An Elfy Sense Of Skepticism

An Elfy Sense Of Skepticism
Date of Scene:	26 February 2014
Location:	Mysidia
Synopsis:	While under the influence of Echo's spell, Morrighan is enlisted to help capture Zerum for Rakassa's experiments. Despite how dubious Zerum is of Echo's request, and in defiance of the resistance he offers, the two women still end up taking him into custody, against his will. (Backscene)
Thanks to:	Morrighan and Echo for accommodating the time-bubble aspect of the scene
Cast of Characters:	Morrighan Alazne, Echo, Zerum Valos

---

Zerum has posed:
Mysidia was an enchanted realm that prided itself on its dedication to the study of magic, and as such, it was headed mostly by sorcerers of varying skill. It had also been assaulted by a certain Cecil Harvey not too long ago, which made the inhabitants at least remotely distrustful towards dark knights in general, who were never afforded a good reputation even in other nations; those wielding the sword of darkness were renowned for having questionable alignments.

To top this off, dark elves didn't receive much compassion from the world at large, at least as far as it applied to attitudes of those who thrived in the world of the Blue Planet, ergo, Zerum Valos had a couple strikes against him when he finally reached Mysidia. At first, they could barely be convinced to allow him inside the city limits, but after a little bribery, which was something Zerum was not above, being one who had a streak of corruption in his veins, he was given access with probation. It was likely that the drow wouldn't receive all the benefits of those with citizenship, including use of public facilities without some sort of application, as well as some of the protections granted to upstanding members of the community.

At seven feet in height, he didn't feel that he'd had to worry too terribly about the authorities giving priority to him over their inclination to rush to the aid of little old grannies in distress, so he was quite comfortable in a less populated part of town, trying to figure out how he could endear himself to the locals, which might enable him admittance to the libraries. It was dusk, so the sun hadn't yet gone down, but red and orange tones suggested that it was not long for gracing Mysidia with its basking-- again, not a problem for Zerum, he had a technique nearly identical to echo-location, so lack of proper illumination wouldn't be much of a hindrance!

Echo has posed:
"Alright, miss Rakassa has need of this person, they are not seeming like they're too happy at the moment here, are you sure you can do this?" Echo had done a little talking with Morri before this 'project' of the lady back at the bastion was to be carried out. She smiled and had an arm around the dark elf's waist, gentle with her almost completely. She might have liked the company, truth be told, or maybe just a friend to pal around with on things. She had not exactly wanted the elf taken out to do work with her so soon, without some more posturing time, but Rakassa had posed this job to them, and it was either going to be now or Echo could have gone out to do it herself.

Morrighan Alazne has posed:
"....."

Silence.

Morrighan didn't particularly have outstanding opinions on the task at hand, or her readiness to handle it. Echo's arm around her waist went ignored as they made their way. Eventually, the elven woman responded. "...We just need to find this person and bring them back, yes? I hardly see the trial in it."

Either she was supremely confident in her abilities, or she wasn't given an explanation on what exactly they were going to do. Echo was the one who did the talking anyhow. Which meant it was likely the latter. That said, Morrighan has gone back to being quiet. As she usually was recently. No need to speak out of turn.

"Do we know where he is?"

Zerum has posed:
Depending on how far away Echo and Morrighan were, Zerum might've heard their brief discourse, or, barring that, their approach as they moved towards him..... yes, Echo could fly, and Morrighan, as a time-mage, had the 'Float' spell, but the occasional click that the black knight issued was enough to give him a mental layout of his environment without any problem. The bottom line was, unless they were moving at light-speed, he would know they were coming.... but if he hadn't heard their actual words?

It's self-evident to say that without mind-reading, the tall drow wouldn't be able to assess their intentions. He was somewhat absorbed in reading through a few legal documents for the time being, since they might've held clues that would provide him with insight on how to get inside the library. Meanwhile, nothing too eventful was going on, aside from the occasional passerby giving Zerum unfriendly gazes, due to being a warrior of darkness; after the first day of being in Mysidia, he was already accustomed to this, so it hardly bothered him. As long as people kept their distance, he'd leave them alone.... and being a man who preferred his privacy, he universally had a policy of requesting others maintain a berth of about six feet away from him at almost all times.

Some individuals just weren't social.

Echo has posed:
"Well, right here, don't worry, It'll be alright," Echo smiled a little, hiking the hood she wore, presumably the female next to her might be in one, though it wasn't likely any of the poor mages here were going to bother about a beast kin or an elf, they were still mourning the loss of their friends struck down and captured and the loss of the water crystal. She would approach the dark knight with casual softness, the bat lady smiling with her ivory fangs hanging over a lip that had been done up especially red with some rouge lipstick.

"Hello there," the bat would say, the dark elf next to her, one arm around her waist as she nodded a little. "It can get very cold in this area at night sirrah, might you not have a place to stay this evening?" she spoke up, addressing the dark knight.

Morrighan Alazne has posed:
"......"

Morrighan meanwhile wasn't exactly comfortable with this approach, though she didn't say anything outwardly. Unlike Echo, she hadn't done herself up in any special way. Nothing more than the usual anyway. Her hooded cloak hid most of her upper body, only tapering off at around the thighs. One could suppose she looked like any old mage skulking about around here. She probably would have gotten about as much derision as Zerum if she'd taken her hood down, so it stayed up till now.

Once Echo had made the move to address their target, Morrighan lowered her hood, freeing the majority of her sight to better take in their target. Ah, a dark elf, similar to her. But not quite. ".....Hello..." She greeted, running a stark contrast to the bat mage's own forward approach. It wasn't exactly an act, but perhaps the unsure type was more to his liking. Who knew.

She nodded in agreement with her companion regarding the cold night, but didn't say anything more to aid Echo's case.

Zerum has posed:
Zerum raised a brow when Echo directs some words towards him, and he twists his body a little bit so that he can take sight of them from over his shoulder, and he realizes one of the persons is a dark elf, albeit not the same breed as himself.

This did something to earn some trust, but not a terrible amount, given that even amongst his kin, there was always both literal and metaphorical backstabbing-- all in the name of refinement... a dark elf that couldn't survive the tribulations of a nigh-cannabalistic society deserved to be swallowed up and removed from the gene-pool. When the bat-girl inquires as to whether he has a place to stay, the machine inside his head begins to churn, activating his introspective propensity. If this was an act of true altruism, then it should be something offered without strings attached.

If it was some sort of ruse, then it was doubtless that he'd be incapable of coercing them into rendering free accommodations on Zerum's terms, which were hardly unreasonable, despite the fact that they wouldn't promote rapport between him and his benefactors, "I don't take up occupancy within the same quarters as others, so if you have an extra bed, then I'll respectfully decline, buuuuut...... if you're willing to pay my way.... then just toss the munny to me from where you are-- I don't like people in close proximity to myself, they might accidentally.... touch me." He nods to Morrighan, simply, "Greetings, as well, miss. I have to say, it's nice to see something beautiful in this eyesore of a commonwealth."

Echo has posed:
Indeed, the bat's companion is a bit more of an ebony beauty sort of skintone than the shade of blue the drow they were attempting to come in contact with. "Surely we could escape somewhere for a little something to eat, and perhaps a warm bed for the evening?" Echo had decided to make her approach a bit less blunt and maybe a bit more coy than she initially had the mind to. This was the same sort of routine women of her family had used hundreds of times before, and had always used. Men were a lot easier to lure with a woman's special charms. It was also perhaps a good opportunity to show Morrighan how guile worked, she perhaps thought, nobody suspected women after all.

"Touch you? I don't seem to understand sir," she frowned a little herself, looking honestly a little confused. Like seriously, who would turn down two women like that? This might need a more 'blunt' approach than what she'd intended.

Morrighan Alazne has posed:
Zerum's comment earned him a smile and a nod. "You have my thanks, kind sir." Not one hundred percent genuine, but if this was their target, she couldn't drive him away with grumpiness. Morrighan stayed mostly silent, arching a brow curiously at the man's answer and demeanor. Looks like this one wasn't the type of fool to be easily snared by a pretty face.

Admirable on one hand, irritating on another.

"If I may ask..." The elven woman spoke up after Echo. "Why would touching you be a problem?" Did this man have some sort of phobia regarding close contact? She couldn't imagine so, but one could never truly know unless said...

Zerum has posed:
Looking at Echo, as she began to give her pitch, he wondered how the bat stood to profit from the arrangement that was being offered; then it occurred to him.... this would be one of those situations where they got him drunk and then made off with his wallet, or maybe they just wanted a lay. The problem with the latter was that the black knight only had eyes for Morrighan, between the two of them, and he suspected Echo wouldn't be content to sit back and watch while being denied active participation.

When the bat-girl explains that she doesn't comprehend his meaning, he decides to clarify, in the hopes of enlightening Morri, in addition, "I find that keeping a good distance away from others prevents the unintended collision between myself and others. This is necessary because until I get to know somebody, their impulses are an enigma to me, which means they may either have a dagger waiting, or they might try to snatch something and run off with it."

The dark knight pauses, before proceeding with the rest, "Ya see.... Some people grow up in these nice, suburban neighborhoods where everybody hugs each other and offers one another a ride to work on the back of their chocobo, or some nonsense like that." He bobs his head back and forth a little, "That was not my cultural upbringing, so, I like to err on the side of caution. Plus.... the touchy-feely thing just doesn't do it for me. If I want compassion, then I'll gladly take a kick in the @ss over a shoulder to cry on." Zerum smirks, hoping that clears things up for everbody.

Echo has posed:
"My friend here is very nice, I think you'll find, won't you spend an evening with her? Err, us," Echo unlaced her arm from around Morri and instead put her hand on her shoulder. She wasn't exactly trying to seem like her pimp, though it might have made the bat seem more like a madam in this respect. The bat stepped away from her and instead gestured Morri a little closer, it wasn't impossible that the other elf might like this elf here more than a bat, and all, of course. "Oh, no body is expecting you to cry here sir, don't worry, these people have done enough crying lately, I think..." she gestured to the town at large, who understandably had something to cry about.

Morrighan Alazne has posed:
Morrighan didn't offer any outward reaction to Zerum's explanation of why close contact was a no no. In the back of her mind however, she could hear the words 'uncouth barbarian!' being muttered by some haughty, spoiled princess. Surely that couldn't have been her. No way. No how.

Returning to reality, the dark elf had heard Echo offer her up to the man 'for the evening'. Her skin immediately began to crawl at the thought. This man was a stranger! And she was not an object to be bartered! "....Um..." Nonetheless, she stayed her hand and her words, just awkwardly muttering her confusion as she was urged forward.

She took a step forward inadvertently in the process and stared up at the large, imposing, dark knight. "....." And then with a huff, she looked away. Not looking all too forthcoming about 'an evening together'. She mentally attempted to convince herself that it was just a ruse, but some part of her found this to be utterly repulsive, which just made it harder.

Zerum has posed:
Zerum sighs, and folds his arms over his chest, turning to finally face the two of them, instead of unsocially staring at them over his shoulder while keeping his backside their way, "Okay.... Let's be realistic here." He then taps the pommel of his oddly-shaped sword, which remains in its makeshift sheathe, for the time being, mayhap cluing them to the fact that he's already growing suspicious, "First of all, the red-light district doesn't run a delivery service, so you aren't here to try and sell this delicious-looking specimen of a dark elf to me for an evening."

He nods his head, satisfied with this analysis, then continues, "Second, do you seriously expect me to believe that you randomly decided to offer me a place to stay for the night, and a meal, without expecting some kind of reciprocation, when everyone in this cesspool is hoping that I'll give them just enough of an excuse to let them slaughter me?" Following this, Zerum gives them a discerning gaze, "This has gotten to the point where I'm no longer impressed with your dog and pony show. I don't know who you fathom you're fooling, but you're not some traveling philanthropist hoping to save the world, and if you actually expect me to buy that, then you're just insulting my intelligence, or extremely delusional."

He frowns, "Now, maybe if your friend here....", he cants his head towards Morrighan, "...hadn't gotten all huffy, I might've considered that there was a /ghost of a chance/ that any of this was halfway true, but as it stands...." Zerum begins to turn away from them, "....I was in the middle of trying to do something intellectually stimulating, and entertaining these antics is hardly liable to increase my health, wealth, or wisdom. So!.... If neither of you would be unspeakably offended by my inclination to do so, I'll let you both go your way, and I'll go mine, in the hopes that on our next encounter, we'll be of mutual benefit to one another!" He half-grins, "Good day to you ladies, especially /you/!" he bows to Morrighan, and takes his first step away from them, planning to depart.

Echo has posed:
"What if I was?" Echo eyed the man, replying to his first argument, raising a brow and honestly looking a bit confused again when the man goes on. "We are two women looking to perhaps pool together for lodgings for the evening sir, and maybe dinner," she said getting back a bit of her pleasant, friendly smile, patting Morri on the back. She gently urged the girl a bit foward as the bat would try to be manuevering around behind the dark knight perhaps now, as stealthily possible, the bat had training in this, after all.

The bat is apparently hoping Morri will help stall the man while she gets closer, taking what appears to be a damp rag out of one of her bags.

Morrighan Alazne has posed:
Sigh.

Morrighan wasn't cut out for this cloak and dagger work. Straightforward was more her style. Nonetheless, she did get the cue and stepped forward a tad, one arm slightly reached out in an effort to stop him. "Excuse me...before you go...might I have your name?"

She really didn't want his name at all. But she wasn't going to throw herself at him. Nor was she going to flirt. She hoped that was enough to stall him for Echo to do what she needed to do.

Resorting to force would have been troublesome as well. She'd hoped it wouldn't get there.

Zerum has posed:
He almost rolled his eyes when Echo tried to propose that she was engaging in the former practice that Zerum speculated was being delineated very poorly. The dark knight didn't even want to argue about it anymore, and having felt that he respectfully requested he be permitted to go on his merry way, he lightly waved his hand when she kept running her mouth, as though it were just empty talk that had no worth. Now, it could be said that Zerum couldn't hear a tiny rodent chewing on a kernel of corn from a mile away in a grassy field on a windy day, but if there was the most miuscule caliber of motion within about a dozen meters, his ears would pick up on it, even if he couldn't rightly /see/ in behind himself-- rear-view mirrors?

No.

T Rear-view headphones? Definitely. When Echo began to circle around towards him, he knew where she was moving, and the hand that was on the pommel of his sword clutched it a little tighter. In her defense, those without such proficiency in auditory magnitude would likely have been unable to see anything out of the corners of their eyes, even for those who were trained in archery, but this fellow named Zerum was not vision-dependent. No, he wasn't as unreasonable skilled as Count Gidarch Valos, his cousin, but he had a few of his kin's tricks, and seeing without sight was one of those talents.

When Morrighan beseeched him for a name, he answered, still keeping his hand on the pommel of his sword, "My name is Lord Zerum Valos..... and I recommend you tell that flying rodent friend of yours not to try any stunts while she's sneaking around, because I'm about two seconds from letting Hades inherit the headache that I've gotten from her up until now." It looks like Echo would have to do things the hard way, but that would probably mean higher pay for the deed, since more labor would be involved.

Echo has posed:
Inwardly, Echo was both proud of Morrighan's initiative and a little annoyed at how this was going. Wrestling with the dark knight with the chemical soaked rag might make this a bit messy, especially since she was sure she needed to pretty much latch onto the big guy to do so. "Men always gotta make things difficult, can't just come along like they're told," the bat muttered, trying to grab the man with both arms and the rag in her right hand, trying to shove it around his face to get it pressed over his nose!

Morrighan Alazne has posed:
Morrighan sighed as she heard his name. It wasn't familiar at all. She just nodded. "Well then, Lord Zerum Valos. ...I apologize for this, but do try and stay put." Seeing Echo leap into action, she followed through by extending an arm. Light magic glyphs began to form at several points along the ground.

Without much flashiness or stalling otherwise, chains of light burst up through the circles, aiming to wrap around the man's arms and legs to restrain him. At least enough for Echo to get in and do what she needed to.

This truly was repulsive work.

Zerum has posed:
Zerum was being tag-teamed! Since magic was something he felt less confident about being able to counter, the first thing he saw fit to deal with were the ethereal chains surging towards his appendages. What's the scientific approach to neutralizing any sort of element, or matter? To use the antipodal type of substance, which would cancel out the aforementioned plague. It just so happened that his specialty was shadowmancy, so when manacles of luminosity erupt, he conjures up a cyclonic barrier around himself that devours the chains before they can wrap around him. But.... this exhausts his concentration as the stygian shell evaporates as it finishes dispelling the spell Morrighan had used against him, which gives Echo just enough time to ensnare his limbs.

She's hardly strong enough to hold him in place, and in just moments, he's self-assured that emancipation shall come, yet, unlike his nihilistic relative The Count, he has more of a temper, and feels the compulsion to verbally scorn his attackers, in place of infusing his attention solely on functional applications, such as freeing himself, so he shouts at the two of them as they besiege him, "BLOODY PEASANTS! How dare you attack a man of noble birth! You don't deserve to lick the toejam from my pet chime....."

His mouth and nose are smothered by the moist cloth, causing him to inhale the fumes, which promptly puts him out. This was surely providential in the sense that Echo wouldn't have to do battle with Zerum, but on the other hand, his limp body falls down, and weighing in at three hundred some pounds, carrying him will be troublesome, assuming he doesn't regain consciousness and present them with more resistance..... After all, who knew how long he'd remain comatose; Rakassa didn't exactly get much information on the other Gidarch Valos from the church, since that particular drow had been good at keeping his secrets before his untimely death. But.... maybe they could get him on a chocobo and carry him to.... wherever it was they wanted to transport him?

Echo has posed:
Indeed, Echo is not strong enough to hold Zerum down, though Morrighan has been lovely enough to distract the blue elf long enough for her to jump on him from behind and place the chemical rag over his face. "Now take a big long breath~" she might even try to make a small grab at his throat just to facilitate him no longer having air immediately in his lungs. It's the bat quickness that wins out apparently, and soon the man would find himself feeling quite weak, like the darkness at the edge of vision was quickly surging in on him. "Agh, shoulda just taken our offer, woulda been a lot more fun for you, Morri get the plastic rope the witch gave us..."

Morrighan Alazne has posed:
Morrighan watched as Echo did her work on Zerum. Feeling absolutely disgusted with the whole thing herself. She couldn't remember why, or if there was even anything to remember, but this sort of thing just infuriated her for reason.

How strange.

Nonetheless, she nodded and produced the aforementioned rope from her cloak, stepping forward to hand it to Echo. "...We should hurry before the authorities come." Though in this part of town, it might not be too soon. That thought out of her mind, she pulled her hood back up and glanced at her companion.

"Where are we taking him anyhow?"

Echo has posed:
"Get his feet," once Echo had the male's arms bound, she'd start to begin trying to drag him. "Ugh, all that armor, might need a mini spell," she was already panting, grunting trying to get her arms under his and trying to drag him off. "One part of the job that never gets easy hon, c'mon," she resettled her hood over her head and big white ears as she proceeded to drag the man off to where she had a shadow lord portal setup to get the man properly transported.