NationStates Jolt Archive

The Chancelier's House, 1:27 AM

Solange Lanoire sat at her desk late at night, writing a letter long overdue to her cousin.
Ma chere Laure

The candle at the head of her desk flickered and threatened to go out. Solange heaved a sigh and looked up. It felt strange to be the influential ruler of a large country all of a sudden. It had only been a month since she’d been elected as chancelier of Sparren, and before she had been a regular citizen with hardly any responsibilities, no laws to write or balls to attend. And certainly I would have been asleep at this hour, instead of writing. I’d have more free time than I do…

Sorely tempted to throw a pity party, Solange shook her head and stood to close the window so a breeze would not be able to fly in and put out her only light source. She set her pen on the desk and walked to the window sill, rolling up her lacey sleeves. Solange pulled on the heavy frame, and was about to slide the window shut, when she spotted something out of the corner of her eye.

A glint of silver shone in the shadow of the trees as a figure moved slowly towards the house.

Bonsoir, ma dame.

OOC: Hm... very informative, that was. ;)

:?:
OOC: Are you being facetious or have you been enlightened in some way? Did I not move slowly enough through the woods?

OOC: It was irony, but I'll work with what you did give me...

Solange heard the voice clearly from the window, but saw no one, her sharp green eyes searching the forest. Nothing. It was mysterious. She stepped down from the sill and exhaled, staying low and waiting for something to happen. She rubbed her finger along her boot leg, finding comfort in the shape of the pistol inside.
After all, the Chancelier was not without enemies, and it paid to be prepared.

OOC: Room for one more?

-Double Post-

OOC: Always. So long as you're not a mad ax murderer who'll kill me on the first page. :wink:

OOC: Far from it actually. You don't mind non-humans, do you?

IC:

Out in the very same woods that stretched out in front of the residence of the Chancelier, a strange shape moved, doing its best to blend with the night. For many days he had tracked a vampire through this strange country, only to lose its trail in these accursed woods. A rather frustrated Arakesh Quickclaw seated himself at the base of a large tree, unknowingly under the balcony of the nation's leader herself. He shifted the katana that hung across his back out of his way, doing the same with his tail as he seated himself.

'The lapdog of Satan is indeed a crafty individual... although I will admit I am no master tracker...'

As he pondered the location of his quarry, his fin-ears pricked up in readyness, hearing a language he had never encountered before.

'What was that? The voice sounds like that of a softskin, yet it is not their usual language...'

The young hunter rose from the ground and crept closer to the source of the noise...

Fineus Wood was a man with a dark history. Having been exiled many years ago from Villa Toryism he has scoured the globe searching for closure. Walking through the woods the broach on his coat shone wildly from the moonlight. The twigs beneath him cracking every so often as he approached the entrance to the rather ornate house.
With a heavy sigh he pressed the buzzer to the entrance waiting for a response. He was indeed a man of mystery......

OOC: Not at all. Variety is the spice of life...

A shudder ran through Solange as her ears picked up the sound of leaves being crunched under feet. She was sure it had been those feet that belonged to the shadow with the weapon outside, and the chancelier was prepared for anything.

Solange slid to the floor and waited, unaware of the man outside the door, knocking at this late hour.

After several minutes Fineus pondered to himself quietly. He knew this place was occupied. The lights were on outside and vehicles within its compound. "Oh well, only one thing for it I guess," he thought and pulled out skull tripwire, picked the lock and walked in......

Quietly Solange listened for any movement. Nothing.
Her eyes moved across the room. A shadow flickered by the door. Only the wind, she said to herself. It must only be the wind. Solange breathed deeply and waited, wondering whether she should go downstairs and look outside.

Fineus stepped inside the dark hallway and paused for a moment,"Nice and cosy," he smiled to himself. He walked towards the kitchen and poured himself a drink from the fridge. He was relaxing and still surprised he had not seen anyone yet. He then made his way up the stairs.....

Solange made her way down the hallway, eyes darting about, checking for sounds and movement. But her sharp eyes did not see Fineus until it was too late...

The chancelier inhaled sharply and went for her weapon. "Who are you?"

Fineus spun a small handgun whipped out from his belt aimed at this ghost of a person,"Fineus, and you are?"

Arakesh moved silently through the woods, searching for the source of the noise. Apon his return to his original spot, he noticed the balcony overlooking the woods, with an open door. Arakesh pondered whether or not he should enter the building.

Solange stepped into the light with her pistol. She grinned slightly, sardonically. "Either your eyesight needs fixing or you're not from around here.."

"My name is Solange Lanoire, Chancelier of Sparren. Big brass around here."

Dobs layed the cards down on the table, a wide grin plastered across his face, "Three aces, two kings."

Ogleby tossed down his cards with a curse, "And all I had was a pair of aces."

"Hang on... that makes five aces."

Ogleby started sifting through the deck of cards, "What kind of a pack is this anyway? Where'd you get it? Bloody hell! Here's another two aces!"

"Well sod that then." Dobs began collecting up his money, "Do you think we should patrol the house again? We are supposed to be guards y'know."

"Nah, nothing ever happens here."

"Big brass,"smirked Fineus,"Well, m'lady maybe I should introduce myself,"he breathed in deeply," I am Fineus Wood 1st Son of the late King of Villa Toryism, jack of all trades and lethal weapon. Now I suggest you put your pistol down as will I."

Arakesh decided to investigate the dwelling. Running up the wall next to the balcony about eight feet, he kicked off, catching the branch of a tree across the way from the balcony. With a mighty leap, he managed to catch the railing that encircled the balcony, and heaved himself over it.

Arakesh moved in a low crouch through the office. He had never seen such decorations before in a softskin dwelling, but reminded himself that most of the softskins he had any contact with where vampires, which often didn't live in houses such as these. Slinking swiftly to a shadow next to a large bookcase, Arakesh listened to the conversation of a female and a male, who seemed to be discussing brass.

"Are you a man of honour, Sir Wood?" Solange seemed to be asking a serious question, but her eyes showed otherwise. "I am afraid that I would be quite at the disadvantage if I were to lay down my weapon and you were to not."

She leaned against the wall, weapon remaining at the ready, watching the other with steady, dark eyes.

"I do not believe you need to ask such a question young lady,"glared Fineus,"About your pistol you are at a disadvantage even in this situation however being the gentle man I am we will both lower on the three, 1.......2.......3.........

Solange, watching her opponent, gently set the pistol on the ground. "I still believe you should find yourself at a disadvantage, sirrah..."

She seemed to relax, letting herself press into the wall and attempted not to appear to be desperately scrabbling for the concealed alarm button.

"After all, I am the owner of this house as well as the fact that, as you may know, chanceliers don't become who they are out of pure dumb luck."

Arakesh rolled his eyes.

'Softskins and their guns...'

Detective Timothy Spalding was walking home from the precinct when he decided to take a shortcut through woods.

A shortcut, he decided later, he shouldn't have taken.

As he passed close by a beautiful french-inspired mansion, he noticed not one, but at least 3 shadowy figures enter the house.

He noticed one man pick the lock to the door and let himself in. "Hmmm.. either he forgot his key, or he doesn't belong there."

Drawing his 9mm service revolver, Timothy crept through the unlocked door. He could here voices, talking about brass.

However, the thing that surprised him the most was the shadowy figure of an Argonian that pressed itself flat against the wall. Sneaking up behind him, Timothy pressed the revolver against his back and quietky whispered, "What the hell is going on here Argonian? Tell me now, or I'll run you down for breaking and entering..."

Solange was becoming overwhelmed and very annoyed with the amount of uninvited guests in her house.

"Is this some kind of conspiracy?" she snapped, glaring around at the different faces that flickered in the shadows. "Or are you all just figments of my imagination?"

Arakesh reacts swiftly, batting the handgun aside with his left hand and delivering a powerful palm strike at his attacker's face with his right. Without even watching to see if his strikes connect, he steps out into the light, swiftly drawing his katana.

"Few are foolish enough to bother an Argonian hunter during a hunt..."

The necklace of vampire fangs around his neck jingles slightly as he moves, speaking of his ability as a hunter and a warrior.

Spalding reeled back from the blow delivered by the Argonian. At the same time, he realized that he no longer had his gun, an issue made worse by the sight of the Katana in the lizards hands.

Spalding slowly started creeping to where he spied his gun. He tried to mask his true intentions from the Argonian by asking him a question...

"What hunt are you talking about? This is a persons private home. Under the law of the state of Oklahoma, I have to take you in!"

The overconfident young hunter glares at him, as if the necklace speaks for itself.

"I did not enter through the door, but from the balcony. Law enforcement usually declares their entry, as to avoid un-needed firefights with weapon-owning residents."

His eyes trace the path of the officer's...

"Do not move, I have found softskins to be very 'trigger-happy' as you say, and do not wish for you to shoot me. I have found it is painful, but not as painful as a severed limb..."

The katana twitches as he states his comparison.

"I do not wish to harm you, but I will protect myself."

Sensing an overdose of testosterone from the two, Solange steps in and crosses her arms.

"Look here, please. It is two o'clock in the morning, and I'd personally rather be sleeping. Besides the fact that this is MY house, and I can do whatever I dem like in it. Including shepherd you out the front door..."

A short pause followed. "Somehow."

Spalding never took his eye off the Argonian as he turned to the lady of the house

"Look, lady. I'm with the police. I'm here to protect you from... that thing!"

Arakesh sheathes his blade and crosses his arms across his chest.

"This is not 'Oklahoma'. You have no authority here. The female carries authority. Myself, I was tracking a vampire, and lost track of him in your woods. I feared he might have entered your stone hut, so I entered myself to investigate."

Arakesh is convinced of his correctness in being in the chacellor's house, and is still a bit angry from having a weapon pointed at him.

Solange tried to make sense of the situation, then gave in.

"I truly don't know if what either of you is saying is true... most if it sounds like it's from a picture book. However, I'll give you a chance to explain yourselves in full, and then you can take your leave. But if you wish to take another way out..."

She let the sentence hang.

Arakesh simply shrugs.

"I will leave if that is your wish, but I would advise you to sleep lightly tonight."

The hunter exits the way he came, walking over to the balcony and jumping to the tree, then dropping to the ground.