andres ♔ the terrifying rarity of truth

[bancroft]

♬ Haunt - Bastille

WHO || Thomas, Thoster, Brantley, David L., Andie
WHAT || The Knights intercept a boat shipping something to Andres Isle... with some high seas piracy
WHERE || The Atlantic Ocean
WHEN || December 9th, 2013, 6:00PM
HOW || Actionspam , single thread to start.  

The mission to intercept a shipment heading to Andres - one among many such mysterious deliveries that Wynn suspects have some sinister ties to the movements of Prime Minister Dimitris Sarandis' involvement in a Shadowkind slaver cult - is already off to an interesting start.  No sooner have the crew gotten aboard Thoster's pirate ship and headed out on a course that's meant to intercept the vessel then the winds start kicking up and dark thunderheads roll in on the horizon.  Lightning streaks the horizon as rain starts to fall, and Thomas stands on the deck, looking out with one foot up on the railing, frowning out. 

"Gonna be rough waters.  Not sure yet if that's going to work to our advantage or not."  

Comments

[bancroft]

[ thomas nods darkly, but doesn't look surprised. ] Good thing we played our hunch then. Remember to keep up the pirate charade - we should leave one alive to tell the tale, or Sarandis will likely suspect us anyway, when the captives go missing. [ he claps thoster on the shoulder as he moves past him and a bright light surges through his palm, restoring all the man's hit points. ] A job well done. Let's try to finish clean - and get these people to freedom.

[bluffcheck]

[BLESS YOU, YOU BEAUTIFUL BASTARD. Thoster stands straighter.]

You're full of surprises, aren't you? [He says with a grin.] You want to wait here while we wrap up? You're welcome to join us to ransack the place.

[What? PIRATE CHARADE MEANS HE GETS TO LOOT]

[bancroft]

Does that mean the remaining sailor's locked out of sight?

[bluffcheck]

Not sure where they've put him, but they blindfolded him before I left. Have him tied up and got Brantley questioning him, for now. If that's not enough, I'll go ahead and make sure he's secured. Just say the word.

[You healed him, okay. You can do whatever you want.]

[fixyourproblem]

[One of the ways of detecting lies is through the eye. So he unties the blindfold. Using his knowledge in psychology, he focuses his mind and eyes to detect any signs of lie for the upcoming questions. (Sense motives 22)]

What's your name and who do you work for?

[Though it might seem trivial, asking basic questions is to establish baseline and lower the guard.]

And who are those people and other than them, do you carry other kind of cargo?

[bancroft]

"Emile." [ the man squints up at him for a moment, clearly suspicious of being blindfolded then having it removed seconds later. his eyes dart over brantley's shoulder, then back to meet his gaze. ] "And look, I don't know much about what we're shipping, it's just a job." [ whiiiich is very ostensibly not the full story.

IN THE MEANTIME, thomas strolls up top on the other ship, waving a hand. ] No need. I've faith in the crew.

[bluffcheck]

Well placed faith, that it is. I'm man enough to admit that if not for them, I'd be dead. [Thoster joins Thomas topside on his ship.]

After you, then.

[generaldavideus]

[IN THE MEANTIME, David and Andie have headed back over to the prisoners, and are helping release them. Since Andie has the key, David is checking them over for injuries, making sure they weren't any more maltreated than they already were (spot 16).]

Do you speak English?

[He's not sure what kind of native tongues the Shadowkind have, but he wants to make it clear that they're not going them. His tone is gentle, and he's trying his best not to be as intimidating as he was above ship.]

[bancroft]

[ one of the men nods, although he looks by all accounts to be entirely human. he has a thick eastern european accent. ]

"I do. Where are you taking us?" [ by the terrified looks on most of their faces, it's clear that most of them are under the impression that they've arrived at their intended destination. ]

[generaldavideus]

[He gives a small smile.]

Somewhere safe - somewhere away from the prime minister.

[Because safe can mean a lot of different things.]

Is anyone hurt?

[bancroft]

[ he shakes his head but looks very confused still. ] What Prime Minister?

Do you know what they want with us?

[generaldavideus]

Sarandis.

[He shakes his head. He doesn't know, he doesn't really care.]

I just know he's not going to get it.

[bancroft]

"We thought we were being taken to freedom when we boarded this boat... And then they chained us here. We thought we were to be slaves again."

[ andie may make a wisdom check as she listens to some of the other mumbling passengers. ]

[asap]

You won't be slaves again.

[It's said almost absent-mindedly. The gears in her head are turning... (wisdom 14)]

[generaldavideus]

No, you won't. We're going to take you somewhere safe.

[that much is certain, as far as David is concerned. Slaves are not cool in any book.]

[bancroft]

[ it takes a second but andie recognizes that accent from having spent so much time with it - these people are slovechnian shadowkind. ]

"We've been promised that before. You'll have to forgive us for not being overjoyed until we reach this promised safety."

[fixyourproblem]

[Brantley doesn't really want to hurt that guy, so he'll give him one more chance. He turns around and releases a long breath before turning back to Emile. There are several things Brantley's brother taught him about interrogation. One of them is crush all of their hope of winning against you.]

Emile, let's make this quick. I have a degree in psychology, so it is useless to hide things from me. [Well, not purely psychology, but criminology is in the same family.]

And...[He draws his knife, holds it in front of Emile, and smiles devilishly. One of the other things he has learnt from his brother is a little bit psychotic act always helps.] I like to play with knives. [He makes a sudden stab just right between Emile's thighs. After that, his face tenses up again and then he angrily states his intention.]

Tell me everything you know or I'll make sure you'll scream very, very loud!

[His act might not be very convincing (perform(act)9), but with that last stab, Emile might learn that Brantley isn't very good at aiming. So even though Brantley doesn't want to stab the man, he nicks Emile's thigh a little bit(dex 7). Brantley's glare also seems deadly, so Emile should think twice before trying to hide things from him again (intimidate 27).]

[bancroft]

[ the guy's gaze is fixated on brantley in terror as thomas leaps over with astonishing grace (nat 20 jump) and lands on the deck of the ship. he looks lost in thought for a moment, glancing across the deck, and doesn't notice that the sailor's eyes skid right over brantley's shoulder and lock onto him, widening in recognition. ]

"That's... that's..." [ he looks back up at brantley ] "You're not pirates."

[bluffcheck]

[Thoster heads back over behind Thomas (jump 15) and immediately notices the problem.]

The hell we're not. I thought I told you to blindfold him?! [He's pissed. Really pissed. (Intimidate 21 in Brantley's direction)]

[fixyourproblem]

[Damn! Brantley also notices the problem as he is watching Emile's eye movement. But he can't do anything to stop someone peeking. Brantley also hears Thoster yelling at him, and he gets the sentiment.(will 20)]

I...I...

[He can tell Thoster, he unblinded the man for interrogation purpose, but he is a bit panicked, so he stabs Emile's thigh and vents his distress at him.]

Tell me everything you know!

[bancroft]

[ the man lets out a howl of pain and rambles: ] "They're intercepted refugees from Slovechnia - they thought they were being taken out of the country to safety when they were rerouted to the ship. I don't know what Andres wants with them!"

[ thomas marches right over, glaring at brantley for a moment and then swiping the blade right out of his hand and holding it to the sailor's throat, his facial features terrifying as he demands: ]

Do you know who I am?

[ the sailor stammers, looking between the two men desperately. ]

"B-B... Bancroft."

[bluffcheck]

And that's why I said to kill the bastard. They know who we are. That's the whole reason he didn't board with us in the first place.

[No one listens to him. Rude.]

[fixyourproblem]

[Then why is he here if it is safer on the ship? It's not entirely his fault Bancroft decided to visit the ship. But he did uncover the blindfold, so he feels guilty about it.]

I.. I'll take my punishment when this is over.

[He really feels bad about the situation but he is still against throwing the man into the sea.]

For now, we have to decide what to do next and I'm still against killing him.

[He might not have bargaining power, but that doesn't mean he won't try to hold his ground.]

[bancroft]

[ with a scowl, Thomas slices the blade across the man's throat in one ferocious motion. His fortitude save is miserable, and he dies instantly, flopping to the deck as Thomas turns to Brantley. ]

Your punishment is sufficiently covered in knowing that man might have lived if you'd listened to your briefing. You were ordered to neutralize all soldiers or store them below deck before I was signaled to board. Hopefully this is a lesson you need only learn once.

[fixyourproblem]

[That thing happens quickly, Brantley doesn't even have a chance to squint. He just stands there in shock when the blood gushes out of the man's throat. His face turns grim as he is going to express his protest, but the words from Thomas that follow, shuts him up. He glances at the dead man's body, a mark of guilt that he'll carry for a very long time, before turning back to Thomas and Thoster. Nothing comes out of his mouth as he is just waiting in silence for the next thing to do.]