Heroica RPG - Quest #72: A Party

[Zepher]

"Do you know of some poison like that? I believe very strongly that it was put in his drink."

Doc Daneeka and Madame Ladybug step into the room, arguing as they did last time. Lady Marsh steps out of the kitchen.

[Brickdoctor]

"I do not, but I am wondering if it could be a possibility. Otherwise, Lord Guffington clearly had a different cup than the rest of the guests. I assume all the wine is from the same source; has anyone other than Captain Holla, Lady Marsh, and the servers been in the kitchen?"

[Zepher]

Everstien grins. "These are the questions we are here to find out. I glanced at the kitchen from time to time, but did not keep my eyes glued to it, so I don't know if anyone went in last time. As I haven't been in yet, I can't tell you for a fact if its the same source of not, but Guffington did say that the we were all having the same spiced wine, so I'll have to assume so."

[Pandora]

"Right, well, Guts is in there, so he'll notice anyone coming or going. Unless he's dead, of course." Nyx looks at her companions "What? It's possible!" she shrugs.

On seeing Lady Marsh emerging from the kitchens Nyx narrows her eyes. Something changes and she adopts an expression of pure congeniality as she glides over to the lady to introduce herself.

"Lady Marsh, I believe." her customary curtsey and a bow of her head before straightening and addressing the woman "I am Nyx, a Mage of Heroica and I'm honoured to meet you. Have you travelled very far to be here tonight? Are you a terribly old friend of Master Guffington's?" and here she adopts a mischievous grin "Oh, and did you see what the chef was preparing? I'm most intrigued as to what will be served tonight, aren't you? Well, I guess you must be, that's why you were in the kitchens just now, right? So, is it chocolatey?" Nyx keeps grinning but watches Lady marsh's face very carefully for any sort of reaction.

[Zepher]

"He said he was making me a spiced wine before he kicked me out." Lady Marsh offers her hand and shakes Nyx's. "I have not ever heard of Heroica. What is it? I've travelled from Gull. It is south of Uland, you'd be surprised how few people know it considering the proximity. As for Guffington, I've never met the man before. My husband and he have worked together before. I've never visited the Manor itself, but for whatever reason Lord Marsh insisted that I come along this time."

[Brickdoctor]

I approach Thomas.

"Good evening, Master Faun. Bartholomew Docken.

"I must admit that I haven't seen many fauns around Eubric, nor do I know much about them. From where do you come?"

[Pandora]

"He said he was making me a spiced wine before he kicked me out." Lady Marsh offers her hand and shakes Nyx's. "I have not ever heard of Heroica. What is it? I've travelled from Gull. It is south of Uland, you'd be surprised how few people know it considering the proximity. As for Guffington, I've never met the man before. My husband and he have worked together before. I've never visited the Manor itself, but for whatever reason Lord Marsh insisted that I come along this time."

"Haha, what on earth were you doing in the kitchen to get kicked out?" Nyx laughs jovially as if Lady Marsh had been part of a great wheeze "Oh, Heroica is a sort of ... club. Sort of. Those of us with special abilities offer our services to those who ask for them. Sometimes it's the Great Houses, sometimes it's someone from the hovels; I've never seen a petition go unanswered, though. So what do you think of Eubric on your first visit? How does it compare to Gull?"

[Scubacarrot]

Guts exits the Kitchen, standing in front of the door, he tries to get the attention of Docken, Nyx, Everstien or Daneeka.

[Brickdoctor]

Catching Gut's eye, I turn back to the faun and decide that it would be best to wait for his response, as he hasn't spoken to me at all yet, before excusing myself.

[Pandora]

Nyx too sees Guts in the corner of her eye, but wants to hear Lady Marsh's response before approaching him.

[Scubacarrot]

Guts rolled his eyes, his fellow questmates were ignoring him. Great. He highly doubted that whatever they were discussing was more important than dealing with what had happened in the kitchen. He continues to block the door.

[Zepher]

Guts exits the Kitchen, standing in front of the door, he tries to get the attention of Docken, Nyx, Everstien or Daneeka.

Everstien glides over to Guts and smiles cruelly.

"Excitement in the kitchen?" he asks. Meanwhile, Madame Ladybug walks angrily away from Samuel Shawe.

I approach Thomas.

"Good evening, Master Faun. Bartholomew Docken.

"I must admit that I haven't seen many fauns around Eubric, nor do I know much about them. From where do you come?"

"I am from just outside Loush originally, though I have lived here in the Hovels for quite some years now. There aren't that many of us around, sadly. I believe some live in the Hinckwell Gardens somewhere outside the city, and there are a few others around the area."

"Haha, what on earth were you doing in the kitchen to get kicked out?" Nyx laughs jovially as if Lady Marsh had been part of a great wheeze "Oh, Heroica is a sort of ... club. Sort of. Those of us with special abilities offer our services to those who ask for them. Sometimes it's the Great Houses, sometimes it's someone from the hovels; I've never seen a petition go unanswered, though. So what do you think of Eubric on your first visit? How does it compare to Gull?"

"I was doing anything but talking to the chef. Clippard is well travelled, he was telling me of other parts of Uland. Then some rude man came into the room and got him all riled up. We didn't get to finish our discussion."

"Eubric is beautiful. Much larger and nicer houses. Gull is nearly all a port. We know of the Bonapartes, but other than that we pay little heed to the comings and goings here. I think Eubric is far more exciting. I have been asking Lord Marsh to take me for a long time, but he has always refused. This journey he insisted I come. I'm very excited!"

[Scubacarrot]

The raider turned his head, and spoke quietly making sure, only Everstien could hear him.

"Clippard the chef is actually better known as Clippard the Poisoner. Or was. He is dead, foolishly attacked me, didn't respond to my offers of mercy, the usual." The raider shows the vial of clear liquid to Everstien. "The poison, I believe. It was in his drink, as suspected." The raider slips the note in Everstien's claw as well.

Your contact will be at the party. I have told them who you are. They will pay you the appropriate amount - 500 gold. In your line of work, you understand the need for secrecy. There is a back-up plan if you fail, but we cannot tell it to you. If you would be compromised, fight or flee. The plan will go into motion if Guffington is not dead when his lips leave the cup.

His accent worsened by the alcohol and his soft speaking, Guts continued:

"As you can see, we aren't out of the sands yet. I'd like to know who hired Clippard, if he and the servers were hired separately or not. We might be able to narrow down Clippard's contact by seeing who has over 500 gold on them, not a small amount, and Clippard did not have it on him. The giver of this note, speaks of a we. This means an organization is behind this. Possibly one of the houses. Lady Marsh is suspicious. Her and her husband's obliviousness to the dealings in Eubric, she didn't even seem to realize what Heroica is, is odd, Gull is close, and directly affected by Eubric in almost every way. Yet she seemed to know Clippard the chef, which is actually a well known poisoner, according to himself. They could be foreign assassins. That smug bastard Lord Marsh also offered a deal to steal a book from Daneeka. Last time anyway." The raider shrugged. "I also need another drink."

[Brickdoctor]

"I am from just outside Loush originally, though I have lived here in the Hovels for quite some years now. There aren't that many of us around, sadly. I believe some live in the Hinckwell Gardens somewhere outside the city, and there are a few others around the area."

For reasons completely unrelated to what Guts is saying, I reply,

"Ah, I see. Do you and the other servers and the chef typically work for Lord Guffington, or were you all hired just for this event? I would imagine that working for Lord Guffington would at least afford you better accommodations than the Hovels."

[Zepher]

Everstien reads the note hastily.

"So we're looking for a back-up plan and a contact. Any idea how to find them? Did you leave a mess in the kitchen? Don't you think that may deter the events as they were supposed to happen? How do you advise we keep this contact and back-up plan on tracks when the first plan has been brutally murdered?"

"Guffington hires different servers for every event, and they always come from the hovels. It is a way to give back to the community, I think. I am very thankful to have been selected."

[Scubacarrot]

Everstien reads the note hastily.

"So we're looking for a back-up plan and a contact. Any idea how to find them? Did you leave a mess in the kitchen? Don't you think that may deter the events as they were supposed to happen? How do you advise we keep this contact and back-up plan on tracks when the first plan has been brutally murdered?"

"Wasn´t the whole point that we make sure it doesn´t happen as before. I´ll have a talk with Guffington, you go clean up the mess in the kitchen."

[Zepher]

"What is the harm of letting it happen again? Didn't you listen to Daneeka? We get two more tries after this one. Right now, it would have been useful to allow events to transpire in a way that we could try to catch all the culprits without alerting them to our presence. Now they'll be on their guard."

"As for cleaning up your mess, no thank you. You may be used to ordering people around, but I am not under your employ. I am a thinker, not a janitor." Everstien coughs meekly and slyly. "8:20."

[Brickdoctor]

"Guffington hires different servers for every event, and they always come from the hovels. It is a way to give back to the community, I think. I am very thankful to have been selected."

"Interesting. Does he hire anyone else -- housemaids, chefs, butlers, for example -- and do they all come at the same time from the Hovels, too?"

[Scubacarrot]

"You´re scum. I could stab you right now, it wouldn´t matter, right? We get two more tries anyway. If you´re such a thinker, you better start thinking of a way to stop this from being a problem." With that, the raider walks of, making a small detour to take a filled glass from one of the server´s trays, and starts looking for Guffington.

Edited June 26, 2013 by Scubacarrot

[Pandora]

"I was doing anything but talking to the chef. Clippard is well travelled, he was telling me of other parts of Uland. Then some rude man came into the room and got him all riled up. We didn't get to finish our discussion."

"Eubric is beautiful. Much larger and nicer houses. Gull is nearly all a port. We know of the Bonapartes, but other than that we pay little heed to the comings and goings here. I think Eubric is far more exciting. I have been asking Lord Marsh to take me for a long time, but he has always refused. This journey he insisted I come. I'm very excited!"

"Oh." Nyx looks thoughtful "It's a bit unusual, don't you think, to seek out company from the chef when Guffington has invited so many of his friends from so many different places? Especially when they all have so many interesting stories to tell. Do you normally go to speak to the chef at a party and eschew the conversation of your fellow guests?"

Nyx looks.. sort of shruggy, in a friendly way, and smiles openly and innocently.

"Any idea why your husband was so keen for you to visit with him this time round?"

Nyx keeps smiling, but has one eye on the agitated Guts as he talks with Daneeka and stalks off. She wants to go talk to him, but her instincts tell her to listen to Lady Marsh first.

[Zepher]

"You´re scum. I could stab you right now, it wouldn´t matter, right? We get two more tries anyway. If you´re such a thinker, you better start thinking of a way to stop this from being a problem." With that, the raider walks of, making a small detour to take a filled glass from one of the server´s trays, and starts looking for Guffington.

Everstien gives a wheezy cough as Guts walks away. "Look how flustered he gets when things don't go his way," he mutters to himself, smiling. "Clearly he has never learned to clean up his own mess."

"Interesting. Does he hire anyone else -- housemaids, chefs, butlers, for example -- and do they all come at the same time from the Hovels, too?"

"He may have in the past, but I think U'Or does most of that work for him. At least for tonight its just us three and the chef. The chef comes from other lands, I don't know where, but he's definitely not from the hovels."

"Oh." Nyx looks thoughtful "It's a bit unusual, don't you think, to seek out company from the chef when Guffington has invited so many of his friends from so many different places? Especially when they all have so many interesting stories to tell. Do you normally go to speak to the chef at a party and eschew the conversation of your fellow guests?"

Nyx looks.. sort of shruggy, in a friendly way, and smiles openly and innocently.

"Any idea why your husband was so keen for you to visit with him this time round?"

Nyx keeps smiling, but has one eye on the agitated Guts as he talks with Daneeka and stalks off. She wants to go talk to him, but her instincts tell her to listen to Lady Marsh first.

"I've often found that hired help, when hired, has some of the best stories. Whenever Lord Marsh throws a party for friends, he always gets the most interesting sorts. I guess its just a habit I developed. Most of our guests are usually from Gull, whereas the help can come from anywhere."

"I have no idea why he was so keen on it. Perhaps to keep an eye on me?" Lady Marsh shrugs.

[Brickdoctor]

OoC: For whatever reason I seriously just realized the Thomas/Tumnus connection in name and species.

"He may have in the past, but I think U'Or does most of that work for him. At least for tonight its just us three and the chef. The chef comes from other lands, I don't know where, but he's definitely not from the hovels."

"Ah, I see. Good to hear that Lord Guffington's and U'Ordiussum are working so hard to help those both in the Hovels and from other areas. Well then, I'd hate to keep you from your work. Perhaps you can tell me more about fauns later."

I shake Thomas' hand and excuse myself. I walk around and find Guts.

"My apologies, Captain Holla; I didn't think it would be polite to come talk to you without even allowing the faun to respond.

"If he is telling the truth, and I have little reason to believe he isn't, there're just the three servers and the chef that have been hired just for tonight; the three servers come from the Hovels, and Master Thomas doesn't know where the chef is from, but it's definitely not the Hovels. We can check with Master U'Ordiussum to confirm that; the faun said he handles the hiring."

[Scubacarrot]

"I see. Good to know. The chef is the culprit, but they - there are more than one after Guffington - have a plan B in place." Guts shows Docken the note. "Be wary of Everstien, the man is treating this as an experiment. And I'd say the couple from Gull is suspicious, their obliviousness seems played up, and Lady Marsh was talking to the poisoner. And where in the hells is that sodding Imp? I suggest you find U'or, I'll try to see if I can find Daneeka or Guffington."

[Brickdoctor]

"I think we must trust Doctor Everstein at this point; even if he does not respect the gravity of the situation, he knows everything about our plan. Lord Guffington and Doctor Daneeka appear to have full confidence in him.

"Very well."

I look around for U'Ordiussum, leaving the hall if necessary to find the U'Kin.

[Zepher]

Guts makes a bee-line for Guffington, who is currently engaged in conversation with Lord Chauncey. Upon Guts' arrival at the outskirts of the conversation, Guffington's eyes light up.

"Hello there, Guts! Making friends, I hope? Ah, where are my manners. This is my good friend Lord Chauncey, from Bric'Lin!"

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Meanwhile, Docken tracks down U'Or, who stands at the outskirts of the party, ready to light torches on the walls when the sun sets in a few minutes.

"Hello, Master Docken. How may I be of assistance?"

Nyx catches Everstien giving her a stern gaze out of the corner of her eye. Clearly the Wereraven has thought up some mission for her.