World Moved On (IC): Chapter 4, New York

[RedBstrd]

GM Post

"Not to imply insult, Sai Owen, I'd like to accept your apprentice's offer to check him myself. I know when I'm being lied to. His story was full of deception and I don't trust him one bit." After saying that, the gunslinger approaches Oswald and begins patting the accused man down, stopping when he touches the small of Oswald's back. Florent then lifts up Oswald's jacket and pulls the hidden revolver from the former marine's belt and tosses it on the table.

Without a word, he returns to his place at the table and retrieves his hat. Putting it back on, he notes, "Reckon it ain't wise to side with an assassin over the Knights of the Round, particularly when you've brought him to where his mark is."

He tips his hat to Speedy, "Evening, Sai Parkus. This place doesn't agree with me at the moment." The red-haired gunslinger then walks out of the inn.

Florent never put his hands on his pistols; he just had his hands hanging at his sides.

For the record, no one patted Oswald down. He grabbed the guns from the Can-toi, but he always had his hidden pistol (the one he used in real life to try shooting a cop when he was cornered). Florent, being the Moonglum of this world, is too cunning to fall for Oswald's poor Deception skills.

Breaking the silence, Oswald nervously explains, "I forgot about that altogether in the chaos..."

[Project Icarus]

Owen
HP: 5

Red-faced, Owen turned to Oswald. He blustered for a moment, then turned away and stalked a few paces away, arms crossed. He turned back to face Oswald, one finger pointed accusingly at him. "I trusted you, and was made to look the fool - a mistake I won't make again."

He turned to Parkus. "Sai Parkus, do you think you can do anything with this... man?" He gestured in Oswald's direction. "Lord Myron seems to believe you can help him become a better person."

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Oswald hangs his head in shame. "It's just an emergency weapon. I mean, I didn't even pull it out when the men in yellow coats took me into the diner. I'd never use it to..." His voice lowers since the confrontation attracted the attention of the whole bar. "...try to kill someone with it. It's not meant for that kind of thing."

Speedy takes in the whole exchange. "Some men, they got a hard road ahead of them and making the right decisions ain't a bit of know-how they got. Maybe it's something they only ken through habit and example." As Oswald sits down with a defeated look on his face, Parkus adds: "Camelot's big enough for more than one lost soul, say thankee-Sai. She's gotta find a place for him, whether that means 'slinging or not. He's got some of the skill in him; ol' Speedy can see that. What we gotta see is whether he's got the heart."

[Shock]

Jhondak
HP: 3

Jhondak sat oddly still during the confrontation. That Florent had been proven right only made it worse. When it was over, he levelled an ice stare at Oswald, but when he spoke, it was clear his words were for the others as well. "It shames me that my allies would draw arms to defend a man who recently shot me over the men who have given us food and shelter. You had best make certain they do not regret that choice."

[McGuffin]

Russ
HP: 0 CND: -2 Toughness, Staggered

If looks could kill, Oswald would have been ready for a pinewood box when Florent lifted the revolver off of him. "I've made a lot of wagers in my time and not all of them were wise ones." Russ looked at the others, pointedly ignoring Oswald although he left one hand near the handle of his pistol none the less. "We should get on with our work, we've wasted too much time with that Todash business as is."

[Lord Fell]

Myron Frost

The sorcerer watches Florent go with lidded, dispassionate eyes. "He's wrong on almost all counts, actually."

Myron is tapping a thick leather sachet, that he placed on the table earlier, with a distracted finger. He's obviously keen to open it, but his attention is still on the current debate regarding Oswald's future. "Ozzie is not an admitted assassin; he claims to have refused the commission to assassinate anyone -and while we may not have witnessed that, evidence is clear that he was resisting the low men who were trying to recruit him."

"I'll admit that had we been more careful, we would have disarmed Oswald... because we are still a bit unsure of his loyalties. However, each and every one of us is armed, and no one tries to disarm us. Oswald is not, strictly speaking a prisoner, and he has not actually done anything wrong. We cannot judge him for what the low men were trying to get him to do. We had no particular right to disarm him, anyways."

"Oswald did fire upon Jhondak in that tavern... but, if we are open minded about his situation, I think that's understandable. We had made a clean sweep of the vampires, and the low men -why would he not think we wouldn't include him in the Butcher's Bill? We very nearly did."

Myron looks again in the direction Florent has gone, and his tone indicates an assortment of derisive thoughts. "As for bringing an 'assassin' directly to his target... why does he think I brought him here instead of to the palace?"

He shakes his head, and reaches across to pick up Oswald's pistol. He is idly inspecting it, turning the barrel, and clicking the firing mechanism. "Ozzie, my father and fathers before him, were genuinely evil men. I was raised to follow in their rancid footsteps. A story I read about King John's ancestor Arthur the Eld inspired me to choose a different path. Our companion Pablo Cobain is one of those yellow coats. His people have been slaves to dark powers for aeons... but Pablo knew that before that, his people served the Eld."

"I'm talking about making a choice, Ozzie. You came with us, because I promised you that this could be the best life you will ever live. If you want that, you need to commit to it. Stop being a twig floating on the river. Are you ready to grab the oars and start pulling?"

Myron sets the pistol down on the table, and slides it across the table to Oswald.
"...and in the future, wear your weapon on the outside of your pants."

[McGuffin]

Russ
HP: 0 CND: -2 Toughness, Staggered

Russ's shocked expression when Myron laid Oswald's weapon on the table would have been comical were it not for the fact that he still had one hand hovering above the handle of one of his pistols. "And some people say I'll take any hopeless bet." He looked from the pistol on the table to Owen. "I've been burned twice now so I hope you'll excuse me if I'm wary of playing with fire."

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Parkus places his hand gently over the pistol on the table and notes, "Mayhap we want to wait until your man Pablo makes his entrance before we go givin Ozzie his gun back. Don't want no jumping and shootin just cause someone got the jitters and tempers on fire and rarin to go." He thinks for a second and then decides, "Fact is, maybe Speedy'll hold onto this one for now. You're in a place for the gunslingers," he makes a sweeping motion with his hand to indicate the entire chapterhouse, "so best if you ain't got a gun when one of the Knights thinks you shouldn't, wouldn't you say?"

Oswald just nods silently but seems nervous regarding the prospect of meeting another low man. He brings his head up to face Myron and answers, "I'm on board. I should have told you about the gun." Parkus pats him on the back. "Truth gonna set you free, yeah-bob."

Taking the gun from the table, Parkus then turns to Myron. "You done fine trying to honor your word, ain't no doubt about that. But it seems to ol' Speedy that your ka-mates weren't rearin to get things going in that little scuffle. Right or wrong, you share khef with them all and you draw strength from unity. Dark days is ahead for us all so we all got to remember what's gonna see us through them." Answering Owen's inquiry about what can be done with Oswald, Parkus adds: "Truth is, Ozzie got a burden he has to carry and he gotta be bigger than that burden. Speedy'll do what he can to help but the king gonna have his say, John the Good gonna have to see if Ozzie is big enough."

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After listening for some key words in the conversation, Pablo climbs up the stairs and enters into the inn. He takes a seat but doesn't remove his hat as is the custom for everyone else. Oswald is clearly nervous and fidgets in his chair, trying not to look at the Can-toi. Pablo, by contrast, glances over at Russ and notices that his ka-mate is injured.

"Sai Russ, are you alright? Allow me to call a surgeon." From the way that the patrons of the inn are looking at Pablo, it seems like many of the men resent the Can-toi for being an outsider who has come in and radically altered gender roles. The barmaids, however, hurry to bring him a drink. When one of them informs him that the physician has already been called, he relaxes a little and addresses Owen. "My dinh, I have worked tirelessly to prepare the women. At first, many resisted and ignored my call but those who did learn from me went out to teach others. Almost all have had some training from me or from each other." Taking a drink of his ale, he concludes: "I hope your Todash was even more successful."

Russ will be fine by morning even without any medical attention.

[McGuffin]

Russ
HP: 0 CND: -2 Toughness, Staggered

Russ relaxed as Speedy retrieved the pistol from the table. He removed his own hand from the handle of his gun as well.

He brings his head up to face Myron and answers, "I'm on board. I should have told you about the gun." Parkus pats him on the back. "Truth gonna set you free, yeah-bob."

"At least you recognize that much. Maybe that's a start." When Pablo entered, the smile the gambler greeted the Can-toi with warm and honest. He grimaced at the word 'surgeon' though, muttering "Hope it doesn't have to come to that."

He tried to wave off the question of his injuries as if they weren't a big deal. "Me and Jhondak just got a bit roughed up clearing a nest of vampires who'd escaped from some B-horror movie. As for how well our trip went..." Russ gestured to Ozzie. "...judge for yourself."

"Pablo Cobain, meet Lee Harvey Oswald. Just call him Ozzie and ignore the fidgeting, he had a run-in with some of your less enlightened kin when we met him. Ozzie, meet Pablo Cobain. You two play nice now, ya hear?" It's pretty clear the last part is meant more for Ozzie than Pablo.

[Project Icarus]

Owen
HP: 5

Owen shot Myron a dark look as he attempted to give Oswald his weapon back. He motioned for the sorcerer to follow him a few steps away from the others. "I know you want to see Oswald redeemed as you yourself were," he said in a low voice, as the two of them stood apart from the others, "but let's let him prove himself worthy of our trust before we give it to him. The last thing we need is for something bad to happen - like King John's death - because of misplaced trust. And even more than that, we all need to be in agreement when our actions may impact the entire ka-tet," he added, with a pointed look.

With that, Owen rejoined the rest of the group. "Thank you, Pablo." He glanced in Oswald's direction. "The outcome of our Todash has yet to be determined, but I hope it is successful."

[Lord Fell]

Myron Frost

After Owen imparts his admonishment, and turns to leave, Myron stalls him by grabbing his sleeve. His voice is a harsh whisper for Owen's ears alone. "Above all, King John must be protected. Oswald has been used as a tool a thousand-thousand times by the forces of Chaos. Now, it's my turn. If he is redeemed in the process, I will be gladdened for it." Releasing Owen's sleeve, and assumes a more normal tone of voice, almost like a totally different person. "You are dinh," he says. Myron is sedate as he follows Owen back to the table.

"Lord Parkus, have you acquiesced to accept Lee Harvey Oswald as your apprentice? Lee Harvey Oswald, will you consent to accept the tutelage of the Gunslinger Speedy Parkus?" Once seated, the sorcerer seems almost indifferent to the questions he asks of the two men. He is starting to unlace the leather thongs on the sachet that his Brass Engine returned with.

[Shock]

Jhondak
HP: 3

"As far as I am concerned, the Todash was a failure." Jhondak pushed back from the table but remained seated. "We were intercepted as our journey was beginning and learned nothing of the enemy's disposition. In return, we bring a potential enemy into our midst and strain the ties to our allies. How this man relates to our mission, I can't say. But I have my doubts that he brings us any closer to victory over Arioch's army."

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Parkus considers the request from Myron. "I'll tell you what, my friend: I'm gonna trust in you that you got some insight that the rest of us don't have. If you see something in Ozzie that means that he can't end up making the wrong decisions, then there ain't no two ways about it. I'll take him as an apprentice. 'Course King John gonna have his say and if he thinks this whole affair is a bit of jaw-yapping that ain't gonna do no good, then Ozzie's got to find himself something else to do with his time." Taking the cards that Florent dealt out, Parkus shuffles a bit and deals a hand face-up for Oswald. All four of the cards correspond to what Russ would identify as aces. Parkus then looks Oswald in the eyes.

"What you got to know, son, is that ka is like a wheel. Sometimes people make the wrong decision and there's suffering to pay, but make no mistake about it, the person making the mistake pays like none other. Ka gonna give him another chance... and another... and so on until the man learns and makes due. When you make the right choice, ka gonna keep on rollin' and nobody gonna be the wiser 'cause they won't see how it plays out. For the fella who chooses wrong... well, he gonna keep on at it until he does things right. Ain't nothing pleasant about that whole deal because brother gonna keep suffering any pain life done dealt him over and over again." Snatching the cards back up and dealing them out around the table, he adds: "'Nother words, ka is like being dealt cards, 'cept you gotta stick with the hand you got. If it's bad and you can't fold with grace, then you gonna be stuck with it on and on. That's the trick of it all - not bluffin' and jivin' - but grace. That's the thing you gotta learn. Set aside the pride and the rationales and just steel yourself against the hand you got."

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Without even looking at his cards, Parkus folds, getting up from his seat. "You kids will have to excuse and old man. Ain't no two ways 'bout this neither: I need to get some rest. You all carry on and I'll see you soon." To Oswald he adds, "You think about what I said and if you can see yourself full of the dedication that you need, then march on up to the castle and we'll get to the real work. If you want to keep running through things time and time again until you can't take it anymore, then get yourself as many drinks as you can afford. Gonna be a lot of heartache around here when the armies of Chaos done pour in so there'll be a lot of ground for drownin' them sorrows. Can't say I'd recommend that life though." He tips his hat and heads out the door, singing the next verse to his bluesy song.

Oswald wordlessly stares down at the cards that Parkus dealt him.