Sharn Sandbox Group 1

[unseenmage]

Having fetched the map free of the satchel as he was asked Ajar responds to Ject, "You want the map first or after you get back here?" He holds said map up in one hand whilst still pawing through the bag with the other.

Even though his hands are wet with his mucus, he doesn't seem to be soaking the contents of the bag. His secretions would seem to evaporate quickly, even if they are unpleasant at first.

He pauses his rummaging for a moment and says to no one in particular, "I am as ready as I can be. Could shop some I guess. All depends on what in the bag is good for me and Hiddow."

[The_Lowtide]

The War of the Mark, Jepetta thinks to herself. They have ruins that old here in the city, and they haven't been broken down to make more supports for the towers? Color me surprised, especcially since I swear I haven't heard of them before. That said, 250 plat and some extra on the side? Well more then enough for me to suspend my disbelief.

"I'm Jepetta Rainyday. I was expecting a casual day of study at the library, but I have everything with me that I need." Jepetta says as she rolls her shoulder to readjust the haversack she is wearing, partially because it shifted during her dash into the fight, and partially so as to unconsciously emphasize the pack itself. "I think that it would be smart to get going soon, that way... Was it Ject? Ject can break off and gather whatever he needs and we'll still be able to get started sometime soon. More likely to find survivors if we get started quick." And less of a chance of someone else dropping in and swiping everything while we're busy gadding about. "Maybe, say, an hour to gather supplies, and then we'll meet up to get going sound good? After we find out what we've been handed, of course." Jepetta asks the group, but not before she leans in over the... frog creature's head to get a look at what's in the bag.

[Kyeudo]

"Let me see the map. Since this is down in the Cogs, I can probably suggest a tavern to meet at that won't be too out of the way." As he handles the map with one hand, he's careful to keep the other hidden behind his cloak.

[sunwukong]

"I'll have to hire one of those...flying boat things to get me to Highhold and down to the Cogs in time," says Juldun, his unfamiliarity with Sharn clearly showing. "Don't know how long that'll take exactly, but an hour or two would probably be sufficient." The priest is currently unarmed and unarmored, but he has no intention of descending into Undersharn with such poor preparation.

Spoiler: OOC

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Page 36 of Sharn: City of Towers has rules on travel time within the city, though Juldun doesn't know that.

By skycoach, Highhold is a maximum of a half hour away, and it shouldn't be more than another hour to get to Cogsgate, or whatever other entrance to the Cogs is handiest.

[The_Lowtide]

"Hmm, alright then. Break off, and we'll all meet up in Cogsgate in two hours. I wanted a chance to check the Library for information concerning the ruins anyways." Jepetta says as she stands up from looking over Ajar's shoulder. She figures that anything notable in there can be divvied up later, when they regroup, and for now she wants to get some information while she can. "I'll hopefully see you all then. For now, goodbye." She then walks off down the street towards the library.

___________________________

At the Morgrave University Library, Jepetta quietly pays the fee for use of the books, flags down one of the librarians, and quickly gets to work looking up information on the ruins below, looking for its connection to the War of the Mark, its personal history, and any maps or blueprints she can get her hands on. She figures that she has about an hour to research before she needs to get going, but hopefully, with the famed historical knowledge the University Library is prized for, this will be enough time to get something useful.

[sunwukong]

Once Ject proposes a tavern to meet at, Juldun returns to his apartment in Highhold by skycoach. He straps on his armor, a suit of heavily plated mail, then grabs his shield and weapons. It's been some months since he was last in combat, but the accoutrements of war are familiar to him from many years of training. Though his armor doesn't make it the easiest movement in the world, he manages to swing his traveling pack up onto his back. He locks his apartment door, stops by the Temple to tell an attendant that he'll be in Undersharn for the next few days, then walks to a tower balcony and hails another skycoach.

[unseenmage]

Before he leaves Ajar kindly asks Juldun to hang on to the bag, "Please carry this. It's likely too heavy for Hiddow for flying. Also, I've an errand in a shadier part of the city where heavier pockets make one dead." All of this he says with a smile as though it's just another day in the life.

After waving farewell he sends Hiddow into flight and folk get to see that though ungainly on the ground, the strange white Glidewing is quite graceful on the wing.

As he flies down towards street level Ajar is somewhat torn, should he tell The Scrawler about his new enterprise or leave him blissfully out of the loop?

Of course he could just tell him that he won't be available for a few days, but he wanted too to ask about the strange cloaked man who didn't (wouldn't?) respond to being spoken to in Underspeak, though he claimed great knowledge of that place.

Ajar is distracted from his thoughts when a fat juicy bug splats across the left side of his face. He happily licks it off with his bulbous tongue and continues flying.

Spoiler

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The Scrawler is Ajar's contact with the criminal underworld of Sharn. Ajar considers him a friend even as he knows him to be a dangerous friend to have. Who better to find dangerous tricky jobs for the Grippli courier?

[Kyeudo]

Descending from the middle wards, Ject is in a relatively good mood. It seemed he had avoided trouble, gotten what he came for, and had a promising job ahead of him.
If this goes well, we won't need to pull another heist for a while.
"If this goes poorly, we won't need to pull another heist ever."
"I'm with Ject. This shouldn't be too much trouble. As long as we don't run into any of the Quiet Folk or daelkyrspawn, we should be fine."

Leaving the repurposed cargo lift that services the Upper Cogs, Ject no longer bothers trying to keep Rej covered by his cloak. Down here, he stands out more for being human than for having a symbiote attached to his arm. Much of the street traffic is made up of goblinoids - goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears - with a smattering of stranger races. In the larger tunnels, ogres, trolls, and minotaurs can be seen pushing through the crowd. Gargoyles and harpies are uncommon, preferring to roost above ground, but not unknown in the district and an unfortunate can occasionally find himself crossing paths with a hag or medusa.

The halfblood makes his way through the warren of tunnels that makes up Khyber's Gate to his apartment. The place is in one of the better parts of town, meaning that you are unlikely to get mugged by drunk ogres in the streets. You just have to stay out of the alleyways. His apartment is sparsely furnished. A table, a few chairs, a bed, all cheap wood. A small kitchen has just enough utensils to cook simple meals. The apartment isn't really important, just a place to sleep whenever he's in the city instead of down in the Depths.

The floor is wood, a small luxury some former tenant installed. Also a useful luxury. Along one wall, the floorboards can be slid loose, revealing a small hollow chipped into the stone below. It's not terribly secure - anyone dedicated will eventually find it - but it provides a little more security than just a locked door. Ject pops the boards loose, collects his pack and weapons, changes out of his better clothes, and leaves once again.

He doesn't head for the tavern though. Ject first stops off at one of the shops he uses to fence his thefts to find someone willing to do a bit of no-questions-asked spellcasting, specifically an identify spell. The amulet is obviously magical, but wearing unknown magic is a great way to end up with a curse.

[sunwukong]

In his two months in Sharn, Juldun has not yet descended into the Cogs...and he's about to go much further down. Truth be told, he's not sure what distinguishes one district from another down here, but his skycoach driver's directions lead him to the tavern rendezvous without too much difficulty.

Clad in his heavy armor, Juldun veritably stomps into the tavern. He can feel the gaze of goblinoids (and worse) watching him suspiciously, but he knows that Dol Dorn will be with him if violence breaks out. His own eyes pierce the murky darkness, searching for the tell-tale paleness of Ajar or Jepetta, the out-of-place glamerweave of Erika ir'Altan, or the particular cloaked figure (among many) that is the human known as Ject. And why does "Ject" have no clan name? Come to think of it, "Rainyday" doesn't sound like either a Karrn or an Aereni surname. It's probably fabricated. As for the frog-man, he must come from a people so remote from other tribes that they don't even bother to trace their lineage. I've never heard of his species before...

[Kyeudo]

Once Ject knows the properties of the amulet, he heads to Cogsgate to collect the rest of the team. The tavern he sent them to, a run-down place called the Broken Dagger, was unlikely to get them into trouble. The owner had no ties to House Boromar Clan or Daask and was too small to be worth fighting over. So long as they didn't insult the locals, a bar fight probably won't break out until after shift change at the factories in the Cogs.

Wearing the stolen amulet beneath his shirt and chainmail - its writhing quieted as soon as he put it on - he pays the tavern keeper five silver to let him have a table alone while he waited for "friends". Since he's outside the Cogs themselves, though just barely, he still takes care to keep Rej hidden. No sense causing a stir.

[Retrokinesis]

As Juldun and Ject enter the tavern a large hobgoblin walks away from a corner table, revealing its occupants. Erika leans backwards in a rickety chair, dented mug in hand and surrounded by various disreputable chaps. Her rifle is perched on her knees, unused. "... and it turns out the relic was a fake! So I broke it over the Bishop's head and leapt out the window. Would've drowned if not for a school of passing werebass with a fondness for shiny coins".

As they burst into racous laughter, she notices Ject's table and leaps to her feet. "Pardon me, gentlemen, but I think my new colleagues just arrived. Another round on me I think, yes?" She turns to the cloaked figure in the corner, "You want a mug or three? Worst thing I've tasted since sahuagin casserole but I'll be damned if it isn't cheap!"

[Kyeudo]

"I prefer not to be drunk in the Depths. Marinating yourself is only a good idea if you intend to show up for dinner."

[sunwukong]

Juldun sits down at Ject's table and follows his lead in refusing to drink the swill being served at the Broken Dagger. "No, but thank you for the offer," he says to Erika. The Mror dwarves are known for their fondness for strong drink, but they are known equally for having good taste.

Instead of drinking, Juldun turns to their guide and asks, "So, Ject, how well do you know your way around Undersharn, and how did you come by that knowledge?" If he's going to trust Ject with his life, he'd like to know a little bit more about the man first.

[Kyeudo]

"I live there."

[unseenmage]

His conversation with The Scrawler had not gone as planned and they parted on a sour note. Not only had the wormy little man not known anything about this Ject, Ajar had had to turn down a job offer as well. Means he'll probably just take a larger cut from the next job. 'Oh well.'

Hiding Hiddow in a high crevice about a street over from the meeting place, Ajar jumps and climbs straight down atop the meeting place. Not seeing anyone outside he ventures in.
Generally speaking he prefers foraging in the wilder, wetter places of the city. Gardens, arboretums, abandoned buildings and streets where water pipes have burst and created septic swamps.

He enters just as Ject is responding to something the dwarf had said. "Live where?", Ajar asks as he leaps across the room in zigzagging bounds before settling in at the table.

He swings his berimbau into his lap and tickles the string some before adding, "I live many places, wet places.", he smiles at this. "Well, damp at most. Finding truly comforting spots in this city tends to be smelly. And while wet is nice, smelly is... well smelly." Ajar punctuates his odoriferous joke with an off chord and grins.

"Sorry if I'm late, it looks like I'm late.", he peers around the room in an exaggerated manner visibly counting the members of their party.

[sunwukong]

Ject is proving to be extremely laconic, and so Juldun takes the liberty of responding to Ajar's question. "Our guide says that he lives in the Depths." Juldun frowns slightly. If anything, Ject's response raises more questions than it answers. He tries a different angle, "So, we have reason to believe that some of your neighbors may not be hospitable towards outsiders? I can understand that, it's only natural to defend one's home. Do you have any recommendations for how to pass through their territory peaceably? Any offerings of goodwill we could make?" Juldun suspects that navigating Undersharn may end up being more akin to a descent into the monster-infested ruins of Noldrunhold or the ancient dwarven "kingdom below" than a negotiating safe passage between the Holds of two feuding clans, but it doesn't hurt to try to avert unnecessary violence.

[Kyeudo]

The halfblood studies the map. "Most things that live in the Depths want to be left alone. As long as you don't bother them, they don't bother you unless they're hungry. Of course, we're likely to travel right through the territories of a big predator or one of the tunnel tribes unless we step carefully. The tribes are mildly more likely to trade than attack."

[sunwukong]

Juldun nods. Ject's answer is neither alarmist nor filled with bravado: a good sign that the human is actually as familiar with the Depths as he claims to be. "What do the tribes value most?" he asks. "Gold and silver? Food grown on the surface? Healing magic? I have a brand-new healing wand in my possession. We can probably spare a few expenditures for safe passage, though I'll make sure to save most of the wand's magical energy in the event that any of us receive injury." Juldun raps lightly on the table at his last words...popular superstition says that the gesture can sway Olladra's favor to prevent harm to the speaker.

[Kyeudo]

"It depends on the tribe. Some like fresh meat." He gives the dwarf a meaningful look.

[unseenmage]

Ajar nods at Ject's appraisal. "All reasons why I try not to go so deep the sunlight disappears. Exploring is fun, being dinner...", he strikes a grim but fast few chords on the berimbau, "...is not."

For the first time you get to see him use the instrument properly, it's like a bow with a gourd tacked on the back. A lute with a single string almost. He plucks the string with a stick held in the same hand as a woven grass rattle of some kind. The sounds are almost unsettling. But they become more pleasant the more you hear them.

Ajar maintains a series of low tone notes in time with the conversation as best he can. He strongly considers trying his luck at entertaining the patrons, but decides instead to pay attention to the conversation of his new companions. 'Might as well learn what I can, no sense asking extra questions later.'

To Ject, "Is it crawlspaces or high ceilings? I will to bring Hiddow regardless. It's just nice to know what's coming."

[Kyeudo]

"Really? He wants to know if he can fly his bird underground?"
"I think it's a reptile."
"Same thing."

As his symbionts argue in his head, Ject replies as best he can. "I wouldn't plan on being able to fly away from problems."

[The_Lowtide]

Jepetta hurries into the tavern, the so-called 'Broken Dagger', and takes a moment to recompose herself before she walks over. She had somehow daydreamed her way through the first shuttle down to Cogsgate, and had ended up having to wait for a later ship. The fact that she was merely this late was a testament to her own fleet feet if anything. After gaining her bearings, she hurries over to the rest of the group, just catching the last of what was being said as she steps forward.

"What's all this about flying in the tunnels now? Surely you aren't thinking about bringing your mount with you down there, are you?" Jepetta says as she sits down and orders some wine for herself. When it arrives, she takes care to nurse the drink, well aware that she doesn't have her old inability to get drunk anymore. "Cause, honestly, from what I've read of the place, those ruins aren't the sort of place to bring an animal. You see, first the Goblins built the city, then it got destroyed by the daelkyr. Then, a Human named Malleon the Razor found the ruins and built another city on top. Said city got razed by King Breggor the 1st, and rebuilt as Sharn. That city was used by the Abberents during the War of the Mark, and got razed again. Then, they built a fourth city on top of that, and that's where we live today." Jepetta says, occasionally taking the time to count off events on her fingers. "So in total, we've got three sets of ruins all mushed together, including a set that got blown up by the Abberants themselves during their last stand. the ir'Tain wasn't kidding when he said there was no telling just how dangerous all this was gonna be. So yeah, leave the mount with a friend." Jepetta tells the rest of the group, taking another sip of her wine to signal the end of her little lecture.

Inwardly, Jepetta was now thinking about Skyway in a whole new, much more paranoid light. Pattern recognition people. I can't believe they thought rebuilding in this spot a fourth time was actually a good idea. I think I need to see about setting up a way to get the heck out of this city really freaking quick if need be.

[sunwukong]

Like the Jhorash'tar orcs back home... Juldun thinks to himself as Ject tells him that some of the tribes want "fresh meat." Juldun watches Ajar playing his strange instrument-weapon for a moment, but turns his head just in time to see Jepetta enter the tavern.

Juldun nods as Jepetta outlines the history of Sharn. He's glad that the elf is a fellow student of history, but not particularly surprised: in his experience, members of the longer-lived races have a much better sense of historical perspective than humans. When Jepetta pauses to drink her wine, Juldun speaks up, "If ir'Tain's information is to be trusted, it is only the top layer of ruins that we need to traverse, those dating from the War of the Mark fifteen hundred years ago." His tone of voice suggests that he wouldn't be shocked if Kalik's information was wildly mistaken.

[unseenmage]

"I wouldn't plan on being able to fly away from problems."

... So yeah, leave the mount with a friend."

Still gently strumming, low and soft enough that the music is just for their little group, mere practice really, Ajar considers Ject's and Jepetta's words. "If the flying won't do then the climbing it must be." Then quietly to Japetta, "And Hiddow is the only friend I have, he'd be left to himself. And left to his own devices he would be caught and sold for sure."

He pauses his playing for a moment and rests his wrists on the ragged edge of the well worn table, "There is a magic object I hear of. It makes any creature climb like the spider. It is supposed to be especially good for caves. I will need one of those for Hiddow before I can leave for this journey." The way he says it, so matter of fact. You can tell he is quite serious.

He then continues practice-playing as if the matter is settled.

[sunwukong]

"By the way," Juldun says to Jepetta, "I believe that Malleon's appellation was actually 'the Reaver.'" He knows it's rather pedantic to point out her mistake, but he assumes that if she is a true historian, she will welcome the correction.

Juldun shrugs as Ajar insists that he will bring Hiddow into the tunnels. It's certainly not the environment that Balinor designed glidewings for, but who is he to argue with Ajar?

[The_Lowtide]

When Juldun corrects Jepetta, she scowls for a second, before she lightly slaps herself on the forehead with her free hand. "Right. Malleon the Reaver. I just read his name about twenty minutes ago, I can't believe I screwed that one up. Thanks, uh, it was Juldun, wasn't it?" Jepetta asks, taking her hand off her head to look at the dwarf, her thoughts racing as she does.

A historian, huh? Considering he went home while I took a trip to the library to look this up, the fact that he was able to correct me on such a small detail is very interesting indeed. Should I tell him I only remembered what I did because the original ruins belonged to the goblins, and as such might have secret lost arts of the Iron Heart? ... Naaaaaah.

[sunwukong]

"Yes, that's right," replies Juldun, "And you recounted the history of Sharn quite accurately, especially given that you had less than two hours to read up on it and get down here. Were you at the library at Morgrave? I haven't gotten the chance to go there yet, myself...I only just arrived in Sharn two months ago." Juldun shakes his head slightly at the thought...only two months, and he's already geared up for an expedition into Undersharn!

[unseenmage]

"... Were you at the library at Morgrave? I haven't gotten the chance to go there yet, myself...I only just arrived in Sharn two months ago."

"I have heard of this place called a library. Many times I deliver paper or scroll or tome to such places. It was a library-man who taught me reading. Though he said I have 'no knack for it'.", with that last bit Ajar mockingly mimics the stuffy enrobed librarian who instructed his reading lessons, pulling his shirt over his head and striking a sour chord or two as he does so.

Returning to the lighter, quieter playing, the hand-rattle becoming almost a whisper, "Too many books. More than can be read I think. One lifetime certainly wouldn't be enough. And so many languages! More than I can learn. Another lifetimes worth maybe even."

[sunwukong]

"There's a lot of books in any good library," replies Juldun. "Morgrave's library isn't nearly as big as the one at the University of Korranberg in Zilargo, but I believe it's the largest in Breland. Speaking of the countries of Khorvaire, where are you from originally, Ajar?" Juldun tactfully avoids asking where the two women are from...it's obvious from both of their accents, and he doesn't want to rekindle that animosity when they're supposed to be working together!

[unseenmage]

"...Speaking of the countries of Khorvaire, where are you from originally, Ajar?"

"Far from here, over the ocean, your people call it a jun-gul." Ajar's hands stop and fall limp in his lap, "I once lived in a place we called the Home-Tree. A great huge big strong wind came and tore the tree and my people up and destroyed them." He leans back and stares at the ceiling, "My children, my wife, my tribe all gone. Woke up on the sea, found Hiddow. Ship found me. Brought me to Sharn. No family, no home; why go back? So now I live here."

After his tale is spun Ajar sits back up, takes a deep breath and begins playing once more, this time louder and with song.
"When gone your hooome is blooown away, then wheeere you are is wheeere you stay. Where hooome is tomorrow is hard to saaay, maybe eeeven Sharn can be blooown away!"

The smile he casts around the table seems less jovial than he obviously intends it to be.