Miria stans sharply as the group enters and then threatens her comrades. She slides a dagger into her hand to be ready, and then moves in front of some of the other party members. Giving Auken a hard glare, she snarls at him, revealing her unnatural teeth.
"Auken, ash you can shee, we were not caushing a probwem unil you ar-rived. I know that shome of your buddiesh work fow the town gu-ard, I'm not a new fashe. Thish isn't how the gu-ard ish shupposed to act, now ish it? Thash why you've shought out my com-rades so late at night. Unfortunatewy for you, my com-rades aren't push oversh and don't take too kindly to being thweatened, as you can shee. As a represhentative of Haw-croft Wogging, I may just have to take this cashe up with the Mayor and the head gu-ard."
Her voice is soft and steely as she crosses her arms, glaring at him, hoping the combined efforts of the group will make him go away. She hates having to talk, and her meal was interrupted.
As Miria Talks Sallrana looks on, still cool looking for all the world like this is just a nice Sunday meeting she add, her manner now more polite.
"Now this is most interesting, so lady's and gents this is not "official business"
She makes rabbit ears
"But I suspect an personal vendetta organized buy Auken, aimed starting a fight so he can have a swing at judge John here. What did Auken tell you, "Some bad types down the inn? and "Ill need back up, best you all come along" O dear it was a bit light on the truth there. So he tricks you into helping him do his dirty work, like I said, he lead you into a trap. Now this could go violent right here, but only Auken wants that, so hear me out then you decide"
Behind the the nightmare looms large, her eyes blazing light.
She smiles.
"What we wanted was to have a little talk with the local powers that been. To offer our help in a polite civilised way. We needed some representatives of those powers to approach us and supply us the information of who said powers are. So we we could gain a polite ordnance with them. They would very much like that because right now they are scratching their collective heads trying to work out just what that big scintillating light friezing water out in the bay is. They are asking is it a benefit or a danger. Well we can help with that, in fact we intend to find that out, and to do so we need their help as they will need ours."
She pulls out a seat and sits on it, crossing her legs putting her hands on them and looking at the group. Behind her all hell ready to smash them
"So what's it to be now then, follow Auken into a pointless blood bath and your deaths or take us to your leaders, we will go happily and with out a fight even, just not in chains and on our trums. Then after you get to go home to your loved ones saying, "I did a good job today" far more civilized and more befitting the city watch than what Auken here had planed"
She picks up her glass and takes a sip waiting for her words to sink in,
"So change of offer, Auken, you are free to go with your hired hands , but if we see you again, well you get the idea, as for those of the city watch here, how about you take us to see the city leaders, the city streets at night can be dangerous, speaking for our group I think we would feel much safer with you protecting us."
all the time smiling at them reasonably.
There is no way that Auken can lose this much face. His tribe would judge him forever. Eventually he will realise this.
Auken can only be hoping for a better option. This stalemate needs to be resolved now, while his group is swayed against him. An individual challenge, not a group fight.
Jack steps into Auken's line of fire.
he says sadly.
Sallrana is greatly relived Jack is now in front of the pistol and not her. Give the small distraction she reaches down and picks up her bag then stands back up. As if getting ready to go.
The men around Auken start to falter - at first when Jack unfolds to his full height, again when Roger follows, but most visibly when Miria makes herself known and identifies a few of them that are most definitely not there on official business. The air of hired professionals that clung to the group is now gone, replaced by a sombre knowledge that although numbers might be on their side, training and gumption are most certainly not. Slowly, as Sallrana speaks, the ones nearest the back of the crowd move silently toward the door of the establishment.
For those of you watching, you can see the expression change on Auken's face as clearly as the seasons. From vengeful and righteous anger to momentary horror, to a colder fury that segues slowly but certainly into the look of a man who knows that he is out of his depth.
And then, as he half-turns to survey the rapidly thinning mercenary group and Jack announces that his part of the deal is done, Auken breaks. he begins to back to the door, weapon still held up and pointed at all of you in turn, his targeting changing like a nervous tic.
'Gods damn you thrice, man of the Wains,' he hisses through clenched teeth as he reaches the doorway, the few of his men too foolish or brave to exit before him standing at his shoulders with their weapons ready and trembling. 'You know what you did to me, what I had to give. It was a heavy price to pay, too heavy for one man, and I swear, I swear by the Law, that I will see you shoulder your half of this burden with me, or I will see you settle with blood... Pilgrim.'
he spits the last word, ducking back out of the doorway and leaving the two largest of his remaining helpers there to bar the door in case you decide to follow.
Jack turns around, talking
.
Suddenly seeing Sallrana's "shadow" he starts and throws his mug at it.
Normal mug damage, +8 from strength, +2d6 if sneak attack applies (and it probably won't)
Jack's mug goes right through the shadow, and shortly after it dissipates. Rick goes back to eating, and addresses John in a calm way, as if nothing had happened there. "So, John. You really don't remember the man? Cause he seems to have gotten your name fair and square, John of the wains... are you enjoying the price of your acquisition?"
Miria smirks slightly before putting her mask back on her face. No more reason to scare the kiddies. And she nods in agreement with Jack. 'It seems that for a group so paranoid, they're awfully chatty.'
As soon as Sallrana's 'shadow' dissipates, the two burly thugs left turn tail and run, fighting comically for a moment in the narrow doorframe to be the first one out on the street and away from these mad people.
Wile the others talk and go back to there things, Sallrana slings her bag around her shoulder, belts on her gun fast. Her clothing changes to that of a kind of Ninja come Arabic assassins suit, with a full face Vail. her Psishield fades the light go's out from her eyes, she's a lot less scary now. She moves fast going past the group, as she dos she taps Rick on the shoulder,
"Thank you for the assist Rick, I miss judged you, I'm sorry about that"
She moves to the Inns back door , saying just before she go's out onto the night.
"Just need to check something, back soon"
And with that she's gone.
GM she's going to see if she can get round the front to see where there attackers are headed to, following at some distance so as not to be spotted. More than anything she wants to know if others where out said looking on as the group came in, 3ed party wise.
Note she can see in the dark so no need for light,
Shes also being every carful not to be spotted or court in a trap.
She will not go to far from the Inn she wants to stay with the group.
"No problem" - he simply answers and smiles, turning back to wait for an answer from John or whoever wants to.
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John points his pistol into the air and pulls the trigger. There is a loud, ominous CLICK, but no report of pistol shot.
idiot. Didn't even realise I was empty. Still now that I know he's gone... John loads his pistol. He looks at the others and the occupants of the Inn.
What, did you think I had been carrying a loaded gun around town. Didn't, as that seemed...unfriendly. But it is now. John looks closely at the crowd. Make sure you tell the story right, when you tell it.
To Rick he says As for my price. Well we always pay a price, Rick. And this one was not that heavy. I know his face now, and his nature. He'll be back, when he thinks he has an advantage, but he will be hesitant. Bad thing in a gun fighter.
After loading his pistol John holsters it. How about that private talk now.
After a short wile Sallrana limps back in to the Inn.
"We could chance Inn's, but its late and it would not be to hard for them to find us again. Even so we best keep an eye out tonight. John any idea on a place for us to talk with more seclusion?
She picks up her glass and bottle, then walks over to Miria at the bar.
::"Miria would you mind doubling up with me in my room tonight, I think we may be safer two to a room"::
She puts 10 gold on the bar for the Inn keep.
"Another bottle please and the change is so that you will tell us if anyone comes in looking for us, O and some hot water in the morning"
At Sallrana's question Miria nods her head. 'Of course.' She moves towards the stairs slowly.
Jack shrugs
"Aye!" The halfling jumps from the bench, leaving a few coins over the balcony to pay for the meal, and follows.
leads the way to her room, its bigger than the others, she must have paid more. There are two beds, a table and seats.
As Soon as she enters, HexQin jumps off her and up the wall, over to the window so it can look out into the street.
She enters,
"Please take a seat everyone"
She places class out and put the new wine bottle on the table so that other can get the drink if they wish.
As she sits her clothing changes to a silk robe and Slippers, she put her gun and belt away in her bag.
"Rick some sit with me, Jack I think the bed would do you better than a seat. Help yourselves to wine. Miria the spear is yours, there is a chest for your things. John, would you be so kind and to char this meeting of ours, I think you have the most experience as such things. But I would at some point like to ask, what that was all about if I could."
She takes a sip of her wine and sits back, waiting on the others.
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John settles back in his chair. He looks at the party, one by one, and then grins. well I've never chaired a meeting before. Guess we best get started.
He has a sip of the wine and then continues.
We have four items to cover. One, the task hawcroft is giving us. Two, what we are gioing to do about that gate, and hopefully to find Baldwin. Third, freeing us from hawcrofts influence and fourth, of course, you Rick.
John smiles at the gnome.
Now I'm not going to rag onto you about your secrets. A man...er...gnome needs his secrets I suppose. Keep em. But if you are going to be in this group you have to decide if those secrets will bite us on the rear. Cause if they do, it will make me very grumpy. You don't want that. But if the rest of these miscreants, spys, giants and hunters accepts you, whats a lawman to do.
John looks at the others. His eyes lingered on Shallrana.
If any of you have objections about Rick, put them out on the table, out in the open. Then no more sniping after. Decide now if he remains or not. Clear.
He relaxes and waits for the others response.
Roger says, without hesitation "We need someone to keep Sallrana in line, and the Halfling here does a pretty good job. What we need to do is have a 'conversation' with your friends back there. Maybe one that involves explaining the plan to threaten dangerous people, especially since he seems to think he knows you. Then, we need to go collect Jack's net gun; then we need to go deal with the....peoplecats that live in the portal. THEN we need to have a 'conversation' with Hawcroft to explain to them about why they should not try and keep us on a leash. Then, beers."
As Roger speaks, he touches his thumbs to his fingers to make sure that he's not forgetting anything, touching the fingers on his right hand with his left thumb when he runs out of fingers on his left hand.
Turning to Miria, he adds "So, uhhh....ya. could you not talk anymore? No offense, but I almost puked when you did."
As she sits on one of the beds, Miria chuckles lightly at Roger's request, before nodding her head. She's fine with not talking, it's almost easier to understand her through body language and Hunter's Cant.
Rick climbs on a chair and sits on the border of it, his feet swinging back and forth in the air. "Well, in defense of the poor halfling, I guarantee you that he's cool. His interests will not go against yours, if that's what you're worried about. But I thought you were loyal to this Hawcroft, as they are your employees, right? Do you mind to tell me what happened? Are they threatening you or something?"
Sallrana waits letting John drive this, she would just antagonise them, they had just seen her in full killing mode and that would change the way they looked at her from here on it. It could not be helped, they had been out numbered and a fight with those odds would have left someone dead, probably her, that old chum of Johns had made a point of hefting his gun at her, the soft target, with the back up he had walked in with it showed he what to hurt not talk. O well they knew now, she would deal with it. Her plan to get the local powers that be involved had not worked, she could only guess but she suspected, someone was paying off the locals enforcement to turn a blind eye there way, leave them well alone, Hawcroft? Other? Or Johns old chum wanting payback over work humm. Then a thought popped in her head, what John has said about Nathan, she felt a pang of pain, then pushed it away. >>here and now<< the mental mantra claimed her. Her thoughts collected again. "Did Rick just talk about himself in the 3ed person, well well well, that would explain., she looked over at Mirina. "Great gods they could have done a better job, poor woman, men male doctors, no understand of what body from means to a woman, just fix her up she will be fine, @#%^ Hawcroft
She looks back taking a sip of her wine.
time to talk
"Frankly I could not care less what Hawcroft want or wish. When we .. They did what they did to us, I some how forgot the events, fine may have been drugs, but not HexQin, he was with me yet remembers nothing. I do vaguely remember signing a contract. Then tonight we come across other contracts, ones that make you forget as well. Then Rick here says he to can't remember. Later John meets a very angry young man who he could not remember yet know, Is it me or is there an awful lot of forgetting going on."
She waits to see what the others say.
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Hawcroft is a totally capitalistic corporation, devoted to profit at all costs, with all the empathy and mercy of a shark, with none of its cheerful disposition. Actually, that's a bit hard on the shark. We are not employees, we are properly. And you Rick, represent competition to them. Or an opportunity. Do the maths.
John looks a bit put out for a second. Oh, and sorry about the gnome thing, there was some confusion on the issue
Jack turns to Rick, trying to work out how to explain the leash Hawcroft has upon them.
Sighing
"What? I don't understand that language, Jack. You gotta teach me it later, tough. I've done the math quite a bit lately, yes, but... well, Rick's not a property so yeah... I guess I understand you now. I'll help you to free yourselves from the evil jaws of that shark!"
"It seems everyone is looking for new doctors these days..."
"Dos this mean Rick your implant is unstable as well.?"
She then looks over at the others.
"when I went off at the night market, I went to ask and remember they told us OldArms could make any thing we desired . If it could make a replacement implant or even fix my condition. Do you know oddly that was the one thing OldArms could not do, they said. All that skill and power yet...
Miria looks to Jack, asking him if he would translate before she enters her explanation. Her hands flutter quickly, a little jerkier than normal, but not so much as to make her signs difficult to understand.
"Actually, I do work for Hawcroft Logging. I work with the scouting department that scopes out possible future logging sites, checking for locals, seeing what sort of creatures are in the area. Ever since my highly unfortunate accident, Hawcroft has taken care of me. They may be trying to buy my loyalty, but they didn't need to keep me when I was useless; but they did.
As for my companions, they signed a contract, as you've already heard, stating that they'd momentarily become part of the "scouting" league, so to speak. They'd go check out an area that Hawcroft is interested in logging, make nice with the locals, and test out the newest prototypes of the prosthetic limbs. However, there were some complications, and a dimensional creature took the party and tore open a hole in the bay. One of the members, Baldwin, is still in the other dimension. So now we're going to try to retrieve him and scout out another island so that these folks can fulfill their contracts."
"Well that's not 100% true Miria, all but Rick and I signed with this Hawcroft, I did not, my Hawcroft is thought that portal. This Hawcroft is similar but not the same as you yourselves are to me and I to you. I know that now. Weather or not a contract signed by another me, binds me here and now I have yet to find out."
Again thoughts of her husband, dead in this world, she pushed them aside, she would get back, she had to.
Rick lifts his left eyebrow, looks at John, then back at Miria, then to John again, and back at the girl. "So" - he points a finger at John - "we really should not be talking about freeing yourselves from the Hawcroft ghost in front of one of their employees, or am I missing something here? Let's take that item three out of discussion then, John. At least for now."
"Anyway, now I get the picture. You're the ones who opened that freezing void, aren't you? I was indeed thinking it would be too much of a coincidence. Sallrana is not from this world, and this other guy you missed is somewhere inside that portal. Dude, what a mess!!"
"My implant will indeed fail me, and sooner rather than later, Sallrana, but I don't see why something like this would be so "exclusive", do you? If it's something so important, for instance, giving back the movement of someone's legs, why not open it for everyone? Make a better world with that power? Or maybe sell it, since the money could finance the research? No, they want people who are desperate, who have nothing to lose. The best kind of soldiers. Tell me something Miria, would you be free to go wander somewhere else if you wanted to? I mean, leave Hawcroft and never come back?"
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a point of correction. We did not open the rift. Hawcroft did. We have neither the power or inclination to open a gate like that. Hawcroft engaged in dangerous magical practices and the world is paying the price. The only reason I haven't tried to take them down is the possibility they can fix it
john takes another sip of wine.
Also this contract is another thing. I don't remember signing it, so it's only their word against mine. I have not even seen it. If they want to take it to court I'm willing to fight it. Contracts under duress have no weight in law.. I'm biding my time right now.
Before Miria can replay Sallrana interjects as John Talks
::"Before answer Sallrana, consider this, the reason Hawcarft kept you on and where so benevolent was that you where needed by them just as you where. Selected wile whole to fit their selected test subject perimeters. Then a simple matter of orchestrating your condition. Much safer and quicker to make the subjects you need to test on than wait around to be lucky. Time is money as they say and that mindmage on the ship was of power to manipulate minds and make others forget as needed, he could have made others act or just place you in harms way and wait. I thught like that may make you review their benevolence no?"::
She lets that sink in wile looking back at Rick as John talks
.
"What John says it true, they opened the portal and then lost control, Now it seems it fixed, we or I should say "us's" fell throw it. Also it seems the theory of other planes is not such a theory after all. Wile in that cold hell whole I could see other me's three me's. One ran into a building, one like me ran into some a fog bank, I hope like me looking for a way out. I hope to the stars she made it, Baldwin did not, he's still in there."
Then she adds as and after thought.
"Yes the Implants, all you said is true Rick, Money and power, it always seems to come back to those two."
She moves in her seat looking over at HexQin, but he's silent, all seems well outside.
Miria looks first to Rick, and then Sallrana before answering.
"Well, I guess I could leave whenever I wish, I just don't have anywhere else to go. But, if it's as you say, that they needed test subjects, why take one of their most upward bound employees and cripple her for life? It doesn't seem conducive to keeping around employees. And I highly doubt that they planned for it to rain, and for that bear to be there.... Anyway, I understand your misgivings. Hawcroft has a tendency to be...heavy-handed to get what it wants. Otherwise, my division wouldn't really be needed.
And don't bother asking me about all of that magic stuff. I have no idea how those knobheaded spellers do their thing.' Her nose crinkles in dislike at mention of Hawcroft's employed magic users. "They sit around all day reading old books and panic when things get out of their control. Useless. I'm here to make sure everyone stays as safe as possible and in one piece, unlike the ones who sent you to the wrong place and created a dimensional rift; because I'm good at what I do. I don't want my employment with Hawcroft to give you any weird ideas."
She chuckles at the comment about mages.
"I could not agree more, knowing something of the hocus pokeus and flimflam some call magic, They have less idea than us of what that portal is. they should send for a team of Technomacers from the royal science academy to inspect it, but that would expose them do...so.."
"Don't be stupid Sallrana, everyone knows magic is real."
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I not certain the royal science academy has jurisdiction here, shallrana. But magic exists, Roger, whether from faith, or the mind or the world around us.
John raises a hand to shallrana Yes shallrana, I understand your viewpoint, there is no reason to go into that now. have always believed the person makes the power, so to speak. In that mind, roger, your new power is more like shallrana's than mine, in that it comes from your mind, or self. It is...psionic in effect. But we go off the track here. I think we do Hawcrofts bidding for now, until we can free ourselves of their control. Though I not exactly certain what they want of us.
She looks back
"No I don't think you do John, not fully and I think it's about time we got this out of the way. I want no miss understanding about this. "
Then looks at Roger
"You know Roger not long ago the wise thought the world was flat and sat on the back of a giant star snake, the sun each day rode the heavens in a chariot, then a ship by night, throw the underworld to ride once more. They where convinced of it and called that magic to. To say otherwise was to be called stupid back then. Then meta-science came along, it found the would to be round, the sun to be a star, one of countless others, and that the world go's around our sun. None of that was magic, the world looked the same but it was fundamental physics and forces behind it nothing more. Now today to say otherwise is to be called stupid. What was once called magic we now find with meta science to be the interlinking prime forces and aliments. Some crossing over from higher, lower and parallel planes. some forces accessed directly or some throw an intermediary from other such planes. The research work of the meta-scientist, the new "Technomacers", is stripping away the old hokum and drilling down into repeatable and verifiable hypotheses and most of all usable knowledge Roger. We now know how a lot of what was once called magic truly works. This knowledge has lead to great discovers, leaps forwards, they have been made into powers and tools, Such as the ones I and you use, our minds linked to the underlaying power grid of the cosmos. The light of critical thinking is stripping away the mysticism to revival usable meta-scientific reality. No more sun chariots Roger, just knowledge, the will and the mind"