Fleaface's About-Face

[Woe]

41st of Ymiden 721


"Hmmm... Talk to..." Sod began, as he clung to Woe's shoulder. The former was in the middle of some gardening in the front of his house. He never thought he'd be a gardener one day, between his highly urban upbringing and clash with the Creep in Quacia, and yet here he was. Let alone sentient plantlife, as he'd discovered through Sod. While working, he waited for Sod to get through his point, in his slow plodding way.

"Talk... Flowers? Set up some watchers? To, hmm..." Sod's little arms clung to Woe's back as he continued to use a trowel to dig through the dirt, so said flowers would have a place to live. Toutouye was peering over the hillock, spying on Woe. The mortalborn couldn't help but smile at his son, glad that at least he was willing to linger about the cabin, if not Egilrun proper.

"Keep watch of children." Sod said, finally pridefully finishing his thought as Woe planted his herbal garden. It'd taken the space of two minutes for him to say that much. Possibly a new record for the Soulforged diri.

Woe had only a few days to get used to the presence of another spirit following him around, or rather clinging to his shoulder, but he found Sod an easy-going and simple presence to deal with. He seemed very knowledgeable, even if he wasn't quick to share it. He seemed eager, at least. He was a different kind of spirit from the ones Woe was used to dealing with.

"Hmm.. Speaking of. Interloper coming." Sod yawned from his perch on Woe's shoulder, and then went invisible to all but Woe as Soraia came running to the scene.

Somewhat shocked at his former servant's arrival, Woe looked up from his work, to watch as she swiftly approached. Sod whispered into Woe's ear, "She... Doesn't look..."

Soraia burst through the fence door, and put her hands on her hips, looking down at Woe where he was working his garden. "Woe Morandi, did you arrange for that... that Fleaface to visit MY house?!"

"..Happy." Sod finished, and then curled up on Woe's shoulder, climbing behind his neck as if to hide further from Soraia. Woe merely looked up at his former servant, and quirked a brow.

"Fleaface? He's in... Etzos as far as I know. He's retired from my service."

"Well...!" Soraia huffed. As much as it was good to see her asserting herself, Woe was worried at the contentious manner she was showing toward him. He wanted to be close to his fellow Order member, and former servant, but it was seeming increasingly likely that they were drifting apart. "He arrived at the house, and entered uninvited. Raiding the pantry like he owns the place, and demanding whiskey."

Woe sighed, placing the trowel on the ground, and wiping the dirt from his hands. "If he's here, I should talk to him. I'll get him put to right."

"See that you do... I'll watch the kids." She said, absolutely adamant at not having to deal with Fleaface more than needed.

And so, Woe went off to the village of Egilrun, Sod in tow.

[Woe]

Botany must have caught wind of Fleaface's scent, because as Soraia tried to keep him within the yard, he wasn't having it. He started with a huffing bark, and then stood up on his long legs and began pumping them, running for the fences. He made the jump over the hill and the fence, escaping his enclosure. There, he joined Woe and Sod on their way back to Egilrun. Of all Woe's household, Botany probably had the most positive relationship with Fleaface. It was almost to the point of endearing, if it wasn't of a concern to Woe. As it was, he didn't want his main watchdog to consider Fleaface as anything less than a potential threat. But such was the way of things. Dogs liked who they did. And who knew? Perhaps Botany would turn out to be an excellent judge of character.

So he moved his long legs beside Woe, as they strolled into Egilrun, making their way for the residential district, over the bridge.

It didn't take long to get to Soraia's house, the front of which was hedged by a sizeable garden. There, Woe wouldn't need to go inside to find Fleaface, bottle of wine in hand, and eyes half-lidded. Botany chased ahead, heedless of Woe's calls to heel. The dog hopped up on Fleaface's lap with his front paws, and began sniffing happily at the drunkard. Woe stood apart from the dog, keeping a cautious distance from his former handyman. He crossed his arms, and so did Sod, as he looked over Woe's shoulder, still invisible to mortals.

"Wake up, Fleaface. What are you doing back here, not enjoying retirement as much as you thought? Or perhaps you heard that the war was at an end?"

Fleaface took a few moments to gather himself, which began with a string of curses as Botany continued snuffling and pawing at his lap. "Gods damned mutt... Oh, Botany." Fleaface squinted down at the gray-furred face that confronted him. "Good ter see yer." He muttered with each wine-soaked breath.

Then his eyes turned upward, squinting in the morning light as he watched Woe, "So Master, what is it with that little slave of yours. She thinks she owns the place now?"

Woe crossed his arms harder, if it was possible, and said, "Because she does. And she's not a slave anymore."

"Slave's can't own shit, what's this?" Fleaface's addled voice rose above the general noise of the residential district, but then he lowered it, "Oh, not a slave no more?"

Woe wasn't amused by his confusion. "You'll owe her for that bottle of wine. And also, what are you doing here, Fleaface? Didn't I give you a house in Etzos' citadel?"

Template by Natalia Gregorios

[Woe]

Fleaface's mouth spread into a grotesque smile as he regarded Woe, kicking up his feet on the table, and throwing back the last of the bottle of wine. Once he'd taken his fill, he wiped his mouth, and set the bottle on the table. "Let's talk about it over drinks. You're still good for that, aren't yer?"

Woe sighed, and shrugged, "Fine, let's have it over drinks." Thus they made their way toward the Lemon Messy, followed closely by Botany, with Sod hiding behind Woe's neck, invisible to all other mortals at the moment.



About a break into it, Woe had had enough to drink to get comfortable with the idea of having Fleaface in his orbit. Well, perhaps comfort wasn't the right word. He was willing to accept that Fleaface knew where to find him and that he no longer had an interest in staying in Etzos. Fleaface went on to explain what had happened in the fallout of Sintra's removal from power. "So, Legs got booted out of town."

Woe felt no end of consternation for the flippant way his old hatchetman referred to his mother, and the Immortal he'd spent the better part of his life worshipping. Old habits died hard, even having given up the cause, and having left the cult. Nevertheless, he allowed him to refer to her as such, as it drew less attention when you freely mentioned the proper name of such an evil Immortal in a public establishment. Woe wasn't surprised that Sintra's efforts had failed. He'd warned her against that course and had even worked against her efforts in his own way. But still, he hadn't expected her machinations to come crumbling down quite so quickly. Fleaface continued, "Yeah... all us what had any connection to her, we had to throw down and denounce her. I for my part did whatever I needed ter survive. So I renounced her. Even so, some fuckers saw me with the son of Legs." Fleaface's mouth twisted bitterly at that, and he spat to the sand. "They wouldn't let me keep that nice house, but forced me to sell it for a pittance. So I use what money I have left to drink my way to Scalvoris."

Woe stared blankly at him, "That's one way to get here. You might have saved some of that money, for accommodation once here. I don't have room for you, and Soraia won't have you under her roof, you know."

"Yea yea, I know. I'll fuck off then. I just thought I'd see if you had work fer me."

It was around that time, Woe noticed someone in the corner of his eye. A man, watching him. Woe didn't turn his head, or take note, but he could see in Fleaface's eye that he could spot him too. "So what do yer have for me? Anything."

Woe closed his eyes for a second, and considered it. Really considered wiping Fleaface's memory. But he refrained. Not with someone watching...

Woe put his shades on then, and gave Fleaface a glance, and in that glance conveyed what he wanted him to know and what he wanted to tell him. If Fleaface would shadow that man back to whoever he reported to, Woe would put him back on the payroll. But Fleaface would have to find accommodation elsewhere. Woe assured him, in that glance, that he would ensure he was compensated as soon as he had answers.

So after a break or two more, where Fleaface drank his fill and shot the breeze with Woe, catching up on all their small happenings, he left the table and waited for the watcher to follow. Woe pretended not to notice when the man pushed off from the beam he'd been relaxing on, and followed Fleaface out of the Mess.

Template by Natalia Gregorios

[Doran]

Woe:

Knowledge:
Skill Knowledge:
Deception: Pretending not to notice a shadow following your friend out of the Mess Hall.
Intelligence: Picking a former associate's brain for information about a foreign state/power.
Intelligence: Using less obvious names in conversation for noted notables. Sintra is 'Legs'.
Intelligence: Using non-verbal communication in order to convey commands.
Intelligence: Keeping your enemies and wildcards close to your chest may not be a bad idea.
Intelligence: Changes of allegiance are on a need-to-know basis.

Non-Skill Knowledge:
Sintra: Was booted from power in Etzos.
Sintra: Aka Legs.
Fleaface: Had to sell the house in the Citadel.
Fleaface: "Drank" his way across the ocean to Scalvoris.

Loot: -
Lost: -
Wealth: -
Injuries: -
Renown: -
Magic XP: -
Skill Review: Appropriate to level.
Points: 10

- - -

Comments: I never thought that Woe would be a gardener either. I like that you started this thread by mentioning some of the changes that your PC has gone through since the War against Slag’s Deep. He’s Soulforged and has Sod now which has obviously affected him!

Soraia’s arrival was quite unexpected. I couldn’t help but wonder what Fleaface was doing in Egilrun and why he had been raiding her pantry as well. It’s good that Woe decided to investigate immediately!

Botany was quite entertaining in my opinion. You RPed Woe’s dog well. His fondness for Fleaface was obvious in the way that he barked upon picking up Fleaface’s scent and began to run. It seems as if Woe doesn’t agree with his dog’s fondness for Fleaface entirely though …

Did Fleaface always have a drinking problem, by the way?

Anyway, I thought that the conversation between Woe and Fleaface was very interesting. I had the impression that Woe was a bit fed up with his drunk associate at first though!

I was a bit surprised that Fleaface was still capable of talking comparatively coherently after getting really drunk at Soraia’s house and spending a break in the Lemon Messy drinking – and that he drank even more after the conversation about Etzos and was still capable of walking.

He must be quite an experienced drunkard!

I checked your CS and your Plot Notes for a writeup of Fleaface because I wanted to know what his Resistance skill is, but I couldn’t find it. Unless he’s not your Personal NPC anymore?

I thought that you handled the Intelligence part of the thread well. Calling Sintra “Legs” was a clever idea, especially since Woe and Fleaface were talking about the developments in Etzos in a public place. The name made me smirk a little. Sintra is the Immortal of Arachnids though!

Having Woe notice the man watching him was a good way to end the thread in my opinion. I like such mysteries. That scene made me curious and want to know more. I hope there’ll be a sequel and we’ll eventually find out what the man might want from Woe and Fleaface!

Enjoy your rewards!

P.S.: I would have added “Gardening” to the list of skills used as that is what Woe did at first.