Rikkan will take the same amount of rations. He felt quite uncomfortable, not sure exactly the next move, other than healing their friend. He waves goodbye to the wagon and starts heading toward the square. "Grab her and follow me. No time to waste!". He looks for anyone seeking to pay the group more attention than they should be.
Perception
Locke follows Zoreck and Rikkan's lead, taking provisions for five days.
He feels an odd sense of kinship with the man they had just met as Caeftin rolled away, I think I'd like to see him and his brother again one day, with more stories under my belt.
"Right then, let's go!" Locke stays at Zoreck's side, keeping an eye on both Andretta and the distraught Drancis.
After waiting little more than a few minutes for Caeftin to have driven his wagon clear of the streets beyond the alleyway, the friends gather up Andretta and rush out into the area that Caeftin had called “Toiler’s Square”…
…and are confronted with the dizzying sights and smells of a huge open-air market. Scores of voices from a patchwork of brightly coloured stalls call out to hundreds, if not thousands, of passers-by whilst, above the stalls, dusty flags flutter gently in a light breeze. For a moment, with the near-familiar sights, the friends could be back on Golarion… but, as the friends move through the market itself, certain things reinforce just how far from home the friends have come. At first glance, the majority of the traders – and the clientele – are human but something, difficult to perceive on first impressions, feels slightly off… and then they see it, a trader – smiling as he takes coins from one of his customers – taps his forearm and a hidden compartment, presumably where he keeps his money, within his wrist hinges open. Another person, helping with the erection of a stall, lifts a stanchion pole and, as the friends watch, his arms mechanically extend to nearly half again of their original length… and the more they look, the more they see… a woman with a brass skull piece incorporating what appears to be a third eye… men with over-sized limbs constructed from polished steel… yet, amongst these strange folk, there are just as many men and women – if not more – with no obvious mechanical enhancements.
...and then there are what appear to be dwarves... and gnomes... and, standing guard next to a stall selling spices, a trio of bhagra clad in leather...
But the time to familiarise themselves with what Zel-Argose has to offer will have to wait, carrying Andretta quickly across the square - whilst Rikkan watches to make sure no-one is paying the friends undue attention - the friends sees a green-bricked building on the far side of the market. Painted in an almost botanical script across the grand double doors, it announces itself as "Leticula's... a haven for the ill, the infirm and the injured". Seeing their destination ahead, Zoreck starts to rush... and, as he does so, his path is suddenly blocked by a muscle-bound man with a thick-set brow - his voice is slow as if he is struggling with his words, "Your friend... she don't look well..."
Annoyed at the interruption, Zoreck looks the muscle-bound interloper up and down with a scowl on his brow.
"She's not." He then tries to move around this lunkhead toward Leticula's, still carrying Andretta.
The response from the heavy-set man is slightly slurred, "What happened to her? Is she ill? Did you hurt her?". The man moves with Zoreck, still blocking his path...
Zoreck realizes that this isn't the place to get into a fight. Forcing down his ire at this idiot, he says, slowly, "She's very sick. We don't know what's wrong with her, and we hope that Leticula will be able to help her. Would you please step aside so we can bring her to the healer's?" Zoreck gestures toward the healer's storefront. He then looks him in the eye with an expression that's half-imploring, half cold steel.
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Drancis manages to control his temper here...barely as his concern for Andretta threatened to overwhelm his self control. "Please, sir! Like my friend says she is having trouble breathing, and we don't know why! We were told Leticula could help her! You HAVE to let us see her now!"
A new voice shouts towards where Zoreck and his friends are being delayed, Maxi!!! Maxi leave those folk alone... can't you see they need to get that woman to Leticula's!!!" ...and as Drancis continues to plea to let Zoreck past, a woman dressed in dusty clothes and caked in some kind of white dust rushes towards the group... The man, suddenly diminished stands off to one side, "Sorry Ma... I didn't mean to cause any trouble" ...and the woman, with the briefest of glances towards Andretta, points towards the green-bricked building, "Over there... get her to the Infirmary".
Rushing clear of the market area, the friends crash through the double doors and, instantly, become aware of the relatively cool temperature outside of the direct sun... and then, maybe slightly more surprisingly given the dry conditions that are prevalent outside, the dampness in the air. In the entrance hall to the building, a woman - yet not - rushes towards the friends...
Her skin is covered with tree-like bark, and her head with leafy, hair-like tendrils... but aside from these outwardly plant- like characteristics, the woman appears strikingly human, save that her eyes glisten like amber in shades of green, orange, and yellow, and her ears are more pointed - almost elf-like... seeing Andretta, she looks with concern at the friends, "You... you are off-worlders?"
"Yes, we are off-worlders. However, Andretta here," he gestures toward their stricken friend, "is from a different world than the rest of us. I'm thinking that might make a difference."
"Yes, Miss...", Drancis nods quickly, unable to keep the anxiousness out of his voice. "I suspect either the world she is from has an element in the air that her body requires, or it could be the dust and dirt is not something she is used to breathing. I hope Leticula knows what to do here."
To take his mind off the state of his mind he give the unusual woman a small smile, "Like us, I don't think you are from here as well. Where are you from?"
"She needs healing quickly. From the time we got to this world, her condition slowly worsened. I'm guessing it is environmental as well..."
"The others speak true. She has been having health issues since stepping through the gate, so it is also possible the gate itself did something. I know not if it will help and I cannot remember the name of her world, but... She did say that it had thirteen oceans and three suns, the 'wife', the 'suitor' and the 'vengeful husband', the last of which is was only visible once a century. They also called their common language 'All-speak'."
The woman – ignoring the questions as to what species she is for the moment - guides the friends towards a room directly leading from the vestibule. Opening the door for Zoreck, she talks quickly, ”Argosa’s air… most off-worlders can breathe it… and for those few which can’t, there are certain provisions that can be made. It seems that your friend is of a species that cannot tolerate the atmosphere…”. The woman puts her palm on the unconscious Andretta’s forehead, ”Sometimes it is elements in our air that are poisonous to those who breathe it – and if that is the case then it is simply a case of filtering the air so that it becomes tolerable… the alternative is far more troubling – if there is something that your friend needs in the air that is absent here on Argosa… then without knowing what that may be, her prognosis is quite poor”.
The room that the woman has ushered the friends towards is lined with beds, six in total, and suspended above each bed there is an array of glass vessels containing various plants… the vessels are interconnected with copper pipework whilst, from the largest of the jars, a large vine-like structure descends to an outcrop of leaves that rests on the pillow of the bed. None of the beds, at the moment, are occupied and so Zoreck is directed to rest Andretta on the nearest one. The woman, kneeling down beside the unconscious patient, checks for a pulse… and frowning, places the collection of leaves on Andretta’s face. Almost immediately, the leaves curve and shape themselves to Andretta’s face… covering her mouth and her nose in a mask of verdant green.
Still frowning after watching Andretta for a minute or so, the woman stands and turns to face the friends, ”All we can do now is wait… the breather pods filter all of those elements that are known to be harmful to off-worlders – if the gods are smiling upon us then your friend should show signs of recovery within the next few hours”. Extending a hand of friendship, ”My name is Leticula and, to answer your question, I was born on this world… although my species - we are known as the Chlorvians - originated elsewhere in the Weave, Argosa has been home to my family for generations past”.
”You say you come from a different world to your friend? Where did you come from… and through which gate did you come here? Knowing that might enable us to determine your friend’s home… and hence a cure”.
Drancis sighs in relief as Andretta is being treated. I hope whatever gods watch over this world will grant her the strength to get better.
He hesitates in response to Leticula's question, realizing Lomrick may still be looking for them. Deciding secrecy would be the wiser course of action here at least for now, he nods slowly. "I wish I could tell you which gate we arrived through but...we are being hunted by...someone and our lives would be endangered should word get out. Our kidnapper would do anything to find us!" He smile weakly, "However, if you could tell us where to find a library, or whatever the equivalent is here then we can try locating Andretta's homeworld that way."
Zoreck nods at his young friend's words. "The six of us were abducted from a world called Golarion. As far as I know, our world had no gates that led to the worlds of other suns. Indeed, the only visitors from beyond our world that I know of came in a vast ship made of a strange metal. And I only know that from the wreckage, for that ship crashed onto our world thousands of years ago."
"But that does not help you, or our friend."
Absent-mindedly, Leticula points out that there are a number of libraries within Zel-Argose, ”Although they are somewhat limited… the Auditor, and by that I mean the Coteries, recognise that knowledge is power… allowing unrestricted access to information is somewhat anathema to those who rule here. By all means though, if it helps your friend then it must surely be worth a try – how well do you know Zel-Argose? The closest library would be no more than ten minutes from here”.
After checking Andretta for a final time, Leticula suggests leaving her to recuperate, ”Patience and prayer… that is all we can do now”… and, returning to the reception area of the building, she continues her questions, ”Golarion? I have not heard of such a place although the heavens above contain infinite worlds… one could not hope to know them all even though I had thought I knew most of those within the Weave – yet you say you know not of any gates upon your world? Although some kind of vessel crashed into your lands? My…”, Leticula whistles… a strange reedy noise, ”…you do make for quite an enigma”.
Her voice reduces to a conspiratorial tone, ”For what purpose do you believe you were kidnapped? And just who do you think is responsible?”
Zoreck's guard goes up as he realizes that he might have said too much to this healer... Wait... We just met this woman. Can we trust her?
"Hmmm... Please forgive me if I don't share our entire life's story. We might be in some amount of trouble, and we don't want to bring any of our problems onto you. I will say that before we got mixed up in all this, we we encountered a creature on our world named Vuelib. He was infecting people with some kind of disease that allowed him to control their minds. If I recall what he said correctly, Vuelib was a kind of creature called a 'xoraphond' and worked for something called the 'jagdeline.'"
Zoreck then checks her reaction to these words.
A library certainly sounds like a good idea, though deciphering the languages contained within the pages here may take time.
Locke pays close attention to Leticula's reaction to Zoreck's words.
Rikkan stood silently, nervously patting his foot. His whiskers were twitching as he was torn on what exactly to say or not say to this healer. She seemed trustworthy, but he certainly wasn't sure. Being double crossed this far from home would be a clear death sentence, he feared. So he stood silently, and twitched a bit.
Leticula visibly starts at the mention of Jagladine, ”Xoraphond? That is not a species that I have previously encountered… Jagdeline? I guess you mean Jagladine… oh dear, if you have somehow managed to become involved in the machinations of the Jagladine then you must be exceptionally cautious. They are powerful within the Hegemony… some would say that they are even indispensable given their intrinsic skills in bio-engineering and genetic enhancement – coupled with an innate capability to weaponise their experiments… there are stories of them wiping out entire civilisations; always waved away as an experiment that the bio-engineers have – somewhat conveniently - lost control of or as an unfortunate side-effect of something that was for the greater good. They are, without exception, malign creatures… although, across my years, I have never heard of a Jagladine at Argosa itself”.
– Leticula seems entirely genuine in her distaste for the Jagladine…
”It could be a while until your friend is on her feet again… what will you do in the meantime? You will need somewhere to stay of course – I could suggest a few places… you have money? Or goods that you could trade?”.
Drancis nods slowly, relieved she shares the same opinion of the Jagladine as he and his friends do. "Yes we will also need a place to stay. Fortunately we do have some items to trade for money. I suspect we will be here for a while."
Locke indicates to the others that he believes Leticula speaks true in her distaste with a nod, "There may be plans for these Jagladine to do more harm to our world, I would like to stop it if I can." He takes a deep breath and steadies the anger he feels at thinking of their enemies. He agrees with Drancis and then adds, "For now I would also like to spend some time in this library trying to gather information that will be useful for those of us new to this greater universe and perhaps a hint as to what world Andretta hailed from if need be."
"There are many places to stay here in Zel-Argose... dependent only on your means, your desires and what you need. If I may be so bold, if you believe that someone may be looking for you then you would be advised to find somewhere low profile", Leticula thinks for a moment or two, "There are a number of hostels near the Battle Pits where, for somewhat obvious reasons, there is a high turnover of room availability... and the arrival of strangers will be of no particular note. The rooms themselves are likely comfortable enough and should be quite inexpensive"
...and then, turning to the subject of libraries, "To the south of Toiler's Square there is a library of sorts... the 'Knowledgarium' is managed by an old Chlorvian friend of mine so do let him know that I sent you to him. He may be able to aid you..."
The doors to the building suddenly crash open and two men, dragging another between them, breathlessly shout to Leticula, "Please!!! Please!!! Our friend fell beneath a wagon... he's not breathing... you must do something!!!" Wishing the friends luck, and hoping that she will see them on the morrow, Leticula rushes towards the stricken man... and the friends, now having placed Andretta in the best care available to them, are finally free to explore this strange new city in which they find themselves...
Stepping outside of the building once more, the friends are struck by the shade that they find themselves in... a stark contrast to the bright daylight when they entered Leticula's infirmary... and then, as the cooling shade passes and the friends look upwards, they watch as a huge balloon like vessel - well over a hundred feet in length and with a wooden gondola slung beneath - sails high above them. Faces, probably children although it is difficult to see from this distance, peer over the side of the gondola at the city below...
Locke shades his eyes as he looks up at the vessel in interest, but his next words have nothing to do with the balloon, "We should see about negotiating for some rooms near those Battle Pits. Once we have somewhere to stay perhaps a trip to the Knowledgarium would be in order? I'd suggest none of us go anywhere alone for the time being until we get our bearings."
Drancis peers up at the vessel with a little interest but his mind (and heart) is clearly preoccupied on Andretta. "Yes we should arrange some lodging for us there where we won't draw anyone's notice. We will need some money first so should we try to barter some of the items we have gathered in that marketplace we saw earlier?"
Rikkan was enthralled by the strange flying vessel. "Maybe we'd have time to arrange for a quick trip on one of those ships?! I've never ridden on a balloon," he notes with interest.
He shrugs at Drancis. "The girl's in good hands. That healer seemed solid. I wouldn't fret about it. But. We do need rooms, and that library would be a good second stop, so I say we head off."
"Good idea, Drancis. First, let's try to sell some of the stuff we've found so we have some local money. We should also see if we need to trade in our old Chelish or Taldan coins for what they use around here, or if they only care about the amount of gold. After that, let's find rooms... I like the idea of staying in a place where we won't be quite so noticeable."
Zoreck's suggestion to sell some items and gather some local currency is, on the face of it, not a bad idea... and here, in Toiler's Square, the friends have any number of buyers for the items that they might wish to trade...
...beneath an enormous purple flag showing a set of scales, a man with a metal jaw watches the friends as they come out of Leticula's - when he calls out to them, his voice has a slightly metallic timbre, "I don't know you folks? Are you new in Zel-Argose? From Dae-Argose maybe? Or further afield? ...welcome to Toiler's Square - if you can't find it here, then it probably ain't on Argosa... and if it ain't on Argosa - well, I probably know folks who can get it here for you anyways"... striding out from beneath the shade afforded by his pennant, he offers a hand of friendship, "The name's Threll... and I can see someone with goods and a need to trade from a hundred leagues distant... so, you selling?"
Following advice from the metal-jawed man, the friends split up in the market... each selling a few items to dealers handling mundane goods - again the group encounter a range of races... humans, the mechanically augmented humans, catfolk, a handful of chlorvians similar to Leticula, a stall manned by a muscular four-armed man... even a pair of half-orcs have a trading business here. Keeping a relatively low profile and avoiding any questions about where the items came from, the friends walk away from Toiler's Square with more than enough coin to last the next few days...
Heading northwards, following Leticula's direction towards the Battle Pits, the friends find themselves in a slow moving crowd making their way towards a huge stadium-like structure... every so often cheers erupt from the building - and then a man at the head of the slow moving crowd, dressed in chainmail and wielding a whip, turns to admonish the men following him, "Come on you filthy lot... We're missing the best fights of the day!!!!"
...it is then that the friends realise that the majority of the folk in the crowd are chained together.
Rikkan elbows the others and nods at the chains. "I think we are in the wrong part of town right now. We need to move before we are drafted to fight. No way to lay low then!". His whiskers twitched rapidly as he looks around for a clear path away from this chained lot of unfortunates.
Perception
Drancis nods in reply, a sober look on his face as he sees the abject symbol of slavery in front of him. "Yes, Rikkan. Let's get out of here."
I wish there was something we could do about this...but Lomrick must still be looking for us...
The chained together men, a sorry-looking collection of folk caked in dirt as though they have been travelling for days, slowly make their way towards the large stadium... every so often, as their pace slow, the 'supervisor' leading the way shouts words of encouragement... or barks orders... anything to keep them moving. Eventually, the men turn off to the left - towards a squat building with barred windows, and the roads running in parallel wit the stadium become comparatively clear.
As Leticula had suggested, there are indeed many hostels, apartments or even small villas available to rent here... advertised via placards, posters and even some illuminated writing above squat pueblo-style buildings, the range of accommodation is quite remarkable...
Zoreck puts his hand on the hilt of his sword, but doesn't draw it. "Yeah... let's go that way..." He nods toward his right. "Stay together... we can't afford to get separated here!"
Zoreck breathes a sigh of relief when they encounter no resistance in breaking away from the gladiator-slaves. He shakes his head in disgust. "Competetion is one thing, but forcing people into fighting each other is something else entirely!"
He then takes in the sights of the hostel district. "Well, we have some coin now. Let's find an apartment where we can stay togehter, that seems safe, and is also somewhat defensable. And that we can afford."
Locke agrees with Zoreck, "Not falling apart and large enough that we can all at least sleep. We don't know how long we'll be staying here or what kind of income we will find here so we should err on the side of cheaper accomodations."
"I agree. All of us together is safest. Not knowing what we are getting into, it's important to be careful and safe right now."
Drancis quickly nods in agreement. "We should stick together, at least for the moment. I think we have enough coin to get a cheap apartment for a while."
Not wishing to make too much of a show about choosing somewhere to stay, at least for now, the friends settle upon an unassuming single storey building nestled near the far end of a cul-de-sac alley. Advertising as having 'Cheap Rooms, No Deposit Required, Short Term Lets Available'... with a second, smaller sign beneath 'No Questions Asked, All Welcome'... this lodge is declared as being "Zhartle's"...
And Zhartle turns out to be a strange fellow, reptilian - even sauran - in nature, he stands about five and a half feet tall... and has, wrapped around his back, a set of small leathery wings, "Hey... what you staring at? You folks never seen a Zvarr before? Or maybe you ain't seen one outside of the Battle Pits huh?", talking quickly but with a hint of joviality behind his curt manner, "You want rooms? You've got coin right? How long you planning on staying? I got a pair of rooms that got vacated at short notice... if you know what I mean heh, heh, heh... you can have them for a week... five gold coins... don't care about the currency, it's all the same anyhow... so you want them? you do... right?"
When it becomes clear that Zhartle isn't really one for bartering, the 'Zvarr' is paid and, reaching beneath his granite counter, he hands two iron keys over, "End of the corridor... rooms seven and nine... and don't get any blood on the floor... you make sure you're all fixed up before you come back here yeah?"
Locke thanks the strange repilitian humanoid and is first to walk down the corridor and open one of the rooms for a quick inspection, "Since we are new here we can't let ourselves get complacement."
Once the rooms have been paid for Drancis moves to the entrance and peers in. "We should make sure these rooms don't have any surprises." He then follows Locke's lead in searching the rooms.
Rikkan follows the others. He was pondering whether it might draw attention if all of the team piles into one room, when two were available. After thorough searches, he reveals his thoughts on the matter. "Would our whole group in one room draw stares? Maybe if we divide up, it would be less suspicious. We are close and in easy earshot, if something untowards happened."
Zoreck inspects the room, looking for anything unusual.
Checking around the sparsely decorated rooms, the friends find nothing of particular concern… both rooms are reasonably sized for up to four individuals and the beds, each room has two bunks, are sized for creatures of around seven feet in height. Each room has a single barred window, both looking out into the cul-de-sac passageway and providing a small amount of daylight. On first impressions, at least, the accommodation should serve for now – and there are certainly no indications of any spying or surveillance.
During the time that the friends are examining their rooms, they hear evidence of the other rooms being occupied... muffled voices, occasional laughter and footsteps.
The sun, interestingly only one of the suns has risen today, is slowly making its way towards the horizon when a bell, dissonant and surely loud enough to be heard across the entire city, tolls. Until now, the friends have not heard this sound within Zel-Argose.
"I'm afraid I don't even want to know what that bell means. It could signal a start to fighting in the arena maybe?"
"Perhaps some manner of religious significance?"
"Perhaps we can see how the other citizens are reacting to the bell." Drancis replies as he moves to the window and peers outside trying to see what reactions are taking place.
"Drancis has the right idea, it could be signaling some odd custom that will make no sense to us, but observing the locals could give us an idea." Locke peers over Drancis's shoulder, but will head outside to ask someone nearby if they see nothing of interest.
Watching through the windows to see whether the tolling of the bell has caused the locals to do anything in particular, the friends see a couple of humans walking down the street that leads to their lodgings... but nothing seems unusual as such. Their curiosity piqued, Locke and Drancis go to find someone who may be able to tell them the significance of the bell - and find Zhartle counting coins (a huge variety of shapes, symbols and denominations) at his desk near the entrance to the building. When Locke asks about the bell, the sauran smiles, "You really aren't from around here are you? That bell is the signal that the auditor has returned from wherever it is that she's been... it is supposed to remind us that there is a rule of law here and that indiscretions will be found out... and punished".
Zhartle laughs, a strange snickering noise, "Course, the whole things a sham... everyone knows that Jahera Fire-Eyes only holds that position because she was elevated to office by the Coteries. You must know about the Coteries right? You ain't from Zel-Argose if you aren't connected, in some way, to at least two or three of those gangs".
Drancis pales in response to the man's words. "Of COURSE we know about them. Why do you think we are HERE?"