Jan 06 01:52:43 110 PA - There Be Dragons There
From Chronicles
Jan 06 01:52:43 110 PA.
TRADEWINDS COFFEE SHOP
Dante walks into the coffee shop, no doubt lured by the sounds and more importantly, the scents of the house brew. A brief glance is all it takes for Dante's eyes to flick over the environs and the currently available seating and the young man begins to make his way towards the counter and presumably an empty seat there at the counter. A hand lifts and one finger is raised which then gets pointed at the house brewpot.
It's an early winter morning. But when it's this cold, every winter morning feels too early. Still this is early for other seasons even. Before the 7 o’clock breakfast rush hits. Valeriya sits at a table in the corner in her leathers with a large mug and a cinnamon bun before her as well as some sort of poster.
It is earlier for Leonard than others, as he only now arrives that the glorious purveyor of heated stimulants. The combination is of exceptional value given the hour and temperature. He moves promptly to the counter, corvid companion perched upon his right shoulder. Leonard has no desire to be kept from coffee and sweet baked goods by the soon-to-be incoming rush.
There's early and there's early, and early for some isn't so early for others. After stopping at the door to the coffeehouse to settle a dog who'd been accompanying him - "Friday, sit! - Gabriel moves inside and toward the barista, giving her a little wave as if he might actually know her on some level. Office hours might not have arrived yet, but it's a work day and he is thus clad as appropriate. The odd Valeriya perhaps gets a glance, but is left to her silence for now while he comes to a silent and comfortably polite stop behind the fellow with a leather fetish.
Receiving his coffee Dante moves to take a seat at the counter he had already picked out thanks to the early hour and pays a few credits for the drink. A glance is given over towards Valeriya, not because of her outfit or hoof shaped heels but because of the poster perhaps. That same glance extends to the other individuals who have arrived after him and their animal pets which earn them slightly longer looks. His attention however does return to his coffee after those few moments.
Valeriya takes up her coffee for a long pull as her eyes lift to look over those making their way into the coffee shop. Her gaze lingers momentarily on the tanned man in leather before settling on Leonard as she waits for him to join her.
One piping hot cup and cinnamon bun later, Leonard does, indeed, approach Valeriya's table. "Morning. I presume that you slept better than I?" He claims a seat adjacent and takes a tentative sip of coffee before ever noting the poster. Rather than ask, he leans to get a glance.
Gabriel sees both looks, and chooses to reply to Valeriya's look with a silent nod, and the leather man's look with some quiet words. "Morning. Getting read to hit the job, or trying to stay awake from a late shift?" Otherwise, any invasive conversation is left at that, and he moves up to the counter. "Morning, Tiffany! How's your sister? Gracie says hello." Yes, all neat, pressed and chipper for this hour.
Dante looks at Gabriel at his words and it takes him a few to formulate a response since by the time he is about to speak Gabriel is already talking to the staff behind the counter. He smiles a little which actually softens his appearance some before he takes a sip of his coffee and then switches his hands on his cup so he can warm the back of his fingers and hand on it. "Neither." He eventually offers forth, "But, thank you for..." He pauses, thinking, "Showing ah, interest?" He asks as if that might not be the right word, his voice has a strong accent that some might recognize as Dragonese, or Elf. Slightly musical in lilt and intonations.
"The kicker usually does sleep better than the kickee. Going to be returning to spending your nights at the library?" Valeriya answers with a nod before giving a gesture towards Dante and Gabriel and whispering something to Leonard.
Leonard can't help but chuckle at Valeriya's comment. Not that he can argue with her logic. "A few bruises are neither unexpected nor frightening." He subsequently turns his focus to the nearby gentlemen. "Morning, Gabriel," he nods before continuing to Dante, "And to you, with whom I've not had the pleasure of an introduction."
Accents can be rife around here. Gabriel's is thick with Kentucky, which makes him often sound like he's taken too many blows to the head. What's a Kentucky? Only the folks at the Museum might know. He finishes up a quick chat with the barista, pays his bill and comes away with... a glass of milk. Yup. Regular, cool glass of milk possibly straight from the cow or Fury beetle, whichever was closer. He gives the unnamed Dante a smile. "Ah, more interesting work, got it. I'm not exactly the doorman greeter here or anything, but I haven't noticed anyone in so much cowhide before," he says with a light chuckle. "Particularly with the accent you've got going on. Anyway, this is a good spot for coffee." He turns his head to look to the other duo and gives a little wave with his free hand. "Mornin' Leo."
Looking over towards Leonard Dante inclines his head politely, "I am Dante." He introduces himself to any whom might be interested then to Gabriel he looks curiously, mouths the words 'cow hide' curiously before translation works its way through his head, "Ah, I find this manner of dress is the best... most... most functional for my calling. While still being..." He pauses again working through the words before saying in Dragonese softly, "What is that word..." then snaps his fingers and continues in English, "Acceptable in a social place yes?"
Valeriya chuckles. "Clearly the man has not seen all of the 'social places' in Kingsdale. Or he'd be wearing vibro-spike armor." She notes in idle humor with a shrug before taking another pull from her coffee. She then puts the poster down which turns out to be a map. "Take a look at this Leo, it's the suggested route for the job."
"Leonard," is offered, in kind, to Dante, "A pleasure." He could potentially comment on the utility and aesthetics of leather, but instead lowers his head to the map. The raven which remains on his shoulder favors Dante with its black, studious stare. Apparently, the man is more interesting than the map, at least insofar as the bird is concerned.
"Well I should hope to be able to escape with a hasty retreat where such armor might be necessary." Dante says with a small semi-crooked smile at Valeriya's comment and he takes a sip from his coffee, a larger sip since it's cooled down somewhat. "A pleasure indeed Leonard." He pauses, "The avian. Is are such animal companions common here?" He asks curiously, glancing towards the dog that Gabriel brought in as well before turning his attention back to the table that Valeriya and Leonard share.
Valeriya gives Dante another look-over as she waits for Leonard to look over the map. "So you are new in town I take it? What brings you to Kingsdale?" She asks in a friendly fashion.
Leonard hmms aloud as he studies the route on the map. "It seems straightforward enough. I'm glad that our return should be much more rapid, however. Dull, tedious travel is not exactly something to which I'm accustomed." Eventually looking up, he notes to Dante, "Edgar is a unique individual, but there are others with similar arrangements. Still, I don't know that I'd consider it commonplace."
Dante nods at Leonard's statement and looks thoughtful as he takes another drink of his coffee, nursing the dark liquid now. "Thank you." He says in response to the answer then he directs his attention to Valeriya, "I needed a... how do you say... change of pace. I recently arrived to this city it is very different than what I was expecting."
Gabriel shakes himself out of his reverie, having dropped momentarily into his own deep thoughts and also rather rudely out of conversation. At least Leonard picked up the slack. It doesn't take him long to raise an eyebrow and obviously form questions in his mind. Hopefully they won't get locked up in deep thoughts before they get asked. Outside, Friday stays silent, though given the opportunity, who knows - she might want to chase Leonard's bird for fun. While he makes sure that he's not managing to spill his milk, he once more pulls up near the other man, but at least he knows his name; so he returns in kind. "Blaze. Gabriel Blaze. Nice to meet you Dante, that's very Renaissance. Don't suppose you wrote the 'Divine Comedy' and have come through time with information?" Indeed, he actually sounds... hopeful?
"Yeah it's different alright." Valeriya concurs to Dante before looking to Leonard. "I figure we can save ourselves a lot of travel expense and trouble if the familiars fly the legs and we portal them." She notes. "Don’t want to fight a dragon exhausted from the trip after all."
"I'm not sure that would save us from exhaustion," Leonard considers her plan, "And it wouldn't be any more rapid than travel by vehicle; possibly much less so. As much a I dislike stiff legs and boredom, they're preferable to mental exhaustion."
"No, I am afraid not." Dante says in his accented English, and definitely not an Italian accent. "I am... not from a different time and my American is not so good. I am not sure what... 'Renaissance'? What this word means." He says apologetically but the mention of familiar and perhaps dragon however perks Dante's interest, "Is this Dragon, to be hunted, is it evil?" He asks curiously, gaze flipping back and forth between the two at their booth. His coffee seems forgotten now just held in one hand.
Gabriel pauses for a moment to consider the question, and then replies in his accent, one that never sounds educated but seems to be anyway. "Renaissance? It's ah... a 'rebirth' or 'resurgence.' Specifically applied to an era of time many, many centuries past when things were better. Good to meet you, either way." He then finishes his awkward move from where he'd been hovering between counter and table. Table it is. "Is this like St. George and the Dragon, or something worse?" he asks of the two seated there.
"Well it's taken control of a small town whose residents don’t appreciate the new management. I leave the designation of evil to someone who cares. It's dangerous, I know that." Valeriya answers before shrugging to Leonard. "Well you may be tired, but the rest of the team won't be, considering the chances for encountering things other than a powerful dragon en route will be significantly limited. For that benefit we can plan a day's rest for you before we take on the dragon." Valeriya notes.
Dante nods, "I would think then that it is not good. A good dragon would not try to rule or make slaves of a town that did not wish its protection." He remembers his coffee and takes a longer drink since it's cooled off so much now and while still hot is not painfully so. "I take offense at such activities. Should you wish assistance I will offer my skills." He nods once and then falls quiet so as to not interrupt their planning session further.
Leonard adds that to his considerations and finally accepts with a nod. "That would be the most efficient," a smirk forms, "And more entertaining for me." He nurses his own drink once more as his eyes lift with Dante's comments. The brow nearest Valeriya arches her way. "Another volunteer? Are you experienced in conflict with the supernatural, Dante?" The second question is obviously directed to the counter.
Gabriel looks over the map some more and allows Leonard's question to float past, uninvolved. "You're really driving down into a bad area. Far, too." He then says more to himself than others, "I never did like Mexico." Reaching out to trace the line with his index finger, he asks, "What is that two-thousand miles you're going? Why not just bypass the southeast swing and go more directly?" After allowing his eyebrow to raise and hold for a moment, he looks between the three others who seem to have a good grasp of dragons and then asks a question that's more to his own immediate curiosity. "How did a small town in deep Mexico contact you as salvation, Val? I didn't know you had such a pan-continental reputation for freeing the downtrodden. It's a long distance for a pigeon to carry a message from under the grip of a powerful ah... dictator, I suppose."
"Blind luck?" Valeriya asks with a shrug. "A refugee who chose to escape the dictator came here looking for a solution. But the dragon hunters don’t like Mexico, and from what I've been learning in research, I'm skeptical they even hunt dragons that haven’t just hatched. So I took the job, for better or for worse."
"Mexico?" Dante asks sounding surprised, switching to Dragonese he speaks more quickly, and more to himself than anything else. "That is the realm of vampires, many of my brethren head there to fight that evil." Then in American again, "It is odd, that a dragon would choose such a location for its domain. The... local evils there are well established and well entrenched." He stands up and walks over towards Valeriya and Leonard's table as well. "I have been training to fight the supernatural for a decade. You could say I am experienced in facing supernatural threats." He smiles faintly, "It is odd, I admit, to hear of evil /dragons/ in that area. Given the location I would suggest magical travel in and out. It is not a domain one wishes to travel on foot over without the appropriate supplies, and much water."
"Well," Leonard chuckles, "Dragons can travel where they wish to, so they're hardly limited by geography. They're also not something to be taken lightly." His head tilts towards Valeriya as he comments for Gabriel, "She is quite adept at finding opportunities, especially when lucrative."
The older fellow looks on Valeriya's explanation with a dubious eye, but drops further questioning about it for now. Almost. "There must be a pretty large 'better' and lucrative part of it for you? I've never heard that it's easy to kill a dragon, let alone an adult, let alone one that has purposefully taken up residence," Gabriel offers with a nod to Leonard's wisdom. He stops to listen to Dante speak both to himself and the others, remaining quiet himself. Then, when there is a fair opening, he asks, "What would a grown dragon want with a vampire-ridden, human-run hovel of a small town in Mexico? You're sure this isn't an instance of evil begetting evil? Someone trying to suck in the heroic sorts from around North America to their demise? If not, and it's just people who need help?" He shrugs and tilts his head sideways a little. Most people around these parts would recognize his bodily comment as, 'I'm in.'
"Gems. The reason there is a town there at all is because of a lucrative gem mine. That mine has provided the town with the means to arm itself against vampires and become profitable. Dragons also like gems. So this one moved in and incorporated the mine into its horde. We evict it, we get the horde. And we establish trade with a lucrative gem mine. Everyone wins. And I stress the point of eviction. Killing a dragon is hard. Convincing it to leave is slightly easier." Valeriya offers in explanation to all.
"No." Dante says simply, "They are not limited by geography but..." He pauses, struggling with the language again it seems trying to find the right words. Finally he just switches to Dragonese, "I hope you can understand this language. American is hard for me." He pauses, then continues, "The darkness that controls Mexico, is far beyond any single dragon in scope. It seems strange to me that one would bother even trying in such hostile territory. The vampires would surely run out something that took over a source of blood. If we have heard of this then they should have as well." He also nods to what Gabriel says and switches back to American, "Yes, precisely. There is much evil in Mexico that must be destroyed, yes, one should prepare for the ah... possibility of this 'Dragon', but one should /always/ prepare for the vampires that far south." He says seriously, "My offer still presented." A nod towards Valeriya, "To help the downtrodden against evil.".
Leonard smirks, ".... .. .. ... ...... .. .... .... ... ....... ...... ... .. ....... .... ..... .. ........... .. ...... .... .. .... .. .........." (in Dragonese)
Dante nods slightly, "... ... ..... ......... .. .... .... .... ........ . .... ........ . .......... .. .... .. .......... ... .......... . ... ...... .. ......... .. ... ........ .. ..... .. .... ........" (in Dragonese)
There's a light chuckle as Gabriel takes his eyes off the map to look out the plate window and into the morning light. "Everybody winning is always a good thing," he comments. The exchange between Leonard and Dante goes by with his eyes watching somewhat as if he were at a post-Apocalyptic tennis match, where the ball is presumably spiky and the court electrified so that if you fault one of your limbs explodes. He returns to the map again. "Those are the highlands out there, if I remember correctly. That means potentially climbing gear, and caves for both dragons and vampires to hide in."
Valeriya mutters something in a dark tongue as people start changing dialects. "Well you're in the same boat as Ivan I expect, untested but eager." She notes to Dante before looking to Leonard. "We could hold tryouts. That would be fun." She offers before eyeing Gabriel. "Are you interested as well?"
Dante smiles a little amusedly, "I am far from untested but I understand your concern. It is duty, not eagerness that compels me. Should you wish to test me against the supernatural I await your challenge." He says simply and then moves to retake his seat at the counter.
Dante's comments gain a raised brow from the old soldier seated at the table. Eventually, Gabriel looks back at Valeriya and Leonard to say, "You know the old adage, right? Young folk, silly folk; old folk, cold folk. Did this town give you a time limit on evicting a rowdy tenant? What's the place's name, again? Santo Poco? They do grow some lovely senoritas down there for sailors to get the clap from."
"The place is called Creel, ring a bell?" Valeriya asks Gabriel before shaking her head to his question. "No deadline, but the sooner the better. Liberating a generation that's known nothing but slavery and knows nothing of governing itself would be waiting too long." She offers before looking back to Dante. "Your and Ivan's test well be against me in the range as soon as is convenient. Two against one should be sorta accurate for the dragon. I'll introduce you two."
"As you wish." Dante says apparently unconcerned, turning his attention back to his coffee. "I shall have to find a... what is the word... purveyor of soft armors. Especially if we are to head to Mexico... the attrition there can be... considerable."
Gabriel thinks for a moment, then shakes his head to Valeriya. "Creel? No. But Mexico's a big place and though I've been just about all over... I haven't actually been all over. I'll check out the Library though, they might have something useful. You have a topo for the area?" After sipping at his cold milk for a moment and properly dabbing at his face with a paper napkin - in a manly yet professional way - he raises his voice enough to address the counter. "There's a fellow down south on Steel Street who owns Yakov's Deli. He works in dinosaur armor, might be able to help out." A look again to Valeriya. "The Library keep books on how to kill dragons? Or does the Council and Guild keep those things under wraps out of self-interest?"
"The library said 'don’t' to that question." Valeriya answers with a shake of her head. "But I am working on consulting experts on the matter." She tells Gabriel before looking to Dante. "I'll be providing armor talismans that will give the same protection as standard environmental armor for about 9 minutes. Though additional protection is always advisable."
"I will take that under..." Dante pauses and frowns then smiles, "Advisement yes?" He looks back towards Valeriya and studies her again but he nods, "That may prove useful in emergencies." He finishes his coffee, "Dragons are challenging to kill. They have the ability to escape nearly any fatal fight. If we succeed in chasing it away, there is little stopping it from returning at a later date and taking revenge when we are not there should it survive. They naturally heal and can teleport as well as being strong in magic use. An adult is..." he pauses, "Worse." He decides is the best English word to use there. "I hope that magical travel is a possibility, traveling cross-country across Mexico will be more dangerous than the dragon."
Gabriel listens intently to Dante, smiling to encourage the use of 'advisement.' After considering things for a while, he asks Valeriya, "If they've got gems, I assume they've got mines. If they've got a dragon who likes gems, I assume he's living in the mine? I read a book once, the Hobbit. Well, it wasn't for me so much as it was for the girls, seeing as how I was working when it came out... but the fact stands that the dragon lived in a mountain and coated its chest with gold and gems. Now, I don't know from magic... but I know how to drop a mine on someone. Not to get ahead of things on tactics, but just kind of floating thoughts right now, would it be possible to simply demo the exits and then wait it out to blow away?" He traces the awkward path with his finger again, frowning but making no further comment.
Valeriya shakes her head to Gabriel. "Nothing wrong with that idea. It may go well with Ivan's suggestion, that we use uranium explosives to seriously weaken the dragon. Can you make a uranium bomb?" She asks of the older fellow before shrugging to Dante. "Well nothing really. But I'm hoping it's not that petty. See its horde will be gone, the townspeople innocent, well returning and slaughtering them out of frustration doesn’t make sense. But if it does return to pose a problem so will we. With ease. Leonard is a shifter, and will facilitate our travels."
Dante nods, "Just remember that Dragons are excellent teleporters and dimensional travelers yes?" He smiles, "I will answer what questions I can, on supernatural threats but I am not a bomb maker." He admits. "Dragons are generally prideful, much hubris, think nothing dangerous to them. Is sometimes possible use against dragon."
Gabriel leans back in his chair to have some more milk, but has some difficulty as he's chuckling while he attempts the maneuver. Eventually, the pats the table with his left palm. "A uranium bomb? I'm afraid that constructing nuclear weapons is a little out of my league. But give me conventional explosives, and I can make anything you want, if that's an option." Then, listening to Valeriya's advice to Dante, he adds, "If there's ever a possibility of your enemy coming back to take the battlefield you just took, you just kill the goddamn people - or thing - and be done with it. Moving on without securing your victory from failure is like nailing a Honolulu hooker without a rubber. Sure, you got your rocks off but now you need to explain to your girlfriend why you really need to go and get those penicillin shots." Then, following his standard use of colorful linguistics, he asks on the subject of dragon teleportation, "Can they follow people like Leo when they jump?"
Dante answers simply, "I do not know."
"I don’t think nuclear is what we're after. Ivan said that Triax uses uranium against the supernatural. They put it in their bullets and the creatures can't regenerate. So I want to put it in a bomb. If I can manage to get some. I understand is a bit of a controlled substance." Valeriya offers in explanation.
Dante looks at Valeriya, "True?" He asks, "I had not learned of special bullets to stop regeneration. Maybe grenades, fragmentation bomb be better? Many shards... if can get special material." He looks at his side and pulls out his TX-5, "I wonder how hard get bullets for this, is made Triax." He muses thoughtfully.
"Oh, oh. I thought you meant an H-Bomb. So, if it's in bullets, and in a bomb... that'd be more like a really expensive and radioactive Claymore mine, maybe?" Gabriel sets his glass down long enough to carve in the air the slim shape of a shallow arc. "You set off the explosives behind the fragments, or whatever, and it blows it out like a huge scythe. We fill them with steel ball bearings, but no reason that with some time you couldn't make it out of uranium. I have a friend who might help out with it, too." Still, after giving the various Triax weapons a look over, he shakes his head as far as he himself goes. "If I tried to put something as heavy as a uranium bullet in the chamber, they'd blow up in my face."
Valeriya nods to Gabriel. "That’s more like it. The more destructive the better." She explains before shrugging to Dante. "Yes you can, but given the restrictions on the material It would not be very cost effective to get them. Plus they're radioactive. Not healthy to have in your pocket." She notes before pulling her C-5 out. "I originally looked into frag uranium rounds for this. Around 4000 credits each.."
"That is very much price." Dante says as he holsters his pistol and looks over at the Coalition version of the very same pistol he uses. "Beyond my current monies." He admits without shame. "Will have to make do." He seems very matter of fact.
Can an old man shudder? Sometimes. "I take it neither of you lived under the threat of nuclear war and the irradiated wasteland to follow. Uranium is good for the business, but bad for the soul. Very bad," Gabriel says with a nod. Then, "While you're talking about killing the dragon, who's watching for vampires crawling up our backs? Because silver, I can do. I might be much more useful for you on that side, after a bomb were to be placed. In theory, of course. You never know what you're facing until you get there. Can Santo Poco - Creel - offer anything in the way of armor repair or ammunition recharging? Or if things go very badly, just extra weapons, period?" He looks between the two, then once more idly talks to himself. "Gotta catch Alex before going down there."
"We have globes of daylight and my special lanterns. Vampires won't be a problem" Valeriya answers with a dismissive wave. "And we probably don’t want to use the uranium bomb in the mine, that would make mining bad I'm told. So we need to distance ourselves a bit for the fight."
"My family, village, destroyed by demons. If there is weapon to stop healing I will use it." Dante answers simply. "I know this world." He gestures around, "Getting soul devoured by darkness, getting turned into vampire, far worse for soul." He says matter-of-factly in his stilted English.
Gabriel raises a brow again, and shrugs one shoulder. "Vampires can use weapons like anyone else, and do that psychic crap like Bella tried to pull on me. But, I'll accept that for now and argue it later. Look." He stops to put both palms on the table. "Do the townsfolk want to be free of the dragon? Do it in the mine. The bomb, or multiple bombs where it's harder to miss. They can excavate somewhere else, or clear it out - water *does* work to wipe off uranium particles, y'know," he says as one who, well.. knows. "Take the fight to him. It. Whatever. Give yourself the best battlefield. There's nothing that we can destroy that the town can't rebuild, and out from under this guy's thumb. Does it have a name, so I can stop calling it a random 'dragon'?" He looks on to Dante sadly, and humorously. "Well, not exactly what I meant, and I'm sorry to hear about your folks.. but that's the general point, I suppose."
Valeriya says, "Don't know its name, don't really care to. But I do believe we can make the bomb effective outside of the mine. Leave that to me. We still have to work out how powerful this bomb will be, and how to best inflict the rest of the required punishment." Valeriya answers with a shake of her head. She eyes Dante after his little background revelation, but offers no comment.
Dante hmmms, "Well if single round is four thousand credits. Take many thousands of credits for bomb material yes? Is bomb even possible?" He hmms, "Bad about name, if know name could research dragon. Maybe find attitude, habits, way fight. Shame."
Gabriel listens again to both, seems that he's good at that. He extends a metaphorical olive branch to Dante. "Maybe you and I can hit up the Library together, come at it from two different views, and find some way to fight it? If you're interested, we can talk later. Now, Val?" He looks to the monosyllabically-denoted person at the table. "In the interests of operational security and not making it easy for friends of the fellow without a name, the dragon will now be 'Idaho,' and the town will be 'Manila.' Stick to it. You never know when someone around might want to kill you for what you're doing. The general 'you' that is. Incidentally, when it comes to whatever parts we need for the bomb, you can consider me generally without funds at the moment. A recent purchase has drained me."
"I have sufficient capital for the bomb." Valeriya answers for reassurance. "Just need a specialist to give me the shopping list outside of the uranium." She notes before giving Gabriel a look that questions his sanity. "And they can't just read my mind for the truth when they see me using blatant cosigns? Not that 'they' can kill me so lightly. His name is now Gary. Much less conspicuous. We're settling a property dispute with Gary, clear?"
Dante shrugs, "Will be very vague, information learned about dragon without name. Will search to brush up. Could be worse. If town vampire free then town should keep vampire off us too. To answer before question." He then stands up and walks towards the door. "If need me, for research or test when Ivan person ready leave message at Raleigh Apartment yes?" He asks looking back at the other two for verification before heading out.
"And how is a property dispute with Gary less suspicious than a problem with Idaho? When they ask, 'Who the hell is Gary?' Because Gary is a pronoun, indicating that Gary is indeed a person of some kind. 'Idaho' is not. But you were the one that they called for, so you get to choose the wrong codes," Gabriel smirks. Dante receives a big smile. "Dante at Raleigh's Apartments? Sure, I can do that. If you want to catch me, my office is across from the Precinct House." He pauses, and adds, "The place where the cops sit on their asses until called out to do something not-dangerous. Nice to meet you, Dante."
Valeriya smirks slyly. "Gary is an idiot for thinking he can get away with this." She answers to Gabriel coolly before nodding to Dante. "I should track you down within a few days."
Gabriel just shrugs. "I don't suppose that shooting a dragon in the eye hurts, or does it just regrow it? Before I hit the Library, let's assume that I don't know anything about non-fictional dragons."
"It hurts. It can be temporarily blinded, until able to regenerate. Kinda why I want to personally place the explosive. So it can't regenerate." Valeriya explains, maintaining the coy smile.
The fellow at the table doesn't look so sure. "It's never just so easy as taping a bomb to something and setting it off. Most armies have explosive specialists. Fortunately, you have me." Gabriel gives Valeriya a silly, sideways grin. "Seriously though, there's wanting to do something with a bomb, and knowing how to accomplish that goal with the bomb. They're different."
"If you have a suggestion for blowing up a bomb in a dragon's face, I'm listening." Valeriya offers with a welcoming gesture. "Otherwise I'm going to go with the more conventional: Hit him in the face with it."
Gabriel can't help but ask, "How are you going to 'hit him in the face' with what I will assume is going to be a rather large bomb, then escape before you or your armor gets shredded, but without giving him time to wipe it off?"
Valeriya says, "I won't escape. I'll gladly shred a layer of magic armor to cripple a dragon." Valeriya answers with a shake of her head. "Leonard can cast the spell better than I. I'll be well protected. Though if you're saying you can make a bomb that will do more than even that can withstand. I'll look into additional means of escape."
Gabriel thinks for a moment, reaches for a pocket... then goes back to his milk. "I'll obviously need to know more about the entire situation before I can even begin to give any details. More about how this uranium works against special people like Gary. How big it can be made versus how much we have to spend. I'll need a load of the modern excuse for C4 and a sturdy backing, not to mention fusing and such." He sips, and asks, "Why can't Gary regenerate his face? Sounds like a dumb question, I'm sure, but if they can do as much as has simply been said in these few minutes in these few people... won't it just take a hit, teleport somewhere, rest up and come shove something very far up your ass for his trouble?"
"Uranium damage takes months to heal. A dragon can only teleport 5 miles. You tell me, how long will a blind dragon last in vampire infested Mexico?" Valeriya asks with a shrug.
"Can you turn a dragon into a vampire? Or take over its mind? Can it not teleport again, or fly off? Even a blind flying dragon is a safe flying dragon." Gabriel waves his glass in a swirling motion. "Have you considered that it might have friends?"
"Until it flies into a mountain, or into Coalition territory, or into the Bermuda Triangle. None of these mean it will bug us later." Valeriya says before pausing to give a slight nod. "I have. Depending on the nature of the friends we may have to abandon the mission. One dragon is formidable enough. And I can't afford two bombs."
At that, Gabriel lets it go for now. Plenty of time - and more appropriate time - to discuss things later. He leans back and gets more comfortable as the first eastern rays of the morning start to glow. "So how much is this dragon hoarding, and how much does Santa Poco want to trade with its valiant saviors?" he asks with a humored smile.
Valeriya shrugs for lack of specifics. "Enough. Even if the horde isn’t very large its a fricken gem mine. We'll just take some incentive back with us. Around a hundred and fifty thousand each."
"Incentive?" Yeah, a mono-wordic sentence. There's probably a word for mono-wordic, but that doesn't matter to Gabriel's statement-slash-question.
"Does compensation work better for you?" Valeriya asks with another shrug. "I thought you weren’t big on the getting paid part."
Gabriel shakes his head. "Just figuring out the vocabulary. If they're offering the payment and they can afford it - and we're all getting equal shares for equal work and whatnot, that's all I need. It's true that if they couldn't pay, I'd help, but as they can... I do appreciate payment, because it allows me to help those who *can't* pay. I'm a capitalist. Just not a greedy one," he finishes with a wink. "How does the open trade with a gem mine affect us in the future?"
Valeriya locks her eyes on Gabriel on the 'us', clearly skeptical he should be including himself in that part so readily. "Gems are used to make techno-wizard items. They are equitable currency among those with magic. So having connections with the 'bank' is a good way to gain leverage in the world."
"Money talks, shit walks, I know the story," Gabriel chuckles. As for an 'us' he seems to have no problem with the association. "Can't hurt anyone to have the more, ah... stand-out people around the city with a heftier account at the local Wells Fargo. You know that gems are worth money to non-mages too, right? In fact, I'm fairly certain that here on Earth they were more popular as jewelry items than they were sparkly machines." He stops for some milk. "So getting way back in the conversation. When you said the Library said 'don't' on the subject of how to kill Gary. Was that, 'don't' as in, 'the Council and the Guild don't like it' or 'don't' as in 'don't try to do it?'"
"The latter." Valeriya assures without hesitation. "The Council and Guild have no interests in preserving foreign dragons. You know they make juicers that run off dragon blood in the magic district? Pretty sure that wouldn’t happen if the Guild and or Council didn’t like dragon hunting."
Gabriel nods, halfway. "Actually? I didn't know where they did it for a long time, but the very first actual 'friend' I had here in the city was a strange woman named Daeni. Turned out she was a dragon juicer. Of course, what did I know from *any* juicer at the time, right? She was always hunting lizards and bathing naked in the Plaza Park lake. Not exactly what I was used to." He makes a funny mock tug at his collar. "Sounds like the Guild and the Council are like every other group of politicians - they don't want anyone who could be competition. Otherwise they'd be out doing things themselves."
Valeriya shrugs with clear indifference. "That’s what politicians do. Look good while sabotaging the other guy. I'd rather not get involved in politics."
"Oh, please, count me out too. But it's often something that needs to be dealt with, unfortunately. At least... my business. I'm sure that things are different for, ah.. freelance heroism," Gabriel chuckles. "So is there another shoe waiting to drop, or can I start thinking forward about how to gear up for a thousand-mile trek to vampire country to battle Gary?"
"Five or six days, four steps of actual traveling. Leonard is handy for that." Valeriya confirms with a nod to signal she has nothing more to add.
"No shoe, huh? I'm dubious," Gabriel chuckles. "But, it looks like you're a woman getting ready to head out and do whatever it is that mages do during the day. I'll be seeing you, Val, you know where to find me. Leave a message with Gracie if I'm not around, she'll get me." He leans closer across the table, and points to the barista. "Can you believe that she's her sister? Someone got dropped on their head when they were little, I think." He winks, then starts to scoot his chair out.
