RP:A Slippery Slope

Part of the The End's Not Near Arc

Summary: Reginae sends a letter to Callum, requesting his presence in Frostmaw for a job. Meri and Sarge tag along. Reginae wants them to steal a couple items of importance from Alithrya and Jaize. It’s a risky operation...but the team agrees with the hopes of getting in and out for the hefty prize money the naga woman offers.

Food Storage

Reginae still did not look like herself. Her skin was a pale, icy blue and all her elegant long hair has been chopped off in a messy, short bob that ends at her jaw line. Apparently, in the fray of scissors, she also got bangs. It’s a very ‘Maddie Ziager’ look, to be sure. Two Frost Giant guards are posted outside this uncommon area, waiting to admit Callum and any companions he saw fit to trust with this errand. Ah, yes, the merchant isn’t quite aware of that just yet. The missive he received would only say that Frostmaw requested his presence. That the late Queen of Alithrya had bequeathed something of value to a man she’s met but one time in the streets of Cenril. All without revealing herself to him proper. Ah, nagas were considered monsters by many land dwellers it made sense at the time. Either way! She’s propped up on a makeshift cot, a Frost Giant at her side, touching her small wrist with his large fingers to determine her pulse is present, albeit slow and deliberate. Her previous azurite eyes are now a painfully dull grey, and they turn towards the door expectantly while the Frost Giant at her side mumbles on about procedures and hot baths like that is the most pressing issue of the day.

Frostmaw. You know, that place where Lionel dwells. Well, this was rather unfortunate for the Catalian as he’d still not formerly met with the others from his home country. Thankfully, Lionel didn’t seem to be in the fort today--Cal made sure of course in that super secret way of his (read: stalking, but not the creepy type)--and the raven-haired male opted to bring that tattooed woman of his along. And, she, in turn, brought another dude. Great. All bouts of anxiety aside, once inside the fort, he’d find the room where the giants stood guard and stared at them for a moment. They. Were. So. Tall. It takes Callum a moment or two to regain his bearings before he finally says, “Hi. Um. Yes. I’m Cal? Cal Rochester. I was summoned here. For things pertaining to the naga queen?” Because, of course, he really didn’t see that Jaize bitch as queen. Who the hell just kills their sister? Really, people, come on

Meri had no problem being held responsible for bringing that other dude along. Wherever they found Sarge along the way, she would probably extend him an invitation to whatever business that Callum had to tend to. This is what happens, Cal, frakkin' women just start inviting people to places and things without even checking. Provided Sarge wanted to come along, which clearly....Along the way there would probably be introductions. Sarge, Cal, Cal, Sarge, yada yada. Once they were in front of the guards, Meri was fairly silent...not because she was intimidated but she has learned that it is at times better for her to do the 'not talking' thing. This was one of those moments, Callum could introduce himself. What would transpire once they were past the guards? Meri's mind was turning over that thought…

Sargaso rarely has reason to travel to Frostmaw. He’s been here once before, and he hated it. So what could bring Sargaso here today? A hot babe. Meri invited Sarge, and she, in turn, brought another dude. Great. It gets worse. On the trip up it became clear that the hot babe and this dweeb are a couple, or at the very least boning. By the time he figured that out it was too late to extricate himself from the spoke of this third wheel. Great. It gets worse. This trip to Frostmaw has a political bent to it, and it doesn’t even have anything to do with Cenrili politics which at least matter to Sarge (vote for Fitz Johnson for Mayor). No, this is about the snake people, who Sarge knows nothing about and can’t begin to pretend to care about. Still, that dweeb (Callum) said something about Reginae being murdered by her sister, which sounds like a real bummer for this Reginae broad, to put it mildly, and Sarge can sort of care about that. Maybe. In truth, he isn’t dwelling on that too much because he’s busy puzzling out why a hot babe like Meri would bother getting mixed up with either naga-drama or a dweeb like Callum, not that he has anything against nagas or dweebs in general, but in specific, as in right at this moment, maybe he’s harboring a little resentment to both, because when he said yes to that hot babe he was thinking with the wrong head and now thoroughly regrets the decision. God dammit, Meri. (Also, sidebar: He thought she was a “lesbian” with Lita. What the hell.) In Frostmaw, he lets the dweeb take the lead, buries his hands in his pocket, and tries not to piss off any giants.

The guards look Cal over, taking their time to look at each of his companions in turn with stony glares before gesturing towards the door. Permission granted. The room the trio would be ushered into had become a makeshift infirmary with large white drapes separating a small entry way from the rest of the room. A small scuffle appears to be taking place behind those closed drapes now, the curtains rustling with motion until they are yanked apart dramatically to reveal a very frozen naga woman, looking at those gathered with crazy eyes and crazier hair. Reginae clears her raspy throat and straightens her posture, smoothing back some snowy flyaways (ugh not really) before stepping forward to greet them with a cautious smile. Sarge and Meri didn’t register in her mind, but they didn’t appear to be naga. Could they have shifted? Possibly. The naga squints at them both, as if narrowed fields of vision help one detect shapeshifting and then address Cal with a familiar smile that friends might share. Who has time to build decade long friendships after being revived? Ah life is short, as they say. “Thank you so much for taking the time to come.” Her voice is harsh, stagnated with lack of use. Any looks of shock or concern that might be thrown her way are ignored. She is not a walking, rasping corpse people. Look alive! “I hope you’ll forgive my farce of a missive but I have something of great important to impart upon you my dear friend.” A little heavy on the friend thing, they’d only met once. There might still be a few icicles rolling around in her frozen skull. “I called you here to see if you’d take a job for me. I need something...retrieved.” That didn’t sound sinister at all. Another Frost Giant appears, pulling the curtains behind her away to reveal her cot and other medkits and empty bottles. It looks like a setup for some type of treatment, what is unclear. Clear vials of liquid dangle from tall steel rods, little waves of steam rolling off their exterior. Reginae the revived looks at Callum, expectantly with piercing grey eyes.

Callum is not a dweeb, thankyouverymuchSarg. Plant-nerd, maybe, but at least Cal’s not a dudebro that thinks with the head that’s not on his shoulders and likely only wants to womanize the ladyfolk. Meri, Cal’s gonna probably get into a fight right here right now. Don’t let him die please. Anyway, yes. Moving on. Reginae is clearly alive and not totally dead like everyone thought she had been. Are you surprised?! Well, Callum certainly is. “A job? I see. I’m sure we can do that But, first--how the frakking hell are you alive?” Trying to ignore the completely patronizing male he’s forced to share a breathing space with (read: Sarg, not the frost giants) and the secret worry that maybe Meri might fancy him (??? plzno), the Catalian does his best to focus on the situation at hand, “You were dead, Reg. Dead dead. I thought maybe my water magic might’ve helped, but everyone was sure you were gone, so I knew that wasn’t it.” Cal ran a hand through his hair with a heavy sigh. “What’s this job you want to give me, then? There’s not going to be killing involved, is there?” If that were the case, he didn’t know how he was going to get this thing for her as he wasn’t exactly the killing type.

Why did Meri care about this naga business? That was a good question. Part of that is she had a penchant for getting into trouble, regardless of if that business involved her or not. The other part of it was that Cal had expressed to her that he thought this would be worth the time and effort of nosing around and by the sounds of things he was not wrong. Never mind all this stuff about dweebs and dudebros, Reginae has managed to command Meri's attention. Pay attention, boys, as the naga Queen just said the magic word. Job = Gold, thankuverymuch, and Meri does like this stuff. There are a lot of questions being lobbied at Reginae and, for the most part, Meri felt like Callum did a good job covering the ones that she seemed important. No surprise, it's not like the guy has not been in similar situations before. Perhaps not with a Queen that was thought to have been assassinated, but still. Meri doesn't remain silent for any longer, the fact that they are in this room with Callum suggests that they are welcome to the job as well or else they would not be privy to the information. "And how much is this job paying, good to know before we agree to anything. Especially if you want us to go sticking our necks out on the line for you." Well it was unclear how gung-ho Saege was about taking any jobs, but if Callum took it then Meri would no doubt help. This thought causes Meri to give pause briefly to eye Sarge and how he was reacting to the Queen trying to toss out a job. Assessment made, Meri's baby blues would bring Callum and Reginae back into her view. "I mean, I am assuming this is probably not cake-walk job given everything that happened." With your crazy sister.

Sargaso is guilty as charged, Callum, and totally incorrigible. He shudders involuntarily when he makes eye contact with Reginae. He doesn’t want to be rude, but there’s something uncanny about the fusion of human and snake. Human + anything = creepy, especially for a man who rarely leaves the ghetto of Cenril, and when he does, it’s for the non-ghetto of Cenril. Like Meri, he perks up at the word ‘job.’ Sweet, this trip may have turned out to be worth his time after all. Callum asks if there will be any killing involved and Sarge, not matter how hot the babe, is not prepared to kill anyone either. That answer needs to be ‘no’ for him too. Seeing as how his employment isn’t quite concrete just yet, he decides to secure his spot on the job crew (aka gold-earning crew) by asking a question of his own, “How long will it take, you think?” He’s got other commitments back in Cenril (and a nosey girlfriend who he’d rather not inform of this job).

Reginae waves her blue tinted fingers dismissively at Callum. “It’s a very long story but I very much nearly was.” No need to embark on the magical yarn of how she’s commissioned her boyfriend to poison her while a Frost Giant hired an assassin that didn’t really pan out in the way they’d hoped. “The long and short of it is everyone was supposed to think I was. It was the only way to lure that snake out of the grass, so to speak. Forgive my -frigid- tone but I wasn’t exactly expecting to be put on ice.” She’s grateful that Hildegarde had tried to preserve her body for a proper funeral but Aramoth above, this plan could have gone a little better. Now she’s a naga-cicle. “The water barrier, or so I’ve heard, managed to protect me from some magic Jaize was waving all over the place, damn hellion.” Hopefully the contempt dripping off her sister’s name was clear. “I realize now I never even told you I was a naga, so forgive my deception and familiar phrasing. This isn’t a job offer without payment-” Here Meri cuts in to ask about the specific amount and Reginae gives her an appreciative grin, one plucky female to another while this cake walk expression makes her bite her tongue. “10, 000 gold,” The same thing they paid Iblis, who was supposed to be assassinating Reginae. Ah well, things unfold how they should and all that… “To do with as you please and no I’m not asking you to go knock sense into that harpy, much as I would love to see her head roll for once.” Her polished white scales coiled beneath her torso in a neat pile, flecks of ice visible beneath them. “But I have something a little sneakier in mind. I need you, perhaps even your friends - lovely to meet you,” Sarge and Meri are offered official acknowledgement with broad waves and a brittle smile. “To go back to Alithrya for me and retrieve something that belongs to me. That nifty little necklace I so gracefully wore for my coronation. Obviously, -I- can’t go...being dead and all. ” The naga appeared to believe this was a fair trade. The same price she’d pay to take a life, offered to retrieve an artifact. Then, to the other male who inquires about the length of time. “I imagine it shouldn’t be more than a get in, get out kind of situation. I can give you the layout of the palace...but I don’t have any information on the guard routes. I imagine my older sister is having a ball making all sorts of ‘improvements’ to things. That’s all I know.” Reginae looks again at the three gathered before her and crosses her arms. It’s a hefty decision that might require some side barring.

Callum tilted his head at the naga, giving her a knowing smirk, “Doesn’t take much to put two and two together when a ball is held in your honor in naga central, you know. Your story about Xzavior wasn’t exactly convincing either.” He -knew- that cryomancer hadn’t been partially an illusion, damn it! A sidelong glance was cast towards Meri as she spoke, and then his attention was back on Reginae as she continued. T-ten thousand? If it was possible for dollar signs to pop up in the Catalian’s blue eyes, they’d certainly be there. He’d have to share, of course, but this was fine. “The layout will definitely be needed, seeing as how that was the first time I’ve been to Alithrya and didn’t exactly venture too far into the palace.” There was another glance to Meri, giving her a ‘what do you think?’ sort of look. He’d obviously be ‘in’ if she thought it was a good idea.

Meri is still all eyes on Reginae, red lips pressing together as she listens quite intently to all of this information. 10,000 gold, that does not seem to earn an impressed look from Meri (she was though) but then again she is not Iblis, a creature who really has no value put on gold -- not that she is familiar with the details of any deals with Iblis. Meri caught that look that Callum was giving her but she was careful not to provide one back, she did not want too seem too excited about the job because while ten thousand was a pretty number, Reginae really needed this necklace right? "Yeah we would definitely need to have the layout of the place...." It is at this point she looks at the two men in the room, first to Callum and then to Sarge, as if hoping for their back up on this matter. "Ten thousand though..." Split three-ways. Hm. "To sneak into Alithrya. And steal a necklace from a naga that is clearly..." Well Meri wants to say crazy but maybe Reginae would not take too kindly to insults being slung about family even if it were true. It could be one of those 'only I am allowed to talk about my sister like that' sort of things, even if Jaize did try and kill Reginae. "She was not speaking very kindly about us humans toward the end of that coronation, it does seem like an awful big risk. We don't know how the guard routes have changed, like you have said, or any other improvements she has made....Ten thousand...." Meri was interested, clearly, or else she would not be trying to haggle that price up but not so interested that she wanted to lose the job. How badly did Reginae want that necklace? Another look toward Callum first and then Sarge, again to try and read their reactions to her malarky.

Reginae shrugged stiffly, an amused smile on her face, like a child caught pilfering treats from the kitchen. Xzavior and Regi were having a disagreement at the moment, but she wouldn’t provide reason for her secrecy other than “I told you most people think we naga are only monsters. What good is it to scare everyone off at first glance? Haven’t you heard the phrase beauty is only skin deep?” Was this even applicable? Had she even used it right? It was some human phrase she didn’t care about. Who cared about being beautiful when you could be an unstoppable murder machine? Clearly they had different ideas about what mattered; humans and naga. “Let’s say a flat 10,000 for now -but- if you are able to bring back anything else of significance I’ll increase the price...Like say for instance...there’s an eye in a jar in a secret room. I can lay out the direction. If you can bring the eye back too, I’ll throw in an extra 5,000 for you. Fair?” She leans in Meri’s direction, because the woman seems to be the haggling powerhouse, but her gaze will periodically shift back to Cal and Sarge. When Sarge offers his name, she grins so wide her fangs show through her blue lips. “Charmed, to be sure. I know of two naga who could be of use to you. Yozenra, my former Queen’s guard. She’s attached at the hip to Pilar these days so if you can find the vampiress, you find Yozenra or…” A flash of some unreadable emotion passes through her eyes. “Muzo, the naga scientist currently working in Larket. He’s hard to miss and he is in on this whole scheme so...whichever you can find first would be a worthwhile guide.” The Frost Giant in the room looks about at the strangers and grunts audibly at Reginae, clearly it’s time for some treatment or other and he’s suggesting she wrap up her Secret Squad Soiree (sss for short). “If you seen word here, address it to Hildegarde and make sure to mention my remaining estate...I hope it goes without saying that as far as you three know I’m still cold and very, - “ She makes pointed eye contact with them all if possible. “ very dead. Thank you all for coming.” Now her face slacks, as if sudden exhaustion has broken down her Queenly facade. “I plan to be in Frostmaw for a bit longer. Do write if you have any questions and I’ll get everything else to you.”

Callum could very well do a bit of haggling too, as he did it nearly every day, but Meri clearly had a handle on it, and it wouldn’t do to overwhelm the naga with cries of ‘Give us more money!!’. Hm. “Alright,” Cal’d finally say, agreeing to the woman’s terms. Hell, for all they know, maybe they’d find other things of value in there too--it -is- a palace for frak’s sake. But, those extra little things that they might find didn’t -really- need to be relayed to Reginae, right? Nope. Nuh uh. He’d voice this to Sarge and Meri later on, of course, when they weren’t in the company of the totally-dead-queen. “Muzo works closely with Josleen and Macon. I might be inquire about him to Josleen first.” Cal would side-eye Meri, “Don’t you know that Pilar girl?” Well, it’d have to be talked about later on. The leads were certainly doable, especially with the extra five thousand gold. “Have them send the palace’s layout to my office in Larket. Ship it with those seeds you owe me, if you wanna go the extra mile and be a bit more secretive about it.” He’d give the queen a slight nod of his head, before turning towards the only other two humans here, waiting in case they’d anything more to say.

Meri did not seem either pleased or displeased with the notion that they could make an extra five grand on top of the base price if they managed to retrieve a second item. This secret room could be well out of the way and not even worth the work for the extra five. It was presented as an optional side job, if the trio so felt inclined to take up the extra task, which they would have to determine if they wanted to do once they saw that layout. If they did not, Meri was of the same mindset as Callum. Would Reginae really notice if the palace went missing a few items? Naaaaw. Her wicked sister who clearly has bad taste must have gotten rid of some of the more expensive pieces. This is definitely the case. Meri had nothing else to say, mention of Pilar is met with a vague shrug. She knew her but didn't 'know' her quite as well as some of the other people in the lands. It seemed rude to just leave without at least a goodbye so her final sentiments to Reginae would be, "Pleasure doing business with you." Meri would also turn as Callum did, ready to make her departure barring any final sentiments from Sargaso. If he had anything else to add. To the two in her company and on their way out, "Seems like we have some plans to make."

Sargaso is not pleased with how this haggling seems to have settled. Reginae did not actually raise her price. She gave them a second job without budging on the 10k for the first job. Yo! He blinks at Callum and Meri, expecting them to push back. They don’t, and he’s not leading this outfit, so it is what it is. The only sign of his displeasure is the clenching of his jaw. He doesn’t recognize the names Pilar or Muzo. However, when Callum named royals as though he is on a first name basis with them, and mentioned his office, he looks a little impressed with the dweeb. Connected dweeb. “Good meeting you, Reginae.” He nods as he exits behind Callum and Meri. Later, when Callum mentions thieving, Sarge reacts a bit indifferently. His moral code is confusing when it comes to theft, and he’ll decide in the moment.