slovechnia ♔ we've expelled the goodness from our hearts

[princesmarming]

♬ The Big Freeze - Muse

WHO || Valentin Milosovici, Francesca, Tia, Thoster, Andie, Miles [closed]
WHAT || The Knights investigate the state of things at the Palace during a fancy soiree.
WHERE || The Royal Castle; Milosogoraht, Slovechnia
WHEN || Jan 9, evening|
HOW || Actionspam, don't sweat tag order!

Much smaller than the Knight's castle, but still large in its own right, the Slovechnian royal home has stood as nothing but a historical monument since the royal family was overthrown decades ago. Now, however, Valentin has reclaimed it as his own ancestral home. It's hardly a welcoming locale, however. The great halls are lined with so many weapons that if you walk too close to them, you're bound to get pricked. Many of the rooms have been declared off limits to guests and are marked off with cordons.

The Knights have spent several weeks in town, gathering intelligence on the country's current state.  Already, things are better off than they were when the last team visited:  the previous aura of unrest in the air is dissipated, people are returning to work, helping each other, picking up the pieces where they can.  The new King has instituted many economic reforms off the bat, that, while more brilliant than anything he could have come up with on his own, are no doubt effective.

There are, however, rumors, that no new Shadowkind have been arriving in the country, which seems suspicious of its own right, even if they can't find any evidence of slave ownership in the city.   Now is their chance to deal with the man himself, however, as there's a Royal Ball being held, to which the Knights have an open invitation.   

Comments

LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED

[asap]

[Andie looks smashing thanks to her disguise check of 22. As one of the known knights, she's hardly hiding her role as one of them, or she'd have asked Thoster to go as her date. But this isn't a social gathering, it's all part of the mission. She sticks close to Tia, craning her neck to try and see through the crowd and spot Valentin (spot..... 5).]

Where's our guy?

[telekinect]

[ tia looks nice, even if she doesn't look as eye-catching as andie (she's only human, after all, not DIVINE), wearing an off-one-shoulder black dress with her hair done up. she's nursing a glass of champagne which she sips casually as her eyes scan the room. when she speaks, it's under her breath. ] Ohhh, I have the feeling we'll know when he arrives. Fashionably late, I'd wager.

[asap]

Blegh. High society politics. [She makes a face and glances back at Tia.] We shouldn't have gone for late, right?

[bluffcheck]

[Speaking of fashionably late, Thoster (disguise check 15) purposefully arrives after the lovely ladies so that he can be seen walking into the party alone. He's hoping to be able to remain unattached to the Knights for the evening to hopefully be able to get some information.

Still, as he glances around the room, he lets his eyes rest longer on Andie and Tia, hoping to catch their eye long enough to let them know he's there.]

[telekinect]

[ tia sends him a tiny mental note: ]

You clean up alright, Chatwyn. [ and nudges andie so she knows he's there. ]

[bluffcheck]

[He stands a little taller when her thoughts enter his mind.

Well, that's a different feeling.

Thoster will begin his rounds of mingling now, trying to find someone to schmooze.]

[asap]

[Might have been a mistake to nudge Andie. She looks up to see Thoster and immediately shoots him a dazzling smile. She manages not to wave by sheer willpower and looks away quickly, blushing a little.]

[telekinect]

[ eavesdroppers make a listen check as they mingle. if you want to try to talk some info out, gather information checks!

also, don't think tia didn't notice that, andie. ]

So. You two, hmm?

[bluffcheck]

[For now, he'll get the lay of the land, trying to see if he can pick up on a conversation or two, trying to see where he can slip in and where to begin (Listen 19).]

[asap]

[Andie steals another glance at him.] No! I mean... sorta. Maybe. [She gives Tia a pleading look.] Boys are complicated?

[telekinect]

That they are. [ she smothers a smile against the edge of her glass, surveying the crowd.

meanwhile, thoster overhears something ~interesting~ as he makes the rounds. two stuffy looking old men with bad comb-overs (one of whom is wearing a monocle, and both of whom sport many medals on their red sashes) are deep in conversation, and don't even notice him hovering beyond them.

"It's lucky for them all that Milosovici came into power so readily, wouldn't you say. Belarus was poised and ready to swoop in, after all."

"They're not the only ones. Regardless of the mess they were in - still are - it's still in a strategic position. With the power vacuum that size, it's hard to believe it lasted long enough for an election." ]

[bluffcheck]

Best not to dwell on what might have been, gentleman. [Thoster says, deftly tossing out a comment as if he was part of the conversation from the start.]

After all, I thought the situation with Belarus was a thing of the past? [(Gather information Nat 20)]

[telekinect]

[ they seem to figure he belongs in the conversation, and one man snorts as he lifts a piece of cheese on a stick to his mouth.

"That depends on if his hold here proves to be solid enough to not convince them to change their minds. With the right push, they could still believe it were best for everyone to topple the new monarchical regime being set up next door." ]

[bluffcheck]

[With the ease that he slipped into the conversation, Thoster now relaxes back into his new role.]

Resources will need to be renewed, no doubt. Boost the trade market. With enough money, a king can buy a war.

[telekinect]

[ "Buy his way out, or buy his way into one?" The question prompts laughter from both of them, in polite asshole form. "Milosovici's been lucky to have friends in high places. I don't think he'd let anything so disastrous happen quite so soon." ]

[bluffcheck]

[Thoster joins in on the laughter, because he's playing up just how much he can be one of the rich guys.]

Speaking of friends... [He says, taking a sip of his drink and swooping around to stand between them, putting his back to a majority of the crowd and dropping his tone a bit lower.] A friend of mine told me that the good King might be able to provide a hand if one was looking to, ah... expand the workforce. [(bluff 28) Because these guys look like they might be terrible enough people to know a thing or two about slavery.]

[telekinection]

[ they both seem to fall for it, one of them looking over his shoulder as well, and both sharing a meaningful look.

"Not the King himself, so much," one admits conspiratorially. "He just can't do anything to stop those who might be able to." ]

ota;

[socialgraces]

[Francesca thinks it might be better if there are some of the group who aren't recognizably affiliated with the Knights, so she's gonna sit this party out. However, she does have a feeling there might be some info to gather from the shadier parts of town, particularly those associated with the slave-trade in this country. So she's gonna venture out that way and see what she can uncover. If anyone would like to join her, she'd appreciate the back-up. She might have a plan too, once she knows who's going.]

[cuivre]

[Shadier parts of town? Miles doesn't want the pretty lady to go alone on that kind of thing, so he's going to tag along. For protection, of course.

He's such a macho man.]

Where to first?

[He's here for muscle and charm, not smarts.]

[socialgraces]

[Well, the muscle was more what she was looking for, honestly. So this should work well.

She's dressed in all black, although it seems to be a little too suggestive for straight-up covert work. And her make-up is much darker than she usually wears (disguise check 32). She's trying to look ~shady~ herself, as if being a dark elf didn't already draw suspicion.]

I brought along a few maps of the city and did a little research. [She takes one out and points to a marked quadrant.] Here. Should be a good place to start.

[cuivre]

[Miles probably should have worn darker colors or something (disguise check 6), because he looks a little too well dressed to be particularly shady.

Maybe if he gets a little dirty or something.]

Sounds good to me. [Said after have a glance at the map and giving her a nod.] Lead the way, beautiful.

[socialgraces]

[And then their phones sound, and its Tia relaying the info gathered at the party and it only takes Francesca a few minutes to reform her plan. She thanks Tia for the heads up and pockets her phone again.] I'd been thinking the undercover plan would work best anyway, however, I had something a little different in mind. [She gives him a once over and turns back to the table, packing up her belongings.] Natives of this world aren't the only ones known to have penchant for slaves. Some races are renowned for it.

[cuivre]

Color me intrigued.

[He did so love it when someone else came up with the daring plans. That's not in his job description.]

Enlighten me. I may be a native, but my life was, shall we say, sheltered.

somehow i lost this notif D: sorry...

[socialgraces]

[She gestures to herself to make the connection.] Drow, or dark elves, like me. Generally their society is matriarchal and slavery of all deemed below them, even others of their kind, is commonplace. And despite me being Shadowkind, I think the slave-traders would be willing to overlook race for the right price.

Of course, there's always a chance they'll try to capture us both, but that's a risk regardless. I'm hoping their suspicions will keep them from acting too rashly. We'll prepare for the worst, though. [As she removes a gun from her pack and makes to conceal it on her person (Sleight of Hand check 28, Hide check NAT 20.)]

<3

[cuivre]

[He smirks.]

So are we partners in crime or are you selling me?

[He nods, though, happy to go along with it.]

Honey, I always prepare for the worst. We're gonna be dealing with some shady ass people, after all, but we can handle it.