username: lady of the willow tree | audio

[aprescoup]

( She is heat and storm and hissing anger: ) You fools. And me, fool, listening to the master, helping! ‘Who could have known, Karsa, who could have known?’ I could have known, you could have known, any woman with sense could have known! Men? Men know nothing. You steal from a merchant, what does he do, eh? What does he do?

( A pause, as if she nearly expects an answer — before continuing, impatiently: )

He makes more coin. Do you know whose gold you took? Whose gems you took? Who made a large deposit at La Rea just when you all broke in? Do you know? Do you know who? Torsten. Congraaaatuuulaaaaations. The high merchant. The Torsten who won the auctions, the Torsten who inked a grand salt supply contract he needs that money to pay for. The Torsten who is bringing the great-bellied best, that ship Imperious in a few days. To make up for it.

( But she’s quieting, at least. ) And on it, he brings something powerful. We hear… the master hears. A commission. Because when merchants lose money, pah! They turn into smugglers. They say Unhalad’s brothers hired Torsten to bring in... help for him. Everyone heard about the bodies on the pillars two weeks ago. Unhalad’s own people picked out and killed, no, they can’t have that. No one… no one in the east sent help to Sa-Hareth when the dead took us over, but the dead, eh? The dead help each other. Funny, no? The world. And funny, you. What are you doing? Wasting time, with tales since grandmother was too young to even open her legs. ‘Arne the Red,’ who cares? How can a man survive three days and three nights in the tundra cold? He doesn’t. But you waste time on that, instead of —

( Bitterness and bile and she pieces herself together again. )

There is one matter of gladness. Unhalad’s allies sent him... some sustenance, as well as his weapon. More like you. Hopefully better than you, ah? Not fools? A handful of captives. Every man and woman and child deserves freedom. We will cut them loose. And tell Haltham, if you see him, there is work beyond sniffing the salt.

( Determined, then: ) Now. My people, we infiltrate. And we brave the instrument. But we are few. Eight? And... maybe exercise will do you well, ah? Keeps you from other foul business? Help free your fellows from the Imperious. We go together to the ship, but we each do our part. And we succeed.

I have more of the quartz for speaking, when you free them. Ten pieces? I will send them. Like I sent you quartz to... visit La Rea. And you made gain. So now I ask my cut: some 7,000 coins would provide us enough supply to make a few men friends, to procure some sailor garb… while, alternatively, 13,000 pieces would get us... a more substantial distraction. Who is coming? And how much gold can you give?


( ooc: This is a precursor to the ship rescue test drive & game event that our resident Sith Lord player proposed. Full event details will go up on 27 April! )

Comments

3/3

[darkeststars]

You're Karsa, are you? [ he's been in a room with you, or more accurately in a mineshaft with you, but he doesn't remember it much. There was a lot going on. It takes some pretty good drugs to disable a Sith Lord. ]

I was already going to break some chains, with or without help. Local support -- so much the better. I will lend what funds I've collected to your efforts. [ the, uh, nebulous non-numbered amount he's gotten through various legal and less-legal ventures, some mentioned onscreen some not, because the player can't math ]

But these are the sorts of plans best not made where just anyone can hear. Is it possible for us to meet?

[aprescoup]

I am Karsa. And you... you are a strange man. But if you want to help, I take you.

This will do. Do not worry. Who do you think thralled your quartz, ah?

[descendency]

Understatement of the century.

[darkeststars]

I don't want to hear about how strange I am from the man I had to mop up off his own damned floor after your exciting assignation, thank you. Get your own damned house in order.

[descendency]

So sorry to have lapsed in my chores, Mother.

[darkeststars]

Not so strange. [ he doesn't bother to actually explain, though. Not here. Make of his motivations whatever you will. ]

Hm, but I see. Very good, then. You would certainly know more than I about these things -- research is rather more difficult through a language barrier.

So the locals you'll bring number eight? And you're planning an infiltration on the way in, it sounds -- can all your people fight?

[aprescoup]

'Fight'? Do you see where we live? We fight every day. We fight to live. We fight to breathe. I fought fish in my breakfast meal this morning. It wanted to run.

[darkeststars]

Let me rephrase. [ dryly ] Are any or all of your people trained warriors or soldiers? I ask to consider whether I should help lead in or come up behind the rest. My work is on the battlefield -- tactics I can manage, but I only seldom get sent for the quiet jobs.

[aprescoup]

My people, they make do. We do our part. For us, do not worry.

But I cannot look after you as well. If you want to herd the sheep? Good! Mind them. The master doesn't think you should be dead, although I disagree, I think some of you should be a little bit dead.

[darkeststars]

[ drawling ] I can't say that I care what the master thinks. But in your position I imagine I would feel similar.

And fortunately, I do not require any sort of looking after. I suppose I will attempt to organize on our end then, and please do keep me abreast of the details of whatever you're planning. Not so fruitful for either of us if we were to work at cross-purposes.

What is this extra distraction you're hoping to arrange?

[aprescoup]

We do not work at cross-purpose.

If we can fetch the money... I can beg a discount. We can make our entryway... explosive.

[darkeststars]

Oh, I do love blowing up things that belong to rich people.

[aprescoup]

Noooo! No. Bad! Pah! We do not blow things while captives are on them. We blow... outside or on the deck, the fools come to investigate, we infiltrate.

[darkeststars]

Don't be ridiculous, blowing up the beings on board would clearly defeat the point. I don't walk into a mission to carry out the opposite of the objective, thank you.

Regardless, if we can evacuate all those on board who don't deserve death by icy waters, it would be... pleasant to put a few extra holes in that miserable pile of driftwood. Sa-Hareth needs only one Imperius.

[aprescoup]

I did not live to my age for a man to call me 'ridiculous.' You hear? You hear. Ridiculous! You are ridiculous.

The ship, do what you want with it, after. I have no care.

[bearshermark]

Archeval, Mingyu said I should speak with you about sheltering the captives?

[He's not sure why, unless he's got some spacious hidey-hole he's staying in outside of the House]

[darkeststars]

Did he? Why? You're coming on this op too, yes? [ he did ask you quite some days past now, although it was a bit more theoretical at that point. ]

[bearshermark]

Yes, of course.

I couldn't tell you why he said to ask you. Perhaps he knew something I didn't. But I am worried about it. I'm not sure how the Madame or Bloodbonnet would feel about harboring more of us.

[darkeststars]

I expect Karsa will do her part with the locals to this planet. As for those from offworld, the Merchant can suck it up and reach down into those deep pockets of his one more time as far as I'm concerned. [ a sardonic drawl. has he asked anybody about this whatsoever? of course not, what do you take him for. ]

He wants us all out of his city, does he not? If he were to send our current lot off east right now only for us to be immediately replaced by the new crop off the boats, ready to slaughter for the warlord's pleasure, then he's right back where he started. We're doing him a favor.

[bearshermark]

[A sigh]

Yes, I suppose. We might need to talk to him before we assume he will though.

[Please, for the love of the Goddess, someone else volunteer]

[darkeststars]

Do we? If he's sent scrambling by all this, I'm sure he can still soothe himself to sleep at night atop his piles of cred chits and overwhelming sense of self-importance.

[bearshermark]

[El huffs something close to a laugh]

It's important to be sure.

[darkeststars]

If you insist it's so crucial, then I leave it to you. Trust me, that man does not want to hear from me anyhow.

But frankly I would prefer we leave him in the dark. I don't trust such a one not to interfere in some unexpected way.

[bearshermark]

If it wasn't by his coin that we're able to stay here.. Karsa called it a miracle that Tamaiu accepted us.

I don't trust him not to take offense that we assumed he would, then throw us all out for daring to impose on his great hospitality.

[darkeststars]

[ sigh ] Do as you please, Eleven. If he decides there's something displeasing about our interrupting this trade vessel, sends others to interfere, and we have to fight our way back out through an extra pile of locals or undead, then on your head be it.