The Black Diamond, Part 3

Log Info

• Title: Black Diamond, part 3
• Emitter: Delilah
• Characters: Elyanna, Ashes, Merek
• Place: A18: Alexandrian Docks - Black Diamond
• Time: Monday, January 25, 2021, 8:27 PM
• Summary: Merek continues to fruitlessly pump the prostitutes for information, while Elyanna and Ashes burst into the owner's office when they hear voices and an interesting topic. A tense situation follows, but the adventurer-turned-madame shares what she knows regarding Ella. It's not much more than what they already guessed, but useful to have confirmed.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=  Appearing, in Order  =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Ashes        5'11"    177 Lb     Hobgoblin         Female    A somber arvec in grey clothes with a skull face  
Merek        5'10"    215 Lb     Human             Male      A black-haired, dusky male with golden eyes.
Elyanna      5'11"    153 Lb     Half-Orc          Female    A grim, Arvek-blooded woman in raven feathers.
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=  Noteable NPCs  =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Astella                          Shadow Elf        Female    A prostitute, maitre'd of the Black Diamond
Miria                            Human             Female    A prostitute, employee of the Black Diamond
Vallia                           Human             Female    A former adventurer, busty owner of the Black Diamond
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=  As the GM  =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Delilah      5'4"     106 Lb     Human             Female    A golden haired human girl in white robes.
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=

Previously

A human male and two hobgoblin women go to the Black Diamond. It's not a joke; It's an investigation by Merek and friends. They are greeted by a naked Mul'niessa, Astelle, Ashlee and Elyanna are approached by Miria, and engage her. The two girls discuss going upstairs with her, but Merek draws her off so they are able to explore on their own. Meanwhile, Merek entertains the two prostitutes with idle conversation. At the end of the hall, the two hobs are halted by a door.

In the last moments...

"Ah, I apologize. I'm just used to you know," Merek notes, while he nods. The man looks to the cards with him, then the drink while he sips from that. "An Adventurer, what kind of people does she hire for the place? I don't see a lot of adventurers get into the business."

Ash's familiar, Chippen, emerges from her sleeve. She presses her hand to the door, letting him run onto then down it, and under it. "I should have a spell for this."

While his mistress thinks it over, the familiar runs up to the handle. He might just be able to manage a simple lock. Meanwhile, Ash takes out her Holy Symbol, speaking quietly. "Feiu of the Tears, open this for me" >tnk<. Hmmm. "Feiu of the Tears, grant passage." >tnk<. She bites her lip slightly.

"Do you have a bent piece of wire?"

This was so much easier when she could just whip someone else into doing it!

A shake of her head, as it seems, well, no one's home, and they locked up behind themselves and Elyanna sighs. Thwarted by a door and a need for-

Blink-blink.

A glance to Ashes, then a quick look around before she pulls a small cliplike hair pin from her raven locks, "Like this?"."

Now

"Thanks." Ashlee takes the hair pin and sticks it in the lock, twisting and seeing what she can disengage. She has some skill with a bent wire, largely related to hooking and removing brains from the skull as part of a specific ritual to prepare bodies for burial. She hasn't had to do that in a while. It's not popular in Alexandria. It's not popular in Blar either. It's one of those things that Mourners 'pick up'. In any case, fishing through a nasal cavity isn't the same as poking tumblers around. It's the effort that counts.

"I'm not sure this will work."

Astelle and Miria both burst into laughter; nothing mean of course, just a sudden burst of mirthfulness. "No, not many adventurers retire to become prostitutes," Astelle admits. "What kind of people does she hire? Sexy ladies, for the most part, who don't mind going without clothing all day long, and doing all the other things that come with the job."

"And she looks after us," Miria adds. "Our profession tends to have... risks attached to it," she explains, "But Mistress Vallia has made it clear that won't be tolerated. We get very well treated by clients."

Locks are, as it turns out, a lot different from brains and nasal cavities. For one, they're a lot narrower, inside, and for another they're a lot harder. Ashlee succeeds at a great deal of jiggling, but that's... more or less it, really.

Though she is close enough to the door that she can at least hear someone -- or perhaps two someones -- entering the room on the other side of it, albeit from a different vector; and there seems to be a bit of conversation in progress.

Some called Mistress become adventurers. There is a certain duality to the universe.

Elyanna continues to play lookout as Ashes has her fun with the lock, postulating capers involving her friend's bond with Chippen, and their recent experiences climbing, or 'what ifs' as to what she should do if they're discovered.

Ash slowly removes the wire from the lock. Chippen, hearing voices and sensing her desire, runs up her pantleg to safety. The ashen Arvec taps Elyanna, then points at her ear while resting her's against the door. Her hand seeks a handle behind her, to another room in case it's necessary to retreat. She listens.

Merek nods a bit to Astelle and Miria, while he seems to think about it, "Well, I would like to think that people will be safe while in Alexandria," he states, the man looking to the whole of the place, "Anyway, what do you like about the line of work?" he asks.

Elyanna glances down to Ashes as she's tapped, nodding on the sign to her ear and she strains to listen. It may not be enough, but she edges toward the doorknob toward which her friend strives and makes to open it silently herself, other hand making ready to snatch the Mourner's hand should their discretion threaten to evaporate.

The two women look at each other over the top of Merek's head, one with a raised eyebrow expression; but a customer's a customer, even if he asks unusual questions it seems. "Pay's nice," Astelle confirms. "Good customers tip quite a lot, especially adventurers, because they usually come back from their jobs well paid and flush with loot and when they're drunk and satisfied, they get generous."

"And with Mistress Vallia in charge, it's a lot safer," Miria adds. "And it sure beats working in a stable or a mine or something. Sometimes what people want can be a little strange--" She pauses as Astelle interjects "Like that guy who was just all about feet!" "...But hey, all part of the job."

On the other side of the door that Elyanna and Ashes are listening to, it does indeed sound like a conversation is going on. While they haven't heard the beginning, it's definitely not hard to piece together what it's about.

"...not my concern," states a female voice, the first half of the sentence being largely unheard. "She has people from the Adventurer's Guild to look out for her, and they'll get the job don't. Or they won't, and she'll be executed, but it's still not my concern."

"But what if she can help?" inquires a male voice.

"She can't," replies the woman. "She doesn't know where Ella's son is being held. The guard will be no help, either, so I have to find Alvin myself." There's a pause. "Well, you can help, of course. Eyeballs on the street, my boy. Keep your eyes open and talk to your friends."

Merek nods a bit, then he seems to consider it, "Well, I am just curious. Like the places that I visit to be... Well," he smiles, while he takes a drink of the wine, "Anyway! I would like a game, would you all be willing to play cards?"

That's interesting, Ashlee thinks, contemplating how to update her mental Venn diagram. If the guards are no help they likely don't have her son, unless they're holding him until after the execution. Although, practically, there's no need for that. Ella retracting her testimony would only confirm she was a liar, either at trial or after, and not change the verdict. So the guards likely aren't holding Alvin, so that leaves family.

It sure would have been nice to know some of those dynamics, what Bethany and her sister's relationship was like, who was eldest, who owes money, who is the spendtrift and who is the miser. Whether the brother-in-law was ever unfaithful, and with whom, and what their parents opinions are of them, should the still live, and who they were known to favour if they have passed on.

Well... perhaps Ash can find that last bit out on her own. Meanwhile, she clamps her teeth together and listens for footsteps approaching the door, or further conversation.

Is, herself vaguely interested in that it seems the Mistress is aware of the situation, and, it seems the lean on one of her rental pets, though not as the primary. A pebbler of vice likely isn't innocent about the motivations of the Guard in any city within which they operate, which infers, at least something of the larger force is not involved at the minimum.

The Keeper remains tense and waiting for the trigger to spring into action should discovery be nigh and waits. Perhaps more tidbits to incorporate may come down the line, but in either case, best to be ready.

Elyanna is, herself vaguely interested in that it seems the Mistress is aware of the situation, and, it seems the lean on one of her rental pets, though not as the primary. A pebbler of vice likely isn't innocent about the motivations of the Guard in any city within which they operate, which infers, at least something of the larger force is not involved at the minimum.

The Keeper remains tense and waiting for the trigger to spring into action should discovery be nigh and waits. Perhaps more tidbits to incorporate may come down the line, but in either case, best to be ready.

"There's cardgames in progress," Astelle cheerfully points out. "We don't play while we're on shift, we're here to help you play, hmm? But, tell us, what kind of cards do you prefer? We'll get you in a game that suits your fancy, and I'll stay with you for good luck, yes?"

Miria doesn't add to this answer, though she does stand up and look about, taking a quick stock of what cards are being played and where. Poker, Blackjack, and a couple others are going on, as one might expect. Also dice, and that game imported from Rune with the spinning wheel and the ball, that nobody really understands anyway.

Behind the door, the conversation continues. "And what if we don't find Alvin in time?" asks the man.

"Then Miss Valethor had best hope her friends are willing to break the law to save her neck," answers the woman. "Because the terms Ella was given were clear. After the execution, she gets her son back, not before."

"But what if Delilah--"

"And *that*," snaps the woman, "Is why we need to find Alvin as soon as possible."

"I would like a game of poker," Merek mentions while he takes a drag from the cigarette with him. "If you wouldn't mind it," he admits. The man stands while looking to also find a place to settle in.

'But what if Delilah... what?' Ashlee stares at the door. She's imprisonned, what could she possibly do besides escape? Is it possible she knows something and doesn't realize it? As the Mourner thinks, her centipede crawls out of her collar and up beside her ear. He digs into her hair, and strokes at the side of her face to help her think.

The Madame sounds like she's a good source of information. The ashen Arvec considers which is likely to yield the most, continued eavesdropping, or bursting in and offering to help? She imagines the second option, throwing open the door, somehow, and standing at the threshold with a slight hunch, her tawdry clothes, clutching a wine glass with a big white skull and looking like Death got lost on the way to a party. She could even offer a card for ten percent off funerary arrangements at the Grey Lady's temple, everyone ends up there anyhow. Yes, this will seem very trustworthy and encourage information sharing.

Chippen shakes his head back and forth, as an insect, he is not convinced. Ash hesitates...

Indifferent to card games, save Ashes's favorite (Which is, frankly, vaguely disconcerting), Elyanna chews on that for a moment or two.

The likelihood they've been discovered isn't null, but not probable, It's probably not meant for their benefit. As her theory about coersion seems to have been validated, the red woman is forced to adjust a couple of counters on the abbacus. Still, time is short and trickling away, they haven't heard anything of the rest of Delilah's defense corps; if Ser Pedaryn's hunch played out, if Ella has been located, whether the child, an innocent has been retrieved...

Slender carmine fingers absently slip the coils of Maidenhead from her belt as the Hobkin steps around her friend.

She wanted to focus on the principle. As if saving Delilah alone would tip the scales....

The former Keeper's boot lifts with a soft, "Clear." <goblin-talk>

To save the woman's life, at potential cost of the child.

Foolishness....

The remorse of the actions of Otilla Silverlash, driven anew, ire raised, -SLAMS- her heel into the door by the lock.

The Lady von Diesel wants to hear a -story-...

Well; unfortunately for Merek, having two gorgeous and underclothed women hanging off his arm isn't something that can last forever, as Miria gently extracts herself -- mostly because new people have walked in and someone needs to greet them. Astelle remains, however, and escorts Merek to a game of poker. "Buy in is ten gold," a dwarven dealer with a reddish nose cheerfully explains. This seems to be Merek's responsibility -- it's not like Astelle is hiding any money anywhere.

Under Elyanna's heel, the door explodes inwards; the kick takes it loose off one hinge so it settles funny, revealing a well appointed office, containing a half-elven man in simple garb, the sort of thing you might wear to go wholly unnoticed, and a human woman in what amounts to a flimsy dressing robe.

The latter turns a glare, suddenly baleful, towards the door. "Step inside," she snaps, "And explain the meaning of this before I break both of your backs over my knee."

"What do you know about Delilah, Ella and Bethany." Ashlee says, in monotone. Staring. Another stuffed shirt telling her what to do. Well, stuffed robe, nicely stuffed. Still frustrating. Her eyes remain fixed on the former adventurer. She takes a sip from her glass of wine. The Mourner has talked a vampire to death, and a necromancer. Nann Mocht could turn irritating people into chickens. Sadly she didn't share that secret with the Mourner. It could have helped.

She tries to remember some of the advice from her pamphlet, 'how to act like a normal person'. She isn't sure it applies adventurer to adventurer.

"Your man asked interesting questions. You know more about the guards and what's going on than we do."

"Our interest started with Valenthor." Elyanna replies evenly in the face of the Madame's ire, "But, now, it seems there is an Alvin in play and we lack the information we need to see them safe."

She has Taara's ire as an Apostate to look forward to once Vardama's passed her along, a mortal woman is less a soure of worry by comparison, and doing things the Alexandrian way was like cooking a meal long enough to dine on ashes.

A glance to her friend as she, in turn speaks up.

Not those Ashes.

"Being coy has not been working."

Merek nods a bit while he plays the game of poker, taking the time to make sure no one will bother the two while they work. He does take a drink of that wine. Was his plan any good, well that was a question. Whatever they learn, it likely will need meaning.

The woman, Vallia as has been correctly deduced, folds her arms beneath her breasts and glares at the two who've just burst into her office. She glares at them; and then she looks at the young man and nods, and he scurries out of the room in a rapid fashion. "Now then, before I go answering any questions, you can explain to me two things; first, who you are, and secondly, why the hell I should answer anything and not just throw you out of my establishment by the most expedient means available -- that being the window," she nods to the one over there. "I presume you are adventurers, as it is unlikely to be anyone else who kicks down a door and demands answers. That's an adventurer thing. I know, because I used to do it." She perks an eyebrow upwards. "Who is Delilah to you, then, exactly?"

Merek may or may not have luck with the card game; that's difficult to say, especially this early in. But there are several players involved and at least three of them seem to have a good handle on what they're doing, making smart bets and not seeming concerned when they lose something. On Merek's side, he has a naked good luck charm, leaning up against his back. ...But then, so do several of the other players. Interesting times indeed.

"Do it." Ashlee says, expressionless, her words flat and without fear. She was dead before she was born and the Feiu of the Tears sent her back and will take her when it's time. Norrington, the Mul prosecutor, Bethany's sister, they will all die in time. So will Vallia, and she will be judged on her actions by an indifferent force that will squash her ego like a bug. The Mourner tried to explain to Not-a-Monster, how much she dislikes being drawn into the affairs of the living. How even feeling strong dislike is an unusual sensation for her. She doesn't like the woman in front of her, whatever her history is, and instead of contempt she should be feeling the indifference her goddess embodies. That she's being pulled away from her insulated position bothers her. She lets her thoughts run, the silence grow, and she stares unblinking. "You'll lose your best chance to save Alvin."

Because if she -literally- throws Ash and Elyanna out the window it will be off the case as well. The Mourner will switch to Plan B, rescue Delilah, and whatever consequences that will bring. Likely not good ones from what she's overheard. And while Merek is playing poker, Ashlee has a much better poker face. A huge tattoo and an inability to smile goes a long way. She sums up her sole motivation for being involved. "Bethany's murderer has gone free. She deserves better. Delilah is someone I ran into on the steps."

The manflesh is allowed to depart without the Hobkin taking her eyes from the Madame, the more dangerous one in the room. Her weight settles to a hip as the coiled lash is held to her side, grip not simply upon the haft of a weapon as of a favored instrument. She lists her head slightly to the side, her tone level but uncowed, "My name is Elyanna von Diesel, I have worked with the sisters before, and we tried to defend Delilah in that -sham-. Someone involved is putting pressure on one of your charges."

"Of course they are," replies Vallia. "Relax. You're adventurers, I'm not going to throw you out the window. I had to make sure you were on the right side of things; I find that threatening people gets a far different result from adventurers looking out for one of their own, versus criminals looking to get paid for violence. So." She keeps her arms crossed, and quirks an eyebrow upwards. "What I can tell you is this. Ella's son, Alvin, was kidnapped the day before the murder of Bethany, and she was instructed to sleep with Delilah and then testify at her trial to make it look like Delilah was guilty. She was herself kept in isolation while you lot were investigating." She pauses, and quirks an eyebrow upwards. "I know that Ella will do *anything* to get her son back, and I will help her; she's sorry about Delilah's predicament, and so am I, but it's not our priority. If we don't get Alvin back before the execution -- unlikely, since we have no idea where he is and the kidnapper did a damn fine job of keeping Ella hidden for more days than this -- then we aren't going to lift a finger to stop it, because the only way we get Alvin back, is if Delilah's head rolls. Lastly, the guards don't know anything. They aren't even aware that Alvin is missing. Nor do they seem to care."

The woman purses her lips, and tilts her glare in particular towards Elyanna. "Also, you owe me a new door."

"Merek will buy you a door." Ashlee says, considering the new information. Nothing new shows on her face, which remains a cypher. She mentally rotates the puzzle-pieces, attempting to fit them together. Some suspicions were confirmed, some hard to eliminate despite Vallia's assurances the guards are ignorant. Does she mean only regular patrollers? Norrington has been very dilligent with the writ, moving up the trial. She tags that with 'personal vendetta - perhaps unrelated'. So his ill-use of the law will go unpunished. Well that's another box to put things in. As her Venn diagram remains unfullfilled, a thought strikes. She does have a piece Vallia doesn't.

"Scrying suggested Charn. Are there any Charnese connections to Bethany, Ella or Delilah?"

The red woman nods slightly to the explaination and she turns slightly to regard the door, "Your craftsman probably ripped it off." she notes absently, then turns back in time for Ashes to volunteer Merek's purse. She frowns a little, but reaches into one of her pouches for a collection of... something. She plucks a gem of a rich purple from with the index and thumb of her whip hand, then put the rest away. "As the slight was mine." she intones, stepping forward, presenting the trade gem with the unarmed hand, "This should suffice."

Her own experinces regarding creative expiration suggest a more intimate relation to the conspiracy for dear Norrington and his hands than mere oppurtunism, "How would you know the relative ignorance of the Guard in this case?"

Vallia glares at Elyanna, and is about to comment before the gem is produced, which she waves a hand at. "Don't be ridiculous," she mutters. "Keep your gem. A door is worth maybe ten silver. Just, knock, next time." She perks an eyebrow upwards. "I know the guard are ignorant because I've asked them," she replies. "...Charn?" she adds, looking towards Ashes, "Ella has no relatives outide the city, nor any reason to travel to Charn of all places. Anyone I know with any sense avoids that place like a dungeon full of gelatinous cubes. Ella is not the sort to go trapsing off to a place like that unless she was dragged there... but it's also a long ways travel. So either she wasn't *really* there, or someone can travel very quickly. Either one suggests magic, and magic suggests that trying to find Alvin in the time available is... nearly hopeless."

Vallia shrugs her shoulders, "I will not ask you not to save Delilah Valethor, nor will I hinder you in your attempts, but I ask you not to hinder me in trying to find Alvin. He is most definitely innocent, and doesn't deserve whatever fate is looming over his head."

"We have access to a Seer with powerful magic." The ashen Arvec says, "Alvin could be scryed if you have an object of his."

This might help. A really smart dog that could follow a week old trail might help too. Ashelee doesn't have access to that. Well, she knows a druid, but she hasn't seen him in a while.

Her thougths wander back to the additional details. No Charnese connection for Ella, none for Delilah, so Bethany must have one. She elaborates aloud, "Powerful magic killed Bethany. Are there any connections her family has with Charn? Someone chose your prostitute to frame someone else for killing her. They may have been here."

"Bad business." Elyanna replies, setting the gemstone down on a piece of furniture, "Reputation demands recompense." She looks then, to Ashes, as the Charn angle is explored further. A conspiracy that has any root in Charn becomes... politically complicated. If provable in the slightest....

Treason.

She knows the prescription for such indiscretions in Bludgun, and likely Blar, but is still fairly certain even here it doesn't involve bellyrubs and prolific lady favors.

"What does she know of the kidnappers?"

Then, more magic is called for, and, "Should I go get him?"

"I do not," Vallia replies, "Possess anything that belongs to Alvin. Ella likely does, but I am not sending you to her." Her face softens, and she sighs. "Her home is hardly hidden, a minor amount of public records-searching and you would find it, but I have no doubt it is being watched and if she is observed helping you, it will not be good for Alvin." She pauses, pursing her lips. "I don't know Bethany. I never knew her. Noblewomen don't exactly come *here*, if they want erotic companionship they send for someone who enters their manor through the back door, and Bethany never made any such call. She could have had connections with Taara for all I know. Not that it seems to have done her any good, a bullet still blew her brains out."

Vallia shrugs her shoulders lightly. "Your time is short, adventurers, and at the end of it your Delilah is about to get much shorter. You could scry for Alvin, but don't think I haven't already thought of it; unless your magic is impressive indeed, the kidnappers have likely already thought of that and put him in a room with no windows." She shrugs her shoulders. "It's what I would do."

Vallia pauses once more, and taps her lips in thought. "The kidnapper? Ella never saw them. They took Alvin right out from under her nose without her ever seeing."

"Oh, no need." Ashlee processes Vallia's answers and replies to Elyanna. Anything Merek could do won't be done here. She's unsure how to collate the details of Ella's dwelling, Vallia has warned them off at least twice but implied they find the house easy enough, but shouldn't be seen. It's as much an invitation as 'don't go in the Forbidden door', but if she wanted them to discretely inquire she could have said as much, or left out the suggestion to search the public records.

The Mourner feels a headache coming on. She presses the heel of her hand to her forehead as Chippen climbs to the top of her head and becomes an headband. The dead are not this difficult to deal with.

She exhales and stares around the office, randomly seeking something that will inspire other ideas. She hears her old drill seargent yelling at her, "Wots de mission objectives! Wot!" What are the mission objectives? Find out the Madame's involvement, Ella's motivation, and... evidence? two out of three, maybe all three, verbal testimony might count. Plunk. Another thing in another mental compartment.

Ashlee runs it all back through her head again. She's out of ideas and Villia seems confident scrying won't work, so there are no new leads here. Procedurally, she should go back to square one, review all the evidence for something that was missed, and failing anything popping out hope the public calls something in, the conspirator makes a mistake, or someone trips backwards over a clue.

"We're done here."

There is something amusing in the apraisal, but the noblewoman doesn't comment upon it. Instead, as the return rules out more and more possibilities, she shakes her head, "There would have been communication from the conspirators."

Elyanna considers the madame intently, then, nods to Ashes interjection. If she's being watched, the watcher will have something, even if it's simply a lovely singing voice. It just becomes a question; Do they whisper their secrets to her, first....

Or die screaming them, later?