anothercontinuity | (no subject)

[ Attention has been drawn to this humble blacksmith's, and the people have taken notice. His clientele is largely adventurers passing through, a few curious Crows in plainclothes, but also? A much more dangerous variety of attention has been drawn his way.

They converge on the smith's now, quietly, in the still of the evening. Their robes barely make a sound on approach, until a delicate feminine voice clears her throat near the entrance. ]

I confess, I didn't expect the lights to still be on.

[ The woman has tanned skin, bright silver eyes, and incredible cheekbones. Her long dark hair is pinned up neatly with an ornate pin, her robes a combination of black, scarlet, and gold that somehow make her look more striking than she already would have been. And her painted lips curve as she observes Tony where he's bent focused over his current project. ]

Working late, are we?

[ many pieces he and william make-to-order, especially plate armor (only one fitted onto a standing base for show), but the stall displays enough to intrigue and sell to passersby: ornate daggers and knives on the counter, a shield propped up against the post, various polearms stocked into a barrel, and a few weapons hung vertically on racks—maces, mauls, axes, and swords.

he sits at what's become his personal workbench in the corner of the two stone walls, his back to the open market. william is the more customer-facing one between the two of them; allows tony the time to design and create. that's where the candles are lit, the stall elsewhere dark save for the market's usual hanging lanterns outside. steel parts bent into different shapes are scattered across the wooden table, along with blacksmithing tools and a short sword with a spiral handle and a flowing engraving on the blade: one of tony's first independent creations here.

when he handed it off to william months ago, the man turned it over in his gloved hands and said, "beautiful. fine work," and tony, already returning to the forge, drawled, "it also glows blue when orcs are near." he never saw what possessed the man then, but after a moment filled only by crackling fire, william told him to keep it. reward for tony's hard work so far, he explained.

tony skeptically set it onto the workbench out of the way, where it stayed. some day later he was staring at it, waiting for metal to heat, when the thought came to him: i can do more for these people. so more he did.

at the woman's voice, tony pauses and turns at the waist. after assessing her with a squint, he says, ] That depends, [ and approaches the counter to rest his forearms on it. ] Are you here for business or pleasure?

[ another reason william is the more customer-facing one between the two of them: he's noticed tony's inclination to flirt. "keep it to your nights out, son," he sighed once, and tony laughed. ]

Edited 2024-11-11 17:48 (UTC)

Both, I hope.

[ The two other figures hung back in the dark as she let herself in, her eyes cast around the shop almost idly, before coming to a halt a few feet away from Tony. She appears to be sizing him up, appraising him from head to heel, and whatever she sees seems to please her. ]

You've been making quite the name for yourself...Stark, wasn't it?

Edited 2024-11-11 17:58 (UTC)

[ oh, tony thinks, keeping his bowed pose (like supplicating a noble, but casual, inviting, interested—and shows off his arms), might not even need to hunt anyone down tonight. that's lucky. ]

'Twas. What can I do you for? Turnaround's a few days for my special orders. 'Sides that, [ he motions to the weapon displays, ] everything you see's up for grabs.

Everything, you say.

[ She lifts her head with an 'ah' expression, before her smile widens and she glides closer. ]

Let's say I wanted a more...personal touch. Something you don't just run out for all the girls.

[ a smile teases at tony's mouth in return. she's interested in him. time to drop the pretense. ] Honey, [ he says lowly, ] I can get as personal as you want me to.

I'll just bet you can, pretty thing.

[ She hasn't taken her eyes off him. They're boring into him, hooking into him and tugging him closer, almost instinctual. It's so much easier when they're willing. ]

My associates and I are looking for someone who can provide us the very best weapons...all under the table, of course. And you're honestly wasted here in this backwater hovel.

Wouldn't you like to do more?

[ his eyes on hers darkening, he seems drawn in—until she gets to "under the table." his smile fades and he straightens, the charm dropped, now more wary. ] I don't do under the table.

[ Something tightens around her eyes, clearly not expecting the spell to have failed. But her smile quickly hitches back into place. ]

Oh, it's not ideal. But if the wrong sort of people got their hands on the things you create? Well that's no good for anyone.

[ Again she tries to reach across, leaning into his space. ]

A mind as brilliant as yours deserves a place to shine. Not languishing here as a pet to the Crows.

[ what she says must cause a crack somewhere, because tony briefly drops his eyes. when he raises them again, they're hardened. ]

I didn't get this job from them.

[ this job was a step away from them. something of his own, separate from the crows. he's not a kept pet. (is he not? he still lives at the estate. he works the ziplines, which is a whole goddamn transportation system solely for them spanning the entire city. he's heard the man he later learned to be the governor grumbling about them, too. how wide is their net?) ]

Edited 2024-11-11 22:18 (UTC)

Maybe not. But their fingerprints are everywhere.

[ She reaches out, fingernails brushing a bit of dirt from the edge of his shoulder. ]

Consider that there are some elements in the city who'd be happy to see those overpaid murderers put in their place. A civic good, wouldn't you say?

[ lucanis only takes out the slavers, the abusers, people who need to be taken out to protect others. he hasn't harmed a hair on tony's head. he's given him a whole guest house to stay in. he hasn't restricted tony's freedom. he never hid what he was...but tony can't trust him. he learned that lesson—to be cautious with his trust—a long, long time ago.

his eyes drop again to where her fingernails brush his sleeve, stock still otherwise. this time, they don't raise. ] ... Tell me who you are, [ he orders quietly. ]

Edited 2024-11-11 23:05 (UTC)

My name is Delphine. And I serve the interests of those who appreciate your work. Your vision for a future Thedas.

[ She tips her head, attempting to catch his gaze once more. ]

And...something of a fan of yours, after everything I've heard.

[ he closes his eyes. ] Well, hate to break it to you, but there is no vision. I'm just trying to help people the best way I know.

[ How damned annoying. Frustration is beginning to leak into her tone, no matter how tightly she holds that smile in place. ]

And what is that, if not a vision?

[ She reaches up, lacquered nails gripping the edges of Tony's jaw. Gently. For now. ]

This is a broken world. But it's one we could make better. And if that's too noble an aspiration for you...perhaps coin will speak more sweetly to you.

[ there, finally, again—eye contact. gently, tony grabs her hand and lowers it. he holds on. the lines of his shoulders are smoother, expression softened, but he still stands firm. ]

Look. I sympathize with your cause. I do.

[ a brief glance aside, something warring on his face. he could do so much more with better resources. he could change this whole world. he sighs. ]

But that's not a conflict I can get involved in.

[ not while he owes lucanis his gratitude. not as long as the crows leave innocent people alone. the best tony can do is step away. ]

Edited 2024-11-12 00:29 (UTC)

[ She doesn't tug her hand away, her whisper low and rich with promise. ]

Are you sure I couldn't tempt you?

I'm sure.

[ he lets her go. steps back. begins to turn to leave. ]

Shop's closed.

Edited 2024-11-12 00:53 (UTC)

[ And there, behind him, as if they had been there the whole time, were the two other robed figures that had been trailing behind Delphine and lingering quietly in the shadows. Cloth masks hung over their faces, hiding any shred of humanity in their owners, as Delphine reached forward and drew one nail sharply down the edge of Tony's face.

Deep enough to draw blood. Her smile twitches back to life. ]

Such a shame. It might have been enjoyable, getting you to cooperate all on your own. But the Venatori have use for you, Stark.

[ Her lips draw in a faint pout. ]

And unfortunately we don't take 'no' very well.

[ after turning into the two robed figures, tony jumps back into the counter and gasps, "where'd you come from?" only to flinch harshly away from the sting of pain on his cheek, twisting halfway back to delphine with his arm up and face scrunched. god, he thinks deliriously as she talks, falling into a wide-eyed panic, pushy women can be the worst.

tony breathes in and opens his mouth to yell the same moment he begins scrambling away and reaching out for a dagger. ]

[ He doesn't get much farther than that, before the blood from his cheek wicks upwards, swirling around the woman's fingertips. An incanation rolls off her tongue, and suddenly it's as if the lights around them had been suddenly doused.

Blackness. Stillness.

When Tony comes to again, it's within the confines of a cell, a ratty bed of straw and coarse, dirty linens shoved to one end. Outside of the bars, it appears the entire chamber is lined with similar cells to this one.

No other occupants to be seen, though. Just him, and the nearby torchlight guttering away. ]

[ tony gasps awake, quietly, and then freezes, his muscles locking up. slowly, without moving anything else, he tears his eyes away from the stone ceiling and casts them around the room. he's on the floor of a jail cell, on top a bed of straw.

he's been kidnapped. he doesn't remember how they knocked him out. his head doesn't even hurt from a blow.

his heart pounds impossibly loud in his ears. squeezing his eyes shut, tony forces himself to calm down. with any luck, he can at least get his shit together before his kidnappers show themselves. ]

Edited 2024-11-12 02:50 (UTC)

[ For hours, he's left there on his own, in the silence. Free to contemplate the situation, his cell in its entirety, and any plans he might have for escape.

Then from the other end of the room comes the sound of wood scraping stone as a door swings open, followed by steadily approaching footfalls. It was Delphine, alone now, a small vial clutched in her palm as she comes closer to the bars. ]

Oh, good. For a moment I wondered if you hadn't been rendered vegetative. That would have been a waste of a fine mind, indeed.

[ tony only quietly panicked at first, lying there on the floor, the bedding of straw poking at him the one shield against the stones' chill. his heart thundered. an image of the glowing blue cube rose unbidden in his head—the one he had been suddenly forced to touch by a couple of goons, the thing that stranded him on this planet—but he wrested the memory back down. different scenario.

these people might hurt him, but they want something from him. not to just get rid of him.

next, tony checked outside (alone). he checked the door, its lock and hinges, and the weld points on the bars (trapped). he spread out and sifted through the straw; shook out and flung aside the linens (no help).

the best he could do for now, he decided, was wait. he passed the hours split between thinking too much, dozing with his back to the wall (the thinking interfered with the dozing), and growing hungry and thirsty and frustrated.

finally, tony grouses when door scrapes open. when delphine appears, he's on his feet with a stony glare, or one as best as he can muster past the tightness around his eyes, the underlying current of fear. ]

Edited 2024-11-13 18:21 (UTC)

Awake, alert...good. A fine place to begin.

[ Her hands clasp delicately together as she comes to a halt in front of the cell's door. ]

And, in case it's of concern? It's not to late to change your mind, willingly. The gods will respect your will, but also your penitence.