THEChanger's Curse of the Crimson Throne: Edge of Anarchy

[THEChanger]

Verik laughs, bitterly. "Gavin. Come on. I know you were a bit naive. You think I didn't know who I was working with?"

There's a brief silence as he shakes his head.

"The man's very persuasive. Frighteningly so, at times. I really believed it was all for the best. All necessary. A revolution isn't cheap. And people in other places...Garund, Tian Xia, the Crown of the World, Casmaron. They pay well for children. That's what he told me. And all I had to do was look the other way. And join the fight when the time came. Well, the time is here." He laughs again, louder this time. "And now everything has gone to Hell. Those two were eating people. He's desecrating the Gray Quarter, breaking into tombs to make his little factories. And that woman is in there, whispering to him. The Tiefling."

He looks at Vestis. "She has the girl still. Acele. She's not hurt. I don't know what she wants with her. But she's very interested in whatever Gaedren's cooking down in those tombs. She's pushing him to take it further. I don't think he wanted to do more than cause trouble and skip town with whatever he could grab. But she's got his ear. I don't know much."

[Inspectre]

Gavin simply stares at Verik, the shock plainly visible on his face.

"Verik? You . . . you . . ."

Gavin's mouth hardens into a line as he follows the revelation through to the end.
And with it comes the cold, unsettling realization that he had misjudged Verik completely.

His words had not been entirely sincere, trying to appeal to Veric's sense of duty to bring him out of his suicidal depression.
But Gavin had really thought Veric was just an idiot, another fool that Lamm had played for his own ends.
He was wrong, as always.
Veric had sold his soul wholesale to the devil years ago, eyes wide open at what he was doing.
Gods, was there not a single person in this godforsaken city who was not out only for themselves!?

Gavin felt his apparently naive hope that Veric's involvement in this madness was limited, along with his sympathy, sour, wither, and die.
And then combust into a searing flame that fanned itself into a roaring blaze.
He had only felt this way about a handful of people before - chiefly Lamm, Baldrago, and Maulder - and so Gavin wasn't able to name what this feeling was.
If he had known more, he probably would have labeled it as murderous intent.
And Gavin didn't so much snap as explode.

"VERIC YOU GODSDAMNED SON OF A BITCH!!!"

Gavin roared, grabbing hold of the front of Veric's uniform to pull him forward and down, while simultaneously bringing his left knee up, aimed at the traitor's nose.

Spoiler: Actions

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Unarmed Strike
To-Hit: (1d20+4)[14] (+4 if Veric counts as Prone right now )
Damage: (1d3+2)[4]

He then shook the disgraced lieutenant, screaming accusations in his bruised face.

"IT WAS YOU, WASN'T IT YOU TREACHEROUS PIECE OF ****! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO SET ME UP! WHOSE IDEA WAS IT TO PIN THE GIRL ON ME - YOU OR LAMM? WHAT DID YOU DO WITH HER - THROW HER BODY IN THE JEGGARE RIVER!? NO, YOU SOLD HER TO SOME GARUNDI RAPIST FOR A FEW SILVER, DIDN'T YOU!? DIDN'T YOU!? AND THEN YOU PINNED IT ALL ON ME, STUPID NAIVE BABY GAVIN. I BET YOU AND LAMM HAD A GOOD LAUGH WHILE YOU WERE PLOTTING IT ALL OUT. WELL DO YOU STILL THINK THIS ALL IS FUNNY VERIK!? I HOPE YOU ENJOYED ALL THE THINGS LAMM'S SILVER BOUGHT YOU, BECAUSE IT'S TIME TO PAY FOR YOUR CRIMES. I SHOULD KILL YOU RIGHT NOW FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE, BUT I'M NOT GOING TO LET YOU TAKE THE COWARD'S WAY OUT. I'M GOING TO PIN THIS WHOLE NIGHTMARE ON YOU VERIK. I'M GOING TO WATCH YOU PARADED THROUGH THE STREETS TO LONGACRE WHILE EVERYONE WATCHES, PELTING YOU WITH ROTTEN VEGETABLES,
PEBBLES, AND INSULTS. I'M GOING TO WATCH YOU ABANDONED BY EVERYONE WHO EVER LOVED YOU. AND EVERY TIME I THINK ABOUT YOU, ROTTING AWAY FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE IN LONGACRE,
I'M GOING TO SMILE VERIC. BECAUSE I WANT YOU TO KNOW HOW IT FEELS TO BE SEEN AS A MONSTER. AND YOU'RE GOING TO ACCEPT IT. AND YOU'RE GOING TO TELL US EVERYTHING YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS TIEFLING WOMAN RIGHT NOW. BECAUSE IF YOU DON'T I SWEAR BY THE GODS I WILL MAKE YOU REGRET THE FACT THAT YOU DIDN'T DECIDE TO SLIT YOUR OWN THROAT FIVE YEARS AGO!"

Spoiler: Intimidate

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Intimidate: (1d20+7)[19]

[MesiDoomstalker]

Dirkust had been watching the proceedings silently. He had let out small sigh as the blade was removed from the despicable guard's neck. He listened to Gavin's heartfelt pleas and Verik's frank confession. When Gavin's demeanor changed, Dirkust got on edge. Jumping, literally, as the former guard unleashed a torrent of bile and hate at his former coworker Dirkust stared in shock and horror. After Gavin had tossed Verik with a sucker punch, Dirkust moved his legs before his brain knew what he was doing. Stepping directly in front of Gavin, Dirkust realized he was being incredibly stupid given the man's clear height advantage. Mustering to his full height, he spoke with an even tone at his companion. Gavin. Calm yourself. He isn't worth it. He isn't worth anger, the anguish. Don't let him have this power over you. Don't let him control you. Calm. Please. Dirkust stared into Gavin's eyes, hoping his words brought sense back to his disgruntled... friend? Were they friends? Dirkust hoped so.

[digiman619]

Ardino put his hand on Gavin's shoulder. For most, this would only be a symbolic gesture, but for Ardino it was so much more. With such a touch, he had Locked Gavin, and now was the time to drag him away from the prone man, as was pulled backward by Ardino's hand. Once they were a few steps back, he spoke in quiet tones. "Listen, now is not the time to unload on him like that. He'll soon get what's coming to him, but for now, we need someone to bring back from this escapade and he's the only one who didn't disappear out a window. We can't risk coming back empty-handed and taking your vengeance, however justified it may be, is not going to help right now."

Spoiler: OOC

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I know that this doesn't actually work, but I wanted to roll Diplomacy for flavor's sake. (1d20+9)[19]

[Corlindale]

As Ardino drags the raging Gavin away from Verik, Mordin slowly steps closer. He looks upon the wretch, seems to be about to raise the visor of his helmet to reveal his face, but then seems to reconsider. Instead he starts talking, speaking in a sympathetic voice.

"He can be very persuasive, I know. I know exactly how you feel. I came close to taking my own life too, afterwards. But then I realized something... it is never too late."

He stops for a moment, then continues.

"Oh, it may well be too late for you and me. We probably are going to be damned for what we have done. But it is never too late for this world. The least we can do is try to stop him, Verik! You come with us now, you tell them everything you know. We will use that information to take him down, I promise. Destroy whatever he is making in those accursed tombs. Bring out Acele before he does whatever he plans to do with her. "

Spoiler: OOC

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Diplomacy, I guess: (1d20+5)[15]

[aberratio ictus]

Lady Selancourte

"Don't listen to them, Mr Dimir." Lady Selancourte finally spoke, in a calm and collected voice, if a little cold. She smiled at Gavin, and there was a hint of sadness in that smile.
"He is worth it. He is worth every last bit of anger and anguish. What he did was monstrous. You are right to have these feelings - don't suppress them. It means you have a heart."

"Take your vengeance, and I will take mine, and we will take it in the way you described. He will spend the rest of his life in Longacre, where he belongs, a dreadful monster to behold to everyone, known by everyone. I'm looking forward to that parade." For a moment, her smile seemed a bit more genuine, but that flash was gone quickly.

"It will be enough for me."
For a moment, her eyes lingered on Gavin, then she slowly turned to face Verik. Sir Mordin was just talking to him, and hopefully, convincing him to share what he knew.

Vestis stepped next to Sir Mordin, and nodded slightly as he had finished, even though she wasn't sure whether this appeal to that monster's righteousness would prove successful.

"Now. Tell us. Tell us about दास. The tiefling. How exactly do we find her and Lamm in the grey quarter? Where does she hide Acele and the other girls?"

[Inspectre]

Gavin scowls looking down at Dirkust, leaving out a deep sigh as he glances back to Verik.

"You can relax Dirkust, I'm not going to - hey!"

Gavin grunts as he is pulled back several steps without warning by Ardino.
He relaxes after a moment as Ardino and Vestis both chime in, but he fixes his gaze down at Ardino's hand on his shoulder with a frown.

"Let go of me, Ardino."

Gavin warns, and sighs again as he looks back and forth between Ardino and Dirkust.

"Were you two even listening? I have no intention of killing this disgrace to the guard. He'll answer for his crimes before the Field Marshal and the Arbiters, as Milady recommends."

He says, nodding his head at Verik.

"But I am not going to just forget what he's done. Didn't you just hear what he said? It wasn't enough Lamm had his own little family of slaves to do his dirty work for him. He was selling them out of the city. Children. And how many did Verik here help him sell over the years? Dozens? Hundreds!? Their blood isn't just on Lamm and Verik's hands, it's on mine as well because I failed to stop it. Because thanks to Verik, I was disgraced and he managed to block anyone from picking up where I left off. I can't forgive him for that. I won't."

With a final sharp tug, Gavin manages to work his shoulder free of Ardino's grip, turning to storm out of the room.

"I can't even look at this filth any more. I'll be downstairs checking out the backroom - who knows, maybe they had a torture chamber set up there. See if you can get anything more out of it about what Lamm is doing in the Grey Quarter - and this tiefling that has his ear now."

And with that, Gavin was gone, back downstairs in the interior hallway. Alone, he paused a moment at the bottom of the stairs to take a deep breath, struggling to extinguish the last embers of his rage.
He banished it with a hard slap on his hand into the wooden wall paneling in front of him, which creaked in protest at the undeserved blow.
When he finally felt that he had re-estalished control, Gavin drew his rapier and headed towards the one door that they had not yet looked behind.

[The_Shaman]

Carla chases the thing through the streets, enjoying the rush. After a few alleys, however, she realizes that this is going nowhere, at least not in her favor. She appears to be mostly out of options... well, mostly.

Except for those that her newest patron has bestowed, that is. This might not work. In fact, she isn't quite sure what to do if it does work, but hey, if anything it would at least slow him down. And if it was enough to get Callistria's eye on her once, perhaps it might be easier to do it again. She tries to recall the cave, the connection, the voice that she heard, and to let it out.

"Hey, fancy boy," she almost grows, in a husky, guttural voice. "Aren't you too big to be scared of a girf? Eyes on me."

Spoiler: Actions

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Full round: using 1 burn to cast unnatural lust at Baldrago, using herself as the target.
If impossible:move, attack w. kinetic blast, see OOC

[THEChanger]

The Streets

Carla stops, initiating her transformation, drawing on the newfound power in her veins. As the gold and black cloth surrounds her body, she pushes out tendrils of influence, pulling Baldrago's attention as best she can.

Baldrago stops, and turns, briefly entranced by the glitter of gold and promise of wine and company. Then he shakes his massive head. "Another time, fair morsel, thou shalt be mine prey. Remember, we are the hunters. And we rally the hunters to war."

The sinuous beast rounds a corner, and is gone.

Spoiler: OoC

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Made his Save.

All The World's Meat

Verik sits back on his ankles now, limp after Gavin kneed him in the face. Blood trickles down from the former guardsman's nose, and he sways slightly. Any cruel light, any fear, any emotion is gone from his eyes, replaced by dull acceptance. He looks through Lady Vestis, eyes unfocused, not really seeing her.

"Two things are happening tonight. There's a recruitment meeting, bringing new people into the army. Lamm's Liberators. A man named Adonis Kreed will be there, running things, as will a few of Lamm's pet projects. It's near a tomb we call the Dead Warrens - it's ancient, abandoned, maze-like. Connects to a few other tombs now, after it was dug out by a ghoul infestation. If you had a map I could show you where it was. The tiefling might be there tonight, keeping watch on Kreed. Lamm doesn't trust anybody anymore. But Kroft knows the meeting's going down, and she'll almost certainly be sending people there to make arrests. And Lamm's counting on it. He won't be there.

He'll be at another of his little hidey holes. He called a Black Moot. Reps from all the major crime families will be there. The Cerulean Society, the Dusters, the Sczarni, the Catsdew girls, the Rat's Teat Gang. I hear the King of Spiders will even be there. Lamm wants to bring them into the fold, or at least get them to stay out of the way while he makes his bid. He's also got a bit of a demonstration set up. He wants to show them what Shudder can do. Scare em a bit. There's an old Porphyria tomb near the middle of the Gray Quarter. After the Cousin's War,
no one goes there. Makes it a perfect meeting place. That's where he'll be tonight. After that...who knows."

Verik shrugs. "And...slave, you called her? Slave likes to keep Acele with her, every time I've seen her anyway. Don't know if she has any of the others stashed somewhere. But if you're looking for Acele, she'll be with the tiefling."

[aberratio ictus]

Lady Selancourte

"It is what she calls herself these days, is it not?" Vestis replied dismissively.
She was displeased. It was an unfortunate constellation. Of course, Acele was her highest priority.

"You did well, Verik. Although I wonder what makes you think दास will attend that recruitment meeting... It seems rather inconsequential when compared to the 'Black Moot'. If she is the one whispering in Lamm's ear, she wouldn't want to miss such a crucial step in her agenda, would she?"
Not that Vestis herself truly believed what Verik thought about दास. Lamm kept her around, for whatever reason, but her position as a grey eminence was likely the product of Verik's imagination.

What Verik said about the black moot was interesting. Mostly the conspicuous absence of one prominent crime family. Two reasons, diametrically opposed, spontaneously came to her mind - with one more plausible than the other. They would have sent a decoy otherwise.

[digiman619]

Ardino looks around his companions "The way I see it, we have three possible objectives: 1) Get this ass back to the guards, 2) Assist the Guard in stopping the recruitment meeting, and/or 3) stop or at least interfere with Lamm's meeting with the crime families. I don't think we'll be able to actually stop Lamm; a job like that would require a lot more planning than we can afford right now, but if he gets the crime families behind him, he becomes much more formidable and harder to pin down."

He then furrowed his brow, "I'm thinking that this calls for a stealth approach, and anyone who either isn't suited fro that or has tapped their power for the evening bring him", he gestures at the dirty cop, "back to the constabulary and everyone who is able should try and sneak into his fortress and at least recognoitter even if we just throw a alchemist's fire and deliver a warning before we high-tail it out of there should lessen Lamm's position."

"But if one of you has a better plan, I'm all for it."

[The_Shaman]

Carla runs to the corner, but is already too late. She grits her teeth in frustration. Why didn't I call Eslivar? This would have been simple for him. Now this son of a jackal is free and knows us... and gods know how many kids will end up like that guardsman up there "And dammit, why didn't anyone else back me up?" she asks the empty night angrily.

She punches a wall in frustration, then looks at the street, thinking where he could have gone to.This is not a puzzle to be forced open by strength alone, apparently, and this Baldrago may need to be kept tabs on. "So you want fancy yourself a hunter, eh Baldrago?" she whispers bitterly. "Well, I've got something for games, blood and hounds myself. We'll see how well you do. And if I hear you've been up to stuff like that upstairs, Callistria help me, I'll... I'll mess you up worse than that poor sod if I get my hands on you."

After a few moment,she winces inwardly at her own oath. There I go again. The old woman told me, didn't she? Don't make a promise if you don't want to go through fire and water to keep it. Well, damn. Said word, thrown rock - you can't take them back. I should have just thrown a knife at that ******* instead.

The half-elf is silent, almost furtive on the way back, looking for any signs of trouble or any allies the renegades might have coming to help them. She goes to the building and heads to the second floor. "Well, things seem to be civilized here. What did I miss?" she says a calm voice, but a taut face.

[Corlindale]

Mordin turns as Carla enters.

"It appears we have two new leads. A recruitment drive led by our old 'friend' Adonis Kreed - and a meeting between Lamm and the other major crimelords in the city."

Turning to the others again, he continues.

"I agree that Lamm should be our main target. While sneaking in might work, it is not realistic for me, and I would hate to be left out of a chance to face Lamm. If we do go with that plan, I think the rest of us should be somewhere close by, ready to rush in if you give the signal that you are in trouble - or that you have an opening. "

Mordin's fists clench and unclench as he speaks Lamm's name.

"However, there may also be something to be said for a more direct strategy. What are our newly granted powers for, if not something like this? We could go in, strike at Lamm and show everyone else what happens if you try to ally with him!"

[The_Shaman]

Carla winces at the last comment. "That will be difficult.It is probably not what they expect, so we may have surprise on our side, but it will be difficult. Are you Varik?"

[DaedalusMkV]

Avrin finds a convenient wall to lean on while the rest of the group busies themselves interrogating Verik, preferring to remain silent unless his input becomes necessary. When Mordin suggests a direct assault on Lamm's meeting, he quickly concludes that that time has come, clears his throat and speaks up. "Yeah, I'm not sold on any plan that involves a frontal assault on a who's who of the most powerful criminals in Korvosa. Most of the people invited to that kind of meeting didn't get to where they are by being weaklings, and aren't the sort to attend a meeting alone. Unless you think we can take fifteen or twenty toughs all at the same time, along with whatever craziness Lamm brings to the table to convince them, in which case you're crazier than I thought." He sighs, then continues. "Maybe, maybe we send someone to sneak in and see if we can learn anything valuable, but I'm not signing up for any suicide missions. Besides, the smart criminals will know better than to sign on with Lamm's little revolution, Shudder or not. He might get an ally or two out of it, but the rest... Those might give us another angle to get at him. Taking down his recruiting session will hurt him a hell of a lot more, especially if we can finally corner that Tiefling of his. If she knows as much about Lamm's operation as she's supposed to she'd provide everything we need to finish off his whole operation. And if Kroft's going to pay us for the pleasure of doing it, all the better."

[aberratio ictus]

Lady Selancourte

While paying attention to Verik's explanation first and foremost, Vestis still managed to listen to the other conversation going on in the room at the same time with half an ear. From the beginning, Lady Selancourte wasn't very happy about the others talking about disrupting one or both of Lamm's events this evening in front of their prisoner, but she really had to strain her willpower not to flinch visibly when Sir Mordin talked about their "newly granted powers" in front of Verik. She hoped the latter would take that to mean institutional power as freelancers for the guard, and not grow suspicious. While he was still talking, Vestis observed him closely but subtly, whether he showed any visible reaction one way or the other.

When he finally came to an end, she turned around to the others.
“How would you feel about discussing our further plans for the evening in a seperate room away from poor Sergeant Verik? It's just polite." She shot a disapproving glance towards Sir Mordin, but her tone was otherwise friendly and casual.

It would be quite vexing if they had to kill Verik just because of a thoughtless word.

Facing Verik again, Vestis showed him the silver dagger he had just held to his own throat. "One last question, Verik. It is quite an elegant blade you have here; intricate design, very well balanced, extremely sharp... May I inquire who presented it to you?"

Spoiler: @ Changer

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I hope it is ok if I write this second question before Verik has answered the first one, but I suppose I won't be online when you post the next time, and since she will definitely ask about the dagger I thought it might speed things along. If that's not ok, feel free to just ignore this post.

[Inspectre]

Gavin grumbles to himself as he hastily searches the downstairs, not finding anything particularly suspicious or really out of place for a butchery.
When Carla returns, he greets her with a nod, but doesn't ask the question about whether she dealt with Baldrago or not - her expression was enough of an answer for that.
He follows her up when she goes upstairs, catching the end of Mordin's summary of what the group learned in his absence.
Apparently they had two targets now - and both of them were happening tonight.

After Avrin presents his argument, Gavin clears his throat and nods.

"I agree with Avrin that using force against Lamm at this Black Moot is unwise. However, I disagree with his suggestion that we ignore the meeting. Lamm won't be able to convince all of the crime lords to join him, but in the absence of an alternative most of them won't act against him either. The guard clearly can't be expected to deal with him, and the crime lords probably wouldn't trust the guard enough to aid them in taking him down either. But if we go there and join the debate, we could present ourselves as a viable alternative to back instead of Lamm, along with disrupting whatever mind games he's planning to intimidate the gangs into neutrality if not alliance. And if we're there we will know who is leaning towards throwing their weight behind him and who is not - and who might be potential allies for us.
If we just give Lamm a free hand here, he won't have to worry about the criminal underworld stabbing him in the back, and we won't know who does decide to support him. And thus far Lamm's biggest asset has been obscurity - the more we and Kroft know about his operation, the weaker he becomes."

[THEChanger]

Verik shrugs in response to Vestis' first question. "I only know the tiefling was talking about being at the recruitment meeting. Something about keeping a friend of Acele's away from Lamm a little longer. Must've been you."

He looks away from the group when Vestis questions whether they should discuss further plans in front of him. "Look. I'm not interested in Lamm's revolution any more. Whatever he's messing with is too dark. Too great a price. I. I am sorry about what I've done. To you, Gavin, and you, Lady. I know that doesn't mean much now. And if being paraded through the city is what you want, I'll do that."

He tilts his head when Vestis presents him with the knife. "I don't really remember. Must've picked it up in the market one day. It's a pretty thing, isn't it?"

[aberratio ictus]

Lady Selancourte

So she expected her. And it was दास's reason for attending, even. That didn't sit well with Vestis at all.

"So stealing Korvosa's children and selling them to Garund is for the greater good, but consumation of human flesh is too dark for your allegiance to the glorious common rule. Interesting to know where you draw the line." Her disgust only grew the longer she had to listen to him, more wretched still than the creature that had fled into the night, in her mind. It was hard to hide her annoyance as he continued.
"Don't tell me you're sorry. You're not allowed to be sorry."

Verik was also a terrible liar.
"Oh, it is indeed. Very exotic, and very valuable. Not exactly an expense one would 'forget' at a guard's pay, I would dare to assume." she commented, as she beheld the knife in her hands.
"Now. The truth, please."

[THEChanger]

The Butchery
Bluff Check: SidekickBOT - Today at 5:06 AM
@Lady Selancourte: 1d20+10 = (20)+10 = 30

Vestis moves into Verik's personal space, berating him with what a low, disgusting, depraved excuse for a human he is. The former guardsman starts shaking again, and tears begin to well up.

"Meliya Arkona. It was a gift from Meliya Arkona. We were involved. She hates her family, and encouraged me to help Lamm get rid of them."

Spoiler: OoC

Show

Splitting the timeline. Can continue to interrogate Verik, but also moving things forward.

Citadel Volshynek
The seven of you dragging a former captain of the guard through Citadel Volshynek causes somewhat of a large disturbance. Guards whisper to either side of you as you pull Verik, stripped of his armor, hands bound with rope, up to Field Marshal Kroft's office. Gavin, I imagine, is in the lead, and dramatically throws open the door.

Grau is standing by the shelves, trying to organize things. Kroft is nowhere to be seen. The Sergeant turns, and takes a couple steps towards Verik. "Well. You all work quickly, I'll give you that. Hello again, Verik. Nice to see you."

[digiman619]

Ardino puts on a winning smile. "We aim to please. Also for the pancreas." After that jibe, he took on a more serious face. "We managed to get some info from our friend here. Turns out that Lamm has two festivities planned for this evening. In addition to the recruitment drive here," he produces a map and shows the location, "but also a Black Moot with most of the organized crime in town in the Grey Quarter." He stops there, not wanting to overwhelm the lieutenant with too much data.

[The_Shaman]

Carla

The tall half-elf smirks. She does not care much for this guy at present, but he seems to be a fine piece of work. Their plan, however, seems absurd - absurd enough that even a dunce like this one would most likely think that it's not a great idea. "So you lot were planning to not just assassinate a member of the Arkona, but bring down the entire family? And how did this nice lady expect this to happen?"

[MesiDoomstalker]

He also said they knew your Guards are planning on crashing the recruitment drive in the Gray Quarter. Squeaked from behind the others. If its not too late, you probably want to reroute them to the Black Moot.

[aberratio ictus]

Lady Selancourte

All the world's meat

It was a weird feeling between being repulsed by the man's tears and the satisfaction of seeing him brought so low.
As he continued talking, a derisive smile appeared on her face. Verik involved with Meliya Arkona? "Or so she said." she commented innocently. This did make much more sense though. The knife was unmistakenly Vudran, and thus is wasn't a far leap of logic to assume the Arkonas were involved - but they had no reason to support Lamm's little revolution. At least not to the end. Thus a rebellious member of the family tied a lot of strange circumstances neatly together - why दास broke into an Arkona-owned warehouse and how she knew just where to find what she needed there, for example.

For a moment she looked down at the knife in her hands. It was made to resemble a viper's fang. Quite a striking choice by Meliya, not exactly subtle. The fang that poisoned Verik.

"Oh, but isn't it obvious, Carla? They thought their little revolution would be a success, and the common rule always involves the slaughter of all the nobility, and all the dissenters, down to the littlest child. Just look to Galt or Andoran." She had turned her head towards Carla for a second, but now focused on Verik again. "Of course, it is much more likely they would go down in the fighting."
She stopped, being in thought for a moment.
"Has she met with Lamm personally?"


_________________________________________________

Kroft's office sans Kroft

"Personally, I would advise against that." Vestis spoke up, calmly. "But I suppose Field Marshal Kroft has thoughts of her own about that topic. Might we speak with her?"

[digiman619]

All the world's meet

Ardino bristled at Vestis' offhanded insult to Andoran "Andoran did no such thing; the nobles were given the chance to either join the democracy or leave; there was no mass slaughter. And at least we know the origins of Andoran; your precious Cheliax does its best to erase its history; you're already run by demons, what else do you have to hide?"

[aberratio ictus]

Lady Selancourte

"Well of course they would say that, wouldn't they?" Vestis remarked, slyly.
"But this is neither the time nor the place for a discussion about politics."

[digiman619]

Ardino's nostrils flared as he regined his composure. "Very well" he said; though they would definitely have this discussion later, she was right that now was not the time.

[THEChanger]

All the World's Meat

Verik shakes his head. "Not from what she told me. But to be honest, I don't know what to believe anymore."

Citadel Volshynek

Grau frowns. "Field Marshall Kroft has already left, to oversee the raid on the recruitment.
There's no way we would beat her there, and we don't have a contingent of guards I'd feel comfortable sending to a Black Moot on their own."

[digiman619]

Ardino sighed. "And by 'on their own', you mean to send us back out into the thick of it, don't you?"

[Inspectre]

- All the World's Meat -

"You made your choice a long time ago Verik. Your crocodile tears over getting caught mean nothing to me!"

Gavin hisses, unable to maintain his facade of ignoring Verik in the face of his self-pity.
His anger fades into momentary confusion however as Vestis insists on questioning the man about the pretty bauble dagger he bought.
Given the wealth he had no doubt amassed as part of Lamm's scheme to sell children, he could easily afford such a thing if it caught his eye.
Gavin's surprise only grew as her pressure yielded unexpected fruit, in the confirmation that the Arkonas were, in fact, part of this.

It seemed likely that their plan was to let Lamm take out all of their rivals, and then bring his revolution up short at the final moment.
Leaving them the only nobles left standing - even if it didn't succeed more than weeding out some rivals, they would probably have come out ahead.
Was this done with the blessing of the whole family, however, or just the work of rebellious Melyia?
There was no real way to find out at present, and certainly nothing they could do about it even if it were all true.

Still, that was an impressive display at interrogation.
Just who was this noblewoman!?
And of course, she just had to go and ruin the mood the next moment by spitting on some country far away from here.

"I'm rather confident that neither Lamm nor Melyia plans on this being anything like Andoran or Galt. More like Cheliax - out with the old regime, in with the new."

Gavin comments wryly, favoring Vestis with a smirk as he knows she isn't going to like that comparison. Not one bit.

**************

- Citadel Volshynek -

"Grau! Allow me to present Sergeant Verik Vancesterkin. Traitor, cannibal, and kidnapper of children. Oh, and he also framed me for the kidnapping of that little girl Lamm pinned on me.
She's probably somewhere in Garund if you haven't managed to find her yet."

Gavin growled, shoving Verik into the room.

"I'm not sure picking a fight with Korvosa's entire underworld is a wise idea right now anyway. Showing up there to plant the flag may push even more of them into Lamm's camp - if they're doomed either way . . ."

Gavin shrugs.

"Since it seems that they're expecting the guard at their recruitment drive, I'm not sure if that means they're planning an ambush of the Field Marshall or simply have a way to scatter and for Lamm's people to get out while leaving all the poor fools who showed up behind to face the guard. Either way, we will go wherever we're needed."

Gavin said, although in this case he suspects that 'we" might be more of an "I".