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Post by Ayame Shibanowe on Feb 14, 2008 19:15:21 GMT -5
The Synopsis:
You (Adventurer) have been hired as one of a small entorage of bodyguards for a well-to-do Tiranian Merchant named Varnel Klaude. Mr. Klaude has hired you to attend him as he travels north into the Nohra Mountains in search of some treasure or other that he is loathe to give any details on. Sufficed to say, you are being paid very well for your time: 300 ka at the start of your journey, and another 500 ka upon his safe return home. As we begin our story, your future employer has left the Whitesnake Tavern, and your fellow adventurers have enjoyed their last night of freedom in the best way they know how--wining, dining, and enjoying the songs of a local minstrel troupe being featured. The tavern was crowded, but warm and comfortable. The quiet and mysterious female among you, Ayame, headed to her room for the night almost immediately, refusing to participate in the frivolities outright. Now, it is morning. Your work is soon to begin. Ayame sits quietly at the bar... Those of you who wish to join who have not been personally notified of this adventure, please PM me with your request.
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Post by Ayame Shibanowe on Feb 14, 2008 19:15:49 GMT -5
She took a seat at the bar. At a glance, Ayame was an exotically beautiful woman. She wore her smaller form because she didn't care to be leered at by the humans, and also because it took up less space and the bar was very crowded. Because she wore her human form, she let the hood of her cloak back and the long auburn hair tumbled in rivulets down her spine.
Human form was both a blessing and a curse. It let one pass with relative ease in human territories, but it often felt like wearing a pair of shoes two sizes too small. The woman's bare feet coiled the stool beneath the black pooling pants that draped loosely over her hips.
'So, a guard job, huh? Well, I guess any work is better than nothing, though there's something about this man that I just don't much like,' she thought.
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Post by Duello on Feb 15, 2008 12:13:29 GMT -5
Duello walked up to the bar, settleing in near Ayame. "this will certainly be an interesting trip. the Nohra mountains." he said and called for a cup of tea from the barman.
he looked around at his surroundings, as though taking in one last view of civilization before departing from it for good. he seemed relieved.
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Post by Ayame Shibanowe on Feb 16, 2008 13:49:35 GMT -5
"Make sure to buy plenty of cloves before we leave," Ayame answered. Cloves were known to ward of bertar bees, the most troublesome enemies the mountains had to offer--they burrowed into the brain and gradually drove a person mad before killing them. She was used to northern climates herself, but she wondered if a Zhoan would complain about the cold once they got deeper into the mountains.
She sipped at the tea she'd ordered, overly careful with the mug lest she accidentally break it, never once looking up at her travelling companion. She wasn't good with social skills and rarely spoke. These things had been made painfully apparent just the previous night and a swordman who had been about to join their crew had declined at the last minute because he 'couldn't bear the thought of spending months on end with such a disagreeable woman'. It could be that he'd been flirting relentlessly with her and after ignoring him through the entire exchange she'd turned him down flat and called him 'trite' and a 'fool'. Or it could be that when he put his arm around her right afterwards she'd nearly broken his arm. Regardless, it seemed as if walking on eggshells around the woman was probably a good course of action to take. Even so, she couldn't be all bad, she'd just reminded Duello about the cloves, right.
"...if you show any signs of losing your mind I'll have no choice but to kill you." Or...maybe not...
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Post by Duello on Feb 18, 2008 14:16:24 GMT -5
Duello smiled at her practical advice and nodded. "I'll be certain to acquire some. I've never been into this mountain range, so I'm looking forward to seeing how different it is from the Grand back home." he said, and accepted his tea from the barman. taking a few sips, he then set down his mug and looked off toward a nearby window.
"as for the madness, I'd expect no less of you. and should you start showing the signs I will be obliged to do the same for you." he said with a light smirk. he liked this woman, if for nothing else than for her practical and straight forward approach to things. she wasn't wasting time with pleasantries, or trying to soften her words, she was simply stating the facts, and he admired that.
he stood. "if I'm to get my hands on those cloves, i should go and do that before we're to set out." he left the store for a few minutes then returned with the cloves. and sat down again to his tea. sipping off some more and smiling lightly.
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Post by Ayame Shibanowe on Feb 18, 2008 18:48:20 GMT -5
A half-smirk passed the woman's features. "Then we understand one another well enough," she answered, returning to her meal without another word. She was just finishing when Duello sat down again, but their exchanges were not meant to last long.
Why? Because just as the female stood, ready to go meet their employer and begin the journey, an entorage of some ten guards burst into the tavern! Two tried to enter the doorway at the same time and Ayame couldn't help but think, 'No one told me the circus was in town,' at the display of bumbling idiocy.
The Captain of the Guard was with them and held his sword out, pointed straight at the woman. "Do not move, Dracon." The last word he spat like a curse. She had not openly offered that information to her travelling companion as yet, but neither had she deliberately hidden it. The signs were there if you looked for them. He golden eyes, half hooded until now, looked up more directly to reveal the slit pupils that her race could never hide even in transformation and she tilted her head. "Not the Tiranian Greeting Committee, I'd imagine," she said. "Which only begs the question of what you think I've done."
"I don't care for your smartass remarks," the Captain said. "You're under the arrest for the murder of Tobias Klaude!" The son of the merchant they'd been hired to guard?
'No point in telling them I didn't do it, I imagine,' she thought. "And I supposedly killed this man when?"
"His body was discovered slightly before dawn."
"I see. Apparently I've had a productive night." After all, she had no alibi to speak of.
But this is certainly a turn of events! A dracon and a killer? It certainly is possible...
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Post by Duello on Feb 19, 2008 11:39:33 GMT -5
Duello stood and regarded the woman. she had retired early, and she'd certainly made a point of concealing her identity, but doing so was perfectly understandable. after all, if you're race is hated, you hide your race, that's reason. he thought back over what little he knew of the Dracon, they were half dragon, taller than any huminoid had a right to be, isolationists and frozen in a caste system. they could take human form for perhaps 2 1/2- 3 hours once a day. he supposed at the end of that time frame they'd simply revert back to their natural state.
he tried to imagine how a giant half dragon would escape from an upper room of the tavern, which he knew from experience had indecently small windows, get to the ground without being noticed, then get through the town to wherever the child was, kill them, and get back to the tavern and up to their room without being noticed by anyone, particularly himself.
"captain, I'm afraid i cannot allow you to cart her off without a few answers on your part. first, where was the body found, and in what state? second, what evidence is there that this woman is responsible?" he said. there was a third question, but he kept it to himself for the moment, preferring to get the answers to these questions first. inside his cloak he fingered his daggers, the room was too small for him to ready his bow and fire it before being apprehended. and while he wasn't particularly good with the daggers, he couldn't image it being overly difficult to put the pointy end into an unprepaired opponent.
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Post by Ayame Shibanowe on Feb 19, 2008 19:07:31 GMT -5
"Watch your words, Zhoan, of you'll be considered an accomplice to Young Master Klaude's murder. A woman outside has already confirmed this past day the dracon female has been keeping company with a Zhoan Elf, no doubt conspiring against the gentleman for reasons we can only begin to imagine."
Tobias Klaude was actually not so much a child as a young man of some twenty years, but the fact that Duello doesn't seem to know that will only work in his favor, correct? Unfortunately, Ayame didn't feign similar ignorance.
"I will answer your questions if only to prove this creature's guilt." Only the merchants of Tirane got on tolerably with the Dracon, the remainder of the mainland shared similar opinions--they were more monster than anything else. Dragon's scales were found under the victim's nails, and traces of poison were found around the sword wound. Tell me, elf. How many dracon do you know of in Tirane right now, let alone those who carry with them an artificer's poison blade?"
Ayame frowned a bit. 'So they think my dokkiba is the murder weapon then,' she thought blandly before finally speaking. "I'll grant that given the situation, I definitely do seem to be the most likely culprit," she said at last. "However, that doesn't change the fact that I've no interest in attending to such a matter as this at the current time." Like that's really going to convince them, Ayame...
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Post by Duello on Feb 20, 2008 14:26:07 GMT -5
Duello's jaw set for a moment as he considered the situation. things didn't bode well for Ayame. he looked at her for a moment as he thought through the situation, the logistics of the case, and possible motivation.
"you say that there were scales under his fingernails. that, i admit, is compelling evidence concerning the race of the assailant. as for the weapons, if she has a poisoned blade, it's not that unusual. poison is easily found in the world by those who choose to find it." he paused and lifted his tea to his lips with his free hand (the one not on a dagger under his cloak) then he held the mug while considering his next words carefully.
"however, i can personally attest that she was in the bar last night, for a long enough period to be hired for a venture into the mountains by the good merchant Varnel Klaude. Further she was in our company long enough to have numerous advances made upon her by a young swordsman who, after a rather harsh rejection decided not to join our party after all." he pretended to take a sip, letting the liquid wet his upper lip but no more.
"my understanding is, that having spent that much time in human form, she would have been about due to revert to her natural form. so i would greatly appreciate it, if you would explain how a full sized Dracon could slip out of the tiny windows in this establishment, glide to the ground, and cross town to wherever this child was, (which you still haven't disclosed), kill the child, then return with a bloody sword without your fine town watchmen noticing."
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Post by Ayame Shibanowe on Feb 24, 2008 12:51:19 GMT -5
"The dracon would have no trouble with it if she had a sure-footed elf to see her safely out the back door," the Captain answered.
It was proof enough that the dracon were always guilty until proven innocent. Always. That's just the way things were.
"It would seem, Sir Zhoan, that my guilt has already been decided. It would be prudent to avoid further argument lest you want yours to be as well," she said. "Whatever the case, as I doubt Mr. Klaude wishes to employ someone suspected of his only son's murder, I'll take my leave here to seek other employment."
Without further hesitation the woman began to move past the guards. She wasn't foolish enough to think they wouldn't try to apprehend her, but she was confident enough to think they would fail. She was a dracon, after all. Ten human soldiers should be nothing.
The Captain began to attack. Ayame, surprisingly, retained her human form even though it must weaken her greatly to do so, and sidestepped, grabbing his wrist and flinging him one-handed into a nearby table...
...but the fight was only just beginning...
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Post by Duello on Feb 26, 2008 19:00:42 GMT -5
Duello backed up, away from the main combat. he crossed his arms over his chest loosely. those who stumbled into him he deflected to one side or the other, then returned to his pose.
his heart wasn't in this fight. his mind was running the scenario over and over again in his head. it couldn't have been her, could it? it didn't make any sense. why on earth would a woman who'd just been hired for such a well paying adventure kill her employer's child. it'd occurred to him that she was trying to protect him, and he was great full, after his own manner, but she seemed so bullheaded that her actions were far from making her story more believable. he watched her combat. she hadn't drawn her weapons yet. that didn't fit with the coldblooded killer that they'd described. and yet, it was true that dracon were a rare breed in this area, the odds of two who used poisoned swords and had dealings with the same family were unthinkably low. something didn't add up. there were questions he needed answered, and from someone who wasn't quite so quick to assign guilt based of race.
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