Flashback Part 3: To the drawing board

[Karsynwa]

2nd of Fall, 490 AV

It was not where he expected to be. Spending the evening in a small classroom that he’d used as a kid. He thought he was done with this place after passing his trial with the glassbeak, but apparently he had not outgrown the room yet. Fortunately, there was only him and Arrel here. His mentor was standing behind a long desk, waist high desk at the front of the room while Karsynwa sat at a smaller one that barely raised off of the floor. He was sitting with his legs crossed for now, a quill in his hand with plenty of parchment paper on his desk to take notes.

With a lit brazier for light, Karsynwa started jotting down a few things while he waited.

Intelligence notes: How to observe people carefully. What are they wearing? What are they doing? Where are they going? Why are they doing that? How are they behaving?

It was what he could remember from the previous night’s lesson and he thought it was a good reminder before they started today. He did not want to disappoint his mentor. Speaking of, Arrel seemed to find what he was looking for then, dragging out one of the sheets of parchment from the pile on the table. He then quickly walked over to set the document down in front of Karsynwa. Before he was even asked, he started trying to copy what was on the picture, though he found it hard to get the lines right.

After he finished he looked up to see Arrel studying his reproduction. “Good enough for our efforts. We aren’t trying to raise drawers here but if you have a knack for it, that could be useful in our line of work.” Arrel took his sketch back and knelt on the floor in front of Karsynwa’s lap desk. “What we went over yesterday was just general information to get your mind primed for today’s lesson. I bet you can tell that gathering Intel is a lot of work for one man to do alone, which is why we usually work in teams. Like the rest of the milita, we form small squads to go out and gather important information.”

Arrel set down the sheet of parchment, looking him in the eyes before he continued. “These squads need to be flexible in how they operate because the missions often differ considerably. There will be times where you are needed to go into a place solo, and there will be others where you will need the whole team. For a place like this, which do you think you would need?”

Karsynwa looked down at the paper, studying it for a moment. There didn’t seem very many people so more than one person checking the place out seemed like they would stick out. Though the answer seemed almost too obvious so he hesitated for a moment before blurting it out. “One right?”

“Right. It would be simply easier to run the operation solo, though it might pay to have a partner waiting in the wings just in case something goes awry inside. You’ll see that a majority of our operations are small ones like this. We simply don’t have the resources to run large scale operations all of the time, and the potential for leaks of information increases with every extra person you involve in the operation. So small ones like this are best, especially when we are just chasing down a rumor.”

WC: 578

[Karsynwa]

Karsynwa raised his hand, and Arrel paused. “You said leaks. Do you mean that someone in the militia might expose our operation, or would it happen by other means?”

“Potentially both actually. While it is less common for one of our ranks to intentionally betray us, you can’t rule that out, especially if the stakes of the operation are particularly high. However more common is someone unintentionally letting some information slip. Accidents happen all the time, and when they do, it is important to contain it as soon as possible that way the operation still might be salvaged.” Arrel said, turning back towards the picture.

“When you enter a room, I want you to focus on two things first. Where are the exits, and are there any guards. The exits are important because either you or your target might want to leave in a hurry for some reason, so knowing those can help you plan accordingly. Guards are important because depending on where you are, and what you are doing, they can either help or hinder you. Most of the time you won’t be recognizable as a member of the militia if you are doing your job right, so they won’t know who’s side you are on until you explain it to them. Unfortunately, you’ll have neither the time, nor the inclination to do that as you won’t know if they have been persuaded in some way to be detrimental to the operation. As a rule, you only want to trust the members of your squad on an operation, with anyone else you encounter being kept in the dark as to your motives.” Arrel picked up both pieces of parchment as he spoke, and flipped them upside down. “Now how many exits, and how many guards were there on the sketch?”

“Three exits and two guards” Karsynwa said with a grin. He also remembered seeing five Akalak and two humans in the room which may have been helped along by him having to draw the whole thing out. Most of the Akalaks had been clustered together, with the two humans pairing off. He didn’t see any significance to that just yet beyond what they had superficially in common. The other two Akalaks looked like they were possibly serving behind the bar. As he searched his brain, he remembered seeing both guards on either corner of the room which made him wonder how exactly they might affect this operation. Given the layout, he expected that this place might be a tavern with the potential to get very busy.

“Very good. Now fortunately for you, this is a passive operation meaning you are just going in there to see what you can, and maybe overhear something interesting. So I’m going to show you the original painting this sketch was based on and I want you to tell me how you would approach the location based on what you have learned so far.” Then Arrel went back to his desk before returning with a painting that looked like it had been done from the right corner of the tavern. Closest to the fore of the painting he could see two Akalaks having a drink, with another having a meal alone at the table beside them. Further in the background you could see the two humans huddled over some documents on the table, the remains of their meal pushed aside. On the left, two Akalak’s were busy cleaning off the bar. There were no guards he could see in the painting, though perhaps that had just been added to the sketch for his benefit.

WC: 600

[Karsynwa]

Karsynwa leaned forward, trying to get a closer look at the details in the painting. The two Akalak’s at the table were dressed in an unfamiliar way. Aside from carrying no weapons, they were also dressed in tan robes embossed with golden thread. On their table they had a couple of instruments, one with strings and another that looked like a bowl with hide stretched over it. The Akalak to their right on the other hand was dressed in an earth tone breeches and shirt, an from the angle he had of the table he could see the man was wearing sandals. He appeared to be paying attention to nothing but his food.

In the corner, the two humans appeared to be slightly less interesting than the Akalaks in the foreground. They appeared to be engrossed in a discussion over the papers in front of them, and in the process of either signing or writing something down. The two barkeeps were nothing special. Simply concerned with wiping the bar down while they kept an eye on the patrons. Interestingly enough, they were both obviously armed with long sticks that the artist had depicted as being strapped across their back. Suppose that was an effective way of dealing with a rowdy patron Karsynwa considered with a smile.

He was still no closer to figuring out what to do however as he tapped on his desk. Maybe something with the men in robes, or the barkeeps perhaps?

“I think I would take an instrument in and start chatting up the men in robes. They seem to be the most interesting of the bunch so I imagine they might know a thing or two about the goings on in this establishment.”

Arrel smirked a little as he stood up. “Okay, lets test your theory. You come to me, and pretend you are carrying your instrument. Talk to me like you would them in this given situation.” Suddenly less certain of himself, Karsynwa stood up. Miming holding something in his right hand, he walked up to his mentor. “Excuse me sirs, mind if I join you?” He said, and he almost pitched over in embarrassment when his voice cracked.

He was not good at this pretend thing and he quickly realized his folly. Arrel on the other hand, was not going to let this teaching moment slide. “Sure, if you can play us a song.”

Karsynwa sighed heavily, and upon getting a look from Arrel, mimed holding the stringed instrument in front of him and poking one of the strings. Arrel couldn’t contain himself at this and burst out laughing.

“Alright, enough fun, sit back down.” He said after he’d had a chance to recover, and much relieved, Karsynwa took his seat back behind the small table. Arrel knelt again in front of him. “You know, if you were a little better at talking, you might have persuaded them even if you didn’t know which end to hold on that instrument of yours. For instance you could have made an excuse about injuring your hand earlier due to an altercation with someone who doesn’t appreciate buskers, and if you were a better actor you could have sold it. I suppose I’m glad you didn’t try and pretend to be a part of their group. That would have been pure folly, more so than your paltry acting ability could recover from.”

WC: 566

[Karsynwa]

“They’re part of a group?” Karsynwa asked, a little surprised though he supposed the matching clothes should have clued him in.

“Aye, they’re part of a musical troupe that occasionally performs around the city hence the matching dress. If you see a lot of people wearing something in common, it might be a clue as them being a part of a greater organization. In this case, theirs is a tight knit group so they would immediately have made you whatever you acting ability was. Knowing this, if you had a second go at them, what would you do?” Arrel asked, leaning forward to glance down at the painting.

Karsynwa thought on that for a moment while he took stock of how he must appear to these men as he was. Young, fresh off his trial, inexperienced as far as they were concerned. The answer was easy, and he almost swore aloud that he hadn’t thought of this sooner. “I would approach them about becoming an apprentice. They could forgive and understand my lack of knowledge with the instrument then, might even well expect it because of how young I am. Then I would be in a position to hear or see anything useful that happened within the tavern without sticking out.”

“Good. You are using your strengths now. That certainly would require less acting ability on your part, though you would need to impersonate a young soul deeply interested in learning music over anything else that life might have to offer. Arrel waxed on sardonically before slapping the desk.

“Unfortunately in this scenario the buskers don’t know anything. They aren’t regulars of this tavern and are about to leave the city soon so sticking around with them isn’t an option, what will you do instead?”

Karsynwa scratched his head. “Whats the information I’m chasing in this situation anyways?”

Arrel favored him with a broad smile at that, leaning forwards. “Finally, you are asking the right questions. I was wondering when you were going to get to that. When you are getting briefed you need to make sure you ask everything you want to up front because you won’t get chances like these in the field. In this situation, you are trying to find out why a Cerulean has been seen hanging around the place for the past tenday. He isn’t associated with the militia, and there have been a few break ins in the surrounding area that makes his presence suspicious. You do remember what Cerulean are don’t you? What happens when you let your dark half control you, and give into your baser impulses. When it becomes apparent that your dark twin has more control than you, that is when they mark your face with the bright designs they tattoo on the Cerulean’s faces. They do this so that these men can never be mistaken for Akalaks and so we can at least deflect some blame for their actions because they do not resemble the honor and discipline we hold ourselves to.” Arrel said, suddenly solemn as he produced a portrait of a man with intricate white and red tattoos across his face. “This is our Cerulean by the way. You will get used to seeing them around the militia as you spend more time there. Despite my own reservations, they are rather favored for certain operations that a normal Akalak might balk at.”

WC: 565

[Karsynwa]

“Like what?” Karsynwa asked, arching an eyebrow as he studied the mans fierce scowl.

“Dirty work, like stealing, and killing. Stuff that an honorable Akalak would find hard to do.” Arrel said softly, before he sat back. “So, how would you go about inquiring after this person?”

Karsynwa thought hard on that for several moments. Taking into account his sub par acting and impersonation abilities an considering his target he decided the best course of action might be to pursue the barkeeps for information. After all they spent the most time there, so they would have seen him around. They might be partial to accepting a little extra coin for the information because really, what was a Cerulean to them? He looked up at Arrel.

“Okay, so you be the barkeep. I’ll come dressed as is.” Karsynwa and Arrel nodded before he continued. “ A glass of wine please.”

Arrel smiled at this and mimed taking out a glass. “Shouldn’t you be in class somewhere boy? I’ll need to see some coin first if you don’t mind.”

Karsynwa gritted his teeth but grinned after despite trying to keep serious. “I’ve passed my trial, I’ve every right to be here after a hard day apprenticing.” He pretended to dig through a coin purse and slap a miza onto the counter.

Arrel picked it up and pretended to pocket it. “Hard day? What do you know of those yet. You’re still a pup learning the ropes. What do you do anyways, apprentice to a panhandler?”

Karsynwa almost rolled his eyes at the direction the whole charade was going, and almost forgot the whole point of this conversation. It took a few ticks during which he mimed drinking out of the invisible glass. “Miner. Anyways I’m looking for someone and I want to know if you have seen them around. Got red and white flowers tattooed across their face.”

Arrel adopted a serious expression then and turned away from the “bar”. Karsynwa frowned and knocked on the small table.

WC: 335

[Reed]

Grades Awarded!

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Character Name

Skills

• Acting: 2
• Drawing: 1
• Intelligence: 5
• Impersonation: 1
• Observation: 5
• Persuasion: 2
• Rhetoric: 1
• Socialization: 5
• Tactics/Strategy: 2

Lores

• Intelligence: The importance of the way someone dresses
• Tactics/Strategy: Smaller operations are easier to control
• Tactics/Strategy: Why contingency plans are important
• Intelligence: Taking note of a room’s layout
• Intelligence: Identifying the number of guards in a room
• Persuasion: Using an instrument to meet musicians
• Impersonation: Why you should know the role you are playing as
• Acting: Pretending to badly play a stringed instrument
• Lore - Cerulean
• Rhetoric: Failing to steer a conversation how you wanted to

Awards & Retribution


Notes