[Nexus] The Black Dragon's Den XIII

[Morty]

"I am a swordsman, a pyromancer and trained in the ways of politics and governance," Fayyaad says. "Hopefully there's something to do here for someone with those skills."

[Cyber Punk]

The man in the red-gray coat maybe hesitates a moment too long on seeing the woman in immaculate black armor and white robes, before continuing on his way to the bar, but that's about all the reaction he shows. Can't go around flinching every time you see someone wearing unusual armor in the Nexus, after all.

When the drinks arrive, he raises his glass in Holly's direction. "Kanpai!"

[At the Bar]

Holly hesitates as well, her telescopic gaze lingering on Ambrosia, though she's facing the bar. She does have to turn, just to be sure of what she's seeing. Nodding in greeting to the armored lady, she turns back to Bo.

"Kan-what now?" She grins slightly, raising her glass as well. "I'll assume it's a toast. To the beginning of a wiz friendship, perhaps?"

[Shadowcaller]

"Proficient in the tools of war and politics? You do sound like a politician in the making." Ambrosia says with a smile. "I'm neither or those things or an expert in the subject but those people appear to be. They look like soldiers, or at least members of a military organization." She points out Holly and Bo. "They might give you an idea where to get a job."

[Orm-Embar]

[At the Bar]

Holly hesitates as well, her telescopic gaze lingering on Ambrosia, though she's facing the bar. She does have to turn, just to be sure of what she's seeing. Nodding in greeting to the armored lady, she turns back to Bo.

"Kan-what now?" She grins slightly, raising her glass as well. "I'll assume it's a toast. To the beginning of a wiz friendship, perhaps?"

"I'll drink to that," Bo responds with a smile, and does so - drinks, that is. He doesn't appear to take any more special notice of the woman in armor and her drinking partner, but then again, he's positioned at an angle that could perhaps be keeping them in peripheral vision.

"So, when you offered to keep watch on the car it reminded me about your eyes. I'm not familiar with your modifications but based on the little I do know, it seems they'd be highly useful for, you know, our kinds of projects." He adds, "Which I could definitely have used some help on the last operation."

Sneaking about, avoiding guard patrols, looking into secured files - that kind of thing!

[Morty]

Fayyaad glances at the two.

"They do look like soldiers," he says. "One of them has a weapon I'm unfamiliar with. But that's to be expected in this place."

[Cyber Punk]

[At The Bar]

"Explains the bruises, then." Holly says, smiling back. "You seem to be a short-to-medium range combatant. We'll complement each other nicely." She takes a sip of her drink. Her voice is loud enough that Bo will hear her clearly, but quiet enough that Ambrosia would have to strain her ears to make out her words.

"I know the white irises make it look like I'm blind, but I can see you clear as day. Just with inverted colors, but I'm used to it at this point. How about you? Lemme guess... a mage?"

[Orm-Embar]

[At the Bar]

"Yes," Bo admits. "Battlefield magic and intelligence gathering, mostly. Not the important kind. Just blowing stuff up." He raises his shoulders slightly, testing the bandages around his ribs - ouch. He turns it into a shrug, smiling, "And hand to hand fighting, of course."

He adds, "Wish I had been able to bring my weapons and armor and all the rest of the kit. Could do a lot more with the right gear. A few more personnel would be help too. I have a few ideas for things that need doing when we hit Skyside."

[Cyber Punk]

[At the Bar]

"A brawler and a mage. I guessed right." Holly stares at her drink, then takes another drink of it.

"I can't help with that, omae. I'm on my own for now. Fellow runners are recuperating, back on the ship. As for gear, why not just ask the bossman, Dipsnig?"

((Also, Mort, Holly isn't presently wielding her sniper rifle, unless the unfamiliar weapon is the .45 pistol on her waist.))

[Shadowcaller]

"Everything is strange around here I admit, but it could always be stranger. The majority of the population is still humanoid and some of the technology isn't that outlandish. While it might take time I'm certain that you will adapt to it. I doubt I could provide much for you to do though, I am allergic to violence." The scholar claims. "I am a person of peace."

[Morty]

"What do you do, then?" Fayyaad asks curiously. "Given your appearance, I'd hazard a guess you're a magician, probably of no mean station."

[Shadowcaller]

Ambrosia laughs. "Magican you say? I suppose some would call me that. Not the title I use myself but I have a number of tricks up my sleeves." Quite an understatement but in this form and without her orb her abilities were lessened. "But I work as a scholar, information is my trade and this tome is my lifework." She pats the book held near her hips. "But I don't know nearly as much about this realm as I want to. It's curious in that way, always something new to discover. There are some major players around here though. Those soldiers by the bar for instance? They might be from MERC. The mercenary organization here." She gestures at Bo and Holly.

[Morty]

"Mercenaries..." Fayyaad says, glancing at the two. "I trust their kind about as far as I can throw them. But they're sometimes necessary."

[Orm-Embar]

[At the Bar]

"A brawler and a mage. I guessed right." Holly stares at her drink, then takes another drink of it.

"I can't help with that, omae. I'm on my own for now. Fellow runners are recuperating, back on the ship. As for gear, why not just ask the bossman, Dipsnig?"

"I may just do that, if it's really necessary," the sorcerer replies. "Although I'd like to avoid situations where a frontal assault is the only option."

[Shadowcaller]

"I see little use for violence myself but in your case, they might be the ones that pay for your living here. I admit I myself have too much foolish pride to ever consider that line of work, but the question is if you're as foolish as I?" She smiles faintly. "Not that I should encourage you too much to take a job I disagree with but I'm trying to act like a neutral party here."

[Cyber Punk]

[At the Bar]

"You can count on me to cover you if push comes to shove, Bo. Won't let you get geeked. You should still get extra gear, just in case. Never hurts to be prepared." Holly pats Bo's back gently, making sure to not hit his bruised parts.

She nods towards the tiefling and armored lady. "Super-eyes don't mean super-ears, unfortunately, but I can read lips. Tails there doesn't seem to like 'our kind'. No love for a runner."

She doesn't sound like she minds.

[Orm-Embar]

[At the Bar]

The sorcerer grins. "Not a problem, then. Want to hear about Skyside?"

[Cyber Punk]

[At the Bar]

"Shoot." Holly responds, and focuses all her attention of him. Not all, she can multitask, what with the car and the tiefling+Ambrosia combo that need watching. Most of her attention is on him.

"What intel do you have?"

[Morty]

"I see little use for violence myself but in your case, they might be the ones that pay for your living here. I admit I myself have too much foolish pride to ever consider that line of work, but the question is if you're as foolish as I?" She smiles faintly. "Not that I should encourage you too much to take a job I disagree with but I'm trying to act like a neutral party here."

Fayyaad frowns, but nods.

"There is something to what you say. It may be I will need mercenary work to support myself here. I'm curious, though. I'm not a scholar myself, but the field isn't entirely unfamiliar to me. What sort of thing does one research in the Nexus?"

[Shadowcaller]

Ambrosia raises an eyebrow at Holly's comment but decides to not say anything. "Oh, just about anything that comes to my attention. Especially gods and spirits. But my current research is all about dragons. especially how they reproduce. I'm attempting to reintroduce dragons into my own world you see and it's quite a project." She explains. "As I have learned, there are quite a number of different 'dragons' around here. I'm looking for the kind that exist in my world though, which really is easier said than done."

[Morty]

"I've only heard of dragons," Fayyaad says. "They're old, wise and powerful. They're asleep, I've heard, and humans wake them up from time to time. Why are you looking for dragons from your homeworld here, if I may ask?"

[Shadowcaller]

"To repopulate of course, the dragons in my world are long gone. I would need something pretty powerful to bring them back. I've had a few clues but nothing substantial yet. I keep running into dead ends though. But at least I'm finding possibilities, this world doesn't seem to have any limit to them. So I'm positive I will find something out eventually.Just need to look harder." Ambrosia replies.

[Morty]

"That's... a task massive in scope," Fayyaad says. It's clear from his voice that he's impressed. "Most people would have given up by now. Such perseverance is to be respected, I think."

[Orm-Embar]

[At the Bar]

Bo turns his attention fully to Holly as well, apparently trusting her to watch his back. He gestures animatedly as he tries to describe the place.

"Skyside is a floating city, held up by antigravity generators. It follows the usual organizing principle - a dark ring of poverty on the ground beneath, in the shadow of the city, where the poorest live by whatever means they can, and then the social grade rises with the altitude." The sorcerer's hand rises in an expressive gesture to indicate great height.

"It's a beautiful sight. Silver towers, rising into the clouds. Then when you get closer you begin to see the signs of industry, the spaceports, airports, warehouses and factories where the work gets done. Aircars and dirigibles floating about. The financial district. High above, the wealthy." The habitual smile leaves his face for a moment, leaving a cold mask-like expression. "And slavers."

After a pause, he takes a drink and then continues in a more normal tone. "For all the city's pretty technology and toys, those who claim to rule do not deserve the title. They do not have an honorable ruler to protect and guide the people. Laws, in name only, but no way to enforce them. Military forces, but no police forces. There are private security companies of varying quality, and freelancers."

The man concludes, "Since the boss wants to know more about the private security, I have a few ideas for how to go about finding out -- directly."

[Cyber Punk]

[At the Bar]

Holly listens attentively, not saying a word until he's done. She also frowns when he mentions slavers.

When he's finished, she glances at her drink and downs half the glass. "PMCs eh? I worked for one once. We did a lot of wetwork, but not all the time." She taps the table for a bit. "Alright, Bo. Lemme at 'em. What ideas do you have?"

[Orm-Embar]

[At the Bar]

"Simple, really. Skyside is lawless. Just don't get caught by a stronger enemy." The sorcerer lowers his voice, turning his shoulder in to block out the room, and raises his drink to provide a shield against lip-reading -- all seemingly without thinking about it.

"That makes it a straightforward smash-and-grab mission. Pick a private security company. I'd suggest one that works for slavers because as far as I'm concerned that makes them legitimate targets... and when the survivors try to figure out who hit them, the pool of suspects will be that much bigger. Anyway, they'll have information stored in some manner, either at their HQ or accessible from there. Information about themselves, their payroll, weapons, vehicles and other equipment, and about their clients - who pays for all this - and even about their competition. Hey, they might think competitors did it, who knows."

"So: target, penetrate, neutralize, grab and go. Simple." Feng Bo grins at the other MERC. "The first part is fun. Figuring who's the target, and access. What do you think?"

[Shadowcaller]

"That's... a task massive in scope," Fayyaad says. It's clear from his voice that he's impressed. "Most people would have given up by now. Such perseverance is to be respected, I think."

"I know plenty of people who would think otherwise, but thank you. It's of course more of a long-term goal, not something I can devote every waking hour to. I lack the same thing as you do though, namely funds. Of course, my pride forbids me to accommodate money through what seems to be the usual ways of this plane." She gestures at Holly and Bo.

[Morty]

"I did bring back some funds with me from home," Fayyaad admits. "My family is very wealthy, so they wouldn't just send me away with no means. But I suspect it'll run out quicker than I'd expect."

[Cyber Punk]

[At the Bar]

Holly nods in agreement with the bit about slavers being acceptable targets... and everything else. "Wow, you've thought this out well. I suggest we also..." She looks around and chooses to raise her drink to her mouth instead of trying to change the shape her lips make. That'd just make her words slightly harder to understand.

"... plant some data/evidence at the scene, make it less likely they'll suspect us. Better yet, if we could make it look like an inside job... well, divided they fall." She says, grinning through her glass.

"Sounds wiz! First off, though, the target. That'd give us access. I'm still green to this whole Skyside drek, y'know, but I'm sure we can formulate a plan of action regardless."

((Is Morty running the scene, or are you gonna? SC, perhaps?))

[Arkhosia]

The door creaks open and another steps across the threshold, feminine form adorned in fabric. Ebon shoes and matching skirt pair with a crimson sleeveless sweater, fingerless black gloves extending to just below the elbow as matching tights cling to slender legs. A blade hangs from the maiden's waist, location designating left-handedness, as an umber cloak hangs from her shoulders. What skin is visible is tanned, caramel eyes surveying the inn and tuscan hair in a braid.

[Orm-Embar]

[At the Bar]

The sorcerer nods in agreement. "Good points, all. How are you with tech-based information systems?"

((PM sent))