Death's End IC

[esorscher]

Arran looks up at Ben and Soryn's approach. "How'd it go? The rest of us are down in the mess."

[gallagher]

Arran looks up at Ben and Soryn's approach. "How'd it go? The rest of us are down in the mess."

Fine, perfect, lovely, hey you should walk this way Ben says as he tries to exit the room. They needed a find a place to quickly converse in private

[Sen isSaqqara]

Lirian takes a large portion of the meat, cutting of a few smaller bits for Frost. She adds a few of the more juicy looking vegetables to the plate, letting them mix in the juice from the pork. Taking a respectably sized portion of the dessert, she follows Sey out into the dining hall to find a seat.

[esorscher]

Arran follows Ben. They dip down a corridor and up some stairs and find Arran's deserted room to talk.

[OhMyGodImOnFire]

Soryn doesn't quite know what to make of the way Aveline and Caius reacted to their account of the events leading up to the debrief, but he makes sure to keep it in mind for future reference. As Ben and Arran head upstairs for a private conversation, Soryn instead walks to the list of contracts, and looks over what is available. His interest is piqued by the archaeologist's request - any old ruins in Valeria, be it imperial or otherwise, may offer some insight into his past, and offer him some answers. He writes his name in the margins to stake his claim, and heads toward the cafeteria. It had been a long day, so Soryn is sure he would find someone from his caravan to confer with at dinner. If it turns out that he is needed more here, he would consider staying behind. But having searched for so many decades for answers, there was a certain desperation in him that would make it quite difficult for him to erase his name from the contract.

[Lucretia]

Sey found her spot, presumably, and sat down to eat. She looked over at Soryn when he entered, but didn't move to wave or any nonsense like that. His eyes were superb. He'd either see her, or he wouldn't -- making herself conspicuous wouldn't help that.

"So, Lirian," Seychelles began, "I'm afraid I'm unfamiliar with your vocation."

[OhMyGodImOnFire]

It doesn't take long for Soryn to spot Sey and the others. Over the years, he had become used to spotting her robed figure, hunched over one tome or another, her long black hair gently swishing back and forth as she pores over the text. He walks over to the food and slices himself a piece of the roast and some of the dessert before he joins her at her table. The mess hall didn't seem all that crowded, so the fact that she had deliberately chosen a seat against a wall was noteworthy. The fact that she was usually so absent minded that she would sit at any table she could find, regardless of the patrons that had already occupied said table, made her choice of seating doubly significant.

Seeing that Sey had already struck up a conversation with Lirian, Soryn sides down and quietly eats his food, glad for its warmth and taste, and happy he wouldn't need to break into his supply of trail rations.

[gallagher]

I whisper to Arran what happened in the debriefing so he can commune to Marius and his helper. Also, still in a whisper:

I am planning on sneaking out tonight, and I need some tracking help. I need at least you or Soryn, and preferably both. We need to take the river either there or back, for speed, and we are only going to find out the minimum tonight. I have invisibility potions to help get us out, but I have nothing to help us go silently. Dont tell Marius that we are going out, this is for the six of us that Marius discussed his plans with, but not him.

Also, I need you to tell to Soryn and the others this plan, I have a feeling that they are onto me, so I dont want them seeing me talking to everyone. I am going to go check out an alchemy room and set up an alibi that I am going out looking for poison components, so in a couple hours, come find me and ask loudly if I still wanted to go out to pick fresh poisonous plants. We will bring back some in jars in case anyone presses us about it.

[Sen isSaqqara]

"Oh, I used to translate old tomes at the library in my home city. I spent most of my time reading, I guess. I signed up with the guild to get out and see the world a bit, make some new friends, stuff like that. You?" Lirian's reply is intermingled with brief bouts of frantic munching, but she never speaks with her mouth full, so that she id perfectly audible and understandable.

[Lucretia]

"Oh? Are you well versed in languages? I only know a few, but I'd be willing to teach them to you if you've got any interest. It's always nice to meet another scholar. I'm an arcanist, myself. Abjurer. Hopefully, next time, you won't receive an arrow to the thigh before I can enchant you with Mage Armor."

[Sen isSaqqara]

"Perhaps you can teach me that one next time we have some time off of adventuring. I know a few tricks myself, but I don't have any formal training. Mostly just things I modified from methods in old books." She shifts into a more serpentine language.
"I do know a few languages. You know Draconic, I assume?"

[Ajadea]

Calia sits down next to Lirian, the reason for her delay clear. Neat slices of rather dry roast drizzled with garishly red reduction are stacked next to a mound of salad. It looks like a large amount of food, but then again, Calia is not a small woman. Sey's words have her forcing half-chewed stringy roast down her throat so she can get her mouth clear enough to speak. She manages to look remarkably dignified while doing so. "Abjurer? Fancy. Where'd you learn it? Spells, I mean?"

[Lucretia]

Spoiler

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Palatino Linotype is for elvish!

Sey shook her head, finishing the bite of salad she'd consumed. "I'm not sure what you said, actually. Do you know Abyssal? Or Infernal?"

To Calia, Seychelles smiled fondly. "My grandfather arranged for tutors to arrive at our home when I was younger. For the past... little more than a decade, I suppose it's been, I've been working with the Adventurer's Guild. They've not been as helpful as I had hoped, but with any luck, this branch will provide me with opportunities to further my magical tutelage and research."

[Sen isSaqqara]

Lirian grins, guessing at Sey's meaning. "Nope. Do you know feline?"
A somewhat incomprehensible mrow escapes from under the table in reply.
"Hush, you. I don't know what you're saying. Not yet, anyways."

[Ajadea]

Calia's eyebrows go up an impressive distance, and her eyes widen. Her fork halts a few inches above the table. "Your grandfather must be very wealthy," she says, a wistful tone in her voice. "If you really want better education, it might be better to go farther south. There's a pretty good academy in Onyx. I once attended it, actually. You can probably guess exactly how well that went." Her smile grows wider and seems to falter all at once. She turns her attention back to her plate, eating with a delicate balance between grace and gusto.

[esorscher]

Arran nods. "Excellent. I'm not sure we need an alibi--I mean, it's not like anything is expected of us as of yet. But I think yours is a good one. If the numbers are in our favor, or at least not to far out of it, I think we should strike tonight. They may not be there in the morning. I'll go find the others and share this information with them. I just have something to do in here quickly."

Once Ben leaves in search of an alchemy room, Arran says to the earring, "Look, if you have something to tell me, tell it now. Otherwise, I'm shutting you off."

[3SecondCultist]

Arran: Falleria takes a moment to respond, the magic kicking in after a moment. Gradually, the static gives way to the elf's husky voice as she speaks over the magical connection.
"I've got nothing I need to tell you, if that's what you're asking. Everything is nice and quiet on this end. When our friend Marius decides to get back in contact with me, you'll be the first to know." The link dies, the elven maid having already cut off the signal.

Ben: The alchemy rooms are up here as well, taking up another secure chamber just beyond the second floor foyer. You step inside to a rather small and dinky lab, which is dominated by a table and filled with glass instruments. Almost completely hidden in the equipment and reagents is what looks to be a gnomish figure. He is wearing the grey and red livery of the guild in robe form, and his eyes are covered by goggles. The gnome gestures wildly for you to stand back as he pours a glowing silver liquid from a beaker into a boiling flask. He takes a deep breath as he does so, waiting for... nothing happens. Eventually he lets out his breath, obviously disappointed. Giving up on his experiment for the time being, the gnome removes his goggles and manages to make his way out of the tangle of alchemical gear to stand in front of you.
"Good day! My name is Lacitus Firehollow, at your service. Would you like something in particular?"

[OhMyGodImOnFire]

Soryn raises an eyebrow too. The words Sey had uttered were unlike anything he had ever heard, much less heard from her. For a moment, he envied Sey's ability to absorb the copious amounts of knowledge that she could, but almost immediately the memory of her, thirteen years old again, crying in his arms, floods back. That's right, he thought, ashamed. Though we are of different pasts, we have both suffered tragedy. She deserves to have what she has, and I have no right to ask for the same things. Silent, he continued eating, slowly ingesting his food as he learned of his new companions.

[esorscher]

Arran nods, then realizes the futility of such an action. He deactivates the earring but leaves it in his ear. He heads down to the dining hall, stopping at the command room en route to examine the contracts and sees that Soryn has signed up for the ruins. He walks through the archway and straight to the buffet line where he heaps huge portions of meat and vegetable onto his plate before sitting down with the rest of the group. "No tatoes," he says sadly. "But this pork is about as good as it gets, I think." He does not say a prayer before eating. "Ben's upstairs in the alchemy lab," he says when there is a lull in the conversation. "There's something I'd like to say to all of you: I like you. Yes, even you, Sey. I wasn't offended by what happened between us earlier and I hope you weren't either. If you were, I'd like to apologize. Everyone has different beliefs about that sort of stuff and I don't have half the mind it would take to know who was right and who was wrong." He pauses. "Beyond that, we're a good team, and I think we should stick together. I noticed you've signed up for the ruins," he says, looking at Soryn. "Beat me to it. If you don't mind, I'd accompany you. If you all think as I do, that we are a good team and we ought to continue to work as such, then I think we should go out and get a drink to cement our group and hammer out some details." He winks, as if to say I want to talk away from Guild ears.

[Lucretia]

Seychelles raised an eyebrow at the catwoman, wondering what the series of noises had been. "Do you-- do you need a glass of water?" To Calia, she replied, "yes, he had been. Then he went and died, and my lovely mother decided she'd rather take the money and run. Ahhh, what could have been, hmm?"

Then Arran came and sat down, with his little spiel. "Oh, I wasn't offended," she said truthfully. "I understand others think differently from how I think. Such is life, as the elves say. As for this something or other about ruins, what's that about? I must have missed something."

[Sen isSaqqara]

"Ruins sound fun," replies Lirian around bites of food. "I'm up for some exploring."

[Lucretia]

With a sigh, di Serafi finished her salad. "I'm going to have to buy an adventurer's outfit, aren't I?"

[esorscher]

"There are three contracts available. On one hand, retrieving a stolen item. Two, exploring an old Imperial ruins. C, protect a farmer's herd. Soryn has already put his name down next to the ruins contract, and if he hadn't, I would have." He doesn't say his reasons for choosing it.

[Lucretia]

"But whhhhhyyyy?" she said with a look of utter uninterest. "Ruins involve steps, and that involves tripping, and the next thing you know Basil's got a snake in his mouth and there's a curse on the countryside and the Dark Forces have Risen Again..." Sey sighed. There would be an opportunity to learn more about pale fire in Imperial ruins, even if only a passing mention of some other quality of the mythical stuff. It was the fire that had forged an empire and preserved it for centuries.

[esorscher]

Arran looks down on his plate. Despite the enormity of his portion, it is gone now. "Well, I'm ready for that drink. Anyone know of a good place to get one?" He thinks for a moment. "Also, what did we do with all those goblins equipment?"

Spoiler

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I don't have ranks in Knowledge Local, and I don't think we've been here for long judging from the IC post. Arran is looking for someplace with quiet back rooms for rent, cheaply.

[Sen isSaqqara]

"Y'see, Sey," *chomp* "You just outlined exactly why we should go do this thing." *munch* "Aside from the stairs thing, the rest (Dark Powers Rising Again and whatnot) all sounds like an opportunity to not only adventure, but" *OMNOMNOMNOMNOM* "But to acquire great fortune and fame, not to mention great stories to tell!"

[Lucretia]

Spoiler

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(1d20)[16] + 8 for Knowledge: Local.

I'll edit in information based on my roll.

"Fame just means you won't know your enemy's name. As for fortune, there are far easier ways to accrue a fortune than to poke the nose of some ancient terrible evil." The woman sighed again. "I'll prepare a list of spells that might help us in a ruined environment. We should see about obtaining the actual dossier, though -- it'll help with my selection."

[OhMyGodImOnFire]

"I wrote only my name," Soryn said, finally finishing the last of his food. It seemed a good time to join in the conversation. "I have my own reasons for going, Sey. If you wish to stay around, that is perfectly fine. I understand you wish to study the local corpses."

Turning to the others, he said, "The same goes for all of you. Whomever does not wish to join me on this expedition, in no way feel pressured to. However, despite my own inclinations, there is indeed power in numbers." Wiping his mouth, he added, "It would also be a good chance acclimate to each others' combat styles, should another opportunity arise."

[Sen isSaqqara]

"At'sa spirit! 'Sides, we'll be fine. Hells, we're better off awakening all those crazy elder evils: if we do, there'll need to be someone to shut them away again, and that someone is us! We practically get temporary invincibility." Lirian has the tendency to slide into a more casual vernacular if she has been speaking Feline recently. It's just more natural to any native speaker of the language.

[Lucretia]

"No, no. The dead won't be going anywhere without a necromancer or a cart. They'll keep. Making sure you don't join them is slightly higher on the hierarchy of needs." Standing up, beckoning her weasel back to her, Seychelles moved to return her plate and cup to wherever the servants of the guild would receive them. Thereafter she would make her way to sign her name to the archaeologist place as well, and then move to the command office to obtain the dossier on the mission.