tampered | Log; Closed

Log; Closed

When; June 27 at the Hymns of Lorelei
Rating; PG
Characters; Cain Hargreaves (

leviathanclaw)
Summary; Just a couple of guys with fabulous hair and long coats discussing the City after this conversation
Log;

Yeager finds a small table and chair far from the exit of the room. He'd worked earlier but had a habit of hanging around afterwords to simply sit and enjoy. The place had enough people coming and going that it never felt empty. And it reminded him of one of the taverns in Danghrest, the city of guilds. A little less formal. A little more personal.

The curses had died down as far as he could tell intriguing yet a bit disconcerting as they were. The man said he would come and so he waited. It would be poor etiquette not to. That and he had more time on his hands that he was accustomed to dealing with.

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For all that Cain had called on this particular place, the Hymns of Lorelei (and the origins of that name he was never quite certain about), to provide dinner for this party or refreshments for that ball or employment for one person or another, he'd set foot in the place less often than he perhaps would have liked. Still, he knew where it was easily enough, so near to Misery Square as it was and he found his way there in the slanting afternoon light.

Pushing through the door, he cast a glance around the room at large, looking to see if he saw anyone who seemed to be waiting--particularly waiting for him.

Yeager hadn't really figured the name out either. It was something of the owner's home world and that was about as much as he had asked. A name was a name and for the time it didn't seem to warrant anything more than that.

He tilted his head when someone entered through the door. Well, well, he is looking for someone. Also from his memory of their encounter over the device this could very well be his man. Yeager stands up from the table and walks over to the doorway.

"Welcome. You found ze place easily, ja?"

Cain hadn't quite expected to be greeted at the door, but he was glad enough for it. Fortunate, indeed, that he should be recognized.

"Yes, easily enough. You must be Mr Yeager. A pleasure to meet you--in person this time."

And he held out his hand (even with the back of it marked "Property of Riff" in black ink) in greeting.

Yeager shakes his hand. Riff, was it? He hadn't met someone with that name yet, but there were still a lot of citizens he didn't know. But what an odd tattoo to have all things considered.

"Zis City is deceptively large. I haven't even made it as far as ze wall or ze city below ze city. But come."

He motions for Cain to come away from the door and gets some tea for them as a refreshment. The waiter has what looks like bunny ears on his head, but well, it seems like all the staff weren't required to wear such outfits.

"Did ze rest of ze day pass you by without much further incident?"

Fond as Cain might be of Riff, he's rather glad it's only ink from a pen and not from a needle. Not that he'll bring any of this up in conversation so soon.

"Have you not?" Cain said, following along, "the walls of the City are quite a ways out, but the Underground is easy enough to reach--if one is careful."

Those rabbit ears suddenly leave Cain feeling rather proud that no one in his cafe has to wear such things--even moreso with the memory of some concerns about the black dresses and white aprons the staff did wear. Better that than rabbit ears. There was nothing so odd about dressing like a footman or a maid. But rabbit ears were distinctly more peculiar.

Cain settles himself behind his teacup, contentedly. It certainly won't be so good as Riff's tea, but it will do.

"As much as a day spent enduring a curse can, yes."

"So you have gone Underground? All ze words I have heard about it have been hushed and avoidance. But every City needs its place of charm away from ze normal tourists."

Yeager didn't mind the extra added bits to the costume. Not that he had to wear them cooking in the back, but it gave the place a bit of edge, a bit of style that was uniquely its own. Whether or not this creativity was good or bad was another matter entirely. It was amusing to say the least.

"It is a wunder zey don't happen more frequently. Six lords over ze City with nothing to do but watch ze citizens. Ah, but the curses creativity is telling of their free time."

"I have yes." Mostly on occasions when he was working on building up his collection in the City, but that's a different matter entirely. "It's the sort of place that deserves hushed words and avoidance, really. You wouldn't be asking about it if you knew everything about it. Anyway, as to the curses, I think they happen as often as one might like them to, and they're just as creative as one might like."

"Such a sharp eye. Being new to zis place does come with its disadvantages. Everything is new and hard to know where to start looking for items of fascination."

Yeager props his chin up on his knuckles.

"Our conversation before was to discuss ze curses, and we will get to zat, but zere is something else I would like to discuss if you wouldn't mind. A trade, you see. Information in exchange for service. Though I can understand zat my credentials here are starting from ze scratch. Does zis have any interest for you?"

"When one is really new, I think most everything in the City is fascinating."

But that clearly was nothing more than small talk and idle chatter. Now it seemed there was something more to this conversation: a deal, it seemed. It wouldn't be the first time that Cain had made this kind of a deal, if it was as he supposed. That had been a long time ago, back when that peculiar Orden had set itself up in the City, in miniature, and Cain had run scraps of information back and forth between the two sides. Information and opium--cut with henbane, as he recalled, because poison was apparently delightful to certain creatures. What good it all did, he was never certain, but he had been glad of the protection they had promised to Merry. And that had been the heart of the matter, really. So, as to this trade...

Cain leaned slightly over the table.

"Trades aren't rare in the least in the City. But, information in exchange for service? And what sort of 'service' would this be?"

"That all depends on what you need, milord. Bodyguards or errand service if you decide you need ze items from here to zere. Whatever the fancy of ze day is, ja. I'm not sure if you've heard of ze Guilds from Terca Lumireis as zere are some of us about. But once ze Guild takes on ze job, any milord wishes, zey strive to its completion. For zat is how a Guild gains reputation."

And all of that was true. Guilds were meant to run errands. It is how they survived. He'd built one up from nothing. A dealer of weapons, poison, and hit men. Not the most up and up, but he wasn't terribly picky back then. And he wasn't at the moment. Yeager couldn't afford to be.

"Ze work can be specialized over time, but I'm willing to leave it open to your needs."

What an interesting offer.

"No, I'm afraid I've not heard of your guilds before. And I've become so accustomed to having to do most everything for myself, it would almost be peculiar to have someone else to do it for me again. I think it would have to be 'specialised' over time. And you only want information in exchange for all of this?"

"Information and an alliance if you wish to call it zat. Heh. If ze zombies decide to come by for another visit, or if we go visit zem again, at least we know zat we can share ze get away vehicle, ja.

And it wouldn't do good to stay idle in zis City. With ze curses and ze unpredictability, a little normal routine just be what ze doctor ordered."

"I see. This wouldn't be the first time that I've made such an arrangement, you know. It's been quite some time, but I think I've almost missed having this kind of an arrangement to maintain. It would occupy us both, I think."

"Splendid. Splendid. Ja, and I look forward to it, milord."

Yeager leans back in his chair resting his elbows on the table.

"But back to the matter zat first introduced us. Ze curses. You said you had some theories about zem?"

"What I know is, I think, what most everyone knows. Or it's what everyone always said to one another when I first arrived."

"Deities. A group zat runs zis City. I am surprised zey were so quick to present themselves, but zat may be more of a rare occurrence.

And zey have kept zeir lips shut tight about ze whys and hows?"

"Well, yes, of course. They'll take credit or blame for the curses, though most people say that 'the City' was responsible for whatever they said or did or were during a curse. That's just a matter of expression, I suppose. But the 'deities' themselves will never say precisely how it's all possible."

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Log; Closed

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