Leaving the smoke shop, covered in the scents of a few hundred different types of tabacco, mind-numbing agents, and who knows what else. Dog lets lose with a volley of sneezes once they leave the store. Ssilax wasn't worried that they hadn't seen any sign of Dainoth. Given the amount of beings, amount of magic, and Dainoth's skill at avoiding attention, the dragonkin would have been surprised had they found some sign of their mentor so soon.
Still, it certainly beats sitting around and doing absolutely nothing. None of them where really good with just sitting around. All their lives they had been active. Whether training, preparing for the next challenge that might be lurking in the future, or more recently, trying to make a good place for people to be live, and be equals, regardless of race.
"Well, there are two places I would like to visit that we have not. The first would be this Fell's tattoo parlor, the second is the Sensate Palace. I am interested in visiting both, before I dive back into more research," Ssilax says with a crooked grin. "And I would like to speak with a Dabus, and the ones we have seen seem awfully busy at the moment," the dragonkin nods towards the direction of one of the floating handyman for the Lady of Pain. "It looks like Fell might be a better individual for some of my questions," the dragonkin's grin briefly returns.
"Also, since we are using one of these trackers, we will draw up a complete list of things that might aid the being in searching," Ssilax mentions to Aliza. "OR would it be better if we spoke to the tracker in person?" The dragonkin asks of their teifling guide.
As they travel through Sigil, and the Hive, Argon keeps Dainoth in his mind, he makes a mental note of anything that reminds him of the old man - his likes, his preferences in food, architecture, women; the kinds of places he likes to or would like to spend time in; his interests, both personal and professional.
"I think we should speak to the trackers. They need to know as much about Dainoth as possible to increase the chances of finding him," says Argon as they break for food.
He thinks of the star stone that landed at their feet, and the creature with the message. "How about Daxniss and I keep looking around this afternoon while you go talk to Fell or others?"
Aliza nods and says " The trackers like to meet everyone, they are a big fan of knowing the people their clients and the sign contracts. They stay bought, or at least the ones that I will take you too, and they never betray those that have hired them either. Usually because after their job is done, they have their mind wiped, all of the details are gone from their head about the job except that they were hired by their clients. It keeps them honest, of course they are pricey to say the least, but they are willing to find out where a person, place or thing is, give you the report, what is beings are guarding the person you are looking for and a map or portal key. "
Ssilax's sapphire orbs drink in the crush of planar life as he thinks for a few moments.
"Let us meet with a tracker whom you trust, Aliza. The sooner we have one start looking, the better I will feel. We can continue wandering and exploring after we get that taken care of," the dragonkin says.
The uncowled dragonkin smiles at his friends and their guide.
"After the meeting we will have time to do some more exploring and visiting of places that are intriguing," the deep rumbling noise of the dragonkin's chuckle is easily heard by the four over the noise of the crowd. "Aside from the tattoo shop, the Sensate Palace, and the libraries, I can still think of a few places that caught my eye."
"Yes, let us meet this tracker," says Argon, somewhat skeptical of what Aliza has said about wiping their minds.
Aliza nods at the groups words and smiles at Argon's tone, leading the others back to the Lady's Ward, heading towards an one of the few plainly built buildings, as each shop in the Lady's Ward had some intricate designs to the structure of the shop.
Glancing over the at building the only thing that stands out is a door made of solid silver, with runes and all sorts of words, practically bleeding wit protection magics. Aliza bows towards the door and holds up a rune stone, the door winks out of existence, and a glowing green portal starts to form.
Aliza informs you that all of you who are seeking a tracker are welcome and steps through the portal. Daxniss let's out a caustic snort and says that she sensed no ill will from Aliza, and that she will go first.
Daxniss goes through the portal, then sticks her head back out of the portal and says to the others, it's safe enough, just weirder then I think we are used too.
The rest of the group goes through the portal and inside the portal and now inside the building which is the bigger on the inside as well, is a well lit room, comfortable furniture can be seen, a small desk can be seen as well.
Daxniss' words ring true as a human is sitting dressed in a long white coat, a hat and a shadow of a beard is on his cheeks, he is wearing rings on every finger. What is so odd is on one eye is has a patch over it, the other eye is solid purple. The man is comforting a crying mind flayer whom you can hear saying that the last client was a mistake.
The man looks up and you hear a voice in all of your minds " Sorry folks, I'll have Aliza take you to the waiting room while I help the missus, I'll be along shortly. The name is Taylor and I do invisgations or as it is more commonly known, a tracker. "
Aliza stiffens at the scene and shakes her head, pulling another rune stone out of her pocket she walks towards the western wall and mutters a Word, opening up another portal and waves the party towards the next portal.
When Dax says that things might be a little weirder than they where used to, Ssilax snorts in amusement. 'We've been traveling around in the company of the multiverse, not to mention demons, devils, and angels walking around,' the dragonkin thinks to himself. Grinning he says, "Dax, if something in there weird's me out, I will buy the next two meals," he says with a chuckle as the rogue pulls her head back through the portal.
Walking through, Ssilax once more gets a reminder to not open his maw before observing a situation. Fortunately, for his sake of his dignity, the dragonkin's jaw didn't remain on the spotless floor for very long.
"Right, looks like I am buying the next couple of meals," the dragonkin mutters to his friends. He was honestly trying very hard to not stare, and was almost successful at it. The sight of the sobbing mind flayer had thrown him for a loop, actually, the sight of a mind flayer had been startling enough. 'Odd how the sight of all angels, demons, and devils, and the most startling thing we come across, is someone that can eat brains. This has been a rather odd day so far,' Ssilax thinks to himself.
Nodding to the voice that the dragonkin realized a few seconds later had been within his skull, Ssilax follows the tiefling. Once they are in the waiting room, the dragonkin looks around the chamber for a few minutes. Selecting a comfortable looking chair, one designed with beings with tails to sit in it, Ssilax looks over at Aliza.
"So, I would hazard a guess that a sobbing mind flayer is not normal. Uh, next time, would you kindly give me a few moments warning? I would rather not throw a fireball at someone we are hirinig to aid us. Starts things off to a very bad working relationship," Ssilax grins at the tiefling. "What can you tell us about this tracker? By your reaction to the sobbing one, I would guess that you know decently well," Ssilax says with a faint grin twisting the Blackened side of his face mask.
While the others get comfortable, Ssilax gathers his thoughts up. The dragonkin recalls what he can concerning mind flayers in general. Their appearance was unique, and was not something that tends to be confused. Their abilities, powers, civilization, and general history veries wildly, depending on source material.
Ssilax fills his friends in quickly concerning matters of the mind flayer.
"Now remember, that is just general knowledge about the species. As we have seen a number of times, things are quite a bit different in Sigil," Ssilax taps the side of his snout as he thinks. He grins rather suddenly. "I admit, I was pretty surprised to see a mind flayer. Let alone one having a very emotional moment. I feel like we have a knack for arriving at the wrong time for just about everything."
Ssilax adds with a rueful grin and a slight shake of head. Sliding his hood off, the dragonkin patiently waits.
Aliza nods at Ssilax's question and says " I didn't expect that my adopted mother was working with Taylor, it is difficult to believe since he doesn't usually work with other psionics. He has preferred to work by himself. "
Argon observes and listens carefully. He's curious about what these trackers have that makes them.... trackers. Presumably an excellent knowledge of the geography and people, well, creatures, of Sigil. He wonders if they have spies, little birds, who report on happenings in the city. This is the world of Daxniss, and Argon believes the openness and size of Sigil adds layer upon layer of subtlety and complexity to most interactions within. The suffocating oppression of Caern made that city, at least in the past, a difficult place to work, but at least there were some sides of the city where you knew who or what you were dealing with.
When Aliza mentions her adopted mother, he tries not to show his surprise. He follows her into the room, wondering how many such stones she has, and how she keeps track of all of them.
Aliza smiles and says " Or they could be seeing each other or she could have left the Hive mind, then again I try not toettle in her work, for reasons that are not important. Still I am sure we will get some of the details before Taylor becomes professional again. "
Aliza shakes her head again as if trying to get her mental ground stable again and looks around at everyone but the party, as if working on rebuilding her professional act as a Tout.
No sooner does Ssilax get done with his information about Mind Flayers the portal opens up again and Taylor steps through, giving a small smile to all of you he 'Speaks again in all your minds' " Sorry about that folks, a client tried to get away with not paying and attempted to do something that I don't take kindly too, attempting to kill me. Now I am sure you have questions about what I do. I find people, places, or things not only in Sigil but in other planes. I keep a record of those that have hired my services and I don't betray those that have hired my services. For now I will refer to all you are perspective clients until I have all the information that you are willing to share. "
Taylor looks at Aliza and she shrugs and says " Honestly I haven't kept in contact with her for years, or else I would have taken them else where. Mother and I didn't agree on many things, and she never approved of us, that is why I left. " Aliza says with a hint of frost. " Now no more airing our laundry out to paying Primes, ask them your questions. " She finishes and folds her arms to her chest, closing herself off from further conversation.
Taylor blinks his eye and speaks out loud " I am sorry for the lack of professionalism, please tell me what or whom you are looking for and I will see if I can help you, or at least steer you towards someone else who can. " He finishes with a small smile and bows his head towards the four of you.
"Right, sorry, just a bit surprised is all. Are you using mental magics? Apologies, I have only read about its existence. The practice was all but obliterated on our home plane of Sel Torrin," Ssilax says, buying himself a few moments to get his thoughts in order. The dragonkin grins faintly, still feeling a touch awkward for being present for the airing of another's personal affairs.
"We are in need of your particular services. We are looking for our mentor and adopted father, Dainoth. We are positive that he is in Sigil, somewhere, as of today at least. I used a Sending spell to speak with him, but, he is heavy warded. He had either fled to Sigil, or is being imprisoned here, and we would like to find him, or rescue him if that is the case," Ssilax pauses for a moment or two. "Ultimately, we could like to return with us to Sel Torrin, as we could use his experience and guidance." the dragonkin says.
That being said, the dragonkin begins to describe Dainoth, including the missing hand. Hopefully, Wrathe can add with aid from his sketchbook, as the dragonkin hadn't bothered to prepare and illusion magics. He includes the old mans likes, preferences for food, entertainment, things to smoke and the like. Racking his brain for anything else, Ssilax includes the description of his masters familiar.
Looking over to his friends he raises his eyeridges slightly, hoping that they can help to complete the picture of who Dainoth is. Ssilax was sure he managed to forget something.
Daxniss shakes her head at the last two days of shocks that she had received, Sigil was nothing like she expected in many ways, on the other hand it was so different then what she had hoped.
Blinking at Ssilax's words she also adds what she knew abut Dainoth, helping Taylor get a better understand of the person they were looking for. Keeping certain things that she didn't think the tracker nrededicated to know.
Argon offers up anything he can think about Dainoth that the others had not already covered. They had spent several years with him, cooped up in that apartment, mostly. He offers the secret knock. The house is now in ruins anyway, and another knock can easily be created.
"Knock thrice. Count to two, knock twice. Count to three, knock four times. Then say, 'None shall pass', in the common tongue. If you say that to him, he'll know it's us who told you."
"Also, I offer up my services to help you, as needed. I can fight, and track. I notice things. For instance, that ring on your left pinky was forged by that Aasimar with the metallic blue hair. What was her name? Zhuriel? And I'm a priest, and a smith, if those things help you."
"I think all of us are willing to offer you aid in finding our mentor, if you desire it," the dragonkin offers as well. Ssilax briefly thinks over his memories of Dainoth, looking for any other details that he might have missed.
"Ah, sorry, I completely forgot about introductions, my apologies," Ssilax says with a slight bow of his head.
"This is Argon, Daxniss is the one sitting there, Wrathe is the one lurking near the bookshelf, and I am named Ssilax," the dragonkin gestures to his friends as he speaks their names. " And Dog is the one sniffing around your feet looking for snack. And trying to identify Aliza's mother's scent"
Taylor chuckles at Argon's offer and says " Lad, I work alone, less chance of having a client tying to kill me in the field, if you are staying a long time in Sigil I might have a few simple enough jobs, Hells Bell's I can be busy enough at times. Plus unless you have learned of a way to leave your body behind and track in the Astral, along with using the magic of your mind to bend reality as needed, to whisper in the minds of others to not look at you. As for the ring, very cheeky mate, yes it was given to me by my first wife, along time ago. " For a moment all of you get the sense of loss and the passage of years that have gone by.
Taylor shakes his head and smiles at all you and says " From what all of you have told me, and the fact that you are all different from normal people, that Dainoth was your teacher as well as your father, and from what you have told me of your home plane, leads me too a few facts: One, he is needed, not only to help make your family whole, but also to help build a better foundation in your world.
Second, if he is a prisoner, he is in need of a rescue, or at the very least a way to bring his body back and then a Resurrection spell might be in the works. Not cheap but a number of places will do that with no questions asked. " Taylor says while his smile grows cold for a few heartbeats then the frost in that smile fades into real warmth.
" Third, he could be lying low from those that are trying to seek him out and destroy him still, and he might have arraigned for a safe haven from various enemies and allies a Faraday Cage so to speak, while he worked at restoring his health and limb. " Taylor finishes and pulls out a crystal, as it floats in the air, you can feel a heartbeat that seems to be in sync with all of yours.
Taylor grins and says " It would seem that the crystal has been moved enough by what you have told me, and much that you have kept to yourselves, my fee is this: Allow me to imprint what you have experienced in your lives into a crystal, along with 6000 in coin or gems, it matters little if it is Sigil coin or Prime coin. I will take your case, if there is a portal key required depending how far I need to go it will take time. The imprint will just be what you have felt, triumphs, failures, the good and the bad. No ill will come from the imprint, nor will you take anything away from the crystal. Think of it as if you were writing in a journal of everything you had ever done. Once that is done, as it will take at least 60 heartbeats to 180 heartbeats and you will be sitting right here, unharmed. I give you my word and I will also give you a contract as well, I am bound by my word and reputation also, no one shall be able to use the recording crystal against you. "
" Every now and then I meet intestine people I like to know what they were thinking at points in their life. But I am rambling forgive me, please ask me questions if you will. I am asking for something that might be an odd request to say the least. " Taylor says and offers refreshments to the group summoning things from the ether what ever they wish.
Ssilax had been mulling the the cost over in his head. Not so much the coinage, that part wasn't even a consideration. The thought of another experiencing what he has felt though out his life gave him a pause. He had gone through so much in his lifetime so far, not to mention had a lot of strong emotions swirling around with his memories.
Still one of the facets of his faith was to accumulate knowledge, protect it, and share it with others. This would definitely be considered part of that. If anything it was an excellent way for his to store the experiences he had lived through, so that another might learn from them.
"I agree to your terms," Ssilax says, holding out his clawed hand to accept the memory stone.
Argon thinks about his life. It has been short, but so far full of adventure. He had not done many bad things, in his view. He had done good, he hopes, and with his family he had worked to fight dangerous and evil forces. His biggest regret is that he let Dainoth go. If he could have pulled him back.... But even that seems unlikely, considering the hand of the creature that had held him. Dainoth might have been cut in half, and of course that would have been much worse.
No, there was nothing overly embarrassing in his past. A recent Tryst with Lady Osouf, but even that did not seem to be overly problematic with her family.
He looks at Taylor and nods, saying "I agree too."
He looks at Daxniss, thinking she probably has a list of secrets a mile long. Secrets that could get people killed. Secrets that would likely expire within a decade, as newer secrets replace them.
Daxniss frowns slightly after all the information she had worked to gather and some questionable things that had to be completed to get that information where on her mind. Still some of what she went through was at the moment personal but Master Dainoth was important to everyone in the group, not to mention everything that they went through would be for nothing if she had backed out. Of course there could also be the unspoken fact that the price for Taylor's services could be much highier if she didn't want to have the crystal record her experience in life so far.
Daxniss decides that she would have to take Taylor at his word since that seemed to be important to him, if not help drive him on his jobs. Daxniss finally let's out a sigh and nods her head simply saying " Why not, I agree. "
Wrathe merely says that he agrees, having spent most of the time in the library researching and when he wasn't there spending time in the room casting spells while everyone else was out doing othe things.
Taylor nods and says " Very well, I will get the recording crystals and we shall begin. This will be helpful in locating Dainoth and once the crystal has recorded everything I will start tracking Dainoth down. " Taylor finishes with a smile and swiftly four opaque crystals form in the air, floating in front of the group.
" All you will have to do is hold onto the crystal and it will record everything, all that will happen is if you are blinking your eyes but a little time will pass. Aliza and I will still be here. When you open your eyes. "
Looking at the crystal that had materilized out of the air, Ssilax figures that the mind mage was storing them in the Astral Plane. An intriguing field of magic,[/b][/i]' the Mask of Nethys thinks to himself.
Reaching out, Ssilax grasps the small opaque crystal, holding it within his scaled palm. Looking once more at the crystal, Ssilax slowly blinks.
Engaged in the longest blink of his life, Ssilax opens his eyes once more. He looks at the crystal and then Taylor and Aliza.
"Did it work?" the dragonkin glances at his friends. "Hopefully, I didn't start belting out bar room songs this time," the dragonkin adds with a chuckle.
Argon doesn't see any need for them all to do it at the same time. So he waits, to ensure Ssilax is all right after his experience. Argon was going to suggest going first, but Ssilax had just jumped in head first before Argon could react.
The process is indeed painless, all it felt to the four of you was the an eye blonk, after touching the crystal, and your head feels a bit full for a heartbeat. Shaking your head slightly, the feeling fades and no one feels any different, except perhaps the feeling of exercising the weight of some heavy burden for a moment.
Taylor nods and tells you to check back in a week for a progress update, as there were many places that he would start searching as he has enough information now. Daxniss tosses him a coin purse, with a lazy gesture, Taylor catches it, hefting it a few times he nods at the weight of the purse and goes to a desk in the room, pulling out a number of parchments he hands each of you the contract.
You have paid for the services of Taylor, whom as his duties as a tracker will find the person, or object you are seeking, Taylor will refer to you as his clients, this contract entitled the clients to the location of what they are looking for, number of guards, possible ways into the area, a portal key (if needed) and a map. In the event of the tracker not performing his duties, that tracer will lose all protections from the legal services of Sigil in which a number of Angels, Devils, and Demons will tear the tracker to pieces and shred his soul, and a refund will be paid to the Client(s) at a 2:1 Ratio.
Client(s) Will be honest with their dealings with a Tracer, deceiving the tracker will mean a loss of one's life at the least, depending on the tracker, could mean that your soul is bound for eternal service to the tracker in whatever faction that the tracker deems fit. After the Tracker has successfully completed his task, This tracker will split the memories of the job and the details of the job that the client has rendered services into a crystal to be stored at the Bank of Sigil, which the tracker will only have access to if a number of his job(s) has lead to cause harm to citizens of Sigil and the multiverse.
" Standard contract that I have with anyone that purchases my services, and the legal teams in Sigil have spent years perfecting their craft " Taylor says with a smile. " Now anything else? " He arches an eyebrow at the four of you.
After a little bit of time passes and questions have been answered Taylor tells you that he should have something by the end of the week, perhaps sooner. Taylor knows where you are staying at and since you have payed for Aliza to lead you around it shouldn't be too hard for him to locate you if you are out and about.
After bidding Taylor adieu, the group tries to figure what their next step will be, after all the waiting was something that each and everyone of you had a problem with. Each member of the group was focused on events, plans, threats both near and far but Sigil had so many things that all you wanted to see everything, even though that might be impossible.
Standing outside the the tracker's home, Ssilax looks at his friends and the guide Aliza and nods.
"Well, now what? We have some time to explore around and chase individual projects," Ssilax says, tapping the side of his snout.
Argon is very disturbed by the terms of the contract. He sincerely hopes it is just words that are never utilized, but he suspects that's not the case.
"The end of the week? What day is it? I've lost track..." says Argon.
He plans to wander around some more and observe the city.
" Ah right, at this point I'd say we look around a little bit more as some of the projects I have will be doing a little bit of crafting, not to mention I still have spend more time spending arcane energy into the ring I made. If anyone has a simple request for jewelry or adding something to one of their magical items, let me know. " Daxniss says while looking around at the city.
Daxniss had wondered why such a contract was needed, but she wasn't a tracker, so she had a feeling that each one operated differently.
Aliza nods at Argon's words and says " as for today it is the first day of the week so the end of it is 6 days, we follow the standard Prime 'days' so to speak. Makes things a bit less confusing for folks visiting here. "
"Perhaps I'll go see Rivven of Ebberon again, and try to learn more about crafting Starmetal." says Argon.
As they head back to the inn, he keeps his eyes open in case anyone is watching or following them.
Mulling over the contract in his mind, Ssilax nods in response to his friends.
"Well, I have a number of things to look up, plus there are some sights I still plan on enjoying," the dragonkin glances at a shop that catches his eye for a moment. Ssilax lets out a sigh, and grins slightly. "I will have to come back with Storm at some point," Ssilax says as he looks off into the distance.
"That would probably be a good idea, Argon," the dragonkin says in response to the slayer saying that he would like to learn more about crafting from Starmetal. Even if only 1% of the entire space rock was starmetal, that was still quite a bit. The rock that had fallen from the stars, was rather massive.
Ssilax falls silent for a little ways, as they walk back towards the Weeping Styx.
"Aliza, if it is not too much of a problem, would you mind asking if your adopted mother would be up for speaking with me at some point in the next few days? I have a great deal of questions concerning illithid society," the dragonkin says, looking at the tiefling. "While some, if not most could be found in books, I would rather learn from the person, rather than blindly believe multiple sources with a varying degree of accuracy," Ssilax adds with a faint smile.
Aliza snorts and says to Ssilax " Not going to happen Berk, I can tell you enough about them, one of the reasons why I don't spend time around Mother is the fact I was one of her thralls until I got strong enough to pull myself from her mind magic and purchased enough protection magics to shield myself. One of the reasons why I don't follow a number of other Tieflings is around here is the fact that about half are shady. Serving as a Tout is a way to balance the scales of what I had to do early in life. I'd say I've got about 50 more years before the scales are close enough to be even. "
" Besides I think she might be up to her old tricks and Taylor can keep enough steps ahead of her games, she might have staged that whole scene to make me want to come running back into her schemes. It is hard to think that many moves ahead of others, at I am thankful enough that she waited until I was older before bending my will towards her needs, she has changed but I'll pull the whole wait and see towards her. I've helped her enough once she was thrown out of the hive mind cabal that she was a part of. I'll tell you about mind flayers on the way, I've gotten enough information to fill a book or so, that should help you confirm what you have heard about them. Plus I'd rather not take the risk and have her try to eat your brain, I'd hate to have that black mark on my reputation as a Tout. " She says with a shudder
" In Sigil a reputation can protect yourself from others, a positive one is very useful, an infamus one can shield yourself from the chattel that comes after you. Taylor can be a right bastard if need be, and I think he cut you a pretty good break, at this point in the game he takes only the cases that interest him. "
Argon and Daxniss see no one taking an interest in the group, after all they were being lead by a tout and one that had others getting out her way, of note there was an angel headed towards the group, not with malice in her being, but it looks like she wanted to speak to the party, as she gets closer she brightens slightly and bows respectfully towards the group. In a musical voice of one born from the Celestial plane she says " A hard path you have walked, I wish to have friendly words with thee, if you wish to talk and would have me join you for a lunch at thine tavern, please let me attend to your meal and drink. "
The angel that has approached the group is of course female, wings that are glowing slightly with light, and is dressed in pristine armor. Natives can be heard saying " don't sign anything berks. "
Aliza snorts at the angel and whispers in Ssilax's ear " [b] I haven't heard of any new recruitinguy going on so there is that, still be careful deals with the above can be just as bad as deals from below. [/b "
Ssilax had been looking at Aliza when she had informed him about her "adopted" mother, He had remained quite for a few moments afterwards, and you could practically here the gears in his mind turning. A sly smile slips across the dragonkin's scaled features.
"You confirmed everything I need to know, actually," Ssilax briefly puts a comforting hand upon her shoulder for a moment. "And I am proud to be in the presence of an individual able to break free from the hive mind after being mentally groomed being a loyal mind slave. Thank you for telling me that," the dragonkin says with a warm smile as they continue walking.
Ssilax was far from as naive as people tended to think he was. The overly polite, slightly awkward dragonkin had a very keen mind, and if there was one thing he did understand, it was people.
A bit later when the angel appears, and begins walking towards, the dragonkin pauses in his step, glancing around. After the celestial speaks her piece, the dragonkin looks at his friends. He could hear the natives whispering not to sign anything. None of them had any plans to get drawn up into the eternal Blood War between the divine, demons, devils and deamons.
Raising his eyeridges at his friends, Ssilax shrugs his shoulders. They might be able to learn something.
"Why not? sounds like lovely company for a lunch," the dragonkin says with a short bow to the angel.
Argon nods and smiles at the angel. This is a rare treat for him, to meet an angel in the flesh, as it were. Though beautiful, and in female form, he doesn't feel any romantic attraction to her. Her beauty transcends bodily desires.
He wonders if having an angel at their table will make them any friends, or enemies, in the tavern.
The angel seems to know them, but he still feels some manners are in order. "Certainly, lunch sounds good. I am Argon, and this is Ssilax, Daxniss, Wrathe. I'm not sure if you know Aliza. Do you have a name?"
" Shazilmithis is what I am known as, you can call me Mithis for short and this meal will not be a request for a favor or any strings attached. I am offering this free, nor do I have any desire or inkling to press gang any of you. At the moment I wish to not only give you a message and an idea on how to bring a sort of balance. "
[ooc] Sorry everyone about the slow down on my end. Work has been kicking my ass [/b]
Argon wonders about balance. He hears talk of it, but doesn't really know what is meant. The word balance is either about something not falling over because it is in balance - that is, when it does not have enough supports to keep it stable anyways. Or it is, more figuratively, about two opposing concepts and the balance is a perceived ideal state; a warrior's stance must be 'balanced' between offensive opportunity and defensive readiness.
This Mithis will, he expects, fill them in on the balance to which she is referring.
Going back to the Inn that you have been spending some time at, the inn is as busy as it always is, which is still about halfway with patrons. It is hard to make who is sitting in the dark portion of the bar.
The angel heads towards the bar, bowing to the tiefling and orders for the group and then chooses a table in the middle of the room again which was the same table that you had taken the other night. Once the food arrives and she also has a plate of food and drink, which is a simple fair; meat, bread, fruit, and cheese, and an ale.
Mithis " I thank thee for allowing me to join you, I am joyish that you are willing to hear my words; first I can tell thee that your master is indeed alive, second I know not where he is. I can also say that we know of the imbalance of your home, I wish to ask a favor from you if I were to give you a key to locate a gate that will allow you to open that gate to let beings from the celestial plane to come in more aid others in Sel Torin. "
" Of course you have the choice to not do this and that is choice, I can offer aid in the form of material wealth as a payment if you wish to aid us. "
Ssilax leans back in his chair, tapping the side of his snout in thought at the angel's words. Taking a sip of his wine, he looks over at his friends and raises and eyeridge.
"What would be the impact of such an action?" asks Argon. "And why have you not done this before now?"
He takes a large draught of ale and looks at the angel.
Mithis nods at your words and pulls a map from the ether, the map shows a small rendition of the multiverse, after she unfolds it out and shows the group where everything is, she draws your attention to a small planet that says " Sel Torin " a line is drawn from the Hells and another line that is fractored that leads to a Celestial realm near by. There is an spot on the map that is coated in blackness, that moves back and forth getting closer to Sel Torin and then moves back away from Sel Torin.
" This was the resualt of the sacafice that your realm made. The line that is factored is supposed to be a gate that allows holy beings to help out those in need. A number of Devils managed to a number of years block access to Angels to help maintain a balance. Even though Sel Torin itself is seemingly locked into a holding pattern with the Devour, and both angels and devils fought against the devour to allow mortals to make a choice, souls are still important to those that are not mortal. Their are a number of gates that we can't access, thus like scale with too much weight on one end, too much power is allowed access to the Devil's. Recently there was a weight lifted off on end of the scale, and the Devour moved further back from Sel Torin. Very few people make it away from your prime material plane, some that do, end up a meal for the Devour. As for the impact of allowing us access, back to these gates it would allow us to even the balance and not to mention it could allow better treatment for those that live in your plane. "
Mithis gives Argon a critical look for few moments and says " Denying our easiest ways of travel into your plane, means we have had no chance at reactivating old compacts, those that have tried were consumed. Thus we are unable to provide much in the way of aid to those that are seeking it. The gate's exist still on the material plane, our way of accessing them has been blocked, a Celestial being had made into Sel Torin not long ago and she was killed. I believe that she had a scroll with your names on it, those that were summoned to Sel Torin were greatly weakened, while the Devil's that are summoned are empowered. "
"That would be the upset in the Balance of our realm," Ssilax says, referring the strength of devils verses the divine. The dragonkin's sapphire orbs are locked onto the map, his mind whirling away as he thinks to himself.
Even if the dragonkin didn't already have an interest in restoring the balance within his own plane the mention of being paid to do so had grabbed his interest. 'Help restore the correct order of things and be rewarded for it? What a wonderful change,' Ssilax thinks briefly to himself.
Looking over at his friends as he takes a sip of his wine, Ssilax nods to them slightly.
"Well, I am interested in restoring balance of our realm, and being paid for our aid satisfies my requirements," Ssilax grins. The Mask of Nethys that is his face splits as a smile grows and then slips away.
Argon recalls the dead Azata on the hill. It was difficult for her to get to them, and then she was killed by demons or the like. They had asked to enlist the aid of outsiders like her in the fight against the corruption in Caern. Outsiders like Mithis.
It seems to be a no-brainer.
"I'm not so interested in balance, per se. I just want to see the evil rulers removed, permanently. And warmongering warlords. Yes, we should do it. Once we're done here, of course."
Mithis smiles at each of you and says " I thank thee it will be something of a risk but not anything that you are used too. I can give thee and thine companions a simple sum of coin and an item be it weapon or armor to aid thee. I will give thee the keys required to open to the portals, I fear that there will be a devil guarding each gate. There are only 4 gates in total as to what sort of devils guard them I know not. "
"
Mithis nods at everyone's request for items and hands Aliza a writ which, Aliza blinks at and whistles silently to herself and moves quickly off to take care of the what the Angel had written. Within an hour Aliza returns with what the group had requested and stands silently off to the side, if she had any concerns she keeps them to herself, not wanting to have any more attention brought on her.
" Now, here is the map that will only draw the locations to where you need to go once you get to Sel Torin. I would offer console that you might wish to set up another place in the Material planes, or here in Sigil itself, the future is muddy, many events are taking place. It may be the case that Sel Torin itself will no longer exist, if the devour regains it's foot hold, those that live there may be consumed, or on the other side of the coin, Sel Torin may be the holding ground. Here are the four keys that you will need to activate the gates, each one is attuned to their respective gates. "
" I will take my leave of thee and thine companions, unless you have more questions, some I may answer. "