07.14b: Burning Spiders

The goings on of courts
kitsunenotsume
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Re: 07.14b: Burning Spiders

Post by kitsunenotsume »

Caelund watches the pair lick their respective metaphorical wounds for a moment before sighing, putting his pencil down, and collecting and depositing the small fluff-ball next to the saucer. The papers are left to form yet another layer of debris at the foot of the desk. He glances over to the Raven again, fishes out a chair for his guest, and heads over to the door. With a double-knock on the stair banister and a brief discussion with one of the employees, the manager returns to Raven offering a large ham sandwich.

With a look of both chastisement and concern, he hands the man the plate. "I know you are a skinwalker, but laws of conservation still apply: get some calories in you before you go anywhere." As he returns to updating the map, he continues, "Take your time, but these gentlemen don't seem intent to hang around too long."
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Re: 07.14b: Burning Spiders

Post by NPC »

The kitten finishes lapping at milk after a bit, and then - lured onwards by the scent of ham - makes a meandering and uncertain path towards the Raven. Given relative warfare, it is trivial to maintain that five foot distance the Raven wanted... but the kitten is nothing if not persistent.
The Raven
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Re: 07.14b: Burning Spiders

Post by The Raven »

The raven is willing to reduce his buffer to about three feet as long as it is on a chair where the kitten can't reach. While perched on the chair, he starts eaching the sandwich.
kitsunenotsume
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Re: 07.14b: Burning Spiders

Post by kitsunenotsume »

Ignorant of what is quite probably an awkward Benny-Hill-esque number in the background, Caelund scratches contentedly across the sheet covering the desk. As he goes to modify Mr. Quick's location though, he pauses.

"Well, that is a curious turn of events", he comments as he extracts a red bishop and a black pawn from a drawer to reside upon the map where some form of tavern is located. He leans back into a plush managerial chair, resting his chin on the knuckles of his left arm and habitually stroking through the cardcase at his belt with the other. "I suppose other players were bound to be drawn eventually."

With 'Jack' currently cornered, he opts to focus his attentions on the more subtle of the two conspirators, guiding the scrutiny of his airborne spy through the streets and byways in discrete pursuit and letting Spellbinder handle much of the matter with Mister Quick.
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Re: 07.14b: Burning Spiders

Post by NPC »

There is, indeed, a chair where the kitten cannot reach. ...Until the kitten discovers a makeshift path upwards formed of desk detritus, shelves with things that can be pushed out of the way, Caelund's desk (where its passage threatens to knock over a red bishop), and a death-defying* leap towards the Raven's perch.

In the meantime, "Mr. Nimble" seems to have gone to ground in a safe house - concealed within a small warehouse near the docks - apparently satisfied that he had thwarted all attempts to follow him.

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* Not actually death-defying.
kitsunenotsume
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Re: 07.14b: Burning Spiders

Post by kitsunenotsume »

As the kitten meanders along, it's bump into the bishop is remarkably similar to a pompom shoving a concrete wall with about as much effect*. As a side effect however, the map covering the table seems disinclined to shift and makes for a rather effective surface to jump from.

Meanwhile, Caelund pulls out a black rook and marks the location of the safehouse, further securing the map to the desk. After a brief check-in with the agent following Mr. Quick to stand-off until after Spellbinder is done, the manager turns his attention to the city.

The flare was clearly not a sign between just the two conspirators, and no pawns are moved around the board without a player behind them. Therefore, the logical conclusion is that there must be some evidence of the mastermind's oversight: perhaps a tail to the tail to one of the agents, or an over-watch for the safe-house, perhaps even an actor using the same strategies as Caelund himself. Such patterns can be made visible if you know where to look and follow them to the source.

As he watches the city for tell-tail movements or anomalies, Caelund poses a question to the Raven: "Once you are done eating, would you be up for a bit of exploration? These bit-brains must have come from somewhere out in Shadow to be harboring a grudge like that. If we can find it it would give us a bit more to work with."
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*: Immovable Chess - The premier all-terrain utility gaming option.
The Raven
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Re: 07.14b: Burning Spiders

Post by The Raven »

The Raven, at about the time the kitten is ready to pounce, quickly scarfs the remaining quarter of the sandwich and dodges. "That was, more or less, my original intention*. But I ran into some.... difficulties." He glares at the kitten. "I suppose I could give it another shot. Any suggestions?"

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* - There were, of course, other contingency plans, but that would have been an acceptable outcome.
kitsunenotsume
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Re: 07.14b: Burning Spiders

Post by kitsunenotsume »

"A few," comes the reply accompanied by a distasteful glare at the map. "One gone to ground, the other is being resolved; we're still waiting to hear if our immigrant Red-Shirt* has managed to get anyone killed in the process. No obvious signs of their handler without a more hands-on approach. From their talk, though, we're not dealing with anyone intimately familiar with either Here or There, so they must be holed up in the midways."

A small, clear pouch is tossed in Raven's direction, clinking slightly as the coins within slide across each other. "Took this from the till after they paid. There should be enough of a residual connection to trace their paths back to where they started.** If you need an extra nose for it, one interested party still aught to be notified but I haven't seen him since some disagreement with a gargoyle last night. It wasn't clear how much of their conversation you caught from outside, but it would seem prudent to alert the guardian*** to our visiting Emissary of the threat."

"Acquiring the appropriate paperwork**** to bypass the watched trade routes might take a bit, should be possible within half an hour. I'm sure that would be plenty long enough for you to take that one to one of the cat-shelters."
The last comment is punctuated with a helpful smile and a motion towards the kitten.
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*: The Red-Shirt is of course Spellbinder; he has, well. . . a red shirt/leotard/outfit?
**: Caelund is somewhat foggy on how Shadow-Travel works for Patternwalkers, having been stuck to trudging along unmapped hiking-trails while the others get to hellride ATVs through the shrubbery.
***: The guardian in this case is recognizable as Krajk, as the bodyguard for the visiting Emissary of Chaos; the conspirators had been plotting against Odin.
****: You have enough psyche to translate this to 'Caelund has some way to get you quickly out into shadow and away from Amber, but is being oblique about what it is. Regardless, come back in half an hour and he should have a shortcut for you.'
Last edited by kitsunenotsume on Wed Apr 27, 2016 1:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
The Raven
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Re: 07.14b: Burning Spiders

Post by The Raven »

"Half an hour, you say?" the Raven ignores the kitten part of the suggestion. "That would be enough time to try and recruit the Red-Shirt, then. I intend to just scout things out, but with him that may not be possible." Raven smirks. "We'll see." With that a Raven flies out the window.

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* - Caelund likely would have noticed Raven unlatching the highly secured window's lock earlier while "fleeing" the cat. He had always planned to leave out the window.
** - This concludes the longest time so far that the Raven was not a Raven.
kitsunenotsume
Missing Some Marbles
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Re: 07.14b: Burning Spiders

Post by kitsunenotsume »

An eyebrow is raised as the Raven pulls the window down suddenly and leaps through in a flutter of feathers. "Close it when you leave!" he calls out in futility behind the departing avian.

With a sigh and a shake of his head, Caelund goes about tidying up after the Raven: collecting the sandwich plate, ensuring the window is properly secured again, and rearranging piles of detritus that was disturbed in his other antics with the kitten. "Such a kind soul; he clearly doesn't want to deliver you to the shelters. We really aught to ensure that he knows how much we appreciate his selfless dedication to those in misfortune."

Collecting another sheet of paper from a shelf the man turns around and sighs upon observing his desk, where a sleeping kitten lies sprawled across the map with thoroughly chewed pencil between its paws*. "Oh, fine, take the glitching desk then; see if I care," he comments in a tone of both mirth and irritation, before rummaging a clip-board and a second pencil out from the piles and plopping down on the vacated chair to start work.
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*: Not related to Stuff - cats just do this. It's probably a racial Talent.
OOC: seems like a good cutoff for now. Can continue in a new thread when appropriate.
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