Absence of Empathy IC

[tgva8889]

Kayte Mursai

Kayte looks at Arfondt with amazement at his question. Interesting? Nothing interesting ever usually happens now. Not since I took the time to reform. Ugh, wonder if Linn hates me for doing what I had to do...

She listens intently to what Janick has to say about the events of his recent life before starting her own little tale.

"Nope, nothing unusual," Kayte says, her eyes not betraying a single part of her psyche. "People come in, ask if we have a book, then fail to find what they're looking for and leave or succeed and pay us for the copy. Mostly, that happened. Though I haven't seen one of my friends in a long time." She seems to dampen in her spirits in mentioning her friend, though she doesn't stop talking. Her eyes dart to the door again. "You might remember her, if you were paying attention to what I was doing while we were underground. I expected us to meet at some point, but I haven't seen her for almost a year now." Kayte turns her head from the others for a moment before turning back. "If you can call that strange, then I guess something happened to me."

[PolkaBear]

Crennick points his finger at Arfondt. The gesture seems a little overly theatrical. "He was the one who asked--not me."

[Darkantra]

Janick Mayweather

Janick settles down a bit at Crennick's pronouncement.

"Heh, sorry, but this note got me just a little scared and I've been trying to hard to find a reason for it. So Arfondt, Sir Kylen," Janick raises his mug at the other two men at the table, "Have you been up to anything interesting lately, anything extraordinary?"

[Irrealist]

Arfondt

Arfondt looks a little worried at Janick's tale. He looks indignant at Crennick's pointed finger, then answers Janick's question. "Yes, there have been a few things out of the norm. But first I want to ask Crennick why he hasn't told us the truth about how he broke his arm." He gazes at Crennick. "What are you afraid of?"

[PolkaBear]

Crennick snorts. "It wasn't broken. Shows what you know. Listen, if you've got a story to tell, just tell it--so I can call you a liar, too."

[Darkantra]

Janick Mayweather

This is just getting out of hand.

Janick's eyes flash brass as he projects his aura for the first time that night, his eyes fading back to their customary grey as it expands. Careful to only let it influence himself, he molds it to enhance his personality. To the others his presence suddenly seems more imposing. He hold up his hands between the two arguing men and looks to each of them.

"Calm down, we came here to celebrate our escape from the sewers, not to berate each other. Frankly Arfondt, it isn't our business to demand how Crennick hurt his arm. I asked him if anything happened because I'm pretty damn worried about that note, and I've been asking everyone that I'm sure I haven't wronged if they have any idea about it. That said Crennick, if it wasn't just a simple spill down some stairs it's okay to tell us what happened, but if it was then we'll just leave at that. All right?"

He grasps his tankard again and takes a sip, before turning to Kayte. He knew that he was about to brooch a sensitive subject but felt that he should offer any help at least.

"Your friend is named Linn right? If you would like I could keep an eye and an ear out for her. What ah, circles does she run in?"

Spoiler

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Activating Janick's Presence Aura (+1 int, dip, bluff) and requesting a Diplomacy on Crennick. The mod should be +17

[tgva8889]

"Your friend is named Linn right? If you would like I could keep an eye and an ear out for her. What ah, circles does she run in?"

Kayte Mursai

"Circles? That's a slightly loaded question. What do you mean, exactly, by circles? Groups of random people, or something like a guild, or maybe her friends?" Kayte's tone is clearly argumentative. She seems more interested in questioning the comment than actually answering it. Leave it alone. He's just trying to help. You don't have to sound so mean.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Chaim settles back in his seat and listens dispassionately to the argument with his mouth set in a firm line, but does not enter into it.

[Darkantra]

Janick Mayweather

Good job Janick, you can talk a kobold into giving you its pickaxe but ask another human anything and you can still find a way to ram your own foot down your throat.

"Well," he says in a lower tone to try and keep listeners to a minimum, "It's a loaded question because of the situation. From what I remember in the sewers you impersonated Linn in order to trick that fence into helping us get out, and because of that I'm not going to ask point-blank what kind of job she has or what people she associates with. Look," he says, his experience in negotiations barely keeping the exasperated edge out of his voice, I'm just... never mind, I'm just offering a hand."

[Irrealist]

Arfondt leans back to see how Crennick reacts to Janicks attempt to defuse the situation.

[tgva8889]

Kayte Mursai

Kayte looks at Janick suspiciously. She speaks a few words while looking down at the ground, though not to anyone in particular. "Why do you want to know? What's so important about this?" Why are you thinking about this so hard anyways? He can help, why don't you let him? She turns back to Janick, a little bit worry-eyed. "I'm sorry. It's just...she usually finds me. When she wants to talk. I can't believe she wouldn't go looking for me after that incident underground. I get a little lonely sometimes."

Realizing she'd been off-topic, Kayte turns her head away from Janick and says, "As far as I know, Linn's not really a member of any criminal circles. She hangs out with some shady folks, deals with some of the lower-end of the scene. Beggars, street urchins, that sort of thing. She and I hung out with those sorts of people." She and I were those sorts of people. It's obvious Kayte's not telling the entire truth, but it's not likely anyone would be able to get the whole truth out of her right now.

[PolkaBear]

Crennick scowls into his mug and tries not to look interested in the byplay between the others.

[Darkantra]

"]Janick Mayweather

Janick smiles kindly at Kayte, glad that she took up his offer.

"Thank you for that Kayte, I'm not sure how much help I'll be but I will try."

A sudden image springs into his head as he mulls over this new information.

"Beggars and street urchins eh? I know some people who fit that description, the next time I see them I'll ask after her, but I'll be discreet."

[PolkaBear]

Crennick grunts. Again. "I'd be careful with those 'beggars' and 'urchins' if I were you. Not all of them are what you think they are. Some of 'em would just as soon beat you up and leave you naked as they would sit on a corner rattling a copper cup."

He took a big swallow from his mug.

"So who's this 'Linn' person? I don't remember meeting her down there. Wasn't that crook you saw a guy?"

Spoiler

Show

Crennick was a little too preoccupied with panicking over the encounter with the rats to catch Kayte's trick. The others had told him about Willem, though.

[The Glyphstone]

Sir Kylen

Tall, broad, and well-muscled, Sir Kylen is by his very nature a contradiction to the average person's image of a paladin. His face is rounded and ruddy, with a smile that rarely fades, though it is at times obscured by the large and carefully groomed mustache that seems to be the one vanity he allows himself besides drinking. As normal when he is 'off-duty', as much as one of his calling can be 'off-duty', he is wearing a sturdy leather jerkin and pants instead of his plate armor, though his greatsword is currently leaning sheathed against the back of his chair.

The paladin tugs one end of his mustache, glancing down into his own mug of drink with an uncharacteristically somber expression. It only lasts for a moment, though, as he appears to force a cheerful grin back on his face.

"Nope, nothing out of the ordinary for me. Managed to hang on to my title as the local wrestling champion, but that's not anything particularly special."

[Irrealist]

Arfondt

Arfondt takes a sip of his hot tea and looks over at Janick. He chews on his lower lip He seems to be the only one beside me to have made a new enemy. I have to talk to him later to find out if this has something to do with what happened to us in the sewers. Maybe the others just weren't alert enough to notice unusual occurrences. Or they are hiding it, like Crennick. I have to be watchful, maybe whoever is after us put him under pressure and uses him to spy on us.
He forces a smile on his face. I'm probably overreacting. What I noticed could have been just a nosy colleague and Janick is being threatened by hostile kobolds. But I still have to talk to him to be sure. And this Linn not making contact? I guess that sort of thing happens when you live on the street.
Arfondt leans forward to rest his elbows in the table and pays more attention to what's being said.

[tgva8889]

"So who's this 'Linn' person? I don't remember meeting her down there. Wasn't that crook you saw a guy?"

Kayte Mursai

Despite what she just told to Janick, Kayte can't help but show him a smile. She realizes all too late what she'd done and turns away quickly, blushing a little bit too much. Kayte speaks away from him. "Just be careful. If she hasn't contacted me, either she doesn't want to be found or she doesn't want me to know what's going on."

Kayte considers ignoring the comment completely, but considering that Crennick hadn't done anything to her yet, she simply responds with a short, "Not any of your concern. When it comes up, you'll know."

Though she was never one for reading faces, Kayte examined Crennick's response to her comment carefully. She wanted to be sure he didn't think anything about her unwillingness to answer his question.

[PolkaBear]

Crennick sighs when Kayte makes her dismissive remark. "Too late."

He puts down his mug, grimaces, and continues. "Look, I feel like such a girl telling you all this--uh, no offense to the present company--but I got beat up by a bunch of street toughs two days ago. Yeah, I'm really tough. six of them jumped me. Beat me up bad--broke my arm, even. Took my purse and threatened to do it again if I went to the Guard. So like I said, watch out for those thugs roaming the streets."

He picks up his mug, and then sets it down again. "Now this is just between us, okay? I don't want to get beat again because one of you squealed."

[The Vorpal Tribble]

"There is nothing to be shamefaced about." Chaim says grimly, his mouth a stern line. "Though I would reconsider about informing the authorities. The parasite must be wiped from the vine or the whole plant suffers."

[PolkaBear]

Crennick just shrugs and goes back to his alcohol.

[The Glyphstone]

If it was possible, Sir Kylen's expression grows even darker after Crennick's rendition of his beating.

"Getting beaten up is no fun...but...at least you're better off than Ulf ended up....poor man."

He drains the rest of his tankard in a single swallow, waving at the bartender for another refill.

[Darkantra]

Janick Mayweather

Janick's already worried expression grows even more pronounced at the subject of the paladin's words.

"Wait, Sir Kylen what has happened to Ulf? I thought that he didn't show up because he couldn't, or maybe because he did not want to, was he attacked like Crennick?"

Gods, did anything good happen to any of us since that day?

[tgva8889]

Kayte Mursai

Kayte immediately turns her head towards Kylen, rather violently. Now she was clearly interested. If something happened, she needed to know. Moving to where Kylen was sitting, Kayte slams her palms down on the table in front of him, unaware of anyone else int he room. Her tone changes to a completely serious, almost threatening tone. "Alright, no more hiding anything. What. Happened. To. Ulf?" Despite her demeanor, her thoughts ar are not where any might think they are. No. If something happened to Ulf...what happened to Linn? Where is she? Could she have...Stop hiding secrets, damn you.

[The Glyphstone]

The paladin doesn't look up from his mug.

"He's dead. I found him a few weeks ago, on my way home. Whoever it was...they had bound him up and slaughtered him, like...like a farm animal."

[Irrealist]

Arfondt

Arfondt stares at Sir Kylen, his shock clearly visible. "Dead? If you knew that, why didn't you tell us right away? Did you report his death?" He pauses and straightens his robes, trying to control his emotions. "Ulf is dead, Jannick got a death-threat, Crennick was mugged, although I don't know if that has anything to do with us, Linn is missing, and I've been scryed upon. I have a bad feeling about this. Maybe we should go somewhere more private to talk about this. How about my room at the guildhouse? It should be safe from scrying." He looks at the others at the table for approval.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Chaim straightens in his chair and his eyes have the look of grave alarm.

"Are there any that were swept below that haven't met with something alike to that?" Chaim continues softly, but with a focused tune. "I have had nothing personally directed at me or... my family."

The alarmed look in his expression has grown, and as he mentions his family his gentle face becomes dangerous.

[tgva8889]

Kayte Mursai

Kayte pulls back, a look of pure worry on her face. Oh Gods, he's dead. If he's dead...if Ulf's dead...Then...Linn...Oh Gods, Linn, where are you? She sits down at a table farther away from the knight, as if contemplating on some horrible thought before returning to the knight.

She slams her palms on the table again, but this time there's tears in her eyes. "Damn it, Kylen! How can you be so calm about his death?! Do you even realize what this means?! Do you even comprehend what's happened here?! Damn it, Kylen, damn it!" Kayte can barely spit the words out with the proper emphasis between her sobs, but somehow she pulls it off.

[The Glyphstone]

"Of course I reported it...the authorities didn't seem to prioritize it about any other common street killing though - my vigilante reputation didn't help there any."

Kayte's words cause him to look up, his eyes narrowed and slightly reddened. "I'm calm because there's nothing left. This is the first time I've ever regretted the blessings Kord has laid on me - since one of the side effects of His protection from disease is the inability to drink yourself to death...I've certainly tried in the past two weeks...

[tgva8889]

Kayte Mursai

Kayte couldn't comprehend everything. "Nothing left? Nothing left? What about everyone else that had to do with this? What about Crennick? What about..." Kayte trails off, unable to say the name out loud. Turning from the table, she stared at the world with knowing eyes. She sat down where she had been before and cried. That's all she could do. It was silent, but it was still tears.

[PolkaBear]

Crennick's eyes open wide in surprise. "Me? I didn't have nothin' to do with Ulf," he protested. "I didn't even know he was dead."

"Something's bothering me about this, though. Don't exactly know what."