IC 2077
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IC 2077
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“You smell of blood and death – and your sneaking needs some serious polishing.” I replied in English.
I hadn’t actually understood a word she said, but if in doubt get personal. I turned around with a smile – at least I was showing a lot of teeth.
One of the perks of living such a long life is being able to train yourself to be a very capable observer, receiving even details from the corner of your eyes and from reflecting surfaces around you. Not to mention that I had some first hand experience with the odor a primarily blood based diet caused.
I had no weapon ready besides a taser, so I didn’t bother to go for it. Meeting predators meant keeping your cool and not make sudden movements unless you wanted to start a brawl.Seeing the woman, I relaxed a bit. She had her hand in a position that indicated a readied weapon. That was good – it meant she actually used tools, unlike some horrors (with a little “h”) I’d met, who didn’t need anything like that at all.
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Sian stops a couple of feet from the man but is close enough to him that she is sure that he knows that she is affected by his flow of negative magic. The discomfort is real and she assumes that he can tell that about her, even though she is trying hard to not show it. She laughs and switches to an English accented by something vaguely slavic. “I am never in the habit of sneaking about, which would explain why you think I need practice in that. You might be correct on the other point, but are you certain? There is enough blood and death in the area to completely confuse someone who is able to detect that.”
Seeing his eyes flick to where her hands are, Sian lowers them to her sides so as to appear non-threatening as she cocks her head a bit to one side and considers the pair in front of her. He is clearly the predator here, but she cannot discount the presence of the woman. She knows that he is dangerous, and for more than his negative magic, or he would not have lived so long. She shrugs her shoulders and gives them a genuine smile.
“My name is Tatjana Romanov. I am not an enemy of yours. I am here at the behest of my Master and my order and am interested in what happened here yesterday.” She looks directly at the man. “And believe it or not, we have met. Long ago, though, and you might not remember me, but I remember you. I have a personal interest in you, but perhaps we can talk about that later. Right now, I would ask if we are to be opponents from the start or can we work together for now? The illusions that surround this place are very good, but if two of us can see through them, perhaps others can and will return to finish what they started.”
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#2
>>>Arialles, the lass from Italy? I don’t recall a debt, but I’m happy to help an old friend.<<<I rig into the boat and set course for London after docking and recalling my drones and vehicles. Hack into the meteorological sites to check the weather. Smooth sailing though there will be some choppy weather in the Mediterranean ,
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[Evening, Saturday March 20, 2077; Cirque de l’Ombre, Outskirts of Marrakech, Morocco]
“You say that now, but wait till you’ve heard me tell a few jokes – afterwards you might reconsider becoming my enemy.” I replied as I pondered where we could have met – although for the moment it wasn’t relevant.
“So you are the other one that Oblique is waiting for? Right. I’ve wasted enough time in the sun already. If I’d known we have to wait for darkness to fall, I’d have asked my pilot to drop me off somewhere less sandy.”
I turned back to Midnight: “Alright 12-O, lead on, so we can actually get something done here.”
A lot more quiet I turned to Tatjana: “So, just who sends a bloodsucker like you into the desert? Can’t be comfortable for you, despite the obvious protection you have – although you might want to keep away from me…” -
[Evening, Saturday March 20, 2077; Cirque de l’Ombre, Outskirts of Marrakech, Morocco]
I chuckle. “A man with a sense of humor. I like that. But even bad jokes are not usually sufficient cause to make enemies. And I do not know that I am expected, so I cannot say I am this other one, but if so, I ,too, am ready to listen. And it is not the sun that delayed me. I came as soon as I could.”
I wait for him to finish talking to the other woman. He does not seem to be part of the circus nor does he seem particularly inclined to kiss up to her. After he is done talking to her, I add, “Please let your master know that Tatjana Romanov has arrived and that I would enjoy speaking to him if he has the time.”
Turning to the man, I look at him and smile, although I do not make an effort to move away from him. “Thank you for being concerned for my welfare. I serve the head of the Benandanti, Schwartzkopf, and am here at his request. And I must have missed your name…………….?”
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[Evening, Saturday March 20, 2077; Cirque de l’Ombre, Outskirts of Marrakech, Morocco]
“You should know my name if we met before. While I’m here you can call me Mr. Redback, Shrike Redback. Or maybe you prefer the Latin name: Lanius Collurio.
So you are the agent of a dragon. Good work if you can get it – given that you don’t need health insurance.
They are a manipulative bunch, but usual on the winning side. Unless of course they sacrifice you for something more valuable in the long term.”
I kept following Midnight – this time in the direction of the large trailer at the end of the lot. -
[Evening, Saturday March 20, 2077; Cirque de l’Ombre, Outskirts of Marrakech, Morocco]
I fall in next to the man as he walks and laugh softly. “I have found that names change so often in my line of work that it pays to ask to be sure. I am quite certain that Shrike Redback was not your name when I knew you before, but it suits for now. Is Shrike alright or would you prefer Mister Redback? And call me Tatjana, if you like.” I nod. “Yes, I have long lived with the possibility that I could be sacrificed for my Master’s greater goal, but worrying about whether or not this is that time is rather pointless, don’t you think?”
I look sideways at him as we close on the trailer that Midnight seems to be leading us to. “So, did you arrive here by coincidence or were you sent?”
I eye the trailer we are approaching, looking for any sign that we could be walking into a trap of some sort. It strikes me that the man next to me has exhibited some very strong feelings against my kind in the past and could simply be waiting for a good opportunity to strike. Chuckling, I say, “You are going to be able to leave the wooden stakes alone for now, right? I do think we are on……………….I was going to say the same side, but perhaps it is more accurate to say similar sides with shared goals.”
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[Evening, Saturday March 20, 2077; Cirque de l’Ombre, Outskirts of Marrakech, Morocco]
“Shrike is fine, but I don’t much care one way or the other. And yes, worrying is probably pointless – I don’t know, I never got the hang of it anyway.
I certainly did not arrive by coincident – at least I think the T-Bird wasn’t called that. Although now that I think about it, I certainly shall call my bike coincidence from now on. Makes explaining why I am anywhere a lot easier.
Jeez, you go killing monsters for a few millennia and suddenly everyone thinks I’m some kind of deranged murderer, out to kill anything with an essence problem.
I’ll have you know that I usually get payed to kill. It’s a valuable service after all. True, I have often taken favors as currency, no matter from whom, but at the moment no-one’s paying me to take off your head. So relax.I am an agent just like you, but my employer values my discretion. Maybe after we got some answers I can call my handler and see about a collaboration.”
Without conscious thought I stepped ahead of Midnight and opened the door for her, stepping out of the way to let the ladies pass. Some habits die hard.
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[Evening, Saturday March 20, 2077; Cirque de l’Ombre, Outskirts of Marrakech, Morocco]
I laugh. “That is good. Arriving by coincidence. Now me, I am an archaeologist by trade. I dig up old things for my Master and take them to him. I think I got the nod for this because I was the closest to the site. And your boss must like you better, because you got a jet and I had to ride in a helicopter.. I will have to speak to my Master about this.”
I nod, “I can understand a reticence to share. After all, we barely know each other yet. Please keep it in mind, though.”
When the man moves forward to hold the door, I nod and smile in appreciation. “Thank you, Shrike.”
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[Evening, Saturday March 20, 2077; Cirque de l’Ombre, Outskirts of Marrakech, Morocco]
The trailer Midnight leads them to is larger that most of the others on the hilltop, but that is not saying much. It is still cramped quarters, but the size of the place means little to a woman who has been known to spend half of each year in a tent or small cabin. The front area of the trailer seems to be the working headquarters of the circus and Sian can see a largish desk that mostly fills the narrow space at the right end of the mobile building and several sets of old-style filing cabinets against the walls. There is a ragged couch along wall opposite the door and a single chair just to the left of the door. The left wall has a curtained opening that Sian supposes leads to what small living space has been allocated to the trailer.
Still, stepping into the trailer is like the difference between night and day……literally. The grime on the small windows, combined with the heavy curtains allows Sian to find some solace from the sun here, although her closeness to the negative magic is still a minor bother. She quickly moves to the left, so as to give room for Shrike to follow her in.
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@Mercy / Sian @Jack_Spade / Vindariel
[Evening, Saturday March 20, 2077; Cirque de l’Ombre, Outskirts of Marrakech, Morocco]Judging by the roar of applause one of the main shows has finished in the great tent and shortly afterwards a sweating dwarf climbs in to the trailer and tosses his top hat on to a seat. Looking up he lets fly a string of invective in French that would blister the ears of a more discerning listener. Switching almost immediately to English he demands
“Ze fuck are you? Get out of ere maintenant!”
Midnight interjected with a smooth purr “They came to talk, I told them you were busy…he waited hours despite what I did, maybe you should listen to them?”
“I should know dis your fault!”
“They came because of yesterday, perhaps to help? Perhaps they know why?”
“We know why, putain singers and dere magique”
“Don’t let her hear you say that, she’s your best draw”
“And she pays for all dis? Huh? Nooo, she flies away, flit, gone…sweet little girl, phah! We bury her friend, she ere for dat?”
“Just listen…”
#12
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[Evening, Saturday March 20, 2077; Cirque de l’Ombre, Outskirts of Marrakech, Morocco]
“I am known as Mr. Redback.
Greetings.
I won’t waste your time then. I was sent here to find out why you were attacked, who was behind it and what can be done about it. My employer is equipped to compensate you and yours for your cooperation – provided we can come to an equitable understanding.So let’s start from the beginning: You were attacked by two combat helicopters, bearing S-K markings. They came here to attack magic singers? Ritualists, right? They disrupted a ritual they performed here, correct? Killing one of the ritualists while their leader, the girl has fled.
Who is she and would you mind if I take a look at her dead friend?”
By now I was oozing charm and sophistication – courtesy of the devil’s tongue brew I’d taken on our way here. I knew it made me a bit sluggish if it came to a fight, but right now I needed my somber personality more than the whirlwind. If all else failed I could just pop a moodchip to clear my head. What a great new world with great new drugs we live in.
Feeling it necessary I added: “Oh and just for the record. This lady here is not associated with me, although she seems to be interested in the same things.”
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[Evening, Saturday March 20, 2077; Cirque de l’Ombre, Outskirts of Marrakech, Morocco]
I remain seated when the Dwarf comes in and smile at the invective he uses. Shrike jumps right in and explains things well enough that I do not feel a need to interrupt. I stand when he finishes and add to his words. “Good evening, monsieur, I am Tatjana Romanov and I, too, have been asked to look into the very things Mister Redback has mentioned. There seems to be a minor bit of confusion as I was told there were three helicopters, but I do not suppose that the number is particularly important. It is true that I am not strictly associated with Mister Redback, but my Master would like me to work with him on this and I hope that you can feel comfortable talking to both of us.”
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@Mercy / Sian @Jack_Spade / Vindariel
[Evening, Saturday March 20, 2077; Cirque de l’Ombre, Outskirts of Marrakech, Morocco]“Three putain dragon spawn helicopters, three! Came with their cannons and dere hate. Against a circus! Merde, it is what you’d expect from a dragon, non? We buried de elf over dere away from our folk, dig ze fucker up if you want to! But later, when the audience ‘ave gone, non? De other two in dat grave were the whore sons who attacked us, find what you will. We are gone in ze morning, we want no more of dis place!”
#13
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[Evening, Saturday March 20, 2077; Cirque de l’Ombre, Outskirts of Marrakech, Morocco]
“Thank you for letting us examine the dead men. Did no one come look for them or ask questions about the attack? Did anyone see which direction the helicopters flew off to?”
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[Evening, Saturday March 20, 2077; Cirque de l’Ombre, Outskirts of Marrakech, Morocco]
“Pardon. Three helicopters. Did you by chance take anything from the downed men? Commlinks, badges or other identifications? What make and model were the machines? Where is the wreckage?
Also, how did you manage to shoot them down? Did you employ magic or do you just have a troll with a really large bow?Also names: What are the ritualists called and how did they come in contact with you?”
I was glad that I had taken the brew, otherwise I’m sure my impatience would have already made very aggressive. So I was able to just keep asking questions until some of them were answered.
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[Evening, Saturday March 20, 2077; Cirque de l’Ombre, Outskirts of Marrakech, Morocco]
I return to my seat and let Shrike ask the questions. They are the sort I would have asked and it seems more polite to let him do the talking without interruption.
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#3
As dawn comes upon me I sit my my ritual circle to summon a Water spirit. The spirits are uncooperative today and it takes three attempts to convince one to serve me. I show the the path to take in my mind and request that it use it’s powers to travel along that line until such time as we reach our destination your contract runs out or I otherwise require it.
Spoiler: -
@Mercy / Sian @Jack_Spade / Vindariel
[Evening, Saturday March 20, 2077; Cirque de l’Ombre, Outskirts of Marrakech, Morocco]“Non, you misunderstand, dey flew over and then men abseiled down to finish ze job, zat was a mistake two will not repeat. We buried their tainted merde with them! Take it when you rob their graves. And non, it did not make sense to us, other than to disrupt ze ritual…surely easier ways to do that non? But I cannot tell you more, they are not my secrets to reveal. Go, look at the bodies…or fly after the helicopters if you can, zey went west.”
#14
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[Evening, Saturday March 20, 2077; Cirque de l’Ombre, Outskirts of Marrakech, Morocco]
“Thanks, I will.” I turned to the vampire:
“So, how are you these days with digging through shallow graves? We could call it very recent archaeology.”
I took out my hip flask. Time to stop being charming and getting to work again.
“You wouldn’t mind lending us a shovel, would you? I just had a manicure…”
I looked down at my extended fingers which clearly exposed what I’d just said as a blatant lie. The hard calluses and sharp ridged skin that could cause bleeding wound just by a careless caress could probably withstand being sandblasted without much trouble. Still, there was no percentage in getting your hands dirty without extra pay.
“And no, we don’t have time to wait for your shows to be over. A tent will have to do. We have wasted enough time already.”#17
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