Random 64

Reo turned, warned by the noise, just in time to raise his left arm and deflect the bottle. Brice jumped up and, seeing Reo reach for his shortsword and step away from an attacker, did the first thing that came to his mind: Shoving the chair between the two of them. He did not think fast enough to get himself away from Kord.

Sensing an opportunity, Kord promptly snagged him the the neck, lifting him up in the air. "Hmm," he said, lifting a nearly shovel-size fist right in front of Brice's face. Whereas Sebastian turned the stiletto around in his fingers and watched Reo as the two Treysens moved slowly, patting their cudgels against their palms.

"You may as well put that down," Sebastian said in a far more cultured voice than before, eyes lazily half-open -- a bit too late, though, because Selk had already found enough momentum for his cudgel to smack Reo on the side of his head.

The man went down like a sack of potatoes.

For a moment, Sebastian looked at Reo, glanced at the sputtering and cursing Marl (the Treysens headed for him next), and then turned to stare at Brice. "Hello. My name is Sebastian. You might remember me from the theatre, and if Ludovic has yet to tell you, I also stole his diary and letters and overheard you two talk about Langoll while I was hiding under his bed." He put on a smile. "Do I need to tell you this is not going to be much fun at all for you, if you were to keep your mouth shut?"

Talking was a bit tricky while being choked, and trying to figure out what just happened did not help. "What...?"

"How about you sit him down for a civilised chat?" Sylvie had vacated her chair, and bled off some tension with sarcasm. "After all, we're just trying to figure out what's going on. I'm sure there was just a misunderstanding somewhere."

"Sure thing, miss," Kord said and without much fanfare set Brice on the chair. He wasn't nearly as gentle as he had been with Sylvie, and this time he had a wolflike grin on his face. Marl was getting tied up with a rope that smelled suspiciously like cow. Reo was being dragged to join him, too, and then the Treysens did what any sensible hard-drinking man did -- they looked mournfully at the bottle and it spilled contents.

Sebastian, on the other hand, walked over to Sylvie, took her hand and gave it a soft kiss. "See? You weren't in the way," he said quietly as he looked at her and then turned his attention on Brice. The look on his face changed again. "You heard her," he said coldly.

Sylvie's hand trembled just a little, but she gave Sebastian a short smile.

Brice finished coughing and had his breath halfway back. His wits, that was a bit more doubtful. Hiding under the bed? Diary?! "I really don't know--"

"Brice," Sylvie cut him off, "before you say another word, stop a second and think! Or do you really need explained why lying more will not work?"

He took a deep breath. Lie more? Oh. "Principle," he muttered, reflexive hedging, cleared his throat, and continued flatly, looking at some point on the far wall, "You have information. I don't know what. Anything I say could be new to you, or corroborate your information. Or contradict it." He cast a nervous look at those present, wondering if it mattered what he said. "What if some of your information is wrong?"

He really wished he knew what was in that diary, if they had it. Ludovic had been stupid enough to write all addresses linked to this scheme on one piece of paper, and gone into a sulk when Brice had blown his top about that and burned it.

"That, sir, is dodging. Whatever information we have, we have. As you kindly pointed out, you might some that we do not, but the gist of it is -- I know your family is behind this rain, and how it is done. We have spoken to mages, and found it quite strange that Brannig, in the same field of academic magical research, just happened to be called away just before this rain started," Sebastian said, inching closer like a fox staring at a pet hamster. He even smiled. "Now, the most pertinent question is... can you complete that sentence for me?"

He twirled the stiletto in his fingers, blade exposed and never nicking himself.

Brice leaned away from him, but could not look away from those bright eyes. His heart raced.

What you are going to do with that information, he thought. What do you want? What he said was, "How to stop it," surprising himself a little.

"My, I thought you were a smart one. Good to see I was not wrong." Sebastian blinked twice, still smiling, but the blinking seemed more like delight than anything else. He put the stiletto away and regarded Brice, arms crossed now, head tilted. I'm waiting.

He tried to swallow a lump in his throat. It still felt like treason to give up information, and he did not believe that lunatic and his friends would let him get away with his life even if he did. But if they knew so much already, did it make any difference for the family if he talked? At least it might be over sooner.

After an attempt to answer that only led to stuttering, he leaned forward, taking two deep breaths. Looking at the ground, he spoke in a low monotone. "Langoll provided three artifacts that keep it going. Or cause it, I'm not sure. He wasn't f-forthcoming with details. They're set up around the city. I can tell you where." His voice got quieter still, and he started picking at his left sleeve. "But how to stop it, I don't know."

For a moment it looked as though Sebastian would have to defend Brice from the Old Lady's men, but one sharp look at them got Herv to stop cursing. That settled, the half-elf began to rub his stubble and looked around, glancing at Sylvie. "And that would not have happened if Ludovic had not killed Langoll," he said, "or unless he knows how to stop it himself. Sylvie? Ideas? And you, Brice --" a finger, not very clean at that, not after all that scrabbling around "-- you best tell us the truth, and then tell me why this was done."

Brice twitched a little at the reactions. The only unexpected part was that they were not more vehement, not to say violent.

Sylvie had faded into the background a bit and watched with crossed arms and detached interest, but came forward at the topic change, shaking her head to Sebastian's question. "Nothing firm yet."

Brice found talking a little easier now that he had started. "If Ludovic knows, he lied to me. I've never seen him show any interest in how those things worked, either." He refrained from mentioning that he only knew the following through Ludovic's words. "Langoll tried blackmail, threatened to expose this..." He waved vaguely in a circle and went on quickly, "and Ludovic... immediately took the measures he thought best for the interest of the family." That came out with a tone. It was dry. Partly to cover that, Brice added, "He assumed the magic would quickly fade on its own."

Sylvie's reply was given a nod, a calm look and a smile the Old Lady's three gorillas found puzzling enough to look at each other. The twins whispered as Sebastian continued to talk, for once unaware that the affection he had for Sylvie was so plain to a few simple men more used to using a shovel or their fists -- but those people usually had a sense for that, he'd come to admit later. "If he does, he is really the blithering, horny asshole I have come to think of. You seem smart. Why is an idiot like Ludovic... ah, family politics, is it? Well, let me tell you something about weather."

The half-elf crouched in front of Brice, eyes narrowed. "The usual saying in most worlds and cultures is that there is a calm before the storm. However cliched that may sound, it is true, as is the opposite -- and would you like to hazard a guess as to what happens when rain is forced, in this case, to gather around one place? No? Let me tell you, if that magic does not fade, you have not only flooded this region, you have also caused droughts nearby the region and possibly fucked everyone. Including you. Now, who had this bright idea, and why?" The explanation was delivered almost sotto voce, but in a steady tone. Even so -- the half-elf didn't look happy. (To be honest, he was only theorising.)

It made Kord wish, again, that they'd been a bit more polite about putting the Old Lady's and Fortuna's servant to work. That, and how brutal he had been with Marl.

Brice had carefully avoided thinking about the consequences. Even now, he quickly latched on the direct question rather than dwell on it.

"I'm not sure how it started." He forced himself to look at Sebastian, afraid it would sound like lies to shift blame. "By the time I heard of it, the general shape was finished. Ludovic... We were told to put it into practice, take care of the details." His voice wound down to a whisper. "By his parents." He swallowed and pulled himself together. Treat it like a job. "They're in charge of business in Hilyet, Langoll was local there. I don't have a reason to think it did not originate with them."

"Noted," Sebastian said and stood up again, fingertips together. "Too bad you ended up with that general failure. I suppose his parents are the same, more or less. So why you, and for the love of Lady Luck --" he did one on purpose "-- what is the specific purpose of this?"

"It's my job," he answered vehemently. "Here, cousin Ludovic needs a reliable right hand, someone from inside the family. The Hilyet branch has great connections, you can learn, and prove yourself... I didn't know about this beforehand - I don't think my parents knew, either! - but I stuck with it. I--" He cut himself off with a throwaway gesture, sat up straight, and delivered the rest quickly and firmly. "As to the reasons, sheer profit. Stockpiled wares, grain, ready to transport here when the price goes up."

Well now. That put the Old Lady's people into a kind of thoughtful silence. Herv went over to open another bottle of moonshine and took a long gulp. His hands shook with anger, whereas Kord had to stop Selk from borrowing Reo's sword. As for Sebastian, he considered this for a few long seconds before putting his face only inches away from Brice's face and placing a hand over the man's ear. His lips twitched a little. "Oh, of course it is your job." Sebastian patted Brice's cheek. "Mine is dealing with disasters like this and making them go away. Might I give you a bit of advice?"

Brice was trembling, but Sebastian's tone kept him talking almost automatically. "Please do."

"Those three? They have a very upset god lurking about, and for ample reason, they too are very upset about this whole thing. Well, obviously. Your family, or if you are telling me the truth, your family's Hilyet branch masterminded this and have killed with their actions, oh, the tally is still rising, so estimates are worthless now. So, I will make you a deal. Tell me the truth, and you live, but you had best think of another identity in some far, far corner of this continent. And forget family," Sebastian said languidly, retreating a bit to see his entire reaction to that statement, body language and all, before adding: "Because I am going to do my utmost to drive their reputation so down the dunghill, they will live as pariahs and paupers. Your family will not be of any help to you. I stake my reputation on it, and if you had an inkling of that reputation, oh, you would believe."

Kord and the Treysens got another look. Sebastian narrowed his eyes, as if to ask whether or not there was going to be any debate about his methods.

Brice had grabbed the sides of his chair, knuckles turning white. He gave the men a nervous look, only just noting that Sylvie was closer to him than they were, relaxed and watching him coolly. Being reminded of the death toll made him flinch. The offered deal snapped his gaze back to Sebastian, eyes widening with surprise and a spark of hope. Getting away from Ludovic and this city sounded positively enticing. As Sebastian went on and the full implications sank in - he meant the entire clan, including Brice's parents and siblings - he shrank, his shoulders rolling forward, and hung his head.

After a pause he said hoarsely, tears rising to his eyes, "Of course I'll tell you. Of course. But... please, don't--" A sob shook him, but with an effort he finished, "I know the family name will be mud, but please, don't hound them all. I beg of you..."

At this point Sebastian shot a look at Sylvie, wearing the same expression he had when he first revealed his line of work, there down by the river in a warm breeze. Then to the three: "You, you and you. Drag those two into the room and go get drunk or something. You're going to need it once I get my answers." There was the undertone that he didn't want them to see the next approach he was going to take. Brice received another look then, this one contemplative, and while the three (or five) went off muttering, Sebastian made a mental inventory of the entire room, comparing it to the previous places he had broken people's resolves.

The door shut. Sebastian sighed and fetched two chairs for himself and Sylvie -- and a bottle of moonshine, which he offered to Brice. "I won't, Brice. I don't hound people who don't deserve it. Fox's honour. Never innocents."