Bastions

Harriet rose a brow, setting her gaze upon Owen as Grant returned with him. Owen didn't often have jobs, at least not to her knowledge, though he did seem like a casual enough guy to have a simple job that needed to be done. It'd have to be, if Elizabeth was going to take it. Though nothing was stopping her from attempting a difficult job - and failing - Harriet figured both she and Grant preferred the thieves taking jobs from the board didn't make things more difficult for the Griffon's side business. There was little linking the thieves to the bounty board, but that didn't stop the Guard from looking into things.

"If it's too hard, I'll take it," she murmured, smirking wryly. She didn't mean to brag... Well, she sorta did, but she was one of the more skilled thieves working the bounties here in the Griffon's basement. Besides, Owen was a pal. More so to Grant, but she was Grant's friend too, and Owen wasn't that bad a guy. One of the few people she really liked in this damn city. So to that end, she was always willing to take a job from him. Pay didn't hurt either.

--

Eventually, the rain did stop. At least, the wind did. The rain was reduced to a mist by now. Though she had no skin exposed, Ranna could tell. Better senses than the average Joe, for sure. Though that didn't stop the ground from being muddy. A large portion of the Bastion's roads were laid cobblestone, but it had it's fair share of dirt roads. Yet, thanks to the wonders of magic, the ends of her robes that concealed her feet remarkably didn't have a trace of dirt on them. Truly, magic made life that much easier.

It took a little over half an hour to reach her destination. Though, instead of going to the library, she drawn to a more... Immediate interest. Outside the library, and across from the Sanctum of Law, was a slowly gathering crowd. A preacher, apparently. These things happened much, in the Bastion, but rarely outside the Sanctum of Law. In fact, she didn't think there was ever any protest outside. Fear of being arrested by the rather brutal Guard warded away that sort of demonstration. Curious, Ranna opted to see what this was about, and approached.

"The Guard is corrupt! It's plain to see, they unleashed those beasts upon our beloved Queen! She and the royal family were wrongfully murdered by Kyrion Mogal and his goons that call themselves our protectors! Lies, all of them lies, spouted like venom from their deceitful mouthes!"

Ranna tilted her head, hearing the rather treasonous words as she grew closer. That surely didn't bode well for the instigator there. The Guard would surely come to take him away. That was not something she would concern herself with. Though she did accept the title of Champion, that didn't put her above the law. While she was sure she wouldn't receive much flak for interfering with the law, Ranna tried her best not to involve herself with the law. It was not her place. When the demonstrator noticed Ranna, he pointed to her and directed his hate there.

"And our Champion! A lap dog to our criminal tyrant, Kyrion! Here to likely shut my act of awareness down, no doubt! To oppress me, and strip me of my rights! My freedom!"

Ranna sighed, bringing a hand to her head in disappointment. Of course he'd take it there. Standing at the edge of the crowd, she was still rather visible to everyone. Being really damn tall, and all.

Harriet only offered a shrug in response to Owen's inquiry. She had no clue.

"This is an intermediate level job, but considering her power this task evens out to a novice difficulty." He paused before continuing, glancing again at the young recruit as she stood idly, waiting for him to continue. He cleared his throat and proceeded.
"There is a mansion that lies on the outskirts of town, owned by a baron named Eli Whitaker. Whitaker is a recluse among the noble populace and from what I can gather the rest of the nobility prefer him that way. He's a frequent client of the local brothel and often invites his favorite escorts back to his home."

Harriet gave another of her dull smirks, considering the idea. The girl was pretty enough to fit that role, for sure, a definite "in" if she ever saw one. Though Elizabeth didn't seem to share that opinion of it with her. That was the funny part, to her. A Noble displeased with lowering themselves to do a demeaning task like that? Who would have guessed!

"If only a fake whore," Harriet chimed in mockingly, "long enough that you can get in without sneaking. Pretty sure that fancy magic of yours won't get you anywhere you haven't been yet." Harriet did enjoy herself some unamused Nobles. She was, of course, making sense. Just not very delicately.

As for the magic, she wasn't an expert, but surely one could not "blink" to another location that they had no clue of. Magic was mainly fueled by the mind, and certainly such a kind of magic would require knowledge of destination. If you didn't, there was likely both an insane amount of concentration involved, and the risk of having a limb fused into some object. Or being fused into an object as a whole. Provided that happened in the wrong place, like say, your chest, you could very easily die from such a thing.

--

Before the speaker could throw more accusations her way, it appeared fellow demonstrators arrived upon the roof of the Sanctum of Law. For a moment Ranna feared that they may resort to violence, though they appeared to be spreading propaganda in the form of giant banners. The Sanctum already had it's own banners, two very large ones on either side of it's front. They were velvet red, with golden trim around their edges. In their middle they had the Royal Crest, the natural rune symbols of the Arcane school of magic - in gold of course - surrounded by a cog-like crown. Quite an elegant design, as far as things went here, but unfortunately the giant banners the demonstrators were unrolling directly covered the red banners of the Bastion's royal family. These banners were grey, and had a black fist in the middle. This was perhaps the spark to the speaker's segue into his next topic.

"The royal family is dead! The tyrant Kyrion Mogal and his farce of a claim to leadership shall be brought down by the might of the people! Join me brothers and sisters, to remove this filth from our city! Join the Bastion's true devout!" It was about at this time that the Guard finally caught wind of it. Shouting at the man to step down, and the like. His listeners actually defended, and the group of guards that were now attempting to deal with this were soon outnumbered by angry citizens. The speaker continued to insult the establishment and inspire his protectors, which succeeded in helping them beat back the guards.

"They attack! I do this in retaliation, defending myself!" He cried, pulling bottle that's neck was stuffed with paper out of his jacket, and lighting the paper. Ranna knew of this weapon already, having seen arson many a time before. As he readied himself to hurl it at the guards - and those struggling against them - Ranna intervened. Quickly conjuring shadow fibres, Ranna succeeded in making a whip with which to strike at the bottle mid-flight. Though upon impact the fibres snaked around it like a net, allowing Ranna to yank it back and catch it in her hand. The net constricted tightly around it's catch, and within a few seconds, once the fibres had vanished, only ash was left to drift from her glove's palm.

Once that threat had been averted, Ranna clomped over to the speaker, who feebly asked for more help. Ranna had a counter argument this time, at least.

"He was going to burn the guards and some of you alive. Please, all of you, move on. This man is a violent criminal." Her words did not stop everyone, but it was enough to allow the guards to gain the upper hand, and beat down the rebelling demonstrators. Those on the roof were gone now, but she was sure the instigator and brawlers would be arrested.

"You can't silence m-me! I am the voice of the people! The Bastion deserves better than you scum!" It appeared the man would not stop shouting, so Ranna grabbed him tightly by the neck and dragged him off his make-shift podium of crates, and over to the guards whilst he shouted and groaned, though did not put up any kind of fight. They thanked her.

"Thanks, Champion! Glad y' were here, could'a gotten ugly if ya weren't around to settle it down!" Said the sergeant, apparently leading his little group of guardsmen. He glanced to the man Ranna held by the neck, who looked to be in some great amount of pain. Ranna apparently had a nasty grip.

"He's gonna go in fer' questionin', aye?" His inquiry made Ranna think. She had planned to simply go to the library, but apparently she would have to do that later. This was obviously the more pressing matter.

"Yes, I'll take him there. Stay safe, Guardsman." She replied with a nod. Even if she smiled, it would be pointless. What with the mask and all. The fact that this instigator had been inciting "rebellion" was troubling news, though. And that definitely warranted interrogation, seeing as how it appeared to be organized.

The sergeant, however, smiled. It was then that he ordered his guardsmen to move out, marching down to the common jails. There was a jail within the Sanctum of Law, for more dangerous criminals. There were special cells here and there for special people in there was well, but there was a whole damn prison beneath it. She helped improve it, so it was quite clearly the most secure place to put the worst of the worst. Lucky for this man, he was going to a special cell on the ground floor. Interrogation was probably pretty compared to the nightmare that the Sanctum prison was.

As Ranna entered the Sanctum, she got some looks, but most gazes didn't linger too long. Walking toward the end of the large reception room, she also noticed the poor man she was pulling along wasn't putting up a fight still. It was either he knew he had no chance against her, or that it really did hurt so much that it was paralyzing. It was soon that her thoughts were interrupted by a guard questioningly looked from Ranna's "face", to her prisoner. Oh, she was already at the door to the interrogation hall.

"To be interrogated," she stated. This was a good enough answer, as the man opened the door and let her pass. It was that cobblestone hallway. Though sometimes used for temporary containment for some, it was often the better place for interrogation. After all, it had the tables and everything. In the rooms, that is. It took her little time to find a vacant room - the third on the right - and close both herself and her prisoner inside. She didn't plan on staying long, as it wasn't her job to interrogate this man. But she would be courteous enough to bind his arms and legs, whilst he sat on the far chair. Once she did that, she stepped outside, and paused to think on events a small bit.

Grant:
Holding back a smile, Grant realized just how much of a test this was turning out to be. Even without pretending to be a prostitute, Elizabeth was going to see many things she would rather not. No matter what she did, Elizabeth was going to find her self throwing away a lot of her pride during this job. though from what Grant had heard, the only person that it would be bad to be caught by would be Eli himself, though he probably had enough sense not to do anything too bad to another noble, though maybe he didn't. Grant had heard plenty of stories where Eli had been forcibly removed from parties, usually for a crude remark or some other offense of a similar nature.

Faye:
"My name is Faye," she started politely, "i'm just here to ask you a few questions." The woman maintained her glare, not a single muscle moving. "Lets start with your name." Still the woman sat in silence. "You do, know how to speak, yes?" Again the woman sat there, refusing to answer the question. Faye leaned back in the chair. The chair was the same as the one the woman sat in. It was cold and hard, uncomfortable to say the least. Sighing Faye locked eyes with the woman. She didn't seem to be mute, nor did she seem to be unlearned. "Alright, ma'am, I am just trying to get some answers, if you help me, I can speak to the Guard in charge of you. He owes me favors and i should be able to get you out of here," Faye said before turning to a whisper, "We both know that they'll do almost anything for the right amount of money." the woman finally moved at this though it wasn't the most acceptable of moves. Faye only just managed to avoid the spit before it hit her.

Faye turned and glared at the woman whose expression was one of disappointment, the source of which was readily known. "Now, that isn't the smartest choice of action. Now, I have a lot to do today, and I have no intention of letting a little thief get in my way. This is the first time I have been able to get to speak with a thief. As a result i have made sure to keep your capture quiet and now you are here to help me. Now, i repeat me earlier statement, If you help me I have a high chance of getting you out of this building and beck to your wretched life of thievery. Now," Faye scowled before gently putting her booklet down on the table, making sure to keep it closer to her side, "What do you know about this rune?" The woman looked at the book, and then back up at Faye. She looked like she was about to speak, but she stopped herself, seeming to think about her words. When she finally spoke, er voice was coarse and gravelly, "I know nothing about that rune nor the book." Faye grinned slightly, "see you do have a voice. Now, I doubt that there in't a scrap of info in your mind about this book. I caught the thief that was stealing it from a library. Needless to say that I took a great interest in this book that I couldn't open." Faye said, catching a slight grimace when she mentioned stopping the thief. "So I ask you again, what so you know about this book and rune?"

The woman sat in silence again, a look of defiance on her face and in her eyes. "You have no intention of telling me about this book." said Faye, with her answer being another attempt to spit on her. The spittle stopped in the air and flew back at the woman along with a strong gust of wind. The woman looked at Faye shocked. "Fu.." Her voice stopped, and she felt all of the air escape her longs. gasping for air was met with no reward. Faye's rune glowed, casting a dull green light on the chair behind her. "I told you it was a bad Idea. Yet you went and did it again." Faye spoke calmly, her words carried no malice, but instead had a weight to them as if spoken by a Queen to a slave who had crossed her one too many times. The woman tried to breathe but no air entered her lungs. the sound of her heart beating faster bellowed in her ears, seeming to beat in tune with Faye's words adding more tension to them. "So let me tell you something, It's about your friend, the one who was stealing this book." Faye said before waving her hand. Air filled the Woman's lungs as she coughed loudly.

"You see, he happened to break into a book shop at the same time I was perusing the shelves looking for anything that caught my fancy," she started, speaking as if talking to an old friend. "I was looking for a particular book, a very rare book. It was written about some of the older Noble families, you know the ones that have been around for centuries. Anyway, I had finally found it on a book shelf next to a very nice fireplace. It was lit as it was cold that day, I believe it might have snowed as opposed to the usual rain, but anyway I found the book when your fried was spotted. He ran past me and pushed me in the process. As a result the book landed in the fire place. Needless to say I stopped him in the same way I stopped you just now. I had every intent on turning him over to the Guard as you are now. However I was informed that due a policy of the book store I had to pay for the book that was burnt. So i killed the thieving blight and discovered this little marvel in his hands. Needless to say I paid for both books. It wasn't until I actually got back home that I found that this one doesn't open. So why am I telling you this? easy it's because I am admitting that in my haste I made a mistake, it doesn't happen often, but I. like you,can make mistakes." Faye moved over to the woman now, sitting on the table and grabbing the woman by the chin. She lifted the woman's face and met her eyes. "However, if you die here, it will not be by mistake. It will be a conscious decision. I can tell from your face that you know of the thief I killed and also know about the book or the rune if not both. Now here is your last chance, tell me what you know and you live and If i find the information I might just throw in the first offer. Though that's only if the information is substantial enough."

The woman looked at Faye, weighing each word and the offers in her mind. "Sorry but you can't do anything worse than what will happen to me if I tell you a thing." The woman said finally. She knew that she was going to die, she had known since she got caught. IT was only a question of and when, and here was the answer. At the hands of a noble. A much better way to go than if she gave any information. at least she would die without being tortured.

Faye sighed at the response and let go of the woman's chin and stood up straight. "A real disappointment. Though I guess I can wait for my answers, after all, if you are willing to die rather than say anything about his book or the rune, well it means that either some one real special wants it, or there is something invaluable hidden inside." Faye mused with a bit of excitement in her voice. She picked up the book and tucked it way in her dress before turning back to the woman. "I do apologize though. As a noble woman my word is very important to me. As you did not answer my question and have twice tried to spit on me. I must sadly put an end to you." and with a quick flick of her right hand the woman found a large gust of wind entering her lungs, and rushing about in body. The last thing she felt was the indescribable pain of her lungs, heart and stomach bursting at the same time. The only consultation she had was that she died before she could truly register the full extent of the pain.

Blood dripped from the woman's mouth as Faye silently opened the door to the hall. Upon entering the hall, she was met with a startling sight. Faye knew immediately who stood before her. The Archmage, though what such an important person was doing in the hallway for interrogations, Faye had no inclination.

The first though to enter Faye's mind was to try and warm up to the Archmage. It would gain her a powerful ally and a considerable boost when it came to possible connections. Though from what she knew, that would be more challenging than almost anything else in this world. There was no real common ground to start on, or at least none that Faye knew of. Besides she would be too tempted to make a power play if the Archmage did become her ally and 'friend'. Faye rejected thought after thought that entered her mind, none of them had any true possibility of working and those with the best chances required a big risk. Mainly a risk with the booklet, a risk Faye was not willing to take. Out of all the ideas in her head the one she followed was the one that would gain her the least amount of ground to her figuring. She calmly walked down the hall and nodded to the towering noble and offering a kind greeting before making her way to the door at the end of the hall.

"As before, he does this twice a week, which, in our case is tonight and the night after next." He watched her as the gears turned in her head for a moment, then decided to cut short the process. "I would recommend waiting for the next night, however the choice is yours if you are feeling prepared." Owen slumped back against the wall and eyed her carefully, waiting for her to come to a decision.

Faye:
Stopping, Faye turned to the giant brfore her. "A riot? In front of the Guard head quarters? " she asked slightly intrigued. She didn't think anyone would be stupid enough to start a riot in front of the guards. Sure one had to admIre the fortitude and gal of those leading it.

Grant:
Having written down the details of the job on the piece of paper he had, Grant looked to Elizabeth and waited for her response.

"Great, in the mean time I suggest you familiarize yourself with these." Owen handed Elizabeth a worn-looking scroll of paper. Once she unfolded it, she could see that it was a schematic of the interior of Whitaker's mansion. It detailed every room and even included markers indicating where the valuables she sought would reside, as well as the entry point they discussed. Owen turned, once again, to face Harriet and Grant. "I need to speak with both of you privately."

Grant:
Looking up at Owen's words, Grant held up a finger asking for just a brief second. He jotted down some more things on the paper. Once done he folded it neatly and pocketed the parchment. FHe head over to where Owen and Harriet stood. As he passed Elizabeth, Grant motioned for her to stay where she was. He still needed to finish some things up first. Stopping next to Owen, Grant quietly asked, "I take it you have a question or concern."

Faye:
"An activist group, with their leader caught already. Doesnt seem to be much of an organized group then. That or their plan was to become martyrs." Faye responded looking at the door that was motioned too.

Owen leaned in close to Grant and whispered, "We should keep the girl in a secure location before the job's time; if she's indeed a spy then there will be no way to leak information to the guards. do you have such a place available?"

"Alright, good." He nodded slowly, then turned toward the wall where the stairs had previously been. "If you wouldn't mind..." He said gesturing at the same blank, gray wall.

"Then you would know it is used to give people memories they never acquired on their own. Perhaps - in extreme cases - even replace one's memories entirely. You could imagine how far some would take that." Ranna turned around, beckoning to Faye. Gripping the sliding piece of metal on the door, she pulled it to the side, exposing a small glass window into the room.

"I may be... An expression of your people; "jumping the gun" on this conclusion, but this man does not exhibit any reluctance. Someone so religiously inclined to oppose the Bastion's leadership would likely be a leader, yes, but I do not believe any group would sacrifice their leader in such a small and vain act."

--

Harriet huffed with silent disapproval, but nodded nonetheless. Someone to watch the girl upstairs. All day? Who in their bloody right mind would do that?! Turning to give Grant a bit of a look, one that displayed just how silly she thought that was, she afterwards rolled her eyes and headed upstairs. Maybe Isabel could check in on the kid once in a while. That said, she headed over to the front counter. Mostly because that's where her drink was waiting. Isabel, luckily enough, was also probably there.

When she arrived in the front room, she saw that Cynthia was still there. And Isabel. Surprisingly, both weren't saying anything. Either something really grim had happened or they didn't have anything to talk about. Walking quietly over to her bar stool on the far right side of the counter, she took a seat and began to drink away. Between her first and second sip, however, she spoke up.

"Who died? You two sure are quiet." She watched Isabel look up from her duties, polishing glasses and whatnot.

"Oh, no one. Guess I just spaced out a bit," Isabel replied.

".. Mm, well, Grant wants you to check in on that kid here 'n there. She's gonna be upstairs today."

"Uh.. Okay, I guess. Sure."

That was that. Happy that she was already done, she quietly continued to enjoy the rest of her drink.