The Wrong Guys IC II

[DeafnotDumb]

Sandry nods, turning her full attention back on the paladin. "Indeed!" She says, smiling again. "We'll be going to an abode in one of the nastier parts of this city - but lookin' at you all, I doubt we'll be fetching much trouble."

She turns to leave, rummaging in a pouch, and extracts a handful of coins. "Gab!" She shouts at a man. "Got your tab here! So, everybody ready or not?" She asks the others.

[Nanoblack]

Llaars

Continuing to glance toward where the two men were supposed to be, Llaars had a deep frown. "Those two were quick to leave once we got up. I don't like leavin' loose threads like that, but not much else we can do here. Lead, Sandry."

[Strawberries]

“Thank you.” Audric says to Jess when she picks up the tab, motioning the others towards the door. His tone was polite, but he looks tense, and keeps very close to the two new arrivals...Jess especially. She seems friendly, but she is still a sorcerer, and Audric wants to be ready to intervene at the mere hint of a danger. A sudden thought occurs to him “You didn’t even mention the name of this... officer.”

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((OOC: sorry, Deafnotdumb, but he still isn't quite sure he should trust you. He is going to walk at a distance where he can easily drive his sword through your heart if you turn out to be an evil, dangerous magic user. Nothing personal.))

[DeafnotDumb]

"That," Jess says, quite dramatically, "is a very good question, choirboy." She pauses, partly for theatre, and more practically to check around and ensure no-one is listening. She faces him again after a moment, confident that the noise in the room will hide what she's saying from any eavesdroppers. "Sir Yistin is his name. Hope for their sake none of yer children have met him, should you have any."

[Strawberries]

“Yistin” Audric repeats, slowly, trying to see if the name sounds familiar, then shakes his head “I don’t know him” Nor does he particularly want to, after looking at Jess’ expression She is scared, I think. But also, quite resolute. This must really be important for her.

“Paladins don’t usually have children” he answers, mildly. And they don’t marry, either: most of them consider their duty their first and only concern. “Go on Sandry, we are behind you.”

[DeafnotDumb]

"Who knows? Maybe if you choirboys and choirgirls got your wicks dipped or ports docked a little more often you'd be easier on everybody. Alderan knows it couldn't hurt." Now that is a dirty smirk. A very dirty smirk. "Not that the ones I know have been visiting the brothels have any less of a stick up their behinds, mind."

[Strawberries]

“Possibly. If I ever find out definite evidence on the matter, I will let you know.” If Jess was hoping to shock or anger him, then she will probably be disappointed: Audric’s tone is even, with a mild trace of amusement. He motions the sorcerer towards the door, a little impatiently “After you, Sandry.”

[Ajadea]

Jess leads you down a maze of twisting little alleys - it's incredibly disorienting and in a few short minutes, you are all pretty much hopelessly lost. On all sides, rickety wooden buildings loom three or four stories high, and some of them are definitely listing to one side. There are few windows, and most of them are shuttered or boarded up. The unpaved streets are barely wide enough for two carts to pass side by side in the best of circumstances - cluttered as they are with wreckages and waste on both sides, carts in general would probably be a terrible idea. This particular district of the city, all in all, gives a wonderful impression of being perfectly capable of collapsing at the slightest touch of the breeze, or going up in flames if a single person was to drop a candle on the ground.

You pass only a few people, and they seem content to ignore your group and continue on their merry or not-so-merry ways. None of them look particularly well off. Eventually you come to a building that looks pretty much like all the rest of the buildings, with the exception of the fact that you actually go in this one. The entry room is small, and rather uncomfortably cramped if all of you try to get inside at once. There is a narrow flight of stairs in the far right corner that looks as unstable as the building itself, and a pair of doors, one to the left and one in front of you. Both are kept closed with nothing more than a hook - anyone could enter if they so chose.

Including you lot, apparently. Jess seems to find absolutely nothing wrong with opening the door in front of you and barging in. There is no one there. The room is small, windowless, and rather musty-smelling. The floor is made of wood rather than left as bare dirt, but whoever did that did a rather shoddy job and it is rather uneven. There is a thin straw pallet in one corner, covered by a patchwork blanket. A spindly table stands, barely, in the opposite corner with one leg stuck in the broken neck of a clay jug. Next to it are a pair of wooden stools that have seen better days, which may or may not have been before any of you were born. There is a broom as well, a simple affair made of twigs that could probably stand to have been used more considering the amount of dust in the room. In the center of the room, a lone and rather sorry-looking candle sits on a crate no doubt stolen from the streets outside. It is half-melted and currently unlit. As far as you can tell, there is absolutely nowhere to hide any evidence that wouldn't be discovered in a matter of moments.

Yet this, as far as you can tell, is the place Jess wanted to be.

[DeafnotDumb]

"Fine place, ain't it?" Jess proclaims grandly, and promptly sneezes. Muttering something about dust, she fixes the hood on the back of her robe over her head and stands there, using her finger to mentally trace a path from her memory onto the room. After a few seconds, she smiles again with a click, and makes her way over to the table.

"Now this place," She says, pulling the table out of a corner, "was a hidey-hole for a smuggler some while back. You'll see their wares in the room down below. As for what I mean by down below..." The smile grows a bit wider, enjoying the performance. She stands aside and points, revealing a small gap in the floor that is just possible to squeeze past, should you not be wearing too much, and a ladder. "Downwards!"

Downwards is indeed cluttered with typical smuggler's fare. Expensive drinks and food that would normally hold heavy taxes on them, not-quite-illegal potions and brews, outright illegal potions and brews and books on magic, filled with equal parts truth and misinformation, and a layer of dust over all of it to make it homey. Jess drops off from the ladder, absently knocks over and catches a hopefully not volatile potion and places it back on its wobbly perch near the ladder. The woman doesn't wait for any of the others to come down, but instead rushes to a side room. It's a bit of a while before she comes back.

When she does she's carrying two things - a wrap of scrolls and papers, and a leather bundle that she holds close to her side. "The paperwork." She says, proffering that arm. The next words she says carefully. "And here... the parents offered money to find her alive, but they'd also pay for remains for burial."

[Strawberries]

Audric didn't follow Jess down the trapdoor: too narrow, and he did not particularly want to remove his armor to squeeze in. However, when she goes down, he bends down to take a look, frowning at what he sees. "You live here?" he asks the sorcerer, clearly disapproving. The things he can see would probably warrant the house being confiscated and purified...and he doesn't want to think about the things he can't see.

His concerns are momentarily put aside when Jess comes back with the papers and the leather bag. He shakes his head, perhaps without even realising, at Jess' explanation of what is in the bundle, and instead focuses on the papers "May I?" he asks, taking them from her and examining them carefully.

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((Detect magic after Jess and down the hole, because that's something he would do, just to make sure there's nothing too dangerous stowed away down there.
Also, I'm not sure I need to roll something to examine the paperwork. If I do, could you please roll for me?))

[DeafnotDumb]

Jess rolls her eyes. "I ain't dumb enough to live in the same place where I hide my incredibly dangerous evidence, or take a paladin there either. This is just a place I found." But she gives up the papers without protest.

[Cardea]

Tayet

Tayet walked in last, his eyes darting about as they moved into the building. He guided Morrison in, leaving Cape to keep an eye on the old beast. As Jess jumps down, Tayet crouches near the hole, looking down as the woman disappears. With hesitation, he looks up at the woman. "Bow?"

[Ajadea]

Audric

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From what you can see? There's not-exactly-illegal alchemical goods, healing potions that are normally legal but probably weren't obtained legally, and some oils, potions, tiles, and books that would probably be a very good reason to torch everything down there if the house wasn't so wooden and so close to a bunch of other wooden houses. And that's just the stuff that appears vaguely magical.

The paperwork is...interesting. The scrolls and sheets of parchment seem to be mostly copies of various fees, certain bits of paperwork that shouldn't have left the temple but very clearly have, and conversations with certain individuals. As far as you can tell, the gist of it is that a young boy by the name of Faolan Darrins who doesn't exist and never has as far as the bureaucracy is concerned never the less managed to become the apprentice of one Sir Yistin, inquisitor second rank of the Church of Aldaran in Diamond Lake, for a period of approximately three months.

The last bill is dated to three years back. One burial plot, just outside the city. No name, no gravestone, no funeral. Just the dirt and someone to dig the hole. Paid for in full, in coin, by someone who, if it wasn't Sir Yistin, must have been his long-lost twin by the description.

[Strawberries]

Audric chuckles lowly to himself when Jess mention she is not stupid enough to take a paladin to her place. As far as he is concerned, that remains to be seen: The woman walked right up to me and offered me a drink, for Aldaran's sake!

His expression quickly returns serious as he is studying the paper. He lingers on the last note, looking quite grim, before shifting his gaze back to Jess. He folds the papers carefully, but doesn't give them back, instead giving a questioning look to Rana, Laars and Antal, in case they want to take a look as well.
He rakes an hand through his hair "I see" he says simply. You can tell he is trying to keep his expression neutral, but he is not doing a great job of it. "Three years ago. What happened, exactly?" He has other questions, of course, lots of them, but at the moment he just starts with the most important one "Is he still doing something like this?"

[Savannah]

When Audric seems to be done reading, Rana reaches over and takes the papers (assuming he doesn't resist) and starts reading.

[DeafnotDumb]

Jess frowns at Tayet, trying to decode what he is saying. "Bow what? Bow with a string and arrow, or taking a bow, or...?" She mimes as she speaks. "I ain't got the former anymore, if that's what you're asking. Sold it."

Without turning, she answers Aldrics questions. "Yistin's an inquisitor. It's easy for him to pull some kid and declare they were magic users. Nobody looks to close at that. With that kid he sent some guy to try an' apprentice her - I think that's the word?" She looks up to the air, distracted for a moment. "There's plenty of ways that the young get picked up from the streets. Taken, stolen, kidnapped, sold - and that's not counting the orphans. Kids are lost every day in the cracks - what reason does he have to stop? Nobody in the Church's gonna look too deep into him."

[Strawberries]

Audric doesn't resist at all when Rana takes the papers from him - in fact, he seems almost relieved to share.

"Sandry, here it says that a young boy, Faolan Darrins, was the apprentice of... sir Yistin for three months." There is contempt in the way he pronounces the "sir": Audric is quite obviously upset. "Only from what I gather, Faolan Darrins has never existed." He swallows "Was the kid really a sorcerer, that you know? And why record him as an apprentice?"

There's something he's missing, he knows, but before he can relly focus on it, he hears Jess' last sentence, and he replies, frowning "And you're wrong. The church is going to look deep into him. Them, or I'll do it myself." He takes a deep breath in the attempt to calm down "Whatever you think of paladins, we don't usually pick up children on the streets to bury them in unnamed graves. That is something that needs to be stopped."

[DeafnotDumb]

Jess shrugs, as if it's not something that personally bothers her. "You think this is the first time Yistin's hobbies were discovered? He didn't always use to be here. Got sent to Diamond Lake as 'punishment', poor guy. Because, really, who cares what he does as long as he does it far enough from the capital to people who don't matter?" She brings up a hand and waves. "Such as poor little kids such as I used to be. Woo-hoo."

[Ajadea]

Rana

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The paperwork is...interesting. The scrolls and sheets of parchment seem to be mostly copies of various fees, certain bits of paperwork that look like, wherever they belong, it's not in this smuggler's hovel, and conversations with various individuals. As far as you can tell, the gist of it is that a young boy by the name of Faolan Darrins who doesn't exist and never has as far as the bureaucracy is concerned never the less managed to become the apprentice of one Sir Yistin, inquisitor second rank of the Church of Aldaran in Diamond Lake, for a period of approximately three months.

The last bill is dated to three years back. One burial plot, just outside the city. No name, no gravestone, no funeral. Just the dirt and someone to dig the hole. Paid for in full, in coin, by someone who, if it wasn't Sir Yistin, must have been his long-lost twin by the description.

[Cardea]

Tayet

Tayet simply looks at Jess, his expression becoming a mix of amusement and slight, slight disappointment. "I shoot arrows, not manners. Have any? Arrows, meaning." He turns his attention to Audric, struggling with their tongue, his accent keeping his sentences fragmented and short. "Is true. Usually take children to teach, yes? Maybe person take child. Try to teach. Make disappear is lessons do not take? Make disappear if child is not powerful enough? Maybe no child at all. Do not have to put person in box to call coffin."

[Savannah]

Ajadea

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Does the end of the three month apprenticeship align with the buying of the burial plot? Is there anything at all suggesting that the plot holds the body of the boy? Rana is, of course, suspicious.

Rana looks up over the papers at Tayet, frowning slightly. "You're human. How did you not grow up speaking Common?"

[Cardea]

Tayet

"Did not use." Tayet says, standing up, adjusting his hood. "Did once. Then didn't. Simple. May I?" Tayet says, motioning towards the papers in Rana's hands.

[Strawberries]

Audric shakes his head at Tayet, when he mentions that it’s normal for paladins to apprentice children “No, not like that. The church does take children to teach, but in the open, and with the approval of their families” He should know, that’s exactly what happened to him, after all. “Not with... subterfuge and deception like this”.

At that moment, Rana asks her question, which makes Audric turn sharply again towards Tayet, with a look as if he is appraising his features all over again “You are human? I had thought... ” He trails off, this time turning towards Rana. She said she would explain later, and in Audric’s opinion, now is the perfect time. “Rana. What exactly is happening here?”

[Savannah]

"You need to start practicing more, then. ....you can start with these," Rana says as she hands over the papers.

Rana looks over at Audric, "Where? Here? We're in some abandoned place looking at what may or may not be evidence that a child who may or may not have existed may or may not be in an unmarked grave. What are we doing here?"

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Sorry, Strawberries, Rana's really not thinking about anything other than what we're doing here, so she misunderstood the question.

[Cardea]

Tayet

"Problem is not comprehension." Tayet says, taking the papers from Rana. "But no use in forest or with hurried merchants. And believing he means why I am here. But I am believing is best not answered in untrusting building."

_

[Strawberries]

Audric nods in Tayet's direction, but he keeps addressing Rana "Yes, that was what I meant." He frowns at Tayet's statement about untrusting buildings, always without looking away from Rana. "We are alone, as far as I can tell. Is your purpose here so deplorable that you are concerned about being overheard?" The look that he is giving to the druid tells quite clearly I trust you, but I need to understand what's going on here.

[DeafnotDumb]

"Got no arrows, and people tell me I don't have manners either." Jess smiles at Tayet in apology, but still watches him carefully to see his answer to Audric's query.

[Ajadea]

Tayet

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You're a bit rusty on the whole 'reading Common' thing, and some of the handwriting here is atrocious. So on the whole, it's a bit difficult to understand what these papers contain. But what you can understand is quite... interesting. The scrolls and sheets of parchment seem to be mostly copies of various fees, certain bits of official-looking paperwork that seem very out of place here, and sheet after sheet of utterly incomprehensible squiggles that, considering the occasional names on the side, are probably transcripts of various conversations. As far as you can tell, the gist of it is that a young boy by the name of Tadon Danrms according to the writing but Faolan Darrins according to the paladin, who doesn't exist and never has as far as the people in charge are concerned, somehow managed to become the apprentice of one Sir Squiggle, also known as Sir Yistin if you believe your companions, inquisitor second rank of the Church of Aldaran in Diamond Lake, for a period of either two or three months.

The last bill is dated to three years back. One burial plot, just outside the city. No name, no gravestone, no funeral service. Just the dirt and someone to dig the hole. Paid for in full, in coin, by someone who, if it wasn't Sir Squiggle, was probably his long-lost twin if the description is correct.

[Jallorn]

Alright, so we got us a corrupt Paladin, yeah? Wasn't aware they needed to be corrupt to be bad news, but hey, this one's worse than most. So the sollution is simple, take him out. I've seen it done before. Find some poor traveler looking for a fortune, get him to pretend to be an spellcaster or somesuch, and when the paladin dies apprehending him, it looks like just another day. The traveler's got to get out of town quick, but that's all part of the deal. With a good disguise beforehand, there's no worry about repurcussions. Antal looks around for everyone's reactions before a look of realization pops across his face, Hey, we're travelers!

[Savannah]

"No. Absolutely not. You think we should draw more attention to ourselves?!" Rana glances over at Audric. "Not to mention the fact that some of us aren't wanted by the paladins yet, and it would be useful to keep it that way.

"Besides, we can't even be sure that this child is dead....or that he ever existed!"