MERC XIX: Toss a Coin to your Goblin

[Gullara]

[Arrivals]

Kirk can't help but laugh a little. The mental image is just so absurd. "They weren't the smartest sort, eh? But no, nothing like that, don't worry. We're not all that concerned about your average crime around here, trust me. It's only if something particular egregious comes up that we might be having a chat. A little theft and killing is part and parcel for the kind of work we do."

[Reinholdt]

[But the Cat Came Back]

Reina returns to Merc, heading towards Dena's office. As soon as she finds it anyways. It's like her second time here. And it doesn't help that she's just a little wobbly, the light stench of alcohol tainting her breath. But she has the important information that the gorgon requested she retrieve and she's going to deliver it! Any stops on the way back to pick up and drink a bottle of wine were purely out of necessity and probably a business expense.

[Earl of Purple]

Arrivals

"Th' guvner were a lead-swingin' bilge rat, aye. The lubbers ashore there be fine folk, though. Gave me cutlass back, an' secured me a berth on a smuggler." Frigate doesn't have a good view of the governor who had him hung, although he might be grateful the man kept to the letter of the law rather than figure out a way to execute the warforged privateer that would actually work.

[Gullara]

[Office of the Kirk]

After quite a few hours after Kirk left her office, Kirk gets a call from Dena. "Kirk, could you come to my office? Your dragon-scholar is here and she wants to exchange a few words with you. Your input has suddenly become relevant."

[Office of the Kirk]

Kirk answers and simply says, "I'll be right there." Nice and quick. In a few moments he'll be knocking on Dena's door and entering if prompted.

Arrivals

"Th' guvner were a lead-swingin' bilge rat, aye. The lubbers ashore there be fine folk, though. Gave me cutlass back, an' secured me a berth on a smuggler." Frigate doesn't have a good view of the governor who had him hung, although he might be grateful the man kept to the letter of the law rather than figure out a way to execute the warforged privateer that would actually work.

[Arrivals]

"I can understand the sentiment." Kirk says with am amused smile. "Well with that all done, I'd say welcome to Merc, Frigate. There's a few formalities left to be done, but for all intents and purposes you're in."

[Earl of Purple]

Arrivals

"Aye? That be grand. Uh, where should I go now?" Frigate will shake Kirk's hand, if that's a thing that happens next, and probably go to get settled or find a job, perhaps.

[Shadowcaller]

[Office of the Kirk]

He's asked to come in and sure enough, Ambrosia is there sitting in the visitors chair. She glances at Dena as he enters, the gorgon of course in her office chair.
"Afraid our guest have some questions for you, Kirk. But I don't think it will be anything too difficult, right?" She looks back at the scholar who nods.
"In theory. Though as the point is to learn more about him, I can't gurantee that none of my questions will touch sensetive subjects. There will be a few of a sexual nature for instance." She looks to him questiongly.
Dena attitude is, as usual, relaxed however. "Doubt that's gonna stop Kirk in his tracks, am I right?"

Astrana's Office

"A little bit; I know there's a different sort of origin and basis behind them than say, the paranormal," Leis answers, "but I haven't read up on fey in general - " She pauses for a second, realizing that she needs to correct something. "Er, training isn't something I've had, actually. I'm all self-taught til now. But I have made wards before, yes."

Astrana's Office

"Training can be self-taught, in fact, I assumed as much. But that could be our future project. Preventing a spirit from entering the office like the last one did meaning we need to set quite a few wards. Furthermore, I'd like to attempt to fey-proof it too so reading up on fey could be a good idea if you have the time." Astrana pauses a moment and rubs the back of her head, running it through her thick hair. "That said, there was something of a more personal nature I'd wish to discuss. But I've kept you here long enough so why don't I see you once work is over? I've seen you on the subway a few times so I know we're taking the same train home, so we could talk on the way perhaps?"

[Arkhosia]

Astrana's Office

"Oh yeah, I've already had a couple of ideas about that actually!" Leis perks up a little. "Cold iron seems to be generally a pretty universal thing, so I was thinking of researching a bit more into that and ways to apply it effectively." Warding can have a surprising amount in common with architecture and exterior design; when making barriers that are going to be out in the elements, you need to be mindful of long term planning to prevent erosion and the toll of day-to-day weather.

She raises an eyebrow in curiosity at Astrana's last comment, but nods. "Of course, it's not like I'll have anything important then anyways." Personal, but not so personal that she wouldn't be uncomfortable speaking about it in a more public setting? Interesting.

[Gullara]

[Arrivals]

Kirk will certainly shake his hand. "Head back to Valerie, she'll set you up with everything you need, including where to find jobs. You can start working any time. I'd recommend getting to know other members so you can collaborate."

Those details likely don't need to be played out on screen, however.

[Office of the Kirk]

Kirk certainly wasn't expecting to be asked questions, but he simply shrugs. "Go right ahead."

[Shadowcaller]

[Office of the Kirk==> Dena's Office]

"Very well... erm, perhaps you should take a seat? It might take more than just a few minutes." Though regardless if Kirk takes the other guest chair or not she continues.
"So, Kirk, if you don't mind. Could you describe your relationship to Denurga Zifhara?" The scholar inquires, her hands placed on her tome which is currently resting in her knee. She gestures towards him. "I'd like to get a sense of who you are as a person." Ambrosia clarifies.

Dena seems faintly amused by the whole thing, but Kirk can likely tell that she's probably nervous too despite how casual she seems to be trying to act.

Astrana's Office

"Oh yeah, I've already had a couple of ideas about that actually!" Leis perks up a little. "Cold iron seems to be generally a pretty universal thing, so I was thinking of researching a bit more into that and ways to apply it effectively." Warding can have a surprising amount in common with architecture and exterior design; when making barriers that are going to be out in the elements, you need to be mindful of long term planning to prevent erosion and the toll of day-to-day weather.

She raises an eyebrow in curiosity at Astrana's last comment, but nods. "Of course, it's not like I'll have anything important then anyways." Personal, but not so personal that she wouldn't be uncomfortable speaking about it in a more public setting? Interesting.

Astrana's Office

"There are fey who aren't weak to it actually, but that's still a good idea." Astrana raises a finger as to call attention to something. "And you might also try to find out what 'cold iron' is exactly as there could be multiple definitions of it out there."

Then she nods. "Great, and don't worry. Just wanted to clarify some relationship stuff so it's really more about me and Valerie."

[Arkhosia]

Astrana's Office

"Of course," Leis responds with a nod. That clarifying statement only further piques her curiosity, but its clear that's a topic for another time.

"Well, I guess I'll talk to you later. But uh, don't feel like you can't stop by yourself." With that, Leis will depart with a smile, very much looking forward to the next time they'll speak.

[Shadowcaller]

Astrana's Office

"Until next time then." Astrana smiles back and will close the door once Leis leaves.

Then she goes back to work.

[But the Cat Came Back]

An entire bottle of wine? That should be interesting.
As soon as she knocks on the door of Dena's office, she's told to enter. "You're making great time, I just back to the base myself." Dena is in her office chair, spinning around casually as Reina enters. She abruptly stops as the catgirl walks inside however. "So... what do you have for me? I expect that you found her as this isn't a phone call."

[Gullara]

[Dena's Office]

Kirk does take a seat. He arches an eyebrow at Ambrosia and gives Dena a brief glance. "We're lovers. We've known each other for a long time. Was it something specific you're looking for?" He'd like to cut to the chase, really.

[Reinholdt]

[But the Cat Came Back]

"Oh yeah, ssshure. It wass pretty easy. She's a trip, let me tell you!"

Reina flops into the chair across from Dena, her words slurring. It's important she sit down because the room was spinning too much. Oh no wait, that was Dena. No, still the room. Huh.

"Sooo this Sekhmet's got nothing to do with nothing about fey except she kinda likes one? Whatever. She's a demon though! With a whole host of demon problems. And a queshionables personality if you ask me." Reina's tail flicks slowly.

[Shadowcaller]

[But the Cat Came Back]

Dena raises an eyebrow as she immidiately spots that slurred speech. Well, that wasn't proffesional behavior at all, was it?
The fact that Reina did this so early in her career was even more remarkably, but perhaps she shouldn't judge too much before she knew the context. Maybe she had gotten enthralled or something.
"Questionable peronality, eh? Elaborate." She inquires as she quickly notes down the word DEMON on her notebook without looking. Empathizing the word with a underline. Even if Sekhmet wasn't a fey this could be useful information.

[Dena's Office]

Ambrosia looks to Kirk and then to Dena. "Would it perhaps be easier if we did this in his office?" She inquires.

Dena waves her hand dismissively. "Nah, Kirk knows I won't mind whatever he says about me. We've been all over this. Ain't no secrets between us."

Ambrosias eyebrows raise. "Even questions concerning the hand?" She gestures at Kirk's non-functioning jade hand.

"Even the hand." Dena remarks casually, though Kirk can hint a tenseness in her voice for just a moment. The scholar likely didn't notice though. Not many people could read Dena like he could.

Ambrosia takes a deep breath. "Alright, let me be clear then. I'm trying to get some... perspective. If you're going through with this you're going to produce what's going to be my child. Hence, I'd like to know a bit more about you. The child might ask questions concerning you in the future so I don't want you to be complete strangers to me."

"It sounds like you're conducting a job interview though. Not the best way to put someone at ease, just saying." Dena points out with a shrug.

The scholar let's out a sigh and turns back to Kirk. "...let's start over then. Kirk, if I may call you that, if the child in the future asked about you, what should I tell them?"

[Reinholdt]

[But the Cat Came Back]

Well if Dena isn't going to bring it up, Reina's definitely not going to talk about being drunk. Hah! Easy denial. Reina didn't even have to try.

Reina waves her hand dismissively. "I mean, where to begin? A practical pushover, with a prophecy and all that jazz. One of those hopeless 'I'm going to fight my fate' types. And... AND she had the NERVE to make a vow and turn into an avatar of FORGIVENESS right in front of me! Preaching on and on about how important it is and giving it away freely like it was hers to give or something!" Reina's fist clenches again. She is definitely not painting an accurate picture of what happened. But the catgirl is gesticulating vehemently now. "Some things can't be forgiven. Some people shouldn't be forgiven. She's... she's just full of total ******** if ask me. Forgiveness. BAH!"

[Shadowcaller]

[But the Cat Came Back]

Well, this had quickly turned into nonsense. Avatars? Prophecies?
Just how drunk was she?
"...interesting. Could I see your notes of what happened?" Dena holds out her hand expectingly. "Since it sounds like a lot more than I expected. You can keep explaining while I go through them. What's with this prophecy you mentioned?"

[Reinholdt]

[But the Cat Came Back]

"Sure, sure," Reina says, pulling out her notebook and flipping it to the right page. Turning it to face Dena, she puts it on the desk and runs her finger across the pages, pointing to different parts as she keeps talking, leaning over the desk, the smell on her breath more apparent the closer she is. The notes, however, are pretty detailed and meticulous, covering just about the entirety of Reina's meeting with Sekhmet with no major inconsistencies.

"Here it is. Sho apparently this Sectmeet is supposed to take her mother's place as some kind of Queen of he'll for all eternity. Mom, that's the Poison Queen, calls herself Sapphire - anyways, mom's smart see? Knows prophecies come true. So has been chasing Sectmeet down to get her to swear an oath to Sapphire."

Spoiler

Show

Sakiril-Ess, let your fate be known. You shall resist the Queen of Poison, but she shall have you in the end. Someone you do not know but who knows you well shall try to make amends to you. A serpent will be both boon and bane to your path. You shall find voice for the silenced and strength for the meek. What you seek you shall not find, and what you do not desire will be given to you. You shall inherit the throne of your mother and rule injustice forevermore. At your urging, mercy shall return to the house above, and a light restored shall be planted in the heavens.

Reina finally pulls away from the notebook to let Dena look at herself. "Not just any kinda oath though. Some kind of demon oath. Super binding, way deeper than the regular stuff. Like full on turned into a puppet level stuff. So Sapphire can shadow rule. Seekmint just wants to live in peace and such, but she ain't going to.
Anyways, that's where all those incidents you heard about come in. Buncha political thuggery to try and get a hold of the Prophesied One."

[Gullara]

[Dena's Office]

Ambrosia looks to Kirk and then to Dena. "Would it perhaps be easier if we did this in his office?" She inquires.

Dena waves her hand dismissively. "Nah, Kirk knows I won't mind whatever he says about me. We've been all over this. Ain't no secrets between us."

Ambrosias eyebrows raise. "Even questions concerning the hand?" She gestures at Kirk's non-functioning jade hand.

"Even the hand." Dena remarks casually, though Kirk can hint a tenseness in her voice for just a moment. The scholar likely didn't notice though. Not many people could read Dena like he could.

Ambrosia takes a deep breath. "Alright, let me be clear then. I'm trying to get some... perspective. If you're going through with this you're going to produce what's going to be my child. Hence, I'd like to know a bit more about you. The child might ask questions concerning you in the future so I don't want you to be complete strangers to me."

"It sounds like you're conducting a job interview though. Not the best way to put someone at ease, just saying." Dena points out with a shrug.

The scholar let's out a sigh and turns back to Kirk. "...let's start over then. Kirk, if I may call you that, if the child in the future asked about you, what should I tell them?"

[Dena's Office]

"Let me turn that around. What do you want to tell them?" Kirk folds his legs and leans back in his seat. His face is carefully neutral. "Are you looking for a pleasant story to share one day? Or are you looking to see if there's an answer that will make you walk out that door?" He asks.

[Shadowcaller]

[Dena's Office]

Ambrosia frowns. "The truth, mister Locke. I want your truth about yourself. So if you want to tell them that you said you didn't want them to tell them anything, we can do that. But I don't care if you're a hardened criminal or even a murderer. The information is my to share after all."

[Leis Office]

Astrana will come knocking at Leis cubicle near the end of her shift. "Packing up?" She inquires, putting a hand on her hip.

[Arkhosia]

Leis’s “Office”

The accountant looks up from the screen of her laptop, the rhythmic tip-tapping of the keyboard slowing to a halt as she turns her attention. "Yeah, just wrapping up," she answers, closing a book on her desk and slipping it into a satchel bag. She'll type a couple more things down before shutting down her computer and slipping it into the bag as she gets out of her chair.

"Alright, uh, lead the way." Leis slips on her coat and pulls on her satchel, tugging on the strap and looking over to Astrana with a smile.

[Shadowcaller]

[But the Cat Came Back]

"So... a demon queen don't want her wimp of a child take over the family business, did I get that right?" Dena tries to summarize what she just heard as she's looking over Reina's notes. "And you mentioned her turning into some kind of... avatar? Honestly, she doesn't sound like a demon at all. Was she raised by pacificists or something?" That didn't really add up, how did a demon queen end up giving birth to a huge wimp?

Leis’s “Office”==> Subway Train

"Great, let's get out of here then." Astrana remarks once Leis is done and soon they will find themselves on the subway back to Inside sitting facing one another.
"So... at what stop do you need to get off at? I did call to tell Val that I might get late today as I figure we could always discuss this over a drink if we end up being short on time."

[Reinholdt]

[But the Cat Came Back]

"Sssorta." Reina waves her hand back and forth in large, exaggerated motions. "Kid's going to take over no matter what anyone does if the interpretation of prophecy is accurate. Mommy just wants it to happen in a way favorable to her." The catgirl shrugs. It was kind of reasonable.

"I dunno. She sure didn't act like a demon. Except for the part where I think she was holding back information. Buuuut, I think it was the kind of things she didn't know she knew. And I sure didn't have any good ways to dig it out of her cause I couldn't even tell if it was relevant. But yeah. Super naive. Or intentionally blind. One of the two. Never even had to tell her why I was asking all those questions. Got the feeling she was kinda lonely though. Might've been why she was so willing to talk about it." Reina frowns a little, growing quiet. "She's good people."

[Arkhosia]

Leis’s “Office”==> Subway Train

"Great, let's get out of here then." Astrana remarks once Leis is done and soon they will find themselves on the subway back to Inside sitting facing one another.
"So... at what stop do you need to get off at? I did call to tell Val that I might get late today as I figure we could always discuss this over a drink if we end up being short on time."

Subway Train

"I live a few stops down on Arkham Street, but I know a nice cafe along the way - unless you had somewhere in mind?" Leis looks towards her inquisitively.

[Shadowcaller]

[But the Cat Came Back]

"Maybe she intentionally raised her as a pushover to be able to control her." Dena speculates while ignoring Reina's digressions from the subject. Raising her hand as to bring the catwoman's attention back to her and what they were supposed to be discussing. "But whatever the case, how relevant do you think this information is to us? Is this Sapphira a threat to the nexus or what? Demon might mean a lot of things here after all and even if she is dangerous, is she even active in the nexus? Did this Sekhmet gal hint on that?"

Subway Train

"No, that sounds ideal. I might even know the one you're thinking of, I know most restaurants and cafes along this subway line." Astrana smiles again. "Comes from having a lot of interesting clients."

You mean one-night-stands. An inner voice corrects her.
One which she promptly tells to shut up.

[Arkhosia]

Subway Train

"Oh! I uh, didn't realize you did so much client work outside the office. Er, besides being on-site for things, that is. Can't say I've gotten the time to get familiar with a lot of the places along the line here yet myself though, to be honest."

Leis generally assumed mercenary work entailed a more simple and to-the-point relationship with contractors - basic details were provided in the contract, with further information being delivered at the job's location or the contractor's office. That said, she's certainly picked up on the fact that what MERC does for its customers is a wider range than just the basic bodyguard or adventurer jobs the title brings to mind.

[Shadowcaller]

Subway Train

Astrana waves her hand dismissively. "Sometimes clients just want to follow-up a bit on job and I'm happy to discuss it with them outside the base at times. I encourage at-base meetings of course but that's not always possible. It's way up in the mountains after all so I offer to take it to them rather than the other way around. I feel it builds a stronger relationship with the customer who in my experience is more likely to return."

Oh you bet they are.

Astrana clears her throat, and mind of that little voice. "Anyway, it's more of my personal initiative rather than a company policy. Not that it's against it either mind you."

[Gullara]

[Dena's Office]

Ambrosia frowns. "The truth, mister Locke. I want your truth about yourself. So if you want to tell them that you said you didn't want them to tell them anything, we can do that. But I don't care if you're a hardened criminal or even a murderer. The information is my to share after all."

[Dena's Office]

Kirk looks at her for a silent moment, then rolls his shoulders in a shrug. "I'll be honest with you, Ambrosia. I know we're talking about your child, but for me it's not about that, and it's not about you. I'm not going to give you my life story. I've never cared but about being a good person or bad. I do what I want to do. All that really matters here is that I'll support her, no matter what she needs." He nods to Dena.

[Arkhosia]

Subway Train

"Ah, yeah, I getcha. It's a bit of a hike if you don't know your way around the subway, too." It's a good thing she does, else her commute would be a lot longer. "But uh, what was it you wanted to talk about exactly? We've still got a few stops to go, if you want to wait to grab something first."

[Reinholdt]

[But the Cat Came Back]

Reina's not that off topic AND Dena asked!

"Well all the incidents you mentioned were mommy dearest trying to get to Sekky, so I'd say she's pretty active in the Nexus already, especially if you first heard of her in the first place because of them. She's as dangerous as any powerful demon ruler of hell acting here. But her motivations are focused solely on her daughter and her domain, so I wouldn't expect anything especially threatening unless she's just that evil. Someone named the Queen of Poison probably doesn't care about collateral damage." Reina'll have to be careful around water, just in case.

[Shadowcaller]

[Dena's Office]

The scholar nods as she glances back at Dena who just smiles at Kirk and shrugs at her.
"That's as good a reason as any, thank you." She remarks as she opens her tome and makes a quick note. "That's everything I wanted to ask. I of course assume that you're alright with me telling the child who you are when that time comes?"

[But the Cat Came Back]

"That is quite the title." Dena agrees. "So this intel is probably valuable to someone. Maybe VIGIL, maybe someone else. The question is just if we're going to give it to our current employers despite it not really having anything to do with fey. Perhaps we can at least mention it and see if they're willing to pay extra, but it might not be valuable enough on it's own." She scratches the back of one of her snakes as if trying to get out an itch. "Might need to look into this a bit more if we're to try to make a profit out of it. Don't suppose you were familiar with any of this before you got chatting? Someone on MERC might just be." They would just need to ask around.

Subway Train

"Ah, I just wanted to clarify a few things to avoid potential awkwardness in the future." She smiles looking as if she suddenly realized something. "But perhaps you are still too casual an acquaintance to really explain this to. But... uh, let me ask you a question in turn. Do you have someone special in your life, Leis?" Astrana scratches the back of her head, suddenly looking rather awkward. "Sorry if I'm being intrusive. Back where I'm from tieflings can discuss these sort of thing rather openly and I might have gotten used to that without realizing it. You're actually one of the first other tieflings I've met in the nexus."