Home 22: Our neighborhood watch is extra vigilant

[Shadowcaller]

Gallope Castle

Walter thinks.
"Okay...how about you make it a curse instead of a disease? Or give him the hiccups whenever he tries to pay so he can't cast?" he suggests, though now he's not sure if cursing a holy knight is okay.

Gallope Castle

"I could just make it incurable unless he undertakes a quest of red-m-ption or something." Libra ponders. "There are so many possibilities though, I could have him appear naked in the middle of a crowd, in public television, make all his deepest thoughts public and allow people to comment on them..." That last one might be too cruel though. "It's not just him though, he got some stupid ranger guy with him. That's the guy that actually tried to kill me. He's a murder-type, killing people without little reason."

[Deathkeeper]

Gallope Castle

Walter thinks about that. "Okay, well, you could make whatever they get cursed into be something totally harmless, and they change whenever they attack someone. It would be kind of funny if he just poofs into a cute little pony or teddy bear or something whenever he tries something harmful. Or, you could put a sign over his head that says 'murderer' or just have people get super scared of him, so he can't ever get helped by anyone. Or maybe every once and a while someone shows up and lists everyone he's ever killed? Something to make him regret his actions?" he suggests.

[Mee]

Cassidy's Bolthole

That reaction just gets Cassidy to laugh even harder. "Geez, I knew you were uptight and all, but a kiss has you all flustered? Seriously?"

Cassidy's Place

"Pffffft! You. You're uptight!" Rivvet is fighting a horribly losing battle at this point.

[Shadowcaller]

Gallope Castle

Libra scratches her head. "Maybe, maybe." She says with a nod. "But what about I send them a evil genie to offer them wishes, and then let them screw themselves up! Just twist each wish a bit." Libra seems stuck in wishful thinking.

[Deathkeeper]

Gallope Castle

Walter nods. "Yeah, uh, sure that sounds good. That's all you need me for, then?" he asks hopefully.

[Devixer]

Cassidy's Place

"Pffffft! You. You're uptight!" Rivvet is fighting a horribly losing battle at this point.

Cass laughs more still. "You're right, I'm the uptight one. So uptight I'm gonna mack on you again just to get that reaction."

[Terumitsu]

[Summit Springs]

Cessie suppressed a sigh, and here she had been trying to not get straight to the point for once. People in the nexus seemed to have little patience for pleasantries or casual bather however. "Riss, that was a long time ago and you didn't exactly do any of that intentionally, did you? I recall you being high on aether back then. It's not really something I can blame you for." Cessie explains.

[Summit Springs]

Even if Cessie had been finding people willing to make small talk rare as of late, she should know better than to expect such given her past experiences with the muse. "No, I would say I did everything intentionally. Perhaps without a certain degree of restraint had I not been intoxicated but I'm not going to wave away my actions as something outside my control." Riss replied... Though, oddly, she sounded as if it was an overall fond memory.. "Personally, it was quite the experience and though I did not care for the crash at the end, I would have done it all again...Most of it again." she added. This.. Probably wasn't the kind of response that Cessie had been expecting.

"But that was then and this is now. I hope that I'm not being too forwards with my earlier questions, though. I simply assumed that you might require my expertise for something and I was abrupt in my reply as I would be quite interested in something collaborative." Riss said. ...Well, she did sound markedly more upbeat than Cessie would perhaps ever remember. Even when under the influence of the extract, she had been very evenly toned.. Though, that might also be that by now she had at least gotten a little more used to interacting with people if not having quite managed to nail down the 'casual' side of things.

[Mee]

Cass laughs more still. "You're right, I'm the uptight one. So uptight I'm gonna mack on you again just to get that reaction."

With that, Rivvet stands up. She really doesn't want to admit, but deep down, she's not really even against the . . . however Cass put it. Another macking. "I'm sure there are other ways you could get that reaction, if it's so amusing to you." Rivvet's just trying to help. She really is.

[Devixer]

Cassidy's Bolthole

"Oh, I'm sure too. That just happens to be one of my favorites." Cass was already standing, so she just steps closer to Rivvet with a sneer. "But what say we explore these other ways just a little?" And then she reaches her hand to slide onto Rivvet's thigh. How subtle.

[Mee]

Cassidy's Bolthole

"Oh, I'm sure too. That just happens to be one of my favorites." Cass was already standing, so she just steps closer to Rivvet with a sneer. "But what say we explore these other ways just a little?" And then she reaches her hand to slide onto Rivvet's thigh. How subtle.

Cassidy's Place

Rivvet isn't having any of that. With a very precise movement that certainly tells Cass more about Rivvet than Rivvet would like, Rivvet deflects Cass's hand off to the side before it can reach her thigh.
"I said: no. And if I did not say, then I am saying now: now." She says through grit teeth.

[Devixer]

Cassidy's Bolthole

Cassidy backs off, raising the offending hand. Well this was certainly new, but it was hardly the first time someone had said no to her. She could deal with it. "Alright, jeez. Sorry for trying to make something good of this crap situation."

Or not.

[Recaiden]

"Ahoy, ye lubbers! Heave to and prepare ta be boarded!"
A rude enough awakening, hearing a typical pirate voice call this out one morning, with the crash of waves in the background and the smell of sea-salt in the air. If one were to look out their window, they would indeed see a little ship bobbing outside, one mast and full of angry buccaneers.

[Deathkeeper]

Clara's Flat

Oh, boy. Did the streets flood again? It isn't the normal time of year for that. Clara shakes her head and peers out the window.
"Go away, all my stuff's in the bank across town. Nothing here you'd want." she shouts sleepily at them.

[Recaiden]

It seems the ship is bobbing on a small puddle outside, that clearly shouldn't be able to hold it.

It also seems as though a pirate is swinging over on a rope and about to crash through the window.

[Deathkeeper]

Clara's Flat

Clara's eyes widen and she goes to slam the shutters, but they're only held closed by a small brass fitting and might not stand up to a significant impact.

[Recaiden]

Only moments after she latches the shutters, tiny pirates crash into the outside. But it seems to hold against them.
Only moments after that, tiny cannonballs start impacting. This could mean bad things for her shutter.

[Deathkeeper]

Clara's Flat

Clara groans and reaches into a cabinet, retrieving a simple shotgun (which was, at some point, a pair of revolvers).
Swinging the shutters open, she sticks the barrel out the window.
"Get out, the lot of you, or I'll blast that matchbox back to Tortuga!" she declares dramatically.

[Recaiden]

Pirates spill in through the unshuttered window, a couple handfuls of them, waving their inch-long cutlasses and firing tiny flintlock pistols wildly.
They're shouting defiantly about their lack of fear and daring Clara to shoot.
The cannons have stopped, though.

[Shadowcaller]

Gallope Castle

Walter nods. "Yeah, uh, sure that sounds good. That's all you need me for, then?" he asks hopefully.

Gallope Castle

"Not exactly! I didn't just come here to rant. I need a way to get rid of this stone-skin thing. I need someone who can undo it and you got connections, right?" Libra inquires. "In exchange, I'll... spice up your home a bit, the whole medieval theme isn't as fun as you though, huh?"

[Deathkeeper]

Gallope Castle

Walter considers the offer.
"Well...some of the people Willa met might know how to deal with curses. Though I should point out that you're the one who thought of the medieval theme. I guess it could use a little more color. I mostly sit around and manage the cow business, just like before. he narrows his eyes. I just better not lose the immortality. That's the whole reason you changed everything, remember?"

Clara's Flat

Darn, this isn't working. She could blast their ship into toothpicks, but then she'd have an infestation on her hands.
"Alright, fine you salty jerks. I demand a parley." she declares.
She's really hoping that works in things other than movies.

[Recaiden]

One of the tiny pirates gets out a flag of truce from among many other flags and waves it over his head.
Others seem to be jumping down from the window and exploring the flat.
"Alright, speak up!"
"If yer booty is all en a bank, ye'll be givin' us the numbers ta get it!"

[Deathkeeper]

Clara's Flat

Clara moves, blocking the pirates' advance from the windowsill with an arm.
"Okay, first, no invading my home during a parley. Second, no, you're not going to get to that bank, because I can just call the cops before you get there. I'll give you what's in my wallet if you buzz off and leave me alone." she huffs at them.

[Recaiden]

Although they're held on the windowsill, the pirates have a hearty chortle at that.
"Cops, it says!"
"Out in theses waters!"

"Now if ye ain't gonna give up the treasure, we'll having to take you prisoner!"
"We need one of them big folk anyway, right?"

[Deathkeeper]

[Clara's Flat]

Clara raises an eyebrow, still holding her gun.
"Need? If you wanted me to play pirate you should have gotten me a year ago when I was a minotaur. And there's no way I'm agreeing to that anyway."

[Recaiden]

"Listen, big'un, you've gotta give something up."
"Why don't we just burn the place down?"
"Or sail to the past and get the minotaur!"
The little pirates set to arguing about what they should do here.

[Deathkeeper]

Clara's Flat

Clara's head spins at even the possibility that the pirates could go to the past and just snatch someone. Meddling with time is rather horribly confusing.
She digs into her pockets and draws out a small coinpurse.
"There's plenty of gold and silver in here. You leave and don't come back, it's all yours. You couldn't take me prisoner anyway. I'm bigger than your ship."

[Shadowcaller]

Gallope Castle

Walter considers the offer.
"Well...some of the people Willa met might know how to deal with curses. Though I should point out that you're the one who thought of the medieval theme. I guess it could use a little more color. I mostly sit around and manage the cow business, just like before. he narrows his eyes. I just better not lose the immortality. That's the whole reason you changed everything, remember?"

Gallope Castle

"I did? Huh." Libra sounds surprised, scratching the top of her head, even if all her hair has turned to stone as well. "Well... you have any preferences, eh? A theme you like?"

[Deathkeeper]

Gallope Castle

Walter almost does the same thing as he's asked the question.
"Well, I definitely like the luxury. Don't take that away. The cows are getting old, though. Maybe some other business to keep us rich would be better. Some kind of attraction? Willa and I don't really have any powers that people ask for. I know she doesn't like sitting around as a knight training for threats that never come. And we're not wizards to help people see the future or whatever. So...we could do some other business, like a theme park. Or a resort. Or heck, some other animals besides cows. We'd probably make bad chocolate factory owners. he adds with a laugh. Just as long as we still get the money. Otherwise maybe we could get some cool powers, live in a fancy palace like those demigod Greek heroes. Centaurs are a Greek thing, right?"
Walter's looked up a few worlds that have centaurs for fun. Many of them are rather odd.

[Recaiden]

Treasure!
The lead pirate starts rifling through the purse to verify this.
Another one chimes in "No treasure is too big!"
Or too small, but that's not the problem here.

[Deathkeeper]

Clara's Flat

The coin purse does in fact contain several gold coins of varying sizes, and two copper ones.
"Yeah, sure. Are we good now?" she asks impatiently.