Pulse of the Imperium

"Hadrian, we gotta go."

She reached out for his shoulder.

She'd drag him if she had to, but with any luck...

She looked up sharply, her eyes narrowed. If Emcas was here, that meant something was on the way, and that meant... Hawatsentushereotdietodiewe'reintheshitbutjoke'sonthemIknow mywayaroundwhenI'mintheshitgonnaKILLthatfuckingmentatgonnakillhimquicnotimetoscrewaround.... The adrenaline dumped into her ...

"Mutelli... maybe we should send Cuyler his way?"

Kannon wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 21, 2025 6:46 am

"You'd be surprised." The bartender said coyly. Hadrian, on the other hand, looked restless, as if a reason to dart was fast-approaching.

"God I hope not, I hate surprises..."

Kannon wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 20, 2025 7:35 am

"What's yours?"

The bartender put a half-filled wineglass before her.

"My mystique? You know a lot of lady mercenaries working for someone from a second world and working on a third? I got all the mystique I can stand..."

"I'm not one to shame anyone for a rustic taste." The bartender smiled, glancing at Hadrian. "We have been off-loading Caladanan fare to lesser locales, but I think I still have a bottle somewhere." It gave him a moment to think about the other inquiry. "I've heard about it, but didn't get a chance...

"Have any Caladanian vintages on hand? I picked up the taste when I signed on with this guy."

She paused.

"Failing that, anything you have that might be a bit like... do you even know about Elaccan ale? We never really made much of an export of it..."

Laila sighed, then walked forward to the bar.

"Any chance I could order a drink while we wait for this to shake out? I don't ordinarily drink on duty, but I get the feeling I'm going to want one by the time this wraps up..."

Laila missed whatever it was. -- Does Laila See What This Guy is Cooking? Hard Perception with 2 Setbacks : 1eA+1eP+3eD+2eS 0 successes, 3 threat https://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/a-s-a.png https://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/p-s-s.png https://orokos.com/roll/images/eote/d-f-th.png https://orokos....

Act now, and we'll let your mouthpiece keep his teeth!

It was an idle thought, but it gave her something to do.

Laila's eyes narrowed.

She glanced at Hadrian, but it still wasn't her place to speak, and anyway.... she doubted she'd be any more persuasive.

Laila made a point of sticking close- and not drinking.

And if she eyed any of the competition with something of a gimlet look, well, that was all part of the job, wasn't it?

The place was far, far too fancy.

Luckily, hired muscle looking and feeling a bit on edge was hardly unusual.

Laila was on hand to watch Hadrian's back, basking in the joy of having a cover story that also happened to be what she was actually there to do.

Laila was long done eating, and was quietly amused by turning over "tits up" in her mind. She had heard it before, of course, especially from men she'd served with, but it had always struck her as funny. There was just one thing... "And how do we explain to him the three of us tag-teaming a lion? Th...

Laila didn't regard herself as clever enough to venture an opinion on any of it, so while Hadrian and Emcas talked, she went at her food with a will.

After all, it never hurt to be ready.

"And yet she can't even tell us her purpose, just promises we'll get along fine so long as we don't cross it."

His owner, Hadrian. Employer makes it sound far too kind.

"And is probably still assessing the situation with the information she has."

Chomp.

"Besides. She's a noble. They never do anything straightforward."

Well, it certainly had an... aroma, but so did some of the cheese Laila had been able to get her hands on back on Ecaz.

"A bug juice mustache, huh?"

She actually grinned a bit as she followed suit.

When in Xenion, and all of that.

"Sounds interesting. On Ecaz, we had some beekeepers, this sounds a bit more... involved."