House of Masks 004b

[3/5/2013 8:43:33 PM] Josie: All right. It's a quick trip to the Lower Quarter, which you're probably already somewhat familiar with, and then to the Hard Times--then up the steps and to the door of Ulisse's rooms. The boy at the coffeecounter doesn't even blink as you walk past. [3/5/2013 8:44:09 PM] Arwen: Arwen knocks somewhat lightly on the door [3/5/2013 8:46:15 PM] Josie: He opens the door, shirtless again. "... hm. Come in. You know, people might think you're my mistress if you keep coming here." [3/5/2013 8:46:22 PM] Josie: He sidles aside to let Arwen in. [3/5/2013 8:46:59 PM] Arwen: Arwen walks quickly in and looks around. "Mistress. Right. As though you don't have a dozen other women coming up here frequently." [3/5/2013 8:47:27 PM] Josie: Ulisse: I do, but generally it's not the same one twice. [3/5/2013 8:47:39 PM] Josie: He closes the door behind you. It's fairly dim in there again. [3/5/2013 8:48:41 PM] Arwen: "I never really did it the other day....and I realize...I probably should.  I'd like to apologize for attempting to shoot you the other day. In my defense, though, I wasn't aiming for any vital organs." [3/5/2013 8:49:55 PM] Josie: Ulisse shrugs. "I appreciate the sentiment, but a lot of people try to kill me. If I held grudges I'd have a grudge list a mile long." [3/5/2013 8:50:31 PM] Arwen: "Well...it's a habit of mine. I always have to apologize. And with everyone else in that house trying to kill you...well I thought it couldn't hurt." [3/5/2013 8:51:26 PM] Josie: Ulisse: I don't think they were trying to kill me per se. They were probably trying to help Illa. [3/5/2013 8:52:21 PM] Arwen: "Speaking of, is she going to be okay?  You're complete resistance towards the subject makes it hard to gauge if she's in danger." [3/5/2013 8:52:54 PM] Josie: Ulisse folds his arms, tilts his head on one side and looks at Arwen curiously. [3/5/2013 8:53:14 PM] Arwen: "Have I said something wrong?" [3/5/2013 8:53:34 PM] Josie: Ulisse: No, I'm just trying to think of how best to answer this. ... also, we should really talk somewhere else. [3/5/2013 8:53:50 PM] Arwen: "Where would you prefer we talk?" [3/5/2013 8:53:59 PM] Josie: Ulisse: Somewhere I don't have to be myself. [3/5/2013 8:54:27 PM] Arwen: Arwen looks puzzled. "Would you rather be someone else?" [3/5/2013 8:54:42 PM] Josie: Ulisse: You have *no* idea. [3/5/2013 8:55:12 PM | Edited 8:55:29 PM] Arwen: "You're rich, have women falling all over you, and have not a care in the world. What seems to be the problem?" [3/5/2013 8:55:54 PM] Josie: Ulisse: One out of three isn't bad. [3/5/2013 8:56:13 PM] Josie: He rattles off an address in Uptown, a formerly swanky area now beloved of hipsters. "Meet me there in fifteen minutes." [3/5/2013 8:56:45 PM] Arwen: Arwen sighs. "Men." And leaves for  the location. [3/5/2013 8:57:47 PM] Josie: It takes about ten minutes to get there, really, so it's hard to tell what he means by it. It seems to be a fairly ordinary-looking restaurant, not very expensive, with solid meat-and-potatoes fare. [3/5/2013 8:58:27 PM] Josie: There's also a fairly decent selection of wines and beers and liquors of various kinds, as the place doubles as a bar. [3/5/2013 8:59:04 PM] Josie: Everything is neat, clean, and tidy, and sunlight reaches pretty much everywhere, thanks to the skylights. [3/5/2013 9:00:09 PM] Arwen: Arwen takes a seat close to a window (if there are windows). [3/5/2013 9:01:06 PM] Josie: There are not, actually. Which is sort of odd. [3/5/2013 9:01:31 PM] Arwen: Any seat then! [3/5/2013 9:01:36 PM] Josie: *nod* [3/5/2013 9:03:09 PM] Josie: After a few minutes, Ulisse walks in from a back room. He's wearing his hair neatly tied back in the same silver clasp you saw before, and a very plain, somewhat worn black coat over very plain black pants. Like the place, he too looks neat as a pin, with not a hair out of place. [3/5/2013 9:03:41 PM] Josie: He sits down across from you. "Thank you for allowing the change in venue." [3/5/2013 9:04:04 PM] Arwen: "And what exactly was wrong with the other venue?" [3/5/2013 9:05:30 PM] Josie: Ulisse: Given it's my room, I'm rather compelled to be myself there, and I would prefer not to. [3/5/2013 9:05:42 PM] Josie: Ulisse: As to whether Illa is safe... [3/5/2013 9:06:02 PM] Arwen: ".....well....is she safe or not?" [3/5/2013 9:07:08 PM] Josie: Ulisse: Honestly? No. I'm doing my best to turn that situation around. [3/5/2013 9:08:04 PM] Arwen: "Do you need help?  You have a whole house of people that are willing to help in a moment's notice." [3/5/2013 9:09:14 PM] Josie: Ulisse: Me? No, not really. I always survive somehow. [3/5/2013 9:09:45 PM] Arwen: "Still unwilling to share what the situation is?" [3/5/2013 9:09:57 PM] Josie: Ulisse: ... you see, the problem is, it's not my situation. [3/5/2013 9:10:39 PM] Josie: Ulisse: It's Illa's. I can't say I really know her all that well, but she doesn't want me to tell anyone her secret and I do try to respect that sort of request if I can. [3/5/2013 9:11:53 PM] Arwen: "You are surprisngly and undeniably trustworthy." [3/5/2013 9:12:36 PM] Josie: He waves the waiter over, and orders a turkey sandwich. And *water*. With a slice of lemon. [3/5/2013 9:14:01 PM] Josie: Ulisse: ... yes and no. It's complicated and I'm in an awkward position, generally speaking. I'd prefer it if you didn't tell anyone, really. [3/5/2013 9:15:05 PM] Arwen: "In my line of work, secrets are crucial..obviously.  I'd say I do a pretty good job at keeping them." [3/5/2013 9:16:45 PM] Josie: Ulisse: Thank you. This is what I'm like when I'm not pretending to be me. Or when I'm pretending I'm someone else. Or when I'm not pretending anything at all. [3/5/2013 9:17:41 PM] Arwen: "I must admit, you are quite enjoyable like this.  It's a lot of work to pretend to be someone else all the time. Do you never tire of it?" [3/5/2013 9:18:21 PM] Josie: Ulisse: Constantly. [3/5/2013 9:18:58 PM] Arwen: Arwen shakes head. "I can't understand.  I mean...pretending to be someone while I work is one thing...but all the time...unbareable." [3/5/2013 9:20:26 PM] Josie: Ulisse: I'm not exactly pretending to be someone else. I'm pretending to be Ulisse d'Amici. I *am* Ulisse d'Amici. [3/5/2013 9:21:31 PM] Arwen: "You, sir, are a riddle wrapped up in a mystery.  I've been wondering...Illa's not...dangerous is she?  I would be lying if I said I hadn't been curious...vampire...demon...the sort..." [3/5/2013 9:22:38 PM] Josie: Ulisse: Illa should be fine, if she's careful. She seems like a nice girl. Very devoted to her sister, likes to read. I think she's studying wizardry. [3/5/2013 9:23:33 PM] Arwen: "I understand secrecy...but I sure don't like it.  The others are worried...and they think you're doing something to her." [3/5/2013 9:24:39 PM] Josie: Ulisse: I am, technically. I suppose you could say I'm poisoning her. I *am* an assassin, after all. Well, Ulisse isn't, but I am. If that makes sense. Which it doesn't. [3/5/2013 9:25:12 PM] Arwen: "You've lost me. May I get a slower walk through of all of this?" [3/5/2013 9:27:34 PM] Josie: Ulisse: It's really all about the money. [3/5/2013 9:27:47 PM] Josie: Ulisse: ... it sounds very sordid, when I put it that way, and I suppose it is, in a way. [3/5/2013 9:29:19 PM] Josie: Ulisse: My father is on the family council, and more than that--he's sort of a... master of finances. He holds the family's money--makes it multiply, add, give birth to little coppers and platinum coins, all to benefit the d'Amici family and its vast holdings. [3/5/2013 9:30:34 PM] Arwen: Arwen nods slowly. "Money...I can understand money as a motivator. I've done...some pretty foolish things because of money. But what exactly are we talking about?  Is it...is it absentia?" [3/5/2013 9:30:46 PM] Josie: Ulisse grimaces. "Yes and no." [3/5/2013 9:31:12 PM] Arwen: Arwen sighs and smirks. "You are not making this easy." [3/5/2013 9:31:18 PM] Josie: Ulisse: When I was young--not quite of age yet--I decided I wanted to siphon away some of the family's money for projects of my own. [3/5/2013 9:31:45 PM] Josie: Ulisse: So I came up with a plan. A fairly elegant plan, if I do say so myself. [3/5/2013 9:32:08 PM] Josie: The waiter comes with his sandwich; he offers Arwen half and keeps talking. [3/5/2013 9:32:38 PM] Arwen: Arwen thinks about refusing....and then remembers she hasn't eaten all day. She accepts it graciously. [3/5/2013 9:33:02 PM] Josie: Ulisse moves the plate to the middle of the table and takes a nibble of the other sandwich-half. [3/5/2013 9:33:51 PM] Josie: Ulisse: You see, the trouble is always how do you get the money away, and how do you make sure no one knows what you do with it. [3/5/2013 9:34:30 PM] Josie: Ulisse: In my case the first part presented no difficulties; my father has the purse, and no one in the family dares to protest much as he is the one who multiplies the money. [3/5/2013 9:35:04 PM] Josie: Ulisse: And for reasons I'd rather not explain he's not likely to stop giving me money. [3/5/2013 9:35:20 PM] Josie: Ulisse: Then there's the real problem. How do you make sure no one knows what you do with the money? [3/5/2013 9:35:57 PM] Josie: Ulisse: Think about it. You're a noble--the third child of an incredibly wealthy, high-profile family who has little to no opportunity to escape the public eye for any useful period of time. [3/5/2013 9:36:47 PM] Josie: Ulisse: Under those circumstances, how would one make vast quantities of money disappear without a trace? [3/5/2013 9:37:41 PM] Arwen: Arwen shakes her head. "I don't know. Illegal activities?" [3/5/2013 9:38:30 PM] Josie: Ulisse: Better. Bad habits. [3/5/2013 9:39:09 PM] Josie: Ulisse: No one spends money like an addict, unless it's a gambler. Drinking, and women. Enough vices and no one wonders where the money goes; clearly it's all going to vices, surely. [3/5/2013 9:40:11 PM] Josie: Ulisse: All that money simply vanishes. And no one wonders where it goes. No one. [3/5/2013 9:40:33 PM] Arwen: "Are the vices not real then?" [3/5/2013 9:42:33 PM] Josie: Ulisse grimaces. "More real than I'd like. You have to do a certain amount of it to make it convincing. As little as possible. And I was stupid enough to actually try absentia. Attempts to stop have not been overly successful." [3/5/2013 9:43:05 PM] Arwen: "So what does the money actually go to? What's the project?" [3/5/2013 9:46:25 PM] Josie: Ulisse: I have *many* projects. All over the city. Some of the money goes to maintain a sort of soup kitchen on the west end of the city; some of it goes to a group of people who retrieve kidnapped slaves from Tarkishi. Quite a bit of it goes to orphanages in the city; I have one in Khelekhurro--that one's mostly orcs, I'm afraid. [3/5/2013 9:47:18 PM] Arwen: Arwen tilts head and smiles. "I never took you as the philanthropy type." [3/5/2013 9:48:33 PM] Josie: Ulisse: Believe me, Ulisse isn't. [3/5/2013 9:49:30 PM] Josie: Ulisse: My family would be beside themselves if they knew, which is why I take very good care *not* to allow them to find out. [3/5/2013 9:50:28 PM] Arwen: Arwen groans. "And there you go, losing me again.  Can I just get a straight answer out of you. Who are you?" [3/5/2013 9:51:17 PM] Arwen: "I mean, you're talking like a crazy person. Posioning, but not really posioning and an assassin, but not really an assassin...?" [3/5/2013 9:52:37 PM] Josie: Ulisse: I'm assassin-educated. Most of my family is; traditionally we study at the Academy. [3/5/2013 9:53:14 PM] Arwen: "Your family, the d'Amici family?" [3/5/2013 9:57:00 PM] Josie: Ulisse: Yes. All that black. Assassins traditionally wear black. [3/5/2013 9:57:31 PM] Josie: Ulisse: Some of us wear the family colors--red and silver as well--but I really prefer the plain black. [3/5/2013 9:59:13 PM] Arwen: "That house...do you know much about it?  The ghosts...the nightmares...anything?" [3/5/2013 10:00:12 PM] Josie: Ulisse shakes his head. "Almost nothing, unfortunately. I use some of my money to help people like Illa; that's why I'm there at all. I try to avoid my family when possible." [3/5/2013 10:01:21 PM] Arwen: "Bad things happen in that house. I'm still quite worried about Illa. Can you assure me she'll be alright?" [3/5/2013 10:02:10 PM] Josie: Ulisse: I can't. My treatments are helping her, though. I'm doing the best I can. [3/5/2013 10:02:57 PM] Arwen: Arwen nods head slowly and a solemn expression crosses her face. "There's a healer...and a sorcerer...and you think no one else can help?" [3/5/2013 10:03:53 PM] Josie: Ulisse: They can't, unfortunately. It would take significantly more than they've got to magic this particular problem away. [3/5/2013 10:04:49 PM] Arwen: "It's weird...I barely know any of them. None of us really know each other. And yet everyday we've had to trust each other with our lives.  I hate it.  I don't do well with trusting others." [3/5/2013 10:06:17 PM] Josie: Ulisse: Understandable. For what it's worth, my background checks do seem to indicate most of them are... fairly decent people. [3/5/2013 10:07:00 PM] Arwen: "That is...comforting. Thank you." [3/5/2013 10:07:33 PM | Edited 10:08:10 PM] Arwen: Arwen  smiles. It's one of those full-face smiles...eyes crinkle and everything. [3/5/2013 10:09:34 PM] Josie: He smiles back. It's not quite full-face but it's a whole lot closer to a real smile than Arwen's ever seen on him before. [3/5/2013 10:09:54 PM] Josie: Ulisse: You're welcome. Of course I'm not decent. Or Ulisse isn't, whichever you prefer. [3/5/2013 10:10:35 PM] Arwen: "There you go again!  What is the difference?  You are decent...but the Ulisse everyone else sees is not?" [3/5/2013 10:12:36 PM] Josie: Ulisse shakes his head. "I have taken a great deal of trouble over a number of decades to ensure that everyone believes Ulisse d'Amici to be an absolute bastard, figuratively at least. An addict, a drunk, a wastrel, a womanizer. I... don't like to think of myself as Ulisse. You probably wouldn't either." [3/5/2013 10:14:13 PM] Arwen: "You are a good man. Why are you telling me all of this? Wouldn't you rather keep me in the dark...it would certainly be easier to not tell me anything." [3/5/2013 10:15:33 PM] Josie: Ulisse: Several reasons. Some of them aren't kind--I could kill you if I needed to, or I could blackmail you into silence or capitulation. On the less... ghastly front, I was willing to take the gamble that if you knew, you might be willing to help me. [3/5/2013 10:16:34 PM] Arwen: "I am more than willing." [3/5/2013 10:17:58 PM] Josie: Ulisse nods. "Good. Illa has at least a few friends in that group already, but she could use another good pair of eyes regardless. Watch her condition for me; I'm too busy with my work--and Ulisse's bloody awful social schedule--to be there all the time." [3/5/2013 10:18:52 PM] Arwen: "I will do my best. Caspar seems to be keeping a careful eye on her quite well." [3/5/2013 10:19:33 PM] Josie: Ulisse: They'll make a lovely couple, I think. [3/5/2013 10:20:05 PM] Arwen: "Love is in the air in that house...somehow.  Aethon and Serafina seem to have taken quite a liking as well." [3/5/2013 10:21:10 PM] Josie: Ulisse: ... really? Surprising. Generally my cousin repels suitors like oil repels water. [3/5/2013 10:21:53 PM] Arwen: "Apparently not this time. Funny how things like that happen." [3/5/2013 10:22:50 PM] Josie: Ulisse: I *suppose* he's good enough. [3/5/2013 10:23:09 PM] Arwen: "High standards for your cousin, then?" [3/5/2013 10:23:46 PM] Josie: Ulisse: She's a sweet sort of girl. ... can't stand Ulisse, naturally, but I've always thought the world of her. [3/5/2013 10:24:54 PM] Arwen: "Well, if it's any consulation, I find you quite charming. She seems very sweet. We will have to see what happens with all these possibilities." [3/5/2013 10:26:24 PM] Josie: Ulisse: I'm quite capable of being charming. ... so is Ulisse, but in a rather different way. [3/5/2013 10:27:05 PM] Arwen: "Oh I've heard about Ulisse's charm...it's quite well known...at least his charm towards...prostitutes. Or so I've heard at least." [3/5/2013 10:28:59 PM] Josie: He grimaces. "One does as little as possible to convince other people one is a *complete* ass." [3/5/2013 10:30:10 PM] Arwen: "You did quite a nice job. I mean, that first time we met, I was convinced. My ideas now about you are quite different though...luckily for you. I probably won't be attempting to shoot you in the near future." [3/5/2013 10:32:33 PM] Josie: He shrugs. "I am an absentia addict. I pour as many of Ulisse's drinks into potted plants as I can get away with, and I 'pass out' next to women as often as I dare. But I'm no saint; I have a lot to make up for." [3/5/2013 10:33:17 PM] Arwen: "What exactly do you have to make up for?" [3/5/2013 10:33:51 PM] Josie: Ulisse: That's a family secret of sorts that I'm not at liberty to divulge. [3/5/2013 10:34:32 PM] Arwen: "Ahh more secrets. Of course." [3/5/2013 10:34:46 PM] Josie: Ulisse: Sorry. It's not entirely mine. [3/5/2013 10:35:32 PM] Arwen: "Seems to be a running theme. That's alright.  You've told me quite a bit already.  I understand and I am greatful for what you have said." [3/5/2013 10:36:48 PM] Josie: Ulisse: Still, I hate to disappoint. I've been so damned rude to all of you people I ought to be kind and obliging for at least a week. Of course I won't be. [3/5/2013 10:37:55 PM] Arwen: "Don't want to ruin your cover of being an ass." [3/5/2013 10:38:29 PM] Josie: Ulisse: Oh, I am an ass. Just not the ass I present Ulisse as. [3/5/2013 10:38:56 PM] Arwen: "There's different types of being an ass?" [3/5/2013 10:39:05 PM] Arwen: "This is news to me!" [3/5/2013 10:40:07 PM] Josie: Ulisse: I'm the arrogant, bossy, cold type. I do a very good impression of being the drunken sot type, however, wouldn't you agree? [3/5/2013 10:41:01 PM] Arwen: "....Yeah...agreed..." [3/5/2013 10:41:35 PM] Arwen: "How am I to act around you now that I know all this? Do I go back to treating you like the drunken ass you pretend to be?" [3/5/2013 10:42:31 PM] Josie: Ulisse: ... probably. I've slipped a bit in front of the others--having one's brains nearly bashed in after a previous bad wounding isn't really conducive to thinking straight. [3/5/2013 10:44:39 PM] Arwen: "I think they're thinking you're not too bad after that incident...I mean...I sure thought you were pleasant...the others are probably thinking you're not as wretched now." [3/5/2013 10:45:49 PM] Josie: Ulisse grimaces. "Damn. I might have to tell them, but I'd rather not just yet. I need some sort of leverage over them all before I do that. Blackmail is an ugly word but it's a whole lot nicer-sounding than 'murder.'" [3/5/2013 10:46:28 PM] Arwen: "Murder? You'd go so far as to murder them? And why do you need leverage? You're plotting something, aren't you?" [3/5/2013 10:47:29 PM] Josie: Ulisse: ... I don't know. I've never murdered anyone to protect my projects before. I've never had to. But children and a lot of other people depend on me, I can't jeopardize that. [3/5/2013 10:48:08 PM] Josie: Ulisse: I need leverage over them. Something I can blackmail them all with so that they won't expose me. Otherwise I can't possibly even consider telling them any of this. [3/5/2013 10:49:10 PM] Josie: Ulisse: People depend on me. [3/5/2013 10:49:56 PM] Arwen: "Then don't tell them! It's as easy as that. Blackmail is awful and dirty...and...it's an awful thing to put them through. And they don't deserve to be blackmailed." [3/5/2013 10:50:05 PM] Josie: Ulisse: That's what being a noble's about, really. It's not parties and fast horses; it's doing what you can for people who can't. ... and if my father could hear me he'd assume I was doing some sort of impression of him. [3/5/2013 10:51:37 PM] Josie: Ulisse: I'd rather blackmail 'em than kill 'em. [3/5/2013 10:52:30 PM] Arwen: "There's an alternative better than both of those: fake it. Keep your act up for as long as possible around them. That's probably in the best interest of everybody involved." [3/5/2013 10:54:37 PM] Josie: Ulisse: ... you're right, unfortunately. [3/5/2013 10:54:40 PM] Josie: He grimaces again. [3/5/2013 10:55:14 PM] Arwen: Arwen smiles. "I'm right?  I mean...of course I'm right. pshh.  I'm never right. This is rare. Let me bathe in this exciting moment." [3/5/2013 10:58:02 PM] Josie: Ulisse: It was nice to... not be me. [3/5/2013 10:58:50 PM] Arwen: "I'm glad I was given the priviledge to see you not being you." [3/5/2013 11:00:53 PM] Josie: Ulisse: Very few are. Vittorio. It's what I call myself when I'm... not being me. Victory. In the war of attrition against my family's darker elements. [3/5/2013 11:01:58 PM] Arwen: "Vittorio...I like it." She stands up. "I should be getting back. It was lovely speaking with you...Vittorio." She smile again. [3/5/2013 11:04:12 PM] Josie: He stands up and bows, politely. "Likewise. Have a safe walk home." [3/5/2013 11:04:50 PM] Arwen: "I shall try!" [3/5/2013 11:05:41 PM] Arwen: And with that, she leaves. [3/5/2013 11:05:50 PM] Josie: And there we go. :)