Pollonium IC

[Feirgon]

On the road to Pollonium, Chandara had not been in want for company. The many roads leading to and from the great city were heavily traveled, maintained, and patrolled.

On her last night on the road, she could see the highest points of the city on the horizon. And as she traveled that last day, she got to slowly take in the majesty of Pollonium and is filled more and more of her vision.

Upon arriving at the gate Chandara noticed two different gates. The larger gate looked to have people passing in and out of it some with wagons and others carrying very little. The smaller gate had a long line in front of it with a table at the end. This line looked to have families and large carts filled to the brim with odds and ends.

If she had to hazard a guess, Chandara would guess that the smaller gate was for those who wished to claim residency here within the city.

[WindStruck]

Chandara peered at each of the gates, pulling the brim of her hood down a bit. As if that would hide the color of her arms, her legs, her face, her hair, or the red of her eyes when someone inevitably spoke to her...

Well, smaller immigration gate it is.

Honestly? She was nervous. Panicked thoughts were running in and out of her mind: many what-if scenarios and all manner of things going horribly wrong. What if they didn't let her in the city? What if they tried to arrest her instead? She tried to keep cool, resolving each of these imaginary situations. It seemed many times the solutions to these problems was merely "run away". What a disgrace.

In any event, Chandara's legs were tired, and her back was killing her. All the traveling she had done left her feeling pretty tired, and now she just noticed that all this worry was making her legs wobble too. As she made her way toward the line as inconspicuously as possible, she stole a few glances around, hoping to find some place to rest first.

She just might have to take some time to rest and collect her thoughts, even if it meant not being in the line. Still, as she mulled over her options if this didn't work out, she knew she could never go back...

[Feirgon]

Chandara doesn't see a specific spot to sit and gather her thoughts. It seems the line moves just slow enough to allow people to sit and rest while waiting. Perhaps she could go over what she has in her possessions as she waits for the line to move.

Spoiler

Show

Please feel free to add a few extra household and craftsmen tools to your pack/cart/however you packed up your stuff.

[WindStruck]

Chandara sighed inaudibly and got in the back of the line. It seemed perhaps just taking her pack off and getting what rest she could with it on the ground would have to do.

Sifting through her meager possessions, there really wasn't much when one thought about it. The bedroll clung awkwardly along the outside, rolled up with a blanket. Inside her pack, it seemed that the majority of the bulk consisted of her spell book, her jeweler's tools, and an extra set of clothes*. Tucked carefully inside the set were two velvet pouches: one containing a golden ring set with faceted gems and a decently-sized diamond, the other an eye loop* which could magnify the view of something greater than tenfold.

Aside from that, some extra food and water, flint and steel, a tinder box, a small paring knife*...

She really didn't have much. A mount of some kind might have been nice, but that raiding party didn't have anything suitable for actual riding. Or at least, for an unskilled rider such as herself. Besides that, they would have probably noticed and been able to track her. And unfortunately on the surface, any sort of horse or pony was worth more than the gold she had...

Chandara carefully organized everything in her pack once more and scooched up as the line slowly crawled forward. Well, so far no one was making a fuss. That was good...

Spoiler: ooc

Show

The items I took were mostly for traveling light and getting along on the road between stops. Other than that, Chandara mostly only had some money. Due to weight constraints, household items are completely out of the question. However, she should easily be able to get some when in town.

[Feirgon]

The line moved steadily but slowly. Each person seemed to have to fill out some paperwork and the guards looked through each person's possessions. After a couple hours, Chandara found herself at the front of the line.

The guard in charged looked her up and down. "A drow, eh? We don't see you kind too often around here. But, you should find that Pollonium doesn't care much about what you are or where you are from."

He then eyes the pack on her back. "Is that all you have? You realize that this is the line to purchase permanent residency within the city, yes?"

[WindStruck]

Chandara looks at the guard for a moment, distracted by the fact that he said 'purchase' and then spoke of her belongings. Well, of course they would try tolling her. But for how much?

In a flash of insight, however, she realizes the true motivation behind the guard's question. She nods and says, "Yes, it is all I have." Her common was a little slow, but her vocabulary wasn't bad. "When your own kind would hunt you down for abandoning their ways, it's impossible to leave with all your possessions."

Chandara really didn't want to get into the story of her life and how Drow society worked, though. She changed the subject and said, "I do have gold, however. How much is your fee?"

[Feirgon]

"Fee?"

The head guard shares a glance with a nearby guard. He then clears his throat.

"I'm going to go on a limb and say that you are probably not able to afford to purchase a home within these walls. However, I am guessing you came here to ply some type of trade.

If so, you may wish to speak with one of the three major guilds. If they accept you, you may be able to find a place to live and work."

The guard then hands Chandara a small pamphlet with a small bit of information on the three guilds before urging her toward into the city walls and calling over the next person in line.

However, as she begins to step away he says to her, "Vagrancy is not tolerated in these walls. If no guild is willing to accept you, then I suggest you find an inn."

As Chandara enters the gate, she is greeted to the cacophony of the busiest city in the world.

[WindStruck]

Well that was a waste of time waiting around for two hours...

Chandara sighs, much louder than before, but the sound was utterly muffled by the bustling city. She then perused the pamphlet multiple times. Well, at least she got this helpful information from the guard. So apparently, as the guard had said, there were these three guilds she would need to join...

The guild of trade seemed like something that would take the least expertise in a skill or craft... but it was also probably the most ruthless, cunning, and cutthroat of all of them. It would be a whole lot of scheming Chandara just didn't want to do. Also, of course, one would need to be quite knowledgeable about the city, know trade partners, and have contacts... she had none of this. This silly, ignorant drow even botched up walking through the city walls. Her confidence in the guild of trade was severely lacking.

The next guild was magic. Even though she surmised the vast majority of these commoners here did not know how to manipulate magic, she knew that she herself was barely out of apprenticehood. How would this guild pan out? Though it was definitely quite profitable, Chandara had an uneasy feeling about it which lingered from her own mage academy where she was expelled from. All the extortion and bullying...

The last guild was Crafter's guild. While it probably had the least potential for profit of all the other guilds, and probably housed the most members too, it was something she felt she could do. After all, her father was a jeweler and she picked up the trade by his side. She knew what she was doing. But still...

Unable to decide between the magic and crafter's guild, she decided to visit whichever one was the closest and inquire about it.

If the information about the city layout or how to find the guilds is not on the pamphlet, she asks the next guard she sees for directions.