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| - 16:10 : It takes some doing, but all the pieces scavenged have been transported to the manse. Now, the question is, what is the next step in fulfilling the goal? 16:10 : The material themselves are put in a mostly empty room, bereft of anything of value, next to the Lost' workshop. Lost suspect it is storage room, though the lack of, well, storage kinda makes him wonder. Maybe it's just rotted with age? 16:10 : Right now, you're all in the Lost' workshop, contemplating your loot. What do you want to do? 16:14 Dragon_ looks at the scavanged material thoughtfully. "This won't be enough, will it?" 16:14 : "Both yes and no." 16:14 : "No, I don't believe so. Maybe we should check for more 16:14 : ?" 16:15 : "It is enough for one task but we want to accomplish more than just one task." 16:16 Dusk looked at the group. 16:17 : "Perhaps you can complete that one task first before looking for more Resources?" 16:17 : "Hello Dusk...found anything interesting?" 16:17 Lost nods at that. 16:18 : "Just this trinket." 16:18 Dusk lifts up the trinket. 16:22 : "Hmm.....it not anything important unfortunately. Just a random trinket. You are better off selling it." 16:22 : "Planned to when I hit town next time." 16:40 Spider goes to meet the locals. 16:40 Lost follows her 16:40 : "Then we can get a better feel of the local climate?" 16:41 Spider naturally goes to meet the locals dressed as an elderly one armed man who can't stop chatting about his three grandchildren. Did you know one of his great grandaughters is a maid at the king's palace in Greyfalls? 16:41 : "Well, those two seems to be heading there, might as well. I'd also like to map the area." 16:42 Dusk raises an eyebrow at Spider's disguise. 16:54 Spider yawns loudly, scratches 'his' rear and looks at a hastily forged picture of a small child 17:02 : Like usual, Twin River is crowded. It appears you all arrive at the busiest time of the day, and considering it is afternoon now, that probably means something. 17:02 : Pooling your knowledge, you can reliably state: 17:02 : - There are two markets, inside and outside. Outside the city, the selection is more, well, eclectic, and likely not worth much, but you may (or not) find something interesting there. 17:02 : - The inside market provide more quality goodies, at least theoretically. Even if it isn't, you may find valuable information. 17:03 : - Twin River is young, and nominally neutral. That means, both Lookshy and Realm have influence, though likely only unofficially. You'll have to investigate more to find out about this, though. 17:03 : - The merchant enclave do exist, with anything else that entails. 17:03 : - Dusk reasonably state there's smuggler ring in the city, though he don't know the precise contact. Of course, very likely it is part of the Guild, but you're all Exalted, right? 17:03 : - Spider remembers the note she filched from distressed merchant from before, and looking at it, it is likely an advance order for repairing artifact. Maybe 'liberating' those would be good idea? It /will/ be noticed, of course, unless the owner is convinced to... not notice. 17:03 : Which one do you want to start? 17:05 : "So, where do you want to go first?" 17:07 : "Gather information. Unless of course any one has access to a windfall of unexpected knowledge?" 17:08 : "Gather information about what then? The smuggling ring or the merchant? I don't think doing both at once is a good use of time." 17:09 Spider shrugs. "Well, there was this one time that one of my grandkids went and kicked a rattlesnake. Roudy little whippersnapper.... ..... And that's why I know there's a catch of artifacts the guild's trying to move." 17:09 Lost nearly stumbles at /that/ declaration. 17:09 : "What?" is the balnk reply. 17:11 : "WEll, when Timmy fell down that well.... Worked as a rug merchant in the army for a few years after that bit with teh barges. Good times... Old army buddy went fishing... Sally and that tiger..... And so that's how I know there's an artifact being repaired here." 17:11 Spider takes a solid 7 minutes or so explaining. 17:12 : "Trying to move them... And what do you want us to call you when you're 'like this'?" 17:13 : "I have to say, your conviction in keeping the act is commendable though," Dusk whispered. 17:14 : - Peerless remember that Realm occasionally make overt move to bring Twin River to it's fold, and with the civil war... well, they're remarkably manic about it. In the sense, sometimes they tried, sometimes they don't. Incidentally, he knows the brothel mosts Dragon-Blooded (read: Important) visited. 17:16 : "A......brothel Peerless? If only this information wasn't so useful." I mutter under my breath 17:17 : "Not my fault if the two Dragon-blooded buddies I knew back then like to drag me everywhere in their escapades" 17:17 Peerless shrugs at Lost 17:18 : "Brothel would be easier to get in and mingle with at least, the whores wouldn't be as inclined to remember the faces of newcomers." 17:18 : "Well /old man/." I say looking at Spider, "What do you think?" 17:19 : "Well, a rude little brat like you wouldn't understand, but a man has needs..." 17:19 Shadell blushes a little and adjusts 'his' pants. 17:19 : "I mean should we split up or not." 17:20 : "So which do you prefer, though, old man? Legs or Breasts?" 17:20 Lost palms his face 17:20 Shadell thwacks Peerless over the head. 17:20 Dusk shakes head. 17:20 : "Don't be an idiot!" 17:20 : "It's gotta be the ass of course!" 17:21 Peerless chuckles 17:21 : "Getting back on subject, shall we split up then? Spider, Dusk and I shall go after this artifact, while Dragon and Peerless go visit the brothel?" 17:22 : "You people... It's the breasts. But legs are good too..." 17:23 Lost mutters "why did I take oaths of celibacy again? " 17:23 : "Don't worry, Lost, soon I shall corrupt you enough to want to join us lowly mortals in the art of sex" 17:24 : "Nia is already beating you to it Peerless. I have never before been so tempted by the pleasures of the flesh." 17:26 : "Can we continue this conversation when we're done?" 17:26 : "And yet you still are celibate" 17:27 : "As dusk put it, next time peerless. But what do all of you think about my Idea?" 17:27 : "Ah reckon that a house of sin aint no place for young impressionable types like all'o you." 17:29 : "And I believe that an venerable man like you would be in trouble if we let you go there." Dragon says with a smile. 17:29 Peerless nods sagely at Dragon's words. 17:30 : "Listen to the lady, old man, can't have you dying on us here " 17:32 : "Again, children, lets please focus on the topic on hand. The way I see it, the skills of both Dusk and Spider shall come in handy to rescue the artifact from the hands of that merchant. As the artifact expert and a monk, I'll go with them as my vows prevent me from enjoying the pleasures on offer in the brothel." 17:33 : "Dragon and peerless are the best suited to go to the brothel, because one can talk people into submission and Peerless's skills with the sword shall serve him well if there is any trouble you two can't talk your way out of." 17:34 Shadell shakes her head. "Aint nothing ah can do all-sneaky like that Dusk here can't. And, d'ya really wanna put Mr. "look at my sword" here and choir girl off in a cathouse all by their lonesome? Send Dragon with you lot and I'll go about getting into that there brothel without getting everyone in this region who actually knows what we might be on our tails." 17:39 : "Dragon what do you say about this?" 17:41 Dragon_ shrugs. "I'm better with people than with objects." 17:45 : "Well, that is a good thing because part of what we are aiming to do is to make them give it to us willingly. Hence, we are going to have to fast talk them into it." 17:46 : "If we want to steal it, I'd suggest some prep-work to mislead them over who did it." 17:46 *** Shadell is now known as Spider 17:47 : "No, too risky. An artifact going missing is too big a deal. Best we convince them to sell it to us or something similar." 17:48 Spider sits down and ducks under the table, moaning about 'his' back. The sound of bones cracking, clothes rustling, stretching can be heard and several moments later a, well, this emerges from below the table. 17:49 : "Anyway, brothel it is, a girl has to... 'eat.'" 17:49 : "Hmm...psst, Spider" 17:49 Peerless whispered to her ear 17:49 Spider smirks laviciously and licks her lips. 17:49 Spider listens. 17:49 : "Think you can whip me up a disguise?" 17:50 : "Well darling, why would you want to describe..." Spider runs a hand down Peerless' chest. "Such a wonderful package as all this?" 17:51 Lost looks at dusk and Dragon. "Well then, shall we?" 17:51 : "Because as much as I love this package...I do not wish the others to recognize me when I'm finally done with them..." 17:51 Dusk sighs and nods. 17:51 : "Let's go." 17:53 : "Well, darling, what do you want to wear? Oh, we could be twins! Everyone loves twins!" 18:05 : "Identical twins or one guy one girl kind of twins?" 18:05 : "Identical dear. No one cares about the other kind." 18:06 : "Huh, so girls then or boys?" 18:08 : "Do you know how hard it is to get into this thing?" 18:08 : "No way I'm changing out of it after spending all that effort to get on this make-up..." 18:11 : "Well, any objections dear?" 18:11 : "How about as siblings, then?" 18:11 : "Well, let's see what I can do..." 18:13 : (longish stunt incomming) 18:14 Spider smiles and drags Peerless along with her, flitting from store to store, particularly ones with male shop-owners as she flirts shamelessly, robs and generally 'acquires' any number of odds and ends. Rare cloths, make-up, feathers and various strange accountraments that should fill Peerless with the barest hints of existential dread if he's remotely sane. 18:15 Spider then pulls Peerless into an alley, pinching a paintbrush between her teeth, tearing off his clothes and wrapping him in silks and robes. Like a sculptor she spins around, oohing and ahhing thoughtfully as she works to adjust Peerless base look. 18:16 : "Too tall, so we'll have to go with the horizontal stripes and don't stand too close dear. Now, the hair extensions are a little on the delicate side but we'll pin this robe up here oh so gently. You don't have the right assets to walk around in as little as this, so it's got to sell the impression without doing it." 18:18 : "Don't worry, everyone loves a hint of mystery, you'll be able to get all the boys. Stop twitching!" Spider attacks with a barrage of pins, shaping the robes she crafts to carefully create the impression that they're about to move away with every movement Peerless makes and reveal all of 'her' 'bounty'. Finally, after what must seem an aeon, Spider nods to herself and begins on the make-up, slathering Peerless with her brush until noth 18:19 : "And, the final touches, give you a hint of the exotic look..." Spider presses herself up against her not-actually-all-that-identical (if you look closely) twin and pins 'her' hair up with a striking black pair of raiton feathers that clash violently with the rest of the outfit, drawing attention to Peerless' well disguised face and away from all the little bits that you can't really change when disguising someone so completely. 18:20 : "you can open your eyes now." 18:23 : 'At least I can tease the cute guys on my little tricks...' 18:23 Peerless thinks while he opened his eyes and saw.... 18:23 : "An exotic beauty...are you sure this is me?" 18:30 : Dragon_, Lost, Dusk: Based on the information provided by Spider, plus asking around, you managed to find the places where the material is stored: a small warehouse, right near the guards' barrack. As expected, there are many guards, though honestly, you expect more. 18:30 : Probably because it's just component instead of /actual/ artifact, though. Nonetheless, you managed to convince the manager to give you a brief tour, and you can see most of the warehouse is filled with Jade. Some of them is in powder form, even. 18:30 : Lost: It appears most of the artifacts actually owned by city is low-rank one, based on available material. There are too many materials, though, which makes you rather suspicious. 18:31 : Dusk: You are pretty sure this warehouse also used to store material that will be smuggled later... well, it helps that you've heard a snatch or two of Guild Cant. It appears this warehouse have profitable arrangement, instead of actually working as The Guild's subordinate. 18:31 : Dragon_: After some cajoling, you managed to obtain access to the armory - Lost' assessment pretty much spot-on, but you are quite surprised to see a couple unused Essence canons. In addition, a merchant at the city market also sold artifacts - genuine one, and likely with jacked price, but you doubt he have actual need to repair his artifact. 18:49 : Shadell, Spider, Peerless: You're both a big hit. A really, /really/, big hit. Maybe it's your supernatural beauty - perhaps it is simply because you both can keep going, where the other.. can't. Nonetheless, by the time you're done, you managed to gain Resources 3 worth of cash. 18:49 : Of course, you also managed to find out something rather sketchy. For one thing, the brothel have both fertility and maiden tea. For others, there are rather /extensive/ ledger which girls serviced Dragon-bloodeds, though admittedly, it is not /that/ strange. 18:49 : After all, better to know /which/ bastard you crapped out rather than finding out later when he stab you in the back, right? But maiden tea should be enough to prevent unwanted pregnancy. You'd think some people want Dragon-blooded children, really. It is not surprising, in fact - no, just to find out /who/... 18:49 : You can't find out much, though the girls that pregnant Dragon-Blooded get whisked of somewhere, outside of the city, before coming back, though they can't precisely state /where/ they're going. 18:50 : On a more positive note, you /do/ manage to find something more important for you immediate problem. For example, both Lookshy and Realm-supported faction in the city is panicking - Lookshy because, well, it /is/ their expedition, and Realm because even more of their legion and aligned Dragon-blooded taken back to Blessed Isle /while/ good amount of DBs died. 18:50 : There are some talk of sending reinforcement, but no one actually /moves/, since everyone is unsure. There are couple of bits and pieces, that may be important for your Investigation later. This should proves to be useful. (+1 Success for investigating the City, for the reminder of the arc.) 18:51 : "Hmm, I'd look around the warehouse a bit." 18:52 Dusk goes to scout the ground. (guards headcount, their position, warehouse layout, any vantage point for shooting.) 18:55 Shadell spins through her days at the cathouse, a different mask for every customer, reading them effortlessly and adapting herself and her history from moment to moment. With one she's a blushing maiden, entirely unsure of herself and terrified to be there. With another a forceful lover, pushing them down and making them beg for her attention. A childhood friend, a committed masochist, someone who can listen. For every client a diffe 18:55 : "I love you" she'll whisper in their ears at night. 18:55 : "Be mine." "Save me from here. Save me from..." 18:56 : The names change, but the story stays the same. For every client she loves there's an enemy who abuses her, who scares or her treats her wrong... If only... If only they would save her, then surely Spider would be with them forever, a mistress, a servant, she'd devote herself to them... If only.... 18:57 : Weaves of magic stir the hearts of those around her, though none seem to spot that Spider only ever seems to sleep with the dragonblooded. She's beautiful enough, graceful and refined enough that she's obviously a choice prize. 18:58 : And, once the Spider has woven her web, she pulls in her prey, slipping onto the stage one day and dancing. Her movements blend dancing and the black claw style of martial arts she loves, embody contradiction and showing each client the face they most want to see. 18:58 : Vulnerable, passionate, aggressive, weak... 18:58 : And yet, ever so subtly there is something wrong about Spider's dance. 18:59 : A cloth moves, showing a tiny bruise, not hidden well enough by make-up. Her face contorts into a wince for the briefest moments before she covers it up. She turns one way, then shifts to avoid revealing the skin around her back. Surely, surely that man must be hurting her. 18:59 : Surely she's crying out for someone to save her... If only... 19:09 : Even as Spider was spinning her web of deceit, Peerless concentrated on the ones who like it rough, teasing them with his skillful tongue and fingers, even as they pleasured him in return. His aggression on the bed was genuine, even as he snuck smug, challenging looks at his "sister", trying to incite her to greater heights of debauchery 19:12 : Some of Peerless' customers were less...confident in themselves, possibly due to them being in a brothel the first time. 19:14 : Them, Peerless taught them the arts of carnal pleasure, driving them to heights of pleasure again and again, their moans of ecstasy echoing in the room, even as he played with their firm muscles when they recovered from their latest orgasm. 19:16 : While others...their techniques mostly revolved around relying on their Exalted strength and endurance to swiftly pound their whores to the heights of pleasure, repeatedly. 19:19 : He...delighted in showing them their errors, showing them the beauty of taking it slow and steady, subduing and trapping them in cages of pleasure themselves, until /they/ are the ones being the bundle of flesh quivering in pleasure instead. 19:19 *** Shadell quit (Read error: Connection reset by peer) 19:20 *** Shadell joined #ExaltedRPSVIC 19:21 : Dusk: Infiltrating the warehouse is easy. Too easy, in fact, that you wonder if the guards are lazy, only to realize it is likely because of your exaltation. Well, their fault. For not being as awesome as you are. 19:21 : Looking at the guards' patrol route, you notice there's a place, close to the barrack but still quite far, that's not patrolled well enough, so you 'arrange' it to make it easier for you to 'visit' the warehouse later. (+1 Success to Stealth/Larceny roll in regard of this Warehouse) 19:21 : The warehouse' layout is rather simple. First, there's a large room, used to store various, well, material. Second, there's a small room, likely the manager's - looking at the ledger, you can see it /does/ serve the guild, and various other merchants, that need to store their mechandise in a more secure place. 19:21 : Relatively speaking, of course - most of them is raw material, after all, so there's no need to have as much guards. 'course, some people /will/ attempt to do the whole 'security through obscurity'. 19:22 : Or maybe not, since the chest you found at the managers room isn't /really/ subtle. But goodness, it's so /heavy/. You doubt you can cart it back. 19:22 : You look closer at the ledger, and noticed there's interesting pattern in it - looks like there's... complicated attempt to laundering money? Why would they need to do that? Well, while you don't know the reason, you do know it involves: 19:22 : a smuggler ring that operates at the dock (likely Guild), a decoy artifact stores inside the city (non-artifact, low-quality jade alloy, other exotic but worthless trinkets), and... hmm, experimental restaurant? Well, it sounds creative enough. You guess. 19:22 : There are some other bits and pieces, that you're sure will be useful later. (+1 Success for City's Underworld interaction for the rest of this arc.) 19:43 : It starts with a whisper. 19:44 : Then someone shout. Then a door breaks, as a demigod burst through it, surprising the occupant, as he accuse that she've hurts his /precious/ prizes. The other occupants, of course, disagree, because it is /his/ fault that she've been hurt! 19:44 : What happens afterward is... /messy/. And similar scenes repeat across the rooms, though the result aren't always the same - some tried to stop his brethren, other runs. Regardless what happens, chaos reigns, and panicking whores run away from the brothels, filling the streets as the brothel, for the lack of better word, implode, in the cascade of elemental m 19:44 : elemental manifestation. 19:45 : However, a couple shadows flit around, poking at Dragonbloodeds, whether dead or alive. What happens afterwards.. well, nobody knows
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