You shall not pass!
All right, here's one chunk of the huge series of interconnected logs from the Turnover party. A number of people have probably posted the log by now, but I know you can get the whole scene in the living caverns from essdara. Penny, Aida, and Br'ce left partway through to try and follow the guards to the stores to find out what was going on -- this log involves a lot of pointless debate with a guard emitted while pestering poor Jensen to tell me what was going on. Eventually the scene was given up, and Br'ce and Aida went back to the party while I took a much needed break from the RP.
I would just like to note how much I love Vej, an NPC creation of Jensen's that Penny encountered once in one of their scene. He's kind of hilarious.
*smooches* to Aida and Br'ce for being kind of awesome in a difficult and weird scene.
Kitchens
The Weyr's kitchens are never entirely quiet. There is always someone here, tending the many hearths or preparing ingredients for the next meal. A central work station is composed of an immense table, larger even than the table found in the Council Chamber. This is always covered with cooking utensils, fresh ingredients, scraps of hide holding old recipes and various other assorted odds and ends. The heat here can become intense due to the number of hearths lining the walls but the staff seem accustomed to the temperatures.
Contents:
Living Cavern (LC) Stores (S)
Br'ce leaves the relative peace of the living caverns behind in favor of the kitchen's chaos.
Br'ce has arrived.
Aida leaves the relative peace of the living caverns behind in favor of the kitchen's chaos.
Aida has arrived.
There are three guards blocking the tunnelway down to the storage caverns, and two of the three are currently dealing with Penny. She is quite calm, head tilted to one side and charming smile firmly in place. "There are quite a few people alarmed outside," she's saying, in a reasonable tone of voice. "I know they would be reassured if there was anything I could tell them." She takes a step around one of the guards, who isn't too slow in anticipating her and blocking her. "The Captain wouldn't want me worried," she says then, a new tactic. "Is he busy? If you tell him that Penny's asking for him..." Winsome smile. The guard's muttered response to the negative is mused over by the smith. If the Captain is that busy, then there's -something- going on.
Br'ce enters slowly, arm-in-arm with Aida. "The mere fact that there are three of you on sentry duty is quite telling, you know." Br'ce observes languidly to the guards. "One or two would suffice to stop curious bystanders." He, however, is quite content to stand back and let Penny be to one to press the guards. "Some of the weyrwomen in particular are becoming somewhat alarmed. Any news at all would be appreciated." He expertly hints, relying on Ginella to back him up later if need be. "You wouldn't happen to know any of these guards, would you?" he asks, sotto voce aside to Aida.
Though she keeps a hold on Br'ce's arm, Aida seems to relax considerably once they're out of the press of people. Worry is promptly allowed to touch her features, the concern in her expression touched with only a bit of curiosity. She's more worried than curious, right now. Even so, the bulk of the tension that was clinging to her out there fades, her eyes closing briefly as she walks. Apparently, she expects that the brownrider is not going to walk her into anything. A deep breath is taken, released slowly. Calm. The moment Br'ce starts to talk her lashes lift again, and without even an instant's delay, she's putting on her own smile. Her head tilts, she studies the guards. "Hmm," is the entirety of the reply -- thoughtful.
Kierom pages: you might here the occasional bark of a canine, but the two canines are settling down now.
Penny looks over her shoulder at the sound of Br'ce's voice, a flicker of annoyance crossing her features before she glances back at the guards. Damn, they followed her. She tilts her head, looking more closely at the large guard who answered her. "You're... Vej, are you not? I met you once, at lunch." The guard is eyeing her with suspicion and bashfulness mixed together. And Penny, displaying a rather ruthless sense of the status of things, unleashes the full force of her smile on him. She lays a hand on his arm, looking up at him. "Vej, you -know- me. I'm a sensible person. I just want to make sure there's nothing we can do to help. If we need to alert the healers, maybe, or the dragons. Don't you think the Captain would want to make sure all the eventualities are covered?" Yes -- will there be fighting? Are there any riders involved in the conflict?
The occasional bark of a canine can be heard from down the tunnel to the store room. Vej glances over his shoulder and then back at Penny, looking rather like a small creature caught in a beam of light. "I, uh, uh... no, no ma'am." He clears his throat, not quite able to look away from that smile. "Cap'n says nobody goes in. I don't know nothing about it, ma'am." And in this, at least, he seems to be truthful.
Kierom arrives in the kitchens from the narrow tunnel that leads from the stores.
Kierom has arrived.
Br'ce pats Aida's hand reassuringly, sparing her a smile. "I'm sure nothing much is going on. And believe it or not, I have some small experience with scuffles." Mostly as a hapless bystander who gets involved by virtue of being with T'ral, but experience is experience. "Is that barking I hear from down there?" he furrows his brow in confusion. "Could you direct us to someone with a little more authority who does know what exactly is going on?"
"But she's not nobody," Aida pipes up helpfully, giving Vej a wide-eyed look. "You just heard her -- you know her. I'm sure we can all agree that the Captain certainly did not mean her when he said nobody gets in." This is given over as if it's a matter of fact; the young woman is sure of herself. She even gives a solid little nod to go along with it. Her own head tilts at the barking, and she nods again in agreement with Br'ce's requests. She's holding onto Br'ce's arm presently, and the trio of them are essentially facing off with three guards. Very genially, of course.
Two of the three guards at the entrance to the store rooms are focused at the moment on Penny, who's standing right up next to the large man Vej, one hand on his arm, her eyes beseeching. She glances over her shoulder at Br'ce, standing behind her with his arm in Aida's, and nods as she turns back to Vej. "The rider," and she stresses his rank, "is right; Vej, someone out here needs to know what's going on. If the Captain isn't available, is perhaps the lieutenant? Someone I could speak to? If something happens down there, someone else should know what's happening to alert the proper people should something go wrong."
Br'ce casts an amused look at Aida's wide-eyed innocence, smothering a laugh under a suitably somber expression. He picks the guard in the middle, putting on his best upper-crust mask on. "We are hardly 'nobody' either. I think it would be in your best interests to let us speak to someone with true authority. Perhaps about your deliberately obstructionist behavior. I don't think the weyrwomen will be very happy if I return with no information for them." Insert very stern look here.
As if on que, Kierom emerges from the room to the stores with two canines who seem calm, but slightly nervouse, a worried look on his face, not noticing the people there at first, his eyes still drifting to the Stores. As one of the canines makes a small noise, he turns his gaze and notices the people, and moves in front of the door, not saying a word.
"Oh, they'll be very displeased," Aida states, an immediately worried frown touching her expression. She looks up at Br'ce with a bit of alarm, then turns her gaze on the guard. A beat later, her face relaxes some as she adds the 'suddenly' realized, "But not at us." Promptly after, the trio of guards is given a very sympathetic look.
Vej shifts uncomfortably, torn between loyalty to his captain's orders and his anticipated needs. The orders win out, and he shakes his head stubbornly at Penny. "Sorry, ma'am, cap'n said no one should come down. Ashwin's busy too, there's just us." The middle guard raises an eyebrow at Br'ce, a bland expression on his face -- after a moment, he grins, an echo of the captain's own boyish smile. "Right," he says. "Well, I 'magine we'll come t'that when we come to it."
Penny removes her hand from Vej's arm, frowning a little; but then Kierom emerges, and the smith loses all interest in the big guard. "You." She zeroes in on the man, taking in the canines and the guard's nervous expression. "Is Jensen alright? And everyone else? What's going on down there? Are they looking for someone?" The questions are rapidfire, Penny's determination to get answers excluding all else.
Kierom blinks at Penny. "Jensen is fine," he said and turns to the guards. "No one gets in there, Captain's orders," he says as he passes the canines off to another guard/ "I'm not sure all of what's going on right now, but know something has happened." His eyes widen for a moment as he gets a thought. "If you excuse me, I will be right back."
Kierom ventures down the long, narrow tunnel that leads to the Weyr's stores.
Kierom has left.
Br'ce frowns, momentarily at a loss for what to do. "I'm just obeying instructions here, myself." he tries a slightly different tack. "Any information at all would do." He raises a brow as Kierom enters, but lets Penny do the question-asking. She seems to have so many, after all, it would be impolite to interrupt. "Any ideas how to get past these fellows?" another sotto voce question to Aida.
Frowning slightly, Aida studies the guards for a moment before she turns her head to bury her face in against Br'ce's shoulder. Oh, so worried and upset. Really, she is. "I could try and faint," she mumbles in against him, keeping her tone low enough that the guards themselves (and probably not even Penny, either) aren't going to make out her words. "Other than that, I'm momentarily out of ideas."
There is a loud crash from in the store room a moment ago, like a shelf falling down.
Penny jumps, violently, at that sound. Now ignoring the guards entirely, she makes a headlong attempt to get past them into the tunnel, perhaps taking advantage of their startlement or perhaps just operating on instinct. Inevitably, it's Vej who reacts first, not bothering to tell her to stop; he just reaches out with his long arms and grabs Penny around the middle, dragging her back. "No one gets in, ma'am," he tells her calmly, even as she beats futilely at his arms in an attempt to struggle free. "Let me -go-! What was that! Go check!" Yes, go check. And leave this doorway unguarded.
Br'ce looks alarmed as Aida slumps against him, putting his arms around to support her. "Are you all right?" the question escapes him in concern as he stares at Aida for a good long moment, utterly confused between her actions and her words. "Oh. Uh." Ohhhh! She's faking it. Right! "I don't think that would do much good, they'd just send us back to the par--" A loud crash echoes from the storeroom. "--What was that? It sounded like something heavy falling." He takes a few steps closer to the guards, trying to peer past them down the hall. "That could have just fallen on someone. Someone needs to go make sure they're all right."
Doh. Aida makes a quiet choking noise, but is thankfully saved? by the crash. Her head whips back up and she stares wide-eyed that way, letting go of Br'ce as she takes a step in that direction. "You should /at least/ go see if your Captain needs assistance!" She demands of the guards immediately, very real alarm creeping into her face. "Something awful could have just happened!" A foot is stomped to go with her words. "Your *Captain* could be hurt, and then won't you feel awful for being more concerned with /us/ than /them/!"
The Captain could be hurt! Aida's words only cause Penny to redouble her efforts; she kicks Vej quite neatly in the shins. The man curses, but his grip on the struggling woman doesn't loosen. "Please calm down, ma'am!" he pleads, shifting his grip lightly to avoid grabbing Penny in inappropriate places. "Let go of me, -now-!" But when that doesn't seem to work, she suddenly sags, and after a seconds cool contemplation, promptly bursts into tears. She's pulling out all the stops now -- time for the big guns.
"Why really, that's quite improper of you. You made her cry." Br'ce points out accusingly to Vej. "Look, she's obviously quite distrought about these events. Couldn't you just accompany us, for safety's sake? I'm sure it would be a compromise that would satisfy all parties. Guards would remain here to ensure no one else's passage, and we all would find out a little about the events that are transpiring. And it would make us feel a lot better." he adds on meaningfully, with a glance at Aida and Penny. "We would be a few extra eyes and ears--and someone to send for help if someone is truely injured there."
When Penny sags, Vej quite politely carries her over to where Br'ce and Aida stand, a little further back, and deposits her neatly on her feet. "Nobody goes in," he repeats suddenly, like some sort of mantra, his tone vaguely apologetic. Penny stops crying after a few seconds, looking rather sullen as she carefully wipes away her tears in such a way as to not disturb the cosmetics on her eyes. "Curse it," she mutters, apparently at a loss as to what else she can do.
Starting to coil as if she's going to bolt in the direction of the tunnel when Vej moves with Penny towards them, Aida...seems to decide against it at Br'ce's words, making a face and glaring at the guards. She reaches to encircle Penny's midsection with her arm and try and hug the woman, all resentful glares and protectiveness. "You should be ashamed of yourself," she chastises the guard. "Are you incapable of logic and reason? Can you at least go *check*, before you get yourself into any *more* trouble? Certainly two of you will keep us out if you're /that/ worried about it."
Penny doesn't seem to resent Aida's friendly gesture; and the woman might notice that Penny is actually trembling a little. All of her distress is not an act. "He's like a skies-forsaken stone -wall-," she mutters, plaintively, angrily. "Nothing moves him. Shards, I thought he would be so easy." She stamps her foot, wincing at the shock through her thin formal sandal-shoe. She glances over her shoulder at the guards, wearily. "Please. Can't someone... check? Please?" Sincerity, and genuine fear? A novel approach.
Br'ce sighs, folding his arms. "Well, I commend you for you attention to the letter of your orders, guardsman." Now it's the carrot again, rather than the stick. "But all the same, we simply ask that you send someone to check. Surely it can't violate your orders to go check with your captain." he points out, going over to stand behind Penny and Aida, and putting a reassuring hand on their shoulders, and giving the guards a sort of sympathetic pleading sort of gesture of 'just to get these two to stop worrying'.
Something seems to occur to Aida, and she eyes the guards for a moment before she abruptly turns, tilting her head to murmur to Penny, "Isn't there another entrance into the stores?" She does, in reaction to the little bit of tremble, give the other woman a firmer hug. Squeeze. There's a little smile sent up towards Br'ce at his hand on her shoulder, but her attention swings back to Penny promptly.
The guards hesitate. The youngest, and apparently the most sympathetic to the civilians' plight, turns and murmurs something to Vej, who appears to be the most senior of the three. Vej hesitates again, and then lifts a shoulder. The younger guard immediately turns and heads down the corridor. It's only a few moments before he returns. White-faced, he moves woodenly back to the group of three. The other two guards look at him, curiously; he shakes his head, lips pressed in a thin white line. Whatever he saw, he isn't sharing.
Penny grimaces, shaking her head distractedly. "No, he'll have guards there too. This isn't just to keep us out, one guard could do that fine." She swallows. "No. There's someone in there with him, with them, and they're trying to keep that someone from getting out here." She gives Aida a friendly little pat on the shoulder for her hug, eyes calculating. "If we can't get past Vej, we certainly won't be able to get past someone that I don't know at all." She turns her head, blinking at Br'ce, no doubt from the hand on her shoulder. But she smiles after a moment. Funny how murder and mayhem can bring people together. The return of the guard grabs Penny's attention, and the whiteness of his face does not sit well with her. Her voice, admittedly has a somewhat shrill note as she breaks away from Aida to approach him. "What did you see? Who was it? What in Faranth's name is going on?!" But the guard just stands there, shaking his head, not speaking.
Br'ce gives the two of them reassuring squeezes and a wan smile before he walks over to the returned guard, taking him aside. "Look, can you tell me at least what happened? Please? And I'll tell the two of them whatever they need to know in order to get them away from here. It was obviously pretty terrible. At least let me know who's been hurt." he murmers in a low voice, casting a glance back over his shoulder. Mental deduction. White-faced guards who won't say anything usually means a body of some kind.
This just went from sort of fun to genuinely upsetting. Aida's already pale cheeks touch further pale when she sees the expression on the returning guard's face, and though she gives Penny another brief squeeze when the other woman starts to withdraw, she does let go of her promptly. There's a hard swallow, and then she's turning her head so she can look up at Br'ce, but he's moving away and so she looks to Penny again. All of the bravado has disappeared now, and she wraps her arms in around her midsection. Swallow.
The youngest guard swallows, just looking at Br'ce. He ends up shaking his head, clearing his throat. "There are dragonriders present, whose lifemates can alert any healers that may or may not be required." May not be required because no one's hurt? Or may not be required because said person is dead and therefore beyond help? "I am sorry," he says, in a lower voice, his eyes sympathetic as they go from Br'ce to the two women. "Believe me, if I knew anything that I could tell you, I would."
"That's something, at least." Br'ce sighs wearily, running a hand absently through his hair and tousling the former combed neatness. "It looks like there's a couple of riders in there already. And no need for a healer yet, for what that's worth." he looks back towards the pair of women. "I think all we can do at this point is try and wait it out." A wry smile twists his lips. "And I can tell you that none of the riders are hurt, at least. Why don't we just go back outside for now, and try and get our good mood back." he suggests.
Watching the guards, Aida's attention flits to Br'ce, and the look she gives him is entirely unconvinced at first. Then there's a darting glance sent to Penny and she's putting on a smile, straightening herself up and brushing the skirt of her dress down, eying it to make certain it's all falling straight and such. She might still look a bit shaken around the edges, but hey. "It's probably the only thing we can do," she agrees. "If there's no need for a healer yet and the riders aren't hurt, then...well. There's nothing we can do here."
Penny nods slowly at Br'ce's words, though the dubious look she casts at the tunnel suggests that she doesn't quite believe that a healer isn't necessary. She sighs, looking tired and significantly not as glowing as she had been out at the party. The suggestion is met with a smile; Penny nods, straightening. "It is a sound idea. The music will be calming and distracting, and I imagine you two are probably hungry and thirsty right about now." You two? She glances back at the guards. "Make sure you let anyone know who asks what you just told us, Br'ce. Not that most people noticed anything amiss; but it could be there are some people worrying." She makes no move to leave, herself, meeting the gaze of the guards calmly. She'll wait.
"I'll tell them what I know." A sardonic smile flits across Br'ce's face. "Not that I know much, but nobody needs a healer, at least." Not that any of them seem to want to commit to saying that nobody is /hurt/. "Do you want to wait around and see if something happens, or do you want to go back to the party?" he asks of Aida. "I know I could use something to drink and some lively music, right about now."
There's another worried glance sent towards Penny, but Aida nods and offers a small smile in the other woman's direction before she looks up to Br'ce. "I'll go-" that gets cut off before the words escape, and she chuckles a bit dryly. "I'm not so good at waiting around," she says instead. "Something to drink and some music is, I think, preferred."
Br'ce retreats from the kitchen, escaping to the living cavern.
Br'ce has left.
Aida retreats from the kitchen, escaping to the living cavern.
Aida has left.
I would just like to note how much I love Vej, an NPC creation of Jensen's that Penny encountered once in one of their scene. He's kind of hilarious.
*smooches* to Aida and Br'ce for being kind of awesome in a difficult and weird scene.
Kitchens
The Weyr's kitchens are never entirely quiet. There is always someone here, tending the many hearths or preparing ingredients for the next meal. A central work station is composed of an immense table, larger even than the table found in the Council Chamber. This is always covered with cooking utensils, fresh ingredients, scraps of hide holding old recipes and various other assorted odds and ends. The heat here can become intense due to the number of hearths lining the walls but the staff seem accustomed to the temperatures.
Contents:
Living Cavern (LC) Stores (S)
Br'ce leaves the relative peace of the living caverns behind in favor of the kitchen's chaos.
Br'ce has arrived.
Aida leaves the relative peace of the living caverns behind in favor of the kitchen's chaos.
Aida has arrived.
There are three guards blocking the tunnelway down to the storage caverns, and two of the three are currently dealing with Penny. She is quite calm, head tilted to one side and charming smile firmly in place. "There are quite a few people alarmed outside," she's saying, in a reasonable tone of voice. "I know they would be reassured if there was anything I could tell them." She takes a step around one of the guards, who isn't too slow in anticipating her and blocking her. "The Captain wouldn't want me worried," she says then, a new tactic. "Is he busy? If you tell him that Penny's asking for him..." Winsome smile. The guard's muttered response to the negative is mused over by the smith. If the Captain is that busy, then there's -something- going on.
Br'ce enters slowly, arm-in-arm with Aida. "The mere fact that there are three of you on sentry duty is quite telling, you know." Br'ce observes languidly to the guards. "One or two would suffice to stop curious bystanders." He, however, is quite content to stand back and let Penny be to one to press the guards. "Some of the weyrwomen in particular are becoming somewhat alarmed. Any news at all would be appreciated." He expertly hints, relying on Ginella to back him up later if need be. "You wouldn't happen to know any of these guards, would you?" he asks, sotto voce aside to Aida.
Though she keeps a hold on Br'ce's arm, Aida seems to relax considerably once they're out of the press of people. Worry is promptly allowed to touch her features, the concern in her expression touched with only a bit of curiosity. She's more worried than curious, right now. Even so, the bulk of the tension that was clinging to her out there fades, her eyes closing briefly as she walks. Apparently, she expects that the brownrider is not going to walk her into anything. A deep breath is taken, released slowly. Calm. The moment Br'ce starts to talk her lashes lift again, and without even an instant's delay, she's putting on her own smile. Her head tilts, she studies the guards. "Hmm," is the entirety of the reply -- thoughtful.
Kierom pages: you might here the occasional bark of a canine, but the two canines are settling down now.
Penny looks over her shoulder at the sound of Br'ce's voice, a flicker of annoyance crossing her features before she glances back at the guards. Damn, they followed her. She tilts her head, looking more closely at the large guard who answered her. "You're... Vej, are you not? I met you once, at lunch." The guard is eyeing her with suspicion and bashfulness mixed together. And Penny, displaying a rather ruthless sense of the status of things, unleashes the full force of her smile on him. She lays a hand on his arm, looking up at him. "Vej, you -know- me. I'm a sensible person. I just want to make sure there's nothing we can do to help. If we need to alert the healers, maybe, or the dragons. Don't you think the Captain would want to make sure all the eventualities are covered?" Yes -- will there be fighting? Are there any riders involved in the conflict?
The occasional bark of a canine can be heard from down the tunnel to the store room. Vej glances over his shoulder and then back at Penny, looking rather like a small creature caught in a beam of light. "I, uh, uh... no, no ma'am." He clears his throat, not quite able to look away from that smile. "Cap'n says nobody goes in. I don't know nothing about it, ma'am." And in this, at least, he seems to be truthful.
Kierom arrives in the kitchens from the narrow tunnel that leads from the stores.
Kierom has arrived.
Br'ce pats Aida's hand reassuringly, sparing her a smile. "I'm sure nothing much is going on. And believe it or not, I have some small experience with scuffles." Mostly as a hapless bystander who gets involved by virtue of being with T'ral, but experience is experience. "Is that barking I hear from down there?" he furrows his brow in confusion. "Could you direct us to someone with a little more authority who does know what exactly is going on?"
"But she's not nobody," Aida pipes up helpfully, giving Vej a wide-eyed look. "You just heard her -- you know her. I'm sure we can all agree that the Captain certainly did not mean her when he said nobody gets in." This is given over as if it's a matter of fact; the young woman is sure of herself. She even gives a solid little nod to go along with it. Her own head tilts at the barking, and she nods again in agreement with Br'ce's requests. She's holding onto Br'ce's arm presently, and the trio of them are essentially facing off with three guards. Very genially, of course.
Two of the three guards at the entrance to the store rooms are focused at the moment on Penny, who's standing right up next to the large man Vej, one hand on his arm, her eyes beseeching. She glances over her shoulder at Br'ce, standing behind her with his arm in Aida's, and nods as she turns back to Vej. "The rider," and she stresses his rank, "is right; Vej, someone out here needs to know what's going on. If the Captain isn't available, is perhaps the lieutenant? Someone I could speak to? If something happens down there, someone else should know what's happening to alert the proper people should something go wrong."
Br'ce casts an amused look at Aida's wide-eyed innocence, smothering a laugh under a suitably somber expression. He picks the guard in the middle, putting on his best upper-crust mask on. "We are hardly 'nobody' either. I think it would be in your best interests to let us speak to someone with true authority. Perhaps about your deliberately obstructionist behavior. I don't think the weyrwomen will be very happy if I return with no information for them." Insert very stern look here.
As if on que, Kierom emerges from the room to the stores with two canines who seem calm, but slightly nervouse, a worried look on his face, not noticing the people there at first, his eyes still drifting to the Stores. As one of the canines makes a small noise, he turns his gaze and notices the people, and moves in front of the door, not saying a word.
"Oh, they'll be very displeased," Aida states, an immediately worried frown touching her expression. She looks up at Br'ce with a bit of alarm, then turns her gaze on the guard. A beat later, her face relaxes some as she adds the 'suddenly' realized, "But not at us." Promptly after, the trio of guards is given a very sympathetic look.
Vej shifts uncomfortably, torn between loyalty to his captain's orders and his anticipated needs. The orders win out, and he shakes his head stubbornly at Penny. "Sorry, ma'am, cap'n said no one should come down. Ashwin's busy too, there's just us." The middle guard raises an eyebrow at Br'ce, a bland expression on his face -- after a moment, he grins, an echo of the captain's own boyish smile. "Right," he says. "Well, I 'magine we'll come t'that when we come to it."
Penny removes her hand from Vej's arm, frowning a little; but then Kierom emerges, and the smith loses all interest in the big guard. "You." She zeroes in on the man, taking in the canines and the guard's nervous expression. "Is Jensen alright? And everyone else? What's going on down there? Are they looking for someone?" The questions are rapidfire, Penny's determination to get answers excluding all else.
Kierom blinks at Penny. "Jensen is fine," he said and turns to the guards. "No one gets in there, Captain's orders," he says as he passes the canines off to another guard/ "I'm not sure all of what's going on right now, but know something has happened." His eyes widen for a moment as he gets a thought. "If you excuse me, I will be right back."
Kierom ventures down the long, narrow tunnel that leads to the Weyr's stores.
Kierom has left.
Br'ce frowns, momentarily at a loss for what to do. "I'm just obeying instructions here, myself." he tries a slightly different tack. "Any information at all would do." He raises a brow as Kierom enters, but lets Penny do the question-asking. She seems to have so many, after all, it would be impolite to interrupt. "Any ideas how to get past these fellows?" another sotto voce question to Aida.
Frowning slightly, Aida studies the guards for a moment before she turns her head to bury her face in against Br'ce's shoulder. Oh, so worried and upset. Really, she is. "I could try and faint," she mumbles in against him, keeping her tone low enough that the guards themselves (and probably not even Penny, either) aren't going to make out her words. "Other than that, I'm momentarily out of ideas."
There is a loud crash from in the store room a moment ago, like a shelf falling down.
Penny jumps, violently, at that sound. Now ignoring the guards entirely, she makes a headlong attempt to get past them into the tunnel, perhaps taking advantage of their startlement or perhaps just operating on instinct. Inevitably, it's Vej who reacts first, not bothering to tell her to stop; he just reaches out with his long arms and grabs Penny around the middle, dragging her back. "No one gets in, ma'am," he tells her calmly, even as she beats futilely at his arms in an attempt to struggle free. "Let me -go-! What was that! Go check!" Yes, go check. And leave this doorway unguarded.
Br'ce looks alarmed as Aida slumps against him, putting his arms around to support her. "Are you all right?" the question escapes him in concern as he stares at Aida for a good long moment, utterly confused between her actions and her words. "Oh. Uh." Ohhhh! She's faking it. Right! "I don't think that would do much good, they'd just send us back to the par--" A loud crash echoes from the storeroom. "--What was that? It sounded like something heavy falling." He takes a few steps closer to the guards, trying to peer past them down the hall. "That could have just fallen on someone. Someone needs to go make sure they're all right."
Doh. Aida makes a quiet choking noise, but is thankfully saved? by the crash. Her head whips back up and she stares wide-eyed that way, letting go of Br'ce as she takes a step in that direction. "You should /at least/ go see if your Captain needs assistance!" She demands of the guards immediately, very real alarm creeping into her face. "Something awful could have just happened!" A foot is stomped to go with her words. "Your *Captain* could be hurt, and then won't you feel awful for being more concerned with /us/ than /them/!"
The Captain could be hurt! Aida's words only cause Penny to redouble her efforts; she kicks Vej quite neatly in the shins. The man curses, but his grip on the struggling woman doesn't loosen. "Please calm down, ma'am!" he pleads, shifting his grip lightly to avoid grabbing Penny in inappropriate places. "Let go of me, -now-!" But when that doesn't seem to work, she suddenly sags, and after a seconds cool contemplation, promptly bursts into tears. She's pulling out all the stops now -- time for the big guns.
"Why really, that's quite improper of you. You made her cry." Br'ce points out accusingly to Vej. "Look, she's obviously quite distrought about these events. Couldn't you just accompany us, for safety's sake? I'm sure it would be a compromise that would satisfy all parties. Guards would remain here to ensure no one else's passage, and we all would find out a little about the events that are transpiring. And it would make us feel a lot better." he adds on meaningfully, with a glance at Aida and Penny. "We would be a few extra eyes and ears--and someone to send for help if someone is truely injured there."
When Penny sags, Vej quite politely carries her over to where Br'ce and Aida stand, a little further back, and deposits her neatly on her feet. "Nobody goes in," he repeats suddenly, like some sort of mantra, his tone vaguely apologetic. Penny stops crying after a few seconds, looking rather sullen as she carefully wipes away her tears in such a way as to not disturb the cosmetics on her eyes. "Curse it," she mutters, apparently at a loss as to what else she can do.
Starting to coil as if she's going to bolt in the direction of the tunnel when Vej moves with Penny towards them, Aida...seems to decide against it at Br'ce's words, making a face and glaring at the guards. She reaches to encircle Penny's midsection with her arm and try and hug the woman, all resentful glares and protectiveness. "You should be ashamed of yourself," she chastises the guard. "Are you incapable of logic and reason? Can you at least go *check*, before you get yourself into any *more* trouble? Certainly two of you will keep us out if you're /that/ worried about it."
Penny doesn't seem to resent Aida's friendly gesture; and the woman might notice that Penny is actually trembling a little. All of her distress is not an act. "He's like a skies-forsaken stone -wall-," she mutters, plaintively, angrily. "Nothing moves him. Shards, I thought he would be so easy." She stamps her foot, wincing at the shock through her thin formal sandal-shoe. She glances over her shoulder at the guards, wearily. "Please. Can't someone... check? Please?" Sincerity, and genuine fear? A novel approach.
Br'ce sighs, folding his arms. "Well, I commend you for you attention to the letter of your orders, guardsman." Now it's the carrot again, rather than the stick. "But all the same, we simply ask that you send someone to check. Surely it can't violate your orders to go check with your captain." he points out, going over to stand behind Penny and Aida, and putting a reassuring hand on their shoulders, and giving the guards a sort of sympathetic pleading sort of gesture of 'just to get these two to stop worrying'.
Something seems to occur to Aida, and she eyes the guards for a moment before she abruptly turns, tilting her head to murmur to Penny, "Isn't there another entrance into the stores?" She does, in reaction to the little bit of tremble, give the other woman a firmer hug. Squeeze. There's a little smile sent up towards Br'ce at his hand on her shoulder, but her attention swings back to Penny promptly.
The guards hesitate. The youngest, and apparently the most sympathetic to the civilians' plight, turns and murmurs something to Vej, who appears to be the most senior of the three. Vej hesitates again, and then lifts a shoulder. The younger guard immediately turns and heads down the corridor. It's only a few moments before he returns. White-faced, he moves woodenly back to the group of three. The other two guards look at him, curiously; he shakes his head, lips pressed in a thin white line. Whatever he saw, he isn't sharing.
Penny grimaces, shaking her head distractedly. "No, he'll have guards there too. This isn't just to keep us out, one guard could do that fine." She swallows. "No. There's someone in there with him, with them, and they're trying to keep that someone from getting out here." She gives Aida a friendly little pat on the shoulder for her hug, eyes calculating. "If we can't get past Vej, we certainly won't be able to get past someone that I don't know at all." She turns her head, blinking at Br'ce, no doubt from the hand on her shoulder. But she smiles after a moment. Funny how murder and mayhem can bring people together. The return of the guard grabs Penny's attention, and the whiteness of his face does not sit well with her. Her voice, admittedly has a somewhat shrill note as she breaks away from Aida to approach him. "What did you see? Who was it? What in Faranth's name is going on?!" But the guard just stands there, shaking his head, not speaking.
Br'ce gives the two of them reassuring squeezes and a wan smile before he walks over to the returned guard, taking him aside. "Look, can you tell me at least what happened? Please? And I'll tell the two of them whatever they need to know in order to get them away from here. It was obviously pretty terrible. At least let me know who's been hurt." he murmers in a low voice, casting a glance back over his shoulder. Mental deduction. White-faced guards who won't say anything usually means a body of some kind.
This just went from sort of fun to genuinely upsetting. Aida's already pale cheeks touch further pale when she sees the expression on the returning guard's face, and though she gives Penny another brief squeeze when the other woman starts to withdraw, she does let go of her promptly. There's a hard swallow, and then she's turning her head so she can look up at Br'ce, but he's moving away and so she looks to Penny again. All of the bravado has disappeared now, and she wraps her arms in around her midsection. Swallow.
The youngest guard swallows, just looking at Br'ce. He ends up shaking his head, clearing his throat. "There are dragonriders present, whose lifemates can alert any healers that may or may not be required." May not be required because no one's hurt? Or may not be required because said person is dead and therefore beyond help? "I am sorry," he says, in a lower voice, his eyes sympathetic as they go from Br'ce to the two women. "Believe me, if I knew anything that I could tell you, I would."
"That's something, at least." Br'ce sighs wearily, running a hand absently through his hair and tousling the former combed neatness. "It looks like there's a couple of riders in there already. And no need for a healer yet, for what that's worth." he looks back towards the pair of women. "I think all we can do at this point is try and wait it out." A wry smile twists his lips. "And I can tell you that none of the riders are hurt, at least. Why don't we just go back outside for now, and try and get our good mood back." he suggests.
Watching the guards, Aida's attention flits to Br'ce, and the look she gives him is entirely unconvinced at first. Then there's a darting glance sent to Penny and she's putting on a smile, straightening herself up and brushing the skirt of her dress down, eying it to make certain it's all falling straight and such. She might still look a bit shaken around the edges, but hey. "It's probably the only thing we can do," she agrees. "If there's no need for a healer yet and the riders aren't hurt, then...well. There's nothing we can do here."
Penny nods slowly at Br'ce's words, though the dubious look she casts at the tunnel suggests that she doesn't quite believe that a healer isn't necessary. She sighs, looking tired and significantly not as glowing as she had been out at the party. The suggestion is met with a smile; Penny nods, straightening. "It is a sound idea. The music will be calming and distracting, and I imagine you two are probably hungry and thirsty right about now." You two? She glances back at the guards. "Make sure you let anyone know who asks what you just told us, Br'ce. Not that most people noticed anything amiss; but it could be there are some people worrying." She makes no move to leave, herself, meeting the gaze of the guards calmly. She'll wait.
"I'll tell them what I know." A sardonic smile flits across Br'ce's face. "Not that I know much, but nobody needs a healer, at least." Not that any of them seem to want to commit to saying that nobody is /hurt/. "Do you want to wait around and see if something happens, or do you want to go back to the party?" he asks of Aida. "I know I could use something to drink and some lively music, right about now."
There's another worried glance sent towards Penny, but Aida nods and offers a small smile in the other woman's direction before she looks up to Br'ce. "I'll go-" that gets cut off before the words escape, and she chuckles a bit dryly. "I'm not so good at waiting around," she says instead. "Something to drink and some music is, I think, preferred."
Br'ce retreats from the kitchen, escaping to the living cavern.
Br'ce has left.
Aida retreats from the kitchen, escaping to the living cavern.
Aida has left.