Time Off

In the wake of the disturbance caused by the Endless Winter's visit to the bay, Aryia is posting a job request in the Explorer's Guildhall when she is joined by Vaera and Venom. There is still some lingering tension between the Mul'niessa and Sith, which Venom is still sussing out, when suddenly Aryia's pen explodes in a brilliant flash of light. Vaera gives advice on treating the elf after Venom suggests the sith pursue the culprit; a goblin, who had split off from his gnome partner once the fireworks started. Venom, meanwhile, tries to get the blinded and nauseated dark elf to a safe place to recover while Vaera scares the details out of the gobber. In time, the trio are reunited in a small side room, and the Sith, suddenly more helpful, offers Aryia a soothing tea with Venom serving as a proxy...

-=--=--=--=--=--=<* A05: Adventurer's Council, Great Hall *>-=--=--=--=--=--=-

        As the phoenix is Alexandria's national symbol, so too has its Explorer's Council, often called the Adventurer's Council, risen from the ashes of its destruction. 

        Guards and mercenaries fill the interior of this huge building, one of the largest in its immediate area. Strong, metal walls divide its interior, crafting halls, briefing rooms and offices. A large space near the front has been set aside for mingling and stocked with comfortable chairs to wait in. 

        This area is catered by one of the Society of Arcanists' more famous chefs, a small lucht with a predilection for otherworldly cuisine and tentacle soup. Security here is as tight as it is anywhere in Alexandria, even more so now after its recent destruction. Sharp eyed sentinels and guards are ever-watchful and all manner of security contraption is said to be residing within the walls of the building. The walls are pristine for now, though not for long, and artfully decorated with murals depicting heroic adventure by members of all communities and races of the region. 

        The windows to the Council Hall are now stained glass, artfully decorated to depict famous moments in Alexandrian history, ranging from the death of Altima at the hands of the Phalanx Falcis at the end of the Sorceress Wars, to the city triumphantly emerging from the Mists to a changed world. Many spaces have been set aside for new stories to be added, with numerous tale yet to be written. 

        No matter how many times the Hall has been rebuilt, the statue in the front remains the same: a lone warrior facing off against what is presumably thought to be 'Cuddles the Otyugh Queen', with the Council's motto, below: Anything for the right price.

                               EXTRAS: +view                                 

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Aryia 37s 4'8" 110 Lb Shadow Elf Female

  A heavily scarred mul with a tired look about her.         
              

Aya 2m 4'7" 105 Lb Shadow Elf Female

  Mul'niessa. Braided hair. Simple clothing.                  
             

Vaera 1s 7'0" 262 Lb Sith-Makar Female

  A tall, dark red Makari with a wooden leg.                          
     

Venom 0s 5'6" 130 Lb Human Female

  A woman(?) about 5'6" in a ragged black veil and poncho.         
       

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[Archives] Dun Morden War Stories The Plank

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Out <O>

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                Afternoon. Daytime. Just after the hailstorm on the docks. Explorer's Guild. 

The freak hailstorm that appeared on the docks had drawn most of the crowd away from the Explorer's Guild. Assignments to check out what was going, others moving to defend whatever it was they held dear, so on and so forth. As such, the halls were quiet, only a few patrons going about their duties and wants. 

One such person was a scarred mul'neissa, a piece of paper held to her chest as she looked up at the bulliten board. The board meant for more mundane tasks. With a sigh, she steps forward and pins the page up onto the wall. In careful handwriting- though still somewhat sloppy-, was written:

        "Looking for temporari replaycement as dockhand. One week. Pay: 10 gold." 

She steps back, nods to herself, but notices something and tries to sign off on the bottom of it. Her pen doesn't seem to want to work. She huffs and fusses with it.

Of those present was one who Aryia may have wished was not around, or did not care that they were. A dark red makari investigating the listings, turning to watch as Aryia pins up something onto the board. She turns to look at the listing, and the fumbling with the pen. "Is something the matter?" She asks curtly,gesturing to the pen. "Also, you're missing contact info, by the looks of it."

The shrouded figure makes her arrival in the Guild, having been otherwise occupied during the inclement weather. She comes to see the lay of things, finding the place oddly empty, and thus approaches the board, and the pair thereby, and she approaches on heavier footfalls than she otherwise might, if only to annonce her approach. Surprises may otherwise go awry, here.

The shadow elf flinches from someone speaking to her, her twisting to the side and craning her head back. She scowls as her face tints red. "Yes, I know that. I'm working on it." <Handspeech>

She glances over her shoulder, a light smile cresting her lips once again as she offers a little wave in greeting. Now that the two were near her, it looked as if she had just defrosted, the elf shivering slightly while some of the color was missing from her fingertips. She continued to fuss with the pen, trying to get it to work so she could write. Looks new. A click comes from it as she twists something into place.

Vaera looks down back to her, narrowing her eyes. "You're fumbling too much due to the cold." She notes flatly, gesturing to one of the fireplaces in the guild. "Take down your posting, go sit by the fire so you can warm yourself up before you finish it off."

She turns to find Venom nearby, who she offers a wave. "Hey, seems like there's a lot of commotion out there. Work going alright?" She asks.

Venom lifts her hand to wave as the two make notice of her in turns and she looks to the board, then Aryia's hands before seeming to take note of the advisory from Vaera.

Her hands flit, curl and flex to frame her reply, "The weather turned everything on it's head. I couldn't get close to the disturbance, so I haven't gotten any information about that." <handspeech>

Aryia was, she thought, an amiable person. But one thing the shadow elf did not like was being told what to do. Were it worded as a suggestion, she might have heeded it, but instead she doubled down. She shook her head. "I can write just fine, did it without it," she motions back to the only speaking person with her brows pinched together.

The pugilist glances back to see the words, her nodding. "I was over there," she started mentioning, testing the pen on her skin for a beat before continuing. "Some scary ice witch or whatever. Warning about demons and devils in the city. Same shit trying to get to me. So... I'm taking some time off to get my head on straight." She rambled a bit. The pen makes another click as it starts to write, and she goes back to the notice to slowly write her contact information on it. <Handspeech>

"Figured you were there, based on the cold." Vaera notes, and she just shakes her head. She wasn't going to push the matter. "Seems to be under control now, I took a look not long ago and the hail was gone, no ice. Just a few curious onlookers. Figured if there was any information, it'd probably be around here."

"Ice witches and fiends in the city? Not sure what's going on here. Explains why you're offering so much for dock work, if you need a break from that sort of thing."

Venom isn't sure entirely what to make of the sudden shift in demeanor from Aryia, and her head pivots slightly in turns toward each of the women as they conversed, her hands clasping before her.

As things start to be made clear, she nods and starts to sign at last, "Best to stock up on countermeasures." <handspeech>

Aryia nods in agreement. "One of my friends mentioned something about 'good' magic oils that make your weapons hit against them," yes, she used actual air quotes. "I have no idea what that is but I guess I'll need to look out for them. Also I just want somene to fill it quick," <Handspeech>

Aryia stands up on her tip toes to finish writing, but just as she gets toes, the pen stops working again on the last symbol. She frowns at it, leaning in to see if it was doing anything at all.

Click. 

For the two behind Aryia, it is as if a gobbo arc welder lit up directly in front of her. A bright, bright light emitting from the pen as it blows up in puff and the smell of sulfur wafts from it. The noise isn't loud, just a quick hiss and pop. There's a choked sort of gasp as Aryia flails backwards and drops half a pen. Her taking a few steps before stumbling over herself and spilling out on the ground with her hands pressed against her eyes. 

"Being prepared is always the best course. Can't prepare for everything, though." Vaera nods. "Spell oils, probably find some magic user off loading them somewhere, or maybe a more dedicated magic shop in town. Check near Sage Orum's plaza."

The sith-makar caught a hint of something in the air, and Vaera shielded her own eyes, one hand in her coat at the sudden light. But when she looks, it was only Aryia flailing around. Maybe something backfired, maybe it was an accident.

"That couldn't have been good that close." Vaera notes, looking to Venom. "Should help her to a seat, but be careful. She's probably nauseous from that."

Venom flinches some at the sudden light, though her recoil is significantly less than Aryia's. She steps closer to Mul'niessa with a look to see to Vaera's status, and takes a knee, clapping her hands twice nearby to announce herself to the probably blinded, or at least, dazzled woman before reaching out to lightly bump a knuckle against her arm. If things proceed well at that point, her hand will hover, open, for her to try and take if she wants.

Her other hand signs, "Witnesses?"

Because, after all, if this was a prank or haze, it's no good if you don't watch, right? <handspeech>

There were witnesses. Those that were already in the guildhall were peering over and watching, some bodyguards getting a better position between these scene and everyone else. It wasn't uncommon for something to fire off in the hall (adventurers, am I right?), but it was more of a safety precaution than anything. 

Though, there was some snickering from the front door, followed by the faded pattering of two pairs of quick footsteps. 

The clapping sound makes Aryia wince twice, extra noise on top of the point blank flash bang making things even more confusing. Though, she did recognize the nudge through her squirming on the ground. One hand pats around, searching for the arm before finding it and latching on while the other blocks both of her eyes. Face contorted in pain.

"Yeah, there's a few witnesses. A couple of people at the door by the looks and sounds of it." Vaera replies with a shrug. "Like I said, bright light for a drow, it'll make her nauseous and disoriented on top of the normal blindness, even worse."

She looks to the door. "If you've got any spare oilcloth, wrap some around her face, it'll block out more light than most fabric. Since I think she's your friend, do you want me to track down those at the door? Shouldn't be too hard."

Venom gently guides the dark elf's hand down her arm to a proper clasp with her own, then sets her free hand on her shoulder. A light squeeze as she, too, looks about. There isn't much she can do under the circumstances. Not cleanly, anyway. For now, she settles on making sure Aryia's alright, and accepts Vaera's advice, shrouding her in the poncho as she had, before. Her hand flicks a quick, "Identify." so not much time is lost in translation. <handspeech>

The Makari's words were true, the shadow elf was heavily disoriented, her having finally gotten herself back to a sitting position, only to start to tip over again to the other side as her sense of balance was completely tossed. Only it was the hand on her shoulder that kept her from tipping over. The shroud of the poncho proved to be a good move, Aryia holding onto Venom's hand firmly as she all but collapses against the taller woman, basking in the absence of light the veiled one provided. "V-..." she mumbles incoherently.

The pattering feet grow faint, both going in different directions. 

"Don't wait to long getting her to a seat. Doubt the guild would appreciate vomit on the floor." She warns, though already sprinting off at the words. She looks around, hearing the two taking off. No matter, if she could find one, perhaps the other would rat the other out. So she picked the more clear path, and continued sprinting off. She could still move fast enough when she needed to.

Venom wiggles her jaw some under the veils and nods, trying to gently help Aryia to her feet while the Sith tears off after their probably culprits. With the Mul'niessa blinded, there isn't a lot of comfort the situation allows her to convey, but, if nothing else, perhaps she can get them to an isolated spot to do more in that regard.

As Vaera goes outside the front door, she could see two obvious folk sprinting away. A gobbo pulling themselves up over an alleyway wall some stone's throw away, and on the opposite end of the street, a gnome about to hop down into a sewer hole. 

Aryia stumbles about as she's brought to her feet, her all but burying her face into the poncho underneath it as she's lead in a zig-zag line over to a quiet spot. She doesn't let go of her fellow mute, feeling very vulnerable from having one of her senses suddenly taken away.

Vaera continues down the street. There was no guarantee she could move safely through the sewers at the moment. She should head down another time to make sure. So she turned to the wall, taking off at a run for the alleyway. Mid run she leaps and vaults over the wall, landing with ha wince as her leg locks up slightly.

"Should stop now if you know what's good for you. You aren't getting away." The sith-makar growls, likely a terrifying sight in the secluded alleyway, towering over the goblin.

Venom continues to guide the elf along the hall, trying to compensate for the weave enough that they don't trip over anyone. Thankfully, the atypical weather's lessened the amount of sweat her shrouding would otherwise have forced Aryia to endure. That or the veiled one's indulged in a bath recently enough to reach the same end.

Well, so much for lightening the Mul'niessa's well honed feelings of pursuit.

She waves someone away from a door and tries the knob. Vaera's already working against that help they'd discussed previously.

A wide ranging hope, indeed!

The goblin halts in their tracks, them swiveling around before beady red eyes grew wider. He sticks his hands up high, him blowing some of his scraggly black hair out of his. "I dinna do nothin'!" they squeak out. "Tallscale got the wrong guy!" Uh huh. Suuuuure. 

Aryia didn't care in the slightest should that be a concern, considering her job tended to be around fishing boats all the time. She follows dutifully after Venom, still stumbling around, a few near misses on walls and doors were she not glued to the veiled woman. This time they get into a storeroom, a lone lantern illuminating an otherwise mundane room. "... f-ck... f-ck-ng.... -t's...?

"Then why did you snicker and run off how you did? Is it normal for people to jump into sewers around here? I know you were both together." She continues with a low growl, glaring down to the goblin. "Wrong guy? I didn't even suggest anything happened. So talk. Now."

Vaera crosses her arms, waiting for an answer and keeping watch over the area.

Venom sighs a long breath through her nose and nods to her own benefit as the door opens before them. She gives the elf a little squeeze, hopefully a reassuring one, and guides her over toward a table, reaching out to draw out a chair to guide her into. Her mind goes over the scenario as she waits for indication that the effects of the light are abating, trusting Vaera's competence and judgement while she fumbles through her situation, here.

The sound of the Mul'niessa trying to voice her frustrations prompts a hand to rise.

The soft creak and hiss of leather.

The rattle of a buckle.

Then another.

Then a soft, voiceless, "Shhhhhh."

It's an alleyway with a low wall to hop into. Perfect for a get away. But now was a trap for the small one. "Aight, aight! Fine! Don't get yer tail all in a knot! Jus' a lil' harmless prank, ya know? Ain't nothin' bad! Loo' ya don't want me. 'ere, lemme go, and I'll tell ya where ta get those things." 

Aryia follows into the room, bumping into the chair and almost spilling over again, but with the aid manages to get herself settled. With the reassurance, she pulls her face free and covers her eyes, cheeks looking a touch green. She gulps, eyes fluttering in the low light, but still unable to see anything at all. The sound makes her pause, her getting her breathing under control and nodding slowly. She squeezes the hand.

"A harmless prank does not risk permanent damage. And putting something that explodes into a pen isn't explosive." She says, keeping her arms crossed. "Name, and name of the Gnome with you. And I will let you go if after that, you tell me where you got them. But if I find out anyone else is getting hurt by exploding pens-."

Vaera grins, an unsettling visage of razor sharp teeth. "I'm good at finding people when I need to."

Venom shakes her head slightly, the buckled straps dangling from her face beneath the veil like the maw of an eldritch horror rattling and rustling against her other acoutrements. There is a soft squeeze as Aryia's breathing changes and she gives the room another lookover. WHile Vaera is handling the investigation, she puzzles how to tend to Aryia's dilemma. Maybe there's a bucket, somwehere, just in case? She doesn't look so good...

The goblin shirks under the grin. "Fer fuck's sake, it's jus' flash powda. Jus' a lil bit of it. Not a feckin' bomb. Name's Zral. And tha' was Umurug. He runs a shop wit' they name down 'round here." Zral takes a few steps back slowly, testing the deal and wanting to get the hell out of there. 

The elf looked discombobulated, like she took a hard knock to the head, but instead of blunt force trauma it was point blank light. There was a bucket nearby, a storage room always had a plethora of odds an ends. Aryia finally is able to focus her eyes somewhat, squinting heavily despite the low light of the lantern. Taara's gift of dark sight flaring and shimmering in her bloodshot eyes. Clearly not making anything better. She does barely get to take a glance to Venom and her mask of horror, but she instead weakly smiles for a brief moment before quietly groaning, pushing her palms into her eyes again. 

She does briefly flash a sign of, "Sick." <Handspeech> 

"It's flash powder in a small object. What do you think that is? Yes, it's an explosion. And if you put that too close to someone's face, they're getting hurt." She says, glaring at the goblin. "Jokes are funny, not the suffering of others. So go, now, before I change my mind. I'll be checking that shop."

With that she waves them off, waiting for them to leave before hopping back over the wall, and heading back to the guild.

Venom nods and reaches out to gently patpat the elf's shoulder before, with a sigh, and bemused s curve of her lips, she reaches under her poncho for a moment.

As she had the other night, she produces a tightly folded bundle of oilcoth much like her poncho, though not quite so large, and more a rough rectangular shape, once she's shaken it out. She carefully drapes it over the lightstruck Mul'niessa before she deigns to scrounge up a bucket for her to toss in, should that come to pass.

Vaera has certainly been gone a bit, she notes, perhaps she's in trouble?

GAME: Aryia rolls fortitude: (6)+7: 13

"Aight, aight, jeesh. I kno' what I'm doin'. Err. No wha' I'm doin', uh, I- 'kaybai!" Zral wastes no time in getting the hell out of there after being verbally berated for the prank. Back in the guildhall now, it was easy to figure out where the two went, were the glancing looks to a storage room door anything to go by. 

There's a visible sigh of relief as the cloth is draped over her, being plunged into sheer darkness. There's a small gesture of 'thanks' towards wherever Venom was, and the bucket is fumbled about in her lap. She parks herself over it, hunched, staving off the lingering effects as best she could.

Vaera continues on her way, back to the adventurer's guild. She could see where she needed to go most likely, the door everyone was looking at seemed a good place to start.

Knock. Knock.

"Venom? It's Vaera. I know you might not be able to respond, so just knock 3 times on the wall if you don't want me coming in."

Venom watches what she can see of Aryia's handling of the bucket once presented and, seeming satisfied she's past the worst of, well, anything she's in a position to do anything about, brings her hands up under the veil to resecure her mask, a task with enough practice behind it to bring a certain celerity.

Another sigh ruffles the veils as the hands come down, and one of those sets to lightly rub at the Mul's back.

She's seen a few people do that, before.

The sudden knocking brings her back to, and she turns to approach the door, if nothing else, the conversation will be easier without it in the way, and she draws it open and beckons the Sith in, "You're alright? What have you got?" <handspeech>

Aryia steadies herself, breathing evenly. Relaxing somewhat from the gesture. She reaches up to place a hand on Venom's arm. At least she had a friend around for a time like this.

She does flinch as the door is knocked on, her tensing a bit. Hand falling away to focus on the bucket and the soothing, wonderful dark of the oiled cloth. 

Vaera opens the door, taking a look inside, finding Venom and what she assumed was Aryia. "Not too much. Goblin and a Gnome, thought they'd pull a prank. So they sold Aryia a pen filled with flash powder." She explains, pulling out a small oil burner and setting it on the table. A large metal cup set on it, with a fire lit underneath. She fills it with a flask of water, before she continues. "They have a shop nearby. I'm going to check it later to see if that's where it came from. Otherwise, well I know where to start tracking them from."

By the short lift of her chin, it wouldn't be unfathomable that the veiled woman just rolled her eyes. This followed by a slow shake and she starts to sign, "Well done, thank you. She seems.." a pause, then, "better, but still not recovered. The light in here probably wouldn't help, but turning them off is probably not an option." <handspeech>

Aryia couldn't see whatever Vaera was setting up, her having been swaddled by darkness. Sweet, sweet darkness. She does listen, however, her glimmering eyes squinting. Did those two... oh. No. They're getting a visit later.

"Assholes. My pens broke from the cold and I needed new ones," Aryia comments, her hands flashing the signs from under the fabric. Ignorant of what Venom was saying, but sure it was to her benefit. <Handspeech>

"And they saw it as a chance to do this. They might realize that something like flashpowder can cause permanent damage to mul'niessa that close." She says. Perhaps she knew from experience. She puts a shroud around the burner, hiding most of the flame.

"If you aren't going to throw up, sit with your back against the wall. Forcing yourself to keep actively trying to balance isn't helping things."

Venom ruffles her veil with another sigh and steps back over to lightly pat a shoulder before stooping over to flash a sign under the edge of the oilcloth, "Feeling better?"

She looks over to Vaera as she makes her recommendations, but doesn't chime in about any potential retribution.

Everyone likes surprises.

As much as she didn't want to listen to the redscale, they were right. Aryia leans back in her chair and rests against the wall, her sighing. There is a stilled moment where one might think that the flash got to her stomach, but the shadow elf keeps her food down and shudders. A reluctant, "Thanks," is flashed.

The shadow elf's frame relaxes slightly under the pat. The hand is gently touched before a hand returns from under the cloth. "Slowly. Yes." <Handspech>

Vaera takes something else out of her pack, and tears it up, dropping it in the water as it was heating.

"Good to know I need to be wary of merchants here, as well." She says mostly to herself. "You should be through the worst of it at least, as long as you don't move too much."

The touch to her hand leads Venom to dip into a crouch, a hand bracing with a spread of three fingers for balance's sake. She looks up toward Vaera and shrugs, "Not every merchant is an asshole. I don't know any pen merchants, though." <handspeech>

With Venom low, Aryia could just barely make out the signs. "xgI buy my pens from artifice places. They're usually good, but... I needed new ones quick, so I bought it from here instead of someplace better." <Handspeech>

"Well, not everyone. But it's a chance to be wary of." Vaera shrugs back. "It's an honest mistake, Aryia. Most people don't think to check pens for traps."

A part of her admired the idea of it, though she wouldn't say that. She picks up the cup from the side, not seeming to care, and offers the handle to Venom. "Get her to drink this. She'll trust it more coming from you. Helps with her stomach and dizziness. Doesn't taste half bad either" <handspeech>

The signs from Aryia prompt another shake of the head and a shrug before she starts to sign in turn, "It was a unique idea."

She looks up to Vaera on her offer, frozen in consideration before she brings her hand up to sign with both hands, "Very well. Thank you for..." she pauses as her head turns toward the shrouded elf, "helping her." <handspeech> She reaches out to accept the cup, bringing it under the veil for a curious sniff, first, then lowers it to allow Aryia to see it with one hand, while the other signs, "See if this helps your stomach."

A weak snerk comes from underneath the oiled cloth, Aryia flashing back, "A pen store sounds like something fancy nobles go to."

She couldn't see the gestures towards Vaera, but the cloth tilts to the side as the cup is offered up to her. If Venom was giving it to her, it should be fine. She reaches out, picking up the cup with one hand while gesturing another "Thank you." <Handspeech>

While the group was getting down to small talk and one recovering from a surprise flash powder attack, they could only be left wondering: what was the purpose of it? And why did Vaera decide to help the mul'neissa out? Was Venom really an eldritch horror? Or was that just the veils talking? Many questions, and only so many signs.