Aziel Charbonneau's page

Thinking Man's Tavern - Riot Room (3rd Floor), Aziel/Diego

karlprosek wrote:

If the halfling woman was charmed by Diego's accent or manner, she didn't show it. She smiled at the half-orc but it seemed more bemused than friendly. "An educated man from a far off land." She put out a small hand to shake with Diego. "Hennet Rinus, of Pardwright University. I've met a few visiting professors from Ber. Do you by any chance know Kuono of Reo Pedrecoso? Stout Millerian, always said she had a pet bear back home, but I think she was making a subtle joke about freedom and self-determination."

"Kuono also had a habit of also enjoying puns, especially when she could show off her linguistics skills," Diego noted with a chuckle, nodding in recognition of the name, "Though "Pet Ber" certainly does have ... different implications for our people, sí."

Diego pulled up a chair to settle himself down, leaning back against the wood while studying Hennet. He gave a small glance back to Aziel to make sure she was well before he run his fingers through his thick, curly beard.

"Truth be told, your lecture caught me a touch by surprise - consider my curiosity piqued, Señorita Rinus, but I have heard that one of these very parasites frequents this tavern. A Señor Sechim, I believe the name was. The notion of a magnate caring at all for his workers, now that would be worth a dozen treatises and even more thorough scrutiny. And yet here you sit, criticizing the system unabashedly."

There was no critique in Diego's words, that was for sure. If anything, he sounded a touch impressed.

"Are you familiar with the man, at all? I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on such a perplexing oxymoron as a Caring Capitalist."

Aziel's brows rose; she was reluctantly quite impressed. Maybe the halfling was hard to impress with philosophy and rhetoric, but she thought Diego sounded as though he'd been bantering with philosophers all his life, rather than earning a living as a Docker. Could Rinus hope to play matador with this Berian bull?

"Olé," she murmured to herself, her gaze on the two while she let her peripheral vision suggest to her anything of interest... like someone taking undue interest in Diego's mention of Sechim.

Thinking Man's Tavern - Riot Room (3rd Floor), Aziel/Diego

"Diego Roldán, formerly of the Panoply," he introduced himself, offering his larger hand to the small woman. It wasn't technically a lie - he had indeed come to Risur by way of that scholarly organization of Ber - but he was not about to admit to his job as a Detective within the Constabulary.

"This here is my partner," he indicated the fetching Tiefling, letting her introduce herself. While he was free to give his own name - his tenure with the RHC was recent and anyone familiar with him was more than likely familiar with his Private Practice if anything - he wasn't quite sure if Aziel would go the same route.

"Whose lecture do we have the pleasure of sitting in on, hm?" Diego asked, encouraging the Halfling to introduce herself.

Aziel tipped a lazy two-fingered salute the halfling's way, giving her a nod of acknowledgement. She felt no great need to introduce herself just yet, but when she did, it would have to be by her name as well - there were a number of Dockers in the crowd that she knew, a few that she'd spent energetic evenings with before. For the moment, she was listening to the side conversations more than anything, hoping to catch mention of the industrialist or their true quarry - and being amused by the expressions of some of the men when Diego referred to her as his partner.

Well, he wasn't wrong!

Aziel, for all that she knew Docker philosophy well enough, was not well-versed in the learning that Diego could boast of, having never formally studied; so she remained quiet, breathing in the atmosphere and the smoke drifting in the air, and waited for some clue to present itself for her to pounce on.

Thinking Man's Tavern - Riot Room (3rd Floor), Aziel/Diego

His yellow eyes caught sight of the halfling whom had taken notice of the pair and gave Aziel a subtle nudge with his elbow.

"Big crowd for a single speaker," he noted in his rolling Berian accent, "Wager she's got the lay of this place."

With care, he led the way through the room to join the half-circle of tables listening to the woman's lecture. His ears paid attention to what she said whilst his eyes and other senses kept track of the crowd, trying to gauge who this halfling was to them.

Aziel found a chair in the halfling's circle of listeners and plopped into it, crossing her hooves on another as she smoked her cigarette and listened. The tip of her tail lashed lazily as she concentrated on what the halfling had to say... and any side conversations that might be had around her.

Diego had looked positively constipated when he'd seen the clientele of the Riot Room, and she was still stifling the smile she'd been unable to completely avoid as she waited for any fireworks - or leads - to appear.

Aziel carries her badge hidden on a chain. She doesn't look especially constable-y without it, especially being Danoran. Thus, she always has to flash her badge when she wants to do something official. XD

"I will head to the riot room," Aziel informed the others. She glanced at Diego. "It will be full of hot air. You should come with me - fight fire with fire," she grinned.

Aziel will hang out a bit, obliquely asking around about Nilasa, and Sechim. She'll just try to absorb any rumors circulating, at first.

Aziel isn't intimately familiar with factories, but she does hang around Dockers a lot, and knows a good deal about the labor movement because of it, so...

CotFTiL + level + Int: 1d20 + 4 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 4 + 3 + 2 = 21

Aziel clicked her tongue, regarding the last document in the file before setting them down. "Heward Sechim. An odd name to be associated with a criminal...? He's practically a hero of the factory workers. But Nilasa... didn't she go to the Thinking Man's Tavern? He is known to go there too, a few times a week. I think that should be our next stop."

"If she could not fly, maybe someone threw her," Aziel scoffed.

She recounted what she and Lyle had found - the deed in the alley, the blood, the tossed room and oily cloth at House of Blue Birds, and "Officer Porter" and his wound - adding in her vague surmise about the smuggling thieves' guild at the docks.

"Chasing that barge will be a huge waste of time," she grumped, her impatience speaking louder than words. "Let us go through the records we can find on Nilasa, and head to the tavern this evening. If we all go together, we may apply our skills in different ways, and find something the others missed." She brightened marginally at the idea of canvassing the tavern; that was the kind of work she enjoyed.

Much as Aziel hates waiting, it's probably best that we bring the team in on this. Maybe they found some better leads, so we don't have to tromp through the whole countryside. :P Did our last message, with the clues we found in the alley, reach the rest of the team?

Aziel nodded at what Lyle told her, but was clearly disappointed that the barge wasn't present, preferably with their suspects close at hand and ready to arrest. She mentioned the thieves she'd seen to Lyle, and her vague suspicions about industrial smuggling.

"A barge could be used to smuggle something from the embassy... alors, je ne sais pas. It is all just speculation." She scowled, her tail lashing far enough to slap at the legs of innocent passers-by. She met their looks with a flat stare of her own, her frustration making her belligerent.

"Bah. If we must search the canal for this boat, we should bring the others with us. Let it be done sooner." She sighed, her tail slowing to a stop. "We can send a runner to the embassy, tell the others where we are going. Maybe the errand boy will return with news of how they fare. Otherwise, we will be forced to speak with the dock workers and ask about for this boat - though I do not think we should tip off the Kell guild, in case they are involved."

"My only other idea is to check the closest healer, and see if our wounded "officer" has come in for treatment," she grumped, flicking the butt of her cigarette into the harbor.

Professional Soldier for spotting trouble and thugs (Int): 1d20 + 4 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 4 + 3 + 2 = 20

Aziel stomped about the docks a bit, increasingly frustrated and smoking like a chimney. Who knew the blasted docks would be so hard to navigate?! Like any soldier, she'd spent time on ships, but she'd never been too familiar with them. But she did spot a few familiar faces as she stalked through some parts of the docks.

Jinmey the Knife, Bustar Keefan, Yerasol Lady Smee. Just a few of the names she recalled from the bullpen, where she'd seen them be brought in by beat officers; part of Lorcan Kell's thieves' guild.

She paused at the end of the docks to light another cigarette, and keep an eye on those areas. The Kells were known for industrial smuggling. Could they have something to do with this matter?

Hard to say, when she wasn't sure what "this matter" bloody was.

She took note of what she saw, and began to loop back towards the office, hoping that Lyle's patience had paid off better than her lack of it.

Aziel fumed impatiently, tailtip lashing. "I had thought they would simply check the harbormaster's logbook. Alors! If this takes more than ten minutes, I will go out and search myself! How well could a damned barge hide?" She considered this for a moment, then turned a smile on Lyle. "But there is no reason for us both to sit here flowering like potted plants. You stay, and I will go look."

If Lyle doesn't object, she'll head out to trot along the piers wherever she spots a boat of the correct description. If she finds anything, she'll... okay, she'll probably investigate. Patience is not her strong suit. XD

Aziel waited with strained patience while Lyle fulfilled their promises to the cabbie. "We didn't promise it would be today," she grumbled to his horrendous avian contraption.

One he re-emerged, presumably with matters attended to, Aziel hailed another cab to take them to the docks, her tail swishing eagerly.

***

Once they reached the docks, Aziel took a quick look across the piers for anything suspicious, or for a chance sighting of the boat or persons they were looking for.

(If she doesn't see anything to stop her, she'll head for the harbormaster's office to locate the boat. Let's hope the boat is actually there at the docks!)

Does Aziel know if there's a healer nearby?

PS + level + Int, just in case: 1d20 + 4 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 4 + 3 + 2 = 15

Aziel accepted the mangled bit of evidence back with a moue of displeasure. "Very well. Try to contain it from contaminating whatever we find, then." She knew better than to tell him not to bring the horrid thing; that was an argument they'd had before, which, infuriatingly enough, she hadn't won.

Turning to Nedra, she nodded seriously. "That is an interesting thing to know. Merci, mademoiselle. Is there anything else you can tell us, or is there any of the other staff who served either of the men?"

Once we've gleaned what we can from the hotel, I suggest we head to the docks and look for the boat the document referred to. The harbormaster might be able to direct us to it quickly?

Sorry all (especially Lyle), work and other obligations are crushing me this week. I'll try to get a post out soon, but if I'm holding you up feel free to bot Aziel.

"That - or we can head for the docks ourselves. Perhaps we can find the boat the document referred to. Maybe even catch the "Doctor," or "Porter"," Aziel suggested, tip of her tail lashing in anticipation.

She eyed Lyle's mechanical bird with considerably less enthusiasm. "Can that thing track him, perhaps? Or maybe just sit on him, if we find him." This idea appeared to amuse her, and she brightened a bit, giving the bird a considering look. Judging how much it weighed, no doubt.

Aziel rose and waved the cloth she had found at Lyle. "Alors, I have found something. What do you make of this?"

Grabbing a moment to post - sorry I'm late!

Aziel/Lyle, House of Blue Birds

Lyle Langston visibly relaxed upon hearing that the police officer had already left. He was no stranger to a bout of fisticuffs, but that did not mean he was the sort to intentionally seek out danger. Best to leave such bitter work to others. Namely anyone that wasn't him.

"Thank you, miss. An escort to the room in question would be most welcome." Lyle said as he tipped his top hat in the direction of the clerk. Planting his cane, the man then patiently waited for someone to come along and collect them.

"This is turning into quite the snipe hunt. Isn't it, constable?" He said, trying to make casual conversation with Aziel. "No, not for you." He clarified, as Mr Beakins prodded him with its mechanical foot. He supposed he should be grateful the bird wasn't tearing up the damn carpet instead.

Aziel grinned. It was a predatory expression, wiping away the look of disappointment that had crossed her face before it.

"When the game is afoot, Agent Langston, that is when I feel the life flow through me. It is not the snipe hunt just yet. We could yet find something to track down our quarry, mon ami. And we may yet catch this "Officer Porter," once we have the good description."

The desk clerk rang a bell and a moment later a bellhop appeared from behind the wall of cubbies behind the desk. The clerk murmured something to the young man and he ran off. "One moment, please. I'm having him bring Nedra- she escorted Officer Porter up to the room." She frowned. "I'm sorry, Mr. Porter? No, I suppose that's probably not his real name, either. I do hope you catch him, constables. I hope he didn't do anything to the doctor."

A minute or two later a woman in a maid's uniform came into the lobby and walked up to the desk. The clerk explained the situation and the maid turned to the constables, looking shocked. "My goodness! I hope I didn't do anything wrong, constables! I just let him into the room. I'll take you right up."

Nedra took the constables up the stairs to the doctor's room. When she opened the door it was clear someone had been here before them- the room was trashed. The bed was flipped over, all the drawers were on the floor, and every possible hiding place had been opened. The cleaning woman gasped. "My goodness!"

"Merde," Aziel muttered under her breath, but she stepped into the scene of destruction without hesitation, careful not to step on anything that looked like evidence with her hooves. Squatting to poke and prod here and there, she tried to get a sense, from the mess, of what size thing had been searched for - and perhaps find some other clue.

INT check + level to Percept: 1d20 + 2 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 2 + 3 = 25 Awwww yeah!

I'm packing up to move on the 6th, and I probably won't have a lot of time to post. Please bot Aziel if necessary.

But Aziel's legs are made for jumping the gun! XD

Sorry I'm late - packing up to move out is wiping me out every day.

Aziel was immediately on high alert. "Officer Porter? We have not sent any officer here. Can you describe this 'officer Porter' to me, s'il vous plait? Or perhaps we will meet this false officer on the way to the room - which number was it? And tell me, how many ways are there out of this building?"

In an aside to Lyle, she murmured, "Let us catch this Porter. If there are only a few ways out, let us split and take the most likely routes, and hopefully meet at our original quarry's room."

Tail lashing in anticipation, she thanked the clerk, and nodded to him and Lyle (but not his bird). Let's go.

Aziel will draw her pistols on the way up.

Aziel cursed under her breath when she saw that Lyle was bringing his bird-monstrosity. The thing had already plucked a cigarette out of her hand on the way to the consulate, and she thought it was mainly due to her quick reflexes that it hadn't taken a few fingers with it.

Her mood was thus not the best when they reached their destination, but she managed a courteous nod of thanks to the cabbie and the doormen. Going inside, she asked as discreetly as she could manage about the man Byron had described, keeping her eyes peeled just in case he was actually still somewhere on the premises.

"I would like to see his room, s'il vous plait."

No, I think we'd best get to the House of Blue Birds as fast as possible. A gentlemen's club probably would balk at letting her in, anyway. :P

Aziel/Lyle, alley

Byron looked back and forth between Lyle and Aziel. "I'll wait if you need to go back to the consulate, constables. Take me a moment to get Maggie ready to go, anyway. We'll be ready when you come back."

That work?

Sounds fine to me!

Aziel nodded. "Oui, if you could do that, Constable Langston? I want to check the addresses the officer gave me in the interim. Please excuse me, monsieur Byron." She plucked out the notebook he had given her, and quickly skimmed through the information there again.

Do any of the addresses the officer gave her look like they're close to where we're headed? Maybe she can glean some other clue from the witness testimony before they go?

ETA: Do you want to give the rest of the party the document and blood she found, as well, Lyle?

Aziel/Lyle, alley

Lyle Langston wrote:

Standing there in the alleyway, a thought suddenly occurs to Lyle. "Byron, my fine fellow. When you first approached the two of us you mentioned theft. Did this well-dressed man pilfer something from you during your journey to the House of Blue Birds?

The cabbie nodded vigorously. "Yeah! We get to the hotel and he says to wait while he goes in to get his purse. That's not too out of the ordinary for folks with money, but a quarter hour goes by and I go in to ask about him at the front desk. Turns out he went upstairs, grabbed some things, then ducked out the back door without paying me!" Jack shook his head. "I try to get the hotel to pay on his account and they can't authorize payment without this thieving so-and-so's word! It's outrageous! They should pay me and bill him, with all the drunk businessmen I see safely back to their hotel."

Thanks, DM!

Aziel, having scooped up what she could of the strange, coagulated blood into a vial and stoppered it, tucked that into her coat with the paper she had found. "Would you be kind enough to take us there, monsieur? Faster would be better. Constable Langston will see to it that you get that promised drink afterwards, I promise. In fact, maybe the RHC will pick up the bill for the doctor's ride as well, since you were kind enough to report it. I will do what I can."

If the cabbie agrees, Aziel will show Lyle the paper she found on the way. Assuming Byron agrees:

Aziel took a closer look at the document she had fished out of the mud as the carriage jostled along the road. "It looks like a deed of ownership for a canal barge, marked with the seal of the Danoran consulate. What do you think, mon ami? Shall we pay the waterfront a visit, as well?"

Aziel would definitely point out what she found to Lyle. DM, can the agents be said to be carrying any kind of forensic gear (like empty vials), or is their job more "point out what we've found to a secondary unit?" If they have procedures for gathering evidence, she'll do whatever to make sure they get that blood.

Aziel listened closely to Byron's answer, but she was already edgeing toward his carriage.

After his answer:

"It sounds as though we might be able to catch the man red-handed, as it were, if we go now. Will you take us, monsieur? Maybe you can spot him. Agent Langston will see to it that you get your beer afterwards, I promise it."

Blood spatter check DC15: Professional soldier + Int + level: 1d20 + 4 + 2 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 4 + 2 + 3 = 24

"How long ago? Can you describe him? Did anyone meet him?" Aziel let her eyes wander, noting a spatter of blood across the ground. Squatting on goat-legs to poke it with the end of her pencil, she frowned, then scribbled in her notes - after wiping the end of the pencil off.

How long would it take to get to the House of Blue Birds from here by carriage? If she doesn't know, she'll ask the cabbie.

Aziel will take that look around. She's pretty alert.

Professional soldier + Int + level: 1d20 + 4 + 2 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 4 + 2 + 3 = 27

Spotting something in the mud, Aziel released Byron and plucked up a piece of paper, tucking it into her jacket. She still hadn't broken a sweat, despite the weather.

"That does seem suspicious, monsieur Byron. Where did you take him?" she asked, nudging Lyle and gesturing for him to take a look at the signs of a scuffle that she'd been careful not to step in.

She took out her own notebook, and a pencil, prepared to jot down what Byron told them.

Aziel winced inwardly as Lyle made his offer - not because she disapproved of drinking on the job, but because she had promised Diego she would give her input on any firearm-related matters he could find.

Still, she couldn't let Lyle wander off alone. That seemed like an invitation for him to be jumped, if things weren't on the up-and-up. She would have to trust Diego to see what he could find out about the weapons until she could return. Maybe she could just be sure that this fellow, Jack Byron, wasn't trouble, and then head back.

The tip of her tail lashing, Aziel smiled at Byron with too-sharp teeth. "Lead the way, monsieur Byron," she cooed, taking his arm. "We hang on your every word, n'est ce pas, mon ami? But sadly, we must return quickly - it would not do for the higher-ups to find us gone. You understand, I hope?" She shot Lyle A Look.

The policeman nodded. "We can give you..." he looked over at the two men standing near the bloodstained sidewalk and the officers at each of the nearby intersections, then back at Aziel "Do you think an hour is enough, ma'am?"

"Three hours would be better, but alors, I understand if you cannot hold back the tide of bureaucracy that long." Aziel tucked away the proferred notebook, and put out her hand to shake Bellastair's. "We will do what we can to be quick. Merci, Officer."

Once Bellastair had moved on with his work, Aziel did likewise, heading to the fence to join Uxui and Lyle. After a quick examination of the scene of the death, she turned to see if there were any onlookers who had stayed past the removal of the body. If not, she might have to actually head into the consulate to see where the weapons had been fired - the very thought made her hair rise.

Professional soldier + level + INT to examine the fence: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 3 + 2 = 17

Professional soldier + level + INT to spot possible witnesses: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 3 + 2 = 7

Flicking her tail with displeasure, Aziel reluctantly turned toward the consulate.

Her attention finally pulled from the crowd, Aziel peered at the notebook Bellastair provided, but didn't move to take it from him. "C'est bon. This will prove very useful. Thank you for your good work, Officer. May I take this book of notes, or do you prefer I copy what you have written?"

Whatever the result:

Aziel smiled at Bellastair again, approvingly. "I thank you again, Officer. Who knows what a mess we would have found if you had not been here? Greater than the one we have, for certain. Could we persuade you to stay on the scene with your men a bit longer? It will take time to canvass the witnesses and look up these ones who have left. We can put pressure on the consulate, but not if we are not here in force. I am sure you wish to get to the bottom of this strange incident as much as we do. Can we count on you, mon ami?"

Trying to leverage that last roll for all it's worth, but feel free to roll for her if she needs another "hey we're all law-enforcement buddies here" check.

Aziel was still looking sharp in her uniform - not even a drop of sweat at her temples, though the collar of her crisp shirt was unbuttoned, perhaps a nod to the heat. She had exited the carriage hurriedly, half-expecting the monstrosity on the roof to peck her in the noggin, and reluctantly dropped the butt of her last hand-rolled cigarette.

Grinding it under her hoof, she tilted her head at Diego, eyes a shade lighter than his burnished gold assessing. He didn't know her well enough to guess what she was thinking, but her voice was cool and professional when she answered him - a far cry from the night they had met. "Alors. If there were guns in play, maybe I should take a look, after all. If you can gather anything or anyone connected to them, I may be able to learn something. ...I will stay here and canvass any witnesses until you call me," she reluctantly added, already wishing she had another cigarette in hand.

"I trust you know what I would look for, mon ami? You are no stranger to the art of the gun," she added, loud enough that it might have been more for Bellastair's benefit than Diego's. All the while, though, her eyes were on the crowd, scanning... but for Julian LeBrix, rather than any wrongdoers or witnesses. She didn't ask what he looked like; on arriving in Risur, she had made quiet inquiries as to the staff of the consulate - the better to avoid them - and had a general idea of what to expect when looking for them.

She smiled in Bellastair's direction. "It is a bloody mess, non? Literally and figuratively. The paperwork will be horrendous. We will be, how you say, out of your hair as soon as possible, Officer. But maybe you could get us moving faster. Is there anything more you could tell us?"

Professional soldier + Cha + lvl to get information: 1d20 + 4 + 2 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 4 + 2 + 3 = 23

That broke Aziel's reverie. "Politics and face-saving are not for me. I will help to canvas the crowd for anyone who saw anything," she volunteered, perhaps a touch swiftly.

Risurans, for all their foibles, she could deal with. Danorans... while it was unlikely anyone who knew of her was here, she still preferred to keep a low profile.

"Rules, rules, rules," Aziel complained at Delft's joke, but her grin took any bite it might have had out of it. She shrugged into her uniform jacket, the heat never bothering her, and trailed smoke through the office as she moved to the door. "Porquoi Langston's coffee is not on the dangerous materials list? An oversight, surely."

In truth, she was a bit nervous about going to the Danoran embassy - it was about the last place she wanted to go in Risur. She was quiet once she was in the carriage, gazing out at the passing city contemplatively and listening to the conversation, her elbow in the window with her cigarette out as a nod to those who didn't want to breathe her smoke the whole way. Normally, she would have put it out, but now she needed the distraction.

Aziel wrinkled her nose at the smell of smoke going from tobacco to vanilla, but she looked on with interest as Eveline made the same gesture over her coffee. "You can repair the damage done to the coffee? Already you are an important member of this crew. ...Unless the coffee, it is now vanilla as well. Then you must be tried for war crimes."

She sauntered over and plucked one of Diego's offered cigarettes from his hand, drawing on it as she returned to her own desk, tailtip flicking at Diego's nose. "Oui, bureaucracy can be the death of freedom. But it can be its lifeline as well. Progress certainly seems to need a lot of it."

Draping herself over her chair again with another sheaf of reports scooped up in one hand, she rocked back in it and put her feet up again, clacking her horns against the wall as she leaned back. "But the bureaucracy, it is both civilized and uncivilizing, non? It makes you wish for a murder, just to get away from the paperwork."

She scowled at the reports as she read them, golden eyes narrowed. "For that murder, I volunteer. Kill me now."

"Paper tigers," Aziel muttered to herself as she returned to her desk, stubbing out her own cigarette.

"What fine talents are those, mon ami?" Aziel drawled, draping herself over her chair and leaning it back against the wall, crossing her hooves on the desk. Another form was destroyed as she crumpled it with one hand, then lobbed it at Diego's neck. "Delft is a fine judge of usefulness, so there must be something. Perhaps you are a doctor?"

With a sigh, she clacked her chair back onto the floor and stood, going over to Zerpina's desk. "You are Berian, non? What do you think of his lack of passion for desks?"

Crouching, her tail swept up a pile of discarded forms, and she gathered them up. "A member of the RHC should be prepared for anything," she sighed, dumping the paper into a bin. "Even tiresome assignments. Brûle en l'enfer, ANOTHER papercut!" She stuck a finger in her mouth, scowling as her tail lashed.

I'm going to go ahead and repost Aziel's previous intro with some alterations, because it gives a good introduction to her attitude, and it was Fun To Imagine.

With her shirt collar open and her guns hanging from the back of her chair, Aziel was frowning at her stack of paperwork with the usual cigarette dangling from her lips. Her frown slowly turned into a scowl as she picked up the sheet she had just finished inking in and peered at it closely.

"Did I just write 'refer to form 8-z' instead of 'refer to form 8-Bc'?! Mes dieux morte! Je suis un fou!" Crumpling up the paper with an exasperated sigh, she flung it at the back of Diego's head. "Paperwork should be done by those who make a living writing. 8-z! Tell me, do any of you remember when we requisitioned Category G: wild animals? I bloody meant we requisitioned C: miscellaneous items of a value not exceeding 1000 standard denomination gold coins! Though, calling for a tiger doesn't sound so bad now. Maybe it will eat me and save me from more paper cuts."

She stretched in her chair, more exaggerated than in earnest. "I will need medical attention to my back after all this. ...No, I do not want one of your tinctures, Lyle."

I love this. This will be top-tier.

So far:

Axolotl - possibly vishkanya Deadly Courtesan or some sort of bard (Flame Dancer?)

Diego - Berian Docker half-orc alchemist (gun chemist)/fighter

Aziel - Danoran Gunsmith tiefling fighter/gunslinger

Eveline - Vekeshi Mystic human sorcerer (possibly vigilante later)

Lyle - Risuri Spirit Medium human hunter

Aziel was a soldier at the end of the last Yerasol War, who due to an Unfortunate Event resulting in the death of a superior officer after the war, defected to Risur to avoid being court-martialed. After (reluctantly) providing good intelligence to the RHC on a number of occasions (mainly on weapons innovations, rather than actionable intel vs. the Danorans), she was given a chance to prove her loyalty as a low-level peon in the system. She has subsequently worked her way up to the position she now holds.

She doesn't speak of the reason she's at the RHC in Flint instead of being in Danor, that's her own little private mystery, revealed here in case of background hookups. Speaking of which:

She sometimes has brief flings with Dockers, and met Diego in just such a fashion. It amused her to no end to find that he joined the RHC, too.

Aziel is a tiefling of complexity, both determined to rise through the ranks, with the professionalism that requires, and intent on thoroughly enjoying life in her off hours. She misses Danor, and has her regrets, but has come to appreciate Risur, as well - despite the disdain her race and nationality engender.

Very flavorful, Ray!

So far:

Axolotl - possibly vishkanya Deadly Courtesan or some sort of bard (Flame Dancer?)

Diego - Berian Docker half-orc gunslinger/investigator (empiricist)

Aziel - Danoran Gunsmith tiefling fighter/gunslinger

Eveline - Vekeshi Mystic human sorcerer (possibly vigilante later)

Bale Fire - TBD

Yes, welcome, Bale Fire! I'm really pleased you're joining us! Karl is a great GM, very focused on the Rule of Cool. I think we'll have a lot of fun.

So far:

Axolotl - possibly vishkanya Deadly Courtesan or some sort of bard (Flame Dancer?)

Diego - Berian gunslinger/investigator (empiricist)

Aziel - Danoran fighter/gunslinger

Wicked Raygun - wizard (spellslinger)

Bale Fire - TBD

Aziel hangs about with Dockers in her spare time. It wouldn't be a leap for her to know Diego, or at least know OF him. Let me know how deep the rabbit hole should go.

Looking forward to seeing your background concept, Ray!

Berian accents are listed in the PG as sounding Spanish, while Danoran is French. I will have to try to out-accent (outrageously badly, of course) Don's guy. XD

I guess I'd like to attempt the 13th Age skills again, if everyone else is on board with it.

ETA: Aaaaah, ninjaed!

Maybe some of the more skill-heavy PF classes could get a bonus skill point or two as a background thing? Maybe a trait?

I'm good with either 13th Age or PF with background skills, no particular preference. Maybe some demonstrations of how to use the 13th Age more creatively, rather than mapping them to PF skills, would be useful, if we go with those?

Ahahaha, Danoran and Berian accents UNITE

Hmm. With all the games I have in play and in the works, I think I'd better pass on Waterdeep. I don't think I'll be able to juggle more once my workload increases again. But thank you for the option!

I am kind of leaning more towards 5e in this game, though.

I wouldn't mind trying out a forum; I've been informed they're not as awful as I remember from the early 00's. ^_^;

I wouldn't even mind starting over, for the benefit of the new people.

...Actually, maybe for mine, too. What were we doing, again? :P

I think Bale Fire is really good, if s/he wants to join. Ray is back on the boards again, too. Scott is great, but I think he's too busy. YoricksRequiem might be cool, I think he was a member before?

I've heard so much about 5e that I'm excited to try it, so if we switch it would be fine with me.

Aziel is ready to jump back in! Unless we're moving to 5e? In which case, would you be willing to allow the gunslinger 3pp?

Aziel pulled another chair close with her tail, and offered Barb a sympathetic hug. "I am sorry," she said again. "Know that we will do our best to bring who is responsible to justice, I promise you. Can you give me any names?"

In the interest of not dragging things out too much, I'm just going to say that Aziel does her best to comfort Barb, and listens for any more clues she might drop about who Nilasa was in cahoots with. Also in the interest of doing this without Jae saying something insightful yet unfortunate, Aziel will ask her to take the box of brigadieros back to the Unit, and promise to catch up in a bit.

Aziel will also buy Barb a good, strong drink, and quietly ask if Lukas can let her go home for the evening. She's willing to donate her money to the bar to make up for losing Barb's help.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 2 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 2 + 3 = 14

Once she's back at the office, she'll look into if it's possible to release Nilasa's body to Barb for burial after they've had their seance.

EDIT: Come to think of it, what are the chances that Aziel knows any of the musicians Barb indicated?

Connoisseur + Int to see if she knows these people: 1d20 + 4 + 2 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 4 + 2 + 3 = 18