| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Raphael listens a few lingering moments to the back and forth between Augustine, Reyes, and Halycon silently. Between the social event earlier, the chaos of the attack, and, the stress of saving the Spymaster, Raphael's mind felt numbed and slow to react. He bowed and made his goodbyes, turning over what he'd heard, and sidling away to a quieter corner of the warehouse. A brazen attack on the institution of our country... but to what ends? Perhaps a visit to Emile may be in order.
His musing was interrupted by the rushing arrival of the guard. He nods his approval as he sees the formidable Francis Albert enter the warehouse. Hrm... I think my duty here is clear, though I doubt I will make a friend in the doing.
Watching him for a time, he approaches in a relatively quiet moment. "Greetings, Monsieur Albert. I don't wish to interrupt your work longer then I must so I'll be blunt. The attack was multifaceted and I believe you will wish to debrief all currently present, among others. There also exists some lingering danger in the form of a device, whose destructive power for the surrounding area would be catastrophic, but the precise nature of which I am unclear. Caution is clearly warranted, but Doctor Sanz and Monsieur Langlais can elaborate. I will be here if you have further questions."
He pauses a moment, waiting to see if the investigator had any questions, before making his way around the warehouse in search of Estelle Bellerose.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Seth chuckles. "If I said the same thing after our skirmish you would have just hit me again." He then turns and walks into the warehouse going towards Lucia and seeing if she is okay. He stays with her until the guard do any questioning or it seems as though it is okay to leave.
Beatrice pouts, her silence expressing some annoyance with Marcus not taking her side. “Best be referring to her in these ‘happenstances,’ hun. Emm’s the victim here.” She turns back to the oracle, less accusatory though somewhat begrudging in her assistance. She avoids looking directly at Halcyon. “All of us have full-body mirrors in our rooms. Most of my friends do as well.” She briefly meets Halcyon’s gaze. “And little Caroline has another in the Dark Room. I’m sure she’d be just delighted to show you that one.”
“Needn’t worry. Go play doctor, dear.” After a pause the host chuckles. “Play. Apologies, apologies. Though work becomes play if it’s a passion, I suppose." He laughs again. "I deal poorly with stress, Gill. I'll be all gray after this..." he jokes, pulling at strands of his locks. "Imagine. Ooh, that may be a good look for me now that I think of it." He winks at the Tizonian, briefly forgetting the explosive situation.
"I've seen you worse, certainly."
Verrill sits at the steps of the stage. The ratfolk’s hair ties have come loose, and tufts of fur normally tight to his body fluff out in patches. “Verill does well, Docteur.” He offers a fading, toothy grin. “Unharmed. Verrill is lucky to be one the the helpers, not one of the helped.”
As the Guard enters, the alchemist is silent, recovering from the assault on the warehouse and the toll the surgery took on him. Then, he chuckles. “Know what would help if we had right now?” He waits a moment for her to guess. “A bit of that mead. Should’ve bid a bit higher, friend.”
“Can’t meet a good man in good circumstances, huh?” Francis says flatly. With Raphael’s report, the detective’s glance shifts to the host. He tucks his hands into his jacket, and takes a step to angle himself to better watch Augustine. As he speaks, his eyes flick between those still present. “Y’know, Montefiore, heard laywers make poor witnesses. Ain’t sour you prove otherwise.”
Francis procures a small copper flask. He takes a sip, winces at the taste. It doesn’t smell like alcohol, rather smells something like mint. He leads Raphael closer to Augustine, though avoids looking in the direction as he nears. Then, a bit closer now, he repositions himself so that Raphael is between himself and the host. “Talk a moment, will ya?”
Francis nods, though he doesn’t appear to listen. He cracks a fake smile and responds and interjects, intent on having it seem like he is in conversation. All the while, his eyes flick back to Augustine. After around twenty seconds of this, he quits interrupts. “Guess I got a question afterall.” He cocks his head towards Augustine and Reyes, though keeps his eyes on Raphael. “What’s the boy’s deal?”
Evelynn smiles, though keeps vigilant. “Damn right I would. ”
After a long, almost uncomfortable silence...
Gill let's out a light sigh. "Afraid I hadn't the coin to spare." After another moment, she adds, "But yes, mead would be nice about now."
Raphael's lips quirk into a weak smile, "Lamentably so, Detective. And for what it's worth, I was a Guard long before I was a laywer. I suspect that left its mark."
He allows himself to be maneuvered around by the formidable Guardsman, mulling over the flask as he goes. When asked, he starts without hesitation, "It's been a tiring afternoon. I'll have to sit and put my thoughts in order as to the start, but in simplest terms the Spymaster appeared, seemingly raving. The attack that caused all this destruction-" Raphael gestures to the dead, wounded, and flame-licked floor of the warehouse, [b]"-came shortly after. I remained and assisted in the Spymaster's treatment, so I'm afraid I've little more to tell you there that will be meaningful. As for the spymaster, he had been booby-trapped, for lack of better words."b
Aware of Augustine's proximity, Raphael pauses and considers for a moment before continuing, "An aforementioned threat was found within him and with the help of a few of our good friends were able to constrain any ill effects. The doctor, good Father, and I were then able to excise certain further complications from the spymaster. My Guard training certainly proved its worth. I can elaborate some more if you'd-"
Raphael is cut off by Francis and his question, and he replies without glancing at the 'boy', "I can't say with any certainty, but I do think it would be a poor idea to take away whatever he's holding. I'd suggest you make that an order to avoid an altercation, and perhaps to prevent tragedy. I have only suspicions and a few educated guesses, but I believe I can safely say that his touch is magically significant. If you'd like my conjecture, then I personally think his touch has some suppressing power for magical effects."
Halcyon sighs as Beatrice casts aspersions her way, but understands her emotions. "This could remove suspicion from Emile. If these conspirators are a common element in both attacks, and if servants of Augustine were in on the conspiracy, it might turn out someone delivered the tainted wine to Emile through the mirror without his knowledge."
"As for my eyesight, I am not blind. But I can only see things that are close and then not always well. But as with all oracle curses, they sometimes can be a blessing. At times I see better than most. But I can't see the future, at least not with certainty. And at the party, I shared the fate of Cassandra, knowing something was to happen but being powerless to stop it. Don't hate me for that."
When Halcyon notices the bartender fussing over something lost, Halcyon taps her way over and asks, "Lose something? I may be able to help." She sets her Harrow deck on the counter (after making sure there was nothing wet underneath).
When she spots Detective Albert, she will give him the letter and explain what happened, how she received it.
Once she is done with the warehouse details, she'll asks Vincent if he can escort her to locate Mirabelle before she publishes her next pamphlet.
Once the guard arrive and do their questioning, Seth begins gathering his belongings before heading back to his home with Lucia.
