Aclidia Blues - Crescendo

Round and round we go, the dance never ends. Will Abel and Sibyl survive their encounter with assassins and thieves?

Life is good, thinks Sibyl. She is resting out on the back patio lazing about a cushioned chair after a hearty meal. The lizard has grown thick from hearty meals. It's probably a good thing Sibyl was not born into nobility...at the rate she is eating she probably would not have died from over indulgence years ago. But for now the lizard is soaking up the warm Aclidian sun, claws resting behind her head. Oh yes...life is good.

Abel exits the kitchen with a pitcher of wine, keeping up a show of submission to the lizard for Flavius' benefit. "Some more wine, ma'am?" He keeps his head down.

The lizard looks at the pitcher and shakes her head. "No thanks...I think my gut would explode if I drank another sip or had another bite." She tries to lean forward with some obvious effort, finely she collapses back onto the chair weighed down too much by her own swollen stomach to move. She manages to look around to see if the coast is clear however before replying, "How are you Abel? What did you find out about your sister?" Admitedly the lizard hasn't had much chance to talk with the slave. Flavious if anything else is not a poor host. She is starting to run out of fake histories and stories to tell.

Abel replies in a low voice, "I am as well as can be expected, ma'am. Just the usual life of a slave, y'know." He glances around, then whispers, "My sister is apparently well... She is married..." He chokes up a little. "I couldn't even be there for the happiest day of her life..."

The reptile nods her head from where she lays, "I'm sorry to hear that. I...well..." Sibyl doesn't quite know what to say to comfort the squirrel. She also never gets the chance. For such a hefty beast Flavius is light on his feet and simply appears behind Sibyl shouting happily, "Sibyl my dear! How goes the day?" The weasel is wearing his regular shirt unbuttoned to leave his chest and stomach exposed, even so they look very tight on the weasel. Prehaps the noble diet has gotten the better of both sibyl and her weasely host.

Abel stands at attention, submissively. "Master, is there anything I can get for you? A salad, perhaps?"

Flavius smirks, "Maybe later. For now I need you to follow me. I have a guest we need to entertain." Sibyl raises an eyebrow, "Another poor noble lizard with out a home to go to?" As a reply the weasel grins, "I'm afraid this is just business. Nothing to trouble yourself with Miss Sibyl." The weasel gestures for the squirrel to follow as he enters the door leading back to the foyer.

Abel looks to the lizard with a shrug. "I must go, ma'am." With that, the squirrel follows his master indoors quietly.

The weasel is grinning to himself as he walks through his home, past other servants and the chores they preform. "I think you will be proud of me Abel. I managed to actually set up a business deal, make a date for meeting them, and invite them over successfully with out any help!" Flavius shows off his skill at doing what he should already be able to do by opening the door to his office. Inside there is a tall and somewhat lanky wildcat. His fur is gold and spotted covered by a tunic and a vest. He has a leather bag at his feet and stands at attention, paws folded behind his back. "Abel, this is Maffeo the tailor. He will be making all the servants new uniforms!" Flavius says happily.

Abel nearly recoils. "Um...er, Hello, sir." He doesn't look the cat in the eyes, but his mind races. One wrong move and things could go disastrously wrong. Worse, it could even put his Master Flavius in peril, a terrible thought. Looking to Flavius, "Master, that is...wonderful news, I'm sure the staff will be most pleased..."

The cat makes a smirk, "I"m sure they will be too once they see what I can make for them." He makes a fake whisper to Abel loud enough to be heard by the weasel, "Don't spread it around but I think your master only ordered new uniforms because he also needs his entire wardrobe expanded." The weasel grits his teeth as he forces a chuckle, "Yes-s-s-sss. Well any way I will leave you too it Maffeo. I have some work to get done before my own measurements are taken. Until then..." Flavius pats Abel on the shoulder, "Abel here will be your first victim. He will then send in the other servents as needed." The weasel turns for the door and then adds," I wonder if our other guest would need a wardrobe chance as well...her house did burn down after all. Maybe we should let her know a tailor is here..."

Abel nods to his Master. "Of course, sir. I will tell her myself. For now, she asked me to relay that she is tired and doesn't wish to be disturbed till dinner time." He sighs, turning to face Maffeo, with a fake smile. "Well, sir...I look forward to it..."

The weasel nods to his slave, "Right then. Carry on." The door opens once and then closes behind the bloated weasels back leaving the two beasts alone. Reaching into his back Maffeo pulls out a cloth ribbun with numbers on it. He stretches it out like a garret and gives the squirrel an almost feral grin. "Now then...shall we begin?"

Abel lets the fake smile drop. "May as well, sir, let's get this going, I have a household to manage."

The wild cat moves closer, he takes a measurement of the squirrels shoulers and height, "Indeed. I imagine that would be a bit of a tough job. Sometimes I think I will lose my mind just running my shop, let alone a place like this." He stretches out the measuring tape from foot to neck and across the squirrels waist, "Well at least someone here eats right..."

Abel watches the cat carefully. "I have little choice in the matter of my diet, sir. Speaking frankly, sir, why do you not have a servant manage your shop for you?"

Abel watches the cat carefully. "I have little choice in the matter of my diet, sir. Speaking frankly, sir, why do you not have a servant manage your shop for you?"

The wild cat pauses in his measurements. Taking a step back he smirks, "Servants are more hassle than they are worth in my own opinion. You have to feed them, house them, care for them. IT's much easier and cheaper to just pay workers to take care of that for them." The wild cat goes back to his bag and begins to rummage through it while he continues, "Speaking of workers. I had one dissapear on me a while ago. She just seemed to vanish. A lizard gall she was. Red scales. I don't suppose in your travels you have seen her?"

Abel frowns some, "Sir, I do not travel. I am a slave, no legal rights at all... I cannot travel outside the city on my own, not even with written permission."

The wild cat comes back to his full height. He looms over the squirrel and flashes him his teeth, "How very interesting. You answered my question with out...actually answering my question. But then again I suppose leaving the house wouldn't be too much of a problem here...since I can smell her scent through the entire manor." Maffeo narrows his eyes and his smile goes from friendly to the smile a beast has right before pouncing on its prey.

Abel frowns. "You don't dare touch her, or my Master. I do not fear you, Maffeo. If you think you can intimidate me, you are sadly mistaken. I do not fear death."

The feline tilts his head to the side, raising an eyebrow. Shifting his weight to the side the wild cat rubs at his chin, regarding the beast before him as if for the first time, "So Sibyl /is/ here? And under /your/ protection." The wild cat takes a step forward, "Perhaps you can tell me why she chose to join you, or why you chose to take her from us."

Abel remains still, an uncharacteristic act of defiance. "She is *my* friend, Maffeo. She was helping me with...a matter of great importance to me. *You* ordered her death! All she ever did was give you loyal work, and in return, you want her dead." The squirrel doesn't even try to hide his disgust for the cat.

The cat looses his facade and blinks in surprise at Abel. He seems to pause thinking on this. He opens his mouth to speak then closes it again. Finely he settles on saying, "What are in the blazes are you talking about?" He supposes there is no tactful and elegant way of putting that.

Abel frowns uncertainly. "You ordered her death."

THe wild cat leans forward until he is practically looming over Abel. "Oh /really?/ and who exactly told you this?" His tail twitches in agitation now with arms folded behind his back. There is a shrill scream from inside the hall behind them. The cat looks back to the door and shouts, "Sibyl!" The cat practically runs the squirrel over as he tries to get around him. He throws open the door and WACK! The wild cat slumps forward onto the floor from the shealthed blade crashing into the back of his skull. The stoat in the doorway looks just as surprised as Maffeo was when he hit him. "Oh blazes..." Galyn says outloud.

Abel frowns in anger. "Who in Hellgates are you, and what are you doing in my Master's home? You are trespassing, get out!"

The scrawny stoat looks to Abel then to the fallen Wildcat, then back to Abel, The stoat is wearing a mask over his snout to conceal his identity, not that he would need it from the beasts here that he has yet to meet. "Oh blast...this just got really complicated didn't it?" He rubs his forehead, "No no no! Maffeo wasn't supposed to be here? Why in the heck is he here!?" Galyn seems to ignore the squirrel for the moment.

Abel barges right up to Galyn. "What have you done to my Master? I will fight you if you don't leave!"

"The fat weasel? Oh he is tied up with the others in the..." The stoat begins then quickly turns to the squirrel for the first time, "Oh sorry, didn't see you there..." Drawing his short sword the beast levels the blade at the squirrels chest, "I'm not one for violence you see but...the situation calls for it. So if you would please step this way I will not be forced to harm you...at least yet."

Abel stands his ground. "You will untie my Master and his guest, and you will do it, NOW!" He is dead serious, unfortunately. "You may threaten me, but like I told Maffeo, I do not fear you, any of you."

Galyn shrugs, well the squirrel was warned. "Suit yourself..." he begins a motion to swing the blade across the squirrels chest. If flavius could only see him, willing to lay down his life for him. Flavius would hope the squirrel can back up his words, because it is time to prove if he can.

Abel sees the blade coming, and attempts to flee. If he manages to get out the door, he would slam it shut behind him, in Galyn's face. If he doesn't make it fully through the door, he would knock a heavy marble statue over on top of Galyn, to knock the stoat out cold.

The blade swings high and would have cut off the squirrels ear had he not already lost it. Instead the stoat shouts angrily, "Hey! Get back here and die!" He rushes forward only to get a healthy dose of wooden door to his snout. The sound of screaming stoat can be heard from behind the door. Abel has made it out into the hallway beyond with the still unconscious figure of Maffeo. A second story room the office was and there is a large opening in the floor to display the scene below on the bottom of the Manson which has suddenly become empty save for a lone fox armed with a cross bow stalking the lower halls.

Abel stops his headlong rush when he spots the fox below. "What in Hellgates is going on? Maffeo must've ordered an ambush when he learned Sibyl is here..." The squirrel slips around, toward the servants stairs, in an effort to get downstairs unnoticed.

The fox, a red vulpine dressed in a well tailored vest and trouser keeps his crossbow at the ready. His attention is draw away from where the squirrel is hiding as the to the dinning hall opens. There is a ferret here, a pudgy grey furred beast who speaks through a mask similar to the one the fox wears, "Did you find her yet?" Korudon demands to which the fox rolls his eyes, "No I haven't seen tail or hide of Sibyl yet. Listen, is this really the brightest idea of yours? Attacking a house in broad day light? Maffeo is going to flip if he finds..." The ferret snarl's at the vulpine, "You let me deal with Maffeo. Just do you job and find Sibyl. We need to..." The ferret catches himself, "Save her from these beasts." He says angrily. In response the fox holds up his paws defensively, "Alright alright, fine I'll keep looking. Just keep your tail on, ok?"

Abel slips down the servants' stairs, seemingly unnoticed. Fortunately for him, the stairs lead to a corridor that most everyone besides slaves would completely overlook. He slips through quickly, peeking into a few of the main rooms through the cleverly hidden servants' entrances, trying to find Sybil.

"Abel!" Whispers a familiar voice from around the corner. The fattened lizard has found this to be a good hiding place from her former coworkers, "What are you doing here?" Sibyl hisses. Beyond the corridor teh fox moves off to another part of the mansion. Korudon...simply vanishes from view. It is hard to say where he went.

Abel frowns at the lizard. "What is going on? Where is my owner?" He sighs. "It is my...my duty to find and protect him, and *you* are going to help me do that. You know that 'guest' Master wanted me to see? Your old boss. I think somebody told him you were hiding out here, and he launched an ambush to capture you."

The lizard doesn't look too pleased with this comment, "Are you joking!? There are four thieves guild members here. The fox out there with the bow, I saw a hare leading the servents into the kitchens, i have no idea where Galyn went...and then there is Korudon. We need to get out of here!" She very nearly shouts. Darn the squirrel and his nobel minded loyalty! It's going to get her killed!

Abel frowns angrily. "Keep your voice down, you do realize that if I don't attempt to save my Master, I *will* be executed should something untoward happen to him? I know I'm just a lowly slave, and that my life isn't worth anything at all, but it's my life, and I rather like to be alive, thank you very much." There is anger in his voice.

The lizard pulls at her snout, she hisses something only which a lizard would understand and finely sighs, "Alright, fine. Let's do things your way and get ourselves killed. And if we survive this you better convince your master to hire better guards!" Shaking her head Sibyl gestures for the squirrel to follow. This was going to be one of those days...