietta's words. "How hard can it be to act?!" he bellows furiously. "You dissembling boil-brained strumpet! If I had a copper for every imbecilic tart to fall onto my stage and think a pretty face a substitute for character and wit, I could buy all the tea in Jovar!"
[15:04] <@Rudy> "See? You gotta be like that when you're auditioning!"
[15:04] <@Henrietta> "You-- you really want to see how well I fight, don't you?!" Henrietta exclaims, clenching her fists.
[15:06] <@Lucie> "See, Henri, this's about fighting with words. Like, say, "One would need all that tea to stay awake through one of your plays."
[15:06] <@Ebiris> "No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" he cuts his arms to the side, "Acting, you dullard! For all you talk of fighting, you should know not to enter a battle of wits unarmed!" continuing to yell at Henrietta. "What part do you pretend to think your feeble talents sufficient to perform? Might as well get the worst out of the way first, I say!"
[15:07] <@Ebiris> "Yes!" he gives Lucie a momentary approving look, "You might do a bit better. With practice, you might even aspire to mediocrity!"
[15:07] <@Lucie> "It will be an honor to rise to your level, sir," Lucie says with a mock bow.
[15:10] <@Ebiris> "Congratulations!" he claps his hands for Lucie, "You're only the second least talented nincompoop I've met today!"
[15:11] <@Lucie> "So you have looked in a mirror, I take it?"
[15:12] <@Henrietta> "I see. I see now," Henrietta repeats, nodding to herself. "I very much doubt I could sink so low as to insult you needlessly. Certainly not without a lot of practice beforehand, unless I pretend you are one of those obnoxious beastmen who must resort to kidnapping their women. I will apologize for even thinking of it. Am I repenting enough to fit the role of Drovalid?"
[15:13] <@Ebiris> "We have a Dentris!" the director exclaims, pointing at Lucie. "Go stand over there, if your fellows aren't as completely pathetic as they look you might even have some company soon." Hearing Henrietta he looks over to the hunchbacked figure, "Millech, set up the flying monster so we can audition this would-be Drovalid!"
[15:14] <@Ebiris> He points to the side of the stage for Lucie.
[15:15] <@Henrietta> "Should I feel bad for not passing the bare minimum requirements of meanness?" Henrietta whispers to Rudy.
[15:15] <@Lucie> "Oh, well, really I was just here on a lark," Lucie says. "Maybe a look at the script, we'll see..." She wanders where instructed, for the moment.
[15:16] <@Ebiris> Meanwhile the hunchbacked man goes and sets up something on some pulleys and lines going off to the side backstage...
[15:17] <@Rudy> "It means you just can't help being a good girl, Henri!"
[15:17] <@Ebiris> "Get up here, Drovalid. You'll need a weapon for this," Master Nonon calls to Henrietta, stepping to the side of the stage.
[15:18] * @Henrietta sighs. "I just can't insult someone unless they are trying to kill me or, well, commit some sort of crime," she says, before raising her voice as she asks, "A real weapon, or a prop? I have a flail."
[15:19] <@Ebiris> "A real weapon, what you'd be using in the play if you stretch your meagre talents beyond the impassable horizon of your mediocrity," the dwarf blusters. "Stand on that marking there," he indicates a small chalk cross towards the rear of the stage.
[15:21] <@Henrietta> Her flail will have to do, then. Henrietta walks towards the marking, musing to herself that it's been a long time since she seriously used it.
[15:22] <@Lucie> "Torturers aren't subtle sorts, right? Flail's a good weapon for one," Lucie observes.
[15:22] <@Henrietta> "I can use a whip, too!" Henrietta adds proudly.
[15:22] <@Rudy> "You should use it! It'll make you a star."
[15:23] <@Henrietta> "It probably isn't very good against something that flies."
[15:24] <@Ebiris> "Either would do, if only you can ACT!" the dwarf screeches, handing Henrietta a piece of paper. "This is your line, you have to read it while attacking the flying monster Mellich will set at you momentarily. Do try to aspire beyond your all too obvious limitations, would you?"
[15:27] * @Henrietta blinks as she double-reads the line. Still, she knows better than to complain, and commits it to memory. "I will try. Where will the Magistrate be?"
[15:30] <@Ebiris> "Stage right," the dwarf replies, stepping back. "There won't be a flying monster in that scene, this is for me to see if you can act at all while engaged in battle, as Drovalid must do throughout the feature." Looking towards the left of the stage he bellows, "Now Mellich!" and the hunchback pulls a lever, sending a bucket trundling down the rope across the stage and towards Henrietta. It's at an easy height to attack, at least...
[15:30] <@Ebiris> OOC: Do your bit and roll an attack
[15:38] <@Henrietta> "Magistrate," Henrietta speaks, addressing the stage to her right after picking a spot where said person would be at. "I come before you a simple hand, whose lash is guided by the greater glory of Hades," she continues, her hand clenching around the hilt of her flail. It's easy enough to look and sound repentant, since she feels utterly mortified at speaking such lines. "May my scourge do him
[15:38] <@Henrietta> and this devoted tribunal proud!" The bucket is almost there, about to bypass her, and Henrietta lashes out at it without taking her eyes off her target. She bows deeply afterwards. "With your persmission, I shall begin our first trial." She holds the bow a moment longer, and then straightens up.
[15:38] <@Henrietta> roll 1d20+7
[15:38] * +Hatbot --> "Henrietta rolls 1d20+7 and gets 15." [1d20=8]
[15:39] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+8
[15:39] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d20+8 and gets 14." [1d20=6]
[15:39] <@Ebiris> OOC: AC, Henri?
[15:39] <@Henrietta> OOC: 13
[15:39] <@Ebiris> roll 1d6 damage
[15:39] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d6 damage and gets 6." [1d6=6]
[15:41] <@Ebiris> Henrietta is a bit too slow with her attack, and lunges forward just in time for the surprisingly fast and heavy bucket to conk her hard in the face, making her spin before it continues on its now significantly slow course. The director claps, slow and sarcastic. "Defeated by a bucket, for all your bravado. I'm sure you can tell everyone it was really a fierce flying monster when they ask about your black eye!"
[15:41] <@Ebiris> Liamae and Zani both wince in sympathy.
[15:42] <@Ebiris> OOC: retconning stuff, Henri is using a hero point
[15:43] <@Ebiris> OOC: roll damage Henri
[15:43] <@Henrietta> roll 1d10+6
[15:43] * +Hatbot --> "Henrietta rolls 1d10+6 and gets 11." [1d10=5]
[15:44] <@Ebiris> Henrietta's flail lashes out full force into the bucket, puncturing it and tearing off a good chunk from the side! Sand sprays everywhere as the ruined bucket bounced wildly on the quivering rope, otherwise coming to a stop and defeated by Henrietta's prowess!
[15:46] * @Henrietta gives the sand-filled bucket a wary glance. Even though it's just an audition, perhaps she should cast Mage Armor next time she tries anything involving combat. She looks expectantly at the dwarf as she straightens up, however, putting such thoughts out of her mind.
[15:49] <@Ebiris> "Defeated the fierce bucket, have you?" the director bellows. "Don't think your foes in the real performance will be so easy, but it's still the best I've seen in casting - I might be able to salvage some veneer of talent out of you after all. The part is yours!" he gestures for Henrietta to join Lucie. "The parts of Larazod and Tybain are still open, who wants to see if we can continue this run of uncommonly good luck?"
[15:50] <@Rudy> "I'll take a crack at Tybain," replies Rudy, stepping forth. "The role that needs it most to survive!" He muses over this for a moment. "So regardless of result, it's a win either way."
[15:51] <@Henrietta> "I'm finding it easier and easier to audition for your role," Henrietta mutters, taking her place by Lucie's side. "In fact, I am discovering sides of myself I was not aware existed until today."
[15:52] <@Lucie> "Magnificent, Henri, that bucket never stood a chance against you," Lucie says.
[15:52] <@Henrietta> "Really? Something tells me I barely avoided bringing a great shame to my family name."
[15:53] <@Lucie> "Oh, I was trying to be in character. Damning with faint praise? I haven't done this much."
[15:53] <@Rudy> "If that's an issue, you can borrow mine, Henri~"
[15:53] <@Ebiris> "Mellich!" the dwarf bellows backstage. "Get the fruit basket!" Approaching Rudy and handing him a piece of paper with his line. "Read this while everyone pelts rotten fruit at you - if you think that's hard you won't tand a chance doing the real thing." Master Nonon hops down off the stage to join everyone else as Mellich starts handing out armfuls of produce to everyone present for the hurling.
[15:53] * @Henrietta shudders.
[15:55] <@Lucie> "Maybe Rudy coulda used some armor enchantment before getting up there," Lucie quietly suggests to Henri. "Probably a good idea for everyone."
[15:56] <@Rudy> "I've had worse thrown at me!" Rudy struts to the centre of the stage and puts his hands on his hips. "Is this line meant to be funny, though? I mean, I don't get it."
[15:57] <@Henrietta> "Maybe," Henrietta admits just as quietly, before taking Lucie up on her advice and approaching Rudy. "It is not that I think a few rotten fruits will bring you down easily, but I cannot discount the possibility entirely either," she tells him, summoning her arcane prowess. "Please accept this!" She taps him on the shoulder, and then retreats back to watch near Lucie.
[15:58] <@Rudy> "See, Henri, that's being mean," mutters Rudy.
[15:58] <@Ebiris> "Overbearing and unseemly confidence in a situation that hardly warrants it," the director tells Rudy, hefting a bruised apple. "False and pompous bravado is what your character is all about. Until he dies, anyway."
[15:59] <@Ebiris> The Jade Ravens shrug but take their fruit as well. "No hard feelings, right?" Liamae calls up easily, arching back for an overhand throw.
[15:59] <@Henrietta> "Are we supposed to pelt Rudy with overripe fruit, too?" Henrietta consults with Lucie.
[16:00] * @Lucie lines up a tomato and an overripe cabbage to do just that. "Seems it. Don't worry, I'm sure he's done something to deserve it."
[16:00] <@Ebiris> "Ayup," Mellich nods slowly, standing over by the two already cast figures and hefting a half-pumpkin.
[16:00] <@Henrietta> "Only because we must, then," Henrietta agrees, taking the other half of that pumpkin.
[16:01] <@Rudy> "Bring it," calls Rudy, rolling his arm before throwing them out wide! He speaks with just a hint of a sputter, emulating the arrogant snobs he's met in the past! "Hurl his arrogance and accu-zations back at'im, Lazarus!" he bawls, reaching to point an accusing finger at some unseen individual! "He wants golden-yoked truth?! Give him more than he can choke down!"
[16:03] <@Ebiris> Trucy takes the initiative, launcing a peach right at Rudy's head! It whizzes past, but the others take that as their cue, a veritable barrage of expired produce raining down on Rudy as he performs!
[16:03] <@Ebiris> OOC: roll a reflex save, Rudy?
[16:03] <@Rudy> roll 1d20+6
[16:03] * +Hatbot --> "Rudy rolls 1d20+6 and gets 26." [1d20=20]
[16:03] <@Ebiris> OOC: you avoid everything with ease, go on with the rest of your line with that in mind
[16:04] <@Rudy> He sways back and forth, spinning and crouching away from errant produce! "For whether revealed by the brilliance of Apollo's eye, or the long red shadows cast by your Dark Lord's charnel gaze, a man false at heart and shrouded in hollow faiths is nothing more than a traitor to all!" With the wave of foodstuff passed, he straightens up and raises his hands to the heavens.
[16:04] <@Rudy> "Let him that judges false be judged by wraiths - smote by his own brand shall he fall."
[16:05] * @Henrietta claps, her hands already clean with a light application of magic.
[16:06] <@Ebiris> "Astounding!" a rare word of praise from the director. "You have the part! I daresay this could be the first performance where Tybain survives if you can keep that up!"
[16:08] <@Rudy> "I encourage you to do your worst!"
[16:09] <@Henrietta> "Those are what you call famous last words, aren't they?"
[16:09] <@Ebiris> "I but have to find a Larazod and then I'll have a full cast. It's rare that I feel such optimism in my heart! Who here will try for the last role?" the director asks, Tobin stepping forward.
[16:10] <@Ebiris> "I will!" he declares stoutly.
[16:11] <@Rudy> "Hey, it's a short life," responds Rudy, dropping off the stage and walking back to the others. "If I go out a legend, I'll be happy in... wherever it is I end up."
[16:11] <@Ebiris> "Larazod must carry the play. Get on the stage and read this soliliquey - no tricks this time, acting alone will determine all!" Nonon declares, handing a scrap to Tobin, who furrows his brow and reads it for a moment before climbing onto the stage...
[16:11] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+7
[16:11] * +Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d20+7 and gets 15." [1d20=8]
[16:12] <@Henrietta> "I think it might actually be bad for you," Henrietta confides in Rudy quietly. "I think if you die the Undying Emperor will try to, well, claim your soul. Or something like that."
[16:13] <@Rudy> "Is this because I've been bad or something? I thought you didn't believe in that stuff, anyway."
[16:14] <@Lucie> "Thought you didn't believe in all that, Henri?" Lucie notes, listening in.
[16:15] <@Ebiris> "Lazarod knows no lies, great magistrate, and no slanderer's tongue caresses my dignity," Tobin begins a stout performance, nothing flashy or showy, but earnest determination in his words. It's a somewhat lengthy piece, turning the tables on the evil magistrate who it seems is the actual traitor. But he keeps it interesting throughout until he finishes with a fierce denunciation.
[16:15] <@Ebiris> "Hmph, mediocrity, but mediocrity I can work with," the director nods at last. "Unless anyone else wants to try and to better?"
[16:15] <@Henrietta> "I don't believe in the gods," Henrietta responds. "The problem is that the Undying Emperor told me I was right when he summoned me. Rudy, remember that wand that would raise the dead? Breaking it was a really bad idea for us all. I don't, well, I don't think it matters if you're good or not."
[16:17] <@Lucie> "What. What? Sure this wasn't a nightmare or something, Henri?" Lucie rounds on Rudy, speaking quietly but with obvious irritation, voice a heated rasp. "I didn't fucking say to break it in the middle of the group. This is your fault, isn't it?"
[16:17] <@Ebiris> "Pah, the boy can have it. I'll no doubt have ta patch him up after," Karkus waves dismissively, uninterested in the performing arts. The three remaining girls all shrug, genetics putting them out of the running.
[16:20] <@Rudy> "So you think a thing this bad would've been better to keep around for a while? You had about as much clue as me!" replies Rudy, recoiling. "Look, is this serious? This sounds serious. Let's go be serious elsewhere."
[16:20] <@Ebiris> "I want you all to come here first thing tomorrow morning. We can have you fitted for costumes, meet the rest of the cast, and then start rehearsing properly. By Hades, I'll have this play done after all!" the director clenches his fist in triumph.
[16:20] <@Lucie> "Somewhere with booze," Lucie suggests.
[16:23] <@Ebiris> Leaving the theatre behind, the group heads back towards the centre of the capital and stops off at a smoky tavern to find a quiet table where they can talk and drink as suits their moods...
[16:24] <@Ebiris> Except for the Jade Ravens, who take Trucy with them back towards Zeus's Folly.
[16:25] <@Henrietta> "Every time I come into a tavern like this, I wonder if one of those bar fights I heard so much about is about to take place," Henrietta comments, looking around with equal parts excitement and wariness.
[16:26] <@Ebiris> There doesn't seem to be an air of barely suppressed violence hanging over the place right now, no.
[16:26] <@Lucie> Lucie's order is simple. "Something heavy, I don't care what." To Henri: "You want one? We could start one."
[16:26] <@Rudy> "This is the wrong side of town for it," replies Rudy. "They're vicious things anyway, Henri- look, uh. What happened? Who's the undying emperor?"
[16:28] <@Henrietta> "I feel bad enough insulting someone who doesn't deserve it, so outright punching someone feels wrong," Henrietta responds to Lucie. She directs her attention to Rudy next. "In my homeland, there is... a devil. The Devil, I suppose. Unlike the fake deities of this land, he is real in the sense of being documented. Once every while, he appears to kill one of the reigning emperors, and he accomplishes
[16:28] <@Henrietta> this by being a lich with terrible powers. So far, so good?"
[16:29] <@Lucie> "You ask most priests, well, I bet most of them claim some good proof their god's real. But this one's killing emperors, now? Hard to mistake that kinda sign. Are you sure it's not just some high wizard playing at being a god?"
[16:29] <@Rudy> "So he's not a deity, just a really powerful ageless undead archmage thing."
[16:29] <@Rudy> "Basically, the closest we'll get?"
[16:30] <@Henrietta> "Yes. When I said he is a Devil, I meant in a cultural sense. This is how our society sees him. You have parents tell their children to worship the Emperor and not be bad, or he will come for you. My parents told me much of the same."
[16:31] <@Rudy> "And he's gunning for us, now?"
[16:32] * @Henrietta hesitates, before nodding slowly. "He summoned me with powerful magics and told me I was going to be his. Apparently, that event brought me to his notice. For now, it seems that he is content to let me do what I want, but if I were to die...." She trails off, shrugging uncomfortably. "If he did not summon you, then the rest of you may be alright. But you were all there, so please don't
[16:32] * @Henrietta be in any hurry to die or believe you will be brought back if you do?"
[16:33] <@Lucie> "So we broke some artifact of his and the thing was made up so's anyone breaking it gets cursed, right? We go to the right priest, maybe they can do something about this. You don't have to believe all they say to know some of 'em work real magic."
[16:34] <@Rudy> "Maybe he summoned you 'cos you're from Jovar and you'd know who he is," replies Rudy, uneasily.
[16:35] <@Henrietta> "No, he told me why he noticed me," Henrietta asserts, shaking her head. "And I wanted that artifact broken so it's not like I blame anyone but myself for not thinking it through better. I'm really hoping to just become powerful enough to resist him before he grows tired of waiting."
[16:38] <@Lucie> "Maybe this is something you should've told us before we signed on for the recreational murder thing," Lucie suggests. "Although it's not like we have to go through with that just 'cause we got parts. We didn't sign anything, right? I figure we hit the temples and see if anyone can sort this out for us first thing, anyway. Somebody has to know something."
[16:38] <@Henrietta> "So you were alright with it even after being told resurrection doesn't always work?"
[16:41] <@Rudy> "After what we've been through, some weird play that's a bit dangerous doesn't seem like much," confesses Rudy. "And, uh, let's not split hairs. Doesn't really matter if it's just one of us who he's looking at, right? Like I'd let some weird old guy do what he wants with you, you know- that came out wrong, but-" He sighs. "Anyway, if this guy's really all that powerful and he's into you, Henri,
[16:41] <@Rudy> dunno what the templefolk here can do about it."
[16:41] <@Lucie> "Not really." A pause. "Well, depends on what the gig pays. People have tried to kill me before, I'm not real worried some actor's going to manage it. It gets bad out there, just play dead, right? Worst happens, finding out what happens after death on someone else's gold? Can't say I'm not a little curious. If the spells don't always work, though...well."
[16:42] <@Lucie> "Just figure it can't hurt to check," Lucie says to Rudy. "Who else is likely to know? You want to just walk around knowing you're doomed not trying to do anything about it?"
[16:44] <@Henrietta> "It feels a bit scary at first, but it's not like you can change it now," Henrietta says with a shrug. "I just decided to live normally, just like I used to. I think you all should, too, just... not to the point of not caring if you die? That feels wrong even if resurrection always worked perfectly."
[16:45] <@Rudy> "It's not that I don't care, but it doesn't seem like a huge deal, either. Not when we're playing at being bodyguards and getting in fights over stupid shit and all that." Rudy grimaces. "So what's this guy want to do with our, uh, souls, anyway?"
[16:45] * @Lucie shrugs. "Sounds like they make up these things half as they go along. Just make sure someone else gets killed instead. We're good at that."
[16:46] <@Henrietta> "I'm, well, I'm hoping... servants? Because I don't want to be his zombie bride...."
[16:46] <@Lucie> "Didn't say? Just said you owe him a soul, that's that?"
[16:47] <@Rudy> "Say, Henri. You don't believe in an afterlife, right?"
[16:49] * @Henrietta nods. "Not in the fluffy Heaven sense."
[16:50] <@Rudy> "Yeah that's all a bit stupid- but anyway, if this guy doesn't get your soul, you think there's, uh, anything?"
[16:50] <@Lucie> "That doesn't make much sense, does it? You believe in souls for this guy, but otherwise, no?"
[16:52] <@Henrietta> "I believe a lich can turn you undead or trap your soul with magic and take it to his realm," Henrietta specifies. "But... I don't believe that if you give money to Zeus's temple then when you die this Zeus will come and get you. I think... you probably just go to sleep. Kind of. If you get brought back, you wake up. If not...."
[16:53] <@Rudy> "Well, I don't really want some crazy lich to get his hands on my soul," muses Rudy. "Don't really wanna go to sleep forever, either."
[16:54] <@Henrietta> "Well, you know, I talked to Liamae this one time and she said, well, that maybe we could one day travel to other places and then we may learn for good if there really are these beings that people worship as gods and who they really are! So maybe we'll know better one day!"
[16:54] <@Lucie> "I don't know if I believe anything," Lucie says after some consideration. "Never gave it a lot of thought, didn't seem much point. Living's tricky enough. But if it's part of your actual history that this goon has magic that can bind someone to him, I don't see why you wouldn't look everywhere for some way to stop him."
[16:55] <@Rudy> "In the worst case, you'd figure you could just get a few dragons along with you..."
[16:56] <@Lucie> "And 'one day,', well, I don't think that'll really cut it when you know who and what's plaguing you."
[16:59] * @Henrietta is about to respond before she stops and slaps her forehead. "Why did I audition for that play when I went in to stop it?"
[17:00] <@Rudy> "You really want to stop it? We can just bomb it on the day," replies Rudy, carelessly.
[17:00] <@Lucie> "Can't turn down a chance to show off and look pretty?" Lucie suggests.
[17:01] <@Henrietta> "I must be a terrible person," Henrietta morosely agrees with Lucie. "But! If we are in it, well, we can prevent any deaths. Wouldn't that be alright?"
[17:02] <@Lucie> "It'd make the director right pissed, probably the patrons too. Which I guess we call a win, yeah?"
[17:02] <@Henrietta> "I think it is a win if everyone survives, yes."
[17:02] <@Rudy> "Probably a bad idea, actually," admits Rudy. "Not if we want to keep m'lady's good name. I figure, we'll ask her."
[17:03] <@Lucie> "'Hi, we all went and got parts in this horrible play as a protest.' That should be fun."
[17:03] <@Henrietta> "We really should," Henrietta is quick to agree with Rudy. "And if one of the people she is trying to court dislikes this play so much, perhaps ensuring no one else is killed for it would work in Lady Vanderboren favor?"
[17:04] <@Rudy> "Yeah, was thinking that! So now we got three reasons to not go die out there!"