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I'm kind of just waiting on "shoot the guy" opinions from the other half of our party. I figure Vulpina can fire the shot and then we can... I dunno, is there a window we can toss open? I have to admit a pistol crit, while absolutely deadly, is unlikely, and I guess that means we should have a plan for if that initiates combat rather than being a one-and-done deal. I guess. Ugh.
So just for my information, how mad would we all be as players if Vulpina just, like… shot him? Like right now?
Vulpina, rather than look disgusted, walks past the guard with her tail held suggestively high, swishing in the air behind her.
Vulpina-- or, perhaps, Yulai-- shrugs, rubbing oil onto the barrel of her pistol. "Well, there are worse plans. Misters Isidore, Miss Alex, if you've no objections?"
"Last time, we were led to a room-- the very room we're hoping to enter, in fact-- and he was already there waiting for us. I should think that it will be far more difficult to free the drake while he is watching us."
Vulpina-- or Yulai, perhaps-- thumbs her chin. "I do feel that fast-talking our way in will be more difficult than it was the first time," she points out, "now that they have some idea of who we are. I am more in favor of stealth..." She glances at Kip, frowning, and Alex, too. "...though maybe out best bet is to simply speak fast, move fast, and be swift and ruthless to anyone who opens their mouth to raise an alarm."
"Your price is better than fair, sir," she smirks, and the exchange is done. She pockets the vial with a small flourish.
Vulpina offers a serene smile. "Also, I am in the market for oil of silence. Have you any?"
Vulpina snorts in a most unladylike fashion. "Oh, we are... we are that kind of heroes, are we? Oh my, I... excuse me for one moment," she titters, turning her head away and cradling her muzzle in one gloved hand. "'Is that not as much evil as...' ha! Oh, dear oh dear oh dear. 'Ah, yes, we know that he kills carpenters and has proudly admitted as much, but we must watch him push his blade all the way through a craftsman before we can act to punish him in any way at all. Truly, this is justice!'" She shakes her head amusedly and turns back. "Fret not, dear Miss Alex; you see, if we slay him in his bed, he is less likely to suffer. One clean shot through the skull will end him before he knows that he has been shot; much less torturous than a bullet in the guts."
Vulpina raises an eyebrow. "His bed is the most efficient place to kill him," she states. "As for his crimes..." She rolls her shoulders exaggeratedly. "If he keeps a sentient creature caged and half-tortured in full display of everyone, what horrors do you think lie behind closed doors?"
Vulpina shrugs. "I have no interest in going out of my way to bring this man to ruin," she states. "I am not so petty as that. But I am not so impertinent that I would not lend my aid to such a request either."
Vulpina gives Kip a withering side-eye, then turns her gaze (a little less viciously) toward the brothers. "If we are plotting to mount a rescue, do let me know. If we are lucky, we can include Kip's plan as well." She seems a bit... snippier than usual.
Vulpina's brow furrows a bit. I cannot help but suspect that those brutes are here to eject us swiftly. If we do not move soon... Well. Hopefully I am swift enough on the draw to keep him from escaping.
Vulpina bows, a smile upon her face. "Of course. Much appreciated," she states. And with that, she's ready to go. Once they're a short ways out, she whispers a message to the party behind her hand: "If this is worthless, we shall simply return and let Kip call the shots."
Vulpina nods. "A pleasure doing business, Your Majesty. Kip, can you prepare the man his fee?" she asks. After all, if he decided to cross them at the last minute, Kip would be the only one who needed to be up-close and personal to do his work. "While my people are busy with the coin, I am happy to wait while one of your staff fetches the letters for you," she says. "Is there anything beyond what is written that we should know? I suppose it would all be inadmissible hearsay, regardless, but... well," she smiles, "one does develop an ear for gossip at court, if you happen to be so inclined." Her eyes flash mischievously, and she raises a dainty paw-like hand to her smiling lips. "Unless, of course, your staff are not allowed in your quarters. In which case... well, we shall have to simply exercise our patience!"
"One thousand five hundred? Hmm. I've only budgeted for half that," she says. "I might be able to meet you somewhere in the middle..."
Lady Yulai gives a wry chuckle, as if she finds being called a "freak" to be absurd. Either he is obtuse, or he is negging her. Either way, she is not here on her own behalf. "Surely you have noticed that the current political situation in this city is less than stable, yes? So let me speak plainly. A change in regime may very well decide that your vice taxes are not enough to keep your operation afloat, as it were-- or it may simply up them. I am hardly a businesswoman myself, but I know that any entrepreneur eyes risk with one eye that hungers and one that fears." She smiles. "Eloquent as I may be, I have heard it said that a silver tongue speaks more softly than a persistent flow of gold." "What I am asking for in return is... information. On one Darvayne Gios Amprei, you see. We have other ways of obtaining it, if necessary, but... well, this is what one might call a calculated risk, if you do not mind my dabbling in economics for a moment."
Cackling internally as I read the Bonded Mind conversations because if Vulpina was hearing that she would be striving to prove she's better than they think she is... while also pretending she didn't care. And then rolling a 27 and seeing the "eh, that was all right" got me GRINNING. Poor Vulps!
"The honor is all mine, Your Majesty," she says, bowing low. Her voice is... playful, but not mocking. "I sense you are a busy man," she states, salient eyes glancing over the potential recruits, "so I will skip the pleasantries, unless you would prefer them." Unless she's stopped, she continues: "I come before you today with something of a... proposition, of sorts. I have been to many ports these past few years, and in every port, it is plain to me that men who wish to do what you do half as well often have important visitors. Councillors, mayors, duchesses, princes. If you do not have any overdressed everymen frequenting any of your establishments, I shall be surprised." "What I offer is leverage. A noble face, courtly manners. A woman like me can escort your... entertainments straight to and from the castles and city buildings without arousing suspicion. Thus, you can command higher prices-- delicate matters on delivery, you see. And for the right price..." She lets that statement hang in the air without a motion, but the wry smile and raised brow paints an image all-too-clear to a mind that makes its work in the gutter. "Moreover, I do not need to explain to you the inherent value of having an ally-- not simply an asset-- with frequent access to the castle." "All I ask in return is... ah, ten percent of any such business."
She is careful not to show her true target yet. If she plays her cards right, she might even get him to offer that information himself.
Status and stature return to Lady Reipia like an old favorite jacket; where Vulpina had been sharp and spry, her posture is now impeccable, her mouth held thin and a disdainful eye cast about her. She lets Andreas speak for her.
Vulpina smiles at Kip. "A second face is often useful. I have yet to find a third." Message:
"If I am known to him, then he will know exactly why I would be willing to enter into an arrangement with him. I am a disowned noble who may very well have coin to invest and a thirst for the finer things in life, with nowhere else to go."
"It is close enough to the truth, regardless." DC15 Knowledge Nobility: Lady Yulai Reipia was the daughter of one of Minkai's highest houses-- bodyguards to a line of Emperors for generations, then bodyguards to another line of Emperors.
She was disowned on the spot when she objected to her own betrothal, insisted on dueling him for her hand, and unmanned him with a hidden pistol. Her whereabouts after she fled the grounds on horseback are unknown. Or were, you suppose.
When they go to hopefully meet with the King of Spiders, the Lady Vulpina looks... Well, "different" would be an understatement. Like Kipp, she bears a ruddy muzzle and pointed ears, although hers are far more handsomely groomed. "Call me Lady Reipia," she had said, stowing her pistol into her coat and wearing her blade more prominently than before. "Those who know will know me and those who do not will not know better."
A wry smile spreads across Vulpina's face. Message:
"We may be well-served by maintaining the same appellation if I am to maintain the same face; thankfully, I have a solution to that problem." GM:
Why is he looking at me like that?
Vulpina raises an eyebrow. "By all means, throw the mission parameters out the window and raise whatever hell you prefer. Just do not feign surprise when the coin you are promised is withheld-- or when you are ushered into a cell. I promise it is not any more pleasant these days than it is during times of stability." Her finger taps against the hilt of her blade as she ponders. I wonder if the King of Spiders has any delusions of nobility, or if it is simply a title for his own amusement. "I suppose I would not mind such a plan," she says to Andreas. "Perhaps I am trying to safely dip my fingers into the more... reliable earners." She pauses a moment, then grimaces. "Well. Not in that way. Although I do not judge those who would so indulge, of course."
Sorry for the radio silence!! Been having a little trouble wrapping my brain in this direction. Hoping to get a post up in the next day or two-- but if I don't, Worg, hassle me on Discord until I do!
Vulpina lets her jacket fall closed once more, the threat of her pistol somewhat lessened to those without object permanence. My instinct to attempt to procure the meat for that family was well-founded, she thinks. She steps forward, hands open, and lays one upon his shoulder. "There are imperiled times," she states, "where even the best of intentions can be waylaid by events around us." Such as being attacked by your lackeys. "It is an admirable thing you tried to do."
”If we were here with cruel intentions, I’d have entered the room with this in my hand,” Vulpina chipped in. ”Nor would they have sent nobility when they could have sent your superior officer.”
It’s not her most impressive lie… but she’s following a lead.
One of the papers is pinned to the tabletop by an exquisite silver dagger.[/b] "For the life of me, I do not know why people do this!" she says, gesturing to the dagger. "A perforated map and a blunted weapon; has no one ever heard of a paper weight?" She clears her throat, and turns to the young man. "Regardless; we are not here to slay you where you stand, although if you wish to perish..." She grins, flashing the handle of her pistol. "I've something much swifter than that bow of yours."
"Well, that is ghastly," sniffs Vulpina.
"And again, and again, and again," mumble-sings the noblewoman.
Vulpina sighs, suddenly very glad she wears high boots. "Very well, then." She hops down into the muck, unsheathing her blade, then plunges it into one of the creatures.
Vulpina's nose wrinkles. "Heinous, but I am not certain why we are rooting through the refuse."
Vulpina squints at the table and whatnot, and curiously flips a card over from the top.
Vulpina grimaces as she considers how not-actually-that-far-from-one-another the animal pen and the meat locker are. "Well, I do suppose this settles it. I might consider myself a vegetarian now."
Vulpina waves a hand dismissively. "No, no, everyone is doing black and red. Navy will give us a certain je ne sais quoi that will separate us from the, ah,"
"fashion sensibilities of the recently-monied ne'er-do-wells and self-aggrandizing sorcerers desperate to intimidate people into believing they are something to be feared."
"Spoilsport," sniffs Vulpina. "And here I was thinking you would look quite good in a navy doublet with arcane red trim."
Vulpina muses on that for a little while. "Only if I get to determine the outfits," she finally states. She is, admittedly, looking quite fashionable now that she has had the chance to improve her garb.
”’Robed Master’? My, that’s an intriguing appellation. Next time you may want to invoke an alias of your own before the local children provide them for you,” titters the Lady.
Vulpina smiles fondly. "Excellent. That ought foster us some good will if these people are as good-intentioned as they claim. Which..." She nudges one of the fallen brutes' boots with her own indicatively.
Vulpina gives an exasperated sigh and cleans her blade on a bit of cloth. "Well, this is off to a fine start," she sighs. "It feels keenly optimistic to assume our self-defense against his errant subordinates will be appreciated."
Vulpina hefts an irritated sigh. "One would do well to glance around and observe one's position," she says. Poke.
Vulpina makes a pleading face, clearly exhausted-- not of fighting, but of brutish stupidity.
Vulpina elects to refrain from stabbing the new arrivals-- it would make her next statement a little more unbelievable. "I do hope you are here to restrain your fellows-- we are doing our best to defend ourselves without seriously harming them!" she pouts.
Oh, that they are! I think my brain just turned off for a second there. That 100% should be Piercing.
"Ah. Kip, I believe you have that one in-hand?" she asks, vaulting up onto the counter. She stands tall upon the blood-stained wood, and thrusts downwards!
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