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Post by Steinerman on Dec 2, 2010 0:32:55 GMT -5
Alexis walked a few steps forward and froze, every alarm in her mind going off at once. The other two had stopped, and what little she passively gleaned from their minds wasn't good.
An errant thought strayed to the gun in her pack, was it still there? Yes, they hadn't checked the bag, they had no reason to, or did they? She'd been asleep, and if there truly was danger, she couldn't count on the gun, they could have tampered with it.
With care, she slowly spun on her heels to stare at them, her eyes wary and her expression hard.
"Well." She stated softly, her voice barely drifting above a whisper.
"Would one of you mind explaining what just happened? Something I said, presumably." She continued, her tone slowly returning to normal.
"Because I get nervous when people seem to think something bad is going to happen me. So please, do tell." She finished sweetly, her eyes sparkling in the light of the warehouse.
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Dec 2, 2010 0:53:14 GMT -5
"... follow us," Jerome said after a moment, and he and Ker lead her to an unoccupied room in the shelter housing their base of operations below the surface.
"Okay, look," Ker started, leaning against the wall. "Everyone in the Korin that was around back in your time KNOWS you, Vister. They knew what you were capable of, they know you were the reason why we pulled off a number of big-time missions, and they know you up and disappeared back into Stamaria."
"They also know that you were working on some kind of superweapon before you disappeared," Jerome explained. "The details never got out but they knew you were working on something. I don't know what it is, but the higher-ups do. And they know that you took whatever it was with you when you left. They'll want to know, Vister. And I seriously doubt they're going to be happy about it."
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Post by Steinerman on Dec 2, 2010 1:03:22 GMT -5
Alexis listened carefully, her eyes drilling holes in the floor as the others spoke.
A super-weapon? She nodded her head, yes, she supposed it could be called that.
"So that's what all the fuss is about." She replied with a sigh.
"Admittedly. I hadn't thought to run into you bunch so soon after my little break-out. I'd wanted time to test the waters, as it were. See if me coming back were a good idea or not. Sounds like 'not'."
She grinned, her body relaxing from it's tense position. "But hey, if bad stuff is going to happen, might as well come from old comrades." She ended with a hint of sarcasm.
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Dec 2, 2010 1:39:18 GMT -5
"Sorry I couldn't give you better news," Jerome said with a shrug. "Your disappearance was kind of a shock for everyone. I can't speak for Carn or the others, so I don't know how any of this is going to play out once word reaches everyone else."
"Let's just hope Carn doesn't blow a gasket again," Keri said offhandedly. "Guy looks so old one good shock'll kill him."
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Post by Steinerman on Dec 2, 2010 1:56:55 GMT -5
Alexis nodded her head, half-listening to their words as she thought the situation over.
Had anything really changed? No...not really. Not yet, at any rate. Her arrival had caused some strong emotions from a group that had only heard of her. She wasn't sure what to expect from the rest of the Korin. Would the Harbinger himself take an interest? That thought made her queasy and excited at the same time, that someone so important might think her worth the trouble...
But no, right now it was best to stick to her plan. Feel things out. If they wanted the super-weapon (she thought it slightly amusing that they called it a super-weapon), then by all means, she'd try and give it to them. It might be a little awkward when they found out that she'd had help from an outsider, and thus only knew roughly half the design of her little bomb.
her thoughts drifted back to the conversation at hand, they had stopped talking a moment ago. She concentrated, remembering what they'd said, then gave a half-smile and spoke.
"Well, I'll be pleasant and let you do most of the talking, then." She joked.
"It would be supremely awkward to accidentally give a Korin cell-leader a heartattack."
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Dec 2, 2010 2:49:05 GMT -5
"Considering how much of a bastard Carn can be," Jerome said derisively, "The Stamarians would probably give us medals. After they shot us, at least."
They lead the woman into a comms station, where a large viewscreen was already active and waiting for them. The technicians moved out of their way, and Ker settled into the back of the room--this was Jerome's show now.
"Connection established," one of them said, and the viewscreen cleared, showing the image of a stern-looking, balding old man in a black coat. His dark face was heavy with age lines, and his eyes seemed to bore into the two people waiting in front of the monitor.
To Alexis Vister, Carnithius Vern would look all too familiar.
"Well, it looks like you're back, Saelle," Carn said. "I take it the heist went off without a hitch?"
"Gods, no," Jerome said--while Carn was always serious, he rarely was. "The prisoner busted herself out before we even got there. But we did have a problem entering the city. Roas had to bail us out and he still isn't back yet. The Stamarians are out in force this evening."
"That's hardly a surprise," Carn said, snorting. "If our intel's correct, then the Stamarians are gonna be edgy for a while."
"What intel are you talking about?" Jerome asked, frowning. "That kind of knowledge--"
"--is none of your concern and certainly nothing your crew could handle," Carn cut off, almost growling. "Now, you said the prisoner broke herself free? I do hope you managed to track her down and put a stop to the beacon."
"We did, Carn. You'll get a load out of who the prisoner was, too. C'mon," Jerome waved Alexis into range of the camera transmitting the conversation.
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Post by Steinerman on Dec 2, 2010 3:24:07 GMT -5
Alexis could hardly believe her ears when she heard Carn's voice.
A wave of memories came crashing down like a tidal wave. Carnithius Vern. A decade ago she'd often worked with the man. Always serious and scowling, and ever-so-secretive.
To say they'd hated each other would probably be an overstatement, they'd worked together and she had respected his ability to lead. But beyond the respect for his ability, she'd born him no love. He hadn't seemed to like her much, as she recalled. And she'd always liked to irk him whenever possible, never even thinking of trying to build any sort of camaraderie with the man.
With a shake of her head she stepped into view of the camera, her eyes alight with amusement.
"You always were a stingy one with the information-sharing, Carn. As I recall that lack of trust for your comrades nearly got us killed on several occasions."
She swept her bangs out of the way to offer him a good view of who he was taking too.
She then cracked a sarcastic smile. "I'd say it's good to see you, old man. But that'd be a lie, and we both know it."
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Dec 2, 2010 15:21:57 GMT -5
"So, you've returned, Vister," Carn replied, his facial expression not changing in the slightest. "So they were right about you. You had been captured by the Stamarian forces after you left the Korin. Now how does a woman with your capabilities get taken by them?"
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Post by Steinerman on Dec 2, 2010 15:30:54 GMT -5
Alexis' eyes narrowed, focusing on Carn. "Someone I was working with in Allondell ratted me out, they used a truck-load of mages and a few dozen soldiers to capture me. Though I killed about half their mages before they locked me down." She ended with just a hint of a smile.
"You don't seem surprised to see me, Carn. I find that interesting. Care to explain?"
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Dec 2, 2010 15:52:37 GMT -5
Well, that certainly fit the Witch's capabilities, Carn thought.
"We managed to secure intelligence detailing a high-level prisoner being transferred to the nearby prison facility, Vister," he explained. "We weren't given any names, but the Stamarians take so few of us prisoner. You know that. So it's not difficult to imagine the one we tried to liberate would be someone of your stature and capabilities."
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Post by Steinerman on Dec 2, 2010 16:15:31 GMT -5
Alexis mulled his words over for a moment, then nodded. "I suppose it makes sense. I assumed everyone thought I was dead, it's been just a few months shy of a decade since any of you saw me." She replied with a shrug.
"Thanks for sending the rescue my way, it's been rather exhausting, breaking out of a Stamarian jail. It's good to be among friends again."
Now her tone grew innocent, "I am among friends, yes?"
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Dec 2, 2010 19:25:49 GMT -5
Carn wasn't fooled by Alexis' act. "That remains to be seen, Vister," he said coldly. "You disappeared from the Korin at the worst possible time, and took your little pet project with you. And that will concern the others when you meet with the Harbinger, Vister. So why don't you make things easy for us... where is she?"
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Post by Steinerman on Dec 2, 2010 19:41:26 GMT -5
Alexis went rigid, her eyes closing tight to hide the sudden spike of fear.
"Screw you, Carn." She replied venomously, putting all of her protective fury into the words. She opened her eyes and stared furiously at the man on the screen, "I'm not going to tell you."
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Dec 2, 2010 20:07:19 GMT -5
"Hmph. I figured you weren't going to cooperate on that. Luckily for you, it's not imperative you hand over that information to me," Carn said, leaning back into his seat on the screen. "But when the Harbinger gets word of your return, he'll want to know."
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Post by Steinerman on Dec 2, 2010 23:32:43 GMT -5
Alexis' body shuddered at the mention of the Harbinger. What would he want with a newly escaped mage?
"Why would the Harbinger care about me? Or her?" She replied, some of the fury in her voice replaced by worry.
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