TRP: Goro, Larkin, and Scammer (Scam)

January 24, 2019

**Jen:**

 [Setting]Day 173, the castle. Goro and Larkin have been
sitting in the sun room together, diskussing the Sanguines.

Larkin sat with the book on her knees, elbows on the book,
and face buried in her hands so she wouldn't have to see these stupid sign
tables anymore. If she'd peeked at them through her fingers, they'd surely be
arrayed into a single, inky middle finger shape.

"How's this so fucking hard," she muttered.
"Fuck. Can't remember the cant being that damn hard to learn." Her
head dropped from her hands and her fingers did a quick succession of signs.
Stab me please.

**Lina:**

 "It's fucking bullshit, is all. You can't learn this
kind of thing from a book. What do these arrows even fucking mean?" Goro
jabbed his finger at a part of the page not obscured by Larkin's elbows.
"We need a real person to teach us, is what. You know, I learned Common
and Elvish and Orc without ever touching a damn book."

**Coyote:**

 There was an insistent knock on the front door, far in the
other room. It echoed in the empty castle.

**Lina:**

 Goro looked up. "Eh? Nixie must've locked herself out
again. Be right back." He stood and walked out through the kitchen.

**Jen:**

 Larkin got up and followed, not to see Sugar in but to get a
break from the book. She snatched up an apple in the kitchen and strolled along
some paces behind Goro.

**Coyote:**

 When they opened the front door, a human woman stood there,
shivering badly.

She looked to be in her mid-fifties or so, maybe older. She
had fair hair and fair skin, and she looked even paler in the cold. A scar
sloped across the side of her face, and she was missing an ear— it looked as
though it’d been torn off. She wore a big, clunky, obvious brace on her right
leg, and she leaned heavily on a staff.

She didn’t come in, clutching the staff to stay upright.
“Pardon me. It’s— it’s so cold. Can I come in?”

**Lina:**

 Goro closed the door most of the way, blocking the opening
with his body. "Yeah, no. Who the hell are you? Is someone following
you?"

**Jen:**

 Larkin squinted at the sight of her, slinking back behind
Goro and over to one of the windows to look out for anyone else around.

**Coyote:**

 There was no one else around.

“Um,” she said. Her eyes were wide, trying to peer around
him, trying to scan the room. “Please don’t close the door. I just came— I just
came all the way from the Sanctuary. Eldath, I’m so tired. No one is following
me.”

Her voice was very quiet, breathy, and sweet.

**Lina:**

 "Why here? Why'd you leave the Sanctuary?" He
leaned back just far enough to sign to Larkin in cant. See anyone?

**Jen:**

 Larkin shook her head, then signed back. Hold her off.
Checking area.

She quickly left to see if anyone was hiding out of sight of
the front doors.

**Coyote:**

 “I heard my son was here,” the woman said. “Is there a man
here named Goro Trickfoot?”

**Lina:**

 Goro narrowed his eyes and stared at her for several moments
before speaking. "Sure isn't."

**Coyote:**

 The woman clutched her coat a little tighter. She was
looking at Goro, intently, but seemed lost and confused. “Could I— speak to
someone else? A woman... a woman named Amari said he was here. Is this the
Glimmerton castle? Maybe I’m— maybe I came to the wrong place. I’m so sorry.”

**Jen:**

 Returning from her hurried round, Larkin went to check the
area just outside the front doors again. About two dozen feet down the path, something
moved inside the bushes.

She went back to hide inside the door and as Goro glanced
over, did a few more quick signs to let him know.

Backyard clear. One person hiding outside in the brush.
Twenty feet, on the left.

**Lina:**

 Goro hastily signed back. Trickfoot. Who?

He gripped the door, knuckles white, and faced the woman
again. "Who the fuck are you? What's your name? Amari who?"

**Jen:**

 Don't know, Larkin signed, then: Take her out?

**Coyote:**

 “I’m so sorry,” the woman said. “Did I do something wrong?”

**Lina:**

 Goro held up a finger for Larkin to wait.

"Yeah, lady. You show up at my fucking house in the
middle of the fucking day, with no warning, claiming to be my mother. That seem
normal to you? Answer. The goddamn. Questions."

**Coyote:**

 The woman’s eyes widened, and she looked Goro over again.

“I’m Veracity,” she said. “You’re Goro? I’m so sorry, I’m so
confused. A woman named Amari said she adopted an orphan named Goro. She was
bragging about how he saved the world from some sort’ve plague. You don’t know
her?”

**Jen:**

 Larkin made a quiet but sharp clicking noise to make Goro
look to her again. Fucking scam, she signed with a jerk of her hand.

**Lina:**

 Goro waved the warning off. "Veracity," he said,
giving her a decidedly unfriendly smile. "Yeah. I do go by Goro. Let's
make sure it's the same Goro you're looking for, though, eh? Assuming you
really are here in search of your son, I don't see any harm in a little... how
shall we say... enforced truth-telling. What do you think? Hey, tell you what,
I'll throw in a hot cup of tea, to sweeten the deal."

**Coyote:**

 The woman back up a good ten feet. “I’m sorry— enforced— are
you— are you suggesting you’re going to torture me? I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I
must have the wrong castle. Listen, I’m sorry— I’m sorry to have bothered you.
Please don’t hurt me. I don’t have anything on me.”

And she started walking quickly away down the path, dragging
her braced leg.

**Lina:**

 "Hey! Fuckin' get back here. I'm not done talking to
you."

**Jen:**

 Larkin's own hand crossbow was stored up in her room but
fortunately, they'd taken precautions. She snatched up the full size crossbow
from where it leaned readied next to the entrance, and slipped out in front of
Goro to point it at the old woman.

"Stop right there," she snapped. "And don't
you fucking test me." She jerked her head in the direction of the bushes.
"You there, hands up and get over there."

**Coyote:**

 Veracity was already on the move before Larkin called out.
She went to the bushes and scooped up the person there— a small child, maybe
eight years old, dark-skinned and black-haired— and set him on his feet.

Then Larkin called out, and she froze.

The child looked over, wide-eyed, but kept holding onto the
woman. She backed away a little, but then made herself stop. She looked over
her shoulder at the bridge across the entrance, but stayed where she was. Her
hands twisted on the staff.

“I’ll scream,” she started to say, then stopped. The castle
was too far away. “Please— if you are my son, can we just— I just— I don’t
understand—“

**Lina:**

 This was unbelievably fucking weird, and Goro couldn't
decide what kind of weird it was. Scam, sure. But there was also the
possibility Goro and Larkin were just fucking terrorizing some harmless woman
and a small child. That'd make a hell of a scam, though.

"Enforced truth telling," Goro called, not moving
from the doorway, "means I cast a spell called Zone of Truth, and you
can't tell a lie while you're under it. Should be no problem, if you are who
you say you are."

**Coyote:**

 “And then— and then what? You’re going to kill me if I’m
lying? I just want to go,” she said. “I don’t want to come in anymore.”

The child pressed his face to her leg, watching mutely.

**Jen:**

 "Are you lying?" Larkin said sharply. She kept the
crossbow level. "You're getting a chance here, lady, better fucking take
it."

**Coyote:**

 The woman wavered for a second. And then she grabbed the
child’s arm and bolted, running as fast as she could with the brace on down the
slope towards the safety of Glimmerton.(edited)

**Lina:**

 "Shoot her," Goro said. "Don't kill."

**Jen:**

 She let fly but the bolt fell short, skipping along
uselessly between the woman's feet. Larkin cursed, set the bow down to jerk the
string back up, and gave chase.

**Coyote:**

 The woman shrieked as a crossbow bolt barely missed her. She
shoved the child towards the woods, and he broke off, stumbling into the
bushes.

She kept going down the path alone, keeping herself in view.
About one hundred feet ahead, there was a small farm with people outside it.

**Lina:**

 Goro took off, aiming for the spot where he'd seen the kid
disappear. He shoved his way into the bushes until he reached him, then grabbed
his arm to keep him from running. "Who was that lady? Was that your
mom?"

**Jen:**

 Larkin loaded another bolt while running, catching up just
enough to allow her to stop, take aim while holding her breath - and bury the bolt
up to its feathers in the woman's thigh. She went to with a shriek. Larkin
fumbled for the cord on her belt, one handed and running again, to tie her up.

**Coyote:**

 Veracity screamed. A jolt of agony tore up her leg, and she
tried to keep running but failed, toppling.

Seventy-five fest away, one of the farmer standing nearby
bolted, heading deeper into town. The two remaining people backed away, then
ran inside their homes.

—

The boy stayed quiet, looking up at Goro with wide eyes, and
let himself be dragged.

**Jen:**

 Fuck. The farmers had seen, of course, and the woman
wouldn't stop fucking screaming. They'd have to deal with this fast before
someone decided to gather a mob.

Larkin sprang on the woman, pressed her head down with a
knee on her neck and twisted her arms onto her back to tied her wrists.

"Shut the fuck up," Larkin hissed. "I fucking
told you not to test me. Who do you people never fucking listen?" She
stuffed one of her gloves into the woman's mouth and secured the makeshift gag
with a few loops of cord. Satisfied, she sprang up to look for Goro. Larkin
couldn't see him but she cupped her hands before her mouth and shouted
"Got her!" into the direction he'd chased the boy in.

**Lina:**

 Goro led the boy out of the bushes, eyeing him the whole
time. "Is that your mom?" he tried again. Nothing. "Can you
talk?" He repeated himself in Elvish, then tapped a finger near his ear
and raised his eyebrows, like Can you hear?(edited)

**Coyote:**

 The kid twisted his hands. He didn’t respond, looking away,
anxiously staring at the ground.

Veracity gave up, going limp and quiet and still.

**Lina:**

 "Hey. Come on." Goro dropped to his knees in front
of the kid, trying to look him in the eye. "Can you understand me?"

**Coyote:**

 The kid still wouldn’t look at him, face yellow and pinched
and frozen. He nodded shyly, but didn’t say anything.

**Lina:**

 "Is that lady your mom? Do you want to go back to
her?"

**Coyote:**

 He hesitated, then nodded again, but stiffened up and looked
at Larkin.

His mouth tremored, his eyes looking wet and scared. When he
spoke, it was a very soft and even voice. “She’s my m-mom I think. I’m supposed
to go if we get attacked.”

**Lina:**

 "You think?" Well, that was fuckin' weird.
"Hey, no one's gonna hurt you, alright? It's gonna be fine." Goro hoisted
the kid up to carry on his hip, and walked slowly back over to Larkin and the
woman. "What's she got to say for herself, Lark?"

**Jen:**

 "Dunno." Larkin glanced down at the woman to her
feet. "Wouldn't stop screaming so I had to shut her up." Another glance,
this time over her shoulder towards the farmers. No one coming up from the town
yet, nor anyone else wanting to play hero.

**Lina:**

 "Alright, well--hey, fuckin' cut that out!" Goro
said when he felt the kid's fingers poking into a pocket. He set the kid down
and held him at arm's length with a hand on top of his head. "We're gonna
try this one more time, lady. Zone of Truth. Larkin, take the gag out."

**Jen:**

 "Yeah but- maybe you should do something 'bout that
first." She pointed at the bolt sticking out of the woman's leg.
"Else she's not gonna do much talking."

**Coyote:**

 Far down the street, there came the sound of hooves. A guard
dressed in armor rode towards them, sword drawn. Two came running on foot as
well. “Hold!” the horseman called ahead. “Drop your weapons and stay there!”

**Jen:**

 Larkin scowled at them and growled.

"For fuck's sake." She set the crossbow down, then
stepped back until she was standing next to Goro and facing the patrol.

**Lina:**

 "Here, take this," Goro muttered to Larkin,
pushing the kid at her. "Watch it, he's got slippery fingers."

Goro held his hands in the air to show they were empty, then
pointed at Veracity. "I need to heal this woman," he called to the
guard, and dropped down on his knees beside her. Working quickly so he wouldn't
cause her unnecessary pain, he used one of his knives to cleanly cut the bolt
out, and his Foxtail wand to close the wound.

**Coyote:**

 The rider pulled up short. He was a short half orc, thick
and burly. A scar carved across his face.

He didn’t sheathe his sword or get off the horse. “By order
of the guard, explain this.”(edited)

**Jen:**

 Larkin held the boy tight by his shoulders and looked to
Goro to do the talking.

**Lina:**

 Goro pulled Veracity's gag out. "Well? Explain."

**Coyote:**

 Veracity looked up. She looked at the guards. “He cast some
sort’ve truth spell on me,” she said raggedly. “I think.”

She struggled to wipe her mouth on her shoulder. “I came
from the Sanctuary. I was looking for help there. Shelter. A woman there— a
cleric— was bragging about her adopted son, a boy named Goro. She said he was
one of the heroes that saved Skyport from the plague. I heard of the
Graverunners. Tomb raiders, rich mercenaries. She was so proud... she said he’d
come off the streets, no mother, no father. Said he’d taken care of himself
most of his life, but he’d come so far, and she was so proud. Said he was doing
so well for himself. I asked around, and people said they lived in a— fancy
castle out here by Glimmerton.

“I came to talk to him,” she said, and her eyes were wet
with tears. She wiped her face. “He was about the right age to be my son. I
came to tell him he was mine and I was sorry I left him. But when I knocked on
the door... first he told me there was no Goro here. Then he got angry and said
he’d make me tell the truth, and that woman pointed a crossbow at me. I asked
if they were gonna torture or kill me... and then I ran. I didn’t want to talk
to him no more, figured it was too dangerous and he might be... volatile. Then
she shot me. And chased me down here.”

She shook her head. Her face was still white with cold. “I
just wanna go. I never wanted this— disturbance.”

**Jen:**

 "Shouldn't've fucking run," Larkin snarled.
"You act like a crook, you get treated like a crook."

**Lina:**

 Goro smiled benevolently up at the guard. "Please go
back and inform the captain we have it under control, now."

**Coyote:**

 “Please, don’t go,” the woman begged. “I just want to leave.
Don’t... don’t leave me here, I screamed... people saw...”

The guard hesitated. The other two ran up beside him and
stopped.

His face was very cold, pale and angry. He didn’t sheathe
his sword. He jerked his chin at the woman. “You gonna kill her?”(edited)

**Lina:**

 "I sure as hell won't. Did you hear what she said? This
woman could be my long-lost mother. I didn't believe it before, but hell, with
the spell going..."

**Coyote:**

 The other two guards shuffled back. One of them grabbed the
half-orc’s arm, muttering, “Kash. Captain Slate said...”

The half-orc guard didn’t budge. He jerked his arm out of the
other guard’s grip. His jaw was locked, his tusks biting into his skin, and his
eyes kept shifting between the tied woman and Larkin.

“And the kid?” he said.

**Lina:**

 Goro's eyes widened, and he held it a second enough enough
to make them start watering. Then he leaned over Veracity, tears brimming. He
pointed at the kid. "Is... is that my brother?"

**Coyote:**

 “No,” Veracity said hoarsely. “That’s my grandson.”

**Lina:**

 "Is it... my nephew?"

**Coyote:**

 “How would I know?” she spat. Tears streamed down her face.

“Yeah, fuck this,” Kash said. “The fucking captain can
fucking fire me. You two. Get the fuck back to your fucking castle.”

**Lina:**

 Goro ignored him. He leaned closer to Veracity, bearing his
teeth. "You'd know if I'm your goddamn son, is how. Did you really have a
kid named Goro you left on the streets? It's a yes or no question."

**Coyote:**

 “I had a son,” she said. “His name wasn’t fucking Goro. I
thought— I thought maybe. I thought wrong.”

“Yeah, we’re fucking done,” Kash said, and shoved Goro back
away from the woman. He moved, arm raising to punch Goro in the face.

One of the other two guards dove forward, screaming, “Kash!
For— fuck’s sake!” The other dove forward, too.

**Jen:**

 Larkin shoved the kid aside and fell to her knees, dagger
out and coming down on Veracity's throat.

"Fucking freeze," she yelled to the guards,
"or I'll slit the bitch!"

**Coyote:**

 Kash snarled. His fist connected with the half-elf’s
cheekbone, and it made a satisfying crunch.

He didn’t hear the tiefling talk at first. There were just
noises, and shouting, and people trying to hold him back. He punched two more
times— not caring if he hit or missed.

Then what the tiefling said registered, and he let Oma and
Perry drag him back, praying she hadn’t slit the woman’s throat.

The woman continued weeping, her face pressed to the snow.

**Lina:**

 "God! Fuck!" Goro rolled around on his back,
cradling his face as pain radiated into his eye and his jaw. Damn it, though,
he couldn't let this bitch get away with her shit.

"Veracity!" he yelled. "Did you really think
I might be your son, or did you just come here to scam me?" He squinted to
the side for another look at the kid. He'd said he thought she was his mom, but
she said he was her grandson, and that was while under the spell. Fuckin'
weird. No end to it.

**Jen:**

 They didn't fucking react. Fuck, though, Larkin didn't want
to murder someone here. She was trying to keep a low profile, dammit. She tried
again, shouting at them while half crouched over the woman. They did hear her
then. Thank Mask.

"Fucking answer." She dug the tip of the blade in
a bit deeper, then looked at the guards. "And you better get away from
him. You good, pal?"

**Coyote:**

 Kash spat on Goro. He raised his boot to kick him, and one
of the other guards gripped his arm.

He jerked away. “You wanna finish this, half-elf, come
looking for me at the docks,” he said lowly. “Ask around. It’s Kash. You too,
tiefling coward bitch. Hiding behind old women.”

He mounted his horse, turned, and began to ride away.

“Yes,” Veracity said. “I thought maybe you were my son, and—
it seemed possible— and you were close to his age— but he was older, ten years
or so, but half-elves ages are hard to tell, I thought— yes, I came to fucking
see if you were my son! And yes, I came to see if you fucking lived and a
castle and could take care of me and my grandson!”

**Lina:**

 "Ah, jeez." Goro pushed himself up to sitting. He
prodded experimentally at his cheek to--oh, yeah, nope, fuck no. Fucking
jackass, that guy. Picking on a goddamn healer who just wanted some questions
answered. "What was your son's name? Maybe I knew him. Lark, you can lay
off with the knife."

**Jen:**

 She did as he asked and put the dagger away, then scooted
over to get a closer look at Goro's face. "Fucking asshole," she
hissed.

**Coyote:**

 Veracity blinked away tears. Her grandson was still a ways
away, sitting curled up.

She didn’t want to answer. She wanted to run away. She would
have if she could have, but they’d already shot her once for trying to leave
without answering their questions.

“It was Ren,” she said. “Can you cut me loose, please?”

**Lina:**

 Goro sighed. He didn't say anything for a while, just stared
at the ground.

"Never heard of him," he said finally. He reached
inside his robe for his coin purse--the real one, not the trick one the kid had
been going after. He took out a handful of gold coins, showed them to her, then
set them on the ground beside her. He put the purse away and used his knife to
cut her loose. "You should go back to the Sanctuary. They'll take care of
you there."

**Jen:**

 "What the fuck, Goro?" Larkin watched him cut her
loose and dish out gold to her. "She was trying to fuck you over. Hey, you."
She nodded at the woman. "What were you gonna do once you found out he
wasn't really your son? Doubt you'd just apologized and fucked off."

**Coyote:**

 Veracity grabbed the coins with shaking fingers. She went to
scoop up her grandson and held him tightly to her chest.

Either way, she would have tried to get him to think she was
his mother, even if it wasn’t true. Her grandson, Jin, was starting to look
thin, and her options had run out. Her fingers were too stiff to work her
seamstress job and they’d thrown her out. She had no options left. She was too
old to become a thief, and they had been on the streets for a year now. You
didn’t see many old homeless people around. They didn’t survive that long—
especially in Skyport winters.

And once she was dead, Jin would have no one, and then he
would have grown up on the streets, like her. He would become a thief and a
whore like she had been.

But if she could’ve convinced one of the Graverunners this
was their nephew... he could’ve grown up better. He could’ve been Goro’s
apprentice, maybe. Been good and useful.

“I would have tried to lie,” she said. She started to leave,
then stopped. “Can I go? I’m sorry, I’m— I don’t want to talk, I just want to
go.”

**Lina:**

 "Yeah, yeah, go." Goro waved her off. "I mean
it, though. Go back to the Sanctuary. Don't take that kid back to
Skyport." His eyes went to her braced leg. "Wait, hey. You need me to
heal you? I can probably take care of that."(edited)

**Jen:**

 "Mask." Larkin flapped her arms, helpless.
"You're an idiot, you know that? Do what you fucking want, I'm gonna go
back to the books."

**Lina:**

 Goro flipped her off, lovingly, before turning back to
Veracity to hear her response.

**Coyote:**

 “Fuck you,” Veracity said. “Your mother said you were
street, but you’re not. I thought you’d understand. I figured if somebody like
us got off the streets, got help, got rich like you, maybe they’d want to help
the poor fucks like me trying to survive. If you were my son, I wouldn’t want
you. And I’d rather be a cripple.”

And she hobbled away, still shaking. If they killed her,
they killed her.

January 25, 2019

**Lina:**

 [end]

Title: Scam. Summary: A woman comes to the castle claiming
to be Goro's mother. Larkin and Goro, suspecting her to be a scam artist, get
aggressive.