The Shattered City: Chapter Three

[Nerit]

During all this talk, Nerit had sidled over to Thierri with her hands behind her back, quiet as a church mouse. She watched with a somewhat pallid complexion at the talk of Anne-Marie.

"Monsieur," she finally said from Thierri's side, "If you simply spoke more transparently and admitted you and your...companion... had been assailed by an undead weird, we might get somewhere. What exactly were you doing when it came upon you?"


(No, I don't need to roll stealth !)

[NeoTiamat]

Chateau Malchance, Quartier Marchand, Port-a-Lucine; Morning of April 21st, 770
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"Monsieur," she finally said from Thierri's side, "If you simply spoke more transparently and admitted you and your...companion... had been assailed by an undead weird, we might get somewhere. What exactly were you doing when it came upon you?"

"Was I unclear with monsieur lawyer, bonne soeur? Do I look as though I bear the plague?" Thierri said crossly at Sister Doherty. The end of his cigarette flared red for a moment, fueled by his sudden exhalation of breath, before dwindling back down into black smoke. It was little more than a sharper tone of voice, but it was obvious he was angry. The young man seemed to subside after a moment, though a dark look remained. It was a moment before he spoke again, perhaps moved to some form of contrition for having been so terse with a nun.

"He is my brother," Thierri admitted finally, "And I have told you everything I know." He flicked the cigarette away from him, which burned up entirely midair. When you looked back, Thierri had vanished as well. If was in any of the nearby rooms, you didn't see him.

"What are you talking about over there, my dears?" the excitably curious voice of Madame Loiseau carried in from the dining room. "It must be something quite interesting, for you to all gather so!"

[lostboy]

"Perhaps if we claim to be plague-ridden, she might leave us in peace" Nicholas says wistfully, lighting a cigarette of his own..

"Anyone else feel the compelling urge for a trip to the country?" He adds with a wry grin.

[Nerit]

Nerit merely smirked at Thierri's reaction. "Yes," she agreed, turning to eye the poet. It was another one of those reticent days for the nun, apparently.

[The Whistler]

“Oh, it certainly must be!” Celeste grinned at her visitor. “Mme. Loiseau, you have not had the singular pleasure of lodging with such an intrepid band: the topic of conversation may flit from gallery openings to the habits of para-elementals within the space of a single paragraph!” She craned her neck briefly to have a glance into the kitchen. “Forgive me—I simply must greet them as they deserve. Carry on your discussion apace, Mme. Loiseau! I shall return presently!”

Celeste glided into the kitchen as easily as she could while making it apparent that there was no need for Mme. Loiseau to follow her just yet: while the two of them may have shared a temperament on some issues, it was clear that she realized how some people might object to having their visitor within their social event horizon.

“Good morning, compatriots!” She took a cup of tea from the sideboard, breathing in the steam with the air of someone who seriously enjoys a hot beverage. “Was somebody considering a trip to the country? I think that would be a splendid idea!”

[Rock of the Fraternity]

"Oh?" Lia responds, her voice going even drier if that is possible. She saunters over to Celeste and whispers: "Then you, also, are more keen on the chance of sickness, injury and death than on the, ah, social entertainments as offered by Madame Loiseau?"

[yalenusveler]

The thought of Madame Loiseau joining them on one of their excursions suddenly filled Kerrian with a mixture of dread and amusement. Some things are simply that utterly absurd. Of course, Celeste was a socialite at heart and seemed to make her way through things alright, though there wasn't any way to link the "unfortunate accidents" that happened to their adversaries to her presence.

Amused or disturbed, Kerrian followed the conversational throng after giving Tomas a look suggesting that help might be greatly appreciated. "Isn't the country mostly under quarantine right now? What would we be doing out there other than possibly catching the plague?"

[lostboy]

"Isn't the country mostly under quarantine right now? What would we be doing out there other than possibly catching the plague?"

"Thats a risk I'll wholeheartedly embrace" Nicholas mutters darkly into his coffee, before totally changing his expression and looking up rather brightly at Kerrian.

"Why we would be sampling the air, taking some invigorating walks, shaking off the decayed and dull cobwebs of the city!"

"Oh and we might go hypothetical, necro-elemental, plague-bearing weird hunting as a diversion if that all becomes too much."There was an odd twinkle in Nicholas' eye, far more than the thiny veiled sarcasm warranted, he actually looked genuinely excited about the prospect.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

"With luck, we might be able to end the attacks, and perhaps stop the plague from spreading further," Lia adds.

[The Whistler]

"...Oh!"

From Celeste's expression, it appeared as if she had only heard the sentence ending "...compelling urge for a trip to the country", and none of the other more pertinent bits before it. You imagined that Celeste was the kind of person who enjoyed the "coach rides and estate tours" kind of trip to the country, and had comparatively little experience with the "hunting a necro-elemental for the Fate of the City" kind.

Nonetheless, after a beat or two, she nodded, looking surprisingly satisfied with the idea. "Oh, M. de Castaigne--Mlle. Mourneswaithe--I cannot imagine it shall be so very peril-fraught as that, especially in your able hands! Nonetheless, if it shall produce such a very comprehensive boon to our city as you describe, then I should be wholly remiss if I were not to accompany you. My duty as a Nascent Adventurer should demand as much!" She smiled. "Besides--we may always plan for the ball in the days following our sojourn."

[Kaitou Kage]

Had Cyrus known what Tomas was thinking he might have been quick to point out that he wasn't the one who disparaged the other faiths. But the good dommer was no mind-reader so he instead basked in the shock and adoration his announcement created. It always entertained him to see people react so strongly when they found out the Lawgiver's priests did honest charity work.

"A trip to the country?" he asked, "I hope it will go better than my last trip to the country."

[Cronax]

Anne-Marie's demise did not strike Agale as particularly untimely, nor was he wholly convinced that this plague was anything more than a useful contrivance by those in power to explain away some deaths and to justify the beginnings of a police state. Not that there was anything wrong with that, he mused. This country could use some order.

"What are you talking about over there, my dears?" the excitably curious voice of Madame Loiseau carried in from the dining room. "It must be something quite interesting, for you to all gather so!"

Contrary motivations battled it out in Agale's mind. On the one hand, chasing down elementals seemed an exceptional way to get oneself killed. On the other, any excuse to extricate himself from this blustering peacock of a woman. Still, the opportunity to uncover more information on this cult could prove to be a lucrative venture in the long run. "I shall accompany you as well, Mr. de Castigne, you seem to have a penchant for getting into situations where you require assistance."

[NeoTiamat]

Chateau Malchance, Quartier Marchand, Port-a-Lucine; Morning of April 21st, 770
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"I shall go with you as well." Katja added without much preamble. The northern woman shrugged from where she stood in the kitchen, making coffee. "It is a duty that needs to be done."

"In which case, I believe it falls upon me to make the ultimate sacrifice for my country. Favonius, if I may recommend you begin to plan a slight repast for later, as I suspect I shall need it." Professor Lemercier said with a deep and profoundly sorrowful sigh. Like the others, he spoke quietly as he regarded the empty plate before him, a rather doleful expression in his face. "I hope that you young people appreciate the things I do for you.... Why Madame Loiseau, what an absolute pleasure to see you here!"

Moving with the kind of bombastic good-will that only a very large man can summon this early in the morning, Prof. Lemercier got to his feet, his dressing gown still making him resemble a kaleidoscopic fruit dish.

"Please, forgive me my dearest Madame, but I fear I am not at my best in the morning. Now, a thought occurs to me, that rather than utilize my own artistic talents, which though I hold some small pride in them are very much the products of yesteryear, perhaps we may open this up to a more general display of public art...?" It was at this moment that it became clear just how exactly Lemercier managed to get people to buy his paintings. Or in this case, not buy them. "A contest for the disadvantaged amongst our fair city's artistic population?"

"Why Professor, what an absolutely marvelous idea, why I was just thinking that we would need a great deal of art to cover M. Larocque's ball-room." Madame Loiseau said, then paused, putting at her own considerable neckline. "Though, and while I would never impugn the people of our city, so much of the lower class art today is so violent. I am not at all sure it would be quite appropriate for the air of amity I hope to craft."

"Never fear, my dear madame, the rules of the contest can be tweaked in terms of subject matter. Moreover, if they would be judged by people such as..." Professor Lemercier cast about briefly for the names of some people who had annoyed him recently. "Professor Smythe and M. Duvalle, I am certain there would be no trouble at all."

"Well, if you are quite certain..." It was at this the voices mercifully faded as Lemercier directed Madame Loiseau out of the kitchen. Katja watched them go with a look not quite unlike combat-shock in her eyes.

"She will be staying in the city, ja?" The young woman said, her clipped Lamordian accent coming through more strongly than usual. Then the woman shook her head, which caused the rose-colored cloth on her head to shift slightly. Katja frowned, annoyed, and readjusted it. "No matter. This is something that must be done, and we should leave soon."

OOC: So we've got Nicolas, Nerit, Lia, Celeste, Cyrus, and Agale signed up for a visit to Troischamps, along with Katja. Any vociferous objections to the next post moving you gentlemen and ladies to the countryside?

[lostboy]

"I shall accompany you as well, Mr. de Castigne, you seem to have a penchant for getting into situations where you require assistance."

"Indeed signore" Nicholas smiles rather ruefully at the lawyer, rubbing his chest slightly below the collarbone absently with one hand.

"No matter. This is something that must be done, and we should leave soon."

Nicholas downs the remainder of his coffee, stretches his jaw wide and rubs his face in an attempt to wake up, before getting purposefully to his feet. "Right you are Cherie, lets oh.." Gravity it seems wasnt kind to the poet's rather fragile and alcohol addled equilibrium, "I think I'll need a few moments afterall" he notes quesily, sitting back down "any more coffee?" He adds hopefully in Favonius direction.

[Nathan of the FoS]

Darius looks slightly perturbed at Thierri's disappearance, hauling himself out of his seat and scanning the adjoining rooms for any sign of him; when he fails to detect the wizard, he sighs and returns to his seat.

As the breakfast becomes an impromptu referendum on investigation of Thierri's story, he mutters, mostly to himself, "Trip to the country...stretch the legs...fresh air...dire risk to life and limb...vile sorceries and deadly plague..."

Shrugging, he smiles.

"What's not to like?"