Roleplay

(@amentia Hello, nice to meet you :) I'll write a post tomorrow that can involve Relina. I had one written, but decided I would prefer to take it a slightly different direction. Sorry for the delay :\

@arian If you had other plans for a new character that you wanted to interact with Relina you could do that to. I just thought it would be a good place for me to jump in!)

@amentia

Joshua had half hoped the boy had gotten lost or tried to find Relina, but after a brief pause he spotted that puppy face pushing its way through the crowds to him. His eye wandering the various stalls, he went to one and brought back two small buns filled with steaming meat. Leading them to the side of the street where they could eat without being jostled, he pushed one into Kari's hands. "Eat," he said, before taking a large bite of his own. Only when he was done with their impromptu snack did he start to talk.

"You can just call me shop keep," he said, shifting the weight of his pack on his shoulders. "What did you have in the bag there? Is that the sort of things you guys do regularly?" It'd be easiest if he could get the information out of Kari, but if not he had a fauna and flora specialist friend who would likely be able to tell him what he wanted to know. But she was a long boat ride away across the Cerulean Sea, and the quicker he could settle this the better. Otherwise, he probably could have turned him into the guards as her associate--but he wasn't the one who had dumped potentially reactive animal remains onto his wares, or recklessly asked him about the Black Market, so there hadn't been an issue.

Joshua made a quick guess at the time. He had about three quarters of an hour, until the bells tolled for noon prayer, to finish this conversation before he had to get moving onto his next appointment.

@amentia @roobiosinblue


farah -- master of extensive spy network, brothel chains. human. seems to lack any special abilities beyond a silver tongue, a photographic memory, and the amazing ability to disappear from awkward situations very quickly. olive skin, long dark brown hair (waist length). hazel eyes. slender, short, overall small and easily over looked.

ezra -- farah's protege. initially from the outer fringes of cabat, but grew up in lornia. very good memory. has an affinity for languages & communication with non-human species. tall, lightly muscled, built for speed rather than power. lighter skin hints at mixed parentage (only partially human?) dark brown eyes. either clean shaven or not, depending. wavy hair, a little on the long side, worn pushed back


Farah was the master of whispers in the central continent, and she made her home in Lornia, the busiest hub of the economic power that was Cabat. There was little of import that happened across Cabat and its neighbors that didn't find its way into her ears, and usually rather quickly. Most of the news was filtered by her experienced network of spies until only the very important gems were left for her perusal, but for Lornia, she made exceptions. One of those exceptions were any mentions of the Black Market, especially by overzealous newcomers with potentially worthwhile goods.

"The reports say the goods were damaged and subsequently destroyed, but I want you to find out for sure. Confirm, if you can, what was in there. Extend an invitation into the Black Market if you must. I'm sure if she pulls that tantrum again there will be many more than willing to put her in the ground. Do try to keep your temper, Ez. It'll be good practice for you."

And so Ezra found himself lounging in a pub by the ports, a place frequented by seamen and freelancers looking for work, and also by guards that needed to put down rowdy tavern brawls. He'd heard this 'Relina' would be looking for a new partner in crime after having ditched her puppy. If she'd been asking around, she would have been told the Spotted Whale, by the ports, would have been her best bet.

Like most of the natives, he didn't bother with a cloak for protection from the sun unless he was going to be out for an extended period of time in it. (He wasn't.) Instead he wore a loose long sleeved tunic and long pants, seemingly unperturbed by the stifling heat inside the bar. Though it was early, there was no time limit on drinking by the ports, and while not as busy as it would be later in the evening, it still boasted a good number of patrons. His seat at the table put his back to the wall and gave him a good view of the entrance, and was not immediately noticeable in return. A couple sheets of paper were spread in front of him, scrawled in code derived from the language of the eastern isles, detailing some planned assassination on the emperor there. Ez sipped at his drink as he read on, only vaguely interested in the intimacies of the situation.

It had been a while since Sahar had been to the market for non-professional reasons. While the market was always an interesting place, it was a place of moral ambiguity to say the least. Her intent was to get some herbs for her grandmother who had fallen ill. The physician told her go to the apothecary in market to get some extract of poppy to treat her. It always made her anxious whenever her grandmother got sick. The woman was old, and while death wouldn't be surprising it would surely be tragic. Sahar was raised nearly exclusively by the woman for as long as she could remember, and while they didn't agree all the time, her grandmother was the only family member Sahar was really close to.

It was a bit strange not going out in the streets in full uniform, though her shoulders enjoyed not having to bare the weight of the chain mail. Her grandmother told her that she should make sure that she was presentable like a dame truly should be. As much as she loved her grandmother, Sahar had to admit she had some antiquated views, though she did listen to her. She was in fact wearing a dress, it was the one dress that she found comfortable. However, this dress only went down to her knees and had slits on either side to make it easier for her to move. She wore a pair of loose fitting pants underneath the dress, and put on a belt that held her sword and a bag for money and other provisions.

Before she headed to the apothecary she met up with one of her friends who was currently on duty. The two had gone to the academy together, and originally were paired up together. Even though the two were great friends outside of work, they were very incompatible as partners, so they Sahar was exchanged for another guard. It was a little disappointing that they proved to be awful partners, since they really didn't see each other any more. Even now they couldn't really talk other than Sahar making it seem as if she was asking a question.

Her friend, Isra, was in fact happy to see her. Or at least her eyes seemed relatively happy, see her since they weren't allowed to express that much emotion while on duty. Their conversations generally went along the lines of 'Hello ma'am, fine weather we're having' and 'Excuse me I'm having trouble finding the baker' though both of their partners knew they were friends. Today, Isra informed her of a suspected lead to the black market.

Every guard knew that there was a black market. It was a fact that many guards didn't particularly care about it, as long as nothing illegal was happening in the common market. It always made Sahar curious, how such an elaborate network could be set up. She never really believed that it was a physical market, more that it was a series of connections that people had with one another. Either way, it was exciting to get a lead on illegal activity. The two split ways, and Sahar made sure to keep an eye out for the suspect. And if there were a physical market, it would be pretty great to take it down.

She shifted focus to get the medicine, the original purpose the trip. Turning to the apothecary, Sahar wasn't paying attention to where she was going and ended up colliding with another person. "Ah, I'm sorry!" Sahar said without getting a good view of who she ran into.

@arian @amentia

(Sorry it took so long...)

@amentia @roobiosinblue

"Well, if you think it's fair for the two of you to do only what she wants," Joshua said with a shrug. "All you've done is what she wanted, right? And now she's left you. Unless she also does this all the time, and she comes back for you every time?" He looked the other man in the eye carefully for a few moments, then exhaled and leaned against the wall, gaze turned to the sky. At least he knew for sure the pair acted for hire. Some sort of illegal trader in illegal and or rare animals, probably. Unfortunately, his knowledge of the like was limited to the sort that were known in and around Albis, and none he'd ever heard of turned into ash on impact.

"Well, where are you going to go now that she's out of the picture? Keep taking other people's animals for money? Go home, find a girl, settle down on a farm?"

He watched the woman Kari had bowled over curiously. She seemed a little too well built to be a normal member of the populace. Some sort of private security, maybe?

x x x

Ezra looked up through his lashes at the latest visitor to the Spotted Whale and knew her the moment he saw her. A bit more sunburnt than the descriptions had led him to believe, but not beyond the realms of possibility. Light skin was a curse in these lands. He lowered his gaze, keeping his face straight despite his amusement as he pondered. Eyes focused on the papers before him without seeing, it took him only a few seconds to decide on a course of action--quick thinking was a great boon in his line of business, and only time and trial and error would tell him if he'd made the right choice or not. He downed the last of his drink. Creasing his papers and tucking them into a pocket, he pushed back his chair and made his way over to the bartender.

"Another one for me and the foreign young lady yonder." Eyes glittering at a shared joke at the expense of the light-skinned strangers who came unprepared into this seat of naval trade, the bartender nodded. He accepted the papers Ez slipped discreetly his way tossed them into the hearth burning behind the bar as he walked to fetch their drinks.

Ezra walked to the table with the two mugs and slipped one in front of her with an easy smile. "Some chilled apple juice? You look like you've taken quite a beating." Taking a seat at the table, he took a deep drink of his own and sighed in satisfaction. The others were welcome to their alcohol, but even though he could hold his liquor, he preferred a clear mind.

There was something strange about the man who helped her up. He seemed nice enough, but Sahar received a strange vibe from him. Perhaps it was the fact that he was a foreigner, which always made her suspicious. It wasn't as if all the residents of Cabat were pious subjects that did no wrong, and it was wrong of her to think that this man would be blasphemous simply because he was from a different area, but she did have a hunch. Sahar kept an eye on the man as he met up with another pale faced man. It seemed that they were up to no good. Then again, maybe profiling wasn't the best way to cast suspicion on characters.

Most of the crimes committed in the market place were thefts. While there was contraband, but most of that was caught at the docks rather than the market. Sahar preferred catching people with contraband, since they were normally greedy rather than desperate. Though currently, she had not grounds to arrest them, or to even follow them any more. The stand she was heading to happened to be in the same direction as the pair of foreigners, so she could keep an eye on the two for a bit longer.

They didn't do anything suspicious, which was a bit disappointing. Some excitement would be nice, but she soon approached the apothecary to buy her medicine. She handed over the sovereigns the shop keeper asked for and put the medicine in her pouch.

@arian @amentia

@arian @amentia

That's cool, take your time! Also, do you want to make an ooc board? I find that it's generally better to organize thoughts when they aren't mixed in with the rp.

@amentia @roobiosinblue

i dont really mind! do you want one? i can do that rq