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Post by Daeliria on Jan 22, 2008 2:46:44 GMT -5
Daeliria heard the door to her office in the guildhall creak open, and her frown deepened, but she did not look up at the door. "All right," she said, shifting in her rather large, executive chair (she had asked Dosk to engineer one specially for her, with adjustable height), "I have a rather... interesting report from the Ironforge Guard here. Something about smuggling... and overseas bank accounts... and illegal cakes and other pastries. It was a little unclear on that point." Finally she looked up, steepling her fingers. "Fear not, the attention of our nosy friends in Ironforge can easily be diverted. But I think it'd be best if you told me the truth about what's going on."
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Alt-Girl
Eilos
Anvos
Altoholic and Rogue Extraordinaire
Posts: 69
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Post by Alt-Girl on Jan 22, 2008 5:01:18 GMT -5
Sorry this is so long. BOO DIALOGUE! Anyway, here's my first piece of... however many I feel like doing. _________________________________________________________
Shaking like a leaf in her pink dress, Malyris shuffled further into her room. Her lip wobbled violently and the beginnings of tears were visible in her eyes which could never lift themselves from the floor. "I'm so sorry!" she finally bawled out.
The guildmistress blinked repeatedly at the now-weeping blonde, whose name was only listed as a technicality. Daeliria had never suspected that Maladin could have had any role in the illegal dealings. "Malyris... Malyris... MALYRIS!"
The paladin flinched as though she had been hit and her cries stopped almost immediately. "Yes ma'am?"
"What exactly are you sorry about?"
"Well, it's just Mac is so soft and cuddly, and so's my kitty, and, and..." Daeliria held up her hand, a grin spread across her face.
"Malyris, this inquiry is regarding evidence of illegal smuggling. Not snuggling." The blonde beamed widely. "To my knowledge, snuggling is still perfectly legal." Malyris nodded. "However, I would like to know if you have any information regarding the smuggling."
"Nope. See?" Malyris revealed a pale and unsullied forearm.
"That's... very nice. You can go now." The paladin headed for the door. "Could you tell Radinax I would like to speak with him next?"
"Sure." Malyris walked out into the common room where a seated dwarf lay slumped on the bar, hand clutched tightly around the handle of his mug. The night elf keeping bar put a finger to his lips, then pointed at the dwarf. The blonde took a deep breath and the bartender took this moment to skulk away.
"MISTER RADDY!" Malyris shouted. The ash haired dwarf bolted up, tipping the barstool backwards and would have landed on his head had the paladin not caught him.
"By Moridin's beard, wot're ye..." When his vision cleared and he saw the face above him was Malyris', his voice softened. " -doin' here? Figgered you'd be out with tha gnome slicin' up baddies." The dwarf righted his stool and sat down.
"Daeli wanted to talk about smuggling - or was it snuggling?" She put a hand to her chin. "Anyway, she wants to talk to you next."
"Tha's wonderful. I'll be thar soon. But could ye be a dear and give this ta Zani next chance ye get? She left onna 'er dresses 'ere an' I'm sure she's missin' it somethin' terrible." He gestured to a box on the counter.
"Sure!" Malyris looked down and saw that the box already had "GIVE TO AZANI" written on it in big block letters. "Wow... Saved me all that trouble. He's so nice." She summoned Mac and rode off toward the gryphon master.
As Malyris entered the inn at Honor Hold, a hand clamped down on her shoulder. She whirled about to see a fully hooded figure cloaked in black and red.
"Hallo 'Zani!" she chirped. "Raddy told me to give this to you."
The night elf ran a gloved finger over the box and took a peek inside. "Ah, my lockpicks. Thank you very much, Malyris." She flipped the paladin a gold coin.
"You're welcome!" she chirped, half-distracted by the glistening currency. The rogue whistled for Snowshadow and rode off into the distance. "I have such nice friends."
Safely within the walls of her room in Shattrath, Azani's smirk threatened to escape from beneath her mask as she opened the box and lifted out a rather heavy bag of coins. After upending it into her backpack, she leaned back in her chair and downed a flask of rum.
"He was right," she thought, as the alcohol began to take effect, "The oblivious ones do the best work."
_________________________________________________________
Sorry that took so long. Inspiration struck. Alas, this means bad things for sleep. Grah.
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Post by Daeliria on Jan 22, 2008 8:41:32 GMT -5
(( Neeheeheeheehee. Oblivious!Maly always makes things fun. ^_^ Well done! More? ))
Daeliria leaned back, putting her fingers to her temples as the chair, with a soft hiss of air and clank of tiny gears, automatically tilted to reaccomodate her weight. To avoid conflicting reports, she should have called together all of the Eilon members listed, and asked for an explanation all at once. But there was no point shaming those who had something in the stake in front of those who were completely innocent. And Daeliria had no doubt that some of the suspects listed had no idea what was going on - like Malyris, or Radinax, who she was certain had not left the guild bar in weeks, or Torus, or, and she stifled a laugh as she thought of it, Doskious. Even Konrad had been listed. Daeliria wondered whose clerical oversight that had been. Not an oversight, perhaps. Listed nearly all of the prominent members except me, she thought. Well, I shall have to give this speech to everyone in turn, and listen very closely.
(( Of course, if people elected to, they could always just remain in the office while the next person was called in. You're welcome to sow as much or as little confusion as you'd like! )
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Post by konradexius on Jan 22, 2008 21:13:33 GMT -5
Konrad was standing guard near the Guildhouse door when Radinax came looking for him. People always told Konrad that a) The Guildhouse was so well hidden they'd never need to worry about trespassers, and b) the Eilon had no enemies that might attack anyway. But stand guard he did, because he did it well, and it gave him time to think. Not to mention that fact that Doskious had given him a wide slew of modifications to his armor, including a mechanism that kept the legs and back rigid so that Konrad could effectively sit down and relax in his armor even while standing. The dwarf knocked on the Warrior's thick kneepads and watched his ironclad face bend over to look at him. "Yer wanted bah tha Guildmistress immedit'ly. Ye'd best get over there... Ah've got... other places ta be." And with that Radinax scuttled away. Konrad scowled behind his helm at this. "Immediatly" sounded bad, and while the dwarf was undoubtably a troublemaker at times, he had seemed stone-cold sober, which was filed under "not a good sign". Konrad manipulated a small lever on his gauntlet and the Armor-Erector 2.1K (An unfortunate name, but Konrad wasn't the type to complain about the name of something so convenient) disengaged. He shuddered slightly as the familiar weight of his thick plate armor returned to his limbs.
Daeliria looked up at the sound of rattling metal approaching. As expected, Konrad stepped through her door a few moments later. "I assume if I invite you to sit, you will decline?" She inquired. Konrad responded with a short nod. "What can I do for you, Guildmistress?" Dae stared at the warrior for just a moment before speaking. "I have received... unfortunate news regarding unsavory behavior from certain members of the guild. Smuggling, mostly." She tilted her head slightly. "What I have trouble believing is that you were mentioned as well. What do you know about it?" Konrad's eyes blazed from inside the helmet. "Nothing, m'lady. I would never do anything to harm the reputation or honor of the Eilon." "That's what I expected. Thank you, you may go, Konrad."
---
Konrad had no knowledge of any smuggling going on. He did, however, have a most likely suspect. He went straight to the stables to fetch his unnamed Gryphon. "This has Azani written all over it in Maladin-appropriate letters." He mused, spurring his mount into the sky. "I just hope I don't have to teach her a lesson."
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Post by Doskious Steele on Jan 22, 2008 22:46:58 GMT -5
As Valkrysi watched Konrad exit the room, she pondered the wisdom of deciding to "borrow" Dosk's prototype Improved Gnomish Cloaking Device to wittness these sessions. They have been interesting, I cannae deny tha' she mused to herself. Radinax's comportment was especially ... novel. Keeping still was the hard part. She hoped that Rorchul was contiuning to snooze in front of her door, as he did only when she was also inside, asleep. It had taken a large effort to achieve that. I'll wager there's a good reason tha' Konrad an' Torus showed up on tha' list. I wonder how much longer this'll take? Val could see that her report would have to be crafted most carefully. The door opened again, and she focused once more on the tableau...
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Alt-Girl
Eilos
Anvos
Altoholic and Rogue Extraordinaire
Posts: 69
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Post by Alt-Girl on Jan 23, 2008 1:04:35 GMT -5
*grumble* *grumble* Stupid loud people. *grumble* Anyway, here's Raddy's bit, which I'd totally wedge between Dae's and Konrad's if I could, but I can't, so there we are. Stop, STORYTIME! _________________________________________________________
Radinax grumbled into his mug before taking another large swig of ale. He plunked the empty tankard on the counter and the barmaid quickly gave him a refill.
"Thank ye, Gwenna," he muttered, supressing the urge to ogle her by focusing on his mug. It wasn't too difficult, what with her husband being the sole arbiter of all things delicious and alcoholic within five feet of his stool, roughly the distance he would get if he left it.
"Bad day, Steelfury?" the redhaired dwarf asked as he cleaned a flagon. "Usually yer in Stormwind moochin' booze off yer guild 'stead of payin' fer it like a normal person."
"Cannae drink thar," Radinax grumbled. "Think Ah'm smugglin' or somesuch like that. Whole bloody bunch." He took another gulp.
"Ye mean yer not?" The rogue fixed his friend with a steely glare. "Ah was jes' kiddin'. Tell wot happened?
*Flashback*
"Ye wanted ta see me?" Radinax asked as he strolled into the office.
"Indeed. I have a report here that concerns you," Daeliria replied.
The ash-haired dwarf gulped. "Oh?"
"The Ironforge Guard has caught wind of a smuggling operation based within the Eilon. Your name was first on the list."
"Was it?" He scratched the back of his neck nervously.
"Thief-Catcher Shadowdelve had some rather choice words within his report."
"Tha's cuz he's a stupid git." Daeliria gave him a strange look. "Ah mean 'e's a brave and noble servant of Ironforge..."
"I see... if you have any information regarding this operation, it would be in your interest to tell me now."
"Ah got nuthin', 'onest! More den 'alf o' me run-ins wit Shadowdelve were 'bout fightin', not smugglin'. Ah'd never dream o' hurtin' me friends for a bit o' gold. Nay, nah this son o' Ironforge!" Radinax puffed out his chest.
"... Thank you for your time. Would you kindly fetch Konradexius for me?"
"Aye." With a quick bow, the dwarf ran out the door. As he passed through the doorway, he received a number of glares from those in the room. Eramil fixed him with an especially steely glare as he walked by. Even Konrad seemed to scowl at him as he passed, though it was difficult to tell.
"Ah've gotta get outta here. 'ope tha Firebrews'll still 'ave me back."
*end flashback*
The redhead nodded grimly. "Right bad spot ta be in when even yer friends don' trust ye. Me sympathies, mate."
"Thank ye." He cast another somber look into his tankard.
" 'ow'd Ah git meself inta this mess? More 'mportantly, 'ow kin Ah git outta it?"
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Alt-Girl
Eilos
Anvos
Altoholic and Rogue Extraordinaire
Posts: 69
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Post by Alt-Girl on Jan 23, 2008 11:03:53 GMT -5
Eramil Steele polished the bar to a shine as Ruzhia silently and rapidly depleted his supplies. Radinax was nowhere to be found. "I wonder what the -" Konradexius clanked out of the guildmistress' office.
"Daeliria would like to see you now."
"Just a moment!" He glanced down at the unconscious woman. "Mind the bar, won't you?" Silence. "Thanks."
The night elf strode casually into the office, then offered a half-bow. "Can I assist you?"
"I have received a report from the Ironforge Guard regarding a smuggling ring that is based within the Eilon."
Eramil's eyes widened in shock. "Unbelievable..." he breathed.
"If you have any information, it would be wise to tell me now."
The thief chuckled. "If only I could, m'lady."
"Then perhaps you can tell me what Radinax has been up to recently. I get the sense that he's hiding something from me."
"He's been drinking a lot at the bar. Not very unusual in and of itself, but he's also been not quite himself as of late. Very high-strung."
"Anything else?"
"He also gave Malyris a package to deliver. He said it had a dress in it. But..."
"Go on."
"I watched her lift the box and.... unless it was a dress made out of metal... there had to be something else in it. But... how would Malyris not have noticed the weight discrepancy?"
"...This is Malyris you're speaking about. He could have told her it was a box full of feathers and she would have believed him."
"Point." He chuckled. "Is there anything else you would like to know?"
"Only you can answer that," she replied, "but I have no further questions for you."
"Best of luck to you in your investigations, then."
"One more question, actually. Could you get Torus for me?"
"But of course." He walked out of the office just as casually and, after a quick exchange with the surly paladin, returned to his post.
"I didn't lie to her," he told the nagging vestiges of his conscience. "I simply gave her information which was subsequently misinterpreted." But that wasn't entirely true. He could have spilled his guts, but then he would have had to do it again and not in the metaphorical sense either. Fortunately for him, Radinax had been so skittish lately that with some gentle prodding in the right direction, Daeliria's sight would be set squarely on the dwarf. He knelt down and shoved the booze to one side, revealing a battered box with the words "GIVE TO AZANI" written on it in big block letters. "I should burn that next chance I get," he thought, as he moved everything back into place, "and hope they don't kill me anyway. This whole mess is my fault. I should know better than to put things like 'extra space in illegal off-shore accounts' on the guild's tab. Good thing all the goblins see is money when they look at people." And he continued to polish the counter until he could see his reflection in it.
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Post by Daeliria on Jan 23, 2008 19:33:32 GMT -5
Daeliria sighed heavily and buried her face in both hands. Everything was going exactly as expected: that was, not very far at all. One suspicious incident does not a smuggling ring make, she thought, and after all, with Radinax... I'm more inclined to believe he was moving alcohol caches than anything else. Certainly it would explain not being forthright with Malyris. Hmm...
The door to the room closed with an audible thud, and Daeliria looked up to see Torus removing his shield and sword and plunking them, and then himself, onto one of the long padded benches that lined the office walls. "Smugglers, hmm?" he grinned as he settled down.
Daeliria blinked. "I will not ask you how you knew that."
Torus waved this off. "I've got ears. That's all. And you know, lady, doesn't matter how prettily you ask... no one's about to tell you anything." He watched her face carefully. "It isn't that they don't trust you, it's that they don't trust themselves."
The priestess steepled her fingers. "I would hate to have to delve into my guildmates' minds to get to the bottom of a petty matter like this."
"No, not a good idea either. Look here, lady. People lie. Can't help it. They're scared of you out there, they are. But you, you don't even know what's being smuggled, do you, if anything, and you up and start snapping at everyone."
Daeliria sighed heavily. What if I was wrong, and Torus somehow does have a stake in this? No, there were much better ways to evade questioning straightaway, cover things up, and redirect attention, if he had been aiming for that. Many ways. ...Like what?
"Wait," she said as the paladin moved to pick up his arms again. "Are you bound for Ironforge soon?" Torus nodded. Daeliria quickly pulled out note paper, scribbled a few lines on it, and folded it twice, running a finger along the seam and smiling as a shimmering seal appeared. "Take this to the Guard, if you will."
~
A package wrapped in brown paper appeared later that evening in the guild mailbox, and was immediately brought to Daeliria's office. She only took time enough to close the door firmly before ripping it open. Out poured a cascade of reports, of widely varying sizes and qualities of paper, ranging from mud-and-blood-stained scraps to sheafs bound with little ribbons. Daeliria scowled, and bent to pick up several that had fallen off of her desk onto the floor. When I asked for detailed information as to what the Eilon smugglers - if they do exist - might be smuggling, I was not expecting the clerks of the Guard to take me at my word... She shifted the mountains of papers, looking for a possible list of summary. Finally she found it, folded in the middle of everything, and abandoning the mess on her desk, she flumphed into her chair and leaned back to read it.
"Possibilities ranked in order of possibility wherever possible. 1) Gold coin."
Gold? Gold coin is illegal to transport? I was thinking about something like selling illegal ragveil. After a moment, she reflected that the profits from sales would be just as contraband as the items sold, and moved her finger down to the next item in the list.
"2) Peacebloom."
Daeliria stared at this, wondering if lack of sleep was clouding her vision. No, the word was perfectly clear before her eyes, if slightly smudged. Peacebloom. Why would anyone... Sweet Elune, but the plant grows like a weed in Elwynn. The next item on the list was "3) Silverleaf". Daeliria pursed her lips, and quickly skimmed down the rest of the list. Sure enough, it covered all of the varieties of alchemist's herbs that she knew of and a few that she didn't, and went on to list all sorts of ores, cloths, and gems. By the time she had reached "167) Helms made of leather less than three-eighths of an inch thick" (followed by "168) Helms made of leather more than three-eighths of an inch thick") she was aghast. By the time she reached "241) Layer cakes", she was half considering begging Eramil for a stiff drink herself.
Oh, sweet Elune. I can't think about this here, with everyone staring at me if I leave the office. But I can't just let this sit and fester either... Daeliria grimly began to gather up the reports, injecting order where she could. Shattrath. She had just received a quiet, empty room with the newly-befriended Scryers, and she could move all this mess there.
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Reycied
Eilos
Anvos
Knight-Protectorate
Posts: 9
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Post by Reycied on Jan 24, 2008 16:51:59 GMT -5
"Well, this is going to be a little more trouble than I'd thought..."
Reycied sat on the edge of his bed, so generously loaned to him by the Vindicators of the Aldor. His dark hair fell in his face as he gazed across the room at the mountain of diorganized paper sheafs, reports, lists and minutae. This was days of work for the average person. Hours for one such as him, so skilled in cross-referencing, number-crunching and general clerical duties in general. But it was still a lot of work.
"I think I'd rather face a Pit Lord again."
Well, after all, he told himself, the Eilon seemed to be counting on this. He had run across Daeliria in Shattrath city, nursing a headache and burdened with the mound of papers now haphazardly piled before him. And, poor blind fool that he was, the Paladin had offered to help.
The night outside was quiet. Reycied lit a candle. He had work to do this night.
* * * * * * * * * *
And work it was. Whoever had organized this mess had either been addled on Thunderbrew lager, or had just not cared one whit. Piecing through the pile and organizing its remnants by what was stolen and when, as well as the severity of the theft, took him hours. By the time that was finished, he was sitting on the ground surrounded by papers with a checklist in one hand, a mug of coffee in the other and a quill in his mouth.
"Well, this doesn't make any sense," he said aloud to nobody in particular, voice muffled by the quill. "This Peacebloom was SCHEDULED to be picked up. It was signed for and everything. Why was this filed under smuggling...?"
He set down that report and moved on to another.
"But here...a shipment of Dwarven-forged axes, six of longswords and two of daggers. Bladed weapons all. And eight shipments of mail armor of all shapes and sizes."
He paused.
"And one shipment of layer cakes."
His brain perked. Following his mad thought string, he gathered together reports on all the missing items, chewing on his lip.
"...and all mysteriously vanishing at routine times...like clockwork, down to the day. I think these go on the top of the list of 'Azeroth's most smuggled'...I'd better tell the Guildmistress about this."
Another pause. He set the quill aside and stared into his empty mug. The sun was starting to rise outside his window, and the edges of lethargy were starting to creep in.
"But first...more coffee."
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Post by Cloudspur on Jan 25, 2008 16:32:54 GMT -5
(( I did NOT steal the peacebloom. Don't look at me like that! >_> <_<
<takes a puff off her hickory pipe> WHAT? ))
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Post by Daeliria on Jan 28, 2008 0:19:16 GMT -5
(( *pokes thread* Live, you! Live! ))
Daeliria frowned deeply as her finger moved down the neatly scribed lines of notes. The pattern was clear and stark, laid right there before her. But she had trouble believing that something this huge, this well-organized could have happened right under her nose without her catching a single whiff of it.
Well, Torus, she thought, I traced the items, that cannot lie, and they do condemn the people. In their own way. She set down the notes atop the sheaf of reorganized reports, and leaned back in her chair. Except that there is no hard evidence that any of this is actually tied to the Eilon, aside from the word - or disorganization - of Ironforge...
She was exhausted. Turning a dial under one arm of the chair inflated the cushions slightly and made it recline, and a pocket behind the high back yielded up a thick woolen blanket. Not heeding the notes still in plain sight on her desk or the fact that her office door was left ajar, Daeliria leaned back, pulled the blanket up over herself and fell into a restless doze right away.
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Post by konradexius on Jan 28, 2008 13:12:25 GMT -5
Konrad arrived back at the guildhouse late. Azani had been scarce - she must have known he was looking for her, and a skilled rogue like herself who doesn't want to be found isn't. He had scouted her favorite hotspots, all the places he knew she liked to visit to gather coin and valuable trinkets. Scholomance was the worst; the acolytes and students there were frequently in possession of valuable scrolls and formulae, but the necromantic school is much easier to infiltrate for one skilled in stealth as opposed to someone like him, who was no more stealthy than a dwarven tank. The guildhall was surprisingly empty. Even the bar, which was normally attended by Eramil and Radinax at a bare minimum, was vacant save for a pair of used mugs and an empty bottle. The room had a strange silence to it, one he not experienced before. Even when the whole Guild was asleep, there was always the sounds of the night; people roaming around the halls, Mniaron snoring ever-so-slightly on (or behind) the Guildcouch, or one of Doskious's latest inventions getting loose and exploring the building, clacking and whizzing all the way. He checked casually around the room. The mugs on the bar suggested that the room had only recently been vacated, most likely after the two drinkers had become too intoxicated to hold an intelligible conversation. One hand resting on resting on the sleek wood of the bar, he followed its length down the room with his eyes. Reaching the end, he noticed, on the other side of the large room, that the Guildmistress's office door was ajar. Her light was off, but he poked his head in out of curiosity. Daeliria was sound asleep on her custom chair, her desk a seething mass of unorganized papers and files. He smiled at this, and went to close the door.
Wait...
He stopped, just before the door clicked shut, his hand hovering on the knob. He could feel something, suddenly - he was not alone in this room. In the corner of the room, off to his left, something shifted just enough to see. Silently thanking his scrutinizing human perception, he tensed his body for a burst of movement. He had expected Azani. Eramil, Radinax, and Celuici were not so talented to escape his notice for this long. So when he suddenly barreled into the corner, shoulder first, he was expecting a tall, lithe body and mimimal physical resistance - easily pinned to the wall, without hurting her - not a broad torso on a body shorter than himself. It was dark, but the magical fire of Konrad's sword illuminated the figure he had just assaulted. The face was covered with black leather and cloth, but the body shape and posture were unmistakable.
It was an orc. There was an orc in the Guildhouse.
Konrad didn't have his sword or shield out, and had no room to draw. He could see the flash of steel, as the orc shifted daggers out of its sleeves. Konrad had enough time to grab the orc by a wrist, but the second dagger found a home between armor plates, just beneath the rib cage. Konrad heard the whine of pistons as the blade penetrated one of the sensitive servos that ran his armor modifications, and could feel the tip puncture something internal, as well as a burning sensation that could only be some kind of poison. His adrenaline spiked, and he lunged out with his free hand, seizing the orc by the neck, squeezing with all his might. The two stood there, locked together, for almost a minute. The orc's serrated dagger was caught on Konrad's armor plates, but the orc twisted and wrenched it, gouging him from the inside. All the while, Konrad was slowly choking it to death, one gauntleted hand crushing the air out of the orc's throat. Eventually, the orc slumped to the ground, the life crushed out of it.
With the rush of combat over, Konrad reeled. An orc - and orc assassin, by the look of it - had gotten into the guildhouse. How? Compared to this, the stab wound was nothing. There are only two possibilities. First, our Guildhouse isn't as well hidden as we thought... Second - god help us all - a member of the Eilon has betrayed us. Konrad paled, but for a different reason. He was losing a lot of blood. He had lived through worse, but the wound needed attention. The poison... he could feel it in his blood, but it was not crippling. His body was strong; only the most ravaging of poisons - poisons that could almost eat through the blade they were applied to - could truly threaten his life. This was a poison for someone with a weaker constitution... the Guildmistress, perhaps. The Guildmistress? Daeliria!
Her door was still open, and Konrad pushed his way inside. Dae was still asleep... definitely just asleep. Watching closely, he could see her chest rise and fall with slow breaths. Thank god. He could wake her, to have her close his wounds... but no. She never seemed to get enough sleep. He hated to distrupt the rest he knew came so rarely for her, even though he knew she would scold him for endangering himself. And if not for that, than most likely for bleeding on her carpet...
He sat down on her office bench, and with a watchful gaze alternating between the door and the guildmistress, he began removing his armor to get at his wound.
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Alt-Girl
Eilos
Anvos
Altoholic and Rogue Extraordinaire
Posts: 69
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Post by Alt-Girl on Jan 28, 2008 17:36:32 GMT -5
((Ooh, an orc. Very nice.))
With a single shuddering breath, Eramil trudged out of his room and took up his post behind the bar.
"I should just keep my head down and go about business as usual. Yes. That's what I'll do." With a start, he realized he had been speaking aloud but fortunately no one was around to hear. Upon hearing of the attempt on her life, Daeliria had blazed ahead with her investigations and with similar fervor, Konrad continued to search for Azani.
The elf glanced beneath the counter and saw that only dust sat there. "Better get more from the pantry."
As he walked, his mind raced. "Maybe I should tell Doskious. Maybe he would - no! Assassins are in play, and if they were willing to off Dae for merely investigating, then there's no telling what they'll do if I give out actual information." Banishing the thoughts from his mind, he yanked the door to the pantry open.
Two glowing red eyes stared at him from the darkness.
"Boo!" their owner shouted. As Eramil jumped ten feet into the air, a cloaked figure stepped out of the pantry. "Ah... that was worth spending two days in there," a familiar voice chuckled as the figure stretched.
As Eramil's throat relaxed and his heart rate came down from hummingbird levels, he gasped, "What... is... the matter with you?" He glanced past her. "What did you do with all the liquor?"
She shrugged. "I told Radinax he could have it."
The night elf threw up his hands. "Great, now I can't do business until I order more."
Azani glanced across the abandoned guild hall. "I'm sure your customers will be crushed."
"That's not the point! What are you doing here?"
"Well, you just broke off all lines of communication out of the blue, so I had to figure out how things are progressing. Which apparently isn't in a very well because someone put an extremely incompetent assassin onto the field. " She rolled her eyes.
“You mean you didn't send him?”
“Of course not. If I thought Dae was going to cause too much trouble, I would have offed her myself. And speaking of our illustrious guild leader...” She cast her eyes in the direction of Dae's office. "Is she in there?"
"No. She's staying in Shattrath, now that the guild hall's been compromised."
"Good good." Azani extracted a leather pouch from her backpack and set to work on the doorknob. Another minute or two and a click later and the thief was inside. "Where are her notes?" She plucked a single page from the mess and examined it.
"Primary suspects... 1) Azani Stormwolf, obvious reasons" The elf seemed to grin beneath her mask, more proud than pissed, "2) Lelishain Lunarion/Cloudspur Starstrand?, smuggled herbs, 3) Celuici Bourchon, possible Runecloth smuggling, 4) Radinax Steelfury, imported alcohol, aaaaaand 5) Mesaana Steele, possible silk smuggling... This list is so hilariously inaccurate, I think I'll let her keep it." She replaced the sheet and turned to a gaping Eramil. "Relaaaaax. Unless you make another stupid mistake or - Elune forbid - betray me, you should come out of this with your head intact... Did Konrad say where he was searching today?"
"The depths of Blackrock, if memory serves."
Azani snorted. "As if. Those formulae are so worthless that I practically had to start giving them away. But on the bright side, it means that I can hearth to Shattrath without worrying too much."
"Reycied lives on the Aldor Rise as well."
"Who?"
"The nerdy black haired paladin."
"Right. Him. Well then, time for plan B." She let out a sharp whistle and a figure wearing a bright red cloak strolled into the room. "Eramil, Red Riding Hood. Red Riding Hood, Eramil."
"That's not my name," a female voice grumbled.
"Shut up and make me a portal." With a sigh, the woman muttered incantations and her hand glowed with arcane energy. “Ta ta!” Azani gave Eramil a mocking salute and vanished in a flash of light.
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Post by Doskious Steele on Jan 28, 2008 21:25:26 GMT -5
To say that Lord Doskious Steele was upset would be to compare the creation of Blackrock Mountain to a brief bout of inclement weather. His ire, however, in spite of the fiery predilections of his brethren, was cold. The only outward sign of it was the intensity of his gaze as he watched Valkrysi across the room. His voice, when he spoke, was as always, cool and detached.
"You took my device, you sent this report, and you may have nearly allowed the Lady Moonshield to be assassinated. Why is it now that I should trust you, rather than have you cast into my most secure dungeon to await questioning?"
Valkrysi was taken aback by the juxtaposition of words and tone but recovered herself well enough, given the circumstances. The chamber did not help. The walls shifted and flexed, and the vast chaotic void of the twisting nether could be glimpsed when they thinned enough. Valkrysi nevertheless marshaled her fortitude and replied, "Ye've got tae understand, I dinnae know it 'tweren't Nemene. The bloke I met looked jus' like 'im, and *knew* thinks tha' only Nemene would... Ye've got tae believe me."
Doskious glanced again at the report on his desk. It was addressed to Nemene Damendar Boann. That Nemene was visiting Ashenvale when Val had purportedly met with him added weight to her story, as did the fact that she had come forward with the information voulentarily. Why she had come to him, however, instead of Daeliria, was an interesting point. But a point for another time.
"Very well, Valkrysi. Return to your normal activities. I shall investigate this matter further."
The gnome manipulated his controls and a small lift platform rose up through the floor. The dwarf wordlessly stepped on and began to sink through the floor with the lift as it started its return to Azeroth. A second lever activated a mechanical squirrel hidden underneath the lift. Doskious set the controls to follow Valkrysi, and called Mesaana into the room.
"Mesaana, watch this screen and be prepared to give me a full accounting of what it shows when I return."
"You're going out, m'lord? Under the circumstances, is that wise?" Mesaana gestured at the walls, in their state of flux.
"It is imperitive that the matter of these attacks on the Eilon be resolved without delay. I have been working for days now, trying to develop a powerful enough scrying spell to reveal our opponent. I have not yet succeded, but with this new information I feel certain that at least one Demon is involved in this unmannerly fracas, and I intend to see to that." Doskious was emphatic. "This can all be rebuilt, and you are the only one here - should it come undone, your standing orders are as always to save yourself and as much of the library as possible. If I haven't checked in within 15 hours, inform our guildmistress of all that has transpired. I cannot speak with her until I can offer tangible proof to expunge the smudge on the good name of my House." With that, he was gone, through a side door Mesaana had not noticed before. She turned to the screen, however, and watched.
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Post by Daeliria on Jan 28, 2008 22:32:14 GMT -5
(( Sorry 'Zani, Dae's a bit smarter than that. )) As the papers went up in flames, Daeliria sighed. Such a pity, to commit all of those hours of work to the fire, but she couldn't risk her true notes being stolen or read by anyone. The false ones she had planted back in her office should have been enough to turn any snoopers aside; she had considered poisoning the surface, or marking it somehow so that whoever picked it up would be traceable, but considered the possible misdirection that would ensue if someone innocently picked them up. Instead she had memorized dates, times, locations, shipments, and then thrown the lot into the largest bonfire on the Scryers' Tier. The next theft was due in an hour and a half, most likely a double shipment of two-handed swords as it passed through the dockyards of Southshore. Daeliria cringed as she recalled how much time and effort - and gold - she had spent trying to ascertain the shipping schedules just for the day. She had no desire to repeat the experience. So I'll have to get to the bottom of this today. I need to see who will hijack that shipment: whether it's anyone from the Eilon, or whether I've stumbled across some other smuggling organization. Probably the second. I hope the second.Cargo had to have guards. It had to have wagon-drivers and teamsters while on the road, and competent fighter-sailors on the sea. What if she posed as a guard, and...? No, that would be foolish. I would stand out straight away. I could pay someone for a magical disguise, but even then... If she could not go herself, she could at least look through the eyes of someone who did go, someone unquestionably innocent of the matter, and who willingly let her into their mind. But who could she trust to go? Konrad. Konrad was out somewhere looking for Azani. Reycied. Rey was somewhere in the vastness of the Outlands, and besides, would never let her into his mind. No one else. Daeliria shivered, even though she had not moved away from the blazing fire. She had to go herself, and observe, and keep to the shadows. Not a terribly hard feat, if she kept very quiet. She walked back to her rooms, and after casting a glance around to make sure no scrap of paper had fallen out on its way to the pyre, double-locked the door. Slipping the keys back on her heavy chain, she slowly shoved her way through the crowds of Shattrath towards the portals in the center.
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