Roses Have Thorns IC

[NeoSeraphi]

The young human, Rosis Krupt, has grown up in Cheliax all her life. She is the daughter of a wealthy family, and she has always lived in a lap of luxury. She has two of her own halfling slaves, Grace and Martin, who take care of her every wish. They buy her food, they cook her food, they even help her get dressed in the morning. The woman has always had everything she could ever want.

However, that has not been enough for her.

Rose craves excitement, and there's only so much of that that her money can buy. Theaters, art pieces and balls are all fun in their own right, but Rose is eager to get out and get in trouble once in a while.

The human has been looking for some bad people to harass, and she has found herself a place at a special guild called The Underground. She is on her way there now to meet with the Guild Master to get her next mission. The man she is going to see is a powerful swordsman who has retired for now, but is still more than capable of putting Rose on the ground. And nothing about her family or her money would stop him. She just has to respect him and his wishes if she doesn't want to get hurt. And his wishes are...quite demanding.

Her Guild Master surrounds himself with beautiful women, and keeps a strict dress code. Rose is not allowed to wear any unflattering clothes. She must make sure to maximize her figure and curves whenever she is in his presence. She also tithes 10% of her earnings to the guild as a fee, and she can only take on missions after receiving approval from the Guild Master. Rose knows that some of the other girls have started trying to charm the Guild Master into letting them take the more expensive and higher status missions, and that has involved some back room dealings. The last three jobs she's taken, because of all this, have been child's play. No excitement, no pay, nothing fun. Now she's going to have to get his attention so she can start living it up!

[Diachronos]

Rose cracks her knuckles as she walks into the building. Her wardrobe today consists of a black shirt and vest, with a wide red stripe down the center of her torso; the stripe helped draw attention to the cleavage-exposing "window" in her shirt that served no functional purpose. The garment, as well as her skintight black leggings, fit perfectly to her body, hugging her curves and leaving little to the imagination. Her cloak is drawn back to prevent it from concealing anything.

She reaches into her belt pouch, feeling the two bottles inside. Elven absinthe and wyrm keif; neither of them had been easy (or cheap) to get a hold of, but they were sure show the Guild Master that she isn't some common floozy trying to coast along on his guild's reputation.

[NeoSeraphi]

Rose approaches the bouncer, a tall suli woman with a scar on one cheek. "Hey there, cupcake. Going to get another cat out of a tree today?" she says, to a roar of laughter from the rest of the bar. Rose looks around. Not a single man in sight. Part of her knows this is his plan, because she knows just how ruthless women can be to one another. This is basically like some schoolyard bullying, and each woman is competing with one another to try and show them up. There are no cliques. No friendships. No rules. Just a bunch of angry women whispering demeaning words behind one another's backs. And all of them are dancing for the Guild Master's pocket and his amusement.

But she can't do anything about that, at least, not at her current rank. She's barely even worth a meeting at this point, at least as far as her record goes. But how can she move up if she's never given a chance to prove herself? No, she will get his attention today, she knows it.

The suli woman steps aside after Rose insists she's here to see the Master. Rose walks into the back room.

Spoiler

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"You again?" the Guild Master asks, sighing and pouring a drink. He sets it on his desk and leans back in his chair. Rose can see some very expensive art on the walls, and a statue of two nude succubi kissing on his desk. Not all of this would have been purchased, even with Roman Torchwick's vast reserves of wealth. He's a master thief in his own right, and he steals for no one but himself.

In one case on the wall is a deadly-looking curved blade, likely crafted by an experienced elven blacksmith. These days, Torchwick doesn't take to the sword much, but Rose is fully aware of the firearm he conceals inside his cane. He doesn't need to be fast with his hands to be a crack shot.

"Looking for a job? I'm surprised you're still showing your face. I thought I made it clear in our last meeting that the other ladies have been outperforming you?"

[Diachronos]

Rose leans forward over the table as she pulls out her "gifts", not caring that he was likely going to take advantage of the act to stare at her chest. "Is that so? I take it they bring you better presents than this as well?" She places the two bottles on the table and slides them toward him. She might not have the luxury of knowing him longer than the women outside, but she does have the luxury of being a noble with money to burn. How many of them could say the same?

[NeoSeraphi]

Roman is impressed. He pauses and his cane sweeps across the desk to collect the two vials. He scoops them into his hands and starts examining them. "...Well, well, Red. I guess I might have underestimated you. It takes a lot of guts to steal from the guys who make this stuff."

He thinks she stole these...he probably assumes she doesn't have enough to buy anything on her own. That's her story down here. She's not rich. She's not wealthy. She's...nobody. At least, until Torchwick recognizes her. She has to earn her worth down here, and only by submitting to his will.

"...Okay, maybe you have what it takes to do something a bit more dangerous," Torchwick admits. "What kind of job are you looking for, exactly?"

[Diachronos]

"I'm looking for something a bit... darker." She moves her hand, letting it rest on the hilt of one of her swords. By now she knew that the only reason she was allowed to keep her weapons inside is because Roman could handle her without even trying.

[NeoSeraphi]

Roman chuckles. "Is that so? Well, Red, I'm afraid you're in the wrong place for that. If you want something that will really get your hands dirty, you're going to want to join the Red Mantis Assassins. But I'll tell you what. I happen to have a certain pain in my side that I need removed personally. If you deal with this person and get away quietly without leaving any evidence, I'll make a recommendation to the other Guild Master for you."

Rose can sense that she's not going to get paid for this mission outright. Torchwick's influence is so great that he can use it as currency, whereas she and her actual currency mean next to nothing down here in the underground. Her skill may be recognized, but that's it. She's basically being given a training mission before she can even start to get the right to use her skills for financial gain.

Not for the first time since she joined this guild, Rose feels like Roman's play thing. Her next words and her demeanor should reflect how she feels about this. After all, even if she joins another guild, she can always come back here, and Roman is too good an ally to lose out on potential future networking. Should she argue with him and ask for more? It might earn a bit more respect. Should she grit her teeth and bear it, like she's done since she got here? No risk, and no reward. Or, should she show that she actually rather enjoys him putting her under his thumb, and potentially open up some more jobs in the future, though with as much or more condescension as she's getting now?

[Diachronos]

Rose crosses her arms. "A recommendation for removing someone that's being a nuisance? That sounds like a fair trade... except for one thing. Your name carries a lot of weight in this city, so I'm a little suspicious of just who you're wanting me to knock off. If you're going to send me off against someone who's dangerous enough for you to notice, it's not too unreasonable to offer a little more than just a good word with the Red Mantis, don't you think?"

Spoiler: Diplomacy

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(1d20+11)[26], +1 from Charming if it applies

[NeoSeraphi]

Torchwick chuckles. "...I guess I might have gotten ahead of myself. This isn't my usual line of work, so I don't really know the going rates, which is why I was avoiding a discussion of payment," he explains. Torchwick straightens up. She can see that he's taking her more seriously now. That means she's likely going to get more respect from now on, but it will probably be a lot harder for her to use her charms to influence him, at least until she gives some specific indication that she's interested in him.

"Let's see...I'll offer you 1,000 gp. That's the best I can do with an untested mark. A bunch of drugs gives me no indication that you're skilled at killing," Torchwick says. Any mirth or relaxation in his voice is gone. No condescension, no teasing, no fun. "If that's all you need, you can get out. I'll have a dossier ready for you tomorrow morning."

He turns his gaze to the wine flask at his table, having lost all interest in her.

[Diachronos]

She nods. "Understood. I'll be back tomorrow, then. Pleasure doing business with you." Rose exits the back room, feeling triumphant. Let's see these bitches top that!

[NeoSeraphi]

Rose has succeeded in what she came here to do. She can stick around and try to make some friends in the Hall, or she can exit and go to the shopping district to look around, or she can return home and check on her servants and her family.

[Diachronos]

Buying some gear for her job would be a good idea, except she has no idea of what to expect when she goes after her target. She heads back to her home, hoping to celebrate her achievement with a long luxurious bath.

[NeoSeraphi]

Grant opens the door when Rose returns. "Good evening, my lady. Your dinner is ready and waiting. Your brother, Lord Chrys, has asked to see you in his office when you are available."

[Diachronos]

Rose rolls her eyes and groans with annoyance. "Thank you, Grant. Keep my dinner warm while I go see what my dear brother wants, would you?" Normally she'd be more friendly with him, but it's hard to be pleasant when she has to deal with her family. The young woman heads to her brother's office.

[NeoSeraphi]

Rose's brother, Chrysanthemum, looks up as she enters his office. "Ah, my adorable little sister. Please, have a seat. Can I have the slips bring you anything? Wine? Fruit? A booster seat?"

[Diachronos]

"Something to help pull my foot out of your ass would be great." She scowls and crosses her arms, not taking the offered seat. "What do you want, Flower Boy?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Chrys chuckles. "Sweet Rose, how do you get away with calling me that when Mother and Father named you after a flower as well? In any case, it's not polite for you to simply demand to know what a meeting is about. We haven't had any time to talk lately. Sit, drink, engage in a polite conversation for once in your life."

[Diachronos]

"You're one to talk about 'polite' conversation. A booster seat? Really? I'm two inches shorter than you."

[NeoSeraphi]

"And that would be a lot more noticeable if you actually wore heels every now and then, like a respectable woman," Chrys shoots back, showing her his raised platform shoes. "Now, then. You are going to have a civilized conversation with me if I have to have you bound and gagged first. Why don't you...tell me about your friends?"

He's making a genuine effort here. That's suspicious, but Rose can't see the harm in giving him an honest answer here.

[Diachronos]

"Ugh... fine..." She sits down. "What friends are you talking about?"

[NeoSeraphi]

The man shrugs. "You tell me. You have friends, certainly, don't you? You leave the house every day to go visit someone."

[Diachronos]

"I wander. Sometimes I go to the park, sometimes I go to one of the gambling halls... sometimes I just window shop all day in the market."

[NeoSeraphi]

"And you expect me to believe, in all that time, you haven't met a single person that you didn't enjoy conversing with, learned something about, would like to see again?" Chrys inquires.

[Diachronos]

"Well, there's my friend Cia at one of the alchemy shops, but you threw a fit like a toddler over how bad it looks when I associate with 'half-breeds like her'."

[NeoSeraphi]

Chrys narrows his eyes. "That is embarrassing and you shouldn't be associating with half-breeds. Honestly, if it wasn't for the little boy you had a while back, I would have stooped to more extreme measures to ensure the preservation of our bloodline."

Her brother is angry, but he takes a breath to calm down. Rose knows what extreme measures he's referring to, there are certain families in the nobility where the traits run a bit too persistently to be normal.

[Diachronos]

Rose smirks. "You're just jealous because you can't get a date. Or... is it that you don't want to get a date with the ladies Mother and Father are trying to set you up with?"

[NeoSeraphi]

The man frowns. "Rumors have floated around this city that you have been spotted in the company of women in more...intimate locations than one would expect. I love you, and I want you to be happy. If you are incapable of finding a mate that will give you an heir, an heir will be provided for you. Do I make myself clear?"

[Diachronos]

Rose sighs. "Yeah, yeah... by Asmodeus you sound just like Father sometimes..."

[NeoSeraphi]

"You are excused," Chrys replies dismissively.

On the one hand, Rose is glad to be out of there. On the other hand, he did say they should have some polite conversation. If Rose has any inquiries she'd like to make into her older brother or his affairs, now is the time to do so. She'll probably get at least one answer out of him if she points out that he said they were going to talk.

[Diachronos]

"Hold on, now. You asked for a conversation, that was closer to an interrogation. What have you been up to lately, brother?"