Mel looks concerned
“Sounds dangerous. Do you need a hand?”
Alessia does not relax from her defensive stance.
"What interests would those be? If others fear me because of what I was made into, that is their own problem."
She pauses for an intentionally uncomfortable amount of time before speaking again.
"And, you still haven't fully answered my question. What do you want with me, and what benefit would I gain from associating with you?"
Alucius smiles tightly
“You would get the benefit any being gets from joining a faction. Support in times of need, a place in the order of things, people to have your back in a fight, and an opportunity to build your own power base”
The smile tightens to a line
“I want nothing from you, save that recruiting members makes me look good within the faction. I plan to rise in the ranks of the Dustmen hierarchy, and the more connections and recruits I have brought in, the easier that becomes. The hierarchy might require you to perform a task to gain entrance, but it is usually minor. “
Alucius shrugs
“If you aren’t interested I will wish you a good day. If you decide later to explore the option you can always stop by the Mortuary “
Justin waggles his eyebrows at Sophie's wink, and chortles quietly at Hamar's comment.
"Oh yeah. Your gonna fit RIGHT in,.." Justin murmurs as he closes the door behind them.
Outside Justin pats his pockets, habitually checking every thing is still where it belongs. Then he gets his bearings, and, after a brief hesitation to make sure he's heading in the right direction, leads the group towards their next appointment.
Mel looks concerned
“Sounds dangerous. Do you need a hand?”
Nari looked at him uncertainly, biting her lip as she contrasted his appearance (scary) with the visible symbol of Pelor. She remembered that symbol. Those guys fought undead. "Maybe," she said warily. "If Karrin says you're okay."
Coming around the corner of one of the shelves, Blayze raises an eyebrow."What's got the kitty all spooked?" she whispers.
Justin shrugs an 'I dunno' as he closes the door behind them.
"Well he's a priest of Pelor, where we come from that's one of the good gods, so that's pretty trustworthy. I mean he's not a follower of Rao but I can forgive him for that."
Alucius smiles tightly
“You would get the benefit any being gets from joining a faction. Support in times of need, a place in the order of things, people to have your back in a fight, and an opportunity to build your own power base”
The smile tightens to a line
“I want nothing from you, save that recruiting members makes me look good within the faction. I plan to rise in the ranks of the Dustmen hierarchy, and the more connections and recruits I have brought in, the easier that becomes. The hierarchy might require you to perform a task to gain entrance, but it is usually minor. “
Alucius shrugs
“If you aren’t interested I will wish you a good day. If you decide later to explore the option you can always stop by the Mortuary “
"Ah, yes, a task. I thought as much. "Some day, and that day may never come, I shall call upon you," and all that. But I shall take your offer into consideration, regardless. I desire no power base, but your resources may help me to... achieve my goals."
Alessia's tone has lost none of its bitterness, but her grip on her sword hilt relaxes somewhat.
Hamar simply observes the amazing sights of the city awaiting the signal to move on from the Wizard.
Alucius nods
“I understand. Distrust and solitude are the usual lot of our kind. However, should The breathers you call allies disappoint you, and they will, you know where you can find others of your kind”
The strange being walks out of the store into the rainy fog outside, swirling their large cape as they fade into obscurity
Justin flips up the hood of his new cloak against the ever-present too-heavy-to-be-fog,too-light-to-be-rain, and gives a small smile at the new cloak's comfy-ness.
"Come along lads and lasses! People to get to, places to meet!,... Um,... Something like that. Onward and upward!" Justin says cheerily.
Dropping his voice lower, Justin asks Memnon,...
"Um, I don't suppose that you know where the 'Ubiquitous Wayfarer' actually is? She gave us a street name, but,..."
Memnon chuckles
“There’s a Portal door to it in the Great Bazaar. Follow me!”
With that the violet-crystal skull zips off in the foggy street.
Hurrying behind, the party enters the milling throng shopping in the plaza surrounding Alluvius ‘ shop. It is a mark of the strangeness of Sigil that Memnon hardly gets a glance.
About 20 minutes later the group ends up at an odd door standing alone in a blank wall. Memnon turns and speaks
“There it is boss, the Great Bazaar door to the Ubiquitous Wayfarer “
Sophie pulls her hood up as well, making sure it hides her face, as she follows Justin and the zipping purple skull through the maze of streets.
Following along, Blayze keeps an eye on both the surroundings and the newest of companions dashing ahead.
“There it is boss, the Great Bazaar door to the Ubiquitous Wayfarer “
Justin is not completely our of breath (the lil' crystal skull is quick in the turns) thanks to his longer than average legs. But he's still recuperating from their little 'vacation' in Ranais and assorted planes, and he's noticeably happy when Memnon comes to a stop.
"Great! Thanks Memnon." Justin says, and steps forwards,...
,... And stops JUST before busting his nose on the brick wall. He cautiously reaches out a hand, muttering, "WHat's the key? There's ALWAYS a bloody key."
Justin turns to Memnon. "Or is that rare and elusive creature, the 'Actually Stable Portal! Honest!'? Justin smirks, reaching out to touch the wall.
"Probably would help if I knew what the problem was the Nari. I don't know what's got you mad. Is this business you think we can share with outsiders? Or is it something we need to keep to ourselves. I mean I'm not a mind reader and stuff."
“The thing with the flying canister is. A mind reader I mean. It’s a psionicist of some kind. Like me, but not. Its mind was....wrong. Bad. Twisted. Not just in the evil sense. Like it shouldn’t even be. Doesn’t belong in reality,” she said with a shudder, as she remembered the feel of that being’s mental contact. “It threatened Justin. If he didn’t give it the you know what. It indicated that it was part of a group of some kind. It wanted me to pass on the message to Justin. I am concerned as to how well organized their group is and if they will wait to attack him until after he gets the message.” She pulled her red hair back from her face, twisting it nervously in her hands as she realized she didn’t have a hair tie with her. “I’m not okay with someone threatening my friends and I’m even more not okay with them using a twisted perversion of my own powers to do it,” she added with a grimace.
Hamar keeps up with the skull easily enough, running is like breathing to a barbarian of the Shaar after all. As the group arrives Hamar asks what he believes to be the most pertinent questions.
"Where does this lead us Wizard? What of our companions? Shall I arm myself in case there is danger on the other side?"
"Wait, you're not even okay with people threatening Justin?" Karrin asks with a toothy grin, the smile does fade as Nari's concern is genuine, "Yeah, don't worry Nari, nobody hurts my friends, not even Justin, unless it's just good clean fun, in which case that's acceptable, but these guys don't sound like the fun types. Let's find the others. Melchizedek I'd be honored if you'd come with us, thought I think we're going to have to do something about that title, you said you liked Mel? Well that's what I'm gonna call you. Mel, meet Nari and Ramuah, Justin is our wizard, and the biggest target in the group, seriously, he's like 6'2, I'll introduce you to the others when we find them. Anyways, let's go."
Mel grins
“I’d be honored. A tall wizard. Well, won’t be the first squishy I’ve covered “
Mel falls in behind them and they head towards the Great Bazaar
The foggy streets are filled with carriages and wagons. The Lady’s Library sits on the border of the Court and Nobles Districts. The crowd is a mixture of Guvner functionaries and Sigil’s hoi polloi. The group heads towards Plague Court and Copperman’s Way.
Copperman’s Way is its usual crowded self. The group steps lively, dodging goblin gaggles, Gnoll groups, an unruly Xaositect mob, and even what seems to be a very drunk treant. After an hours walk they enter the Great Bazaar. They knew the other group was headed to Alluvius’ shop, so they start through the stalls towards the island of large buildings at the center of the immense bazaar.
Justin turns to Memnon. "Or is that rare and elusive creature, the 'Actually Stable Portal! Honest!'? Justin smirks, reaching out to touch the wall.
Memnon replies
“Stable portal boss. In fact the Udub has three that open up in different places in the Cage, along with an unknown number of portals elsewhere hidden in the bar itself. It’s a very popular spot with plane hoppers”
Justin touches the door, and it’s a... door. He pulls on the large brass ring that serves as a door handle and it creaks open.
Inside is a fairly spacious room, with two large frowning tieflings standing at the further wall where yet another door similar to the first stands. A whip-thin gnoll in a slick-looking suit with an elaborate ruff of fur rising in mohawk glory above his skull approaches the group
“Welcome to the Ubiquitous Wayfarer, cutters. How can I help you?”
1d20+9
Nari spies the violet skull Memnon zipping down a side alley.
Nari grabs Karrin’s arm and tugs as she takes off in the direction that she saw the skull. “This way! I think I see them!”
"See who?" Karrin asks, clearly lost in her own thoughts, a marching band might get the drop on the unobservant tiefling if not for her friends.
Karrin follows trusting other people's senses.
The Library Party pushes through the crowd, and just catches a glimpse of the others entering in a door inset in a blank wall
Hamar keeps up with the skull easily enough, running is like breathing to a barbarian of the Shaar after all. As the group arrives Hamar asks what he believes to be the most pertinent questions.
"Where does this lead us Wizard? What of our companions? Shall I arm myself in case there is danger on the other side?"
Justin shakes his head wryly at the clearly un-winded barbarian.
"Not supposed to be any danger. But this IS Sigil. My motto is, 'Hope for the best, But prepare for the worst.' That way no matter what happens, your never disappointed. Or bored." he says cheerfully.
"Oh. An actual door. How positively ordinary. Now that IS surprising." He advises Hamar as he opens it and enters.
Inside is a fairly spacious room, with two large frowning tieflings standing at the further wall where yet another door similar to the first stands. A whip-thin gnoll in a slick-looking suit with an elaborate ruff of fur rising in mohawk glory above his skull approaches the group
“Welcome to the Ubiquitous Wayfarer, cutters. How can I help you?”
Justin smiles at the nicely-dressed gnoll, as if seeing a gnoll in a suit is an everyday thing for him. (Since hes arrived, he's seen SO much stranger things!)
"Thank you. Justin Case and friends to see Lissandra? I'm sorry, we haven't had time to set up an appointment, but we DO have a recommendation." Justin says, pulling out the letter of introduction from Alluvius, and handing it to the gentle-gnoll.
The gnoll reads the paper , then hands it back with a toothy grin
“Of course! Business is business. You’ll find Lissandra holding court in one of the back booths. That’ll be one Lady each. Please leave your weapons and cloaks with the cloak check “
He gestures to an annex over to the side where two elven women in tight leather dresses stand attentively, a long rack of gear and clothing behind them
As the group approaches the cloakroom, the outside door opens to reveal Karrin and the rest of the library party entering the antechamber
"Of course. Thank you." Justin says, pulling out a coin bag.
He figures if there's anywhere ancient, golden coins WOULDN'T raise an eyebrow, it'll be in Sigil. The wizard counts out the proper number of coins, and tucks the bag away as he heads for the coat-check.
As the group approaches the cloakroom, the outside door opens to reveal Karrin and the rest of the library party entering the antechamber
"Ah, and MORE friends. They're with us." Justin tells the gnoll with a toothy grin of his own.
Unclasping his new cloak, Justin winces as he realizes that getting Karrin to leave Ferrisson behind might be,... an interesting conversation.
Leaving his sword and cloak with the ladies at the coat-room, Justin walks over to meet up with the other half of the party.
"Hey, we're here to meet with Lissandra to make the travel arrangements. How did the Library research go? And, How did you find us?" Justin asks Karrin.
The party catches up as they enter the far door. The two tieflings step aside, and allow the group entry.
Past the threshold is a very large space. Unlike many tavern common rooms in Sigil, this one has a high ceiling, fully 15 meters above ground level. A constellation of softly-glowing orbs dangle from the high ceiling, casting a pleasant twilight glow across the room. Three balcony/hallways circle the walls, with doors spaced out every few meters. The floor plan is roughly 2,000 meters on a side, with large booths lining the walls. Many of the booths seem to be wrapped in some sort of pearlescent shimmer, blurring the details. A grand staircase leads to the bottom balcony/hallway.
The wall spaces between the booths on the ground floor look to be covered in dozens of huge murals. Various scenes of beauty and horror are juxtaposed along the space, each about three meters square.
DC 10 Perception
The center of the common room is a large open space, about 100 meters square. Around it are arranged tables of various sizes, some obviously made for non-humans. A stage lines one side of the open space, where a quintet of players are currently playing soft chamber music.
The tables are about 75% occupied with a bewildering array of sentients, doing what comes normally to a tavern. Waitstaff hurry along with laden trays serving meals and drinks to the crowd. The pleasant soft buzz of a crowded happy room reaches the party’s ears.
A middle-aged, sophisticated-looking human female, dressed in a conservative dark dress approaches them. On her left pectoral is a silver broach shaped like an oval with the common runes for ‘UW’ engraved on it.
“Greetings gentlefolk. Welcome to the Ubiquitous Wayfarer. How may I assist you?”
Justin smiles politely and nods to the woman who approaches the group. He looks around at the others, and realizes they are all looking at him!
Somehow, perhaps because of his fondness for verbosity (He does like to talk. A lot.) Justin has somehow become the temporary 'leader' of the group. At least for purposes of the ongoing travel arrangements & negotiations.
Not that this bothers Justin, particularly. It just keeps catching him by surprise when it happens. He still tends to think of himself as the slightly-younger, mischief-making young adult and popular academy student that most of those in authority tended to ignore. Which made it all the more fun to try coming up with things that demanded their attentions.
And besides, Karrin is CLEARLY the more strong, leader-y type.
(Is that a word? Justin swiftly decides it should be.)
All of this passes through Justin head in a heartbeat, and he smiles at the lady again.
"Yes, thank you. Company of the Silver Rose to see Lissandra?"
Justin looks at the size of the full group now assembled.
"Um, It's not necessary that ALL of us see her. So I guess a couple of tables while we wait? I could use a drink." He adds, realizing that the last swift dash through the streets of Sigil has left him thirsty.
.
Justin blinks at something that he sees over the woman's shoulder. (One of the few advantages of being tall.) Then remembers that Memnon had mentioned this place had several portals linked to it.
"Memnon, History lesson please? In Sigil, Portals are worth more than gold as a valuable resource. At least as far as I can tell. So how can a place like this maintain it's independence, and not be taken over, or at least constantly fought over, by multiple Factions?"
Memnon chuckles
“A place like this is accorded neutral territory, boss. It’s not even technically in Sigil. This is what’s called a ‘demiplane’, a limited pocket plane. This one’s been a concern for millennia, since before there were factions in the Cage. The boss is a recluse, but he’s rumored to be a high-powered rebellious disgraced celestial who wasn’t a fan of Asmodeus either, so he (or she, gender in celestials is a very fluid concept ) walked their own path of exile to here. He’s known as the Grey Angel”
Justin give Memnon a small smirk. EVERY time he thought he had learned a lot about Sigil, he was reminded just how much more he had to go.
"Thanks Memnon. That's good to know. AND very interesting,... presuming I ever gather enough magical power, and gold, to be able to afford to construct my own demiplane. One day."
Justin gives Memnon another knowing half-smile. "Plenty of room for that dream lab that way. Without having to pay rent. Argh! Speaking of rent. When this is done, I really need to run by the apartment and check on everything. And copy some spells into my main tome. And scribble out a few scrolls if I have time,... and introduce you to Skyy. My,... roommate."
Justin glances at Memnon.
"Yep. That'll be fun." He says, carefully neutral.
Inwardly he wished he had time to construct a way to magically capture a moment visually, for watching again later. Not only would it be an invaluable research assisting tool, he had a feeling that this meeting might just be one worth watching again and again.
Justin mentally began calculating odds of whether Skyy would end throwing something AT Memnon, or throwing Memnon at something. Or whether Skyy would make a new best friend. It was hard to tell with her,...
Hamar frowns as he leaves his weapons and his cloak behind, "I like this not at all".
Perception
The Barbarian stares at the scene unfolding before him pausing to observe further such blatant use of magic.
As Memnon explains what this place is Hamar gets a chill, "We are in a place that is not real? Should someone dispel its magic, what fate befalls us?"
"Ah, Justin, we've been looking for you," Karrin says as they catch up with the other group, "Apparently Nari was talking to someone who threatened your life. Sure that's a fairly common occurrence for you but Nari seemed upset by it so we came looking for you. By the way this is Mel, he's a priest of Palor, we picked him up at the library, and he seemed friendly with Olli, and any friend of Olli's is a friend of mine. Anyways Nari you'd better tell him what's up."
The burly plate-clad man smiles at Justin, and sticks out a hand
“Pleased to meetcha. You’re the dazzler of this crew, yeh?”
Justin blinks, taking just a second to catch up to Karrin's whirlwind explanation. But he's getting used to that by now. (He's not quite ready to declare himself fluent in 'Karrin'. But he can usually keep up with it now.)
"Yeah well, I'm not sure if I'll ever get USED to it. But it does seem to be getting more common by the day." Justin shrugs his shoulders ruefully at Karrin.
"What is it Nari? How exactly did someone 'threaten' me. Was it that old biddy who asked me to find her 'stolen prince'? I TOLD her I didn't do love potions. But she didn't want to take no for an answer." Justin smiles at Nari.
The burly plate-clad man smiles at Justin, and sticks out a hand
“Pleased to meetcha. You’re the dazzler of this crew, yeh?”
Justin raises an eyebrow, and shakes the offered hand. Making a note of the man's firm grip as he does so. Fortunately the man releases his hand before Justin reaches the point of asking for it back.
"Nah, I'm not nearly as dazzling as the ladies in the group. My specialty is blowing things up." Justin gives the burly newcomer a friendly smirk.
"'Mel' was it? Pleased to meet you. Don't let the babble fool you. Karrin is an excellent judge of character." Justin smiles, and indicates the man should enter with the rest of them.
Hamar frowns as he leaves his weapons and his cloak behind, "I like this not at all".
"Its OK Hamar. No one likes leaving their weapons at the door. But this is the easiest way to try and make sure that everyone inside is going to be on their best behavior. And if someone gets too drunk and rowdy, it's less likely they will 'accidentally' forget their supposed to be friendly, and pull out a weapon. That's all."
The Barbarian stares at the scene unfolding before him pausing to observe further such blatant use of magic.As Memnon explains what this place is Hamar gets a chill, "We are in a place that is not real? Should someone dispel its magic, what fate befalls us?"
Justin starts to pat the barbarians arm, thinks better of it, and makes a calming gesture instead.
"Trust me Hamar, a Demiplane isn't anything like a Shielding charm, or an Invisibility enchantment. Or even a permanent magical enhancement like on a sword. No ordinary magiker is going to be able to dent it, magically speaking." Justin assures the burly barbarian.
"And any,... THING that can, has far bigger troubles if it tries. I hope." Justin whispers to Memnon hovering near his shoulder.
Memnon whispers back
“Considering that this bar is the kip of a semi-deity on a power level that probably pushes the boundaries of what the Lady allows near her city. Most folks think that’s probably why the Grey Angel prefers to stay up in their rooms on the demiplane. Less friction than if they were walking about the Great Bazaar”
"Nah, I'm not nearly as dazzling as the ladies in the group. My specialty is blowing things up." Justin gives the burly newcomer a friendly smirk.
"'Mel' was it? Pleased to meet you. Don't let the babble fool you. Karrin is an excellent judge of character." Justin smiles, and indicates the man should enter with the rest of them.
Mel laughs
“Blowing things up is good. Long as it our foes wots getting the short end”
He smiles
“My specialty is patching things up once the blowing up is done”
Justin blinks, taking just a second to catch up to Karrin's whirlwind explanation. But he's getting used to that by now. (He's not quite ready to declare himself fluent in 'Karrin'. But he can usually keep up with it now.)
"Yeah well, I'm not sure if I'll ever get USED to it. But it does seem to be getting more common by the day." Justin shrugs his shoulders ruefully at Karrin.
"What is it Nari? How exactly did someone 'threaten' me. Was it that old biddy who asked me to find her 'stolen prince'? I TOLD her I didn't do love potions. But she didn't want to take no for an answer." Justin smiles at Nari.
Nari was struggling with the crowded environment, feeling very vulnerable among so many strangers, but at Justin’s words her expression changed to one of determination, chin raised as her eyes flashed with annoyance. “Hardly an old biddy,” she chided quietly. “It was a person shaped creature with thoughts like centipedes, carrying a full canister of extra power along with it. Power like mine. You’ve seen what I can do. Do you really want to be on the receiving end of that?” she asked impatiently. “It indicated that it was part of some sort of group and asked me to pass a message to you to give them the rod or else. Obviously you can’t give them what they want and I was concerned that they might not wait until you got the message. At least now you know to watch your back. And you’ve got us to help with that,” she added, looking warily around the room.
Karrin scratches her head, "Hmm, I assumed it would be a fairly common occurrence . . . guess that's just because I know you."
Sophie follows along, eyes constantly darting here and there, taking everything in.
She scowls when told to leave her weapons, and gingerly hands them over once she realises she won't be allowed through until she does. the plus side is that hopefully she's not too far from them if things turn sour.
Her eyes narrow at the man she spies, then comprehension dawns on her. She turns her head to stare closely at each painting in turn while Justin blathers on to the woman.