Rethi, Tactus, and Pirace left the interior of the meeting hall with varying levels of determination. Rethi was at a loss, confused as to how he ended up failing the request and trying to cycle through the complex human emotions he was still getting used to. Tactus was jovial, knowing he was in the right and prepared to suck it towards the client. Pirace was full-on disappointed dad, near grumbling levels as he mused an equally complex expression across his face.
Angel, arriving back to the Association after her brief time as an adventurer, wheeled in her suitcase and various scrolls, books, and the like. As the wheels of her suitcase played across the wooden floorboards of the Association building, she approached the receptionist table and, noticing the difficult expressions on the three's faces, stopped right in front.
"Tactus, did something happen?"
She asked since out of the three, Tactus appeared to be the most composed as well as the most determined. He answered: "A lot. We got chewed out for trying to save the life of a little girl."
Noticing the tension in the air, Angel's receptionist friends gave her a nod, as in: "We'll take care of your stuff." Angel nodded back, dropping her papers behind the desk and setting her suitcase by the front before saying, without a single moment of hesitation:
"Let's talk about it."
They relocated to a section of the Association building near the back—a rounded table which held a handful of seats. Rethi cast Private Sanctum on the area, and they proceeded to talk. As Tactus explained the situation, Pirace grew angry, and Rethi provided key details, Angel only grew more and more concerned. She pulled out a binder from the front desk, and after finding no mention of the clients responsible nor any mention of the quest they spoke of, she told them that'd she'd: "Get to the bottom of it."
She told the group to wait for her as she stood up and walked over to Dave's office. Angel had activated full angry-mom mode.
"Thank you, Angel." Tactus said as she began to leave the Private Sanctum.
Angel nodded and looked to the three of them, fury in her eyes. "We’re getting a drink after this. You can count on that."
As she approached the door to Dave's office while the three waited back at the table, she gave the door five firm knocks. Eventually, she went inside, and the door closed behind her. The three talked for a few moments, as Tactus said:
"This is why I wasn't worried. You see, no matter what you try to do to us, we have connections. We have family. We have people who know the truth about who we are. You don't mess with the Avengers, you don't mess with my friends, and most importantly: you don't mess with the truth."
After the wise, reassuring words from Tactus were spared, the sound of angry shouts arose from Dave's office. In a few moments, an incredibly pissed off Angel emerged, followed alongside by an equally angry Dave. And quite unfortunately, it did not appear they were angry together, but instead angry at one-another.
As Dave took a seat, it became apparent to the three through an Insight check that he was out of sorts: his six-o'clock shadow was now bristling and unkempt with loose hairs, his eyes were heavily bagged, and his expression and demeanor left them to believe he was slightly buzzed.
He asked for an explanation, and Pirace gave him one. After hearing them out, Dave turned to face them all directly. In those moments, he said one word. It was not a word that any of the three hoped to hear. It was a word they expected might be said, but one they prayed they would not experience.
"So?"
Pirace lunged over the table, sailing his arm forward to smack Dave as hard as he possibly could across the cheek. Pirace knew Dave was no slouch—he saw the man train newbie adventurers out in the Training Grounds. He knew the old tiefling could put up a fight. And he knew if he missed, he was getting a hellish rebuke beyond the extent of any he had yet experienced.
But to Pirace's surprise, Dave did not dodge. He took the blow head-on without flinching. It was clear at that moment to the party of three what that act meant:
"I know I deserve this."
With a stubborn look of defiance on his face, the three realized that Dave was as upset as they were. His eyes were red with anger. His arms were positioned at awkward angles. Even through his exhaustion, they could see the fire of defiance in his eyes. Dave, like Angel, had entered full angry dad mode.
Yet, despite that, Dave merely repeated himself:
"So?"
Tactus sighed, resting his arms on the table as he spoke:
"Dave. I'm not looking for the names of these clients. I know you must be under your own situation. And we are all equally frustrated. I more than anyone understand. But tell me. Tell me Dave. One thing. I want to know if, and when, those bastards make another request."
Tactus stood up, as did Dave.
"We are family, Dave. We may have butted heads in the past, but I'm well aware how much you care about the Association and the people who work under it. We're all stubborn here. It's the one thing we all have in common."
Tactus held out a hand to Dave.
"So? Will you keep us informed?"
Dave turned slightly, looking at everyone in turn. It was clear this situation had left him with similar emotions to them all, and he was just as prepared to fight back. Under the restrictions he was, though, it would not be an easy battle. He held up his elbow, tapping the tips of Tactus's fingers with the back as he strode out of the Private Sanctum.
"I'll do what I can."
"Thank you, Dave."
"Hmph."
As Dave left, the three plus Angel resumed their conversation. If Dave’s hands were tied, it was apparent their client was no ordinary threat. As they attempted to figure out a way to get through this predicament, Pirace’s generic ass Nokia ringtone bled through the brief silence, causing Pirace to curse to himself.
"Fuck, I thought I changed it."
As he picked it up, he saw that the caller was none other than Aerihar Vash.
"Do I answer, Tactus?"
"Yeah. And put him on speaker."
"Will do."
Pirace reached into his bag, quite literally pulling out a portable bluetooth speaker, and they listened in as Pirace hit answer.
A few seconds of silence passed before Aerihar spoke.
"Who. The fuck. Did you upset."
Tactus grumbled, "Aerihar, you know I respect you, and you are well aware of how the Avengers operate. You should know we did not intentionally upset anyone, and that anything that may affect you or your profits is absolute bullshit."
"Oh, trust me Tactus. I’m well aware of that. That’s why I’m calling you. You see: I was phoned in by one of the heads of security for the Knights Errand. They told me someone was out there dragging your names through the mud. Pirace, I’m sending some stuff to your phone."
Pirace nodded, "Got it."
He pulled out a table and holographic display device as his phone pinged with the data Aerihar sent over the wire. He moved them over to the displays, as several documents, transcripts, and sections of data between institutions began to play out over the screens.
"These are various transcripts between institutions. Large institutions. Regarding you and your party. I’m talking about huge business-to-business transaction heads. The type of data that determines whether or not a corporation or entity may hire you to take on a quest. Here’s the thing: about ten of these are going out over the wire every ten seconds. Do you know what that means? I am the owner of Vash, the second most powerful megacorporation stationed in Zyraitix with footholds in every major continent. The company is the symbol of youth culture, and well-known by just about everyone in the general populous. And I, as that company’s CEO, could not even hope to imagine replicating that sort of attack."
Pirace’s eyes widened slightly as he groaned, realizing the implications. Tactus seemed to muse his response over. Rethi just nodded understandingly.
"Look," Tactus said, "We’re the Avengers. We have the people by our side. I couldn’t give a fuck if some temper-tantrum-throwing client wanted to throw our names through the dirt. At the end of the day, the people know the truth."
"Oh trust me Tactus, I can assure you the people have your back. Nobody beats Vash when it comes to the manipulation of mass media and the populous. These schmucks couldn’t even hope to match us."
"Fuck yeah." Pirace gave a small cheer of approval.
"But," Aerihar continued, "as mentioned previously, these ‘clients’ have us beat when it comes to business-to-business connections. I don’t know who they are, but they’re acting like some giant illuminati conspirace."
After those words rung out, Tactus sighed.
"I understand your worry, Aerihar, but this is an Avengers problem. You took our guild in, and you gave us a lot. But you aren’t an Avenger, and as such, you aren’t required to help us. I would never force that on you. I know your profits are important, and so I’ll say this: you don’t need to bother yourself with this situation. The Avengers will handle it."
Aerihar snorted on the other end of the call.
"Listen here, Tactus. I may be a money-hungry, manipulative, ad-venture capitalist, with profits on his mind and millions in his bank accounts, but that doesn’t mean I leave my employees to die by the wayside. When we signed that contract together, we agreed to help each other, and by god. I am going to rip whoever dared to touch my clients without my permission a new hide."
"Here here!" Pirace held up his glass of wine in a mock toast.
"Is Rethi with you?" Aerihar asked.
"Yep," Tactus responded, motioning over to Rethi. Scooting closer, Rethi said:
"Yes, Aerihar. I am present."
"Good. I’m putting one of my heads of security for the Knights Errand on the line. I want you to give him a description of the individuals who accosted you. You can do that, right?"
"Oh, yes. I can do that and more."
Aerihar gave a noise of content as Tactus passed the phone over to Rethi. Rethi took it and began talking with the head, eventually casting telepathy over the wire in order to send the man the exact mental vision of the clients in question.
After a bit more discussion, Tactus stood. His eyes slightly weary from the topic at hand.
"I’m quite wasted, in every sense of the word. I’m heading back to the inn to retire early and get some rest. Trust me when I say: we will get to the bottom of this."
With a nod from both Rethi and Pirace, Tactus walked out of the Private Sanctum. Angel nodded, standing up herself.
"I have a bit of settling in to do, first. Stop by the front desk when you want to go grab those drinks."
With her usual smile, Rethi and Pirace returned their own, and she also left the Private Sanctum.
Just as Pirace turned to ask Rethi another question about their client, a stranger stepped through the sanctum. A man with baggy, dark jeans (with white stripes running up to the lower belt). A dress shirt with a leather vest overtop. And of course: a black tophat with a pair of aviator goggles strapped to the upper-rim.
"Oh dear me, hope I’m not interrupting anything!"
As Rethi and Pirace starred at the newcomer, he moved over to the table lackadaisically, pulling up a seat and flipping it around to sit atop it backwards.
"Now, you both look quite distressed. Tell me about it! You can leave out as many details as you like—I’m just a man who likes a good story."
"Who are you? What’s your name?" Pirace frowned.
"I must concur with my companion. It is strange for someone without invitation to enter our Private Sanctum." Rethi adds.
The newcomer frowns, "Are names important to you, Pirace?"
"Not really," Pirace admitted, although his eyes still narrowed with suspicion. "But it’s merely common courtesy to introduce yourself when entering a conversation without permission."
"Oh, of course! I know quite a bit about that—get told something similar every time I do this. I always have the opportunity to come in at a more opportune time, too. Perhaps I should have arrived a month—no, that wouldn’t do at all. That was merely the exposition. Later would be more concise; a table with all the big leagues could have been quite enjoyable for me. Well, let’s see—…"
As the man continued to talk, Pirace’s eyes widened. Eventually, he said:
"Okay, stop right there. Be straight with me: are you talking about time travel?"
"Hm? Time travel? Oh no, I would never do something so pedestrian."
Pirace nearly fell out of his chair.
"I’m more of a fan of Jumping. Quite the enjoyable form of travel; you see, leaping from one spot to the other without all that jarring distortion—quite reputable. Although sometimes, it’s hard to figure out where to land. Could be a bit of that old age getting to me; I find myself narrowing my eyes more-and-more each day. What do you think, Rethi? Could I use a pair of nasod eyes?"
Rethi blinks.
"Oh, I see. This is what the humans refer to as a jest, a gaff, or more commonly: a joke." He nods, "In any case, you can probably get yourself a pair of nasod eyes if you feel the need."
"Hm. I don’t think I will, but thanks for the suggestion."
"Wait wait wait, hold on." Pirace holds up a hand, "You gotta’ teach me about that Jumping thing now."
"Oh, so you’re interested? Very well. I shall teach you how to Jump."
Pirace picks up his wine glass and motions towards the man, "You have my attention."
"Well, first you plant both feet straight on the ground—…"
After a second of disbelief, Pirace snorted. "Oh, ha ha."
"Oh no, I’m quite serious. People always think I’m joking when I say that, but with that first step…"
In that moment, Pirace and the man had swapped places. Pirace blinks, taking a sip from his own wine glass without hesitation.
"Cool."
"Cool indeed!"
"I must ask: why are you here?" Rethi motions towards the stranger, who had now charisma’d his way into the conversation.
"Nothing at all! Like I said earlier, I’m just a fan of a good story! We’re getting to the good bits finally, after all! From what you may have learned in grade school, this is what you would call the rising action, but we’re quickly heading into the first act, where the climax will be revealed! There’s not much to do when you’re like me, after all—the younger ones are always fulfilling your jobs for you, taking on paradoxes, filling holes. Meanwhile, you’re stuck indoors, wasting away. You know, it’s rather like a strip club..."
After providing the pair with a remarkably accurate analogy using a strip club and hookers, he winks.
"While your side is remarkably interesting, I do wish to see what Ur will be up to in the meantime."
"What?"
"What?"
The stranger blinks at the pair’s stunned reaction before holding up a hand.
"Ah, I understand. It appears I’ve made a mistake! I could have sworn you were already informed at this point in time! I blame my old age! I must ask that you both drink so much from that glass that you forget what I said."
"You got it." Pirace nods, downing his wine glass in one gulp.
"I am not sure that I can get drunk." Rethi admits.
"Well, we’re going for drinks after with Angel. Might as well find out." Pirace winks at Rethi.
"Well then! I must get going. Apologies I can’t follow you all to the afterparty. I have places to be and things to do—you know the saying. Tell Carnisa I said hi!" With a tip of his hand, the stranger steps out of the Private Sanctum, leaving Rethi and Pirace alone.
"I’ll be right back, Rethi. Got to hit the bathroom."
"Understood. I shall await you while you fulfill your human bodily functions."
Pirace gives a quick nod, rushing to the bathroom as the knowledge sought to quickly leave his brain.
Got to remember. Got to remember. Got to remember.
Eventually, he locked himself in a stall, pulling out a slip of notebook paper and writing down as much as he could remember. For the first time in a long while, Carnisa detached herself from Pirace in order to remind him that she could remember as well, with one simple word:
"Ur."
Pirace nodded at the mirror in the stall room.
"Right, thanks Carnisa."
With that, he hastily shoved the piece of notebook paper in his pocket as he went to enjoy a night of drinking with Rethi and Angel.