RP:Sinkhole Suspects

From HollowWiki

Part of the Larketian Fault Lines Arc


Summary: The recent earthquake has reshaped Larket's geology. A sinkhole opens up east of Kyla's Eatery near the Vibrance River. The boom attracts Jarith, Ameno, Queen Josleen, Lycidas, and Seiko. Josleen grows suspicious of Jarith and has him arrested. Ameno makes plans to open a hotel here because the sinkhole and its waterfall is beautiful. Lycidas and Seiko seek an opportunity to schedule an audience with the Queen the following day.


Larket's New Sinkhole

Again the land trembles, and but unlike before it's no common quake. The previous quake has taken its toll on Larket's bedrock, and near the Vibrance River, new cracks in the groundstone widened as the roaring river filled each vein. With a crash as loud as thunder, a portion of the ground caves and craters. The Vibrance diverts along the new v-shaped ravine, then free falls down, down, down into a sinkhole, the freefalling water beautiful in its cascade. The slopes of the new crater and the endless pinhole center create a whirlpool with no end, constantly fed by the river.


Ameno found himself again in Larket following the previous time he had spent assisting Artia and Chisel in the Sick bay, now with a thunderous roar still echoing in his head he but noticing no more quake damage realization dawned upon him, that a sinkhole had formed, now he simply had to find it, and find it he did apparently. Traveling down the dirt road behind the Eatery he soon came upon a massive V-shaped ravine where on the eastern most side the vibrance seemed to flow inward and down almost a mile or so the water swirled in large whirlpool, he let out a low whistle, at the size of the sinkhole. Scanning the edges he took a few steps back from the edge. "Definitely bigger than the one back home."


Josleen was dining with the Women Patriots of Larket Society, an upper crust socialite group who invited the Queen to their meeting to discuss what the Society can do to help victims of the earthquake. The president of the Society, one Violet Devereux, mother of Reinhardt, who, having heard Reinhardt met Queen Josleen, has taken it upon herself to advance her son’s career by buttering up the Queen with flattery. Violet was plying the young queen with wine and compliments when suddenly the earth rumbled and boomed. Everyone in Kyla’s Eatery immediately jumped to their feet and ran, the common and recent trauma leveling the social classes into one: frightened cattle, queen included. She runs out the back in the protective hold of a Kingsguard, with many of the Society women on her heel. To the south they see it, the hole, the rush of water, the smashing of boulders as big as houses. Josleen gasps into her hand just as Ameno arrives. She looks to the peculiar armored preklek-looking man with suspicion. Is he responsible?


Jarith had been trying to get back to the academy of magic without using his rather dangerous magical abilities. True, the small and simple binding ring that He’d been given would suffice for a time to keep Corruption at bay, but the former warlord was really trying to not tempt fate any further. This trip however had turned out rather ill-fated from the beginning. Here he stood, just a few hundred yards from that strange eatery if only to have a near first-hand glimpse of the rapid digression of the land. Larket was changing, and Vibrance it would seem would never be the same. The fallen knight had stumbled, still recovering from his own wounds the shuffling of the ground underfoot had left him little choice but to kiss the shifting landscape with a Knee and bracing left arm until it stopped as abruptly as it had begun. Those tri-ringed blue eyes were fixated upon the strange opening and only fell to the strange arrival as an afterthought. He was too far to hear the words, but felt perhaps he’d missed hearing something important even as he slowly righted himself. The arrival of not one but rather the gaggle of court ladies did not help things, and since Jarith didn’t know Josleen, he didn’t note the Queen, despite the strange guardian entourage. He glanced at himself, the hip was still sore and tender, but sealed and nearly a full day in the care of the sages had healed his shoulder save the tale-tell scar from Lionel’s blade. Still, in his odd styling, the arctic nomad watched the whole ensemble from where he stood, braids framing features that seemed to turn more stern as time passed. ‘This is why I don’t travel to warring fronts anymore… well, sort of.’ His thoughts were his own, a first in a long time and it was almost unnerving, was this man the ‘preparer’ for whom he sought? Surely the hunt could not be over so soon.


Lycidas walked in on the scene, his usual air of confidence and debonair, Seiko following behind him. The queen was here, her kingsguard all around, a preklek looking dragon and another that he’d never seen before? The death knight approached the scene slowly, understanding the predicament such a show might make. His calm and decisive demeanor looking over towards the river, seeing the sinkhole absorbing with it all the water.. To...Nothing? Where it went the vampire had no idea. He reached around his back for the foxkin hiding out, attempting to grab him and pull him out front. Once accomplished, the man would go to his knee, also trying to pull the foxkin to his knee as well, a humbled response before the Queen of Larket. “Queen Josleen.” The man made no further move, holding tightly to the foxkin so it couldn’t either if Lycidas’ grasp had been secured, till Josleen made the motion that they might move.


Seiko dropped to his knees, -albeit gracefully- alongside Lycidas. Long white locks covered the ground in front of the young fox, his head held low with ears laid flat to his head. His notable two tails were no longer swaying behind him but outstretched on the ground behind, showing the utmost respect. Although at times he’d been a rather rude little fox, he understood social queues well enough to know that there was a time and place for all behaviors. He waited patiently beside Lycidas for his queue to act.


Ameno knelt overlooking the sinkhole. Oblivious to those around him. "I'd say about 2.5k wide, maybe a 1.5 km deep, lotta clay on the eastern, northern and southern walls." he reached down lay himself flat to look over the edge of the rim, "Definitely granite, and gods knows where or if that thing truly has a bottom." gazing down towards the whirlpool. He transitions to kneeling postion, "though I have to say the the waterfall from the river is a nice touch, granite here would make an excellent hotel, solid foundation. A man could make some money off a tourist trap like this." He turned, and noticed a crowd gathering but more importantly the lady of the realm. Already in a kneeling he turned his body to face her and bowed his head. "My lady, my apologies, I did not notice you standing there."


Josleen watches Jarith carefully, now suspecting him of foul play. Unflattering fact: Josleen judges books by covers, and Jarith looks more foreboding than a preklek-dragon hybrid, likely because the latter is dressed in knight’s regalia, blue in color, and not particularly threatening. Besides, he’s muttering to himself geological facts! Lycidas and Seiko join the crowd, and their bows and dress help them evade suspicion. Josleen nods to them to release them from their bows. That’s when the word ‘hotel’ reaches her ears. She squints at the preklek-thing and does not permit him to rise out of his bow. “A hotel? A hotel? You see disaster and think how to make quick coin?” One of the Society ladies chimes in, “Queen Josleen, is it quite safe to stay here? We should go. The ground may be unstable.” Josleen’s guard eye Jarith suspiciously and one, the big one, puts himself between Jarith and the Queen.


Jarith had been slowly making his way forward, the hint of a lip was all that remained of his pains, his battle under Corruption’s hold. In that closer proximity, he manages to take in the greetings of one queen as well as mutterings for a possible future business. In truth, none of this has any intrigue for the former Knight. He is a person who is more closely affixed upon the actions, the male he’d suspected seems to be unfit now, and the other pair of newcomers hold his focus only until a large guard moves. Those reflexes force him to shift, defensively to face the towering creature. Still he does not draw a blade or even make to act for violence. His words are a rich tone, honeyed and refined, a complete opposition of the appearance he holds as a member of one of the more Nomadic Frostmawian people. “ It seems, the aftershocks continue, M’lady.” Strangely he does not bow towards the apparent royalty of Josleen, and though his eyes are upon her large guard he does not seem bothered.


Lycidas stood after the woman allowed him to rise, no words made as the given or expressed in her presence for the moment being. Instead, he let go of the foxkin, allowing him to do as he saw fit and move from there. The knight then approached the sinkhole, looking over it’s vast depths and ignoring the rest of the crowd.


Seiko moved back to his feet, his ears returning to their normal upright position and his tails beginning to dance behind him. Seiko maintained very close to Lycidas, never leaving too great of a gap between them. While Lycidas’ attention moved to the sinkhole, it was the interactions of the fellow onlookers that Seiko gravitated towards. Seiko looked on as the Queen seemed to scold the other. His movements slowed taking in each action from there on. It was as if he were calculating every reaction to each proposed interaction between the group. Working closely with illusions, the power of perception was always quite important to the young fox. ‘how can I control these people’ was always his first thought, followed by, ‘what do they desire most, that I can use against them?’ It was like a game for him.


Ameno was surprised that she headed over him and being as honest he always was replied. "My lady, forgive my ramblings, for they were of whimsical thoughts not of disaster presently before us. From what I can observe the buildings west of here, are thankfully on sturdy ground, but east and south of here, the cityless land here, has experienced a depression formed by a pocket of earth being exposed to the sky, no doubt caused in part by recent events." returning to the beginning he replied, "Forgive my ramblings, a hotel, a garden, a surrounding area overlooking this merely in my mind seemed like making lemonade from the lemon of disaster, and would profit the crown, for money to rebuild your shattered Queendom. My thoughts were not of self gain, I have little need of money, mil'ady." he said not rising from his kneel.


Josleen‘s squint doesn’t let up until Ameno describes Larket as a queendom. She blinks in surprise. “This is a kingdom. My husband, King Macon, rules this city and the forest to the north.” She gestures for the preklek to rise. She can’t make heads or tail of him. At first she suspected him of being one of Don Santiago’s men (the local mega-merchant), but Don Santiago’s men would know this city is ruled by Macon. Although she wants to ask more questions of the knight, the spectacle of the sinkhole and waterfall commands too much of her attention. So too does Jarith speak to her and she looks at this stranger who does not bow. She’s been instructed not to make too big of a deal out of this after recent catastrophic events for the sake of public appearances in these trying times. Still, she notes it. He speaks of aftershocks, so she asks Jarith, “Are you from the Academy?” On of the guards, a thinner fellow, a spellblade senses Jarith’s power and fingers something hidden in his utility belt, just in case. More and more residents join the crowd around the sinkhole, which causes one of the frightened Society Ladies to exclaim, “Is it safe to be here?!” Among the crowd are a few young pickpockets who make targets out of Lycidas and Seiko’s coin purses.


Jarith turned his stare to watch as the knight also joined in surveying the landscape and the vast change that had come to it. In the northernmost points of the realm, this was not strange, it was a force of nature which was tragic and all the same beautiful in its completion. In one moment, you could bask in the sun and the other the wind and snow could sweep you like a slate, clean from it. The preklek spoke against his critic, the queen, and explained his part in those odd ramblings yet Jarith wondered if anything here was so simple in the meaning or effort. When Josleen chose to react in time with his words he gave a half-smile, flashing one of the twin dimples, “ I have a friend there and was simply coming to inform him of a change in plans in regards to an upcoming party. I suppose you could say I wa- -.” The smile falters as he notes the Spell-blade, the man was a hired blade and it never made due to be unprepared. “ I advise against it. While I imagine I understand just -why- you are reaching for something, I suggest we not go down this particular road. I would prefer to keep from chancing a repeat of recent events, as I cannot guarantee certain aspects of my current state should you choose to do something foolish.” Meaning escalate it to violence, still he looked back towards Josleen. “ As I was saying, I may have gotten a bit turned around… I’m trying to get used to less magic in my life. Josleen, I believe I heard, any relation to Thane of Frostmaw perhaps? I did hear something of her before, but only ever dealt with queen Hildegarde while employed as a city guardian there.”


Lycidas had seen his fill of the sinkhole and moved away from the massacred area, approaching the queen without further delay. As soon as he reached her, he spoke, dignified and confident in his manor, “Lady…Erm, My apologies, Queen Josleen, I am a retired knight of Cenril, Lycidas Nazek, and I was on my way to Larket to sit in on your wedding when this tragedy happened. I am sorry I could not have attended, my journey was delayed along the way. Since I arrived I have been looking to see how I might be of assistance and I must say, as unfortunate at this sinkhole is, it has brought me to meet someone who might offer me the chance to offer forth my aid.” The knight was insinuating the queen. The young pickpocket was now filtering through Lycidas’ pouch, attempting to pull free whatever he might find. And just as the lad began to pull free several pieces of gold, the knight nabbed him. Lycidas lifted up the poor kid before the queen, “And now you can see what this tragedy leads to, pickpockets in the streets of Larket, a town usually free of crime.” He set the lad down, patting him on the head and attempting to send him on his way with gold in hand. “I have a proposition to help rebuild part of Larket and I’ve already spoken with the required business owners if you wouldn’t mind hearing it out, Queen Josleen, though perhaps, I should wait till you’re not so busy?” He motioned towards the others around.


Seiko flashed a devilish grin as he took note of the -somewhat- standoff between the two men. The fire in his eyes was very apparent and his desire for conflict was pouring forth. He was standing on edge, the twin tails dancing with reserved excitement. The tension was quickly thwarted though, finally allowing Seiko to free himself of his focus. Noticing Lycidas move forward, Seiko quickly headed in toe behind him, grasping onto the back of his clothing and peeking out from behind innocently to gaze at the beautiful queen before him. His ears were perked as he listened to the conversation between the two for a moment. ‘A plan to rebuild larket?’ he thought to himself, ‘what is his angle with this one?’ he continued in his own head. This is information quite new to him so he listened in quite attentively, forgetting for a moment about the interactions between all the others in the area. Seiko waited patiently for a break in the conversation to tug on Lycidas’ arm before whispering to him, “How are they going to fix the sinkhole…? What if it starts to expand more?” He was rather curious as to what the immediate fix for such a massive problem would be…. And maybe a little bit curious as to how it MIGHT be thwarted. A little trouble never hurt, right?


Ameno pauses as he rises. "My apologies, but perhaps if not a solution, but a way to prevent further deterioration, would be to magically reinforce the surround ravine's walls," he paused then eyeing the larket ladies, "The ground which you stand upon is granite, and it will not easily be unstabled, its seems larket may be spared much more foundation damage for sitting upon a granite bed," he returned his gaze to the queen of the land. "I know i might appear to be the cause of this, I am not. If you would require me a cell, i would be willing to stay in it, provided word would return to lionel, who would be able to vouch for me." he eyed the men nearby, making a note to either be wary or be willing to meet them in the near future.


Josleen uses the RP magic wand to tuck and finish her conversation with Ameno before the conversations with Jarith and Lycidas. The Queen has no intention of arresting Ameno, and shakes her head dismissively at his suggestion. “If you have ideas for fortifying the ravine, see Headmaster Percival and Professor Valen at the Academy of Magic.” Now in conversation with Jarith, her eyes narrow on the blue-eyed stranger, whom she had been suspicious of from the moment she laid eyes upon him. A few facts that work against Jarith. 1) Macon and Josleen have recently begun to suspect that the earthquake was not natural (it was, but that’s not the point; Josleen believes otherwise), and thus they suspect there is a villain behind this catastrophe. 2) Jarith obliquely claims responsibility for ‘recent events’, which Josleen assumes to mean the earthquake, and here he is, a suspicious looking character who doesn’t bow to the crown and is among the first to arrive at the sinkhole. 3) He says he cannot guarantee his current state--whatever that means. 1+2+3=HMMM. What would Macon do? Macon would act, decisively, and be disappointed if he learned his queen did not. Jarith’s knowledge of her Frostmawian title does not save him. “Yes, I am Thane Josleen, and I order you, as Queen of Larket, to come to the fort for questioning as I believe you may have information pertinent to the earthquake.” Before he can protest, “Guards! Should this man choose to disobey, see to it that my order is carried out.” The behemoth of a guard, (Teddy) and the spellblade (Boar [yes really]) advance on Jarith but do not draw their weapons. Teddy says, “You heard her majesty. No one wants a fight. Just come answer some questions.” This is when Lycidas approaches, though perhaps with inopportune timing. The Cenrili Knight is keen to take advantage of his audience with the Queen and she won’t begrudge his ambition. Assuming Jarith isn’t attacking her from behind, or that he is slowed just enough for Josleen not to notice anything amiss, she replies to Lycidas, “Come to the castle tomorrow and ask for an audience with me. I am interested in your ideas.” Noticing Seiko, she smiles kindly to the foxkin, an apparent companion of the knight and says, “You are also welcome.”


Jarith had been focused more on the possibility of conflict than on the rest of the gathering at large. True, he still was aware of his vicinity and yet he was not someone who took orders, even Hildegarde knew as much. “ Question.” A pause given as he spoke the word, as if giving the queen a moment to return her focus, the larger Teddy and the other, Boar were still far enough away to warrant at the very least a modicum of continued calm. “ Would Valen, Queen Hildegarde, or possibly Lord Kasyr be capable of swaying your intuition against me? Not that I’m opposed to answering questions, but I am opposed to doing so under suspicion and treatment as a villain.” After the years he’d spent in this realm, and the battles and wars he’d fought for the chaotic good and the code it followed. It came back to the simple facts, Corruption had helped them as had time, to forget his name. Still, he changed nothing in his stance, a glance towards a young boy in academy clothes brought a curious blink. “ You there, Barnabas was it? Take a message to Master Valen…Tell him the party for the twins has been changed to Friday, and it would seem I’m to be at the Fort to help them, apparently with their earthquake problem.” He tossed a gold piece to the child and like a shot the student was off, oversized robes and all. Still, that serene calm held and he didn’t feel intimidated by the pair closing in. They were close enough now as it were. “You.. Big’un.. Didn’t get your name…” His hands moved to the ties on his strange round-shield, releasing it into his hand before offering it towards the large Kingsguard. “ I’ll be giving you these two items, I’d prefer to have them returned as they are given, both were faithful to me against the Knights of Vakarash, and through every battle I ever fought as a Knight since. They are rather dear to me.” He grabbed the hilt of the longsword at his back in his left hand and with his right, gently untied the strap holding the scabbard to his body. The crimson-cloth draped over the battered and well-loved blade followed into the hands of the large male and he nodded. “Deal?” To the smaller, Boar who seemed to sense some of the power not concealed by the dark ring he wore he nodded. “ Only note I’d have you make is to not touch my rings, otherwise…” He glanced towards the Queen curiously, still awaiting her answer. “ Unless she deems otherwise, you gents lead on.”


Lycidas made a respectful bow of the queen, “Thank you Queen Josleen,” and moved to leave, watching the man who she decided was a threat. Before leaving he’d moniter Jarith’s reaction, making sure no attempt on the queen was made. With everything seeming in order, the knight motioned towards Seiko, “Come along, Squire.” And with that, the large knight made to leave, no further business to be had at the sinkhole.


Seiko waved a final farewell to the queen following along closely behind Lycidas, "I'd very much like to join you tomorrow when you visit h--" He stopped in his tracks for a moment, turning back to the queen and bowing gracefully. He turned back quickly and continued on behind Lycidas, "I think a delicious steak would be good for dinner tonight don't you?" He spoke, having either a lack of concern or care that.. There was still a giant sinkhole RIGHT THERE. Just like a fox to be more concerned with his belly than the safety of everyone around him.


Ameno with a final bow he bade his farewell to the queen, as he watched the guards handle the prisoner. "My apologies once again." he pulled his dark blue hood over his head, and the 6' tall draconian made his way away from the hole, only to grab somone about to fall in. turning back he say, "You might want to rope off the area."


Josleen is swayed by neither the names Valen nor Kasyr. Valen is a respected member of the community and a professor at the Academy, but he holds little sway in matters of law and order. Kasyr is the former ruler of a foreign power with no authority in Larket. And besides, in the moment the queen thinks only of serving her king. “Your agreeability does you a great service,” she says to Jarith. Indeed, his willingness to go to the fort helps his case. She excuses herself from the Society ladies and leaves with the guard and person of interest Jarith.


Jarith didn’t seem to care that she’d shot down his query, it never hurt to ask. There would still not be much of a bow, instead he faced northwards, following along with the guard rather easily, despite the faintest limp. Instead he gave another mention, almost wistful as they wandered towards the fort, or rather what remained of it. “ You remind me a bit of Rumiko…” It was in the past, and the only shred of a saddened expression that crossed his visage as they moved, passing as quickly as it had come.