"I don't think there's any evidence we only have one each..."
"So we need to go start poking around until we find something that could be related to one of our powers?"
"Yup. And we're burning daylight. So, we're definitely going underground to get back out, right? From there, are we going to explore the underground, or are we going to try to figure out how to turn the nearly-impossible into the possible, in taking us to Silk?"
"Underground first I think, just so we can get a picture of how big it really is. I mean, it might just be a tinsy bit more then what we found ..."
"Underground first, absolutely. I suggest we look for volcanoes while we're down there."
"Sure, let's check out the underground. If we run into more raptors on the other side of the wall, perhaps we could ask about if they trade with surface people and how that generally looks. Maybe if they used to trade more or something. I think finding out about trade routes is still the best bet for Kik's shrine(s)."
"I'm in for the underground. The surface is something we will have to deal with in time, but perhaps learning more about our opponents is our best move now."
"Let's head for the underground and see what we can learn then"
On the morning of the departure Liisa is up early (for once!), picking a basket full of fresh fruits as food for the first few days. Really ought to start drying things so I maybe could bring along food a bit further ... she notes but that was for later. Now she wanted to explore! Well, same old tunnels to start with at least... Still, returning to the friendly cities of the raptors did have a certain charm to it ...
The group heads back into their caves, having to deal with a couple of hungry bucks along the way, and having to run from a swarm of squirrels.
Once under ground, they are deal with a couple of bats and finally reach the first city they found the first time.
Some of the people they met before are shocked to see them alive, and there's some coins that change hands quietly in the background.
Going through, they deal with a couple of oversized gecko's that want to eat them, and then arrive at the second city again.
The trip again takes several weeks.
Luna would vote we return to the same bar to do a kind of 'checkup' on the same people then explore more of the city.
"We need to be careful going the same places we were before as traps may be set there. I agree that getting information from there will be helpful, we just need to be very cautious. I'm surprised we got through the wall without a reception."
"The bar we're talking to caters to fugitives. Folks who've bragged about killing off Celestine's priests. If anyone's trying to set traps for us, they'd be a possible line of information about it."
"Besides, their drinks were good." Liisa adds with a shrug. Best I've had here. Only ones I had here. "And we might make a bit less of a splash by simply heading to one place rather then asking for directions all the time."
The group heads over to the 'Surfacer' quarter, and find an insane sight.
The huge square that had been deserted on their last visit is teaming with a mix of Raptors and Humans, mostly human merchants and their guards with large stalls, tents, and sectioned off areas with tables forming the squares. Merchandise is stacked, displayed, crated, baled, and generally all over the place. Raptorian guards, a great many of them, patrol the area in their heavy armor, clanking amidst the hub-bub.
Kong stops in his tracks as he sees the crowds. "I think we should find out what is going on before we wade into the middle of that. Maybe stop a Raptor and ask him? Or one of the guards as a last resort."
"Ooooh! Market day!" Liisa squeaks and bounces in delight. While she wasn't the shopping spree sort of person any semblance of normality was a welcome distraction. Not that we really had market days home in Helsinki, except the occasional fair. Still though! It was awfully tempting just to rush off and start browsing right away. To her companion she notes and starts to head towards the chaos. "Let's see if they have any newspapers, maps or the like. And maybe entertainers?"
And unless someone quickly thinks of a compelling reason not to go, she'll head into the fray and start looking for the mentioned items.
"If you can read minds, this might be a good moment to try it," Lina reminds Johnny.
"Fascinating... and interesting. I'd love to browse, see what they have to offer, not that I've anything much to trade with that has value here. Something tells me they don't take plastic." he says with a wry grin.
Johnny raises an eyebrow at Lina. "But why resort to that when we could just ask? They're used to visitors, so it's unlikely that we'd be expected to know. Besides, most of them are probably just thinking about how to make as much money as they can or if they left the stove on." With that he walks in the same general direction that Liisa went in, stopping to quickly speak to the first relatively friendly looking stall owner he passes.
"Excuse me but could you kindly tell me what all of this is?" He waves a hand at all the commotion. "Last time I was here, this place was practically deserted."
Lina shakes her head. "Not that. I meant to look for prayers to Celestine, or thoughts of fear and disguise. But, fair enough."
Did we cause this? She wondered to herself. "At least we'll blend in a lot better now?"
Johnny raises an eyebrow at Lina. "But why resort to that when we could just ask? They're used to visitors, so it's unlikely that we'd be expected to know. Besides, most of them are probably just thinking about how to make as much money as they can or if they left the stove on." With that he walks in the same general direction that Liisa went in, stopping to quickly speak to the first relatively friendly looking stall owner he passes.
"Excuse me but could you kindly tell me what all of this is?" He waves a hand at all the commotion. "Last time I was here, this place was practically deserted."
The man snorts, his beard fluffing out. "O' course it was, tenderfoot. Only busy on Spring Trade Day and Fall Trade Day. All the stuff people crafted through the winter, and all the summer stuff. We're all getting ready for winter kid. Gotta sell to the scaleys and get home before Her Icyness comes down out of the mountains and ices over the whole continent. Then we spend the winter crafting up for Summer."
"Just one day of the year? Huh."
The man looks at Lina. "No, four weeks a year. Opens on Spring Trading Day, and again on Fall Trading day. Two weeks, twice a year."
Her senses honed by isolation Liisa eagerly dig into the merchandise to find what she is looking for - and all the things she didn't know she wanted. Heh I wonder if Lina would let me buy that stuffed animal. I don't think we need it, but it's sorta cute ...
After hearing the report of why all the people are here, Kong relaxes slightly. "Let's make sure we all stick together."
"Hmm." Lina tries to act casual as she talks to the man. "Seems like it could get rowdy. Anyone from the surface send down peacekeepers for this sort of thing, or does the ice queen stick to her mountains?"
"Nobody wants to cause trouble with the Scaley's. They're armed to the teeth, literally, while naked." He laughs at the joke, apparently an old one.
"Huh. So they've got their own peacekeepers, then?"
The man frowns. "You're down here and you haven't dealt with the guards yet? How'd you get down for the festival then?"
Neri steps forward through the crowd and glares at Lina, "Lina, leave the nice man alone." he leans in towards the man, and lowers his voice, "She's a little daft... but she's good with her fists, so it's better to travel with her than without her... at least when she isn't causing more trouble... he adds, rolling his eyes.
At Kong's request Luna stayed close to the group and out of fear of looking suspicious to someone that had the right abilities didn't use her magic to hide herself even near them, instead she stayed near the back of the group trying not to draw attention to herself and keeping an eye out for any signs of up coming trouble.
Johnny rubs his chin thoughtfully. "A great trading event. How marvelous! From how far away do people come? Is the trade pure material goods or do entertainers come as well to earn some coin showing off their skills?" Maybe if we're lucky, there will be some traveling bards or some such who could spin a tale or two for us. They would hopefully have more relevant info than the raptor storytellers, as entertaining as that was.
[dice rolls]
Her senses honed by isolation Liisa eagerly dig into the merchandise to find what she is looking for - and all the things she didn't know she wanted. Heh I wonder if Lina would let me buy that stuffed animal. I don't think we need it, but it's sorta cute ...
The man snorts in disgust at Neri and Lina. "Bah, buy something or quit wasting my time with lackwits and jack daws!" He moves away to deal with a different potential customer, his face clearing up and a smile returning as he changes to someone else.
Liisa does find someone who has a few maps for sale, but when she looks them over, she realizes they are likely out of date, they all look old. However, it's the first map she's seen. Inquiring about how up to date they are, the man hems and haws but admits they are about three or four decades old. She finds out the man only has them because they take up next to no room in his wagon, and sell for a few gold. The lizards don't use maps. For that matter, only traders do and even they only need them when going to new places. These he found on a trader who'd been killed by Wyverns a few years ago. Nobody had been interested in them until now.
Luna sees a few pick pockets, all human, in the crowd as she looks around. It's odd, they seem to have a slight glow to them as they walk around. She also notices the raccoon, it seems to be slipping amongst the stalls, never touching anything, but a careful watch shows that things vanish as it walks past.
"That won't matter much, I just want something that reminds me that all isn't just these caverns." Liisa chuckles and looks over what else that merchant had.
Luna watches the glowing ones as close as she can without drawing attention to herself, if able she'd poke the nearest party member and motion for them to look towards one wondering if she was the only one able to see it.
Neri looks when Luna makes the request.
Nothing unusual
"Nope. Just a bunch of people." Neri shrugs. "Maybe it's your thing?"
"So-" Liisa started and grabbed her pouch. "-a few gold for the maps then? This might be a long-shot, but do you have any frames?"
The man laughs. "No, sorry. I do have a map case though, somewhere. And yeah, 5 gold for the lot of them." He says, and digs around in a box of things. "And another for the case." He finally digs out an old seal-skin map case. It appears to be in decent shape, the seal skin glistens slightly with oil. "You should dip it in oil for a night and let it dry for two days, if you plan to take it on the ocean or a river. It's fine for rain."
Johnny sighs as the man ignores his questions. He instead looks around, approaching Liisa. "Ooo, you found some maps? That's nice. Are they local or from more exotic places?" If Lees bought something, perhaps that will earn us some good will, and I can get some idea of how big of an event this festival is.