Lix Lorn and Strawberries IC

[Lix Lorn]

Laen nods quietly, and goes off to the side with Kitra.

[Strawberries]

Kitra takes him aside, putting an hand on his arm and speaking in an undertone. She is unusually serious, not using any of the pet names that are customary for her "Well, what do you think about it?"

[Lix Lorn]

"I'm not sure." he admitted. "I would be interested, purely for the sake of research, but like you said... dangerous. We have no way of knowing whose hands they'd end up in."

[Strawberries]

Kitra shakes her head "I don't like it. I'm going to tell him he can put this job where the sun doesn't shine." She starts to turn back to the gnome, then something occurs to her "However, what's to stop him to offer the same job to the first two other people he sees? Damn it!" she bursts out, automatically rubbing her scarred temple.

[Lix Lorn]

"Well, if we do it, we can try and have a little influence." he said.

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Haha. We're getting moral dilemmas in your adventure.

[Strawberries]

Kitra doesn't seem convinced in full. However, she reluctantly nods "I suppose you're right. Better than to wash our hands of it completely." She turns to the gnome, with a grim expression "We'll take the job" she says "What else do we need to know?"

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I'm fond of gray morality and moral dilemmas. I hope you guys don't mind.

[Lix Lorn]

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So am I. XD

[The Dark Fiddler]

"Hmm... is there anything else I need to tell you...?" Garl seems to drift off in thought for a few seconds, muttering to himself. "Oh, yes! The flower! When you are fighting, please be very careful not to damage the bulb if at all possible! After the flower is subdued, you'll need to open the bulb and remove as many seeds as you possibly can." He puts the box and the prototype device down and walks off again, only to come back with two large glass vials and two smaller picks. "This vial," he says, handing Kitra one of them, "is for the seeds. This one," he says, handing the other to Laen, "is for the rocks. The picks," he continues, handing one to each, "are for the rocks. What you'll need to do is subdue the flower and obtain the seeds. Oh, but be careful when you do, as the flower contains mildly poisonous gases in it bulb. A sort of last revenge against those that harm it. It's not too particularly potent, however, so you should be fine. Anyway, after that, splash this," he says, handing the blue liquid to whoever will take it, "on the cavern walls. You'll know where because the explosive rocks are a darker color than the rest of the wall should be. Anyway, splash it on the wall, and don't be stingy either! Rub it in gently, and wait a minute or two. It should be safe to mine after that for several hours, and safe to keep for roughly five days." Garl rummages around in his robes and pulls out a rolled up piece of parchment. "Oh, and here is the map. It shows you quite clearly to the area... you may need to look around tiny bit for the cave, but it shouldn't be too far. Anyway, it's roughly a two day travel through the desert, so you'll need supplies. I think that's everything..." any questions?

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lol wall of text
I'm a fan of grey and gray morality myself, though I'm not great at pulling it off personally. But hey, if you guys can do it for me...

[Strawberries]

Kitra takes the vial, the pick and the blue liquid. "Nothing I can think of" she replies. She is still pretty tense, mulling over the decision to accept the job in her head. "Laen?"

[Lix Lorn]

He shook his head.
"I don't believe so."

[The Dark Fiddler]

"Well then, I suppose that is all, until you obtain the rock and seeds." He pulls fifty gold pieces from his robe and splits them evenly between Kitra and Laen. "A bit of advance payment, the rest depends on the condition of the reagents... and if they prove to be especially useful, I can't say that an extra bonus is out of the question!" Garl smiles at the two before turning to return to his work, as a strong odor begins wafting out from a back room. "I'll leave the how and when of traveling up to you, but please keep it as punctual as possible!"

[Strawberries]

"Goodbye and good luck to you, too." Kitra says, deadpan, watching the gnome go back in the house, and with more than an hint of sarcasm. Then she looks to Laen, sighing and rubbing her temple "Hell, I don't want any extra payment. I just want to keep an eye on this thing. What do you say sweetie? Shall we go now, or do you want to rest first, leave tomorrow? You can stay at my place, if you want."

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Her place being, of course, the Red Rose brothel. I don't thik he is aware of that, yet.

[Lix Lorn]

"I'm ready to go." he said. "But if you'd like a rest, I think that might be something I could agree to." He gives a slight smile.

[Strawberries]

"It's probably best if we get on the road tomorrow morning, have a lot of light ahead of us. Why don't we..." she starts saying, then she remembers Laen is a paladin, however unusual. She stops talking abruptly, mid-sentence. "You know what, sweetie? We can sleep on the road. I don't think you'd feel confortable at my place. Give the girls an heartattack, too." She says the last sentence in an undertone, as a comment to herself.

[Lix Lorn]

He blinked. "Why's that?"

[Strawberries]

Kitra scoffs "Sweetheart, you're a paladin. I'm the scum of society. You'll freak out in seeing the company I keep. I'm doing that for your peace of mind."
She pauses, then can't help but add: "Not to mention the mistress' peace of mind as well. Last time one of your kind showed up at the Red Rose, she had to close and relocate the establishment. Paladins don't make for the best customers.". She looks mischievously at him, trying to assess his reaction.

[Lix Lorn]

He blinked.
"...Red Rose?"

[Strawberries]

"Yep." She looks at him to see if he is only acting confused, or if he really didn't understand her meaning. Damn, paladins are slow.... She thinks "The Red Rose, honey. Home of the most exotic and not so exotic beauties you can find in the slums." She looks at hos expression, then decides to spell it out for him "A brothel, basically." she says, grinning.

[Lix Lorn]

He looks utterly confused.
"...you live in a brothel? Why?"

[Strawberries]

"Hells, honey, I was born in the place. " she says, walking beside him "Worked there for a bit too. Not anymore, but it's still home, you know?"

[Lix Lorn]

"...huh." he says. His use of slang shows how surprised he is.
What he really hopes she doesn't notice is that he knew it was the name of a brothel.
"No, I don't think they'd appreciate me being there." he agreed, a little too quickly.

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I totally meant to say 'The Red Rose? What's that?' last post, but my mistake will make it awesomer. XD

[Strawberries]

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Actually, I had took your post to mean "Red Rose? What is that?". And she said it was a brothel soon after. But let's roll with the other interpretation. Do I have your permission to assume something's up without rolling a sense motive?

"They really won't." She gives him a piercing stare at his quick reply. "What's that, honey? You just embarassed,or is there something you're not telling me?"

[Lix Lorn]

"What could I possibly be not telling you?" he said, very carefuly answering without answering.

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Go ahead. XD

[Strawberries]

Kitra stops walking, planting herself in front of him. "None of that, now. It may work on people you use to hang with, but it takes the best of the best to hoodwink me. And you?" She looks at him with an amused expression. "Are far from the best. Out with it, honey."

[Lix Lorn]

"...I may have visited the place." he said, looking away.

[Strawberries]

Kitra stands looking at him, mouth hanging open. "YOU? You have visited the place? Oh. Oh, my.". It takes a couple of shocked seconds before she starts to laugh. "Oh, that is priceless" she says, wiping her eyes. "Next time a paladin gets all high and mighty on me, I'll be sure to mention it." she gives him a pat on the back, still laughing. "How come I never saw you, sweetie?"

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OOC: I don't know if you meant that Lean has visited the place for some other reason, but Kitra sure thinks he went there as a customer.

[Lix Lorn]

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Yes, as a customer. XD

"Probably just timing." he mumbled.

[Strawberries]

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Very un-paladiny of him..... Sooner or later, she has to know the story behind that (Yes, I know you came up with it on the spot, but something lke this must have a story behind. Get to work to craft it. )

"I'll be sure to say hello to the girls from you, then" she replies "No need to get red, honey, I just didn't peg you for the kind to be a customer.".
Kitra looks at him for another moment, still smirking, before taking pity on him "Well, then, as amusing as this is, we still got a job to do. Let's get out of the city, we'll sleep on the road". She pauses, then can't help herself: "I wouldn't want you to get...ah, distracted." she adds, guffawing.

[Lix Lorn]

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Well, he had no-where to stay, and asked around, and some smart-alec suggested there. When he realised it was a brothel, he quickly tried to leave until he saw a pretty half-elf. xP
..now. Say Kitra has a half-elf sister. XD

He groaned internally. He was never living this down.

[The Dark Fiddler]

The two friends leave town, heading off to their next job past the dessert. Luckily, the weather is nice, even once they enter the desert they were warned of. The two also manage to find a bit of food as they travel to help stretch their trail rations (only one trail ration for each of you was used). Eventually, the two arrive at a small mountain, where the map is marked. There are a few caves in plain view, though the largest is the one marked on the map. There is a particularly sweet smell in the air.