Planescape 3.5e - Cold Black Mask

[Ambrus]

The peery gnome continues to look around suspiciously as the group enters the boarding house and meets its demon-blooded proprietor. István had seen a fair bit of oddities in his travels, but there seemed to be no end of surprises when it came to the otherworldly city's denizens. The wayfarer discreetly makes an eldritch gesture with his right hand intended to ward off evil when the tiefling is busy speaking with the tout.

The whisper gnome hops up onto the bottom rung of one of the room's bunk beds when the woman begins collecting money from the group; all the better to make his whisper-soft voice heard by the tiefling. István hands the woman his five Cormyrian coppers and quietly inquires: "Pardon maam, but I'm in need of a few things which I'd be willing to buy or borrow from you; a pound of flour, a cup of fresh milk, some mustard seeds if you have any, and perhaps the use of a broom and dustpan for the evening?"

 

[Dire Lemming]

"Well then, there ya' are. If there're no more questions I'll leave you now. Stay out of trouble, stay away from the razorvine, and don't worship The Lady." Having helped his customers set up kip for the night Anthony turns to leave.

 

[Cage-Rattler]

The proprietor nodded slowly as she led the party upstairs, her three eyes blinking in unsettling asynchronization when István ticked off the items of his list. "Aye, little master; I can lend you all of those things except for the mustard; I'll send my little one down to borrow some from Elsie's place on the corner come morning." She seemed to catch a look in the gnome's eyes, and then added, "Unless you're needing it sooner for some reason; I can send the husband out for it instead."
When István voiced his preference, she nodded politely and turned to leave, closing the thin wooden door behind her as she went.

"Well then, there ya' are. If there're no more questions I'll leave you now. Stay out of trouble, stay away from the razorvine, and don't worship The Lady."

Hagen regarded the aasimar guide with a faint smile.
"Well, young sir; thank you for getting my friends and I this far. We'll not keep you from your business any longer." He waited for Anthony's footsteps to recede completely before turning to his companions with a troubled expression.

"I have to admit, I'm at a loss, my friends," he began. "Although I'm very grateful that you would put yourselves at risk for my sake, I'm afraid we may be stranded in this otherwordly city for some time. That odd mask you saw back in my study...I believe it some how triggered or created the vortex that brought us here. It may have been vital in opening the door for our return journey, as well."

=======================================

The cold Sigil air settled on Anthony as he left the Lamb, and thick tendrils of mist began to creep along the streets of the Clerk's Ward. There was the sudden rush of feathered wings above him as an uncommonly large excutioner's raven -- one of the Cage's few froms of native wildlife -- swooped in low and lit atop the roof of the boarding house, seeking a roost for the coming night.

Off in the distance, the faintly glowing nimbus of the brightly-lit Civic Festhall beckoned.



OOC:[sblock]It's safe to assume that Hagen, Heinrich, István, and Sindr will be sharing a room together, n'est pas? Isida, where would Pierce prefer to set herself up; in the other spare room next door, in the common room on the ground floor, or somewhere else?[/sblock]

 

[Dire Lemming]

Anthony glances up at the bird, shakes his head, and shrugs. No time for watchin' birds, at this rate I won't get aroun' ta seein' Dinah 'til morning. With that thought in mind, he heads for the Civic Festhall, as always, peery for trouble.

 

[Ambrus]

"We'll do without the mustard seeds then. Thank you." István watches the peculiar tri-ocular woman exit before turning towards their Shou tag-along companion. "Will you also be staying here this evening then?"

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

Heinrich looks around once or twice, as if assuring himself there is no one lurking in the cramped room besides the four of them, and then wordlessly pulls the black mask out of his pack, nodding to it. "We may not be in such dire straits yet, Hagen," he says quietly, "but from the looks of things, there is something more to this than meets the eye. We must be cautious."

 

[Cage-Rattler]

"...From the looks of things, there is something more to this than meets the eye. We must be cautious."

Hagen's eyes widened at the sight of the iron mask, but he dared not say anything more for the moment.

"Will you also be staying here this evening then?"

"I have nowhere else to be, and I believe this is as good of a place as any to spend a night," Cang replied. "Also," he added with a smile, "it's good to be able to converse with someone without puzzling my way through the, er, colorful local dialect."

Still, I don't want to impose on you; I'm content with taking a bed in the common room. I'll see you all in the morning for cucumber-soup breakfast then, yes?"

=======================================

Soaring more than a thousand feet into the air, the Civic Festhall was a structure of staggering size and grace that could impress even the most jaded of planewalkers. It would be impossible to miss even if a sod were struck blind; the tantalizing scents and sounds wafting through the district would draw them in like a moth to a flame. "A party never ends as long as a Sensate's around," so the saying went, and Anthony knew from experience that both the Festhall and its surrounding neighborhoods remained lively all through the day and night.

Sigil's Civic Festhall, faction headquaters of the Sensates.​

As Anthony made his way down the streets, a myriad of sights and sounds called out to him, each new distraction urging his subconcious to linger and enjoy for just a bit longer: on one street corner, a fiddler played a lively tune while a nearby street vendor sold cups of a steaming, thick liquid that gave off a heady aroma. Further down the street, a pair of jugglers entertained a small crowd of passers-by as they lobbed a multitude of amorphous light-balls between each other, each ball glowing with a different color on the spectrum and producing a dazzling rainbow effect.

Stopping to admire the juggling act, Anthony didn't realize he had been followed until a pair of dainty hands covered his eyes from behind.

"Hello, good-looking. Guess who?" a light, feminine voice chirped.

 

[Dire Lemming]

Anthony reaches up for the hands reflexively, but once he hears the voice of their owner he relaxes and smiles. "Seamus?" He asks. "My, you've got lovely hands." He adds with a chuckle.

 

[Ambrus]

OOC: Edited my previous post to reflect the fact that the party had been led back to their room. Also, does the room have a window? If so, how is it constructed; glass panes with shutters? Does the door have a lock?

The whisper-gnome nods to Cang as he draws an iron dagger from the enameled black bracer on his right forearm. With the blade in hand István begins a systematic sweep of their room (Search +1, taking 20), carefully searching for both spy-holes and invisible occupants by slashing through the air a few inches above every level surface in the room.

When the tri-ocular innkeeper knocks to signal her return, István deftly sheathes the blade and opens the door to accept the requested items. After paying the woman whatever she requests in compensation, the cautious whisper-gnome closes the door and proceeds to cover every level surface with a light dusting of flour; all in hopes of further revealing the claw prints of the invisible raven he rightfully fears may have followed the group to the Slumbering Lamb.

Only if his search and precautions reveal nothing will István finally relax enough to pull his scarf down and his goggles up. To Hagen he says: "So your trip to this place was unexpected? I feared as much; your wife was quite worried at your sudden disappearance. So tell us what happened after you arrived. Why did you go to that temple with the devil? What happened to you there?"

 

[Cage-Rattler]

Amending to Acheron's other "T" layer

OOC Room layout:[sblock]The room's a spartan, 12x10' affair with a bunk-bed on either side; the only other furniture is a small trunk where guests can store their personal belongings set against the far wall. There is a single small window above the trunk; sturdy wooden shutters and a heavy cloth curtain keep out the cold, but there's no glass windowpane. The shutters can be secured by a metal hook. The room's only door can likewise be latched shut.[/sblock]

Once Cang took his leave, István set to work. His meticulous precautions revealed nothing aside from a small rodent-hole gnawed into the floorboards underneath one of the beds, and confident the room was free of invisible spies, the gnome turned to the Cormyrian archivist.

"Why did you go to that temple with the devil? What happened to you there?"

Hagen blinked in surprise at the question. "I...what? I don't remember going anywhere -- one moment I'm in my study, looking over my books for anything referencing that mask, and the next...I'm in that temple with that cold-faced woman asking me strange questions; questions about something called Darkspine and...someone named...Anarakadu -" his voice trailed off, and his eyes took on a faraway quality. When he spoke again, it was in a slow murmur.
"Long buried in the scarred realms of iron. Long buried amidst every war-machine that ever has been and ever will be. Now from Thuldanin to Darkspine."
Hagen shook his head quickly.

=======================================

"Seamus? My, you've got lovely hands."

There was a giggle, and the hands withdrew. Turning, Anthony recognized his tiefling friend, Lilly, glaring at him in mock indignation.
"You'd make a horrible Sensate, Tony," she teased.