Metropolis - The Weight of the World (and Found Wanting)

[GlassEye]

The elven woman smiled and diplomatically looked directly at Ymris, not distracted at all by the coins being counted out before her. "Well, Senor Draconis is a busy man, he facilitates a trade network with dozens of contacts in the nearby suburbs. He mainly trades in luxury items that are so hard to find for people in the more affluent regions of the city."

She thought for a moment before continuing, "If you are interested in some of his more expensive pieces, I could see if he is able to entertain guests."

Ymris pauses in the counting of coins, an expression of chagrin upon her face. "My apologies, I fear I have given a false impression of myself. I am neither a wealthy matron nor a merchant's agent seeking goods." She hesitates then plunges boldly on. "I seek work. Using either my skill at arms or the esoteric lore in which I have been trained."

 

[Scotley]

Jazick

"I'm...I'm sorry Jazick. The box isn't so you can find where you're going anyway...it's so you can find your way home. Be safe..."

"You take care. I'll return soon. What I'm doing may be very important. Thank you again for this," he says holding up the box. He wraps it back up carefully and holds it protectively under his cloak. He gives a little bow and makes his way back to the tower to get ready. He packs his gear carefully getting an oiled canvas sack to further protect the maps. He studies the maps for a while to plan his route. He is surprised at how quickly his quest will take him outside familiar territory. Sleeping until nearly dusk he dreams of Judith. He rises and dresses quickly, eager to be off. With a final check of his weapons he sets off. He pauses at the flower sellers stand and pays to have a nice arrangement sent to Judith on the morrow. He gets a meat pie of dubious origin from a vendor and eats it as he makes his way to the edge of Candlestick Lane.

 

[Bront]

The bargeman didn't even look up as Jasmine clambered up onto the docks, "No good places to stay 'round here no more..." He pushed his pole into the dock and shunted his barge out into the currents, drifting slowly away into the storm.

Rain poured through the empty streets and into the stormwater drains, emptying into the canals nearby. Not a soul wandered the cold streets this night, in fact Jasmine could not even see a single plume of smoke from the many smokestacks that dotted the neighbourhood.

The buildings were once great, displaying wealth and power comparative to the mightiest of the suburbs, but something happened not long ago to turn this place into a ghost town. Wandering down the well paved streets, doors crashed in the wind and shutters banged loudly around her. Something happened here obviously, something bad...

There was a strange noise echoing down one of the streets, a cackle? A shadow passed across a doorway, a dog of some kind, a large dog. At least something still lived here. Up ahead the great spyre wasn't far away, it couldn't hurt to take a quick look at the building before finding somewhere to rest.

Surrounding the mighty black cathedral's base was a large white mound, even from this far away the storm couldn't hide the fact that the mound was built of bones, thousands of bones left neatly in this strange formation.

Feeling a bit uneasy, Jasmine moved with the shadows as she approached the pile. A pile of bones could mean anything, but best take it as a warning. As she approached closer, Jasmine began to look and listen around. Things were a bit too quiet.

[sblock=ooc]Hide, Move Silent, Listen, and Spot checks.[/sblock]

 

[Phoenix]

His eyes scanned the crowd trying to find that bewitching face. Was she merely another vision from Metropolis? Was she a decendant of the Old Kings? Or perhpas merely one of the legendary shapeshifters. Or was he merely going crazy. In any case the puzzles were maddening. Legends and ancient peoples were springly to life around him. Something was stirring, something strange and ominous. But change brought opportunity and a merchant's instincts said to be near change to take advantage of it.

Stephanie was a key to this somehow, he had to find her, had to have her.

[sblock]Spot check (DC hidden) +15 - Success[/sblock]

People scattered before him as he plowed into the crowd, sending peasants scattering for their lives. Alexi stood high in his stirrups, opened his visor, and stared into the crowd. Where was she?

He saw her step into an alley not far away and pushed Mikli after her, pulling up at the mouth to squeeze into the narrow opening. Stephanie was halfway down the narrow street already, but she turned and smiled at Alexi.

"Sweet man, you'll see me again, the city won't dare take you away from me. You have something noble to do, something which no-one will ever credit you, but the city will know, in her Heart. Think of me kindly good sir."

She turned a leapt, her body changing rapidly into that of a magnificent stag, leaping through the streets and evading Alexi's pursuit easily. Her voice still hung in the air, her voice moving something in Alexi, something he hadn't felt in years.

 

[Phoenix]

Ymris pauses in the counting of coins, an expression of chagrin upon her face. "My apologies, I fear I have given a false impression of myself. I am neither a wealthy matron nor a merchant's agent seeking goods." She hesitates then plunges boldly on. "I seek work. Using either my skill at arms or the esoteric lore in which I have been trained."

"Oh." The woman is obviously dumbfounded for a moment, unsure of where to go with the sudden change in her customer. "Well, I'm sure that I could bring you through to, um, see him, I guess."

 

[Phoenix]

With a final check of his weapons he sets off. He pauses at the flower sellers stand and pays to have a nice arrangement sent to Judith on the morrow. He gets a meat pie of dubious origin from a vendor and eats it as he makes his way to the edge of Candlestick Lane.

[sblock]Hide check (DC variable) +17
Spot check (DC hidden) +7[/sblock]

Jazick almost thought that walking that extra block away from Candlestick Lane would be dramatically different, he had never come this far from his home before, but little changed. There were still old buildings, hungry homeless, and suffering here as well, and in the next street, and the next.

The map lead him a little further away from his home easily and accurately, it seemed that Judith's grandfather new his trade. Jazick looked at the 'compass' occassionally, he wasn't sure exactly what it was supposed to lead him to, but the sliver of metal drifted lazily inside the glass as he moved, pointing him in a certain direction, but not in the direction that he wanted to go.

Each of the streets began to meld together in a blur as days passed. The map showed him that he had made his way through the Labyrinth, passed the high walls of the Three Stone Green, and along a short stretch of unnamed canals. It was simple enough for Jazick to find somewhere safe to stay, though a few of the buildings he had to share with others seeking shelter from the ever-present storm.

There was a large black dot on the map not far off, in a suburb accessable by a large bridge, one that he stumbled across late one night. The massive stone construction once sported beautiful statues of a man, unidentifiable now though. The bridge had a toll booth and massive iron gates preventing people from entering, long unmanned it seemed, and though the gates were locked tight it only took Jazick seconds to clamber across it and into the suburb.

This place was quiet, abandoned. The buildings had been allowed to become run-down (much like the rest of the city) but their condition was only recent. It was easy to see that this place was affluent only several decades before, but now no-one lived here. Ahead Jazick could no-longer miss the enormous black ediface of the cathedral that reached far into the sky to be swallowed by the storm far above. His map told him that's where he wanted to be, forboding or not.

Down small streets he saw movement, dogs by the looks of things, wild dogs roaming, he would have to be careful. Another hour saw him move into an enormous courtyard at the base of the black cathedral where a strange sight was waiting for him. A ring of bones surrounded the base of the cathedral, a mound that would for Jazick to climb over, human bones...

 

[Phoenix]

Feeling a bit uneasy, Jasmine moved with the shadows as she approached the pile. A pile of bones could mean anything, but best take it as a warning. As she approached closer, Jasmine began to look and listen around. Things were a bit too quiet.

[sblock]Hide check (DC variable) +30
Spot check (DC hidden) +20 - Success[/sblock]

The ring of bones were human, or human-esque, there was no real need for Jasmine to differentiate. They formed a mound of death that surrounded the cathedral, a mound that must have taken the lives of thousands to build, but why?

A shadow moved at the edge of Jasmine's vision, someone else was here, and not another dog. She could see a dark figure at the edge of the courtwayrd looking in, it didn't look like the figure had spotted her yet though.

 

[Bront]

[sblock]Hide check (DC variable) +30
Spot check (DC hidden) +20 - Success[/sblock]

The ring of bones were human, or human-esque, there was no real need for Jasmine to differentiate. They formed a mound of death that surrounded the cathedral, a mound that must have taken the lives of thousands to build, but why?

A shadow moved at the edge of Jasmine's vision, someone else was here, and not another dog. She could see a dark figure at the edge of the courtwayrd looking in, it didn't look like the figure had spotted her yet though.

Quietly drawing her dagger, Jasmine remained quiet and scooted a little closer, curious as to who else would bother with this forsaken place.

 

[Scotley]

Jazick

Down small streets he saw movement, dogs by the looks of things, wild dogs roaming, he would have to be careful. Another hour saw him move into an enormous courtyard at the base of the black cathedral where a strange sight was waiting for him. A ring of bones surrounded the base of the cathedral, a mound that would for Jazick to climb over, human bones...

A thought strikes Jazick as he moves forward keeping an eye on the dogs, Jackels? Moving carefully he examines the bones. He seeks a low sturdy section for his crossing.

 

[Fenris]

"Sweet man, you'll see me again, the city won't dare take you away from me. You have something noble to do, something which no-one will ever credit you, but the city will know, in her Heart. Think of me kindly good sir."

She turned a leapt, her body changing rapidly into that of a magnificent stag, leaping through the streets and evading Alexi's pursuit easily. Her voice still hung in the air, her voice moving something in Alexi, something he hadn't felt in years.

OOC:[sblock] You're a bastard you know that. And I love you for it. This was why wild dingoes couldn't keep me away from another Metropolis game. [/sblock]

Alexi's jaw hung slack and open. Whether from despair at losing this strangely alluring woman, the shock of seeing her transform into a stag, or the ramifications of both stags and what Stephanie's prophecy foretold for him, could not rightly be sorted out. Perhaps it was all of it overwhelming him.

The sounds of the street came rushing back to him in a moment though. He shook his head to clear the visions streaming across his eyes. He backed up Mikla from the alley finidng it too narrow to turn around in, and spurred Mikla back to the other knights with the same intensity. As he approaches the waiting knights, to forestall the question that was on their lips and in their questioning eyes:

"Some urchin tried to swipe something out of one of my bags. I went and got it back and taught him a lesson" says Alexi darkly. He was in no mood to talk or reveal his second vision to the others, even if Whale had seen her. Well maybe Whale had. In any case. Alexi wanted some time to think.

"We ready to sail then?" he asks The Dragon.