riverviewlogs | [closed] There is a terrible cost to dark magic, but you know what they say

[There's nothing that Taako can specifically put his finger on that made him thought Rin would be okay with bending the rules a little; it was more just a few hints here and there, and a bit of a gamble in bringing it up, but so far, so good.

It's how they end up at an auction, for the first part of their evening, the only issue being that none of this is strictly legal; just like Fearun, there's some magic that even the openness of Riverview doesn't allow, and Taako had thought Rin might find it as interesting as he does. He, personally, has no plans to buy anything, but that doesn't mean he can't have fun with it.

(Taako isn't dressed up quite as much as he was at the masquerade, but he's still pretty happy with his dress, and his glamour is on as always.)

When the auctioneer brings out the next item, Taako tilts his head slightly, then very subtly casts detect magic, before leaning over to whisper in Rin's ear:]

That's fake as hell.

[ Rin does his best to seem innocent--or, at the very least, innocuous. Grave robbing comes with the territory when you're an adventurer of any stripe, though, and it's so easy for that predilection to extend into other types of robbing, too. And swindling. And shady deals. And so on.

(Rin, for his part, has definitely been hitting up the local hot topic. He likes the cravats.) ]

Right? Completely insulting that they'd pass it off as otherwise.

[ He rolls his eyes as the auctioneer goes on about the item--an urn allegedly filled with the magical, healing ashes of a sacred prophet. ]

It's probably his grandmother in there.

This kinda shit makes me wish I could cast zone of truth, just light that fucker up.

[It would, admittedly, be pretty funny to watch this guy spill the beans mid-attempted swindle, and Taako is petty enough that he'd get a kick out of it.]

[ Rin's actually pretty glad that Taako can't cast that spell, mostly for his own self-preservation. Truth spells; what a nuisance.

Out loud, he just laughs, quietly, in that tittering patrician way--as is appropriate for shady auctions. ]

Ooh, if only. He doesn't seem to have nearly the mental fortitude required to resist it.

[ People are bidding on the thing anyway, some quite desperately. Rin mutters. ]

A fool born every minute.

[Taako chuckles under his breath, watching the bidding for a moment longer before he adds:]

Listen, normally I'm all for tricking some dipshits who don't know better, but I am kinda tempted to spill the beans just to see what happens.

[The only thing better than running a con is ruining someone else's for shits and giggles.]

Hmm, well.

[ Rin suddenly rises from his seat, his expression wracked with pain. He stumbles forward, gasping, clutching his chest. ]

My heart--something's wrong, terribly wrong.

[ He gasps as he collapses to his knees. Real sweat beads at his throat, shines on his forehead. He reaches for the urn. ]

Please, if this item is as powerful as you say--please, heal me! I'll pay anything, anything--

[ His voice is choked, frightened. A clamor arises among the bidders.

The auctioneer clearly has no idea what the fuck is going on. ]

[There is a very brief moment where Taako is concerned that something is actually wrong with Rin, before he puts two and two together. It takes another half second for him to force down the immediate grin that threatens, but he figures he can play the pause off as shock.]

Babe? Oh my god, what's wrong?

[Now he's got his shit under control, Taako is more than happy to throw himself into it; he puts a tremor in his voice as he moves like he's about the reach for Rin, only to stutter to a halt and grab for his purse instead.

Out of it comes a pouch of gold that's far too large to have fit in there, but maybe it's just a bag of holding (or it's just a very good illusion, but no one needs to know that). He holds the bag out in the direction of the auctioneer in offering.]

Please, I have the money, please help him.

[ Rin convulses on the floor, spittle flecking his lips. He moans as he struggles to get hold of himself, to stand, but--to the outside observer--his pain is simply too intense. By all logical accounts, he's literally dying.

The auctioneer is stunned. The clamor of the other attendees rises, some horrified, some fascinated, some a mixture of both. Finally, one well-heeled customer shouts, "Just help him, man!"

Backed into a corner, the auctioneer hands over the urn in exchange for Taako's pouch of gold, though his face is bright red and he's sputtering gibberish, something about how it needs the power of faith to work and nothing is guaranteed, et cetera, et cetera.

Meanwhile, Rin's breathing has turned shallow. ]

Edited 2017-08-20 14:32 (UTC)

[Wow okay fuck Rin goes hard. Like, even more than Lup's level of Extra™️, which is a significant level of it, but Taako's already thrown himself into this so they might as well play it to the finish.

Taako snatches the urn, moving back to kneel beside Rin, gently brushing some of his hair off his face.]

I have faith, just- just tell me how to use it.

[There's a part of him that kind of wants to just dump it on Rin for shits and giggles, but he's not sure if that would go down super well. Rin seems to have a pretty good sense of humour, it just might not extend quite that far and he'd rather not ruin a date that's going pretty well so far.

He's also half expecting the seller to run with the gold, which would be a pretty big clue that the ashes are bullshit while saving anyone from having to get ash on them, grandma's or not.]

[ The auctioneer is sweating bullets. Rin's groaning as though he's about to literally die. He's sprawled out on the floor, cheek pressed to tile, gasping like a fish fresh from the sea.

"Just--just a pinch of the dust! A little pinch. Very small," the auctioneer stammers. He's backing away as he speaks, and the crowd's starting to get suspicious. "No refunds!"

Then, just as Taako predicted, that guy is outta there.

On the floor, Rin coughs. ]

[It's moments like these that Taako misses Garfield, who was probably some kind of evil eldritch horror, but at least he sold good shit.

Although at least this is kinda fun; Taako makes a good show of getting out some of the dust to sprinkle on Rin (or, well, he casts minor illusion to make it look like that's what he's doing because he's being nice) and barely waits a second before declaring:]

It's fake, i's not working. Someone-- someone needs to stop him. [He does a decent job of sounding Devastated by this turn of events.] Is anyone here a cleric?

[ The crowd, now suitably stirred up, gets to its collective feet. It's maybe about a dozen people in total--this was supposed to be an exclusive event, after all--and they look like they'd be happy to break out the pitchforks and the torches if any were on hand. As it is, they just start shouting over one another, especially the people who have already purchased likely fraudulent artifacts.

(Nobody here is a cleric. They don't even seem to care much about Rin's 'maybe probably dying' predicament. Rich people.)

Rin lies on the floor, apparently dead, until it seems like the crowd has either thinned or totally turned its attention away from his situation. Then, he tugs on Taako's sleeve and mutters. ]

Did I show you a good time, or what?

Edited 2017-09-01 01:57 (UTC)

[Taako makes a half-hearted attempt at trying to get a healer, but once it's clear that they've been thoroughly distracted, he gives up on the act and just raises an eyebrow at Rin.]

That was something, alright. I'm suitably impressed.

[Taako sets the urn down, then casts a glance at the rest of the room, making a quick decision.]

The lady with that horrible snakeskin dress just left her purse on her chair, wanna split it?

[Crime????]

[ Rin pops up, then takes a dashing bow. He's not formally trained, but he thinks he's a pretty good actor.

As for the purse ... ]

You know what they say: if you can't hold on to it, you don't deserve to keep it.

[ Crime. ]

[Taako would applaud, but that might draw too much attention back to them, so he gives Rin a thumbs up instead, and then ohhhh so casually walks over to the abandoned purse. He casts another illusion, this one to replace the real purse with a fake copy, and he tucks the real one under his arm.

He's grinning when he comes back to Rin, linking their arms together and dropping his voice to a conspiratorial whisper.]

As much as I'd love to see how this whole thing plays out, there's gotta be a bottle of wine somewhere with our names on it.

[Also they just did a crime.]

Edited (finish ur sentences justine) 2017-09-01 06:40 (UTC)

[ Rin dusts himself off--that floor needs some serious sweeping--and nods. He leans against Taako, grinning. ]

Yes. Preferably somewhere several long miles away from here.

[ He directs Taako to a back entrance that he noticed upon their arrival (because checking for exit/entry points is the first thing Rin does upon entering absolutely any space), an inconspicuous door that's perfect for them to slip through. A few quiet steps and they're out, ready to disappear into the night.

With this lady's purse. ]

[There's a brief second where one of the remaining people inside turns to see Taako and Rin's quickl exit, but as soon as the door is shut behind them Taako waves a hand over it, casting arcane lock.]

Somewhere far away and expensive.

[He's literally already rifling through the purse without needing to let go of Rin, it's a talent.]

Or did we have reservations I should be taking into consideration here?

No reservations--but there's a very exclusive little bar just over this-a-way --

[ He gestures down some brightly lit road as they keep walking -- ]

-- with a hostess who lets me right through if I bat my eyes enough.

[ Being selectively bred for attractiveness does have occasional perks! ]

[Well, that works too!

Taako makes quick work of taking anything seemingly valuable and/or useful out of the purse and slipping it into his own. They can go through the specifics later, but he wants to be able to toss the woman's purse aside, getting rid of the evidence and all that, which is exactly what he does as they walk towards this bar of Rin's.]

Is that gonna work if you're with a date, or are we suddenly a two for one kinda deal?

[He's kidding.

Maybe.]

She seems to have a thing for the ears, so--

[ He shrugs, grinning. ]

--could be. But I think she just likes to look.

[ He watches Taako riffle through the purse, nodding in approval as Taako transfers money, jewelry, etc., from one bag to another. Rin will maintain that he is but a simple merchant--but all businessmen are thieves. All the successful ones, anyway. ]

[It's a shame to toss away a nice purse, but - evidence, so once he's got everything valuable out of it, the poor thing goes into a bin.

The ears comment makes him laugh, but the rest...]

Oh, well, I can work with that.

[Taako says it like a joke, playing along with whatever exactly this is, but his smile is maybe a little too sharp for it to be anything but genuine on that account.

Can't blame a guy for his kinks.]

[ Rin's not here to judge. Especially not after their shared criminal activity. ]

Hell, with you along, we might even drink for free.

[ He nods to a nondescript building just ahead. It's the kind of bar that's so fancy (and pretentious) that it doesn't need to announce itself, not beyond a simple black door with a gold-embossed plate--the apothecary, in small, curving letters. ]

[He can't believe that Rin is a hipster.

(He absolutely can).]

You know, I can't think of a single way this night could get better.

[He says it with just a hint of a smirk, which ruins the innocent tone of voice.]

[closed] There is a terrible cost to dark magic, but you know what they say

rin!

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