The night slowly passes with the sounds of the never-ending life of the Cage outside. From the sound of it, some taverns and inns do not close and the revelry continues all through the night (not so in your inn, apparantldey).
Light comes to be outside - how, you do not understand, and probably, would rather not - and the sounds of daylife quickly grow as people go about their daily routines, caring not for the thoughts or worries of the countless others that wander the streets around them: just like any other city.
Beni comes to The Friendly Wayfare early in the day. He is enthusiastic, his face painted in a pleasant smile, his attitude pleasant. He is dressed different to the last time you saw him; his head now covered in tight silver-grey turban, and his body hidden behind well-crafted suit of leather armour. The same two weapons adorn his belt, however, and as he leads you through the streets of Sigil, you notice his hands are constantly wanering to their hilts, either in comfort, habit or some other need.
The merchant-captain leads you through the Lower-Ward, where you are staying, into the Market Ward, towards thwe Great Bazaar itself. As you proceed, the sounds of bartering, haggling, selling, and gods know what else becomes louder and more chaotic, and before you know it, you are standing before a great expanse of land that is filled with stalls, shops, peddlers and traders, each competing with his neighbour for the attention of the descerning clientelle. Strange creatures, their bodies over twice the size of a human, with blue skin and sinister hands possessed of extra-jointed fingers, seem to make up a large portion of the merchants, and their stalls are by far the largest and most impressive, with dozens of guards (humanoid and other)...
But you are not there long enough to see any more, and Beni whisks you downa side-street away from the hubub towards a four-storey building – a bell-tower to be precise. He leads you towards the door and knocks twice before waiting for someone to open it. A sign reads – Planar-harbour.
After a few seconds, a metal hatch slides aside revealing a set of dark eyes around nine feet up. The eyes inspect you and finally rest on Beni, where they nod slowly. The door opens and a large humanoid demands a hefty sum of money from Beni – which he duly pays without as much as a batted eyelid. The creature examines you each in turn and reaches in trouser pocket and produces seven metal rods, which are handed out to each of you. He rods look like steel, though are far heavier than the material.
The doorman then lets you in and leads you to an arched niche that resembles the door in which you entered the tower, apart from the fact that is walled off. He points towards it and leaves you, heading back to the main door.
Beni looks back to you. ’You may not be used to this, but it is perfectly natural. Just walk through the door, like this,’ he says. He steps towards the doorway holding the metal rod tightly and, just before stepping though, he speaks a warning, ’Whatever you do, don’t drop the rod. And brace yourselves, it gets cold.’ And with that he steps towards the wall, and disappears instantly, without warning.
