CH. 11: The Show Must Go On

[Chris1234]

Shima looks around again.
{OOC: Does he recognise anyone? Specifically the other dwarf.}

[HorizonsDream]

~Not as cold as you would think,~ Kendra thinks to herself before she turns to look at Tethys. "Are you releasing them?" she asks hopefully.

[TristenC]

Grubnick goes to meet Delarn at the market

[djhyland]

"You wouldn't have bothered me," Arulia says. "And I hope I'm not bothering you, either. My sisters and I came here to bathe, and I chose this inn because I was hoping to run into you," she explains. "I don't want you to think that I've forgotten about you...or about our, uh, duty. In fact, I think I might have a plan for that."

[spyguy1503]

Ne-Chanz follows the others, eager to return to the sewers and fight.

[JadedDM]

Haahqae (Masked Dragon Inn, Common Room)
"The standard fee for a bath is three copper," the snooty innkeeper replies. "Shall I have one drawn up for you?"

After paying, the innkeeper has some servants gather some water, heat it up and bring it up to one of the baths. Fortunately, as he is a gnome and therefore fairly small, he doesn't need a whole lot of water. Still, the whole process takes some time. Once he's finished, he feels much cleaner. It's about Third Watch as he steps back into the common room.

By this point, Miriam and Ismene have finished their breakfast. Miriam stands and says something to Ismene...it sounds like, "I hope you consider my offer." Then she heads for the stairs, brushing past the gnome without so much a word. Ismene herself pulls out her spellbook, setting it on the table she just ate at, and paging through it while Arcane sits in her lap. She idly pets the ferret while memorizing her spells for the day.

Kendra Synclair (Prefect's Mansion)
"I've been given little reason to so far," Tethys replies. "The spy still refuses to cooperate. He claims he is still 'thinking about it.' I suspect he's just hoping to buy time to try and escape again. Not that he could. I have guards watching his every move at all hours of the day. He insists that there is no conspiracy and that he just stupidly acted alone. I can't take the risk that he's lying, however. Not after what happened in Gateway..."

Arulia Seroth (Seven Centaurs, Common Room)
"Oh?" asks William. He glances over to the two human soldiers eating breakfast at another table, then leans closer to Arulia so they can speak without being overheard. "Do tell," he says quietly. "I've wracked my brain and come up with little so far myself."

Grubnick (Grand Market)
Grubnick heads downstairs and back out into the cold streets, toward the market square. It's not a very lively place these days. A number of vendor stalls have shut down permanently in the recent depression. But where some see tragedy, others see opportunity. As is the case here, where a number of the vendor stalls have been torn down to hastily construct a small stage for a performer in a largely empty area that could hold several hundred audience members.

However, it's still quite early yet. Judging from the position of the sun, it's about Third Watch and his mentor had said the performance would begin at Tenth Watch. As a result, neither the performer or any of the audience have arrived yet.

He spots Delharn near the stage, examining it carefully. When he approaches, the dwarf waves him over. "Quite flammable looking, don't you think?" he asks cheekily.

Felran, Ne-Chanz and Shima (Steel Tankard Inn, Common Room)
Shima sweeps the room with his gaze, looking for familiar faces. The people currently sitting in the common room of the Tankard include a human woman with a patch over one eye, a very pregnant human woman, a dwarf man wearing the leather aprons of a craftsman, and a human male that is dressed (and kind of smells) like a stablehand.

The only one he recognizes is the pregnant woman. It's the same woman he met the day he arrived in the city; the one he 'graciously' offered to let sleep on his floor but threatened to beat her if she 'touched his stuff' and insinuated he probably wouldn't rape her, since 'his tastes are strictly dwarven women.' Amazingly, she had turned him down and seemed rather terrified of him after that.

He doesn't recognize any of the others, including the dwarf craftsman.

Neither Felran or Ne-Chanz recognize any of the patrons, either.

[Chris1234]

Shima wanders over to the dwarf and asks in their native tongue, "Hello! My friend Gregeddin has disappeared and his place turned over late yesterday but before curfew. Have you heard of anything like that?"

When the conversation with the other dwarf comes to an end, Shima goes over to the expectant lady, reverting to Common, "Hello lady. I mean you no harm. I'm sorry I scared you before - I was new in town and I was frightened of being robbed while asleep. But it's been troubleing me a bit, and I want to put things right with you. If you need somewhere to sleep tonight, my friend has a place. There's no food there, but it's his and it's warm and dry, legal and, for you, free."

[Haahque]

Having a bath is quite refreshing. Haahqae’s lifestyle manages to fit in bathes rarely enough, usually just before a performance. He however does enjoy that feeling of being clean, almost noble, when he’s had one. It was also a lot of work cleaning oneself. Perhaps someday he should invent a machine to make bathing easier. He’d have to make a water heater and a back scrubber and an arm scrubber and some automatic scissors that could be adjusted for the haircut one wants and some sort of tub for the water to be in. It would also be good to put it on wheels. And maybe a smaller bathtub attached for familiars. Hmm… Such an idea could further scientific knowledge and make life a lot easier.

However, like so many other brilliant scientific ideas Haahqae puts this thought on the backburner for an indefinite amount of time as he emerges from the bath to re-join the world. As he enters the common room, his thoughts are on a much different root. Oh great, now Miriam’s mad at me too. Miriam is less important than Ismene, but she actually helped him not get killed in the giant’s lair and she hasn’t yet betrayed him. Probably just a matter of time given how Haahqae’s luck is going, but he still feels a little hurt how distant she is towards him.

Ismene remains, memorizing her spells in public. This surprises Haahqae rather greatly. He’s familiar with the process of memorizing spells, but he’s always done it in secret, and it’s very rare that he actually sees any other wizard memorize their spells, though he’s sure all of them do, he thought most of them were as guarded while doing so as he was. Here was Ismene reading a spell book in public. He nearly speaks out against her doing such an act, until he figures out that his warnings are somewhat unfounded when it’s obvious to everyone that she is a wizard. She’s wearing the robes after all. As he holds his tongue, he thinks on the matter again. When memorizing spells is the time when Haahqae least wants to be interrupted, so interrupting Ismene while she’s doing so is probably a very bad idea.

Instead Haahqae will just sit down at her table and wait patiently for her to finish her preparations, while paying close attention to Arcane and seeing if he can play with the ferret a bit. It sure would be nice to have his own familiar. Someone who would understand him, always be by his side, always ready to cheer him up and never betray him. He’s done the research on this before, a few times since he met Arcane. While he thinks he can piece together the spell to call a companion, he didn’t have the material components to do so, nor does he have the money to pay for them. He really needs money. Damn greedy betrayers and useless ‘friends’. Damn tankard not giving him money for performing. Damn there being no money in helping out the needy.

[djhyland]

"Well, it's not a sure thing," Arulia whispers as she looks around nervously. "But I still think the best way to keep the brothel from opening is to turn the town against it. I'm going to go around to the families of the imprisoned trade guild members. What happens when people can't afford to live here anymore--they're enslaved, right? Maybe the strong and the healthy are sent away to work, but I'd guess that many of the women will end up in the brothel. And the prefect has to know this, and has to know that the families of those he's imprisoned aren't likely to be able to afford to live here much longer. Even with its members in prison, the guild is still influential--and if its families take the possibility of ending up in the brothel personally, maybe our opinions will spread to the rest of the town."

After the rush of explanation, Arulia falls into an uncertain silence. All of this had sounded logical in her mind, but hearing it out loud is different. Does it really make sense? Would it work? After a moment, she asks, "What do you think?"

(OOC: I assume that Arulia's at least heard rumors about forced labor. If she hasn't, she's still afraid of her and her family ending up in the brothel if they run out of money, so barring that one sentence, she'd still say much the same.)

(OOC: Also, I seem to have left out a suggestion for Niniva to find somewhere to sit. I'm sure I wrote it, but I must have lost it when rearranging my post. I hope that Niniva is sensible enough to not just stand around...)

[BishGada]

"So..." Tulbas considers his words, "If it's not magic alone I guess it wits and not brute force. Does the death penalty is the direct failure of the task at hand, for example the combat with the powerful mage is to death? Or you fail and afterwards being executed? Also, do you mind to share your own experience or give other examples of these perils? Does the mage have a say in the Orderhe will follow or is it determind only by the results of The Test? Do you know by any chance what Raetmal had to face during his Test?" Tulbas waits expectantly for Magnus to answer the questions that bothered him the most but afterwards he asks some more practical questions, "I thought about the non ordinary ways we spoke of the grease usage and wondered if it can be also used to do good to companions instead of harming opponents, for example, make stuck door easier to move, grease wheel carts, loosen stuck sword, quickly start fires when it matters of life an death..." and afterwards, "What did you had in mind for today? Continue researching the Grease spell possibilities or go over other spells as well?"

[HorizonsDream]

Kendra couldn't hide her disappointment on the matter, but she knew there wasn't a way to change his mind on the matter. "Have you talked with the prisoners?" she asks. "And I'm afraid I don't really know what happened in Gateway."

[JadedDM]

Haahqae (Masked Dragon Inn, Common Room)
Haahqae sits and waits patiently for about twenty minutes. Eventually, Ismene seems to finish studying and closes the book. She slips it into her pack, then stands up, placing Arcane on the ground by her feet, ready to depart.

Kendra Synclair (Prefect's Mansion)
"I have spoken with them, yes," Tethys replies. He shrugs and makes a dismissive gesture. "They all proclaim their innocence, of course. Yet they all admit they signed the contract making Gregeddin their spokesman."

He rubs his chin. "As for Gateway, well, of course you don't. Few do. Before I was assigned to be prefect of this town, I was a Flight Marshal. After we conquered Gateway, I was assigned there to occupy the town. Gateway was much smaller and easier to control than Haven, yet the prefect chosen to run it--a human named Thurgood--quickly was overwhelmed. You see, the citizens didn't take kindly to being liberated. Small rebellions broke out commonly, and it was up to my men to put them down. But it was like trying to put out a house fire with a glass of water. Every time we thought we had destroyed one group completely, another would spring up. It culminated with Thurgood being assassinated. By that point, Lord Verminaard had enough and rather than replacing the prefect, simply sent word to burn the town to the ground and kill everyone in it. So we did. A real shame, too. I managed to save the minstrels, but everyone else..." He shakes his head sadly. "And all because they couldn't accept the better world we were offering them. Still, in any case, I learned a valuable lesson that day. When it comes to rebellions, it's better to nip it in the bud before it gets out of hand. I'd hate to see Haven suffer the same fate as Gateway."

Arulia Seroth (Seven Centaurs, Common Room)
After listening intently, William leans back a bit, crossing his arms and looking down at the table, thinking it over. Finally, he looks up at her and says, "It could work. Should we work together, or would it be better to split up to reach more families faster? Also, I assume you're own family is already on board?" He glances over her shoulder to Niniva, who is sitting on a bench near the entrance.

(OOC: When the army first arrived, and shipped those 10,000 refugees off to the south, most people assumed it was for the purposes of hard labor. Since then, most people who are arrested are likewise shipped off. It's a common theory, so it's not unlikely Arulia would have heard it, as well.)

Tulbas Erogund (Mageware Shop)
Magnus chuckles. "They don't like to openly say so, but yes...it's not the Test that kills you. It's mostly illusions and phantasms. If you fail, the Conclave has you and anyone accompanying you executed."

He shifts a bit in his seat, looking a little uncomfortable. "You'll find most wizards don't like speaking of their Tests. They are incredibly personal affairs. I'm sure your uncle never spoke of his, either." He points to the nasty looking scar on his face. "It is how I acquired this. I used to be quite the looker, you know. Damned handsome, and I knew it. As a young man, I was always preening. The Conclave felt my vanity would interfere in my pursuit of the Art. Since then...suffice to say, I've prioritized my magic over my looks." He shrugs. "Such is part of the purpose of the Test. It is designed to...eliminate your weaknesses, even at great personal cost."

He adds, "A student has some say in which Order they wish to be in. However, if they don't meet the requirements for that Order, they may be rejected. A person can't always choose what is in their heart, after all."

Nodding, he says, "It's good that you are thinking beyond the orthodox. But we can go over Grease another time. For now, there is still the Test to discuss. Such as the matter of the Soulforge. You see, not many students realize that one has some control over the difficulty of the Test. You can try to cruise by on the lowest difficulty, if you think you can't cut it. But the higher the difficulty, the more rewarding the process and the stronger you become in the Art. The highest difficulty is known as the Soulforge. Only a handful have ever survived it. But those that do come out transformed, both mentally and physically. They often go on to become the most powerful of archmagi. I daresay their power would surpass even my own."

(OOC: I can elaborate on the Soulforge in OOC if you want, because it's difficult to explain in IC terms.)

Felran, Ne-Chanz and Shima (Steel Tankard Inn, Common Room)
As a Wayfinder, Shima has never done well with his own people, who view him with the same suspicion and distrust as an outsider or pariah. Thus it comes to no surprise when the dwarf craftsman rudely says in dwarven, "Never heard of him. Now, get lost."

When he approaches the pregnant woman, her eyes go wide with terror when she recognizes him. She looks ready to bolt, if necessary. His apology seems to calm her a little, but it's clear she is still very nervous around him. "I-I don't make it a habit of sleeping over at strangers' homes," she says, her voice still shaky.

The woman with the eye-patch notes the exchange, gets up, and walks up behind Shima. "This guy bothering you?" she asks.

"He...was just leaving," the pregnant woman responds. She eyes the dwarf warily, as if worried he might disagree.

[HorizonsDream]

"The people of Haven have had it bad for awhile now," Kendra says thoughtfully. "And it is important to squash a rebellion before it even starts," she adds. "But I feel as if arresting the trade guild is going to hurt your image as our liberator more than anything else. Of course, you probably think I'm bias due to the fact that my husband is apart of those arrested," she adds with a small smile and a shake of her head.

[Chris1234]

"Sure lady, just trying to save you some coin," replies Shima. sidestepping and half turning so the 'eyepatch' is no longer behind him. ~That would have been a perfect backstab position,~ he thinks.

Talking to 'eyepatch', the shady-looking dwarf says, " Hello, I'm Naras. My friend Gregeddin has disappeared and his place turned over late yesterday but before curfew. Have you heard of anything like that?", adding in Cant, "And the bastards took my weapons. Help welcome, please."

If there's no pick up here, Shima will leave a note asking tha same question, signed with his name under Haaque's door and then turn to Felran & Ne-Chanz, "Well, not sure what else to do here. You're right, paying out for a bath it wasting coin, of which I have little enough already, so despite me still feeling really wobbly, maybe we should go and clear out the damn sewer. What time is it? I think, Ne-Chanz, you should buy lunch for the three of us and some torches, enough to last you until curfew. What do you think, guys?"

[TristenC]

Well, yes... but I think we're only interested in the spectators, right? Gobax takes in the details of the seating area and the alleyways nearby. Besides, if whoever is planning this little show keeps providing us with such glittering opportunities we might want to keep them around, he says with a smirk. At the least they might become a prime suspect if the whole audience is attacked but the performer survives miraculously unharmed... Of we're going to keep our operations going we need to avoid suspicion ourselves... He thinks to himself a moment before lowering his voice and changing the subject. Have you ever used flame trap on a glass bottle? I have an oil flask prepared. Since I can open it without setting it off, I wonder if the spell would go off if I threw it and it broke open...

[Ooc: are there any abandoned shops or buildings that might provide a good view while keeping us hidden?]