[Lawrince Ournel]

Lawrince checked, again, that his stiletto was near at hand, and for
comfort he fingered the velveteen bag of itching powder he carried. Ahead
was the park - normally a pretty place in the daylight the landscape was
now filled with the black shadows of trees, and only the white gravel path
shown in the dark.

The path was what the envoy followed - until he reached the still-gurgling
fountain in the center of the park. "Hello?" he softly inquired - looking
towards the small stand of trees that encircled one of the benches.

[Cari]

Batista frowned at her half-finished salad, but her displeasure was not at
the quality of the food - she was wondering why her quarry had broken his
routine. According to her unwitting informant the gentleman had been seen
at the Griffin nearly every night - for at least the last four nights. Of
course, the possible reasons were endless, and Batista decided that she
would be better off doing a bit of scouting around the festival.

After daintly dabbing her napkin to her mouth the young agent stood, lay
out the coin - plus a little extra - for the meal, and began to make her
way to the door. None of the waitresses took note, since the cloth
merchant was a fairly regular customer herself.

At the entrance of Griffin Batista stopped to get her short cloak - a
midnight blue satin that matched her blouse and walking skirt; all of
which highlighted fair skin and black silken hair, which tonight was being
worn in a practical bun. And she blessed the fact that as Batista she
could hazard a quick scan of the maid at the cloak room, since in this
guise it was known that she was a telepathic mute and none would question
lowlevel psionic activity.

Her expression did not change from polite disinterest when she picked up
an image of her suspect entering, borrowing a sheet of paper and envelope
for a hasty note, and leaving again.

[Eric]

He saw a woman get up and head towards the entrance.  Eric studied her,
frowning at the hint of familiarity in her movements...  had he met her
before? His duties for December placed him in front of MANY people, but he
was certain that she was not one of them... but she WAS familiar... Eric
moved to one side and stood half-hidden in a shadow while she retrieved
her cloak .  She could easily see him if she looked, but staying unseen
wasn't his real objective.  He wanted to test her awareness... see if she
would notice and recognize him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Eric saw Lovvorn turn away from the bar with
an overflowing tankard of ale in each pudgy fist.  The froth around his
lips indicated that he had already downed *at least* one other tankard
already.

<> thought Eric  <>

[Cari]

The hint of movement caught her eye, and even though the Golden Griffin
was a busy place Cari was careful to keep track of who was near, or
around, her.

She finished putting on her cloak and when she turned to leave her gaze
did not rest on any particular sight; however, she did find it interesting
that Mr. Hood was frequenting the Griffin this night. And she wondered if
they were on the same hunt.

[Eric Hood]

Either she had seen him and was feigning ignorance, or she had not
spotted him at all.   The former meant that she may be a professional...
possibly even the same killer for which they were searching.

Eric reached into his pocket and pulled his dagger out of its small
leather sheath.   He intended to use it... but not to draw blood.  Yet.
He watched to see how the woman reacted to the movement.

He saw Lovvorn approaching.   Hopefully the idiot-mage would know
enough to stay quiet and not interfe-

[Lovvorn]

"Well HELLOOO there!"   Lovvorn smiled giddily at the woman as he
walked up.  "I am Lovvorn, Mage Extraordinaire!   I say...Haven't I seen
your loveliness somewhere before?  In a dream perhaps?"

[Cari]

The flicker of the dagger had definitely caught Cari's attention, though
her expression remained impassive as she prepared to activate a warding.
Nor did the sight of Mr. Hood's congenial mage make her rest easier, since
they both seemed to have focused their attention on her.

She gave Lovvorn a puzzled smile, and after touching her throat she
signaled that the cloak girl give her a pencil and paper; though she did
carry writing materials in her pouch she wasn't about to startle Mr. Hood
by reaching for the bag.

-A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Lovvorn- she wrote, giving the
drunken mage a polite smile and the note.

Cari was staying aware of the mage's lethal companion, though her
attention seemed to be on Lovvorn - who she gave a pretty shrug to and
turned to leave the Griffin. That the trail had led all three of them to
the Golden Griffin meant that it was a hot lead, but she was wondering if
they were responsible for the mark's no show. Had they already gotten to
him? Though that didn't explain why they were still hanging around -
unless Lovvorn had decided on a drink or two - or why they had focused on
her. Had they made her as Theisa Natch?

As she stepped from the Griffin she was already preparing a cloaking
matrix - she wanted to at least see which way the two gentlemen went. But,
hopefully, without them spotting her - it was always tricky when it came
to tracking mages and other professionals.


______________

[Lawrince Ournel]

The silence of the park quickly began to prey on Lawrince's nerves, and
after one more attempt to hail his informant he turned to go.

"Wait," someone whispered from the shadows by the fountain.

The envoy stopped. "Alright," he said sternly, "Tell me about this mage -
before he leaves the Griffin....."

"Wait.....," the voice half-sang, "Do not move.....Stay......"

Lawrince began to feel how heavy his feet and legs were becoming, and he
had noted that the voice was nearer - over in the trees. With every ounce
of desperation he threw the untied bag of itching powder in the direction
of the voice - watching white powder spilling in a pretty arc.

A strangled sneeze and curse won him free of the spell, and the envoy
bolted down the gravel path.

[Fillip/Lawrince]

Still half coughing, and with his hands clenched into fists - to keep from
tearing at his itching face and neck, Fillip choked out an entangling
spell. And from the pretty borders along the white gravel path the flower
roots began to shoot outwards, looking like erupting asps, and began
wrapping themselves around envoy's legs.

Between the shock and bad footing Lawrince pitched forward - the impact
sending the stiletto flying from his reach. Pride did not keep him from
screaming out for help.

Help that he did not believe would come.

Fillip pulled out his dagger and hurried towards the downed man.

__________

[Cari]

The street outside the Golden Griffin was quiet - a lull between the early
diners and the late gamblers, and Cari stepped back into the shadows of
the building to watch for Mr. Hood and Lovvorn.

[Eric and Lovvorn]

Lovvorn tossed an empty tankard back through into the Inn just
before the door slammed shut.   He made a motion with
his hand, and another glowing globe of light appeared a few
feet  above his head.

"Okay,"  he said.  "Let's go."   He looked up toward the roof
of the building as if he were expecting something to be there.
There wasn't.  "Hey, where's-"

"Shhh...."  said Eric as he scanned the shadows.

"Oh great, we lost him.  Frosty is going to be SO pissed-"

"If he's not here, that means somebody else IS."

"Oh,"  Lovvorn took a sip out of his second drink.  "Oh, yeah."

[Cari]

A sudden barking of angered dogs from down the street caught her
attention; the area around the park was slowly building up, with some of
the merchants building the homes around the pretty little area.
Matter-of-fact, Leticia Crisir, had been making wistful sounds about one
day having a house there. So the sound of both watchdogs and pets - all
heralding an immediate disturbance in an otherwise respectable area - made
the young agent wonder at its source. She changed her focus - calling up a
couple of offensive matrixes and began to head down the street; from her
belt she pulled out a small, slender dagger, whose hilt had appeared to be
part of the intricate design of silver and beads on her sash.

Cari considered teleporting, but decided against a sudden arrival; she
didn't know what was going on in the little park and didn't want to go in
cold.

[Eric and Lovvorn]

At the sound of the animals, both men stopped and frowned.  Lovvorn
looked around, his brow wrinkled in thought.

"Somebody's using magic,"  he said.  "Besides me."

"Dim that light and let's go."

The pair of them disappeared down the path that J'Hasp had
indicated earlier.

[Fillip/Lawrince/Cari]

As Cari neared the park she heard a man's desperate screams - sounding
even over the dogs' barking. She focused on the direction and "jaunted" -
the matrix opened up only a yard from where two men struggled.

On the gravel path ahead an older man lay, entangled in thick roots,
struggling to keep a knife from piercing any vital organs. A cloaked and
hooded individual had his victim pinned beneath his knees, and was equally
determined on planting the blade somewhere.

Something caught the assailant's attention and he looked towards where
Cari was stepping free of her teleport.


[Lovvorn]

"Ooooo!"   said Lovvorn as he stepped from the bushes.  "A real life
murder!   Can I watch!"

The mage was alone, and his dim light globe bobbed drunkenly in
the air above his head.     He was slightly out of breath from his run,
but he quenched his thirst with a healthy drink from his tankard of ale.

He winked and smiled at the woman they had seen at the Golden
Griffon.

Meanwhile, a tall thin shape detatched itself from the shadows
behind the distracted assailant.   Eric Hood walked calmly and
quickly toward the man...almost as if he were about to tap him
on the shoulder and greet him with a firm handshake.  However,
the sharp  dagger in Eric's hand signified *other,* more sinister
intentions.

[Fillip/Cari/Lawrince]

At the sight of Lovvorn's appearance the coughing assailant hissed out a
word and vanished - leaving the entangling vines to shrink back to normal
flower roots. And Cari's containment matrix to activate around the vacated
space and vanish in a shimmering of broken light.

Lawrince Ournel lay on the gravel - staring wide eyed up at Eric Hood and
the dagger.

Cari kept her own dagger palmed and hurried over to the downed man, who
definitely fit the description of the man she'd been hunting. She eyed Mr.
Hood as she neared the downed man, and readied another teleport to take
she and her quarry clear - if so needed.

[Eric and Lovvorn]

"Oh, DARN!" cried Lovvorn as the man vanished.   He quickly
cast a tracking spell, but it fizzled at his fingertips when it
encountered the assailant's anti-tracking magic.

Eric approached with his knife in plain sight.   He looked down at the
supposed victim, and then up at his rescuer... the woman from the Inn.

"I'd step back if I was you,"  said Eric.  "This man is a murderer.  You'd
better let me take care of him before he surprises you."

[To be continued.]