"Ah..." He takes a look at your still-drying clothes and jaunty demeanor (for a church, anyway) and clearly decides you're up to something, or at least a bit touched in the head. "Ser, there are probably upwards of one hundred red foxes living and working in or near the Cathedrale de Temoin, and of those at least a score are Ardentines, either trainees or fully-fledged Paladins...and one Inquisitor. Furthermore, Javiera is less rare a name than you perhaps think it is around these parts, and apt to turn at least a dozen female heads when called out in the Piazza...but I must confess I know of only *one* that is a red vixen, but I haven't seen hide nor hair of her for two seasons. If she is returned to us then it has not been in my presence. Check the sanctuary hall first and branch out from there."
He seems well prepared to leave you with that unhelpful advice, but jolts as though struck by lightning and nearly crashes his face into your own a second later. "A HAUNTING?! Truly? Where? When? Do the Exorcists know yet? I heard Mikkel roundly berating Pikkel about frivolous fancies involving just such things not an hour ago!"
Del couldn't help but smile to himself after what had seemed such a disappointing beginning. "Well, Sexton…" The 'coon tapped his chin in thought, "Over a hundred? Light, it is a long story, and I have to find the needle in the straw pile…" Bad analogy, Delroy, you're wearing a magnet. "I could tell you the tale if you came with me to the Sanctuary Hall… Javiera would know more, you see, though I can give you such details as I may be allowed by my Patron."
Delroy cleared his throat, then strode forth toward the Hall. "Said Patron would prefer to keep his name out of this business, though this matter is known in the Dockyard, as the Warehouse was being refurbished when the disturbances began…" Delroy began to give what details he could, and those details were detailed in detail. He needed the story to last. "Javiera has come here to report it, so the Exorcists may learn of it soon… I may call upon their knowledge to right what wrongs caused the souls to linger in anger… After hearing of an 'Old Daylen' who might know a few things, we entered the warehouse, confronted with what seemed to be a barricade of shipping crates, as if the workers had tried a last stand against the ghastly presence farther back. There was such a wreckage to describe to me panic and chaos before the final abandonment. Truly a frightening tale and not one that folks wished to discuss with a Finder. More is the pity, friend, So we had to press on and see for ourselves."
Delroy never let his stride pause while he spoke, If the Dog wanted to listen, he was going to have to help…
To the end of satisfying both parties, he pulls aside a rotund brother whose name you don't catch as the two of you cross a small workroom on the way toward the Sanctum Halls (that's about the fourth name you've heard for the same place, no wonder nobody but the residents can find anything here!), and questions him about Javiera's whereabouts. Receiving only "I saw her cross the gate threshold not an hour ago," he releases the question-ee and beckons you to follow him...and also gestures for you to continue. "She'd be headed to prayer for the disturbed departed then. Follow me! Please, do go on! A true haunting...whatever details you can furnish may prove invaluable to saving the place from its unquiet denizens."
"Thank you, Sexton. Now pardon me for saying 'Damn right a true haunting'. Javiera and I went deeper into the Warehouse, and I heard a voice on my way up the crates." He cleared his throat, and then croaked out on a low growling exhale, ""… L… desp… …ie." Lads, I felt that voice as I approached the crates. Chilled the bones, it did. Javiera did not seem to hear it and I was so spooked I could not bring myself to speak of it. I know not what made Javiera pause, but I found us separated… Friends, Those spirits gave me a hellish vision! I pray you feel no need to Purify me, after I tell you this: A voice, the same voice, told me "Leave the desperate to die, my son. They will not be missed"… I saw myself within the basement of a docktown shanty, holding a torch, An ancient withered hag of a woman bade me to do ill; I dropped the torch I held... Lads, I thought to myself even as the vision faded 'The extra oil I added was indeed a mercy.' Those screams, I can recall them even now." Details? By the light he would give all sorts of detail. It helped him keep the situation straight in his memory.
Even after Delroy's cold douse, he was still just drunk enough to actively enjoy being the center of attention. "Now comes the good bit… I came back to shortly, and climbed the boxes to the next floor after I had myself a moment to collect my wits…"
...mutt guy seems freaked out and pushy. Likes stories a bit too much. But eventually he does get ahold of himself...mostly.
"Er, sorry sir" he mumbles as he slicks a hand back over his head between the ears, "Lost my head there for a bit. Ghosts have long intrigued me but...ah, those tasked with exorcising the blighters think I'm a bit too eager. This way, we're close now. I hope your friend's there, I should hate not to have a chance to vouch for you to one of the higher-ups."
Quinn considers the old bat for moment, then answers him, "My family has an unusual history, and unusual ways. We were a warrior nation long ago, we allied ourselves and eventually became part of the great empire. Since we were allies we kept many of our older traditions that would normally have been stamped out by conquest. My house favors ability, and we lead by example."
"That sounds far too meritocratic for what I've heard about your government, but that is a subject far too afield from this conversation even for *my* predilections."
A clearing of the throat, and "If you lead by ability and example then, should I assume your warriors are also well-trained and will follow orders? Would they follow the order of someone *not* of the most robust ability and probably without so much merit? My liege-lords do not particularly favor soldiers that cannot abide soldiers with...loud opinions, you understand, but as long as they do what they're told then even the most abrasive types can be tolerated....but if Natalia vouches for you then I should see no reason not to broach the subject with the Bisclavret. That will take some time I assure you, but this is not a quick enterprise we deal in now is it?"
"We may be unusual, but we are still Zhongguonese. My house is used to dealing with highly disciplined military. Abrasive isn't allowed on duty or with clients."
The fact being spoken that his canine groupie might feel he had something to gain by association with the Raccoon tells said raccoon to pay attention to why. Likely it is all very innocent, but still… Delroy paused at the door, to let the Sexton make their presence known.
And so Javiera described everything she had witnessed, leaving no detail out. As something so shocking, she was able to go into much. Nothing was left unturned, not the amount of the bodies, or the ghost's desire for revenge, The location was mentioned, and everything she knew about the encounter and such
But of course, the tiny mouse beckons the erstwhile guide and Delroy into the hall just as Javiera is finishing up a big ol' informing. Her Holiness asks pretty much immediately "I assume that *you* are the Witch-Finder in question? Hm. I shall be putting the question to our Exorcists *immediately* as to why this was not investigated thoroughly and quickly by our *own* people. I suspect then that one of our city's lovely nobles not educated in the details of different...less mundane natural forces sought you out to deal with this in the absence of what should have been an official investigation?"
Yeah, she's not happy about this going down this way.
The raccoon then strode an and took a knee, laying his staff behind him. "I hope for forgiveness, your Holiness. And your blessing…" As he genuflects, the raccoon lifts the amulet in presentation, over his bowed head.
"It is one of my tasks to secure contracts, however, one of my cousins is also here if you should wish to speak with another."
A bit later, once that's out of the way: "Well then, Natalia, daughter of my brother, is that all that's brought you out my way? I can't simply believe you'd wake me from sleep for one contract, especially one so long in the making. You have nothing else to consult with my oceans of experience in life?" ...As always, Uncle's opinion of himself is...*high*.
She casts an eye to the Sexton and shows the coin with an official seeming look. "Adalbrecht, what would you date this coin to?" He jumps about a foot in the air but answers after a tongue-tying second that it seems about 80 years on, maybe more. The mouse nods. "I concur. These are seals of office the Rinaldi used before the formation of the Guilds as we know them. How your specter came to have one I know not, but break a contract you should never do. Look ye in Old Town for this same symbol on the facade, perhaps covered by current muck, but they will be there. Mayhap what ye find there will sate your "friend" until We can deal with his problem in the manner it was meant to be dealt with."
Delroy nods slowly, "Maester Rouchardon owns the property and requested I do this for him; That I should investigate the problems, their causes, and discover how to end the problem. I have investigated, Your holiness… My part was to do what I have done, then report to Rouchardon; I think that coin will be a clue to help those that wish to right what wrongs kept those poor folk here after their horrid, untimely deaths…"
Whilst speaking, Delroy held his hand out to receive his medalion. "I am glad for the time you have given me to attempt to do what I feel is the Will of the Martyr. That all souls may know peace… And none be destroyed needlessly. That is the Sin that damns the Necromancer."
Delroy bowed his head, then, his right hand on his chest, "It is true that before We were called 'Finders' our Order did many horrible things to many innocent souls. I will not allow myself to follow the roads those before me trod so smooth. In fact, that is part of the revised Vow We take. I speak this so you may know when I promise to you that I will do the right thing, that you understand what it means to me."
"I should probably continue to accompany him. To make sure he does not find himself alone if another situation like this was to crop up." Javiera said, as she looked over at Delroy. Perhaps that, and she would want to find out more about this mystery, after seeing such horrors, some time out investigating things without dead folk nearby would help get her mind off of that.
"Then perhaps it is time I bid you go and do the things you have said. I ask only that you do not return to that place without the company of our elite. If Maitre Rouchardon Ilaire has requested this aid, then by all means, tell him that the matter will be taken care of to the best of our ability. Which is considerable. Ardentine, I give you leave to defend this Witch-Finder until his task is completed, though I expect you here tonight during the early evening Offices. The new candidates for the Order will be presented as Truesworn tonight and I should not see you lacking in presence without due cause."
"Well, Uncle Valisii, there is a minor problem that you might help me with," Natalia says, hoping for some good advice.
"I seem to run afoul of a pair of Zvonmir bats, brother and sister, that have run a bit roughshod, and involved me. Since they are noble in birth, they think that they can escape trouble with no repercusions. But that woman, Madalena, attacked me with her black magics, and that pompus Nicusor needs to be taken down a peg."
"Would you know anything about them that would help take the wind from under their wings?"
Delroy bowed respectfully low, stepping back as he rose. He was bid to leave, and that he does, though he walks (more) slowly (than usual), knowing that Javiera will likely not be far behind.
"Hmmmm, the twin terrors? Well, Nicusor is not as highly regarded as his sister in their House from all I hear. Like many of status or means he was finished at Dunwasser and an etiquette tutor, but I hear he didn't take too well to the curriculum and preferred a more rough and tumble life. Only reason he graduated was his family's influence in the Guilds, I think. I can't imagine what he'd be doing making real trouble though, he always preferred to confine his wild oats to less wave-making activities.
"Now Madalena...she is a right can of worms to be opened. Utterly frightening too. So young and already responsible for maintaining almost all the Zvonimir's trade agreements and alliances. If a slick merchant has a silver tongue, then this one's is made of electrum stolen from the Church under pretenses of making the Pontiff a new chastity belt. If you claim she is a practitioner of the Black Arts then you have a mountain ahead of you. Have you any proof of this, or just witnesses and hearsay? She will twist anything but solid evidence into support for herself, and given the slightest chance she zips away to refuge to bring about the fall of whoever slighted her last.
"....BUT. She is a vassal of the Rinaldi, and bound to their decree like the rest of us, even more closely because of the direct oaths of service of her House to the foxes. And they rather look down on anyone getting to "run roughshod" but their own. Find ye a Rinaldi with opinions and ye won't look far for one that will censure her officially, or at least command some paid for agent to do so on their behalf."
Uncle *finally* realizes drinks have arrived and takes a long draw, and you realize he said most of that in a single incredibly long breath. How does he *do* that?
A loud exhale of the absolute most annoying kind accompanies his enjoyment of the beverage, but despite the necessity of the cosmos demanding his immediate cessation, Uncle Vasilii continues against all odds to survive, and speak more.
"It won't keep her detained, you'd need some compelling evidence for that and I do mean compelling. But such censure would at the least delay retaliation and force some modicum of public nicety on her and hers, lest the sleeping giant re-awaken for a moment. Many of them may be officially powerless but for their coin, but mark my words, the Rinaldi command respect and wariness for a reason young niece."
"So she can attack me with her black magics and get off free?" Natalia retorts. "I'm not going to let this insult to m... our House pass unchallenged."
"I've only a short time 'til she gets free, so I'll have to bid thee farewell, dearest Uncle Vasilii," she says with a burst of action.
"Farewell, and a pleasure." Quinn follows Natalia. After getting out of earshot of uncle, Quinn asks Natalia, "Where we off to? I wonder if she has so many trade agreements because of using black magic. Perhaps that hair we found belongs to one of her trade partners."
In a GIANT COINCIDENCE the paths of the two groups intersect at the Piazza Mercado fountain, a place familiar now to Delroy. If you look close you might still find his blonde fur in the water! As it is, after a sudden recognition, information is exchanged and...
Upon seeing his friends emerge from the Crowd, Delroy jogs up with his usual nerd-run, his clothing still wet, just no longer on the wrong side of dripping wet. "I thought I would have to go clear across the City to find you! I hope your time was as productive as mine?" He seemed in good spirits, as he strode up to meet the Ladies, "I have learned some interesting things."
Javira nodded. "Of course I will be there. I would be lax in my duties not to attend. She said, before bowing and following Delroy out, the Raccoon now knowing she had a curfew, or else she'd be turned into a pumpkin. When the others seemed to pop out of the crowd, Javiera waved at them, though she seemed a bit more serious, or sad. It was hard to tell.
Natalia gives the racoon a glare that should shrivel him up.
"Those two are so... I have no words to describe them," Natalia complains. "They act as if they will get off scot-free, and seem to have the influence to do so. You, Delroy, had best be there to support my accusations of black magic use against us, or they will walk."
"If we could find a Rinaldi to back us, then we might have a chance. Other than that, we need have more to charge them with. We were on our way to see the Bookseller that is guardian for the girl that was attacked last night, it seems he wishes to speak to us, and might shed more light on what is going on."
"Let us procced with all due haste then. Light is burning, and if I need to find a Rinaldi to help, it may take me some time to find them, time that we might not have."
She sets off with a determined stride, heading for the bookseller.
Delroy did shrivel. Quite a bit actually, "I doubt it, Lady Ivanova… I believe it was they who attacked the shipments. I witnessed similar magical sounds…" Del's voice wanders someplace far away for a moment, trying to describe his sense of the Supernatural. "Unique as voices, The older stuff like an echo, you see. I am sure he and his Tiger friend were involved in the destruction of the caravan. As for a patron, why not my old friend Luigi Christofaro De Rinaldi? I think I remember the address… So, shall we go to the Constabulary afterward… Perhaps I should see to it on my own?" Natalia's glare was still unnerving him, and he was hedging his bets on it's source having to do with her appointment with the Constabulary.
"You... know... Luigi Christofaro De Rinaldi?" Natalia's voice has a bit of shock and a hint of something else in it, as she stops to peer at Delroy again.
"Yes, we will speak to him, after we see what the bookseller has for us." she decides after a silent moment of contemplation. "Either that, or hire a messenger to deliver a message to him to meet us afterwards. Someplace convenient, and yet befitting a Rinaldi."
"I don't want you wandering off on your own again, lest you disappear into another escapade and not show up properly at the Constabulary."
"Now, onwards to the booksellers, where we shall see what he need us for."
The directions you received tell you that the shop is tucked into a semi-fashionable district in which reside relatively well-heeled members of society, on The Way of Good Winds. Which, upon your arrival is...filled with smoke and lots of gruff noise. Not a good sign at all! The air at the north end of the street (where you all arrived from) is mostly clear, but by the time you get down to the caddy-corner where the shop rests a handkerchief is proving necessary.
A quick glance in the just-beginning-to-fade light tells most if not all the sad tale. The rest can be intuited by the smell: fire. The scorched and crumbled facade of "Marsilio Carafa's Wonders of the Page" throws gleaming red-orange light from what remains of the windows, the telltale flicker of flames inside and the acrid stench of burnt ink, leather, and bindings combining into something overpowering. Underneath lurks the scent of something more, but there's so much smoke the finer bits of your olfactory senses are already becoming dulled.
As close as they dare to be to the blaze are a squadron of the boys in red, Triskellian's constabulary regulars. All the books piled behind them wouldn't have filled even a tenth of the floor space in the burning building.
Upon the group's approach, a familiar face turns about and Captain Jacopo "Jackrum" Ricciardi once again greets you all, this time terse and businesslike. "Figured I'd see you lot here. Polecat friend needs to learn quiet-like habits." He sighs behind the handkerchief on his snout and narrows his already beady rat eyes. "Arson. Nasty business. Not sure what caused it yet, but we've evacuated already. Too late for the ones left inside but...s~#~, what can you do? It's fire. Still waiting on a bucket brigade and the Water-weaver the nobles keep on hand to clean their fountains."
Quinn immedietly uses her fire magic to cease the flames, assumeing I can do that. If not she will use water hexagram to dowse the flames.
Appearently I'm too busy putting out a fire, but once the fire is out I'll use air magic to clear the smoke and look for anyone inside.
If Quinn can indeed use fire magic to quench the flames she will be selective about where to use water, to avoid water damage to books, papers, etc.
Natalia uses her Air elementalism to clear the air as she peers around.
Delroy conjured forth the little light at his command, sending it forth as far as he can to extend his sight through the smoke. "Congratulations, Wiseass, you only have one more loose end. Too bad for you it's me." Del pointed with his rod, directing the whisp-light to illuminate his new friend.
One of the nearby officers seems quite annoyed at the sudden intrusion of your wizardy light thing into his field of vision, waving it off like a fly. Which does nothing of course but cause some minor shadow play but what else can he do?
Thankfully Quinn and Natalia's combined efforts seem to be making headway on the blaze and keeping black smoke out of nearby residences. There's still a danger it could spread but not as much of one as before.
This leaves the question of just what this tiger is doing here! But then again, wasn't the proprietor of the bookshop supposed to be a tiger? Could they in fact be one and the same?! A hidden Cognoscenti right in a crowded residential district?!
This one seems to think so. Or act like it given he's been caught out using a mind-clouding spell AGAIN. By Delroy Callidus, Witch-Finder of course.
Now that he's noticed you, however, he seems utterly shocked and bamboozled. Mostly. He flashes a look of consternation at the group and takes careful notice of the badge Delroy wears...and chuckles. "Of all the ironic things. So many of you pass by and yet a neophyte barely into his charge breaks the spells. What do you wish then, Finder? My livelihood is ruined, my ward is dead, and the man I used for my revenge is fled, my vengeance stolen from me once more. These books and my grief are all that is left to me."
Not a one of the guard seems to notice his speech whatsoever. Quinn hasn't even perked an ear either. Natalia seems able to hear him though. Clearly his spell has worked rather well on most assembled here.
Delroy stepped forward, dismissing his light back to wherever 'out' is for such things. The Tiger's speech caught him a little off guard, though Alejandro had told him that this is the worst part of the job, when they're caught and they start talking to you. Never really with you.
"What I want is for you to drop the spells, and for you to offer your aid in prosecuting Nicusur and his so called sister. The court will look favorably upon that. So drop them now, or I will drop them from you."
He leveled his rod, settled into a sidelong stance, well aware of the fact he's negotiation with someone who is unseen by nearly everyone around.
But he's a Finder. They do stuff like that.
"But I would rather not have to, given your recent loss. The Silence is violently jarring to the victim. I would rather you remained able to speak. I want you to tell me why you risked so much."
As Natalia keeps using her Air Elementalism to clear the air of smoke, her ears twitch at the elderly tiger's statements. Clearly she is torn between questioning the tiger and her civic duty. Civic duty seems to win out for now, but the looks she occasionally shoots at Delroy indicate she not happy with her choice.
The spell isn't being super effective vs Quinn, she is just busy at the store front, focused on her task ignoring minor distractions like people chattering away far off behind her.
"Natalia, circle around the right and we can pinch in the sides too keep it from spreading then close in to meet in the middle."
Quinn notices Natalia is distracted and notes to self to ask her about it later.
The squad clearly thinks you're going insane but that's Witch Finders for you. Always doing crazy things pretending they're not just another risky witch around good folk.
The tiger, who can safely be inferred as Marsilio Carafa given his recent statements, smiles grimly and keeps his hands visible and not-doing-anything. Not that Cognoscenti magic would be sensed by any without mystic eyes, but nonetheless. He lays his staff down slowly, deposits a hidden pendant on a chain atop it, and sits upon the haphazard pile of books. "They will get what they want from me soon enough. I would rather have a polite conversation without the shouting, now that the blaze purrs rather than roars. My thanks to your water-weaver friend, by the by. Anything left salvageable would be a boon to any other seller in the city."
He clears his throat and sighs, staring off into the middle distance. Wistfully, he speaks. "What is there to say? I was young, brash, proud. I learned to push and tug at minds on my own, without a teacher, so you can imagine I was quite pleased with myself. And of course my pride led me into a place I could not fade away from. But I am ahead of myself..."
He launches into the tale, speaking quickly and without embellishment. It has the feel of a witness testifying against a prosecuted plaintiff. "My father worked long for the Rinaldi, tirelessly for his lords. Educating himself just enough to be good at his job, but not moreso even though he was brilliant, all to keep his position secure. My father's best *friend* Marlon, however, did not stay so secure. A panther with a heart of gold, he was injured by an angry Guildsman, his own employer, in a dispute over his rights to an invention he created without the employer's aid, nor funding. It would have set Triskellian to rival the clockworks of the Bisclavret!But this Guildsman, he was a fool of a pompous ram who sent thugs when words would have sufficed. So, when he wasn't of use any longer, the Guildsman took the machine for his own, and cast out my father's dear friend.
"My father, in his helpfulness, aided his friend and their family as best he could, but it wasn't long before that aid landed us *all* in dire straits...but you want details, not an old man's story. You want to know why? Vengeance. My father died of a fever he should not have had, working three jobs he should not have needed, to help a good man like an uncle to me who died of infection from his injuries years on. My mother passed on from a broken heart, "Uncle" Marlon's wife and daughter became prostitutes to survive. The wife was stabbed by a sailor who left the next day before justice could arrive. His daughter...was the only girl I ever loved, but in those days they looked down on such things.
[b]"Kaeva, then, was the girl she bore from a client...a well-to-do magistrate of the Rinaldi in those days. He never recognized his daughter, and the mother died in birth. So I raised her as my own these long years, and taught her of our revenge...which now she shall never have, nor I it seems. But should you find yourself in the company of the man who started this and the worthless ingrate who abandoned his child, remind yourself that Flivian Ilaire sees nothing beyond his own golden coins, and that Rodrigo de Parilla is his shouting mutt. Truth to you, Finder: if you find him as your judge, better to kill yourself than be sentenced. He hands down only the empty words of the Guild Council."
Several long minutes pass, and he finally drops the illusion keeping him veiled. It takes awhile for the officers to notice, and they react with the expected shock, surprise, and general confusion of people who thought all the burning building's occupants were dead, and immediately begin doing their civic duty of making sure he's alive to give testimony about this arson.
Marsilio is bemused, of course. "You see, Finder? They know nothing. But you do...yes, I think you do at that. Tell me, what remained in the box when you finally opened it?"
Del had found himself growing impatient when the Tiger left his veil active, until it was dispelled and everyone began to crowd around. He now had a lot to chew on, to separate meat from gristle. "Worry not for me, I knew of the dangers of this job when I took the Oath."
The Tiger's request for knowledge caught Delroy's interest. What would Marsilo stand to gain knowing this? It seems he has reason to… Gloat?
"I will tell you what you wish to know, but only at the Constabulary." There you go, Delroy, the safest course. You need time to think.
Delroy then addresses the officers, "This Tiger is a potent Spellbinder, be on your guard. But I doubt he will give us any trouble, is that indeed correct, Marsilo?" He looked over to Natalia, not shifting from his readied posture, "He is Nicusur's accomplice from the Pump room." Dell then slowly turned his attention back to Marsilo as he said; "They did not get along…" His tone suggested Marsilo might get along famously with Natalia…
The tiger sizes up the raccoon for a brief moment before shrugging resignedly. "As good as I'm liable to get in this establishment I suppose. Frankly I'd rather be dead with my family but there are still those who need to get what's coming to them, and you need to be prepared to face Gang Fei."
He makes no attmept to combat the officers as they bind his hands, and even consents to a blindfold the Captain ties around his eyes. More knowledgeable than the average Offisah, the Captain.
On the "putting out a fire" front Quinn's strange foreign magic is having the desired effect, and the smoke is mostly gone at this point as well. With visibility returned it becomes clear that the damage to the shop and Marsilio's former home is indeed catastrophic, blackened wood supports still glowing hot in places where they haven't already burnt to almost ash, part of the second story (a second story! for a bookseller!) caved in where the shop-front would have been, only a few scattered tomes still intact enough to sell again at anything other than some bargain-rummage, or perhaps donate to the libraries the College and the Church run.
The most striking aspect, once the smell of smoke is gone from sensitive noses, is definitely the telltale stench of burnt flesh. Except here it's everywhere, inescapable. Sickly sweet and stomach-churning all at once, it doesn't take long to find the source: a curled up partially skeleton-ized corpse. Half-buried under a recently put-out rafter, the pose suggests fright and pain, jaw still open in a screaming gape.
The skull is clearly feline, and judging by Marsilio's testimony, this is probably Kaeva, his ward and "adopted" daughter.
"We will find out who started this fire, and they will pay for their crimes… And I suppose you will only tell me who Gang Fei is after I make my divulgence?" He then nodded to Jackrum, "Allow me some time with the scene, unless Marsilo has more he knows? I will be at the Constabulary as soon as possible."
Now if only his friends haven't possibly tangled the energies of this place into knots… He would soon find out if he could hear the fainter hum of old magic, against the soul-thrumming sensations of raw power being harnessed nearby.
"Gang Fei is the happy accident that would have allowed me to realize my revenge, and I would wish no soul but my enemies to suffer under his wrath. I tell you this in hearing of these officers because now that he is free from my control and revenged *himself on me* he will continue the mission that brought him here to Calabria."
Marsilio motions generally in the direction of Quinn and Natalia (that fire hose spell is LOUD), a grimace crossing his mouth with distaste clear upon his features. "Ask your Zhonggese friend about the 'Lin Kuei,' the Forest Ghosts. She'll surely tell you more than I could. I just looked in his head and procured for myself a talent with which to exact murder."
Ruefully his head and tail lashed back and forth slowly, a low chuckle escaping his lips. The laugh grew in force and self-pity, cresting like a wave until it crumbled to pieces on the shore of an impossible obsession. "If you hadn't taken that box, Finder, your night would have ended much differently I think. Gang Fei, you see, was attending that soiree."
Delroy nods, "Which one was Gang Fei? I think my friends will be glad to avenge Kaeva for you. Your warnings are most appreciated. I am sure your cooperation will be taken into account by the court. As for the box, your comment has me wondering what Gang Fei would do with the remnants of a ribbon tied lock of fur. I ask because he might have gotten into the box and we need to know who his target is."
Javiera had been a little shocked when the tiger appeared, moreso that delroy had noticed them, and knew something about them. It appeared that the young witch hunter hadn't been sharing all the tidbits of his grand adventures.
Or maybe he did that to keep the others safe.
"We should talk, should things give us a spare moment Delroy. Javeira said, her expression not hard or anything like that, more concerned.
The young Finder nods to Javiera, "Believe me, I was just waiting to get everyone together, lest I have to repeat myself and bore those who've heard it before. That includes our adventure in the Warehouse, and what we'll be doing about that as well as this Gang Fei of the Lin Kuei. I have seen too much innocent death and the day is still young."
"The day is not young, there are far too many plots and counter-plots and scheming, and that odious woman and her brother draw nearer to escaping their deserved fate. And now we have yet another layer of mystery upon the whole? The day is far too gone for this, Delroy. Shall we find your Rinaldi friend, or trek back to the Constabulary to deeper interview the tiger, and see what testimony we can gain from him?"
"Marsillo hired Nicusur and possibly convinced him he has a sister. The Order can find no official record of her. They were used to attack shipments that would hurt Rochardon's father, He has a personal vendetta, and feels that Lion is quite dangerous. Illaire seems estranged from his father, however. That all is my conjecture alone. He and Nucusur left a box that once contained a lock of fur in the Spear's pump room for some reason that Gwenn and I found, Nicusur blamed Marsillo, and attacked Kaeva. Another of Marsillo's puppets, Gang Fei, escaped his control and took his revenge, and here we stand."
The raccoon ticked each point off his fingers, then turned to ask Marsillo, "How much of that was correct?" and upon hearing his answer, he nods to Natalia, "I think we need to ensure that Nicusor stays in Jail, and learn what we can of what was done at the Spears. I have my own reasons to speak to Luigi. I do not think it would hurt to bring him along, so he might know what happens in his family's City. I guess I could have him found. I am not certain where he might be… today. I have not seen him since I took my oath." Not so long ago…
Marsilio...smiles a very awkward, very scary smile. Not just fangy or toothy but...maybe perhaps a wee it unhinged. Just a tad. Not a lot. Enough that he probably got very dangerous very quickly once he learned his talents.
"What did that old serial say? "And I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling *kids*." You're not goats though, and Mădălena Zvonimir is most certainly real...terrifyingly real. If your Order doesn't know anything about her it's because the Walls are remote and she's very, very good at hiding her talents. I'd wager Nicuşor is far more afraid of his sister than anything else. They aren't my puppets, however. Some deals can only be made in coins, or blood. The box and its contents were to be the payment for their part in aiding my revenge...which I simply must know, do you know if Gang Fei actually...*touched* young Rouchàrdon any time at the party? It's really quite important."
He looks almost beatific at that. Too innocent.