Heritage
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Once Maddy finished ringing Sam up, Lynn guided her over to a table while giving Lance a look and a jerk of her head. <"Sure, I have a few minutes, though if you really want some good recommendations, I would talk to M-Girl over there; she reads way more books than I do!"> Lance came over to them, wiping his hands dry on a linen towel; he moved with surprising grace for a man of his size, and his smile was worth the price of admission alone. "Hello miss, boss lady; what can I get for you?" Lynn turned to Sam. "I think you said you'd like an espresso? And I'll have a half-caff iced mint mocha, two percent, half milk, half dark, no whip." The big man grinned and bowed slightly. "My pleasure." And yes, Lynn discretely checked out his ass as he turned to leave; in fact, it took her a moment to find the thread of conversation once again. <"So yes, favorite books! Well, I have a odd tastes, I guess; classic fantasy, folklore, true crime, history, psychology and Judaica are the subjects I'm mostly into right now. How 'bout yourself?">
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Gretchen was working behind the counter, and looked up from her smartphone for all of a millisecond before looking right back down to it; her voice sounded terminally bored. "Uh, yeah, she's in her office in back-" Finally the oddness of what she'd seen registered; looking alarmed, she hopped up off her stool, her eyes actually showing a touch of animation. "Yes, my boss...that is Lynn. I shall summon her forth for you, okay?" She scampered off to the owner's office, where Lynn sat behind her grandfather's massive desk, checking her email. "Oh hey, Gretch, what's up?" Noting the odd expression on the bookseller's face, she sat up a little straighter in her chair. "What's wrong, hon?" "There is an odd little Santa-like man asking for you, and he has a bodyguard who looks like a human side of beef." "Oh, okay, uh...do they look dangerous?" "Santa, not so much; Side of Beef, very much so." "Okay, why don't you take ten, grab a cup of coffee in back and I'll take care of it, okay?" "Great. Awesome. I shall flee." Stepping out onto the store floor, Lynn approached the pair, who pretty much looked at Gretchen described them. "Gentlemen, hello! I'm Lynn Epstein, owner of Silberman's Books. How can I help you?" They saw a young woman, on the short side but a bit curvy, with curly, shoulder length brown hair; she wore a No Doubt T-shirt, khaki shorts and Teva sandals.
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>Link with background on Grim's Grampa Lou.
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Happy birthday Sorus!
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The changeling's eyes went wide with outrage. "'Out of shape'?! I'm in the best shape of my life, you jackass!" She fired off a rapid volley of punches that stopped just short of Erik's face. "Wha-cha-cha! You cannot hope to defeat my monkey kung-fu!" But now the jocular mask slipped for a moment, and the puckish shapeshifter sagged and looked incredibly weary. "It's been...it's been tough, I'll admit it; the highs have been high and the lows very low." She shrugged. "But, I made it back, which is all that matters right now, am I right?" Lynn approached Erik's wife with a nervous smile, half frightened and half cautiously optimistic. "No, she was just 'Willow' back then; it's really good to see you again. I'm so glad-" Her voice caught in her throat. "So glad you stayed." Then she dropped down on one knee to be closer to Eden. "And who's this little angel? Hi, I'm Lynn; what's your name?" She looked at both sides of her head. "Oh, she got the ears; she's gonna be a little heartbreaker, trust me."
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Lynn cocked her head once or twice as the young women talked quietly among themselves, but said nothing; however her expression did show hints of amusement as she responded to their questions. "You can see the feed right here; not sure what you mean by 'doming' it, but no, there is no sound." She led them back to the monitor by the front door; the screen was split four ways, showing the main entrance to the building, the second floor landing, the two doors on the patio and what must be the rear door. "And as far working out goes...well, if I let you take the place, and you don't turn out to be psychos..." She sighed, looked away and crossed her arms. "I suppose you can use my little gym over the garage. Y'know, if you're cool..."
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I will be leaving for GenCon Wednesday afternoon and won't be back until Sunday night; I might bring my laptop with me (still not sure), but otherwise I will be fairly scarce. I can still pop into chat on my smartphone, but posting would probably be a bit too challenging. Edit: With my back bothering me this morning, I'm not going to add the additional weight of my laptop on top of the two bags I'm already carrying, so more than likely no posting until Monday - wah! I was hoping to sneak a bit in this morning, but there's just been no time. As I said above, I will almost certainly pop into chat on my smartphone from time to time.
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Lynn nodded as she moved over to the door. "Yeah, kinda; I call it a patio, but it's more like a glorified light well, to be honest." She turned the bolt, slid off the chain and swung the door wide open. "As you can see, it swings all the way flush to the wall, so it won't get in the way, which is good because as you can see, there's actually a screen door here, too." A lovely fresh breeze smelling of green things wafted through the apartment. "I've got the same thing on my side, and if the weather's nice I keep it open all the time when I'm home." The shop owner pushed open the screen door, and led them out into an odd narrow space about six by fifteen; it was open to the sky with gravel under foot. Two lightweight aluminum garden chairs were here, as well as a low charcoal brazier and several large ferns and other potted plants that did well in low light. "I like to come out here to relax sometimes; there's the door into my place." On the wall opposite there was a row of three curtained windows, and the wall to the left had a single one. Lynn stood with her hands on her hips and shrugged. "My grampa put the stained glass in so he wouldn't be staring across into the neighbors' place, and vice versa; that way you guys still get the light and a bit more privacy." Then she pointed up somewhere toward the roof. "There's a tiny security camera hidden up there to cover the two doors, but it doesn't get any of this area down here, so..." She indicated the seating area with a vague wave of her hand.
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Once 'Lynda' got her rack of chips from the cashier, she happily accepted a glass of the red; it was quite good, but she didn't know too much about wine, especially not the treyf stuff. Maybe she should have passed, but Lynn tended to get a bit sloppy when it came to drinking. After all, you gotta have something to atone for on Yom Kippur! The rest of the gamblers were indeed very interesting, though she was only familiar with two of them, and one rather indirectly. She raised her glass to Mr Abola and did her best to acknowledge him with a glance and a tilt of her head, but was unsure if he got >her message. And our Mr. Kranivisky knows Mandarin; that is very interesting! Maybe he works for the Triads? If so, he probably knows Cantonese, too. Now me, I'm not gonna let on about my Gift of Tongues. Not yet, at least. While all this was going on inside her head, 'Lynda' for her part looked rather bored as she took a seat next to Mr Lock. "I don't eat before I play poker; I like to stay hungry."
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Grim is sending the message 'I'm one of the good guys' via Bluff, with a 30 on her check due to Mastery; however, as I never gave her Sense Motive, she has no idea what any of his responses might be. Grr!
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Checks for Grim! Gambler A: 1d20+15=35. Yes! Gambler B: 1d20+10=20. Just made it! Gambler C: 1d20+3=12. No dice! Gambler D: 1d20+5=19. It was a long shot anyway! Da classy Wine:1d20+7=9. Fuggedaboutit!
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Lynn nodded as she fished out her building keys and began to unlock the door to the right. "That's smart thinking; I mean yeah, you want to have some fun in college, y'know, do some partying, but if you have too much fun, especially your first year, it's kind of easy to lose your way." The door swung open easily. "So, you guys would be in here, I'm right across the hall." Inside was a fairly open space, roughly twelve by twenty-four, with polished hardwood floors and white painted walls; to the left was a large, three-sash window looking out onto Pratt Avenue, straight ahead was a gas fireplace, and to the right was a thick wooden beam that marked off a sort of dining area, which featured a small round table surrounded by four chairs. A ceiling fan with a built-in light gently swished overhead; with the front windows open, the room had a pleasant breezy feel. "So here's the living room with attached dining nook; not huge, but decent-sized. If you don't want the table and chairs, I can just take those out." Once the group was inside, they could see a few other features: to the right of the door was a small flatscreen monitor mounted on the wall that seemed to be part of the entry/security system, and to the left was a large walnut armoire. Lynn paced around the room, gesturing this way and that. "There are a few downsides to a building this old; not a lot of closet space and no way to add central air. You've got radiator heat, which works great and is free, and there's one AC unit already installed in the bedroom. With the windows open, you get pretty good airflow, but if it gets really hot, you'll probably want to get another AC unit." A long hallway stretched to the back of the apartment; before it left the room, there were three salvaged stained-glass windows and what looked to be a door back to the outside.
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Lynn checked the window for the umpteenth time, only this time her furtive glance yielded results! "Finally!" she gasped. Her heart racing, the changeling opened the door, easily vaulted over the banister and dropped down to the first floor in a perfect crouch. She then flung the door open and stood panting in the doorway, cheeks flushed and eyes rapidly darting from face to face. Somehow she looked...different; the 'human Pixie Stick' was now fuller in the face, showing a bit of muscle tone, and even a few womanly curves. "Hey! How's it goin'?" Noting the presence of the child, her face almost literally lit up. "You brought the kid? That's awesome! Here, come in, come in..." She held the door open and waved them into the entry hall, where statues of a griffin and a gargoyle stood watch on either side of the front door. "Go right on up the stairs; door's open on the left."
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Actually Lynn's apartment would be pretty 'hot', since she made her own furniture, but all the stuff in your place will be real.
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Not the building so much, no. Some of the furniture in the store or her apartment would, but that's about it. Your apartment will be clean.
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The griffin but not the gargoyle, and yes, Lynn's whole body and all her clothes reek of magic!
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To clarify, that link I added just shows the first floor of the building, as in the bookstore; I merely included it so you could get a glimpse of the front hall set-up. My next post will include a link to the apartment floor plan itself.
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Lynn just sort of stood there, hands on her hips with her head cocked slightly to one side as she peered over the top of her sunglasses; she looked from one girl to the other, chewing on her lower lip. At last, she cleared her throat. "Uh, it's nice to meet you, Mali." She gave her a firm hand shake; her voice was pleasant, but there was a hint of a warning. "I take it you and Tona will be sharing the apartment?" Then she turned to the pale redheaded girl. "Hi Samantha." Another firm handshake. "Do you go by Samantha or Sam? You look like a Sam." She looked the girls over one more time, and then sort of nodded to herself. "Well Sam, it looks like you'll probably be over a lot, so it's nice you're helping out." There was no judgment in her voice. At last, Lynn took in the building with a wave of her hand. "To be honest, I understand your concern about the building's construction; we all know Freedom's...not like other towns. Stuff happens here there doesn't happen anywhere else." The brunette shrugged and scratched her head. "I mean, I sure as hell have seen things I'd never believed if I hadn't see 'em with my own eyes." She scrutinized the building herself, hands once again on her hips. "So yeah, it's over a hundred years old, very solidly built." She casually looked over her shoulder at Tona. "By the way, you don't wanna use caltrops; they're like landmines, can't tell friend from foe." Lynn grinned and gave her a quick wink. "Okay, let's head on in, shall we?" She pulled open the door and beckoned them into the entry hall, which was roughly ten by fifteen; to the right was the entrance to the bookstore, which was just about to open for the day, while to the left was a stairway that wound up and around. A set of bookshelves displaying heavily-discounted books was tucked under the staircase. Inside, the main doorway was flanked by a pair of statues, one a gargoyle, the other a griffin. "Our security detail. Actually on that note, the main door is open as long as the store is, but after close it's locked and you have to buzz people in. There is a security camera so you can see who's out front, so...well, let's just head on up and I'll show you." Lynn began to take the stairs two at a time, in graceful loping strides.
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Was Kit going to be in this thread as well? I think it was discussed at one point, so I tagged her. I'm fine either way.
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The young woman got up, brushed off her pants and approached, offering a warm smile and a firm handshake. "Yeah, hi! You can just call me 'Lynn'. Are you Tona?" She took a few seconds to size the girl up. Okay, so piercings are no big deal nowadays; if I wasn't brought up Conservative, I'd probably have a lot more myself. Doesn't look insane, so yay there. Dresses fairly well, smells clean, no visible scars... Then she bent down slightly to peer into the car. "Uh...so just how many of you guys are in there?"
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'Lynda' smiled and raised her glass in salute. "As did I." There were two more arrivals; a pale-skinned skank in a black dress that must have come in a freaking bottle, and a rather charming-looking rogue with a bit of swagger in his step. The competition continues to get more and more interesting. When the pat down began, Lynn knew she had nothing to fear; she never carried weapons, and the only things in her tiny clutch was a wallet (all cards and IDs fake), lip gloss, mascara, a travel pack of tissues and a pack of sugar-free gum. Oh, and a crisp fresh strap of fifty dollar bills. As her goon approached, she tilted her head slightly and gave him a steady glare. "Better watch those hands, boy; this kitty has nasty claws." The pile of muscle looked at her impassively as he did his work with robotic efficiency; when he was done, she cleared her throat and found the gaze of the thin man. "Where do I purchase my chips?" She pulled the bundle of bills out her clutch. "I'd like five thousand."
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Grim has nothing to hide, so no roll to make; I will post shortly!
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Gretchen lowered the tray slightly so she could get a better look at the offerings it bore. "Uh, the brownies are pretty good. I don't like raisins, so I didn't try the oatmeal cookies." The bookseller shrugged. "I dunno about the rest of it." When Dancia went into reporter mode, the young woman's eyes narrowed. "Okay, who do you write for? I was a journalism major for three semesters, so I kinda need to see some credentials." Once she was satisfied, she set the tray down on a nearby table and began to pick at one of the brownies. "Lynn, that's the owner? She's pretty cool, I guess. She does talk like my mom a lot; I think she used the word 'family' during my interview like fifteen times." Halfway done with her brownie, she proceeded to start picking at one of the oatmeal cookies, deftly avoiding any and all raisins. "She pays pretty good for retail, plus we get ten percent of any sale over twenty dollars, which is nice..." Gretchen noticed Maddy and Lynn interacting with the Eurasian woman, and indicated them with a jerk of her chin. "That's why Maddy's such a retail whore; God, how I loathe her." She hefted her tray once again, then raised her eyebrows at the reporter. "Is that the kinda stuff you're looking for?" - - - - Lynn responded to Sam in Mandarin as perfect as her own. <"I'll be honest, I hate to lose a sale; I'd be more than happy to contact one of the bookstores up in New York. I think there are three or four there that carry books in Chinese."> She sighed and shook her head. <"Sadly, while I speak both Mandarin and Cantonese, I don't read the pictograms at all; I guess I have an ear for language, but not the eye."> Then she switched back to English as she stepped over by the coffee bar. "But by all means, have an espresso; we get fresh beans every day."
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Are folks still interested in this thread? I'm more than happy to keep going if they are.
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'Lynda' smiled and cocked her head slightly to one side. "Ideally, a gentleman doesn't let a lady buy her drinks at all, but sadly we don't live in an ideal world." She gave 'Peter' a playful wink, then turned to the bartender. "Vodka martini, please." Lynn had decided five foot eight was about as tall as she could stretch herself without getting scary skinny, like one of those Calvin Klein coat racks; once you added in the three-inch heels of her ice blue pumps and the architectural marvel that was her hair, she was well over six feet, and the overall effect was fairly impressive. Another player here for the big game? More than likely. Has the money for nice clothes, but still has that feral glint in his eye; probably a thug of some sort, but at least he's a cultured thug. Once she had her drink, the cool blonde turned to rest one elbow on the bar. "So, are you here to play, or just...take in the sights?" Ugh, really? 'Stay classy, Lynn!'
