[IC] Estermere - A Medieval Fantasy Roleplay

[The Fated Fallen]

A bump in the path punctuated her next sentence "Is that why you left your home with your daughter? It must be hard raising a child while travelling."

[BingTheWing]

Remington grimaced. This was not going to be easy. Come on, hurry up, hurry up so I can get on with Plan B. “Mr. Barber, I assume that you have the common sense not to argue with the law. Now please, in the name of his majesty King Dactus, show me to your desk.”

[IncredibleBee]

"Raising her is hard, period." James retorted.
"And if you must know, we left for personal reasons. Not because we don't know how to fend off raiders. You saw me kill the Dire Hyena last night."

[The Fated Fallen]

Tirarian decided to back off a little bit, clearly she had touched a nerve. "Yes, that was an impressive display, you are a fearsome warrior Sir. You wouldn't know why it attacked would you?" Sensing she had insulted him again, she added "I need to know if either you are in danger, or what my friend Elric has gotten himself into."
If the knight was in danger, he could take care of himself. He had this long, hadn't he? Elric was less of a fighter, however. Tirarian knew some people she could pay to keep an eye on him

[Professor_Wyvern]

"Oh depends on what laws are being called upon." Elric explained, "Laws that are inherently immoral are laws that should be questioned, in an attempt to change them. Or the laws of foreign nations, those don't apply outside the holdings of the country." He said as he gave a little chuckle, "Oh but I'll say those were purely semantics for the sake of semantics."

After a decently sized lull of conversation, Elric wagged his index finger, "Now then, could we just cut to the chase, so to speak?" Elric glanced at Remington with annoyance, "We both know what is going on here, and as such I'd very much like to drop the pretenses that've been established."

He shook his head and again wagged his finger, "But before that, I'd like to ask you one question, did you think I wouldn't know?" He said rather displeased at the thought, as he frowned at the man.

[IncredibleBee]

"Hmm. I haven't angered any gnolls, recently. That leaves two possibilities." James pondered. "It could have been on some sort of raid. But that's unlikely, as a raid would require greater numbers, to maximize looting and raping. The other is that it was after Elric specifically. In which case, it wasn't very smart, as a rampage across town would give the town guards fair warning."

He paused for a moment, and reconsidered. "Well, considering how long it took, he might not have been dumb. Your militia is too lax. You should hire someone knowledgeable to train them."

[The Fated Fallen]

"Not my fault our militia is lax, nor my responsibility. We don't get much trouble around here, at least not this long after the war. Eventually spending on the force lowered, they even stopped buying my potions. Crime is on the up though, so that should kick them into action. Still, we had a brave knight on call to save us, that's what's important. What business do you have with the guild, anyway? There isn't much here that you couldn't find better a couple of villages out."

[IncredibleBee]

"That business is, again, personal." James said, stopping.

"How much further to the South End of town?" he asked the gnome. "I need to do something."

[The Fated Fallen]

Tirarian pulled her wagon to a stop, "Not far from here, we're a small village. You can almost see it from here, with a bit of imagination. Why? What do you need to do? Don't say personal again."

[IncredibleBee]

"Don't worry about it. I need to have a little talk with some fellows." James said, placing a hand over his sword's hilt. "You said crime rate was on the rise, right? I'll help keep it down. Shouldn't take long."

James continued forth, eyes scanning crowds, peering into alleys.

[The Fated Fallen]

"Easy there, are you not concerned about drawing attention to yourself? Bear in mind you have a child with you."

[BingTheWing]

It took all of Remington's willpower to restrain a facepalm. By all the gods, if Agent 122 had squealed, he was going to get violent with him later. "Mr. Barber, I am not entirely sure what you mean. I have no secrets to hide, I am simply asking you to go up to your room and show me your desk. This is for the good of the community as a whole. Foreign powers wish to use your research to malicious ends, and it is in the royal family's right to confiscate it for the good of all of Rostguard. Now, if you are not willing to comply, my men here will be more than happy to esc - oh, by Pelor, I’ll just look for it myself. He turned to his guards, looking particularly at a burly fellow with a battleaxe. “You stay here and make sure no one leaves the room. Understood?”
“Aye, sir.” As Remington ascended the steps, the axe man chortled and clapped an iron-clad hand over the barber’s face. “I’m jus’ doin’ me orders, sir.”

The door creaked as Remington stepped into Elric’s study. He turned a bit to his left and saw something that was not foreseen in Plan B. “Uh, hello, little girl. Do be quiet while the nice man searches for something in Mister Elric’s study, okay?”

[Professor_Wyvern]

"I'm sure you are. ...Please tell me not on Baxter, 'The Bull' and his orders. At the very least tell me you aren't one of his goons." Elric said with a frown. "I'll be content, as long as he wasn't behind this." Elric stated pausing as he eyed the man up and down. "Say a strong looking man like yourself looks like you could enjoy a meal and a drink. Care for a meal? And I also have to ask, are you married? And of course I just want to ask again you aren't working for Baxter are you?"

[IncredibleBee]

"The attention of thugs won't stretch as far as I intend to go." James retorted. "Now be quiet; I ha-"
The knight stopped, sniffing the air. "It's this way." he said, walking quietly. He stopped, and peered carefully around a corner. Inside, he spotted a large man huddled over a woman, a worn knife clutched in his hand.

"Oi." he called, drawing his sword. James stood in Alber. The thug took a split second to consider his options, and charged, blade at the ready. With one arm, James swung his fist out, using his gauntlet to parry the knife away. With the second, he brought his sword up, and thrust it forward, pommel first, into his forehead. He fell to the ground with a thud, moaning and clutching his head.
James looked to his side; the victim clutched her chest as a fresh wound marred her face. He gave her a quick glance over, and said "Scram", sending her away.

[Shisa]

Anya had begun playing in Elric's study, in what was perhaps an attempt to get him to pay attention to her. Her papa told him to watch over her, after all, and he wasn't even watching a little. He was doing something else, perhaps involving haircuts because there was a lot of haircut stuff. Or saws, because she saw those around too. Maybe he was a lumberjack.

When a strange man she didn't know entered the room, the simply gazed at him with her big red eyes. He told her to be quiet, and though she was a good girl, could not oblige.

"Mister Elriiic," she called out, "There's a strange man in your study, and he says he's nice, but papa told me that people who have to call themselves nice usually aren't actually very nice and he's a STRAAANGER!"

She began to grow panicky. Strangers were usually bad! A stranger turned her into a vampire, after all. What if this man was a vampire too? She hoped papa would come back soon, because Elric was not doing a very good job of watching her.

[The Fated Fallen]

Shocked at the knights prowess, Tirarian found she could only stare for some moments. "Did you just smell crime?" She eventually stammered.
She realised the knight was well travelled, but he was such a fighter... Perhaps he could help her. His girl seemed nice enough, she could perhaps leave the town with him...

[Professor_Wyvern]

Elric pupils glanced up as he heard yelling from the stairway, though the mostly audible part was "Stranger". Wait is the Knight's daughter playing in my study of all places!? I keep tools in that study, and my medical research! I hope the child hasn't torn up any books. Or knock over the bookshelf... I really need to go up there. He glanced at the iron gauntlet that laid across his face.

Glancing at the burly man with concern, as he mumbled out through the gauntlet, "I'd dearly appreciate if you wouldn't mind letting me check out what is going on up there. I'll toss a bit of coin if you comply."

He had the feeling it wouldn't work, but it helps to try.

[IncredibleBee]

"Blood has a distinct smell. I've had the chance to grow familiar with it, unfortunately." James explained, sheathing his sword. He reached into a pouch, and drew a length of rope, which he looped over an overhead rafter. He tied one end to the thug's legs, and began to draw him upward, into the air.
"Unfortunately, we're about to smell a bit more." he said, patting the man's belly. The thug grew audibly nervous as James stepped out for a second to grab a clean bucket.
"You might wanna leave for this." he told Tirarian.

[The Fated Fallen]

The Gnome leaned against a nearby wall. "Why would I want to leave? The show is just getting started. I'll keep an eye out for guards, no doubt they wouldn't appreciate an outsider torturing someone, even if that someone is a criminal."

[IncredibleBee]

"Torture?" James asked, sinking his dagger into the side of the man's neck. He pushed the blade forward, releasing a torrent of crimson.
"No need to torture some random murderer or thief. It's best to just execute him and move on." he said, aiming as much of the fluid as he could into the bucket.
"Doing it in this way should scare most of the other street level thugs."