(no subject)

[aka_casanova]

At some point, Giovanni comes in from his very focused sword practice and puts up a poster, in careful copperplate.

Wanted:

Allies to fight inquisitors and rescue two people condemned to die. Or to help with sword training. Ask for Giovanni Bruni.

Then he wanders off back outside again, after taking a break for food. Catch him inside or out.

Comments

[a1enzo]

Enzo, on reading the poster, asks the rats to point out the person in question. They direct him out back.

Giovanni may notice his practice being observed critically by a tall green youth with a Chinese sabre hanging from his belt.

[aka_casanova]

His style and skill leave a little to be desired - he's trying, and he knows the moves he should be making, but doesn't always achieve them.

[a1enzo]

"Well," declares Enzo, at a moment when he deems the subject unlikely to cut himself, "it's a start."

[aka_casanova]

Giovanni pauses, blinking, then offers a self-deprecating grin.

"I didn't bother as much as I should have, until now."

[a1enzo]

Enzo nods; it happens. "I understand you've got a situation."

[aka_casanova]

"A very grave one", he says, sobering. "It's my sister they have, and her lover."

[a1enzo]

Enzo's jaw tightens, and he nods again, curtly.

"What's an inquisitor?"

[aka_casanova]

"Agents of the Church", Giovanni explains. "Francesca had been writing, under another name, they call it heresy. And Signor Casanova had been known for... immoral behaviour."

[a1enzo]

This gets a scowl, rolled eyes, and a barely audible mutter about "religion."

"Okay, what's heresy? And define immoral behaviour." After all, most things one would deserve to be imprisoned for would qualify.

[will_scarlett]

Carefully Will reads the sign, he does know about swords but not of inquistors so he ponders it for a while.

He had been helping Robin with court which means he's in the Locksley livery with a sword at his belt, a longsword.

[aka_casanova]

Giovanni sees him reading the sign and makes his way over.

"Hello."

[will_scarlett]

"Who are the inquisitors an why are they killin' anyone?"

The word isn't familiar to him but he's been condemned to die and would like to help.

[aka_casanova]

"Agents of the Church", he explains. "If I can't stop it, they're going to hang my sister for heresy, and her lover for adultery."

[will_scarlett]

"Oh aye, I can see why ye'd wish to rescue 'em then. An ye're learnin' 'ow to use a sword?"

It seems like a fight worth fighting but he's not sure how much experience this man has.

[aka_casanova]

"I know a little, but I'm not very good at it. Francesca made me switch with her the last time she found out I was going to fight."

[will_scarlett]

"Switch with 'er, 'ow?" There are parts of the story he's missing.

[aka_casanova]

"We were wearing masks. She was supposed to be my second but she took over the duel."

[for_good_taste]

"Excuse me," says the bland-looking gentleman in a dark suit and a scarf, wandering up to Giovanni's table, "are you the one with friends who need rescuing? I have some experience with that sort of thing."

ooc: insta-slowtime okay with you? mun is very spottily available next several days, but sasha would not let that go by.

[aka_casanova]

[ooc: slowtime is absolutely OK! Giovanni's going nowhere until he's more confident about successfully fighting]

"That's me", he says with a nod. "Well, a sister and a friend... but yes."

[for_good_taste]

Sasha nods back. "I'm Sasha Nein. I am an operative for an organization that, among other things, rescues people from villains ... depressingly often. I'm probably not from your world, so, do you mind telling me a little about what it's like there? Including especially how people would react to someone who can do this."

On that last phrase he takes a step upward onto thin air, standing about a half meter off the ground as if there were an invisible solid block under his feet.

[aka_casanova]

"...by screaming about witchcraft, I should think." For his own part, he looks fascinated. "At least they did when my sister set off a little floating balloon at the university, and that was easy."

[for_good_taste]

Sasha steps back down to the ground. "In my world, that is one of the more blatant ways to use what we call 'psi'. I can do many other things with it. For instance, I can make it extremely hard for anyone to notice me or anyone with me.

"Psi is not considered to be magic in my world, but neither are balloons. Um. What year is it for you, is the term 'Christianity' familiar, and do you know what a gun is?"

[aka_casanova]

"It's 1774", Giovanni tells him. "Guns are around, but mostly only soldiers have them and they explode if you're not careful. Christianity is the major religion in my part of the world."

He's vaguely aware of there being others, but talking about that isn't encouraged.

[for_good_taste]

Sasha's frown is of grim purpose. "These inquisitors, then, they would be from the Catholic Church.

"I think you had better tell me exactly what happened."

[aka_casanova]

"That's them." He sighs. "It seems all these months my sister's been sneaking off, she was going to give the local drunk his pay for publishing her work under his name. Work the Church doesn't approve of, at all. And now it turns out the man who was claiming to be her arranged fiance - my father set it up years ago, he was the only one who'd met the man and he's dead - is actually Signor Casanova, who was wanted for quite different things, and they've fallen in love. He took the blame for Francesca's writings, but she couldn't let him do that so she confessed at his trial."