Random 79

Sebastian, having noticed the beer as well, gave Auker a disapproving look -- and then proceeded to pour the port down the drain with most of his attention on Brice. His expression softened a bit. "Yes, we did it," Sebastian said, glancing at Sylvie with a slightly apologetic but flirtatious expression. It turned serious again when he regarded Brice. "You look as though you're... well, before I say anything more, I'll just give you something."

He went on to get his satchel, rummaged through it and set (as quietly as possible) the money, silverware and the letters on the table in front of Brice. Riya looked confused for a moment before remembering Sebastian's promise to Brice. "A token of good will. In any case, I have to ask: you're relieved we managed to disable those things?"

Auker, in the background, was drinking the beer.

Brice looked at Sebastian's loot, and squinted up at him for a moment before closing his eyes. After two false starts he brought out, "You're completely crazy, aren't you."

Sylvie bit her lip to keep from laughing.

"Certifiedly," Sebastian said, deadpan. Riya ogled at the loot, while the half-elf continued. "I promised you, and just getting those letters didn't seem very efficient. After all, you'll need to finance your getaway." A bright smile (and a disapproving look at Auker) later, he continued. He kept on staring at Brice until his question was answered.

Ayu-Asra, who had landed on the table, was momentarily distracted from the food and trotted over to the edge where there was tinkling. one head stared down at the shinies Sebastian had laid out, the other back at the pastries.

Brice's hands were shaking. He carefully set the cup down on the floor, and said, "Yes, I am relieved." progressively speaking louder and quicker, he continued, "I mean, who in their right minds would want the rain to go on? I mean, you're in your wrong minds and still... ARGH!" he held his head, knees pulled up to support his elbows.

The dragon cawed loudly in reply. Sylvie went to distract him and gave Sebastian a look, frowning over her amusement, to discourage him in case he wanted to go on poking Brice.

Sebastian, after a fleeting look at everyone in the room except for Brice, nodded at said Saba. "I'm always in my wrong mind. It comes with the job. Look, you just calm down, have your breakfast, salt, water and coffee as it is. I believe you. All right?"

Riya on the other hand looked confused and glanced at Auker. Apparently the priestess was beginning to set her alcohol level for what it ought to have been had Brice not been muscled in. Much to Sebastian's delight, Riya began to nag at Auker.

Sebastian, on the other hand, let Brice be. He stood up and rubbed his eyes, realising that both Riya and Auker would need to be silenced for a moment at least. "You two. Riya, go make some tea, be a darling? Auker? Is Rosz around soonish or even now? I need him to run to the Tin Coined's."

Sylvie sacrificed one of the pastries to get Ayu-Asra out of the way, and refilled Brice's cup before sitting down opposite Garren, with a wry smile. Her main worry now was what would happen when Kord showed up.

Garren watched and listened to the chaos all around. He agreed that giving Brice some time to calm down was a good idea.

Brice stared at the valuables and money in front of him. He was pretty sure he should be thinking about something related to those, but couldn't come up with anything.

Sebastian, in the meantime, considered things -- especially Auker, who was busy thinking... and drinking. "Oh, Rosz. Yeah, he's around. Heh, practically lived with the Tin's lot before he came here. Message?"

"Yes. Tell them the... whatever I'm called, has some real information on what's..." A pause. Oh well. "What's pissed on their livelihood. And have Rosz tell them to get the Gold's lot here, too. I have news for them as well. I doubt they'd like me going over there and telling them what happened, so it's best the paupers say there's some profit to be made."

Auker thought that over for a while, grinned and then hobbled off.

After that, Sebastian turned to stare at a certain someone. Brice, that is. But he left the man alone and elected to scratch his head. Riya was busy tending to the fire, a bit puzzled by why there was an opened bottle of spirits next to the pot over the fire. "Is this...?"

"Don't ask," Sebastian said, rubbing his face before looking at Sylvie and Garren. And, of course, the dragon. "Would you all just sit down and relax? I've something in mind for Riya, soon, but first, let's take a collective deep breath, mm?"

Sylvie pulled the chair next to her out and patted it by way of inviting him to follow his own advice.

Riya shrugged. "Fine by me, squire, soon as you tell me where the cups in this pigsty are," she announced, leaving the water to steep before raising a brow by way of a challenge.

"Don't call me that," Sebastian said, amused, as he scooted to the chair Sylvie had pulled out for him. "Try the left cupboard. Tea ought to be there, too, I recall."

"Sure."

Then Sebastian turned his attention to the others, wondering if what was hearing in the background was a muffled, very military briefing intended for Rosz. "Rides him too hard," he muttered barely audibly.

Sylvie leaned a bit closer to him and said just as quietly, "Now there's a disturbing thought."

Try as he might, Sebastian only managed to conceal his mirth by biting hard on his lip. Riya, in the meantime, served tea (with a curious look toward where Auker had went). Then she seated herself, primly.

Garren sipped tea and settled for watching Sylvie and Sebastian, Ignoring Brice.

The last decided to work up his way towards pretenses of being civilised. Painfully slowly, he pushed the valuables aside and pulled the chair Sylvie had placed out of the way back. He pulled himself up on the chair, in the meantime ignoring everyone else. He had the sinking feeling there were more people he knew there.

When he sat reasonably upright, under the circumstances, elbows propped up on the table, he counted faces, and after a few moments put names to the two longer-familiar ones.

"Sir. Miss," he greeted, quietly.

"Good morning," Garren returned in the same volume.

Brice gave a very slight nod and settled for drinking water.

Sylvie tried to not look like she was watching him like the subject of an experiment.

Whereas Sebastian, barely hearing Riya's muttered 'good morning', was trying to gauge the extent of Brice's hangover. If he was right in that Auker had been trying to drink the poor man under the table, it had to be massive. Gingerly, he pushed a plateful of pastry toward Brice. Having had plenty of hangovers himself, he knew better than not to dropkick someone suffering from a sudden post-alcohol deathwish. "I'll ask Auker if he has analgesics when she comes back," he said softly, looking almost sympathetic.

Cue Auker, who had the habit of not slamming doors in the morning. Habit. "Yeah, Rosz'll get the codgers moving," she said in a normal voice and marched to get some tea. "So, what's the word?"

"Hit and run. We get those things out of here and go slightly on the defensive." Sebastian frowned. "Brice? You know Ludovic best. How will he react?"

Auker's voic made him flinch slightly, and he had no interest in eating anything just then.

"Ah." That was the thing he should have been thinking about but could not remember. He stared at the table, turned to stare at the valuables Sebastian had stolen. "If he notices those candlesticks missing, same time as me... He might just put out word he wants me dead." It was almost amusing. "'Nother betrayal, on top of Langoll's, see?"

Sebastian didn't find it amusing. That was once reason why he'd stolen those things -- to give Brice extra incentive to co-operate. "Yeah, I take him for the type who explodes at things like that," he said, glancing at Auker and mouthing the words just how much did you give him to drink? In the end, he had to settle for ignoring her, because Auker was decidedly on the road to stupor herself at this stage. "But I was after how he's going to react if he hears about the items," the self-professed cheat, criminal and rapscallion added.

"The artifacts causing the rain?" Sylvie clarified softly.

"Sorry." He kept speaking in a low voice, pausing after each thought. "Can't run to mama and papa yet, telling them we failed; failing's bad. Try to save the situation. Start asking around where they were stored. Not sure he'd send folks or hire off the street." After a longer pause, "He'd run if there were rumours spreading, though. Too big, ask how to fix it."

He blinked at Garren before turning to Sebastian. "I'm to tell more people?"

Deciphering a hungover lifeform's ramblings was always a chore, but Sebastian was genuinely surprised at just how big a difference there was between a sober and a sauced Brice. He reflected on what he had heard and then nodded. "Yes, more people. Just remember what I promised," Sebastian said, catching himself before he picked at the scab on his chin. "I take it you want to get some more sleep before that? You look... horrible."

Brice nodded when Sebastian said "more people", looked confused at the suggestion for a moment before nodding more slowly. Then he got up, slowly, standing still, apart from slight swaying, to make sure he wouldn't fall over, before taking a tentative step and a deep breath. Walking worked better than Sebastian might have expected. Brice went for the inside door. "Trip to the head first. Don't want to piss myself when they kill me," he muttered on the way out of the kitchen.

Sylvie looked at Sebastian and put a hand on his leg.

Sebastian nodded to Auker, who took the hint. She went to keep an eye on Brice. Sebastian had no difficulty imagining her reporting on how long it took Brice to piss, and immediately regretted that line of thought. With a short sigh, he placed his hand on Sylvie's (conveniently ignoring Riya's stare) and said: "And sometimes I feel like a fatalist." His tone held some actual sympathy for Brice as he glanced at Sylvie, but nevertheless, he shook it off. "I hate my job. Ah, in any case... now's a good time for questions if you have them, Garren, Riya?"

Garren had been looking the way Brice had left with some worry. He hoped that mood was mostly hangover-induced. "Not right now, no." Nothing he wanted to ask Sebastian, anyway.

Looking into the middle distance, Sylvie cut in. "I'm trying to figure out why he doesn't trust Sebastian to keep his word, beyond the obvious" - They all had seen he was a more than competent actor - "in case there's anything we can fix." She turned to Sebastian, and said matter-of-factly, "Yesterday you first gave him your solemn word you'd let his immediate family get away, and later demanded reasons why they deserved that. Just now asking him if he was relieved had echoes of that." She glanced at Sebastian's 'gesture of goodwill'. "If he's doubting already, that might not look like a sincere offer. He wasn't carrying a satchel, so how's he supposed to carry it off? You heard him; he was only thinking of what was right in front of him.

"Third, if he has to stay here until after word starts spreading, he might be too late to warn his close family in time before it reaches them, with whatever consequences attached." She narrowed her eyes and looked past Sebastian, trying to guess how big a factor that might be.