the ardoc family are rather old fashioned. They have it in their heads that women are inferior to males. And are one of the richesr families her in kaer maga... it will be fun tweeking their nose i think. While it might be fun to disable them of that notion I'm sure I can't think of a way to crawl intonthrir slimy inner circle perhaps....
"Hmm. Sounds like this is a job for you to take the lead, Trendon!" says Azura brightly.
"Why don't we fetch some tea or qaf and discuss plans over a snack."
Ryn frowns as Trendon describes the attitudes of the region's most powerful family, unconsciously running her thumb over one of the many rings on her fingers. "Yeah, it sounds like that may be the best approach to begin with....it sounds like if I have to deal with them somebody will end up getting punched."
"That indeed is my back up plan Ryn... in fact a little bit of sugar cube and switch... guess which you will be Ryn?"
He chuckled leading hte wya back to their inn room for his big plan.
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Azura grabs Ryn's arm and says, "On the up side, my dear, this gives me the excuse to wear something absolutely sultry. You can help me pick."
"Uh..." Mach clears his throat.
"...could we join you for snacks? I mean, if it's not too much trouble..." He asks, his cheeks still pink.
Nyxra, on the other hand, seems to have blanked out when Azura mentioned wearing something sultry.
Azura glances to Trendon for his reply—he's the one in charge of this operation, after all.
Azura grabs Ryn's arm and says, "On the up side, my dear, this gives me the excuse to wear something absolutely sultry. You can help me pick."
"OOhhhh, that alone will be totally worth it!" Ryn purrs, a smile spreading across her lips at the thought.
"So we need to send someone to the house with a note...you know where the house is located dont you mach? I promise not to seduce your girl while you are gone."
He pulls our some parchement and begins writing a note.
My name is Trendon Derexhi and i am a member of the pathfinder orginiztion. It has come to my attention that the Ardoc family has great influence in the city and with the Augurs and i have need to do some research on a possible fortune influeincing find in the great library. I would love meeeting to faciclitate an expidition. please send word back with my messenger when a good time to meet is.
Your truly,
Trenden Derexhi, pathfider
"Now we just need them to be curious enough to let us in.... A private word with you Azura if you please
"Of course," says the buxom bard with a nod. She lifts up Ryn's hand to smooch it, then slides off of the gladiatrix's arm to see what Trendon has for her "role" and "motivations."
Azura nods.
He rolls his eyes nad grins like a teenage boy
"Anyway, I'll make sure that I'm prepared in case I wind up t!ts out."
"While we wait for word from your friend my dark beauty would you like a tour of our room? or the semi private baths?"
He asked the exotic beauty that was Nyxra with a not so subtle wink.
Azura meanders back over to Ryn and takes her hand.
Joining Azura, Ryn listens as she lays out her plan, and necessary sacrifice to gain the access they need, sighing and nodding in agreement.
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She winks, then adds, "But those in need of punching will get the five-finger-ring when the time comes."
"So, what now? Do we split up and take care of errands while we await a reply? Or is there something else we can do in the meantime?"
"If you all have business to take care of go for it.. I will await word here... with repast for the messenger and his lady fair. "
He shot a wink at the lovely dark elf Nyxra.
"Well I'll need to dress the part, which may be a bit tricky because I need to fit the role without taking attention away from you. Sooo it sounds like Ryn needs to help me play dress-up."
"Actually, now that I think about it, the simplest solution would be to try to buy some magical sleeves of many garments or a hat of disguise so that I can just... be wearing whatever I want. We could quickly go through a bunch of possible outfits that way, too. In a city this large it should be something we can find."
Nyxra snickers. "Well, since you're so kindly offering..."
The dark-skinned elf sidles up to Trendon and slides an arm around his. "...how can I say no?"
The Tarheel Promenade of Kaer Maga would be the best place to start looking--and two prospective vendors come to mind. One is a dwarven 'honest crook' named Gadka Burtannon--he has a shop cart on the corner of Fever Street and Half-a-Chicken Walk.
The other is The Wheel Unbroken: it's a combination of a merchant's shop and mage's guild. You'll not find a more powerful concentration of magical power and wealth elsewhere in the city. It's a three-story building made of marble that a visitor could only miss if they were profoundly ignorant and unaware.
"there is a dwarven seller of magical goods on the corner of fever streeet and half-a-chicken walk.... no i have no idea why its named that but a better place would be a "a wheel unbroken.. its a large three story buidling made of marble that is part merchant shop and part mage guild....
He began nodding to her friends as he slid his arm around the pretty elf guiiding her back to the master bedroom his hand groping her firm rear end, it was clear he was going to spend his time waiting for the message working off the days of sexual frustration being near all those lovely ladies and not being able to do anything about it "tell me Nyxra... do you prefer being on top or bottom?"
"By all means, lead the way to the Wheel Unbroken," says Azura. "I don't know this city at all!"
"I think he's going to be busy for a while." Ryn says with a chuckle. "I'm sure we can find it."
Mach takes the written message and nervously swallows. "Er... right. Sure."
He then turns to the two women on their way out the door. "Hey, I can lead you there. Let's go. Can we go now? Please?" The words spill out of his mouth in an anxious torrent, glancing back at Saersha & Embyr--and the leaving Trendon and Nyxra.
"Whichever one gets us naked faster."
"Thanks Mach!" says Azura merrily, apparently oblivious to the dramedy unfolding around her. "You know, this is something I should've invested in a long time ago. Any kind of outfit I need in the blink of an eye! Great for formal dinners, bawdy shows, or sketchy meetings."
Ulfr follows the shoppers like a protective shadow wearing a bemused smile. He has no desire to be here as Trendon gets what he deserves. The last thing he needs in his dreams is the sounds of squeaking furniture. Still though, good for him.
I might want a set as well. My rough demeanor might distract from our goal. I hardly care what these nobody's think, but far be it from me to harm the party through stubbornness.
"Great! We can try a few different variations. I think it's pretty much impossible to make you less intimidating, though."
Ulfr chuckles. Me? Less intimidating? Heavens Forbid.
Azura chuckles in return. "As I said, I think it's pretty much impossible. We could make you look flashy and stylish, or like a warlord, or a bard in metal, but you'd always look intimidating."
"Little do folks know how much you can also be a good friend."
"Very true!" Ryn chimes in.
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Ulfr almost blushes. A diamond in the rough escorting a Jewel and the Crown that holds her. Not a bad image. I might write a song about that.
And Ulfr starts humming snippets and fragments of music under his breath as they walk
Azura grins at Ulfr and keeps a loose hold on Ryn's arm as the trio head to the Wheel Unbroken. Being a three-story-tall marble building, the structure's easy to spot. The warriors easily push through the thronging crowds as Azura slips in behind them. The heavy doors of the building are already open, held in place by stops so that the traffic of the day's buyers and sellers can come and go as easily.
The Wheel Unbroken isn't just a place to purchase magical supplies; it's also a research laboratory and manufactory, where wizards work in a unified guild to advance their skills and construct devices of their own design. Thus, the place is an assortment of petty magics floating components through the air, workstations of various sorts, haphazard stacks of books and library-like shelves along walls, and a range of offices and secured spaces for conducting private or dangerous experiments. A wide range of magicians engage in discussion, spirited debate, tutoring, or collaboration here; one is just as likely to see a wizard muttering incantations over a fine sword blade as to spot an old mentor with a pair of eager apprentices, demonstrating various cantrips.
Once inside, Azura takes the lead, looking for wizards invested in tailors and seamstress work. This is a field that is perhaps more well-represented than one might expect, as wizards often wear robes, hats, gloves, and pouches full of spell components. The amiable bard starts poking her nose in on various projects or hagglers, asking where the team can make a purchase, and they eventually find a corner of the building fully devoted to the construction, dyeing, and assembly of enchanted threads, cloths, and garments.
Azura manages to garner the attention of a barker who helps handle trades and explains, "We're looking for some enchanted garb—the kind of thing that illusions up your appearance so that you can look like you're wearing, well, whatever you want." By contrast with the charmed blades and ensorcelled armor in other parts of the building, this is a low-value purchase, but it's still in the hundreds or thousands of gold pieces, the kind of thing that would be a ridiculous waste of funds for someone just looking to have a little variety in their wardrobe. Nevertheless, there is some demand for these things—occasionally for nefarious disguise purposes—and some wizards do make them.
Seems like it's a bad day for the more advanced of the two—someone else already purchased the last hat of disguise on display, doubtless for some business outside of the city (because honestly, nobody in Kaer Maga would bat an eye at a dark elf, a tiefling, or a sentient pile of talking rocks). The vendors do have the sleeves in stock, though, which Azura accepts as a fair compromise.
"So... how many do we need?" she asks Ryn and Ulfr. "And we'll have to go figure out what our preferred appearances will be."
Though he rarely shows it, Ulfr does know a handful of spells, so he is much more informed on what's going on than your typical brute. He's still about as fascinated though and his eyes wander the magical emporium in rapt wonder. It takes him a full two seconds to realize he's been asked a question.
.......OH, sorry. One for me, for sure. I haven't bought clothes since I left the Arena. he admits.
Ryn takes in the impressive sights of the Unbroken Wheel with no small degree of awe, as Azura leads them on their magical shopping tour, clearly the expert in this field.
"Hmm.. if the plan is for all of us to look like Trendon's entourage, I guess most of us....or at least those of us who are going to play the part should have a set. Y6ou're far more creative with appearance, love, so I'll just try to keep in tune with what you pick, visually."
"I actually kinda dislike these, they are just sleeves, so you have to pull them up and then hook them on with a clasp or a tie or something, it's pretty inconvenient. I much prefer the hat-form, which can transform into a pin or a comb or a diadem or something too, but if this is what we get, then this is what we work with," says Azura. She rummages around for coin to make it clear that she can actually afford these so that the local merchant will let her try them (it would be all too easy for someone to put them on and then try to flee with the merchandise, though in a shop filled with powerful magicians that might not be the smartest idea...).
"Also the hat lets you change your own physical appearance, so you can look slimmer or thicker, change your hair or skin color, all sorts of things without using makeup or disguise appliances. This just does your wardrobe. Less expensive, though, of course."
She pulls the pair of nondescript yellow cotton sleeves up over her bare arms and loops a cord through them and ties it to her bodice to hold them in place. She turns her arms over, palms up, then back again.
"This color does not go with my regular outfit. Fortunately the item obviates its own problem."
Visualizing a different appearance, Azura wiggles her fingers as her entire outfit makes a sparkly shift and turns into a unified white color with gold trim. The general shape of her bodice and skirt remain unchanged.
"That gives a unified color palette," she explains. "But the illusion can go quite a bit further and customize the shape of the outfit or the presence of specific pieces as well." She brings her hands up to her collarbone and holds her hands there for a moment, then drops them away to make the chemisette disappear, leaving just her bodice for her upper body—exposing both excessive cleavage and a small amount of her midriff. She tugs on the hem of her skirt and it shortens, twists, becomes an angle cut that reveals her right leg. She runs her hands down her arms and the sleeves connected to the bodice by a cord become a seamless part of it, shoulders exposed, the sleeves extending to cover the backs of her hands and loop around the middle finger of each hand.
"You can even go wild with the visualizations and create something improbable, though not impossible."
She lifts her arms over her head and then folds them out, and a lattice of wires seems to extend from her back like the bony armature of a pair of wings, with golden banners draped over them to give the appearance of streamers of celestial energy.
"That might be a bit overboard."
She rolls her shoulders forward and the wing-like armatures disappear.
"So how do we want to arrange this? I know I'm doing the vapid blonde thing, Ulfr should do something that shows off his pecs and says 'I'm a fighter AND a lover,' and of course my dear Ryn needs to imply 'I might be a little dangerous but I'm also a little saucy.'"
Ulfr ponders what could possibly count as both "lovey" and "fighty" at the same time. I've never given that much thought to my clothes. I just wore whatever was safe in a fight and comfortable. he sighs.
He pins the sleeves onto his normal totem and trinket laden leathers like he would any other symbolic item with careful attention paid to making sure they wouldn't fall off when he got to swinging his arms. Once satisfied, he thinks.
Shows off my pecks...
He snaps his arms forward and his clothes drastically change. He is suddenly in much tighter deep black leather on top that makes it look like a Shadow monster had found an incorporeal weight set and gone to town. The neck dives like Azura's outfits are want to do and the sleeves come to points on the back of his hands. His pants are loose, flowing silk fastened with a silver chain belt and his rugged boots have turned to soft, quiet black slippers with leather soles.
I feel stupid... He admits with a shy glance at the ladies.
"You definitely don't look stupid." Ryn says with a smile. "That definitely works for you."
Turning her gaze back to Azura, her smile widens, and you my dear...mmmnn... dazzling as always."[/b]
Slipping a pair of the sleeves over her own arms she thinks for a moment. "Oh what the hells, lets be daring!" she says, mentally activating the magic as the top part of her outfit almost completely vanishes, leaving a slender patterned grey and purple bandeau of a top, leaving her arms, shoulders, back and well muscled midriff completely bare, her skirt lengthens ans it transforms to matching breeches, form fitting from her hips down to her knees, before changing to a loose white silk, extending halfway down to her calves, accented with gold trim, and adorned with draped sashes of white, yellow and purple, the entire ensemble managing to highlight both her power and femininity simultaneously.
"I think with the right jewelry this could work, any thoughts?" she asks with a grin.
You look amazing and threatening, Ryn bravo. But I can't help thinking that all three of us are a walking innuendo. Then again that's the point, isn't it? I'm sure there won't be anyone with an eye line to us that won't immediately be, how did those others put it, ready to plow each other?
He manages to blush through his deep tan. By the ancestors, Sershea must be wearing off on us. Posing naked for an art show is one thing, but I feel like I'm actively asking for someone to ride me into the sunset.
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"You two look delicious," says Azura breathily. "If we weren't busy on a mission I'd jump you myself. Anyway, this should do the trick. We'll provide eye candy that keeps people distracted and gives the impression that Trendon has an entourage of sexy and risqué associates."
Azura pays for the magical clothing and adds, "Remember, this is an illusion, not a transmutation. If someone tries to grab or remove a garment, your real clothes will be what they encounter. Or armor, if you're wearing that."
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Saersha watched the others leave to go about their various errands before looking at Embyr thoughtfully for a moment. After think she finally said, "Come My Pet, let's see if we can find a place to go try and learn more about the mysterious entity from before. Knowledge is power, if we can identify what it might be then we are closer to understanding how to handle it."
Saersha went to the owner of the establishment and asked, "I need to do some research on spiritual entities. Do you have a suggestion on where I might go to begin my inquiry?"
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As you go in search of the Wheel's owner, Embyr tags along behind you, her hood down and her head on a swivel as she takes in all the magical wonders around her. A passerby directs you to the second floor of the Wheel Unbroken, up one of a pair of spiral staircases in the back of the showroom floor.
The second floor of the Wheel Unbroken contrasts sharply with the showroom and shops that make up the ground floor—here, the atmosphere is more of a particularly posh coffeehouse. What appears to be a circular bar carved of some glossy wood sits in the centre of the room, with a large machine made of brass pipes sitting behind it. Stools are arrayed around the bar, with tables and cushioned chairs scattered around the periphery. The staff and patrons go about dressed in decidedly skimpier attire than one would see in Magnimar—the staff dressed in short-sleeved gold and black tunics and breeches, with the other patrons (most of whom are evidently students of the arcane) dressing in even more daring fashions. Evidently, the Sarenith heat is making quite a nuisance of itself.
One of the bar staff catches your eye. He’s a visibly half-elven gentleman dressed in a deep gold robe with green highlights on the sleeves and hem, his immaculately-combed black hair and greying beard starting to gleam with sweat from a day’s work. He mixes drinks from the brass machine behind him into a series of stone cups before snapping his fingers a couple of times to conjure some frost to garnish them with and handing them out to a cluster of patrons—all attractive young men and women of various species—around him. If anyone would know who to speak to, it’s him.
As they went looking for information about where to get information on mystical, possessing, entities Saersha held Embyr's hand and walked beside her. They eventually found their way to someplace they might get what they were after called the Wheel Unbroken. It seemed to be some sort of upscale coffee house with a strange contraption being made to make the drinks. Of ever more interest was the way the staff was dressed, rather skimpy and revealing attire that Saersha greatly approved of. Even better were the guests, mages in skimpier clothing, or maybe faithful of Calistria given the color choices?
Her attention was ultimately drawn to the bartender, a half-elf in a deep gold robe with green accents and she and Embyr approached him. The bartender was always the best person to ask for information as they tended to hear a lot. The pair approached and Saersha leaned against the bar, her arms crossing beneath her bosom, and said, "Two of your most popular item please."
The barkeep glances up at you and Embyr before turning to his machine. "Right--that's two iced espressos. Great for a pick-me-up on a hot day." He says, his voice smooth as honey.
He manipulates the machine with the practiced ease of a skilled engineer, placing two glass cups a pair of nozzles on the device and twisting several dials. A rich black liquid pours from the nozzles, filling them to about the halfway point before the barkeep pours what looks like some milk into them and stirring them with spoons. Finally, he drops some ice cubes into the cups and turns to serve them to you and Embyr.
The final result is a pair of chocolate-brown drinks with ice cubes in them. Embyr takes hers and sips it.
"Now, I reckon I've never seen the two of you around here before." The barkeep says, leaning over the bar. "I know most of the regulars here--Hells, I taught quite a few of them myself." He says in his honey-smooth baritone voice.
"Name's Sullivan Gyre. Pleasure to meet you both."