Giang

[Color Me Fubar]

"All right, all right, I get it," she said stiffly, getting to her feet and brushing herself off. "Now that the dirty's work all done, time to figure out what I was doing earlier."  

[Heavy-Metal-Hippie]

Cobain rose, kicking his bardiche into the air with his toe and catching it in his left hand. "Were we trying to find whoever it was that attacked Esole?"  

[Color Me Fubar]

"That would be helpful, but I have the feeling whoever did is long gone, if they were even here to start with," she grumbled, doing her best to ignore the ache. "And unless you'd like me shielded as well, we'd best leave it until we know more about it."
Frowning, she stared straight ahead as she strolled through the trees. "No, I wanted to find out who's pulling the strings in this town. It has to be a darkfriend, that's for certain."  

[Heavy-Metal-Hippie]

"We could talk to Karem," Cobain suggested slowly. "I'm fairly certain he wouldn't side with those people, but he may know people that do. I can't say anything for sure, though."  

[Color Me Fubar]

"Karem again," she muttered. "Considering he must know every lowlife within a hundred miles of this town, that's not a bad idea. But I don't trust him."
That said, she quickened her pace. "Come on," she said impatiently. "I remember how to get there."  

[Heavy-Metal-Hippie]

((*Spots Xenosaga in your signature* Could not STAND that ******** game. scream Sat through ungodly long cut scenes and the combat style was s**t. Everything was reversed! X was "go back" and triangle was "go ahead". Why? Why do that??))
"He's not really a bad person, Kiae." Cobain said, shooting her a glance sideways. "He's just not a saint, either. There are worse people in the world." He caught up to Kiae, and couldn't help but chuckle at poor Karem's impending meeting with Kiae.
((Sorry 'bout the rant. It had to happen. mrgreen ))  

[Color Me Fubar]

(I had to get used to it. I still do, when I play it. xd But I just liked the game, so eh. And I assume you'll be playing Karem?)

"We'll see about that," she replied primly, already relishing the idea of Karem's face when he saw her. She needed something to distract her, and a fight with an imbalanced, drunken old sod sounded pretty good at the moment.  

[Heavy-Metal-Hippie]

((Nah, I was gonna let Shrinky-Dinks handle it. rofl Yeah, I got it.))
"Poor Karem." Cobain chuckled to himself, shaking his head. He had been forced to face Kiae's wrath before, and it wasn't pretty.  

[Color Me Fubar]

Kiae raised her eyebrow at this remark, but found herself in front of Karem's house soon enough. It was on the outskirts of the village, hidden away in the trees, and she crossed her arms impatiently.
"Going in first?" she asked pointedly.  

[Heavy-Metal-Hippie]

"Yes, I suppose so." Cobain said, grinning. He put his hand on the doorknob and turned, then frowned. "Something's wrong, I think. It's locked." He said, his brow furrowing. Karem never locked his door. "Give me some space." He said, nudging Kiae back a step and stepping back a pace. "Karem, man. If you don't open the damn door I'm gonna kick it down, we need to talk to you." He called.
((I think I'm gonna throw a bit of a twist into this, if you don't mind. mrgreen ))  

[Color Me Fubar]

"There's no need to be pushy," she sighed, obligingly taking a step back and watching her Warder yell in amusement. "Do you think he heard me coming and ran out the back?" she suggested.

(Sure, go 'head.)  

[Heavy-Metal-Hippie]

"It's just how I am. I'm a pirate, Kiae. And no, I don't think so. He never locks the door. He's rather hospitable." He went on, waiting for a response and then raising a foot and slamming it into the door, next to the handle. The door swung inward, the latch snapping. "Told 'im." Cobain began, then stopped. He took a step into the house, stunned.
Karem sat tied to a chair, bleeding from one nostril and drool dripping form the corner of his mouth. "Oh, no." Cobain said softly, seeing a bowl of powder sitting on the table. He jumped forward, bringing his bardiche to bear and scanning the room. "Trollocs." he said grimly, recognizing the smell but seeing nothing. Karem looked at him with glazed eyes, blinking slowly.  

[Color Me Fubar]

Kiae wrinkled her nose in disgust, the smell hitting her like a brick wall. Gingerly stepping inside, she picked her way through the debris to the man in the chair.
"I should have known," she said grimly, crouching next to the man. "I'm surprised they let him alive," she added, preparing a healing weave for the man. "What where they doing here?"

(Were you going to kill him, or do I heal him?)  

[Heavy-Metal-Hippie]

((Heal him. He actually needs a forced come-down to be coherent, but Cobain's got that covered.))
"They were probably ordered." Cobain said shortly, walking to the cabinets and searching around. "I suppose they didn't figure on someone finding him before the overdose killed him." He came back with a small vial. "Heal his wounds, if he has any. This stuff'll do the rest."  

[Color Me Fubar]

"Now, Cobain, what makes you think I can't heal someone who's obviously had too much of his own herbs?" she asked; her tone was innocent, but her smile was wicked now that she knew the true cause of his current state.
She Healed the wounds easily enough, and took a certain pleasure in watching the man jerk back to reality.

(I had to...)