"Alrighty then!" Ameiko claps her hands. "Now, there's still the matter of... well, whoever it is that's hunting us."
"I propose that we handle these things in groups. Sandru and I are going to hit the taverns for more info." Ameiko indicates herself and the caravan master, who gives her an annoyed look. "Valeria, you're welcome to come along."
"Shalelu can handle looking for a guide." She points at the elven ranger, who simply shrugs. "Kasha, I'm going to bet that Haru's going to want to go with her too, right?" She chuckles at the bardess and gives her a knowing smile.
"That leaves us with Friday, Kavell, Koya, Kelda, Zaiobe, Maxim & Ishgha..."
Well it looks to be a very long journey, i thought about seeing what it would cost to get plenty in art supplies for my carving, perhaps get my good friend Friday there some more paints and the like, something to do during the journey... and who knows, maybe the folk on the other side of the world might like it. I will try to keep my eyes out for those who were hunting us, but i find rumors of foul deed tend to dry up when i walk by. I can see about long term supplies for the caravan as well I think i can keep too many angry folk from mobbing you Ishgha and Zaiobe if you want to come along with, We can see the sights of the city Madam Koya as well if you would like?
He offered just giving miss Kelda a slight wink.
You would be so kind as to be our... guide would you not fair Kelda. The merchants might be kinder to us if you were about with us.. I certainly wouldnt mind your company.
"Is there anything we can do?" Friday asks Koya.
"Well, I'd love to take a look around this place." Koya nods. "I hope they've got a great church here for me to take a look at..."
"Is there anything we can do?"
"Well, you could come with us." Koya indicates Kavell, herself, and Ishgha, to the hobgoblin's visible surprise. "I imagine the folks around here won't try anything funny if you're with an old lady and a charming young fella like him." She pokes Kavell in a teasing way.
"You would be so kind as to be our... guide would you not fair Kelda. The merchants might be kinder to us if you were about with us.. I certainly wouldn't mind your company."
Kelda laughs. "Of course, of course. Kelda hopes it hasn't changed much..."
Friday bows to Koya and then turns to Zaiobe. "Do you still want to come?"
Friday smiles back.
Haru emerges from the wagon, finally having kicked the nasty headache that's been bothering her.
"Tavern! Right, that sounds great! Do you think we'll need to sing for our supper?"
"I don't reckon any of us will need to, as long as we don't overspend here." Shalelu gives Haru a small smile. "I was planning on looking for a guide to get us over the Crown, and Kasha asked to come with me. Do you want to as well?"
"Right! It's settled!" Ameiko claps her hands and points to Sandru and Valeria. "You two, come with me."
"Shalelu, take Kasha & Haru and see about finding us a guide."
"And the rest of you... go ahead and explore."
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With that, the caravan begins to split apart and venture into the city...
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Kelda laughs and claps Kavell on the back as the group assembles and begins to explore the city in earnest. ”Come—let Kelda give you the tour.”
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The assembled group drifts along the streets of Kalsgard, the rather decrepit and ramshackle walls of the city’s ‘Bone Quarter’ giving way to the multi-story, elaborately carved buildings of what Kelda calls the city’s ‘Fire Quarter’. The sounds of raucous cheering and chattering can be heard everywhere in this part of the city.
”Lots of taverns and wrestling halls here. Plenty of places to go for a drink!” Kelda explains as the party passes by one tavern in the midst of a pitched bar fight—one patron gets thrown out the window and scrambles to rejoin the fray without even paying attention to the glass stuck in his back. ”Also a fight, if you’d like.”
The group passes by a patrol of guards who give them some odd looks (mostly directed towards Ishgha and Zaiobe), but they don’t make any move to impede the party. The hobgoblin keeps his eyes firmly ahead, and Zaiobe leans closer to Friday as they walk about.
Staying quiet as they walk, Friday takes ahold of Zaiobe's hand as they walk when she gets closer.
Kelda gives the bystanders a confused look before a realization comes to her. It makes her laugh.
"Oh... they must think you come from the Hall of Splendid Valour."
Zaiobe looks more comfortable when Friday takes her hand. Some passersby shoot Friday a knowing look and seem to pump their fists, as if cheering him on. The harpy gives them a quizzical look, but keeps quiet.
Friday mirrors the quizzical look at the passerbys.
"The Hall of... Splendid Valour?" he asks the Barbarian.
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"Only the finest brothel in Kalsgard." Kelda shrugs and Zaiobe's eyebrows arch in surprise. "The men and women there dress in wings and little else. Supposed to be dressed as 'azatas', or some such. Lots of mock wrestling and sword duels, as well."
"Never indulged, myself." She adds as Koya gives her an incredulous look. "Had to drag Helvig out more times than Kelda can remember, though."
"... oh..." is all he lets out as he slips his fingers away from Zaiobe, I'm so sorry is all he manages to say to her through their link while their fingers still touch.
Friday lowers his head at the rebuke. I don't know, I'm sorry.
Kasha's efforts at asking around don't yield any results.
Normally, Valeria would have enjoyed taking in the sights of Kalsgard. Although normally she wouldn't be visiting a new city while expecting to be attacked or spied on (or both) by an unknown enemy. Xel's own nervousness over the situation coming through their link wasn't exactly helping either.
Still, she did her best to clamp down on the mild paranoia and start looking and listening for any suggestion that there might be a mage somewhere in town who might have their eyes on the caravan. Once Sandru or Ameiko got talking to someone, she'd listen in to pick up any potential hints, trying to filter out common superstition from the mention of genuine supernatural phenomena.
Ameiko is quite insistent on taking the lead as you, Sandru and her go on a walk through the crowded streets of the northern metropolis. The weather is still rather cold, but not cold enough for you to really feel any discomfort. The three of you pass quite a few confused-looking locals as you walk along, most of them staring at your features as you move; some of their eyes are on your horns or tail, but most of them seem to be staring in disbelief at your lack of winter garb compared to them. Ameiko & Sandru's presence keeps them from causing too much of a fuss, however.
The three of you find your way to a part of the city the locals call the Amber Quarter. This part of the city appears to be the shopping district--you pass quite a few shops for various jewelry and art objects clustered together on several different street corners. Ameiko finds a cozy inn sandwiched between two ivory carving shops: the Iron Hearth.
The interior of the tavern is extravagantly decorated with a variety of elaborate scrimshaw carvings, some of them of mighty dragon-like beasts and others of proud longships. The three of you find a free table and settle in.
"...is Old Snaevald still going on about that sword of his? Aye, it's a fine sword, I'll admit--not often you see one of such fine Tian make around here, and especially not one of ancestral make--but you'd think he'd lost his firstborn son, the way he keeps going on about how he lost it. Said thieves broke into his home..."
...and when you hear the name Snaevald, for some reason it seems to ring a bell. You remember the memory the Seal imparted upon you, of the once-proud Amatatsu giving up their family sword for a paltry sack of gold... was he the man it was sold to?
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"...I saw the blood-raven again. Flitting over my shop, as if it were looking for something... or someone. I think I'm going to have to close up shop for a bit--"
"This again? You close up shop whenever you spill salt or forget to knock on wood, you old fool. Business as usual for me..."
Valeria was starting to think she should've at least worn some pants under her dress and something to cover her arms. She didn't need the warmth from them, but she was probably making everyone else feel the cold a lot more than normal. That being said; she tended to draw attention wherever she went just by virtue of being a tiefling, so rugging up probably wouldn't have changed the amount of stares enough to matter.
Still, she kept her ears open. Even if the Seal hadn't included a memory about it, the mention of a Tian-made sword would've caught her ear regardless. She kept quiet until they'd gotten a table at the tavern.
"Not sure if either of you caught it, but I heard someone mention a Tianese sword that got stolen from someone named Snaevald. We know your grandfather sold one to help fund the trip, think it could be the same one?"
Helvig?
He asked trying to merely just sound curious not... worried but there was avery tiny note of worry there.
I've never been to a brothel either... well not for its stated purpose. I've done carving work in one, helped with sickness in the one in sandpoint but never well you know.
He said slightly blushing. He hadnt meant to give up too much about himself.
Do you think we can find a place to resupply things needed for our art?
He asked the sexy barbarian woman while nodding to Friday, who appeared to be much like he was at the moment... completely at a loss
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"... there's a brothel in Sandpoint?"
"Helvig?"
"Aye, leader of Kelda's old warband." The berserker nods. "Before you came by and pulled me from castle dungeons, of course."
"I've never been to a brothel either... well, not for its stated purpose. I've done carving work in one, helped with sickness in the one in Sandpoint but never... well, you know."
Kelda laughs again. "Oh, don't worry, healer--Kelda would not think less of you for it."
"...though it's hard to believe." She looks Kavell over with an appraising (and rather ravenous) eye.
"Do you think we can find a place to resupply things needed for our art?"
"Certainly." Kelda chuckles, to the visible relief of Koya and Ishgha, surprisingly enough. "But that would be in the Amber Quarter--thought we could get a good meal first."
Taking in their environment Kasha turns to Shalelu, knowing the ranger had traveled quite a lot. "Have you ever been this far north? The climate is very different from that in Sandpoint."
"Have you ever been this far north? The climate is very different from that in Sandpoint."
Shalelu shakes her head and wrinkles her nose as a cold breeze blows past her. "No, I never have. The closest I've ever come is Varisia's northern border. Even then, the chill winds weren't as... harsh as they are now."
The trio is currently wandering the streets of Kalsgard's Ivory Quarter, the dwelling of the city's numerous trade guilds. Large, elaborately carved oaken guildhalls are scattered among the many residences here, and even with their size, stand out from each other; some of them are decorated with murals of grand Ulfen warships, others show their wealth by having dozens of armed warriors stationed as guards around them.
Word on the street is that trading expeditions and voyages are organized here.
"Not sure if either of you caught it, but I heard someone mention a Tianese sword that got stolen from someone named Snaevald. We know your grandfather sold one to help fund the trip, think it could be the same one?"
Ameiko folds her hands on her lap. "It could very well be--we should pay him a visit once we've had something good to eat."
She takes some menus from the approaching server and peruses one while handing them out to you and Sandru. "...hmm. 'Winter Wolf Steak'? Not sure if that's an exaggeration or not, but... well, you want to try it, Val?"
"Doesn't look like they have much in the way of vegetables..." Sandru whispers.
"Tempted, but I'd feel bad eating something potentially smarter than Xel," she joked, giving a quick glance to the bird sitting on the back of the table's fourth chair. She'd made it clear to him that it would be best if he kept quiet while they were in public - rumours about a mage would be difficult enough to identify without getting rumours about herself thrown into the mix. But she didn't need an empathic link to feel the avian giving her a very indignant glare.
The lack of vegetables on the menu didn't really bother Valeria - her tastes tended towards the carnivorous anyway. That and pasta (little wonder, then, that she was an absolute sucker for well-made beef ravioli - although the odds of finding such a Chelish dish this far north were somewhere in the region of "bugger" and "all").
"The bear steak's got me tempted, though,"
"Shall we try this one?" Kasha asks, indicating a guildhall that while well appointed was a bit less ostentatious."I've found that people who spend all thier time focusing on outside appearances tend to miss the things that matter....probably not what we want in a guide." she says with a grin.
"Bear steak it is, then!" Ameiko folds her menu up and flags the server down again. A few words are exchanged, and soon three plates of well-cooked steak drenched in a strange sauce are delivered to your table.
Sandru pokes at his steak, looking a bit uncertain as to whether the meat is cooked all the way through. Ameiko doesn't seem to share his concern, and starts carving her steak up into smaller chunks.
"Anyway, a good place to stay would be the Hunting Serpent Inn." Kelda boasts as she leads the gang onward. "It's in Ice Quarter--welcomes all comers and is cheap, too!"
The berserker gives Friday & Zaiobe a knowing look. "If you have special... well, strange companions or pets, Tosti won't mind much. Just don't make mess of his inn." She looks like she's about to continue, but the sound of a tavern door being thrown open interrupts her.
A group of seven drunken Ulfen warriors stagger out, laughing raucously and blundering their way into the group's path. The leader roughly staggers into Kelda and knocks her off her stride. "Hey, outta our way! Got more mead to drink, lads!"
Kelda gives the man a venomous glare.
The leader is wearing a golden arm-ring bearing a stylized depiction of a lion's head embossed in the metal.
Friday arches a bemused brow at Kelda as she talks but loses whatever train of thought he head when the raucous group emerges.
"I suggest you apologize," he says says coolly while staring at the arm ring.
The drunken warrior draws himself up to his full height as Friday speaks up. His banded mail *creaks* as he flexes his chest and folds his arms. He sneers down at Friday and chuckles.
"And if I do not?"
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"Then we're probably going to add more of those arm rings to our collection."
The man guffaws and puffs his chest out. "HA HA HA!"
"Bold words, boy." He drawls, clearly not taking Friday seriously at all. "Prove it--show me that you were foolish enough to cross blades with Thane Longthews' finest."
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Friday turns to Kelda and repeats "Thane Longthew?" before facing the men again. "Thank you. Your apology is accepted. Now go be stupid somewhere else, lest you join the rest of the Thane's... finest."
"How many rings did we recover?" he asks to no one in particular.
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The drunken thanesman looks rather confused at Friday's remark, his bravado vanishing before he wanders off with the rest of his companions. A few moments pass before their raucous revelry starts up again.
"...I think we recovered at least six of those rings." Ishgha finally speaks up after being quiet for most of the tour.
"Thank you, though we certainly slew more than that." Friday says before turning to Kelda. "What do you know about Thane Longthew?"
Shalelu shrugs noncommittally and leads the two of you into the guildhall Kasha pointed out.
The building's front hall is flanked by a pair of columns carved to look like strange serpentine dragons coiling upwards. A finely-made rug stretches from the oaken front doors to an ornate, polished desk sitting across from them. A rather harried-looking clerk is sitting at the desk, and is currently being berated by a dark-haired woman with brown skin who's dressed in red & green furs. Her oaken staff raps against the desk once.
"...and you're SURE he hasn't come back? It's been two days, man! He has to be out there!"
"Miss Uksahkka, I do apologize once again, but that is how things stand. It may be that he's safe and sound, and he simply started work on the contract without contacting us first--"
"--what?! When has he ever done that?!"
The conversation continues in this vein.
"What do you know about Thane Longthew?"
Kelda scratches her head.
"...eh, not much, really." Kelda shrugs. "Hadn't heard of him before today. Might be a new thane named by King Blood-Eagle."
Kavell was trying really hard to keep his cool, after all anger never lead to proper judgement. He wanted to impress Kelda so much though, and finally when the louts mentioned whom they worked for he started to bristle.... then almost deflated when they were deflected by Friday... which was fortunate.
A slight rosy color blossomed on his cheeks for a moment when he realized he had been about to challenge the lout to some form of violence to to....
Thank you my friend Friday.
He half whispered to him offering him the slight incline of his head.
Perhaps the Goddess had purposely had their path's cross. He was certainly more than just an artistical influence it would seem.
Where is this Tavern you had suggested It would be good to get the chill from our bones and perhaps we might find out more about this Thane Longthew there. Do you have family in the area miss Kelda?
He asked once more calm and cool and thinking about what sort of art supplies he would need or want for the long journey.
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"Where is this Tavern you had suggested? It would be good to get the chill from our bones and perhaps we might find out more about this Thane Longthew there."
"The Hunting Serpent Inn is in the Ice Quarter--place with lots of shops." Kelda smiles as she turns her eyes to Kavell. "Follow me--Kelda is more than happy to show you around."
She steps next to Kavell with a smirk and leans towards him.
"Do you have family in the area miss Kelda?"
"Eh, not much." Kelda shrugs. "Have little home in Stone Quarter--is where our arms & armour are forged."
"Haven't seen Da in a while. Wonder if he's well..."
More color flushed his cheeks and he nodded with a slight little smirk on his face.
He whispered back still trying to focus on the wonders of the town. A wagon... a covered wagon of their own perhaps, where he could keep his carving supplies and a nice cozy bed thats what they needed.
Friday gives Kavell a bow in return for his thanks.
"We can detour to your father if you wish." he offers.