One Foot in the Grave - RPLOG
Participants
Date
7/2/478
Log
A smile adorns Katrina's lips, the masked feline making her way into the area with a rumble and a tap of her staff against the stones of the streets. Through some research, she's managed to discern the location of her goal, which should be somewhere within the academy district... Now the main question is... Where?
Fenris saunters along behind Katrina in his guise as Ash Dustcloak. "Nice of you to send the fan club away," he drawls in his foreign accent, "Was gettin' tired of em following me around all the time." He swaggers to a stop, looking around the academy district. "Thought we were looking for a grave," he says, "Didn't think there were any around here."
"Ain't looking for a grave," Katrina rumbles with a flick of her tail. "least, not a marked one. Might be a grave regardless," the she-cat rumbles, her tail swaying behind her. "Now then... Are you aware of the history of the academy-district?" the she-cat rumbles softly, her tail continuing to sway as she moves along the streets. "Quite an interesting bit of history here. The details are... Rather foggy, but..."
"Dunno," Ash says, looking around, "Been here forever, hasn't it?" The lynx squints at the lights of the academy. "Never had much use for all that book stuff, you know?" he says, "And they don't let ya smoke in the library."
"Only about seventy to one-hundred years, actually. It's a long time ago already, but it's hardly forever," the black-furred she-cat rumbles with a smile on her lips. "Right, so, the academy was founded somewhere in the late 300s, early 400s. Firmament hasn't been a big player on the academic scene for a long time, really. It only marginally predates both the Longtail coup, and the arrival of the shadows," the feline continues with a shake of her head, a flick of her tail. "Regardless, for a little over a hundred years before that, what is now known as the academy district was a rather prosperous area of the city. Rich merchants, several nobles who made their residence here... Couldn't find any names in the records I found, and everything's hazy, but it's been a prosperous area for nearly two-hundred years now."
"Huh," the lynx grunts, stroking his mustache, "From the way those egg heads talk, you would think they were the first school on Promise." Fenris knew very well that they weren't having attended several other schools much older than this one. "So," Ash drawls, "What are we looking for then? I'm guessing there won't be a sign sayin' Longtails lived here!"
"Indeed we won't. Considering the fact that during the fifty years before that, this place was basically worse off than shanty town is now. Ebon-trade, extortion, murder. You name it. But therein lies a great mystery, doesn't it?" the she-cat rumbles with a flick of her tails, a smile on her lips. "Do you remember the date on Alessa's will?" the she-cat rumbles, still striding through the streets with an uncanny amount of confidence, seemingly knowing exactly where she's supposed to be.
"Yeah," Ash says, "What's that got to do with anything?" The lynx is interested to note that his usual shadows seem to have vanished since Katrina met him. She must have her own security detail that he had not seen before.
A smile adorns the feline's muzzle, a flick of her tail. "In the, say, forty to fifty years Alessa lived, this particular district... Changed. Rapidly. Now, I don't know about you, but so far, I haven't seen a lot of nobles or lordships actively working to turn Shanty Town into a more... Pleasant area. No, most people are quite fine with leaving it well outside the city walls. Much like this district used to be. Do you see where this is going?"
Ash stares at Katrina for a moment, then shrugs. "Nope," he says, "No idea. Why don't you enlighten me, Kitten. All I can think is that maybe this lady of yours was sentimental about her shack sweet shack." The lynx glances around as they walk, suspicious of the lack of guards or watchers. Maybe they were better than the shadows she had put on him.
"Precisely. Best theory I could come up with, at least. You can imagine, they ain't doing any censuses out in the bad part of town. I'd imagine she grew up here, rose to power, and then used her newfound power to take out the gangs one by one," Katrina continues with a smile on her lips, a flick of her tail. "Either case. We're almost here," she continues, gesturing at a small homestead a little while to the north. "Small family of rabbits. One child, about ready to serve her time in the military. "You'll be digging up their back yard."
Ash rolls his eyes at that statement. "And the family?" he asks, "I'm guessing I'm supposed to dig this place up without waking anyone?" The lynx frowns. "At least tell me you've got a shovel," he drawls, indicating his shovel-less-ness, "Or am I supposed to do this with my hands?"
"I'm sure they've got something you can work with, eh?" the cat questions for a moment, before flicking her tail lightly behind her. "And if you do wake them up, I'm sure you can... Handle the problem," the cat rumbles with an almost malicious smile on her lips, tail sweeping along the ground...
Ash grumbles under his breath as he follows the wicked panthress along the darkened alleyways, swapping out a pair of soul gems from his carefully concealed soul gem as he walks. Might as well get what advantages he could get.
A smile on the cat's lips, a soft rumble. "Do well, and I might just have a few more jobs for you... Oh, and as usual... I won our little game from last time," she rumbles, tossing a coinpurse towards Ash, flicking her tail lightly. "You owe me another dinner, dear," she concludes with a sway of her form. "Now, I don't know exactly where you'll find what I'm looking for... So I suppose you're best off picking a spot and going for it.
Ash growls as he catches the coin pouch from the air and stuffs it into his pocket as he storms into the darkened back garden. The lynx scans around looking for some sort of tool to dig with, applying a discreet bit of earth magic to sound out the ground beneath him, searching for empty cavities that might indicate a grave.
Fenris manages to find several underground cavities. A sizable cavity right underneath the nearby oak-tree. One being-sized cavity close to the house, and several tunnels of various lengths running underneath the garden. In addition, he can sense there's a surprisingly large basement underneath the field, and two more being-sized holes are a little way away from the house as well...
Ash sighs as he finds a heavy garden shovel and looks around. "Any hints?" he asks quietly, staring at the large expanse. He waits a moment for an answer, the trudges over to the oak tree and starts to dig as quietly as he can, using a bit of earth magic to ease the way. It would be so much easier just to do the job with magic, but the less Katrina knows about his abilities, the better.
"None whatsoever. It's a damn miracle I've managed to narrow it down so much, honestly," the she-cat rumbles with a shake of her head. "Found a few scattered pages her memoires, and it seems to point to this location... Or I could be completely wrong, and we should be digging up the neighbours's yard. One thing at a time, though," the she-cat rumbles with a shake of her head, a flick of her tail...
Ash puffs quietly, digging quickly and quietly. Even aided by his earth magic, this is hard work! "This is a test, isn't it," he drawls, pausing to wipe away the sweat from his brow, "You want to see if I'll try and murder you if you keep making me do stupid, menial tasks, aren't you?" He keeps on digging, moving fast. He is already up to his waist in a sizeable hole.
"Perhaps it is. Perhaps I'm testing your resolve to join our organization. Perhaps the true test is yet to come," Katrina rumbles softly, her tail swaying lightly behind her... Even so, Fenris does eventually manage to uncover the hole, where he's surprised by a large gathering of squirkik, whose den he seems to have disturbed... Though there is something glimmering all the way at the back of the den...
"Hold that thought," Ash hisses, drawing a wicked looking knife from his boot, thinking better of it, and instead lobbing a sleep powder pouch down the hole and covering his mouth for a count of twenty before checking the space again.
Soon enough, the angry squirkiks are left dazed and confused, and the small, shiny metal box comes into view. It appears to be worn, though not at all damaged by the ages, and it seems to be still-sealed regardless. "Found anything? Doubt everything's in one spot, anyways," the she-cat calls out curiously, watching with interest.
Ash takes a deep breath before reaching into the hole and retrieving the box. He straightens up and crawls from his hole, examining the box. The lynx then quickly refills his hard work and looks at Katrina. "Now what? More digging? The tree was just a good guess for an old grave."
"More digging, I would say," the cat rumbles, before looking the box over curiously herself, taking a moment to sit down in a chair on the house's porch with a smile on her lips. "Really, I should thank you for doing the heavy work here. I'm simply not built for physical exercise like that," she rumbles softly, taking her time to examine the lock...
Ash makes a rude gesture at Katrina and wanders quietly around the yard for a few minutes, as though trying to pick a good spot to dig. After a suitable wait, he starts digging at the spot he found with two cavities, side by side, easing his way and quieting his work with earth magic again. He really hopes that the occupants of the house don't wake.
"Relax. Your pay is three times that of your last job, and if you do it properly, you only have to dig up these nice folks' yard," the she-cat rumbles with a flick of her tail. "'course, if you screw up, you may have to do a little more than simple digging," she rumbles, gesturing at the home and swaying her tail languidly again, her attention once more taken up by the box. "Marvelous, this... A creator steel lockbox."
"I don't do graves without blood price," Ash says as he pauses to wipe sweat from his brow again, "So keep it down up there." The lynx keeps digging with smooth, fluid motion. "Good thing I keep in shape," he mutters under his breath, praying that the family inside are deep sleepers.
"Tsk. You think you ain't getting paid enough for the job? You could just leave, but that'd mean you won't be seeing whatever it was Alessa hid out here, hmm?" the she-cat rumbles with a grin, a flick of her tail, before looking back towards the hole... By now, Fenris's almost made it to the twin coffins... And Kat has found a moment to use an old family-key to unlock the creator steel box.
Ash pauses as his shovel thumps softly against old wood. He looks at Katrina with a raised eyebrow and starts to widen the hole, exposing the two graves. He leans on his shovel for a moment, breathing heavily and looking at the exposed coffins. "Well," he asks, "What do you think?"
A smile, a tailflick, and Katrina seems... Almost hesitant, for the first time. "Feel free to dig elsewhere... I think I can manage this part," she rumbles, taking a moment to examine the exact shape of the two rather simple-looking coffins, the graves around them, and everything between them. "The faster we're done, the better, no?"
Ash gives Katrina a suspicious look. "Don't go thinking I trust you half as far as I could throw you," he drawls, climbing from the hole and wandering around the quiet yard, holding his shovel out like a dowsing rod. He lets the head dip when he comes to the last being sized cavity. The one closest to the house. The lynx frowns, but starts digging. He makes a bit more use of his earth magic here to clear the way quietly while Katrina is occupied.
Katrina, meanwhile, opens the caskets, and silently retrieves its treasure from insde. A small, metal tube, the leather straps completely eaten away, but easy to replace none-the-less. Taking a few bits of strinng, the feline jury-rigs it up against her lower arm, and using a wad of cotton, she creates a sabbot for the black needles that were contained within the other box.
Quickly inserted within the tube, Kat takes just enough time to cover the two graves again with a potent gust of wind to blow the dirt back in.
And then, she fires a black needle straight through the upstairs window, rumbling softly. "A remarkable device, this. The magic is still fully functional, too..."
Ash jerks upright at the sound of shattering glass and stares at Katrina, clambering from this last hole. "The hell is wrong with you!?" he hisses, striding over and grabbing the black feline by the arm, quickly dragging her away toward the alleys of the academy district. Yes, he had left one dig site unfinished, but he hoped that the bag of coin he had 'dropped' there would make up for the vandalism. "You WANT to get caught! Don't you!" he accuses quietly, "All the Longtail flunkies on the underbelly of society and I had to find the mad one!"
"Hardly," the she-cat rumbles, her tail flicking behind her as she watches Ash with a curious raise of her brow... "That being said, I needed to know how you'd react in a situation like that. An interesting choice," the she-cat rumbles with a faint smile on her lips, before raising her brow. "After all, you /do/ want in on the Organization, don't you? I mean, if you don't, I've got another needle lined up already," she rumbles softly, her tail flicking behind her lazily, the feline seemingly unperturbed.
Ash whirls on the smaller panthress, jerking her arm up and twisting it into a painful lock. "Don't screw with me, Lady Longtail," he hisses, "You already blew a job without a second thought. Your organization is a joke led by a madwoman. I think that I've seen all I need to see. Give me one good reason I shouldn't just walk away?"
"I didn't blow a thing. I found what I was looking for, and I did need to test your response. That third hole you were digging? Considering what my sources told me, you were digging up the poor peoples' son," the she-cat grows, before the needle flies loose and straight into Ash's foot. "For another... I'm quite sure those needles are poisoned, and although I'm not sure how much of it is still functional, I do know the recipe Lady Alessa used is a closely-guarded family-secret... As is the antidote," she growls, taking the brief moment of distraction that sharp needleprick is sure to give to turn around and slam the metal tip of her cane against his other foot. "I know maybe two or three physicians that can mix you up the antidote. Do you want to risk being dead within the week?"
Ash staggers back with a grunt, dirts and stone sloughing away from his foot where he tried to mount a last second defense. But it was too little, too late. One of Katrina's long, black needles sticks up from his boot, and he can feel that the thing has managed to draw blood. The lynx snarls and snatches the barb from its place. "What do you want?" he snaps, "You've been playing me for weeks! And I HATE games!"
"For one, the Obsidian Needle, which you've so willingly handed to me," the cat rumbles, even as she loads up the next needle. "For another... You seemed like a being interested in working for the Sanguine hand... Evidently, I was wrong," the she-cat growls softly, sidestepping around and flicking her ears. "Evidently, I want my sister's defeat. She took something. Something that is -rightfully mine-," the she-cat snarls out, watching Ash all the while. "Now then. Are you going to admit defeat, or are you going to let the venom wreck your body over the next few days?" she snarls, watching the cat with a sneer on her lips.
Ash straightens up and shakes his head. "Damn, woman," he drawls in his foreign accent, "I meant, what do you want for the antidote? Not your messed up vendetta about your screwed up family and messed up childhood." He calmly lights one of those foul smelling cigarettes that he seems so fond of and tosses the match away. Somewhere along the process, the needle that was in his hand has vanished. "Did I, or did I knot, fulfill the terms of our written contract?" All the anger and venom seems to have drained from him in an instant, to rather eerie effect.
"You did. Until you assaulted me. And I was going to reward you for your continued obedience... However... You've messed that up now, haven't you?" her tail sways, her ears flick, and her gaze travels towards the academy. "The venom will take a day or three to start working... I suggest you prepare for another break-in," she rumbles. "There's a few things over at the academy that I'd love to get my hands on. What book exactly, you'll be told when you arrive for the job. I'm sure you'll recognize your contact. Do a good job, and your antivenom will be waiting for you once you return."
"Oh, and don't bother asking the spyguard... This recipe was never shared with anyone but the house leader and their most trusted."
Ash looks up to the sky and blows a puff of foul, yellowish smoke at the sky. "You know," he muses, "You are possibly the worst employer I have ever had. Never had a boss who WANTED a job that was going so well to head south. Unless they wanted me dead to avoid paying me. Had that once or twice." The lynx smooths his mustache with a finger. "You tell me what you want outta that place and I'll have it for you in no time. Just don't go messing with my work once you've hired me, hmm?"
"As I said. I had to gauge the kind of person you are... And you're simply not fit to join the organization... Not yet, at least," the cat rumbles... "I haven't even had to get Sylvio involved. I'm afraid the dear boy might just be getting bored. If you fail your mission, though, he'll get his turn regardless," the she-cat rumbles, turning around and walking off. "Any night for the next week... Eleven PM sharp, academy's gates... Oh, and if both you and the venom fail to do their job, your fifth tail will finish both of them."
"Until you've proven otherwise, you're expendable."
Well. "I knew it," Ash says with a grin, "I knew there was a fifth one!" The lynx does not move to follow Katrina, or to leave at all, opting to stand quietly for a while, smoking his nasty (and illusory) cigarette. Meanwhile he is focused inward with his water magic, slowing the progress of the poison. He would even see what his sacred doctor could discover later when he was in safer, more secret places. He would show up for the job, of course, but hopefully, poison free. No reason to dull his tools to keep up the sell.
