The Mad God's Masque and Bellicose Ball (IC) (M)

[Mel Dragonkitty]

When Cog commented that her grandmother could tell who had sent out the invitations Mel made a nonspecific sort of sound while sipping her drink. She made a show of turning to watch the creature, who she guessed to be a cubi by his erratic behavior, set off the security guards. Obviously he had never been here before or he would know that the hotel had a security force capable of handling anything up to and including fae. No one disturbed the guests here, including other guests.

[Cogidubnus]

Horatio was silent as as Andrace spoke to him, although his grin became a little wider as she went on.

"You saw that, huh?" he said. One thumb rubbed against the rest of his fingers while the fox paused - his face was mirthful, but it was obvious that he was considering what to say. "She did point at you, yes..."

"It wasn't because she saw a pretty lioness, either." he said finally, leaning back on his stool. The sounds of the dining hall, the clattering of dishes and plates, and the light murmur of conversation filled the lull as Horatio paused.

"But I'm sorry to disappoint you. You're asking the wrong person." His expression dimmed, and became somewhat more earnest. "I wish I could help you, but I don't do that sort of work for the Icewings. I'm security detail and enforcement. It's not my job to know things." he paused, looking around briefly. "But it's not fair to expect you to be led by the hand blindly, either..."

He crossed his legs, and leaned one elbow against the counter, putting his chin in his hand. "The mistress receives visitors all the time. She summons them far less often." he said, pausing. "She wants you to do something, or she wants to get some information from you. If you can think of anything she might want to know, that could be your answer. If you can't think of anything..." he shrugged.

"If she doesn't want information, I'd think about what someone would hire someone with your talents and abilities to do." he said carefully. "Skills and talents and capabilities sort of thing. I doubt she wants to you translate a tome from draconic to sanskrit, if you know what I mean. Unless this happens to be something you're good at."

* * *

The otter paused. The man on the other end of the line seemed a bit distressed - she thought about asking if something was wrong, but ended up simply answering the question. Of course he was distressed. Everyone was distressed today. It wasn't something to worry about.
"No one has left a message with us, Mr. Goss." she said, checking to make sure that it was actually the case. Scattered papers dotted with various names littered the front desk area. It wasn't technically a lie - she couldn't see any messages for the man, anyway. If they found something later they'd let him know, surely.

"If we get one, we'll make sure and let you know, sir." she said evenly, and wondered where that bastard of a tiger had gone off to. She'd been manning the desk nearly by herself for almost thirty minutes now.

* * *

The body of the mouse lay quite still and unmoving, leaking out nearly black looking blood onto the flagstones beneath them. It was rapidly as silent as it had been before - it appeared that this part of the castle was somewhat isolated from the rest of it. Even the sound of the weather outside was muted, the nearest window being at least twenty feet back.
A pair of bloody keys floated in front of the white bat, and a wooden, locked door to her left. The hallway itself was empty from end to end - there was only herself, and the body of the mouse.

* * *

The suited panther listened stiffly to Camoile's apology on behalf of her master, and when she finished simply nodded. "We appreciate your apology, and hope that your continued stay will be pleasant. On the behalf of the hotel, however, we would continue to ask that you not disturb the other guests. Please have a nice evening." he finished, and without another word or acknowledgment turned and stalked behind the bar counter, and then disappearing behind a door into the interior of the building. From his tone and expression, it was clear he was still fuming - but this now didn't seem to matter.

The remainder of those present in the dining room were rapidly losing interest, now that the fireworks seemed to be over, and returning to their meals and conversations. Out of the corner of his eye, Kiet caught a group of younger looking fellows raising glasses of beer in his direction, and the distinct fizzing taste of oversaturated humor.

* * *

"A'course, I bet she's pretty busy right now." Cogidubnus said, and scooted down to the end of the booth, putting his legs up so he was sitting sideways to the table. He leaned back, resting his head against the wall, while one of the ferns did it's best to provide a cushion.
A waitress noticed Aten trying to wave her down, and walked over, pen in hand. "Can I help you?"

[Azlan]

Kiet smiled widely and inclined his head towards the younger lads respectfully before spinning on his heals and heading for the stairs.  Kiet was quite overcharged with the bountiful ardor of his fellow guests, their companions and the staff.  The ringtail thought it best to retire, it would be rude to be a glutton, and the patience of the magnates and plutocrats were becoming quite haggard.

"material power and concerns are so droll, such things are so very fleeting."  Kiet mumbled to himself as he mounted the stairs and drifted back into the room.  The other two retainers were busying themselves with various tasks.  Camiole, on the other hand, was already back from her apology session.  The clouded leopardess sunk easily, almost sensually into a bath with a sigh.  Her sensitive ears caught sound of Kiet entering, but the scented oils of the bath were far too alluring to her weary mind.

She made a mental note to request banana pancakes for breakfast and make it a point to eat them in front of Kiet... without letting him have any.

[Sunblink]

Elizabeth chuckled in an uncharacteristic display of amusement, tucking a few strands of her hair behind her ear. "It's quite alright. I'm not very talkative, so you shouldn't concern yourself," she reassured Tobias, also standing in line for the check-in counter. "Besides, what you've mentioned is quite interesting."

After a moment, Elizabeth paused, trying to formulate an elaborate lie that was consistent with the ones she had already used. She didn't want to make Tobias suspicious, but didn't want to be hasty and answer in an automatic way that would compromise her identity. She didn't want to say anything that would be too confusing or provoke incredulity, besides that. "Not a duchess," she said with a short laugh, "More like I received an invitation out of the blue. I still have no idea why they'd send someone like me a letter."

Elizabeth decided that she would concoct a more believable excuse later. But it wasn't entirely erroneous - she really did have no idea why her anonymous beneficiary sent her the invitation. Suddenly, something curious struck her, and she inclined her head inquisitively in Tobias's direction. "You received an invitation as well?"

[techmaster-glitch]

   Karazkt stopped walking for a moment, because what the surfacer said had made no sense at all. Only the end of what he said could Karazkt pick up on.
   "DmazKe..." Karazkt tried out the word, "...and, you are noT of thiz hive either? ZTrange..." Karazkt paused for another moment.
   "And whaT nonzenze were you TalKing abouT? 'Chooze' your Kween? WhaT abzurdiTy iz thiz? You KannoT 'chooze' you Kween. You are born inTo the hive of your Kween." Karazkt said, with his antennae twitching in an almost irritated way as he started walking again.

[Boog]

"If it's any consolation, I don't think many of us completely get how it works either. We just try to get on with things without our leaders interference," Jeremiah shrugged sheepishly and grinned, "Just how things are." The frog went over a few other points as they made their way up the stairs, his favorite hobby of blathering helping pass the time ("Of course, it's more worth knowing who's in charge of the Castle itself, but honestly I haven't made his acquaintance either, just the higher ups on staff. What about you, you know what's up? Ah, not my place, shouldn't pry. So, where you from, lad? Silly question, an insectis hive. I've heard a lot about...") until they finally reached another empty guest room. "And here's the room you'll be using while you're a guest here. Any more questions?"

[SpottedKitty]

Andrace kept her friendly expression, but the lioness froze for a moment, even her tail pausing its gentle swishing, as the implications of Horatio's statement sank in. Somethin' she mebbe wants me t' do? she thought, But I was s'posed t' come here for... Her eyes flicked from side to side. The crowd in the dining room was thinning out, but without turning her head she could see half a dozen assorted nobility and high officials from as many different countries. Each accompanied by the same kind of unsmiling, black-suited entourage as had surrounded the dragons coming off the train.

Outwardly, Andrace only appeared to snort in amusement behind the glass she held in front of her muzzle. "Considerin' th' only handful o' words o' draconic I know ain't th' sort o' thing I'd say t' y'r mistress, that's a safe bet."

Inwardly, if she'd dared show it, the lioness wanted to scream with frustration and worry. I hope t' hell I'm wrong, she thought. If not, if I don't handle this just right, I'm dead.

An' it's Icewing that's gonna get me killed.

[e_voyager]

Aten requested a simpler lemon pepper fish meal alone with a glass of wine. he ordered the wine so that he would not seem to be trying to separate himself form his company by avoiding alcoholic beverages. well for that reason and that his preferred drink mint tea brewed with wolfs-bane and lemon grass was likely not to be served here. he glanced around the room at the other guest and realized just how big and event he was in for. he remembered his father taking him on a trip when he was eight and how it he'd seen similar crowds of people. it was a fishing trip if he remembered correctly.

[Cogidubnus]

 The shadows of the town of Damaske finally began to slant, the sun creeping over towards the western mountain range and dipping slowly beneath the peaks. The white snow was cast in a fiery red, the setting sun glistening off the crystals like gold flecks spangled on the bottom of a nile river.

The one-eyed cat pulled his coat tighter, still trudging up the hill. He was about halfway there, but it was only going to get colder from here.

***

"Well, that's one option eliminated, then." Horatio smiled, and gestured with his glass in a toast. He set it down without drinking. "Of course, I...oh. Well."

His head was turned towards the lobby. At the foot of the stairs, another suited creature was waving at him - some sort of feather-winged angel, by the look of him, a canine of some sort as snow-white as the fox was. Horatio pushed his still-brimming glass towards the somewhat nonplussed bartender, and stood.

While the bartender opened a window and threw the drink's contents outside, he held out a hand for the lioness, his posture a slight bow.
"It's about that time, miss. All ready?"

  The dog from before joined them, and as they progressed up the flights of stairs - one, two, three, four, five, six, where suddenly the very atmosphere of the place itself seemed to change. People were everywhere up here, all of the striding purposefully this way and that, and as they walked more and more of them joined their little entourage until they reached the biggest group of them all - about four or five black-suited individuals clustered before an open door, and several tired-looking porters leaving the room just as they approached.

"End of the line for us." Horatio said, putting a hand on Andrace's shoulder. He looked around briefly. "Hm. Generally, Walter would introduce you at this point, but I don't see him. He may already be inside."

He waved to the other black suits, who nodded back and shifted about, making a path for the lioness. "Good luck!" the fox said, taking his hand off her shoulder and putting his hands behind his back.

Andrace entered, and for a few moments didn't see anyone. Simply the view from the wall-sized window with a spectacular view of the castle and the surrounding countryside, the ornate, bordering on the decadent furnishings, with couches and carpets and an entirely outfitted fireplace, with a mantle one could have displayed an entire deer on, with a roaring, icy-blue fire going on the logs.
The second thing she noticed was that she should have dressed a bit warmer. It practically felt like she'd just stepped outside and taken a roll in the snow.

The third thing she noticed was the figure standing in front of her and to the left, nearly in one corner of the room and looking out. The dress it was wearing was something out of storybooks - lace and velvet and skirts, studded with jewelry. The sinuous, scaled neck and the horns, however, reveled that it was, most certainly, a dragon.

* * *

"I did, I did, yes." the fennec said, patting his breast. "And for now, I keep it close to my heart. This is why we're so excited! An incredible opportunity to increase exports." he said, smiling. "But iron-dealing is cold, boring work. Much more interesting to talk about pretty girls over a drink, hm?" he grinned.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

When the black suited canine appeared in the lobby Mel ducked down a bit. As he gestured to Horatio and the lioness Mel straightened back up. "I am simply hopeful that she is busy enough to not notice I have gone AWOL." She adjusted the collar on her cranberry red suit and checked the watch pinned to her lapel. "I would just have time to dress for dinner if she sent someone now." Mel looked at some of the other diner's meals. "I wonder if there is a good restaurant on the other side of town?"

[Aisha deCabre]

The smell of the food proved very hypnotic, drawing the tigress into the food without any further delay.  Very little happened in the dining hall to distract her, but still alert she only counted it as a blessing to not be taken for granted.  The meat, vegetables, and wine were savored all down to the very last drops.

Not bad, not bad at all... the Healer grinned and carefully wiped any scraps left on her maw with the napkin.  It will be a nice night of sleep after this for me, I believe.  Looking at the plate, she was quite full...no room for dessert?...Not tonight, perhaps.

She made another glance around the dining hall and the bar.  People were filing out, less were filing in, perhaps it was all in a day's work for those who worked there.  Speaking of which...she grabbed her staff with one hand and raised to gesture to her ever-so-slinky ermine waiter, wherever he was.  "I'll have the check now, if you please," she called and grinned politely.  The pleased look in her eyes showed both inner and outer contentment; and rarely did the tigress show anything other than neutrality when she ate otherwise.

[SpottedKitty]

Andrace nodded and downed the remains of her drink when Horatio indicated it was time for the meeting. She slid down off the stool and followed the fox across the dining room and up the stairs. She wasn't smiling now, as she saw out of the corner of her eye the white-furred canine Angel turn and keep pace at her side. Her expression was neutral and businesslike, ears, whiskers and tailtip under firm control, not letting a hint of her thoughts show on the outside.

On the sixth floor the lioness took note, without being obvious about it, of the security guards standing out among the bustle and rush of people hurrying in all directions. She didn't miss the ones moving to bring up the rear of the little procession, either. When they reached what had to be their destination, she paused for a moment, looked over her shoulder at Horatio and nodded in acknowledgement, a slight smile on her face. Then she walked into the dragon's lair.

Andrace's eyes swept across the room, ignoring for the moment the luxurious furnishings and the view out of the window. She couldn't hide a quick shiver as ice-cold air wafted right through her clothes. Her fur fluffed up as she walked, bulking out her trouser legs and shirt sleeves. The sleeveless jerkin was heavy and tight enough to hold her body fur down flat, though, making her itch a little from throat to waist. She stopped in the middle of the room and turned to face the tall figure standing in the corner, looking out of the window. The Dragon's face was turned away, and there wasn't much of a reflection in the glass to give Andrace a clue to her expression.

"M'lady, y' wanted t' talk t' Kithara. Here I am." Andrace's voice was still a deep bass growl, but quieter than usual. There was nothing ominous in the room, and nothing threatening in the Dragon's posture, but something was still making her feel skittish. Get a grip on y'self, girl, she thought. All right, so she's a Dragon, an' she could likely have th' Family destroyed in a moment if y' say th' wrong thing — what's th' worst she could do? Eat y'?

[techmaster-glitch]

   Karazkt walked into the room, his antennae sifting this way and that, getting a feel for the room. He walked around, almost as if he was confused and searching for something. Whatever he was looking for, he completely ignored all of the fine furniture and trappings in the room, unless he saw some shining metal. His antennae always brushed over whatever metal he found, and then he continued his seemingly random walking. Eventually, he stopped in the middle of the room. "I am To zTay here?" He asked. He then kneeled down, and let his antennae pat the stoneworked floor for a moment. Then he stood up again. "There iz no zell here for me To rezT in. Am I To maKe my own ouT of the zTone of thiz chamber?"

[Stygian]

Elyse cast another glance around her that might have seemed perfunctory to some. But considering where she were and what might be required to spot a threat under the circumstances, she knew there was no such thing as too many precautions. She would have to get rid of the body, there was no question about that. What had that freak been doing there anyway? Immediately, she realized that there was only one answer to that question. Just as there was to the one about what to do with the body. She looked at the ring laden with keys in her hand. Putting a pair of fingers to her temples, she groaned.
   In the end, it took a bit for her to decide in her stressed state. She did not dare risk burning the corpse up with a spell; she had too little talent for that sort of thing to truly disintegrate the thing, not to mention that the magic would leave a trace. And then there was the smell. Burnt fur and hair always left such a dreadful and recognizable odor. Thus, she could only throw it away or conceal it. And while she had the advantage of not leaving any trace of her own on the body - telekinesis was such a practical skill - that still required a convenient hiding place. In the empty, mostly blank corridor, nothing stood out. Nothing except that door. So, grumbling, she set herself to finding the correct key.
   The keys were newly made and the lock, while older, was clearly of the same somewhat modern fabricate, something that surprised her. The door swung open without a hitch or a creak, and as she arced her neck and peeked into the crack, the bat expected nothing too surprising. She should have taken wisdom from the madman lunging at her barely a minute ago. Her dark eyes adapting to the low lighting without difficulty, she stared for just a second, and then turned away, swallowing her revulsion.
   Back pressed against the door and her eyes wide still, Elyse took several calming breaths, then shut her eyes, opened the door again without looking, and flung the dead mouse's body, the torso and limbs first and the head after, carelessly into the room behind it to join the rest of the carnage, then shut the door, rubbed out the fingerprints she had accidentally left, and began sneaking down the corridor with hurried steps, far, far more worried than she had come there.
   Something truly mad was going on.

[Boog]

Jeremiah blinked, doing a quick bit of mental translation. Musing that there were probably some techno bands that would pay good money for a recording of Karazkt saying 'Exactly,' he patiently explained, "Well, no idea what sort of 'cell' you're talking about, but we probably don't have what you're looking for. What we do have," He continued, wandering over to the expensive four-poster bed, "Is a bed. You lie on it with your head up here, cover yourself up with this blanket here to keep any warmth you wanna hang on to while you sleep, and slip into Morpheus' sweet embrace..." The frog blinked, realized where he'd just screwed up, and chuckled, "By that last bit I mean go to sleep. If such furnishings are inadequate," And believe me kid, if they are I'll trade ya. They just gave me a fuckin' hammock... "Then I'm certain we can see about something more appropriate."

[Cogidubnus]

 Cogidubnus seemed to think about that for a moment, and his stomach growled in response to the dragon's suggestions.
"I could go for some food, yeah..." he said, when he suddenly made a small clicking noise.

"You said it was around dinnertime, though?" he paused, fishing in his jacket for something. He pulled out a smooth-silver pocketwatch, flipping it open and shut quickly. He moved to get out of the booth, shifting around for a moment and then sliding off and standing.

"The time flies, doesn't it?" he said, making a slight bow to the both of them. "Unfortunately, I do have some business to take care of this evening. I hadn't realized it had grown so late. I'll see the both of you tomorrow?" he said, leaving the question in the air while he tipped his hat and walked away, drifting through the crowd seemingly slow, and yet gone before one realized he'd left.

* * *

The dragon didn't jump, but merely turned her head on that sinuous neck to look at her. Up close, she could tell that the old dragon didn't even look like the other wyrms she'd seen on the way up - and there had been a few, with frost-silver scales and cheerful, fanged smiles.
She wasn't silver, properly, but rather the yellow of the summer moon, like old and worn ivory. There was a smoothness to her scales the other dragon's didn't possess, either - like they were pieces of one larger scale than individual flakes of skin. Her eyes, though, felt like they were boring through her skull - large, luminous as the sun that set behind her. Red velvet shuffled while she turned, and walked towards her.

She paused to pick up a bauble from the table. It was a small effigy of a cat, in gold, small enough to fit in the palm of one's hand. She seemed to stare at it for a moment, holding it up as if to make sure Andrace saw it, and while looking at the figurine, spoke.
"You know what it is that the Icewings do. I assume that 'Kithara' did not send you in blind." she intoned, as if she'd long thought about what she was to say. She paused, letting the statement hang in the air.

"The distribution of power is oftentimes a messy business." she looked from the corner of her eyes at Andrace.
"Have a chocolate, dear." she said, nodding her head at the end-table, not too far from where Andrace was standing. Chocolates dark as the black blood of the earth gleamed from a silver dish.

The dragon put the figure down, walking towards the middle of the room. Richly textured furniture, couches and chairs, decorated the area, and the dragon sat delicately down on the far couch, where the sun was streaming out from the windows behind her.
"It is sometimes an unfortunate business, too." she said, her intonation changing just slightly. "Very unfortunate. Whispers in the dark are hard to hear in the first place. When someone else is whispering, it makes things more difficult. When they're whispering things they should never have heard..."
"You understand what I mean." she finished, her posture regal while she regarded Andrace.

"Two hundred years ago, Kithara requested power from me." she said, now staring straight at the lioness. "It came with a high price, and they paid it. Now I'd like to request something of Kithara, that might have a high price."

She moved just slightly. The old dragon seemed to favor one side, keeping that one towards the lioness at all times. "Let's not mince words. Dreadful as it is, of course, I need you to kill someone."

* * *

Without even having to go fetch it, the ermine placed the check in front of the Tigress promptly, and gave a truly genial and polite smile.

* * *

The hallway was deserted, but more than the image of the bodies piled upon bodies, it was the stench of decomposing flesh that she couldn't get out of her mind. They had been there for quite some time - it was surprising that there wasn't a vermin problem because of it. The sheer -amount- of them...

Nothing else was presenting itself for the bat, however - simply deserted halls and sunlight filtering through glass windows, casting shadows of wrought iron on the floor.
Eventually, a staircase presented itself on her left - and the hallway continued on as well. It seemed to be going in a circle - if she kept going, she might reach her room again. Or she could head downwards.

* * *

Hours later, under the cool breeze of night, the wolf shoved his hat down more firmly onto his head, and looking at the waxing moon - nearly full, nearly, full, he continued walking on, his feet crunching through the snow, starlight and moonlight reflecting off the silver he wore.

[SpottedKitty]

Andrace murmured a few words of thanks as she took a step to the side and picked a chocolate from the silver dish. It looked and smelled delicious, and she made a mental note to add half an hour to her exercise routine tomorrow morning: even before she started nibbling politely on it, she could feel an extra pound or two settling on her hips.

The lioness directed her full attention on the ancient Dragon, her tail tip flicking back and forth as she considered the significance of the performance with the little golden statuette. She was being told something, and hopefully soon she'd figure out what. Adding that to the mention of power, and unfortunate things, and it seemed her earlier guess was right. Her employer might not be who she'd thought, but her job would probably be the same. Yes, I understand all right, she thought. "Whispers in th' dark" — an' y' want silence. An' it sounds like somethin' political, or personal. That costs a lot, m' lady. Oh yes, that costs a hell o' a lot.

Andrace almost flinched when the Dragon looked straight at her for a long moment, and she fought to keep her breathing steady. That was hard to hide in this icebox of a room, but the twin plumes of vapour curling from her nostrils barely hesitated. Something about those eyes came close to unnerving the lioness. It felt like they were reading something written on the inside of her skull. And it didn't seem to be anything that could be blocked by a mind-shield spell, it was just sheer force of will and personality.

The Dragon's final words brought a small, humourless smile briefly to Andrace's face. "M'lady, y'r honesty is appreciated," she said, "I'll be honest in return. Yes, we kill. When there's need. Never lightly, an' never just 'cause someone says so." She took a slow, deep breath, licked chocolate crumbs from her muzzle and whiskers, and continued. Her expression smoothed out into a well practiced, cool, dispassionate hunting stare, as if her quarry were already almost within charge-and-pounce range of her fangs and claws.

"Why d' y' need someone killed? How d' y' want 'em killed? When d' y' want 'em killed? An' last — this don't matter s' much t' me, but it sure as hell will t' someone — who d' y' want me t' kill?"

[techmaster-glitch]

   Karazkt eyed the bed strangely as Jeremiah explained, and not just because he had large solid black eyes. He leaned over on it, gently prodding and brushing his antennae around. Eventually he pulled back. While his face didn't show much expression, his antennae were oddly drooped, as if he was completely perplexed by something. Eventually, he said: "Thiz iz whaT you zurfazerz zleep on? Thiz iz mozT inKomprehenzible..." Karazkt glanced back to the bed. "I am zorry, but no, thiz will noT do, noT aT all. However..." Karazkt then went around the walls of the room, prodding them with his antennae, and stopped at the one furthest from the door. "Thiz area iz zufficienTly thiK. Zummon a WorKer, and iT Kan Karve ouT an appropriaTe zell in momenTz."
   A thought then occursed to Karazkt, a rather horrible one, brought on by a nagging feeling in his mind. It was utterly ridiculous, but he couldn't help getting it out anyway. "Thiz iz, of Kourze, foolish To azK, buT...you do have WorKerz here, KorreKT?"

[Boog]

"Erm..." Jeremiah's expression slowly got more awkward the further Karazkt went on with explanation, finally hitting peak discomfort somewhere around mention of 'zummoning workerz.' "That is to say, my good man, ah..." The frog broke out into a sheepish grin and he shrugged. "We have people who work... I'll see what I can arrange." Right after seeing to my getting a raise for dealing with interspecies politics, kid.

[Azlan]

Kiet had gotten board with hanging around the room, as Camoile appeared to be trying to become an aquatic denizen for as much time as she spent in the bath, and had spontaneously decided to go for a walk through the nice halls.  He had at some point apparently decided to go for a walk outside into the wonderfully pleasant night.  So pleasant was the night, that the penguins huddled around the fires and the ice elementals retreated back to their icy plane in search of more pleasant climes.

The ringtail could not fathom why he had found himself outside, but a lingering aura of menace seemed to drift about the area.  Heading around the street and gradually up a hill.  He was not really sure why he was going in this direction, but it seemed like a nice night to let fate dictate his actions for a bit.  Maybe some decedent of some fallen foe would choose now to strike for revenge of his great-great-great-great-etc. grandfather.  Perhaps he might meet some long lost friend.

[techmaster-glitch]

   "WaiT..." Karazkt might not have been accustomed to surfacer body language, and couldn't fathom the precise meaning of roundabout speech, but even he could tell something was definitely amiss. Another thought occurred to him, this one coming from the basic briefing he'd gotten on some of the surfacer races.
   "Your WorKerz, they aren'T...magiKlezz Beingz, are they?"

[Boog]

"Wouldn't say that..." Jeremiah's grin broadened and grew more sheepish, "We're not COMPLETELY magicless, and I'm sure it's an equal opportunity workplace, might not be all beings... Although I haven't seen any non-beings, but there might be..." The frog trailed off, his grin snapping back into place when he finished.

[techmaster-glitch]

   Karazkt didn't make much sense out of the strange surfacer's ramblings, but he did manage to extract an answer from it. His normally waving and twitching antennae had stopped moving for a moment.
   "Then I muzT form a zell myzelf." He said, though Jeremiah might have gotten the feeling Karazkt was talking mostly to himself.
   Karazkt then turned to the stone wall at a bare spot and kneeled down, brushing it with his antennae. Suddenly, his antennae and his hands started to glow brown. The glow intensified for a moment, then he plunged his hands and antennae into the same stone about a foot off the ground. The stone parted, creating a rapidly widening hole in the wall, though it didn't seem to have breached into another room. As the hole grew, the stone was fused and compressed with the area around the hole, creating an area of solid stone with the hole in the center. It gained angles as it grew...six of them. The hole had been shaped into a hexagon.
   Eventually, Karazkt finished. What he now has was a large hollow in the wall on the ground in the shape of a hexagonal prism. It was about two feet high, and three-and-a-half feet deep. There seemed to be some excess stone jutting out around the edges, though.
   Karazkt then put one still-glowing hand in the cell, for that's what it was, and created two rectangular depressions in both sides. Still kneeling down in front of the cell, he removed the goggles from his forehead and the tool bandolier from his body. He then placed the goggles into one of the niches, and folded up his tool bandolier to place it in the other.
   Finally, he nimbly slid his body into the cell, feet first, and curled up in what basically amounted to a fetal position while lying on his back, allowing his body to fit into the compact space. With one last brown glow from his antennae, they brushed along the extra stone on the edges, which then quickly flowed across, sealing the cell. Now there was the wall, with it's texture of alternating lines of rectangular stone. Then there was a funny area that seemed as if it was all one big face of stone, with a hexagonal patch in the middle that was a little lighter than fused rock face.
   After a few moments of nothing happening, the sealed 'hatch' flowed apart again. Karazkt got out and stood up.
   "IT iz noT the kind of zTone I am uzed To, but iT will zuffize." Karazkt said simply.

[Stygian]

When it came up on the left, the stairway immediately drew Elyse's eyes, and she stopped at a good distance from it, far from enticed at the prospect of provoking some new unexpected attack. She looked out the windows, up and down the hallway, paced a bit, and bit her lip, her mind occupied and stressed by the silence around. That way deeper into the castle was as frightening as it was compelling, and against her better sense she was drawn toward it.
   It was the silence that changed her mind. Just as she was about to take a step, the bat stopped, listened, and realized just how exposed she were. She'd usually even have someone else's perspective on things, even in the worst of situations, and now she was left only with silent emptiness. She immediately began feeling unsettled.
   Please, she thought. If there's anyone there, just... There was no answer, whether in word or thought.
   Trying hard to calm herself, the bat hurried past the stairway the long way around, and ventured further down the corridor. She had made sure to remember as well as she could how the entrance to her room looked and where it was.

[Cogidubnus]

 The dragon sat still while listening to Andrace, not even his fingers moving as she returned the dispassionate, hunter's stare of the feline. If it had ruffled Luna's feathers, there wasn't any observable sign of it. But the slight narrowing of the eyes, and the change in body posture, indicated that her answer was not what the dragon wanted to hear. She rested an elbow on her thigh, and just barely touched her chin.
"I'm not just someone, dearie. Very many things happen because I say so." she said, smiling a small smile. "I...ah, Walter. In the nick of time, we were just sitting down to discuss. Set the tea there, please."

Another silver dragon, this one in a green suit, and looking very much a man in the desert who was constantly surrounded by vultures, had entered the room from a side door leading to the kitchen. A silver tray loaded with a odd tea set - the pot was set on a tiny burner to keep it warm in the frigid surroundings - was laid in his hands, and with a nod to his mistress, he crossed the room to set it down on the coffee table in front of her. Luna motioned for Andrace to sit opposite her, and grabbed one of the steaming cups from the tray. The tea was loaded with milk, it seemed, except for the cup she'd chosen - a solid black, without accoutrement. The dragoness sipped on it daintily, waving the green-suited dragon away with her other hand.

"I didn't now how you took it, dearie, but we thought you might want some cream with it. Very good, Walter does struggle so to get the leaves, but the climate is very...preserving. Please, have a seat."
She sipped while Andrace maneuvered herself, waiting until the lioness had made herself comfortable before speaking. "But...yes. As I was saying, I'm not just someone."

Her demeanor had seemed to soften while she sipped the tea. Her gaze one again began to bore into the lioness, only a table's width away. "And all these questions..." she seemed to shake her head just slightly, and brought the saucer up to her cup with her free hand, setting her tea down with a clink.
"And if I was to say it was a whim? Would you refuse me?" her voice still held the same sweet tones as before, but there was a distant note of displeasure in it now. "Let me rephrase, Emissary of Kithara."

She set her tea down. "Do you know what Kithara bought from me? Of course you don't." she said, her voice no longer cloying and sweet. "It was two hundred years ago, and probably only scribes and historians know or care now." her tone was disparaging, and she looked away from the lioness for a moment. She glanced back at Andrace.
"Do you know what that Golden Cat was?" she said, flatly. "A gift, from the matron of your clan, on the day of the conclusion of our business. It was meant to represent the 'Eternal Friendship' between us." she snorted.

"Let me again be blunt, emissary of Kithara." she said with a voice of steel. "If you refuse me, I will find a clan of cutthroats who will do what I ask, and if I cannot find one single person willing to assassinate someone in this day and age, I will reduce him to carbon and ash myself." Her eyes, golden orbs that flashed like the sun off the water, bored into Andrace's skull. "And I will remember, next time Kithara seeks friendship with me, and when she seeks to know where the beds of her enemies are."

"So, as you answer me with questions, I will answer what I can." she picked up her tea, her voice receding somehow, suggestions of menace and sparking tones gone. Although her voice had never raised, it somehow seemed harder to hear her, now. "I will not tell you why. How and when are entirely up to a good assassins discretion. I don't care if you make it look like an accident or stab him in the street. As for the who..."
She paused, tilting her head just slightly. "Kiet Ti'Pallo." she said, and sipped her tea.

* * *

At that moment, Kiet was busy traipsing around in the wilderness surrounding, climbing snowy hills and drifting along beneath snow-laden trees. The time seemed to pass by itself as he walked, and before he knew it, he found himself miles and hours away from town, and nearly completely by himself.

While he was cresting a hill, and admiring the nearly-silver, nearly-full moon glinting at him in a sky full of diamond stars, he looked down the slope to find himself staring at an enormous depression gouged into the earth. It was quite apparently made, very roughly rectangular in sharp and with sharp beginnings and endings. The presence of a small chimney peeking up from beneath the snow also seemed to confirm that people had once inhabited this area.

He stared at it puzzling for a moment, when he remembered the business card from before. Perhaps this was the archaeologist he was to check out?

* * *

The stones morphed and twisted beneath a foreign hand, and deep in the heart of the castle, resentment bubbled.

* * *

The silence only grew around the vampire bat, and after crossing hallway after hallway and turn after turn without seeing anyone, she was very surprised to see an open door and voices talking in the next room. One of them she recognized - the other, however, sounded like iron nails on a long, long chalkboard. She could see shadows moving on the open wooden door.

[SpottedKitty]

Andrace's eyes widened, and she made a stifled strangulated noise deep in her throat that suggested a mouthful of tea had gone down the wrong way, and only iron determination was stopping it from being sprayed out of her nose. She looked across the room at the little golden statuette again, then back to the ancient Dragon sitting on the other side of the table. The final pieces of the puzzle she'd been worrying at fell into place with an almost audible click, and a look of sudden realisation, then near panic, crossed her face for a moment before being replaced by a professional blankness.

The shaken lioness put her cup and saucer down on the table. Her hands were beginning to tremble: if she'd held them much longer, she would have either spilled or crushed them.

"M'lady, I hope y'll accept my apologies. I didn't realise y' were invokin' th' agreement." Andrace's voice started low and unsteady, and she laid her foot deliberately on her tail-tip, to prevent her tail from lashing violently from side to side with her agitation. "Thing is, th' Golden Cat is mentioned in our records, but... well, our archivist back then, he saw y' at that last meetin' an'... y' made quite an impression on him, M'lady. T' tell th' truth, he was kind of smitten with y'. His writin' got all flowery an' fancied up, so by th' time he wrote about th' Golden Cat... ah... f'r th' last hundred years or so, we've all thought th' Cat would be a real fur-an'-flesh person, who'd turn up at th' gate one day..." The lioness stopped herself before her voice, which had been getting faster and higher, dissolved into outright hysterics.

She paused, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly, until she'd recovered her composure. "Whatever. Y' have invoked th' agreement, so by th' agreement, y' have my service. I'll do what y' ask."

Two seconds later, Andrace realised just who she'd been told her target was. Kiet Ti'Paollo? she thought, From Xe'Pherion? He's here? Th' big battle mage? Th' General? He's a 'Cubi, ain't he? Zillions o' years old? Frig, I'm dead!

Five seconds later, another thought crept into her mind.

Holy frig, whatta challenge!

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel watched the wolf disappear from the restaurant then looked around the room. She wasn't seeing any old acquaintances and trekking across town in search of a restaurant didn't seem as much fun without a co-conspirator. She suddenly found herself yawning and realized how long her day had been. "If you will excuse me, Mr. Aten, I think I will retire. Tomorrow promises to be a very long day." She slid out of the booth and gave the feline a polite bow just as his food was arriving. She debated ordering a meal sent to her room but knew that an elaborate meal would be available in the suite. Perhaps she could convince someone to smuggle her some. As she debated this she drifted slowly towards the elevators.

[Azlan]

Kiet gazed up into the striking, clear night sky.  Countless stars were painted thick across the black canvas, and as always, the ringtail felt small.  A smile crested his lip as a small gust carried the smells of nature to his little nose.  The world was changing, creatures and beings grew closer together, lines of species began to blur unlike the thousands of years he had seen before.  However, here among the evergreens, all things remained the same.

In the sky, countless sparkles drifted in and surrounded Kiet.  Too fine to be snow, it sparkled and twinkled like a cloud of diamonds.

"Diamond dust... it is quite pretty.  Nature never ceases to amaze me.  Oh well, while I am here, I might as well see if the archaeologist is about."

The feline entered the strange area, careful not the disturb anything significant, and made his way towards the small chimney.  He scanned about magically, looking for signs of life or unlife.

"I say, is there a Doctor Gerard Irisi somewhere about here?"

[Aisha deCabre]

Once again, Rynkura was impressed with the waiter's punctuality; for no sooner had she called, he was ready with the check.  I would have to give this place my recommendation, she thought to herself.  The price on the bill wasn't that bad either, at least in her eyes; just enough for her to also part with a bit of a generous tip.

"Many thanks for your services," she said to the waiter after paying, giving him an equally polite smile in return.  "I shall certainly think of this place next time for a meal."

Now, all that was left to do was to settle for the night, if nothing else...a shower, a good night's sleep, and later, preparation for the ball.  Starting to walk out of the dining area, with the angel-like predatory look in her eyes very much satiated, the tigress wondered if everyone else was having as good a time.  Her thoughts even wandered briefly to Tim and to her very large "pet"...so long as Rover behaved himself, Rynkura had to admit that he and his friend were both quite the personalities.

And there will be more personalities to meet, I just wager, the Healer thought as she idly made her way back up to the rooms, the glow of her staff mingling with the gentle lights of the upper floors.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

In her hotel room, Tim was sleeping like an innocent babe. That is, semi-waking every 20 minutes or so, because she just couldn't get comfortable, blinking, rolling over, and going back to sleep.

Accustomed as she was to curling up under Rover's wing, she missed the steady calming beat of his heart, in much the same way the tenant of a cheap rail-side apartment misses the sound of the goods trains going past at 2am, when they move into better digs.

Eventually, despite the lack - which, oddly enough, she wouldn't have been able to identify, if you had asked her - she managed to doze off.
Fitfully.

* * * *

Out in the dark, next to the stables, nothing was moving. Dark as it was, it was almost impossible to differentiate between Rover - curled up with his face under one of his wings, the tips of his ears just visible under the edge - and the wall of the stables he was curled up against.

At around the time Rynkura was thinking about him, the tips of his ears twitched, and he moved a little in his sleep, scratching his shoulder against the wall. The wall groaned, one side bending visibly. Well, perhaps not visibly, but if it had been light, it would have been fairly obvious. The whole stable building took on a slight tilt.


Tim wasn't going to be pleased in the morning...