At the News Office

[Sedaia]

The News Office was directly nextdoor to the Town Hall, and so Sedaia made her way there. It was getting dark now, but Sedaia knew that workers of Faethaven's Paper would still be up and about. The News Office didn't close, since the printing of the paper was done on a huge multi-press that required supervision, manual labour, and hours of work. Even after the printing was completed, the children who passed out the papers had to come in, fold them and tie them, before fleeing to the streets to sell them to passerby.

Since the newspapers were so cheap, and even an old newspaper was useful, Faethaven's paper had countless readers. Though Faethaven did not enjoy complete freedom of the press, the government recognized it as a useful medium for spreading information and propaganda, and strove to remain on the good side of the Faethaven press.

Sedaia had no qualms about being deep on the newspaper's bad-side, as long as they did as they were told. In truth, Sedaia sometimes wondered if she did not put more restrictions on the press than the King. This was just another contributer to her queenly fantasies. She had to make sure that the newspaper hadn't caught her face with their special picture boxes.

Sedaia went in through the back door, ignoring the "Employees Only" sign clearly posted there. She walked past the group of people laboring at the oft-malfuntioning press. They barely glanced up at her, and no one stopped her. She went through a door into on of the small offices, and presented herself at the desk of one of "her" photographers. The scraggly young dwarf looked up from his work, nervously taking in her appearance.

"Oh... h-hello there s-Seedy." He stuttered, speaking the nickname that she happened to use in this area of town.

Sedaia smiled slyly, her voice like sugar; "Hello Ticker. How are things?"

"Oh, g-good Seedy, good! n-No problems here..."

"Oh really? Are you sure?" Sedaia said, leaning over her informant's desk.

"Well, I th-thought I was s-sure but I'm n-not so much any more..." Replied Ticker, putting down his quill and rubbing his hands together nervously.

"I was almost photographed today Ticker."

"Oh?" Ticker said, then it seemed to dawn on him, and his eyes widened in fear; "OHH. Oh dear."

"Oh dear indeed. I trust that I was NOT?" Sedaia was no longer smiling, and she thrumbed her fingers upon Ticker's desk impatiently.

"I d-didn't see any pictures Miss, and y-you kn-know I'd discard th-them if there were any, y-you know I would s-Seedy!"

"Yes." Sedaia said standing up straight again. "Of course you would. Now perhaps you would be so kind as to tell me who is writing the story of this evening's attack? The giant lizard?"

"Yes! Yes. Mr. Nalest is doing that story. I just made the picture reel for the article. A great event! Tommorrow's headline..." Ticker said enthusiastically. He was very happy about the story.

"Jure? He's writing? Hm." Sedaia commented, then said; "It seems I will be editing tommorrow's headline personally."

Ticker deflated, sad about this, but only nodded as Sedaia left the room to go see Jure.

[Dark-Eyes]

|Dark-Eyes|

Dark-Eyes had managed, barely, to track his quarry to the News Office, but lost her immidately after she entered the building. He cautiously entered and walked around casually, looking for her while trying to be discret. He was still dressed as a common man so he had no real worry of being noticed for who he really was except by those exceptional enough to have seen his face up close and remembered it closely. He smirked and chuckled softly as he spotted a few articles about him, some of them made him seem like a demon, while others more like a mythical creature that was simply an urban legend. He continued to walked around, keeping an eye out for the girl and trying to stay out of trouble.

[Sedaia]

Sedaia walked into the main public room of the News office, on her way to Jure's desk. She gave the room a cursory glance as she entered, but since she had been in this room hundreds of times she didn't linger on the view. She did not notice Dark Eyes, making an unusual failing in her usual vigilance. Sedaia never expected that someone might be skilled enough to follow her. Furthermore, a common fellow in the newsroom didn't attract much attention. It wasn't unusual for people to wander in off the street trying to get a sneak peek at tomorrow's paper. Sedaia went strait to Jure's desk, located in a windowless corner of the main office.

Jure was not one of the head journalists, so Sedaia was surprised that he should receive such a high profile story. Luckily, Sedaia had intimidated Jure into submission a long time ago, and knew there would be no trouble from him. Sedaia poke openly to Jure, since she didn't really expect anyone to be listening in the busy, bustling room.

"Jure!" She called in a friendly voice, helping herself to a chair and pulling it up beside him. She was seated before he had fully registered her presence.

"Oh," Said Jure, his tone suddenly depressed, "It's you."

"Of course it is? Who else? I couldn't help but visit you... your first high profile article and all. How does it go?"

"Up until just a moment ago, the article was an absolutely exemplary peice of my literary genius. I have a feeling that's about to change." He picked up a piece of paper, his movements resigned, and he handed it over to Sedaia for her inspection.

She read through the article slowly, then glanced up at him, smiling, "Why Jure! She exclaimed with false enthusiasm; "This is absolutely excellent! You did not exaggerate your talents! "

"Really?" Jure replied, perking up, "You think so?"

"Yes, it's perfect! Not only did you fulfill the dream of every newspaper columnist in making even the most exciting event tragically dull, you even managed to avoid mentioning me completely, AND you played up wonderfully on the appearance of... that high profile fellow." Sedaia grinned, and Jure smiled back.

"Yes." He said, "That bandit strikes again! He makes for good reading."

"Indeed." Sedaia relied, replacing the article, "Now, couldn't you just happen to... I don't know. Discover some startling new evidence that just happens to place more blame on this poor renegades shoulders? I think maybe a misfired shot from Dark Eye's gun, could have, perhaps, caused the death of one of the patrol officers. Don't you? Or if you want to be more elaborate, I personally think that there is significant evidence that shows our outlaw helping the monster into the city. What do you think?"


"But Ms. Seedy! That's outright fabrication!" Jure sputtered, his voice hushed.

"If you value your wife, I know you'll get over it." Sedaia said grinning.

[Dark-Eyes]

|Dark-Eyes|

Dark-Eyes waited for awhile and began to get fidgety. He wondered if she had simply been leading him on and then ditched him in this building. He was beginning to curse under his breath and getting ready to leave when suddenly she reentered the main room. 'There she is...'[/b] he thought to himself finally, letting out a sigh of relief. Dark-Eyes watched as the girl walked off once again, this time to one of the writers' desks. He cautiously listened in on their conversation, careful not to get caught.
'Misfired shot!?'[/b] he thought, more outraged by the fact that she suggested that he misfired then the fact that he was being blamed for yet another incident. 'What the hell!?'[/b] he gritted his teeth and listened in to the end of the conversation. He would have to talk to this man, Jure, after she left. 'So her name is Seedy, huh?'[/b] he thought to himself. She would be harder to track anyway.
"If he doesn't listen then it'll just be one less writer spreading lies about me." he muttered as he made sure to watch for Seedy's leaving.

[/color]

[Sedaia]

Sedaia spoke with Jure for a few more moments, all in whispers. At first, Jure was outraged, but as the conversation grew closer and quieter, he became pale. Sedaia lingered for only a bit more, as Jure nodded cooperatively and Sedaia pointed to particular bits of his article he might 'improve'.

Sedaia then stood, clapping the silent journalist on the shoulder. Then, with swift feet, Sedaia walked along the wall and slipped into one of the back hallways. All of the newspaper administration had private offices back here, and though most people were not allowed in this employee area, Sedaia was a familiar enough face that many thought she WAS an employee. She then slipped out a back door, and continued onto the street, just outside the news office, in a quiet side alley filled with yesterdays unsold prints. There she stopped momentarily, to consider her next destination.

[Sedaia]

((MSN Post, Sedaia (as Jure) and Dark-Eyes))

Taking Seedy's leave as his cue, Dark-Eyes walked almost casually up to Jure's desk. He stared intently at the man, trying to hide his annoyance with the comments made about his skills in accuracy. "Hello, Mr. Nalest is it?" he started, "May I just call you Jure?" Dark-Eyes cracked a wry grin as he began his 'interrogation'. "I have been told recently that you have come to be the lucky writer to

"...I'm very busy." Jure said grumpily, still tense after the visit from Seedy. He didn't want to talk to anyone just then. He gave the man a long look, trying to decide if he recognized the face. He finally decided he didn't, and looked back down at his article, which he now had to edit... again.

"Perhaps I'll just have to be a little more forward about my visit" he said somewhat miffed about being brushed off so casually. "I think that it would be in your best interest to not print that a bullet from my gun misfired, and that you tell me everything that you know about Ms. Seedy whom you were just speaking with" he said, hoping to that the man would get the blatant hint.

"!!!G-G-G Buh!!!" Jure stuttered stupidly, his head popping up, and his eyes going wide, "D-D-D-Dar....k." He cut off in a gulp. He was being threatened... again. Maybe he DIDN'T want to get the big stories. "I... don't know much." He said in a strangled voice, avoiding mentioning the 'misfired shot' comment.

Dark-Eyes grinned and continued to look intently at the man. "Well you had better tell me what you know, then we'll address my role in that beast's attack that has made you so sought after."

Jure nodded fast and agreeably. He was talking to a notorious murderer while sitting at his desk. It was as bad as talking to Seedy. "Well... as you heard, round about here we call her Seedy. Though once she came with a crowd... to push about the administration... and they called her "Ms. Dai" or "Milady". Whatever. She's bad news... ummm..." He thought hard about more he could say. He wanted to please this man so that he would go away without wholesale slaughter. To hell with what Seedy would do once she found out! He wanted to save his skin right now. And maybe, Jure thought, if he was lucky, Dark-Eyes would kill her and he'd never have to deal with either of them ever again. "I'm not sure if she's a political fat cat... some important lady in government. She has implied it a few times. She does seem like she has good breeding but... she doesn't act like it. I'd say a common thief, but then again she has men." Jure was guessing. He was trying to avoid specifics unless asked; specifics like say, when Sedaia had first come, other things she'd done or edited...

Dark-Eyes narrowed his gaze as he considered the information already handed to him. 'So I still don't have her true name, but it seems that I have underestimated this woman's power'[/b] he thought to himself. Dark-Eyes didn't care too much about her past as of yet, hoping to simply find out where she worked who worked for her and what her true name was. "Now tell me, Mr. Nalest. You wouldn't happen to know where she lives or works or maybe you recognized one of the members of her crowd from before? I assume that you must have a good memory given your line of work." he asked, very much hoping to get a straight answer. He also began hoping that this man wasn't completely under her employ either as he really didn't want to have to sleep with one eye open as he had done so many times in the past.

"Well... I think that she lives among the Great Houses. One of her lackeys mentioned a mansion, and there aren't many mansions except in the Nobility's sectors... And as for recognizing the other members of her crowd, well, they're dodgy characters. Big strong arms with angry eyes. But as a matter of fact," Jure said with a smirk, "One of them is named Boast and frequents the Rusty Rapier."

"I see..." Dark-Eyes said, again taking in the information and making a mental note. He knew of most of the older nobles from his younger days, though not sure which still lived, so the younger nobles would be the ones he needed to investigate. However, the one named Boast would be something to do maybe that night even. "Alright, now tell me what you know of 'Boast', are they a man or a woman and do you know when they generally grace the Rapier with their presence." he was finally coming closer to finding out something of worth about this woman. It also came to his attention that her previous interest in him might lead to some unwanted attention, however these 'visitor' might provide even more answers.

"Boast was the biggest man I'd ever seen. His head near brushed the roof. I think he has some mixed blood in him. Maybe a bear. He was mean enough for it- and he was a bigmouth, that's how I heard his name. He made the woman really angry. I heard from my friend Art who saw him too, whose friend Kasid frequents the tavern after the dinner hour of a night. So I'd assume that's when Boast was seen." Jure paused for a long moment; "Sir, if you don't mind me mentioning Sir, Seedy seems to have an unhealthy interest in making you look bad. Sir."

"Yes, it would seem so. I'm not too worried about that as she isn't the first and probably not the worst. Besides, I'm not the easiest man to kill" he said with a smirk. He looked around to make sure he wasn't drawing too much attention then returned his attention to Jure. "Now I suppose unless there is anything else of importance you wish to speak of then do it now, if not then let us address the matter of my role in the attack earlier."

Jure gulped again, and wracked his brain, hoping he knew more of Seedy so he could avoid the topic of the attack for longer. The article was already written after all! "Umm..." He said, "Umm. Seedy is dangerous? A heh... huh." He hung his head. "Fine. What is there to discuss?"

"Well, I hope that you haven't painted me into too much of a bad position" he said, his smirk leaving his face entirely. "I played no more or no less a part then any of the other combatants and I had nothing to do with the creature's entrance to the city, that I leave to the incompetence of the obviously blind guards this city employs."

Jure made a choked noise; "I know," he said softy, "but the truth can kill." Jure looked down at the article. It was a great work. It was his work. And he hated it, because he knew it was full of plot holes and lies and propaganda that shouldn't have any place in the news, "I can't print your name without the baggage it's gathered. I'm sorry."

Dark-Eyes sighed and shook his head. "Fine, whatever... I didn't think I'd get much for my troubles in that respect" he said before turning to leave. He was about to walk off, but then stopped and slowly turned and faced Jure once again. "I suppose I did not come here to steal so here" he said dropping some coin on the desk from his pocket, "thank you for your help and watch your back, stay in my good books and I just might watch it too, something good to have in certain dark ally-ways I assure you."

Jure nodded quickly. "Yes. Thank you." he said, relieved that he wasn't going to be interrogated further. "I'll try to... balance the rumors with... logic, if nothing else." Now go away He thought.

Dark-Eyes was glad to have a rather peaceful interaction with somebody other then Guy for once and turned to walk away again. He carefully made his way out of the building, doing his best to avoid having someone see his face directly without drawing too much attention. Once outside he sighed and started going over what he had learned as to not forget anything important. 'Maybe I'll pay Boast a little visit later tonight.'[/b] he thought looking up to the sky trying to figure out what time it was approximately.

[Dark-Eyes]

|Dark-Eyes|

Dark-Eyes, having already decided against trying to track Seedy, now began walking towards the Rusty Rapier. He would make Boast talk; the man would spill the contents of his mind or Dark-Eyes would spill the contents of his gut.

[Sedaia]

Sedaia considered where she should head to. She still had business to attend to. She wanted to go to Sanctuary to feel out the guardsmen there. Quite a few of their own had died, and the newspaper was NOT portraying them in good light on the morrow. Sedaia wanted to know what she could do to increase tempers among the militant folk of Faethaven. Bad tempers in a time of high profile always caused problems for Faethaven's guard, and problems for the guard generally meant good business for Sedaia.

Furthermore, the raid that her cohorts were planning was sure to plummet the guard's reputation into further despairity. Sedaia wanted all thing's aligned correctly.

But first, she knew, she had to visit the residencies of the cliffs. Her agents had recently purchased an orphanage in the name of the House Ramort enthusiasts, and Sedaia needed to make a personal appearance.

The trip to Sanctuary would have to wait. If not until later tonight, then until the morrow.