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Post by moralhazard on Mar 10, 2019 17:04:21 GMT
From Greenglades tower to Mariners hall was not a short journey. Thea had made it many times before, both ways, during her friendship with Citrine. Today, however – today it felt longer than it ever had.
Thea was wearing a pale blue blouse, tucked into long flowing brown pants, both smeared with mud, with what looked vaguely like a handprint across her stomach. There were plenty of strange looks as she passed, an air genasi with white hair puffing out like a stormcloud around her head, and an equally thunderous look on her face.
Step 1. Find Orin.
Thea turned off the way of the dragon towards the mariners’ hall. Where was Orin staying? It felt like the memory was on the tip of her tongue. Citrine had told her. Citrine had told her, if she could only just… she scanned the nearby inns, eyes searching each name until – there was a familiar surge upon finding the right one.
Thea stepped inside, striding to the front desk. “I’m looking for Orin Izuki,” she said, meeting the eyes of the halfling behind the counter.
“Uh – I can – send a message up?” The halfling offered, shrinking back slightly, maybe from the wind that swirled through Thea’s hair, maybe from the look on her face.
“I’d be happy to go myself,” Thea said, tone still surprisingly even. She leaned forward, slowly and carefully; it wasn’t often that she could intimidate someone using her height, and she played it up in full. “Her room number?”
The halfling shrank back a little more, and squeaked.
Moments later, Thea was walking down the hallway towards the warlock’s room. Her blood was racing in her veins, thrumming with a hint of lightning tickling at her, hands clenching into tight fists then relaxing. Thea stepped up to the door and knocked, once, gently, then – much harder, a second time, when the response wasn’t as instantaneous as she might have liked. If Orin wasn’t in? What then?
“Orin!” Thea called through the door. “It’s – it’s about Citrine!” Her voice cracked, finally, rasping and ragged. “Open up – “ She paused. “Please!”
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Post by Ossular on Mar 10, 2019 20:39:54 GMT
Overlooking the docks of the City of Splendors was a restaurant. It's prices were high, it's alcohol expensive, but it offered the more amazing view of Southern Waterdeep without actually flying into the air and getting in trouble with the Griffin Calvary. Two walls were framed in beautiful glass that led out to an open balcony, and even with a Spring chill in the air, it was pleasantly warm. Boduccio's Dockside was a place that was hard to get into, and while it had been expensive to even get in the door, Orin wanted to at least take Citrine to one nice place to make up for all of the time they had apparently missed together. The phoenix had even given her word that she would be here, especially at the offer to see Orin in something that she would never be caught dead in given any other circumstance- a dress; one that Amafreya, her eladrin friend, had picked out for her.
The elvish design clung to her, a gown that flowed over her body like water and moved as if it was on a summer breeze, while proper and nice, given her race. She resisted bringing a jacket, and with her armor currently being worked on, she didn't have any other things to really wear. She dressed up, even accented her Spring alignment with shades of green make-up painted throughout, and generally, was pleasant to the eyes. Orin made her way to the restaurant a little earlier to make sure she could get the best seat that overlooked the docks and the coast outside Waterdeep, ordered a bottle of dwarvish whiskey that had been brought from Gauntlgrym and a wine she enjoyed from Silverymoon. Tonight was the night they'd catch up, talk, and if everything went well? Maybe, just maybe, it would be time to have Citrine try to smell the vial she had?
Orin had arrived, was seated, and waited.
Twenty minutes passed. The eladrin was still hopeful, optimistic. Citrine had given her word, and besides, she had shown up early.
Forty minutes passed. Maybe Citrine had gotten caught up doing something? She had been taking a nap this afternoon. There was no way she'd miss tonight. Citrine had given her word.
An hour. At this point, the waitress that was coming back to the table asked when Citrine was going to show up? "She'll be here. She gave me her word." The optimism was fading, though.
After two hours, Orin left with her bottles of elvish wine and dwarvish whiskey, and got to take the walk back to the Mariner's Hall. There had to be a good reason, right? There had been have been a really good reason. Citrine... never broke her word.
But she had.
At three hours, Orin had walked past Citrine's room, opening the door to find that Citrine wasn't even there. Great! She hadn't even been home to confront about missing the date! The eladrin's ears flattened in frustration as she made her way down to her room, several doors away to find a note on the door- a delivery had arrived? When she came into her room, in a crate that Orin opened over the first glass of the dwarvish whiskey was a new set of half-plate armor. Removing the dress, having a second drink, third drink, and more, the eladrin would spend the rest of the night with an armor rack, setting it up and unloading her new armor onto it. Next to it? A massive circular shield made of a specialized darkwood gathered from the Evermoor and etched with magic and mithril that would protect it from any kind of flame or acid.
When the knocks came on her door, Orin stirred. Thankfully, she had cleaned her makeup off, but the second thud caused a muffled "hold on" from the bed where the eladrin had drunk herself into a stupor that lasted until the earlier hours of the afternoon. A bottle would drop to the ground, and as Thea's voice came in- that was Thea, right?- Orin rolled her eyes, threw on a robe, wrapped herself, and opened the door. Her hair was a frazzled mess of light browns that moved in a similar way to the genasi's own hair, like a storm was pulling it back and forth, and Orin would lean into the frame of the door, pursing her lips. Behind her, the empty crate and two bottles of empty, very expensive alcohol, along with her various belongings scattered about.
"Well, if Citrine wants to come apologize for missing last night, she's just gonna have to do it herself," Orin would speak, running fingers under her eyes, rubbing herself into a headache-plagued consciousness. "Not that- not that it's not nice seeing you, Thea, but that's on her."
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Post by moralhazard on Mar 10, 2019 20:56:53 GMT
Orin looked – and smelled – like she’d had a terrible night, and the empty bottles of alcohol behind her suggested why. If Thea hadn’t been quite so angry already, she’d likely have been a little more sympathetic to the massive, pounding headache that Orin must have had. Unfortunately, whatever space she had for sympathy had been largely burned out.
“I’m sure she’ll apologize,” Thea said, swallowing down the initial impulse to anger. She didn't bother with greetings or pleasantries, a rarity for the genasi, who usually had impeccable manners. In truth, it was all she could do not to start yelling. But - it wouldn’t help her to get angry with Orin. None of this was Orin’s fault, and from the sound of it, she had a perfectly good reason to be angry with Citrine.
“Except – it’s not exactly her fault.” Thea paused, trying to think how to explain. “There’s a… beast circus,” Thea’s jaw clenched at the use of the despicable term, “outside of Waterdeep. Pip – my apprentice,” not strictly true but close enough for the time being, “heard about a circus and didn’t… didn’t understand what it was.” Just the thought of Pip’s desperate sobbing was enough to send Thea deep into a burst of anger again. Thea swallowed it down, hair flaring out around her head once more, the wind thrashing wildly through it.
“Citrine went with her,” Thea closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again to look at Orin. “They – captured her, somehow, last night. Pip doesn’t know exactly what happened, but Citrine is still there as – as far as we know.” Thea swallowed, hard. The worst could be – much worse than that.
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Post by Ossular on Mar 10, 2019 21:22:05 GMT
The initial response would be a raised eyebrow, accented with the ear pointing just a little bit on the same side. There was a circus, and this Pip had went with Citrine or Citrine had went with Pip- either way, they captured Citrine, who was now apparently trapped at this circus.
Orin wouldn't blink, staring into Thea's eyes, looking up and down the woman in the hallway. The eladrin would stand up from her lean, taking the quiet moment to judge the situation at hand.
Insight Roll:
wScwXo351d20
There was something in Orin that felt... suddenly... jealous. Angry, even- but not at Thea, or this Pip, or even Citrine. How dare something or someone try to take Citrine away from her? The eladrin would stand up, closing her eyes as she opened the doorway the rest of the way and motioned into her room toward a chair next to the bed. "Okay. Alright," the warlock would mutter to herself, her thoughts now starting to pick up and churn behind her eyes. Her expression went from one of almost disbelief in what Thea was saying to a resolution that hadn't been there previously.
Whether Thea had come into the room or not, Orin would move toward a glass bottle filled with water, taking a swig of it to help her wake up a bit more before moving toward a set of armor that would fit Citrine's descriptions of Orin before they had actually met, with a shield that was at least half of the eladrin's height, maybe more. Not shy in the least, Orin would lose the robe, tossing it to the bed, before quickly throwing on a shirt and pants over her muscular, scarred form. Much like Citrine, Orin held a similar snowflake over her heart, but lacked all of the tattoos.
"Tell me about this circus," Orin would ask, focused as she grabbed the first part of her armor from the rack. "Where's it at? Do you have a plan to get Citrine back? What about the Guard, have they offered to do anything to help?"1d20
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Post by moralhazard on Mar 11, 2019 0:01:00 GMT
Thea exhaled a little at the sudden shift in Orin from wariness to… acceptance? Thea couldn’t quite name what had gone on for the other woman, but she felt a wash of relief – like she wasn’t alone in this.
Thea would come into the room; she sat, but didn’t manage to stay in the chair for more than a moment, getting back to her feet and pacing back and forth. She averted her eyes, face burning dark blue, when Orin tossed the robe away, not too upset to avoid embarrassment. Not that Orin wasn’t – well – Thea could certainly appreciate – but she couldn’t.
Thea was still looking down at the floor and distinctly off to the side when Orin spoke again. She glanced back, thoroughly relieved to see the eladrin clothed once more, and this time much… er, more.
“I don’t know much,” Thea clenched her hands a little. “It’s – ” She gritted her teeth. “An old contact, someone I’d be happy to have an excuse to – well. I’ll know more soon,” she promised. “What I know now is it’s outside the city,” she would sketch out the rough location, “or at least it was there last night,” Thea swallowed. “No plan yet. I – I didn’t think to go to the Guard.” Thea hadn’t exactly had the best experience with the guard of late; she was still rather bitter that they’d released the man who’d stabbed her recently.
“What Pip was able to tell me is that the circus controls people through a… collar, of sorts, evidently magical in nature. It seems to work through mind control by the ringleader. There’s a couatl there who Citrine set free. Pip talked to her – the couatl said she would stick around, but we don’t know… more than that.” Thea felt utterly overwhelmed, suddenly, almost collapsing back into the seat.
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Post by Ossular on Mar 11, 2019 1:28:47 GMT
As Thea stumbled through the information she was giving, Orin would turn her head to look at the genasi over her shoulder as she sketched out the location. It was outside the city- of course it was. It wasn't like there was room inside the City for something of the sort to happen. Besides, the Guards would probably just make whoever had taken Citrine nervous, make him pack up and move away from Waterdeep faster. Orin wouldn't be surprised if there was already some idea in mind.
Thea would speak of the collar, and Orin would start on her arms. She had missed plate armor, Orin had decided, and though it was most of her savings, she was glad to have made the purchase. Back to the matter at hand, though, the eladrin would turn to face her as she worked on the straps. "A couatl?" Orin would raise her eyebrow, asking in a slight amount of confusion. It had either been a moment, or Orin had never met whatever a couatl was, a lost thought passing over her expression. "That is... a rainbow snake? With wings, right?" She asked, mainly because she didn't want to attack a potential ally in all of this.
During her thoughts and mumbling, Orin would watch as Thea finally sat down. Orin would quietly equip her armor for the moment, finishing both of the arms before throwing on a gown of thin chain that sat under the breastplate which were going on next. "Thea-" the eladrin would say her name, taking a second from armoring up to turn to the sorcerer. "Is... Is Pip alright?" Orin didn't really know Pip, other than she was a young girl that worked at the glassblowers with Thea. It had literally been a passing introduction before she had gotten drug off. They both knew how excited Citrine had been to go around and prove everyone that Orin actually existed. "Do you need something to drink?" she would offer before looking around the room. Four empty bottles, and one that was almost gone that had a little bit of water. The drinks would probably have to wait at least until they were on the way out the door of the Hall.
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Post by moralhazard on Mar 11, 2019 1:50:24 GMT
“Yes,” Thea paused. “It spoke to her telepathically, I think. Pip said she’d never seen anything like it, but that it called itself a couatl. She also described it as a huge flying snake. Its name is Hopebringer,” Thea shrugged. “She said it also had a collar like the one controlling Citrine, but didn’t seem to be… controlled?”
“I think so,” Thea bent forward, rubbing her face with her hands. “She was out in the woods all night, and only just made it back to the city now. She’s – very shaken up. She’s only twelve.” Thea clenched her hands in her hair. “… What was Rain thinking?” Thea looked up at Orin, shaking again.
Thea nodded a little at the offer of a drink. “Yes – do you have any water?” She swallowed, hard, rubbing her throat with one hand.
"... but I don’t think we should wait.” Thea exhaled. “The longer we delay, the better the odds that they'll move her, or - or. Pip said something about a fight. I can't imagine Rain taking this quietly." Thea bit her lip, looking at Orin. From everything Rain had said about Orin, Thea thought it wouldn't be crazy that she might be a good strategist and - even if she wasn't, it wouldn't take much to surpass Thea. Hopefully she would agree; there was more to tell, but Thea would stop there for now.
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Post by Ossular on Mar 11, 2019 17:56:40 GMT
"I have a little bit in that bottle right there," Orin would motion to a blue glass bottle on the nightstand near her. "It's not much, but..." Orin would trail off before shutting her eyes and taking a moment to lean against the armor rack. She would take a deep breath before bringing her fingers up to pinch the top of her nose, rubbing right below her eyebrows.
Gods her head hurt.
She was never going to mix Elvish and Dwarvish drinks ever again.
"No, I don't think we should wait, either," the eladrin would speak. "But we should maybe try looking around the circus before coming to any conclusions?" At this point, Orin would start fastening some of the belts and harnesses, clipping and overlapping various plates into their places. "Not that I don't believe you, but Citrine is, well, Citrine," Orin would think on that one for a moment, "and Pip is still young. We should find this... Hopebringer?" the name repeated, making sure she had it right. "And maybe anyone else you can think of that might help if thinks get more-" a pause, for a second, as she looked down to her bracer-clad forearm before tightening it- "physical in nature.
"From there, we should probably figure out what kind of monsters are at this menagerie," she would continue. "And what they can do. Did Pip say anything else on that end?" Orin would turn, and would be mostly armored besides some belts she would still be adjusting here or there.
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Post by moralhazard on Mar 12, 2019 18:40:48 GMT
“That would be great, thanks.” Thea stood up again, crossing to the blue glass bottle. She admired it for a moment – nice quality – and glanced around for a cup. If one wasn’t immediately apparent, then, somewhat delicately, she’d tip her head back and take a swallow from the bottle.
Thea nodded. “It’s a good idea. Both – both good ideas.” Thea hesitated at Orin’s mention of bringing someone else in. “Ah – when Pip found me, I was with a friend,” Thea was vaguely aware that her cheeks were burning dark blue; somehow, despite everything else going on, she could still manage to blush. Great. “He’s a gladiator – very strong. He’s… a bit angry about the whole situation. I sent him to take Pip home,” if the situation hadn’t been so serious, she would have smiled at the mental image of Arioch picking up Pip like a bag and sprinting off.
“After that, he’s to meet us at the gate,” Thea hesitated, nodding in response to Orin’s next question. “Pip mentioned a cockatrice, and I – I guess we don’t know about the couatl. They could have – I don’t know. I don’t know.” Thea took a deep breath. “If it’s okay with you, I think you should go to the gates. Arioch might already be there, and I’m not sure how long he’ll wait. If he goes, I - I don't think he'll try much investigation. He’s – um – shorter than you, taller than me. Half-plate armor, dark hair.”
“I’ll go and talk to my contact,” Thea’s hand tightened into a fist again, “and I’ll join you as soon as I can. Is that – all right?”
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Post by Ossular on Mar 13, 2019 23:23:40 GMT
Orin would take one last deep breath. Angry people usually rushed in. Angry people were either dwarves, barbarians, or eager to prove themselves. To be fair, Orin could be an angry person, but now knowing she'd have to be the good guard in this situation only made the headache pumping behind her eyes a level worse. Between that, and the mention of a cockatrice, Orin would pick up her shield, purse her lips, and turn around. The eladrin stood, now, in half-plate lined with imprints and etches of leaves that curled in the wind across the pauldrons over her shoulders. All in all, the dwarven-designed armor wrapped around the elf like a glove, still enabling her to be more mobile. She moved to the bed, setting the large circular shield on it before stretching her feet into a set of boots that looked a little heavy for the season at hand, the tops lined with off-white furs.
"Alright," the eladrin would tell her. "I'll find this Arioch and head to the circus. Just be careful with this contact," Orin would tell her. She didn't know Thea or know anything beyond introductions, but the way she spoke of this person, the way her fist balled, it didn't seem like it was too pleasant of a contact to begin with. Either way, though, Orin would continue. "I don't want to have get Citrine to come find you. Imagine all of the chaos," she would offer to the air genasi, a small smirk breaking across her lips.
Either way, though, boots tied, Orin stood up, moving toward the door after one last check over herself. It had been far too long since she had worn proper plate. She took one more breath before moving out into the hallway, waiting for Thea before closing and locking her room with the key. Stopping down at the bar of the Mariner's Hall they were in, though, the eladrin would turn to the barkeep, who looked mildly surprised to see Orin as she was. She'd set the key down on the bar. "Keep this for me until I get back... and I need a Flip, Skip."
"You got it, ma'am," the bar-hand would move down. In one pitcher, two eggs, rum and sugar, beaten. In another pitcher with a burnt bottom went an ale that the bar-hand would point a finger at, hitting the bottom with three impressive looking fire bolts, causing steam to pour from the top, quickly heating up the beer. He would poor one pitcher into another. Back and forth, swirling the two liquids together quickly, he would pour the mixture into a stein, which Orin would grab from him, setting a gold dragon down for him.
"Keep the change," Orin would nod to him, walking out behind Thea with breakfast.
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