The djinn raises an eyebrow to Andromeda as the first one passes out in the order he gave, the second eyebrow comes up with the second, and as the third falls, he's totally grinning about it.
"Ah, no need to do that. I don't keep debts, plus we didn't put anything on it. We'll save the fun stuff for next time."
Pocketing the rest of the bottle, which had less than a third of it remaining, they make to leave the train. Jasper holds his hand out to help Andromeda across the gap of the tracks, if she chooses to take it.
"Well, given the eventful ride, and the new commentary, I'd say we should be able to find something fun here."
She gladly accepted his help, and grinned at his comment. "Yeah, this should be good."
Once they stepped out onto the platform, they got their first good look at goblin town. There were no roads once you left the station, but there were dirt paths that meandered throughout. The whole place looked like a forest, except the trees were actually giant mushrooms, and there were large green ferns in clusters throughout. There wasn't much in the way of sunlight, but the ceiling and walls of the enormous cavern were covered with glowing lichen in various colors, creating a feeling of stepping into a surreal painting. There were streetlamps lining the paths at irregular intervals, each lamp sculpted in a different shape. There were no permanent structures here. There were brightly painted wagons, tents, folding tables with merchandise spread across them. And the people....the two of them didn't even begin to stand out here. There were humanoids, and various other oids, in all different shapes and sizes, hawking wares or wandering around the market. A parade of fruit sellers nearly bowled them over when they tried to step off the platform, but they didn't pause to actually try and sell them anything. They only glared and marched on.
After a wonderful, quiet lunch with Ginni and Squeaky, Ace got ready for the festival. Which for him, only required a quick investigation into the latest Laeren fashions, and then altering his appearance to be slightly elven looking.
He shows up to the teleport room shortly after Fei arrives, and smiles to his best friend "Hey Ty, all ready and good to go."
He nods respectfully to Ghaelin and Fei "Oh good, I'm not the only one who is gonna feel a bit outta place." He says teasingly.
Tyrrin turned around to greet Fei and raised an eyebrow at his appearance. Although it was amazing she could turn and pace and such given the dress she was wearing. It was a relatively modest off the shoulder white dress covered with intricate silver embroidery. But it was tight enough that it might as well have been painted on, and there were no slits in the skirt, which didn't even flare at all until well below her knees. Presumably the fabric was at least a little stretchy to accommodate movement. Before she could say anything, Ghalen called her attention back to him and she blushed and turned away from him. Seeing him like that made her want to do things. Things there was definitely not currently time for. "Yes," she squeaked, and then put her hand over her mouth before she embarrassed herself further.Ghalen sees Fei, and bows. Upon seeing his dress attire, it reminds him to alter the appearance of his robes. He concentrates for a moment, and the clothes begin to shift and swirl with new color, as he now appears in the military dress attire for Laeren, as appropriate for an armsmen in personal service to a member of the royalty, although no visible marks of rank appear, as not to offend anyone there that has earned a rank in Laeren's armed forces. Between the library and personal assistance from 'Thel, he has it right down to the gold leaf stitching. He also alters his raven hair to grow, appearing mid-back in length, with elven side-braids that join under a gold clasp behind his head. His weapon changes to look like an armsman's longsword on his hip.
He leaves enough variance in his attire as to not be a direct copy, but the styles, cuts and colors fit the bill well.
"I hope this style of dress is to your liking, M'Lady." he says to Tyrrin.
Fei bows back respectfully to Ghalen, then prepares himself for Tyrrin's iminent evaluation of his appearance. Ghalen's change of wardrobe and the ensuing awkwardness, however, halts that, and the young monk quietly steps back outside of the room to await the others.
He shows up to the teleport room shortly after Fei arrives, and smiles to his best friend "Hey Ty, all ready and good to go."
He nods respectfully to Ghaelin and Fei "Oh good, I'm not the only one who is gonna feel a bit outta place." He says teasingly.
Fei bows respectfully to Casilkasheyith as he enters the room. "It would appear so," he replies quietly.
Tyrrin turned around to greet Fei and raised an eyebrow at his appearance. Although it was amazing she could turn and pace and such given the dress she was wearing. It was a relatively modest off the shoulder white dress covered with intricate silver embroidery. But it was tight enough that it might as well have been painted on, and there were no slits in the skirt, which didn't even flare at all until well below her knees. Presumably the fabric was at least a little stretchy to accommodate movement. Before she could say anything, Ghalen called her attention back to him and she blushed and turned away from him. Seeing him like that made her want to do things. Things there was definitely not currently time for. "Yes," she squeaked, and then put her hand over her mouth before she embarrassed herself further.
Ghalen just chuckles, with that smirk on his face. He takes her hand and kisses it. "You look beautiful as well, M'Lady."
He bows to Ace as well, then gives a quizzical look, but it passes.
Cindra follows Phaedra outside, laughing as she enjoys Phaedra's enthusiasm for play.
As Phaedra explains the rules to Lang, Cindra changes into her bird form, perching on a nearby statue.
"Thank you," Tyrrin said, still blushing furiously, and trying to gather the scattered pieces of her dignity.
"Ah. Fei. And Casil. Good you're all ready to go.....er...." she said, a bit taken aback to see Fei in traditional elven dress. This was apparently an evening for surprises.
His momentary reprieve probably over, Fei starts to turn around but stops when he sees Tyrrin's apparent struggle with her own sense of composure. He politely returns his gaze back to the hallway.
"As my body type is not conducive to most styles of elven dress, I had to make certain...concessions. It was not my intention to be disrespectful - if you feel that this will not be respectful attire, I will change it."
Ace nods in agreement "I'm sure if she had another week to get a handle on her shape-shifting, she would have accompanied us. But, she has some research to keep her occupied, so that good. I feel bad, but I totally understand, considering my personal history."
"No, there's nothing wrong with how you're dressed! I was just surprised. Given how last minute your invitation was, I wasn't expecting you to have time to find such an appropriate outfit," Tyrrin hurried to reassure. "And I do apologize for the lateness of your invitation. There was some last minute rearranging when Ginni decided not to come after all. Completely understandable and certainly the right decision given certain...uh....other factors...." She hurriedly glanced out the door and down the hall. Not seeing Ehos and Jaiye, she continued. "My idiot brother got himself into some trouble involving a demon recently. It's probably best not to confuse things."
Fei turns back around, bowing to Tyrrin as he does in one simple, fluid motion.
"I had heard from my fellows at the Infirmary that Ginni is undergoing some...changes. I hope she is alright, the young monk says to Casilkasheyith.
"I....was wondering why I received the invitation in the first place. I hope that Ehos is alright as well...did this occur before or after your mother's visit to Avalon? She asked me about him while she was here."
"I suppose that depends on which visit," Tyrrin said, keeping an eye on the corridor. "She's been here a lot lately. Jaiye went to her for help getting some stuff together in case the demon shows up again. She has to hide it all from Ehos because the demon still has a connection to his mind and can easily influence or control him," she said scowling. "So I've had to act as go-between so he doesn't notice so he can't unconsciously pass the information on. It's totally messed up.
"I have only seen her one time - when the firebird camp was first being set up, and she had brought a contingent from Laeren to assist in accommodating them here."
And not a word about any of this once they show up," she said with an all-purpose glare at everyone for good measure.
"Of course," Fei replies with a conciliatory bow. "Let us discuss other subjects then. Could you tell me in what capacity I will be serving during my attendance?"
Those in the Teleportation Room hear a conversation just outside the door.
"We're right here, so can you guys just give me one night without any outbursts? If you shoot him in the foot while we're out, it won't stop what we're doing, and we won't go to the infirmary."
"Of course we can. No promises."
There's a sigh and the door gets pushed open, one elf enters holding a sort of cape.
Elf is somewhat of a loose term here, seeing that he has numerous other affectations besides pointed ears. His right half has Platinum blonde hair, blue eyes, cat like claws, and a large white feathered wing. His left half has black hair, a red eye, tough black claws, and a leathery black bat wing.
Most of this, however is covered over in a new guise as he throws the cape over his shoulders. With that done, he appears almost completely Elven, with purple eyes and salt and pepper hair, and no wings or claws.
Having entered with his eyes to the floor and then being preoccupied with the cape, he now looks up and sees the occupation of the teleport room.
"Oh, uh, excuse me. I can wait for the next one..."
Fei (and presumably the others) stop conversing immediately and look up at the unknown new arrival. He looks to the others.
"Shall we step outside and wait for the rest of our group? If others are going, we should probably not prevent the use of the teleport room."
Vai looks surprised at the message on her data pad and quickly sets about writing a response ** spoiler omitted **
Sadie looked up from her data pad. "Okay, guys, I've got a couple of names. Djalos, if you want to try to find either Arthur Barren or Melody Waverider, Vai thinks they might be able to help with this."
At this point a clicking sound can be heard in the hallway and a glance outside reveals Ehos and Jaiye heading towards them down the hallway, Jaiye clinging to Ehos's arm and muttering curses against the sadist that invented the high heeled shoe.
"You're late," Tyrrin snapped.
Ehos rolled his eyes and held up his data pad with the free arm. It read: Shoe trouble.
Fei looks over to the dwarven operator, a small smile on his face. "I....think we can honor your preference now, sir" he says with a grateful bow. (^-^)
Returning his face to its normal serene appearance, he turns back to rest of the gathered group.
"Are we ready to depart?"
"I will seek this Melody Waverider," Djalos says simply, before vanishing into the shadows. It isn't a dramatic thing for him, apparently. It's actually a conscious effort to not always be in stealth-mode around people when he has the opportunity.
Djalos communicates his intent to his bracelet, creating a series of vibrations that serve as arrows similar to the school's. He follows them presumably to Melody's room.
Ghalen retrieves a token for himself and Tyrrin, handing hers to her. He doesn't say anything to the dwarf, however, preferring to have Tyrrin give the word.
As Fei gathers his token from the basket, he reflects on Tyrrin's words regarding her brother and the possible repercussions if the worst was to happen (and presumably the real reason he was invited in the first place).
While listening to the others speak, the young monk uses his Neural Lace to link to his school email and the communication system, he quickly sends messages to James, Sabumnim Sunwake and the Infirmary that if he is needed he will only be reachable by technological means.
Once he delivers the messages, he brings his Lace's mental defenses online so they will be in place before they arrive in Laeren.
She gladly accepted his help, and grinned at his comment. "Yeah, this should be good."
Once they stepped out onto the platform, they got their first good look at goblin town. There were no roads once you left the station, but there were dirt paths that meandered throughout. The whole place looked like a forest, except the trees were actually giant mushrooms, and there were large green ferns in clusters throughout. There wasn't much in the way of sunlight, but the ceiling and walls of the enormous cavern were covered with glowing lichen in various colors, creating a feeling of stepping into a surreal painting. There were streetlamps lining the paths at irregular intervals, each lamp sculpted in a different shape. There were no permanent structures here. There were brightly painted wagons, tents, folding tables with merchandise spread across them. And the people....the two of them didn't even begin to stand out here. There were humanoids, and various other oids, in all different shapes and sizes, hawking wares or wandering around the market. A parade of fruit sellers nearly bowled them over when they tried to step off the platform, but they didn't pause to actually try and sell them anything. They only glared and marched on.
Jasper whistles as he looks all around the cavern.
"Why can't the whole world just be like this? One big closed space I can see the top of. Wouldn't have to be all eeeh."He makes a hand motion, somewhat lackingly illustrating his agoraphobia.
The set of citrus sellers sally sourly southward of the sightseeing students, slightly slowing their shop searching. Jasper raises an eyebrow as they march past. Undeterred, the two set forth into one of the paths, looking at the scattered wares.
"Place is like the school on steroids. Really cool, eh?"
David shakes his head "no no... just seems a waste to have parts of it that aren't enchanted in some way"
"I mean, we could add that later. But right now I just don't know how to put enchantment in moving parts. I didn't even know what clockwork was until after I left home. I'm still learning how to do stuff like that. Maybe I can add something to the insides when I learn how."
David relaxes and smiles "and this way it's not just immiedietly done"
The elf takes one of the tokens as he looks to the other gathered students.
"It does look like we're going to the same place."
He steps up to the teleport pad, waiting for the one seemingly in charge to give the word.
Tybalt smiles back, finding his enthusiasm infectious.
"It is nice to have goals to work towards. I could probably do something cool with it once I know how."
He stretches and air cartwheels towards the column.
"You about ready to head out?"
She beamed at him when he said that he liked direct and to the point. That at least was something that she could do. She was already working her way through the last of her breakfast at this point. She'd eaten it faster than she'd intended. This was what happened when she got overly hungry.
"That's nice. That you always have Hunnin. That way you don't have to feel lonely," she said, resting her chin on her hands. "I don't know what spirits are. They have their own world? I think I've heard the word before though. When they were trying to explain what ethereal means. That thing that I do sometimes when I go through things, they tell me that's the word for it. I guess. Can Hunnin go through stuff too?"
"Spirits are the very essence of a person, place, or thing. Everything has a spirit, even stuff like rocks, and trees. For those who are alive, especially people like you and me, they are similar to souls, except you can send your spirit places. And yes, Hunnin can go through things, should he choose to."
David grabs a dozen doughnuts with a variety of fillings before saying "yeah, this works for a light breakfast"
Raelle gave a forced laugh. "Don't be silly. I'm not that uptight! It's just....it's just...." And that's when her self control broke. "It's just that it needs 3 more grams of flour and another quarter teaspoon of baking soda and an eighth of a cup more chocolate chips," she muttered as she started adding ingredients to make the ratios right for the mathematically perfect balance.
The young lava bender smiles at Rae's precision calculations "It would appear you're both the beauty and the brains in this relationship. At least I know that with you making sure the exact right mix is used, these are probably going to be the best cookies I have ever had." He says, trying to set his girlfriend's mind at ease.
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The young lava bender smiles at Rae's precision calculations "It would appear you're both the beauty and the brains in this relationship. At least I know that with you making sure the exact right mix is used, these are probably going to be the best cookies I have ever had." He says, trying to set his girlfriend's mind at ease.Raelle gave a forced laugh. "Don't be silly. I'm not that uptight! It's just....it's just...." And that's when her self control broke. "It's just that it needs 3 more grams of flour and another quarter teaspoon of baking soda and an eighth of a cup more chocolate chips," she muttered as she started adding ingredients to make the ratios right for the mathematically perfect balance.
Raelle blushed. "I was so gonna be calm and laid back and not do this. I may have understated the facts when I told you I was kind of a math nerd," she said with a self-deprecating grin. "I may on occasion get a little bit nuts when things aren't just so."
She picked up a scoop. "These are for shaping the dough into cookies. Umm....it has to be these ones and filled exactly or they don't cook exactly perfect...." She put her hand over her eyes. "I'm just making it worse aren't I?"
Raelle blushed. "I was so gonna be calm and laid back and not do this. I may have understated the facts when I told you I was kind of a math nerd," she said with a self-deprecating grin. "I may on occasion get a little bit nuts when things aren't just so."She picked up a scoop. "These are for shaping the dough into cookies. Umm....it has to be these ones and filled exactly or they don't cook exactly perfect...." She put her hand over her eyes. "I'm just making it worse aren't I?"
Ignace patted her on the arm as she rolled her eyes. "It's okay, sis. He hasn't run away yet. I think he probably already knows you're a little high strung."
Chara giggled. "You're all silly. Less talking! More cookie making!" she decreed, grabbing a scoop from Raelle and digging into the batter, then holding it up for Ignace to level off for her. She already knew better than to argue with Raelle about cookie baking directions.
"Spirits are the very essence of a person, place, or thing. Everything has a spirit, even stuff like rocks, and trees. For those who are alive, especially people like you and me, they are similar to souls, except you can send your spirit places. And yes, Hunnin can go through things, should he choose to."
"I wonder if it was hard for him to learn too, or if he just knew by instinct," she said thoughtfully as she finished her breakfast. "I can kind of understand about people and animals having this spirit stuff, maybe even trees cause they're alive too. But rocks....that's just weird. Not sure I can quite wrap my mind around that one.....I'm sure you know what you're talking about. But some parts of it are easier to understand than others," she said, wrinkling her nose as she tried to comprehend.
The elf takes one of the tokens as he looks to the other gathered students.
"It does look like we're going to the same place."
He steps up to the teleport pad, waiting for the one seemingly in charge to give the word.
Ehos grabbed a token each from the basket for himself and Jaiye.
Jaiye gave a weak, nervous smile. "Yeah, looks like," she said in response to Lim-Mor's comment. "This is a spectacularly bad idea," she said, taking a deep breath to steady herself. "Let's get it over with."
Jasper whistles as he looks all around the cavern.
"Why can't the whole world just be like this? One big closed space I can see the top of. Wouldn't have to be all eeeh."
He makes a hand motion, somewhat lackingly illustrating his agoraphobia.
The set of citrus sellers sally sourly southward of the sightseeing students, slightly slowing their shop searching. Jasper raises an eyebrow as they march past. Undeterred, the two set forth into one of the paths, looking at the scattered wares.
"Place is like the school on steroids. Really cool, eh?"
"It kinda reminds me of my grandma's place. But way bigger. And yeah, so many different sentients..." she said, practically bouncing from excitement as she tried to look at everything at once.
A hag standing behind a table of ceramic flowers grinned back at her. There was a stirge on a perch behind her, looking depressed. "Care to buy a flower, dear?" the hag asked maybe a little too eagerly.An stopped and glanced over the flowers before shaking her head. "Sorry," she said. "Not what I'm looking for." She quickly backed away from the table before things with the hag could turn ugly. "Geez," she muttered once she was out of earshot of the flower seller. "how dumb does she think I am? Every one of those things was cursed."
She paused to let a gelatinous cube pass by on its way who knows where, and quickly changed direction when she saw a group of drow down the next path. "This way! I have a really good feeling about not that way," she said, taking a sharp left.
Stops when she hears a knock on the door. "I'll get it," she said, pulling open the door to see a person she didn't recognize.
Djalos sees a dark skinned girl with messy long black hair and still wearing pajamas standing in front of him. "Uh...hey," she says. "Can I help you?"
Jeran decided to go and check on Pyry to see how the young icebird was adjusting to life at Avalon, but there was no answer when he knocked on the door. Probably still sleeping.
Well, there was that other guy who helped out with the whole mess with Tryko'Sam and Cho. Kevin. He could at least stop by and let him know how things had turned out in the end. He touched the wall and waited for the arrows to show him where Kevin was.
Ace flashes a grin at Jaiye "Spectacularly bad ideas can often also be incredibly fun ones." He says, grabbing his own teleport token.
"She took me into my own mind. It was wierd in there."Nods. "I have a tutor as well. She told me I am 'psychic', and not cursed. I hope she is correct."
"Well, i mean, someone helped me control them. I think it's ephebe's parent. Bit k don't feel I've made any progress from there."
"weird in what way?"
David grabs a dozen doughnuts with a variety of fillings before saying "yeah, this works for a light breakfast"
The cat playfully punches him on his shoulder. "Hey, you coulda had as much as you wanted if you ordered it all to start with."
He produced the credit stick and plugs it into a port on the console, a number steadily ticking down until flashing green with a little noise indicating it had been payed. He pushes a button and they're both gently lowered to the ground as the door slides open with a soft hum."Shall we?"
David rolls his eyes and follows the cat.
Limmor finally notices the ears, prompting half of him to be very concerned for her safety and the other half to excitedly hope to see her publicly executed. The part of him given control for hopefully the length of the festivities settles on nervous indifference, being that it's not his problem if it won't affect him personally. He didn't really have any strong feelings towards Lycans, equally unconditionally loving and hating basically all of existence. He may have been breed to fight them, but that's what his parents wanted, and that meant he didn't.
He tugs at the edge of his sleeveless purple tunic, always wondering why normal elves enjoyed holes in their fashionable clothes.
"It kinda reminds me of my grandma's place. But way bigger. And yeah, so many different sentients..." she said, practically bouncing from excitement as she tried to look at everything at once.
A hag standing behind a table of ceramic flowers grinned back at her. There was a stirge on a perch behind her, looking depressed. "Care to buy a flower, dear?" the hag asked maybe a little too eagerly.
An stopped and glanced over the flowers before shaking her head. "Sorry," she said. "Not what I'm looking for." She quickly backed away from the table before things with the hag could turn ugly. "Geez," she muttered once she was out of earshot of the flower seller. "how dumb does she think I am? Every one of those things was cursed."
She paused to let a gelatinous cube pass by on its way who knows where, and quickly changed direction when she saw a group of drow down the next path. "This way! I have a really good feeling about not that way," she said, taking a sharp left.
Jasper smirks a little at the large depressed mosquito. Poor thing was probably her familiar, and that kind of bondage wasn't something he could end with a snap of his fingers. "Shame. They all looked kinda nice."
He raises an eyebrow as the large acidic cube passes by."Huh, free range gelatine."
He sets a quick gust up to air jump them over the caustic trail it leaves behind, making sure An lands on her feet on the other side.
As they go through the next lane to skirt the drow, he looks to a Ratfolk vendor in a pair of red breeches unloading things from a fine white carriage old and broken from use, all sorts of things from glass shoes, wands, and hats to old mops and brooms and lots of other things around and about, many with a faint glow of magic.
"What about right here? Could take a look."
Jeran decided to go and check on Pyry to see how the young icebird was adjusting to life at Avalon, but there was no answer when he knocked on the door. Probably still sleeping.
Well, there was that other guy who helped out with the whole mess with Tryko'Sam and Cho. Kevin. He could at least stop by and let him know how things had turned out in the end. He touched the wall and waited for the arrows to show him where Kevin was.
The arrows would lead him to one of the alchemy testing labs.
Inside Kevin is staring at a chalk board full of evenly spaced letters, all of which are G, C, T, or A. There's a section highlighted.For some reason there's top hat the size of a soup can, a hermit crab, and a few jars of chemicals on the table nearby.
Tybalt leads the two out of the restaurant and back to roughly the place they arrived in.
"Okay, my favorite market is in Sindria, unless you have one you like better. It's around one o clock in Sindria right now, so a little hot."