Finding A Place In The

[Ashton]

Ashton stood on the docks of Stormwind, fresh from his excursion back to his homeland of Boralus. The sea salt had collected slightly on his armor, causing it to rust in some areas, but it was still well kept for the most part. Removing his helm, he took in the big city once again, trying to collect his thoughts as he had not been back since the first fleet set off after Lordaeron was besieged. Finally kicking off from the dock area, he made his way up the winding cobblestone ramp to the heart of the city. Deciding that he had not had a drink since he left for Boralus, he made his way into Old Town to the rundown Pig and Whistle, his old stomping ground.

[Celeste]

((Hi! Is this a thread where you're hoping others will join in? I don't want to presume anything and simply reply))

[Ashton]

(( That would be great. If you do not wish to, that is fine as well. I am not one to pressure people. ))

[Celeste]

Sounds of wooden furniture being dragged on the tavern's floor reached his ears before he even stepped inside.

"Are you SURE you didn't see it?" A young woman asked the barmaid who stood nearby. She was kneeling on the floor, peering underneath the table usually located beneath the stairs. The three chairs that usually surrounded the table were piled together near the bar.

The young woman stood up and passed a hand through her short strawberry blonde hair. Helpless panic animated her features. Hazel eyes opened wide, she looked around as if whatever she was looking for would materialize out of thin air.

"It's a brass badge. Stuck to a black leather square." She said, to no one in particular. The way the barmaid rolled her eyes, it seemed like she had heard that description before. Several times.

"I ain't in charge o' yer personal belongins' " The older woman said, tucking a round serving plater underneath her arm. "Now, I got things to do. Search all ye want but don't go botherin' the clients." With that, the barmaid huffed in exasperation and headed into the kitchen.

The young woman, now standing alone near the bar, wrinkled her freckled face in concentration. Biting her lip she started making a circuit of the room, looking into every corner.

[Ashton]

As Ashton strode into the Pig and Whistle, he heard the sound of the chairs and tables being moved around violently.

"What in the blazes is going on in there?" He made eye contact with one of the barmaids that was serving drinks as she pointed to the woman that was frantically making her rounds around the bar. Removing his helm, he tucked it under his arm as he walked over towards her, the sound of heavy plate thudding against the wooden floor.

"What seems to be the problem miss? Are you having an episode? Do you need a clergyman?"

[Celeste]

Celeste stopped in her tracks and looked up at the man, her youthful features frowning. "What? Why do you automatically assume I'm addled or having an episode?" She said, in an irritated tone. "And why should a clergyman be the first person you think will help in this situation?"

She sighed and seemed to regain her composure. "I'm sorry. I just... I lost something. A badge. It's important and I'd rather not return to my superior officer, asking for a new one. No one takes me seriously as it is. This won't help."

She looked around the tavern. "I had it with me here last night. I thought I had forgotten on the table I was occupying or that one of the staff members found it but no one's seen it." Her thin shoulders drooped down despondently.

[Ashton]

“Why do you think no one takes you seriously? I’m sure not everyone thinks that, madam!”

The mans black hair ruffled a bit in his face as he blew it out of his eyes. He was clad head to toe in dark copper colored plate mail, the helm under his arm was a terrifying visage: a dark red copper smiling skull with two wicked horns.

“Perhaps I can assist you. Do you know where you last had it? Was it in this vicinity?”

[Celeste]

"It doesn't matter." Celeste said, tucking errant strands of hair behind her ears, exposing the half dozen or so earrings on each one. "I don't really care all that much what people think of me. If they underestimate me, it's their loss." She looked down as she spoke, avoiding his gaze. "As for the badge, I don't think it's here. If I'm lucky, one of the people I was with last evening might have it... Or is that if I'm unlucky?" She raised her head and gave him a self-deprecating smile.

"That's not normal army issue." She said, changing the subject and nodding her chin towards the unusual helmet. "You some kind of mercenary too?" She asked. 

"Grinning skulls seem to be in vogue, lately." She muttered to herself, wrapping her arms around her chest as if she caught a sudden chill.

[Ashton]

“Oh I am no mercenary... i use this to strike fear in the hearts of the accused... for you see, I am an Inquisitor.”

He set the helmet down beside them and sighed, “But right now, I could use a drink... perhaps you would care to join me? We can exchange stories, frivolity, perhaps a handshake or two?”

His KulTiran accent was very apparent, as was the air of holy energy around him, like a fire crackling in a hearth.

[Celeste]

"An inquisitor..." Celeste seemed to mull that notion over in her head. "I don't know what that does. I met a guy recently who hunts... things. Not-dead things, ghosts and... actually I'm still not sure what he does."

The young woman smiled at the offer of a shared drink. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I could use one and since I can't just head back without that badge, I have some time on my hands."

She extended one small hand. "I'm Celeste McCullough. Er... Corporal Celeste McCullough. Are inquisitors part of the army?"

[Ashton]

He made his way to the bar, plopping a couple of gold down on the bar for his ale, shuffling past a couple of the chairs she had pushed in the way and made his way over to a table.

“Inquisitors are a special sect of paladins that use the Light as a means of... information extraction. If there is a n’er-do-well that has been captured, we are pulled in to get information from them by any means necessary...”

He took a very long pull from his mug before setting it down, flicking a bit of it out of his mustache.

[Ashton]

He also held his hand out, giving her a very firm handshake
“Ashton. Pleasure.”

[Celeste]

Celeste ordered her own drink and sat down with her new "friend".

"I get it. Bad people get treaty badly" She said, matter-of-factly. After taking a sip of her beer, and making a face as it apparently isn't to her liking, she pushed her mug away. "So why not just call it torture?" She asked, leaning back comfortably in her chair. "Let's face it. Any means necessary doesn't include friendly gifts or a round of singing."

"Take me for instance." She gestured towards herself. "I'm tasked with finding deserters and bringing them back. It's always preferable that I bring them back alive but, let's face it, they will surely always resist arrest. So far, I've yet to see anyone come quietly." She didn't mention that she had also, so far, only hunted down a single deserter. "No one calls me an official assassin but they might as well…"

She was about to say more but closed her mouth with an audible click. "Sorry, I'm a bit forward, huh?" As if to lighten the mood she pointed at his fearsome helmet. "Well, I like the helmet. It's plenty scary. Certainly give off not-a-friend vibes. You inquisitors don't fool around, do you?"

To keep herself from babbling further, she tried another sip of beer, did not like it any more the second time. 

[Ashton]

Ashton waved his hand lightly at her, sipping his ale slowly now after taking a deep pull, "Torture is such a messy word... we prefer also to call it information extraction... Plus it allows us to skirt the rules slightly... but we still follow the code and do not kill anyone that refuses to give us information."

He sat back slightly in his chair, rocking a bit, "There is no need to worry about being forward... at least you are honest with your claims. And being an official or non-official assassin still makes you an assassin..."

He then leaned forward, dropping his voice slightly, "The question is: Are you a GOOD assassin?"

[Celeste]

Celeste laughed at the man's question. "Really Ashton? Have you ever heard of a good assassin?" Realizing she probably should change her tact, she corrected her words. "I don't kill anyone on purpose, if that's what you mean. I... I'm not a n’er-do-well! I just do my job and defend myself when I have to." 

She squirmed a bit under his gaze. "How do you inquisitors determine if the people you… extract information from are actually guilty?" She asked, diverting the subject of the conversation away from her.

[Ashton]

Ashton slowly leaned in, his visage extremely scrutinizing, almost like he was reading her eyes. After a solid minute of this tactic, he leaned back and took another slow drag of his ale. There was silence for at least five minutes while he prepped the answer to his question, making sure every "T" was crossed and every "I" was dotted. He then spoke up, simply.

"We just guess."

[Celeste]

Celeste detested being the center of attention. Not only did it help her do her job but she prefered it that way on a personal leve. Everything was easier when people thought she was just some girl going about her day. Thought she hated it when she was not taken seriously, she had to admit that being underestimated was a very useful tool.

When Ashton's leaned in to look into her eyes so intently, she was visibly uncomfortable but made an effort to hold his gaze. She sighed with relief when he leaned back, feeling she ahd somehow past some test.

"Wait, really?" Celeste exclaimed at the notion that the inquisitors based guilt on a hunch. "Just like that? If you have a feeling that whoever you're interrogating is guilty; you pull on the helmet, bring out the magic and shout about the purifying Light?" She blinked in surprise. "No due process or anything of the sort?"

[Ashton]

Ashton shook his head with a bit of a laugh, “I am kidding of course... we are called in whenever a subject has been captured and they feel they are holding information what would be vital to the Alliance.”

He set the helm on the table with a heavy thud, the eyes hissing softly as they still glowed red as coals, “This is simply used for intimidation... we can’t exactly speak about how we actually extract the information...”

[Celeste]

Celeste nodded, even gave Ashton a smile. She was clearly more at ease, likely due to his more casual tone and posture. "So what brings you to the Pig and Whistle." She toyed with her barely touched mug of ale. "No offence but, while I understand you are just like anyone else who likes beer, I doubt you're here to interrogate anyone and a tavern doesn't seem like the place one usually brings a helmet that looks like a beheaded demon. Are you in between jobs? In town to talk to someone?"

She looked around the tavern and leaned closer. "Do you have some important prisoner of war to pull secrets out of? That might help us win this horrible war?"

[Ashton]

Ashton adjusted his posture as he relaxed quite a bit more into the wooden chair of the table they were at. “I am back from a tour of duty in my homeland of Boralus. I am technically between jobs at the moment as I am on relief duty, waiting for my next task.”

He finished his tankard as he slid it forward.
“I may be looking for a group of people to simply as you all would say “hang out” with for a while, while I collect my bearings after being gone for so long.”