[semi-closed] every devil I meet becomes a friend of mine.

[mollymocked]

Who: Mollymauk Tealeaf (mollymocked) and anyone who wants to quest, etc.
What: A catch-all for quests and other things.
When: End of September, through October. Wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey.
Where: Anywhere you want it, that's the way you need it.
Warning(s): Friendly reminder that Molly's blood hunter abilities do involve self-harm and any thread involving combat may have them come up.



[A catch-all for any quest logs I've made plans with. If I made plans with you during the CR meme for quests when they go up (or if you just want a thread), and I don't have you on plurk, PLEASE do not hesitate to PM me to do a starter for you. I would absolutely love to.]

Comments

TOBY (LULLABY FOR A DRAGON)

[mollymocked]

[Molly doesn't have a preference for which location he stays at- his "home" with Caleb and Nott is in Olympia, but silver is silver and he doesn't like being bored. He, Caleb, and Nott had ventured into the Undergrowth earlier and it had borne fruit, but it had also been dangerous enough that they'd been willing to sit on going back.

Of course, Molly had been in Wyver for a different task when he noticed the woman he'd met during the whole ghost debacle staring at the notice board and inquiring a local about the flower. Molly had swooped in, gave her some information, and after realizing she probably didn't have anyone to go with her, agreed to be her partner.

Unfortunately, the terrain is such that Molly is not a guide by any stretch, and the flowers are scattered, so he can't even really lead her to a specific patch even if he did know where he was going.]

I feel like this place looked different the last time I was here. [This place is so sweltering, but fortunately heat doesn't bother him in the slightest. Humidity on the other hand...]

[errantdetective]

Uh huh. [Toby isn't paying attention. She's paying more attention to her nose and what she can smell. She's managed to describe magical scents really precisely before. She's not sure if she can work backwards from a description of a scent, but it's worth trying. Magic is about intent. She intends to find the flower.]

This way, I think.

[mollymocked]

[Molly picks over a root and keeps going, not bothered by the fact that she's mostly ignoring him and also taking the lead. And it certainly doesn't stop him from talking, either.]Are we ever going to talk about the fact that you do an awful lot of literal sniffing around? I thought maybe you had allergies, at first, but I'm starting to think you might actually be a dog... or a werewolf. Or something.

[errantdetective]

I'm not a dog. [Is this how Tybalt feels when she makes him do bloodhound duty. She shoots Molly a cross look.] This is just something I can do. It comes in handy.

[mollymocked]

[He's just gonna take the fact that she didn't outright deny werewolf as a sign.]

That's fair. If it gets us out of this jungle- [he hears a twig snap somewhere to his left and spins around. after the attacks from the first time he came here and that brief encounter with Lucien back when he first arrived, it doesn't take much to put him immediately on edge and get his hands on his swords] - faster. Did you hear that?

[errantdetective]

[She glances in the direction he's looking, then back at Molly.]

Hey, calm down, if it is something, panicking isn't going to help. Just keep moving.

[Easy enough to say, but she still touches her knife to be sure it's there.]

We don't want to pick fights if we don't have to,

[mollymocked]

I'm not panicking. [He gives her a bit of a pout that doesn't sell his point at all. He has his reasons for being apprehensive, but being called on it is rude and unfair.] I'm being cautious. The last time I was here, a tree tried to eat Nott, and before that, my group didn't necessarily have a good track record with diplomatically engaging things. Fights tend to pick us.

CALEB & NOTT (LULLABY FOR A DRAGON)

[mollymocked]

[This all feels very familiar and yet not at the same time. They're the "mighty drei" right now, and it feels like they're operating with a handicap. Ideally, they would have found a few more people before setting out to make some silver, but this seemed simple enough and in their wheelhouse that they could handle it.

They need the money and they need it quickly, after all. More than that, they need things to occupy their time. This is a strange new world and they have to start doing something in it, one way or another.

Nott is scouting ahead of them in the Undergrowth, while Molly and Caleb cautiously pick their way over crawling vines and exposed roots.]

At least it's not a swamp. Probably just as dangerous, though. Just please, god, no more fucking poison trolls. That was a once in a lifetime experience that I didn't need to have, but I had it, and I don't want it again.

[breadmuffs]

[Caleb is definitely a little twitchy about all of this. Nott is scouting ahead, but he'd much rather have Frumpkin as a bird. Not that he doesn't trust Nott. It's just easier to cover more distance. And less people pay attention to animals. (Mostly. Except cat-kickers.)

And there's only three of them. They don't have their cleric, they don't have their women with lots of muscles. They don't even have Fjord. It's an under-balanced party. To put it mildly.

But well: yes. Money.]

Oh, I'm sure there's something equally dangerous out there. But agreed.

[Why did they go after it the second time?? Because they're dumbasses, that's why.]

[mollymocked]

[Just be certain, he yells:] D'you hear that, Nott? If you find a troll or anything that looks to be made of poison, do not engage.

[He hears no response, but he shrugs anyway.] She probably heard that. [Technically, a lot of things probably heard that, but Molly's not concerned with them at this moment.]

Aren't you suffocating in that coat? [He'd only glanced over for a second, but seeing Caleb in that bulky coat in the jungle is both hilarious and, to be honest, kind of cringe-worthy. It's hard not to take notice.

Then again, Molly isn't one to talk. He never got warmer clothes in Nadril. They're both committed to the #aesthetic.]

[breadmuffs]

...She probably did.

[Caleb is absolutely giving Molly a little bit of side-eye at the moment. So much for any sort of element of surprise. If possible, the wizard looks even more uncomfortable.

...Just to ease his own mind a bit - at least about Nott's safety - he pulls out his bit of copper wire, does the appropriate gestures, and then speaks into his cupped hands.]

If you didn't hear Mollymauk, don't engage anything trollish. Or anything that appears to be poisonous. Or very large.

[On some level, he knows Molly was just being a shit. But still.

Then Molly is commenting on his clothes, and Caleb shoots him another sidelong glance.]

I'm fine. I didn't take it off in the swamp either, if you'll recall.

[....No, it's pretty hot. He's just more emotionally comfortable in it.]

[mollymocked]

Yeah, that was weird then too, but I was sort of justifying it by maybe having a layer of protection against the swamp sludge. [At least he knows that Caleb won't cast a fire spell, raise his core body temperature, and then pass out. If it didn't happen before, it probably won't happen now.]

You know what you should do? You should find someone to line the interior a bit with leather or something so it actually works as proper armor. Make you a little less squishy.

[It's becoming clear that Molly is talking right now because he doesn't like the silence. He's still a bit gunshy about that time he and Nott discovered Lucien out here, and even if it destroys the element of surprise, it keeps his mind off hunting the shadows. That was a month ago and it was probably something related to the dragon, but Molly's cautious when he has to be.

Even when it means being the opposite of cautious right now. He'd rather something hungry and awful came at them then that fucking dark specter that shouldn't exist.]

[breadmuffs]

[No, if Caleb passes out because of a fire spell it'll have nothing to do with overheating.]

That would be very heavy. [And if it were actual armor, then he wouldn't be able to cast spells because??? Wizards, man. They're weird.

But the thing is, Caleb is actually pretty perceptive for all that his outward social skills are terrible. He does seem to understand that Molly is talking for the sake of talking. And while he's not sure why that is, he's...willing to indulge him. To keep their very small group cohesive.]

Besides I have-- [He's about to say "all of you" but there's not many of them to serve as a shield for him, are there? Really just Molly, since Nott isn't much of a shield either. There's a pause, and then he redirects.] spells for that.

How likely do you think this is to go off without a hitch?

[His voice is pretty dry because. It won't. But it's a conversation that isn't his coat.]

REN (SHADES LIGHTER)

[mollymocked]

[Molly knows very little about smuggling, other than the fact that he is now familiar with people who did it. So, of course, when Ren asked him if he knew anything, his answer was "sure," because the money seemed really good, and he was at least a little bit curious about the goods.

Apparently, even with the Gentleman in stasis (presumably), he was still finding ways to get involved in that kind of shady business. Well, greed will get you somewhere, and he needed to eat and Caleb needed books. Nott didn't need anything, because she just stole everything, and bless her for it.

At least the person they were meeting with had supplied a cart, but Molly's sheer disappointment when they arrived at the meeting place to find a normal cart laden with crates was palpable.] Really? It's just... Out there like that? No secret compartments? If anyone checks those, we're fucked.

[thedarkbond]

[Ren's mostly been doing the less illegal side of this job so far, but...well, he definitely couldn't say he wasn't curious about some of the supplies being run. He'd actually been a reasonably honest businessperson in his world, though, so he knows very little about things like smuggling other than that getting caught is probably a bad idea.

Still, he can't entirely blame Molly for that reaction, even if he also has to curl a few fingers over his mouth to disguise his amusement.]

I'd say they think it'll draw less attention if it looks normal. [If someone's gone to lengths to cover something up, it usually looks more obvious.] Did they say all of it was the same product...? Some of it might be filled with something else to throw off searches.

[It would be his guess, at least, though if that's not the case then they're going to have to be careful about how they do this.] If not, then I guess it's lucky we're both so charming.

[He gives a wink, still clearly rather amused. They can...probably talk their way out of any confrontations, and he also imagines neither of them are going to have trouble lying on the spot, which should help. Far be it from him to baulk from risky work, anyway.]

[mollymocked]

One way to find out. [Molly has absolutely no shame and a strong desire to make sure Koralle isn't transporting sex slaves or something in those crates. He's seen some very weird things both here and back in the Empire and he is prepared for anything.

He hops onto the back of the cart.] I know a few tricks to keep people off-balance if it comes to that. There's more than one way to lean on charm. [Like being horribly uncharming and using Charm spells. It rarely works. Molly has all the charm of a person who works in a mall kiosk.

He digs the tip of one of hi scimitars into the space between the lid and the crate and pops it off, peering inside.] This one's fruit. I'm not sure what kind, but it smells amazing.

[thedarkbond]

Hopefully we don't need it...there's probably plenty of people transporting goods around while rebuilding's going on.

[If they look normal enough, they'll probably be fine. That's about as far as he gets on that thought before Molly pops open a crate, and Ren's pretty sure he can faintly smell that fruit from over here, so he wanders over to investigate. It's...definitely a fruit unique to this world, he can tell that much on sight.]

I don't think I've seen that one at the markets...which means there might be a reason nobody's selling it... [He doesn't doubt that it could be some kind of weird ingredient to something, especially with that smell.] It does smell good, though.

[mollymocked]

[Molly reaches in for a second, and then draws back as if snakebit.] No, no... No skimming off the top. We are honest businessmen. We do what we're paid to do, and that's that.

[To be honest, he sounds like he's convincing himself of that. The fact that he slams that one shut and goes for one more says that maybe he wasn't doing a good enough job. The second is full of oils and incense and the smell makes his knees buckle a bit, starting a knot in the center of his stomach that makes him want the fruit (or something else) even more. He slams that lid shut too- bodily.] Well. I can see why some of these are illegal. [He drags a hand down his face.] D'you wanna take a peek in one or should we start off before we're both tempted to make off with this cart and start a free love cult?

[thedarkbond]

[Ren doesn't move to try and take any of it himself, but he can see why Molly is - the smell is weirdly alluring, in a manner that's only making him more sure the fruit has more significance than it seems to.

He only catches a hint of the smell of that second box, and he instinctively puts a hand up over his mouth and nose so he doesn't breathe in any more of it. It's an effect he can very much feel immediately, his skin getting a little warm even before Molly has the good sense to slam the box shut again.

Once it's closed, he drops the hand from his face and laughs a little.] I think it might not be a good idea if there's more than just that one crate that's that powerful...being distracted is just going to make it harder not to get caught, right? Maybe they'll be nice enough to tell us more if we finish the job.

[Maybe. It does seem to be reserved for special clients, and the people at Shades Darker hadn't exactly seemed forthcoming with information, but it's worth considering.]

LAW (PROTECT YOUR INTERESTS)

[mollymocked]

[As a general rule, Molly distrusts anyone named Cree, thanks to the Tabaxi in the Gentleman's employ and her knowledge of Lucien. This particular Cree has nothing in common with her, except that he is of the same make as the Gentleman and that means Molly has some inkling of how this works and knows better than to trust it.

Still, it's basically bounty hunting even if some of it goes against his sense of ethics. He'll do it in his own way and Cree can deal with it. Their intel has led him and his sailor friend (a far cry from Fjord, so that means Molly has to take lead on this, by his own perspective) to a place called The Sprinkling Tap.

Jester would have loved this place. Molly knows he does, even if he has the charm offensive of a far too offensive person. At the very least, he looks exotic and interesting. As soon as they enter, he leans closer to Law.]

What d'you think? We need either the drunkest or most easily impressed person in here.

[kikoku]

[Law isn't terribly concerned with Cree's intentions. He's not one to be terribly concerned operating outside the law, (there's a joke there, probably.) and pessimistic as he is, almost expects to be double crossed. He's not one to turn down the chance to ruin things for a privileged elite, though, and that's why he's here. A chance to get a better read on Mollymauk, who he has sort of offered a place on his ship, isn't bad either.]

I wouldn't trust the words of the drunkest. What's your plan for the latter?
[Persuading people isn't really his skill set unless they can be intimidated, which seems more like what's needed when they actually find the people organizing this. Back home, he'd had people on his crew who knew how to schmooze, to ply information with words and coin. Operating on a smaller scale here meant playing his cards carefully.]

I don't think any arbitrary patron would necessarily have information on who's behind this.

[mollymocked]

On the contrary friend, the drunk are the most truthful people you'll ever meet, but we'll try a few, see how it works. As for my plan... [He sidles up to the bar, grins at the bartender, and orders "whatever's the most interesting." Fancy beverage in hand, he tilts it towards Law, and makes his way over to a melancholy looking woman who seems to be about halfway through with her own drink.]

Another drink for the lady? My friend and I couldn't help noticing you seem to be in a state. Perhaps we can help.

[She gives Molly a look that he's seen many times before, but when her gaze flicks up to Law, she relaxes somewhat, a bit of a gleam in her eye. "And what could you possibly help me with?"]

I thought I'd sent this tag whoops

[kikoku]

I-
[Law isn't sure what to make of the the woman looking more relaxed at him than Mollymauk. He makes a mental note to pay the other man back later for the suggestion that they're friends as well as getting him into this situation. He has to Think. He's familiar with the type of people who drink alone in the corners of bars. Because he's a person who drinks alone in the corners of bars. On the other hand, it's so that people will leave him the fuck alone. This woman isn't glaring at them until they go away, so that's clearly not the case here. What do women want? Probably a lot of different things, he doesn't know this woman in particular. Damnit he's a doctor, not a mindreader.

After visibly freezing up for a solid ten seconds while he has this internal struggle, he gives up and defaults to being irritated and to the point because even if he'd been told beforehand to "try to be charming" he would have absolutely no idea how.]
He offered you a drink. We need information. That's why we're here.

[He doesn't know how to operate without an incredibly detailed plan, so help him. You've mistaken Law for someone with actual social skills. He turns to Molly.]
How does this constitute a plan?

[mollymocked]

[Molly very gently, very sociably, reaches over and covers Law's mouth with his hand, not taking his eyes off the woman. His charm is superficial, but what he lacks in sincerity, he makes up for in enthusiasm and the appearance of believing what he's saying.] Shhh shhh. He's awful. Don't worry about him. But yes, he does make a valid point. There's some unfortunate business going on around here, and we might be doing a bit of looking into it. This is a lovely establishment, after all, and it's only recently gotten back on its feet. I'd hate for it to fall into anything untoward.

[The woman moves the drink Molly brought closer to her and twirls the straw a bit. "I do like this place. Fine. Sit."]

[kikoku]

[Law wants to be mad at being silenced, but it's not like he wanted to keep talking, in any case. Mollymauk seems to have salvaged the situation and that's what's important here. With some reluctance, he sits. And takes a deep breath. Because listen, he's not trying to be awful. It just sorta comes out that way. He looks around at the bar before speaking.]

It seems like a good place to get away from everything, I can see why you'd like it.
[Look, see, he's trying. He understands the function of bars.]

Do you know anything about the people that own the place> That's who we're trying to find.