IC CONTACT for lostcarnival

[whattaprick]

✆CHANNEL FREQUENCY: 843.77425 (personal);
DESCRIPTION: Half the time he forgets this thing even exists, or how to turn it on and off.

✉MAIL BOX LOCATION: Next to trailer steps.
DESCRIPTION: The concept of a mailbox is rather foreign to Lambert, who's not exactly what you'd call big on personal correspondence. But there's a wooden crate you can probably drop shit into ???

BUG LAMBERT TO MAKE YOU SHIT: Given time and the right ingredients (which he'll usually ask people to provide) he can make potions (with potential side effects), oils, and bombs. You can bother him more about that in person.

Comments

[lordofthering]

I understand.

[Apparently, she's not here to blame him for it, at the very least. She's very upset that it happened, but she's honestly surprised they managed to get as many of the captives back as they did.]

You were very... proactive, during that mission. And I appreciate that.

[whattaprick]

It's what you hired me for, right? Witchers don't half-ass their contracts.

[ Well, unless it suited them not to. He smirks, shrugging. ]

Still wouldn't have gotten out of it without you. You're the one who saved all our asses in the end. [ Although arguably, she'd somewhat gotten them into it in the first place too. The whole thing kind of stings his professional pride, but he also knows portal-opening world-tripping demon-wrecking bullshit is well above his ability to handle, so it's not like he could have handled it. ]

... Thanks, by the way. For not leaving us behind. [ He never actually got to tell her that, did he? Oops. He was a little busy after they got back. ]

[lordofthering]

[Both getting people into and out of trouble is basically the Ringmaster lifestyle. Actually, it doesn't seem like she was expecting praise for that part at all, and she stares for a moment with a raise of the eyebrows. Oh.]

I can't imagine why I would do that. Going there was never the worker's obligation, it was mostly mine...

[Sure, it was the Nightrunner's job too in a sense, but it would be impractical to expect them to stand up to enemies on her tier.]

You accomplished exactly what I was hoping for you to. I doubt I could have made it through the fortress without also killing the people I'd meant to protect. Fights between beings like us are not the most clean...

[whattaprick]

[ It would be pretty easy, he thinks, to forget. After all, to someone who's as old as he's guessing the Ringmaster is, even a witcher's life has got to be little more than the length of a heartbeat. All she needs to do is lose interest for half a second, like she did at the Celebration, and they could be gone in the blink of an eye

For all his bluff and bluster, Lambert isn't actually any more used to receiving compliments than the Ringmaster is, so as she goes on he kind of looks mildly uncomfortable for a fleeting second before he forces a laugh, deciding to shrug it off. ]

Uh, yeah, I think we're all pretty happy that didn't happen. Seriously, though, what's this about?

[lordofthering]

[She considers for another moment before making up her mind.]

You are a very effective Nightrunner... and not a particularly attentive nurse.

And so it seemed most sensible to offer you the position of the next Nightrider.

[whattaprick]

What?

[ Seriously, what. Lambrt actually looks too surprised by that to even sound surprised, the question just coming out blank like he isn't sure he even understood what she just said. It's not the last thing he ever expected to leave her mouth, but it was at least one of the top contenders, and he looks at her like she's got to be kidding. ]

You're kidding, right?

[ Well, except about the nurse part. She's absolutely got his number on that one. ]

[lordofthering]

[She groans and puts out her hands helplessly.]

I don't exactly have a lot of options, Lambert!

[whattaprick]

[ Give him a moment to think about it and cycle through the options, the Nightrunners he's already met and the others he hasn't really had a chance to talk to. Sure, there are a lot of people with fighting abilities, but like he'd said himself, it's a fucking carnival. And he likes Strange, but the idea of him being the new Nightrider???

Lambert physically winces at the thought. ]

Yeah, you're really scraping the bottom of the barrel here. [ But okay, the offer is serious, even if he still thinks it's completely out of left field. ]

So ... what'd it mean, if I said yes?

[lordofthering]

[She crosses her arms again and shrugs her shoulders. At least he's considering it!]

It would mean that you're the boss of the Nightrunner's operations, and that you get to tell everybody what to do. It seems like you're the only one with any sense of military strategy, so I imagine it'd be fitting. Normally I'd only give this position to a long term employee, but they have been slim pickings recently.

I find myself having to make a leap of faith.

...Oh, also you'd get a new, bigger trailer in the Supervisor Grove.

[whattaprick]

[ Probably more like Lambert's the only one with real will to kill ... The idea of his own trailer, though, that's really tempting. Sorry Papyrus. ]

That's it? No having to sign a second contract, end up growing extra limbs or anything? [ When something sounds too good to be true, it usually is, and she can probably understand his skepticism given Mari's ... everything. If that's the fate that could await him after taking this on... ]

Do I have to decide now? [ He'd been all gung-ho to sign up to avenge his friend, but that had been special circumstances ... and he'd been pretty pissed at the time. This, though, would be going a little beyond what he expected signing on here. ]

[lordofthering]

Well... you might end up growing extra limbs, but it wouldn't be all that related to your position, I can tell you that much. No second contract is required. It's just a leadership position, really... and not one I can afford to slack on with the security issues we've been having recently.

You may take some time to decide. The sooner the better, obviously, but I guess it also isn't something to be done lightly.

[whattaprick]

Good to know. [ His mouth twitches slightly, in amusement. Even Strange's claims that the changes aren't permanent notwithstanding, he's not keen on any more changes just yet.

Rather than respond directly to the notion of how much time he'll have to decide on the question, though... he goes a different tack. ]

Hey, I've been wondering something.

If we die before we complete our time here ... does that mean the deal's off? We don't get what we asked for?

[lordofthering]

Oh...

[She has to consider that. It's not something that comes up very often.]

Usually I make my payments upfront, but sometimes it gets left until the worker goes home just for convenience purposes... so, no. If you died there would be no reason for me to back down my side of the bargain. I could honestly fulfill my end of your contract right now, but it would be a bit complicated with the way the timelines work...

So often, the person will want to make the kill themselves, which is a whole other thing to arrange.

[whattaprick]

[ Sounds like a whole lot of Complicated Magic Shit to him, but it does get him to relax a little, at least. He'd been worrying about that since it came up with Strange, and seeing all the shit they've been through, he was starting to realize this whole carnival thing wasn't the stroll through the fields he'd expected -- more like running the Gauntlet. Constantly. ]

All right. [ He pauses, exhaling. That takes some of the pressure off, at least. Assuming she's telling the truth, but ... while she might be evasive, it doesn't seem in her nature to actually lie. ]

One more thing. If I decide I don't want to do it anymore -- I can quit being Nightrider, right? I wouldn't go back on my original contract, obviously, but ...

[lordofthering]

[She's silent for a moment, and then answer, just a little sullenly:]

I suppose so.

[That is to say, she isn't going to force you to keep doing it past a certain point, but it will be really annoying and a big hassle for her to find someone else most likely so she's rather you didn't.]

[whattaprick]

All right.

[ And there's an awkward pause for a beat or two after that. What's he supposed to say now? 'Good talk, thanks for the job offer, now can you let me think about it without me feeling weird things about responsibility and how I actually just got praised for doing something instead of being told I didn't do it right and someone trying to possibly shoot me in the process of getting paid?'

Because, yeah, he can get used to the last part. ]

Lemme think about it, all right? [ He grins, sharply. ] Someone told me I wasn't too good at that, so it shouldn't take too long. I'll let you know.

[lordofthering]

Very well.

[It's not said tersely, but she's not very enthusiastic to wait either. She puts out her arms like she's about to do a gymnastics pose.]

I await your decision!

[And then she does a backflip and vanishes into thin air.]