Revenge is a dish...

[Poison]

((Special note: This takes place BEFORE the wars. thank you.))


Radasanth, glorious city of Corone, was bathed in the soft, dusky red hues of sunset. The colors were brilliant in the clear, summer sky. A few shops were starting to close down, while the taverns started to fill up with workers eager for a drink or two with their friends before going home to their families. The streets were not quite empty yet, but that didn’t bother the figure clad in a heavy, black, hooded cloak, though a large crowd would have been preferred. A tendril of silver hair slipped out from the front of the hood and a black-gloved hand tucked the stray strands back into place. The air was still quite warm, though the stranger hardly noticed. The cloak and gloves were not for warmth, but for protections from the sun. The hum of the busy city still hung on the air, slowly dissipating as the sun slipped lower behind the tall buildings.

The crowd, what little there was seemed to avoid the black-clad stranger. A mother hushed her child and pulled him away from the stranger, telling the youngling not to bother the man. No one approached as the stranger walked down the sidewalk. The sun, while not fully set, was now at least below the edge of the nearest buildings, allowing the stranger a little bit of reprieve from the sun’s rays. However, the stranger left the hood up, keeping the face hidden and protected from any stray rays of light peeping around the corner of a building.

Abruptly, the figure turned in toward an inn. Once inside, the gloved hands removed the hood, allowing the long, silver hair to fall free to the figure’s slim waist. Gloves followed hood in being removed and were tucked into a hidden pocket within the cloak. Feeling much more comfortable indoors, the silver-haired person stepped up to the clerk’s desk. The clerk smiled tiredly, but still tried to sound cheerful as she opened the guest book and picked up a pen.

“How may I help you, Miss?”

“One room, tonight only. Make it as close to the roof as you can, please.”

The woman’s voice was smooth as silk. She pulled out a small coin pouch, prepared to pay for her room in advance. Even though her main attention was on the clerk, her grey eyes moved constantly around the room. She made mental notes of where the exits were, how many tables were in the tavern area, even how many people were currently in said tavern area.

“All right, could I have your name, please?”

“Alicia Silvertree. How much will it cost?”

“Just a moment, Miss Silvertree,” the clerk said, still trying to fake a cheerful demeanor. “I have a room on the second floor, right next to the outside staircase. It’s as close as I can get you to the roof. Will that suffice?”

“Fine, fine,” Alicia said, getting slightly irritated at the process of checking in. She wouldn’t even be bothering if she did not need a place to hide her cloak while she worked tonight. She also wanted a place to come back to that was at least marginally comfortable.

“Five gold pieces then, Miss Silvertree. You can pay in the morning if you wish.”

“No, no, I’ll pay now,” Alicia insisted, pulling out the requested gold coins and handing them over in exchange for the brass key. She tucked her money pouch away and turned quickly to climb up to the second floor. The key had a large 7 etched into it. As the girl promised, room 7 was on the outside corner of the building and right beside the door to her room, at the end of the hall, was the door to the staircase outside. She slid the key into the lock and went into her haven for the night.

While not overly large, the room was comfortable. There was a single bed tucked into the far corner. Beside it sat a small bedside table with an unlit oil lamp sitting on top. A washstand stood against the opposite wall with a mirror hanging over it. The room had one window that overlooked the street below and was decorated with green curtains that had seen better days. Alicia or Poison as she preferred to call herself, pulled the curtains shut, plunging the room into darkness. She greatly preferred the darkness and was much more comfortable with it than most people.

Aside from the bed and washstand, a table and two chairs stood near the center of the room. A six-candle candelabra and a small book of matches stood in the center of the table. Poison needed neither of these. Her eyes were well attuned to the darkness. She pulled off her heavy cloak and laid it across the back of a chair. She also removed her belt and laid it on the table. She carefully removed the weapons and tools it held: two titanium sais, a needle-knife (as she called it), a lock-picking kit, two small pouches, each containing a different poison, and a third pouch containing six shuriken that were enchanted to return to the bag after being thrown.

In complete silence she went over her tools, making sure that everything was in perfect working order. She noted that one pouch was nearly empty and that she would have to make a trip to the Bazaar soon to buy more materials for the poison. When she was satisfied that everything was as it should be, she put the tools back into their proper places and put the belt back on. A quick peek through the curtains told her that the sun was now far enough below the city skyline as to allow her to leave her room safely. Sunlight did not agree with Poison at all. Truthfully, she shouldn’t have been out during the day at all, but that was why she had purchased the long, heavy cloak. It protected her from the sun’s painful rays, even if it was often oppressively hot. She did not believe the sunlight would kill her, but she did turn red alarmingly fast

She slipped silently from her room, being sure to put her key into a safe place and then went on through the stairway door. She closed the door softly behind her, not wanting to alert any of the other patrons to where she was going. Her feet made no sound as she climbed the stairs to the third floor. They didn’t go to the roof as she had hoped, but they were close enough. In a few deft movements, made possible only due to her excellent agility, she climbed up to the roof and gazed out over the city of Radasanth.

[Poison]

It took quite a bit of work and a number of careful questions, but Poison eventually found what she sought: the remaining members of the small crime ring that had taken her in all those years ago. She approached an alley that looked much the same as any other, only she knew that the beggars that lay sprawled on the ground or huddling against a wall weren’t there to beg and they didn’t actually live there. As she neared the back of the alley, a tall, dark-haired man dressed in beggar’s rags came forward.

“Whatcha want here, girlie? There ain’t no fine shops to be had ‘round these parts.”

“Carvel is a fool.”

Her words were spoken plainly. She wasn’t worried about what this man might try to do to her. A very slight smile formed on her lips as he looked at her confusedly.

“How do you know that passphrase?” he asked suspiciously.

“It doesn’t matter, Joses. Just let me in, or I’ll find another way in that no one will like.”

The tall man stared at her a moment longer then recognition dawned in his grey eyes. It had been several years, but he was sure he knew the woman standing before him.

“Anita?”

“Don’t call me that!” she snapped. “I’m Poison and I want to know what’s been going on around here while I was gone. I want to know who came back and who stayed away, but most of all I want to know if anyone has figured out who the Rat was that got my Thomas hung.”

Joses sighed and looked around anxiously, “Look, we’re not supposed to talk about that time. Carvel has forbidden it. Anyone that talks about it gets into a lot of trouble. Hell, I could get in trouble just for telling you that it’s forbidden to talk about it.”

Poison just stared at him pointedly, “Are you going to let me in or not?”

“Fine, go inside, but you’ll find that no one will answer those questions. One more thing,” he added hit tone faltering, “don’t go looking for the Apothecary.”

“Why?” she asked, wondering at the hesitancy in his voice.

“Well,” he paused for a moment clearly uncomfortable with what he was about to say, “you remember he was an old man even back when he taught you, right? Time has not exactly been good to him. He still lives, but he no longer teaches and he barely gets around. Carvel only keeps him around because not even he is heartless enough to toss a doddering old man out on his ass. He barely even remembers what day of the week it is, let alone anyone’s face. I know you were very fond of him, but it’s best if you just stay away.”

“I…see, thank you, Joses. I’ll see you later.”

Leaving him to go back to guard duty, she moved quickly down the back part of the alley and through the hidden entrance to Carvel’s headquarters as she put her thoughts about the Apothecary to the back of her mind. It was nothing like she remembered. When she had first been brought to Carvel’s headquarters, she had been struck by how neat and tidy everything had looked. In this new location, there was nothing neat or tidy about anything. Men lay sprawled everywhere either sleeping or passed out, many with empty beer or wine bottles in their fists. Here and there she could see a woman mixed in with the men or saw small tents moving in a tell-tale manner that spoke of one of Carvel’s women at work.

At the back of the small compound a large, abandoned townhouse had been taken over. Most of the windows were dark and had the glass broken out of them. The few windows that were intact were lit and she could see the shadows of men moving inside. She walked boldly up to the main entrance, but was stopped by two very large men, both wielding a number of weapons.

“Uhh you can’t go in there, girlie.”

“Yeah, the Boss didn’t send for no girls tonight. So unless you’re here for us…”

Poison glared openly at them, “Look, here’s the deal boys, Carvel knows me. I used to work for him. You remember Thomas? You remember his girl? Well, I’m back and I’m going to talk to Carvel. The question is, would you rather have him beat you for letting me interrupt him or would you rather have it be known that a girl beat you two up?”

The two dim-witted guards looked at each other for a moment and then silently parted to let Poison through. They remembered Thomas clearly and that he had taught his girl everything he knew. Neither of them doubted that the slender Poison would be capable of beating them both. Carvel’s beating would be much preferred over the ego bashing they would receive over being beaten by a slip of a girl.

Inside the townhouse, Poison put all thoughts of the guardsmen outside to rest. She was quite relieved that they hadn’t opted to continue to block her path. She wanted to speak to Carvel on her terms, not his. Her nose crinkled involuntarily at the stench within Carvel’s home. Clearly, his help had fallen behind in keeping the place neat. Broken glass and marble scattered the floor. It looked as though someone had sent a small giant to wreak havoc on the precious collectibles that had once adorned the walls.

Soon, her path led her directly to Carvel’s “office.” She paused at the door, listening to the men inside. It sounded as though they were lamenting the old days, back before the Rat had ruined everything. When it was discovered that there was a Rat among them, Carvel had immediately disbanded his ring and gone into hiding. It was a case of every man or woman for themselves. From the conversation, she gathered that one by one, they had come back to the place they had called home for so long and put the ring back together. Most of those that returned were chiefly Carvel’s top toadies or men who had nowhere else to go. Satisfied that she was up to date on the goings-on of Carvel’s little ring, she took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and marched in to the room.

[Poison]

Every eye in that poorly lit, dusky room turned to see who dared to interrupt a council meeting. Likewise, every eye but Carvel’s nearly popped out of its owner’s head when it was realized who stood before them. It wasn’t that Poison exhibited any kind of sense of power that they should be afraid of or anything else remotely like that. They simply had not expected to ever see her again. So far as they knew, after Thomas had been hung, she disappeared. A number of rumors had circulated about what had become of Thomas’ protégé and lover, but they were all certain that in her grief she would never return to Radasanth.

Carvel, a large man in fine clothes, was the first to recover from the brief, somewhat shocked, silence that had fallen over the room. He glowered at the intruder. Though he was as surprised as any to see her, his displeasure at her rude interruption far outweighed his shock at seeing the girl that dared defied what he referred to as the “natural order of things.” To his mind, women did their best work on their backs, but Anita had refused, point blank, to work as prostitute. He had been coerced into giving in to the then 16-year-old’s wishes and permitted her to learn thievery under Thomas, but he had always believed she would do much better work on her back like the rest of the girls in his employ.

“What do you think you are doing? This is a business meeting. Who let you in? I gave orders that no one was to come in.”

“Oh come now, Carvel. I return to you after these last few years and this is the welcome I receive? What a pity.” She stepped fully into the room and took a seat on the table near Carvel. “At any rate, I know it’s a business meeting. You ought to know me better than that. I never walk in to a room without finding out what’s going on inside it first. Now, I had no intentions of returning to you, but I heard that you had gathered everyone together again and I wanted to see who all had returned, who got caught, who did not answer the call to return, and where they are likely to have gone.”

Carvel laughed. Almost as if on cue, the other eight men in the room also laughed. They stopped abruptly when Carvel stopped and sneered at Poison.

“Why should I tell you any such information, even if I had it? After all, you are among those that did not answer the call to return.”

“Ahh, but here is where you are misjudging me. I did not return because I have been trying to hunt down the Rat that betrayed us." Her casual tone become colder and more disdainfully business-like as she continued, "While everyone else ran away and hid, waiting for the all clear, I went searching for the man that got Thomas killed. I want that Rat found, Carvel, and I’m going to make him pay for a very long time before I let him die; even if that Rat turns out to be you.”

For the first time in a very long time, Carvel felt a chill run down his spine at the cold intensity in her voice and eyes. For that moment, he had no doubt that she meant every word she said and was extremely glad that it was not he who had betrayed them. Grudgingly, he gestured for the nearest man to give Poison her seat. The man obliged quickly and found himself a seat at the other end of the table. Smiling primly, Poison took the empty seat and crossed her legs, one over the other, at the knee.

“Most of the Beggars Guild returned. I’m sure you probably already saw Joses. He’s head of the guild now and I must say is doing an exceedingly good job with his security measures. You can see that all of the Council returned. We didn’t exactly keep a roster then, neither do we keep one now.” He paused for a moment, pursing his lips at her bored expression. “Don’t look at me like that, Anita. You should know that doing such a thing would be dangerous for everyone. Now, there are a few that did not return that seemed more likely to return than others.“ He glanced at his council members as though asking if they thought he should continue. They each barely nodded and the crime lord continued, “We’re most suspicious of the non-returns of Rodan and Rodriguez, Rodan more so. He came to us from far off, but as far as we know, never told anyone where. It’s possible that he went home. Rodriguez is a little easier. Jimbo, would you fill Miss Anita in on what we know of Rodriguez?”

Jimbo nodded. He was a thin man, his hair nearly gone, but his eyes still twinkled youthfully. He wore utilitarian clothes, though had he wanted them, Carvel would have provided much finer clothing. Most of the rest of the council took advantage of Carvel’s generosity in this area, but Jimbo still preferred to wear his work clothes. When he spoke, his voice was gravelly, but not overly harsh.

“Sources tell us that Rodriguez is still in Radasanth. We can even nearly pinpoint where he’s currently making his base of operations. However, so long as he’s staying in Radasanth and in hiding, we’re not overly concerned. Rumor has it, that the Rat turned us over because he, and we are sure it is a ‘he’, had been promised a full pardon. It stands to reason that if he’d received a full pardon, then Rodriguez would have no reason to remain in hiding.”

“Unless he’s hiding from you or he immediately returned to his old ways, thus negating the pardon. I think I want to have a talk with him. Where is he?”

“Anita-“

“Stop calling me that!” she interrupted hotly, “Anita is no more, I go by Poison now.”

Carvel sighed in irritation, “Fine, Poison, you’ve gotten quite a lot of information for free. It’s quite clear that you have no intention of staying, so I clearly cannot chalk this up as being necessary information for an assignment. You won’t get anything more from any of us, unless you can pay for it.”

“You might want to think about that a little more, Carvel,” she answered coolly, rising from her seat to pace around the table. Every eye followed her as she made her way around the table, grimacing as she stepped over items covered in dust so thick it was impossible to tell what lay beneath it. “After all, you do want the Rat found don’t you?”

“Well, of course,” he spluttered, “but-“

“And I’m offering to find and dispatch him myself, with no charge to you. The only thing I want from you is the information necessary to find him.”

“So why do you want to talk to Rodriguez?”

Poison stared at him and almost laughed derisively, instead she only sneered, “Has it not occurred to you that maybe he didn’t return because he knew something about the Rat and figured that any who returned would be grilled to be sure they weren’t the Rat trying to come back?”

No one answered that, and Poison snorted. Their silence was answer enough for her. They had not thought about such a possibility. It didn’t surprise her that they didn’t, but she had hoped that maybe after the fiasco caused by the Rat, that they would know better.

“Here’s my deal, gentlemen,” she announced as she returned to the front of the room. “You give me all the information and tools I need to hunt down and dispose of the Rat, and I will do so completely free of charge. You keep your men out of my way and you don’t follow me. I will send word when the job is complete and you will be able to sleep in peace knowing that he isn’t lying in wait for another opportunity to betray you again.”

Carvel scowled. He wasn’t entirely sure about the deal she offered, but he did like the idea of Poison hunting the Rat down. He wouldn’t lose any of his men and then there was the fact that for Poison this would be extremely personal, which would mean she’d be many times more vengeful than any of his men could manage. He looked at his men, knowing it would be fruitless to ask her to leave, as she would just listen in at the door.

“What do you think, men?”

“I’d say go for it, Carvel,” Jimbo answered first. The rest answered the same, in varying phrasing, each one right after the other.

“It would seem it’s unanimous, then. Alright, Miss Poison, you have yourself a deal. Jimbo knows the most about Rodriguez. He will come find you after our meeting and fill you in on everything he knows. In the meantime, feel free to wander the Compound.”

Poison smiled sweetly and bowed to the men, “Thank you, I look forward to our meeting, Jimbo.” Without another word, she let herself out of the room and then on out of the townhouse. She didn’t much feel like exploring, but she had nothing better to do until the meeting was ended.

[Poison]

An hour later, Jimbo strolled out of the dilapidated townhouse. He was not in the least surprised to see Poison rise smoothly to her feet from a block of stone she’d been sitting on. He said nothing for several minutes as she expectantly fell into step beside him. When he at last spoke, it was with a note of fondness in his voice.

“Ani- sorry, Poison, it’s been a long time, hasn’t it?”

“Yes, it has. I’m not sorry about it though. I’ve learned a lot in my travels. I’ve changed quite a bit, too.”

The older man smiled at that. “Indeed. I suppose you want to get right to business then?” he asked, then continued at her nod. “Well, as you know everyone split up when it was discovered there was a Rat. You guessed correctly when you mentioned that everyone would be questioned extensively before being permitted back into the Compound. Rumor has placed Rodriguez in the north sector, working during the day as a silversmith. Allegedly, he is taking full advantage of a full pardon and starting a new life. Other rumors also place him in the north sector, but as a [u]black[/i]smith’s apprentice. Those particular rumors claim that the apprenticeship is merely a façade and are more likely to be true than the silversmith rumors. As I said, we haven’t really looked into him very much. So long as he stays in Radasanth and out of our hair, we see no reason to tail him.”

“Why didn’t you mention all this earlier? It would have saved me a lot of time.”

He chuckled at her irritation, “You know how Carvel is. It was easier and simpler to just give a general thing in the meeting. Are you sure you want to do this, Poison? The Rat practically vanished that night. Personally, I think I know who the Rat is.”

She only looked at him. She wasn’t stupid. If they believed Rodriguez was the Rat, then he would either be at the bottom of the river or in an unmarked hole somewhere. Either way, he would not be around to cause further trouble. She knew she was not the Rat; she had known next to nothing about that fateful heist. That left only Rodan. He had been Thomas’ best friend and had tried to get her to run with him when it came time for the miscreants to be executed. She had refused to go with him; instead she had watched the execution and not left until Thomas’ feet ceased kicking in death. The thought that it had been her love’s best friend that had gotten him hung only served to kindle her desire for revenge even hotter.

“Just say it already, Jimbo. It’s Rodan.”

“No sense in repeating the obvious,” he said with a shrug. “He was close friends with Rodriguez, though. So you may still find some use out of questioning the man. Have you explored the Compound yet?”

“No, I saw no point since I won’t be here for long and I won’t be coming back.”

“In that case, I want to show you something. You know as well as I do that we all understand the risks of our careers, yet we take them anyway. Normally, when someone is lost we shrug our shoulders and move on, chalking it up to the idea that it was bound to happen soon or later. Due to the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the fall of the best men we’ve ever had, Carvel did something a little different.”

As he spoke, Jimbo led the way through the Compound. The path got very narrow toward the end and he stepped in front of Poison to lead the way. When they got to the end of one particularly narrow alley he stopped, “I want you to close your eyes for a moment. Carvel’s ‘different’ is something to behold and took quite a bit string pulling and favor calling to arrange.”

Poison sighed, having only come along to humor her old friend. “Fine.” She closed her eyes and held her hands out for Jimbo to take. He led her carefully into the center of a small square then let her hands go. “Can I open my eyes now?”

“Not yet. Use your other senses first before your sight.”

Sighing once again, she stood perfectly still and listened. Songbirds chirped sweetly from different directions all around her. The sounds of the city could not be heard here, only the sweet melodious night songs of the tiny birds. As she stood there, she inhaled deeply, noting that the air smelled crisp, clean and pure. This was a dramatic change from the stench of garbage and unwashed bodies that filled the Compound. She wiggled her toes in her soft shoes, noting that the ground was soft, not the hard stone and packed dirt that made up most of the rest of the walking surfaces in Radasanth.

“Am I in a garden?” she asked incredulously.

“Now you may open your eyes,” Jimbo said softly, a smile on his aged lips.

When her gray eyes opened and beheld the beauty of the garden around her, she nearly sat down where she was in disbelief. Though the garden was small (only about 20 feet square), the detail and care shown it was astounding. A carpet of lush, green grass covered the entire floor. There was not a rock or patch of dirt to be seen anywhere. Flowering vines crept along the walls, hiding the stone of the buildings. A large variety of flowers in all colors had been planted at the bases of the walls and around a large tree. It was this tree that held the most interesting thing she’d seen yet.

Slowly, the young vampiress approached the tree. It was quite tall and its trunk was very thick. Its branches were full of tender green leaves. From the lower boughs hung six ovals, each with a single face painted on it. A tiny gasp escaped her lips as full recognition of what this garden was dawned on her. Tenderly, with a tear trickling unchecked down her cheek, she reached out to touch the oval that contained Thomas’ face. This was memorial garden. Instead of writing them off as an unfortunate, but foreseeable risk, Carvel had set up a memorial for Thomas and the other five men that had died as a result of the Rodan’s betrayal.

“Is… is he here?” she asked in whisper, barely keeping her emotions in check.

“It took some doing, but yes. We were able to recover the bodies of Thomas, Jordan, and Mikey. Thomas is over here,” he said softly, taking her by the elbow and leading her to a spot that would be shaded by the walls during the day. Here a small white lilac bush had been planted. The delicate white flower was Poison’s favorite.

“We thought that since it was your favorite, it would be fitting. I’ll be outside in the alley whenever you’re ready.” Jimbo slipped softly away, realizing that she would never ask to be left alone, but also realizing that she desperately needed it right then.

Poison barely even heard him. On seeing the lilac bush, she’d dropped to her knees, tears streaming down her face. During the last few years since his death, she’d not permitted herself to properly mourn him. The only time she’d cried had been in silence while Thomas choked his life away. After that, she’d buried everything deep within herself. She had not permitted herself to fall in love again, assigning it a “proper” place as a thing of foolish childhood dreams. It was something she neither needed, nor wanted in her life. Now, faced with his grave and the surprising memorial to him and his comrades, her pent up emotions over the whole deal finally spilled out.

She wept like she had never wept in her life, uncaring of the time or if anyone heard the sobs that shook her slim body as she finally mourned her love.

[Poison]

As the minutes slipped by and grew into one hour, then two, Jimbo started to wonder how long Poison was going to stay at Thomas’ grave. Her sobs had quieted to the point that he could no longer hear her, yet still she did not emerge. Weariness was creeping over the old thief. He stifled a yawn then decided that he should check on Poison. He stepped quietly, making almost no noise, back into the garden. It was not something he did purposely, but after so many years of moving in silence, it had become a habit. Gently, he laid a hand on her shakings shoulders.

“Come on. You have much to do and the dawn will be here in just a few short hours.”

Wordlessly, she wiped her red-rimmed eyes and got to her feet. She followed Jimbo silently all the way back into the main Compound before she finally spoke.

“Can you do something for me?”

Jimbo raised a single eyebrow quizzically before answering in a careful tone, “That depends on the ‘something,’ my dear.”

“I want a copy of that picture.”

“Hm?”

“The picture of Thomas,” she repeated, “I want a copy of it. Could you get it in a size to fit into a locket?”

“I can try,” he said dubiously, “but I won’t make a promise I’m not sure I can keep. Why?”

“I just want one, please?”

“I’ll do my best,” he said, giving in with a sigh.

She tried to give him a grateful smile, “That’s all I ask. I’ll be back before I leave Radasanth. Probably not more than three days.”

He grimaced at the short time frame. “It’ll be tight, but I’ll see what I can do.”

This time, she did manage the smile then hurried away. Seeing it again after so many years made the older man wish he could convince her to stay, but he knew she would not likely be back to stay. Though she hadn’t said it, he was sure that was why she wanted that picture. She wasn’t planning on ever coming back again, even after she’d found Rodan. There were too many painful memories here for the young woman.

Running from the memories won’t change them, Anita, he thought sadly to himself, and the sooner you figure that out, the sooner you’ll be able to heal.

Jimbo went on to his simple bachelor’s pad. He’d never married and quite enjoyed the solitude of having a place all to himself. Tomorrow he would get to work on getting a copy of Thomas’ picture. She hadn’t given him a locket to put it in, so he thought he might do a little shopping, too.

Poison made her way quickly out of the Compound. She stopped for nothing until she was back in her hotel room. She did not have time to locate the smithy right then, especially not without her cloak and gloves. She did not want to be caught outside without her protective gear when the sun came up. As she readied herself for sleep, she tried to think of where Rodan might have gone. At last though, she had to give up that train of thought and hope that Rodriguez would be able to provide her with some answers.

[Poison]

Poison stayed in her room throughout the next day. The sky was perfectly clear and the sun was warm. Both of these were things that were not exactly comfortable for the vampiress. In the early evening, about an hour before sunset, she donned her hooded cloak, gloves, and weapons and stepped out onto the street. She was not planning on returning to the hotel this time. Once she had her information, she would return to the Compound to wait until Jimbo had her picture.

She walked quickly through the waning light. The crowded streets weren’t as busy as shops began to close down. Soon enough, she was in the north sector and after a few minutes of questioning passers-by she found the smithy. At least part of the rumors had been true. Rodriguez did work there. What his job was exactly she wasn’t sure. She stepped into the open-air shop, but did not let her hood down. The sun was still too high to risk that much exposure.

“Sorry, we’re closed,” Rodriguez mumbled without even looking up.

“Oh, that’s okay, Rodriguez, I’m not here for shopping.”

He looked up quickly at the sound of her voice. He hadn’t known her very well, but he did recognize the voice. In a moment though, his eyes narrowed suspiciously. “What do you want then, Miss…?”

“You can call me Poison. I’m looking for answers.”

“Did he send you here?”

She snorted, “That depends on who “he” is and what your definition of “send” is. But perhaps we should not discuss this here. Do you know of someplace more private where we can talk freely?”

He smirked knowingly, “’Course, follow me. “ He finished putting his things away then led her down a few blocks. The apartment he led her into was tiny. It barely had enough room for the mattress that looked like it was garbage heap salvage and a little space for a table with only one set of dishes. “Welcome to my home.”

She chose to remain standing as he took a seat on his bed. “Carvel did not exactly send me, if you’re still thinking that, though he did give me the information to find you. Why didn’t you return to the Compound with everyone else?”

The big man snorted, “Why should I have? I had an opportunity to start new, so I took it. You didn’t go back either, why didn’t you?”

“Do I really need to answer that?” she asked scathingly, “or don’t you remember the relationship I had with Thomas?”

He quickly broke away from her glare, trying to sound at least a little regretful, “Sorry, that would make sense. So what do want with me?”

“Information. Who betrayed us? I’m pretty sure I know who it was, but there’s rumors floating around about someone else that I need to rule out first.”

It was Rodriguez’s turn to be angry. He sprang to his feet in one fluid movement, his six-foot-six frame towering over Poison. “Don’t even suggest it!!” he almost yelled. “Yeah, me and Rodan were close friends, but I would never have done anything to betray my friends.”

“Calm down!” she retorted, pushing him away from her. “He stabbed you in the back too, then, didn’t he?”

He blew a few stray strands of dark hair out of his face, then stepped back another step. “I didn’t know what he was going to do. He’d said that he was just getting information about a crooked politician.” He looked at her directly, a pleading look in his eyes, and “You have to believe me, Anita. If I had known, I wouldn’t have gone with him. I would have gone straight to Carvel and told him what was going on.”

“Don’t call me that,” she reminded him, almost absently, “what are you talking about though? What did he do?”

Rodriguez sighed and took a seat once more, “It’s a bit of a story. He went to a judge. Not one of the judges on Carvel’s payroll, but one that had steadfastly refused to accept bribes from anyone. Rodan said he was going to ‘convince’ the judge to accept pay from Carvel. Well, I knew Carvel would like that, so I went along.”

“I take it that’s not what he did?”

His face became dark as the memories resurfaced, “No, not at all. He proceeded to offer a deal to the judge: A full pardon for him and me in exchange for information on Carvel and plot to trap his best men. It took a bit of coaxing, but the judge eventually went for it. I couldn’t just walk out of the meeting, so I was forced to stay. Afterwards, me and Rodan had a big fight about it. I couldn’t go back to the Compound, not with the information about the trap. I tried to get in contact with a few of the guys, but we were never able to meet. After they were…” he paused and swallowed heavily, “after the execution, I took my opportunity to run and take advantage of my pardon. I’ve been doing pretty good, though I still do a few jobs on the side.” He looked up at her and saw the hurt in her face, “Please, believe me, I wanted no part in all this, but I was given no choice.”

“Where did he go?”

“I don’t really know. We’d talked quite a bit about where we were from once. I think he said he was originally from Knife’s Edge in Salvar. Maybe he went home. I wish I knew for sure. If I did, I’d hunt him down myself. But I have a new lease on life and I don’t intend to mess it up again. I assume you’re going after him?”

She nodded curtly, “Yes. And he will beg for me to end before I do.”

“Good. He had a favorite ring, you might remember it. The gold ring with the big ruby? Anyway, when you do kill him, send me that ring as proof of his death and the next time you’re in town, I’ll see if I can get the smith to make you any kind of weapon you want and I’ll pick up the tab. Make him suffer, Poison.”

“On that you can be absolutely certain, Rodriguez. Good night.”

Armed now with at least a little bit of information, she walked slowly through the darkened streets of Radasanth. She needed to feed. She could feel the hunger within her, but at the moment she didn’t care. She could hold off at least one more night before the need became urgent. Softly, she made her way back through to Compound.

This time she was let in without a hassle and she made her way back to the garden. She took the picture of Thomas down from the tree then sat on the ground with her back to the tree, just gazing at the picture. Occasionally, she ran one finger over it, as though caressing her lover’s face. No tears came this time, but the loss still weighed more heavily than she would have liked to admit.

[Poison]

While Poison had slept her day away, Jimbo had been very busy. Finding the artist that had done the original paintings of Thomas and his team had not been difficult. The difficulty had not even come in asking for another painting. What had been difficult was convincing the man to do such a tiny piece of work. At first, the man had flat refused. He had never painted something small enough to fit into a locket. He had no interest in such a feat. Eventually though, Jimbo wore him down and convinced him that it would be a worthwhile challenge. That alone had taken from breakfast until mid-morning.

Glad that he finally had the requested item being made, the old thief set out to find a suitable locket. This task, while a little bit easier, wasn’t exactly his forte. Since he had never been in a relationship in which fine gifts were an expected thing, the only time he’d ever been in a jewelry shop was to rob it. He’d never bothered to go in during business hours to honestly look at what was available for purchase. Thus, Jimbo just picked a shop at random and went inside.

As it turned out, he’d chosen a shop of fairly good quality. His fingers itched to be taking the valuable goods, but he kept tight control over the urge. All of the jewelry was behind panes of glass anyway, so he would have had to make quite the scene in order to take anything. However, that did not lessen the natural urge of the thief.

He wandered around the shop, well aware of the keeper’s eyes on him. He had to admit he did not look like a typical customer. Dressed in his usual garb of pants, shirt, and jacket all of neutral colors that blended well with almost any surrounding, and a belt that held a long knife at his hip, he was a stark contrast to the fancily dressed ladies in the room. After a few minutes, the shopkeeper came over to him, a fake smile on his face.

“Good afternoon, sir. Is there something in particular that you’re looking for?”

Jimbo turned to the man pleasantly, “Yes. I’m looking for a locket that can hold a picture. It’s for my niece.”

“Ahh, well if you’ll just come over this way, I have a whole case of such lockets,” the portly man said, still smiling the fake smile. He led Jimbo to a case that did indeed have a wide variety of lockets. He took a few steps away to allow Jimbo to peruse the goods, but still be close enough to intervene should he try anything suspicious.

Jimbo nodded and followed, secretly amused by the man’s suspicions. He was very experienced in his work. There was no way that he would attempt to rob this shop during business hours. It would be far too difficult and require more time than he would want to spend on the job. The lockets he was looking at were all very pretty and in a variety of sizes from the ridiculously tiny to the overly large. The shapes varied from simple ovals, to hearts, to circles, to just about anything the maker could come up with. He frowned and turned to the keeper.

“These are all quite lovely, my good man, but they appear to all be silver. My niece has a terrible allergy to silver. Do you have anything in white gold or platinum perhaps?”

“How terrible indeed,” the keeper agreed, secretly regretting the loss of sale. His silver items were quite expensive and he tried always to sell them first. “I may have something that will suit your needs. I don’t have as great a variety in other metals, but I have a few. Silver seems to be the favored metal right now. If you have any other questions, just ask.”

Jimbo gazed at the new collection of lockets. There was quite a bit less variety here. All of the lockets were oval in shape, though they varied in size. Size was practically the only variation. At long last, he decided on a medium oval of platinum. It was simply designed with only a few scrolls along the edge. “I’d like to take a look at this one,” he said pointing it out.

The shopkeeper pulled a set of keys from his pocket and opened the case. The locket’s hinge was well-crafted and allowed it to open smoothly. Inside, Jimbo could see two spaces for pictures. This was exactly what he was looking for. “I’ll take it. How much is it?”

The shopkeeper took the locket from Jimbo and headed for the counter, “For you, sir, 200 gold pieces. A deal if ever I made one.”

“Ridiculous!” the old man snorted, “That can’t be worth much more than 100 pieces.”

“Very well, 175.”

“125.”

“150! And I’ll not go a piece lower,” the shopkeeper said. He hated it when customers haggled, but he did want to sell this piece. The sooner he got all those lower priced things out of his store, the sooner he could replace them with better priced items.

“Fine, 150 gold pieces it is.” Jimbo carefully counted out the gold while the shopkeeper polished the locket and put it in a nice gift box. Jimbo took the box and left quickly. By the time the sun was setting, the artist had finished his painting and Jimbo had everything that Anita had requested. He decided he would wait for her in the burial alcove. She would be back before dawn to sleep the day away once more, of this he was certain.

[Poison]

The next day’s warm sun rose in a clear sky. As it topped the buildings of Radasanth, a solid bar of sunlight crept across the ground. Asleep beneath the tree, Poison did not notice when the dawn’s light started to fill the small alcove. That was at least until it crept up to her face. Yelping in pain she yanked her hood up as far it would go and fled for the shadow of the doorway. Jimbo opened one eye part way at the noise, then closed it immediately feigning continued sleep. Poison once again slipped silently by him. The alley that led to the alcove was blessedly still full of shadow and she was able to let her hood down.

“Damn it…I thought the tree would keep me in shadow. Guess not…” she muttered under her breath as she gingerly felt her face. She had reacted quickly enough to keep the damage minimal, but she was willing to bet that her face was quite red. Lately it seemed she was more easily affected by the sun. The change worried her. When she had first been turned, the sun hurt of course and burned, but not immediately as it had this morning. She had been able to withstand a few minutes of sun before the pain would become unbearable. She still wasn’t sure why the sun had never killed her immediately, either. Until now, she hadn’t bothered herself about it.

Perhaps it would do me good to research this. If that little bit of sun hurt that much, there’s no telling how much longer my cloak will protect me.

She walked as her thoughts went back over the last couple months. She had needed to feed more often as well, unable to fight the urge for longer than two days. Sometimes two days pushing it. She could not figure out what was happening that it was getting worse. Once you were a vampire, wasn’t it always the same? Why were things getting so much worse?

“Who’s there?”

The sudden voice, cracking with age, startled Poison from her thoughts. She looked around trying to find who spoke.

“Come on now! Speak up! I know you’re there! Come to bother an old man again?” despite the obvious age in the voice, it still had a note of challenge in it. As Poison turned to see who it was, her breath caught in her throat. The voice belonged to a very old man, bent with age. He leaned heavily on a gnarled cane of hickory. As he looked around, he seemed to spot Poison, though his eyes were clearly no longer of much use to him. He shuffled over to her.

“I may not be able to see properly, young lady, but I know you’re there. Now, who are you? What are you doing here?”

He doesn’t seem to be that far gone…. Poison thought to herself, remembering Joses’ warning to avoid her old mentor. “I’m just a visitor, sir. Just passing through on business with Carvel.”

The old man face scowled, “Carvel! Bah! Threw me out he did! Doesn’t even have the decency to make an old man comfortable in his last days.” He continued to ramble on for several minutes about what a lousy, ungrateful man Carvel was then he smiled suddenly at Poison, “Would you like a cup of tea? It is still early; that Carvel won’t be up for a little while yet.”

Poison shrugged, she didn’t have anywhere else to go and there wasn’t a polite way for her to just leave. “Tea sounds wonderful. If I may ask, what did you do for Carvel?”

“Ahh, I’m an apothecary the best in Radasanth.” He turned and shuffled back into his home, beckoning for her to follow as he continued, “Well, at least I was before my eyes went bad. But Carvel’s been a good lad. He let me keep my old shop and he makes sure I have plenty of food. Criminal mind he may have, but even he isn’t that heartless.”

The sudden change in view about her old boss, confused Poison, but she felt it wiser not to point out the contradiction. She watched him as he shuffled about his home. Through the far door, she could see the door that led to his old workshop. She had learned a great many things in there. Turning her attention back to her host, she thanked him as he poured her tea then settled into a large armchair.

“What business do you have with Carvel?” the old apothecary asked conversationally.

“Oh, nothing important. I’m looking for someone and I was hoping that Carvel would have information for me.”

The old man nodded, “Your voice, it’s very familiar to me. Have…have you worked for Carvel before?”

She stopped stalk still and stared at him a moment, “A long time ago, yes. “

He smiled, “You sound very much like an old student of mine. Anita was very bright but I haven’t seen her since the big incident with Thomas and the others. She was very sweet on Thomas.”

“What happened to her?”

“No one knows,” he shrugged, “she ran off the same as everyone else. You worked for Carvel you say?”

“I was a thief. Thank you for the tea, sir, but I should probably get going.”

“Yes, yes. Would you do an old man a favor? Come here, I want to see the young thing I’ve been talking to. My eyes gave out for the most part a couple of years ago, so I see with my fingers. Don’t worry, my dear, it won’t hurt,” he chuckled.

Figuring that no harm could come of such a thing, she did as she was bidden, closing her eyes as his fingers traveled slowly over her face. “You are sad, you try not to show it, but it’s there.” He peered hard at her through his cataract-filled eyes. He could just see her if he tried hard enough. “Anita? Is it really you?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

There was no point in lying. “Yes, Apothecary, it’s me.” She nearly fell backward as the old man threw his arms around her. She had not expected him to have such strength when he shuffled so much.

“My child, it’s good to have you home again.”

Poison could do nothing but return the hug as a tear trickled down one cheek.

When he at last released her, she could see tears brimming in his eyes. She had not realized her absence would affect anyone.

“Come,” he told her quickly, climbing out of his chair and shuffling toward his workshop. “I have something for you.”

Poison followed, wondering how she was going to manage to leave without upsetting him. The door creaked as the old man opened it and immediately began coughing. Dust lay thick on the many books and glass containers. Every flat surface had at least an inch of dust on it. It was no wonder the Apothecary was coughing so violently. After a moment or two, he regained his breath and shuffled on in to the room.

While he puttered around looking for whatever it was he wanted, Poison moved about the room. She walked carefully as she tried not to stir up too much dust. The countertops were still loaded down with glass containers of various shapes and sizes. Some of them even had potions still in them. They were probably useless after so long; either that, or so strong that there was no known antidote. Some poisons were like that. You had to use them quickly or they evolved into something completely unpredictable.

Her gaze traveled over the many books on the shelves that lining the walls. She had read most or at least part of most of them. She nearly jumped as the Apothecary came to her side holding a thick book in his thin hands. She coughed a bit as he blew more dust off the cover then held it out to her.

“For you, Anita. My old eyes can’t read it anymore, but I’m sure it will be of good use to you.”

She took the book reverently. She recognized it instantly as his ultimate “recipe” book. She had never been allowed to make any of the potions that were in this book with the exception of the two that she had memorized. It was easily his most treasured book. That he would give it to her like this astounded her.

“Thank you, Apothecary. I’m sure it will help me tremendously.”

He smiled and started back to his living quarters. “I’m glad you like it, now let’s finish that tea. Then I’ll let you get to your business. Now, what was your name again?”

She was silent a moment, how had he forgotten already who was in his home? “Umm, Alicia, sir. And actually, I think I better get going. I wouldn’t want to be late for my appointment. Thank youyou’re your hospitality.” She bent and kissed him lightly on the cheek. He chuckled at that and shooed her on out the door.

“All right then, away with you, young lady. I’m much too old for such frivolities.”

Poison closed the door to his home behind her quietly. She had meant to avoid him as she’d been warned and now she understood why Joses had given his warning. Her old mentor had not aged well at all. Disheartened, she held her new book close to her chest and returned to the alcove.

[Poison]

Once Poison was safely away, Jimbo got to his feet and stretched. He was not sure where Poison was going, but he trusted that she would be back once there were shadows to hide in again. An hour before dawn, he had woken briefly and took the time to truly look at her. She had always been fair-skinned, but the pale cream of her skin now was even lighter than it was when he had last seen her. She had not aged much at all since she left here, but that was not an issue. He had always been quite certain that she was not human and thus her agelessness was not suspect. But her yelp of pain as the sun hit her had made him even more certain of his suspicions.

“Ahh, there you are, Poison,” he smiled as she re-entered the alcove. “I was wondering when you would get back.”

His eyes traveled up to her face and saw in her eyes a peculiar mix of emotions. True, there was great sadness there over her resurfacing memories, but there was more: anger, resentment, hatred, and most peculiar to him, hunger. It was the hunger, more than anything else that steeled his suspicions. He cleared his throat softly as he stepped toward her.

“I trust you had a productive evening? Book buying too it seems.”

“Productive, yes... I’ll be leaving sooner than I anticipated. And I just found this book. It has some interesting potions and poisons that could be useful. I have all that I need, so I’ll be leaving tonight after sunset.”

“Everything? Are you sure? I could swear that you’d asked for a certain picture.”

She looked up at him and tried to smile, “Oh yes, were you able…?”

Without a word he held out the jewelry box. He watched with something akin to fatherly joy as she carefully opened it. Her eyes lit up briefly, but then saddened.

“Oh! But... I can’t…”

“It’s made of platinum, my dear.” His gaze softened as she carefully opened the locket, as if she were afraid that it would burn her anyway, and looked at the tiny picture inside. “When did it happen?”

She closed the locket quickly and put the chain around her neck. “I don’t know what you’re talking about…”

He stepped closer, his voice low so that no one would overhear them, “I know what you are now, Poison. It’s why I got the platinum instead of silver.”

She didn’t look at him, “I’d ask what made you so sure, but it doesn’t matter. It is what it is. I’m leaving tonight. I have all that I need. I would leave now, if I could.”

Jumbo was silent for a moment, then put a hand on her shoulder and turned her to face him. “You saw him didn’t you? The Apothecary? Didn’t anyone tell you about him?”

She sighed and looked down at the ground, “Yes, and yes. Joses warned me when I first got here. But I didn’t go looking for him. I was kind of lost in my thoughts, and I guess out of habit my feet took me by his home. He came out and invited me in. He… didn’t recognize me at first. Joses told me he probably wouldn’t. For a little while though, he knew who I was. He…gave me his book, his ultimate recipe book. And then forgot who he was talking to a few minutes after that.”

She looked up at him, “Joses told me it was bad, but I didn’t realize how bad. Apothecary didn’t really leave me much choice without being rude. I wasn’t expecting him to recognize my face with his fingers.”

Jumbo pulled her to him, hugging her briefly. “He still surprises us. He doesn’t often have such lucid moments anymore. If you are not going to go out today, you should go inside. It will be easier on you. You can stay in my apartment. Right now, I unfortunately have some business I have to attend to.” He kissed the top of her head then released her. “And you will probably be gone before I return, so remember this: You will always have a home here. I know you have things you want to do, but always remember that. Got it?”

She nodded, “Thank you, Jimbo, for everything. I think I will take you up on that offer for now. Good bye.”

He watched as she pulled her hood up and went over to Thomas’ grave. He trusted she would get on out of the sun soon enough. He could put off his own business no longer. Sighing to himself, he turned and left the alcove. He did not expect to see Anita again in this life, but that was the life of the thief.

Shortly after Jimbo left, Poison got to her feet. As much as she wanted to stay here, she knew she could not stay out any longer. She spent the rest of the afternoon in Jimbo’s apartment. It was a small, but tidy place. She took a very refreshing nap throughout the day and woke just as the sun was setting. Quietly, she took her new book and tucked it under her arm. She would need to get a travel bag now, but she could do that a little later. Right now, she wanted to get out of the city before they closed the gates.

She moved quickly through the Compound and back out into the city proper. From there, she kept moving, keeping to herself and avoiding contact with people. She got to the gate just in time. The doors boomed shut behind her and it was only then that she allowed herself a smile. She knew where to go and now had a wide variety of ideas to use in her revenge. Her next stop would be a port on the eastern coast of Corone. From there she was going to Knife’s Edge.

I wonder if he’ll even recognize me after all these years, she thought to herself as she started down the road. Feeling much better now that she knew where to go she called out loudly to the twilight sky.

“I’m coming for you, Rodan!”

[Poison]

In Knife’s Edge…

On a wide boulevard near the slums stood a modestly large mansion. Though it wasn’t as big as most of its neighbors, the mansion was still undoubtedly a mansion. Meticulously neat lawns surrounded the building on all sides. A stone walkway led up from the iron gates to the large front patio. At first glance, one would think this the home of a wealthy merchant or the city house of some noble whose property was in the countryside. However, anyone that thought such things would be very wrong.

The inside of the mansion was just as neat and tidy as the outside with modest décor. There were no lavish paintings adorning the walls here. Neither were there baubles and knick-knacks that would have each been a small fortune all on their own. The floors were of polished wood with a thick rug running down the center of the hallways. Though the décor was simple, it still did not give any real clues about the person who lived here.

That person was Darin Rodelo. Yes, he was quite rich. The mansion and all that it contained was legally his and that was the extent of legality about the man. In his third floor office, Darin stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city. One of his lieutenants babbled on with his report on how much money the prostitutes were making, or rather were not making. The thieves were doing better this month than they were last month. All this filtered in through the crime mogul’s mind, but he wasn’t paying attention.

Darin’s mind was much too busy with memories right then to care about numbers. He remembered back to when he last been to Radasanth. He’d spent several productive years there (under a false name of course). He even made several good friends. Of course, when he discovered that he couldn’t just leave Radasanth and “Lord” Carvel behind, he’d had to take drastic measures. The plot to break up Carvel’s little ring had gone perfectly. Well, almost perfectly. He had not intended for a certain man to die. He had tried very hard to convince his friend not to go on that heist, but in the end it made no difference. Thomas would have been caught one day anyway. A smile came to his lips as he remembered Thomas’s girlfriend, it was a pity he hadn’t been able to convince her to come to Knife’s Edge with him. She’d have made a lovely consort.


A chill ran up his spine, as he turned to face his underling and causied him to stop dead still. “Did you feel that, Gunther?”

“Feel what, Boss?”

“Nothing, just a chill. Now what were saying about the girls?”

Though trying to focus now on work, Darin could not get his mind off the sudden chill. The window had been closed and he kept his home warm. An uneasy foreboding settled in his mind as he again wondered whatever happened to the friends he betrayed years ago in Radasanth.



To be continued in ...best served cold. ( http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?23177-...best-served-cold.&p=187330#post187330)

[Poison]

Spoils:

Platinum locket with a picture of Thomas inside. This has no special effects of any kind, it's just pretty bauble of personal value to Poison

The Apothecary's Book of Potions and Poisons - this holds recipes for potions and poisons to cover just about everything under the sun. This will allow her to make any kind of potion, including healing potions. That is not to say that just because it's in there that she has the capability to make it. Most of the book is beyond her skill level and it will take quite a bit of studying and practice before she masters new recipes. As she intends to make a career out of this, she will be studying whenever she has free time.

Also noted:

The effects of vampirism are starting to become more and more prevalent. For OOC knowledge purposes, it is because of her celestial heritage that it has taken so long to take full effect. If she does not find a way to cure herself, it won't be much longer before she is entirely consumed by vampirism. ICly, she has no clue why things are happening the way they are.

As it stands now, she can no longer withstand direct sunlight. A few seconds will now cause her incredible pain and immediately redden her skin like sunburn. More than that, and she will start to blister. Long enough and the sun can now kill her, albeit VERY painfully. Her cloak and gloves will still protect her, but not for as long as they used to. The heat will get to her sooner than before. As a result, she only travels in daylight if it is absolutely necessary, and then only in the early morning, or late evening when the sun is not at its zenith.

This will all be detailed into the next level update.

[Silence Sei]

Story: 6. The story seemed to be pacing pretty well right up until the sudden switch to your NPC. It was quite jolting, and while I understand you had to hint that he knew that Poison was a vampire, I think dedicating a whole post to it probably was not the best manner to do it in.

Strategy: 7. While I enjoyed that Poison had to go through several leads to figure out who was responsible for the death of her beloved, there wasn’t much planning to it.
Setting: 5. All of your settings were okay, but they didn’t really stand out. In Carvels hideout, did the room smell of smoke and musk? How did that effect Poisons vampyric senses? Little senses like that could be a great deal between a 5 and a 10.

Continuity: 6. Your own personal continuity was pretty good, but there was hardly anything about how well Poison fit onto the Corone scene, or the Corone scene other than the thieves guild in general.

Interaction: 8. I enjoyed your interactions with everyone was quite believable, and the improper wording through some of the lesser educated members of the guild was a nice touch

Character: 4. You suffered here because most of your characters, when interrogated basically said ‘I didn’t do it, but I know who did!’ Furthermore, you tried to play the villain in your last post too villainous, and all I could think of was some 90s animated villain like The Shredder.

Creativity: 6. It was an interesting and different thread, considering no blood was shed.

Mechanics: 4. Like I said, the strange misspelled dialogue added a mystique to the accent, and that is fine, but there were several times where you made a grammatical error such as two quotation marks at the start of your dialogue. I’m not sure if your word checker failed you here or what, but there was a decent amount of mistakes here.
Clarity: 8. For the most part, I understood the thread, but certain places like the memorial outright made me say ‘huh?’

Wildcard: 5. Overall a pretty decent thread.

Total: 59/100

Poison gains Poison gains 710 exp, 60 GP, and spoils approved under the conditions that the necklace can’t be sold, and the RoG sets a limit on how long it takes to learn a new recipe. Oh, and pending RoG approval.

[Letho]

EXP/GP added!