Buyer Beware

SUMMARY: Ga'Elian and Yelrona discuss annoying neighbors and pastry chefs, and Yelrona and Daechir work out a plan for coming after the slavers. Walery is skeptical. Sandy probably isn't a cannibal.

The very same WBM, even Lucy Lardbottom herself from last night is back! In her self-righteous indignation she has brought a pair of City Watchmen, a rather imposing Arvek Nar and a Oruch bruiser with a badge. Together, the threesome are facing Ga'Elian down, yelling at him and generally invading his personal space. After he takes this railing for a few moments, he seems to entirely vanish, but it takes them another 45-60 seconds to even notice his absence. In the meantime, he re-emerges in an alley across the road by where a warehouse's shipping dock is busy with loading freight wagons to carry big grates to the port.

Yelrona has been quietly watching the exchange for a while now, wondering what the issue is, but deciding her intervention would probably not help matters for Elian at all, given her own ongoing relationship with the woman is mostly a negative one. When Elian disappears and reappears, though, she takes the opportunity to join him in the alley.

"You seem to have made a new friend," she observes wryly.

Ga'Elian shakes hia head and glances back to where WBM and the watch are still trying to puzzle out where he went. He says, "I guess she didn't think my drawing a bow on her yesterday was very funny. And the Watch seem kinda jealous about folks ordinary folks pretending to arrest local business owners at arrowpoint. I swear, they just don't see the joke."

Yelrona nods. "I know, right? It's not just that... they have basically no sense of humor at all. It's very sad, really," she adds, her eyes dancing. "They used to harass me a lot more," she acknowledges, "when I first arrived on the scene. It helps to make some friends, and know which palms to grease. I'll see what I can do to get them off your case."

Ga'Elian smiles and says, "I'm sure my actions only added to her list of 'the wrong people'. Fortunately, I don't think she or those watchmen know my name. Do I understand rightly that she' a chocolatier?"

Yelrona nods. "Among other things, yes. A pastry chef more generally, but her shop specializes in chocolate confections. "Dark Secrets," down Market Street and a left on Church," she explains, pointing. "She's... not horrible," Rona continues, "but not really to my taste."

Ga'Elian nods. Changing the subject, he asks, "So, have you had any run-ins with R'ulq lately? Or discovered any further slaver activity?"

"We have!" Rona replies excitedly. "So it turns out that the Charneth agents who were sent to kill Chay were operating out of an import-export business off of Sage Orum's Plaza", she explains. "We watched them for a while, identified a spy at the Embassy who worked their, broke in to check it out. They were worshippers of Thul, as it turns out... even had an altar to him in the office. We shut that down," she says, beaming, then more dejectedly "...but it turned out to be a dead end. So... back to the drawing board, on that angle. Plus also there were a group of dopplegangers operating out of a warehouse not far from here," she points off to the southwest, "who were running a local ring." She chuckles. "They were _impressively_ stupid, though... it didn't even take any significant investigation to find them. They were just really bad at acting natural, and when we followed our suspicions it turned out they had kidnap victims in cages."

Ga'Elian listens with interest, but chuckles at the idea of pursuing followers of Thul and reaching a 'dead' end. Then when Rona decribes the stupidity of the doppelgangers, he just hangs his head and swings it side-to-side. With an amused sigh, he says, "Well, good for you all, shutting down the altar. And it's refreshing to know that so many of the agents of evil in this world are too stupid to succeed at their endeavors, at least when folks like you are there to notice them."

"Oh, there were several of us involved," Rona demurs. "But you're absolutely right. It's refreshing, you know? I've been at this for months now, trying to track down the key players in both the Charneth and Veyshanti operations, and sometimes it feels like I'm just making no progress at all. Which, I mean, of course that's not true, every dead end I cross off is one step closer to finding the lead that pans out... but it's nice to just have an unambiguous win every once in a while."

Ga'Elian nods agreement. "Yes. That is a nice pay-off. So I aasumed that the slavers were dealing in living labor-slaves, but if they are Thulites, that would suggest that either Charn or Bludgun or a handful of other places. I don't suppose Heth needs to pay for new zombies, when his whole realm is populated by wights."?

As Ga'Elian and Yelrona chat, Daechir seems to appear out of the shadows. Silent until the first footstep out of the alleyway close by to them which comes with the ringing of a bell. He clearly has heard at least some of their conversation, and he draws closer to the both of them. As always he is dressed impeciably, his long hair braided down his back with a crimson ribbon entertwined and nearly the only color on him aside from the silver rings on his fingers and ears. "I hear that you are talking about a subject of great interest to me." Daechir smiles a little bit. "I had hoped to question you Yelrona on what you know."

She startles at Daechir's appearance, then shakes her head. "Hi Daed. I swear to Tarien between you and Aya, I now envision all Mulniessa gatherings comprised entirely of people appearing out of nowhere and startling each other." She grins. "That said, sure... what do you want to know?"

Ga'Elian laughs, "Heya, Daed. I was about to suggest we play hide-and-seek." Then back to Yelrona, "It's a wonder that Alexandria seems to offer such a prolific supply as to sustain so many competing enterprises within the same industry and yet go largely unnoticed by the populace and the extent of it not arouse in the local authorities a greater response, unless they're corrupt. Jeez! I think you're atarting to rub off on me!"

"That would be a concern indeed if the officials are being paid to keep silent on the subject. It seems likely at least some are." Daed seems to consider this silently for a moment. "Specifically I was wondering how much you know about the network. Do you know who is bringing the slaves in, or to whom they are being sold?"

Ga'Elian has left.

Walery has arrived.

Yelrona raises an amused eyebrow to Elian. "I don't hear you complaining," she replies with a smirk. "And yes, of course they are," she agrees with Daed. "I could name you several who are on the take in this District alone. As for the network... I don't know who's running it. Yet. I know a few small fish, and I'm trying to use them to find their superiors. Even there, though, not very many, I'm afraid... I mostly know who _isn't_." She seems briefly disheartened about that. "Still... that's how it works. Who they're being sold to, though, well, that's mostly no secret: there are many powerful families in Charn and Veyshanti who traffic in slaves, and will happily purchase any that are provided."

Daechir offers a toothy smile. "Then I think I have an idea which may lead you to who is selling these slaves." He takes a breath and looks around to make certain that for the moment he is alone. "I would like to pose as a buyer." The phrase does not seem to sit well with him, his lips twitching and his hand lifting unconsiously until he realized what he's done and soothes it down the front of his vest instead.

Yelrona considers that. Slowly. Whistles through her teeth. "You realize... it wouldn't just be the slavers you'd be fooling, right? Everyone who pays attention to this sort of thing would think you one of them. You would make a lot of enemies... especially given your heritage."

Walery is walking down the street, but is not yet close enough by a good bit to overhear.

Red eyes flicker up, noticing Walery's figure and Daed takes a breath. "My heritage is what will make them believe it is true. It will not be the first time that I have been accused of terrible things." He meets her eyes. "Do not misunderstand my conviction I will do nearly /anything/ to see this stopped."

Aya has arrived.

Yelrona meets Daed's eyes for a long time, attempting to gauge his sincerity. They even glow for a bit, in there somewhere, as she invokes Tarien's assistance in the matter.

Then she nods. "All right. I'll do what I can to help, then. Thank you."

She notices Walery's approach and suddenly her face is PROFOUNDLY hostile. "I cannot BELIEVE you are defending them!" she shouts, quite clearly enough to be heard from where Walery is. "Are you SERIOUSLY telling me you are okay with OWNING PEOPLE?"

Walery has walked in on what? He peers at Yelrona, then at Daechir, then at Yelrona again as he walks closer. "Tarien has a merry heart," he says to her. "But sometimes takes the joke too far. You should not say such things about people unless you are prepared to fight them." To Daechir, he says, "Do not take her words to heart. She is one of Tarien's."

GAME: Yelrona rolls bluff: (15)+11: 26

Yelrona's outburst is drawing considerable attention from passersby.

Aya arrives in the district across the bridge to the upper city from the east. Initially, all seems as expected, with merchants, workers, and customers alike bustling along... but then there is running and screaming... or at least Yelrona complaining loudly.

"She is merely reacting to something I said." Daed waves off her yelling as though it is beneath him to interact with someone yelling in such a vulgar fashion. "Let me be clear; my family in Charn has owned slaves for untold years and I have seen how they are treated." The Mul'niessa rolls his shoulders casually and smiles in a peaceful sort of way.

"Oh, no doubt," Rona replies, significantly more exercised than he is. "And when you sit here and tell me you think they are better off... that the Sith-Makar's young are better off stolen from their nests by raiding parties and brought in chains to Charn to slave for your family, and families like yours..." She glares and spits at his feet. "You disgust me, frankly." She turns to leave, which she will unless interrupted.

Walery eyes Daechir sidelong, nods to him. "I imagine she is. You probably said something like what you just said, which implies you're a slaver when it just means your family is from Charn, which is true for a lot of folk. But in Alexandria, we kill slavers, and if that doesn't work, we kill them some more, so it's not the sort of thing you want to be misunderstood about. The watch doesn't even blink, and the Guild pays us a bounty." He eyes Yelrona, and then Deachir, taking a step back and casually placing a hand on his death ray.

Aya arches a brow, even as she vanishes from her current location to reappear in the vicinity of Daechir and Yelrona. To the former, she notes, "I would suggest that you pay their presumptions no mind, that they are biased and misguided... but presumptions can still bring harm. Still," her other brow then arches at Yelrona, "I had begun to believe that some were more level-headed than most...

"Oh, do not EVEN," Rona replies to Aya's arched brow. "This has nothing to do with presumptions or bias. This has to do with my hearing what I was told and seeing what's in front of me. If you wish to dismiss that as 'bias' on my part, regarding a statement you were not here for, then I suggest you reconsider your OWN presumptions of objectivity."

Daechir watches Yelrona storm off and yell some more with something like amusement on his face before he shakes his head at Walery. "I do not think she misunderstood me at all. In fact what she thinks of me at this moment is entirely true." He shrugs as though it is nothing and turns his back on the assembled group with one look at Walery as though daring the man to shoot him in the back. Then with a snap of his fingers he drops a globe of darkness on the entire scene. By the time it clears he is gone.

Aya is not perturbed by the darkness in the slightest, though the possibility that some might loose or swing into it while she occupies it is a concern. Thus, she takes two steps to clear the effect. "Well, that was .. entertaining, if hardly unexpected."

Walery is used to this sort of duplicity, though, and gives Daechir a flat look. "If you're telling me I should believe her thoughts rather than her words, well, I don't have the talent for reading those thoughts. And, if you're telling me you're a for-real slaver, I guess I'll shoot you here and save everyone some trouble." And even as he's hauling out the death ray, darkness falls, and he sighs. "So," he says tartly. "What's this all -really- about. No one verbally confronts a slaver here in the city. It's blades bare first thing. So it's a setup, somehow, yes?"

Yelrona turns around. "You think I should have killed him where he stood?"

"At the risk of stating the obvious," Aya mentions to one, both, or perhaps no one in particular, "while slavery may or may not be ill-regarded in this city, and may even be illegal, I imagine that murder most certainly is."

Walery nods to Yelrona. "If he was really a slaver, then yes. Why would you not, unless you were in league with him. In which case, why are you shouting about it? If you didn't think you could take him, you'd raise a party at the Guild and come after him." He ehs at Aya's comment, and says, "Sort of. Generally, thwarting evil is given a pass on that in my experience."

Yelrona shrugs. "If not killing him on the spot means I'm in league with him," she tells Walery, rolling her eyes, "then I guess I'm in league with him. Shoot me now. While we're at it, you can shoot me for not raising an army years ago to attack Charneth and Veyshan."

To Aya she adds "Murder absolutely is illegal. That said, I'm not sure ANYONE in this conversation is especially reluctant to break the law in a good cause."

"Of course," Aya readily agrees with Yelrona's assessment. "I was merely reminding of potential consequence. All are free to make their own choices." To Walerya, she admits, with one shoulder rolling, "Perhaps. Though those with enough gold or influence can just as easily earn a blind eye. It is a city and bureaucracy like any other."

Walery says to Yelrona, "Of course you're in league with him, trying to create a scene in a public place so he'll theoretically gain some credibility with the actual underworld. But I don't think they take what adventurers say too seriously." He snorts about not attacking Charn. "We've had enough wars with Charn that I'm confident someone, somewhere in the city, is raising an expedition to fight them." He looks alarmed by Aya's insinuation that the bureaucracy is corrupt. "Wouldn't Sandy eat them, if they were?" he asks worriedly.

Yelrona sighs. "Walery, you speak of what you do not understand. But think whatever you wish."

Walery nods to Yelrona. "Oh, that's always the case. I'm just saying that what you shouted in the street is more likely to get your friend dead than in good with the underworld."

Walery's comment draws one corner of Aya mouth upwards in a deep smirk. "Maybe she would; I don't follow Lady Sandriel's dining habits, but that seems even more absurd that your prior statement."

Yelrona sighs. "I understand what you're saying," she tells Walery. "You can keep repeating it as long as you wish. As for corruption in Alexandria, well... I understand that you don't believe it exists, and you are welcome to keep repeating that as well. And," she adds to Aya, "I am _almost_ certain that Sandy is not a cannibal. That said, I am _not_ certain she considers slavers her own species. "

Walery shrugs about Sandy's dining habits. "Well, maybe that's an exaggeration. And I do think corruption exists," he says to Yelrona. "I just think that there must be less risky ways to infiltrate them than telling every sword in Alexandria, 'hit me'."

"Well, all right," Rona replies to Walery. "Speaking hypothetically, suppose I _were_ willing to stage a whole public performance and put someone I had once considered a friend at considerable risk by accusing them of complete falsehoods that would make every decent Alexandrian their blood enemy. Let's say I was just that ruthless and just that stupid. And lets suppose I had some goal that was worth all of that, to me. What should I do instead, Walery?"

Aya's eyes shift to the periphery, where passersby or workers may or may not have overheard the shouts more than the current conversation and/or may be carrying on their own quiet conversations and/or may or may not be eyeing one or more of those present with curiosity, confusion, and/or distaste. "As I already carry something of a target in these times, I think I'll leave you to your discussion of the ethics and politics of this great city.

Walery shrugs to Yelrona, and admits, "I know artificers, not confidence men. But I'm sure someone in the guild does. And I'm sure they could start a rumor, just among the underworld, that your friend is a slaver and interested in joining up in a gang, or whatever the plan was. The key is that you do it without getting every trigger happy wannabe hero after him." A category in which he apparently places himself. He looks to Aya, nods slowly. "If you'd like, I could walk you home. I need to be moving along myself in any event," he says apologetically to Yelrona.