Roger blinks for a second then mumbles "actually, I was hurt on the job."
Roger tries to shake his head, but it moves no more than a millimeter or two, almost too quick to be seen. Then he says "you could say that. I used to collect debts for a ... distinguished gentleman. I went to collect a debt, and was attacked by mercenaries. They left me as you see me."
Roger is clearly keeping some details back, and the "gentleman" that he worked for was probably some sort of less than reputable type.
Roger glances sideways at the young girl, and with what passed these days for a smirk says "Not much I could do about it, now is there lass? but now that you've heard me tale of woe, how did you come to be in this place? and disarmed, no less?" Roger smirks at his own joke.
Roger finally seems interested in someone in The Gardens, and asks the orderly to turn him towards Naneko. "Well, I can definitely get behind stabbing them what stabbed you first. if I could ever get my hands around the neck of the scrawny little elf who stabbed me, I'd prob'ly make his eyes pop. As things stand, however, I think I'm destined to being wheeled around by this one for the rest of me days."
At Naneko's story Jack looks empathetic.
He says this even as his eyes are seven feet above the ground even sitting on the two foot high, groaning bench.
Gavin listened as the others swapped stories in silence. Roger's in particular didn't seem quite right. I guess the Marshall Wellness Corporation isn't very discriminate in their choices for this little experiment. he thought with a humpf. The others each had their own sob stories that Gavin had true empathy towards, but not much shock. After all, they all had to be here for one reason or another.
What did shock him was when Jack spoke up. "Wait, you're the smallest in your tribe? I thought you were an orc not a mountain giant!"
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Roland heard the tink, tink, tink of the tiny stone as it rolled away, but without any obvious trigger for the sound, dismissed it as someone tapping on themselves before focusing again on the conversations in front of him.
Roland decides to take on the more interesting conversation of the options. Revenge and self pity rarely make good stories. "A mountain giant? Alright, I can't contain my curiosity any longer. I apologize if you've already told this story Jack, but how does one such as yourself end up here? I will pass on those brands for now, though, unless we find out that something supernatural really is behind all of this. I've already made my peace with there being more to this world than meets the eye, neither outcome of that ultimatum would surprise me." Roland doesn't seem perturbed by the revelation of Jack's heritage; his time with The Long Eye and their associates has seen him fighting with and against members of most of the more common humanoid races.
Baldwin took in the scars branding Jack's skin, and decided that he would rather have everything he dropped end up ten feet away. "Thank you for the offer Jack, but I've lived with this up until now. Besides, it hasn't been all bad, I think I've even gotten a few perks out of having these...spirits following me around."
While Jack was clearly an orc, and a huge one at that, Baldwin got a more disconcerting feeling from Roger. Baldwin could tell that he wasn't saying something about how he ended up here, and the violent way he referred to those who had harmed him made Baldwin rather cautious. He didn't want to end up on Roger's bad side, even if he was confined to a wheelchair and couldn't move his arms or legs.
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John's ears pricked up when he listened to roger. ah a villian. Leg breaker probably. Well he seems to have been punished more than I would have
John addresses the group It does seem as if most of us have suffered uncommon bad fortune. It may coincidence, or malicous. Yet it seems an odd set of events, that this should happen, and we end up here. And then a miracle is offered. Still this is only conjecture.
John stretches his back to find a more comfortable position. This conversation was the most interesting thing he had done since he had arrived here.
I'm interested in what happens next
Roger tries to shake his head, but it moves no more than a millimetre or two, almost too quick to be seen. Then he says "you could say that. I used to collect debts for a ... distinguished gentleman. I went to collect a debt, and was attacked by mercenaries. They left me as you see me."
She had been waiting, looking at John and nodding as the men talk, She had faded into that background to most. A silly noble woman entranced by stories of bad events and horrors. Just where she wanted to be, it let her observe study and think.
She did not need to look at the thug on the bed; HexQin could do that just as well as she. He's thuggish words fell out of his mouth. "on the Job' " I went to collect a debt" then the last but "The scrawny little elf who stabbed me" Now she knew, here was one of them. All she had had was a name and description 'Roger Hornsby'.
"He’s a big man, Seven footer miss, but he’s slow like, dark brown hair, an eyes, he has. Thinks he’s Dapper-dressed but he looks like dock'er he do's. Lots a scares, here and... here. Just a word to the wise miss, he’s a bad-en like hurting others the gang he’s in is known for it."
There were others in the gang, and she had been working her way through them. She paid the gnome informant for that and more. Then more costs to get a fake betting IOU called in, just so Roger would be at a set place at a set time. Just right to meet her welcoming party, she did not even have to pay for that, just drop a hint. Bad men would be doing bad things. She did make clear one thing.
"There will be more than one, the big one, a man with brown hair and eyes. I don't want him killed, I want him hurt, I want him broken, take away from him the one thing she values most. His physical power I don't care how you do it ILrrina just make in feeble."
How here he was in front of her, broken, feeling all sorry for himself. When she had been called in to investigate the gold mine gang, then her own unfortunate accident. Unlike him she had run off a cliff to save her life. This was an act she had done to herself as part of plan. For him it was a slow blade into the back. Now here he was, humm
could be something in what Roland said about this not being just all coincidence. Could Boris be behind all this, it was just like him to do such things.
But for now she just nodded looking at the others,
Yes take away all he has.
This was not such a bad day after all, Boris would be proud of her for such malevolent thoughts.
She smiled to herself then looked at Roger at his elf comment, a displeased look on her face.
"A scrawny elf Mr... I am sorry I did not get your name. I do hope you are not predigest toward the elf race Mr.... I think 'slim elf' would be a better way of putting it, don't you."
Then she smiles at him, so sweetly evil smile, and the next moment shes back looking at the group. Once more showing interest in their conversation. Roger like the sulking silent girl child who had rebuffed her help, seemingly all but forgotten to her. Yet HexQin as always looked on, keeping note of what she was not paying attention to.
Shes seems positively happy to see Roger Hornsby just as he is.
It could be because she knows him in some way or because she as a good citizen is happy to see what looks to be little more than a thug get what was coming to him. Hard to tell.
Then at Johns comment
"O mine was not bad luck John, it was bad riding, I feel off my horse . Simple as that, silly trying to make the charger jump a wall to high for it. All my own fault, no one to blame but myself."
She seem resigned in saying this.
O that's a big fat lie, however she was hurt, falling off a horse was not it.
As much as Roger made Baldwin feel uncomfortable, it almost made him more uncomfortable to realize that Sallrana was happy he was stuck in his chair. It seemed almost out of character from how she had been acting throughout the entire conversation. 'I know we're all hiding things, some more than others. (Because, let's face it, I don't have much to hide.) But now I don't know how to think about her....' There was something else about her that wasn't quite right now, but he guessed it was just because of her reaction to Roger.
Baldwin decided to leave the conversation at that, and turned his attention to the girl who hadn't said a word the entire time, not that he was going to comment on that. Her jaw was rather disfigured and looked quite painful. He smiled slightly at her before turning his attention his drink on the table.
[dice=sense motive]1d20 + 7
why is she happy to see that rogue. have they a past? Damn I wish I could see. justice let me feel their intention
John extends his senses towards both Shallrana and Roger: detect evil.
Jack seems to be reluctant to talk more on the subject, but continues
He smiles at Naneko and 'whispers'
"No one picks on me now!"
The gardener stood silently in the middle of the rose garden and lit himself a cigarette. There was more potential here than he had expected - the angry, the lost, those that clung still to justice and those running from it.
He stood, and thought for a while.
There was a map in his pocket, with a single cross. All it would take was another two strokes of the pen, an acceleration of plans already in motion.
Yes, he smiled to himself. It was worth it. He walked to each of the figures in turn, offering his flask and a kindly word and a gentle, reassuring push in the right direction.
The garden emptied of people, one by one, until only the roses were left.