Annoyed that Tabansi seems to have continued a trend of people resisting her charms, Ansha excuses herself from the group a minute after Tabansi and Tebati head upstairs, and follows after to attempt to blatantly eavesdrop at her door. (Failing any ability to hear things through the door, she then goes searching for secret doors--first, in her own room, and then by trying to talk her way past any of the serving staff as she wanders into the kitchen in search of secret passageways there or in a basement.)
Ansha has unsuccessfully tried to eavesdrop at the door and is currently trying to appear innocent while searching the upper floor for secret doors.
Tabansi looked relieved, as though he worried he would be reprimanded. Tebati is aware that churches of Erastil disapproves quite vocally of such things and in some communities where they are pre-eminent they often persuade local authorities to levy a heavy fine against such activity, if its not outlawed completely.
Yes... Eliandra, here at the tavern. I make a request a few times a week and Bellis sends her round to my home after her shifts... She's a sweet girl. Beautiful, i'd dare say. I don't think she'd have anything to do with this, but maybe someone used her to pass it to me somehow? he suggested, a slightly hopeful tone to his voice. It sounded like he was hoping Eliandra was not involved.
N'bellocq is going to move his blanket and pillow to over by his door and sit on the floor with the door open. He will try to maintain a watch for a while, but eventually will fall asleep if no one makes an effort to maintain a watch in the hall later in the early morning.
Not only did Ansha not find a secret door in her efforts, but she also failed to hear the floorboards creak behind her as she examined the wall, as a figure quietly approached her from behind, arms outstretched...
Tabansi shrugged awkwardly.
The council as a whole isn't really aware of this particular... aspect of Bellis' business. We don't have any laws for this kind of thing, but if it got out it could still ruin my reputation within the community. Ntisi... she would be particularly, erm, unforgiving. I am in good standing with the Church of Erastil and Bellis would not react well to news that her girls were employed in such a manner; she always prefers the path of discretion. So you see why I did not wish to divulge this publicly, kinswoman...?
Ansha heard a whisper of movement and saw a shadow with arms almost wrapped around her...
Reacting quickly, she turned just in time to turn to see the merchant who spent the previous night in her bed, grinning, although he looked disappointed she had spoiled his ambush. He lurched into her, apparently about to grab her from behind before she turned.
Surprise! he half-shouted in Taldane, clearly quite drunk.
Tabansi looked relieved that you apparently took this so well.
Oh you have no idea. Ntisi is always trying to press me into dancing and talking with local young women. She will only increase her efforts at Archers-feast... Thank you, Tebati. Its a relief to hear you say that. How should we proceed from here? If you don't need anything else from me, I will go pack my things and go find Mitabu. Perhaps you could arrange an armed escort for me? Just in case there truly are designs on my life...
Ansha whirls on the drunken merchant and backs out of reach of his arms. "Shhhh! I'm looking for something here," she says, holding a finger up to her lips.
Jakob heads for his room fully intending to sleep through til morning.
Tebati and Tabansi exit the room and head back down the stairs, stopping to collect N'bellocq from his just-begun vigil along the way. "Cousin, arm yourself," she requests, "and walk with Tabansi back to Mitabu, to make sure he comes to no harm." Down in the common room, she looks around for the half-elf. "Kieran, will you get your sword and see Tabansi back to safety with N'bellocq? And do try to avoid trouble; I would hate to see blood on your fine new clothes," she smiles.
N'bellocq abandons his blankets and follows his cousin to the common room, bow in hand. "Is it man or beast that we should be looking out for?"
Tebati shrugs. "Either. Hopefully neither. Any animal must see him as an enemy so it will be best to give them wide berth and avoid an inevitable confrontation. If a man makes an attack against him, perhaps our work ferreting out the mystery will be done for us, as I know of no one other than the mind behind the curse who bears Tabansi ill intent."
Tebati emerged to see Ansha conversing with a merchant on the upper floor, her back pressed against the wall and a finger to her lips.
The merchant paid little heed to Ansha's comment.
Ye found me instead he said with a leery smile, producing a silver necklace from a pouch on his belt. With a bow that had him almost fall over onto the floor, he knelt before Ansha in a slightly mocking manner and presented the jewellery to her. A beu'tful necklace fer a beu'tful creature he added.
Tabansi looked on in amusement as Tebati passed to go and speak to N'bellocq. Apparently the conversation inside had not been particularly long.
Tebati catches Ansha's eye and gives a slight frown at her apparent frivolity. There is little enough time for her dalliances tonight. With a wag of her head, she invites the elf to follow her and Tabansi downstairs once she has rid herself of her playmate.
Spotting Tebati emerge at just the wrong time, Ansha plants her face in the palm of her hand. Her return glance to Tebati is accompanied by a helpless shrug. She paints a smile that she doesn't feel on her face as she accepts the necklace from the drunk merchant. "Really, you shouldn't have," she remarks, making an effort to keep the annoyance out of her voice.
Qhude drifts off to sleep beneath the stars with his thoughts clouded by the day to follow and what it might portend. The black numbness of slumber comes easily, and his mind slips to dreaming...
But then the gaze of the imbube is drawn to one impala in the group's center. Head held tall and long raking horns showing scars of use, it's chest is broad and muscular and legs long and graceful. The impala's head turns... and their gazes meet. The imbube tenses, ready to lunge forward if the prey is alarmed and turns to scatter... but the impala does not react.
The gaze is held, impala staring down the hunting imbube with resolute dismissal of it's threat. For the first time in it's short life the imbube is pressed with doubt... and fear. The imbube is meant to be the great hunter, that which is feared by all else... but the impala meets his gaze, and is unmoved.
"Well, I suppose I can always hope that trouble does not extend me the same courtesy," he says with a smile and a wink before going to their room to fetch his sword. Soon enough, he is back, standing next to N'bellocq, his curved blade resting in its scabbard.
"Are we ready?"
N'bellocq strings his bow and lightly tugs at his arrows in their quiver to ensure they are loose. "I wasn't planning on much sleep anyway tonight. The walking will keep me awake. Can't say it will do any good for any plan you had for not sleeping though, Kieran." N'belocq continues to test the pluck of his bow, not quite making eye contact, but a half smile on his face.
Tebati gives N'bellocq's arm a playful slap in reprimand, albeit with a smile on her lips. "You are escorting a man across town, not a caravan across the countryside. If you are not both back well before dawn, we will come out looking for you." Just before the men leave, she takes a copper piece from her pouch and breathes a prayer to Shimye-Magalla to cause it to light up like a torch. "Light if you need it," she tells N'bellocq, handing him the glowing coin, "and easily hidden if you prefer darkness. It will not last long but ought to see you at least to Mitabu."
Appraise check for her estimation of the necklace's value please.
Do I 'av my lady's fav'r then t'night then? the merchant asked Ansha quietly with a sly smirk and lust in his eyes.
Meanwhile, Kieran and N'bellocq began to lead Tabansi out of the Lion's Maw, the latter thanking the two warriors and giving them directions to his home. The growls and barks of dogs and the hissing of cats seemed to herald Tabansi's arrival to each district of the little town as animals made their displeasure to the Zenj man known. Nevertheless, the two warriors and the rancher arrived unaccosted to Tabansi's home, where the guard captain Mitabu waited, assuring Kieran and N'bellocq that he would "take it from here".
You realise that this is the same home you visited on the job for Bellis...
"Of course," she replies with false sincerity, still smiling as she accepts the necklace. "I'll meet you in your room in a moment."
I'm surprised he even remembers anything. Oh well. Hopefully another spell will put him under for the night.
N'bellocq waits to Tabansi goes inside and then speaks quietly to Mitabu. "I was one not quick to believe in such a curse...but something...marks this man. Every dog on our trip did not care for his scent...beware in case something bigger is downwind. We will be at the inn if you have need."
Tebati waits in the Maw's common room for either the men to return or Ansha to join her downstairs.
"That was a rather uneventful walk," Kieran remarks loudly enough for N'bellocq to hear, before adding in a much softer voice, "but with a somewhat interesting destination."
The half-elf lets his Mwangi friend talk with Mitabu without commenting any further, patiently waiting for them to finish before the two start their walk back to the inn. 'Perhaps a chat with Tebati is in order, at least at first,' the rogue ponders as he walks, one hand playing idly with his sword's pommel as he does so. "It would seem my plans to not sleep have not been entirely ruined, after all," he quips to N'bellocq, returning the man's half smile from earlier.
Mitabu nodded grimly at N'bellocq's words, but made little other comment. The Mauxi man seemed ill at ease.
It was not long before N'bellocq and Kieran returned to the inn's common room, much to Tebati's relief.
Alas, your plan went somewhat awry this time. Just after the merchant undressed you tried to put him to sleep with your magic; but it seemed this time his mind was not quite so befuddled with alcohol. His eyes were angry as he stared at you suspiciously from across the room.
Wha... Wha' did you just try an' do? Wit' tha' scat'rng of sand and the funny ges'ters... Twas magic, weren't it? I'll wring yer' neck! he exclaimed angrily, beginning to rise to his feet.
N'bellocq seems a tad serious as he returns, very different from the joking manner in which he left. In a low voice to limit the chance of beign over-heard. [b]"Cousin, I have seen it in action. Tabansi clearly carries some curse or what-not. Every dog in town had something to say about him passing by. Can only 'magine it gets worse if something big happens by. Mitabu is seeing to his security tonight."
Tebati rises to her feet, smiling in welcome as the two return. She nods soberly at N'bellocq's report. "If we cannot find a way to lift the curse," she replies in the same low tone of voice, "he will have no choice but to retreat to a city life -- and even there he will be in danger from draft animals and domestic pets. Even the cattle on the ranch could pose a real threat to him in this state."
"Then we should do our best to find a way," Kieran offers matter-of-factly, his voice as low as Tebati's and N'bellocq's. "After all, it will not do to simply have him flee to the city in order to be away from the wilder and bigger animals, only to have him pecked to death by his pet canary or some such."
Ansha's bluff bought her a moment of respite as the man seemed to calm down and doubt manifested in his eyes... But then she began to cast once more, a hand touching her choker, the other plucking some grains of sand from her pouch. The drunken merchant went berserk and he charged at her, still undressed.
Ansha's relief was tangible as she finished the spell just before the man was upon her- her frustration even more so as he bulldozed right through her enchantment, his roused anger and suspicion preventing him from succumbing to the spell. He reached her and made a grab for her, catching her arm and trying to yank her into a grip where he could use his large body mass against her. Anger was fully roused in his eyes now, the soft blue eyes that had seemed so jolly only moments before.
Merchant Initiative-
Ansha Initiative-
Will save
Grapple (Success)
As Ansha struggled, Eliandra's words echoed in her mind in her soft, sweet voice-
The walls have been built to be almost sound-proof madam Ansha...
:
The panic in the merchant's eyes made it clear he believed Ansha- but the step he took in response was not what she had desired. He tightened his grip on her and stifled the threatened scream by covering her mouth forcefully as he manoeuvred her forcefully into a more debilitating grip and pinned her.
Kicking and struggling, Ansha lets out a very muffled attempt at a shout as soon as he starts to cover her mouth. Recalling a few tricks that her old instructor in Iadara had taught her, she rolls her arm toward the space between his thumb and index finger, breaking his hold. Twisting her lithe body to one side, she slides out of his grasp and attempts to put a little bit of distance between herself and him. "" she yells--not really expecting anyone to come, but hoping to keep the bluff running. "If you hurry, you can still escape before my bodyguard gets here."
"Then we should do our best to find a way," Kieran offers matter-of-factly, his voice as low as Tebati's and N'bellocq's. "After all, it will not do to simply have him flee to the city in order to be away from the wilder and bigger animals, only to have him pecked to death by his pet canary or some such."
"Flippant," she chides him with a smile. "I had hoped to speak with Qhude tonight, but there is no call to disturb the camp at this late hour. We will have to find him in the morning before I must return to Mindra Macini's. Ansha has 'company,'" she informs Kieran with a significant glance.
"Ansha's name and the word 'company' go together in the same sentence more often than one might think," Kieran replies with a shrug. "Do you think she will be long? Or perhaps one of us should interrupt the... lovely couple?"
"Either way, there is something you should perhaps know," he continues before pausing for but a moment. His tone of voice is as low as before, if not even lower. "Discretion notwithstanding, I suppose I should tell you that this was the second time I have actually been to Tabansi's house today."
Tebati frowns in consternation. "What were you doing there before?" she asks.
"Well, a good deed, believe it or not," Kieran answers with a shrug and an almost apologetic look on his face. "It seems one of Bellis' girls had come into possession of a ring that belonged to Tabansi and the halfling wanted me to return it before he found out and things became... unpleasant."
"She certainly seemed truthful enough, so I saw no reason not to do the woman a favor, though I suppose the gold coins involved were a nice bonus. Anyway, it all went smoothly and I would have told you and soon, but the man's strange curse made me think I should share my little tale sooner rather than later."
Another shrug. "It is probably nothing, but I am hardly an expert in all things magical."
"One of Bellis' girls?" Her look hardens. "Perhaps the one he just told me he was with just before the giant lizard attacked him? And then you are asked to return a ring quietly so he never knows it was out of his possession?" She shakes her head. "I am no expert either, but I have heard tales of witches who can affect people over distances with a lock of their hair. Perhaps a ring, customarily worn, could be used as well? We need Ansha." She glances at the stairs. "Although," she sighs, "I suppose the answer to our questions could wait until the morning. It is unlikely that we could do anything about it tonight, even if we knew what was possible. She was displeased enough when I interrupted her bath this morning. To interrupt her 'company'...."
The merchant glared hatefully at Ansha before his posture relaxed a little. He pointed a finger at her in an accusatory manner.
Sorcerous b*!@!. I'll be leaving this room an' I want no more trouble from ye or your "bodyguard". Don't ev'n think bout' trying to make trouble fer me, not in this fine town. I'll av' yer hung fer ass'ult, I swear by Abadar's Vault he threatened Ansha as he began to dress himself.
Ansha got the impression that he would likely try and have her arrested anyway, even if she didn't make any more trouble...
"You aren't the only one with connections in this town. For your sake, I'd suggest you not say a word to anyone about what happened here--it won't end well for you if you do," Ansha says, a predatory smile on her lips as she heads for the door out of the man's room (). As soon as she exits, she closes the door behind her. The smile falls away and she lets out a soft sigh of relief. Shaken, she straightens her corset out and slumps back against the wall. As soon as she collects herself, she starts to head downstairs.
I need to figure out how to fix this.
Still in a bit of a daze, Ansha slowly makes her way downstairs into the taproom. The panic she had felt was receding, giving way to exhiliration at having come so close to losing control of the situation. If she wasn't careful, she could grow to like the exhiliration that followed.... Still, that was way too close, she thinks to herself, suppressing a shiver and thrusting the thoughts aside. At the bottom of the stairs, she stops. Giving Tebati and Kieran a blank look for a moment, she then offers a tepid smile and comes over to join them. "Sorry that took so long. I trust that our accursed friend is safely away?"
Tebati looks pleasantly surprised to see Ansha come down the stairs to join them. "Ansha! We need your knowledge." She waits until the elf has seated herself at the table so that she can continue in a low voice. "The day his trouble began, Tabansi was with one of the serving-girls from this inn. Kieran has just realized that he was charged secretly by the innkeeper to return a ring to Tabansi's possession so that he would not know it was ever missing. Could such a curse as has been placed on him be worked through possession of a personal item like a ring?"
Ansha sits down quietly and listens. After Tebati is finished speaking, the elven enchantress blinks at her several times as she fights to come out of her daze. She takes a deep breath, then exhales slowly. "Strangely enough, there is a rumor in town that Tabansi is having an affair with Mindra. When you say that he was 'with' one of the serving girls, you mean...?" The elf gestures idly for Tebati to supply an answer, but she seems to have already concluded the matter as she continues, "If I could get ahold of that ring myself, I could tell whether it still had magic on it. Which serving-girl? I need to have a conversation with the small brunette about...something else, anyway. I've heard of other ways of transmitting a curse, so it's a possibility...."
:
Tebati shrugs. "Eliandra is the name, but he hopes to keep their ... relationship secret. He fears that the church of Erastil would cause trouble for him in town, were it commonly known." She gives Ansha a meaningful glance; while there are many subjects on which the two of them fail to see eye to eye, she expects that they ought to share an understanding about the strict dogma of a Lawful clergy and the unpleasantness of their unwarranted intrusions into one's private life.