Help - Search - Members - Calendar
Full Version: Behind the Crown [IC]
Dumpshock Forums > Discussion > Welcome to the Shadows
Pages: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29
pbangarth
Well, now. Things are a tiny bit clearer. But, if PP is supposed to deliver once even one is developed, then what about that thing that has been watching Blue? That sure fits the physical description. Time to check that serpent out again.

Blue waits to be sure his energies are recharged again. No point going back astral before his timer has reset. He checks the time left before dawn comes.

Then he lies back on the bed all comfy and snuggled, and leaves the weak flesh behind, strong spirit soaring towards the facility once again. He plans to approach it carefully, looking for the serpent in the display from afar, first.
Koekepan
Hovering in the astral, far from the thumping bass of his pad, Blue considers the serpent in the front of Petsonal Petsonalities. It definitely looks like a pit viper, not a python. Now, Blue isn't a herpetologist, so he'd have to rely on other sources to identify the thing's species, but on the other hand getting stabbed with a tooth a foot long would hurt as well.
pbangarth
Blue has been distracted by a couple of other issues the last couple of days, and feels a bit of pressure to figure out what is going on, what he is really supposed to prove. True, he has a two week contract, but who knows how long it will take to figure things out?

A stakeout on your own is a pain in the hoop. How can one possibly cover the subject 24/7?

The messy attempt to learn about the girl frustrated Blue.

He feels guilty about Madel.

All those factors militate for precipitous action. Fortunately, Blue has a will-of-steel. He decides to sniff carefully. The plans he has for the layout are almost certainly out of date, but he decides to make a foray inside at a location most likely to be offices. Maybe there will be some activity going on that will suggest imminent shipment.

[ Spoiler ]
Koekepan
Blue slides his way into the building without much trouble. It's not as if it were all warded (which he already knew).

Indoors, in a small office area, it looks pretty unsurprising. Not too bad, really. It's not a place of torment, anyway. More to the point, there are no barghests or similar immediately pouncing on him, which is naturally a relief.

But an absence of barghests doesn't mean an absence of activity; on the contrary, there are quite a few critters in evidence. One looks rather like a parrot that cocks its head at Blue and says: :::Polly wants a cracker. Or equivalent in negotiable cash or commodities.::: It shuffles along a cubicle wall and raises one claw to scratch under its beak.
pbangarth
Blue is taken aback for a moment. Is that bird actually talking to him? Soon, he comes to the conclusion that the parrot is ... parroting things it must have heard in the business center of the facility. But the fact that it can do so in the astral is a revelation. Blue had always assumed that such mimicking was essentially a vocal phenomenon. Yet here it is, in the astral.

+++ I bet there is a paper in that. +++

Sticking close to the ceiling, in case something on legs decides to come by, Blue tests the bird.

::: Where's the snake? Where's the snake? :::
Koekepan
The parrot tilts its head, eyeing Blue. Its iridescent feathers slowly shift colours, as if reflecting a rainbow passing over.

:::Crackers, chummer. Crackers, or currency. Or I scream.:::

It gives a brief, intense :::RAWK::: before making a chuckling sound and adding :::I can be much, much louder than that.:::

Even that brief squawk appears to have had an effect, because there's a rustle of activity, and Blue feels eyes upon him from shaded corners and gaps between ceiling tiles. What he had taken to be a decoration on an astral desk opens dozens of eyes on stalks like the tentacles of an anemone, and looks around with cornflower-blue pupils at everything. Behind a door, something chuffs and whines.
pbangarth
+++ Note to self: I really have to spend some effort learning about paranimals. +++

Well, this is an interesting turn of events. There appears to be actual communication going on here. How far can Blue push this?

::: I don't think crackers work on the astral plane. What kind of currency are you talking about? And how much? :::

He pays attention to the various motions and (?) sounds (?) and marks the quickest way back out of the building.
Koekepan
:::Cash money, monkey. Cash. Bring it in here so I can buy myself free. Otherwise, a bag of cashews the size of your head. I like cashews. Unsalted. The real deal, too, not your fake soy drek. Or did you come in here with empty pockets?:::

That final question sounds like a challenge - or a threat. Apparently this parrot has ambitions that relate to either hedonism, or emancipation.

Then again, it's stuck in here and it's winter outside.
pbangarth
Negotiating a fee, either cash or the alliterative nut, for ... what? Buying its silence? ... with a parrot ... in the astral. It's that kind of night.

::: So, how much cash do you need to buy your way out? :::

+++ I bet this is going to be the price to buy the damn thing from Petsonal. +++
Koekepan
:::Now we're talking!:::

The parrot flap-flops down from the cubicle wall onto the astral shadow of a cubicle chair, and looks up at Blue bird-fashion, with head tilted to one side.

:::It can't be nuyen, because I need cash. I can take Ares scrip, five kiloarrows. Or I can take a hundred and fifty grams of gold. Pure gold. The good stuff. Or ... if you think you can hook it up ... nah. Forget it. Gold or scrip.:::
pbangarth
Despite himself, Blue is beginning to like this bird. Not that he could come up with fifty grams of gold, but charisma is charisma, and the parrot has it.

::: Come on. You were thinking of something else. What is it? What could I hook up for you? :::
Koekepan
The astral parrot (or is it dual-natured?) whistles a whoop, and cleans its beak. Then it says: :::OK, wise guy. Drachmas. Everything round here works on drachmas. Fraggin' greeks, man. Five hundred drachmas and I'm out of here like a swallow in the breeze.:::

It flap-jumps back onto the cubicle wall, spreads its wings like a moving rainbow, and shrieks: :::DRACHMAS!:::
pbangarth
As the shriek rings in Blue's astral ears, he zips at top speed out of the building along the route he planned a moment ago. Assuming he gets outside without incident, he flies back home to his meat body. Reintegrating, he scratches an itch onthe top of his head. +++ Was that thing playing me, or what? +++

Blue looks up the current conversion rate for drachmas. Just because.
Koekepan
Drachmas are, as such, presently only of interest to numismatists, and the surviving coinage (such as it ever was) is hard to come by except at prices that dwarf its value in nuyen terms.

Besides, what possible value could drachmas as such have to the bird? If it wants negotiable commodities, cashews would be more likely - unless it intended to eat them anyway.
pbangarth
+++ Yeah, the bird was having some fun with me. +++

Blue considers the situation so far. He has been contracted to do some surveillance on a facility to see if the business is on the up and up. But, surveillance is credible only if it is unbroken. How does one person cover a site 24/7? His kind of spirits are not the kind he can send off to watch for him. Watchers just won't do, either. They don't last long enough.

But, what if he were able to reside in the facility for the duration of his contract? Summon a hearth spirit for while he sleeps? What a crazy idea. Why on Earth would they be amenable to such an arrangement?

He needs to think about this some more.
Koekepan
Slowly as a slug creeping across his cortex, the idea infiltrates Blue's mind that it makes little sense for a Seattle-sounding parrot-thing to worry about Hellas. However, there is a group in this immediate area, with direct involvement with the area where he found the parrot, with a mangled greek name.

What if they were using something they call drachmas, for some reason? It would be ludicrous - but at least consistently ludicrous. And the bird seems to care about buying some kind of freedom.
pbangarth
Blue strikes palm to forehead. +++ How could I have missed that connection the instant the bird said it? +++ Of course, why on Earth would the bird know anything about such things? And how the hell can such a beast be intelligent enough to converse about ancient Greek coins and freedom? What are they doing in that place?

He gathers the documents he has at hand and searches for a couple of things.

Is there any mention in the contract or in the communications between PoliDemos and Petsonal Petsonalities about something called 'drachmas'?

Is there mention in the documents of the location of PoliDemos, or where the paranimals are to be delivered?
Koekepan
Now we may be getting somewhere.

A quick text search reveals that drachmas do indeed pop up in the contract, in precisely one place: the boilerplate in the (several pages long) densely packed section on definitions in the contract. The contract defines various forms of acceptable payment; strictly and only commodity-backed currencies (which the Nuyen is not) or something called Pidelta Drachmas.

A reverse search tracking down mentions of acceptable payment reveals a few mentions; nowhere does it get frightfully specific, but it does stipulate a few cases where if Petsonal somehow does damage to PoliDemos, that restitution would be required in an acceptable form of payment. There's a table referring to weregild (because apparently cultural consistency isn't a concern) and the numbers are stated in terms of a few alternatives, but there are a few weird symbols involved. One of them might be the drachma - or not. This is clearly a rabbithole of some depth.

At any rate, the question of delivery is pretty straightforward: a representative of PoliDemos will show up and take delivery in person. Really. This appears to be the one and only straightforward thing about this stupid document.

And who knows whether that ever happened? Not Blue.
pbangarth
Blue searches the texts to determine how one actually identifies himself to P.P. as a representative of PD, like, could someone just walk to the front door and say, "Hi. I'm from you know who. I'd like your atavophid basilisks now, please." Not likely.

While doing so, in a back channel he processes what he has found. His ancient Greek studies didn't go all that deep, but one of the first things one learns in any new language is the numbering system. +++ ΠΔ. That's 50. 50 Drachma coins. I wonder if that's how you identify yourself. +++

At yet another level of processing, Blue remembers something from those old 2-D ... videos? ... he ran across at school. What was that guy's, name? The assassin. Candle? No... Wick. John Wick. Seven or eight in the series. Special coins to buy one's way in, or special consideration.
Koekepan
The contract doesn't actually stipulate a means of recognition. Perhaps the PoliDemos representative will be personally known to the people at Petsonal?

On the other hand, come to think of it, Blue never really got a good explanation of why PoliDemos might think that Petsonal would have been holding something back. Generic suspicion? Lower delivery numbers than expected? A mole inside Petsonal Petsonalities? Seeing these things in the hands of others?

The whole thing is fishier than the waters of the Sound, at this rate, and Blue (having admittedly not done an exhaustive search) didn't see a place crawling with awakened, atavistic pythons either. So why would PoliDemos have decided to crack open the warchest to the tune of thousands, to send Blue on what is looking like either a wild goose chase, or an exercise in unjustified paranoia?

Does PoliDemos think that Petsonal is deliberately sitting on a vast clutch of awakened snakes, just because they can?
pbangarth
Blue is getting snippets of ideas and clues, but it seems as if he is slogging through thick mud towards a goal he doesn't see or really know. He needs to learn more but isn't at all sure how to go about it. Surely zipping astrally into that hive of paranimals will sooner or later backfire. And what's with the water element? He still hasn't figured that out. One way or another, he has to learn more about the particulars of the contract, and he has to learn more about the facility. Yeah, another foray tonight, and let's hope he doesn't crash into something ugly.

But first, maybe he can get some guidance, or at least some peace of mind to help him focus. He sits on the bed, back against the wall and legs crossed. Maybe a scene in some trid about someone meditating suggested this. He stills his mind, and calls to his Totem. Sometimes, they actually answer.

::: Owl, guide of my life. I am at an impasse. I seek knowledge, but clouds of confusion and misinformation, and the glare of daylight hinder my vision. I am alone and feel blocked on all sides. Help me, please. Help me find the way. I trust your wisdom and follow you without question. ::::
Koekepan
:::Little hunter, faithful to the tribe, when you stoop and your talons are full of leaves and dirt, the lesson must be that what you thought you saw was an illusion. But if you flew from the wrist of a guide, what can be wrong, other than the words and vision of that guide? Do not blame yourself when you took flight at the urging of another.:::
Koekepan
Karmakaze is standing quietly in the corner of a Stuffer Shack XL in Auburn. One can tell that it's an XL location because the branding won't let one forget it. So many of the goods inside are also XL. A pack of krill puffs in XL size probably has a similar volume to her torso, for example. And then her 'link announces a message from Jaxx.

<<< Heyyyyyy, Karmawarma. You there? I know life is expensive, but I come through with paying opportunities. Or did you win the big score already?>>>

Karmakaze can guess that Jaxx has been indulging one of his little habits again. But that's the price of living among lowlifes, and at least when it comes to biz he's serious. What is it this time? Good old fashioned amphetamines, or something else? He certainly seems upbeat and cocky. Something ending in -aine?

But paying attention to a 'link isn't a bad cover for dawdling in the 'Shack while waiting for a pathetically stupid serial shoplifter to come in and head straight for the cans of reconstituted meat byproduct, imaginatively titled Pro-tiiin. He's an ork, maybe 120kg of sweat, tusks and muscle shirted intimidation. He unrolls a cloth bag and starts packing cans into it. Who's gonna stop him? The walking greasepimple behind the bulletproof glass?
Bastard
<<< Send me the when and where. I will be there. > > > Karmakaze replies quickly. Her left hand is on her pistol resting at her hip, but her right hand is occupied by the poorly timed message.

She then uses the comm to record a short video of the criminal act, at least enough to get some quality footage of his face and packing the bag. Stuffer Shacks, XL or otherwise, usually have drekfest quality video surveillance systems. Returning the link to her pocket, she then gets her other firearm, this one on her right hip, ready for drawing.
pbangarth
Blue opens his eyes and lets out a tiny chuckle. +++ Owl must be taking pity on me. This message was less cryptic than many before. +++

There isn't much time left to the night, so he doesn't plan to do anything serious. Mr. Johnson said observe. That's what he's paying for. So that's what Blue will do till dawn arrives, and for as much time after dawn as he can afford before he must return to his body.

Blue stretches out on the bed, yet again, and projects into the astral. He flies to the facility and sets up a pattern of flight above it, trying to get a view of all possible exits. Maybe something more will come to him about those things on the loading dock. Maybe a vehicle will leave and he can follow it. Maybe nothing at all will happen.

Keeping alert, keeping his magic tuned to protect against a sudden attack, keeping on the move. Drifting over the urban landscape, silent and vigilant. Ready for the mouse to move.
Koekepan
Orkboy is far too overconfident, or dim-witted, to realise what Karmakaze is doing. The cans of Pro-tiiin clank together in a cheerful medley of culpability while he hoists his loot over a shoulder and shouts: """T'anks for da donations, chummer!""" to the hapless stuffer drone. But the footage will be all that she needs for Stuffer Shack to send someone to grab the responsible party and haul him away. What happens after that? Not her problem.

Jaxx responds with: <<<This one's downtown, some poor slot needs five days of babysitting so a mega's people don't grab him for experimentation or whatever. Plus he's doing some kind of investigation of his own that may need help, so it sounds like your kind of public service - assuming he'll cut you in. If you're in, I'll send word back and we'll arrange a meet. I know people who know how to find him, right now you know he's just a leeetle bit anxious.>>>
pbangarth
On the way over to the facility, Blue gets an idea about Madel. +++ I wonder if those searching for me, knowing I am an Owl shaman, might think I would not go to the blown safehouse in the daytime. Hmmm. +++
Koekepan
Blue's vigil, such as it is, doesn't seem immediately revelatory. There's the same spiritual activity around the facility that he had already observed. It does feel as if water somehow still laps around that building - but not visibly so. The astral is full of weird ambiguities like that, so by itself it means little.

Seattle and the sound itself are fairly magically active, in their way. This means that to some extent, Blue has to look for breaks in patterns, rather than some sheer baseline of activity. With a shaman's eyes the boundaries between domains are easily enough observed, but there are other boundaries to consider as well; the turf around places like the Renraku arcology, the Space Needle and so on. On the other hand, looking northwards to Ballard, Shoreline and Green Lake shows a welter of other activity as confusing in its own way. East, Fremont is a positive ferment of spiritual activity (much of it rather hostile) but somehow Petsonal Petsonalities seems to stand out as a place on its own terms.

Something about their activities may well explain that.

Still, it stands out as a bulwark of sorts against other encroachments. Blue drifts silently through the air, owl-fashion, but observes that there are other things in the air as well.

Why are there watchers that look like crocodilians swimming through the air over the streets, and particularly in the streets near Petsonal?
pbangarth
That looks kind of interesting. +++ Crocodile shaman? Well, we are near the sea. Watchers, so the shaman could be inside. What's with the sea flavour here? Is there a third party involved in the current affairs of Petsonal? +++

Blue pays some more attention to the watchers, drifting ever so slowly closer to them as he continues circling, seeing if there is a pattern to their behaviour. +++ How long before they pay attention to me? +++
Koekepan
It's hard to tell with crocs. Their eyes are on the tops of their heads, and they just drift through the air like swimming crocodiles, tails slowly undulating. Maybe they already noticed him, but aren't doing anything about it. But they're just drifting around the streets of south Ballard, as if patrolling. A guard? Observation? A show of strength? Hard to say.
pbangarth
+++ Hmmm. Personality would match a kill-or-be-killed kind of policlub. Greeks harkening back to ancient seafolk traditions? Maybe. Maybe I'm overthinking this. +++

These things weren't here the last time Blue came by. Maybe something is going to happen tonight. Blue continues his patrol.
Bastard
Karmakaze follows the ork out, gets a shot of his license plate, then forwards the video and photos to the Lone Star Crime Stoppers website, Stuffer Shack corporate m-mail, and on social media.

" " "That was fun." " "

She reads the message from Jaxx. + + +Hmm... Hope this guy is legit. I am not babysitting a crook.+ + +

< < < Set it up, but if he is a cold blooded killer, I will let the corps have him. > > >
Koekepan
Jaxx responds to Karmakaze quickly:

<<<Wizzer! Beaming you a rendezvous.>>>

Jaxx is as good as his word, and sends the address of a fried food type of diner on the western shoreline of Ballard. It's well north of Auburn, but easily accessible by road or transit. The information is that his appearance can vary, but there's a password/countersign combo: Biosludge/Caustic.

Who knows why those words.

------------

What Karmakaze doesn't know is that around the same time, Blue's 'link is buzzing with a message from Billy. <<<Hoi, chummer. Someone in your org is looking out for you. Sent you a connection to protection, if you want it, but you'll have to move fast. If I can find you, your least loved potential employers might too. Here's the when-and-where.>>>

Billy sends the same rendezvous information to Blue, along with a picture without metadata. The picture is of a cowboy hat and a holster with a sheathed cavalier deputy, both hanging off a polished wood hatrack. The one other piece of information at Blue's disposal is that his contact is an elf, and unusually tall.
pbangarth
Blue floats over Petsonal Petsonalities' facility, blissfully unaware that someone new seeks to be his protector. How does that song go ...

Everybody's looking for something
Some of them want to use you
Some of them want to get used by you



Well, actually, at this point it seems

Everybody is looking for something
All of them want to use Blue
Koekepan
It doesn't seem that a whole lot else is happening, with regard to Petsonal Petsonalities, on this side of the veil.

Blue can feel his presence growing thinner while he watches the drifting crocodilians, and time passes.
pbangarth
Feeling the call of his meat body, Blue heads home. He catches the message from Billy. Hmmm. It didn't take long for a replacement for Hopalong to show up. +++ That Johnson must be very interested in my security. Or my services. Or who knows what. +++

<<<Billy: I don't see a time for the meet with this ... cowboy. When? >>>
Bastard
< < < On the way. > > >

Karmakaze casts the address to her cars navigation, the old display kind, and rolls out of the Stuffer Shack XL parking lot as fast as the little Elektro can, which happens to be well within the speed limit.

. . .

Karma finds the place. Save the lack of a drive-thru, the little dine-in restaurant reminds her of a fast food place. Poorly lit parking lot, probably a well (too well) lit interior, and staff just needing wigs and makeup to complete the clown get up. She looks around the parking lot, which seems only a quarter full, and nothing too obvious, like a bunch of suits or sammies, then heads for the door.

+ + + Not the normal place for a shadowrun meet. Maybe this guy is just some regular wage slave, or maybe a real careful runner. + + +

She enters the front door, scanning the lobby. She is surprised, finding the place a little nicer than she expected. It is more of truck-stop style diner than fast food, and not overly well lit, but still too much for her liking. + + + Now who do I talk, too. + + + Before she can finish her thought, a staff member is approaching, though there is no hostess podium, and there is a sign that says "Sit anywhere!" with a big smiley face.

" " " Hi. I am meeting a friend, but I do not see him, " " " she tells the hostess, maitre d', or whatever this staff member's title is.

Koekepan
All Billy says to Blue is: <<<Morning. All I know, chummer. I'm guessing it's vague on purpose?>>>

The diner seems to be set up to serve the yachting and generally nautical crowd. This ranges of course from multigajillionaires, to a few barely-solvent lunatics who will grease anchor chains from here to Barbados, the long way, if it means that they get to go sailing. The parking lot doesn't only have a couple of (not very impressive) vehicles, but also a windsock, a flagpole with a couple of yacht club pennants, and a UCAS flag at the top.

In the grey light of dawn, there's a good view from the western windows. It overlooks the little jetty by which some customers can come by their preferred transport, and moor while they eat. It, too, is a sort of parking lot, and it, too, is poorly lit and mostly deserted at this hour. The windows also afford a view of a cold front making its way across the sound, but the leaden sheet of rain that drifts down from it obscures the view of the Olympics.

Inside it is warm, and the table surfaces are refinished formica. The place smells of decades of fried fish, but not stale so much as well-lived-in. The grunge at the bottom of their fryers probably contributes half the flavour by itself. The walls are decorated with a huge collection of old, framed pictures of people who were probably once customers, boats that may or may not have sailed within a nautical mile, and various memorabilia of a hundred years ago, when Seattle was a working port run by working people.

Yachty sort of place, in other words. But one where a working tugboat rigger and a pilot could rub shoulders with a fishing captain and a regatta winner, and nobody feel out of place. A truck stop on the waterfront.

Karmakaze's hail is clearly well-understood in this place, where travel is affected by tides, weather, and the whims of the UCAS naval authorities. """No problem. Have a seat, I'll get you a menu, and do you want something hot to drink in the mean time? Soykaf is three nuyen, bottomless, or we have a mug of real coffee for five."""
Bastard
" " "You have real coffee? Definitely have the real coffee, please.... And can I have a menu?" " "

Karma finds a table where she has a good view of the entrances. Hopefully she will be able to spot her contact when they enter, but she really doesn't know who she is looking for. Someone different from the rest of the patrons.
pbangarth
<<< Thanks, Billy. Had some trouble figuring out your niece. Some astral interference. I believe she is Awakened, but will have to try a different tack to be sure. >>>

Public transit is frequent this time of day, if a little crowded. Blue wends his way to the diner. Well, not surprising a port city would have a lot of places with a nautical theme.

Blue enters the diner and open himself to the astral. Checking to see whether anything is waiting for him here. To an observer, he is looking around the room, as if looking for someone. Which he is doing, anyway. Someone tall, and an elf.
Koekepan
The coffee is hot, and the mug is thick, chunky ceramic. Karmakaze has no doubt that they serve this for yachtsmen coming off a cruise or a race in January, and make good money doing so, too. The menu is full of the usual suspects - fried shellfish, steamed critters of various sorts, kelp cakes, and a few variations on chowder. Stuff to drive the chill out.

She bets that for a few nuyen extra she could get a little under-the-counter whiskey or rum in some of it as well, but that's for somebody else to prove, today.

Blue makes his entrance and has little trouble picking out a likely prospect. There are two elves in the place, and one of them is in a serving outfit, dusting off stools and setting tables. The other is certainly sitting tall in a seat at a table, all by herself. On the astral side, this place is mostly a haven for intertidal beasties. A crab crawls over barnacle-encrusted tables, and clicks its claws.
pbangarth
Blue pulls back fully into the physical plane. He shakes the morning dew off his long coat puts his hands in his pockets and ambles over to the table where the tall elf sits.

+++ Jeez. She's as tall as I am even while she's sitting. +++

A slight smile on his face, he speaks to her. """ That coffee smells good. Not the usual biosludge one gets in a diner. """
Koekepan
Behind the stretch of riprap acting as a seawall for the diner's mooring, a little yacht comes drifting in. A silver-haired old man handles the tiller from his seat in the cockpit, as if he has all the time in the world.

Probably a retiree with a comfortable pension from somewhere.
pbangarth
A thought runs through Blue's mind. +++ I wonder if my secret benefactor belongs here, and is watching us as we meet. +++
Bastard
The man spots Karma easily enough; She is sitting in plain view of the main entrance. She is sitting across the diner, her shoulder length hair tucked behind her ears to make them more prominent, as she assumes the fixer would describe her as an elf.

Unfortunately she doesn't know who she is looking for, but when this man approaches her table, she assumes he may be the contact, good or bad. She lifts the coffee to her mouth with her right hand, while keeping the left close to her pistol.

He greets her kindly enough, and gives the challenge. She responds in kind.

" " "It is real coffee, not that caustic soycrap. Want to join me for a cup?" " "
pbangarth
""" Thank you. I would like that. """ Blue signals to the server with a gesture towards the woman's coffee that he would like one as well. He seats himself to one side, back not against a window.

When the coffee comes, he orders, """ Thanks, miss. I wouldn't mind a nice bowl of that clam chowder I see on your menu. """ he smiles warmly at the server and turns back to his tablemate.

""" As much as you seem to be a charming dinner partner, I have had a long and frustrating night, so please forgive me if I omit the small talk. I am told you have been contracted to protect me. Keep me out of the clutches of those who hunt for me. Have I been informed correctly? """
Bastard
" " "Not quite. I am here to negotiate the contract to protect you. . . . And help you with your investigation." " "
Koekepan
The waitress wanders back to the kitchen area to get some of the clam chowder action going. They probably have a running twenty litre pot of the stuff going at any one time. At the jetty, the recent arrival parks his little sailboat as sweetly as a duck settling on the water. Just a little nudge as the fenders compress, and then he wraps lines around the cleats.

On the other side, a truck towing some kind of powerboat on a trailer pulls into the parking lot. Probably here for breakfast before hitting the water. There isn't a lot of traffic; the road along the shoreline here doesn't lead anywhere particularly special, and what with its twists and turns it's not the fastest road anywhere except to the slips and moorings.

At one of the tables inside, a couple of rather salty looking guys laugh, and wave the waitress over. Karmakaze and Blue can hear them asking for more coffee.
pbangarth
""" That's interesting to hear, """ says Blue. """ I have no idea who has taken it upon himself to protect me. Someone showed up a couple of days ago, saying she had a contract to keep me and three others out of the clutches of a triple A corporation for one week. That went south quickly, and now here you are. I don't have the means to carry on whatever plan my mysterious benefactor has, but I do have a contract myself with which I could use some help. Maybe I should fill you in some so you know what is going on. Then you can decide whether to get involved or not. """

Blue scans the activity around the diner. Getting a little paranoid, are we?

""" I'm a shaman. I worked for a small biotech firm here in Seattle, doubling as magical tech aiding in the manufacture of specialized biologicals, and as nighttime security. The company was bought out by Mitsuhama. Apparently the deal included the personnel. A couple of us, I and an IT specialist, didn't feel we wanted to be absorbed by Big Brother, and slipped the security net cast around the facility to prevent just such a 'defection'. """ Air quotes around that last word.

""" We were tracked down by an agent of someone unknown to us who said she was hired by that unknown to keep us and two others who had not been present at the transfer of ownership out of Mitsuhama's grasp for one week. That was two days ago. Why, and why that time frame I have no idea. It seems there are strings being pulled from above that entangle us all, sometimes. Anyway, she took us to a safehouse she had set up. Faraday cage, panic room with a back door to the underground transit system, stashes of explosives and data chips... lots of fun. We seemed safe there, and were amused and upset at the same time to see that Mitsuhama had fabricated a crime in which we were all involved, and had put out a bounty on us. Nevertheless, we should have been safe where we were.

""" It might have worked if one of the other two, an annoying, self-absorbed airhead ... I don't know ... receptionist? ... decided to turn us all in. While I was out, a team showed up to collect us. In the fight that ensued, the other two died, the annoyance shot by either one of the Mitsuhama team or one of the other house occupants. The second was blown up during the escape out the back. I arrived back in time to mop up the collection squad with the help of a city spirit and to learn the IT specialist and the alleged protector were cutting losses and disappearing into the shadows. I suspect my bounty has risen since the damage I inflicted on the collection team.

""" I was sad about the destruction of the safehouse, because I had grown fond of the house spirit with whom I had the opportunity to interact a few times. With the house blown, the astral domain is fading, and with it the spirit. I've been back once, in the astral, but there is still a watch being kept on the ruins. I would like to see if I can transfer the spirit, or at least say goodbye, but I don't know if I will be able to do so. On top of that, whoever contacted you apparently still wants me out of Mitsuhama's possession, but again, I don't know why.

""" So anyway, I found a new place to stay, closer to my current job, and cheap because it fits my night owl schedule but not that of many others. I have been contracted to observe a facility in Ballard that produces trained paranormal animals. The details of my contract, once I was privy to them, are only marginally less confusing than the contract struck between the company producing the animals and the buyer, which turns out to be a thuggish policlub seemingly intent on imposing its will on the broader community. That will appears to soon be more enforceable should they acquire the particular kind of beast they want the facility to produce for them. I took the contract and will fulfill it, but I wonder now what effect my due diligence will have.

""" So, I am staking out the facility, but one man can't work 24/7 for two weeks. I am much more useful at night than in the daytime. My contacts came up with someone who took on partnership with me, and then left shortly thereafter, with her half of the signing bonus. Some kind of 'family emergency', I think. """ More air quotes. """ I do hope street cred is a thing, and that those who choose to break a contract pay for it in the long run. """

""" So here I am, all on my own again, and here you show up, sent my way by person or persons unknown. """ Blue sips some coffee and then places both hands on the table in front of him.

""" I don't have much cash left, but should you decide to take on a share of the load, I can give you a couple of spell items usable by non-magicians, and half of the 5000 nuyen payment for a report at the end of the two weeks, with a possible other 5000 should we be required to convince the facility, through negotiation or other means to abstain from breaking their contract. Mr. Johnson assured me that exerting myself to bring the company in line would not likely be necessary. Yes, I am being paid by one party to find out if anything untoward is being done by the other party, and yet have been assured that that is unlikely to be the case.

""" So, any questions? """ Blue smiles broadly at the question. He tries to gauge the woman's response, and glances around to see if any of the activity seems out of place.
Koekepan
The activity around the diner, such as it is, doesn't seem calculated to cause immediate alarm. That sailor that just arrived is helping an equally silver-haired lady up from the cabin of his boat. The waitstaff and cooks are doing their thing, in a leisurely fashion. The few customers around are chatting and not ostensibly paying the dwarf and elf any attention. The truck trailing the boat is carefully parking in one of the long spots out front.

Another morning on the waterfront.
This is a "lo-fi" version of our main content. To view the full version with more information, formatting and images, please click here.
Dumpshock Forums © 2001-2012