Fantasy Danger and deceit (Completed)

[ArcticFox]

"So you actually saved my possessions, is that what you are trying to say?" Seoc spoke, raising an eyebrow. "Somehow I doubt that you are a good guy in this situation."

He let her down then, not especially gently. Then he looked around and finally sighed, placinf his hands on his hips.

"The squirrel ran off. Well, I'm guessing you'll see her before I do, so tell her that she should not get other people to do her dirty work. Really, did her charm work on you?" He shook his head with a smirk. "Then you are more hopeless than I thought."' He turned his back on Louisa, leaving. "Don't think I don't know what's going on, even if you do not see me. I am an informant after all. Be here tomorrow night, I have some new lead for you. Prepare the silver."

- Agree.
- Ask about the portrait.
- Ask about Miss Fortune's money.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Eh... She guessed what he said was true, though it was nicer to think in Louisa's mind that'd she'd done a good deed by staving off Miss' flames of revenge. Then again, she had been curious herself - or, at least, now she was. Who had that portrait been of? Wasn't really her business, but it didn't seem like Seoc to keep sentiments such as a woman's portrait. I don't really know him that well, though, she thought. People were not always what they appeared.

Louisa hadn't stumbled when he released her, something she prided herself on, but it didn't mean she wasn't a little irked at his disregard for gentle care. And then she flushed, realizing he was right again: Miss had charmed her in the one way that would work on Louisa. She'd played the victim - which she very well may have been - and tugged at Louisa's heart strings. On top of that, made her believe in the possibility of a friendship.

She hoped that possibility was still there, that Miss hadn't just been using her. She could always-... no, inquiring about Miss Fortune's money would most likely lead to a dead end and a witty comment from Seoc. Louisa could try to put him on the spot, though... but was it worth risking a lead? Not really but, then again, she was still paying and he did like money.

Perhaps he wouldn't cut her off for curiosity. She'd try, just this once. Test the waters.

"Who was she?" Louisa asked, eyeing him carefully. Trying to get a good read. "The woman in the portrait."

 

[ArcticFox]

Seoc spun around as she asked the question. His usual smirk was gone and his expression had gotten a lot darker.

"So you did go through my belongings." His tone was slightly irked now. "What have you done with it? Did you take the portrait?" He stepped toward her, his voice acquiring a threatening note. He loomed over her now, his careless manner gone.

- Answer.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Louisa stepped back instinctively before rooting her feet in place. She'd been wrong, yes, but she would not cower - no matter how unsettling it was, seeing him like this. It was certain, now: Louisa had crossed a line that she should have left untouched.

"Neither of us touched it," she said a bit too quick for her liking. Louisa hated feeling small, weak, in comparison to those bigger than her. Was why she was more susceptible to women, at first glance, rather than men. "It's safe and sound, like the rest of your home. We took nothing. Promise."

 

[ArcticFox]

But, it looked like Seoc did not hear her at all. His expression went to furious in a moment and he was on the verge of shouting now

"You had no right to do that! How would you feel if I went through your personal belongings? If I examined and destroyed something precious to you?"

Then he abruptly stopped, taking a deep breath. He stepped back and turned away, bringing up his hands to rub at his face. Finally he spoke again, voice almost a whisper.

"Leave now. Come back tomorrow night. I'll give you this lead and then I'm terminating the contract." And he walked away without giving her a chance to respond.

- Go find Miss.
- Go somewhere else.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Everything slowed to a stop.

He was terminating the contract? No. No, that couldn't be. He couldn't do that. She needed that info - she needed him. Louisa stood there, shock still, before running her fingers through her hair and tugging hard on the brown locks. How could she be so stupid? So, so... so naive to think that Seoc might not have cared? It was obvious - painfully obvious, if she'd thought to use her brain for once in her life- that the portrait was important. Meant something to him.

What would she have done if someone went snooping around with her locket? If she'd thought they'd done something to it or stolen it? Louisa felt a wash of shame; she'd had no right to enter that house. It wasn't her business yet, aware of the risks, she'd made it hers because she was-

Pathetic.

"Fuck," she dragged her hands down her face, painfully aware of her composure flying out the window. Curiosity really did kill the cat, then. After tomorrow, she was on her own in a city that had proven less than welcoming. Hard to navigate, and even harder to get information in. She'd come so far only because of Seoc.

And after tomorrow, Seoc would be gone.

That left Louisa back at square one: start looking for clues based off of the information she'd gathered thus far. She didn't want to see Miss - not yet, at least. Didn't trust herself not to lash out at the pretty bard because Louisa certainly wasn't feeling very amicable anymore. The escapism of Logan's experiments was tempting, but she'd rather not deal with him barking in her ear the entire time. And Ka'ron? Well, she wasn't even sure he'd remember her by now. Just another face, coming and going.

She wanted to be by herself. So, instead of hit up the Three Legged Mare or The Mermaid or the alleyway with the painted red doors, Louisa decided to wander the city until it was time for Miss to perform that night. As much as she didn't want to see the bard, she did need her book back and its accompanying translation. Hopefully Miss would keep her word on that, despite them not finding any silver.

 

[ArcticFox]

Her wandering did not bear any fruit, but perhaps it provided some relief for Louisa. A way to ket off some steam for a while. The fact that encountered beggars and robbers on every corner, did not help, though, and being as distracted as she was, she found herself lighter for 3 silvee coins.

As the night fell and Miss's perfomance was about to start, Louisa was very hungry. She had neglected to eat again. The Three Legged Mare was lit up outside and inside. Zacharias had taken great care to hang to decorate the doors with candles and festive wreaths like it was some kind of a holiday.

Miss did not start singing yet, instead she sat at a table, surrounded with her fans, giggling to someone's joke. She looked to ne without a care in the world.

- Approach her before the performance.
- Approach her after the performance.

 

[Cartoonicat]

As Louisa stepped inside the Three Legged Mare, she did so with a clearer head than earlier. Certainly with more composure. Despite her slightly better mood the festive environment still felt wrong. Too happy, cheerful. It didn't match how Louisa felt and did little to keep her spirits up, though she hid her disappointment well. The growling of her stomach wasn't helping much, either.

She'd swear to take better care of herself, but Louisa knew that would be a lie.

Originally Louisa had planned to stay. Watch the concert, order some dinner, and hopefully snag an available room. But watching Miss interact with her adoring fans and hearing her giggles fill the room made Louisa mad all over again. Had she not been so needy, so pretty with her bobbed ginger hair and brown eyes, and so kind and open towards Louisa maybe she'd had the guts to say no. She'd still have her contact, then.

With a deep inhale, Louisa steadied herself and walked over to greet Miss. She donned the smile her mother had taught her - fake but only to those who knew her well - and looked at Miss expectantly. "Evening," she said, hopping right to business. "How's the translation coming along?"

 

[ArcticFox]

The men that stood around Miss turned to Louisa with unfriendly looks. Before they could say anything, though, Miss wave them away.

"Give me a moment, please." She said with a smile, then turned to Louisa with a slightly apologetic look. "I'm afraid that I did not get very far. I did have to prepare for my act tonight, I do have a lot of people to please here." She produced the destroyed diary and slid it over the table to Louisa. "I've managed to gather that the author of the book is name Lethos and that the last entry was about a month ago, si the diary is not as ancient as it looks." She stood up then, smiling as chearful as ever. "I'm sorry, but I should really get started now, honey. Please stay and listen." She chose not to mention the incident from that morning.

- Thank her and leave.
- Thank her and stay.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Disappointment. That's what Louisa felt, right then, as the barely translated book was handed back to her. A name and an entry date would have to suffice, it seemed. You'd think, she fumed behind a smile, that she'd at least apologize. She left me behind! Yet no apology came. Her blood boiled a little.

No, her blood boiled a lot.

"Thank you, Miss Fortune," she said. Without another word, Louisa turned and left the tavern.

 

[ArcticFox]

But, Louisa had nowhere to go that night. She did not reserve a room anywhere and it probably was too late now to do anything about it. She knew only a couple of people in the city and she could rely on them to help her out tonight.

Logan would probably be at his warehouse, caught up in his experiments until late at night. Seoc could be at his home and if she felt like it she could try to make amends. Ka'ron she did not know that well, though she knew where he lived. He was a charitable person, perhaps he would let her in.

By now, she was tired from prowlinf around aimlessly and so awfully hungry.

- Choose where to go.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Of her three options, Louisa scratched off Seoc immediately. How utterly pathetic would she seem, crawling back to him like a lost puppy when things hadn't worked out with Miss. She could play the pity card but with the way he'd reacted, Louisa doubted he'd even care. Only Ka'ron and Logan were left. Perhaps Ka'ron would show her kindness in return for sparing a few coins for Jace. He seemed a gentleman. Kind, caring. Charitable.

But also still a stranger.

"He'll keep being a stranger if you keep this up," she murmured, clutching the book tight. Logan was her other option - probably the most promising, if his concern for her last time was anything to go by. Then again, it was a possibility he had only felt responsible because she'd tired from his experiment. But would he have any food to spare? Would he be willing? She didn't quite care at that moment that he'd fallen asleep beside her - that she had let him. Too tired, too hungry, too disappointed.

Too lonely.

Louisa didn't know what her feelings about Logan were, but at that moment all she wanted was a belly of food and to curl up next to someone warm for the night. Until Logan, she hadn't done that in years. It was a feeling she missed; something she despised depriving herself of. So she set off in the direction of his warehouse, hoping to find at least a little bit of comfort.

 

[ArcticFox]

Logan was in his warehouse wheb Louisa came searching for him. After knocking on the doors for good five minutes, he finally opened, with a very unfriendly expression. His look changed, however, when he recognized Louisa, going from confused to curious in a little while.

"I cannot send you into the plane tonight. I didn't plan for it." He said right away, assuming that was why Louisa was there. A pleasant smell of freshly cooked food pushed its way past him to tickle her nostrils.

- Explain why did you come.

 

[Cartoonicat]

At the smell of food, Louisa's stomach grumbled loud - like a petulant toddler demanding it's toy. She did her best to ignore it.

"That's not why I am here," she said. The book she held to her chest was a comfort of sorts. Like a small shield she could, in her mind, hide behind. "I don't have anywhere to stay for the night and I have no food." Louisa tightened her grip on the book. "May I please stay with you?"

 

[ArcticFox]

"Uhh... Do you have to?" Was what Logan said first. He looked across his shoulder in the direction of the shelves, it seemed like he was in the middle of some work at the moment. But when he turned back to Louisa there was a slight blush on his cheeks and he clumsily opened the doors enough to let her in. "I mean, sorry, yes, you can come in..." His voice trailed away, but he soon gathered him composure. "Just don't bother me when I'm working."

He turned around and walked inside, leaving the doors open. Louisa could now see that there was a large wooden bowl filled with stew of some king on the table in a corner and a couple of slices of bread, along with a clay jug of something that could possible be wine.

"Dinner is served there." Logan gestured at the table, as he picked up a book and continued reading.

- Eat.
- Ask him to eat with you.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Luckily for Logan, she wasn't in much of a chatty mood. Leaving him alone would be easy.

"Thank you," she said, setting her stuff down in a small pile before starting on dinner by herself. As Louisa ate she paid Logan no mind. She reflected on the events of the day with a frown, then tried to focus on how to move forward.

Miss was gone, though that was more of an emotional impact than a business one.

Seoc was gone. His absence was downright devastating to her mission.

Ka'ron wasn't even involved.

She still had the spice merchant to extort information from, if need be.

She had a name and an entry from the journal. There hadn't been any corpses not of the Order, so she assumed they might still be around. She could look into finding this Lethos.

And she would also have Seoc's final lead tomorrow night.

Louisa tore off a piece of bread and shoved it in her mouth, chewing ferociously. She could do this on her own. She needed to.

 

[ArcticFox]

Her evening passed by quietly, only occasionally disturbed by an angry hiss or grunt coming from Logan as he was deep in his... whatever he was doing with all the books strewn around him on the floor. She ate and set in silence for a while, losing track of time, until she was jolted by a book slamming into a wall and sliding down with a thump.

"Nothing makes any sense!" Logan exclaimed in frustration, standing up and walking over to Louisa. He sat on the chair and poured red wine in two chipped clay cups he produced out of a small chest near the table. He pushed one in front of her and downed the other one, immediately refilling it. His golden eyes then finally found her and he asked. "Why are you here in Myrr, really? What are you searching for?" He smiled knowingly. "I know you are searching for something. You've asked me a lot of questions so far, about my former employer especially."

- Answer truthfully.
- Stick to the cover up story.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Louisa briefly eyed the abused book with pity, but she didn't dwell on his anger much longer than that. By now she was rather used to his outbursts. When she looked back at the table, ready to nick another piece of bread, a clay cup of wine was pushed towards her. She usually preferred tea, but... why not? So long as it wasn't ale or mead, Louisa didn't mind too much. When Logan started questioning her, she reached for the wine and took a slow sip. Stalling.

What would Logan think of the truth? It had been nice to have someone around who knew what she was really there for, but without Seoc she was back to the lies. The feeling of isolation. Such was the life of an Agent, she supposed. She really did want to tell him, despite her gut warning her not to, but she'd already ignored her instincts once today and that had proved to be a big mistake. Louisa didn't want to risk losing anyone or anything else. At least, not today.

Logan was smart, though. Perhaps he could help if she told him something. A half lie couldn't hurt, could it?

"I'm searching for something that was stolen from me," she said, finally setting the wine back down. "A book of family ancestry. Don't know why a thief would want that - I have a ton of jewelry at home that would have made more sense - but I've tracked them here to Myrr." She sounded exasperated - which, in reality, she was. Though Louisa knew the importance of the Holy Book it didn't mean she found the whole task of find and fetch to be a grand time. If anything, it was beyond stressful.

 

[ArcticFox]

"Really?" Logan gave her a doubful look. "That's it? Why are you so intent on a book about long dead people? You don't seem the type. And that sounds like an awfully lot of work for something that holds sentimental value only."

He shook his head and drank a good swallow of the wine, lost in thought for a brief moment.

"I need to get into the Upper Libraries." He said without much explanation. "There is a limit to how much I can learn from the books I have here. But they are not letting anyone through that damn gate." He slammed his fist against the table, making the wine in the cups swirl. "My point is, if you find that you need to go to the rich part of the city, count me in. It will be easier to plan something with two people."

- Agree.
- Refuse.
- Change the subject.

 

[Cartoonicat]

"Despite my looks, family is the most important thing to me," she said, not missing a beat. And it was true. All of the big decisions in her life had been to please, protect, or provide for her parents. They were her world. Still were, which was why she had to finish this blasted job and return home to them, safe and sound.

His intention to get into Upper Myrr perked her up a little. Having someone on her side would be a blessing. Would have been a huge help with the chimera, though Louisa figured getting into Upper Myrr might be significantly less a beast-involving task. A grin split her lips; maybe the Trinity wasn't a dead-end after all. "Agreed," she said, "and I think your old employer might be able to help us - given some incentive, of course."

She was starting to feel much better, and it wasn't because of the wine.

 

[ArcticFox]

Logan finished his second cup of wine, his eyes slightly squinting as he asked her. "My old employer? Why? You think he he has your family heirloom? I certainlt doubt that, he yearns for much rarer items." He paused only to fill his cup and do the same to Louisa's. "You know what, I'm going to go to him tomorrow night and try to see if I can get something out of him. He does owe me and he does go into Upper Myrr weakly." He shook his head. "I'll probably just lose my patience and turn him in a toad or something." He snickered childishly.

- Offer to go with him.
- Keep to your plan with Seoc.
- Talj about something else.

 

[Cartoonicat]

She watched him fill her second cup as she pondered what to say in response. The Holy Book was certainly a rare item, but a book of ancestry was not. Louisa shrugged, taking another sip of wine when he was done. More stalling. Thankfully, before she could come up with why he may have the book, Logan spoke again.

"Must it be tomorrow?" Louisa asked, setting the cup down. She'd try to convince him to change the date or time, if she could. "I'd like to join you, but I've got a lead on my book in the evening." She didn't want to miss out on information in favor of trying to find a source of information, but Seoc wouldn't be helping her after tomorrow night. Louisa needed a backup plan and that was the Trinity. Knowing his temper, she doubted his diplomatic skills; it was much easier to communicate with a terrified spice merchant than a terrified toad.

 

[ArcticFox]

"Hey, I'm not inviting you to tag along." Logan gave her a glare. "I'm only saying that you can come back here tomorrow or the day after and I might have a plan to go into the Upper city." He ruffled his hair and stretched. "It's all just may and might for now. I'll see if I actually manage to do anything tomorrow." He was getting permanently flushed now, after finishing off a third glass.

- Talk about something.
- Go to sleep.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Louisa blinked. Had she assumed? Apparently so. She looked at her glass of wine, realizing she'd nearly drank the second one already. No wonder her arms felt heavy, body relaxed. Well, that was enough for her; Louisa slid the cup out of her reach. "Just don't be too hasty to turn him into a toad," she stood. Yawning, Louisa rubbed her eyes. "Goodnight, and... thank you for letting me in." She smiled tiredly at Logan before heading to bed.

Time for some sleep.

 

[ArcticFox]

Logan did not really have a proper bed in the storage house, but he did throw a couple of blankets on the ground for Louisa, making it comfortable enough to sleep. He continued drinking after she went to sleep, murmuring something to himself, partially in the common tongue and partially just gibberish. At one point he laid down next to her just like the previous night and fell asleep.

In the morning they had the leftover soup and bread and then Logan urged her to go be somewhere else, very obviously avoiding eye contact and slightly flushed.

Nothing interesting had happened for Louisa until nightfall.

--

"We are leaving in fifteen minutes." Seoc had said when he greeted her on the doors to his home. He did not let her in and his tone was not friendly or teasing like it had been in their previous interactions. He closed the doors in front of her nose and then went to get ready, walking back outside quickly. "I'll take the second part of my payment now." He said extending a hand toward her, palm up. "I'll take you to a person who certainly knows a thing or two about your Book. He doesn't exactly know thst we are coming, so it will be up to you to improvise."

- Agree and carry on with work.
- Try to make amends with Seoc.