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Where the River Runs Red

Started by Lion, April 06, 2017, 12:30:31 AM

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Lion

[Tags to @Cinnabar ]

It was like the beginning of a bad joke.

A man walks into a bar.

Reneth could only wish it was a joke, so that he could laugh along with it. So that he could just look back at the situation and cackle at how ridiculous it was. In some cosmic dark sort of way, it was monumentally funny to someone who was watching, whatever god or being that bothered to anyway.

It seemed like no matter what he did, he ended up falling back into the same routine. He needed money to eat, to sleep, to live. And the only way he knew how, was to take a life. It would have been painless if he had any control over that decision. But the contract called for a terrible swelling of the throat. Bulging of the eyes until they popped from the skull.

And when they did, only then would he be paid.

Reneth sat at the bar, listening to his target bark with laughter, cackling madly at whatever inane joke his companions were making. He had the concoction already mixed, and saw the barmaid carrying back their tin mugs of beer. Two fresh drinks were poured from the tap and sloshed across the counter. Reneth stood and casually grasped those two beers, pouring the concoction into the beer as he did so, turning and carrying both drinks to the men drinking in the back.

"Here," he murmured. "This is courtesy of that lovely woman at the bar. She gave me a copper to bring it to you." He grinned and set the drinks down on the table.

The man sobered long enough to grin. "Oh, well, if that's the case.  Thank you!  Please! Come and sit with us!  We're celebrating!"  And his companion gripped Reneth by the collar and sat him down.

His target, Bowing Jannison, a soldier of little repute and now a sellsword, and a poor one at that. The bastard seemed to have a good time making up his reputation, and somebody somewhere wanted him dead for it.




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

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Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Bunbun

It was a strange feeling, to be sitting in a busy place such as this and not be searching for attention. That was probably what Lanai would normally do in a situation like this- look for approval, because approval felt good. Perform some sort of heroic action so that others would look upon her favourably. Of course, there was only so much you could do in a bar.

No, Lanai wasn't searching for attention today; she was searching for clues. Even if there weren't exactly any wanted criminals hanging around (or at least any that she knew of), there were plenty of drunk people, and people tended to let certain things slip when they were drunk. In a city like Selvea, there was bound to be at least one person nearby who was up to no good. All she needed was for someone to drunkenly reveal something they were supposed to keep their mouth shut about.

Admittedly, though, it wasn't going all that great so far. There was lots of jokes, lots of laughing at said jokes, but nothing she could really work with. And of course, the one time she wanted to avoid drawing attention to herself, her wings ended up attracting plenty of odd looks anyways. Nonetheless, she remained focused on her task, keeping her ears open and scanning the room until she finally saw him.

He was sitting over at the bar, adding something to a couple mugs before bringing them over to the table and setting them before the people gathered there. Lanai couldn't tell what it was from where she was sitting, but she could only assume that it was some sort of poison- after all, he wasn't really acting like he actually knew the men at the table.

As far as she knew, those guys were as good as dead if they swallowed whatever was in the drinks. She would have to somehow stop them from drinking them, but how?

Well, she had an idea, but she wasn't all that pleased about it.

Slowly rising from her secluded table in the corner of the bar, she took a brief moment to compose herself before making her way over to where the men were seated. The way she walked was almost trancelike, with her unblinking eyes directed straight forward. When she was close enough, she allowed her foot to collide with one of the men's chairs, deliberately throwing off her balance and letting out a distressed cry. Her arm shot towards the table in an attempt to keep herself from falling (or at least that's what she wanted it to look like) but only succeeded in knocking over the mugs that had recently been brought over.

Seconds later, she was on the ground with her wings folding protectively over her back. She lay there for a moment, taking her time in order to make her fall believable, but quickly began to stir when she felt something wet dripping onto her feathers.

Damn it. It was going to be a pain in the ass to get the smell of alcohol out of the feathers.

But now wasn't the time to worry about that- there were more pressing concerns at hand. Pushing herself up onto her knees, she gave a frown before suddenly staring intently at the ground.

"...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

She mumbled quietly, barely audible among the rest of the noise in the bar. Considering that the drinks had already been spilled, it wasn't completely necessary to convince them that her fall had been accidental, but she didn't want to provoke anyone. At least, not yet.

Lion

If there was one thing that Reneth liked about Serendipity, it was the sheer eclecticness of people here. Anyone and everyone could simply be here and enjoy as much of what the country had to offer as anyone else. Why anyone would want to burn this lovely place, he had no idea. Some people just couldn't appreciate nice things.

So when a Yoreiqi came over to where they were sitting, Reneth only vaguely looked up at her. For now being pulled into a conversation with complete strangers and being sang to by his very target was so much more than he could bear. Couldn't Bowing just drink the beer and die so that Reneth could get away unscathed?

Gods! Why couldn't anything just be simple!?

And as if the heavens opened up and released a rather burning torrent of piss all over him, there went the beer that Reneth had mixed his concoction into. Because that bloody woman just spilled it all over him and the table and the fucking floor!

Reneth stood up to avoid being doused while the beer spilled out onto Bowing and his companion and they cried out, obviously angry. Reneth was beside himself with quite a different feeling. And he wasn't sure if ought to be relief or horror or anger.   "What where you're going!?" Bowing growled and brushed a rag over his legs as one of the glasses fell to the floor.

But instead of being as redfaced as his target, Reneth quietly stepped around the beer and crouched beside the girl, avoiding being touched by her wings. Because they smelled like puke and whiskey.

"Are you okay?" he asked, looking at her. "You're a little clumsy aren't you?"




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Bunbun

It didn't take very long for the man who Lanai had just saved to get pissed off at her. To be honest, it almost made her regret making a fool of herself in order to eliminate the threat to his life, but there was no sense getting upset about it right now. The value of a life was more important than her temporary embarrassment, even if she was the only person who understood what was really at stake here.

Well, at least one of the only people. The other person would be... this guy.

She could perhaps forgive the drunken mercenary for being angry with her- he was rather oblivious to the situation he was in, after all- but this guy was a different story entirely. Just a few seconds ago he was moments away for being responsible for someone's death, yet here he was acting like he was actually concerned for the girl who'd ruined his plans. He was the one she really needed to worry about, not the fool who didn't know any better.

Gods, she really wanted to punch his lights out right about now, both for his assassination attempt and for the consequences that resulted from stopping it. It was probably a bad idea to do that now, though; she highly doubted that anyone present would take too kindly to her beating the shit out of the guy who was supposedly trying to help her.

Besides, he wasn't the only person she had a bone to pick with; she also needed to figure out who sent him. If she kept her act up, maybe she could get some information out of him without having to resort to violence.

"...I'm alright. Mostly. Maybe a little clumsy, yes."

She hated herself for saying something like that, but she forced a faint smile anyways and pushed herself back onto her feet. Her muscles began to tense up despite her attempts to stay in character.

"I appreciate your concern, though, mister... um, what is your name?"

Lion

Reneth was unaware of her desire to punch him. Although it seemed oddly fake how she seemed to conveniently spill his beer and fall without significantly hurting herself, he wasn't going to make a scene here in the middle of all these people. She was just as strange and out of place as he was. Her wings could easily knock down several drinks on their own, yet she seemed conscious of keeping them closer to her.

And yet had knocked the beer off the table. Yeah, not at all suspicious.

Reneth found his lips curling into a grin, he chuckled as he stood with her and glanced off to Bowing hissed and called for another round of beers. Except Reneth's opportunity had been wasted, and the powder was gone. He still had to kill this man. Perhaps he could improvise. Just not right now, however.

He glanced to the winged woman and wondered if she would be angry if he ripped a feather off one of her wings. No doubt she would probably knock him sideways. "Reneth," he said plainly, amusement leaving him "Yours, interloper?" he asked softly, looking her over.  "Or do you just not like beer that much?"




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Bunbun

Lanai could not, for the life of her, understand how the would-be assassin could be amused at a time like this. She would've expected him to be angry with her for screwing up his plans, or to try to leave, or something, but not to just be standing there with that stupid grin on his face. It was as if he was completely oblivious to his previous actions, like a completely different person had replaced the man who, just moments ago, was pouring poison into someone's drink. In a way, it was actually kind of creepy.

When the man- who had introduced himself as Reneth- referred to Lanai as an 'interloper', his behaviour started to make more sense. They were on to each other; both of them knew what the other was up to, and presumably planned to put a stop to it. It probably wasn't the greatest idea to give him her name at this point; as far as she was concerned, he was her enemy... and she really didn't like the way he was eyeing her wings. The possibility of danger was hardly a deterrent to her, though. She was going to watch this 'Reneth' like a hawk, regardless of what he might try in an attempt to scare her off.

"I am Lanai. I am... pleased to meet you," she stated, although her new tone suggested that she was anything but pleased. There was little point in trying to be pleasant around him now that he'd caught on to her meddling.

"...and I don't think anybody would be willing to drink that. Not if they knew what was in it."

That part was said in more of a hushed tone, so that only Reneth would be able to hear it- she didn't want to cause a panic. As she spoke those words, though, she came to a sudden realization. Since her wings were now soaked in beer, they were also covered in poison. She would have to be extra careful not to let them bump into anything, at least not until they'd dried or she found a way to clean them off. It wouldn't do her much good to save one person if she ended up accidentally poisoning someone else.

Lion

Oh, of course he was happy she'd stopped him. It was a vain happiness, and one that would be soon swiped from him when those that demanded Bowing's demise. But for the moment he would relish not being made to kill again. He wished that his abilities could be used to less savory acts, that he'd never fallen in with the wrong crowd.

Some people, however, just had a hard time letting go.

"A pleasure I'm sure that's completely mutual," Reneth murmured, nodding to her anyway, despite her displeasure. Just because she wasn't in a good mood, didn't mean he didn't have to be.

"Then maybe we should have some drinks of our own," he countered, looking at her directly  in the eyes, remaining level and he held his hands out to her palm up. "That was my last batch. I don't have any more on my person. So, you're pretty safe from anything else falling in it."  He glanced back to Bowing as he sipped the new glass of beer that found its way to his table.

At least he could forget about being assassinated for one night.

"So? Have a drink with me?" Reneth asked Lanai.




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Bunbun

"...What?"

It didn't really make sense to her- how could Reneth remain so pleased, even after his plan was ruined? Usually, Lanai might have treated such behaviour with extreme suspicion, in case he was just trying to get her to lower her guard. She fully expected him to search for some weakness to exploit, but instead, he was going out of his way to assure her that he was no longer a threat.

...And now he wanted to get drinks. What, was that supposed to be some kind of peace offering? Or was he just trying to create an opportunity to get her out of the picture?

Lanai said nothing for a long while, instead staring intently at Reneth's open hands before moving on to the rest of his body. Only once she was convinced that he wasn't hiding anything did she allow herself to relax, allowing her wings to drop slightly to her sides. It seemed like he was genuinely happy that the assassination was prevented, like perhaps he deserved a second chance to prove his sincerity.

While Lanai definitely wouldn't be declaring him completely innocent any time soon, she did know that people often made mistakes, and those mistakes could change them- for better or for worse. If Reneth wanted to change, then maybe there was something she could do to assist. She was a hero, after all, and heroes did whatever they could to help people in need. Not everyone needed the same kind of help.

She wouldn't be letting him out of her sights any time soon, though.

"...Well, as long as I don't catch you trying anything funny again. But I'm not too familiar with alcohol. And I need to get all this out of my wings before it hurts someone," she stated, crossing her arms and frowning at the liquid that dampened her feathers.

Lion

He was lucky. Or maybe she was lucky to have caught him. But the funny of the moment faded a long time ago and by the time she agreed, Reneth was letting his focus stay on her. It was nice to have some actual reprieve from work.

Just from the few minutes he had with Bowing, the man would probably meet a gruesome end sooner rather than later.

"Okay then, we'll have some tea. Or water. They have more than beer," he said. Reneth maneuvered around her, taking a cloth and wiped her wings a little that were still dripping with the spilled beer. "How do you wash these things?"

An idle comment to which he expected no response, and soon he was ushering her to the bar, where he took a seat beside her on a stool. "So, maybe something light. Just an ale maybe? It won't be strong, I promise."




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Bunbun

Lanai recoiled slightly as Reneth reached towards her wings, as she didn't completely trust him not to mess with them. However, once she realized that he was simply trying to dry them off, she allowed herself to relax. They were still pretty damp afterwards, rendering them much less useful then she would have liked, but at least she wouldn't have to worry about poison dripping off of her wings. She certainly wasn't pleased about the state they were in, though.

She decided not to tell him that washing the wings was more troublesome that one might think. A significant portion of them was out of reach from her hands, so even if she somehow managed to get them wet, drying them off and grooming them was an absolute nightmare. The best way to clean them was often to get help from someone else. While this wouldn't really be a problem in Yoreiq, Lanai didn't have anyone to assist with this while she was on the move.

"I've never had ale before," she began. "Actually, there's a lot of things I haven't tried yet. But I guess it couldn't hurt to branch out a little."

Lion

A lot of things she hadn't tried before huh? Except spilling drinks, she seemed to be a pretty good expert at that. Reneth was highly amused at that thought, and he gave her a generous once over. Aside from the wings she was fairly normal and definitely not unpleasant to look at. Well, they would have their drinks and see what happened from there.

Reneth ordered two ales and made sure to keep his hands in view at all times just as he raised his mug and offered to clank his to hers. "Well, what should we toast to then? Hm...how about...not dying," he murmured. That was a good one. But was it too soon?

He took a small sip and relished the flavor. Setting the cup down on counter, he turned so that he was facing her on the stool and he grinned stupidly at her. "So what brings you here to this little pub out of all the pubs in Selevea? You have...really good timing I'll give you that," he chuckled and only vaguely glanced at Bowing in the corner. The man was entitled to his good time, and he sleazily groped a passing bar wench and soon downed his own pint of beer.




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Bunbun

"To not dying. And also to not killing, hopefully."

She nodded as the mugs made contact, but hesitated as she watched Reneth take a sip from his drink before turning to her own. Even then, she took her sweet time getting around around to it, staring into her mug as if it were some sort of fierce adversary before finally giving in and cautiously sampling it. It was... surprisingly not bad, and soon she found herself going for another taste before returning her attention to Reneth.

"Well, mostly I was just on the lookout for people like you. Troublemakers. As for why I decided on this pub, well... it's actually the first one I came across. I doubt I have to tell you that I'm not from around here. You might even call it fate that I happened to end up in this one, if you believe in that sort of thing."

She paused briefly to take another sip. "What about you? Maybe I'm mistaken, but I don't really think of you as the type who gets enjoyment from... eliminating people."

Lion

She was right in her assumption, he was as foreign here as she was. Except perhaps he had an easier time blending in. Her wings certainly were an eye catching feature. From the corner of his gaze, Reneth could see Bowing casting a glance out their way and he blinked at the pair. The man quickly went back into the conversation at hand and downed a hearty sip of his beer.

"You're right," Reneth quickly agreed, feeling uncomfortable at the thought of being watched. Not by her, but by everyone else that seemed to be staring at him. Or was it just his paranoia acting up again. Relax, he eased to himself. They'll get you, but not here. They'll wait for you to step outside for that.

"I'm not. But when you know certain people, and those people know you have a skill few possess. Well, let's just say they can have a hard time letting go," he grinned.  But it was a somber one at best and he sipped his own ale thoughtfully. "I'm from up north originally. I couldn't stand such a stuffy place though. Connlaoth. You've ever heard of it?"

He wouldn't get a chance to wait for an answer though when he saw Bowing get up from where he was seated. The man got up and began to cough violently. His entire face was swelling, and blood began to spew from his nostrils and mouth and other orifices and suddenly he collapsed, dead in his own bile. Just when he friend was going to stand up, he  suffered the same fate and the rest of the barroom went quiet until the silence was pierced by a barmaid's scream.




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Bunbun

It seemed to Lanai that Reneth's attempt to take another man's life was less of a product of his own volition, and more of an action performed out of fear of what would happen should he fail. She couldn't really blame him for that; while she certainly wasn't a criminal herself, a few people she'd interacted with in the past had given her the impression that it was a business you were essentially stuck in until you were either caught... or killed. It wouldn't be easy, but if Reneth wanted help cutting ties with some of the shadier characters, then she would do what she could to help.

If Bowing was indeed watching them, then Lanai had no knowledge of it- her attention was mostly directed at the man sitting beside her, and occasionally towards her drink. In fact, she probably wouldn't have acknowledged his existence if it weren't for the sound of his body hitting the floor, nearly causing her to knock over yet another drink (this time unintentionally, of course). Startled, she whirled around only to be greeted by the sight of two corpses lying in puddles of blood.

The events that took place in the next few seconds were a complete blur. She bolted from her seat, making her way over to the two bodies without thinking until she was mere feet away from the crimson puddles. It was as if nothing existed aside from herself and what was directly in front of her, and any noises coming from the crowd simply failed to register as her thoughts began to race. Unfortunately, the longer spent staring at the remains at Bowing and his friend, the harder it became to deny the truth. They were undeniably dead, despite her best efforts to keep them alive.

Her surroundings faded back into focus, and immediately she turned back towards Reneth, giving him a look of disbelief. Realistically, she knew that he hadn't had a single chance to tamper with another of Bowing's drinks, as she'd been watching him carefully the entire time. There was no way he could be responsible, not unless he was a fucking magician or something, but that didn't stop her from blowing up at him.

"What... what the hell is this?!"