IC - 2- Day 2 - Dame Marie Sunday - Everyone

[SunlessNick]

"And do they give people gold?" Florence adds.

OOC,I rolled 2 and 6 for getting information.

[Mephistophilis]

After a few more bars Labas stops. 'Naked on the beach?' He gives a wheezing laugh. 'Getting friendly with the fishermen?' He looks more serious, 'Well, they use ta say. And this is old old tales, even for an old man like me. They use ta say Lasirenn need somethink from the men to make the sirèn'. You know what I mean? But most men not desperate enough for that. Most men.'

At Florence's question his face turns dark, 'Why you gonna go ask me that? Somethink give you gold? Throw it back in the sea, commère and don't be asking any more questions about it.'

The little black and white dog starts barking at Florence.

'Labas's face twists into a grimace. For a moment, as the sun catches his face full on and reflects off it, she sees his thin, shrivelled face with the pale skin pulled tight across, his eyes dark and shadowed, like a skull. Leering at her. ----- Roll the Insight die.

• 'And I went to the crossroad, mama, I looked east and west
  I went to the crossroad, baby, I looked East and West
  Lord, I didn't have no sweet woman, ooh well, babe, in my distress.'

[Mr. Handy]

" Are all the sirèn women, or are there men among them?" asks Laurent.

[Mephistophilis]

Labas shrugs, 'I ain't never seen a man sirèn, but I ain't seen many ladies either.'

[Mr. Handy]

"But you have seen some?" asks Laurent.

[Mephistophilis]

Labas starts laughing but it soon turns into a fit of coughing. He clears his throat and spits on the ground. 'Well, now you make me think about it, I only seen the one for sure, bloated swollen thing washed up in Anse Douce. Was it a man, was it a woman? I can't rightly say, but it was ugly. The fishermen say the sirèn is women, ugly women in gold jewellery, but fishermen say a lot of things after a few glasses of rum. Out towards Ile du Vent they say, that's where you'll find 'em.'

[Mr. Handy]

"I'd rather not find them," says Laurent.

[Mephistophilis]

Giving a kind of low growl Labas says 'Ain't that the truth.'

Have you guys finished with Labas? What do you want to do now?

Florence still needs to roll her Insight die

[Mr. Handy]

I'm done, but I don't know if Florence has further questions. I'm not sure what to do next, so I'll wait for her.

[SunlessNick]

Finally made it back. Sorry for the absence - computer issues turned into other issues.

Her insight's 3, and I rolled a 4. So I guess that means her insight is 4 now.

"Do you know of any men who were desperate enough?" Florence asks.

[Mephistophilis]

No problem, yep, Insight now 4

Labas shrugs at Florence's question. Then he smiles, 'Fishing been good recently?'

[Mr. Handy]

"What about during times when the fishing wasn't so good?" asks Laurent.

[SunlessNick]

"Or when there was a bad storm?" Florence adds.

[Mephistophilis]

Labas shrugs again. 'Fishing was good before too. Twenty five year ago.'

He stops talking and begins to play a song on his guitar, it's Blues but Laurent doesn't recognise it.

• 'The things that I used to do
  Lord, I won't do no more
  The things that I used to do
  Lord, I won't do no more
  I used to sit and hold your hand, baby
  Crying, begging you not to go.'

He shows no sign he's interested in talking any further.

[Mr. Handy]

"Merci beaucoup," says Laurent, applauding the song.

[SunlessNick]

Florence applauds the song too, and thanks Labas before leaving.

Once they're a short distance away, she says, "That last verse he sang. He may be warning us of something. Is the "baby" one of these sirèns, do you think?"

[Mr. Handy]

"Could be," says Laurent. "In American music, a girlfriend is often called baby. What should we do next?"

[SunlessNick]

"We could look at the Anse Douse, to see if we can find anything in the daylight. Both Marise and that American seemed to be going there. Or we could go to the Azagon and talk to him again. I don't know what else to do except wait for Fabrice to come back with Benson."

Do we know who is this Louis Clermont that Labas mentioned?

For the moment, she doesn't want to tell Laurent the strange impression she got of M. Labas's face - not until she's more clear on what it means.

[Mr. Handy]

"D'accord, let's examine the Anse Douce," says Laurent.

[Mephistophilis]

OOC:   Louis Clermont is the local doctor