To find a hive, track a bee

[dantieduurden]

It had been many months now since Dantie had seen any sight of really anyone. He had been living in self exile now for almost two years. Always searching for the organization known as the Hive, though on occasions he got leads. Never did he ever get lucky. They seemed to have already left the area by the time he got their, or seemed to just vanish. One thing that kept happening though was they seemed to always pop up p in the capital and so it had led to Dantie's will to start searching their.

Though he had only arrived a week ago inside the city he had already covered many of the less friendly places in the city. Now though it was getting close to nightfall once more, another day gone with still no fruit to bear. It seemed no one in the city would talk about the hive in the open. And the few leads he did get, had so far come up empty handed.

So as he walked into the tavern he had been staying at the past few days, it was no surprise to him that all the usual people were their. " No one new tonight I see." Dantie says as he walks up to the counter and puts some money on it. " So whats the meal for tonight?" Dantie asks the woman behind the counter that he has come to know decently well over the past week of his stay in the city. As he looks around the area he notices that the same band is playing that always is, and that everyone still sits in the same seats they sit in everyday. If he did not see them move everyday and speak he would have thought they were statues made from magic.

[Kite]

*Amelia strolls into the familiar surroundings of the tavern she was now entering. She generally comes here once in a month, to speak to the Drone that generally trolls the waters for loose tongues here, as well as to chat with the owner. She did this periodically with every tavern in the city, as it was her job to make sure that things in the city are running well and that she is not unknowingly being screwed over by untrustworthy people. Something of an occupational hazard, that. She chose one at random a week, and went in there with no warning.

And this was it, this time.

She strides through the door and nods to the woman behind the bar with a smile, before slipping between tables over to her Drone associate at a table near the middle of the room. She sits next to him and smiles at him, and he raises his cup to her before drinking. Amelia speaks softly towards him.*

So, whats the news Tobias? Anything particularly fun you've seen or heard recently?

*He shrugs when he puts his cup down to the table.*

Not particularly. Nothing that isn't in the reports. Usually this tavern is so fun too.

Don't I know it. Nothing comes to mind?

Not really. That man over there has been here a week but not really met with anyone, but I suppose that doesn't make him too important. I have never seen him around the city before this week however, and he seems to make a point of knowing who is in here at all times, so I keep an eye out but he hasn't done anything untoward that I've seen.

*With that statement, he nods towards the bar to a stranger speaking with the woman behind the bar, and Amelia follows his gesture to look at the man. He has long white hair and is probably a foot taller than her, but that isn't too unusual. She doesn't find much odd about him, however, and turns back to Tobias.*

Well, I don't know what watching him will bring, but I don't mind you keeping an eye on him. Could you grab me a drink, since you need to refill anyway?

*Tobias nods and stands, walking towards the bar to refill his drink and get Amelia one, and Amelia stays at the table, sitting in a relaxed style and waiting for him to return.*

[dantieduurden]

Dantie is not caught unaware as he sees the barkeepers eyes take on a look that he has seen all to well. Someone was here. And from the look, exactly the someone he was looking for. As he did a quick turn around towards the minstrels playing their music Dantie scanned the room. It did not take him long to notice the newcomer, after all he had been their for a week now, their was almost no one he did not know that came in. Defiantly those who sat down with Tobias. He had kept an eye on the man for most of the time he was here, though nothing unusual ever happened around him, he just seemed to be unusually lucky. And after seeing the woman now sitting down with him he could tell for sure he was not that lucky. The woman with him from what he saw weighed what seemed normal to him, but it was her glow that caught his attention. But just as quickly as he looked at her, he was turned to the minstrels flicking a coin their way.

Biding his time Dantie continued to watch the performance until his food was brought before him, just in time to, he thought as he saw Tobias getting up and heading over. Whos the pretty girl Tobias, ain't that lucky now. Dantie said as Tobias got to the bar. I have seen you win card games, and unimaginable odds old man, but you and her. There is no way, what is she your sister? Dantie asked him, knowing very well that Tobias did not have a sister from all the surveillance he had been doing. As far as Dantie knew the man livid alone, though odd, not uncommon saying he was an elf.

[Kite]

*Amelia turns her head as she hears someone speak Tobias' name, and sees the man he pointed out to her speak to him, giving him some grief for the "pretty girl" that came to his table. She smirks somewhat when hearing that, agreeing fully that Tobias wouldn't have nailed a pretty girl like her.

Oh, the things we do for appearances. Ah well.

Amelia decides to stand and walk over to Tobias as he speaks a response to the man.*

Oh, come on now Dantie. You don't think I'm lucky enough for her? You know me, always roll straight and draw true.

*Amelia slips up behind him with a grin, her arm over his shoulders and leaning against him somewhat.*

I guess you'd be surprised! You know how it goes, Elven love at first sight. He let me come into the Tavern today though, I don't usually come to this kinda place. Its too seedy. Tobias here will keep me safe though!

*Amelia kisses his cheek from behind and smiles at the woman behind the bar.*

Besides, Laura there wouldn't let anything happen either, would ya hon? You're a wonderful friend to have, I'm so glad I met you in Ilirea!

*She turns slightly towards Dantie and smiles.*

So, how do you know Tobias? Cards I assume. He's so good at them.

[dantieduurden]

Dantie laughs at what Tobias says and says Though your aim with a bow may me true, your dice rolling sure is not straight Tobias. You always win. As Dantie says that he sees the young woman, by elf standards at least, she seemed to be around his old mentors age, but he could not be sure, come up and lean against him slightly. I can not say that I do know what you are talking about. True love at first sight is all but a mystery to me. That is why my lady I say he is not that lucky. As Dantie says this he notices here eyes are not like other elves, instead of the normal green, hers are a golden color. She could be a werecat, he thinks to himself as he listens to her speak. In Illirea you say? You wouldn't happen to know Darek Von Cleft then perhaps? Dantie said courisouly. Most elves knew of him, if nothing else then about his curse. As for Laura having a friend, who has eyes that shine like the sun, that I have no doubt of. But Tobias... Dantie looks to him and says shacking his head You have a great deal of luck on your side. Turning Back to the lady with him he says Well you could say its through cards. I have watched him for a while now, still do not know how he pulls half of the things he does off. If magic was allowed in the games he played then maybe I would understand. But it is dice that got me to know him. I bet my horse against him and lost. Still don't believe he won fairly. Dantie says indicating that his dice were loaded. Besides from that, I try to keep all those that I meet in one place on the top of my head, that is why it struck me as odd that a woman came here for him.

[Kite]

*Tobias smirks slightly whenever Dantie implies his cheating, and Amelia smiles while Dantie is talking, leaving her own comments til the end. Of course Tobias cheated, most card and dice games in the capital were games of skill, not games of chance as they were intended to be. Just another cog in the wheel of the Great Game and the double speak that the elves were so talented at. Thinking, Speaking, and Meaning were all distorted here in a way that the brains of other races often couldn't follow, and games of skill and wit arose in every situation, at unexpected times.

Amelia waits til Dantie is over speaking, and then looks sympathetically at him.*

Well, I am sorry about your luck so far at dice and love, I am sure it will turn around soon enough. As to one Darek Von Cleft, I have heard the name before, but not in a long time. Reputation for being cursed, right?

*Amelia looks up to Laura and Tobias, who both nod, before turning back to Dantie.*

But I don't know more than that. He was quite the rumor though. Most people hear about it, coming through Ilirea. Gossip, you know. As for a woman coming for him here being odd, you have no idea how glad I am to hear that. One more silly worry put out of my head. I also don't get the chance to frequent places such as these often, due to family obligations and stuck-upedness, but sometimes I just like to see my dear friend and lovely man.

*Amelia pats Tobias on his shoulder, and waits for Dantie to respond.*

[dantieduurden]

And just like that his luck turned around. By bringing up his old mentor he knew he could catch anyone, for it was well known that Darek traveled all of Illirea. And was never one to pass down seeing someone new unless they smelled of trouble. Looking to the woman he says with a grin Oh I must say I do believe my luck has changed. Where were you exactly in Illirea? It is odd that one who has visited the city would not know of him. Definitely a little bee who seems to be the same age. It is also odd that you point out that you only see Tobias every once in a while little bee, after all you say he is your husband. Dantie then puts his money on the table to pay for his food. Perhaps a more, Private talk is in order my lady Bee. As for you Tobias. Danite says with a smile, I will be expecting my horse back. And with that Dantie waits for the woman to follow him out the door. After almost 2 years he had finally found the hive. If nothing else, they sure were good at covering up their tracks.

[Kite]

*Amelia hears Dantie speak, and her eyes narrow somewhat.

Who the hell is this idiot?

His logic simply baffled her. She was at the Rider's city for the reason every other elven child had visited the Rider's city. For training in the use of magic and apprenticeships. Of course she knew of Darek Von Cleft, she had heard the name before, and heard why he was known, but despite living in Ilirea for many years, she had simply not crossed his path or perhaps just not taken note of him. And just because she was "in love" with Tobias never implied they were married, but that was a simple jump to make. What wasn't was that "she never saw him". She'd never said anything of the sort. Just because she wasn't here at nights when Tobias was didn't make it impossible for her to see him elsewhere.

What bothered her more about his lack of reasoning was that him thinking she had never left the city, as well as the rest, meant that she was part of the Hive in his mind. She was, of course. She lead the Hive in Ellesmera, but that meant he was searching for her. Why? She doesn't know. However, she did not intend to let him boss her and her associates around.

She looks straight up at him with a neutral expression.*

Well, that went shockingly horrific for you.

*She shakes her head and sighs, before continuing.*

Allow me to point out some flaws in your logic, as well as some points you might have slipped up on. Darek Von Cleft? Of course I knew of him. I said as much. "I have heard the name before, but not in a long time." Which happens to be true. I haven't been to Illirea in almost 200 years. I am a busy woman. I only went there for the mandatory time then came back and got to work, while he was a fairly young student when I left. However, for you to know him well enough for you to use him as a truth detector, you must have a personal connection to him. Son? Student? Either way, you weren't brought up here if you don't know that all elves are sent to Illirea for training. Which makes you even more of an oddity.

As to your point about Tobias, "my husband", you fail on two points of logic there. One, I never implied or said that he was my husband, just that he was my "love". Think about what I told you. If "my family" thought this place was too seedy, than its inhabitants and its patrons, Tobias included, would be too seedy for their daughter to marry. So it would be a torrid affair. Secondly, it is extremely plausible that I would meet him other places much more often, especially as the term "lover" implies. I suspect there isn't much loving going on in the main floor of the tavern.

*She now looks at him with a hard stare before continuing*

Now, I'm not sure what you are here for, and certainly will be having a private word with you, however it will be at a place of my choosing not yours. And secondly, you will not be having your horse back. Partly because you ordered Tobias around like you owned him, and you don't, and partly because he won it in a fair game. Just because your skill was below his that you couldn't out cheat him, as is expected here, doesn't make him responsible for your lack of the same. Now. Do you agree to my conditions to have a "private talk"?.

[dantieduurden]

Dantie listens to what the woman states and sees some errors in what he has said, but in the end they got him exactly what he wanted. And from how she was talking she was no low rank member, that meant Tobias was. All depends. Who will be there and where? And as for cheating only those to cowardly to face someone head on would cheat. Only those that can not win and have no skills.

[Kite]

*Amelia taps her feet, not deeming the first part with an answer.*

Its all part of the game. The game rules everything here, and only those who do not cheat think that cheating doesn't take skill. Your answer?

[dantieduurden]

And those with skill need not cheat. Where shall I see you again? If ever? Dantie says waiting at the door to the small little tavern, already thinking about putting on his set of armor he had gotten made not that long ago by the smith in the great city of the elves to match his sword that he had won from being the best in his class.

[Kite]

*Amelia smiles at his assurances, but shrugs at his question. The control of the situation had been hers for a time now, since he had told her he wanted to speak with her privately, but at least he was now agreeing with it. It made things a lot easier than him disagreeing and having to have some Hive members waylay him. He had intentions for the her or the Hive in general, and she would not let that slide. Not in her city. However, she slowly walks towards him, stopping just out of his arms length near the door.*

Well, if we are going to have our little chat, you will see me again. However, where and when will be answered all to shortly. Come with myself and Tobias, we will lead you to somewhere quieter.

*Tobias steps up to him and tilts his head slightly, gesturing through the door.*

Shall we go, Dantie? This is probably the easiest way for all of us.

*Amelia looks at Dantie, waiting for an answer while reaching out with her mind to communicate to any Drones nearby, touching their minds gently and sending a message to them*

Drones, this is Vencari. We are about to move someone from the tavern Tobias is stationed in to the headquarters. Make your way here and make sure he doesn't try to escape us or attack us on route. We don't know what he wants. Yet.[/color]

[dantieduurden]

Dantie is surpprised as the woman explains that she wants to take him now, so calling on his powers he calls his suit of armor and other belongings to him using the ancient language. Can't leave my stuff just anywhere after all. Dantie says turning with a smile as he is covered in armor a dragon rider would envy, and his sword appears around his waste, a bag appears on his back last. O we should get going. But if I sense anyone is following us that will do me harm, know that it will not be so easy. Dantie says before extending his mind to the surrounding area.

*If only we had spoilers o well guess this will do. Don it only goes out to 20ft. he still is young and does not have a greater range so your idea should still be good just keep them at that distance at the least. After all he will be expecting people he saw frequently now.

[Kite]

*Amelia smiles as he pulls his belongings to his body, namely a set of armor, a sword on his waist, and a bag upon his back. It was truly impressive metal crafting that surrounded his body. Metal crafting better than she had seen on some of the Riders she had seen in Ilirea. However, it showed his nervousness, as does his statement. He wants control. He won't receive it. This is her show, has been ever since he made the mistake of showing himself. She smirks up at him after he finishes his words, before walking past him through the door, speaking as she does.*

Oh don't worry, you won't sense intent to harm. And if you want to draw every eye in the city to us with your armor, so be it.

*Amelia is walking towards the headquarters confidently, not worried whether he is following her or not as Tobias will make sure he is going the right way if he gets lost. Approximately six Drones were in the vicinity to follow the three of them, splitting evenly between them and generally keeping a distance enough that she is fairly sure he won't sense them, but she reaches out herself to see their demeanor and feels one of protection, not harm. A reassuring thing, her subordinates being professional enough to not let an aura of harm out while following us. But of course they would be professional. She would not allow people into her organization if she couldn't trust them to do what she needed them to. They occassionally slipped within a couple dozen feet of them, maybe a little closer, but rarely and never with intention to harm.

Tobias waits with Dantie until he begins to follow Amelia, whenever that is, and just watches him until he chooses to follow.*

[dantieduurden]

Dantie shows no care about his armor being on, he had been in it for the past two years without being paid much attention it would be interesting to see a change for once. As he is thinking this he follows her all the time sensing his surroundings for any thoughts that would cause him harm.

[Kite]

*Amelia leads the nine of the group towards the magnificent compound that was the Ellesmera Hive complex, inside of the complex holding the largest import and export company in the capital. She reaches the front entrance, and then circles towards the furthest right entrance to the compound, used for "deliveries and trade" only, but that leads to the storefront of the trading the Hive does in the compound. She descends the stairs and nods to the guards, sliding through the door, and the guards allow Tobias and Dantie to pass as well. The six Drones that were following peel off as the three of them enter the compound, and Amelia thanks them with her mind before they do so. As they enter, they see a scene of bustling trade and movement, but Amelia sees this often and ignores it. The scene of members of the Hive, even one as high ranking as she was or higher, didn’t often bring much attention. However, the sight of Tobias bringing in a man covered in high quality armor with a blade wasn’t so common, and brought some stares, nervous or not, from the people inside if only for a moment. Amelia keeps on her way, and leads the party down the stairs to the second basement of the tree, and walks past the first few rooms in the way to a long hallway with three doors once they reach the second basement. Of the three doors, she chooses the furthest from the stairway up, and opens the door before turning to Dantie.*

If you will wait in here, I will join you in a few minutes and we can have our talk.

*The tall elf before her nods and enters the room behind her, one of the smaller interrogation rooms that just consists of a chair and table in the middle, and she closes and locks it before turning to Tobias.*

Can you watch the door for me? I need to go get a specialist…

*Tobias smiles a little at her question and nods.*

You can count on me, ma’am.

I know I can, Tobias. Thank you.

*Amelia smiles at him once more before stepping aside and walking to one of the doors to the first few rooms on the level. Inside was the lab of the Malakian Company, and it was Josk’s personal playroom. She almost walked straight in, and then remembered that that was probably a bad idea. She did own the place, so she could walk around like she did, but sometimes caution is a good thing. She laughs slightly at the thought before knocking on the door to the lab.*

Hello, Josk? I have something I might need your help on. Could be fun. May I come in?

[dantieduurden]

As Dantie is led through the complex he is surprised by how many people are actually there. Any thoughts of breaking out soon left his mind. If things went bad he would have to fight tooth and nail to get out, though he was a strong fighter. In the end his magic would not overcome all of their own and so as he waited inside the room he went to sit on the chair. As he waits he listens to his surroundings trying to get a feel for the place he is in. As he tries to though he notices that the whole room seems to be made for some sort of holding cell of sorts. This should be very interesting. Dantie thinks to himself figuring that saying they went through the trouble of making it so he could not hear outside the room that magic would not be able to either, or at least easily.

[Elloria]

(OOC: If either of you thinks I should, I can add or subtract things from this post. Just let me know what y'all think.)

Josk sat on a stool in one corner with a scroll floating beside him and a quill in hand, staring avidly at the elf currently strapped to one of several operating tables scattered throughout the room. He didn’t know its name; he didn’t need to know the names of his test subjects. He was only interested in the results they gave him. Though he had been working with the Hive for years and though he was constantly running tests, his experiments were few in number. Josk operated under the mentality that quality was of greater importance than quantity. He never had more than five experiments running at any one time, which allowed him to dedicate greater time and energy to each one.

This experiment, for example, had been on his project list for nearly three years. He was testing a compound that, from what he had been able to deduce thus far, caused some pretty spectacular hallucinations in his test subjects. The higher the amount ingested/injected, the more fantastic and fascinating the hallucinations. The downside was that if the subject ingested or injected more than a certain amount, then when the drug finally left the system the subject often suffered catastrophic heart failure. Many an animal had died in screaming agony as their hearts were literally ripped apart. Some of his faint-hearted assistants had passed out in horror. Over the course of three years, however, he thought that he had finally hit upon a solution to his problem of maximizing effectiveness. By injecting the compound, rather than having the subject ingest it, the effects were amplified because the body did not have time to break the compound down. This significantly decreased the amount necessary to kill a person, but also affected how incredible and useful the hallucinations would be as well as how long the effects lasted. The compound was NOT easy to create and if used too often would eventually make the body acclimate to it, thereby completely negating the compound’s usefulness in lengthy interrogations. He needed to make it last as long as possible with as little as possible, so he had begun combining it with certain mushrooms that he knew induced hallucinogenic states. He was now 96% sure of the compound-to-mushroom-to-water-to-body-mass ratio required to induce the most wonderful/useful hallucinations while simultaneously maximizing the likelihood of heart failure. That was good enough for him to advance to the next phase of testing – human/elf reactions to the drug.

He had started with the very lowest amount that he suspected would be effective and was just waiting to see if he was right. The current subject had been in a delightfully psychedelic state of mind for nearly two days at this point and the hallucinations were finally starting to wind down. He scribbled a few notes as the subject began squirming. As it let out a low moan, there came a loud knocking at the lab door and Josk could have killed something. Progress was being made and he was being rudely interrupted! He tossed the quill onto the equipment table beside him, the floating scroll soon joining it as the voice of Josk’s beloved Lieutenant floated through the door.

“Hello, Josk? I have something I might need your help on. Could be fun. May I come in?”

The mage threw his hands up in exasperation. The first part of the night was LAB TIME. How was he supposed to get anything done if he wasn’t allowed to use the full amount of his allotted LAB TIME? “You! With the stupid violet eyes and pink hair!” The woman in question spun around from where she had been testing the antidote to the compound. Josk rarely bothered learning the names of his assistants. They tended to flame out within a matter of months, so there was no point by now. He just committed the most distinguishing physical features to memory and addressed them as such. “Yes, you. You know what I am looking for. Take notes while I deal with this business. If the subject dies, then you may return to testing the antidote. If it does not, then give it a tranquilizer and return to testing that antidote.”

He strode over to the lab door and jerked it open, sticking his head out enough to be able to look Vencari in the eyes. As the subject behind him began screaming, he stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind him – effectively cutting off the screams. He then said, “No, Lieutenant, you may NOT enter the laboratory at this time. Your bleeding heart would undoubtedly squirm and weep at the sight of my latest test. To what do I owe this questionable pleasure?” But he already suspected why she had interrupted his lab time. She needed him to rough someone up who had thus far resisted other interrogators’ tactics – or something along those lines. Fortunately she got to the point of her visit quickly, confirming that she wanted him to come and “interrogate” some elf who had shown up with an unhealthy interest in the Hive. She wanted to know the intentions of the subject and how trustworthy it was, without actually going through the whole process of a legitimate interrogation. Such a task was child’s play to Josk – which was probably why she was asking him instead of one of the other interrogators.

The mage sighed. “Very well, Lieutenant. Lead me to my latest victim, this…Dantie. I shall do my best to not break him just yet.” He followed her through the halls to one of the smaller interrogation rooms. A Drone was standing outside it. He didn’t know the elf’s name – Malakian was a large company and Josk interacted with the bare minimum of its members – but most of the Company at least knew the mage by reputation. He just ignored the elf as it exchanged a few words with Vencari. He chose to instead enter the room with a bit of flair. With a word of magic, he turned the knob and promptly kicked the door open before striding into the room. The door bounced crazily off the wall and would have closed shut were it not for the small bit of magic keeping the knob twisted. The kick had been an immensely satisfying way to unleash some frustration at his interrupted testing so as to ensure he didn’t just outright break the elf he was supposed to be “interrogating.” Speaking of which, the individual in question had risen quickly from the room’s single chair with hand on sword. He raised an eyebrow at it as a flicker of recognition crossed its face. Did it know him from somewhere? He would find out soon enough. “Good evening…Dantie, was it? Let’s have a little chat, shall we?”

[dantieduurden]

As Niko walks into the room Dantie takes his hand of his sword and looks at Niko like he is crazy. Sure they had not seen each other in a few years, but he should have remembered him. And where was his dragon. Dantie thought as he walked over to him. Oh Niko do not try that tone with me. How have you been old friend. Dantie says walking up to him, completely oblivious of the small differences in this person and Niko.

[Kite]

*Amelia waits for Josk to open the door,a nd then steps back as the sound, and Josk, move themselves into the hallway. He speaks of her bleeding heart messing up the experiment, and she smiles slightly but says nothing for a moment, before getting to her point.*

I need your delicate touch, Josk. There is someone in one of the side interrogation rooms that is an unknown to me, but called me out. I need you to find his intentions and what he needs without going full blown interrogation. Of course, if he does mean us ill, you can always have him for more of your experiments, but we'll come to that when we come to that. Dantie is his name. He is in full armor that begs to be looked at as well, which is also part of the reason I call for your expertise, it is obviously not just for show but I know that means nothing to your techniques.

*Josk takes the news, and then sighs before telling her to lead him to his next victim. She nods before turning and moving back down the hallways to the small interrogation room’s entrance, before speaking to Tobias.*

Thanks for your help.
No problem. I’ll get back to it then?
Go ahead.

*Tobias slips past her to head back to his post in the pub, and Amelia turns back to see the middle and end of the entrance that Josk made. She had heard the thump, but hadn’t thought too much of it. Still, it was amusing to see him barge in and the door closes back behind him. She pushes it back open, then closes it behind her as well, catching the end of Josk’s statement, as well as the unusual greeting Dantie gives him. She tilts her head as she moves to the wall beside the door, and leans against it facing both of them.*

You mistake him for someone he is not, Dantie.