Of Vile Darkness

[linnorm]

Ralam Rogue 5 / Assassin 7

*Ralam bows slightly as he enters the room.*

"Hasord, good to see you."

*Ralam sits and listens carefully to Hasord.*

"I'll need the usual: layout of the building, number of targets, their armaments, unusual possessions, magic, etc. Throwing off the good Lieutenant shouldn't be too difficult I think. My mark will make it obvious that the person who ordered the job has a significant amount of money, but the apparent lack of motivation will make it difficult to pin any one person or group as the cause. Add to that the fact that the captain will be "serviced" in a very clean and efficient fashion while the guards will, I assume, be rather messy. This should cause a fair amount of confusion as my work is known to be neat and I'm known to work alone. Of course, if your cousin would prefer to implicate another party..."

 

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

*Loviana, Predel's eyes dialate sharply at your expert attentions and he can barely seem to concentrate on your words.*

"More beautiful, most beautiful I have ever seen, so lovely," he murmurs, returning your attentions with ardent devotion. It's obvious he's fair experienced with the physical side of lovemaking, but through the night you're able to teach him more than one or two new tricks that fascinate him endlessly, though they first dance the borders of the decent, then begin to revel in the indecent.

*Roach, you realize after a moment of preparing for battle that the silence is simply one of stunned fear, as though who witnessed your confrontation with the priest are too scared to even breathe for fear of drawing your anger. Once you leave, you hear the more normal noises of the streets begin to rise again behind you.*

*Ralam, Torr shows up in the afternoon, and Hasord will repeat much of the same information to him when he gets there. He'll tell you the basic layout, one of an initial waiting room, another office room, flanking prison blocks, and the captain's office in the protected middle with storerooms in the back, and no windows in the office itself. The Butterfly will cause a disturbance to draw off most of the off-duty officers, so there should be only two guards on the captain's door as well as the captain himself. Both the guards have some minor magical protections, a Watchman's Brooch, a fairly common protective item, makes some blows deflect right off of them. Both have clubs, saps, and shortswords, and both will probably have studded leather.*

*The captain has a magical protective ring, a magical protective cloak, and a magical sword with exceptional abilities to subdue attackers. Though the captain is an older man, he is far from complacent and if alerted will be difficult to put down without a messy fight. Hasord warns you both to be cautious. To Ralam's comments about the "source" of the killer.*

"Well, the Butterfly doesn't mind you pinning it on someone, provided he knows who it is first. Who did you have in mind?"

 

[Corinthi]

Roach - Human Cancer Mage

Are you pleased with yourself, Beggar King? You've wounded, but not killed a member of a powerful church, given them one of your followers to that same church, and likely stirred up a mess of trouble in your otherwise pleasantly festering Kingdom. You're liable to be lanced.

*Roach chortles wetly to himself before coughing harshly and launching a glob of phlemb out toward an overly brave sewer rat.* "Worry ill suits you. The priesthood had begun to take us for granted and needed to be punished. I've no doubt they will come to avenge thier wounded. That's why I did it, you overwrought lesion. This slum is our home. It is our place. No one can best us here. We pick off thier hunters one at a time at our leisure. Before long the leaders will grow tired of loosing thier men and abandon thier quest for vengeance...but before that happens we will feast on the vitality of Heironeous." Roach clasps his taloned hands together gleefully and does a little spin before losing his balance and falling into a pile of waste.

*As he lies in the filth grinning like a madman, reveling in the disease ridden carnage and canabalism he has in mind, a small voice nags at the back of his head.* You are an idiot.

*Ignoring the naysayer, Roach burrows a bit deeper into the filth, pulling his rags tightly about him before drifting off into a nightmare filled sleep.*

*Still stewing, his companion watches over his slumbering body, thinking up cryptic, alien schemes to get this miserable human host to do as it desires.*

 

[linnorm]

Ralam Rogue 5 / Assassin 7

*Ralam nods to Torr as he comes in and waits patiently as Hasord goes over the details again.*

"No, no, I don't have anyone in mind, it was just an idea. I do have two further questions though. First, looting; I assume the standard "No looting" rule is applicable? Second, payment; again, I assume the usual fee is being arranged. However, I would like a little extra, call it an "inconvenience fee" if you will. While I do not doubt the competence of my colleague, I am not used to working with a partner and coordinating the job with him does make things more complicated. Further, I suspect that Torr's thoughts on the subject are not too far from my own."

*Ralam turns to Torr.*

"I have two ideas for this job, I'd like to hear your opinions on them; as well as any ideas of your own of course. First: I will disguise myself as the captain's son and enter the guard house. I will gain access to the captain's office and "service" him appropriately. Shortly after I enter, you will enter and "service" the guards. If this works out, we should both be done within a short time of each other. Second: I will make myself invisible and follow you into the guard house. After you "service" the guards I will "service" the captain, who should be out of his office by then. As I will still be invisible I should be able to take care of him quickly, although you may need to hold him off for a short time. I also thought of a variant of the first idea, but sadly it requires magic that is beyond my means at this time. Your thoughts?"

 

[Rybaer]

*Torr listens to the assassin's plan, nodding where appropriate. For some reason he can't quite pinpoint, Torr feels discomfort at the idea of working with Ralam. It feels like an unneccessary complication. The man seems competent and confident enough, though, that this should still be easy money.*

"I prefer to keep things as simple as possible," he says to Ralam. "Your basic plan seems to satisfy that requirement. I don't expect I'll have any trouble dealing with the pair of guards, or the captain should it come to that. I have little magic avaiable to me, but my methods don't require it...they are messy, but efficient."

 

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

"No looting, we need this to be clean. And you'll be paid plenty for a job well done, so no worries. The Butterfly considers this job to be very important. You'll both be paid well. The purse will weigh in two thousand, assuming everything goes as planned. A bonus perhaps if things go exceptionally well. Considering the both of you... perhaps you would like an additional serving girl in your homes?" Hasord offers to Ralam and Torr.

*He listens to your plan and furrows his brow.*

"I'd be careful about impersonating the son, he's very well-known. You might get away with something as simple as a guardsman from across town, or perhaps one of the Royal guards if you can get your hands on the uniform, or magic to mimic it. And I know that more than one of the guards has training to deal with invisibles, so keep that in mind."

*Roach, you're awakened rudely by a none-too-gentle kick in the ribs. Snorting awake you see what initially appears to be one of the beggar children standing over you, dressed in gray robes. Rubbing the sleep out of your eyes though, you take a second look. You realize it's Wode, a halfing man? woman? that often passes as a beggar child for reasons it has yet to disclose.*

"Wake up you disgusting creature," it says in a toneless voice, "I have work for you to do. It may even be something you enjoy."

*Loviana, after indulging Predel for the rest of the evening, you get him to leave the house, him promising to show others the techniques he's learned at your hands. At worst, his superiors will take to task for his unorthodox techniques, but not before he manages to introduce several more to the mysteries of Loviatar. At best, he will be unable to receive spells from Sune anymore, and will leave the priesthood. At very best, he will be driven to the worship of the pain goddess. It was not terribly hard to do, but then again that's why the Butterfly called you here, for your ability to corrupt priests.*

*You've had no contact with the Butterfly since you've come to the city, but as you go through your morning routine one of the servants comes to your room with a message for you. A portly woman wearing enveloping skirts, she hardly seems like the type to be a worshipper of the pain goddess.*

"A message from Eloma, Lady," she says, and pushes back a sleave. Her arm is covered with a bandage, which she removes, revealing a message lightly scratched into her arm with the tip of something sharp. It overlays the scars of countless other messages. The woman is a skin-runner, one of Loviatar's worshippers that serves her goddess by having her holy writ carved into their flesh. They also carry messages between priestesses, in a way that cannot be counterfitted.*

Loviana, be at the House of Scarlet Joys at twilight on Thirday, your reason for coming here will be revealed. Eloma

*The sigil carved at the end of the message is Eloma's personal one.*

 

[Brother Shatterstone]

Loviana: Half-Nymph/Female (Rogue/Corruptor/Bondblade)

*Loviana reads the message and checks the signature once before she invites the skin-runner in with a simple wave of the hand. It’s not much of an invitation, as the skin-runner had long grown accustomed to the process of adding and removing of messages.*

*Loviana contemplates rather or not to ask the portly woman if she has a knife on her but with a cruel smile she decides against it.*

*Loviana with a slight twist and an upward movement frees her hair, its color uncannily similar to that of dried blood, and as it cascade down her back a stiletto, incredibly long but not necessary sharp, appears in her hand.*

*With no ceremonial Loviana begins her work of defacing the message from Eloma . As the blade, designed for thrusting and not cutting, tears at the flesh the portly lady moans and whimpers whole Loviana thinks of the stiletto and on the future. She commissioned the blade for her own self-defense after an encounter in the bedroom did not go nearly as planed. The outcome though not unpleasant for a worshipper of Loviatar had show that protection was always needed and that it was better to be prepared than caught by surprise.*

*As Loviana finished the mutilation her thoughts turned to her mission while the skin-runner exposed her other arm for the return message. As good as Predel had been she wanted and missed a challenge and she smiled divinely at the chance of provening herself one more time to her goddess*

*The return message was short and simple and included nothing more than Loviana’s mark which she finished by jabbing the stiletto deeply into the woman’s arm.*

*With a wave the same hand she dismissed the skin-runner and frowned at the stray droplets of blood that had landed are her gown.*

 

[Corinthi]

*Roach, you're awakened rudely by a none-too-gentle kick in the ribs. Snorting awake you see what initially appears to be one of the beggar children standing over you, dressed in gray robes. Rubbing the sleep out of your eyes though, you take a second look. You realize it's Wode, a halfing man? woman? that often passes as a beggar child for reasons it has yet to disclose.*

"Wake up you disgusting creature," it says in a toneless voice, "I have work for you to do. It may even be something you enjoy."

"Take care in the wagging of your tongue, Wode. You never know what predators might be drawn to it's succulent pink thrashing." *Roach slowly draws himself up to an upright, if severely slouched, position. Clawed fingers roughly scratch away crystalized mucus from his eyes, leaving crimson tracts in thier way. While further multilating himself in the form of grooming, he thinks angrily, I could have sworn you were supposed to keep an eye out.

The child meant you no harm, host. I'd have protected you if he had. Besides you were sleeping so peacefully. Angelic dreams to be certain.

You enjoy my discomfort far too much.

*Fixing his rheumy gaze upon the halfling(?), Roach queries,* "And just how might we be of service this day?"

 

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

"I work for the Butterfly, a name I'm sure you recognize, Beggar King. He needs you to do some spying, and maybe a little terrorizing should it come to warrent it. Go to the back door of the Blind Woman, I'll meet you there," it says somewhat listlessly, then turns to scampter away.

 

[linnorm]

Ralam Rogue 5 / Assassin 7

*Ralam listens to Torr and Hasord's comments and considers them for a moment.*

"A royal guardsman might be a better choice than the captain's son then, it should allow for easy access without needing to be well known. Perhaps the king will have an important message for the captain. I think it would be best if both of us wore the guise of the king's men; no one should be too suspicious of two royal guards visiting the captain, and any suspicion when the deaths are discovered will be shifted to the royal guard. That should cause a little tension between the two groups and ease things somewhat for businessmen like ourselves. Oh, and another serving girl should do nicely." Ralam turns to Torr. "Would you like to procure a guardsman's outfit or use magic? I can give you the appearance of a royal guard for about an hour and dismiss it when we are finished and away. This will allow you to change from your disguised form to your normal form quickly and easily."