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Post by Omni on Jan 6, 2015 16:42:05 GMT -5
While Orrin's response was more subtle, he also felt somewhat relieved when Zoya cut back on her enthusiasm. He listened as she suggested enjoying the festival, asking the people for information they could use... and watched as she spoke to one of the villagers in that Langean language that neither of them understood. "On the one hand, normally I'd not be averse to locals knowing we're here to help, but on the other if they don't really want our help... They'll find out sooner or later since we need to question them for more information, but for now... Gah, I don't know, Orrin?"The half-dwarf paused to think, letting Freddie slowly follow Zoya. "Well, yer right in that I don't wanna interrupt the festival. Granted, I guess we already have, a little... They might take it as a bad omen if it's a celebration of luck, but I don't think waitin' a day will change that. ...How long is the festival, anyway? I guess we could ask some people that aren't at the party... if there are any?" Orrin shook his head. "At any rate, I think we should get to Zoya's place first. The horses could probably use some rest, and we'll look less intimidatin' without 'em. We can decide on the details then." The Stallion knight snapped his fingers as an idea come to him. "Say! Maybe ya can ask around for us while we're gettin' settled in, Zoya. That way we can scare the people less, and we'd need ya with us anyway. That way, ya could enjoy the party, too." He paused, the gladness from the idea having disappeared. "Just, ah, don't party too hard." Orrin thinks about the suggestion of whether to interrupt partygoers for their investigation. He reiterates that they should get to Zoya's place, and an idea occurs to him that Zoya could ask around while the knights get settled in.
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Post by Celestial on Jan 7, 2015 10:00:34 GMT -5
Zoya nodded politely and deferrently as she listened to the knights discussing their plans as they continued to walk further along. Her dark eyes had acquired an aura of deep thought before she straightened out her back and looked up. "No, you're right, it's probably best if your investigations are held off when people are more sober. This fair will only last for today, after which people will return to work. If you are willing to take your time, you can always ask around tomorrow," she turned back to look at Orrin, "But I am afraid the only ones who will not be at the festival will be the old, the infirm and those who are outcasts. We lead very harsh lives, Sir Ironbeard, so any excuse to distract ourselves from them is greatly appreciated. Especially when said distraction is taken on as a community." She gave another sunny smile and walked a little futher on before turning back to the two knights. Here, not breaking her step or watching where she was going, she gave a little bow. "I will extend my hospitality out to you as long as necessary. My home is usually so empty, save for my servants, it would be nice to have some outside company, especially from two such interesting people such as yourselves, my good sirs," the noblewoman fell back in step with the knights and their horses. However, as Orrin's suggestions, any cheer and enthusiasm that she had regained disappeared completely. The smile she bore lost some of its lustre and was now more polite than anything. "That is very kind of you, Sir Ironbeard, and I understand you must be tired from your journey and put off by the hostility you have been received with. And...I suppose I should do my duty to his High Grace for you. After all, I should assist you in your task however I can. And this way, people would be less hostile, I hope anyway," she said quietly and bowed deeply again. "First, I'll take you to my home and get you settled in, provide you with food, drink and a bed for the night, like a good hostess should." Zoya bit the corner of her cheek and kneaded her clasped hands, "I had hoped to get to know you better and show you a good time, you being visitors to our lands, but you're right, you and I have a job to do and I should not be so selfish anyway," here, she cast another glance up at Sieg, her eyes lingering on him before turning away. Her braids hid her face but the flush in her cheeks was still obvious, "I promise I won't party too hard, my duty to you comes first. You stay at my house, relax, I'll take care of everything for you. Will there be anything specific you want to learn? That way I'll know who to ask, or whether people will want to supply me with that information anyway." Zoya agrees that now might not be a good idea. Best to ask when people are more sober and have returned to their jobs instead of during their party. She is deflated by Orrin's suggestion but reluctantly agrees it is the right thing to do and she should not be selfish and do her duty to them, even if she had hoped to get to know the knights a bit more, in particular Sieg, for reasons. She then asks if there is anything specfic they want to know.
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Post by Shinko on Jan 7, 2015 11:05:10 GMT -5
Sieg was honestly rather shocked by Orrin's suggestion that they send Zoya out to question the people of Tarpan on her own while they lounged about her manor. It seemed, well... rude, orders from Alain or no. This was their mission, which they were taking on their own initiative, and it had been remarkably generous of the Stallion patriarch to think to arrange for them this help in the first place, not even getting into the fact that strictly speaking Zoya was only obligated to act as a translator for them, not a host. He stared at the half-dwarf with unconcealed disbelief, wondering if something about the Langian air was affecting his mind to make him act so unlike his usual self. Zoya's reaction seemed to indicate she felt much the same, because her exuberance evaporated instantly and in it's place was a very neutral sort of politeness. He'd spent enough time living in a culture where such facades were the norm to recognize it as a mask for something- whether it was affront, disappointment, or just mild annoyance he couldn't say, but it was painfully obvious that Zoya wasn't wild about the suggestion, even if she agreed to go along with it. The half-elf wasn't really sure how to respond to this- on the one hand he seriously didn't want to impose on this woman's good graces by making her do their work for them. On the other, he didn't want to get into an debate like the one they'd had in Haflinger in the middle of the crowd like this. Opting to address Zoya's question first, he turned to her. "I guess what we need to know is more or less whatever people can tell us- but specifically a pattern of attacks if there is one; who is most likely to be victimized, when, where, and so on. It would also be useful to know how long this has been going on, and anything that might have changed perceptibly just before or after the attacks started." "But I don't know if asking her to do this alone is really wise," he said to Orrin, his eyes bright with confusion and concern. "As we've seen before, in situations like this even the smallest of details can lead to a very important clue- and leaving it to memory recall in a report hours after the questioning would potentially compromise those details." He shrugged helplessly. "I mean if you're really that tired I understand, but at least one of us should be along in case something comes up that we want to ask more about. It's a risk since these folk don't trust us, but given what we already know from Stephen, we have to spend our daylight hours as wisely as we can. If our presence is already making waves, by nightfall it'll be all over town. And every night we spend in this town without having addressed the vampire is another chance it has to hurt or kill someone- remember the little girl in Haflinger?" Sieg's not entirely thrilled with Orrin's idea, and while his primary personal reason is that he thinks it's rude of them to impose on Zoya that way, verbally he just lists a bunch of practical reasons.
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Post by Omni on Jan 7, 2015 19:47:13 GMT -5
Orrin was certainly one to understand taking a break from a harsh life. He supposed asking about vampires wouldn't exactly qualify as a 'break' to those who couldn't attend. The half-dwarf was a little surprised by the way the others - particularly Sieg - reacted next. He rubbed the back of his head as he turned to Sieg, glancing at Zoya. "Ah... Sorry. Tiredness had nothin' to do with it. I was just thinkin' it might be more convenient... get more done at once. But I guess gettin' settled wouldn't take very long... and I guess trying to find a lead might take a lot." He put his arm down, looking directly at Sieg. "And yer right about the information... I just hope us bein' there doesn't make it harder." Not to mention that he couldn't shake this feeling that he should be there. "I'll come with, do my best to help." He held a hand to his chin. "As for other questions... I think we should ask if anyone knows any victims, or has noticed anyone suspicious... Granted, I don't know what counts as 'suspicious' here." Unless you count us. the half-dwarf added silently. Orrin tries to explain his thought process - and lack thereof in some respects. He decided to accompany Zoya after all and tries to think of what other info they need.
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Post by Celestial on Jan 8, 2015 18:03:36 GMT -5
For a split second, as Sieg spoke about the vampire, Zoya's hand moved up to her neck and her eyes acquired an unmistakable look of fear. As soon as she realised what she was doing, she immediately pressed her arm to her side but dared not lift her gaze up at the two knights. Even though her ears took in everything they said, her mind and thoughts were elsewhere. After a while though, she looked up at the knights, her eyes having settled to the sweetness they had before. "Wow, you do want to know a lot. Not that I blame you, I imagine you need every scrap of information for a task like this, and time is of the essense," the noblewoman smiled and clasped her hands in front of her, "You know, I can answer some of those questions myself. The vampire is...a painful subject in this town, but since I promised to help you, I will do my best to tell you everything I know about it." She was about to launch into further detail before she broke off and her pace quickened. "We're here. Welcome to my home." Zoya stopped outside a large wooden houe, larger than most of the common huts in the town, and certainly boasting more elaborate carvings. Steps led up to a painted door, decorated with images of birds, including an eagle owl, a falcon and a shrike, all with a weasel-like creature over them and a racoon below them. The paint of the birds was almost completely unpeeled, having seen very few winters. Smoke poured from the chimney coming out of the roof of the house and the noblewoman smiled when she saw it. She turned back to Sieg and Orrin and pointed with a hand towards a small barn around the side of the house. "You can leave your horses in there and get them settled in the stalls. I'll get the servants to set up something for us to eat and drink," she shot a knowing look at Orrin. "You can have your rest and I can tell you everything I know about the vampire before we head back to gather more information." Zoya cast another lingering gaze across Sieg and lifted her hand up to him, her fingers brushing slightly against his hand. "I'll only be a minute, I promise," before either of the knights could reply, she dashed up the steps and into the house. Zoya appears nervous but she agrees to help the knights, even promising to tell them what she knows about the vampire. They arrive at her house and she tells them to get their horses settled while she prepared some snacks, but not before some more touching of Sieg. Down, girl. x3
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Post by Shinko on Jan 8, 2015 18:26:18 GMT -5
Sieg's face turned a very bright shade of scarlet, and he stared after Zoya with an expression on his face not unlike he'd just been hit upside the head with a mallet. "I... I don't... what was that about?" he stammered. Was she... flirting?"That was, ah... forward." he finally said, his cheeks uncomfortably hot. "I can safely say that's the first time that's happened to me." He glanced at Orrin, his expression wry. "Not a word out of you," he said with rueful amusement, figuring the half-dwarf wouldn't be able to resist teasing him about this somehow. "I just hope I can let her down gently- it isn't like we're staying in town all that long anyway." He shook his head, trying to force his mind back to the matter at hand. He dismounted, grabbing on to Freya's reigns. "So, erm, right. We should put up our horses. Then see what she has to say about the vampire. Hopefully with me being able to maintain a degree of professionalism. I really need to work on how easily I get flustered, don't I?" Dork knight finally picks up on what Orrin realized eight posts ago. His reaction is about what you probably expect.
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Post by Omni on Jan 8, 2015 20:08:05 GMT -5
Orrin noticed movement from Zoya out of the corner of his eye. By the time he actually looked, she seemed to move back and most of what he could see haw her head lowered, not meeting the knights in the eye. Had something they said disturbed her? As he wondered what, what she said next seemed to give another clue: she may have had a vampire encounter. Or at least, she may have been connected to one somehow. Maybe someone she knew was bitten? Finally, the group came to what must have been the Sable household. It sure had a lot of images of animals around it. It seemed to be pretty well-kept and decorated, though admittedly it might have been more impressive if Orrin hadn't spent the past year living in Stallion Manor. Zoya have the half-dwarf a look that he wasn't quite sure what to make of, and he watched as the noblewoman intentionally brushed by Sieg, leaving the half-elf behind, blushing hard. Looks like Sieg had figured it out, too. Orrin gave a teasing smile, and was about to comment when the half-elf gave him a look. "Not a word out of you," he said with rueful amusement, figuring the half-dwarf wouldn't be able to resist teasing him about this somehow.Orrin, paused, then gave a shrug. "Alright, have it yer way," he said, continuing with the smile. "And yeh, ya probably should." As the two knights started to set up their horses in the barn, the Stallion knight realized he was starting to get that 'someone's watching' feeling again. He paused, looking where it seemed to be coming from, and spotted a small figure as they hid behind one of the dividers near the entrance. Quietly, Orrin tapped his fellow knight on the shoulder, making sure he had the half-elf's attention before pointing where he saw the movement from. Orrin wonders what Zoya might know about the vampire. At Sieg's request, he doesn't say a word about Zoya's flirting, and begins to tease the half-elf silently. He notices someone watching them, and points out their hiding place to Sieg.
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Post by Shinko on Jan 8, 2015 20:43:03 GMT -5
Sieg glanced up when Orrin tapped him, and followed the direction of his finger. He didn't see anything immediately, but there were plenty of places to hide in the barn. Cautiously, as silently as he was able, he walked over to where Orrin was pointing- and as he rounded one of the dividers, he was greeted with the sight of a small child. The little boy had somewhat ragged clothes, a cap pulled over his tousled hair so that it's color was hard to discern, and a scarf wrapped around his neck. "Well hello there," Sieg said, as gently as he could. The knight wasn't sure what the boy was hiding from them- either because he wasn't supposed to be in the barn, or more likely because of how the two of them looked. Regardless, the kid was no thread, and Sieg looked over to his partner, making a reassuring hand gesture. "It's just a kid, Orrin." Offering the boy a smile, Sieg knelt down. "You don't have to hide, we may look weird but we're here to help." It occurred to the half-elf that he was probably wasting his time, and laughed sheepishly. "Ah, right, you probably only speak Langian..." He undid the knot on his kettle helm, pulling it off so he'd hopefully look less intimidating. Then he pulled off a glove to offer his hand to the boy in what he hoped would look like a peaceful gesture. A wild little boy appeared! 8O Sieg tries to reassure him, since the little guy seems shy of the knights
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Post by Omni on Jan 9, 2015 22:30:19 GMT -5
The boy pulled back when Sieg found him, then silently stared, looking uncertain. Zoya had mentioned to two friends that knights typically weren't welcome in Tarpan - something that probably explained why the boy was hesitating - but these two were getting their horses settled, and they were acting friendly. When Sieg removed his helm and glove, the boy did glance at the knight's hand, but mostly stared at his ears, fascination making its way onto his expression. When the Stallion knight came up, the boy pulled back once again, obviously somewhat intimidated by the half-dwarf. Orrin gave the boy a friendly smile and a small wave, though the boy remained tense. "Er..." Orrin wasn't sure if there was anything they could do to reassure the boy, but he didn't want to just leave him there awkwardly, either. He turned to his fellow knight and quietly asked "Do ya have any ideas on how to show him we're friendly?" Boy is curious, but timid. Orrin asks if Sieg has any ideas to reassure the boy.
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Post by Shinko on Jan 9, 2015 22:45:07 GMT -5
Sieg was a little saddened by how skittish the child seemed, but not entirely surprised by this point given how the rest of the people in Tarpan had acted. An idea struck him suddenly, and he grinned a bit. "I do have one thing," he said, sitting cross-legged opposite the child. He reached into his belt pouch and came up with a single copper coin. He held it out so that the child could get a good look at it, and then he clapped his hands together with the coin still sitting in his palm. When he pulled his hands apart again and presented them palm-up to the child, the coin had vanished. Grinning more widely now, the knight gently reached out to the boy, brushing his ear with a finger, and seemed to pull something from behind it- the coin, manifesting in his fingers seemingly out of nowhere as he pulled his hand away from the child's ear. "Ta-da!" Sieg said with flourish, gently tossing the coin to the boy and giving him a wink. =D Sieg's silly coin trick makes a comeback!
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Post by Omni on Jan 9, 2015 23:27:48 GMT -5
The boy looked confused when he first saw the coin. But when it seemed to vanish from the half-elf's hands, his expression turned to one of awestruck surprise. When Sieg had finished his trick, the boy looked between the coin and the Nid'aigle knight, gaping. He closed his hands over the coin a couple times, as if to verify that it wouldn't disappear. Then, a grin made its way onto his face, and he smiled at the two knights. "Hey! Now that's what I like to see," Orrin said, giving a friendly smile in return. "Not so bad, are we?" He turned toward Sieg. "Can ya show me how that works, sometime?" The boy is amazed at the trick, and grateful for the coin. Orrin's glad to see the kid smile, and asks Sieg if he'll teach him the trick.
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Post by Celestial on Jan 10, 2015 11:22:03 GMT -5
As promised, it did not take long for Zoya to get things sorted inside the house and head back out to the stables where she had told the knights to leave their horses. She first poked her head around the door to check that they were in there but with the unique forms of the two, it did not take long for her to see them. Apparently, however, they were not alone. The noblewoman quickly recognised the boy that stood between her and the two knights. She gave them a friendly wave and then, within a few short steps, crossed the distance between her and the trio, coming in to stand behind the boy and putting a hand on his shoulder. "Hello again, I'm back. I see you've met one of my stableboys," Zoya said to Sieg and Orrin. "This is Andrei. I'm afraid he's mute though so you won't get much conversation out of him." She then leaned down to the little stableboy, turning him to face her and giving him a sweet smile. "Не беспокой их, хорошо? Кони рыцарей устали и за ними надо ухаживать. У тебя нет времени с ними общаться." The noblewoman's hand brushed against his scarf before she patted his hair. "Помни что бывает с маленькими мальчиками которые суют нос куда не надо. Давай, иди." Zoya returns and tells the knights the identity of the boy who they befriended. She then talks to him in Langean. And since I'm nice (and I'm sure Omni will appreciate it), translation ahoy. =D
"Don't bother them, okay? The knights' horses are tired and they need to be looked after. You don't have time to talk to them." "I expect them to recieve the best care so get on that quickly. Go on, go."
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Post by Omni on Jan 11, 2015 1:09:50 GMT -5
The boy - Andrei - had just given a deep bow to the knights when he heard Zoya's voice and suddenly froze, the smile disappearing from his face. His already-tense form grew tenser as she put her hand on his shoulder, and by the time she had finished talking to him, he had turned almost as pale as a sheet. He quickly stood up, taking a few steps, giving the group a quick bow, then running off to tend to the horses. Orrin watched as Andrei ran off, an eyebrow lowered. If he was afraid of the knights, he certainly seemed more afraid of his boss. He decided not to say anything about it, instead turning back to Zoya. "So, ah... may we come in the house?" Andrei tenses up when Zoya sneaks up on him, and runs off to tend to his duties. Orrin asks if they can come in the house yet.
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Post by Shinko on Jan 11, 2015 12:57:55 GMT -5
Sieg was about to answer Orrin about the coin trick when Zoya arrived, explaining to them who their new friend was. However, Sieg was surprised to see the child instantly become afraid again when Zoya started talking to him. "Is he alright?" the half-elf asked. "I thought we'd gotten him calmed down..." He sighed, shrugging helplessly. Turning his attention back to Zoya, he felt a prickling of unease. He wasn't sure what to say to her after her... rather blatant flirting earlier. Opting to keep it simple and professional, he nodded in agreement with Orrin. "The sooner we can finish up here, the sooner we can resolve one source of unease in theis city." Aw. D= Sieg likes doing tricks for the kids.
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Post by Celestial on Jan 11, 2015 14:36:42 GMT -5
Zoya sighed and lowered her eyes at Sieg's question. "It probably means he's done something again. Andrei is a sweet child but he has a habit of unintentionally causing mischief," she looked back towards where the boy had ran off to. "Can't kick him out either because the poor boy has nowhere else to do. But thankfully he never does anything too bad." However, her smile soon returned and she dismissed the issue with a simple wave of her hand. "Nevermind that. I'm glad at least you managed to befriend him, that boy is usually so lonesome. And whatever he has done, it's my problem and I'll discover it eventually, even if he wants to hide it from me." The noblewoman stepped aside and gestured out of the stables, giving the two knights a little curtsy. "In the meantime, would you like to follow me inside? I have asked the other servants to provide us with some food and drink," here, her eyes darted away briefly. "And I can tell you as much as I can about...about the vampire." Zoya explains why Andrei is probably so scared of her before telling the knights it isn't their problem and inviting them inside for food and conversation.
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