10-18-2015, 09:04 AM
The Nealaphhs followed the human woman up the rickety wooden stairs of the bar, keeping their awareness extended as much as possible. It did not detect any hostile intent in the female's brain, at least on the surface, but it was always good to remain on guard when in the presence of morally liberal company. The five denizens landed on the second floor in what amounted to little more than furnished attic, with a singular oil lamp casting a meager light on the collected brigands. That, along with the small spears of light that poked through the thatching that one had to duck to avoid grazing with their scalp. The three bodyguards quite conspicuously blocked the stairs back down into the tavern itself, but Nealaphh was not immediately threatened; if need be, it could quite easily defend itself. The trick was trying to reveal as little of its true nature as possible to this inquisitive pirate royal. It stood as a testament to Lady's business-like demeanor that she pulled a stool up to a small table that occupied a majority of the room. With a deep sigh, she eased herself on to her own perch and gave The Body another looking over before continuing.
"Roit then, what kinda information are ye lookin' fer?" she said bluntly, clasping her hands under her chin and leaning forward. It was really a rather amiable physical gesture, one which the Nealaphhs were unsure of how to respond to. Blinking slowly, The Body conveyed the words that the God-Minds had agreed upon.
"A portal, or, at least a secret route to one of Coruscant's less reputable tiers. Do you know of such a thing?" Nealaphh asked slowly, making sure its words were understood. It was highly tempting to simply raid the woman's mind for the data, but again, this entire interaction had to be a matter of discretion. Nealaphh had already made itself quite the target across several key areas of the Omniverse; it wouldn't do to become an outlaw in a place where it could feasibly avoid persecution quite easily. Maybe, back when it had the full extent of its mental powers, it could have stolen the information without Lady even noticing, but Nealaphh was unsure of how thin its telepathic prowess had been spread, and this human seemed rather sharp as well. Lady took great pains to facially illustrate how much trouble she was coming up with an answer to Nealaphh's question, which rendered the God-Minds rather suspicious.
"A smugglers niche, eh? That's some 'spensive knowledge yer lookin' to barter. I'd have t'know I kin trust ye not to step on me own ten toes in the future..." Lady said, flipping a lock of hair out of her wildly smug features. The Body refrained from rolling its eyes. It seemed as though this entire affair was going to be drawn out to the most strenuous degree possible.
"I can pay you an abundance of Omnilium. Name your price." The Body said in a tone that indicated nothing but the utmost confidence. Lady practically shrieked with laughter.
"Ohohohohooo. Nooo no no no Bob. This ain't about the 'nilium. This is about me own entire livelihood. These are ruthlessly guarded secrets." Lady said, taking on a tone that was more than a tad patronizing. She was about to start speaking again, but growing impatient, Nealaphh cut her off.
"These motions of subtlety pain me. What is it you want?" The Body said, leering at Lady with his indistinct eyes. Lady sat up a little straighter and rose her eyebrows, though Nealaphh couldn't tell if it was mock surprise or genuine. There was clearly more to this female than was immediately apparent. The shadows had a sinking feeling that this entire endeavor was already a wasted effort. Normally, they would not be inclined to ignore their intuition, but the situation necessitated a gambit. The alternatives were too complicated to even contemplate at the moment.
"I wanna trade one guarded secret fer another. There's another pirate bloke that runs business down in Bilgewater by the name 'o Leto Natrian. Y've probably heard 'o him." Lady said in a nonchalant manner, picking something out from under her cruddy fingernails. Perhaps she thought she was being subtle, but it was clear that she was digging for information on The Body: whether or not he was actually a local. The Nealaphhs simply nodded slowly before making a stirring motion with The Body's left hand, beckoning Lady to continue.
"Anysorts, he's one 'o the richest keel-haulin sunzabitches on this island and I wanna know his game. Yer gonna find out how he gets his 'nilium shippin' those warm bodies around, as he does." Lady said, donning a devilish grin. Nealaphh idly scratched at the nape of The Body's neck, picking some sort of small bit of embedded grime out of his skin. Not even a day old and already showing signs of its flawed design. How marvelous the human body was.
"I see. Do you have any advice for this task?" Nealaphh asked sternly, unfolding The Body's arms and idly twiddling its thumbs. Lady offered a challenging grin, and the Nealaphhs were reminded vaguely of The Smiling One for a moment. The frustration that resulted was quite evident on The Body's features, and the Secondary criminal apparently took this personally.
"Oh, I don't see fit t'be tellin' ye what I do and don't know. I still can't know fer sure that yer not workin' fer Leto. Can't make him privvy to me intelligence. You know how it goes."
This elicited a deep sigh from The Body. Of course. Nothing about this was going to be straightforward.
"Very well. I will learn what I can." The Body said, hoisting himself to his feet and turning to go back down the stairs. One of the pirate queen's toughs refused to move, however. Apparently he hadn't been excused. The entire scenario reminded the Nealaphh's of dealing with The Master...it was a scenario they hadn't thought about or experienced for quite some time, and it sat poorly with the shadows' conscience.
"We're not done yet, scrub." Lady said in a menacing tone. The Body's face screwed up into a nasty scowl, and the thug blocking the stairs was suddenly thrown with a loud crash into a pile of barrels adjacent to the stairwell. As the Nealaphhs descended the now cleared stairway, The Body heard weapons being drawn.
"Oi! I said-!" Lady started, but The Body cut her off with an imperious voice that drowned out any other verbal sentiment.
"We're done here. I agreed to this exchange of services and that is all that is required of this meeting."
"You listen here, boy. You're on my turf, y'hear? And if ye think ye c'n just-"
The Body whipped around, a green fire burning in its eyes. The situation had moved far beyond the pale of Nealaphh's now very human patience. The viridian brilliance cast a horrid light on the Secondaries' stunned visages, frozen in fear at the abrupt aggression.
"I will ever and always do as I please...and Lady...if you cross me, I promise, the pain you endure will be of mythic proportions." The Body seethed, his grip on the bannister of the stairwell audibly splintering the driftwood it was comprised of. Lady swallowed nervously but said nothing. With a sharp growl, the Nealaphhs wheeled around and stormed out of the tavern.
They had a bad feeling about this.
"Roit then, what kinda information are ye lookin' fer?" she said bluntly, clasping her hands under her chin and leaning forward. It was really a rather amiable physical gesture, one which the Nealaphhs were unsure of how to respond to. Blinking slowly, The Body conveyed the words that the God-Minds had agreed upon.
"A portal, or, at least a secret route to one of Coruscant's less reputable tiers. Do you know of such a thing?" Nealaphh asked slowly, making sure its words were understood. It was highly tempting to simply raid the woman's mind for the data, but again, this entire interaction had to be a matter of discretion. Nealaphh had already made itself quite the target across several key areas of the Omniverse; it wouldn't do to become an outlaw in a place where it could feasibly avoid persecution quite easily. Maybe, back when it had the full extent of its mental powers, it could have stolen the information without Lady even noticing, but Nealaphh was unsure of how thin its telepathic prowess had been spread, and this human seemed rather sharp as well. Lady took great pains to facially illustrate how much trouble she was coming up with an answer to Nealaphh's question, which rendered the God-Minds rather suspicious.
"A smugglers niche, eh? That's some 'spensive knowledge yer lookin' to barter. I'd have t'know I kin trust ye not to step on me own ten toes in the future..." Lady said, flipping a lock of hair out of her wildly smug features. The Body refrained from rolling its eyes. It seemed as though this entire affair was going to be drawn out to the most strenuous degree possible.
"I can pay you an abundance of Omnilium. Name your price." The Body said in a tone that indicated nothing but the utmost confidence. Lady practically shrieked with laughter.
"Ohohohohooo. Nooo no no no Bob. This ain't about the 'nilium. This is about me own entire livelihood. These are ruthlessly guarded secrets." Lady said, taking on a tone that was more than a tad patronizing. She was about to start speaking again, but growing impatient, Nealaphh cut her off.
"These motions of subtlety pain me. What is it you want?" The Body said, leering at Lady with his indistinct eyes. Lady sat up a little straighter and rose her eyebrows, though Nealaphh couldn't tell if it was mock surprise or genuine. There was clearly more to this female than was immediately apparent. The shadows had a sinking feeling that this entire endeavor was already a wasted effort. Normally, they would not be inclined to ignore their intuition, but the situation necessitated a gambit. The alternatives were too complicated to even contemplate at the moment.
"I wanna trade one guarded secret fer another. There's another pirate bloke that runs business down in Bilgewater by the name 'o Leto Natrian. Y've probably heard 'o him." Lady said in a nonchalant manner, picking something out from under her cruddy fingernails. Perhaps she thought she was being subtle, but it was clear that she was digging for information on The Body: whether or not he was actually a local. The Nealaphhs simply nodded slowly before making a stirring motion with The Body's left hand, beckoning Lady to continue.
"Anysorts, he's one 'o the richest keel-haulin sunzabitches on this island and I wanna know his game. Yer gonna find out how he gets his 'nilium shippin' those warm bodies around, as he does." Lady said, donning a devilish grin. Nealaphh idly scratched at the nape of The Body's neck, picking some sort of small bit of embedded grime out of his skin. Not even a day old and already showing signs of its flawed design. How marvelous the human body was.
"I see. Do you have any advice for this task?" Nealaphh asked sternly, unfolding The Body's arms and idly twiddling its thumbs. Lady offered a challenging grin, and the Nealaphhs were reminded vaguely of The Smiling One for a moment. The frustration that resulted was quite evident on The Body's features, and the Secondary criminal apparently took this personally.
"Oh, I don't see fit t'be tellin' ye what I do and don't know. I still can't know fer sure that yer not workin' fer Leto. Can't make him privvy to me intelligence. You know how it goes."
This elicited a deep sigh from The Body. Of course. Nothing about this was going to be straightforward.
"Very well. I will learn what I can." The Body said, hoisting himself to his feet and turning to go back down the stairs. One of the pirate queen's toughs refused to move, however. Apparently he hadn't been excused. The entire scenario reminded the Nealaphh's of dealing with The Master...it was a scenario they hadn't thought about or experienced for quite some time, and it sat poorly with the shadows' conscience.
"We're not done yet, scrub." Lady said in a menacing tone. The Body's face screwed up into a nasty scowl, and the thug blocking the stairs was suddenly thrown with a loud crash into a pile of barrels adjacent to the stairwell. As the Nealaphhs descended the now cleared stairway, The Body heard weapons being drawn.
"Oi! I said-!" Lady started, but The Body cut her off with an imperious voice that drowned out any other verbal sentiment.
"We're done here. I agreed to this exchange of services and that is all that is required of this meeting."
"You listen here, boy. You're on my turf, y'hear? And if ye think ye c'n just-"
The Body whipped around, a green fire burning in its eyes. The situation had moved far beyond the pale of Nealaphh's now very human patience. The viridian brilliance cast a horrid light on the Secondaries' stunned visages, frozen in fear at the abrupt aggression.
"I will ever and always do as I please...and Lady...if you cross me, I promise, the pain you endure will be of mythic proportions." The Body seethed, his grip on the bannister of the stairwell audibly splintering the driftwood it was comprised of. Lady swallowed nervously but said nothing. With a sharp growl, the Nealaphhs wheeled around and stormed out of the tavern.
They had a bad feeling about this.
And, we dream of home I dream of life out of here Their dreams are small My dreams don't know fear I got my heart full of hope I will change everything No matter what I'm told How impossible it seems We did it before And we'll do it again We're indestructible Even when we're tired And we've been here before Just you and I
Don't try to rescue me I don't need to be rescued
Don't try to rescue me I don't need to be rescued