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-UE
Comments
Okay, this is where we soften up a bit and say that they aren't necessarily suspects themselves for the murder, but that we need any info they might have on who might have done it. With our ritual, our focus should be on making them talk at all, and that should do it.
You sigh, leaning back from them.
"Look, you're not suspects yourselves," you tell them. "We know that you weren't involved with his murder, okay? I just need you to tell me anything you know about who might have done it."
You're focusing on making them talk, at the moment. Truthfully and honestly, but mostly just talking at all.
One of the women, the one with the orangey hair, is shifting nervously in her chair. You look directly at her when you speak again.
"Please," you murmur. "Anything you tell us could help us stop whoever killed him."
"Jone," the woman blurts out. "Jone might know. He was working against Urghal, him and that crew of his. If anyone's responsible for it, he'd probably know. He's in the slums- you can probably find him at the Rested Anchor."
Patir looks at her, his face thunderous. "Shut up, Teir," he growls.
You smile thankfully at her. "Thank you," you tell her, then stand and head out of the room.
You stop to speak to the guardsman outside. "Please tell Captain Rory to lead the guardsmen inside to a cell," you say quietly. "Ask him to ensure that Teir Vallan is made comfortable."
[A] Let's head over to the Rested Anchor right now. Let's find this assassin.
Now that we have an idea on where to start, we can let them simmer for a while. They're working against Urghal, you can afford to let them wait. You have another assassin you need to catch.
[C] Let's go rest for a couple of hours. The assassins won't go anywhere (hopefully), and you can wait until the guardsmen get back from the sewers and see what they found.
Let's go with C. We have a compass for one assassin, the informant isn't going anywhere, and we'll gain more info while being better prepared for whatever we do.
[C] Sleepytime.
[C], but I'd ask Rory if he advises any other course of action.
>reread thread
>first page:
hahahahhahahahhahahhahahahhahahahahahhahahahahahahhaha
C. Sleeps.
You beckon Lien to follow you, then begin to walk around the office, looking for a cot to sleep on.
When you locate one, you enter the room (it's a barracks; you suspect it is where several permanent guards sleep when they are stationed) and turn to face Lien.
"Please go and do something," you tell him, stifling a yawn. "Keep an eye out for when the guardsmen return, and wake me when they do.
Lien nods. "Will do," he tells you, executing an awkward bow, before he walks out.
You wait until he's gone, then climb into the cot. You are asleep almost immediately.
---
You awake five minutes later (or so it seems) to Lien shaking your shoulder.
"The guardsmen are back," he announces. "Rory wants to see you in his office."
You blink drowsily. "'kay," you mutter.
You don't head out immediately, instead heading over to the sink to splash some water over your face. It's not cold enough to wake you up properly, but it helps some.
Once you've done that, you head over to Rory's office.
He's sitting at his desk, with Lyara still sitting in a chair behind him. In front of him stands Ari and two other guardsmen. A small splash of blood stands out against Ari's uniform.
"... the two of them," Ari is saying. "We took minor casualties, apart from-"
"Slow down a moment," Rory interrupts her. "Can you please repeat what you have told me for Urien here?"
Ari blinks and looks at you. "Okay," she says.
"We headed to the sewers in the nearby slums. Here, we attempted to investigate what appeared to be newly constructed tunnels. After exploring the sewers for some hours, we attempted to draw a map of the area. It appears that many newly-dug tunnels have been made, some recently, and some so long ago that I cannot tell when they were done. These tunnels link up the sewer systems beneath the districts nearby, and extend some distance under the closest Inner Field Ring. We were unable to ascertain how far the new tunnels extend, but given what we have found so far, I believe that they extend a significant distance."
"Within the tunnels, we were engaged in combat several times. One group, in particular, was headed up by two Guardsmen within the demesne of Sir Terece, the Chief of the Guardsmen of the next sector of this Ring. We apprehended the two of them. We took minor casualties, apart from Herren Ovier, who engaged the two Guardsmen in combat as we slew the thieves who accompanied them. Herren sustained serious injuries to the torso and legs, but the healers believe that he will survive, given time to heal."
You wait a few seconds more, but she doesn't say anything else.
Rory frowns. "Guardsmen from the next sector," he sighs. "I suppose it really was too much to hope that the corruption was confined to my own guardsmen."
He turns to Ari. "Please, go get something to eat and drink, and take the Guardsmen who accompanied you with you," he tells her. She nods and salutes him before heading out.
You lean against against a wall, looking at Rory. "The problem's bigger than you thought," you say quietly.
Rory nods. "It is," he sighs. "And I'm not sure how big. That worries me."
You nod.
[A] You still have a couple hours of sunlight left. You're going to spend them in a dark dungeon, interrogating two corrupt guardsmen!
You still have a couple hours of sunlight left. You're going to go to the Rested Anchor and find this informant before he leaves.
[C] You still have a couple hours of sunlight left. You're going to go back to the inn and track that assassin, before it gets too dark for you to read the compass.
Question. Does Rory have a significant number of guards in shape for a bit more fighting today?
Rory has about two dozen guardsmen on duty in the constabulary's office at any given time. A dozen of these men were taken by Ari, and are generally tired, plus one has been injured.
If Rory is willing to leave the constabulary's office with a skeleton staff, he could probably take one and a half dozen men, some of whom are exhausted. If he is willing to wait for a few hours, he could probably call back another dozen men, at the cost of leaving some areas with a very small crew patrolling them.
Of course, you do not know how many of these men are corrupt.
True.
My thoughts were to go to the Rested Anchor, and give Lien the compass and have him lead some guards to wherever the assassin is.
That is a very viable option.
I was going to pick [C], but I'm picking [CU] instead.
You have a lot of problems to deal with at the moment. Assassins, crime lords, kidnapped princesses...
"Okay," you say quietly to Rory. "Would you be able to spare half a dozen guardsmen?"
Rory nods slowly, looking questioningly at you. "What for?" he asks.
"I have a method I can use to track the assassin that attacked me yesterday," you reply. "I am going to ask Lien if he would track the assassin, and lead your guardsmen to her."
Rory looks over at Lien, who nods. He sighs. "Very well. I will have them assemble in the courtyard half an hour from now. Do you need anything else?"
You shake your head. "I will be following up on other sources of information," you tell him.
With your business done, Rory dismisses you. You nod slightly in acknowledgement and follow Lien out.
You slow your pace so Lien can catch up.
"Thank you for agreeing to do this," you whisper to him. "I apologize for not asking you beforehand."
Lien shrugs. "I don't mind," he replies. "I can always use the practice with my rapier, and it's not like it won't be useful. I still owe you for saving me, anyway."
You nod in acknowledgement. "There is a compass in my room at the inn. It will be slow, as it's only softly attuned to the assassin, but it will suffice to show you where the assassin is currently located."
Lien hums thoughtfully. "Very well. I will meet you back at the inn once your task is completed.'
You smile at him as you exit the constabulary's office, then turn and walk off to the slums.
---
The Rested Anchor is not the cleanest of inns. You will probably have to bathe quite thoroughly to feel clean after exiting this inn.
The patrons are not much better. Each of them is grimy, with telltale smears of soot, manure, waste, or other indescribable smears across their skin and clothes. You could probably pick out each of them by their... unique odours, if you weren't trying your hardest not to breathe through your nose.
You sidle up to the bar and hold up a silver mark. "I would like a drink of mead," you call down politely.
The barkeeper grunts dismissively at you, but takes your coin. In the meantime, you focus on the bar in front of you and try to look inconspicuous.
You strain your ears, trying to hear the name Jone.
"... to shit. Like all those damned Eyakir people weren't enough, now we got these freaks?"
"... ... serves 'em right, I reckon. Shouldn'ta got all antsy about it!"
"... an' tha's how I won me house. Stupid blighter shouldn'ta bet 'is 'ouse, eh?"
"... I know that, Jone!"
You try not to look like you're paying too much attention to the man who had whispered that.
"You don't know anythin'," the man apparently called Jone growled. "If you did, you'd be askin' somethin' like that."
"Maybe." The man sounds exhausted. "But even if I don't know anything about that, I know that what you're doing is wrong."
"Mebbe," Jone grunts. "But I don't see you offerin' up anythin' else."
"I don't have anything else," the man replies. "But, come on, Jone-"
"No," Jone interrupts him. "Unless you got somethin' else ta offer, we're done talkin' 'bout this. Got it?"
"If you say so," the man mutters.
A few moments later, you hear the telltale scraping of a chair against stone, and the man speaks again. "I'll be back tomorrow," he replies. "I'll think of something in the meantime."
You wait a few moments, then stand, grabbing your mug of mead from in front of you. You walk over to Jone's table, then sit down and study the man, who is looking askance at you.
He's a very big man. Very thick, but most of that seems to be muscle. His nose has been broken before, and it has set wrongly. He has a thick white beard, kept studiously neat and clean, but otherwise untended. His eyes seem to weigh you up as you look at him.
"Hello," you say cheerfully.
[A] How are you going to approach this?
[a] Be aggressive in your demands for information.
Be calm in your demands for information. Be prepared to admit the truth of your search and pay him if necessary.
[c] Be manipulative in your demands for information. Don't let anything about your search slip. Be prepared to bribe him if necessary, or disarm him verbally.
[c]
I'm inclined to pick [C].
C
Jone looks bemused, and a little wary. "Hello?" he says, leaning back in his chair.
You smile at him. "Can I buy you a drink?" you ask brightly.
He blinks, taken off-guard. "Sure," he says gruffly. "Get some good strong ale, 'f there's any 'ere."
You smile again, and hold up your hand to call over one of the tavernhands. "I'll get a glass of the strongest ale you have," you request politely.
You hand over a silver mark, then settle back in to wait. Unseen by Jone, you pull your knife out beneath the table, and casually hide it behind the sleeve of your robe when you move your hands onto the table. With your left hand, you begin carving in a small representation of your symbol on the table.
Neither of you speaks before the tavernhand returns with the glass of ale. You look up and thank her as she places it on the table, then casually slide your mug of mead in front of your symbol, hiding it from Jone's eyes.
Without a direct focus, the best you can hope for is to nudge Jone's mind- remove his suspicion about you, make you seem a bit closer to him than you really are.
"I heard a Guardsman was killed," you say eventually, toying with the mug with your left hand. Your right hand is still pressed to the symbol, focusing on mentally disarming Jone.
"Yeah," Jone says gruffly. "Greedy bastard 'e was, too."
You nod. "Yeah, I heard about that," you say. "Got tangled up with Urghal."
Jone scowls. "'e was pretty high up, too. Like that bastard Uva."
You nod encouragingly. "But Uva's been arrested," you point out.
"Yeah, but 't won' be long afore 'e's out," Jone mutters. "Greedy bastards 're all corrupt."
You grimace. "That sucks," you mutter. "If Uva gets back on the street, he's going to be back in with Urghal in no time."
Jone scowls. "Not if Veryn gets him," he growls.
You nod. "That'd help," you reply briefly, then look down again.
You spend the next several minutes focusing on lessening Jone's suspicion again, until he's nearly relaxed, before you stand. Jone barely even registers your leaving.
Once you're out of the tavern, you hurry away, making it several streets away before you stop to breathe.
Veryn; Veryn. The assassin.
[A] Head back to the constabulary's office and meet up with Rory. He may be able to track down the assassin if you give him her name.
Head back to the inn and meet up with Lien. You want to make sure he is okay, and you need to get some sleep soon.
And... wow, that post feels forced as all hell. Sorry
A. Presumably we can then do B.
I'll pick [A], as I am not sure this affair leaves us with enough time to waste. does not sound like it's going to let events unfold further, and I'm pretty convinced our heroine will have time to rest and check on Lien after doing [A].
-pokes the thread with a stick-