In an expensive hotel in Martira Bay

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Post by alhoon »

Draxton chuckles a bit.
"I could Hartly trust you enough to give information even about such a trivial thing like that Curwin. Even telling you if a man came before I did in that gathering. I don't know if you would whisper that in a dark corner when I'm not watching you."

OOC: Won't even bother with the SM checks. Whispers in a dark corner is the answer. I made it up. He said "Hartly" instead of "Hardly"
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Dadrag remains silent while the two men continue talking. The ex-assassin doesn't understand what they are really talikng about, but he is pretty sure that all these phrases should mean something more than a common dialog.
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Post by Rotipher of the FoS »

The bard winced inwardly at Draxton's grating play-on-words -- Ghastly, but at least it confirms that this snake's been partaking of spell-based boosts to his sociability; anyone with a particle of real savoir-faire would have better taste than to resort to bloody puns, in mid-negotiation! -- but nods outwardly, in subtle acknowledgement of the merchant's code-phrase and the accuracy of Serd's reply.

Crow's first question had been meaningless stage-dressing, of course -- he had no doubts that this really was Draxton Serd -- but his remark to follow, innocuous though it seemed, was anything but:

"So cagey, even now, Master Serd...? Can't say that I blame you, given all the chaos those party-crashers stirred up! Seems even in the best of company, there's always someone -- and not always the someone you'd think it is, either -- trying to cause trouble, rob a fellow blind, betray his trust ... pick his pocket, even..."

The bard's gaze had slid away from Draxton's as he spoke, as if caught up in a brandy-addled sideline of thought, and his hand drifted idly to his side, as if to check his own coat-pocket's contents remained intact. For a breath's span, creases of outrage wrinkled 'Curwin's' cosmetics-tanned brow, and his eyes flashed in remembered anger.

The bodyguard's posture stiffened, as the VRS spy's hand strayed near his pocket -- a reminder that Serd wasn't the only player in this particular game, that goaded Crow to wrap things up expediently as he could -- and the bard aborted the gesture, shook his head as if to revive his slacking attentions, and peered again at the Richemulouise merchant.

"Too bad," he mused, both ring-adorned hands grasping for the table's edge, as if seeking stability after having misjudged the palinca's potency. "If even that much information is too much for you to reveal, then I guess we may not be able to come to an agreement, after all! Not if you can't even, say, show me at least a sample of the wares you're offering -- the man I'd thought to introduce you to'll demand no less, before wasting his time on the likes of us -- or speak any further of events that'd confirm you were there ... and trustworthy ... that night."

The bard's masqued features showed the disappointment of a man seeing a potential fat finder's fee dwindling into non-existance. Then he blinked, shook his head again, and looked speculatively at Serd.

"Don't suppose you'd be able to tell me anything else about those other party-guests then, either...? Like, say, how to get in touch with the folks, as didn't leave by carriage, with the rest of us? Could be I've an interest in having... dealings with one of them, not just with you. A query or two to ask them, that I never got the chance to ask that evening, with them departing on their own.

"There was that redheaded brain-doctor with the Demento accent, I remember that one... and some smart-mouthed pretty-boy who'd hauled his damn guitar to the party... then there's that chap who didn't know his limits, Donovan-something I think it was... oh, and that bumbling Vaasi yokel who thought 'Chicken Gabrielle' was a bloody breed of chickens, of all the fool things...."

Crow blinked again, gazed at Serd a little woozily.

"If you're not man enough to tell tales on yourself, merchant, maybe you could clue me in on what happened to some of those fellows, there? Just enough to get in touch with any of 'em, so as I can discuss a matter of ... personal importance, of no interest to you, sir."

The bard's face goes blank and stiff, in emulation of an increasingly-tipsy schemer's imperfect attempt to conceal his intense interest. His hands tighten their grip upon the table's edge, knuckles whitening visibly beneath 'Curwin's' diverse collection of rings.

[OOC: Nathan wants us to wrap this up quickly, so let's avoid dice-rolling when we can just role-play it out. And in this case, Crow wants Draxton to conclude "Curwin" isn't telling the whole story. Read between the lines, and he's 'accidentally' revealing that someone at the party -- one of the four men (Conrad, Crow, Donovan [RIP :wink: ], or Rosnel) who didn't catch a ride in Buchvold's carriages -- picked "Curwin's" pocket, stealing an item of extreme value to the smuggler! In fact, Draxton's use of Detect Magic will have revealed he's carrying an item in the pocket he thoughtlessly started to pat, to confirm it was still there ... an item the size and shape of a small notebook. Its aura appears to be layered in at least two abjurations, as if "Curwin's" not taking a chance on losing this one to thieves. 8)

[Looks like -- at least to Draxton -- this "Curwin" might well do anything the merchant asks ... smuggle Serd's goods, give up his contact's name for free, pay him off with magic items ... if it'll get his stolen notebook (no doubt full of incriminating secrets) back! Gosh, if Draxton has any idea which of those four suspects might have swiped it -- along with every other book or document he could get his kleptomaniac mitts on :wink: -- at the Manoir, he'd better contact that person ASAP: maybe they'll sell him the means to blackmail the smuggler! Hmmm.... now, who does Draxton know of, who quickly took the initiative and made a list of all the loyalists' names, hence would have the four suspects' contact-information, if anyone does? Three guesses, alhoon, and if they aren't "Buchvold, Buchvold, and Buchvold", I'll be very disappointed in Draxton! :twisted:

[Oh, and on a less-convoluted note, Crow's angling to at least see Serd's preliminary notes on the mummy's book, if the book itself isn't available. It's not an unreasonable request, nor does it breach his 'cover': another FoS member would want to get some tidbits of arcane information out of such a transaction, not just cash.]
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Post by alhoon »

"I could let you look at the wares up in my room, with Dadrag's company of course... if you agreed to do me a little favor. What do you think?
Information about fellow party goers is far more expensive I'm afraid. Perhaps we can talk about this too in my room" He smiles invitately and nods towards the stairs.
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Post by Rotipher of the FoS »

[OOC: Nice try, Draxton. Fat chance the bard's letting these two get him alone anywhere... :roll: ]


The maritime-clad spy's eyes rolled, and he shot the Richemulouise man a sneering 'I'm-Drunk-Not-Stupid' glare.

"Not hardly," growled the 'smuggler', gesturing bluntly toward his former table. "Got my own manifests down here already, can't leave 'em there f'all the world to paw through, now can I...?"

'Curwin' narrowed his eyes at Serd. "Besides, if there's one thing life on shipboard teaches a man to savor about land living, it's open space. No claustrophobes at sea -- leastwise, none as last long -- but once I do feel solid ground under my soles, I've no yen to cramp myself up in little rooms, when big ones are open t'me. Get plenty of crowdin' out of port, don't need it here too.

"Nah, I'm well and happy, here in this wide room, thanks kindly. If you've a mind to buckle down and show me what you're sellin', here's just fine; 'snot like we were discussin' anything illegal, like plottin' poisonings or what-all..."

The corner of Curwin's lip curled a bit: perhaps a cautioning expression, perhaps a contemptuous one, perhaps both. Then, breaking eye contact, the bard slipped a brass-cased pocket-watch from his vest, checked the time, snorted dismissively.

"Anyway," Curwin grumbled, "I got other business to conduct today, that I can't neglect ... least, not just so's I can dawdle 'round here, waitin' for some vacillatin' old goat to stiffen his spine, enough to deal! So if you've got nothin' profit-worthy to say or to show, Mister Merchant-Man, guess I may as well be takin' my leave of you and yer pal: you've wasted more of my time than a bottle's worth, already."

Crow returned the watch to his pocket -- briefly exposing the corner of a small, red leather-bound notebook tucked inside "Curwin's" coat, in the process -- and began rising as if to depart the merchant's table. True to his crass persona's character, he neither spared a further glance at Draxton (yet another intentional snub), nor neglected to snag the half-empty palinca bottle from the table, as he rose.




[OOC: Sense Motive 36 (My d20's happy, cool! :D ) to check Draxton's intentions, in asking 'Curwin' up to his room. No Bluff check needed to appear honestly ready to leave: if Serd's not willing to discuss matters further in the dining hall, the bard isn't going to push his interest in the mummy's book any farther; he's dropped the hints he'd needed to, and can go away satisfied that Serd's future queries about "Curwin's" stolen notebook will reveal if Draxton pegged Crow as the Library thief. Bluff check 28 to hint that if Serd were to raise a fuss now, the Baronial Guards who'd be called to break it up would have more objection to Draxton's carrying whatever he'd put in Crow's drink than to the (sordid, but NOT illegal in Darkon [per Gaz II]) commodities which "Curwin" sells.]
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Post by alhoon »

A veiled threat. Just as veiled enough as Curwin would believe would be enough for him to catch it. The man was not drunk but he was a good actor. Draxton made a mental note on that. He also drove a hard bargain.

As Curwin started to raise from the table, Draxton just looked at Dadrag. A look was enough. The trained assassin caught the hint and quickly put a hand on Curwin's arm. Not forceful exactly but in a way that clearly stated that the discussion wasn't finished yet.

"The matter that you were messing in our affairs remains unresolved dear collegue. We didn't waisted your time, we just protected our right to privacy." Draxton said with a cold look and calm voice as Dadrag removed his hand. "Perhaps you would like to stay a bit more with us? To tell us more of your naval adventures? Of what riches you have seen... and lost."

OOC> With the last hints and the well placed threat, I believe you gave yourself out.

OOC2> Draxton would call Curwin to his room peacefully. He is not a bandit. Now if things escalated... well the bigger the risk the greater the profit :) but he wouldn't start a fight in an inn. The road is another story entirely, but even then Serd would stab the man in the back (figuretavly or even literaly) only in a fight or other opportunity for treason.

OOC3> Intimidation check 23. No modifiers. Modify it as you see fit. Draxton implies clearly that curwin being in Fraternity doesn't protect him too much in here.
SMotive DC 20 to figure that his interest on what has been stolen from Curwin is not faked but sincere.
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Post by Rotipher of the FoS »

[OOC: Well, the bard could probably beat a DC 20 for Sense Motive in his sleep, so I guess he knows his lure's been snapped up! :wink: The Intimidate attempt is undermined by his sensing Serd won't start a fight in the dining room -- and by the fact his "lost book" doesn't really exist and thus can't really be used to blackmail him :roll: -- so he's not spooked.]

Imperturbable though Serd was trying to appear, the merchant's blunt attempt to browbeat "Curwin" betrayed the man's true interest. Having dangled the bait sufficiently-close, Crow'd sparked Draxton's greed and yen for power over others; having subjected the man to sufficient pokes and prods, feeling out his "fellow Brother", he'd earned "Curwin" a cautious measure of respect, at least on account of his smuggler-persona's skill at the snake-in-the-grass game.

(While he didn't really need to pursue their dialogue any further, the VRS spy was still curious about whatever ghastly folio the Richemulouise had retrieved from the dwarven Ancient ... not one he recalled, offhand, from his own files, but he'd been too busy chasing Doomsday Device rumors to consult his Society's records of dusty old mummies. Besides, dull though the opening rounds had been, his and Serd's mutual attempts to hide the gist of their discussion from the mercenary had added an interesting twist to the proceedings; at long last, Crow's zest for gamesmanship was beginning to stir.)

Suppressing any hint of his budding enjoyment from his features with the casual ease of long habit, the bard let his brow wrinkle in affronted outrage when Draxton's man stopped his departure, then deepened those wrinkles at the merchant's remarks about Curwin's 'messing in our affairs'. Hmph. If mere eavesdropping constitutes meddling by your definition, you surely find it tiring to have your every breath meddled with, in your bloody homeland, merchant! Makes me wonder just how much dirt those dratted Reniers have on you, to keep your fumble-footed ambitions in check ... and why they've not simply destroyed you with what they know, ages ago! At the close-following remark about their 'right to privacy', Crow added a snort of disbelief, and noted if the hireling's grip on his arm altered its tension, to see if the bodyguard (whose accent was purest Martira Bay) had also spotted the incongruity: the bourgeois Fraternity-member was sorely misinformed, if he thought such civil liberties as he'd enjoyed at home were worth a bent bonechip in Darkon.

The probing query about "Curwin's" naval adventures wasn't a problem -- the day Crow couldn't whip up a dozen suitable anecdotes off-the-cuff out of tales he'd collected, his fellow bards would make him turn in his coin-cup as a performer -- but Serd's thinly-veiled admission that he'd deduced the "stolen notebook's" existence surprised him. He'd been expecting either a poker-faced feigning of ignorance or coy pussyfooting around the subject, not direct confrontation. He's the Hawk in this game, don't forget that: Serd doesn't think he needs to be subtle now, despite that lowbrow stunt with the drugged beer. Just let him strike hard and fast, while the Hares slip home unnoticed.

Allowing his mild surprise at Draxton's tactics to reshape his masqued features, and letting that expression balloon into jarred startlement, the bard widened his eyes at the Richmulouise's question about "riches lost". He leaned back from Serd slightly, blinked twice, curled his fingers into fists ... the betraying "tells" of a flawed schemer, caught red-handed by his own attempted cleverness. One fist rose marginally, then lowered an inch, fingers uncurling as he laid his palm over that pocket of his oilcloth coat in which the red-bound notebook resided.

"Curwin" looked down in momentary thought; his uneasy gaze flicked to the hireling's hand on his arm, then the door, then down again. Finding no evident means to extricate himself from the confrontation, he sighed.

"All right," he grudgingly muttered. "Guess you got an inklin' as to where I stand, right now. Guess I've a bit more of an interest in the four gentlemen--" (he hissed the word) "--I'd asked after, than just reminiscin' about fancy soirees. Guess there's more'n one kind of compensation I'd be inclined to consider, if you really are lookin' to deal." His index finger covertly tapped his coat-pocket twice, out of the bodyguard's line of sight. "Curwin's" pretext of intoxication had vanished; the bard sensed the merchant had caught onto that superficial ruse by now.

The maritime-clad spy lifted his gaze to meet Serd's again, and he let a touch of the fiery intransigence that had accompanied his previous insults blaze again in his eyes.

"But I sure-as-sin won't be buyin' any damned pig in a poke! You want to drive a hard bargain, that's just business, as with any other man; you think you've got something besides gold to barter ... well, that's just our business, nobody else's." He tilted his head briefly toward the bodyguard: an unsubtle This-Isn't-For-The-Hired-Help's-Ears-Either message.

"But if you want anything from me -- like I, maybe, mighta wanted something from you, when I saw you come in here -- then I gotta see what it is I'm buying into. You're in trade, yourself; can you really blame me, for hedgin' my bets on somebody I don't know squat about...?"

The bard shrugged, palms up and open. By all appearances, "Curwin" seems honestly at a loss to resolve the impasse in bargaining, if Draxton doesn't meet his request to see the book the Richemulouise wishes to consult about, or at least a page or two.

Your move again, Master Merchant ... and it'd better show at least some concession on your part, else I'll start finding you bloody boring, again! And don't think I've overlooked how shabbily you're treating a "Fraternity Brother", despite your organization's rules and current siege-mentality; have to make a note of that, that you're a little too eager to threaten those who rightly should be allies. Something to hide from said "allies", perhaps...? You did run that non-spec password past me, earlier on....

[OOC: Bluff check 35 to pull off this whole routine; note that it's not an unreasonable response to Draxton's tactics, as Crow's playing out how "Curwin" might behave if he really had been Intimidated. He's apparently conceeding that the merchant has seen through his attempt to conceal the 'stolen notebook's' existence, and expressing his willingness to bargain for any useful dirt on the four suspects he'd named. Sense Motive check 25 to see if Dadrag noticed Draxton's false assumption that civil liberties mean diddly-squat in Darkon, and SM 33 to gague Draxton's reactions to "Curwin's" latest remarks.

[Oh, and in case you've not heard the term, "buying a pig in a poke" is an old-time saying for "buying an item without checking that the item is what the seller claims". Even when intimidated, it's something that a suitably-sneaky Frat member or black-marketeer would draw the line at: if he doesn't see at least a page or two of the mummy's book, Draxton won't be getting that contact's name.]
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Post by alhoon »

"What about me showing the wares to you alone in my room, with Dadrag standing guard out of the door? Just in case someone tries to come in uninvited of course. You know much about me now, and I wouldn't like a dear collegue like you, who obviously appreciates my advances and wares to go out without first at least confirm what I have." Draxton says with a friendly smile, while his eyes warn that if Curwin said "no" he would better lock his door very well this night.

OOC> "Just in case someone tries to come in uninvited = in case you try to attack me or steal the book and make a run for it. :)

The rest implies that Serd considers the information he has given about the book and himself to be at least worthy of a boon. He doesn't give out usually even so little info as he already has for "free". Van, Dadrag probably notices that too.
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Post by VAN »

OOC> [quote=“Rotipher”]Sense Motive check 25 to see if Dadrag noticed Draxton's false assumption that civil liberties mean diddly-squat in Darkon.[/quote]
I get bluff 21, so I guess Crow understands it.

OOC2>[quote=“Rotipher”] Crow returned the watch to his pocket -- briefly exposing the corner of a small, red leather-bound notebook tucked inside "Curwin's" coat…[/quote]
It’s a couple of times that Crow touches or let show his red notebook at his pocket. I rolled 22 spot so I think once Dadrag has noticed it.

IC> Despite Dadrag hasn’t spare very much time with Draxton, he knew him rather well to understand that it isn’t normal for him sharing even little information for free. So the ex-assassin concludes that Curwin must have something really important to tell/show/give to the wizard who as a good merchant tries to get it at the minor price, whatever that could be.

At Draxton’s remark about the one who can enter uninvited, Dadrag just smiles and leaves Crow’s arm, but not before paying him a cold, warning look.
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Post by Rotipher of the FoS »

The VRS spy weighed Draxton's words, motives and circumstances to assess the man's true course of action; then he examined these again as "Curwin" -- smuggler, churl, greed-ridden opportunist, purveyor and occasional partaker of addictive vices -- would interpret them. Then, too, he reconsidered these results in light of Draxton Serd's expectations as to what such a man might do, given how the bard's own prior maneuvers had been reacted to, and adjusted his seaman-persona's response accordingly.

(All of this took about seven seconds. Crow could change perspectives faster than most people could change their own minds. It was one of the reasons he found his pre-amnesiac self's motives so hard to pin down: he could comfortably view the world from so many diverse viewpoints, he couldn't determine which might fit his own once-self, better than the others did.)

"Not bad," the bard muttered. "Not a bad plan. Sounds like we've got us an agreement, just about." Feeling the mercenary release his arm, Crow flexed it a bit, as if relishing its regained liberty.

He shot another glance of naked suspicion at Serd.

"Still, I gotta wonder if a man of your wealth's well-enough served, haviin' only one guard. Even if you've got yourself a born scrapper here--" he tipped his head at Dadrag again "--he's never gonna be in two places at once. Makes me wonder if some bilge-rat scum's sneaking round in your room as we speak, what with it standing vacant and all."

The incredulousness in "Curwin's" voice was obvious, as he spoke the word 'vacant'. The implication that other hirelings of Draxton's might be waiting in the merchant's room, set to lie in ambush while the elderly man claimed to have been relieving himself, wasn't -- quite -- decisive enough to constitute an open accusation.

"How's about this, to play it safe for both of us? Me, I came straight in here for a meal, starved for victuals not gone stale in a galley's stores: I haven't even checked in properly yet. What say we both go pick me up a key, and head upstairs to a room neither of us've ever clapped eyes on, afore? You can bring the sample in there, while your man stands watch in the hall; if it's as you say, I'll give you the name of my contact and where you can find him, too. Might even sell you a trick to get the ol' coot on your side, if your wares are good enough! After that... well, if you've other things to sell, we'll discuss it then, private-like.

"Hells, pick the room number yourself, if that's your pleasure. Doesn't matter to me which room I'm in, long as it's got mattresses instead of hammocks. What say you to that, Merchant-Man?"

The bard lifts a palm to his face and makes a spitting noise, then extends his hand in a crude mariners' bargain-making ritual. If Serd agrees, he's expected to spit in his own palm, then shake hands with "Curwin", to seal the deal.

[OOC: Bluff check 34 to make this sound like a sensible way to assure both parties that no treachery is imminent. Note that if Draxton agrees, he'll know "Curwin's" room number and can even choose a room that's more vulnerable to intrusion later. (In truth, Crow has no plans to stay at the Riverview tonight, so honestly couldn't care less where Serd puts "Curwin". 8) )

[Things are finally underway in Souragne now, so let's wrap this business up in a few more posts if we can ... and get Draxton (and Dadrag, I hope!) over there, too! :D ]
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Post by alhoon »

OOC> I already play Draxton in Sournage. I don't think that Dadrag can participate yet there. However I don't plan to stay in that meeting for long.

IC> Draxton looked at the man's palm with disgust. "I'm a gentleman you know. I don't partake in barbaric agreements. My word is enough to agree."
Serd stands and motions the two men to follow. He approached the bartender and secured another room for Curwin, making sure Curwing and the innkeeper understood that Curwin will pay for the room, not Draxton. "I would like the room to be in the second store and to have small windows." The innkeeper thought it strange for someone to ask such a room, but said nothing.
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Post by Rotipher of the FoS »

Content, for now, to follow Draxton's lead -- dull as the man's nouveau riche pretensions were, the spy was curious what ploy the merchant might try next -- the bard collected "Curwin's" documents and logbook from his former table, feeling the mercenary's sharp eyes upon him as he did so. Again mindful of his pose, he scooped up the half-empty snack platter as well -- "Curwin" had a poverty-bred man's penurious approach to leftovers -- and fumbled with his mixed-bag burden, trying not to let anything drop to the floor.

Palpably frustrated, he shot an irritated glance at Dadrag. "Don't suppose you're one to make yourself useful, by way of variety, now are ye...?," he grouses, nodding at his overloaded arms.

The hireling merely looked smug, and didn't lift a finger to help. "Thought not," the bard growled, and stomped on after Serd, pausing at every few steps to re-balance his awkward load of paperwork and platter.

By the arrangement he'd proposed, the bodyguard wouldn't be on hand to view what went on in the room, but Crow still waited until he'd turned to follow Serd up the stairs -- the second man behind him, so unable to see his hands -- before he made the switch. The mercenary's eyes were just too sharp to risk otherwise, even beneath a veil of fumbled paperwork and clumsy near-spills.



[OOC: Don't worry about "the switch", guys; it's spy-stuff, not a threat.]
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Post by alhoon »

Dadrag left Curwin with Dadrag for a moment out of his room at the first floor to retrieve the book. Then he joined them again and they proceeded upstairs.

After reaching the second floor, Draxton turned to Dadrag and handed him the key while he said "Dadrag and Curwin, the room is the one on the left. Dadrag, open the door please and the moment we step in, close it and lock it from the outside. I will knock the door when we are ready. If you hear me screaming for help, get in and make sure that I'm safe by whatever means necessary." The last remarks were made while Draxton was looking at Curwin directly.
After Dadrag opened the door, Draxton smiled and told Curwin politely "After you, dear collegue. I hope you find the room to your expectations."

OOC> Sense Motive DC 26 Rotipher. In case Crow succeeds, he will guess/figure that Draxton is about to do something nasty once "Curwin" turns his back to him. Read the PM to learn what it is.

PS I gave myself a -2 penalty to the DC since Crow is probably quite suspicious of Draxton by now.
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Post by Rotipher of the FoS »

[OOC: Sense Motive 28, no problemo. Plus, the bard's figured he'd likely get ambushed upstairs, by one means or another, ever since Serd's trick with the beer. :roll: ]


Sneering at Draxton's continued display of rampant paranoia, 'Curwin' brazenly approached the entryway the instant the mercenary swung it open. He kept his hands in full view, clinging awkwardly to his burdensome armload of logbooks, platter, and so forth; the bodyguard was observant, and would surely take note of his lack of weaponry. Best hope he does, Crow mused. Else, this next gamble may be rewarded with a throat-slitting, soon as I move....

Just as his buckled shoe reached the threshold, the bard 'stumbled' a bit under his armload of paperwork. He nearly dropped the lot, then -- with an abruptness designed, not to menace, but to surprise -- the chestnut-haired figure turned to the merchant-mage and dumped half his burden into Serd's arms, already upraised to 'politely' wave the mariner on into the room ... or, as the spy suspects, to unleash some paralytic or otherwise-incapacitating spell upon him.

"Here," he gruffly barked, wheeling on one heel as he stepped into the room, so 'Curwin' could continue chiding Serd to his face for Dadrag's previous unhelpfulness. "Make yourself useful, if your man won't! Storm's fury, but you're a tiresome pair of toffs, preaching courts' manners and snobs' ways, yet leaving a man in the lurch when he's laden to the gunwales...." The bombastic seaman's scorn echoed through the hallway, as he strode backward into the room, far more agile with half his burden handed off to another.

The look he shot Draxton, for what it's worth, made it abundantly clear he had other reasons for weighing the Richemulouise's arms down with paperwork than merely carrying too much. Nice try, his expression snidely proclaimed.



[OOC: I took the liberty of guessing Draxton wouldn't let Crow's papers spill all over the floor, which would be contrary to his instincts as a book-cherishing wizard and FoS member, as well as a dead giveaway that he doesn't give a damn about their bargain and is merely setting 'Curwin' up. If you think Serd would be miffed enough, alhoon, feel free to show him dumping the documents on the floor on purpose in your next post, to demonstrate his contempt for obnoxious Remington Curwin! :wink:

[Essentially, I'd treat this as an alternate use of the "create a distraction" function of Bluff, buying him a second or two to step over the threshold without turning his back on a man he doesn't trust an inch. Between a decent roll on Crow's Bluff check (36) and the fact that 'Curwin' plainly isn't armed, I assumed Dadrag (who was probably still fiddling with the door-key anyway :roll: ) didn't have the time and/or inclination to cut my PC's throat on the spot, as he pushed his papers into Serd's arms.

[BTW, I'd already planned to do this before your pms, alhoon; it's why I had Crow haul so much stuff upstairs from the dining hall, in the first place. Of course, we both know that not all of Serd's possible spells need somatic components to cast! This move doesn't offer as much protection as my PC thinks, even though a similar trick with his greatcoat had worked on Kingsley, the other week.... :wink: ]
"Who [u]cares[/u] what the Dark Powers are? They're [i]bastards![/i] That's all I need to know of them." -- Crow
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alhoon
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Post by alhoon »

OOC> You haven't understood Draxton yet. 1. Of course he wouldn't let the books drop. He is a wizard after all, and a member of a secret society hoarding knowledge :) 2. He wouldn't order an assassination at this time except if absolutely necessary. It is very inconvenient.

OOC3> Hold person would be nice to cast too. A pity he hasn't it memorized.

Draxton frowned.
He quickly met Dadrag's inquiring gaze and nodded "Everyhting's OK". Ex-Assassins were jumpy lot. Violent motion in the periphery of his vision and Dadrag's hand was on his dagger. Still, the man has not let Draxton down even then, restraining himself and looking for directions before the hit.

That's why it is better to have ex-assassins instead of assassins.

Turning a disapproving gaze to Curwin he said "You should be more careful with books Curwin, and not load down members of the Aristocracy." So he was right, Curwin's act was a facade. No drunken sailor (who also was a knowledgable wizard of the FoS) would have set that ruse so skilfully to prevent Serd from casting spells with somatic components. Thankfully he hasn't started the spell yet, or Curwin's "stumble" would have costed him his concentration probably wasting the spell.

He decided to not cast the spell until Curwin was at least some feet away from him, to prevent him from distracting him again.

Sure that Curwin wouldn't have "accidentaly dropped" on him any useful information, Draxton decided to take a quick peek at some of the books and notes nevertheless.

OOC2> What is Draxton carrying? He checks for 1 round only, not stopping for long to study the books/notes.
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