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Aggressive Interrogation (DragonSong)

Started by Kingfisher, December 07, 2017, 11:33:17 PM

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Kingfisher

"No sweat," Joshua said.  Whatever the bard was after, gods help the man when she caught up with him.  "Besides," he added, reaching for the door.  Yanking the door open, he reveal a shocked assassin with his dagger out.  The smith gave a quick lunge, not with his dagger but his empty hand.  Two figers against his sternum...

Two fingers was all it took as the mage willed heat - impossible, horrifying heat - into the man.  He did not even have time to scream past melted lungs.  A flash of steam as the fluid in his eyes turned to steam.  The bandit's face turned scarlet as his brain boiled in his skull.  In the coarse of a second, he suffered the worst agony a human could and then died, falling forward into the room.

Looking back to the bard, Joshua felt confident in his next proclamation.  "Looks like Eyepatch and his friends came to renegotiate."  After all, the man he had just killed had been one of the lackies who left with the lead bandit earlier.

DragonSong

A mage.

Gods, that heat-

A pyromancer?

Tara bit back a groan. "Of fucking course you're a pyromancer," she grumbled under her breath. "What not? Fits with everything else that's happened today." Scowling, she stepped to the side of the body, nose crinkled in distaste, and shot him an arch look. "Do try to keep the next one alive, yeah? At least partially- I need some answers, and dead men don't talk."

She bent to examine the corpse and added blithely, "Probably the only reason you're still alive, by the way. Sorry about that."

Kingfisher

Joshua shot the bard a look.  Though neither could see the other in the near pitch black, the bandits lantern  having tumbled down and just gone out, he shot her a suddenly annoyed look.  Though not specifically fond of her meek act, her change came off as harsh.  "As you wish, your grace.  Just cover your eyes for a moment."

The pyromancer was the first through the door, though in the instant he was through, he summoned a brilliant white flame that succeeded in blinding most of the men.  A familiar voice cursed and sputtered; indeed, the one-eyed bandit had come for his own petty revenge.  But he was on the other side of the room, suddenly stumbling over a chair.

Joshua ignored him, advancing on the nearest bandit, uselessly flailing with his sword.  The smith needed only blow sparks from his hand and the spell set fire to the other man's face.  He screamed as his skin sizzled, dropping his sword to the floor as he clawed vainly at his burns.  The smith took the hilt of his dagger to the bandits temple, knocking him cold.

By now, a fallen lantern, likely dropped in the confusion of Joshua's luminous explosion, has spilled fuel, setting a small fire to the tavern by which Tara could likely see.

DragonSong

Fire. Always with the gods-be-damned fire. This was why she hated working with pyromancers. Conveniently ignore the fact that she could control flame herself, to an extent, Tara hummed a quick tune to sucked the air out of the immediate vicinity of the flames, leaving enough so they didn’t die completely but ensuring they wouldn’t spread too far.

“You think about collateral damage?” she snapped as she stepped out into the hall. “Do try not to burn the whole bleedin’ Inn down, if you please.”

Ah, Eyepatch. There he was. Easily weaving her way trough the semi-blinded, cursing bandits, dispatching one with a clean slice across the throat when he got too close, Tara grabbed the ringleader by the scruff and jerked him down to eye level.

“Watch my back, kitten, yeah?” she called to Joshua over her shoulder as she leveled the tip of one dagger at the man’s remaining eye. She smiled. “Now, I would recommend you answer my questions with as little smartassery as possible. Understand, sweetheart?”

Kingfisher

Holding his hand hand up, Joshua wreathed it in enough blue fire to see by.  "I have it under control, lady," he muttered to himself.  A brutal thrust lodged his knife in the neck of another of the stunned bandits.  The last man, having recovered slightly, swung a simple mace at the smith.  Wheeling back, Joshau focused his magic, turning the club orange, forcing it from the bandit's hand.  The mage seized his opportunity in a literal sense, placing hands on the man's face, flash boiling his brain.  "Besides, the fire was their fault."


The last bandit struggled with the bard, reaching for his saber.  The hilt came apart in his hand: Joshua had melted the tang out of the weapon, letting the pommel, guard and ashes that had once been a wooden grip fall upon the floor.

Eyepatch snarled, unwilling to accept his defeat.  "I don't know who you are, girl.  But siding with that crooked he-witch was the biggest mistake o' your life"  Then, thinking better on his chances, the man mellowed.  "Ask your damn' questions..."

DragonSong

"That's more like it." She positively beamed and drew her dagger back- but not before she' scoured a short, deep nick into the man's cheek. "Oops." She shrugged, still smiling. "Now. What I want to know is where the hell is Karian Blythe."

She paused a moment, sighed, then added, "Taller, sort of lanky man, 'bout yea big-" she held her hand about a foot above her own head- "Darkish red hair, blue eyes. Walks like he owns every piece of ground he touches. Ah, sometimes goes by Roderick Fell, or Kinsley." Her smile turned sharp and dangerous and she let the tip of her dagger rest against the man's collar, just barely pricking the hollow of his throat. "I know you've done business with him. What I want to know is when you saw him last, and where is he going."

Tara tilted her head to the side, as though considering, then gave a soft, four note whistle. The air was momentarily sucked from the bandits lungs, long enough to leave him going a little blue around the gills before she released the spell and allowed him to breathe again. "And oh yes- that's the last time you call me girl like it's a name."

Kingfisher

Patch was hacking, gasping past blue lips as he struggled to catch his breath.  "Whore," he hissed testing his luck as he sat back.  "That animal will kill me if he finds out I turned on 'im."

The sound of tearing fabric, startled the bandit as Joshua began to polish his wicked looking blade.  "Don't mind me," he said.  "I just need to clean this off.  You were saying about an animal being likely to try killing you some day in the distant future to two people right here holding very sharp knives?  And magic?"

Understanding the pyromancer's point, the bandit swallowed.  "I don't know where he is now.  We were going to meet up in about a month.  I was supposed to bring guns."  Gesturing toward the smith, Patch confired, "Your guns."

DragonSong

Tara's heart leaped into her throat. A lead. A real lead. Gods, finally. "Where?" She pressed her node harder against his skin. "Where? Tell me and I let you live. Karian never has to know who outed him."

She filed away the information about guns for a later time; but the pyromancer may be more useful than he'd seemed...

Kingfisher

Joshua had found a perch on the edge of a table.  He watched the pair throughout the interrogation, pursing his lips at her assertion that she would not kill him.  He was mostly out of view so he payed little mind to the tell.  Honestly, he was reluctant to let the bandit go.  He did not want to risk a vandetta as the man continued to hunt him.

Patch, for his part looked broken.  "Darken Vei," he said.  "I was supposed to meet him near a village in southern Darken Vei.  That or one of his agents to give me the real meeting place."

DragonSong

Her smile was back, charming and effortless. "See now? That wasn't so hard, was it?" She leaned in and pecked the bandit's cheek, feeling him shiver as her blade pressed just a bit more firmly against his throat. "That was for your help, sweetheart," she said, leaning back with a wink and a grin.

"And this-" she drove her blade forward through his throat- "is for calling me a whore." Her tone and smile never changed as the man gasped, gurgled, and bled out, pinned to the wall by her dagger through his throat.

With a sigh Tara pulled her weapon back and flicked blood off the blade, sort of pouting as the corpse slid to the ground. "Pity. Guess I was lying about the whole let you live thing. Ah well." She shrugged and turned back toward Joshua- and paused. Her eyes flickered over him, calculating.

And just what exactly do I do with you, I wonder...

Kingfisher

Glancing at the dead bandit, Joshua grimaced.  The man was bled out, that was a good thing.  But that did not mean he had to revel in that.  "So," he began, his attention shifting up to the bard.  "Looks like you got what you needed.  Where does that leave us?"  The pyromancer could tell she was trying to make a decision.

Preempting the bard, the smith decided to see if he might ingratiate himself to her.  "I very much would like to avoid fighting you.  So, if there is anything you think I might be able to do for you, I can see what I can do."  And so the mage played his first hand.  If that idea failed, then smity fire magic would be his fall back.   And Tara seemed not to like smity fire magic.

DragonSong

Tara tilted her head and drew her bottom lip between her teeth, deep in thought. "Well. Patchy over here said he needed guns for this delivery meetup." She jerked her head toward the body, then looked back to Joshua. "Your guns."

She took a step toward him, eyes roaming up and down, like she was trying to take in every detail as she easily stepped over and around bodies.

Hmm...They'd probably have to deal with that.

She smiled as she stopped directly in front of him, tilting her head back to meet his eyes. Her magic coiled just beneath her skin, ready to defend herself if it came down to that. "So. Just how good are you, kitten?"

Kingfisher

The smith was a bit nervous standing so close to a woman he suspected wanted to kill him.  Sure, he could burn her insides out, but at this range she could likely give just as well.  It was mutually assured destruction, not a good way to handle a deal.

But if she was asking what he thought she was...No time for false modesty.  "My work is damn near perfect.  I can turn the worst iron into the purest steel."  Realizing words might not be enough, Joshua went to retrieve the sword he had reforged.

Keeping his distance, he explained, "This blade is made of the same material as the leaf spring in a wheellock.  Made free of slag it can maintain tension forever: its basically indestructible..."  To illustrate, he drew the blade and pressed the tip to the floor.  The blade bowed to a little over ninety degrees.  When he let it up, the blade was still staight.  "When it comes to steel, I am a god.  Is that good enough for you, princess?"

DragonSong

She positively beamed at him. "It'll do. Feel like making some extra coin?" She tilted her head. "I don't have much in the way of a down payment, but Karian is not a cheap man- and I give you full permission to ransack his corpse once we're finished with him. Sound good?"

A month. She had a month to plan this and get to Darken Vei.

That should be enough time.

Tara sighed suddenly and rubbed at her temples, lips pursed in thought. "I'll have to keep you around though, until the drop. No offense or nothing, kitten, but I don't trust you." She smiled at him again, but for once it seemed genuine- and the expression was tired. Just...tired.

"So, we have a deal? Or we gonna have to have a wizards' duel?" She screwed her face up in distaste at the idea. "In the middle of Connlaoth, of all places."

Kingfisher

The smith threw up is hands at the mention of a duel.  "I think we're fine.  You have a bit of a reach advantage."  He could have tried to flash her, but she could probably see that coming.  Blinding an enemy with white fire only reliably worked when it surprised an enemy.  Plus, his fire did not work when starved of air, which seemed to be Tara's go to.

Placing the sword on the counter, Joshua said, "I guess all that's left to do tonight is...clean up?"  Glancing at the cadavers, he suggested, "Gimme a hand out and I can cremate them."  It was really the simplest solution he could think of.  While exhausting to use so much magic in a night, it was simpler and faster than trying to bury the bodies.

DragonSong

Her smile returned, dazzling. "Excellent."

Glancing around at the bodies again, she sighed and planted her hands on her hips. "Yeah. I can help moving them, but...fire's not really my thing." She crinkled her nose again, almost pouting, then brightened considerably and added, "I can clean up the blood and whatnot, though. And maybe work a bit of magic to make sure no one notices anything's amiss. We might even be able to actually stay the night, if I play our cards right."

With that, she bent to grab one of the dead bandits under his arms and hoist him up, grunting a little with the effort. Out of her "bard clothes", in just the thin tunic and breeches, it was clear that what at first seemed to be a slender, almost waifish build was in fact lean, compact muscle.

Kingfisher

The pair began to shuttle the dead bandits out of the tavern.  Joshua took his opportunity to finish off the cripple as he did, dropping the body into the line of corpses.  He would not have lived very long anyway...at least that was the excuse the mage gave himself.

So they the mages stood, before the line of dead bandits.  "Now, to make them vanish..."  Crouching, he placed his hand on each one, willing fire and heat into each cadaver and in turn, they were consumed violet flames.  He heat was incredible and the fire ate the bodies as fuel, leaving nothing but black ash.  The smell of pork lingered in the air.

The act of willing fire and heat into five objects was exhausting and Joshua stumbled.  "Sorry," he said.  "Looks like that's it for me tonight..."

DragonSong

"Whoa, there. Easy." Tara moved forward without thinking and propped him up, easily looping his arm over her shoulders. She let one hand rest at his waist, the other supporting his back, and hummed a soft, quick tune that called on water and air to revitalize him. She wasn't a healer by any means, but it was an easy enough trick that had kept her from passing out from sheer exhaustion on more than one occasion.

"What say I get you to a proper bed before I talk with our host, hm?" she offered with a lopsided smile.

Kingfisher

"Oh?"  Joshua was still clearly exhausted, though he seemed to be standing staighter for the moment.  He muttered, "Yeah...bed sound good..."  If he had been more awake, he might have insisted on taking the chair again.  As it were, he seemed almost literally dead on his feet.

As they returned to his room, the pyromancer found himself falling in a heap onto the bed.  He had undressed earlier and was still wearing his loose fitting undergarments so without waiting he crawled up, tucking himself to one side.  They was only just enough room left for Tara if she slept very close to him.  By this point though, the young man was already asleep and completely unaware.

DragonSong

"Uff." Tara found herself bearing most of the man's weight as she sort of guided him toward the bed. Once he was in she leaned back and popped her spine with a sigh and a groan. She was pretty tired herself- while she hadn't been using a lot of magic, there was a decent amount of finite control she'd been employing after all day traveling.

Still, she needed to make sure the tavern owner didn't realize anything was up. She couldn't assuage his suspicions completely: they hadn't exactly been silent. She did manage to slip just enough magic into her voice to convince him that some ex-clients of Joshua's had been feeling a little bitter, but the situation had been handled, no need to worry.

Now completely exhausted, the bard staggered back to the room. She eyed first the floor, then the chair with distaste. Gods, just give me a real bed...

Well... There was space. But she didn't exactly trust the smith not to kill her in her sleep, and she didn't want to make that particular task any easier on him. Still...with yet another sigh she hummed a quick spell, a tingling over her skin that should wake her if there was any untoward movement, and she crawled into the bed.

"You better be as sweet as you seem, kitten," she muttered to herself as she curled up on her side and closed her eyes.

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