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The room with the golden bird is just down the hall. The bird turns out to be an avian grotesque glaring judgementally down at you from its perch atop the door, an oaken titan lesser to the council chamber's portal only by its singleness. No guards are posted here, so you're left to make your way inside at your own pace. You step inside the room and are immediately met by a curtain of relative darkness. The orblights aren't lit in here, and the window is covered by a cloth sheet that lets only a little light filter through. Your attention is immediately drawn to your left, where a small blueish-purple flame casts its immediate surroundings in sharp relief: A section of the plaster wall, marred by some kind of ugly splotch, and two people crouched in avid examination. They turn to you momentarily, the one with the flame in their hand holding it out so they can see their faces - and you theirs. The one with the flame is a young woman with a heart-shaped face and a golden stud in the left side of her nose who seems to regard you with amused curiosity. The other is a man with a shifty, nervous look about him, whose right hand jerks toward the dagger in his belt as he turns. Upon seeing you, he seems to relax, and claps his hands twice. The orblights flicker on.  "Welcome to Her Imperial Majesty's service."The man blinks, then takes a moment to look you up and down. "Such as it is. Sorry. No investigative experience, and she's throwing you right into it. If you don't already lock your doors at night, you should start." "I'm Maarten. This is Yoroa. I'm sure you've heard of her. If not, that's something you should start too. Hearing of people, I mean. You have to know who's who and how to get what you want from them. Like information. Cooperation. Or just getting them to stop threatening your life." "Don't look at me. My teeth aren't half as sharp as the rumours say. Besides, Maarten and I have an...understanding. If you're around enough, I'm sure we'll find some way of working together too." "If it wasn't Yoroa saying that to you, I'd say don't trust it. Half the time, when someone wants to 'work together' with you on an investigation, all they want to work is a knife into your back. The other half the time, they're steering you away from vested interests. But let's not get ahead of ourselves."Yoroa sinks onto a divan and gestures you to do the same. Meanwhile, Maarten walks over to the large desk at the back of the room, where a large bottle of golden-brown liquid sits among a number of glasses. He cracks the first smile you've seen so far. "Barishal whisky. It's a bit of a tradition."Maarten pours out a glass for everyone in the room and hands one to each of you in turn. "An apothecary, a messenger, a stationer and an alchemist. The next words out of my mouth should be 'walk into a tavern', but here you are sitting in front of me instead. Why don't you all tell me a little bit about yourselves? Something Maarten and I don't already know."----------------------------------------------------------------- OOC Thread, incl. Persons of Interest Whenever a new NPC shows up, they will be added to the Persons of Interest post. Their little bios will also be expanded as you learn more about them.
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Nov 20, 2015 14:55
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 Hana NemecHana's hand is partway up before she catches herself, "I guess I'll go first. Um... I guess you could say I'm sympathetic to the Raaka Clan. Some of the guilds really do treat the unguilded workers very poorly, and I think that needs to change before someone gets... violent." ShootaBoy fucked around with this message at 23:24 on Nov 25, 2015 |
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Nov 22, 2015 03:14
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 Tamara Muyskens Coming here, Grandmaster Amir had impressed upon her charge the importance of maintaining an image with the Imperial Court. Granted, Tamara was never much of a politician, or even a tactful person, but this was important. So no crazy plans in the Council Hall. No crazy statements either. The girl watches the liquid in the glass for a moment, swirling it around in an attempt to seem cultured. That's what cultured people do, right? They watch their drink. "Well, if you are an Imperial Investigator, you probably already know everything there is to know about us. Especially with the Imperial advisor at your side. Not sure there's much to tell, to be honest." Tamara sips, with a smile, and cocks her head a little at Maarten and Yoroa.
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Nov 24, 2015 19:32
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 Lovro Strnad "I ah, uh... Was hoping you might already know about me, from the Chronicler. Other than that, probably not much I'd talk with an Investigator." Real smooth, Lovro. Real smooth. Strnad took a slightly-too-large sip, trying to find a use for his hands, as he realized how he must have sounded.
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Nov 25, 2015 22:21
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Calli Galbraight Calli accepts the glass from Maarten with a small smile and inclines her head towards him in a gesture of thanks. Sniffing the liquid, she takes a mock sip of it. Taste of Alchemy on the whisky "We are an....interesting bunch, I agree," Calli said while offering an amused smirk, "The best information I can offer about myself to say I was born and raised in Ostebras. All these foul murders are quite distressing to the order of the city. I look forward to swiftly enacting justice on whoever or whatever caused the crime." Turning towards Hana after her remark and crossing her arms disdainfully. "Why care about the unguilded anyway? If they're too lazy to find a proper guild, I say to hell with them. Find another way to make a living."
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Nov 26, 2015 09:40
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Hana Nemec "The why, Apothecary, is because they are people just like you or I. They may not have our training, but they still deserve some modicum of respect. Even ignoring that, there's the fact that those 'lazy' workers are what many of the guilds need to function, and if the Raaka have survived for 5 years I don't think they'll be leaving anytime soon." Hana punctuates her words with an overlarge sip of her drink, and she blinks hard as her eyes water.
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Nov 27, 2015 06:36
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Calli identifies in the whisky the pronounced aroma of peat smoke - a strong, almost incense-like scent tinged only slightly with a hint of heather honey sweetness. ---------------------- "I'm sure you two can work it out later. In the meantime, it's my turn to tell you something about myself. You wouldn't expect it, but I'm madly, head over heels in love...with Vernite cuisine. If you ever want to make me do something, just bring me one of those delightful little upside-down tarts. They're...oh, what was that phrase I liked? 'Absolutely heavenly.'" "And I have six toes on my left foot."Maarten takes a long sip of his drink. "As far as you know."Smirking, Yoroa leans forward to grab a large envelope on the low table between you. "Let's get down to business. Maarten put together all the information he had on the Van Virren case for you. We'll go over it with you so if you have any questions, we can answer them while we're still here." "Right. You should have been briefed on the basics - a cult group including Niklaas Van Virren ritualistically murdered Hendrik Barle down in the catacombs, and this group has been linked to a number of other murders. We'll start with some details of the crime scene."Yoroa hands the envelope off to Maarten, who places his empty glass down on the desk next to the bottle. He spends a moment rifling through the papers inside, then having found what he's looking for, spreads a few papers out on the table. Most are sketches of the scene and body from various angles, but the one that catches your eye is a page with nothing but a single symbol splattered in the middle of it in black ink.  "I win again, Maarten. Everyone loves the symbol. It's very mysterious." "My assistant spent a lot of time on those sketches. She's got a way around a pencil, that one. Not what I expected when I hired a carpenter's kid, but I guess there's always talent where you least expect it. But I guess the subtleties of art take a backseat to something big and bold for people to look at." Yoroa takes on a look of mock offense. "This symbol is art! It's filled with meaning, intrigue...Maarten pretends to be a modern man, but as you can see, some things are just too sophisticated for him to appreciate. Now, this symbol was found splashed in blue paint on the catacomb floor under the body. But in all seriousness, the body is where we should start." "Yeah. So the first thing you'll notice about the body is the giant hole dug out of the chest. The heart is gone, of course. Removing the heart is a theme that seems to come up over and over again with these cultist creeps, but there's something else fairly unique about this one: no blood. Or very little, at least - you can see a bit of dried blood splashed on the body, but not nearly as much as you might expect, and none on the floor around it. You can see scorch marks here suggesting cautery, which could be explained by certain magics being used as a murder weapon, or could have been done deliberately after the fact. I took the body to an anatomist and based on the amount of blood loss, his opinion was the former - but keep your options open." "Sorry for hitting you with the gruesome stuff right away, but if you're gonna be investigating these freaks, you'll have to get used to it. Now, I think the Empress used the word 'dismembered' in her description of the murder. Well, if you look closely here, you'll notice something about his hands: The fingers have been removed." "Let's just say those little burning sticks around him aren't candles." "And that's all there is to say about that. I can't tell you the meaning of any of this. Woulda needed a lot more time and a lot more whisky to unravel that mystery. Anyway, now it's time to talk about the symbol. Like Yoroa said, the symbol was painted on the floor under the body. Right under the hole in Barle's chest, too, with that inner coil peeking out the middle. There was also a circle painted around the body, with the line of paint going over the wrists and ankles. Obviously that had to be painted after the body was laid in place, and evidently, the symbol must have been done right before. When we flipped him over, there was paint on his back, too." "After we recorded all this...well, I needed a stiff drink. But after that, I went to the city guard to see if they'd seen anything like this before. They had. They couldn't give me any names - not victims, not perpetrators - but they did give me a number. Three. Other than the methodology, they weren't able to give me much in common. One was in that creepy old abandoned manor on Stub Hill, one in a shipping warehouse down on the waterfront, and one on the roof of the Gravin tenement house just off Court Road. For what it's worth, the one I investigated in the catacombs was around the menagerie. If you want the exact location, get a guide to show you the remains of Clement the Blind - it's down the end of that passage, last room to the left. Didn't get around to investigating any of the other ones. By the time I managed to drag even that little bit of information out of the guard, the Empress had already decided on this task force, so I moved on." "You might find it useful to go down to those locations, ask around, see what you can find. I also got one other thing - the guard said that after they'd found the Stub Hill body, the wife came around asking questions. After she realized how useless they are, she went off to find a private investigator. Only one I know of in the area is Marlaine Cassebrot. You could do worse than looking her up." "There's a reason I'm here too. One of the spells I know grants me the ability to speak to the dead. If there's anyone dead who you have a solid reason to believe can help your investigation, you can bring their remains to me and we'll see what we can get out of them. The more remains, the easier it gets. Keep in mind, though, the spell doesn't compel them to say anything they don't want to say. It just lets me speak to them." "Naturally, we tried that on both Barle and Van Virren. Van Virren didn't give us anything besides cryptic references to 'The Family'. Pretty sure he was screwing with us. Barle, though, told us that the last thing he remembers is leaving one of Corentin De Blanc's parties with Van Virren on the ninth of Foarjiersmanod. Could be another avenue to pursue." "That's all we have, right? Mmm...yes, that's all. Any questions?"
Wol fucked around with this message at 00:13 on Nov 28, 2015 |
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Nov 27, 2015 20:37
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Lovro Strnad "Do we have some, uh, actual authority here? You know, wave some search warrants around, or maybe arrest some sods, if need be."
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Nov 28, 2015 10:58
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Hana Nemec Hana nods in agreement at Lovro's question and follows it with one of her own. " Somewhat related, do we have a base of operations to work from? Or do we have to sort that out ourselves?"
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Nov 29, 2015 00:43
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Calli Galbraith Calli points to the paper with the spiral symbol on it. "Is it possible we could get a copy of that symbol. It would greatly help my research purposes."
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Nov 29, 2015 08:41
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"Yeah, the envelope is for you. As for authority, it slipped my mind for a minute - I'm supposed to give you these." Maarten hands you each a silver crest, small enough to fit in the palm of your hand - a pair of feathered wings wrapped around a round shield, with a diamond shape in the centre whose lower end extends past the bottom of the shield. Within the diamond, a small, round amethyst is affixed. "This is a badge of office. It gives you the power to arrest anyone in contravention of the law within the boundaries of Ostebras, including all the farms across the Ostebras Plain. It also gives you the power to carry out magistrate-issued search warrants. You'll need to show it when you do either of those things. All other times, use discretion. Your job is going to involve a lot of snooping around and talking information out of people. Not everyone needs to know you're an investigator." "Two more points I want to make. First. Being a member of a cult is not a crime. Second. You'll see people with badges like this that have a different stone in the centre. City guard are garnet. Naval law enforcement is opal. Green jasper for provincial sheriffs. You see one with anything that's not a gemstone, like glass or especially nacre, I'd consider it a personal favour if you haul that person in. It's getting to be a real problem." "As for your 'base of operations'...even I work out of my own home. Count yourself lucky if they even give you a summons stone." "If I know the treasurer, no, you won't be counting yourselves lucky."
Wol fucked around with this message at 11:10 on Nov 29, 2015 |
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Nov 29, 2015 11:07
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Tamara Muyskens Tamara, meanwhile, was trying not to revisit her lunch at the gruesome sight of the pictures. Hiding the urge with a sip of her drink and a strategic look away, she was silent for a while as the others asked questions. It took a moment for her to compose herself, though, the hole in the man's chest rather vividly remaining in her mind's eye. Still, she was better than this, right? She had to be. "So, uh," she asked after a while, "are the locations significant? Not...in themselves, I mean, but altogether, like if you draw it out on a map. Is there a pattern? Like the symbol thing, or something else maybe?"
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Nov 29, 2015 21:13
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Lovro Strnad "I'm no Imperial Investigator, so feel free to correct me, but my gut says we should start with one of them walking leads. All those kips... Whatever was there of interest was long cleaned up or trampled all over by this time. If we ever are to find something rorty out there, something that even the perps have missed... We better have an idea what we're looking for in the first place."
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Nov 29, 2015 22:29
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Hana Nemec "Agreed. We might also make a point of asking around at some of the older temples and churches, as well as checking the library, this symbol may be connected to a dead religion of some kind."
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Dec 1, 2015 06:07
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"If I was going to be drawing pictures on a map, I'd probably wait until I had more dots to connect. You want to see what it tells you, though, knock yourself out. Anyway, sounds like you have some leads to chase. If you ever need to find me, or just want to run something by me, I have an office at the magistracy. Third floor, name's on the door. Can't guarantee I'll be there, but if I am, I'll do what I can to help you out."
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Dec 2, 2015 00:41
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Tamara Muyskens Tamara couldn't help but flip the badge over in her hand. It felt heavy, but in a good way. As soon as Maarten finished talking, she pinned it to the inside of her vest. As big as the temptation was to put it on the outside, maybe he had a point. "Well! Looks like we're good to go then. Howabouts we look up this Cassebrot lady? If she's already found something, it'll save us some legwork." Taking a big swig from her glass, though not emptying it, she got up and left for the door. "Thanks for the drink, by the way! Come on, you lot. Let's get this investigation going."
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Dec 4, 2015 15:56
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Lovro Strnad "That's where I'd start too. Just try not to play with this thing and rattle you bone-boxes the second she opens the door. From when I had pleasure to talk with Miss Cassebrot, she's not on the best of terms with law enforcement agents. It's an occupational thing." Well, we were both rounded up for questioning once as witnesses, so she totally counts as a passing acquaintance. Totally.
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Dec 4, 2015 16:24
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You say your goodbyes to Maarten and Yoroa and head outside. The sun's position in the sky tells you it's well past noon, a fact your grumbling stomach is quick to confirm. You resolve to eat lunch before going to see the detective. Standing in the courtyard of luxurious Meizere Hall, surrounded by impeccably tended topiaries and the well-to-do strolling by without a care in the world, something else hits you. You should eat lunch here. Stub Hill is not, strictly speaking, a nice district. It was a wealthy area once, when Ostebras was young, until the Henegite Uprising of 866 saw many of the hill's lavish manors burned to the ground. Today, it holds the distinction of being the cheapest place in Ostebras to buy a single-family home - at least on paper. Those who live there might tell you, behind closed doors, that living in the neighbourhood comes with the additional monthly cost of paying protection money to "the Family". Nobody seems to say what family this is, exactly, but no more needs to be said. If anything's been consistent about Stub Hill these past couple hundred years, it's been its reputation for organized crime. Those who live in the district enjoy relative peace and safety as long as they follow two rules: "Pay your dues" and "Look the other way". Given that the nature of your new job involves quite the opposite of looking the other way, you're not particularly looking forward to this trip. So, yes, you're having lunch before heading out. ----------- An hour and a half later, with your belly full of spring stew, you find a cabriolet to take you down to Stub Hill. From there, a little asking around gets you to a modest house with a plain but professionally-engraved wooden sign above the door that reads "Marlaine Cassebrot, Private Investigator". A number of notes handwritten in neat, looping cursive are pinned to the wall on either side of the door, reading "Open daily from 10 AM to noon and 1 PM to 6 PM", "Come in! During the above hours, no need to knock!" "Not related to the government (or the Guard) in any way!", "We value your privacy", "All paying clients welcome!" "NO SOLICITING", and "Aleksander Haag shame on you for abusing our generosity". You open the door and head in. Inside, you find yourself in a living room that's been converted into a surprisingly roomy office, given the size of the house. From somewhere further within, a woman's voice shouts "Be there in a minute! Have a seat!" A couple divans are set up to your right, between an overflowing bookcase and a large potted fern. On the opposite side of the room is a simple desk, topped as if for show by a single, neat stack of papers, a bulbous bronze Kabilan inkwell, and a ceramic mug set in a matching bronze saucer. While you wait for Marlaine to come out, you keep yourself entertained trying to analyze a painting on the wall opposite the front door: A large expanse of branching golden swirls on a tan background, with sections of garish patterns at each side that alternate between the same gold as the middle and various bright colours. You spot faces near the top of these patterned sections and have enough time to figure out that the patterns are supposed to be people's clothes before the door separating this office from the rest of the house opens. A bright-eyed young woman with scarlet hair comes out, wearing an apron and heavy black gloves over a pretty, cream-coloured sleeveless dress. Lovro Strnad recognizes her as a good ten years younger than Marlaine Cassebrot.  "Sorry to keep you waiting! Want something to drink? We have tea, chocolate...Kabilan coffee..."She gives you a sly grin at that, obviously expecting you to be impressed. Kabilan coffee is a fashionable and somewhat rare drink you may have heard of if you spend time in upscale riverside cafes, but otherwise, her body language leaves you a bit confused. "Anyhow, what brings you here? Not too often we see a whole group come in."The woman makes her way to the desk, taking off her apron and gloves. When she gets there, she replaces the apron with a golden dangle necklace, waiting for your response.
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Dec 6, 2015 03:49
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Lovro Strnad "Let me handle this, gals. I'm used to types like these," Lovro said as they've approached the door. His effortless confidence was quite surprising, given the rather poor performance at the Guild Council Chamber. - - - - "Kabilan sounds rorty, thank you. What sounds real rorty is a chance to exchange few words with Miss Cassebrot about a case I believe we might unwittingly share." Lichtenstein fucked around with this message at 10:08 on Dec 6, 2015 |
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Dec 6, 2015 09:45
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"Marlaine's out. On a case, you know? If you tell me about your case, though, I can help you out in the meantime. And I can get you that coffee if your friends tell me what they want too. Don't worry, you can talk to me. I don't bite. Just...maybe nibble a bit."
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Dec 7, 2015 17:55
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Lovro Strnad "Then I hope you don't mind if we wait for her over a cup or two. The matter at hand involves some... Confidentiality issues".
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Dec 7, 2015 19:21
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Calli Galbraith Calli shuffles in and takes a seat in the corner of the room. She quietly watches the exchange between Lovro and the woman, allowing Lovro to take charge. Perking up as the woman asks about drinks, Calli exclaims, "Oh I'd love a bit of the Kabilan coffee! I have been meaning to try some myself. It's quite impressive you have it stocked here. How'd you manage to get some yourself, Miss....." Calli trails off, waiting for an introduction from the red-haired woman.
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Dec 7, 2015 22:22
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Hana Nemec Hana decides to remain standing. "I'm alright, thank you." She falls back into silence, letting Lovro work his area of expertise.
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Dec 7, 2015 23:30
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The woman's expression hardens ever so slightly at Lovro's latest comment. "I am her assistant, you know. Anything you tell her, I'll end up knowing anyway."
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Dec 8, 2015 01:16
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Lovro Strnad "Figured as much, she doesn't mind you knowing. She might mind you talking, which... Bleed, where did my manners go?! Name's Lovro Strnad," he said, holding out his hand to exchange a courtesy shake. "Daily Chronicler, but this is off the record. For everyone involved. Which I believe, given the fine reputation of this establishment, will not need further clarification." After a short, punctuating pause he continued: "And these are my associates: Tamara Muyskens, Calli Galbraith, and Hana Nemec." After he was done greeting, Lovro took a seat. "Please forgive my apprehension, but this is a matter best not talked about at all. Alas, it seems we might be forced to anyway. Without going into further details... No harm in that, I suppose... We are following some foul happenings in Ostebras that we believe might be connected to a case Miss Marlaine was involved in. We were hoping to reach an agreement to help each other out by sharing some knowledge, rather than chase cold trails." Lichtenstein fucked around with this message at 09:05 on Dec 8, 2015 |
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Dec 8, 2015 09:02
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"Well, delighted to meet you all. I'm Auriane Theux. And believe it or not, it is my job to take care of this kind of thing while Marlaine's out. So why don't you stop talking down to me, Mister Mysterious, and actually let me know what this all-shadowy case is so we can get it sorted." Auriane takes a few sheets of paper from the desk and places them in front of her, then unscrews the inkwell and dips a pen in it, all the while staring intently at Lovro.
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Dec 9, 2015 15:30
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Lovro Strnad "Well, a man got killed and someone is out there is making drat well sure the badges don't get the idea to do as much as stumble on a useful lead by accident," Lovro said casually. "So, you understand this makes the poor sod all that more interesting. You ladies happen to be be two of the few people that seemed to give a crap about him." He waited until Auriane was just about to open her mouth. "Van Virren."
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Dec 9, 2015 15:52
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"I don't know where you're getting your information, but we don't have a case involving anyone by that name. It does ring a bell, though..." Auriane spends a couple seconds with brow furrowed, evidently deep in thought before her eyes suddenly go wide. "That's the silversmith name, isn't it? No no no. No way, I- hm. I'm going to...I'm going to go put some coffee on for everyone. We'll continue this in a few minutes."Auriane sets her pen neatly down, then slowly gets to her feet and makes her way out of the room. She gives each of you a searching look as she goes, definitely more wary than when you first walked in. ------------------------- A few minutes later, she returns bearing a tray with cups of coffee for each of you - even those who didn't ask for one - and a particularly tall cup for herself. After serving them out, she returns the tray to a room just behind the door, then sits back down at the desk. "If you're still prepared to wait, we're definitely going to have to get Marlaine in here before taking any further action."She's speaking slowly and deliberately, clearly having put some thought into her response. "It is not either of our preference to get involved in guild matters. So you understand, if you want our help with anything guild-related, we're going to want to know everything you know about the situation and what exactly you're expecting of us. Do not hold anything back. It might be a while before Marlaine returns, so if you need time to figure out how best to present your case...well, you have it."
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Dec 10, 2015 16:51
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Lovro Strnad "I hope you'll excuse my earlier gruffness. This is a... Delicate matter, as you now well understand," Lovro said and took a sip of the legendary drink. "Mmm, gals, you have to try this thing, it's divine!"
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Dec 10, 2015 17:15
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Hana Nemec "I think that Mr. Strnad is understating the need for discreetness in this matter. None of what is discussed once your boss returns should ever pass beyond this room without our say-so. The public at large does not know about this, so if someone has loose lips there will be a very short list." Hana finishes with a small sip of her coffee. I'm setting myself up as the bad cop to your good cop Lichtenstein. Not that important here but having it established could come in handy later.
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Dec 10, 2015 21:48
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Lovro Strnad "You're a real charmer, Hana. I assure you these ladies make half their living by not knowing things when necessary." "Besides, us knowing is the least of everyone's problem if the chant is banging around the town."
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Dec 11, 2015 10:28
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Tamara Muyskens Tamara watched the whole conversation with increasingly less interest. She'd expected things to go a little more smoothly. Find the PI, get the info, move on to the actually exciting part of the investigation. And here they were, drinking coffee. Her foot tapped on the floor with alternating rhythm, as she looked about the small office for anything interesting. Her eyes eventually land on Lovro with a plea for swiftness, even if she knows it's not in his hands.
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Dec 11, 2015 17:10
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It's a while before Marlaine shows up, but at least there's no shortage of books to read. The office library is an eclectic collection, featuring everything from romance novels to academic treatises. Between the wealth of options, you manage to keep yourself entertained - or at least occupied - until she shows. Finally, after a length of time you're pretty sure can be measured in hours, the door swings open. In walks a red-haired woman in her early thirties, whose brown boots, short jacket and light scarf would make for a fashionable spring outfit but for the enormous rucksack strapped to her back. "Oh, clients! Clients...who've been waiting for a while. Four of you, which means you're probably not just some obstinate time-waster. This is serious, then?"Auriane nods her head slowly. "May I introduce you to-" "Give me five minutes. I need to put this bag down and scream at the wall for a sec."Marlaine briskly walks further into the house. You don't hear anything until she reappears five minutes later as promised, wiping her glasses on her shirt. "Okay. You were going to introduce me to these lovely people, Auriane." "Welcome back. This is Lovro Strnad, Tamara Muyskens, Calli Galbraith and Hana Nemec..."Auriane proceeds to fill Marlaine in on everything you've told her so far. As she begins the retelling, Marlaine takes a seat on a divan across from you, listening intently. "You were right to involve me, Auriane. The guilds...look, I'm going to be honest with you guys, neither of us have much love for the guilds. So enough secrecy and half-speak, let's hear it - this big case, this consuming mystery. I'm sure you've been waiting long enough already."
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Dec 13, 2015 17:28
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Lovro Strnad "Guild matters... One way of calling it," Strnad murmured. He took the last sip of his coffee and put the cup down on the nearest piece of furniture. "It all begins with Hendrik Barle biting the iron. A freak murder. But when you're a guild's master, things don't happen just because and we all know the procedure for such a case - the bronze drops everything at their hands to shake the Ostebras upside down to give some explanation before the Guild Council explodes. Yet, no matter the flames under their butts, they choose to be the same useless old selves. But - you know all of this, 'cause if I got my facts right, you ladies were Mrs. Barle only hope once she figured out the same thing. However, it's when Van Virren comes into the picture that the entire case becomes really interesting. So, imperial investigators follow the logical conclusion that at this level everything is political - and lo and behold, it doesn't take them long to figure out that indeed, another guild was involved. A culprit is caught and willing to spill the beans, but just so happens to get whipstitched before a word of a formal report gets written down. Coincidentally, the deader gets thrown out of his guild, so nobody's really obliged to keep his records anymore. I hope you're starting to see a pattern, because here comes the juicy secret: the imperial investigators got rewarded for being the only ones to achieve anything by having the case stripped from them. If there's something that our jobs have in common, it's probably the understanding that the more effort someone puts in keeping you from knowing a thing, the more worthwhile it is to follow." Lovro reached for his cup and - upon seeing it's empty - put it back with a barely audible sigh. "Still, there's some fine folks willing to see this thing through to the end, even if their hands are tied. So, thanks to our sources, we managed to get a nice, good look into what apparently passes for a case file in Ostebras and that's pretty much where we stand right now. Right now, we're hoping you could save us bashing our heads against the same walls you did." Lichtenstein fucked around with this message at 20:31 on Dec 14, 2015 |
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Dec 14, 2015 20:22
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Marlaine and Auriane listen attentively, each in their own way. You tell your story over the sound of frantic quillwork as Auriane fills her paper with notes, while Marlaine sits reclined on the divan, eyes closed behind her round glasses, taking it all in. When your tale is finished, Marlaine half-raises her left arm and takes a deep breath. "The case was removed from the official investigators and given to you, which makes you...a neutral entity. Not a third party, though. Too inexperienced. So you're a compromise between government entities, inoffensive enough not to be denounced by anyone influential enough to matter, which means you're either purposely useless or someone is very sure they can use you to their advantage." Marlaine opens her eyes and turns to Hana, wearing a wry smile. "That they sent you to us means it's the latter. I have to wonder what their angle is, sending you here. But that's something for me to ponder later. For now, it seems like we might have something to offer each other, from one investigative body to another. I'll start, with one caveat: We take our clients' privacy very seriously. I'm not going to talk about the specifics of a case with anyone who's just walked in the door, I don't care if it's the Empress herself. I can point you in a direction, though. Head down to Dimo's tonight on the corner of Old Road and Linden, ask around for the Ratcatcher. He won't know anything about the case, but he'll be able to tell you something about the Cerulean Circle. If my evidence is on point, that's the group that did in our mutual acquaintance."
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Dec 17, 2015 22:56
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Hana Nemec "That's not very much to go on." Hana lets out a sigh. "But I suppose it's better than what we had. Thank you for your assistance." She turns to the rest of the group, "I believe that's all, but does anyone else have a question or two on their mind?"
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Dec 18, 2015 05:49
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Lovro Strnad "Myself, I'd err on the side of useless. Don't take this personally, ladies, but sending an apothecary and an alchemist together to solve Barle's murder sounds like a prime way to paralyze the entire outfit, with no prior time on the beat to boot. I don't doubt that we're all chosen to be junior enough to be bossed around or catch a shiv, were we to disappoint with competence." "Anyway... Appreciate the tip. Anything to keep an eye on for us to return the favor? As much as your own wariness makes me appreciate the professionalism of this operation, I want to assure you we weren't sent to you as much as... Actually, are we the first to pester you about this case?"
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Dec 18, 2015 09:28
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Tamara Muyskens "Not to be rude, or anything," Tamara interjects with a tone that says anything but, "buuuut I couldn't help but notice you said 'if my evidence is on point'. I have no doubt you're good at what you do, but can we get a teensy bit more assurance that, you know, this is actually what's happening? Chasing down our tails if your evidence isn't on point is kind of a waste of time and we really can't afford that, with things being as they are." She smiles with as much polite kindness as she can muster. "You understand, right?"
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Dec 19, 2015 20:51
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"If you think you're wasting your time, you're more than welcome to go somewhere else." "Well said, Auriane. We have a lead for you; you can take it or leave it. I can guarantee it's at least relevant, but as you'll find out if you follow it, the situation may be more complicated than you realize. You have an opportunity to learn something here. If you think you have a more fruitful lead, though, by all means..." With a slight smirk, Marlaine spreads her hands out in front of her. "If you do decide to stick around, there is one thing we might find useful. If you do so happen to run into one of these Cerulean Circle people, we would be interested in analyzing their wand. Each of them should carry one. I have an idea about how their wands work that, if it's accurate, will help us get a closer look at them." "I think that's it. Right, Auriane?" "Mostly, but Mr. Strnad also asked if anyone else had come calling about this case before. The answer is no, you're the first ones. Except for Mrs. formerly-Barle of course." "Perfect. That should be all for today, then."
Wol fucked around with this message at 20:20 on Dec 20, 2015 |
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Dec 20, 2015 20:17
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Calli Galbraith Calli finishes off her drink then let's off a long drawn out sigh. She pinches the bridge of her nose in frustration. Of course this wouldn't be a straightforward problem. Looking up towards Auriane and Marlane, she says, "I appreciate the information and hospitality. Ratcatcher, eh? What an....interesting name. I'll keep an eye out for those wands you want as well?" Turning to the rest of her group, "So, any of you been to this Dim's place? Are we all to wait for Ratcatcher together or....would we trust each other enough to just send one person?"
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Dec 28, 2015 06:45
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