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At Unafe hustles North across the desert in bounding steps for another hour.
Then she sets her passengers down, dusts herself off, and suggests, "Xander you need an hour to prepare your spells, yes? Why don't you do that first. I'll keep watch in case they catch up faster than I'd suspect. Then, if there's time after you do that, I may try to sleep a bit more, under your watch, if we have time. If not, I'll be fine.
"I've been thinking while we ran: I believe I could get back over that wall if I was unseen. I know the Sacred Ancestors sometimes manifest at inconvenient times, but if you could make me invisible I might well be able to get over undetected. That said, I should assume my path would be picked up soon after, so I doubt I should cross the wall until moments before we confront those Adepts. But if you could make me invisible for some time, I think I could manage it.
"...And perhaps I shouldn't come in at all...but if they're as dangerous as I've been told, fighting them without me, Ary, or Hinagiku sounds reckless."
Unafe huffs, "And speaking of reckless, are you happy with yourself?? Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't have submitted to those soldiers, but there was a chance we could have gotten them to take us to someone with the authority to respond to our claim of urgent danger. And if that failed...well then, who knows, maybe we could've gotten Ary, Hinagiku, and Lann to agree to resist them with us...if we didn't lead with attacks that could have taken someone's life."
Unafe scowls. "It was a crappy situation, I'll give you that...but I hope you see that you made it worse."
"I... was hopeful there would be an alternate path we could take to avoid the Blackfires knowing our position." Ary reminds the guards while they were on their way down the main road towards Azir. She wasn't hopeful that they would go out of their way for requests above their chain of command, but the route taken to get into or through town seemed likely to be up to them. If not, then she understood; she wouldn't expect her guards to do many favors either.
* * *
Ary simply sits quietly in the cell, eyes closed, and begins to respond to prayer requests back in Drezen. This was no different from barracks, save that the doors were a little harder to open, she told herself.
Once the group has come to a resting position, Xander collapses on the sands next to Unafe and Valais, still looking suspiciously back towards the city, still wary for pursuers. He shakes his head at Unafe's rebuke. "Maybe I made it worse. Maybe I cast some blame upon us that we didn't need. But surely you saw there was no way that situation was going anywhere other than combat or submission."
He sighs. "I could have easily escaped myself, but I wanted us to stay together. I hoped that they would take my side. But I guess I was wrong. I guess the lives of others are more important than my freedom, and I should have employed a different spell."
He looks up at Unafe, brows furrowed and lips tight. "I don't believe I made the wrong decision otherwise, though. Do you? What would you have done?"
Staff held over his knees, he pulls out his backpack and places it on the ground in front of himself. He pulls out a bedroll and simply lays down. Sighing deeply, he says, "Will one of you keep watch until I wake up? We will need my magic in order to survive tomorrow, so I think we should rest until we spot pursuit and then get up and go. While you rest, I can prepare spells and then contact our allies."
During the short period of time that they have, he does his best to select an array of magic that would be appropriately helpful for the coming day and then utilizes sending to communicate with the other parties.
When Ary makes her request known, the guards grunt and escort them through some smaller streets and alleyways, but the simple fact was that in a busy metropolis of so many people in the early morning, there is no such thing as an "empty street", and there are busy-bodies and on-lookers no matter where they go. The only way to ensure privacy would be by using a private carriage, and clearly the guards didn't seem enthused to give them a lux VIP entry into the city after Xander had attempted to murder them and then Ary assisted with his escape. Her request does make it take longer for them to reach their destination in the city, however, which delays Hinagiku's treatment and causes them to wait in their cells for someone to follow up with them for longer.
A few hours later, while the heroes are walking through a narrow residential street while on-lookers stare at them from the windows and doorways, Ary receives a reply from Abranci. "Where are you being held? We will send a diplomat to try to smooth things over. En route, will take over a week for arrival."
When Ary is escorted to her cell, she still has on her iron collar and her wrists are manacled together.
When Hinagiku receives this sending, she and the others are being escorted towards Azir. They are crossing the bridge on the Jodin River, and there are many people near her openly pointing at her and speaking loudly in a language she does not understand.
When Ehren receives this sending, he is fast asleep in the rafters of a stable filled with camels. The sending wakes him up, causing him to realize he has slept past sunrise. However, he knows he still needs more rest before he can start meditating on the Green to prepare new spells.
Below him, a stable boy is bringing the camels their breakfast. He chatters happily in a language Ehren doesn't understand, and doesn't seem to pay Ehren any mind.
"Thank you." Ary says, sincerely, as they're rerouted. Taking longer had the added benefit of preventing the exponential growth of gossip... for a time.
"Where are we being taken to? Does it have a name?" Ary asks the guards as they move through the city, twinkling motes being left here and there in her wake.
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Being chained was much more oppressive than Hinagiku could have imagined. But, once more, her years of training keep her mind free from the shackles of the world. Through the whole march back to Azir, Hinagiku stands tall. Not out of pride, but with the peace of mind she always possesses. Every so often, she gives a kind reassuring look to Ary and Lann.
The monk maintains the facade even as people point at her, though Xanderghul’s voice in her head causes her to lose countenance for a moment, her gaze sharpens, her eyes dart around subtly as she searches for him.
There is only one moment when Hinagiku seems less calm; when the legionnaires remove the shawl she wears over her sternum. She gently reaches for it, looks to the guard taking it away for a split second, and slowly withdraw her hands, reminding herself that objects are only that, objects.
In the infirmary, Hinagiku tries to take as much advantage of the presence of the physician as possible. As soon as she can speak, she speaks a bit to the man. After thanking him and making a bit of small talk, mentioning how she wished she had known that it was not only cities in which divine items were forbidden. She also asks where her learned his trade. Finally, when she feels he is at ease, she asks about the chains and collars, especially whether they are magical.
Once she is left alone to recover, a strange thought born out of her kitsune nature creeps into her mind. The same kind of thought that she would usually slowly let dissolve into the oceon of her mind. But this time is different, the trickster might be the right side of her psyche to rely on right now. All could be perfected after all. With this in mind, Hinagiku focuses on her body, on her breathing, on hear heartbeat, and slows them down only she slowly falls into a sleep from which only she can awaken.
Ehren cocks his head to the side, wearing the best approximation of a frown that a small bird can manage. Seeing as Xander only mentioned himself and Unafe, his news does not bode well for the others. The druid considers his reply carefully before responding to the sending; the spell's limitations make it obscenely difficult to convey much nuance.
"No new information on Blackfire Adepts. Currently hiding in Azir. Will seek out Isilme in a few hours. Will attempt to provide update if successful."
Once he has conveyed his response, Ehren nestles back into his corner and tries to catch up on the rest of his sleep.
Unafe does her best to shelter herself, Valais, and Xander from the worst of the weather.
She betrays a bit of surprise at Xander's reply. Is that new? I don't know I've heard him agree he'd made things worse before.
Unafe smiles sadly when asked if they shouldn't have fought. "I think, honestly, you and I were more or less agreed on that point. I'd have knocked out and bound up a few warriors to buy us a bit of time--while I've come to recognize deep wisdom in Hinagiku--I fear that she and Ary may have made just as big a mistake in submitting to capture.
"The lesson I'd hope you learn is not that we should submit to unjust laws when lives are on the line, but that you forced something on all of us--and particularly those two, with their stubborn trust in every law written. If this was my clan--where I lead--instead of a group of allies without a clear head, I'd have said what I said: we need to seek out a dangerous foe; we'd prefer to do it with your support. I'd have been willing to speak to a local liege who could grant us that, but I'd never have accepted being brought to that liege in irons. I'd have gone as a free woman or not at all. If the warriors couldn't agree to those terms, and insisted on using force...honestly, I suspect they would have, but don't you think perhaps then Ary and Hinagiku might have agreed to resist?
"One place where I am in line with them: The spell you led with could have killed someone. If it had, I'd not have been surprised to see Ary capture and turn you in herself. I had hoped that Hinagiku and I could have subdued those soldiers on our own, or with nonlethal support from you and Ary.
"But there can be more time for 'What Ifs' later. Thank you for listening to me. I'm sorry it went this way, for you as much as for anyone. I know you meant to keep us together. That was my goal as well. Now, you should rest and study enough to recover your spells."
While the wizard sleeps, Unafe stands in her hybrid form but at normal human height, to be less visible from afar. Wearing the goggles that Ary gave her, she watches the path that they trod especially but not exclusively, and keeps attuned to unusual sounds and (thanks to her saurian form) scents as well. As she does,
While Hinagiku is being stitched up, the physician comments, ”Oh, yes, isn’t it great? But to be honest, it has been feeling unsafe within the city walls as of late, what with all the divine terrorist attacks. So it is good to know they enforce the Law of Man out in the countryside as well. We have to protect our nomadic brethren out in the sands, after all.”
Hinagiku’s physician is proud to tell her he graduated from the The Faculty of Medicine and Alchemy of Azir , as his mother did before him. He is happy to elaborate about his studies and education, so when Hinagiku asks about the manacles, he just shrugs and says that he does not speak to the Legionnaires much beyond discussing his patients’ needs.
Once she is left with alone with her guard, she falls asleep, falling into a coma and appearing dead to the world.
Ary walks along behind the camel as they head down an alleyway. Wherever they were going, it was deep within the city.
Azir is strange architecturally. On one hand there are many old buildings, built out of stone or marble, and many of them in the classic Sarenrite style, filled with organic lines and covered with mosaics in brilliant colors. Newer buildings have unlikely and drastic angles making it appear as if the builders are trying to free their work from the confines of geometry much like the members of the city freed themselves from the confines of the edicts of gods long ago. At the same time newer buildings' exteriors have been coated in colorful paints while also having gargoyles added on the same buildings.
The Legionnaire on the camel that Ary is chained to responds, ”You’ll be held in a jail at Western Barracks to await trial.”
Xander opens his eyes and breathes in as he receives the results of the sendings. His shoulders slump as he frowns deeply. Looking up at Unafe, he simply says, "Should we just escape? We can make it back to Mendev in a few days, probably. Ehren is in Azir, but has no new information and Hinagiku doesn't want any help with her captivity."
He sighs. "We could also just stay on the run for another day. We could send again tomorrow."
When the man mentions the Faculty of Medicine and Alchemy, Hinagiku questions him regarding the use of arcane magic in healing and whether he uses it to imbue his poultices.
"Divine terrorist attacks? That sounds awful. The land where I have been living for a few years now has been under attacks from demons, and it has been difficult for most people... Did they target anyone or anywhere close to you?" Hinagiku asks, sympathizing but also curious to know whether these attacks might be linked to the blackfyre adepts.
0/40 delayed damage pool
0/10 shawl of life keeping
7/19 ki
11/11 mythic
Xander tries to talk with Unafe about whether they should proceed to fleeing the country and heading back to Drezen - of which there were multiple routes. Or if they should just run for a day.
But Unafe was tired, and she wanted to rest, to clear her mind fully and also to help rejuvenate the sacred ancestors whom were always with her. So she went to take a long nap in the sands, while Xander kept watch. Valais, also feeling fatigued from the long day they had, also attempts to catch some shut-eye.
Xander sits on top of the highest dune, keeping watch for anyone who might be following them. He sits and waits for about thirty minutes.
Xander can see dust being kicked up in the distance, to the south, maybe 180 feet away.
You can hear the soft thud-thud-thud of footsteps on the sands in the distance.
"Oh, yes!" the physician nods. "My sister-in-law died in the attack. The last one was about a month ago, and it was oh, so tragic. The terrorist summoned horrible monsters and everything. And I hear the ones who were responsible were never caught!"
0/40 delayed damage pool
0/10 shawl of life keeping
7/19 ki
11/11 mythic
Ary nods her head in thanks once more. "Will we meet with anyone to talk about things before the trial? I would very much like to explain the circumstances, given the opportunity to do so."
Unafe sighs, then shakes her head. "That's disappointing, but we have to stay close, in case Ehren and Isilme find the Adepts and Send for us. If they do, do you think you could help me get into the city, once we're close?
"I...have to admit, by myself I'm afraid I'd have no option but trying to run and leap past the legionnaires. With you though...perhaps invisibility would allow us to get in undetected, even with the presence of my spirit companions? Or perhaps you could fly us far above the city, within an illusory cloud? Or...I don't know. But I pray there's a way I can help. Especially with Ary and Hinagiku likely unable to help anymore..."
After discussing, she stretches out and lays down, pulling her cloak over her head to protect her face from the blowing sand. Sicrwydd curls up on her chest and falls asleep as well.
In Unafe's dream-realm, she hears an echo of a whisper, and thinks it might be a clue to her Ancestor Heart. Deep in dreamtime, she chases off after it in great leaps (that somehow never seem to get her any closer to the whisper). She remains completely oblivious to anything happening around her in the Waking World.
Seeing the cloud of dust and the marching of feet, Xander instantly scrambles to his hands and knees. He flips around and grabs hold of both Unafe and Valais, who he shakes violently awake. "Up and at em, girls! We've been made. Time to go."
"Wuuu-waah??"
Unafe shakes off her dream and realizes their pursuers are closing in again.
With a frown, she says, "If one of you grabs my bag and you both hop on my back, I'll see if I can get us out of here before they get close."
Valais and Xander are up!
Valais wakes up grumpy, realizing where she is by the dryness of a finger immersed in sand beside her bedroll. Quickly, she rolls up onto her feet, rubbing sleep from her eyes. When Unafe shoots up to a larger size she grabs the woman's bag and uncertainly climbs up on top of her.
Xander stands as well, leaning against Unafe. Already wearing his backpack, he sighs and simply climbs up on top of her. "Okay, go!" he says, "I think if we want to get into Azir, we shouldn't run too far. Maybe we can circle back around a bit today. We get lucky, we can run and jump right over the walls."
"OK then, hang on!"
As soon as her companions are on her back, Unafe runs off, her feet floating above the sand as she runs.
Valais and Xander climb onto Unafe's back as she starts running away from their pursuers. A Legionnaire crests a dune on a camel that is riding full tilt in their direction. She manages to come within 100', all the while weaving a spell from camelback.
Xander is up!
"Hmmmm? Oh, no, they targeted private businesses! Tragic," says the physician. "And terrifying, really, the extremes that the gods push people into."
The Legionnaire riding the camel which Ary is tied to says, simply, "You'll be interviewed by an investigator who has been assigned to your case."
”So, sad to hear.” Hinagiku responds, the man’s attitude toward religion making more and more an impression with her. But then, of course, not knowing enough about something always came with misconceptions.
”Was it the business of your in-laws that was targeted or was your sister in-law so unlucky as to be a simple passerby?”
175/175 hp
0/40 delayed damage pool
0/10 shawl of life keeping
7/19 ki
11/11 mythic
* * *
After interacting with prayers for a bit, Ary does her best to get comfortable to continue to rest while she waits for the investigator.
Xander just hangs on to Unafe's feathers, trusting in her for the moment to keep them safe and to shake off any magic that works on her. If she gets paralyzed, on the other hand, Xander might be in for a fight...
Unafe shrugs off the spell with sheer determination and plunges on.
Three more Legionnaires catch up to 100' of Unafe. They fan out rather than staying clumped together. Two of them are armed with bows and start to fire at Unafe's legs with dulled arrows. Another attempts to arrest her completely through her brain.
Valais and Unafe are up!
Unafe shakes off the second caster as well, but finds that the arrows are slowing her dramatically.
She gives a furious honk as she bounds across the desert as best she can.
Realizing that they're injuring her as well, she turns to Valais, who's holding her haversack. "Os gallwch chi, mae gen i Wand Iachau yn y bag hwnnw rydych chi'n ei ddal. Allwch chi ei ddefnyddio? Os ydyn nhw'n cadw hyn i fyny, dwi'n poeni y gallen nhw fy rhwystro.
"She was just out shopping! It could have happened to anyone!" says the physician. "That's what makes the whole situation so terrifying. But I trust in the Pure Legion to protect us. I'm sure they'll catch whoever was behind it."
Valais clings tightly to Unafe's feathers and leans down to hug the woman's immense and muscular form. Without much she can do to directly solve the situation, she decides to support Unafe's escape by trying to trip up the pursuers. Twisting around in her position, she summons a bright glowing light into her hand and then flings it at the spellcasting Legionnaire. If her aim was good, then the Legionnaire would have to slow.
The man ducks beneath Valais' spell. Unafe runs as best as she can, hobbled by the assaulting Legionnaires. They keep their camels on a full tilt run at Unafe, but Unafe is still faster than they are. They are now 230' in the distance.
Xander is up!
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Xander looks back at the pursuing Legionnaires and briefly considers striking one of them with instant death. Then he thinks of Ary and Hinagiku's frowns and downcast eyes, and decides to think on his options for a moment more.
No matter how long he contemplates, he never comes to any conclusion that doesn't end in direct conflict with the guards or getting caught and jailed. Ehren has no information, but was within the city. Hinagiku did not want rescue. Unafe could not escape on her own, and no matter how long they ran, the Legionnaires could always follow them.
He decided to take matters into his own hands once again. If they were going to be hounded constantly until arrest in this country, they could simply relocate to another. If they were needed, they could possibly return, but could certainly do nothing if arrested.
He grabs ahold of both Unafe and Valais and calls, "Okay, don't panic, but Unafe, I need you to shrink down!" Then he channels powerful energy from the ether through his body, into the bodies of his allies, and rips them through an astral gateway across the desert, across the strait, and into an entirely different land.
The Legionnaires continue to pursue the heroes, but they are now far enough away that their aim is not as sure.
Unafe is up!
Unafe arches a feathered eyebrow, but grunts agreement. She gets a solid grip on both casters and allows herself to shrink to her regular size.
The next day, Isilme wakes up in Azir, her magic refreshed due to her prayer with her goddess just before her sleep. Unfortunately, her spellbook was with Ary, so she only had the same arcane magic she had prepared the day prior.
Looking out the window from her room at the inn, Isilme can see that she had slept in. It was now noon.
A few hours later, Ehren wakes up in Azir. Looking outside, he can tell it is around noon. However he cannot leave just yet, as he needs to still spend an hour communing with the Green in order to cast any druidic magic today. Once he is done, the stables he is roosting in are now empty, save for two camels.
At noon, Ary is brought lunch by a member of the Pure Legion: a bowl of couscous, mixed with vegetables and raisins, and some water. The food is bland.
At noon, Lann is brought lunch by a member of the Pure Legion: a bowl of couscous, mixed with vegetables and raisins, and some water. The food is bland.
The previous night had been a little concerning, given that the group seemed to have been chased out of their hideout, but she didn't doubt her friends would be able to evade capture and find a new location to hide before long.
She had prepared a spell for use today just in case anyone from the group needed to find her as she was working on finding Maroq. While she doubted Ary and Unafe could get into the city until they had found a safe place to hide them, she hoped at least Ehren, Xander and maybe Lann and Valais could enter the city to help out.
Gathering what few things she had, she heads out, intent on finding a quiet place to cast a sending and a safe spot to hide Ary and Unafe within the city in preparation for going after the Adepts. She swings by the markets to find a fresh flower for her magic. She then heads out towards the less crowded, poorer parts of the city, searching for an abandoned building she could duck into to complete her casting. Once she finds a building she heads off for a minute or two, then doubles back around through alleyways to approach it hopefully without being noticed entering it.
Once inside, she finds a quiet place to hide deep in the building, and proceeds to sit there and patiently wait for half an hour to see if anyone followed her.
Once she is satisfied that there is no one checking after her, she begins by casting sending to Ary, to check on the status of the group.
"Noticed hideaway was discovered last night. Where are you all now? Will cast trail, visible to any in city while I search for Maroq here."
She then waits quietly for a response while preparing to cast trail of the rose with the flower she had just bought.
Isilme ducks out of the small ramshackle inn, and heads out into the streets. The main streets are all busy with passing traffic, mostly carrying wares. But she finds parts of the city that are somewhat broken and worn down.
She breaks into a small boarded up house through an open window. She finds that the interior is infested with rats, who all scatter and squeak as she passes. Isilme heads upstairs and ducks into a small closet to perform her sending.
To say Isilme was just a little flabbergasted by Ary's response was quite the understatement. She had expected the group to have moved, but it seemed the entire group had fallen apart in the one evening she'd been away. There was no way she would be able to aid Ary, Hinagiku and Lann... and... her Rapier.
Isilme sighs openly. All of her belongings were now likely in the possession of the Aziri guards, including Cygnus, which served as her link to Desna and the powers she had on loan through the weapon in exchange for her service.
"Ai'sintar..." she whispers quietly, suddenly overcome by a sense of powerlessness. Would she be unable to help him? Would she even have a chance if she couldn't get in contact with Xander and Ehren to get help?
Taking a deep breath, she tries to calm herself. She focuses on the meditation she had learned from Hinagiku in the past and with the monks during her stay in Sakakabe. After a few moments she regains her composure and tries to focus on the issue one step at a time. No matter the situation, she would need to find out where Aravashnial was being held. She would also need to see exactly how much of a fuss Ary and the others had caused in the city. She couldn't exactly imagine Ary being taken into custody in Azir would go unnoticed, which could mean the Adepts knew they were in the city.
Drawing upon her memory of her spells, she focuses on the divination she'd used yesterday to gain information on Maroq. She prepares herself and casts it, then begins investigating the city remotely to help in her search.
Isilme listens to the whispers of the city, searching for tale of her friends or herself. She finds that the news of prisoners entering the city this morning is a hot topic amongst the Rahadoumi today. Locals witnessed a group of Pure Legionnaires escorting in three people bound and chained. Some swear that one of them was an angel, leading many to speculate that the Legionnaires had finally caught the culprits behind a series of divine terrorist attacks that the city had suffered a month prior.
She also hears that many "wanted" posters had been posted around the city this morning, advertising a bounty of 2,250 platinum for someone who could bring in a hobgoblin wizard named "Xander" alive to Rahadoumi authorities. He is capable of invisibility, as well as powerful fire and teleportation magic. "Xander" is wanted for breaking the First Law of Man, as well as for the attempted murder of a troop of Pure Legionnaires.
Some Rahadoumi are speculating that the explosion seen in the desert last night is directly connected to this "Xander". This in turn has lead many merchants to be fearful of returning home in the evening.
She learns of the location of Maroq's stall in the Grand Souk. She is a copper merchant, selling a variety of functional metalcrafts.
Finally, Isilme hears no whispers regarding a half-orc named Isilme, nor a druid named Ehren.
The results of her divination leave Isilme seriously concerned. There was no doubt that Xander and Ary were known across Azir at this point, though the latter perhaps not by name. If the Blackfyre Adepts were keeping tabs on the goings on in the city, she didn't doubt that the news would catch their attention. Given that they had Aravashnial and other Riftwardens captured, it was exceedingly likely they would quickly realize they had come to save them.
Isilme holds up the flower she had purchased earlier at the market, a beautiful yellow flower rimmed with pink that was known as a desert rose. Focusing on it, she holds it aloft focusing the magic spell she had prepared into it. As she does, she pictures her friends, Ary, Hinagiku, Ehren, Xander, along with Unafe and Lann, weaving them into the spell so they would be able to see its trail as well. At this point only Ehren was unaccounted for, so it was primarily for him, but there was no harm in including the entire group.
Placing the rose in her pack she begins to walk towards the exit, a faint yellow trail appearing behind her as she goes. As she approaches the door, she changes her path to scribe out a crude "Safe but Not Here" message in celestial with her path, then cautiously heads out the door. Were someone to follow the path back to here, they would at least have some idea why it started there that way.
She then begins to head towards the markets, taking care pause to look around every block or two to cover the fact she was moving so as to place simple arrows into the path. Doing so would at least shorten the amount of time necessary to find her. Just for good measure, she takes a 30 min detour around the major thoroughfares to increase the area covered by the spell so it would be more likely one of the group could find her.
Finally she comes to the markets in Grand Souk and begins searching for her, taking advantage of her keen perception and the fact her divination had turned up that she was a copper merchant.
As Ary is delivered her meal, she thanks the guard, careful to stay against the wall and make no sudden movements to put him off. Her motes are mostly along the back edge of the cell. "Thank you very much."
"Has anyone mentioned how long it will be before I'm given the opportunity to pass on the information to someone with the authority to act upon it?"
After she gets a response of any kind, she adds, "There was someone whistling earlier, is that a guard or a prisoner?" and then proceeds to go gather the food and begin to eat after he moves away.
Once his daily communion with the Green has been completed, Ehren makes sure that the coast is clear before casting his usual repertoire of spells. The whole process only takes a few seconds, but the chirping and wing flapping is rather noisy, if not terribly unusual for a bird. Even so, to the trained eye, what he is doing would be fairly obvious.
With his morning routine completed, Ehren takes flight, entering the skies of Azir proper. He did not have a chance to properly scope out the city the previous night, having focused on locating a hiding spot. But now, he somehow has to locate a single individual, assuming that Isilme is still in the city at all. The druid spends his time flying around, occasionally perching on the roof of a building that happens to be near a crowded street, or congregating with other redstarts he finds so as to not arouse suspicion.
Isilme arrives at the Grand Souk in the early afternoon, crossing to the southernmost part of Azir on the western side of the Jodin River. The Grand Souk is a bustling and vast marketplace constructed mostly of tents with the occasional brick structure for particularly well established merchants, creating a sea of canvas and commodities close to the waterfront. The directions Isilme had gained from her divinations lead her to an empty stall along the southern edge of the souk, though by all indications it seems that the space was occupied recently.
The two stalls that neighbor the empty stall are both bakers. The one of the left is a large bearded black man, who calls out, "نان تازه! نان تازه! Fresh bread! Freshly baked bread for sale!"
The Garundi woman on the right calls out, "نان تازه! نان تازه! Fresh bread! Fresh bread! Much better than Santigo's bread!"
"و نان من بسیار برتر از این شلخته است ، نان ایش! فقط اگر می خواهید آرد کرم غذا بخورید ، نان ایشه مصرف کنید!" says Santigo, wheeling on the woman for a moment, before turning back to the crowded street with a smile. "Fresh bread! نان تازه! Delicious fresh bread! Just three copper a loaf! You want a sample?"
"Probably just one of the prisoners. Do not mind them. If they get too loud, we will come silence them," The guard handing Ary's food to her shrugs. "I do not know. Just sit tight and wait."
The guard returned later to pick up her empty bowl and glass, and Ary was left alone with the whistler for another hour. Whoever it was, they only knew one song.
After the hour was over, another pair of guards arrived at Ary's cell to escort her, still cuffed, to a small room lit by torch-light. There is a rectangular table in the center, and four chairs pushed into the table. The guards gesture for her to sit and wait, and a few moments later, a Garundi Legionnaire walks into the room. They are wearing the typical white and gold robes of the Pure Legion, but their features are too androgynous for Ary to be certain of their gender.
"I am Jamal Toulali," says the Legionnaire. "And I am the Investigator assigned to your case. Your name is Ary Bishop, correct?"
They wait for Ary to affirm her name before sitting across from her. They are accompanied by two armed guards who stand on the other end of the room. Up close, Ary can see that they are missing an ear beneath their curly salt and pepper hair.
"Before we get started, I'd like to ask for your assistance with something. We need to catalogue your belongings so that they grouped with their owner, which will allow us to calculate the fines necessary for their retrieval," they say. They're carrying Ary's bags of holding which were seized earlier in the day.
The guard returned later to pick up his empty bowl and glass, assuming Lann ate, and then Lann was left alone with the whistler for another hour. Whoever it was, they only knew one song.
After the hour was over, another pair of guards arrived at Lann's cell to escort him, still cuffed, to a small room lit by torch-light. There is a rectangular table in the center, and four chairs pushed into the table. The guards gesture for him to sit and wait, and a few moments later, a Garundi Legionnaire walks into the room. He is a black man, and is very tall and thin.
"I am Younes Tawil," he begins, sitting across the table from Lann. There are also two armed guards on either side of him. "I am the investigator assigned to your case. Let's begin with your name and occupation. What is your name and rank, and why are you in Rahadoum?" He does not smile, making it hard to get a read on his mood.
Ehren casts his morning spells (even though it was now past noon), which unsettles the other redstarts who were perched near him. They fly off, leaving him alone with the camels.
Ehren then flies high above Keatb Park. Though his form is rather obviously abnormal thanks to his polymorphic pouch, he is diminutive and difficult to see from a great distance, so as long as he flies high enough it is hard for any of the crowds of people below to get a good sight on him. Unfortunately, flying too high above the crowds also makes it difficult for him to get a good sight on anything in particular going on down on the streets.
From his vantage point in the sky he can see that this part of the city is rather affluent, based on the beautiful architecture, which boasts both beautiful organic lines and soft colors, with jagged structures that seem to defy geometry itself, painted in bold colors. There are large residential districts, small parks filled with sculptures and fountains, and a series of shopping districts that cater towards the wealthy.
Ehren spends a full hour flitting around the neighborhood. The metropolis busy, but apparently peaceful. He doesn't see any sign of Isilme or anyone else that he knows in this neighborhood. What will he do next?