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Post by Admin on Jun 10, 2021 16:15:33 GMT
"That would be telling. Isn't it enough that you know it's happening? And who knows how time works anyway? For now, you know what's happening. Come with us and you can learn more."
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Post by Hammett on Jun 10, 2021 18:49:37 GMT
"I already know. If they are there then they are either dead, captured, or on the run. Lady Vada has some very powerful allies, one who can dominate the minds of even very experienced mentalists, and her soldiers are shapeshifters. Very tough, very strong and very skilled. I was trained by both Benedict and Bleys. I've been in countless fights, some against overwhelming odds, and always came out on top. But just two of her soldiers almost killed me. Would have killed me, if a friend hadn't intervened. This is the same force that killed Prince Gerard, so unless it was Benedict or Bleys who Flora sent there, then the odds are they are dead or in need of immediate assistance."
Hammett finishes his drink and sets the glass down, "I would suggest you put your efforts into stopping Lady Vada now, before she expands her powerbase beyond Kasaba. Although, to be honest from what you've said has been happening elsewhere in the Golden Circle, it sounds like she already has. As for explaining myself and the events that happened, I have already tried that. Numerous times. First to Benedict, then directly to Bleys. Llewella knows the truth and so does Calvera and Martin."
Hammett didn't know if Calvera and Dalt knew each other, but it seemed like they were so similar that they must have crossed paths at some time or another. He also added Martin in there, because he was sure Martin and Dalt knew each other. Martin had mentioned Dalt over drinks in the past, which is how Hammett even knew of the man. He didn't exactly know if they were all friends or friendly, but if they were then name dropping them might help Hammett out in the immediate situation. Plus, if he knew one thing, it was that he was pretty much the only person who had contacted Martin since this all began. And if Dalt was interested in that, then it might move the conversation in a different direction.
Hammett continued, "So if all those people knowing and hearing what happened hasn't changed things so far, I doubt going back to the Castle now will change things in my favor."
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Post by Admin on Jun 11, 2021 4:39:14 GMT
#s://i~ibb~co/gymQ9Gp/Dalt~png "You didn't mention Flora in your list of dropped names. She's the only one who matters to you right now. All the others are out of the scene except Llewella and she and Flora do not trust each other. So you see how it is.
"Do you really think that after the death of Gerard, someone would be foolish enough to go to Kasaba without a huge army under their command? You think that they wouldn't also scour shadow for creatures of equal potency to fill their ranks? Kasaba faces the sea so only a fool would try to bring ships in for assault; no, by now their armies have crossed the mountains and will be beginning to storm the city."He finishes his beer then pushes the tankard towards Hammett with a gesture for it to be refilled. "Flora wants to talk. Certainly you've sweet talked enough rowdy customers and suppliers in your time to not worry about an auntie."
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Post by Hammett on Jun 11, 2021 7:23:42 GMT
Hammett motions for one of the staff to refill Dalt's drink and pours another for himself while that is done.
"She want's to talk? That would be a change. I don't think you know of the full history here. I went to the castle to talk. Showed up, presented myself to the court, and asked to speak with her. For my troubles she threw me in a cell, fed me only bread and water for days and gave me a bucket to piss and shit in, and they never changed the bucket. You can imagine how that smelled after a few days in a tiny room with no windows. After repeated requests for an audience with Flora, or anyone else, all of which were ignored, I decided to leave. Not long after that I went to Kashfa, in an attempt to help ease tensions in that region and for my troubles was once again imprisoned, this time chained and drugged for a few weeks, during which she could have talked to me any time she would have liked, but still she didn't want to talk then. So I left there as well and just returned here not even an hour ago. So, you are telling me she now, suddenly, wants to talk? She could have done that yesterday, or three weeks ago or even 4 hours ago when I was still being held in Kashfa. So no, I don't think she wants to talk. And if she does she can trump me, or come here and talk with me, family drinks for free on their first visit."
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Post by Admin on Jun 11, 2021 17:10:29 GMT
#s://i~ibb~co/gymQ9Gp/Dalt~png "Thanks for the freebie about Kashfa; we didn't hear about that yet. Was it Nayda who locked you up? She didn't get word back to us before I was sent here.
"And I don't think that you know the full story. A room that wasn't the dungeon? Clean food and, admittedly, less than ideal sanitation? You should try campaigning sometimes. Months of sleeping in leaking tents, soggy, weevil-filled bread, only poison oak leaves to wipe your ass. I think I'd enjoy a little of what you had.
"I was told to tell you this if you were obstinate, so I guess I have to. I'm not much for speeches or lecturing and have spent my life cultivating a sneer and grunt persona, so if you tell anyone about this, then I'll have your liver dancing on my knife and playing your kidneys as castanets."He pushes the tankard for another refill. "No one thinks Leonil could have taken down Random by himself. He had power, but no grit and Random would have put up a fight. That's why you were there to provide some muscle. Neither of you has the volunteer for a suicide mission to you, so there must have been at least one other involved. The explosion corroborates this with the sacrifice of two pawns and their tracks covered up.
"The problem was that the next person put in charge of Amber would be under a cloud of suspicion for leading the assassins. Sure, at first it was Benedict, and no one would suspect Saint Benedict," he sneers. "His appointing Flora took some, but not all of the heat off of her, but when you, a supposed dead man, saunters into the castle acting like you own the place so soon after her taking up the duties of leadership, the only response was to beat you down and lock you up to keep her looking uncompromised. At least locked up long enough for the heat to be off her. And you too, if you were allowed to wander about the castle while still being considered Random's killer it wouldn't have been long before someone stuck a knife in your back. She saved your life by locking you up.
"Later, you escaped under mysterious circumstances, and the word was sent out everywhere to have you brought back in alive—another lucky break for you. You couldn't have gotten away on your own, so come back to Amber and put the finger on whoever sprung you. There'll be some sham of a trial and investigation resulting in some light ensure, contrition, and a grievous wound to your pride, but the heat will be off you."He downs the rest of the draught.
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Post by Hammett on Jun 11, 2021 19:07:12 GMT
The staff is back to work, filling drinks for those that need them, including Dalt.
"It was Nayda, and Leonil didn't purposely take down Random, and there was no fight or struggle. That I was there at that time was just bad luck. 10 minutes either way and we wouldn't be having this conversation. I was meeting with Random filling him in on what had happened in Kasaba and about his murdered spies. He in turn was telling me about this Lady Vada and who he was keeping tabs on. Leonil, having just enough power, and not enough knowledge, thought he'd show off by trying to combine sorcery and the Pattern into making a spell scroll that would stop all the bad weather effecting Amber and the Golden Circle. He wanted to show off the scroll to Random and get Random to have Bleys cast the spell, as it was too powerful for even Leonil to use. Random thought the thing looked dangerous, and it did. It was crackling with pattern magic and mystical energy. He told Leonil to get rid of it before something bad happened, but before Leonil could even leave the room the scroll exploded with uncontrolled pattern energy. That is how King Random died. And how I lost my eye and got these scars. Benedict and Bleys know all of this. As do a few others. And with the mystical knowledge and powers of the elders, especially Fiona, they would be able to determine what really happened. Why they are still choosing to cover it up and lie, I have no idea."
He also finishes his drink and gets another, "But I do know that things are happening fast, and I have neither the time nor desire for more court games and politics. I have my own plans in motion do deal with Lady Vada that I should be attending to, plus I've now got this stranger, I don't even know what you would call him, but he is powerful in magic and influencing shadows without using Pattern from what I can tell, who has been attacking and manipulating my gateways here to Wormwood's and generally causing trouble out in shadow for reasons unknown to me that I now have to also deal with. Not to mention that I also said I would find Coral and bring her home safely."
"So how about this, I like you. You are straight forward in a way that I thought was impossible for any of our family to be. And I would like to one day visit those bars that you mentioned with you and Luke. Sounds like my kind of good time and how I already spent many years of my life. So I am going to let you go and return to Amber, or wherever else you might like. By now you must have determined that in this shadow I control everything. Pattern doesn't work here, nor Trump or Logus, unless I want them to. No one can get in or out currently, and if I die it will remain that way forever. You and your men would starve to death in this very room. I can change the air here to toxic gas or the floor to lava. But I don't want to kill you, or anyone, and I don't want prisoners, having been one myself more then a few time, I wouldn't wish that on anyone and I have no desire to use you as a bargaining chip or anything else like that. Plus I have a business to run and things to do. So I am going to let all of you go and I hope that you will convey to Flora my desire for a secret truce. I realize now that she can't publicly clear my name without weakening her position, so I am not asking for that. Just a secret truce that only those in the family need to know about. We both go our own ways until all this trouble Amber faces is over, then I'll turn myself in to her. For all the public knows I'm still on the outs with the throne, but the stories will die down and the newspapers will move on to other gossip and topics, and I don't have to worry about being hounded constantly or imprisoned, and she doesn't have to waste time, effort, and resources trying to capture me when she should be dealing with real threats."
He finishes his drink, "And you mentioned something about "saving" my reputation, but you'd be surprised, or maybe not, how having a reputation of being an outsider to Amber can open doors to opportunities and information that someone well-liked and respected by Amber would never have access to. This might be a great help to us all in fighting against the enemies of Amber and gathering much needed information. So how does that sound?"
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Post by Admin on Jun 14, 2021 13:07:01 GMT
#s://i~ibb~co/gymQ9Gp/Dalt~png "I don't know why you're telling me all this, it has nothing to do with me. I'm not a messenger going around delivering notes to people. I'm here returning a favour for a one time attempt to get you back in the family's good graces. Going back on your own will result in more beatings and imprisonment, I've got a back-door which will let you avoid all that unpleasantness if you are willing enough to take it."He stands up and gestures for his people to get ready to move out. "There are things to do and I've spent enough time here. Are you coming or not?"
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Post by Hammett on Jun 14, 2021 18:37:30 GMT
Hammett shakes his head sadly, "I'm sorry no. I have too much to do to leave right this minute or anytime soon. Just closing down Wormwood's would take a few days, plus after my last incarceration I left some friends in what could be a potentially dangerous situation, so I would have to check on them first as well."
He mentally allows the door to start working again, one way, back to where they entered from.
"But as I said, I appreciate your intent and restraint here and in this matter, and I won't forget it. If someday I am not as toxic to Amber as I am now, and if I can be of any assistance, just let me know and I will help you however I can."
He stays where he is as they leave, ready to react in an instant if Dalt changes his mind at the last moment.
Once they leave he will be quick to act on other matters.
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Post by Admin on Jun 14, 2021 19:12:03 GMT
Dalt shakes his head.
"Bad idea but your choice. Not that I'm complaining - a messed up Amber is a positive in my books."
He leads his crew out.
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Post by Hammett on Jun 14, 2021 19:25:01 GMT
Hammett watches them go, unsure if he's making the right decision but he couldn't take the risk. Not for the first, nor last time, he cursed Leonil.
As soon as they left Hammett sealed off Carcosa, and by extension, Wormwood's. He informed the staff that Wormwood's would be closed for a little while and that they would be going to Ceridin soon to help with the team there.
He adjusts the time difference between Carcosa and Amber, so that one day here was only a minute there. That should give him enough time to get some stuff done before Dalt even got back to the castle to report in.
He then traveled to his house and did his usual check of the the various things before settling down to get to work. He had been eager to start checking off items on his "list" before being detained by Nayda, and his mood hadn't changed. In fact the run in with Dalt made it all the more urgent to move quickly.
He spends the first few days doing up a trump card of Nayda and then one of Dalt. The next few days are spent doing up a few different locations in Kasaba. One of the back alley outside the Blue Parrot and one of another alley he knew of down by the warehouses that lined the docks.
He then begins working on another special project.
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Post by Admin on Jun 15, 2021 2:05:53 GMT
continue.
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Post by Hammett on Jun 15, 2021 7:10:29 GMT
Before the special project could begin he needed to get another trump deck as his current one was still out there in shadow. He would come across it sooner or later. Sooner, if he decided to devote the time to it, but for now he reached out with his magic and connection to the source and funneled it into the special trunk he kept in the cellar, the one he had once vowed to never use again, but desperate times called for desperate measures. When the ritual was done and the howling of the Things quieted Hammett ventured into the cellar and retrieved what he needed from the trunk, before relocking the chains and padlocks that kept it sealed.
The special project itself takes a few days to set up, but once everything was in place the actual procedure went very rapidly. A few tests later and Hammett was extremely happy with the results.
He returned to Wormwood's and placed a few items in the safe there, and removed a couple more.
He then gathered the crew together and took them through to Ceridin, quickly moving them down the street and into his offices.
He then re-entered Wormwood's, adjusted the time differential back to normal, and then sealed up the access doors. He sighed, although it had just reopened, it was time for Wormwood's to close again. But only for a limited time. He hoped.
Hammett then trumped to Begma, and the office's Dalton was running. First he got a nice envelope and some high quality writing paper and did up a nice note for the Begma PM and his wife. In the note he apologies for the delay in reaching Nayda and delivering their message, but to make up for the tardiness he includes the new trump card he had just made of their daughter, with instructions on how to use it. he also mentions that he still hopes to locate their other daughter, but it might take some time. He then seals the envelope and had one of Dalton's men deliver it to the PM's home.
He couldn't help but smile as the man left to deliver the letter. Nayda had imprisoned him, and as payback, now her parents would be able to "call" her and annoy her anytime they wanted. Hammett could be petty sometimes.
He then discussed his plans with Dalton and gave him a couple of trumps, to use in an emergency, or if he hadn't heard back from him in over a few days.
Finally these details finishes, he trumps to Ceridin and goes to check out how his resistance team is doing. They had had months to plan, recruit and to train. The new, advanced, weapons would have arrived weeks ago, so they should also be familiarized with them by now. Hopefully all of this would be enough.
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Post by Admin on Jun 15, 2021 20:40:19 GMT
#s://i~ibb~co/fDNQtv2/tumblr-inline-of5oqg4-Qx61sss5ih-640~png Everything proceeds as planned. The resistance is ready to move out. Pinky has even acquired a snazzy beret and a French accent. Renault has recovered from his injuries and is in the process of resharpening his daggers as Hammett returns. "Is it time, my friend?" he asks.
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Post by Hammett on Jun 16, 2021 15:39:50 GMT
Hammett nods, "It is." He then calls the whole team together in the main warehouse, where all the planning and prepwork was done and the one where all the weapons bound for Kasaba are stored.
He smiles and looks out over the team, "You've all worked hard for this. The last few months of planning and training to recapture our homeland have led to this. Never before has a group had this much knowledge of both the underbelly and uppercrust of the city worked together." And it was true. Ugarte and some of Hammett's men knew the Kasaba underworld better then most, while Yvonne and Renault and a few others knew all about the nicer areas and the businesses and the running of the city. They had planned out the most likely areas the German's would be housed up in, the business that would be allowed to stay open and those closed down. The best areas to secretly hide weapons and supplies, plus back up meeting areas, fall back points, other important people to try and locate if still alive, and much much more. Every member of the team had the city memorized, as well as codes and secret signs and signals, and they were all going in using weapons and technology much more advanced then what the local German's had. Modern assault rifles, advanced ammo, modern bulletproof vests, night vision gear, radio headsets, and so on. It was as if a large team of modern Navy Seals was going back into World War II.
"Tonight's run is just going to be the first. We are going to keep it simple. We'll scout out areas of the city. See what the patrols are like. What curfew is like. Breath the air and get a feeling for it again. Sound good?"
Getting an agreement, they all get ready and into gear, while some of the team also carries bagged up civilian clothes for a few of them to change into if needed.
Once ready Hammett leads them outside into the alley where they take the doorway through to Wormwood's, and from there he pulls out a trump of his old office, in the original Wormwood's, and he does a quick trip there to see if its clear.
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Post by Admin on Jun 16, 2021 18:29:24 GMT
There is an odd buzzing interference when trying to use the card for Wormwood's. An oddity that Hammett hasn't experienced before. Still, it will be safe to cross through the card. It should be safe. It might be safe. Maybe.
The other cards for Kasaba also have the same issue.
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