Topic: A Woman's Scorn

Dalton StJames

Date: 2010-11-21 03:19 EST
Ashes fell from the end of his cigarette as he inhaled deeply and were quickly caught up in the ocean breeze. Steel blue eyes panned out over the rolling waters. Whitecap waves he was used to. The random rise and fall of a school of humpback whales he was used to. The clouds billowing overhead and turning dark and ominous he was used to. What Dalton wasn't used to was this annoying voice in the back of his mind that echoed some nonsense like, "You need to beware, Sir ....this isn't just any ordinary treasure."

Dalton scowled slightly as he flicked the spent 'grit into the ocean and exhaled a lung full of smoke downwind. "Dames.." he muttered.

He dismissed that thought along with that woman's voice as he turned to head inside. Already his mind was ticking off the list of things to do once he docked in RhyDin. Eze should have all the necessary arrangements made by now and all that would be left for him to manage should be the haul. With a shove of his large hand, the door to his office swung open. He dropped down in his well worn chair and kicked his boots up on an open drawer of his desk. He swung his arms up behind him to cradled the back of his head in linked hands. "You will carry more than you think when you move this collection." And there she was again. The rogue man smirked with a low grunt as he closed his eyes and tipped his chin up while pushing elbows back to stretch his wingspan and loosen tight muscles.

"Christ I'll be glad when this one is over" He just wanted to rid himself of that nagging voice and the woman behind it. Yeah the money was sweet, but he was doubting Eze's good sense of even taking this job. He faced the fact it was mostly greed on Dalton's part, but something was almost too intriguing not to take it. Still, that voice and that face looking at him with earnest sincerity caused him too much effort to not just laugh out right.

Oh well, a trip to RhyDin would be profitable and while he spent quite some time there in what now seemed like lifetimes ago, he wasn't planning on staying. Quick trip in, quick trip out. True to his nature of business ...import - export. He doubted he would see any familiar faces after all these years and a reunion wasn't what he was after. His goal now was get the job done, the money in his hands and Jagg off books.

Dropping his feet to the floor, he tipped forward and opened the most recent volume of those very books and turned to the last entry making a notation: Docking in RhyDin by morning. Meeting with Eze ASAP. Kill the curse. Dalton actually laughed out loud and pushed the ledger away. He was safe to do that here and not be accused of being a chauvinist pig for laughing in the face of those pleading eyes. While he understood very little about the emotions of a woman, he did understand they had them and ....well, he often misread them. He chalked it up to them being the fairer....weaker, sex.

A rueful smile formed under his goatee as he spoke aloud again to the thin salty air, "Curse my ass..."

Jagg Pacal

Date: 2010-11-21 15:43 EST
"Of all the egotistical, chauvinistic, misogynistic small minded little boys wrapped in an adult body....." Susan looked up from her computer as her boss, Jagg Pacal, stormed through the room into her office. Susan smiled to the stunned student who had been waiting for the professor, the girl was in every other day to quibble over her grades. "She'll be with you in just a moment." The student visibly paled and stammered something about it not being important right now. She gathered her things and scurried out.

Susan got up from her desk and went to the coffeemaker while she listened to the stream of spanish coming from Jagg's office. "I swear I can't understand your dialect but I think you said something about a cattle prod.I take it the meeting didn't go well?" Jagg looked up as Susan walked in carrying a mug of coffee. She sighed heavily and sank into the chair behind her desk.

"I'm used to it. I should be anyway. He's just like those dinosaurs up in the deans office with their cigars and scotch and stories of their glory days." Jagg took the mug of coffee from Susan with a nod of thanks. "They all look at me the same way. Like I'm just a frilly girl who should be home pregnant instead of teaching or going on digs. "Don't worry your pretty little head, darling." " The mimic was followed by a distasteful sneer.

Jagg took a long sip of coffee and tried to calm herself. Mr. StJames just didn't understand, didn't believe what she had told him. He had laughed at her when she had told him about the curse. Hell, she probably would have laughed in his place. Still, he and his partner Pearrce had a reputation of finding the things not meant to be found. They had been warned.

Jagg watched Susan as she took another sip. There was part of her that wanted to confide in the woman but she just couldn't. There was too much risk of losing her, one of her few friends. Jagg set the mug down on her desk. " Clear my calendar. I'm going to make sure that prick and his partner don't screw this up."

Ezekiel Pearrce

Date: 2010-11-21 17:33 EST
There was no denying he was a sucker for a beautiful set of legs and a beautiful pair of eyes. And a nice rack and flowing hair and pouting lips and.... "Coming around to dock!" came the cry from the helm. And business. Always business first. The salty tang clung in the air as he disembarked after the long trip. He tossed his duffle bag onto the dock, immediately lit up a fresh smoke and stood back to watch as several crates were unloaded off the ship. A smug grin framed the cigarette that hung off his lips. The take on the job was going to be huge. He had no doubt of it. And the spook story she told them' That simply meant the take would be that much larger on the job. "Boss!" Eze turned to see an ape of a man lumber toward him with four others in tow. He tipped his head toward the crates that were being stacked on the dock. "Get these things to the warehouse, but make sure to keep the floor clear. We've got another large shipment coming," he directed the men as he grabbed his bag. "And Marcus." The large man paused and turned around to face his employer. "Make the usual preparations. Mr. St. James will be arriving into town." Eze started back into town before Marcus answered, trusting the man will take care of matters. It was a long trip and there was a hot shower, a hot meal and a cold beer waiting for him. And if all went well, perhaps even some warm company.

Jagg Pacal

Date: 2010-12-02 12:45 EST
The spent cigarette was tossed haphazardly over his shoulder and a stream of steely blue smoke was blown into the air. Eze reached for his pack in his pocket and looked aside at Dalton. "So what do you think, Mate?"

Dalton grunted low and shook his head as he mulled that question over. "I think ya got things well underway, but..." he cast a glance at his business partner, "You know what they say about best laid plans." And only after a beat he added "And best laid dames!" His laugh rang out into the night air.

While Eze stopped walking long enough to light up the smoke Dalton kept walking.It was damn cold and the filter of the light that broke the darkness up ahead was what he was all about at the moment. Shoving his hands further into his pockets, he merely replied while stepping ahead."It'll be fine. You have to admit...." A grin framed the newly lit smoke as Eze caught up to Dalton."...it'll be good for the bank account."

Dalton shoved his hands further into his pockets."It'll have to be fine....that's what we do."

Eze slapped Dalton's shoulder. "And none do it better.Come on, I'll buy you a drink."

"One?" Dalton shot a grin at his partner in...business and picked up his pace. "Make it two or three and then we'll be even for you getting us into this!" Clearly there was humor written all over his face, but there was a sticking point to this particular job. That woman. His smile faded slightly at that thought and bound up the steps.

"Two or three?" Eze laughed. "You'll be buying me round after round once the money starts pouring from this."

Long, thick fingers shoved against the cold hard door allowing him to gain entry. With an extra push, it swung open far enough to not smack Eze in the face, as he was following. He shivered slightly as the warm rushed over his face causing his jaw muscle to flex. Slowly, those steel blue eyes canvased the barely occupied Inn.Of course, the small movements caught his attention and he watched the woman for moment but not one so long it would be considered above the norm before allowing his eyes to wander towards the bar first, then back to Eze. "You're not only buying, you'll be tending too, mate!"

The cigarette was rolled from one end of Eze's grin to the other."Buying and serving. I see how that's working." He unbuttoned his coat and walked by his friend to the bar.

"Working grand!" He caught his leather jacket in a grip to make his way towards the bar. Soles of his boots scuffed each stride with a measured gait. "And this time, drop some heat into it, will ya?"

Eze looked over the room and took his coat off. "It looks empty. Maybe there is a tourney going on?" He went around to the other side of the bar. "Now, where is everything again?"

Dalton snagged a stool and dragged wood against wood far enough for him to drop on it. With a nod he looked around again at the very few patrons in the room. "Well you won't hear me complaining, Bloke. A little peace and quiet it always welcomed, ya know?" He dropped his jacket to the stool next to him.

"What did you want to drink, Mate?" A smirk played behind the cigarette. "Looks like an open bar."

"Let's see." He groomed over his goatee and considers his options for a moment. "Something hot....cider." He nodded to Eze as that settled that, but then quickly added, "Oh with a kick. Don't forget the kick." Dalton offered a grin to his friend.

He grinned. "How can I forget, Mate?"

Dalton rubbed his hands together briskly now that they seemed to be thawing. He watched Eze for a moment before taking the time now that he hadn't had earlier to really look around the structure again after so many years.

A mug of hot cider with a kick for Dalton was served up before Eze stood in front of the beers taps and looked them over. "So many beers, so little time."He pulled a sample of each and took a taste of each brew, sampling a few of them repeatedly just to be sure.

A low rumble of laughter came from Dalton and he nodded. "Damn good thing the night is young for ya, Mate!"

"I need to make sure I get the one I like the best."

"Right. Eeny, meeny, miney, mo only worked as kids." He gave Eze a broad grin as he snagged up his mug of hot cider. "Now it's all about choices and trying a lil' of each!"

"That's right. And a little sampling never hurt." Eze laughed.

Dalton took a quick swig before going on. "At least, that's what I tried to tell Sophia when I was in Italy last." Another chuckle before another sip taken.

A few more samplings and Eze finally picked one and filled up his mug.He took his beer and came around the bar and grabbed a seat there. He leaned back balancing on the back two legs and spat out the spent smoke. "Cheers, Mate."

The sound of Eze's voice pulled Dalton's attention back from quietly, unobtrusively, but thoroughly studying the small crowd.and a grin was offered in return. "Cheers!" He took another slurp of his hot cider with that Eze kick.

Eze had a drink of his chosen beer and sat back, leaning back further and smiled.

All seemed status quo as the years dissolved between his past time in RhyDin and now. He too leaned back easing into some comfort and allowing the voices around him to filter in slightly as he sucked away at his spiced brew. Glancing to Eze for a moment, he grinned. "May the rest of this job be so peaceful."

Upstairs a door opened and closed.Jagg Pacal was a woman on a mission. She tucked her room key into her jeans pocket as she headed down the hall. The trip to Rhydin had left her hungry and she was hoping to get a bite to eat. Her brunette hair, still damp from a shower was pulled back in a loose ponytail. It bobbed at the back of her neck as she jogged down the stairs

Eze was searching his pockets for his pack and his oral addiction, when he heard Dalton. "I'll drink to that." He paused his search and picked up his beer again and took another drink.

Yep, yep, yep..Dalton was enjoying the peace of him, his business partner and cider. He sunk further back onto the stool and even stretched out a long limb to hook a boot on the bottom rung of the stool next to him. "Aaaaahhhhhh." He stretched out his satisfaction of it all.

"Got a light, Mate." Eze didn't want to bother with trying to find his lighter, he looked over at his pal. Dalton slide his lighter from his pocket and Eze's way. "Remember where you got it. " He grinned in good humor.

Just short of the last step cocoa colored eyes locked onto the pair of men at the bar. "This is you working?"

Eze didn't see the woman approaching since he was reaching for the lighter. "Thanks Ma...." But he heard her.

Dalton had pulled the mug up for another swig of cider and at the sound of that voice....good God that voice he would come to know as the bane of his business right now, halted that swallow. He coughed and sat up quickly giving a whirl look towards its direction.

Slowly Eze turned around to the source of the voice as his fingers grasped the lighter. A brilliant smile slowly formed and framed the unlit smoke. "Well look what the cat drug in??

Dalton audibly groaned seeing Jagg. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand he slid a glance towards Eze and grunted. "So much for peace, Mate."

((edited from live play))

Dalton StJames

Date: 2010-12-04 19:18 EST
"Oh, am I allowed to speak?" Jagg deadpanned.

"That's usually what happens when someone asks you a question." Dalton replied as he took another hit off his cigarette. "Or five." He continued in his primitive way, "But if you're looking for permission..." He couldn't help but grin. "Speak Jagg, speak..?" He groomed over his goatee with a quick wink to the woman.

This meeting was starting off the same way as when the partners had first discovered that Jagg had come to town. Eze pocketed the pack and lit up his own smoke. An amused grin framed the new smoke as he sat back and watched Dalton and Jagg, being ever the civil one himself.

Jagg hissed at Dalton. "That's the only way you know how to deal with women isn't it Dalton?" The demure act was dropped in the blink of an eye.

Dalton had been kind of uneasy about the lack of fight Jagg had in her tonight yet that retort eased his tension and he sprawled a bit more listening as Jagg began to unfold her tale.

"The....items....were last seen publicly around 70 years ago. They were in the collection of the late Reginald Smythe." Jagg's hands laid a circle around the mug of tea on the table. Cocoa gaze shifted between the pair of men as she spoke. " I say late because at the time they were shown Mr. Smythe had already died. That was two weeks after acquiring the items."

Dalton, hearing her talk of death raised a thick brow as he took another drag from his cigarette and listened without interjection.

Jagg continued, "He was skewered by a lightning rod that happened to fall off the roof of his estate right when he had stopped to have a word with his groundskeeper."

Then both of Dalton's brows furrowed slightly as he looked from Jagg to Eze to gauge his reaction to the story unfolding. However, Eze was void of any expression, he just seemed to be listening. So Dalton slurped at his beer and continued to watch Eze while waiting for Jagg to continue. Something in his demeanor would surely give him a clue of this story was news to Eze or if he knew this tale all along.

Jagg spilled more details. "Unfortunately, or fortunately for the family, upon his death Mr. Smythe had more than a few outstanding debts. The items were sold in auction with the rest of his belongings. That's where the trail ends."

Eze seemed unaffected as he took another long drag and he blew a few smoke rings up to the ceiling. "Sounds like the guy had a bit of real bad luck."

"It ends there because the auction house burned to the ground." Jagg added. "Two weeks after they supposedly received the items."

"It happens." Dalton echoed Eze's sentiments, but then paused as he heard her last statement. "Wait...so you want us to look for something that was burned in a fire?" He looked directly at Jagg now making sure he understood what she was asking of them.

Jagg shook her head. "No, they were sold before the fire. From the documents I found it was just a day before the fire."

Dalton slurped some more as the information was digested."Huh."

It was Eze that asked the next question after another long drag and tossing that spent cigarette haphazardly over his shoulder. "How many pieces are we talking about?"

Jagg pushed her empty mug away from her. A hand lifted to drag through her hair. "Three. There is a ring, a necklace and a mask."

Dalton smirked as sarcasm touched every word. "Well then.." He took another long pull from his 'grit. "Nothing like finding a needle in the proverbial haystack, eh?" He shot a glance to Eze that once again read -did you REALLY get us into this, man"!- as he exhaled slowly.

Eze, catching and knowing that look well, grinned back at Dalton as if to say...-think of the money, mate-.

Jagg not oblivious to the unspoken exchange, spoke up. "I was given the impression that you two could find the un-findable." There was no mocking in her tone as she said it.

Eze responded quickly. "If it exists, we can find it." He nodded to Jagg. Dalton's steel blue eyes drifted slowly over to Jagg and stared at her thoughtfully for a moment while grooming over his goatee. "The impression was correct." He crushed out his smoke without taking another drag. "What you may want to reconsider, is what it will cost you." His tone was even leaving no room for misconception. This was going to cost her.

Jagg didn't blink an eye as she responded. "Not finding it has an even higher cost, I assure you." Reflex had her reaching for her mug and dragging it closer. She frowned into the emptiness.

A rogue smile formed under Dalton's goatee. "Well, to hear you tell it, darlin'..finding it might be the death of us all anyway, eh?" And with that, he laughed outright, the deep tone resonated from his chest and carried over the Inn itself.

Jagg's hands tightened around the empty mug but she didn't rise to the bait of his laughing. Eze noticed her hand tightening around the mug, "I told you a shot of tequila would have loosened you up."

Dalton's laughter settled into a smile, still finding that warning amusing. He snagged his jacket and slid from the booth. "Yeah, good luck with that one." Dalton grinned to Eze as he swung the leather jacket over his form and securing it close. "Find something to loosen her up, will ya?"

Standing to his full height, Dalton let his steely blue gaze move slowly over the commons again before looking back to the pair still in the booth. "Unless there is something else...?" He thumbed towards the door indicating his was ready to part company with them both. "Still got a night ahead of me." He flashed a smooth smile.

Jagg muttered, "Cerdo." Pig.

Dalton tugged up his collar around his ears as if he didn't hear her, but of course he had, turned headed for the door. "Be well, Eze." He shifted a glance to Jagg. "Be ....out of the way."

Ezekiel Pearrce

Date: 2011-06-05 17:58 EST
It was just another spook story. Small town gossip about a well-to-do family that was beset with one tragedy after another. Locals spoke about some crazy curse that befell the family after the patriarch bought home an artifact he won at an auction. Just another spook story. But it was a lead and the only one they had at the moment. The rain continued to fall steadily as it had all day and it left the men in sour moods. What was supposed to be a relatively easy trek into the small town turned into one time consuming detour through nightmarish terrain after another. It was well past night fall, by the time they had managed to get into town, and the men were water logged, saddle sore and hungry. The keep reluctantly rented the weary men a couple rooms for the evening and had their equally weary horses tended to, influenced in no small part by the subtle threat to life and limb. But the inn would have no rooms the following evening, the keep promised. The townsfolk were weary of strangers. They were terrified of strangers asking about the cursed family that lived at the edge of town. Stupid superstitions and ghost stories, Eze thought.