The Inn of the Singing Rose

These scenes will all be done by NPC, as Damien is not an actual character on RoD.

By Fortune and Happenstance
Date: June 9th/07
Players: Drixi, Damien (NPCed by Carnak)

Synopsis: Damien de Montague, the long-outcast former friend of Mordren Thral'Athos, returns to his haunt of the Poor Quarters, only to happen upon another friend of his former employer and a potential ally in his cause.

Shouts and curses resonate from the harbor as the sun finishes it's western descent. People hurry to their homes and local taverns as the streets darken and shadows lengthen. Small, dim pools of light sparsely populate the main road of the poor quarters while all other alleyways around it are dark. Lurking in the shadows are thugs and cutpurses hoping to find a merry drunk on his way home from the tavern. [Drixi]

Deep in these crime-infested alleys a dark figure glides quickly and silently past the poor and homeless who inhabit the alley. People wrapped in tattered blankets shy away from the shadowy figure as he passes them. Finally stopping in an empty alley just short of the main street the figure leans against a stone wall, as if waiting for someone to mug. [Drixi]

A figure dressed in a brown cloak with hood drawn creeps through the alleyway as best he can, which is to say, not very well at all. His left leg drags with every step, and he favors it immensely. A long, thin blade is used as a cane rather than a weapon by the individual, and the occasional cough escapes the confines of the hood. A pathetic sight to the first glance, but the more experienced of thieves who stalk these alleyways know that nothing is as it appears at first glance. "Excuse me," the figure offers in a distinctly male voice, marked with a soft accent, as he collides with another. In a matter of moments, the latter is dead and the former is taking what little fortune he was carrying from the pockets of his clothing. [Carnak]

Hearing the sounds of struggle the figure smiles and moves away from the wall towards the sounds. A thief who has just been in a scuffle is often tired and that means easy gold. As he passes through a pool of light it is revealed that the figure is a troll, or at least of trollish descent. Finding the origin of the struggle in the form of a corpse was unsurprising, nor was it surprising that the assailant was not near his kill. Perhaps he would continue to wander until he happened upon a person with some gold... [Drixi]

The cloak had scurried off quickly as he heard the approach of another, but having seen nobody, he excused it as his mind working tricks again and returned to the body to finish his looting. The limp was notably missing, though the cough was not, and it returned with a vengeance as the thief worked nimbly with his hands. Withdrawing a large sum of silvers from the breast pocket of the dead man, he drew one towards his nose to smell it. Brandy. This one had been at the Raven recently. A grin creased the lips of the figure, unknowable to any but him-- a luxury afforded to him by the hood of his cloak. He had stricken somebody who had dealt with that whore and her new master. The thought brought a chuckle up from the depths of the man as he stood and sheathed his long blade. "C'est magnifique!" he offers, "magnificent!" he repeats for those unable to understand. At last, he was back at what he loved most: crime. [Carnak]

A feeling told him to quietly return to the corpse to check it out. Tracing his way back through the maze of alleyways he finds the corpse once again, and to his surprise he also finds someone kneeling over it. Thinking about easy gold, he slowly unsheathes one of his long knives. Just as he is about to slide the blade into the thug's back he steps on a piece of noisy debris. [Drixi]

The Frenchman spun about, drawing his sword on instinct as he heard the noise behind him. His hood blew lazily in the breeze, the light catching a pronounced chin which was riddled with the stubble of a poor shave. The thief took a moment to size up his would-be assailant before he realized that this was a face he had seen before. "Ahh, you! I know you. But what is the troll doing, murdering petty thieves like me, eh? Fell out of graces with the Boss?" Shaking his head, the man lowered his blade and took a step back. "Or perhaps you're looking to gain a little something extra on the side?" [Carnak]

Grumbling to himself about being caught with such a simple slip the troll replies, "It is difficult to fall out of graces with a man who isn't even here." Eyeing the man up and down a shine of recognition comes to the troll's eye "With Mordren locked up there is little for me to do besides act as a cutpurse and a thief." Sheathing his long knife the troll hunkers down until he can look the man in his eyes. [Drixi]

Pushing back his hood, the Frenchman grins. "Not... adjusting well to the new boss, are we? Well, perhaps you and I are not so different, after all." Sheathing his own blade, the man offers his gloved hand for the shaking. "Damien Dubois. I was one of Mordren's most loyal advisors, until that whore Rosiel turned him against me. Now, I am nothing more than a street urchin." [Carnak]

"There is only one man in this city that I would answer to and that is not Runihura." Carefully taking Damien's hand the troll shakes it lightly to keep from injuring the man. "I am Drixi Thremanx, though you probably already knew that." Releasing Damien's hand Drixi rises out of the uncomfortable position so he can lean against the wall. "I have been out of the loop recently, perhaps you can tell me what has been happening in the Barathrum." [Drixi]

Withdrawing a pipe and a small box from the breast pocket of his shirt, the Frenchman sets about in preparing his pipe for smoking as he fills in the troll on the recent happenings. "Mordren, as you know, was hauled off by the city guard a short while ago for his role in that whole kidnapping fiasco," began Damien as he lit the pipe and brought it to his lips, taking a short draw before he continued. "Well, this character who's running the show now, what did you call him? Runihura? Well, he seemed to have come from no place... but he rose in the ranks quickly enough. He killed the man who stepped in for Mordren, whose name was Henrik, if I recall correctly." Shaking his head, the Frenchman took another draw and then offered the pipe to Drixi. "Once that deed was completed, he went and recruited that whore, Rosiel. She seemed just as willing as most of the others to jump from Mordren's ship to his. And so here I am, left to wander the streets with no guild allegiance, killing whatever lowly footpads who happen to cross my path. It's a beautiful life, I tell you." [Carnak]

Barking a gruff laugh Drixi replies, "A beautiful life indeed. Perhaps tomorrow you will be the one to be killed in his sleep instead of the other way around." Scanning the darkness Drixi notices a large dog coming their way, not all animals were wary of trolls after all. "You and I both know that Mordren will not stay in prison long. I did hear a bit of interesting information though." Glancing at the dog again he notices it has gotten alot closer, brave little sucker. "Apparently the woman that Mordren has been chasing is acting as a healer at the prison." [Drixi]

"Which woman is that?" the Frenchman asks, "the one he kidnapped? Or the other one... Cadence, I think her name was?" Withdrawing the pipe to take another pull, Damien's cough returned. "Here, take a drag," he said, offering the pipe for a second time. [Carnak]

Taking the pro-offered pipe Drixi eyes it for a moment before taking a short drag. "Damn thing feels like a twig." He mutters quietly. "Cadence I believe, the one he kidnapped was for money not love." Handing the pipe back to Damien he says, "Perhaps another time when there is a larger pipe involved." [Drixi]

The Frenchman chuckled softly as he took the pipe back. "Ah, my fault. I forgot the troll hands, oui?" Taking a final draw, Damien smothered the smoldering tobacco within and dumped it on the ground at his feet. "Well, since you're not loyal to Runihura either, I guess that makes us allies, yes? What would you say if I told you I have a plan for getting Mordren out of Halsbagen?" [Carnak]

Drixi's eyes flashed as he considered this, "I would say that I'm listening and possibly even able." Looking around again he noticed that the dog had run off, perhaps not as brave as he had previously thought. "My questions however would be how and when?" [Drixi]

"In my time away from Irae, I've been studying the place. They put him to work in a camp during the day. A labor camp. They've got all the prisoners building some sort of structure for the Marquis, if I recall correctly," the Frenchman begins before having another coughing fit. "Well, it would be easy to whisk Mordren away if we could somehow get a riot going amongst the prisoners. Since they allow the prisoners to have visitors, I don't think that such a riot would be overly difficult to instigate." Looking around to make sure nobody is watching, Damien leans in and lowers his voice. "The trick will be moving him from Halsbagen back to Irae safely, and without him being spotted. Or, if he is spotted, killing those who do the spotting. That's where you would come in." [Carnak]

"That sounds like it could be a little fun for me," Drixi replies smiling, "It has been a while since I have seen any action." Clenching and unclenching his fists as though he can already feel the life leaving his opponent Drixi asks, "So, when do you plan on executing this plan?" [Drixi]

"As soon as possible," Damien replies, anxiousness overtaking his usually calm tone, "the longer we take, the more that Mordren's former employees forget both the ruthlessness of their old boss, and their loyalties to him. The sooner we strike at this new upstart and his whore, the better." [Carnak]



Withdrawing a scrap of parchment and a short stick of charcoal from one of his belt he begins to hastily jot something down on the scrap. "Leave a message at this address containing a time and meeting place when you are ready to set your plans in motion." Drixi says has he hands the scrap to Damien. "However, if you plan on going through with it very soon it might be better just to tell me right now." [Drixi]

Taking the page from Drixi, the Frenchman nods. "I will contact you as soon as I have rallied a few more. I want to have three or four before we begin." Bowing, Damien turns before offering over his shoulder, "if I find out that you have betrayed me, Drixi, know that it is not my wrath, but Mordren's, that you will be dealing with." [Carnak]

Chuckling softly to himself Drixi retorts as he disappears deeper into the alleys, "I follow Mordren because I choose to, not because I fear him. Remember that well." [Drixi]