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Post by Krakenbox on Sept 11, 2020 13:50:32 GMT -8
Bauman Rare Books was situated north of the Strip and just outside Autumn's Paradise. The business itself was a softly lit 2300 square-foot gallery that featured a private library and had enough space for special exhibits and events, including free weekly introductions to book collecting. Several seating arrangements were available with leather bound chairs and offered drinks when the texts were safety behind glass displays. Smudge had originally been sent on a small errand to find an occult document for a fellow Courtier, but ended up staying longer than normal and making a friend on the inside. Carolina Santos was a mousy woman with a PhD in Anthropology and a great fascination with modern concepts of folklore. Getting past the professional veneer, she was really just a big geek into comic books and dreamed about opening up her own shop for local artists, and ran a drunken Dungeons and Dragons marathon on the second Friday of every month. When Smudge was doing his regular visit, he initially thought the woman had taken the day off, normally dragging him into her office to show something she had found that was deemed inappropriate for the venue. Just as he was about to show himself out, the door opened to reveal her looking quite nervous. A suited man with a buzz cut leaves a card and brushes past the Darkling, offering Carol a pleasant farewell. She simply nods, pale and fiddling with a pen like she had been caught with something. |
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Post by Smudge on Sept 13, 2020 14:03:41 GMT -8
So, that happened.
It perhaps spoke volumes of all changelings' fears and prejudices (or was that just Smudge?) that the Darkling knew nothing good could be associated with the suited man. I mean, look at this guy: a buzzcut and a suit? It wouldn't be a surprise to him if this guy was a mafioso, or worse yet: a lawyer. Maybe he even says things like "Vee haff VAYS of making hyu tok!" in an overdone Eastern accent.
Anyway. The Darkling's gaze trails behind the man until he disappears behind the door, at which point Smudge focuses on his friend. He smiles, trying to impart some confidence on the obviously anxious Carol and snatches the card on his way toward her, glancing at the piece of paper in passing.
"Hey Carol!" There was enthusiasm in his voice "I was worried I won't see you today. Who was that guy?"
Wits + Empathy to get a read on Carolina, 6 dice, 3 successes
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Post by Krakenbox on Sept 15, 2020 17:27:17 GMT -8
The card is standard, with a fractal flower as its logo:
Carol blinked out of her thoughts, fixing her hair and surprised to find the sweat. "James!" she chirped, wiping her hand on her skirt as she got out of her chair and made a show of stretching.
"Oh, him? An investor. It's kind of cool, actually!" She turns on the Keurig, the machine beeping as the water started to heat. "I guess a few of my friends have been talking about how I want to open my own business. Look at me, networking without even knowing it."
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Post by Smudge on Sept 16, 2020 14:11:26 GMT -8
"Uh, okay."
A thought passed through his mind that maybe he shouldn't worry. Maybe he should just be happy that his friend got her well-deserved chance. Then again, it was obvious that Carol had her own doubts, and angel investors don't fall off trees just like that, no strings attached. Ask anybody who's ever watched Ozark.
"Did he discuss any specifics with you? Or how he heard about you?"
Smudge didn't want to drop the 'this guy is a 100% crooked' bomb just yet, but he needs more facts here.
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Post by Krakenbox on Sept 16, 2020 15:44:45 GMT -8
The machine beeped again, and Carol slid out a metal tray to thumb through the pods, eventually putting instant espresso into the compartment.
"No, he didn't say how he heard about me. Just different people mentioning I wanted to open a comic book shop...might have come up when I was making a sale?" She offered hopefully, watching the steaming brown liquid squeal through the plastic as she avoided his eyes.
"Specifics were that they would own part of the company...Basic investor stuff, I'm not really an expert? I might consult a lawyer or..." she shrugged, "I'll do some research. But they were pretty down for me to have full control over the hiring process, stock, and decor." The mundane smiled, swapping the hot coffee pod for the coffee-mate for her cheap caffe latte. She motions if Smudge wanted anything, wiggling her eyebrows and hoping he would take the bribe.
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Post by Smudge on Sept 19, 2020 9:00:41 GMT -8
Smudge frowns.
"Now that's an interesting coincidence if I ever heard of one."
The man asks for a black coffee, no cream, no sugar. Is he bribed? Or is he just biding his time?
"Look, I'm not saying you don't deserve a break. Of course you do. But it's all super suspicious - I know it, and I know that you know, too. What if these Babylon people just want to use you for something shady? I mean, laundromats are cliche, but no one is going to look at a comic book store, right?" He chuckles weakly, in an attempt to inject some humour in the decidedly non-humorous situation "I could look into this for you? I'm always on the lookout for work, so no one is going to question me wandering around, and I might know people that know people."
Archie was one, even if one needed to tread carefully around him. These other people from the party also could be of some help, connected to some branch of business or another.
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Post by Krakenbox on Sept 20, 2020 22:26:57 GMT -8
She matches the nervous laugh, looking a little lost herself. Are you even allowed to say 'no' to this sort of thing? "Um," she blinks at his offer, "Wow, that's asking a lot. As long as you're safe...?" the statement had an inflection as she cringed.
"Hey. Worst case scenario, I'll have this sweet new comic shop where we set our own hours and I can start hawking your work," Carol asserted, snapping her fingers into pistols. "I see you already swiped the card, so even if I said no...yeah. I'm going to stop asking questions now. He speaks Spanish, by the way, if that wasn't obvious from the name. I totally assume you weren't eavesdropping."
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Post by Smudge on Sept 26, 2020 11:58:29 GMT -8
He smirks.
"I wasn't eavesdropping. Should I have?"
Maybe he should. It was some poor timing on his part that he didn't show up at the door right when that conversation was happening: weren't fae creatures supposed be good at this 'a wizard is never late' thing?
"Also, why wouldn't it be safe? Or why do you think it's a big deal?" He smiles innocently. It is rather clear to him her excitement at the opportunity is fighting - and losing - a battle with worry and anxiety. And in all honesty, the Darkling didn't know how to feel about that. "Don't tell me my pessimism rubbed off on you."
It was just some friendly poking, but if he made Carol more wary about Babylon and its agents, then it had the obvious advantage of other changelings - and mundane threats, or stranger things - getting their claws into this place.
It didn't seem like his friend knew much more, so he will just pass the next few minutes with idle chatter - small talk about this and that. Normal stuff. A thing you do to maintain a social connection that is neither steeped in cloak and dagger codespeech, nor a part of the Lost feudal system of offices and pledges. That doesn't mean he's idle in his investigation.
Is babylon Investors controlled by any of the Seasonal Courts of Las Vegas?
A passing thought in his mind, but no doubt noticed by Autumn. He tries to look around for patterns that would transform into omens: colors of book covers on shelves, coffee stains on furniture, anything really.
Smudge activates Famine's Bulwark (Wits+Occ+Mantle)
@Dicecord-CoD roll 7
Dicecord-CoD
BOT
Today at 21:32
@Woland rolled 7 dice and got 1 success. 1 6 2 3 1 3 9
1 Glamour spent
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Post by Krakenbox on Sept 28, 2020 22:39:33 GMT -8
Carol shrugged, "I mean I would have," she admitted, feigning a scandalized expression. Her fingers drum the glass of her mug, "It's not pessimism! I was taught to go with my gut, and it's telling me I'm going to end up stuffed in a trunk, or something. You know, a thriller movie. But I'd also like to just stick it to the Man for once?"
Though not from the same background, Smudge would have experienced similar beats of just how 'fair' the American Dream was when it came to a scale measured against...well, everything this country was built on.
As her back turned to rinse the empty dish, the Darkling pulled out his phone and pulled up the employee profile offered on the card. He excused himself for the moment to use the bathroom, and once away from prying eyes, he starts to whisper a string of details, tapping into the ebb and flow of Arcadia's records. Hidden under a mask of glamours, colours of past and present were swathed over his eyes in a myriad of possibilities, until the gaze was dripping the shifting landscape of Mr. Vásquez's possible connection with another world. The Past - what's important about this investor?
A woman crying on the other end of the receiver. Though she is speaking in Spanish, the context is clear as she explains they were with your son today, outside the school. You have until the end of the month to secure a new laundering operation, or debts were going to be called in.
You offer reassurance that things are going to be fine, staring at your friend's headless corpse in the bathroom, the shotgun still positioned on his chest. You knew he had come down hard from his last trip, but this was insane. He described it like not being able to feel the world anymore. He wasn't some junkie. It was one time- what the fuck did that cook even make?
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Post by Smudge on Oct 3, 2020 10:10:41 GMT -8
"Let's see where this takes us."
For now, it took him away from his friend's office.
Led by that same gut feeling Carol spoke of, he excuses himself to the bathroom, and... well, Smudge liked to think of himself as not easy to scare or shake up, but the vision, though incomplete and fleeting, had some pretty terrifying implications. It wasn't hard to connect at least some of the dots in this picture, but the Darkling did not feel at ease now that his suspicions seem to have been confirmed.
"I think I will sniff around this thing for a bit. As long as the scent was still fresh." He says to her with a smile upon returning, trying to politely disengage from the conversation. The Mirrorskin is not set on leaving immediately, opting for some more small talk if needed, but he has a lead now.
Time to pay Mr. Vasquez a visit.
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Post by Krakenbox on Oct 5, 2020 20:42:02 GMT -8
The conversation tapers off, the Darkling continuing his investigation into the potential danger his Touchstone was involving herself in...
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