[Mysterious Cities of Jade] Chapter 4: A Wyld Hunt appears!

Shinji, Elegy:


Fox glares suspiciously at you both, unsure what to make of your banter. After all to him, he's being accosted by an Anathema and a social pariah.


"... If this is a trick, I'll be calling the Wyld Hunt to Chiaroscuro. Ugh, hang on, then, I'll see if he can fit you in..."


With one last sorrowful glance at his lunch (it would appear the mouthful he spat out was the only one he managed to take before you showed up), he wipes his mouth, and heads off upstairs. A waiter materialises out of nowhere (in a non-supernatural way), and asks "May I get you anything, madam, sirs?"


Amaya:


You hear a story of interest on your way back to the ship as you pass through the more well-to-do section of the city:


"Kadash Sul'Delakh, cousin of the most revered Tri-Khan, has passed on to the next life after a brutal assault earlier today! The Tri-Khan's own healers fought for two hours to save his life, but the injuries eventually overcame him and he was pronounced dead at the stroke of midday! The funeral shall be private, as per his family's wishes! The Tri-Khan has offered a reward of one jade mina for information leading to justice on the perpetrators of the assault on his cousin! Please bring any information straight to the Tri-Khan's palace!"


That's interesting; You know Shadow's skill with a scalpel, if he said Kadash was going to live, then the rat-bastard was going to live. Meaning that if he IS dead, someone else killed him.
 
"One hopes indeed," says Elegy.


Declining the waiter, she chooses to wait for Ragara. For once, her histrionics are slightly justified.
 
"Hmm, no, thank you." Shinji says, shaking his head ruefully. "I do think we put that poor man through too much. We'll let him eat."
 
Fox is gone for a good 10 minutes. He returns, a bit shaken-looking, and sits down. "Master Paran will see you now. He is in the same place as before."


He looks at his now cold food in a manner that suggests he might burst into tears at the unfairness of it all.


Ragara Palan is indeed in the same room as before. Little has changed- The window still shows the same view, the refreshments are still a perfect complement to the day's weather. The large meeting table is back instead of the lunging chairs, and you imagine the disgruntled rich-looking folks you met going the other way were his clients.


Ragara Palan regards you thoughtfully as you come in, sighing. "That was an expensive meeting I just postponed. I'm doing this in recognition of your last performance, so don't make a habit of it. I hope you have something suitably interesting to tell me?"
 
"The city is about to be overrun by ghosts," says Elegy, pleasantly. She pushes Mosuu forward. "Tell him what you told us, sir."
 
Mosuu launches into a nervous little presentation, acutely aware that he is talking to one of the most powerful people in the city. Palan is no fool, however, and asks him to dispense with the esoteric primer.


Mosuu wraps up: "... and so, given the geomantic significance of the road as it appears in the Underworld, and the positions and sizes of the congregations at key points along its length-"


"You're suggesting that it is part of a nearly complete ritual to drag the land encompassed by the road into the Underworld. I see. I take it you're here because the city council doesn't want to know?"


"Y-yes, my lord. I've tried several times, but I'm certain there must be an agent of the dead ensuring that the matter doesn't make it to the floor."


Palan rubs his eyes and sighs again, clearly irritated.


"Huh. Sounds about right. Bloody shadowlands. They're great for making money, but they always seem to come along with some cretin or other who'd prefer to see everything burn and send it all screaming to Oblivion. If you're right, and I'm sorry to say it does rather look like you are, then I stand to lose a lot of property and revenue, not to mention letting some crazed necromancer destroy a portion of Creation."


He walks over to the drinks table and pours out a few goblets of sweet, light summer wine. He brings them on a tray to the table for you, and sits down, alternately looking at the map, sipping his wine and rubbing his chin.


"I wouldn't be surprised if someone had infiltrated the councillors. Happened before about 50 years back. Bloody fool nearly turned a peaceful protest into a blood-soaked slaughter at the gates of the Tri-khan's own palace. He'd spent a good 7 years before that worming his way into the position...


Very well, I'm convinced this deserves attention. Quietly, though. I can't just walk in there and demand the traitor hand himself in. Let me dig up the council minutes, talk to some people, see if we can figure out who's been blocking discussion on this issue. I'll probably have better luck than strangers to the city like Elegy and Shinji, or a low-paid civil servant like yourself, Mosuu. And paper trails are something of a specialty of mine, regardless. If someone has been fucking with us, I'll find it. And when I do, I may call on you and the rest of your crew. You've proven you can get things done without raising a fuss, and if someone needs to be removed from the council, it would be better for all concerned if there was minimal scandal. That makes people nervous, and nervous people do stupid things."


He finishes off his drink, and nods to himself. "Damned civic-minded of you, to bring this to someone's attention. The Monks really do have a broken view on Anathema. Anyway, I'm going to get started. I'll send for you whenever I find out anything useful. I'd say it'll take me the rest of the day at least. Try not to sail halfway across Creation before then, eh?"


He leads you out of the room, and heads off to his own offices, wherever they may be. After an awkward silence, Mosuu speaks up. "Uhm, I don't want to cause offence, or seem ungrateful for your help, but... Did that Dragon-Blood just call you Anathema?"
 
Shinji coughs, sipping idly at the wine before placing the goblet on the tray of a passing waiter. He glances at Elegy. "He was just speaking out of turn, really. I may as well be Anathema with my status among my, well, former House. Never insult a House Progenitor." His smile is winning, continues quietly, "What I want to know now, however, is who infiltrated the council. To what purpose. And more importantly, whom? Is this one of the Mask's people?"
 
Amaya stops in the middle of the street and crosses her arms as she thinks. Last night the criers had been blaming the attack on Hungry Ghosts, but if they were looking for perpetrators now, that means they think someone alive is responsible for all this. This change is probably because of Amaya's memory wiping ritual, but probably isn't definitely, and if something else has caused the story to alter, that might mean the search is back on for Kale and Amaya. The fact that the man is dead is also interesting; it is possible that his family killed him to stop his atrocious behavior, but it doesn't seem very likely. This all bears looking into.


Her mind made up, Amaya nods and walks up to one of the news criers. "Do they have any descriptions of the perpetrators?"
 
Amaya:


"If they do, I haven't been told, ma'am. They're saying four or five people, lord Kadash was with bodyguards at the time and they're dead too. But details are sparse."


He leans in. "Could be that they know who it is and they're seeing to revenge behind closed doors, if you follow me. Might be a family feud, they're common enough. Don't know, don't care, I'm only announcing what I've been paid to announce."
 
"He was being purely figurative. An in-joke," purrs Elegy to the poor man, turning her charm on nearly as high as Shinji's. It's practically blinding, the two of them.
 
Shinji, Elegy:


Mosuu shrugs. "Well, thank you for doing this. If I hadn't met you, I'd still be trying to get through the city's red tape right up to the point where it slid into the lands of the dead."


He takes a sip of his wine, savouring the taste of a vintage he'd probably have to save for months to afford. "I should head home. My wife will probably be worrying I'm not to be found at the college. Look, thanks again, I'll see you when lord Ragara finds out who's been betraying the council. If you ever want to discuss the old city or its inhabitants, you know where to find me. "


He heads off, leaving you alone together. Ayo hasn't sent for anyone, and he mentioned taking more than one day off, so it's highly unlikely he'll be setting off on a job until tomorrow at least. Leaving you all rather free.
 
He looks at Elegy. "Well, I've debauched; I've stared down a horde of ghosts with my hackles only rising to certain summits. What the hell else is there to do here? Thoughts?"
 
"I'm not sure," Elegy says, thoughtfully. Surely there must be some new diversions in this town...
 
Amaya nods and makes her leave of the crier, he wouldn't be of anymore use. Next stop: the nobles morgue! After all, it is pretty hard to solve a murder if you don't know what the body looks like. How exactly Amaya is going to in to see the body is a problem she will deal with when she gets there!
 
Odds = You bump into Shinji and Elegy on the way. Evens = you don't.


Amaya:


You make your way haphazardly through the afternoon crowds. You're not actually all that sure where the morgue for rich people would be. Directions are a bit hazy and it takes you a good hour and a half of wandering, but you eventually find what you think you're looking for. The Noble Morgue is run by priests from Sijan no less. Those guys are expensive to keep, but they can perform just about every funeral rite that ever existed in Creation. Their white, hooded robes are unsettling, hiding their features as they do. Nevertheless, you are greeted by a clerk behind a large desk. He looks up from the gigantic ledger he was scribbling in, and smiles sadly.


"I am sorry for your pain, madam. Is there something I can help you with?"


Shinji, Elegy:




Perception+Awareness while you're standing around, please
 
"Steady now!" He laughs, trying not to trip up as well. An odd tango erupts between them as he tries to keep his feet.

Well, I may just see it.
 
Shinji, then a few seconds later, Elegy:

Odds is you, evens is Elegy. Either way, get more than the thief on Dex+Athletics to catch up with them


Sone of a bitch, someone just nicked Elegy's purse and legged it into the crowd!
 
"Well, I'll be godsdamned." Shinji lunges into the crowd after the little bastard, shouting out throaty chidings. It's like hunting boar, chasing thieves. "Couldn't find a fucking noble?"

Damn. Not going far, is he?
 
Shinji:


You barge through the crowd like Pasiap himself, easily bearing down on the little sneak maybe 20 yards further down the street. The thief is brought up short with a squeal. The kid looks to be in his early teens, or possibly malnourished late teens. He struggles for a bit, realises the extent of your iron grip, not to mention your really big fucking hammer, and drops to his knees, shakily drawing out Elegy's purse and offering it back with a terrified-yet-slightly-hopeful sort of pleading look. "Uh... She looked rich, sir. I'm really hungry, we all are, can't find an honest job so... Look, that's pocket change for a lady like that, but it'd keep me fed for a week!"
 
Gah, fucking puppy eyes. Stupid, useless compassion. Shinji sighs, drops him, and takes the purse back. He does, however, rifle through his own. Tosses him a few bits and shekels from his own pocket change. Time to switch back to mescal and watered wine for a while.


"Kid, you'd get a little further in life if you just asked nicely sometimes. Granted, it can get you the whip, but we're not all horrors. Get some food, find some place warm to sleep. Seriously. I catch you in a drug den, we'll be having a very stern talk. With the hammer. Apologize to the lady."
 
He bows to Elegy. "I'm... I'm sorry, lady. When you're starving, you get desperate. Thank you for the coin, sir. You won't find me near any drug dens, I swear."


He slinks off into the crowd.

A Perception+Awareness roll from either or both of you, please.
 
You're about to hand the purse back to Elegy when... The purse isn't clinking the way a purse full of money should. On closer inspection, it appears to have been filled with pebbles.

[media]
[/media]
 
There could be no stonier face, even the Penitent of the Lap stood in awe of Shinji's facade in that moment. "Yeah. Stupid, useless compassion. Well! Thank the Dragons you do have money, Elegy. Now, if you'll excuse me." He unhooked the Selial Column, muttered a prayer to his father and grandfather and took to it. Does he expect to find his money or hers? No. Does he expect to leave the boy bleeding and broken in the gutter needing a cane for the rest of his life? Oh, yes. Taking a deep breath ('remember all men are like the lotus, Shinji, waiting to unfold'), he scans the crowd.

Spending a Will as well. 9 total. Kid's day is done.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top