RP:Necromantic Briefs
Part of the Venturil's Bane Arc
This is a Necromancer's Guild RP.
Vailkrin Plaza
This magnificent plaza, also paved in black stone, is adorned with elegant, wrought-iron streetlights to augment the silvery glow of the moon above, lending it a slightly brighter aspect than many places in the Dark Lands. To the west lies a short path leading to a busy shop of some sort, all manner of shady individuals streaming back and forth from it. To the east is a sheer rockface with a steep, broadly-cut stone path winding upward to a towering structure above. Below this stands a massive monolith hewn from the same dark material, but with one highly polished face upon which has been carved an the inscription highlighted in pearlescent moonstone. One might like to pause for a moment and read the inscription. To the north is an official-looking building, with City Guards stationed around it. Placed around the square are several benches and cafe tables, offering rest to those who've patronised the district's shops, with plenty of room left for public gatherings.
Tenebrae was seated on one of those benches, cross-legged and with a book laid open on her lap, on which she was apparently inscribing something. Her slightly bifurcated tongue was pressed - carefully- between her sharp teeth, and a look of utter concentration was completed with the buckling of her brow.
Leifong is suddenly just there, seated beside Tenebrae on the little bench, mimicking her crossed legs and innate attention to the book she held. He wouldn't say anything until the woman noticed him, which, given her level of concentration and the extreme casualness of his stalking might take a moment.
Tenebrae reached for her eraser.. and grappled some part of Leifong instead. It'd almost be used to erase one of the miscreant lines she'd sketched before he'd hear a satisfying 'Ack!' and find a pair of narrow, green eyes leveled upon him. "I hate when you do that..." she said, but of course he'd know that. "Funny you should show up, I was just now making this.. for you." She blew a few shreds of eraser-dust off the page and held the book up. On it was depicted a nightmare of Leifongian proportion, a creature so vile as to get even the Haruspex's dead, black heart squeezing a rancid beat from itself. "Gas-beast," she explained, "Once a vampire. See how its amputations end... there.. and the gross distension and extension of the lymphatic system and so on hangs? Well, that's our water and fuel distribution handled. Genius, no?"
Valentin tromps into the plaza, carrying a small notebook and muttering to himself as he goes over his list of things to do again. Apart from the cleaver hanging habitually in its harness on his back, the butcher also carried a leather haversack over the other shoulder. Presently his muttering was with regards to the last vendor he'd visited. "Blimmin' out o' glass vials my hairy Xalious. Carmine'll know a supplier." He almost doesn't notice Leifong and Tenebrae, sitting on a bench in an almost normal fashion. Frankly, it was unnatural. If Leifong didn't stick out like a spider in the cream to Valentin, they'd have remained unnoticed. "Oh... hell." Valentin decides to get the worst out of the way now. He could get his vials later. The butcher tromps over to their general area, and touches his hand to the brim of his bowler to give an 'in passing' greeting. "Thanatos Domina. Magister Letum. Greetin's, an' all that. I see y'busy, so I'm happy t'leave m'report t'later if'n you like." Fat chance of that, Valentin thought, but it was worth a shot.
Leifong retakes the bit of his finger that Tenebrae had accidentally torn off to use as her eraser with an indignant snort, not in the best of moods. This body was rejecting his cancerous occupation, withering away at a highly expedited rate. Still, what the twisted creature at his side had to show him was enough to bring a grin of appreciation to his stolen lips which split several times in the process. "And here what about-" he begins, using his severed finger as a pointer stick as he indicates a particular part of the sketch, but he gets interrupted by the arrival of Valentin. The Haruspex just sort of stares, head twisting slightly to one side.
Tenebrae dragged her eyes off the sketch to offer Valentin a word of greeting, plus, "I was just showing Leifong some ideas from home, regarding engineering. You might be interested, Thanadule." Her brows rose as she spied the sack, "Been busy, then? I've had this funny little assassin dumping corpses at me left and right.. there's half a naga in the cellar at the Corpse, as we speak." Then turned to Leifong, "You mean here," her finger brushed the place he'd indicated. "Had trouble with swelling, there, in Shadowstack.. ideas?"
Valentin nods "Aye, mistress. Barrels are on their way even as we speak - I hope y'got some place t'put them. Vats are pretty much ready - they're local-made, so's we just have t'go an' collect them once we got a workspace ready for 'em. I got your seventeen vampires on ice. Still all alive, mind, as I figured you might like the choice of which two t'keep, an' which 15 t'kill off. Kyperion got a goat, an' I got a spare in case he bollocksed up even tha' little task. I was jus' off t'see if Carmine had any spare glass vials, or could point me to her supplier, as me usual vendor apparently sold out, the useless bastard." Valentin spared a glance at his list. "I figured, got 17 fanged gits jus' lyin' there. Might as well keep some o'their blood for later use. If nothin' else, Lorkain can use 'em in his blimmin' potions class." Valentin was still damn certain Tenebrae had something to do with Lorkain suddenly deciding Valentin made the perfect 'shopping boy' in exchange for the further lessons Valentin had been taking from the lich in those fields he had thus far been approaching in a rather haphazard fashion. At least the shopping got Valentin the hell away from the crusty old bonesack. Lorkain made an art of being a right bastard. "Oh, an' the new Novus, Kyperion, is a bit of a twit - but could have potential wi'the Black Tides if I can knock some common sense into th'banker." Valentin didn't mention the other Novus Morior Lorkain had been shoving at him because Lorkain did not "have the time or inclination to repeat myself to the despicably inept fleshheaps inflicted upon my precious classes." Followed by the malicious "Talk to the new Thanadule, you wretched vermin". Again, it all seemed a little bit suspicious, and Valentin had been lacking in much free time since.
Leifong doesn't bother elaborating further on the sketch as he listens to Valentin's report with a sort of angry curiosity. "I don't suppose any of this was worth including me in, then." he grumbles, but doesn't make a scene. Most of the time Leifong was glad to have as little involvement in guild business for possible, since it left him free to pursue his goals. But lately it seemed that he knew less about what was going on than any random stranger on the street. With a series of pops that sound worse than usual the Haruspex picks himself up from the bench and takes several pacing steps around, pitching his now useless bit of finger off into the street.
Tenebrae offered the Haruspex a sweet sort of smile, "There, there, Leifong. You've seemed.. busy, and I didn't want to bother you with small details until the bigger picture was closer to hand," here, she turned to Valentin, laying her book aside. "Well done, Thanadule. All we need now is a place to settle in. My old manse is soon under repair, " a shadow crossed her gaze, but she did not elaborate on its cause, "But we'll need... loftier accommodations, eventually. You may want to listen here, Leifong, unless doing so will seriously disrupt your sulking? Anyway.. The vats.. and the vampires.. will provide a demonstration of Empusai engineering that will change the face of necromancy here. Guild secrets, of course.. Starting with the creation of chitin-beasts for the new Hall," she gave Leifong a happy smile, as if there were even a gnat's chance in hell it might be returned, "You'll like those, Haruspex. But that's not all, of course. The next thing we do is remake my armour... and..." her forefinger rose dramatically, a fleshy exclamation point. "I have a thrall that I am seriously considering for use as a demonstration of the pinnacle of the art. Cat-meet-pigeons sort of risks aside, he's a perfect candidate."
Valentin gives no hint of irony or mischief as he replies to Leifong "Didn't think you would be interested in accompanyin' me on what was basically shoppin' trips, Haruspex." The butcher's voice is his normal unhurried rumble "But if I'm wrong guv, next time Lorkain or th'Mistress sends me off on some errand to buy livestock or place an order for some metalwork, I'll invite y'along to watch the highly fascinatin' art o'hagglin." And Valentin would make a point of visiting the vendors he disliked most, if Leifong indeed decided to come along. The butcher possessed a vindictive streak at times. Valentin then responded to Tenebrae "If th'manse ain't ready by th'time the barrels reach here from Larket, I'll hire out some space in one o'the factory yards. The foundry's gettin' enough gold out o'me that they shouldn't argue too much if I decide t'have a cartload o'barrels stacked in a corner there for a bit extra." They may argue, but they'd damn well toe th'blimmin' line, Valentin reckoned. "In the meanwhile, Mam'selle..." How to put this. "Are you alright with all them Novus Morior bein' fobbed off t'me by Lorkain? I'm only jus' a Thanadule, an' the ol' bonebag's got a lot more experience teachin' this stuff." Valentin reckoned he'd got it across nicely by a) Letting the Guildmistress know he'd been roped into teaching some of the Novus Morior and b) seeing if he could get out of the chore. Valentin reckoned he was slowly gettin' this 'subtle' concept.
Leifong wasn't interested! But he felt like other people should be a bit more interested in his interest than they were. As well, the concept of changing the face of necromancy now that he'd become somewhat renowned for mastery of the subject was a bit intimidating, even if the Haruspex didn't acknowledge that himself. "You could always just occupy a suitable location." by occupy, Leifong meant something along the lines of slaughter all inhabitants and take over, but that was implied in most of his suggestions. "Or I suppose, if necessary, there might be an extra room or two in my workshop."
Tenebrae's lips primmed into a tight little moue for a second before she responded to either necromancer. "Well," she said at last, "It may be more expedient to simply ... " she eyed Leifong, ".. do what he said. In essence. Which brings me to the next topic. I’ve found something. Something potentially extremely significant. Too significant to mention here..." and she spoke her next words crisply, her tone rising a little in volume, "... where anybody’s spies might be listening. I'll encrypt it on parchment for each of you tonight. In any case, trust me when I say we might be on the move soon." Her lips split to another cheery smile - and kept splitting, until the smile was wider than was seemly for a humanoid face, and both rows of glistening needle-teeth were on display. "Yes, I am perfectly alright with you having the Morii in your care for the moment, Thanadule. Much is afoot, and I would appreciate the freedom to get about it. Though I will take the girl Cerys under my own wing, seeing as she is known to me, or her mother was, and her talent lies in my own realm, as it were." Having thus stymied Valentin's attempts to avoid said duties, she carried on, "All awaits a secure location in which to house these first of our creatures. Be patient, my dears, for it will be worth every second. In the meantime, we have Morii to teach, items to prepare." Tene picked up her book again, and flipped to a certain page, which she showed Leifong. "This.. is a war-beast." She could almost imagine his toes curling at the sight. If he still had any.
Valentin had to concede defeat. He knew it had been on the cards since he'd been first promoted to Thanadule, and this confirmed it. But be damned if he'd wear the blimmin' teachin' robes. "A'right. S'pose I'd better get organised, work out a schedule for th'Novus Morior t'get an earbendin' on this an' that." And really, it's not like Valentin wasn't used to teaching. He'd had several apprentices as a butcher. It was just more complicated teaching material, was all. But on the bright side, he wouldn't have angry city officials t'deal with if some stupid brat cut his own fingers off. Or, in this case, get gutted by their own creations or melt their stupid brains. "When th'time comes, Guildmistress, let me know where y'want th'vats an' barrels, an' I shall make sure the blimmin' things are where y'need 'em." Valentin nodded to Leifong "An' no doubt you an' I shall meet in th'library at some point, Haruspex, as we often do." Valentin scratched a shaggy muttonchop "Well, unless either of y'need me f'somethin' particular as of right now, I'd better get crackin' on th'rest o'me list"
Tenebrae shook her head, and herself rose from her seat, gathering her book and other belongings, "Get to it, Thanadule, I myself have much to do. And you, Leifong..." The necromancer blinked, finding no such Haruspex present, where he'd been just a moment before. ".. hate when does that," she muttered, and shrugged. "In any case, you can expect that parchment I promised before morning. Though I really ought to see Jobbie this eve, the little swine is holding out on a shipment of necessaries and I think he might be in need of encouragement to hurry it up."
Valentin nods, touching his hand to the brim of his bowler hat again "As y'say, Mam'selle. I'll get goin'." Which the butcher does without further ceremony, tromping off in his typical unhurried pace towards the blood bank.