Who Knew Banking Could Be Such Fun

A roleplay transcript by Lady Silmariel Quel'silith, Aoife, and Etain Moonflower

Aoife stood gazing up at the entrance to the bank. She looked halfway between contemplative and concerned, since she'd been spending time listening to the gossip mill around the city. Nothing she'd heard had been good, but since she'd once had such a mill work against her she didn't know how much of it to trust. The guard cleared his throat, capturing her attention. How long had she been standing here? She didn't know. She should probably get around to messing with her account, since that was on her to-do list along with finally getting her butt to the castle to curry that favor with the King she had no idea had pulled a Boromir.

Etain Moonflower made her way across the narrow bridge. She had arranged her long tresses three different ways as she neared the bank. She found she needed something to do with her hands - something other than clenching them into fists.  The nymph was anxious to get to the bank in search of Silmariel. She was not sure if the night elf had heard the latest news concerning Malekith, and so she planned to update her with that news and hopefully come up with a plan to lure his murdering twin back into the city. Her gaze landed on the dark-maned elf, Aoife, who she had seen recently at the bathhouse. “Hello,” she greeted as she neared.

Aoife turned her head when she heard a voice, then dipped her head with a fist over her heart in an automatic salute. "Queen Etain," she said in an even voice. "I am glad to see you again." She eyed the nymph carefully, the prickles of warning running along her neck as she noted the dark coloring of her gown. Something was up, she'd never seen the quite stunning nymph in anything other than pastels. Aoife didn't let the ruminations show on her face, keeping the polite expression. "I take it you have business in the bank as well?" She asked. Her tone was neutral, but one could say on the friendly side.

“Yes, good to see you too,” she said, slowing her steps to stand close to Aoife. She more than likely seemed not as cheerful as she usually would seem. She lifted a hand to her brow, running her fingertip over the slight arch. “I do. I am to meet with Lady Silmariel. Are you here to see her as well or one of her tellers?” Etain Moonflower had begun walking with Aoife at her side, if she moved along with her.

Aoife shrugged, zeroing in and moving instinctively. Must protect the smol. "I guess I'll find out once I get inside," she replied. "You take precedence anyways, Your Majesty." Aoife made a soft sound, almost like a faint chuckle. "It's...well a little complicated." Aoife did not mention all the stolen goods she had stashed away on her at that second destined for her bank box thingy.

“Normally I would scold you for such nonsense,” Etain said as lightly as she could. “But I do have rather pressing matters. Thank you for understanding,” she said and turned to the clerk as they walked in. “I have an appointment with Lady Silmariel. Etain Moonflower,” she said and glanced beyond the clerk to peer at the glass panel as she waited.

Lady Silmariel Quel'silith's teller looked up as the two entered. The young woman smiled, and focused first on the anthousai, "Ah, Queen Etain, welcome to the Ansa'fel Bank and Trust. As it happens the Lady was already anticipating your visit. You can go right in, she will see you now." To Aoife she also smiled, and promised to be with her shortly, unless she also needed to see the Lady, in which case... there was free coffee.

Aoife snorted. "I spent many an age in a land where the world revolved around the royal family," she countered softly. "I live to cater to the whims of the crown." Aoife then simply smiled at the clerk. "I'm here to... make some deposits," she said when the clerk was free. Aoife perked up at the coffee, electing to take a drink since even a plebeian knew appointments were favored over walk-ins.

Etain Moonflower absently smiled. “Enjoy the rest of your day, Aoife,” she said in parting as she made her way toward Silmariel’s office and closed the door behind her. “Lady Silmariel. It is good to see you again, but I have some disturbing news. Is it safe to discuss sensitive matters in this room? As in will our voices carry? Or should we go elsewhere?” Etain hovered by the back of the chair awaiting the night elf’s response.

Lady Silmariel Quel'silith gestured towards the door, activating an enchantment upon it; by this means no sound would escape the room and the windows seemed to frost up, rendering them more or less opaque, ensuring the security of their conversation. Then she smiled to her honored guest. "This room is quite secure," she answered. "And I must say, Queen Moonflower, that you are looking as lovely as always. And that I am deeply sorry for your loss. Please, have a seat; would you like tea?"

Meanwhile the teller gamely provided Aoife coffee, and smiled. "A deposit, of course! May I ask for your account number?" She was already opening the ledger to have a look, though this was on a shelf below the surface of the counter, to maintain the security and anonymity of other clients.

Aoife normally had skills to eavesdrop, magic or not, but chose not to try any of them for the simple fact that she did not give a single flying fart what was going on in the back room. As Aoife looked down at the ledger, she desperately tried to remember her account number before hesitantly rattling off some numbers. Sipping on her coffee, Aoife looked more like someone who was gonna stab you hello instead of the picture of patience. It was her resting murder face.

Etain Moonflower’s hand rested on the wooden frame of the chair. She softly sighed as Silmariel reassured her that their conversation would be kept private. She took another deep intake of breath and offered an awkward smile in thanks to Lady Silmariel’s compliment. If she weren’t so distracted, she would have offered her own compliment of the stunning vision before her. The night elf sat so regally in her chair as if it were a throne. “Thank you, Lady Silmariel,” she responded and took the seat gracefully. “Tell me what you know of Malekith and Caldiin as it relates to the incident the other day, and then I will fill in any blanks.”

Lady Silmariel Quel'silith nodded, and she proceeded to retell the story much as she had told it to Iskrin. "After the attack on the palace," she answered, "and after he broke off the engagement, I visited Malekith to see how he was holding up, and also to gather what information I could. It was already clear to me that I had no way of being sure which brother I was speaking to." The Lady poured two cups of tea, offering one to Etain; with the touch of a flow of magic, she reheated it to a perfectly steaming temperature. 

"He confirmed that Caldiin had attacked the palace, and claimed he'd killed him. He also confirmed breaking the engagement, but didn't want to go into details, stating only that he thought this was better this way. As it was ultimately a personal matter, I didn't press him on it." 

She frowned, taking a sip of her tea. "I intended to ask him to demonstrate the black ice to ensure I was talking to Malekith and not Caldiin. Before I could, he seemed to stumble, and steadied himself on a chair, and the black ice spread from his fingertips. For the moment I thought this confirmed it was Malekith. However his behavior later seemed unusual. First, the breakup at all; I know Malekith loved you deeply. Second, after some brief small talk he tried to usher me out; this seemed unusual to me as he usually quite enjoyed my company and advice. I remained, however, as there was more I wanted to talk about. First, I informed him that his father - a general in the High King's army - had been murdered at his estate, burned to death, along with a number of his personal guard. He didn't seem at all surprised and even seemed pleased. The other, I asked to see Caldiin's remains. Malekith refused and claimed he was frozen in the palace vaults. I didn't press on this either admittedly; I could sympathize with the sentiment not to want his brother's body to be a spectacle. I attempted to reassure him, that if he wanted to talk about anything that I was there for him; here, he slipped up, referring to Malekith in the third person. He corrected himself quickly, but I caught it nonetheless. I'm certain, thusly, that it was Caldiin I was speaking to, and not Malekith, who I believe was already-- well. You know." The Lady frowned again. "After Caldiin fled the palace the following day, I checked the vaults. There was nothing there to check; Caldiin must have taken it. I'm sorry."

Outside, the teller smiled patiently as Aoife recited the account number. "Ah, here we are, open and in good standing..." She retrieved a deposit slip. "What would you like to deposit?" Clearly Silm had hired well, the woman was indefatigably cheerful.

Aoife was unaware of the dramatic story time, and simply gave a faint smile to the friendly teller. It made her look less 'murder she wrote' and more 'morticia addams'  as her mood was caught up in pondering. "These," she said simply, reaching into a pouch at her hip on her belt and placing it onto the counter. It was open, more as a security measure to confirm that it was simply a bag of jewels. "Oh, and this," she added, plopping a bigger bag that she pulled from clearly nowhere and sat it on the counter. It was firmly closed, though there was a bit of a telltale stain on the burlap.

Etain Moonflower’s brows furrowed slightly as she followed along with Silmariel’s recount of that dreadful day. She nodded, long lashes fluttering in quick succession as she blinked and watched the night elf as she sipped her tea. Etain hummed in response to Caldiin’s distractions, an attempt to get rid of Silmariel as quickly as he could. And she had felt the same earlier that day. Not only had he sunk the knife into her heart, she felt as if he twisted it too. Etain shook her head as Silmariel continued, “Wasn’t it enough to kill him?” She said more to herself than to Silmariel. “He had to take his body too.” Her voice faltered. The corners of her lips dipped downard as she frowned and tore her gaze away. She started to say something more, but thought better of it. The nymph leaned forward, finally accepting the teacup gracefully. “Iskrin shared much of this information,” she looked over at Silmariel then, “on a need to know basis with me a couple hours ago.” She traced her lips with the tip of her tongue and lifted the cup from the saucer, gingerly sipping the tea. “Thank you for sharing what you know, Lady Silmariel. If it isn’t too late for us, I think I know of a way to lure Caldiin back.” She took another sip and gently lowered the cup to the saucer and placed them on the desk. Etain pointed at the delicate necklace of diamonds at her throat. “With this, and hopefully with your help.”

Lady Silmariel Quel'silith sighed. "I admit I do not share Iskrin's optimism for catching Caldiin. I expect he is already very far from here indeed. I don't think he bears the kingdom any ill will, merely his father and brother. That said, I am not privy to Iskrin's methods so perhaps he knows things I do not, and if we *were* to catch him, I am further sure that a very public trial and execution would be beneficial to the entire city, and bring some closure to this entire sordid affair. To that end, dear Etain, I would be very pleased to do whatever I can to aid in your scheme to draw him into a net. I considered Malekith a friend as well as my king, so this matter is dear to my heart as well. That is an exquisite necklace - do you believe you might trap Caldiin with it? Does it have some meaning to him?"

"Uhhh...." the teller blinked, eyeing the larger, dubiously-aromaed and -stained bag. "Right." After a moment her smile returned. "Ma'am, here at Ansa'fel Bank and Trust we value deeply your discretion and privacy. To that end we have stasis boxes available for storing.... *perishable goods* for an additional monthly fee. Also for an additional monthly fee, we will adjust the records to ensure they accurately reflect your deposit of a... 'rare head of artisanal lettuce'. And a fine, no doubt award-winning specimen it is at that, ma'am!" She smiled brightly, laying some additional forms on the counter. "Sign here, here, and here, date and initial here, and sign here."

Aoife leveled her best 'are you fucking serious' look at the bank teller. With a sigh that signaled to all that Aoife was not a happy camper, she reached into a different pouch and placed a small stack of coins on the table. They weren't hers but who was keeping score? Certainly not her. With that Aoife reached over and grabbed the quill and parchment. Signing, initialing, dating, she revealed a unique trait: she was left handed. Once that was done with, she slid the papers back before gruffly replying, "It's gorgonzola cheese dammit." It wasn't, but part and parcel of the game was to say otherwise. Aoife then put her mug down and looked about as friendly as any villain you could think of.

Etain Moonflower felt her heartbeat quicken. “Thank you. He was a good man. I think we all will miss him dearly,” she admitted, placing a hand over her heart. “You could be right, I too fear he is out of reach for this to work, but we can at least try.” Etain slid her hand to the base of her throat, absently caressing the delicate skin there. “This necklace belonged to Caldiin’s mother. Malekith showered me with gifts and many of those gifts were his mother’s jewels,” she went on, her gaze almost distant as she recalled some memory that caused her lips to curl into a little smile. “Providing Caldiin had a good relationship with his mother, he may want the jewelry for himself instead of one of Malekith’s latest flings wearing them about the city.” She laughed at that. She knew she was more than a fling - she and Malekith were to be wed. They were in love. “Iskrin said he would get the Amran’Kai started on spreading the rumors about the jewels. Unfortunately, I have been unable to locate the Dame Commander. No one there knows of her whereabouts. But anything you can do to help, Lady Silmariel…”

Lady Silmariel Quel'silith nodded. "I understand the Dame Commander left the city in some haste along with several guards, though I don't know where to. I am sure she was chasing down some lead. Possibly literally." Silmariel took another sip of her tea. "I can lay some magical traps for Caldiin perhaps, and I would be glad to assist in apprehending him if the opportunity arises, though that is probably up to Lyrena. I can also help spread the rumor about the jewels through my contacts. As with any form of information brokering this service generally comes at a cost, but given the circumstances, and that it's for you," Silmariel favored Etain with a warm smile. "it will be complimentary. By this time next week everyone from here to Ravkash will know this story, if you wish it." 

"Ah! Yes!" the teller squeaked, not at all wanting to upset this angry looking woman who'd just brought a severed head into the bank. Of course the severed head wasn't the problem, it was an upsale opportunity, but angry customers were bad, and angry *murderous* customers were worse. "Gorgonzola cheese, of course! I actually love gorgonzola cheese as it happens, ma'am. Of course I wouldn't dream of eating yours!" She made the necessary change to the form, then took the forms and filed them away, followed by the coins and the two bags.

Aoife snorted faint trails of smoke, amused for the first time. She had forgotten that she could be more than a little scary at times, and while she hadn't intended to scare the daylights out of the teller, it did improve her mood. "That could be foreplay," she muttered to no one in particular. Flicking her eyes up to the frosted over windows, she made no attempt to try and breach the spell. Instead her gaze shifted again, looking for a little snack.

Etain Moonflower inhaled deeply, her appreciative gaze moving over the night elf’s lovely face and sparkling gemstones. “Iskrin suggested I reach out to you, and I am glad I did. Thank you,” she offered, continuing, “I have the jewels in a very safe place. No one would be able to retrieve them but I.” She gently straightened the diamond necklace at her throat. “Do you think I should wear them? Should I move about the city more wearing his mother’s jewels? To lure him in? I do not fear him, I despise him,” she spoke with conviction. “I want to look him in the eyes and see him punished. I want to hold his gaze as the life drains from his eyes.”

Lady Silmariel Quel'silith smiled, raising the cup of tea to her lips once more. "It's clear to me that Mrs. Daetris had exquisite taste, and so do you," Silmariel answered, nodding in complete agreement as she listened to Etain's rather chilling pronouncement regarding Caldiin. It was easy to forget, sometimes, that Etain was a nymph and thus fae - and when the fae loved, or hated, the intensity of the emotion was unsurpassed. "The jewels look lovely on you, and I do think you should wear them more, even if we were not  attempting to lure Caldiin." 

The teller, who we'll call Susan, because that's what the little rectangle of metal magnetically pinned to her blouse said on it, so it probably was indeed her name, blushed furiously at Aoife's comment, the fact Aoife was very attractive did not actually help here. "Y-yes, ma'am, it certainly could be, but.... not while I'm on the clock, please? I really need this job, and the Lady pays really well, and foreplay in the lobby might get me fired." Susan glanced back at the office's frosty windows, then back to Aoife. "Are there any other matters - financial matters! - that I can assist you with today instead? Fire insurance? A mortgage renewal perhaps?" Susan smiled hopefully.

Aoife promptly burst out laughing, which probably wouldn't help Susan feel less terrified. "Lady, relax," she said when she could breathe again. "I don't make it a habit to kill bank tellers since it gets the royal guard breathing down my neck." Aoife made a placating motion with her hands. "Really, I just needed to make some deposits, and a message." She then pantomimed writing with her quill. Assuming she is handed the materials she needs, Aoife promptly scribbles out a note that says 'dear silmariel, please give susan a raise' then placed it down on the counter after folding it in half. "That's all." She had other fish to fry. "Give Queen Etain my regards." With that, Aoife turned to leave because her driver is falling asleep at the keyboard.

Etain Moonflower matched Silmariel’s smile with one of her own. “Thank you,” she spoke softly. “Well, I will not take up anymore of your time. I will let you know if I hear anything, and please do the same.” She rose from the chair, running her hands over the silk of her gown to remove any wrinkles that had formed. “And if you think of anything I can do to help, anything at all, please let me know.” The nymph glanced down at her cooling tea. “Lady Silmariel, next time you are near the Hollow and have the time, come see me.” Her gaze rose to lock onto Silmariel’s. I would love to bring you to ultimate relaxation. Plan to remove your clothing, or wear something sheer, flowing, freeing, and comfortable. Oh and no weapons.” She smiled brightly at the night elf before she turned to go. “I think we will have a magical time together.”

Lady Silmariel Quel'silith's employee of the month grinned relieved-ly at Aoife. "Well, that does make me feel better, ma'am, I'll pass your message on for you." Of course bank tellers do tend to get nervous when dangerous people leave notes on the counter, but this time it wasn't a robbery. Yay! In fact Susan couldn't help but see what Aoife wrote. "Thank you, ma'am!" She knew the Lady highly valued positive customer feedback. She might even actually get that raise. "Come again soon!"

Aoife chuckled as she slipped off into the city.