|
Post by Hammett on Jun 5, 2021 17:45:00 GMT
Hammett sighs again and curses his crew that is spread out all across the Golden Circle. What was the point of having his people everywhere gathering information if they never learn the important stuff?
He shrugs, resigned to his fate, "If I didn't have bad luck, I wouldn't have any luck at all."
He just lets them do what they want and waits to see where he ends up.
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Jun 6, 2021 4:36:38 GMT
Nayda sees the look of dismay on Hammett's face.
"Don't feel too downtrodden; the news of their alliance is still quite secret. In fact, you are probably the only person who knows about this other than Flora's crew and a few people here in Kashfa. You should feel honoured to be let in on the secret.
"Now, how would you like to go? Sadly, you can't be allowed to leave here alive, but no need to be quietly dragged off to the dungeons. Maybe you'd let the guards go a few rounds on you? Let you show Flora that you didn't submit meekly to capture?"
Whatever Hammett's choice, he is dragged to the dungeon and chained up, so his hands are unable to work any drawing. Poisons are forced down his throat so he can't concentrate enough to work any magic.
And so he hangs in a state of painful semi-consciousness for how long? There are no days or nights in the cell, just darkness and pain.
At some time and date, he awakens unbound from the chains, laying on the cell floor. The door to the room is open, and he can see a pair of dead guards slumped against the jam, their throats expertly slit. A note is on the floor beside him.
It took some doing, but we finally found a way to free you. I trust you have learned your lesson and will stay far, far away from Amber and the Golden Circle until new evidence comes to light or you are able to provide some great benefit to Flora. Eat this note.
|
|
|
Post by Hammett on Jun 6, 2021 15:33:38 GMT
Hammett crawls across the floor to the guards and using what strength he has he grabs first one, then the other and drags them into the cell.
He then closes the cell door almost all the way, first making sure it wouldn't automatically lock somehow. That should give him a little more time if any casual person or guard walked by further down the corridor. At least more then two dead guards laying there in plain sight would give him. He must have a good amount of time before the change in shift, otherwise his benefactors wouldn't have just left him here. What would be the point in doing all this, only to have him discovered before the drugs had time to ware off enough for him to escape on his own? They couldn't know how long that would take, so they must have planned this to give him lots of time to wake up and recover before there was any chance of being discovered.
He then takes a sword off of one of the guards and gives it a few practices swings. The poison and drugs were quickly leaving his system, but he still wasn't at his best. Not even close. But he needed to get his blood flowing, that would help clear his head quicker. After a couple of minutes of that, he puts the sword down and picks up the note, reading it again, now with a clearer head.
He reaches up and feels his chin, using the length of his facial hair to try and roughly gage how long he had been held captive, as he doubted that they bothered to shave him.
He didn't eat the note, not yet, he was going to need the paper to eventually make a quick trump sketch on. He could just do up trump sketch on a wall, but then anyone with significant mental strength would be able to follow him, and that wouldn't be any good. At least with a trump sketch on this paper, it would come with him, leaving no trace of where he went.
He then took the clothes off the guard that was closest to his size, molding the shadow stuff they were made out of as he did, making sure they would be a perfect fit. His older clothes were in disgusting condition and he tossed them aside after making sure there was nothing forgotten in any of the pockets.
Freshly dressed, sword in the scabbard hanging off his belt, drugs leaving his system, he was feeling half decent, which was impressive, all things considered.
Searching the other guard he was thankful to find a writing stick that the guards used for filling out their reports.
He quickly made up a trump sketch of his office at Wormwood's on the back of the note. He could leave anytime now, but he was still a bit angry at the whole situation and considered some other options. A slight smile came to his face.
He began making a trump sketch on the wall of the cell. Downtown Kasaba, just a block away from the old Wormwood's. Right in the main square, where the café he used to frequent regularly was located.
The trump sketch finished he pumped it up with power from his eye and tossed the still dressed guard's body through it. It didn't go through, rather it smacked against the wall with a wet squelching noise. Hammett couldn't help but chuckle.
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Jun 6, 2021 21:42:50 GMT
The sketch is made on the wall, empowered, but the guard does not travel through it. He does make a squelching noise as his body impacts the stonework. It seems that the cell is somehow warded against the trumps. Luke is rumoured to be a master artist and must have found a way to block travel through the walls of the prison cell.
Still want to continue with the rest of the post?
|
|
|
Post by Hammett on Jun 6, 2021 22:37:59 GMT
[[OCC: No, Edited last post to stop at the "squelching", will continue from there.]]
Seemed like the room had been warded against trump somehow. He wondered how far the effect would persist.
Dragging the guard behind him he went out into the hallway and focused on his trump sketch on the note. Was it able to work out here?
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Jun 6, 2021 23:06:43 GMT
The sketch works, and Hammett finds himself back in the Wormwood's office. The building is strangely silent except for low murmuring and shuffling of feet. The hair on his face shows that he'd been imprisoned for a few weeks.
He has an urge to burn the note. It tastes fine, like dill and tobacco flavoured cream cheese. Even if he wanted to stop chewing, he can't, and the strange compulsion continues until he has swallowed the note.
|
|
|
Post by Hammett on Jun 7, 2021 2:03:41 GMT
Right. Well obviously things were happening on a level well above his. No point in fighting it.
After the note is done, he has a drink then takes a shower and cleans up and heads down to the bar to see Conrad and find out what has been going on.
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Jun 7, 2021 8:13:20 GMT
The drink is much needed. Only after the second does Hammett notice that the sounds from below are odd; he had been back for two minutes now and hadn't heard Pinky's voice once. While any possible can happen in Shadow, having her stay quiet is impossible in normal circumstances.
|
|
|
Post by Hammett on Jun 7, 2021 13:10:40 GMT
[[OCC: Pinky should be in Ceridin with the resistance team, at least that is where I last left her, as she was being such an annoyance to the wormwoods guests. ]]
Hammett heads down to the bar to see what other bad news has happened since he last left. He gets the full run down from Conrad.
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Jun 8, 2021 5:19:29 GMT
[OOC: Right! I forgot that. I set her up as being too chatty just so I could silence her later on as a warning. Ya try to help a guy out and look what happens...]
Coming down the stairs he can see the reason for the quiet in the room. His crew are lined up against one wall, all looking worse for wear. The rest of the room is filled with soldiers some in Flora's colours, others in the green and gold of Dalt. The mercenary himself sits, feet up on the table, a tankard of dark ale in one hand and a large wicked-looking crossbow in the other.
"I gotta tell ya, I thought Flora was crazy when she said you'd come back here after escaping but I gotta give her credit for reading you like a book, buddy. A longer wait than we were expecting but at least the booze was good."
|
|
|
Post by Hammett on Jun 8, 2021 7:27:58 GMT
Hammett pauses for only a brief second at the bottom of the stairs as he takes in the situation and the current clients. He lights a cigarette, he didn't often smoke, but this seemed like a good time for it, plus a little misdirection never hurt. He was also happy his staff was playing along with the situation, best not to "tip their hat" as it were, unless it became necessary.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Had to freshen up."
He casually makes his way across the room to the bar and picks up a bottle of whisky and pours himself a drink.
Fiona might be smart enough to know that he would come back here, but she apparently wasn't smart enough to know why. Unless she wanted Dalt and all his soldiers to die.
By the time he had reached the bar he had shut down all access and communication to and from Carcosa, and his Guardians were on full alert, some of the more powerful ones were circling outside of Wormwood's at this very moment. By the time he finished pouring himself his drink he had made it so crossbows no longer worked in this world, and metal weapons from foreign shadows didn't hold an edge. He let the soldiers live for now, but was ready to drop them in an instant if necessary.
Drink in hand he turns to face Dalt, and leans back against the bar, "Glad you like it... Dalt, isn't it? We only serve the best here at Wormwood's. And family always drinks for free on their first visit. Now, how can I help you?"
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Jun 9, 2021 17:01:10 GMT
#s://i~ibb~co/gymQ9Gp/Screenshot-2021-06-08-Pin-on-Amber-s-chronicles~png Dalt continues to smile as he holds up the crossbow, waggles it a bit, smiles wider and tosses it behind him to break apart on the floor. "I don't know if I'd say its the best," he says while looking into the dark liquid, "Luke and I used to go to places that'd knock your socks off. Once this is over, I can take ya to some of them, if you dare. Though if you keep being an ass, Flora might not leave you with feet to put them socks on to.
"Flora wants you back as her prisoner for your crimes against Amber. You might want to take her offer if you value your reputation. She's been using your infamy to blame everything that goes wrong on you. The newspapers are having a field day covering your exploits, and the public is lapping it up too. Riots in Deiga, forest fires in Arden, viking warriors ravaging the Golden Circle, it's all on you, me laddo."
|
|
|
Post by Hammett on Jun 9, 2021 17:46:51 GMT
"It sounds like my reputation is already ruined, so that doesn't really give me as much motivation to return to her capture as you think it does, especially since I have committed none of these crimes. What is she going to say? "Oops, I was wrong about all those bad things I accused Hammett of?" You think she'd admit to that? To being wrong? I may not know her as well as you, but I know that she is much too proud to do that. If she admitted she was lying about me, about the first major situation she was put in as regent of Amber, she would never become Queen. No, her only play is to hold me prisoner, and then when things still keep getting worse, say I was "working with" the real bad person causing all the troubles and then, maybe, in a decade or two, finally release me from prison saying "I'd paid my debt for my crimes." Or some crap like that. Assuming the big bads don't defeat Amber in the meantime."
He takes a swig of his drink, "At this point what other options does she have? Can you tell me I'm wrong? Did she give you any other bargaining chips then that? I mean really, what would you do if you were me in this situation?"
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Jun 10, 2021 15:32:59 GMT
#s://i~ibb~co/gymQ9Gp/Dalt~png "That's not how it's done. These stories and rumours get fed to the papers and spread about by who knows and they don't get their information from Flora. If she makes it stick then they were correct as we all knew, if they don't then she can just say that the publishers were getting a little too imaginative. More and more of these stories will come to light the longer you stay out of her hands. They can hardly blame you for destroying Deiga when you were in the dungeon, you see.
"If I was you I'd go back to Amber act contrite and cast yourself as a pawn, dupe, and victim of Leonil. They don't think much of you so they will be happy to believe you were a pawn of the real villain."He takes a drink of the ale. "I have an incentive for you. A couple of the others are going into Kasaba to clean up the mess there. A quick return and deal with Flora could free you up if you're looking to keep a piece of your action in that shadow. Think about it."
|
|
|
Post by Hammett on Jun 10, 2021 15:48:29 GMT
Hammett suddenly becomes more attentive, "Which others? Who's going to Kasaba and when?"
|
|