The bloodstains on her robes left little to the imagination.
The man's well spoken tones were calm and collected, while highlighting that a
girl of her age should perhaps take better care of her clothes. He asked politely
what she was doing there and why she had woke him up. Raneaux fumbled over her
words. He had not made a single move to attack and neither had he changed his
relaxed posture, save for switching feet on the table he was now resting them
on. She called out in her mind to Xera,
who replied that he had heard Danton mention something about surgery to the
Oraea in explaining the blood. After the lie left her lips, the man sleepily
rubbed his eyes and told her to try again. Taken aback she panicked and called
for Umbra to help.
He wasn't as concealed as he liked and the light made it difficult
for him to blend in. Regardless, he fired off a Khatt-Nipp laced dart which
became lodged in ruffles of the man's clothing. He prayed it had pierced his
target's skin. He plucked it out from his shirt, dismissed the design as crude
and tossed it to the floor beside him. Raneaux took two steps back. He didn't
mention that he had just been attacked but instead turned to Raneaux's
intrusion. She decided that perhaps a little honesty would buy her some time.
She told him that she was investigating a woman named Moma for an employer in
Auspar. He cocked his head and tutted. He told her that as a Guldspar, they
were not allowed to be influenced by external factors, such as private
employment that could cloud their judgement. She had known some of the ways of
monks but she hated them and in the past refused to learn anything more of
them, which was now possibly a mistake. She said to him that her colleague in
the investigation would soon arrive and he would perhaps settle the matter. The
man shifted a little into a more comfortable position and faintly smiled.
Xera by now had made it across the festivities in the centre
of the village with little effort. He had in fact on the way been offered sweet
treats and a glass or two of wine to which both he resentfully declined . While
Eryn was around he had felt freer but now with Danton in charge, the world felt
as if it was closing in with each mistake Danton was making. Raneaux's communications were brief. The
situation hadn't spiralled out of control like it had in the shack but
Raneaux's lies were tying her in knots and she needed someone to talk in her
stead. Her description of the man, a broad shouldered merchant or noble with
intimidating logic and an apparent resistance to Khatt-Nipp made one thing
clear to Xera, he was not going inside.
Seemingly tired of Raneaux's excuses, he told his assailant
to step out from the behind the corner. He was disgusted to find that the dart
had come from a mutant. He complimented Umbra on his aim through gritted teeth.
The man however was intrigued by what the dart had been laced with. With a yawn
he picked up it up and placed the tip on his tongue and sucked the poison off. He
complimented Raneaux on the taste but he couldn't quite place what it was. She
now had absolute confirmation that the Khatt-Nipp had had no effect regardless
of how it had got into his system. She knew the only way she would ever leave
the room alive would be near utter honesty. She told him the name of the drug ,which
he confirmed after a second taste and that she did work for a family in Auspar,
Ethis. The man's eyes lit up for a second saying that he too was employed by House
Ethis, although Isadora had never mentioned employing a Guldspar. Umbra started
to panic, he now realised this encounter was swiftly plummeting at a rate he
could not control. He shook his head for a second and closed his eyes trying to
regain focus. As he opened them, he saw Raneaux dead on the floor, her body punctured
with a thousand darts. He looked over the man who was now smoking a pipe, his
eyes glaring at him in golden tones.
The gentleman sighed to Raneaux and told her this was why
mutants should never be given the same rights as humans. He said that in the
past, the mutants he had experimented on had provided some unique feedback
against his own toxins but regardless if they survived the encounter they were
all added to the foul pit at the bottom of the city where they belonged. Umbra
was now ranting to himself and according to the man, he was now an unpleasant
distraction. He handed over Raneaux the dart and in a soft tone he told her to shut the
mutant up. He went on further and said that that if the dosing wasn't sufficient
anymore, then she should use one of her mutant's own. She hesitated, saying
sorry to Umbra in her mind over and over again before puncturing his neck with the
dart. The horrific vision of Raneaux's death was soon given the sound of a
summers breeze rustling through trees. The fact that she had died now seemed make
him feel at peace.
The man now seemed pleased with Raneaux, even
though her sudden appearance had yet to be substantially explained. He asked
her to pass over a few of the darts from the mutant while removing equipment
from the leather bag beneath him. He took his feet off the table and now laid out
an alembic,
a calcinator, a mortar & pestle and a retort. In addition he brought out a
few vials of liquids, while some contained insects both living and dead. As
Raneaux handed over the darts there was a knock at the door. Raneaux sighed in
relief as she told her 'college' to come in. As she turned her head it wasn't who she was
expecting. Xera had stayed outside, just like he said and now in his place
Danton walked in.
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