Fantasy World Creations

[spoiler]If anyone else wants to join this is the time to run up to the group before they leave.[/spoiler]
Once you  have all prepared for the journey ahead and gathered the group. The ship sets sail the next day from the harbor and began the long journey along the southern coast. The seas were relatively calm the week or so ship ride, but it was far from comfortable journey. To call the ship cramped was the understatement of the year It appears as if Reginald had chartered the group a rather small cargo vessel to make the trip. It was crammed with all kinds of goods on board and made barely enough room for the four of you and the crew. What's worse the smell of fish in the open sun quickly permeated everything you owned. For the first few days until you crossed some border or another they even had kept you all downstairs in the hold for some reason or another.

Any time you ask any questions about the crew's activities they avoid your questions at all costs giving you a slightly uneasy feeling. What some might find humorous they even have to stuff Kin in a barrel of fish when he left the hold unannounced. Despite his yelling they refused to explain why though he still couldn't get the oil out of his hair.

Finally after the week of travel you all pull sluggishly into the harbor in the middle of the market rush where people easily get lost and are unceremoniously dumped before the ship disappears. You are thrown off so quickly that you are not even sure that you were able to collect all of your things on time.

[spoiler]Roll 1d20

on a 1-5 you lost one thing from your inventory
roll a with the number of items and that is the thing you lost.

1 being your weapon

[/spoiler]

The market stalls that line the docks are loud as the endless number of shoppers jocky for positions. Screaming and waving money you are assaulted by two things. The brilliant colors of the stalls and people from royal blues and bright yellows of the veiled peoples, and the other thing everyone notices is the burning sun that would be a killer if not for the ocean breeze. It's time to start exploring the city known as the Azure Jewel of the empire. If you manage to look around a little it looks like there is a main road into some kind of square into the distance, as well as a number of side alleyways where you could turn off into.

[blockquote]Rolled 1d20 : 8, total 8[/blockquote]

[blockquote]Rolled 1d20 : 11, total 11[/blockquote]

... This was not desert! This was open water! What if the ship capsized! They would all drown. Even if Callista was lucky enough to escape and fly before the ship sank, she would not be able to rescue her friends because she simply could not swim. As the boat continued on through fairly calm waters, the faerie's worries dissipated. Soon enough, she was exploring every nook and cranny of the boat, making sure to avoid getting too close to the railing.

For some reason, the crew told the whole group they had to stay below. Curious as to why, the faerie went invisible and snuck out. She thought it was hysterical that the short man had been unable to avoid recapture and was stuffed into the barrel of fish.

"Hey! You can't just toss people like that!" Callista shouted, flying up above the crowd to toss her tiny fists at the ship as it sailed away. They hadn't even warned the party that they were approaching land! How did the party even know that they were at their target destination instead of some random place?! Not to mention, she barely had enough time to make sure she had all of her stuff. Luckily, she had most of her stuff in her bag of holding, so that was easy to grab.

Giving up on the ship, the faerie realized one very important thing. It was hot. Very hot. Why was it so hot? This must be the wrong place, all the desserts that make up a desert would melt away in this heat. Turning to her guild mates, Callista spoke up. "Guys! Those people are liars! This can't be the desert! Its too hot and all the yummy desserts would melt away! The ice cream capped cake mountains would be all soggy and gross!"

"Oh! Look at all the pretty colors!" She suddenly noticed the scene before her. "WOW!" Maybe they had special desserts here, that didn't melt in the heat! And they used special dessert-like fruits to make the beautiful colors all around! She had to redefine her idea of a desert, taking out things like the ice cream and pudding. Chocolate rivers still made sense, since chocolate melted in warm temperatures. That meant all their rivers and ponds and lakes had to be chocolate! Except for the ocean they had just sailed in from. That was still salty water.

[spoiler=For when she explores the ship.]Stealth: [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+13 : 3 + 13, total 16[/blockquote]
Disguise (If needed): [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+8 : 4 + 8, total 12[/blockquote]
Perception: [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+5 : 7 + 5, total 12[/blockquote]

[spoiler=...did she grab everything?][blockquote]...surely she grabbed everything belonging to her... right? 1d20 : 8, total 8[/blockquote][/spoiler]

[spoiler=Losing stuff?][blockquote]Rolled 1d20 : 10, total 10[/blockquote][/spoiler]

As you all collect your things from where you were unceremoniously dumped on the dock you notice that most of the locals don't even seem to look in your direction. They are to busy shopping or call out for service to pay you any mind. Those that do have to cross your path make a point of giving you a wide berth, and avoid eye contact at all cost. You notice however that a man that stands a full head higher then the crowd seems to be making his way towards you. The crowd parted way for him like they did for you,

He was a near bear of a man and if he didn't look human you'd swear he must have some kind of outsider blood in him. He stopped on fron of you with his arms crossed in front of his massive chest. Tribal tattoos of some variety scrawl across his entire form, which gave him an almost feral appearance. His black hair is buzzed close to his scalp   in the same patterns as those on his body which maid his fiery red eyes even more apparent. His tanned skin was completely bare except for the thin cotton woven vest, and  that highlighted his physique. As he drew closer he simply quirked an eyebrow.

He otherwise had no other weapon aside from a crystal pendant sitting between his pecks shaped something like a sun.

"Papers." He had a gravely baritone voice that boomed as he looked at you expectantly. 

QuoteRecovered after site crash. I'll do the formatting later....maybe. Haha.

Alti's post

She slightly nudged Kin forward as they were asked for papers.

Taty was covered from head to toe. She had newly purchased flowing sky blue with gold brocqued in thick laces around the wrists and along the hem. Her hair was pulled back and held bound by a net, she wore none of the jewelry that she had back the guild hall. She had barely managed to grab all her belongings before being nearly pushed off the boat. As it turned out, she had things in order and was guffawing at the statements that were coming out of the faeries mouth. She couldn't even believe that a creature such as Callista would think such a thing.

She looked around at the city before her, it was as Callista stated, breathtaking. The view of the city, even from the docks, was impressive to say the least. And the there was a lot of foot traffic.

She breathed deeply of the arid salt air. "Wow is right little one. This place is even more beautiful than I imagined." 

Tatyanna waited for Kin to proceed while plucking at the brass buckle on the pouch that held her prized harrowing cards. She wanted to get lost in the city, and take everything in. There must be exotic wares merchants abound, to haggle with. She would have to find something of craft here from the jewelry merchants here, a small trinket to commemorate the visit. Before she left of course.

Linwelin's post

At Tatyanna's nudge, Kin was snapped out of his shock over a giant asking for their paperwork. He had almost been ready to pull out his sword in defense had it not spoken common. "...Right...papers..." Kin dug out the appropriate paperwork, stretching his utmost to reach the giant's outstretched hand. He had to bend over anyways. Why was I the one with the paperwork? You know, the short guy? bah, whatever. He thought, and muttered, to himself.

He took the moment that the giant looked over their documents to tear his gaze from him to the rest of the town. "...Huh, not bad." He 'praised' as his eyes wandered over the shops. There were still no weapon stalls in sight, so only the colors really struck him. He was certainly glad he'd purchased that crystal, though. He could hardly feel the heat, and looking to Anastasia he noticed the same. Her eyes also seemed to be observing a little more than usual, in obvious fascination. Well, that was fair, it was probably the first time she'd seen anything like this.

Not that it wasn't Kin's first time, but he had been in a desert before, so around half the awe was missing compared to the others. If there was one thing that Kin knew about busy streets like these, though, it was to watch his valuables. Pickpocketing was a common occurrence in markets like these, and being far from home, he didn't want to suffer from it.

Anastasia's post:

The little girl didn't have many possessions, except for the things that she wore, at the very least, when they were quickly hustled off the boat, Anastasia managed to keep track of her things, following just slightly behind Kin.

She wondered what Callista meant about ice cream capped cake mountains, and she couldn't help but be curious if there was really some sort of mountain just as Callista described. Her eyes looked towards the fairy, her eyes questioning and pleading.

I hope Callista shares when she finds it. Anastasia thought.

Eyes filled with awe and wonder, Anastasia continued to peer out from behind Kin, soaking up as much of the port she was able to. Determined to find out more about this new land through her eyes.

Perception roll of 18

Mysticsage's post

Both Kin and Ana are looking around the crowd for anything that might catch their attention however, you both keep getting distracted by the mammoth standing in front of you both. He flips through the papers you have given him and stops for a split second longer on one rather then all the others. He frowns slightly before the look completely disappears back behind his stern mask. Because of your height and that you were not looking to study him specifically, but mostly the crowd, the two of you were unable to tell what piece of the packet he was looking at leaving you both to only speculate as to what he could have noticed.

As for the crowd, the general flow seemed to be following some kind of small canal of fresh water no more then five or six feet across that led from somewhere deeper in the city to the sea. The throngs of people seemed to be heading down the bisected main through fair to some location. Based off of how much fresh water they were simply throwing away you could only imagine where it was all coming from. Otherwise everything seemed peaceful, busy yes but peaceful.

There were seemingly a number of smaller side streets that you could also choose to head down if the crowd becomes to much.

---

"Here, Everything seems in order." said the man after a few moments squatting down to hand back Kin the papers. "Stay out of trouble outsiders and conclude your business quickly otherwise your papers will expire then you'll have a problem."

Linwelin's post:

"Callista, that's what we've been saying. It's a 'desert', which has nothing in common with 'dessert'. A desert is a barren area where little grows and water is scarce. I'm not saying there AREN'T sweets here, but it's no candy land." Kin says with exasperation, still surprised someone would confuse the two. "Though with all that about 'water being scarce', you'd think it wouldn't be so plentiful...is it magical like my mug?" It certainly surprised the halfling that water wasn't treated as a precious commodity here. Suspicious.

A moment later, once offered, Kin snatches the papers back, absent-minded for a second. With a crowd like this, I'll need to keep a good hold of Ana. Wouldn't be good to lose her here...maybe sit her on my shoulders?

The halfling finally realized the big guy had actually SAID something. "Ah, yea, we'll be quick. But so I know, how long have we got with this papers? Want to make sure everything checks out." He looks up inquisitively. "And where should we be going for our business, I've not been here before."

"Eh?!" Callista cried. "What do you mean they have nothing in common?!" It was obvious she had ignored your previous attempts to correct her thinking. "The way you say it, it sounds like the same thing! And you can have a barren sweets land! It just won't have lollipops and stuff. A true dessert desert wouldn't have water, anyways, it would have melted chocolate! Maybe its actually melted chocolate ice cream from the cake mountains! I bet these people are just hiding it for themselves behind all their colorfulness! What do you think, Ana?"

The faerie turned her attention to the girl, flying low so Anastasia could look at her more easily. "You think we should find where they are hiding the sweet foods?"

All this time, it seemed as though the dark-skinned, leaf-clad faerie was so lost in her own world that she had not noticed the brute of a man walk up demanding papers, file through them, and act all tough. This assumption, however, would be false, if only partially. Immediately after King asked where they should go, Callista flew up to the guy's face.

"And where are you hiding the desserts?! I came here for desserts!"

The man simply raised a quizzical eyebrow at the halflings question, but made no comment other then, "It says on your own papers that you are to leave the country in a fortnight on a ship named the HS Leviathian." He seems to pause on the ships name for a moment,

At that moment a lean boy maybe the age of 19 or so dressed similarly to the giant with red hair runs up to the group and addresses the other man with a salute, "Captain Galus, we have a situation that needs your attention back at headquarters!"

Galus captain Of the city guards, simply nods at the boy, "I'll be right there." He seems to look down at your group for a moment obviously struggling with the wether he should detain you further. However seeing the look on his subordinates face he seems to think better of it.

"I trust you foreigners know what  you are doing ." He said making a decelaritive state that also functioned as a non to sudtle threat of, "if you make trouble I'll hunt you down" as he turns and leaves with the other man.

The man did not seem to so much as flinch as the three inch tall faerie suddenly flew in front of his face. In fact, it seemed as though he had not noticed her at all, for he continued talking only to Kin and the others. What?! She wasn't in invisible mode right now, was she?! Quickly, she looked at her hands. She could see them just fine. Kind has seen her just fine not long ago, could he still see her? WAIT. The guy hadn't even noticed her speaking! Could she still be heard?! Was she winking out of existence now in this moment of cruelty, lost in a world of deception, without all those precious sweets?

"Noooooooo!" Callista cried, flying up to Kin and tugging on his hair. "Kin! Kin! Can you see me?! Can you hear me?! I'm not invisible, right?! I'm not transparent or winking out of existence?"

The little girl watched as Callista came up to Kin, asking him if she was invisible. She was more comfortable with the fairy than other guild members. For one, she was small like her, if not smaller, and unlike some other guild members who towered above the rest, she at least felt more calm around the fairy.

"I can see you." Anastasia said softly eyeing the excitable fairy, nodding in agreement to her question. The little girl then turned her attention to the red-headed giant. She didn't like how he was so large, and the tone of his voice in his last words. Anastasia decided then that she didn't like the man. When he proceeded to start turning away from them, Anastasia decided too that she didn't care what sort of trouble seemed to worry the man either!

But there was something he was forgetting, and it was something Anastasia was also curious about.

"Desserts..."

As the man ran away for his own business, Kin grunted in frustration. "That damned oaf never said where we were supposed to go!" As the halfling gritted his teeth, he suddenly felt a tugging on his hair. "Gah! What the-" The fairy was frantic, something about being invisible. "No, you're not invisible, just as Ana here said, why would you think that?" He recalled that the giant straight-up ignored her, "Oh, him? No, he just ignored you. Possibly not even on purpose. For such a high-ranking guard, he really lacks attention to detail and listening skills. Now would you stop yanking on my hair!?" Kin said as he waved his hand toward the fairy.

"Now then, where to go...maybe I should actually read through these papers?" Kin quickly began skimming through the stack, hoping to find anything odd or important, as well as where they were supposed to obtain the cargo.

Quote[blockquote]Perception for reading through the documents:  1d20+12 : 6 + 12, total 18[/blockquote]

Kin noticed that there were no real further instructions given within the papers, no map of the city, no names of people or places. The only thing that stands out aside from the travel papers that allowed you to be in the empire for a week, was:

A letter addressed to the captain of the Leviathan sealed with wax

A single charcoal sketch of an intricate lotus flower design.

And a signed customed note from the Shadar internal affairs for some unspecified amount of cargo to leave the country with the group.


Otherwise all that Kin is able to remember is all the way back at the guild house before the journey began was that their employer mentioned some kind of meeting at the Dancing Winds Tavern somewhere in town. But without making note of the exact time frame of the meeting Kin was now at a loss except for the fact that someone was to appear some time within the week to give them their cargo. For all he knew they may be waiting at the tavern now for them to arrive without remembering the exact details of what their employer had told them days before.

The frustration Kin felt was apparent and it made Anastasia feel uncomfortable. It was very easy to impart thoughts and feelings through the link she shared with Kin, and over the last few weeks, she had realized that Kin spoke frequently and often, without holding back much of anything. In some ways she wished she could do the same, for even if she had some thoughts she wanted spoken, she would end up holding it in, not quite sure of what words to use.

She glanced towards Callista momentarily, then tugged on Kin's shirt a couple times.

"Where are the desserts?" She asked quietly.

Oh, good. Relief swept through her. She had heard of faeries winking out of existence before, but both Ana and Kin said she was fine. Sighing with relief, Callista plopped herself down on Kin's head.

"Phew, I thought I was a gonner before I even got to see the dessert."

While Kin searched through the paperwork once again, Callista watched the scene around her again, wondering once again where the desserts were being kept hidden. As she let her eyes wander, they paused on a heavily decorated building. Now, in a place like this, there were two places that such wonderful things would be kept. One option was underground, hidden from view from most of the world and kept cool from the hot sun. The second place... well, it had to be that beautifully decorated place. It just had to!

"I know where they're hidden!" The faerie suddenly shouted, replying to Anastasia's quiet question. Hopping from Kin's head, she flew to the ground and transformed herself to her full size. "This way!" She called after grabbing Ana's hand to lead her off towards the pretty building. "Come on, Kin! Lets go eat dessert!"

Kin sighed. The only hint he had was to find some sort of tavern. In this giant, bustling, desert town. "Even the simplest task is never easy in contract work, is it? Alright guys, let's go find that "Dancing Winds" tavern the guy mentioned- What? Desserts? I told you already, this is a 'desert'. It's a sand-filled place. Though we'll find something good to eat in a little while- Hey, what the!? Callista! WAIT! Argh! I didn't sign up for being a damned sitter!" Kin had reached out toward the duo as they ran off. He could feel a mix of joy and panic coming from Ana, which was expected whenever she was dragged from his side to do something that interested her.

Kin growled in frustration as he ran after them. "The least that flying midget could do is find the tavern with her scouting abilities instead of eating sweets. Nine hells...!" And so the halfling sprinted after them, keeping his eyes glued to them so he didn't lose track in the crowds.

[spoiler=Check...?]I'm assuming I can take 10 to keep an eye on them, thus getting a 22 perception.

If not, then I'll roll, but I'll also keep an eye out for that tavern.

[blockquote]Perception:  1d20+12 : 7 + 12, total 19[/blockquote][/spoiler]

[spoiler][blockquote]Perception to notice the desserts... 1d20 : 8, total 8[/blockquote][/spoiler]

Callista suddenly fell to the ground, with Anastasia in tow.  When they looked up, it seemed like the little girls had taken the least of the damage, as Aion was flat on his back, sprawled out as if he had been hit by a cart. The Shaman stirred, using a nearby post to prop himself up slowly. When he did, he reached a hand down to help the two of them up, but he didn't provide much assistance in terms of strength.  "Ugh... sorry. I wasn't paying attention. Trying to find my way around this... city has been..."

There was sudden realization on his face.

"Do I know you? You all look familiar." He responded warmly, ignoring the previous fall as he pocketed a map he'd been holding moments before. By the looks of things he'd been reading it upside down. Aion didn't seem to quiet realize they were fellow guild members, but they would recognize him.

Anastasia stared at the man almost blankly. Out of habit, she began to shuffle in closer behind Callista, and peered out at the man who was on the flat of his back. She was never really comfortable around big people, but to her credit she did manage to nod.

"The guild." She finally said. She recognized him, as much as she recognized everything and everyone else she had seen in the guild - even if they appeared only once for a brief visit to check the mission boards. To Anastasia it wasn't some special skill or trick, it was because she simply remembers.

Kin finally caught up, only to see that the two girls were confronted by a stranger. However, just before he drew his sword to defend them from the man, it clicked. "Ah!" Kin pointed at the man. "You! You even asked to come with us, but didn't even show up at the boat!"

The halfling walked up to make sure Ana and Callista were alright before addressing the man once more. "Where were you? And how did you even get to this continent?" The man was already mysterious when Kin had first met him, but now he was extremely suspicious.

But at this point, he really didn't care. Having finally caught up, Kin clasped both of the girls on their shoulders. "You two..." It seemed like he was about to be angry, but Kin actually had a plan. It was obvious that they wouldn't give up on the food. Thus, Kin would lead them to it. "I heard that this place called the 'Dancing Winds Tavern' has some sweets! Help me find it."

Quote[blockquote]Bluff:  1d20+6 : 15 + 6, total 21[/blockquote]

"Ow!" Callista squeaked before instinctively rubbing her head. With her eyes set on the pretty building, Callista had not noticed that she had been about to run head first into the man until it was too late. She was not hurt enough to really warrant rubbing her head as though it were in pain. In fact, her butt was in more pain, having been the slight cushion when she fell backwards. Oh! But Ana was behind her! Quickly, the faerie twisted around to make sure the girl was okay. It appeared she was fine, considering she merely stared at the man rather than expressing any sort of pain.

Callista rose, the thought of brushing the dust off of her faerie clothing never crossing her mind as she turned to help her companion up. The man was speaking to them now, asking if he knew them because they looked familiar. He looked vaguely familiar to her, too... But then, were were a lot of white-haired males in the guild, so he could be any one of them. She had also seen a lot of people since joining the guild, being a busy-body who liked to stalk random people just for the heck of it. Was he one of her studies?

"I'm Callista!" She introduced herself. Since he didn't remember who she was, she might as well introduce herself, right? "What was that paper thing? Do you know where the desserts are hidden?"

Not long after, Kin's voice could be heard. Man, he was slow. He seemed to remember more about the guy than they did, though. She guessed she would let him do the talking, then. This guy didn't seem to know where the desserts were anymore than they did. While they talked, Callista decided to peer around again, just in case she could spot another place in which they might hide the desserts besides the pretty building.

All of a sudden, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She acted upon impulse, turned her had and licking the hand without a second thought. A huge grin spread across her face and she immediately started to shift into her smaller form to more easily escape whatever the halfling might do in return. "You taste funny."

"Oh! The Dancing Winds Tavern?! I've heard of that place!" Callista called before pausing. She had heard of it, but she could not remember where she had heard it from. She was pretty sure she had never been there before, so where...? 'Eh, whatever.' Flying higher up, the faerie looked around for a place that might be a Dancing Winds Tavern. If they had the desserts, then they had the desserts. She would find that place for sure.

[spoiler=Perception!][blockquote]Rolled 1d20+6 : 12 + 6, total 18[/blockquote][/spoiler]

Aion slid into the group seamlessly, not missing a beat after his initial fall. As he walked close to Kin, he rolled up his map and shook it at Callista. "There aren't many good Desserts here. I've been to every restaurant in town and most of what they do are these... vegetarian dishes with cactus'. I could make better desserts myself, like a nice Crème Brûlée. Or even a Crepe Cake!" He got halfway lost in thought, thinking about all the desserts he could make, and the ones he wanted to try making that he didn't even notice Callista shrink in size before Ana reminded him where he knew them from.

Aion's face lit up a bit. "Oh! Guild comrades! I was... um... Oh, hi Kin..." Then his face slid down, slowly transforming from the joyous smile to a dodgy look of shame. His steps slowed a bit and when Kin scolded him as he followed around. Eventually he looked up again. "I... Joined a different Shadar mission and did it... all alone..." If it was possible, his tone swung even lower and more depressed then before. "...But good news is I did it. Those bandits won't be bothering anybody anymore." The swordsman said with a little surge or pride, clearly wanting his new friends to ask him about the mission, even though it was pretty simple. He just convinced the Bandits to stop robbing people at knife point and join a Mercenary band. It wasn't optimal, but now whenever they swung their swords around it'd at least be legal.

Kin was now jealous. While he was stuck in a fish barrel on a ship, this man went about coming to the continent on his own, and got a job done on top of it! The heat wasn't making the smell any better. "...Good for you. And them, I guess. Anyways, let's go find that tavern! And hopefully a bath of some sort, if that's even possible here. I need it." He then spun around to the excitable fairy once more to tell her not to run off randomly any longer, but she was already gone. "Where the- oh." He looked up to see the fairy at work scouting. "Finally." he muttered before calling up to her, "Any luck?"

Castilla flew up above the cityscape and realized two things immediately. The higher up you were the hotter you got, and it got even more likely that the dry moisture sucking desert wind would blow sand in your face. Without the ocean mist protecting her she quickly realized how uncomfortable this place was. Without any kind of shade it felt as if the sun was crisping her gossamer wings by the second.
When she finally reached a good altitude she got a clear view of the city below, despite the occasional face full of sand. Almost all the buildings were squat stocky things made from the same claylike substance, and only one or two stories into the air. She could see from the Sun's position in the sky that the group was on the south eastern edge of the sprawling metropolis. The roads were comfortably large and the buildings were well maintained. However, the same could not be said for even close by homes. Once you turned off these main roads there were near endless winding side streets, that turned the city into a incomprehensible maze of homes, shops and attempts at gardens. The closer you got to the endless maw of sand on the horizon the worse the living had to be.

However, there were a handful of places that stood literally above the others within her view. The first being due west from the center of town. A castle, if that word could do it justice. It was really more three buildings made to look like one. They were made almost completely of a polished white stone, with three large crystal spires sticking out the top of each one that almost dazzled her as she looked at them.
The second building was due east from the center of town almost on the outskirts of the entire city. The only reason that Castellia could identify it at all was because it was built higher then everything else. The even stranger thing was that the building was completely round like a ball, and was patterned out of shieny black stone in a way that remined her of the time she had gotten stuck in a beehive looking for honey. If she could make even that much detail out the building must be massive.
The third building directly north of the center of town was the tallest buildings she had ever seen. Almost seeming to touch the sky stood two polished black obelisks. Like siblings the two stood in opposition to nature itself.
Finally, and most appealing, in the direct center of town there was a massive square in which stood a massive tiered fountain that spewed forth water. Three stories tall the fairy could see the statue topper, a girl raising her hands to the sky while water poured from them clearly. Even despite the shear mass of people at this square she could see a mesmerizing sun mural made out of the pave stones. The shadow of the fountain created a perfect line to its outer edge. The water that flowed through the canals in the major streets also came from this fountain,

Looking at the tantalizing fountain and feeling just how dry her mouth had become an idea popped into her head. People need water to live, so living close to it is probably better then not. If a tavern would be anywhere somewhere close by that might be a place to start looking.

[spoiler]From there someone needs to make a diplomacy check to find the right place

DC 15
And you find it before dinner time
Otherwise you get there just before nightfall and take a exhausted status

please Ella or bootman describe this somewhat sketchy but well maintained inn and the people who run/are there when you arrive[/spoiler]

What?! No good desserts? Cactus? What was cactus? What was crame brooleh? Oh! But she could probably guess what crape cake was! It was probably a cake made out of grapes. That's why they put the c at the beginning of grape instead of a g, because they thought it was a fun play on words. "Crape cake does sound good!"

The higher Callista flew, the more she could feel the hot sun beating on her dark skin. The moment she felt sand hit her skin, she changed her mind. The sun was bad enough, but winds carrying cutting sands, too? Pfft. The easy route was not worth it. Even if she went to a high enough altitude to avoid the sand, which would be too heavy to be too high unless it was some sort of crazy storm of sand - which would be super scary and would probably give her nightmares for months just thinking about - the sun was just too hot to bother. Besides, here eyesight might be good, but it was really hard to read signs from that high up.

From what she did see of the city, with all their pretty colors, it was actually an awful, ugly place. A lot of the "trees" she saw were leaf-less, looking more like green, mutated porcupines than trees. There were a few that had humongous leaves, though. Oh! She wanted some of those! She would definitely make sure to add some to her bag of holding before she left this place. They would make awesome outfits!

There was also that really pretty building that Callista had noticed from the beginning. It did not seem to have a sign on it that said it was a "Dancing Winds Tavern", but the more she thought about it, the more she came to realize that there was no way a mere tavern would have all of the glorious desserts that such a beautiful building would have. Sure, Kin might be right that they would have some sweets, but Callista was not looking just for some sweets. She was looking for the desert of desserts.

The strange black stone did remind her of a beehive, but she could not ever recall being stuck in one. She was a faerie after all, and faeries were friends with bees, especially faeries who were also druids. There was never a reason to enter a beehive when friendly bees would share honey with you if you asked kindly and offered something in exchange. She could remember a time when she had dropped a huge hornets nest on some guy who was being mean to the local Ternadan kids. That was a good laugh.

None of the other things really drew her interest. If she did not like getting her wings wet, then she might have dived head first into the massive fountain. Alas, Callista was not a swimmer, even in sweltering heat.

Ignoring the fountain, the faerie flew back down to Kin. "This way, guys!" She cried, pointing towards the big, white polished building before flying off towards the castle once more. It was obvious to her now more than ever. The reason why no one was finding the good desserts was because they were hiding them away within the pretty building, keeping them all to themselves. She paused after a few yards to make sure the rest of the group was following.

[spoiler]Callista totally leads the group towards the castle because she does not think logically enough to come to the conclusion that a tavern/inn might possibly be near a fountain.[/spoiler]

With Callista leading the way through a number of streets the group begins to head towards the palace in the west with only the fairy the wiser for it at the moment

[spoiler]that's fine XD go where you like you are the ones in control here not me
I just tell you what happens as a result

[/spoiler]

[spoiler]With callista's guidance
DC raised to 30 to find tavern by chance along the way

if fail you end up in the flower covered palace district  at the first gate just as the sky turns orange as you have crossed the entire city.
[/spoiler]

[spoiler]Rolling on command of lord Mystic Sage, long may he reign [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 11 + 7, total 18[/blockquote][/spoiler]

Despite Aion's attempt to get the team to the tavern under Callista's guidance the group end up walking for hours across the city of Izole. Several times the fairy has to zip up in the air to get a better look of something off in the distance, but she eventually leads the group through the side streets to the destination she desired without hitting any of the other important landmarks that the others might find important. Finally they turn off one especially cramped side alley and into a main thoroughfare. The shift between districts  was almost alarming as the roads and buildings in this area of town were obviously for the upper class. The buildings were made out of something other then the usual sandstone all varieties of marbles and sandstone adorned the walls in bright murals.This area was covered in exotic flowers in shades and sizes none of them had ever seen every home seemed to pride itself in outdoing the others in the size of their gardens.

Once the group looked up the palace could easily be seen lording over all from its position. Imposingly on the horizon the building and the crystals were outlined in the now dusk sun. Everyone but Callista can feel how heavy their feet are from the long walk and it was hard to not feel small and insignificant in contrast to this palace that seemed to be sparkling. This entire area seemed sand free as if it had wooed even mother nature with its powerful beauty.

Callista led the group all the way to the courtyard that signified you were entering the royal territory. The estate proper was still a good fifteen minute walk off into a forest of palm trees and all grasses, but here was as far as the public could go. A smooth polished marble outpost wall stood in the way with two large guard outposts either side of a sparkling intricately made as if was made from blooming flowers on the vine.

There were two imposing guards on either side of this gate wearing white polished half pate and helmets. With swords at their side they were almost remisinst of marble statues one would see in a garden. Their breast plates had a large sun motif emblazoned on them. One of them up nods in the direction of the group, at the other guard as you enter the courtyard though the make no move to say anything to you all from that distance. At this point dusk is just starting to darken as the sun sinks ever further into night.

The little girl had recently come to adore the small fairy that always flew about excitedly. It wasn't something that most of the guild members do, and Anastasia could tell that Callista was different than the rest in that regard. It helped that the fairy was small just like her too. But after all the almost random wandering, Anastasia began to wonder where they were really going. She had seen all sorts of sights as she took in her surroundings eagerly, and was in awe of the city.

Anastasia tugged on Kin's clothing, speaking to him through the mental link they shared.

Kin... are we lost?

Fly for a few paces, stop. Fly for a few more paces, then stop again. Over and over Callista did that as she led the group towards the pretty building. The entire time, she plotted. That guard had been really mean, ignoring her and being rude to Kin. And then these people were hiding the desserts, too. Well, she would not stand for it!

Finally reaching her destination, the faerie flew right up to the guards. "HOW DARE YOU!" She shouted at them. "I, Callistianna Dialadalis Erelania Faevieri, have traveled as a representative from the far away Faerie realms and THIS is how you people treat me and those who have provided me escort in this realm?! Rude ship men toss him into a barrel of fish!" She pointed to Kin. "The representative that you sent to meet us at the docks was so incompetent that he completely ignored me and refused to give us proper escort, leaving us to wander and hope we made it here before nightfall! This is completely unacceptable! I will be reporting this to my superiors!"

[spoiler][blockquote]Rolled 1d20+15 : 8 + 15, total 23[/blockquote][/spoiler]

[spoiler=Using 8 Karma to take 20 on the bluff check.]Cost 8, Take 20 on a skill check, can be done even if threatened or distracted. (But can't be done in combat). Can be used if there are negative consequences to failing.

So... 20 + 15 = 35. :D [/spoiler]

QuoteResolved 8 karma usage.

Aion stood frozen. Was this how the guild always was? Should he shut her up and run away? Wait, was the mission even at the palace? He couldn't remember.  He looked around for some sort of anchor to hold onto. Somebody to brace him and tell him this was all part of the plan. There was Kin, the grumpy but apparently competent warrior in the group, and Anastasia, a little girl who knew how to keep her cool. The man made his choice and leaned in.

"Hey Ana... is this what we're supposed to be doing?" He whispered.

Kin was eagerly following Callista, thinking he finally managed to get her under to do something helpful. But when they entered the upscale portion of the city, his eager grin became a sour grimace, complete with sighs. There was no way a tavern that had business with their goods would be located here. They were being run around on a whim. Just before he started growling something out, he felt a tug at his side, hearing Ana speak to him mentally. He guessed between the confused running around, and his own emotional turmoil, she'd felt something was wrong.

Not exactly. Callista is going exactly where she wants. It's just not the tavern.

He let out another sigh as they were brought before the castle of Izole. Before he could scold the fairy for being distracted once more, she flew off. Only this time, he got quite the show, and saw a new side of the small girl as she basically tore the guards a new one out of nowhere. Even more impressive, it was all a bluff. "Huh, I didn't know she had it in her..." Kin muttered to himself, a little in shock.

When the other guild member called out to her, Anastasia drew back behind Kin when Callista had released her hold. She wasn't quite sure of how to respond, she was simply taking in her surroundings after all. She understood that they were there to help someone, but her main motivation to coming was to be with Kin. Save for only a few others in the guild, she wasn't comfortable with many others.

The young girl stared at Aion.

She clutched Kin's shirt tighter, not knowing how to respond to the tall man. She blinked a couple of times, but seeing the attention on her, simply began to nod.

[spoiler=sense motive](http://forums.fantasyworldcreations.com/Themes/envision2013_smf20_rev3/images/dice_warn.gif) This dice roll has been tampered with!
Rolled 1d20+10 : 5 + 10, total 15[/spoiler]


The two Guards blink out of surprise when Callista began to rip into them. However, when she starts to complain about one of their comrades not doing their jobs their jaw sets into an comfortable grimace and their eyes steel. They obviously do not like what they are hearing and are doing their best to ride it out. As she continues the rest of the group notice these two men doing their best to bite down an indignant rage building inside the two from being insulted by this foreigner

Alarm bells go off in kin's head as he remembers being warned about this country's Xenophobic nature.

When Callisto finishes for a breath the two are not happy but the bluff seems to work as the two try to maintain a composure due a foriegn ambassador. In a controlled tone one responds slowly choosing his words with great care, " Our... apologies, lady ambassador for any... Short comings that you may have experienced we have no record of your arrival," he has yet to look at callista directly or any kind of documentation. "I'm sure this is just a miss understanding, now if you could just show us the royal seal allowing you access to the grounds then we can let you right in. As you know only those authorized by the royal family may enter. To allow anyone else in would be to large a risk."

With that the two are again quite no punches thrown no insults just a wall of flesh blocking your path trying their best to avoid eye contact with the fairy. Though the one that did not talk was staring at kin and his sword. It looks like they are flustered enough that if callista went invisible she might be able to slip between their legs unnoticed

Callista accepted their apologies, exclaiming that "perhaps you two should have been the ones sent to escort me, you seem much more competent. Of course, my visit would not be broadly announced for all. A Faerie visiting any city outside of the Faerie realms is almost unheard of. Imagine the danger such information would put me in!"

When they asked for the royal seal, Callista turned to Kin. "Halfling! Bring me the papers!"

[spoiler]Rolling if needed to continue Callista's bluff.
(http://forums.fantasyworldcreations.com/Themes/envision2013_smf20_rev3/images/dice_warn.gif) This dice roll has been tampered with!
Rolled 1d20+15 : 1 + 15, total 16[/spoiler]

Aion chuckled after the guards called her out for papers. The warrior glanced over at the halfling with a smirk. "Apparently she didn't have it in her. One second." He held out his hand for the rest of the ground to stay put as he fixed his hair, straightened his cloak and strode forward to the guards confidently, flashing a smile at both of them. He gave each a firm nod.

"Sorry about this one." He said, gesturing towards Callista and shaking his head apologetically. "My name is Aion Loucelles. I just arrived here a day ago and took care of the Cliffpoint Bandits at the request of the law enforcement here. However..." He said, with a grimace. "...I must say, I would happily trade away any reward I would get from that job to simply be introduced to your palace chef. I'm a chef myself..." He commented, showing his equipment in his back pack. "...And I use my adventurer status to pick up on interesting new dishes around the world. We'll check all of our weapons in with you and be out in less then an hour. Would you get a message to somebody who could let us in and let them know what I want? I would appreciate it. I could even teach your chef recipes he's never heard of as well!" He said, his genuine excitement seeping into his request. The man really did want to learn recipes.

[spoiler][blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 8 + 7, total 15[/blockquote][/spoiler]

Aion's words seemed to visibly calm some of the guards' anger. The man who had done most of the talking responded, "Yes, those bandit's had been plaguing the caravan routes for a while. The entire city has been preparing for the festival for the Second Empress' birthday in the coming days that all patrols were to busy with the problem due to the sudden influx of travelers. So we thought a task of that level was perfect for the normal quality of foreign mercenaries. We thank you for your hard work on our behalf."

The backhanded compliment was delivered quickly and without batting an eye their contempt for foreigners expertly disguised behind formality. Though the two men did seem to puff up their chests at the compliment of their cuisine and seem generally less hostile. After a moment the guard continued as if he was talking to some child who did their chores, "Since, you did work so hard I can see no harm in escorting you and your friends to have a conversation with the chief. You will have to leave your weapons here at the guard post you understand" he was staring pointedly at the all to obvious oversized club-blade strapped to Kin's back.

I'm sure you all understand  unsanctioned armed individuals cannot be found on the grounds. Even with us as an escort we will have to sneak you in a side entrance just in case anyone of importance asks questions otherwise we are all dead. You may keep your armor of course. The path we will lead you cuts through one of the side pavilions into the cellar and then up into the kitchen do we have a deal?" He seemed honestly excited to be showing off his country. His patriotism even around the small things running deep. And having a guided semi safe tour of the palace was better then trying to break in on your own and possibly getting caught. At least this way you would be questioned first and could talk your way out.

"And I'm sure a diplomat of a foreign nation can handle talking to anyone who gets overly suspicious with ease" he said with a small chuckle.

Kin watched as Callista floundered before the guards. He was impressed regardless of the outcome, as she'd actually gotten quite far with that ruse. He was about to try to talk up the papers he had, as support, but to his relief Aion stepped forward to speak, and seemingly to better effect. The result made Kin freeze in place however, and got him thinking.

"...You're confiscating my sword...?" Kin was immediately defensive. "This beauty is my livelihood! I'd sooner wait out here." The halfling crossed his arms. "Actually, that doesn't sound too bad." Kin realized that it'd be getting him back on the task at hand, and even rid him of some headaches. "Yup, I'm waiting here, unless one of you lot can convince me otherwise." The heat was still bugging him, even with the crystal. And after being in a barrel of fish, he desperately wanted to wash off and get a nice, cold ale. Then the fairy happened. The first thing Kin aimed to do was find that tavern. Besides, he hated nobility, so why try to meet with them? Easy answer: don't try, get a drink.

Callista turned to look at the man who she had only really just recently met with a disapproving stare. Things were going fine, why did he think he needed to butt in? If Kin still had the papers they were originally given, she would have said that the oaf they had met at the docks had given them the wrong papers back. Or perhaps that the halfling himself was an oaf and had lost them. That way, the guards would not feel as bad about their men. They did seem pretty upset about her calling them out.

Wait! What was this about a second empress and her birthday? How exciting! A birthday! Now she knew her true mission here! It was to experience a royal human's birthday! Yes. Yes. Yes. Oh, yes!

Quickly, she regathered her thoughts. It seemed the guards were willing to sneak them into the palace to meet with the chef. This was a good thing, it was bringing them to their original goal of desserts. It would also allow her to find a secret way into the palace so that she could come back in a few days time for the birthday party. Oh! She was so excited!

Digging out her sling and quarterstaff, Callista handed them over to the guards. Weapons did not matter to her anyways.

"Come on, Ana!" Callista flew down to the girl to tug on some of her locks and lead her towards the palace. "Lets go!" If Kin wanted to stay behind and lose out, then he could. But Callista did not want to miss this chance. Although... If everyone changed their minds, she guessed she could just sneak in on her own. She could go invisible, after all. "Bye, Kin!"

The little fairy, Callista, beckoned towards her to follow. But as Anastasia looked towards Kin, she realized that he seemed to want to stay put. She didn't understand why the group wanted to go different ways, she wanted to experience new things with everyone. Especially Kin! But she had started thinking more about Callista, after all, she was really her only play-mate back at home.

The young girl turned back towards Callista, unsure of who to follow. Callista had mentioned desserts before, and there was no doubt in Anastasia's mind that the fairy would be leading her to lots and lots of desserts. Much of Callista's actions confused Anastasia, but the apparent excitement and elation Callista would put forth in almost everything she did made it much more lively every time she was around. And though Anastasia had not realized it then; it was the fact that she had fun with the small fairy that she was drawn to follow her lead.

She clutched Kin's shirt, not entirely sure who to follow.

Kin looked at the girl beside him, and he could feel her emotional turmoil. She wanted to go, to follow her friend and eat sweets. Of course, Kin was just about certain they would not be getting any sweets in there. If anything, the anger that he saw displayed by the two guardsmen assured him that they were en route to the dungeons. Aion's words did indeed help, but that was not convincing him to release custody of him blade to foreigners with so much contempt for outsiders. His intuition was screaming no. They didn't need to be in the palace, it was the whim of the uncontrollable fairy before them.

Knowing that Ana could at least somewhat see his thoughts, he surfaced his paranoid idea of being captured in a foreign palace as he spoke to her calmly, in a low voice to not alert the guards, "Ana, I do really think it in our best interest to let the individuals that have business in the palace do what they need to, we'll only be in the way." He then imagined a tavern like the one they needed, also flashing thoughts of their intended mission, "We have somewhere else to be, anyways. And I'm sure we can find you sweets without going through so much trouble. It is a large city. There is definitely a food section of the bazaar in a large, bustling town like this."

Raising his voice to speak normally and address the group, "I am just a hired guard meant to escort the lady diplomat here. I'm also guardian for this child. We have business elsewhere, and would only get in the way of these two."

[blockquote]Bluff:  1d20+6 : 1 + 6, total 7[/blockquote]

[blockquote]Karma reroll:  1d20+6 : 15 + 6, total 21[/blockquote]

She had thought of it already, but still, the fact that the two were deciding to leave her and find desserts elsewhere was disappointing. The faerie looked at Kin and Ana, allowing her disappointment to show clearly. Wasn't this the mission? To come to this awful land and find where they were hiding the desserts so that they could restore it to its proper dessert glory? And here Kin was, trying to mess up the mission. Well, fine. If they wanted to do the mission another way, then she would go with them and come back later. It was never a good idea to split away from your party when in a strange city, after all. Or that was what Annia always told her anyways.

"A guard's job isn't done if he abandons his charge midway." Callista said to Kin, then turned to the guards. "Looks like I need to have a word with my help. I'll be having my effects back, if you please. We will return later. Please alert her royal majesty, the second Empress, that I have arrived, but due to misunderstandings was not allowed to come see her right away."

The guards handed back the fey's things before simply took back their position. "We will be watching for your group's return miss." said one of the men. "I'm sure the royal family will wish to hear about exactly what transpired here." With that they bid you well and you were free to go on your way back where you came from.

---

Ryine you awake in a dark and dry dungeon lit only by a few torches giving everything a shifty and eerie glow. You are currently shackled by the ankle to the back wall. But the guards here have made sure you were well. You've been down there for the last few days for being thought to be part of a bandit group who has been plauging the areas around the desert capital. Though you can guess by how well the guards are treating you they believe you innocent but are holding you anyway. You haven't even had the chance yet to talk to anyone higher then a footman or get word back to the guild. They have removed all your weapons and equipment but allowed you to keep your armor. You have a small cot in one corner and a chamber pot in the other. Otherwise you have about ten feet the chain allows you to move, which is five feet from the door.

Ryine was in the dark of the dungeon, chained to the wall. He wasn't thirsty or hungry, but food and water can only do so much when a man truly hungers for freedom. It had been days, he thought. Enough was enough. Going as far as the chains would let him, Ryine began to yell.

"OY GUARDS OUT THERE. BRING MY BLADE DOWN TO THE CELL THIS INSTANT! I DON'T NEED TO HOLD IT. BUT IT NEEDS TO TALK TO YOU! IT WILL TELL YOU THAT I AM INNOCENT, THAT I AM NO BANDIT! THE BLADE WILL TELL YOU ALL. ALL THAT I DID TO PROTECT YOUR STUPID SAND RIDDEN CITY! I DO SO MUCH AND THIS IS THE THANKS THAT I GET? Ryine spit as far as he could hoping to get some to the guard. "THAT'S WHAT I THINK OF YOUR HOSPITALITY! YOU SHOULD BE WELCOMING ME WITH A FEAST AND THANKS, NOT WITH THIS EXCUSE FOR A BED AND A SMELLY CHAMBER!" To those listening, Ryine likely sounded to be raving mad, but he knew the truth. Hopefully someone else did too, or he would spend the rest of his days rotting in a cell for a crime he would never commit. A bandit? What a joke. There was only one thing Ryine loathed more than bandits, and that was doors that didn't cooperate.

The halfling, wasn't going to be persuaded any longer. Despite his usual actions and speech, Kin was duty-driven, and did his job when he had one. Thus he once again ventured out, scouring the city for the tavern in question. For the sake of his real charge, the young girl beside him, he detoured to a food stall and got them both something to eat, along with a honeyed something-or-other that looked like a desert pastry enough.

"Alright, now if I were a tavern of the business kind, where would I be..." Kin mutters to himself.

QuoteI don't know what is considered "gather information" anymore, but as Kin doesn't bother talking with people he's identified as xenophobes, he's going to do Perception and Knowledge (Local) to find the tavern.

[blockquote]Perception:  1d20+14 : 7 + 14, total 21[/blockquote]
[blockquote]Knowledge (Local):  1d20+5 : 1 + 5, total 6[/blockquote]

"Indeed!" The faerie replied, accepting her weapons. Putting them back in her bag, she turned to return to her party. She was very disappointed that she had not been able to get everyone inside to get the delicious deserts that must have been hidden inside. They must be very good deserts to be under such a tough guard.

Silently sitting on Anastasia's head, Callista mulled over her options. Surely there was some way to get in... She was so lost in thought that she had failed to notice when Kin found a man in charge of one of the secret hidden stashes of deserts. Suddenly, there was a yummy looking sweet bread with a honey glaze in her face.

"This is delicious!" She exclaimed after chewing through a large faerie-sized bite. Of course, not having nearly as large a stomach as the girl and halfling, she ended up with more than half of it left.

[spoiler=Perception to see if Callista hears Kin talking to himself.][blockquote]Rolled 1d20+6 : 16 + 6, total 22[/blockquote][/spoiler]

As the beginnings of dusk begin to turn more purple then orange the party manages to make its way under kin's direction out of the castle district a good hour or so down the main roads, and back to the main fountain spare which Callsita had seen earlier from above.

Mothers are dipping large urns into the three tiered structure filling them with water under the watchful eyes of the city guard. While you are sure their are other places to get water and such in the city this overly large square with its grand mosaic sunburst tile work under foot and the care of the white stone fountain itself.  Acts as a kind of city hub seemingly open to everyone to use. While the sheer mass of foreign sounds and activity is a bit overwhelming. Eventually after asking around the guards you finally reach the right place. The Four Winds tavern is down a small side not overly far from the center of town and yet it took the party well into the night due to the sheer amount of streets to check. When you finally push your way into the tiny tavern area it is close to midnight and yet this place is as a live as ever. filled with locals and foreigners like yourselves a young woman in her early twenties with blood red hair and dark carmell skin is working behind the bar and is greeting patrons you notice her handing a key to a grizzled looking man with a backpack who then heads up stairs.

[info]Perception to study the man with the pack. I'll RP after I know the results.

[blockquote]Perception:  1d20+14 : 11 + 14, total 25[/blockquote][/info]

The man on closer inspection and what little you could of his face was rather younger, taller, and slimmer then you'd expect. Once you realized how much his back pack and other goods were weighing him down metal and other such things could be heard clashing together loudly as he clambered up the stairs. He had his long hair tied into a thin pointy tail and you noticed a scar on his left check along with a thick five o clock shadow. You are not able to make out the clear details of what he is wearing because of a thick traveling cloak that he had on to keep the sand away.The bag he was lugging on his back must be massive considering he looks at first glance like an old man with a hump rather then a young traveler. At the last moment you are able to see a shallow cut near his  left eyebrow most likely from a knife.

"Huh." Kin says curiously. "Maybe that was him. Well, I'll ask the barmaid, just in case." Kin makes his way up to the bar with Ana in tow, hops onto one of the stools and signals the red-haired woman behind the counter. When she ends up before him, he bluntly states, "I'll have a pint of one of the local brews, you pick your favorite. Surprise me! And I'm supposed to be meeting a man here, goes by the name of Nelif. Does that ring a bell?"

If there was one thing Kin was well known for, it was his lack of subtlety.

She glances down at the halfling the bar she was standing behind still came up to just above your chest even with the stool. She seems skeptical at first until you ask for two pints which brings a smile to her face. She pours to mugs of some clear looking bright brew and sets them in front of you. "That'll be two pints of the Dancing Winds specificity hard cider made from the desert fruits found in the region. Every tavern has their own blend, our recipe is the best in the city of course. We spice the mix with a number of spices we get from abroad. Though I worn you our stuff is not for lightweights so be careful little man." The drinks cost you a full gold piece which she takes a moment to study before seeming satisfied and pocketing it. Her thin silks she was wearing in several layers for modest showcasing a life of hard work and strength despite her purposely bright and elegant appearance.

"Well then I don't get kids here often," she said seeing Ana she smiles her earrings jingling as she turned to another customer and getting distracted. She quickly says, "I'm sorry I don't let people ask about other customers bad for business but if you buy rooms and your friend has been here the last few days I can't stop what you see while signing in." She deals with some other rowdy people before returning and digging a large log book and a quill pen and ink from under the bar and setting it in front of you. " We have a few rooms open standard prices. Names Mora by the way Mora Krantis me and my family run this place."

[info]
Make a perception check and a sense motive  if you are going to look at the book once you pay for a room
[/info]

[info]By the way, Callista heard Kin before. That was a solid Perception roll. Write what you like, Ella :P[/info]
Kin thinks a moment. "Huh, I guess getting a room would be a good idea. I'm sold!" Kin quickly scribbles down his name in the ledger, browsing the book for names in the past week or so, and coughs up the rental fee. "Oh, and I was going to look in the book anyways, but thanks for the offer. Makes me more at ease."

[info]Kin pays for a room for the party, then searches through the ledger for Nelif, along with any other names that may cause alarm. Rolls in the next post.[/info]

[info][blockquote]Perception:  1d20+14 : 7 + 14, total 21[/blockquote]
[blockquote]Sense Motive:  1d20+6 : 11 + 6, total 17[/blockquote][/info]

Kin scans through the book with relative precision checking each name through the pages for the day. And of the twenty or so names there is no mention of this Nelif. Which May seem strange to the man considering to get whatever goods in their hands it would take them some time. Assuming that your team was told to meet here because he was using this tavern as a base of operations his name should be on the guest log or if he's been here longer then he should have been known by the innkeepers. The person who hired the guild was looking for enough people to protect a fair bit of product. Not that the halfling knew what the team was escorting in the first place.

You do notice the name of the man's name who signed in before you since you were so intent on the man before. Well his handwriting was almost so bad that it could barely be considered handwriting in the first place. You are pretty sure his last name is Ichiro.

---

Moira accepted your coin then with a smile and takes the book away from you in a flash as she pulls a brass key off the wall with a leather strap and a room number 13 on it. Her movements are quick and fluid hefting the large book as if it was nothing with a fair bit of grace as she pours some brightly colored orange liquid into a small mug and pushed it to the halfing. "some sand tree fruit juice for the girl on the house." She smiled at Ana before turning away without another word.

Kin smiles toward Mora, and goads Ana on to accept the drink. That their contact did not seem to be here worried him. Still, now they had a home base for their stay, he figured they should swing upstairs first.

He took the key with a nod and turned to his companions, "Well, we have a room now. Let's take a quick rest to gather and figure out what to do next." Kin then began his march up to the room.

[info]Making a perception check to pick up stray conversation, as well as anything from rooms we pass on the way to our room.[/info]

[info][blockquote]Perception:  1d20+14 : 4 + 14, total 18[/blockquote][/info]

The inn is actually rather small due to the nature of the city topography and how squished everything was together. This main room took up almost the entire first floor. Tables and chairs clutter the space and even kin had to be careful where he stepped in order to get to the stair well. You can see however that passed the bar their seemed to be a stairwell leading down to a basement where Mora occasionally went bringing up plates of steaming food. There is a open hall just to the left of the stairs that open out to what seemed to be a covered garden space with a small well in the center.

Most of the people in the tavern space were travelers like yourselves kin takes notice of a variety of different conversations mostly about business or lack there of. Many complained as if it was a daily issue about the strict nature of shadar's goods the watchful eye of the royal palace and so on. One thing that every group seems to be talking about is how on edge the palace has been the last few months. Until a few weeks the entire city felt like it was on the edge of exploding the city guard often whisking people off the streets for days at a time with no explanation. Everything seems to be coming back to normal however since people are so openly gossiping about it.

Ryine

As you continue to yell for your blade you take notice that the air in the dungeon seems alive pregnant with anxiety and adrenaline as you here the jingle of keys and padded footsteps of the colorful royal guard. The man in his early to mid twenties has his yellow silk scarf over his mouth and nose as he enters with a large basin of water, a half clean rag, a set of silk robes similar to his own, and your sword chained in his hand.

"Make yourself descent swordsman, you are to be granted an audience with the emperor." He said placing the suds filled water basin on the dirt floor along with the rag clothes with your blade. The mental contact is still possible however you can tell from his eyes that the guard seems totally disinterested with your ranting.

Ever since you have been locked up in the royal palace dungeon for a few days after attempting to help a seemingly ailing old lady with a rather large box despite your blade's protest to the otherwise that she seemed strange and should be left alone. Instead of accepting your help and you going home after your heroic mission  this supposed old lady pushed you away and made quite a scene that resulted in the city guard was involved. What was worse the lady in question claimed that she had never seen the box before in her life and claimed you were the one carrying it before she stumbled upon you.

Despite a few memory probes from a rough handed mage they have treated you well considering making sure you have what you need. Otherwise tthey have not said anything until now, The man moves over to your shackle that has no lock and waves his hand over it allowing it to snap open on its own. "Get a move on, he will not be left waiting" he said in a flat almost matter of fact tone like one might talk about the weather.

Ryine looked at the outfit laid before him and the soapy water and scoffed.  "Odd. I thought that an Emperor would know how to treat a knight. You say to make myself decent, but a knight in a dress is hardly decent at all. If I am to meet a man of such high status, even one as dim as myself would like to look their best. Can you fetch my armor? I need not be armed, but I'd at least like to be wearing something fit for the occasion."

The knight had no reason to think that his request would be heard, but it was at least worth trying.

The guard stood there for a moment staring at Ryine in his dust and dirt covered self unchained within your cell and he simply turns around without saying a word locking the door behind him. Minutes pass and just when you think that he has left you alone once again he return not with your armor but  a metal chest plate of thin elegant metal meant to be worn just under andsecured by the layering of the colorful silks. "Your equipment is still being held. This will have to do".

Without waiting for a response he closes the door again and goes around the corner out of sight signaling the end of the dissussion

[info]
Get Shadar Royal Guard breastplate

Agile breast plate stats
[/info]

Ryine grunted and cleaned himself up the best he could given the circumstances. He put on the clothes in disgust, looking nothing like a knight. 
After a few moments he shouted. "Oi, guard! I'm ready to meet this so-called emperor."[/b] The knight didn't know what to expect, but surely anything was better than wasting away in a cell. If all went well, this misunderstanding could be sorted out and within the day he could be on his way to Galas'nor, and ready for a cold drink.

As the guard led you from the depths of the castle you were forced to s   quint as you were faced with your first bit of sunlight in days. The floor beneath your feet shifted from the large cobbled stone of this lower floor into intricate marble as the guard led you into the palace proper. The sheer amount of natural light in the space as it fractured into rainbows of color from the various windows as you move down several hallways was astounding. The entire space was lavish and ornate with gold inlays and white shards of crystal like stones that glowed with a soft light that filled the area.

However one thing that was worse up in the open air then down in the dark underbelly was the heat. You could feel gusts of air but they did little to help with the sheer amount of windows that allowed the desert heat into the area. Within minutes due to the armor you were wearing you already were beginning to sweat. However every one you passed seemed completely unaffected as they went about their daily activity.

About thirty or so minutes after leaving the dungeon you finally could tell you got to a more populated area as servants ran in all directions dressed in white silk rushed passed you in all directions as you continued forward and things opened up into a large hall with a bright mosaic of a sun burst the apex of which led to a large set of double doors guarded by two men decked out in full metal plates with swords at their side. They stared Ryine and his ward up and down before they gave a small nod.

"Now keep your head Ryine you are going to be speaking to royalty and you don't want to make things worse." Said your blade from inside your mind.

As the large doors opened wide you were ushered into the large throne room an almost completely empty hall without side walls leading into a small walled off garden surrounding the whole place and a circular ceiling made of entirely stained glass that allowed shafts of bright lights that were like rain fall in a detailed pattern of a desert rose.

Siting at the far end of this room lounging back a man no more then twenty five or thirty sat shirtless silks barely draped enough for modesty over his bronze well built body, his chest nut hair hanging loosely in a pony tail to keep it away from his neck. His various bangles jingled happily as he raised a hand in greeting. "So this is our jewel thief. Welcome, Welcome I've been wanting to chat with you!" His smile was large and his voice seemed to fill the room and yet his eyes were also clear and shop despite the goblet in his hand. "I apologize if you have found my hospitality lacking I was in a rough position as of late. I am Emperor Serif a Valdarion of the Shadarian Empire. I welcome you to my court!"

The heat bothered him a bit, but not quite as much as being detained for no reason. He saw the emperor, and made no move to be courteous.

"Ah, your majesty. Your hospitality has been great. A knight of my standing has no greater desires in life than to be chained to a wall and shat in a hole." Ryine had a large grin spreading across his face. "However, I am most curious as to why I've been detained when I would never be involved with bandits and their ilk, so I've been looking forward to a conversation with you as well."

He patiently awaited an explanation from the emperor, hoping that his jest did not make too many waves.

Callista wondered why Kin was looking for a tavern that dealt with business. Perhaps he was seeking to purchase something. Now that she thought about it, hadn't the guy who had given Kin the papers wanted them to do something for him? She had thought they were there for desserts. Perhaps Kin was looking for a tavern that had good connections in which to purchase large amounts of the desserts to take back to the man. Ah, well. She would let Kin worry about that. The faerie still had to figure out what she was going to do about getting into that palace. She just could not get it out of her head. Not only were they hiding away desserts in there, there was also an Empress! And besides that, she had said she would return later.

As the day went on and Kin continued looking for the Four Winds tavern, Callista had continued to perch on Ana's head. When night fell, the faerie grew tired and had decided to curl up on the girl's shoulder, tucking herself between Ana's neck and the collar of her blouse.

Wakefulness came back to the faerie when the loud sounds of rowdy customers of the tavern harassed her little ears. A large yawn escaped her and she rubbed her eyes before peering out at the world around her. It seemed Kin had found a place to stay the night at least. She was not sure what time it was now, but both of her companions looked like they could use some rest and yet the halfling seemed to want to confer with them about what to do next. She sat up as Ana followed Kin up the stairs to their room, deciding to let Kin talk first since she was not quite sure what was going on in the first place.