|
Post by littlekreen on Jun 28, 2019 20:48:29 GMT -6
Two men came down the hall clad in business suits though one with shoulder length hair and sunglasses the other with short-cropped blonde hair didn't quite say lawyer. The blonde one was Carter the new assistant and took the cue from his new boss to make a bit more of an effort to look appropriate for the rank. He realized after the offer he'd spent way too long in the tech sector where they let you go to the office in cargo shorts. A tailor later for him and his trailing familiar looked something more suited for someone covering for Tyrus' administrative duties.
Cruor, of course, still looked in the face like the beared biker even with the sunglasses. He'd made a recent purchase he rather liked with the first week's pay. Cater wasn't exactly keen with Cruor telling him it's worth it with though 'don't ask questions'. In the end he showed up same as ever though had this odd lack of an aura around him now. He couldn't feel the glamour though Cruor was clearly in one. Given Cruor's job was basically 'keep carter safe' he decided to let the furtive if loyal pseudodragon be and not ask. Especially if it was with seedy contacts Cruor usually kept.
Carter walked in the room behind them to cough saying in a whisper as not to wake Tyrus, "How's he doing warden? I heard about the boom while in the office. I came as soon as I could get out."
He extended a hand in a cordial smile, "I'm Carter, his new assistant. This is Cruor, my familiar."
Cruor looked in the room at the wards surrounding the walls. The new husk came with some caveats but he was told the thing was resilient. A small silvered mirror from his pocket examined his face as he stepped over the frame. Skin flexed and squirmed as the husk was cut off. A moment later it turned inward to snap back into place. Brown beard salted with grey and lifted his sunglasses once found them bloodshot as a warning of segmentation. After leaving he'd need a candy bar to pay for the energy it'd cost walking in here.
He gave a thumbs up to Carter whom shot Cruor a confused glance, "Just the new hog I paid for, boss. The lady's work holds up real nice."
While he wasn't speaking too loud then remembered Carter's cue his drawl poking through with a grin, "Told you the price was worth it. 's got 'optional features'."
Carter rose an eyebrow but turned back to Catherine. They'd discuss that a wee bit later.
|
|
|
Post by Circe on Jul 2, 2019 16:50:10 GMT -6
"Warden Dumitrescu." Catherine replied shaking Carter's hand firmly. "I was just on my way out, but I can stay for a bit longer. I was not aware that he had hired any assistants." She did wonder who had convinced the poor bastards that working for Tyrus was a good idea. In her opinion the man was one that insisted on perfectionism not just out of any apprentice, but likely his assistants as well. The human like familiar was a bit unnerving though, the only other one she'd met was Baird's; and Rufus was in many ways the polar opposite of what Cruor struck her as.
"Tyrus will live, that much I know." She explained to Carter. "He was awake earlier, but they are keeping him relatively heavily sedated and the room has been warded against any outbursts that could impact his care."
There was no turning his tubes into snakes or IV solution into sand like the mage had mentioned. Catherine had a slight idea of how drugged the other was being kept, but wasn't letting on.
|
|
|
Post by littlekreen on Jul 2, 2019 18:54:21 GMT -6
Carter nodded gesturing behind him to Cruor with repeatedly curling fingers, "A pleasure to meet you Warden. I just started recently. I don't think it's been a month yet. Did somebody blow him up or did he blow himself up? Well, anyway, I gather they're both likely. I finished something, a little too early honestly, but that I hope will keep him in his hospital bed until he's better."
Cruor had been fishing about in his pockets, of which apparently he had many. Clinks from both sides of his shirt left, right, in, and out, before pulling a thin reflective object from his back under the coat. Cruor slapped it in Carter's gesturing hand from behind. Then proceeded to pull some jerky discovered in his pockets to start chewing.
Carter tapped the PDA near an 'On/off' symbol near the top of the slate. It clearly had PDA electronics within, however the casing was nearly a half inch thick and clear. No visible gaps or seams other than a thin conductive mesh to enable its touch display. The surface while visible likely impressed a certain oddness by the a lack in its reflection. As it booted up the operating system alit underneath to drown out that reflection. Text proclaimed itself DoppleOS, version 0.26.2.
Carter explained without the least restraint some things about Tyrus rather evident and the woman clearly knew him, "I'm sure you know he can be very, ah, particular. This is as magically inert an object as I'm able. It's linked through encrypted VPN to a cart at the hospital. It should be hard for it to see him as much more than a finger with capacitance. Let alone hear spells. Well I'll skip the details."
Cruor replied from the back with an eye-roll and mouth part-filled with jerky, "Wired a bunch of magical doodads to a meal cart with batt-ries and that. We shanghaied a guy there to think for the eeth earth - the fuckin' long-ass-named processor so's the wobbly levitatin' drone can grab stuff. View's still fuzzy as hell. Works tho'. Browser don't like uh.. some vidyer sites for some damn reason."
Carter let a long sigh, "Thanks, Cruor. It won't be as good as being there for patients himself. The whole systems is extremely order-aligned but only magical at the far end. This side is nonmagical except by material properties."
|
|
|
Post by Circe on Jul 3, 2019 16:00:11 GMT -6
"Currently, I'm not at liberty to say what specifically happened to Tyrus as it's still under investigation by my team." Catherine replied automatically and smoothly. She didn't like prying questions, assistant of Tyrus or not. Besides which, she wasn't going to risk information getting back to whoever that Tyrus had survived the attempt.
"Thank you for.. your simple explaination Mr. Cruor. Tyrus will be grateful that you thought of him to that degree." She added raising an eyebrow at Cruor. Speaking around a mouth full of jerky was disgusting enough, but the last comment about video sites had her questioning Tyrus's taste in assistants. Catherine wasn't sure she wanted to know what exactly that meant, as it could be anything from social media video sites to more risky things that ran in the seedy underbelly of the web she'd heard about.
|
|
|
Post by littlekreen on Jul 5, 2019 9:23:39 GMT -6
Carter put his hand up flat offering the PDA and apologizing, "Sorry, Sorry, I ask too many questions. I'm stuck with Cruor but he's better at explaining. I gather it's a problem so the PDA doesn't have a phone in it. He can't call anyone with it."
Cruor perked up having swallowed his jerky taking on a more serious tone, "If somebody comes lookin' should we point them to you, Warden? I got places I can keep an eye out on, yeah? Just not from there."
|
|
|
Post by Circe on Jul 11, 2019 18:52:13 GMT -6
"I understand and apologize, these days I deal more with the media than individuals." Catherine replied taking the PDA from Carter and placing it gently on Tyrus's bedside table. The media had currently been having an absolute field day with the so called ranch explosion in Somervell County. "We have our suspicions about the attack, but Bronson and Boyuan are still interviewing some people." That alone was slow work given that Molly and Xiaolian often got side tracked or in over their heads. They were competent enough together when they weren't debating on if something was a good idea or not.
"Point them towards me or my staff." She told Cruor before producing a business card with golden crossed keys embossed on the front.
|
|
|
Post by littlekreen on Jul 12, 2019 8:51:34 GMT -6
Cruor reaches forward both eyes on the card the loose amused expression turned stiff thinking out loud in a quiet mumble of words not his own, "Blood on the keys. A vessel within the veil."
Card palmed Cruor gave a thumbs up his toothy smile returning, "Thank ya, ma'am. Hm. I'll have 't talk with a different nice lady 'iffin even the wardens don't know. Gotta lookout for the boss man keeping me in steaks. Won't get in yer way."
Carter rose an eyebrow, "You always know more than you tell me. Try not to be too long if someone's trying to blow up Tyrus."
He turned back to Catherine, "I'll be sure to direct them to you. I don't think anyone knows I'm the assistant yet but I don't think it'll take reporters long since I'm in his office doing paperwork. Should I let you know anyhow if someone I don't recognize starts sniffing around?"
|
|
|
Post by Circe on Jul 14, 2019 16:59:04 GMT -6
Catherine looked at Cruor suspiciously for a moment as he uttered the strange phrase. "Is your familiar alright or is that normal?" She asked Carter unsure what to make of it. Catherine wasn't a fool, but there were some things beyond the scope of her knowledge, and hers was largely limited to the fae. The phrase however had sparked a brief memory of some time ago, when MCU had housed an oracle on their staff. The woman hadn't been one for going out into the field, but instead had provided support from behind; it had been extrodinarily helpful while they still had her.
"But yes, please direct anyone who gives you a problem to my office. I can send out one of my specialists or I can go myself most times."
|
|
|
Post by littlekreen on Jul 14, 2019 20:13:30 GMT -6
Cruor looked at Carter, whom sighed, then looked at Tyrus then Catherine. Caught up in a den of tentacles again it seemed. Damn it all. It wasn't good to have some sorts of things in the wind. He'd been told the particular matter was best left buried and forgotten unless unavoidable. Carter figured if he couldn't trust the Warden they all had bigger problems. Figures they knew something would come up eventually.
Carter replied to Catherine's inquiry, "I suppose. Familiar is the base of how he's chained just not all it does for him. I keep his soul from falling into places I was told it's better not to feed. He's his own pseudodragon by now but not strong enough without me yet. I know he's got a Fae somewhere out in big bend he's making right by. It's where I got the carvings on my bones, the ceramic tablets in my chest, and the tattoo."
The normally carefree Cruor looked down but did look Catherine back, "Escaped the cultists but couldn't afford to read or think. I ain't been high in ages."
The man's beard squirms as he squints at Carter to point, "And I ain't got anybody. The clones let me stay for a while to hide. They have places they talk to or somethin'. A few odd ducks took a likin' on their own an' they took a vote."
He held up the card shaking it, "Look Ma'am, there's Quaking Aspen Hamadryads out by Emory peak. They really don't like talkin' to outsiders. All I remember them tellin' me about blood on the keys and a bottle of veil Gotta go back and ask nicely."
|
|
|
Post by Circe on Jul 15, 2019 16:56:29 GMT -6
Catherine sighed, this wasn't something that she had expected to discuss right then and there. She had discovered a long time ago that there were enclaves out in the rural areas of wild fae, fae that held neither alegiances to the seelie or unseelie courts. It didn't surprise her that they were out in Big Bend.
"That is some pretty stiff magic for most humans Carter, I would suggest you keep that to yourself, or between select trusted people."
Binding persons and things to specific planes required an enormous amount of energy; especially if you were the battery for them afterwards. It was something that Catherine didn't want to dwell on thinking about too much.
"Most wild fae don't appreciate outsiders. They deal with one person only usually."
|
|
|
Post by littlekreen on Jul 18, 2019 18:43:00 GMT -6
Carter nodded relaxing his shoulders, "I'm aware, Warden. Trust me. I've just got a feeling anyone looking into Tyrus for the MCU has a habit of following up leads. Like new assistants and familiars that entirely go off the grid every week or two."
A nod to clasped hands he continued, "Just want to make it clear that particular deep hole needs to stay off the grid. I would be deeply appreciative. It's not whatever blew up Tyrus. Seems like he trusts you so I suppose I ought to."
Cruor nodded thinking of the inhabitants for the first time in a while then remembered decorum, "You'll prolly get a half-dozen pokes in the third eye trying to divine the place anyhow."
A wave to Cathering Cruor started heading out emptying his pockets into a trash can, "I'll head out now and see what's what. Heh, let you know if you need to fix Chernobyl, Carter. They always know I'm comin'. Oughta be happier I'm so fancy too."
While the warden was right Carter just made his own sigh. Cruor didn't know the first thing about its origin or functions neither really cared. Carter however really didn't want to have to ponder that aleph-damned germanic frankeniron they hid. He just serviced the thing. Just as long as gears move and lights blink. Finally with a real job now it half-filled his basement with mundane emergency parts. He could sleep and eat regularly. Maybe that Cruor dressed better folks would stop assuming his former tethered druggie vanished on drunken benders constantly. Things did look up in spite of his boss getting blown up in under a month.
A pinch of his nose Carter just commented carefully, "Ignore him. It's fine, I'm careful and machines I service would be as robustly engineered as one can. Nothing is exploding. You don't want to know and they'd know if I told you."
|
|
|
Post by Circe on Jul 21, 2019 18:40:03 GMT -6
Off the grid every two weeks meant that their reliability was sketchy at best, and terrible at worst. Where did Tyrus even find these people? Catherine was beginning to wonder if this new assistant and his familiar were even sketchier than they seemed. "Deep... hole? Look.. Mr. Carter I dislike asking questions that may not have answers, but at least tell me this is not some world ending entity you are employ of outside whatever it is you do for Mr. Rahal." She wasn't entirely sure she liked where this was going, over looking something was bound to cause her problems with the Council; and she had more than enough of those already.
|
|