Post by Derthaad on Jun 28, 2022 8:31:02 GMT
Co-written with the wonderful and ever deceiving Celina Zabinski
It's the crack of dawn in Port Ffirst as Derthaad has decided to take the long way round for his return trip back to Daring Heights. It's the only time of day that makes it pleasant to be on the streets of the port, the fresh smell of the sea and the cool air of the morning, before the sweltering heat and the stench of salt and algae rot sets in.
The sun has just fully formed on the horizon above the sea as it finds Derthaad approaching Celina's shop, some unfinished business lingering on his mind.
Upon turning the corner, he sees it, shining brightest among the others, like the beacon of a lighthouse, Celina's apple shop, 'Appley Ever After'. Of course, in typical Celina fashion, said beacon just so happens to in fact be the morning sun reflecting off the shop's windows directly into Derthaad's face, blinding him as he approaches.
A groan escapes Derthaad - Somehow, this woman manages to be annoying by doing absolutely nothing.
After what seemed to be the longest minute of his life, he finally arrives at the entrance. Thankfully, the shop was half lit by the sun, so it made the process of adjusting to the dimmer environment, after being partially blinded, a lot easier.
"Good morning!"
Celina looks up from behind her counter. She grins seeing the Dragonborn. “Well good morning to you Derthaad. What brings you to my shop this morning? Looking for some… apples?” She ends with a smile on her face.
After his vision has fully adjusted, a small smile has set on Derthaad's face, somewhat imitating that of Celina. At this point he's used to Celina's apple-vending shenanigans. "Speaking of apples, I was quite surprised when I arrived here on behest of Kavel regarding the library and found out that you, of all the people, weren't there." Derthaad's head tilting to one side "Did you know the library landed here again, in Port Ffirst?"
“Wait, that happened already?”, Celina looks surprised. “Damn, I got distracted finishing up some things here in the shop”. She sighs and then looks over to Derthaad “So, what happened this time? Anything new happen?”
"Well -Derthaad dawns a pensive look, scanning the various apple baskets, as he begins to recount what happened- Kavel had an idea. Upon investigating the map, he noticed that one particular room may be of some use for us in this upcoming invasion - The Sentry room. We talked to Chonk, fixed the machine that was inside and -with a slight grimace in his face- it is now loose in the streets of Port Ffirst about to wreak havoc upon the incoming githyanki and almost everything that isn't made out of brick or stone."
He then turns, facing Celina once again. "I highly suggest you fortify your shop" he says with a slight grin.
“Ha well that sounds eventful... But another one for the team I guess. I wonder if I can bribe the machine with apples”, Celina chuckles and fades off thinking about that for a moment. “Well… thanks for the heads up”. Celina gets up and starts moving things around quickly. “Did you just come here to warn little old me? See I knew we were friends…”, Celina grins teasingly.
Derthaad, holding his grin as if there's an unspoken contest as to who can grin the longest, finally relents after a few seconds of pondering on his course of action "You ok? You seemed a bit... troubled, last time we met. Then, you didn't show up for the library, which clearly meant there was something that even lil' ol' Celina couldn't hide."
Celina looks to Derthaad thinking for a few moments. “Ah you know… lots of things going on. A war... Holding this job… All the traveling. You know if I could magically teleport from A to B that would be great. But yeah… wonder what’s going happen now over the next few days… How are you doing Mr Citywatch?”.
Derthaad regards Celina with that same expectant look he always has when talking to her, waiting for that little something that always seems to slip away, hoping he can catch it. Alas, nothing this time. Through a sigh, he says "Well... preparations, I guess... it's been shit these past tendays." A slip of exhaustion set on Derthaad's face as he rubs his brow. "We've working hard, making sure everything's... as ready as ready one can be when face with imminent war." Letting his hand drop, half of his grin returning as he stares back at Celina, always trying to get a read on her. "How about you? How have you been preparing for the incoming wave?"
“Yeah it’s been busy. Well… if you must know. I managed to get some demons from hell to come help fight and got a family of vampires to join the cause. I’m sure they all will be excellent additions with the right motivation. What about you? What have you been up to?”
At the mention of 'demons form hell' Derthaad winces. "'Demons from hell' and 'a family of vampires'... well, I shouldn't be surprised, I literally asked a couple of liches if they could help us with this situation. Not to mention, I helped Ambel get help from a mindflayer elder brain and Gerhard get the help from a pit fiend from the moon." Derthaad waves a dramatic hand gesture "You know, just Kantas stuff."
“Ha definitely Kantas stuff. Plus that sounds like very exciting people you got along. I look forward to meet them. Ha let’s hope these Gith won’t know what will hit them”, Celina will wink.
After a brief pause and an almost awkward silence, Derthaad speaks "I came here for another reason. Do you remember that one time you called out for help regarding 'Thisl' do Nicely'? About the time you sneakily ran off with what may have been crucial information?"
Celina looks to Derthaad curiously. He hasn’t brought up that day since it all happened. “Well, I recall you wanted a box of faces from people and that you managed to get it. Is that what you meant? Did you find any information from it?” Celina examines Derthaad very curiously.
"No Celina, I'm talking about the other chest, the one you opened, the one you so vehemently claimed it was empty. The one I think we both know that it wasn't actually empty."
Celina stares at Derthaad for a few moments before saying “I have no clue what you mean. The chest was empty… Derthaad you’re always so suspicious of me… why is that?”.
Derthaad's demeanour changes into one of professionalism. "Celina, we can cut the bullshit. When you went downstairs through that vault, I took a peak at the documents and ledgers within the shop. Curious how there wasn't anything over a month old, which clearly meant that the documents were stashed somewhere safe. Also, you really want me to believe that a chest, made of gold, with a lock made of blood, at the end of a maze of traps and riddles -" Celina sees as Derthaad's usually golden eyes suddenly pick a light blue light, as she hears his voice continue in her head "-and almost made you reveal a certain something-" the light then fading away, resuming to his normal way of speech without so much of a delay "just so happens to be empty?"
"Please, I've been doing this kind of work for almost a decade, I know how this works."
Celina stares back at Derthaad knowing he is not buying her lies like the normal people. It puts her on edge but she continues. “I told you when we went there we were looking for suspicious things. Had never been to that shop before, had no clue what to expect. I mean we found that woman in the basement, have you checked on her? It was her shop and someone was clearly impersonating her identity for weeks. Is that not who you should be focusing on in this instant? Because that to me is suspicious! I thought that would be more important than mysterious empty chests. I can’t explain why it was empty, Derthaad. I didn’t make the chest”. Celina will shrug her shoulders looking clueless.
Derthaad regards Celina with the same expectant looks he always has when talking to her. A small smile quirking up. "Did you know that rambling is considered a self defence mechanism when said person is under pressure? And usually someone is under pressure when they are trying to hide something. Like a little kid, trying to lie to its parent about sticking its hand in the cookie jar."
Celina crosses her arms “Well what if that kid didn’t actually take the cookie but those stinky parents just assumes they did… but really it was the… dog. Who defends that kid then?”
A wide grin sets on his face "That... really... the dog excuse?" Derthaad just shakes his head in disbelief. "You really like rambling around the truth, don't you?"
He gives an exasperated sigh, his professional demeanour returning "Thing is, Celina, you got out scot free, this time. However, you may never know what the future holds. Who knows, maybe I'll have another promotion, or maybe... I'll have another investigation, one that may lead in me meeting you not as a fellow adventurer, but as a law enforcement. You know that obstruction of evidence is a serious felony, right?"
“But of course. I would never do anything so bad as to break the law”. Her tone comes across sweetly and far too innocently. She goes back to her normal tone “Well thank you for the lovely advice. I don’t know what free you mean but I do know there’s a lot of look into…”. She goes off thinking then suddenly says in a chirpy tone “Oh maybe we could team up after this battle? What do you say? We can look into those creepy face masks. We make a fun team at times… am I right?”, Celina will wink after that. “Are they still at the Citywatch?”
"If you tell me more about who gave you that information, then I'll tell you more about the faces. Sounds good?"
“You mean who told me to go to the shop? Sure, you already met her. That noble lady in the temple”
"Hmh, yes. Thing is, why would a noble woman come to you, a business woman, to go check on some suspicious activity in a business that you had no relations with? Why not just go to the Watch and report said activity? I mean, you seemed pretty keen when Sorrel suggested that I should use my status as a member of the Watch to lock the place down."
"More so, how did said noble woman, who just so happened to reside at the Temple at Waukeen, come across said information. Or more so, why would she be interested in the doings of a small, remote business?"
“Well as I said before, I was excited to make my own team for once. She heard me chatting one day and came over. I mean come on why aren’t more people coming to local business woman Celina for advice on how to handle things discreetly? You Citywatch folk take ages to get anything done. Plus it could have been nothing. If you have any other questions, you might best ask her. I mean I am no mind reader… well I can detect thoughts on occasion… but nothing on a regular basis. Anyway besides the point… Why is this coming up now? I feel like I’m defending myself for no reason…”, Celina will make a sad face looking a tad frustrated as well.
"Well, of course it takes the City Watch time to do things because people have a tendency to just hide information, not share it when it is requested and then complain about the Watch doing anything."
"And as to why this and why now? There's a war coming. And with war comes chaos. And within this chaos there will be those who wish to profit off of the confusion and innocence of others." Derthaad's professionalism gives way to a slight tint of a pleading "I need allies, Celina. You clearly have some connections and are able to get some information. I don't want to know how, I just need you to help me with it. If you do, I will decide to look the other way next time you decide to nab something under my nose."
Celina eyes him suspiciously for a quick moment. Then she grins and says “Sure. Depending on the information you require… I will see what I can do. But I could always do more allies. You have a deal then”. She holds out her hand to shake on it.
Derthaad will look at Celina, his professional demeanour still there, measuring Celina trying to get a read on her, always weary of her. After a couple of seconds, a brow raises and a smirk sets on his face. "Very well, then" he says shaking Celina's hand. "The information that I require will be determined in the future. But I'll make sure that I don't require anything too hard for you to get."
“Too hard, ha sure. Will see. So excellent”, Celina will be smiling looking pleased.
"Right, then, I shall be departing, need to get back and help with the prep. Oh-" he says as he was turning to leave "- speaking of businesses, I heard that 'Thisl' do Nicely' is under new management. And speaking of the chaos, I have a feeling that whatever was that stole those faces may come back right after the fighting is over. Would be a nice, concerned business woman and warn them about it?"
There’s a brief moment of concern visibly on Celina’s face and in her head she immediately thinks “Sammy!”. Celina gets caught of guard with the information. “Well… that… that is certainly good to know. I will let them know”. Then Celina walks over to the door and opens it “Now if you don’t mind Derthaad, I have a lot of preparations I need to take care of with this shop before… everything happens. So, I might ask you to leave now. I’m sure we’ll see each again after… everything”.
Derthaad's brow rose at Celina's visible concern over that last info, but did not press further on the matter. Not yet, at least. "I'm sure we will" he says, leaving the shop. "Take care."
Celina will grin and wave as he leaves “Bye friend”. Then she’ll shut the door. Once it’s shut, she’ll hurry over to pack up a few things in her shop.
It's the crack of dawn in Port Ffirst as Derthaad has decided to take the long way round for his return trip back to Daring Heights. It's the only time of day that makes it pleasant to be on the streets of the port, the fresh smell of the sea and the cool air of the morning, before the sweltering heat and the stench of salt and algae rot sets in.
The sun has just fully formed on the horizon above the sea as it finds Derthaad approaching Celina's shop, some unfinished business lingering on his mind.
Upon turning the corner, he sees it, shining brightest among the others, like the beacon of a lighthouse, Celina's apple shop, 'Appley Ever After'. Of course, in typical Celina fashion, said beacon just so happens to in fact be the morning sun reflecting off the shop's windows directly into Derthaad's face, blinding him as he approaches.
A groan escapes Derthaad - Somehow, this woman manages to be annoying by doing absolutely nothing.
After what seemed to be the longest minute of his life, he finally arrives at the entrance. Thankfully, the shop was half lit by the sun, so it made the process of adjusting to the dimmer environment, after being partially blinded, a lot easier.
"Good morning!"
Celina looks up from behind her counter. She grins seeing the Dragonborn. “Well good morning to you Derthaad. What brings you to my shop this morning? Looking for some… apples?” She ends with a smile on her face.
After his vision has fully adjusted, a small smile has set on Derthaad's face, somewhat imitating that of Celina. At this point he's used to Celina's apple-vending shenanigans. "Speaking of apples, I was quite surprised when I arrived here on behest of Kavel regarding the library and found out that you, of all the people, weren't there." Derthaad's head tilting to one side "Did you know the library landed here again, in Port Ffirst?"
“Wait, that happened already?”, Celina looks surprised. “Damn, I got distracted finishing up some things here in the shop”. She sighs and then looks over to Derthaad “So, what happened this time? Anything new happen?”
"Well -Derthaad dawns a pensive look, scanning the various apple baskets, as he begins to recount what happened- Kavel had an idea. Upon investigating the map, he noticed that one particular room may be of some use for us in this upcoming invasion - The Sentry room. We talked to Chonk, fixed the machine that was inside and -with a slight grimace in his face- it is now loose in the streets of Port Ffirst about to wreak havoc upon the incoming githyanki and almost everything that isn't made out of brick or stone."
He then turns, facing Celina once again. "I highly suggest you fortify your shop" he says with a slight grin.
“Ha well that sounds eventful... But another one for the team I guess. I wonder if I can bribe the machine with apples”, Celina chuckles and fades off thinking about that for a moment. “Well… thanks for the heads up”. Celina gets up and starts moving things around quickly. “Did you just come here to warn little old me? See I knew we were friends…”, Celina grins teasingly.
Derthaad, holding his grin as if there's an unspoken contest as to who can grin the longest, finally relents after a few seconds of pondering on his course of action "You ok? You seemed a bit... troubled, last time we met. Then, you didn't show up for the library, which clearly meant there was something that even lil' ol' Celina couldn't hide."
Celina looks to Derthaad thinking for a few moments. “Ah you know… lots of things going on. A war... Holding this job… All the traveling. You know if I could magically teleport from A to B that would be great. But yeah… wonder what’s going happen now over the next few days… How are you doing Mr Citywatch?”.
Derthaad regards Celina with that same expectant look he always has when talking to her, waiting for that little something that always seems to slip away, hoping he can catch it. Alas, nothing this time. Through a sigh, he says "Well... preparations, I guess... it's been shit these past tendays." A slip of exhaustion set on Derthaad's face as he rubs his brow. "We've working hard, making sure everything's... as ready as ready one can be when face with imminent war." Letting his hand drop, half of his grin returning as he stares back at Celina, always trying to get a read on her. "How about you? How have you been preparing for the incoming wave?"
“Yeah it’s been busy. Well… if you must know. I managed to get some demons from hell to come help fight and got a family of vampires to join the cause. I’m sure they all will be excellent additions with the right motivation. What about you? What have you been up to?”
At the mention of 'demons form hell' Derthaad winces. "'Demons from hell' and 'a family of vampires'... well, I shouldn't be surprised, I literally asked a couple of liches if they could help us with this situation. Not to mention, I helped Ambel get help from a mindflayer elder brain and Gerhard get the help from a pit fiend from the moon." Derthaad waves a dramatic hand gesture "You know, just Kantas stuff."
“Ha definitely Kantas stuff. Plus that sounds like very exciting people you got along. I look forward to meet them. Ha let’s hope these Gith won’t know what will hit them”, Celina will wink.
After a brief pause and an almost awkward silence, Derthaad speaks "I came here for another reason. Do you remember that one time you called out for help regarding 'Thisl' do Nicely'? About the time you sneakily ran off with what may have been crucial information?"
Celina looks to Derthaad curiously. He hasn’t brought up that day since it all happened. “Well, I recall you wanted a box of faces from people and that you managed to get it. Is that what you meant? Did you find any information from it?” Celina examines Derthaad very curiously.
"No Celina, I'm talking about the other chest, the one you opened, the one you so vehemently claimed it was empty. The one I think we both know that it wasn't actually empty."
Celina stares at Derthaad for a few moments before saying “I have no clue what you mean. The chest was empty… Derthaad you’re always so suspicious of me… why is that?”.
Derthaad's demeanour changes into one of professionalism. "Celina, we can cut the bullshit. When you went downstairs through that vault, I took a peak at the documents and ledgers within the shop. Curious how there wasn't anything over a month old, which clearly meant that the documents were stashed somewhere safe. Also, you really want me to believe that a chest, made of gold, with a lock made of blood, at the end of a maze of traps and riddles -" Celina sees as Derthaad's usually golden eyes suddenly pick a light blue light, as she hears his voice continue in her head "-and almost made you reveal a certain something-" the light then fading away, resuming to his normal way of speech without so much of a delay "just so happens to be empty?"
"Please, I've been doing this kind of work for almost a decade, I know how this works."
Celina stares back at Derthaad knowing he is not buying her lies like the normal people. It puts her on edge but she continues. “I told you when we went there we were looking for suspicious things. Had never been to that shop before, had no clue what to expect. I mean we found that woman in the basement, have you checked on her? It was her shop and someone was clearly impersonating her identity for weeks. Is that not who you should be focusing on in this instant? Because that to me is suspicious! I thought that would be more important than mysterious empty chests. I can’t explain why it was empty, Derthaad. I didn’t make the chest”. Celina will shrug her shoulders looking clueless.
Derthaad regards Celina with the same expectant looks he always has when talking to her. A small smile quirking up. "Did you know that rambling is considered a self defence mechanism when said person is under pressure? And usually someone is under pressure when they are trying to hide something. Like a little kid, trying to lie to its parent about sticking its hand in the cookie jar."
Celina crosses her arms “Well what if that kid didn’t actually take the cookie but those stinky parents just assumes they did… but really it was the… dog. Who defends that kid then?”
A wide grin sets on his face "That... really... the dog excuse?" Derthaad just shakes his head in disbelief. "You really like rambling around the truth, don't you?"
He gives an exasperated sigh, his professional demeanour returning "Thing is, Celina, you got out scot free, this time. However, you may never know what the future holds. Who knows, maybe I'll have another promotion, or maybe... I'll have another investigation, one that may lead in me meeting you not as a fellow adventurer, but as a law enforcement. You know that obstruction of evidence is a serious felony, right?"
“But of course. I would never do anything so bad as to break the law”. Her tone comes across sweetly and far too innocently. She goes back to her normal tone “Well thank you for the lovely advice. I don’t know what free you mean but I do know there’s a lot of look into…”. She goes off thinking then suddenly says in a chirpy tone “Oh maybe we could team up after this battle? What do you say? We can look into those creepy face masks. We make a fun team at times… am I right?”, Celina will wink after that. “Are they still at the Citywatch?”
"If you tell me more about who gave you that information, then I'll tell you more about the faces. Sounds good?"
“You mean who told me to go to the shop? Sure, you already met her. That noble lady in the temple”
"Hmh, yes. Thing is, why would a noble woman come to you, a business woman, to go check on some suspicious activity in a business that you had no relations with? Why not just go to the Watch and report said activity? I mean, you seemed pretty keen when Sorrel suggested that I should use my status as a member of the Watch to lock the place down."
"More so, how did said noble woman, who just so happened to reside at the Temple at Waukeen, come across said information. Or more so, why would she be interested in the doings of a small, remote business?"
“Well as I said before, I was excited to make my own team for once. She heard me chatting one day and came over. I mean come on why aren’t more people coming to local business woman Celina for advice on how to handle things discreetly? You Citywatch folk take ages to get anything done. Plus it could have been nothing. If you have any other questions, you might best ask her. I mean I am no mind reader… well I can detect thoughts on occasion… but nothing on a regular basis. Anyway besides the point… Why is this coming up now? I feel like I’m defending myself for no reason…”, Celina will make a sad face looking a tad frustrated as well.
"Well, of course it takes the City Watch time to do things because people have a tendency to just hide information, not share it when it is requested and then complain about the Watch doing anything."
"And as to why this and why now? There's a war coming. And with war comes chaos. And within this chaos there will be those who wish to profit off of the confusion and innocence of others." Derthaad's professionalism gives way to a slight tint of a pleading "I need allies, Celina. You clearly have some connections and are able to get some information. I don't want to know how, I just need you to help me with it. If you do, I will decide to look the other way next time you decide to nab something under my nose."
Celina eyes him suspiciously for a quick moment. Then she grins and says “Sure. Depending on the information you require… I will see what I can do. But I could always do more allies. You have a deal then”. She holds out her hand to shake on it.
Derthaad will look at Celina, his professional demeanour still there, measuring Celina trying to get a read on her, always weary of her. After a couple of seconds, a brow raises and a smirk sets on his face. "Very well, then" he says shaking Celina's hand. "The information that I require will be determined in the future. But I'll make sure that I don't require anything too hard for you to get."
“Too hard, ha sure. Will see. So excellent”, Celina will be smiling looking pleased.
"Right, then, I shall be departing, need to get back and help with the prep. Oh-" he says as he was turning to leave "- speaking of businesses, I heard that 'Thisl' do Nicely' is under new management. And speaking of the chaos, I have a feeling that whatever was that stole those faces may come back right after the fighting is over. Would be a nice, concerned business woman and warn them about it?"
There’s a brief moment of concern visibly on Celina’s face and in her head she immediately thinks “Sammy!”. Celina gets caught of guard with the information. “Well… that… that is certainly good to know. I will let them know”. Then Celina walks over to the door and opens it “Now if you don’t mind Derthaad, I have a lot of preparations I need to take care of with this shop before… everything happens. So, I might ask you to leave now. I’m sure we’ll see each again after… everything”.
Derthaad's brow rose at Celina's visible concern over that last info, but did not press further on the matter. Not yet, at least. "I'm sure we will" he says, leaving the shop. "Take care."
Celina will grin and wave as he leaves “Bye friend”. Then she’ll shut the door. Once it’s shut, she’ll hurry over to pack up a few things in her shop.