Summons: The Bard

Summons: The Bard

Postby Lent » Wed Jul 27, 2011 1:38 am

A good bard makes himself easy to find. Nothing surprising there. Can't do business if no one can find you. Sell yourself on your name, your reputation, repeat performances. Get the audience to come to you and taverns will seek you out. A good meal becomes easy to get. And the ladies... need to start over then. Good bard makes himself easy to find except for in the early morning. Darting from a home before the husband arrives. Leaving the maiden with nothing but a memory and a mystery. Avoiding unwanted repeat performances.

By lunchtime, it's easier to find them. The heat of the moment's passed. Less chance of getting stabbed or slapped. Town's busier and blending in's nice and easy. Not a normal day today, though. Weird things lately.

"D-E-S..." Detective Constable Kurt Lentham started, forcing himself out of his lethargic musing. A moment later he stopped, twitching his lips slightly at the shapely barmaid, watching carefully as she filled up his prized flask. "Can't spell, can you?" The ragged, faded uniform fit his body loosely but fit his character perfectly. This was a side-trip, of course, the third this morning. Flask kept ending up empty. Necessity ruled. Still, he was getting closer and closer. If he was actually trying, he likely would have found the bard by now.

A number of Constables had been sent out to gather the partygoers, to get concrete information, to bring them back to the haughty Judicial Investigator Burnie and answer questions. Particular priority had been given to the ball's orchestrator, the bard, Descant, which is why three Detective Constables, those pillars of the law enforcement community with the ever so rare ability to read and write had been sent to bring him along. And maybe, just maybe, by the time he hit his fourth or fifth refill of that flask, Lentham might actually find him.
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Descant.

Postby Raven » Wed Jul 27, 2011 6:13 am

"Descant. Des is fine too." Ask enough questions, prod in enough places or just say his name enough times. Even if one didn't look particularly hard, it was inevitable that the bard may very well track down one of those asking about him. A few coins would be flipped to the barmaid, followed by a most charming smile. There was always time for some pleasantries before they got down to the mess of business.

It wouldn't take a very intuitive leap to figure out why they were seeking him out. The inherent problem of having responsibility and being in charge of something was when it went wrong, someone always wanted to know why. It'd be that very reason that he would go through some effort to make himself presentable for the second time, during his stay within Myrken, in as many days.

Calm and casual was for making friends. Smart and sharp was for not making enemies. So it would be that Detective Constable Kurt Lentham would find himself the smartly dressed bard, who'd be giving him his undivided attention. Descant all too happy to get to his inquisition and be done with it. Sooner he could get this over with, sooner he could put the whole Ball behind him and move on.

"Soon as you're ready, good Sir."
Cat: Forget Red — let's go all the way up to Brown Alert!
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Postby Glenn » Wed Jul 27, 2011 8:03 am

"Hmn." Lentham drawled as he slowly looked up to the man. Pity. Three or four more bars along this path. Could have dragged it out nicely. Made a day of it. Bard didn't know how not to be found. The man was casually examined, a look up then a look down. At least one of them was dressed sharply. The Constable certainly wasn't. "Reckon you don't wa... no, no. I see how it is, plain as day."

What Lentham saw there was anyone's guess. He didn't elaborate. The man was a rare enough beast in Myrken Wood, someone who had made it to his thirty-fifth birthday, even past it. Not entirely whole but not falling apart either. He'd give a slight shrug of his shoulder. "Right. Off we are then."

What followed was a rather stoic walk. Lentham didn't have questions, not yet at least, probably not at all in this case. Maybe he'd interrogate others.. not the man who was, yes, ultimately responsible for this... whatever it was. He drank liberally as they walked, not once offering the flask. No brotherly gestures. By turning himself in for this little inquest, and doing it so darn professionally at that, Descant robbed the Constable of a tortoise like day of ambling and drinking in something other than hot pursuit.

Now they were heading back towards Burnie. How nice.

The building was as it always was, full of bustle and paper, so much paper, with clerks running to and fro, hip deep in research. While they were mostly male, there was a spattering of females, generally in spectacles and yes, a few of them (and likely one or two of the almost dozen males) might have looked up to see what was going on and witness the bard's arrival. Lentham didn't pause to meet any of those looks. He went straight on to the office in the back and opened the door. "Descant." He said before anyone inside could even mumble a greeting and then added. "Or Des, it seems. I'm sitting this one out." He mentioned that before even being invited to stay. "Try not to rough him up too much. No visible marks." That last bit was probably a joke, probably, and as Lentham would pass back from whence he came, he rose the flask to the bard in a salute and took yet another drink. "Head on in." He'd call from a few steps past.
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Descant.

Postby Raven » Wed Jul 27, 2011 11:57 am

Not being found would have been more of an issue for Descant than interrupting the fellow's drinking route. As much as he was tempted to find himself a new watering hole, he still had unfinished business in Myrken. Des would shrug at the fellow, whatever he saw, he saw. Not that he'd get much of a chance to question him on it. A long quiet walk, no alcohol. It was panning out to be a decidedly unpleasant day.

Looks would be returned with a smile and a wave of a gloved hand. Not that he'd dawdle over much, not with his escort forging on through with no regard for greeting his peers. Oh well. He'd pause and wait for Lentham to knock upon the door and let whoever was on the other side know that the bard had been found. There'd be a blink at the mention of roughing him up. Hopefully -that- wouldn't be necessary. He'd come in voluntarily after all!

Hmm. A nod of his head to the flask salute and then Des would push on into the office. Closing the door once he passed through. No-one could accuse him of having spent his life within a tent.
Cat: Forget Red — let's go all the way up to Brown Alert!
Kryten: There's no such thing as a Brown Alert, sir.
Cat: You won't be saying that in a minute! And don't say I didn't alert you!
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Postby Glenn » Thu Jul 28, 2011 1:39 pm

This was the office of a busy man. It was the building of a busy agency, yes, but the office took the idea to an extreme. There seemed to be six or seven different organizational structures at play within. Most of the papers were in neat enough piles; it was just that the piles were positioned this way and that and at every angle. They almost seemed to make out some insane pattern, as if one could create connections pertaining to the information written upon each solely through the way they were stacked near one another.

The books were another story. THEY were just tossed around everywhere, though the person sitting behind the rather nice desk would claim to know where each one was, if asked. He might even show off and prove it. There were maps upon the walls around him and a ridiculously ornate sword with a map motif hanging a few feet behind him upon the wall.

"Do you think it a sign of faith that the Detective Constable isn't staying for this or do you think he's just annoyed I'm intervening so directly?" Glenn Burnie, dressed in noticeably nice but casual enough clothing, smiled his usual pleasant smile at the bard. "You needen't answer. And please, sit down." There would be a nod to a chair, sturdy but hardly comfortable, on the other side of the desk. "Let's begin with this. My apologizes for missing your ball, Descant." Ownership was stated right from the get go. "I think it might have gone rather different had I been there." It was not mocking or bragging. It was a simple statement that he believed. "I had warned you previously. The odds were somewhat against you from the start." Was that sympathy? If so, not a bad start to this talk, certainly.
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Descant.

Postby Raven » Thu Jul 28, 2011 1:57 pm

There'd be a look around, how could he not look around? He'd rather hope that this was the -only- time he ever got dragged in to answer questions about something he had been involved in. Attention would go to Glenn at his, apparently, rhetorical question. There'd be a shrug. Sometimes it was wiser to keep one's mouth shut and if he didn't need an answer, it was probably one of those times. Instead he'd do as asked and take a seat as indicated.

An uncomfortable chair was never a good thing. Being reminded that he was in charge of the whole fiasco? Also not a good thing. So far, from where he was sitting, this talk was going to be much like any other when one got hauled in before a person of authority. "Yes, well. Hindsight and all that, I'd have much preferred your presence if it meant things didn't spiral out of control like they had." Surprisingly honest words from the Bard.

That admission would hang in the air for a moment and then Descant would make an offhandedly dismissive gesture. He could hazard a guess as to why this meeting was even taking place, they most well get down to the nitty gritty. "You're a busy man, I'm a busy man. We most well cut to the chase and get down to the heart of the matter."
Cat: Forget Red — let's go all the way up to Brown Alert!
Kryten: There's no such thing as a Brown Alert, sir.
Cat: You won't be saying that in a minute! And don't say I didn't alert you!
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Postby Glenn » Thu Jul 28, 2011 2:16 pm

Burnie continued to smile and would even nod in acknowledgement. Did he have that chair just to make his long rants, of which Descant had endured at least one, all the more uncomfortable for those being assaulted by them? Today the bard had gotten straight to the point and perhaps the bureaucrat would reward him for that. "I am a busy man, and there are a number of people to speak with on this matter." Descant was busy, however? Well, it wasn't a point Burnie cared to contend.

No, there were more important things to discuss. "Alright, then. Various and sundry entities come to Myrken disguised as one thing or another. They are not what they seem and oh, about half the time, they mean to cause harm to the people here." Gypsies on one side. Strange men with snake-themed jewelry on the other. "I hope you'll be glad to know that I think you are exactly what you say you are, but that doesn't change what happened at your ball. We'll make this simple." No paper was brought out for this inquiry, as in the Governor's note-taking fashion. No, Burnie just stared at Descant as he spoke. "I'd like to hear, from you and to the best of your understanding, just what happened. And I would like a concise list of the people there." Simple questions, Descant, and so long as you cooperated, no reason to hold you responsible at all.
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Descant.

Postby Raven » Thu Jul 28, 2011 6:02 pm

The bard might not pursue the most noble of causes, as Mr Burnie may, but that didn't mean that they demanded any less of his time or attention. There'd be a polite inclination of his head and the ghost of a smile at Glenn accepting the bard at face value. Ahh, but then they'd be down to business, so the bard would wiggle about once more, in futility, to try and get comfortable. A sigh at having to endure such an annoying chair and then he'd shrug. Most well get to it.

"From what I saw, Catch attacked someone that Lamai was dancing with. I can't even guess at what would drive him to do such a thing, but, well, it -is- Catch." Another shrug and then a pause to consider how to describe the next sequence of events. "From there, everything got somewhat crazy. People were being flung about, there was screaming and general chaos..." The bard was busy trying to keep himself out of harms way... "Catch ran off, James was down, Lamai was down. A few other people had been injured."

There'd be a much longer pause. Des had thought everything was finally drawing to a close after all that. He'd hoped that that would be the end of a rather disastrous night, but no, then the place had exploded and fire was everywhere. -That- had finally been the end of the Grand Ball. A wave of a gloved hand and a smirk. "And, well, the place kind of exploded in flame and I have no idea how that happened."

As to the final part of the business, well, he could do that. In fact, in preparation for such a meeting he'd taken the original guest list and made alterations. Fixing up the people who'd not attended and adding on any that he had noted who had not been formally invited. One might suspect that this was not the first time the bard had endured such a setback. The list would be handed over and then Descant would recline once more. Expectant look upon his features.
Cat: Forget Red — let's go all the way up to Brown Alert!
Kryten: There's no such thing as a Brown Alert, sir.
Cat: You won't be saying that in a minute! And don't say I didn't alert you!
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Postby Glenn » Fri Jul 29, 2011 6:06 am

There was no note taking. There was no change in Burnie's expression, no accusations, no little noises when details were sparse, no sign of gratitude when the list was presented. Nothing but the smile and a calm look. Gllenn let Descant say all he had to say. He let him give forth the list, and then he would nod. There were but a few questions left.

A finger popped up to go along with the first. "Was there anything unusual or noteworthy about the song being played when Catch went wild?" Another finger rose. "Did you see into the midst of the chaos? Was it just Catch throwing people about with some sort of bestial strength or was magic otherwise in play?" A third finger, though this one came up rather slowly. Descant had prepared for this meeting and that WAS admirable. Granted, it also led to a bit of suspicion. Either he had expected disaster or had experienced it before. Still, without further evidence there was no reason to jump to conclusions. The final question then. "What's next for you, Descant? Barring us learning something particularly incriminating, you will not be run out of Myrken with flaming pitchforks. IF you are to stay, then perhaps we should a bit more of an official presence at any large gathering you organize in the future."
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Descant.

Postby Raven » Fri Jul 29, 2011 2:48 pm

Descant couldn't help himself, with Glenn counting off fingers Descant would do the exact same thing in reverse. Except he'd be ticking back down his fingers with every question answered. "Oh no, I'm not planning on taking part in any more large gatherings. They are far too much hassle. I think I'll stick to haunting taverns and playing for smaller audiences." Tick. "Since I can see the question without you even asking, it was just a good guess that you'd want something of the like. I figured I most well cut down the time I spend here by preparing the list ahead of schedule." Tick.

That left the earlier questions and it'd take him a moment to consider them. "I didn't see the initial incident, I think there wasn't any sort of magic at the onset but it certainly came out as they struggled upon the floor and more people got involved." Tick. That left the oddest question of all. "Unusual or noteworthy? No. Simple background music. Standard fare, nothing special. You'd hear it at any number of Balls around the country. I can provide the sheet music if required." Tick but a slight frown to go with it, that was something he should have had along with the guest list.
Cat: Forget Red — let's go all the way up to Brown Alert!
Kryten: There's no such thing as a Brown Alert, sir.
Cat: You won't be saying that in a minute! And don't say I didn't alert you!
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Postby Glenn » Fri Jul 29, 2011 3:33 pm

"I have to admit," Burnie put his hand down, fingers no longer necessary for questions had been answered,"you're handling this very efficiently, truly a testament to your profession, perhaps the first I've ever seen. I'm impressed." And the Judiciary Investigator would not admit THAT often. "I'm going to take your presence here in Myrken as a positive sign of our growth and forget my prior assumption of you being thrown out of Rasazan due to bedding the wrong noblewoman while her husband was away... or something lascivious along those lines."

It seemed like the worst of it was over. Still, if he was trying to cut down the time, perhaps he had inspired the opposite reaction. "I imagine you have to be fairly disappointed at how it all turned out, though you're certainly not showing it." Another pause as Burnie raised a hand, hopefully halting a response. "But then if you were to show emotion along those lines, I doubt it would be here and now and to me. Fine. Keep yourself easily available, please. Depending on what I learn, we might have to see that sheet music after all. And, be certain that if there was any foul play that caused the disruption, I will find it out, and there will be a response... and if it was just Catch? Well, then there will be a response as well. We'll get to the bottom of all that happened." For Descant too, of course. Burnie was acting in his stead now, just as he acted in the stead of everyone else in Myrken.
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Descant.

Postby Raven » Sat Jul 30, 2011 2:08 pm

A tilt of his head at the compliment and a flicker of a smile. "Once I resigned myself to the fact that I'd be the one who'd be first held responsible for the whole mess, I figured it'd be in my best interest to be as accommodating as possible." The flicker of before would become a full-fledged smile at Glenn's previous assumption of the bard being run out of the Capital due to a scandal. Why, it may very well still be true. He certainly wasn't going to confirm or deny and such rumour.

Oh, he was disappointed. He'd sunk a lot of time, effort and coin into the whole venture so that he may pursue his profession's time honoured stereotypes only to have the whole thing burn down around him. It was, however, as Glenn surmised. The bard wasn't about to go bleating about his bad luck and weeping everywhere he went. "I'm sure one of your fellows will find me or I'll find them if you have anything further you wish to know." As to the rest, he'd merely smile. He certainly had no objections to Glenn digging about and finding out who'd instigated all the trouble. Bring them to justice! He'd applaud the fellow if he managed it.

Descant would rise then, from that most uncomfortable chair, and offer Sir Burnie a rather formal bow. "If that is all for the moment? I'll take my leave." And he'd do exactly that unless otherwise halted.
Cat: Forget Red — let's go all the way up to Brown Alert!
Kryten: There's no such thing as a Brown Alert, sir.
Cat: You won't be saying that in a minute! And don't say I didn't alert you!
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