Play by Post Thread

[Ebiris]

"Twice a week, today and Saturday," the short haired blonde replies, starting to head through the doors inside. "Come on in and I can show you around if you like." She seems confident that Lucie does like, since she continues talking, "If you don't mind my asking, where did you stay before moving across the road? Your accent sounds local enough."

[Sierra]

Lucie does indeed follow Ilona inside.

She was never one for lying when threats and coercion would suffice, so Lucie suspects she hasn't had the practice to get that knack for evading things she'd rather not acknowledge--especially right now, given she's talking to someone she didn't know was real prior to a couple minutes ago. Therefore: "Shadowshore," she admits, with a very concerted effort to conceal her chagrin. "I'd not seen much else of the city until recently."

[Carthrat]

"I'll check it out. Can you give me the details on her last trip?" asks Rudy, flexing his palms. "Without any clue as to who is responsible from the outset, the key to this can only be found by retracing her steps."

[Ebiris]

Rudy

"With her amnesia I can't tell you the precise route, but she tends to favour taking gondolas over roundabout walks. Her delivery was to Bastion Street on the island just next to the one your Lady Vanderboren lives on, and the guards hauled her in on Ditch Street just across the bridge on the next island over. So the centre-North of the Merchant District is probably the best place to look," the ambassador suggests to Rudy.

Lucie

"Anyone else stuck in one district all their life, I'd call them sheltered... not really the right word to use for Shadowshore, though, is it?" Ilona asks, her expression softening and to Lucie's well-honed hearing her own diction becoming a little more relaxed. "Definitely a trade up, though. Are you living with anyone?"

[Sierra]

"Just my mother," Lucie says. "Brought her with me when I left the old neighborhood. Obvious reasons. Else, it's just us and a couple empty bedrooms. Might be I bought more space than I've need for. Likely the extra'll fill up with books before anything else."

[Ebiris]

Lucie

Planning on sneaking around or doing anything significant Cid? Otherwise we can assume you have an enjoyable dance lesson with lots of attention from Ilona and leave it there.

[Sierra]

Beyond casually asking whether Miss Telvanta herself ever teaches or visits the academy (solely from curiosity because she's Lucie's landlord, of course!), Lucie has no plans to do anything sneaky at this point in time. She'll wait and watch people for now, since that's what she's better at.

[Ebiris]

Lucie

As she spends time with Lucie before the lesson proper starts, and now out of her overcoat, Ilona replies that, "Dame Telvanta lives out in the country, a beautiful old mansion. She visits Salerno maybe once or twice a month, and always takes time to visit here. Of course, a Lady such as her wouldn't deign to teach any but the most talented of students, but she's very skilled herself from what I've seen." There's a faintly knowing tone in her voice, implying to Lucie's keen observance that she's seen quite a lot.

[Sierra]

Lucie decides they'll have to compare notes someday. In the meantime she'll eagerly apply herself to the lessons at hand.

[Carthrat]

"What's the first thing she remembers since the.. uh, period we think her brain was washed? Like waking up in a ditch somewhere?" asks Rudy, rubbing his head. "Should I go ask her?"

[Ebiris]

"We've already interrogated her quite thoroughly, there's no need for you to concern yourself with that side," Witchwillow waves that aside, "She says about halfway along Star Street, which runs parallel to Bastion Street on the South side. The alleys between the two might have been where she was attacked, if there was a physical altercation. She had a few scuffs and scratches that she couldn't account for - I'm sure you've noticed we're quite image-conscious here."

[Carthrat]

"This? This is normal," replies Rudy. "It's the rest of Salerno that has issues. Look, I'll talk to the guys and see what we can do. We gotta get onto this one quickly before it goes cold, so we'll aim for results in the next few days, I think. Gimme a figure to share with them. Oh, and I actually came to ask you something else, too.

"There's a couple of people I think you'll find it worth looking into- Jellica Hawthorne and Kivan Gardner. I'm pretty sure the latter's dead, but the former should be in Isernia somewhere. I got a personal issue with these folks, but it's one that'll concern Anowia, too, presuming you don't want to deal with an army of people like me under Isernian command." Rudy shrugs. "Don't think you'd want one under Anowian command either, not with what it takes to make it."

[Ebiris]

That gets a penetrating look from the dwarven woman. "Dame Jellica Hawthorne, royal Treasurer?" she asks, knotting her brows. "Never heard of Kivan Gardner, but... so Isernia's cottoned onto a way to train summoners en masse? That's valuable information alright - draft me up a report on exactly what they're up to? For that I'll pay you..." she pauses, thinking a moment. "Tell you what, I'll group it all together for something nice. For that report and confirmation of what happened to my courier I'll give you and your group two thousand gold, total. Permanently deal with whatever afflicted her," her eyes gleam at the word 'permanently', "And I'll give you an infiltrator's cloak I happen to have lying around... not as easy to split up, but worth far more in its use to people in your line of work."

[Carthrat]

"Our line of work, huh. When you say that, it's like I'm becoming a shady person," remarks Rudy. "I won't disappoint, Ambassador."

[Ebiris]

After session 44

Lucie

After watching Rudy's narrow victory over Tobin in the Arena, somehow nobody seemed interested in spending time with the charming Lady Vanderboren any longer, and thus the group drifted apart, perhaps to mull over the expression of savage violence in the name of love that had just been witnessed. As for Lucie, she ends up going down Frogwallow Lane on her way home, and pauses at the dance academy opposite her new house... perhaps thinking of Ilona, perhaps thinking of the suspicious nature of hers and her friends' visit to the casino, or perhaps thinking of Ilona's gratifyingly more compliant double in the fantasy conjured by Vriskna's magical prophecy deck? Only she could say for sure.

Nonetheless, perhaps her oracular gift is good for more than just casting spells to make people miserable, for as she ruminates she spots that very same trim blonde exiting the school, a thick quilted cloak worn to conceal her figure and ward against the cold, though with the hood down she's quite easy to recognise.