Not succeding in his endeavor to cast natural magic, Lk gives up and waits for the group to get on the move again, youthful anger/dissapointment on his face.Growing bored, Lk begins to make his fingers twist in strange patterns muttering under his breath.
"Don't be sad." She fishes around in her pocket and pulls out a handful of taffies. "Want to share?"
The politician reluctantly took off his finery and squeezed into the clothes that Devlyn gave him. He cautiously opened the door.
"I hope you're right about this place we're going to being safe. Er.." he stops, speechless, as he sees the rest of the assembled group.
"Don't worry about it. Now we need to move."
He looks to the others.
"I can get him to the Sanctum, if the rest of you want to keep...'shopping'. I can catch up with you later."
"Why don't Devlyn and I escort this gentleman back to the Sanctum while the rest of you continue what you were doing. Don't worry, sir," she said with a reassuring smile,"it's going to be alright. We'll make sure nothing untowards happens to you."
"Works for me."
Devlyn and Allura escort the politician away, taking him towards the omniportal.
"Don't be sad." She fishes around in her pocket and pulls out a handful of taffies. "Want to share?"
Lk brightens at the offer and selects a few of his favorite flavors.
Devlyn and Allura escort the politician away, taking him towards the omniportal.
With Devlyn making sure that they are not being followed or observed, they get to the omniportal and travel to the Sanctum of the Sun. He gave another one of the communication crystals with Jack Hammer, just in case.
Allura returns to the bazaar. She thinks about using the communication crystal to call for back-up, but she doesn't want to distract Develyn if he was in the middle of something dangerous. And she didn't think that the place the politician had told her to look for the traders was particularly appropriate for children. So she headed to the slave markets on her own.
The crack of whips, the clank of chains, the areas of eerie silence where owners suppress the whimpers or whispers of their goods for various reasons - these are all some of the sounds (or lack thereof) which define the parts of the Bazaar into which Allura has now ventured.
The sights and smells in some of the main halls and pens are perhaps best left undescribed, but it is clear that in many cases it is as much the misery of sentient creatures which is being traded in here, as anything else.
A wiry market guard, in studded leather armour and with a bullwhip at his belt, arrests Allura's progress.
What's your business here, woman? You don't have the look of any of the regular traders or buyers. The last time we had anyone with your demeanour in these parts, there was an attack by half a dozen so called 'holy knights' a few days later. He sneers. Not that they weren't sent packing - or at least not the ones who weren't taken as 'compensation' for those owners who'd lost wares.
"I have no idea what you are talking about," she says haughtily, using her shapechange abilities to alter her appearance to that of a lovely tiefling woman dressed as if she very much belongs here, and using Modify Memory to make it seem to the guard as if she had always appeared this way. "Now step out of my way. Or do you make a habit of harrassing potential customers? Perhaps I should speak with your superior."
Allura wanders through the slave market discreetly looking for a group of traders using rubies as currency. She uses her mental abilities to read thoughts once or twice to supplement what she could get people to tell her.
Excuse me please, a dwarf tugs at Allura's sleeve a few minutes later. My mistress would like a word with you.
Allura frowns slightly. "Well, I suppose I can spare a moment."
Allura feels a chill of alarm, but decides to try to brazen her way through this surprise meeting. She's really starting to wish that she had told someone where she was going.
Allura walks cautiously inside. After the dwarf's introduction she was more than a little wary of what she was going to find.
"Hello? You wanted to speak to me?"
Inside there are signs from the papers and files discarded on the floor to clear the desk, that the office usually hosts business other than the purposes of interviews. Sitting behind the desk is a woman with dark hair and matching eyes, dressed in a sugar-pink dress which looks to have seen better days. On the desk are a bone-china tea-set, and a plate piled high wth buttered crumpets.
Please sit.
The woman behind the desk indicates a chair by Allura.
Sorry about the rather poor decor of this place, and the furnishings, but the best I could scrounge up for a meeting at such short notice.
Oh, do you take milk or sugar in your tea?
She starts to pour a cup.
Allura sits down carefully. "Sugar, please. Thank you."
She waits politely, taking the tea when offered and complimenting her hostess on its taste regardless of the truth of whether it tastes good or not.
The tea, as far as Allura can tell, is good-quality.
I'm rather confused by some of the things going on around here, at present, the woman sounds slightly apologetic. My intelligence network has caught up with the fact that you and your friends have apparently abducted a powerful political pawn hereabouts of the baatezu, and then I got word that you're back here and hitting the slave-markets. Looking for someone that he or his masters sold into slavery by any chance?
She pours herself a cup of tea.
If so, you may be taking on more than you can chew, if you don't mind my saying so. At least on your own.
"No, I'm not looking for anyone that has been sold into slavery. I'm here on an unrelated errand. Simply looking for some traders who I've been told specialize in unusual wares. I'm not really at liberty to say more. I'm acting on behalf of others who might not be pleased if I were to speak too freely about their business. The politician is simply a source of information."
She is doing a careful verbal dance, being completely and totally honest while twisting her words to make things seem other than what they are.
Oh, she looks disappointed. I had hoped that this might be because you had some sort of axe to grind against the Lords of the Nine Hells. She toys with her cup and saucer for a bit, then helps herself to a crumpet.
"No, I'm afraid I have no particular axe to grind there. But I am looking for a way to cancel the politician's contract with them. As payment for services rendered. I don't think they will appreciate that much"
They update their contracts regularly, and close off loopholes. Given the importance to them of him, hereabouts, they'll have made sure there isn't much you can do to break the contract that doesn't involve offering them something in fair exchange instead.
If they have a sample of his blood, they can probably scry anything in his vicinity.
Is there anything wrong with my crumpets?
"No, not at all. They look lovely. May I?" She reaches for a crumpet and nibbles at it delicately. "Mmmm. Delicious."
"I suppose I should have known that the politician was driving a better bargain than I realized." She sighs. "One that will likely take much more time and effort to resolve than I had anticipated." She shrugs. "You win some, you lose some, I suppose."
Oh, personally I find that I win all of them. Only sometimes people get killed or go a little mad.
I'm pleased you like the crumpets. I wasn't sure I'd quite got the recipe right. I'm very new to this, and the Countess Almathrada generously let me look through her recipe books.
She sighs. It really is a shame that you and your friends are busy with something else.
She refills her cup.
You do know that the little girl isn't very likely to complete her collection?
Allura barely avoided choking on her crumpet. "Oh, I don't know about that," she said without missing a beat. "She may surprise you."
Jack Hammer can feel a small tendril of the Green reaching for his mind. It seems to be struggling to touch him before finally connecting. He hears LJ's voice inside his mind.
"There is danger, my love. The jester, the one who slew me, is about to escape his bonds. Beware. He is possessed by something worse than mere evil."
Unlikely. She sighs a little. I'm a bad name for surprises these days. I miss it a little, occasionally.
And I know the dragons involved.
"Er, dragon?" she asked nervously.
Ur-Dragon? No. I don't think that there's one of those involved yet. She pauses a moment. Joke.
No, well, if you thought that there was only one dragon involved, that explains why you're so confident of success.
She looks at Allura's empty cup.
Well you seem to have finished that one. I suppose you have to be on your way, and don't have the time to stay for another cup?...
"I'm afraid not. Though I do appreciate your kind hospitality. I really should get back to work now."
Allura takes her leave, more than a little disturbed by her encounter with the mysterious woman. She continued to search through the slave market for the traders the politician had described.
Feeling more cautious after her run-in with the woman in pink, Allura watches them discreetly, observing carefully to see if they buy anything, and if they use rubies to pay for it if they do.
After they have finished their purchase and put away the hoop-thing, Allura will approach the group.
"Excuse me. I don't mean to intrude, but are you the traders who were selling the most interesting things in the bazaar earlier today? If you are then I might have a proposition that would interest you." She gives a charming smile, and waits for their answer.
The one who was haggling turns to survey her, whilst the other two scan the surroundings for potential trouble.
Allura has the sense that her her words are being weighed very carefully, as the black eyes in the swarthy, slightly alien, face survey her.
Perhaps. Are you a principle, with a business proposal, or a middleman?
"A little of both. I am part of a group that is trying to locate certain items. I am certain that my partners would not be averse to my conducting negotiations without them so long as it is in pursuit of our mutual goals. If you would rather deal with the whole group, I can call them here. Or to another place that you would find amenable to negotiations."
Jack Hammer can feel a small tendril of the Green reaching for his mind. It seems to be struggling to touch him before finally connecting. He hears LJ's voice inside his mind.
"There is danger, my love. The jester, the one who slew me, is about to escape his bonds. Beware. He is possessed by something worse than mere evil."
JH is startled by the words. Partly because of the way they feel thru the Green, partly because of the message itself. Rage awakens in him once again, a feeling that he seemed to have forgotten. For the sake of Arielle he calms himself before sharing the news with Lyn's grandfather.
'It seems that the jokester of the Black is thawing. We should be wary of a surprise appearance. His brand of humor is not suitable for young audiences.'
'It seems that the jokester of the Black is thawing. We should be wary of a surprise appearance. His brand of humor is not suitable for young audiences.'
Azuri'ith looks startled, and then turns away. You can see that the air that he is composed of is swirling at a much faster rate. You would guess that he, too, is having trouble controlling his anger. Finally he turns back.
"Yes, I understand. I will instruct the smaller air elementals to keep an eye out for him. And alert Djuhah and Sky to the possible danger as well. If you will excuse me for a moment."Azuri'ith goes far enough away to stay in sight, but not be easily overheard as he sends the necessary communications.
To Allura:
If you are willing to be held accountable for any obligations of your consortium, we will hear you out now.
If you were a representative of an individual or organisation worth our waiting upon, you would have already said so, so we will not attend upon your convenience.
"It is my understanding that you have been selling certain gems in the bazaar. Gems that look like stars. We would like to purchase any such gems that you happen to come across in the future. It is much more efficient, and less frustrating, to buy them directly from you rather than having to track down each and every person that you sell them to. We are willing to pay most handsomely."
Arielle looks up at JH. "Daddy, who is the jokester? And why are you and Grandpa so upset about him?"