THE NPC ARMY A group of angry looking soldiers marched up to the sorceress, her sister, and the witchers as the elf and strange man on the boat looked on. A few of the soldiers noticed the man doubled over in pain, but failed to see it as relevant to the situation, with no blood obvious on his outfit. The leader of a group, a lieutenant, stood in front of his squadron of eight men and glared at the witchers, glancing among them as though looking for something. "One of our men was bewitched into handing over his weapon, a crime that is punishable by hanging in the free city of Novigrad. We were informed by witnesses that someone similar to your description," here he looked towards Veceslav, "talked the man into giving away his crossbow. But he doesn't recall any memory of such thing, and there was no evidence of bribery on his person. What say you to these charges?"
Kara shrugged, unable and unwilling to keep the playful smile from her lips. "I almost never say no to a challenge." It occurred to her, she didn't even know this man's name. But did it really matter? His laugh was nice, an upbeat change to the glacier surface he put out. Well at least I know you're human now. She hadn't though she'd ever heard a robot laugh, for that matter. He told her to wait, and then got up and walked to the bar. Kara rested her chin on the palm of her hand, elbow on the table as her mechanical fingers drummed against her cheek in a rhythmic pattern until he returned. "Investigate stuff, and murder stuff." She ticked off her fingers with a grin. "So in the end, you handle a lot of stuff. Maybe I should just call you Mister Teddy. Since you're so cuddly and all. A shame that's not what you're best at." As the waitress appeared with the beautifully arranged shots, Kara smirked and cracked the knuckles of her human hand before picking up the first one, raising it as a silent toast to Lucian before downing it. She didn't keep up with him in speed, but quality mattered more to Kara than the quantity. By the end of it she was pleasantly drunk, and feeling more than a little spontaneous. "Say." She tapped Lucian on the shoulder before pointing at the exit. "We should bail. Because that gentleman...." She jerked her finger at an annoyingly loud man at the bar. "Used to be a special friend of mine, and it didn't go well. So instead of letting him ruin our fun time, let's go party somewhere else."
Kara smirked a little as Lucian explained his state of affairs. "I might have heard something about that." She murmured, running her finger around the rim of the shot glass as she waited for the waitress to return with the round. 'Although I can't say the company is always better than that of the police force." Glancing around the tavern, Kara shrugged. Her companion was apparently willing and able to handle his liquor, and he was replying to her, at least. Maybe she could start to get him to talk about things that interested her. Winking, Kara waited for the third round as the warmth filled her belly and made her emotions slippery. "If you ever feel the need for feminine company, definitely wear the uniform. Most women like authority and the idea of being protected." Most. Kara preferred not to be told what to do, and she definitely didn't consider herself as the type to warrant protection. You don't have to be faster than the Constabulary, just faster than the person next to you. She didn't roll her eyes at Lucian's response, but she wanted to, so badly. Of course a man would want a private contract. Could only guess what that euphemism means. She smiled sweetly, grabbing the third shots from the waitress and then snagging a separate drink that was definitely mean for another customer, but it looked refreshing. She winked at the waitress, setting a coin down on the tray for a tip before raising her shot glass to Lucian. "To unkindred spirits." She said, before downing it and setting it on the table, Lucian's own slamming technique having no effect on her own tranquility. If he wanted to show off, all the more energy for him to expend. Besides, she got a nice look at his arms that way. "So in your line of poor, unrespected work, what do you do? I'll share mine if you share yours." She added with a wink.
Kara grinned, then shoved one of the shots towards Lucian. "Since you asked so nicely, I suppose I could share." She raised the glass in a somewhat mocking salute before tipping her head back and knocking the liquor into her mouth, the comfortable warmth starting in the back of her throat and moving downwards. She set her glass back down on the table, motioning for another. "When you bother going in?" She asked, raising an eyebrow as her eyes turned back to her male companion. "So you don't like your job then." She winked at the metal eye, uncaring if it could actually see or not. Having an augmentation herself, it didn't bother her when other people replaced their own parts with metal. As long as they didn't try to invite her into some pity party, anyway. Kara didn't mind her own mechanical augment, except for how poorly it fitted to her. Cold nights, the joints attached to her skin would ache, and no amount of massaging would make that go away. Thanking the waitress for the second round, she pushed the second shot into the middle of the table for Lucian to take or leave as he wanted, and let her finger lazily wrap around the rim of the cup. "The real reason? Do we have to be so boringly up front?" She sighed, before leaning forward. "Alright. My boss put me on assignment, and I didn't like who I was working with. So I happened to see a handsome fellow leaving, and attached myself to him for the sake of hoping to have some fun and get away from the creepy guy who writes my checks. So...." she grabbed her own shot and slammed it before putting the glass on the table. "Was I right in finding a kindred soul, or are you going to abandon a damsel in distress?"
Kara smirked inwardly; this was easier than she had thought it would be. The Constabulary she was familiar with would be stand offish, too good to drink with the common people. They kept to their own and expected everyone else to do the same. She didn't try to catch the waitress's attention before Lucian did, letting him do the walking and talking in this place. From the way he moved and watched the room, he was comfortable here. She didn't frequent the same pub more than twice a month, kept her on her toes and most of the bar staff from ever recognizing her. Although purple hair sometimes did stand out a bit too much....Raising her eyebrows at the simple beer placed in front of Lucian, Kara turned to the waitress and ordered two shots of whiskey. She didn't like a slow start. Waiting for the drinks to come back, she rested her elbow on the table, her chin on the palm of her hand, and studied the red haired man. "Is that uncomfortable?" She asked suddenly, gesturing towards his outfit. Hers was comfortable, loose fitting, and revealing in all the right places. Kara had never been fond of uniforms in the slightest, even on "military" men. Too constricting, and boring.
Kara let the natural smile slip through her charming facade, tilting her head to let her hair frame her face in an attractive manner. "Good, you're not one of the stupid ones. That'll make this infinitely more fun." She followed the direction Lucian walked with barely a glance backward. She worked better on her own, without the annoyance of group members to get in her way. "And I'll even do you one better, and buy your first drink. Since you're being so kind in allowing me to accompany you." She winked, though he probably missed it, what with his back turned.
Teliana raised an eyebrow as Derrick stepped off the boat. It seemed her own decision influenced his own, but that might be presumptuous to think. After all, they barely knew each other. Still, his own words and actions caused the others to leave the boat, and the strange man aboard it, to themselves. She almost felt bad, but quashed that feeling before it decided to overturn her choice. Her loyalty was to her niece, and through that her own survival. "Shall I leave you both to it then, Master Kaedwin, Master Forst?" Her eyes flicked to the side, to Dayla once, and then away. The efl's actions were not commendable, and it did lower her opinion of the woman, to a point. The witchers? Well she still didn't think much of them. Alyse couldn't help but feel a mixture of satisfaction and disappointment in the outward actions of the group. She had half wanted Teliana to rush aboard, to set all the ships ablaze, rescue the young man, and become the sorceress of legend she had heard so many whispers about from the minstrels and players. And yet, that was dangerous, especially against a foe who was clearly intelligent and scheming. She raised her eyebrows at Dayla's retreat, the action causing too many emotions for her to both sifting through them all, so she did the healthy thing and shoved them aside for later. Glancing around, Alyse didn't see any sign of the werewolf who had joined the fray. Her eyes landed back on the now singular man steering the ship, wondering what he would do now.
Kara raised her eyebrows at Zephyr, giving him a side long glance. Well, Blondie has some brains in between his ears. But if magic that powerful was able to take hold of someone in order to do such a thing, it was a frightening thought. What would stop something like that from repeating itself, and taking one of them next time? Kara didn't want to think about what could happen, there was no point. So she turned her thoughts back to the present and huffed attractively when Dylan asked her to do something again. "I can claim sexual harassment against you. See if I don't." She walked past him, her hips swaying and her hair catching the light as she tossed it over her shoulder before strolling towards the wagon. Because of her incredibly good timing and fair amount of luck, a man just happened to be exiting the wagon as she did so. He turned to speak to a guard by the entrance, giving her time to sashay up to him, and hear his last words. "You wouldn't happen to mind company on such a venture, would you?" She asked, winking at him as she tucked her hair behind her ear. "Pardon my rude manners and intrusion, but it is quite a hot day, and I was looking for respite myself. Your....colorful hair caught my eye, and well..." She hesitated, and lowered her voice. "They're saying that some woman murdered a bunch of people, and frankly, I don't feel safe alone. You look like you could take care of yourself, and possibly allow a girl like myself to impose on your strength and skill to protect her as well."
Kara contemplated the words of the Guard, biting on her lip in place of toying with her hair. Miribelle asked her question of either the Guard or Stardust directly, she couldn't tell, but it was a good thought. Still..."Does this Harbrook have any prior combat experience? If not, how did she have the ability to take out two Royal Guards and other members of the Ministry before being stopped?" She asked her question in a low voice, not comfortable with directly addressing anyone outside their group unless she was using her other charms.
Then you're breaking your promise. Teliana sighed inwardly, running her fingers through her hair, steam lifting off the strands from contrast of temperature. "That is perfectly fine with me." Of course the witcher agreed, he had no personal stake in the matter. Derrick followed it up with another demand of her magical talents, which Dayla accompanied with snide remarks about their courage. For an elf, she seemed to be incredibly short sighted. But Teliana had more responsibility than the witchers; she could not leave her charge behind unprotected. And she had more sense of future than Dayla, in her own eyes, because stepping onto a boat, to charge a mysterious ship with a mysteriously powerful figure, who might yet influence more attacks on their persons by mythical creatures. She had protected her home, which was above the call of her duties. "I'm sorry, Master Kaedwin, but you'll have to find another way to distract them. I must protect my sister, first and foremost. Perhaps the sea gods will find more favour in your venture than they ever did with me." Stepping back, she slipped her hand out and took Alyse's; the poor girl was still just barely shivering, her skin ice cold.
Kara sighed, continuing to play with her hair. Stardust, as ever, was completely straightforward to the point of almost being boring. But, fortunately for him, not as boring as Blondie. Her gaze slid to Miribelle, who remained silent, but in a "I'm thinking about things, and I'm thinking hard" sort of way. Or at least, that was how Kara perceived it. She didn't yet know her "teammates" well, and she honestly wasn't sure if she wanted things to progress that far. The arrival was both relieving and anxious; she had no desire to run into that constable for a third time. Releasing the strands of purple, she watched Dylan extricate himself from the carriage, followed by Miribelle, and then Zephyr. Would it be so terrible if she just remained in the carriage? Let it take her away, and find some tavern to hole up in until the world was less insane? But no doubt one of them would try to track her out of concern, and ruin any kind of fun she might have. Oh well. Hopping out of the horse drawn vehicle, she gazed at the chaos with all the relish of an illiterate person looking at a pile of books. She knew all of this meant something, but finding out what might be beyond her skills. She was definitely better in a one on one situation, not one against thirty. "It would take someone bolder than I to break into something in the middle of daylight. And it would hardly gather such a crowd unless it was something truly remarkable. My bet is on something involving a body. People love the macabre." Evidenced by the crowd outside her aunt's house the night the woman had died certainly made it seem so.
Teliana registered Lysander behind them, her brain working through the scenarios in her head as she considered her response. A part of her wanted to play the hero, wanted to get on that ship and sail to the witcher boy, to save him from what would probably be a terrible fate. Dayla taunted them with their own fear, a poor ploy if she had wanted to convince anyone. Well.....maybe it would work on the men. Speaking of, they didn't seem to be making a decision. Typical. Teliana didn't mind if she had to go down with the ship, it would hardly be the first time, but if Alyse were captured....her blood nearly boiled at the thought of any man touching her that way again. No, there was only one course of action she could take, and live with herself. "I will go. But on the condition that Alyse will stay here. If she sets foot on that ship, then I will not." Knowing full well Alyse would never go without Teliana, it was a moot point. And the blonde would not be pleased about it. And pleased she was not. Alyse bristled at Teliana's answer. If she had been fluffier, her hackles would have been raised. As it was, she felt her hands clench and her eyes narrow, baring her teeth in anger. "You treat me like a child. I can help!" She almost shouted, knowing full well this is the type of tantrum a child would have. And it only made her angrier. "You'll have to tie me down to keep me here." She snarled, stepping towards Teliana with purpose. The fire mage only raised an eyebrow in return, as if questioning Alyse's desire to test how far she would go. "If you leave without me, then you're breaking your promise." Another childish statement, one that forced a growl out in following. She would not be left behind. Not again.
Kara leaned her head back, letting the muscles in her neck loosen in order to let her body roll with the jolting of the carriage. Even though this swung her head from side to side slightly, she kept her gaze on Dylan, only slightly annoyed by the seriousness of the conversation. First the police officer, and now this. Miribelle seemed to enjoy the subject, because she kept right on conversationing along the line with Dylan. Kara didn't like talking about emotions, not unless she initiated, and certainly not her own. Easy to read, was she? Oh Stardust, if only you could be adorable when you're smug. But Kara kept that to herself, no need to hurt his ego. Not yet anyway. "Oh I don't know, Blondie. Princess seems to have a core of steel, but I bet on the inside you're as gooey as a marshmellow." She teased, tickling the skin on her collarbone with the tips of her purple hair. The sensation was a relaxing one, and honestly, in this atmosphere she needed that. "Besides, Stardust." She turned her lightly colored eyes onto him. "I wonder if the real question isn't if you're capable of trusting us based on our word. Because we could all give you what you want to hear, but lies ever so easily slip from the tongues of some." She rolled her ankles, rubbing her leg muscle against his own before settling down again, returning to rolling her hair around her human finger. "I think, we should play the game Have You Ever? We could pick up liquor on the way. Lighten the mood a bit."
Kara glanced at Miribelle as she entered the carriage, her distate at Kara's lack of tact practically oozing into the air. Dylan didn't seem to mind, but she had to wonder if he ever did. With a sigh, Kara's knee jiggling began to accumulate speed, her fingers flying through her hair with the ease of practice. After Zephyr and Dylan both entered the carriage, the latter sitting next to her, she sighed as the vehicle moved forward. Dylan, of course, decided to break the silence by asking a most personal question. Zephyr, the poor clueless lad, answered straightaway. He clearly had no idea how to play games of any type. Stretching her arms, letting the half done braid flop against her shoulder, Kara shifted her back to the siding of the carriage and laid her legs casually over Dylan's lap, one right after the other. "Now Stardust, you have to buy a girl at least one drink before asking something like that. She might be offended, otherwise." Lazily playing with the ends of her hair, she glanced at Miribelle. Odds were the others hadn't even thought about harming another human being. "Princess, back me up here." She smiled, winking at Miribelle.
Teliana raised an eyebrow as Derrick moved to stop the newcomer, whom she now recognized as the barkeep that Alyse worked for. She hadn't thought that anything could pull the elf from her normal perch behind the counter, but mentally shrugged. As far as she saw it, Derrick should let her do as she pleased. At worst, the serpent would come back to finish the job and they would be called to kill it. Or the person controlling it would decide to come ashore, but he had what he wanted, as Derrick had stated. The witcher beside her fired off an arrow, and then turned to her, asking if she could make sure it would explode upon arrival of its target. Teliana narrowed her eyes, disliking the expectancy she perceived in his tone. "It would have been more polite if you could have asked beforehand, Master Witcher." Still, her gaze fell upon the missile until it was just out of sight. It wouldn't be perfect, but she could hardly cause something to explode when she couldn't see it. Snapping her fingers, they sparked into flame immediately. She whispered the old words to them before tossing the fire up into the sky, as if releasing a bird. As if mirroring her thoughts, the fire shaped itself like a hawk, wings pinned to its side as it darted towards the bomb, screeching through the air. She turned her eyes away at the last moment, feeling the impact of the fire in her bones as it sapped at her strength. Her hand went to her head, rubbing at her temples to try and keep away the impending headache, as a stranger's voice pierced the fog that was surrounding her thoughts. Turning, she noticed a man upon a ship, offering them passage out. A way to help...or to die. With a sigh, Teliana glanced at Derrick, then Alyse. "What's the worst that could happen?" Alyse blinked slightly at the lack of emotion in the witcher as he responded. Well alright then. She smirked a little before turning away, her eyes catching sight of Dayla. The elf was shooting off arrows for....some reason. Alyse shrugged, rubbing her hands along her shoulders. That was her business, she wasn't going to tell her what to do. Watching the witchers try to go through their options would have been amusing, if Teliana wasn't so invested in helping them for whatever reason. It frustrated and annoyed her. Still, she couldn't abandon her, and since Dayla had joined the fray, well.....Alyse heaved a sigh and crossed her arms, clearly unimpressed with the stranger who asked them to join him on his own. When Teliana asked her opinion, she simply offered another shrug. She would go where the mage went, it didn't need saying.
Kara listened to her..."companions" talk behind her, wrapping a purple strand around her robotic forefinger as she walked. She couldn't smother a small smile as Miribelle and Zephyr basically echoed each other's sentiments, words that Dylan, of course, had solutions for. "I'm sure you're impressing the newbies, Stardust. They'll probably come begging for you to tell them how to use the bathroom next." She carefully unwound the strand of hair, making sure to keep it from getting tangled in the mechanisms of her joint. Some people could afford smooth metal and human-esque joints that wouldn't be seen for what they were unless revealed by the owner. Kara had stolen her supplies and sweet talked some mechanic into putting it together for her. Getting rid of the burned and shriveled remains of her arm had been a little harder. With a mocking curtsy in Dylan's direction, she stepped into the carriage, claiming the furthest corner from the door, but next to a small window. If she had to, and she was a betting woman (she actually happened to be, in moderation), she could make it out in the window in an emergency. Pulling her hair over her shoulder, she began to braid it, the motion soothing her even as her leg began to jiggle up and down, already impatient from being unable to move.
Kara felt her lips twitch into a smile at Miribelle's reaction to the proximity of their skin, but she let it slide. Rolling her eyes at Dylan's reaction, completely missing how similar Miribelle's own had been, she let the other girl disentangle herself before staring at the green haired man, and then the blonde at his side with all of the disdain she could muster. "Well I guess it's a good idea to keep her around. She can translate for you plebians." She said, somewhat thrown off balance by the reaction of the police man. Honestly, why couldn't people behave the way she expected them to? The way she predicated they would. That man should have never found out where she lived, and she wanted to know how. She wanted to know why. Tossing her hair over her shoulder, she stuffed those worries down and out of sight, prancing past the others to be the first to walk out onto the street. With her back to them, she could let the smile slide off her face and turn into a frown, considering the implications of the day's events. "Well since the lady asked..." Kara sighed and turned, walking backwards as her fingers, both clockwork and human, inevitably found their way to the magenta colored strands and began to braid them. "Some commotion with the nicely dressed soldiers, the ones that are more highly paid than the Constabulary? Something to do with the Ministry building." She shrugged. "I was going to tell you earlier, but you had other things in mind." She winked at Dylan before turning back around, her fingers remaining enthralled with her hair even as her mind went elsewhere.
Teliana felt her lips twist in frustration as the column of flame was promptly put out by an incoming storm. Magic. Of course there would be magic. Veceslav had disappeared and returned with a weapon, which he proceeded to load as Derrick contemplated the fate of his fellow witcher, now out of sight. Teliana ran her fingers through her sopping hair, the water steaming as it hit her neck and collarbone. "If what they wanted was a witcher, your friend seems to have sealed his own fate." Fire wrapped itself in ringlets around her arms, burning away her coat. She had a spare at her home, anyway. "I will attempt to aid you in whatever manner I can, but there is a fellow sorcerer, or sorceress on that ship. What I can do from this distance is limited in both scope and scale, and I will not risk the life of my sister in order to aid your student...however undeserving of his fate he may be." She didn't say the words unkindly, but she was firm. The boy had acted stupidly, and without a thought to the consequences. She had known plenty of people who had died for less than that. She let the fire fade in an effort to conserve her strength as the downpour showed no signs of letting up. "I can only suggest offering yourselves up as bait in an effort to get a larger force to join your comrade." Alyse worriedly watched her sister push herself to the limit. Teliana had reserves of strength that only hundreds of years of practice could help attain, but she was out of practice of using it. Alyse couldn't even remember the last time she had seen Teliana use more than a simple spell to light firewood, or keep a blaze going for lack of fuel. The rain wasn't a welcome reprieve from the flames that encircled her sister's skin, and Alyse shivered, unprotected by magic. "Mind cluing me in as to what's going on?" The voice of the stranger didn't lighten her mood, as she turned with narrowed eyes to see the second witcher from the tavern come strolling up. "Do you really need notes?" She asked acidly, raising an eyebrow before pointing out at the ocean. "Snake. Boats. Witcher. Other Witchers helping that witcher." She spoke slowly as she pointed, irritation clear in her voice. "No wonder witchers have such short life spans, didn't your parents ever tell you not to talk to strangers?" Her hands moved back to her hair, wringing the water from the strands to try and create less of a burden on her body to keep warm. She was tense, ready to grab her weapon in case the witcher decided to take issue with her tone. That was okay; she could use something that would bleed to a target.
Kara sighed, skipping her way over to Miribelle with a wicked gleam in her eye. "You can't have it both ways; either we have to go talk to them, which will throw us into the context of seeing what is taking so long, or we leave with nary a word." She winked, twirling a finger around Miribelle's blonde hair. It was longer than Zephyr's, and smelled sweet. If she truly wanted to make an impression, she could try to taste it and see what the flavour was. But Kara wasn't so sure this band of merry men was up for that much entertainment. She heard Stardust yell back into the house, asking for a distraction. Probably not a prostitute at the door then, he didn't seem like the type of man to turn such a thing down. Kara stepped closer to Miribelle, who was inconveniently and yet so opportune. Letting go of the strand of blonde hair, she rested her mechanical arm across Miribelle's shoulder, the other braced against the doorway as her eyes rested first on Stardust, and then on the man he was keeping outside. A tremor went through her as she recognized the constable who had attempted to capture her early, and yet Kara gave nothing away. A smile on her face, she let her cheek brushed against Miribelle's as she leaned forward. "I do believe I can be of service, Master Dylan. My new friend here asked that we come to you for supplication and permission before wandering on our lovely way. Perhaps the gods have deemed that this is a task fit for all of us." She winked, though she watched the constable out of the corner of her eye. Should he decide to intrude upon her home, or hurt her companions, she would make sure he would regret it before she went down.
"Do you like what you see?" Kara smirked at the question, though she withheld her reply. Miribelle's clockwork fingers brushed against her own, and she winked at the other girl before withdrawing to Zephyr. "Must be something in the water, am I right?" She quipped, twiddling her own clockwork fingers at Miri.. Grinning as Zephyr's face turned a bright red, her fingers tangling in the soft blonde locks. Unwinding them as Zephyr moved to do as she asked, she turned back to Miribelle, giving up on trying to hear the conversations through the walls and doors. "Ah, the righteous path of the heroic. A fine tale to be sure, but 'tis too straight a road for one such as I." Tilting her head, her purple hair swaying with her movement, she wondered what was taking Stardust so long. If he was going to ravish strangers on their doorstep, she couldn't be bothered to follow his rule about "no flirting". "Little old me? Well..." She let the carefree demeanor drop for a few moments, revealing her core of steel. "I would have to agree with you about the stagnant state of the constabulary. Better to do some good here than try to wade through the greed and corruption." Pressing her forefinger to her lips, she spun in place to face away from Miribelle, wondering if the boys at the door would need her help after all. It had better be the most beautiful prostitute this side of the land. Turning back to Miribelle, she skipped back to the groceries. "Well, miss Miribelle, until I come up with a proper name for you, we can do one of three things. We can eat through some of this food, we can go see what the boys have gotten up to, or we can slip out of here and go find out wha's going on in the town center." She smiled mischievously, watching the other girl out of the corner of her eye. It was so much more fun leaving the decisions up to someone else. Sometimes, anyway. Rigel glared at Lucian, remaining in place until his captain came to collect him. Even then, she was a disappointment, telling him to stay out of it and let her handle it. Perhaps a stranger would not have had to get involved if you had been handling it. Walking away without a word, Rigel paused by the Royal Guard that had been harassed. "Thank you for your service." He said before turning quickly, and walking away from the commotion. So it was true, what he heard of the corruption. A disappointing thing. To allow one of your own to bully someone else in the name of information, and to discipline someone who attempted to stop it. The Constabulary would not be the place to go to follow Aldin's light. No, he needed to find another path, something more righeous. Walking by a newspaper boy, Rigel paused to survey the area, the black and white print catching his attention. Just below it was an ad....Haytham's. Rigel turned and headed off in what he thought was the right direction, a new path opening before his eyes, Even if they were not the righteous ones he sought, perhaps they would be more forthcoming about where he could go to find such a thing.
