RP:Lycidas Meets With The Leader of Thorns
Summary
Lycidas met with Larewen's undead child by coincidence, not wanting to leave the small one by herself he carried her upon his shoulders while conducting business, including meeting with Thorns to discuss distribution.
The Meeting in Cenril
Meeting Latulepi
Latulepi is an ambling drunk with her seemingly uncalculated, unhurried steps, her body swing in no certain pattern beneath her dark, fur cloak. So sharply is her sway, in fact, the hooded child tilts into unsuspecting merchants and thoughtful customers at times, knocking them off balance with her thrown dead-weight. Some people stab a spiteful sort of glare at her, but the child does not seem to notice. Some people shove her back, only to receive a blank, ashen brown, lifeless stare beneath from beneath her hood... Before Latulepi continues hobbling on.
Lycidas was one of the individuals who was bumbled into by the unsuspecting small one. His large frame didn’t budge or even get deterred however, instead, he large oak weathering a storm. His head tilted downwards to face the tiny one, eyes at first seemingly deaded, before finally he spoke. “Should watch where you’re going young miss.. You might end up smashing into one you’re not intending.” Had she fallen down from colliding with him, he’d pick her up, speaking in a pleasant and cordial manner. “Where are you headed today, young lady?” He sighed, forgetting again, “Oh, and my apologies mam, my name is Lycidas, a retired knight.”
Latulepi does recoil back from knocking into Lycidas and tumbles square onto her back without trying to regain her balance. She lays there for a second, her hood peeled back from her face to reveal her lidless, dead gaze dark; ashy gray skin; and nonexistent lips baring half rotting teeth. Sloooowly, she turn onto her hands.. only to be picked up instead. Down falls her hood between her shoulders, revealing her scalped skull and the thick stitches keeping her head firmly attached to her neck. Her eyes continue that relentless, empty stare upon the stranger. "Lyyycciidass.." Her voice hoarses dryly, slowly with rank breath and moldy tongue, "A pleasure... I am... returning.." Latulepi's tone is flat without lilt as she speaks. Her bony fingers almost instinctively reach for his shoulders while in his arms to grab them and hold.
Lycidas attempted to set the small one down on the ground, pulling her from his shoulders. As he moved to set her down, he noticed just how awful the woman smelled and how...She was undead. His polite demeanor changed near immediately, “You’re a unique one, aren’t you?” His curiousity got the better of him, grabbing for her hood to put it back over her deaded form. “You really shouldn’t let yourself be seen so easily.” As the man stared at her, he spoke softly, “Who brought you back, little one?” His thoughts turned to Larewen, the only necromancer he knew.. Could she be the one? Or one of her guild?
Latulepi keeps her arms persistently towards him as if somehow requesting to be held as he pulls her hood back over her hairless head. "I cannot undo.. what has been done.." She states simply in her rasp. "My mother.. gave me life..." Almost forcing him to ask for clarification to give him details. If Lycidas does not pick her up, the undead drow will reach to grab his hand to hold instead with the stubborn grip of a steel gorilla too.
Lycidas allowed the smelly undead to remain attached to him, giving up after sometime. Her small frame clung to him quite well and he simply needed to give her one arm to keep her up. “Alright little one, you can sit here.” He wondered if he could make the small child smell better.. Perhaps give her hair? Flowers for hair? Grow it out of her skull? DIdn’t seem like a such a small idea.. Then she could literally be his flower child right? “Who is your mother? Why isn’t she keeping you nearby?”
Latulepi seems contented to finally be held and pats his shoulder before her hand rest firmly upon it. Her eyes glaze over the heads of the crowd from her high perch with the sluggish turn of her head. "My mother.. is Larewen.. I may play while she works...She is always..close."
Lycidas heard the name and couldn’t believe how many times he’d ran into that name.. How many people she was attached to.. “I see. And what do you like to do when you play?” She seemed to be small, mind of a child? He wanted more of an understanding of the undead one.
Latulepi seems to ponder this as her free hand reaches out to lay palm on his hair and smoosh those locks around to mess them up and change their orientation. She cannot feel anything, her nervous long dead and useless, her actions a little rougher than someone with touch can determine. "I find things.. and people.. and play with them." She answers. "I prefer magic.. but toys and people... entertain me."
Lycidas allowed the smalling to play with his hair, a grin on his face. “It’s a great deal of fun when you have others to play with. Would you like to accompany me, small… You did never give me your name? Who are you my tiny friend? And, would you like to join me on some business?”
Latulepi tries to sculpt his hair into random puffs and spikes with such intense, determined focus, she can easily burn a whole through his skull. "It is, yes," the drow-once-was agrees with a hiss drawing out her 's', "I want to play.. What will we play..?" Latu continues, freezing her spurt of 'artistic inspiration' to peel her eyeballs from the fluffy mass to Lycidas' face. "I am called... 'Latulepi',"
Lycidas paused for a moment then pointed at the nearby business, “I have business I need to discuss with the owner of the shop. She has weapons that she was making for me but I need to drop off the ore I have brought with me.” The man began to walk in the direction of the business, “So Latu, how old are you?”
Latulepi turns at an awkward angle to face the direction the vampire points to, her neck twisting and craning at an angle from that of a hung man. She stares at the building for a time, "What weapons did you request?" Finally leaves her lips after a minute of silence. One of her arms disappears into her cloak and pulls free a wand of bone to show Lycidas up close a personal where his nose is. Her abyssal gaze is back on him once again, almost with expectation. Only when Latulepi ponders her age does the wand lower in her tight grip, "I have not kept track..... I do remember.. Winter.."
Lycidas made no meaningful response to the other, merely continued to walk towards the shop, “All sorts, nothing special.” His tone was a matter of factly tone for the response and yet when her arm reappeared with the wand he wondered.. Freezing where he stood, could she do magic? “Can you actually cast spells, little Latu?” He couldn’t believe such a tiny one would be able to.. But, was it possible? “Now, would you like to come with me to turn in the metals? Or, should I leave you outside?” He waited, “You’ll behave right?”
Latulepi answers without pause, "Yes. I learn. I behave. We are playing a game," she hoarses again, withdrawing her wand into her cloak again. "I will watch. There is much to see."
Lycidas moved the girl about to sit upon his shoulders, legs wrapped about the back of his neck, “Good good, be silent for a couple minutes youngling and keep your hood over your head. When I’m done, we’ll be moving on.” With that he entered into the shop to see if he could find the owner. The shop itself was empty it seemed.. And, after waiting for what seemed like minutes, the man frowned, grabbing the ore on his back and writing a note to stick with it.. The note was placed inside the bag of minerals, exactly what she’d asked for, and set behind the counter for when she returned.. Iron, a few gems, rubies mostly,, and approximately five hundred gold worth of gold ore.
Latulepi remains happily perched atop his shoulders as they near the shop front. Because of Lycidas tallness, Latulepi is eagerly greeted by the top of the door post right to her face with one of those noisy 'bump!'s. As they enter the building the child is bent backwards until she falls of his shoulders, if not grabbed by the big man carrying her. If she is saved, Latu will upright herself and pull her hood over her head. If she is not, the undead corpse will plop to the ground with a sick thud. And then fix her hood. Otherwise, Latulepi keeps relatively quiet and keeps close to Lycidas, eyeing the gems and ores of shiny galore on the counter with extreme draw.
Lycidas predicted the head of the undead one to thunk against the framing of the door, hoping she’d duck, and when she didn’t, already had a hand upon her foot to keep her balanced. As she flopped backwards on him, she’d find herself hanging there for mere moments before being pulled back up by herself or Lycidas. Once finished, the man exited the establishment, kneeling down slightly to avoid Latu’s head from being thwacked. “Alright, small one, we need you to come with me for one more business venture. Are you wanting to come, small little Latu?” The man was walking towards his next venture near the dock warehouses, with or without her acceptance.
Meeting with Thorns
Lycidas exited the business of the local blacksmith late into the night, having found no sign of the owner and leaving a note for the honest woman and her apprentice to find. He had hoped to have spoken with them but it was of no loss without the communication, the people would get back to them in due time. He ducked into a nearby alley, the small undead girl still upon his shoulders, setting her down and beginning his transformation to make himself less recognizable. His bag produced a large cloak, swung around heroically and attached upon his shoulders, hiding his armor. The next pulled from the bag was a mask to don his face, fitted perfectly to it, tying in the back by leather straps. One through had hair, two around the sides of his head, cinched down to not fall free. The man then grasped the tiny one, placing her on top of his shoulders, lest she protest and attempt to escape, the large hood able to accommodate his head and her tiny size underneath it, masking them both with ease. One hand would hold onto her foot, underneath the cloak so she’d not fall. “Now small one, you must be quiet throughout..” With the preparations finally complete, the man left for the docks to speak with the owner of the Thorns gang… Something the barkeep of The Whaler had led him onto.
Lycidas made his way to the warehouse near the docks, a run down looking old thing with a few people giving him glances here and there. The massive man began to count men, eyes to spot them from a distance and keep track best he could should things go south. His movements towards the warehouse rather deliberate and when finally he made it to the run down building’s door, he knocked, three times.. Then two, then one. As instructed by the barkeep.
Latulepi is no more an issue to lift than a limp teddy bear, easily making home upon Lycidas' shoulders like a tumorous growth. The hood of his cloak fits them perfectly, concealing the dead child even more than her own clothing does. Not a sound leaves the little lump of flesh that bops about with each of the masked vampire's steps. Lifeless orbs stare ahead to where the man strolls, giving no time to the people around. Until Lycidas knocks on the door to a large building. Her focus locks onto that instead. The door peeks open no more than a couple of inches, before the form of a large green orc in a dapper suit swings it wide open to reveal himself as a living blockade. He growls under his nose in an exasperated sort of way. "What do you want." He rumbles with a snort and smirk. Perhaps the sight of some masked man with an unsightly neck mass is humorous. Shuffling and sliding can be heard on the other side of the big brute but it comes to an abrupt halt after the orcish grunt speaks.
Lycidas found him staring upon the large orc without a moment’s hesitation, he’d found these brutes before, killed some of them, evaded others.. But this one, was simply the doorman. “I’ve come to speak with a member of your organization, I was directed here by a mutual individual who told me you may be able to provide me information upon distribution.” Lycidas watched inside, attempting to figure out if there was anything of threat within the walls, like those outside of it. “If you would be so kind as to fetch the one who had arranged my visitation, I’d like to get down to business.”
Latulepi stares at the doorman's tusks in dead silence, though the beastly gent does not notice. Those beady red eyes slice through the vampire with a blade of severe skepticism and suspicion he gladly refuses to sugarcoat. "Name," the doorman states with a spread of impatience as if this detail should not have to be asked for. Just past the shoulders of the brute-in-a-suit is a plethora of crates, some metallic, some with bars. People of all sorts of races, from naga to dwarf, organize them or lounge around as if on their break. A couple of them eye the door attentively to the door. The blockade tilts his head into Lycidas' line of sight. Any patience the big guy has is about to run dry.
Lycidas nodded at the other, “Felix.” He spoke plainly, making sure he was understood, “I have arranged a meeting this eve.”
The grunt grunts musingly, "Oh. Why didn't you say so?" A heavy, guttural chuckle escapes his nose, his smile peeling back steeply curled lips and further maximizing the presence of his jutting tusks. "Wait here." The orc does not wait for a rebuttal, he merely closes the door in their faces. From behind it, the beast could be heard barking about the presence of visitors to another most likely. Ten minutes might go by before anyone show up. The door opens again by the hand of the doorman. This time it is left wide enough for Lycidas to walk in. "The fifth floor," he informs, slamming the door shut behind them. "Quickly and without delay." With a nod toward the staircase, the grunt turns for the door again and says nothing more. Stares of all brands from most of the 'employees' stick to the disfigured giant in the mask while Lycidas is there. If he follows instructions, the staircase will lead the vampire to the rather plain, dusty hall with three hulking guards waiting to take them to the appropriate room: an office, in fact. A old, round woman, with enough wrinkles to share with her guards and still have plenty for herself, snores away in her luxurious red leather chair.
Lycidas awaited the man’s return, as he disappeared. Though, as the time began to drag on, he was starting to have his patience tested, ten minutes with no response, standing in the open was not his ideal situation.. And yet, that’s when it happened, the door, finally opened before him. His patience though tested, would not be something to bring up with the man before him and rather the leader of this cluster.. As incompetent as it seemed to him. He followed the instructions, finally into the office, to take a make himself noticed as he spoke. “Ahem.” He spoke loudly, that sound one makes when clearing his throat, “You must be the one I was told to meet? Name’s Felix and I am here to discuss business with the leader of Thorns regarding the distribution of stolen materials.”
Latulepi is a busy being a lump, fingers twitching beneath her cloak as her towering friend snatches for the the old woman's attention. Lycidas succeeds. The old crone stirs awake with a snort, squinting open her jade green peepers, "HM?? What's that now?" She squacks grumpily, smacking her lips and grabs for her glasses on the edge of the desk to slide them onto the bridge of her nose--each lense must be at *least* two pounds. After a long moment of looking him up and down a few times, the old bird caws again, "Aren't you a tall drink of water.." She mumbles as if she had not expected it. "Felix, you said?, what is you want to discuss?"
Lycidas nodded at the woman, no response made in return to her. He waited for the woman to recall any further details she might of had about their arranged meeting, taking a seat within the office before her desk. He hadn’t forgotten the small one on his shoulders, his tiny little secret that made him smile underneath the mask he wore. “Now, to have your distribution network on my payroll, what will it take? Gold or something else?”
The old bird puffs a single, half-hearted chuckle, her sagging chin wobbles from the force of the breath. "My, don't you have balls of steel. I out to hammer a few nails into that skull of yours." She cackles huskily, then leans forward to rest her wrists on the desk before her. "But I'm a patient old cat. I'll hear you out." She flashes her pristine, pearly whites at Lycidas. "I'd like to hear your reasonings of why I shouldn't."
Lycidas didn’t waver or even hesitate based upon the woman’s response, his body to remain still and an ungodly calm settling in around him. The man released but a small amount of magic, an aura of sorts, creating a sense of dread to all those around him and without proper magical training no ability to sense it. The dreadful feeling would spread to the woman and anyone nearby the room within a fifteen foot radius. As the fear began to spread, it would make Lycidas appear menacing and monstrous to those opposing him. Standing from his seat, hand placed upon whatever small nick nack upon her desk he might find, the man crushed it it within his hand at no effort to himself. “Did you honestly think you or anyone among your force could truly have any chance against me?” He growled lowly, “Perhaps I should kill you and simply get your second in command to answer these questions?”
Latulepi feels that magic for certain but is not opposed to caster. She bathes in that magical aura, a wide, lipless smile crossing her lips to the old woman who cannot see her. Her pale spheres pin their sights on the crone through the shadows of Lycidas' hood. The old gangster can certainly feel the dread and those eyes weighing down the more formal-serious atmosphere of the room. Her smile bends so steeply into a frown it can match the arch of a horseshoe. "Well, then." Two of the guards visibly quake in their boots, but all of them have their weapons drawn against Lycidas. The gangsters eyes falls to the decorative, ceramic egg crushed to pieces in his hands. It was her favorite one. "Even -I'd- like to know the details of a deal. If you can't handle that, ..well." The ancient madame leans back in her chair, "..we have nothing to talk about, do we?"
Lycidas smiled at the woman, replacing the egg with a bag of gold upon her desk, one hundred pieces to sit there. “Then you’re in the right line of work.” His aura remained active, refusing to drop it and allow them any moment of peace while he was about. Instead, he sat back down calmly, and allowed it to spread through their minds. “I have large quantities of metal coming through over time along with gems, diamonds, rubies, etc. You will be selling them to people and providing me the money from the sales while taking a portion of the cut.. If, I feel that’s fair. In exchange, if you don’t accept a portion of the sales, I will provide you with weaponry, armor, and whatever else you might need. But, if you want money rather than actual power, that is your choice. I have 20 weapons ready for you and your people of the highest quality steel, in exchange for two months worth of work.”
The old woman hums thoughtfully seeming the most calm of the Thorns present. "How big a portion are we speaking here? And how do I know you aren't going to take all the money and power, and leave a dust mite as a sign of gratitude? Hm?" She narrows her eyes to the width of construction paper, "You haven't exactly made the best first impression." Her jade eyes peer at the armed men behind him with a fleeting smirk. Surely one of them peed his pants by now.
Lycidas stood at the woman’s remarks and turned to walk away, speaking loud enough for her to hear but as if she wasn’t there, “I guess I can go speak to one of the other gangs, I’m sure they’d like brand new weaponry and the chance at funding since this gang doesn’t seem like it needs it.” He moved towards the door, “Maybe the Huat Morde?”
The jiggly crone scoffs as Lycidas begins to stride towards the door. "Oh, please," she drones with boredom and skepticism dragged out by those words. "This childish game," she huffs a chuckle through her teeth to emphasize the word 'childish'. "If you considered them useful, you would have gone to them first. But...," raising her one of her thick, wrinkly hands, nails glossed with blood-red polish, she shoos him off. "..if you can't be straightforward nor serious, you shouldn't be here attempting negotiation."
Lycidas brushed past the frightened guards, who’d still seemed shaken stiff by his aura, her words seemingly having no effect on the man. He made no attempts to harm anyone on the way out, simply leaving the woman’s warehouse without hesitation.. He had no issue disregarding her words. Perhaps if she wanted to stop him she might say something.
Latulepi busily thumbs through her 'horse's black mane all over again, tug it in different directions like reigns as Lycidas swaggers his way out of the building. The old woman growls to herself in her chair, rubbing and stretching her temples like putty with the tips of her fingers. “Ugh… I swear I’ll lose a few years of these ballsy buffoons,” she mutters to her guards. As much as she loves to let an insolent stranger go, need for business runs in her veins as much as the next gangster. “Bring the boy back before he throws another tantrum in someone other poor soul’s office.” Jade beads fall on the shells of her ornament-once-was. A few of the guards hesitate, but a sharp glare from the old bird fixes that rather quickly.
Lycidas was summoned back by a hesitant and wavery voiced guard, who asked him to return, only a nod was given by Lycidas. The man moved back up towards her office, taking a seat and setting down a bag of gems, rubies, diamonds, and crystals upon the table before her. He opened the bag and poured it over the desk for her to see. “You’ll get a small cut of the sales, two percent of everything that sent to you for sale is yours to keep or sell. But, as stated, I can instead provide you weaponry that you deem necessary instead of providing you gems and metals. If you would like that instead.”
The hoard of gems poured into a wealthy mound on her desk is the last thing she expected from Lycidas the moment he returns. She tries to contain her sigh at mess he makes of her desk. "Alright," the lady begins with a sigh, "..sit down. You have my interest... " Nothing more leaves her lips until the vampire settles down into his chair. Once he does, the weary woman squacks again, "Two percent is rather miniscule. This is an organization, not a treehouse club. Thirty-five percent."
Lycidas laughed quite heartily at the response of thirty-five percent. “I’d rather throw one third of the gems into the ocean off the transport to Rynvale rather than give you that amount when you have no risk in the matter. All you’ll be doing it selling these metals to various blacksmiths, gems to jewellers, and the risk is beyond notional but you expect me to give you a third of the profits?” He laughed once again, “You can have 5% of the profits.”
The bird does not flinch a single feather, "You're asking for our business and some grounds of authority over it, yet you offer a measly five? Twenty percent." She rebuttals without a breath between reasoning and negotiation, enunciating each syllable. Lycidas' mockery seems to be burrowing its ways into the folds over her baggy skin.
Lycidas listened to her offer once again and nodded, “I can do twelve percent of everything, for you having a no risk high reward business.” This was certainly a business he’d need to remove the leader of, finding another to take over in her stead to better this relationship.. Perhaps Blut might be able to help. “We work through drop off points, I will have a ship in the docks holding the metals and gems along with instructions of how you’re to return payment to me.”
" Twelve will do," says the wrinkly gangster calmly, "... When are we to expect the ship? We'll have everything prepared in a timely fashion." A ruby is lifted from the pile of gems and inspected briefly through the dense lenses of her spectacles, before she sets it back down on the very top of the mound and observes her new business partner. "Is there anything more you desire to discuss, Mr. Felix?"
Lycidas gave the woman a single nod, “I need a name to contact you by, and the name of the ship will be delivered by courier every week. If you don’t receive the name of the ship by the end of the week, we will have another method in place shortly.”
The gangster nods and smiles with a warm sincerity that was never once present at the beginning of their meeting, "Rosa. Rosa Petunia Thorns." Rosa leans forward and stretches her hand to him for a shake, "I don't know where you came from or what you're planning... But I like your guts." As annoying those guts are to her.
Lycidas shook the woman’s hand upon final agreement, “I like your organization and distribution lines, thus why I contacted you.” He was bluntly earnest, “However, as long as we’re working together with no issues, then we can continue this arrangement with civil respect for one another.” He turned on his heels, then, just before leaving turned his head towards her as best he could, “Did you have any more questions of me before I leave?”
Rosa melts back into her seat again with a more muted smile. "Only one of importance. If I need to contact you discreetly, how do you prefer I do it?"
Lycidas walked towards the door as he answered the question, “You’ll send a small parcel to the Hanging Corpse in Vailkrin directed to Felix for now regarding whatever issue you have.” With that the man left, taking the small undead with him.