Paridon: The Dark Metropolis (Ravenloft)

[InVinoVeritas]

Chapter Two: The Masks We Wear

[sblock=OOC]I'm moving the action this far forward this quickly just because it's Halloween, and, well, I kinda have to. Feel free to interrupt the events of this post. I'll reshuffle and retcon as necessary.

By the way, awesome Intimidate, folks. Natural 19+11+8 from assists=38. Pants will have to be changed.[/sblock]

Lug looks around and puts a hand on his boy's shoulder. "Fair enough," he replies, "I'll stay outta your hair. We only want to make sure the little girl makes it back safely... and you look ready to make that happen. Don't foul this up, though. We all know what happens to pretty things that are left unattended."

He looks over to Ada one last time, pointing in her direction as the two make their retreat. "They get taken."

From across the street, Lug calls back, "Oh, and Ru, don't think that Ari's forgotten about you! Strahd boy in life, Strahd boy in death, Ru!" The mists seem to conspire to cover the tracks of the two ruffians as they scurry away rapidly.

"I am not a little girl..." Ada mutters tremulously, but then clings tightly to Fr. Berman and shivers. "Thank you," she adds.

* * *​

The carriage finally arrives. Once everyone is ready, they clamber aboard, and head off to the gnome district.

Ada struggles to stay awake, but the events of the night, and the slow rumble of the carriage over the cobblestones put her to sleep. She ends up resting against Fr. Berman's arm. She's warm.

The sounds of music and celebration slowly rise in the air as you get closer to the clock tower. A raucous festival dominates the tower square, and gnomes dance, merchants have stalls set up, and everyone celebrates the new year. The dense fog does nothing to slow the spirit, and the festival blends and fades into a miasma of color in the distance. Pops and flashes of magic and fireworks light the fog as multicolored wisps in the distance, and the smells of fresh grilled meats and sweaty bodies suffuse the carnival.

Everyone in the party wears masks. They are all colors of the rainbow, and come in all shapes and sizes and styles

From the elaborate...

...to the simple.
​

A merchant wears a comical mask with a long, round nose, prominent ruddy cheeks, and a big, toothy grin calls out to you, "New Faces for the New Year! Come and join the action!" Indeed, his stall is filled with masks upon masks of any design imaginable.

The carraige continues, and Darian takes note of one individual, dressed as a jester, watching carefully as the carriage passes by...

An intriguing jester.

POW! SNAP!​

The carriage horses rear up in shock and the driver struggles to control them. He calms them down successfully, but not after considerable jostling of the carriage. "No alarm!" the driver calls back to you, "just a couple of firecrackers spooked the horses."

Another gnome, slender and dressed in a tight white outfit and white cape, with the exception of a tall black hat and mask with matching codpiece calls out, "So sorry! My girls should have been more careful!" Indeed, three women hang on him appreciatingly as he speaks. The long, pointy nose and lusty sneer his mask has are oddly appropriate. Two of the three women are also dressed in tight outfits and capes patterned harlequin-style with multicolored diamonds, and the third is dressed in what appears to be simply layer upon layer of pastel veils.

The three women's masks have keyholes where their mouths should be.

Ada, awakened by the firecrackers, looks around and groggily says, "My home's just down this street, half a block."

[sblock=ooc]Photos on flickr from doodlegoeswest, Lara Jade, and Victor Bautista.
[/sblock]

 

[industrygothica]

[sblock]Are these all gnomes behind the masks (or at least gnome-sized), or are there others participating in the celebration as well?[/sblock]

 

[InVinoVeritas]

Darian carefully notes that although the vast majority of the celebrants are small--most likely gnomes--there are a few individuals who appear human who have joined the festivities. The individuals who seem to have taken notice of the carriage are all gnomish--or at least gnome-sized.

 

[Rhun]

Torhan stays alert, his eyes darting from mask to mask, his ears keenly listening to anything out of the ordinary. The earlier encounter with the thugs has set him on edge, somewhat, and reminded him once again that in Paridon, enemies abound.

 

[wmasters]

Perrin breathes a sigh of relief as the ruffians leave, relaxing now the immediate danger has been abated. He reaches down and strokes Spirit, whispering "It's alright" as much to calm his own nerves as the wolf's.

The gnome's festivities attract Perrin's attention, he looks out from the carriage at the mass of masks. "Wow. It's amazing." He keeps an eye open for trouble or anything unusual or out of place, but he not really knowing the festival isn't totally sure what he's looking for. In particular he's looking out for anything around the clock tower.

"No harm done, enjoy your evening. he says to the gnomes with the firecrackers. "Down to this street a short way please he tells the driver, keen to keep Ada home and keep her calm.

 

[kinem]

Father Berman seems pensive. Quietly, he explains his concerns to the others in the carriage.

"It seems to me that thugs are not usually given to charity, nor are overly concerned about the safety of an innocent.

Therefore, it is probably safe to assume that someone hired those thugs. It is unfortunate that they were scared off instead of interrogated, for any such employer is surely a likely suspect in the case. We must find out who it is.

Also, taking Ada home is probably a bad idea, because the thugs might have been hired not to protect her but to prevent her from testifying. Even if we grant that she did not see the killer, it is quite possible that the killer isn't sure what she saw or didn't see.

But, it is well that we are here, for pretending to take her home might allow us to set a trap.

Ada, who lives with you, or are you alone?"

 

[InVinoVeritas]

The clock tower stands sentinel over the festival, the hands and dials moving slowly and inexorably across its face. Partygoers fill the space directly in front of the tower. One merchant has, in this space, set up a bright red tent sells freshly smoked sausages among a display of knives, cleavers, and other well-honed culinary instruments. The merchant himself is portly, and rather tall for a gnome--over a full meter high. He wears the face of a pig, and his apron is sloppy.

The carriage then turns away from the party, onto Markovstrasse.

Ada gasps timorously. "We aren't going home? There's still danger?" She looks back and forth, pleadingly, between Perrin and Fr. Berman and adds, "I live with my father. He runs the watch shop, and I help."

"Please, we're almost there... it's just right there!" She points ahead, indicating a storeface with a large wooden sign of a pocketwatch hanging from a post.

 

[jkason]

Ru Brike, barbaric human monk

Therefore, it is probably safe to assume that someone hired those thugs. It is unfortunate that they were scared off instead of interrogated, for any such employer is surely a likely suspect in the case. We must find out who it is.

Ru frowns, biting his lip a moment. Then he shrugs. "Secret's hardly a help, so I might as well fess up," he mutters.

"I can't say I know who hired them for this particular job, but I know their boss. I used to work for him. I wouldn't call me exactly welcome around there, but if we decide we need to backtrack Lug and his boys, I'm more familiar with where they come from than I like to remember."

Looking to the girl, he hesitates before saying, "And I'd say it's heavy odds that those boys weren't there to get you home safe. It's not their specialty, you know.

"But let's get you in to see your father first, and worry 'bout the rest as we come on it."

 

[Rhun]

"Don't worry, Ada. We will take you home. We are just concerned for your continued safetly."

Torhan turns his eyes to Ru. "It might do well to pay this 'boss' a visit. It is obvious that he must know something more about this crime. What do you know of him and his men?

 

[industrygothica]

Darian focuses on the gnome in the jester's mask. The way he is staring at their carraige makes him a little uneasy. If possible, Darian will step out of the carraige a ways from the watch shop to scout the surroundings and get a feel for the place.