A Most Eventful Day...(Chyril 25th ET)

[Adanedhel]

The redhaired beauty got off her seat and paid for the drink she ordered and downed it as fast as she could, wiping her lips afterwards. "Well, boy, what ya waitin' for?" she asked, gently pulling his hand. "You invite me, but don't make the first step to accompany me? Is that how you've learned to treat a lady?" and rolled her eyes as she waited for Reim to come along.

When they passed the table with her fellow sailors, she yelled "Aye, Captain! Me, I'll be seeing you guys in the morn." Her words were accompanied with a nudge and a wink, followed shortly with a blown kiss. The man looking up, sported a heavy grey beard, an eyepatch and a bald head. A luscious lady sat in his lap, more concerned with kissing and fondling him than anything else. He nodded and replied "S'okay. I'll be there.".

They continued outside, into a chilly night breeze coming in from the sea. She shivered and walked closer to him, putting her arm through his. "Lead the way, gorgeous." she said and kissed his cheek. The streets were dark, with only a streetlight here and there. Voices could be heard from some of the buildings, but mostly it was quiet. Very quiet... There were hardly any animals to be seen outside.

[Reim Ceoruth]

Reim smiled devilishly as the red head gave him a kiss on the cheek. On the surface he looked ready to have a wild time with the woman but beneath that there was something he still didn’t quite trust for one reason or another. The fact of the matter was that she was a pirate who had, apparently, been chased by a group of drunks. Reim had never met a drunk who could run but besides that he had a feeling that the pirates weren’t here for fun and games, “C’mon I didn’t tell her the whole truth about who I was looking for so what’s there to keep her from telling me a half truth…which, essentially, is a lie…”

Reim stopped and proceeded to pull the woman close to him. He placed a gentle kiss on her neck and then one on her lips and whispered something slightly naughty in her ear, he realized that if he didn’t do something then she might begin to suspect him of being up to something. He placed his arm around her and continued walking, “Damn...this must be coldest night I’ve endured in my short time here…” It was strange but the quietness which seemed to expand into the rest of Dort seemed to give Reim a feeling that something was either watching them or following or even ready to pounce on them, that feeling sowed seeds of nervousness within Reims stomach and he couldn’t help but keep his ears strained for another sound other than their footsteps and his eyes on alert for someone other than themselves, “…This is seriously creepy…next ya know some evil mist will start rolling in…”

[Adanedhel]

The wind blew around them, whistling, when Reim saw two cats sitting in a window sill looking towards the duo. Suddenly they got up and hissed, before leaping off the sill and scurrying off away from the way Reim and Ruby were coming. Then, all of a sudden, everything changed. Voices talking together, men walking in the streets and now and then even a dog or a rat to be seen.

It didn't take them long to find their way to the Drunken Duck. Inside, the bartender was busy filling glasses with whisky as he greeted Reim. It was a busy night and most tables were in use, the crowd was boisterous but the wenches handled themselves quite well in between all those men.

Ruby had been quiet all the time, but she was walking as confident as ever. When they reached the Duck, she turned to Reim and kissed him softly. When she finished, she smiled seductively at the young achadhiel and made her way for the stairs.

[Reim Ceoruth]

Reim followed the red haired vixen up the stairs. His hope of bumping into some Water Street members hadn’t gone well and there were apparently no other ways of stalling her in such a way that he wouldn’t make any fatal errors that would land him in even more trouble, “Oh well…at least I’m still able to have a bit of fun…”

As they came to the first floor Reim walked close behind her so her back was touching his chest slightly and he placed a gentle hand on her hip. His room was right at the end of the hallway; he pushed open the light brown, wooden door and followed her inside. He closed the door behind him and withdrew a key from his tunic; he locked the door leaving the key in the keyhole.

He’d made sure that he’d paid the bartender for the room for several nights since he had not been expecting to find a job so soon yet now he had found one he figured he could use the room as an extra base of sorts since he had no formal room or bed at the Watermill.

The room itself was fairly nice, a large, pale brown wooden cupboard, a wooden table and chair with a flickering candle lamp on it, a large bed covered in a green quilt and there was even a small fireplace that had been stoked up, “Maybe the bartender or one of the other workers did that for me…after all I am giving them good business...”

He opened the window a fraction so that there was some fresh air but at the same time he was making sure that all the heat didn’t escape the room. He took off his weapons and tunic and placed them in the cupboard neatly. For some reason the quiet that they had experienced when walking towards the tavern and then the sudden appearance of the wind coupled with the hissing cats had made him slightly freaked out and unsure of his soon to be bedmate, “I guess you get a bit more paranoid when you believe in the supernatural…”

He took the Bill Sway knife and hid it within his neatly folded tunic, “Can’t be too sure…” He briefly noted that she had been rather quiet on the way up to the Duck but then again so had he, mainly because he had been scheming, he wasn’t too sure why she had been but it didn’t seem to matter too much now.

Reim closed the cupboard with a loud creaking noise and walked over to Ruby. His black shirt was tucked into his black trousers which were being held up by a studded brass belt. He placed both hands in her hips and pulled her closer to him, kissing her gently he gave her a slight smirk and said quietly, “ You told me you wanted to talk about better things somewhere more private…well we have our privacy…what was it you wanted to talk about?”

[Adanedhel]

The young pirate lass had followed Reim into the room, taking a look around as he opened the window a bit. As he came around to her and kissed her, she mildly blushed. The question he had gave her time to get away from her embarassment.

She put her arms around his neck and placed her head on his shoulder. Whispering, she said "It involves treasure... and I need a trustworthy guy to do it, one that the crew doesn't know yet. I'd make you rich in a matter of days.". The woman looked the achadhiel in the eyes and a smile played on her lips. "There's only one catch... you'll have to decide before midnight. Our ship leaves then and we might be gone for a few days. I really could use a hand though. We'll divide it all fifty fifty of course." she continued as her head came closer to his, and she kissed him again. It was a long and passionate kiss and when it finished, her forhead still touched his as she opened her eyes and smiled deviously.

Turning around she sat down on the bed, motioning for Reim to join her.

[Reim Ceoruth]

Played like a fool. He had been waiting to see what she had been up to and despite all his on-the-spot scheming Reim felt like a bit of an idiot, “What was it that I had made sure to remind myself of earlier?Ah yes, the fact that if a woman suddenly turns on the charm she usually wants something!!! And there I was thinking that I had everything cleverly figured out!” He sighed heatedly inside himself, “Well…at least she’s not married or nuthin…cause then that would make things even weirder than they already are now…”

Reim chewed over her words, “Rich in a matter of days? Seems a little to soon…Money, fame, power, those things have to be worked for hence the reason I came to Dort yet here I am with one of those things being handed to me on a silver platter…” The pull of riches was great yet at the same time he wasn’t exactly sure if he could trust this woman after all she was doing this behind the backs of the rest of her crew and since they were out at sea together surely she would trust them over some random sword-for-hire that she had just met at a bar.

The achadhiel soaked in the softness of her lips as she kissed him yet was still keeping a level head in the whole situation, “No rewards without risk but I have a job that needs doing here, I haven’t told Jubal anything about what has happened tonight and if I disappear for a few days I’m sure that won’t look good…at all!!”

Sitting down next to her on the bed Reim sat close enough that the sides of their bodies were touching, “I have a lot of questions that I need to ask, firstly, how can you trust me? You just met me in the Seamonster not too long ago and besides I have a job to do here, I’m looking for an assassin who attempted to kill my employer…” He sighed, since she had come out in the open about her goals he figured that he should as well.

“I want to do this but what exactly will we be doing in the days that we’re away and how much is this treasure worth? Also I can’t swim…yet…”

The whole situation was surreal and slightly weird considering how he had just met the female and also that she needed someone to help her on such short notice, “Maybe this is the Pantheons will…let’s see what she tells me first…”

[Adanedhel]

Ruby smiled. Of course, she knew these questions would come. Now it was only an answer that would have to lure him in, but she didn't know how to do it with this one. She didn't know him well enough for that and thus had to rely on improvisation.

"Why wouldn't I be able to trust you? You don't seem like a bully to me, nor the standard thief. If you were, you wouldn't hang at the bar of the Seamonster. Secondly, you are alone. If you were from the Gang, there'd be other goons with you. The fact you were looking for someone but without a too familiar feel to your surrounding made me realise I was right. One who frequents these kind of bars learns to measure the patrons on sight." she said and laughed. "It's not something that's easy to hide, boy."

"As for you looking for an assassin. Of course, the money will buy you information probably. Everyone can be bought you know, especially here in Dort. All revolves around hard coins. Besides, if you rub my back, I might be able to rub yours. My employer is from the Citadel, he might have heard something about this assassin, if you provide me with the right information." she continued.

It was then that she started to worry about luring him in. The job he'd be doing.... what would he be doing? She placed a hand on his chest and gently pushed him backwards onto the bed. "Well, you'd entertain me, of course... and at day, you'll guard me. So frankly," she said and kissed his neck, "you'll be stuck with me. I need someone, because I do not trust all of the crew. There's 1 crown a day that I do not get hurt, 1 crown a day for your trip back and I'll offer you twenty more crowns if you get me into the Citadel unscathed. Do you think you're up to that, or did I misjudge you?". She kissed his neck again, long and soft, waiting for Reim's answer.

[Reim Ceoruth]

Alarm bells were ringing in his head. This woman, as alluring as she was, was still going behind the back of her crew to get this done which showed that she may do the same to Reim if she got the chance to. The kisses meant nothing just a tool to get him under her thumb, it was difficult but somehow Reim had managed to keep his head but only barely. Closing his eyes for a moment Reim imagined a plain filled with long evergreen grass and calm blue skies, every time he was stressed and confused which caused a storm to rage in his mind he entered this place. The voices of his mind and the urges of his body suddenly went quiet and it was in cases like this that he was thankful to have learnt the Inner Calm skill from his parents.

“If I leave now that won’t look good to the Water Street lot…but then again this could be my chance to get some real information on this assassin…if what Ruby’s saying can be trusted…”

Reim sat up in an almost cold manner, his confusion on the matter and his distrust of the woman was only causing him to ask more questions which certainly wasn’t making her job of enticing him to follow her any easier, “She’ll slip up at some point…”

“You said that you don’t trust all of your crew so I assume that you have some allies on the ship? Also who is this employer that you speak of?” His voice was edged in a frostiness that he had never displayed before, maybe it was due to his Inner Cam or his growing distrust of this woman or maybe both but he was more than certainly thinking things through in great detail, “And this treasure you speak of…what is it? A load of money? An item of some sort that someone wants to buy? And wait… surely your employer won’t be happy if you’re splitting this treasure fifty-fifty with me...am I right?”

This whole situation was baffling and he didn’t have the information or the experience to make a sound decision, “If I can I need to see Jubal…he’ll know what to do…I best wrap this up quickly…”

[Adanedhel]

She looked him right in the eyes. "Who said it was my crew? I would trust my own, if I had one. My employer, who wishes to remain anonymous, is able to pull some strings in the Citadel if need be, but outside it, there's not much he can do. That's why he needed me." she said, her face almost touching Reim's.

She then started to whisper "The reward will be somewhere up to... twenty five crowns, I suppose... yet I understand if you think that's not worth a trip to the greatest city of all." she said, her tongue playing her lips. "If you watch my back, I'll see to the thing my employer wants. Since I'm freelance, he doesn't need to know about you, nor about how I spend my money."

Ruby moved her head next to Reim's and her teeth softly got hold of his earlobe for a moment there and she whispered "you do crave the money, don't you?"

[Reim Ceoruth]

Crave the money.

The words echoed in Reims head and seemed to get louder and louder. Money and fame were the reasons he’d left the Citadel in the first place, he was tired of living off of his parents and wanted to make his own way through life as well learn about himself. This situation he was in was certainly making him think about himself, “I don’t really want to go home especially since I’ve only been here a few days but still with the money I may be able to buy information or help for that matter…it could help me lay the foundations I’ll build upon for my future…but look at the lengths she’s going to get me to join her, who knows she might even view me as a disposable tool which means that I’ll have to watch my back as well as hers and try and be several steps ahead her in order to make sure that I stay alive…”

He knew that his lack of experience dealing with people willing to lie, cheat and steal made him easy to manipulate but at the end of it all he was smarter than most and knew when he was being manipulated, “So I either stay here in Dort and look for clues or go back to the Citadel with this woman which may not be such a good idea...” He decided to assume that he was going but he at least wanted to ask her one last question and possibly go out to “clear his head”, “One last question, what exactly would I be doing on the ship? Surely the Captain would just treat me as one of his crewmates?”

He stood and headed to the closet which he had placed all of his clothes in. Opening it up Reim placed his tunic back on and reequipped all of his weapons. He placed the Bill Sway knife inside his boot and then something occurred to him, “Nate said that the knife is a way of telling pirates that they’ll be dead soon…As far as I know Jubal isn’t a pirate but what if the assassin was here not only to kill Jubal but get one these pirates as well…” He looked at Ruby briefly analysing her, thinking up possible scenarios, “She can’t be my assassin she only arrived in Dort a short while ago but if what she’s trying to get me involved in is irking someone else then maybe the assassin was sent by that person…and maybe if I can find my assassin and get her to talk then maybe I’ll find my answers…at least then I’ll know where to stand cos right now I’m getting more and more confused…”

“Actually I have another question, do you anything about Bill Sway?”

If she provided enough information then maybe he’d be able to make his decision but with the possibility of her or one of her crew being linked to the knife and the assassin in someway Reim was beginning to feel as though going with her might be the smarter course of action since it might get him the answers that he needed and at least then he wasn’t betraying Jubal he was actually just continuing with the work that he’d been told to do, “If I do go then when I get back hopefully this whole thing will figured out to some extent, then maybe I can set my sights on tracking down Claudio since he promised to help find my feet still I wonder how he’s going about clearing his name?” The thought of the tattooed man being somehow involved in all of this crossed Reims and he placed the thought to one side since it was an interesting one, “I’ll go out and find Jubal later he might have some more information then again Nate might as well…and maybe I’ll cross paths with the assassin once more and hopefully if we do we’ll talk rather than have another chase.”

He said a silent prayer to Pantheon in the quietness of his heart for he was beginning to feel as though he was sitting on something that could get him the answers he needed, all he needed now was the right people to cross his path and the oppourtunity to talk to those that he knew already.

[Adanedhel]

She shifted position on the bed. "No, I'm his... guest so to say. My transfer has been paid and I'm sure I can get you on board to. As a bodyguard. You'll stick with me, sleep while I watch at day. When there's trouble, you help me. When I sleep, you'll watch over me and my belongings. Doesn't seem to hard, now does it?" she said, and gave him a wink. "Of course, you'd be present when I would dress too, I hope you are not uncomfortable with that." she continued and smiled.

As Reim started about Bill Sway, the redhead flinched for a flicker but regained her compuser quickly. "Bill Sway you say? Nay, I do not know him. I'm sure Captain Skipster has something to say about him, if the guys from around here or from the seas. He's full of stories y'know. Doesn't seem to get an end to them."

That said, she got up and shot an inquisitive look at the achadhiel. "So, you coming along, or want to stay here in your little faerieland where everyone is happy?"

[Reim Ceoruth]

“Fairyland where everyone is happy?”

From what Reim had seen that certainly wasn’t the case especially with the rough occupants of Dort. Things certainly weren’t going the way he had expected them to but so far his faith in the Pantheon had saved his neck as well as helped him on this strange journey, “I guess their will is entwined in this somehow…still I’m not too sure about going with woman, I get the feeling that she’s lying to me or keeping something hidden from me and her sweet talking and seduction attempts certainly aren’t covering it up very well…” An artic tinge betraying his feelings overcame his shocking blue eyes as his suspicions of Ruby rose,

“If I’m not at the boat by midnight then I’m not coming…There’s some stuff I need to do first…” He was geared up and started to walk towards the door, “…Like see if Jubal knows anything about this woman or this Captain Skipster…there’s no way that the assassin was carrying around this knife for no reason, maybe sending a message to these pirates is part of the reason why she’s here…and if that’s the case I need to know how Jubal fits into all of this…my brain is beginning to ache from these theories…”

[Adanedhel]

She moved to the door as he spoke, her hand on the door handle, she turned to face him. "I hope I'll see you there, dear. It could be fun to have you around, y'know." she said, her eyes going up and down while she licks her lips. That said, she opens the door and steps through, blowing Reim a kiss before she closes it.

Footsteps trail away toward the stairs.

[Reim Ceoruth]

As the footsteps faded away Reim made his way out of the Duck. He had some questions that needed answering and as of right now it seemed that Jubal was the only who could answer them, “I don’t quite trust her and since I don’t I may as well go and see if Jubal knows anything about her…”

The streets were empty but as he neared the Knot a few shady characters could be seen loitering around. Hood up, head down, he kept a good pace making sure not to attract too many peering eyes.

The Mill was in sight, he remembered his first time here watching the fight between Claudio and Jakob, “I wonder if I did the wrong thing in letting Claudio go?” The man had promised him teaching in order to get him on the way to realizing his own ambitions, “Maybe those ambitions clouded my judgement…” Inside a glimmer of hope refused to die out, after all there was a chance that the man would keep true to his word and Reim needed all the advice and training he could get. There that message about cargo he had been told to deliver that quite possibly would lead him to what he was looking for. He prayed to the Pantheon on the matter and then decided to leave it in their hands, right now his success and learning was dependent on them.

Once he had entered the Mill he went about looking for his employer. At the moment Reim was dazed and confused. He still had no clue who the assassin was and he now had a choice to either leave Dort with Ruby, which was a tantalising offer, or stay in Dort and continue his investigation. The only that was somehow linking the two was the fact that the Bill Sway knife was used to let pirates know that their time was up and coincidentally he had run into a group of pirates anyway.

“Hmmm is it possible that Ruby and the assassin are one in the same? That doesn’t help to explain why she would work with pirates but then again she does seem to have some friends amongst the crew…” The thought only raised more questions on top of the ones he already had which didn’t help things, right now he needed someone with experience to help him, “Where’s Jubal right now?”

[Adanedhel]

As Reim entered the Mill, it didn't take long before a familiar form came walking his way. Even the blind would recognise the man as he came closer. The mixed odours of sweat, blood and oranges wafted out in front of Bill. "Hey boy, watcha doing here? Bossman wants to know what you're gonna be up and on about. If'n you want to speak to him, he's upstairs in his study." he said and pointed a thumb in the direction of the stairs. The black teeth and the smell of his breath, a mix of garlic and oranges, made him seem like the living dead. He bid Reim a good night and wandered off again.

A heavy oak door stood ajar where Jubal's study would be. As the Achadhiel entered the small room, the stocky man was sitting behind his desk, the ever present straw in a corner of his mouth while poring over some sheets of paper and book. He glanced up at Reim for a flicker and gestured for him to sit down on the rickety chair opposite him.

"What can I do you for?" Jubal asked, wiping drops of spittle off the sheet he was looking at after he spoke.

[Reim Ceoruth]

As Reim sat down the chair creaked slightly. He was sitting rather gingerly as he wasn’t sure whether the chair will hold his weight. Looking up at the man he began to ask him the questions which he held, “Well, I’ve had a rather interesting day chasing this assassin around Dort. Whilst chasing her she dropped a knife…” He paused momentarily to bring the knife out and show it to Jubal,

“Then some time later I was at the Seamonster looking for some information when I was approached by a pirate named Ruby. She’s asked me to be her bodyguard while she gets some treasure for some employer who has influence in the Citadel but not outside it…The Captain she is with is called Captain Skipster. I think that she might be linked with the assassin but the only link is the knife that the assassin dropped…I was kinda hoping if you would have any information on any of them or have any more information on this whole situation as I’m slightly confused about the whole thing…”

He peered over to see what Jubal was reading and then went back to his mass of confusing thoughts.

[Adanedhel]

Jubal didn't look up whilst Reim spoke, until the young achadhiel brought out the knife. The man held out his hands to examine it. His eyes moved up and down the knife, his fingers trailing the artwork. He whistled shortly as he handed the knife back to Reim. "Craftsmanship, lad, real art. Probably not from around here if you ask me. Dwarven made, maybe adhiel." he said, having analysed it the best he could.

He listened with interest to the rest of the achadhiel's story, his hands folded, resting on the table. At the mention of Skipster, he frowned for a flicker, almost invisible if you didn't look at the man's face. "A pirate who needs a bodyguard while on a pirateship? Sounds quite peculiar. Skipster, however, is one of the pirate captains who makes his money by smuggling whiskey usually. I've dealt with him in the past. Man of his word. However, if that Ruby is linked to him and the assassin I really need to pay a visit to him. Problem is, if I do without significant reason and proof, it might sever the naval ties I have with my suppliers, him being one of them. I'm sorry, Reim, but I can not act on this. Not with your current information. Do you understand?" he said, and looked questioningly at Reim.

Reim could see a jumble of letters and digits in Jubal's book, but being illiterate he couldn't discern any words he knew.

[Reim Ceoruth]

OOC: I've done some extra actions and stuff because otherwise this would've been a really short post

Reim didn’t say anything, he now knew that he was on his own and couldn’t rely on anyone’s help. An angry aura began to surround him as his usually calm shocking blue eyes took a distinctly fiery look. “What’re those for?” he said pointing to Jubals book. Despite his anger he was intrigued, he hadn't been taught how read or write and it was something that he had been wanting to learn.

After leaving he could feel a foul anger beginning to creep over him, he was annoyed that even with all his resources it appeared that Jubal hadn’t discovered anything about the assassin. Reim screamed in adhiel inside his mind, “Screw these guys!!”

He began to make his way out of the Watermill, “I guess I have to make my own way since I don’t have anyone to back me up…” He was so annoyed that he was muttering the phrase in adhiel and didn’t realise it. The most viable option at the moment was to go with Ruby but if Jubal was right about one thing it was that it was peculiar that she needed a bodyguard but then again Reim had known that anyway. He remembered the message that he had had to deliver to the fat man, Nestor Granger. Of course what ever had gone on there had taken place a few days before but either way Reim headed down there out of curiosity and to formulate a plan of some sort.

[Adanedhel]

Jubal chuckled. "It's only my administration of one of my handlers. I expect he's making money on his own, so I'm delving through his ledger. If his bookkeeping isn't all right I'll send Bill for a visit. No interesting stories, just math kind of." the crimelord said. "Why the interest, Reim?" he asked the achadhiel.

As Reim turned to leave, Jubal said "Give me proof that she is involved, and I will send people to... handle it."

OOC: where are you heading exactly?

[Adanedhel]

Ready for skilling!

[Morg]

Skilled