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1050

Haxta regarded Karibi. " Do you have disguises for us, because unless you do, I doubt we're not going to draw attention. Any one of us alone might be over looked, but who would look at a group as diverse as ours and not know what they are seeing?"

1050 Day 2

Karibi shrugged and cast his eye around the shop, appraising his cohorts. She was quite right; few of them were likely to pass for native.

"Fair point." He commented. "It's not as though we look native. Or sound it, either." Marco was just about to admit defeat on this point, when a thought occurred to him.

"Hmm...well, this is a port city, so presumably off-worlders aren't too uncommon. So some of us, at least, should be able to think up cover stories. For example, I could be a passenger on a ship that's just stopping by here for fuel or maintanence. Haxta could be a tech-priest on board a vessel. Enrich and that other soldier could be security guards. And Milo could probably pass as a civilian passenger along with me. Phebia and Pahr....." He trailed off for a moment, unable to think of any plausable explanation for them.

1050 Day 2

Phebia raised one thin white eyebrow at him. "And?"

1050 Day 2

"Well.....obviously....." Karibi said vaguely, trying to think. "Ehm.....that is to say....your....talents are probably more suited to.....providing security. Yes. Security. Outside." Marco nodded, pleased to have come up with a solution. "You and Pahr can wait outside, perhaps hide in a nearby alley, and keep an eye out. If things go wrong, we'll call you and you two can come in to extract us. Simple."

Haxta sighed. " I suppose I could loan Phebia my cloak," she said reluctantly. " Turn it inside out and smear some dirt on it, and it'd look like any other ragged traveling cloak, certainly nothing a Sororitas would normally wear."

1050

Phebia frowned. "I will not, hide." She glanced at Haxta. "No thank you priestess." She moved to a rack and grabbed a simple canteen, ignoring the shopkeeper she filled it up from a tap and headed outside, looking up and down the street before spotting a crate in the shade. She headed for it and sat down ready to wait.

1049 Day 2
Octavian had been leaning against a post in the shop reading a small book that he had found on one of the many shelves listening on the conversation. He lowered the book to speak, "I think the moment of eureka is upon us. If we are being tracked as hounds would track a stag as you extrapolate then I move to suggest we grab the cocksucker by the balls by giving a false move into an ambuscade where we slaughter our tracker will due haste. But if you would rather the cocksucker continue to get a drop on us then don't be surprised when we start turning up pushing flowers in the pastier. Forgive me if I have a disposition to the idea of standing with my thumb up my ass while some mutt follows us about."

1050, Day Two

"Sounds like you were an officer in the IG," Milo said, his tone certainly not hiding what he thought of military officers. "They tried the local muscle - you think they'll try the same thing again?" Trask's tone softened. "Unfortunately, I'm inclined to believe that the next attempt on us will be made through more subtle and insidious means."

1050 Day 2

"I'm inclined to agree with Trask." Karibi said, surprised at the soldier's cursing. "Unless they're incredibly foolish, they'll have realised that they're unlikely to take us down via brute force. Any further attacks will be a lot more....subtle. Something slipped into our drinks. A sniper up on a tower from long range. A blade in the dark whilst we sleep. And if the cult is indeed connected to what's happening at the cathedral, then perha-" Marco stopped abruptly, cleared his throat, and began to speak in a different tone. "In any case, what we need now is information."

10:50 - day two

Pahr cleared his throat loudly from the doorway, then handed his new data-slate to Trask. On it was a crude drawing of three buildings, and a stick-figure. Under two of the buildings he had written:

BAR

Under the stick-figure was:

ME

A line arced upward to the top of the taller of the three buildings, from the head of the stick-figure, and a pair of crude arrows pointed at the two "bars". Pahr pointed at his eyes, and made a forking gesture outward with his first two fingers.

" Cover," he whispered, and waited for a response, hoping one of his new comrades would understand.

1051, Day Two - Milo studied the assassin's slate for a moment, then looked up. "Good idea," he said to Pahr. "You don't exactly blend, and some covering fire is always a help."

10:51 - day two

Pahr nodded; a tiny smile broke one corner of his mouth as he accepted the data-slate back. He gestured toward the door, before gliding over to it, and glancing outside.

A good investment, he thought, as he slid the slate back into his belt.

1052 Day 2

Karibi watched Phebia stalk out, followed a few moments later by the eerily silent assassin.

"Right." He said, looking around. "Well, if we split up into two teams and hit two seperate bars, we can find any possible leads a lot quicker. Now, there's a bar next door, so I suggest that Milo, Haxta and myself take that one. Enrich and Octavian are well capable of looking after themselves, so they'd be best suited to roaming a bit further out in search of a different bar. Any objections?"

1052, Day Two

"Not from me," Milo answered. "Pahr?" he asked, turning to the silent figure. "Would you mind caring for this for me in the meantime? I think this might be kind of a giveaway," he said, indicating the small "I" embossed with an eye symbol at the head of the staff. "While there aren't too many people in this cesspit who know the symbol of the Astra Telepathica, whoever we might be looking for very well could."

10:52 - day two

Pahr nodded slowly, and took the staff carefully.

He bowed deeply to Trask, "An honor," he whispered, before slinging it cautiously next to his rifle.