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D&D Campaigns => Eberron => In Character Discussions => Topic started by: Johan on March 29, 2008, 09:52:39 PM

Title: 12-22-2132 - The Awakening
Post by: Johan on March 29, 2008, 09:52:39 PM
Temmit jumped up from where had fallen asleep at the table, and fell shaking to the floor. His telling Renee of the day his family died had brought his personal tragedy up in his mind, and it in turn had presented the story to him again in his sleep.

He was crying again, as he always was. He was holding Smokey tightly again, as he always was. Except this time he was shaking on the floor of a hidden bedroom in Lowtown. The lantern still glowed dimly in the subterranean room.

He fought to gain control of himself. "Your safe." Smokey said to him. He breathed deeply, trying to focus past the gaping maw that consumed his vision.
Title: 12-22-2132 - The Awakening
Post by: Dray on March 29, 2008, 09:59:18 PM
Temmit wasn't aware of the exact moment Renee had left her bed, he hadn't heard her draw the longsword from a hidden rail between the cot and the wall, he hadn't seen her jump to his side instinctively to protect him.

All at once Temmit just realized that there his friend was, hugging him tight from behind him, with the sword still held aloft to the right in an instinctive defensive stance.

"Are you okay," she asked with great concern, still not letting him go with her left arm.
Title: 12-22-2132 - The Awakening
Post by: Johan on March 29, 2008, 10:08:50 PM
Temmit stammered incoherently for a long moment. "Um ok." He managed at last. He breathed deeply again. "It's ok." He said, clearly still panicked.

"Breath." Smokey said.

"Breath." Temmit repeated. He followed his own advice and breathed. After a moment his shaking settled to almost a memory. The demon in his mind faded and he could see his surroundings. He recollected where he was, although it took him a little longer to remember *why* he was there.

"It's ok." He repeated, this time with a little more conviction. He was still gripping Smokey, and he was also, he realized, gripping Renee's arm and shoulder. He tried to let go of his friend, but it was difficult. "It's ok." He repeated with still more conviction.

It was a few minutes before he could say that and sound like he meant it. "I'm sorry." He said, struggling back to the chair that he had fallen out of. "I'm sorry. It's ok." He breathed again.
Title: 12-22-2132 - The Awakening
Post by: Dray on March 29, 2008, 10:19:05 PM
Renee looked at him with concern during the entire ordeal, but waited until she believed him before she spoke, which she did very gently.

"For awhile, after the attack on my parents six years ago, I had nightmares as well, but I imagine yours must have a much more frightening ending," her words were realized as she spoke, and wet tears formed in her eyes for him.
Title: 12-22-2132 - The Awakening
Post by: Johan on March 29, 2008, 10:26:49 PM
Temmit looked at her. The terror was still written clearly in his eyes. He nodded in agreement. "Very likely." He said. "At the end of mine, I'm staring down the gullet of a Karh'Thul." He shook at the remembrance, still refreshened in his mind. "Just like when it actually happened." He looked up at her somewhat pleading. "How long before the nightmares end?" He asked absently.
Title: 12-22-2132 - The Awakening
Post by: Dray on March 29, 2008, 10:31:27 PM
"When you kill one of them," she said with authority, letting him go but still touching his shoulder for the reassuring contact.

"Listen to me Temmit," she had walked around him and was facing him face to face. All at once Temmit saw his guild leader again, she had been gone most of the previous night, but the sleep must have done her wonders, for here was the strength he knew before him.

"If it is your wish my friend, I can take you directly to one this very night and we can vanquish him," she stated.

(OOC: That statement aught'ah shock you back to reality eh?!)
Title: 12-22-2132 - The Awakening
Post by: Johan on March 29, 2008, 10:39:49 PM
Her words sunk in slowly. "Tonight?" He reflected. Never in his wildest thoughts did it ocurr to him that such a thing could be done so swiftly, and the thought tempted him sorely, but the meticulous planner in him spoke out to that plan as folly. Or mis-timed at any rate.

"That is what I've asked of you, eh?" He was regaining his composure quickly now. Repetition had that effect. "But no." He answered. "I had guessed that the killing of one would help, but there's too much to get done this weekend. Others are counting on us, and waiting for us."

He breathed more. "Next week, perhaps, or even next holiday. I should be ok for the next few weeks. I don't get the dream more often than that anymore."

He cast his mind around a moment. "What time is it?" He asked. "I'm so sorry for awakening you."
Title: 12-22-2132 - The Awakening
Post by: Dray on March 29, 2008, 10:46:39 PM
"Even in this state you think with your head," she said, then kissed him on the cheek on her way to her handbag near the cot.

Procuring it she announced that it was a bit past 6 dawnhand.

"Unless you want to hit your dorm shower before we go, you could take a nap on my cot if you like?" she asked as she started to place the longsword back in its hidden cubby.
Title: 12-22-2132 - The Awakening
Post by: Johan on March 29, 2008, 10:52:10 PM
"NO." Temmit stated a little more forcibly than he intended. "No." He restated, smiling weakly. "Thank you, but I don't sleep that much anyway."

"Plus," a new thought seemed to present itself to him. "We should talk a little about our sir John Athol." He patted the journal. "I've a few insights, but nothing that would change our opinion of last night."
Title: 12-22-2132 - The Awakening
Post by: Dray on March 29, 2008, 10:59:26 PM
"Oh?" she asked. She returned to the table and sat down, lifting the flask of coffeecup off of it and taking a little swig.

She placed it back down between them, opened.

"Take a shot, you need it," her statement sounded a bit like an order.
Title: 12-22-2132 - The Awakening
Post by: Johan on March 29, 2008, 11:10:15 PM
Temmit took the drought, as though he was responding to an order. She was right, of course: he did need it, and it awakened him quickly.

"Well," he began. "I still hold the opinion that we can't trust the man. I think that he's pretty well dedicated to his career, despite his turning an eye to your marketeering."

He gathered his thinking.

"In summary, I think that we need to do a few things, and I think that we should discuss a few things. I think that Kristen is in real danger; we should salt her activities with genuine work for the sake of concealment."

He stopped for a moment, considering his track. Now that he was thinking about work, his mind trapped his dream back in the darkness, and he was as sharp as ever. "Do you want to discuss your relationship with him, and how he's thinking? Or simply move on to the trap that I think he's fallen into?"
Title: 12-22-2132 - The Awakening
Post by: Dray on March 29, 2008, 11:15:45 PM
Temmit could almost see her heart leap into her throat.

"What matters is the safety of Whisper, proceed as you will my friend," she said, regaining her composure that was actually only slightly threatened by Temmit's question.

"Let's discuss it all," she paused. "Pehaps with the relationship first, as I need to hear from someone else what I have been thinking, to strengthen my resolve if you will."
Title: 12-22-2132 - The Awakening
Post by: Johan on March 29, 2008, 11:38:21 PM
"Well," Temmit began cautiously. "Athol does seem to like you quite a bit, but he certainly doesn't love you. I feel sorry for both of you for that." He smiled fleetingly. "I'm afraid that there is no long-term relationship here, but I think that is in your best interests anyway. He doesn't actually *like* women anyway. He speaks highly of you, but not in an intimate way; only a professional one. He doesn't speak of you so much as a relationship, but as a conquest."

"The fact that he has written down all of your transgressions speaks to my mistrust of him. Now, writing them down as he did, and defending your actions as virtuous, makes him either incredibly stupid, or smarter than I would like." He looked up at Renee then. "He's not incredibly stupid." He said pointedly.

"If I was a prosecutor reading this, or more precisely a defender, I might contend that he was ensnared by you, and thus persuaded to allow your criminal activities. In this way, you might be prosecuted and he himself excused. He took notes on your criminal activity with the intent of turning you in one day, but he was simultaneously beguiled by you. He no doubt told himself throughout this time that he was simply gathering a large enough case against you to be insurmountable. This is conjecture, mind you."

"However, I think that he's been trapped, and will soon give you up to save himself. I see here that he was put in charge of digging to the bottom of the Black Marketeering, and he failed. Although he failed, he got a 'thank you' and was returned to his post. His efforts called a success. But there weren't a success, were they? So why was he thanked for his fruitless efforts?"

He was in full narration now, and didn't stop to consider that Renee's feelings might be strained. "Imagine that his higher-ups suspected him of harboring a Black Marketeer? Suppose that they had read this journal a couple of months ago. Suppose that they gave him that assignment *just to see* if he gave you up? And he didn't." He allowed a few heartbeats for this thought to sink into Renee. "So now I think that he might be in a predicament."

"I also ask myself why he didn't give you up. It could be out of affection, but honestly, I don't think that the man is truly affectionate to any but himself. It could also be because he is waiting for you to lead him to a bigger catch. One that will allow him to realize his dreams: Semi-retirement in his own house near the capital. What that might be, I can't say. Black Market ring leaders? He is not as yet aware of Whisper, perse. But he might be aware of *something*."

"There is something afoot, Renee. The guard's efforts on the 'Black Marketing' has eased off, but I fear that it is the calm before the storm, and I think that Mr. Athol will find himself in trouble and in need of a scapegoat. That scapegoat will be you, most likely, and Kristen possibly."

He let that settle upon the table for a little while. "I'll want to re-read this journal tonight, if that's all right. Or this afternoon. I'll get it back to you so that you can return it, but that's where I stand this morning."
Title: 12-22-2132 - The Awakening
Post by: Dray on March 29, 2008, 11:58:35 PM
Renee had listened to him throughout his diatribe of the Captain with a soft, but expressionless face. As Temmit finished she drew in a broken breathe that spoke volumes to the weight of the guilt she carried.

She stood up, still in her nightshirt and walked toward the cot, away from him for a moment. Temmit sensed she was trying with all her resolve not to cry.

She failed.

Putting her face in her hands she sobbed heavily, still standing away from him.
Title: 12-22-2132 - The Awakening
Post by: Johan on March 30, 2008, 08:28:19 AM
Temmit watched, not knowing what he should do. I was sure that there was a "right" thing, but what that might be escaped him. "I'm sorry, Renee." He said stupidly. He wondered if he had confirmed what she already knew - after all, she had read the journal the same as he had - or did he see something that she had not.

He poured a little more of her alchololic coffee drink and sidled up behind her, handing her the cup.
Title: 12-22-2132 - The Awakening
Post by: Dray on March 30, 2008, 08:49:42 AM
Renee thanked him in between sobs and took the cup. She swallowed a final sob and behind it the drink. She looked at the cup for a moment, thinking. The sobbing had abated as quickly as it had appeared.

She lowered her hand possessing the cup but didn't turn to look at him as she spoke, "as I read the journal, I tried to give the man the benefit of the doubt. Throughout the entire damned thing I tried to justify his words, all the while coming to similar conclusions," she turned to face him, "although mine were not as well thoughtout or defined as yours."

She gave him a quick smile, her face a bit flush from crying.

She sat down at the table and held up her cup requesting more coffeecup.

"So what do we do about him," she asked with serious implication.
Title: 12-22-2132 - The Awakening
Post by: Johan on March 30, 2008, 10:15:06 AM
Temmit poured more into her cup and swallowed. He almost hated to pour more pain upon his friend.

"I don't think that you can simply leave him, Renee." He said. "I am confident that if you did, he would turn you in without thinking twice. Or once. This is his power over you."

"Two paths occur to me: either we find something to keep over him (and the contents of this journal aren't enough...he wrote it too shrewdly), or he needs to be eliminated." Temmit was surprised at how callous he could be.
Title: 12-22-2132 - The Awakening
Post by: Dray on March 30, 2008, 10:46:50 AM
"Assassination is something that crossed my mind...an easy out in at least regards to a final solution," she paused, and Temmit already knew what she was going to ask.

"But how does that make us any better than the government we are trying to save these children from?"
Title: 12-22-2132 - The Awakening
Post by: Johan on March 30, 2008, 04:10:40 PM
"Well, there are many who will suggest that the Ends justify the Means. And for me, you are the most important person within Whisper - perhaps ever - and Whisper is far more important than Mr. Athol, or even than our government, given the way that it's being run."

"And not for nothing, but one of the things that makes what we're doing better, is the fact that we're not trying to persecute anyone, and we're trying to create a better, peaceful land. What *they're* doing is trying to keep power for themselves. They are being hypocrites, while we are not. Realize this: we would be put to death for having the same powers that *they* have!" Temmit was getting a bit worked up now. "They tell us that magic is immoral and illegal, but they use it all the time. That's about controlling other people, and I'll be damned if that's not immoral, and shouldn't be illegal. Those writings are there as a way to control you. It's not to scare you, because to do that he would have to have shared them with you, and he didn't do that, did he? He's amassing information whose purpose is to hurt you. I don't see you doing that; certainly not for any purpose other than defense. Who are you going out of your way to hurt? All the while taking advantage of them? No one! That's who."

He seemed to realize that he was doing a lot of speaking then, and regained himself. "Sorry." He said meekly. "I don't know the fellow, and I'm pretty sure that I'd be glad to kill him for you."
Title: 12-22-2132 - The Awakening
Post by: Dray on March 30, 2008, 08:10:51 PM
Renee didn't seem to be offended by his rant, she put a hand on his and held it gently.

"It is all a matter of personal responsibility and more importantly, perspective," she said, trying to be as collected as he usually was.

"Easy for us to judge others from the lofty position of our own righteousness, a position developed only through our own limited knowledge and experience."
Title: 12-22-2132 - The Awakening
Post by: Johan on March 30, 2008, 08:20:22 PM
"Be that as it may," He said. "We'll have to think on this, and decide something. All said, it's your decision. I'll help you do whatever you decide needs to be done."

"Now, I need coffee, and we need to conduct an interview or two."
Title: 12-22-2132 - The Awakening
Post by: Dray on March 30, 2008, 08:51:53 PM
Renee looked at her watch. "I think I have time to run to Wil's mother's house and ask to use her shower, if I hurry."

She got up and gathered her handbag and her sword from its hidden cubby.

"I'm buying the coffee at Nutcase this morning," she said and looked about the room for anything else she may have left behind.

Title: 12-22-2132 - The Awakening
Post by: Johan on March 30, 2008, 09:06:32 PM
"I'll meet you there."
Title: 12-22-2132 - The Awakening
Post by: Dray on March 30, 2008, 09:19:46 PM
...To Be Continued in 12.22.2132 - Interview in ShantyTown.....
Title: 12-22-2132 - The Awakening
Post by: Griznuq on March 30, 2008, 09:32:09 PM
wtf is with that avatar? is that a freakin mouse?
Title: 12-22-2132 - The Awakening
Post by: Johan on March 30, 2008, 09:43:06 PM
I think it's a bunny. A cute widdle bunny wabbit.
Title: 12-22-2132 - The Awakening
Post by: Dray on March 30, 2008, 09:45:29 PM
Bunny wabbit from Final Fantasy XII, your should see Fran, she is a MUCH nicer bunny wabbit.

Fran (she is a wabbit race) (Click on it...ahem....to make it bigger)


(//../../e107_files/public/1206927906_18_FT8946_pictures-final-fantasy-xii-characters-fran001_.jpg) (//../../e107_files/public/1206927906_18_FT8946_pictures-final-fantasy-xii-characters-fran001.jpg)
Title: 12-22-2132 - The Awakening
Post by: Dray on March 30, 2008, 09:46:13 PM
Chinese software developers are perverted geniuses.