Metropolis (The World in Waiting) - Chapter One

[Phoenix]

"Thank you. Now, which way to the Ivory Markets?"

Tanan carefully navigates the streets, which aren't much different that the sewers to him, other than perhaps the crowds. The city is just on a whole different scale than he's used to, so the treck does take a while.

Eventualy, he winds his way to the Ivory Markets, throughly cursing the size of this god forsaken city. 'Now, to find Delilah' he thinks.

[sblock]Knowledge - local (DC 15) +13 - Failure
Gather Information (DC 15/25) +21 - Partial Success
[/sblock]

The gnome gives Taran general directions towards the Ivory Markets, but soon the small druid and his companion are lost in the sprawling suburbs of the city. For hours the two attempt to find their way again, but only the intervention of a handful of citizens allow the two to find their way to the canals that connect the Apartments to the Ivory Markets.

The trip through the canal systems is a relatively short one, and costing only a handful of copper bits, and soon Taran is standing on the docks of a sprawling marketplace riddled with tents and shanty buildings for displaying wares to the eager (or desperate buyer).

 

[Phoenix]

Ba'aktar scratched his chin and considered Yu'olan's words. It was indeed suicide, but what price could be put on it? A large one apparently. He sipped his drink again, and inspected the coin closely. He didn't know anything about appraising stuff of value like this, but he thought taking a closer look would make him appear serious. He placed it non-commitedly back in the centre of the table.

"Speaking of guards, what are these ones like? Do they look like a challenge?" he asked, "Might need a few more sword arms if it's anything like you say, but not too many, I want enough kills for myself."

A rotten grin breaks open across Yu'olan's mouth and he slams his fist down on the table. "Thas' wha' I'm talkin' 'bout righ' there. You know you wanna piece of this, eh?"

The soldier takes a long drink of his Chian'lo* and bites off a chunk of Gzanite before continuing with a mouthful of black half-chewed bread.

"Ok Baaky, the coins are barely guarded at all. Y'see I go' this one from a merchant tha' said 'e go' it from a priest buyin' stuff for an orfanige or sumthin'. Anyways, the place is a buildin' full of kiddies with a cupla priests hangin' round, maybe a guard or two tops...I think they don' even know what they got."

"So I is askin' you, cause you know this game. I got me, you, Hentre and Ulam on this gig so far. You reckon' we'll need ufers?"

[sblock]*Chian'lo is a warm beverage brewed from several mosses cultivated in the sewers beneath the city and combined with warm goat's milk. It is a delicacy for soldiers in some areas of the city for it has the properties to deaden small aches and pains associated with long time injuries, as well as having a somewhat pleasant vanilla flavour.
[/sblock]

 

[Bront]

[sblock]Knowledge - local (DC 15) +13 - Failure
Gather Information (DC 15/25) +21 - Partial Success
[/sblock]

The gnome gives Taran general directions towards the Ivory Markets, but soon the small druid and his companion are lost in the sprawling suburbs of the city. For hours the two attempt to find their way again, but only the intervention of a handful of citizens allow the two to find their way to the canals that connect the Apartments to the Ivory Markets.

The trip through the canal systems is a relatively short one, and costing only a handful of copper bits, and soon Taran is standing on the docks of a sprawling marketplace riddled with tents and shanty buildings for displaying wares to the eager (or desperate buyer).

Taran decides to take a somewhat low profile (well, as much as a halfling from the sewers with a dire rat can) and look around. He keeps his ears open for anyone speaking of Giante's stall and it's location. Failing that, he will eventualy ask the occasional passer by if they know of Giante and he may find him. Hopefully, he can get an idea of the kind of bussiness this Giante is into before he gets there, and find a way to get in touch with Delilah without causing too much comotion.

 

[RobotRobotI]

Alexis' feet pounded on the polished floor of the temple, carrying her swiftly away from the study and down a flight of stairs to the temple proper. For a moment she was forced to slow as she made her way through the crowd of acolytes and worshippers that milled through the area. Above her on the walkway, Vrisse leaned heavily on the railing, searching for the 'intruder', calling the nearby skeletal guards to his side.
The crowd worked for her though, Alexis burst from the front door and almost fell down the stairs and into the street. For what seemed like forever she ran, stumbling down alleyways filled with the refuse of humanity, her body finally gave up, tumbling into the mud that caked thick onto the streets.
Her lungs screamed for air, but at least she was safe, for now. All of her training, all of her lessons from her mentor, had not prepared her for this...

Alexis would, with time, crawl up to her knees, and, eventually to her feet.

With heavy hands, she should scrape the mud off of her face, throwing it to ground with an air of disdain. She would examine her robe, a finely-woven, magical garment, now caked in the mud and filth of the city.

She needs to get her bearings, but she doesn't know where to begin. She's never been in a place like this. She runs her fingers into one of the pockets of her robe, feeling for the wealth of coins she keeps as pocket change.

Dirty and downtrodden, she makes her way out of an alley and into the populated streets of the city, where the people she had wondered about so curiously now scramble. It would be a long moment before she would reach out for one young man, and speak nearly silently - "Boy, where might I go to stay the night and clean my clothes?"

The look in her eyes is desperate.

 

[Festy_Dog]

A rotten grin breaks open across Yu'olan's mouth and he slams his fist down on the table. "Thas' wha' I'm talkin' 'bout righ' there. You know you wanna piece of this, eh?"

The soldier takes a long drink of his Chian'lo* and bites off a chunk of Gzanite before continuing with a mouthful of black half-chewed bread.

"Ok Baaky, the coins are barely guarded at all. Y'see I go' this one from a merchant tha' said 'e go' it from a priest buyin' stuff for an orfanige or sumthin'. Anyways, the place is a buildin' full of kiddies with a cupla priests hangin' round, maybe a guard or two tops...I think they don' even know what they got."

"So I is askin' you, cause you know this game. I got me, you, Hentre and Ulam on this gig so far. You reckon' we'll need ufers?"

"This sounded a lot more... challengin' a minute ago, 'Olan. If the risk isn't from the guards or priests this orphanage better not be full of child-prodigy spell-slingers or somethin'," Ba'aktar replied, but with his critique over he continued, "Ulam though, he's good, did that job with him a while back. Hentre seems alright, haven't seen him in action yet but if you think he'll help I'll trust yer opinion."

Ba'aktar nibbled at a portion of black bread he had torn off for himself, and wondered what kind of treasure could reside somewhere within an orphange. Something about the place had tempted Yu'olan to seek out less subtle varities of thug than actual burglars. This however only piqued the big half-orc's curiosity.

"Alright, count me in, when's this thing happening?"

 

[Phoenix]

Taran decides to take a somewhat low profile (well, as much as a halfling from the sewers with a dire rat can) and look around. He keeps his ears open for anyone speaking of Giante's stall and it's location. Failing that, he will eventualy ask the occasional passer by if they know of Giante and he may find him. Hopefully, he can get an idea of the kind of bussiness this Giante is into before he gets there, and find a way to get in touch with Delilah without causing too much comotion.

Though the idea of keeping a low profile whilst gathering information in a place like this was a difficult one, Taran and Twitchy began to skulk in the back stalls in the hope of hearing the location of the person that he was seeking. With the crowd of hundreds milling back and forth and dozens of conversations happening around him, it doesn't take long for the small druid to realize that it is a fruitless effort.

At a nearby alchemy stall* a tall woman dressed in red rags with a bored look on her face seems an easy target for conversation, and within minutes Taran has the location of Giante's stall within the markets, something which is apparently common knowledge in the area.

Through the crowded stalls it doesn't take the two companions long to spot their target. The stall is covered with teeth, from animal teeth to monstrous teeth, Giante sells teeth as wall ornaments or jewelry. The man himself is quite small, even for a dwarf. His stubby arms and short legs are supplimented by a large bench that he walks along behind his stall, giving him access to all of his wares at anytime. Unlike other dwarves in his line of business (at least in this area of the city) he does not seem accustomed to arms and armour. Several large pouches hang securely at his waist as well as a small holster within which a slender wand rests, it seems like this man may be more than meets the eye.

After a quick survey of the area Taran fails to spot any women obviously working for the dwarf, making his job suddenly that much harder.

[sblock]*Alchemy stalls in the Ivory Markets, as well as in dozens of other markets pread across the city, are not usually what they make out to be. Snake Oil salesmen at their best, local poisoners at their worst, true alchemists are usually few and far between while common charletans sell fake ointments and remedies to the desperate and needy public that want to believe that they are getting better.
[/sblock]

 

[Phoenix]

Alexis would, with time, crawl up to her knees, and, eventually to her feet.

With heavy hands, she should scrape the mud off of her face, throwing it to ground with an air of disdain. She would examine her robe, a finely-woven, magical garment, now caked in the mud and filth of the city.

She needs to get her bearings, but she doesn't know where to begin. She's never been in a place like this. She runs her fingers into one of the pockets of her robe, feeling for the wealth of coins she keeps as pocket change.

Dirty and downtrodden, she makes her way out of an alley and into the populated streets of the city, where the people she had wondered about so curiously now scramble. It would be a long moment before she would reach out for one young man, and speak nearly silently - "Boy, where might I go to stay the night and clean my clothes?"

The look in her eyes is desperate.

The young man pauses briefly for a moment, his head snapping sharply at right angles to stare at Alexis with wide eyes. His face distorts, twisting and warping unnaturally in pain, rearranging his features in a horrible display of alien visages.

"Heeeelp me.....it huuurts...."

Before Alexis's response can be forthcoming, the man looks away, then back again, his face normal and with a look of distaste on it.

"Girl...I suggest you find an inn that partakes of stabling farm animals..."

Spending only a moment to curl up is nose at the priestess, he ignores all further interaction with what he believes is common street skum, and marches off.

 

[Phoenix]

An orphanage? Not quite what Ba'aktar had in mind when he imagined a suicide mission, but certainly an interesting backdrop for some plundering. He nodded, under the ussumption that Yu'olan may have now been downplaying the risk. After all, in between suicide and a cake walk resided the bread and butter jobs. Perhaps Yu'olan wanted approval to get rid of one of the others, and increase everyone's share. No matter.

"Ulam, he's good, did that job with him a while back. Hentre seems alright, haven't seen him in action yet but if you think he'll help I'll trust yer opinion," he replied, taking another measured swig of Chian'lo, "Let's just not have this orphanage turning out to be full of child-prodigy wizards or sumthin'. Anyways, when's this shindig going down?"

Yu'olan's face cracks open with a grin that only madmen and people that believe they are going to be fabulously rich can imitate. He snatches the coin back and drains the rest of his drink with ease before getting to his feet.

"Tonight me ol' chum, tonight. You go' yerself abou'...ooooo....free 'ours before we meet at the Dyke an' Wheelbarrow on Taylor Street, you know were tha' is? Anyway, we'll all be there anyways...."

Unless Ba'aktar has any further questions, Yu'olan drops a few coin on the table, tips his hat, and leaves into the throng of people outside.

 

[D20Dazza]

Ghost Hound Elf Bard

Twisting on one foot deftly, Ghost changed directions at the last second, sending the undead scampering to intercept him on the wrong exit.
Using the last of his momentum, Ghost dove into the sewers...

banging his knee and taking a mouth full of filthy water Ghost struggles under the grate that collects the larger, floating debris and pushes through to the other side "This isn't going how I wanted it to" he thinks to himself as he kicks through the sludge and filth "I may have to negotiate some more pay from Zimmerman, or threaten to attend his party in these clothes and without bathing, hah, that'd show the pompus arse"

 

[Bront]

Though the idea of keeping a low profile whilst gathering information in a place like this was a difficult one, Taran and Twitchy began to skulk in the back stalls in the hope of hearing the location of the person that he was seeking. With the crowd of hundreds milling back and forth and dozens of conversations happening around him, it doesn't take long for the small druid to realize that it is a fruitless effort.

At a nearby alchemy stall* a tall woman dressed in red rags with a bored look on her face seems an easy target for conversation, and within minutes Taran has the location of Giante's stall within the markets, something which is apparently common knowledge in the area.

Through the crowded stalls it doesn't take the two companions long to spot their target. The stall is covered with teeth, from animal teeth to monstrous teeth, Giante sells teeth as wall ornaments or jewelry. The man himself is quite small, even for a dwarf. His stubby arms and short legs are supplimented by a large bench that he walks along behind his stall, giving him access to all of his wares at anytime. Unlike other dwarves in his line of business (at least in this area of the city) he does not seem accustomed to arms and armour. Several large pouches hang securely at his waist as well as a small holster within which a slender wand rests, it seems like this man may be more than meets the eye.

After a quick survey of the area Taran fails to spot any women obviously working for the dwarf, making his job suddenly that much harder.

[sblock]*Alchemy stalls in the Ivory Markets, as well as in dozens of other markets pread across the city, are not usually what they make out to be. Snake Oil salesmen at their best, local poisoners at their worst, true alchemists are usually few and far between while common charletans sell fake ointments and remedies to the desperate and needy public that want to believe that they are getting better.
[/sblock]

Grumbling, Taran will watch the stall for a bit before he approaches, hoping that the woman will show up. Failing that, he will eventualy approach the stall, examing it's wares, looking to figure out what some of the teath are (Hoping that will feign interest in actualy purchasing them). If the dwarf approaches, he will ask "This is Giante's stall is it not? I was told there would be woman here who could help me. I was hoping to get in touch with her."