Sebastian is walking distracted, carefully calculating the cost of a new boat and thinking about every detail. He'll have to invest quite some money if he wants a nice vessel with which to carry wealthy merchants up and down the canals of the Merchant District. He starts counting his coins mentally again when suddenly a female voice Carthage his attention.
A hairline is there, dressed in green and amber, and talking to him. She talks about big opportunities, about the start of business Sebastian has never even thought were possible. He wonders who this Lavinia might be.
"Whoever she is" he thinks, "that's a chance I cannot let go." He directs his steps towards the Sasserine Vaults, ready to seize Fortune and not let it wink its eye to him in vain.
Apemantus Oldcastle is back in the Sunrise District after having visited his new friends, the Halfling Kiva Willowtop, at her cartography shop, and Planar Knowledge expert, Callisto, at his tattoo parlor, both in The Nobles' District. Still no money. No job.
Still no great epiphany on what crucible for the cause of good he has been sent back for. Can he save his soul?
He looks at the Shrine of Mayaheine ahead of him. He understands why the Paladins and Warpriests therein do not trust him. He prays to Mayaheine nonetheless. His stomach growls in hunger; he doesn't notice.
He goes to a shaded corner at the bottom of Emerald Street, looking up at the Shrine of Mayaheine and sits. The embers of a small campfire remain in the spot; some children must have constructed a small fire for oysters or frogs or a pigeon. Apemantus Oldcastle runs his hand above the scorching heat. It burns. 'Why does that feel wrong? Fire's not suppose to burn.'
Exiting Mayaheine's Shrine is a Halfling woman. A well dressed maidservant. Looking about Emerald St. she sees him. She walks directly to him, sitting in the shade, hand over the embers of a dying campfire. She was looking for him, specifically.
Do you seek coin, cleavage, adventure or influence amongst the the nobles? My mistress has need of more folk with stalwart hearts and minds to help her with troubles regarding her finances. If you like, please meet at the Sasserine vaults, where my Lady Lavinia Vanderboren will be waiting.
"I seek to save my soul from infernal damnation." It's not answered in jest or with a smirk; it's sincere. But exhaled with a breath of capitulation. He looks at the Halfling. A smirk finally comes, "You think 'coin, cleavage and adventure' amongst the Nobles will convince Mayaheine I'm really a good guy?" He stands up. It's a rhetorical question. His stomach growls again.
He begins walking with her toward The Sasserine Vaults. The irony of his response makes him smile:
"Hell Yeah!"
Lila climbs into the carriage first, ensuring herself of a window seat.
Richter will get in last; in part out of respect for the ladies in the party, and in part because it will make it easier for him to climb into the carriage if everyone is settled already.
Nayala climbs onto the running board of the coach, crossbow dangling from a scrap across her shoulder.
"I'll ride out here, if it's okay by you. I love the feel of wind in my hair, and this way I can keep an eye out for any dangers coming our way."
The carriage and halfling (clones? Septuplets? Shadowy illusions of Doom?) led groups wind their way through the city to the High Market There, the carriage bound group sees two more Kovas leading a pair of male humanoids towards the carriage.
.
Sebastian is guided to the High Market by the small human. He's been around quite some times, though always as a carrier, never leaving his boat. He hasn't got time to change his clothes, so he's wearing his usual blue pocho. He ties his long, black hair in a pony tail, afraid that whoever called for employees notices he hasn't washed his hair in a while.
Beside the halfling, he looks even taller than usual. He has to bow quite low to whisper at his guide's ears. [smaller]"Are all these folks here for the same reason as me?"[/smaller he asks, having noticed the almost clonic heralds walking ahead of the various groups.
A man of Suel ancestry, pale skin, platinum hair & violaceous eyes, rather ragged looking as though he were both recently in a fight and also homeless, walks beside a Halfling Kova, heading directly to the carriage. A long-shafted Dwarven Longaxe, clearly battleworn, looks like a natural walking staff, and his shirt of chain-mail armor is missing some links, obviously doesn't fit too well, and has some dark stains from combat.
As he gets closer one can sense an 'otherness' about him, something darker, corrupt. But he has a Holy Symbol of Mayaheine on a cheap hemp cord around his neck. Looking closely, his violaceous eyes seemed lost.
"You all must be the other stalwarts hired by Lady Lavinia Vanderboren. My name is Apemantus Oldcastle. Um, I guess I'll follow your lead to the Sasserine Vaults."
"Sounds good to me. Our boss is inside with the others. We've got a signet ring key and some cryptic code poem, so I bet there's a code lock or combination or something to get through. I'm Nayala, by the way."
Nayala waves at the newcomers and gestures towards the carriage doors.
Sebastian witnesses how the man who came alone introduces himself to the others. He then decides to do the same instead of waiting for the halfling's reply.
"So it seems we're all here for the same reason. I am Sebastian" he says as an introduction, offering his hand.
"Richter. Called 'Ghostwood' by some, for obvious reasons." the Constructor introduces himself to the new hires and shakes their hands.
Lila smiles at her new teammates, her one good eye twinkling as she introduces herself. She actually blushes a bit at Apemantus's words, possibly because she's never been called a 'stalwart' before (True) or maybe because she feels that's too kind a word for this band of merry mercenaries (Bingo!).
It's right at this point that Lila realizes that Mokhai's not in the carriage. At first she thinks maybe he stepped out to make room for Apemantus and Sebastian, but when the carriage door closes, there's no Mokhai. Lavinia hands the teen a folded note, which she reads with her hands trembling. At first her face shows worry; by the time she's done reading, she's angry. The bard crumbles the note into a ball, petulantly tosses it on the carriage floor, and pointedly stares out the window with arms crossed.
Lila--I have a dangerous path to follow, one that I fear would get you killed were you to accompany me. You have real potential, in the right company, to make a name for yourself. Nayala's smart, Richter's wise, and Iorskan--he's a golden dragon! I think you'll be safe and happy with them, working for Lady Lavinia. Best wishes, Mokhai.
Kova the coach woman nods at the two messenger Kovas, and Lavinia comes out of the carriage. She is a young human woman in her early 20s, dressed in a short sleeved green and gold tunic with hose and shoes. She says to Apermanthus and Sebastian "Welcome, Apermanthus and Sebastian. I'm Lavinia Vanderboren.My contacts at the Shrine of Mayaheine and the workers in the Azure District mentioned both of you as men of discretion and valor, seeking a path or a trade to apply your skills to. As part of that, I would like to offer you a place amongst my troubleshooters. I can provide pay, contacts amongst the various factions of the city, and a base of operations as I recover from the loss of my parents and retrench my family's fortune. Would you be interested?."
"I'm ready to work, thanks."
Apemantus Oldcastle keeps his words brief. He doesn't yet know these people, and only knows the reputation of House Vanderboren from scuttlebutt here and there about the fire that claimed Verik and Larissa Vanderboren. 'It may be quite off-putting if they know I'm just trying to make the ends meet until the opportunity to redeem my soul reveals itself to me.'
And suddenly, Sebastian finds an opportunity to completely change his lifestyle. He wonders, though, whether this is one of those jobs where the risk is greater than the outcome. He had to take care of his mother, so he needs some steadiness. But you never know if the boat is going to pass twice...
"What would the job involve, and what would the payment be?"
"Well, Kova the carriage driver, what sort of treasures should we expect to find in the vault? Hordes of coin? Gems and art? Magical artifacts and spells?"
Kova leans down and says, "Money, history, and memories." Lavinia looks a bit nonplussed at her driver's recitation and says to Sebastian, "The job pays 200 gp upfront, then 100 gp per successful mission along with the ability to retain whatever you find, provided it's not important to me or our goals. Currently I'm looking for a group of troubleshooters to help me access my family's vault and find out why my parents seemed to have such extensive contacts in the city."
"Money, history, and memories."
Only one of those things interests me! Lila thinks, still feeling the sting of what she feels is Mokhai's betrayal. If she can obtain enough wealth, however, perhaps a life in Sasserine wouldn't prove too unappealing.
"Oh, well" is Sebastian's only answer. That seems q1uite an important amount of wages, and add some looting on top. Obviously more dangerous than navigating the canals, though his last boat wouldn't agree.
"I'm in."
Lavinia motions Apermanthus and Sebastian into the carriage.
Sebastian enters the carriage carefully, not sure if all this crowd will fit inside.
"Come on now, if we can fight together we can handle a bit of squeezing." Richter says, noting Apemantus's reticence.
Lila scooches as far against the window side as she's able.
Maybe all these Kovas can fit inside one another like those painted northern dolls I once saw in a curiosities shop, she thinks.
In her effort to scooch and avoid the demeaning situation of having to sit on someone's lap, the teen accidentally steps on the curled-up-and-napping Iorskan's tail. With something between a hiss and a roar, the golden dragon shoots out the open door of the carriage.
"Um...I think he saw a squirrel," Lila lies rather convincingly.
The carriage easily fits all of you inside, and the other two Mova nod to Kova the Coachman and begin to walk back to the estate. Lavinia is surprised to see Lorskan leap out of the carriage, but takes it in stride, no doubt thinking she will have more money available now that he has left. The carriage picks up again and you head into the Market to catch a ferry to Castle Yeraknkan.
"Castle Yeraknkan is it?" Lila asks Lavinia with an amused smile. "Did the person who named it choke on a crust of bread while christening it? Or is it named after some famous local personage?"
Sebastian stays silent, contemplating the city from a carriage for his first time.
"Gotta be some noble name or something. Only those families with money got names that long. So, where's this vault, boss?"
The carriage ride is the most comfortable Apemantus Oldcastle has been in recent memory; even with an inability to use his long-shafted axe in tight quarters, the cushioned seat is a luxury to which the homeless redemption-seeker is completely unaccustomed. He hopes he doesn't doze off in such environs; it would not look good to his new employer. Hunger ought to keep him awake.
His stomach growls.
'I hope no one can hear how hungry I am. That would be embarrassing.'
He looks over to Nayala, the lithe and graceful Sylph squished next to him. 'She must be very wise to notice that about nobles, long names. ....Hmm, but I have a name with four syllables, too, and I am poor. ....I wonder if Mayaheine intends for me to become noble so as to do something epic for the cause of Good.' He looks away from Nayala. He doesn't want to be caught staring at her.
"So, any word on this job we're doing? There's quite a bit of finesse here." He says it appreciatively, an obvious compliment. Then he looks to Lila the Black, he's drawn to her charismatic presence, despite her current demeanor -- and he thought he saw her smile when he introduced himself. "Mayhaps it was named after a famous person while he was choking on a crust of bread." He nods to Nayala. "An expensive loaf, to be sure."
Lila's about to make an irreverent crack about gold-plated loaves of bread when she remembers there's a noblewoman in the carriage with the group--a noblewoman who's promised to pay them all a tidy sum of gold if they behave and perform well enough to earn her continued support. She also remembers the last time she mouthed off to someone higher up the human food chain--in that case, the pirate Captain Cutler--it had cost her an eye. Swallowing her jest, the girl calls for the recovered note with its strange riddle to be brought forth.
Chimera looks to sunrise
Cyclops looks to sunset
Umber Hulk looks to sunset
Basilisk looks to sunrise
"Best we can figure, the ring we grabbed last night is a key, and the puzzle note is a clue to some kind of riddle lock or combination or something. And inside the vault, riches and information, enough to make our Lady patron back in the good grace of polite society. "
The carriage ride is the most comfortable Apemantus Oldcastle has been in recent memory; even with an inability to use his long-shafted axe in tight quarters, the cushioned seat is a luxury to which the homeless redemption-seeker is completely unaccustomed. He hopes he doesn't doze off in such environs; it would not look good to his new employer. Hunger ought to keep him awake.
His stomach growls.
'I hope no one can hear how hungry I am. That would be embarrassing.'
"I see you didn't take the same gamble we did on the mystery meat rolls, eh? Smart choice before a job, but I just can't work on an empty stomach."
"So, any word on this job we're doing? There's quite a bit of finesse here." He says it appreciatively, an obvious compliment. Then he looks to Lila the Black, he's drawn to her charismatic presence, despite her current demeanor -- and he thought he saw her smile when he introduced himself. "Mayhaps it was named after a famous person while he was choking on a crust of bread." He nods to Nayala. "An expensive loaf, to be sure."
"Your guess is about as good as ours. We've done a small bit for our illustrious client already, but that felt more like a test of skills than a real job."
Lavinia looks around at the group as the carriage proceeds towards the ferry to Castle Teraknian. She says "Sir Oldcastle, I've assembled this team to help rebuild my family's fortune in the wake of the death of my parents. The vaults may be guarded by traps or tricks that I don't have answers to, and my Kovas are not well trained in such things. My parents also delved into many places to raise their fortune as adventurers, and many of those places still retain their hidden mysteries. Thus, your combination of unique talents can help both you and I establish ourselves in the city, and find paths to whatever dreams you seek to fufill."
The carriage draws near the ferry. Kova the coachmen jumps down and opens the door, motioning the party onward.
Sebastian steps out of the carriage. He looks everywhere, puzzled as to where is he getting into. When the rest come out as well, he curiously inquires about the place. "Any of you have been here before?"
When her turn comes around, Lila hops out of the carriage, taking a moment to scoop up the note she'd discarded earlier. In reply to Sebastian's question she shakes her head. "I'm sort of new to town."
"Nope. This side of town is too rich for the likes of me."
Nayala hops off the running boards and glides to the pavement.
"So, we gonna get jumped as soon as we step foot inside, or do we expect a more insidious greeting?"
"I've not yet visited here, though I know the area somewhat." I've visited Callisto's Needle, the tattoo parlor that's around the block -- the proprietor is a Planar knowledge expert like I am. I've also visited Kiva Willowtop's cartography shop and the Shrine of Lirr. But, really, I don't know the District; I've just visited those three places.
"I guess, with your 'ring key' and 'puzzle note' -- and Lady Vanderboren's permission -- we just enter the castle and head to the vaults?"
"We'll be entering the castle together. As my escort you should encounter no issues. Lavinia says With that. she descends to the ferry, pays the toll, and waits for th4 group to step on.
Sebastian boards the ferry without further speaking. The place seems taken from a legend, and he's fascinated enough with it to let a single word out of his mouth.
Richter boards the ferry, beginning to grow a bit impatient with the multiple modes of travel.
Lila joins the others on the ferry, wondering if the plan is to rob Lavinia of all her wealth once the vault's open. Probably not, or someone would've whispered something to her by now or at least tried to make eye contact. Having Apemantus and Sebastian along certainly would complicate such a scheme. Both look sketchy enough to be criminals, though Apemantus sounds like a Goody-Goody every time he opens his mouth....
Good! I don't want to be on the run from the law...and I have no idea where I'd try to run in the first place. Not home! Besides, I like Lavinia; we could end up becoming best friends! She's got to be desperate for some company that's not a look-alike know-it-all old halfling freak....
Nayala steps onto the boat as well, casually checking her blades and crossbow are at hand. The weapons stay sheathed and slung but her fingers brush the grips and straps almost subconsciously.
"Lets go figure out what this key unlocks, shall we?"
The ferry proceeds to the island of Castle Teraknian. It's spires come into view as the ferry closes into a nearby dock. It stops, and Lavinia gets off at the pier. The castle's main gate lies closed, with several guards and functionaries going to and fro through smaller entrances on the town's business.
Apemantus Oldcastle takes a step toward Castle Teraknian before pausing to see that Lady Vanderboren is going to lead the way. "Shall we follow you, yes? Or is there more we need to know in order to prepare?"
"No, you may follow me in. Please be careful, as this is the center of government and people will take notice of bad actions."
Richter puts his hands in his pockets before following.