ATM II RPG - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Anguirel · 05-20-2006, 06:51 AM

Dracomir had been irritated by Alli's obvious evasiveness on the identity of Lola, and was inwardly absolutely livid when the misshapen Igor took the Lady Spymaster aside to give her information in a manner which was quite obviously designed to exclude him. He was currently isolated from his fellow-diplomats, without being in the slightest particle trusted by Alli, despite all they had been through. He had hoped, apart from anything else, to have a friendly conversation catching up on events since Dol Gaurgauroth...

He knew, however, that the only hope of coming closer to success in his vital task was keeping his emotions untrackable, and so he smiled and cleared his mind, though not without a mental curse at Aunt Bellatrix-why couldn't she have taught him Legilimency as well as this Occlumency rubbish...?

Dracomir now found himself alone with the Mordorian diplomat Maika. Perhaps he could cultivate some kind of friendship here that would prove useful in the long term.

"You seem worried about your fair complexion in the presence of the boorish King Roggie," he sallied. "As you can see, I suffer from a similar problem. It's a clear sign of nobility of blood. I often find a Disillusionment Charm can help lessen the effect of exposure...would you allow me to help?"

Feanor of the Peredhil · 05-20-2006, 10:06 AM

Alli had listened to Igör gleefully. Though negotiations were in a bit of a rut (she chastised herself for the understatement), she trusted in her people's abilities to restart them... at least eventually. And when they did, knowing that the Gondorian officials didn't like each other or trust each other... Ooh, she was excited. Igör had no idea and awaited a response to show through Alli's cool eyes, or at least for her dark red lips to slip softly into a deadly smile. Alli shot a glance at Malfoidacil, drawing his wand in the direction of Maika, before answering quickly in a soft tone revealing nothing.

"Igör, if you can find out more without them knowing it, feel free. Thank you for telling me this; it is helpful."

Dismissed, Igör left, presumably to roll a body part or two through the Gondorian suites.

Alli returned to Maika and Malfoidacil after a moment of thought. Skittles in leather... oh my. Lola was coming... that should be a treat. And dissention in the ranks... Alli couldn't help but wonder why Mardil had chosen these particular ambassadors, most especially Bearugard. Alli remembered him from before she was assigned... he was one of the worst nobles, she'd thought, with no care for the lives of those beneath him. Alli had spent her life quietly loathing monarchies for their continued oppression of the proletariat. Now she worked for one, yet she did not dislike it. Roggie's power structure cared nothing for nobility and though Gondorians might think it due to the distinct lack of nobility in most of Mordor (why, Alli had often wondered, were there so few? Surely the hadn't been immune from Anakronisms...), it was not. Before Roggie, Khamul had quietly run the country through the mafia; no nobles. Now Roggie had advisors specially chosen meritocratically, not for their blood.

"Malfoidacil, please refrain from casting spells upon my workers, no matter how clever you find your charm work to be. Maika, I will speak to Buildings and Grounds workers about it. More likely will be that we'll merely have to open a window. If you like, I have skin cream that works wonders, and it is not even from Panakeia."

Maika stared blankly at Alli over the joke, but her eyes brightened some around the edges, knowing well stories of last year's escape. She'd seen it all on reality television and knew that Panakeia once profited from the sales of really, truly bad makeup products.

"If you will please wait for Lola to arrive and for Skittles to return, Lola will surely guide you all to Roggie's audience chamber wherein he is currently lurking in a foul mood. He will refuse to see you... ignore him on my orders. Pound upon the door until it opens.

"Tom..." Malfoidacil looked up quickly. "If you have time later tonight... it has been a long time. Share stories over drinks? You'll be pleased to learn that I'm fresh out of veritaserum... We'll be stuck with fruit juice, I'm afraid. What say you?"

Without waiting for response, Alli grinned and left, shooting the words "I'll be in my office." over her right shoulder.

Diamond18 · 05-20-2006, 12:53 PM

Skittles got sidetracked on her way to her quarters by a procession of large cats singing in six part harmony.

Not really.

She reached the room that had been provided to her upon her arrival at the Mount Doom Palace and Casino and threw open her trunk. She had to dig through several layers of silk and taffeta to reach the pleather and spandex, but dug right past those cheap imitations to get to the real thing at the bottom. She pulled out a black catsuit and smiled.

When she left her room, she was a different woman. Sort of. She was still ten feet away from sane, but instead of skipping or waltzing along, she lurked from corner to corner. Like a cat, only on two feet. Most of the time, anyway; sometimes she crawled, but only when she really felt like it.

She met a few hapless orcs along the way, whom she had to silence lest they talked. Talked to whom, about what, no one besides Skittles really knows, but she felt that this was of the utmost importance. A quick snick of the switchblade and they went down before even knowing what had sliced them.

She sidestepped a trail of fingers rolling down the hallway and reentered the negotiation room unseen and unheard by all. (In truth, everyone saw her, but no one really cared.)

Gliding like liquid oil, she sidled up to Dracomir and said in a low, menacing voice, “Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?”

He turned slowly and looked at her as if she had sprouted an extra head, so she reached up to feel her neck and shoulders, just to make sure. Nope, she thought, somewhat disappointed. Still just the one.

Anguirel · 05-20-2006, 01:18 PM

Tom surveyed Skittles with an even, patronising gaze. He did, he admitted to himself, think the black leather rather more tasteful than the former hideously bright melange that the star of the Mordorian Foreign Office had preferred wearing before...now that Alli had left, he was strictly tempted to respond with "As a matter fact, yes" followed by a quick Full Body Bind Curse, but he rejected the plan for the moment as overcomplicating an already convoluted situation.

Time for a charm offensive.

"Why, Skittles, you look ravishing," he said. "Positively, ah, oakish. Doesn't she, Maika?" he added with a step back, only to find that Maika was no longer in the immediate vicinity. "Ah, well, take my word for it. My lady, if an oak tree had decided to take up a career in stealth, cunning and assassination, it would be...your very spitting image."

Another step back.

"So, um, Skittles, do you know anything about this Lola character who's going to be joining us?"

He kept his left hand clenched tightly in his robe's inside pocket, his wand ready to be out. Just in case. Smalltalk with this maiden could be quite tricky, and he really didn't like getting hurt.

Diamond18 · 05-20-2006, 03:10 PM

Skittles felt an odd twinge, and blinked. Something nagging in the back of her head told her that she was angry as this incredibly pale boy standing next to her, but she couldn’t quite remember the reason. Did this have anything to do with the unfortunate breath mint incident? No, that had happened last month, and was taken care of...

She shook her head, and heard the end of Dracomir’s question.

“Yeah, I know her,” she said. “Her name is Lola, she was a showgirl with yellow feathers in her hair and a dress cut down to there at the Copa, Copacabana, the hottest spot north of Havana, where music and passion were always the fashion. Then she got into administrative assistance, and the rest, as they say, is historically inaccurate.”

Dracomir nodded, and made a noncommittal noise as if debating whether or not to believe what she was saying. Skittles wrinkled her forehead and said, “You are a very charming boy, but I think I came here to carve my initials onto your face. Can you do me a favor and remind me why?”

Anguirel · 05-21-2006, 01:25 AM

Dracomir was rather relieved. His tactics of distracting Skittles from her original purpose, if not making her altogether forget it, seemed to be working.

"I can't say I ever knew why," he replied. "You were obviously far too cunning and intelligent to tell me of your, ah, motives. Planning to take me by surprise, that sort of thing."

What Skittles had told him of Lola was interesting. So she was a sort of Mordor good-time girl. "Everyone likes Lola," Ms. Martinet had said. Certainly, he could see a possible clash of character. The stern secretary was probably unwilling to tolerate chorus-girls. Well, now they had only this woman to wait for before their audience with the King...

In the meantime, Skittles had to be kept relatively calm and somewhat less switchblade happy. Tom thought that trying to converse with her own exceptional eclecticism might just work.

"Skittles," he asked, "what's your favourite colour?"

Lhunardawen · 05-21-2006, 02:53 AM

"My lady, you seem worried about your fair complexion in the presence of the boorish King Roggie," Dracomir's voice cut into Maika's worried thoughts. "As you can see, I suffer from a similar problem. It's a clear sign of nobility of blood. I often find a Disillusionment Charm can help lessen the effect of exposure...would you allow me to help?"

Nobility? Maika almost laughed, but caught herself. Nobility. It was funny. Or was it? Without realizing it she was soon turning the word over and over in her head, but a quick sight of the waiting Gondorian made her stop.

"I would advise you against speaking ill of Roggie in the presence of a Mordorian, sire," she replied with a slight glare. "And as for your offer, you're welcome to try. But don't say I didn't warn you."

"Warn me of what?" Dracomir drew his wand from inside his robe anyway, and without waiting for an appropriate response started waving it towards her...when Alli came to her, uh, rescue.

"Malfoidacil, please refrain from casting spells upon my workers, no matter how clever you find your charm work to be. Maika, I will speak to Buildings and Grounds workers about it. More likely will be that we'll merely have to open a window. If you like, I have skin cream that works wonders, and it is not even from Panakeia."

Maika sneaked a smug look over at Dracomir as Alli rebuked him, and turned to Alli with a blank stare at her offer. Sighing inwardly in relief that the product was not from the infamous Panakeia, she decided to accept it. She doubted it would work, but who knows?

After Alli had given their orders and asked Dracomir (Tom?) to what seemed like a date, Maika quietly followed her out of the room. She caught her a short distance down the corridor. "Alli," she almost whispered, "so, can I give this skin cream a try?" Asking help from an ex-Balrog winger? Maika could not believe the depth to which she had fallen.

05-20-2006, 06:51 AM	#1
Anguirel Byronic Brand Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: The 1590s Posts: 2,778	Dracomir had been irritated by Alli's obvious evasiveness on the identity of Lola, and was inwardly absolutely livid when the misshapen Igor took the Lady Spymaster aside to give her information in a manner which was quite obviously designed to exclude him. He was currently isolated from his fellow-diplomats, without being in the slightest particle trusted by Alli, despite all they had been through. He had hoped, apart from anything else, to have a friendly conversation catching up on events since Dol Gaurgauroth... He knew, however, that the only hope of coming closer to success in his vital task was keeping his emotions untrackable, and so he smiled and cleared his mind, though not without a mental curse at Aunt Bellatrix-why couldn't she have taught him Legilimency as well as this Occlumency rubbish...? Dracomir now found himself alone with the Mordorian diplomat Maika. Perhaps he could cultivate some kind of friendship here that would prove useful in the long term. "You seem worried about your fair complexion in the presence of the boorish King Roggie," he sallied. "As you can see, I suffer from a similar problem. It's a clear sign of nobility of blood. I often find a Disillusionment Charm can help lessen the effect of exposure...would you allow me to help?" Last edited by Anguirel; 05-21-2006 at 02:50 AM.

05-20-2006, 10:06 AM	#2
Feanor of the Peredhil La Belle Dame sans Merci Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: perpetual uncertainty Posts: 5,517	Alli had listened to Igör gleefully. Though negotiations were in a bit of a rut (she chastised herself for the understatement), she trusted in her people's abilities to restart them... at least eventually. And when they did, knowing that the Gondorian officials didn't like each other or trust each other... Ooh, she was excited. Igör had no idea and awaited a response to show through Alli's cool eyes, or at least for her dark red lips to slip softly into a deadly smile. Alli shot a glance at Malfoidacil, drawing his wand in the direction of Maika, before answering quickly in a soft tone revealing nothing. "Igör, if you can find out more without them knowing it, feel free. Thank you for telling me this; it is helpful." Dismissed, Igör left, presumably to roll a body part or two through the Gondorian suites. Alli returned to Maika and Malfoidacil after a moment of thought. Skittles in leather... oh my. Lola was coming... that should be a treat. And dissention in the ranks... Alli couldn't help but wonder why Mardil had chosen these particular ambassadors, most especially Bearugard. Alli remembered him from before she was assigned... he was one of the worst nobles, she'd thought, with no care for the lives of those beneath him. Alli had spent her life quietly loathing monarchies for their continued oppression of the proletariat. Now she worked for one, yet she did not dislike it. Roggie's power structure cared nothing for nobility and though Gondorians might think it due to the distinct lack of nobility in most of Mordor (why, Alli had often wondered, were there so few? Surely the hadn't been immune from Anakronisms...), it was not. Before Roggie, Khamul had quietly run the country through the mafia; no nobles. Now Roggie had advisors specially chosen meritocratically, not for their blood. "Malfoidacil, please refrain from casting spells upon my workers, no matter how clever you find your charm work to be. Maika, I will speak to Buildings and Grounds workers about it. More likely will be that we'll merely have to open a window. If you like, I have skin cream that works wonders, and it is not even from Panakeia." Maika stared blankly at Alli over the joke, but her eyes brightened some around the edges, knowing well stories of last year's escape. She'd seen it all on reality television and knew that Panakeia once profited from the sales of really, truly bad makeup products. "If you will please wait for Lola to arrive and for Skittles to return, Lola will surely guide you all to Roggie's audience chamber wherein he is currently lurking in a foul mood. He will refuse to see you... ignore him on my orders. Pound upon the door until it opens. "Tom..." Malfoidacil looked up quickly. "If you have time later tonight... it has been a long time. Share stories over drinks? You'll be pleased to learn that I'm fresh out of veritaserum... We'll be stuck with fruit juice, I'm afraid. What say you?" Without waiting for response, Alli grinned and left, shooting the words "I'll be in my office." over her right shoulder. Last edited by Feanor of the Peredhil; 05-20-2006 at 01:01 PM.

05-20-2006, 12:53 PM	#3
Diamond18 Eidolon of a Took Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: my own private fantasy world Posts: 3,460	Skittles got sidetracked on her way to her quarters by a procession of large cats singing in six part harmony. Not really. She reached the room that had been provided to her upon her arrival at the Mount Doom Palace and Casino and threw open her trunk. She had to dig through several layers of silk and taffeta to reach the pleather and spandex, but dug right past those cheap imitations to get to the real thing at the bottom. She pulled out a black catsuit and smiled. When she left her room, she was a different woman. Sort of. She was still ten feet away from sane, but instead of skipping or waltzing along, she lurked from corner to corner. Like a cat, only on two feet. Most of the time, anyway; sometimes she crawled, but only when she really felt like it. She met a few hapless orcs along the way, whom she had to silence lest they talked. Talked to whom, about what, no one besides Skittles really knows, but she felt that this was of the utmost importance. A quick snick of the switchblade and they went down before even knowing what had sliced them. She sidestepped a trail of fingers rolling down the hallway and reentered the negotiation room unseen and unheard by all. (In truth, everyone saw her, but no one really cared.) Gliding like liquid oil, she sidled up to Dracomir and said in a low, menacing voice, “Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?” He turned slowly and looked at her as if she had sprouted an extra head, so she reached up to feel her neck and shoulders, just to make sure. Nope, she thought, somewhat disappointed. Still just the one.

05-20-2006, 01:18 PM	#4
Anguirel Byronic Brand Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: The 1590s Posts: 2,778	Tom surveyed Skittles with an even, patronising gaze. He did, he admitted to himself, think the black leather rather more tasteful than the former hideously bright melange that the star of the Mordorian Foreign Office had preferred wearing before...now that Alli had left, he was strictly tempted to respond with "As a matter fact, yes" followed by a quick Full Body Bind Curse, but he rejected the plan for the moment as overcomplicating an already convoluted situation. Time for a charm offensive. "Why, Skittles, you look ravishing," he said. "Positively, ah, oakish. Doesn't she, Maika?" he added with a step back, only to find that Maika was no longer in the immediate vicinity. "Ah, well, take my word for it. My lady, if an oak tree had decided to take up a career in stealth, cunning and assassination, it would be...your very spitting image." Another step back. "So, um, Skittles, do you know anything about this Lola character who's going to be joining us?" He kept his left hand clenched tightly in his robe's inside pocket, his wand ready to be out. Just in case. Smalltalk with this maiden could be quite tricky, and he really didn't like getting hurt.

05-20-2006, 03:10 PM	#5
Diamond18 Eidolon of a Took Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: my own private fantasy world Posts: 3,460	Skittles felt an odd twinge, and blinked. Something nagging in the back of her head told her that she was angry as this incredibly pale boy standing next to her, but she couldn’t quite remember the reason. Did this have anything to do with the unfortunate breath mint incident? No, that had happened last month, and was taken care of... She shook her head, and heard the end of Dracomir’s question. “Yeah, I know her,” she said. “Her name is Lola, she was a showgirl with yellow feathers in her hair and a dress cut down to there at the Copa, Copacabana, the hottest spot north of Havana, where music and passion were always the fashion. Then she got into administrative assistance, and the rest, as they say, is historically inaccurate.” Dracomir nodded, and made a noncommittal noise as if debating whether or not to believe what she was saying. Skittles wrinkled her forehead and said, “You are a very charming boy, but I think I came here to carve my initials onto your face. Can you do me a favor and remind me why?”

05-21-2006, 01:25 AM	#6
Anguirel Byronic Brand Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: The 1590s Posts: 2,778	Dracomir was rather relieved. His tactics of distracting Skittles from her original purpose, if not making her altogether forget it, seemed to be working. "I can't say I ever knew why," he replied. "You were obviously far too cunning and intelligent to tell me of your, ah, motives. Planning to take me by surprise, that sort of thing." What Skittles had told him of Lola was interesting. So she was a sort of Mordor good-time girl. "Everyone likes Lola," Ms. Martinet had said. Certainly, he could see a possible clash of character. The stern secretary was probably unwilling to tolerate chorus-girls. Well, now they had only this woman to wait for before their audience with the King... In the meantime, Skittles had to be kept relatively calm and somewhat less switchblade happy. Tom thought that trying to converse with her own exceptional eclecticism might just work. "Skittles," he asked, "what's your favourite colour?"

05-21-2006, 02:53 AM	#7
Lhunardawen Hauntress of the Havens Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: IN it, but not OF it Posts: 2,538	"My lady, you seem worried about your fair complexion in the presence of the boorish King Roggie," Dracomir's voice cut into Maika's worried thoughts. "As you can see, I suffer from a similar problem. It's a clear sign of nobility of blood. I often find a Disillusionment Charm can help lessen the effect of exposure...would you allow me to help?" Nobility? Maika almost laughed, but caught herself. Nobility. It was funny. Or was it? Without realizing it she was soon turning the word over and over in her head, but a quick sight of the waiting Gondorian made her stop. "I would advise you against speaking ill of Roggie in the presence of a Mordorian, sire," she replied with a slight glare. "And as for your offer, you're welcome to try. But don't say I didn't warn you." "Warn me of what?" Dracomir drew his wand from inside his robe anyway, and without waiting for an appropriate response started waving it towards her...when Alli came to her, uh, rescue. "Malfoidacil, please refrain from casting spells upon my workers, no matter how clever you find your charm work to be. Maika, I will speak to Buildings and Grounds workers about it. More likely will be that we'll merely have to open a window. If you like, I have skin cream that works wonders, and it is not even from Panakeia." Maika sneaked a smug look over at Dracomir as Alli rebuked him, and turned to Alli with a blank stare at her offer. Sighing inwardly in relief that the product was not from the infamous Panakeia, she decided to accept it. She doubted it would work, but who knows? After Alli had given their orders and asked Dracomir (Tom?) to what seemed like a date, Maika quietly followed her out of the room. She caught her a short distance down the corridor. "Alli," she almost whispered, "so, can I give this skin cream a try?" Asking help from an ex-Balrog winger? Maika could not believe the depth to which she had fallen.