Czlaplon Quest

[Kasbak]

Since the statement wasn't addressed toward me, I won't move immediately to join. If I'm beckoned in, I'll of course participate. I don't want to intrude on something that's not for me though. If that is the case, then I'll go see what I can do to help with the remaining paperwork. Not exactly fun, but again, I do want to make sure I'm useful to the group.

[TarlimanJoppos]

Shaliko frowns. "You didn't tip him off that you'd made him, had you? If you did, he'll switch to a new illusion ring or they'll swap someone else in, and we won't know what the new tail looks like until we can spot them again."

[arcomniflash]

"No, no, of course not. I merely tipped my hat to him - the same way I did to many other people that passed us on the street. The only difference was that he looked annoyed that he'd been seen." I'll fold my arms and lean back in the chair. "As for what to do...once we get on the ship, it will narrow down the area in which he can move around immensely. Though I have no idea who would want to follow us..."

[TarlimanJoppos]

Shaliko sighs, and rests his forehead on his hand. "Yeah, you tipped him off. It's probably okay. They'd be switching tails when we board anyway. And it'll be they, not he. There will be at least two people on the riverboat keeping an eye on us, switching off, and not necessarily male. My bet is one will be a crewman and the other one of the paying guests, but don't put too much silver on that."

He sits up and looks you directly in the eyes. "Ever hear of the Black Hand? The Hand of Corruption?"

[arcomniflash]

"Hmm...I don't know. I tipped my hat to plenty of people on the street, he was one of many. Regardless, let's assume that he saw that'd I'd noticed how annoyed he looked - as I said, yeah, the riverboat will be a much smaller space in which to find them. Doing so will have to wait until then. What I wonder though is, what do they want with us?"

When the Hand of Corruption is mentioned I'll raise an eyebrow. "I have heard of them...once or twice, in my travels but never more than passing whispers - some kind of Horror Cult, spoken of in enough places to indicate that they are reasonably wide-spread. You think that the man was one of their agents?"

[TarlimanJoppos]

"What does anyone want with a party of adepts?" Shaliko shrugs. "To cause us trouble." He nods to Alston. "You probably should be in on this, if you're joining up with us." Then to Isaac, "Not right off I don't. He could have been a Songbird or an Iopan or a representative of any of several cults and governments that would wish us ill. I bring up the Hand of Corruption as an example. The Bearers made a serious enemy of the Hand when they sacked and destroyed the Castle of Assassins. You're associated with the Bearers. The Hand is not a Horror Cult. Far from it. They believe that the world was wounded by the Horrors beyond recovery. They see themselves as merciful, trying to put our world out of its misery so that a new world can be born. Anyone who sets themselves against the Horrors, or on a mission to rebuild, attracts their attention. We have plenty of enemies, though. Don't think for a moment that the Hand is the only one. What I meant to discuss was Mekhitar. You seem to have had a major change of heart regarding him. When he first showed up, you were ready to toss him in the harbor, and now you're letting him pick out your clothing and make our travel arrangements. What's going on?" He's not even bothering to hide the fact that he's scoping you astrally.

[arcomniflash]

"I'll be honest." I say quietly, leaning towards him. "I still don't trust him completely, but he doesn't seem overtly hostile. Yes, before you say it I understand that the subtle threats are often the worst...however, we have a job to do, and the longer I spend agonizing over things like this, the less time I spend doing that. Besides, before Torana left, she seemed to trust him enough that she stopped me from tossing him out. I was going to trust in her judgement, someone else's judgement, for once. As for the travel arrangements, he seemed better equipped to make them than either of us, I wanted to see if he could be of any use - I'm watching him to make sure that I don't regret that decision."

[Kasbak]

Having been beckoned, I'll find myself a spot at the table. I'll listen in on the speculation with our follower, but don't have much else to offer there. Of course adepts attract those that want to harass them, but without more information on who exactly has taken an interest in us, the course of action remains the same. We'll need to watch our flanks no matter who might be trying to sneak up on them.

As for the contemplation on Mekhitar, that's much more pertinent. "Forgive me, but since I've come in later than everyone else, I've got a feeling that I don't have the whole story here." It's a disadvantage I was anticipating, really one to be anticipated any time one steps into an established group. "However, if I can toss in my two coppers; while it hasn't been long enough for me to trust everyone fully yet, I haven't seen anything out of anyone in the group thus far to warrant distrust. Specifically with Mekhitar, all I have seen is that he is arming himself to best handle his target. He's a Troubadour, his target is to be flashy and entertaining and make the best story he can. We are arrows for him to hit that target. Perhaps not our desired lot, however, our target is to get passage on the river with as little cost as possible, and striking Mekhitar's target gets us closer to ours." Of course it's not cause for total trust, but a mutually beneficial business arrangement is by definition beneficial if both parties hold up their end of the bargain.

"It is of course possible there's a hidden agenda, but even if we assume that's the case, isn't it better to go along with it for now? Keep the plotter where they can be seen, rather than drive them back into the shadows?" Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, as the old saying goes.

[TarlimanJoppos]

Shaliko nods, not quite satisfied but close enough for the current situation. "As long as you're maintaining watchfulness." He turns his attention to Alston. "The short version, Mekhitar died well before the Scourge, and has managed to come back twice now, but Isaac, and the Torana he referenced, a Beastmaster who helped organize this expedition but went into Discipline crisis and had to depart, would be better equipped than I to relate that story."

"Don't forget the part where he used a whistle to possess one of Torana's team mates," Garsevan says.

Speaking of Torana, and funny how these things seem to happen, isaac, you get a light sprite from Torana. "I heard from the Cara Fahd office. Skrag and the Fist of Lochost just arrived at Claw Ridge."

[arcomniflash]

"I *am* watching him for precisely that reason, Garsevan. Though the way Torana relates the story I get the impression that the whistle thing would have happened to anyone who blew the whistle...while I do question the morality of this, he may have had his reasons. Still, these are not matters for the moment, I want to see what he does first."

When the light sprite appears I'll blink in surprise. These things are always so sudden, and it's a little hard to get used to when you aren't expecting it. "Torana?" I'll say. "I keep forgetting if these things are two way, I don't *think* they are...who are the Fist of Lochost?" Perhaps I'm a little out of touch, I was kind of busy for the past few years with...other things...but I don't ever remember hearing about them.