MERC XVI: Morality is Relative; Professional Standards Aren't!

[Orm-Embar]

[Main HQ - Common Room]

"Thank you, I'll take that promotion," Bo responds. "And I like the city. Glad to do work there. We can talk about other targets when you like."

With that, he'll shut down the hologram report and offer the crystal it's contained in to Dipsnig.

[Morty]

[Main HQ - Common Room]

Dipsnig takes the crystal and pockets it.

"Welcome aboard, then. The other targets that are of particular interest to us in Skyside are security companies, gangs and major entrepreneurs. Especially the Hutts and Ferengi in Tempest Row. Our client's interests are broader. He wants as much information about the power players in Skyside, Riverside, Inside and in-between as we can get."

[Gullara]

[Dena's Room]

Astrana decides to quickly answer Dipsnig's question first so she can fully focus on Kirk's afterwards. "Well, each of these curses are rather specific in how they work. One can only be dispelled if the afflicted undo whatever they have done, another to kill whoever cursed them. But there is no guarantee there even is a way." She then turns to the drow and and takes a short relaxing breath. She wanted to be calm when she said this but she didn't want to delay it too much either. Kirk seemed impatient. "As for what she's turning into, I'm not exactly sure but I might venture a guess. Do you know what a 'gorgon' is? She actually had a notebook where they're described."

[Dena's Room]

"What? A gorgon? You're kidding." No, obviously she's not. "Is she... going to be herself?" He'll be damned if there's no way to reverse this.

[Morty]

[Dena's Room]

"Oh, by the Lord Below," Dipsnig says, sighing deeply. It's not the worst thing that could have happen, but that's the best thing he can say about this mess. "Yeah, that's a good question. Is the change going to be only physical?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Dena's Room]

"I can't tell you. As I said I'm only guessing at this point from the changes I've seen. I suggest keeping her under surveillance though, just in case." Astrana suggests. "I could make a containment circle around the bed, with your permission of course." She looks between the two, half-expecting an outright rejection from Kirk.

[Ionbound]

[Riverside Office - Anya]

Anya nods and says, "Give me a second." She closes her eyes, and a fire erupts in her hands, which she then tosses into the air, and makes a gesture, which winks it out. Though one might notice that as she conjures the fire, her hands get red and scale, and her fingernails morph to black claws, though when she winks out the fireball, the strange alterations fade as well.

[Gullara]

[Dena's Room]

"Do it." Kirk says without any hesitation. He's sure as hell not going to have Dena running around like some kind of maniac if that's how it ends up. Better she be secured until they can fix her. "How far along is this transformation? Can you tell us anything else." Kirk can't help but be demanding. The lack of firm information is frustrating.

[Morty]

[Dena's Room]

"Probably for the best, in case she wakes up a ravenous snake-monster, or something," Dipsnig concedes. "We should expect the worst."

[Riverside Office - Anya]

Dipsnig peers at the fire. Curiously enough, his wolf is not in the least bit startled by the sudden flame.

"Not bad. What else can you do with it?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Dena's Room]

The tiefling nods. "Her hair and eyes are changing and that seems to be it." Astrana confirms. "The lack of other changes suggests that only her eyes will carry the infamous gorgon gaze, which makes it easier to deal with. I could simply blindfold her and tie her down in bed."

[Gullara]

[Dena's Room]

"Do it then. If she's herself she'll be pissed when she wakes up, but it's the smartest thing to do." Her anger will likely have a more appropriate target, in any case.

[Morty]

[Dena's Room]

Dipsnig facepalms. Of course. Gorgons turn people to stone by looking at them, don't they? They don't appear on his homeworld, but he's heard about them. That's just fan-fricking-tastic.

"Her being merely pissed is starting to sound like the best-case scenario here," he says. "Nothing to do but restrain her and wait for her to wake up, I guess."

[Shadowcaller]

[Dena's Room]

"Right, I'll tell you when she wakes up then. Might be a few more hours but it will be easier after that." Astrana says as she turns back to the room.

It will be some hours before Kirk and Dipsnig will get heads up that Dena has woken up... and that she's pissed.

[Orm-Embar]

[Main HQ - Common Room]

Dipsnig takes the crystal and pockets it.

"Welcome aboard, then. The other targets that are of particular interest to us in Skyside are security companies, gangs and major entrepreneurs. Especially the Hutts and Ferengi in Tempest Row. Our client's interests are broader. He wants as much information about the power players in Skyside, Riverside, Inside and in-between as we can get."

"Very good," the human responds. "I'll have to see if there are ways to infiltrate any of those. Unfortunately trust is seldom given quickly to new arrivals. But we shall see. In any event, I will report as soon as I have something worth saying. I'll take a room here, or if you wish to reach me when I'm not around the base a message at the Black Dragon should be sufficient. Farewell for now."

Bo will then put fist to palm and bow once more, in the correct degree as to a superior officer - well, correct for where he comes from, the Lords of Judgment know what Dipsnig will make of it - and withdraw.

[Ionbound]

[Riverside Office - Anya]

Anya grins and says, "A lot more, but I think showing it off here might be a little much. You guys got a firing range here?"

[Morty]

[Riverside Office - Anya]

"Not as such, no," Dipsnig says, looking around. "The owners of this city like to keep a veneer of civility. Anyway. If you can do both that and perform divinations, I think that's the kind of versatility we're looking for."

[Dena's Room]

Dipsnig returns there, rubbing the sleep off his eyes. If Dena is in a state of mind to be pissed about something, he supposes things could be worse.

[Ionbound]

[Riverside Office - Anya]

Anya nods, smiles, and says, "Cool. So what? Am I just a member now?"

[Gullara]

[Dena's Room]

Not that that's remotely surprising. Kirk will head right to her room and go inside, whether or not Astrana encourages him to or not. He's not about to shy away from this either way.

[Shadowcaller]

[Dena's Room]

As they enter Astrana is quick to turn to them, not saying a word. Dena is still on the bed but now with hands tied down and with an blindfold over her eyes. As Astrana reported however, there is now a slithering mass of white snakes on top of her head. The snakes all hiss angrily and bares their fangs at the newcomers. "She-"

"OKAY!" Dena suddenly interrupts. "I get it. Gorgon. Blindfold. You suck at knots though, should have let Kirk do it." She pulls one of the ropes with her wrists. "I could have gone through this in a half-hour and then you really be in trouble." She pauses, turning to Kirk and Dipsnig with her blindfolded eyes. "So I guess you don't have any ideas how to get these ****ing snakes off my head either? Since I could really use some good news right now."

Astrana rubs her forehead tiredly. "As you can see, she's quite awake."

[Morty]

[Dena's Room]

Huh, so her legs weren't replaced with a snake's tail. Dipsnig seems to remember gorgons are supposed to look like that. Either he got bad information or there's more than one kind.

"Well, so far our only lead is 'kill the person responsible', which sounds like something we'd like to do either way. Although Astrana here says it might also work if you undo whatever it is you've done to bring the curse on your head."

[Riverside Office - Anya]

Dipsnig shrugs as he pulls up a holographic database from his bracer and nods at a clerk, who begins writing something down.

"Yeah. We don't really have a strict recruitment process. I prefer to keep it flexible. Now you're a member, so you're free to pursue all our jobs."

[Gullara]

[Dena's Room]

At least she's herself. That's a relief. "We're going to the temple you were at to see what we can find, possibly to squeeze some answers out of someone. Since you're all here, you can give us some input." Dena may not be able to see his face, but he'll surely hear his rage simmering just below the surface. Though otherwise he is trying to sound calm, professional.

[Ionbound]

[Riverside Office - Anya]

Anya nods and says, "Well...Cool." She turns to Astrana and asks, "You got any jobs for me, then?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Dena's Room]

"Right, I might have been out of it for... three days was it?" She looks at Astrana. "About that, yes."

"Yes, three freaking days. But I figured out what happened instantly. I killed a gorgon there on the island and that must have caused this ****." She seem to be attempting to gesture at the snakes who are still agitated by the look of it. "There were these snake-cultists there. They must have been more powerful than I thought. Shouldn't have left any of them alive." Dena curses again and shakes her head. "But I'm not going to stay tied to a ****ing bed while you are out killing cultists though." She pulls the ropes again for empathize.

"Actually, I advise not killing them. If anyone knows how to undo this, it's them."

[Morty]

[Dena's Room]

"Right, so squeezing an answer out of them takes priority," Dipsnig says. "Now, the question is: are you going to turn people into stone by looking at them?"

[Riverside Office - Anya]

"There is a big one, if you're into espionage. We have a client who wants basic information on the military and law enforcement in the big cities, as well as the Skyside power players. We also need information on Skyside for a certain other project I am undertaking."

[Gullara]

[Dena's Room]

"You're yourself, let me untie you." Kirk goes to ondo Astrana's substandard knots. "Best leave the blindfold on for a minute while we figure this out." He pauses briefly and touches her arm. "We'll figure this out." He finishes untying her without any more delay.

[Shadowcaller]

[Dena's Room]

"If I'm capable to, or if I'm going to go crazy and murder people for giggles?" Dena doesn't sound too impressed with Dipsnig's question. "First one, how the hell should I know? Second one, if I suddenly went insane, I sure missed it. But hey, if I really did. Would you believe me if I simply said 'no'? And finally, from a pragmatic perspective, what in a cole's big **** would I gain from what?" She asks the goblin in a irritable tone.

She breathes out in relief as she feels Kirk untie her and sinks back into the bed. Even the snakes on her head seem to calm down at Kirk's touch, all settling down in a instant. "Thanks... feels much better knowing that someone trusts me." Her fingers move along Kirk's arms for a moment before she grabs it and pulls herself into a sitting position on the bed. "But what are you waiting for? Go. I guess I stay around and play blind stead with little miss rakshasa here. She gestures at Astrana who crosses her arms over her chest, saying nothing.

[Ionbound]

[Riverside Office - Anya]

Anya nods and says, "I'll give it a shot, but...Espionage isn't really my thing. Is there anything else I can do?"

[Morty]

[Dena's Room]

Dipsnig sighs heavily.

"What I meant was that we don't know if you won't turn people into stone just by looking at them, regardless of your intentions," he says. "Give me some credit, will you? We need to figure it out quickly so we can remove that blindfold."

[Riverside Office - Anya]

"You say you can perform divination, which sounds like it'd be useful for gathering information," Disnig says.

[Ionbound]

[Riverside Office - Anya]

Anya nods and says, "It's a little more complicated than that. I...I can't really do divination on myself. Or on an area. I need another willing participant for it to work. And it tells me their future, but not mine. Or anything else, really."

[Gullara]

[Dena's Room]

Kirk gives her shoulder a squeeze and stands up. "First you'd better tell us everything you know, and then we can go and find out the rest."

[Shadowcaller]

[Dena's Room]

"As usual, Kirk knows his priorities. We gotta' focus on removing the snakes, not the blindfold." Dena replies with a smile. "Anyway, this is what happened..."

She will then get into details how she heard about the island, how she hired a boat to get here there looked around. She found a temple and managed to dig up some treasures before she headed inside. Inside she found snake people in some cult and hints of a gorgon infestation. After sneaking around a while and avoiding a number of traps the gorgon came after her. She managed to kill it by blinding it however and then took the boat home, planning to make a return trip to get the rest of the treasure Violet had found. When she left the temple there were at least two cultists inside plus other potential monsters that ate people alive judging by the many bodies lying around.

"If you go, you better take Violet with you. She knows her way around by now."