[ CLOSED ] The Buck Stops Here

[sulahnan]

WHO: Athessa, Bastien, Byerly, Colin, Deimos, Flint, Raas, Thranduil, Yseult
WHAT: Revenge for past trauma reveals a sinister plot
WHEN: The Month of Guardian (aka now)
WHERE: The Gallows and Hightown, Kirkwall in general
NOTES: CW: This plot deals with sexual assault, revenge, and murder. Mostly the aftermath of the assault, no graphic descriptions that I can foresee, but be cautious. Opting out and hand-waving is fine.

By and large, the beginning of the month of Guardian in Kirkwall is unremarkable. Business as usual, even with the ever increasing cost of sugar, coffee, and tea. But for the inhabitants of Lowtown, it comes with signs that their waking nightmares persist.

For the past few months of winter, Lowtown locals have been whispering about a rash of murders and disappearances among the Alienages. Deaths previously attributed to exposure to the harsh winter weather are rumored to be far more insidious; some have claimed that they noticed wounds on the bodies as they were being disposed of, but any attempts to bring this information to the City Guard have been met with indifference or empty platitudes.

Less widely noted, and harder to attach to a pattern, are the instances of working girls being hired to entertain at private functions and coming back...different. Or not at all. To the average person, it’s barely even news, but to anyone who spends time in the brothels and listens to the chatter within, it’s clear that these are not isolated incidents, nor are they without concern.

While the alleged murders in Lowtown have no clear culprit and thus are blamed on anyone from random strangers to demons and Crows, the goings-on at the brothels go hand-in-hand with mention of one name in particular: Devigny.

Comments

[hassaran]

[ Yseult takes a moment or two to think before replying, brows faintly drawn and gaze focused through the foot of the chair before the desk. ]

It would be best if you can make it look like the girl escaped on her own, and review his papers and copy down anything useful without giving away that they've been touched. That might allow us to continue to watch him and go in again once we know more. If you find that won't work, then make it look like a normal burglary that stumbled upon the girl. We will learn most if we can continue to observe him relatively unawares.

[ After another beat, she adds: ]

It can't just be the two of you. You need a third, at least. [ Over her shoulder to Byerly: ] Or do you plan to join them?

[bouchonne]

[ A slight shake of his head. ]

I am rather conspicuous, of late.

[ He's not very pleased by this development, it sounds. ]

[keenly]

[So who isn't?

Colin's gaze goes distant as he tries to quickly manufacture a list of inconspicuous and sneaky people he knows would be sympathetic and ready to leave on a moment's notice.

It's a short list. He's not really known for his choice of quiet, discreet company.]

Bastien, maybe? [They worked together on a mission, back when Colin was sneaky as well. Colin also has other reasons to trust him that pertain more to Athessa's side of things.]

[sulahnan]

Not-- [ She bites off the rest of that argument, forcing herself to think first.

Does she want Bastien to find out about this this way? No. Does she want to tell him herself? Of course not. Does she want him to find out at all? Not particularly!

But is Bastien the most sensible option for a sneaky mission? Probably. Is he also her handler, trainer, and someone Yseult trusts more than she'd trust Athessa? Also probably. Is he someone Athessa herself trusts to keep her from doing something stupid? Definitely.

She lets out a long breath. ]

Not a bad idea.

[bouchonne]

[ Now there's an idea Byerly likes. The best one he's heard all day. In terms of balancing competence against decency and trustworthiness, Bastien simply can't be beaten. ]

Hm. Maybe.

[ He doesn't want to sound too eager. If he does, Yseult might become suspicious and resist the idea. ]

[hassaran]

Good. [ That's that settled. ] Bastien is in charge. He knows where to find me if he takes issue.

crystal

[sulahnan]

[ With that settled, and the requisite adieus bidden, Athessa takes it upon herself to message Bastien as she and Colin leave the Diplomacy office behind them. ]

Baz, you'd better not be busy because we've got time-sensitive work to do in Hightown tonight.

[cozen]

I am never too busy for time-sensitive work in Hightown, [ Bastien answers, and leaves the plans he will actually be cancelling (or standing someone up for, depending) unmentioned, because what would that do except make Athessa feel bad? Nothing! ] Or for you.

[sulahnan]

[ That last puts a hitch in her step and she has to bite her lip for a moment. ]

How about for Yseult?

[ Maybe if it's that one step removed from being for herself it'll be easier. ]

[keenly]

Just meet us at the ferry immediately. It's just a few minutes till it leaves. We'll explain everything on the way over.

[cozen]

[ Serious work, then—and he does need to delay just a little longer to confirm that he doesn’t need to wear or bring anything in particular—but then he complies readily enough and turns up at the docks without lallygagging. ]

[sulahnan]

[ With all of them kitted for breaking and entering, and the ferry doing what it does best and ferrying them across to Kirkwall, it's time to explain.

Athessa takes a breath, preparing to speak, then lets it go. ]

I dunno where to start. There's a girl being held captive at the Devigny estate and we're also supposed to look for any information that might be around about Devigny’s ties to Tevinter.

[keenly]

It might seem like it goes without saying, but we're rescuing the girl. Um. Athessa, do we know where she might be kept? Because--

[He remembers parts of the layout of the house from their shared dream, but he bites his tongue before he can blurt that out. Bastien can be trusted with what happened to Athessa, but Colin's not the one who needs to do the trusting.]

[cozen]

[ If Bastien notices Colin cutting himself off—and he does, of course he does—he doesn't show any sign of it, for all appearances busy checking his pockets for something while frowning about the information he's already been given. ]

[sulahnan]

I...don't know. I wouldn't expect the footman to have carried the girl upstairs, but he isn't feeble, so maybe. I'd guess a room towards the back of the house, where she's not likely to be heard when she comes to. Maybe even the cellar, if he's not worried about her smashing any wine bottles.

[ She shrugs and shakes her head, of course far more abreast of the situation than anyone who's only observed from a distance should be. ]

Yseult wants us to stay undetected, or make it look like a common burglary if that's not possible.

[keenly]

[At times like these, he wishes he had telepathy and could ask where did he keep you? but the fact of the matter is that Athessa might not even remember. Not because it was years ago, but because memory around these things is unreliable. And if she did remember, she would suggest a specific room. Colin's hands shake. He tightens them around his staff to hide it.]

We can make it look like she escaped. Trouble is when he sees sensitive documents missing and decides she's the one who stole them. She'd be worth the pursuit to him then.

[cozen]

If there are documents to take, and if they are worth more taken than remembered.

[ Then they can worry about it. And by worry about it, he means take them, and worry about protecting her from pursuit later—but he doesn't like to be too cold-bloodedly pragmatic, out loud, when it may not even be necessary. ]

Is all of his staff complicit, or only the footman?

[sulahnan]

If it comes to that maybe we can set a trap for him, [ So long as they're laying out hypothetical situations. ] But I don't think all of the staff are in on it, no. The footman definitely is, and I'm sure some of the staff know but I think most of them are only as complicit as someone who sees a crime and doesn't report it.

[cozen]

[ Good to know, if only to calibrate exactly how willing he'll be to bash any of them in the head with a vase. ]

Do you know them? [ A little prying. But mostly practical: ] I mean, will they recognize you?

[sulahnan]

I...don't know. Probably not the staff, [ it's been thirteen years... ] but the footman might.

[ Hard to say whether it'd be a relief to be forgotten, or infuriating for such cruelty to mean so little to the ones who inflicted it. ]

[keenly]

Here. [Colin delicately maneuvers behind her.] Let me braid your hair. You can tuck it up under a hat or a hood, it's less distinctive.

[sulahnan]

You don't think the ears are a dead giveaway? [ Wry, as close to playful ribbing as she can muster, but she quickly combs her fingers through her hair in a vain attempt to detangle it before he tries to plait it. ]

[cozen]

[ Bastien smiles a little at the joke, but only a little, and it goes away quickly. ]

Is there anything else I need to know?

[ Of course there's plenty more he wants to know. But he trusts Athessa—or would prefer to trust her, at least, and see how it works out—not to hold something back if it's going to endanger the girl they're going after. ]