Random 86

Sylvie was a bit surprised to see Ayu-Asra perching on Auker's shoulder rather than on a shelf somewhere, looking around and fanning his crests periodically. Well, as long as he wasn't getting into anyone's face.

She raised a hand in greeting towards the team that had retrieved the artifacts, gave Robare a particularly friendly smile, and left the talking to Sebastian for now.

The thin man from the Gold Coin's clergy turned about to be called Ramend, but he didn't have a lot of time to explain his confusion nor aggravation at being there. Sebastian immediately had Auker go fetch the documents Auker had sent and, without much further ado, told Kord to explain the very beginning of the situation -- how this mess had started and how it was being resolved.

He took over at certain stages and had Garren read out what Brice had written down before allowing the letters to circulate. It really felt like one of those times when he'd been at council of war, and to be honest, it was one of those. Kord supplied information when needed, as did Auker -- Jon and Ramend looked mostly terrified, whereas Robare looked angry.

Angry was good, Sebastian decided. In the end, though, there was that little bit that needed to be settled...

Ramend asked: "So, you call yourself the Fox?"

"Well, no. People call me the Fox, the Hat and Foxglove. I call myself Sebastian, Kai and several other things. Some prefer Sebastian. Why?"

"Why should I believe you?"

Auker and Jon burst into laughter, whereas Kord grunted and stomped next to Ramend. "He's gotten this far."

Jon added: "He also stole from your dad some sixty years ago, with--"

A silence fell. Sebastian was the first to look at Robare. The cheating scumbag, or something like that, deigned to be quiet for a moment. "I don't care about that crap. I'm incensed. Some outside players want to move into the city, we deal with kneecaps."

Further silence fell.

Then, finally, Auker of all people suggested: "You know, we've got grounds to take this to the law, no matter how this stuff came to us."

It was enough to make the half-elf look uncomfortable. "Well, that's what I've come up with. By now, the Sabas' folk going to run around like headless chicken. And I'd like to ask you, at this point, to keep all ears and eyes open while you deal with burea--"

Ramend and Kord interrupted. "You're not going to say anything?" Ramend said, whilst Kord added: "You're supposed to fix this."

"I did. I gave you the information. I don't want to get hanged. Again," the half-elf explain. "I'll tell you what I want. I want to sleep for an entire day. I've been at this, and I've given you everything you need to act on and act with."

"Still --"

But Kord was cut short. "Yes?" Sebastian asked, walking up to him, glaring up at him, giving no sign that the smell of the tannery bothered him.

The result was silence, for a while.

Garren broke it. "Kord, would you really prefer seeing revenge after the manner of criminal gangs rather than justice? I wouldn't have thought the Old Lady's clergy worked that way."

It was enough to make the large man blink. He knew he was being challenged by the Eldest, certainly, but being challenged with logic from a much smaller man who looked as though he wasn't exactly the most physical of people was a different thing. He did manage to say: "Well, that's... sometimes how it goes around the border."

"The border," Sebastian repeated. "This is not only the border. It's the city, too."

Unfortunately, Ramend chose to pipe up right after that. "I don't understand why you let Brice Saba go. His family has caused much damage on the city, as you mentioned. Would you care to explain?"

"Actually, no. You care about money. I care about people. You can wreck them monetarily as you wish, but I'm only wrecking reputations." Sebastian took a deep breath and -- trying not to enjoy it too much -- marched up to Ramend in turn, staring at him, eyes gleaming green. "Just like I wrecked your father's reputation. I can do it again. I'm frankly surprised you've even come this far with what I did with Errand to your family and your greedy little plans. Do you want to give it a try?" Ice. Pure ice, his tone.

Watching Sebastian was interesting. Sylvie thought she could see traces of his acts - or then, maybe the kernels he had built them around.

After a few moments of letting Ramend sweat, Sylvie spoke up calmly, "That sounds like one more reason to take it to the law - another channel through which to attack the Sabas. Might lead to a more thorough job.

"Besides... Kord, how bad is the harvest looking?"

It was actually quite an interesting trip down personality lane for Sebastian as well, who made some of the same observations concerning his behaviour. At the same time, it rankled him a bit to make those observations -- he had begun to think his skill at intimidation had always been an impersonal, detatched kind, but apparently... well, a thought for another day. Sylvie came into the rescue, much to his and Ramend's relief; Sebastian really didn't want to stick around for another character assassination.

Ramend took a sip of tea and composed himself, looking at Sylvie moodily. Another stranger he was supposed to trust, but... he was going to assent verbally when her question to Kord registered. No, the big man wouldn't be here and stinking like a lavatory if it wasn't that bad. Immediately, he began to calculate possible losses.

As for Kord... he shuffled for a moment. "Near as I can tell, it could've been a lot worse," he conceded. "Some folks lost most of their crops, some got off with... about half, some at the outskirts with about a third lost. And that's not counting the animals."

Then spoke Robare, who had been working up his anger; much to his delight, Sebastian knew exactly what that look meant. He'd seen it before, several decades ago. "We had a couple of good days when the rains started. Farmers coming over to booze and gamble, but when downpour got worse and heavier, we lost about a week's profit, maybe more. Nobody sane wanted to be out there."

"...that I'll agree with," Sebastian muttered to himself, but of course, no-one had asked him. He looked at Jon, as did most of the others. The fat old man just shook his head and accepted more drinks from Auker.

That left Sebastian in a bit of a quandary. They were too quiet. Angry. Sad. Enraged. A full spectrum of other emotions, aside of course from Auker. She looked as though she was being philosophical about it and accepted that something had only happened and it needed to be dealt with. Obviously ex-military, Sebastian thought.

"Since nobody here wants the Sabas to profit from their scheme, I wondered... Is there a way to seize the wares they have stockpiled to sell here, and pass them on to those hit worst?"

Uh oh. That was all he managed to think before everyone turned to look at him. By way of retaliation, he pointed at Robare. "No. No, no, no."

"Well, you've got more experience than I do," referred to Jackite said after a moment of chuckling, as though he were getting his revenge.

The half-elf looked a little helpless.

Jon added, "Not the first time you did, if you remember," grinning at Ramend, showing all the gaps in his teeth (and incidentally giving him a scent of how often Jon brushed his them).

Sebastian looked decidedly more helpless.

Ramend: "Well, I'd like to know how it's done."

Before Auker or Kord could add anything more, Sebastian gnashed his teeth. "...fine."

"Another thing to better do with the authorities rather than against them," Sylvie said. She was familiar with the distinction between buccaneers and pirates and should probably have been clearer. With a shrug she added, "That's being optimistic about their sanity and speed of decision, mind."

"It isn't like this is the first time people have taken justice to their own hands," Auker said, followed by several nods. One of them was Riya, which only served to make Sebastian even more tense.

"Look, bureaucracy is one thing. It takes time. Casing a place takes time too. A lot more time, and then I'd not be against just the Sabas' guards, I'd be against the authorities, too. The authorities can take care of it quicker and with something you people might know as legal authority," the half-elf pointed out bitterly, grateful that Sylvie had added that last bit. "Please, leave me out of this one?"

"You're already in this," Kord said, helpfully and with a little glee. It earned him a very dirty look from Sebastian.

"So are you, Kord," Sylvie told him. Add another challenger for Kord's list. She was not going to let him get away with dumping all the risk on the pair of them.

It worked for a moment, enough to chide Kord into giving ample time for Sebastian to start dissecting the matter. "I gave you what you need. All of you. You take care of it and talk it through with each other, but I'm only going to sit back and watch unless there's something I seriously need to do. And don't even think of telling the authorities I'm involved."

Ramend snorted. "Yes, litigation and a quick execution might be in order if we did," he said in deep thought. Robare was thinking of kneecaps, by the looks of it, staring at Sebastian.

"I know where you live," Sebastian said icily to him. "If you don't mind, I'll get the hell out of this place, get something decent to eat and worry about what Ludovic Saba is going to do." He glanced at Jon, Garren, Auker and Riya. Then back at Jon, softening his tone. "I'd guess you'll know best where to find me."

He nodded, putting on his earlier jovial face.

Some people at least, Sebastian thought, aren't utter assholes.

Sylvie gave Garren and Riya a worried look, wondering if drawing them into this had been a good idea, after all.

It appeared at the very least that Riya didn't seem to mind. She put on a brave smile and tended to the tea and played the part of hostess with her usual efficiency.

"Yeah, sure," Auker said before anyone else could get a word edgewise, glaring at Kord, Robare and Ramend snapping her fingers, daring them to protest. "My house. My rules. Also, my guest. Like you."

In spite of himself, Sebastian gave an amused snort and fetched his cloak, glancing at Sylvie. "Come with?"

Ayu-Asra underlined her statements by imitating the sound of fingersnapping.

Sylvie said goodbye to the company. As soon as she and Sebastian were outside with the door closed behind them, she said, "Sorry. That was not the reaction I'd expected."

He took in the sunshine and relaxed visibly even before the door closed. "Don't be. I didn't know what to expect to begin with, but I'm fairly sure things'll get moving," he replied, offering his arm before trudging down the alley. He'd forgotten to ask Kord about the artifacts, but wasn't really going to worry about it. Big and crude as the man was, stupid was not an adjective that fit him. Thuggish, though, yes.

"At any rate," he continued, sounding a bit tired, "let them talk it over and come to a conclusion. And let us just relax for a while, right?"

She took his arm, naturally.

"Sounds good." After a sigh, her voice turned playful. "I might need some distraction to keep from fretting. Do you think we could find a quiet place more private than the shrine?"

Sebastian glanced at the sky again, squinting one eye and putting on half a smile. "Mmm, oh, I don't know... may be I might know a place." After that, he found himself once again amazed that he didn't know how to make a witty retort. Realising this actually made it easier. "Damn it, yes. Let's go."

Obviously, it turned out to be House Crow.

Food could wait. If they had a break, and a room with a lockable door, they might as well make use of it for some mutual indulgence. Early on Sylvie had the presence of mind to channel some of her excess energy into nudging Sebastian's back towards healing.

At length, yes, they ended up quite relaxed.

His hair was a mess -- and he suspected there was a certain scent hanging about them, but it didn't stop him from basking in the afterglow and stretching. For at least a while, he was content and indeed very relaxed. Touching the bridge of his nose with an index finger and a middle finger, Sebastian inhaled and exhaled slowly, then examined Sylvie's face. He was still lying down on the bed. His cheek twitched. He looked like he had a question.