Trieste: In Search of Lorin Highwater
Trieste: In Search of Lorin Highwater
Action thread for Vinnie, Samantha and September. Will post an update here in a bit.
Re: Trieste: In Search of Lorin Highwater
Vinnie Masseria
31 hours until lift-off
Vinnie wheedles and name-drops, and eventually finds himself before Heironymous Verge, the local boss in charge of Samien's holdings while he's elsewhere. It turns out that Samien is always somewhere else, but he casts a heavy shadow.
Heironymous seems unimpressed by the pair of toughs and allows them to accompany Vinnie into the back room of Druther's where they can discuss business.
"So, what brings an esteemed member of your family out to a backwater like Trieste?" he inquires cordially.
31 hours until lift-off
Vinnie wheedles and name-drops, and eventually finds himself before Heironymous Verge, the local boss in charge of Samien's holdings while he's elsewhere. It turns out that Samien is always somewhere else, but he casts a heavy shadow.
Heironymous seems unimpressed by the pair of toughs and allows them to accompany Vinnie into the back room of Druther's where they can discuss business.
"So, what brings an esteemed member of your family out to a backwater like Trieste?" he inquires cordially.
Re: Trieste: In Search of Lorin Highwater
Samantha
30 hours until lift-off
Finding a high-class establishment in a place like Dome 64 turns out to be harder than you'd expect, but eventually Samantha finds herself in the cocktail lounge of the Freeport Hotel, the tallest structure in Six-Four, as the locals call it. It has a broad, free-standing balcony that overlooks the slums that make up the majority of the district, but a few lush hydroponic plants in strategic positions mitigate the depressing feel of the place.
Even at this early hour of the afternoon, a few of the leisure classes of the dome have gathered for conversation. They eye Samantha as she enters and orders a drink: clearly those who frequent the Freeport are a tight-knit group.
30 hours until lift-off
Finding a high-class establishment in a place like Dome 64 turns out to be harder than you'd expect, but eventually Samantha finds herself in the cocktail lounge of the Freeport Hotel, the tallest structure in Six-Four, as the locals call it. It has a broad, free-standing balcony that overlooks the slums that make up the majority of the district, but a few lush hydroponic plants in strategic positions mitigate the depressing feel of the place.
Even at this early hour of the afternoon, a few of the leisure classes of the dome have gathered for conversation. They eye Samantha as she enters and orders a drink: clearly those who frequent the Freeport are a tight-knit group.
Re: Trieste: In Search of Lorin Highwater
September
32 hours until lift-off
September has the easiest time of things. He's spotted almost immediately upon exiting the launch pad by a group of local early-twenty-somethings with little else to do but stir up trouble or find other people to do it for them. It doesn't take long for the three of them and September to find themselves around a handful of empty short-glasses and a fresh one of something that tastes suspiciously like starship fuel smells but which goes down fairly smooth. The kids are eager to swap sordid tales of back-dome life that might end up on a holovid exposé in exchange for news from off-world.
32 hours until lift-off
September has the easiest time of things. He's spotted almost immediately upon exiting the launch pad by a group of local early-twenty-somethings with little else to do but stir up trouble or find other people to do it for them. It doesn't take long for the three of them and September to find themselves around a handful of empty short-glasses and a fresh one of something that tastes suspiciously like starship fuel smells but which goes down fairly smooth. The kids are eager to swap sordid tales of back-dome life that might end up on a holovid exposé in exchange for news from off-world.
Re: Trieste: In Search of Lorin Highwater
September, slumming it.
While telling tall tales and laughing like a jackass at anyone's jokes, September asks pretty directly about the Denner trade, "Any chance of scoring? I bet the dealers make a killing way out here. Did I tell you about this one-armed dealer I know back home..." He tells stories of corrupt and hypocritical religious officials, "...and the bishop said to the actress, 'Why not, the room's already paid for!' But I'm not telling you anything new, right? You got those Kamoor Temple folks around here, right? They gotta be just as bad." He doesn't mention Lorin by name, but turns the conversation in likely directions, and keeps an ear out. "Who wants another round? And let's order some grub. Man, these domes are crazy, I bet it just takes one wasted maintenance guy for the whole thing to crack up."
While telling tall tales and laughing like a jackass at anyone's jokes, September asks pretty directly about the Denner trade, "Any chance of scoring? I bet the dealers make a killing way out here. Did I tell you about this one-armed dealer I know back home..." He tells stories of corrupt and hypocritical religious officials, "...and the bishop said to the actress, 'Why not, the room's already paid for!' But I'm not telling you anything new, right? You got those Kamoor Temple folks around here, right? They gotta be just as bad." He doesn't mention Lorin by name, but turns the conversation in likely directions, and keeps an ear out. "Who wants another round? And let's order some grub. Man, these domes are crazy, I bet it just takes one wasted maintenance guy for the whole thing to crack up."
Re: Trieste: In Search of Lorin Highwater
[Vincent Masseria and Heironymous Verge @ back room of Druther's]
Before Heironymous can respond, Vinnie puts up a hand to stop him "Relax, I am just teasing you.
First, thank you for taking the time to meet me.
I appreciate it, and please call me Vinnie, everyone does.
Now getting down to business.
I am semi-retired.
I long ago passed the day to day operations of the business to younger and more violent men, but even a retired man needs to eat.
So I dabble in a little trade and ... whatever ... on the side.
Keeping a finger in the business, I guess you could call it.
I will be travelling through the local systems for at least the next year, and I just wanted to reach out as a sign of friendship and peace.
The Masseria are not here to start a war.
I am just an old man passing his retirement years traveling and seeing sights ... like Trieste.
If you know the Masseria name, you know that we are strictly 'old school'.
Unions, small package trade, some respectable services like gambling and girls - if the operation is tasteful.
We prefer to avoid unnecessary trouble ... and quite frankly Denner is exactly the sort of unnecessary trouble that we want to avoid.
So as one professional to another, let me congratulate you on your establishment" Vinnie gestures around.
"I have not had a chance to see much of it, but you have a reputation as THE place to have fun.
Unfortunately, at my age, that sort of fun could be fatal." Vinnie smiles at the joke.
"But I am here to discuss both Business and Denner.
My back of the envelope calculations suggest a local Denner trade in excess of 5 million credits per day here in backwater little Trieste.
I want none of it.
Keep all of it, if indeed you or the Verge have a piece of that pie.
However, I am going to be conducting legitimate business both on Trieste and in the region and I have cast an eye towards the local Kamoor population and a Mining Union.
I see untapped opportunity there.
But ... Denner.
So as a business courtesy, I give you my word that the Masseria will not compete with your operation here ... your club ... and whatever outside pleasure operations you may run.
As a business courtesy, I would request that you provide me with some clarification on the local Denner trade ... purely hypothetically speaking, of course ...
I need to know who the players are and what the 'terrain' is if I am to avoid accidentally tripping over your ... or anyone else's ... hypothetical operations.
I belive that 'good fences make good neighbors' and I just want to know where your fences are.
Let me be blunt ...
On a personal level, is there any insight that you could offer on the Kamoor Temple?
They are obviously going to play a part in organizing an effective Kamoor block in a Mining Union.
From rumor or experience, are they someone who can be worked with, or are they an obstruction that needs to be dealt with.
Please forgive my bluntness, I am an old man who no longer has the luxury of time ... of taking baby steps and building a relationship slowly.
I find it necessary to take greater risks and carefully note who I can count as a friend and who I need to treat as an enemy.
At the moment, I find myself far from home with an overextended supply line with more enemies than friends.
So I am taking another chance and extending a hand of friendship, from Masseria to Verge ... and more importantly, from Vinnie to Heironymous.
Make no mistake, my power base is weak, ... but my name still carries some influence in certain circles.
I ask for nothing but information.
I offer nothing but peace ... and my gratitude.
So the question today is can I count you as a friend?"
"We have decided to take over the local Denner trade for the region and thought that Trieste would make a good distribution center." Vinnie says in a dead serious voice and looks for any trace of a reaction.Keehnelf wrote: "So, what brings an esteemed member of your family out to a backwater like Trieste?" he inquires cordially.
First, thank you for taking the time to meet me.
I appreciate it, and please call me Vinnie, everyone does.
Now getting down to business.
I am semi-retired.
I long ago passed the day to day operations of the business to younger and more violent men, but even a retired man needs to eat.
So I dabble in a little trade and ... whatever ... on the side.
Keeping a finger in the business, I guess you could call it.
I will be travelling through the local systems for at least the next year, and I just wanted to reach out as a sign of friendship and peace.
The Masseria are not here to start a war.
I am just an old man passing his retirement years traveling and seeing sights ... like Trieste.
If you know the Masseria name, you know that we are strictly 'old school'.
Unions, small package trade, some respectable services like gambling and girls - if the operation is tasteful.
We prefer to avoid unnecessary trouble ... and quite frankly Denner is exactly the sort of unnecessary trouble that we want to avoid.
So as one professional to another, let me congratulate you on your establishment" Vinnie gestures around.
"I have not had a chance to see much of it, but you have a reputation as THE place to have fun.
Unfortunately, at my age, that sort of fun could be fatal." Vinnie smiles at the joke.
"But I am here to discuss both Business and Denner.
My back of the envelope calculations suggest a local Denner trade in excess of 5 million credits per day here in backwater little Trieste.
I want none of it.
Keep all of it, if indeed you or the Verge have a piece of that pie.
However, I am going to be conducting legitimate business both on Trieste and in the region and I have cast an eye towards the local Kamoor population and a Mining Union.
I see untapped opportunity there.
But ... Denner.
So as a business courtesy, I give you my word that the Masseria will not compete with your operation here ... your club ... and whatever outside pleasure operations you may run.
As a business courtesy, I would request that you provide me with some clarification on the local Denner trade ... purely hypothetically speaking, of course ...
I need to know who the players are and what the 'terrain' is if I am to avoid accidentally tripping over your ... or anyone else's ... hypothetical operations.
I belive that 'good fences make good neighbors' and I just want to know where your fences are.
Let me be blunt ...
- Is there a turf war going on for control of Dome 64?
- Is Miriam Istrik a player?
On a personal level, is there any insight that you could offer on the Kamoor Temple?
They are obviously going to play a part in organizing an effective Kamoor block in a Mining Union.
From rumor or experience, are they someone who can be worked with, or are they an obstruction that needs to be dealt with.
Please forgive my bluntness, I am an old man who no longer has the luxury of time ... of taking baby steps and building a relationship slowly.
I find it necessary to take greater risks and carefully note who I can count as a friend and who I need to treat as an enemy.
At the moment, I find myself far from home with an overextended supply line with more enemies than friends.
So I am taking another chance and extending a hand of friendship, from Masseria to Verge ... and more importantly, from Vinnie to Heironymous.
Make no mistake, my power base is weak, ... but my name still carries some influence in certain circles.
I ask for nothing but information.
I offer nothing but peace ... and my gratitude.
So the question today is can I count you as a friend?"
"welcoming humbly His light and proudly His darkness" - e.e. cummings
Re: Trieste: In Search of Lorin Highwater
September
31 hours until lift-off
The young kids are surprisingly defensive of the Temple and of religious officials, September notices with a bit of dismay. Though the kids don't show any clearly-recognizable signs of being ethnically Kamoor, they may be converts or they might be a local ethnic mix with the standard Republic stock.
This cools them off a bit on other topics, and they insist that the local maintenance folks are pretty clear-headed and dedicated to their jobs, unlike a lot of the repair workers and construction guys that are sent down from Primary, who are lazy Denner-chewers that would let the main systems fail just out of spite if they knew they could still draw pay at the end of the month.
None of the kids are into Denner, either, though they don't seem surprised that an off-worlder would be interested in the stuff and they know easy sources they could hook him up with. They actually seem interested in seeing him have some, since it seems obvious to them he'd be a first-timer. Based on how they're talking, hooking off-worlders up with their first score and watching the results is a kind of impromptu entertainment for kids like these--a source of some extra income to make the connection, and a way to kill an afternoon.
31 hours until lift-off
The young kids are surprisingly defensive of the Temple and of religious officials, September notices with a bit of dismay. Though the kids don't show any clearly-recognizable signs of being ethnically Kamoor, they may be converts or they might be a local ethnic mix with the standard Republic stock.
This cools them off a bit on other topics, and they insist that the local maintenance folks are pretty clear-headed and dedicated to their jobs, unlike a lot of the repair workers and construction guys that are sent down from Primary, who are lazy Denner-chewers that would let the main systems fail just out of spite if they knew they could still draw pay at the end of the month.
None of the kids are into Denner, either, though they don't seem surprised that an off-worlder would be interested in the stuff and they know easy sources they could hook him up with. They actually seem interested in seeing him have some, since it seems obvious to them he'd be a first-timer. Based on how they're talking, hooking off-worlders up with their first score and watching the results is a kind of impromptu entertainment for kids like these--a source of some extra income to make the connection, and a way to kill an afternoon.
Re: Trieste: In Search of Lorin Highwater
Vinnie
31 hours until lift-off
Heironymous has a tell that's easy enough to make out from the few holovids that exist of the fellow. He puffs out his cheeks and exhales sharply, as though blowing up a balloon. He apparently thinks it makes him look thoughtful, but if you watch the patterns it is clearly a reflexive response to shock or concern, and a way of buying himself a moment to think.
He makes that face immediately when Vinnie mentions taking over the Denner trade, and is still thinking, face puffed up, when Vinnie puts his hand out to reassure him.
"Well," he says, after a very long pause when Vinnie is done talking."Let me say first that it's a good thing that you're not interested in the trade out here, because it is very, very closely controlled by the Kamoor Temple and you would find a lot of trouble getting your hands around it. There's a lot of money to be made, but this isn't the place to make it. Our people have our hands in supply lines elsewhere in the sector, but Trieste is Kamoor territory, and likely to become even more so when the Republic pulls up its roots, which it will do soon.
"You ask about Madam Istrik? She's one of the chief architects of Republic colonization here, and over the last year she's been divesting herself of all her holdings in Temple-related ventures as well as anything with infrastructure on Trieste proper. She'll still be active in the system with off-world shadow holdings and the like, but as far as she and the Republic are concerned, this is a dead world. It's tragic that your family is only now interested in the mining operations here. Ten years ago, there was a fortune to be made. That fortune is in the hands of Madam Istrik and her partners, now, and they've pretty much stripped what there is to strip off this rock.
"My family is here because there are a few places that we can still make a profit where the Temple won't venture--like this place, which more than pays for itself and provides a steady stream of income back to Verge to help out with other projects.
To answer your blunt questions bluntly: you want to know if there's a turf war going on? Frankly, Vinnie, there's no longer any turf."
31 hours until lift-off
Heironymous has a tell that's easy enough to make out from the few holovids that exist of the fellow. He puffs out his cheeks and exhales sharply, as though blowing up a balloon. He apparently thinks it makes him look thoughtful, but if you watch the patterns it is clearly a reflexive response to shock or concern, and a way of buying himself a moment to think.
He makes that face immediately when Vinnie mentions taking over the Denner trade, and is still thinking, face puffed up, when Vinnie puts his hand out to reassure him.
"Well," he says, after a very long pause when Vinnie is done talking."Let me say first that it's a good thing that you're not interested in the trade out here, because it is very, very closely controlled by the Kamoor Temple and you would find a lot of trouble getting your hands around it. There's a lot of money to be made, but this isn't the place to make it. Our people have our hands in supply lines elsewhere in the sector, but Trieste is Kamoor territory, and likely to become even more so when the Republic pulls up its roots, which it will do soon.
"You ask about Madam Istrik? She's one of the chief architects of Republic colonization here, and over the last year she's been divesting herself of all her holdings in Temple-related ventures as well as anything with infrastructure on Trieste proper. She'll still be active in the system with off-world shadow holdings and the like, but as far as she and the Republic are concerned, this is a dead world. It's tragic that your family is only now interested in the mining operations here. Ten years ago, there was a fortune to be made. That fortune is in the hands of Madam Istrik and her partners, now, and they've pretty much stripped what there is to strip off this rock.
"My family is here because there are a few places that we can still make a profit where the Temple won't venture--like this place, which more than pays for itself and provides a steady stream of income back to Verge to help out with other projects.
To answer your blunt questions bluntly: you want to know if there's a turf war going on? Frankly, Vinnie, there's no longer any turf."
Re: Trieste: In Search of Lorin Highwater
Samantha, Freeport Hotel Lounge.
Samantha orders a glass of white wine, on ice and saunters over to a table nearby the group. Not wanting to be to forward, she takes a seat and looks out the window, apparently deep in thought. She listens to the conversation and tries to wait five minutes or so for some comments before she tries to interject herself into the conversation, and the group.
Samantha orders a glass of white wine, on ice and saunters over to a table nearby the group. Not wanting to be to forward, she takes a seat and looks out the window, apparently deep in thought. She listens to the conversation and tries to wait five minutes or so for some comments before she tries to interject herself into the conversation, and the group.
Re: Trieste: In Search of Lorin Highwater
September, kicking it on the skids.
Disappointed that these kids aren't dishing good dirt, September gets ready to blow them off. But then he decides to try one last tack. Grabbing a bottle, he says, "This is getting boring. I could sit in a room and drink anywhere. Let's see some sights! How about the Temple? I wanna see what decent religios look like."
Disappointed that these kids aren't dishing good dirt, September gets ready to blow them off. But then he decides to try one last tack. Grabbing a bottle, he says, "This is getting boring. I could sit in a room and drink anywhere. Let's see some sights! How about the Temple? I wanna see what decent religios look like."
Re: Trieste: In Search of Lorin Highwater
"At last, an honest man!Keehnelf wrote:Vinnie
31 hours until lift-off
"My family is here because there are a few places that we can still make a profit where the Temple won't venture--like this place, which more than pays for itself and provides a steady stream of income back to Verge to help out with other projects.
To answer your blunt questions bluntly: you want to know if there's a turf war going on? Frankly, Vinnie, there's no longer any turf."
It is indeed a pleasure to make your acquaintance and I hope that you do consider us friends."
Vincent sighs deeply and closes his eyes in thought ... softly "Benjik has sent me on a fools errand ... He will one day regret that decision and wish he had just paid me my money."
Turning his attention once again towards Heironymous "Do you know where I can locate Lorin Highwater?
If Benjik wants him found, then I want to find him first."
"And do you know of a broker who is not" ... "in bed with the Kamoor Temple".
"welcoming humbly His light and proudly His darkness" - e.e. cummings
Re: Trieste: In Search of Lorin Highwater
Vinnie
31 hours until lift-off
At the mention of Highwater's name, Heironymous's relaxed face once again transforms as he puffs out his cheeks and pushes out his lips once again, shaking his head back and forth with furrowed brow as thought trying hard to think of something.
"Highwater, eh?" he says at last. "Can't say I recognize the name, though I could have my contacts try and find him for you if you like? As a friendly professional courtesy?" He reaches for his communicator, and pauses halfway, "What are you after him for? Has he caused your family some kind of trouble?"
31 hours until lift-off
At the mention of Highwater's name, Heironymous's relaxed face once again transforms as he puffs out his cheeks and pushes out his lips once again, shaking his head back and forth with furrowed brow as thought trying hard to think of something.
"Highwater, eh?" he says at last. "Can't say I recognize the name, though I could have my contacts try and find him for you if you like? As a friendly professional courtesy?" He reaches for his communicator, and pauses halfway, "What are you after him for? Has he caused your family some kind of trouble?"
Re: Trieste: In Search of Lorin Highwater
Samantha
29 hours until lift-off
After a while, it becomes clear that the upper crust of Dome 64 are probably not going to yield anything of interest, and she is preparing to go rather than interject herself into a useless conversation and waste more time, when a new arrival is greeted with excitement by the assembled group. "Miriam! How good to see you! How were the core worlds?" cries one feminine voice that rises above the others.
Samantha half-turns and immediately recognizes the profile of Miriam Istrik from the holos attached to a few news reports.
29 hours until lift-off
After a while, it becomes clear that the upper crust of Dome 64 are probably not going to yield anything of interest, and she is preparing to go rather than interject herself into a useless conversation and waste more time, when a new arrival is greeted with excitement by the assembled group. "Miriam! How good to see you! How were the core worlds?" cries one feminine voice that rises above the others.
Samantha half-turns and immediately recognizes the profile of Miriam Istrik from the holos attached to a few news reports.
Re: Trieste: In Search of Lorin Highwater
September
30 hours until lift-off
The kids agree easily, mentioning off-hand that such things are pretty boring and he'll be glad to get his hands on some Denner after a trip down to Rust Alley. One of the kids has a roadbike with a second seat, and September pops on with no helmet as it races through the crowded lower district of Dome 64 toward one of the dome walls. They pass a plethora of makeshift drably-colored additional constructions that narrow the already-narrow lanes of traffic even further and make the dome appear thronged with occupants. It is obvious that Dome 64 is well over its recommended capacity, and the conditions are significantly worse here than in Primary.
After a precarious five-minute ride, the group pulls up at a ramshackle tin pagoda that has been riveted to the inside wall of the dome, above which a hand-painted sign advertising the Kamoor Temple hangs. A handful of temple officials in reddish-brown robes stand in the interior of the pagoda, dishing out steaming plates of food to an assembled group of what appear to be wage laborers, close to one hundred in number.
"See anything you like?" asks the young man on the front of the bike, Nurg, with a smirk.
30 hours until lift-off
The kids agree easily, mentioning off-hand that such things are pretty boring and he'll be glad to get his hands on some Denner after a trip down to Rust Alley. One of the kids has a roadbike with a second seat, and September pops on with no helmet as it races through the crowded lower district of Dome 64 toward one of the dome walls. They pass a plethora of makeshift drably-colored additional constructions that narrow the already-narrow lanes of traffic even further and make the dome appear thronged with occupants. It is obvious that Dome 64 is well over its recommended capacity, and the conditions are significantly worse here than in Primary.
After a precarious five-minute ride, the group pulls up at a ramshackle tin pagoda that has been riveted to the inside wall of the dome, above which a hand-painted sign advertising the Kamoor Temple hangs. A handful of temple officials in reddish-brown robes stand in the interior of the pagoda, dishing out steaming plates of food to an assembled group of what appear to be wage laborers, close to one hundred in number.
"See anything you like?" asks the young man on the front of the bike, Nurg, with a smirk.
Re: Trieste: In Search of Lorin Highwater
"About half a million credits worth of trouble ... more than a man is usually allowed to cause and still live."Keehnelf wrote:Vinnie
31 hours until lift-off
At the mention of Highwater's name, Heironymous's relaxed face once again transforms as he puffs out his cheeks and pushes out his lips once again, shaking his head back and forth with furrowed brow as thought trying hard to think of something.
"Highwater, eh?" he says at last. "Can't say I recognize the name, though I could have my contacts try and find him for you if you like? As a friendly professional courtesy?" He reaches for his communicator, and pauses halfway, "What are you after him for? Has he caused your family some kind of trouble?"
"But humor me on something.
First answer either of the following questions, and then I will answer your question with equal honesty ...
- First question: What business relationship does Miriam Istrik have with Lorin Highwater?
- Second question: What do you know about Raihar Benjik of the Kamoor Temple?"
"welcoming humbly His light and proudly His darkness" - e.e. cummings
Re: Trieste: In Search of Lorin Highwater
Vinnie
31 hours until lift-off
Heironymous appears even more agitated as he considers his answers.
"Well, Madam Istrik has business connections all over the place, and like I say I don't know this Highwater fellow from a gap in the dome. I could call in some favors and find out for you, if you like?"
He seems a bit more at ease as he talks, turning to Benjik.
"Benjik is a right pain all around, you know? He's a pushy one, right in the middle of the trade, his fingers in everything, keeping things in line for the Temple and mucking up traditional trade opportunities all in the same breath. It'd be doing Trieste and its residents a favor to get rid of that guy. And it sounds like he's got the wrong side of you as well, eh? Hah, that wouldn't surprise me." He chuckles.
31 hours until lift-off
Heironymous appears even more agitated as he considers his answers.
"Well, Madam Istrik has business connections all over the place, and like I say I don't know this Highwater fellow from a gap in the dome. I could call in some favors and find out for you, if you like?"
He seems a bit more at ease as he talks, turning to Benjik.
"Benjik is a right pain all around, you know? He's a pushy one, right in the middle of the trade, his fingers in everything, keeping things in line for the Temple and mucking up traditional trade opportunities all in the same breath. It'd be doing Trieste and its residents a favor to get rid of that guy. And it sounds like he's got the wrong side of you as well, eh? Hah, that wouldn't surprise me." He chuckles.
Re: Trieste: In Search of Lorin Highwater
Samantha returns to her drink with a close ear eavesdropping on the o-so-happy reunion.
Re: Trieste: In Search of Lorin Highwater
September to Nurg, eyeing the Temple soup line. "This is your temple? It looks like a shanty, and smells like a ship's recycler. No wonder your priests are honest! There's nothing for'em to steal!" September makes a display of being bored and uninterested , even as he asks, "You know these jokers? Like, do they have names or anything?"
Re: Trieste: In Search of Lorin Highwater
"You don't need to call in any special favors on my account, I'll ask Highwater myself when I find him.Keehnelf wrote:Vinnie
31 hours until lift-off
Heironymous appears even more agitated as he considers his answers.
"I could call in some favors and find out for you, if you like?"
He seems a bit more at ease as he talks, turning to Benjik.
"Benjik is a right pain all around, you know? He's a pushy one, right in the middle of the trade, his fingers in everything, keeping things in line for the Temple and mucking up traditional trade opportunities all in the same breath. It'd be doing Trieste and its residents a favor to get rid of that guy. And it sounds like he's got the wrong side of you as well, eh? Hah, that wouldn't surprise me." He chuckles.
Vincent smiles, "Twelve hours ago, I had no idea that Benjik existed. Now ... well, let's just say 'be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.'."
"But I promised you an answer. Benjik is hiring mercenaries to find Mr Highwater. He offered me roughly 300,000 credits to find him. The more I learn about Benjik, the more offensive I find him. However, for that kind of money, people more physical than me will undoubtedly come looking for him and think nothing about who they might need to kill or maim to locate him.
I hope to find him first, because I am hopeful that he has information that will allow me to hurt Benjik. Benjik himself pointed me towards your door. Apparently HE believes that you may know something about Mr. Highwater's location.
Are you quite sure you really know nothing?
The next people Benjik sends may not ask as nicely or be as accepting of your answer.
If I go to war with Benjik, it seems you might win.
Even if you do not know this Highwater, have you any idea why Benjik wants Highwater so badly?"
"One last question, more an idle thought than a serious inquiry, but ...
If you knew the when and where of a Temple Drug Drop, could you do something about it?
Would you do something about it?"
"welcoming humbly His light and proudly His darkness" - e.e. cummings
Re: Trieste: In Search of Lorin Highwater
"Yeah, of course! Everyone knows the temple servants who come down here. There like twenty or so and they rotate. That's Dohar Mainz and Dohar Fenhin, Isai Xarien, and on the end is Kistar Volock, second ranked priest on the planet. They're good guys, the lot of them. They do us a great lot of good."Pulpatoon wrote:September to Nurg, eyeing the Temple soup line. "This is your temple? It looks like a shanty, and smells like a ship's recycler. No wonder your priests are honest! There's nothing for'em to steal!" September makes a display of being bored and uninterested , even as he asks, "You know these jokers? Like, do they have names or anything?"