Fantasy AfterMagic (Open, started!)

[Fus ro dah]

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Saturday Morning: 10 AW (After War), 5th day of Fall. Ironfair and Tarina.


A loud, ear piercing screech echoed through the cool morning air of the capitals of Ironfair and Tarina. This sound was new and caused anyone who was already out of bed to slam their hands over their ears and stop what they were doing. Those who were sleeping were forced awake by the sound assaulting their ears. It was a rude awakening at 7am and would sound every hour until five pm, every day.


“Do not panic! We can survive without magic! The Grand Eye will lead us forward!”


Fog laid low across Ironfair this morning, the colour more grey than white due to the smokestacks that still pumped thick smoke into the air to power the remainder of the steampowered buildings in the city. The streets were getting busier with stores preparing to open and workers heading to their places of work for the day.


Tarina was quieter, people were still having breakfast at this time or just starting to. After 8:30am the city streets would pick up in activity and stores would open at 9am. The skies were clearer here, only a few smaller smokestacks from the steampower factories that would shut down in the near future.


Saturday Mid-Morning: Ironfair.


"All residents are required to go to the town square before 1pm." The loud speakers boomed over the crowd at midday, which meant loss of time worked. Shops would close as it was mandatory to attend.


A steady stream of bustling denizens of the city and visitors headed toward the town square. All the chatter was loud as the pushed their way into the large space filling the square to the brim with curious bodies. Four people, bags on their heads, their arms bound behind their backs stood silent on the gallows in the centre of the town square. Grand Eye officials stood with Lawbringers at the ready, their eyes casting across the gathering crowd. The Grand Eye members raised their hands for silence, which happened quickly.


"These criminals are to be punished as a reminder to you all!" The oldest male of the group had a loud, booming voice which carried almost effortlessly across the silenced square.


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The crowd was at first, silent, but burst into a loud enraged rabble as the four were moved forward, the shortest lifted onto a stool as the nooses were placed over their heads and tightened around their throats.


"Let this be a grim reminder that belonging to the rebel group, The Last Hope is illegal!" Two hoods were removed to reveal an adult male human and a late teen female Everedge elf, both were bruised and pale. "Also, having banned goods is also illegal!" The man boomed as the other two hoods were ripped from the heads of the doomed.


A human child, no more than eight years old was revealed. He was sobbing uncontrollably as he screamed for help, the elderly Ala'theen man beside him was the calmest of the lot, his gaze just glaring at his captors. A child had never been marched to the gallows before. With a gesture, the lever was pulled and the trapdoors flung open to leave the four to hang, their bodies jerking as their faces turned purple until they finally fell still.


The screams of those who knew the now dead were swallowed by the roaring of the crowd as they surged forwards, knocking others to the ground, pushing the guards out of the way. Fighting broke out between those who had been cheering and those that had been heckling, fists met flesh and blood spurted from split lips and torn skin. Gunshots exploded above the crowd and feet kept kicking and stepping on those knocked down.

 

[Shireling]

Dr. Winston J. Moreau watched the commotion from the top of some nearby building scaffolding, descending as he planned to make his way to his practice.


"What barbarism." He muttered, unsure himself if he was referring to the hanging or the brawl. Probably both. The well kept gentleman was approached promptly by a pickpocket as he turned the street from the Square towards his practice. The young boy bumped into him and grabbed at his wallet, a rookie mistake as it was attached to a chain. Dr. Moreau grabbed the little boy by the wrist and looked down into his dirty face.


"Those who steal often find themselves at a disadvantage in fingers." He said, and he flashed a wicked smile which prompted the boy to bolt. The good doctor laughed and pressed on until finally reaching a dilapidated storefront that read "Winston J. Moreau, M.D." He withdrew a key from his jacket and began to unlock all the locks on his door.

 

[ScarletTheatre]

Obscurion lurked in the shadows until the crowd began to dissipate. He watched the bodies swing slowly back and forth, his hatred burned. The child's lifeless eyes gazed back into his and he clutched his gun through his trench coat. The Grand Eye members were within range.


"Not yet," Obscurion hissed and then slipped away into the alley.


He walked through the smoky Ironfair streets, the smell of damp musk permeated everything. In front of him was a hooded man.


"Speak while you can," Obscurion brandished one of his knives, "Or I will start with your tongue."


"Calm yourself!" The man forcefully whispered, "Its me."


"Oh," Obscurion sheathed his blade, "And so it is. Mind explaining to me why we're having children run goods now?"


"No one mentioned this to me," the man replied


"Oh I think you knew," Obscurion drew closer, "You are getting ambitious in your pursuits now and my patience grows thin. Watch yourself, if I see any more kids with nooses around their necks you might find one around your's."


"Is that a threat?" The man hissed.


"No," Obscurion began to walk away, "Its a promise old man."


"Stop," he commanded, "There's something else."


Obsurion stopped walking


"An Artefact," the man continued, "Unlike anything we've seen since the War. It fell from the sky out in the Wastelands."


"Now I'm convinced you want to kill me," Obscurion scoffed, "Even if you're telling the truth, that's suicide!"


"No," The man shook his head, "There is a way."

 

[Fus ro dah]

His ears were ringing from the shouting and what was worse, B had been knocked down by the surging crowd and was being stepped on. Feet clumsily trampled his limbs and torso, his wings were twisted uncomfortably beneath his body as they were rubbed roughly against the damp cobblestones. His shouting for people to stop went unheard, like those of the others in his situation. The blast of gunfire halted the crowd long enough for him to scramble to his feet, bruises already forming on the more tender patches of his body. With a scowl, both at the Grand Eye members who were vanishing with their guards and at those who had trampled him, Beeluvemar spread his wings which forced people back and with a swift motion he was lifted into the air away from the ruckus. This is why I hate the cities.


He landed high upon a rooftop, where it was much, much safer to watch the crowd as they continued to rage. Several people had climbed up onto the gallows by now and were sawing the ropes, allowing the corpses to drop to the ground. Calmer now, the crowd began to dissipate slowly as several groups carried the dead from the square to bury them.

 

[northguy]

Quinn brought the match up to the cigar bit between his teeth, the tobacco lighting as he let the smoke fill his mouth. He wandered through thre crowd as he saw the strangers hang, a certain grimness coming over him. He was a business man, not a murderer like the rest. He brought the lit cigar away from his mouth as e coughed, passing through groups of people. Today, he was looking to make a sale.His business had not been as well as he had hoped it to be, trying to operate within the Grand Eye's land was a tough, yet rewarding job. He took note of the flying creature as he went through, halting in his tracks. That enough could interest him. He stopped in the crowds of people as his gaze followed up to B, taking the cigar away from his lips once more. Maybe the thing liked drugs, only he could find out.


@Fus ro dah

 

[Meredith]

Isadora


A child, a child, a child..


She had went to the executions. She had known that people would die. She had known that people would die, but she went anyways, for fear of exposing The Last Hope.


Brotheniir, one of the senior members of The Last Hope, had urged her to go.


But a child.


Unheard of. Unheard of, that's what it was, and so wrong. So wrong to kill a child. A child could do no wrong, no wrong they were not put up to, not really.


She dove down into the crowd when she heard the shots. She was being stepped on, she could feel one of the bones in her left pinkie finger cracking, bending backwards. Crying out in pain, she shielded her head with her hands. Right right go right it's a hundred feet, a hundred feet to the alley...


It took an eternity, an eternity of being under an angry crowd, an eternity to get free.


But suddenly, she could breathe. And she probably wasn't going to die from her injuries.


They'd just stopped, hadn't they, with the gunshots.


Lucky for her.


She stared at the crowd, watching something rise, rise up into the sky. Don't shoot it, too.


She held her breath, leaning against the side of the alley. She hadn't been shot, she hadn't been killed. People pushed past her, in a desperate rush to get out and leave, but the gallows still stood. A child.


Isadora shook her head, red hair swinging in front of her eyes, holding her left hand in her right. Her finger was most definitely swollen.


Too bad, really.


She watched, not willing to leave quite yet. Maybe something better could happen.

 

[Shireling]

Dr. Moreau, after laboring with the dead bolt, flipped the sign outside his shop to "Open" and went inside, shutting the door behind him. His office waiting area had a floor made of wood planks covered with an area rug. Several chairs and sofas were laid out and a phonograph sat on a table nearby. His personal desk was at the end of the room between two doors labeled "SURGERY" and "EXAMINATION."


Dr. Moreau carefully inserted a metal cylinder into the phonograph and cranked it, a soft melody filled the waiting room. The good doctor went back to his desk and lit a pipe, beginning again on the medical paper he had been writing yesterday. The rhythmic tapping of his typewriter clashed with the music.

 

[Stickdom]

In the midst of the cheering and hissing and screaming, Nadiya stood silently near the gallows, watching the corpses sway in the light breeze. She had taken a hand in capturing several of the those who now swung from their purpling chins, the human man from the Last Hope -a pitiful name for a pitiful resistance-, and the Ala'theen greyfeather, Black Market filth that he was. She had requested for them to be kept imprisoned rather than executed, she had been eager to squeeze every last mite of information from them about their doings. The Ala'theen had been particularly hard to capture, only gaining a lead on his hiding place from another, less threatening Black Market informant who sold out the bird-man for a pretty purse of coin. After all of the time and effort put into obtaining these valuable resources, the Grand Eye officials wanted to make them a spectacle for their public amusement. Such a waste.


Nadiya watched as the seething crowd broke out into a riot of blows and curses. Worthless rabble. So petty. So drab. So dirty. She pulled a large pistol from her belt, aimed in into the air above the crowd and pulled the trigger. The shots rang out, many screamed and covered their ears, others fled in terror. A powerful show of force would keep these peasants in line, they were sheep to be herded, sheared, and eventually slaughtered. "Clear the square, mewling rodents!" she yelled, gesturing for her guardsmen to form up and begin escorting any they could get their iron hands on from the area. "Resist or retaliate and I shall put the next shot through your skulls!" She began to stalk among the crowds toward the outer streets, sometimes reaching out to throw a standerby aside, several times giving the few bold enough to charge her a swift knee covered in metal delivered to their abdomen, leaving them doubled over on the ground for her soldiers to drag away. The fight was not an amusement for the moment, she was too busy observing, looking for any who seemed to be associated with the rebel groups, mentally labeling any who lingered too long or cast hateful glances at her and her men. She would investigate them further when she had the time.

 

[OceanBunny]

Krysalaria was camping outside of Ironfair, far enough away not to be involved in the city commotion but close enough that she cringed every hour when the screeching noise was heard. She spent her morning foraging and looking for things of interest in the area around where she had camped. Occasionally glancing towards the city and sighing as she knew she did not have the money to go get 'real food' inside the walls. She was sitting in a tree, eating some berries she'd found when heard the gunshots. Turning she glanced towards the city walls to the south. "I wonder whats going on there.." She wondered allowed as she curiously looked on, wishing she could see through the walls.

 

[ScarletTheatre]

Obscurion began to wash the blood from his hands, he had left the old man to rot in the alley way. He had been too angry to gut him.


"Pathetic traitor," he muttered, "What'd they pay you?" He looked over at the bag of money, "Like 30?" 30 for the life of a child. Oh no I'm sorry 30 for the feather brain, the child was a package deal" Obscurion spit.


The crimson began to dissipate in the water and stained the contents of the bowl to resemble a fine Rosè. Obsurion started to dry his hands and then paused, looking at his tinted reflection, and the stain that would never leave.


Time to pay the good doctor a visit He grabbed the coin purse.

 

[Aio]

With the crackdown from the Grand Eye Elaenera was more cautious than usual. Only going to the Black Market when she knew she could make a bargain.Though on this day she ventured more towards the center of town, keeping an eye on her "men" seeing it wasn't exactly easy for a Ala'theen to move around under the radar. She moved with a sense of grace, glaring at those who dared look her way. She wasn't exactly in a chipper mood, especially because of why there were so many people gathered here. She knew the Grand Eye was serious but she never thought they go as far to kill a child.


She looked up at the sky as a fight broke out, though no one dared come near her. As she looked up the light that shone so brightly in her eyes was blocked by a figure in the sky. She gave a small smirk as she squinted her eyes to get a better look. "Hm." She thought for a moment before looking to see what happened to the grey-winged Ala'theen. She knew even now most did not see Ala'theen in the best light. She couldn't see him but she had to find him, she owed him this much.


She decided to get a better view of the situation. Spreading her rather large crimson wings, giving them a soft flap before she shot up in the sky. Though all she could see was a horde of people, fighting for god knows what all while the Grand Eye watched. "Pathetic."She growled, though she couldn't think about it now, she was far to concerned on where the body of the old Ala'theen had gone. He deserved a proper burial, not to have his body trampled by those who had no respect for the dead.

 

[WrightyNo1]

Mitri had managed to climb to a rooftop in all of the chaos, and stood looking down at the now dissipating crowd. She had seen this kind of thing all too many times before, and there are no times where it is any better, especially now with a child.


A child, are you actually kidding me. She thought, the expression on her face contorted from calm, to fuming anger. She Looked down into alleyways, many people had hidden themselves from the gunshots down in them. She recognised one girl with red hair that she had seen before in one of the last hopes safe houses, and sighed in relief, knowing that there were a lot of people unhurt.


Mitri climbed down into one of the alleyways, she had seen enough and did not want to be seen by anyone from the Grand Eye. As she landed silently on the ground close to the red haired elf, she didn't stand, but sat with her head against the wall and closed her eyes, clutching the Jewel on her waist, her only reminder of her family, and a reminder of why she fought. @Meredith

 

[ProjectMischa]

Tara had also been present at the hanging, having been one of the people to bring in the teenage everage elf, one of the Last Hope members. She scoffed silently at the name. What a pathetic little group. Brainless, thoughtless little rabble, hateful for no reason. They didn't seem to understand that the Grand Eye did what was necessary to keep everyone in balance. Sacrifices had to be made for the collective good, Tara understood this, without the Grand Eye there was nothing but discord, riots and wars. Those who broke the law had to be punished or the law would hold no weight, that's exactly why they had these public hangings to begin with. She had hoped to question the little elf before the hanging to see if she could get any more information, but Tara doubted the girl would say anything. The elven lass was kicking and screaming to the very last moments of her life, fighting for a futile and reckless cause.


When the crowd broke out into a riot, Tara exhaled softly and shook her head. Stupid, stupid people. They were sheep, reacting to the first thing that happened and acting like everyone else. She glanced at Nadiya as her fellow officer pulled out a pistol and shot at the sky in efforts to dissipate the crowd and shouted a threat before stalking the crowds. Tara, on the other hand, watched from the gallows with narrowed eyes, keeping a close eye over the whole situation. Here, she could see more of the crowd and keep an eye out for Nadiya in case anything went south in her trek. Tara had a hand on her pistol, confident that she could easily gun down anyone who dared to attack her.


Perhaps she would join Nadiya in the fun later, but for now, she wanted an eye on everyone present simultaneously. "Clear the square!" she repeated Nadiya, speaking loudly and clearly, her voice ringing out.

 

[Shireling]

The gunshots echoed in the distance, and Dr. Moreau looked up at hearing them. That would be the sound of the riot dispersing, and likely any severely injured showing up at his office. That would take time. For now, he rat-atat-tatted on the keys of the typewriter, penning out his entry for the medical journal. With every line, a loud ding! Then he would draw back the rack with a satisfying ka-cash, kling!





On the other side of the office, the phonograph began to play a different song. A low and sad tune.


"In the evenin's when I find myself


A-dreamin'


About the time, love


When you were neayur!


I find the dying sight of you is oft appearin'


And brings back the sound of,


Yer own sweet nayum!


Sweet Adaline! My Adaline!


You're the flower of me heart,


Sweet Adaline!"





Winston cracked his knuckles and blew a plume of smoke from his pipe, humming the tune himself.

 

[Captain Hesperus]

The River was tranquil. On the surface, it appeared to be still, but none knew what currents flowed beneath the surface. River had brought his pack full of scavengings from beyond the walls of the city to find someone to trade with. He had been trailing around the merchant's district, speaking to old associates and fresh new dealers alike.


The River flowed whence it chose, cutting new streams as it wished. While he'd been discussing the value of a head-sized hoop made of brass, the call to gather in the square had boomed out and the merchant had hustled him out before he could even grab his pack, let along the valuable contents still on the counter. He had walked with the merchant to the square, watched as the four 'criminals' were executed. Whether he was angered, revolted or enthused by the deaths was unknown, for his mask and goggles resisted the efforts of all beyond them to discern his deeper thoughts. He sensed the change in the crowd, heard the growls of those angered by the callous act of the Grand Eye and so he had hauled the merchant back into the safety of a back street before the violence erupted. Even before the Grand Eye's brute squad started discharging their weapons, the two men were well on their way back to the shop.


"Such a shock.", the merchant said again, for the fourth time, "A young boy, and for something so trivial? What is the Eye thinking?"


River grunted non-committally, "So, can we come to an agreement about the hoop?"


His voice sounded harsh and grating through the filters of his mask. The merchant turned, his mortified expression still writ upon his face, but quickly twisted into an avaricious visage.


"I can go no more than eight Marks, and that's generous. I've seen items like that before and they don't sell well."


"Eight Marks?", this was less than River had been expecting, "Make it ten, Dalveris offered me twelve last month for one that was dented. I think he might offer more for a more pristine one."


"Dalveris is a fool who will one day wake up destitute!", the merchant snarled, his haggling attempt fumbling, "Very well, ten and done. And that's all because you've been a consistent dealer."


They returned to the store and as River gathered up his unsold items, the merchant counted out his money.


"There's talk in the town."


If River was interested, he didn't show it.


"The talk is that there's a Skyfallen Artefact out in the Wastelands."


The momentary pause as River was tying his pack up was all the cue the merchant needed to know he had the scavenger's interest now.


"I don't know where exactly, thus far it's just talk. Rumors amongst the merchants has it that the Black Market have an idea where it might have landed."


River pulled his pack on.


"It could be worth a handsome sum for the person who brings it back."


River nodded once, snatched up his pay and walked out of the store. Perhaps some of my old Black Market contacts would be able to hook me up with that location, he thought to himself, before slipping into the crowded district.


@Fus ro dah @ScarletTheatre

 

[ScarletTheatre]

People, sounds, steam, noise. The stench of mould and decay lingered in the dense streets. Obscurion waited for Grand Eye guards to pass him and then entered the sea of faces. Every step was greeted with the touch of someone else's shoulder or elbow.


How quickly you forget, jaded fools





He rounded another corner and came upon the office of Dr. Moreau. The distinct sound of music could be heard through the door and the smell of cheap tobacco crept out from underneath the door. Obscurion let himself in.


"Sweet Adaline! My Adaline! You're the flower of me heart, Sweet Ada-!" the photographed sputtered and died.


"Still listening to sad songs doctor?" Obscurion smirked, "You should just go outside instead, enough misery out there that we don't need to create our own."


The doctor did not reply


"I know we didn't part on good terms last time," he continued, "But I need a favour, and I'm sure you'll enjoy it in repayment for what I did. I need to die... for 11 hours."


@Shireling

 

[Meredith]

Isadora


The redhead's head turned at the movement from above, quietly observing the other woman. One from the Last Hope? She looked familiar.


Isadora raised her left hand (her dominant hand) to wave, hissing at the pain as she did so. Yeah, her pinkie was probably broken. She observed the swelling with interest, as it was a peculiar shade of pinkish-purple, and thought absently that there was no way the colour matched her hair.


Moving about two feet along the edge of the alley, her right hand found the other woman's shoulder, and she tapped it gently.


"Mitri, right?"


Her head tilted, considering the human, and she gave a slightly sad smile.


"Do you think we should go home?"


@Shay Wright

 

[Shireling]

Dr. Moreau looked up, finally. He blew a plume of smoke ponderously in the air.


"Obscurion," He said simply. "Long time no see."


He gestured to the phonograph which was now skipping and making a racket, as if asking him to take the cylinder off the needle for him.


@ScarletTheatre

 

[WrightyNo1]

Mitri opened her eyes and sighed, letting go of her Jewel with her normal hand. She glanced to Isadora and smiled sadly.


"Yeah, it's Mitri... " She replied softly to the first question.


"If I remember right, you're Isadora? I'm sorry if that's not right," she gave a slight chuckle.


Mitri considered just sitting here for a while, but she knew that Isadora had the right idea, going home right now seemed like the right thing to do.


Mitri nodded and returned a smile to Isadora.


"I think home seems like a real nice place right now," Mitri pushed herself to her feet and brushed down her back, dirt and gravel falling back to the ground.


She looked down at Isadora and held out her left hand to help her up, as she wore her metal claw on her right one, and most of the time it would be dangerous to help her up with it.


@Meredith

 

[Stickdom]

The street brawl had been broken up, most of the crowd dispersed with a few more curses and spitting of blood, while several had been lead away in iron handcuffs by the Grand Eye guards under arrest. Nadiya watched the few stragglers limp away, though a few stayed around to watch from the shadows at what would happen next, if anything.


She returned to the gallows, standing at the foot of the steps and watching the now-empty ropes swing from the wooden beam, its occupants having been carried away by those who cared enough to bury them. Atop the wooden platform stood a fellow Grand Eye officer, Tara Wyght, a comely woman about 5 years Nadiya's junior. "I commend your bravery, Tara, it takes great skill and composure to stand at the safest place in a fight and hurl insults at those who do not obey." She scoffed, her comments were obviously sharp and biting, she obviously held no love for the other woman simply because they were associates. "Tell me, from your perch up there, who started the fight, did you see?" The tone of her voice was condescending, she was not asking a question for information she already knew, she was berating her fellow officer. "How many of them were The Last Hope? How do you know? What about the Black Market? What was the key reason we executed these criminals today?" The stream of questions was unrelenting, Nadiya left not even a second before the next one followed, giving the other woman no time to respond. She hoped to overwhelm her, get her stammering and defensive, then Nadiya could properly educate her/ She climbed the stairs and stood eye to eye with Tara, steely gaze piercing into her, "Tell me, Officer Wyght, were you promoted for your ability or your body?"


@ProjectMischa

 

[ProjectMischa]

Tara remained steadfast, this was not the first time Nadiya, or any other member for that matter, tried to make her feel inferior. She met the other woman's gaze with a calculating one of her own. "You almost sound as if you needed me out there, Officer Renepthis," she replied evenly. Generally, her constant even tone had a tendency to irritate just about anyone. It was difficult to rile her up, she was almost a stoic character, to be honest. It was better to approach with clear thoughts than ones driven by anger, though she was irritated by the stupidity of those who thought ill of the Grand Eye. "I assumed you were handling things just fine, really. Surely a small riot is within your parameters, yes? Though, if you're so insistent on backup, I shall keep that in mind for the next time in case you need saving. And as far as insults are concerned, I believe you were the one covering those."


She shrugged, "You think on a small-scale at times, really. How can you get the full picture if everyone is on the ground with such a limited view? Here I could see everything and intervene as needed. Since nothing dire happened, I need not have intervened." She chuckled, "And really, if I slept my way to the top, I would have gotten a higher position, don't you think?" Tara shook her head in slight amusement, "We mustn't waste our breath arguing over petty rivalries and nuances when we have bigger things to think about. Perhaps if you saw past that, you would understand strategy and reasoning."


@Stickdom


( xD My goodness we're having a cat-fight, huh? xD )

 

[Fus ro dah]

So now the town square was quiet again. An uneasy peace had settled in the air as the quiet sounds of those in mourning faded quickly. The four bodies had been accounted for, the Ala'theen man's was on his way back to his homeland for burial. The black-winged man on the roof was gone as well, heading to one of the underground bars to get a drink to wash away the memory of what he'd just witnessed. Alcohol was another thing the Grand Eye didn't tolerate, except for special occasions when you needed to apply for a license to serve booze. A few underground pubs and bars had sprung up in both capitals, offering alcohol at a not so cheap price; but in the end it was still cheaper than a license.


"Maur." He let the door swing closed behind him as he nodded at the greying human man who ran this particular bar. It was still new and Maury still hadn't named the place. "You saw what happened in the square, you know what I need."


"Yeah, you and everyone else here." Of course, everyone else here was only a handful of people. "Whiskey?"


"Please, on the rocks." He slid onto one of the rather comfy stools and slid some coin over the counter, taking the drink and sipping at the chilled booze. "A human kid, eh? They're really asking for trouble if they keep that up."


"Tch, tell me about it." The man looked extremely troubled. "Scared the hell outta me, that could have been one of my kids, B. Not that we'd let them have banned stuff, but kids have a way of finding things, y'know?"


The Ala'theen nodded and sighed. "Wouldn't know, don't want kids, but I know what you're saying. I've never seen the crowd riot like that, I'm amazed they shot into the air and not the crowd."

 

[OceanBunny]

Krysalaria hoped down from her perch and moved back to her campsite. Rummaging through her bag, she sighed as she went over the knick knacks and baubles she'd found on her travels, not seeing how she'd get much for the trinkets. I need a good find.. Something that'll hold me over for a while.. She thought as she toyed with a silver chain that held a small ring. I wonder what the story behind this ring is.. Maybe some girl is missing it a lot.. She sighed, leaning back on her elbows and looking up at the sky.

 

[Captain Hesperus]

The River moves from high places to low. The scavenger travelled through the old capital, drifting through bazaars and market halls looking for the right signs indicating where the Black Market was currently located. The Grand Eye's spies were everywhere and places like the Black Market were prime targets for the oppressive government's agents to root out dealers of artefacts and curios of the time before magic was lost. Thus the Black Market moved. It's traders were faceless, nameless, their stalls had no signs, nor did they call out to passers-by to view their wares. The Black Market often established itself in those areas of the city that were downright dangerous, even for the Grand Eye's most fearsome harriers, where cut-throats and murderers thronged in ravaging packs and preyed upon any who didn't know the secret signs of the Black Market.


The River is all-knowing, yet retains its secrets. He paused against a corner of a ramshackle domicile, ostensibly to shake a rock from his boot. In truth he was interpreting the small sigil carved into the grime on the corner of the wall. It indicated that the Black Market, the location he sought, was in the confluence of several major flood sewers just beneath his feet. He just needed to locate the correct drain cover to descend. He stiffened as he heard movement behind him, the gentle hiss of steel on steel. A blade drawn. With calm ease, he turned to be confronted by four wiry hooded men, each gripping wickedly curved daggers reversed in both hands. He stooped and withdrew his own knife, then drew a symbol into the dirt and dust of the road. It was a curling, sweeping symbol, bisected by a single bold stroke. One of the murderers, the leader, nodded then indicated with his right hand knife.


"Look for the drain with three chips taken from the cover edge. All the others are either trapped or alarmed.", he hissed through the fabric mask hiding his features.


"This one thanks you and advises you that the Grand Eye's pet dogs are sniffing about, looking for things to fight, eat or fuck.", Esteban replied, "Many pretty baubles on those mongrels, for the one who guts them and leaves their entrails for the ravens and the rats."


"We know our job, Solitaire, just as you know yours. Be on your way before our restraint tires and we wet our blades in your lifeblood."


"This one departs, bidding you good hunting.", he replied, turning his back on the quartet of killers and seeking out the entrance to the Black Market. Gods save those who should fall into the hands of those four. River had seen brutal murder in their cold, dead eyes.

 

[ScarletTheatre]

Obscurion walked over to the phonograph and adjusted the spindle. It began to play to play normally.


"As I was saying," He began again, "I need to die for 11 hours. I know you the materials needed to simulate death and I want them. I can pay if you need me to."


@Shireling